SB 11.3.49 – Be Conscious of Krishna in Everything

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Today, we read from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Eleven, Chapter Three, “Liberation from the Illusory Energy,”

TEXT 49

śuciḥ sammukham āsīnaḥ
prāṇa-saṁyamanādibhiḥ
piṇḍaṁ viśodhya sannyāsa-
kṛta-rakṣo ‘rcayed dharim

TRANSLATION

After cleansing oneself, purifying the body by prāṇāyāma, bhūta-śuddhi and other processes, and marking the body with sacred tilaka for protection, one should sit in front of the Deity and worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Prāṇāyāma is the authorized Vedic process for controlling the air within the body. Similarly, bhūta-śuddhi is a process for purifying the body. The word śuciḥ means that one should be internally and externally clean. Śuciḥ means that one should perform activities only for the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If somehow or other one can remember the Supreme Lord constantly by chanting and hearing His holy name, one will come to the pure stage of life, as described in this Vedic mantra:

om apavitraḥ pavitro vā
sarvāvasthāṁ gato ‘pi vā
yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ
sa bahyābhyantara-śuciḥ
(Garuḍa Purāṇa)

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has pointed out that although one may mark the body with sacred tilaka, perform mudrās and chant mantras, if one is thinking within his mind of material sense gratification his worship of Lord Śrī Hari is bogus. Therefore the word śuciḥ here indicates that one should worship the Lord in a favorable frame of mind, considering the Lord to be sacred and one’s self to be an insignificant servant of the Lord. Those who are not favorably inclined toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead do not like to worship the Deity in the temple, and they discourage people from going to the temple of the Lord by saying that since the Lord is omnipresent there is no need to do so. Such envious persons prefer the gymnastic exercises of haṭha-yoga or the rāja-yoga system. But statements by the Lord Himself, such as vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti and māṁ ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, indicate that in mature transcendental realization one understands that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the source of everything and therefore the only worshipable object. Thus the devotees who worship the Deity of the Lord according to the pañcarātra system are not attracted by any yoga process except bhakti-yoga.

COMMENT

This verse is spoken to King Nimi by the Navayogendras. The original context is that Narada Muni was residing in Dvaraka in the hopes of seeing Krishna frequently. And while there, Narada was approached by Vasudeva, who had worshipped the Supreme to get Krishna as his son, but he had not worshipped to get liberation. So, he was feeling that he should learn the process of liberation. Of course, Vasudeva is already liberated, eternally liberated. In fact, Vasudeva is a word for śuddha-sattva, for pure goodness. But devotees are always humble, and he considered himself to be a fallen soul. So, he approached Narada for instruction, and Narada replied to his inquiry by citing this conversation between Maharaja Nimi and Navayogendras.

So, the important word in this verse is śuciḥ, which means clean. And in the purport, we find a verse that Srila Prabhupada often quoted during initiation ceremonies:

om apavitraḥ pavitro vā
sarvāvasthāṁ gato ‘pi vā
yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ
sa bahyābhyantara-śuciḥ

And the meaning is: “Purified or unpurified, or even having passed through all situation, one who remembers the lotus-eyed Supreme Personality of Godhead is cleansed within and without.”

So, this is the process of purification, and that is Krishna consciousness. Remembering the lotus-eyed Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that, one may decorate one’s body with the transcendental marks of tilak for protection and engage in so many other processes, but if his mind is not purified, which means if his mind is not inclined to serve Krishna, to act only for the satisfaction of Krishna, then such processes and worship are considered bogus or false because the real consideration is the consciousness.

Once, in the early days of ISKCON, there was some finding of faults amongst the devotees. And Srila Prabhupada told the story that is very relevant to this verse and purport about a brahman and a prostitute. There was a lane, and on one side was a house with a brahman, and on the opposite side was a house with a prostitute. The brahman would sit with his Bhagavad-gītā in front of the window for sunlight, and the prostitute across the lane would engage in her business. Some catastrophe took place, and both the brahman and the prostitute died. So, the Vishnudutas, the agents of the Lord Vishnu who come for the pure souls to take them back to Godhead, arrived. The Yamadutas, the agents of Yamaraja, the god of death, also arrived. They take the sinful living entities to the court of Yamaraja to be punished.

So the Vishnudutas went to the home of the prostitute, and the Yamadutas came to the residence of the brahman. And the brahman said, “My dear sirs, you are making a mistake. You are meant to take the soul of the prostitute, and the Vishnudutas are meant to take me.” And the Yamadutas replied, “No, sir, we have not made a mistake. Because all the while you were sitting by the window with your shastra, you were looking across at the prostitute’s house and thinking, Oh, the prostitute is doing this; oh, now she is doing that; now they are doing this; now they are doing that. So, by your consciousness, you are fit to be taken to hell. And the prostitute, although she was engaged in her business, she was looking across at you and thinking, Oh, that brahman, he is sitting and reading the Bhagavad-gītā and Krishna is acting as the charioteer of Arjuna and giving so many instructions to Arjuna. And by her consciousness, she was absorbed in Krishna. So, she is fit to go back to Godhead, and you are fit to be punished in hell.”

So the real consideration is the consciousness, not the external activities. And we may not be able to judge another person’s consciousness. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada cited the story that devotees should not be judging each other because they may not really know the consciousness of the other person. And so, they should not falsely claim to know the consciousness of the other person, and they should work on their own consciousness. So, this is a very important point. But at the same time, when we live in the association of devotees and are meant to be examples for people who come to the society, we should be exemplary in our behavior. This morning, I was remembering Srila Prabhupada in Vrindavan in his last year when his health was not so good. But he would always attend Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam class. One disciple complained to Srila Prabhupada that the speakers in the Bhāgavatam class were not so learned or realized, and so he didn’t feel inspired to go to class. Srila Prabhupada replied that if you feel the others are not qualified to give class, then you can give a class. You can give class every day, but you must attend the class every day. And then Srila Prabhupada said, “Just like me, even if I don’t give the class, I come to class every day, and I relish listening to the other devotees speak.” So, there are advanced stages of Krishna consciousness, in which one may not follow the regulator of principles very strictly, but one is Krishna conscious. But in a society of devotees where the intention is to both practice and preach, and the objective is to relish Krishna consciousness and share Krishna consciousness, we should be exemplary in our behavior.

Once Srila Prabhupada raised the question as to why our movement is so successful, whereas so many other religious or spiritual movements are not. And so, the devotees replied, “Because of your books. We have your books.” And Srila Prabhupada responded, “So many societies have books. What makes us successful is when people see that we are practicing what is preached in the books.” Of course, the books are very important, Srila Prabhupada’s books. And this morning, after maṅgala-ārati, we read from Sri Namāmṛta, which is a collection of quotations about the holy name. And just in two minutes, there is such amazing, profound truths. I could spend days, if not months and years, and lifetimes just trying to realize what Srila Prabhupada said in those few paragraphs. They are so profound. So the books are certainly essential. But the books, as His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami said in one talk in Vrindavan, “The books are alive. The books are giving us instruction, and so reading the books means to put into practice the instructions in the books.” The books are not just ink on paper, but they are actually living, and we enter into a relationship with these books, these living, vibrating personalities who are mercifully instructing us in the process of pure devotional service. So, that is reading, not just some intellectual exercise, but actually reading to learn. And not just learn in a theoretical sense, but learn practically. Who am I? Who is God? What is the spiritual energy? What is the material energy? What is my relationship with them? These three divisions – sambandha, abhidheya, prayojana. And what is the goal of life, and what is the means to achieve the goal? These are very burning questions for any intelligent human being, and you get the answers from the books, from the shastra. But we must apply them, and also render service. Actually the two go together.

In the early days in India, Srila Prabhupada kept us extremely busy. And so, for some period, I was not able to read, and it was really bothering me that I wasn’t able to read. I just didn’t have time. So this was weighing on my mind, and once I came into see Srila Prabhupada in Calcutta, I didn’t say anything, but Srila Prabhupada himself addressed my concerns. He told me, well, he was quoting the verse, naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, and he directly told me that by serving the person bhāgavata or reading the book Bhāgavata, one gets the same result, and all the truths of the book Bhāgavata are revealed to a person who serves the devotee bhāgavata even if he never reads the book Bhāgavata. So, that was obviously, not to minimize the value of reading the book Bhāgavata, but he was encouraging me because he knew that I was fully engaged in serving the person bhāgavata. And I guess he understood that I was a little disturbed that I didn’t have time to read the book Bhāgavata. So these two go together, naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, serving the book Bhāgavata and the person bhāgavata. And by the mercy of these two Bhāgavatas, all that is inauspicious in the heart, abhadra is destroyed, almost to nil, naśta-prāyeṣu abhadreṣu. And Srila Prabhupada has said, that means 75 percent.

So, we should be engaged always nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, reading the book Bhāgavata, serving person bhāgavata. And by their mercy, all the inauspicious things in the heart are destroyed. So in this purport, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura tells about different atheistic tendencies, and until we are completely pure, we do have these atheistic tendencies. And one of the atheistic tendencies is to not want to worship the deity. And there are people who have a philosophy that you don’t need to worship the deity because God is everywhere. You don’t need to go to the temple. They discourage people. It is amazing. Srila Prabhupada said, “Big preaching means big enemies.” So when we had the first Bombay pandal, which was attended by in a day, twenty thousand people, so there were enemies. And one of them was from this group that believes, you don’t go to the temple, don’t worship deities. It is not Vedic, and they were handing out leaflets. But the thing is that although it may exist in a very exaggerated and overt form outside, it may also exist in a subtle form inside. And so, we may commit subtle offenses because we don’t really have faith that the deity is Krishna. So, although it is true that God is everywhere as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura quotes two verses,

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti can be read that Vasudeva, or Krishna is everything, Krishna is everywhere. But the more precise understanding is that Krishna as the origin of everything, and therefore He is manifested, as the origin is worshipable. And therefore, there is a distinction between worshiping the energetic and the energy, shakti and shaktiman. We worship the source of the energy, or we worship the energy with the source of the energy, but we don’t worship the energy independently, and we don’t neglect or ignore the source of the energy.

So these are, in a way, basic but in a way intricate philosophical points. And a devotee, when he sees the energy of Krishna, will think of Krishna because he will see it as Krishna’s energy. Just like if you go to an art museum, you will see a painting, and you say, “Oh, that is a Picasso.” Well, what do you mean it is a Picasso? It is a painting done by Picasso, but seeing the painting, you immediately think of the artist—That is a Picasso. Or another example is parents, they will see their child’s socks, they will think of their child. They will see their child’s toy; they will think of their child. So by seeing the energy of Krishna, a devotee remembers Krishna, and that is Krishna consciousness. And there are many verses in the Bhagavad-gītā to help us, like, raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya, I am the taste of water. Every day, we taste water, but do we think of Krishna when we taste the water? Krishna says, “I am the taste of that water.” So we can think of Krishna. It is Krishna’s energy; you can think of Krishna. And raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya, it can also be translated as, I am the taste of the liquid things. Srila Prabhupada says if a drunkard is imbibing alcohol, and if he thinks the taste of this alcoholic beverage is Krishna, he will become Krishna conscious even while drinking. So that is our process. That is our goal, to be conscious of Krishna in everything, internally and externally. And that will make us clean, śuci, and clean means to see Krishna as the Absolute Truth, the origin of everything, and see ourselves as His humble servant, as His eternal servant, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, chanting the holy name cleanses the heart of dirty things. And what does that mean, dirty things? It means that we identify with the body; that is the first dirty thing. That we identify with the body. And so, chanting, hearing, remembering Krishna, it cleanses the heart. The same idea, nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā.

When the mirror of the mind is cleansed, we can see ourselves as we are, as eternal servants of Krishna. And we see that all other living entities in the same way, as eternal servants of Krishna. It may be covered to different degrees, and we also don’t know exactly to what extent their consciousness is covered or if it is covered. But at heart, they are eternal servants of Krishna. We are eternal servants of Krishna. We are one, and we are all eternal servants of Krishna. And therefore, we are meant to cooperate in Krishna’s service or Krishna’s pleasure. All along, the chanting should go on. Chant! chant! chant! There was once a cartoon—I have mentioned this—that Srila Prabhupada saw there was a cartoon, and an old man and an old lady were sitting together. And the lady was saying, “Chant, chant, chant,” and the husband was saying, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” Srila Prabhupada would quote that cartoon, that with the same effort that he was saying “can’t, can’t, can’t” he could have chanted. So this is our misfortune that we can chant very easily, but we don’t. So whenever we have time as Prabhupada said in one nice lecture in Los Angeles, “If you have time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t waste time, don’t speak nonsense. Chant Hare Krishna.”

Hare Krishna!

So, are there any questions or comments? Yes.

Devotee: naśta-prāyeṣu abhadreṣu, 75 percent, and we are really having 5 percent? So, my question is theoretical, but what about the other 25 percent?

Giriraj Swami: Well, these verses in the Second Chapter of the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam actually describe different stages of devotional service. As Srila Rupa Gosvami states, ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ atha bhajana-kriyā tato anartha-nivṛttiḥ. So, this one, naśta-prāyeṣu abhadreṣu, that refers to niṣṭhā. At the stage of niṣṭhā, we can say 75 percent have been purified, and then there are successive stages— ruciḥ, āsakti, and then bhāva, and then prema. So, Srila Visvanatha Chakravarthy Thakura in a small book called Mādhurya-kādambinī has discussed these different stages in a very concise and analytical way, he has described what anarthas are eradicated at what stage and to what degree. So, if you want that detailed analysis, you can find it in Mādhurya-kādambinī. But the basic progression is just in these verses in the Second Chapter of the First Canto.

So, what was your question?

Devotee: Well, my question was, naśta-prāyeṣu abhadreṣu, almost to nil. [Unintelligible 00:47:37]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Anant Govinda.

Devotee: How do cultivate the mood that deity on altar is actually Radha and Krishna. [Unintelligible 00:48:20]

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good question. How do we develop faith that the deity, Radha-Kalachandji are actually Radha and Krishna?

Well, faith begins from hearing and associating with devotees who have faith. And it also comes by applying what you have read and feeling the results. And then, when you feel the results, then your faith increases; nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, we have to like keep reading, keep hearing, and keep worshiping. But it is also, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. As you surrender to Krishna, Krishna will reciprocate. Srila Prabhupada said, “If you see the deity as Krishna, Krishna will speak with you. If you see the deity as stone, the deity will remain a stone for you, forever.” But as a sincere devotee, trying to progress in Krishna consciousness and overcome atheistic tendencies by hearing, chanting, and worshiping. It happens quite frequently that a devotee who received second initiation and begins to worship the deity, feels the deity’s reciprocation in ways that the devotee could not have anticipated before getting the second initiation and engaging in the deity service if the basic mood is right to begin with. Yes, Rasaraja Prabhu.

Rasaraja Prabhu: So in the condition state, it is described that a person who goes to the temple, sees the difference between worshiping the deity and serving the devotees. My understanding is that the later stage, which one actually understands the importance of actually associating and serving the devotees, as being on the same platform as serving the deities? So, as we progress in Krishna consciousness, should our service attitude becomes more in terms of really wanting to serve the devotees more than serving the deity or continue to actually maintain both?

Giriraj Swami: Once in California, there was a deity installation ceremony at a grihastha’s home, and His Holiness Radhanath Swami and I together were invited, and we did the program together. And I chose to read a verse and purport from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that speaks about deity worship especially at home. And there is a phrase that the deity worship is important for neophytes. And then when His Holiness Radhanath Swami spoke, he said that it is good for neophytes, but it is also good for advanced devotees, and he quoted Sanatana Gosvami worshiping his deity and all the Six Gosvamis engaged in deity worship. So, it is not really one or the other, but it is both. But there is a statement in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that the worship of the devotee takes precedence. And once, in a Calcutta temple, a very important man happened to come to the temple when no one was there except the pujari who was doing the ārati. And Srila Prabhupada said that under the circumstances, he should have stopped the ārati and received that person, who just came and saw no one was there and left. And then he quoted that verse, mad-bhakta-pūjā abhyadhika, that worship of the devotee takes precedence. But generally, we do both. Rupanuga Prabhu.

Rupanuga Prabhu: Maharaja, you said that we should avoid judging other people because there is no way that we can know what their consciousness is. I think [Unintelligible 00:55:45] correct?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I will let you know if it is correct when I hear the question.

 Rupanuga Prabhu: So my question is, if we are to avoid bad association, or association is not beneficial to us, then how can we know whether it is beneficial or not if we don’t judge?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is a good point. In the Nectar of Instruction, Srila Rupa Gosvami mentions six exchanges of love shared among devotees. And in the next verse, he mentions different categories of devotees and how to relate to them. And Srila Prabhupada comments that one must apply the six exchanges with intelligence and discrimination. So, Rupa Gosvami says, one should mentally honor that devotee who has once chanted the holy name, who is just beginning to chant. One should offer respectful obeisances to that devotee who has undergone the process of initiation and is engaged in the service of the Lord. And one should faithfully serve that devotee who, has realized himself as the eternal servant of Krishna and is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others.

So yes, one does have to discriminate. But the context in which Srila Prabhupada told that story was within a temple where they were presumably all devotees. So, sort of to stop the quarreling and fault-finding among the devotees, he told the story. But the scriptures are full of descriptions of different categories of devotees—of pure devotees, mixed devotees—and instructions about how to deal differently with different categories of people. And the books of our acharyas are filled with discussion on such topics. So we do need to discriminate. But it should be done; if we take that verse of Rupa Gosvami as mentally honored, there is no provision for dishonoring, disrespecting. Mentally honor means you can keep a distance, but still, within your mind, you should honor them because at least they have begun to chant the holy name, and there are many details and special cases, but we don’t need to do that. Yes, you are right. Yes.

Rupanuga Prabhu: I guess, what I was wondering about this was, if that judging could be considered faulting, depending on one’s intent in making that judgment?

Giriraj Swami: Certainly. If we are envious, if we want to put others down thinking we put them down, I will be putting myself up, then of course, our vision will be distorted. So, I think it is overall it is better just to try to see the good and learn from the good that we see in others, and encourage the good that we see. And unless it is our service, we don’t have to go beyond that. For someone as an authority, he will have to correct and devotee. I was at the sādhu-saṅga retreat last year with His Holiness Radhanath Swami, and so we having breakfast together, one of the organizers asked Radhanath Swami for some critical feedback about the retreat, how it could be improved. Radhanath Swami replied that, “I don’t see things in a critical way unless I am asked to, unless it is my service. I really haven’t noticed anything. If you are asking, if you are giving me that service, then I can look at things differently. But otherwise, unless it is my service, I don’t see things in a critical way.”

Rupanuga Prabhu: I was just curious about this one quick question. It stated that all of our offenses come from the eleventh offense inattentive chanting. And I was curious about how that coincides with the instruction of constant chanting.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that by attentive chanting, all the other offenses are vanquished, and by inattentive chanting, the other offenses can flourish. But how does it go with constant chanting? It goes completely with constant chanting.

Rupanuga Prabhu: I will take constant chanting, but I will just give up the idea that I am going to always be attentive because I am on my way to the grocery store? Am I missing something? Is there instruction on constant chanting?

Giriraj Swami: Well, a lot about the verse has been about the consciousness, and you should always remember Krishna, never forget Him, whether you are at the grocery store or wherever. The best way to remember Krishna at the grocery store is to chant, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, but that kirtan doesn’t necessarily have to be the direct chanting of the holy name. It can mean any activity that propagates the holy name or that supports the propagation of the holy name.

Rupanuga Prabhu: So our saṅkīrtana, we always sit back in the office, [Unintelligible 01:04:50], it is chanting because we are doing Krishna’s service.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, but there is a question of the consciousness. Well yes, if that is our consciousness, that we want to engage them in Krishna’s service, and we are somehow or other, yena kena prakārena, somehow or other, one engaged in Krishna’s service for Krishna’s pleasure and for their benefit, that is Krishna consciousness.

Rupanuga Prabhu: It a technical question. Do you have any tips on how to be more attentive in our chanting?

Giriraj Swami: When your mind wanders, you bring it back. It is an effort. Oh yes, getting up early, chanting in front of the Tulasi-devi, chanting in front of the deities, chanting serious chanters, that helps. I heard that from one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Kalakanta Prabhu in Gainesville. He said the most important thing you can do for your spiritual life is to go to sleep early because then you can get up early, and then everything is better.

Rupanuga Prabhu: I have been doing that for a lot of years. Because otherwise, if I finish these rounds out later in the day.

Giriraj Swami: Therefore, as His Holiness Keshava Bhakti Swami says, you have got to do what you have to do, and you have to do it.

Thank you all. Maharaja, would you like to add anything? Alright,

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!