Tuesday, February 21, 2012

"Don't Be A 'Skin Observer"

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.28
Mayapura, October 8, 1974



Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada


Prabhupada:

manye tvam kalam isanam
anadi-nidhanam vibhum
samam carantam sarvatra
bhutanam yan mithah kalih

The Kuntidevi is presenting his (her) conception of Krsna, or God consciousness. Perfectly he's (she's) presenting that samam carantam sarvatra: "Krsna, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is present everywhere. And He is equal, equally merciful or... In everything He equal to everyone." Just like the sun. The sun is equally distributing the sunshine. Now, in some country, we find there is cloud; sun is covered. There is no sunshine. The sun is shining, but due to our misfortune or something else, the sun is covered, and we cannot see. It is not that the sunshine is stopped. Sunshine is there. Similarly, Krsna's mercy is equally there. Samo 'ham sarva-bhutesu.

In another verse in the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna says, samo 'ham sarva bhutesu: "I am equal to everyone." Otherwise, how He can be God? God is not partial, that He is merciful upon me and not merciful upon you. God cannot be like that. Just like a state, government. Government is equal to everyone, all citizens. But why somebody is going to the university to take his M.A. degree, and why one is going to the prison house to be imprisoned and suffering for so many years and...? It is not the government's partiality, that somebody go to the prison house and somebody will go to the university and occupy responsible position. No. It is our fault that we do not take opportunity or the facilities offered by the government or Krsna. It is our fault. Why there are so many discrepancies and nonequality? Somebody is very rich; somebody is very poor. Somebody is eating stool, and somebody eating nice prasadam, halava. It is all due to the living entity's karma. Otherwise, God is equal to everyone. Samam carantam sarvatra. God is not partial. Just like nowadays, these rascals, they say, "Why God is unkind to the poor man?" No. God is not unkind to the poor man. The poor man, he has become poor by his karma. Karmana daiva-netrena.

Daiva-netrena. Daiva means superior, or godly. Netrena. Netrena means by the eyes, or netrena, by the leadership, leadership, or superintendence. Whatever we are doing... Because God is everywhere situated... Samam carantam sarvatra. Krsna is there, everywhere. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. Isvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated in everyone's heart. So we cannot conceal anything from God. In another place it is said, "Just like the sun is the eye of God..." Yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam. Savita. Savita means sun, Surya, is the eye of Govinda. So if you are doing something, any part of the world, the sun is seeing. This is a crude example. Similarly, at night the moon is seeing, and Krsna says that raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhasmi sasi-suryayoh. So Krsna... The sunshine is also Krsna. So if you think that "I am doing something for my sense gratification. Nobody is seeing. I am stealing some sugarcane from the field, and nobody's seeing," but how you can say nobody's seeing? The sun is seeing. How you can conceal? "No, I shall do it at night." Oh, the moon is seeing. So how can you conceal?

So parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate. He is so omnipotent that He can see from anywhere and everywhere what you are doing, what you are willing, what you want to do. You cannot conceal. That is not possible. Therefore it is said, daiva-netrena. You can bluff the material police, but you cannot bluff Krsna. That is not possible. If you are doing anything wrong, then it is being seen by the Supreme Personality. Samam carantam. He's everywhere. Therefore those who are God conscious, as theists... That is the Indian culture. They think, "I am doing this nonsense. Krsna, God, will see it." Even a... Even in ordinary person who has no education, still, he will admit, uparala dekhega(?): "God will see." That's a fact. That's a fact. So if everyone is God conscious, that "God is everywhere," then how he can act sinfully? It is not possible. If he is God conscious, if he knows that "God is everywhere, and He will see if I do something sinful by bluffing others..."

Therefore God consciousness is so important. If Krsna consciousness movement is spread and if it is taken by all people, then so many things will be automatically reformed. There will be no need of police. There will be no need of C.I.D. Because if one is God conscious, he'll not do anything wrong. But because people are not God conscious, they are doing so many wrong things that is has been almost impossible to govern the people. Therefore Krsna consciousness movement is very essential to understand this fact, that samam carantam sarvatra bhutanam yan mithah kalih. We have created so many religious system, so many religious system. And the Hindu is fighting with the Muslim, Muslim is fighting with the Hindu, that "My religion is better than your religion." Or any other, other countries also, the Jews fighting with the Christian; Christian, Jews; and the black fighting with the white; white fighting with the black. This Kali, that is the result of this material existence. Samsara-davanala-lidha-loka **. That is the work of this material nature. Even if you want to live very peacefully, you'll not be allowed to live. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya durat... [Bg. 7.14]. It is not a place to live very peacefully. But if you think artificially that "We are very happy. We are advanced in material civilization and we have very comfortable life," where is comfort? There cannot be any comfort. Therefore it is the duty of maya to remind you, always putting you in distressed condition. Duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. It is God... You cannot live peacefully, happily, within the prison house. Because you are condemned to this prison life, you cannot expect very comfortable life there.

So samam carantam... This God is equally kind, equally merciful, but we fight. We, I mean to say, disagree in religious principle. That is due to Kali. Not this Kali. Kali means due to our fighting spirit. It is not God. God is equal to everyone. We fight because we have got misconception. So we think that this religion is better than that religion, or that religion is better than... Every religion must be good, provided one is God conscious. We say that. So many people question in the Western countries, "Whether one can attain perfection by following Christian religion?" Why not? You can also attain. But who is following? First of all, let me see who is following Christian religion. The Christian religion says in the beginning, first commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," and you are simply killing. So where is Christian? Christian religion is not bad. No religion is bad. But where is Christian? Where is Hindu? They are all godless rascals. Therefore there is misunderstanding. Otherwise, if everyone is God conscious, if everyone knows that God is present everywhere, "Whatever I do, He will see. He'll see as sunshine. He'll see as moonshine. He'll see as water..." Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya. No... Who can avoid water? Who can avoid sunshine? Who can avoid moonshine? Nobody can. So God says, "These things are I am." Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhasmi sasi-suryayoh. So how you can avoid God's vigilance? Then how you can commit sinful... They do not believe in -- godlessness. They do not believe in existence of God. They have been taught like that, and they do not know what is God.

This is the misfortune of the present civilization. Present godless civilization... Therefore they have created simply chaotic situation all over the world. Therefore the movement, Krsna consciousness movement, is very, very important and essential. Those who are sober, they are understanding it. Just like in Australia, the priestly class, they understood that this movement is trying to (?) people to see towards God, back to Godhead. You have advanced in civilization by so-called material advancement, scientific..., but what you have done? You have created simply chaos. Therefore we say... Our magazine is named Back to Godhead. "Now you have finished your business -- now see back to Godhead." Just like if you do not see the sun, if you keep the sun backside, then you'll simply see a long shadow of your body, black shadow. That's all. But if you turn towards the sun, you'll not see the black shadow; you'll see all light. Simply you have to turn. So we have named this Back to Godhead very scientifically. You see towards God; then everything is light. "Where there is God, there is no nescience."

This is not manufactured. There is some verse in the Caitanya...

krsna -- surya-sama; maya haya andhakara
yahan krsna tahan nahi mayara adhikara

Krsna surya-sama. Krsna is just like sun. There is no darkness. Can you expect any darkness in the sun planet? No. There is no possibility. Sun planet is always bright. So similarly, this is the example of the spiritual world, the sun planet, krsna surya-sama. So if you go to the spiritual world, then everything is bright. Na tad bhasayate suryo na sasanko na pavakah [Bg. 15.6]. That is the description of the spiritual world. Na tad bhasayate suryah. In the spiritual world, there is no need of sun because everyone is brilliant; every planet is brilliant.

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]

Everything is there. So if we become Krsna conscious, there cannot be any darkness. There cannot be any ignorance. There cannot be any sinful life. Everything bright, everything peaceful. Therefore we must take to Krsna consciousness if we want to save from the clutches of maya. And that is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita:

daivi hy esa gunamayi
mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante
mayam etam taranti te
[Bg. 7.14]

This is the process.

So Krsna, manye tvam kalam isanam. Eternal time. We are calculating past, present and future, but actually in the spiritual world, there is no such thing as past, present and future. We therefore sometimes question that "Wherefrom God came?" So many odd questions they say. But God is eternally existing. That is the fact. We cannot understand that. Because we are in the material world, we have no experience of the eternity, what is eternity. We have no experience. We see everything as generated, and then it stays for some time, then it is finished. That is our experience. Janma, mrtyu, vrddhi. They have... They have made past, present and future, but it is divided into six development. One takes birth, then it develops, then it stays for some time, then it produces some by-product, then diminishes, and then, I mean to say, finished. Sad-vikara. Sad-vikara. This body, sad-vikara. So eternity, eternity means there is no sad-vikara, the six kinds of changes. There is no birth. There is no death. There is no diminishing. There is no by-product. Everything eternal, eternally existing.

So that kalam, that eternal time, is Krsna. Tvam. Manye: "I think that eternal time, You are, Krsna." That's the fact. And isanam. Isanam means the Supreme Controller. Isvarah paramah krsnah [Bs. 5.1]. Controller means isvara; isvara means controller. He's the Supreme Controller. He's controlling the whole creation. Isanam. Kalam isanam. But who is controlling Him? No, He is not controlled. Anadi -- beginningless. Neither endless or beginningless, anadi or nidhanam. And vibhum, the Supreme. This is the understanding of Krsna. We have to take lessons from authorities. Here is Kunti, authority. Therefore his (her) statements are recorded in the sastra. What is sastra? Sastra means, is, the record of the statement of authorities. That is called sastra. Just like in law court, you put lawbooks. What is that lawbook? Lawbook means the statement of the authorities. Similarly, sastra... Sastra means sas-dhatu. Sastra. Sastra means weapon, and sastra means the lawbooks. So what is the lawbook? Lawbook means some authority which has given the law. So the government gives law. So similarly, sastra means the statement given by the authorities.

So Kunti is authority. Kunti is authority. How she has become authority? Because she has followed the authorities, Brahma, Narada, Svayambhu... Svayambhur naradah sambhuh kapilah kumaro manuh [SB 6.3.20]. Those who are strictly following the statements of the authorities, they are also authorities. Just like who is a lawyer? Lawyer is he who has studied law very nicely and following the law. That is lawyer, good lawyer. And third-class lawyer means one who does not know how to follow it. Good lawyer in the court -- who can give reference from the lawbooks: "My Lord, you refer to such and such section of such and such law book, and you will find what I am stating." And the judge, when he sees: "Yes, it is all...," then his case is owned. So authority. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. Mahajana. Authority means mahajana. Ordinary, common people is called jana, ordinary man. And those who are authority, they are mahajana. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah.

So the statements of Kunti is recorded here, Srimad-Bhagavatam, not that he's (she's) ordinary woman. Otherwise her statements should not have been mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. So we have to accept what Kunti says,

manye tvam kalam isanam
anadi-nidhanam vibhum
samam carantam sarvatra
bhutanam yan mithah kalih

So misunderstanding of God... There is no misunderstanding of the authorities. The misunderstanding, the common man... Just like in Australia, when I spoke, there was no misunderstanding. There was agreement by the priests and myself. There was complete agreement. (aside:) You were with me? Or... No. You were not. They, after hearing my lecture for one hour, they agreed and clapped for ten minutes. So there cannot be any misun... Those who are actually... They questioned, "What is your opinion of Lord Jesus Christ?" and I said, "He preached God consciousness. He's our guru. Anyone who preaches the message of God, he is guru." So they very much appreciated, and actually it is so. Vaisnava who is preaching, it may be in a different way, according to time and place and the party -- they have to change something, desa-kala-patra -- but we have to see the essence. Wherever there is God consciousness, wherever is there understanding... Just like we sometime consult dictionary, a small dictionary, pocket dictionary, and a big international dictionary. Both of them are dictionaries. But according to time, desa-kala-patra, for small child, that small dictionary is sufficient. Higher mathematics: higher mathematics and lower class ma... But the two plus two is always the same, in higher mathematics or lower mathematics. It is not that in the higher mathematics two plus two equal to five, no.

So the principle is the same. It is the distinction of desa-kala-patra, things are... Just like the statement in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, they are meant for highly developed conscious persons. They are not for ordinary persons. Paramo nirmatsaranam satam vastavam vastu vedyam atra srimad-bhagavatam, paramo nirmatsaranam. People are envious, envious: "Oh, he's Christian," "He's Muhammadan," "He is this," "He is that." No. A paramo nirmatsara, paramahamsa, he does not see, "He is Muhammadan," "He is Christian," "He is Jew." Panditah sama-darsinah [Bg. 5.18]. He will see everyone equal, the part and parcel of God, Krsna. Mamaivamsa. He says this... Krsna says, mamaivamso jiva-bhutah: [Bg. 15.7] "All living entities are My part and parcel." Why he shall take the skin? Because the skin is made by Muhammadan or the skin is made by Christian or skin is made by Hindu... He's not the skin-observer. He is observed the within. Dehino 'smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara [Bg. 2.13]. Within this body the spirit soul is there. This is the education of spiritual education in the beginning -- just see inside, introspective, not outward seeing. Those who are seeing outwardly, yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatu..., they are asses.

So one should be advanced by hearing the authorities, that God is equal to him. I say why there should be Hindu religion and Muslim religion or Christian religion? There cannot be. Just like gold is gold. And nobody can say, "This is Indian gold, this is American gold, this is Christian gold, and this is Muhammadan gold." Gold is gold. So actually one who is God conscious, for him, there is no such distinction, because he knows, samam carantam sarvatra bhutanam: "God is present everywhere." Simply he has forgotten. That forgetfulness is applicable to anyone, either Hindu, Muslim or Christian. It doesn't matter. The, our business is to rectify that forgetfulness. Rectify. To remove that forgetfulness. This is Krsna consciousness movement.

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.28 -- Mayapura, October 8, 1974

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