Bhagavatam Recitation in Vrindavan
А. Ч. Бхактиведанта Свами Прабхупада · Вриндаван · 1976
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Material anarthas and social problems
SB 1.7.6अनर्थोपशमं साक्षाद्भक्तियोगमधोक्षजे ।लोकस्याजानतो विद्वांश्चक्रे सात्वतसंहिताम् ॥६॥anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣādbhakti-yogam adhokṣajelokasyājānato vidvāmścakre sātvata-saṁhitāmThe material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth.
Prabhupāda: We were discussing this verse yesterday. Anartha. This anartha means this material civilization. There is no need, and still we have accepted it. That is called anartha, meaningless.
So there are hundreds and thousands of anarthas, as it is stated that śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ Sahasraśaḥ means thousands and thousands.
Because we have created anartha, unnecessary necessities of life, therefore we have to know, we have to learn, we have to teach so many, I mean to say, unwanted.
Just like there is a problem now, especially in the Western countries, unwanted population. They do not want, but it is increasing. Similarly, unwanted necessities. This is called anartha. Simple thing.
Natural food production and industrialization
Just like we require some food. That is essential. We cannot live without taking food. That is not possible. So Kṛṣṇa is giving very simple formula, that annād bhavanti bhūtāni
If there is sufficient quantity of anna, or eatables, then people become very nice, well-satisfied, either animal or man. If he can eat sufficiently, he's satisfied.
So annād bhavanti bhūtāni. Bhavanti means flourishing. He becomes healthy, he becomes strong, and he can think nicely, he can work nicely. So anna is required. But simple method is given how anna is produced.
That is also given, annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. If there is sufficient rain, then you can easily produce food grain. Just like this year, the rain is sufficient; everywhere we go it is green.
Green means sufficient food for the animals. And if the field is very soft, you can till it and you can get easily, very nicely, foodstuff. Therefore parjanya, water, rain, is required.
Sankirtana sacrifice and habit reformation
Parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. And yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ and by performing yajña there will be cloud and rain. That was the... Yajña is required.
In this age, Kali-yuga, it is very difficult to perform the Vedic ritualistic yajñas. It requires tons of ghee and food grains. And people have nothing to eat even. But śāstra has made it very easy.
Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ If you perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña, then it is as good any other yajña. Yajña means to satisfy the yajña-puruṣa, Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu.
So in the Kali-yuga, simply by performing yajñas you can satisfy the Supreme Lord.
Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ. We have seen in many places, by performing yajña, the saṅkīrtana-yajña, where it was very dry, rain has fallen. This is practical. So things are very easy.
But instead of producing food grains, we are producing Goodyear tires. So how we can eat? Now when there is scarcity of foodstuff you cannot eat the Goodyear tires.
But people's attention has been diverted in the industrial activities. They are given allurement, "Come here. I shall give you twenty rupees per day. You give up your agricultural activities. You come in the factory.
Produce tire tube, iron stool," and so on, so on. So we are violating the orders of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says that produce food grain. But we are producing unnecessary things, and therefore you are suffering.
Kṛṣṇa is giving very good advice = annād bhavanti bhūtāni. You produce sufficient foodgrain, all over, not only here. Another anartha is this nationalism.
Nationalism = "This is America," "This is India," "This is Africa," "This is Australia." Why? Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam [Īśo mantra 1]. Simple thing. Everything belongs to God. Īśāvāsya. There will be no scarcity.
I have studied very thoroughly that there are sufficient land still without any cultivation. In Africa I have seen sufficient land. But they are utilizing it for producing coffee and tea; no food grains.
So these are the anarthas. Anartha, unnecessary. People will not die without coffee and tea. But they have made the whole world self-dependent on coffee and tea, mercantile policy. There is anartha.
So anartha, if you want happy life, peaceful life, progressive life, then you have to curtail these anarthas. Anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt. Without curtailing these anarthas, unwanted things, you cannot become happy.
So that is recommended here. Anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt sākṣād bhaktim adhokṣaje. As soon as you become a devotee, all anarthas become immediately vanquished.
Just like here, these Europeans and Americans, they are accustomed to anarthas from the very beginning of their life. And the latest anartha was their intoxication, LSD.
But by bhakti-yoga, because they have taken to bhakti-yoga, very easily they have given all these habits. Even government is surprised.
In Europe, and especially in America, their government is spending millions of dollars to stop this LSD habit. They cannot do it. They praise our movement in this connection.
And as soon as one comes to this movement, he immediately gives up. Immediately, without any hesitation. I make this first condition, that you have to give up all kinds of intoxication.
Not only LSD, but even drinking tea, coffee, smoking—everything you have to give up. Chewing pān, everything. And they agree. We do not make any compromise, that "You can do any nonsense and still you become initiated.
Give me some money." No. We don't make such compromise. You must first of all agree to give up all these sinful activities. Then I can accept you. I can initiate you. This is our process.
Reviving consciousness through hearing and chanting
So compulsory, the government is trying to make compulsory, but that cannot. You cannot make a person honest simply by legislation. He must be vimarśanam. Prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam
One must be fully conscious, "Now what I am doing, it is wrong." Then anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt. Just like a person who is a thief, he knows that "I am stealing, and if I am arrested, I'll be punished." He knows that.
And he has seen that one thief is arrested. So we get two kinds of experiences. One kind of experience by hearing = "If you do this, then the result will be this." That is hearing.
And one kind of experience by directly seeing. So the thief has both. He has seen that a thief has been punished, and he knows by hearing from the lawbooks or from religious books that stealing is not good.
But still he commits repeatedly, again and again stealing. Why? Because he has no knowledge. Therefore knowledge is essential. That knowledge can be revived. This is kṛṣṇa-kīrtana. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended,
CC Antya 20.12চেতোদর্পণমার্জনং ভবমহাদাবাগ্নিনির্বাপণং শ্রেয়ঃকৈরবচন্দ্রিকাবিতরণং বিদ্যাবধূজীবনম্ ।আনন্দাম্বুধিবর্ধনং প্রতিপদং পূর্ণামৃতাস্বাদনং সর্বাত্মস্নপনং পরং বিজয়তে শ্রীকৃষ্ণসঙ্কীর্তনম্ ॥ ১২ ॥ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁśreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanamānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ prati-padaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁsarvātma-snapanaṁ paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam“ ‘Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.’
You want ānanda, ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt [Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12]. Everyone is seeking after ānanda. So pūrṇānanda. Paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's recommendation.
So bhakti-yoga means chanting. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ This is the beginning. Hear about Viṣṇu, chant about Viṣṇu. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. No, not any other. Śāstra says Viṣṇu.
But there are many rascals, they say you can chant any name. Why? Why the śāstra says śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, chanting and hearing about Viṣṇu, not for any other god? That is not recommended. But they make.
Because they are impersonalists, they have no God, they have made "God means imagination." But God is not imagination. God—here is Kṛṣṇa. He's not imagination. He says, aham ādir hi devānām = "I am the origin of everyone."
BG 10.8अहं सर्वस्य प्रभवो मत्तः सर्वं प्रवर्तते ।इति मत्वा भजन्ते मां बुधा भावसमन्विताः ॥ ८॥ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavomattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartateiti matvā bhajante māṁbudhā bhāva-samanvitāḥI am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.
So because you do not know what is God, so our life is void. But here is Kṛṣṇa is personally coming, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
Understanding dharma and Vedic authority
What is that glāni, dharmasya glāniḥ? That you are very dharmika, so-called dharmika, but you have no understanding what is God—that is nonsense. That is not dharma. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam
Dharma means the order of God. That if you do not know God, if you manufacture your God, "God has no head, no mouth, no nose, no nothing, no, no, no, ultimately zero..." Ultimately zero.
So there are two kinds of dangerous person. One person is atheist, agnostic, and another person is Māyāvādī, impersonalist.
Nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādī. Therefore these two things are mentioned = Māyāvādī, "God means has no head, no leg," and śūnyavādī, "There is no God." So the person who says "There is no God," he's gentleman, because he does not believe.
But the person who takes the shelter of Vedas and professes that "I am vaidika, I am vedāntī," and refuses the form of God, he's more dangerous. It is the statement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Madhya 6.168বেদ না মানিয়া বৌদ্ধ হয় ত’ নাস্তিক ।বেদাশ্রয় নাস্তিক্য-বাদ বৌদ্ধকে অধিক ॥ ১৬৮ ॥veda nā māniyā bauddha haya ta' nāstikavedāśraya nāstikya-vāda bauddhake adhika“The Buddhists do not recognize the authority of the Vedas; therefore they are considered agnostics. However, those who have taken shelter of the Vedic scriptures yet preach agnosticism in accordance with the Māyāvāda philosophy are certainly more dangerous than the Buddhists.
The nāstika, the Buddhists... They are called nāstika according to our śāstra, because Lord Buddha denied the existence..., the authority of the Vedas.
nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātaṁsadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātamkeśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare[Daśāvatāra Stotra 9]
Keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra. Keśava, Kṛṣṇa, has come, taking the form of Lord Buddha. We Vaiṣṇava, we worship Lord Buddha as the incarnation of Keśava, Kṛṣṇa, but we don't accept his philosophy. [break]
So there is a great history. We have mentioned many times. So these Buddhists, they say that "We do not recognize your Vedas." So veda nā māniyā bauddha haya ta' nāstika Therefore we call them agnostic. They do not...
Because why we do not accept them authority? Because if you do not accept the authority of the Vedas, then you become godless immediately. Because Kṛṣṇa said, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ
If you do not understand Vedic knowledge, if you do not understand Vedānta, if you do not understand Upaniṣad—without understanding this Vedic knowledge, understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is vague.
It is no clear idea. Therefore Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has said, NBS 1.2.101śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vināaikāntikī harer bhaktirutpātāyaiva kalpate
If one is not in awareness of the conclusion of Vedas, conclusion of the smṛti, conclusion of the Purāṇas, and pañcarātra-vidhi, Nārada Pañcarātra, aikāntikī harer bhaktiḥ, without reference to this Vedic literature, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has said utpāta, simply disturbance.
Simply disturbance. Manufacturing. They'll manufacture some ways. There are so many anarthas. If we come to detail it will take long, long time.
Anyway, if we want to, I mean to say, abolish all kinds of anarthas, unwanted things, then we must take to bhakti-yoga. Then everything will be clear. Everything will be clear, very clear.
Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ. This śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ, just like you are so kind enough to come here to hear about Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness—by this process.
This has been recommended by Caitanya Mahāprabhu = sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ. You remain in your place. You don't require to become a sannyāsī, mendicant or brahmacārī, or change your place. No.
When Rāmānanda Rāya quoted this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to Caitanya Mahāprabhu... He was discussing about the aim of life and the process of reaching the aim of life.
He mentioned so many things—karma, jñāna, yoga, etcetera, so many things. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, eho bāhya, āge kaha āra: "Yes, this statement is not very important.
If you know still further more, you can say." So in this way, step by step... When Rāmānanda Rāya came to this conclusion, that,
SB 10.14.3ज्ञाने प्रयासमुदपास्य नमन्त एवजीवन्ति सन्मुखरितां भवदीयवार्ताम् ।स्थाने स्थिता: श्रुतिगतां तनुवाङ्मनोभि-र्ये प्रायशोऽजित जितोऽप्यसि तैस्त्रिलोक्याम् ॥ ३ ॥jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta evajīvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtāmsthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhirye prāyaśo 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyāmThose who, even while remaining situated in their established social positions, throw away the process of speculative knowledge and with their body, words and mind offer all respects to descriptions of Your personality and activities, dedicating their lives to these narrations, which are vibrated by You personally and by Your pure devotees, certainly conquer Your Lordship, although You are otherwise unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds.
This is the statement, that "Remain in your place, but hear from the authorities about Kṛṣṇa. Then everything will be clear." Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
Even if you do not understand a word, but if you hear from the realized soul about Kṛṣṇa, then, hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām. Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone's heart, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
If we become sincere to hear about Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa will help us. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam, dadāmi buddhi-yogam He'll give intelligence. This is the process.
Teṣām evānukampārtham aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ nāśayāmi These things are there. Therefore if we want to abolish all unwanted things of life, simply we come to the spiritual platform.
Spiritual purpose of human life
Because that is our aim. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This human life is meant for spiritual understanding, not for any other purpose. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ śāstra recommends.
Only for spiritual understanding engage your activities. And what will be other things, about my family life, worldly life?
That is said, that tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. Just like you don't aspire or don't wish for distressed condition; it comes upon you.
Similarly, whatever happy condition in your life is expected, that will also come. You don't require... There are many places. So our endeavor, the human energy, should be fully engaged in understanding Kṛṣṇa.
This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Nothing else. Other things we should minimize. Yāvad artha-prayojanam. Just to maintain the body and soul together you should live very nicely.
You should not become weak by health; otherwise, we cannot execute. But don't eat more, don't eat unnecessary things.
Atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ. Atyāhāra, to eat more or to collect more than is required, that is forbidden by Rūpa Gosvāmī.
NoI 2atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś caprajalpo niyamāgrahaḥjana-saṅgaś ca laulyaṁ caṣaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyatiOne’s devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required; (2) over-endeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to obtain; (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters; (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically; (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements.
So anartha-nivṛtti, that is required because we are surrounded by so many anarthas, unwanted things. They are all impediments, stumbling blocks on our progressive journey to Kṛṣṇa realization.
Here it is said, anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje lokasyājānataḥ. People do not know it.
Therefore vidvān, Vedavyāsa, he has compiled this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, sātvata-saṁhitā. It is Vedic version, and directly to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead and become free from all contamination of the material nature.
Because we are now under the contamination of material nature. 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.
We are thinking we are very independent, we can do any nonsense, whatever we like. Who cares for...? But that is not good, because we are not independent. We are completely under the grip of material nature.
Simply as a crazy man we declare independence. That is not a very good idea. We must know what are the anarthas and how we shall get out of it. Thank you very much.
Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]