Irreligious Religion

Irreligious Religion

Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.37
San Francisco, July 19, 1975

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Nitai: "Sukadeva Gosvami continued to speak: After the messengers of Yamaraja thus addressed the Visnudutas, those perfected beings who are personal associates of Vasudeva smiled and, with voices resounding as the sound of the cloud, gravely spoke the following words."

Prabhupada:

ity ukte yamadutais te
vasudevokta-karinah
tan pratyucuh prahasyedam
megha-nirhradaya gira
 [SB 6.1.37]

So the Yamadutas, they very politely submitted. They could understand immediately that these persons so nicely decorated, four hands, looking very youthful, all the good qualities... So with due submission, they said that "You look so nice, gentle. Why you are interfering with our duties?" Kim artham dharma-palasya kinkaran no nisedhatha. So they accepted the submission. Very humbly they submitted, with great respect. Therefore they were smiling. And the word is used here, tan pratyucuh prahasya idam. When there is argument, dealing, if the words are exchanged very politely, so things go on nicely. So prahasya. Prahasya, now they are challenging, the Visnuduta, that "You are claiming to become the servants of Yamaraja, and he is Dharmaraja, he is authority, and how is that you do not know whom to arrest and whom not to arrest? This man is now free from all sinful reaction. How is that you are claiming to be servant of Yamaraja, Dharmaraja, and do not know?" Therefore they were smiling.

So their challenge was that "You are claiming to be servants of Yamaraja, but we are doubting whether you are bona fide servants of Yamaraja. Otherwise why you are committing this mistake?" So this indicates the servant should be as good as the master. That is servant. Because sometimes servants may be challenged. So that is the qualification of Krsna's servant. Krsna's servant must be always equipped, because they have to meet so many opposing elements, Krsna's the... Paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bg. 4.8]. There are so many... Practically the whole material world is full of duskrtam. They want to create God. They don't want to become servant of God. That is their challenge. Therefore, anyone who is claiming to become servant of God, Krsna, he must be well equipped to meet the challenging spirit of others. Prahasya idam megha-nirhradaya gira. Very gravely enquired from them. What is that enquiry? They said, sri-visnuduta ucuh. The Visnuduta replied. Their submission was, "Sir, you are so nice gentlemen. You appear to be coming from the very elevated planets, and why you are interfering?"

So they, with very grave voice and smiling, challenging them. What is that?

yuyam vai dharma-rajasya
yadi nirdesa-karinah
bruta dharmasya nas tattvam
yac cadharmasya laksanam

"So if you are actually servant of Dharmaraja, then you must know what is dharma and what is adharma." Yuyam vai dharma-rajasya yadi nirdesa-karinah. "That will be your bona fide representation. You cannot do any mistake if you are servant of Dharmaraja." Dharmaraja means... Here there are so many living entities, of course, in the human society. I have explained many times. Dharma, religious system, is in the human society, not in the animal society. The animals does not... They have no knowledge; neither they have capacity to distinguish what is dharma, what is adharma. Their business is simply eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That's all. It is the human society, another extra, not only simply eating, sleeping, mating. That is required because we have got this body. But we have got extra intelligence. Why this extra intelligence? That is for understanding dharma, religion.

But unfortunately, the modern rascal society, they utilizing that extra intelligence than the cats and dog for the same purpose: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That is the defect of the modern civilization. In spite of advancement of education, scientific knowledge, technical knowledge, this knowledge, that knowledge, they remain the same cats and dogs. This is the defect. Therefore people are dissatisfied, disappointed. God has given him extra intelligence for understanding God, but they are being misled: "There is no God. You utilize it for your sense gratification." This is education. Extra... Therefore they are thinking, "The dog is eating on the street. We are eating in a very good hotel on nice table, nice dishes. This is advancement of life." But they do not think that after all, the dog is eating, you are also eating. You may be a better dog, that's all. So what is your extra business? So a dog is eating only flesh or meat, because God has ordained. But you are ordained to eat fruits, flowers, nice grain, milk preparation, but you, because you are dog, you are eating meat. The extra intelligence that... Because you have got extra intelligence, you should utilize the food for you. Tena tyaktena bhunjitha ma grdhah kasya svid dhanam [Iso mantra 1]. The Upanisad, Vedas, says, "What you are ordained to take or accept... Everything belongs to God, but He has given allotment: 'You use like this. You use like this.' " So if you imitate dog instead of human being... You are advanced human being. Why should you eat like dog or the uncivilized man? The uncivilized man in the jungle, he does not know how to produce grain, how to prepare many nice preparation. He does not know. But you are civilized man. Why you should eat like dogs and tigers? This is misuse of intelligence.

So therefore, as they are challenging, that first of all, "You are claiming to be servant of Dharmaraja, so let us know what do you know about dharma?" so similarly, we should also challenge, "If you are human being, you must know how to live like human being. Otherwise you are animal. If you eat like animal, sleep like animal and have sex like animal and defend like animal, then you are animal." They say that "It is very good to become dog because there is no restriction of sex life. We can have it on the street." They think like that. "This is advancement." The animals wander naked, so man is also trying to become naked, nudism. This is life. So their extra intelligence is being used like that -- very, very abominable condition of the human society. You are the only hope to save them. Otherwise it is doomed.

So the question is, they are challenged, "What is dharma and what is adharma? If you are servant of Dharmaraja, you must distinguish what is dharma." So even though the Yamadutas, they are not very good-looking as the Visnudutas, still, this question was put to them to explain. They are not very much civilized, you may say. Still, they are expected to know this distinction. Just see. Even the Yamadutas were how much advanced, and how we are advanced? We do not know what is dharma, what is adharma. We don't make any distinction. Dharma is... We have repeatedly said: dharma means to surrender to Krsna, simple. And adharma means everything except this. If you don't surrender to Krsna, then whatever you are doing, that is adharma, means nonreligious. Therefore in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said, dharmah projjhita-kaitavah atra. Kaitava means cheating, false, pretentious. So all kinds of cheating religion is kicked out. Cheating religions, they are teaching that "We can create God. As we can create television, similarly, we can create God." They are teaching, "This is dharma." Just see how degraded they have... And these things are going on as dharma. Bruta dharmasya nas tattvam. Tattvam. Tattvam means truth. "Don't talk nonsense. Don't waste time." Tattvam: "In truth, what is dharma?" Bruta dharmasya nas tattvam yac ca adharmasya laksanam: "And how you distinguish from adharma, nonreligious thing?" Knowledge means you should know both things, not one side. You must know what is religious system and what is not religious system. Simply one side is not full knowledge. Upayam ca cintayet prajna, apayam ca cintayet(?). Just like if you want to do some business, you have calculated that "I shall invest so much money, and I shall get so much profit. So let us do this business. It is very nice." But sastra says, "No, you have simply calculated the profit, and you also calculate no profit, not one-sided." Similarly, to know dharma, you must know adharma also, the opposite side. If you know white, you should know what is black. Otherwise the knowledge is not... Relative. This world is... If you know the father, then you must know the son. Or if you know the son, then you must know the father. So in the religious system, if one knows the son, the further improvement is to know the father. That is required. Otherwise incomplete. If you simply know the son of God, then it is incomplete. If you know the father of the son of God, then it is complete.

So here, in our Krsna consciousness movement, there are... In all other religious system, they say that "Our this leader is son of God." Somebody says, "He is... Our leader is a servant of God." So now, because you did not know who is the master, who is the father, therefore gradually it has dwindled. Now we must know. The Krsna consciousness movement is awarding, "Here is the father of the son of God -- Krsna. Here is the master of the servant." This is Krsna consciousness. So there is no quarrel with other religious system. They know simply the son of God, but they do not know who is the father of the son. That is Krsna. Aham bija-pradah pita. Krsna says, "I am the seed-giving father." Whose father? Sarva-yonisu. "In all forms of living entity." Sarva-yonisu kaunteya sambhavanti [Bg. 14.4]. Beginning from the microscopic living entities up to the Brahma, the biggest, so Krsna claims that "I am the father of Brahma as well as the microscopic germ." Sarva-yonisu. So you should know. And if anyone understands Krsna, how He is father of Brahma and father of this microscopic germ, then he becomes perfect, immediately. Therefore Krsna recommends, janma karma ca me divyam yo janati tattvatah [Bg. 4.9]. The tattva, truth, if you simply try to understand Krsna in truth, how He is father of Lord Brahma and how He is father of the microscopic germ, and if you in truth understand what is this microscopic germ and what is this Brahma, what is this human being, what is this tiger, what is this tree, so to know Krsna means to know everything.

Therefore in the Vedas it is said, kasmin tu bhagavo vijnate sarvam idam vijnatam bhavati: "If you simply understand Krsna, then you become full knowledge." That is complete knowledge. Etaj jnanam. This is... Bhagavad-gita says, "This is knowledge." If you simply study Krsna, so what is the difficulty? Krsna is explaining Himself. Suppose if you want to study somebody, you may guess that this body, this man, may be like this, like that. That is going on all over the world, what is God. Some theosophist, some theosophist and theologist, all are speculating, "Maybe," "Perhaps," "This, that." And the God is explaining Himself, "I am this, like this," that they will not take. Just see. God is canvassing that "Here I am. I have come." Paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam [Bg. 4.8]. "I have appeared before you just to give you relief." Paritranaya sadhunam. "You are trying to understand Me, so here I am. I am present. Why you are thinking God is formless? Here I am, Krsna, form. You see, I have got My flute in the hand. I am very much fond of the cows. I love the cows and the sage and Brahma, everyone equally, because they are all My sons in different bodies." Krsna is playing. Krsna is speaking. Still, these rascals will not understand Krsna. So what is Krsna's fault? It is our fault. Andha. Just like the owl. Owl will never open the eyes to see that there is sunlight. You know this, owl? So they will not open. However you may say, "Mr. Owl, please open your eyes and see the sun," "No, there is no sun. I don't see." (laughter) This owl civilization. So you have to fight with these owls. You must be very strong, especially the sannyasis. We have to fight with the owls. We have to open their eyes by force from this, with machine. (laughter) So this is going on. So this Krsna consciousness movement is a fight against all the owls.

So here is a challenge: yuyam vai dharma-rajasya yadi nirdesa-karinah. Nirdesa-karinah. Servant means they have no second choice than to carry out the orders of the master. Therefore nirdesa-karinah. They cannot argue. No. Whatever is ordered, that is served. So if anyone claims to become... He is expecting the... I think... Here the Visnudutas are also mentioned here, vasudevokta-karinah. They are also servant. So ukta means whatever order is given by Vasudeva, they carry out. Similarly, the Yamadutas, they are servant of Yamaraja. They are also addressed nirdesa-karinah: "If you are actually servant of Yamaraja, you act according to his direction, then you must know what is dharma and what is adharma." So they are actually bona fide servant of Yamaraja, there is no doubt about it. Now they are giving their identification in this way, yamaduta ucuh veda-pranihito dharmah, immediately answered. "What is dharma?" That was the question. Immediately answered. They know what is dharma. Veda-pranihito dharmah: "Dharma means what is explained in the Vedas." You cannot create dharma. Veda, the original knowledge, Veda means knowledge. Veda-sastra. So from the time of creation, the Veda was given to Brahma. Veda... Therefore it is called apauruseya; it is not manufactured. That is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, tene brahma hrda adi-kavaye. Brahma, brahma means Veda. Vedas another name is brahma, spiritual knowledge, or all knowledge, brahma. So tene brahma adi-kavaye hrda. So Veda has to be studied from the spiritual master.

So it is said that the Brahma is the first living being who understood Vedas. So how he understood? Where is The teacher? There is no other creature. How he understood Vedas? Now, that teacher was Krsna, and He is situated in everyone's heart. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. So He is teaching from the heart. So Krsna teaches -- He is so kind -- as caitya-guru, from the heart, and He sends His representative from outside. Caitya-guru and guru, both ways, Krsna is trying. Krsna is so kind. So therefore Vedas, they are not man-made books. Veda, apauruseya. Apauruseya means not made by... We should not take Vedas as ordinary mental speculation book. No. It is perfect knowledge. It is perfect knowledge. And one has to take as it is, without any adulteration, interpretation. So it is spoken by God. Therefore Bhagavad-gita is also Veda. It is spoken by Krsna. So you cannot make any addition, alteration. You must take it as it is. Then you get the right knowledge. Vedas, how... The example is given. Perhaps you know several times that the Vedas, how it should be accepted as it is without interpretation. Just like Vedas says that if you touch stool, immediately you have to take your bath. You have become impure. This is Vedic injunction. If you touch bone, then you have become impure. You have to take your bath immediately, full. Then Vedas say, "Now, the stool of cow is pure, cow dung." Now, with your reason you can say, "First of all you said that stool is impure, and as soon as you touch you must take your bathing. Otherwise you remain impure. So another stool, cow stool, you say pure? This is contradiction. You say that the bone is impure, and you are keeping the bone in the Deity's room?" The conchshell is bone. You know this conchshell is a bone of an animal. So it is being used in the Deity room, and the cow dung is also used in the Deity room. Even Krsna is smearing His whole body with cow dung. You know Krsna's lila. So if you say, argue, with your poor knowledge, then it becomes contradiction. One stool is good; another stool is bad. But because it is said by the Vedas, you have to accept it. This is Vedic knowledge. You cannot argue. There is no scope of argument. Whatever is said, you have to accept. Otherwise how Vedas become authority? You can change in your own way.

So therefore we say that if you want to take benefit by reading Bhagavad-gita, then you should accept it as it is said. Don't try to interpret foolishly. Then you will never get the benefit. That is our propaganda. And people are very against us: "No, I am a scholar. I am a philosopher. I can interpret in a way." We say, "No, sir, you cannot do that." This is our propaganda. Veda-pranihito dharmah.

Thank you very much. (end)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.37 -- San Francisco, July 19, 1975

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