Prabhupada: The door is open? You can
keep the door open. Yes. Isvara... Just try to cite, recite this. (devotees
repeat each word)
isvarah paramah
krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir
govindah
sarva-karana-karanam
[Bs. 5.1]
(repeats twice) Now, some of you members have asked me to
explain the meaning of this chanting, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare
Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Now, this sound is
transcendental sound, transcendental sound, incarnation, sound incarnation of
the Absolute Truth. Just try to understand what is incarnation. Incarnation
means... The Sanskrit word is avatara, and that is translated into English as
"incarnation." Of course, the root meaning of incarnation I cannot exactly
explain to you, but the root meaning of the... (aside:) Somebody stop. Yes. The
root meaning of avatara is "which comes from the transcendental sky, the
spiritual sky to the material sky." That is called avatara. Avatarana.
Avatarana. Just like... Avatarana means "coming from up to down." That is called
avatarana. And avatara is understood that when God or His bona fide
representative comes from that sky to this material plane, that is called
avatara.
So this sound, this Hare Krsna,
Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare,
is the sound representation of the Supreme Lord. The sarvam khalv idam brahma.
The whole thing, either material or spiritual, whatever we have got experience,
nothing is separated from the Supreme Absolute Truth. Nothing is separated.
Everything has emanated from the Absolute Truth. (aside:) Come on. Sit down. But
just like... The example... Just like earth. Earth, then from earth, you have
got wood, fuel. From fuel, when you get fire, first of all there is smoke. Then,
after smoke, there is fire. And the fire, from fire, you can take work. Now,
beginning from earth, from earth there is wood; from wood there is smoke; from
smoke there is fire. There is a link between the fire and the earth. But the
work of the fire, the benefit of the fire, can be had at the last stage, when
there is real ignition of fire. Similarly, there is link. The whole material
cosmic situation, manifestation, what we see, it is just like the smoke. The
fire is behind it. That is spiritual sky. But still, in the smoke, you can feel
some heat also. So similarly, this sound vibration of the spiritual world is
here so that even in this material world, where there is a scarcity of that
spiritual fire, we can appreciate, we can feel, the warmth of that
fire.
So this is the meaning of, in a
nutshell, meaning of this, I mean to say, spiritual vibration. And grammatical
meaning is these, all these words, sixteen words: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna
Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, sixteen... Now,
according to grammatical rules, when somebody is addressed... Just like in your
English language it is, note of address is, "O Mr. such and such," similarly, in
grammar, Sanskrit grammar, the same note of address, which is called sambodhana,
that is expressed in this way. So Hare, Hare is the note of address form of the
sound Hara. Hara. Hara means the potency of the Supreme Lord, potency. The
Supreme Lord is represented everywhere by His potency. There is a nice verse in
the Visnu Purana. It is said like that: Just like a fire, the fire situated in
one place, it distributes its heat and light. Just like... Take the example for
the sun. The sun is located at a certain fixed-up place. That we can see. But
the heat of the sun and the light of the sun is distributed all over the
universe. Ekadesa-sthitasyagneh. Ah, yes. The verse is like...
eka-desa-sthitasyagner
jyotsna vistarini
yatha
tatha sarvam akhilam jagat
brahmanah saktih
brahmanah
Akhilam jagat. In this world, whatever you are seeing, it
is nothing but distribution of the energy of the Supreme Lord. Just like you can
feel the light and the heat of the sun. This light and heat of the sun are
different energies of the sun. The energy and the energetic, the thing from
which the energy is generated and the energy, they are nondifferent. The
sunshine or the sun heat is not different from the sun. Because there is heat in
the sun, therefore we feel the heat of sunshine. And there is light in the sun,
therefore we see the sunshine. So this sunshine and sun heat is not different
from the sun as it is. But still it is different. Still it is different. You
cannot say that "Because I am feeling the heat of the sun, therefore I have
approached sun." No. Sun is far, far away from you. And because the sunshine has
entered your room, you cannot say that "Sun has entered my room." No. Still,
sunshine and sun heat is not different from the sun.
Similarly, the whole creation,
anything... Generally there are three things: the potent, God, and His three
energies. This is the sum total: internal energy, external energy, and marginal
energy. External energy is this material manifestation. Just like this body is
my external energy. I am soul, so my external energy is this body. Similarly, I
have got my internal energy. That is my consciousness. Consciousness is my
internal energy, and this body and the mind and this material demonstration, or
manifestation, is my external energy. The body has developed, the mind has
developed, from me, soul, not that I, consciousness, is developed from this
body. No. That is a wrong conception. That is a wrong conception. You cannot
develop consciousness from this body. Otherwise a dead man could have been again
revived to consciousness. Because if matter is the cause of consciousness, then
the whole matter is there already. Whole matter. The dead body means, so far
material substance is concerned, everything is there, present. Nothing has
disappeared. If you say there is no blood-oh, that is not very difficult thing,
blood, a red substance. Do you mean to say something red injected within this
body will bring back the life? No. If redness is the cause of life or
consciousness, then modern chemical can make immediately by chemical combination
the whole thing red. Or take example: there are many natural stones, they are by
nature red. If you say that "This artificial redness cannot give life; the
natural redness is the cause of life," then you take the stone. It has got
natural redness, but there is no life. But there is no life. So redness is also
not the cause of consciousness of life. That is a wrong theory. That is a
complete... Consciousness is completely different thing, qualitatively
different. Nothing is different from one to another, just like I have explained
already that the earth, wood, then smoke, then fire -- everything is linked up,
but everything is also different from one another.
So the whole thing... The Supreme
Lord is represented throughout everything, whatever you see, matter or spirit or
anything, physical, chemical -- whatever you can give name -- there are so many
things. But they are not separated from God. God is linked up in everywhere.
Isavasyam idam sarvam [Iso mantra 1]. Just like our Bhagavad-gita, we have begun
that yena sarvam idam tatam: "That thing which is present all over the body,
that you are." So this is individual consciousness: "I am present all over my
body." Similarly, the supreme consciousness, he is present all over the
universe, all over. This is only a small manifestation of God's energy, very
minute. In the Bhagavad-gita you will find, ekamsena sthito jagat [Bg. 10.42].
This jagat... Jagat means this material manifestation. This material
manifestation is a one-fourth part demonstration of this whole energy of the
Supreme Lord, one-fourth part. So nothing is different from God. But there are
certain philosophers, they say, pantheist or monotheist... There are so many
theists. They are also be... They believe in the Supreme, but impersonal. But we
followers of this Krsna philosophy, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavata, we do not
follow that philosophy. What is that philosophy? The other sections, they say
that "Because God is distributed all over everywhere, therefore there is no
separate existence of God." But we do not say that. We say that, the example,
that because the sun is distributing his heat and energy, therefore you cannot
say that there is no existence of sun. Sun is separately existing. In spite of
distributing for millions of years heat, the reservation of heat in the sun is
intact. It is not diminished. But everyone knows that for millions and billions
of years the sun is distributing heat. Nobody knows the history, how long. Your
distributing center, the powerhouse, if you fail to supply coal or oil, then
after one hour the whole New York City will be dark. So just you can imagine who
is supplying the fuel in the heat of the sun so that for millions and billions
of years the heat of the sun is in the same temperature. So this is only one of
the creation of the God, God's creation. But just imagine. If God's creation is
so unlimited and so much energetic, then how much energetic and how much
powerful is the creator? That is to be... These things are to be thought. In
everything, everything, we can have God consciousness. If this watch is so
wonderful workmanship and we are struck with wonder how nicely it is giving
time, how the machine is adjusted, now, before appreciating this watch, how much
we have to appreciate the person who has discovered this watch, how much brain
he has got? Before appreciating a powerful brain in this world, one should
appreciate who has given him this powerful brain. If the man has attained that
powerful brain out of his own accord, then great powerful brain like Professor
Einstein, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, they could create another brain like them
so that in their absence there would not have been scarcity of scientist and
powerful brain. But they could not do that. Therefore they are not creator of
the powerful brain. The powerful brain is gift of the supreme powerful
brain.
So in every respect, if we
think... This is called philosophy. If we have got thoughtful propensities, if
we can little think over every matter, you will find that God is present
everywhere, and still, He is personally present in His own place. The same
example: the sun is present everywhere by heat and light; still, sun, the sun,
has its own location. That you cannot deny. Similarly, God is present
everywhere. Not only everywhere... We learn from
Brahma-samhita,
eko 'py asau racayitum jagad-anda-kotim
yac-chaktir
asti jagad-anda-caya
yad-antam
andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham
govindam adi-purusam tam
aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.35]
This Govinda, anadir adir govindah [Bs. 5.1]. So the
prayer is, "I worship that Govinda," sarva-karana-karanam, karana, "who is the
cause of all causes." Cause of all causes. Now, in this verse of Brahma-samhita
we find that one of His plenary portion... In the Vedic hymns we find that God
has become many. Eko bahu syam. God is one without second, but He has become
Himself many. We are also God. Out of that many, we are one. We are one. We are
not separate from God. So, but there are amongst the "many"s there is a
difference of potency, difference of potencies. Just like what you can do, I
cannot do. Your workmanship may not be equal with my workmanship. Your brain
work may not be equal to my brain work. There are differences. Each and every
living entity, they are different from each other so far individual capacities
are concerned. So in spite of many... That is God's creation. In spite of many,
each and every thing, you will find there is some difference. You can sit down
at a place in New York and go on counting and seeing all people passing before
you -- you won't find one man is exactly like the other man. Not only that, in
court, you know, every one of you know, that they take impression of the left
hand thumb impression. Now, this thumb impression... You go on taking millions
and millions of thumb impression, and you won't find one thumb impression is
exactly like the other. And because there is difference of thumb impression,
therefore the identity is taken in that way, that "This particular man's thumb
impression, even if he denies his signature, the thumb impression will
corroborate that his signature is this." So that is God's creation.
Similarly, there are two kinds of
expansions of the Lord. One kind of expansion is called Visnu-tattva.
Visnu-tattva means the expansion, they are as equal as the God Himself. And
there are expansions which are called the jiva-tattva, the living entities. This
expansion of the living entities, they are not equally powerful, but the
expansion of Visnu-tattva is equally powerful, as good as God Himself. So the
incarnation... Incarnation of God means the expansion which is as good as God
Himself. That is called incarnation. So this, I mean to, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna,
Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, is the
expansion, incarnation, sound incarnation, of God. It is expansion and a plenary
expansion, sound, sound representation... Not representation. God, present
Himself in this form of sound. Because we cannot see God with our present eyes,
present eyes, because this is not our proper eyes. They are material eyes. You
don't think that this eye, the transparent thing which is floating in this, I
mean to say, hole... That is not seeing. Similarly, if you can present, or if
you take this eye... You cannot see. That cannot see. It is simply a lens only.
It is only lens. So none of this body, bodily part, is actually the thing which
is taking part. So therefore with these eyes, with these material eyes, you
cannot see. Atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih [Cc. Madhya
17.136]. The present senses, the present senses cannot have any knowledge of the
Supreme God. But how then we can have knowledge? If my senses are unfit, then
how can I make it fit? Oh, that is the thing. That is the thing, that you have
to spiritualize, spiritualize these material sense, I mean to say, organs. And
then, when you spiritualize, then you can have the spiritual vision and see God
and yourself. The same example which I have recited many times: just like the
iron rod. Iron rod, you put into the fire. It gets warm -- warm, warmer, warmer.
And when it is red hot, then it is no longer iron. Iron it is, but it does not
act as iron, but it acts as fire. That iron rod which is red hot in association
with fire, you can take that rod and touch anything; it will burn. That means it
is no longer acting as iron; it is acting as fire. Similarly, if you associate
with this transcendental incarnation, sound incarnation of God, then you will be
gradually godly. You will be godly. You can become godly with God's association,
not by any other material, extraneous things. No. Just like you can have fire
only in association with fire, not with water. If you want to get yourself warm,
then you have to associate with fire, not with water, not with air. Similarly,
if you want to spiritualize your vision, if you want to spiritualize your
action, if you want to spiritualize the whole constitution of your existence,
then you have to associate with the supreme spirit. And that supreme spirit is
very kind because He is everything. That we have already explained. Everything
is interrelated with the Supreme; therefore He is interrelated with sound also.
So by God's inconceivable potency, He can present before yourself in sound
incarnation. That is His potency. That is His potency. He can do that. And
therefore this name, Krsna, and the Supreme Lord Krsna, there is no
difference.
So our, this sound representation
of the Supreme Lord constantly will make us... Just like our association with
the fire, the, I mean to say, iron rod's association with the fire makes the rod
equally qualified, exactly -- not equally qualified, but almost the quality of
burning it gets -- similarly, by our constant association with Lord... Lord is
not only incarnation in a sound form. He is incarnated in many other forms, in
many other forms. Just like arca. Arca means the form of the Lord situated, I
mean to say, established in some temple and worshiped. That is also incarnation
of God. That is not idol worship. People do not know that this is an authorized
process of realizing God, or they have never tasted or practiced it. They cannot
understand. They say it is idol worship. No. It is not idol worship. It is not
idol worship. I'll give you one example. Just like in the front of your door
there is a box -- "U.S. Mail," it is written. And you put your letters within
that box, and after few days you get reply from your friend that "I have
received your letter, and this is such and such, such and such." Now, if
somebody puts another box like that, exactly imitation: "Then why shall I spend
postage to putting letters in this box, U.S. Mail? I require postage. But then
why shall I not put up a box like that? Let me prepare a box like that so that
it can go without postage. I want to save postage." Now, he is going on, putting
letters in that without postage. And after sometimes he sees all the letters are
lying there; it has not been dispatched -- because it is imitation. And the box
which is supplied by the post office, that is authorized. In the matter, in
material, you will find this box and that imitation box is the same thing. So
this is a science. You see. Although we find that "This form of the Lord... The
Hindus, they have established one statue in the temple, and they are worshiping
as the Lord? How is that? Is it Lord is a stone? It is wood?" But he does not
know that because it is authorized, because it is authorizedly worshiped,
therefore even it is stone or wood, it can act. It can act. Just like the
authorized post office, although seemingly it is a box which I can prepare, but
it is acting because it is authorized, similarly, the authorized, authorized
symbol or representation of God is also God. He's not different from God. Then
why God is like that? It is His mercy. Because I cannot see God with my these
eyes -- I can see stone and wood and material things -- therefore God is kind
enough (to appear) in a form suitable to my seeing and accept my service. It is
His kindness. And besides that, if everything is God, because everything has
link with the God, with the Supreme Truth, then God, being omnipotent, why He
cannot represent Himself in everything? If everything is God, everything is
emanation of God, then God has got the power to manifest Himself in everything.
That is His omnipotency. So these are consideration.
So the explanation of Hare Krsna,
Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
is addressing, addressing the Supreme Lord through the energy, Hara. Hara is the
energy, internal energy. Just like when there is... Of course, in your country
there is no sun worship, but in India there are persons who are sun worshipers.
So they worship sun with so many things. And there is a lamp also. Now, this
lamp is a light, but it is being offered for satisfying the sun. Now, sun is so
lightful, this light is merely insignificant before the sunlight. But still,
because I have no other means, I am getting a sunlight, imitation of that light,
and offering, and that offering is accepted. So these are spiritual conception.
When we gradually make our progressive advancement, these things will be
realized. But for the present we can take this instruction from authorized
scripture that,
atah sri-krsna-namadi
na bhaved grahyam
indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah
[Cc.
Madhya 17.136]
The God's name, God's form, God's quality, God's
paraphernalia, God's entourage, like that, and anything in relation to God
cannot be realized with our present senses. But when we are in service attitude,
then God is so merciful, He is so pleased, that our tiny efforts to realize Him
attracts Him, and He becomes manifested gradually as we make our progress in
spiritual service or devotional service.
So this method, chanting,
chanting of the transcendental name of the Supreme Lord, is a part of devotional
service. There are nine kinds of devotional services, of which
sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam
pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam
[SB
7.5.23]
These are different, nine processes. Sravanam kirtanam.
Sravanam means hearing, and kirtanam means chanting, chanting. So by this
process... Just like I chant and you hear, and you chant and I hear. Parasparam.
Bodhayantah parasparam. This is the factual activities of devotion in devotional
society. This bodhayantah parasparam: I chant, you hear, and you chant, I hear.
So by this process, the transcendental name, the sound incarnation of the
Supreme Lord, becomes manifest, manifest so that we can realize God simply by
chanting and hearing. Simply by chanting and hearing that will be realized. Of
course, there are some rules and regulations for chanting, but in the beginning
we haven't got to observe those rules and regulation at the present. First of
all let us have the taste for chanting; then we shall be little careful that the
rules and regulations are followed. In the beginning, if we stick up to the...
Rules and regulations are subordinate, subordinate thing. Just like you enter
into an office. You are appointed in some office to work. So on the very day,
you do not know all the rules and regulations. But because you do not know all
the rules and regulation, that does not mean that you cannot be appointed. First
of all let yourself be appointed. Now, working, working, yourself you will know
that rules and regulations: "This is the rules, and this is the regulation."
Just like in my life, I will say one instance. When I met my spiritual master,
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, so as a gentleman meets as a
gentleman, so he was sitting in a couch like that. So, and I also sat down on
that very couch. So I did not know that what are the rules and regulations. Now,
when I saw that his other disciples are coming, and they are sitting down,
(laughs) so I thought myself, "Oh, I have done this wrong. I should not have sat
with His Divine Grace." So of course, I did not get down immediately, but I took
it, and from next day I did not sit. So rules and regulations automatically was
taught. So that rules and regulations is not very important. The important is...
The thing is that we must take up. The first rules and regulation is that we
must have some attachment for this. Attachment for this. Then, automatically,
rules and regulation we shall learn. There will be no difficulty.
So this transcendental sound,
Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, you don't think that I have come
here -- it is my personal manufacture. No. It is not. No. It is not my personal
manufacture. It is authorized just like the post box is authorized, because all
previous acaryas, all previous authorized persons in this line, they have done
it. Just like see Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is chanting and dancing, chanting and
dancing, you see, the same thing. This picture is before you so that gradually,
when you feel ecstasy, you will also dance like Him. And when you automatically
dance, then you will know that the thing is already realized. Not artificially,
but when you feel, "Oh, let me dance. It is so much ecstatic. Let me dance."
Nothing should be done artificially. Let everything come automatically. And only
we have to follow. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. Dharmasya
tattvam nihitam guhayam mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. This is a verse from
scripture, that tarko apratisthah, if you simply go on arguing about spiritual
matters -- "This is not, this is not, this is not, yes, this is not..." I say
something; you say something. No, no, no. You cannot realize spiritual objects
simply by this speculation, argument. Our argument or logical, I mean to say,
strength has no access in the spiritual world. The Vedic mantra says, nayam atma
pravacanena labhyo na medhaya na bahuna srutena: "Atma, the supreme self, cannot
be realized pravacanena." Suppose I am very expert speaker, I can present things
very nicely -- but without any substance. Oh, that won't help you. Simply by
jugglery of words, if I can captivate you, oh, that won't help you. Nayam atma
pravacanena. This is pravacana.
Of course, we are delivering
speeches from authoritative book, Bhagavad-gita. I am not speaking before you of
my own imagination. I am speaking from the authorized book. Therefore it is not
exactly pravacana, neither I am squeezing out some meaning for my purpose. I am
just presenting you the same principle. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc.
Madhya 17.186]. As Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu preached, I am trying to present the
same thing before you in a different language only. That's all. Because in India
He preached in Sanskrit. He was a very learned scholar in Sanskrit. Formerly,
any big man, any big scholar, they would be big scholar in Sanskrit. Sanskrit
was the written language. Even in the beginning of the British period, Sanskrit
was written language. It is the policy of Lord McCauley that he transformed the
whole attitude. They made a plan that "If Indians remain as Indian, then we
cannot rule over. Then we cannot rule over. We must make them Anglicized." So
that policy was followed for two hundred years, so India has lost its original
culture. So therefore the original point is that tarko apratisthah. We cannot
realize the Supreme Truth simply by argument or logical presentation or
philosophical speculation. No. Tarko apratisthah srutayo vibhinna [Cc. Madhya
17.186]. Srutayo means scriptures. Now say, for example, Bhagavad-gita and your
Bible and the Muhammadans, they'll present Koran. So of course, this
Bhagavad-gita is little different from Vedic scripture. That we have already
explained. It is an independent something, universal. So Vedic scripture, Koran,
Bible, or Zoroastrian... There are so many religions, Buddhist religion, so
many. So there may be some difference of opinion. Srutayor vibhinna. Vibhinna
means different. Now, you cannot realize the Absolute Truth simply by your
mundane arguments and by your logical strength, neither you can catch up the
right thing by reading different scriptures. Srutayor vibhinna. Nasau munir
yasya matam na bhinnam. And if you follow great philosophers, great thinkers,
then also you will find one thinker is different from another thinker, one
philosopher is differing from another philosopher. So whom to follow? This
philosopher says that God is a person; another philosopher says God is imperson;
another philosopher says that God is everywhere and there is no separate
existence of God. So many philosophies there are in the world. And one person is
not actually philosopher if he does not differ from other philosophers. That is
the philosophical basic principle. You are a philosopher. If I cannot make your
philosophical conclusion null and void and make my philosophy established, then
I am not a philosopher. You see? That is the way, going on. Nasau munir yasya
matam na bhinnam: "He is not a philosopher if he cannot present a separate
theory." He is not a philosopher.
Then how to catch up the Absolute
Truth? What is the way? Now, dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam: "Therefore the
Absolute Truth is concealed within your heart." Nihitam guhayam. Now, mahajano
yena gatah sa panthah: [Cc. Madhya 17.186] "You just try to follow the great
personalities, what they are doing, what they are doing." Now, about this
mahajana, there is also difference of opinion who is mahajana. But so far our
Vedic culture is concerned, there are specific mention, mahajana. And so far
Lord Krsna is concerned, so there is no two opinions about His authority
throughout the whole world. And so far we are concerned, Hindus, or the
followers of the Vedic religion, there is no difference of opinion so far
Krsna's authority is concerned. There are five authorities, recognized
authorities, in India so far this is..., spiritual life is concerned. One of
them is Sri Ramanujacarya and other is Sankaracarya. The other is Madhvacarya,
other is Visnu Svami, and other Nimbarka, Nimbaditya (?). Principal. The whole,
I mean, some of them flourished, say, two thousand years before; some of them
1,500 years before; some of them eleven hundred years before. Just like there
are different ages, they have come. But all of them, in spite of their coming in
different ages, they all are in one opinion -- krsnas tu bhagavan svayam: [SB
1.3.28] "Krsna, Lord Krsna, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Just like we
have cited, isvarah paramah krsnah [Bs. 5.1]: "The supreme controller, the
Supreme Lord, is Krsna." Now, we can see from His presentation of this
Bhagavad-gita how supreme He is. He spoke this truth five thousand years before,
and continually, for five thousand years, all scholars are studying this
scripture, and studying very devotedly to understand it. You know our present
president in India, Dr. Radhakrishnan. He is a renowned scholar of the world,
Dr. Radhakrishnan. When he came to your country, your president, late Mr.
Kennedy, oh, he welcomed him as his own teacher, because when Mr. Kennedy was a
student in the Oxford University, Dr. Radhakrishnan was a visiting professor. In
the open meeting Mr. Kennedy admitted that "Now Dr. Radhakrishnan has come as
the president, but he is always my teacher. He is still my teacher." It was very
kind of him that he received him as a teacher, not as contemporary. So even that
Dr. Radhakrishnan, he is also studying this Bhagavad-gita very, I mean to say,
profoundly. You know your Professor Einstein. Oh, he was a profound, I mean to
say, student of this Bhagavad-gita. Hitler was a great student of Bhagavad-gita.
So many, in all the countries. There are so many Muhammadans in India, oh, they
are devout student of Bhagavad-gita. I know one Dr. Inrai(?) of Allahabad
University. Oh, he is so devoted to Lord Krsna that on the birthday of Lord
Krsna he must write one nice article and publish in the paper. So this
instruction, that mahajano yena gatah sa panthah... [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. We
cannot have the knowledge of the Absolute Truth simply by argument or simply by
philosophy or simply by big brain or speaking power. No, no. All these things
will not do. Simply we have to follow the great authority.
So Lord Krsna, Lord Caitanya, He
introduced this Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare
Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare for this age. And He recommended, kalau... Not
recommended by His own brain, but it is recommended in the
scriptures:
harer nama harer nama harer nama eva kevalam
kalau
nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
[Cc. Adi
17.21]
If you want to realize the Supreme Truth, then you must
realize this: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare
Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, whenever you get... Harer nama harer nama harer nama
eva kevalam: "Only this." And if you think, "Oh, only this? Why not other?" No.
Kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha. Nasty eva means "There is no
alternative." And He repeats this: "no alternative, no alternative, no
alternative," three times. Three times. That means He is giving too much stress.
So our process is like that, that we are following a great personality, Lord Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He introduced from the scripture, not in His own way.
Nothing should be accepted which is not recognized. You see? So this is
recognized method. Now it depends on us. Let us follow this process and see how
we are making progress in the spiritual path. You see?
Thank you very much. Now, if
there is any question, you can raise. (end)
>>> Ref. VedaBase =>
Lecture on Maha-mantra -- New York, September 8, 1966
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
