"Dharma And The Disease"

74/03/27 Bombay, Bhagavad-gita 4.7


Pradyumna: (leads chanting of synonyms) "Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion -- at that time I descend Myself."

Prabhupada:

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
[Bg. 4.7]

This is very important verse in the Bhagavad-gita. Dharmasya. Dharma is translated into English as religion, and religion is described in the dictionary as a particular type of faith. "So actually, it is not that. Dharma does not mean a particular type of faith. Because faith, you may accept some faith, I may accept some faith, another may accept another faith. Then there is no question of preaching. Everyone is satisfied with his own particular type of faith then there is no need of preaching, neither there is need of Krsna's coming, descending on this planet. He said,

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
[Bg. 4.7]

If anyone accepts his own type of religion, so "I may not like your religion, you may not like my religion, but everyone is right," then what is the use of Krsna's coming here to rectify adharma?

Just try to understand. If everyone's religion is right... I may like or not like. That doesn't matter. You may like my religion. Then there is no question that any religion is irreligion. Just like the, some religions, they think killing of animal is their religion, and somebody thinks that killing of animal is irreligious. Then which is right, which is wrong? So dharma does not mean that you manufacture something, I manufacture something at home, or by some assembly, resolution passed. Just like in western countries there are so many... Here also, by passing resolution, it is accepted as dharma. So Krsna is not speaking of that type of dharma.

First of all you have to understand. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanih [Bg. 4.7]. What is dharma? First of all you have to understand. Dharma means occupational duty. Or natural characteristic. That is called dharma. Just like sugar. Sugar is sweet. The sweetness is dharma of sugar. Chili is very hot. The hotness is the dharma of chili. If the chili becomes sweet and sugar becomes hot, that is adharma. Try to understand this. So first of all, who can give us dharma? That is stated in the sastras, dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19]. Dharma means the orders, given by the Supreme Lord, or Supreme Being, God. That is dharma. This is the shortest definition of dharma. Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19].

Just like law. Law means which is given by the government. You cannot manufacture law at home. That is not possible. I have given this example many times, that in some country the law is "Keep to the right," in some country, "Keep to the left." I think, in America it is "Keep to the left." In England it is "Keep to the right." India, "Keep to the... Now which one is correct? "Keep to the left" or "Keep to the right?" No. According to the government. If the government says that "Keep to the right" is right, then you have to accept that. And the government says, "Keep to the left, that is right," then it is right. We cannot say that "In my country I keep to the left. Why shall I keep to the right?" No. That will not be accepted.

Try to understand what is religion. So God is one. God cannot say somewhere that "This is religion and this is not religion." God says, Bhagavan Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita... Here it is said that yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati [Bg. 4.7], paritranaya sadhu... In next verse He said,

paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
[Bg. 4.8]

The two business, Krsna's. Because He has already explained, bhutanam isvarah. "I am the controller of all living entities." Therefore when there is discrepancies in the execution of dharma, then He is to punish and reward. Paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam. Two things.

Just like it is the government's duty to give protection to the law-abiding citizen and to punish the outlaws. These two duties of the government. And the supreme government, Krsna... Because wherefrom this idea came? The government rewards the law-abiding person, or gives protection, and the not law-abiding, there is also protection, but under punishment. So dharma means, as Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. This is dharma. This is dharma. And our dharma, our characteristic is also there.

Because every one of us, we have surrendered to somebody. Analyze everyone. He has somebody superior where he has surrendered. It may be his family, his wife, or his government, his community, his society, his political party. Anywhere you go, the characteristic is to surrender. That you cannot avoid. That was the talk with Professor Kotovsky in Moscow. I asked him, "Now, you have got your Communist philosophy. We have got our Krsna philosophy. Where is the difference in philosophy? You have surrendered to Lenin, and we have surrendered to Krsna. Where is the difference?" Everyone has to surrender. It doesn't matter where he is surrendering. If the surrendering is correct, then the things are correct. If the surrendering is not correct, then things are not correct. This is the philosophy. So we are surrendering.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has explained this. Jivera svarupa haya nitya-krsna-dasa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109]. We are surrendering, but we are not surrendering to Krsna. This is the disease. This is the disease. And Krsna consciousness movement means to cure this disease. Cure this disease. Krsna comes also. He says, yada yada hi dharmasya [Bg. 4.7]. The dharmasya glanih, discrepancies in the matter of execution religion, when there is discrepancies, Krsna says, tadatmanam srjamy aham. And abhyutthanam adharmasya. Two things are there. When people does not surrender to Krsna, they manufacture so many Krsnas. So many rascals to surrender there. That is adharmasya. Dharma means to surrender to Krsna, but instead of surrendering to Krsna, they want to surrender to cats, dogs, this, that, so many things. That is adharma.

Krsna did not come to establish the so-called Hindu religion or Muslim religion or Christian religion. No. He came to establish real religion. Real religion means we have to submit, surrender to the real person. That is real religion. We are surrendering. Everyone has got some idea. He has surrendered there. Either political, social, economical, religious, anything. Everyone has got some idea. And the leader of that ideal is also there. So our business is to surrender. That is a fact. But we do not know where to surrender. That is the difficulty. And because the surrender is mistaken or misplaced, therefore the whole world is chaotic condition.

We are changing this surrender to that surrender. No more Congress Party. Now Communist Party." Again, "No more Communist Party. This... This party, that party." What is the use of changing party? Because this party or that party, they are not surrendered to Krsna. So unless you come to the point of surrendering to Krsna, there cannot be any peace. That is the point. Simply by changing from frying pan to the fire will not save you. Therefore Krsna's last instruction is

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami...
[Bg. 18.66]

So the discrepancy of religion means... This is also stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmah. First class or superior dharma. Parah means superior, transcendental. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. When we surrender to the Adhoksaja... Adhoksaja means the supreme transcendence, or Krsna. Krsna's another name is Adhoksaja. Ahaituky apratihata. Ahaituki means without any cause. Without any cause. Not that "Krsna is such and such, therefore I surrender." No. Without any cause. Ahaituky apratihata. And it cannot be checked. Nobody can check. If you want to surrender to Krsna, there is no checking, there is no hindrance. You can do it in any position. You can do it. Ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati. Then you will, atma, your atma, your soul, your mind, your body, will be satisfied. This is the process.

When this thing is discrepancies... One... There is one verse by a learned scholar that here we are surrendering to somebody... I am not surrendering to somebody for his satisfaction, but for my satisfaction. I join some political party because I am finding out the opportunity how I can become a minister or how I can capture some power by going through this political party. This is my real aim. I do not go to serve the country. Maybe one or two. But my real purpose is how to get some opportunity, some position. Therefore I am not serving that party but I am serving my ambition.

Therefore service means, at the present moment, service means kamadinam kati na katidha palita durnidesah. Our so-called service is to serve my lust. Kamadinam. Kama, krodha, lobha, moha, matsarya. We have got all these things. So somebody is serving lust, somebody is serving his anger, somebody his greediness. In this way we are serving the senses. Not the particular person. When you go to the office, we serve. But you do not serve the office, but we serve the money. Because he is paying me, as soon as he says, "Now tomorrow I cannot pay, " then, "namaskara." Therefore he is serving the money. And why money? "Because money will help me in satisfying my senses. Therefore I am serving my senses." Nobody is serving anyone. Everyone is serving his senses. This is the position. This is dharmasya glanir bhavati. As soon as we are engaged in serving our senses, that is dharmasya glanih. And as soon as we agree to serve the senses of Krsna, that is dharma.

That is the instruction of Bhagavad-gita. When Arjuna was talking with Krsna, in the beginning he was trying to serve his senses. "My dear Krsna, if I kill my relatives I'll be entangled in this way of sinful activities. I'll go to hell. If I kill my grandfather, the other side, Dronacarya, the other side... No, no." In this way he concluded, "No, no. I shall not fight." This kind of service is to satisfy Arjuna's own senses. He thought, "By killing the other party, I'll not be satisfied. I'll be very much sorry." That means serving my own, senses. Krsna, also was giving him instruction that "You are a ksatriya. It is your duty. There is no consideration of your relatives or your grandfather or your acarya. When there is opponent you must fight." That... In this way they were talking. The talking was that Krsna wanted to satisfy His senses and Arjuna wanted to satisfy his senses. This was going on. Talking. But Krsna is the Supreme Lord, He is isvara. His senses should be satisfied. Then it is service. That is the whole subject matter of Bhagavad-gita.

Because Arjuna denied to serve Krsna. Krsna wanted that "This battlefield... This Kuruksetra war is arranged by Me. You are simply an instrument." Nimitta-matram bhava savyasacin. "Even if you do not fight, all these bodies who have assembled here, they are not going back living. They will be killed. Now if you like, you have to fight. But the conclusion is already there." Because paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bg. 4.8]. It was Krsna's plan to kill all these asadhus, duskrtam, Duryodhana and company. That was His plan. So that is His business. He came to install Maharaja Yudhisthira, Dharmaraja, on the throne, and He wanted to kill the adharma, Duryodhana and company. That was his business. So therefore this Kuruksetra war was planned and Arjuna was to help Him because Arjuna was a devotee. Bhakto 'si sakha ceti. Because Krsna's friend. Everything is done by Krsna, but Krsna... And Arjuna is devotee.

As the devotee wants to serve Krsna, similarly, Krsna also wants to give credit to His devotee. That is the business between the Lord and His devotee. So Krsna could do everything. He was competent, everything. But He wanted to give the credit to Arjuna. That was His plan. Krsna has already done everything. But Arjuna as a common man, he was talking with Krsna. Actually, Arjuna also knew that "Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is my duty to serve Him." This was known to Arjuna. Therefore he is bhakta. Bhakta means who has dedicated his life to serve Krsna. That is bhakta.

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hrsikena hrsikesa-
sevanam bhaktir ucyate
[Cc. Madhya 19.170]

This is bhakti definition. When one becomes freed from all designation. "I am American." This is designation. "I am Indian." This is designation. "I am brahmana." This is designation. "I am ksatriya." This is designation. So one has to become free from all designation. This designation is bodily. I am not this body. Aham brahmasmi. I am spirit soul. Therefore when one understands that "I am not this body, I am spirit soul, I am part and parcel of the Supreme," that is self-realization.

brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param
[Bg. 18.54]

This is Brahman realization, aham brahmasmi, that "I am not this body." So long one is under the conception of this body he is no better than the animals. Sa eva go-kharah [SB 10.84.13]. Go means cows and kharah means ass.

Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke [SB 10.84.13]. So so long we are in the bodily concept of life, we do not know what is our real religion. That is ignorance. Mudha. Na mam prapadyante mudhah [Bg. 7.15]. So long we are in the bodily concept of life, with upadhi, designation, so long we are in ignorance. That is dharmasya glanih. In ignorance whatever you do, that has no benefit either for you or for anyone. So whole thing, whole world is going on under this bodily concept of life, designation. "I am Indian." "I am American." "I am this." "I am that." So that kind of dharma is not dharma. Therefore Krsna says at the end of Bhagavad-gita, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. The Bhagavad-gita religion is not Hindu religion or Christian religion or Mohammedan religion. It is the real religion, between the soul and God. The reciprocation, the exchange of dealings between the Supreme and the subordinate. That is called bhakti. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Purified. When you become purified, tat-paratvena, simply by engaging yourself in the devotional service of the Lord... Ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. These are the verdict of the sastra. When our heart is cleansed, then we can accept this religion, sarva-dharman parityajya.. [Bg. 18.66]. This is the religion. To accept Krsna, to surrender to the lotus feet of Krsna, this is religion.

So when Krsna says, yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati... [Bg. 4.7]. When people become averse to God or Krsna, they become Godless, they think themselves as God or something like that, that is dharmasya glanih. So naturally, here in this material world, every one of us, we have come to enjoy. Material life means enjoyment. Enjoyment is not real enjoyment. Real enjoyment is spiritual enjoyment. Spiritual enjoyment, that is with Krsna. That is not in the material world. So the dharmasya glanih means when there is discrepancy in the understanding of spiritual identity, that is dharmasya glanih.

Then aham brahmasmi. This is spiritual understanding. When one understands that "I am not this body, I am spirit soul," and when he begins... Devotional service begins there. That will be explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma [Bg. 18.54]. Because we are in darkness, we are not prasannatma. We are always morose. Although we are serving the country, the community, the family, or anything, but we are not happy because that is not our religion. When the same service will be converted to the lotus feet of Krsna, then we'll be satisfied. Then we'll be...

Therefore one learned scholar has prayed, kamadinam kati na katidha palita durnidesas tesam na karuna jata mayi na trapa nopasantih, sampratam labdha-buddhis tvam ayatah niyunksva mam atma-dasye, that "I have served so long the kama, krodha, moha, matsarya, lust, greediness, anger. But they are not satisfied." I have given this example, that you cannot satisfy anyone by material service. The example is in our country. Mahatma Gandhi gave his, the best capacity as he understood. Still, he could not satisfy everyone. Somebody killed him. So in this material world, so long we'll be in the material service, either socially or family-wise or community, whatever you do, you'll never be able to satisfy them. They will never say that "Now we are completely satisfied." Because it is disorganized. It cannot be.

But if you try to serve Krsna, a little service will make your life success. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat. Svalpam api. Very little service, if You give. Krsna is so kind. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya.

Just like... I'll give you example. Just like Krsna, when He was child, the Putana demon, she wanted to kill Krsna. She did not know... Everyone wants to kill Krsna, God. Just like Kamsa. He was making plan to kill Krsna as soon He is born. That is the plan of the demons, to kill God, or Krsna, some way or other. But actually, Krsna is never killed. He is killer. That is the whole history. So this Putana, she planned that "Smearing some poison on my breast, I shall allow Krsna to suck it and He'll die. That was his [her] plan. Krsna sucked the poison as well as the Putana's life. She died. But, just Krsna's kindness... Krsna thought that "She, this demon, this raksasi, she came to kill Me by poisoning, but I have sucked her breast. Therefore she is My mother." Krsna is so kind. "Therefore she must get the position of My mother."

So some way or other, if you try to serve Krsna, Krsna is so kind. Even if you have gone with a bad purpose Krsna will accept your service. Krsna is so kind. So why should we serve so many others? And if you serve Krsna, then other's service will be automatically done. The society's service, the family's service, the country's service, social service, political service, any service. That will be complete.

Why? Because Krsna is the root. Krsna is the root. If you pour water on the root of the tree, the water will approach everywhere in the tree. That is injunction of the sastra. Yatha taror mula-nisecanena trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah, tatha acyutejya, sarvarhanam acyutejya [SB 4.31.14]. Because Krsna is the root. Krsna... Bijo 'ham sarva-bhutanam. Aham adir hi devanam [Bg 10.2]. Mattah sarvam pravartate, iti matva bhajante mam budha bhava-samanvitah [Bg. 10.8]. So if you try to serve the root, water the root, automatically everything will be served. Just like this Krsna consciousness movement. This Krsna consciousness movement is aiming at service. Aiming to serve Krsna. That is the only aim. But automatically we are giving social service. Because as soon as one becomes Krsna conscious, he gives up all kinds of intoxication, all kinds of illicit sex, all kinds of meat-eating, all kinds of gambling. Is it not social service? Best social service.

In America the government is appreciating because the people are addicted to LSD, and they are seeing practically that as soon as a boy could come to Krsna consciousness, he gives up all this nonsense. They are spending millions of dollars, they cannot stop. But we can stop simply by word. "Give up this," and he immediately gives up. So this is the fact, that if you accept this dharma, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66], then all the problems of the world will be solved. Therefore this is needed.

And to teach this education, to teach the people, the rascals... Therefore Krsna comes. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati [Bg. 4.7]. Tadatmanam srjamy aham. So Krsna and Krsna's instruction, identical. Don't think that Krsna is no longer... He's existing by His words. Take His word. Apply it practically in life and you will be happy. That is called Krsna consciousness movement. Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya. All glories to Prabhupada! (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 4.7 -- Bombay, March 27, 1974