CC Madhya 9.151 – What It Means to Be Self-Satisfied

Giriraj Swami: So, we welcome you to today’s Sunday Festival. I will read one verse from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Generally, in the progression of study, one begins with Īśopaniṣad, and then progresses to the Bhagavad-gītā, then The Nectar of Devotion, then Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and then Caitanya-caritāmṛta. But the verse and purport that I will read today include many of the basic principles of the Bhagavad-gītā, and I hope that those who are new will be able to follow the discussion, because these principles directly affect how we lead our lives. Most people have no idea how to lead their lives for their ultimate benefit, they are more interested in immediate gratification, which ultimately ends in misery.

In Sanskrit, there are two words; śreyas and preyas. Śreyas means ultimate benefit, and preyas means immediate gratification. For example, children are generally interested in immediate gratification. If they had their way, they would probably play all day and night and never go to school. But their parents or guardians explain to them, “If you just play and don’t go to school and study, then later in your life, you will have difficulty, you will not be prepared for what lies ahead.” So, most people, spiritually, are like children; they just want to play. Play means get married, have families, make money, and die. And so, Krishna, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supreme Father of all living entities, comes into this world from time to time and presents the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā for the benefit of His wayward children.

So, most recently, Krishna came five thousand years ago, and He spoke the Bhagavad-gītā. But even then, people could not understand how to follow His instructions. They needed someone to show them how to follow. And so, Krishna came again about 500 years ago in the role of a follower of the Bhagavad-gītā, in the role of a devotee of Krishna. And that form of Krishna is known as Sri Krishna Chaitanya. He is Krishna, but He is playing the part of a devotee, to show us how to be devotees. And just as Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, so Krishna Chaitanya spoke the same knowledge to His immediate disciples, the foremost of which is Srila Rupa Gosvami. And the verse I’m going to read today is from Sri Chaitanya’s instructions to Rupa Gosvami.

This is Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter Nineteen: “Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī,”

TEXT 151

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva

guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

TRANSLATION

“According to their karma.

COMMENT

Now, the word karma has become common in the English language, but still, although people may have a general idea or a vague idea of what karma is, I will explain in a little bit more detail.

Karma literally means work or activity, and for every action, there is a reaction. And therefore, karma can also refer to the reaction that one gets for some act. For example, someone may perform some good deed, and soon thereafter, be blessed by some good fortune. So, we can say that it was instant karma or immediate good karma. And similarly, someone may do something wrong and immediately get a reaction, and that is another type of instant karma. But karma can take a long time to fructify, it’s like a disease. With some types of disease, you contact the germ and you almost immediately get the disease and experience the symptoms. And others, the disease is in you but it stays for a long time before the symptoms actually manifest. So, our birth in a particular body, in a particular family, in a particular community, in a particular nation, on a particular planet, in a particular universe, is our karma.

So, Sri Krishna Chaitanya says:

TRANSLATION

“According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.

COMMENT

Purport by Srila Prabhupada. I’ll go to the second paragraph because, to some extent, I explained the first.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone’s heart, and if one desires something, Kṛṣṇa fulfills one’s desire. If the living entity by chance or fortune comes in contact with the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and wishes to associate with that movement, Kṛṣṇa, who is situated in everyone’s heart, gives him the chance to meet a bona fide spiritual master. This is called guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāda. Kṛṣṇa is prepared to bestow His mercy upon all living entities, and as soon as a living entity desires the Lord’s mercy, the Lord immediately gives him an opportunity to meet a bona fide spiritual master. Such a person is fortified by both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master. He is helped from within by Kṛṣṇa and from without by the spiritual master. Both are prepared to help the sincere living being become free from this material bondage.

COMMENT

So, there is an illustrative history recorded in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about a young boy of about five years of age named Dhruva. Dhruva was born as the son of a king, and in those days, in that culture, a king could have more than one wife. So, the king had two wives. And when Dhruva was playing on the lap of his father, his stepmother rebuked him saying, “You cannot sit on the throne because you were not born from my womb.” And unfortunately, the father was so attached to his wife that although he didn’t really want to do it within his heart, but still, out of his attachment for her, he forced Dhruva off his lap, and Dhruva felt very hurt.

So, he went to his mother and told her what happened and asked what he could do. And his mother told him, “Unfortunately, your father is more attached to your stepmother than to me, and I don’t think I can do anything to help you.” So, then he inquired, “Well, who can help me?” And his mother replied, “I think only God can help you.” Then Dhruva asked, “Where can I find God?” And his mother replied, “I don’t know for sure, but many sages and saintly persons go to the forest to find God.”

So, Dhruva left home and went into the forest to find God. He was very sincere and determined. But because he was in the body of a five-year-old boy, he was looking for God in his own way, according to his understanding. So, he was looking in the bushes, he was looking behind the trees, he was looking under rocks, he was looking under logs, he was looking everywhere for God. And God, from within His heart, understood, “This boy is very eager to find Me.” He went to the forest to find God, he was an exceptional child.

So, Krishna, seeing how eager he was to find Him, perhaps not even knowing that Krishna was God, Krishna sent a spiritual master to guide Dhruva. Krishna, from within the heart of the spiritual master, gave him the dictation, “You go to the forest, there is a young boy looking for Me.” And so, the spiritual master, who is named Narada, went to the forest and found Dhruva.

Now, it is also a fact that the spiritual master will test the disciple or the prospective disciple. And Narada muni tested Dhruva. He said, “My dear boy, you are only five years old. This is the time to play, you shouldn’t take things so seriously, that your stepmother insulted you, or your father said that you could not sit on the throne, he did not allow you to sit on the throne. You should go home, and you should play and enjoy life as a child. And then, when you are older, if you like, you can look for God.” So, Dhruva replied, “Your instructions are very good, but unfortunately, I am unable to follow them. I want to find God, and if you can help me find God, that will be very good. But if you want to tell me to go home, then you can go home.” [laughter]

So, Narada saw that this boy is very sincere and serious, and so, he gave him some instructions and a mantra with the holy name of the Lord to chant. The chanting of a mantra with the holy name of the Lord is the most efficient way to realize God. And therefore, we always chant. And for the present age, it is especially recommended to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which consists of three different words; Hare, Krishna, and Rama, but arranged very scientifically. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. I don’t know if we have a sign with the mantra, but it is our most worshipable Deity, and I hope that very soon we’ll have one.

And so, Dhruva took the instructions of his spiritual master, and he chanted, and chanted, and chanted, and chanted, and Narada gave him other instructions, which he followed. And eventually, because of the intensity of his practice and the sincerity of his purpose, God appeared. Now, when Dhruva was insulted by his stepmother and basically told, “You cannot sit on the throne because you are not born from my womb,” having that kshatriya spirit, that spirit of a natural leader, when he went to the forest, his idea was not just to inherit his father’s kingdom, but he wanted a kingdom even bigger than his father’s, that was his determination.

So, when God came, Dhruva was just enchanted by the Lord’s beauty and quality, he lost thought of anything else, he just wanted to love the Lord and serve the Lord. And although he was just five years old, the Lord enabled him to express his feelings for the Lord in very beautiful prayers.

So, after hearing the prayers, the Lord said to Dhruva, “I am very pleased with you, I’m prepared to give you any benediction that you want. What would you like?” And what Dhruva Maharaja said in reply is very significant, he said, “My Lord, svāmin kṛtārtho’smi varaṁ na yāce, seeing You, I am fully satisfied, I do not want any benediction.” And the Lord replied, “But what about your kingdom? You came to the forest to perform austerities and find Me so that I could help you get your kingdom.” And Dhruva replied, “That kingdom that I was looking for was just like a piece of broken glass. And getting You, I have gotten the most precious gem. So, I am millions of times more satisfied.”

So, this is the nature of spiritual life. When one actually gets some taste for the divine reality, when one actually comes in touch with the Supreme Lord, nothing of the material world has any value to him.

There was a story that Alexander the Great, when he was conquering the world, came to India. And when he reached the outskirts of India, he found a yogi sitting in meditation in the hot sun. And Alexander was so impressed with him that he got down, and he approached the yogi and said, “I am Alexander the Great, I’m the conqueror of the world, I’m prepared to give you whatever you want.” And the yogi replied, “All I want from you is that you move to the side because you are blocking the sun.” And that sun was very hot, it was actually an austerity for him to be sitting in the sun, but he didn’t want his austerity to be obstructed by Alexander the Great. And Alexander the Great was so impressed that he sent messages to his generals, “The people in this place are very special, so don’t mess with them, don’t trouble them.”

So, the idea is that one who has Krishna consciousness, he is fully satisfied, he has no desire for any material gain. And when someone becomes that satisfied, then no more hankering, no more lamenting, no more cheating, no more pickpocketing, because he is satisfied. And then he can actually work for the welfare of others. As long as we are in ignorance about our actual identities and our relationship with the Supreme, we cannot really help people because we ourselves are in want. We won’t be able to see people as they are, as lost children of God who need to revive their relationship with their Supreme Father. But we will see them in terms of what we can get from them, which means we want to exploit them in gross or subtle ways.

And our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, was unique. As he described, at the time, India was sending so many ambassadors and ministers overseas to beg, “Give us rice, give us arms, give us money.” But Srila Prabhupada said, “I haven’t come to beg for anything, but I have come to give the most valuable treasure of Krishna consciousness.” And when people took it, some few fortunate souls as described in the verse, he thanked them for taking it.

So, now we are in that position, where we can receive this most valuable treasure. But there is a process for receiving it. I’ll conclude with one last story, which illustrates the principle.

Lord Chaitanya, as I mentioned, He had His direct disciples; Rupa Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami’s older brother Sanatana Gosvami. So, there was once a devotee of Shiva, and he wanted the most valuable thing. Generally, in the material world, people think that the most valuable thing is a touchstone, something that will turn anything into gold. In many cultures, there are stories about that phenomenon.

So, this materialistic person went to Sanatana Gosvami and he said, “I heard that you have a touchstone, the most valuable thing.” “Oh, you want the touchstone? Okay, it’s somewhere out in the back in the trash.” So, he went to the back, behind Sanatana Gosvami’s ashram, and he looked around and he found it, and he was very happy because he could get so much gold.

But then, he thought, If Sanatana Gosvami is keeping this touchstone in the trash, he must not consider it very valuable. So, then he went back to Sanatana Gosvami and said, “I wanted the most valuable thing, but you gave me the touchstone. I thought that was the most valuable, but there must be something more valuable, otherwise, why would you just keep it in the trash?” So, he said, “Oh, you want that valuable thing? Yes, I can give you that valuable thing. But first, go to the river and throw the touchstone in the river.”

So now, this was a big dilemma, because he had the touchstone in his hand, he knew that it was producing gold, he knew that he could enjoy immense material wealth, but at the same time, he knew there must be something more valuable. So, he was in a dilemma, he hesitated. But then, he finally decided, “I’m going to take the risk, take the chance,” and he threw the touchstone in the river. Then he came back to Sanatana Gosvami and said, “I threw it in the river, now I’m ready for the most valuable thing. What’s truly the most valuable thing?” Then Sanatana Gosvami said, “All right, I’ll give it to you. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”

So, we can get that most valuable treasure, which is ultimately Krishna Himself, but we have to give up our material attachments. As long as we hold on to our material attachments, we cannot really get Krishna, or the holy name of Krishna. We may do something that resembles chanting, and in a way, it is chanting, but it’s not really the chanting through which Krishna manifests Himself. And therefore, we may chant and still be consumed with false ego, mental concoctions, and material desires.

Now, an intelligent person in the audience listening to my talk might have a question. Well, many, but one in particular is that Dhruva had material desires, but he still chanted the holy name, and in the end, he realized God. Now, the reason he was successful was because of the intensity of his practice. And there is a verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā

mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ

tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena

yajeta puruṣaṁ param

Akāmaḥ means those who are without desires, sarva-kāmo means those who are full of material desires, and mokṣa-kāma means those who desire liberation from the material world, who want to merge and become one with the impersonal light, tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena, they should practice bhakti-yoga, tīvreṇa means with great intensity.

That is what Dhruva did, he practiced with great intensity. So, although he had a material desire, he was so determined to realize God and he was prepared to practice without any reservation, with full faith in the instructions of the spiritual master, and ready to forsake any comfort or convenience, so in the end, he realized God.

So, that is another spiritual truth, that if you practice intensely, even if you have other desires in the beginning, by the intensity of your practice, you will realize God, and you will forget all other insignificant desires.

Now, this thought, or I should say this truth, may be a little unsettling. Because someone might think, I can’t give up my material attachments. Of course, you can. Now, this is the mind. The mind is sort of an agent of the false ego. So, the mind will say, “You can’t do that, you can’t do that.” And even the simple practice of chanting Hare Krishna, or as my godbrother Bhurijana Prabhu often said, the mind will always give you so many reasons why you have something more important to do than chanting Hare Krishna. But we, in the present age of Kali, have a special opportunity because of the advent of Krishna in the form of Sri Krishna Chaitanya.

And Sri Krishna Chaitanya, He ordered everyone, and He Himself demonstrated by His own example, that you should taste the holy name, taste Krishna consciousness, and distribute it to others. And if someone takes up that mission of distributing the knowledge of Krishna consciousness, the teachings of Lord Chaitanya and the Bhagavad-gītā, and the chanting of the holy name, one can very quickly please Lord Chaitanya. And by His pleasure, one can become relieved of these material attachments that hold us back.

Now, there is a difference between a material attachment and a material object, because everything is Krishna’s energy, and even something that is ordinarily material can become spiritual or spiritualized if used in Krishna’s service. So, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything, it may mean that, but it more likely means that you don’t have any false sense of proprietorship, “This is mine, it’s for me to enjoy,” but we have the understanding it belongs to Krishna and it should be used in Krishna’s service. And if we have that consciousness, then we can live at home with our spouse and children and do things that so-called normal married people do, but we do it with a different consciousness, understanding, “Everything belongs to Krishna, even my family members belong to Krishna, and I myself belong to Krishna. And therefore, we should all be engaged in Krishna’s service.”

And beyond that, we should take this message to others, and in that spirit, in that way, one can become fully satisfied.

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo

yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

ahaituky apratihatā

yayātmā suprasīdati

That service, which is rendered without any personal desire, or without any interruption, that only can satisfy the self. One can render service, but ahaituky, only if there is no motive, and apratihatā, only if it’s not interrupted. Interrupted means, “Okay, I’m serving Krishna, now let me take a break, I’ve done enough, let me go somewhere else and do something else.” That will not satisfy. But ahaituky apratihatā, if it is unmotivated and uninterrupted, yayātmā suprasīdati, that will fully satisfy the self.

So, we thank you for joining us, and we hope that you will take these instructions to heart. They’re not coming from me, but they’re coming from Krishna and our previous authorities. And if you do, you will find true happiness and satisfaction. And if you don’t, then that’s your choice. But our request is that you at least try it, make an experiment, try it and see the results. Hare Krishna.