The Ultimate Truth Beyond Material Engagement

Spreading spiritual knowledge through media

0:01: Nitāi: "Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of the Ultimate Truth, have many things as subject matter for hearing in the human society, O Emperor."

0:16SB 2.1.2श्रोतव्यादीनि राजेन्द्र नृणां सन्ति सहस्रशः ।अपश्यतामात्मतत्त्वं गृहेषु गृहमेधिनाम् ॥२॥śrotavyādīni rājendranṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥapaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁgṛheṣu gṛha-medhināmThose persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing in human society, O Emperor.

0:30Prabhupāda: Now, subject matter of hearing long, long, very... Not long, long; say about sixty, seventy years ago, one big politician of India, Madanmohan Marabhya, he came to see my Guru Mahārāja.

0:58So he was inquiring about our activities.

1:06So he was informed, amongst other activities, my Guru Mahārāja was publishing papers monthly in English, in Bengali, in Hindi, in Oriya, in Assamese, and one Bengali daily, Nadiya Prakash. So this politician was surprised, that "Oh, you are publishing daily a Bengali paper?" "Yes.

1:48Why you are surprised?" He was surprised. He was politician. He was thinking that "What one may speak of God, or Kṛṣṇa, daily in a paper?" He was surprised.

2:07Because they think that "Sometimes we go to the temple, 'O God, give us our daily bread,' " finished God's business. And my Guru Mahārāja replied that "Why you are surprised?

Cosmic creation and universal energy

2:26This Calcutta city is most insignificant part of this universe."

2:36Now, Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that "The whole material world is situated in one part of My energy." Ekāṁśena sthito jagat. When Arjuna asked about the opulence of Kṛṣṇa, He was describing. And He summarized,

3:05BG 10.42अथवा बहुनैतेन किं ज्ञातेन तवार्जुन ।विष्टभ्याहमिदं कृत्स्नमेकांशेन स्थितो जगत् ॥ ४२॥atha vā bahunaitenakiṁ jñātena tavārjunaviṣṭabhyāham idaṁ kṛtsnamekāmśena sthito jagatBut what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe.

3:12"How much I shall go on speaking to you? Just try to understand about My potency, that this whole material world is sustained in one part of My energy." The spiritual world is the three-fourth part.

3:36Suppose Kṛṣṇa's energy is acting, one unit. So out of that, one-fourth unit is exhibited this material world. And the material world is... What is that material world? Now,

3:53BS 5.40यस्य प्रभा प्रभवतो जगदण्ड् कोटिकोटिषु अशेष वसुधा आदि विभूति भिन्नम् |तत् ब्रह्म निष्कलम् अनन्तम् अशेष भूतंगोविन्दम् आदि पुरुषं तमहं भजामि ॥ ४०॥yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnamtad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtaṁgovindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmiI worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose effulgence is the source of the nondifferentiated Brahman mentioned in the Upaniṣads, being differentiated from the infinity of glories of the mundane universe appears as the indivisible, infinite, limitless, truth.

4:18The..., the Brahman effulgence being spread, in some corner of this Brahman effulgence there is mahat-tattva, material energy. And that material energy means... That is described in another place:

4:38BS 5.48यस्य एक निश्वशित् कालम् अथ अवलम्ब्यजीवन्ति लोम बिलजा जगन्दण्ड् नाथाः |विष्णुः महान् स इह यस्य कला विशेषोगोविन्दम् आदि पुरुषं तमहं भजामि ॥ ४८ ॥yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambyajīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥviṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣogovindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmiBrahmā and other lords of the mundane worlds, appearing from the pores of hair of Mahā-Viṣṇu, remain alive as long as the duration of one exhalation of the latter [Mahā-Viṣṇu]. I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whose subjective personality Mahā-Viṣṇu is the portion of portion.

4:40The material world means innumerable universes are coming out through the breathing of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Innumerable universes. We cannot account for one universe in which we are. There are innumerable planets.

5:07Everyone has experience in stars and planets. This is one universe. And such universes are coming out, millions, through the breathing period of Mahā-Viṣṇu. When He exhales, they come out. When He inhales, they go within.

5:25That is the creation and not creation. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā... [Bs. 5.48] So the purpose was that this material world is only a manifestation, exhibition, of one-fourth energy of Kṛṣṇa.

5:51And within this material world, there are so many universes. And each and every universe, there are so many planets. So this is one of the planets, in which we are living.

6:05And in this planet, there are so many cities—Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Delhi, Paris, London, and so many, hundreds and thousands. And each and every city, there are newspapers.

6:23And each newspaper is publishing three, four editions daily. So this is the most insignificant planet, still, there are so many news to hear. Therefore it is said here, śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ SB 2.1.2

6:46= "Millions and millions subject matter for hearing." This is a fact. Every paper is publishing three, four editions daily, especially in the Western countries.

7:01So if they have got so much news in the material world in this insignificant planet, just imagine how much news are there in the three-fourth manifestation of His energy.

Material blindness and the spirit soul

7:19So my Guru Mahārāja said that "You are surprised, Mr. Marabhya, that we are publishing a paper daily. So we can publish every minute a paper.

7:34Unfortunately, there is no customer." They have customer for news in this newspaper, but our news, we have to canvass, "Will you kindly take this? Will you kindly take this?" They are not interested.

7:55They're interested in this material news—radio, paper, magazine, edition after edition. Therefore it is said... This is the meaning of śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ SB 2.1.2

8:13So they have no time to read a little news we are giving about God in the Back to Godhead. They have no... Why? Now, apaśyatām ātma-tattvam SB 2.1.2

8:32They do not know what is ātmā, what is the active principle of all these activities. They do not know. The superficially... Bahir-art... Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ durāśayā ye. Durāśayā... What is that?

9:02Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ SB 7.5.31Durāśayā, they have got so many news to hear with a hope—means useless hope—that they will be able to exist here and be happy.

9:32Just like your arch, this Napoleon arch. Napoleon was conquering all over Europe, and he thought that he would be able to enjoy this. But where is Napoleon? The arch is there, that's all. This is the position.

9:58But he worked so hard. Not only he; everyone is working. The arch will remain, because a stone, but he's finished. He's finished. This is called apaśyatām ātma-tattvam SB 2.1.2

10:16Because these people, they do not know what is really reality. Real reality. They are simply after so-called reality. It is very important point. Try to understand.

10:36Ātma-tattvam, one who does not know what is ātmā, what is soul, the nature of soul... Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa first of all begins the constitution of the ātmā, or spirit soul. He begins.

11:04When He began to teach Arjuna Bhagavad-gītā, the A-B-C-D lesson was to make him convinced about the soul within the body. That is called ātma-tattvam. And nobody knows.

11:20Therefore, bahir-artha-māninaḥ: they are accepting this external feature. Just like we have got external feature. We can understand very easily that this body, this body is external feature. Real "I" am within.

11:40As soon as I go away from this body, this external feature, as good as the garbage in the street. That they do not understand.

Bondage of material attachment and transmigration

11:52They are busy piling garbage = "Bring more garbage, more garbage." And this is the working capacity. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. They think, "This garbage will save me." Very important question. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam SB 2.1.2

12:14The ātma-tattvam means "I am now within this garbage for the present. And after leaving this, in this garbage, I pile up so many other garbages.

12:32And in this way, working uselessly the whole life, then I transmigrate from this body to another garbage body." That I do not know.

12:45This is called apaśyatām ātma-tattvam. Apaśyatām means "not seeing." A means "not," and paśyatām means "seeing," "one who sees." He's seeing, "This is garbage is everything." He does not see ātma-tattvam.

13:07Apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu SB 2.1.2Gṛheṣu means... Gṛha means home. So you can take this body as home. Because I am..., you are all living within this body. So this is also home.

13:31And then again, expanded, I am living in this planet. So this is also home. And again living within this universe. That is also home. Or I have got a little home, apartment, ten feet square, that's all. That is also home.

13:57So we have got attachment for this home, ten feet by ten feet or millions of feet on millions... This is home, within the compact. We living entities, we are within this home.

14:15Take this whole universe, apart from other universe, this universe. This is also home because we're living here. And we are changing, from this place to that place. Suppose I have come from India.

14:36From Bombay, I have come to Paris. This is all within the home, within the universe, or within this planet. So we see people are very busy. Seventy miles' speed, they're driving car, but within the Paris. Within the Paris.

15:01They may go seventy miles, eighty mile, but they cannot go beyond. That, our one countryman, Rabindranath Tagore... So perhaps you heard his name. He was a big poet.

15:13So when he was in London, so he saw that people are very, walking very fast. So he remarked that "These people are walking very fast. But there is a very small country. They'll fall down on the sea." You see?

15:32So this is going on. [laughs] A dog in the park is jumping very fast, walking. But as soon as the master, "Come one. Come one," immediately, "Yes, sir." "Give me your neck." "Yes, sir." Chain. Chain.

15:50He's thinking that he's very free, but as soon as the master calls, immediately he has to submit. This is our position. We are very busy, but the master is the material nature. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duraty... BG 7.14

16:09The fact is that we are under the stringent laws of material nature. We have no freedom. That we do not know. We are struggling so much. War has been waged in..., all over the world, especially in Europe, for freedom.

16:33You have got that freedom statue. And in America also, there is freedom. But where is freedom, sir? That they do not know. Why? Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam SB 2.1.2They do not know what is freedom and whose freedom. That they do not know.

16:56Therefore they have created so many newspapers for freedom, the so-called freedom. But there is no freedom. Even big, big leaders, they have no freedom. What we are?

17:14Therefore Kṛṣṇa points out in the Bhagavad-gītā that real freedom is when you get freedom from four different problems. What is that?

17:49BG 13.9अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम् ।आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः ॥८॥इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहंकार एव च ।जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनम् ॥९॥असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु ।नित्यं च समचित्तत्वमिष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु ॥१०॥मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी ।विविक्तदेशसेवित्वमरतिर्जनसंसदि ॥११॥अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम् ।एतज्ज्ञानमिति प्रोक्तमज्ञानं यदतोऽन्यथा ॥१२॥(8)amānitvam adambhitvamahiṁsā kṣāntir ārjavamācāryopāsanaṁ śaucaṁsthairyam ātma-vinigrahaḥ(9)indriyārtheṣu vairāgyamanahaṅkāra eva cajanma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam(10)asaktir anabhiṣvaṅgaḥputra-dāra-gṛhādiṣunityaṁ ca sama-cittatvamiṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu(11)mayi cānanya-yogenabhaktir avyabhicāriṇīvivikta-deśa-sevitvamaratir jana-saṁsadi(12)adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁtattva-jñānārtha-darśanametaj jñānam iti proktamajñānaṁ yad ato 'nyathāHumility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth – all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.

17:49If you get freedom from these four things—no more death, no more birth, no more eld age, old age, and no more disease—that is freedom. But where is that freedom?

17:50The so-called scientists, big, big scientists, they have very scientifically advanced, but they had no freedom from death. They had to die on a fixed-up date.

18:04Professor Einstein or any other big, big scientist, they could not manufacture any scientific instrument and keep it in the custody of his student, that "As soon as I die, you just apply this machine.

18:21I shall come alive again." Where is that freedom? So this so-called scientific improvement, advancement in civilization, it is just like jumping like the dog, that's all. It has no value.

Scientific limitations and natural laws

18:38Real value is to understand ātma-tattvam, "What I am? Why death is imposed upon me? I do not wish to die. Why old age is imposed upon me? I do not wish to become old man or old woman.

18:57I wish to remain a beautiful young..." "No, sir, that is not possible." Then where is your freedom? What for you are jumping so much? As soon as the master will call, "Yes, sir. Bind me."

19:13So you are completely under the nature's control. BG 7.14दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ।मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥१४॥daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayīmama māyā duratyayāmām eva ye prapadyantemāyām etāṁ taranti teThis divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.

19:24BG 3.27प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः ।अहंकारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥२७॥prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāniguṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmākartāham iti manyateThe spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.

19:30Prakṛteḥ, prakṛti, nature, is pulling by the ear, "Come here." "Yes, sir." "Come here." "Yes, sir." And he's freedom.

19:44Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ. He is completely under the control of the modes of material nature.

19:52Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi, ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. This is called false egotism = "I am something." "I am Napoleon Bonaparte," "I am Mussolini," "I am Hitler." This is ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. Fool, rascal.

20:10They are thinking like that. "No freedom, sir. No freedom." BG 3.27प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः ।अहंकारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते ॥२७॥prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāniguṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmākartāham iti manyateThe spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.Being puffed up with false prestige, he's thinking, "I am something.

20:29I can do something, I am..." This is the disease. So for them, these newspapers are very useful. But one who is fixed up in ātma-tattvam, Bhāgavata, "I am Brahman.

20:49I am not anything of this material world," for them, there is no need of this so-called news of newspaper. There is no need. Simply they should try to understand Kṛṣṇa. That is the only business.

Devotional service and spiritual liberation

21:08There is no other business. And as soon as you understand Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa assures, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ BG 4.9If you simply try to under... "Here is Kṛṣṇa." If you simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa...

21:24And how you'll understand? By service. By service. Kṛṣṇa has agreed that "I'll accept your service." Therefore He has come. You cannot serve Kṛṣṇa in His universal form.

21:47Now Kṛṣṇa has agreed, as you have got limited potency, you can touch Kṛṣṇa. You can touch His lotus feet. You can make dress for Kṛṣṇa with devotion. You can put the dress on Kṛṣṇa.

22:04You can prepare, according to your capacity, foodstuff. You can offer to Kṛṣṇa, so Kṛṣṇa will eat. He says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁyo me bhaktyā prayacchatitad aham aśnāmiBg. 9.26.

22:19So Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He, although He is all-pervading, universal, He has agreed to accept your service just to give you liberation from this misunderstanding, no ātma-tattvam. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that Kṛṣṇa, God, is great.

22:47How great He is, you cannot imagine. But still, He has agreed to accept your service, becoming small. That is greatness. In the material world, if something is big, very big, he cannot become, or it cannot become small.

23:13Just like, say, for... Elephant is very big animal. You ask the elephant, "Please become like an ant." "Oh, that is not possible, sir.

23:27That is not possible." But God is so great that although He's universal, He can enter into the atom. That is... Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān: "Greater than the greatest, smaller than the smallest." That is God.

23:50Aṇor aṇīyān mahato... Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu... In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said,

23:52BS 5.35एकः अपि असौ रचयितुं जगदण्ड कोटियत् शक्तिः अस्ति जगदण्ड् चया यत् अन्तः |अण्ड अन्तरस्थ परमाणु च अन्तरस्थंगोविन्दम् आदि पुरुषं तमहं भजामि ॥ ३५ ॥eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭiṁyac-chaktir asti jagad-aṇḍa-cayā yad-antaḥaṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham-govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmiHe is an undifferentiated entity as there is no distinction between potency and the possessor thereof. In His work of creation of millions of worlds, His potency remains inseparable. All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time. Such is the primeval Lord whom I adore.

24:01Eko 'py asau. One portion of Kṛṣṇa, Paramātmā.

24:01Just to create this material world, He has entered in the mahat-tattva as Mahā-Viṣṇu, and He has entered within the universe as Garbhodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu, He has entered everyone's heart as Supersoul, Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu, and He has entered into the atom—although He is so great.

24:47So it is Kṛṣṇa's mercy that He can become smaller than the smallest and the greater than the greatest. So we cannot capture the greater than the greatest. That is not possible.

25:04Therefore it is His kindness that He has become just to be handled by you.

25:11This is called arcā-mūrti, arcā-vigraha. The Deity worship means arcā-vigraha. Because the devotional service, one of the item of devotional service = arcanam.

25:30SB 7.5.23श्रीप्रह्राद उवाचश्रवणं कीर्तनं विष्णो: स्मरणं पादसेवनम् ।अर्चनं वन्दनं दास्यं सख्यमात्मनिवेदनम् ॥ २३ ॥इति पुंसार्पिता विष्णौ भक्तिश्चेन्नवलक्षणा ।क्रियेत भगवत्यद्धा तन्मन्येऽधीतमुत्तमम् ॥ २४ ॥śrī-prahrāda uvācaśravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥsmaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanamarcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁsakhyam ātma-nivedanamiti puṁsārpitā viṣṇaubhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇākriyeta bhagavaty addhātan manye ’dhītam uttamamPrahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.

25:39So you hear about Kṛṣṇa, you chant about Kṛṣṇa, you memorize or remember about Kṛṣṇa. You worship Kṛṣṇa, this Deity, arcanam. You offer prayers to Kṛṣṇa. There are nine different ways.

25:59So you just try to understand Kṛṣṇa in nine processes or either of, some of the processes, or one process only, Kṛṣṇa will agree. Kṛṣṇa is so kind.

26:14And as soon as you understand Kṛṣṇa, His nature, then actually you become liberated. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya BG 4.9This is the process. Real problem is how to get out of this material existence.

26:36If we remain attached to this material existence, either in this body or in the society or in the nationalism or in the greater, greater, greater—you make greater—but that is your bondage.

26:52So one should be careful to understand the position of the soul, and how he can go back to home, back to Godhead, again meet the Supersoul, Kṛṣṇa, and live there permanently with blissful life and full of knowledge.

27:09This is wanted. Thank you very much.

27:12Devotees: Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]