Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.14.3-4. How to Become Happy in This World
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Bangalore · 2021
Chapters
Invocation prayers and verse recitation
Oṁ namo bhagavate, Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya, naraṁ caiva narottamaṁ, devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ, tato jayam udīrayet. Naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī. Bhakti Bhati Nastiki, Bhakti Bhadsti Hare Krishna.
So we're reading now today Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Mahāpurāṇa, Canto 7, Chapter 14, ideal family life, text numbers three and four.
Śṛṇvan bhāgavatābhīkṣṇam avatāra-kathāmṛtam, śraddadhāno satāṁ kālam upaśānta-janāvṛtaḥ, jahātī saṅgaṁ saṅgāt, śanakaiḥ saṅgam ātmani ātmatvayā svayaṁ svapnavad, hīti,
śṛṇvan bhāgavatābhīkṣṇaṁ, śriman, śṛṇvan bhāgavatābhīkṣṇaṁ, śrīmad-bhāgavata-viśadaṁ, avatāra-kathāmṛtam.
Avatāra-kathāmṛtam, śraddhānā, śraddadhāno yathākālaṁ, śraddadhāno yathākālaṁ, śraddadhāno yathākālaṁ, upaśānta-janāvṛtaḥ, upaśānta-janāvṛtaḥ, śṛṇvan bhāgavatābhīkṣṇaṁ, śṛṇvan-avatāra- kathāmṛtam, śraddadhāno yathākālaṁ, upaśānta-janāvṛtaḥ.
Śṛṇvan, hearing bhāgavatāha of the Lord, abhīkṣṇam, always. Avatāra, of the incarnations, narrations. Amṛtam, the nectar. Śraddadhānaḥ, being very faithful in hearing about the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Yathākālam, according to the time. Generally, gṛhastha can find time in the evening or in the afternoon, if he is lucky. Upaśānta, completely relieved of material activities. Jana, by persons,
āvṛtaḥ, being surrounded, from such good association, gradually, Sangam Association Atma in the Body Jaya Wi Atma Jadi Shu as well as in children. One should get free from attachment for such association.
Vimuchyamaneshu being severed severed from him Swayam personally. Swapnavad. Like a dream. Like a dream. Utitaha. Awakened. Awakened. Second verse also. Satsangama chanai Sangam At Majayat Majadishu Vimunchen
Vimunchiama Nishu Vimunchyamanishu Swayam Swapnavat
Reading the purport on householder detachment
Uttitaha. Translation and purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.
A grihasta must associate again and again with saintly persons and with great respect, he must hear the nectar of the activities of the Supreme Lord and His incarnations, as these activities are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Purāṇas. Thus, one should gradually become detached from the affection for his wife and children, exactly like a man awakening from a dream.
The Krishna consciousness movement has been established to give grihastas all over the world an opportunity to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā specifically. The process as described in many ways is
one of hearing and chanting Srinvatam Svakatah Krishna Punya Shravana Kirtanaha. Everyone, especially the grihastas who are mudadhi, ignorant about the goal of life, should be given opportunities to hear about Krishna.
Simply by hearing, by attending lectures in different centers of the Krishna consciousness movement, these the topics of Krishna from Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are discussed.
They will be purified of their sinful inclination for constant indulgence, in illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication, and gambling, which have all become prominent in the modern days.
Thus, they can be raised to the status of light. Punya sravana kirtana. Simply by joining the kirtana. Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
And by hearing about Krishna from Bhagavad-gītā, one must be purified especially if he also takes prasāda. And this is all going on in the Krishna consciousness movement.
Another specific description here is Srinvan Bhagavat Abhikshnam Avatara Katam Ritam. It is not that because one has once finished Bhagavad Gita, he should not hear it again.
The world abhiksnam is very important. We should hear again and again and again. There is no question of stopping, even if one has read these topics
many times he should go on reading again and again because Bhagavad Katha, the words spoken by Krishna and spoken spoken by Krishna and spoken by Krishna's devotees about Krishna are Amritham, nectar.
Material labor versus the Vedic lifestyle
The more one drinks this Amritham, the more he advances in his eternal life. The human form of life is meant for liberation, but unfortunately, due
to the influence of Kali Yuga, every day the gṛhasthas are working hard like asses. Early in the morning they rise and travel a hundred miles away to earn bread.
Especially in the Western countries, I have seen that people awaken at 5 o'clock and go to offices and factories to earn their livelihood. People in Calcutta and Bombay also do this every day, and Bangalore too.
Of course not nowadays. Nowadays everything is online. They work very hard in the office or factory and again they spend three or four hours in transportation returning home.
Then they retire at 10 o'clock and again rise early in the morning to go to their offices and factories. This kind of hard labor is described in the Shastras as the
life of pigs and stool-eaters. Nāyam deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye. Vidbujamy.
Of all the living entities who are accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form of life should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool.
One must find some time for hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā. This is Vedic culture.
One should work eight hours at the most to earn his livelihood and either in the afternoon or in the evening, a householder should associate with devotees to hear about the incarnations of Krishna
and his activities and thus be gradually liberated from the clutches of māyā.
However, instead of finding time to hear about Krishna, the householders, after working hard in the offices and factories, find time to go to a restaurant or to a club where instead of hearing about Krishna and his activities, they are very much pleased to hear about the political activities of demons and non-devotees and to enjoy sex, wine, women, and meat, and in this way waste their time. This is not grihasta life, but demoniac life.
The Krishna consciousness movement, however, in its centers all over the world gives such fallen and condemned persons an opportunity to hear about Krishna.
In a dream, we form a society of friendship and love, and when we awaken we see that it has ceased to exist.
Similarly, one's gross society, family and love are also a dream, and this dream will be over as soon as one dies.
Therefore, whether one is dreaming in a subtle way or a gross way, these dreams are all false and temporary.
One's real business is to understand that one is soul, Aham brahmāsmi, and that his activities should therefore be different. Then one can be happy.
Brahma-bhūtāḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati, samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām. One who is transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman
and become fully joyful. He never laments nor desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward all living entities. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto me.
One who is engaged in devotional service can very easily be liberated from the dream of materialistic life. Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya! Translation again.
A grhastha must associate again and again with saintly persons, and with great respect, he must hear the nectar of the activities of the Supreme Lord and His incarnations, as these activities are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Puranas.
Thus one should gradually become detached from the affection for his wife and children, exactly like a man awakening from a dream.
Namaḥ oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale, śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine. Namaste sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe, nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādī-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe. Vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca, patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ.
Internal happiness versus external conditions
Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhy-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śivāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda, Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.
Bujokana Kavadatu Santiptanaya Kapita Rokamalaitakswambarud Vija Ruyu Gudharma Palu Vandei jagat priya karovarunava darayantah pravisha Mamma vachimam prasuptam sangivayatekila shakti dara swadam anyam shahasta charana shravanat vagadi prananda ma bhagavati Purusatubya Swasyastu Vishwasya Kalah Prasidatam Dyantu Butani Shivam Mitodia Manascha Badram Bajata Doksha Javesitam no Matihappya Hare Krishna S I'm very happy to greet all of you and permit all of you for this Sunday program.
And the topic of today's lecture is very relevant for all of us. And ultimately this topic, as everything else, is how to become happy in this world. How to become ultimately happy.
This is the goal which every one of us has. We want to become happy. And whatever we do, we do for this end, for this purpose. There is no other purpose.
And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives a very practical but at the same time uncommon advice in this regard.
The advice of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or the concept of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam how to become happy is radically different from the recipes of this material world.
Usually we know what to do, what we are supposed to do to become happy, and all these pictures of rosy, cozy, uh nice life is there in the advertisement boards. The problem is that it never happens in reality.
It's only in the advertisement boards. And in all this commercials and sometimes in the serials. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the truth, he gives the true conception how to become happy.
And therefore, we should take utmost seriously this particular scripture.
And this seventh skant of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is beautifully describing in the beginning of the seventh scandal how one can become happy despite all the problems in life. Sometimes we think that to become happy
I need to have this and this and this and this and this and that. And the list is there in the pocket, and I'm coming here to the temple, and here my Lord is my list. And then I will serve you peacefully.
Then only I will become happy. This is this is somehow rather the very common conception which every one of us has. To become happy we need to have these many conditions. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says this is a mistake.
Even if you have everything which you wish to have, it doesn't mean that you will become happy. Not at all. This is first statement. And the second statement, it never becomes as you wish.
Because even if it becomes as you wish, your wishes will grow simultaneously.
So So before you achieve this, you already wish something else. So it will never become like this. And on the contrary, it will become something completely different. This is the life.
We have to gratefully accept that in this life nothing happens the way we wish. That's the truth. Sometimes it happens the way we wish, but it's rare exception, which only confirms the rule.
The rule is that it's never the way we wish. It may be cunning to this, but it's never exactly the way we wish. Why? Because there's somebody else who wishes the way it is. And his name is Krishna.
His will rules supreme, not our will. Our will will never become supreme here. So and on the contrary, there will be some problems and impediments, it's a part of life. In everyone's life there are some impediments.
There is no exception to this rule. There is no exception to this rule. Everyone has to meet problems. If you study Jyotish astrology, it's a very nice and sobering science.
In astrology, most of the planets are inauspicious. And even auspicious planets if they are placed in a certain position they also become inauspicious.
You know you take Rahu, Ketu, and um Mars and then Shani and then Sun, they're all Krura, Krura grass. They're all very bad. And then you know Mercury, you know, it's half, halfway.
And then yes, Jupiter is there, and then Moon, you know, if it's if it's the moon which is uh how to say waning or waxing I I never know which one. Which is becoming less, it's inauspicious. So the only Jupiter is there.
If it's nicely placed, Everything else is just bad. So all the planets which are there, they're just telling you, don't try to become happy in this world. No.
You should try to become happy in this world, but not through the material means.
Learning from Prahlāda Mahārāja's example
And that's the important lesson of the seventh canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, because in the 7th Kanto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we see little boy Prahlāda who is meeting impossible difficulties in his life.
May I ask you, who met a little fraction of the difficulties which Prahlāda met in his life? From his father, who is supposed to protect him. He met such immense torture. So what was his reaction?
Did he complain to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva? Dear Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, why are you doing this to me? What did I do wrong? No, he was happy.
So the very important message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is that we should try to learn how to be happy independently on the external circumstances.
Because the psychology which we all have, the wrong psychology which we all have, I can only become happy if the external situation is conducive for this, if the external situation is auspicious. But it's not true.
The happiness is the condition of your heart. And you can become happy even if the external situations are not conducive for your happiness.
And you can be completely miserable even if the external situations are favorable. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda, he was comparing this, you know, he gave a very nice fable, very nice story.
He said that there was one man. And this man, his job, he was a śūdra, and his job was a very hard one. He was carrying the boats while, you know against the stream while walking on the bank of the river.
You know the big boats with the you know a lot of Goods in them, you know, and so the whole day he was walking and uh while walking against the stream, working hard, sweating you know, under the sun.
On the top of it, he was always stepping on the very sharp stones. And the stones pricked his feet and he was suffering immensely.
The sun is is uh you know is burning fruits up and uh and the feet are burned and you know he's just... he's just walking like this every day. So he had a dream.
You know, he had a dream, not while he was sleeping, but while he was doing this job. He had a dream, you know, how I can become happy.
So his recipe for happiness would be: you know, if I at one day I will become very rich due to doing this doing this hard job, then what I will do, I will get the pillows and I put all these pillows along the bank of this river and I will walk on these pillows.
Is it the good dream? You know, I will in this way I will get rid of the sufferings.
But you know, the real thing is that you get a shoes, you know, it's easier than to than to place the whole bank with these you know nice soft things. You know you just get shoes and you know you are happy.
So the the moral of this fable, the idea of this fable is that of trying to change the external situation and make the external situation conducive for your happiness, which will never happen anyway, as much as this dream of this poor man will never be fulfilled.
Instead of trying to change the external situation, try to change the internal situation. If you're trying to change the condition of your heart, you'll become happy in all circumstances. It's like having the shoes.
One recipe is yeah if if you if your feet hurt you try to put carpets all over the place. You know try to make all the Magnalore city covered with carpets and you know go bare feet with the carpets.
You'll become happy for sure. No problem with the feet. But the same end could be achieved if you put shoes on. It's much easier.
So put shoes on, put the shoes of Krishna consciousness on your heart, and then the external situation will not hurt you to the same extent as they hurt you now.
So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is giving this recipe, is explaining to us how to be protected from all the miseries of this world by becoming happy internally.
By becoming and how we can become happy internally by coming in contact with the most happy, with the happiest person in the in whole three worlds. Who is the happiest person in the whole worlds? Just look at him.
He's here smiling at you. And he has big eyes because his enjoyment is so big that eyes also become big. And he's always smiling.
So if you meditate on Krishna, if you if you really establish the contact with the happiest person of the world, you become happy.
We all know when we come in contact with somebody who is happy, we also become little happier. You know, if we are morose, if we are sad, you know, we come with somebody who is happy like Patri Prabhu.
Patriphu he's bubbling with happiness. He's just, you know, he's just fountainhead of happiness. You know, you come in contact with him and even if you are morose, you become a little lighter in your mood, isn't it?
Just because by coming in contact with him. So if in a real way we come in contact with Krishna in a real way, not in an artificial way, but in a real way. As much as Prahlad.
Prahlāda, before he saw Bhīṣmadeva, he was always meditating on Krishna. And he was happy.
The gradual system of daivi varṇāśrama
He was Kṛṣṇa-grāha, as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the seventh canto says, Kṛṣṇa grāha means he was captured by this star of Krishna.
As much as we are captured by these other Grahas, Shani Graha, you know, when Shani Graha grabs us, catches us, we become miserable.
So, but Prahlāda Mahārāja, he was captured by this. This is a figurative description of what Krishna consciousness means. You know, we're captured by this attachment to Krishna.
And therefore, the seventh canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, coming back to our original topic, is describing how to become happy by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious completely.
And therefore the example of Prahlāda Mahārāja is given, but at the same time, you know Prahlāda Mahārāja in one sense is an exception.
You know, not many achieve such a high level of Kṛṣṇa consciousness immediately, practically from the birth, and therefore, this example may seem to be not very practical.
You know, how can I imitate Prahlāda Mahārāja? I cannot imitate Prahlāda Mahārāja. And yes, I'm I am what I am. So what to do in my practical life?
So, therefore, Nārada Muni, after describing this story of Prahlāda Mahārāja, understanding that this is the highest ideal which is not to be imitated by us, fallen souls of this world.
He also describes the gradual process, how we can achieve this position. You know we uh ideally if we are prepared for this just by hearing once about Krishna uh we'll achieve this level of Krishna consciousness.
Or maybe not once, you know. Prahlāda Mahārāja was hearing in the womb of his mother Nārada Muni, and he achieved this state. Just by hearing we can achieve.
But at the same time, we can see his mother didn't achieve the same state.
We never heard that she has become a pure devotee of the Lord and she protected her son from Hiraṇyakaśipu, and you know, he put her also under severe sufferings. No. She was, you know, she was she remained as she was.
Despite the fact that she was hearing from the same Narada Muni. Moreover, she was adult and she was much better equipped to understand the message of Narada Muni. Nevertheless, she didn't. Prahlāda Maharaj did.
So in one sense, it's an exception, and therefore we need to know the gradual process how to achieve this stage.
We have been hearing about Krishna for a long time, but then when something bad happens to our life, we forget all about Krishna and we come to Krishna and complain to Krishna
and says, you know, you are happy and I'm not. What's wrong with you? Why do you make me so unhappy? So we forget all this nice philosophy.
Something happens to us, and this nice philosophy is just for Bhagavatam class, not for my practical life. This is what happens, unfortunately. And therefore, the gradual process has to be there.
And this gradual process is described in the second part of the seventh canto, when we can gradually achieve the same thing, and this gradual process is called varnashrama or daivi varnashrama.
Nārada Muni is not describing ordinary Varnashrama because ordinary varnasama is a material, is a material arrangement. Ordinary Varnashrama is a very good material instrument to become happy in this world.
What is the essence of Varnashama? The essence of Varnashama is to create peaceful society. Because ashantasya kutaksukam, how you can become happy if you're not peaceful.
There is no question of somebody who is not peaceful, there is no question for him to become happy.
So therefore this society, Varnashima society, you just you know it's it's a very if it is executed it's a very peaceful society whereas the society which we are living on, it's anything but peaceful.
You know, sometimes people are very proud in the modern age. We have very advanced society, you know, this society, that society, America. American people are very proud. I'm proud of America. My America. So what?
See what happened in America. You know, all these thousands, tens of thousands of people were storming the Capitol Hill. It means that they're not satisfied, they're not peaceful. And nobody is peaceful.
In a modern society nobody is peaceful. Nobody.
Except for a few brahmacharis who are not working in IT companies. But uh it's just it's it's a it's a crazy social uh system. And moreover, the social system is designed in such a way to make you unhappy.
Because if you are happy the society the economic system will not survive happy people. Happy people is the worst curse for the economic system because for the economic system to survive you have to be unhappy.
And in this way you will buy more and more useless goods. This is the only way. Otherwise if you are happy, why should you maintain this crazy economy which
produce completely so-called crazy things, you know? No, it's actually the whole society is designed to create unhappy people. This is what modern society is all about. This is what the modern social system is all about.
Just to create unhappy people.
So varṇāśrama is a completely contrary system. It's a contrary, it's a system which creates happy, satisfied people who will not go uh, who will not compulsively buy all this useless stuff in the supermarkets.
You know, it's just it's a happy happy system. But, but Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has no business for this material stuff. So why Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is nevertheless Nārada Muni, who is the bhakti avatāra of the Lord?
Why Nārada Muni is describing this varṇāśrama system? Because the varṇāśrama system which Nārada Muni is describing is not a material instrument.
It's a material system, but as much as Prabhupāda said, this microphone, even though it's material, when it's used for Krishna consciousness, it becomes spiritual. It becomes spiritualized.
In the same way, varṇāśrama system, if it is, if the purpose of varṇāśrama system is to give Krishna consciousness ultimately, then this varṇāśrama system is not material, it's a spiritual mechanism.
So the varṇāśrama system described in seventh canto of Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam is the mechanism to bring you to Krishna consciousness to instill Krishna consciousness within your life and
ultimately to make you happy, ultimately to bring you up to the level of Prahlāda Mahārāja. Does anyone of you want to become to reach the level of Prahlāda Mahārāja?
Few brahmacārīs, gṛhasthas are too too concerned with their problems so they don't need extra problems of becoming like Prahlāda Mahārāja. So this is this is the this is a beautiful system and
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is describing this. And he's describing first, you know, he describes first the general duties of human being, then he describes the duties of brahmacharis, then he describes the duties of grihastas.
Or sorry, of vānaprasthas, then he describes the duties of sannyāsīs, ideal man.
King Yudhiṣṭhira's inquiry on householder liberation
And then he stops. And Maharaj is shocked completely. He's completely shocked. He mentioned, you know, what kind of varṇāśrama it is which only has three ashramas.
Because Nārada Muni he just described this and that's it, you know. And he says this is how you can become liberated if you are brahmacārī. This is how you should live the life of brahmacārī.
This is how you should become liberated by living the life of vānaprastha. This is how you become liberated by living the ideal life of a sannyāsī, Mahārāja still is completely shocked. And he becomes really humble.
Actually one of the purposes of hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is to make you humble. Because while while hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you realize how fallen I am, how far I am from this ideal.
You know, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is sometimes painful. Therefore, you know, people sometimes don't like to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
They like to hear some nice stories, you know, Nala and Damayantī or something, whatever. Some love stories, something good, you know. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, very bad lessons are always there. Ah, what kind of a book it is?
So Mahārāja, he became really humble. And you know he's asking Narada Muni in the
first verse of this of this adhyāya of this chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, gṛhasthair etām padavīṁ vidhinā yena ca ījasa hhe deva-arṣe brūhi mādṛśo gṛha-mūḍha-dhīḥ He says in a very humble mood, mādṛśo gṛha-mūḍha-dhīḥ, what to do, how we can achieve this padavim, this spiritual condition of spiritual world.
How we, people like me, mādṛśo, mādṛśāḥ, gṛha-mūḍha-dhīḥ, whose mind is completely bewildered or muddled. mūḍha, mūḍha means muddled the intelligence is preoccupied with all kinds of anxieties and concerns.
gṛha-mūḍha-dhīḥ. By living in this, we have so many anxieties. You know, gṛhastha's to life we all know it's a very it's it's a difficult life. You know Ramachari life is an easy life.
They have their difficulties but it's relatively
easy and straightforward And Maharaji Tystir says, Madri so griha muda di, how can I achieve this padavim? Grihasta etan each In an easy way. Please tell me what is the easy way to achieve the same stage.
Don't tell me renounce the world. Don't tell me take sannyās. I'm not ready. Don't tell me take vānaprastha. Don't tell me, you know, remain brahmacārī. I'm a gṛhastha.
You know, please be you know humane. Understand my condition. I am what I am, and I'm not going to be anyone else. Don't push me into this. Tell me what I can do in this condition to become to also achieve liberation.
So you know our time is over. We should stop the class here. Anyway I'll I'll tell tell what we should do.
And Nārada Muni, uh, he starts answering, uh, he starts answering understanding the concern which we should all have what I should do to really become happy, even though I'm attached.
I'm naturally attached, gṛhastha is a very natural way of living life. So I am what I am.
Expressing gratitude through selfless service
So how to change my condition in this situation? And Nārada Muni, he in the previous verse he says, I will tell you you should you should not only live for yourself.
The first thing which he says, very important, very important lesson for all gṛhasthas. We should not live for ourselves.
You know, yes, we are what we are, we have this condition, but in this condition we should try to serve others. And ultimately by serving others we should try to serve God. Because God has given us everything. Didn't he?
He gave us everything.
He gave us whatever we have, whatever is within us our position, our intelligence is there, our body is there, all the facilities which are there is given by God. So therefore, it's just the duty of a normal person who is somewhat civilized to be grateful.
You know that what is service? Service to God is is just little expression of our gratitude. We will never be able to serve God enough to repay the debt which we have.
Because you know, so the first lesson is that we should not become only concerned with our own interest. We should try to serve, we should try to expand our consciousness by putting, placing God in the center.
I am His servant. It doesn't matter whether I am grihasta, brahmacārī, sannyāsī, whoever I am, I am the servant of the Lord.
I'm dāsa-dāsa-anudāsa. Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-anudāsaḥ. I'm the servant of two lotus feet of the Lord.
And then he said a very important thing: how to satisfy Vāsudeva in this life can be perfectly understood through the association of great devotees of the Lord. Vāsudeva-arpaṇam sākṣād upasīta mahāmunīn.
We even if we want to serve the Lord, even if we want uh and the service of the Lord, service or worship of the Lord, it's called Upasana. What does it mean, Upasana?
Upāsana literally means, uh, if you translate from Sanskrit, it means to sit nearby. You can only worship somebody or you can only serve somebody if you're nearby.
So the idea here is that if you want to worship the Lord, if you want to serve the Lord, you have to come close to Him. But how to become close to Him if we are separated from Him by the brick wall of our false ego?
You know, we all know we're trying to chant Mahā-mantra, and before the second Hare Krishna comes, the thought about my self-interest is just attacking my mind violently. Yes, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna.
Do I think about the Lord? Śrīla Prabhupāda says chanting Hare Krishna is the easiest way to remember about the Lord. Is it that easy? We chant about Krishna, but we remember about whom? Svārtha. My own interest.
My own egoistic, uh, you know, concerns and everything, you know, Mahā-mantra, Mahā-mantra, sixteen rounds of, of what? Of thinking about ourselves only.
So, so, and here it is said, vāsudeva-arpaṇam. You know, we should, we should give everything to Vāsudeva. At least we should give our mind to Vāsudeva.
No, we keep our mind to ourselves and therefore it's not easy and therefore
Nārada Muni says: tasmād upasīta mahāmūnim, to learn how to give our mind to Krishna, we should associate with other people, with wise people, with those people who are doing it, with those people who know, with the devotees.
There is no way, there is no other way, there is no other way. Without association with devotees, we will never be able to think about Krishna.
Without hearing the devotees, we will never be able to hear, to think about Krishna. Even if we read. We all know we read and our mind goes where? Somewhere else.
You know, and then you and then we read and you know what was it all about? You know, the second time the same sentence, and before the end, the mind goes somewhere else. You know, what is it?
What can—what Śrīla Prabhupāda says? Hearing is the most important process. Because when you hear something very significant is happening within your brain, your brain changes its structure.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī in his, uh, vyākhyā, is in his commentary to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, he says: śravaṇād dvārā kiñcid anubhūtiḥ sati. By hearing you get little experience.
It's not you can get experience by doing something if you really believe in something, but uh you can easily get in much more easier way you can get the experience spiritual experience direct spiritual experience not by doing this
but by hearing, kiñcit. Kiñcit. Śravaṇād dvārā kiñcit anubhūtiḥ sati. You know, you don't get the full experience, but still you get experience. Did you have this experience? You hear about Krishna and you become happy.
You just become happy. Especially if you hear Patri Prabhu, you become you know hearing somebody you become bored, you know.
He speaks about Krishna and he is bored himself and everyone else is bored. And everyone is sleeping. Yeah, yeah, Krishna, yeah, yeah, very nice, very nice.
Like at Madhva Prabhu, he was—you had this—this joke: naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadrāṇi, nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, bhāgavata, uh, you know, when you when you prayesva bhadri sunityam bhagavat seva bhagavat uh you know when you when you hear about Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu, all the—almost everything which is disturbing to the heart is going away by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
And then when there's no anxiety, everything disturbing going from the heart, then what you do? You sleep peacefully. That's why it's so common during the Bhāgavatam classes.
Nastapra that's it's the proof. Nasta prayes for bad research everything this turbo is gone. So I'm sleeping peacefully.
But anyway, the the point here is that uh when you when you hear Kinchitanu Bhuti comes to your heart, you get some little experience, you get the experience of Krishna consciousness.
It's not it's not a mechanical process. It's a process of getting the real experience within your heart. And by getting this real experience within the heart, you will become enlivened.
And therefore, in the next two verses which we read today, finally, that was introduction to my class, so we
Natural detachment through hearing about Krishna
finally came to this two verses which we read it is said very clearly sinban bhagavatov biksnan avatara katham ri tam sradan batov yathakalam upasanta janavritaha Satsangamach Chanay Sangam At Majayatmajadi Shu Vimunchen Muchiamani Shu Swayam So
these two verses describe the gradual process, a very painless process, actually very joyful process of getting rid of the attachments.
You know, the problem when we hear about these attachments, that we should get rid of attachments, it's usually quite painful to hear because when we hear that I should get rid of the attachments and we try to project ourselves on this state we we become sometimes hysterical.
How I can live without attachments? The attachments is the source of happiness in my life. You know, whatever little happiness I have, it's all coming from attachments.
You know, can you become happy if you're not attached to prasadam? You know, I'm not attached, so what does it mean? You know. We become a little hysterical when we hear this, you should get rid of this attachment.
And we think, you know, how is it possible for me to become attached? But uh Narada Muni specifically says here, Shanai, gradually it will happen to you without you even noticing it. And why?
Because the attachments, the material attachments will be replaced by the spiritual attachments to the Lord, and you you will become happy in the most natural way.
You know, sometimes people think you know bhakti means detachment and they forcefully violently they uh try to cut off the bonds of attachment and you know poor wife and children.
You know they really cut off the b you know everything. And they become unhappy. Because it's an artificial process. Nardhamuni says here, there is a very natural process to do it. And what is this process?
Srinvan Bhagavataha. You should hear about Bhagavan, how you should hear about Bhagavan Abhikshnam. Again and again and again and again. So the first point which Prabhupada makes here is that you come yathakalam
according to your time, you know Prabhupada says every evening you should hear about Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from devotees. Of course, you know, it may not be possible. At least on Sunday. You come here to this temple.
What is the purpose of your coming to this temple? The purpose of your coming to this temple is to rewire your brain. And there is no other way, there's no other way, there is no other way to rewire your brain.
Here you will be brainwashed. Prabhupada was very, very boldly saying yes, we're washing their brains because there's so much dirt in the brains.
And this is exactly what Narada Muni oh sorry Maharaja Yudhishthira is saying when he says griha medhi. He says, my mind is muddled. There's a lot of dirt in my he, in my consciousness, in my mind.
So, how to get rid of this uh griha medhi, this this this dirt which we accumulate in a natural way while living life is just uh abhikṣhṇaśaḥ. Again and again and again. Come to the temple and hear about Krishna.
And what is this hearing about Krishna-kathāmṛtam? Bhāgavata-kathāmṛtam. You're hearing something which gives you the idea of eternal life.
You know, you're changing your consciousness and you understand, I am eternal, I will not die. Isn't it nice? That we are eternal, we are not dying.
So we can get this experience that we are eternal soul which is not dependent on the external circumstances just by hearing about
Krishna, just by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam again and again and again, just by hearing Bhagavad-gītā again and again and again.
Why it is stressed that we should hear again and again and again because of the dirt which is accumulated within our mind and therefore it doesn't go deep.
You know, you hear it once, you say, yeah, nice, nice, nice, nice. Very nice, very nice. And you go back to your home and you are the same. Nothing changed. Nothing changed.
Sometimes people they complained, you know, even devotees complained. Prabhupada, why you always say we are not this body? Prabhupada said, because you don't understand this. You should repeat it again and again and again.
It's not an easy thing to understand. You know, it's an easy thing to repeat. You're not this body, I am not this body, we all know this body. You know, but for how long this philosophy lasts?
Only till the moment when you come in front of the mirror. You know, you are in front of the mirror, where is all your philosophy? If you become less philosophical all of a sudden. Just being in front of the mirror.
You know, I'm this body, and you know, it's it's it's very deeply rooted.
It's actually this is the first Sūtra of the fourth Pāda of Vedānta-sūtra. The fourth Pāda of Vedānta-sūtra is called Phala. It's talking about the results.
The principle of repeated spiritual practice
But the first Sūtra of Vedānta-sūtra is saying that you should repeat it's Āvṛttam Adhikaraṇam. Āvṛtta adhikaraṇa. Āvṛtta means Āvṛttir asakṛd upadeśāt. Upadeśāt. This is the Sūtra. Āvṛttir asakṛd upadeśāt.
The, uh, śāstra upadeśāt. The śāstra always teach what? Uh, āvṛtti, to repeat the same thing again and again and again. Asakṛt, not once.
You shouldn't say, as Prabhupāda says, you shouldn't say, I already read Bhagavad-gītā, so that's done. Let me read some novels, love novel, because Bhagavad-gītā is already done, it's put on the shelf. No.
Asakṛt, āvṛttir asakṛd upadeśāt, again and again and again you should read.
And Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, in commenting on this Sūtra in this adhikaraṇa of Vedānta-sūtra, he says, why we should repeat the activity, there are two reasons. First reason, the reason number one, because we want to get the result in this life.
And because we want to get the result of this life. Which result? The result of seeing Krishna. The result of experiencing Krishna. The result of becoming completely joyful and happy by being together with Krishna.
That's one reason why we should again and again do it because it's not something which we should get or we would like to get in the next life.
If you something you want to do in the next life, do it once, no problem. Next life it will bring some result.
But if you want to do something in this life, if you want to get the result of this activity, you should do it again and again and again.
Therefore, we chant Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma, Rāma, Hare Hare, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Ram Hare Hare again and again and again. Sometimes people don't understand what's happening. You know, once somebody said, do you do you have another song? Why the same song?
You know, but this is this is Brahma-sūtra, this is Upadeśāmṛta. Shastras say, do it again and again and again. There is another reason for this.
And another reason is that because we have offenses, because we are not doing it purely. If you would do it purely, once is enough.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. You're there.
But uh you know to to get three to counteract the offenses which are there, we have to repeat it again and again and again.
And that's exactly what Nārada Muni is saying here, you know, because you understand that attachments are there for to gradually relieve you from attachments, you have to do it again and again and again.
Abhiksna saha, abhiksnam, uh as it is said here, abatavrathamritam, sadhana. Sradhadanaha means you have to do it with utmost reverence, not casually, not neglectfully, not inattentively.
You know, the most important thing which may happen to you is happening now. When you hear about Krishna, when you hear this philosophy, when you hear these verses for Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is nothing more important.
There is nothing more important. If you remember this, if you remember this at the moment of death, you will get liberation. You will be free from everything else.
So therefore, Yam Yam Bapismaram Bhavam tja jatan tekal maram taptami vaiti kauntea sadatat bhava bhavita ha whatever bhava you're trying to achieve in this life, sadhat bhava bhvithaha. You're trying to come to this to this state of consciousness, which is not easy.
But we try again and again and again. Sadha. Sadha means, yeah takalam, uh sadha means sadhan doesn't mean every moment of your life. Sadhan means regularly.
This is what Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura is explaining. What does sadha mean? Sadha means regularly, at the very least, every Sunday, you come to this temple and
Hearing about Krishna without material anxieties
you you know you free yourself from all your concerns, it is very beautifully said how you should do it. You should do it Upashanta Janavrita. You should put aside all your anxieties at home. You should leave them at home.
Don't come with your anxieties here. You know, this is there is a place for them there. Here is the place to hear about Krishna.
Don't think about your business, don't think about your problems, don't think about this concern, that concern, this depth, this this other depth. No, this is the time to hear, this is the place to hear about Krishna.
And then together, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. And then very easily you will be jumping, you know.
Usually brahmacārīs they're jumping because you know there is not much burden on their shoulders and gṛhasthas they're standing very seriously in the corner. Why? Because because there is a lot of you know weight attached.
But if you put this aside very very blissfully and peacefully, You're coming here. This is the peaceful place for very blissful activity. Chant about the Lord. And then you jump also.
It's very important because maybe you know while you're jumping some of the burdens will be somehow rather kicked away from your consciousness, from your heart.
And, uh, Prabhupāda was insisting we should jump at least a little bit, just a little bit, as much as our consciousness, our heart allows to do this. So this is the advice, Satsangach, Chanakaek Sangam,
Atma Jaya, Atma Jadishu, Primunchen. We will be gradually gradually, Shanaqai. Gradually means in a slow manner but in a very painless manner. Because when again we do it violently, when we do it uh with a
lot of force, we're kind of forcing, it just only creates misery in your mind. You do it because of your false ego, because of your false conception. I am very renounced. I don't need all this stuff. No, no, you need it.
And therefore, you're saying about this. I don't need. When somebody is saying this or declaring it very boldly or behaving in such a way that everyone sees that he's detached. It's actually he betrays himself.
He says that it's just sign, sure sign of attachment. He is attached. So that's not a question.
Thinking of Krishna by investing resources
The question is to come here in a very natural, spontaneous way to hear about Krishna, to contribute something to this temple. Once Ambarish Prabhu very beautifully said something.
He said Ambarish Prabhu he is the grand-grandson of Henry Ford. It's very rich, business-oriented people, business-oriented family. He said, I learned, I'm very grateful to my ancestors.
Because my ancestors, they all great businessmen. And all my relatives are great businessmen. So I learned one little secret from them. He said, I learned that wherever you invest your money, you will think about this.
You know, if you invest your money in the cars, you will always be thinking about cars. What's happening with the cars, you know, what is going with the car business, how the sales of the cars going.
Wherever you invest your money, you will think about this. So I learned this secret and now I know how to think about Krishna. I invest my money into Krishna.
Because I invest my money into Krishna, I always think about Krishna. Because I help Prabhupāda's mission. I always think about Prabhupāda and his mission.
So this is this is the secret which I learned from Ambarish Prabhu and he knows what he's saying about. So you can ultimately this is the essence of all the teachings of the Vedas: Man-manā. Think about Krishna.
How to think about Krishna? Just hear about Krishna. Just come to this temple. Just chant his holy name. Just read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And then invest your money and your time.
If you don't have money, no problem. Your time is there. You always have some little time in the service, you can do it.
And in this way, as Nārada Muni says here, you will at one point you will be just like a man who woke up from the dream and he says, oh yeah, I'm in a different world.
Krishna is there, he's dancing and he's inviting me to dance and his friends are there, they're chanting and they're also dancing.
And I also learned to dance somewhere in the South Bangalore. How to dance for Krishna and how to chant for Krishna and how to glorify Krishna and how to hear about Krishna. Abhiksna Sahara.
And in the spiritual world, a bhiksnam, every moment of our life will be devoted to this Krishna consciousness. So this gradual transition is there. And this temple is here. And Śrīla Prabhupāda is very proudly says.
Don't complicate it. This is what this temple is all about. This is the place for hearing about Krishna, for speaking about Krishna,
for chanting about Krishna, for eating prasāda, Prabhupada says this, this is very important. By hearing about Krishna from Bhagavad-gītā, man must be purified, especially if he also takes prasāda.
So Prabhupada, you know, he puts some additional stress to this. Especially if you take prasāda then hearing about Bhagavad-gītā will be very very useful and you will digest whatever you heard.
So this is the this is the place. You're welcome. Here I am talking about Krishna. And if I would not be talking about Krishna I would probably be doing something on the internet and God knows what it is.
So let's do something about Krishna and let's change our brain and our heart. And in this way, in a very natural and happy way we will be liberated from all these problems and
anxieties and go to Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there is no anxieties. So thank you very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda keeps...
Overcoming attachment to wealth through donation
Just the one there is something. Anyone has any one question? Hare Krishna. Thank you very much for the last name. Just question is always ringing in my mind. From money and what? Wealth?
Well, Nārada Muni gives this advice. He will give this advice in the 15th chapter. He said, you know, by giving donations you get rid of attachments to money.
By uh again, it's a gradual process, but it's a very important part of the spiritual culture. The spiritual culture is uh you know you give you give.
And yes in the heart we think, you know but still we give and we feel some happiness. We we feel you know happy by giving this and we feel some relief, you know. I and yes some s you know this is how how we should do it.
We should counteract different anatas which are there by doing something which is contrary to this and by experiencing the happiness which comes from this.
It's not just doing this, but if we do it and do it in a very nice way, with nice kind of attitude, and then we should hear the heart.
And the heart, Krishna in the heart will be joyful. Krishna will be dancing in the heart. Like I'm regularly now associating because of some service with Krishna Kshatra Maharaj.
Krishna Kshatra Maharaj he has one saying all the time, you know, when something is successfully resolved, he said, happy dancing, happy dancing, happy dancing.
So Krishna will be dancing in your heart, and if you are attentive enough, you will get this anubhav, this happiness. And then you will understand: oh, this is nice.
I gave this to the temple, and this is something which is good. Of course, in the Vedas it is said if you give something, you know, to brāhmaṇa you will get thousand times return or ten thousand times or whatever.
If you give something to transcendent cause you will get unlimited return. So you know, anyway this calculation is there.
But uh ultimately uh the happiness which is there in the heart uh is you know you do something good and you're happy. So just do it. Alright, we made a big commitment yesterday. Did you sleep nicely at night?
Okay, so that's that's what should be thank you very much. It's it's very important. That's the source of misery I feel Mary. Every grasta is holding up.
Once I just asked somebody that they said they said you should not see what you are giving, Krishna see what you are holding. So Bhadrina Ryan Maharaj, he has a beautiful story to tell. I will tell his story.
He said he was a college student that he started coming to Hare Krishna temple.
And of course, the main attraction was Prasadam, so he was taking this Sunday feast prasadam happily as a student and you know while leaving the temple room he He would calculatingly putting his hand in the pocket and taking some little coins to give.
Because at the entrance of the temple room after Prasadam there would be So calculatedly he would put his hand into the pocket and you know would try to find something which is which is not difficult to part with. A few coins to put.
So and once after the Sunday feast program, after eating sumptuously, he again this by this reason. And the little boy was standing there, Prahlāda in the temple. This Prahlāda is famous.
There is a picture when Prabhupāda is teaching him how to write.
This little devotee boy, shaven head, you know, and he put, you know, and he gave few coins by living and this Prahlāda looked at him and says, Krishna sees what you left for yourself, not what you gave and
he was shocked and then he thought for himself you know if the little boy is so intelligent, how intelligent must be the other ones? I should probably join this so you wanted to ask the questions.
Somebody told me that there's a lotus in the heart which will uh open up Yeah that's uh that's the law the heart is like lotus, it is compared with the lotus. The consciousness is like lotus.
And when we feel sad the lotus, this lotus of the heart m e kind of you know it's closed. And when we do something good, something spiritual, then the heart will blossom.
And the more it is expanding, the more happy we feel.
And therefore when we feel happy, you know we want to embrace everyone of course during pandemic it's not probably very advisable but we we want to share it with everyone because the the heart is expanded.
Whereas when we're miserable we just become r really closed. So yes, it's true.
Uh if you do something for Krishna, Krishna is happy, he is dancing, the lotus of the heart is expanding and you feel natural happ And uh Lord Krishna reflected a tour and
heal by a finger by his fingertip and Haruman carried uh the altar on his palm. So it's uh a scientist could understand the it is a higher order lower. There's so many details like that.
Where is all these details given from? Is it given in the personal or uh uh they're in different places and this they think about expansion of consciousness and distracting of consciousness.
At least Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is explaining this process in Jaiva-dharma. The process of expansion of the consciousness. And all these little details they're there in Rāmāyaṇa also.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, so many beautiful details are there. Just read it again and again and again. That's the point. Okay, thank you very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya!
Lakshmi-Nṛsiṁhadeva ki jaya, Śrī-Śrī-Gaurā-Nitāi ki jaya, guru...