Bhagavad-gita 12.12

Recitation of Bhagavad Gita verses

0:00Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Śrīvāsādi- gaṇaḥ, jñānam, abhyāsāc, dhyānād dhyānam viśiṣyate, dhyānāt karma-phala- tyāgāc, chāntir anantaram.

1:04Śrīvāsādi-gaṇaḥ, abhyāsāc, dhyānād dhyānam viśiṣyate, dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgāc, chāntir anantaram. Śrīvāsādi-gaṇaḥ, abhyāsāc, dhyānād viśiṣyate, dhyānāt karma- phala-tyāgāc, chāntir anantaram. Trans—uh, translation.

1:54If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action.

2:06For such renunciation one can attain peace of mind. So somebody will translate, or what's everybody? But they need a second microphone then.

3:00Vaiśyas, tathā ca kṛṣṇa- bhaktir, nibandhaḥ, vaiśyāḥ, tataḥ jñāna-vijñāna- saṅkṣipta-yaśas, vindanti sevām. ... Fadinati Vera V Sha Ramash śvapacca brāhmaṇaś caiva śunaś caiva śvapākaḥ.

3:57Śrīla Bhaktivighna Vināśa Mahārāja ki jaya! Ananta-koṭī-vaiṣṇava-vṛnda ki jaya! Kīrtana ki jaya! Kīrtana ki jaya! Yasya deve parā bhaktir... ... the mic. Hare

5:13Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare, Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare, Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma. If

5:49you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruit of action.

6:00For by such renunciation one can obtain peace of mind. So doesn't work like this?

Direct and indirect spiritual paths

6:28We very much honored to speak in front of you about this science of this consciousness. Kṛṣṇa! Prabhupāda ki jaya! Thank you.

6:45So Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that basically there are two ways for elevation or for the spiritual advancement. One is direct, the other one is indirect. Two ways for spiritual advancement. Direct right now.

7:22I tell it, indirect way, voluntary. I tell you, volume. And it's not that one is better than another in one sense. Because better what is good for me.

7:40There is no absolute, but uh it is said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that bad or good is according to the person and his qualification. So, it has to run the bottom. So you have it, not the The

8:22method ultimately we all have to come ultimately we all have to come to the point of accepting Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Worship and coming to Him because this is the highest perfection of life.

8:40So this is the ultimate destination of any way, direct and indirect.

9:05The rec method is quicker because basically you go straight to the core, to the goal, without you know making so many different you know advances here and there, you go straight to Krishna, you chant his holy name, you accept him as the Supreme Personality of God, but then you surrender to him.

9:50But Prabhupada says here the purpose that it is not possible for everyone. Not everyone can accept Krishna as God. Not everyone can surrender to Krishna.

10:28Sometimes in our desire to preach the gospel of Bhagavad-gītā, we want everyone to accept the direct path. But here Śrīla Prabhupāda very clearly states that it's not possible for everyone.

Reasons people doubt Krishna consciousness

10:58The question is why? Why not everyone can take to this process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness? This is very important for us to understand. But they now better make market in the order, it's not a social. And the answer is simple.

11:26Because not everyone believes in God. Because not everyone believes that there is only one God. And not everyone believes that surrender to him can fulfill all my In

11:58In order to accept this direct path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which means to surrender to God and depend on Him. Krishna consciousness basically means I depend on God entirely.

12:11I'm not trying to depend on anything else in this world. I'm trying to depend on him and I'm straight going to him. And basically he is supposed to take care of me.

12:22Because when somebody surrenders to him he says that I will take care of such a soul, don't worry about this. So this is kind of the first step you do and the second step God does by protecting you. But you have to have complete faith.

12:40Krishna, Bhagavad-gītā, prabhu. Directed on the Bhagavad-gītā. Krishna, bhāva-śāstra. Directed on the sādhana, prabhu.

13:09And if we have some doubts in our mind. Because usually people do accept some spiritual practice, but they have this doubt in the mind.

13:18What if you know let's do it in case he exists but what if he doesn't exist so if this doubt is there if the phase is not complete, then it means that you're not really ready for this direct path of Kṛṣṇa. So

14:05if this doubt is there, then we may even try to go through the direct process.

14:13But at the same time, because this doubt will be there, because the fear will be there, we will not be able to practice it properly and we'll always look back.

14:25Christian consciousness is very simple. There is God and there is soul. And as a soul, I have to find some shelter. Where can I find shelter? Only in God. So this is what Christian consciousness is.

14:37You believe, you know for sure that there is God and you're taking protection of Him and you're not really trying to find some other protection around you.

14:50funny simple woodman that you said you have to go number protecting number food no way And

15:09therefore, in the devas, in the scriptures, in the shastras, there are so many other different processes which are supposed one ultimately to come to the point where you believe in God only and you don't care about anything else.

15:26And we have to be very clear about the place of this secondary processes. This is just to help us to come to this point of complete surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

Renouncing the fruits of work

16:01The other processes ultimately create Vishwas. They create this trust that God is taking care of me. But they're doing it in a very gradual way.

16:13Like Krishna says here that the best out of all indirect processes is to give karma-phala-tyāga, to give up or to renounce the fruits of one's activity.

16:35But the very food number is not a math. They don't want the in the source.

16:54Why karma-phala-tyāga? The renouncing the fruits of action is the best because people in this world are very much dependent on their own abilities. And if they give up the fruits, they are forced to become dependent.

17:10This is a very strong conditioning within our mind. You know, I have to work, I have to work, everything depends on me. So Krishna says, just give up the fruits of your action and see what happens.

17:24And you still maintain, you are still happy, you still get everything which you need.

17:28And in this way you understand that it's not really the fruits of your action that you're dependent on, but another force, God, who is really taking care of you.

18:08Because we don't believe in God, we very much believe in ourselves and in our own ability to, you know, take care of ourselves.

18:20And therefore Krishna teaches us this indirect process by saying, just try not to depend on the fruits of your action and you will be able to see that actually your life will be better.

18:54In this material world, people are always worried. They're always in anxiety. They always have this fear in the heart. What will happen with me? And especially they are fearful of the future.

19:06What the future will bring, how it will be, you know, what, uh, so many dangers are there. So Krishna is saying this is totally unreasonable. Just don't worry about this.

19:19Try to give up the fruits of your action and the peace will come to your mind. You will be peaceful. He says, tyāgāc chāntir anantaram. When you develop this renunciation, you will get the unlimited peace.

Living as a servant of God

19:35And all the anxiety is only because you are dependent on yourself and you are not dependent on God. I just visited the Maharaja of Travancore and he started his speech to me by saying that you are called Dasa.

20:22You are called Dasa. Your title is DASA. And my title is also DASA. And our family is very proud to have this title since 18 something. You know, for 200 years we are holding this title Dāsa, which means... Mahārājan.

21:03He's supposed to be the king, but he's proud to have this title Dasa.

21:08Because actually when you're dāsan, when you're servant, as in your heart, then basically you're care-free, you're anxiety-free. You know if I'm a servant, my master has to take care of me.

21:43I remember when I first joined Hare Krishna movement, I didn't know what it would bring me to, that ultimately I will take sannyasa or whatever. And I was very fearful.

21:55I thought, you know, all these Hare Krishnas, they only chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, how they will earn their money. But here I am, you know, I'm not earning money, but somehow or rather Krishna is taking care of me.

22:09I don't have any salary, I don't have any employee, you know. And Maharajov Travan Cor he said I am very happy to see this color because you are coming from Russia. And in Russia there is this red flag.

22:22Like this communist in Kerala, they also have red flag. He said this color is better than red because ultimately that means you are dependent on God. And basically it means care free life.

22:59But I can go as a minute to open it up. Care free means that we are not caring about ourselves. Care-free means we are caring about the Lord. Our main concern is to serve Him. This is our business. This is our duty.

23:27And his duty is to take care of us. This is not our duty to take care of us. We are just caring about him and you know let him do his view.

24:01And ultimately, if we examine our life, we will be able to see that He has been taking care of us every second of our life. It's He who gave us this body.

24:14It's Him who was taking care of this body from the very charitable to our age. He gave us everything. He's taking care of us. So it's totally useless to be

24:29in anxiety about our own well-being and it's much more productive is to take care of Krishna because by this way we're getting endless peace within our mind and at the same time uh we are getting all our material is fulfilled by Krishna.

24:50Uh it's useless to take care of ourselves, it's better to take care of Krishna because in this way we are much more peaceful and at the same time uh all our needs are fulfilled by Krishna himself.

25:04Alright, so you'll be like a beggar, right? Like a bhakta, but it is I

Experiencing divine protection during interrogation

25:37remember one little story from my own life. When I just became a devotee, it was long ago in Soviet Union and was not legally allowed. You're not supposed to believe in God.

25:55And moreover, you're not supposed to preach anything. So I got in trouble and the secret police KGB which was very severe, uh they started basically harassing me. Okay, and the other I know the And

26:30at one point, I was sitting in front of an officer, KGB officer, and he was interrogating me, and he was threatening me. He was saying we'll put you in prison. You will be there till the end of your life.

26:44Your whole career will, you know, be spoiled. I was a scientific scientist, you know, doing my PhD degree and

26:52he was really here, you know, saying that we will kill you this and that, you know not uh he was interrogating me, but emotionally abusing me. Not physically, but emotionally trying to instill fear within my heart.

27:31And it was very difficult psychologically because I was, you know, I was beautiful. It was not a job. If they say this, they would do it.

27:41They could kill you, they could torture you, they could do whatever they like at that time. So it was not a joke. And for few minutes I was very fearful. Yeah, I'm trading very through when you do the office.

28:11And it went on for you know for two hours or something like this. He was trying to do this.

28:16And somehow at the middle of this whole thing, or closer to the end, all of a sudden, very clearly within my heart, I heard the voice.

28:29And this voice, very beautiful voice, was saying, I don't know where this voice came from, but I immediately felt complete, total peace and satisfaction. come on for the morning.

29:14The fear totally vanished from my mind and I started smiling.

29:20And the sophisters couldn't believe his eyes. Because he was you know pushing and pushing and pressing and pressing and pressing and all of a sudden as a result of this I started smiling very and I saw that he became very beautiful.

29:50What I'm doing, what financial. Somehow rather we exchange our roles. I was saying very casually, you know. And I was smiling and shaking and his possession.

30:19This is how Krishna in all these little sayings he teaches us that if we surrender to him, that even though the material life will go on and there will be dangerous in our life and there will be threatening situations in our life and there will be difficulties in our life.

30:35But still his protection will be there. And gradually, gradually we will be able to have complete faith in his saving grace.

30:57So ultimately what Krishna is saying here is that even if you don't have complete faith now in this process of Krishna consciousness, meaning that you are not ready to surrender to him completely.

31:14Still you should try to follow Shastra.

Following duty according to scripture

31:21So we still have some of the pool, we start nothing to be much number of states.

31:38And ultimately Shastra will teach you or will bring you to the point when you will develop this renunciation from the fruits of your actions because this is the focal point of all the shastrich teachings. Sastra basically will tell you this is your duty in life. This is what you have to do.

32:19If you are man, you have to be real man. If you're ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, whatever, brāhmaṇa, there are certain duties which you have to perform.

32:32And ultimately Sastra will tell you that you have to perform these duties without expecting anything in exchange. Shastra will teach you a noble way of human life, but

32:58at the same time, Shastra will definitely, if you understand Shastra properly, Shastra will

33:04give you this understanding that ultimately you have to uh not depend renounce this understanding that you have to depend on the fruits of your actions. I can make the very much the

33:27in the eighteenth chapter of Bhagavad-gītā Krishna explains this, that this is what real renunciation means. What real renunciation is.

33:36Real renunciation is renouncing not the fruits of your action, but your dependence, your internal dependence on the fruits of your actions.

34:12And that means dependence, when you renounce your dependence on the fruits of your prayer actions, you develop simultaneously the dependence on God.

34:24You renounce your dependence on the fruits of your action, but at the same time you develop your dependence on God.

Navigating complex scriptural rules

34:39And in this way, at this point, you will be able to practice Krishna consciousness fully and completely by depending entirely on Krishna.

35:01Of course the problem with all this other safety injustice and indirect ways is that it's very bewildering and it's very difficult to really know what you're supposed to do.

35:12It's it's really difficult because even to read all the shastras is difficult. But to speak about following all the shastras. Because whenever Shastra recommends something, it will also be said that this is the best.

35:27Sastra will say, Anadan. And Sastra will say Anadan is the best.

35:32But then on the next page they will say no do some other charity or some other vrata and then it will say inevitably that this is the best and this is the best and this is the best and in this way you're totally guru.

35:45Okay, so Ultimately that point, the take off all these instructions is that you should follow shastra with complete faith.

36:23When shastra says do this and this is the best, basically it means at least do something from the shastra and have the complete faith that this is the best for you.

36:47And it is the duty of brāhmaṇa or spiritual master, somebody who has spiritual knowledge, to tell what is really the best for you in

36:58your particular position, what is the best duty which you should do, what the particular vrata you should do, what the particular pūjā you should do, and so on and so forth. When they eat karate There

37:26is a little story in this regard from Lord Caitanya's life. When Lord Chaitanya went to East Bengal for preaching, he met one very learned

37:34person, brāhmaṇa, his name was Tapana Miśra. And this brāhmaṇa Tapana Miśra pleaded to him with tears in his eyes. He says, Prabhu, I see you're so beautiful, I see you're so effulgent. I see you're so powerful.

38:04Can you please tell me what is best for me? Because I read all the shastras and as a result of this I am totally bewildered.

38:32I know all the Vedas, I know all the mantras, I know everything, I don't know one thing, what am I supposed to do? And Lord Caitanya looked at him, he smiled and he said, you do just one thing.

38:56You go to chanting and you chant, that's it. So ultimately we have to understand that you know all the other instructions in the shastras is only to create faith in the shastra.

39:20But when the faith is created, when we believe in shastra, uh basically it means that we believe in the words of Krishna. We have to believe in his instructions.

The final instruction of Bhagavad Gita

39:30Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. And this is the final instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. Krishna says, I told you so much. I told you this and that, how to do yoga, how to do pranayam,

40:02how to do samadhi meditation, how to do things. And then he said just forget about everything. Just sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. Ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ.

40:17This is his final words toward all of us. Don't worry about anything else, just give up everything and surrender unto the chanting process. So if we want to be bewildered, we can follow so many other things.

41:09If we want to be happy, this is the ultimate instruction which is there. And Prabhupada came and he gave the same instruction to us as Krishna, but he put it in a very sweet way.

41:22Kṛṣṇa says sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. And it's kind of little fearful. Kṛṣṇa says, just give up everything, surrender unto me. Prabhupada gave the same instruction but in a very sweet way.

41:36He said, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be happy. But the meaning is the same. Then I'll be happy. Hare Kṛṣṇa, ki jaya! Thank you very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda!