Bhagavad-gītā Seriatim #25

Bhagavad-gītā Seriatim #25

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Hare Rama, Hare Rama Rama Rama, Hare Hare Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om Jaya Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu Nityananda Sri Advaitha Gadadhara Siva Sarigauru Bhakta Brinda Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama Rama Rama, Hare Hare Verse 24 declares that when the material objects are engaged in the Lord’s service, they become spiritualized. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains in his purport, the Absolute Truth covered by māyā is called matter. Matter, dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth, regains its spiritual quality. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the process of converting the illusory consciousness into Brahman, or the Supreme. So that means everything is originally spiritual. There’s no such thing technically as material. Material is the illusory concept. Otherwise, the point is, the dead matter is not going to be manifest. There’s no need, there’s nothing for the soul. Kṛṣṇa doesn’t consort with the external potency. So why would there be a manifestation?

So the manifestation is simply because the living entities themselves are attached to the idea of being the controller and enjoyer. Therefore, it’s given to them to use in this way. So that there is a manifestation, is because of the mentality of the living entities. Does this make sense?

So therefore, the illusion covers the dead matter. So therefore, we call it matter.

Otherwise, it’s just the external potency of the Lord.

So Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how one can then understand, how one can convert our consciousness. So how is that conversion happening? It’s not that we’re taking the thing and doing something to it to make it change. What has to change is our perception. Because all it is, is Kṛṣṇa’s potency, is Brahman, is covered by illusion.

So we think it has substance when it doesn’t.

Why do we like something? Why do we like these rocks here in this garden?

Yeah, they add a beauty. But what is the beauty of the rock?

It’s actually Kṛṣṇa. In other words, beauty is Kṛṣṇa’s quality. And then His internal potency is taken the form of a rock, as one of the ways to appreciate Kṛṣṇa as beauty.

And then, that has been manifest through the external potency.

So the real beauty is Kṛṣṇa and His internal potency. So it’s not the matter.

So there is only Brahman, but that’s been covered by this material consciousness.

So this may be inferior Brahman, but it’s still Brahman.

And so, its shape, its color, its texture, whatever qualifies it in the way of aesthetics, in the way of beauty, then that’s Kṛṣṇa and His internal potency. It’s just manifest through the external potency, but we call it matter because of our illusion that it’s not connected to the Lord.

Do you understand? So, how to convert it to spiritual platform?

It’s not by some alchemy. It’s by changing the consciousness. You change the consciousness, then you’re just seeing the spiritual quality. You just see Brahman and all its different… Kṛṣṇa in His manifestation with all the variety of the internal potency.

So then it’s just all Brahman.

Not all one Brahman, very gated Brahman. But it’s just an inferior manifestation of Brahman.

Inferior meaning it’s not conscious. But what makes it work is Kṛṣṇa is conscious. So, even there it’s actually… Do you understand? The actual situation is this conscious.

But we only see the dead matter.

Does it make sense? So that’s the idea.

So you’re converting the illusory consciousness into Brahman. So our illusion there, then we’re seeing the Supreme Lord. So that’s how one can see Kṛṣṇa everywhere.

Raj, after we’ve understood the concept that the qualities in everything are Brahman, is it necessary for everything that we’re dealing with to analyze what are the qualities, what are we attracted, how is it? If it’s a distraction, yes. If it’s not a distraction, don’t worry about it. If it’s like this blanket, you never even think about it, then don’t worry about it. You analyze those things that have value to you. And see that those are connected to the Lord.

Does that make sense? Because you’re engaging your body, mind and words. So you have a particular kind of body, particular kind of mind, particular kind of words. So that’s going to connect with the rest of the material manifestation in a certain way. You know what I’m saying? Like music will have a connection with musical instruments and other things like that. Not with, let’s say, a car. You know what I’m saying? I wonder if that would be interesting. Line up a bunch of cars, you know, and have them all running. And then they know how far to push the pedal. You know, that vroom, vroom, vroom. Like that, they could do something. That would be interesting, right? Definitely get you on a variety show, that one.

Okay. Does that make sense? So there’s no connection. So therefore there’s no need to worry about it. Like a thermometer. What does it do? Measures temperature, right? It doesn’t have to paint. It doesn’t have to do something else. Right? It doesn’t have to hammer nails or take out screws or iron clothes. You know what I’m saying? It doesn’t have to do any of that. So it only works with its field. So your conditioned nature has a particular field. Right? It’ll be able to see there. That’s why you should do your duty, not someone else’s. Because in your duty, though you can do the work, is there more to it?

Yeah. You understand? It means in any work, there’s the consciousness that goes with it. There’s, you know, the whole field has to be considered. But if it’s not your nature, you’re going to deal with it without considering all that. So it won’t be very efficient. That’s why you shouldn’t do someone else’s work. Because you won’t do it well. The concept of the Vedic system is that whatever you do, you do it well. So if everybody’s doing well, then the whole society is very prosperous, is very, very well, nicely run. But if everybody’s doing something that they’re not supposed to be doing, then there’s a problem. Right? Just like this. Let us say you have an Ayurvedic doctor, OK? And he has not come in contact with, you know, I say, you know, the concepts of business.

So how much does this medicine cost? Not much. Yeah, very little, right? And he can tell you diets and lifestyle changes to actually make yourself, how you’ll get healthy and how you’ll keep from getting sick. So that means he’ll also help you how to not come back to him. OK. Now let’s say a businessman is involved.

OK? And he takes these Ayurvedic doctors. OK? Now how much will it cost? A lot, right? You want a pulse diagnosis, it costs you $300. They do it for free. It’s just part of the thing, you know. Does that make sense? You know, the medicines become very expensive, this and that. You know, what happens when they get more involved, right? They open a hospital. Then you start talking tens of thousands, hundreds of millions.

Why? Because a vaisya is not supposed to be involved in medicine. It’s not their business. It’s their brahminical job. So they do, you can say they do well. But they do well at what? At medicine or at making money? They do well at making money. Though to make money, the medicine has to be working to some degree. Otherwise, why would anybody take your product, right? Does that make sense? So that’s the difficulty.

You understand? That’s why, even though you could say, well, they do a nice job. On one level, yes. But on another level, no.

Does that make sense? So that’s why you only worry about those things that you actually have the nature for. But at the same time, you don’t define your nature. Shastra defines it. Otherwise, there’d be areas where you feel it’s not important.

Yes? Someone was asking a question about these points that you bring up about seeing Krishna in as brahman. And I think it’s very important to understand that it is brahman, it’s not Krishna Himself. Because this person was saying, if I interact with my husband and I see that’s Krishna, then I’m having a relationship with Krishna. That turns a bit, the sahajiyas do that. Because that’s called jugal. We’ll get into that in the third year. That’s jugal bhajan. Like that. So they’re Radha and Krishna. It gets a little bit rough. No, the point is, that’s why Krishna, after saying these first two verses of the chatra shloki, then the third one he says, but I as a person am separate from that. So it’s the potency. Everything is working because of a potency. Because if there’s no potency, what would it be doing? It won’t be doing anything.

That’s the whole thing. It’s like seeing Krishna, but the point is, as a person and all that, what’s their relationship with Krishna as a person? And what would they be doing?

You know what I’m saying? So they wouldn’t be having an interaction with Krishna in this way, like the husband.

That wouldn’t be going on.

So that’s why you have to be able to distinguish between Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. They’re non-different, but at the same time they are different. So you have to know what to do with what. You know what I’m saying?

Yeah, they all have their purposes.

That’s the difficulty with these things, is that as these subtleties, if the subtleties are not there, then so many things are mistaken because we don’t understand the tools with which to work with. But at the same time, if the tools are not understood, you can also have problems. If I go into the kitchen and you want to cook lunch and you have so many vegetables there, what if there’s no knives?

It would be very difficult. I mean, you could work out something, but it would be more difficult.

So therefore, without the tools, in this case the knife, it’s very difficult to operate. So devotees know that we have the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, but then the problem is, is the cultural tools that are necessary for social interaction, then not understanding those or not having them, then there’s a lot of problem.

But now, if you have the knife and now that’ll make it so you can cut all the vegetables and very nice, what is the other side that you have to watch out for? Yeah, you have to know how to handle the knife, otherwise you’ll get cut.

So in the one, it’s hard to cook because there’s no knife. The other, you get cut, you also don’t cook because you’re at the hospital, and then you have to deal with all those vaisyas who run the hospital, so it’s going to cost you a lot of money. Does that make sense? So this is the point. One has to be very mature. Why can’t it be so easy and this and that? That’s okay, but what about the rest of your life? Is it that simple and easy and everything, but generally not. No, we have very sophisticated desires.

We want this car and that watch and this computer and it’s got to have these components and this much RAM and this much hardware. So if life was simple, you could do that. Does that make sense? So that’s the difficulty.

Okay? Yes? Question. In that example you gave of when the vaisyas run the hospital and has the doctors working under him, is it the, in that example, is it the doctors or the vaisyas or both of them who are not performing their own duty?

Are the doctors, but the point is, are doctors supposed to be doing doctor stuff? Yes. Okay, so how would they not be doing their duty?

Do you understand? So they’re situated in what they’re doing. Vaisyas aren’t supposed to be doing that. Right? You know what I’m saying? If a vaisya likes what a brahmana does, you know, you can give some charity to him and like that and then you can go and perform all these things nicely.

Right? But because of nature, the contemporary community, there’s always the point of things like this, they’re not appreciated. And so they’re not taken care of in this way. So nowadays if it doesn’t make money, it’s not seen as something important. It doesn’t have substance. So if it makes money, then it’s important. If it doesn’t make money, it’s not important.

Does that make sense?

And since it’s not ideal, then you may have doctors who don’t want to get involved. So they’ll set themselves up in a different way to avoid that. Yes?

Yes, of course.

That’s then their own personal character. But in this case, it was about should they be involved in medicine or not. I mean, the vaisya shouldn’t, you know, but the doctor should. But then, as you’re saying, then there’s the actual character of the doctor, whether his mentality and the service match, because that’s supposed to be the body, mind and words. So the proper mentality, intelligence is supposed to be there along with the skill. So medicine is the field, and then you have the character. So character comes from ashram. That’s the thing. Varna doesn’t generate character. No, character has to. Someone with character, then they’re a brahmana or ksatriya. That’s why it’s guna and karma. Right? You have the quality, you have the nature, then you do that. If you only have the quality, I mean the quality and not the nature, you wouldn’t do that. But if you have the nature but not the quality also, it’s not proper. But the point is that by practice, by association, by sadhana, that’s what ashram is. Ashram develops the character, but it doesn’t develop nature. Nature is inherent.

So the person’s, you know, brahminical, then that’s just the way it is. Now whether he has character, will he use it properly or not? So that’s what we’re saying, is the vaisya, he won’t actually understand he’ll just look at how to make money. So as that, then they do a good job. But the point is, they’re not supposed to do a good job on economics in that field. They’re supposed to be selling things, doing trade, or generating from the land and the cows or banking. This is what they’re supposed to do. So medicine’s not on the list.

Because medicine’s based on the scriptures. So they, it’s not their field. Is this okay?

Okay. Verse 24 should not be interpreted in the sense that everything is absolutely identical with Brahman. Not only Brahman exists. Srila Baladeva Dvipusan explains, The commentators have explained that the ladle and the other items are said to make up the, the ladle?

Oh, take up the nature of Brahman, since their function depends on Brahman. And since Brahman pervades them.

Okay.

Okay, so in other words, the ladle works, the spoon works, because that potency of Brahman, so it’s dependent upon Brahman. The ladle’s dependent upon Brahman to actually be able to do the function of a ladle. Right? So it’s dependent upon Brahman. Brahman pervades it. But it itself is technically not, how do you say, it’s not Brahman.

Does that make sense? It means, in other words, here we’re talking about Parabrahman.

Right? In other words, the person Brahman, who is the source of all Brahman. So, the ladle is Brahman, but it’s not Parabrahman. But why the ladle works is because of Parabrahman. So even within Brahman, there is superior and inferior Brahman. And there is independent Brahman and dependent Brahman. Right? So Krishna is independent Brahman. Right? All other energy, all other Brahman is dependent. And within the dependent, then you have the internal, the external, and the jivas.

Right? So in this way you have four varieties of Brahman. So, because of their connection to the Supreme Brahman, therefore everything is able to function in its capacity. But it’s all dependent. It’s not independent. That’s why then this point of you wouldn’t take it to be identical. That would be the impersonal because you can’t tell the difference. Brahman doesn’t mean you can’t tell the difference.

Brahman means you see the inherent spiritual quality. That’s the same. But not that you can’t tell the variety within Brahman. That just means spiritually not very developed.

Okay. The fact that the Lord pervades everything does not mean He has become everything and has lost His personal existence. His omnipresence through His energies, through His energies, and still He maintains, He is omnipresent through His energies, and still He maintains His independent existence as the supreme enjoyer. The Lord confirms this in Bhagavad Gita 9 .4.5. By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them. And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence. Although I am the maintainer of all living entities, and although I am everywhere, I am not part of this cosmic manifestation, for Myself is the very source of creation. Right? He pervades everything. Right? So this is important to see the perspective here. Because at one point Krishna will say all beings are in Me and are Mine. Right? So we have to understand what the perspective is here. What is the difference? So it means He has pervaded everything, but that still does not mean it is Him. He is a person who is still separate.

Right? You have invested, say, a hundred dollars in a business. So that means your potency pervades that business. It is only there because of your potency. But you have a hundred thousand dollars.

So it is not all of you. And you as a person are not that business. Sitting there is a bunch of whatever it is, stickers or hats or whatever it is you are doing, but you are not those stickers. You are not those stickers. Right? Does that make sense?

So like that, He expands into everything, but still He is not in them. You can say everything is in Him, but He is still not in them. Or you can say He is in them, but they are not in Him.

So always as a person He is separate from everything else. That is His potency that makes everything work.

And there in Me and Mine means His energy is contained within Him, but He is still greater than His energy. Right? There is unlimited energy, but there is still the energetic.

That is beyond.

Right? So we know that is there and we can study that, but it will not be something that will be, how do you say, deeply understood in the conditioned state and in the liberated state one is not worried about it. Right? In other words, Krishna is beyond everything. So there is material, there is spiritual, then there is Krishna.

Right? So He is the source of spiritual, therefore we will say He is spiritual, but He is beyond spiritual, He is more than spiritual. So that is the kind of, that is the point at which the brain runs out of, how do you say, synapses or space or stuff like that. End of the road. Yeah, yeah. How do you say? Peta flop, stop. Flopping. Okay.

Okay. Verse 24 describes the proper method of performing a sacrifice. The ultimate goal of all sacrifices is to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In order to do that, in our conditioned state of existence the contact with matter is unavoidable.

But when we spiritualize our activities by performing them as a service to the Lord they become sacrifices.

Oh, so this is continuing in 4.5. Oh no, renunciation through wisdom. In other words, when one invokes the spiritual or transcendental or absolute in everything, then matter loses its mundaneness and then only can one realize the perfect meaning of the phrase sarvam kalvidam brahma. This is the real meaning of this term.

The Vaisnavas say that anything connected with the Lord in devotional service is transcendental. In other words, it is non-different from the Supreme Lord Himself. Madhava, just as iron in long and constant touch with fire loses the characteristics of iron and becomes fiery, so everything offered in sacrifice to the Absolute or the transcendence becomes absolute or transcendental. Renunciation through wisdom. So when you’re dealing with material energy when it’s in connection with the Lord in actual fact, means in your consciousness, then it loses its mundaneness. It has no mundane effect anymore. Just as iron has no effect of iron when it’s in contact with fire. It acts as fire. It doesn’t act as iron.

So in the same way is that everything becomes Brahman. But at the same time as we have to always understand is that the Supreme Brahman is still separate from all this. So this is the importance of acintya-bheda -bheda-tattva is you have these overlapping contradictions that are not a contradiction when you deal with Brahman and Krishna.

So it’s just something to be aware of that there’s not a problem having two contradictory things have it resolved. It’s a very standard thing in the Vedic culture to be able to deal with that. Because the scriptures are saying different things for different people at different times, places and circumstances. Therefore it appears contradictory but they’re not. So to be able to reconcile this is one of the Vedic principles. Because the Vedic principle is just, you could say, formalization of the culture and practices of those on the spontaneous platform.

Does it make sense? You have to have some medium to work through. So it springs from those on the spontaneous platform and it has its manifestation where it’s more formal. And then all this is reflected here. But the culture remains the same.

Does that make sense? So that in connection with Krishna takes on that quality because that’s its original form. Because we say the formal cause and the original cause those are spiritual.

So those elements then those are what’s reflected.

And so you have Krishna as the original cause and then the formal cause takes all the forms to manifest that quality.

So that’s reflected here as the operational cause of the living entity thinking that they are the original cause. And the material cause is reflecting the formal cause.

And so we think that our operation makes the material energy work.

But actually it’s the the Lord and his internal Yogamaya that makes it work.

You see the reflection? So we don’t see the original cause.

Does it make sense?

Verses 25 to 33. Sacrifices resulting in transcendental knowledge. So through nice karma doing the activities according to Shastra without a desire for results seeing it connects to Krishna transforms anything into transcendental.

Then we can see is that the sacrifice itself that will give transcendental understanding. So through understanding then you get you know in other words how you say? What’s it saying? Money generates money or money you know that what’s that saying? Huh? Yeah money makes money and it means in other words you have the one thing and from that you make more. Like that? So in other words you put in little bit of knowledge then by operating that then you get more knowledge without more knowledge then that’s put back reinvested and then you get more. Understand? Same principle. So it’s not different principles running all the different things it’s the same principle. It’s just how you apply it. That’s why business is not contradictory to the transcendental philosophy.

It’s just a matter of understanding. It’s just how you apply it.

In the previous section Krishna explains how to transform our daily work into yajna. In verse 25 to 33 he describes different sacrifices resulting in transcendental knowledge and liberation. They are recommended in the Vedas to suit different types of workers. All these sacrifices help one to become purified of material existence and advance one towards the eternal atmosphere. Without sacrifices one cannot be happy in this life. What to speak of the next? The sacrifices performed in knowledge are better than mere sacrifices of material possessions. The purpose of all sacrifices is to know one’s relationship with the Supreme Lord and engage in loving transcendental service to Him. Srila Prabhupada summarizes this section as follows. The purport of all sacrifices is to arrive at the status of complete knowledge then to gain release from material miseries and ultimately to engage in loving transcendental service to the Supreme Lord, Krishna Consciousness. So you have knowledge then you gain freedom from material miseries and engage in transcendental loving service. Right? So that means knowledge is the proper situation on the material platform or let’s say within the material existence. Right? In other words you’re performing your activities with proper knowledge. Right? So with that proper understanding what we’ve been before. In other words the activity has been converted into sacrifice because of its connection with the Supreme. Right? So that means that we have proper knowledge.

From that proper knowledge you are liberated from material existence. And because you have proper knowledge of how it comes from Krishna as a person and how he pervades everything and makes everything work then we move towards serving Krishna as the person. Right? So we develop transcendental devotional service.

Make sense? So that’s it. So we can see is that developing of the knowledge is not the top. That’s just the important half of the sacrifice.

Right? So in other words like knowledge is considered feminine. Right? Saraswati is feminine on that aspect. So this is the better half. Right? Like that. In other words the simple offering material elements that’s secondary to the proper knowledge and consciousness of which is offered.

Right? So in other words this is the more important half. But that’s gotten at by the one.

In other words we have some understanding you deal properly with the material energy in the proper way in the sacrifice that generates then proper understanding. That can be then applied again. One keeps applying that until one has complete knowledge. That complete knowledge will give freedom from material existence. Then one can very enthusiastically take up you know devotional pure devotional service on the uttama platform. Right? Very easy. Right? Because if one’s not liberated one will be functioning on the madhyama or neophyte platform.

Does that make sense? So in other words we’re trying to put into perspective that this knowledge is very important but it’s very important in that it it will free one from the material existence and allow one to develop pure love for Krishna.

Yeah?

Nonetheless there’s a mystery about all these different activities of sacrifice and one should know this mystery. Right? In other words it doesn’t seem to it is it seems that there’s all these subtle elements and all that so it’s mysterious. But Guru Prabhupada is saying one should know this mystery.

Right? This should be known because then you know later Krishna will say this is the art of all work. Right? That you know how to do all this in connection with him. So this and then as it previously has been pointed out here is that in your your daily work we’re not talking about some special work we’re talking about your daily work. Special work of course is focusing on that it will have more of the spiritual content. Right? Your daily activities may not have as much spiritual direct spiritual activity as let’s say Govardhan Puja Prabhupada’s disappearance day. Right? Because that’s focused just on direct activities. That’s what makes it a festival. Utsava means Sava means material miseries. Ut means to rise above. So how do you rise above material miseries?

Don’t get involved. Therefore fasting and all these direct activities. So it’s an opportunity to be freed from just the regular day to day humdrum. Right? At the same time as Krishna’s giving here in these two chapters how you can take your daily ordinary life and make that into sacrifice. This is what’s being offered. So this is not theory. It sounds like a lot but why? Because it’s so sophisticated.

Right? Does that make sense? Right? Okay, let’s say I have a hammer and I have a screwdriver and I have a saw. Okay? So what’s what’s going on here? What’s this group? Carpentry. Okay. I have a pot. I have a spoon. I have a grater. Cooking. Okay. I have a how you say I have some lug nuts. I have a hug cap and I have a how you say a windshield wiper. Okay. So now they’re all very different. So if I only talk in the one it’ll have some sophistication. Some skill is there and no one’s going to complain oh this knowledge of that is theoretical. No one should complain about that especially because you know here to operate your you know mobile phone you have to get a bachelor’s degree these days. You know? So no one should complain about you know theory doesn’t have any because otherwise what is IT? Right? Anybody seen a bit? You know? On a horse maybe but on a computer? No. So therefore it’s all it’s a lot of theory is going on here. Right? So now you’re going to take something that can hold together car mechanics and cooking and music and you know anything else you name it and it can hold it all together no matter who you are what situation you can turn that into transcendental sacrifice. You’re talking about something extremely sophisticated but at the same time something very primeval. So that means very simple.

Right? So you have we’re not used to this sophistication and simplicity being the same thing.

You know what I’m saying? That’s why we’ll look at what we’re talking today say this is very complicated no, this is very simple but it’s very sophisticated so the part that is straining the brain is the sophistication.

That is so simple that’s also a strain on the brain because that means I could apply it. You know? I can’t just say oh it’s theory it can’t be applied.

So that’s so this mystery this needs to be known otherwise why is Krishna wasting they’re on a battlefield they want to be practical you know get out your sword like that. You know what I’m saying? But this is very practical. Yes.

Attitude of gratitude.

Gratitude of what?

I mean gratitude would be one element but the working principle is that surrender right? In the twenty-six qualities of the devotees that surrender to the Supreme Lord that dependency on the Lord that’s the actual you would say your suruplaksana the one that’s always there. Others may come up because you’re appreciating different things so depending upon the situation or one’s own nature then these different qualities will be there. So that’s why there’s twenty-six qualities but one is always fixed and the other twenty -five maybe they are not depending upon the individual or the situation. So gratitude may be one aspect of approaching.

Yes.

But it can also be white gratitude. It could be love it could be friendship it could be servitorship it could be knowledge. Yeah. They’re all connected because the point is one can only be one can only have gratitude if he’s intelligent. Only intelligent people have gratitude. Someone who doesn’t have any gratitude means he’s not intelligent. Right? He may be good at skills but he’s emotionally or socially unintelligent.

You know what I’m saying? So gratitude is a one of five qualities of the intelligence. That’s mentioned I think also in the second canto. Like that. There’s a list of the five qualities of intelligence. So memory is one of them gratitude is one of them. Like that. The other three I don’t remember. It’s one of those quotes that I’ve seen and can’t find. it’s one of those.

Sophisticated means it has to have so much means it has to be able to accommodate a huge amount of variety because everybody’s life is quite variegated.

So that’s why it has to be very sophisticated. So it means in other words the principle is very simple so that it’s universal it applies to everything but it has to be sophisticated enough that it can actually be practically applied to everything. You know what I’m saying? Because otherwise you may have okay here’s the theory. You know samandabhideh prayojana. Okay? So and that applies to everything but you have to be able to apply it. That’s the sophistication.

So it’s that combination of both. Having that simplicity being able to always bring it back to them at the same time being able to take it and apply it to anything. In other words everything can be connected to it. That’s the simplicity. That you’re connecting it to that that’s the sophistication.

Is that okay?

Sacrifices sometimes take different forms according to the particular faith of the performer. When one’s faith reaches the stage of transcendental knowledge the performer of sacrifices should be considered more advanced than those who simply sacrifice material possessions without much such knowledge. For without attainment of knowledge sacrifices remain on the material platform and bestow no spiritual benefit.

That means we have to be able to distinguish here also what we’re meaning by knowledge. Because there’s knowledge of the skill but that’s just part of performing the ritual. Then there’s the knowledge that affects the consciousness. Because that’s what’s going to be working that’s going to change the character.

So that’s the whole thing. The person who fixes your car and then cheats you and charges you a lot and the person who fixes your car and doesn’t cheat you the difference is in the consciousness. The technique of fixing the car is exactly the same. So they both have the same knowledge. But one has knowledge of something higher.

Right? In other words, here they have social values of other things like that. But here he’s saying it’s still material. It’ll give you a better material situation. Right? The other guy makes some quick money but with time no one goes to his shop. The one he doesn’t make as much money quickly but with time everybody knows him and trusts him so he gets really nice. So materially he’ll do fine because his skill is there consciousness is higher like this. But still until one has this knowledge that Gita is giving it doesn’t become actually sacrifice.

Meaning the sacrifice gives you spiritual result. It’ll be sacrifice in that you’re using some higher principles but it’ll still give you just material.

Right? So you may get lower material or higher material. You know impious or pious.

Does that make sense? Yes. But actually one of the prophets I think told in the Bible he mentions when a work with no faith has no value. Okay. Was he trying to attempt to the lower levels of sacrifice? Work without faith has no well here faith would mean I would expect he’s saying faith in God. So they’re they’re they’re they’re talking about a transcendental position though the same time is because they don’t understand transcendence.

You know what I’m saying? So they’re having faith in the Supreme but they don’t actually can’t define the Supreme. Right? It’s a bit contradictory. So on one element you know that he’s the Supreme omnipotent he’s the source of everything omnipresent knows all sees all like that. That side of it they have okay but then when they get down to practical application then that involves the individual’s karma and that’s where the whole that whole philosophy falls apart. So then what they are left with instead of this transcendental concept they’re left with morality.

You know? So that’s the difficulty is they’re trying to marry transcendence and morality and trying to say that they’re on the same level when they’re not. One is supportive of the other. Therefore sometimes they’re moral at the expense of transcendence.

You know what I’m saying? The worst sinner is there he goes and he confesses and he’s clean.

Right? But at the same time as there’s other situations it doesn’t matter what you say you’re going to get punished. You know what I’m saying? So there’s not a consistency there. In other words one is working on morality the other is working on faith. So based on faith you confess and you see it’s bad but that confession is not just saying well I did this the confession is did this and therefore it’s not pleasing to God or to you know you understand? So in other words it’s the faith has not been properly while the others are looking at it simply on the mundane platform. This is not just.

You know what I’m saying? Because otherwise then why is it the one man is being put in jail or something and the other man is not? Because they’re actually two different realms. But this inconsistency is not seen. Right? So the thinking is one but actually it’s two different things. So the morality should be in support of the faith.

Does that make sense? So that’s the whole idea here. This mystery means you can define the difference at the same time see how they all work together. There’s a non-difference but there’s a difference. That’s the mystical element. So that’s Krishna. That’s God. He can do that.

Real knowledge culminates in Krishna consciousness. The highest stage of transcendental knowledge. In other words we’ve seen is that all these different levels of faith and sacrifice there are levels. That’s why the Shastra is defining them. But you have to know that just because it’s in the Shastra that’s fine. But you have to know where it is in relationship to other levels.

Right? Then it will be progressive.

And then ultimately you have to know it in connection with the Supreme Lord. That’s the ultimate. So you can say real knowledge in other words all knowledge is there but real knowledge culminates in Krishna consciousness. So if it doesn’t culminate in Krishna consciousness it’s not real knowledge. It’s knowledge. But real means it’s connected to the Lord because He is the source of knowledge.

So if you don’t connect it to the Lord it’s not actually real knowledge. It’s knowledge. How to deal manipulate material energy. And you’ll get some result. Therefore it appears to be real but it’s not. Because all you’ve done is manipulate an illusion.

Because you’re not actually seeing it’s Krishna’s energy and it’s to be used in His service according to His direction. So you don’t see a connection to Krishna. You think by my operating it I’ve got the result. But why if that’s true why is there a material cause?

I meant the material energy itself transformed. You didn’t do it. You apply you put the potatoes in the water the water is on the fire you know water is in a pot of course. The pot is on the fire and the fire is on. Right? And so therefore you leave it there long enough then it becomes soft. You can say I made the potatoes soft but did you actually? No. The water and the fire and the potatoes the potatoes transformed.

So there’s that potency of transformation. It’s not coming from you. Are you the fire? Right? No.

No. So that’s the point is that there’s something else there working that’s outside of us that we actually we can operate but we don’t control. If you controlled it why is it that it doesn’t matter you know what you do it still takes 20 minutes to boil your potatoes.

Yes. Is the rule?

Yeah. No. There’s the ritual of the sacrifice. Actually the sacrifice means it’s being done without designing the result. There’s a higher purpose. So at least while you’re operating one should be in that mentality.

Right? Just like you’re boiling the potato. If you’re attached to the potato it’s your potato and you want the results right now. Will the potatoes get boiled? You keep taking them out trying to take a bite you know stuff like that. No. So you have to be detached while you’re boiling the potatoes. Right? But once the potatoes are boiled then you might see attachment comes in. Therefore that’s a lower sacrifice than if you had done that when you got that’s for someone else. Still that’s lower than if you did it for Krishna.

Technique is the same. Nice karma is the same. Right? But therefore it’s just a matter of so for us nice karma means Krishna consciousness. But otherwise everyone’s successful in this world because of nice karma. But we don’t see it as nice karma because it is a fruit they want the result. But in performing the activity it has to be done with the proper knowledge and proper everything otherwise proper technique.

It’s not so much detachment because detachment is a state of existence. But the point is is when you take that position of that state of existence and apply it for someone else’s benefit you know in a working environment that generates a result. In other words sacrifice only happens when you combine samandabhideh and prayojana. See this is what it means this is why on both these occasions I I focused on the quality because the tendency is the modern environment separates the quality and it stands on its own. It’s good on its own. Like the other day we had compassion you know or then you know brought up here is you know detachment or what was the one before gratefulness. Those are states of existence but that existence must be applied and so it’s in the action of applying that then it becomes sacrifice because if it’s not applied it just exists so it’s doing nothing it’s intransitive so there’ll be no data there’ll be no result. Like Krishna is swimming nothing’s accomplished. Right? Krishna swims to the other side of the Yamuna then something’s accomplished.

Right? So that’s the subtleties that are there. The difficulty is modern man unable to see this then thinks the quality on its own stands but they will always apply it into a living situation but they can’t actually differentiate there. So they think simply if the quality’s there and that’s what’s being applied that’s what’s good. You know so they’ll take sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana but they won’t be connected. One time they’re talking sambandha one time abhidheya one time prayojana but they don’t have something where they’re all together. So we have they’re all together and we can discuss them separately but we’re discussing them in relationship to the other two.

Well generally when they’ll discuss one they forget about the other two. Does that make sense? So that’s why it’s not real knowledge because it’s not consistent. It’s not completely brought together and that can only happen with Krishna. Right? Because he is the situation. You know in other words he is the rules he is the implements he is the mantras he is you know the persons involved the priest the the the yajaman you know the benefactor like that. He is the goals that you got. He is the the application.

Right? So he’s all three.

All those are there because they’re non-different from him. So you can’t separate them.

Is that okay?

So that’s the idea is that one always has to be very careful because otherwise they get they get separated. Chaitanya Tai.

Okay.

Real knowledge culminates in Krishna consciousness the highest stage of transcendental knowledge. Without the elevation of knowledge sacrifices are simply material activities. When however they are elevated to the level of transcendental knowledge all such activities enter into the spiritual platform.

Right? So yeah. Depending upon differences in consciousness. Okay. So this means without the elevation of knowledge sacrifices are simply material activities. So it’s not sacrifice if there’s no knowledge. So here the working principle for you is compassion is actually knowledge. Right? Compassion will be you know where it will be applied you know who will get benefit from it. But without knowledge it doesn’t become sacrifice. So that’s the whole point is that is the last chapter in this chapter showing about combination of activity and knowledge. Because Arjuna is saying I’m doing activity there’s no knowledge. And as soon as I get knowledge in the second chapter I should go to the forest and do no activity. So Krishna is trying to show how the two come together. Right? So he’s focused on one but in relationship to knowledge. Now knowledge in relationship to activities. Right? Does that make sense? So the knowledge makes it sacrifice. Because with knowledge then you know that you know there’s some higher purpose. Otherwise it’s just a mundane activity. Then doing it becomes sacrifice. Still material but properly situated. Then if it’s done with transcendental knowledge then it takes then it’s transcendental sacrifice. So that’s why the pious activity is a proper situation. But that’s the only good thing about piety is that it’s the good situation you know to perform sacrifice. Because you’re supposed to have the knowledge and the activity. But nowadays if you’re just pious meaning the activity with no knowledge that’s considered good enough.

Like that. But the two have to go together. Otherwise it’s not real sacrifice, it’s not real piety.

Depending upon differences in consciousness sacrificial activities are sometimes called karmakanda fruit of activities and sometimes gyanakanda knowledge in the pursuit of truth. It is better when the end is knowledge. So here we’re pointing out that knowledge is better than simply activities.

Right? But the point is is by performing activities you get knowledge. And one in knowledge performs correct activities.

So you can’t separate. It’s just a matter which way you’re looking at it. You know, what’s the important perspective? It doesn’t versus 34 34 to 42 summary of transcendental knowledge.

The previous section described different sacrifices resulting in transcendental knowledge. In verse 34 Krishna gives the direct way of attaining such knowledge. The Lord advises that one must approach a self-realized soul serve him submissively and ask questions. Right? Okay, so this is going to so as we see as we’re seeing in there is that the sacrifices for different people like he mentions the brahmachari he sacrifices how you say this engagement of the senses into renunciation. So in other words he basically is either not engaging the senses or what he’s engaged them in the result is not his. Or the household is engaging the senses in the fire of the sense objects.

Right? So that means the medium is different. And of course senses is the common platform. But there it’s not renunciation in the way of that you’re performing an activity that you’re not involved in the result. Or the result is directly for someone else. Here you have the opportunity that the senses engage in the sense object then the result that you gain that will be connected.

Does that make sense? So it makes a difference between sannyasa and chag. Right? So in other words the brahmachari is engaged in the element of sannyasa. So brahmachari is found in sannyasa that’s supposed to be the platform they’re performing activities that are for the Lord’s benefit.

Grihastha he’s performing activities that ultimately are for the Lord’s benefit it’s just a matter if he’s going to start from engaging them in the platform of renunciation or from the platform of sannyasa. So by practice by the process you practice so you’re going to start with renunciation. Then with practice and application it’ll come to the platform of sannyasa. Right? But the medium doesn’t change. Right? So this is the point is that these both end up as sacrifice.

Because it’s connected to the Lord. Yes. When Prabhupada mentioned brahmachari grihastha he was talking about the sannyasa Not necessarily. The brahmachari grihastha then it’s that he’s following the shastra and doing everything for the higher purpose.

Then that’s the same. In other words example Manu gives then he gives he explains when one can conceive a child. Because there’s certain days that just aren’t used certain titis aren’t used. All these different things. So if one follows that and one deals with the wife properly Right? Then that conception of a child is equal to the brahmachari who has nothing to do with ladies. Because you’re dealing with the ladies according to the scripture. Right? For the pleasure of the Lord. So it’s non-different.

Right? But at the same time it’s because of the nature of the field it carries the particular you know benefits and how do you say what would be a poetic way of saying well not hindrances huh? Risks are there these are all you know important but there must be some poetic way of saying the niceness the benefits and also the the difficulties that come up huh?

Not drawbacks.

Challenges yes that would be a good thing. You know.

Does that make sense? Okay. Okay so now this transcendental knowledge is going to work now we bring it back again. It’s going to work because once approached the spiritual master this knowledge is not going to come from anywhere you’re not going to make it up you’re not just going to approach the scriptures on your own you’re going to get it from the spiritual master. Right? He’s getting it from the scriptures.

Because the spiritual master has seen the truth he can give a clear understanding to all to that all living beings are part and parcel of Krishna. Once one realizes this he will not be deluded again verse 35. Right? So he’s seen the truth what does the truth mean? Yeah Krishna but in what form?

The Siddhanta so that Siddhanta then there are three forms of Krishna Brahmeti Paramatmeti Bhagavaniti Shabhyate Right? So in other words if someone understands this how everything is connected to Krishna even not he’s not seen Krishna in Vrndavana and you know running through the fields and all that then he has seen the truth.

Right? You understand? Some like to take it that is only if you personally are there with Krishna and this and that and you know that then that’s no because the point is everyone right now every living entity is with Krishna Krishna is in their heart so you know you can’t get any closer than that. You know? You know what I’m saying? You say yes but Krishna is in my heart he is in everybody’s heart you know? He’s right there everything you do you’re only dealing with Krishna there’s nothing that you’re not dealing with Krishna but because you don’t see it you’re an illusion those who see it that’s the spiritual master Right?

Right? So he has seen the truth but you have to know what truth means so the highest platform yes, is Bhagavan Right? So that means that there’s no problem in establishing you know a bona fide spiritual master Does that make sense? Very important Srila Baladeva Vidyapusana comments that verse 34 speaks about specific kind of transcendental knowledge After thus teaching knowledge of Atma and the method of realizing this knowledge with its components verses 25 to 33 The Lord now teaches the knowledge of worshiping the Lord Svarupa To obtain this knowledge a person must take association of devotees that he teaches in this verse So now here’s the point is that you’ve seen all this the transcendental element but now you have to bring it to the point of Krishna as a person because ultimately that’s going to be the drive otherwise if it’s just all Brahman then if there’s no goal beyond that where is one going to stop? At Brahman That’s all So the point is is unless Krishna as a person and serving him in devotion is your goal then these other stages one will just stop there Okay So that only happens in the association of devotees it won’t happen that’s why it’s so important to associate devotees We don’t see anybody in the Gaudiya history you think about it any great personalities they were always on their own and never associated with anybody Think about it There’s no examples Yes? What about Bhamsidas Babaji? Bhamsidas Babaji people didn’t go see him? He chased them away But chased who away? He chased the devotees away? No He didn’t chase the devotees away But I never heard him physically chasing away but it’s just like you know they’re not going to understand the conversation anyway So Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur point was is don’t make offence not that he had any problem in associating Like that So when he’d go visit then he would have no problem or he had one disciple who would go and I think take things or prasad or you know whatever he’d go and see if everything was ok because he said anybody else will make offence He was the only one that could go Point is is it’s not that they go away and you never hear about them they go off in the forest and that’s it No they’re always associated with devotees because that’s the secret association to devotees that’s what makes the process work when that’s there it’s dynamic when it’s not there it’s not dynamic So what’s the problem if someone’s out in the middle of nowhere you know living on his own just in his family but you know he has his deities they have the nice program in the morning and evening and all this and that or he’s just alone and he’s over there what’s the problem? No one to see if he goes off the road Yeah that’s all it’s the association otherwise the program is fine So the weakness is association so someone only shows up at the temple once a year at Janmasthami better they show up then at least once a year they get association and everything like that but the weakness is the lack of association because you can say well no but they’re not doing they are doing service they’re worshiping the deities they’re chanting they’re doing kirtan you know like that making the family Krishna conscious so they are serving right but the weakness is they’re not serving in the association with devotees Yes What about taking association of the spiritual master through his instructions? Taking his yes one takes the instruction of the spiritual master one takes the instruction of the spiritual master through his instructions yes one takes the association of the spiritual master through the instructions but it doesn’t mean that in applying those instructions you are not associating with other devotees OK Alright is that what you’re saying? Yeah In his book, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami explains that accepting the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master is the first item of devotional service, adao guru-parasrayah.

So in other words, that’s the most important. One takes shelter of the spiritual master, one takes initiation, follows the instructions of taking up devotional service. I think you’ve… What? What chapter are you on? You’ve got the sixth chapter. Okay, so this is coming up now. Have you finished it, or are you just starting it? Okay, so that’s the whole point, is that there’s 20 items necessary to begin devotional service to be situated nicely. Right? Ten to begin, ten to be situated. But of those, approaching the spiritual master, hearing instruction, this is the most important. Right? Then having done that, what are the instructions on? Will be on the 44 items. Right? Like that. So, yes? I have a question. Please. Let anybody in the devotee society hear something that sometimes is very profound.

The devotee society told some kind of regulations like not to come to the temple during three years.

Yeah, yeah, so you just go to another temple that doesn’t, that believes more in the devotional process. That’s all.

You know what I’m saying? In other words, you have to be able to distinguish between management and actually the devotional process. So managerially, they may have to use those kind of rules because the nature of the people is such. You know? But at the same time is there is the devotional element. So if you can increase the devotional element, these rules become less important. But at the same time is, if people are unwilling to increase that devotional element, then you may have to use these to at least keep them focused and following some. So the point, but the point to be learned is what to be careful of. So one should be careful of that, and then one continues the service wherever you can. Because the point is, Krishna is always available, so it’s that you find association somewhere else. It’s always Uruguay.

No one’s been there. Yes? How much effect does electronic association have? Electronic association?

Depends on the quality.

Right? Let us say you were going to hand write a letter, right? And you scribble it out. Then you just, as soon as you finish scribbling it, you just fold it up and stick it in an envelope, seal it, and send it, right? That’s how you do it? No. What would you do? Revise it. Go back. Read it. Revise it. You know, if there’s something you’re not sure, let it sit. You know, because it’s going to take weeks to get there, so, you know, another day is not a big deal. So who does that on the electronics? No. So if they did that, it would improve the quality of it. No. It’s just a matter of you get there and how fast you can type. That’s how quickly you did. And then, you know, you push the send button and that’s all. So basically speaking, you can’t say there’s a lot of association, you know? Maybe a podcast because you hear the voice, you can hear the mood and everything like that, you know? But other than that, then it may be difficult, you know? Somebody’s done some research and that has uploaded that, but an actual, you know, chit chat, it may not be so much unless it’s actually just a chat, you know, because generally people keep to very short, you know, they’re not big philosophical, you know what I’m saying?

So it’s highly restricted on how well it can help you and stuff.

In renunciation through wisdom, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns about some of the challenges a sādhaka can face after the initiation.

Here, Prabhupāda used the word challenge, right? One should not raise too many doubts and questions. This process, which strictly follows the Vedas, will bring us to a realization of the inconceivable truth, right? So, very important things he’s put in here, is that, in other words, too many doubts and questions. In other words, it should be to the point. You can’t doubt, in other words, if you’re doubting the process and this and that, those aren’t so important. How to use the process, because if you doubt the process, why did you take initiation?

Right? In other words, one has to not doubt the process to take initiation, right? Then it’s a matter of a doubt, how do I apply it in my life?

Like, Arjuna doesn’t say, you know, well, you know, all this stuff you’re saying here about the soul and all that, you know, I mean, what’s the relevance of this, why do we need to know? He doesn’t say like that. He says it appears contradictory, because you’ve given knowledge, you’re saying, I’m doing activity, and you’re saying you’re a fool because you don’t have knowledge. So now I’m using this knowledge and I’m going to give up that work. But then you say, no, I have to do the work. So that seems to be a contradiction, because jnana, jnana-kanda and karma-kanda have never been seen in the same place at the same time, right?

So that’s unheard of. So now, Krishna’s talking about performing activity, karma, in knowledge, jnana. So it seems contradictory, so his question is on that, right? So otherwise, too many doubts and questions, you know, like, you know, that one question of Prabhupada, how many, how many windows in the Empire State Building, you know? So I mean, that’s useless. What will it do? Even if you knew? Okay, so what now? You know, and then we can ask, what kind of window? How thick’s the glass? You know, what’s, you know, where does it end? You know, it’s no, okay. So now he’s saying this process, and Prabhupada says, which strictly follows the Vedas. Some people try to say, oh, Prabhupada bent the rules, he didn’t follow the Vedas, he made it up. No, Prabhupada’s very clear that he’s always following the Vedas, he doesn’t make up anything. Because the problem, the point is, is if Prabhupada made it up, we can make it up. There’s a slight difference between a Nitya-siddha and a Bhadrajiv, of course, but that’s finessed. But here is that, we’re bringing the thing is that it strictly follows the Vedas. That will let us realize the inconceivable truth. You can’t understand, you can only understand Krishna by approaching him through the spiritual master and following the Vedic process, right? That’s what he says, you know, he’s God, he can say whatever he wants, you know what I’m saying? You know, it’s like, you know, you’re out in the street, you know, it’s that kid’s ball, he makes the rules. You want to play ball with him? He makes the rules. You don’t? He’ll take his ball and go home. Right? You’re going to say? I’ve heard in that line, you’re saying, wouldn’t Prabhupada’s changing be a teaching that should change? That’s the point is, is but Prabhupada didn’t change.

That’s the thing. Prabhupada did not change. That’s why he said strictly following the Vedas. The problem is, is the devotees are not knowledgeable enough in the Vedas to understand how he didn’t change it. Because who, who, generally speaking, who are the ones that are professing change? The ones that are pro-Vedic or the ones that are liberal?

Liberal.

You understand? So the point is, is the liberals don’t actually know the culture, otherwise they wouldn’t be in that position.

You know what I’m saying?

You know, let, let us say, you go to an insane asylum and they have a very dangerous criminal there. Right? You know, and his method is he’s very nice to everybody and as soon as he gets your confidence then he’ll do something bad. Okay? Now the person who runs the insane asylum knows the criminal and knows how to deal and so he’ll deal nicely. So you deal nicely. It’s nice, it’s culture. But at the same time you don’t put yourself in a situation that he can take advantage of. Now let’s say, you know, some other person comes and visits and sees him, he deals very nice and he’s been there a long time and this and that and he looks like he’s changed and so many things and he’s saying, no, no, but we should be very, you know, we should be kind, we should be, you know, liberal, we should give him a chance.

And the guy, you know, that runs the insane asylum said, no, he’s very dangerous, you can’t do like that. There’s very strict rules. No, no, but we have to go beyond. He’s a person. We have to consider, you know, we’re all, you know, you know, the human race, you know, all these, whatever it is that they come up with.

So why are they saying that? Because they don’t know the situation.

So but the point is, is why are they saying that, right? The guy that works down at the docks and all that and just moves bales of hay all day, is that he’s, is he worried about the guy? No. It’s the ones that are educated and have free time, you know, time to waste, right? They’re the ones that are worried. They don’t know. So if they’re worried about that, then learn. Go into it. It’s, in other words, this kind of dealing is important to you, then learn the field. Then you can decide, okay, well, they’re running this, but there is ways that you could be a little bit more open and give them a little bit more opportunities and then you could work on it. While this other person is applying very strictly and is not giving much opportunity, then, but then you can see within it, you can discriminate within the field. But they’re saying, no, we don’t have to follow the Vedas, rather than within the Vedas there is more liberal understanding. That’s Vaishnavism, right? And then you have the smartest, which is not liberal, you understand?

So Vaishnavs are the actual liberal and these others, they’re not, they’re not liberal at all.

You understand? Yeah.

So that’s the idea. One has to be very, very careful, because the point is, is they’re saying, change, what did Prabhupada change? That would be the first thing. What did he change?

That’s the thing. What did he change? Otherwise, it was so obvious, everyone, oh, yeah, you know. Yeah. He changed the Deals of Application. The Deals of Application. The Deals. Detail. Detail. But what detail? What did he change? Like introducing Brahmacharini Ashram. Brahmacharini Ashram. You probably got more Brahmacharinis in ashrams, in Hindu ashrams, than we do in our temples.

At least from Gaudiya tradition. Gaudiya tradition? Or Gaudiya math? No, Gaudiya, that means, you go to Radha Ramana, go to Radha Ramana temple, you know, you walk in that gate, and there’s all those houses there, and then you get to the temple. Who lives in those houses?

Grihasthas. So do they have any unmarried girls?

So?

You’re not going to get much more Gaudiya tradition than them, right? In fact, they’re claiming they are the tradition, and we’re not. You know what I’m saying? So what changed?

Gaudiya math tradition. Gaudiya math, but we’re not, so that’s the point. You change from a math to a temple. Temple has Grihasthas, math’s don’t.

So it’s in a line to use either. But he did have, he had St. Louis at one time and Hyderabad, they were both math’s. There were no ladies, no ladies lived in the temple.

Now I don’t think they are, but they were, you know, for, I think when Prabhupada was here, they were like that. You know what I’m saying? So that’s not changed. It’s based on the tradition. It’s just which option is better. So Gaudiya math’s chosen one. It works very nicely. You just manage the brahmacharis and all that. Say Chopati. What’s Chopati? It’s a math. Right? And it works very nicely. But it works very intimately with the community.

Right? Well, general tendency is even the temples don’t work intimately with the community. So here is, this is, it’s a very powerful combination.

You know what I’m saying? So, but you have to know what you’re doing. Anything else? The number of rounds. Number of rounds he changed. But that, but we, have you never heard that Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur gave that number? Sixteen rounds if you’re preaching. So Prabhupada arranged everybody’s preaching. In other words, sixty-four was for when you sit in the mat. So you have your service, you do your pajari work, or you cook, you take care of the cows, you have more time. So you better chant sixty-four rounds. Right? But those who are preaching, then better they’re doing more preaching. Because what are you speaking when you preach? Yeah, about Krishna. So therefore, you know, you do forty-eight rounds worth of preaching, you know, and you do sixteen rounds on your beads.

So that’s not new. Anything else? This is my point, is that there is nothing. This is all talk by those who are uninformed.

See, this is the thing. They’ll take something that they don’t know about and then use it, and then what will be their change? There’ll be changes for how to apply it that it really dynamically strengthens the movement, or it’s something political, or economic.

That’s all. In other words, these changes they talk about never get passed. On a good day, pranamoy.

And I’m talking a good day. And there’s a good chance that the person who’s raising the hand and putting out the idea, it’s coming from anamoy.

But they’re professing that it’s something, you know, elevated and spiritual because it’s pranamoy. Because in the Western, the non-Vedic tradition, pranamoy is considered spiritual.

Because it’s not for you. You’re sacrificing your own for, you know, someone else. That’s spiritual. Right? Because I, as a Mleccha Nyaga, would never do that. So to do that, that’s spiritual.

You know, like the person who ran back into their house to get their cat, you know, when there was a fire. That’s spiritual. You know, like that. Does that make sense?

Is that right? So that’s the thing.

So we have to be careful about these points. Because Prabhupada is saying right here. This process which strictly follows the Vedas. It strictly follows the Vedas. The point is, the Vedas are very broad. They’re saying, oh, Vedas are very narrow. That’s why they can’t see these things. Their idea is that, oh, if you don’t, you just go to Mangalati, this, that, this, that, and that’s the way it is. But the point is, like, we have Guru Puja. Where does Guru Puja come from?

Where does it come from?

It’s part of the pancharatric process. You want to worship the Deity, you go into the Deity room, you do your atman, you worship the Guru. Then only you can go on the altar and worship the Deity. Right? That’s the pancharatric process. We’re initiated into the pancharatric process. Right? And we can see Guru Parashraya is such an important element. How many devotees go in the Deity room and worship the Deity?

Not so many. So that means, since it’s such an important element, therefore, they perform that activity.

But it’s no different than the pujari who sits down and offers the sixteen items or, you know, offers flowers or whatever it is. It’s the same principle.

Right? And since kirtan is our main thing, the bhagavata, therefore, it manifests through the bhagavata ritual as opposed to simply a purely pancharatric. Though the pancharatra is involved in that, you have the arti.

So it’s directly explainable. But unless one knows pancharatra, how will one know that?

You know? And most people haven’t even picked up pancharatra pradip, let alone read it.

Yeah. Somebody had? No. Okay. Is that okay? So another one. Yes.

No.

But it was a matter of… Otherwise they said they would leave. It wasn’t that Prabhupada, you know, like this. It’s just they didn’t come to the temple for ten days and just said, we’ll leave. So then Prabha took it into, what does the Gayatri mantra do? The Brahma Gayatri. The Brahma… See, the pancharatra Gayatri is the ladies can get, but not the Brahma Gayatri. So they were jumping up and down about that one. So the Brahma Gayatri is for elevating one to the Brahman platform and removing the purusha above, that I am their control and joy. So the very masculine elements. So Bhaktisiddhanta and others didn’t use the mantra before because it generates that masculinity. It deals with masculinity, remove it. But Prabhupada worked on the principle of basically, you know, just being blunt. These aren’t women. They’re not feminine. Right? Like that. So therefore, then they could take advantage of it.

But like the Vedic tradition, do they chant it with swaras? Do they chant it with the swaras? No. So then that’s also theirs. You can… All these samskaras and mantras are used for women without the swaras.

Does that make sense? So that then is keeping within the tradition.

So we can see is what elements Prabhupada’s using. But what he’s using is still based on the scriptures. But when devotees use it, it’s not. It’s just based on expediency according to economics or politics. That’s all. It’s not actual spiritual.

Because if it was spiritual, then they would see the connection. And they wouldn’t see it as a change. It’s just a practical application.

Right? You’re on the street preaching. And then you see an opportunity to go into a shop. Is that changing? No. And the form seems to be different. But the principle is the same. If someone’s preaching in a prison.

You know what I’m saying? Or goes to a yoga studio.

No. But they’re saying, no, you have to change the form. No, we don’t do this kind of preaching. We only do that kind of preaching. No. We do preaching.

So now what form it takes, that’s a detail. That’s not change. That’s intelligence, how to apply the principle. But if the principle’s not applied, you go there and you go to the yoga studio and still after three weeks, they’re not chanting Hare Krishna and know nothing about the Supreme Absolute Truth. That isn’t preaching.

You know what I’m saying? Because you have no obligation. It’s not like your grandmother or something. So you just go and be nice and everything, give her a shot.

It’s different. You’re obligated there. She is your grandmother. Right? What’s your relation with those yoga people?

So why do I have to go chit -chat with yoga people?

Does that make sense?

Yeah, that answers it. There’s still something there. Is this processing or? Yeah. Okay, one should not raise too many doubts and questions. This process, which strictly follows the Vedas, will bring us to a realization of the inconceivable truth. Once we are on this path, many realizations dawn on us and it is imperative that we pursue them in order to progress further. In other words, realizations that come, they should be cultivated. We should think about them and always try to apply them. If we don’t, then what are you going to work with? That’s that knowledge that comes from the service.

So then that should be applied back into the service and more knowledge comes. The faint illumination of knowledge that appears at first is certain to lead to full enlightenment. But we have to be patient. In the beginning, in the East, there’s just a little bit of light. But if we are patient, then the sun will come up. We must carefully avoid letting pride enter our hearts because of some initial perceptions of the inconceivable absolute. There’s something there.

Inconceivable absolute. One is inconceivable, but these understandings of Krishna’s position and all this and that.

Rather, we must eagerly approach the guru or the pure devotee and ask how to proceed. We must reject the narrow and bigoted idea that there’s nothing more to know. So here’s also, as the movement expands, it develops, there’s more to know and more ways to apply, but there’s no change.

Probably, what was his comment about, you know, put your head down, put your feet up, do something new. There’s always this criticism of the Westerners. They always had to change something. Right?

Like, now, what are some of the latest books BBT is producing and other devotees are producing? What’s the size of the books?

Big. Coffee table books. What was Prabha’s original Krishna book like?

Many of you may have never seen it. They were big. They were this big. They were coffee table size. Prabha had one and he wanted them to be that size because then big ones, one, they’re nice and he wanted hundreds of pictures. Devotees couldn’t make all the pictures he wanted. I think he wanted two hundred pictures or something. And so, and something that big may not go on the shelf and it has pictures, it’ll sit on the table, on the coffee table. Right? And people pick it up and look at the pictures, may read a little bit. You know, like that. But what were the devotees kept pushing?

Make it small. It was three three big volumes. Each one is supposed to have hundreds of pictures. That’s one Krishna book in three volumes. That’s this big and like this with six hundred pictures.

Now it’s in one volume you know, with some pictures.

You understand? So this is the kind of thing Prabha was saying. This is change. But in the end they come back to it anyway thirty years later.

You understand?

So it’s just Prabha knowledge. You have this. What’s there? The idea is to get them. They’re saying no but it’s hard to distribute and no one wants to take a big book and this and that. So, but the point is is that but then those disappeared. But then the point of why the book was like that that was not understood. It was prestigious. They’re always oh we’re not preaching to the professionals and that Prabha was. We were we were you understand?

I mean who were the first people Prabha was talking speaking to?

Right? I mean you had your hippies but who were the first ones? Right? Intellectuals, you know, musicians all these guys who were very smart and top class people and then from there then they branched us out. But Prabha had no problem working with. Why? Because he understood what the now we’re saying we’re not preaching to those people we’re not able to address is that Prabha’s fault? No, that’s our fault. Prabha was talking to them why aren’t we still talking to them?

Right? So we always have to see we have to be very careful. We must reject the narrow and bigoted idea that there’s nothing more to know. The most important point is to always fully depend on the mercy of the Supreme Spiritual Master residing in the heart. Right? So in other words Krishna is the Supreme Spiritual Master and we know him by going through the Spiritual Master.

Verses 36 to 38 The Lord now describes the fruits of transcendental knowledge.

In the beginning of Bhagavad Gita Arjuna was afraid of sinful reactions and going to hell. Verse 36 explains that even if one is the greatest sinner he can cross the ocean of nescience by proper understanding one’s constitutional position in relationship to Krishna. Such knowledge of self super self and their relationship sambandha jnan like fire will burn the reaction of all material activities. Verse 37 Then in the note Verse 36 explains that Brahmavidya destroys the sinful reactions. In Verse 37 it’s stated that Brahmavidya destroys all karma even the punya karmas. Srila Viswanatha Chakravarti Thakura writes in his commentary that jnan destroys the aparabdha karma but not the parabdha karma. Bhakti destroys both.

In other words what’s not manifest may be destroyed by knowledge but what is manifest is not going to go away. You wouldn’t want it to go away because if you got rid of your parabdha karma you wouldn’t have a body. That’s part of the parabdha karma deal. You have a body you have a mind intelligence senses that’s all parabdha karma so leave that alone.

Because it will dissolve and you will not get another material body you’ll only get a spiritual while the other one will destroy those other things but you’ll still get material bodies. It only deals with part of it it doesn’t get rid of everything because it gets rid of it may get rid of the results but it doesn’t get rid of the desire so the desire will again fructify.

You know what I’m saying? It’s like you have weeds in the field and you just go and you know clip the grass they still grow so you can say wow you know yeah no weeds but no they’re still there so bhakti is like going in with a hoe and digging them out so there’s no roots then nothing grows.

It’s the effect means you do an activity it generates the desire to do it again so that lies the seed so you can get rid of all the other things but you can’t get rid of that.

Devotee who is situated in this knowledge enjoys it within himself in the due course of time. In verse 38 Krishna uses the word Kalena in due course of time because Arjuna wanted to renounce prematurely. This is a warning for those who think that just by changing their dress they can become truly detached and accomplished in transcendental knowledge. So in other words with this proper knowledge you situate yourself in the situation you’re in. In other words what’s missing in day to day life is not necessarily technique it’s knowledge.

So nowadays knowledge is being taught to improve the quality of one’s life but what’s being taught is the skill but that’s not actually the knowledge is missing of course if that knowledge is missing yes you keep picking up the wrong end of a knife so a little bit of how you say skill may be important but the point is it still will not give you that happiness and satisfaction why do people do it I will be happy I will be satisfied but they’re still not why? because it’s not connected to Krishna.

So then in here is that that knowledge that will burn up the reactions that will make it easier but still you have to cultivate the devotion that’s why always remember Krishna is there the knowledge is never forget because out of ignorance you forget so if you have knowledge you don’t forget but just because you haven’t forgotten it doesn’t mean it’s favorable it’s devotional so they go together right does that make sense so be conscious be conscious of Krishna how do you say be favorably conscious of Krishna that’s never forget right and then it’s done to please Krishna and it’s not done for karma and jhana and that brings out that devotional does it make sense ok Om Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare I should probably part the key some of it fuck you’re in the key die die die go away

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