Srimad Bhagavad Gita AS IT IS

Bhagavad Gita:   Chapter 6 - Dhyana-yoga

TEXTS 13-14

                         samam kaya-siro-grivam
                        dharayann acalam sthirah
                       sampreksya nasikagram svam
                           disas canavalokayan

                         prasantatma vigata-bhir
                        brahmacari-vrate sthitah
                        manah samyamya mac-citto
                          yukta asitamat-parah
 
WORD FOR WORD
   samam--straight; kaya--body; sirah--head; grivam--and neck; dharayan--holding; acalam--unmoving; sthirah--still; sampreksya--looking; nasika--of the nose; agram--at the tip; svam--own; disah--on all sides; ca--also; anavalokayan--not looking; prasanta--unagitated; atma--mind; vigata-bhih--devoid of fear; brahmacari-vrate--in the vow of celibacy; sthitah--situated; manah--mind; samyamya--completely subduing; mat--upon Me (Krsna); cittah--concentrating the mind; yuktah--the actual yogi; asita--should sit; mat--Me; parah--the ultimate goal.
 
TRANSLATION
   One should hold one's body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life.
 
PURPORT by HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad:
   The goal of life is to know Krsna, who is situated within the heart of every living being as Paramatma, the four-handed Visnu form. The yoga process is practiced in order to discover and see this localized form of Visnu, and not for any other purpose. The localized visnu-murti is the plenary representation of Krsna dwelling within one's heart. One who has no program to realize this visnu-murti is uselessly engaged in mock yoga practice and is certainly wasting his time. Krsna is the ultimate goal of life, and the visnu-murti situated in one's heart is the object of yoga practice. To realize this visnu-murti within the heart, one has to observe complete abstinence from sex life; therefore one has to leave home and live alone in a secluded place, remaining seated as mentioned above. One cannot enjoy sex life daily at home or elsewhere and attend a so-called yoga class and thus become a yogi. One has to practice controlling the mind and avoiding all kinds of sense gratification, of which sex life is the chief. In the rules of celibacy written by the great sage Yajnavalkya it is said:

                           karmana manasa vaca
                          sarvavasthasu sarvada
                         sarvatra maithuna-tyago
                         brahmacaryam pracaksate

   "The vow of brahmacarya is meant to help one completely abstain from sex indulgence in work, words and mind--at all times, under all circumstances, and in all places." No one can perform correct yoga practice through sex indulgence. Brahmacarya is taught, therefore, from childhood, when one has no knowledge of sex life. Children at the age of five are sent to the guru-kula, or the place of the spiritual master, and the master trains the young boys in the strict discipline of becoming brahmacaris. Without such practice, no one can make advancement in any yoga, whether it be dhyana, jnana or bhakti. One who, however, follows the rules and regulations of married life, having a sexual relationship only with his wife (and that also under regulation), is also called a brahmacari. Such a restrained householder brahmacari may be accepted in the bhakti school, but the jnana and dhyana schools do not even admit householder brahmacaris. They require complete abstinence without compromise. In the bhakti school, a householder brahmacari is allowed controlled sex life because the cult of bhakti-yoga is so powerful that one automatically loses sexual attraction, being engaged in the superior service of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gita (2.59) it is said:

                           visaya vinivartante
                           niraharasya dehinah
                        rasa-varjam raso 'py asya
                         param drstva nivartate

   Whereas others are forced to restrain themselves from sense gratification, a devotee of the Lord automatically refrains because of superior taste. Other than the devotee, no one has any information of that superior taste.

   Vigata-bhih. One cannot be fearless unless one is fully in Krsna consciousness. A conditioned soul is fearful due to his perverted memory, his forgetfulness of his eternal relationship with Krsna. The Bhagavatam (11.2.37) says, bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad isad apetasya viparyayo 'smrtih. Krsna consciousness is the only basis for fearlessness. Therefore, perfect practice is possible for a person who is Krsna conscious. And since the ultimate goal of yoga practice is to see the Lord within, a Krsna conscious person is already the best of all yogis. The principles of the yoga system mentioned herein are different from those of the popular so-calledyoga societies.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with permission.

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Prabhupada Uvacha:
(here's some nectar, sometimes it comes in the form of Srutakirti prabhu's diary, other times from Govinda dasi's diary, Hari Sauri prabhu's Transcendental Diary, Bhurijan prabhu's book, or sometimes from a letter, or other related source, but still nectar...)

On Srila Prabhupada's Coming to the West

So it's 1966, and this old Bengali sadhu, Abhaya Caranaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami, walks among the jaded, faded, hair-down, mind-gone, wild beat generation on the streets of New York's Lower East Side. Prabhupada went among the fuzz-heads, freaks, and hippies -- refugees from a godless, greed-torn civilization -- and presented the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead. His contemporaries in Vrndavana and the staid, righteous sannyasis of the Gaudiya Matha would have been shocked. They would have had nothing to do with these dirty irreverent mlecchas, that's for sure! But here he is, Bhaktivedanta Swami down among the hippies, picking up gold from a filthy place, confident with his ching-ching-ching and Hare Krsna, giving the change-all be-differents a revolution that even they could never have imagined.

None of his Godbrothers could have tolerated the hardships which Srila Prabhupada underwent. He so tolerantly lived with and even served the Western mlecchas, who out of ignorance constantly did things guaranteed to disturb any cultured Vaisnava. Devoid of refinement or any idea of Krsna consciousness other than the rudiments which they were gradually learning by Srila Prabhupada's so patiently teaching them, they nevertheless had faith in him. And Prabhupada had faith in the process of Krsna consciousness -- dina-hina jata chilo, hari-name uddharilo: "even the most fallen will be saved by the holy name" -- therefore he tolerated their uncouth behavior. He did not see American mlecchas; he saw jivas, servants of Krsna. He did not reject his followers for weakness or foolishness born of immaturity. Prabhupada demonstrated the efficacy of bhakti-yoga in circumstances more adverse than any previous preachers of bhakti had ever faced. He had patience, extreme tolerance born of deep compassion for the fallen souls, and faith in the power of the holy name.
 

Srila Prabhupada found something vital and real amidst the madness of hippie life. Permeating the confusion was a spiritual search, a dissatisfaction with the status quo, an endeavor for the mystical, for the truth beyond the humdrum. The hippies had been through it all -- drugs, booze, free sex, music, and "meditation." But Krsna consciousness was something else, brought by a person who seemed as if from another planet, from an unimagined plane of existence that revealed their attempts at consciousness expansion to be puerile and insignificant.

Like most other people the hippies were not intrinsically bad, just misguided. They had seen through the nastiness of "straight" life and were looking for something better. Lacking proper guidance they had turned down the blind alley of gross sense gratification. But for all the newness and euphoria of their crazy life, it was just as unfulfilling as the establishment they had already rejected. Swamiji, however, had something genuine. And he surely was not a "straight." The hippies thrived on being different, but Prabhupada outdid them all. He had sharing, simplicity, color, joy, and love, all essential elements of the hippie counterculture, but he also brought substance, direction, knowledge, and purity. He had Krsna.

And he had music.

Prabhupada was all about music: kirtana. Music was the sacred beginning, middle, and end of hippie life. From the internationally famous bands to the streetside guitarists, music was an expression of being, of struggle, of lust, frustration, pain, hope, and longing. Music was both a message and a question, a quest for understanding and a plea to be understood.

Swamiji's music was new. No one had ever played stuff like that! Every note, every word, was magical -- an intense mystical outpouring of the vital inner self.

"Man, is this hip!"

Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Simple rhythm, simple tune. Again and again, over and over. Half an hour. . . One hour . . . More . . . Swami step. Trance dance. "This transcendental sound vibration is imported from the spiritual world."

"Far out! What does it do to you?"

"Sometimes the devotees faint, sometimes they roll on the ground, and sometimes they shiver in ecstasy while chanting the holy names. Chanting and chanting, they give up their material bodies and go to the spiritual land of Vraja, where talking is singing, walking is dancing, and everyone's heart is stolen by a beautiful blackish cowherd boy. Glancing mischievously at the gopis, He fills up the holes of His flute with nectarean sounds that stun all living beings within the three worlds."

Through music and diligent concern, Srila Prabhupada did what everyone else had given up on: he reached the hearts of the hippies and gave them direction. Prabhupada was serious, and the more intelligent amongst the hippies gradually realized that he wanted them to follow him and also become serious about Krsna consciousness. Still, no one had any idea as to exactly how serious Prabhupada really was. No one understood why he incorporated the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. What was all that about, when Krsna consciousness was just a rented storefront on the Lower East Side?

Brahmananda and company were shocked when Srila Prabhupada left for San Francisco, but Prabhupada had big plans. His magic worked again in San Francisco, and gradually it started working all over the world. Prabhupada spread his charm by sending his disciples here and there. They were young boys and girls, dropped out from everything, saved by Prabhupada from voluntary drug-induced brain destruction. They didn't know much about Krsna consciousness, or about anything. But now they were different -- no longer hippies but "happies."

Srila Prabhupada had inspired a faith in them that made the Krsna magic work even without his personal presence. And by that faith, his disciples brought guru and Krsna with them. Prabhupada was proud of his householder disciples who succeeded in London, where his sannyasi Godbrothers had failed. Indeed these householders, fresh out of hippie life, with no background of Indian cultural life, and who were certainly not learned Vedic scholars, had "startled" London with the Krsna chant.

And so the story unfolded. Srila Prabhupada strode across the globe and like a great general sent men here and there to spread the Krsna message. It is a great story whose chapters are still being written. And in the future, people will look back on these formative years of ISKCON and think, "Oh, how I wish I could have been there then. How exciting it must have been!"

All of Prabhupada's activities were amazing, yet those first days in America held a special sweetness and significance. None of us knows how intense was the struggle nor how severe were the difficulties that Srila Prabhupada underwent for establishing the Krsna consciousness movement in the West. But Prabhupada knows, his guru-maharaja knows, and Krsna knows.

Let us all remember Srila Prabhupada's pastimes and thus become purified and happy.

I especially pray that Prabhupada's lila of coming to the West be ever manifest in my heart. Let me remember his sacrifice so that I may not become selfish. Let me remember his tolerance that I may become tolerant.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada's coming to the West!

All glories to your divine lotus feet, Srila Prabhupada! Please keep a place for me there always.

*****

Prajapati: Srila Prabhupada, why has it taken so long for a pure devotee to come to the West? Has the West been so sinful that no pure devotee has come before Your Divine Grace?

Srila Prabhupada: (laughs) Don't be sorry. At that time you were so sinful that you could not receive a pure devotee. (Conversation, 7 December 1973)

*****

Girl: Srila Prabhupada, would you please explain why Krsna consciousness hadn't come to the West until now, why it hasn't come earlier?

Srila Prabhupada: Because you were not born. After your birth we have come here to take you back home, back to Godhead. Now you take the opportunity; come with us. We were waiting for your birth. (Lecture, 24 April 1976)

*****

Why did Srila Prabhupada come to the West?

It is my duty. My spiritual master ordered me. (Lecture, 4 March 1966)

*****

Summer of 1986. I was alone, a tiny soul in saffron cloth, in the grimy streets of central London. Suddenly I thought, "What if I had to come here by myself? What if there were no temple, no devotees, and no worldwide movement? What if I were the only one who knew about Krsna and I had to preach single-handedly? Could I do anything?" I pondered the possibility for a second before being slammed with reality: "No!"

I continued to walk the cold, uncaring streets, my heart marveling in newfound appreciation of Srila Prabhupada.

- From the "Jaya Srila Prabhupada!" by HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami

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Prabhupada:

catur varnyam maya srstam
guna-karma-vibhagasah
tasya kartaram api mam
vidhy akartaram avyayam
 [Bg. 4.13]

This is a verse from Bhagavad-gita. Most of you know this book, Bhagavad-gita. It is very famous book of knowledge. And we are presenting Bhagavad-gita as it is. This Krsna consciousness movement means to present Bhagavad-gita as it is, without any adulteration.

So Krsna says four classes of men, catur varnyam... Catur means "four", and varna means "division of society". Just like varna means color. As there are division of color, red, blue and yellow, similarly human being, human society should be divided according to the quality. The quality's also called color. Catur varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13]. So there are three qualities in this material world. Three qualities. Or three colors. Red, blue and yellow. You mix it. Then you become eighty-one colors. Three colors, three upon three, multiplied, it becomes nine. Nine upon nine, multiplied, it becomes eighty-one. So there are eight million four hundred thousands different forms of living entities. Due to this mixture of different qualities. Nature is manufacturing different types of body according to the association of the living entity to the particular type of quality.

Living entities are part and parcel of God. Suppose God is the big fire and living entities are just like sparks. The sparks, they are also fire. Sparks also, if one spark falls on your body, on your garment, it burns. But it is not as powerful as the big fire. Similarly, God is all powerful. God is great. We are part and parcel of God. Therefore, our greatness is very, very small, infinitesimal. God is great. Therefore, He has created so many universes. We cannot account for even one universe. This one universe which we see, the sky, the dome, within that sky, outer space, there are millions and trillions of stars, planets. They're floating. Floating in the air. Everyone knows.

We can float one sputnik in the sky, and we take so much credit that we have become very, very great scientists. We don't care for God. This is foolishness. Foolish person will say like that. But one who is intelligent, he knows that God is floating millions and trillions of planets in the sky, and what we have done in that comparison? This is intelligence. So we have become very much proud of our scientific knowledge, and therefore, at the present moment, we defy the existence of God. Sometimes we say that "I have become God now." These are foolish statements.

You are nothing in comparison to the intelligence... He's also intelligent. Because we are part and parcel of God, therefore we can study what is God if we simply study ourself. Just like if you study a drop of sea water, if you analyze chemically, you'll find so many chemicals in that drop. So you can understand what is the composition of the sea. The same composition. But in greater quantity. That is the difference between God and ourself. We are small gods, we can say, small gods. Teeny, sample gods. Therefore, we are so much proud. But we should not be proud because we should know that all our qualities are taken from God. Because we are part and parcel. So originally all these qualities are there in God.

And therefore Vedanta-sutra says what is God, what is the Absolute Truth? Athatho brahma-jijnasa. When [we] inquire about God, about the Absolute Truth, the answer is immediately given: janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. The Absolute Truth is that from whom everything comes, everything emanates. So everything is coming from God. He's the original source of all supplies. Now what is our position? There are innumerable living entities. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Katha Upanisad 2.2.13). That is Vedic information. God is also a living entity, like us, but He's the chief living entity. And we are also living entity.

Just like one father. Father may have got twenty children. Twenty sons. Formerly, they used to have one hundred sons. Now the fathers have no such power. But in the, up to five thousand years ago, King Dhrtarastra gave birth to one hundred sons. Now we are... We say, we are saying that we are overpopulated. But that's not the fact. At the present moment, where there is the question of overpopulation? Now how many of us giving birth hundreds of children? No. Nobody. But formerly, a father could give birth to one hundred children. So there is no question of overpopulation. And even there is overpopulation, we get information from the Vedas: eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman. That one chief living entity, God, He can maintain innumerable living entities.

continued.......................