If You Actually Want Freedom From This Material Bondage
Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.9
Los Angeles, May 26, 1972
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Take a testLos Angeles, May 26, 1972
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Prabhupada: Where are the books? The
small books. Where is the problem? Have you got (?) Come on.
Pradyumna: Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya (etc., leads chanting of verse:)
rajya-kamo manun devan
nirrtim tv abhicaran yajet
kama-kamo yajet somam
akamah purusam param
Translation: "One who desires domination over a kingdom or an empire should worship the Manus. One who desires victory over an enemy should worship the demons, and one who desires sense gratification should worship the moon. But one who desires nothing of material enjoyment should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
Prabhupada: This is significant.
Those who are Krsna conscious, they have no material desires. Finished. Brahmany
upasamasrayam. Upasama, upasama means completely finished, don't want. They can
worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise, without being akama ...
Akama means no material desires. Anyabhilasita-sunyam [BRS 1.1.11], completely.
If we have got least desire for material enjoyment, Krsna will give us chance
again to accept a body which will satisfy the senses. Deha-yogena dehinam. For
our sense gratification, a particular type of body is offered. By the order of
Krsna, through the agency of material nature. Just like father gives the seed,
and the mother gives the body, similarly, Krsna, the supreme father, He is the
giver of the seed, living entity, and according to the living entity's desire,
the material nature gives the body. Therefore material nature is mother, and
Krsna is the supreme father. Tasmin garbham dadamy aham. Garbham dadamy aham: "I
give the seed, garbha, pregnancy."
So we are part and parcel of Krsna, and He... According to my desire, He puts me into circumstances, material circumstances; I get a particular type of body. This is the secret of different types of body and transmigration of the body. The foolish scientists, they do not know this science. They are trying to create living entity in the laboratories. It is impossible. Just like if a woman wants to create a child independently, it is impossible. There must be contact with a man who must give the seed, then a woman can produce a child. Similarly, these rascals who are trying to produce life by material combination, through the material agency, they are all rascals. They do not know even the ordinary law. By combination of matter you cannot produce any living entity. That is not possible. Living entity, being part and parcel of Krsna, Krsna must give the seed. Tasmin garbham dadamy aham. The creation, the yoni... Yatha yoni, yatha bijam yatha yoni. This is natural.
So to get this body means I have got material desires. This body. This is the philosophy. Anyone who has got this material body, beginning from Brahma... He is considered the first creature within this universe, most intelligent, most learned, but still, because he has got this material body, he's not akama, without any material desires. He has got material desire. He wanted to become the supreme head of one universe. Just like we try to become supreme head of a family, then of a society, then of a nation, of a community. Then I desire to be head, also... Go on, go on, increasing. To lord it over. So, so long there will be desire to lord it over, then we have to accept a body. It doesn't matter what kind of body. It may be Brahma's body, it may be cat's body, it may be man's body, it may be bird's body, it may be beast's body. That will depend on my desire. But if I have got any desire, material desire to fulfill, then I must be prepared for accept next body, another.
So if one wants to finish this business, accepting... And accepting a material body means to become subjected to the laws of material nature. You get a material body, and if you want that "I shall not die," it is impossible. It is not good. Then you must die. Bhutva bhutva praliyate. You get a material body and again you give it up, and again you get it. This is going on. Therefore, Caitanya Mahaprabhu said,
ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija
[Cc. Madhya 19.151]
In this way, all the living entities, beginning from Brahma down to the microscopic germ, everyone is rotating in different species of life, in different planets, in different position. Innumerable. As the living entities are innumerable, so varieties of bodies are also innumerable. Not innumerable, they are counted, 8,400,000 species of life. This is Vedic knowledge. Exactly giving the number. Exactly. 8,400,000. It doesn't say 9,000,000, or 500,000. No. Exact.
Jalaja nava-laksani. In the aquatics, there are 900,000 species of life. Now, if you have got your science, now go and see. This is Vedic knowledge. Perfect, without any doubt. Sthavara laksa-vimsati. And the plants and trees, they are 2,000,000 species of life. So, ei rupe brahmanda bhramite. We are transmigrating from one species of life, one species of life, another, another, another, another... They cannot explain why there are so many varieties of life. The varieties of life is there because we have desire, kama. "I want this." "All right, take this." Krsna is immediately prepared. Ye yatha mam prapadyante. "If you want, you can take it." But Krsna says, ultimately, that "You'll never be happy in this way. Therefore you give up this business. Simply surrender unto Me." Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam [Bg. 18.66]. So that is called akama. So here it is said that akamah yajet purusam param. If you want to be akama, devoid of all material desires, then surrender to Krsna.
That will save you from this business of rotating from one sort of body to another sort of body. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. To come to Krsna consciousness is not very easy thing. It is by the grace of guru. Guru-krsna. And grace of Krsna. Combined together. One who sincerely wants to stop this business of repeated birth and death... But they do not understand that this is a suffering. They say, "Ah, let it happen." When they forget what is the suffering of birth. Birth, as I have many times explained... Nowadays, it is so much suffering that a child is born within the womb, and there is abortion, killed. "Kill him." But they do not understand the suffering, that one chance given that it will get a body and come out and maybe able to come to Krsna consciousness, that opportunity... he's being killed within the womb. But these rascals, they do not know what is the suffering. Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi.
Krsna says the sufferings of birth... They do not understand, such fools, that what is the suffering of birth. Even if you are not killed, you have to remain compact in a vat, airtight. And the worms, they are biting. So many things. Suffocated. That is one thing. But if he can live at least for ten months, the mother does not kill, abortion, then it has got a chance to come out. Otherwise, there is no chance to come out ever. He dies within the womb, again transferred to another womb, and again it is killed. So those who are too much sinful, those who are causing these abortions, they will get this sort of life. They will never see light. One womb, killed; another womb, killed; another womb, killed; another womb, killed. This is so sinful, this abortion. And the modern civilization and the priestly order, they are passing: "If the mother selects... otherwise, there is no objection, abortion." Such foolish world is going on. You see? There are so many subtle laws of nature.
They do not know anything. And they are claiming to be educated scientist and Vedantists philosopher. All nonsense. All nonsense. Therefore it is said, akamah purusam param. Give up your kama, lusty desires, or any material desires, and surrender to Krsna. Then that is life successful. Otherwise, bhutva bhutva praliyate. Take once birth... These are all desires. And the so big list. "If you want this, then you can worship this." Why it is recommended that you worship these demigods? Because if one goes for fulfilling the desire to a demigod, there is connection of Visnu. Because any yajna you perform, demigod, there must be Visnu first. The mantra says that "With the sanction of Visnu's order, you get this facility." So by worshiping the demigod, if he's sensible man, one day he will come to know that "Above the demigods there is Visnu. So why I am worshiping this demigods? Why not Visnu?" Suppose if I get some facility from somebody, and if I see that this man is taking sanction from another superior man.
So my intelligence should be, "Why not go direct to the superior man? Why I am flattering this man?" That is sense. So therefore demigod worship is recommended in Vedas, that one day he may come to his intelligence that "Why demigod? Why not God, personally, directly?" Therefore, it is not that it is encouragement, it is encouragement(?). Just like, you know amongst the Hindus, the flesh-eaters, they're recommended that "If you want to eat meat, then you sacrifice one goat before the goddess Kali." And Goddess Kali is worshiped once in a month, on the dark moon day, at night. And there are mantras. The mantras say that... Within the ear of the animal it is said that, "You are sacrificing your life before the deity; so next life, immediately, you get a human form of life. And when you get a human form of life, you'll have the right to kill this man also." This is the mantra. Now, if you are a sane man, understand that "I am killing this goat at the risk of my life in next birth.
So why I am going to take such responsibility? Better stop it." So, it is for discouraging. If I say directly, "Don't eat meat," he'll protest, "Why shall I not? It is our food. I must eat." Therefore, instead of directly prohibiting, the sastra says, "Yes, yes, you can eat. But by sacrificing it before Goddess Kali." That means condition, restriction.
Similarly, marriage. Marriage -- what is the meaning of marriage? Everyone can have sex without marriage. So what it means, marriage? Marriage means restriction. That's all. That you have sex, but a particular selected woman, man. That's... No more. That's all. That is marriage. So all the Vedic rules are there... Sastra says: loke vyavayamisa-madya-seva nitya hi jantor na hi tatra codana. Why this demigod worship, marriage, these are prescribed? They are prescribed to stop it, not to encourage it. But the foolish persons, they say, "Well, it is in the sastra. Why shall I not do?" Therefore Lord Buddha, when he appeared, he wanted to stop this animal killing, but because these rascals will show the evidence that "Here is sanctioned by the Vedas to kill an animal before Goddess Kali. Why you stop?" Therefore he said, "I don't care for your Vedas." Because his only idea was to stop this animal killing. Ahimsa.
So we should know, whenever there is sanction in the sastra for meat-eating, for sex intercourse, or for drinking, it is not for encouraging; it is for prohibiting, restricting. So the next question should (be), "Why it is restricted?" Restricted means so long you'll be addicted to this habit, you'll have to accept a body. So one who cannot stop it immediately, he's restricted. "All right, you want to do it. All right. Go to this demigod." That is the list. If you want this, all right, go to this demigod." Means somehow or other, this lusty person is being brought before a demigod to understand that this is not good. This is implicating. Therefore it is said akama. If you become completely free from all material desires, or if you want that position, then come to Krsna. No other demigod. If you actually want freedom from this material bondage, then Krsna...Krsna also assures, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami. These are all papa, sinful. Either you take the body of a Brahma or an ant or cat or dog. Allsinful. Only the person who has taken to Krsna consciousness seriously, he's pious. Akama. The next verse will be akamah sarva-kamo va [SB 2.3.10]. Thank you very much. (devotees offer obeisances.) Kirtana. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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