"Mad After The Disease"

75/03/10 London, Bhagavad-gita 7.2


Nitai: "I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and noumenal, by knowing which there shall remain nothing further to be known."

Prabhupada:

jnanam te 'ham sa-vijnanam
idam vaksyamy asesatah
yaj jnatva neha bhuyo 'nyaj
jnatavyam avasisyate

So Krsna is personally speaking about Himself as we understood in the previous verse, that asamsayam samagram mam yatha jnasyasi tac chrnu [Bg. 7.1]. Asamsayam, without any doubt. If we speculate about God, that will never be sufficient. Not even we can touch the precincts of the knowledge. If we want knowledge without any doubt, asamsayam, samagram, and complete, then we must hear from God Himself. This is very easy to understand. By hypothesis, by speculation, you cannot understand anything. It must be known scientifically, and this science can be understood if a person knows the science. So who can know God better than God Himself?

Therefore our process is -- we have repeatedly explained this -- that we do not speculate about God. Just like there are so many others, theosophists and theologists, they're speculating what is God. They don't accept... God personally explaining, they would not accept. They would simply speculate. This is their disease. When God is explaining Himself in the Bhagavad-gita... Rather, they will mislead the readings of the Bhagavad-gita in different interpretation, but they will not accept what is being taught by God Himself. This is their misfortune. "Why shall I accept Krsna as God?" Although He has proved Himself when He was present by the qualification which God needs...

To become God is not easy thing. There are some qualification, yesterday we discussed, that He must be the richest, He must be the most powerful, He must be the most famous, He must be the most learned, He must be the most beautiful, and He must be the most renounced. This is the definition of God. A poor man, begging from door to door, he cannot become God, as it is misconceived, daridra-narayana. Why Narayana can be daridra? What is this nonsense? He is the richest. He is the richest. And why He can, He will be daridra? The argument is forwarded that "God is in everyone's heart; therefore everyone is God." What is this argument? Everyone's heart, God is there. God said, isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. Where God says that because isvara, the Supreme Being, is situated in everyone's heart, therefore everyone is God? What is this argument? Where Krsna says that because isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61], therefore everyone is God? Is that very sound argument?

So this is going on. They do not know what is God, and still, there are so many incarnations of God. And foolish people accept that "Here is an incarnation of God." He does not know what is God, and he accepts, "Here is incarnation." We do not do so. If there is incarnation of God... That is mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Their activities are mentioned, wonderful activities. We accept Lord Ramacandra as God, Lord Krsna as God, Caitanya Mahaprabhu as God, because They are mentioned in the sastras, all the incarnations, even this age. One may say that "Lord Ramacandra is accepted God, Lord Krsna is also accepted, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He is the greatest devotee of God, but..." There are some persons in the Nimbarka-sampradaya, they put this argument. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu's name is there in the sastra, many Upanisads, especially in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, that in the Kali-yuga this incarnation of God should be worshiped. What is that description?

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam
sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi sumedhasah
[SB 11.5.32]

Clearly Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Krsna-varnam tvisa akrsnam. He is Krsna. Or krsnam varnayati, iti krsna-varnam.

Srila Jiva Gosvami, the most authoritative acarya of our sampradaya, he has explained like this. Krsna-varnam means always chanting Hare Krsna. Krsnam varnayati, describing Krsna, "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna." This is description of Krsna, addressing Krsna. So therefore krsna-varnam, or varnam means category. Just like brahmana-varna, ksatriya-varna. So in that way krsna-varna means He is Krsna, in the category of Krsna. Either you take this meaning or that meaning, krsna-varnam. But Krsna is black, and He is tvisa, by the complexion, akrsna. Akrsna means not Krsna. Now, there are so many colors. So everything is akrsna. That color, all the colors are mixed together, it becomes black. Otherwise there are many different colors. So akrsna means different color, "not krsna," not black. So what is the actual? That we have to refer to sastra again, that Krsna, in how many categories of color He appears? That is stated in the Bhagavatam. When Krsna was born, then Gargamuni was calculating about His horoscope, and he said to Nanda Maharaja that "This, your child..." Idanim krsnatam gatah. Suklo raktas tatha pita idanim krsnatam gatah. "Your child had formerly white color." White color... Sometimes some critics criticize us that "Krsna everywhere He is black. Why in your temple white?" But it is said that sukla, suklo raktas tatha pita idanim krsnatam gatah: "Your son had other colors also, white and red and yellow, and now He has assumed blackish color."

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu, tvisa akrsnam. He is not blackish. Then He must be other form, sukla, rakta, or pita. So He assumed the pita, yellowish color. Therefore tvisa akrsnam. Tvisa means by complexion. So krsna-varnam, krsnam varnayati, iti krsna-varnam, or krsna iti krsna-varnam, and tvisa, by complexion, akrsna, pita, idanim pita-varnam. Pita-varna gaura, golden avatara. And sangopangastra-parsadam. He is always surrounded by associates, specially by Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasadi. Sri Krsna Caitanya, He is Krsna, then Nityananda, then Advaita, then Gadadhara, then Srivasa, and many other devotees always followed. That is the life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Wherever He went, many followers chanting Hare Krsna, plus these principal associates were with Him. Therefore sangopangastra-parsa... And these sanga upanga were His astra. Astra, astra means weapon.

God advents for two purposes. What are the two purposes? Paritranaya sadhunam. Just to give relief and deliver the devotees. The devotees are always anxious to see God, so God comes down to give relief to the devotee, being present before them. Paritranaya sadhunam. Another: vinasaya ca duskrtam, to annihilate the demons. So there..., for annihilating, for killing, you require weapon. Krsna has His weapon, sudarsana-cakra. Lord Ramacandra has His weapon, bow and arrow. What is the weapon of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu? Sangopangastra-parsadam. His associates are His weapons. This is astra. Because in the Kali-yuga they are so fallen, even they are demons, they are third-class, fourth-class demons. (laughter) So they need not be killed. They are already killed. Their mode of life, their atmosphere, they are always dead. Just like we see so many demons. So what is there to kill them? They are already killed. They have no life. So this killing process in Kali-yuga is to kill their demonic propensities. And how to kill that demonic propensities? By spreading Hare Krsna movement. This is astra. Otherwise to kill them is not... By life, it is not difficult. One slap is sufficient. You don't require other weapon. But real Krsna comes to kill or to give protection -- because He is Absolute, it is the same thing. If He is killing some demons, He is giving him protection. He stops his demonic activities further, to implicate himself in more trouble. Therefore when Krsna kills one demon, that means He saves him. He saves him. The Absolute, this is Absolute. Either He protects His devotee or kills the demon, the result is the same. Therefore He is called Absolute.

So in this age, Kali-yuga, to kill the demons means to stop their demonic activities by the astra, kirtana, hari-sankirtana, which is spread by His associates. Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, Srivasadi Gaura-bhakta-vrnda, they are going door to door, country to country, city to city, and saving the demons from being implicated more and more in material existence. Therefore this is the astra. Astra means the killing. Real purpose... The living entity is eternal. How he can be killed? Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. So to kill means to kill his demonic nature. Otherwise how he can be killed? Ya imam... There is a verse that anyone who knows that the living entity is never killed and... A living entity does not kill anyone; neither a living entity is ever killed. One who knows this, he knows. So that is the position. So killing does not mean that killing the living entity. That is not possible. Na jayate na mriyate va. Killing means to kill his demonic activities. Stop. Killing means stop acting.

So sangopangastra-parsadam. This is the description of the God, Krsna, in this age. That is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam sangopangastra-parsadam [SB 11.5.32]. And how to worship Him? What is the process? Yajnaih sankirtanaih. That's all. You keep Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Deity and chant and dance -- your life is successful. So easy. We are worshiping Radha-Krsna. That is very difficult. But if we keep Caitanya Mahaprabhu with His associates, this Panca-tattva, Gaura-Nitai, Gaura-Gadadhara, or Panca-tattva, and worship Him according to the sastra description... The sastra description is yajnaih sankirtanaih. This is yajna. Life is means for performing yajna. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said yajnarthe karma. You are very busy. Yes, you should be busy always, twenty-four hours. For what purpose? Yajnarthe, not for your sense gratification. That is devotional life. Yajnarthe karma. Karma. We are not dull matter. We have got our flexible hands and legs to work. People think that "These Krsna conscious men, Hare Krsna people, they are escaping." What is that, escaping? We are not escaping. We are practically taking the real activities. Param drstva nivartate. Although people see that we do not work, we do not go to the factory, we do not to the mine, we do not go to the so many, so many things, or professional. We do not become lawyer, engineer. They say that we are escaping. No. You see we are always busy, twenty-four hours busy. I am old man of eighty years; still, I am busy. I am traveling all over the world, writing book at night, talking with visitors, and so many things. You can see. So where we are escaping? We are the most responsible worker. So the... What is the difference? The difference is all people are engaged for sense gratification. We are engaged for satisfying Krsna. But activities are there.

So when you engage yourself for satisfaction of Krsna... Yajna means satisfaction of Krsna, or Visnu. Visnur aradhyate pantha nanyat-tat-tosa-karanam. This is called yajna. Yajna means worshiping Lord Visnu. Tat-tosa-karanam, acting for His satisfaction. Tosa means satisfaction. And in another place it is also said, atah pumbhir dvija-srestha varnasrama-vibhagasah, svanusthitasya pumsasya...svanusthitasya pumsasya. Huh?

Pusta-krsna: Svanusthitasya dharmasya.

Prabhupada: Ah. Svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam [SB 1.2.13]. Everyone has got different type of activities. Formerly it was divided into four: the brahmana activity, the ksatriya activity, the vaisya activity, and the sudra activity. Now it has been developed at the present moment, so many. But if you again connect all of them, they will come to the same categories or divisions. Some intelligent class of men, they are working day and night about understanding the Absolute Truth or the truth. Just like the theosophists, the philosophers, the theologists, the scientists, so many brain workers, they are working to discover better way of life, how the human society should be more and more happy. So this is the work of the brahmanas. But nowadays the brain is not utilized for understanding Brahman, but for understanding the ways of higher standard of life, sense gratification. Anyway, that is intelligent work. Next the administrative work. Next the productive work. And next the worker, general worker. The same brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra.

So Bhagavad-gita recommends that you work for Krsna. If you are engineer, so you use your talent, how to construct a very wonderful temple for Krsna. That will be success of your learning engineering. Svanusthitasya dharmasya. Anyone has got a particular talent. So how to make that talent successful? Now, svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam [SB 1.2.13]. If you are very first-class engineer, you construct such an wonderful temple for Krsna that people from all the world will come to see it. Then you are successful. So any line of education, you cannot take it, but use it for Krsna's satisfaction. Then your education is perfect. Otherwise, srama eva hi kevalam, simply working uselessly and waste of time. What is this? So yajna, that is yajna. When you work for Krsna to satisfy Krsna, that is yajna. Yajna does not mean that simply by performing fire sacrifices and offering little ghee upon it. No, that is yajna. That is ordinary yajna. Agnihotra-yajna. But the real purpose of yajna is... The same purpose: in the fire sacrifice we offer the food grains. That means the Supreme Lord is eating through fire. So eating is satisfaction. So Krsna is not satisfied only by eating. He has got other senses also. Krsna is not nirakara. And Krsna, you satisfy any sense of Krsna, you are successful. And you can satisfy anything through any sense. Angani yasya sakalendriya-vrttimanti.

So this is the..., called yajna, yajna. So yajna has to be performed. Saha-yajnah prajah srstva. In the Bhagavad-gita you will find. All the living entities were, especially the human being, the demigods... Demigods were first created. The seven rsis, they created later on. Imam vivasvate yogam proktavan...vivasvan manave praha [Bg. 4.1]. The sun-god was created, then from him, Manu came; from Manu, Iksvaku came, in this way. So all these prajas, progeny, was created for performing yajna. That is stated in the Bhagavad... So everyone is meant for performing yajna. Yajnarthe karma. Everyone should work for performing yajna. That is human life. Work very hard. You have got tendency to work from morning, six, to night ten o'clock, eleven o'clock. We see. Early in the morning the road is congested. They are going to work. But they do not know why they are working. They know, "I am working for filling up this belly." That they know. No, that is not the purpose of working. For filling up the belly the animals, the ants, the cats, dogs, birds, they are also working. And you shall also work for filling up the belly only? Then what is the value of your life? You should work for yajna. That is human life. Yajnarthe karma.

"But I don't like yajna." Then karma-bandhanah, they are becoming entrapped, working under the influence of certain material modes of nature. Therefore you are infecting that material mode of nature, and according to the infection, you will develop the next body. Just like according to infection you develop the disease, so this material body is disease. That we do not understand. We are soaping this material body, keeping it fit, but we do not know that this is disease. Anyone, does anyone want to keep the disease and say, "My dear disease, please live with me forever"? (laughter) Is there any intelligent man say like that? Disease is to be cured, is to be driven away. In Hindi they say, jara ar para okhane kha na baviya ar.(?) Means "Unwanted guest and disease, you do not give him to eat, and he will go away." He will go away. So any disease, you starve for few days, two days, three days, it will go. And any unwanted guest, you don't supply him food. He will automatically go away. So disease should not be maintained. Disease should be cured.

So that curing medicine we have to take not to maintain this material body. Na sadhu manye yata atmano 'yam asann api klesada asa dehah [SB 5.5.4]. This is real intelligence. Everyone is trying to keep this body, this disease, maintaining. This time, next time, next time, next time, going on. Janma-mrtyu-maran malam.(?) This is not your... Disease should be cured. Therefore sastra says,

nunam pramattah kurute vikarma
yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti
na sadhu manye yata atmano 'yam
asann api klesada asa dehah
[SB 5.5.4]

People are mad, and they are doing anything mischievous, sinful. And what is the purpose? Now, just to satisfy the senses. You see? There are so many nice foodstuff -- Krsna has given -- fruits, flowers, grains, milk, butter, sugar. And you can prepare hundreds and thousands of preparation out of it and offer to Krsna and eat it very nicely. "No. We must have meat." This is vikarma. Vikarma means sinful activities. Karma, vikarma, and... Tena tyaktena bhunjitha. God has given you so many nice foodstuff. Why should you kill an animal? Therefore Jesus Christ says, "Thou shall not kill." "Then shall I die?" No. There are so many things. You eat. Tena tyaktena, whatever is ordained by you, by God, Krsna... The same thing is said. Krsna should have said, "Give me..." Mamsam din mam.(?) No. He says, patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati.

So this is yajna, to satisfy Krsna. So if you offer Krsna these things, what He wants, you will satisfy. Yo me bhaktya prayacchati. Bhaktya, with bhakti, Krsna said. So why don't you do this? That is yajna. Everyone can perform yajna at home. Because they are eating. Who is there who is not eating? Everyone is eating. But if you prepare, within these items, patram puspam phalam toyam, and prepare nice varieties of foodstuff and offer to Krsna, that is yajna. That is yajna. And yajna-sistasinah santo mucyante sarva-kilbisaih. If you take prasadam, Krsna will not eat everything. He will eat, and He will leave for you also. So don't be afraid that "If I offer Krsna, He will take away." (laughter) Krsna is not so hungry. Even if He is hungry, He can eat the whole universe. So just satisfy Krsna. "Sir, it is all given by You, the food grains, these fruits, flowers. It is Your gift. So You first of all taste or eat. Then I shall eat." Krsna is very satisfied. So we want Krsna's satisfaction. Svanusthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-tosanam [SB 1.2.13]. You have cooked very nicely, and if Krsna says, "Yes, it is very nice," then your cooking is perfection. Samsiddhir hari-tosanam [SB 1.2.13].

So do anything. If Krsna is satisfied, that is yajna. That is yajna. And one should live for that purpose. Yajnarthe karmano 'nyatra loko 'yam. Work very hard, but yajnarthe. And if you work so hard like ass and cats and dog simply for satisfying your tongue or belly or the genital, a straight line, then you are going to hell. Yajnarthe karmanah anyatra karma-bandhanah. Then you are becoming bound up by the laws of nature. If you eat and sleep and act like dog, then become dog next life. And if you act like god, then you'll get god, very easy thing. So whatever you like, you can do. But the sastra gives you direction, yajnarthe. "Act, work, work hard for pleasing the Supreme Lord." Yajnarthe. Otherwise you will be bound up in the cycle of birth and death. Don't do it.

So this Krsna consciousness movement is teaching this education, that perform... You cannot escape it. You cannot say that "You are interested. You can do. We are not interested." If you are not interested, then you are living a very risky life because you have to change your body. Dehantaram. You can see. There are examples of so many types of body. Now, suppose if you live at the risk of your life and next life you become a tree, stand up for five thousand years in the snow, scorching heat, scorching, blasting and so many disturbances, and you cannot move an inch, and people may cut down you, your leaves, your trunk, or you, they are cutting so many... What is that life? And if you think, "No, I am living for five thousand years," what is the use of living such five thousand years? No. Don't risk life. Karma-bandhanah. If you don't perform yajna, if you don't try to satisfy the Supreme Lord... Just like if you don't try to satisfy the government, then it is your risky life. You cannot say that "I am living very happily." Because you are cheating government or do not following the laws of the government, that is very risky life. Similarly, if you do not perform yajna, you cannot avoid it. Saha-yajnah prajah srstva. You are, you have got this human form of life for performing yajna.

So in this age, in Kali-yuga, it is very difficult to perform other yajna. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Krsna, has appeared to accept your yajna, to deliver you, and the yajna process is very easy: yajnaih sankirtanaih. That's all. Simply perform. Wherever you live, at home or outside home, just keep a picture of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and chant Hare Krsna mantra before Him. Then your life will be successful.

Thank you very much. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 7.2 -- London, March 10, 1975