Putting Krishna in His Place
Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.46
Bombay, January 21, 1975
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Nitai: "The characteristics of the
functions of earth can be perceived by modeling forms of the Supreme Brahman, by
constructing places of residence, by preparing pots to contain water, etc. In
other words, the earth is the place of sustenance for all
elements."
Prabhupada:
bhavanam brahmanah sthanam
dharanam sad-visesanam
sarva-sattva-gunodbhedah
prthivi-vrtti-laksanam
[SB 3.26.46]
So brahmanah sthanam. This temple is brahmanah sthanam, the residential place for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, brahmanah. Brahmanah means the Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth is understood in three different features: brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate [SB 1.2.11]. So Supreme Brahman means Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as it was accepted by Arjuna after understanding Bhagavad-gita. He addressed Him, param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan: [Bg. 10.12] "You are param brahma." Brahman and Paramatma and Bhagavan. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate, the Absolute Truth. According to our different realization, the Absolute Truth is realized in three different features: impersonal Brahman; and localized, all-pervading antaryami, Visnu or Paramatma; and the last word of understanding is Bhagavan.
So impersonal Brahman, nobody can construct any sthanam, place, of the impersonal Brahman, or Paramatma. Paramatma has got place everywhere. Isvarah paramah..., sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati. Andantara-stha-paramanu-
So yogis, the jnanis, they have got their function, to realize the Absolute Truth. Similarly, bhakta. Bhakta, they want to worship the Personality of Godhead in a temple just like we are trying to do, to have a temple here nice. We have got already. Our function is going on. But we want to make a very gorgeous place for the Lord. That is the utility of this land: to construct temple for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We have got a tendency to construct house. Ato grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittaih. This material world means first of all we have got desire of sex, mixing together, man and woman. Pumsah striya mithuni-bhavam etam [SB 5.5.8]. Mithuni-bhava. Mithuni-bhava means sex desires, impelled by sex. That is the central point of this material life. Yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham [SB 7.9.45]. The central point of material happiness is maithunadi, sex impulse. Everyone. This morning was... Some devotee was discussing that the daily passengers, sometimes they go from home three to four hours, come to Bombay, and they work their eight hours. Then again three to four hours. So somebody was asking, "Why they should go? They can remain in the city." No. Their central point is there. Central point is sex. Nidraya hriyate naktam vyavayena ca va vayah [SB 2.1.3]. The materialistic person's life is being spoiled in this way.
That is described by Sukadeva Gosvami. Nidraya hriyate naktam: "At night they spoil the valuable time by sleeping." Nidraya hriyate naktam vyavayena ca va vayah [SB 2.1.3]. Vyavaya. Vyavaya means sex. "Either by sex or by sleeping." Diva carthehaya rajan kutumba-bharanena va: "And during daytime they are after money, 'Where is money? Where is money?' And if they get money, 'How to spend it for kutumba, for family members?' " This is material life. And as soon as we are united, mithuni-bhava, then grha-ksetra-sutapta-vittaih [SB 5.5.8]. Then we want apartment or house, big, big house, grha, and ksetra. Ksetra means earning fee. Formerly there were agriculture. Now there are so many industries and other places. So this grha is the utilization of the earth. People want some grha. So this propensity can be utilized by constructing temple. That propensity, that "I must have a very high skyscraper building," that tendency is there, but if we utilize that tendency for constructing, as it is stated, bhavanam brahmanah sthanam... Instead of thinking that "I will have such big building," if we transfer that thinking, that "I will construct such a nice big temple for establishing Deity worship," that is the proper utilization of this tendency. One is for sense gratification; another, the same thing... If you construct a temple, you will have to labor in the same way, how to get municipal sanction, how to get cement, how to get stone, how to get this, that, so many things. But it is nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe: it has got relationship with Krsna. That is Krsna consciousness. Your capacity to construct something material, residential... So if we do it for Krsna, then it is Krsna consciousness; your life is successful.
You are thinking of Krsna always. Even Kamsa, he was enemy of Krsna, enemy of Krsna, and he was always thinking of Krsna. As Devaki was growing days, she was becoming very bright and beautiful, and Kamsa was waiting when his sister Devaki will give birth to Krsna and he will kill Him. That was his purpose. He wanted to kill Krsna. He was first of all ready to kill his sister. When he heard that "Your sister's eighth son will kill you," so Kamsa thought, "Why waiting for the eighth son? Kill my sister." So she was saved by Vasudeva by some trick plan, that "After all, your sister is not going to kill you. Sister's son. Who knows that a son will be there and whether he will live or not live?" But Kamsa he would not hear anything. So it is the duty of the husband to give protection to the wife. So he made a plan, that "My dear Kamsa, brother-in-law, I shall bring all child born of your sister, and if you like, you can kill." In this way the situation was saved.
So Kamsa was always thinking how to kill Krsna. That is also Krsna consciousness. He was thinking in a different way, how to kill Krsna. A devotee thinks how to... [break] One is favorable, and the other is unfavorable. One is thinking of Krsna, how to kill Him, and the other is thinking of Krsna, how to serve Him. So this thinking, how to serve Him, is called bhakti, not the otherwise. As Kamsa was thinking how to kill Him, that is not bhakti. Bhakti means anukulyena krsnanusilanam [Cc. Madhya 19.167]. Anukula. Anukula means favorable. If you think of Krsna in various ways favorably -- how to serve Krsna, how to decorate Krsna, how to give Krsna a nice place for residential quarter, temple, how to preach Krsna's glories -- in this way, if you think, that is Krsna consciousness. Anukulyena krsnanusilanam bhaktir uttama. That is first-class bhakti, how to serve Krsna. Just like Arjuna he changed his all decision. (microphone rattling) (aside:) You can take it that side. Arjuna was thinking not to fight, but when he heard very minutely, listened Krsna's instruction, he changed his decision. "No, Krsna wants it. Krsna wants this fight, so I shall do this." This is krsnanusilanam, cultivating Krsna consciousness, not his decision. His decision was not to fight. A Vaisnava does not want to kill anybody. That is natural tendency. Suhrdah sarva-dehinam: [SB 3.25.21] "A Vaisnava is friend of everyone." So Arjuna was Vaisnava, a devotee of Krsna. Naturally, he was not inclined to kill and gain the fight. So he declined, that "I will not fight." But after hearing Bhagavad-gita, he decided that "Krsna wants to fight. He wants me..." Nimitta-matram bhava savyasacin. "He says so far that 'These people who have assembled here, they are already killed. That is My plan. You simply take the credit of becoming victorious over them.' "
So this is krsnanusilanam. Even though I have got one decision in my life, but if I understand that Krsna wants me to do something contrary, I shall be ready to perform this. That is krsnanusilanam. Anukulyena krsnanusilanam bhaktir uttama [Cc. Madhya 19.167]. If you favorably serve Krsna, that is bhaktir uttama, first-class bhakti. Unfavorably, as Kamsa was thinking, that how to kill Krsna... He got also salvation because always thinking of Krsna, but not the salvation of the devotees. The devotee's salvation is different from the salvation of the nondevotees, jnanis. Jnanis... We have already explained there are three features of the Absolute Truth. One is impersonal Brahman, the other is localized Paramatma, or antaryami, Supersoul, and the supermost is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan, sad-aisvarya-purna-bhagavan. So impersonal Brahman is the destination of the jnanis, and Paramatma, localized antaryami, is the destination of the yogis, and the Supreme Person, Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the destination of the pure devotees. Pure devotee means anyabhilasita-sunyam [Brs. 1.1.11]. They have no other desire. Others, the jnanis, they have desire to merge into the existence of the Lord. They want that. And the yogis, they, by the grace of the Supreme Paramatma, they want to get some siddhis, asta-siddhi. But the bhaktas, they do not want mukti or siddhi; they simply want to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is pure devotion.
So in this life also, we can utilize these earthly things, bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca [Bg. 7.4]. We can utilize all these material elements in the service of the Lord. So with the earth, we can prepare the forms of the Lord, we can prepare the temple of the Lord, so many things. That is required. That is sattvika. It is called here bhavanam brahmanah sthanam dharanam sad-visesanam. Sad-visesanam. Sad-visesa and asad-visesa. This is asad-visesa. This is to be understood. Asato ma sad gama. That is the Vedic injunction. Asad-visesa... Just like we have got this city, the roads, the cars, the buildings, and so many other things, transformation of the same earth, but they are asad-visesa. They will not stay. Here anything -- the house, the car, the road, the city, the body, the society, the friendship, the nation -- they are all asat. But the same thing can be done, sad-visesa. Sad-visesa. This temple is sad-visesa. The Deity is sad-visesa. Worshiping the Deity is sad-visesa. So we can utilize. Nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam ucyate.
That is the instruction of the Gosvamis. We are follower of the Gosvamis, six Gosvamis of Vrndavana. Sri-rupa-sanatana bhatta-raghunatha sri-jiva gopala-bhatta dasa-raghunatha. Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana. Rupa, Sanatana. Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. These are six Gosvamis. In Vrndavana they inaugurated the bhakti cult by the instruction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sent His different devotees in different parts of India. And, of course, He desired that His devotees should go all the parts of the world. Prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama. But He began in India. So their residential quarter was in Vrndavana, and they wrote innumerable books. And Nityananda Prabhu went to Bengal. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally traveled all over India, especially South India. In this way, preaching was His main mission of life. He gave up His family life. Tyaktva sudustyaja-surepsita-rajya-
So this is Vaisnava principle. Vaisnava principle means everything accepted as Krsna's. The Mayavadis, they say -- at least they say -- that brahma satyam jagan mithya. Mithya: "This is false." But Vaisnava says, "No, it is not false. It is the by-product of Krsna's energy. If Krsna is true, how it can be false?" So they do not take this world, material world, as false. It is temporary, but they know how to utilize this material world for devotional service. Bhavanam brahmanah sthanam. You can utilize the same energy of constructing something out of bricks and stones and wood into a nice temple. That was the Vedic culture. Still in old cities you will find in lanes and streets, there are so many temples. I have seen, especially in Kanpur. Even within the lane there are so many temples, Radha-Krsna temple, Visnu temples, Siva temple. So all over India you will find the temples. People were so spiritually advanced, even Muslim. They are also. They have constructed so many mosques. So that should be utilized. If we have got the tendency for making a house or construction of some building with stones and bricks, let it be utilized for constructing temple of the Supreme Brahman.
Nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam ucyate. We do not give up anything; everything Krsna's. Prapancikataya buddhya hari-sambandhi-vastunah. Hari-sambandhi-vastunah. Hari means God, the Supreme Lord. So He has got sambandha, relationship, because everything is His energy. Therefore it has got some relationship. Earth, water, air, fire, sky -- these are all different energies of Krsna. Bhinna prakrtir me astadha. So it has got some relationship. So when it is utilized for Krsna, Krsna's energy is utilized for Krsna, that is bhakti. And when Krsna's energy is utilized for our sense gratification, that is called demonism. The same thing. Same thing you utilize for Krsna -- that is bhakti. And same thing you utilize for your sense gratification -- that is demonism. You... Actually, you cannot do so. Everything belongs to Krsna. Suppose something belongs to me, and if you do not utilize it for me, you utilize it for you, so I must be sorry, that "How is that? My things are being utilized for you." Of course, this is a crude example. But the philosophy is: everything belongs to Krsna. Isavasyam idam sarvam [Iso mantra 1]. Sarva... Krsna said, bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram [Bg. 5.29]. He is the proprietor. So because He is the proprietor, He is the proprietor of my body also. Therefore it should be -- everything should be -- utilized for Krsna. This is bhakti. We should not give up. You cannot give up anything.
Suppose you are nicely dressed, and if you give up everything and you take one kaupina, but that is also a dress. So we have to utilize Krsna's thing, but if we take it, accept it as prasadam after offering Krsna... In the Vaisnava philosophy, if somebody is going to use one new pair of cloth, first of all he offers to Krsna. Then he utilizes. That is Vaisnava philosophy. There is also eating, sleeping. We require residence. Everything we require. But we require it as Krsna's prasada. Prasade sarva-duhkhanam hanir asyopajayate. Simply we have to admit, "After all, Krsna is giving us everything." So simply Krsna wants, "Let us admit that you are getting from Me." That is necessary. Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. He is supplying us everything, even to the nondevotees. But the nondevotee do not recognize that "It is Krsna's prasadam; by mercy of Krsna, I have got it." That is nondevotee. And a devotee recognizes. This is the distinction between devotee and nondevotee.
So our Krsna consciousness movement is to turn the consciousness. Everyone is thinking in a different way, consciousness. We are just trying to transfer their consciousness into Krsna. Then he will be happy. Sada tad-bhava-bhavitah. Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram [Bg. 8.6]. If we practice like that, then we become eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world. Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram. We have to give up this body. But if we give up this body, at the time of death, if we can think of Krsna, it is very difficult, but if we practice it... Sada tad-bhava-bhavitah. Sada means always. If we practice this simple method: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama..., then it is possible. So where is the difficulty? Where is the loss? If we ask you to do something, if you think there will be loss, you may reject it. But if there is no loss and the gain is that you get Krsna, then why don't you do it? Such is our, what is called, bigotry, "No, we shall not chant. We shall not do this." This is our misfortune. Therefore, those who have taken to this Krsna consciousness, chanting this Hare Krsna mantra, they are the most fortunate persons in the world. Yaj-jihvagre nama tubhyam, the sastra says. Aho bata sva-paco 'to gariyan: "Even one is born in the family of dog-eaters, but somehow or other, if he takes to this Krsna consciousness movement and chants Hare Krsna, he is gariyan, he is glorious. He is very glorious." Nama tubhyam. Tepus tapas te: [SB 3.33.7] "It is to be understood in their previous life they undergone severe type of penances and austerities." Tepus tapas te sasnur aryah: [SB 3.33.7] "They are really Aryan."
So this Hare Krsna movement is very authentic movement from the sastra, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu practiced it, Narada Muni practiced it. All the great sages, they practice it. The sastra says, kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet [SB 12.3.51]. In this age, Kali-yuga, we are surrounded by so many faulty things checking our spiritual advancement of life. That is the only necessity of human being, the spiritual advancement of life. So far eating, sleeping, sex life, and defense, everyone is doing in his own capacity. That is not the business. That is there. Even the birds, beasts, they are doing that. The only business of human life: athato brahma jijnasa, to inquire about the Supreme, the same Brahman. Brahmanah sthanam, bhavanam brahmanah sthanam. Always think of brahma. Sarvam khalv idam brahma. Aham brahmasmi. These thoughts, these activities, they are required. That is the only business. But we have manufactured so many other business and engagement, leaving aside the real business of life. So this Krsna consciousness movement is teaching all over the world the real business of life. Those who are fortunate, they will take advantage of this movement and make his life successful.
Thank you very much. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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