20080503 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.7.46

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The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on May 3, 2008 – in Śrī Raṅgam, India. The lecture begins with a reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.7.46.

This is śrīrangan. Devai Vidantevamayan.

Translation by His Divine Grace Prabhupāda is the Founder-Ācārya of the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness ISKCON: Surrendered souls, even from groups leading sinful lives, such as women, the laborer class, the mountaineers and the Śabaras, or even the birds and beasts, can also know about the science of Godhead and become liberated from the clutches of the illusory energy by surrendering unto the pure devotees of the Lord and by following in their footsteps in devotional service.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: Sometimes there are inquiries as to how one can surrender unto the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā 18.66 the Lord asked Arjuna to surrender unto him, and therefore persons un willing to do so question where God is and to whom they should surrender. The answer to such questions or inquiries is given herein very properly.

The personality of Godhead may not be present before one’s eyes, but if one is sincere in wanting such guidance, the Lord will send a bona fide person. Who can guide one properly back home back to Godhead. There is no need of material qualifications for making progress on the path of spiritual realization in the material world. When one accepts some particular type of service, he is required to possess some particular type of qualification also. Without this one is unfit for such service. But in the devotional service of the Lord the only qualification required is surrender. Surrendering oneself is in one’s own hand. If one likes, he can surrender immediately without delay and that begins his spiritual life. Up to that begins his spiritual life. I read up to that begins his spiritual life. Kunda yanabay and I. Give us God to us. Jada. Family.

A bona fide representative of God is as good as God himself. Or in other words, a loving representative of the Lord is more kind and more easy to approach. A sinful soul cannot approach the Lord directly, but such a sinful man can very easily approach a pure devotee of the Lord. And if one agrees to put himself under the guidance of such a devotee of the Lord, he can also understand the science of God and can also become like the transcendental pure devotee of the Lord and thus get his liberation back to Godhead back home for eternal happiness. So realization of the science of Godhead and relief from the unnecessary useless struggle for existence are not at all difficult for the willing candidate. But realization of the science of Godhead are very difficult for persons who are not surrendered souls but simply profitless speculators.

You don’t have two bikes. Do you want to use this? My most people know him. Can you hear him? Wanna come? How many want relief from unnecessary useless struggle and suff? How many want pure transcendental happiness? How many want eternal happiness and to go back to Godhead? How many want love of Kṛṣṇa. Nitana? Generally it’s thought that very pious people who are Sadh Charis following the mode of goodness, they can achieve liberation or heavenly planets. And people who are in sinful activities, they are good candidates to go to hellish planets. In hellish planets there may be main 27 hellish planets where one can get all kinds of special treatment. Very nice special treatment. Throwing in boiling oil, Putting on a big flat plate which is burning and you’re just like frying on the big copper plate.

Flying from the mountaintops and being smashed on sharp stones. Those who are have had illicit sex, then they can embrace some beautiful woman or man who’s made of completely burning iron and be burned to death while embracing. Except you don’t burn to death because you are already dead. You are just burning. No relief. Even you can’t commit suicide. You are already dead. No escape. And so many other Kumbi park andha Tamisran and so many very famous resort areas. As people go there like here, the people like to go on vacation to some resorts. So after sinful life that’s the vacation you get. But here it gives some hope that even if people might have a sinful background, they can know the science of Godhead and become liberated from Māyā. By taking shelter of a pure devotee of the Lord.

They follow the path of devotional service following his example instructions. Then they will achieve all success. Normally the sinful people, they don’t have access to the Lord. But they can approach the devotee of the Lord. They can approach the bona fide spiritual master and thus they get the mercy of the Lord. It says the Guru is an incarnation. Avatar of the Lord’s mercy. He is not the Lord, he is the devotee of the Lord. But the Lord’s mercy is coming down through him. So somebody wants the Lord’s mercy. The easy way to get it is from the Lord’s pure devotee. Yeah. Media. Therefore we offer so much respect to the Guru because by his mercy we can get Kṛṣṇa very easily. There is the special facility given by the Lord. Just like some company, they want to sell their product and they have sales agent.

Like some. Now mobile companies are promoting their mobile services everywhere. They’re trying to get people to Sign up to their different programs. Some companies are very easy to get signed up. Everywhere you see sign for Reliance, for Airtel. You see in bengal we have. We have. In the rural area we have. Bsnl. Was very hard to get service there. You had to go to telephone office for two weeks it took to get me my number. Officer out. Computer broken. Come tomorrow weekend vacation. This paper is not right. Bring some other paper. So like that. Again and again every day they’re going for two weeks and finally they could get. Maybe that’s only for Bengal, I don’t know. But if we try to go directly to the Lord it’s harder than if we have a nice agent to go through.

Maybe that’s not a good example. But if you don’t have the bona fide ancient, then it’s very difficult. Lord is saying if you want to meet the Prime Minister. If you just go to Delhi doesn’t mean you can meet the Prime Minister. Lot of security, a lot of difficulty to meet the Prime Minister. But if you know a friend of the Prime Minister he can say, come with me, I will bring you. Then it’s easy. So the guru is a confidential servant of the servant. He can take to his Guru who takes to his guru. And like this it goes to Kṛṣṇa. So those people who are very proud, they say they don’t want to go through a guru. They find very difficult time. They say the Lord’s mercy is coming down like the sunlight. And the Gurus mercy is like the lake.

And our spiritual life is like a lotus. So the lotus is floating on the water and getting the sun light. Then everything goes very nice. You need the Lord’s mercy. Otherwise the lotus doesn’t open. But you need the Guru’s mercy. If there’s no water then the lotus is just in the sunlight. Without any water it will dry up. So we need the mercy of the Lord. We need the mercy of his devotee. Says, by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy one gets Guru. And by Guru’s mercy one gets Kṛṣṇa. Somebody is sincerely desiring how I can get to Kṛṣṇa. Then Kṛṣṇa leads one to bona fide. Guru. Dhruva was looking for Kṛṣṇa. Where is Bhagavān? Are you Bhagavān? Are you Bhagavān? Are you? Where is Bhagavān? He go up to trees, stones. He doesn’t know what is Bhagavān like. Are you Bhagavān? Are you? Where is Bhagavān?

So like this he is looking and he thought this is not the way to find me. So he said, not you guide him how he can reach me. But first God tested dura. Guru should test the disciple. Disciples should test the Guru. Is the disciple going to follow my instruction? Is a disciple really interested in getting back to Kṛṣṇa? Tall? Dhruva, you’re a young boy. Young boy. You’re a young boy. Very dangerous here. Tigers, lions, Poisonous snakes. Better we go home. Go to your mother. Go to your father. What are you doing in this dangerous jungle? No. I am here to find Bhagawan. Until I find Bhagawan, I am not going anywhere. You help me to find Bhagavān. Otherwise, don’t waste my time. I am going on. So then Nārada understood that he was determined. Dhruva said, are you Bhagavān? No, no. I am not Bhagavān.

I am Bhagavān’s servant. I can lead you how to get to Bhagavān. All right then you lead me. Otherwise don’t waste my time. So Dhruva was desperate. Somehow he was fortunate. He was led to a bona fide guru. Normally we should see that the Guru is practicing. Guru is following in a bona fide disciplinary succession. Guru knows the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is practicing it. He’s teaching it like this. He’s taking away the doubts of people. Then we can take Guru Shaltra. Then we see by following the Guru’s instruction whether that process is working for me or not. If it works, then we are convinced and we take shelter and we take initiation from the Guru. But Dura, he’s in a very big hurry. So somehow he just accepted Nadmuni. That’s normally not recommended. But anyway, he was very fortunate.

Once one takes initiation, then one is not supposed to test the guru mode. Then you take initiation after you’re convinced. And then you follow the instructions of the Guru. The shelter stage is the practice state. Last final exam. How many devotees here are initiated? How many are sheltered? How many chance? 16 Rounds. How many are determined to get back to Kṛṣṇa in this lifetime? Very good. If you follow Śrīla Prabhupāda, then you are guaranteed success. Because his process, as this verse says, works, can deliver nice people. Can even deliver people who are very sinful. If some medicine can cure even the serious disease and the light disease is easy. So the Guru, we can approach him easily. That’s much easier than the Lord. We take shelter of the Guru and we serve Kṛṣṇa through the Guru. This is the process, the science of living.

If you follow this science, you will be successful. So. Prabhupāda made a very good point here. Say you want to get a service. Say you want to get a service. A job. How many of here have a service employment? Hari Rani here from Mississippi. What’s your service? So normally in Mississippi to be a school teacher you need some qualification. You have to have education. So normally any material service you want to do, you need some kind of qualification. What’s your job? Technician. You need some education. So be a technician. If one wants to be a businessman or woman then they also need some qualification to do business. They should know how to add certain things they have to learn. If you want to be a heart surgeon, you need some qualification. So for this material activities you need some separate qualifications.

But for devotional service it says you only need surrender. You can be educated or uneducated. But if you have surrender then you can practice kaja. So how many want to send. Photoman? Where’s the photoman? If we want so we surrendered. Today we took Daishan of Śrī Rangana. They said most important is the Lord his feet. We also Vedānta Desika he sang. I think it was a thousand prayers for the lotus feet of Ranganatha. The lotus feet give shelter to the devotees. So the guru is representative of the Lord’s feet of the Lord. Through the Guru we get shelter of the lotus feet. It. So that’s a special mercy. If we can surrender to Kṛṣṇa then we can get Kṛṣṇa through the Guru. We don’t need some other special qualification. But if you have some qualification, you can use that. In Christian service.

We can use almost any kind of qualification to serve Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa can be served with a qualification. Sometimes devotee wants to get some qualification how to serve Kṛṣṇa better. In this way if you are very careful then you can also serve Kṛṣṇa in a variety of ways. At least also this is a serve spiritual master. One should try to use their intelligence. Try to think how I can please the Guru. So once there was a disciple walking with the guru. And guru was riding on a horse. Then the guru’s hat fell from the horse. Then the guru was looking for his hat, said where’s my hat? So now it fell from the horse. So why didn’t you pick it up? You didn’t tell me to pick it up. Whatever you order, I will follow it.

You never ordered me to pick up things that fall from the horse. Okay, I order you. Anything falls from the horse, you pick it up and give it to me. Okay. Now that’s all right. As you order I will follow. Then after some time the Horse passed a stool. So the disciple picked it up and offered to the Guru. He said what’s that? It fell from the horse. He told me give you everything that falls on the horse. So here I am giving you. I don’t know what do I want that for. I give you. Now you are angry. Very difficult to serve your Gurudev. Please you give me a list. What are all the things I have to pick out? So the Guru gave inventory. Okay. Shirt, dhoti, water cup, whatever other things he wrote down. Then they’re going along.

Some animal came out and scared the horse. The horse jumped up. The guru fell off the horse. The disciple went with the list, Dauti Chadha, all the things he picked up. The guru, he left. And the Guru came conscious. What’s happening? Why you took all my clothes off? Why you are leaving me in the dust? Gurudev, you told me the list. Other things you pick up. Why you didn’t pick me up? You’re not on the list. So this kind of disciple, very dangerous. See like robot, you have to just like know intelligence. When you have to think how to apply a principle and then put that into work. Just like we say no intoxication. So if someone says give me a list, what are all the things I can take? There may always be some new intoxication we don’t know about.

They are always finding something new, some new change. So then. Oh okay. It’s not on the list. I can take this one. You know the principle. We shouldn’t take things which artificially intoxicate us. Like alcohol, like cancer, like narcotics, etc. Everything may not be written that we have to understand. So like this disciple has to use their intelligence. What I should do, what the Guru wants me to do, Then one can properly serve. I was thinking today after seeing the temple of Vedānta Desika, how he served so nicely. The guru, Paramparā Ramanujacharya, he did over 100 works. He wrote and did so much preaching. How he trained so many people. He brought Ranganath back to Śrīrangam. He did so much for the spiritual master. Actually this is our duty. We should try to do something to serve the Guru.

We actually go to the Guru. Initially we get some help from the Guru just like we get help from the parents. But then in the end we are supposed to do something for the Guru. Try to carry on his service and expand it. We want to please the Guru and do something for his pleasure. So I was thinking, not done very much yet for my spiritual master. Actually to do Something wonderful need lots of help. We want to see many people awaken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So for that I need lots of help. Who wants to help me. Like this? If each of you tell others about Kṛṣṇa then that way Kshita consciousness can spread very quickly. Doesn’t there was one example given by someone was preaching to this. I forget the name. One famous playback music director. He’s from Tamil Nadu.

But he was previously like some time before. He’s in Bombay and he’s the main. He’s the playback music director for all the cinemas. Maybe someone says his name. I will remember. But I am not in that line. So I don’t remember. Said that the devotees they approached him many times to be a life member. He wasn’t interested. But many devotees preached to him. But he wasn’t interested. One day he met one. Very new, just few weeks or months old. But this devotee was so much enthusiastic. And he saw he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Very happy tears are coming from his eyes. Just happened that music takes. Oh, what’s happened to you? Oh, I am chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. It’s so wonderful. So, so, super wonderful. And that you should also change Hare Kṛṣṇa. You’re missing such a Rambanalarki thing. And that convinced him and he started to chant.

You never know who can convince someone. Sometimes it may be a big Pandit. Sometime it may be a simple lady who is just very sincere and Kṛṣṇa conscious. No one can say who is the one who convinced another person to be a devotee. We should all try. If we see the person needs a pundit, then we can take him to a pundit. If we see the person needs some practical person, we take him to a practical person. We try to give Kṛṣṇa everyone. Finally who gets it? Who gets the mercy? When they get the mercy, do they share it with others? So don’t think just like it says here. Anybody can be Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Anybody can also. If you’re a sincere devotee, you can give Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Even if you are not able, you can bring someone to the more advanced devotees.

And this way they can give Kṛṣṇa. So Prabhupāda said chain har Kṛṣṇa, be happy. And make others happy. Give Kṛṣṇa to others. How many want to be happy? How many want to give happiness to others? Now there’s a dangerous disease going around. Sars. Everybody’s worried about sars. Completely closed down Singapore. Hotels closed, restaurants closed. Very heavy situation. Now we find that in the Bhagavad-gītā 16^th chapter, Kṛṣṇa talks about another disease. This is called having nature of demon. Demon Wants his own sense gratification. Let someone else suffer. Suffer. I will be happy. Kill my enemies. Destroy the people standing in my way. More powerful demon. But Diwali wants everyone be happy. Jagat Mandal everyone be happy. You see. But in the world today, we are facing their problem. Very heavy disease. Severe acute demon syndrome. SAD syndrome. Those people are always sad, always unhappy.

Even under happiness they are unhappy because I never satisfied. So be careful of this sad syndrome. Serious acute demonic syndrome. How do we avoid the sad syndrome? There’s a vaccine. For sars there’s no vaccine. But for sads there’s a vaccine. The vaccine is every day you have to champion. You. Take this vaccine chanting the holy names and it will keep you in the proper spirit of service. Last one we got. Whoever chance. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Laura, Thank you very much. Any question? In the dormant state in this material world, the ātmā is sometimes compared to a small spark coming from the fire. Kṛṣṇa is like the fire wear like a small spoolinga little spark. But Kṛṣṇa also says we are his part and parcel. He said so Kṛṣṇa is a person. We are also his part. We are also a person.

This Nirakar concept is a very partial understanding of the absolute truth. Kṛṣṇa says that the living entities, they’re my spiritual part and parcel. And they’re struggling with this material world. So the living entity is a part of Kṛṣṇa. But that doesn’t mean that the living entity is eternally only a spark. Kṛṣṇa shows in the spiritual world that the living entity has different forms. As a servant, as a friend, as a parent, as a wife. And if they serve the Lord, People want to say that the soul is a spark and that ultimately they are the same as Kṛṣṇa. And finally they will say that they are also Bhagavān. This is a kind of a demonia concept to want to become God. The devotee concept. We want to serve the Lord.

When Hanuman, he was asked if he want to merge with me, Ram said he refused. You are my master, I am your servant. I want to serve you eternally. I don’t want anything to come in the way of my being your servant. So these kind of people promoting this concept, usually they are not following the Vedas or they are giving some distorted interpretation of the Vedas. That’s where the philosophers would defend what is the real understanding of Vedas. So now so many philosophers, so many Acharyas have established. So now in Kali Yuga there are many bogus people. They say, no, we don’t need Vedas. I am here. What do you Need Vedas for I myself avatar, follow me. Without the coconut. Without. There’s two kinds of coconut with the malai and only the water. Malay mean has high fats.

So through that scripture you can defeat these people. It’s no problem. Even Lord Shiva, he also in the Bhāgavatam he is praying to Kṛṣṇa. Śiva said that devotee of Kṛṣṇa is more dear to him even than his own devotees. Kṛṣṇa greatest devotee is Lord Shiva, Best of the Vaishnavas. Because the Vedas confirm this throughout. So that there are some followers that want to establish Shiva as supreme. So then they say we don’t want to follow the Vedas and they come up with some other literature. Shiva is like yogurt and Vishnu is like milk. He’s one of expansion of Lord Vishnu and he’s for this material world. Big. So he always has a devotional mood towards Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva has a mood like a devotional mood towards Vishnu. That’s why he’s chanting Japan his reduction. You also who chants Japa here? All right.

So devotees chant Japa. Shiva also chants Japa. Devotee. He’s chanting Ram Naam, holy names of Vishnu. Some people claim to be followers of Shiva, but they’re actually going against what his instructions are in the Vedas. In our Kshna conscious movement, we have all respect for Shiva and we respect him as the greatest Vaishnava. That’s a very great devotee. He is carrying out some confidential services for the Lord. Other people that so many speculative ideas are going around which are not supported by the Shastra or by Lord Shiva. That’s why we have to test a guru. Is that guru coming in a bona fide paramparā? Padma Purāṇa said there’s four valid paramparas. If somebody is not coming in one of those four, then their mantras will not work and their process will not work. Some people are very good at marketing their product.

So they sell a product very cheap, Sounds very good, but it’s not what they say. So after some time then people say it doesn’t work. So like that. There are so many paths that people offering some cheap way. But it’s not according to the Shastra. That’s why we take that time to explain everyone why chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is authorized by all the Shastras. It’s not that we are presenting our own vision. This is what Shastra tells us. In this Kali Yuga we should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, surrender to me, become my devotee, Bow down to me, pray to me. Worship me. So to do that, we had to have our personal form. To do that, we have to be in our personal form. So personal worship of the Lord is considered higher than the impersonal process. Hare Kṛṣṇa, I think we’re late.

We have to go to. So everybody make a prayer. We want. Lord, we are trying to have the Pañca-tattva installed for the main temple in my airport. And the first part of any installation is the deities should be made. So here we’re making the deities nearby in Swamimalai, near Kumbhakonam. So today Nityānanda Prabhu is to be cast. Everyone pray to Lord Nityānanda that he may please come and take a beautiful deity form so we can formally invite him and worship him. Application. I was here how many years ago? Two years ago. I am keeping your schedule, but. You don’t want me to come more frequently.