SB 7.5.32 – Part 01

Giriraj Swami: Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Seven, Chapter Five, “Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu,” Text Thirty-two.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 32

naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ
spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ
mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ
niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat

TRANSLATION

Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious brings about anartha-apagamaḥ, the disappearance of all anarthas, the miserable conditions we have unnecessarily accepted. The material body is the basic principle of these unwanted miserable conditions. The entire Vedic civilization is meant to relieve one from these unwanted miseries, but persons bound by the laws of nature do not know the destination of life.

COMMENT

In Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami has discussed six qualities of pure devotional service, and the first quality is kleśaghnī, which means the eradication of all kleśa, kleśa means miseries. The miseries are actually the reaction to sins. Srila Prabhupada used to say that suffering is due to sin, and sin is due to ignorance. So if we want to become free from suffering, or if we want to help others become free from suffering, we have to help them to become free from ignorance. But to become free from ignorance, one must hear from a realized soul or a pure devotee, and by hearing the instructions and following the instructions, one can become free. Actually, people have a different idea of ignorance, but according to Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-gītā, there are twenty items which constitute knowledge, but the most important item is avyabhicāreṇa bhakti, exclusive devotional service to Lord Krishna. At the end of the list, Lord Krishna states that anything beyond these twenty items is ignorance. So if someone is not engaged in devotional service to Lord Krishna or bhakti-yoga, he is considered to be ignorant, and his ignorance can be removed only by knowledge. Knowledge means to engage in the service of the Lord. So when we hear instructions from pure devotees and follow their instructions, engaging in service to Krishna, we can become free from all miseries, which are the results of sinful activities which come from ignorance.

Srila Rupa Gosvami further explains that there are three stages in the development of devotional service: sādhana-bhakti, bhāva-bhakti, and prema-bhakti. But kleśaghnī, the eradication of miseries begins even from the beginning stage of sādhana-bhakti. Anyone who follows the instructions of a pure devotee and chants the holy name of Lord Krishna can gradually become relieved from all material distress. Here Prahlada Maharaja uses the word anartha. Artha means that which is required or that which is wanted, and anartha is just the opposite. So nobody wants miseries, but miseries are forced upon us, and the basis of the miseries is the body. Actually, the material body itself is not wanted and not required, yet the material body is forced upon us. To become free from all anarthas, all miserable conditions, one should follow the instructions of Prahlada Maharaja in the verse here.

PURPORT (continued)

As described in the previous verse, īśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ: they are conditioned by the three strong modes of material nature.

COMMENT

Guna means mode or quality, and guna also means rope. So the three gunas—sattva-guṇa, raja-guṇa, and tama-guṇa—are compared to three ropes that bind the conditioned soul to material existence, wherein the conditioned soul is forced to suffer.

PURPORT (continued)

The education that keeps the conditioned soul bound life after life is called materialistic education. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has explained that materialistic education expands the influence of māyā. Such an education induces the conditioned soul to be increasingly attracted to materialistic life and to stray further and further away from liberation from unwanted miseries.

COMMENT

So the modern educational system does not remove ignorance, but it actually increases ignorance. It reinforces the idea that “I am the body” and that the goal of life is to enjoy the senses. Almost everybody is educated now for the sake of getting some qualification that will help them to earn more money, which will help them to enjoy more sense gratification. So the basic principle is ignorance: identification with the body—"I am the body, and the goal of life is to enjoy the senses.” So the modern system of education is actually reinforcing ignorance. It is not eradicating ignorance; it is reinforcing ignorance, and thus people are becoming more and more materialistic and more and more degraded.

One friend of ours in Juhu once intelligently commented—he actually wanted to enroll his children in our school—and he very intelligently commented that why are there so many problems with the young people? The young people are becoming more and more involved in sinful activities, more and more involved in criminal activities. Why? And he said the cause was the system of education. The system of education teaches the young people ‘Money, money, money—how to get more money, more money, more money.’ They think how to get more money, and the school authorities and the school teachers are also thinking ‘How to get more money, how to get more money.’ This is the difference between modern so-called education and Vedic actual education: that the teachers in Vedic civilization were all acharyas. Acharya mean someone who teaches by example. So the main purpose in Vedic education was the development of good character in the children, but now the purpose is different. In Vedic education, the personal behavior of the teacher was the critical factor because he had to teach by example. But now, the school authorities or the parents or the government don’t consider the teacher’s behavior. If the teacher has some material academic qualification, he can teach even if he smokes, drinks, eats meat, or does any nonsense. Therefore, the students acquire the qualities of the teachers, and because the teachers themselves are materialistic and degraded, the children also become materialistic and degraded. So there is no actual education in the true sense of the word; there is only miseducation. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada said that they are called teachers, but actually, they are not teachers; they are cheaters.

Once Srila Prabhupada was discussing with the scientist, and he asked the man, “Are you a scientist?” He said, “Yes, I am a scientist.” Srila Prabhupada said, “Can you tell me about the soul? What do you know about the soul?” And the scientist replied, “I know nothing about the soul. I cannot tell you anything.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Then how are you a scientist? A scientist should know the subject, but the main subject you don’t know, so how can you call yourself a scientist?” So they are not scientists; they are not teachers because they don’t know the truth of the soul, which is the basic factor in life.

PURPORT (continued)

One may ask why highly educated persons do not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

This is a good question: If Krishna consciousness can solve all problems, free us from all miseries, and bestow all benedictions, then there are so many intelligent persons, why don’t they take to Krishna consciousness? Of course, people have a different idea of intelligence, but still a question may be asked, why do intelligent persons in the material world not take to Krishna consciousness? So the answer is given here.

PURPORT (continued)

The reason is explained in this verse. Unless one takes shelter of a bona fide, fully Kṛṣṇa conscious spiritual master, there is no chance of understanding Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

I will give the background of the verse. Hiraṇyakaśipu, who you know was a great demon, asked Prahlada Maharaja, “What is the best thing you have learned?” And Prahlada Maharaja said that the best thing is Krishna consciousness. So Hiraṇyakaśipu became very angry and he blamed Prahlada’s teachers, saying, “You have spoiled the boy’s intelligence.” But the teacher said, “No, we have not done so.” The father said, “How has he become inclined to Vishnu, who is our enemy? How has he become inclined to Vishnu?” And the teacher said, “We don’t know. You should ask him.” So in reply to Hiraṇyakaśipu’s question, Prahlada spoke three very important verses. He says, matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho ‘bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām. matir means inclination, and kṛṣṇe means to Krishna. na means not, that one’s inclination towards Krishna cannot be aroused, matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā, by one’s own efforts, nor can it be aroused by the efforts of others, nor can it be aroused by the combined efforts of oneself and others. Then how can it be aroused? So here, Prahlada Maharaja gives the answer, that only by smearing one’s body with the dust of the lotus feet of the devotee who is completely free from material attachments can one himself become free from material contamination and arouse his inclination towards Krishna.

Now, Hiraṇyakaśipu was very intelligent and very powerful in the materialistic sense. So indirectly, Prahlada Maharaja is telling him, “My dear father, you have asked how I became Krishna conscious, but you do not have to worry about becoming Krishna conscious because one can only become Krishna conscious if he bows down to the lotus feet of the pure devotee. But you are too proud; you will never bow down, so you don’t have to worry about becoming Krishna conscious. You will never become Krishna conscious.” So, modern materialists, who are considered very intelligent, are like Hiraṇyakaśipu. They don’t want to bow down, and because they don’t bow down to the lotus feet of the pure devotee, they cannot become Krishna conscious, even though they are supposed to be highly qualified in materialistic education. Bowing down to the lotus feet means to surrender and accept the instructions.

PURPORT (continued)

The educators, scholars, and big political leaders worshiped by millions of people cannot understand the goal of life and take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for they have not accepted a bona fide spiritual master and the Vedas. Therefore in the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.2.3) it is said, nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena: one cannot become self-realized simply by having an academic education, by presenting lectures in an erudite way (pravacanena labhyaḥ), or by being an intelligent scientist who discovers many wonderful things. One cannot understand Kṛṣṇa unless one is graced by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Only one who has surrendered to a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa and taken the dust of his lotus feet can understand Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

In other words, being graced by pure devotee is the symptom of being graced by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By one’s own efforts, one cannot understand Krishna consciousness. He can only understand by the grace of the Lord. And when one achieves the grace of the Lord, he will attain the association of a pure devotee and surrender to the instructions of a pure devotee. But ordinary people who are materialistically educated will not surrender. They all think, “Why should I surrender? He is an ordinary human being like me. Why should I surrender to him?”

PURPORT (continued)

Only one who has surrendered to a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa and taken the dust of his lotus feet can understand Kṛṣṇa. First one must understand how to get out of the clutches of māyā. 

COMMENT

How do we get out of the clutches of maya? By becoming Krishna conscious. And that is the beginning.

PURPORT (continued)

The only means is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. And to become Kṛṣṇa conscious very easily, one must take shelter of a realized soul — a mahat, or mahātmā — whose only interest is to engage in the service of the Supreme Lord.

COMMENT

Practically speaking, Srila Prabhupada is such a mahatma, niṣkiñcana. niṣkiñcana means without any material possessions. Of course, someone may say that you devotees also have material possessions; you are not niṣkiñcana. But Srila Prabhupada explains the word niṣkiñcana more deeply: that either one has no material possessions or he has no sense of material possessiveness. Just like Srila Prabhupada built a big marble temple in Juhu, and devotees are staying there and serving there. So someone may say, “Oh, they are not niṣkiñcana; they have so many material possessions.” But the possessions are not meant for their sense gratification; the possessions are meant for their service to Krishna, for preaching, for serving. And therefore, even living in the midst of opulence, in the midst of marble, one can still be niṣkiñcana if he is free from the idea, “This is mine to enjoy.” Just today, one devotee told me about one exchange he had with Srila Prabhupada. Because in the beginning, we were living in a chātāi hut in Juhu, and many people who met us in the beginning were attracted. Some people were attracted by the simple life in the chātāi hut. But then later, by Srila Prabhupada’s efforts and Krishna’s grace, a big marble temple started to come up. So, one of the devotees who joined when we were in the hut approached Srila Prabhupada and said that, “Now such a big temple is coming, such an opulent place, I think I should go somewhere else to some small center and perform austerities there.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “No, you should stay here in Juhu, but you should not take anything for yourself. You should take everything only for the sake of preaching and nothing for yourself.” And that is austerity.

Sometimes, accepting opulence is austerity because, for our own selves, we might prefer simplicity. But for the service of the pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada or for the mission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we may accept an opulent position which otherwise we may not like. And therefore, while speaking of surrender, Srila Prabhupada has stated that one must accept whatever is favorable for Krishna consciousness and one must reject whatever is unfavorable. And for the service of Krishna, sometimes one may have to live under a tree, and sometimes one may have to live in a palace. But one should not be concerned with material conditions, accepting and rejecting on the basis of personal desire or on the basis of mental concoction. One should only be concerned with the service of the Lord. And if living in a marble palace is favorable, we should accept it, and if in another circumstance living under a tree is favorable, we should accept it. We should have no other consideration except the service of the Lord or the service of the pure devotee. And by the service of the pure devotee, we become free from anarthas. Otherwise, we are full of so many anarthas and we have to suffer so many miseries.

So, earlier in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is said that by serving the great souls who are free from vice, the great soul should be free from vice, he should not have bad habits, a great service is done, and by such service, one develops an affinity for the message of Vasudeva, for the message of Krishna consciousness. And when one develops a taste for hearing and chanting about Krishna, all the dirty things are cleansed from within the heart, and one becomes happy. So, service to the pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada is the way to become completely free from all anarthas, to become completely free from all miseries, and to actually become Krishna-conscious. And when one is actually Krishna conscious, then he is liberated and he can relish the mellows of loving exchange with Krishna. And this is the goal of Krishna consciousness; this is the goal of life.

PURPORT (continued)

As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.13):

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha
daivīṁ prakṛtiṁ āśritāḥ
bhajanty ananya-manaso
jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

“O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” 

Therefore, to end the unwanted miseries of life, one must become a devotee.

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ

“One who has unflinching devotional faith in Kṛṣṇa consistently manifests all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa and the demigods.” (Bhāg. 5.18.12)

yasya deve parā bhaktir
yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23)

yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas
tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām

“The Lord is obtained only by one whom He Himself chooses. To such a person He manifests His own form.” (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.3)

These are Vedic injunctions. One must take shelter of a self-realized spiritual master, not a materially educated scholar or politician. One must take shelter of a niṣkiñcana, a person engaged in devotional service and free from material contamination. That is the way to return home, back to Godhead.

COMMENT

Hare Krishna.

So, are there any questions or comments? 

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:34:10]

Giriraj Swami: Service to a pure devotee is not limited by time and space. For example, we may think or we may say that Srila Prabhupada is dead and gone, but actually Srila Prabhupada is not dead and gone. He is living, and he is seeing everything, and he is appreciating how one is serving him or disobeying him. So, service to the pure devotee is not limited by time and space because the pure devotee never dies; he lives forever. Especially within ISKCON, we should specifically serve Srila Prabhupada because he is the founder acharya. He has established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and has given the directions by which we can make advancement in Krishna consciousness. We should follow the previous acharyas, and especially Srila Prabhupada, who himself followed the previous acharyas. This is paramparā. If we don’t follow the previous acharyas, where is paramparā? Yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa, everything becomes spoiled.

We are called rūpānugas. What is the meaning of rūpānuga? It means follower of Rupa Gosvami. We are followers of Rupa Gosvami because he was specifically empowered by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to elaborate the science of bhakti, especially Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Upadeśāmṛta, and other books. To follow Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu means specifically to follow Rupa Gosvami. He is also not dead and gone; he is also living, and we can serve him even now and get his blessings even now. But at the same time, we should certainly serve the personal spiritual master or obey the personal spiritual master. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has explained that in any sampradāya, the founder acharya is the principal śikṣā-guru. What should one look for in one’s personal spiritual master? He should look for someone of good character, who has no bad habits, and he should look for someone who is well-versed in the teachings of the founder acharya and who is faithful to the founder acharya.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:38:20]

Giriraj Swami: Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Gosvami says that there are three substances which are very powerful and very helpful for Krishna consciousness and first is bhakta-pada-dhūli, the dust from the feet of the devotee; bhakta-pada-jala, the water that washes the lotus feet of the devotee; and bhakta-bhukta-avaśeṣa, the remnants of food left by the devotee. Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Gosvami says that these three substances are very powerful, and he advises his readers, the readers of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, to have faith in these three substances.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:40:10]

Giriraj Swami: He says that we are condemning the modern materialistic education, but from the modern materialistic education, we are getting so many scientific inventions that we are using to spread Krishna consciousness. Can we not say that they are indirectly helping?

Well, indirectly they are helping, but actually, we don’t need all the modern inventions. The reason we need the modern inventions is to preach, and the reason we need to preach is because they are ignorant. What we are actually saying is that by being ignorant, they are creating the situation where we need to preach, but in their ignorance, they are giving us the tools with which we can preach more easily. That is true, but if they weren’t ignorant, we wouldn’t have to preach. We are just, “Radhe Radhe, Krishna Krishna!” We wouldn’t have to do all these things. Srila Prabhupada has given the example of the snake and the mouse: the mouse digs a hole in the ground and makes a house in the ground, and then the snake comes, swallows the mouse, and lives in the house. So, the modern material scientists make so many wonderful inventions, so we swallow them, finish them, and use their creations.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:42:24]

Giriraj Swami: The only way to face the attacks of maya is to take more shelter of Krishna. The attacks of maya are actually meant to help us to surrender to Krishna more. You know the story of Gajendra, the elephant, and the crocodile. Being attacked by the crocodile, Gajendra was forced to take more shelter of the Lord. When maya attacks, the only refuge is to take shelter of Krishna; the only recourse is to take shelter of Krishna. Maya is also Krishna’s servant, and her service is to punish us for not surrendering to Krishna. Indirectly, she is helping us to surrender to Krishna by punishing us if we don’t. Otherwise, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā, the material energy, consisting of the three modes of nature, is very difficult to overcome. But mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te—one who surrenders to Krishna can easily cross over maya. Srila Prabhupada said we cannot fight maya directly; she is too powerful. We can only fight her indirectly by surrendering to Krishna. We may be powerful swimmers, but when we are drowning in the ocean, we cannot save ourselves. If someone comes with a boat and invites us on the boat, we can be safe. Maya is like an ocean, and by our own strength, we cannot cross over maya. But if we accept the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord or the lotus feet of the devotee, then we can cross the ocean of maya, not by separate individual endeavor.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:45:10]

Giriraj Swami: Yes. He says that since maya is also a servant of Krishna, by surrendering to maya, indirectly, one is surrendering to Krishna.

There is a difference between directly and indirectly. Just like in the state, the good citizens are serving the government directly, but the criminals are also serving the government indirectly because they are arrested and put in prison. When they are in prison, they break stones, build roads, and do other things for the government, so they are also serving the government indirectly. Everyone is serving Krishna directly or indirectly, but when one serves directly, he is blessed. When one serves indirectly, like the prisoners, he is punished. There is no question that you cannot serve Krishna, directly or indirectly you must serve Krishna. The only question is if you want to be punished or not; that is your choice. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada said that maya, as the servant of Krishna, has the same mission as us. She wants to induce the conditioned souls to surrender to Krishna. Only her method is different, and our method is different. Our method is preaching, and her method is kicking, but the purpose is the same. We preach, “Please bow down to Krishna, please surrender to Krishna.” She punishes, “Oh, you don’t want to bow down to Krishna? I will kick you, I will kick you, I will kick you until you surrender to Krishna.” So, we both have the same purpose; only our methods are different.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!