A Way to Spend Your Time

A Way to Spend Your Time

Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.1
San Francisco, March 15, 1968

download  flash player

 

Take a test

---

Prabhupada: Yamuna?

Yamuna: Swamiji?

Prabhupada: It is not working, I think. [break]

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

[I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.]

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

[When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?]

vande 'ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaisnavams ca
sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa-jivam
sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam krsna-caitanya-devam
sri-radha-krsna-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca

[I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and of all the other preceptors on the path of devotional service. I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnavas and unto the six Gosvamis, including Srila Rupa Gosvami, Srila Sanatana Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami and their associates. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Advaita Acarya Prabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and all His devotees, headed by Srivasa Thakura. I then offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, Srimati Radharani and all the gopis, headed by Lalita and Visakha.]

It is not properly working.

Yamuna: No, Swamiji. I don't want to fix it. I've been... [break]

Prabhupada: We have been discussing Prahlada Maharaja's instructions to his class fellows. Fortunately, we have got some little boys. So it is very interesting. Prahlada Maharaja was five years old boy, and he was preaching Krsna consciousness. All the boys, and Prahlada Maharaja himself, belonged to the atheist class, most materialist. They did not know anything beyond sense enjoyment. That's all. All the fathers of the students, classfellows of Prahlada Maharaja, they belonged to the atheist family. In Sanskrit language the atheist is called asura, asurian. And the persons who are God conscious, they are suras or aryans. So they belonged to the family of Assyrian(?) or asura. So Prahlada Maharaja is fortunately, although he is born of a father, completely atheist, by the grace of Krsna and by the grace of his mother, he became a great devotee. From very childhood, from his birth, he was a devotee. Why he became such devotee, that is explained in later chapters. We shall come to that.

So he was agitating in the school amongst his classfellows to become Krsna conscious. So he's preaching. Just in the tiffin hour, in the recess hour, as soon as the teacher's gone, he took the opportunity and stood up on the bench and began to agitate his friends, "My dear friends," kaumara acaret prajna, "now we should become Krsna conscious from this childhood. Don't wait for your old age." Generally, people think that "When we shall become old, we shall take care of becoming Krsna conscious or God conscious or go to the church or temple. At present, let us play and enjoy life." So Prahlada Maharaja says, "No." Kaumara acaret prajna. Prajna means intelligent. Intelligent means who does not waste time. Time is very valuable. You are American people. You know very well how to utilize time. But time is very valuable is also accepted in Vedic civilization. There is a very nice verse in Canakya sloka. You just see how much time was considered as valuable. By this verse, you will know. Canakya Pandita says Canakya Pandita was a great politician. He was sometimes prime minister of the emperor of India. So he says, ayusah ksana eko 'pi na labhya svarna-kotibhih. He says that "A moment's time of your duration of life, moment..." Not to speak of hours and days, but moments. He was considering moment to moment. Just like today, 15th March, 1968, now it is half past seven or past seven, thirty-five. Now this 1968, 7:35, gone, as soon as it is 7:36, you cannot bring back that 1968, 15th March, evening, 7:35, again. Even if you pay millions of dollars, "Please come back again," no, finished. So Canakya Pandita says that "Time is so valuable that if you pay millions of golden coins, you cannot get back even a moment." What is lost is lost for good. Na cen nirarthakam nitih: "If you such valuable time spoil for nothing, without any profit," na ca hanis tato 'dhika, "just imagine how much you are losing, how greatly you are loser." The thing which you cannot get back by paying millions of dollars, if that is lost for nothing, how much you are losing, just imagine.

So the same thing: Prahlada Maharaja says that dharman bhagavatan, to become Krsna conscious, or God conscious, is so important that we should not lose even a moment's time. Immediately we shall begin. Why? Durlabham manusam janma. Manusam janma. He says that this human form of body is very rare. It is obtained after many, many births. So modern civilization, they do not understand what is the value of this human form of life. They think that this body is meant for sense enjoyment like cats and dogs. The cats and dogs, they are also enjoying life in four principles; eating, sleeping, defending, and mating. So human form of life is not meant for spoiling like cats and dogs. Human form of life is meant for something else. And that "something else" is Krsna conscious or God consciousness because without human form of life, no other body can understand what is God, what is this world, what I am, wherefrom I have come, where I have to go. These things are meant for human life. So he says that "From very childhood..." Actually this is essential. From childhood, in the schools, in the colleges, this bhagavata-dharma, or the occupation of Krsna consciousness, should be introduced. This is necessary, but they do not understand. They think that this spot life is all, and this body is all, and there is no other life. Next life, they do not believe it. This is all due to ignorance. Life is eternity, and this spot life is preparation for the next life.

So Prahlada Maharaja says, durlabham. Durlabham means very rarely obtained. Our modern anthropologists, they also admit it, that after many evolution of different species of life, this human form of life is obtained. But they do not know what is meant for. That is answered here, Prahlada Maharaja. We have to pass through many millions of species of life. There are 900,000 species of life in the water. Eleven hundred thousand species of life Jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati. Sthavara means plants and trees. Two million species of life. And jalaja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati, krmayo rudra-sankhyakah. And worms, they are 1,100,000 species of life. Krmayo rudra-sankhyakah. Paksinam dasa-laksanam. And birds, they are one million species of life. And then four-legged beasts, they are three million species of life. And human form of life, beginning from the most uncivilized to the civilized form of life, they are only 400,000 species of life. So in consideration of all the total species of life, human form of life is very small. Only four hundred. Out of 8,400,000's of species of life, human form of life is only 400,000. Out of that, there are many uncivilized.

So the Aryan family, they are considered as advanced, civilized, so, with full developed consciousness, and therefore this is the opportunity for understanding the value of life. So

kaumara acaret prajno
dharman bhagavatan iha
durlabham manusam janma
tad apy adhruvam (arthadam)
 [SB 7.6.1]

Adhruvam arthadam. He says that "This life is very valuable, very rare, but it is also temporary." Because it is very rarely obtained, it is not permanent. It is also temporary like cats and dogs. They have got their temporary body. But the one significance of this body is arthadam. Arthadam means you can derive the greatest value in this life. Arthadam. Artha means money, and paramartha means spiritual consciousness. That is also artha. So one should be engaged for earning money because the body requires material necessities. That's all right. But his real attention should be how to achieve spiritual consciousness, or Krsna consciousness. That is arthadam. That is the value of life.

yatha hi purusasyeha
visnoh padopasarpanam
yad esa sarva-bhutanam
priya atmesvarah suhrt

And what is that spiritual consciousness? Purusasyeha visnoh padopasarpanam. Visnu. Visnu means the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is called Visnu, all-pervading, the word used here, visnoh. Visnu means who is all-pervading at the same time He's a person. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is person; at the same time, He is all-pervading. How it is? In our material conception we cannot imagine, but there is a proof in your presence.

Just like the sun. Sun is localized. You can see every day. Sun globe is located at a certain place in the outer space, but the sunshine is all-pervading. Sun is present everywhere by his all-pervasive sunshine. Similarly, Visnu, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is in His abode which is called Visnuloka, or the kingdom of God, or Krsnaloka, whatever you may understand. He has got His particular abode. But at the same time, by His different energies, He is all-pervading. There is another example of this all-pervasiveness of God in the Visnu Purana that "Just like fire is located in one place, but its light and heat is distributed long, long distant, similarly, whatever we see within this cosmic manifestation, that is diffusion of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So Prahlada Maharaja points out that

yatha hi purusasyeha
visnoh padopasarpanam
yad esa sarva-bhutanam
priya atmesvarah suhrt

One should be Krsna conscious or God conscious, why? Because He is the master of your self and the most intimate friend, suhrt. Yatha atmesvara. Atmesvara means we are individual self and He is the original Superself. Just like we, for the present we like this body, we love this body...why? Because the body is the production of the soul. Without soul, there is no body. Just like a child born. If the soul is there, the child will grow. If the child is born dead, however chemically you can keep up that body, it will never grow. So that is the significance of the presence of the soul. So as the body grows on account of presence of the soul, similarly, the soul, individual soul, is the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that mamaivamso jiva-bhutah: [Bg. 15.7] "All these living entities, they are My part and parcels." We are part and parcel of God. You can study. You can understand what is the nature of God by studying yourself because you are sample God. You are miniature, small God. Just like particle of gold is also small particle, it is also gold, similarly, because we are part and parcel of God, therefore there all the ingredients, all the chemical compounds in the God, we have got. (end)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.1 -- San Francisco, March 15, 1968

HOME

© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.