HH Jayadvaita Swami

[Guest guest]

>From Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir!

 

March 16, 2006

Verse: Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.8

Speaker: HH Jayadvaita Swami

 

__

 

 

dharmartha uttama-slokam

tantuh tanvan pitrn yajet

raksa-kamah punya-janan

ojas-kamo marud-ganan

 

TRANSLATION: One should worship Lord Visnu or His devotee for spiritual

advancement in knowledge, and for protection of heredity and advancement of

a dynasty one should worship the various demigods.

 

PURPORT: The path of religion entails making progress on the path of

spiritual advancement, ultimately reviving the eternal relation with Lord

Visnu in His impersonal effulgence, His localized Paramatma feature, and

ultimately His personal feature by spiritual advancement in knowledge. And

one who wants to establish a good dynasty and be happy in the progress of

temporary bodily relations should take shelter of the Pitas and the demigods

in other pious planets. Such different classes of worshipers of different

demigods may ultimately reach the respective planets of those demigods

within the universe, but he who reaches the spiritual planets in the

brahmajyoti achieves the highest perfection. [end of purport]

 

_______________

 

 

These are different kinds of kamis, persons with desire. One feature of the

living entity is that he has desires. Thinking, feeling, and willing, or

desiring, are three qualities of all living entities. But we're interested

in what kind of desires become manifest. The impersonalists see that because

of material desires they are entangled in maya. And therefore their idea is

to become desireless, free from all desires. Their idea is that desire is

the source of suffering, individuality is the source of desire, and

therefore, by snuffing out individuality we can put an end to desire and

stop the cycle of repeated birth and death.

 

The problem is that individuality is very pesky. It keeps reappearing no

matter how much we try to extinguish it because the living entity is

constitutionally individual. Stopping his individual existence is

practically impossible. And even the attempt is very, very troublesome:

 

kleso 'dhikataras tesam avyakta sakta-cetasam

 

In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna clearly says that those who are trying to

attach themselves to some impersonal conception simply make trouble and more

trouble for themselves on the path of spiritual advancement.

 

So desire will be there, but desire may be for one's own satisfaction, or

for the satisfaction of Krsna.

 

atmendriya priti-vancha tare bale kama

 

The desire for one's own satisfaction is called kama, or lust. And:

 

krsnendriya-priti iccha dhare prema nama

 

The desire to satisfy the senses of Krsna is called prema, or transcendental

love of Godhead.

 

At the present moment we have so many desires; sometimes we may desire

something spiritual, sometimes something material. Sometimes we may wish to

be free from all desires. Finally Sukadeva Goswami will bring us to the

point:

 

akamah sarva-kamo va moksa kama udara-dhih

tivrena bhakti-yogena yajeta purusam param

 

Whether we're full of desires, or free from desires, or desire liberation,

if we're intelligent, we should engage in service or worship of the

Personality of Godhead, purusam param, the Supreme Person.

 

Now on the way to that conclusion, Srila Sukadeva Goswami is describing

different kinds of worship that one may perform to satisfy different

desires, "dharmartha uttama-slokam", generally we understand dharma-artha to

mean pious activities or religious activities with the aim of economic

development, then sense gratification, then finally liberation. Dharma,

artha, kama, moksa, these are the four arthas, four goals in human life:

piety, economic progress, sense enjoyment, and then, when my senses are

satisfied, liberation. Or here Srila Prabhupada simply summarizes "for

spiritual advancement", and he makes clear that ultimately spiritual

advancement means reviving our eternal relationship with Lord Krsna.

 

On the way there are different stages. There is the stage of impersonal

realization. There is the stage of Paramatma realization. And finally there

is the realization of Bhagavan.

 

Whether one is an impersonalist, jnani, or a yogi engaged in seeking out the

Paramatma, or a devotee, one is advised to worship uttama-sloka, the

Personality of Godhead, or persons attached to the Personality of Godhead,

uttama-sloka. And "tantuh tanvan pitrn yajet" those who are interested in

protecting their offspring should worship the Pitas, the Pitrs, the

residents of Pitr-loka. Generally we find that parents are always interested

in protecting their children. We know from Prabhupada's life that his mother

used to follow different religious rituals or practically superstitious

practices, undergo different vows, that my son may live. Every parent wants

the protection of their children.

 

"Tantuh tanvan pitrn yajet." Mother Yasoda was also always desiring that

Krsna may not be attacked by any monkeys, he may not fall in the Yamuna,

everything will be all right. The parents are always concerned for their

children, and then for their grandchildren. "Is everything all right? Is the

child OK?" The grandparents are calling the parents, "Is everything all

right?" Those with such concerns are advised you can worship the Pitas, the

residents of Pitr-loka.

 

And raksa-kama. Raksa means protection. Generally everyone is concerned with

his own safety. Of the four propensities - eating, sleeping, mating and

defending - Srila Prabhupada comments someplace that fearing, or the

defending potency, is the most prominent. Generally we may think the mating

propensity is most prominent, but Srila Prabhupada says no, fearing

propensity. At every step one is concerned about one's personal safety, "Is

everything all right? Is it safe to go here? Is my medical insurance all

right? Are terrorists, is this a terrorist-free zone?" So many, so many, so

many ways one is concerned for one's own safety. Practically the material

world is such a place that one always has to worry because at every step

there is potentially some threat to our physical well-being, to our

continued existence in this world.

 

There are innumerable ways in which our fragile bodies can be broken apart,

dissolved, burned, cut to pieces, smothered, drowned, or otherwise

destroyed. The list of diseases fills books and they can come at any moment.

There are fires, there are sudden attacks by every kind of human being. So

many ways. Simple accidents, we fall and break this, fall and break that.

Trip and break this. Cars, we are all travelling in cars. Cars are so

dangerous, at any moment there can be an accident. Our position is actually

very dangerous. At any moment death may come.

 

Raksa-kama, so one who wants protection is advised to worship punya-jana,

the pious persons. Punya-jana. We hardly know what punya-jana is, a pious

person. Especially in the Western countries, the accepted normal way of life

is one the Vedic literature calls sinful. Sinful activities, especially are

four most prominently: intoxication, gambling, meat eating, and illicit sex,

which are considered just ordinary affairs in modern Western civilization

and gradually modern civilization period.

 

Then we think that if someone is freed from these four things then he is

pious. And that is true to some extent, but actually that's a negative

definition. That's like saying that if you are not sick you are healthy. But

health doesn't consist simply of not being sick, it consists of being

strong, of having all your systems properly balanced, everything's working

nicely. Just that you don't have a disease at the moment is not really a

standard of health. So simply not to be grossly sinful is not actually

piety. But there are so many pious activities recommended in Vedic

literature: charitable activities, sacrifice, austerity, certain standards

of conduct that are considered pious. To receive visitors properly is a

standard of pious life. The way that we treat other people, even people

unknown to us, is a consideration of pious life. How we treat our superiors

is part of pious life, how we treat our equals and those who are less than

us.

 

There are scriptural rules of guidance for all these things. There are so

many activities that are actually considered pious - to bathe in the Ganges

or sacred rivers is pious. To worship the Tulasi plant or offer obeisances

to the Tulasi plant is a pious activity. To take care of a cow. How many

Westerners are taking care of cows? If they don't kill cows, if they are

vegetarians, then we consider them very good, but actually pious persons

will take care of a cow or many cows, keep the cows as a matter of pious

activity.

 

We read about Lord Krsna's daily affairs. Early in the morning he would rise

for the brahma-muhurta. He would see different auspicious items. He would

see the cows and scratch their ears, give them a little affection. He would

distribute different items to the brahmanas. As a householder, ideal

householder, he would perform so many pious activities even before the day

really got started, before he began his routine affairs of administration or

various duties. He would begin with so many pious activities. So we

generally don't see pious persons on this planet in this age.

 

Although actually India is supposed to be punya-bhumi, the place of piety,

and still one can see that. Although the Vedic culture is damaged in so many

ways in the present age, even in India. Prabhupada gave the saying that an

elephant, dead or alive, is worth a lakh. A living elephant is so valuable

but even a dead elephant is worth so much for the hide, for the tusks, so

many things. So the Vedic culture, even in its damaged condition, even if we

think it is practically dead, it is so valuable.

 

Prabhupada gave the. . . different examples that the Kumbha Mela takes place

every twelve years in Allahabad and also in other places and still millions

of people gather. Why? Because they know that this is pious. So if there is

an opportunity, even undergoing so much inconvenience; the mela is held in

the coldest part of the year and it involves so much inconvenience but

people are going in the millions because they believe that it's pious.

 

Another example that Prabhupada was walking in a field in Vrindavan along

with sannyasis and other disciples, and a farmer came out, dressed in that

grey cloth, very simple man, and he offered his obeisances and he said that

"It is our great fortune that you have come to bless our field. Actually it

is Govinda's field and we are blessed so much by your presence." Prabhupada

said that if it was in the West, he would have come out with his gun: "No

trespassing." But still in India people are so pious by nature. You can find

so many pious men.

 

When I was on Padayatra, one time we stopped in some place. Actually it was

a very long day and even the bulls were so tired that the devotees had to

pull the Deity cart and it was up and down hills. Finally we came to some

place along the road, there was nothing there, everyone just collapsed. We

were all just like stretched out. Someone is here, someone is there, on the

grass. While we were lying there, I was with two or three other devotees,

and there was a little hut nearby, so a lady came out and she brought some

little steel cups of water and put them down and went back into her hut.

Then she came back out and she had some asanas. Then she went in and came

out and had some agarbatti, [incense] lighted agarbatti and she put that.

She went back into her house and she came out with some little fruit, little

plates of fruit, and she gave that.

 

This is the quality in the Vedic civilization. No one even had to knock on

the door, "Mataji we're starving, we're so thirsty, we're this, we're that."

 

"Some sadhus have come, some travellers have come, let us do some service.

They are somehow parked in our vicinity." No question even. So these are

some of the features of pious life.

 

In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna explains that there are daivi-sampada and

asuri-sampada. Daivi-sampada means pious assets, pious qualities. And

asuri-sampada means just the opposite, demoniac qualities, demoniac assets,

if you can call them assets. And Lord Krsna directs:

 

yesam tvanta gatam papam jananam punya-karmanan

te dvandva moha-nirmukta bhajante mam drdha-vratah

 

Who can engage in the service of the Lord with full determination? Those

who've come to the end of all sinful activities. As long as we're still

engaged in four kinds of sinful activities, how can we engage in pure

devotional service? Therefore the first requirement for one who wants to be

initiated on the path of spiritual progress, is to firmly reject all of

these things: no gambling, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no illicit sex -

no sinful activities. And to be engaged in pious activities, to be engaged

in pious activities.

 

To become a pious person, even to be pious in Kali-yuga is a great thing. If

we meet a pious person. . . actually a pious person is so exalted. If we

find a person with noble qualities, who is charitable, who is kind, who is

truthful, who is magnanimous, who is devoted to spiritual advancement, who

is respectful to saintly persons or who is respectful to superiors, who is

friendly to all others - these are characteristics of a pious person. If we

meet such a pious person it is something like meeting a demigod. Such

persons are so exceptionally fine, such refined persons. Samskrta means

refined, actually. Refined persons.

 

So raksa-kama punya-jana, if one wants to protect oneself, then one should

engage in worship of punya-jana, the pious persons. But the topmost standard

of pious person is the devotee of the Lord. Therefore, a devotee of the Lord

- it's not that one should be impious in one's eating, sleeping, mating, and

defending, impious in one's ordinary dealings and simply be decorated with

tilaka and kanthi-mala and thinking that I am a devotee - but one who is

chanting Hare Krsna, one who wants to please Krsna, should try to develop

the good qualities. Of course, anyone who is engaged in the service of Krsna

is expected to automatically develop these qualities, but we should

cultivate these activities also. That would be nice.

 

Otherwise, of course even a person with all pious qualities but devoid of

devotional service is rejected:

 

harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna

mano-rathenasati dhavato bahih

 

He has all the good qualities, but he is not engaged in the service of the

Lord, then he is a rascal.

 

Just like sometimes you find in - not only in America, in many countries -

that there are persons who are very well-spoken, very intelligent, very

charitable, very thoughtful, they have all exceptionally special qualities,

maybe highly educated also. Only one thing, he is like a major figure in

organized crime. There are such people. The small class people, they just

break into a hardware store and steal something and run. But the big thieves

in Kali-yuga are highly educated, highly refined, highly qualified,

well-dressed, well-mannered, soft spoken, and they are stealing millions and

millions of dollars. There is always some scandal in one country or another

that such and such multi millionaires have now been caught stealing multiple

millions of dollars. Then all of their good qualities, what are they worth?

"He's the most refined, sophisticated, gentle thief I ever met."

 

Everything belongs to Krsna. We are all guests of the Supreme Lord on his

property and we are claiming it is ours and there is no one else but us. We

just have to divide everything in a democratic fashion among ourselves. That

means thieves. Prabhupada used that phrase, thieves dividing piously.

 

harav abhaktasya kuto mahad-guna

 

Such thieves ultimately have no good qualities. Their good qualities are

only superficial, only apparent. And a devotee, even

 

api cet suduracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak, sadhur eva

 

Even if he's apparently engaged in something abominable, Lord Krsna says

still he is a sadhu. Why? Because he is wholeheartedly engaged in my

service. Therefore he has to be considered a sadhu. Oh, he is doing this,

doing that. No. Ksipram bhavati dharmatma, whatever apparent evil activities

you might see will very quickly disappear because he is a steadfast devotee.

Still we shouldn't use the excuse that "I'm a devotee, so I'm a sadhu, so

any nonsense I can do." That becomes namnad balad yasya hi papa-buddhih,

that becomes a great offence to the holy name of the Lord, that "This a very

nice religion, I can do anything and neutralize the reactions by chanting

Hare Krsna." That is most offensive. And by offending the Lord how will we

make any spiritual progress?

 

But a person who is honestly serving and sincerely trying to avoid offences

to the holy name, offences to the Vaisnavas, offences to the Deity, offences

to other living entities, such a person will quickly make advancement.

 

Then "ojas-kamo marud-ganan." Oja means strength. In Ayurveda this ojas is

always mentioned, the substance of material strength. So one who wants

strength should worship Marud-gana, various demigods, or Maruts, the

demigods of the wind and brothers of Lord Indra.

 

So there are different recommendations for worship, but ultimately

udara-dhih, one who has broader intelligence should engage in the service of

purusam param, govindam adi purusam tam aham bhajami, he should engage in

the service of Krsna and all of his desires will be fulfilled to the highest

extent.

 

Hare Krsna. Are there any questions? Yes.

 

 

Rajendranandana Das: In the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam it says

completely rejecting all materialistic religion. Then it's is only five,

six, seven verses here, and in the context it's given, but is there a reason

given why they go ahead and say if you want this worship this, worship this?

 

 

Maharaja: In the beginning of Bhagavatam, the cheating religion, dharma,

artha, kama, moksa, is rejected, then why are these things being mentioned

here, if you want this worship this, if you want that worship that.

 

The real purpose is to come to the conclusion that whatever you want,

worship Krsna. Someone may say "If I just give the conclusion outright, just

engage in the service of Krsna you'll get everything," someone may think,

"He doesn't know that for this you should worship this, for this you should

worship that, for a good wife you should worship Lord Siva, for a good this

you should worship. . . he doesn't know. So how can I accept this kind of

conclusion?"

 

So he gives the summary that, "Yes, there are so many different objects of

worship. We know that for this, this worship; for that, that worship. But

actually if you are more intelligent, this is the conclusion. The same

question came up, I think in another class, about Bhagavad-gita, that why is

Krsna mentioning all these other processes? Jnana, yoga, and astanga-yoga

and all of these things. Why does he go through all this? If he's finally

going to say "sarva dharman parityajya," give up all other religion, why go

through the whole business?

 

Then the answer is given just so it's clear what this other business is.

Just as it's said:

 

anyabhilasita sunyam jnana karmad anavrtam

anukulyena krsnanusilanam

 

Positive and negative. This part makes zero, this part makes one hundred

percent. So in the same spirit, the list is being given here, if you want

this worship this, if you want that worship that, but if you ask me, if you

are intelligent - and who doesn't want to be intelligent - just engage in

the service of Krsna.

 

Something else? Yes, Mataji.

 

 

Amrta Gopal DD.: Hare Krsna, Maharaja. Srila Prabhupada has said many times

that this material world is the perverted reflection of the spiritual world,

so considering the question of individuality, in our conditioned state we do

not understand who we are, how do we understand that individuality and

appreciate it in our conditioned state?

 

 

Maharaja: How do we appreciate individuality in our conditioned state? Is

that the question? Yes.

 

In different ways we can look at it. From one point of view we see that our

individuality is a kind of individual disease: this person has smallpox,

this person has diphtheria, this person has AIDS. So this person is

American, this person is Indian; it's a kind of disease, all these bodies.

This person is a bird, this person is a duck this person is an ant, this

person is an elephant, this person is a businessman, this person is a

scholar, this person is a farmer. These are all different symptoms of our

diseased condition. Someone's got a tall body, someone's got a small body -

in all these different varieties - someone's very good-looking, someone's

very clever, someone's very stupid looking, someone's very this-that.

 

There are all these different that make up individuality. This person's

always doing such and such thing. The idiosyncrasies and all the different

qualities that make up the individuality are all on account of our material

disease. Someone's wearing glasses so he looks really cool because he's

wearing the latest style of glasses from London and they make him look a

little bit scholarly also, but after all, it's just a sign that he has

crummy eyesight.

 

The whole bodily existence is just individuality in its fully diverse

manifestations of disease. That's one way of looking at it. And the

self-realized person sees that all these people in different stages, it's

all nonsense. He doesn't see any difference:

 

vidya-vinaya sampanne brahmane gavi hastini

suni caiva sva-pake ca pandita sama-darsinah

 

He sees that there are so many different kinds of individuals that are all

falsely identifying with different material desires and different material

bodies. They are all thinking I am this and I am that. This is all nonsense.

So he seems them all equally.

 

That's one angle of vision, but he also knows that underneath the diseased

individuality is healthy individuality. Just like we have different

diseases, why? One person is sick because he eats too much. Another person's

sick because he doesn't eat enough. Another person is sick because sometimes

he eats too much and sometimes too little. Another person's sick for some

other reason. So why all these individual kinds of disease? It's because

there are different kinds of people with different kinds of habits which

gives them the disease. Someone smokes too much. Everyone's got something.

So these diseases, why don't we all have one kind of disease? Why don't we

all have round faces and brown bodies and we're all five foot eight and a

hundred and sixty pounds? Why aren't we all the same? It's because of

different, different, different, different desires. Why are there so many

different desires? Why is there so much different karma? Why don't we all

have the same karma? It is because ultimately the soul within the body who's

picked up all these different kinds of disease.

 

So the self-realized person sees that although the soul is of one quality,

there's only one type of spirit soul, that spirit soul is diverse in its

manifestations. That is to say, there are innumerable living entities, each

one with its own individual spiritual nature which is now perverted, now

contaminated.

 

Another consideration is that one may appreciate also, that all this

material diversity is a manifestation of Krsna. That because of Krsna

someone is a great scholar, someone is a great hero, someone is a great

fool, something is a great something else, or someone's not great at

anything, he's just kind of dull, nothing to distinguish him very much, he

is so plain, greatly plain. Where are all these things coming from? They're

coming from Krsna. Krsna is the reservoir of all varieties. Again, if the

Absolute Truth is one, and the ultimate reality is simply oneness, why are

there so many diverse manifestations of maya?

 

Why is maya so diverse if the truth is one? Why is illusion so diverse? Why

don't we all have the same illusion? Why is my illusion different from your

illusion, my set of illusions different from your set? I am under one

illusion. You are under the opposite illusion. We see people fighting with

one another because one party is under one illusion and the other party is

under the opposite illusion. One party is thinking it belongs to America,

another party is thinking it belongs to whoever they are, Iraq. Because of

their opposite illusions, they are fighting. So if the Absolute Truth is

one, why is there so much diversity in illusion?

 

And, for that matter, why is there illusion to begin with? If there is only

one, how do we get this duality? Therefore Prabhupada said that the

Advaitins, those who are for absolute oneness, are in the biggest duality.

They are in the biggest duality because their idea is that there is the

truth and there is illusion and they can't reduce the two. They can't

reconcile this duality. So the devotee understands that "parasya brahmana

sakti", the Absolute Truth is one and he has innumerable energies:

 

parasya sakti vividhaiva sruyate

svabhaviki jnana bala kriya ca

 

These energies are working in so many ways and they're producing planets;

they're producing universes; they're producing four-headed Brahmas,

eight-headed Brahmas, thousand-headed Brahmas; ants; little creatures with a

thousand legs; fat men; skinny men; and coming to human society, so many

different qualities. Someone is a little intelligent, someone is a little

beautiful, someone is a little strong, someone's something else. And a

devotee sees all these qualities are coming from Krsna and now they are

being used to forget Krsna or being used in ways that exhibit forgetfulness

of Krsna. They can be turned around and redirected toward Krsna:

 

brahmarpanam brahma havir brahmagnau brahmana hutam

brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahma karma samadhina

 

All of these qualities that have been generated from all these illusions

that the living entities have picked up, those qualities can be offered back

to the Absolute Truth, they can be offered back to Krsna. Then they also

become spiritualized, they also take on spiritual qualities. The same

intelligence that was directing me away from Krsna, the same intelligence by

which I was figuring out how matter goes on independently without any

supreme direction - that same intelligence can be used in relation to Krsna,

to appreciate how everything is generated from Krsna's energy, how

everything is manifest by Krsna.

 

That intelligence can be used for seeing Krsna everywhere. "Mattah smrtir

jnanam apohanam ca", our intelligence can be used for forgetting Krsna or

remembering Krsna or serving ourselves or serving the Supreme. Supposedly

serving ourselves, actually it is doing a disservice to ourselves.

 

All this diversity which is coming from Krsna, the Mayavadi negates, he says

this is all maya. And the devotee appreciates that it may be maya, but this

maya can be directed back toward Krsna. Everyone has their own conditioned

nature, so that conditioned nature can be engaged in the service of the

Lord.

 

Therefore the Lord has created "catur-varnyam maya srstam", four social

orders, four spiritual orders, so that people who have picked up different

kinds of qualities can engage in service to satisfy the Lord.

 

yatah pravrttir bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam

sva-karmana tam abhyarcya siddhim vindati manavah

 

Everyone can perform some. . . not simply anything, that I whimiscally offer

any kind of nonsense to Krsna and say now it's spiritual. "I offer my

marijuana to Krsna before I smoke it and it becomes. . ." Of course even if

you are going to smoke marijuana, offer it to Krsna or at least to Lord

Siva. But this is not the standard. Krsna consciousness means to give up

these things. "Jananam punya-karmanam", learn the way, the proper way, to

offer our energy to Krsna. So the devotees, the preachers, they see there

are so many different people, so many different qualities but somehow they

can all be engaged in the service of the Lord. The preachers are expert in

that art, how to find something within everyone. Everyone has some good

qualities.

 

It's described that the demons, or the materialists - what's the word - the

nasty people they just see the faults in everyone. They are critics. They

see what's wrong with everyone. And the sadhus, they find some good

qualities. They see even in some rascal how there is some good quality and

they try to amplify that. "Oh, here's some good quality, this person can

become Krsna conscious. These are some points.

 

Yes, you looked at your watch, it's nine o'clock. It's time to go. [laughs]

 

Thank you all very much. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. [applause]

 

END.