Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.1 – July 6, 1972, London

720706SB-LONDON [27:24 Minutes]

Prabhupada: Come on. Hmm. What is that?

Devotee: The Sanskrit. It's the Sanskrit.

Prabhupada: Bhagavata? So from the very beginning, om namo bhagavate, janmady asya yataḥ.

Devotee: Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. [Prabhupada and devotees repeat]

Prabhupada: Janmady asya.

Devotee: [begins leading chanting of verse]

Prabhupada: [interrupts and leads chanting one word at a time]

Like that.

Devotee: [indistinct] line?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Devotee:

Prabhupada: No, first of all let them practice.

[again chants whole verse one word at a time]

Read like that.

Devotee: [chants whole verse one word at a time with devotees and Prabhupada repeating]

Prabhupada: Again.

[devotee repeats verse]

Next, you.

[another devotee recites verse]

Hmm. Kirtanananda Maharaja. Janmady.

[Kirtanananda recites, Prabhupada interrupts]

This, this word abhijnaḥ or abhijnaḥ, both ways you can pronounce. So it is easier for you, as it is spelling abhijnaḥ, or abhijnaḥ, as you like. Yes.

[Kirtanananda continues]

Thank you. Visnujana Maharaja.

[Visnujana recites, Prabhupada corrects pronunciation]

Karandhara Prabhu.

[Karandhara recites]

You.

[another devotee recites]

Any more? Anyone else? Hmm.

[Prabhupada sings verse twice, one line at a time]

[14:22]

So if you chant these mantras, at least one in one day, your life will be glorious. These mantra, bhagavata-mantra... Not only Bhagavata; every Vedic literature is a mantra, transcendental sound. So practice resounding this mantra. So we have taken so much labor to put in diacritic mark, all the words, word meaning.

Utilize it. Don't think that these books are only for sale. If you go to sell these books and if some customer says, "You pronounce it," then what you will do? Then he will understand, "Oh, you are for selling, not for understanding." What do you think? Eh?

So therefore it is necessary now, you have got nice books, each and every sloka, verse, should be pronounced. Therefore we have given this original verse in Sanskrit, its transliteration with diacritic mark-these marks are universally accepted amongst the scholars. So all the scholars of Sanskrit, they agreed to use this mark for pronouncing Sanskrit language.

Sanskrit language is very important, honored all over the world. Especially in Germany, they are very much fond of this Sanskrit. There are many German scholar who can speak in Sanskrit language for hours, they are so serious student of Sanskrit. One of my Godbrother, he is now in Sweden, he used to speak that "When one Indian student used to come to our country from London..."

In British days Indians would go to London, and he would take a degree there, and he would become a big man. That was the system. So while coming back home, naturally they used to visit other European countries. So in Germany they used to test the Indian student, how far he knew about his own culture. So this my Godbrother, his name was Ansulye[?], now he's Sadananda Swami, so he said that as soon as we saw that the student did not know anything of his Indian culture, immediately rejected him, "That is useless."

So if, those who are Indians, especially present in this meeting, that if you want to glorify your country, then you present this Vedic literature. You cannot excel the Western countries by so-called technological knowledge. That is not possible. They are far advanced, hundred years advanced. Whatever machine you may discover, that machine was discovered one hundred years ago in Western countries. So you cannot. Anything. So if you want, Indians, to glorify your country, then present this Vedic culture heart and soul, and... Just like I am trying to do it.

So how people are accepting it? There is substance. Before me, so many svamis came in this country; they could not present the real thing. They wanted some money and went away. That's all. Our this Krsna consciousness movement is not that. We want to give something to the Western countries. That is our purpose. Not we have come to beg; we have to give him something. That is my mission. They come here to beg, "Give me rice," "Give me dal," "Give me wheat," "Give me money," but I have come here to give something of Indian culture. That is the difference.

So you European, American students, you take full advantage of this Vedic culture. I am therefore so much laboring hard that we..., before my leaving this body, I may give you some books who you can enjoy after my death. So utilize it. Utilize it. Read every sloka nicely, try to understand the meaning, discuss amongst yourself. Nityam bhagavata-sevaya. That is our mission. Nasta-prayesv abhadresu nityam bhagavata-sevaya [SB 1.2.18]. Abhadra. We have got so many dirty things within our heart. So these dirty things can be cleansed simply by Krsna consciousness. There is no other method.

This is the process. Srnvatam sva-kathaḥ krsna. Krsna is within your heart. Krsna is trying to help you from within and from without. From without, He is presenting His form in this temple. You can take the advantage of serving Him. He is sending His representative, spiritual master, to speak you directly about Krsna, and He is ready to help you from within as Paramatma. Krsna is so kind. He wants that you are all suffering in this material existence, Krsna comes as He is, and He canvasses, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg 18.66].

So bhagavata-sevaya, nityam bhagavata-sevaya [SB 1.2.18], cleansing the heart. Ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc Antya 20.12]. This is the process. We are part and parcel of God, Krsna, so we are pure. We have become impure on account of material contamination. So we have to purify ourself, and the process is to hear about Krsna. That's all.

This temple, these ISKCON centers, are opened just to give everyone the chance of hearing about Krsna so that his dirty heart may be cleansed. This is the purpose. We have no other purpose. We are not opening these centers for some material benefit. No. We want to give to the whole world the spiritual enlightenment, without which they are suffering. And this human form of body is especially meant for this purpose, to understand our spiritual position.

Janmady asya yataḥ, that is the first Vedanta-sūtra. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the natural commentary on Vedanta-sūtra. Vedanta-sūtra philosophy was expounded by Vyasadeva, mahamuni. And thinking that in future so many fools and rascals will misuse the Vedanta-sūtra as so-called Vedantists, and send all people to hell, therefore he personally wrote this commentary on Vedanta-sūtra, the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Bhasyam brahma-sūtranam vedartha paribhrmhitaḥ. This is bhasya. Bhasya means commentary. Therefore he begins from the first aphorism of Vedanta-sūtra, janmady asya yataḥ, athato brahma-jijnasa, jivasya tattva-jijnasa [SB 1.2.10]. Jivasya tattva-jijnasa. Jiva, those who are conditioned souls, their only business is to enquire about self-realization.

The piling of woods and stone is not advanced civilization. My Guru Maharaja used to say, kath pathare mistri. If you are simply engaged how to have a skyscraper building, then we become craftsmen only, how to handle woods and stones. That's all; so much success. But what we'll do with this woods and stones? You are spirit soul.

Woods and stone will not give you any pleasure. That is not possible. You are not wood and stone, you are spirit soul; you must have spiritual food. Therefore in America especially, despite all material opulences there, you are becoming confused and frustrated and disappointed. Because woods and stone will not satisfy you. You must have spiritual food. That is Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. [end]