Bhagavad-gītā Thematic #11

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Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma So the mystery of the creation is that we are trying to… It is there so the living entity can prepare himself to go to the spiritual world. It doesn’t have another purpose. It’s not here for the living entity just to enjoy. The idea is that it’s here because by being in this situation, the living entity starts to get the idea that this is not actually where he belongs.

Because if he belonged here, why isn’t it working? Why isn’t he happy? Why isn’t he satisfied? He always has to keep changing situations. Because in the spiritual world, they don’t keep changing the situations. Mother just showed us like, I mean, I’ve been doing this for eternity. Can’t someone else do this? Why is it every day breakfast? Why every day… When do I get a break here? It’s not happening like that.

Does that make sense? So she’s not getting disturbed. But here we always have to change situations. It’s always changing.

Nature is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world. So this is being quoted again. It was already quoted in the previous one. Living entity is born of spiritual nature but has a tendency to enjoy nature. And here it’s also pointing out that nature is enjoyed by them.

But before, we’re pointing out that he’s controlled by the nature and he’s controlled by the Lord. Material nature is controlled by the Lord, so they’re both submissive. Here it’s bringing out the element of him being the enjoyer. But the point is that it still doesn’t quite work out for him. Why is the living entity in the material world and how is the living entity a conditioned enjoyer? The different manifestations of body and senses among the living entities are due to material nature. There are 8,400,000 different species of life. And these varieties are creations of the material nature. They arise from the different sensual pleasures of the living entity, who thus desires to live in this body or that. But he is put into different bodies. When he is put into different bodies, he enjoys different kinds of happiness and distress. There’s material happiness and distress due to his body and not to himself as he is. In his original state, there is no doubt of enjoyment. Therefore, that is his real state. Because of the desire to lord it over material nature, he is in the material world. In the spiritual world, there’s no such thing. So to be happy, to enjoy, then that’s natural for the living entity. The difficulty is that enjoyment, he takes it as trying to enjoy separately. That’s the difficulty.

So when he tries to enjoy separately, then he is brought to the material world. So that is why he’s in the material world.

Does that make sense? And he’s a conditioned enjoyer because he has his desire, material energy arranges it, and he has to function within that. He doesn’t have a choice to act outside of that. Does that make sense?

Lesson 18. Godhead is the real enjoyer.

Godhead is the real enjoyer, but the living entity is the conditional enjoyer of the modes of nature. 13.1-2. Arjuna said, O my dear Kṛṣṇa, I wish to know about prakṛti, nature, puruṣa, the enjoyer, and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the object of knowledge. The Supreme Personality of Godhead said, This body of son of Kuntī is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.

Define the term kṣetra and kṣetra-jñā. Arjuna was inquisitive about prakṛti, nature, puruṣa, the enjoyer, kṣetra, the field, kṣetra-jñā, its knower, and knowledge and the object of knowledge. When he inquired about all these, Kṛṣṇa said that this body is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field. This is where we understand what we’re saying. The body is the field, because the field is the situation in which the elements of that situation you can engage in some activity that will get a result. So that would be the field of action. So that’s the body, because the jīva can engage the body. So that’s the field, and that body then naturally is within those environments. They’re connected.

Because of the body, it’s in a particular environment. So as we saw before, it starts from your mind, then the senses, then the body, and then that body, according to the karma, is also in different situations.

So the focal point is the body, because that’s your connection to the field. You’re going to use the body like that. Does that make sense? Yes. But we’re also trying to control the mind, so in that sense it also starts there, right? It does, but I’m just saying the field is… Because the mind wants something, so therefore then it engages the senses, which means the body’s engaged within that environment. And in this context. Yeah. So the body then becomes the field. Because it’s the body, because it’s the senses, the sense objects like this. It’s that whole interaction that’s going on there. Because your perception is limited to the body. We’ll say, no, no, but I can see so many things. No, but you’re seeing. The body is seeing. The body is hearing. The body is smelling. So it’s the body that’s the field, and then this is all that’s perceived. So it brings it back to the individual. In reality, we’re just seeing the light photons that are hitting the retina. That’s there. I mean, that’s the mechanics of how that works, a particular technique or a particular recipe. But the point is it’s the sense. How it means that the sense works in that particular way, that’s not actually the important element. That the sense, that our connection with the world is only through the senses, when the senses are controlled by the mind, that’s more important. Because then you can get your self-realization. But we busy ourselves with how does the eye see and stuff like that. So it may have some use if they’re trying to do some medical kind of thing or like that. But other than that, it won’t bring about self-realization. Not that you couldn’t, but it won’t, because they’re not looking at it from that viewpoint. Right? So that’s where the so-called knowledge is actually ignorance. Because it’s just, you know… Like I have a garden here, so there’s rocks here. So I take a rock and I study it, and I put it in different kinds of solutions, and I put the solution under microscopes, and I look at everything. Will I be able to understand why the rock is here with all these other rocks? No.

So therefore, it’s ignorance. It’s just studying the situation. But it’s the dynamic of it, the relationships that are there, the reasons behind it, none of that will be perceived. You know, so matter is ignorance. Right? So that’s all we’re studying. So we have great volumes of knowledge and ignorance. Right? So that’s where we work on the difference between the two. Right? You know, how we’re going to… In other words, being inquisitive is very important, but knowing which aspect to be inquisitive into, you know what I’m saying? That’s where it gets important.

So here is that… Okay, what’s the connection with this? You know, why is it there? It’s because you desire, that’s why it’s there. We just think it just happens. You know, and then we… If it just happens and it’s nice, we’ll consider this is great. If it just happens and it’s not nice, then it’s, you know, where’s my free will? You know, because my free will is I should always be happy. And it says that’s natural, but you have to be in the spiritual world for that.

The body is the field of activity for the conditioned soul. The conditioned soul is entrapped in material existence and he attempts to lord it over material nature. There’s also, you’re in this situation, and we can also say, no, but the field is beyond the body. Right? You know, and we’re just an element in the field. But the point is, what does it matter if it’s someone else’s field? Right? What’s your field? But the point is, if you’re in a human body, then you can interact with this in one way. If you’re a dog, it’s another way. If you’re a bird, it’s something different.

You understand? So it’s the body that’s the field. And these are just all the other, you know, aspects that are connected to it.

And so, according to his capacity to dominate material nature, he gets a field of activity. That field of activity is the body. Right? So how you can dominate, that’s how you, what kind of body you get. So you do a little domination and you get a little body. You know, ant or something. You know, the lord of all he surveys. Right? You can see about, you know, one inch, you know. So, yes, it’s happening here. Yes. There’s this story with Pralapak, when one cockroach has found its way into the ashram. And so he takes up the cockroach and opens the window and says, I give you the world. Go and enjoy. And throws it out of the window and closes the window. Prabhupada said.

Okay.

That’s interesting.

Okay, so it’s through the body because your interaction is only through the senses, which are dependent upon the body that they are housed in. Yes.

A kshetra just means place, like that. You know, so, I mean, it means you can say, okay, it’s the place of the lord’s pastimes and stuff like that. But in here we’d have to see if Prabhupada ever uses. I’m not sure. It’s mainly because it’s dharmak kshetra. It’s a holy place. So then there’s an anxiety that being holy will have an auspicious influence on the outcome.

And Yudhisthira being dharmic, then he would be able to take advantage of the auspiciousness. And Duryodhana being adharmic, then it might not go so well for him. You know, the only thing I remember was specifically about the element of kshetra.

But, you know.

But the point is, it’s a place. But until bodies come there, nothing happens. So in actuality, the body is the field. You know, not the field that the body’s in. Yes, it’s interesting, because Krishna’s talking about the kshetra and the experience of Arjuna. He talked this morning, so I was thinking that kshetra is quite special.

Yes.

Okay, kshetra is the body. Kshetra-jna, then, as I said before, is the soul and the Supersoul. They’re the knower, right? The soul is the small knower, and Krishna is the unlimited knower, because He knows all, all the bodies.

Okay, then. Oh, it’s still less than eighteen.

13.13, 13.3, excuse me. O Skainabharta, you should know that I am also the knower in all these bodies, and to understand this body and its knower is called knowledge. That is my opinion. So, here He’s saying, because He’s asked what is knowledge and the object of knowledge. So He’s told about the nature, the enjoyer. So you have the living entity as enjoyer, and the Supreme Lord as the supreme enjoyer. The field, the body, and the knower of the field means the living entity and the Supreme Lord. And knowledge is to be able to actually understand these things.

That is my opinion. So this means how Krishna would look at it. It means you could have so many other ways to look, but this is then defining this is how Krishna looks at it. Who can attain to knowledge? While discussing the subject of the body and the knower of the body, the soul and the Supersoul, we shall find three different topics of study, the Lord, the living entity, and matter. In every field of activities, in every body, there are two souls. The individual soul and the Supersoul.

Because the Supersoul is the plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, Krishna says, I am also the knower, but I am not the individual knower of the body. I am the super-knower. I am present in every body as the Paramatma, or Supersoul, one who studies the subject matter of the field of activity. And the knower of the field, very minutely, in terms of the Bhagavad-gita, can attain to knowledge. So someone who is studying this, they can understand. So he says here, very minutely. So you’re getting into the fine details. Because otherwise, it means the principle is there, but to understand exactly how that principle applies. Because here, we’ll take a field, because generally when you’re looking at an activity, there’s the environment, then there’s ourselves and how we fit into that environment. But technically speaking, that environment means the body. Not ourselves, we’re the knower.

Because that environment is only perceived through the body. And you can only interact according to the body. So what you can do is according to your body.

The Lord says, I am the knower of the field of activities in every individual body. The individual may be the knower of his own body, but he is not in knowledge of other bodies. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present as the Supersoul in all bodies, knows everything about all bodies. He knows all the different bodies of all the various species of life. A citizen may know everything about his patch of land, but the king knows not only his palace, but all the properties possessed by the individual citizens. Similarly, one may be the proprietor of the body individually, but the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of all bodies. The king is the original proprietor of the kingdom, and the citizen is the secondary proprietor. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is the supreme proprietor of all bodies.

The body is called the kṣetra, and within it dwells the owner of the body and the Supreme Lord, who knows both the body and the owner of the body. Therefore, he is called the knower of all fields. The distinction between the field of activities, the knower of activities, and the supreme knower of activities is described as follows. Perfect knowledge of the constitution of the body, the constitution of the individual soul, and the constitution of the Supersoul is known in terms of Vedic literature as jñāna, or knowledge.

That is the opinion of Kṛṣṇa. To understand both the soul and the Supersoul as one yet distinct is knowledge. One who does not understand the field of activity and the knower of activity is not in perfect knowledge. One has to understand the position of property, nature, puruṣa, the enjoyer of nature, and īśvara, the knower who dominates or controls nature and the individual soul. One should not confuse the three in their different capacities.

One should not confuse the painter, the painting, and the easel.

This material world, which is the field of activities, is nature, and the enjoyer of nature is the living entity.

And above them both is the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead. It is stated in the Vedic language in the Svetasvatara Upaniṣad 112, bhokta-bhokyam prareritam ca mat-tva sarvam proktam tri-vidham brahman etat There are three Brahman conceptions. Property is Brahman as the field of activities, and the jīva, individual soul, is also Brahman. And it’s trying to control material nature. And the controller of both of them is also Brahman, but he is the factual controller.

So here the… So property is…

It means the body, the field of activities, that’s Brahman, because it’s made of Kṛṣṇa’s energy. Inferior energy, but still. Then the living entity, who’s trying to control that, because we’re trying to control the body. You know, sometimes it goes the way we want, sometimes it doesn’t.

And then there’s the Supreme Lord, and He’s the actual controller. No one else is actually controlling.

Yes? There is, in the previous paragraph, it was said that the citizen is a secondary proprietor, and the king is the original proprietor of the kingdom. So can we say that in all activity, Kṛṣṇa is first, and we are always having the same…

same nature, but in second.

Like to own something, to enjoy something, to… That’s there. But here we have to know that the Lord’s enjoyment and ours are kind of different. Yes. You know what I’m saying? So it’s… You know, it’s just like you have the parent and you have the child, they’re in the same situation, but they’re trying to enjoy it in different ways, you know? Yes. But the controller is ultimately the parent.

So the Lord, He is the enjoyer because He’s interacting with His internal potency. But the jīva is trying to control nature for His own purpose. Right? So that’s why He enjoys and suffers. It never says that, you know, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer and the supreme sufferer, like that. And so that way, then He… No, He’s just the supreme enjoyer.

Everything goes… So, like life, suffering is the absence of joy? Yes. I mean, because that’s why we’re suffering, because what we want… The problem…

The pain that we have is not going away.

Right? In other words, you’re hungry, so that is called suffering. So when you eat, then that suffering goes away, and we call that happiness. So when the suffering doesn’t go away, then, you know, it’s not called happiness. That’s all. It’s not two different things, it’s just removing the one and then we get the other. That’s why it’s not actually positive. Hmm. Yeah.

I’m just thinking, like, we can’t really have a characteristic that Kṛṣṇa doesn’t have. Or, I mean… Yeah, but how we apply it, that’s another thing. See, you always have to look at the principle. We look at the detail, you know. Is that what you’re saying? So I like to ride my motorcycle up the cliffs and then, you know, how you say, then pull the parrot ripcord and then parachute down into the ravine and then, you know, use my parachute as my, how you say, you know, boat to go over the white rapids and then come down to the end there. But the point is that Kṛṣṇa’s… So all it is, is we’re trying to enjoy nature. So Kṛṣṇa also enjoys nature, but He doesn’t choose to do it that way. That’s even more expertly. Yeah. You know, He would rather, you know, sit there in a nice grove and, you know, have nice discussions and eat nice things and like that. So that principle is there. The detail, that’s specific. Okay.

Mahārāja, so something as joyous as the family picnic. So the family, they’re going out to have a picnic at the beach or some picture spot like that, and they’re removing the suffering of being in the town all the time in the house. Yeah, yeah. Because, you know, when they get into the car, then they’re excited. They get out there, they’re excited. No, it’s nice and it’s great and this and that. And after, you know, they’re there a while and they notice that, it means it’s called a beach. In other words, it’s the area where the land mass meets the ocean, like that. And when they notice that, you know, it’s freezing cold and it’s windy and, you know, there’s all kinds of other people there and kids are yelling and screaming and, you know, stuff, you know, then it may loosen. But yes, it gets rid of being cooped up in the house all the time. And practically it’s time to go home when they realize that. Yeah, but then they’re happy to go home. Yeah, exactly. Because now they save themselves from the problem of being at the beach, right? You know, now you can go back home where it’s comfortable and start a fire and, you know, stuff like that. You know, it seemed that you couldn’t do it at the beach and so you actually didn’t eat and so. So like everything, like every so-called happiness in the material world. It’s just removing a pain. Could you say the same? You know, pain of just being always alone. So now you’re with everybody and then having been with everybody, then you remove the pain of that by going back and going into your room and closing the door. You know, like that, yeah. Miracle of birth does not come as a result. Miracle of birth, yeah. It means just everybody’s happy that, you know, all the anxieties that went with it are over. Nearly over. Yeah. See, the point is, is that birth is there. That’s a miracle. You know, but that’s all, everything else is, you know, that you digest lunch. That’s a miracle. You know, that you can see is a miracle. That your nose works, you know, is a miracle. You know, unless, yeah, unless your nose runs. You know, then you have a problem. So then only, only activities on happiness and there is a sort of personal problem. Yeah, that’s real because then it’s the soul interacting with the Supreme Soul. Because then it’s not removing the pain. It’s just that positive interaction. But the other one is whatever it is, you’re removing the pain. You know, you’re bored, so then you go out and do something, so you’re happy. You know what I’m saying? But as soon as that activity is there, then it becomes neutral. You know, you’ve removed the pain. Now what? Now you have to think of something else.

Is that what you’re saying? Yeah.

Removing the pain is like the state of goodness? Removing the pain, yeah, you could say. But the only problem is because you go about it in the mode of passion or ignorance, then there’s always a reaction to that. So that’s why you’re going about removal of the pain through knowledge. Right? So if you know the field, you know the living entity, the Supreme Lord and the material energy. That’s knowledge. Right? So that’s sambandha-jnana. When you know cit, acit, and isvara, that’s sambandha-jnana. Now, acit takes on the form of the field. Right? Cit is then the living entity who is trying to control the material energy for its enjoyment. Right? And then isvara is the Lord who is the controller of both.

Right? When one knows that, then one goes about one’s activities. Right? Then you’re acting in pure goodness. So that remains. It doesn’t change because there’s no passion or ignorance in it. You know, so that can remain. Because the other one is because of passion or ignorance, it has to change. It won’t remain.

You know, so even though people are dealing in the present, their consciousness is, you know, in the future or past or controlled by passion or ignorance. So therefore there’s all these varieties of, you know, happinesses and distresses come up.

Lesson 19.

Okay. Lesson 19. I mean, the real position of living entities is therefore that of the enjoyed by Godhead or the servitors of Godhead. 9.9. O Dhananjaya, all this work cannot bind me. I am ever detached from all these material activities, seated as though neutral.

Yes, seated as though neutral because he’s not involved in what the living entities are getting involved in. But he’s not neutral in that. He’s not trying to make arrangements for the living entity to reestablish his relationship with him.

What is the supreme neutrality of the Lord?

Thesis. The Lord is always neutral in the material activities of the created world. His neutrality is mentioned here with the word udāsīnavāt, reason. Although he has control over every minute detail of material activities, he is sitting as if neutral because he’s only controlling the activities. You know, one is for the overall reformation of the living entity, but two is according to the desire of the living entity.

So it’s udāsīnavāt.

The example can be given of a high court judge sitting on his bench. By his order, so many things are happening. Someone is being hanged. Someone is being put into jail. Someone is awarded a huge amount of wealth. But still he is neutral. He has nothing to do with all the gain and loss. Similarly, the Lord is always neutral, although he has his hand in every sphere of activity.

So it’s because of him it’s all happening.

But it’s not technically, you know… It means, in other words, it’s not his desire. He’s just adjudicating what’s happening for the Upanayana. In the Vedānta-sūtra 2.134 it is stated, vaiśyaṁ ya nair gṛhṇe He is not situated in the dualities of this material world. He is transcendental to these dualities. Nor is he attached to the creation and annihilation of this material world.

Śrīla Viṣṇujana Cakravartī writes in his commentary to Bhagavad-gītā 9.9, But then, since you do so much activity, how is that you do not get bound like the jīvas? This verse answers, Activities like creation do not bind me. Bondage arises from attachment to action and not from the action itself. That’s very important. That’s been our discussions whenever we get… Like yesterday we got into a person smoking a cigarette. No, it’s the action itself that binds you. No, it’s the attachment to the action.

You know what I’m saying? It’s like a pack of cigarettes is thrown into the fire. So that means that they’re smoking. So does that mean now the fire is getting some reaction?

So it’s not the activity. It’s the attachment to the activity that causes the problem. So the living entity, he’s performing an activity. He’s attached to it for himself. He gets the reaction. Then he’s attached to it doing… So the results are for Kṛṣṇa. Then there is no material reaction. One is not bound. One is free.

Does that make sense? Hmm?

Because all my desires are fulfilled spontaneously without having to act, I don’t have attachment to action nor bondage. I am like an indifferent person who is not affected by the mixture of happiness and distress of quarreling parties. Right? Two parties are fighting over something, and, you know, it doesn’t bother you because it has nothing to do with you. Right? So like that, all these different things go on, but in this way he’s not attached because whatever he desires is automatically fulfilled. Like for us, we desire it, then material nature has to transform and make all these arrangements, and then if we have the karma, then it removes that difficulty, and we will call that happiness, and then that happiness is gone in the moment, and then we have to start this whole other process for something else. But the Lord is always satisfied because whatever He desires, they are spontaneously happening.

It’s a little different. A little bit.

Lesson twenty. Forgetfulness of His real nature is the cause of His multifarious… Conclusion? Oh, conclusion, yeah. The living entities take their different forms in the various species of life according to their past deeds, and the Lord doesn’t interfere with them. They desire that, then He doesn’t interfere. They get what they’re looking for. But, you know, it’s according to what they deserve. Like the judge, you know, you’ve done something wrong, then you will be adjudicated, and according to what you deserve, you’ll get. Like you said, one man is sent to jail, one man is awarded a large sum of money, but it’s according to, you know, your previous activities. So the problem is we don’t know exactly what it is we desire. We only see part of it? Like the reaction is the other part of what comes with our desire? Or is that… Say again? Okay, we desire something, the Lord gives it to us, but He gives it based on what we deserve. So does that mean that we don’t know what the reactions are of our desires?

I mean, it means we don’t know before they happen, or you don’t know after. Most of the time. All of the time we don’t know before, and some of the time we don’t know after. Yeah, I mean, before is, how will you know? Because we’re not transforming nature. It’s not our potency. But studying Shastra will give us a better idea? Yes, we know that if this activity is performed, this is the result.

And that’s why studying Shastra takes us out? No, studying Shastra is… What takes us out is the non-attachment to the material endeavor, and the material results. Which comes… From studying the Shastra. But it’s these other studies of Shastra that doesn’t help. So studying the Shastra in the association of devotees under the direction of the spiritual master, and applying that with the proper attitude, then that’s what gets you out. So it still comes back to the desire. So by studying, then you’re associating with the proper perspective. So then we start to align our thinking in that way.

Is that…

Lesson 20. Forgetfulness of his real nature is the cause of his multifarious troubles.

7.14. This divine energy of mine consisting of the three modes of material nature is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto me can easily cross beyond it.

So why is it difficult to overcome the influence of the material nature? The Supreme Personality of Godhead has innumerable energies, and all these energies are divine. Although the living entities are part of His energies, and are therefore divine, due to contact with material energy, the original superior power is covered. Being thus covered by material energy, one cannot possibly overcome its influence.

As previously stated, both the material and spiritual natures, being emanations from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are eternal. The living entities belong to the eternal superior nature of the Lord. But due to contamination by the inferior nature, matter, their illusion, is also eternal. So therefore we have to… The conditioned soul is therefore called Nityabhadra, or eternally conditioned. No one can trace out the history of his becoming conditioned, right? So it says no one can trace out the history of becoming conditioned. That means he was conditioned. Not Nityabhadra means he was always conditioned. Because the point is, if he was always conditioned, then how would he switch to eternally liberated? Right? Because we’re going to get sticky about… No, he says Nitya means we always were, but Nitya means eternal. So if you can stop it, that means then there was a start. You know what I’m saying? Because the material is temporary. That’s the nature of it. Right? But transcendental, that’s eternal. So it’s not that you start it, you uncover, you know, you uncover its natural position. So the living entity was always spiritual. It’s just he was, by his covering, by being conditioned, he’s not acting according to his spiritual nature. Does that make sense? But being conditioned, that’s a covering. So there was a time when it started, and there’s a time when it ends. But how long that is, no one can trace. Therefore, the term Nitya is there.

Consequently, his release from the clutches of material nature is very difficult, even though that material nature is an inferior energy, because material energy is ultimately conducted by the supreme will, which the living entity cannot overcome. So he’s been in it since time immemorial, so his practice is such that he’s not, you know, very easily willing to just let go of it. Right? And at the same time, even though it’s inferior to him, it’s still conducted by the Supreme Lord, and we can’t know the Supreme Lord except through devotion. That means only by devotional service can we overcome the influence of material energy. Otherwise, no one else can.

Right? The karmis aren’t trying to, they’re just trying to get a better quality. The jnanis are trying to, but they never are successful.

So since temporariness means Nityavada, so there’s still Nityavadas.

Right? They may be liberated Nityavadas, but they’re still eternally bound.

Yes?

Yes? In the first canto in the second chapter, Prabhupada says in the purport that the love of Nitya for Krishna is manifested as affection for gross and subtle matter. So is there a difference between this affection and devotion?

See, it means… I mean, we’ll say we’re devoted, but we’re not actually devoted, because why are we doing it?

Yeah. So devotion means you’re doing it to not get something. You just, you want the other person’s pleasure. So, but the expression of affection, that principle is the same. Right? The difficulty is the natural affection for the Lord, we’re expressing through the material energy. It’s still going to the Lord, because what it is in material energy that we appreciate is still the Lord. But we think it’s that material energy.

But because we think it’s material energy, we get the reaction for expressing it to material energy. Right? So therefore it becomes transformed into lust, is that we want to get something for ourself from it. So even though it’s directed unknowingly at the Lord through material energy, but the purpose is for our own self. So now we direct our activities towards the Lord knowingly, and not forgetting something for ourself. So then that lust turns back into the love.

Am I clear? Yes. And is it, what is it called? Comparable.

You know, how much affection you have for the person so long after it decreases to that quantity? If you’re performing devotional service, then as it decreases from material energy, it means it’s increasing for Krishna. But the materialist may decrease it, you know, from the gross forms, but it doesn’t mean that their idea to be the controller and enjoyer is decreasing. Like now, instead of it being enjoying all those little bits of nature, then one thinks that he is God, you know. So, I mean, it doesn’t really change. So in factuality, if it’s reducing, it’s because of devotional service.

Because then knowledge and detachment are automatically byproducts.

Hmm?

It is the only solution. Hmm? It is the only solution. It’s the only solution, yeah. But we’re determined that, no, it’s that plus this little other this and that. So as we decide that, no, it’s only this, so as we become fixed on that, then the focus is that, the desire is that. So the result is that. The reason that we say, oh, we’re distracted is because we think other things are going to generate this happiness.

Does that make sense? So that’s the problem. When we understand that there is no happiness here, you know, it’s only the removal of pain, then one starts to think, okay, then engage oneself in the actual activities of happiness.

Another meaning of guṇa is rope.

It is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself. He must be held by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Kṛṣṇa, or His bona fide representative, the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul. Without such superior help, one cannot be freed from the bondage of material nature. Devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, can help one gain such release. Kṛṣṇa, being the Lord of the illusory energy, can order His insurmountable energy to release the conditioned soul. He orders this release out of His causeless mercy on the surrendered soul and out of His paternal affection for the living entity who is originally a beloved son of the Lord. Therefore, surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord is the only means to get free from the clutches of astringent material nature. Because He’s in control of the nature, as mentioned before, that’s why you can’t get out of it. So when one surrenders to the Lord, then he can remove the, our being, how you said, bound by the material nature.

So it’s only through devotional service. You can get a strong experience of this when you’re in good distribution, in hell slash number, you know, Kṛṣṇa can be like… You left out the jolly old. Jolly old pill.

It’s so impossible, but somehow this means… It means anything when you’re very absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So it’s kind of like book distribution, you don’t really have an alternative. That’s the nice thing about it. And it’s giving this knowledge to others, so that’s always very much appreciated.

So it’s not because you’re selling a book. It’s because this knowledge is being distributed. In other words, those who distribute knowledge through the books, then they’re still today doing that. Those who are selling books, then, you know, they last for, you know, three, four years, maybe a few more if they’re really recognized.

The word mām eva are also significant.

Mām means under Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu only, and not Brahmā or Śiva. Although Brahmā and Śiva are greatly elevated and are almost on the level of Viṣṇu, it is not possible for such incarnations of rājaguna passion and tamo-guṇa ignorance to release the conditioned soul from the clutches of māyā. In other words, both Brahmā and Śiva are also under the influence of māyā. Only Viṣṇu is the master of māyā. Therefore, he alone can give release to the conditioned soul.

Is that what you said? Almost on the level of Viṣṇu?

Yeah, almost.

But it means almost from our perspective. Yeah, okay. Almost.

Not from Viṣṇu’s perspective. No, exactly. Almost from our perspective. They’re all very far away from us. Yeah.

Brahmā and Śiva are like a position? Brahmā is like a position? Brahmā is a position.

Śiva basically… It means, of course, it’s a position, but it’s the personality of Śiva, tattva.

So they’re in their own category. Like that. It’s a transformation of Viṣṇu tattva. Like yogurt is a transformation of milk. Milk can transform into yogurt, but yogurt can’t go back into milk.

So Viṣṇu is still the lord of Śiva.

But occasionally you have a jīva that qualifies, so then he’ll take that position. Not of Sadāśiva, but of Śambhu within the material universe. But this means this Śiva is under the influence of Māyā? Means partially?

He said, my Śiva and I are under the influence. If one understands the husband-wife relationship, and he’s married to material energy, then… He’s definitely under the influence. Yes.

Okay, now nivṛtti. Now doubt. Here a doubt may arise. Is it possible for the forgetful soul to re-establish this relationship with Godhead? For Vipācā objection. In Bhagavad-gītā 6.19.20 the Lord states, Those who are envious, mischievous, were the lowest among men, I perpetually cast in the ocean material existence into various demoniac species of life. Obtaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life O son of Kuntī. Such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence. So the question is, so can the living entity re-establish this relationship?

But here then it’s said, that those who are envious and mischievous, then they’ll be, how you say, perpetually in this most abominable kind of existence. Does that make sense? Then that’s the case. So does that mean I’ll be born in London forever? Yes. You know, like that. So yeah, like that. So now then Prabhupāda gives the reply.

You understand? Because each one adhikāraṇa, it will give, the thing will come up about a doubt that will bring it to the next one. It’s basically closing all the doors. Yeah, yeah. Trying to escape. Because we see here there’s this run of adhikāraṇas that each adhikāraṇa is made up of adhikāraṇas that’s going like that. So you’re trying to establish all those. And so each one gives rise to the next. When you say the point, then it’s, well, how? Then you give your reason, no but, then it has, so each one gives rise to the next. And when you finally conclude, okay, that’s unclear, but then what about this next thing? You understand? So it just keeps the process going. So if it’s in connection with Kṛṣṇa, then that process is very nice. It clears all doubts. But if it’s not in connection with Kṛṣṇa, it just keeps you busy. Then you get around to the end, and then you come back to the beginning again. And then they don’t see that sense of material nature functions on basic fundamental principles, that they don’t understand that they themselves running around in those points in the circle are similar to the dog running around after its tail. They’ll think, no, I’m so intelligent, the dog is so foolish. No, it’s the same thing. Just the dog does it a little quicker, and then he lies down to take a nap, while they do it for many, many lifetimes and all that.

Ādhikāraṇa 4, Lessons 21-23 Godhead comes himself or sends his confidential servants to reclaim these forgetful living entities. The forgetful living entities can know Godhead only if he explains himself, or if he is explained by his confidential servants. Right? So it means to get the living entity to get out, it means we saw it has to be by the Lord. The Lord is controlling material nature, so therefore, how do you say, he’s controlling material nature, and so only he can release the living entity from those clutches. But then how will that happen? Because he’s very far away. Like that. So he comes himself or he sends his representative.

So this then goes into the fourth Ādhikāraṇa.

Lesson 21 Godhead comes himself or sends his confidential servants to reclaim these forgetful conditioned souls. Ādhikāraṇa 4, Lessons 7-8 Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bhārata, and a prominent rise of irreligion, at that time I descend myself. So what marks one as irreligious, and what are the principles of religion? What is the highest principle of religion?

Principles of religion are laid down in the Vedas, and any discrepancy in the matter of properly executing the rules of the Vedas makes one irreligious.

Right? So it means when you’re following the rules of the Vedas, that’s religious, because it’s defining the actual how things should work. And if one’s not following that, one means it’s irreligious, because it’s against the nature. It’s not following and not doing how it should be functioning. Because we’re looking at, oh, it’s just a rule. You’re following a rule or not a rule. No, the rule is there, because that defines, that is in connection with the definition of the actual nature of what you’re dealing with.

Does that make sense? So the difficulty comes up is going against the rules means then you’re going against the nature. Right? Does that make sense to you?

We must go against nature a lot.

We meaning? We’re representing which community?

Well, just technology isn’t nature, is it? I mean, it works according to a particular rule, so therefore it has its nature, but then how technology is used, that’s another thing. Technology functions within the laws of nature, but then how you use that technology, then that’s also the consideration.

You know what I’m saying?

Yes.

Because there’s always been technology. It’s just generally avoided by those who are serious about self-realization and that kind of thing. Because the demons have always had technology, because they’re into material nature, so any way they can manipulate material nature to get more out of it, then they’re going to do it. So your traditional followers of the Vedic culture, it means the suras, they basically leave it alone and just take it in its more natural state, but the demons want more, so therefore they have technology. So what about this concept of simple living? Am I thinking simple living? But, yes, of course. I’m just saying, but the point is if the technology is there, if it’s used in Krishna’s service, then it works. Otherwise, if you have a program, you’re here in India and there’s a festival, let’s say, you want to attend the Chiradvaya Utsav in, how do you say, Atlanta this summer, then you’d better leave now. You could walk. I wouldn’t, it’ll be hard to get across to Himalaya, but you could walk from here, Bangladesh, on through, up around, probably easier to go. I’m not sure how you get past the part of the North Vietnam. You might be able to, but, you know, if you can get up, you want to get all the way up, or maybe you could, or go around the other way, yeah. It might be a little longer, but it might be easier to go off through there, go through the past, going through Russia, Kazakhstan, over, then, because, you know, then you miss the whole China and Mongolia, and that. So everything is Krishna’s nature, even if it’s man-made.

How does, man-made means what? So is, you’re sitting on a blanket that’s man-made. Well, I can see that that’s made by, you know, the brick is man-made. And you have to take it right back to get to Krishna. Yeah, I mean, yeah.

It’s just a matter of how much it distances itself from the, you know, the, the, how do you say, natural, natural, or, you know, the natural need of the human being. You know what I’m saying? Having nice food, that’s, you know, a natural need, you know. Is that what you’re saying? Having an iPhone, that’s not necessary. You know what I’m saying? I mean, it depends who you talk to about it. You know what I’m saying?

Like, would it be in the inherent nature of teenagers that they wouldn’t be able to live without text messaging? It’s like, you breathe, you text message, you eat junk food, you know, like that. You know what I’m saying? It’s all part of the inherent.

Yes. Maharishi says about that, without properly executing the rules and the Vedas, makes one relinquish any discrepancy, so rice without ghee is a relic. Yes, so take your own ghee, and that way you don’t have to complain about the management.

It’s sad.

Because it’s irreligious for those not in the position, you know, of authority to complain about the authority. He’s walking around with his own ghee.

So that’s what’s under there. Yes. Ghee, honey, stuff like that. So, see, he’s prepared. That’s why I want to sit always close to him. I see.

In other words, I’m just, yeah, trying to see where he goes.

And you have the bucket, so therefore, so you get the volume, and he gets the quality. So then if you work together, then it works quite good. Yeah, OK. In itself, Krishna is not taken care of, so the rice, even without ghee, is still made of coins.

See, probably they put ghee on Krishna’s rice, you know, and then through that he eats all the rice that’s there. It’s just that they don’t necessarily extend the manifestation of the ghee on the rice. That’s all.

Yeah.

OK?

Because that rule is for the the bhajari, or for someone who’s serving. For someone who’s eating, then the rule is that you accept Krishna Prasad. So, since you’re in the position of receiving, then that is one’s duty. Right? So to stand up on the table and start waving your hands and yelling and screaming, that would be irreligious, because that’s not the duty of someone sitting and honoring Prasad.

Does that make sense?

Yeah? So therefore, it’s very fine. We have to see the bigger picture. That’s why the whole culture and everything is described, because we don’t always see it. So that way, by following the rules, and we’re following our part, but it’s just following the rules doesn’t make it perfect. It’s that we’re doing these things to please Krishna. That’s what makes it perfect.

Why is the ghee rice crazy?

I’m not sure what the connection is with these spirits, that Godhead descends himself, so he’s descended as the prasad.

So in other words, he’s going to descend into this rice, and so the perfect form of rice is rice with ghee on it. So then the perfect deity, the rice deity, would be rice with ghee. So if you don’t have the ghee, it’s not as ideal.

But as we said, there’s a good chance that on the Lord’s place, there was.

Right? So therefore, then, but he eats all of the rice, but then this is what you can offer to him and make the arrangements of that. So you either be happy with the rice, but may not have the ghee on it, or get more friendly with the person doing the offering.

We’re eating his remnants, so maybe he just took the ghee for himself.

He could, but I don’t know that he would need to bother and go with that trouble.

It would be a lot of trouble to lick each grain of rice and get all the ghee off.

Okay.

In the Bhagavatam, it is stated that such principles are the laws of the Lord.

Only the Lord can manufacture a system of religion. Right? Only he can do it. It’s complete. We make our makeup our own, but it’s bogus. You know, you have to, you know, once joining the club, you have to wear those pants, you know, until they fall off and stuff. You know, these are rules, that’s their religion, but it doesn’t mean that, it doesn’t mean that it has any, it’s not elevating.

You know what I’m saying? It’s not elevating.

You said it, not me.

Only the Lord can manufacture a system of religion. The Vedas are also accepted, as originally spoken by the Lord himself, to Brahma, from within his heart. Therefore, the principles of Dharma, or religion, are the direct orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. dharmam tu saksad bhagavat pranitam Srimad Bhagavatam 6 .3.19 Right? So it’s making it very clear that the rules that are given, that is Krsna. So that’s why they’re not to be avoided, you know, or neglected. You know, it’s not that, oh, we chant Hare Krsna, we’re above the rules, but then, if we say that, you know, meaning that I don’t need to follow any detail or anything like that, then that means you’re transcendental to God. You know what I’m saying? So you’ve gone beyond God, so you have even a new philosophy, because the Mayavadis, they say they just become God. Here, you actually transcend God and go beyond God, you know, so. Like that.

Some of the nouveau Mayavadis.

Right?

These principles are clearly indicated throughout the Bhagavad -gita. The purpose of the Vedas is to establish such principles under the order of the Supreme Lord, and the Lord directly orders at the end of the Gita that the highest principle of religion is to surrender unto Him only and nothing more. Right? So all these other principles of religion are there to establish our surrendering to the Supreme Lord. You know what I’m saying? You know, so, maintaining cleanliness is so that we stay pure, so then the consciousness, because we being conditioned, because the body is the field, that means that’s where we perform activities, so we’re affected by the field, because we identify with it. So, if the field is clean, then there’s a better chance that the mind and the consciousness will be clean. Right? The atma-shuddhi is there. Right? The body. Then the citta-shuddhi, or the consciousness, will be there. Does that make sense? So it’s just an assistant, that’s why it’s there. Does that make sense? Otherwise, if it wasn’t important, why introduce all these standards of cleanliness into the society of mlecchas? You know, where, you know, being wholesale unclean is like standard. You know, it’s like they’re, how do you say, they’re…

Hallmark? Yeah, hallmark, their tradition, their inspiration, you know, stuff like that.

Does that make sense? You know, the guy next to you bothers you, so you pour the mug of beer over his head. He doesn’t go, oh, now I’ve got to go change, you know, like this. He just starts a fight, or something else. You know what I’m saying? You know, he’s just… You distract your mind long enough, it dries, and you forget about it, right? Everybody goes home. Yeah, yeah. Does that make sense? So it’s a whole different thing. So you’re introducing all these elements of cleanliness that aren’t there.

Tidiness, maybe, but not, you know, these elements of purity and other aspects to attain purity. Right?

Because the…

Malaysia’s not keeping something clean for purity. It’s keeping it clean because it looks nice, or you can organize it so you can do something with it. It’s efficient, you know where everything is. You know, you go into the garage and everything’s there, and you can see everything. So it’s only efficiency.

Or, you know, you clean it because then you won’t get sick. You know, because if you’re sick, it’s really hard to control and enjoy.

Prestige? Mm-hmm. Prestige? Yeah, prestige is also there. But then it will also generally, there’ll be more elements of aesthetics generally. You know, it’ll be like that. But yes, all these different things, you know. But here is purity for upliftment so that you’re actually qualified to interact with God and those on the pure platform. Does that make sense? So unless it’s important, why would it be introduced? Yes. Right? So it’s there because Krishna’s given it. Mm-hmm. Right?

The Vedic principles push one towards complete surrender unto Him, and whatever such principles are disturbed by the demoniac, the Lord appears. Right? So the principles are pushing that way because there’s, you know, the principle in one manifestation that pushes you to the next, to the next, until the ultimate of that surrender to the Lord. Right? Because the idea is all those elements in your surrender to the Lord, then they all just homogeneously are there wherever they apply. And as we were saying, if it’s necessary, it’s used. You know? So, you know, how you say that residents of Vrndavana, if they’re in Vrndavana, in the village, they’ll deal in one way. If they’re out in the forest, they’ll deal in another way. It’s just whatever’s manifested. You know, the cowherd boys sit there and behave themselves, and, you know, like that, aren’t too crazy. When they’re sitting in Mother Yashoda’s house, when they go out into the field, right, and they steal each other’s lunch, this, that, do all that. You know, they don’t do that at Mother Yashoda’s table. You know? You know, you behave yourself. You’re nice boys. Right? Because she knows your mother. Right? So you’ve got to behave yourself.

Okay? Okay. So this is… Godhead descends Himself. Right? So here is… Here He’s descended as Shastra, as religion. Right? So whenever irreligion is not working, then He’s descended as religion, and when it’s being obstructed, then He descends Himself to see that that’s, you know, going on. 4.8. To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.

This is also… This is Sankarsana. This verse is giving the mood of Sankarsana.

You know, both these verses.

Okay. According to Bhagavad-gita, a sadhu, holy man, is a man in Krsna consciousness.

A person may appear to be irreligious, but if he has the qualifications of Krsna consciousness, holy and fully, he is understood to be a sadhu. So here is… That means that first point is like we’re saying here. According to Bhagavad-gita, a sadhu is a man in Krsna consciousness. Nobody has any problem with it. So here… Now, a person may appear to be irreligious, but if he has the qualifications of Krsna consciousness, holy and fully, he is understood to be a sadhu. Now, at this point, a doubt can arise. That’s the reason. Yeah. So that’s it. So it’s… It’s, you know, whatever his situation, he’s completely Krsna conscious. So we’re meaning, you know, whatever the situation… Because if he’s pious, we’ll automatically take it. But even if he’s, you know, appears to be irreligious, he’s still on the same platform. Does that make sense? Right?

And diskrtam applies to those who do not care for Krsna consciousness. So if they care for Krsna consciousness, but they’re not necessarily following everything very nicely, then they’re sadhus. They’re not diskrtinas. So the diskrtina… Okay, they don’t care for… They’re not following. They don’t care for Krsna consciousness. Then that’s obvious. Right? Yes. But the problem is, is then you have a diskrtina who doesn’t care for Krsna consciousness, but he’s pious. Oh, we’ll say, oh, no, but he’s a nice person and everything like that. You know? You know? He’s vegetarian. We’re vegetarians. So, hey, it’s almost the same. You understand? So the difficulty comes as in the middle. But of the two, the one that’s on the non-Krsna conscious side we’ll consider better than the lower Krsna conscious standard.

That’s a problem.

Because the point is, is Krsna consciousness is the dividing factor, not piety and impiety. Right? That’s the… Now, when we speak about the qualification of Krsna consciousness holy and fully, means he’s… Holy and fully means his consciousness. He’s always engaged. Yes. Means he… I think it is the 26th quality. So he’s fully surrendered to Krsna, even if he has some attitude which is not… Yes, means even if you don’t see the others, because it says apparently, may appear to be irreligious, because you don’t know, you don’t know what the background, you don’t know what anything is. So, you know.

Does that make sense?

We may not see the qualities we’re expecting to see. Yes. Like that. And so then we’ll think that this is not proper.

Yes. Yes, you would expect them to be out preaching, but they’re not, or, you know, they stay out of the way, you know, expect them to be more in the forefront or… You know, stuff like that.

You know, so I’m saying, you know, that would be a very pleasant example.

Trying to find one that wouldn’t be so pleasant, because that’s always more fun.

Yes.

Even though they may be decorated with mundane education, whereas a person who is one hundred percent engaged in Krsna consciousness is accepted as a sadhu, even though such a person may be neither learned nor well cultured. Right? The person is a rough person. He was off the street. Then he becomes a devotee. It doesn’t mean that overnight his culture changes. So he still appears rough and, you know, like that. So that doesn’t make him a duskrtina. Right? But you may have another person who’s very educated, very cultured, like that, but that doesn’t make him, you know, not a duskrtina.

What is that?

OK.

Yeah.

When did we start? Today? We started way back. Yeah. When I was four or something? Hmm? No, that was…

Forty. Forty-four. No, that was… Yeah. But today, first class today, we started on a forty. Forty, yeah, because I kind of remember seeing forty. So we got through ten pages. Wow. Right?

Basically, because there were no overly distracting questions. Only a little bit we got with the… the ghee on the rice. Yeah.

No serious mistakes. Yeah.

Before. Before. Because he wants to know what to do today. So you go by his own ghee. Should he stand up on the table there? Problem is, the table’s only this high, so it doesn’t really… Doesn’t do much. Yeah, it doesn’t, especially if the servers are standing up, it doesn’t create much of an impression. OK? If everyone was sitting down, it might be an impression, but the servers are standing, so it doesn’t really give you that much advantage. T-shirt. T-shirt.

Yeah, well, you could, could, you know… Ghee to the people. Yeah, ghee to the people. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Rice with… And just put a quotation mark, rice without ghee is… is… is… is… is… is… is… is… is… Yeah, but then you’d run into serious opposition.

I mean, you’d have two parties completely opposed, like that, you might have the management would have a problem like that, and the health, yes, the health, they would have a problem. So you might run into Susan. But at the same time, you might find, you know, if you time it right, when all the Samkhetan buses are back in Mayapur, then you’d have three to five hundred Brahmachars. You might be able to overwhelm the opposition like that. So timing is everything.

Lecture Notes

A brief summary of the lecture contents, based on the notes of Śāstra-cakṣus students

  • Body is the field through which the conditioned soul interacts with the world.
  • Just scientifically studying the material situation will keep us in ignorance.
  • Being inquisitive is very important, but we have to know where to be inquisitive into.
  • We receive a body according to how we desire to dominate the material nature.
  • Our body is the actual field of action. External fields my seem important, but until embodied beings come there, nothing happens.
  • The living entity tries to control the material nature for his own purpose, so he enjoys and suffers. But the Supreme Lord only enjoys.
  • Sambandha-jñāna means knowing cit, acit and īśvara.
  • It is not the action itself that binds the living entity, it is his attachment to that activity. Therefore, if one desires for Kṛṣṇa, one is not bound.
  • When we return to our eternal position, we recover it. It is not that we have been conditioned eternally, but since it is difficult to trace out when it started, it is called eternal.
  • Everything that we appreciate in the material energy is still the Lord, but since we do not acknowledge it, we get the results of dealing with the material energy. Love gets transformed into lust.
  • 59:00 Technology is developed by demons. However, we may use it in Kṛṣṇa’s service.
  • Rice with ghee.
  • When we follow rules we do our part, but it is not just following rules that makes things perfect, we have to do it to please Kṛṣṇa.
  • 67:30 If we reject scriptural rules, it means we have supposedly gone ‘beyond God.’ Māyāvādīs just want to become God, so this is even worse.
  • All principles of religion are there to bring us to surrender to the Supreme Lord.
  • If we keep our body, our field, clean, there is much more chance that our mind and consciousness will also be clean.
  • If cleanliness was not important, why would Śrīla Prabhupāda introduce it among the mlecchas where uncleanliness is standard?
  • Mlecchas only keep things clean if they look nice and are efficient, or to avoid getting sick, or for prestige.
  • Devotees are concerned with purity for upliftment and being able to interact with God.
  • Bhagavad-gītā verses 4.7-8 are describing the mood of Saṅkarṣaṇa.
  • There may be duṣkṛtinas who are very pious, but unfortunately we would consider them better than impious devotees.

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