730226 - Lecture - Jakarta

730226LE.JKT

Prabhupāda: So where is your national? Your national home is back to home, back to Godhead. That is your national, real, actual home. That is called sanātana. That I was explaining. There is another place, material..., spiritual world. That is also called sanātana. And the jīva, the living entity, is also mentioned as sanātana. And Kṛṣṇa is also mentioned as sanātana . When these three sanātanas come together, that is called sanātana life, and any process that takes us to that sanātana position, that is called sanātana-dharma. That is called sanātana-dharma. We know sanātana-dharma. We have heard it only. But sanātana-dharma is not limited to a certain class of men or certain class of society or certain kind of country. No. Sanātana-dharma is meant for all living entities, because the living entity is sanātana, and God is sanātana, and the place where we can exist eternally, that place is called sanātana. And the process which teaches us to go back to sanātana land, sanātana existence, that is called sanātana-dharma. Try to understand, most of our Hindus, they call the sanātana-dharmī, but sanātana-dharma is not limited for any particular type of society. It is meant for the whole human being, living entity. Living entity sanātana. So when you accept this, when you understand what is sanātana, and we employ ourself in that process, that is called execution of sanātana-dharma.

So we are spreading this sanātana-dharma, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, throughout the whole world, not on the superficial platform of this bodily concept of life. We are teaching everyone that "You are not this body." Actually we are not, but it is because we are, at the present moment, we are educated as first-class rascals and fools, we are thinking that "I am this body." This is the defect of the modern civilization. But actually what Kṛṣṇa is trying to instruct Arjuna... Arjuna means everyone. He's not simply talking with Arjuna. Arjuna is simply via media. He's talking to the whole human society, intelligent class of men, that "We existed, we are existing now, and we shall exist also in the future." This is called sanātana, eternity. So na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ: "In the future we also shall exist." Now we should consider what is the problem now: I was present in the past, I am now present in the present, and I shall exist in the future. Then what is my problem? The problem is why I am changing this position of eternity? I am sanātana. I am eternal. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is the real existence, that I am Brahman. Brahman means eternal. But Kṛṣṇa is Parabrahman. Param means the supreme, the chief. Therefore there are two terms in the Vedic language: ātmā, paramātmā; brahman, parabrahman; īśvara, parameśvara. There are two terms. We are not parameśvara, not paramātmā, not parabrahman. We are ātmā, īśvara... We can say, "I am īśvara. " What does it mean, īśvara? Īśvara means controller. So, although we are servant, at the same time we are controller. That we can experience. I am now working in the office. I am servant of the establishment, but I'm given some power to control over certain departments. So simultaneously, I am servant and controller. As controller, I can be called īśvara, īśvara, god, as controller. But I am not controller, Supreme Controller. That I cannot say. Nobody can say that "I am the Supreme Controller." That you cannot say. You can control, say, a dozen of men. Another can control a hundred men. Another can control a thousand, or millions. But nobody can say that "I am the controller of the whole universe." That is not possible. That controller is Kṛṣṇa.

Therefore in the śāstra it is said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ [Bs. 5.1] : "The Supreme Controller is Kṛṣṇa." You are not supreme controller. Controller means god. So you can become a god, but you are not Supreme God. Therefore we use the word Godhead. Our magazine name is Back to Godhead. Not to "God." God, there are so many. Even the rascal, he is also god. That is another thing. But Godhead, that is explained in the Vedic literature, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. This is explanation. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is Kṛṣṇa. And how is He? Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1] . He has got His form. God is not formless. Vigraha. Vigraha means form. But what kind of form? Sat-cid-ānanda. Sat means eternal, cit means full of knowledge, and ānanda means full of bliss. You find that form, Kṛṣṇa's picture, always blissful, ānanda. You'll see here is Kṛṣṇa's picture. Here He's enjoying with his pleasure potency, Rādhārāṇī. That is His own potency. When Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is Parabrahman, described, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān BG 10.12 . When Arjuna understood Bhagavad-gītā, he said..., he addressed Kṛṣṇa not as Kṛṣṇa. Before that he was addressing Kṛṣṇa, because he is friend. Now when he understood Bhagavad-gītā, he understood Kṛṣṇa also. He addressed Him, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān: "You are perfect." So if Kṛṣṇa is even naughty actually, He's Parabrahman. So when Parabrahman wants to enjoy... Parabrahman must enjoy. Parabrahman is not without enjoyment, because wherefrom the idea of enjoyment comes unless it is in the Parabrahman? That is described in the Vedānta-sūtra, athāto brahma jijñāsā . Brahman, inquiry about Brahman, Parabrahman, both. So what is that Parabrahman? Janmādy asya yataḥ: BG 10.12 wherefrom everything comes. Everything, all emanations.

So this ānanda potency... We are seeking after ānanda. Every one of us, we are seeking after pleasure. This is struggle for existence. Everyone wants to be happy, peace and pleasure. But wherefrom this idea comes? The Vedānta-sūtra says janmādy asya yataḥ: SB 1.1.1 it also comes from Parabrahman. So if Parabrahman has no such tendency how to enjoy, wherefrom this so-called love in this material world between young boy and young girl comes? There cannot be any existing. It is only perverted reflection of that pleasure potency of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. It is only perverted reflection. It is not false. It is temporary, perverted. Just like the example is sometimes given to mistake a rope as snake. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they give. They say it is māyā. But it is not māyā. When you mistake a snake as..., mistake a rope as a snake, that is not māyā. That is illusion. You can call it māyā. But the snake is there. You cannot say, because it is rope, therefore there is no snake. No. Snake is there. Otherwise, how it comes to the idea of snake? The snake is a fact, but you are mistaking the rope as snake. That is your mistake. But snake is not illusion; snake is a fact. Similarly, another example is given. Just like in the desert, the mirage... In the desert sometimes, the animals find that water, there is a vast mass of water, and when they're thirsty, they jump over and go farther, farther, farther. But because there is no water, he dies. But no sane man goes after that water. But water is not false. That water is being sought in a false place. Similarly, the pleasure, the pleasure between two sexes, man and woman, that is not false. But we are seeking that pleasure in a false place in this material world. Therefore you have (indistinct). It is a great science.

So there is the pleasure, this sex attraction. But that sex attraction is not material, Kṛṣṇa, rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmāt, ekātmānāv api deha bhedaṁ gatau. Try to understand. For Brahman perception, Brahman pleasure, a great saintly person, he gives up everything material. He takes sannyāsa , he goes, undergoes severe penances, just to realize brahmānanda. So when Brahman... A person, ordinary person, to realize brahmānanda, he gives up everything material, do you think Kṛṣṇa, the Parabrahman, is enjoying something material? Just try to understand. Kṛṣṇa does not enjoy anything. He's Parabrahman. For understanding Brahman pleasure, a person is recommended to give up everything material. And when the Parabrahman wants to enjoy, does it means that He's enjoying something material? This is our nescience(?). This is our misunderstanding. When Parabrahman enjoys, He... But the difficulty is that this Māyāvādī philosopher, they cannot understand that in the spiritual world there is also pleasure. Their foolish brain cannot accommodate. Because here in this material world they have got very bad experience of this material... They want to make the spiritual world as zero or imperson due to less intelligence. But actually, real life, real pleasure, eternal pleasure is there in the spiritual world, not in this material world.

So from Bhagavad-gītā, if you study scrutinizingly each word and each śloka— not by man interpretation, but actually as it is—then we can understand what is our eternal life, what is our eternal pleasure, how we can return and sport there. Everything is explained there. Everyone can go. Everyone can transfer himself in that spiritual world—simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa. That's all. And the Kṛṣṇa understanding is there. Kṛṣṇa is explaining Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā. He, if you do not introduce your so-called foolish scholarship, then you get actually back to home, back to Godhead, by simply studying Bhagavad-gītā. But if you add your foolish rascal scholarship, that "Kṛṣṇa means this and that means this, this means that," then you are lost. Study Bhagavad-gītā as it is. You get all information how to realize Brahman, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. So 'ham. Don't misinterpret. Don't... There is no... Just like Kṛṣṇa... This verse is very plain. This verse says, na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsam. Where is the difficulty? "My dear Arjuna, both I, you... It is not that I did not exist, you did not exist. Neither this soldier." Where is the difficulty to understand? Why should we misinterpret?

dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre
samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva
kim akurvata sañjaya

BG 1.1

No. The main meaning is very plain: that Dhṛtarāṣṭra was asking his father's secretary, Sañjaya, "My dear Sañjaya, māmakāḥ, my sons and pāṇḍavāḥ, my brother's sons, Pāṇḍavas, they assembled," dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre BG 1.1 , "in the Kurukṣetra Field, which is known as dharma-kṣetra, the religious pilgrimage. After that meeting, what did they do?" Now, where is the difficulty to understand this verse? But unfortunately, one so-called scholar or so-called foolish man will come, he'll say, " Dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetra means this body." No. "Where you get this meaning, sir?" But he'll say, explain in this way: "The Pāṇḍava means five senses." Well, in which dictionary you'll find? This is going on. This rascaldom is going on. If you'll give up this rascaldom, simply read Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then you'll become successful in life. That is our preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)