SB 1.2.6 – The Secret to Satisfaction

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: So, we welcome you again to today’s transcendental festival and feast. We shall read one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that explains how to achieve satisfaction. How many of you want satisfaction? [laughter] Everyone wants satisfaction. So, this verse explains how we can achieve it. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto One, Chapter Two: “Divinity and Divine Service.”

TEXT 6

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo

yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

ahaituky apratihatā

yayātmā suprasīdati

TRANSLATION

The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendental Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.

COMMENT

So, everyone in the material world, and the spiritual world, but we are in the material world, is looking for satisfaction. And almost no one in the material world is satisfied because they don’t know the method. As one famous poet said, “I can’t get no satisfaction.” [laughter] So, the Vedic literatures describe that the living being has two primary necessities; to love and to be loved. Without giving love and receiving love, no one can be happy or satisfied. But because of the living entities falling into the material world and associating with the material modes of nature, he becomes conditioned into identifying with the body, and mistaking himself for the body, and thinking that his self-interest is to enjoy the comforts of the body or the gratification of the senses of the body. It is not wrong to be interested in one’s self-interest, but one should know what oneself is.

So, the first instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā is that we are not the body, but we are the living force, or the spiritual soul within the body. And we can understand this easily, because as long as the soul is in the body, there is life. And as soon as the soul leaves the body, there is no life. All the other parts of the body are still there, but at a certain moment, the soul leaves the body, and we say that the body is dead. In one sense, the body is always dead because the body is just a machine, and it is the living entity that animates the machine and makes the machine work.

So, one’s father or mother or any loved one may die, and the children will lament, “My father is gone, my father is gone.” “But why do you say that your father is gone? The body is lying there in the bed.” “No, he is gone, he is gone.” Because his father is not the body that’s lying on the bed, his father is something else, a spiritual particle, part and parcel of Krishna, and that spiritual particle is gone. But his whole life, he was thinking, My father is the body. And then, when his father is gone, he is saying, “Oh, my father has gone, but the body is there.”

So, we must know, first of all, who we are, what is our actual self, and then we can pursue the satisfaction of the self. Srila Prabhupada gave the example that if you do a mathematical calculation and you perform all the steps perfectly, but you make a mistake in the first step, although you do all the other steps perfectly, you may get further and further away from the actual solution. So, if we make a mistake in the very beginning and think, I’m the body, even if we do everything perfectly for the sake of the body, we may get further and further away from satisfaction and happiness. And therefore, it is often seen that sometimes the richest people are the most miserable. Of course, I’m not up to date on the statistics, but at one point, Sweden had the highest per capita income of any country in the world, and it also had the highest rate of suicide.

So, everyone knows that trying to accumulate material possessions to enjoy sense gratification does not bring real happiness or satisfaction. Earlier, people had to struggle to get the necessities of life, but in the last century, things changed and there are a lot of people who are not struggling just to fill their belly like in some countries. So, there has been a generation of people who did everything that they were told would make them happy, they followed the steps properly, according to what they were told; they got good educations, they got good jobs, or started businesses, or joined businesses, and they got qualified spouses, and had beautiful, intelligent children, and went on fabulous vacations. But they were not happy. They did everything they were told would make them happy, but they were not happy.

So, this gave rise to a whole new field of psychology called positive psychology, to determine what actually makes someone happy. And they have found that the things that we are told will make us happy don’t actually make us happy. Yes, if someone is starving, someone doesn’t have the basic necessities; food, clothing, and shelter, having a little increase in wealth to bring them to the point where they do have the basic necessities, that can make some difference in their actual happiness. But once you have the basic necessities, just increasing more and more does not really increase your happiness. All those things put together don’t alter your happiness by more than 5 percent. And they found that what actually does contribute to a person’s happiness is doing something meaningful, doing something by which they feel their potential is being realized, and engaging in some activity like meditation. These things can have some effect.

So, these principles were known to the Vedic sages thousands of years ago. I’m mentioning these recent psychological studies not because they’ve taught me something new, but because they have confirmed what we already knew to be true from the Vedic literature.

So, coming back to this point of love, that most basic need to love and be loved, that can be fulfilled only in relation to the supreme. And therefore, the word used in this verse is bhakti. Bhakti means transcendental loving service, specifically to the Supreme. Because we are spiritual souls, individual souls, part and parcel of the Supreme Soul.

So, we have a natural relationship with the Supreme Soul, and that relationship is one of love, because we are part and parcel of the Supreme, we have all the same qualities that He has but in minute quantity. So, He also, although He is perfect and complete, although He is satisfied within Himself, but still, to increase His bliss, He has expanded Himself into so many parts and parcels. And He also desires to reciprocate in loving relationships. So, that is our natural position and that is our real happiness, to be reinstated in our loving relationship with Krishna.

And because that love is there within the heart, it’s already there, it’s not something artificial that you come here and we brainwash you and then you imagine that you are having some loving relationship with Krishna, it’s natural. Anywhere in the world where we go and chant Hare Krishna and tell people about Krishna, they can immediately chant and dance in ecstasy. Even small children, they also chant and dance in ecstasy, because it’s natural, it’s already there.

Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya, it is already established within the heart, and by associating with devotees and purifying the heart, that natural love becomes awakened. Just like there is already fire within a match, you just have to strike the match and the fire comes out. So, love for Krishna is already in the heart, we just have to strike the heart with the transcendental sound vibration of Krishna’s names and glories, and that love comes out. But because we are in the material atmosphere, we have to take care to protect it, because a small fire can waver it, it can become very weak, it can even be extinguished, so we have to take care of it. And the way to take care of it is to stay within the association of pure devotees. Because that bhakti, that loving devotional service, must be ahaituky, without motivation. Without motivation means without desire for any material return. Just like in the material world, someone serves a master but for payment. If there is no payment then that relationship of servant and master will end. And the master also is not reciprocating in love, but he is giving money and taking work. And the general mentality is give as little money as possible, and take as much work as possible. And I suppose the other side is take as much money and do as little work as possible. [laughter] There is no real love.

So, ahaituky means without motive, and apratihatā, without interruption. In other words, loving devotional service to Krishna is not a part-time job, it’s continuous. Srila Prabhupada said the closest thing in the material world to love is the love of a mother for her child. And it’s not a part-time job, it’s not, “Okay, I took care of my child, let’s see what is it, began at seven in the morning, now it’s nine at night, okay, that’s it.” And if the child wakes up in the middle of the night crying, it’s not, “Anyway, I put in my hours today.” No, it’s 24/7.

So, loving devotional service to Krishna is apratihatā, it’s not interrupted, it’s not broken, it’s continuous. And in that awakened state of pure love, one doesn’t want to do anything else but serve Krishna with love, but to make Krishna happy. And by making Krishna happy, one feels happiness. And that also is something that we can experience faintly in the material world, especially, between mother and child or father and child. They take pleasure in seeing the child grow strong and healthy, and learn, and develop, and especially, show interest in devotional service.

So, in spiritual life, one wants to serve more and more. Material life is you want to work less and take more, but in loving devotional service, you want to serve more and take less; you want to eat less and sleep less, you want to spend less time taking care of your body, so you’ll have more time to serve Krishna and Krishna’s devotees, which is part of serving and pleasing Krishna.

One example is Dhruva Maharaja. Dhruva Maharaja was the son of a king in India a long time ago, and during that period, the kings were allowed to marry more than one wife. So, the king had two wives, and one day, this boy Dhruva, who was five years old, he was playing. His father, the king, was sitting on the throne, and he was playing on his father’s lap. And his father’s co-wife, not his mother, said, “Get down from there, you are not born from my womb, you cannot sit on the throne.” And his father was so attached to that wife, even though it was against his heart’s nature to be mean to his son, but because of his excessive attachment to his co-wife, he threw Dhruva down from his lap.

And different people have different natures, this is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, and Dhruva had that kshatriya spirit, that nature of a ruler. And he was very hurt and insulted, and he went to his mother, and he explained what happened, and he said, “What can I do? I want my kingdom.” And his mother said, “I don’t know, I don’t think I can help you because it’s a fact that your father favors the other wife, and I don’t think I can help you.” So, he said, “Well, who can help me?” And she said, “Well, I think the only one who can help you is God.” So, he said, “Where can I find God?” The five-year-old boy. And his mother said, “Well, I think you might find him in the forest because many sages and saintly persons go to the forest to find God.”

So, Dhruva left home at the age of five, went into the forest, and he was looking for God in the way of a five-year-old; he was looking in the bushes, looking under the logs, looking in the trees, looking in the ponds. But God was in his heart, īśhvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ, the Lord is within the heart of every living entity. And He saw that Dhruva was very sincere to find Him.

So, God sent a spiritual master to guide Dhruva, the Lord from within the heart of the spiritual master inspired the spiritual master to go to the forest and meet Dhruva. So, the spiritual master, Narada Muni, gave him some instructions, “You are too young to be living in the forest looking for God. You should go home and live happily. And when you are older, if you still want, you can come to the forest and look for God.” And Dhruva replied, “Your instructions are very good, but I cannot follow them because my nature is different. If you can tell me how to find God, I will be very happy. But if you want to tell me to go home, then you can go home.” [laughter] He had that spirit.

So, this was also a test. Sometimes the guru tests the disciple to see the sincerity of the disciple. So, Narada saw he is very serious, he is not going to make any compromise, and then he instructed him to chant the holy names and follow certain other practices. And Dhruva followed those instructions so strictly, and there were very severe austerities that he performed; controlling his eating, controlling his breathing, he was hardly even breathing at the end.

So much so that God did come to him, Krishna came to him. When Dhruva saw Him, he was overwhelmed with transcendental loving ecstasy, he just had that natural love that we all have within our hearts, whether we know it or not, that was completely manifest by his chanting of the holy name and following of the spiritual master’s instructions, and then ultimately, seeing the Lord Himself. So, he was overwhelmed with ecstasy, and he offered so many beautiful prayers to the Lord. He was just a five-year-old boy, but the Lord touched him on his head with the transcendental conch shell, and that enabled Dhruva to articulate all the thoughts and feelings he had within his heart even though he was just a five-year-old boy.

And at the end, the Lord asked him if He could give him any benediction, and at that stage, Dhruva said, “No, no, I don’t want anything from You, I want only to serve You.” And then, the Lord said, “But what about your kingdom? You came into the forest and performed austerities to get your kingdom.” And Dhruva replied, this is a very noteworthy statement, “Svāmin kṛtārtho’smi varaṁ na yāce,” he said, “That kingdom that I wanted, that was like a piece of broken glass. And by attaining You, I have achieved the most precious jewel. So, I’m completely satisfied, millions of times more satisfied. And so, I do not want any benediction from You.”

So, by his own life’s experience, Dhruva realized that he could be fully satisfied beyond his wildest dreams in loving relationship with the Lord, and that even the greatest kingdom on earth, or even the greatest kingdom in the universe, was nothing but a piece of broken glass compared to that most valuable jewel.

When I was a student, I had the idea of doing good for others. When I was in high school, I suppose I was pretty much in the bodily concept, like everyone else. So, my concept of doing good for others was to become a doctor. And so, I became the president of the Future Doctors Society in high school. Then, when I went to college, I saw that there were people who were physically healthy enough, but who were really suffering mentally. And I saw that the agony that they were suffering because of their minds was even greater than the pain that people feel by having an ordinary physical illness. So then, that idea to do good for others took the form of wanting to become a psychotherapist.

But then, I saw that the members of the psychology department, they seemed to have as many problems as other people. [laughter] They didn’t seem to really be any better than other people. And so, then I thought, I have to go further in my search. And then I started to read books on eastern philosophy and mysticism, and ultimately, I came to Srila Prabhupada. And I thought, This is what I wanted.

But still, I had understood the importance of serving God, I’d understood that very clearly, that’s the first lesson I learned. But still, there was the question about service to humanity, to mankind. So, I asked Srila Prabhupada, “I’ve understood the importance of serving God, the value of serving God, but what about serving mankind?” And Srila Prabhupada quoted this verse, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje, that by loving service to Krishna, one can completely satisfy the self. He said, “Is that not service?” And he told the story of Dhruva Maharaja.

He told the story of Alexander the Great. He came to India, he was invading countries everywhere and conquering them, he came to India. And as soon as he got to the precincts of India, he found a yogi sitting in meditation in the hot sun. So, he got off of his horse, and in a sort of proud mood, he said to the yogi, “I’m Alexander the Great, the conqueror of the world, I’m very impressed that you are sitting here like this in the heat of the sun completely undisturbed. So, I want to give you something. Whatever you want, I will give you. Tell me what I can do for you.” And the yogi replied, “Please move to the side, you are blocking the sun.” [laughter]

And Alexander the Great was very impressed, he sent word back to his other troops and generals, “These people here are not ordinary, you better be careful when dealing with them.” But the point was that he was so satisfied internally, there was nothing that Alexander the Great could give him, he just didn’t want to be disturbed in his austerities and meditation.

So, Srila Prabhupada said, “To give someone something that makes him so satisfied that all the riches in the world are nothing to him, he has no interest in them because he has something more valuable, is that not service to humanity?” And I realized, “Yes, this is the best service to humanity.” And then he said, “Then when you are so satisfied, no more cheating, no more pickpocketing.”

Now, at that time, although I was a pretty good person, association, this is what we were discussing earlier about association. So, I had some friends who had discovered the great art of shoplifting, that you could go into a shop, down some aisle, and put some things in your pocket and no one will know, and you just walk out. So, I was influenced by that association and I started to do that. Little things here and there, but it was definitely improper. So, when Srila Prabhupada said, “You are so satisfied, no more cheating, no more pickpocketing,” I thought, Oh my God, he is talking right to me, he knows what I’m doing. But yes, that is the fact, that one becomes so satisfied he doesn’t need anything else or want anything else except more service. More chanting, more hearing, more associating, more worshiping, more service.

So, this is the secret. And like I mentioned, psychological studies are sort of going in that direction, but they don’t have the benefit of the association of pure devotees and the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But if they do, then they too will know the secrets. So, thank you for joining us today. Are there any questions or comments? All right. Yes?

Devotee: I wanted to ask how the pure devotee knows the heart of someone else? (inaudible) How does that happen?

Giriraj Swami: She is asking how does a pure devotee know the heart of someone else? Well, by the grace of Krishna, Krishna is in everyone’s heart. And Srila Prabhupada said that Krishna gives the spiritual master unlimited intelligence to understand the disciples. And it could also be Krishna in my heart helping me to understand the truth that Srila Prabhupada was speaking and how it applies to me and to everyone else. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja, it’s a combined effort between guru and Krishna.

Devotee: I had a question, Maharaja. What do you feel personally it was for you in Krishna consciousness that gave you so much success?

Giriraj Swami: Dharma. [laughter] I always tried to follow dharma, and it has brought me all success. [laughter] But of course, that path of dharma was revealed to me by Srila Prabhupada. So, in a personal sense, I would say whatever success I’ve had, it’s come by following his instructions. And a lot comes from associating with advanced devotees and chanting the holy name, reading the books, repeating the message, distributing the books. But it’s very interesting. Once, Srila Prabhupada asked a disciple, “What is the most important verse in the Vedic scriptures?” And the disciple said,

harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā 

And Srila Prabhupada said, “No.” [laughter] And then, Srila Prabhupada said,

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

One who has implicit faith in Krishna and similar faith in the spiritual master, to him, all the truths of the Vedas are revealed. And from Srila Prabhupada’s example to what he attributed his success, it was to his full faith in his spiritual master, in the instructions of his spiritual master.

And I don’t know whether it was our good fortune that devotees like Tamal Krishna Goswami, even more so Tamal Krishna Goswami than me, but I also had the opportunity to work closely with Srila Prabhupada and see how much he was motivated by faith in his spiritual master and guided by faith in his spiritual master. Or maybe Srila Prabhupada saw we have that in us, and therefore, he did engage us more closely. But to me, that’s the central point, and I did sort of get that from Tamal Krishna Goswami. Because as a newer devotee, I knew we are supposed to chant, we are supposed to read, we are supposed to go to the morning program, we are supposed to do service. And to me, they were just a list of things that we were supposed to do, and that I was doing.

And then, one evening in Calcutta, on the balcony of the temple, it was sort of late at night, everyone was asleep, and I guess I was finishing my last rounds. And Tamal Krishna Goswami came out and stood next to me and he just started telling me all these confidential things about his relationship with Srila Prabhupada. And then he told me that the secret of success in spiritual life is to serve and please the spiritual master. That was his realization and conviction. And that entered into my heart, and after that, I saw all the other processes in relation to that; chanting the holy name, reading the scriptures, serving the mission.

So, you asked me personally, so that’s my answer, personally. From the time of that discussion, it was probably there all along, but especially from the time of that discussion, it was just a very clear focus to serve Srila Prabhupada and to do everything in relation to service to Srila Prabhupada, see everything in relation to service to Srila Prabhupada. But Krishna’s absolute. But that was Prabhupada’s mood, and we are sort of following in that line. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!