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jnanam ekam paracinair indriyair brahma nirgunam avabhaty artha-rupena bhrantya sabdadi-dharmina
TRANSLATION: Those who are averse to the Transcendence realize the Supreme Absolute Truth differently through speculative sense perception, and therefore, because of mistaken speculation, everything appears to them to be relative.
PURPORT: The Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is one, and He is spread everywhere by His impersonal feature. This is clearly expressed in Bhagavad-gita. Lord Krishna says, “Everything that is experienced is but an expansion of My energy.” Everything is sustained by Him, but that does not mean that He is in everything. Sense perceptions, such as aural perception of the sound of a drum, visual perception of a beautiful woman, or perception of the delicious taste of a milk preparation by the tongue, all come through different senses and are therefore differently understood. Therefore sensory knowledge is divided in different categories, although actually everything is one as a manifestation of the energy of the Supreme Lord. Similarly, the energies of fire are heat and illumination, and by these two energies fire can display itself in many varieties, or in diversified sense perception. Mayavadi philosophers declare this diversity to be false. But Vaisnava philosophers do not accept the different manifestations as false; they accept them as non-different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead because they are a display of His diverse energies.
The philosophy that the Absolute is true and this creation is false (brahma satyam jagan mithya) is not accepted by Vaisnava philosophers. The example is given that although all that glitters is not gold, this does not mean that a glittering object is false. For example, an oyster shell appears to be golden. This appearance of golden hue is due only to the perception of the eyes, but that does not mean that the oyster shell is false. Similarly, by seeing the form of Lord Krishna one cannot understand what He actually is, but this does not mean that He is false. The form of Krishna has to be understood as it is described in the books of knowledge such as Brahma-samhita. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]: Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has an eternal, blissful spiritual body. By our imperfect sense perception we cannot understand the form of the Lord. We have to acquire knowledge about Him. Therefore it is said here, jnanam ekam. Bhagavad-gita confirms that they are fools who, simply upon seeing Krishna, consider Him a common man. They do not know the unlimited knowledge, power and opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Material sense speculation leads to the conclusion that the Supreme is formless. It is because of such mental speculation that the conditioned soul remains in ignorance under the spell of illusory energy. The Supreme Person has to be understood by the transcendental sound vibrated by Him in Bhagavad-gita, wherein He says that there is nothing superior to Himself; the impersonal Brahman effulgence is resting on His personality. The purified, absolute vision of Bhagavad-gita is compared to the River Ganges. Ganges water is so pure that it can purify even the asses and cows. But anyone who, disregarding the pure Ganges, wishes to be purified instead by the filthy water flowing in a drain, cannot be successful. Similarly, one can successfully attain pure knowledge of the Absolute only by hearing from the pure Absolute Himself.
In this verse it is clearly said that those who are averse to the Supreme Personality of Godhead speculate with their imperfect senses about the nature of the Absolute Truth. The formless Brahman conception, however, can be received only by aural reception and not by personal experience. Knowledge is therefore acquired by aural reception. It is confirmed in the Vedanta-sutra, sastra-yonitvat: one has to acquire pure knowledge from the authorized scriptures. So-called speculative arguments about the Absolute Truth are therefore useless. The actual identity of the living entity is his consciousness, which is always present while the living entity is awake, dreaming or in deep sleep. Even in deep sleep, he can perceive by consciousness whether he is happy or distressed. Thus when consciousness is displayed through the medium of the subtle and gross material bodies, it is covered, but when the consciousness is purified, in Krishna consciousness, one becomes free from the entanglement of repeated birth and death.
When uncontaminated pure knowledge is uncovered from the modes of material nature, the actual identity of the living entity is discovered: he is eternally a servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The process of uncovering is like this: the rays of sunshine are luminous, and the sun itself is also luminous. In the presence of the sun, the rays illuminate just like the sun, but when the sunshine is covered by the spell of a cloud, or by maya, then darkness, the imperfection of perception, begins. Therefore, to get out of the entanglement of the spell of nescience, one has to awaken his spiritual consciousness, or Krishna consciousness, in terms of the authorized scriptures. [End of Srila Prabhupada’s purport]
HH Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami: One disciple approached Srila Prabhupada and he said that, “Sometimes I am in maya.” So Srila Prabhupada retorted back, “You are always in maya!” So what does this mean? It means that when one realizes that one is always in maya he is in Krishna consciousness because those who are in maya don’t know that they are in maya. So to know that one is always in maya means knowledge and it means that one is Krishna conscious.
Once in a lecture in Bhaktivedanta Manor Srila Prabhupada said that, “All of you can fall down but I cannot fall down.” So after the lecture Srila Prabhupada came before the Deities and he was praying and later one disciple asked Srila Prabhupada, “What were you praying?” So Srila Prabhupada replied that, “I was praying that I may never fall down.” So the disciple was quite astonished and he objected. He said, “But Srila Prabhupada you just said in the lecture that you cannot fall down.” Then Srila Prabhupada explained and he said, “Yes because I am always praying that I will never fall down therefore I will never fall down.”
So we see that both the Mayavadis and the Vaisnavas understand that in materialistic activities there is no happiness. But Srila Prabhupada says in the purport but the Mayavadis strongly strictly adhere to the slogan - brahma satyam jagan mithya. In other words they want to stop all activities and merge into the Supreme Brahman or Absolute. But according to our Vaisnava understanding that if one simply ceases materialistic activities one cannot remain inactive for very long. This is a fact. Therefore everyone should engage in spiritual activities, which will solve the problem of suffering in the material world.
Although the Mayavadis philosophers strive to keep away from materialistic activities and try to merge, Srila Prabhupada says that they try but they don’t actually succeed. And usually I coined the Vaisnava understanding - their understanding is that they can become one with everything - but my understanding in terms of Vaisnava philosophy is the collective oneness of individual spirit. That is the Vaisnava understanding.
So there is a sense of oneness within devotees. And when that sense of oneness is lost into oneness then one wants to actually merge with the Brahman existence. Brahmavadis and Mayavadis - these are two categories but that is another separate discussion of what the differences are - but in general the impersonalists fall down. Srila Prabhupada was asked the question, “Then why do they fall down?” And Srila Prabhupada gave such a simple and deep answer. He said, “Because they feel lonely.”
Loneliness is the lack of active activity because loneliness is actually passive activity. It is within oneself and one forms layers and layers of screens that nobody must know that one is lonely. Just like sometimes you may say, “This person, he is a people’s person.” But when he takes a shower he cries in the shower. So it is external but one cannot fully detect the internal state of the person. But with the Mayavadi philosophers it is aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adho [SB 10.2.32]. They actually fall down to activity, patanty adho. They fall down to philanthropic and humanitarian activities. So activity has to be there. As Srila Prabhupada calls them the ’so called renouncer’. They are unable to even meditate because meditation is also an activity. Because they are unable to meditate even on Brahman for long they have to fall down to activity. Therefore simple cultivating knowledge that materialistic activities cannot give happiness, in that sense you cannot cease or stop materialistic activities. One has to take up, it is practically a necessity, one has to do spiritual activities. In that way the solution to the problem will be solved.
In that particular talk Prabhupada quoted krsnanu-silanam bhaktir uttama. [Cc Madhya 19.167] And those activities should be favorable - favorably executed and should be favorable according to Krishna’s desire. Both have to be there. Then Srila Prabhupada had a talk with a French-speaking Professor Chenique trained in the Sankaracarya and Buddhist philosophy. Now there is a difference between being trained and actually living it. It is his job. He is trained in that - the professor. So Srila Prabhupada was speaking to him and he said, “So called jnani?” So the professor was confused - what is the difference between a jnani and a so-called jnani? Just a ’so-called jnani’- three words and this professor was bewildered, completely bewildered. So-called jnani! Prabhupada could see on his face that he was a little flustered and confused so he said, “Because they do not know Krishna and therefore ajnani. They are not really knowledgeable because they do not know Krishna. Ajnani.”
Then Srila Prabhupada also quote this particular verse - aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adho [SB 10.2.32] - he said that they simply fall down. Why? He asked, “Why?” He said, “Because they have no shelter.” And because they have no shelter and he said, “Just like many so-called sannyasis they came and take shelter of materialistic and philanthropic activities.” Again patanty adho. So how can they come and take shelter in jagan mithya if they say brahma satyam jagan mithya? We accept brahma satyam
- Brahman is truth because it is the collective oneness of individual spirit but jagan mithya? Why are you coming again to this false material world and engaging in activities? So there are two reasons - because they feel lonely and they have no shelter in devotional service at the lotus feet of the Lord.
Then Srila Prabhupada gave another example. He said, “Just like they went to the moon, but they went to the moon to look for further shelter.” They will not admit it. They did not go to the moon to conquer. They did not go to the moon to find out what is happening. They looked at the moon and there is no shelter. And just to prove that they went to the moon - or maybe they didn’t go - but they brought some sand. So what is their shelter? Just some sand! Prabhupada used the word sand in this case - not rocks. He said that what is the use of going and spending so much money and coming back with a little sand?
Prabhupada is so wonderful he speaks simply but at the same time it is deep because he speaks not with knowledge in the purport, he speaks with realization based on internal experience of others that enters into him. He doesn’t need to experience. It’s based on internal experience of others. And he said, “Because they have no shelter - again - punar musika bhava, become mouse again.” So Professor Chenique was quite impressed by Srila Prabhupada and he got little purified. So in the end he responded. He said using, Srila Prabhupada’s words, “The knowledge of any person on the path of knowledge who rejects the personality of Godhead is finished,” This is coming from the professor who schooled in Sankarite and Buddhist philosophy. Then Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, that is sublime knowledge.” Knowledge itself is ajnana. Sublime knowledge is actual jnana in that sense.
Then Srila Prabhupda immediately took him to the spiritual world and he said, “When you talk with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and when you dance with Him, that is sublime.” Just see how Srila Prabhupada took Professor Chenique immediately to rasa-lila. Srila Prabhupada said, “When you talk of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and when you dance with Him that is sublime perfection.” Then he said, “Otherwise you will have to dance with the dog!” (Laughter.) That was the end of the conversation.
So the oneness of this philosophy in terms of being Vaisnava is actually a wonderful thing. And the principle feature of oneness in our movement is this one principal feature, which affects all of us practically eternally - and that is sankirtana. Sanga, association; kirtan! So the oneness of sankirtana means “Doing things together.” That is sankirtana and that is our oneness. Doing things together. At the same time it is the collective oneness of the individual spirit.
Srila Prabhupada quotes Ramanujacarya Acarya “When a green bird enters a green tree it does not loose its individuality.” And Prabhupada gives another example of just like an animal that enters a forest, then you cannot see the animal within the forest but at the same time it is one with the forest and keeps its individuality.
There is another aspect of understanding. You can be impersonal in an personal way negatively and you can be personal in an impersonal way positively. So we will give an example. Once Srila Prabhupada was in London and there was a famous presenter with a very popular television show. He was noted for embarrassing his host that he interviews on the television show. And that is very appealing to people - to see other people embarrassed. Therefore the show is popular. So it is negative. It is like you are impersonal in a personal way but negatively. You don’t care for the other person so you are impersonal in a personal way. So when the devotees heard that Srila Prabhupada was going to speak, some of the devotees went to Srila Prabhupada, “Srila Prabhupada you don’t know the reputation of this man. He will embarrass you.” Then Srila Prabhupada said, “No. It is our duty. We must go.” So Srila Prabhupada is personal in an impersonal way positively because he cares for the person, although the other person does not know(in this case the presenter)
Srila Prabhupada went and the contoversial interviewer saw that Srila Prabhupada was sitting quite comfortably in the chair. Normally when you know the interviewer is going to embarrass you, one may a little bit nervous and fidgety and so forth, but he saw that Srila Prabhupada was quite comfortable in the chair. So the interviewer was more determine to embarrass Srila Prabhupada. Of course he had his questions worked out and you know interviewers, they have like fifteen to twenty questions, they know the background of the person and so forth. So they will ask one question to trap you leading to the next one and to the next one and to the next one. So the first question is to ease you in to be comfortable with the interviewer - until he throws his brahmastra type questions!
So the interviewer asked Srila Prabhupada the first question, “In your religion do you have a concept of hell?” So Prabhupada looked up aristocratically. He said, “London is hell!” (Laughter.) And the interviewer was shocked! (Laughter.) He couldn’t go to the next question. (Laughter.) He did not know how to move. He did not know how to continue. He did not expect such a response from Srila Prabhupada because Srila Prabhupada actually stumped him.
Prabhupada was quite normal because he is transcendentally seeing it is hellish. So there was quite some seconds of deep silence and the interviewer did not really know what to do - but Srila Prabhupada - the gentleman that he is eternally, he personally entered into this interviewers heart in a sort of impersonal way but positively. So Srila Prabhupada said, “But it is a great credit to the British people that they have established such a great civilization under such hellish conditions and under such hellish weather”.
(Laughter.) And Srila Prabhupada actually purified the man because Srila Prabhupada cared for him - but unknowingly to him he purified him. And from then on the interviewer was so respectful to Srila Prabhupada and he actually got Srila Prabhupada to preach in that interview to the entire British nation.
Srila Prabhupada is not expert. He is just a natural. In other words if someone is an expert, they know they are expert. That is not natural. We don’t feel we are expert. We are by nature that. So therefore there is no need to be expert in that sense. Although we may attribute the quality of expert to a devotee but the devotee who doesn’t know he is expert, he is expert because it is natural.
In the purport Srila Prabhupada emphasis that we should follow the scripture especially hearing from the Pure Absolute Truth - of course through disciplic succession. Once one disciple told Srila Prabhupada, “Please give me your mercy that I may follow your instructions.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “You are in the deep dark well. I am throwing the rope down. Now if you are telling the rope and to me, “Oh, Prabhupada, Prabhupada please make the rope curl around my fingers so that you can lift me up,’” So Srila Prabhupada said, “What is this? My mercy is that I have sent the rope down but you do not want to hold onto it.” That is a type of subtle impersonalism that when help is coming you do not take it. One does not take it. So therefore both things are required, the mercy of the disciplic succession plus our endeavor, our effort to actually embrace the instruction in practical Krishna consciousness and practical service. It means fixed sadhana as much as the health can allow and practical service and much as the physical, mental and intellectual features of the body can allow.
Another time another Indian gentleman also approached Srila Prabhupada. He said, “Swamiji, I am drowning in the ocean of material existence. Only you can save me.” Srila Prabhupada said, “I also cannot save you but I can give you the method by which you can save yourself”. That is Krishna consciousness.”
We also find that there are two factors that actually stop us from making spiritual advancement on a very practical level. For spiritual advancement one has to be materially satisfied. If one is not materially satisfied then his greed for material development and so-called advancement will result in the frustration of his spiritual advancement. So Srila Prabhupada used to say, daridra-doso guna-rasi-nasi. So daridra means poverty stricken. In other words poverty is the one thing that stops us from moving forward. When one is poverty stricken then one’s higher nature cannot come forth in one’s own consciousness. It becomes sort of null and void, Srila Prabhupada says. It is a type of impersonalism. It becomes null and void because of poverty.
What does poverty means? It basically means that one does not have the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter to make advancement in spiritual life. Therefore there is the other extreme. One extreme is poverty. The other extreme is greed. And Prabhupada said, “Similarly when one becomes greedy all his good qualifications are lost”. He becomes again null and void. Nirvisesa-sunya-vadi - null and void. So therefore the adjustment should be made. And the adjustment is that one should not be poverty stricken but should be fully satisfied with the bare necessities of life and not be greedy. Then one can happily and blissfully be engaged in devotional service
- yayatma suprasidati [SB 1.2.6] One will be fully satisfied both externally and internally.
Sometimes there may be situations beyond the devotee’s control were one likes to be personal with the other devotees but at the same time impersonality comes in - beyond one’s control. So for sometime one of the previous temple presidents in our Calcutta temple became absorbed in doing business. Now he had good reason to do that because the temple was very poor. So he thought that if he makes his priority of doing business - and getting some money then the temple can prosper and not be so poor - but in the process of doing that he neglected the devotees under his care.
The devotees couldn’t even afford milk to drink. So they used to buy milk that was cheap - and when you get milk that is cheap it is either a combination of buffalo milk with water or it is a combination of buffalo milk with water and soaked paper in India. You know this? There is soaked paper. The milkman used to soak paper within the milk to add bulk to the liquid. That is how poor the devotees were in the Calcutta temple. Especially one devotee named Sudama Vipra Prabhu. He had a lot of tattoos and was strong. So he also was starving, which is not the fault of the president as he was just concentrating on getting money to overcome the poverty in the temple. Sudama Vipra needed more than the others to eat - he used to always go for the ghee wick lamp and he used to practically squeeze the ghee from the ghee wick lamp and get some drops of ghee so that he could get some nourishment.
We could see how Srila Prabhupada’s disciples they gave their youth and young adulthood to spread Krishna consciousness under such extreme circumstances. This is only one of so many situations in the world, fully surrendered to Srila Prabhupada and the disciplic succession to go through such trying circumstances.
So the devotees were waiting for Srila Prabhupada to come because they were suffering like anything. They complained to Srila Prabhupada, “We are starving here.” So then the GBC spoke up and he said, “Srila Prabhupada I was only trying to execute the will of Your Divine Grace.” And Srila Prabhupada said sarcastically, “Is it my divine grace that all the devotees should be disturbed?” He was actually holding his GBC man responsible, not so much the temple president because he was trying his best but at the same time he was very sympathetic to the devotees. Of course we don’t have that situation today - but just see how they struggled to actually maintain and spread Krishna consciousness even right here in India, or Bharata-varsa.
Then Srila Prabhupada said, just to encourage the GBC , just to encourage the temple president, who was trying his best to serve and just to encourage the devotees who were practically starving - “My motto has always been that everything for Krishna and nothing for myself and therefore I never complained.” He is speaking from his internal level of consciousness, which cannot be imitated at the same time. And he said, “I suffered so much for the sake of this movement.” And then he went on to say, “And for whom? For your sakes! So because you are suffering for me you are taking on that suffering also by actually also going through this starvation. And I appreciate that because I also suffered for all of you and similarly you are suffering for all the others who are suffering due to a lack of Krishna consciousness.”
Such a wonderful way of encouraging the devotees! They had practically no food to eat. And I said poverty is one of the obstacles before this. daridra-doso guna-rasi-nasi. It is an obstacle but you go beyond dharma, beyond the obstacle of poverty and see it as blissful in the service of His Divine Grace. It is quite an amazing thing. And then Prabhupada said, “I suffered two heart attacks for you on board the Jaladuta to New York City. And alone in New York City I had another stroke” - that was the third one and nobody knew. They only knew of that one heart attack in 1967/68 with Brahmanada and Garga Muni.
The Srila Prabhupada confided and he said, “I didn’t tell you all. I had to tolerate something. There was always headaches and ringing in my ears.” Now imagine trying to translate Srimad Bhagavatam, attending to the devotees, being the best role model that we have eternally but he always had headaches and ringing in his ears. And he said, “You cannot conceive of how much I suffered but I can conceive of your suffering for Krishna’s pleasure but you cannot conceive how much I suffered and I don’t want to discuss this also.” Then he concluded, “And therefore this is my motto - everything for Krishna and nothing for myself and you should follow the same.”
Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai! Do you have any comments, corrections or questions?
If some of you would like to leave do not feel obliged by me. Please if you have other services you should do that.
Harivilas Prabhu: Thank you very much for those very nice words by Srila Prabhupada. Professor Chenique did not know how to read Sanskrit.
HH Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami: Oh, okay. Wonderful.
Harivilas Prabhu: He could only read the transliteration of it and as you say he was a Mayavadi and he was very impressed by Srila Prabhupada but after that interview he began to critize.
HH Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami: I knew that but I just wanted to give this in a positive way.
Harivilas Prabhu: No I know. Because he was not able to appreciate the mercy of Srila Prabhupada!
HH Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami: But he got the mercy nevertheless.
Commentor: No definitely he got the mercy.
HH Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami: Yes that is positive. Thank you. Somebody else?
Krsnadas Kaviraja Prabhu: Thank you very much Maharaj. When one is especially - it is easier perhaps as a bramacari or sannyasi - everything for Krishna and nothing for myself. When one is in the householder asrama then one needs to look after one’s home, wife and children. And of course it is not for oneself. How do you draw the line, how do you discriminate how much, what you are keeping for yourself and what you are giving to Krishna?
HH Bhakti Brhat Bhagavata Swami: I can give you the answer in two ways. So I will give you the first one. Krishna consciousness is not about attachment or detachment. It is not like that. You shouldn’t be attached and neither should you be detached. So Krishna consciousness is yuktam vairagyam ucyate. [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.255-256] If you are attached, fine! Use your attachment in Krishna conscious activities. It is that simple. Now if you give up, that is dangerous. You want Krishna to take up this service of taking care of your family members? You want to give service to Krishna? “Krishna I am giving up to serve you but you take care of them, my family members”. So that is karma-yoga in the mundane sense. Therefore Prabhupada clearly translates the third and fifth chapters of Bhagavad-gita as ‘Action in Krishna consciousness’.
If your question is about the dress of a sannyasi, the dress of a bramacari and the dress of a grhastha or a vanaprastha - then I am not talking about the dress. I am talking about that consciousness of utilizing your intelligence, your mind, your influence, your wealth, your power, your position and your attachments in Krishna’s service. That is bhakti.
And the second answer - a bramacari and a sannyasi - he cannot be a bramacari or a sannyasi if there is no interdependency on householder devotee support. This is a fact. Most of the devotees in our movement are in the grhastha asrama and I believe a lot more now should be entering into the vanaprastha asrama. In Prabhupada’s time this was not there - but now you should enter. Still each one is devotee - devotee brahmacari, devotee grhasta, devotee vanaprastha - each one is still a devotee. So as sannyasis, brahmacaris, we depend very much on the existence of the devotees in the grhastha asrama. Otherwise we have no mission. We take sannyasa to spread Krishna consciousness. What is the value of sannyasa? We don’t need sannyasa to go an sit in Hrsikesa, Haridwar, Vrindavan, Puri or in Mayapur Navadwipa
- and sit and chant the whole day. So it requires the base or foundation of the householder devotees. They are devotees. They are considered what is called horizontal. And because there is a horizontal base - base or foundation - if there is no base or foundation horizontally you cannot hold things up properly vertically. So they uphold the brahmacari and vanaprastha and sannyasa asrama. Otherwise there is no base for this. Otherwise you don’t need sannyasa, you don’t need to be a brahmacari. We have to do that to take on the missionary spirit and we are very much interdependent on those who are in the grhastha asrama.
Srila Prabhupada ki jai! Ananta koti vaisnava-vrnda ki jaya! The International Socoiety for Krishna Consciousness ki jai! Nitai-Gaura Premanade Hari Haribol. [Applause.]
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