BG 3.10

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna my dear devotees.

Devotees: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. 

Giriraj Swami: Thank you Madhava prabhu for that wonderful kirtan. We look forward to the next one. So I will read one verse from Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter Three, “Karma-yoga.” 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Srimad-Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Chapter Three, “Karma-yoga,” Text 10.

TEXT 10

saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā
purovāca prajāpatiḥ
anena prasaviṣyadhvam
eṣa vo ‘stv iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk

TRANSLATION

In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, “Be thou happy by this yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The material creation by the Lord of creatures (Viṣṇu) is a chance offered to the conditioned souls to come back home – back to Godhead. All living entities within the material creation are conditioned by material nature because of their forgetfulness of their relationship to Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Vedic principles are to help us understand this eternal relation, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. The Lord says that the purpose of the Vedas is to understand Him. In the Vedic hymns it is said: patiṁ viśvasyātmeśvaram. Therefore, the Lord of the living entities is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also (2.4.20) Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the Lord as pati in so many ways:

śriyaḥ patir yajña-patiḥ prajā-patir
dhiyāṁ patir loka-patir dharā-patiḥ
patir gatiś cāndhaka-vṛṣṇi-sātvatāṁ
prasīdatāṁ me bhagavān satāṁ patiḥ

The prajā-pati is Lord Viṣṇu, and He is the Lord of all living creatures, all worlds, and all beauties, and the protector of everyone. The Lord created this material world to enable the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajñas (sacrifices) for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, so that while in the material world they can live very comfortably without anxiety, and after finishing the present material life they can enter into the kingdom of God.

COMMENT

So who wants to, while in the material world, live very comfortably without anxiety? Everyone. And, who after finishing the present material body would like to enter into the kingdom of God? Everybody. So this is for you, for us, for all of us. 

PURPORT (continued)

The Lord created this material world to enable the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajñas (sacrifices) for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, so that while in the material world they can live very comfortably without anxiety, and after finishing the present material body they can enter into the kingdom of God. That is the whole program for the conditioned soul. By performance of yajña, the conditioned souls gradually become Kṛṣṇa conscious and become godly in all respects.

COMMENT

Now, what yajña can we perform easily and efficiently? 

PURPORT (continued)

In the Age of Kali, the saṅkīrtana-yajña (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in this age. Saṅkīrtana-yajña and Kṛṣṇa consciousness go well together.

COMMENT

In other words, by performing saṅkīrtana-yajña, you become Krishna conscious, and if you are Krishna conscious, you’ll perform saṅkīrtana-yajña.

PURPORT (continued)

Saṅkīrtana-yajña and Kṛṣṇa consciousness go well together. Lord Kṛṣṇa in His devotional form (as Lord Caitanya) is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32) as follows, with special reference to the saṅkīrtana-yajña:

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

“In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña.”

COMMENT

So this verse is very significant, and I will explain some of the deep meanings contained within Sanskrit. kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ, so varṇaṁ has two meanings. varṇaya means to glorify and varṇaṁ also means category like, varṇāśrama-dharma. So kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ, He is in the category of Krishna, and He is always engaged in glorifying Krishna. tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ, but His complexion is not blackish. Actually, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, but He came in the mood of Srimati Radharani because He wanted to understand what it was about Him that She loved so much, and He wanted to experience the love for Him that She felt. But He could not do that in the position of Krishna. He had to do it in the position of Radharani. 

So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna but in the mood of Srimati Radharani and with the complexion of Srimati Radharani. And therefore, it is said here, tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ, not blackish like Krishna but golden like Radharani. sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam, sāṅga means, accompanied by; opāṅgāstra-pārṣadam, pārṣadam means His associates. His associates are like His weapons, āstra. They are like His weapons to defeat maya. 

yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair, so by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña; yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ, so people who are worshiping by [performance of] saṅkīrtana-yajña are su-medhasa, which means highly intelligent. There is another word alpa-medhasaḥ which means less intelligent. And, the Bhagavad-gītā describes, “People who worship the demigods are alpa-medhasaḥ.” But those who worship Lord Chaitanya by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña are su-medhasa, highly intelligent. All of you are highly intelligent because you are worshiping Sri Krishna Chaitanya by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña. And, if anyone accuses you of not being intelligent, you can say, “No, I am intelligent. It is stated right in the shastra. If anyone who worships Lord Chaitanya by performance of saṅkīrtana is highly intelligent.” 

PURPORT (continued)

“In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates,

COMMENT

Many associates but especially, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda.

PURPORT (continued)

“In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña.” Other yajñas prescribed in the Vedic literatures are not easy to perform in this Age of Kali, but the saṅkīrtana-yajña is easy and sublime for all purposes, as recommended in Bhagavad-gītā also (9.14).

COMMENT

It is a very significant verse and very much to the point. 

TEXT 14

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate

TRANSLATION

“Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.”

COMMENT

So satataṁ, always; kīrtayanto māṁ, chanting, or performing kirtan, or glorifying Krishna. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ. It’s like tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, always chant the Holy name. I won’t read the whole purport although it’s very nice. But I’ll just read the last paragraph. 

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As described in the second verse of this chapter, not only is this devotional service easy, but it can be performed in a happy mood. One does not need to undergo any severe penance and austerity. He can live this life in devotional service, guided by an expert spiritual master, and in any position, either as a householder or a sannyāsī or a brahmacārī; in any position and anywhere in the world, he can perform this devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus become actually mahātmā, a great soul.

COMMENT

So this saṅkīrtana-yajña bestows everything that we could possibly want, namely to live peacefully and happily in the material world, and at the end of life to go back home, back to Godhead. So we should perform saṅkīrtana-yajña. As Srila Prabhupada said to the followers of Los Angeles, “If you’ve got time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t speak nonsense, chant Hare Krishna.” And, so following Srila Prabhupada’s instruction, we should chant Hare Krishna and we request His Grace Madhava prabhu to lead us in chanting Hare Krishna. 

Srila Prabhupada ki. . . jaya! 

saṅkīrtana movement ki. . . jaya!