SB 5.18.11

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We will read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Five; Chapter Eighteen,

TEXT 11

yat-saṅga-labdhaṁ nija-vīrya-vaibhavaṁ
tīrthaṁ muhuḥ saṁspṛśatāṁ hi mānasam
haraty ajo ‘ntaḥ śrutibhir gato ‘ṅgajaṁ
ko vai na seveta mukunda-vikramam

TRANSLATION

By associating with persons for whom the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Mukunda, is the all in all, one can hear of His powerful activities and soon come to understand them. The activities of Mukunda are so potent that simply by hearing of them one immediately associates with the Lord. For a person who constantly and very eagerly hears narrations of the Lord’s powerful activities, the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead in the form of sound vibrations, enters within his heart and cleanses it of all contamination. On the other hand, although bathing in the Ganges diminishes bodily contaminations and infections, this process and the process of visiting holy places can cleanse the heart only after a long time. Therefore who is the sane man who will not associate with devotees to quickly perfect his life?

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Bathing in the Ganges can certainly cure one of many infectious diseases, but it cannot cleanse one’s materially attached mind, which creates all kinds of contaminations in material existence. However, one who directly associates with the Supreme Lord by hearing of His activities cleanses the dirt from his mind and very soon comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sūta Gosvāmī confirms this in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17):

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi
vidhunoti suhṛt-satām

The Supreme Lord within everyone’s heart becomes very pleased when a person hears narrations of His activities, and He personally cleanses the dirt from the mind of the listener. Hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti: He washes off all dirt from the mind. Material existence is caused by dirty things within the mind. If one can cleanse his mind, he immediately comes to his original position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus his life becomes successful. Therefore all the great saints in the devotional line very strongly recommend the process of hearing. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced the congregational chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to give everyone a chance to hear Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, for simply by hearing Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, one becomes purified (ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam). Therefore our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is chiefly engaged in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra all over the world. 

After one’s mind becomes cleansed by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, one gradually comes to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and then reads books like Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and The Nectar of Devotion. In this way, one becomes more and more purified of material contamination. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.18):

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī

“By regularly hearing the Bhāgavatam and rendering service unto the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is practically destroyed, and loving service unto the glorious Lord, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.” In this way, simply by hearing of the powerful activities of the Lord, the devotee’s heart becomes almost completely cleansed of material contamination, and thus his original position as an eternal servant who is part and parcel of the Lord becomes manifest. While the devotee engages in devotional service, the passionate and ignorant modes of material nature are gradually vanquished, and then he acts only in the mode of goodness. At that time he becomes happy and gradually advances in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

All the great ācāryas strongly recommend that people be given a chance to hear about the Supreme Lord. Then success is assured. The more we cleanse the dirt of material attachment from our hearts, the more we will be attracted by Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities, paraphernalia, and activities. This is the sum and substance of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

oṁ ajñāna timirāndhasya.

[Break in audio]

yat-saṅga-labdhaṁ nija-vīrya-vaibhavaṁ
tīrthaṁ muhuḥ saṁspṛśatāṁ hi mānasam
haraty ajo ‘ntaḥ śrutibhir gato ‘ṅgajaṁ
ko vai na seveta mukunda-vikramam

So, in this verse, two processes of purification are mentioned. One is associating with devotees, saṅga-labdhaṁ, and in the association of devotees, hearing about the activities of Mukunda, mukunda-vikramam. That is one process. And the other process is visiting holy places, tīrthaṁ muhuḥ saṁspṛśatāṁ hi mānasam. Now, both processes have the same effect, and that is: They clean the dirty things from the mind. What are the dirty things in the mind? he dirty things are the misconceptions, beginning from the first misconception of thinking ‘I am the body.’ The false identification with the material body is the first, or the main, dirty thing in the mind. And from the false identification with the body, so many other dirty thoughts and dirty activities. Because I think “I am the body,” I think that everything related to the body is mine, and I identify that this is my wife, these are my children, this is my house, this is my bank balance, this is my motor car, and so on. We become attached to so many things which we think belong to me. And then, we think that, since I am the body, and I want to be happy, the best way to be happy is to gratify the senses of the body. So, I make so many plans how to gratify the senses. And, I actually act upon the plans for sense gratification. But the whole entanglement comes from the first misconception of thinking that I am the body. So that is the basic dirt that has to be cleansed from the mind. And then, the other types of dirt, secondary manifestations of the dirt, are also cleansed.

The Fifth Chapter of the Fifth Canto also explains how one becomes entangled. That first one identifies with the body, and then, because one identifies with the body, one wants to enjoy the senses of the body, especially contact with the opposite sex. Then one gets married. Then, when one gets married, he needs some place to stay, he needs some means of livelihood, and then he can produce children. Then, after he produces children, he wants some society, some friends and some position of influence in society. And in this way, the hard knot of material existence becomes tighter and tighter within the heart, and one becomes completely entrapped in the false conception of ‘I and mine,’ ahaṁ mameti. The knot of material existence already exists in the heart, but when we unite with the opposite sex for sense gratification, the hard knot becomes tighter, and one becomes completely entangled. But then again, the Bhāgavatam advises, that if we associate with devotees, then the hard knot becomes slackened, or loosened.

So, there are two processes. One is associating with women for sense gratification, or associating with materialistic persons who are attached to sense gratification, and the other is association with devotees. One type of association makes the hard knot tighter, and the other type of association loosens the hard knot. So that is the value of associating with the devotees. But, one may say that there are other processes of purification besides associating with devotees. That is certainly true. And one of the main processes is visiting holy places and taking bath in sacred rivers. Many people, even from South Africa, go to India, on tīrtha-yātrā. They want to visit some holy places and take bath in the Ganges and other sacred rivers. But the process of taking bath in the Ganges and visiting holy places, that also cleanses the dirty things from the heart, but the process of visiting the holy places works only after a long time. It is a slow process, and one has to repeatedly visit the holy places and repeatedly take bath in the sacred waters. But, when one associates with the devotees and hears the messages of Mukunda, one gets the result very quickly, because Mukunda is Absolute. Therefore, there is no difference between Mukunda’s name and Mukunda’s form and Mukunda’s qualities and Mukunda’s pastimes and Mukunda Himself. So, when we hear about the name of Mukunda or about the pastimes of Mukunda, we are actually associating with Mukunda who is all pure. So, by associating with Him, by associating with His messages, we become pure. All the dirty things within the heart become cleansed away by the Lord, Himself. And the Lord helps in two ways: In the form of transcendental sound, He enters the heart to purify us. And then, again, the Lord is already in the heart as the Supersoul, or Paramātmā. And when the Lord sees that we are eager to hear His messages, He becomes pleased. But He, Himself, takes up the work of throwing out the dirty things. So, the Lord helps, and thus the whole process becomes much easier, because on our own, we are not able to cleanse the dirty things; we are not able to cut the hard knot of material attachment. But when the devotees give us the sharpened sword, then we can cut the knot. And the sharpened sword is described as hearing about the pastimes of the Lord. And from whom should we hear the pastimes of the Lord? From the devotees. 

So therefore, the whole process of Krishna consciousness is summarized in the present verse, yat-saṅga-labdhaṁ nija-vīrya-vaibhavaṁ. We have to associate with devotees. Srila Prabhupada established the whole International Society for Krishna Consciousness to give people the chance to associate with devotees. The Society is an association of devotees so that ordinary people can get the association of devotees, and in turn, they become devotees, as well. Tīrthaṁ muhuḥ saṁspṛśatāṁ hi mānasam. Now, the Bhāgavatam also says that if one goes to the holy places, not just to take bath in the sacred rivers, but to associate with the devotees, then he is doing the right thing. But those who go to the holy places just to take bath, and they never take advantage of the devotees who reside there to hear the messages of Godhead, sa eva gokhara, they are considered to be just like cows and asses. Even in the most holy of places, like Vrindavan, there are many animals like cows and asses, and they also go to the Yamuna to take bath. So, if someone goes to the holy place just to take bath, and he never takes advantage of the holy persons who preach the glories of the Lord there, sa eva gokhara, they are just like the animals who take bath in the river.

But, great devotees like Srila Prabhupada, are so kind that they establish places of residence for devotees in the holy places so that when the people go to the holy places to take bath, they also get the opportunity to associate with devotees. Therefore, in Vrindavan, Srila Prabhupada established the Krishna-Balarama Temple, and in Mayapur, he established the Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandira. And in other holy places near other sacred rivers, Srila Prabhupada and his disciples have established other ISKCON centers so people can get the association of devotees and hear the messages of Godhead. But the real important process is hearing, not taking bath, although taking bath in the Ganges is beneficial. But the real important process is hearing. And therefore, devotees also go to Khumba-mela not to take bath, but to preach the message of Godhead. So, the people who go there to take bath, they will also get the chance to hear about the activities of Mukunda.

So this is the mercy of the devotees. They go anywhere and everywhere to preach the glories of the Lord. And when people hear the glories of the Lord from the mouths of pure devotees, they get purified. When they hear the chanting of the holy names of the Lord from devotees, they become purified, and as the dirty things become cleared, then the original consciousness becomes awakened. Then, one develops the desire to learn more and more. Then, one will read books. And Srila Prabhupada has kindly presented so many transcendental literatures to explain the science of Krishna consciousness and describe the glories of Lord Krishna. So, after hearing the chanting from the devotees, when one’s consciousness begins to become clarified, then one can appreciate the value of Krishna consciousness and want to make more advancement. Then, one will take books to understand the science of advancement and the methods that one must adopt. Then, one can actually become fixed in Krishna consciousness. Without actually rendering service to the devotees and hearing the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one cannot be fixed. And often we do find people go to the holy places or even participate in the sat-saṅga, but until their consciousness is sufficiently purified, their efforts are not steady. They go to India, but then when they come back, they engage in the same type of nonsense as before. So, one has to make advancement to the stage where one actually practices the methods of Krishna consciousness. Then one can become fixed.

So, there are progressive stages in the development of Krishna consciousness, ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga. First, one has to have some faith, or some appreciation, that the devotees are nice; that the preaching is good; that the activities are nice. Then, one will come, just as you have come, today. Then one will come to associate with the devotees and hear. And after hearing sufficiently and becoming purified sufficiently, bhajana-kriyā, then one actually begins the practice of Krishna consciousness under the guidance of the spiritual master. And then, anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt; then the dirty things within the heart become vanquished. Then the real freedom comes. Then niṣṭhā, then one becomes very fixed. He cannot be moved from Krishna consciousness. So, the whole process begins by hearing from the devotees and progresses to the stage where one actually practices devotional service in the authorized way, and then, one becomes free from the dirty things. Already one is becoming free, but then, one becomes more free from the dirty things. Then, he becomes steady; fixed; firm in faith; nobody can move him. Then, he is assured of progressing step-by-step to the ultimate goal, which is the lotus feet of Mukunda, the giver of liberation.

So, we are very glad that you have already begun the process of hearing from the devotees. So, please continue. Come again and again, every week. Hear the holy names of Krishna, hear the discussions of Krishna, and gradually you will make progress to the ultimate perfection. So we are very glad that the devotees in Phoenix have opened the center, here, so that people can get the chance to come and hear and associate. Every activity requires endeavor to be successful, so hard work is also required in Krishna consciousness. But that is the mercy of the devotees. They take trouble to make the arrangements so the people can come and hear, and many people are coming and hearing. So that is also to your credit that you are coming. That means you must have some background of pious activities to at least appreciate, and by coming and appreciating, you will make more progress.

Also taking prasāda. We must not forget taking prasāda. That is also purifying. In Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says that one who prepares food just to eat and maintain his body without offering the food to Krishna, he is just eating sin. Even if you are vegetarian, but if you don’t offer your food to Krishna, you are eating sin, because the food does not belong to you. Everything belongs to Krishna. So, you are stealing the food from Krishna. So if you say, “Well, I have to eat. How will I live if I don’t eat?” Yes, you have to eat, but you cannot eat by stealing Krishna’s property. You have to take Krishna’s permission, first. And Krishna gives His permission on the condition that you offer the food to Him first. Then, He gives His permission. Otherwise, you don’t have permission to eat. Then, you are stealing from Krishna. You are sinful, and at the same time, you are giving pain to the living entities by eating even vegetarian food. You are killing, or at least giving pain. Sometimes you kill the vegetables, then you eat. But usually, you may not kill the vegetables, but at least you are giving pain to the plants by separating the fruit from the plant. So that is also sinful. You are also punishable for that. But you have permission to eat if you offer the food to Krishna first. Then, Krishna says in Bhagavad-gītā, if you take kṛṣṇa-prasāda, you become free from all sinful reactions. Just like you become free from sinful reactions by taking bath in the Ganges, so you also become free from sinful reactions by taking kṛṣṇa-prasāda. So, taking kṛṣṇa-prasāda is also important.

So all have the same effect of freeing one from sinful reactions and cleansing the dirty things from the mind. So, associating with the devotees, hearing the messages of Krishna, and taking kṛṣṇa-prasāda are all very beneficial. So, so many facilities are being offered by just this one center here. You can get everything. You can take prasāda, you can associate with devotees, you can hear about Krishna, you can buy books you can get practically every facility for making advancement in Krishna consciousness, just here. So, we are very thankful to you all for coming here to participate, and we are also thankful to the devotees led by Surendra Vallabhaji for making the center and giving the opportunity to the people to come and associate and make advancement in Krishna consciousness.

So are there any questions or comments?