RV 1: Rāja-Vidyā: The King of Knowledge
1
Raja-Vidya: The King of Knowledge
Raja-Vidya: The King of Knowledge
sri bhagavan uvaca
idam tu te guhyatamam
pravaksyamy anasūyave
jnanam vijnana-sahitam
yaj jnatva moksyase 'subhat
idam tu te guhyatamam
pravaksyamy anasūyave
jnanam vijnana-sahitam
yaj jnatva moksyase 'subhat
"The Supreme Lord said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most secret wisdom, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence." (Bg. 9.1)
Show noteThe opening words of the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita indicate that the Supreme Godhead is speaking. Here Sri Krsna is referred to as Bhagavan. Bhaga means opulences, and van means one who possesses. We have some conception of God, but in the Vedic literature there are definite descriptions and definitions of what is meant by God, and what is meant is described in one word-Bhagavan. Bhagavan possesses all opulences, the totality of knowledge, wealth, power, beauty, fame and renunciation. When we find someone who possesses these opulences in full, we are to know that he is God. There are many rich, wise, famous, beautiful and powerful men, but no one man can claim to possess all of these opulences. Only Krsna claims to possess them in totality.
Show notebhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhūtanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhūtanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati
"The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries." (Bg. 5.29)
Show noteHere Krsna proclaims that He is the enjoyer of all activities and the proprietor of all planets (sarva-loka-mahesvaram). An individual may possess a large tract of land, and he may be proud of his ownership, but Krsna claims to possess all planetary systems. Krsna also claims to be the friend of all living entities (suhrdam sarva-bhūtanam). When a person understands that God is the proprietor of everything, the friend of everyone and the enjoyer of all, he becomes very peaceful. This is the actual peace formula. No one can have peace as long as he thinks, "I am the proprietor." Who is capable of claiming proprietorship? Only a few hundred years ago the red Indians were considered to be the proprietors of America. Today we in our turn are claiming that proprietorship, but in four hundred or a thousand years perhaps someone else will come to claim the same. The land is here, and we come here and falsely claim ourselves to be proprietors of it. This philosophy of false proprietorship is not in line with Vedic injunctions. Sri Īsopanisad states that "everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord (isavasyam idam sarvam)." The truth of this statement is factual, but under illusion we are thinking that we are the proprietors. In actuality God owns everything, and therefore He is called the richest.
Show noteOf course there are many men who claim to be God. In India, for instance, at any time, one has no difficulty in finding at least one dozen people claiming to be God. But if you ask them if they are the proprietor of everything, they find this difficult to answer. This is a criterion by which we can understand who God is. God is the proprietor of everything, and, being so, He must be more powerful than anyone or anything else. When Krsna was personally present on this earth, no one could conquer Him. There is no record of His ever having lost a battle. He belonged to a ksatriya (warrior) family, and the ksatriyas are meant to give protection to the weak. As far as His opulence is concerned, He married 16,108 wives. Every wife had her own separate palace, and Krsna expanded Himself 16,108 times in order to enjoy them all. This may seem difficult to believe, but it is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the great sages of India recognize this as scripture and recognize Krsna as God.
Show noteIn the first verse of this Ninth Chapter, by the word guhyatamam, Sri Krsna intimates that He is imparting the most confidential knowledge to Arjuna. Why is He proclaiming this to Arjuna? It is because Arjuna is anasūyu-non-envious. In the material world if someone is greater than us, we are envious. We are not only envious of one another, but of God. Also when Krsna says, "I am the proprietor," we disbelieve it. But this is not the case with Arjuna, who listens to Krsna without envy. Arjuna does not cavil with Krsna but agrees with whatever He says. This is his special qualification, and this is the way of understanding Bhagavad-gita. It is not possible to understand what God is by our own mental speculations; we have to hear, and we have to accept.
Because Arjuna is not envious, Krsna speaks this special knowledge to him. This is not only theoretical knowledge but practical knowledge (vijnana-sahitam). Whatever knowledge we receive from Bhagavad-gita should not be taken for sentimentality or fanaticism. The knowledge is both jnana and vijnana, theoretical wisdom and scientific knowledge. If one becomes well-versed in this knowledge, liberation is certain. Life in this material world is by nature inauspicious and miserable. Moksa means liberation, and the promise is that by dint of understanding this knowledge one will attain liberation from all miseries. It is important then to understand what Krsna says about this knowledge.
Show noteraja-vidya raja-guhyam
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyaksavagamam dharmyam
susukham kartum avyayam
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyaksavagamam dharmyam
susukham kartum avyayam
"This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed." (Bg. 9.2)
According to Bhagavad-gita, the topmost knowledge (raja-vidya raja-guhyam) is Krsna consciousness because in Bhagavad-gita we find that the symptom of one who is actually in knowledge is that he has surrendered unto Krsna. As long as we go on speculating about God but do not surrender, it is understood that we have not attained the perfection of knowledge. The perfection of knowledge is:
"After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare." (Bg. 7.19)
As long as we do not surrender, we cannot understand God. Surrender to God may take many births, but if we accept that God is great, it is possible to surrender unto Him immediately. But generally this is not our position in the material world. We are characteristically envious and consequently think, "Oh, why should I surrender unto God? I am independent. I shall work independently." Therefore in order to rectify this misgiving, we have to work for many births. In this regard, the name of Krsna is especially significant. Krs means "repetition of birth," and na means "one who checks." Our repetition of birth can be checked only by God. No one can check his repetition of birth and death without the causeless mercy of God.
Show noteThe subject matter of the Ninth Chapter is raja-vidya. Raja means "king," and vidya means "knowledge." In ordinary life we find one person king in one subject and another in another subject. This knowledge, however, is sovereign over all others, and all other knowledge is subject or relative to it. The word raja-guhyam indicates that this sovereign knowledge is very confidential, and the word pavitram means that it is very pure. This knowledge is also uttamam; ud means "transcend," and tama means "darkness," and that knowledge which surpasses this world and the knowledge of this world is called uttamam. It is the knowledge of light, and darkness has been separated from it. If one follows this path of knowledge, he will personally understand how far he has progressed down the path of perfection (pratyaksavagamam dharmyam). Susukham kartum indicates that this knowledge is very happy and joyful to execute. And avyayam indicates that this knowledge is permanent. We may work in this material world for education or riches, but these things are not avyayam, for as soon as this body is finished, everything else is also finished. With death, our education, advanced degrees, bank balances, family-everything-are all finished. Whatever we're doing in this material world is not eternal.
Show noteHowever, this knowledge is not like that.
nehabhikrama-naso 'sti
pratyavayo na vidyate
svalpam apy asya dharmasya
trayate mahato bhayat
pratyavayo na vidyate
svalpam apy asya dharmasya
trayate mahato bhayat
"In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear." (Bg. 2.40)
Knowledge in Krsna consciousness is so perfect that if one performs work in Krsna consciousness and yet does not attain perfection, in his next life he takes up from wherever he left off. In other words, actions performed in Krsna consciousness are durable. On the other hand, material achievements, because they pertain to the body, are vanquished at death. Knowledge that pertains to designations does not endure. I am thinking that I am a man or a woman, an American or Indian, a Christian or Hindu-these are all designations pertaining to the body, and when the body is finished, they will also be finished. We are actually spirit, and therefore our spiritual activities will go with us wherever we go.
Show noteSri Krsna indicates that this king of knowledge is also happily performed. We can easily see that activities in Krsna consciousness are joyfully done. There is chanting and dancing, eating prasadam (food that has been offered to Krsna) and discussing Bhagavad-gita. These are the main processes. There are no stringent rules and regulations that we have to sit so straight for so long or do so many gymnastics, or control our breath. No, the process is very easily and happily done. Everyone wants to dance, to sing, to eat and to hear the truth. This process is truly susukham-very happy.
In the material world there are so many gradations of education. Some people never finish grammar school or high school, whereas others go on and receive a university education, a BA, MA, PhD, and so on. But what is this raja-vidya, the king of education, the summum bonum of knowledge? It is this Krsna consciousness. Real knowledge is understanding "what I am." Unless we come to the point of understanding what we are, we cannot attain real knowledge. When Sanatana Gosvami left his government post and came to Caitanya Mahaprabhu for the first time, he asked the Lord, "What is education?" Although Sanatana Gosvami knew a number of languages, including Sanskrit, he still inquired about real education. "The general populace calls me highly educated," Sanatana Gosvami told the Lord, "and I am such a fool that I actually believe them."
So the next question is: "Then why do you think that you are not educated? You are great scholar in Sanskrit, you are great scholar in Persian language. Why do you think that you are not educated?" He replied that "I am thinking 'not educated' because I do not know what I am. I do not know what I am. I do not wish to be a suffering member, but these material miseries is enforced upon me. I do not know wherefrom I have come, where I have to go, and still people, they think that I am very much educated and they designate me that I am a great scholar, and I am satisfied. But I am such a fool that I do not know what I am." Actually, this is the position of our present situation. We are very much proud of our advancement of education. But if you inquire from various persons that "What you are?" hardly some will answer what he is. Everyone is under the conception of this body. But we are not actually this body. This question we have discussed various times, many times. So this after passing this examination that "I am not this body," then one who, one comes into the real knowledge. That is real knowledge, "What I am." That is the beginning. The Lord replied, "Why should you not think you're well educated? You're a great scholar in Sanskrit and Persian."
"That may be," Sanatana Gosvami said, "but I do not know what I am." He then went on to tell the Lord: "I do not wish to suffer, but these material miseries are forced upon me. I neither know where I've come from nor where I'm going, but people are calling me educated. When they call me a great scholar, I am satisfied, but in truth I am such a great fool that I know not what I am." Sanatana Gosvami was actually speaking for all of us, for this is our present situation. We may be proud of our academic education, but if asked what we are, we are not able to say. Everyone is under the conception that this body is the self, but we learn from Vedic sources that this is not so. Only after realizing that we are not these bodies can we enter into real knowledge and understand what we actually are. This then, is the beginning of knowledge.
So the knowledge about which Lord Krsna is now imparting, giving instruction to Arjuna, He says, "This is raja-vidya." Raja-vidya means to know oneself what he is and act accordingly. That is called raja-vidya. If I do not know what I am, what is my position, then if I am in mistaken about my situation, then all activities, what I am doing, they are all mistaken. They are all illusion. Therefore this position, raja-vidya, means one should know himself, what he is, and act accordingly. Simply by knowing that "I am not this material body," that is not sufficient. You must act accordingly, that you are not material; you are spiritual. That spiritual activity is called Krs..., act in Krsna consciousness, and that is called raja-vidya, the king of all education.
Raja-vidya raja-guhyam [Bg. 9.2]. Raja-guhyam. Raja-guhyam means confidential, very confidential. It is not possible to accept this Krsna consciousness very easily, but by the mercy of Krsna and by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, it is very easily delivered to us through this chanting Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Raja-vidya may be further defined as not only knowing what one is, but acting accordingly. If we do not know who we are, how can our activities be proper? If we are mistaken about our identity, we will also be mistaken about our activities. Simply knowing that we are not these material bodies is not sufficient; we must act according to the conviction that we are spiritual. Action based on this knowledge-spiritual activity-is work in Krsna consciousness. This kind of knowledge may not seem to be so easily attainable, but it is made very easy by the mercy of Krsna and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu who made this knowledge easily available through the process of chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Raja-vidya raja-guhyam [Bg. 9.2]. Raja-guhyam. Raja-guhyam means confidential, very confidential. It is not possible to accept this Krsna consciousness very easily, but by the mercy of Krsna and by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, it is very easily delivered to us through this chanting Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Raja-vidya may be further defined as not only knowing what one is, but acting accordingly. If we do not know who we are, how can our activities be proper? If we are mistaken about our identity, we will also be mistaken about our activities. Simply knowing that we are not these material bodies is not sufficient; we must act according to the conviction that we are spiritual. Action based on this knowledge-spiritual activity-is work in Krsna consciousness. This kind of knowledge may not seem to be so easily attainable, but it is made very easy by the mercy of Krsna and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu who made this knowledge easily available through the process of chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Lord Caitanya has discussed a very analytical study of the living entity. He has analyzed that the living entities... There are innumerable living entities all over the universe. If you dig earth, you'll find many living entities. If you make a study of the air, you'll find many living entities. If you go deep into the water, you'll find living entities. So all over the universe there are full of different types of living entities. And He has divided all these living entities into two classes. Some are moving and some are not moving. Just like trees, plants, grass, they cannot move. Stone. Stone has also life, but it is not developed conscious. It is too much covered, stone life. Similarly, a person, even in human body, if he does not understand his position, he's almost stonelike. So these are stones, trees, grass and so many others. They are "not-moving" living entities. And there are moving entities just like aquatics, beasts, birds, reptiles, human being, demigods, oh, celestial angels, so many. There are moving. So out of the moving entities, very small number are human beings. There are 8,400,000's of species of life. Out of that, only 400,000 species of life are this human body.
So Lord Caitanya says, "Out of these 400,000 species of life, some of them are civilized. And out of many civilized persons, they are actually devoted to the scriptures, not all." Caitanya Mahaprabhu divided the living entities into two major categories: those that are moving and those that are not moving. Trees, grass, plants, stones, etc., do not move because they do not have sufficiently developed consciousness. Their consciousness is there, but is covered. If a living being does not understand his position, he is stonelike, although dwelling in a human body. The living entities-birds, reptiles, animals, insects, human beings, demigods, etc.-number over 8,000,000 species, and of these a very small number are human beings. Lord Caitanya further points out that out of 400,000 species of human beings, some are civilized; and out of many civilized persons, there are only a few who are devoted to the scriptures.
So Lord Caitanya says, "Out of these 400,000 species of life, some of them are civilized. And out of many civilized persons, they are actually devoted to the scriptures, not all." Caitanya Mahaprabhu divided the living entities into two major categories: those that are moving and those that are not moving. Trees, grass, plants, stones, etc., do not move because they do not have sufficiently developed consciousness. Their consciousness is there, but is covered. If a living being does not understand his position, he is stonelike, although dwelling in a human body. The living entities-birds, reptiles, animals, insects, human beings, demigods, etc.-number over 8,000,000 species, and of these a very small number are human beings. Lord Caitanya further points out that out of 400,000 species of human beings, some are civilized; and out of many civilized persons, there are only a few who are devoted to the scriptures.
Some of them, they agree that "I belong to Christian religion," "I belong to Hindu religion," or "I belong to Muhammadan religion," but at the present age, mostly they simply claim that "I belong to this religion" but do not believe in the scripture, mostly. So those who are believing in the scriptures, they are mostly attracted by pious, philanthropic activities. They, some of them, those who actually believe that charity is very good thing, and... Religious means these three things: yajna-dana-tapaḥ. Yajna-dana-tapaḥ. Yajna means sacrifice, dana means charity, and tapaḥ means penance. Just like brahmacari. It is tapasya. Tapasya. A sannyasi, it is tapasya. Tapaḥ. Tapaḥ means penance, voluntarily accepting very rigid principles of life. That is called tapasya. And charity. Charity means voluntarily giving away his material possessions. That is charity. And yajna, sacrifice. Sacrifice, of course, you have no experience. Not you, but we all. Nowadays, in the present days, there is no sacrifice.
But we get information from such historical literature as Mahabharata. Mahabharata is called history in the Vedic literature. So kings were performing very big sacrifices. Millions of rupees, millions of valuables, gold and silver, they were distributed. Oh, that is not possible. That was being done by the kings. Kings used to collect tax from the citizens but at the same..., at the time when they performed sacrifice, they were distributed to all the citizens, all of them. So that process is not. Nowadays the state simply collects taxes but never distributes. So we have no idea what is yajna. But this yajna is the performance of kings or the heads of the state, and dana of the general householders, and tapasya for brahmacari, sannyasi, vanaprastha. So these are different kinds of rules in religious life.
So those who believe in scriptures, they adopt, not all. Just like I explained that mostly people, they simply accept a certain faith. Mouth, in mouth only. Actually, they do not do anything. Do not do anything. So out of that many, millions of people like that, somebody are religious, really religious, who perform this sacrifice, charity, and penances. So Lord Caitanya says, "Out of many millions of persons who are actually engaged in charity, and," I mean to say, "penance and sacrifice, some of them become in perfect knowledge what he is." So this knowledge is... Just see how He's making analytical study of the living entities. Beginning from eighty-eight, er, eight hundred, 8,400,000 species of life, He's selecting only few human civilized life; then addicted to the, I mean to say, certain kind of faith; then extracting them who are actually believing; and then those who are actually believing. Out of them, those who are sacrificing, making charities and adopting penances, out of many millions of like, persons like that, some of them are actually in knowledge what he is.
You'll find in your country also. There are many foundations. They are making charities. But hardly you'll find amongst them that he knows that what he is. So out of many millions of these religious persons, some of them know what he is, "I am not this body." In the present day most people claim to be devoted to some religion-Christian, Hindu, Moslem, Buddhist, etc.-but in fact they do not really believe in the scriptures. Those who do believe in the scriptures are, by and large, attached to pious philanthropic activities. They believe that religion means yajna (sacrifice), dana (charity) and tapas (penance). One who engages in tapasya undertakes voluntarily very rigid regulations, such as brahmacari students (celibates) or sannyasis (renounced order) undertake. Charity means voluntarily giving away one's material possessions. In the present age there is no sacrifice, but from historical literatures like the Mahabharata we get information that kings performed sacrifices by distributing rubies, gold and silver. Yajna was primarily for kings, and charity, on a much smaller scale, was meant for householders. Those who actually believed in scriptures usually adopted some of these principles. But generally in this age people simply say that they belong to a religion but in actuality do nothing. Out of millions of such people, a very small number actually perform charity, sacrifice and penance. Caitanya Mahaprabhu further points out that out of millions who perform such religious principles all over the universe, only a few attain perfect knowledge and understand what they are.
But we get information from such historical literature as Mahabharata. Mahabharata is called history in the Vedic literature. So kings were performing very big sacrifices. Millions of rupees, millions of valuables, gold and silver, they were distributed. Oh, that is not possible. That was being done by the kings. Kings used to collect tax from the citizens but at the same..., at the time when they performed sacrifice, they were distributed to all the citizens, all of them. So that process is not. Nowadays the state simply collects taxes but never distributes. So we have no idea what is yajna. But this yajna is the performance of kings or the heads of the state, and dana of the general householders, and tapasya for brahmacari, sannyasi, vanaprastha. So these are different kinds of rules in religious life.
So those who believe in scriptures, they adopt, not all. Just like I explained that mostly people, they simply accept a certain faith. Mouth, in mouth only. Actually, they do not do anything. Do not do anything. So out of that many, millions of people like that, somebody are religious, really religious, who perform this sacrifice, charity, and penances. So Lord Caitanya says, "Out of many millions of persons who are actually engaged in charity, and," I mean to say, "penance and sacrifice, some of them become in perfect knowledge what he is." So this knowledge is... Just see how He's making analytical study of the living entities. Beginning from eighty-eight, er, eight hundred, 8,400,000 species of life, He's selecting only few human civilized life; then addicted to the, I mean to say, certain kind of faith; then extracting them who are actually believing; and then those who are actually believing. Out of them, those who are sacrificing, making charities and adopting penances, out of many millions of like, persons like that, some of them are actually in knowledge what he is.
You'll find in your country also. There are many foundations. They are making charities. But hardly you'll find amongst them that he knows that what he is. So out of many millions of these religious persons, some of them know what he is, "I am not this body." In the present day most people claim to be devoted to some religion-Christian, Hindu, Moslem, Buddhist, etc.-but in fact they do not really believe in the scriptures. Those who do believe in the scriptures are, by and large, attached to pious philanthropic activities. They believe that religion means yajna (sacrifice), dana (charity) and tapas (penance). One who engages in tapasya undertakes voluntarily very rigid regulations, such as brahmacari students (celibates) or sannyasis (renounced order) undertake. Charity means voluntarily giving away one's material possessions. In the present age there is no sacrifice, but from historical literatures like the Mahabharata we get information that kings performed sacrifices by distributing rubies, gold and silver. Yajna was primarily for kings, and charity, on a much smaller scale, was meant for householders. Those who actually believed in scriptures usually adopted some of these principles. But generally in this age people simply say that they belong to a religion but in actuality do nothing. Out of millions of such people, a very small number actually perform charity, sacrifice and penance. Caitanya Mahaprabhu further points out that out of millions who perform such religious principles all over the universe, only a few attain perfect knowledge and understand what they are.
Now, simply theoretically knowing that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul," that is not perfect. You have to actually become liberated from the material entanglement. That is called mukti, liberation. So out of many thousands of persons who are in the knowledge what they are or what he is, some of them are actually liberated. Liberated. And out of many thousands of people who are liberated, they can understand what is Krsna. So Krsna understanding is not very easy job. But Krsna is so kind because He knows that in this age, in this age of Kali, it will be very difficult for persons to become liberated under the process-first to become civilized, then to become religious, then to perform this charity, sacrifices, then come to the platform of knowledge, then, after coming to the platform of knowledge, you come to the platform of liberation, and after being liberated, you can know what is Krsna. Just knowing "I am not this body but am spirit soul" is not sufficient. We have to escape this entanglement of material nature. This is called mukti, liberation. Out of many thousands of persons who are in self-knowledge as to what and who they are, only one or two may be actually liberated. And out of many thousands who are liberated, only one or two may understand what and who Krsna is. So understanding Krsna is not such an easy job. Thus in this age of Kali, an age characterized by ignorance and chaos, liberation is out of the reach of practically everyone. One has to go through the whole ordeal of becoming civilized, then religious, and then one has to perform charities and sacrifices and come to the platform of knowledge, then to the stage of liberation, and finally, after liberation, to the understanding of what Krsna is.
That is stated in Bhagavad-gita,
[....]
This is the sign of liberation. A man who is liberated, his signs are explained in the Bhagavad-gita, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannatma. His first symptom is that he's very happy. One who is liberated, his first symptom is that you'll never find him morose. He is happy. Prasannatma. Na socati na kahksati. He has no anxiety. "Oh, this thing I haven't got. I have to secure this thing. This bill I have to pay. Oh, this I have to do." So many anxieties. We are full of anxieties. So he has no anxieties. And then does it mean, because he has no anxieties, he is very rich man? No. Not necessarily. He has no anxiety. Then he has no lamentation. He does not think, "I am poor." Why he should think poor? Poor, when I think that "I am this material, some, I am a part of this material world, I haven't got this possession, material possession," then I think, "I am poor" or "rich." But one who is liberated from the material conception of life, then he has nothing to do, what he's possessing, what he's not possessing. He has nothing to do. That is liberation. If one is free from the material conception of life, then factually, either he possesses or not possesses, he has nothing to do with them. Therefore he's prasannatma, he's joyful: "Oh. I have nothing to lose, nothing to gain. I am completely separate from here." This is liberation.
And samaḥ sarvesu bhūtesu. And his vision of life is that he does not see anybody rich, poor, or fool, or educated, or so many dualities there are in the material world. He has nothing. His vision is completely on the spiritual platform. He sees that every living entity is a part and parcel of Krsna. Therefore he tries to take them back to Krsna consciousness. He has no distinction that "He is brahmana. He is sūdra. He is Indian. He's American," or "He's black. He's white," or "He's educated. He's noneducated." No. "Everyone should come to Krsna consciousness." That is his viewpoint. Samaḥ sarvesu bhūtesu. When one is qualified in that way, then mad-bhaktim labhate param [Bg. 18.54]. Lord Krsna says "Then he becomes eligible for becoming a pure devotee of Krsna." This process is also indicated in Bhagavad-gita:
[....]
This is the sign of liberation. A man who is liberated, his signs are explained in the Bhagavad-gita, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannatma. His first symptom is that he's very happy. One who is liberated, his first symptom is that you'll never find him morose. He is happy. Prasannatma. Na socati na kahksati. He has no anxiety. "Oh, this thing I haven't got. I have to secure this thing. This bill I have to pay. Oh, this I have to do." So many anxieties. We are full of anxieties. So he has no anxieties. And then does it mean, because he has no anxieties, he is very rich man? No. Not necessarily. He has no anxiety. Then he has no lamentation. He does not think, "I am poor." Why he should think poor? Poor, when I think that "I am this material, some, I am a part of this material world, I haven't got this possession, material possession," then I think, "I am poor" or "rich." But one who is liberated from the material conception of life, then he has nothing to do, what he's possessing, what he's not possessing. He has nothing to do. That is liberation. If one is free from the material conception of life, then factually, either he possesses or not possesses, he has nothing to do with them. Therefore he's prasannatma, he's joyful: "Oh. I have nothing to lose, nothing to gain. I am completely separate from here." This is liberation.
And samaḥ sarvesu bhūtesu. And his vision of life is that he does not see anybody rich, poor, or fool, or educated, or so many dualities there are in the material world. He has nothing. His vision is completely on the spiritual platform. He sees that every living entity is a part and parcel of Krsna. Therefore he tries to take them back to Krsna consciousness. He has no distinction that "He is brahmana. He is sūdra. He is Indian. He's American," or "He's black. He's white," or "He's educated. He's noneducated." No. "Everyone should come to Krsna consciousness." That is his viewpoint. Samaḥ sarvesu bhūtesu. When one is qualified in that way, then mad-bhaktim labhate param [Bg. 18.54]. Lord Krsna says "Then he becomes eligible for becoming a pure devotee of Krsna." This process is also indicated in Bhagavad-gita:
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannatma
na socati na kahksati
samaḥ sarvesu bhūtesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param
na socati na kahksati
samaḥ sarvesu bhūtesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param
"One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments or desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me." (Bg. 18.54)
These are the signs of liberation. The first symptom of one who is liberated is that he is very happy. It is not possible to find him morose. Nor does he have any anxiety. He never frets, "This thing I don't have. Oh, I must secure this thing. Oh, this bill I have to pay. I have to go here, there." One who is liberated has no anxieties at all. He may be the poorest man in the world, but he neither laments nor thinks that he is poor. Why should he think that he is poor? When we think that we are these material bodies and that we have possessions to go with them, then we think that we are poor or rich, but one who is liberated from the material conception of life has nothing to do with possessions or lack of possessions. "I have nothing to lose and nothing to gain," he thinks. "I am completely separate from all this." Nor does he see anyone else as rich or poor, educated or uneducated, beautiful or ugly, etc. He does not see any material dualities, for his vision is completely on the spiritual platform, and he sees that every living entity is part and parcel of Krsna. Thus seeing all entities in their true identity, he tries to take them back to Krsna consciousness. His viewpoint is that everyone-whether he be brahmana or sūdra, black or white, Hindu, Christian, or whatever-should come to Krsna consciousness. When one is situated in this way, then: mad-bhaktim labhate param-he becomes eligible for becoming a pure devotee of Krsna's.
So practically this process, under regulative principles, is not very easy, especially in this age. In this age, the description of the people are that prayena alpayusaḥ: "Their duration of life is very short." And prayenalpayusaḥ mandaḥ. Manda means very slow. Sleeping, out of twenty-four hours, sleeping twelve hours, and out of twelve hours, they're busy in earning money ten hours. Then two hours left. What he can do for spiritual understanding. There's no time. So mandaḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. And if somebody has got some intention to make spiritual progress, then there are so many pseudo-spiritual, I mean to say, societies. They're entrapped by some of them. So manda-matayaḥ, sumanda-matayaḥ, manda-bhagyaḥ: "And most of them are unfortunate, unfortunate." Most of them. If you count the population, take a statistic, they are so unfortunate that the primary principles of life-eating, sleeping, defending and mating-they haven't got sufficient arrangement. Oh. These are only primary principles. They are available even in animal life. But in this age even these primary principles... No one has got shelter, no one has arrangement for eating nicely, no one has got the mating or wife, and everyone is afraid of "When there will be war declared, and I'll have to go to the warfield?" This is the position.
Mandaḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhagyaḥ [Bhag. 1.1.10]. Unfortunate. And upadrutaḥ: "In spite of all this, he's always disturbed with diseases and so many other things." This is disturb. This is the position. Therefore Lord Krsna, He thought that if these people are allowed, if they have to come to the point of liberation under the regulative process, it is impossible. Practically speaking, this process is not very easy in this age of Kali. In Srimad-Bhagavatam a description is given of the people of this age. Their duration of life is said to be very short, they tend to be phlegmatic and slow and to sleep a great deal, and when they're not sleeping, they are busy earning money. At the most they only have two hours a day for spiritual activities, so what is the hope for spiritual understanding? It is also stated that even if one is anxious to make spiritual progress, there are many pseudo-spiritual societies to take advantage of him. People are also characterized in this age as being unfortunate. They have a great deal of difficulty meeting the primary demands of life-eating, defending, mating, and sleeping-necessities which are met even by the animals. Even if people are meeting these necessities in this age, they are always anxious about war, either defending themselves from aggressors or having to go to war themselves. In addition to this, there are always disturbing diseases and economic problems in Kali-yuga. Therefore Lord Sri Krsna considered that in this age it is impossible for people to come to the perfectional stage of liberation by following the prescribed rules and regulations.
Mandaḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhagyaḥ [Bhag. 1.1.10]. Unfortunate. And upadrutaḥ: "In spite of all this, he's always disturbed with diseases and so many other things." This is disturb. This is the position. Therefore Lord Krsna, He thought that if these people are allowed, if they have to come to the point of liberation under the regulative process, it is impossible. Practically speaking, this process is not very easy in this age of Kali. In Srimad-Bhagavatam a description is given of the people of this age. Their duration of life is said to be very short, they tend to be phlegmatic and slow and to sleep a great deal, and when they're not sleeping, they are busy earning money. At the most they only have two hours a day for spiritual activities, so what is the hope for spiritual understanding? It is also stated that even if one is anxious to make spiritual progress, there are many pseudo-spiritual societies to take advantage of him. People are also characterized in this age as being unfortunate. They have a great deal of difficulty meeting the primary demands of life-eating, defending, mating, and sleeping-necessities which are met even by the animals. Even if people are meeting these necessities in this age, they are always anxious about war, either defending themselves from aggressors or having to go to war themselves. In addition to this, there are always disturbing diseases and economic problems in Kali-yuga. Therefore Lord Sri Krsna considered that in this age it is impossible for people to come to the perfectional stage of liberation by following the prescribed rules and regulations.
So out of His causeless mercy, He came as Lord Caitanya, Lord Caitanya, and distributed this highest perfection of life, ecstasy, spiritual ecstasy, by chanting this Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. This is practical. This is practical. It does not depend whether you are now liberated or non-liberated, what is your position, what is your condition. Doesn't matter. Just come and take part in it, and you'll feel spiritual ecstasy. Therefore it is called raja-vidya raja-guhyam pavitram [Bg. 9.2]. Pavitram: "It is very pure." Anyone who takes to this process, he becomes immediately purified. Or the purification process begins immediately. Immediately. Pavitram.
And uttamam. Uttamam means the highest, or transcendental. Last day we have already explained uttamam. So the commentator, he says, aprarabdha
aprarabdha-phalam papam
kūtam bijam phalonmukham
kramenaiva praliyante
visnu-bhakti-ratatmana
[Padma Purana]
Visnu-bhakti-ratatmana. That means one who is in this Krsna consciousness, then the, eh, gradually his the seed of all reaction of his sins, that becomes vanquished. Just like in the Bhagavad-gita, we have studied. Just like in the fire, if you put anything... You go on putting everything. It makes into, turns it into ashes. Similarly, this fire of Krsna consciousness, as soon as it is begun, then all our reactions of sinful activities in our past life... Thus out of His causeless mercy, Sri Krsna came as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and distributed the means to the highest perfection of life and spiritual ecstasy by the chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This process of chanting is most practical, and it does not depend on whether one is liberated or not, or whether one's condition is conducive to spiritual life or not-whoever takes to this process becomes immediately purified. Therefore it is called pavitram (pure). Furthermore, for one who takes to this Krsna consciousness process, the seeds of latent reactions to his sinful actions are all nullified. Just as a fire turns whatever we put into it to ashes, this process turns to ashes all the sinful reactions of our past lives.
And uttamam. Uttamam means the highest, or transcendental. Last day we have already explained uttamam. So the commentator, he says, aprarabdha
aprarabdha-phalam papam
kūtam bijam phalonmukham
kramenaiva praliyante
visnu-bhakti-ratatmana
[Padma Purana]
Visnu-bhakti-ratatmana. That means one who is in this Krsna consciousness, then the, eh, gradually his the seed of all reaction of his sins, that becomes vanquished. Just like in the Bhagavad-gita, we have studied. Just like in the fire, if you put anything... You go on putting everything. It makes into, turns it into ashes. Similarly, this fire of Krsna consciousness, as soon as it is begun, then all our reactions of sinful activities in our past life... Thus out of His causeless mercy, Sri Krsna came as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and distributed the means to the highest perfection of life and spiritual ecstasy by the chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This process of chanting is most practical, and it does not depend on whether one is liberated or not, or whether one's condition is conducive to spiritual life or not-whoever takes to this process becomes immediately purified. Therefore it is called pavitram (pure). Furthermore, for one who takes to this Krsna consciousness process, the seeds of latent reactions to his sinful actions are all nullified. Just as a fire turns whatever we put into it to ashes, this process turns to ashes all the sinful reactions of our past lives.
Our suffering is due to sinful activities. And sinful activities are due to our ignorance. Ignorance. Sinful activities are done by persons who do not know what is what. Just like a child. A child does not know what is the result of catching fire. Because he is ignorant. But as soon as the child catches fire, his hand becomes burned immediately. The fire does not allow any concession for the child. It will act as fire. Similarly, we do not know how this material world is going on, what are the laws, who is the controller, how it is being controlled. Due to our ignorance, we act in some way, but nature is so stringent that it will never excuse you, either you do it knowingly or unknowingly. Just the same example: the child does not know that the fire will burn, but if the child catches the fire, the fire will not excuse because it is child. Therefore ignorance is the cause of suffering.
And one should be put into proper knowledge. Proper knowledge means to know things as they are: "What I am, what is this world, what is God, what is our relation." These things we should know, not that simply becoming a technical expert or some departmental expert, we become a man of knowledge. That is not knowledge. Here is knowledge. You should know what you are and how you act. And this knowledge can be achieved in this human form of life, not in the animal form of life. Therefore, to give you knowledge, to give you proper direction, there are so many scriptures in all parts of the civilized world. They should not be neglected. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, krsna bhuliya jiva, er,
anadi bahir-mukha jiva krsna bhuli' gela
ataeva krsna veda-purana karila[?]
[Madhya 20.117]
The meaning of this stanza is that people are forgetful since time immemorial about his relationship with the Supreme Lord. Forgetful. Bhuli' gela. Bhuli' gela means he has forgotten. Ataeva krsna veda-purana karila. Therefore Lord has sent so many representatives to give them these literatures, these scriptures.
So we should take advantage of these scriptures, especially the Bhagavad-gita, which is accepted as the prime scripture in the modern world, and you'll find everything nicely. We must understand that our suffering is due to our sinful activity, and sinful activity is due to our ignorance. Sins, or transgressions, are committed by those who do not know what is what. A child, for instance, will naively put his hand in a fire because of ignorance. He is thus burned immediately, for the fire is impartial and does not allow any special consideration for the innocent child. It will simply act as fire. Similarly, we do not know how this material world is functioning, who its controller is, nor how it is controlled, and due to our ignorance we act in foolish ways, but nature is so stringent that she does not allow us to escape the reactions to our actions. Whether we commit an act knowingly or unknowingly, the reactions and consequent sufferings are there. However, through knowledge we can understand what the actual situation is, who God is, and what our relationship with Him is.
And one should be put into proper knowledge. Proper knowledge means to know things as they are: "What I am, what is this world, what is God, what is our relation." These things we should know, not that simply becoming a technical expert or some departmental expert, we become a man of knowledge. That is not knowledge. Here is knowledge. You should know what you are and how you act. And this knowledge can be achieved in this human form of life, not in the animal form of life. Therefore, to give you knowledge, to give you proper direction, there are so many scriptures in all parts of the civilized world. They should not be neglected. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, krsna bhuliya jiva, er,
anadi bahir-mukha jiva krsna bhuli' gela
ataeva krsna veda-purana karila[?]
[Madhya 20.117]
The meaning of this stanza is that people are forgetful since time immemorial about his relationship with the Supreme Lord. Forgetful. Bhuli' gela. Bhuli' gela means he has forgotten. Ataeva krsna veda-purana karila. Therefore Lord has sent so many representatives to give them these literatures, these scriptures.
So we should take advantage of these scriptures, especially the Bhagavad-gita, which is accepted as the prime scripture in the modern world, and you'll find everything nicely. We must understand that our suffering is due to our sinful activity, and sinful activity is due to our ignorance. Sins, or transgressions, are committed by those who do not know what is what. A child, for instance, will naively put his hand in a fire because of ignorance. He is thus burned immediately, for the fire is impartial and does not allow any special consideration for the innocent child. It will simply act as fire. Similarly, we do not know how this material world is functioning, who its controller is, nor how it is controlled, and due to our ignorance we act in foolish ways, but nature is so stringent that she does not allow us to escape the reactions to our actions. Whether we commit an act knowingly or unknowingly, the reactions and consequent sufferings are there. However, through knowledge we can understand what the actual situation is, who God is, and what our relationship with Him is.
This knowledge by which we can gain release from suffering is possible in the human form of life, not in the animal form. To give us knowledge, to give us proper direction, there are scriptures written in various languages in all parts of the world. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu pointed out that people are forgetful from time immemorial about their relationship with the Supreme Lord; therefore Krsna has sent so many representatives to impart the scriptures to man. We should take advantage of these, especially of Bhagavad-gita, which is the prime scripture for the modern world.
|
Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/rv/1
|