BG 3.10

Giriraj Swami: I will begin by singing the maṅgalācaraṇa prayers and leading a short kirtan, and then I will speak on the Bhagavad-gītā.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

[Bhagavad-gītā 3.10]

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 body they can enter into the kingdom of God.

COMMENT

So who wants to live very comfortably without anxiety? And after finishing the present body, enter into the kingdom of God? Yes, we all do. [Unintelligible question from audience] And that can be achieved. How? How can that be achieved? By the performance of yajña.

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

In the Age of Kali, what yajña is recommended?

Devotees: Saṅkīrtana-yajña!

Giriraj Swami: Yes!

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. 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, sumedhasaḥ means very intelligent. If anyone accuses you that you are not intelligent, you can say, “No, sir. I am certified as sumedhasaḥ, highly intelligent, because I perform saṅkīrtana-yajña. And as opposed to sumedhasaḥ, others, alpa-medhasaḥ, which is less intelligent.” And the Bhagavad-gītā says that those who worship the demigods are alpa-medhasaḥ, less intelligent. But you all are sumedhasaḥ.

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

And I will read that verse. Many of you know it.

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

Always chanting My glories “satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ,” always engaging in kirtan same thing in Śikṣāṣṭakam, “kirtaniya sada hari.”

TRANSLATION

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

COMMENT

So, we are very fortunate to be born in the Kali-yuga, immediately after the Dvapara-yuga in which Krishna appeared. The Yuga Avatar in Kali-yuga, it is not always the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but He appears as the Yuga Avatar only in the Kali-yuga, after the Dvapara-yuga in which Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears. So, we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to serve Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, whose methods and mercy have been brought to us by our beloved Founder-Acharya, Srila Prabhupada. So, we should take advantage and whenever possible, we should chant Hare Krishna. In one talk in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada said, “If you have time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t speak nonsense. Don’t waste time. Chant Hare Krishna.” So, we should do that and make our lives sublime and successful. So, we have a few minutes left. And if any of you want to ask any questions or share any reflections, make any comments, please raise your hand.

Devotee (1): [Unintelligible question]

Giriraj Swami: Well, yes, Krishna says that the material world is a place of suffering, dukhalayam ashasvatam. And also temporary. But although it is by nature a place of suffering, we can avoid the suffering by becoming Krishna conscious. I mean, there may, there will be external setbacks. I mean, that is natural. But because of Krishna consciousness, the devotee doesn’t really suffer as ordinary people do, but takes everything as the mercy of the Lord and engages with even more sincerity and determination in devotional service.

There is a beautiful verse, “tat te ‘nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo,” and it basically, this is mentioned in The Nectar of Devotion under the heading of “Expecting the Lord’s Mercy.” And the idea is that, as Srila Prabhupāda says in The Nectar of Devotion, unless one is perfect in Krishna consciousness, one will suffer reactions to his past misdeeds. But if he continues to serve the Lord with his body, mind, and words, and awaits the Lord’s mercy, he will inherit the kingdom of God, “mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk.” And in his commentary on this verse, Srila Sridhra Swami says that the devotee need only remain alive in Krishna consciousness by following the practices of bhakti-yoga, and he will inherit the kingdom of God, just like a son needs only remain alive to inherit the property of the father. So, we are blessed. And citing this verse in The Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada says, “This should be the guide for all devotees.”

Devotee (2): [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: He is saying that if saṅkīrtana is the recommended process for the present age, why do we also put so much emphasis on japa? And what is the relationship between japa and saṅkīrtana?

The basic principle of vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti is to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. In commenting on this verse in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Srila Prabhupada says that the devotees engage in many activities in the Krishna consciousness movement, such as distributing books and enrolling new members and in the course of all these activities, they are meant to remember Krishna. “Smartavyaṁ satato viṣṇuḥ vismārtavyaṁ na jātucit.”

One should always remember Krishna and not forget Him at any time. But then Srila Prabhupada says, that to always remember Krishna and never forget Him, one must chant a minimum of sixteen rounds daily. He says that of all the instructions of the spiritual master, the instruction to chant a minimum of sixteen rounds daily is most essential. So, we do both. We chant japa and we perform hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. Japa is something we can do anywhere, anytime, just by ourselves. All we need is our beads and our tongue, whereas hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana is generally performed with other devotees and musical instruments. The two complement each other; they go together.

Devotee (3): [Unintelligible] I am curious to hear. Maybe you can comment about “sumedhasaḥ.”

Giriraj Swami: Yes, “yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ.” So those who are very intelligent worship the Lord in Kali-yuga by the performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña.

Devotee (4): [Unintelligible], IQ or academic intelligence, and the devotee may be very sincere.

Giriraj Swami: This “sumedhasaḥ” refers to spiritual intelligence, although a devotee will be intelligent in other ways as well. One time, my parents came to meet me in Calcutta when Srila Prabhupada was there. Eventually, they came to the point that they wanted me to come back to America, and Srila Prabhupada said that, it was a long discussion, very interesting, but in short, Srila Prabhupada said, “He can remain with me, and then when I come to America in the summer, he can come with me.” So, I said to my father, “Just see how intelligent Srila Prabhupada is, because when it is cold and miserable in America and pleasant in India, he stays in India. And then when it gets too hot in India and it is pleasant in America, he goes to America.”

And by this time in the conversation, my father was very enlivened by Srila Prabhupada, and he said, “Yes, your master is very intelligent.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Your son is very intelligent because he has understood my strategy.” (Laughter) And my father said, “No, actually, you are very intelligent.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Well, I guess I must be intelligent. Otherwise, how could I attract so many intelligent young men like your son?” So, devotees are intelligent. They may not be materially intelligent in some respects, but that is not of particular concern. We are interested in spiritual intelligence.

Any other questions or comments?

Devotee (5): In the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, In the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, there are three names: Hari, Krishna, and Rama. Hare refers to the energy of the Lord, Radha. And when we chant Hare Krishna, we are actually chanting Radha-Krishna. And of course, Krishna is Krishna. And Rama can refer to Krishna as the supreme enjoyer; it can refer to Lord Balarama, and it can refer to Lord Ramachandra. But generally, in our mood, we see Hare Rama as Krishna Radhika-ramana or Radha-Ramana Hare. Was there another part to your question?

Devotee (6): I was just wondering, Why [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Did I answer? I thought so. Okay, good. And any other questions or comments? All right, yes.

Devotee (7): What is the difference between intellect and intuition?

Giriraj Swami: Between intellect and intuition? Well, different people have different ways of getting information. Intelligence is one way, and intuition is another way. One of my godbrothers said of me that first I get the intuition first, and then after I get the intuition, I get the reasons to support it. But either way, to have good intelligence or get good intuition, we should purify our hearts, especially by attentive, offenseless chanting of

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

If we do that, we will get good intelligence and good intuitions.

Any other questions or comments?

Okay, so now announcements from Dharma dasa, “Dharma rakshati rakshitaha”. If you protect dharma, dharma will protect you.