Lecture by Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa

Srimad Bhagavatam – 1.1.5

ta ekada tu munayah
pratar huta-hutagnayah
sat-krtam sutam asinam
papracchur idam adarat

TRANSLATION

One day, after finishing their morning duties by burning a sacrificial fire and offering a seat of esteem to Srila Suta Gosvami, the great sages made inquiries, with great respect, about the following matters.

***********

Suta Goswami is speaking to the saintly personalities who have assembled in Naimisharanya.  The goal of spiritual life is to receive transcendental knowledge about the creation, about the glories of the Personality of Godhead. This knowledge is being communicated to us through parampara, Brahma received it from Krishna, Narada received from Brahma, then Vyasa received from Narada. Like this the list goes on and then 31st  is Bhakti Siddhantha Saraswati Thakur and 32nd  is His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

So there is a system, there is an energy flowing from Krishna. Knowledge is energy, it is a shakti of the Lord. Just like if you have to become wealthy then you have to receive wealth. Success in spiritual life means we have to receive this knowledge which is coming in this parampara. To receive this knowledge, in the Bhagavad gita Krishna Himself says - tad biddhi prani patena pari prasnena sebaya - one should engage in the process of submissive enquiry. Knowledge is indiscriminately being given by the Lord but we have to be qualified to receive it. So first qualification is, he has to seek that knowledge, who am I, where was I before I was born into this world, what is this life in between birth and death? Who is controlling life, why happiness sometimes, distress sometimes, etc. You have to create an appetite then only you can have a good meal and that meal will digest and get absorbed. When we have a human form of life we have to engage in this activity called  atatho brahma jijnasa – make enquiries about spirit.

We have to ask the right kind of questions in association of other spiritualists. The qualification of a speaker of spiritual knowledge is that he should be a Goswami, Goswami means he should be a person who is capable of controlling sense gratification. The hearer should do jijnasa – should seek the truth. There are two ways of getting answers - one is mental speculation that means, I will research with my brain. This is the process of jnanis but after many millions of lives - bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate - Krishna says now somebody many lives he does all this and then finally decides, forget it I cannot find what the truth is - jnanavan mam prapadyate - Krishna I surrender unto you. So the right way of finding answers to this question is to link up with the source of all answers. That is why it is said that one has to approach a bona fide spiritual master and get linked up - pari prasnena sebaya and to do seva an attitude of surrender is required.

We have to culture a mood of submissiveness in reading this 

, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says this process is called bhagavata process of hearing, transcendental going back to godhead simply based on submissive hearing. Generally everybody is diseased with an attitude of manipulation in the material world. What is there for me in that, how I can milk something from him. You cannot gain transcendental knowledge with an attitude of transaction, it has to be in an attitude of servitude.

We have got the free will to control our attitudes and we learn humility by associating with a humble devotee. By associating with a puffed up devotee you will also become puffed up. Some devotee if he thinks - oh now I have got a kanti mala, a tilak, a japa mala and I have got a spiritual name now everything I know. It is always better to stand before the spiritual master like a fool, rather than think that I know.  We don’t know anything. This is the process of receiving this transcendental knowledge. Inmaterial education intelligence is very important but in spiritual knowledge it is not.

Submissive hearing can either make the spiritual life a success or failure. Some people are always grateful to whatever they receive from anybody. Some people are empty of gratefulness. They think everything is my right, so I got it. So one has to feel grateful to Srila Prabhupada, one has to feel grateful to every manifestation of the Lord, the Supreme Lord doesn’t have to come to us, yet such a personality is coming on our tongue - Hare Krishna - don’t take for granted, be grateful.

Prabhupada for his own benefit could have remained in Vrindavan, there was no need for him to travel to the western world. He was seeing the western civilization becoming empty of spiritual life, therefore he went on the order of his spiritual master. When one sees the Deities one should feel this is the Lord’s quality of infinite compassion and mercy, therefore He is standing there for me and when I am paying my obeisances He is receiving it. If I decide to go and meet the prime minister I cannot, and if he does come to your house we will feel very grateful. In the same spirit today we have no qualification to go to Vaikunta, but the very same Lord has appeared before us. He says I will receive your services, engage in loving devotional service, I am there. Sometimes instead of gratitude you have only critical attitude.

If you hear with proper attitude transmission is immediate, submissive hearing should be there when we chant the Hare Krishna maha mantra. In our parampara Gaura Kishore Das Babaji did not know reading and writing. Bhakti Siddhantha Saraswati Thakur, great scholar, he went and surrendered to him. So many times he went to Gaura Kishore Das Babaji, he did not give him diksha. He came back to Bhakti Vinoda Thakur, his father said somehow by hook or crook, you catch his feet. So one day in the middle of a foot bridge he met him, then he said - No I don’t accept anybody. Then Bhakti Siddhantha Saraswati Thakur said I am going to commit suicide now, jump in the water. And finally Gaura Kishore Das Babaji accepted him. Knowledge is only the starting point of Hare Krishna maha mantra’s fruits, nice japa will produce transcendental knowledge.

We get attracted to Krishna's transcendental qualities as a person, next level. Then further fruit is love of God, we become mad after Krishna, no books are needed at all. But that is very high stage, we cannot imitate but at the same time we have to understand that process is there. Changing life means developing submissive attitude to Krishna. Simply mechanically going and chanting Hare Krishna - is also good, very big thing in Kali yuga; but you cannot be always in nursery, you have to grow up.

Prabhupada will be very happy, the guru is very happy when he sees a disciple progressing in spiritual life. So everything is given to us, it is just for us to take it properly. Spiritual life is about internal work, you change your attitude inside, outside everything will change automatically, very powerful.

(The above transcripts have been edited for better readability. However they have not been verified and confirmed by the original speaker.)

Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa became a full-time member of ISKCON in 1981. Presently he is the Governing Body Commissioner - ISKCON Bangalore Group of Temples, Temple President, ISKCON Sri Radha Krishna Temple, Bangalore and Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation.