Prabhupada:
samo 'ham sarva-bhutesu
na me dvesyo 'sti na priyah
ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya
mayi te tesu capy aham
The Lord says that "I am... Although I am equal to everyone..." God is nobody's enemy and nobody's special friend, just like the king, the government, nobody's enemy, nobody's friend. As you act, so you get result. Similarly, for common man, there is no special favor from God. Ye tu bhajanti mam bhaktya. Ye tu. This tu means "but." Here is a word, but. But means just like we sometimes say that "I am such and such, but..." "But" means there is something special. So this word is used here, tu. Tu means "but." What is that "but?" Ye tu bhajanti mam pritya: "Anyone who is engaged in devotional service of Me, so for him I have got special attention." Ye tu mam..., ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya mayi te tesu capy aham: "As he is always, constantly engaged in My service, similarly, I am also engaged always in his service," the Lord says.
Here one passage is quoted by a great commentator, Baladeva Vidyabhusana, that bhagavan bhakta-bhaktiman. Just like we become devoted, similarly, God also becomes devoted to us. You don't think that one-sided devotion. No. Just like love is never one-sided. Love is reciprocation, reciprocation. Similarly, although God is great, He becomes a devotee of the devotee. He takes pleasure in that way. It is clearly stated that "I also try to devote Myself for his service." As we take pleasure in serving God, similarly, God also takes pleasure by serving the devotee. That is reciprocation. Now, this sloka we have already discussed last day. Next sloka is
api cet su-duracaro
bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah
samyag vyavasito hi sah
[Bg. 9.30]
So now, somebody may say that "If a devotee is engaged in the service of the Lord, that's all right, but if his behavior is not up to the standard, then what happens to him?" Of course, a devotee is naturally developed, developing the twenty-six good qualities, but even if he does not develop those qualities... Of course, that very quality, that he is a devotee of Krsna, that is sufficient. But still, if somebody is not up to the point, but he is unflinching, not moving, he is perfect devotee of Krsna, then Lord Krsna says, api cet su-duracarah. Api cet su-duracarah. Duracarah means his conduct is not good, and su-duracarah means still further. So api cet su-duracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak. Ananya-bhak means "Without deviating his attention to any other demigod or any other business, if one is simply cent percent engaged in My service, but his character is, general activities are not so to the point, still," the Lord says, sadhur eva sa mantavyah [Bg. 9.30]. Sadhu means a pious man or a religious man. Sadhu means the honest man and all good qualities. Still, although he is found that he is not to the standard, but his only qualification is that he is acting in Krsna consciousness sincerely... It may be...
Suppose I have got some bad character from the beginning of my life, but I have understood that "Krsna consciousness is very nice. I shall take to it." So I am trying, trying my best. But at the same time, because I am habituated to something, I cannot give it up. Although I know that this, my habit, is not good, but still, habit is the second nature. I cannot give it up. So Lord Krsna recommends that "Still, he is good. There is no question that he is not a sadhu or he is not an honest, he is not religious man. That simple one qualification, that he is Krsna conscious, and he is acting sincerely, but failing sometime, but still, he is to be taken as sadhu." Sadhu means honest, religious, pious. Sadhur eva sa mantavyah [Bg. 9.30]. And one may say that "Yes, because he is devotee of God, devotee of Krsna, we may call him sadhu, but not cent percent." But Krsna says, "No, cent percent sadhu. In spite of his bad character, he is cent percent sadhu."
So this is the recommendation. Why? Why is Krsna stressing on this point, that "whatever he may be, still he is honest, he is sadhu, he is religious, he is pious"? Why? That is to be understood in the next... So this su-duracarah... Su-duracarah means that according to time, according to circumstances, according to so many... There are influences. Just like I have come to your country. So so far rigid regulation and rules are concerned, in the beginning, of course, we do not find such opportunities to strictly follow. But still, we should not give so much attention for the regulation or strict rules and regulation. But we must see how much a person is advanced in Krsna consciousness. That we have to see. And if we go on criticizing everyone, "Oh, you are not doing this. You are not doing this," so many things according to Vedic culture... There may be so many things, but we are not concerned. As far as possible, people should be given chance to develop Krsna consciousness. Rupa Gosvami, one of the big acaryas, he says, yena tena prakarena manah krsne nivesayet: "The first business is somehow or other people should be Krsna conscious." So far rules and regulations are concerned...
yena tena prakarena
manah krsne nivesayet
sarve vidhi-nisedha syur
etayor eva kinkarah
If one takes to that line of activities, Krsna consciousness, then all things, all regulation, will follow just like a servant follows a master. If the master starts, the servant follows. Similarly, these things, rules and regulation, that will follow automatically. In the next sloka the Lord says, ksipram dharma: "Because he has taken to that Krsna consciousness, very soon he will be perfect pious man." This process will help him. Don't be too much anxious, "Oh, I am not in such a way. I am not in such way." Whatever way you may be, you just take to this Krsna consciousness, very easy thing. If you take this Krsna consciousness, chanting Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare very sincerely and regularly as far as possible by following the rules and regulation, this Krsna consciousness will help you to become a perfect and pious man very soon. Ksipram. Ksipram means very soon.
Just like in the material world, suppose if you want to sit on the bench of a high court judge, you will have to acquire so many qualifications. You have to be a very big lawyer, and government must recognize that you are good lawyer. Then there will be so many recommendation by the Bar Association, by the lawyers. Then you can be recommended. But here the process is just that any way you sit down on the high court judge, then all education will come to you. Don't you see how nice it is? Any way, if somebody takes to Krsna consciousness, naturally and generally it will be found that he is becoming gradually a perfect pious man, perfect honest man. That is the thing. Ksipram bhavati dharmatma sasvac-chantim nigacchati.
Sasvac-chanti. Because he will relish. He will relish this Krsna consciousness so nicely that he will give up all nonsense automatically: "I don't like it, don't like it." This is the process. He will give up automatically. Param drstva nivartate. Param drstva nivartate. The whole world is after sense gratification, but a Krsna conscious person, just very soon he will find that "All these nonsense, oh, there is no happiness." He will give it up. He will give it up. It is so nice thing. Some way or other, if you take to Krsna consciousness, your reluctance for sense gratification will automatically come, automatic... You haven't got to train yourself that "How to stop my sense gratification?" If you simply go on chanting Hare Krsna sincerely. And what is that process? Chanting and hearing. When you chant, you hear, and you will enjoy. And you will enjoy so nicely that you will give up all that is not wanted in the advancement of his spiritual life. Ksipram. This is recommendation by Krsna Himself, not that I am advertising. Because I am preaching here Krsna consciousness, therefore I am advertising, "The candidate may take it." But Krsna Himself says. Ksipram bhavati dharmatma sasvac-chantim nigacchati. Santi means very soon he attains that perfect eternal happiness. Perfect peaceful life, eternal life, blissful life, he very soon attains.
And why? Kaunteya pratijanihi. Pratijanihi: "My dear Arjuna, you can declare this to the world. You declare." Why Krsna is not declaring? Krsna is declaring through His devotee because Krsna has a promise that "I shall protect My devotee." If a promise is there by the devotee, that cannot be violated. Krsna can... Because He is God, He can violate His own promise because He is supreme. But He wants to protect His devotee; therefore He is trying to give the declaration through His devotee that "It will be protected."
I will give you one example how Krsna sometimes break His promise. It is very nice story. Krsna, when He joined Arjuna, He promised from His own side that "Because the fight is between your brothers, so it is not My duty... Because both of you are My relatives, so it is not My duty to join one party and not to join another. But because I have divided Myself -- Myself, one side, and other side, My soldiers -- but Duryodhana has decided to take My soldiers, not Me, so I shall join you. But I shall not fight. I shall not fight. I may take some work which may assist you." So Arjuna offered, "Whatever work You like, You can take." So He said, "All right. I shall drive your chariot." So Krsna's promise was that He will not fight. But at a time when Arjuna was perplexed by fighting with Bhisma... Bhisma was the greatest fighter, although he was very old man. Duryodhana incited him that "Because the other side are your very pet grandsons, you are not fighting fully." That was the complaint of Duryodhana. So in order to encourage him, Bhisma said to Duryodhana, "All right, tomorrow I shall finish all these five brothers. Tomorrow I shall finish. And I have got now special arrows for killing these five chivalrous brothers."
So Duryodhana was very intelligent. He told, "All right, please keep these five arrows with me for the night. I shall deliver you tomorrow in the morning." "All right, you take it." And Krsna understood. Krsna is, everything knows, past, present and future. Krsna knew it that "Bhisma has now promised. He will kill." So He asked Arjuna -- this is also politics -- that "You go to Duryodhana. Do you remember that Duryodhana" -- Duryodhana is elderly than Arjuna -- "that he would keep some promise which was offered to you?" Duryodhana told him, "Arjuna, whenever you want something, I shall give you." "Now this is the time. You can go." "And what is that?" "Now, he has got five arrows for killing you. You should take and come to Me." So after fight, they were friends. So Arjuna went to the camp of Duryodhana, and he was well received. "Well Arjuna, come on. What do you want? Come on. Sit down. Do you want anything from me? If you want, I can stop this fight. I can return you this..." Arjuna said, "No. I have not come to you for begging my kingdom. Fighting will go on. But I want... You promised something." "Yes. I know. I offer you. What do you want?" "Now, I want those five arrows." At once he delivered.
And this information was carried to, I mean to say, Bhisma. Bhisma knew that "Krsna is very cunning also. He will save His devotee. So He has done this. All right, in spite of Krsna... He has broken my promise, and tomorrow I shall see. If Krsna does not break His promise, then His friend will be killed. I will fight in such a way." So he was fighting in such a way that Arjuna became almost dead. Then at that time, Krsna... The chariot was torn into pieces, and Arjuna fell down. And then Krsna took up one of the wheel of the chariot and came before: "Now, Bhisma, you stop this fighting; otherwise I will kill you." Bhisma at once gave up his arrow, and he offered, "All right. Kill me." So thing is that because Bhisma promised that "I shall kill Arjuna tomorrow," and Krsna also promised not to fight, just to save these two devotees, Arjuna and Bhisma -- Bhisma also was a great devotee -- just to show him that "I am breaking My promise. Please stop..." He wanted that "Either I shall break My promise or you shall kill Arjuna. So better see that I have broken My promise." So in this way, sometimes, for devotee, He sometimes breaks His own promise.
So here Krsna says, kaunteya pratijanihi. "You promise so I shall protect your promise." And what is that? Na me bhaktah pranasyati: "Anyone who has taken to Krsna consciousness, he will be never destroyed. He will never be destroyed." Na me bhaktah pranasyati. What is that destruction? The destruction is... Of course, a living entity is never destroyed so far his constitution is concerned. Na hanyate hanyamane [Bg. 2.20]. The destruction of this body is not his destruction. The real destruction is that when we lose our spiritual consciousness, we lose our identity, that is destruction. That is destruction, that now, in our material conception of life, we are practically destroyed because, destroyed in this way, because as spiritual being, I have got my eternal life, I have got my blissful life, I have got my knowledge, full knowledge, but here I am living in a wretched condition that my life is not eternal, I am not blissful, and I am not in full knowledge. So don't you think that we are already destroyed? We are thinking that "I am very much advancing in civilization," but unless you revive your original life of eternity and full knowledge and bliss, you should know that you are not advancing; you are being defeated by the illusory energy. This is destruction. Destruction of my real life is materialism.
So here Krsna says, kaunteya pratijanihi: "Please declare in the world that anyone who has taken to this Krsna consciousness will never be destroyed. He will never go back again to that material life of sense gratification and pull on this material existence full of miseries. He will be taken out. He will be taken out sooner or later. As he has taken to this Krsna consciousness, he will be never destroyed." Our destruction is... You always remember: our destruction means material existence is the destruction of our spiritual existence. Because destroyed does not mean that as spiritual being, I will be nowhere, no. This is my position, nowhere. I do not know. Just like I am being kicked like a football. I have no place. You have seen football playing. The football has no place. As soon as comes, somebody's feet, he kicks. He goes to another body. He kicks. He's another body -- kicking. His only situation is being kicked, football. So we are just like football. We are being kicked up. Now I am American. Next time I shall be kicked up to China. Maybe. And from China, I will be kicked up to India. And from India, I shall be kicked up to Burma or kicked up to another place. This is going on. We do not know how we are being kicked up like a football from one place to another, one place to another. This is all false notion. How long I shall remain here?
Therefore this is the only way, Krsna consciousness, to become perfect. Perfection means to attain spiritual life, eternity, blissful, and full of knowledge. That is waiting us. That is waiting us. Why should we refuse it? It is not a theory. Don't think that Bhagavad-gita is something, imaginary thing. No. People have taken to it. They have practiced. They have attained success. It is coming on since a very, very long time. It was first advised to the sun-god. Then, after many, many millions of years, again, five thousand years before, it was advised to Arjuna. So it is coming down. It is accepted by all great acaryas of India, and it is being followed, still being followed. So take it. Don't be destroyed. Take to Krsna consciousness, and you will be saved. You will be saved from this destruction in the material...
Suppose if I am thrown into the ocean, that is practically my destruction. I may be very good swimmer, but that is no hope. That is no hope of my life. Any moment, I can go down into the depth of the ocean. Similarly, we are struggling very hard in this material ocean of existence, simply struggling. Just like a man is trying to save himself in the Atlantic Ocean, similarly, we are also trying here. This is not the process of getting yourself from the struggle-for-existence ocean. The thing is one must get you out from the ocean. Tesam aham samuddharta mrtyu-samsara-sagarat. So Krsna promises -- you will find in the later, tenth, chapter, that "Those who are in Krsna consciousness, I promise I shall take him from this ocean of birth and death."
mam hi partha vyapasritya
ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras
te 'pi yanti param gatim
[Bg. 9.32]
Now, somebody may inquire, "Now, to become a Krsna conscious person, is there any qualification required? Bhagavad-gita was spoken by Lord Krsna. He appeared to be a Hindu, and it was spoken in India, and all the acaryas, they are very learned men. They have adopted. But how we can take to this Krsna consciousness? I am not... I do not belong to such particular creed or, say, particular country." Now Krsna says, "No, that is not disqualification." Mam hi partha vyapasritya ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah. Papa-yonayah... Of course, according to Vedic literature, there are mentions of papa-yoni. Yoni means species. Papa-yoni. Just like it is mentioned here, striyah sudrah, striyo vaisyas tatha sudras te 'pi yanti param gatim. Even the striyah, even women, they are also classified amongst the papa-yoni. Papa-yoni means those who have got little facility for advancing themselves in spiritual life. So it is particularly mentioned here, striyah, the woman class, sudra -- sudra means the laborer class -- and the vaisya, mercantile class. Or less than that.
Because in India, according to the caste system, or varnasrama-dharma, the brahmana and ksatriyas are considered to be the highest in the society, and the vaisyas, a little less than them, and sudras, they are not taken into account. In the similarly, woman class, they are taken as sudra, sudra. Just like the thread ceremony is given to the brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, but there is no thread ceremony for the woman class. Although the woman is born in the brahmana family, she has no that reformation. Because striyah, woman class, are taken less intelligent, they should be given protection, but they cannot be elevated. But here in the Bhagavad-gita, He surpasses all these formalities. Lord Krsna surpasses all these formalities. He is giving facility to everyone. Never mind what he is. In the social structure, you may consider that woman is less intelligent or sudra or less purified, but in spiritual consciousness there is no such bar. Here Krsna accepts everyone. Either you become woman or you are sudra or a vaisya or whatever you may be, that doesn't matter. If you simply take to Krsna consciousness, the Lord is there. He will give you all protection, all protection, and gradually He will help you. You are already...
One who is in the Krsna consciousness platform, he is already in the liberated platform. Simply ksipram: it will take some time only, ksipram, but very soon he will be all right. So this is the proposal of Lord Krsna, and this is the facility of Krsna consciousness. So we should take this advantage of being Krsna conscious. Never mind what we are. And that will help us in attaining the perfection of life. Mam hi partha vyapasritya ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah [Bg. 9.32]. It is very clearly declared here. Never mind what here he is or she is. Just take to this process of Krsna consciousness and your progress and advancement of spiritual life is guaranteed. Thank you very much. Any question? (end)
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 9.29-32 -- New York, December 20, 1966
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