700701 - Lecture SB 02.01.01 - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1970

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

700701SB-LOS ANGELES - July 01, 1970 - 17:52 Minutes

Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. So we have got new book, The First Step in God-Realization. Yes. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: First, invocation.

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo vāsudevaya.

Text one.

śrī-śuka uvāca

varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ

kṛto loka-hitaṁ nṛpa

ātmavit-sammataḥ puṁsāṁ

śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ

(SB 2.1.1)

Now you recite independently, oṁ namo bhagavate.

Devotees: (recite oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya and the verse)

Prabhupāda: Very good. All right. Again.

This last line, it is śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ. Like this: śrotavyā . . .

Devotees: Śrotavyādiṣu . . .

Prabhupāda: Diṣu, short. Śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ.

Devotees: Śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ.

Prabhupāda: So these Bhāgavata verses, if it is chanted with little tune, then it is very nice. The tune should be like this: (repeats verse with tune)

śrī-śuka uvāca

varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ

kṛto loka-hitaṁ nṛpa

ātmavit-sammataḥ puṁsāṁ

śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ

(SB 2.1.1)

Like that.

Devotees: Jaya. (laughing) Nectar.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Try to hear and . . . (chanting with tune) varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ.

Devotees: Varīyān eṣa te praśnam.

Prabhupāda: Kṛto loka-hitaṁ nṛpa. Devotees: Kṛto loka-hitaṁ nṛpa.

Prabhupāda: Ātmavit-sammato puṁsām.

Devotees: Ātmavit-sammato puṁsām.

Prabhupāda: Śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ param.

Devotees: Śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ param.

(verse is repeated three more times)

Prabhupāda: Now chant independently.

Again.

Very good. So read the translation. Yes.

Gargamuni: First with the Invocation?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Gargamuni: Translation: "O my Lord, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You."

Prabhupāda: Purport. Go on.

Gargamuni: Purport. "Vāsudevāya means to Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva. As by chanting the name of Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, one can achieve all the good results of charity, austerity and penances, so by the chanting of this mantra, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, it is to be understood that the author or the speaker or any one of the readers of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam offer respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of all pleasure. In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the principles of creation are described, and as such the First Canto can be called 'Creation'."

Prabhupāda: So this oṁ means addressing the Lord. In the all the Vedic mantras they are addressing. Our this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, mahā-mantra, that is also addressing. Hare, Hare, addressing the energy of the Lord, Harā. The energy is Harā, Rādhā, Sītā. So when a female is addressed, it is like that: Hare, Late, Sīte, Rādhe. So Hare means addressing first, first of all the energy. The impersonalists, they do not know this, this addressing first of all Kṛṣṇa's energy. We Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava, we don't worship Kṛṣṇa alone, ekala-vāsudeva. No. We must worship Kṛṣṇa along with His energy. Just like Kṛṣṇārjuna, Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. Arjuna is also energy, living entity, and Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, His internal energy and marginal energy.

So Kṛṣṇa means with His energy. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. This bhagavate means full of energies. I have several times explained bhagavān. Bhaga means opulence, and vān means one who possesses. Bhagavān. That is the meaning of word bhagavān. So when this bhagavān word is addressed, it is addressed as bhagavate. The word is bhagavat, bhagavat-śabda.

Of course, these are grammatical arrangement. Vat, this affix, is there when it is meant . . . sanskrit, every word, every syllable, has got meaning. That is Sanskrit language. It is not like that "beauty but," "beauty put." No. If you say "beauty but," then you must say "beauty put." But in English, "beauty but, beauty put." So in Sanskrit language, you cannot do like that. If you have to follow the rules, then the same rule will go on. So bhagavate address, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Vāsudevāya, this is the form of . . . form of śabda, sound vibration. Fourth form. Just like kṛṣṇāya. When I offer something, kṛṣṇāya, viṣṇave. Similarly, bhagavate, vāsudevāya.

So the beginning is, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam means Kṛṣṇa. It cannot be otherwise. This is kṛṣṇa-kathā. The Bhagavad-gītā is also kṛṣṇa-kathā. Kathā means words. So Kṛṣṇa words spoken by Kṛṣṇa, that is Bhagavad-gītā. And words spoken about Kṛṣṇa, that is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Or about Kṛṣṇa's devotees, that is bhāgavata. So bhāgavata, there are two kinds of bhāgavata. One, this book Bhāgavata, and another, the person bhāgavata, the devotee. He is also bhāgavata. Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that bhāgavata para giya bhāgavata sthāne: "You should go and read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from the bhāgavata, person bhāgavata." Otherwise you will misunderstand. Bhāgavata para giya bhāgavata sthāne.

One big poet, he composed some songs when Caitanya Mahāprabhu was at Purī. And many people used to come and see Him. Because in those days there were many scholars, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was also a very great scholar, so they used to compose and come to see Him, and they would get some applause. But they, before seeing Him, the rule was that it must be passed through His secretary, Svarūpa Dāmodara. Svarūpa Dāmodara was Lord Caitanya's personal secretary, so unless something is passed through Svarūpa Dāmodara, nobody can directly approach Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

So one learned scholar, he composed some poetries, and he wanted the poetries to be heard by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But Svarūpa Dāmodara, he knew that "This man is mundane. What he will write?" So he was avoiding, "All right, we shall see later on." But when he insisted . . . and one of his uncle, he was amongst the associates of Lord Caitanya, so he also requested Svarūpa Dāmodara that, "This boy has come so long. If you kindly hear."

So because he requested, a Vaiṣṇava, so Svarūpa Dāmodara agreed to hear. But he pointed out his all faults, and he chastised him that, "You don't write poetry in this way. You first of all read Bhāgavata from the bhāgavata. Then try to write." So that you will find in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. He advised that "Go and read Bhāgavatam from bhāgavatam. Then try to write."

Recently one gentleman from India . . . he is a man of very good position, ICS, the old ICS, the British ICS, Indian Civil Service. They are the topmost service. So he sent me one translation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So perhaps you know. Gargamuni knows. So I rejected it, that "No, this . . . (indistinct) . . . cannot be published. There are so many anomalies." And so his daughter is here in Los Angeles. So she came with her husband and took back.

So we do not publish anything which is not approved by the ācāryas. We are not like ordinary press, that anything and anything will come and we shall publish. No. That is not our business. It must be approved, as we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is, no mental concoction. We don't allow any mental concoction. It must be approved by the ācārya, disciplic succession. Then it is nice.

So the next verse . . . all right. This much today. We shall discuss tomorrow again. Thank you. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: Jaya. All glories to Prabhupāda!

Prabhupāda: Chant. (end)