Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.48 – January 31, 1971, Prayāga

I live there where My pure devotees chant

Devotee: [introducing recording] Thirty-first January, 1971, Prayaga.

Prabhupada: [sings Sri Sri Saḍ-gosvamy-astaka with devotees responding]

[break] The conclusion is:

That one who is engaged in chanting the holy name, for him this is the special facility. What is that? It is guaranteed that he'll never go to the hellish condition of life. That is guaranteed. He's not degrading to the lowest stage of life, in animal life, or a life of ignorance, lower-born of human life, but he will gradually make progress. And it is also guaranteed that the Yamadūta, the servants of Yamaraja, will never come to see him or he will never see them. They will be out of sight. This is the result.

And, yajnati ananyalo mattaḥ: although this material existence is always inauspicious, a person who is engaged in chanting the holy name, he is always living in the Visnu-loka. He's not living in this material world. That we have several times explained, that if you chant without offense, yatra ananyalo mad-bhakta tatra tisthami, so immediately you create a Vaikuntha-loka, because Krsna is coming. When Krsna is coming, Visnu is coming; wherever Krsna goes, that is Vaikuntha. Just like it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, isvaraḥ sarva-bhūtanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg 18.61].

So Krsna, or the Supreme Lord, is living everyone's hearts. So there are cats, dogs and hogs-they are also living beings, living entities-so Krsna is living in their heart also. But that does not mean He is living with the hog in the abominable condition. He has His own Vaikuntha. Wherever He goes is Vaikuntha. Similarly, when one chants, that chanting… There is no difference between the holy name and Krsna. And Krsna says that "I live there where My pure devotees chant." So when Krsna comes, when Krsna is on your tongue, how you can live in this material world? It is already Vaikuntha, provided your chanting is offenseless.

Anyway, in the beginning it may not be offenseless; still, the chanting has got so much power. Krsna-karsini. Krsna-karsini. There are several qualification of devotional service; one of them is krsna-karsini-attracting Krsna. Krsna attracts everyone, but devotional service attracts Krsna.

This is the last conclusion, that Ajamila actually did not mean to chant the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but some way or other his son's name was Narayana, he called his son. The name is so powerful that even without aiming or objecting to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because the name was there, therefore ajamilo 'py agad dhamam: he was promoted to the spiritual kingdom. Kim uta sraddhaya grnan: then what to speak of such persons who are actually trying to chant the holy name without any offense.

This is the conclusion, that Ajamila never meant that he was going to chant the name of Narayana actually, but he was calling his son, whose name was Narayana. That means it was almost neglectfully done. So even by neglectfully doing or chanting, the holy name has got so much power, and what to speak of others who are very faithfully and, hmm, observing the rules and regulation without any offense, those who are chanting-what to speak of them? That is the thing.

Similar instance is there in the Nrsimha Purana: one mleccha, yavana…, from it appears the mleccha-yavana was at that time also, because the mleccha-yavana is Muslims; they hate the animal hog. They call it hara. Hara means "abominable." So one boar attacked him, and while he was dying he called this abominable "haram, haram," that simply ha-ram means "O Rama." So although he did not mean it, but it became "O Rama," and he was immediately promoted to the spiritual kingdom. So that is the power of chanting Hare Krsna mantra. Iti srimad-bhagavate maha purane paramahamsa sangita [indistinct] ajamilam vakhyana

So this is the second chapter of the history of Ajamila's activities. Now we are going to the third chapter: rajovaca. Then after hearing this incident, Maharaja Pariksit is inquiring from Sukadeva Gosvami, because the talk was between Sukadeva Gosvami and Maharaja Pariksit. Pariksit inquired about the different types of hellish condition of life and how they could be avoided. So in question…, in answer to that question, this Ajamila itihasa, history, was spoken. Now again the king was inquiring. Rajovaca-the king inquired:

Visnudutta [indistinct] yama mukhena grhetam tritiyadyaya arambhamtatra jagatam yamarajam yatra sarvam asasukham iti pratap kim tatra grksati naisamyati [?]. So the conversation between the servants of the Yamaraja and the servants of Visnu, in order to confirm the statement by the authority, Yamaraja, this third chapter is enunciated.

Yamaraja is one of the twelve authorities. It is said that we have to follow the footsteps of authorities-mahajano yena gataḥ sa panthaḥ . It is very difficult to find out the real path how to realize perfection of life, but it is advised that if you simply follow the footsteps of the great personalities, authorities, or their representatives, then you will be led to the perfectional stage. Mahajana.

Tarko 'pratisthaḥ : if you try to approach the perfectional stage of spiritual life, you cannot do it simply by arguing, tarko 'pratisthaḥ. You can argue very nice, but somebody may come who can argue better than you. Another may come better than you. So there is no end of arguing.

This is not the process to understand the transcendental subject. There is no profit. The Vedas says, therefore, you should approach an authority, tad vijnartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [Munḍaka Upanisad 1.2.12]. If you are actually serious about understanding the transcendental knowledge, then you must approach an authority, representative of the authority. So, tarko 'pratisthaḥsrutayo vibhinna.

Mr. Trivedi, he inquired that "Why not the Upanisads?" He has no knowledge that Upanisads are different from Bhagavad-gita. They're not different. The Upanisads, they're a part and parcel of the Vedas, and in the Upanisads also the aim is Krsna. But they are meant for the impersonalist and all less…, poor..., persons with poor fund of knowledge. So in the Upanisads it is stated aiming at the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but it is trying to convince the reader that the personality of God is not exactly the personality as we are.

This portion is very elaborately stated in the Upanisad. But in the beginning it is accepted that Īsa, or the Supreme Lord, He is the proprietor of everything. He's everywhere. He's everywhere pervading: isavasyam idam sarvam. Everywhere there is the authority of Īsa, the supreme controller.

Because everything is property of the supreme controller, isa, therefore tena tyaktena bhunjitha. You require something to keep up your body and soul together. You should accept the prasadam, whatever is offered and allotted to you by Him. Don't encroach upon others' property. This is the first instruction, accepting the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And in the last verse of Īsopanisad it is said, "My dear Lord, Your effulgence may be wound up so that I can see You properly, I can offer my respects, I can see Your real face."

So the impersonalists, they are amazed with the glaring effulgence of the rays emanating from the transcendental body of Krsna. But those who are intelligent, they say that "Please wind up this effulgence. Because of this effulgence I cannot see You properly."

Just like to see the sun glow, sometimes you have to use a certain class of glass to avoid the effulgence. If you see through that glass, you can properly see. It is…, this class of glass is used. I do not know whether it is used in your country, but when there is eclipse in the sun we use such kind of glass to see how much the sun is already covered by the eclipse.

So this impersonalist, they are, I mean to say, amazed simply by this glaring effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So they think that Upanisad is impersonal. No. Upanisad [is not] impersonal. It is… Just like Vedanta. The impersonalist explain in that way, in their own way. Otherwise it is not impersonal. Similarly, Upanisads also, not impersonal. But it is not this material process. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature.

Just like Krsna says Himself, avajananti mam mūḍha manusim tanum asritam [Bg 9.11]: "Because I have appeared on this planet exactly like a human being, these mūḍhas, these rascals, those who cannot understand what is the Personality of Godhead, they deride." They think because Krsna is a person, therefore He is inferior to Brahman effulgence. Their theory is the Brahman is the ultimate: impersonal Brahman is the ultimate Absolute Truth, but when Brahman comes as incarnation, He accepts a material body.

Therefore Dr. Radhakrishnan says that it is not to the person Krsna but to the unborn within Krsna. He's ignorant of the fact that Krsna does not accept any material body. He comes as He is. Sambhavamy atma-mayaya [Bg 4.6].

He is not forced to accept. We living entities, we are forced to accept a certain kind of body, because we are controlled by the devi maya, by the external energy. Krsna is not controlled by the external energy; the external energy is controlled by Krsna. Krsna is mayabhiḥ and we are [indistinct]. That is the difference.

But these people with poor fund of knowledge, without going…, without trying to understand the transcendental science through proper channel, they mistake that Krsna accepts a material body or Lord Ramacandra accepts a material body. No. That is not the fact. They do not know that Krsna and Krsna's body is not different. They are the same: adjneya[?].

So here it is enquired, nisamya devaḥ sva. So the question, Yamaraja… Whatever has been said here, this is to be confirmed by the mahajana, the authority. Whatever you do, if it is sanctioned by the authority, then it is all right. So Yamaraja is one of the authorities, so we are explaining, tarko 'pratisthaḥsrutayo vibhinna.

Srutayo vibhinna means those who are not actually conversant to the Vedic knowledge, they think that Upanisad is different and Bhagavad-gita is different. But actually that is not. All Upanisads, all Vedas, they are aiming on the target: Krsna. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg 15.15].

But they are…, it appears there is difference; Upanisad is different. That is not the fact. Srutayo vibhinna . Therefore there are sometimes misled. They think this Upanisad states something else, and Bhagavad-gita states something else. No. There is… Because it is not studied through the eyes of the authority, it appears like that. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg 15.15]. So srutayo vibhinna, for persons with poor fund of knowledge. Srutayo vibhinna.

Nasav rsir yasya matam na bhinnam : and a philosopher, a thoughtful man, he is not a thoughtful man if he does not disagree with another thoughtful man. This is the material world. Scientist also. One scientist establishes one theory; another scientist, if he can refute such theory, then he becomes big. Similarly, philosophers also.

One philosopher theorizes something; another philosopher, if he can refute such theories, then he becomes [indistinct]. Nasav muni yasya. A muni and a thoughtful philosopher… The idea is you cannot get the truth from the so-called philosophers and the scientists, because they always disagree. Nasav muni yasya matam na.

Therefore the truth is very confidential, dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam [Cc Madhya 17.186]. Very confidential. Mahajano yena gataḥ sa panthaḥ. You have to follow the track or footsteps of great authorities. And the great authorities will be stated later on in this chapter, who are the great authorities. And if you simply follow their path…

Just like we are following authorities, Madhva-Gauḍiya-sampradaya. Madhvacarya. And Madhvacarya, in the line of disciplic succession, Madhvacarya was from Vyasadeva; and from Madhvacarya, Madhavendra Puri-not directly; through many other disciplic succession. And Madhavendra Puri, Īsvara Puri; Īsvara Puri, Caitanya Mahaprabhu; Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the six Gosvamis. The six Gosvamis, Narottama dasa Thakura says,

Without following the Gosvamis, who are expert, directly instructed by Lord Caitanya, nobody can understand what is radha-krsna-lila. It is not possible. Persons who try to understand radha-krsna-lila directly, because it appears the dealings of young man and woman, they like it very much. Instead of studying other pastimes of the Lord, they go directly to the radha-krsna-lila, and the result is they're misled, and they become sahajiya.

So we have to approach Radha-Krsna through the teachings of Lord Caitanya, through the teachings of six Gosvamis-then it will be perfect knowledge. Mahajano yena gataḥ sa panthaḥ [Cc Madhya 17.186].

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. [devotees offer obeisances] [end]