PRABHUPĀDA:
daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama
māyā duratyayā mām eva ye
prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti
te
So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu
says that this is the condition,
suffering condition of the living
entities, and he can be rescued
by the mercy of sādhu, saintly
persons, the scriptures and the
spiritual master. They are
prepared to bestow their mercy
upon everyone, provided people
like to take their instruction and
mercy. That is the solution. And
in the Bhagavad-gītā the same
thing is confirmed in the Seventh
Chapter: daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā. The
influx of the disturbances created
by this material nature under
different forms is very stringent.
So anyone who wants to be
rescued from these miseries, he
should surrender unto the
Supreme Lord. Mām eva ye
prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti
te.
This māyā has got two kinds of
influence: prakṣepātmikā,
āvaraṇātmikā. Āvaraṇātmikā
means we are already covered by
the illusion. Although we are
suffering in every step, we are
thinking that we are happy. Just,
just the day before yesterday the
lady, she said, “Oh, the
temperature was so high that I
could not tolerate it. I could
not…” The next moment she
said, “Oh, I don’t feeling any, any
unhappiness.” This is called
prakṣepātmikā. First things is that
I am so much illusioned that I…
Just like the animals. They are
suffering so much, but they have
no knowledge that they are
suffering. But human beings,
who are above them, they can
understand that what sort of
suffering there is. A animal, he’s,
he’s being taken to the
slaughterhouse, but it does not
know due to ignorance. This is
called āvaraṇātmikā, covering
influence of the material nature.
And there is another influence.
Suppose one is trying to come
out of the covering.
Prakṣepātmikā. It throws: “Oh,
why you are trying for this? You
are very happy. Why do you
think, why you are so much
pessimistic of this life? Just work
hard and enjoy life. That’s all.”
So these things are going on.
Actually, we are suffering and we
are in dangerous position step by
step. But by the influence of this
material, external energy, we are
covered, illusioned. We are
thinking, “Yes, I am very happy.”
And if somebody tries to come
out of it, then he is also advised
by the material nature, “Oh, why
you are doing all this nonsense?
You are very happy.” Yavaj jīvet
sukhaṁ jīvet. The atheistic
theory… The atheist… Nowadays
there are atheists, not that…
Atheist class of men there are
always. Maybe number of the
atheists are now greater than
before, but there was a great
atheist in India. There are six
kinds of philosophical theses. Out
of those, atheism is also one of
them. So that atheism… Cārvāka
Muni. He was, Cārvāka, the
leader of the atheists. His theory
was that ṛṇaṁ kṛtvā ghṛtaṁ
pibet: “Just beg, borrow or steal.
You must eat butter. Never
mind.” Ṛṇaṁ kṛtvā ghṛtaṁ pibet,
yāvan jīvet sukhaṁ jīvet: “So
long you shall live, you must live
very comfortably.” Then one may
say, “Oh, beg, borrow, steal, and
who’ll suffer the sins? If I borrow,
if I cannot pay? If I commit sins?
If I commit burglary? Oh.” The
Cāṇakya, the Cārvāka Muni
replied, bhasmī-bhūtasya
dehasya kutaḥ punar-āgamano
bhavet: “Well, when your body
will be burnt into ashes, who is
coming here and who is going to
be responsible? Don’t think all
these.” So this is atheistic theory.
They don’t believe that there is
transmigration of the soul. He
has to take another body and he
has to take body according to his
work, and there are 8,400,000’s
of different kinds of bodies, and
human body is the most
benefactory. So they do not
know all these things. So this is
called āvaraṇātmikā, covering
influence.
So covering influence and
throwing influence. Out of these
two influences, one can come out
if he agrees to surrender unto
the Supreme Lord. Otherwise
there is no other way. He’ll be,
he’ll be always covered or be
thrown again.
daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama
māyā duratyayā mām eva ye
prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti
te.
Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-
gītā, “Anyone who surrenders
unto Me fully, he, he alone can
get rid of these two kinds of
influence of māyā. Others
cannot.”
māyā-mugdha jīvera nāhi svataḥ
kṛṣṇa-jñāna jīvere kṛpāya kailā
kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa
These, I mean to say, illusioned,
māyā-mugdha, illusioned living
entities, they have forgotten.
They have forgotten their
relationship with the Supreme
Lord. Mostly: “Oh, what is God?”
Somebody says, “God is dead.”
So these things are going on. Not
now. Now the number has
increased. It is always. So long
the world is there, the material
world is there, this sort of thing is
going on. So māyā-mugdha,
illusioned by this external energy,
they have no memory that how
they are connected with the
Supreme Lord. They have no
memory. They have forgotten.
That there is something like God,
altogether they have forgotten by
the illusion. Yes. Māyā-mugdha
jīvera nāhi kṛṣṇa smṛti-jñāna. And
just to revive their memory,
Kṛṣṇa… Jīvere kṛpāya kaila kṛṣṇa
veda-purāṇa. Veda-purāṇa. Veda
means the Vedic literatures.
Veda, real literal meaning is veda
means knowledge. Vetti veda
vido jñāne. There is a Sanskrit
root, vid-dhātu. From that vid-
dhātu, veda. Veda means
knowledge. And Purāṇa, Purāṇa
means supplementary, Vedic
instruction described in story
form. That is called Purāṇa,
story. This Bhāgavata is also one
of the Mahā-purāṇa. Mahā-
purāṇa means the science of
Kṛṣṇa is described in story form.
This is called Purāṇa. People
better understands in stories, in
history.
So Lord Caitanya says, “Because
people in general, by the
influence of the illusory energy,
they have forgotten their eternal
relationship with the Supreme
Lord, therefore the Lord Himself,
as Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa…”
Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa is
considered to be a powerful
incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. Unless he
was a, he was an incarnation, it
is not possible to write so many
books. There are eighteen
Purāṇas and four Vedas and 108
Upaniṣads, and Vedānta, then
Mahābhārata, then Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam. Each of them
contains thousands and
thousands and millions of verses.
So we cannot imagine that a man
can write in that way. You see.
So Veda-vyāsa is considered to
be incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, and he
was very powerful in writing. In
the Mahābhārata itself is so
many, so big book. And there
are… Each Purāṇa contains
thousands and thousands of
verses. So these are his gifts. So
Kṛṣṇa, means Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana
Vyāsa, he… Because sādhu,
sādhu, those who are saintly
persons, they’re always thinking
of the miseries of the people in
general. They are not meditating
for their own purpose. They are
writing books. They are thinking
how to establish them in such a
way so that they can properly
utilize the human form of life.
That is their business, sādhu.
Sādhu means that they are
always compassionate with the
sufferings of the people in
general. That is sādhu. Because
they are devotees. The Lord
comes… Yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata [Bg. 4.7].
Whenever there is… The nature’s
law is so stringent that if you
violate a little, then you have to
suffer. There is no mercy. There
is no mercy. So as you go on
violating the laws of nature, the
nature law is so made that the
nature is giving you chance to be
Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is the
whole program. And as soon as
you deviate from that law, then
you are put into trouble. So we
are passing in that way.
So the sādhu and the pious and
the devotees of the Lord, out of
their compassion, they write
books what they have heard in
the disciplic succession. They do
not manufacture. These Vedas,
what is written by Vyāsadeva,
you don’t think that he has
manufactured something. No.
Formerly the Vedic knowledge
was simply spoken by the
spiritual master, and the disciple
simply heard it. Therefore the
Veda is known as śruti. There
was no need of books. They were
so, I mean to say, their memory
was so sharp that once heard,
they can remember, they could
remember. The life was so nice
that… In the advancement of
Kali-yuga, as I have several times
described, that this memory will
be decreased. People will be less,
less memorious, memory… Their
memory will be very shortened.
They’ll forget. Just like the lady
was angry(?). At once forgets.
One moment she says that “Oh,
it was terrible heat,” and next
moment says, “Oh, I don’t feel
any unhappiness.” That is
forgetfulness. So memory will be
so short that people will forget.
Just like the animals. They forget.
There is no memory. In some of
the animals there is no mind.
That is also analyzed in the
Bhagavad-gītā, er, Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam. So memory
shortened, shortened. So just to
give us remembrance again, the
books are… Vyāsadeva, he wrote
those Vedic traditions into books.
Vyāsadeva is the first man who
wrote this Vedic knowledge into
writing. Before that, there was no
writing. Only by hearing, by
memory, the students will grasp
the whole thing and coming
down, tradition, tradition. Yes.
Śruti, by hearing.
So jīvere kṛpāya kaila kṛṣṇa veda-
purāṇa.
‘sādhu-guru-ātma’-rūpe āpanāre
jānāna ‘kṛṣṇa mora prabhu,
trātā’—jīvera haya jñāna
So what is the utility of this Vedic
knowledge? Now, by
understanding, by hearing from
authorized sources, or by reading
from authorized sources, the
forgetful living entities will come
to his senses. That is the
purpose. He will come to his
sense: “Oh, my position is this,
and I am suffering in this way.”
So śāstra-guru-ātma-rūpe
āpanāre jānāna. So Kṛṣṇa, or the
Supreme Lord, is always anxious
to revive the memory of these
forgotten souls, conditioned
souls. Now, how He revives? He
revives in śāstra. Śāstra means
scripture. Śāstra, guru, spiritual
master. Śāstra, guru, ātma-rūpe.
And sometimes He comes
Himself or as Paramātmā, or the
Supersoul. He is giving you
instruction from within as
Paramātmā, He’s sending you
suitable spiritual master so can,
you can have instruction without,
and the books are, the scriptures
are there. So many facilities the
Lord has created. And therefore
the human form of life is meant
for utilizing all these facilities. In
the animal form of life there is no
facility. They cannot read śāstra.
They cannot understand
scripture. They cannot take the
advantage of a bona fide spiritual
master. They cannot consult
within with God. They have no
this capacity. Their consciousness
is so undeveloped that it is not
possible to have, utilize all these
facilities. But in human form of
life we can utilize all these
facilities. The śāstras are there,
the Vedas are there, scriptures
are there. And still, although it is
the age of Kali, still, those who
are following the disciplic
succession, there is bona fide
spiritual master also. Śāstra, guru
and ātmā. And over all, the
Paramātmā. The Paramātmā, the
Supersoul, Kṛṣṇa as Supersoul, is
sitting within your heart along
with you. And as soon as, by the
instruction of the scripture and
direction of the spiritual master,
you begin sincerely something,
the Paramātmā, from within you,
He’ll speak, “Yes, now you are
right.” He’ll speak to you.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly:
teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ
prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-
yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti
te [Bg. 10.10]
Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānām. Those…
The spiritual master’s duty is to
lead a person, a forgotten soul,
to the right way in terms of the
śāstra and scripture, and when
he begins sincerely and with love
and seriously, then the next
stage is that God within, who is
sitting within you, He’ll dictate,
“Yes, you do like this. You do like
this.” So in every respect the
Lord is trying to help us. But we
are so much stubborn, we don’t
like to take advantage of this
position. Oh, he says, “Why shall
I take all this? I am very happy.”
There is a story in the Bhāgavata
that once Indra, the king of
heaven, he was condemned by
his spiritual master, Bṛhaspati,
that “You are so foolish. You
should have become a hog.” So
he became a hog. So after some
days, when the throne of the
heavenly kingdom was vacant,
Brahmā went to reclaim this hog,
Indra, that “Come to your place.”
So when the hog was requested
that “You are Indra. Why you are
suffering? Now you come. I have
come to take you,” so the hog
says, “Oh! I do not know what I
am, Indra. I have got my
responsibility. I cannot leave this
place.” Just see. Even the hog—
you can just imagine what is the
standard of his living—he thinks
also that “I am very happy. I am
very happy.” The stool-eating
and this nasty place, and “Oh, I
have got a very comfortable life.”
So this is the, I mean to say,
prakṣepātmikā.
So the sādhu-śāstra, the God
Himself comes, He sends His
confidential servant, He sends His
son to reclaim us, and we should
take advantage of these facilities
and make our life successful.
That should be the aim of human
life.
Thank you very much. (pause)
Oh, no, there is time.
veda-śāstra kahe—‘sambandha’,
‘abhidheya’, ‘prayojana’, ‘kṛṣṇa’—
prāpya sambandha, ‘bhakti’—
prāptyera sādhana
Now, what is the subject matter
of these Vedic scriptures? That is
summarily summarized,
summarized by Lord Caitanya.
Veda-śāstra kahe—‘sambandha’,
‘abhidheya’, ‘prayojana’. There
are three things in the Vedic
scriptures. What is that? The first
thing is: “What is my relationship
with God?” Or: “What is my
relationship with this world?” Or:
“What is my relationship with this
nature?” These three is
described. Then, as soon as you
understand your relationship,
then your action begins according
to… Just like two businessmen,
two. They want to do some
business. They wanted to do…
Mutually, they want to do some
business. And what is the aim of
business? To make some profit.
Both of them are interested in
making some profit. Without
profit, there is no question of
business. So first, if the profit is
aim, then the two business first
come to a contract, or
agreement. This is called
sambandha, relationship. “Yes,
you are supplier; I am purchaser.
And you shall supply in this way,
and I shall purchase in this way.”
Agreement. This is called
relationship. And after the sign of
the agreement, when actually the
activities begin, supply and
purchase, that is called
abhidheya. And abhidheya means
why they are doing this business?
Now, some profit. So the profit
there must be. Otherwise
nobody’s interested. Same thing
is there also in the Vedas. First of
all you have to understand,
“What is my relationship with
God, or with this world, or the
nature?” We must understand
first this. And when we
understand this, “This is my
relationship,” then my actual
work will begin. That is
abhidheya. And after executing
that prescribed duty, the result is
that I’ll get my relationship with
the Supreme Lord revived. These
three things are described in the
Vedas. There is no other thing.
So there are different kinds of
knowledge in the Vedas. Veda is
a vast knowledge. Even how we
shall live in this material world,
that is also described. Even
medicine, medicine, the science
of medicine is also described in
Vedas. That is called Āyur-veda.
The science of military science
also described there in the Vedas.
That is called Dhanur-veda.
Yajur-veda… So many Vedas
there are. And ultimately the
knowledge is there, how to
understand the Supreme
Absolute Truth and how to get
yourself liberated. That is… These
are the subject matter of Vedas.
So in the Bhagavad-gītā also the
Lord says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham
eva vedyam: [Bg. 15.15] “The
ultimate purpose of Veda is to
understand Kṛṣṇa.” Vedaiś ca
sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg.
15.15] So Kṛṣṇa or the sādhu and
śāstra does not stop your
material activities. Because you
have to act materially so long you
have got this material body, so
they give regulation, how you
should act so that ultimately you
can reach to Kṛṣṇa. So if we
follow the regulations given in
the Vedas, then automatically we
reach to the highest stage of
perfection. That is the purpose of
Vedas. Therefore you’ll find
different subject matter dealt in
Vedas, and unless we have a
bona fide teacher of the Vedas, it
is very difficult to understand
Vedic language and take
advantage of it.
Therefore Lord Caitanya says that
“The subject matter of the
Vedas, we must understand.”
And what is that subject matter?
That we must know our
relationship with God, or with
each other, or with this nature, or
this world; then what is our
action, regulated action; then the
prayojana, the ultimate goal of
life is reached. ‘Kṛṣṇa’—prāpya
sambandha, ‘bhakti’—prāptyera
sādhana. The ultimate end is to
reach Kṛṣṇa or to get Kṛṣṇa,
ultimate end. And that is
confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā:
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva
vedyam [Bg. 15.15]. The ultimate
purpose of the Vedas is to reach
Kṛṣṇa. That’s all. So this is the
ultimate goal of life, and Vedas
describes this, and Caitanya
Mahāprabhu is describing also.
We shall come to this point
gradually.
Thank you very much.