BG 5.20

Giriraj Swami:

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

We read from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Chapter Five, “Karma-yoga—Action in Kṛṣṇa Consciousnes,”

TEXT 20

na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya

nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam

sthira-buddhir asammūḍho

brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ

TRANSLATION

A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly well that he is not this body but is the fragmental portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to his body. This steadiness of mind is called sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence. He is therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the soul. This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing the complete science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all respects. This is called Brahman realization, or self-realization. Such steady consciousness is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

So this verse contains many important words to describe the position of someone in the transcendence stage. Of course, he doesn’t rejoice when he achieves something desirable for the body, nor does he become agitated when he loses something desirable for the body, or when he fails to obtain something that he desires for the body. But he is sthira-buddhi, self-intelligent person. His intelligence is steady, and asamudha—unbewildered, but the most crucial factor is brahmavit, that he knows the Supreme bahman, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains that brahman is realized in three phases- brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. The beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam contains the statement that the absolute truth is that from which everything emanates. The same statement appears at the beginning of the Vedanta sutra. Athāto brahma jijñāsā, the Vedanta sutra begins, now that you have come to the human form of life, you should enquire into the absolute truth, and then what is the absolute truth? Janmādy asya yataḥ—the absolute truth is that from which everything emanates. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the natural commentary on the Vedanta sutra. And it begins from the same point, janmādy asya yataḥ. The absolute truth is that from which everything emanates. And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains from the very first verse that the absolute truth is Krishna; tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye. There are so many descriptions of Krishna as the absolute truth. So the self realized soul, he knows the science of God, he has realization of God, and in particular he has realization of the absolute truth, Krishna, who is the origin of everything spiritual and material. He is the origin of Paramātmā and brahman. And when one is established in one’s relationship with the absolute truth, one manifest the symptom mentioned in the verse here.

One realizes that one’s actual relationship is with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not with the body, or anything related to the body. And therefore, he considers things that pertain to the body as external, and therefore insignificant. The Bhagavad-gītā compares the body to cloth, one may wear some clothing, and after sometime the clothing will become old, and useless. So one discards it, and puts on some new cloth. It is not an occasion of great lamentation, that the old cloth is finished. Nor should it be an occasion of great jubilation that one got some new cloth. But when one misidentifies the self as the body, then one becomes very preoccupied with the body and in achieving things that are pleasurable to the body, and in avoiding things that are unpleasurable. And in that bewildered state of consciousness, one will rejoice over achieving something pleasant for the body, and lament over losing something pleasant for the body, or over something unpleasant happening in relation to the body. And as the saying goes, that the body doesn’t distinguish between good stress, and bad stress.

There is a story of a person, it came in the news a year ago or so. The person who won the lottery and was so excited, because he won the lottery that he had a heart attack, and died on the spot. And of course there are many example of people who get some terrible news and die. There was another item, a few months ago about a car crash where I think four children of the same family died. And when the grandfather of the children heard about the calamity, he had a heart attack and died. I don’t even know what happened to the mother, she was the daughter of the grandfather. But such reaction is natural when we identify with the body, because the body is most dear to us. And the next most dear are the expansions of the body, family members—parents, children, husband, wife, and so on. And I would imagine that if we took a survey of everyone here in the room today, do you feel happy when something good happens? Do you feel bad when something bad happens? Well, we probably all do. Maybe to greater of lesser extent, but we probably all do. We do rejoice when we win the lottery, so to speak; we do become agitated when our plans don’t work the way we want. 

So the question arises, how do we come to the stage mentioned in the verse. We know how someone self-realized acts, or reacts, or doesn’t reacts. And we know that we are in touch with knowledge of the transcendence, and to some extent or another we have the desire to attain the transcendence. But how do we actually reach such an elevated state of consciousness? We read in the translation of harer nāma eva kevalam stotra that the holy name makes the whole material creation just as insignificant as a clump of grass. And that is the same consciousness mentioned in the verse here. But again we chant the holy name, but we don’t see the whole universe as insignificant as a clump of grass. In fact, just what happens in our little apartment is very big. From one point of view, one may see that it is just a tempest in a teapot. Who cares if there is something brewing in the teapot, or some turbulence in the teapot. It is just a teapot. But we are submerged in that teapot and to us, this waves, the turbulence is huge, and it can just wrack us, and whack us one side of the teapot to the other side. So how do we actually develop the consciousness that is actually described in the verse here. 

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam explains:

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ

mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ

bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ

padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

That for one who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna, the vast ocean of material existence shrinks to the size of a puddle of water contained in the hoof print of a calf. Although there is danger at every step, the devotee crosses right over it. So we have to take shelter of Krishna. That is Brahmavita. One who knows Krishna through the process of surrender, that is the consciousness mentioned here. But again the question arises how to surrender to Krishna? And sometimes when devotees would ask Srila Prabhupada about the process of surrender, how long does it take to actually realize Krishna, surrender to Krishna. Srila Prabhupada said, “it can take one minute or it can take millions of lifetimes. It really depends on you.” But coming to our position, we do want to surrender to Krishna, sort of at least, and we need to know how. What is the process of surrender? So, of course many authorities in the line have given instruction about the process of surrender, six division of surrender. Accepting whatever is favorable, rejecting whatever is not favorable, and so on. Becoming meek and humble, considering that Krishna is one’s only protector and maintainer, and having faith that Krishna will protect me and maintain me. 

But here we are especially fortunate in Kali-yuga, now, because we have the benefit of the mercy of Gaura-Nitai, and the mercy of Gaura-Nitai can really make the whole process practical. The basic attachment for most people, ordinary people—family attachment. And that material attachment in general, or family attachment in particular, can be made insignificant by the mercy of Lord Nityananda. I should mention that in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, after listing the items of devotional service for bhakti-yoga, Srila Rupa Gosvami discusses some items that he does not include in the list, and he explains why he did not include them. And one of the items is vairāgya—the cultivation of renunciation. And he explains that the cultivation of renunciation is not included as an item of devotional service, because devotional service by nature is soft, and liquid. It makes the heart soft and liquid, and artificial renunciation can make the heart hard. Both make the heart hard; sense gratification, and artificial renunciation. And therefore he rejects the cultivation of renunciation as an item of devotional service.

So what I am talking about here is not the rejection of material attachments by some artificial effort. But I am talking about is the mercy of Lord Nityananda by which one is lifted out of it. And of course one must make one own effort to follow the process, especially to chant the holy names, follow the regulative principle, and to serve the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda, and Lord Chaitanya to spread the saṅkīrtana movement. Those activities will make us eligible to receive the mercy of Lord Nityananda, but it is actually Lord Nityananda’s mercy that loosens the grip of material existence on us, and ultimately frees us. One of the best examples is Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was the only son of a great landlord in Bengal, who was like a king. His wealth was like that of a king and his father and father’s brother, I forget what their income was, something like twelve million per month, a lot. And he was the only son of his father, and his uncle had no son. So the whole family was looking to him, to continue the dynasty. So as a very young man, in his early twenties, Raghunatha dasa heard about the glories of Lord Chaitanya, the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, and he wanted to leave everything to join him. And he actually went and met him, he ran away from home. But Lord Chaitanya advised him, “Don’t be a crazy fellow. You should go home, and externally perform all of your duties. Just like a proper householder, and internally be absorbed in thoughts of Radha, and Krishna.” And Lord Chaitanya used the phrase markaṭa, markaṭa-vairāgya—the renunciation of a monkey. Monkeys appear to be very renounce. They live in the jungle, and they just live eating fruits, and berries, and they have no clothes, no possessions. But Srila Prabhupada says that every ‘he monkey’ has dozens of ‘she monkeys’ he has relationship with. So don’t be a markaṭa-vairāgya—a renunciate like a monkey, that externally appears very renounced, but internally is filled with lusty desires.

And Lord Chaitanya and Rupa Gosvami speak about phalgu-vairāgya and yukta-vairāgya. Phalgu-vairāgya means artificial renunciation. There is a river in Bihar called the Phalgu River, and on the surface it looks like sand, but underneath there is whole river, there is whole current of river, and you can actually get caught up in that current of the river. So it looks like sand, it looks like land. But actually it is a river, it is not what it appears to be. So people who engage in phalgu-vairāgya, they may appear to be very renounced, but under the surface there are strong currents of material desires. And in general the impersonalists are like that. By mental effort, they try to be detached; they try not to distinguish between happy occurrences, pleasant and unpleasant occurrences. But under the surface they are lusty, they have desires. When their lust is frustrated they become angry. 

And as oppose to phalgu-vairāgya is yukta-vairāgya which is often translated as appropriate renunciation, or balanced renunciation, in which one does not artificially try to reject things, but uses everything in a favorable way to serve Krishna. So impersonalist they will reject natty natty, not this not that. But it is artificial; they have material sides. And devotees, they do not reject things that can be used in Krishna’s service. They accept them, and engage them in Krishna’s service. And by dint of their relationship with Krishna, by tasting the nectar, or a drop of nectar from the ocean of devotional service, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, this world becomes insignificant. The things of this world becomes insignificant. And one gets that mercy from Nityananda Prabhu. So under the instruction of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Raghunatha dasa returned home, and even though he was living in the house, he was detached. Inwardly he was detached. He did not sleep inside the house anymore. He slept in the darshan mandap, outside the house and engaged in chanting the holy names, and remembering the divine couple. But his father and uncle were very concerned that he would try to run away, as he had done in the past, and they kept guards to make sure that he would not escape. 

So one day Raghunatha dasa heard that Nityananda Prabhu was nearby in Panihati. And with permission, he went to see him, and his father and uncle sent so many servants with him to assist him, but really they were also there to make sure he did not try to run away, and make sure he came back home. So he saw Nityananda Prabhu from a distance. He was humble, very humble. He offered obeisances from a distance and Nityananda Prabhu saw him. And he said, “Who is this person standing at a distance like a thief? He is guilty, he is hiding in the shadow in the back.” So he called him forward and he said, “You are a thief, and now that I have caught you, I am going to punish you. And the punishment is that you have to have a feast, and serve me and all my associates chipped rice, and yoghurt.” It was a very humorous, not only was the exchange humorous, but the idea was humorous because here is Raghunatha dasa, the son of the wealthiest land holders in Bengal, who were practically maintaining the whole brahminical community with their charity. And Nityananda Prabhu was asking for feast of chipped rice, which is like the most plain, and ordinary, and cheap foodstuff from Raghunatha dasa. So Raghunatha dasa bought bushels of chipped rice, and yoghurt to mix it with, and different fruits bananas, mangoes, and there was no cooking involved. They did some cooking of the milk, but basically it was just chipped rice mixed with yoghurt. So, it was a great festival, and Nityananda Prabhu and his associate enjoyed it, and when news spread people from all over came to partake in the feast, and merchants, vendors of chipped rice and yoghurt, and fruits came to sell their goods, and Raghunatha dasa bought all of what they brought. And then they would sit down and enjoy the feast along with everyone else, after they sell their goods. And eventually there were so many people on the banks of the Ganges, there were no room to accommodate them. So then they started to actually stand in the waters of the Ganges, and eat their plates of chida, and dahi. So at the conclusion of the whole festival, but what actually happened is the festival continued in the night, and there was hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, and during the festival itself, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally came invisible to most, but visible to a few. And Lord Nityananda went from plate to plate, taking little morsel of sweet rice, and yoghurt and putting in the mouth of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. 

And then in the evening in Raghava Pandit is house, there is a big saṅkīrtana. And the next morning before Raghunatha dasa left, Nityananda Prabhu blessed him that very soon he would be free from the shackles of household life. So Raghunatha dasa left and returned home. And soon enough an occasion arose, because the family had a priest named Yadunandan Acharya, who was also Raghunatha dasa dīkṣā-guru. And Yadunandan Acharya came to the house one evening because one of his devotees or disciples, students who was refusing to do the deity worship, just like sometime the temple commanders in our ISKCON temple, they get someone who does not want to do the service, and it is a crisis. If they are not going to the ārati, who is going to do the ārati. You have to find someone. So, Yadunandan Acharya asked Raghunatha dasa because he was so intelligent, and so spiritual, to come with him to the pujari’s place, and ask him to take up his service. So because Yadunandan Acharya was the priest of the whole family, the family felt confident that he will make sure that he returns home safely. So Raghunatha dasa went with Yadunandan Acharya, visited his disciple, convinced him to do his service, and then Raghunatha dasa told Yadunandan Acharya, “It is late at night and there is really no need for you to accompany me back to the house. I will go on my own.” And that was the opportunity he was waiting for. And then he walked by foot for many days, until he reached Jagannatha Puri, and the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And on the way I think out of seven days, he was only able to eat a little two of the days, and the other days he did not eat at all. And thus by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, he came to the shelter of Lord Chaitanya, released from the shackles of household life. So that is Lord Nityananda’s mercy. 

Narottama dasa Thakura also prays to Nityananda Prabhu in the same vein, “Please give me your mercy so that by your grace all material desires become insignificant, tuccha.” That word ‘tuccha’ appears very often- insignificant. So it is not that one struggles to get free from the attachment; that is not part of devotional service. That would be the cultivation of renunciation. But it is the things that we are attached to become insignificant. And how do they become insignificant? We become associated with something that is so great that in comparison, our material attachments are insignificant. And what is that, what is so great, is Krishna, is Krishna’s consciousness, is the bliss of Krishna consciousness. It is the higher taste. Krishna says earlier in the Bhagavad-gītā, that one can artificially try to restrain the senses from the object of the senses, but still the taste for the object of the senses will remain. We may try to say no, but actually we want to say yes, but we know we shouldn’t, so we try to say no. And if we do say yes, there will be consequences. So it is not that we want to give in to those desires but if we maintain the desires, and try to restrain the senses, and in the beginning we do have to make an effort to restrain them, otherwise they could go all over the place and really get us in trouble, but still the desires remain. But when one experiences the higher taste of Krishna consciousness, then one remains fixed in that consciousness. And it is not attracted by, as Srila Prabhupada says in the purport, that material thing. Because these bodies are actually dead; they are machines. 

One devotee once gave a nice example of two bulldozers. He said, “Kissing is like two bulldozers toughing their front things together.” Because the body is just a machine. And that is what is kissing is. So that, that is like the inferior taste, the material thing. And the superior taste lies in Krishna consciousness—the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. So we are very fortunate that we are in Kali-yuga, very close in time to when Lord Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya were manifest on earth, present on earth, and even more fortunate that we are contemporaries, or almost contemporaries of Srila Prabhupada, who was fully endowed with the mercy of Lord Nityananda. His Holiness Bhaktirakshak Sridhar devi Gosvami Maharaja said, many have said, he also said that Srila Prabhupada was a shaktyavesha avatar which means someone empowered, Shakti, empowered by Krishna. And Srila Prabhupada himself often referred to the verse in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta—[Unintelligible 00:44:45–49] that the religious process for the age of Kali is hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, and only one who is empowered by Krishna can spread the saṅkīrtana movement. So Srila Prabhupada was empowered by Krishna, and His Holiness Shridhar deva Gosvami Maharaja said in particular the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. And so that mercy comes in the form of the holy name, chanting the holy name, and also from not just chanting for one’s own benefit, but spreading the chanting, spreading the movement. And therefore Srila Prabhupada outlined the whole system of spiritual advancement, which culminates in service to Radha and Krishna. Within a few sentences in a lecture in Los Angeles, he said that, “To approach Radha and Krishna, we need the mercy of Lord Chaitanya; and to get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, we need the mercy of Lord Nityananda; to get the mercy of Lord Nityananda, we need to approach people like Jagai, and Madhai, who were the most sinful creatures of Kali-yuga.” We have to approach them and try to give them the holy name, get them to take Krishna consciousness.

So the songs of our acharyas, especially Narottama dasa Thakura filled with the same idea, that our goal is to attain the service of Radha, and Krishna. But to attain the service of Radha and Krishna, we need the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, and to obtain the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, we need the mercy of Lord Nityananda, and that same mercy comes to us through disciplic succession, through Srila Prabhupada. So it may sound difficult, and certainly if we were to try to do it by our own efforts, it would be next to impossible. But it is possible by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. So we don’t make an artificial endeavor. Yes, we may have to struggle to control our senses, and follow the principles. We have to do that, that is our duty. But our real effort is to get the mercy of Lord Nityananda, and the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, and the disciplic succession. And by the mercy of Lord Nityananda, this vast ocean of material existence will become just like a small puddle that we could cross over without difficulty.

Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: There is one [Unintelligible 00:48:49–00:49:08]

Giriraj Swami: How does one determinate whether one’s renunciation is real or artificial? If our focus is devotional service, and Krishna consciousness and the renunciation is more of a byproduct of Krishna consciousness, then it is genuine. But if we come to the point where our focus is on whatever, avoiding marriage, at times that happens to brahmachari in the temple that they become so pre-occupied with trying to avoid getting married, that becomes the focus, rather than devotional service in Krishna consciousness. That maybe be an indication that we need to make an adjustment. 

Devotee: Maharaja, in the same way, as devotees, how can you tell if material opulence is for your own sense gratification, or you truly wanting that, or desiring that, or using that in the service of Krishna. 

Giriraj Swami: It is a good question. Mother [Unintelligible 00:51:07] raised the question that if we have material opulence, or want material facility, how do we know it is for Krishna’s service or for personal sense gratification. Well this brings us to the very question of yukta-vairāgya. And Srila Prabhupada said that yukta-vairāgya is on a fine line between artificial renunciation, and material enjoyment. If you go to one side there is artificial renunciation, if you go on the other side there is sense gratification. And Bhakti, pure devotional service is free from both. I think that as we progress in devotional service, we will know how attached we are or not. And one of the symptoms is whether we are disturbed without it. Srila Prabhupada gave the example that we may want a microphone to give a lecture, or to lead a kirtan. But if we don’t get the microphone, we don’t have the microphone, we still speak about Krishna, we still chant Hare Krishna. If we get too disturbed by it, by the lack of facility, that could be an indication that there is some material attachment, mixed with desire for devotional service. But if we see it for what it is, it is a facility and if it is there we will use it, but if it is not there we will serve Krishna anyway, we won’t be so upset that it is not there, that we will forget about serving Krishna, then we are detached. That is part of Rupa Gosvami’s definition of yukta-vairāgya. He says anāsaktasya viṣayān, that is the beginning that one uses material thing without attachment.

Now it does not mean either because we have some material facility that we want to use for Krishna but at the same time we are attached to it materially, it doesn’t mean that we should reject it. Because that could put us on the other end of artificial renunciation. The only way to really achieve the position of yukta-vairāgya is to actually become Krishna conscious, never to become sufficient absorb in devotional service, that is the main focus. Sometimes devotees have the idea that they want to make money, and then use the money to spread Krishna consciousness, but what often happens is they keep wanting to make more and more, and along the way they keep spending money on themselves and they keep wanting more and more, and then they hardly get around to using it to spread Krishna consciousness. That happens, certainly it does happen but sometimes it also happens that they just keep making the money with the idea that they will use it to spread Krishna consciousness, and they never get around to using it for Krishna consciousness. And they may have reasons. They don’t have faith in any project, or any authority. So what to do, I just have to spend it on myself. But there are in our generation, many devotees who have been successful in business over the years, or in their professions over the years. And now they have come to the stage that their children are grown up, they don’t really have a lot of wants, or desires. They have experienced things and have realized there is not too much to it, and rather get back to the real essence, which is Krishna consciousness and here is the money to serve the devotees, to support projects, develop their own projects. 

Another distinction that is sometimes made is that we shouldn’t artificially try to increase, or decrease our opulence. In other words, by destiny some people are destined to have more, and some people are destined to have less. So a devotee is neutral and if it comes he uses it in Krishna’s service, and if it doesn’t come, then whatever he has he uses it in Krishna’s service, even if it is only a tongue to chant, to speak about Krishna. So we have to make some effort, depending on our situation in life, we have to make some effort to earn. But for some people it comes easy and for others, it doesn’t. That could be our karma, or our destiny. Sometimes our karma changes. It is easy for a while and then it becomes difficult. It is difficult for a while then it becomes easy. 

But even if we are struggling with material attachments, we just have to keep pushing forward in our spiritual practices, and in our efforts to serve the devotees, to spread Krishna consciousness. By the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, by the mercy of the paramparā, a genuine renunciation will come. And it doesn’t mean you have to reject anything that is around you, but it means you are not attached to it, and use it for its real purpose which is for Krishna’s service, not for personal gratification. And there are different orders of life. But if someone is actually a Vaishnava, he is really beyond varnashrama-dharma, especially a preacher like Srila Prabhupada. He was detached but he accepted everything for Krishna’s service. And in a way he had a lot of opulence. He had more opulence than anyone on earth, in a way, even from the material point. But it was pretty obvious to anyone who could see him as he was, actually it is, that he wasn’t attached to any of it. Like he said in Mayapur, he was living in the straw hut, he is very happy there. He said for himself he would have rather just stayed in the thatched hut, and chanted Hare Krishna. But if he did then who would come to hear him. In the old days, when people were more elevated, more in the mode of goodness, they would seek out a saintly person, even if he was sitting under a tree, but now you need some opulent arrangement to attract people. So Prabhupada said, “For myself, I will prefer just to stay in a grass hut. But then who would come to hear me, so I have to move into the marble palace.” It wasn’t really a marble palace, but it had big verandas, but he wasn’t attached and if you see his personal quarters. For us they seem very opulent, but when we look at it now, it is quite simple. He was happy in any situation. Devotees were trying to plan a schedule, where to go and what programs to make, and he said, “Just arrange whatever you think is best, I am like a cow; wherever you put me I will give milk.” He was detached, because internally he was relishing reciprocation. His Guru Maharaja and Pancha-tattva, he was absorbed in not just Krishna and Vrindavan.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai ki jaya

Sri Sri Radha-Govinda ki jaya

Nitai-Gaura premānande.