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Lecture: Srimad Bhagavatam
7.3.20
Denver, Colorado - 19 January 2005
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto Seven, Chapter 3, Hiranyakasipu's Plan to
Become Immortal, Text number 20.
vyavasayena te 'nena
dushkarena
manasvinam
tapo-nishthena bhavata
jito 'ham diti-nandana
SYNONYMS
vyavasayena
-- by determination; te -- your; anena -- this;
dushkarena -- difficult to perform; manasvinam -- even for
great sages and saintly persons; tapah-nishthena -- aimed at
executing austerity; bhavata -- by you; jitah --
conquered; aham -- I; diti-nandana -- O son of Diti.
Translation and
purport by His Divine Grace, Srila Prabhupada.
My dear son of Diti, with your great determination and austerity you
have done what was impossible even for great saintly persons, and thus I
have certainly been conquered by you.
PURPORT
In regard to the
word jitah, Srila Madhva Muni gives the following quotation from the
Sabda-nirnaya: parabhutam vasa-stham ca jitabhid ucyate budhaih.
"If one comes under someone else's control or is defeated by another, he
is called jitah." Hiranyakasipu's austerity was so great and
wonderful that even Lord Brahma agreed to be conquered by him.
om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
cakshur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah
I was in the
darkest darkness of ignorance, but by beloved spiritual master, His
Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Tridandi Gosvami Maharaja Prabhupada
came to me so mercifully.
He is forcing my eyes open with this torchlight of transcendental
knowledge. My eternal
obeisances at his lotus feet.
It is quite
interesting to note here that Brahmaji has been conquered
Someone else may think, well this is pretty good.
I will also conquer Brahmaji.
I will go to the Rocky Mountains, and I will try to imitate
Hiranyakasipu, so I can conquer Brahmaji.
But, as we find out, as this saga unfolds, that Brahmaji is not
as powerful as Hiranyakasipu thought he was.
He was unable to provide the boon desired by Hiranyakasipu.
So, it turns out
srama eva hi kevalam.
Even for his material desire, it turned out to be useless labor for him.
All these austerities he had done, standing on his tiptoes for
125 years. It was a
complete waste actually.
Simply waste.
Because, when he
wanted immortality and Brahmaji said I can not give you immortality,
because I do not have it, then Hiranyakasipu thought he would use what
he felt was his superior intelligence to get immortality anyway, he said
I will not be killed in the day or the night.
Bless me that I will not be killed by any man or any beast.
I will not be killed inside or outside, or on the land or in the
air. So many many many
conditions he was giving.
And he thought, now, I've got it covered.
I've covered every single possible base, so, surely now I'm
immortal. Even thought
Brahmaji said no, now I have gotten it anyway by my superior
intelligence. But guess what.
Srama eva hi kevalam.
He schemed and
plotted and he did so many austerities for what?
Simply to be killed.
Instead of trying to conquer over Brahmaji, or any other thing that we
may try to conquer over, in this material world there are so many tiny
Hiranyakasipus, and they're all doing various austerities and
penances, of course to a much smaller degree, to try and conquer some
way. Whether its in
politics, whether its in business whatever field it may be.
Interpersonal relationships.
Everyone is trying to come to that supreme position.
Indeed, that is the very disease which brought us here to this
material world to begin with, the desire to be the supreme.
Until we become
spotlessly pure devotees, to the degree that we are not completely
surrendered to Krishna, we're still contaminated with the desire to be
the supreme. So, we should
honestly admit that to ourselves, realize it about ourselves, that we
are actually in a diseased state of consciousness right now.
We should be a little humble, actually very very humble.
We shouldn't walk around thinking that we're great, that no one
can tell me anything. That
I'm beyond being instructed.
We should not think like that.
We see practically that those devotees who are the most advanced
are more willing to be instructed.
I'll give you a very graphic example in this connection.
One time,
Prabhupada had gone to the airport.
You may have heard it, but its a nice story that bears repeating.
Prabhupada was at the airport.
All the devotees of course were there surrounding him.
You know how it was.
Everyone came to the airport to see Prabhupada off.
Nobody wanted to miss the nectar of being at the airport to see
Prabhupada off. It was
absolutely packed with devotees.
Of course, that was the old days before the terrorists, and the
high-jacking. You could go
right up to the gate. All
the devotees were there at the gate.
You didn't have to clear security in those days because there was
no security in the airport.
The only thing you needed was a ticket to get on the plane, and other
than that it was free access for everyone.
There was a huge crowd of devotees there.
There were so
many devotees, they were blocking everything.
No one could get through the area because it was completely
solid-packed with devotees.
The airport officials were in complete anxiety.
What to do? What to
do? We have a congestion
problem here. Our customers can't get through, what to do?
So they went up to the devotees and said Can you please move?
Can you please move?
Nobody was going to move
one foot away from Prabhupada.
Everybody was camped out with their spot as close as possible to
Srila Prabhupada. Not one
devotee was going to budge one inch away from Prabhupada.
They didn't care
what authority or what policeman says anything.
I'm camped out here.
I'm having my darsana of Srila Prabhupada and I don't care what
you say. I'm staying right
here. It was very
perplexing. They couldn't
get the devotees to move.
They just couldn't do it.
So, finally they came to Rupanuga, who was the GBC and they asked him
and he, being in that position, he had to do something, so he finally
just stood up on a chair and made an announcement.
All the devotees should leave the area immediately.
But still, nobody was moving.
Everybody was just staying there.
There was only
one devotee who took the instruction.
You know who that was?
Prabhupada.
Prabhupada stood up, Oh all devotees should leave?
I'm one of the devotees, so I have to leave.
The GBC had made an instruction, all devotees should leave the
area. I have to obey the
GBC. Prabhupada thinks he's
one of the members of iskcon, and has to obey the GBC's instructions.
So, he got up to leave the area.
It shows you that those who are more advanced, they are more
willing to follow instruction than those who are less advanced.
If you want to show yourself to be a neophyte devotee, then just
be very stubborn to follow instructions.
Be very very stubborn to follow instructions from your superiors.
Those who are the most surrendered to following the instructions
of their superiors, they are the most advanced devotees.
Prabhupada
trained me personally. He
wrote me a letter from Paris.
He said follow whatever instructions you receive from your temple
authority without question.
Period. Just follow the
instruction, period. That's
how Prabhupada trained me.
And I did that. I've always
done that, and that has kept me, in spite of all the ups and downs that
one normally goes through.
It has kept me here solidly for 35 years.
Its one of those insider's tips that I like to give.
If you want to know the secret of how to make it in Krishna
consciousness. Be
subservient and obedient to your authority.
That's how Prabhupada trained me.
There's a lot of counter propaganda against our movement, against
our leaders, by former, disgruntled members.
They want us to follow them, instead of the leadership of iskcon.
[aside: sorry, don't sleep in class please.
If you're having a hard time, stand up.]
Prabhupada made it very clear to us.
He said that you should never leave this society that he created.
He says, even if you find it intolerable, you should not leave.
Actually, there's nothing intolerable in the association of
devotees, but if you think its intolerable, still you should not leave.
Prabhupada told us that actually it is our mental conception if
we think its intolerable.
Simply our mental conception.
Even if your mind is telling you this is an intolerable
situation, you should not leave.
That's how Prabhupada trained us.
If we can stick
to these programs, you're not going to be a conqueror over Brahma.
You may say its an austerity.
But Sankarshan prabhu, that's such an austerity.
How can you expect me to always do that.
To be surrendered to my authority.
How can you ask me to do that?
Its a great austerity.
Even if you do that, you're not going to conquer Brahma, but I
can guarantee you that you're going to be one who conquers over Krishna.
Krishna is known as ajita, He who is completely unconquerable.
But, if you actually surrender fully to Krishna through the
guru parampara system, then I absolutely guarantee you that that day
will come when you will conquer Krishna.
Why conquer Brahma, who can't make you immortal, when you can
conquer Krishna?
This is the
program that this Krishna consciousness society is offering you.
A system, a technique, a discipline, a society, a program which
will enable you to personally conquer the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Can you imagine if
Krishna became your personal property?
That person who not a blade of grass can move without His
sanction, that person who absolutely controls everything, owns
everything, just imagine if He's your personal property.
What would be your position?
How opulent, how powerful, how unlimitedly auspicious that
position is? If you do the
austerity of following this program that Prabhupada has given us, if you
simply agree to do this austerity, to do it purely, to not deviate, to
be a strict devotee, if you sincerely do this, then I absolutely
guarantee that day will come when Krishna will manifest Himself to you
personally, and you will actually conquer over Him.
Just like Mother Yasoda, or Arjuna.
I guarantee it.
That's what Prabhupada has taught us.
Its not my personal guarantee.
I'm just passing on Prabhupada's guarantee
How fortunate we are, and how sublime is this Krishna
consciousness. How sublime is
this Krishna consciousness movement.
One time, one of
our Godbrothers asked Srila Prabhupada, what happens when we give
somebody a simply wonderful on the street?
Srila Prabhupada said, he will take that wonderful sweet, and he
will come to your temple, and he will become simply wonderful.
Then Prabhupada continued to speak.
He was enlivened by that question.
He said, Krishna is simply wonderful.
This process of Krishna consciousness is simply wonderful, and
you are all simply wonderful.
Then, one devotee said, Prabhupada is simply wonderful.
Prabhupada said that's alright, have kirtana.
(laughs)
If you will
simply stick with this simply wonderful process of Krishna
consciousness, it will be like eating the most wonderful gulabjamun at
every second. The
unlimited, ultimate gulabjamun.
Eternally relishing the eternal gulabjamun.
Simply wonderful Krishna consciousness.
We should develop a deaf ear to all these critics who are telling
us to leave iskcon, that the leaders are no good, there's been so many
fall downs, therefore you shouldn't obey the leadership of iskcon, you
shouldn't listen to your temple president, you should tell your guru
to take a hike. You
shouldn't listen to all this counter propaganda.
Its simply poison.
This counter propaganda needs to be stamped out very solidly because its
the worst enemy of our movement actually.
This counter propaganda telling us not to follow the leadership
of iskcon.
What can I say?
Prabhupada ordered me to follow the leadership.
There is a mechanism in our society if one feels that leaders are
not doing the right thing, there's a mechanism.
This year in Mayapura, they have an open forum.
Any devotee who wants to make a presentation to the GBC body is
welcome to do that. You
just report at such a time, give your name to the Sgt. At Arms, and
you're on the agenda to speak to the whole GBC body.
Just like in the old days, any citizen could go to the king and
make a complaint. The king
would openmindedly consider if it was a just or an unjust complaint, and
would take proper action.
So, the GBC has that facility now at the annual meeting.
You can go, make your presentation to the GBC body, that this is
not going proper in our society, this needs to be adjusted in this way,
and if its a just complaint they will act on it.
Or you can also submit a written proposal for GBC resolutions.
Any devotee can put forward a proposal for GBC resolutions.
We're working
together, as a body of devotees throughout the world, to establish a
perfect society. So,
please, if you feel something needs to be done to improve the society,
then make your realization known.
We're all working together to try to make Prabhupada's mission a
success, and its our duty of every single member, as we've been saying,
as in the Indian Railways, its the duty of every member to see that the
wheel of the train is turning, its the duty of every member of iskcon,
to see that this society is successful in inundating the world with
Krishna consciousness. So,
kindly take up this mood of responsibility to work cooperatively and
responsibly to see that this society is successful, and does, in fact,
inundate the world.
This sort of
meditation, if you take it very seriously in your heart, this will keep
you purely fixed in Krishna consciousness.
Lord Krishna has given us the order that you must surrender to
Me.
Sarva dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
We have to
surrender fully to him.
Prabhupada has explained that in the kali-yuga that [aside: open
your eyes. I want to make sure you're not sleeping.
You mentioned the speaker's eye contact, I would like to have the
listener's eye contact also, to make sure you're with us, and not
drifting off somewhere.]
Prabhupada explains that in this kali-yuga, that instruction of
Krishna, to surrender to Me, he says that order in the kali-yuga
takes the form of
yare
dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa.
Become a guru and deliver the people of this country.
Taking responsible position in this movement to see that it is
successful in awakening the fallen conditioned souls, that is how we
surrender. That is our
surrender to Krishna, to take the responsible position, that I have to
take my responsible duty to see that this preaching movement is
successful. Every single
member should be seeing how this movement can be successful.
It doesn't matter if one is a child, an old person, a woman, a
man, a brahmacari, a
sannyasi, a grhasta,
just those who are members also, they should become responsible too.
Everyone should take the responsibility to see that this movement
is a grand success. That is
our surrender to Krishna.
That is our practical program for surrendering to Krishna.
Kindly do that. This
is what Prabhupada wants.
Kindly do this, and I can guarantee you, every minute of your life will
be absolutely ecstatic, if you do this.
Are there any
questions?
Guest 1:
I've read Bhagavad-Gita myself, and somethings, I just can't get
to connect. Is there a time
of day where people get together and go through the Bhagavad-Gita?
SDA:
While I've been here, I've been giving a whole lecture series on
the Bhagavad-Gita. But its
over now. You could've come
every evening and we could've certainly answered all of your questions.
But, you can write me.
I have my email address, and the devotees here also can help you.
Guest 1:
I do not live too far from here.
SDA:
What you can do is write all of your questions down, and give it
to one of the senior devotees here, and they'll be happy to answer them
for you. We're here just to
serve you. That's all were
here for, otherwise we'd all be in Vrindavan.
But, we've made Vrindavana here with
kirtana, prasadam,
nice Deity
worship, just so you can experience the sublime atmosphere of Krishna
consciousness So, kindly
come, or we'll all just leave for Vrindavan.
Kindly bother us with all of your questions, we'll take it as a
great blessing.
Guest 1:
There is such faith here, which I am looking forward to.
SDA:
Yes, it is faith, but it is not blind faith.
Guest 1:
No.
SDA:
Our faith is based on knowledge
When you get in an automobile, you have your knowledge and
experience that this looks like a safe automobile.
If it looks like an old bomb trap, you may not want to get in
that automobile to go for a ride.
You put faith in that automobile, but its based on knowledge,
because you know what is a safe automobile, and what is a dangerous
automobile. If the door's
falling off the hinges, you may not want to go for a ride in the car.
If its backfiring, and flames are shooting out the exhaust pipe,
you may not want to get in that car because you have some knowledge of
what is a safe car and what is a dangerous car.
Our faith is not
blind. Its based on
knowledge. We have
vedic
knowledge.
Guest 1:
After I started to read it, it got confusing.
Like there was something missing.
SDA:
What you have to do is put forward every single question you
have. When I was coming to
this movement, I was also sometimes confused.
There's a lot of information here.
What I was told was that you have to have your intelligence fully
satisfied. Visnujana
Maharaja told me that.
Blind following is not allowed here.
We don't allow anybody to be blind follower because this is not a
brainwash cult. This is a
movement for the most highly intelligent class of people on this planet.
We want your intelligence to be fully satisfied.
No doubt. No blind
acceptance. It should all
be based on intelligent understanding.
Its a process of putting the questions and getting the answers.
Another question, another answer.
Just keep inquiring inquiring inquiring inquiring, and listen
with an open heart.
Finally, that time will come when all doubts will be gone, and you'll
absolutely know and understand everything perfectly and you'll surrender
to Krishna's lotus feet.
The process works. Do it,
and you'll reap the ultimate reward.
Devotee 1:
Sometimes in our preaching we tell people that this material
civilization will be finished in a few years, and they reply ok, let me
enjoy now.
SDA:
(Laughs) Someone may
say, let me enjoy now. You
could do that, yes. But,
you can ask them, would you rather enjoy temporarily or rather enjoy
permanently? There are two
types of enjoyment, they are called, in the Sanskrit language, they are
called sreya
and
preya.
Preya
means that which
is immediately enjoyable.
This society is offering all varieties of immediate enjoyment.
There are so many nightclubs, there are so many bars, there are
so many hamburger stands, so many young girls now, walking around, just
ready to have sex with anybody who approaches them practically.
The culture has gotten them so far.
You could just gratify your senses.
There's full facility, especially in America.
There's so much facility for sense enjoyment here.
You could just go for it.
Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy.
But, that is called
preyas.
It is immediate enjoyment.
But, that enjoyment will come to an end, and then you have to
pay. You have to take all
the karmic
reactions.
I remember this one graphic
example from my own past experience of this
sreyas
and
preyas.
I remember when I was in high school in Houston Texas, very
humid, especially in May.
In the end of the spring semester it was so unbearably humid.
In those days, there was no air conditioning in the school.
That was too much pampering for the kids.
We just had to gut it out in the classrooms, especially in the 5th
period. Some of our
cohorts, our fellow students, they thought, this isn't so cool.
I'm just going to drop out.
They got a job at the gas station.
They got their hot rod.
Come, around 5th period, we were sitting there in
physics class, gutting it out in physics class with all this boring
stuff about the laws of the material universe.
We could hear them out there in front of the school (makes
revving sound and peeling out sound.)
Burning rubber up and down Wigden street in front of the school,
showing off to us. Ha ha
ha, I'm having a great time, and you're all suffering there in 5th
period. I'm enjoying like
anything and you're suffering.
Its a fact, we were gutting it out in physics class, and they
were out there having a great time with their hot rods (continues auto
sounds, laughing) But ten
years later, they're still working in that damn gas station, and where
are we?
For me, I'm in
the Hare Krishna movement.
For everybody else, they've got their college degrees, they've got a
nice well payed job in an air conditioned office somewhere.
Sreya
and
preya.
If you want to get something that's really good, you have to be
willing to work for it.
Undergo some austerities and penances, to get it.
They have sreya.
In the beginning, it may be difficult sometime. You've got to do
some austerities. You have
a young healthy body, you could have so many girlfriends.
But you restrain your senses.
You practice
brahmacarya. Tapasa
brahmacarena.
You practice
brahmacarya.
Your regulate
your senses. What will be
the result? You will
conquer over sex desire in due course of time.
Sex desire will no longer bother you.
You'll actually conquer over it, and all that energy, instead of
running around in your mind, this woman that woman, that energy will go
to Krishna and will go to your spiritual master, and instead of going up
and down, up and down, you'll just go straight up in your Krishna
consciousness. So, its
worth the austerity. A
little discomfort, a little
tapasya.
Its worth it.
For them also, if
they just want to enjoy now, they can enjoy now, that's a fact.
But that enjoyment will come to an end very soon.
Even if Al-Qaida doesn't come in, take nuclear weapons and
blackmail the U.S. Government to surrender to Osama Bin Laden, or have
all the U.S. Cities blown up by nuclear weapons, even if that doesn't
happen, and it could very well happen.
As soon as Al-Qaida gets hold of nuclear weapons, they could
easily plant a powerful nuclear device in every city in the U.S., and
call up President Bush, and say, OK George, we have a nuclear bomb,
which can blow up all of New York City.
You, either give in to our demands, or New York City is history.
And George says No, we don't give in to terrorists.
(Makes explosive sound)
New York City in a mushroom cloud.
10,000,000 people killed.
Then, another call, George, are you ready now to give in to our
demands? Los Angeles is
next on the list. George
says, No, we don't negotiate with terrorists.
OK. (Makes explosive
sound) OK, Los Angeles goes up.
At what point would the U.S. Government be forced to cave in?
This indeed, could happen in the next few years.
This is why I'm
encouraging every member of this movement, to take very seriously their
responsibility to see that the whole world becomes Krishna conscious.
I hear every morning on a tape in a lecture Prabhupada gave, he
says this world right now is being managed by rogues and demons, now,
you make your life perfect, and you take the management.
Its really imperative at this moment in history, with this big
threat from Al-Qaida. We
have to get to the point where the high court judges in this country are
wearing tilaka.
This is serious, its not just some pie in the sky thing.
We have to get very serious about becoming absolutely pure in our
practice of Krishna consciousness, and preaching very boldly to everyone
we meet so that actually the world can be saved from some horrible
things that can happen if these Al-Qaida's take over.
My understanding is that our Krishna consciousness movement is
the only thing that can stop the forward march of this terrorism.
I don't see anything else that
has the power to stop it, personally.
If there is something else that the U.S. Government has up its
sleeve to put a stop to it, I don't know.
They have been trying for so many years to catch Osama Bin Laden
without any success. From
my perspective, I can't see anything that can solve the problems of the
world except for Krishna consciousness.
The United Nations have been trying since the late '50's, and
they haven't done it. I
don't see anything else that can solve the problems of the world.
Prabhu, you're a
senior devotee, is there anything else that can solve the problems of
the world? I don't see
anything. If you have
something better than Krishna consciousness, I'll give up Krishna
consciousness. I'll give up
Prabhupada and Krishna, and I'll become you're disciple.
If you can show me something better than Krishna consciousness,
I'll give up Krishna consciousness.
But, I've been making this challenge for 35 years and no one has
shown me anything better.
So far as I have seen, there's nothing like this Krishna consciousness
movement. there's nothing
like this Krishna consciousness philosophy.
It will solve all of my problems.
It will solve all the world's problems.
So, I'm remaining 100% dedicated to Prabhupada's mission, and
requesting that all of you must do this.
You must do this.
Otherwise, you're just fools and rascals if you don't do this.
Anyway. (audience
laughs) Thank you very
much.
Devotee 2:
As a responsible member of iskcon, how do you discriminate
between correcting a problem, and fault finding?
SDA:
I may think, in my conditioned state that if my senses are not
being gratified, then that's wrong, for example.
I'm not being given enough facility.
One devotee came to visit a temple, he wanted to do something
there. He was on his own
independent program and he said that the temple authorities are not
cooperating with me. He was
finding fault. But
actually, it was he who was not cooperating with the temple authorities.
There is a tendency that we may think, well I want to rectify
this problem in iskcon, the problem is that they're not cooperating with
me. How does one become
enabled to see things purely and clearly that I'm not clouded by my own
selfish desires, in how I think this society can be improved?
That's an excellent question.
That question was
answered the other night in our Bhagavad-Gita class.
tesham satata-yuktanam
bhajatam
priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te
To those who are constantly devoted to
worshiping Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come
to Me.
It really boils
down to our sincerity. If
we're sincere just to completely surrender to Krishna, I haven't come to
this movement to get some material facility, I've come here simply to be
a humble servant of the Lord, and accept whatever facility He provides
for me. That's up to Him.
If Krishna wants to embrace me, or leave me broken hearted by His
absence, still He is my worshipful Lord, unconditionally.
Whatever Krishna provides for me, I accept it as His mercy upon
me. If He gives me
unlimited facility, or if He gives me no facility.
That is the mood of purity.
We have to come to that mood of purity.
I don't have any demands for myself.
I have no personal demands, I simply want serve Krishna and
accept whatever arrangement he provides for me.
If we're in that spirit, then we will have the proper vision to
discriminate. What needs to
be rectified in the society.
We don't have any personal motivation.
We're simply motivated by what will please Prabhupada, what will
make this movement a success.
We have to come to that pure platform of total surrender, and
then, Krishna will bless us with the proper intelligence.
tesham satata-yuktanam
bhajatam
priti-purvakam
OK then, we'll stop
here. This is my
opportunity to thank each and every one of you for the wonderful
kindness and hospitality you've shown to myself and my wife, Visnupriya
devi dasi. We're very
indebted for all the sweet loving kindness to these wayward souls.
Please, give us your blessings that we can be Krishna conscious.
Hare Krishna.
__________________________________________
Transcribed by His Grace Jagannatha Dasa |
