19820726 Bhagavad-gītā 8.21

(Disclaimer: The following is a machine-generated transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. It will be reviewed and verified against the original audio soon.)

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on July 26, 1982 – in Chennai, India. The lecture begins with a reading from Bhagavad-gītā 8.21.

Niravi, seshasi kṛṣṇa chaitan jayad.

Ladies and Th Everyone knows English more.

Or less no English. T one.

You can use you can.

Read on.

Chapter 8 text 21.

Anyone can use. Translation by his divine gracious. That supreme abode is called unmanifested and infallible and it is the supreme destination. When one goes there, he never comes back. That is My supreme abode. Translation that supreme abode is called unmanifested and infallible and it is the supreme destination. When one goes there, he never comes back. That is my supreme abode.

That is my supreme abode.

Report.

The Supreme Abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa is described in the Brahma Saṁhitā as Chintama Nidham, a place where all desires are fulfilled. The supreme abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa, known as Goloka Vrindavana is full of palaces made of touchstone. There are also trees which are called desire trees that supply any type of eatable upon demand. And there are cows known as Surabhi cows which supply a limitless supply of milk. In this abode the Lord is served by hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune Lakshmis and he is called Govinda, the Primal Lord and the cause of all causes. The Lord is accustomed to blow his flute Venum Phanantham, his transcendental form is the most attractive in all the world. His eyes are like lotus petals and the color of his body like clouds.

He is so attractive that his beauty excels that of thousands of cupids. He wears saffron cloth, a garland around his neck and a peacock feather in his hair. In the Gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa gives only a small hint of his personal abode, Goloka Vrindavana, which is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. A vivid description is given in the Brahma Sanhita. Vedic literature states that there is nothing superior to the abode of the Supreme Godhead and that abode is the ultimate destination. When one attains to it, he never.

Returns to the material world.

Ka supreme abode and Kṛṣṇa himself are.

Non different being of the same quality on this Earth. Brindavana, 90 miles southeast of Delhi, is.

A replica of that supreme Goloka Vrindavana located in the spiritual sky. When Kṛṣṇa descended on this earth, he.

Sported on that particular tract of land.

Known as Vrindavan in the district of Mathurā, India.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purport of text 21, chapter 8, Bhagavad Gītā. As it is. So, Kṛṣṇa is simultaneously present in his.

Supreme abode and Simultaneously, he is all pervading and he is present everywhere.

Hiranyakashipu. The Prahlad Maharaj. He was asked by his father, where is Nurshinha Day? Where is your Lord? He said, he’s everywhere. And he said, where everywhere. Is here in the wall? Yes, he’s in the wall. Is he in the pillars? He’s in the pillars.

So then he wanted to show that.

The demons never believed that Kṛṣṇa can be everywhere. God is everywhere. So then he smashed down the pillar and out came Nirshengade with a roar, with such a sound that the whole universe became frightened.

And then he destroyed that demon Hiranyakashipu. So in this way the Lord kept.

The word of his devotee like that. There are so many proofs.

Just like Draupadi, great woman, devotee of.

The Lord, she was having her clothes taken away. She simply called on the name Kṛṣṇa and He provided unlimited sari, saving her honor. That means wherever one is, Kṛṣṇa is there. But for the devotees, when they’re chanting in Kīrtana, when they’re hearing about Kṛṣṇa, they can feel his presence. When they are coming before a deity, they can understand Kṛṣṇa is present. But for those who are not devotees, they are not able to understand Ka’s presence. Because they are desiring not to know Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa is helping them. So ordinary people, of course they are considered considering how to get free from the miseries of life. In life everyone is trying to be happy. But in spite of their very best efforts, there are considerable obstacles which come in the way of being happy. And desires are always left unfulfilled.

Rather, the desires are coming as one chain after another and running after those desires is keeping one constantly bound up to a very intricate. Labyrinth of chain and reaction and causes that can be seen very easily even in some of the planning of our modern day governments. In Australia they had a problem with too many rabbits.

Kargash Kargush.

Too many rabbits were running everywhere. There was no natural enemy for rabbit in Australia. So they decided to import fox. If they import fox, the fox will eat the rabbit. So they imported the fox and the fox. They ate all the rabbits. But then there was no natural enemy for foxes. So they started to eat their people’s chickens and stealing babies and so many mischief. So then the government was thinking what to do if they brought in tigers or lions to eat the foxes. That may create another problem, more dangerous. This is the thing in material life. We are trying to become happy, but we are faced with problems. Then we try to make A plan to solve the problem. Sometimes the plan, the solution for the problem, is a greater problem than the original problem. This is happening everywhere.

So common people are trying to understand how to be happy, how to get out of all the problems that are coming up in life. And those things are very looming, very big in their mind. But in that regard they should understand, everyone should understand that in this world, the satisfaction of desire is not very difficult. The thing is that as soon as one desire is about to be satisfied, another desire is coming up. So in that way, there’s no end to end it. One fixes up in his mind a certain goal. Let me have one crore of rupees. Then he gets one crore of rupees. Then he’s thinking that one crore is not enough, I need two crores. Or now with one crore I have to invest in this way or I have to maintain my family.

And then he’s trying to maintain all the family members, trying to make everyone be happy, all the children, the wife, relatives. And so even though a person may have money, problems are always coming in so many ways, even just trying to maintain the family members. So in this way it is described by great saints, the sang sara, dhava, nalalida loka, that the material life, materialistic life, becomes like a burning forest fire. No matter how hard one is trying to be happy and peaceful, the desires and all the conflicts and all the problems that come up, they create in the heart a burning and a desire for some peace, desire for some pure happiness, desire for complete satisfaction. And so one is driven more and more to find that solution. But ordinarily, people have no understanding what is the solution.

So they try in the same way, more frantically. So in the Western countries, where they have no spiritual information, then they go on trying to work harder and harder. An ordinary family who are service holders, when they’re not happy, husband and wife both go out to get a job. Then still they want more money. They want a second car, they want a better television set. Then they get double jobs, 14 hours sometimes. People working with two services in the west, trying harder and harder to get little more. Then they are putting their money in the horse races, putting the money on the lotteries, hoping that they will win so that they can get all the things they want. In this way, no one gets peace. So different solutions is actually there.

One can get the satisfaction even of material desires, but simply by increasing the work. That won’t be the solution, because even some people, they’re working even harder, but they’re not able to accumulate other people without hardly working, they’re able to accumulate enough. So simple accumulation also is not only due to work, it’s due to previous karmas. And even accumulation of wealth or property or fame or any type of material opulence doesn’t also bring complete happiness. So actually it’s described that if someone is very fortunate, if they have good looks, if they have enough money, if they have a good education, if they’re born in an aristocratic or good family, this is a sign that in previous life or this life they have performed pious activity punya. But at any moment they can lose that.

So it said that one has this two choices, Prayas and Shreyas. Prayas means immediately to get a result. But the result is not permanent. In Sreyas, Shreyas means that result which is enduring, which is permanent which you don’t lose. Just like Chitra Ketu, he was a great emperor, some Yugas before he had many wives. He tried so hard to have a male son. But he had no issue at all. Even after marrying hundreds and thousands of wives, they were all barren. So when Agasta Muni came, he worshipped him and received him very nicely. Actually the Guru is worshipped with respect, like God. Not that Guru and God are the same, but Guru is representative of God and God acts through the Guru. But the Guru is always considering himself the servant of Kṛṣṇa.

So because of being like the ambassador of Kṛṣṇa, he has given all respect. That one would give had Kṛṣṇa himself personally come. It’s an opportunity to show Kṛṣṇa devotion through the spiritual master. So Agasta Muni came and Chitra Ketu and his wives, they received him and worshiped him and respected him and heard from him some religious talks. Then they requested, he said that I want to give you a boon. What do you want? The Grihasta sages and Rishis, they were in a habit of giving ashiya bottom. So Chitra Ketu, he said, please give us one male son, one male child, one son. And Agasta Muni said, I can give you a son but that will be the cause of both your happiness and your distress. They said, but they weren’t thinking of distress. They were fixed that we have to have a son.

So they said, never mind, we want a son. So he gave something that the wife was to eat. And by eating that then she would conceive a son. So then in due course the.

Queen.

Started to expect a child. A son was born. The whole kingdom was rejoicing. A son was born to the kingdom A new heir to the throne. Everywhere there was big rejoicing festivals. So the king started to shower all type of affection on his son and on that particular wife who was the mother of the son. The other queens, the other wives, they were neglected in fact that they were alive or dead. The king was no longer even thinking, so they became a little bit envious. They’re thinking, what is the use? Before we used to get some attention, we used to get some affection, now nothing at all. This child is a curse to us. So they made some plot and they fed poison to the child and killed it. Some of the other queens.

So naturally when this happened, then the mother, she was completely shocked and she fell unconscious and was crying. The king also became completely shocked and he was just crying like a baby rolling in the ground. So this way at one moment they were given complete happiness. Oh, they’re rejoicing. We have a son. Next minute the son was killed and they were just crushed. More miserable than when if they had no son, they were better. At that time their life was so horrible for them. So this is the nature of material life. We want something, we get it. But the world is so cruel that we don’t know when will be separated from our loved ones, when will be separated from all the things that we have desired, how long we can keep them.

So if one has knowledge of what is the world, what is like Chitragetu, he had no knowledge. So because his son was taken that way, then Nārada Muni and again Agasta Muni came. Or was it Pārvatī? Was it Gustav? They came and that way he was able to get spiritual knowledge. And finally he got also the darshan of Ananta Dev. Ultimately he was able to go back to Vaikuṇṭha, back to the kingdom of God. He got special by the blessing of Anantadev. He got a special airplane that he could fly anywhere in the universe. It wasn’t using kerosene or petro. It was going by some supernatural powers. Even he was able to go to Kailash and see Shiva and Pārvatī. Anyway, that’s another very long story. So ordinary people, common people, they want to be happy, but they should.

Everyone should know that in this world. Sitoshna Sukha Dukada Agama Painonity Tangsthatiksha Sabharata that due to the contact Mata Sparsas Kuntaya of the senses with the sense objects, sometimes there’s happiness, sometimes there’s distress. Just like winter and summer. Now it is the warm season, so we’re enjoying this Fan. But if it was very cold in the winter, the fan we would find think it’s uncomfortable. This is the nature of the senses. Chitri Ketu thought that if I have a son, I will be very happy. When the sun was taken away suddenly, then it was the same son was the cause of great distress. Sometimes the thieves, when they come and they’re able to steal something from the house, they become very happy when they get caught by the police with an object in their hand.

The same object makes them feel very sad when they get beaten. So to be happy, everyone is very anxious to protect everything that they have. But sooner or later everything starts to separate and go. In the material world, if one has the complete understanding, what is the material world, what is the spiritual world? If one is understood that everything is the property of the Lord, then one immediately becomes peaceful. One immediately becomes peaceful. That is exemplified by the Pandavas. Sometimes they were put into various distresses. Sometimes they were also given the whole empire of the world to manage over. But in all these situation, they simply depended upon Kṛṣṇa. Thus, ultimately, Kṛṣṇa secured their position, put them in charge of the whole empire of the world, even removing all their enemies. Normally materialists, they’re very anxious and they plan how to remove their enemies.

Judith there. And the Pandavas, they never made intricate plan to remove any of their enemies. Rather, they weren’t even anxious to remove their enemies. Except for Bhima, who was a little anxious, but even he didn’t make any special plan. But by Ka’s own arrangement, enemies are removed. So when one places himself in Kṛṣṇa’s hand, then automatically he organizes one’s life. It’s just like a child. A child wants to do so many things. But the parents are there to decide what is good and what is bad for the child. Modern idea, they think. Let the child do whatever he likes, and that way he will learn he can make his own choice. It doesn’t work like that. According to one’s association, automatically you will choose. If your child goes off with dacoids and thieves, he will become a dagwaite and thief.

Now, in the paper, it shows how one boy went off with eunuchs. He was also made a eunuch. If the child goes off with people who are addicted to various bad habits, they also pick up the bad habits. If you go with drinkers, you start to drink. You go with gamblers, you start to gamble. Prahlad Maharaj said, association is like a mirror. Whatever you put in front of the mirror, that image comes back. Whatever association a person Keeps that association will change his character. Therefore the advice is always given to keep Satsanga. The Gītā elaborately explains what is Satyaguna, what is Rajaguna, what is Tamaguna. And it is requesting the readers to try to lead to the Satyaguna. Because that will give them happiness and that will give them satisfaction. The Tamaguna and Saharaja guna will only cause madness or misery.

So Satsanga association with devotees, with spiritually minded people. This is actually what can change one’s life. Duryodon. He didn’t keep such Sangha. He kept Sangha, Sakuni and Karna. So every time he wanted to know what to do, he would ask them for advice. And Sakuni was only giving one advice. Advice that he would be ruined. Why? Because he had some other purpose. And Karna, he gave advice because he was envious. And he wasn’t very intelligent regarding these spiritual matters. So he was always giving advice against the Pandavas, against Kṛṣṇa. So as a result, what was Duryodhana’s fruit? What did he get for his good friendship with Sakhuni and Karna? He was wiped out, destroyed, eliminated. So one requires good association, good counsel. Then one can cross over these difficulties. In this life one can be happy. But in this world there’s no perfect happiness.

That if we know from the beginning, just like Chanaka Pandit, he said if a man sits down before his dinner and if he has a good appetite every time he sits down, that means he’s a very fortunate man. Other symptoms are there just to the simple things in life. So many people, they don’t have appetite. They also don’t have ability even to enjoy the simple things in life. So one has to set the sights. What is the real goal in life? Some people are going overseas trying to make some permanent settlement. But then there’s no permanent settlement in this world. But here in Gītā it’s describing. Once you go to the supreme destination, you don’t have to come back. Look at how hard our politicians are working trying to get the seat to be chief Minister, Prime Minister, President.

But they can they keep that after 5, 10, 20 years they have to give it up. Not that it’s Nanivartante, it’s hini vartan te. Definitely they have to give it up. What their next life will be. They may go from prime minister even in their next life. One astrologer said that a previous Prime Minister of India became a white dog in Sweden of a millionaire that was came out in the newspaper. Our Prabhupāda told us that white dog was fed every day five kilos of meat and was had two servants petting and bathing. And this way it was enjoying all the luxuries. So whatever desires that prime minister had were fulfilled by being that dog of the day. Who can say right or wrong? You know, I am not mentioning any names. We don’t know what the next life will be.

Prabhupāda once said, if someone is too attached to the seat next life they may also take birth as the bedbug in the seat and suck the blood of the coming people. So this is material life. Even in this life there’s no security. What to speak after this life, where we go, no one can say. Nowadays of course time is short. I know. You want to see probably the movies and other things. There’s movies? No movies, huh? No movies. That.

In this world.

This in Kali Yuga, at least in other Yugas, one lifetime one has some security. But in Kali Yuga, even in one lifetime there’s no security. Everything is so dangerous. Padang Padang Yadvi Padang Natesha. Every step. So then where is the protection? Someone who has the shelter of Kṛṣṇa is always protected. That today one of our light members who is working on Rath Yātrā. He said that somehow or another he’s always able to keep a steady mind. In all his business even he makes some loss. He does knows how to adjust and make up. But when he was two days before Rath Yajra and there were so many things to be done, he became a little bit anxious. So he was working day and night, brought hundred people from his factory to finish the Rat help and everything.

And he experienced in many ways that how Jagannath was controlling everything. He gave a story how the Rath Yatri went out, was going down the street to the point. And right in the middle of the street the wheel broke and one of the welds broke. So how is he going to fix the wheel? It turns out the house that it stopped in front of that man had his own personal welding that he came out and welded it in 10, 15 minutes in the hall of Madras. How many of you are keeping welding set. Like this? He gave so many things experienced and how Jagannath was helping. Because he had that opportunity to do directly some service. The devotees who are preaching around the world, they tell so many amazing stories. How they are saved from some danger.

How they are able to preach to certain people. They are able to see directly how Ka’s hand is working. If one Wants the eyes to see how Kṛṣṇa is there, then Kṛṣṇa will give. If someone wants the eyes to see how Kṛṣṇa is not there, then he will also give that blindness. So when one understands that in this life you can enjoy or you can get mystic power, or you can get liberation, or you can go to the supreme goal, back to Kṛṣṇa’s own planet and never come back. These four alternative goals are there by serving Kṛṣṇa. But actually if one simply said, alright, let me leave this life as best I can. Serving Kṛṣṇa, trying to engage my family and friends in Kṛṣṇa’s service. And then after this life go back to Kṛṣṇa, that is the best alternative.

Those who again maintain so many desires in this life, again they have to come back. Same problems will be there. Same problems again will be there. Just like Prithu Maharaj, he came down, he did his service, he ruled the world. Then when he went back to the spiritual world, when he died, he received moksha. He went right back to the Parampada. Along with him also came his wife Archie. She followed behind also and went back to Vaikuṇṭha. That happiness that is in Vaikuṇṭha, the happiness that is in Veloka, that Caitanya Mahprabhu brought down to this world. In this Hare Kṛṣṇa Mantra, when one chants Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya Pragunity invokes the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and then chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, one can very quickly taste drops of nectar from that ocean of happiness. Not the whole ocean. If we even have one full drop.

That’s like a tidal wave. Why is it people all over the world, even in very so called wealthy countries, they’re taking up chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Just last week, the chief of police, the Inspector General, equivalent Inspector General of Lagos, capital of Nigeria, he also has taken up Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As the Inspector General of police, he came to Māyāpur Haridarshan, the chief of the labor wing of UNICEF of United nations in New York. He also has taken up a Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So many in the west, very established personalities also taking up his Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Even though this is completely new to their culture and to them. But this is the history of great kings, history of great Vaishyas, history of great Brahmanas india. Is there that they lead their life dedicated to the Lord. Just like we know the Vijayanagara king Kṛṣṇadevarai.

Apparently he was always building so many temples. He also constructed the present day temple for Tirumala, Tirupati and Padmavati. Even only 4, 500 years ago that Pratapuru Gajapati who was never defeated. Even all around him were surrounded all these Muhammadans, Kings and Nawab Sultans. Everything he was always worshiping Jagannath, chanting Lord Caitanya, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa under Lord Caitanya’s guidance even got the Darshana Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Eventually, although Lord Caitanya normally never sign.

A king.

So this is a tradition. But now due to some foreign influence, people are thinking that. And also sometimes people get very frightened. There are if we become spiritually minded, if we become a devotee, that means we have to lose so many things. They get frightened. Actually what happens is a person automatically after becoming Kṛṣṇa Conscious automatically becomes satisfied with the situation that Kṛṣṇa gives. So not that then one should stop working, but then one should work, continue to work with full intelligence and then try to work in such a way that Kṛṣṇa’s purpose will be served. That will bring true satisfaction to be able to work and do something for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇadevara he made a big kingdom, a big empire. He got so much money. Then what did he do? He started to fix Tirupati temple, this temple, that temple.

He started to make arrangements so that citizens of his empire would have spiritual advancement. So if Kṛṣṇa gives someone wealth, give someone intelligence, give someone learning, gives any facility. If the person thinks that this was given by Kṛṣṇa can also be taken away. Let me use this. Whatever I need to maintain myself. Kṛṣṇa never will be grudged. But beyond that, let me use try to serve Ka’s purpose. Then what happens? Not only in this life, but in future life, one is always glorified. And then actually one feels satisfaction. So that satisfaction people are losing. Therefore also they’re losing their happiness and losing their fortune. So this Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement, of course it’s got many sadhus and Brahmacharis. But its goal, Prabhupha told us the goal is that people all over the world should be practicing in their house.

They should make their house Kṛṣṇa conscious. As far as possible, husband and wife should cooperate with each other and try to help each other. Path of sannyas is very difficult. It is not recommended in the color you got. Generally is not recommended. Better to be sincere Grihasta, make a family Kṛṣṇa conscious work and try to do whatever possible for the cause of Kṛṣṇa and making others Kṛṣṇa conscious. Previously there were kings like Kṛṣṇadevaraya who were seeing for their citizens. Like Pratapurudra, like Judas there like Janamejaya. For now secular state who is seeing for the welfare of the spiritual life of the citizens. That is supposed to be the citizens lookout the citizens in general, they also don’t have any sense. Only those who have got some more spiritual sense. Those who Kṛṣṇa give some facility.

Then if they use that to serve Kṛṣṇa’s purpose, that can change the whole misdirected state of affairs here in the Kali Yuga. And gradually people can progress, as Kṛṣṇa said nanivartante, back to the spiritual world from which one doesn’t have to come back. Are there any questions?

In Bhāgavata there was even close that a man who dies immediately his ātmā is going to be entered into some another bhakti. How nonverbal.

How?

The Kṛṣṇa says once he says that a man who goes there cannot be come back. In other hand he says that the man who dies immediately that body is going to be died. And whatever the thing is there that is called ātmā is not going to be right certainly. And that is going to be entered in some another one. Then where the question comes that a man who dies and he goes up cannot be come back.

Thank you.

This is a very good question.

His question is very good because first it is explaining what is the situation in this world. We have a material body which is made of eight elements. Eight material elements, five bros and three subtle. But beyond that. There is a Param Prakriti which is above these eight elements. The Jīva ātmā is of that superior Prakriti. Param Prakriti. This is the opera Prakiti. When the ātmā is in the opera Prakiti body, when the gross body of five elements is no longer habitable, is destroyed. Dead we call it. That means ātmā goes in Sukha sara Sukhma Sariya is a mon Buddhi Ahanka mind intelligence and false ego Ahankara that goes to the next body. Then again a new body. Life is there. Again that body dies. Maybe a Brahma body, maybe a Manushya body, maybe a Pashu body.

So what Kṛṣṇa is describing before parastasmatu bhavo nyo bhyakt.