Fire Is Fire, Gold Is Gold, God Is God
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.1
Bombay, November 1, 1974
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Prabhupada:
kapilas tattva-sankhyata
bhagavan atma-mayaya
jatah svayam ajah saksad
atma-prajnaptaye nrnam
[SB 3.25.1]
So we are reciting from our latest edition of Srimad-Bhagavatam. This is Third Canto, Part Four. We have finished Third Canto, publishing. This is very important subject matter. The Kapila, the expounder of Sankhya philosophy, he instructed to His mother, Devahuti. There are two Kapilas. Real Kapiladeva is Kapila. He expounded Sankhya philosophy to instruct His mother. But later on, some imitation Kapiladeva also appeared -- atheistic Sankhya philosophy. He has simply dealt with the twenty-four different elements without information of God. Therefore there are two Kapilas. One Kapila is called the devahuti-putra Kapila; another is atheist Kapila.
So about Kapiladeva it is said, Saunaka Rs..., that kapilas tattva-sankhyata: "Kapila, the Supreme Person," tattva-sankhyata, "He can explain what is Absolute Truth." Kapilas tattva-sankhyata bhagavan. Without Bhagavan, nobody knows what is the actual position of the Ultimate Truth. Nobody can know it. Therefore Bhagavan Krsna or His incarnation occasionally visit to give you information about what is the aim of life. Tattva-sankhyata. Sankhyata means expounder, and tattva means the Absolute Truth. So Absolute Truth is Bhagavan Himself, Krsna Himself. So we cannot understand the Absolute Truth or the Supreme Person by mental speculation. That is not possible, especially when we are under the influence of the three modes of material nature because material nature is divided into three status: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, and tamo-guna. Those who are in the sattva-guna, they are fit for understanding the Absolute Truth. Sattva-guna means the brahminical qualification. Satyam samo damas titiksa arjavam, jnanam vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.42]. They can understand. Therefore, in our Vedic conception of human society there must be a class of men, actually brahmana. Then they will be able to expound the real truth of life. If everyone becomes sudra, then the Absolute Truth cannot be understood.
Just like at the present moment, kalau sudra-sambhavah: "In the Kali-yuga, everyone is sudra." It is hardly to be found, a qualified brahmana. Of course, there are, but very rare. Practically brahmana is not a single there, especially in this age.
prayenalpayusah sabhya
kalav asmin yuge janah
mandah sumanda-matayo
manda-bhagya hy upadrutah
[SB 1.1.10]
The people of this age, they are short-living and manda, very slow in everything, not interested. Actually human life is meant for understanding the spiritual value of life, but on account of the people being sudras, they are not interested. They are forgetting the real purpose of life. Manda. Manda means slow and bad. Everyone is bad or slow. Mandah sumanda-matayah. And they have got... Everyone has got a particular type of understanding. Sumanda-matayah. That is not bona fide. Sumanda-matayo manda-bhagyah: "And everyone is misfortunate, unfortunate." Upadrutah: "And they are disturbed by so many causes." And the gradually, the situation will be like this. It is already manifest. Anavrstya durbhiksa-kara-piditah: [SB 12.2.9] "There will be no rain in the sky, and there will be scarcity of foodstuff," and kara-piditah, "and government will levy tax very heavily." These are already predicted, and we are experiencing. So this age is very miserable. Kali-yuga is very miserable. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He is Krsna Himself. He came. He advised all people of the world that "You simply chant Hare Krsna." Very simple thing. Harer nama harer nama. It is not His invention, but it is in the sastras, Puranas. This advice is there,
harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
[Cc. Adi 17.21]
In this age, people being all sudras, less intelligent, unfortunate, disturbed, how they will be able to understand the Absolute Truth or the aim of life?
So anyway, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that,
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
[Bg. 4.7]
So similarly, some time before, some hundreds and thousands of years, Kapiladeva appeared, devahuti-putra Kapiladeva. His father's name is Kardama Muni. So after Kapiladeva's birth, when He was grown up... That is the system of Vedic civilization. When children are grown up, the father retires. He takes sannyasa, or goes out of home simply for cultivating spiritual life, not that throughout the whole life, rot in this material world, no. Pancasordhvam vanam vrajet. That is the injunction of the sastra. We have got eight kinds of asrama, er, four kinds of asrama and four kinds of varnas. So the... Formerly they used to follow very strictly. So Kapiladeva's father, Kardama Muni, after the son was grown up, he left his home, giving in charge of his wife. The wife was given in charge of the grown-up boy, not that the boy was in charge of the..., no. So that incident, that narration, is stated in this part.
So kapilas tattva-sankhyata bhagavan. Kapila is Bhagavan. Nowadays Bhagavan is so cheap. They misuses of the word. But here you will find that Bhagavan is not an ordinary man. Avajananti mam mudhah [Bg. 9.11]. Because Bhagavan Krsna appeared as human being, so the mudhas, rascals and fools, they think of Krsna as ordinary human being, mudha. Mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam, tribhir gunamayair bhavaih, mohitam [Bg. 7.13]. So still there are devotees who can understand. Just like Arjuna understood that "Krsna, although He's my friend, playing the part of my friend, but He is Supreme Personality of Godhead." Therefore, when Krsna instructed Arjuna for our benefit... Arjuna is in perfect knowledge, but aiming at Arjuna, Krsna is giving instruction for all human society, and he admitted. After knowing Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna said, param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan: [Bg. 10.12] "My dear Krsna, You are the Parambrahma." Parambrahman. Every one of us, Brahman. Brahman means spirit soul. We are not this body. Bhagavata... This is realization, self-realization. That is Vedic culture. One must understand what he is. We should not keep ourself in ignorance like cats and dogs, thinking that "I am this body," "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brahmana," "I am ksatriya," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," or so many designations. That is bodily designation. So when one comes to the spiritual understanding, that is called Brahman realization. Bhagavata...
So we are all Brahman; simply we have to understand it. It is not that we are abrahman; by some practice we become Brahman, no. Just like gold is gold, but if it is covered with some dirt, the dirt can be removed, and the gold is gold; similarly, we are Brahman, spirit soul. Somehow or other we have come in contact with these material elements, bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh [Bg. 7.4], and we have got this body, covered, and I am thinking, "I am this body." This is ignorance. This is ignorance. So unless one is enlightened by the spiritual knowledge, he remains only just like cats and dogs. And to understand spiritual identification, that is called dharma. Dharma means that. And the ultimate goal of dharma is spoken by Krsna, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. We have created so many dharmas: Hindu dharma, Mussulman dharma, Christian dharma. These are manufactured. Of course, there is indication how to execute dharma, but real dharma -- when you come to the conclusion, vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah [Bg. 7.19].
bahunam janmanam ante
jnanavan mam prapadyate
vasudevah sarvam iti
sa mahatma sudurlabhah
[Bg. 7.19]
So this is... Krsna consciousness movement is for this purpose, that we... We are not preaching any particular sectarian religious system. No. We are preaching the real what is meant by religion. Religion means dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [SB 6.3.19]. Nobody knows what is dharma. This is the position. Because dharma means the order of the Supreme Being. That is dharma. Just like law means the order of the government, similarly, dharma means the order of the Supreme Being. That is dharma. This is the simple definition of dharma. So God is one; His order is one. How there can be different dharmas? It is not possible. That is ignorance. When we create different dharma, that is due to ignorance: Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma, Christian dharma or this dharma, that dharma... No. Gold is gold. Does it mean that if a Christian possesses some gold, it becomes Christian gold? Or Hindu possesses some gold, it becomes Hindu gold? No. Gold is gold. Either it is in possession of Hindu or Muslim or Christian, it doesn't matter. Gold is gold. So we are preaching that, that "Here is dharma, to surrender unto the Supreme Being." That is dharma. Sarva-dharman parityajya [Bg. 18.66]. This is bhagavata-dharma. Everyone should be taught how to surrender to God.
So God is one. God cannot be two. When there is competition of God, they are not God. Just like it has become nowadays -- in every state there is a God. That is not... Krsna is not that kind of God. He is the Supreme God. Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: [Bg. 7.7] "Nobody is superior than Me." So that is... We are preaching. We are teaching people. These Americans and the Europeans, they have taken it seriously because they are fortunate. They have no information of these hodgepodge gods. That is their opportunity. I have told them, given the information that Krsna, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]. I have not given any wrong information. Right information. Bhagavan means Krsna. God means Krsna. So I have given them this information as a peon, that "Here is God," and they have taken it seriously. Therefore they are advancing. See practically. Why they are advancing? Because they are not misled. They have been given the right information, and they have taken it seriously, and they are trying their best to do, to render service. That is the reason. People are surprised how these Americans and Europeans have become such great devotees and dancing in ecstasy. They are surprised. Yes, it is surprising. Even in their country the priests are surprised. But what is the reason they are advanced? Because they have taken the right thing, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam [SB 1.3.28]. That they have taken. Either you say blindly... Blindly or knowingly, if you touch fire, it will act. Fire is fire. It is not that because a child takes fire, it will not burn. It will burn. So why these Western young men, they are taking this movement seriously? Because it is acting as fire. It is acting as fire. They have taken fire, and it is acting as fire.
So there is information in the sastra, accepted by the acaryas. Just like krsnas tu bhagavan svayam, that is accepted by the acaryas. Acaryopasanam. The Sankaracarya even, although he is impersonalist, he has accepted Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and what to speak of others? Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya and Visnu Svami, Nimbarka and, latest, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers -- all accept Krsna the Supreme Personality of..., following the same principle as Arjuna said, "Krsna, You are param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg. 10.12]." So this is simple thing. There is no need of speculation, "What is God?" "Where is God?" Here is God, sir. Here is God. You see. Why you foolish, you are searching? Here is God. He is not... Although Krsna has come in a form which you can see... Krsna has appeared before you just like stone statue. But He is not stone statue. Of course, stone is also God because stone is another energy of God, just like fire is also heat and light. And the heat is also fire, and light is also fire. Without fire, there cannot be light. Without fire, there cannot be heat So this material world is just like the heat and light of the supreme light, of the supreme fire. Parasya brahmanah saktis tathedam akhilam jagat. Eka-desa-sthitasyagner jyotsna vistarini yatha, tathedam akhilam jagat. Just like fire is in one place... Just like sun. It is a, mean, a practical example. The sun is in one place. You have seen. It is light and heat, so expanding the light and heat throughout the whole universe, and as soon as you perceive light and heat, you can understand there is sun. So light and heat can be perceived by anyone. Therefore Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, prabhasmi sasi-suryayoh: "I am the light and heat of the sun." Of course, moon, there is no heat. There is cooling effect. Two things are there. So all these are energies of Krsna. Prabhasmi sasi-suryayoh. So why people say, "Can you show me God?" You are seeing daily, every moment. But because you are fool, you have no sense of understanding. As soon as there is some heat, any man can understand there is fire. As soon as there is smoke, anyone can understand there is fire. Similarly, if you can feel the energy of the Lord, then you can feel the presence of the Lord immediately.
Now here, these boys, these girls, they are worshiping Krsna, and they are becoming devotee. What is the sign of devotee? The sign of devotee is that the devotees are no more interested with material enjoyment. That is devotee. Bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra syat [SB 11.2.42]. So these young boys and girls, they do not go to cinema. They do not smoke. They do not go any restaurant or club. Why? Virakti! Don't want this! What to speak of here, poor country, but in the European, American countries, everything is available very cheap. But they are not interested. They are interested to sit down on the floor without any chair and follow me, whatever I say. They have no sufficient eating even. I cannot give them to their standard. Still... Why? Because they don't want this material happiness. That is the test. That is the test. Bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra syat [SB 11.2.42]. When one will become detestful to material enjoyment, you will know, or he'll know. Personally one can understand how much he is advanced in spiritual life. Spiritual life does not mean that a sannyasi is smoking and drinking tea, one gallon of tea. That is not spiritual life. He must be detestful. So this dharma, or spiritual life, means to have no more interest in material activities but only in the understanding of God, the Supreme, and His service. That is spiritual life.
So actually the human life is meant for that purpose, because sense gratification, material happiness, the hogs also, they are enjoying. The enjoying... The hog is also whole day and night searching after stool, and after eating stool, when they get some strength, then sex without any discrimination of mother or sister or anyone. Hog's life. Therefore sastra says, "Don't lead a hog's life." Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye [SB 5.5.1]. Vid-bhujam means the stool-eater. They are also working so hard day and night simply for eating stool. And as soon as there is some strength, hypophosphate... Because stool contains all good chemicals. Hypophosphate, they say, who have tested... Of course, I do not know. They say that it is full of hypophosphates, and if you take hypophosphate... Sometimes doctor prescribes sera of hypophosphate for the weak people. So actually the hogs are very fatty. Therefore those who are meat-eaters, they like hog's flesh very nicely.
So anyway, this human life is not meant for imitating the hog's life. Human life is meant for tapasya. Tapo divyam putraka yena suddhyet sattvam [SB 5.5.1]. This is Vedic civilization, tapasya, the state, different grades of tapasya -- brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra -- give them chance -- grhastha, vanaprastha, brahmacari. They are all meant for inducing people to come to this perfectional stage of understanding God. This is called varnasrama-dharma. Real purpose of this is varnasrama, four varnas and four asramas. Why? Now,
varnasramacaravata
purusena parah puman
visnur aradhyate pantha
nanyat tat tosa-karanam
[Cc. Madhya 8.58]
The whole aim is how to worship the Supreme Lord. That is human life. So if we make these divisions, so any class of men, if he comes to this social system of varnasrama-dharma, then automatically... Just like if you admit your son in a school, there is first class, second class, third class or eighth class. In this way he makes progress. One day that son comes out as a graduate. So the human society must accept. This is school of varnasrama-dharma. Then gradually he will be educated and he will come to the understanding. Brahma janatiti brahmanah. One day he will understand what is Brahman, and that is brahmana. Veda-pathad bhaved vipro brahma janatiti brahmanah. Janmana jayate sudrah. By birth everyone is a sudra. He has to be educated. Samskarad bhaved dvijah. Dvija means twice-born. One birth is by the father and mother, and the next birth is by the spiritual master and Vedic knowledge. So Vedic knowledge is the mother, and spiritual master is the father. Then one becomes dvija. Therefore the sacred thread is offered, that "He is now divja. He has accepted the spiritual master to learn what is spiritual life." That is the significance. Then he is allowed to read this Vedic literature, the essence of Vedic literature. Nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam idam [SB 1.1.3], this Srimad-Bhagavatam. This is the essence. Nigama means Vedic. Nigama-kalpa-taru. Kalpa-taru means desire tree. A tree, desire tree, means whatever you like, you can take from it. Similarly, Vedic knowledge is so perfect, any knowledge, perfectly if you want to know, then you must... Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet srotriyam [MU 1.2.12]. Therefore Vedic knowledge is called sruti. Srotriyam brahma-nistham.
So when things are mismanaged and people forget the aim of life, at that time the Supreme Lord comes. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati [Bg. 4.7]. So dharmasya glanih means the human society, when missing the aim of life, at that time, when things are very much mismanaged, then out of compassion... Because God is more anxious to get us back to home, back to Godhead, than we are, because we are in ignorance. We do not know what is the kingdom of God, how to go back there, how to become happy. We have all forgotten. Therefore Krsna comes at interval. He sends His representative, the devotee. That is going on. So sometimes He comes personally; sometimes He sends His incarnation. The Kapiladeva is an incarnation of the Supreme Person, Krsna. Therefore it is stated here, kapilas tattva-sankhyata bhagavan. Incarnation of Bhagavan is also Bhagavan. Bhagavan atma-mayaya. Atma-mayaya means... Maya means illusion, maya means affection, and maya means energy. When Krsna comes, or Krsna's energy, or Krsna's incarnation comes, that is not by force. Just like we. We are forced to come. Karmana daiva-netrena [SB 3.31.1]. We have to accept a certain type of body by force, not atma-mayaya. Suppose I have got this human form of body. I cannot demand that "Next life I will have like this." No. That is not possible. Next life you will get according to your karma. Just like you are being educated. You cannot say that "Make me the high-court judge." That is not possible. If you are qualified, then you become. Similarly, karmana... You have to qualify yourself. So there are 8,400,000's of different forms of life. So by your karma, next life you can become a devata, a demigod. Even if you like, you can become Indra, Candra. Or you can become cats and dogs. That depends... Karmana daiva-netrena [SB 3.31.1]. So this will depend on my karma.
But Krsna or His incarnation, when He comes, it does not depend on His karma, because He is above karma. He is fully independent. Therefore it is said, atma-mayaya: "by His own energy," not by any external energy, forced by. Just like if the governor goes to the prison house, it is not that he has been forced to come to the prison, he is a condemned person, no. He goes there out of his good will to see how things are going on. But when an ordinary person is put into jail, he has been forced. He has been proved a criminal. So if the criminal thinks that "Here is governor. Now we are one, the governor and myself, one..." The pocket, pickpocket, criminal, if he thinks like that, that... Similarly, avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. Therefore rascals and fools, they think Krsna is one of them, the same thing, as the criminal thinks the governor, as... Mahatma Gandhi went to jail, and if a pickpocket thinks that "Now Mahatma Gandhi and myself are the same..." No. Therefore it is said, atma-mayaya. Mahatma Gandhi went to jail just to show the people: "Now, if you want to drive away the Britishers, so disobey their law, and they will put us into jail, and that jail will be effective." Jail svarajyake mandira hai. Mahatma Gandhi said. That was a policy, not that Mahatma Gandhi had to go to jail; he was a fit (?) for that person. Similarly, this is an example.
Similarly, when Krsna or His incarnation comes in this material world, He maintains His position. That, the same thing. Mahatma Gandhi maintained his position. It is not that because Mahatma Gandhi went to jail, he became unpopular and nobody would respect him. No. He is respect was still there. Similarly, when the incarnation of God, Krsna, He comes, He is not ordinary man. He is not ordinary man. He comes out of His good will. Param bhavam ajanantah. The rascals, they do not understand what is Krsna, and they think that "Krsna is like one of us, a human being, like that. He is..." No, that is not Krsna understanding. Krsna...
manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah
[Bg. 7.3]
Krsna understanding is not so easy. It is said by Krsna, "Out of millions of people, one become siddha." Siddha means self-realized. And yatatam api siddhanam: [Bg. 7.3] and after becoming siddha, out of many millions of siddhas, one can understand what is Krsna.
But it is our great fortune that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He appeared. He is Krsna Himself, and He has given us a very, I mean to say, easy process to understand Krsna. What is that? This is the easiest process, that you come here and hear about Krsna. That's all. You haven't got to do anything. Simply come here. We are opening all these centers just to invite you, "Please come here and hear about Krsna."
srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah
punya-sravana-kirtanah
hrdy antah-stho hy abhadrani
vidhunoti suhrt satam
[SB 1.2.17]
If you hear about Krsna, you become purified. Hearing about Krsna means associating with Krsna. This secret they do not know. But we are canvassing, "Please come and hear about Krsna. Your life will be perfect."
Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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