710322 - Lecture CC Madhya 20.124-25 - Bombay

Lectures by Date, 1971

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

710322CC-BOMBAY - March 22, 1971 - 37:21 Minutes

Prabhupāda:

veda-śāstra kahe—'sambandha', 'abhidheya', 'prayojana'

'kṛṣṇa'—prāpya sambandha, 'bhakti'—prāptyera sadhana

(CC Madhya 20.124)

The Vedic literatures give information about the living entity’s eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, which is called sambandha. The living entity’s understanding of this relationship and his acting accordingly is called abhidheya. Returning home, back to Godhead, is the ultimate goal of life and is called prayojana.

. . . somebody must be there to open the door.

Devotee: . . . (indistinct)

abhidheya-nāma 'bhakti', 'prema'—prayojana

puruṣārtha-śiromaṇi prema mahā-dhana

(CC Madhya 20.125)

So Vedic, Vedas, Veda means knowledge. Vetti veda-vido jñānam. Veda means knowledge by which one understands.

(aside) . . . (indistinct)

Oh! Can't you stop it?

Devotee: . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: It will be very much disturbing. Somebody must remain there. To open and close it, nicely.

Devotee: . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: So Veda means knowledge. Don't accept that Vedas is a sectarian religious scripture. No. Vedas means knowledge. That is the real import of the word Veda. Vetti veda vida jñāne. There are two forms of verb: vetti, veda, and the original verbal root is vid, vid-dhātu. Vetti veda vida jñāne. Vinte vid vicāraṇe. The same vid-dhātu, verbal root, takes different forms. That is described here: vinte vid vicāraṇe. When one scrutinizingly analyze something, tries to understand, in that way the verb is vinte vid vicāraṇe. Vidyate vid satāyām, and when there is meaning of existence, the same root takes the form of vidyate, vidyate vid satāyām. lābhe vindati, vindate. Again the same vid-dhātuḥ can be used for profit: vindate, he's enjoying.

So original meaning is vid-dhātu veda or vid-dhātu the Veda comes. Veda means knowledge and what is that supreme knowledge? Knowledge, there are different departmental knowledge but what is the ultimate knowledge? The ultimate knowledge is to understand God. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3).

If you understand God then you understand everything. He is the origin automatically. So if you understand God then you become liberated also. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ.

"Anyone who understands Me, how I appear, how I disappear, what are My functions, simply by understanding this." Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. Everyone who understands it. So there is no question of sectarian view. Anyone who can understand what is God. It doesn't matter whether he is Hindu, whether he is Muslim, whether he is a Christian, anyone. Religion means to understand God. That is religion. And to understand the laws of God, that is religion. So anyone who understands God and the laws of God he's religionist, he's Vedāntist, that's all. Vetti veda vido jñāne vinte—vid vicāraṇe.

So Kṛṣṇa . . . Caitanya-Mahāprabhu says that veda-śāstra kahe—'sambandha'. The whole purport of Vedic knowledge is to understand what is our relationship with God—what is God. There are three things in the matter of understanding God. First of all you should know what is God and what I am, what is my relationship with God. Then just like in business you make agreement, both party agrees, that this is our relationship you are supplier I am consumer. You supply under such and such condition I'll consume. That is called relationship. And as soon as the agreement established, our relationship is understood, then actual business follows. Then actual business. When you understand God, when you understand yourself, then the actual business will start. Without this knowledge, whatever transaction, whatever activities we are engaged in, that is called māyā because it will not give you your desired result. It is simply wasting time. That is the verdict of the Vedas. Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (SB 1.2.13).

dharma-svanuṣṭitaḥ puṁsāṁ

viśvaksena kathāsu yaḥ

notpādayed ratiṁ yadi

śrama eva hi kevalam

(SB 1.2.8)

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo

yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

ahaituky apratihatā

yayātmā samprasīdati

(SB 1.2.6)

These are the statements of the Vedic literature—that you go, go on working, everyone is working according to his capacities. That's all right, go on, there is no question of stopping your work but you must see whether you are gainer or looser by working that way. That—gainer or looser. If you don't make account that whether I am gaining or loosing then what is the. Such kinds of activities are done by monkeys also. They are very active but it is useless activities. Śrama eva hi kevalam. The Vedic śastra says that if you do not calculate whether you are loosing or gaining. If you simply blindly go on working, then such kind of activities is simply waste of time and energy. So we must know how to work. And that is stated in the Vedas. There are two kinds of instruction in the Vedas, pravṛtti-mārga and nivṛtti-mārga. Pravṛtti-mārga means sense enjoyment and nivṛtti-mārga means, I mean to, wind, winding up the business of sense enjoyment. Two kinds of knowledge. Pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānāṁ nivṛttis tu mahā-phalām (Manu-saṁhitā).

Pravṛtti—you have got natural tendency for so many things. The real basic principle of enjoyment is sense enjoyment. The Vedas give instructions that you enjoy your senses but under these laws. Just like. Just like government gives you license. You want to do some business so government gives you some license and in the license the regulative principles are, "You can do this business in this way, in this way, in this way." So this direction is given by the Vedas. What is, what is that direction? In this material world everyone, both man and animal, every living entity, is seeking after sense enjoyment. So Vedas gives instruction to the human society that you enjoy your senses in this way. That is Vedic knowledge. But the ultimate aim is to get you gradually to the conscious of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says that in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15).

Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam. "The purpose of Vedic instruction is to understand Me—or understand God." So Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says the same thing that: kṛṣṇa sambandha. Our target, goal of life, should be how to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In order to channelize all these activities the varṇāśrama-dharma has been observed, we Hindus. We observe these four varṇas, not actually observed now but we are supposed to observe the four. The institution to follow the regulative principles of four varṇas: Brāhmin, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, Śūdra. This is a system so that gradually you can rise yourself to the highest platform of understanding God, Kṛṣṇa. This is a system. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.13): cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ.

So you can not abolish this system because it is God-made. It may be existing under different names in different human societies or demigod society or demon society. There are different kinds of societies all over the universe. It may be named in a different way but the four divisions are there because it is God-made, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. The Brāhmin, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, Śūdra. The Brāhmin means the intelligent class of men. Anywhere, any intelligent class of men: scholars, teachers, professors, they are to be understood as Brāhmin. Not that Brāhmins are available in India only. In anywhere, any first-class intelligent man who understands what is what, he is a Brāhmin. Similarly a Kṣatriya means the administrative class, the next class, next intelligent class. Because through adm . . . because there is no intelligent class of men at the present moment therefore government is so much disturbed.

So formally the government was advised by the first-class intelligent man, the Brāhmins. That is the history and they used to conduct government in accordance to the advice of the learned Brāhmins, sages, like that. So next intelligent class is kṣatriya, next intelligent class is Vaiśyas—the mercantile class. Because simply intelligent class of men will not do or simply administrator class will not do. There must be production—agriculture.

Formally there was only agriculture production. Nowadays there are industries also. And others, there is four classes of men, neither Brāhmin nor kṣatriya. They're neither intelligent nor, I mean to say administrator nor very productive. They simply want to work and get some money, that's all. Satisfy. They are called Śūdras. So these four divisions are there everywhere, all over the world, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā. Now what is the purpose of the division? That is stated in the Viṣṇu-Purāṇa:

Varṇāśramācāravatā

puruṣena paraḥ pumān

visṇur ārādhyate panthā

nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇa

(CC Madhya 8.58, Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3.8.9)

If we follow the principles of this varṇa and āśrama then we actually satisfy the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. Varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣena paraḥ pumān visṇur ārādhyate. So therefore the ultimate goal is to understand Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead or Kṛṣṇa. This viṣṇu-tattva, viṣṇu-tattva, Kṛṣṇa is the highest principle of viṣṇu-tattva. The great sages and saintly persons they have analyzed Kṛṣṇa is cent percent Bhagavān and Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa is ninety-eight or ninety-six percent. Ninety-six percent, ninety-six percent.

Similarly Lord Śiva he is eighty-four percent, Lord Brahmā, he is fifty percent. Eh? No, seventy-eight percent. So there are calculations. Everyone is god, there is no doubt. Everyone īśvara, but there is percentage. Just like we have got, everyone is intelligent, everyone is rich, everyone has got some money, some bank balance, but there is degrees. However you may have got millions of dollars, I may have thousands of dollars, as there is differentiation of degree. Similarly even you accept everyone is god, but there is differentiation of the degree of god, degree of. And the śastra says that:

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ

anādir ādir govindaḥ

sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

(Bs 5.1)

So go on analyzing īśvara or god, you'll find somebody is lower, somebody is higher. But if you go on analyzing in this way you come to the point of Kṛṣṇa. You'll will find nobody is equal to Him, nobody is greater than Him, everybody is lower than Him—asamordhva. That is also Vedic injunction:

na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate

na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate

parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate

svā-bhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā(ca)

(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8)

God means, the Supreme Lord means, na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate. Nobody is found equal to Him or greater than Him. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. And He has nothing to do. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate. He has got multi-energies: Svā-bhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca. And He has by nature perfect knowledge, svā-bhāvikī jñāna-bala—and strength. Svā-bhāvikī jñāna-bala and kriyā . . . (indistinct) . . . so, "Let there be creation." As soon as He desires there is immediately creation. Sa īkṣata, sa asṛjata (Aitareya Upaniṣad 1.1.1-2). These are the Vedic versions.

So Kṛṣṇa Caitanya says that kṛṣṇa sambandha. We should understand, we should know what is God, how He is acting, how He is acting with his multi-energies and then we should know our position. The our position is, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu has already explained, that we are subordinate. That is the Vedic injunction also:

nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām

eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān

(Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13)

So He is the supreme eternal. We are all eternals but He is the supreme eternal. Just like we are all Indians but the president of Indian Union, he is the supreme Indian. Similarly he has got the same qualities as we have got, but his quantity of power is greater than you. Similarly qualitatively Kṛṣṇa, God or we are the same but quantitatively His power, His intelligence, His strength is far, far greater than ours. That is our sambandha'. We are not equal to Him, neither greater than Him. He is the greatest, God is great. Nobody is greater than Him, that's sambandha. That is our relationship. So as subordinates, our duty is to please Him. Just like we see in offices in government, everywhere. The subordinate officers are meant for pleasing the higher officers. There is no difficulty to understand what is our relationship with God. Artificially if I say: "I am equal to God." That is craziness.

How I can be equal to God? I am controlled. I am controlled. Just like if I say that: "I am the government." That is craziness, madness. I am not government. I may be Indian but I am controlled by the government. Similarly we are all eternals: nityo nityānām ceta . . . we are all living entities, Kṛṣṇa is also an individual living entity and we are individual living entities. He is not impersonal, He is also person, as we are persons but His power, His strength, His beauty, His opulence, everything supreme. Therefore He is called Supreme Personality of Godhead. So this is . . . this knowledge is to understand our relationship with God. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says here, kṛṣṇa sambandha. But we are related with. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (BG 15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ. "All these living entities, they are My part and parcels."

sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya

mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ

tāsāṁ mahad yonir brahma

ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā

(BG 14.4)

"I am the father, I am the original father of every living entity, not only human society." But there are 8,400,000 of species of forms. All of them are sons of God. Originally the supreme father is Kṛṣṇa. So this sambandha, this relationship we should understand, then we talk of universal brotherhood. If you do not know who is our father how is it possible to establish a relationship with brother? That brothership, brotherhood, is not restricted to the human society, that brotherhood is expanded even beyond the human society, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Not that I think only my countrymen, only my nationals, they are my brothers. We have to think even the ant, insignificant ant.

They are preaching of communism, but in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam a different communism is prescribed. Communism is very good theory, socialism, but not that simply myself and my brothers—There is community. No. You should expand to all living entities. Just like Nārada Muni is advising Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja about the householders duty. He is saying that even there is a lizard in your room, you should take care that he has eaten something, he is not starving. Even there is a snake in your house you should consider for him also. You must see that he is not starving. This is communism. Not that only I take care of the human society or my countrymen or society men and others may be killed, others may be sent to slaughterhouse. That is not communism. Communism is to think that every living entity. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says: paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ. Those who are actually learned, they are sama-darśi—equal. How equal? Not in the human society.

vidyā-vinaya sampanne

brāhmaṇe gavi hastini

śuni caiva śvapāke ca

paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

(BG 5.18)

One who is advanced in spiritual knowledge, paṇḍita, he is called paṇḍita, he has got equal vision. How? Vidyā-vinaya sampanne. In the society a learned Brāhmin: vidyā-vinaya sampanne and Brāhmin is also vinaya—very gentle. Vidyā-vinaya sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi—a cow, hastini—means elephant. Śuni, śuni means dog and śvapāke—the dog-eater, cāṇḍāla. So beginning from the highest personality, a learned Brāhmin, down to the cāṇḍāla, the lowest of the society, they're seen on equal level by a paṇḍita. Why? Because paṇḍita, a paṇḍita knows that these differentiation is of the body. A dog has got a different type of body and a learned Brāhmin has got a different type of body but both of them are the same souls, spirit souls. By his karma he has to accept a certain type of body but as spirit soul he is pure. Asaṅgo hy ayaṁ puruṣaḥ (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.15), the Vedas says. Therefore he sees everyone and he tries to, I mean to say, render service to everyone and that service can be rendered by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unless one is Kṛṣṇa conscious he cannot see everyone on the equal footing. It is not possible. Artificially universal brotherhood can not be established unless there is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is sambandha-jñāna. And for abhidheya means acting according to sambandha-jñāna. That I have already explained. That first of all he must act, establish our relationship.

So the relationship is that God is great, we are subordinate. He is maintaining everyone, His property is for everyone, His property is everyone. These are actually socialism. Not that one man should starve or one man should enjoy. No, no. Every son has got the right to enjoy the property of the father. If God is father, Kṛṣṇa is father then every living entity has the right. So God's arrangement is there. You produce, there is sufficient production. Even taking the calculation of the modern, the America has got immense production, there is, there is no question of starvation any part of the world.

But the difficulty is that America is thinking, "It is my property. It is my production. Why shall I give to the hunger stricken, ah, the poverty-stricken people of the world? Better throw it in the water." To keep the price. So due to our mismanagement the sufferings of the world, there. It is not God's creation. God's creation is—there is sufficient food for everyone. God's creation—there is no want. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that there is no scarcity of anything within the world, the only scarcity is Kṛṣṇa conscious, only scarcity is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore this movement, spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is the highest welfare activity to the human society.

veda-śāstre kahe sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana

kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-bhakti, prema,—tina mahā-dhana

(CC Madhya 20.143)

So the ultimate goal of studying Veda means to understand Kṛṣṇa and kṛṣṇa-bhakti—to act in devotional service and the ultimate goal of achievement is love of God, Kṛṣṇa. Three things. That is the instruction of Lord Caitanya. Those who have read Teachings of Lord Caitanya, they will find.

kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-bhakti, prema,—tina mahā-dhana

(CC Madhya 20.143)

vedādi sakala śāstre kṛṣṇa—mukhya sambandha

tāṅra jñāne ānuṣaṅge yāya māyā-bandha

(CC Madhya 20.144)

So there are various types of Vedic literature and Kṛṣṇa also says: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15).

And other śastra also says that:

vyāmohāya carācarasya jagatas te te purāṇāgamās

tāṁ tām eva hi devatāṁ paramikāṁ jalpantu kalpāvadhi

siddhānte punar eka eva bhagavān viṣṇuḥ samastāgama-

vyāpāreṣu vivecana-vyatikaraṁ nīteṣu niścīyate

(CC Madhya 20.145) (Padma Purāṇa)

The purport of this verse is in the Vedic literature there are many, I mean to say, demigods also. And because there are many demigods therefore people in other countries, in Western countries, they are under impression that the Hindus have got many gods. But actually that is not the fact. God is one, the demigods, they are also living entities. They are not God. God is one. So this purāṇādi śastras, in some of the Purāṇas, there are eighteen Purāṇas. Some of them are sattvika-purāṇas, some of them are rājasika-purāṇas, some are tamasika-purāṇas.

So in the tamasika-purāṇa it is said that this demigod is final, this demigod is final, but that is bhrama hāra. The śastra says that is a bewilderment. He is being taught to worship a certain type of demigod just to make him understand that there is a superior power. But actually he is being taught to go, to make progress to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not that he should stop there. So there are descriptions, that if you worship this god then you will get this benefit, if you worship this god then you will get this benefit. These things are there in the Vedic scriptures, that is a fact. And actually you get the benefit but in the Bhagavad-gītā when Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself describes He says that these demigods or worship of demigods are for those who are too much lusty for material enjoyment. Kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ prapadyante 'nya-devatāḥ (BG 7.20).

But they do not know that such benefits derived from the worship of demigods are temporary arrangement. Antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām (BG 7.20). In this way, gradually he's elevated to the highest position: bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19).

After many, many births. But in this age, in Kali-yuga, that slow progressive march will not help people. Therefore Lord Caitanya, out of His causeless mercy has recommended that:

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā

(CC Ādi 17.21)

In this age, in Kali-yuga, the only yajña—sacrifice, is recommended saṅkīrtana-yajña and only process of religious activity or transcendental engagement is chanting of the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. This is the verdict of the śastras. Because they are not living for long, long years. Fifty, sixty, seventy then finish. They're not living for hundreds of years, hundred years. Actually the limit of human being living, hundred years. In this age the duration of life is gradually diminishing and it will diminish to the point of twenty years to thirty years. That is also stated: "If a man lives for twenty to thirty years he will be considered grand old man." That day also will come.

At the present moment also average Indian life is thirty-five years. So the duration of life is being reduced. Similarly intelligence is being reduced. Man's propensity for doing good to others, that is also diminishing. Strength also diminishing. The stature also diminishing. So this age is not very favorable. Therefore in this age we cannot act according to the Vedic injunctions captioned here, perform sacrifices or gradually make progress. This is recommended: kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya (SB 12.3.51).

Simply by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet. He will be liberated and he will be elevated to the highest position. Mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ—he will be transferred to the spiritual world.

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is authorized and it is very simple. People are taking it. Not only in one country, in various countries they are taking and this movement is originally generated from India. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, He introduced this movement five thousand years ago. Now we have started this movement throughout the whole world so it is the duty of the Indian people to join and expand this movement. Bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra (CC Ādi 9.41)—it is the duty of every Indian.

That is the statement of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra—anyone who has taken birth as a human being in the land of Bhārata-varṣa. Śrī Bhārata-varṣa—the India, India is the land of religion, land of piety. That's a fact. A still even in this down-trodden condition. We have been in Kumbha-melā. Millions of men, daily coming, without any advertisement, to take a dip in the Ganges and Yamunā. By nature they are. Don't try to cut down, try to utilize it and spread it all over the world. That is His . . . (indistinct) . . . that is the order of Lord Caitanya.

bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra

janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra

(CC Ādi 9.41)

First of all you try to assimilate what is this culture then you try to distribute it all over the world. People will be benefited.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)