Spiritual Eye Surgery
Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.19
Vrndavana, November 7, 1976
download flash player
Take a testVrndavana, November 7, 1976
download flash player
Pradyumna: "My transcendental body,
sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], looks exactly like a human form, but it is not
a material human body. It is inconceivable. I am not forced by nature to accept
a particular type of body; I take on a body by My own sweet will. My heart is
also spiritual, and I always think of the welfare of My devotees. Therefore
within My heart can be found the process of devotional service, which is meant
for the devotees. Far from My heart have I abandoned irreligion, or adharma, and
nondevotional activities. They do not appeal to Me. Due to all these
transcendental qualities, people generally pray to Me as Rsabhadeva, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, the best of all living entities."
Prabhupada:
idam sariram mama durvibhavyam
sattvam hi me hrdayam yatra dharmah
prsthe krto me yad adharma arad
ato hi mam rsabham prahur aryah
[SB 5.5.19]
So, God, whether impersonal or personal, that we cannot conclude by our speculation. It is not possible. Durvibhavyam. Durvibhavyam means beyond your conception, beyond your speculation. But He says that idam sariram. He has got His body;He is not impersonal. He comes sometimes as incarnation. We can see Krsna with two hands, two legs, one head. Venum kvanantam aravinda dalayataksam barhavatamsam asitambuda-sundarangam [Bs. 5.30]. This is described in the Vedic literature. He has two hands and He is playing on flute. He has got the peacock feather on His head. It is not imagination. The Krsna arca-murti, it is not imagination, as rascals think, that they have imaginated an idol. This is not idol worship. This is actually... I have several times explained that here is Krsna, personally present. We should always think like that, not that it is idol worship. But durvibhavyam means although He is present, the less intelligent class of men, they will think that "They are worshiping one statue." But that is not possible.
You do not know what is the form of the Lord because your present senses are imperfect. Atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam idriyaih [Cc. Madhya 17.136] -- the Lord's name, His form, His pastimes -- na bhaved grahyam indriyaih -- our present senses are unable to conceive. Just like the soul is there within the body but nobody can see where is that soul, similarly, God is also within this body but nobody can see. It is specifically mentioned, isvarah sarva bhutanam hrd dese arjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. The Lord is situated in everyone's heart, but find out the heart, where is God. There is, but you cannot see. Atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. Present senses are unable to see. You have to prepare your eyes. Just like with cataract you cannot see anything. You have to undergo surgical operation. Then you will see. That surgical operation process is bhakti.
sarvopadhi vinirmuktam
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hrsikena hrsikesa sevanam
bhaktir ucyate
[Cc. Madhya 19.170]
Hrsikena hrsikesa sevanam. If God has no form, how He is Hrsikesa and how we can serve with our senses? Hrsikena hrsikesa sevanam. That is bhakti.
So God has form, but it is inconceivable by us. But from the sastra we can understand what kind of body God has. Just like in the Brahma-samhita it is explained,
angani yasya sakalendriya-vrtti-manti
pasyanti panti kalayanti ciram jaganti
ananda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-
ananda-sat-ujjvala-vigraha...
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.32]
Now, it is inconceivable. Angani yasya sakalendriya vrtti-manti. Now, we have got this understanding, that we can see with our eyes, but God can not only see with His eyes; He can eat with His eyes. This is inconceivable. We shall think, "How it is possible that one can eat with His eyes?" Therefore sastra says, angani yasya sakalendriya vrtti-manti [Bs. 5.32]. Just like we offer foodstuff to the Deity. The atheist will say, "Oh, you have offered this, so many nice foodstuff, but He has not eaten. It is there, lying there." But he does not know that God has His indriyas, sakalendriya vrtti-manti. As soon as sees the foodstuff is offered, He has eaten. That they do not know. This is inconceivable. Unless we accept the inconceivable energy of the Lord, there is no question of God. So He can eat by seeing. Aggani yasya sakalendriya vrtti-manti pasyanti panti kalayanti ciram jaganti [Bs. 5.32]. He can offer you blessing, everything, by one anga. By one part of the body He can do everything. This is inconceivable. Adhoksaja. Therefore another name of God is called adhoksaja. Aksaja jnanam adhah krta.
Our knowledge is sense perception. Sense perception, aksaja jnanam. That will not act there. Acintya. Therefore we have to accept in that way. Idam sariram, but He has His body. He has His body, and because we cannot conceive, He, out of His causeless mercy, He presents Himself in a form which we can see. That is arca-vigraha, arca-murti. A vigraha. Arca means the form which we can worship. If God is impersonal Avyaktasakta-cetasam. Kleso adhikataras tesam. If we accept God as impersonal He is not impersonal. He says idam sariram. He is personal. But our present senses cannot perceive. That is the difficulty. Therefore out of His causeless mercy He has appeared in a form which you can see, you can touch, you can dress, you can offer garland, you can offer food -- to accept your service. That is God's mercy. Don't think that "Because God mercifully has come before Me in a form which we can perceive, which we can see, with which we can serve," not that "He is not God." That is rascaldom. God is there. Otherwise Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as soon as He entered the Jagannatha's temple, immediately He fainted. Does it mean He made a fun? No. He saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead present there.
So it requires eyes to see God. That eyes you have to prepare. What is that eyes? Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-
manusyanam sahasresu
kascid yatati siddhaye
yatatam api siddhanam
kascid vetti mam tattvatah
[Bg. 7.3]
"Even persons who are already siddha, perfect jnanis, yogis, they are also unable to see Me." If one, however, by good fortune, the yogis, the jnanis, come in contact with a bhakta, then, by the mercy of the bhakta, by the mercy of Krsna, he can see. Otherwise durvibhavya, idam sariram mama. The Supreme Personality says, mama: "Mine. My body. I have got My body," but durvibhavyam.
So we have to understand God as He says. Don't imagine. Don't speculate. That is useless.
panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara-sampragamyo
vayor athapi manaso muni-pungavanam
so 'py asti yat-prapada-simny avicintya tattve
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.34]
Avicintya or durvibhavyam, the same thing. Even if you try to understand God or want to go to God, vayor athapi, by your airplane at the speed of the mind, not ordinary speed... Mind's speed you can imagine. You are sitting here, and fifteen thousand miles away, New York, you can immediately see your room there. This is mind's speed. Immediately within a second. Just imagine how much the mind is speedy. Mind is subtle. Everyone, you have got mind, I have got mind, but I cannot see your mind; you cannot see my mind. Subtle. This is a material thing. Bhumir apo'nalo vayuh kham mano, mano [Bg. 7.4]. The sky, ether, we cannot see but we can perceive. When you press the sky like this, (claps) there is sound. You can understand, "Here is sky." But mind you cannot see, still subtle.
indriyani parany ahur
indriyebhyah param manah
manasas tu paro buddhir
buddhes para tu yah
[Bg. 3.42]
So the soul is so subtle, you cannot see. You cannot see sky, and still finer is the mind, still finer is intelligence, and still finer, the soul. So how can you see? With your gross eyes it is not possible. Therefore they are bewildered, how the soul is being transferred from one body to another. They see the gross body. Krsna says, na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20], tatha dehantara praptih [Bg. 2.13]. But doctors, medical men, scientists, they cannot see that where is the soul, how the soul is transmigrating. These are all durvibhavya, inconceivable.
Therefore we have to hear from the authorities, from Krsna, that there is soul; there is atma; there is transmigration. And everything, what is spoken in the sastra, they are fact, but we do not consult sastra. We become scientists. We become philosophers. With gross understanding, dull understanding, poor understanding, how you can understand yourself and God? So there is no question of self-realization by your gross understanding. You have to understand by hearing. Therefore to get real knowledge is not by the eyes and senses but by the ear. Therefore Vedic knowledge is called sruti. You have to receive knowledge -- sruti. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. Why? The guru means who is fully aware of the sruti, srotriyam, one who has perfectly listened to his guru. Srotriyam brahma-nistham. And by hearing only, he has become brahma-nistham, without any doubt: "Yes, there is God. Yes." We have to approach such person who has perfectly listened to his... Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]. So by sruti, by hearing oral reception. Just like there is practical example. Suppose you are sleeping, and somebody is coming to do you some harm, to kill you. But another person is warning you, "Please get up! Get up! Somebody is coming to kill you." But it will act, because while other senses are practically dead, the ear is working. By hearing, you can get up. This is practical.
So at the present moment we are sleeping, sleeping in the darkness. Therefore to get knowledge we have to use our ears. Sravanam. Therefore to enter into the devotional service one has to use this ear, sravanam. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada... And sravanam about whom? Sravanam about Visnu, sravanam kirta..., sravanam. They say that "You can hear anything." No.
sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
sakhyam atma-nivedanam
[SB 7.5.23]
This is the process. Tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet, srotriyam brahma-nistham [MU 1.2.12]. These are the injunction. Adau gurvasrayam sad dharma prcchat sadhu marganu gamanam. These are the process.
So Rsabhadeva said that "I have got My body," idam sariram, when He appears to solve our problem, whether God is personal or impersonal. Impersonal is there, there is no doubt, but what is that impersonal? Maya tatam idam sarvam jagat avyakta-murtina [Bg. 9.4]. That is impersonal. No, He's Maya: "By Me." That means His energy. His energy is distributed throughout the whole creation, cosmic manifestation. But He is still there. Maya. Unless He is there Not that because He is spread everywhere -- vasudevah sarvam iti [Bg. 7.19] -- it does not mean He is finished. That is material understanding. In the materially, if you piece of paper and make it a small pieces and throw it, then the original paper is no longer existing. That is material conception. But spiritual conception? Purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate [Iso Invocation]. That is spiritual idea. If you take cent percent God from God, still He is cent percent. That is purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate. Isavasyam idam. So Krsna says that maya, "In My another feature, Vasudeva feature," maya tatam idam sarvam. Everything is God, but everything is not God. That is explained by God.
maya tatam idam sarva
jagat avyakta-murtina
mat-sthani sarva-bhutani
naham tesu avasthitah
[Bg. 9.4]
The Mayavadis, the poor fund knowledge, they say, "Why you are worshiping God here? He is everywhere." "He is everywhere? He is in the temple also." "No," they will say, "not in the temple. He is everywhere except in the temple. Don't go to the temple." This is rascaldom. If God is everywhere, why He is not in the temple? So this is their knowledge, poor fund of knowledge. Alpa-medhasa. Alpa-medhasa. Avajananti mam mudhah [Bg. 9.11].
So God has form, but He is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. He is not... When it is said, the nirakara, "no form," that does not mean that He has no akara. The akara, or the form which we understand, He hasn't got that form. He is sac-cid-ananda vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. Otherwise how He can accept your offerings? Krsna says that patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati, tad aham asnami [Bg. 9.26]. He says, "I eat." So if He has no mouth, how He can eat? And therefore the Vedic literature informs us that pasyati acaksuh: "He sees, but He has no eyes." When the Vedic literature says that He has no eyes, that means He has no eyes like us. But He has got eyes; otherwise how He sees? Pasyati acaksuh srnoti akarnah. He can hear; otherwise what is the use of offering prayer? Yes, He hears, but akarna, not that He has got ears like you. He is in the Vaikuntha, many, many millions and trillions miles away, but still, you are offering here, "Govindam adi purusam." He is hearing. He is here. Sarvatra pani padas tat. This thing should be understood.
And because we do not understand -- everything we try to test with our limited understanding -- therefore we do not believe in the activities of the Lord, and we are deceived in that way. God is all-powerful, but when we hear that God at the age of seven years age, old, He lifted the Govardhana Hill, immediately we dismiss, "Oh, this is all mythology." Why? If He has got inconceivable power -- He is all-powerful -- is it very difficult for Him to lift the Govardhana Hill? "No, we don't believe in God. Even if we believe, we want to believe in our own way." That is bhavyam, conceivable. But He is durvibhavyam. You cannot conceive. Two contradict things. Just like here Krsna said, Rsabhadeva, that sattvam hi me hrdayam yatra dharmah. The dharma and adharma, they are two contradictory thought. But He is the source of dharma and adharma both. Janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. Adharma, which we hate, that is also coming from God. Janmadya asya yatah. Otherwise... That is explained here. Prsthe. Prsthe krto me yad adharma arat. So adharma is also there in God -- on the back side. So is there any difference between back side and front side? Advaya-jnana, absolute. No.
So these things have to be understood, that both dharma and adharma, they are coming from... He is the original, so... Yato va imani bhutani jayante. Everything is coming from Him. So dharma and adharma, that is duality, duality understanding within this material world. In the spiritual world there is no such thing. The dharma and adharma is the same thing because the same source. This to be understood from right sources, right person. Then we can understand. But He comes, Krsna comes, out of His causeless mercy to inform us. Not only Krsna -- many others incarnation of Krsna. Just like Rsabhadeva. He is also incarnation of Krsna. He is explaining Himself. So we should take advantage of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, from the Absolute Truth. Don't speculate. Speculation has no meaning. So we have got this instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Bhagavad-gita. So if we are serious about understanding about God, then we can hear from Him. And whatever He says, whatever He instructs, you take it. Then our life will be successful. And if we speculate, panthas tu koti-sata-vatsara-sampra...
atah sri-krsna-namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah
[Cc. Madhya 17.136]
So this is the process. We must be ready to surrender to Him. We must be ready to render service unto Him. Then our spiritual life will be revived. At the present moment we are covered by the material conception of life: "I am this body," "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am brahmana," "I am ksatriya." These are all designations, sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. When you become free from these all these designation -- you become purified -- then you can develop your love for God. Hrsikena hrsikesa sevanam bhaktir ucyate.
Thank you very much. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
No comments:
Post a Comment