"First Protect Your Soul"

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.9-11
June 6, 1969, New Vrndavana

Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Prabhupada:

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave-namah

sri-caitanya-mano-'bhistam sthapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyam dadati sva-padantikam

he krsna karuna-sindho dina-bandho jagat-pate
gopesa gopika-kanta radha-kanta namo 'stu te

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

yatha dharmadayas cartha
muni-varyanukirtitah
na tatha vasudevasya
mahima hy anuvarnitah

The defect in Vyasadeva was being pointed out by his spiritual master, Narada, that "If... You have labored very hard in presenting dharmadayah." Dharmadayah means religiosity, economic development. Dharma-adayah. Adayah means beginning. That means human civilization should begin from religious principle. Otherwise, it is not human civilization. Dharmadayah. Therefore in civilized nation there is religion. Maybe in different forms, but religion must be there. The same thing is explained by Narada Muni, that dharmadayah. First religion, then economic development. Not economic development first. And then sense gratification. And then liberation.

The whole plan should be that people should understand that he is not animal. First thing. This is education. In the animal society there is no religion, but as soon as you claim to be in human society or civilized society, then there must be religion. Economic development secondary, next. Of course, according to medical consciousness they say atmanam atmanam, means they say "body." But atma means this body, this mind, and the soul. Real meaning of atma is soul. So there is a verse, atmanam sarvato rakset: "First of all try to save your soul." I think Lord Jesus Christ has also spoken something like that. "If, after gaining everything, one loses his spirit soul, then what does he gain?" Is it not?

Devotee: Um hm.

Prabhupada: So this is the principle. Atmanam sarvato rakset. One should give first protection to the atma. What is that protection? Protection from the onslaught of maya, or material nature. That is protection. At the present moment, I am under the influence of maya, under the influence of the three qualities of maya. So when I get the opportunity of this human form of life, my first business is how to protect this atma, soul. The soul is transmigrating from one body to another. How foolish they have become! We are enjoying this nice body, human body or American body or very beautiful body. But next moment I do not know what body I am going to get. But those who are in the knowledge how transmigration takes place, they can say what kind of body you are going to take next by your activities. We are preparing our body in our present life. Just like we have taken to Krsna consciousness. Our attempt is to prepare for having a spiritual body. That is the whole attempt. And those who are not in Krsna consciousness, in material consciousness, they'll have also a body, but this material body means full of miseries. Any body you take, either you take the body of king or you take the body of a dog, the body is miserable. It does not mean that when there is disease, only the dog's body suffers, not the king's body. Everyone has to suffer.

So, atmanam sarvato rakset means..., real meaning is you should give protection to the atma, means trying to save this soul, your soul, or yourself, from this transmigration of the body. And the plain truth, very simply truth, is given in Bhagavad-gita. Krsna says, janma karma me divyam yo janati tattvatah. Simply by understanding what is Krsna... That is also not very difficult to understand if you follow the scriptural injunctions. What is Krsna? Krsna, sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. He is not ordinary man. His body is sac-cid-ananda, full of bliss, eternal, and full of knowledge. So is it very difficult to understand? He has given proof that Krsna is always enjoying bliss. And Krsna's instruction, knowledge, there is no comparison. Bhagavad-gita and so many other instructions. And He is eternal. Just like the sun -- sun is eternal, day and night. It is our adjustment of this planet. So Krsna is there. Just like the sun is there always in the sky, but we think, "This is night, this is day." That is adjustment of this planet. Similarly, Krsna is always there. When He is visible we say that Krsna is living, and when He's not visible we say, "Krsna is dead."

So simply by understanding Krsna, janma karma me divyam tattvatah, in truth, not whimsically. Not by your fertile brain, speculation: "Like this," "like that," "maybe," "perhaps..." Not this nonsense. Just try to understand Krsna. So simply by understanding Krsna, janma karma me divyam yo janati tattvatah tyaktva deham, that person, after leaving this body, mam eti, he goes to Krsna. And who can go to Krsna unless he has got a spiritual body, the same sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]? Unless one has the same vigrahah... Just like we can understand that when we take birth in a particular place, say in Greenland, which is always full with ice, or some other place. So you have got a particular type of body, you get. There the animals, there the man, they have got a particular type of body. They can bear the severe cold. We cannot. Similarly, when you go to Krsnaloka you'll have a particular type of body. What is that particular type of body? Sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. Any planet you go, you must have particular body. So tyaktva deham punar janma naiti [Bg. 4.9]. And as soon as you get eternal body, then you don't have to come back again to this material world. And that body, sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah body, means one who is completely conversant with the service, devotional service of... Because you cannot enter into the abode of Krsna with your predominating propensity.

In this material world, our propensity is predominating. We want to predominate over you; you want to predominate over me. That is the competition here. So when we give up this predominating, false predominating spirit, "I am Krsna. I am the Lord of all I survey." This nonsensical understanding when we give up, surrender, vasudevah sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19], understand "Krsna is everything, I am simply part and parcel of Krsna." So if we remain part and parcel of Krsna, then our freedom is attained actually. Otherwise there is no freedom. It is false. Mano-dharma. I am thinking, "I am God," "I am Krsna," "I am this, I am that." Nothing. This will simply put me under the clutches of maya.

Therefore atmanam sarvato rakset means to put oneself in this Krsna consciousness movement. Then your atma, your self, is protected. Atmanam sarvato rakset. Tato dharma. Tato dharma. After you understand. People do not understand what is his business. He thinks that my business is to eat, sleep, mate, and die. That's all. This is animalism. Simply they are misled by animalistic civilization -- eating, sleeping. That's all. Have good house for sleeping. Why? Now, these boys and girls, they are sleeping on the floor, sleeping on the open air. Where is the difficulty? The animals also can sleep. It is a practice only. We don't require any gorgeous arrangement for sleeping or living. We should simply try to elevate our Krsna consciousness. Other things, all subordinate. That is atmanam sarvato rakset.

Atmanam sarvato rakset tato dharmah. Dharma. This dharma. Dharma means religion. Actually, "religion" is not exact equivalent of the word dharma. Dharma, as I have explained several times, you know... Dharma dhr-dhatu. Dharma means you exist by some natural symptom. That is called dharma. Everyone has got some natural symptom. That is dharma. According to Sanskrit meaning, that is dharma. Just like this light is a substance. What is his dharma, religion? To give light, to illuminate. So without illumination, there is no meaning of light. Similarly, your dharma, what is your religion? Your religion is to serve Krsna. That is your religion. Now you serve in a different way according to time, circumstances, country. That is a different thing. But your religion is to serve God. That is your religion. Jivera svarupa haya nitya-krsna-dasa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109]. Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately gives you the definition of religion, or your occupation, natural duty, natural function. Always mind that. Just like the light's natural function is to give illumination. Prakasa. Similarly, your natural function is to serve Krsna. That's all. You have no other business. That is dharma. No other business. When we understand this convincingly, then we are situated in our religion. Just like Krsna said. In the beginning of Bhagavad-gita He says, dharma-samsthapanarthaya. Just to reestablish religion. Dharma-samsthapanarthaya. People forget. Nature's, material nature's function is that, to put you into illusion always. So our forgetfulness is also another illusion. We forget our relationship with God, or Krsna. Then adharma. That is... Instead of becoming servant of Krsna, I become servant of so many things. I become servant of my family, servant of my country, society, humanity, cats, dogs, so many things. Servant I remain, but I become servant of so many things.

So I have to convert from this servitorship to Krsna's servitorship. Therefore Krsna said, dharma-samsthapana. This is dharma. Samsthapana. What dharma, what kind of religion Krsna established? He said that "I incarnate to establish religion." He never came to establish Hindu religion or Christian religion or Muhammadan religion or Buddha religion. He established real religion. What is that real religion? Sarva-dharman parityajya: [Bg. 18.66] "You give up all these nonsense, so-called religion and faith. You simply surrender unto Me." That is religion. That is real religion. All other, any other religion which does not teach how to surrender unto God, that is pretension. That is not religion. According to Vedic understanding, this is religion. This is natural function.

So, atmanam sarvato rakset tato dharmam tato dhanam.(?) First of all you try to protect yourself, then take to real religion, natural function of the atma. Then try to... Because we are in this material condition, we require economic development also. So that is very easy also. Krsna has given you enough land -- you just little work. The animals are there. The cows will give you milk. If you till a little land, you get some grains. That is sufficient. Economic development. You don't require big factories, big workshop, and whole day and night with motorcar going this way and that way. No. There is no necessity for economic development. This is maya. Simply at the end he will eat some grains or some this or that, little. And by whole day... Therefore they are called mudha. According to Bhagavad-gita, they are rascals, mudha, ass. Just like ass, the beast of burden. He takes washerman's load, three tons, four tons. Whole day working, but eating a morsel of grass, that's all. He has no knowledge that "I morsel of grass only, I live. And why whole day I bear these so much tons of clothing of the washerman?" You have no experience of the ass, ass's business. In India the washerman loads the ass three tons and he goes to the waterside and the washerman washes all these clothings in some bank of river or reservoir of water. Again evening, the ass brings back the clothing.

So the karmis, they have been described in the Bhagavad-gita: mudha, ass, simply unnecessarily working day and night, whole day and night. You see. Without taking care of the atma, without taking care of the religion. Economic development. What is this nonsense? You are losing yourself. You do not know what life you are going to get next life. You don't care for this. "Never mind whatever life I get. This life I have got. Let me work hard and accumulate money." And where the money will be? "Oh, in the bank. My sons and my daughters will enjoy." This is conception. Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke [SB 10.84.13]. Bodily, all bodily conception. Ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittair janasya moho 'yam. This is illusion. This is illusion. Simply working like ass without knowing what is the end of life, what is the destination of life -- all asses, all these karmis. Our Krsna consciousness movement is very nice. You can understand what is what. Yes. That is knowledge.

So tato dharmam tato dhanam atmany vikrte sati kuto dharmah kuto dhanam.(?) But if you do not understand yourself, what you are, then what is the meaning of your religion and your economic development? You do not know what you are. First of all you must know what you are and what is your business, what is your destination, what is your aim of life. Then begin work, begin religious, become economic developer and so on, so on, so many things. But if you are in darkness to understand yourself, then what is the meaning of this accumulation of wealth or so-called religion, and so-called economic devel... No.

So here Narada Muni advises that "You have explained..." Dharmadayas ca artha. "In different literature you have divided the whole Vedas in understandable language, Puranas." Puranas means supplementary to the Vedas, to explain the Vedic knowledge according to the quality. Every human being is under some quality of the material nature. Some of them are in darkness, or ignorance. Some of them are in passion. And some of them are mixed ignorance and passion. And some of them are in light, or goodness. Not all in the same level. There are different classes of men. Just like in our Hayagriva's library we find so many philosophical books. But if you go to ordinary man you'll find some nonsensical literature, fiction, and sex psychology, this, that. According to taste. According to taste, different taste. Because there are different classes of men. That will be explained in the next verse. He says, Narada Muni,

na yad vacas citra-padam harer yaso
jagat-pavitram pragrnita karhicit
tad vayasam tirtham usanti manasa
na yatra hamsa niramanty usik-ksayah
[ SB 1.5.10]

So he is comparing all the books written by Vyasadeva, including the Vedanta philosophy. He says that this is vayasam tirtham. Vayasam tirtham. Vayasam means crows. And the crows, and their place of pleasure. Have you seen crows? In India we have got many crows. In your country crows are not very... But in India the crows, they take pleasure in all nasty things. The crows. You'll find they will take pleasure in a place where all nasty things are thrown, garbage. They'll pick out the garbage, find out where there is mucus, where there is pus. Just like flies. They'll sit down on the stool. Maksikam bhramara icchanti. And the bees, they will try to take honey. Even in the animals you'll see. The honey... The bees will never come to the stool. And the ordinary flies, they never go to collect honey. Similarly, there are divisions in the birds, divisions in the beasts, divisions in human society. So you cannot expect that ordinary person will come to Krsna consciousness. You see? Because they have been trained to become flies, they will taste stool. You see? The modern education is to teach people to become flies, only stool. Not here, Krsna consciousness. But you make it a honeycomb. Those who are after, seeking after honey, they will find, "Here is something." You see? Don't make it a stool society. You see? Make it a honey society. At least, give chance, those who are seeking after honey. Don't cheat people. So they'll come.

So here Narada Muni said that "You have compiled so many books, that's all right. What is the idea? The idea is dharmadayah. You are teaching religious principle." There are twenty vimsati dharma-sastrah. This Manu-samhita, Parasara Muni's law, and social custom, this, that. So many there are. These are originally by different sages, but Vyasadeva made it, compiled it just for proper use. People can understand them. So he has explained all these books for use of the human society undoubtedly. How to become religious, how to develop economic position, how to understand what is liberation, how to satisfy restrictedly sense gratification. Just like in books, in Vyasadeva's books, you will find these different kinds of... Just like those who are eating flesh. That is also given direction by Vyasadeva, in the tamasika-purana, Purana for the persons who are in ignorance.

So he does not deny anybody. He has made books in such a way that any person reading books... Just like in a school there are different classes and different books are recommended for different classes. Similarly, Vyasadeva has given the whole Vedic literature in such a nice way in the form of Puranas that any man can be elevated to the highest position, reading books like this. Take for example that one who is addicted to take intoxication, eating flesh, and sex life -- because these are natural instincts. Loke vyavayamisa-madya-seva nitya hi jantor na hi tatra codana. Nobody is required to give lesson, to teach. Nobody required to be taught how he has to make sexual intercourse. Nobody has to be taken, I mean, given lesson how he can become intoxicated. Don't you see that the intoxicants, intoxicated person, they have become automatically? There is no university. There is no educational system that "You become... Take LSD like this." No. That is a natural tendency. To become intoxicated, to take liquor, LSD, ganja, pan, oh, very easily you can learn. To use sex life...

Loke vyavaya... These, they are natural instincts. They can be... Automatically they will be done. There is no question of... Then what is the use of book? Book is for restricting. That they do not know. When Vyasadeva recommends that you must have sex life by marriage, that means restriction. That means restriction. You cannot have sex life here and there unrestrictedly. You have got one wife or one husband, and that is also restricted: only for begetting child you can have sex life. So many things. The whole idea is restriction. Not that "Because I have got a wife it is a machine for sex life." No, no. A marriage mean, that does not mean. Marriage does not mean like that. It is restriction. The whole Vedic civilization is to bring men to the transcendental platform by restricting all his nonsense habits to nil. But not all of a sudden. Gradually, according to the quality. Similarly, those who are addicted to flesh eating, meat-eating: "All right." Vedic literature says, "All right. You can eat meat. But sacrifice an animal before the Deity, goddess Kali, and you can eat." So that the man who is eating meat, he'll not revolt. If I say... Just like if I say... Just like many men revolts already. That girl? What is called?

Devotee: Madhavi-lata.

Prabhupada: Madhavi-lata, she revolted. She revolted. She was always trying to plead, "Why this restriction? Why this restriction?" So I had to tell, "If you don't like the restriction, then go away. You don't associate with us." What can be done? So they do not want restriction. That is natural tendency. But these sastras are meant for restriction. Just like marriage is restriction of sex life. And offering sacrifice before goddess Kali, that is also a restriction of meat-eating. You cannot eat meat by purchasing from the slaughterhouse. Oh, that is not recommended. If you want to eat meat, then you just sacrifice one goat. Not, I mean to say, cows. No. Goat. Any useless animal. "All right. You take." Goat is recommended to be sacrificed. So you can take. And in India the meat-eating or flesh eating is not restricted. But not the useful animal, cow, the most useful animal, the cow.

So these books, these literatures, I mean to say, Vedic literatures, are meant for restricting our life and elevating ourself. So Narada says that "You have explained all these religious principles, or sense gratification, economic development, very nicely. But as much labor you have taken for describing..." [break] ...na tatha vasudevasya mahima hy anuvarnitah. So therefore our Krsna consciousness movement is simply for glorifying the Lord. That is the only business. Not... Other things are secondary. That is being taught. So if you want to write books, you write books by glorifying the Lord. Na yad vacas citra-padam harer yasah.

Narada says, citra-padam api... Vasudeva-vyatiriktanya-visaya-jnanavad evanya-visayam vak-caturyam.(?) Sridhara Svami, he comments (chuckles) that except describing the glories of the Lord, any literature, any science, any contribution, is simply a jugglery of vocabulary. That's all. Jugglery. Vak-caturyam. Vak means vocabulary and caturya means jugglery. Simply setting some words in a jugglery way just to draw people's attention to waste time, that's all. Vak-caturyam. Vasudeva-vyatiriktanya-visaya-jnanavad evanya-visayam vak-caturyam (ca) khilam, khilam eva ity aha, khilam.(?) It is insignificant. Citra-padam api yad vaco harer yaso na pragrnita. You can write nice books using your literary career, metaphor, and, what is called, so many things. They are producing nice literature. But if there is no glorification of the Lord, then, harer yaso pragrnita tad vayasam tirtham. Then it is just like the place where the crows take pleasure. That's all.

Because such kind of literature will be accepted by men who are like crows. Tad vayasam tirtham kaka-tulyanam kaminam yati-sthanam usanti manyante.(?) Just like kaminam, those who are very lustful, what is their pleasure spot? That vagina, that's all. That urinal. That is their pleasure. Is urinal, is very nice place? But he's sophisticated. He finds, "Oh, this is very nice place." This analytical study, (chuckling) how Srimad-Bhagavatam is revolting, but... (laughter) But we must talk the real thing, (laughing) that this commentator Sridhara Svami, he has given very nice example: kaminam rati-sthanam. As the lusty man finds pleasure in the vagina, similarly, this sort of literature, nonsense literature, are enjoyed by persons who are just like crows. Not, what is called, swan. Swan will not go to that place. They will search out some place where there is nice transparent water and lotus flower, lilies, and nice trees and good birds. They are taking enjoyment. So even if you see among the animal society, in the bird society there is discrimination, and if in the human society there is no such discrimination, what kind of civilization that is? A crows' civilization. Black crows' civilization. Simply trying to take pleasure in nonsensical clubs, in liquor shop, in so-called cinema. They are trying to take pleasure there. They'll not...

Narada is comparing that "Your so-called books describing about this dharma-artha-kama-moksa is just like the kaka's, or the crow's, pleasure-hunting." Na yad vacas citra-padam harer yaso jagat-pavitram[ SB 1.5.10]. But if you produce a single literature wherein simply there is glorification of God, anyone who will read, he'll derive some immediately transcendental benefit. Produce a page only, Back to Godhead. Oh, that will bring revolution to the human society about understanding of spiritual life. Don't produce nonsense literature. Try for one page. Manasa. Manasa sattva-pradhane manasi vartamana hamsa.(?) Hamsa means the swans. Therefore called paramahamsa. A highly elevated spiritual person is called paramahamsa.

Paramahamsa, in the sannyasa stage there are four stages of development. Kuticaka, bahudaka, parivrajakacarya, and paramahamsa. Kuticaka. When a person takes sannyasa he lives in a cottage outside the village, but does not go home. But he's not accustomed to travel or to beg from door to door; so whole day and night he keeps himself in that cottage and from his relative and home something is supplied for his fooding. That is the stage of kuticaka, to take supply from home. Then next stage is bahudaka. When he comes to the understanding that "I have given up my home. Why shall I take help from my home? I am considering that home is my place. Why not everyone my friends? Vasudhaiva kutumbhakah.(?) Everyone is my family, everyone," that is next stage. So he can go to everyone, "Will you kindly give me one capati?" Who will not give a sannyasi? Anyone will give. They are trained also like that, that any grhastha, householder, if a sannyasi comes, immediately he should be received and respected. That is also Vedic culture. A sannyasi should be treated as the children of the society. Everyone. Still there is. If in a village a sannyasi goes, he will get hundreds of invitation: "Swamiji, please come. Take your bhiksa at my place." So he has no question of eating and living. So many people will give him shelter. He'll not be in the wilderness. If actually a sannyasi, he travels all over the country, he has no problem. Village to village, everyone will receive him. It is called bahudaka. And then parivrajakacarya. Then, when he still further elevated, then he gives instruction. Why he should eat only without giving something to them? He'll feel like that. "Why for nothing I shall except food from others? I must give something. So whatever knowledge I have got I must distribute." This is parivrajakacarya.

And when one is experienced in everything and he is above all material affection, that is called paramahamsa. Hamsa. Why...? Hamsa means swan. Why he's compared with hamsa? The hamsa has got a qualification to take the essence. If you give a swan milk mixed with water, he'll, he has got some tactics, he'll simply take the milk case in and the water will be there, remain there. Similarly, hamsa means one who has taken the essence of this cosmic manifestation. What is that essence? Krsna. Vasudevah sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19]. Everything, all manifestation, all activities, they're all Krsna's energy. Therefore Krsna is the center. Just like the same way: what is this material cosmic manifestation? It is the sun. That's all. Similarly, there are millions of suns. Therefore Krsna is the ultimate. Krsna-surya. Sarva-karana-karanam [Bs. 5.1], cause of all cause. So one who takes Krsna, he's paramahamsa.

So every Vaisnava, every devotee of Krsna, pure devotee of Krsna, is a paramahamsa. So you, we are teaching people to become immediately paramahamsa, highest stage of sannyasa. And the method is simply chanting Hare Krsna. You see? The post is paramahamsa. Vaisnava. Vaisnava means paramahamsa. He's above brahmana, above sannyasa. But we must be real Vaisnava. Vaisnava means anukulyena krsnanusilanam. Anyabhilasita-sunyam [BRS 1.1.11]. There is no other desire, material desire. Desire means material desire, this contaminated desire. It does not mean that we shall not desire to become Krsna conscious. That desire is real desire. And any other desire, anyabhilasita, for some material benefit, that is not required. But if we can keep ourself without any material desire, without any propensity for enjoying fruitive result... "I am doing something, I must enjoy this result. I must be enjoyer." This is called jnana-karma. "Oh, I must try to understand Krsna by my speculative method." Why? Krsna is explaining Himself. Why don't you try to understand Him in that way? Nonsense. (chuckling) What speculative power you have got? Simply you'll commit blunder. Why? Krsna says, "I am this, I am this, I am that, I am that." In the Bhagavad-gita, explains. God says. Why don't you understand Him as He says? If I say that "I am from India. My birthplace is in Calcutta. I have got five children. I was formerly a businessman," then why do you understand to speculate about me? What is the use of this speculation? If you actually want to know what Swamiji is, Swamiji says that "I was householder, and I was doing medical business. I have got five children. And this and that." So that is sufficient. Why do you want to know Swamiji by speculation? Similarly, these rascals will try to understand Krsna by speculation. No. There is no need. Paramahamsa. That is paramahamsa stage.

So Sridhara Svami says, hamsa jatayo.(?) Jatayo means great sages, saintly persons. Hamsa jatayo yatra na niramanti karhicid api na nitaram ramante.(?) Just like our students, Krsna conscious person, if he is invited, "Come on, there is a nice picture in the cinema," no. He'll never go. He'll never go. (chuckles) Because he has become hamsa. He is not a crow, that he'll go such places. Why? What is there? So hamsa, here it is said, tad vayasam tirtham usanti manasah. They reject, reject. Usanti manasa na yatra hamsa niramanty usik-ksayah. There was an incidence in my life. I was, of course, at that time householder. So one my friend, he was going to cinema with his family, and he saw me. I was in the street, and he immediately stopped his car and he asked me that "You come. We are going to cinema." So I refused, that "If you give me one thousand dollars, still I shall not go to cinema." So he dragged me. He took me to the cinema house, but I never entered. I came back. You see? Because it was detestful.

So when one becomes completely separated from all these material desires, even if you offer him some profit, he'll not accept. It is the test. Na yatra hamsa niramanty usik-ksayah. Because his mind is absorbed in greater things. Usik-ksayah. Brahman. Usik-ksayah means Brahman. Usika kamaniyam brahman ksayo nivaso yesam te, tatha prasiddha hamsa manasi sarasi carantah.(?) Sridhara Svami explains, just like swans, they take pleasure in the manasa-sarovara, in a place where transparent water, lily and very nice garden. They take pleasure. Yatha prasiddha hamsa manasi sarasi carantah kamaniya-padma-khanda-nivasah.(?) You'll find swans, they will gather near the lotus flower and dive there and entangle them with the stem. That is their pleasure, to remain surrounding the lotus flower.

kamaniya-padma-khanda-nivasa tyakta-vicitrannadi
yukto 'py ucchista-garte kaka-krida-sthane na niramanti(?)

They are not like the crows, who are simply trying to take some pleasure from the garbage place. That's all. What is there in the garbage? They are all rejected, thrown away. But the crows will go there. They'll pull on something, "If there is something there, something?" So, as there is a natural distinction between the crows and the swans, similarly, there is distinction between a Krsna conscious person and ordinary person. The ordinary persons are compared like the crows, and a fully Krsna conscious person is just like swans and ducks.

Then he says,

tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api
namany anantasya yaso 'nkitani yat
srnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah
[ SB 1.5.11]

On the contrary, this is a kind of literature very nicely written, metaphorical, and poetry, everything. But there is no question of glorifying the Lord. That is compared with, just like the same place, where the crows will take pleasure. On the other hand, other kind of literature, what is that? Tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api[ SB 1.5.11]. A literature presented to the people, to the public for reading, which are even grammatically incorrect, but because there is glorification of the Lord, it can produce revolution. It can purify the whole human society. My Guru Maharaja, when he was selecting articles to be published in The Harmonist, if he sees simply that there is, several times the writer has written "Krsna," "Lord Caitanya," like that, he passes immediately: "All right. It's all right. (laughter) It is all right." That so many times he has uttered "Krsna" and "Caitanya," so it is all right. (chuckles)

So similarly, even if we present our Back to Godhead or any other literature in broken languages, it does not matter because the glorification of the Lord is there. That is recommended by Narada. Tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavah. Janata agha. Agha means sinful activities. If one reads one line of this literature, although it is presented in broken language, but if he simply hears there is Krsna, then his sinful activities immediately vanquish. Janatagha viplavah. Tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api namany anantasya[ SB 1.5.11]. Ananta means the unlimited. His name, His fame, His glory, His qualities are described. Namany anantasya yaso 'nkitani. If glorification is there, even they are presented in broken language, then srnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah. Just like my Guru Maharaja, sadhu, a saintly person, immediately passes: "Yes. It is all right." It is all right. Because there is glorification of the Lord. Of course, general public will not understand... But this is the standard, standard version, spoken by Narada. You write something; the aim should be simply to glorify the Supreme. Then your literature is pavitra, purified. And however nicely, either literally or metaphorically or poetically, you write some literature which has nothing to do with God, or Krsna, that is vayasam tirtham. That is pleasure spot for the crows.

This is the version of Narada Muni. We should be taking note of this. And for the Vaisnava there is one qualification: poetic. You should... Everyone should be poetic. So... But that poetry, that poetry language, should be simply to glorify the Lord. Then it is... Just like Narottama dasa Thakura, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Locana dasa Thakura, they are poets. They have produced so many songs. But about whom? About Krsna. Similarly, under the instruction of Narada, now Vyasadeva will produce a literature like Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is simply glorification of the Lord and His devotees. Bhagavata. Bhagavata means the Lord, and Bhagavata means pertaining to the Lord. So pertaining to the Lord, everything. Vastava-vastu vedyam atra. In the beginning of Bhagavata it is said vastava-vastu. Vastu means substance, the summum bonum. And vastava, in relation to the summum bonum.

So if we try to understand everything in relationship with Krsna, then we understand vastava reality. That is reality. If we study something minus Krsna, that is not real knowledge. Actually, Krsna is the original cause of all. Sarva-karana-karanam [Bs. 5.1]. So unless we come to the point of Krsna, any understanding, any knowledge is imperfect.

So we shall discuss later on. Thank you. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.9-11 -- New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969