730225 - Conversation - Jakarta

Conversations by Date, 1973

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this Conversation

730225R1-JAKARTA - February 25, 1973 - 41:03 Minutes

Devotee: . . . mām evaiṣyasi yuktvaivam ātmānaṁ mat-parāyanaḥ (BG 9.34).

Prabhupāda: (indistinct Bengali) . . . Bhagavan kya bolta hai suno. ( . . . listen to what God is telling.)

Devotee: Again?

Prabhupāda: Yes, now. Read the translation.

Devotee: Translation: "Engage your mind always in thinking of Me. Offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me."

Prabhupāda: So this is the process. Says: "Always think of Me." Ye to mushkil kaha se hai? Bhagavan ka murti hai aur Bhagavan ka murti ek dafe dekhe liya, ab sab samay chintan kiya. To usme humara nuksan kya hota hai? But kaun karta hai, boliye? Nuksan to kuch hai nahi. Ab dekhiye jaise ye log, pardesi log jiska bap dada kabhi Krishna ka nam bhi nahi suna tha, ye karta hai. Aur humara Bharat ke log kitne karte hai boliye? Kyu nahi karte? Ye jo mamuli bat hai na, ab dekhiye ye Bhagavan ka murti dekh kar gaya hai. Bhagavan ka chintan karne me humara koi mushkil hai? Ye to ghar me baithke hum Bhagavan ka murti dekh sakta hu aur chintan kar sakta hu. Mushkil kya hai? Par ye karega nahi. Karta nahi, yehi muskhil hai. Bhagavan ko prapt karne ke liye, jo dekhiye kitna saral upay bataya hai. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. Aiye. Yehi sab samay humara chintan karna . . . (indistinct Bengali). (Where is the difficulty? The Deity of the Lord is there, you see Him once and keep meditating on Him all the time. Where is our loss in this? But tell me who does it? There is no loss whatsoever. Just look at these foreigners whose ancestors never heard the name of Kṛṣṇa. They are doing it. And tell me how much do our Indians practice this? Why don't they practice? This is so simple. Before going, he saw the deity of the Lord. Is there any difficulty now in meditating upon God? Sitting in my home, I can see the deity of the Lord and meditate upon Him. Where is the difficulty? But they will not do it and this is the difficulty. Such an easy method has been prescribed for attaining the Supreme Lord's mercy. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 9.34). Please come. We should meditate upon this all the time . . .)

Thank you very much.

Formula . . . this is the translation.

(aside) Read the purport. Purport.

Devotee: Purport: "In this verse it is clearly indicated that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the only means of being delivered from the clutches of this contaminated material world. Sometimes unscrupulous commentators distort the meaning of what is clearly stated here: that all devotional service should be offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa."

"Unfortunately, unscrupulous commentators divert the mind of the reader to that which is not at all feasible. Such commentators do not know that there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa's mind and Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not an ordinary human being. He's Absolute Truth. His body . . ."

Prabhupāda: Just like Dr. Radhakrishnan. He has explained this verse . . . when Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ (BG 9.34), he comments, "It is not to the person Kṛṣṇa." Just see. Kṛṣṇa says man-manā, "Always think of Me." And he, out of his so-called nonsense scholarship, he says, "It is not to Kṛṣṇa." Dekhiye. Kitna . . . wo to ek bhari admi hai aur wo agar kah de, to kitna hazaro admi bhadak gaya. Krishna kehte hai ki humara sab samay chintan karo. Wo badmash kehte hai ki, " Nahi, nahi. Krishna ko nahi." (Just see. He is so influential and if he says something, so many people get deviated. Kṛṣṇa says: "Always think of Me" and this rascal says: "No, no, not to Kṛṣṇa.")

Indian man (1): He's impersonalist.

Prabhupāda: He's a nonsense.

Indian man (1): He's impersonalist. I read that Bhagavad-gītā in school.

Prabhupāda: He's a nonsense. Now he's suffering. I saw him last year in Madras. He has lost his brain, like that. He's suffering now. You cannot ask him whether he's hungry or whether he wants some . . . only his daughter is attending, and here he cannot understand who is standing before him, he cannot speak. Like that. Ab isi jivan me uska phal mil raha hai. Aiye. Hare Krishna. Isi jivan me phal mil raha hai. Kyuki hai to admi . . . accha admi hai, brahmana hai. Bhakti me unka siddhanta thik nahi hai. Siddhanta thik nahi hone ka karana . . . (He is suffering the reactions in this life. Please come. He is getting the results of his actions in this life because he is a good person after all. He is a brahmin but his philosophical understanding of devotional service is incorrect. As a result of having such distorted understanding) . . . he has committed so much offenses under the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

Aur uska jo phal hai wo isi jivan me usko bhoga rahe hai, ki age jakar usko taklif na mile. Ye bhi Bhagavan ki kripa hai. Jo koi admi ko, accha admi ko is jivan me koi taklif mile to uska matlab hota hai jo isi jivan me jo kuch usko takilf uthana hai, utha le. Age jakar nahi milega, age sukhi hoga. Ye vichar hai. Jaisa ek admi kisi ko mar diya hai jaan se, katl kar diya, usko govenment phasi deta hai. Wo phasi liye us . . . phasi jo hai unke liye mangaldayak. Nahi to age jakar usko bohot taklif uthane padhega. Shastra me . . . Manu samhita me bataya hai, usko is jivan me phasi me utha diya, to wo uska jitna pap hai sab mar gaya. Phir age jakarke usko pap bhogne ko nahi padhega. Isi prakar ye Dr. Radhakrishnan jitna pap kiya hai Bhagavan ke charan me, sab unt-shunt likh karke, wo isi jivan me usko bhoga raha hai. Age jakar ji . . . kyuki admi to accha hai baki murkh hai, janta nahi kuch. Krishna tattva ko, vigyan ko nahi janta hai. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā, isko shastra me bataya hai jo na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Jo log asuri bhava ko ashray kiya hai, wo vyakti Bhagavan ke charan me prapatti nahi karta. Kyu? Wo asurik bhava hone ka karan wo jitna kaam karte hai wo sab pap, keval pap hi karte hai. Duskrtinah. Duskriti, kriti ka artha hota hai . . . (And he is suffering the reactions in this life, so that he does not have to suffer later. This is also God's mercy. If a good person is suffering now, that means he is undergoing everything in this life. In the future, he will not have to suffer, he will be happy. That is the conclusion. Just like, if a person murders someone, the government hangs him. The decision is very good for him otherwise he will have a lot of suffering ahead. In the scriptures . . . it is stated in Manu samhita that if he is hanged in this life then all his sins are completely destroyed. He will not have to suffer any more reactions in the future. Similarly, Dr. Radhakrishnan is suffering the reactions of all his sins committed at the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa through his ridiculous writings. In the future . . . he is a good person but he is foolish, he does not know anything. He does not know the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. It is said in the scriptures that, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ (BG 7.15). Those people, who have taken shelter of demonic propensities, cannot surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord. Why? Because of being under the demonic influence, whatever work he does, it is considered as sin. They commit sins only. Duṣkṛtinaḥ, kṛtinaḥ means that) . . . very meritorious.

(to guest) I think you cannot understand Hindi.

Devotee: He speaks English.

Prabhupāda: Ah. So you can understand English then. So duskrtino ka artha hota hai ki . . . (the meaning of duṣkṛtinaḥ is) . . . Duṣkṛtinaḥ means . . . kṛtiḥ means meritorious, very meritorious. But duṣkṛtiḥ. Whatever merit he has got . . . nowadays, at the present moment, the civilization is so made that everyone as human being . . . any human being, he has got some merit because he is not cat and dog. He's a man. As a man he has got brain, better than the cats and dogs.

That's a fact. And actually they're doing so many things. Just like this picture. It is a very meritorious workmanship. So everyone can do some meritorious workmanship. But when that workmanship is diverted to . . . for the use of sinful activities . . . just like one man is very meritorious, he's planning to form a party how to plunder. This requires merit. Without merit you cannot form a party. But the merit is being used for plundering, for harassing, for so many other sinful activities.

So that is called duṣkṛtinaḥ. Merit is there, but the merit is being misused for sinful activities. They are called duṣkṛtiḥ. Just like modern scientist. It is meritorious that they have discovered the atomic bomb. The merit is used for killing. If you just use your merit so that man may live . . . that they're dying. Everyone is dying. So you have discovered a bomb which will accelerate death. Death, everyone is going to die. So if you manufacture something which will accelerate my death, is that very meritorious? If you discover something that will stop my death, that is meritorious. And everyone is dying, and you have discovered some machine so that you can die quickly. So what is the merit? But people are appreciating, "Oh, this is meritorious." This is called duṣkṛtinaḥ. Duṣkṛtinaḥ, mean one has got merit, it is being spoiled for doing something wrong. This is called duṣkṛtinaḥ.

So such people, duṣkṛtinaḥ, who, one who is using the merit for sinful activities, he cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. He cannot surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ (BG 7.15), and rascal. Rascal means denying the existence of God. He's a rascal. Anyone who denies the existence of God, he's a rascal. Rascal means poor fund of knowledge. Everything . . . suppose this is a country, Indonesia, nicely being managed: the roads are there, the policemen there, they're directing . . . just yesterday we were trying to enter in a one-way, policeman directs. So this symptom says that there is a good government.

So any sane man, he'll see the cosmic manifestation—that the sun is rising exactly in time; the moon is rising exactly in time; the seasons are changing; the sea is in its position . . . just like the Pacific Ocean, at any moment it can overflow at any place, but it does not do so. You walk . . . I was walking in Los Angeles just about three feet away from the sea. So I was explaining to my students, "Now, I am just three feet away from the sea, and the sea is so vast. At any second it can overflood us. But why you are confident the sea will not come here?" Because we know, by God's order, although the sea, the ocean, is so big, it cannot violate the order of God. That you are big, that's all right. But you cannot come beyond this line.

So these things are being managed, and there is no God? What a nonsense. If things are . . . just like when you pass through a house, sometimes if you don't see . . . the house is not properly taken care of, or there is no light in front of the house, there are so many garbages—we immediately say: "Oh, there is no man in this house." And as soon as you see house is very nicely kept, there is light and the garden is kept, we understand there is a man. So this is common sense. If things are going on, everything is going on so nicely, how you can say there is no management, there is no brain? How you can say? What is this nonsense? Huh? How you can say there is no God?

Asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8). These are the rascal, atheist proposition, asatyam. There is no truth in it. Zero. From zero it has come. Just see nonsense. Does anything come out of zero? You assemble zero, many millions of zero in one place, but still it is zero. Do you think that if you make zero, zero, zero, zero, million times, has it any value? How do they conclude from zero such a management, cosmic manifestation has come? The flower is coming out nicely in its own way. The tree is coming. Human being is coming. Everything is in order. And there is no management. How much rascal they are. Just see.

So these atheist class, they're rascals, mūḍhāḥ, third-class men without any knowledge. Na māṁ . . . duṣkṛtinaḥ, I've already explained. Using the merit for sinful activities, they're called duṣkṛtinaḥ. And mūḍhāḥ, these rascals who cannot understand how the management is going on, mūḍhāḥ. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ, prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Narādhamāḥ means . . . nara means human being; adhama means the lowest, because the lowest of the mankind. The highest of the mankind means who has the knowledge of the Supreme.

He's called highest, brāhmaṇa. Brahma-jānāti, one who knows Brahman, he's called highest. And the lowest means that he has got this body, human form of body, but he is acting like animal. Just like cats and dogs, they cannot understand what is God. So any person who is not understanding, or trying to understand what is God, he's the lowest of the mankind. Because in the human form of life, it is the chance to understand what is God, but he's misusing it. He's using this body just like cats and dogs. They eat, sleep, have sex intercourse and die.

So these things are there. But if somebody argues that, "You are saying lowest of the mankind, but we see so many Dr. Radhakrishnans, they also do not admit." Therefore the word is used, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. They appear to be very highly learned scholars, but their real knowledge has been taken by māyā. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. Āsuri-bhāva. Why it has been done so? Because āsuri-bhāva, there is no God. That is their determination: "There is no God." Therefore their merit is being misused, they have become the lowest of the mankind. They have become the fool number one, and all their so-called education, academic knowledge, has been taken away by māyā. This is . . .

So we test only whether he's a devotee of God. If he's not a devotee of God, then we take either of these: he must be the rascal, or lowest of the mankind, or simply using the merit for sinful activities, or his knowledge has been taken away by māyā. Immediately we have no difficulty to understand what class of man he is. The test is whether he has got any sense of understanding God. If not, then he comes to this group. It is not very difficult to study a man, what he is. We have got the formula in the Bhagavad-gītā. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. Ja rahe kya? (Are you leaving?)

Indian man: Sir kaam hai. (Sir I have got some work.)

Devotee: Your explanation you've just given was so clear, Prabhupāda. We can easily see. It's so clear.

Prabhupāda: (chuckling) Yes, this is the explanation. There is no second explanation. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). This is the only explanation. What explanation can be . . . who can give another explanation? There is no second explanation. Aiye.

bhagavad-bhakti-hīnasya

jātiḥ śāstraṁ japas tapaḥ kriya,

aprāṇasyeva dehasya

maṇḍanaṁ loka-rañjanam

(Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya 3.11)

Just like if you decorate the dead body, it may be pleasing to some relatives of the dead body; otherwise what is the value of it? Others will think, "What a foolish man he is, that decorating the dea . . ." Suppose if there is dead body and you're decorating with sandal pulp . . . (indistinct) . . . flower, nice cloth. That may be your sentiment because the dead body belongs to your father or mother, like that. It is pleasing to you, but actually what is the value? So similarly, this human civilization is meant for understanding God. If that sense is lacking, then it is simply decoration of the dead body. That's all. There is no value.

Indian man (1): This gentleman doesn't understand English.

Prabhupāda: Bhagavad bhakti ka prachar kijiye, jivan ko saphal kijiye. Nahi to kya hoga? Sab chodh-chadh ke bhagne padhega. (Just preach about devotional service to the Supreme Lord, make your life successful, otherwise what will happen? You have to leave everything and go away.) (break)

Indian man (1): He's nice devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. I remember many years ago, I met him in Surabaya. He used to preach on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but in Sindhi language.

Prabhupāda: Very good.

Indian man (2): Of course, we do not have good translation in Sindhi language as your translation.

Prabhupāda: Language koi bhi, kam hona chahiye. Aiye. (Whatever language it may be, the work should get done. Please come.)

Indian man (1): He's nice devotee . . . (indistinct) . . . nice dedication . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Baithiye. Ācchā. (Please sit down. Okay.) (alright)

Indian man (1): Nice devotee. Doctors also serving very . . . (indistinct).

Prabhupāda: So we have explained in the Bhagavad-gītā everything very nicely.

Suna hai idhar ye kitab pasand karta hai ap log. (I heard that you like this book.)

Indian man: Ek sau copy mangvaye the. To pachas to ek dukandar ne liya hai bechne ke liye. Baki pacchis humne distribute kiya hai idhar . . . (indistinct) . . . Bohot matlab yaha angrezi ka itna istamal nahi hota hai. Is wajah ke liye bohot log angrezi acchi nahi . . . (We ordered around a hundred copies. One shopkeeper has taken fifty for selling and besides that, we distributed twenty five copies . . . (indistinct) . . . English is not used very much here. That's why many people don't know English very well . . .)

Prabhupāda: Nahi hum log ko to angrezi karne padhega karan sara duniya hum ko bhejna hai. (We have to produce in English because it will be distributed all over the world.)

Indian man: Magar Bombay me apke bohot sare Sindhi bhi hai na? (But in Bombay you have a lot of Sindhis, don't you?)

Prabhupāda: Nahi, koi aye, kaam kare . . . koi to kaam to nahi karta. Ap log to sab business kijiyega. Is kaam me koi ata bhi to nahi, jaisa ye log sab chodh-chadh ke. Ye to ap log nahi karega. Ashirvad lijiye, business kijiye. (No, first of all let someone come, let them work . . . nobody does any work at all. You are all businessmen. No one participates in this work like these people who left everything. You are not going to do all this. Just bless me so that I can do business properly.) This is your theory. Ki humko ashirvad dijiye, hum acchi tarah se business kar ke khub rupaya kamaye. Boliye, hum thik bolta ki nahi? (Give me your blessings so that I can do business nicely and earn a lot of money. So am I correct or not?)

Indian man (1): Bilkul sahi. (Absolutely correct.) Ninety-nine point nine percent is like that.

Prabhupāda: Ye log ashirvad thik liya hai. Sab chodh-chadh ke Bhagavan ka seva me laga hai. Aisi ashirvad lene ko koi taiyar nahi. Wo ashirvad chahte hai jo hum jaha hai udhar hi rahe aur idhar bhi humara khub tarakki hoye. Ap aisi ashirvad . . . arrey bhai, ab to khud kya, humara to Hindu dharma ke niyam hai jo kuch din tak khub bhog karlo duniya, phir sab chodo, chodh karke Bhagavan ke kaam me lago. Char ashram hai . . . brahmachari, grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasa. Ye grihastha ashram koi chodhne hi nahi chahta. Grihastha ashram wahi chodhta hai jisko khane ka koi thikana nahi hai, ek bhagva kapda pehen liya admi ko thakane ke liye. (They took the right blessings. They have left everything for engaging in God's service. Nobody is ready to take this type of blessing. They want to be blessed in such a way that they can stay wherever they are and enjoy material prosperity at the same time. They ask for blessings . . . in our Hindu religion, the rule is that you enjoy material pleasures for a few days, then give up everything and engage in the service of the Lord. There are four āśramas . . . brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. But nobody wants to leave gṛhastha life. Only those people leave gṛhastha life who do not have a proper place for eating. Then they put on saffron robes to cheat common men.) Jo accha dimagdar admi hai, wo sab grihastha ashram chodhta nahi. Gandhi ko jab mar diya jaan se tab ye chodha. Wo Jawaharlal Nehru jab paralysis hoke ekdum khatam hone wala, tabhi chodha. Jo accha admi, jo brain, dimagdar admi hai wo to chodhta hi nahi. Samjhe? To kaam kaisa bane? Ye third class, uneducated, uncultured aisa admi sab sannyasa-fannyasa lekar ke idhar udhar ghumta hai, wo kya kaam karega. Khane ke liye bechari taklif me hai, to usko do roti mil gaya, ho gaya. Santushta ho gaya. (Now those who are intelligent people, they never leave gṛhastha life. When Gandhi was killed, then he left everything. When Jawaharlal Nehru became paralyzed and he was about to die, then he left gṛhastha life. Now the good people, those who are intelligent, don't leave gṛhastha life at all. Then how is it supposed to work? These third class, uneducated, uncultured people, take sannyāsa and roam around. What work are they going to do? He is already in trouble searching for his food. As soon as he gets two pieces of flatbread, he feels satisfied.)

Indian man: . . . (indistinct Bengali)

Prabhupāda:Meherbani to karne ke liye to yehi bat to samjha rahe hai. (Just for doing a favor only, I am explaining all this.)

Indian man: . . . (indistinct Bengali)

Prabhupāda: Ha to meherbani karne ke liye to hum log sara duniya me ghum raha hai. Baki leta kaun. Jab . . . (Only for giving mercy, we are going around the whole world but who takes it? When we . . .)

Indian man: . . . (indistinct Bengali)

Prabhupāda: Jab bolta hai, chodhiye ghar, chodhiye, humara sath aiye, ye asal meherbani hai. To tab bhag jata hai. Ye kya ap bolte hai? (When we say that you leave your house and join us, that is a real favor. Then you run away. What would you say about this?)

Indian man: . . . (indistinct Bengali)

Prabhupāda: Asal meherbani to lene ko nahi chahta hai. Jo thoda din, ab to sabko marne ka hai. Aisa koi to nahi hai, sab idhar makan aur bank balance lekar ke acchi tarah se sab din bhog karega. Ek din maya ake lath marke sab nikal lega, " Chalo idhar se." Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham. Mrityuh jo hai wo a jayega, wo koi bat sunega nahi, sab chin lega. Sab chin-chan karke bas bhaga dega, "Chal idhar se." (Nobody wants to take the real favor. In a few days, everyone will have to die anyway. It is not that someone can eternally maintain a big house, huge bank balance and enjoy very nicely. One day maya will come and kick everyone out, "Get out from here".) Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham (BG 9.34). Death will come, it will not listen to you and it will snatch everything. It will kick you out after snatching everything from you, "Get out from here". Bas usko sochta hi nahi koi. Phir udhar, kidhar jane ka hai, wo bhi nahi janta. To kya kiya jaye? Meherbani karne se kya hoga, koi leta nahi meherbani. Ki Bhagavad bhajan karo, admi ko samjhao Bhagavad bhajan ka vishay, ye sab asal meherbani hai . . . aur humara pas do lakh hai, ab meherbani koi sadhu kar de to dus lakh ho jaye. Ye meherbani alag hai. Arey dus lakh admi, dus crore ka bhi to admi maujud hai. Wo bhi kya sukhi hai kya? Ye dekhta nahi. (Nobody thinks about this. They have no idea where to go after that. What is to be done? What is the use of doing any favor because they don't accept it. Render devotional service and explain to people about it, this is a real favor. We have two lakh rupees and if some saintly person gives his mercy, then it will become ten lakh rupees. This favor is different. There are also people having ten lakh or ten crore rupees. Are they happy? Nobody looks into that.) Wo samajhta hai ki humara pas do lakh hai, dus lakh ho jaye to hum sukhi ho jayega. Nahi. Duniya ka koi chiz me koi sukhi nahi ho sakta. So ye jo movement hai, isko acchi tarah se ap log sab pakadiye. Ap log to idhar, bohot acche acche sab admi sab hai. Inko prachar kijiye. Duniya ka mangal hoga, apka mangal hoga. Acchi tarah se samjhiye. Ye to hum chahte hai. Aur jo Bhagavan ke liye kaam karta hai, uska upar Bhagavan sab meherbani karta hai. Likha hai Bhagavad me. (They think that we have two lakhs and when it becomes ten lakhs, we will become happy. Nobody can become happy with any material thing. Please hold onto this movement very nicely. Here there are many nice people, preach to them. It will benefit you as well as the whole world. Understand it very nicely. This is what we want. And those who work for God, God is extremely merciful upon him. It is written in the Bhagavad-gita.) Na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ.

(aside) Find out that verse. Ya imaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati. Yaḥ, y-a-ḥ.

Devotee: Yaḥ . . .

Prabhupāda: Yaḥ, yam. Yaḥ, yam. Mad bhakti . . . the Eighteenth Chapter you'll find out, sixty-five, sixty-seven, at the end. Find out.

Indian man (1): Eighteenth Chapter, sixty-five, sixty-seven.

Prabhupāda: You don't find? Bring it here.

Prabhupāda: You will find sixty-one also.

Yes, here is it. (break)

Devotee:

ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ

mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati

bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā

mām evaiṣyaty asaṁśayaḥ

(BG 18.68)

Translation: "For one who explains the supreme secret to the devotees, devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me."

Prabhupāda: "Anyone who explains this devotional service, as explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, is guaranteed to come back to Me." That means the preacher of the Bhagavad-gītā is guaranteed to go back to home, back to Godhead.

(aside) What is the explanation?

Devotee: "Generally it is advised that Bhagavad-gītā be discussed amongst the devotees only, for those who are not devotees will neither understand Kṛṣṇa nor Bhagavad-gītā. Those who do not accept Kṛṣṇa as He is and Bhagavad-gītā as it is should not try to explain Bhagavad-gītā whimsically and become offenders."

"Bhagavad-gītā should be explained to persons who are ready to accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is a subject matter for the devotees only, and not for philosophical speculators. Anyone, however, who tries sincerely to present Bhagavad-gītā as it is will advance in devotional activities and reach the pure devotional state of life. As a result of such pure devotion, he is sure to go back to home, back to Godhead."

Prabhupāda: Next verse.

Devotee:

na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu

kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ

bhavitā na ca me tasmād

anyaḥ priyataro bhuvi

(BG 18.69)

"There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he. Nor will there ever be one more dear."

Prabhupāda: Those who are preachers.

Devotee: Yes.

Prabhupāda: These are the formulas given. Preaching comes . . . (indistinct) . . . Ye asal ashirvad hai. Ap log samjhiye acchi tarah se aur dusre ko samjhaiye . . . (indistinct) . . . duniyadari ka kuch mila, nahi mila, to kya jata hai? Ashirvad asal . . . (indistinct) . . . Bhagavan kehte hai usse badhkar ke humara koi apna admi nahi hai jo ki preach karta hai. (This is real mercy. Understand yourself properly, then explain it to others . . . (indistinct) . . . whether you gained something or not from your material affairs, how does it matter? The real mercy . . . (indistinct) . . . God says nobody is dearer to me than the preacher.)

If you want to be very intimately related . . . you're already related, but intimately, then this is the process. Bhagavad tattva jnana acchi tarah se samjhiye, apna jivan ko saphal kijiye aur dusre ko bhi samjhaiye. (Understand the science of Godhead very nicely, make your life successful and explain to others as well.) This is the real āśīrvāda. Boliye, pasand aya ye ashirvad? (Tell me, do you like this blessing?) This is real āśīrvāda.

Indian man (1): Shall I recite Bhagavad-gītā Seventh Chapter in Sindhi?

Devotee: Let Prabhupāda speak.

Prabhupāda: Prabhupāda: Recite . . . Apne pehle samjhiye. Samajh karke dusre ko samjhaiye. Apne khud samjha nahi, kya samjhayenge. (First try to understand. After understanding, then try to explain it to others. If you don't understand yourself, what are you going to explain to others?)

Indian man (1): I have understood.

Prabhupāda: Pehle apna jivan ko saphal kijiye. Bhagavan ko acchi tarah se samjhiye, Bhagavan ko kya vyavahar karna hai usko samjhiye, usi prakar vyavahar kijiye, phir dusre ko samjhaiye, jaldi param upkar . . . un par bhi upkar, ap . . . (First of all, make your life successful. Try to understand God nicely, try to understand how to behave with God, behave accordingly, then explain it to others, mercy shall be bestowed very quickly . . . they will be benefitted, you too . . .) your brother-in-law has not come? Eh? Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya.

Prabhupāda: Dekhiye ye log sab, amir American, sab chodh-chadh kar ke pati-patni . . . inki patni hai . . . bal-baccha pati-patni sab lekar ke sab ye kaam me hai. Kya unko koi dukh hai kya? Khane ko nahi milta? Wo to koi vyapar nahi karta aur sara duniya me ghumta hai, kitna rupaya kharch karta hai. Ek . . . (indistinct) . . . aeroplane me baithne se hi dus hazar rupaya kharch ho jata hai. To Bhagavan deta hai na? Jaise hum log aya hai idhar, koi jaan pehchan nahi, naya aya hai, accha sundar ghar me ap sthan diya. To Bhagavan bol diya, "Do ji, usko sthan do idhar." To Bhagavan kisi ko bol deta hai, " Usko khane ko do, uska rehne ko do, uska ye rupaya ka zarurat hai, do." To sab . . . (indistinct). Ek ek kitab chapne ka kitna kharch hota hai? Ap sunke tajjub ho jayenge, ye jo kitab humara chapta hai, Ray Ratan Co., wo unko two hundred thousand dollars credit deta hai. Two hundred thousand dollars. Two hundred thousand dollars kitna rupaya hota hai? Do lakh dollar . . . (Look at all these rich Americans. They have given up everything and with their wife . . . he has a wife . . . husband, wife, children, all of them are engaged in this work. Are they unhappy? Are they not getting to eat? He does not do any business and he travels all over the world, how much he has to spend. Sitting in one . . . (indistinct) . . . airplane immediately costs ten thousand rupees. So God is providing. Just like we have come here, without any acquaintances, completely new, you gave us such a nice house to stay. So God said, "Give them some place to stay." So God tells somebody, "Give him food, give him accommodation, he is also in need of money, give him." So everything . . . (indistinct). . . how much does it cost to print each book? You will be surprised after hearing that those who print our books, Ray Ratan Co., they have given us a credit of two hundred thousand dollars. Two hundred thousand. How much is two hundred thousand dollars in rupees? Two lakh dollars.)

Devotee: 150 lakh rupees.

Prabhupāda: Ha, no . . . twenty . . . Samjhiye, humara jaisa bhikh mangne wala ko bis lakh rupaya credit dena, ye sadharan bat hai? Bhagavan kya kripalu hai! Hum unse kitab chapate hai, phir hum bech-bachke usko deta hai. Usko bhi koi nuksan nahi hai, usko bhi labh hai. Wo janta hai ye rupaya humara marega nahi. Jab rupaya mangta hai, dus hazar, bis hazar dollar, usi waqt de dete hai. To aisa karobar me to hota hi hai, baki humara kehne ka matlab jo humara jaisa ek admi, jo bhikh mang ke khata hai, usko koi bis lakh rupaya credit de, ye Bhagavan ke kripa bina kaise ho sakta hai? Humko koi dus hazar rupaya dega, udhar? Hum bolega, " Ki ye jo humko abhi dus hazar rupaya hai, udhar dijiye." Koi dega? Baki Bhagavan admi juta sakta hai. Abhi idhar Ray Ratan ka press hai, wo janta nahi gaya tha, ye log likha tha humara manager ko Los Angeles me. Wo bol diya tum udhar se kitab chapao aur dus hazar dollar tak tum kaam do, credit office se pass ho jayega. Dus hazar dollar kitna hota hai? Lakh rupaya hua ki nahi? Humara Indian exchange . . . ek bat me wo ek lakh rupaya kitab dene ke liye taiyar hai, kitab chapao. To isi prakar chalta hai un log ka kaam. Bhagavan ki kaam karne se koi abhav nahi hota. (So just imagine, giving twenty lakh rupees credit to beggars like us, is it a normal thing? God is so merciful! We get these books printed by him and then pay him back after selling those books. There is no loss for him, he certainly makes profit. He knows we are not going to cheat him. Whenever he asks for money, ten thousand dollars, twenty thousand dollars, we give it to him immediately. Such things happen in business but my point is that, to a person like us who eats by begging, if someone gives him a credit of 20 lakh dollars, how can it be possible without God's mercy. Will someone give me ten thousand rupees, as a loan? If I say: "Can you lend me ten thousand rupees?" Will anyone give? But God can find such a person. There is a Ray Ratan press here. They had written to our manager in Los Angeles that if you print books worth ten thousand rupees, credit will get sanctioned. How much is ten thousand dollars? Isn't it one lakh rupees? In our Indian exchange . . . in one moment he was ready to give books worth one lakh rupees. So this is how their work goes on. If you do God's service, there is no lack of anything.

Ye bat sikhna hai. Har chiz to Bhagavan ka hai. Bhagavan chahe, jisko chahe, jo chahe wo utha ke de de, " Le tum, le le." Chiz to Bhagavan ka hai. Ye admi samajhta hai, admi samajhta hai hum kamata hai. Are kamane ke liye to hazaro admi koshish karta hai. Kisi ko khane ko nahi milta aur kisi ko hath dene se do char dus rupaya, lakh rupaya mil jata hai. To wo dusre jo hai thela thelne wala, wo kya kam koshish karta hai? Usko kyu thela thelne padhta hai din bhar. Usme bhi raat me shayad khane ko pura milta ki nahi. To Bhagavan jisko deta hai usi ko milta hai. Asal bat yehi hai. Wo apna apna, jaisa jaisa milne ka hai. To isliye Bhagavan ka hi bharosa rakhna, Bhagavan ki seva karna . . . (indistinct) Sab ke liye, bada chota sab ke liye. Tabhi admi sukhi hoga. Boliye mataji thik hai ki nahi? Idhar humara iccha hai jo ek bhari mandir banaya jaye. Bohot bhari. Uske liye ap log . . . ap log bhi aiye, ye bhi hai aur Indonesian ka bhi a jayenge, sab milke. Bhagavan ka seva me sabka adhikar hai. Jaisa Ganga snan karne ke liye kisi ka rok nahi. Hai kisi ko? Sab koi snan kar sakta hai . . . (indistinct) . . . snan. Isi prakar Bhagavad bhakti sab ke liye khula hai. To sab ke liye jaisa mauka mil sakta hai Bhagavad bhajan karne, aisa koi sansthan banaiye. Paiso ka upayog kijiye.To uske liye udhar ek accha mandir banaiye, Radha Krishna mandir. Jaisa hum log sab jagah me khula hai, idhar nahi hai. Mandir aur sab milkar ke Bhagavan ko seva kijiye, ye asal ashirvad hai. Prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā śreya-ācaraṇaṁ sadā. Sab samay apna dhan le kar ke, man le kar ke, buddhi le kar ke . . . (We have to learn this. Everything belongs to God. If God desires, to whoever He wants, whatever He wants, He can pick up and give, "Take it, take." Ultimately it belongs to God. But people do not understand this. People think that they are earning it. There are thousands of people who try to earn money. Some people don't have food to eat while some people get ten rupees or one lakh rupees simply by putting out their hand. So those people who are pulling carts, do they put any less effort? Why is he forced to pull a cart the whole day? Even then, who knows whether he gets to eat at night or not. So whoever God gives, only they get it. This is the actual thing. Every person gets accordingly. That's why, to have faith in God, and serve God . . . (indistinct) . . . it is for everyone, big or small. Only then people will become happy. Mataji, Is that correct or not? I have a desire to make a grand temple here. Very grand. For that . . . you also come, these people are here, Indonesian people will also come and work together. Everyone has the right to engage in the service of the Lord. Just like taking a bath in Ganga, nobody is restricted. Is anybody stopped? Everyone can go to take a bath. In this way devotional service to the Supreme Lord is open for everyone. So make the society in such a way that everyone gets an opportunity for rendering service to the Lord. Make proper use of your money. So for that, make a nice temple, Radha Kṛṣṇa temple there. Just like we have opened in all places but there is no such temple here. Make a temple and render service to God together, this is real mercy. Prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā śreya-ācaraṇaṁ sadā (SB 10.22.35). All the time, with your mind, with your wealth, with your intelligence . . .)

Indian man (1): (indistinct Bengali) . . . mandir banega. Sabse . . . (indistinct) . . . banega (. . . temple will be built. The most . . . (indistinct) . . . will be built.)

Prabhupāda: Dekhiye ap log ki iccha hai to ho jayega. (Look, if you are interested then it will be done.)

Indian man (1): . . . (indistinct Bengali)

Prabhupāda: Ha, sabke liye khula hai. Ye nahi ki Hindu ke liye hai . . . nahi. Jo Bhagavan ko chahta hai, ao. Chalo, ao. Jaisa hum log karte hai. Humara sab . . . America me, idhar me, jo ata hai sabke liye darwaza khula hai. Keval juta unko kholkar ke baitho. Phir sunta hai. Sunte, sunte sunke sab bhakt ban jata hai. Bhagavan ko darshan karne ko ata hai, prasad leta hai aur kirtan sunta hai, Bhagavad-gita sunta hai. Sunte sunte phir bolta hai, "Swamiji Maharaj, humko chela banaiye." Chela jo banta hai tab usko mastak mundan karne padhta hai, bolta hai ye chodhne padhega, ye chodh nahi . . . chodhta bhi hai. Phir acchi tarah se jaisa ye log hai, bhakt ban jata hai. Koi mushkil nahi hai. Idhar ap log sab aye hai, aisa kuch kaam kijiye Bhagavad bhakti. Ap log humara samne yadi sab baithke committee banake usko kijiyega, to usme humko bohot khushi hogi. Humko kya chahiye, ap log idhar hi kharch kijiye, idhar hi banaiye. Humara admi hai, apko sahayog karega, ap log bhi kijiye. Baki direction humara hai, chalan. Jaisa mai direction deta hu. Kaam ban jayega. Acchi bat hai. (Yes. It is open to everyone. It is not that the temple is open only to Hindus . . . no. Whoever wants God, can come. Just like we do. All of our . . . in America and here also, the doors of our temple are open to everyone. Just take off your shoes and sit down. Then he listens. After listening, listening and listening, everyone becomes a devotee. They come to take darshan of the Lord, take prasadam, listen to kirtana, listen to Bhagavad-gītā. So after going on listening, he asks, "Swami Mahārāja, make me your servant." So one who becomes a servant has to shave his head . . . he is told to leave this, leave that . . . he gives up too. Then he becomes a proper devotee just like these people. So there is no difficulty. All of you have come here, then do some devotional service for the Lord. If you all sit down in front of me, make a committee and do something then I will be very happy with that. What do I want anyway? You spend here and make it. We have our people here, they will help you. You also contribute. We will be giving directions to you just like I give them directions. Then the work will be done. It will be a good thing.) (end)