"Object Of Knowledge" 73/10/13 Bombay, Bhagavad-gita 13.19

Prabhupada: Why don't you come forward? Back side, Yes.

iti ksetram tatha jnanam
jneyam coktum samasatah
mad-bhakta etad vijnaya
mad-bhavayopapadyate

"Thus the field of activities (the body), knowledge, and the knowable have been summarily described by Me. Only My devotees can understand this thoroughly and thus attain to My nature."

So svayam bhagavan, Krsna, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam. We have many times explained the word bhagavan. Bhagavan means six opulences. Riches and... Aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya. Potency. Viryasya yasasah, fame, reputation. Aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriyah, beauty, jnana, knowledge, and vairagya, detachment. When one is full with all these six opulences, he's God. So people try to get the opulences. Everyone is trying by karma, jnana, yoga. But nobody can attain the opulences in full strength. That is not possible. So the simple definition of God is that one who is in full six opulences, he's God. That has been analyzed by great saintly persons, including Lord Brahma, and it has been decided that the all the six opulences can be found in Krsna.

Therefore, Brahma's decree is given there in the Brahma-samhita,

isvarah paramah krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva-karana-karanam
[Bs. 5.1]

In the Bhagavad-gita also it is said, aham adir hi devanam maharsinam ca sarvasah. So that Supreme Personality of Krsna is giving us knowledge, the ultimate goal of knowledge. And the living entities, their body, field of activities in this thirteenth chapter they have been very thoroughly described. Although Krsna said it is summary. Because they cannot be described in full.

This body, how many bodies you have changed? Even in this life, we are changing our body. Every one of us, a little body of a child, then little grown-up body of a boy, then youthful body, then this old body. So as we are changing body, dehino 'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara tatha dehantara-praptih [Bg. 2.13]. Similarly, after giving up this body, I will have to accept another body, and there are for eight million four hundred thousand species of forms of body. According to our karma, we have to accept another body.

Karmana daiva-netrena. By superior arrangement. You cannot say that "I want this kind of body." God is not your order supplier. You'll get. Either you ask for it or don't ask for it, you according to your karma, you'll have a next body. Karmana daiva... By the superior arrangement. If you work in this life like God you'll get next life a god's body. And if you work in this life as a dog then you get next the life as a dog. That is not in your hands. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. Gunaih. According to your qualities, as you will work, and prakrti, nature, will give you a similar body.

Otherwise, why do we find so many varieties of bodies? So many varieties. Just like so many varieties of apartment, so many varieties of hotels, so many varieties of appointment. So you are appointed, you are put into an apartment, or hotel, according to the terms of your payment. That is karma. So you cannot say everything is also equal. That is nonsense. They cannot be equal because we are working under three qualities, goodness, passion and ignorance. If we work, field of activities... This, this body is field of activities. Nobody can work similarly because they have got field of activities different. My body is different, your body is different. You are acting according to your body. The hog is acting according to his body. The dog is acting according to his body. The president of some country is acting according to his body.

So we should have brain to understand that: "Why there are different personalities and different activities? Because there are different qualities. So to organize human society these qualities should be taken into consideration. We should divide. Just like in our body we have got four departments. This head department, the arm department, the belly department and the leg department. Everyone is working according to the departmental function. The brain is working differently. The office or the direction, the brain is giving direction. Then my hand is moving, my leg is moving. Similarly, there must be a directory department. In office also there are board of directors, then secretaries, then clerks, then menials, then servants, then caparasi. So even in your body this arrangement is there.

How can you avoid? If you simply say that "Let there be all heads," that cannot. Or "Let there be simply legs." That is cannot that cannot be. There must be the heads, the legs, the hands, the belly. Similarly, the whole society should be divided into that way and they should work cooperatively. The central point. Just like this head, leg, hands, they are working cooperatively for the benefit of this body, whole body. Actually for the benefit of this belly. Because we are all working now for eating without eating we cannot live. Then it is after sleeping, then mating the, then defending. First there must be arrangement for eating. So, practically the stomach is the king in this bodily arrangement, the stomach.

There is a story, Udarendriyanam in the Hitopadesa written by Visnusarma. There, there was strike. All the hands legs eyes, they observed strike, that "This belly, the stomach is eating only, and we are working. So we shall not work. We shall not work, stop working. Just like nowadays striking goes on. So they stopped working, and after few days, all of them became weak because they were not feeding the stomach. Then they arranged another conference. "Why we are becoming weak?" Then the fault was found out that because we are not giving to eat to the stomach. So all then agreed, "Well, let the stomach eat, and let us work." So this is the nature's arrangement. The stomach will simply eat and the hands and legs and eyes, they must work.

Similarly, the central point is Krsna, God. God must simply eat. You must work. We are all part and parcel of... Mamaivamso jiva-bhutah [Bg. 15.7]. Just like part and parcel of my body. They must work. And the stomach shall eat. So this Krsna consciousness movement is that, that Krsna is the central stomach and you all work for Krsna. You are also benefited.

Just like here is Krsna. We are all working for Krsna whole day and night, but we are not starving. We are not starving, we are getting Krsna's prasada, nice foodstuff. So this cooperation should be... If you supply food to the stomach, the energy will be distributed to the hands, legs, fingers, eyes. And if you do not supply food, you cannot say that the fingers, if they capture a nice sweetmeat and if he cooperates, "No, I shall not give to the stomach. I shall eat." He cannot eat, the fingers cannot eat. It must give to the stomach and take the prasadam energy. Then the fingers and eyes will work, so we must serve.

Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gita the last instruction is that "You surrender to Me. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. So if we surrender to God and if we serve God, because we are part and parcel, then we shall be happy. The energy will come from the central.

Just like the energy is coming from the heart. Because, this is practical medically, and scientifically. The energy is coming. As soon as the heart fails, everything stops. And the energy is there because isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. Hrd-dese, it is there, the isvara, the Supreme Lord as Paramatma, is situated within your heart. Now you find out, if you have got means to see. But the situation is given, described in the sastra.

Therefore yogis they try to find out God within the heart. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. Yogi, those who are yogis, transcendentalists, they are trying to observe the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Dhyanavasthita, by meditation. That is real meditation, to focus the mind to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the heart. But who can see? That is also described in the sastra. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu [Bs. 5.38], again hrdayesu, hrdayesu. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah, santah, saintly person, being developed in Krsna consciousness, in love of Krsna...

Premanjana. And smearing the eyes with the ointment of love of Krsna. We can see Krsna, God, with these eyes when it is anointed with the particular medicine which is called love of Godhead. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah [Bs. 5.38], not ordinary man, santah. Advanced saintly persons. Santah sadaiva pasyanti. Where, where they see? Hrdayesu, in their own heart. Santah hrdayesu pasyanti. Yam syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **.

Yam syamasundaram. Krsna's another name is Syamasundara. He's blackish, but very beautiful. Generally, we don't like to see blackish people. But Krsna is so nice. Although He's blackish, He's kandarpa-koti-kamaniya. Barhavatamsam asitambuda-sundarangam. These are described in the Vedic literature. Although He's blackish, He is more beautiful than millions of millions of cupids. Kandarpa-koti-kamaniya. So Krsna is so beauty. That is His Godliness. Because beauty is also... We don't worship nirakara. Beautiful, the most beautiful. The most beautiful. Krsna is the most beautiful, Radharani is the most beautiful. Couple, young couple. Our object of worship when we see how nice Radharani, how nice Krsna, beauty. Yes.

Wherefrom the beauty worship has come in this material world unless there is beauty in the original form, Krsna and Radharani? So God cannot be nirakara. Otherwise, why this beauty worship has come? What you'll say? Janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. The Vedanta-sutra says. Whatever you see within this world, there is origin. It is only reflection. It is only reflection. Just like in the mirror, there is reflection of your beautiful face, and it looks beautiful because the face is beautiful. If the face is ugly, the reflection will be ugly.

So everything is there in God. Aham adir hi devanam. Another place, Krsna says, mattah sarvam pravartate. Aham sarvasya prabhavah. So Krsna is the origin of everything. Mattah sarvam pravartate. "Everything emanates from Me." That is the answer to the Vedanta-sutra, Brahma-sutra, Brahma-sutra. Athato brahma jijnasa. Janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. So the origin is there. The richness is there, the potency is there, the beauty is there, the riches is there, the knowledge is there, and the detachment is there. Just see.

Here, in this material world, it is all created by God. But how much He is detached, He does not live within this material world. He lives in His own abode, in the spiritual world. He has no attachment although He has created. That is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita.

maya tatam idam sarvam
jagad avyakta-murtina
mat-sthani sarva-bhutani
na caham tesv avasthitah

Krsna says, maya tatam idam sarvam. Whatever you see, that is My expansion of energy." Just like the energy, sun, is there in the localized place and the energy, sunshine, is distributed all over the universe.

But you cannot say "Because I am in touch with the sunshine, therefore I am in touch with the sun." You are simultaneously, you are in touch with the sun at the same time not touching sun. Just like at the present moment at night we are not in touch with the sun because it is darkness. So when... We are not in touch with God when we forget Him. And as soon as we understand that everything is the energy of the Supreme Lord, then we immediately become in touch. That can be done, premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti [Bs. 5.38].

Therefore Krsna says, iti ksetram tatha jnanam jneyam coktum samasatah. "My dear Arjuna, now I have explained to you in summary, not in detail, what is this body, who is the knower of the body, proprietor of the body, ksetra-jna, and what is knowledge, and what is the object of knowledge. These things I have explained to you." So Krsna is explaining, everything. Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gita. You can become fully in knowledge if you read Bhagavad-gita carefully. But you must have the qualification. If you are a rascal, nonsense you cannot understand. This is plain thing. Rascals and nonsense cannot understand Bhagavad-gita. That is the first condition.

When Bhagavad-gita was taught to Arjuna, he said, bhakto 'si me sakha ceti rahasyam hy etad uttamam. "My dear Arjuna, I am speaking to you this mystery of Bhagavad-gita which was spoken long long ago to the sun-god, but now it is lost because the parampara is lost. Disciplic succession is lost. Therefore I am again speaking to you the same truth so that from you people will understand what is Bhagavad-gita."

"So why you have selected me, sir? I am an ordinary military man, I know how to fight. I am not a Vedantist, neither I am a brahmana. So why you have selected me? Because, the spiritual knowledge is meant for the Vedantist, brahmana, saintly person, and sannyasis. I am neither of them. Why You have selected me?"

Bhakto 'si. "Because you are My devotee." This is the qualification. Without becoming devotee no rascal can understand what is Bhagavad-gita. Again the same thing is spoken to Arjuna. Mad-bhakta etad vijnaya. "I have explained everything in summary, but only My devotee can understand. Not others." That is also concluded in the eighteenth chapter. One can understand God or Krsna: bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah [Bg. 18.55]. If you want to understand Krsna, or God, then you have to become a devotee. Krsna does not say the jnani, karmi, yogi, they can understand. No.

Jnani, what is that jnani? Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. That is jnana. If you do not understand Krsna, if you do not surrender to Krsna, what is the value of your so-called knowledge? Srama eva hi kevalam. It is simply waste of time. If you do not understand Krsna you are studying Vedic literature, you are very good student of Vedas. That's all right. Have you understood Krsna? "No sir." Then it is useless. Useless waste of time. Because it is said: vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15]. If you actually understand Vedas, then you must understand Krsna. Jnani, I am jnani. What kind of jnani? Simply a speculation? Waste your time? This is not this, this is not this, this is not this? Neti neti vicara. This is simply called waste of... Kevala-bodha-labdhaye.

That is confirmed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Bhaktim udasya te vibho klisyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye. Kevala-bodha-labdhaye, simply to understand. And you can take any insignificant thing, and if you want to speculate upon it, you can write volumes of books, but what is the use of such knowledge? Simply waste of time.

But if by knowledge, you come to the point of bhakti, how to surrender to Krsna, then your knowledge is perfect. Therefore Krsna says that this knowledge, to surrender unto Me, how to surrender to Krsna, comes after many many births. Bahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19]. We are taking birth one after another, one after another, one after another. So in this way, not ordinary person. Ordinary persons, if they have no knowledge, then their next birth may be cats, dogs, trees, or anything else. Those who are in knowledge, urdhvam gacchanti sattva-sthah. Knowledge means those who are situated in the quality of goodness, prakasa, everything is clearly understood. That is knowledge.

So they, persons who are actually in knowledge, they are promoted to the higher planetary system. Urdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha madhye tisthanti rajasah [Bg. 14.18]. If you have no knowledge, simply you are trying to enjoy the senses, as in this material world, everyone is busy how to enjoy senses, then you remain here. Madhye tisthanti rajasah. And if you are in darkness, neither you have knowledge, neither you have the capacity to enjoy this world, simply lazy and sleepy. That is the darkness. Then you become animal, trees, and other lower classes of species of life. These three things are going on.

Therefore, this knowledge means that to understand the Absolute Truth. That process is described. Jnanam. Amanitvam adambhitvam ksantir arjavam, acaryopasanam, bhakti. Mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate [Bg. 14.26]. Adhyatma-jnanartha-darsanam. Everything is described. Krsna said therefore that iti ksetram tatha jnanam. "I have described about this body and I have described about the knowledge and the object of knowledge. Everything I have described." But who will understand? That is also described here: mad-bhakta etad vijnaya. So that is the qualification. Unless one is devotee, one cannot.

That is so the politicians they cannot understand Bhagavad-gita. They will simply misuse. The politicians, the scholars, the so-called scholars, they cannot understand. Naham prakasah sarvasya yoga-maya-samavrtah [Bg. 7.25]. They cannot understand. You have to become a devotee. Mad-bhakta. Devotee of Krsna. Not that... desa-bhakta. "That I am desa-bhakta. I am a bhakta of my wife, I am bhakta of my country." No no, you cannot understand. You get out. Mad-bhakta, krsna-bhakta. It is clearly said. How these rascals try to explain Bhagavad-gita without becoming krsna-bhakta?

It is clearly stated here. You have to become krsna-bhakta. If you actually understand, if you want to understand Krsna,"God, then you have to become. So this Krsna consciousness movement is for this purpose. We are making propaganda to teach people how to become krsna-bhakta and then he can understand Krsna, and as soon as he understands Krsna, he's liberated. Janma karma me divyam yo janati tattvatah. Krsna has already explained. If you simply understand Krsna in truth, tyaktva deham punar janma naiti [Bg. 4.9]. He, after giving up this body, he does not come to this material world to accept another miserable body.

Then where does he go? Mad-yati tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti [Bg. 4.9]. "He comes to Me. He comes to Me." Mad-bhava. Here it is also said, same thing, explained. Mad-bhakta etad vijnaya mad-bhavayopapadyate. Mad-bhava, "My nature." What is that nature? Sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. He has got a body which is eternal, sat, and cit, full of knowledge. Sat, cit, and ananda, full of blissfulness.

So we are also searching after, because we are part and parcel of Krsna, we are also trying to become eternal. We are making scientific improvement how to live long. Nobody wants to die. That is also described previously. Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam. Actually we are making struggle. hard struggle, just to conquer over this miserable condition of life, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi. But that is not possible. Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi, you can conquer when you get the same nature as that of Krsna. Mad-bhavayopapadyate.

If you are able to acquire that nature, sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1], then how is, how it is possible? That is mad-bhakta, mad-bhakta etad vijnaya. These three things. What is this body, who is the owner of this body, what is knowledge, what is the object of knowledge. If we understand these three things, then we can get, revive our original position. We are also sac-cid-ananda, but at the present moment our vigrahah, our body is different. This is, subjected to birth, death, old age, and disease. This we have to conquer; this is the problem. I don't want to die, why death is enforced upon me? That these rascals they have no brain. That I don't want to die. How I can escape death? Just like we are trying to escape disease. We don't want to be diseased. As soon as we become diseased, we go to a doctor, we take medical help. "Sir, cure my disease, cure my disease." Then why don't you go to a doctor who can give you relief from death? But they have no brain. The educational system is so rascaldom that there is no brain. All over the world. There is no institution where people are being taught how to conquer over death. There is no such institution.

Only this Krsna consciousness movement is there. How to conquer over death. Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam. If one person is intelligent, if he's in knowledge, he should know that what improvement we are making. I am, I am Professor Einstein, big professor of science." "Sir, what you have done? You'll not die?" "No, I die." Then what is improvement? What is your improvement? Oh, you have discovered atomic bomb? That's all? Death is there. You have accelerated death. That's all. This is your qualification. People die, everyone dies, there is no need of atomic bomb. But you are great scientist, you have discovered atomic bomb so that a man who is not immediately to die, he'll also die. This is our improvement. And they're very much proud. Scientifically advanced.

First of all, discover that no more death. Then scientific advancement. No more disease. "No, we have got very good medicine for disease." That's all right. Stop disease. No, that we cannot do. Then what is the improvement? What is the improvement, nonsense? This is not improvement. Improvement means stop death, stop disease, stop old age, stop birth, also. There are so many contraceptive methods, birth control. Still, the population increasing. Increasing. So these are not solution. Real solution is here in the Bhagavad-gita. You get real knowledge, jnanam, jneyam, the object of knowledge. As it is stated by Bhagavad-gita, by Krsna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Become His devotee, etad vijnaya, then, what is that? Mad-bhavayopapadyate.

Then, originally we, are part and parcel of Krsna just like a part and parcel of gold is gold. It is not earth or dirt, it is gold. But when it is covered by something else then it becomes something else. No. Similarly we are also as good as Krsna because we are part and parcel of Krsna. Acintya-bhedabheda. That is the philosophy of simultaneously one and different. We are one with Krsna in the sense by quality. As Krsna is sac-cid-ananda, eternal life, blissful life, knowledge, full of knowledge, we are also like that in minute quantity, not like Krsna. But there is the same quality. But now we are covered by this material energy. That Krsna is never covered. That is the difference between Krsna and ourselves although the quality is the same.

But we are prone to be covered. But Krsna is not prone to be covered. Otherwise, why should we take lessons from Krsna? If He's also like one of us, then what is the use of taking knowledge from Him? There is no use. But these rascals, they think that Krsna is like us. Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. Because Krsna, by His causeless mercy comes down to teach you how to take you back to home, back to Godhead, rascals think that "Krsna is like us." Avajananti mam mudhah. Therefore Krsna says "All these lessons, instructions, can be assimilated, understood, by My devotee," mad-bhakta etad vijnaya. "And therefore they are eligible to get back his original consciousness." Mad-bhavayopapadyate. That is Krsna consciousness. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 13.19 -- Bombay, October 13, 1973