Follow One - Nine Will Come

(Compiled from notes on lectures of H. H. Mahavishnu Goswami)

The following is an excerpt from the lecture given by our Guru Maharaja H.H. Mahavishnu Goswami on 29.7.2007 on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.26 at Sri Sri RadhaNeelMadhav Dham, Rajkot.

purusa-sva-bhaava-vihitaan
yathaa-varnam yathaasramam
vairaagya-raagopaadhibhyaam
aamnaatobhaya-laksanaan


"At Maharaja Yudhishtira' s inquiry, Bhismadeva first defined all the classifications of castes and orders of life in terms of the individual's qualifications. Then he systematically, in twofold divisions, described counteraction by detachment and interaction by attachment."

Detachment always has counteraction and attachment has interaction. Detachment is the main quality of person who has unflinching faith in Krishna. The material examples always fall short of the spiritual reality. But if we have full faith in Krishna, then we know that interaction is not possible because our dependence on near and dear ones are also maintained by Krishna. There is nothing that we do, that is the inner idea. Also honestly speaking, we don't have genuine care for others but just showy care. One thing is definite, whenever we meet our near and dear ones, we should feel that it's a re-birth. Your presence here and your child at home means when you both meet again it's a rebirth, because while coming to the temple from home there are so many possibilities. For your child also, he may walk and fall down or anything. We don't know what is going to happen. So whenever we see the living entities also there should be feeling like a second birth.

Living entities are changing every moment and everything is changing at every second of our existence. The continuous regulated flow of the blood in our body depends upon the Vedic culture. Vedic way of life is the only way which allows your blood to flow uninterrupted because this way we are obeying Krishna. Just as now we are sitting in the temple we are obeying the police department, by not doing any crime. We are behaving in full cooperation with the department. This way we are at ease. Similarly Krishna demands full cooperation. In Bhagavad gita 18.66, Krishna says - "sarva-dharmaan parityajya.. .", Leave everything and take My shelter. Parityajya means an order, not request. Those who have unflinching faith in Krishna run after Him and do not waste their time. The sign of detachment is that we always depend on Krishna. Naturally we are very attached because since last so many births we have been saying mine-mine-mine. But there is only one facility in this birth which is higher intelligence, therefore we can understand there is something else which is better than attachment. Other animals cannot understand this.

Maharaja explained the first paragraph of the purport, there are four varnas, and varnas depend upon our activities. They are meant to be set up in any societies according to modes of material nature. First the mode of goodness-the intelligent class are brahmanas. Every society must have the intelligent class. Second the kshatriyas, they have to protect so they have to be active. Intelligent class is steady and guides the kshatriyas. Before the Kuruksetra war Vedic culture was rampant, mode of goodness was very prominent but slowly the passion was added and later passion and ignorance combined. So they became vaisyas-mercantile class. They do cow protection and farming and carry on different types of business. Last class is sudras, they are meant for service. According to the tendencies these varnas must be preached to. But today law preaches the opposite. Prabhupada gives nice example that modern laws prevailing today are like putting your turban on feet and shoes on head, but this can never work. Only Vedic rules can govern our life properly.

Here in the first sentence Prabhupada insists by referring to the shloka from Bhagavad gita 4.13, that by birth these castes can never be fixed. No doubt the child born in the brahmana family gets the best facility to develop into a brahmana. Prabhupada explains here that just as doctor's son has the best possibility of becoming a doctor, but without being admitted to medical college it is not possible. By birth he cannot be a doctor. Eventually the motto is to rid ourselves from material bondages namely birth, death, diseases and old age. Before accepting this body we have to have birth and at the end attain death, in between old age and be diseases trouble us many times. Anybody by any means cannot get away from this, and we have to undergo it. But now passion and ignorance is rampant, nobody wants to come out of ignorance and as time passes all these things are increasing. The whole atmosphere must be surcharged with goodness. Prabhupada worked very hard to introduce the same system of varna, now those western people are carrying on preaching and deity worship nicely by his grace. He showed that according to qualities we can have the divisions in any societies, without birth qualification, not only Indians but people all over the world have to set up this system. Please remember this is a rational approach to the varna or caste system. Everything depends on quality and if you want to improve the quality in Kali yuga there is no other way but to start remembering Krishna through his names.

Chant,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna

Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama

Hare Hare

and be happy.