Prabhupada: The Lord says that the purpose of all Vedic instruction is to achieve the highest goal of life, back to Godhead. Any scripture of any country, not only of this Bhagavad-gita, but any scripture, they are aiming simply how to get us back to Godhead. That is the purpose. Take for any ex... Take for example any of the great religious reformers or acaryas of any country. In your country, Lord Jesus Christ or Lord Buddha. Of course, Lord Buddha, he advented himself in India, but later on his philosophy was broadcast all over Asia. Then Lord Krsna, or Hazrat Muhammad -- anyone take. Nobody will say that "You make your best plan in this material world and live peacefully." That is a common factor. There may be little difference according to country, climate and situation in the scriptural injunction, but the main principle -- that we are not meant for this material world, we have our destination in the spiritual world -- that is accepted by everyone.
Therefore Lord Krsna says,
vedesu yajnesu tapahsu caiva
danesu yat punya-phalam pradistam
atyeti tat sarvam idam viditva
yogi param sthanam upaiti cadyam
Ah, the yogi, the transcendentalist, his chief aim of life is how to get into the spiritual kingdom. That is the highest ambition of the yogi, of the transcendentalist.
Now we begin the Ninth Chapter. We have finished the Eighth Chapter. We are beginning the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. Sri bhagavan uvaca. The Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is speaking. Sri Bhagavan. I have several times described what this word bhagavan means. Bhaga means "opulence," and van means "who possesses." So bhagavan. There is... Everything has definition. So in the Vedic scripture we'll find the definition of God. We have got some conception of God, but in the Vedic literature you'll find definite description, what do we mean by "God." That what do we mean by "God" is described in one word: Sri bhagavan. Bhagavan. Bhaga means opulence, and van means "one who possesses."
So what are the opulences? The opulences are that riches, wealth, and strength and influence and beauty, education, knowledge, and renunciation. These are opulences. Therefore Vedic literature says,
aisvaryasya samagrasya
viryasya yasasah sriyah
jnana-vairagyayos caiva
sannam bhaga itingana
Bhaga. These are opulences. Aisvarya means opulence and... Aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya. Viryasya means strength. And yasasah. Yasasah means fame. And aisvaryasya viryasya yasasah sriyah. Sriyah means beauty. And jnana. Jnana means knowledge. And renunciation, vairagya. Renunciation. These six opulences, when you find presented in a personality in full, He is God. He is God. That is the description of God. You have many rich men here in your New York City, but nobody can claim that he is the richest of all, he has got all the riches of the world. Nobody can claim. But if you find somebody who claims that "All the riches of the world or the universe belongs to me," He's God. He is God, just like Krsna claimed.
In the Bhagavad-gita you'll find,
bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati
[Bg. 5.29]
The Lord says that "I am the enjoyer. I am the enjoyer of all kinds of activities." He's the benefactor of all kinds of activities. Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram: "I am the proprietor of all planets." Loka means planets. We are proprietor of certain extent of land here, and we are very much proud. But God says that "I am the proprietor of all the planets." And suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. And He is the friend of all living entities. And suhrdam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati: "When a person understands that God is the proprietor of everything, God is the friend of everyone, God is the enjoyer of everything, by knowing these three things, one becomes very peaceful." That is the peace formula. You cannot become in peace so long you think that "I am the proprietor." You are not actually the proprietor. You cannot claim proprietorship. Just like take for example this land of America. Say four hundred years before, the Red American, Red Indians, they were the proprietor. Now you are the proprietor. Now, after, say, four hundred years or thousand years, somebody will come. They'll become proprietor. So actually, we are not proprietor. The land is there, we come here, and we claim falsely that "I am proprietor."
So this philosophy, as it is stated in the Isopanisad that isavasyam idam sarvam, "Everything belongs to God...' Everything belongs to God. Nothing belongs to me. Actually, this is the fact. But under illusion we are thinking that "I am the proprietor." So God is proprietor. Therefore He is the richest man. He is the richest man. He's not man, of course; He's God. But He is the richest. So if you find somebody... There are many incarnations of God. Nowadays you'll find, especially in India, there are dozens of incarnations of God. But if you ask him, "Are you the proprietor of everything?" oh, that is very difficult to answer.
These are the checks, how you can understand that who is God. God must be the proprietor of all, everything. And He must be powerful than anyone. When Krsna was present on this earth, nobody could conquer Him. There is not a single instance that Krsna was defeated. So He belonged to the ksatriya family. He identified Himself as ksatriya. The ksatriyas are meant for giving protection to the poor, to the weak. So He belonged to the royal family. So there were so many fightings in His so long He remained on this earth, but in no fight He was defeated. Therefore He was the most powerful. And so far His opulence is concerned, from Bhagavatam we find that He married 16,108 wives, and every wife had a different palace. The palaces are described. And He expanded Himself into 16,108 divisions also. These things we have got in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. If you believe, it is all right, but great acaryas, great scholars of India, they have accepted this fact, that Krsna is God.
Therefore, bhagavan uvaca. Vyasadeva... This Bhagavad-gita was written by Vyasadeva, spoken by Lord Krsna. It was noted by Vyasadeva, and therefore Vyasadeva says, sri bhagavan uvaca: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead said." What does He say?
idam tu te guhyatamam
pravaksyamy anasuyave
jnanam vijnana-sahitam
yaj jnatva moksyase 'subhat
"My dear Arjuna, now I shall speak to you the topmost part of knowledge." Idam tu te guhyatamam. Guhyatamam means "most confidential." There are different kinds, grades of knowledge. But here the Lord says, "Just now I am going to explain what is the most confidential part of knowledge." Idam tu te guhyatamam pravaksyamy anasuyave. Anasuyave. This very word is used. Anasuyave means "who does not envy." Does not envy. Just like the Lord says, "I am the proprietor of all planets." Somebody may say, "Oh, Krsna is claiming the proprietorship of everything. How is that?" Because in the material world we are always envious. If somebody is greater than me, I am envious: "Oh, he's..., in that way, he has so much progressed." We are envious. This is the disease of material world, envious. So we are envious of God also. When God says that "I am the proprietor," we disbelieve it.
So here this very word is used, anasuyave. Arjuna is hearing from Lord Krsna without any enviousness. He's accepting what does He say. This is the way of understanding. We cannot understand by our mental speculation what is God. We have to hear, and we have to accept. Otherwise there is no way to understand what is God. So God says that "Because you are not envious, therefore, I speak to you about the most confidential part of knowledge." Jnanam vijnana-sahitam. Vijnana-sahitam means this knowledge is not theoretical, but it is scientific. Whatever knowledge we get from Bhagavad-gita, we should not think that it is sentimentalism or fanaticism. No. They're all vijnanam, science. Jnanam vijnana-sahitam yaj jnatva: "If you become well versed in this confidential part of knowledge, then the result will be moksyase asubhat." Asubhat. Asubha means inauspicious. Our stage of life, our existence in this material world, is asubha, inauspicious, always miserable. Moksyase: "You shall be liberated from this miserable life of material existence if you understand this knowledge."
So let us carefully understand what the Lord says to Arjuna about this knowledge. He says,
raja-vidya raja-guhyam
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyaksavagamam dharmyam
susukham kartum avyayam
Now, this process of knowledge or this process of activity which we are trying to propagate as Krsna consciousness... Knowledge means, the topmost knowledge means Krsna consciousness according to Bhagavad-gita. Because in the Bhagavad-gita you'll find that a person who is learned, who is actually in knowledge, his symptoms will be that he has surrendered unto God. That is the symptom of knowledge. So long we go on speculating about God but do not surrender, that is not perfection of knowledge. Perfection of knowledge is bahunam janmanam ante: [Bg. 7.19] "After many, many births' mental speculation, philosophical speculation, when one understands what is actually God, God, then he surrenders there. He surrenders there." So long we do not surrender, we cannot understand God. So bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate. The Lord says, "One who is actually in knowledge, that knowledge is achieved after many, many births, not all of a sudden."
Of course, if we accept that "God is great. Let me surrender," then we can accept in a second. But our present position is to become envious of any greatness. So we are also envious of God: "Why shall I surrender unto God? I am independent. I shall work independently." These things are there. Therefore for rectifying these misgivings we have to wait many births. And Lord says, "After many, many births, one who is actually in knowledge, he surrenders unto Me. He surrenders." Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19].
How? How does he show? Vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah: [Bg. 7.19] "Because after many, many births' philosophical research, he can understand, ‘God is everything. God is everything.' " The whole Bhagavad-gita teaches this very science. God is everything. We are also part and parcel of God. So vasudevah sarvam iti: [Bg. 7.19] "One who understands that ‘Vasudeva, God, or Lord Sri Krsna...' " Sri Krsna means God. If there is any perfect name of God, that is Sri Krsna. Why?
krsir bhu-vacakah sabdo
nas ca nirvrti-vacakah
tayor aikyam param brahma
krsna ity abhidhiyate
Krsi. Krsi means cultivation, and krsi means very great. Krs-dhatu. So krsna or krs means who repeated repetition of birth, repetition. So krsi -- "repetition of birth;" na means "one who checks it." He is Krsna. "Repetition of birth, one who checks," He is Krsna. Therefore our repetition of birth can be checked only by God. Otherwise not possible. Harim vina na mrtim taranti: "Nobody can stop his repetition of birth and death without having the causeless mercy of God."
So therefore Krsna, Krsna is a scientific name of God. So Vasudeva, that Krsna's another... Krsna has many names. Vasudeva. Vasudeva means "all-pervading." So vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah [Bg. 7.19]. After many, many births, if one comes to this understanding that "Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is everything," that is his perfection of knowledge. That is his perfection of knowledge. And at that time he surrenders. Sa mahatma sudurlabhah. That sort of, I mean to say, great soul, mahatma... Mahatma means great soul. You have... Perhaps you have heard mahatma, the word, Indian word. Mahatma is a designation of a person who is a surrendered soul to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He's called mahatma. He's not... Mahatma means "great," "expanding, expanded." Ha. So one who becomes a devotee of the Lord, automatically he becomes expanded. Therefore mahatma means one whose heart is expanded.
Here Krsna says that raja-vidya, raja-vidya: "The knowledge which I am just trying to impart, this is raja-vidya, the king of all knowledge." Raja-vidya. Raja means "king," and vidya means "knowledge." There are... Just like in our ordinary course of life we find somebody king, somebody subject, similarly, He's comparing this knowledge as the topmost, the king of all knowledge. Raja-vidya raja-guhyam. Raja-guhyam means "very confidential." And pavitram. Pavitram means "very pure," idam, "this knowledge." And uttamam. Uttamam means "which is transcendental." Ut means "trans-," and tama means "darkness." So uttama means "the knowledge which is beyond this material darkness." This material world is called darkness, and when the knowledge surpasses this material world, material knowledge, that is really called uttama. Udgata-tamam yasmat: "from which the darkness has been separated." Light, the knowledge of light...
So uttamam. Pratyaksa avagamam. Pratyaksa avagamam means if you follow this path, then you will personally understand how far you are advancing. How far you have become on the path of perfection, you yourself will understand. Nobody will require to certify that "You have advanced so much." You'll understand yourself. Pratyaksa avagamam dharmyam. Dharmyam means the religious principles. Pratyaksa avagamam dharmyam susukham. Susukham means that it is very happy to execute. Very happy to execute. Susukham kartum avyayam. And if you perform it, it will have never any lapse. It is permanent, permanent. We do many things which is, has no permanent effect, which has no permanent... Suppose we work in this material world for some perfection of education, or perfection of business. We get, amass a vast amount of money. But that is not avyayam. That is not eternal. As soon as your body is finished, everything is finished. Your education finished, your M.A. degree finished, your bank balance finished, and everything, your family finished -- everything finished. Now again begin life. Vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya [Bg. 2.22].
So therefore anything, whatever you are doing in this material world, that is not avyayam. That is not eternal. Temporary. Temporary. So this knowledge is not like that. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat: "The Krsna consciousness knowledge is so perfect that even if you do one percent, two percent execute, then it can help you to..., help you protection from the greatest danger." Svalpam apy asya dharmasya. And besides that, suppose in this life I perform work in Krsna consciousness, say twenty-five percent. I am not perfect. My next life will begin from twenty-sixth point. So much, what I have acquired in this life, that is not lost.
These are the formulas we get from authoritative scripture. But material achievement, that is due... Because it is pertaining to this body, this designation, therefore it finishes with the finish of this designation. These are our all designations. This body... I am thinking, "I am American." I am thinking, "I am Indian." These are all our designations. So designation will finish, and there is no certainty what sort of body I am going to have in my next life. There are... Any thing, any material acquisition, that is not permanent. But this knowledge, this devotional service of the Lord, to act in Krsna consciousness, is permanent, whatever you do. If you can do it perfectly, this is the..., in this very life you get entrance into the kingdom of God. But even if you are not able to make it perfection, still, whatever you do, that will go with you, because you are spirit soul.
So your spiritual activities will be with you. And because the matter, material body, will remain in this material world, therefore any work, an assessment of this material body, will remain in this material world. This is the formula. So Krsna will explain by and by about this formula which is described here as the king of knowledge and the very confidential and transcendental and very happily done. Happily done.
Now, to act in Krsna consciousness, the devotional service, you can understand it, how happily it is done. Now, take for example what we are doing here. We are singing, we are dancing, we are taking nice prasadam offered to Krsna and chanting and discussing Bhagavad-gita philosophy. Oh, these are the processes. These are the processes. We are not meant for any stringent rules and regulation or gymnastic or breathing control, so many things, as they are described and they are performed by many different sections. But here it is very easy and happily done. Everyone wants to dance. Everyone wants to sing. Everyone wants to eat. Through this formula -- dancing, singing and eating Krsna prasada and hearing philosophical discussion, transcendental topics from Bhagavad-gita -- so don't you think it is very happy? Susukham. And whatever we acquire, it is permanent. Whatever knowledge you acquire, that is permanent. That is not going to be finished with the finish of your body. It is such a nice thing. So we are trying to impart this philosophy in your country. So we invite your cooperation. As Lord Krsna says, it is very nice thing. Susukham kartum avyayam. And vijnanam. Vijnanam means it is scientific. It is not a sentiment or fanaticism. It is scientific. So try to understand this philosophy of Krsna consciousness from Bhagavad-gita and help yourself, help your countrymen, help the world. There will be peace and prosperity.
Thank you very much. Any question? (end)
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 8.28-9.2 -- New York, November 21, 1966
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