Prabhupada Class on Bhakti Yoga: Bhagavad-gita 7.1 -- Bombay Dec 21 1975

Next is a class on the Bhagavad-gita as it is, seventh chapter, text number one, given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, recorded on December 21, 1975, in Bombay, India. The yoga system, which is known as bhakti-yoga.

Everyone is trying, not everyone, at the present moment practically nobody wants to understand what is God. Everyone is busy to fulfill the desires and necessities of the body. Yasyatma-buddhi-kunapeti-dhātuke So according to Vedic culture, one who has accepted this material body as self, ātma-buddhi-kunapeti-dhātuke, This body is a combination of matter, and the living force within this body is not this combination of matter. It is the spirit soul.

That one has to understand before coming to the platform of spiritual life. So long one is attached with this material body, it is not possible to understand what is spiritual life. If one continues to be attached to this material body, he is no better than go-kharo, cows and asses, animals. So our Vedic culture, Vedic culture means that human culture, not animal culture.

Animal culture means to satisfy the needs of the body. Vedic culture or human culture means to satisfy the needs of the soul. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā. One who is reading Bhagavad-gītā...

In India practically everyone reads, but because one does not take the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā as it was instructed by Kṛṣṇa, he cannot take the benefit of Bhagavad-gītā's instruction. One tries to understand Bhagavad-gītā by erudite scholarship or good position in the society, political, social, economical, but that is not the way to understand Bhagavad-gītā. The way to understand Bhagavad-gītā is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, tad viddhiḥ praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣanti tad jñānaṁ jñāniṇa tattva-darśina. Unless we approach a person who is representative of Kṛṣṇa and tattva-darśi, who has seen the truth, jñāni, and full of knowledge, from him you can understand what is Bhagavad-gītā, what is Bhagavān.

Otherwise you cannot understand. Nāhaṁ prakāśa-sarvasya-yuga-māyā-saṁhābhṛtaḥ . If you remain covered by the material energy, then you cannot understand Bhagavad-gītā. The purpose of Bhagavad-gītā is to understand real religious life.

Religion means the order which is given by God to carry out. That is religion. Those who are unknown of this fact, they are not religious. They may be some fake or blind belief, but religion means, dharmāntu sākṣād bhagavat praṇitam.

Religion means order or the law given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is religion. So to know God, the God, He is personally giving instruction. How to know God?

Krsna says, bhagavan uvaca. Here it is not, Vyāsadeva is not speaking. Krsna said, because sometimes Krsna is misunderstood. Therefore Vyāsadeva writes or says in this connection, bhavān uvāca.

Bhagavān means the fully opulent, samagraśya. Vaiśvaryasya samagraśya vīryaśya. He is the most powerful, the supreme rich, supreme wise, supreme beautiful, and at the same time supremely renounced. This qualification makes one Bhagavān.

So kṛṣṇa-sū bhagavān sayam. That is the verdict of Vedic literature. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Bhagavān is also sometimes called parameśvaraḥ. Īśvaraḥ means the ruling power of the personality controls. So every one of us, we have got some controlling power, either in the society or family or community or government or international.

Everyone has got some capacity to control, but nobody is supreme controller. Supreme controller means that he is nobody, he is no more controlled by anyone. Other controller, they are controllers, but they are controlled by somebody else. So Krsna is not that kind of controller.

He is the supreme controller, means He controls everyone, but nobody has above Him to control. Therefore He is called Parameśvaraḥ. Īśvaraḥ means confidence. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. He's not nirākāra. Vigrahaḥ.

Vigrahaḥ means form, but His form is different from our form. Therefore He is described as sac-cid-ānanda. Sat means eternal. Citta means full of knowledge, and ananda means full of transcendental bliss, eternal bliss.

The beginning is eternal. So eternal life, eternal, or complete, full knowledge, and eternal bliss. This is the composition of Krsna's body. But mūḍhas, rascals, they think Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being.

Abhijānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣim tanum āsus. Fools and rascals, mūḍhā. Mūḍhā means fools and rascals. Because they see that Kṛṣṇa is incarnation just like ordinary human being.

Cousin of Arjuna or of nephew, of Kuntī, like that, param bhāva-vajānantaḥ. Kṛṣṇa comes just like ordinary human being, but that does not mean He's ordinary human being. Therefore Vyāsadeva says, bhagavān uvaś. If you consider Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being, then you are missing the point.

And I have already given the definition of Bhagavān. One of the qualification of Bhagavān is vaiśajyaśya-samagraśya-vīryaśya-jaśyaśya-surya-jñāna. He has got full knowledge. He hasn't got to take knowledge from anyone else.

Sābhābhikī-jñāna. Bhagavān means sābhābhikī-jñāna. bala-kriyāca. Natasya kāryam karanam. This is Vedic instruction.

Natasya kāryam karanam ca vidyate. Natasya sama adhikasya diśyate. Prāśya-śaktir vibhidaiva śrīyate. Sāvā-vikī-jñāna.

Bala-kriyāca. Sāvā-vikī. All, full knowledge, He has got. Aham sarvasya prabhava.

He is the the creator of everything. So how he got this knowledge to float these big, big planets in the air? That knowledge, there is knowledge. There is art.

Just like you, when you float a big airplane in the sky, it requires knowledge. It requires technology, art. It is not flying automatically. That is a mistake.

So if to float an ordinary airship, it requires so much knowledge, so much technology, that how much knowledge is there when we see that in the biggest planet the sun is floating in the air, and it is lying in one corner of of the sky, and exactly in time it is rotating, yasyādvayā bhramati saṁbhṛta-kāla-cakra. There is knowledge, there is art who has fixed it. Therefore in the Vedas it is said, yasyādvayā bhramati saṁbhṛta-kāla-cakra. He is also rotating in the orbit by the order of Govinda.

So there are so many things to learn and to understand what is God and what is Krsna. God means Krsna. Krsna-sruh-bhagavansayam. Natasya sama-adikasya-drisyate.

God means nobody is equal to Him, and nobody is greater than Him. That is God. There is no competition that in this quarter there is one God, and another neighborhood there is another God. Just like it has become a fashion, so many gods, competition is going on.

No. There is no competition. Our God is one. Natasya karyam karanam ca vidyate natasya sama adhikasya dhrsate That is God.

So because God is complete in knowledge, therefore we have to take knowledge from Him, not from the person who has got incomplete knowledge. That knowledge is not perfect. We must take knowledge from the person. We have to take knowledge from the person. tad-viddhi-panipātena-paripraśnena-sevaya upad-akṣante tad-jñānaṁ jñānena-tattva-dharaḥ We have to approach.

Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet. We have to approach a superior person, guru, and take knowledge from him. The most superior person is Kṛṣṇa. You may doubt others, that may be, but when you come to Kṛṣṇa, that is perfect knowledge.

So Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He comes in, once in, we are calculating, yesterday, what is, how many years after? You were there? Some billions of years after, we can calculate from the śāstra, because He comes once in the day of Brahmā. That Brahmā's duration of life is there in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Sahasra-yuga-paryantam arharyat brahmano vidhi. Forty-three lakhs of years multiplied by thousand becomes twelve hours of Brahmā, and similarly twelve hours at night. That is, one day and night. Such thirty times makes a month.

Such twelve times makes a year. And similarly, hundred years is the duration of life of Brahma. So according to sastra we understand, once in the day of Brahma, Krsna appears. Why does he appears?

Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glāni bhavati tad ātmānaṁ śrījāmy aham. Dharmasya glāni. What is that dharmasya glāni? Disobedience to Kṛṣṇa's order.

That is dharmasya glāni. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya. Dharma is one. As God is one, similarly dharma is also one.

There cannot be many dharmas. There are many dharmas. Practically we see Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma, Christian dharma, Buddha dharma, this dharma, so many dharmas. But real dharma is one.

That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharma. Paro means transcendental. These are material dharmas.

I am Hindu, you are Muslim, you are Christian, can, you are this, you are that. These are means an attempt to raise oneself on the platform of real dharma. But real dharma is one for everyone. What is that?

Sabaripunsaṁ parodharma. That is transcendental dharma. Yato bhakti adhokṣaje. This dharma, by following which one becomes a Kṛṣṇa conscious person or godly person.

One who understands God, His relationship with Him, and acting according to that relationship, that is real dharma. So our, everyone's, all living entities, dharma means to know that we are eternal servants of God. That is explained by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, jīverśa-rūpaḥ nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa. And in the Bhagavad-gītā also, Kṛṣṇa instructs the same dharma, that you are the living entities, you are all My part and parcel, and it is your duty to cooperate with Me without any reservation.

That is explained is the Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharma-parīkṣad mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ garaśaṁ. So the Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by Kṛṣṇa personally when He was present for the benefit of the human society, for all nations. It is not for the Hindus, for the Indians. It is for everyone.

God is for everyone. Kṛṣṇa also says, sarva-joniḥ śukauṁ teya sambhavanti mūrta-yajāt ahaṁ bhagavad-dharma. In the Bhaktivinoda-bhagavatam also the same thing is spoken, where Krsna ends, Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām etaṁ śaraṇaṁ bhajaḥ, from the same point, Vyāsadeva begins Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, janmādy asya yataḥ anyād itaratasya adhyeṣuha-vijña-śvarāḥ. And he describes about dharma, dharma-projjhita, kaita-bhakti.

All cheating type of religious system are projjhita. Projjhita means to throw us, kick out. So our, this Krsna consciousness movement is bhagavad-dharma, to teach throughout the whole world that God is great, and we small particle, part and parcel of God. Our duty is to serve God.

That is bhakti. Anukulyena kṛṣṇa-anusilyanam. When you favorably serve Krsna, be ready to get orders from Krsna and serve Him, that is perfection of life. That is sarva-dharma-anparitya-yama-mitaṁ sarva-raṁ And if we daily manufacture a kind of dharma according to my concoction, or we accept everything as real dharma, that is a mistake.

Dharma means the order given by God, and if you follow that or execute that order as Arjuna did, then you are dharmic, you are religious. Just like Arjuna, he followed Kṛṣṇa's order. Kṛṣṇa wanted him to fight. Of course, he was a kṣatriya.

His duty was to fight, and Kṛṣṇa wanted him to fight, but he was hesitating because the other party with whom he had to fight, they happened to be his family members, most dear kith and kin. Some of them were nephews, some of them gurus, teacher, grandfather. So all of them, it was a family fight. So Arjuna was not willing to fight.

But Krsna wanted to fight. And after learning from Him the essence of Bhagavad-gita, sarva-dharmātma-karitvaryam He agreed to fight. That is bhakti. Even by fighting, you can become a devotee.

You have to carry out the order of Krsna. That is bhakti. So you must be qualified to know Krsna. Then you must be qualified, or automatically you become qualified how to receive His order.

This is the way. So unless you understand from where the order is coming, how the order-giver is speaking, if you do not know the science, how you can talk with Krsna and receive His order? That is also not very difficult. Krsna says, tesam satatujuktanam bhajatam pirti-puru-bhagavati. who is twenty-four hours engaged in Krsna's service.

Satya-yujjana. Not sporadic, that two minutes I meditate upon Krsna, and then twenty-three hours, sixty-eight minutes, fifty-eight minutes, I remain to satisfy my senses. That is not Krsna-bhakti. Krsna-bhakti means satya-yujjana, Twenty-four hours engaged in Kṛṣṇa conscious way.

Just like these boys are being trained up. They have not come to me for some monetary benefit. What monetary benefit I can give to them? They are rather bringing money, and I am constructing big, big temples.

They are money. So still they are engaged in carrying out my order. There is no payment, no monetary benefit, because they have understood me, that he is representative of Kṛṣṇa. That we have to find out the representative of Kṛṣṇa.

That is also not very difficult. Who is representative of Kṛṣṇa? Krishna, representative of Krsna, is He who simply repeats the instruction of Krsna, does not say anything nonsense. He is representative of Krsna.

Krsna says, man-manabhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji-maghnamusya. He does not say any big, big bombastic thing. Very simple thing, that I always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer oblation. It doesn't require an M.A., Ph.D. education to learn these four things.

Anyone, even a child can do it. It is very easy. If you daily see the Deity in the temple, or if you have got Deity at home, even a child will be practiced to think of Krsna. It is not at all difficult.

And if you chant Hare Krsna maha-mantra, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, that is also thinking of Krsna. So man-mana. And if you continue this, then mad-bhakta, you become a devotee. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakta.

A mad-yadi. Then if you can, you can offer to Krsna. Is it very expensive? No.

Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yomi bhaktyaḥ prajñati. You can offer Krsna little water or a tulsi leaf. Or if tulsi leaf is not available, pay any leaf. He does not say tulsi leaf.

So what is the difficulty to secure a little water, a leaf, or a small flower? Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ tayaṁ. The real thing is bhakti. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ tayaṁ.

So manbhaktaḥ. If you are poorest of the poor, you can become a devotee. If you want to become a devotee of Krsna, there is no impediment throughout the three worlds within the universe. You can become a devotee.

It is so easy. If you want to be a rich man, it requires so much trouble. Rather, so long you do not desire to become a rich man, you you are peaceful. And as you desire to become a rich man, here is the whole activity begins.

How to acquire money? This way, that way, this way. So everyone tries to become rich man because generally one thinks that at old age I will get some income and I shall sit down very peacefully. So you are already sitting down peacefully.

Why you take another means? Of course, these things we are not going to discuss, but bhakti means no desire. Anyāvilāśitāḥ sundaṁ. Then bhakti is very easy.

Anyāvilāśitāḥ sundaṁ jñāna-karma-danāvṛtam. People are very busy for knowledge and fruitive activities. Everyone in Bombay is working so hard day and night to get some result, and the jnanis, when they are disgusted, they try to become jnani. Jnani generally means one who wants liberation, mukti, by merging into the existence.

The bhakti is above this. Jnana-karma-ganavritam. you want to become a bhakta, then you have to disregard the process of fruitive activities and the speculating method of understanding God. Jnana-karma-danavritam. Then what I have to do?

Anukulyena krsna-nusilyenam bhakti-ruttam. Simply you have to be ready to execute the order of Krsna, Bhagavan. Anukulyena. What Krsna says, we have to do.

Just like a servant. Servant faithfulness is, as soon as the master orders something, he's ready. You have to be there. So to become ready to serve Krsna does not require much knowledge or very advanced intuitive activities.

These are material things. Spiritually, when you understand that you are eternal servant of God, Krsna, and if you become fully convinced and do the needful, then you are ever returned, immediately. Mukti means, it is described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, mukti-hitya-anatharupam sarupe na vastit. If you understand that you are eternal servant of Krsna, that is mukti.

And so long you are thinking that you are master of something, that is bondage. This is the difference between mukti and bondage. Bondage means to think of becoming master, I am the lord of this universe, or I am trying to become a lord or master, this is bondage. And when you fully understand Krsna and become engaged in His service, that is mukti.

So for a devotee, there is no question of mukti. A devotee is already mukta. Why? Krsna says, ahantma atharva-pape bha-mukha-isvami.

Immediately. As soon as you soon as you surrender to Me, immediately I give you protection. You are awaiting some fruitive result of your past karma. That is bondage.

You have to take birth, and you have to serve according to that karma. That, from that position, you are immediately liberated. Aham tvā sarva-pāpe dhaḥ mokṣay sañjaya. Then you are mukta.

So if you remain in the position, to serve Krsna, then you are always mukta. Mukti mukulita-anjali sevate asma. A great devotee, Vrndavana Thakura, he said, this mukti mukulita-anjali, with folded hands, she is standing at my door. What can I do for you?

Make servant. So devotee is not after mukti. Because they are already muktas. Sarva-pādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam.

He is already nirmala, without the tinge of material mode. Therefore He is able to serve Kṛṣṇa. Hṛsi-keṇa hṛsi-keśa-sevaṇaṁ dhakti-riṣyate. So Kṛṣṇa personally instructing Bhagavad-gītā to understand Him.

So we should take advantage of this. Otherwise we are missing this opportunity, the human form of life. Kṛṣṇa is not teaching Bhagavad-gītā to some cats and dogs. He is teaching to the most influential person.

Himanga-rājarṣaya-viduḥ. So Bhagavad-gītā is meant for the rājarṣī, very rich, opulent, at the same time saintly person. Formerly all the kings were rājarṣīs. and hrsik, combined together. So the Bhagavad-gītā is not meant for the loafer class.

It is to be understood by the heads of the society. Yaj-yata ācaratiśreṣṭha tattva eva itare janā. So those who are claiming to be the leaders of the society, they must learn Bhagavad-gītā, to become practical and actual leader, then the society will be benefited. And if we follow the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā and Kṛṣṇa, then all problems will be solved.

It is not a sectarian religious sentiment or fanaticism. It is not that. It is a science, social science, political science, cultural science. Everything is there.

So our request is that every one of you become a guru. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's order. He wants that everyone must become guru. How?

That he says, amāra-jñāya guruhaiyātāra-yaideśa. Yāre dākho tāre kaḥ kṛṣṇa-upadeśa. This is guru. Suppose you are family members, so many living entities, your sons, your daughters, your daughter-in-law, your children.

You can become their guru. Exactly like this you can can sit down in the evening and talk about Bhagavad-gītā, yāre dākha tāre kaḥ kṛṣṇa-vadeṣa. You haven't got to manufacture something. The instruction is there.

You simply repeat and let them hear. You become guru. It is not difficult at all. So that is our preaching. do not want to become alone guru, but we want to preach in such a way that every chief man or any man, he can become guru, and his surrounding...

Anyone can do that. Even a coolie, he cannot. He has got family, he has got friends. So even though he is illiterate, he can hear The instruction of Kṛṣṇa, and He can please, we say, this we want.

And we invite all respectable gentlemen, leaders, to learn this. It is very simple. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakta mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. And by executing this order of Kṛṣṇa, He assures, mām eva śyasi, you come to Me. yad gatvā nāni-vartante tad-dhāma-paramaṁ mamaṁ taktād ehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya Very easy thing.

So our only request is the leaders of the society should take up the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, very seriously learn Himself and teach to others. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is not at all difficult. It is very easy.

Everyone can do it. But the result will be that as soon as you understand, people understand Kṛṣṇa, janma-karmaṁ me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. Anyone who understands Kṛṣṇa, the result is, tattvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti. After giving up this body, he does not accept any more material body.

He stays in his spiritual identity and enjoys the society of Kṛṣṇa. That is Vṛndāvana. Gopīya na vallaha. Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvana means that Kṛṣṇa is the center.

He is the lovable object of everyone. The gopīs, the cowherds' boys, the calves, the cows, the trees, the fruits, flowers, the father, mother, everyone is attached to Kṛṣṇa. That is Vṛndāvana. So this is the replica, this Vṛndāvana, and there is real Vṛndāvana.

This is also real. In the absolute there is no difference. But for our understanding, there is original Vṛndāvana. cintāmaṇi prakara-sad-masu kalpa-vṛkvala-kāvṛte tuṣuravīra-vipālayantam lakṣmī-sahasya-sata-sambhraṁ sevva-mānaṁ govinda-mādi-bhuri-saṁtavaṁ bhajāsmi venam kandantam ara-vinda-dalāya-thākṣam varahāvatam samasitām budha-sundrāṅgam kandatva-koti-kamanīya viśeṣa-sobham govinda This is the description. Goloka, Vṛndāvana.

So there is dhāma, antāṣṭha-kūṭa-śatavakṣaḥ, beyond this material world. So if we like, we can go there. Mad-yājino api jānti māṁ. Kṛṣṇa says.

You can go to the heart-planted system, jānti-devabhrakā-devāṁ titrīṁ jānti-vitrībhrakā-bhūte jā jānti-bhūtaḥ. Mad-yājino api jānti māṁ. If you are preparing to go to some other, better planet, that is the chance in the human being. But if you live like cats and dogs, then where is Pramota and where is Krsna and where is Goloka?

Everything is spoiled. Our only request is, don't spoil your time, valuable time. Be prepared for being transferred to Krsna, and the method is described in the Bhagavad-gita. take to and leave and leave. Thank you very much.