Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.7.29–31 [Partial Recording] – March 15, 1967, San Francisco

Here Is A Personality to Whom I Can Bow My Head

Prabhupada: [chants mahgalacarana prayers]

So in last day meeting we have discussed that we have to crush the seed of this material existence. Bija-nirharanam yogaḥ. Bija. So long the seed is there, we may practice something for spiritual realization, meditation, or the gymnastic yoga-or there are so many other things-but the seed is there. We may be forgetful of our existence, nirvana, void, or hallucination.

But because the bija, the seed, is there, as soon as the effect of such imperfect method is finished, again you come to that. Again. This is the bija. The same example, just like weeds in the field: They appeared completely dried up; there is no more. But as soon as there are drops of rain, oh, again it becomes green-because the seed is there.

So if you want to wipe out the seed of this material existence, then Prahlada Maharaja recommends that tatropaya-sahasranam [SB 7.7.29]. There are maybe..., there may be many hundreds and thousands of process for wipe out...., not wipe out; just to bring you to some transcendental position, forgetfulness of your material existence.

There may be. But Prahlada Maharaja says that sahasranam ayam bhagavatoditaḥ. The method of Krsna consciousness described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, yad isvare bhagavati yatha yair anjasa ratiḥ [SB 7.7.29], this can give you the wiping-out method. If you come to Krsna consciousness, then the seed of material existence will be completely stopped. Because there will be no... It is very practical. What is this Krsna consciousness? We are described several times that anukūlyena krsnanu-silanam [Cc Madhya 19.167].

[feedback noise] [aside:] Why this sound?

Anukūlyena krsnanu-silanam. You have to serve Krsna favorably. That's all. And in another passage we find that hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate [Cc Madhya 19.170]. Krsna consciousness means that this, I mean to say, our senses, at the present moment, they are engaged in material activities. So you have to change the rubber stamp simply. You have to act. Not that by Krsna consciousness you will be a dull stone. No. The activity will be there.

Therefore sometimes we are misunderstood, that "What sort of Krsna consciousness is there? They are also eating. They are also typewriting. They are also going to office. They are also working. And everything is there. They are looking after printing press. And so many things, everything. What is this Krsna?" Because it is simply being done on account of Krsna.

The consciousness is the same. Your consciousness, my consciousness is the same. If you apply to certain objective, that is called "that-consciousness." Similarly, if you apply your consciousness simply for Krsna, anukūlyena krsnanu-silanam [Cc Madhya 19.167], just favorably, I mean, engage your senses for the purpose of Krsna. As Krsna advises in the Bhagavad-gita, yudhyasva mam anusmara [Bg 8.7]: "You fight. At the same time, think of Me." That is the prescription.

So Arjuna, he was a fighter. In the beginning, he was a fighter. At the end he remained a fighter. He did not change his position. After hearing Bhagavad-gita, he did not change his position-he was a fighter, and he become a mendicant, or he become a svami. No. He did not become a svami. He remained as fighter, but the account was changed. Rubber stamp was changed. That's all.

He was considering fighting from his own standard point of view. He was thinking, "Oh, how can I fight with my grandfather? How can I fight with my teacher? How can I..." So he was thinking on his personal account. But when Krsna informed him, instructed him, Bhagavad-gita, that "Your business is to fight for Me," and he changed his decision.

This is Krsna consciousness. You have to change your position only. That's all. This is Bhagavata. This is... If you practice acting only for Krsna, then that seed of your material existence will be wiped completely. So that is bija-nirharanam, wiping out the seed altogether.

Now he's prescribing what is Krsna consciousness, how to practice it. The practice is, the first thing is, Prahlada Maharaja recommends guru-susrūsaya. Guru-susrūsaya. Guru-susrūsaya. means that you have to first of all select a spiritual master. Without a teacher, without guidance, nobody can make any process.

Even if you have passed M.A., and if you want to put some thesis and if you want to get yourself doctorate degree, then it is the system that the thesis should be guided by three expert Ph.D.'s. This is the system. So similarly, if you want to be purely Krsna conscious person, then you must select a person who can give you instruction, who can guide you in the matter of Krsna consciousness. So Bhagavad-gita also teaches us the same thing: tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya [Bg 4.34].

If you want to understand that transcendental science, then you have to understand from an expert, upadeksyanti tad jnanam. The expert who is in..., expert in that knowledge, he will instruct you, upadeksyanti tad jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinaḥ. One who has actually realized, he will teach you.

Therefore you have to go [to] such a person. And in the Kathopanisad, Vedas, it is also stated, the same thing: tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet [Munḍaka Upanisad 1.2.12].

If you want to learn that science, the transcendental science, then you have to approach a bona fide spiritual master. Who is bona fide spiritual master? That is also mentioned: samit-paniḥ srotriyam brahma-nistham. That spiritual master, there are two signs. What is that? Srotriyam. Srotriyam means he's coming in disciplic succession by hearing process. This is very important.

One has to hear from the superior, not to manufacture. One must hear. Because the subject matter is transcendental, beyond our senses. Simply the same example: if you want to know something about India, and because I have come from India, you can ask me, "What is the Indian condition?" I can present perfectly. But you cannot imagine. Or you have to read some books of India. So this is the process of knowledge. So in the Bhagavad-gita also it is stated, evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduḥ [Bg 4.2].

That parampara, by disciplic succession. So guru means srotriyam, who has heard nicely, perfectly, from his spiritual master. And his spiritual master must have heard from his spiritual master. And in this way, you go on, ultimately, Krsna becomes the spiritual master. Just like Krsna instructed Arjuna. And if you follow the principles of Arjuna, as he heard, as he understood, then you also hear from Krsna.

What did he do, Krsna, uh, Arjuna, after hearing Bhagavad-gita? He said, "O my dear Krsna," nasto mohaḥ, "my illusion is over," tvat-prasadat, "by Your kindness." That means, "You have so kindly instructed me. Now my illusion is over." Then? What you are going to do? Your illusion is over? Ah, karisye tad vacanam: "Oh, I shall act as You are advising me." That means, "I shall fight. I shall fight."

So evam param... Arjuna understood Krsna in this way... That is a fact. You'll find in the Bhagavad-gita. Now, if you follow the principle or the footprints of Arjuna... Arjuna understood Bhagavad-gita in this way... Now, if you follow the principles of Arjuna, then you understand Bhagavad-gita. It is not very difficult.

That is stated, how, what, what Arjuna understood. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita in the Tenth Chapter: param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg 10.12]. He accepted that "You are Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nobody knows about Your personality." These things are described there. So you haven't got to labor very hard. If you simply follow mahajano yena gataḥ sa panthaḥ [Cc Madhya 17.186]

If you follow the footprints of great personalities like Arjuna, like Narada, like Brahma, like Sahkaracarya, like Ramanujacarya, oh, they are there. Their precepts and their injunction is there. But you have to select a person, a bona fide spiritual master. You have to see that whether he's actually in that disciplic succession. And how you can test it? You'll test it that a bona fide spiritual master will instruct you the same thing as Krsna instructed. How it is that? That Krsna said that sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg 18.66]:

"You give up all engagements and you just surrender unto Me." The spiritual master will say the same thing, that "You surrender to Krsna." He'll not say, "Not to Krsna, but to something else, nonsense." He's not a spiritual master. Just try to understand. This is parampara system.

There will be no diff... between the instruction of Krsna and the spiritual master. The same thing. Krsna said that "You surrender unto Me," and spiritual master will say, "You surrender unto Krsna." Not that "Not to Krsna, but to me." Just... This is the point.

Therefore a bona fide spiritual master means there is no difference of instruction from the original instructor and down to this point. He's bona fide spiritual master. So therefore you have to select. If you actually want to make progress in Krsna consciousness, then you have to select.

It requires some labor, or it requires some intelligence. That's all. It is not very difficult. They are..., there are still in this world direct disciplic succession. But you have got..., you must have got some intelligence. Then you can understand.

So Prahlada Maharaja said, tatra, uh, guru-susrūsaya. So you have to begin your spiritual..., your Krsna consciousness by accepting a bona fide spiritual master in the disciplic succession. And your first business will be guru-susrūsa. Susrūsa means to please the Supreme-this is spiritual master-by service, sevaya. In the Bhagavad-gita also it is said, tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya [Bg 4.34].

If you want to learn that transcendental science, then you have to adopt three process in the beginning. You have to select one, a bona fide spiritual master. Then you have to surrender. The same surrender process. You have to select such a spiritual master that you can surrender there.

If you think, "Oh, this, this svamiji, or the spiritual master, is less intelligent than me or less educated than me or less in so many ways," then you cannot select a spiritual master. You have to select another person where you will find that "Here is a mind, here is man where I can surrender. Yes, he is greater than me in so many respects. Therefore I can surrender."

This is called pranipat. So selection of spiritual master means first of all you must agree that "Here is a personality where I can bow down my head. Yes." Everyone is proud. Why shall he bow down before a person unless he understands that "Here is a personality who is greater than me"?

So this is the first condition, pranipat. Pranipat means prakrsta-rūpena nipat. You have to become blank slate: "Now, sir, whatever I have learned, oh, I forget. It is now blank slate. Now you write whatever you like." This is the first condition. Pranipatena, and sevaya.

Sevaya means service. So because the service is wanting, so one has to serve the spiritual master. It is indicated that even if you are the greatest personality, you have to approach and serve the spiritual master just like ordinary menial servant. Menial servant. If the spiritual master says, "My dear boy, you just cleanse my shoes," or any, I mean to say, abominable..., oh, he'll be ready.

This is called sevaya. And pranipatena, sevaya. Pranipatena..., pariprasnena and sevaya. Pariprasna means when you cannot understand, you must place, "Sir, I cannot understand this portion." This is the process.

So this is called susrūsa. Prahlada Maharaja says, guru-susrūsaya bhaktya. And with devotion, with love and faith, not officially, "Because I have kept a pet spiritual master, so officially I have to..." No. With faith and devotion. And sarva-labdharpanena ca. The brahmacari system means that he should live with the spiritual master and collect fund.

Of course, in India still, the system is there that in the four kinds of social orders: the brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa... There are four divisions in the social order. First the righteous, pious students-students with purified life and a spiritual education. That is called brahmacari. Then grhastha, family life, living with wife and children. Then vanaprastha, retired life. Then sannyasa, renounced life.

So these grhasthas are meant for maintaining three other asramas. A grhastha, a householder, because he's given the license for sense enjoyment, therefore he has to compensate his sensual gratification by giving charities to other three asramas: brahmacari, vanaprastha and sannyasa. So the system is any brahmacari or any sannyasi goes to a householder, "Mother, give me some alms. I am brahmacari," [s]he will at once give this. At once give. So this is the system.

So... So brahmacari, brahmacari's business is that he will collect, he'll earn everything, but it is for his spiritual master. Everything given. "Sir, I have given you." He doesn't possess anything. This is brahmacari.

Even there is injunction that even if the spiritual master forgets to call the brahmacari, "My dear boy, come and take prasadam"-oh, he'll not touch by his own accord. Because Guru Maharaja has forgotten to call him, oh, he'll fast on that day. There are so many restriction, of course, in the Vedic scripture.

So brahmacari means that he has no personal profit. And do you mean to say that the spiritual master will take from the brahmacari everything and he will, I mean to say, grab the whole thing for his personal sense enjoyment? No. He, whatever he receives, he offers to Krsna-for Krsna. So therefore Krsna..., offering is to Krsna through the transparent via media of spiritual master.

Because directly I do not know Krsna. Directly I do not know how to offer Krsna. Therefore my business is that to offer it through the agent. Just like if you want to pay something to the government, you have to pay to the treasury, not directly to president. You have to pay through the treasury. Similarly, this is the process of understanding Krsna consciousness.

Guru-susrūsaya bhaktya sarva-labdharpanena ca, sahgena sadhu-bhaktanam [SB 7.7.30]. And you have to live with society who are trying to advance in Krsna consciousness. Sadhu-sahgena. Simply official offering will not help you. You have to contact. Therefore this association required. This Society is necessary to give chance to the people that they may come and live in the Society and they reform their character, their habits. So that is required. These are all recommended.

Sahgena sadhu-bhaktanam. Sadhu-bhaktanam. Sadhu and bhakta. Not the karmis. There are different classes of men. Some of them are called karmis, some of them are called jnanis, some of them are called yogis and some of them are called bhaktas, or devotees. So here Prahlada Maharaja does not recommend that you have to make your association with karmis or you have to make your association with jnanis or you have to make your association with the yogis. But here it is clearly stated, sahgena sadhu-bhaktanam. Sadhu means a devotee, and bhakta means who is actually engaged in devotional service. With their association you have to develop, not with the karmis.

Who are karmis? Karmis means those who are after sense gratification. They will work hard day and night like any animal and, when they get some result, they engage all the profits in sense gratification. That is called karmi. And jnani means those who are still not in actual Krsna consciousness, but they are trying to understand that this life is not good. This hard life, this working day and night simply for sense gratification, oh, it is not good. They are trying something else. So generally they come to enjoy mental speculation.

Just like the karmis, they are trying to satisfy their senses, similarly, the jnanis, they want to satisfy their mind. Their mind... It is a little more elevated. But still, they are on the material platform, because these senses and mind and intelligence, up to intelligence, that is all matter. There is no question of spiritual understanding. Mental speculation, speculators, they are not on the spiritual platform. They are on the material platform.

So here... And the yogi... Yogis, still more further advanced from jnana, from the mental speculative platform, when one comes to the platform of finding out the soul within by meditation, they are still elevated. So... But the bhaktas, they are already engaged. They have not only found out the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they are actually engaged in His service. They are called bhaktas, devotees.

So here Prahlada Maharaja, he recommends that first of all you have to engage yourself under the guidance, under the service, of a bona fide spiritual master, and then you have to keep yourself in association of the devotees-not with the yogis, not with the jnanis, not with the karmis.

He specifically mentions. And sadhūnam isvara-aradhanena ca: and we, in their association, you have to worship the Supreme Lord. Worship. So this, in this age, the worship of Supreme Lord is very simple. The worship of Supreme Lord is very simple. That is mentioned in the Bhagavata that,

In this age, in this age, Kali-yuga, there is incarnation of God. What is that, incarnation of God? Now, He's tvisa-akrsnam: His bodily complexion is not black. Krsna is blackish, but He is Krsna, that Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya. Krsna... And what is His business? Now, krsna-varnam. He's always chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama..., varnayati. Krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam and sahgopahgastra-parsadam. He's associated... You see the picture. He's associated with four others. And in this picture also you see, associated.

So you put this picture or form before you and just go on chanting and dancing. This is worship. Just go on chanting and dancing. This is worship. That we are doing every day. No more, no more going to anywhere. You just keep Lord Caitanya before you and go on chanting and dancing, your all worship finished. It is very simple. Very simple. We are simply just demonstrating everything.

You can do it. You can have a picture like this and you can chant with the tune. If you like, you can play the record and chant. That is very nice. So all worship is concentrated there. Here it is said that sadhu-bhaktanam sahgena and isvararadhanena ca, and you have to worship.

So if you make this process, then you become fully in Krsna consciousness wherever you live and whatever you are, and your life is perfect. And there is nothing objectionable. This picture, anyone can have. This picture or small picture, whatever you can, like this way, Caitanya Mahaprabhu's picture, and offer Him little fruits and little flower and little incense, and chant and dance. Never mind what you are, what is your condition; everything will come later on. Yena tena prakarena manaḥ krsne nivesayet [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.4].

Somehow or other you engage your mind in this process, then everything will come automatically. You'll know. You'll know what to do. And there is spiritual master guidance. This is the beginning of Krsna consciousness.

Sraddhaya tat-kathayam ca. He is further explaining. Sraddhaya: with faith and devotion, sraddha. Sraddha means faith and devotion. So this faith and devotion is the beginning, is the basic principle of Krsna consciousness. Adau sraddha tato sadhu-sahga tato bhajana-kriya anartha-nivrttiḥ syat [Cc Madhya 23.14].

This is the process. So here it is also said, sraddhaya tat-kathayam ca. When there is a speech about Krsna or about Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam.

So sraddhaya tat-katha... [break] [end]