Understanding Highest Truth
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.29
Bombay, November 29, 1974
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Prabhupada:
yo yogo bhagavad-bano
nirvanatmams tvayoditah
kidrsah kati cangani
yatas tattvavabodhanam
[SB 3.25.29]
Tattva avabodhanam. Tattva means truth. So the idea is how to understand the Supreme Person, Supreme Being, in tattvatah, in truth.
manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah
[Bg. 7.3]
This tattva word has been used in the Bhagavad-gita, that everyone has got some idea of God. Not everyone; but out of many many millions of person: manusyanam sahasresu. Not ordinary men. There are millions and millions of person who don't care, just like animal. They don't care to know what is God, what is our relationship with God, how to act in that relationship. The Vedic instruction, the whole Vedic instruction is for this purpose. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Bg. 15.15]. That is the purpose of Veda.
So first of all we have to know what is our relationship with God. That you do not know. Neither you try for it. This child... Therefore Krsna says, Krsna says, not we say, that out of many many thousands and millions of persons, manusyanam sahasresu [Bg. 7.3], so kascid, somebody becomes interested what is the purpose of life. That is actually awakening of human life. Otherwise like cats and dogs: eating, sleeping, having sex intercourse, and after some time finished, that is the life of cats and dogs. That is not human life. Human life as it is stated in the Vedas, athato brahma jijnasa. This life is meant for inquiring about the Supreme Being, Brahman, Parabrahman. That is human life. The whole Vedic civilization is based on this basic principle that to understand the Absolute Truth.
So in this Kali-yuga nobody is interested even. We are spreading Krsna consciousness, very few people are interested to know about Krsna or the Supreme Being. So that is not human life. Human life means when we inquire about the Absolute Truth. That is human life. So there are so many societies, so many religious institutions. But nobody is interested to know Krsna, or the Supreme Being. Krsna means the Supreme Being, all-attractive. No educational system, no university. Therefore Krsna said, manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye [Bg. 7.3], that is siddhi of... Siddhi means perfection of life, to understand God. Because in the human life if one tries he can understand God, he can understand himself, he can understand what is his relationship with God, he can understand how to act in that relationship and thus make his life perfect. That is human life. So manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye. Siddhi. Siddhi means self-realization. And yatatam api siddhanam [Bg. 7.3]. And even though one is siddha, or self-realized, he also does not understand what is Krsna. Even one is siddha. That siddha has still to be progressed. Then he will come to jnanavan. Jnanavan means one who is siddha, one who has understood himself. That siddhi means to understand oneself that "I am not this body." That is siddhi.
Everyone is misguided, everyone is acting in this world under the bodily concept of life. And they are very very much unhappy on account of this. Because as soon as one understands that "I am not this body," he immediately becomes Brahma-bhutah prasannatma. Prasannatma means, what do you mean by prasannatma? Na socati na kanksati [Bg. 18.54]. No more material desire. That is brahma-bhutah. Everyone is trying for material sense gratification -- the animals, the beasts, the birds, and the human being. That is material world. He is simply socati and kanksati. When there is loss he is crying, and when there is no possession he is hankering. These are the two diseases of material existence.
So when one is brahma-bhuta [SB 4.30.20], he realized that "I am not this body, I am pure spirit soul," aham brahmasmi, then the next stage is nasocati na kanksati. That is the. But that is not all. That is not all. That is not steady. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na... [Bg. 18.54], samah sarvesu bhutesu. At that time, because he is not in the bodily platform of life, he does not see the body but he sees the soul. So as spirit soul we are one. Simply we are differently dressed in different body on account of our desire and karma. So one who has realized that "I am not this body," he does not make any difference of body.
vidya-vinaya-sampanne
brahmane gavi hastini
suni caiva sva-pake ca
panditah sama-darsinah
[Bg. 5.18]
He does not make any difference that "Here is a learned brahmana and here is a dog." Because he knows the learned brahmana has got a different body and the dog has got a different body. Ultimately the dog is also a spirit soul and the brahmana is also a spirit soul. That is his vision. It does not mean that he's so fool he makes a brahmana equal to the dog. No. That is not. But he knows the fact what is the dog and what is the brahmana. That is Brahman realization. Samah sarvesu bhutesu. Then mad-bhaktim labhate param [Bg. 18.54]. Then the real bhakti begins.
That means after self-realization, when he understands that he is not this body... In the bodily conception of life I am thinking "I belong to this family," "I belong to this society," "I belong to the country," and so many. Aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. Janasya moho 'yam, this illusion is going on. And brahma-bhutah means one who is above this illusion. He has no more such distinction that "I am this body. I am belong to this family, I belong to this country or community." No. "I belong to Krsna." Krsna says jiv..., mamaivamsa. Krsna says. And brahma-bhutah stage means I have realized that I am part and parcel of Krsna and my only business is to serve Krsna. That is Brahman realization. Therefore Krsna says yatatam api siddhanam kascin mam vetti tattvatah [Bg. 7.3]. Tattvatah means one has to understand in truth what is Krsna and what is my relationship with Krsna. Simply siddha is not perfection. Siddha means "I am not this body." That is all right, that is perfection. But you have to make further progress. Brahma-bhutah, you have become now self-realized, that's all right. Na socati na..., samah sarvesu. But you have to enter into the para-bhakti. Then your self-realization will stand. Otherwise again you will fall down. Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adhah anadrta-yusmad-anghrayah [SB 10.2.32].
I have given this example that you have got a very nice sputnik, airplane, you can go many thousands and millions miles up. But if you don't get any shelter either in the moon planet or any other planet then you come back again. The same example. Similarly, you may become brahma-bhutah, Brahman realized, but if you simply remain in the impersonal or void... Brahma-bhutah means to make this material world null and void and you come to the another world, spiritual world. So if you cannot enter into the spiritual world, mad-bhaktim labhate param [Bg. 18.54], if you simply remain brahma-bhutah, then you will fall down. Because you are by nature seeking ananda, blissful life. So if you do not get varieties of life... Just like we want varieties in this material world. This material world is simply imitation of the spiritual world. So we are attached to the varieties; therefore we are seeking ananda. But because it is material and we are spiritual being, we cannot enjoy this ananda, material varieties fully. There are so many defects, inebrieties, and we are seeking that spiritual variety. So if you don't enter into the spiritual world with spiritual variety then you will again fall down. That is called bhakti-yoga.
Just like Krsna says yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama [Bg. 15.6]. When you get spiritual varieties, that you can get when you enter into the spiritual world, either in the Vaikuntha world, planet or in the Goloka Vrndavana planet, there are varieties. The varieties are mentioned in the sastra.
cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.29]
Venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam [Bs. 5.30]. Don't think that Krsna figure is the imagination of some artist or painter. No, no. These are the description in the Vedas. Venum kvanantam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, is playing on His flute. Venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam [Bs. 5.30]. And His eyes are like the petals of lotus flower. Venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam barhavatamsam. There is a feather of peacock, asitambuda-sundarangam, His complexion is like black cloud but very, very beautiful. Venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam barhavatamsam asitambuda-sundarangam, kandarpa-koti-kamaniya. He is so beautiful that more attractive than many, many hundreds and thousands of Cupid. Kandarpa-koti-kamaniya-visesa-
So this is spiritual varieties. Material varieties cannot give us full satisfaction. Therefore you want change. Change, another change, another change. Punah punas carvita-carvananam [SB 7.5.30]. Here in the material world we are simply chewing the chewed. Once chewed and thrown it away, again somebody is coming chewing. So spiritual variety is not like that. Spiritual varieties is anandambudhi-vardhanam. The more you are attached to spiritual variety, it is just like ocean. An ocean does not increase, but spiritual varieties are said they are increasing. Now just like here you have got the Arabian Sea. It is not increasing. It would have increased, then Bombay town would have been finished long ago. So it is not increasing. It has got a certain limit. You go to the beach you see no, no more than. But it is compared with anandambudhi, the ocean of bliss, increasing, vardhanam. Anandambudhi-vardhanam. The more you enter into the spiritual bliss, the more you become joyful. That is spiritual. Spiritual, just like these boys, these girls they are chanting Hare Krsna. Had it been hackneyed, how long they would have chanted? No. That is not possible. Unless it is spiritual, nobody can be satisfied simply by chanting Hare Krsna Hare Krsna. You take any other word, "Mr. John, Mr. John, Mr. John," how long you will chant? After chanting for half an hour you will be fed up. But this is anandambudhi-vardhanam. The more you chant the more you become spiritually advanced. This is called anandambudhi-vardhanam. Otherwise how one can be satisfied simply by chanting, chanting Hare Krsna? They are not mad, they are not foolish. They are human being. And how they have given up everything simply by chanting if it is not anandambudhi-vardhanam, if it is not increasing in spiritual blissfulness. Practical. They have forgotten everything, they are also young men. They don't go to cinema. Just one block after there is cinema, they will never go, giving up this chanting and go to the cinema. Don't you see practically?
So spiritual life, that is spiritual life, that if you take to spiritual life and take to the process then your anandambudhi-vardhanam, your spiritual life, will be blissful more and more. It is not decrease. Because we want ananda. Anandamayo 'bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). That is the Vedanta-sutra. Living being or Parabrahman or Brahman, everyone is anandamaya. That ananda can..., you get perfectly when you take anandamaya with Krsna, in association with Krsna. You associate with Krsna as servant or as friend or as father, as mother, as conjugal lover. There are five rasas: santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya, madhurya. Here also in this material world we have got the same rasas. We are related with somebody as father, or somebody as son, somebody as lover, somebody as beloved, somebody as master, somebody as servant. This is relationship. This is the perverted reflection of the spiritual world. Therefore although we have got the same relationship for relishing... Today I am loving my son and tomorrow my son may be the greatest enemy. There is no eternity of such love. Or the son may die. There is no eternity. Today I am loving some man or woman; it may break tomorrow. That is the defect of the material world. But in the spiritual world the same relationship will never break. It will anandambudhi-vardhanam, simply increase, simply increase. That is called perfection. That is called per...
manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah
[Bg. 7.3]
If we understand Krsna tattvatah, not superficial... Here the word is used yatas tattvavabodhanam. Tattvavabodhanam: "Kindly explain to me that bhakti-yoga which we can fully understand the truth, Absolute Truth." Tattvavabodhanam.
So how that tattva can be understood? That is explained by Krsna that janma karma ca divyam me yo janati tattvatah. So we have to understand Krsna, tattvatah, by truth. And how? We can understand that Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah [Bg. 18.55]. This is tattva word. So tattvavabodhanam. Devahuti is asking Kapiladeva that "Kindly describe that process of yoga by which we can understand in truth, tattvavabodhanam, not superficially." Tattvavabodhanam. And in another place the tattvam is described in three ways: vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam [SB 1.2.11]. They are not different. That is everything is tattva, tattva. There are three kinds of tattva: brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate. This very thing, tattva, is described in three features: impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma, and at the end Bhagavan.
So understanding of Bhagavan means understand of Brahman and Paramatma. But understanding of Brahman or Paramatma is not understanding Bhagavan. Therefore the Brahmavadis, the Paramatmavadis, they are impersonalists. They cannot understand the Supreme Being Personality of Godhead, Krsna. They cannot understand. That is the defect. Therefore some yoga system, jnana-yoga system, or dhyana-yoga system, and there is bhakti-yoga system. That bhakti-yoga system is the perfect. And jnana-yoga system or dhyana-yoga system, that is partial understanding, Paramatma feature. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. In that way you can understand, you can come to the platform of understanding samah sarvesu bhutesu. But that is not perfection. Still you have to go. Samah sarvesu bhutesu mad-bhaktim labhate param [Bg. 18.54]. After realizing samah sarvesu bhutesu, this principle, then you will have to enter into the devotional service, para-bhakti. Para-bhakti means transcendental. Bhakti means para. Bhakti does not mean material. Material, it looks like material activities, but it is not material activities. Just like the example can be given just like a man, a boy is flying kite. He is, what is called, the reel? So sometimes he brings down the kite and sometimes he allows the kite to go. There are two kind of playing. So similarly, the one kind of activity means you are becoming free from the resultant action of activities, and one kind of activity is you are becoming entangled.
So that is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita, yajnarthe karmanah anyatra karma-bandhanah. If you work for Yajna, for Krsna, then you are becoming relieved from the resultant action of karma. But if you work for your sense gratification, then you are becoming entangled with the resultant action of your karma. Therefore sometimes this bhakti-yoga is misunderstood as karma. Mayavadis, they cannot understand. They think that bhakti-yoga is also karma. "These people are less intelligent, so they are in the... Because jnana-yoga means vikarma or akarma, akarma. There is no resultant action." That is the view of the jnanis, Mayavadi philosophers. But because they see that the bhaktas they are working also just like ordinary man, therefore it is maya, that is Mayavada. They think bhakti activities as maya. Therefore we call them Mayavada. But actually bhakti-yoga, if you act according to the shastric principles, if you act according to the order of your spiritual master in bhakti-yoga, that is not karma. That is bhakti-yoga, beyond this karma-yoga. But they cannot understand.
Just like Krsna described in the sastras: cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam [Bs. 5.29]. Surabhir abhipalayantam. Krsna is very much fond of tending cows, surabhi cows. The Mayavadi will see, "What is this Krsna?" Even Brahma was bewildered, "How is that this Krsna, this boy in Vrndavana is being worshiped? He's spoken like the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How is that He is taking care of the cows, this cowherd boy?" Indra was also bewildered. Muhyanti yat surayah. To understand Krsna, even Brahma, Indra, they become bewildered. Therefore,
manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascin mam vetti tattvatah
[Bg. 7.3]
We have to understand Krsna in truth. Otherwise we will be bewildered. And for that reason you have to hear from Krsna or His representative to understand Krsna. Otherwise you will also be bewildered.
So if we can understand Krsna, that these activities of Krsna, divyam..., janma karma ca me divyam [Bg. 4.9], divine, and they are not ordinary activities. If we can understand it, immediately we become liberated. Simply if we can understand the activities of this Krsna's dancing with the gopis, they are divyam, they are not ordinary. Just like here also a young man wants to dance with many young girls; it is not like that. And because people cannot understand Krsna, and if they hear about the dancing of Krsna with the gopis, they take it the concession, "Now let us dance with young girls." And they are going to hell. Therefore you have to learn from the proper person about Krsna's activities. If you learn Krsna from the professional uneducated person, nondevotee, then you will go to hell. Therefore immediately we should not try to understand Krsna's dealing with the gopis. It is very confidential. It is kept in the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. That means you have to understand Krsna as He is by reading first nine cantos of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Then you will be able to understand janma karma ca divyam. The Krsna's activities, they are not ordinary thing. They are divine. And if we actually understand, then immediately you become liberated. Janma karma ca divyam yo janati tattvatah.
Therefore here it is said, kidrsah kati cangani. How that bhakti-yoga is situated and how many processes or branches are there? Kidrsah kati ca angani yatas tattvavabodhanam. Then we can understand Krsna in tattva, in truth. That is required. That is bhakti-yoga. And that angani, angani means they are all the same. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam [SB 7.5.23]. There are nine angas, nine... Anga means different varieties. They are the same. Spiritually they are the same, spiritually absolute. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam. Either you hear or you chant or you memorize or you offer worship, arcanam vandanam dasyam, or you simply work under the direction of your spiritual master or Krsna. Just like Hanuman: he dasyam. He simply carried out Lord Ramacandra's order. He was supposed to be animal. He's not animal. But he was looking like a monkey animal. But having no education, no. He had everything. But superficially he..., he is not teaching Vedanta. He is simply carrying order of Lord Ramacandra, that's all. He appears to be very foolish. Not foolish, but superficially animal. He was simply carrying out, dasyam. Arjuna, simply he took Krsna as his most intimate friend, that's all. He was not a Vedantist; he was a fighter, he was a ksatriya. He had to deal with politics. No time to become Vedantist. But still he's the greatest devotee. Bhakto 'si priyo 'si me [Bg. 4.3]. Krsna says, "My dear Arjuna, you are My very dear friend and devotee." So people may say, "Oh, he is not a Vedantist, he is not even brahmana, he is not a sannyasi. How Krsna accepts him as bhakto 'si?" That is called bhakti. Bhakti is ahaituky apratihata. If you become a devotee there is no impediment. No material condition can check your progress of bhakti, if you are a bhakta.
sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati
[SB 1.2.6]
If you want real life, prasanna... Brahma-bhutah prasannatma [Bg. 18.54]. If you take to bhakti, automatically you become prasannatma. Yayatma suprasidati. What is that? Ahaituky apratihata bhakti. Without any motive. "I shall serve Krsna with a motive," that is also good in this sense, that he is pious, he has approached Krsna. He is not impious like the atheist, like the nonbeliever. But he is good, although he has approached... Just like Dhruva Maharaja. Dhruva Maharaja worshiped Krsna with a motive. But after being perfect in devotional service he becomes without motive. When he saw actually Krsna, he said, "No, no, no. I don't want anything from You." Svamin krtartho 'smi varam na yace [Cc. Madhya 22.42]. "I don't want any benediction." That is bhakti. Ahaituky apratihata. Not that we shall worship Krsna to serve some material purpose. That is also good, because he has come to Krsna. Someway or other he has come. Catur-vidha bhajante mam sukrtino 'rjuna. That is his piety. Anyone who comes to Krsna someway or other, he is very fortunate. He is not ordinary man. Ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. Bhagyavan jiva means very fortunate person. He comes to Krsna consciousness. Not ordinary person.
yesam tv anta-gatam papam
jananam punya-karmanam
te dvandva-moha-nirmukta
bhajante mam drdha-vratah
[Bg. 7.28]
Krsna-bhajana is not so easy. But if you voluntarily, if after hearing so many qualities of Krsna, transcendental qualities, if you somehow or other become attracted to Krsna consciousness, then your life is successful. Yena tena prakarena manah krsne nivesayet. Somehow or other you attach your mind to Krsna consciousness. Sarve vidhi-nisedhah syur etayor eva kinkarah.
Then Krsna says that "Anyone who is engaged in My devotional service with love and faith, buddhi-yogam dadami tam." This is buddhi-yoga. Buddhi-yoga means bhakti-yoga. Buddhi-yoga means, bhakti-yoga is not for the foolish person. Bhakti-yoga means buddhi-yoga, one who is highly intelligent. Or somehow or other he has become intelligent, that "I shall take to Krsna consciousness." Then his life is perfect immediately, and gradually he will realize Krsna, tattvatah. Bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas casmi tattvatah [Bg. 18.55]. You somehow or other take to Krsna consciousness, engage yourself in devotional service under the direction of sastra and the spiritual master, then you will understand Krsna and then your life is perfect.
Thank you very much. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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