Srimad Bhagavad Gita AS IT IS

Bhagavad Gita:   Chapter 7 - Knowledge of the Absolute

TEXTS 13-14
 
                         advesta sarva-bhutanam
                          maitrah karuna eva ca
                          nirmamo nirahankarah
                        sama-duhkha-sukhah ksami
 
                         santustah satatam yogi
                         yatatma drdha-niscayah
                        mayy arpita-mano-buddhir
                       yo mad-bhaktah sa me priyah
 
WORD FOR WORD
 
   advesta--nonenvious; sarva-bhutanam--toward all living entities; maitrah--friendly; karunah--kindly; eva--certainly; ca--also; nirmamah--with no sense of proprietorship; nirahankarah--without false ego; sama--equal; duhkha--in distress; sukhah--and happiness; ksam i--forgiving; santustah--satisfied; satatam--always; yogi--one engaged in devotion; yata-atma--self-controlled; drdha-niscayah--with determination; mayi--upon Me; arpita--engaged; manah--mind; buddhih--and intelligence; yah--one who; mat-bhaktah--My devotee; sah--he; me--to Me; priyah--dear.
 
TRANSLATION
 
   One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me--such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.
 
PURPORT by HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad:
 
   Coming again to the point of pure devotional service, the Lord is describing the transcendental qualifications of a pure devotee in these two verses. A pure devotee is never disturbed in any circumstances. Nor is he envious of anyone. Nor does a devotee become his enemy's enemy; he thinks, This person is acting as my enemy due to my own past misdeeds. So it is better to suffer than to protest. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.8) it is stated: tat te 'nukampam susam iksamano bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam. Whenever a devotee is in distress or has fallen into difficulty, he thinks that it is the Lord's mercy upon him. He thinks, Thanks to my past misdeeds I should suffer far, far greater than I am suffering now. So it is by the mercy of the Supreme Lord that I am not getting all the punishment I am due. I am just getting a little, by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore he is always calm, quiet and patient, despite many distressful conditions. A devotee is also always kind to everyone, even to his enemy. Nirmama means that a devotee does not attach much importance to the pains and trouble pertaining to the body because he knows perfectly well that he is not the material body. He does not identify with the body; therefore he is freed from the conception of false ego and is equipoised in happiness and distress. He is tolerant, and he is satisfied with whatever comes by the grace of the Supreme Lord. He does not endeavor much to achieve something with great difficulty; therefore he is always joyful. He is a completely perfect mystic because he is fixed in the instructions received from the spiritual master, and because his senses are controlled he is determined. He is not swayed by false arguments, because no one can lead him from the fixed determination of devotional service. He is fully conscious that Krsna is the eternal Lord, so no one can disturb him. All these qualifications enable him to fix his mind and intelligence entirely on the Supreme Lord. Such a standard of devotional service is undoubtedly very rare, but a devotee becomes situated in that stage by following the regulative principles of devotional service. Furthermore, the Lord says that such a devotee is very dear to Him, for the Lord is always pleased with all his activities in full Krsna consciousness.

 - 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...)

possible by practice

After about an hour we returned to the temple for guru-puja and Srimad-Bhagavatam class. The verse described how Kardama Muni kept his mind fixed on Lord Visnu, and in his short talk Srila Prabhupada gave a few good examples of how one can do one's work and still remain thinking of Krsna. "In South India there is a class of professional dancer. They take a big jug on the head and without any ring, it is kept as it is. The head is shaved, but they are so practiced to keep the balance that the pot does not fall down. It remains exactly. This is an art -- they will dance, and the pot on the head will never fall down, keeping the balance.

"So by practice it is possible. There are many professional vendors, they keep their basket on the head and taking a child, going and canvassing, 'We have got this fruit.' It never falls down. They are keeping the balance. So this is a crude example that everything can be done by practice. There is another example Rupa Gosvami gives, that a woman who has got an extra lover besides the husband. So she's always thinking of that lover although she's busy with household affairs. That means if you want somebody very seriously, you can think of him always, twenty-four hours, in spite of your being engaged in so many duties. It is possible. So we have to practice this Krsna consciousness."

He told us that although in the spiritual world we do not have to work to maintain our existence, here in the material world we do, yet still we have to become Krsna conscious. His words were pertinent because as soon as he finished his lecture Atreya Rsi, Dayananda and the others would be going out to engage in seemingly mundane jobs. So he cited another example to encourage them that what they are doing is actually spiritual. "Because a devotee has nothing to do with material things. Even if he works for maintenance of the body, that is not material. Just like Bhaktivinoda Thakura who was magistrate. But it is not for a magistrate to write so many books -- siddhanta-purnam. So he was in a different transcendental platform. So that is possible. The mind may be absorbed in Krsna's thought, satatam kirtayanto mam, tusyanti ca ramanti ca. That is possible by practice."

- From "A Transcendental Diary Vol 4" by HG Hari Sauri Prabhu

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"Become A Guru, not a God"

Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 1.1
Mayapur, March 25, 1975

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Prabhupada:

vande gurun isa-bhaktan
isam isavatarakan
tat-prakasams ca tac-chaktih
krsna-caitanya-samjnakam
 [Cc. Adi 1.1]

Krsna Caitanya is Krsna. That was observed by Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. He composed one hundred verses praising the glories of Lord Caitanya, but because Caitanya Mahaprabhu was playing the part of a devotee, He threw away the slokas, because "This is not for Me." That was Caitanya Mahaprabhu's humbleness. But the devotees know that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself. Sri-krsna-caitanya radha-krsna nahe anya. Radha-Krsna combination of Sri Caitanya... Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu means Radha and Krsna combined. In the beginning there is Krsna, and then Krsna divided into two, Radha and Krsna. And then again combined, that is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini saktir asmad
ekatmanav api (bhuvi pura) deha-bhedam gatau tau
caitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna tad-dvayam caikyam aptam...
 [Cc. Adi 1.5]

So the Gosvami's siddhanta, that Krsna is one. There is no rivalry with Krsna. God is one. Eka-brahma dvitiya nasti. There cannot be many Gods. So when God, Krsna, wants to enjoy His pleasure potency, that is Radharani. So He manifests Himself, manifests His energy... His energy and He, there is no difference. Sakti-saktimator abhedah. The sastra says sakti and the saktimat -- means one who possesses the sakti (sakti means power, potency) -- they are equal. There is no difference. Just like the sun. Sun is the powerful, and the sunshine is the power. So there is heat in the sun and there is heat also in the sunshine. There is light in the sun and there is light in the sunshine also. Therefore qualitatively they are one so far heat and light is concerned. But the temperature of the sun and the temperature of the sunshine may be different. May be not. Actually there is difference. This is the basic principle of all philosophies. Acintya-bhedabheda. Acintya means inconceivable, bheda means different, and abheda means nondifferent. The whole situation... The one is there, God, but He has expanded Himself in different way. Eko bahu syam.

So that is described here. Krsna-caitanya-samjnakam. Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He has expanded Himself as gurun. The guru, the spiritual master, he's also Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Saksad-dharitvena samasta-sastrair uktah **. In all the sastras, guru is accepted as Krsna. Saksad-dharitvena. Saksad means directly. Just like you offer your devotion, respects, to guru. So that respect is offered to Krsna. Guru also does not think himself that he is Krsna, but he collects the devotional services of the disciples to offer to Krsna. This is the process. We cannot approach Krsna directly. We should approach through guru. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam [SB 11.3.21]. That is the injunction of the sastra, that one should approach the guru who can transfer the service from the disciple to the Supreme Person. So... Therefore the first offering is guru, vande gurun. Then guru creates many devotees. Guru's business is to canvass on behalf of Supreme Lord. That is guru's business. Krsna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66], so, "You give up all material, engage..." Sarva-dharman means in the material world we have created so many so-called duties. This is our material disease. People are interested in material engagements and they have created different varieties of engagements. Sociology, communism, and this "ism," that "ism," philanthropism, altruism, internationalism, nationalism -- many, many duties they have created. That is all material. Krsna, out of His causeless mercy... (children crying) Stop that children. Out of His causeless mercy, He comes, He descends. Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata [Bg. 4.7]. Glanir, this is glanir. Human life is meant for one thing, athato brahma jijnasa, to inquire about the Supreme Absolute Truth. But instead of doing that, they have created so many "isms." That is their misfortune.

Real business is athato brahma jijnasa. This human life, nature, gives us the opportunity to inquire about the Absolute Truth. We have got the intelligence. The cats and dogs, they have no intelligence to inquire about the Absolute Truth. The trees, the plants, the aquatics, the animals, the beasts, the uncivilized man -- so many, 8,400,000 forms and species of life. Out of that, the civilized men, the Aryans... Arya. Arya means the person who has got godly qualification. This is the meaning of Aryan. Aryan, advanced. Aryan does not mean godless society. They are non-Aryans. Real Aryan means... Because we are part and parcel of God, naturally we have got, in minute quantity, the qualities of God. That is natural. But on account of our material association, those qualifications are covered now by upadhi, by various designations. This is our material disease. Material disease means... Just like a gold is covered by dirty, dirty things. Similarly, we are actually gold, because part and parcel of Krsna. We are a small Krsna, very small, but we are also the same quality. But it is covered. This is our disease. And these coverings are going on in different names -- socialism, communism, and this "ism" -- so many. "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am white," "I am black" -- these are all designations.

So it is the business of the guru to clear up these designations, dirty things. Therefore, vande gurun isam. Guru, first offering because he is the agent of Krsna. Krsna said that "You give up all these designative dharma; take to real dharma." Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam [Bg. 18.66]. "That is your real business." But even Krsna... Krsna does not fail... But Krsna does not force. So even upon the request of Krsna we do not give up our designation. This is the difficulty. Krsna said, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja, and nobody practically, except the Pandavas and few other devotees, nobody took it seriously. And what to speak of now. They are talking of Bhagavad-gita, scholars of Bhagavad-gita, but without Krsna. That is their business. These demons, they are preaching Bhagavad-gita without Krsna. Nobody preaches about Krsna. Nobody says what Krsna wants. Sarva-dharman parityajya. Krsna wants this, but they are misinterpreting in different ways and diverting the attention of the people most foolishly, that... In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna is the center. So this is going on. You know, you are coming all from foreign countries. Bhagavad-gita is popular in your country, at least amongst the scholars and theosophists and theologists. Going on, for the last two hundred years at least. But nobody understood Krsna. That is the difference. Now for the last, say, five or ten years, because we are presenting Krsna as it is, it has become very easy for you to accept it. Unadulterated Krsna. Before this, everything was presented adulterated. Therefore there was no effect.

So if you push on this movement, unadulterated Krsna, it will go on. It will go on. And as soon as you adulterate Krsna, it will not go on. It will not be effective. You may be very good scholar or very good politician or this or that, but you'll never understand what is Krsna. Naham prakasah sarvasya yoga-maya-samavrtah [Bg. 7.25]. If you want to pollute Krsna, Krsna will never be revealed to you. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah [Brs. 1.2.234]. So by the grace of Krsna you have taken the shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna. It is great fortune for you. So do not adulterate Krsna. That is my request. Try to understand Krsna. And to understand Krsna, the Krsna Himself taught... That was also difficult. Then Krsna as Krsna Caitanya (is) teaching us how to approach Krsna. That is Caitanya-caritamrta. Caitanya means spiritual, living, and carita means character. So Caitanya-caritamrta means that the supreme living force, Krsna. The living force is Krsna. Therefore we contradict the so-called scientific theory that life has come from chemicals, matter. No. We are trying our best. We have engaged our scientist students. They have already..., one student has already written one small book, The Scientific Basis of Krsna Consciousness, and we are going to publish another book. I have given instruction to the scientist students. What is the heading of that?

Devotees: Life Comes From Life.

Prabhupada: Yes, Life Comes From Life. That is the fact. These modern so-called scientific theory that life comes from matter, that is not fact. Because our original person, Krsna, said, aham sarvasya prabhavo [Bg. 10.8]. Aham, this aham word is applicable to a person, person. And person means living force. So Caitanya-caritamrta means that living force is a person, and His caritra, His characteristic, this is Caitanya. And that is amrta. Amrta means not dead matter. Mrta means dead, and amrta means not dead, living force. So he is living force; his characteristics are also living force; and they are, because living force, they are amrta. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. We have got experience what is living force and what is dead matter. That we have got experience. And that is further explained by Krsna, that living force means na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20], na jayate na mriyate kadacit. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita, that living force is not finished even after the annihilation of this body. Very nice statement by Krsna. We can understand living... In the life, when we are alive, the body is moving, we can understand what is living force. And we can understand further when the body does not move -- that difference, why the body was moving and why the body is not now moving. If we simply study this difference of position we can understand what is living force. It is not very difficult. Simply we have to understand, "Now this living force is gone out of this body; therefore the body is no longer moving and it is a dead matter." This is this... So this Caitanya-caritamrta means we are talking of the living force, not of the dead matter. We should always remember. So the guru belongs to that living force. And Isa, Isa means controller. So everyone, that living force. Gurun, isa, isa-bhaktan, isa-bhaktan and isam. So they are all living force. The Lord, His devotee, His representative, everyone, they belong to the spiritual platform, living force. Caitanya-samjnakam. Caitanya means living. That personification of all living forces is Krsna Caitanya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. People mistake Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu because by misfortune they understand Krsna Caitanya as a devotee or just like so-called sadhu or yogi, like that. That is mistake. Krsna Caitanya means the original living force, Krsna.

So Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, he understood Him. Srila Rupa Gosvami, he understood Him. Similarly, the followers of Rupa Gosvami, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, and all the Gosvamis, they will understand Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And one who understands or follows the path enunciated by Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, for them Krsna is very easily obtained. This is called Caitanya-caritamrta. If you follow Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu... Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mission is described by Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, sri-krsna-caitanya-sarira-dhari. Purana-purusah, I just now forget the verse. Yes:

vairagya-vidya-nija-bhakti-yoga-
siksartham ekah purusah puranah
sri-krsna-caitanya-sarira-dhari
krpambudhir yas tam aham prapadye
 [Cc. Madhya 6.254]

So Sri Krsna Caitanya is the same Krsna, Purana-purusah. Adyam Purana-purusah. Purana-purusa means Krsna, the original Personality of Godhead, very old. Purana means very old. So, vairagya-vidya-siksartham. Because we are suffering here on account of so many designations, so Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to purify us from all these nonsense designations. That is called vairagya-vidya. Raga means attachment. So... And viraga. This false attachment we have to give up. That is practically being manifested by practical life, how to love Krsna, how to approach Him. That is the characteristic of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And therefore He is described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Eleventh Canto, krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam [SB 11.5.32]. Krsna-varnam: He belongs to the same category, Krsna. Or He is describing Krsna always. His only business is to describe Krsna. But His complexion is not Krsna, akrsna. Akrsna. Akrsna means white. Because Krsna had many colors. One of the colors was pita, golden, golden avatara. So, tvisakrsnam sangopangastra-parsadam. This sangopangastra-parsadam is described here, that gurun, isam, isa-bhaktan, isavatarakan tat-prakasams ca tat-chaktih. This is sangopanga.

So study this Caitanya-caritamrta. Now we have got this English edition, very elaborately described, following the footsteps of our Guru Maharaja, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada. So there is no such edition of Caitanya-caritamrta, very elaborately described. But it can be understood by the advanced student. It can be... And so... Advanced, you can, anyone, you can become advanced. Advanced means at least one should understand that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If you simply understand these two words, that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then you are advanced. It is not very difficult. Everything, all Vedic literature, they are meant for understanding Krsna. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg. 15.15]. So if you simply understand... What is that understanding? That Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We have written in our Krsna book, "Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." If you become convinced, then your study of Vedas -- finished. Tepus tapas te sasnur arya [SB 3.33.7]. Anyone who understands Krsna... What is that understanding? Krsna says, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: [Bg. 7.7] "My dear Arjuna, there is no more superior authority or person or truth than Myself." Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya [Bg. 7.7]. These few words, if you simply understand... Blindly or openly, it doesn't matter. Because if you touch fire, either blindly or openly, it will act. It will act. It is not that because I blindly accept Krsna as the Supreme Person, that will not act. No, it will act. Even if you have accepted Krsna blindly, it will act. Because the thing is the same. Either you accept in open eyes or blind eyes. So similarly, if you accept this theory -- it is not theory; this is fact, that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead -- these few words, then you are advanced student, immediately. Take it from me, that simply this conviction, that "Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead," then you are advanced student in spiritual life.

So all these persons associated with Krsna, Sri Krsna Caitanya, Sri Nityananda, Sri Advaita, and Gadadhara and Srivasa, all of them, they are one. One in this sense, they are all interested how to push on Krsna consciousness. Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He's trying personally, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, Srivasa, Gadadhara, they are trying to help. So..., and to approach all these five supreme persons, you require the help of guru. Therefore the guru is offered first the respectful prayers, vande gurun. And gurun, bahu-vacana, plural number, that many gurus. But they are not many; they are one, guru-tattva. Just like Krsna has many forms, but that does not mean Krsna is different. No. Krsna is one. Similarly, guru, there may be many gurus, it doesn't matter, but their philosophy must be one: to teach everyone that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So there may be thousands of gurus, but the guru's business is to teach the disciple that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the test of guru. If guru is teaching something else, nonsense, then he is not guru. Gurur na sa syat. Sat-karma-nipuno vipro mantra-tantra-visaradah. A brahmana, he is very expert in his business, in Vedic culture, Vedic mantras, tantras. That is the test of the brahmana, that he is very learned. So sat-karma-nipuno vipro mantra-tantra-visaradah. Visarada, very expert. Avaisnavo gurur na sa syat. But if he does not know what is Krsna or if he's not a devotee of Krsna, he cannot become guru. Sad-vaisnavah svapaco guruh. But one person who is coming from the family of dog-eaters... The dog-eaters, they are considered to be the lowest of the human beings. So, sva-paca, sva means dog, and paca means eater or cooker. So svapaca, even a person is coming from the svapaca family, and if he's a Vaisnava, if he's a devotee of Krsna, he can become guru. On the other side, even born in a brahmana family and very expert in Vedic ritualistic performances, mantra-tantra-visaradah, he cannot become guru if he does not understand Krsna. So therefore guru is very important because he has accepted Krsna... Tattva-darsibhih, he has seen the truth. So therefore guru is first offered... This is the test of guru. Guru does not become Krsna himself, but he canvasses door to door to induce that "You become devotee of Krsna." This is sign of guru. Vande gurun isa-bhaktan. Isa-bhaktan. Then we shall describe later on.

Thank you very much. (end)
 
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 1.1 -- Mayapur, March 25, 1975

The more you serve, the more you relish taste. Without relishing taste, nobody can render devotional service. It is practical.
 
The Nectar of Devotion,
Vrndavana 1972