Atheists...Overbold
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.41
Bombay, December 9, 1974
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Nitai: "(The terrible fear of birth
and death can never be) forsaken by anyone who resorts to any shelter other than
Myself, for I am the almighty Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
original source of all creation, and also the Supreme Soul of all
souls."
Prabhupada:
nanyatra mad bhagavatah
pradhana-purusesvarat
atmanah sarva-bhutanam
bhayam tivram nivartate
[SB 3.25.41]
So bhayam tivram. We have become so much dull or foolish that we do not know what is bhayam tivram. Tivram means very fierce, and bhayam, fierce fearfulness, very strong. And we are entangled in this very strong fearfulness, but we have become so dull by the spell of maya that we don't care for it. Just imagine. At the time of death there are so many troubles, very fierceful. Sometimes a person is dying, he is attacked with coma, and he is lying unconscious. Big, big politicians, "Mr. such and such," prime minister, and this and that, but he is lying unconscious in coma for seven days. And we do not know, but he is going very fierceful test. He is dreaming so many things that sometimes he is crying. He cannot express. Especially those who are very sinful, they die in that way. So this is not finished. Then, after death, you have to enter in the womb of the mother. That is another fierceful stage. You become packed up in a bag, and the bag is filled up or surrounded by stool, urine, worms. And you have to remain there, airtight packed, for ten months.
This is actual fact. We have forgotten. Therefore we are not afraid of. Therefore Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that your real trouble is janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-
So these things you have to pass. And again disease, again old age, and again death, and again birth. This is bhayam tivram. But the... We have become... By the spell of maya, by illusion, we are thinking, "Now we are making very much progress." What progress you have made? Have you stopped birth, death, old age, and disease? These troubles are awaiting. Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-
But we are so bold that we are not afraid of it. That is foolishness. If we become overbold, "I don't care for these things," that is foolishness. Mudha. Therefore they are called mudhas. There are... He is awaiting so many troubles in birth, death, old age, and disease. Therefore, the atheist class, they want to forget this. They think that there is no life after death. Just like I have given several times the example: The rabbit, when there is some enemy, it will immediately kill him, and he closes the eyes so that there is no enemy. So similarly, we are... we have become so foolish about this birth, cycle of birth and death, and we do not ever think that how to get out of this birth and death and threefold misery of this material world. That means the whole subject matter of suffering is this material body. Because we are accepting this body, therefore there are so many troubles. Therefore the solution is how to stop this acceptance of material body again and again. That is intelligence. That is intelligence.
That you cannot get by material adjustment, by your so-called scientific education, advancement of civilization. It is not possible. Therefore here it is said, nanyatra mad bhagavatah pradhana-purusesvarat: "Without coming under My shelter, there is no possibility." There is no possibility. Therefore Krsna, out of compassion, He comes when we completely become dull and rascal, we forget the sufferings of this material life, and we think that we are very nicely situated. "I have got so much bank balance and I will live very happily. I have got so nice wife and so many children. How my problem is solved." No, sir, your problem is not solved. (chuckling) Real problem is not solved. This temporary, you may have some facilities. This is called maya. Mayayapahrta-jnana. The real business of human life is to, as we have several times discussed, is to discuss about the problems of life and inquire about the Brahman. Athato brahma jijnasa. That is real business of life. But we are not interested. Mudha. We are thinking that "We are very happy. Now things will go on like this. I will never die." Sesah sthavaram icchanti kim ascaryam atah param. Yudhisthira Maharaja was asked by Dharmaraja, "What is the most wonderful thing in this world?" He replied, "This is the most wonderful thing." What is that? Now,
ahany ahani bhutani
gacchantiha yamalayam
sesah sthavaram icchanti
kim ascaryam atah param
"Every minute, every second, they are going to Yamaraja, means dying. But those who are living, they are thinking, 'This death will not happen to me. He is simply dying. My friend is dying. My father is dying. That's all right. But I am eternal. I will not die.' " He thinks like that. Otherwise you should have been prepared, "Oh, I will have to die. Then what is the after death?"
So the atheist class, they try to forget, that "After death, there is no life." This is atheism. There is life, sir. Krsna says, tatha dehantara-praptih [Bg. 2.13]. How you can say there is no life? There is life, but you do not know. Krsna says that after this human life... He does not say that you get such and such life. He simply says, tatha dehantara-praptih: "You will get another body." Now, He does not say what kind of body. The question should be, "All right, then what kind of body I am going to get?" That depends on your work. You can see in your front, there are so many dogs. They are barking day and night. They have no food. They have no shelter. And anyone sees, he beats him with a stick or some stone. There is no shelter, no food. You can get a life like that also. You can get a life like a tree, standing before you for five hundred years. Or you can get a life even like a demigod if you are pious.
So that will depend on your karma. Karmana daiva-netrena deho...jantur dehopapattaye [SB 3.31.1]. That will depend. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. Karanam guna-sango 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu [Bg. 13.22]. Everything is there is the sastra. You can get a nice body or you can get a very bad body, not comfortable, cats' and dogs' body. But in every body the living entity thinks that he is very happy. This is called illusion. In any body, any kind, either in cat's body or dog's body or tree's body or ant's body or Brahma's body or demigod's body or human body, he thinks, "Oh, now I am very happy." This is called praksepatmika-sakti. Sometimes Indra became a hog, being cursed by Brhaspati. So Brahma, after some time, came to receive him, that "Indra, now you have suffered very much. Now come with me to your heavenly kingdom." He said, "Where shall I go?" "Now, in the heaven." "No, no, no. I have got my family. I have got my children. How can I go?" The hog is thinking that he has got family, he has got his children, so he cannot give up this responsibility and go to heaven. No. It is not possible. So this is called maya. Even in hog's life, dog's life, germ's life, stool's life, everyone is thinking, "I am very happy." But he does not know that there is tivram bhayam, very fierceful condition. But he forgets.
But one who is actually wise, intelligent, he can understand that "Actually, I am not happy. I am suffering." That is intelligence. That is intelligence, when one comes to the understanding that "I am not happy actually. I am simply suffering." The Sanatana Gosvami, he was the finance minister in the government of Nawab Hussain Shah. So he is our guru in the disciplic succession. He inquired this question from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, that "I have come to You to ask that people call me, I am very learned man." Gramya-vyavahare pandita, tai satya mani. "By this ordinary relationship, they call me, I am very learned man. But I am such a learned man that I do not know what I am..., why I am suffering." This is intelligence. So we should know how to... Atyantika-duhkha-nivrttih. Everyone is suffering. Temporary, superficially, one may think that he is very happy, or I may think that "He is happy; I am not happy," but nobody is happy in this material world, because the four things is inevitable for everyone, the prime minister or the man in the street, everyone: janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-
So if one is intelligent enough, he will understand by association of sadhus that this material life is not happy at all, but we want happiness. That is a fact. Every one of us, we are searching after happiness. Atyantika-duhkha-nivrttih. Duhkha means unhappiness, and nivrtti means decreasing or completely avoiding. But that is not possible. Everyone... T his morning I was talking that everyone who have come on this beach just to mitigate some trouble. So many people are exercising, throwing the hand, throwing the leg or something, but because there is some trouble. Because there is some trouble. Not that because they have come in car, very rich man... But still, he is throwing his hands and legs and something like that. So we have to study like that. We should be intelligent, that there is nobody happy in this material world. Nobody happy in this material... But by the illusion of maya he is thinking, "I am happy." That is called maya. Ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair janasya moho 'yam aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. By foolishness, being spelled by maya, he's think that "I have got my home, very nice home, grha. I have got my property," grha-ksetra, ato grha-ksetra-suta, "I have got very nice children, sons and daughters," ato grha-ksetra-suta-apta, "I have got my relatives, my friends, so nice, and vitta, so much bank balance, so much money. Then I am the most happy man." But this is moha. Janasya moho 'yam. This is illusion. This illusion, why? He is forgetting the real business of his life, entrapped by this so-called happiness, grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittaih [SB 5.5.8]. Therefore last, in the last verse, last night, it was discussed,
visrjya sarvan anyams ca
mam evam visvato-mukham
bhajanty ananyaya bhaktya
tan mrtyor atiparaye
So we have to give up this. "Give up this" means not that you have to become a sannyasi or give up your... But you must know your position. At least, you must understand. You don't foolishly accept that you are very happy. Don't be fool. Be intelligent. That is sastra. The sastra means... A person goes to school, college, to become intelligent. Therefore there are so many sastras, Veda, Vedas. Why Vedic literatures are there? To make us intelligent. Krsna bhuliya jiva... Anadi-bahirmukha jiva krsna bhuli' gela, ataeva krsna veda-purana kaila [Cc. Madhya 20.117]. We are so foolish rascals that we have forgotten. We are suffering every moment, and still, we are thinking we are very happy. Therefore it is our misfortune that human life is meant for understanding, "What is the position of my life? Why I am suffering?" So for that understanding Krsna has given us so many Vedic literature: four Vedas and the Puranas and the Upanisad and Vedanta-sutra, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Ramayana, Mahabharata. We have got enough source of knowledge, treasure house of knowledge, but we are reluctant. We are busy with the newspaper. We have got time to waste our time to read the newspaper, bunch of newspaper, but we have no time to read Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam or Vedanta-sutra, the books of actual knowledge. This is our misfortune.
So one has to visrjya... As it is said by Kapiladeva, visrjya sarvan anyams ca mam evam visvato-mukham, bhajanty ananyaya. We have to forget all these so-called sources of happiness. This is misleading. Maya. So who can, I mean to say, understand that this is illusion, maya? Mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te [Bg. 7.14]. When one becomes a devotee, then he can understand that "The position which I am now taking for granted, that 'It is very happy,' that is mistake. That is maya." Krsna says that it is duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. Krsna says. How you can take it as very nice place? Krsna says, the supreme authority says, duhkhalayam: "It is the place of suffering." And that is the fact. We are simply suffering. On account of this body, we are simply suffering.
Therefore our main business is how to stop the cycle of birth and death -- no more accepting the body. That is answered here, as Kapiladeva said, na anyatra mad bhagavatah pradhana-purusesvarat: "You cannot get it without taking shelter at My lotus feet. You cannot get out of this fear."
nanyatra mad bhagavatah
pradhana-purusesvarat
atmanah sarva-bhutanam
bhayam tivram nivartate
Tivram bhayam. What you are accepting, spelled by maya, as very position, good position... I have told you many times. It is published in now..., that therefore, the rascal class of men, they want to..., they do not want to accept that there is life after death. "Everything is finished." Therefore in Western countries there is killing even grown-up child within the womb. They are killing, abortion. They think there is no life. Unless it comes out of the womb, there is no life. It's all nonsense theory. All nonsense theory, simply committing sinful life one after another and becoming entangled. The result will be that he will have to enter again into the womb of mother and he will be killed. He will be killed not once. He will be killed again when he enters the womb of the mother; again he will be killed. For many, many years he will not be allowed to see the light of the sun.
Therefore na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah [Bg. 7.15]. People are becoming so naradhama, so sinful and mudha, that there is no rescue unless one takes to Krsna consciousness. There is no rescue. The whole world is going just like the flies. When there is fire, open fire, they come from long distance, and "Fut! Fut! Fut! Fut! Fut!" being captivated by the beauty of the fire. Similarly, this whole civilization, this so-called civilization, human civilization, is falling in the fire of illusory maya, "Fut! Fut! Fut! Fut! Fut!" and again and again. Bhutva bhutva praliyate [Bg. 8.19]. Once takes birth, one again dies, again suffers. But we have no brain, mudha. Therefore is called mudha. Na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah. Therefore Krsna is so kind and His devotees are so kind that they... Krsna comes. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata, tadatmanam srja... [Bg. 4.7]. He comes. He is very unhappy by seeing our unhappiness in this material world because we are sons of Krsna. Mamaivamso jiva-bhutah [Bg. 15.7].
sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita
[Bg. 14.4]
He is the father. So as father is very unhappy, seeing the unhappy condition of the sons, although the son does not know, but father is unhappy, so Krsna is unhappy. Therefore He comes. He canvasses that "Why you are captivated by this false, so-called happiness? You give up this." Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. "I will give you relief. You come to Me. You will live happily, eternally, blissful life, without any scarcity, without any trouble."
So the Krsna's business -- He comes here. He has no business to come here because His agent, prakrti, is doing everything. But still, out of compassion, He comes in His original form, Krsna, or in His incarnation as Kapiladeva, and He says the same thing, "My dear sons, My dear rascal sons, you are suffering so much on account of this material contact. Please come to Me. Take shelter of Me, and you will be happy." This is going on. And Krsna's representative says the same thing, that "You rascal, you take shelter of Krsna and be happy." This is Krsna consciousness. We are going from door to door of all rascals. I tell it, declare it publicly. Anyone who is not Krsna conscious, he is a rascal number one. I declare it. Come, any intelligent man. I shall talk with him. I shall prove that he is rascal number one if he has no Krsna consciousness. That's a fact.
So this Krsna consciousness movement is meant for the rascal number one, and we always canvassing, soliciting, "Please take to this." Not that we have invented something. As Krsna said to Arjuna that "This philosophy, this Krsna consciousness philosophy..."
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakave 'bravit
[Bg. 4.1]
"I explained this philosophy of Krsna consciousness many, many millions of years ago to the sun-god." When He says, imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam... [Bg. 4.1] Vivasvan, the name of the sun-god... At the present moment his name is Vivasvan. People do not know what is the sun planet, but we know the president of the sun planet. His name is Vivasvan. How do you know? We understand from Krsna. Therefore our knowledge is perfect. You can say, "Have you gone to the sun planet?" No, there is no need of going there. Here is the authority. Krsna says, so we accept it, that's all. Our business is finished. Krsna is perfect. Whatever He says, it is perfect. Therefore... I am not perfect; that's a fact. But because I am speaking of the words coming from the perfect, therefore it is perfect. It is not speculation. It is very easy for us -- because we accept the words of the perfect. Therefore, whatever we say, it is perfect. You may challenge, "Are you perfect?" I am not perfect. Because I am not speaking my words, I am speaking the words of the perfect, therefore, whatever I speak, it is perfect.
So this knowledge, Krsna is canvassing. He comes there occasionally. He comes once in the day of Brahma, and the Brahma's days is explained in the Bhagavad-gita, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmano viduh [Bg. 8.17]. It means four, forty-three lakhs of years, add three zeros, some crores of years after, Krsna comes once in Brahma's days. Yada yada hi... That is just like the sun rises early in the morning, say, after twelve years, er, twelve hours. Similarly, Krsna's coming here, there is calculation in the sastra. He comes once in a day of Brahma. Means some crores of years after He comes. So things deteriorate. And not only He comes as Krsna. Krsna, He comes at a certain period, and still, the His incarnations also come to educate these foolish people who are thinking that "We are living very happily," to canvass them, to say the same thing. Similarly, Kapiladeva also, He is propounding the Sankhya philosophy. This is Sankhya philosophy. What Kapiladeva is saying, Sankhya philosophy, means unalloyed devotion to the Lord. That is Sankhya philosophy. There is another Sankhya philosophy. He also imitated the name of Kapila, but he is atheist Sankhya philosophy. But here we should remember Sankhya philosophy originally propounded by Kapiladeva, the son of Devahuti.
The Kapiladeva, the son of Devahuti, explained to His mother. The mother wanted to know from the son. His father left home, and the mother was kept by the, at the care of his son, grown-up son. That is Vedic system, that when the son is grown up, the mother should be left at the care of the grown-up son, and the father should leave. He should become vanaprastha or sannyasa, no more connection with wife. This is Vedic system. So Kapiladeva's father, Kardama Muni, he left home, and he kept his wife under the care of Kapiladeva, and He is propounding this Sankhya philosophy. And today's verse is na anyatra mad bhagavatah: "Without Him, without taking shelter of bhagavatah, Bhagavan..." Bhagavan means sad-aisvarya-purna, almighty Lord. Nobody can give you protection. Just like when one is condemned to death by the justice, so there is no other way to save him than by the mercy of the king or the president -- he can save -- similarly, we are all condemned. We are suffering this material condition of life, constantly a chain of body, and suffering the threefold miseries. Tivram bhayam. This is very fierceful, but we do not understand. We are living in such condition. But by the spell of maya we are thinking we are very happy. But that is not actual fact. It is tivram bhayam.
But if you want to get relief, then you must have to surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He says, and revive your old connection. Revive your... What is that old connection? That we are eternal servant of God. Don't foolishly... Don't become rascal, that you are one with God or equal to God, that you have become God. This is all rascaldom, simply rascaldom. You are eternal servant of Krsna. Jivera svarupa haya nitya... [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109]. That is the teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. That is the beginning of teaching. Jivera svarupa haya nitya-krsna-dasa. That is the beginning of knowledge, when we can understand that we are eternal, we are sons of Krsna, eternal servant of Krsna. Just like by nature a son and servant, there is no different. Son also gives service to the father, and the servant also gives service to the master. So there is affection, either as master or servant or son and father, but it is the duty of the servant or son to give service to the Supreme. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has defined that real svarupa... Svarupa means original identification, not artificially. Artificially you can think, "I have become God. I have become Bhagavan. I am this. I am that," all rascaldom. The real position is that eternal servitude. That is not this servitude. We sometimes shudder, "Oh, I have to become servant?" No, you do not know how much happy life is that servitude. That we do not know. We compare with this because materially, we are infected. We are thinking to become servant of God is like servant of... No. There, in the spiritual world, the servant of God and servant is the same.
Therefore guru, guru is servant of Krsna, but he is accepted as Krsna. Saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastraih. This is the verdict of all sastra. Guru never says that "I am Krsna. I am God. I am Bhagavan." No. He never says. He is not guru then. He will say, "I am the most humble servant of the servant of the servant of God, not direct servant-servant, servant, servant, servant, hundred times down [Cc. Madhya 13.80]." Gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasa-dasa-dasanudasah. This is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's words. Gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasa-dasa-dasanudasah. The more you become servant, servant, you are perfect servant. Don't try to become direct servant. That is not possible. You cannot become direct servant. You first of all become servant of the servant. The guru is the servant of Krsna, and you become his servant. Then you, you are bona fide servant. That is our real position.
So therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu offers His prayer, ayi nanda-tanuja patitam kinkaram mam. Kinkaram. Kinkara means servant. He is offering prayer, "My dear Lord, the son of Nanda Maharaja, Krsna..." Krsna accepted the sonhood of mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja, so He is very much pleased if anyone addresses Krsna as the son of Vasudeva, or Vasudeva. Vasudeva means "the son of Vasudeva." And if someone addresses Him, Yasoda-nandana, yasoda-nandana braja-jana-ranjana, He is very happy. Because when you address Krsna in relationship with pure devotee, He is very ni..., He is very happy. Therefore we address, "Yasoda-nandana," "Nanda-nandana," "Vasudeva-nandana," "Radhika-ramana," like that. So therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu addresses Krsna, ayi nanda-tanuja: "O the son of Nanda Maharaja." Ayi nanda-tanuja patitam kinkaram mam visame bhavambudhau: "Now I am Your eternal servant. Some way or other, I have fallen down in this ocean of birth and death." Bhavambudhau. Bhava. Bhava means you become and again vanish. That is bhava. And that is ambudhi. Ambudhi means a sea. You do not know how long you are taking this business, accepting one body and again dying, again accepting, and... Not only here, throughout the whole universe, many planets, many species of life, this is going on.
Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says,
ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija
[Cc. Madhya 19.151]
In this way we are wandering one life after another, one planet to another, in this way, millions, millions of years. We don't care for it because we are not afraid. We are so proud and, I mean to say, brave that tivram bhayam, we don't care for it. Tivram bhayam. That is tivram. Just like after a few years I will enter again the tivram bhayam, but we are careless. This is foolishness. This is a fool's... "Where angels dare not, fools rush in." That means we are so...
Therefore Krsna says, mudha. Na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah [Bg. 7.15]. Those who are not Krsna conscious, not surrendering to Krsna, their categories have been explained that sinful, duskrtina. Duskrtina means duskarya. And krti, krti means very meritorious. But duskrti: merit is being misused for some nonsense activities. Therefore duskrti. There are two kinds of activities: sukrti and duskrti. Sukrti means for some good purpose, and duskrti, for some bad purpose. That is called... So we are all engaged, always engaged to engage our brain to manufacture something, will be very facilitious(?) for committing sinful activities. That is science, advancement of science. So many things, just like contraceptive now advertised by the scientist: "Now, here is a very nice contraceptive. Use it." That means people will take of the scientific advancement and entangle him in sinful activities. That's all. Duskrtina: meritorious, but it is used for sinful activities. That is called duskrtina.
So this class of men -- those who have got merit, but it is not being used for useful purposes, for some sinful activities -- they are called duskrtina. This class of men, atheist class of men, they will never surrender to Krsna. Na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante nara... Mudha [Bg. 7.15], and they do not understand that he has to face so much trouble in birth and death and old age and he has no knowledge how to stop it. Therefore they are mudha, rascal. Na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah. And lowest of the... Human mind, human brain, can understand that "I am suffering," but because he is not understanding, therefore he is the lowest of the humankind, naradhamah. These things are described in the Bhagavad-gita. "No, they have passed M.A. degree, or Phd, M.A." Now, mayayapahrta-jnanah. The knowledge has no value because it is maya. He is thinking... He is employing for temporary happiness, maya, maya happiness. Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan [SB 7.9.43]. He has learned engineering and planning very high skyscraper building, but he does not know how long he will live in that skyscraper building. Say, twenty-five years, fifty years, that's all. Maya-sukhaya, temporary happiness. He is engaging his brain in so stupendous, horrible work, ugra-karma. Maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan [SB 7.9.43]. Real business he has neglected, how to get out of these clutches of birth and death, and he's engages his brain for manufacturing a skyscraper building, and he is thinking, "Now advancement of knowledge, advancement of education." This is going on.
Therefore, if we want to save ourself from the fierceful condition of this material life, then we must take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the verdict of the all sastras, and Krsna comes for this purpose, and Krsna's devotees work day and night for this purpose, and that is called Krsna consciousness... (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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