Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.9. Krishna-Balaram Mandir
Бхакти Вигьяна Госвами · Вриндаван · 2015
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Invocational mantras and verse recitation
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya, naraṁ caiva narottamam, devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ, tato jayam udīrayet.
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadrēṣu nityaṁ bhāgavat-sevayā, bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī. yāṁ pravrajantam anupetam apeta-kṛtyaṁ dvaipāyanōraha-kātara-juhāva putrēti tan-mayatayā taravō 'bhinedus sarvaṁ tad brahma-vapuraṁ hṛdayam kavīnām.
So we're reading today Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto 5, Chapter 18, The Residents of Jambūdvīpa Offer Prayers, text number nine:
svastir viśvasya khalaḥ prasīdatāṁ dhyāyantu bhūtāni śivaṁ mitō 'dhah, manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje āveśyatāṁ nō matir ahetukī. Svasti: Auspiciousness. Astū: Let there be. Viśvasya: Of the entire universe.
Khalaḥ: The envious. Praprasīdatām: Let them be pacified. Dhyāyantu: Let them consider. Bhūtāni: All the living entities. Śivam: Auspiciousness. Mithaḥ: Amongst themselves. Manasā: By their intelligence. Manaḥ: The mind. Ca: And.
Bhadram: Calmness. Bhajatāt: Experience. Adhokṣaje: And the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond the perception of mind, intelligence and senses. Āveśyatām: Let it be absorbed. Naḥ: Our. Matiḥ: Intelligence.
Api: Indeed. Ahetukī: Without any motive. Translation and purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.
Purport on Prahlada's selfless desire
May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing Bhakti Yoga.
For by accepting devotional service they will think of each other's welfare. Therefore, let us all engage in the service of the Supreme Transcendence, Lord Shri Krishna, and always remain absorbed
in thought of him purport the following verse describes a Vaishnava van Chakalpatarubyascha Kripasindubya Evacha Patitanam Pavanebyo Vaishn Just like a desired tree, a Vaishnava can fulfill all the desires of anyone who takes shelter of his lotus feet.
Prahlada Maharaj is a typical Vaishnava. He prays not for himself, but for all living entities. The gentle, the envious, and the mischievous.
He always thought of the welfare of mischievous people like his father, Hiranya Kashipu. Prahlada Maharaja didn't ask for anything for himself. Rather he prayed for the Lord to excuse his demonic father.
This is the attitude of a Vaishnava who always thinks of the welfare of the entire universe. Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavat Dharma meant for persons who are completely free from envy. Parama Nir Matsaranam.
Therefore, Prahlada Maharaja prays in this verse, Kalah, Prasida Tam, may all the envious persons be pacified.
The material world is full of envious persons, but if one frees himself of envy, he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others' welfare.
Anyone who takes up Krishna consciousness and engages himself completely in the service of the Lord, cleanses his mind of all envy. Manascha Bhadram Bhajatata De Oksha J.
Therefore we should pray to Lord Nrisimhadev to sit in our hearts. We should pray Bahir N Risimha Oridayan Risimha let Lord Dresimhadev sit in the core of my heart healing all my bad propensities.
Let my mind become clean so that I can peacefully worship the Lord and bring peace to the entire world. Sila Vishwanachikravati Thakur has given a very fine purpose in this regard.
Whenever one offers a prayer to the personality of Godhead, one always requests some benediction from Him.
Even pure Nishkama devotees pray for some benediction as instructed by Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his Srikshashtaka.
Ainandata Nuja King Karam Patitamam Vishame Bavam Buddho Kripayatavapada Pankajastitidu Please pick me up from the ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at your lotus feet.
In another prayer, Lord Chaitanya says, Mama Janmani Janmani Shwari Bhavatat Bhaktira Hay to Kitwai. Life after life, kindly let me have an unalloyed love and devotion to your lordship's lotus feet.
When Prahlāda Mahārāja chants, Oṁ namo bhagavate nṛsiṁhāya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord. But because he is also an exalted Vaishnava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification.
The first desire expressed in this prayer is Svasyastu Vishvasya, let there be good fortune throughout the entire universe.
Prahlāda Mahārāja thus requested the Lord to be merciful to everyone, including his father, a most envious person.
According to Chanakya Pandita, there are two kinds of envious living entities: one is the snake, and the other one is a man like Hiraṇyākṣipu, who is by nature envious to everyone, even of his own father or son.
Hiraṇyākṣipu was envious to his little son, but Prahlāda Mahārāja asked the benediction for the benefit of his father.
Hiraṇyākṣipu was very envious of devotees, but Prahlāda wished that his father and other demons like him would give up their envious nature by the grace of the Lord and stop harassing the devotees Kālaḥ prasīdatām.
The difficulty is that the mind of this living entity is rarely pacified. One kind of kāla, the snake, can be pacified simply by mantras or by the action of a particular herb.
Mantroṣadhi-vaśyaḥ, sarpah kālena nivāryate. te. An envious person, however, cannot be pacified
by any means; therefore, Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.
If the Krishna consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Krishna everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others.
Therefore, Prahlāda Mahārāja prays śivam diśatāt. In material activities, everyone is envious of others, but in Krishna consciousness no one is envious of anyone else. Therefore, everyone thinks of the welfare of others.
Therefore, Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that everyone's mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Krishna. Bhajatād adhokṣajaḥ. As indicated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ.
And as advised by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-gītā, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto. One should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. Then one's mind will certainly be cleansed, chetadharpana marjanam.
Materialist may think of sense gratification, but praladmaraj prays that the Lord's mercy will change their minds and they will stop thinking of sense gratification.
If they think of Krishna always, everything will be alright. Some people argue that if everyone thought of Krishna in that way, the whole universe would be vacated because everyone would go back home, back to Godhead.
However, Srila Viswanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that this is impossible because the living entities are innumerable and if one set if and if one set of living entities is actually delivered by Krishna consciousness movement. Another set will fill the entire universe.
Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya! Swas to visja kalak prasida tam Naamam Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya! Namaste Saraswati Devi Gurawani Pracharini, Nervishay Sha Sunnava de Paschatya De Sha Tali.
Vanchakalpataru Bescha Kripa Sindube Vacha, Pachitanam Pavane Bio Vaishnava Bio Namonam.
Dja sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhunita Nanda Sjadvaita Gdata Rashiva Sidhi Gaura Bhakta Vrinda Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Ram, Hare Ram Ram Ramare Hare.
Universal approach of Srimad-Bhagavatam
Yantah pravi mammavachamamam pras So In this section of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we are reading about different prayers which inhabitants of different Varsha offer to the Lord according to the level of their consciousness.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a universal book. The very design of this book is such that everyone can find its place in the book. Devotion of the Lord or to the Lord is universal.
And it basically means that everyone can engage, can be engaged in devotional service of the Lord, but according to our adikhar, according to our capacity, according to our level of advancement, spiritual advancement, we should start somewhere.
And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam takes care of all different varieties of the levels of consciousness, trying to elevate everyone, no matter which level you are in. Devotional service is universal, it's for everyone.
But sometimes it's very difficult for us to relate to the concept of pure devotional service. It's a nice idea. Anyabilasati Sunyam. Very nice idea. But what do I do with the desires in my heart?
It's a good ideal, it's a fine ideal, but uh I cannot really start with this ideal. I have to start somewhere to reach this ideal. I shouldn't try to drag down the ideal. Ideal is ideal. It's the best.
We have to understand very clearly that there is nothing better than the pure devotional service, which the only thing which can bring the complete happiness to me.
This is the beginning, the starting point of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam starts with this declaration that uh apratihata bhakti. This is the only means for the soul to become satisfied.
And this we have to understand very clearly that everything else is nothing but suffering. And we can perpetuate suffering if we like, that's fine, it's up to us.
But ultimately, if we have some intelligence, we have to understand that only by reaching this ideal of pure devotional service we become happy. ātmā suprasīdati.
Only by reaching this stage we will not have to you know do this kind of useless uh thing which we're doing in this material world. So the goal is very clear. The goal should be very clear.
We shouldn't try to uh change the goal. The goal is clear.
Understanding personal levels of consciousness
But at the same time, we may be on a different level of advancement. And to reach the goal, we have to understand very clearly where I am now.
And by understanding this clearly where I am now, we can ultimately reach the goal because sometimes especially neophyte devotees, they imagine that I'm already there, yeah. Phew, yeah, I'm a pure devotee.
And it so happened I am the only one. You know, I look around and nobody as pure as I am. And it's it's it's actually very very easy to become a pure devotee. You just imagine yourself to be a pure devotee. That's it.
You know, I I'm there and it feels good but but it's not the reality. Reality is something else and uh for this, Srimad Bhagavatam describes different levels.
You know, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the Third Canto describes the story of Kardama Muni. Kardama Muni he prays to the Lord and performs austerities for thousands and thousands of years.
And ultimately, the Lord Himself comes to him, and what does he ask for him? He says, Give me a wife, who is like a Kamadenu, who will fulfill all my desires.
You know, one may think, you know, some Neophyte Bhaktis may think, you know, is it really worth asking for a wife? Yeah. For somebody, yes. If you are on this level.
But anyway, let's come to this particular verse which is very important for us
as followers of Śrīla Prabhupāda because he was very fond of this mood of Prahlāda Mahārāja. And this particular prayer, which is the first of the series of prayers of Prahlāda Mahārāja, he describes the mentality of a pure devotee.
In Brihat Bhagavatamritam, it very clearly says that the pure devotional service, the level of consciousness
which exemplifies pure devotion, starts with Prahlāda Mahārāja. Indra, and even Brahmā and even Śiva, Even though we uh habitually say uh Vaishnavanam Yathasambhu that Lord Shiva is the best of the devotees.
According to the design of Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, according to Sanātana Gosvāmī, the level of pure devotional service is somewhat higher. He describes the meetings or he describes the various mixture, mixed
devotional service, starting with the brāhmaṇa in Prayāga. And ultimately he reaches the level of Prahlāda. And the chapter which describes meeting of Nārada Muni with Prahlāda is called pure devotee.
So pure devotional service, the starting point of pure devotion is the consciousness of Prahlāda Mahārāja. Of course pure devotional service is not is not a unified level. It has a gradations.
It has different stages within the pure devotional service. But before the level of consciousness which is exemplified by Prahlad Maharaj, we are dealing with mixed devotional service.
If there are some different motivations in us, then we are dealing with consciousness which appreciates devotional service, the concept of devotion, the understanding that we have to serve God, but still is somewhat lower.
So it's very important for us to understand what is the realistic goal for us. Sometimes we may say, you know, yeah, gopīs of Vṛndāvana is the real goal. That is true.
The real devotional service is the devotional service of the cowherd girls here in Vṛndāvana. But as I said, devotional service is a gradual process.
And we really have to consider this very carefully that this is a gradual process and we have to you know go through this gradual process ultimately without changing the ideal, reach this ideal, and this is the ideal, this is ultimately ideal of purest devotional service.
But the point of Prahlad Maharaja and devotion of Prahlad Maharaja and the consciousness of Prahlad Maharaj is very important for us because this is the borderline.
This is something, the milestone which distinguishes the pure devotional service from mixed devotional service. And therefore, these prayers of Prahlad Maharaj are also very important for us.
This is something which we uh should try to reach as soon as possible. And in fact, uh this is the level which which uh we should be able to reach rather soon.
When we will come to the level of you know gopis of Vṛndāvana remains to be seen. That's a very elevated stage. We shouldn't postpone it for too long. But we shouldn't imagine ourselves to be on this level as well.
But this is a realistic level of consciousness which should be the starting point of any follower of Krishna consciousness movement.
By intellectually understanding that the pure devotional service is the only thing which we should aspire for.
This is the level which can be reached m pretty uh quickly because if we understand the futility of material desires, if we understand that anything else will not make us happy,
then what is the use of trying to use the devotional service uh for achieving something else? What is the point of trying to use the devotional service for achieving some petty material desires. It's useless.
It's completely foolish. It's just it's just so utterly you know you know, it's c it's stupid. There's no other it it it's insane. You know try to imagine that you can be happy anywhere else uh but in devotional service.
Uh you can very easily imagine that yeah okay you become Indra, so what? Very nice you know I'm Indra. So what? What is so special about it?
You know, the y you will not get satisfaction. You will you will still have the the same empty heart which will always desire something else and something else and something else.
Which we will see in the examples of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and also Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī in Bṛhad-bhāgāmṛta very ironically depicts the situation of Indra, you know. He's always afraid.
We think that in the heavenly planets everything is nice. No, it's not nice. It's not nice. You know one is always fearful and this and that and what not. So don't go for it.
So therefore, this example of Prahlāda is very important.
Breakdown of Prahlada's universal prayer
This example of Prahlāda here, Prahlāda says, what should be the program for our devotional service? What should be the starting point of our devotional service?
Prahlāda Mahārāja says svasty astu viśvasya khalaḥ prasīdatāṁ dhyāyantu bhūtāni śivaṁ mithodyā. He actually gives uh Śrīla Prabhupāda starts his explanation of this verse from saying that pure devotee he doesn't think of himself.
Let's examine this a little bit more uh why it is so.
You know, pure devotee as Prahlāda Mahārāja. By getting this concept of devotional service that there is God, God is there, and we all connected with God in a very natural way.
One gets this mood that let everyone be happy. It's very interesting. And here is the program for the complete universal happiness. And it's a very interesting idea or the picture which is described in this verse.
Uh, svasty astu viśvasya khalaḥ prasīdatāṁ dhyāyantu bhūtāni śivaṁ mithodyā. First, the first idea, let everyone be happy. One may say it's a sentimental idea.
Let everyone will prosper, you know, svasti means svasti. Swasti, let everything be auspicious. Let everything be nice.
You know, sometimes people they have this you know some people who are in the mode of goodness they also have this idea let everything be nice and they have different programs how to bring auspiciousness in this world.
You know, there are so many reformants, social reformers, and they all say
they all can subscribe to Prahlāda Mahārāja's first beginning statement in this prayer svasty astu viśvasya khalaḥ prasīdatām. Oh, sorry, not Kalah Prasida. That far they don't go.
Svastyasti Vishvasy. Let the whole universe be nice and peaceful and everything, you know. Whoever you take, it can be Karl Marx. Karl Marx, what did he want? Swasyastivish. Let everyone be happy.
But it's a foolish idea because if you are a devotee you immediately understand wait a second I may pray to the Lord, let everything be nice and everything, but what to do with the bad people who are the majority of people in this world.
You know, for them to be nice is to create some mischief to other living entities.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, in a very funny way, he translates this colour. He says uh envious person and then in parentheses he adds almost everyone
So Prahlāda Mahārāja, he's trying to see in one sense it's a program for the uh improvement of the and Prahlāda Mahārāja gives a very beautiful picture how the whole world can be improved.
And a little later I will try to explain why it is so important for us why it is uh something where we should start our devotional service. But let's first uh see this program which he depicts in this verse.
He says, let the whole universe be nice. How it can be nice?
Addressing envy in human society
Kālaḥ prasīda. First point which he makes, let the envious person be little pacified in the heart. Because unless the envious people are pacified in the heart, they cannot be auspiciousness in this world.
You know, the inauspiciousness in this world is coming from the polluted hearts of living entities.
And because the hearts are polluted, because the envy is there, because the uh you know bad uh desires are there, uh therefore uh it's just impossible to change this world.
People are trying to change this world by the means of some social reform. But it's totally, completely waste of time. You know, there was this I'm coming from Russia and I know how how ridiculous this idea is.
They were trying to make everyone happy. How to make everyone happy?
Let's kill half of the population, that the other half will be happy. And they did it very successfully. They killed a lot of people because, you know, the problem is in them, but the problem is not in them.
The rest of the people became bad or remained bad and nobody became happy. The greed is there. The lust is there. The anger is there.
Here basically when Viṣṇu cakravartī Ṭhākura, while explaining this verse, he says, kālaḥ. Kālaḥ means, uh, this quality in our heart which appears, uh, when our, uh, karma is not satisfied. And because our karma is never satisfied, then the anger is always there.
And because the anger is always there, we always want to inflict some harm to other living entities.
And how can there be auspiciousness in this world? How can we improve this world if the envy is there, if the anger is there, if the desire to inflict harm to other living entities is there? It's not possible.
So therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja says, Okay, let all this kālaḥ, let all these envious people become a little pacified. You know, sometimes after good food, you know, he becomes a little pacified, and then this time you can approach him without being too much fearful. You know, they have small little moments of some sort of satisfaction.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja says, Oh, my dear Lord, please make the heart uh, little, uh, little full for some time. You know, when the stomach is full, the heart is also somewhat full. And therefore, there is no envy in the heart.
So, but then he's, but then, uh, he realizes that this is not enough. Let's imagine this picture of the world: all the envious people are somewhat satisfied. So what? Still, the subtle jealousy will be there.
Because even if I am satisfied, even if I am somewhat satisfied on the material level, still, I see how others are satisfied, and I feel, you know, no, no, something is wrong, you know, I, I can be satisfied, not my way.
I, I want to be satisfied their way. I want to be happy as they are happy.
Because still this material happiness or material satisfaction is not something which can be, uh, can make you completely happy. Therefore, in this material world, the envy is a very all-pervading factor.
It's an all-pervading factor. Somebody may be quite happy. It's not enough to be happy. Because uh you know uh uh y you can only be happy if you are uh the only one who is happy and everyone is suffering.
Believe it or not but this is the uh mentality of uh people in this world they think that your happiness will become completely totally uh ideal and perfect if everyone is suffering and you are the only one who is happy.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja says, no, that's not enough if the envious people become satisfied. Let the envious people also become engaged in the welfare of others.
Let this idea of doing welfare of others let them become not only non-envious, let them become friendly. Let them achieve some sort of satisfaction by doing some good to others.
Because when you do something good to others, you also feel good. You feel, you know, I'm so great, I'm such a benevolent person, I'm a benefactor of everyone else. I'm doing all these welfare activities. It feels good.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja says, let everyone do some welfare activities for everyone else. Is it enough?
Then the world will become very happy and everyone will be doing and everyone will be so, you know, yeah, Prabhu, what can I do for you? Is it enough? No, it's not enough because it will be destroyed.
This situation is again a useless dream as any other dream.
Even if we try to and sometimes we have this also this idea let's create our society and in this society everyone will be nice to everyone else, everyone will serve to everyone else, and this will be the ideal. This is not ideal.
Because what will happen? Still, the subtle desires are there in the heart.
And because the subtle desires are there in the heart, uh, you know, you may be doing something good to others, uh, but uh you know if the subtle desires are there in the heart, then sooner or later.
Your determination to do good to others will be stopped because ultimately you want to fulfill your own desires.
Limitations of secular world peace efforts
The problem will still be there. Like I listened lecture by Ravindra Svarūpa Prabhu and he said that in the hippie days when the Krishna consciousness movement started. The hippies were very much against the war.
They were people who were trying to bring auspiciousness to the whole universe.
And they were, you know, doing some demonstrations against Vietnam war in America and the slogan there for this demonstration was Make Love Not war. They were trying to realize this ideal by engaging in illicit sex relationships.
If you know their idea was, you know, why war is there? Because all these army generals don't have enough sex. If they would have enough sex uh then there wouldn't be war. You know, very nice idea, isn't it?
Everyone is just engaged in sex and you know, no war. Make love, no war. So uh this is how some sometimes people think and th this is you know what hippie movement is all about.
Let's do this, you know, let's be nice and let's do something and uh you know but it's it's a useless idea why because uh Krishna very clearly says if you have desire uh the desire will bring to your heart what? Hate.
If you have desire, then the hate will be there even if you don't want hate. People, they think that desire is good and hate is bad. They say basically that was there in their very nice placards.
Karma is good, uh, desire is good, hate is bad. But if you have desire, the hate will be there. Even if you don't want.
By having desire, by agreeing, that desires are good, you're basically inviting hate within your heart. So this idea will be frustrated sooner or later.
And you know, all these hippies, nice love-making hippies, will start fighting with each other for the girlfriends. Or for something else, you know, they will start competing with each other.
Therefore, this will not work again. And therefore, the next point, uh Prahlāda Mahārāja says, Manascha Bhadram Bhajatata Doksha J, let my Let my mind be engaged in the service of the Lord.
Because if my mind is not satisfied by the service of the Lord, if my mind, even if I do some welfare activities for others, uh it will not last long.
I may do, I may try to do some welfare activities for somebody, but it will not uh solve all the problems which I want to solve because the desires are still there. And desires are pushing me.
Śrīla Prabhupāda says Hiranya Kashipu like material desir You know, sometimes we think Hiranya Kashipu is some great demon somewhere, you know. Hiranya Kashipu it's me. Because hiranya means gold. Does anyone not like gold?
Just be honest. And Kashipu, Kashipu means uh nice bed. Does anyone not like nice bed? You know, well like we are so we're little Hiranya Kashipoos.
And And uh sometimes we say you know we kind of justify ourselves because we are little Hiranyika Shippus. But Hiranyika Shippu is Hiranyika Shippu, you know, if and if you let it grow, it will grow big.
If the desires are there within the heart, if if you have the material desires within the heart, you will become full grown up Hiranya Kashipu.
If you don't understand that the material desires will bring inauspiciousness. Abadram. Therefore uh here the word Bhadram is used.
It's actually very interesting because all the words which are there in Sanskrit language or m probably not all but almost all all of them, many of them, for auspiciousness is used in this verse.
Swasti means auspiciousness. Prasidatta means auspiciousness or satisfaction. Shivam means auspiciousness.
Mind absorption in devotional service
Bhadram means auspiciousness. So he says, let the bhadra auspiciousness come in my mind, and we have to understand what is the auspiciousness within the mind?
Auspiciousness within the mind means desirelessness. I don't have desires. And you the only way you can uh reach this point of desirelessness when you don't have desires is when you fulfill the desires of Krishna.
If you have this plan or this program, I will fulfill my own desires, then the hate will come within your heart. And you cannot be completely empty-minded without any desires.
Prabhupada very clearly says that you cannot be without any desires. Even if you are a kama, a kama means you still have desires, but your desires are different.
So he says, what should be my desire in the initial stage of devotional service or even in the highest stage of devotional service, my desire, my program should be let me fulfill the desires of Krishna. Let me fulfill the desires of my spiritual master. Let me fulfill the desires of Srila Prabhupada. In this way I will be engaged in devotional service somehow or other and my mind will be somewhat pacified.
Because if the mind is idle, the desires will pop up from nowhere. Srila Prabhupada used to repeat this very nice saying that the idle mind is devil's workshop.
So we have to engage somehow or other the mind and Prahlad Maharaj says, okay, let the mind be engaged in devotional service of Adhokṣaja. So it's not enough of doing some welfare activities by our body to others.
Because if the mind is not engaged in the service of the Lord, uh, if we do these welfare activities to others as the service to the Lord, then it's okay. Then it's still okay. But he says even this is not enough.
If we want to completely improve the world, uh, if we stop at this point, uh, this will not [be] enough. The whole thing will collapse.
Unless the intelligence very clearly sees that the goal of all my endeavors is the absorption in Lord Krishna without any ulterior motive. Apratihatāḥ.
He says if we want to achieve the auspiciousness, the auspiciousness can come in this world only if on all three levels, on the level of my in this good activities for others, on the level of a mind when I am engaged in in the service of the Lord, and on the level of intelligence where my goal is very clearly set and I don't want anything else.
I only want to achieve uh the satisfaction of the Lord. And uh no other desires are there, then only the auspiciousness can come.
So basically, uh the program uh for auspiciousness to bring auspiciousness in this world is very clear in order to bring auspiciousness to this world, as Śrīla Prabhupāda says, that everyone has to become devotees of the Lord, and there is no other way.
If you want to create the auspiciousness in this world, if you want to create nice situation in this world, uh there is only one way uh to uh create it uh and that is uh let everyone become the pure devotee of the Lord, then the auspiciousness can be created.
Otherwise, it's just a futile dream.
Preaching as universal purification
It's just useless dream. So and Prabhupada was very clear about this. He knew. Everyone is speaking about this. He says United Nations. You know, oy, such a nice project, United Nations.
Śrīla Prabhupāda was laughing, you know, this United Nations, all the nations came together, you know, what? To quarrel in the United Nations organization.
You know, now Russia is attacking Ukraine and you know the hate is there. It's so it's so painful actually for any sane person so painful to see what's going on in the world. So much pain is there.
So any sane person can relate to this idea because that let this world become better. But there is only one way to make this world better. Let everyone become devotee of the Lord.
And how you can uh let how can everyone become the devotee of the Lord. Let's spread this Krishna consciousness movement and not be satisfied until uh everyone uh is the pure devotee of the Lord.
And if you are afraid, as Prabhupāda says at the end of the purpurt, if you are afraid that if everyone, what will happen with the world, if everyone will become the pure devotee of the Lord, Śrīla Prabhupāda says, don't worry about this you know even if everyone will become a pure devotee of the Lord and this whole world will become vacant now there will be some other people who will fill up this world don't worry about this.
Let's try to do something. And as I said, it's a very nice program for us because this is something, first of all, this is the prayer. First of all, we can relate with. Because we can relate with this idea.
Let's do something for this world. We may not see Krishna face to face. But uh we may not feel his satisfaction this or that.
But at least we can do something because there are so many people who are trying to do something for this world. This is the program to do something for this world. How to improve it?
Uh uh to bring Krishna consciousness to everyone and not be happy until everyone is a pure devotee of the Lord. Until that point we have something to do.
So in this way uh why did I say that this is a very important idea for the beginning for the beginner devotees? Because uh this is the mission which can completely totally engaged our mind.
And our mind will be engaged in the service of the Lord. And if we do some preaching activities, we know that this brings the satisfaction within the heart, uh stronger satisfaction than anything else.
If you preach, uh preaching brings the satisfaction. And if you don't preach and you try to do bhajan. Because you are a pure devotee and because you are on
this level where you know the all this preaching is for neophytes. You know all the neophytes there yeah because they're and I'm I'm not a neophyte. Okay good luck try to do it but
But as we know, Haridas Thakur, who was not a neophyte, he was preaching. Prabhupāda was very emphatic about this. He was chanting, yes, but he was preaching as well.
That this verse is the program for Krishna consciousness movement or for every member of Krishna consciousness movement.
And this is our means to become a pure devotee of the Lord and to achieve the highest levels of consciousness. Because there is the only way to become a pure devotee of the Lord in this Kali Yuga, if we preach the glory of the holy name to others.
This is very clearly stated in Bhakti-sandarbha by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, where he says that in Kali-yuga, the only way to become a great devotee.
If you want to become a great devotee, if you want to become the best of the devotee, in Kali-yuga there is only one way to do it, is to preach the glory of the holy name. He very clearly says nāma-pracāra prabhāvena.
Through the pracāra of the holy name, by the force of the pracāra of the holy name you can become a pure devotee of the Lord. In this way, uh both uh purposes are achieved and accomplished.
The world will become a better place to live, and our heart will be purified in the course of these activities. And the mālā of pure devotional service will appear within our heart.
So therefore, this, as I said in the beginning, this level of consciousness
which is exemplified in in uh in uh uh Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Prahlāda Mahārāja is very important and therefore this prayers of Prahlāda Mahārāja are very important for us.
And he basically explains uh what should be our goal. We should not try to uh selfishly or egocentrically think about our own enjoyment under pretext of doing bhajan.
Because oftentimes our so-called bhajan is just a selfish desire to be satisfied ourselves. Instead, we should try to follow the footsteps of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Prabhupada on preaching over seclusion
And I will tell a little story and then my class at this point. It's a very nice story. One devotee tells that he came to Śrīla Prabhupāda and he felt troubled by lust.
He was a Brahmachari and he felt very strong desire within his heart and he thought that maybe because he's you know in this temple and it was in India because he is here in this temple and there are so many matajis I hear and they just you know everywhere and therefore my lust is agitated and my heart is so agitated.
So he developed a very nice idea. He thought, let me go to Himalayas and practice Krishna consciousness somewhere in Himalayas in the cave because there is no mātājīs in Himalayas.
There' onlys snakes in Himalayas, but I can somehow rather the snakes I can deal with with matches it's too much Anyway he had some strange ideas. He thought he already made his plan. He thought, I'll go there.
But then at the very end, he thought, let me ask Śrīla Prabhupāda what he thinks about this plan. And he came to him and he said, Śrīla Prabhupāda, I'm so troubled by this lust.
Let me perform austerity and purify my heart and you know be there alone in the Himalayas. And Prabhupāda looked at him and he says he looked at him with such a compassion within his eyes.
And he, you know, the tears started gliding his cheeks and he said, please don't do this.
And then Prabhupāda said a phrase which I am really afraid to repeat, but that's because it's Prabhupāda's phrase I repeat it. He said, I wasted so much of my time in Vrindavan. The meaning here is that go and preach.
Go and do something. Go and try to preach the holy name and not try to just change the holy name somewhere in seclusion.
Just do something which you think is a bajan, but ultimately will appear as another trick of the mind. Yes, it's very difficult to preach in Kali Yuga, but the more difficult it is, the better it is for us.
Let all these difficulties will come to our way. Let it be our prayer. Let all these difficulties will come to our way.
Because in the course of trying to overcome these difficulties, we will genuinely purify our heart and when our heart will become pure, the Holy Name will bring us everything which we desire.
Everything is there in the Holy Name. Nothing else we can desire. Everything is there in the holy name. But uh let's be somehow rather engaged in the preaching, even if we are in Vrindavan.
Let's try to do something to preach this Krishna consciousness movement and that's the only way to purify our heart. Thank you very much.
Balancing sadhana and preaching practice
Uh do I have time or it's too late? What is the balance between sadhana and prachar? Well, I heard a very nice formula from Bhaktividya Purnamaraj.
She said that in Vedic culture people they would travel eight months a year and for four months they would sit and do some shāstra-sevā and be in a very elevated uh association. That was the program for sādhus.
Eight months traveling, four months uh shāstra-sevā.
So So I think this is ratio is uh is good uh two third of the time engaged in uh in sādhana uh uh in deep sadhana and uh sorry two-third of the time engaged in some pracāra and uh one-third of the time engaged in sādhana.
It is difficult for us to realize on which stage from śraddhā to premā we are situated. How to do it? Is it only possible with the help of a guru? No, it's uh no. First of all, it's not so difficult.
You know, don't think you are on the stage of ruci or āsakti or bhāva or premā. And most probably you're not on the niṣṭhā stage. And quite possible that not yet on an anartha-nivṛtti.
My uneducated guess is that you are on bhajana-kriyā and you know even if you are it's better to be safe than sorry so it's better to underestimate your spiritual progress than overestimate it because you may have unrealistic estim uh unrealistic expectations of yourself and be frustrated because of this.
So let's assume you are on bhajana-kriyā stage. But even if you are on bhajana-kriyā stage, what is very important is to understand whether you have śraddhā or not.
So let's start from this, because śraddhā is not a very simple stage.
Śraddhā means that you're completely convinced that you don't have to be engaged in anything else just by engaging in bhakti you achieve all your purposes.
So let's work on your śraddhā stage by doing your bhajana-kriyā and that's a safe program for your spiritual advancement.
You know, śraddhā means you have to really establish firmly that the only thing which you need is bhakti. You don't need to be engaged in anything else.
And do your bhajana-kriyā and then anyway anyway let's let's view this uh I guess that's that's already I'm already over time. Thank you very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya!