The Rarest of All Rare Attainments

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada · Vrindavan · 1974

Chapters

[leads chanting of verse, etc.] [devotees repeat]

Introduction to the Absolute Truth

BG 7.3मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये ।यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥३॥manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣukaścid yatati siddhayeyatatām api siddhānāṁkaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥOut of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.[break]

Pradyumna: Translation = "Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth."

Prabhupāda: To understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, not superficially, but in fact, that we can understand, as Kṛṣṇa says in the beginning of this chapter,

BG 7.1श्रीभगवानुवाचमय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः ।असंशयं समग्रं मां यथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु ॥१॥śrī-bhagavān uvācamayy āsakta-manāḥ pārthayogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥasamśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁyathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇuThe Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Now hear, O son of Pṛthā, how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.

How Kṛṣṇa is truth, the Absolute Truth, although the Absolute Truth is described in three phases in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam... Just like vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ

This tattva. Here it is said, tattvataḥ. The truth, Absolute Truth, is called tattva. So vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ. Tattva-vid. Vid means knowledge.

Vetti veda vido jñāne. One who has got complete knowledge, he is called vid, tattva-vid. So tattva-vid, they ascertain the tattva, the truth, in three ways.

Three features of the Supreme

Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam. So knowledge of the truth is nondual.

Absolute means nondual—no relative—absolute, advaya-jñāna. So what is that advaya-jñāna? Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. So to approach Kṛṣṇa, to understand, one has to go through the brahma-jñāna, brahmeti; then Paramātmā, paramātma-jñāna; then kṛṣṇa-jñāna. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate.

So generally, those who are inquiring about the Absolute Truth, they come to the point of brahma-jñāna. Brahma-jñāna. Then, if one makes further advance, then he can understand paramātma-jñāna. Paramātma-jñāna means the all-pervasive Personality of Godhead, localized aspect.

Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati That is paramātma-jñāna. First of all, brahma-jñāna, then paramātma-jñāna, then bhagavad-jñāna. Bhagavān iti śabdyate. That bhagavān is Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam Bhagavān means opulent. Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47aiśvaryasya samagrasyavīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥjñāna-vairāgyayoś caivabhaga itī ṣaṇṇāṁ ganā

One who has complete, in possession, all wealth, aiśvarya; samagrasya, all, samagrasya... So that is the one of the items of becoming Bhagavān.

Nowadays there are so many Bhagavāns, so-called Bhagavān, but this is the first step = aiśvaryasya samagrasya, whether you possess all the wealth. Who can say so? There are...

A person, he is living by begging, and he's claiming to become Bhagavān. So that is not the definition of Bhagavān. Bhagavān must possess all the wealth.

As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram = "I am the proprietor of the all the planetary system, all the lokas, all the universes." Actually that is the fact.

So one who is begging for his livelihood, he is claiming, "I am Bhagavān." Just see. They do not know what is Bhagavān.

These rascals who unnecessarily, unceremoniously claiming to become Bhagavān, they do not know what is Bhagavān. Bhagavān is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā:

BS 5.48यस्य एक निश्वशित् कालम् अथ अवलम्ब्यजीवन्ति लोम बिलजा जगन्दण्ड् नाथाः |विष्णुः महान् स इह यस्य कला विशेषोगोविन्दम् आदि पुरुषं तमहं भजामि ॥ ४८ ॥yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambyajīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥviṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣogovindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmiBrahmā and other lords of the mundane worlds, appearing from the pores of hair of Mahā-Viṣṇu, remain alive as long as the duration of one exhalation of the latter [Mahā-Viṣṇu]. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whose subjective personality Mahā-Viṣṇu is the portion of portion.

This is one of the description of Bhagavān, Govinda. Kṛṣṇa is Govinda. So govindam ādi-puruṣam. He's the original, primeval Lord. BS 5.1ईश्वरः परमः कृष्णःसत् चित् आनंद विग्रहः ।अनादिः आदिः गोविन्दःसर्व कारण कारणम् ॥ १ ॥īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥsac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥanādir ādir govindaḥsarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇamKṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.

So these Bhagavān...

Divine expansions and material nature

There are expansion of Bhagavān. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam Bhagavān has got unlimited number of expansions.

It is stated, "Just like you cannot count in the river how many waves are flowing, similarly, you cannot count even how many expansions are there of Bhagavān." So one of the expansion of Bhagavān is Mahā-Viṣṇu.

Yasya hi kalā-viśeṣo, viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣaḥ. Kalā-viśeṣaḥ means... Kalā means part of the expansion—not direct expansion, but part of the expansion.

That is called kalā. Aṁśa-kalā. Aṁśa means direct expansion, and kalā means expansion of the aṁśa. So the Mahā-Viṣṇu is described as kalā-viśeṣaḥ, an expansion of the aṁśa, secondary.

And what is that Mahā-Viṣṇu? Now, yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ Jagad-aṇḍa means this universe. There are millions and millions of universes. This is only one universe.

This universe what you are seeing, this is only one. There are millions. [aside:] What is that? This is... This information we get also from the Vedic literature,

BS 5.40यस्य प्रभा प्रभवतो जगदण्ड् कोटिकोटिषु अशेष वसुधा आदि विभूति भिन्नम् |तत् ब्रह्म निष्कलम् अनन्तम् अशेष भूतंगोविन्दम् आदि पुरुषं तमहं भजामि ॥ ४०॥yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnamtad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁgovindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmiI worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose effulgence is the source of the nondifferentiated Brahman mentioned in the Upaniṣads, being differentiated from the infinity of glories of the mundane universe appears as the indivisible, infinite, limitless, truth.

So yasyaika, yasya prabhā. This brahma-jyotir, brahma-jñāna, is just like the rays.

As the sunshine is the rays of the sun globe, similarly, the rays of the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is brahma-jyotir. And within that brahma-jyotir, there are innumerable universes.

So in each universe... We have given the picture in our title cover of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So in each universe there are innumerable planets. In this way, this is a partial expansion, partial exhibition of Kṛṣṇa.

That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: BG 10.42अथवा बहुनैतेन किं ज्ञातेन तवार्जुन ।विष्टभ्याहमिदं कृत्स्नमेकांशेन स्थितो जगत् ॥ ४२॥atha vā bahunaitenakiṁ jñātena tavārjunaviṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnamekāmśena sthito jagatBut what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.

Ekāṁśena. This whole, all the universes, they are simply partial exhibition of the partial expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalam... In this way you have to study Kṛṣṇa.

Overcoming imperfections through Vedic study

Not that "Kṛṣṇa was born in His maternal uncle's house at Mathurā, and He played with the gopīs or the cowherd boys." That is actual fact, but one should understand Kṛṣṇa how great He is. That is called tattvataḥ.

They simply superficially study Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they cannot understand how great is Kṛṣṇa. In the Western world they say, "God is great." But one should understand how great He is.

That is tattvataḥ. Otherwise, we shall be misled. We cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam The rascals, fools, asses—mūḍhāḥ means asses—they deride Kṛṣṇa, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa I understand.

What is that Kṛṣṇa?" Not like that. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu: "Out of many, many millions of persons..." First of all let him become siddha. Siddha means perfect. Everyone is imperfect.

Everyone commits mistake. This is imperfection. Everyone commits mistake, everyone becomes illusioned, everyone's sense perception are all imperfect, and everyone is a cheater.

These are the deficiency of the conditioned soul. One does not know what is Kṛṣṇa, and he wants to become Kṛṣṇa = "I am God. I am Kṛṣṇa." So this is cheating.

Bhrama, pramāda, vipralipsa, karaṇa-pāṭava. One should understand Kṛṣṇa, what is Kṛṣṇa. There are so many Vedic literatures to understand... Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ

If you are studying Vedas, if you are Vedāntist, then ultimate knowledge will depend how you have understood Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ

If you do not understand Kṛṣṇa, what is the use of your studying Vedānta and Vedas? It is useless. Śrama eva hi kevalam So don't try to understand Kṛṣṇa in that way.

Generally, they understand Kṛṣṇa very easily—they are called sahajiyās—that "Kṛṣṇa was a young boy, and He was joking with the gopīs and dancing with the gopīs, and that is Kṛṣṇa. We can imitate also.

We can do also." This kind of understanding means he's a rascal; he's a fool. That is, of course, Kṛṣṇa's one of the pastimes. But that is not this ordinary young boy and young girl's pastime. No.

That is cinmaya. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa. That is ānanda-cinmaya-rasa. We have no understanding what is ānanda-cinmaya-rasa. We are accustomed to taste this material ānanda, sense gratification.

Transcendental bliss and spiritual diligence

There are... Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham Here, in this material world, the ānanda is sex gratification, sex intercourse.

Maithuna. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham. This is the most abominable ānanda. This is not ānanda. Although the whole world is mohita... Tribhir guṇamayair bhāvair mohitam. This is the ānanda. In the Western world we have seen even old men, seventy-five years old, eighty years old, they are going to the naked dance club, the sex ānanda. Because in the material world there is no ānanda except this.

But in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find, sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad atīndriya-grāhyam What is real ānanda, that you have to taste by your transcendental senses, not these senses, blunt senses.

This is blunt senses, covered senses. There is no question of tasting ānanda with these senses. There is no possibility. Ānanda is described. Just like it is said, ramante yoginaḥ anante

Yoginaḥ, those who are transcendentalists, above this material world, they also seeking after ānanda or tasting ānanda. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa. That is satyānanda. That is real ānanda. Ramante yoginaḥ anante. And there is no end of that ānanda. Nityaṁ-navāyamānam.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu has described,

CC Antya 20.12চেতোদর্পণমার্জনং ভবমহাদাবাগ্নিনির্বাপণং শ্রেয়ঃকৈরবচন্দ্রিকাবিতরণং বিদ্যাবধূজীবনম্ ।আনন্দাম্বুধিবর্ধনং প্রতিপদং পূর্ণামৃতাস্বাদনং সর্বাত্মস্নপনং পরং বিজয়তে শ্রীকৃষ্ণসঙ্কীর্তনম্ ॥ ১২ ॥ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁśreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanamānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ prati-padaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁsarvātma-snapanaṁ paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam“ ‘Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.’

Ānandāmbudhi... We have no experience that ambudhi... Ambudhi means the ocean; and ānandāmbudhi, the ocean of ānanda, vardhanam, it is increasing. It is increasing.

We have no experience that the sea or the ocean is increasing. It is decreasing. So this is ānanda. Ramante yoginaḥ anante. That is ananta ānanda. Ramante yoginaḥ anante satyānande cid-ātmani

That is not jaḍātmā. Here this ānanda is jaḍa, dull. It is not ānanda, material, but cid-ātmani. Iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate These are the description.

Rāma means one who takes ānanda in the reality, not in the false. So this is the way of understanding Kṛṣṇa. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said,

CC Adi 2.117সিদ্ধান্ত বলিয়া চিত্তে না কর অলস ।ইহা হইতে কৃষ্ণে লাগে সুদৃঢ় মানস ॥ ১১৭ ॥siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasaihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasaA sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one’s mind becomes attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

"To understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, do not be lazy." "Oh, now I have understood Kṛṣṇa." What you have understood? Therefore we fall down. One should understand...

Therefore, to understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, one has to devote, studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam nine cantos. In the Tenth Canto Kṛṣṇa is described because... Try. First of all become fit to understand Kṛṣṇa.

That is called tattvataḥ. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is there. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, janmādy asya yataḥ anvayāt itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ Try to understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, not superficially.

Of course, the ultimate goal is to understand Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in Vṛndāvana. Gopī-bhāva-rasāmṛtābdhi... But that... First of all, you become siddha. Without becoming siddha, you cannot understand.

So long you are asiddha, imperfect, you cannot understand Kṛṣṇa.

Human responsibility and global consciousness

But if you try, if you associate with the siddhas... Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ You have to associate...

Just like in the morning = munibhir mahātmabhiḥ. You have to understand Kṛṣṇa in the association of mahātmās. And who is mahātmā? Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ

Mahātmā is not in this material world. He is in the spiritual world. Daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ. Bhajanti. And the result is, always engaged in devotional service of Kṛṣṇa. That is mahātmā.

So Kṛṣṇa says that it is not very easy to understand Kṛṣṇa. People understand Kṛṣṇa very easily; therefore they are called sahajiyās. Everything takes very easily. So manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu

Manuṣyāṇām. There are 400,000 species of manuṣya—400,000. Catur-lakṣāṇi mānuṣāḥ. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati, kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ [Padma Purāṇa].

There are statements in the Padma Purāṇa how many living entities, forms, are there.

So out of 8,400,000 different forms and species, there are 400,000 species of manuṣya. So out of them, one who is born in India, he is first-class manuṣya. That is a fact. Unfortunately, we are missing the chance.

Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra

So those who are Indians present here should know that after many pious activities, one gets birth in India, bhārata-bhūmite. They should try to understand Kṛṣṇa. There is facility.

There are śāstras. Kṛṣṇa personally speaks Bhagavad-gītā. Vyāsadeva speaks about Kṛṣṇa in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We are neglecting, we have become so rascal and fools.

This is not India's business, to imitate how economic development = "Money, money, money, money, money." This is not India's... India's business is to understand Kṛṣṇa. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is India's business.

These Americans and Europeans have come here not to see how much you are economically developed, industrially developed. They have got enough of this, enough, more than enough. They don't care for it.

The modern young men, they do not like. They are fed up. They have come here to understand Kṛṣṇa. They come here to understand Kṛṣṇa. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye Therefore we have...

We are trying to construct this center. Let everyone come, all over the world. And it is the India's business to understand what is Kṛṣṇa and help them. That is India's business.

It is very serious movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. On this platform, the whole world can be united. It is not ordinary movement—only on the basis of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya. Prabhupāda ki jaya. [end]