"My Body And I Belong To Krsna"

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.48
Mayapura, October 28, 1974

Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada


Pradyumna: Translation: "King Yudhisthira said: O my lot! I am the most sinful man! Just see my heart, which is full of ignorance! This body, which is ultimately meant for others, has killed many, many phalanxes of men."

Prabhupada:

aho me pasyatajnanam
hrdi rudham duratmanah
parakyasyaiva dehasya
bahvyo me 'ksauhinir hatah

So Yudhisthira Maharaja says that this body is meant for others. It is others' body. Everyone should be interested for his own body. Who is interested for other's body? I eat for maintenance of my body, not that your body. It is the very good argument given by Yudhisthira Maharaja that "First of all ascertain whether it is your body. If for the bodily sense gratification, satisfaction, you are committing so many sinful life, but first of all consider whether this body is yours."

Now, first of all, consideration is: this body is given by the father and mother. So actually the body belongs to the father and mother. Or just like the slaves -- they sell their body to the master. So somebody, if maintains your body, then it becomes... The body belongs to him. Suppose you are working somewhere and he is giving you money for maintaining your body; then actually the body is maintained for the person who gives me payment. You see. So many people are going to the other side of the river, running very quickly to go there because the body is sold to that master who is paying for eating. Otherwise why he's taking the body there? So actually the body belongs to others. And spiritually the body belongs to Krsna. But when we forget our relationship with Krsna -- the body belongs to somebody else; that's a fact -- then we think that "The body belongs to my father and mother" or this and that... Sometimes we do not think that. So why, from material point of view, if the body does not belong to me, why shall I commit so many sinful activities for others?

So Yudhisthira Maharaja is repentant that parakyasyaiva dehasya bahvyo me 'ksauhinir hatah: "Many hundreds and thousands of soldiers, horses, elephants, men we have killed." Aksauhini, there is a calculation 64,000 elephants, 64,000 horses and 64,000, like that. Exactly I cannot, but some of the items are 64,000. Chariots. One... Nowadays it is called exactly? A group of soldiers? What is called?

Devotee: Phalanx.

Prabhupada: Phalanx, and another name is there.

Brahmananda: Division.

Prabhupada: Division. One division. One division of army consisting of so many horses, so many elephants and chariot... There are different types of fighter. Somebody would fight from the back, riding on the back of the elephant, somebody on horses. That is also nowadays current, cavalry. And somebody on chariot, somebody standing, infantry... So, one aksauhini means 64,000 elephants, horses, chariots and so many thousand infantry. That makes one division. So Krsna Himself gave so many divisions to Duryodhana. Altogether there were eighteen divisions or more than that. They were all killed.

So actually, a sane man is thinking that "After all, the idea was that I should be enthroned on this chair, on this throne of the kingdom, and for me so many animals and men were killed." Here it is mentioned, yes (reading), "A solid phalanx of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 109,650 infantry and 65,600 calvary is called an aksauhini." Such eighteen divisions of soldiers were there on one side. "And many aksauhinis were killed on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. Maharaja Yudhisthira, as the most pious king of the world, takes for himself the responsibility of killing such a huge number of living beings because the battle was fought to reinstate him on the throne. This body is, after all, meant for others. While there is life in the body, it is meant for the service of the others, and (when) it is dead it is meant to be eaten up by the dogs and jackals." Even it is dead body, that is also meant for others. If you throw it on the street, then it will be eaten by the animals and the vultures. So body is meant for others. Or if you don't throw, if you burn it, then -- it is right of the sons to burn it -- then it belongs to them. So either living or dead, logically the body belongs to others. And another logic is: Who is interested to maintain a body which belongs to others? This is logic. And other point is that everyone is maintaining this body with so many sinful activities, although the body does not belong to him.

So real sanity is to understand that this body belongs to Krsna. We are misunderstanding that this body belongs to my father, mother, or my master or to the cats and dogs or the vultures, in so many ways. That is material. Materially, we can understand that. But spiritually, this body belongs to Krsna because the body is made of, I mean to say, prepared by the eight elements. We have got the five elements, bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh. There is earth, water, air, fire, and the mind and the intelligence and the false ego. This is the eight combination of the matter. Then, the matter being agitated, there are ten senses and then sense objects. In this way this body is composition of twenty-four elements. But all these elements, Krsna says, bhinna me prakrtir astadha: "That is My energy." This body is made by Krsna's property. Earth, water, air, fire -- this is all Krsna's property. You cannot create earth, or you cannot create water. You cannot create sky, nothing of the material elements. It is created by Krsna, and this body is..., this external body is made of these eight elements. Similarly, I am also Krsna's. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakrtim param jiva-bhutam. Me param prakrtim jiva-bhutam. Jiva, the living entities, they are para-prakrti, superior energy, but that is also me: "Mine." So I, as aham brahmasmi, because Krsna is absolute, in that sense, I, the energy of Krsna, and Krsna, we are one. Aham brahmasmi means that, or "I belong to Krsna." The Mayavadi thinks that "I have become Krsna." No. The Vaisnava philosophy is that "I am Krsna's property, not that I become Krsna." Just like the part and parcel of my body, this finger. The finger can claim that "I am part and parcel of the body," but the finger cannot claim that "I am the whole body." That is not possible.

So actually our body belongs to Krsna, and I also belong to Krsna. Parakya. In both senses it belongs to other. Other means Krsna. So, logically both the body, mind, intelligence, and myself -- everything should be engaged for Krsna's interest. That is real knowledge. That is real knowledge. Krsna says that ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi sarva-ksetresu bharata. He is also ksetra-jna. I am ksetra-jna because I possess this body, and the body is ksetra, the field of activities. Just like here the cultivators, they have got... Each one of them have got some land, and they are producing food grains or any other products according to his ability and capacity, and he's enjoying this property. Therefore he's called ksetra-jna or ksetri. The field is called ksetra and the owner is called ksetri, or ksetra-jna. Ksetra-jna means that cultivator knows that "This earmarked land is mine." Ksetra-jna. "It belongs to me." So actually this field does not belong to him; it belongs to the government, because he has to pay, collect, tax to the collector. So actually land does not belong to him; it belongs to the government. Similarly, where is the difficulty to understand that although I am cultivating this body, karma...? Taking this body as my field of activities, we are doing work. Everyone can understand it. But finally this body belongs to Krsna, as this land belongs to the government.

Therefore Krsna claims, ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi. Just as there are in cities, two taxes: occupier tax and owner's tax... Rented house, actually the house belongs to the landlord, but the tenant also claims, "This is my house." But finally the house belongs to the landlord. So Krsna claims, ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi sarva-ksetresu bharata. The same example: As a piece of land, some bighas of land, belongs to a certain person -- he can claim, "This is my land" -- similarly, other man can claim, "It is my land," other can claim, "My land," but all these lands belongs to the government. Similarly, I claim this is my body, you claim it is your body, he claims it is his body, but ultimately all bodies, becomes (belongs) to Krsna. This is clear understanding. Where is the difficulty to understand that everything belongs to Krsna? Isavasyam idam sarvam: "Everything belongs to Krsna."

So this is knowledge. This is knowledge. And when you come to the right knowledge, after many, many births... Even Maharaja Yudhisthira... Of course, he is playing the part of ordinary man, pious man. Pious man is also not perfect. Yudhisthira Maharaja should have thought like this, that "Yes, this body does not belong to me, but it belongs to Krsna, and Krsna desired that with this body there must be fighting for His satisfaction." So Arjuna thought like that. Arjuna thought like that. Therefore Arjuna is higher grade devotee than Yudhisthira Maharaja. Yudhisthira Maharaja has got personal consideration. When Krsna advised him that "You go to Dronacarya and speak this lie, that his son Asvatthama is dead, otherwise he'll not die. You go and speak," so he hesitated. He said, "How is that? I never spoke lie. How can I go and say him the lie?" So this personal consideration is there, that "If I speak lies, then I will be sinful, and I'll be punished and so on, so on." But a devotee does not think like that. "Maybe it is sinful, but it will satisfy Krsna; I must do it." This is devotee's decision.

Just like Krsna sometimes became sick. So, in Dvaraka... You have seen that play in Bombay. And so many physicians came; nobody could cure Him. Then Krsna suggested His own medicine, that "If some of my devotees will give the dust of his feet on My head, then I'll be cured." So the first devotee, Narada and others, everywhere, it was approached that "Give your dust of feet. Krsna is suffering." "No, no, no. How can I give my dust of feet? Krsna is Supreme Personality of Godhead." But when the gopis were approached, when they heard that Krsna is sick, and He's in urgently necessity of the dust of His devotees' feet, so immediately they began to give: "Take it, take it immediately. Immediately." They did not consider that "Giving the dust of my feet to Krsna, I shall go to hell." "Never mind, I shall go to hell; it doesn't matter, but let Krsna be cured." That is first consideration.

So this is the topmost devotee, prepared to do anything without any consideration. That is pure(?) devotee. Anyabhilasita-sunyam anukulyena krsnanusilanam [BRS 1.1.11]. There should be no personal desire. That should be zero. Anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-ana... Simply one should try to please Krsna. There is no other consideration. Only to satisfy Krsna. That is pure bhakti. That is explained by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura,

vyavasayatmika buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-sakha hy anantas ca
buddhayo 'vyavasayinam

This is perfect conclusion, that "I shall execute the desire of Krsna." "But Krsna is not physically present before me. Then how I shall know what Krsna desires?" That is not very difficult. Krsna's representative is there, the spiritual master. If you fulfill the desire of the spiritual master, then you fulfill the desire of Krsna. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah **. That is stated by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. If you please your spiritual master, then you know that "I have pleased Krsna." Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto 'pi: ** "If you displease your spiritual master, then you are nowhere. Your position is lost."

Therefore, yesterday we were explaining the ten kinds of offenses. Out of ten kinds of offenses, the serious offense is guror avajna, disobedience of the order of guru. This is the verdict of the sastra. Krsna is helping us in so many ways. He comes personally to help us, to deliver us from these clutches of maya, and He advises, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. And when He's not physically present, He keeps Bhagavad-gita left by Him so that others may read and take advantage of this sublime instruction of Krsna. So He is helping us from within -- buddhi-yogam dadami tam -- from within. Tene brahma hrda. These statements are there in the sastras. "He expounded the Vedic knowledge," hrda, "from the heart," -- brahma means Vedic knowledge, sabda-brahman -- "to Brahma." Because at that time there was nobody to instruct him. So how he got the instruction of Vedas? Because Krsna instructed. Krsna hoite catur-mukha, hoy krsna-sevonmukha. Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung. Catur-mukha means Brahma. So being instructed by Krsna, Brahma became inclined to serve Krsna. Therefore he has written Brahma-samhita. Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **. He understands, "Here is adi-purusa. I am the only creature now within the universe, so I am getting instruction from Krsna, hrda, from my heart."

So Krsna, when instructs from within the heart, He is called caitya-guru. And that caitya-guru is expanded by the process, personal presentation of spiritual master. So both ways He is helping us. Krsna is so kind. Guru-krsna-krpa. Krsna is helping from within, but sometimes we are so dull, naturally, that we cannot understand. Therefore He sends His representative to instruct externally. So He is helping internally and externally. There is no difference between the internal and external instructor. We should take advantage of this instruction. That is called vyavasayatmika buddhih, fixed-up resolution. Fixed-up resolution. If we become fixed up in this resolution, that "Whatever we have heard from my guru, the representative of Krsna, I must execute. I do not care for my personal convenience or inconvenience. This is my life and soul," then your life is perfect. Then your life is... If I make some amendment, addition, alteration, in the name of Krsna, guru, then it is spoiled. No. We should receive the instruction as it is, especially...

Krsna says... Just like Krsna says to Yudhisthira, "Go and speak the lie," and He speaks to Arjuna that yudhyasva mam anusmara: [Bg. 8.7] "You fight," so not the instruction the same to everyone. Krsna knows who is capable to do something particular, and similarly, guru also knows. So it is not that the same instruction is given to all. There may be, because variety. It is not impersonalism, one kind of... No. Variety. Krsna is anandamaya. Ananda means variety is the mother of enjoyment. Unless there are varieties, how there can be ananda? Krsna is sac-cid-ananda. So Krsna's business is variety. The Mayavadis, they cannot understand. They simply understand that we are one. No. Varieties. Cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam [Bs. 5.29]. Krsna is enjoying varieties. He is living in the cintamani-dhama. There are surabhi. He's tending, tending the cows, and He's playing with the cowherd boys. He's making jokes with the gopis. He is enjoying the company... Varieties. He's becoming the son, dependent son of mother Yasoda. So Krsna is variety. Without variety, there cannot be enjoyment. So therefore variety of instruction also.

So that is given by the spiritual master. "You do this," "You do that," "You do this," "You do that," because Krsna is not one-sided. So as confidential representative of Krsna, we have to follow the instruction of the spiritual master. As it is given particular to me, I should execute without any personal consideration. That is the perfection of life. Because after all, this body is meant for Krsna. The mind is meant for Krsna. I am also Krsna's part and parcel, so parakyasyaiva. Everything belongs to somebody else. Finally, that somebody else is Krsna. So if we fix up our mind on the lotus feet of Krsna and serve Him, then our life is perfect.

Thank you very much. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.48 -- Mayapura, October 28, 1974