PRABHUPĀDA: Here, in this
material world, we are put into
mṛtatva, subject to birth, death,
old age and disease. But there is
another position where there is
no birth, death, old age and
disease. So which position we
should like—birth, death, old age
and disease, or no birth, no
death, no old age, no disease?
Which one we should like? Hmm?
I think we should like no birth, no
death, no old age, no disease. So
that is called amṛtatva. So
amṛtatvāya kalpate. Amṛta… As
we are, in our own original,
constitutional position, we are
not subjected to birth, death, old
age and disease. Just like Kṛṣṇa is
sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1],
eternal, blissful, knowledgeable,
similarly, we, being part and
parcel of Kṛṣṇa, we are also of the
same quality. The… We have
accepted this position of birth,
death, old age and disease on
account of our association with
this material world. Now,
everyone is trying not to die,
everyone is trying not to become
old, everyone is trying not to be
dead. This is natural. Because, by
nature, we are not subjected to
these things, therefore our
endeavor, our activity, is
struggling, how to become
deathless, birthless, diseaseless.
That is struggle for existence.
So here, in the Bhagavad-gītā,
gives you a nice formula. Yaṁ hi
na vyathayanty ete puruṣaṁ
puruṣarṣabha. This
transmigration of the soul, one
which is not afflicted by this,
dhīras tatra na muhyati, one who
understands… Suppose my father
dies, if I have got clear
understanding that “My father
has not died. He has changed the
body. He has accepted another
body.” That is the fact. Just like in
our sleeping state, dreaming
state, my body is lying on the
bed, but in dream I create
another body and go, say,
thousand miles away in a
different place. As you have got
daily experience, similarly, the
gross body being stopped, I, as
spirit soul, I do not stop. I work.
My mind carries me. My mind is
active, my intelligence is active.
People do not know that there is
another subtle body made of
mind, intelligence and ego. That
carries me to another gross body.
That is called transmigration of
the soul.
Therefore one who knows that
the spirit soul is eternal,
deathless, birthless, ever-new,
nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ purāṇaḥ.
Nityaḥ śāśvataḥ ayaṁ purāṇaḥ.
Purāṇa means very old. We do
not know how old we are
because we are transmigrating
from one body to another. We
do not know when we have
begun this. Therefore, actually we
are very old, but, at the same
time, nityaḥ śāśvato ’yaṁ
purāṇaḥ. Although very old,…
Just like Kṛṣṇa is ādi-puruṣa, the
original person. Still, you’ll find
Kṛṣṇa always a young man of
sixteen to twenty years’ age.
You’ll never find Kṛṣṇa’s picture
as old. Nava-yauvana. Kṛṣṇa is
always nava-yauvana. Advaitam
acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam
ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-
yauvanam [Bs. 5.33]. Ādyam, the
original person, and the oldest; at
the same time, He is always in
youthful life. Ādyaṁ purāṇa-
puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanam. So
anyone who knows that how the
soul is transmigrating from one
body to another, dhīras tatra na
muhyati, those who are sober,
learned, he is not disturbed.
The purpose of Kṛṣṇa, to teach all
these things to Arjuna… Because
he was very much perplexed how
he would live, killing all his
kinsmen, brothers. So Kṛṣṇa
wanted to point out that “Your
brothers, your grandfather, they’ll
not die. They’ll simply transfer the
body. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā
vihāya [Bg. 2.22]. As we change
our dress, similarly we change
our bodies also like that. There is
nothing to be lamented.” In
another place, Bhagavad-gītā,
therefore, it is said, brahma-
bhūta. “One who has understood
Brahman,” prasannātmā, “he’s
always joyful. He’s not disturbed
by these material conditions.”
That is here stated: yaṁ hi na
vyathayanty ete. These different
transformation, different changes
of nature, body, and everything,
one should not be disturbed by
all these things. These are
external. We are spirit soul. It is
external body, or external dress.
That is changing. So if we
understand nicely, na vyathayanti,
and you are not disturbed by
these changes, then saḥ
amṛtatvāya kalpate, then he’s
making progress, spiritual
progress. That means, spiritual
progress means, he’s making
progress towards eternal life.
Spiritual life means eternal,
blissful life of knowledge. That is
spiritual life.
So here is the recommendation.
Try to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.
And then you’ll not be disturbed
with all these external, ephemeral
changes of the material world.
Not only of this body, practically
one who is advanced in spiritual
life, he’s not agitated by the so-
called political upheavals or social
disturbances. No. He knows these
are simply external. Just like in
the dream. It is also a dream.
The… Our present existence, it is
also dream, Exactly like we dream
at night. In dreaming, we create
so many things. So this material
world is also a gross dreaming.
Gross dreaming. That is subtle
dreaming. And this is gross
dreaming. That is the action of
the mind, body, intelligence,
dreaming. And here, the action of
five material elements: earth,
water, air, fire… But all of them,
these eight, they are simply
material. So we are thinking that
“I have now built a very nice
house, skyscraper building.” It is
nothing but dream. Nothing but
dream. Dream in this sense, that
as soon as I give up this body, all
my skyscraper building, business,
factory—finished. Exactly the
same dream. Dream is for few
minutes, or few hours. And it is
for few years. That’s all. It is
dream.
So one should not be disturbed
by this dreaming condition. That
is spiritual life. One should not be
disturbed. Just like we are not
disturbed. Suppose, in dream, I
was put on the throne, and I was
working like a king, and after the
dream is over, I am not sorry.
Similarly, in dream I was seeing
that tiger has attacked me. I was
actually crying “Here is tiger!
Here is tiger! Save me.” And the
person who is lying behind me or
beside me, he says, “Oh, why you
are crying? Where is the tiger?”
So when he’s awakened, he sees
there is no tiger. So everything is
like that. But this dream, these
gross and subtle dreams, are
simply reflections. Just like what
is dream? The whole day, what I
think, the dreaming is a
reflection, reflection. My father
was doing cloth business. So
sometimes he, in dreaming he
was quoting price: “This is the
price.” So similarly it is all
dreaming. This material existence,
made of these five gross
elements and three subtle
elements, they’re exactly like
dream. Smara nityam
aniyatām.(?) Therefore Cāṇakya
Paṇḍita says, smara nityam
aniyatām. This anitya,
temporary… Dreaming is always
temporary.
So we must know that whatever
we possess, whatever we are
seeing, these are all dream,
temporary. Therefore if we
become engrossed with the
temporary things, so-called
socialism, nationalism, family-ism
or this-ism, that-ism, and waste
our time, without cultivating
Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then that is
called śrama eva hi kevalam,
simply wasting our time, creating
another body. Our own business
is that we should know that “I am
not this dream. I am fact, spiritual
fact. So I have got a different
business.” That is called spiritual
life. That is spiritual life, when we
understand that “I am Brahman. I
am not this matter.” Brahma-
bhūtaḥ prasannātmā [Bg. 18.54].
That time we shall be joyful.
Because we are afflicted with so
many changes of the material
features, and we are sorry and
happy, being afflicted by all these
external activities, but when we
understand rightly that “I am not
concerned with all these things,”
then we become joyful. “Oh, I
have no responsibility. Nothing, I
have nothing to do with all these
things.” Brahma-bhūtaḥ
prasannātmā na śocati na
kāṅkṣati [Bg. 18.54] At that time,
you can feel that every living
entity is exactly like you. It
doesn’t matter whether he is a
learned brāhmaṇa, whether he’s
a dog, whether he is a caṇḍāla,
whether he’s an elephant.
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini śuni caiva
śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-
darśinaḥ [Bg. 5.18]
That is required. That is spiritual
vision. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ.
Therefore a devotee is first-class
paṇḍita. A devotee. Because he’s
sama-darśinaḥ. Sama-darśinaḥ
means he’s feeling for others. A
Vaiṣṇava… Para-duḥkha-duḥkhī,
kṛpāmbudhir yaḥ. Vaiṣṇava is
very kind-hearted, merciful,
because he feels for others. He
feels for others in this sense that
he knows what he is. He sees
every living entity as part and
parcel of God: “Now, here is a
part and parcel of God. He would
have gone back to home, back to
Godhead, and danced with Him,
and lived very nicely, eternally,
blissfully. Now he’s rotting here
as a hog, or as a human being, or
as a king. The same thing. It is for
few years only.” So a devotee
therefore tries to take him out of
this illusion. Therefore, he’s called
para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. He’s
actually feeling others’ distressed
condition. Not these political
leaders or social… What they can
do? They make their own fortune.
That’s all. Or what is that fortune?
That is also misfortune. If
somebody thinks “I have got
some money. I am very
fortunate.” It is, actually it is not
fortune. Real fortunate is he who
is advanced in Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. He is fortunate.
Otherwise, all are unfortunate. All
are unfortunate.
So in this way, one should come
to the spiritual understanding,
and the symptom is he’s not
disturbed by the material
upheavals. Yaṁ hi na vyathayanty
ete puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabha,
sama-duḥkha-sukham. The
symptom is sama-duḥkha…
Because he knows this is
dreaming. Suppose you are
dreaming. So either you suffer in
the presence of a tiger, or you
become a king in dream, what is
the value? It is the same thing.
There is no difference. After all, it
is dreaming. Therefore sama-
sukha-duḥkha. If I become very
happy because I have become a
king or some big man, that is also
dream. And if I think that “I am so
poor, Oh, I am suffering, I am
diseased,” that is also the same
thing. Therefore Kṛṣṇa has in the
previous verses said: tāṁs
titikṣasva bhārata. “Just little
practice to tolerate. Do your own
business, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”
Yudhyasva mām anusmara [Bg.
8.7] The, our real business is, as
Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava
mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ
namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. “Always
think of Me.” So this practice
should go on. Never mind I am
so-called distressed or happy.
Here… In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta
it is said, ‘dvaite’ bhadrābhadra-
jñāna saba ‘manodharma’, ‘ei
bhāla ei manda’ ei saba ‘bhrama’.
Dvaite, in this dual, the world of
duality, here, in this material
world, the, “This thing is very
good, this thing is very bad,” it is
simply mental concoction.
Everything here is bad. Nothing
good. So this is our mental
creation only. “This is good, this
is bad.” We are doing that. Just
like in political field. “This party is
nice. This party’s bad.” But any
party goes in the power, your
condition is the same. The
commodities price are increasing.
It has no decreasing, either you
change this party or that party.
So these are all concoctions. If
you want really happy, happiness,
if you want real goodness, then
you try to become Kṛṣṇa
conscious. That will make you
real happy. Otherwise, if you are
simply disturbed by this material
condition.
nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo
vidyate sataḥ ubhayor api dṛṣṭo
’ntas tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ
Tattva-darśibhiḥ, those who are,
who have seen the Absolute
Truth, or those who have realized
the Absolute Truth, they have
concluded that the matter has no
permanent existence and spirit
soul has no annihilation. These
two things would be understood.
Asataḥ. Asataḥ means material.
Nāsato vidyate bhāvaḥ. Asataḥ,
anything asat… Anything in the
material world, that is asat. Asat
means will not exist, temporary.
So you cannot expect permanent
happiness in temporary world.
That is not possible. But they are
trying to become happy. So
many plan-making commissions,
utopian. But actually there is no
happiness. So many
commissions. But there is…
Tattva-darśī, they know… Tattva-
darśī, one has seen or has
realized the Absolute Truth, he
knows that in the material world
there cannot be any happiness.
This conclusion should be made.
This is simply phantasmagoria, if
you want to become happy in
this material world.
But people have become so
foolish, especially at the present
days, they’re simply making plan
on this material world, how they
will become happy. We have
practically seen. What is in our
country? It is far, far behind
material civilization. In America,
there are so many motorcars.
Every third man, or second man
has got a car. We are poor man,
we are sannyāsīs, brahmacārī.
Still, in each temple we have got
at least four, five cars. In each
temple. Very nice car. Such car
even ministers in India cannot
imagine. (laughter) You see?
Nice, nice cars. So they have got
so many cars. But the problem is
that always they’re engaged in
making roads, flyways, one after
another, one after another, one
after… It has come to this stage,
four, five. Four-, five-storied
roads. (laughter) So how you can
become happy? Therefore tattva-
darśibhiḥ na asataḥ. You cannot
become permanently happy in
this material world. That is not
possible. So don’t waste your
time to become happy here. In
another place, it is said, padaṁ
padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām.
The same example can be given.
In America, so many millions of
people die in motor accidents.
How many? What is the statistic?
You don’t remember?
ŚYĀMASUNDARA: Sixty
thousand, I think it’s…
PRABHUPĀDA: Sixty thousand?
No, no. More than that sixty… So
many people die of motor
accidents. So some of our
students, a few months ago, they
died of motor accident. The
motor accident dying in America
is not very astonishment. Because
the motors are, I mean to say,
running at the speed of seventy
miles, eighty miles, ninety miles,
and not only one motorcar, one
after another, hundreds. And if
one is little slow, immediately:
(imitates crashing sound) tarak
taka tak. (laughter)
So you cannot become happy.
These boys and these girls,
American, American, European,
they have tasted all this motorcar
civilization. They have tasted very
nicely. Motorcar, nightclub and
drinking, they have tasted very
nicely. There is no happiness.
Therefore they have come to
Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore
nāsato vidyate bhāvo nābhāvo
vidyate sataḥ. Abhāvaḥ, and the
sataḥ. So we are unhappy on
account of our accepting asat,
which will not exist. That is the
description given by Prahlāda
Mahārāja: tan ma…, sadā
samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt.
Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām. We
are always anxious, full of
anxieties. That’s a fact. Everyone
of us, full of anxieties. Why?
Asad-grahāt. Because we have
accepted this material body.
Asad-grahāt. Tat sādhu manye
’sura-varya dehināṁ sadā
samudvigna-dhiyām. Dehinām.
Dehinām means… Deha and dehī,
we have already discussed. Dehī
means the proprietor of the
body. So everyone is dehī, either
animal or human being or tree or
anyone. Every living entity has
accepted a material body.
Therefore they are called dehī. So
dehinām, every dehī, because he
has accepted this material body,
he’s always full of anxiety.
So we cannot be anxiety-free
unless we come to Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. That is not
possible. You have to become
Kṛṣṇa conscious, brahma-bhūtaḥ
prasannātmā [Bg. 18.54];
immediately you become
anxiety-free. If you don’t come to
the platform of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, you’ll always be
full of anxieties. Sadā
samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt,
hitvātma, hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham
andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato,
vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta
[SB 7.5.5]. That is the Prahlāda
Mahārāja giving us direction that
if you want to get relief from this
status of anxiety, sadā
samudvigna-dhiyām, then
hitvātma-pātam, hitvātma-pātaṁ
gṛham andha-kūpam… Gṛham
andha-kūpam. Gṛha means…
There are so many meanings.
Especially it is meant: home.
Home. Homesick. Our Vedic
civilization is that drive away from
home. Go away from home. To
take sannyāsa, to take
vānaprastha. Not to remain up to
the last point of death as family
member, grandfather or great-
grandfather. That is not our Vedic
civilization. As soon as one is little
grown up, pañcāśordhvaṁ
vanaṁ vrajet, he must get out
from this gṛham andha-kūpam.
Gṛham andha-kūpam, if we
discuss threadbare, it may be
very unpalatable. But we have to
discuss from śāstra what is gṛha.
Gṛha, it is… Another word, it is
called aṅganāśrayam. Aṅganā.
Aṅganā means woman. To live
under the protection of wife.
Aṅganāśraya. So śāstra
recommends that you give up
this aṅganāśrayam to go to the
paramahaṁsa-āśrayam. Then
your life will be saved. Otherwise,
as Prahlāda Mahārāja says, gṛham
andha-kūpam, “If you keep
yourself always in this dark well
of so-called family life, then you’ll
never be happy.” Ātma-pātam.
Ātma-pātam means you’ll never
be able to understand spiritual
life. Of course, not always, but
generally. Generally, who are too
much attached to family life or
extended family life… Extended…
Family life, then society life, then
community life, then national life,
then international life. They’re all
gṛham andha-kūpam. All gṛham
andha-kūpam.
So the Prahlāda Mahārāja
advising that “You give up all this
nonsense conceptions” Vanaṁ
gato yad dharim āśrayeta [SB
7.5.5]. Just vanaṁ gataḥ, means
just become free from this
conception, gṛham andha-kūpam
conception of life. Take the
broader life of Kṛṣṇa
consciousness. Then you’ll be
happy. Hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham
andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad
dharim āśrayeta [SB 7.5.5]. Harim
āśrayeta. The real business is
harim āśrayeta. Vanaṁ gataḥ.
Vanaṁ gataḥ means go to the
forest. Formerly, after gṛhastha
life, vānaprastha life, sannyāsa
life, they used to live in the forest.
But going to the forest is not the
main purpose of life. Because in
the forest there are many
animals. Does it mean they are
advanced in spiritual life? That is
called markaṭa-vairāgya.
Markaṭa-vairāgya means
“monkey renunciation.” Monkey
is naked. Nāga-bābā. Naked. And
eats fruit, monkey, and lives
underneath a tree or on the tree.
But he has got at least three
dozen wives. So this markaṭa-
vairāgya, this kind of
renunciation, has no value. Real
renunciation. Real renunciation
means you have to give up the
andha-kūpa life and take shelter
of Kṛṣṇa, harim āśrayeta. If you
take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, then you
can give up this, all this “ism” life.
Otherwise, it is not possible;
you’ll be entrapped by this “ism”
life. So hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham
andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad
dharim āśrayeta [SB 7.5.5]. Not to
give up… If you give up
something, you must take up
something. Otherwise, it will be
disturbed. Take up. That is
recommendation: paraṁ dṛṣṭvā
nivartate. You can give up your
family life, social life, political life,
this life, that life when you take
Kṛṣṇa conscious life. Otherwise, it
is not possible. Otherwise, you
must have to take some of this
life. There is no question of your
freedom. There is no question of
freedom from anxieties. This is
the way.
So here the same thing, that
tattva-darśibhiḥ, those who are
actually seer of the Absolute
Truth… athāto brahma jijñāsā, as
it is said in the Vedānta-sūtra…
Just yesterday, one boy was
asking me: “What is the Vedānta?
Vedānta, what is the meaning of
Vedānta?” It is very nice, it is very
easy. Veda means knowledge,
and anta means ultimate. So
Vedānta means ultimate
knowledge. So ultimate
knowledge is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says,
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid ca aham.
He is the maker of Vedānta and
He is the knower of Vedānta.
Unless He is knower of Vedānta,
how He can write Vedānta?
Actually, Vedānta philosophy is
written by Vyāsadeva, incarnation
of Kṛṣṇa. So He’s vedānta-kṛt.
And He’s vedānta-vit also. So the
question was whether Vedānta
means advaita-vāda or dvaita-
vāda. So it is very easy to
understand. The first aphorism of
Vedānta: athāto brahma jijñāsā,
to inquire about Brahman, the
Absolute Truth. Now the, to
inquire where? If you want to
inquire, you must go to
somebody who knows the thing.
Therefore, immediately, in the
very beginning of the Vedānta-
sūtra, there is duality, that one
must inquire, and one must
answer. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. So
in Vedānta-sūtra, how you can it
is advaita-vāda? It is dvaita-vāda,
from the very beginning. Athāto
brahma jijñāsā. One must inquire
what is Brahman, and one must
reply, or the spiritual master, or
the disciple, that it is dual. How
you can say it is advaita-vāda? So
we have to study in this way.
Here it is said, tattva-darśibhiḥ.
Tattva-darśibhiḥ means vedānta-
vit, one who knows Vedānta.
Janmādy asya yataḥ [Bhāg. 1.1.1].
One who knows the Absolute
Truth, from where everything
begins. Janmādy asya yataḥ. That
is the beginning of Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam.
So the natural commentary of
Vedānta-sūtra is Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā
na, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. This is
our life. Jīvasya, of every living
being. Every living being means
especially human beings. Because
cats and dogs, they cannot
inquire about Brahman, or the
Absolute Truth. Therefore the
conclusion is that the human
form of life, one should not be
engaged simply in the animal
propensities of life. That is simply
waste of time. He must inquire of
the Absolute Truth. Athāto
brahma jijñāsā. And he must try
to understand. Tad viddhi, tattva-
darśibhiḥ. From the tattva-darśī.
Jñāninaḥ, tattva-darśinaḥ, these
are the words. So in the human
form of life therefore, in every
society, the system is that the
children are sent to school,
colleges, to understand things.
Similarly, for spiritual
understanding, tad-vijñānārthaṁ
sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU
1.2.12]. Abhigacchet means one
must. There is no alternative. One
cannot say “I’ll…, I may not go.”
No, if you do not go, then you
are cheated. That is our Vaiṣṇava
system. Ādau gurvāśrayam. The
first thing is to take shelter of the
bona fide spiritual master. Ādau
gurvāśrayaṁ sad-dharma-pṛcchā.
Not that I’ll, as it has become a
system: “I’ll make a guru. Now my
business is finished. I’ve got a
guru.” No. Tattva-jijñāsā. Jīvasya
tattva-jijñāsā. Guru means, to
accept guru means to inquire
from him about the Absolute
Truth. Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam.
These are the Vedic injunctions.
One who is jijñāsu, means
inquisitive. Jijñāsuḥ śreya
uttamam. Śreyaḥ. Śreyaḥ means
beneficial. So uttamam, the prime
benefit. One who is inquisitive to
know about the prime benefit of
life, for him there is need of
accepting a guru.
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta
jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam śābde
pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy
upaśamāśrayam [SB 11.3.21]
So this is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness
movement. We are trying to
educate people to understand
the value of life, the value of
spiritual life especially, Bhāgavata.
Dharmān bhāgavatān iha. So, by
understanding spiritual life, by
understanding one’s actual
constitutional position, he may
be enlightened, what is the aim
of life, what is the duty of life,
what is the purpose of life. That is
Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Thank you very much. Hare
Kṛṣṇa.