"Krsna Will Accept You Anyway You Like"

74/03/31 Bombay, Bhagavad-gita 4.11



Pradyumna (leads chanting): Translation: "All of them, as they surrender unto Me, I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha."

Prabhupada:

ye yatha mam prapadyante
tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
mama vartmanuvartante
manusyah partha sarvasah
[Bg. 4.11]

Everyone is seeking to find out Krsna. Directly or indirectly. Krsna means the all-attractive. All-attractive. Bhagavan means the all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead. So indirectly or directly, everyone is seeking Krsna, the all-attractive. Ananda-mayo 'bhyasat. The Supreme Bliss.

We can give an example. Just like we take care of our body. We want to keep body very fit, healthy and beautiful, very nicely kept. Why? Why we take care of our body? Because I, the spirit soul, part and parcel of Krsna, I am living in this body. Therefore I take care of my body. Nobody takes care of the dead body. This is a fact. Either I take care of my body, or my family's body, or my wife's body, or my children's body.

Why? Because the part and parcel of Krsna is there. The soul is there. And as soon as the soul is gone, the part and parcel is gone from the body, the body has no value. Throw it away. The same body. This is practical. Therefore I love my body because the part and parcel of Krsna is there. Or you love your body. I love your body. Only for the reason, jivanam sarva-bhutanam -- the part and parcel of Krsna is there. Then why the part and parcel of Krsna is taken care of? Because it is part and parcel of Krsna. Therefore ultimately, my love goes to Krsna, all-attractive.

So everyone is seeking for happiness, but they are misled. Although they are trying to approach Krsna, they are misled. One can directly come to Krsna, but they do not want. They indirectly. So indirectly and directly, everyone is seeking Krsna. Mama vartmanuvartante manusyah partha sarvasah. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate
[SB 1.2.11]

The Absolute Truth, tattva, that is tattva. Vadanti tat tattva-vidah. Who can speak of tattva unless one is completely conversant with the tattva? Tattva means truth. So vadanti tat tattva-vidah. Those who are conversant with the Absolute Truth, they say. What do they say? Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam [SB 1.2.11]. The Absolute Knowledge without any duality, advayam.

What is that? Now, Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. The Absolute Truth is described in different ways by different people according to angle of vision. But the object is the same. There may be different types of religious systems, but the object is Krsna. Somewhere it is openly expressed, and somewhere it is covered. Just like Brahman, Brahman realization, impersonal realization, Brahman realization.

For the jnanis, those who are seeking out the Absolute Truth by speculative knowledge, they want to make these varieties of material world as void. The Buddha philosophy, sunyavadi. Because they are disgusted with these material varieties, therefore they want something opposite. That opposite is voidism, sunyavada. The sunyavada or, little more further, that is brahmavada, without any varieties, simply the light, brahmajyoti. This is also another realization. Sunyavada, to make this material world null and void, they come to the impersonal Brahman effulgence. This is Brahman realization.

And then, for the yogis, the localized aspect, Paramatma. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. By meditation. This is Paramatma realization. And then, ultimately, Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Just like we general, people in general, we can see the sunshine, but everyone knows.... At least, scientists know that the sunshine is coming from the sun globe. If you have got power to go to the sun globe, you can see what actually the sun globe is. And if you go still further, penetrate into the sun globe, then you will see there is a sun god, sun god. His name is also described in the Bhagavad-gita: Vivasvan. In the beginning of this chapter, Fourth Chapter, Krsna said, imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. So within the sun globe there is the person, the predominating deity whose name is Vivasvan. So it requires a little qualification, how to go to the sun planet. Sun planet is a fact. It is not fictitious. We are every day seeing. But we have no such power to go to the sun planet. Neither we have got the power to enter into the sun planet. That is inability.

Not that it is illusion. Krsna is illusion or Krsnaloka is illusion. No, it is not illusion; it is fact. Goloka-namni nija-dhamni tale ca tasya [Bs. 5.43]. In the Vedic literature we find description of the planet of Goloka Vrndavana, the abode of Krsna. It is stated, goloka-namni nija-dhamni. Nija-dhamni. Nija-dhamni means the personal abode. Krsna is person. God is person.

Just like governor. The governor is a person, and he has got his personal place, the government house. Similarly, the Supreme Lord.... Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti [SB 1.2.11]. He is person, and He has got His abode. That is stated in the Brahma-samhita.

goloka-namni nija-dhamni tale ca tasya
devi-mahesa-hari-dhamasu tesu tesu
te te prabhava-nicaya vihitas ca yena
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.43]

Goloka-namni, the planet.... We have given our picture of Goloka Vrndavana. As far as possible taking description from the sastra, we have given. The Goloka Vrndavana is described in the Brahma-samhita:

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

So Govinda has got place. Goloka-namni. The place name is Goloka Vrndavana, goloka-namni. Nija-dhamni. That is His personal abode. Although every dhama, every planet, everywhere, all over the universe, all over the creation, that is Krsna's dhama, God's place.... Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram [Bg. 5.29]. He is the proprietor of everything. Isavasyam idam sarvam [Iso mantra 1]. Everything, that is the property of Krsna, or the Supreme Lord. This is Krsna consciousness. This is Krsna consciousness. One has to learn this, that everything belongs to Krsna. Isavasyam idam sarvam. This is Vedic instruction. We have created trouble because we have forgotten the real proprietor. We are trying to become proprietor individually and collectively. "This is India. This is our India." "This is America. It is our America." "It is Germany, our." Nothing our. Everything Krsna's. This is Krsna consciousness. Everything belongs to Krsna.

And everyone has got the right.... Because everyone is the son of Krsna. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita,

sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita
[Bg. 14.4]

As the sons have got right to enjoy the property of the father, similarly, we, all living entities, not only human beings, but trees, planets, animals, everyone, all living entities, sarva-yonisu, they are all sons of God, or Krsna, and everyone has got right to live at the cost of Krsna. And He's also feeding everyone. Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. All the necessities of life is being supplied by Krsna. In Africa there are millions of elephants. They are also supplied food, at a time, forty kilos. And the ant is also, within the hole of your room... [break] ...according to law. Don't encroach upon others' property. Ma grdhah kasya svid dhanam. Tena tyaktena bhunjitha [Iso mantra 1]. Whatever is allotted for you, that is... Everything is prescribed. Everything is there. But the... Why this arrangement is made? They do not know. The arrangement is made that mama vartmanuvartante manusyah partha... Of course, particularly the name of manusyah has been... Because in the human life God consciousness can be developed, not in the animal life. Therefore here particularly it is mentioned, mama vartmanuvartante manusyah partha sarvasah. "Everyone is trying to approach Me, but according to different angle of vision, according to capacity." The capacity is somebody's trying to go up to the Brahman effulgence, somebody's trying to understand the Supreme Paramatma within everyone's heart, and somebody's trying to understand and go directly to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Vaisnavism is directly. Directly... Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. If you go directly... Just like if you reach the sun planet or the predominating deity of, namely, the sun god, Vivasvan, then naturally you know what is sunshine and what is sun globe. Similarly, if you directly go, if you directly can understand what is Krsna, then you understand what is impersonal Brahman and what is localized aspect, Paramatma. It is... Brahmano 'ham pratistha. Krsna says.

What is this Brahman? Just like the sunshine is situated on the sun globe. Sunshine, although it is very big, it is covering the whole universe, but it is coming from the sun globe. So similarly, the Brahman effulgence may be very, very great, but it is coming as the bodily effulgence of Krsna. That we get information from Brahma-samhita:

yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti-
kotisv asesa-vasudhadi-vibhuti-bhinnam
tad brahma niskalam anantam asesa-bhutam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.40]

So actually, either you try to realize impersonal Brahman, or by yogic process, the localized Paramatma, or directly you want to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are all the same. All the same. But this differentiation is due to my angle of vision. Therefore Krsna says, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham [Bg. 4.11]. If you want to realize only the Brahman effulgence, all right, you can do that. Or if you want to realize Paramatma by yogic principle, by meditation, all right, Krsna says, it is also all right. And if you want to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead in directly contact with Him, directly playing with Him as cowherds boy, directly dancing with Him like the gopis, directly treating Him as your son like Yasoda-mata, you can do also.

Krsna is open to everyone, and you can approach Krsna in any capacity -- as Brahman, Paramatma, or Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But it is up to you to relish which one is relishable for you. That is up to you. But Krsna is prepared to accept you in any way you like. So Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan, they are the same one truth, but it is difference of realization.

Just like you see one big mountain from a distant place. You'll see just like something, hazy cloud. If you go still further, you'll find something greenish. But if you go actually to the mountain, you'll find so many varieties. So many varieties. There are houses, there are trees, there are men, there are animals. Similarly, to the spiritual world. First of all, this material world becomes...

Just like Lord Buddha, he did not say anything further than making this material world as void, sunyavada. That is a fact. If you are...

In the previous verse it has been stated, vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah [Bg. 2.56]. If you are attached to these material varieties, then you cannot enter into the spiritual varieties, or in the spiritual world. Krsna is so kind. If you have got a pinch of desire to enjoy this material world, then you'll have to remain here as, either as Lord Brahma or as a small ant, according to your karma. But when you completely become free from material attachment, then the spiritual world is... So when the Buddha philosophy says sunyavada, nirvana, nirvana, it means the same thing, vita-raga, you have to become detached. You have to make this material enjoyment zero.

The bhakti also says, bhakti formula, anyabhilasita-sunyam: [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11] "You have to make your heart cleansed of all material desire." Then spiritual life will begin.

yesam (tv) anta-gatam papam
jananam punya-karmanam
te dvandva-moha-nirmukta
bhajante mam drdha-vratah
[Bg. 7.28]

This is the process. So artificially, the Buddha philosophy or Sankara philosophy, they, artificially if you want to make it nirvana, zero, that is not possible. Avyaktasakta-cetasam... Te..., kleso 'dhikataras tesam avyaktasakta-cetasam [Bg. 12.5]. Avyakta means zero, impersonal. If you become attached to simply making zero, or impersonal, that is not possible. Because we are accustomed. We are... As living beings, we want varieties. Variety is the mother of enjoyment. We cannot remain in the zero position.

You have got experience. Just like when you fly on the plane, after some hours, four, five hours, you become disgusted. You want to come down. Everyone has got this experience. Because the sky is zero, we cannot remain there more than four or five hours or six hours. We must come down. In the sea also. We have got all these experience. If you remain on the ocean for three, four days... Because it runs on. When I first went to America, I went by ship. So thirty-five days. So after four, five days, it was disgusting. As soon as we saw one island, then we became relieved. (Laughter) You see?

So the sunyavada philosophy will not give you happiness. After sunya, after making this sunya... Suppose you are passing through the sky, sunya, if you get another, if you go the moon planet or other planet, then you become happy. Then you become happy. But if you don't get any planet, then you have to come back again on this planet. Similarly, the sunyavada philosophy will not make you happy unless you...

Therefore in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated,

ye 'nye 'ravindaksa vimukta-maninas
tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah
aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah
patanty adho 'nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah
[SB 10.2.32]

The meaning is that "My Lord, Aravindaksa..." Krsna is addressed... Because His eyes are just like the petals of lotus flower, He's called Aravinda, and Aravindaksa. Barhavatamsa, aravindaksa. So "My dear Aravindaksa, lotus-eyed Krsna, "Ye 'nye 'ravindaksa. "The persons who are thinking that they have become liberated, now they have become Narayana..." Oh. Ye 'nye 'ravindaksa vimukta-maninah. They are thinking like that. Maninah means falsely thinking. Ye 'nye 'ravindaksa vimukta-maninas tvayy asta-bhavad... "They have no information of Your lotus feet or You. They do not accept Your personality." Tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah [SB 10.2.32]. "Their intelligence is not clear." Avisuddha. It is still impure. Because they could not understand.

The full knowledge is brahmeti bhagavan iti, brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti [SB 1.2.11]. The three things one must know. That is full knowledge. But if you understand partially, either Brahman or Paramatma... But if you understand Bhagavan... Kasmin tu bhagavo vijnate sarvam idam vijnatam bhavati. This is Vedic injunction. If you understand Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then you understand Brahman and Paramatma. But if you simply understand Brahman or Paramatma, you do not understand Krsna. Therefore it is said avisuddha-buddhayah, intelligence is not yet pure. Ye 'nye 'ravindaksa vimukta-maninas tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah, aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah [SB 10.2.32]. They, after undergoing severe penances and austerities, they approach the Brahman effulgence, param... Patanty adhah. Again falls down.

The same example. You may go very high. Just like nowadays, the attempt is being made. They are going to the moon planet or Venus planet. We do not know whether they are going or not, but we hear from the advertisement. So because they do not get any shelter, they come back. Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adhah anadrta-yusmad-anghrayah [SB 10.2.32]. Because they do not get any shelter, the shelter of lotus feet of Krsna, from this impersonal conception of philosophy, they again come to this material world.

Therefore you'll find there are so many big, big swamis. First of all they give up this world. Brahma satyam jagan mithya. "This world is mithya. Let us take to Brahman. Let us become Brahman." But after keeping in, some days in so-called Brahman, they again come back to open hospital, school. Because there they could not get anything. Therefore something must be done, profession. So open hospital and raise fund. That's all.

So unless you get shelter on the lotus feet of Krsna, you'll be attracted by these material activities. But when you are attracted by the lotus feet of Krsna, then vita-raga-bhaya-soka... Then, as we... Vita-raga-bhaya-krodha man-maya mam upasritah [Bg. 4.10]. Mam upasritah. When you take shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna, then you become vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah [Bg. 2.56]. Otherwise, you'll be attacked by, attracted by this material world. So therefore, artificial sunyavada philosophy, it may be, for the time being, necessity, sunyavada...

Just like Lord Buddha preached his philosophy, sunyavada philosophy, nirvana philosophy, because it was needed at that time. It is not permanent philosophy. Any philosophy except Krsna philosophy... Nothing is permanent. They are temporary. They have got temporary use. The real use is Krsna philosophy. Real use, Krsna philosophy. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam... [Bg. 18.66].

So when there was... People may question that "Lord Buddha is accepted as an incarnation of Lord Krsna." Kesava dhrta-buddha-sarira jaya jagadisa hare. "Then why he preached atheistic philosophy?" He preached, "There is no God." Sunyavada. But there was necessity at that time. Why? That is explained by Jayadeva Gosvami:

nindasi yajna-vidher ahaha sruti-jatam
sadaya-hrdaya darsita-pasu-ghatam
kesava dhrta-buddha-sarira jaya jagadisa hare

At that time, people were killing animals like anything in the name of yajna. In the Vedas there are prescriptions that in the yajna a pasu can be, an animal can be slaughtered. In some yajna, not all. Tamasika-yajna.

Anyway, Vedic injunction is there. So when Lord Buddha started this nonviolence, ahimsa paramo dharmah, the Vedic scholars approached him that "How you can prescribe this ahimsa? There is already sanction in the Vedas, pasavo vadhaya srstah... How you can stop it?" So Lord Buddha said, "I don't care for your Vedas." Therefore he is considered as atheist. Anyone who doesn't care for Vedas, they are technically called as atheist. Veda na maniya bauddha haila nastika. Nastika means atheist.

Anyway... Then Sankaracarya came. Sankaracarya wanted... Because by the propagation of Lord Buddha, whole India became Buddhist. And Sankaracarya wanted to establish Vedas again. So they were temporary necessities, for certain reason. Because people were addicted so much in violence, in killing the animals, therefore Buddha philosophy was needed. Again, this Buddha philosophy was driven out. The Sankara, impersonal philosophy was established. But again, the acaryas, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya and other Vaisnava acaryas.. . At last, Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They established that brahma satyam means brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate [SB 1.2.11]. Both, three, Absolute Truth.

So these are the philosophical development. So Krsna is summarizing this philosophical development here in this one line, that mama vartmanuvartante manusyah partha sarvasah. Either you follow Buddha philosophy or Sankara philosophy or Vaisnava philosophy, the ultimate goal is Krsna. Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya [Bg. 7.7]. So you have to approach Krsna through these different types of philosophy. They are partial realization. Just like Brahman realization means eternity realization. Paramatma realization means eternity and knowledge. And Bhagavan realization means eternity, knowledge and blissfulness. Sac-cid-ananda. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. If you realize Krsna, then you realize simultaneously... Kasmin tu bhagavo vijnate sarvam idam vijnatam bhavati. You realize Brahman, you realize Paramatma, and you realize Bhagavan.

That is our duty. Therefore Krsna says, bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. Because ultimately Krsna. Aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate, aham sarvasya.. [Bg. 10.8]. And Krsna says... Vedanta says also, janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. Brahman, Paramatma, they are expansion of Krsna. Krsna is the original. Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya [Bg. 7.7]. This is the truth. Therefore Krsna says that either you follow the Brahman path or Paramatma path, either as a jnani or yogi or as a bhakta...

Therefore Krsna says, mama vartmanuvartante manusyah partha... Anyone actually who is seeking after self-realization, there are three divisions. Either you have to realize as impersonal Brahman or as localized Paramatma or as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But if you realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then automatically you realize impersonal Brahman and Paramatma also. Just like if you have got one crore of rupees, then one hundred rupees, ten rupees or one thousand rupees or one lakh of rupees, they're all included, similarly, if you realize Krsna...

Therefore Krsna says, bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. That everyone is trying to realize the Absolute Truth. Either in the shape of Brahman or Paramatma or nullifying these material varieties, sunyavada, they are trying to approach Krsna. So Krsna is so kind that He's giving direct opportunity, direct opportunity that "You can surrender unto Me, and I'll take charge of you." Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami [Bg. 18.66].

So why not take this opportunity. Our Krsna consciousness movement is to preach or to train people how to approach directly. It is possible. One may say that "If it is so difficult subject matter, how one can approach Krsna directly?" No. That is Krsna's grace. You can... Just like in a building, high building, there are two ways. The staircase is there and the lift is there. You can take either of them. If you go to the topmost flat step by step, you can go. But if... Why don't you take this opportunity of taking the lift and go immediately, within a minute?

So Krsna consciousness is that. If you are actually serious to go to the spiritual world, take the bhakti-yoga process. Therefore Krsna is preaching personally bhakti-yoga. Mayy asakta-manah partha yogam yunjan mad-asrayah. So take opportunity of this Krsna consciousness movement. It is very, very easy. And anyone can take it. You have seen that our process, chanting, this process is accepted even by a small child. He also dancing, he's also chanting. Don't think that these things will go in vain. The small child who is dancing and chanting, it will be recorded in his history. Punji-budha. Krta-punya-punjah [SB 10.12.11]. This is called ajnata-sukrti. The center is open to give chance people to hear about Krsna, to chant about Krsna, to see Krsna, to take prasadam of Krsna. So we request, take advantage of these facilities and be fully Krsna conscious and make your life successful. Thank you very much. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 4.11 -- Bombay, March 31, 1974