Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.6.35
Бхакти Вигьяна Госвами · Bangalore · 2021
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Recitation and introduction to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Um namamo Bhavateva su devaya Nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya, naraṁ caiva nārotamamaṁ, devaṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ, tato jayam udīrayet.
Naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, Slo. bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī. Today we are reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 2, Chapter 6, Puruṣa-sūkta confirmed. Saṁhāra:
samāmnāya-mayaḥ, tapaḥ-mayaḥ, prajāpatīnām abhivanditaḥ patiḥ, āsthāya yogaṁ nippuṇaṁ samāhitaḥ, yataḥ ātmā-sambhavaḥ, so ‘haṁ samāmnāya-mayas tapaḥ-mayaḥ, so-thārthir-thir-five.
two six thirty-five, two six thirty-five, thirty-five. so ‘haṁ samāmnāya-mayas tapaḥ-mayaḥ, so ‘haṁ samāmnāya-mayas, prajāpatīnām abhivanditaḥ patiḥ, āsthāya yogaṁ nipuṇaṁ samāhitaḥ, tad adya gacchaty ātmā-sambhavaḥ,
so ‘haṁ samāmnāya-mayas tapaḥ-mayaḥ, so ‘haṁ prajāpatīnām abhivanditaḥ patiḥ, prajāpatīnām abhivanditaḥ, āsthāya yogaṁ nipuṇaṁ samāhitaḥ, tad adya gacchaty ātmā-sambhavaḥ, myself,
the great Brahmā, samāmnāya-mayaḥ, in the chain of disciplic succession of Vedic, of Vedic wisdom. tapaḥ-mayaḥ successfully having undergone all austerities.
Successfully undergone all austerities, prajāpatīnām of all the forefathers of living entities. All the forefathers of living entities. abhivanditaḥ, worshipable, patiḥ,
master, āsthāya, successfully practiced yogaṁ, mystic powers,
nipuṇaṁ, very expert, very expert, samāhitaḥ, self-realized, tam, the Supreme Lord, nādyagāt, yataḥ, from whom, ātmā, self, sambhavaḥ, Sabhava generated translation. Although I am known as the great Brahman, perfect, in the disciplic succession of Vedic wisdom.
And although I have undergone all austerities, an amen Am an expert in mystic powers and self-realization.
And although I am recognized as such by the great forefathers of the living entities who offer me respectful obeisances, still I cannot understand Him, the Lord, the very source of my verse.
Limitations of material qualifications without devotion
Prabhupāda by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda ki jaya.
Brahma, the greatest of all living creatures within the universe, is admitting his failure to know the Supreme Lord despite his vast learning and Vedic wisdom, despite his austerity, penance, mystic powers, and self-realization, and despite being worshipped by the great Prajapatis, the forefathers of the living entities.
All these qualifications are not sufficient to know the Supreme Lord. Brahmaji could understand the Lord to a little extent only when he was trying to serve him by eagerness of his heart.
Hridotkantya Hyavatha, which is the devotional service mood.
Therefore, the Lord can be known only by sincere mood of eagerness to serve for service and not by any amount of material qualification as scientist or speculative philosopher or by attainment of mystic powers.
This fact is clearly corroborated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Brahma Bhutha, Prasanat mana sochati nakanchati samh Sarversu Buddhisu Mad Bhaktim Labate param Bhaktiama Bidjanati Yawan Yaschas Mitvatahat.
Only self-realization by attainment of the high qualifications of Vedic wisdom, austerity, etc., can help one on the path of devotional service, but failing in devotional service, one remains still imperfect because even in that position of self-realization, one cannot factually know the Supreme Lord.
By self-realization, one is qualified to become a devotee. And the devotee, by service mood, bhaktia, only can gradually know the personality of God.
One should not, however, misunderstand the import of Vishate enters into, as referring to merging into the existence of the Supreme.
Even in the material existence one is merged in the existence of the Lord. No materialist can disentangle self from matter.
For the self is merged in the external energy of the Lord, and no layman can separate butter from milk, no one can extricate the merged self from matter by acquiring some material qualification. This Vishate by, devotion, bhaktia, means to be able to practice in the association of the Lord in person.
Bhakti or devotional service to the Lord means to become free from material entanglement and then to enter into the kingdom of God, becoming one like Him.
Losing one's individuality is not the aim of bhakti-yoga or of the devotees of the Lord.
There are five types of liberation, one of which is called sāyujya-mukti, or being merged into the existence of the body of the Lord.
The other forms of liberation maintain the individuality of the particles soul and involve being always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
The word vishate used in this verse of the Bhagavad-gītā is thus meant for the devotees who are not at all anxious for any kind of liberation, the devotees are satisfied simply in being engaged in the service of the Lord regardless of the situation.
Lord Brahmā is the first living entity who directly learned the Vedic wisdom from the Lord, tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye. Therefore, who can be more learned vedāntist than Lord Brahmā?
He admits that in spite of his perfect knowledge in the Vedas, he was unable to know the glories of the Lord.
Since no one can be more than Lord Brahmā, how can a so-called vedāntist be perfectly cognizant of the absolute truth?
The so-called vedāntis therefore cannot enter into the existence of the Lord without being trained in the matter of bhakti-vedānta. Or vedānta plus bhakti.
Vedānta means self-realization, and bhakti means realization of the personality of Godhead to some extent.
No one can know the personality of Godhead in full, but at least to a certain extent, one can know the absolute truth, the personality of Godhead, by self-surrender and devotional attitude, and by nothing else.
In the Brahma-saṁhitā also, it is said, vedeṣu durlabham. Or simply by studying Vedanta, one can hardly find out the existence of the personality of Godhead.
But the Lord is adurlabham ātma-bhaktau, very easily available to the devotee.
Śrīla Vyāsadeva therefore was not satisfied simply by compiling the Vedānta-sūtras, but over and above this by the advice of his spiritual master Nārada, he compiled the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in order to his spiritual master Narada, he compiled the Srimad Bhagavatam in order to understand the real import of Vedanta.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam therefore is the absolute medium by which to understand the absolute truth. Beautiful. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam therefore is the absolute medium by which to understand the absolute truth.
Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jai. Although I'm known as great, as the great Brahma, perfect, in the disciplic succession of Vedic wisdom, and although I have undergone all austerities and I am an expert in mystic powers and self-realization.
And although I am recognized as such by the great forefathers of the living entities who offer me respectful obeisances. Still, I cannot understand him, the Lord, the very source of my birth.
Nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale, śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine. Namaste sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe, nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe. Vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca, patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
The human urge to understand ultimate reality
Nulam Vita Bujognakavadhu Santkirtanaita Bitarokamalaya Daksha Vishwambaro Vija Royogdharma Palu Vandeja Jagatpriya Karokarunava Sandzji vaya, taki la shakti dara s damnan, scha, stucharna, šrabna twa, pra nam nahvate, purchay dubiem, swa se stu.
I like this. So today we have a very good opportunity, unique opportunity to understand the absolute truth through the absolute medium of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrīla Prabhupāda is beautifully describing the essence of bhakti in this purport and in any other purport of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He always comes to the essence.
And in this verse of the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, this particular verse of the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Lord Brahmā is explaining the futility of other means of trying to understand the absolute truth.
As a human being, we all want to understand the absolute truth, whether we know about it or not. This urge is there, it's the nature of the soul. We want to know the ultimate truth, the ultimate meaning of life.
We want to know it. No, human being can never be satisfied with the proposal that the life is only for eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. This is very demoralizing.
And sometimes people try to convince themselves that this is what life is all about. But they are ultimately, at the end of the day, they are unsuccessful. One cannot be. We have too much brain substance.
You know, that's the problem of the human being. You know, and if you don't want to have too much brain substance, no problem. Next life you can become a dog. And for a dog, there is no question of the meaning of life.
He's completely happy by sleeping during the day and barking during the night and quarreling. So no problem. So absolutely happy life. Very no working days, you know. For him every day is a Republic day, you know.
Doesn't have to spend so much time in the office. You know, the food is freely available, everything is fine. But you know the problem of a human being is that we want to understand the truth.
We want to understand the meaning of life. We want to understand the higher meaning of why I'm living here? Why I will die at the end of the day? And what will happen with me when I die?
So, therefore, this urge is there, and uh Brahma, the creator of the universe, he explains the wrong methods by which people are trying to understand the absolute truth.
This particular canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, second canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the main topic of the second canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is sadhanatva.
What is the Sadhana, what is the practice which I should adopt to reach sadhya, to reach the goal, to reach the desired end of all my endeavors. And of course, India, Bharat Varsha is the main source
of all kinds of spiritual sadhanas. Nowhere in the world people were so ingenious in inventing different kinds of sadhanas. Especially if you go to Kumbh Mela you will see it.
I remember I was in Kumbh Mela, there was one man, he was laying down in thorns. He was totally completely immersed in these thorns. And the whole day he was in this condition, I don't know what he wanted to achieve, but obviously he wanted to achieve the understanding of absolute truth by this means.
But luckily for us, there is no need to prick our body with the thorns.
Failure of indirect sadhanas and austerities
Lord Brahma says that I tried it, believe me. And nobody can be as perfect as Lord Brahmā in practicing different kinds of sadhanas. And he lists all these kinds of sadhanas here in this purport.
He says, āmnāya-mayas sa, sam āmnāya āmnāya, the word amnaya means disciplic succession, through which the Vedic knowledge is being transmitted.
Amnaya basically means the chain of discipline succession by which we can understand the Vedas. And he says, this is the first thing which you should understand. I know Vedas perfectly. I know Vedas.
Who can say about himself this nowadays? Nobody can say. But he says, no, I know Vedas. And luckily for us he will say that it doesn't work. So he says, So Aham, this I am, Sahaham, look at me, Sahaham, Samamnayamayama
I'm I'm I'm made of all this Vedic knowledge. There is nothing in me but just this Vedic knowledge which I received through the cyclic succession, which I received from the Lord Himself.
And then He says, Tapomaya. I was performing austerities.
We all know when Lord Brahmā appeared on this on this lotus flower, he was trying to find out the absolute truth and he was, you know, diving very deep, trying to find out his source. And it didn't work.
He was actually the first scientist who wanted to find out the absolute truth by empirical means. Scientists think that they can do or find out the source of everything by by this pratyaksha.
So Brahma was trying to do it, didn't work. And then he heard tapa and he was doing tapasya for many years. And tapasya basically means tapasya doesn't mean to prick your body with the torrents.
Tapasya doesn't mean to do all kinds of crazy things. Lord Krishna says that this is tapasya in the mode of ignorance. If you starve to death, you know this is not the means to understand the absolute truth.
This is not the means, all these crazy things which people do is not the means to understand the truth. When Lord Brahmā was told by the Lord Himself, tapa, it means meditation. It means concentrate your mind.
And nobody can be more concentrated than Lord Brahmā. So he says, Tapamaya. I can really, you know, sit in one place.
It's not like modern meditation, you know, this there is a lot of gurus who teach meditation fifteen minutes a day before breakfast, before going to office, or five minutes a day.
Whoever uh they are competing, whoever can give something more practical. No, Lord Brahmā was not very practical. He was sitting in meditation for thousand years, celestial years.
And he still he says, no, no, this is not the adequate means to do this.
And then he says, Prajapatinam abivanditaha patihi. I'm the recognized leader of all the great Prajapatis. And they all worship me and they all glorify me and they all say you are the best.
So sometimes we think, you know, if I achieve a very high position, and if all people glorify me, if all people put many garlands on me, then that means that I know the Supreme Lord.
And I'm sitting on this seat, and everyone is listening to me. No, no, he says, no, no, no, no, no. No. This doesn't work. This is not an adequate means to understand the absolute truths. No. This is not.
And then he says, Astaya yogam nipunam. I'm I'm very expert. Uh I astaya, I successfully practiced yogam and I am very expert in Nipunam. And Samahita, of course, nipunam can also refer to samhita.
Samahita means I'm self-realized. I know that I'm not the body. Who of us can say with all sincerity this about ourselves? I know that I'm not this body. I know that I'm the soul. Still, I don't know the Supreme Lord.
And Prabhupada he beautifully explains that this is all you know that Lord Brahma himself says that na adhyagatyam. Na vagatam. I don't know the Supreme Lord. Na adya gatya.
Prabhupada very generously says he knows him little. But Lord Brahma himself says, Nadhyaga, I don't know the Supreme Lord. I don't know him completely. But in the previous verse, he said a very beautiful thing.
He said in the previous verse, he apparently contradicts himself. He in the previous versus he says, On arda, because I have caught hold of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of God hit Hari with great zeal.
Whatever I say has never proved to have been false, nor is the progress of my mind ever deterred, nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to the matter.
So he says that I know how to practice which ultimately will bring success. And he says, but I also know that there are wrong means of practices, that there are some suddenness which don't work.
And as I said, this is the main topic of the second canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The second canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is trying to implore, Śrīla Vyāsadeva is
trying to implore upon us that there is only one sādhana which should be done. And Śrīla Prabhupāda says that uh Śrīla Vyāsadeva is explaining this uh uh based on his own experience.
And he was trying to explain some other sādhana, and he ultimately was not satisfied. In Mahābhārata, so many beautiful things are being described.
You know, this vrata and dat vrata, this holy place, and that holy place, and you know, especially in Vana Parva. In Vana Parva, so many beautiful advices are there. You know, do this and do that and do this.
And Śrīla Vyāsadeva wrote it, and he was not satisfied. Why? Nārada Muni told him, Because you didn't explain the glory of bhakti. Because you didn't explain what devotional service really means.
And therefore you bewildered others.
Devotional service as intense eagerness and service attitude
And therefore you bewildered yourself. How can you say this about Vyāsadeva? But it's not me who is saying this, this is what Nārada Muni said.
So, and uh the the specific word which uh uh Śrīla Brahmājī himself is using here uh uh krīḍā-autkaṇṭhyāvatā autkaṇṭhyāvatā, krīḍā-autkaṇṭhyāvatā in the previous verse, and Śrīla Prabhupāda quotes this verse uh in this purport,
while explaining what is the essence of bhakti. So, what is the essence of bhakti? What is this bhakti? We always say bhakti, bhakti, bhakti, bhakti.
And Śrīla Prabhupāda explains and Lord Brahmā himself says, means utkaṇṭhā. Kaṇṭha means the throat, right?
Autkaṇṭhya means, you know, sometimes you have such a strong desire that your heart you feel like your heart goes here. You know, the desire is so strong that the heart is being lifted and comes to this throat.
It's called utkaṇṭhā. Utkaṇṭhā means very sincere eagerness to do something for the Lord. Krīḍā-autkaṇṭhā. Literally, it means that my heart is at the throat.
It means that the desire is so strong that my soul is ready to leave this body. So much I want to serve the Lord.
And Prabhupāda explains this many times in the purports. He says that the essence of bhakti is this service mood, service attitude. With this eagerness, not just service attitude.
You know, service attitude we all have, yeah, little bit, as much as is necessary so that I'm not kicked out from the temple. You know. Or I'm recognized, you know, this much. From this to this.
And you know, leave me alone. No, but uh Lord Brahmā says, what is the means? What is what is the real means to understand the Lord? This utkanthā, utkanthā. This very strong desire. Very very strong desire.
You cannot really understand the Lord if you are lukewarm. This is beautifully said in the Bible. In the Bible, Jesus Christ says, in the in the New Testament, he says that if you're lukewarm, nobody is happy with you.
You're doing something just as much as possible.
No, no, he says it's better if you become fallen, because if you fallen, then you may develop this eagerness to understand the Lord. Rather than you're doing something half-heartedly.
The lesson which Lord Brahma is trying to impress upon us is that if we do bhakti, the essence of bhakti is to invest our heart into it.
We have to really put our heart in what we're doing, and what it means to put our heart in what we're doing, in whatever we're doing, it basically means to have this service attitude all the time.
Bhakti means to have service attitude 24 hours a day. To understand, I am the servant by nature.
You know, when we are doing bhakti, sometimes, you know, we're doing bhakti, we understand the glory of bhakti, we understand that this is good, we understand that this is important, we understand that this is something which we should do.
But oftentimes we think that bhakti, you know, is something which we should do from here to here and and the rest, you know, give me a little break from bhakti. There is I have a bad news for you.
There is no break from Bhakti. There is no state holidays from Bhakti. Here you sit today's holiday, still you sit and listen, there's no break.
Ahaituky apratihatā bhakti is uh is uh without any break, without any interruption.
Bhakti is this attitude within the heart, this service attitude within the heart. And of course, now we're just practicing it. We cannot really expect that we will develop this this sort of bhakti immediately, but we very clearly should understand the goal of our practice.
The goal of our practice is to have this mood, this service mood, all the time, 24 hours a day. To have it uninterrupted.
The ultimate purpose of service in scriptures
When it is interrupted, it's bhakti of it is a bhakti of some sort, but it is it is a very low grade of bhakti.
In Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī in Bhakti Sandarbha, he takes two verses from Garuḍa Purāṇa as the foundation of the practice of bhakti. Very interesting verses, and the second verse was quoted very often by Śrīla Prabhupāda.
And he says: in these two verses from Garuḍa Purāṇa, the nature of bhakti is being described.
But superficially, if we look superficially in these two verses, we will see that there are different things which is being said.
In the first verse, it is said that bhakti is the means by which you can fulfill all your desires. And this is the perfect means by which you can fulfill all your desires if you really develop this.
And that's in itself is a very deep truth. Ultimately, whatever desire you have, you can fulfill this desire by service mood. Service mood is the best means to fulfill your desires. Even in the material sense.
When all these politicians who want to become the president of the country, run their election campaign. What do they say? I'm your servant. You know what they will do when they will be elected, that remains to be seen.
But to be elected, to achieve this end, to achieve this goal, they have to pretend that they are servants. And whoever, you know, can pretend better, he will be elected. So that's that's the democracy.
That's the essence of democracy. Whoever pretends a better servant, he will be he will get the more you know what.
So actually, you know, if if we understand, if we you know, if you're working in a company, uh, you know, what is the best way to be promoted to a higher position. If you serve nicely, right?
The better you surf, the better you invest your heart and what you are doing, the you know, quicker you will be promoted, the bigger salary you will get.
So in the first verse of Garuḍa Purāṇa, it is said that bhakti or service is the means, is the only means, is the best means to achieve all your desires. And that's bhakti, definitely that's bhakti.
You know, if you know there's different kinds of bhakti in this world, you can be, you know, desha bhakta. You know, it's a very appropriate topic to talk on this day today. You can be some other bhakta.
This kind of bhakta or that kind of bhakta. But bhakti means service.
And uh yeah, ultimately people do bhakti to achieve their means, uh to achieve their ends, to achieve their goals, to achieve their desires, to fulfill their desires.
Therefore, it is said, yes, this is the best way to achieve the desires. Whatever desire you have.
And in the second verse, it is said, bhajjitjesha vaidhaḥ sevayā parikīrtitaḥ tasmāt sevā budhaiḥ proktā bhakti-sādhana-bhūyasī. Tasmāt sevā budhaiḥ proktā bhakti-sādhana-bhūyasī.
It's a very beautiful verse which was quoted by Śrīla Prabhupāda very often which explains that actually what is the essence of bhakti?
That essence of bhakti, you know if the first in the first verse bhakti is described as the means to achieve some other end.
But ultimately, the second verse says that bhajaty eṣa vai dātuḥ, the very root and the very dhātu, uh the verbal root from which the word bhakti is there, it's sevayā parikīrtitaḥ. What is dhātu?
Dhātu means, uh sorry, what is bhaj, what is bhakti, bhakti means service, and therefore bhakti-sādhana-bhūyasī, uh therefore budhaiḥ, the very wise people they understand
that you know if we try to serve we ultimately will achieve bhakti, and bhakti is the best sādhana. Sādhana-bhūyasī means this is the best, the most profound sādhana.
And the essence of bhakti is this service mood or service attitude.
When you realize the glory of the bhakti, you ultimately what is said there that when you surf trying to achieve your means, sorry, your ends or your goals, you ultimately will realize that this is actually something very nice. That service is something which is very pleasing to the heart.
Service is something which is actually very much in harmony with my nature. And therefore, those who are wise people they understand that service is not the means, service is the end itself.
Bhakti is not the means, bhakti is the end itself. And by this means or by this end, by this service, ultimately the the what is the what is the result of it is that we will understand the Supreme Lord.
And understand the Supreme Lord means, as Prabhupāda explains beautifully in the purport, to understand the Supreme Lord is to serve in His presence, to be in His presence.
You know, if we develop this service mood, and this service mood will become the reality of our heart. 24 hours a day.
If we really understand that I'm the servant, then this service mood, this bhakti will bring us close to the Supreme Lord. Bhakti-reva-nainam nayati. By bhakti, you can be brought into the presence of the Supreme Lord.
Bhakti-reva-nainam darśayati, bhakti is something which can show you the Lord. darśayati. You will be able to see the Lord. And bhakti vaśīkaroti, you can can really subjugate the Lord.
The Lord will become your servant if you do bhakti. If you really develop this service attitude. And therefore, bhakti-reva bhūyasī, the bhakti is the best practice.
So the best which we can do with our life, you know, is to serve.
Practicing uninterrupted devotional service in daily life
And to serve means to serve is to develop this attitude that whatever we do is my service. What is bhakti? How bhakti can become uninterrupted. We have to do so many things. We have to sleep. Do we have to sleep?
We have to sleep. Is it a break from bhakti? Not really.
What we have to learn here, what this temple is all about, what is ISKCON all about, what Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is teaching us that whatever we do, we do with the service mood.
Whatever we do, we try to invest our heart into it. It doesn't matter what we do, we can be sweeping the floor, we can be doing some puja,
we can be teaching others, we can be speaking from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But it doesn't matter what we do. It doesn't matter what we do, how we do it, what matters. We will not impress Krishna by our pravachan.
You know, I'm such a great pandit, you know, I'm saying this. Look at me, Krishna, you see? No, no, we will not impress Krishna with this.
Krishna knows better and he knows that we don't know anything. So, but we can the only thing by which we can impress Krishna is our service mood, the service attitude, sincere service attitude.
And to practice this, we can do it all the time. You know, even sleeping. While sleeping, we can serve Krishna. We can be serving Krishna. Śrīla Prabhupāda says 24 hours a day, 24 hours a day means 24 hours a day.
You go to sleep and you serve Krishna in your sleep.
Sometimes it happens, rarely, but it happens, you know, the whole night Hare Krishna mantra is there and you are somewhere and you are trying to surf and you wake up in a very nice mood.
You know, but then there are some other nits when you have some vacation from Bhakti. Trying to enjoy yourself and it's horrible.
You know, ultimately, the practical experience which we have to get is that bhakti is the best way to live. We shouldn't look for something else. It is in the initial stages, it is the means to achieve some other goals.
But ultimately, when we do it again and again and again, we will realize that this is the best way to live. This is the most pleasing, the most simple, the most non-complicated and the most blissful way to live this life.
If this sincere attitude becomes the reality of our heart as much as Lord Brahmā says. He says, All my achievements are only because I'm holding very tightly the lotus feet of the Lord within my heart.
Holding very tightly means that nobody will be able to drag me away from this. Nobody will be able to do it.
So bhakti is this service attitude, and whatever we do, we should we should try to remind ourselves initially that I'm doing this as a service. I'm speaking as a service. I'm listening as a service.
Now this is your service. Shravanam. And this is easy service, right? You don't have to do much. You know, sometimes you can even sleep a little bit, no problem, because you're so relaxed.
And Prahlāda Mahārāja himself says in the sixth can in the seventh canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, while preaching to his demonic friends, he's preaching to his demonic friends, schoolmates, and he says, you know, do bhakti to the Supreme Lord and
he sees all these, you know, expressions in their faces, you know, this, you know, the T is there and you know they're looking at him, you know, Bhakti. Why should we do bhakti?
And then he says, he's trying to convince them and he says, bhakti is easy. Bhakti is pleasing. It's it's very easy to please the Supreme Lord. Just listen about Him. You don't have to do much.
You know, and do yeah, little sweeping is also there on washing the floor and doing some mini services. It's there.
But what He wants to say to us, that actually bhakti is is a very natural process, easy process, which ultimately brings a lot of happiness to our heart.
If we learn the trick or the this this method of how to be engaged in bhakti all the time, if we do something, then our heart will be will be actually joyful, we'll be dancing all the time.
If this service attitude is there, and if we recognize this beautiful taste which bhakti brings about. And uh, this is basically the essence of what uh
Lord Brahmā is trying to tell us uh in this verse, that uh, you know, you can achieve all the means if you learn how to serve all the time and if you develop the taste for
Engaging body speech and mind in service
time, and if you develop the taste for service, serve your mind, serve your speech, and serve your body. And of course we start by serving with our body and then
gradually, gradually we learn how to speak about the Lord and serve with our speech. And then the last thing which which is trying which we will teach how to serve is our mind. Mind is the most stubborn. Body is simple.
You know, just bow down, do something. You know, speech is a little more difficult because the tongue wants to talk something else. But mind is the most difficult, you know.
You can be serving with your body, you can be serving with your speech, and you can be enjoying with your mind. All the time. You know, look how great I am.
But when it comes to the level of the mind, when the service attitude becomes all pervading for your personality, and the mind is serving, then uh then you achieve the perfection.
And therefore, Lord Krishna Himself says this: that viddhi praṇipātena, first you do praṇipāta, first you do something with your body. Paripraśnena, then Then you do something with your speech.
The next method is try to ask, you know, try to develop the humble attitude in your speech. And then sevā, sevā means, ultimately sevā means the mood of the service. Ultimately sevā means this attitude of the service.
Not something external. So it's in the mind, humility in the mind. The humility on the three levels: humility on the level of the body, the humility on the level of the speech, and humility on the level of the mind.
And then, you know, Krishna will be pleased with us. Krishna is easily pleased.
When we do something simple, therefore he says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. If you do something with bhakti, if it...
even if it's just one fruit or one leaf or a little water, you know I'll be pleased. And then he says, if you cannot do, yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat. Whatever you do, just do it for me.
But you know, the second verse is actually less than the first verse. Because in the second verse, he doesn't say with bhakti.
In the first verse, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati, he says, just do very little but do with bhakti and I will be pleased.
In the second verse, he says, if you cannot do this, then do everything for me that it will be some hope at least some hope will be there and it means that you do something but without bhakti.
You do everything, you try, you're fearful, you know what will happen. So you do it. Krishna will accept it ultimately at the end. But but the trick is that you have to try to do it with bhakti.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare. Hare Bhakti. Whatever little we do, just do it with bhakti. And Krishna will accept bhakti and he will leave everything else for us.
You know, even the fruit which we will offer to him. He will only eat bhakti and he will leave the fruit to you. No problem. But bhakti she will eat. Pakritam.
Parable of the simple cowherd and Prophet Moses
He says himself, I will eat the bhakti with which you take it. There is a beautiful story. I I will tell the story and then I will finish the class. The story goes like this.
It's from Jewish tradition that there was one simple, you know, simple Gopal, simple cowherd, who was you know herding the cattle in the desert.
And Moses, the great prophet of the Lord, and you know he came and he kind of you know he came to him and he liked him. This simple Gopāla was very you know humble and he was serving and they were together, they spent a day together.
He was traveling in this desert. And they spent a day together. And at night, Moses, the great jñānī,
who is trying to understand the Lord by some other means, he saw the very strange thing: this Gopāla he took the best milk which he milked and put it in some little you know little plate and put it aside on a rock.
And Moses asked, "What are you doing? Why are you doing this? He says, "I take the best milk and I offer to the Lord. This is milk which belongs to the Lord. And believe it or not, the Lord drinks this milk.
Every morning when I wake up, He takes all this milk. And Moses started laughing. You're just you're just a fool. You're such a fool. You know, the Lord doesn't need your milk. He is a pure spirit.
Why do you need why why do you think He needs your milk? You know, you're just a fool. If you want to know the truth, you just hide yourself in the bushes and see what happens with your milk at night.
And next morning he saw this little cowherd this cowherd simple cowherd very sad and Moses asked so what happened why you're so sad?" He said, "You were right, you were right. It was not God who was drinking my milk.
One fox came and I saw the fox came and drank all the milk, so all the time, you know, I was wrong. I was offering this to God and it was Fox who was taking my milk.
And Moses he became very enlightened and he said, Why are you so sad? Now you know about the Lord more than before. Now you know that He doesn't need your milk. Now you know that He doesn't need your service.
He is pure spirit. Now you can sit and meditate upon him. And this this car had he was devastated. He said, no, but how can I serve the Lord? How can I express my love to him now? I'm deprived. And he started crying.
And this Moses he went his way to the desert and then he heard the voice of God. He said, "You fool.
He said, "It was me who was taking who was taking love from this little plate with milk. And because the fox uh likes the milk I shared the milk with her. But I was taking the you know you you you're fool.
I was taking his bhakti from this little offering. You don't know anything. This little this boy is much better than you because he is expressing his love by the means which are available to him.
So that's the lesson which of this verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Lord Brahmā here says that you know all other means didn't help me. But nevertheless, there was something which helped me.
When I eagerly kind of, you know, I just, you know, I hold the lotus feet of the Lord. And what it means, it means that all the time I think about Him.
To keep eagerly the lotus feet of the Lord within my heart means that all the time I'm trying to think about him.
All the time, whatever I do, whatever I see, whoever I see, whoever is there, I see him as somebody who is a representative of God or somebody who is the object of my service. And if we do this, we become heavy.
And you know, Krishna to teach us, he becomes the servant himself. He becomes the servant of Arjuna. He becomes his driver.
Krishna's role as the driver of Arjuna
You know, driver is not a very respectable position. Driver is something very menial, but Krishna Himself is doing this to impress upon us the not the need but the glory of the service the bliss of the service I
will tell you a little joke uh to finish this class. It's a very nice joke about Krishna becoming the driver of Arjuna. You know, once Pope came to America with an official visit.
And then there was a big Mercedes car to receive him and you know, big delegation.
And the Pope told the driver who was with him, you know, you you go faster. You go and you know let's get rid of all these other people, let's be alone in this car.
So the driver dutifully did this, and when they got rid of all other people the Pope said, you know what? I like driving.
I really like driving and I can I'm deprived of this. Can we sweep the the places and I will be driving and you will be sitting there. And he said, Yeah, no problem. Your majesty or your holiness please drive if you want.
And Pop started driving with full speed, and very soon the police stopped them because they they you know the the speed was too high. And the policeman stopped them and he couldn't believe his eyes.
He was looking and he saw the Pope is driving the car and somebody else is sitting there. And he called and he was bewildered because he didn't know how to find Pop. You know he's such a great man.
And he called his authority and he said, you know what, I stopped the car, but there is a very important person sitting in this car. Shall I find them or not?
And the authority asked, who is this important person who is sitting there? He said, I don't know who is this important person but I know that the Pope is his driver. So how important this this person must be.
So and Lord Krishna himself he became the driver of our tune. So can you imagine how important Arjuna is? If Krishna himself is his driver. And why Krishna is doing it? Just to stress the point.
If you become the devotee like Arjuna, I'll become your driver, no problem. So thank you very much.
Overcoming material desires and pride through sadhana
Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya! Thank you very much. So that is not the goal. The goal. So I had one question.
All that has to work and challenge Sometimes we get a lot of service network, we do a lot of service, but other times we get the enjoyment view. We want to enjoy material desires, gratification and such kind of thoughts.
So now it gets to run and uh confused discussion, confuse, okay, this is not right to do, it's the not to do thoughts, hop My question was here, is that this service had to be gift of Krishna?
Even if we struggle to cultivate, we don't get it. Only the Krishna is please give it to us. Um Krishna will give it to you.
Krishna is Krishna is interested in giving it to you, but you have to prove to him that you really want it. You know our endeavors is there to impress upon Krishna that we sincerely want it.
If we don't endeavor and we just wait and we say, you know, Krishna doesn't give me the service attitude, what can I do? And everything depends on him.
No, this is not a very good logic. We're trying and then yes of course our mind is very stubborn and uh it knows it it learned how to enjoy of every situation in this in this life.
So but nevertheless if we try it, Krishna will ultimately be pleased, yes, and he will erase this enjoying spirit or this saṁskāras you know if we and therefore this eagerness should be there therefore Lord Brahma says you you should do it with eagerness with utmost sincerity, if we understand that this is what I need, then only this other saṁskāras will be erased from our consciousness.
Why we are now split? Why our heart is split because there are very strong enjoying saṁskāras, the saṁskāras of enjoyment.
The memory of enjoyment is very, very strong in our consciousness and it's pulling us in this other direction. And sometimes it overshadows the service attitude.
We do have some experience of some of blissfully serving and how nice it is and how simple it is. But there is some other thing.
But we will be able to completely erase this saṁ- scars from our consciousness from our heart uh by eagerness and Kṛṣṇa will help Kṛṣṇa will help Kṛṣṇa will enter our mind.
Yes, Maharaj, many times uh kind of uh we we become little puffed up in the sense of knowing so much how to overcome that problem. Sometimes we become not little puffed.
Because it's the nature of the heart to become puffed up. It's just it's because it's empty it becomes puffed up.
So and of course Krishna has Kṛṣṇa and some other devotees they have their pricks, you know, to to prick the puffed-up heart. They know when to prick it and then we become small again.
But if we don't want this from others, then we should try to do it ourselves.
If we catch ourselves that we are puffed up, we should, you know, we should. There should be some self, how to say this, self-analysis of self-introspection.
We should understand that you know I I I am doing something wrong. This is not good. So it's a practice. Therefore, it's called sadhana.
But still, you know, sadhana means that we practice this mood. Sadhana doesn't mean external thing. Well, it may mean external things as well, but mostly sādhana means to cultivate this internal mood.
And if we understand that something within our mind is interrupting or is counterproductive to this internal mood. We should definitely try to get rid of it by doing something humble. Yes.
And then Sandra, as they're practicing UT, uh what should be the attitude of uh monitoring our own service attitude. So is it advisable to do and if it is then how to do it?
Well you know At least two times a day in the morning, early in the morning you should say I'm a servant and I'm going to serve and I'm going to do this and this and this and this as my service, because I'm a servant.
And in the evening, by looking back, you know what happened and how many times you forget about this, you at least should regretfully say, Yeah, Krishna, I tried I'm your servant.
Therefore Sanātana Gosvāmī in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa says that the first thing which we should do as sādhakas in the morning while getting up we should chant praṇāma-mantra of our guru and place his lotus feet upon our head mra of our guru and place his lotus feet upon our head by understanding that this is you know that we are his servant. So this is the first thing which we should do, just you know, I'm the servant. And then the last thing which we should do at the end of the day we should also pay obeisances and say I'm the servant.
And then you know, yes, if you remember that you should monitor it, you should monitor it, but usually you will forget about it.
But ultimately, you know you should try to do this introspection you know by there are different means, you know, the people have different nature.
Some people are very organized, and for them, you know, to have some sadhana, you know, some chart of sādhanā and you know this kind of thing is conducive.
Some other people they're less organized, and for them they're more spontaneous by nature, and for them it's just, you know.
But we should do it and also our authorities, our superiors, they should also try to help us in this regard.
Say that this is you're doing nicely because you can be you can You can see that this is done with with the heart. You can always see that this is something which is done with the heart.
Once there was a story with Śrīla Prabhupāda. It's a beautiful story. He was away from his room and in the meantime somebody was cleaning in the room. And then he came back and he became very angry. He really became angry.
And you know, he called his servant and he's really and he asked the servant who cleaned this room, called him, and the servant didn't know, so he called the temple president and then temple president, he called somebody who served, and Prabhupada, he saw and he said, you know, what you're doing? You don't know what you're doing.
And they just can't understand what's going on. You know, and ultimately Śrīla Prabhupāda expressed the cause for his anger.
He said, look at this carpet. This carpet is not exactly in the middle of the room. It's not exact. Peace. And then Śrīla Prabhupāda said everyone was bewildered.
And then Śrīla Prabhupāda said, you cannot get to the spiritual world unless whatever whatever you do, you'll do perfectly. That's the heavy lesson.
You know, whatever you do, you should do perfectly. Even this little small thing. Because Śrīla Prabhupāda saw that you know somebody just neglectfully put something there and you know he was he was not happy.
He said, whatever you do, whatever little you do, you should do this with the heart, with bhakti and then it will be visible, it will be clear. Okay, thank you very much. Sila prapadaki shaman kawapramanandi