So the world is full of rascals and fools. Therefore God consciousness, Krsna consciousness, has become a vague idea. Otherwise, if one wants to see God as Kuntidevi is requesting, that "You remain always...," one can keep God always within his heart. He's always there. Therefore we have to apply as it was done by Maharaja Ambarisa: sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayor vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane. We can use our senses in Krsna consciousness. First thing is that we have to fix up our mind on the lotus feet of Krsna. Then... Mind is the center of all sensual activities. If your mind is absent, in spite of having your eyes, you cannot see; in spite of having your ears, you cannot hear. Therefore mind is considered the eleventh sense. There are ten senses -- five working and five knowledge-acquiring -- and the mind is the center. So indriyani parany ahuh. Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gita. Indriyani parany ahur indriyebhyah param manah [Bg. 3.42]. Krsna is explaining that we take the senses are very prominent. But beyond the senses there is another, superior thing. That is mind. Beyond this mind, there is intelligence. And beyond this intelligence, there is soul. So how they can appreciate existence of soul if they cannot understand the psychological movement of the mind? Behind that mind there is intelligence. They... Ultimate, utmost, they can approach to the intellectual platform. But one has to go beyond the intellectual platform to understand what is soul, or what is God. Otherwise, it is not possible.
So everything is there, but we have to understand through the right channel. Therefore Vedic information is tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham [MU 1.2.12]. This is Vedic injunction, that if you are actually serious about understanding that supernatural transcendental subject matter, you must approach a bona fide spiritual master. Thank you very much. (end)
Prabhupada's lecture.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.39
Los Angeles, May 1, 1973
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