Bhagavad Gita 4.10

[Paramananda das]

.

Srila Prabhupada gave at least two lectures on this sloka :

Bhagavad-gītā 4.10
Type: Bhagavad-gita
Date: Aug. 2, 1974
Location: Vṛndāvana
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Prabhupāda:
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ
[Bg. 4.10]
Bhāvam means nature also. Just like we call nature sva-bhāva, sva-bhāva. So mad-bhāvam... This is one nature, this material nature. This is also Kṛṣṇa's bhāvam, means Kṛṣṇa's nature. Nothing is beyond Kṛṣṇa, but this is external nature. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ... [Bg. 7.4], bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā. Bhinnā means separated energy. The energy is working. Although it is Kṛṣṇa's nature, still, it is separated nature. Just like I am speaking; it is being recorded. When it will be replayed, you will hear the same sound, but still, it is separated from me. Similarly, this material nature is also Kṛṣṇa's nature. Nothing is beyond Kṛṣṇa. There are two nature = the spiritual nature and material nature. So material nature means external energy, and spiritual nature means internal energy. And we, we are also spiritual nature, marginal. We can remain either in the material nature or in the spiritual nature. Therefore we are marginal nature. There are three natures = external, internal and marginal.
So, so long we are in the material nature, external nature, we are unhappy. This is the position. Just like a fish, when it is put into the land, it is unhappy, or death. Similarly, if you, the creature of the land, if you are put into the water, you are unhappy, and death. So because we belong to the spiritual nature... As it is explained by Kṛṣṇa, that this material nature is aparā. Aparā means inferior, not fit for us. Therefore we are unhappy. So long we shall remain in the material nature, we must be unhappy. Just like this body. This body is made of material nature, and we are within this body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā [Bg. 2.13]. So long we have got this body, material body, we must be unhappy. First of all, we must try to understand why we are unhappy. We are unhappy because we are in this material body. And the... What is the unhappiness? It is ending in four principles = janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi [Bg. 13.9]. To take birth and again to die, and so long we live we must suffer from some disease and we must become old. Plain truth.
Therefore intelligent person must be aware of the miserable condition of this material existence and try to get out of it. Is there any doubt? Eh? This is the fact. So our only business is how to get out of this material existence. That is our only business---not that how we can adjust things here and become happy. That is called karmī, fools. It is a fact that so long you'll be here in this material world, however you may try to adjust things to become happy, it will be never possible. It will be never possible. They are trying to be materially happy in the Western world. They do not know actually what is happiness, but material happiness means sex life. So sex life they are every day enjoying. And still, they go to the naked dance to see if there is happiness. Why there will be happiness? There cannot be any happiness. But this is adjustment. They are trying this way or that way. That's all.
Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām [SB 7.5.30]. In the Bhāgavata the answer is they..., they're all self-interested, but they do not know what is self-interest. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ [SB 7.5.31]. Bahir-artha. Bahir-artha means external energy, material energy. They are thinking by material adjustment they will be happy. But they do not know that self-interest is how to be again connected with Viṣṇu, svārtha-gatim. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum. Or to become Vaiṣṇava. Viṣṇur asya devatā iti vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava means one who has accepted Viṣṇu as everything. As Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. This is our business. But nobody is interested. Na te viduḥ. They do not know that this is the interest. This is the only interest, how to become reconnected with Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu. Na te viduḥ. They do not know. Therefore we have started this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. They do not know. Everyone, cent percent, the whole population of the world, they do not know. So rascal, so fool, they do not know their interest. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā [SB 7.5.31]. Durāśayā, with the hope against hope, which will be never fulfilled. Therefore it is called durāśayā. Why? Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. They are interested with this external energy.
So this is our problem. But the rascals, they do not know. Śāstra... Therefore we have to consult śāstra. What is our problem, we have to consult śāstra. And śāstra, how we can consult śāstra? Śāstra, we have to go somebody who knows śāstra. Therefore the Vedic injunction is, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet, śrotriyam [MU 1.2.12]. If you want to know what is your actual interest, then you have to approach a guru. And who is guru? Śrotriyam: who knows śāstra. Śrotriyam. And not only knows, but the result must be there = brahma-niṣṭham, means Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Brahma-niṣṭham means fully dependent on Kṛṣṇa. This is the process. We must know, we must find out guru who knows śāstra,the essence of śāstra, Vedic, Vedas. What is the essence of Vedas? Vedānta. Vedānta means to know Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ [Bg. 15.15]. Kṛṣṇa says. All... There are different types of Vedas = Sāma, Yajur, Ṛk, Atharva. Then hundred and eight Upaniṣads. Then Vedānta-sūtra. Then Purāṇas, Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata. And the viṁśati, twenty kinds of dharma-śāstra, Manu-saṁhitā. So many things. So what is the purpose of all these śāstras? Kṛṣṇa says, "The purpose is to know Me." And in Vedānta, the Upaniṣad confirms it, yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati[Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3].
If you try to know Kṛṣṇa... If you try to know Kṛṣṇa, then... Or if you understand Kṛṣṇa, then you know everything. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. This is the knowledge, to understand Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa also confirms this, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ [Bg. 4.9] = "Simply if one understands tattvataḥ, in truth, what I am, why I descend, why I become a child of Yaśodā, why I become son of Vasudeva, janma, and why I act, why I take part in the battlefield..." He has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate, Veda says. The Supreme Lord has nothing to do. Why He has to do? He's full, complete. He has nothing to do. He has nothing to aspire. There is nothing wanting. We are working for..., because we want so many things. But He has no want. He's ātma-tṛpta, fully complete. Thus He has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. This is description of God. He has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate [Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8].
There is nobody equal to Him, nobody is greater than Him. This is the Vedic description of God. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate, na tat-sama... Sama means equal. And adhika. Adhika means greater. Here you will find somebody is equal to you, somebody is greater than you, somebody is lower than you. Three positions. Everyone. Nobody can say that "I am the final." Anybody, beginning from Brahmā down to the ant, everybody you'll find that somebody is equal to him, somebody is greater than him and somebody is lesser than him. But Kṛṣṇa, nobody is equal to Him, nobody is greater than Him, but every is lesser than Him. That's all. This is Kṛṣṇa. Everyone is lesser. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate.
Now you are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, studying, of course, so many books. Have you found anyone who is greater than Kṛṣṇa or equal to Kṛṣṇa? No. We can find one greater than... Rādhārāṇī is greater than Kṛṣṇa. [laughter] Yes. That is out of love. Actually, Rādhārāṇī's also lesser than Kṛṣṇa. She's dāsī, maidservant. She's always thinking how She shall be perfect dāsī. She's not thinking that... Kṛṣṇa sometimes makes Rādhārāṇī greater than Him. That does not mean Rādhārāṇī thinks like that. Rādhārāṇī always thinks, "How I shall become perfect maidservant of Kṛṣṇa?" That is the real position, everyone. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta you'll find how everyone is thinking of servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is our real position.
But Kṛṣṇa sometimes elevates some of His devotees. Just like Mother Yaśodā. He's thinking, "Mother Yaśodā is greater than Me." Or He is making Rādhārāṇī, I mean Mother Yaśodā, feeling like that, that "I am protector of Kṛṣṇa. If I do not feed Kṛṣṇa nicely, He will die." This is called vātsalya-rasa, paternal feeling. So nobody is greater than Kṛṣṇa actually. And she is feeling greater than Kṛṣṇa as also maidservant, that "I must serve Kṛṣṇa. I must timely give Kṛṣṇa food. I must timely raise Kṛṣṇa." Always taking care, always anxious that "Kṛṣṇa may not be in danger. Kṛṣṇa is crawling---He may not go to the water. He may not be attacked by the monkey. He may not be..." So many. [S]he's always anxious. [S]he's doing his [her] household work, but [s]he's always anxious how to protect Kṛṣṇa. So she is thinking, she is thinking that "Unless I give protection to Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa may be facing with so many dangers." But Kṛṣṇa is doing His business. Rādhārāṇī..., uh, Mother Yaśodā, keeping Kṛṣṇa underneath the cart, and Kṛṣṇa is breaking the cart, killing the Śakaṭāsura. And Mother Yaśodā thinking Kṛṣṇa is saved. Then when the cart was broken, the utensils scattered and she became anxious. This is Kṛṣṇa's enjoyment, to deal with His devotees in different rasas and enjoy. Sākhya... Śānta, dāsya, sākhya, mādhurya, vātsalya. In this way Kṛṣṇa is always enjoying. He has no other business than enjoyment. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt [Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12]. He's by nature simply enjoying. Enjoying. That is Kṛṣṇa.
So we are also Kṛṣṇa's part and parcel. Therefore in minute quantity we have got the same propensities how to enjoy life. This is... Because we are Kṛṣṇa's part and parcel, the same... Just like the drop of sea water has the same chemical composition. Analyze. The same percentage of salt, proportionately. Just like two upon fifty proportion, what is called, ratio. The ratio is the same, only in small quantity. Otherwise the percentage is the same, only in small quantity. So we are ānandamaya. Our nature is to remain always jubilant in pleasure. But because we are in this material contact, we are not jubilant. This is our problem. That Kṛṣṇa is suggesting here, how to solve your problem. He says, vīta-rāga. "Give up this attachment, sense attachment." Rāga. Rāga means attachment. Vīta-rāga-bhaya. And here we have got one quality, that fear, always fearing. Just like we are having these railings, why? We are afraid, we may not be attacked. The material life means āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca [Hitopadeśa 25]. We must eat, we must sleep, and we must be afraid of, and we must have sex. This is material life. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam. And spiritual life means minus this = no more fear, no more attachment, no more sex life.
Just like in the life of the Gosvāmīs. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau. Conquered. Conquered over these things, material necessities. So this is called penance. Here it is said. Bahavo jñāna-tapasā. First of all jñāna, understanding our position. This is called jñāna. And then practice tapasya. Tapasya means make these things, material necessities, zero. That is called tapasya. Tapasya. Because we are accustomed to all these things---eating, sleeping, mating and fearing. So to give up, it is not possible all of a sudden. That is not possible. Because we are accustomed. Just like the fan is rotating. You stop the switch, it will rotate, at least, for some time, because the force is there. Similarly, even if we accept that these things should be stopped---no more eating, no more sleeping, no more sex, no more fearing---that should be... There must be determination. But it may go around, because we are practiced to this. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ [Bg. 9.30]. If we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness full, even due to our past habits we are attached to all things, Kṛṣṇa says it doesn't matter. But you keep yourself always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
What is that? Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. That will keep your Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk [Bg. 9.30]. He does not forget to worship Kṛṣṇa by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. If you do that, that... But don't be attached to all these eating, sleeping, mating and defending. But be detached, that "These things I do not require as spirit soul, but because I am in material condition, because I have got this body, to keep this body fit, I require these things. So minimize it. Minimize, it. Just like I am sannyāsī, somebody is sannyāsī. So sannyāsī, what is that sannyāsī? We are also eating, we are also sleeping. But there is no mating, no sex life. So one item dropped, at least. The very important item. So that is called vīta-rāga. And there is no fear. Vīta-rāga. Everything can be practiced. Abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena cetasā nānya-gāminā[Bg. 8.8]. If we practice, then things will be all right.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that bahavaḥ, not one. Bahavaḥ. Kṛṣṇa says "many," many persons. We have got many instances in the śāstras, by tapasya, brahmacaryeṇa, tapasā, jñānena, yamena, niyamena, tyāgena. These are the different items. But either you practice the different items or simply take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all these practices will be automatically done. Kecit kevala bhakti-yogena. Vāsudeva-parāyaṇāḥ [SB 6.1.15]. If you become vāsudeva-parāyaṇa, then these things will be practiced. Just like everyone in this country... In the morning the manager of the Central Bank came. He was very much praising that how these European, American boys have become so nice. Because they have taken to bhakti-yoga. It is compared = nīhām..., nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ. Nīhāram iva bhās... Nīhāram means... What is called? Mist or frost? The...? In the morning sometimes?
Devotees: Mist? Fog? Mist? Fog?
Prabhupāda: Fog. Fog, yes. The fog... We have got experience. When there is fog... I was, when I was going to your country, USA, I was on the ship. So there was all of a sudden fog cover, all over the sea. Anyone who has traveled in the sea, they have got experience. So you cannot go. Immediately the ship stops and horns, so that other ship may not collide. It becomes... So this fog... Now, you have no instrument to drive away the fog. But as soon as the sun rises a little with strength, immediately fog is gone. So strong, but due to the sunshine, immediately it will go. Nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ. This example is given.
Similarly, we may have so many bad habits, rāga, attachment. If you simply take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this will go, just like the fog---immediately. Immediately. So take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness very rigidly. That is called vīta-rāga. Simply by... This is the gift of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12] means to drive away the fog in the mind. That's all. Because we are covered by the fog in so many ways, and it is very difficult to drive away. But you keep yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it will be driven away. It will be driven away. There is no doubt about it.
So Kṛṣṇa is suggesting that first of all jñāna. The rascals have no knowledge how to become happy. They are thinking, "We shall...," they will be happy by drinking wine and eating meat and having sex life unlimitedly. They're thinking like that, so rascal. The whole civilization is condemned. They do not know how to become happy. They do not know how to become happy. Mūḍha. They do not know. The happiness is only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the fact. Kṛṣṇa assures that, that bahavaḥ, many; jñāna-tapasā... First of all, one must know that the way in which you are finding out, trying to..., trying to find out happiness, that is nonsense. That is not possible. We have to give up all these things. That is tapasya.Voluntarily give up all these things. The more we are advanced means more we have given up all these things---eating, sleeping, mating and defending. This is the position.
So vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ... [Bg. 2.56]. So how it is possible? How to become detached? Man-mayā: "Always be absorbed in My thought." Or man-mayā means... Man means "mine"; mayā, "of Me," "Thinking of Me." That is recommended. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. This is the process. Always think of Kṛṣṇa, man-manāḥ.This is easy. Just like you love somebody. So if you chant his name, if you think of him, then you'll always remember. Similarly, if you simply think of Kṛṣṇa, if you simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa name, then you remain man-mayā. So vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ [Bg. 4.10]. You should take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa advises, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66] = "You take My shelter." So of course, those who are thinking of Kṛṣṇa, it is understood that he has taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Man-mayā. Man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ...
So if you do these things... Not only you; there are... There are many examples. Bahavaḥ. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja and Dhruva Mahārāja, all big, big stalwart devotees. Nārada Muni, Brahmā, Svayambhū... Svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilaḥ, prahlādaḥ bhīṣmaḥ... [SB 6.3.20]. There are big, big personalities. To follow them, how? Prahlāda Mahārāja was being chastised by his father, five years old, but he did not know how to protest. He was suffering and chanting, "Hare Kṛṣṇa," "Nārāyaṇa." What can be done? What can be done? He was completely dependent on his father. And father had no mercy. The only fault was he, Kṛṣṇa..., turned Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the fault. And he was being punished. He was punished, punished. This is the world. Even father will be enemy, what to speak of others. If you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, the whole world will be your enemy. You must be prepared for that.
So therefore you require tapasya. Tapasya. Tapasya means voluntarily agree to suffer. That is called tapasya. Voluntarily. Suffering is there, but why not suffer for Kṛṣṇa? Everyone is unhappy. Everyone is in suffering condition. Who is not suffering? Everyone is suffering. Tri-tāpa-yatana. Adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika. Three kinds of sufferings are always going on. Why you are running fan? Because suffering; there is heat. So where is no suffering? This is called adhidaivika, the scorching heat, scorching, I mean, severe cold. There must be always. We are suffering now due to scorching heat, and when the... We are thinking, "If it is become cooler..." And when it is cool, then also we suffering. Then we think, "If there is some heat." When there is winter, we are hankering after heat, and when there is summer, we are hankering after cooling.
So this is going on. We cannot be happy. First of all we must know that. There is no question of happiness here. We are simply hankering, "If it would have been very nicely cool." And when it is cool, then you'll think, "If it had been nicely hot..." The same thing. Carvita-carvaṇānām. Carvita-carvaṇānām means chewing the chewed. We have tasted heat and cold both, but we are desiring, "If it would have been like this, if it had been like that, if it..." But never come to the conclusion that either heat or cool, we have to suffer. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya. That is explained by Kṛṣṇa. So long you have got this, this material skin, then this heat and cold you'll have to suffer. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ [Bg. 2.14]. The śīta, the summer, the winter, or the summer season, neither of them are sources of happiness. But you are thinking like that. "If it would have been like this, if it would have been like this."
Therefore kāṅkṣa, akāṅkṣa. So if you become transcendentally situated, brahma-bhūta, there will be no more akāṅkṣa.There will be no more hankering either for this or that, because he knows... That is called jñāna. So after jñāna... That is required. Jñāna, in the human form of life, this knowledge is required. The animals cannot have jñāna. The human beings can have jñāna. This is knowledge, that "So long I'll possess this material body, I'll have to suffer. I'll have to suffer." Unless you come to this conclusion, there is no progress. If we remain attached to these bodily pains and pleasure... Of course, nobody wants pains, but for pleasure you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Of course, gradually you'll come to knowledge.
That is not our aim. Our aim is that the pains and pleasure, so-called pleasure---actually pain---this will continue so long we have got this body. Therefore we have to practice tapasya, penance. Simple thing = no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication. This is tapasya, voluntarily accepting... Those who are practiced to all these bad habits, so they will feel some pain, but you accept that pain. Then this pain will be over, this material pain. Just like sometimes for curing some disease the doctor says that injection or surgical operation. That is painful, but to cure the disease we should accept that thing. Similarly, if you want to become free from this material body, then you should accept, accept this pain. This is not pain; it is simply imagination. Actually, it is pleasure. So... Because we have no knowledge, therefore jñāna-tapasā. And if there is knowledge and if there is tapasya, penance, then pūtā, purified. You become purified. Therefore it is said, bahavo jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ [Bg. 4.10]. Then you come back to home, back to Godhead.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for teaching how one can be detached from this material existence and voluntarily accepting some so-called, I mean to say, sufferings. We should be steady. But actually, there is no suffering. It is simply imagination. Just like there are many meat-eaters. We do not eat meat. What is our suffering? It is simply imagination. If you ask the meat-eater that "Don't eat meat," he'll think, "Oh, it is horrible." He'll say "Horrible." Yes, actually they say. Even big, big man, the Lord Zetland, he also said, "Oh, no, no, this cannot be done. This is our life." Lord Zetland to some of our Godbrothers, he said, "Can you make me brāhmaṇa?" "Yes, we can make you brāhmaṇa. You give up these..." "No, no. This is not possible. Horrible."
It appears to be horri... Because we are so much absorbed in māyā, as soon as you ask anybody that "You cannot eat meat," he'll think it, "Oh, it is horrible." As soon as you say, "You cannot drink, you cannot have any intoxication," he thinks, "This is horrible." But actually it is not... This is māyā. It is not horrible, but we are thinking horrible. We are not eating meat. Are you dying? No. We have got so many nice foodstuff. Why shall I eat meat? So paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate [Bg. 2.59]. So our philosophy, our Vaiṣṇava philosophy, we do not say only that "Don't eat this," but "Eat this." We do not enjoy this, but enjoy this. We give one alternative. We are not simply zero. The Māyāvādī philosophy is zero. We say that "Make this side zero, and take this positive side." Just like here,
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ
[Bg. 4.10]
He gave up this, but that does not mean he became zero. Zero is śūnyavādi, voidism. No, you cannot remain in zero. That is not possible. If you accept this void philosophy, to make everything zero, that is artificial. Then again you'll fall down. Because you cannot remain in zero. The Māyāvādī philosopher, they want to... Or the Buddhist philosopher, they want to make things zero. That is not possible. You cannot remain in zero, because you are ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt [Vedānta-sūtra1.1.12]. You want ānanda, pleasure. Pleasure cannot be in zero. That is not possible. Is it possible? To make things zero and you'll enjoy? No, that is not possible.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. You can make zero automatically when you find better engagement. So we have to give better engagement. Then things will be zero. Because you have got better engagement, you are not interested to go to the hotel. There is hotel also, cinema also in Vṛndāvana. But will you go there? So if you become attached to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this hotel, restaurants and..., and dancing, and this and that, they'll be zero. Automatically. But if you simply try to make it zero, that is not possible. That is not possible. Therefore paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate [Bg. 2.59]. If you get better engagement, to try to engage yourself always in the better engagement, then these material activities will be zero. But zero is not our philosophy. Positive, not negative. They simply make negative. Negative will not help us.
Negative, there is of requisition negativeness. But here it is said that... "One is vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ [Bg. 2.56], or you have to be detached from all these nonsense things, but the result will be, by jñāna-tapasā, by knowledge and penance and austerities, when you'll be purified, then you'll come back to Me." This is positive. This positive... Our philosophy's positive, not negative. Negative is, I mean to say, that is... What is called? Anya-vyatireka... Sanskrit. Direct and indirect. This is indirect method. And direct method is positive. So you be positively engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in Kṛṣṇa's service, then you'll always remain on the transcendental platform, making the material activities zero. That is wanted.
Thank you very much.
Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]
Bhagavad-gītā 4.10
Type: Bhagavad-gita
Date: March 30, 1974
Location: Bombay
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Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.[Prabhupāda and devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse]
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ
[Bg. 4.10]
[break] [03:02]
Translation = "Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me, and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me."
Prabhupāda:
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ
[Bg. 4.10]
This is the perfection of life, mad-bhāvam. Kṛṣṇa says, budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ. There is another version in Bhagavad-gītā = budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ. What is the beginning of the verse?
Devotee: Ahaṁ sarvasya...
Prabhupāda:
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo
mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate
iti matvā bhajante māṁ
budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ
[Bg. 10.8]
This is bhāva: "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is so great." When one understands greatness of Kṛṣṇa, how great He is... Because people do not understand. They generally speak, "God is great." That is very good. At least, one accepts God is great. But how He is great and what is the extent of His greatness, if we understand, then our regard and reverence for Kṛṣṇa increases. Just like we have got some friend, but if we know the opulence of the friend, how great he is---he may be a very big man, very big business magnate or minister---if we know, then our, "Oh, you have got such a nice friend." Similarly, we should try to understand Kṛṣṇa.
Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ [Bg. 4.9]. In the previous verse it has been said, tattvataḥ. Not superficially. If we study Kṛṣṇa superficially, then I shall accept another rascal, competitor of Kṛṣṇa. Because we do not know what is Kṛṣṇa. Mūḍhāḥ. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ [Bg. 9.11]. Therefore in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it has been described,
siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa
ihā haite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛdha mānasa
[Cc. Ādi 2.117]
Siddhānta, how great Kṛṣṇa is. For example... [sound of children crying in background] Get them out. In the Brahma-saṁhitā, the greatness of Kṛṣṇa is described = govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. If we study Brahma-saṁhitā,
eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭiṁ
yac-chaktir asti jagad-aṇḍa-cayā yad-antaḥ
aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
[Bs. 5.35]
This is another explanation of Kṛṣṇa's greatness, that by His one plenary expansion, eko 'py asau racayitum, one plenary expansion is maintaining the whole material creation---eko 'py asau racayitum---just to create this material world. One plenary expansion. Eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭim [Bs. 5.35]. Not only one, but millions of jagad-aṇḍa,universes. By His one plenary...
In Bhagavad-gītā also it is confirmed,
athavā bahunaitena
kiṁ jñātena tavārjuna
viṣṭabhyāham...
ekāṁśena sthito jagat
[Bg. 10.42]
Ekāṁśena: "one My plenary portion," Mahā-Viṣṇu, for creation of this material world. Ekāṁśena sthito jagat. And what is that ekāṁśa? That is described also. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ [Bs. 5.48]. Loma-vilajā. And innumerable universes are coming out from the hair holes of the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya, His breathing. He is, within the Kāraṇa Ocean, Causal Ocean, He is sleeping. Yaḥ kāraṇārṇava-jale bhajati sma yoga-nidrām [Bs. 5.47]. Yoga-nidrā. And while He's sleeping in His yoga-nidrā, innumerable universes are coming out through His breathing and from the air holes. [sound of child yelling] [aside:] You can stop that child?
So this is greatness of Kṛṣṇa. This Mahā-Viṣṇu is only kalā-viśeṣaḥ. Viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣaḥ. Kalā means portion of the plenary portion. That is called kalā. Aṁśa means plenary portion, and kalā means... So all the incarnation of Viṣṇu... And Kṛṣṇa described in the Śrīmad Bhagavad..., Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Third Chapter. And at the conclusion it is said, ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam [SB 1.3.28]. Kṛṣṇa's name is also there, but just to make distinction between all the avatāras and Kṛṣṇa, it is concluded ete, all of them, are ca aṁśa: some of them are plenary portion, some of them portion of the plenary portion. In this, they are situated. But the name Kṛṣṇa which is there, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam... That is stated.
So we have to study. If we are serious student of Kṛṣṇa, then in the śāstras everything is there. So when we understand the greatness of Kṛṣṇa, then we become more attached. More attached. The greatness attracts. Suppose a man is very exalted position. He attracts the attention. Similarly, if we know the greatness of... One who does not know the greatness of Kṛṣṇa, he thinks Kṛṣṇa, "Yes...," that kūpa-maṇḍūka-nyāya, Doctor Frog = "Maybe little greater than me. That's all." Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ [Bg. 9.11]. Such person thinks Kṛṣṇa as one of them, and therefore it has become a very fashionable thing to become Kṛṣṇa's avatāra, very cheaply. No. They do not know actually what is Kṛṣṇa's position.
Kṛṣṇa's position, if one understands, then he is liberated person. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti [Bg. 4.9]. He's liberated person, even in this body. Simply by knowing how great Kṛṣṇa is, simply by knowing this fact, how Kṛṣṇa... Then one understands that mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate, iti matvā bhajante mām... Then our bhajana for Kṛṣṇa's service will become very much fixed-up and determined. Budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ [Bg. 10.8]. This is bhāva. Bhāva means... One can understand very easily = when you are fully conscious of something, greatness, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is so great," that is called bhāva. That can be understood. It is not very difficult. Because in the śāstras everything is there about Kṛṣṇa. Simply we have to take it, accept it. And if we do not believe śāstra, then there is no, I mean, use of understanding Kṛṣṇa. Śāstra-cakṣusā. You have to see... Kṛṣṇa is adhokṣaja, beyond the perception, sense perception. But through the śāstra we can understand little bit of Kṛṣṇa. It is very difficult to know. We cannot understand. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited; we are limited. Still, whatever limited power we have got, we can understand Kṛṣṇa if we follow the śāstra, sādhu and guru. Sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya tinete kariyā aikya.
So this bhāva stage has to be attained. It is not that artificially we come to the bhāva stage. No. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ [Bg. 4.10]. These are the qualification. Kṛṣṇa is personally saying. Not all of a sudden we can understand Kṛṣṇa. Vīta-rāga. The first qualification is to be detached from... Our present qualification is we are too much attached to this material sense enjoyment. Material life means sense enjoyment. Therefore we have to reduce the sense enjoyment by tapasya. Tapasya. Sense enjoyment is not controlled all of a sudden. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa tyāgena śauca..., śaucena yamena niyamena [SB 6.1.13]. These are the statements. But if you take the devotional service, then everything becomes very easy to follow, tapasā brahmacaryeṇa.
Just like we are advising our student not to have illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling. This is tapasya.Because everyone is prone to all these things. Everyone likes illicit sex. Everyone likes to eat meat. Loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityās tu jantoḥ [SB 11.5.11]. Jantoḥ, jantu means animal or ignorant person. A person who has no knowledge, he also a jantu, animal. So vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevāḥ. Sex life and meat-eating, āmiṣa, and madya-sevāḥ,intoxicant, an natural tendency. Pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānām. This is pravṛtti. They have got inclination. That is material life. Āmiṣa-madya-sevāḥ. But they have to be controlled by tapasya. That is tapasya. If because I have got this inclination, I have got a desire to drink or have intoxication, therefore I shall take it... There is a Bengali song, cokṣe yadi lāge bhālo kena dekha mana[?], that "If my eyes like to see it, why shall I not see?" This is sense enjoyment. This is animalism. But when you can control them, that is humanity. Therefore laws are made for the human being, not for the animals. I have several times explained, when there is law on the street, "Keep to the left," it is meant for the human being, not for the cats and dogs and cows. Say if the cat, dog, goes to the left or right against the police direction, he's not punished, because he's animal. Or a child, if he trespasses. But if an adult person transgresses the law, he'll be punished.
So the human life has got responsibility. What is that responsibility? Tapasya. Here it is said, jñāna-tapasā pūtāḥ, purified. Jñāna, knowledge, and tapasya. Then he's purified. Not that "You can do whatever you like. It has nothing to do with the religion." There are so many rascals' program = "You can eat anything. You can do anything, and still you become a Vedāntist." This kind of rascal Vedāntists are going on. But here it is said by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, jñāna-tapasā. Jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam. Without knowledge, without tapasya, you cannot make any spiritual progress. Not by simple words. That is not possible. Because in the previous verse it has been said that,
janma karma me divyaṁ
yo jānāti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti kaunteya
[Bg. 4.9]
So how one can come to Kṛṣṇa? Mām eti. That is being described. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ [Bg. 4.10]. Mām upāśritāḥ, to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, to become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Therefore we are canvassing. We are going to door to door, country to country, continent to continent, city to city, village to village, "Please become Kṛṣṇa conscious." We are teaching them how you can be happy, vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ [Bg. 2.56], how you can be a man of knowledge. That is our business. It is not very difficult. The examples are here. These Europeans, American boys and girls, four or five years ago they were different persons. But how they have taken to it? People are surprised. Because they have followed what we have said according to the śāstra. They have followed, and they are following. They are trying to follow sincerely. Therefore they are making progress.
So anyone who will follow these principles, how to come the stage of bhāva, budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ. There is process. Rūpa Gosvāmī has said how to come to the stage of bhāva. Bhāva means just the immediate stage before the stage of love of Godhead. That is the perfection. Premā pum-ārtho mahān. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught us to become mad after God, Kṛṣṇa. That is perfection of love. That is perfection. Just... Caitanya Mahāprabhu showed by His example how He was mad after Kṛṣṇa. He's Kṛṣṇa Himself, but He's teaching us how to become bhāva, budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ. He taught us. Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī offered his respect to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne: "Sir, You are Kṛṣṇa, but You have now assumed the name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya." Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne. "And You are so munificent." Namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te [Cc. Madhya 19.53].
So this bhāva stage can be attained if we follow Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's way of life. And what is that, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu's way of life? His way of life He has described in His Śikṣāṣṭaka = paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. He personally performed saṅkīrtana-yajña, and He taught everyone,
harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā
[Cc. Ādi 17.21]
That is Kṛṣṇa..., Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu's contribution, that "You simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Then all perfection will come to you." All perfection will come. Very simple thing. It does not cost anything. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, there is no loss on your part. It does not cost you. It does not make you obliged to undergo so many severe penalties. No. You can chant at any moment. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ [Cc. Ādi 17.31]. We have seen practically. These boys, although they are very young, you'll find they have got these beads. I have asked them to chant always. They are chanting as far as possible.
So this, this process has to be adopted, if you're actually serious to understand Kṛṣṇa. And if you do not try to understand Kṛṣṇa, then you are making suicide. Ātma-hā. They have been described in the śāstra = ātma-hā. If I cut my throat, my self, then who can save me? So people do not understand it. And Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, who understands, he has sung, hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu, manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu. So it is our duty, of course, as servant of Kṛṣṇa, to awaken everyone to Kṛṣṇa consciousness by this process of saṅkīrtanamovement, but people should take it very seriously, that without taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one is making suicide---he's cutting his own throat, or drinking poison. If you like to drink poison, no can..., nobody can check you. That's a fact. If you want to cut your throat, your own self, nobody can check you. But this is not very good business. We have got this human form of life to understand Kṛṣṇa. That is the..., our only business. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching. And Kṛṣṇa is teaching personally in the Bhagavad-gītā. Why should we not take advantage of these things and make our life successful? Why we should be so much foolish? But they are. I do not why they are not taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They will take to so many other, bogus thing, but they will not take Kṛṣṇa.
But anyway, if one is serious, then he has to follow this principle, vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ [Bg. 2.56]. Bhaya-krodhāḥ. Bhaya means fearfulness. That is one of the qualification of conditioned life. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. Four things. So long we are in conditioned stage, this material body, these things are demands = to eat, to sleep and to become fearful, defend, defend and..., āhāra-nidrā, and maithuna, sexual intercourse. These are the four demands of this material body. And everyone is busy---how to eat... You'll find in Bombay city so many restaurants. Every step a restaurant. Eating. That is going on. Every city, all over the world, everywhere, eating. And then sleeping, nice apartment. And then defense measure. And then very happily have sexual intercourse. These are the demands.
So tapasya means to reduce these. That is tapasya. Tapasya... This is the general demand of the body, and if you want to be free from this material bondage, then you have to undergo tapasya. Tapasya means these demands of the body voluntarily reducing and coming to the point of nil. That is liberation. That is tapasya. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ [Bg. 4.10]. But here, very nicely, Kṛṣṇa de... It can be, tapasya can be executed very easily if one becomes man-mayā, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Man-mayā. And mām upāśritāḥ, and taking shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Mām. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te [Bg. 7.14]. As soon as you become submitted... Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ [SB 10.14.58]. This is the description given in Bhāgavata. Anyone who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Murāri... Kṛṣṇa's another name is Murāri. He's puṇya-yaśaḥ. If we chant Kṛṣṇa's name, then at least we become pious. Because we are all sinful. By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra offenselessly, you immediately become purified---if you do not commit again sinful activities.
Therefore there are ten kinds of offenses. If we avoid the offenses and chant, then immediately we become mukta-puruṣa. Immediately. But our habit we have got, to commit sinful activities. So this is not... Nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ [Padma Purāṇa, Brahma-khaṇḍa]. If one thinks that "I am chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, so my sinful resultant actions are now nullified. Now again let me do it. Again I shall nullify," this is greatest offense. This is greatest offense. Out of ten offenses, this is the greatest offense, nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ.
So everything requires sincerity. Otherwise, things are not very difficult. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ, bahavaḥ [Bg. 4.10]. Kṛṣṇa says bahavaḥ. Not that one or two. Anyone... "Many who have adopted this means." Then jñāna-tapasā pūtāḥ: "By knowledge and tapasya, they became purified, and then..." What is that? Mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ: then come to the stage of bhāva. So to learn this art, one must be first... Just like we are hearing. If one determines, so why not adopt this means? Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ [Bg. 2.56], jñāna-tapasā pūtāḥ. "Why I am suffering?" Kṛṣṇa is advising. Why not take this step? Then Kṛṣṇa will help you. As soon as you decide to accept this means, Kṛṣṇa will help you. Kṛṣṇa will help you. He'll give you good assistance.
ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
[Cc. Madhya 19.151]
Kṛṣṇa is with you. As soon as you decide, "Now, Kṛṣṇa, I want You. Kindly help me," He's ready to help you. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja. Yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau [ŚU 6.23]. These are the definition given in the Vedic literature.
So Rūpa Gosvāmī is giving us direction how to come to the bhāva stage. Ādau śraddhā. First of all, first thing is śraddhā. Śraddhā means faith, firm faith. Śraddhā has been explained by Caitanya-caritāmṛta-kar:
'śraddhā'-śabde---viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya
kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya
[Cc. Madhya 22.62]
This is called śraddhā. One when believes firmly as Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66], one, if he is firmly fixed-up, "Yes, by surrendering to Kṛṣṇa I get all perfection of life," that is called śraddhā. That is called śraddhā. That is explained by Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Śraddhā-śabde viśvāsa sudṛḍha niścaya [Cc. Madhya 22.62]. If I have got intention, "Why not this? Why not that? Why not this? Why not that?" then that is not śraddhā even. That is not śraddhā. Śraddhā means firm conviction. So śraddhā-śabde... So ādau śraddhā.
Then next stage is = tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ. If you have got śraddhā, "Yes, I want Kṛṣṇa in this life. I must do anything required," then that determination is called śraddhā. Then if you want to develop that determination, then you should associate with sādhu. Who is sādhu? Sādhu... Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. That is sādhu. Api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk [Bg. 9.30]. It doesn't matter if he has got some bodily faults. He's accustomed in a different atmosphere. Even though he has got some habituated faults, but if his only qualification is firmly fixed up in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, he's sādhu. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ [Bg. 9.30]. Kṛṣṇa says. Sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ. Sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ. Titikṣava. Sādhu is titikṣava. He has to tolerate so many things, criticism, opposing elements. Because sādhu cannot sit down idly. Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. He is engaged fully in Kṛṣṇa's service.
So Kṛṣṇa's service is not sitting idly. Kṛṣṇa wants to spread the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā everywhere. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.
ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ
mad-bhakteṣv abhidāsyati
[Bg. 18.68]
na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu
kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ
[Bg. 18.69]
And Kṛṣṇa, as devotee, He orders,
pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma
[CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126]
bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra
janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra
[Cc. Ādi 9.41]
This is service. Especially it is ordered to the Indians, the inhabitants of the Bhārata-varṣa. Because in Bhārata-varṣa it is easier to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Because by nature, because they have taken birth in this land of Bhārata-varṣa, in the blood there is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But unfortunately, the leaders are inducing them to forget Kṛṣṇa. This is the misfortune of present-day Bhārata-varṣa. You go to the village, and if there is bhāgavata-pāṭha, hundreds and thousands of people will gather immediately. Immediately. Not only in the village; in the town, when we held Kṛṣṇa festival in Bombay, Calcutta, twenty thousand, thirty thousand people come. By nature. We cannot expect this big assembly in other countries. That is my experience. But India, because it is Bhārata-varṣa, it is very easy.
But we are sacrificing this birthright, Bhārata-varṣa. Oh, we are misled in such a way that we are forgetting, trying to forget Kṛṣṇa = "Throw away these śāstras. Throw away these... Throw away. And put all impediments to the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement." This is our misfortune. Actually, every Indian is Kṛṣṇa conscious. Sometimes they ask me in foreign countries that "How many Kṛṣṇa conscious people are there in India?" And cent percent, all, even Muhammadans, what to speak of the Hindus.
So we should take this opportunity, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ [Cc. Madhya 23.14-15]. This association, society, of sādhu, who have dedicated their life for understanding Kṛṣṇa, for serving Kṛṣṇa, they are sādhu. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu..., tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo 'tha bhajana-kriyā. By sādhu-saṅga means next stage is how to adopt devotional life. These boys, these girls, gradually they came. First of all they were hearing; then they came forward, "Please make me your disciple." That means, "Under your direction my bhajana-kriyā will go." This is called bhajana-kriyā, under the direction of the spiritual master.
Then anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt. Anartha means things which are not wanted. We are accustomed to so many things, rascal things, which is not at all wanted. But we have been accustomed, by bad association. Take, for example, one smokes. Nobody learns smoking from the birth. By bad association one learns how to smoke. Similarly drinking, similarly meat-eating. Because from the birth we require milk, not meat-eating. But then after all we understand that "Beef is very nice. There must be a beef shop," and... This is going on. You see? These are anarthas, not required. You require simple food = rice, wheat, little milk, vegetable and little sugar. That's all. You don't require all these nonsense. But you have been habituated.
But if we become bhajana-kriyā---you come to the practice of devotional service---naturally you have to give up. Because we accept a disciple to engage in the bhajana-kriyā, first of all he must give up these anarthas. So these anarthas, one cannot giving up smoking or drinking, but actually, if he takes to devotional service, he can very easily give up. He can very easily give up. There are so many examples. It is not story. So if there is bhajana-kriyā sincerely, then the anartha-nivṛtti automatically becomes. Then you become clean. Here it is said, jñāna-tapasā pūtāḥ, purified. Jñāna-tapasā.Knowledge is there that "I am a spirit soul. I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme. Therefore my business is to serve Kṛṣṇa." This is jñāna. And if one does not know this, he is rascal. That's all. No jñāna. This is jñāna.Therefore it is confirmed by Kṛṣṇa = bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. Jñāna means he must surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That is jñāna. And so long one does not reach to this point, surrender to Kṛṣṇa, he's a rascal. That's all. Mūḍha. Na māṁ prapadyante mūḍhāḥ, duṣkṛtino narādhamāḥ [Bg. 7.15]. That is his qualification. One who has not surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, then he is duṣkṛtinaḥ, mūḍhāḥ, narādhamāḥ... "No, no. He's M.A., Ph.D." Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. His knowledge has no value. Useless. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. Śrama eva hi kevalam. That is the verdict of the śāstra.
dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
notpādayed ratiṁ yadi
śrama eva hi kevalam
[SB 1.2.8]
Simply laboring for nothing.
So this is called anartha-nivṛttiḥ. Jñāna-tapasā. Then niṣṭhā: "Oh, I must fix up." Then ruci, taste increases. Tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ athāsaktiḥ. Then attachment. As soon as you get attachment for Kṛṣṇa, naturally, vīta-rāga, you give up attachment for your material life. Vīta-rāga. Unless you have got attachment for Kṛṣṇa, you cannot give up attachment of this material sense gratification. That is not possible. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate [Bg. 2.59]. By force, you cannot train a person that "You must be refraining from all these things." No, it is not possible. Vīta-rāga means when you increase rāgafor Kṛṣṇa, then you can become vīta-rāga. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā ni... That if you get rasagullā, you can give up gur. Gur is also sweet, and rasagullā is sweet, but if somebody says that "Why you are eating gur?" or something else; "Here is nice rasagullā." Similarly, unless we get better things...
Better things... Kṛṣṇa is better thing, there is no need of proof. These European boys and girls, they have not come to me for better money. Because money is considered the best thing in the world, but they have enjoyed all these things. Therefore they are no more after money accumulation. They are after Kṛṣṇa. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. They can earn. They have dedicated their life. They're doing everything for me. They could earn in their country thousands of dollars. Thousands of doll... Any man can earn any day twenty-five dollars minimum. And twenty-five dollars means two hundred and fifty rupees per day. So they can get so much money. Why they have sacrificed everything? They have sacrificed their money. They have sacrificed their intoxication habit. They have sacrificed their illicit sex life. They have sacrificed their gambling life. Why? Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. Because they have understood little bit of Kṛṣṇa. Little bit of Kṛṣṇa. Sv-alpam apy asya vairaghya trāyate mahato bhayāt [Bg. 2.40]. Such things, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ [Bg. 2.56].
And you become fearless. You fearless. Even so many incidences happened in this spot, why they are fearless? Because they had attachment for Kṛṣṇa. This boy was threatened for life, but still he stood, fearless. Vīta-rāga... [break] [end]

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ

Translation of Bhagavad Gita 4.10

Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me—and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.

Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:

As described above, it is very difficult for a person who is too materially affected to understand the personal nature of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Generally, people who are attached to the bodily conception of life are so absorbed in materialism that it is almost impossible for them to understand how the Supreme can be a person. Such materialists cannot even imagine that there is a transcendental body which is imperishable, full of knowledge and eternally blissful. In the materialistic concept, the body is perishable, full of ignorance and completely miserable. Therefore, people in general keep this same bodily idea in mind when they are informed of the personal form of the Lord. For such materialistic men, the form of the gigantic material manifestation is supreme. Consequently they consider the Supreme to be impersonal. And because they are too materially absorbed, the conception of retaining the personality after liberation from matter frightens them. When they are informed that spiritual life is also individual and personal, they become afraid of becoming persons again, and so they naturally prefer a kind of merging into the impersonal void. Generally, they compare the living entities to the bubbles of the ocean, which merge into the ocean. That is the highest perfection of spiritual existence attainable without individual personality. This is a kind of fearful stage of life, devoid of perfect knowledge of spiritual existence. Furthermore there are many persons who cannot understand spiritual existence at all. Being embarrassed by so many theories and by contradictions of various types of philosophical speculation, they become disgusted or angry and foolishly conclude that there is no supreme cause and that everything is ultimately void. Such people are in a diseased condition of life. Some people are too materially attached and therefore do not give attention to spiritual life, some of them want to merge into the supreme spiritual cause, and some of them disbelieve in everything, being angry at all sorts of spiritual speculation out of hopelessness. This last class of men take to the shelter of some kind of intoxication, and their affective hallucinations are sometimes accepted as spiritual vision. One has to get rid of all three stages of attachment to the material world: negligence of spiritual life, fear of a spiritual personal identity, and the conception of void that arises from frustration in life. To get free from these three stages of the material concept of life, one has to take complete shelter of the Lord, guided by the bona fide spiritual master, and follow the disciplines and regulative principles of devotional life. The last stage of the devotional life is called bhava, or transcendental love of Godhead.

According to Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.4.15–16), the science of devotional service:

adau shraddha tatah sadhu-
sango ’tha bhajana-kriya
tato ’nartha-nivrttih syat
tato nistha rucis tatah
athashaktis tato bhavas
tatah premabhyudancati
sadhakanam ayam premnah
pradurbhave bhavet kramah

“In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Krishna consciousness, which is matured in bhava, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life.” In the prema stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one’s individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations that result in void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord.

Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:

Not only at the present time can one attain me just by knowing about the nature of my present birth and activities, but in ancient times also in previous kalpas when I appeared, people attained me by knowing the nature of my birth and activities. That is the purport of this verse.

Regarding the meaning of jnana tapasa, Ramanujacarya says, “They became purified by the austerity of realization about the nature of my birth and activities as previously stated.”

Or the meaning can be: “They, having attained realization of the eternal nature of my birth and activities, became purified by austerity in the form of tolerating the burning poison of wrong ideas, wrong logic and wrong arguments.”

Ramanujacarya quotes the following sruti in this regard.

tasya dhirah parijananti yonim

The wise men know about the Lord’s method of birth. Taittiriya Aranyaka 3.13.1

Such wise persons have given up attachment to or affection for persons who speak nonsense ideas (vita ragah). My devotees have no fear of them, nor anger towards them. Why? Because they are preoccupied with meditating on, thinking of, hearing and singing about my birth and activities (man maya). They attained prema for me (mad bhavam).

Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:

4.10 Purified by the austerity called knowledge of the truth of My life and deeds, many have become transformed in this manner. The Sruti says to the same effect: ‘The wise know well the manner in which He is born’ (Tai. A., 3.13.1). ‘Dhiras’ means the foremost among the wise. The meaning is the wise know the manner of His birth thus. It is not that I protect only those who resort to Me in incarnations in the shapes of gods, men etc.

Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:

It may be enquired how may one be elevated to attaining Lord Krishna merely by knowledge of His appearances and pastimes? This is answered by the instruction: being completely freed from passion, fear and anger then if those persons understand that due to Lord Krishna’s magnanimous compassion He incarnates into His material creation through pure sattva or goodness to protect the principles of sanatan dharma or eternal righteousness and having no attachments and desires thus with no distractions focus their attentions to meditating on Him, fixed in Him, taking sole refuge in Him alone. These rare beings are naturally purified from the dross of ignorance and its products in prakriti or material nature by their own wisdom and penance consisting of performing prescribed Vedic activities according to one’s order and station in life. This by the divine grace of the Supreme Lord through the medium of the bonafide guru exclusively the development of spiritual knowledge commences. The compound word jnana-tapasya means by knowledge and austerities. This knowledge and austerity is taught by the bonafide spititual master and is the procedure for one to receive the divine grace of the Supreme Lord. As all activities of the Supreme Lord are sublimely eternal the bestowal of this grace whenever it is received indicates that it is not newly inculcated but is given eternally as well. The Vedic dictum of that and thou referring to the Supreme Lord and the living entity are spoken of only in the context of the individual consciousness as being distinct from the ultimate consciousness. The individual consciousness as the living entity having numerous limitations and the ultimate consciousness as the Supreme Lord having no limitations. The Supreme Lord being free from ignorance and ever pure while the living entity is purified by degrees by renouncing ignorance through knowledge gained by the divine grace of the Supreme Lord through the mercy of the spiritual master in disciplic succession from one of the four Vedic sampradayas or authorised Vedic channel of disciplic succession.

Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:

By completely renouncing passion, fear and anger and subsequently adoring the Supreme Lord many attained moksa or liberation. Man-maya means complete abidance and refuge in the Lord in all situations.

Now begins the summation.

Mayam means making the Lord the central focus of one’s life as the primary objective. One who knows the Supreme Primacy of the Lord’s position becomes eventually aware of His transcendental integral form. Only those who know the Supreme Resplendent Lord thus are qualified for liberation and no others. Being aware of His integral form indicates attaining their eternal spiritual form similar to His in quality but not quantity.

Now begins the summation.

Only by learning and comprehending the knowledge revealed in the Vedic scriptures is moksa or liberation possible. By knowing and furthermore correlating this knowledge from different Vedic texts and applying it to one’s everyday life will the ultimate attainment be gained and no other way. It should be clearly understood that the mere knowledge of the facts and details of the Supreme Lords appearance and divine pastimes will not enable one to attain liberation from the material existence without having first applied this learning through the medium of the Vedic scriptures fully into one’s life and all that one’s life encompasses.

Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:

In the previous verse Lord Krishna declares that those that truly know Him attain Him. Now the question may be raised is there any requirements necessary for attaining Him or does it mean that oneness with Him in His abode transpires automatically with knowledge of Him. To clear this up Lord Krishna states: vita-raga-bhaya-krodha meaning completely freed from passion, fear and anger. Passion is attachment to the opposite sex and children and family life. Fear is abhorrence of frightening situations due to lack of faith in God. Anger is a state of mind that blows up when one’s ardent desires are frustrated by obstacles. This clearly indicates that jnana yoga or the cultivation of knowledge is essential for the mind to control the senses. In the Visnusahasra 136 it is given that: the physical body, the senses, the mind, the intellect, the vitality, splendour, potency, patience, and the atma or soul all are the possessions of the Supreme Lord. The very knowledge of the Supreme Lords transcendental nama or names, rupa or forms, guna or attributes, lila or pastimes and dhama or abode is the tapasya or penance which dissolves all karmas or reactions to previous actions. Thus wholly absorbed internally and externally in the wonderful and phenomenal Supreme Lord one naturally attains moksa or liberation with Him. Although there are different forms accepted when one attains the state of moksa these elevated beings attain oneness with differences or union with separateness. They are united because they all have attributes like omniscience and ananda or bliss. Yet they are separate due to differences in qualities having their own unique, individual spiritual characteristics. The great sage Pantajali of the hatha yoga system defines oneness as union with differences. In this way the statement of oneness of similar qualities in the state of moksa has been explained. There are two realities: one is the reality of oneness in form and the other is the reality of difference in forms. The absence of difference of the individual atma or soul from the paramatma or the supreme soul has already been refuted in chapter II.XIII by the plural usage of souls and concludes with the words dhiras tatra na muhyati meaning the intelligent are not deluded by this.

Radhastami, Bhagavad-gītā 4.10
Type: Bhagavad-gita
Date: Sept. 23, 1974
Location: Calcutta
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Radhastami, Bhagavad-gītā 4.10
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Nitāi: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [leads chanting of verse, etc.]

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ
[Bg. 4.10]

[break] [01:40]

"Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me, and thus they attained transcendental love for Me."

Prabhupāda:

vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā
man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ
bahavo jñāna-tapasā
pūtā mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ
[Bg. 4.10]

So I think I can speak in English. Is that all right?

Guests: Yes, yes.

Prabhupāda: Nowadays, ladies, they can understand. This is the process. Mad-bhāvam āgatāḥ. Our this human form of life is meant for going back to Kṛṣṇa, back to home, back to Godhead. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving information to the people in general how to make life successful. What is that successful life? To go back to home, back to Godhead. This is not our home. This material world, this is foreign country. We are... Just like I am traveling all over the world. My home is in India, but I am going to so many countries---Europe, America, Canada, Australia, Africa---but my home is in India. This is a crude example. Similarly, we are all part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ [Bg. 15.7], Kṛṣṇa says. "All these living entities, they are My part and parcel." So Kṛṣṇa is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1]. Kṛṣṇa, His body is not material body. Those who are thinking Kṛṣṇa's body as material, they are called Māyāvādī. But actually, Kṛṣṇa's body is not material. The evidence is that Kṛṣṇa knows past, present and future. In the material body that is not possible. Just like I had my previous body in my previous birth, but I don't remember. If somebody asks me, "What you were in your previous life?" it is very difficult, because death means forgetfulness.

We are not dying. So far we are, living entities, are concerned, we are not dying. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20]. We do not die. This is a disease, that we accept a foreign body, material body. And the foreign body is a machine. Just like you have got a car. You can ride on, drive on the car so long the machine is working. But as soon as the machine does not work, you have to change your car. It is like that.

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
[Bg. 18.61]

Yantrārūḍhāni māyayā. Īśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated in everyone's heart. And He is giving us the facilities for material enjoyment, because we have come here, we have come in this, in the material world, for sense enjoyment.

kṛṣṇa-bhuliyā-jīva bhoga vāñchā kare
pasate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
[Prema-vivarta]

This is a simple poetry given by a Vaiṣṇava. As soon as we want to enjoy life independently, immediately māyā captures.

So this is simple presentation. From śāstra it is understood that Kṛṣṇa, who is sitting within your heart, He knows what you are willing. You cannot conceal anything from Kṛṣṇa. Anumantā upadraṣṭā. The Paramātmā is described as upadraṣṭā, "seeing everything." So because we have come to this material world for sense enjoyment, Kṛṣṇa is giving us chance, "All right." Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca [Bg. 15.15]. Kṛṣṇa says, "I am sitting in everyone's heart." And because the living entity wanted to do something for his sense enjoyment, He gives the chance, "All right, here is the chance. You can do it." But actually, Kṛṣṇa does not want it. But we want it. We want it. Just like a father says, "My dear boy, you do not do this. You do this." But the son insists, "No, I'll do this." But therefore father also says, "All right, do it at your risk."

Similarly, this material enjoyment is not required, because we are spiritual entity. We have nothing to do with this... Asaṅgo 'yaṁ puruṣaḥ. We have no connection with this material world. But somehow or other, we are attached to this material enjoyment and we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa, we have forgotten our home, we have forgotten our real identity. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says here, vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ [Bg. 4.10]. If somebody understands that "This is not my home. I am wandering in these foreign countries," that is knowledge. But those who have no knowledge, they think that they are this body.

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
[SB 10.84.13]

This is animal conception of life, "I am this body." "I am Indian," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am American," "I am Christian," "I am Hindu," like that. This is all bodily conception. Sa eva go-kharaḥ. This conception of life is animal conception.

Just like a dog = He does not know that he is spirit soul. He cannot understand ahaṁ brahmāsmi. He cannot understand. It is in the human body one can understand that "I am not this body." A human body can understand what is written in the Bhagavad-gītā. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ [Bg. 2.13]. You have to change your body. You do not know what change is going to be happened. But you have to change your body. How? There are so many bodies---cats, dogs, demigods and so many other. You have to accept, according to your karma. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa [SB 3.31.1], by the judgment of superior authority, and according to your karma, you'll get a body.

So this is the problem of life, and in the human form of life there is chance of understanding what is the problem of life. The problem is that "I am eternal spirit soul. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. I am not this body." That, that is called knowledge. Knowledge, nowadays they are fond of the technical knowledge, but try to understand what is the technical knowledge. In Boston I was invited by the Massachusetts Technical Institute. So I asked them, all the students, that "What has..., what is that technology that when this machine stops to work, what technology you have got to get this machine again working? Have you got any department?" So they could not answer that, but they were very much attracted. And we are now sending our representative all over the world to the scientist. Here is Dr. Svarūpa Dāmodara Ph.D. He is from California. He has passed his Chemistry, and he has written one book. So in Manipur he was..., he was invited by many universities, schools, colleges.

So this movement is not a sentimental movement. It is the scientific movement. It is the most elevated, scientific movement. If you are a scientist, you can question. Here is scientist present. He will answer you scientifically. Don't take this movement as some something sentimental. Authorized movement. We are speaking the science which is given by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Authority. So here Kṛṣṇa is giving you the idea, how you can get out of this material entanglement. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ [Bg. 2.56]. In the material life we are attached to four things = āhāra-nidrā-bhaya... Bhaya means fearfulness. So the fearfulness must be there. Because we accepted this material body, there must be always..., we must be always afraid. Not only we, even a small ant or birds and beasts, everyone. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt [SB 7.5.5]. Always full of anxiety. Why? Asad-grahāt. Because we have accepted this body, asat. Asato mā gama, sad gama.That is the Vedic injunction. "Don't keep yourself in this asat material world." Sad gama. Jyotir gama. Tamasi mā. These are the Vedic injunctions.

So here Kṛṣṇa says that "Many people..." Bahavaḥ. Not only one or two. Kṛṣṇa says, bahavo jñāna-tapasā. Jñāna,knowledge, and tapasā, austerities. So this human life is meant for jñāna and tapasā. Then we become purified. Jñāna-tapasā pūtā. Pūtā means purified. We have to purify our existence. This is human activity. Just like we are training. We are training our students how to become purified = no illicit sex life, no intoxication, no gambling..., and what is the other?

Brahmānanda: No meat-eating.

Prabhupāda: No meat-eating. You have to purify yourself. That is the injunction of all Vedic literature.

tapasā brahmacaryeṇa
śamena damena vā
tyāgena satya-śaucābhyāṁ
yamena niyamena vā
[SB 6.1.13]

So if we don't take to tapasya and don't take to knowledge, then this human form of life is spoiled. That, that, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for this purpose.

So today is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī's birthday, Rādhāṣṭamī. So we called you for meeting. This Rādhārāṇī, about some, Rādhārāṇī... Because this Rādhārāṇī is the source of spiritual inspiration. Source of spiritual inspiration. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām, jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho... [Bg. 7.5]. Prakṛtiṁ parām. The aparā-prakṛti is this material world, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ [Bg. 7.4]. And there is another prakṛti, parā-prakṛti. That is also mentioned here = mad-bhāvam. Mad-bhāvam means the nature, in which Kṛṣṇa is there. In this material nature, although Kṛṣṇa is there, but we do not understand. We cannot see Kṛṣṇa. That is material, forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa. But when you remember Kṛṣṇa even in this material world, then it becomes spiritual.

Just like this temple. This temple is the opportunity of remembering Kṛṣṇa. Here is Kṛṣṇa worship. Here you can remember Kṛṣṇa. Here is the inmates of this temple. They are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma... So that is called mām upāśritāḥ. Mām upāśritāḥ. They have taken the shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. And man-mayā, and always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. And vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ [Bg. 2.56]. Rāga, we have got some attachment, this material attachment. But as soon as you become attached to Kṛṣṇa, you'll be detached to this material world. That is... Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt [SB 11.2.42]. That is the test of bhakti.

Bhakti means... When you are advanced in bhakti... Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt. That is the test. The example is... Just like when you are hungry, you are given some food, you are eating voraciously. But when you are satisfied, you'll say, "No more. No more." Similarly, when you get Kṛṣṇa, then you will say, "No more. No more material necessity." Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, the point of realization = na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye [Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4]. He says, "I don't want these material riches, dhanam." Everyone is after money. "Money, money, money." But Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, na dhanam, "I don't want money." Na dhanaṁ na janam,"Don't want followers." Everyone wants to become leader, and some followers. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that "What is the use of becoming leader of these fools?" Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā. Everyone wants very beautiful, obedient wife. He says, "That also I don't want." Then what do You want? Mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi [Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4]. It is so pleasure, it is so great a pleasure that if you come to this bhaktiplatform, if you realize little, then you'll forget all these things.

Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce [Cc. Madhya 22.42]. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja said. When he... He went to the forest for getting some material profit, but when he realized God, when he saw Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu, he... Viṣṇu wanted, "Now you take benediction, whatever you want." He said, svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce: "Svāmin, I am now satisfied." So this is the position, that yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ [Bg. 6.20-23].

So if you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then these are the result. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ [Bg. 2.56]. Krodha means when we cannot satisfy our senses in the... We try to satisfy our senses. Just like the jackal = he wanted to eat some grapes, but jumping, jumping, he could not get. Then, in krodha, he says, "Oh, it is useless. It is sour. We don't want." So this krodha,in the absence of sense gratification, there is krodha. Kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ [Bg. 3.37].

So Kṛṣṇa says, man-mayā, "being always absorbed in Me." Man-mayā, mayā, mayā, mayā. Vikārārthe mayārthe.[?] When, just like, one thing is covered with gold, it is called svarṇamaya. Similarly, when... We are now materially covered. When we become covered with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is called man-mayā. Man-mayā, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. How it is possible? Man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ. When you take shelter of Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa is so kind, He gives you shelter. He says,

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi...
[Bg. 18.66]

We cannot become kṛṣṇa-maya so long we are sinful.

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
[Bg. 7.28]

So these are the formulas. So one has to become man-mayā. By taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa, one has to become absorbed in thinking of Kṛṣṇa. That is not very difficult. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. It is not at all difficult. You simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, you'll be man-mayā. It is so nice thing. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended,

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
[Cc. Ādi 17.21]

So our request is, everyone who is present here---today is Rādhāṣṭamī---so pray to Rādhārāṇī. And She is hare, harā. This hare, this word, is Rādhārāṇī. Harā, Rādhārāṇī. Rādhā or harā, the same thing. So Hare Kṛṣṇa. So we are praying to Rādhārāṇī, "My Mother, Rādhārāṇī, and Kṛṣṇa." Hare Kṛṣṇa. "O Kṛṣṇa, O the Lord." Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, the same thing, repetition. "O Rādhārāṇī, O Kṛṣṇa." "O Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa." "Rādhe-Kṛṣṇa" or "Hare Kṛṣṇa," the same thing. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare. Again addressing, "O Kṛṣṇa, O Kṛṣṇa, O Rādhārāṇī." Hare Rāma. The same thing, again. Hare Rāma. Rāma is also Kṛṣṇa. Rāma is Rāma, Rāma is Balarāma. They are all Kṛṣṇa. Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. So this repetition of addressing Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa or Hare Kṛṣṇa is to pray, "My dear Lord, the..., and the energy, the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service." That's all. "I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service."

This is good sense. We are servants here. We are engaged in so many services. But it is not giving us comfort. Na trapā nopaśānti. The service which we are rendering to others, they are not satisfied, I am not satisfied. This is material service. But if you give service to Kṛṣṇa... Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt [Bg. 2.40]. A little service can save you from the greatest danger. This is the formula. Just like Ajāmila. Ajāmila, in his boyhood, he was brāhmaṇa. He was giving service to Viṣṇu. But in young age he became a victim of a prostitute, and he fell down. But at the end, ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ [SB 2.1.6], when Yamadūta was coming and were so fearful, he did not know whom to take shelter, but he was attached to his youngest son, whose name was Nārāyaṇa. So he thought, "This Nārāyaṇa would give me protection." So he asked him, "Nārāyaṇa!" But at the same time he remembered that "That Nārāyaṇa, oh, hmm, I sometimes gave service." So immediately Nārāyaṇa saved him. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt.

So it is our duty, therefore. That is the duty of human life, to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. And that is stated here. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ, bahavaḥ [Bg. 4.10]. It is not that one or two. Many. Jñāna-tapasā. Jñāna. That is required, knowledge and tapasya. That is human life. If, if we remain just like cats and dogs, eat, sleep and have sex life, beget children and die someday, this is cats' and dogs' life. This is not human life. Human life is different. Man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ. Jñāna-tapasā pūtā. To become purified by knowledge and tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ yena śuddhyet sattvam [SB 5.5.1]. Śuddhyet sattvam. That is the statement of Ṛṣabhadeva. Everywhere. We have to purify our existence and get out of this repetition of birth and death. That is success of life.

So we shall pray to Rādhārāṇī... What is Rādhārāṇī? Rādhārāṇī is the pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa. Pleasure potency. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate [Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8]. The Supreme Lord has many potencies. Na tasya kāryam karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. Therefore He has nothing to do. He has got so many potencies. Just like big man, a rich man, he's sitting; but his energies, his potencies, are working, big, big factory, and he knows everything. Similarly, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate. He has got many multi-potencies. One of them is this pleasure potency. Pleasure potency... He also wants pleasure. So when Kṛṣṇa wants... Kṛṣṇa is Paraṁ Brahman. He cannot enjoy anything material. He has to create the source of enjoyment by His own spiritual potency. That is Rādhārāṇī. So Rādhārāṇī is described in the śāstra = rādhā-kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī-śaktir asmād [Cc. Ādi 1.5]. That is Kṛṣṇa's hlādinī-śakti. She gives pleasure to Kṛṣṇa. So She is very kind. And today is Rādhāṣṭamī. If we pray to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī... Therefore in Vṛndāvana you'll see, they are first of all glorifying, "Jaya Rādhe!" Everywhere you'll hear. "Jaya Rādhe."

Guest: Jaya Rādhe.

Prabhupāda: To glorify Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. So if Rādhārāṇī is pleased, he'll be able to approach Kṛṣṇa very easily. And that is the goal of our life. That is the goal of life. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ [Bg. 4.10]. Mām upāśritāḥ means you have to take... You cannot take shelter of Kṛṣṇa directly. You have to take shelter of His potency. Kṛṣṇa is therefore trying to help us. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. He is within. He is called caitya-guru. If you are purified... Kṛṣṇa... Buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam. He'll directly speak with you. And so long you cannot, then He sends His representative, the spiritual master, the guru. You can ask through the spiritual master about Kṛṣṇa. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ.

So in this way we have to be absorbed in the thought of Kṛṣṇa. We have to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Then... If you take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, this jñāna...,

vāsudeve bhagavati
bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ
janayaty āśu jñānaṁ...
janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ
jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam
[SB 1.2.7]

The same thing. Kṛṣṇa will speak. Kṛṣṇa is within you. Simply you have to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma...

Devotees: ...Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Prabhupāda: Thank you very much. That's all.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]