| Lecture by H.H. Gopal Krishna Goswami (Bhagavad-gita 10.4-5) |
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31.01.03, Niznhi Novgorod buddhir jnnam asammohah Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy-all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone. PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada The different qualities of living entities, be they good or bad, are all created by Krishna, and they are described here.Intelligence refers to the power to analyze things in their proper perspective, and knowledge refers to understanding what is spirit and what is matter. Ordinary knowledge obtained by a university education pertains only to matter, and it is not accepted here as knowledge. Knowledge means knowing the distinction between spirit and matter. In modern education there is no knowledge about spirit; they are simply taking care of the material elements and bodily needs. Therefore academic knowledge is not complete. Asammoha, freedom from doubt and delusion, can be achieved when one is not hesitant and when he understands the transcendental philosophy. Slowly but surely he becomes free from bewilderment. Nothing should be accepted blindly; everything should be accepted with care and with caution. Ksama, tolerance and forgiveness, should be practiced; one should be tolerant and excuse the minor offenses of others. Satyam, truthfulness, means that facts should be presented as they are, for the benefit of others. Facts should not be misrepresented. According to social conventions, it is said that one can speak the truth only when it is palatable to others. But that is not truthfulness. The truth should be spoken in a straightforward way, so that others will understand actually what the facts are. If a man is a thief and if people are warned that he is a thief, that is truth. Although sometimes the truth is unpalatable, one should not refrain from speaking it. Truthfulness demands that the facts be presented as they are for the benefit of others. That is the definition of truth. Control of the senses means that the senses should not be used for unnecessary personal enjoyment. There is no prohibition against meeting the proper needs of the senses, but unnecessary sense enjoyment is detrimental for spiritual advancement. Therefore the senses should be restrained from unnecessary use. Similarly, one should restrain the mind from unnecessary thoughts; that is called sama. One should not spend one's time pondering over earning money. That is a misuse of the thinking power. The mind should be used to understand the prime necessity of human beings, and that should be presented authoritatively. The power of thought should be developed in association with persons who are authorities in the scriptures, saintly persons and spiritual masters and those whose thinking is highly developed. Sukham, pleasure or happiness, should always be in that which is favorable for the cultivation of the spiritual knowledge of Krishna consciousness. And similarly, that which is painful or which causes distress is that which is unfavorable for the cultivation of Krishna consciousness. Anything favorable for the development of Krishna consciousness should be accepted, and anything unfavorable should be rejected. Bhava, birth, should be understood to refer to the body. As far as the soul is concerned, there is neither birth nor death; that we have discussed in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. Birth and death apply to one's embodiment in the material world. Fear is due to worrying about the future. A person in Krishna consciousness has no fear because by his activities he is sure to go back to the spiritual sky, back home, back to Godhead. Therefore his future is very bright. Others, however, do not know what their future holds; they have no knowledge of what the next life holds. So they are therefore in constant anxiety. If we want to get free from anxiety, then the best course is to understand Krishna and be situated always in Krishna consciousness. In that way we will be free from all fear. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.37) it is stated, bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syat: fear is caused by our absorption in the illusory energy. But those who are free from the illusory energy, those who are confident that they are not the material body, that they are spiritual parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and who are therefore engaged in the transcendental service of the Supreme Godhead, have nothing to fear. Their future is very bright. This fear is a condition of persons who are not in Krishna consciousness. Abhayam, fearlessness, is possible only for one in Krishna consciousness. Ahimsa, nonviolence, means that one should not do anything which will put others into misery or confusion. Material activities that are promised by so many politicians, sociologists, philanthropists, etc., do not produce very good results because the politicians and philanthropists have no transcendental vision; they do not know what is actually beneficial for human society. Ahimsa means that people should be trained in such a way that the full utilization of the human body can be achieved. The human body is meant for spiritual realization, so any movement or any commissions which do not further that end commit violence on the human body. That which furthers the future spiritual happiness of the people in general is called nonviolence. Samata, equanimity, refers to freedom from attachment and aversion. To be very much attached or to be very much detached is not the best. This material world should be accepted without attachment or aversion. That which is favorable for prosecuting Krishna consciousness should be accepted; that which is unfavorable should be rejected. That is called samata, equanimity. A person in Krishna consciousness has nothing to reject and nothing to accept save in terms of its usefulness in the prosecution of Krishna consciousness.
Tusti, satisfaction, means that one should not be eager to gather more and more material goods by unnecessary activity. One should be satisfied with whatever is obtained by the grace of the Supreme Lord; that is called satisfaction. Tapas means austerity or penance. There are many rules and regulations in the Vedas which apply here, like rising early in the morning and taking a bath. Sometimes it is very troublesome to rise early in the morning, but whatever voluntary trouble one may suffer in this way is called penance. Similarly, there are prescriptions for fasting on certain days of the month. One may not be inclined to practice such fasting, but because of his determination to make advancement in the science of Krishna consciousness, he should accept such bodily troubles when they are recommended. However, one should not fast unnecessarily or against Vedic injunctions. One should not fast for some political purpose; that is described in Bhagavad-gita as fasting in ignorance, and anything done in ignorance or passion does not lead to spiritual advancement. Everything done in the mode of goodness does advance one, however, and fasting done in terms of the Vedic injunctions enriches one in spiritual knowledge.
As far as charity is concerned, one should give fifty percent of his earnings to some good cause. And what is a good cause? It is that which is conducted in terms of Krishna consciousness. That is not only a good cause, but the best cause. Because Krishna is good, His cause is also good. Thus charity should be given to a person who is engaged in Krishna consciousness. According to Vedic literature, it is enjoined that charity should be given to the brahmanas. This practice is still followed, although not very nicely in terms of the Vedic injunction. But still the injunction is that charity should be given to the brahmanas. Why? Because they are engaged in higher cultivation of spiritual knowledge. A brahmana is supposed to devote his whole life to understanding Brahman. Brahma janatiti brahmanah: one who knows Brahman is called a brahmana. Thus charity is offered to the brahmanas because they are always engaged in higher spiritual service and have no time to earn their livelihood. In the Vedic literature, charity is also to be awarded to one in the renounced order of life, the sannyasi. The sannyisis beg from door to door, not for money but for missionary purposes. The system is that they go from door to door to awaken the householders from the slumber of ignorance. Because the householders are engaged in family affairs and have forgotten their actual purpose in life-awakening their Krishna consciousness-it is the business of the sannyisis to go as beggars to the householders and encourage them to be Krishna conscious. As it is said in the Vedas, one should awake and achieve what is due him in this human form of life. This knowledge and method is distributed by the sannyisis; hence charity is to be given to the renouncer of life, to the brahmanas, and similar good causes, not to any whimsical cause.
Yasas, fame, should be according to Lord Caitanya, who said that a man is famous when he is known as a great devotee. That is real fame. If one has become a great man in Krishna consciousness and it is known, then he is truly famous. One who does not have such fame is infamous. All these qualities are manifest throughout the universe in human society and in the society of the demigods. There are many forms of humanity on other planets, and these qualities are there. Now, for one who wants to advance in Krishna consciousness, Krishna creates all these qualities, but the person develops them himself from within. One who engages in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord develops all the good qualities, as arranged by the Supreme Lord.
Of whatever we find, good or bad, the origin is Krishna. Nothing can manifest itself in this material world which is not in Krishna. That is knowledge; although we know that things are differently situated, we should realize that everything flows from Krishna.
LECTURE I spoke to some of devotees today before the lecture and we thought it would be a good idea to discuss Krishna's explanation of certain qualities that we should develop. In the morning somebody had a question how we can have better relationship amongst devotees. The better relationship amongst devotees can be cultivated by developing these transcendental qualities. Developing these transcendental qualities is the key to developing better relationship.
So Krishna in the tenth chapter explains these transcendental qualities that one should develop. Outside it is cold and inside it is so hot. Like you see, due to technology in Summer you can create Winter and in Winter you can create Summer. When it is very cold outside, minus thirty, you can have a good heating system and it will be plus thirty inside. And when it is very hot outside you can have air-conditioning equipment and it will be freezing inside.
Just like few months ago, last year I was in the Middle East. As you know in the Middle East the weather is very warm. Burning hot. But in every office building, every residence or a huge shop you feel like in Siberia because there is air-conditioning inside. Everything is air-conditioned there. The cars are air-conditioned, the buses are air-conditioned, the shops are air-conditioned, the offices are air-conditioned. You don't feel the heat. So due to technology you can create Summer in Winter and Winter in Summer. Similarly with spiritual technology you can create Satya-yuga in Kali-yuga. What is the technology? Chant Hare Krishna and though you may be in 21st century, modern Russia, actually you are in Vaikuntha.
Now, in tenth chapter, texts 4-5, Krishna discusses various qualities, that we Vaisnavas should develop. We thought we would have a little discussion and we hope that this discussion will be of some help to all of you...
One quality Krishna says we should all develop is the quality of intelligence. What does this intelligence mean? Intelligence means having the ability to see things in the right prospective. That is real intelligence. In modern society we think intelligence means you just know the art of cheating others. If somebody is very expert in cheating others they say, "Oh, he is so intelligent that he became a millionaire so fast". But spiritually intelligence means having the ability to see things in the right prospective. What does it mean to see things in the right prospective? To see the difference between matter and spirit, and to see how everything is temporary and the only permanent thing is our relationship with the Lord.
Then another quality... Of course, I must confess from the beginning that each of these qualities can be discussed for one hour. But since we have limited time I am just discussing them a little brief... Another quality that Krishna mentions is knowledge. What do we mean by knowledge? Knowledge means, Krishna says in the ninth chapter, raja-vidya raja-guhyam, this knowledge is the king of education. We don't reject material knowledge. But material knowledge without spiritual knowledge is incomplete. We use material knowledge all the time. We use material technology all the time. But knowledge is incomplete if it is in the absence of spiritual knowledge. So one must cultivate spiritual knowledge also side by side. The Isopanisad says that one must cultivate both material and spiritual knowledge. Then another quality that one should develop is freedom from doubt and illusion. Now to have doubts is nothing unusual. Even Arjuna had doubts. Pariksit Maharaj had so many doubts. We see how in the fourth chapter Krishna is making the statement that He imparted this knowledge to the Sun-god Vivasvan and Arjuna had doubts at once. Arjuna said, "Krishna, You have just said You imparted this knowledge to the Sun-god Vivasvan and he imparted it to Manu and Iksvaku. How do You want me to believe it? Vivasvan appeared before You so how do You want me to accept it". He had doubts. But Krishna answered. He said, "Many many times did you and I appear but I can remember all My previous births and you cannot".
So don't feel embarrassed if you have doubts but you should have your doubts removed from a bona-fide authentic source. Just like if you want some surgery done. You don't catch a man on the street and say, "Hey, get a knife, come on, can you operate on me?" Is it what you do? No, you want to make sure you go to the right doctor. So you should get your doubts removed the way Arjuna did. Who did Arjuna go to? Oh! Krishna! Some devotees may say, "Arjuna went to Krishna but where is Krishna today? Where do I go? Pariksit Maharaj approached Sukadeva Goswami, son of Vyasadeva. Where is Vyasadeva's son now? Where can I find him? Where can I find Krishna?" What is the answer?
Prabhupada discusses this point in the Fourth Canto of the Bhagavatam. Prabhupada says, "If you go to a bona-fide representative of the disciplic succession who is presenting the same message that Krishna presented then you will get the same medicine that Arjuna got by going to Krishna and Pariksit Maharaj got by going to Sukadeva Goswami". In other words, if you hear Bhagavad-gita from a true representative of the disciplic succession and you follow it then you will get the same benefit that Arjuna got. Isn't it a good news? You don't have to by a ticket to go Kuruksetra. It would cost you $600 to go there. You can hear from a bona-fide representative of Krishna anywhere and you get the same benefit. So to have doubts is nothing embarrassing.
In the Upadesamrita Rupa Goswami talks about six types of rasas amongst devotees. Do you know that? One of the rasas is to reveal your mind to those who are more advanced. Second is to take instructions from them. So don't feel embarrassed if you have doubts. Sometimes we find, based on our extensive experience, that a devotee may be having some spiritual trouble but he is too shy to talk to anyone. He won't reveal his mind to his spiritual master, he won't reveal it to the other Vaisnavas - keeps everything hidden under the carpet. And what happens very often, the devotee gets lost. Therefore that we may not get lost Rupa Goswami says, "Reveal your mind to those who are more advanced". And then of course take instructions. As Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita says one must have freedom from doubt and illusion. And how to get freedom from doubt and illusion? By revealing your mind and by taking instructions and having your doubts removed.
Another quality that devotees should develop is the quality of forgiveness. What does forgiveness mean? Forgiveness means that even if somebody is due some punishment you may forgive him for a higher cause. Yudhisthira Maharaj is also called Dharmaraj. He was an embodiment of religion. Yudhisthira Maharaj and his brothers went through unparallel trouble. At whose hands? Duryodhana and his father Dhritarastra. At the battle of Kuruksetra Dhritarastra lost all his son and relatives. And all what was left were Dhritarastra and his wife Gandhari. Look at Yudhisthira's magnanimous attitude! He told his uncle, "I am very sorry that all your sons and grandsons had died". And he offered him a big beautiful palace to live in even though his uncle have tried to kill him in so many ways. So Vaisnava should be tolerant.
Prahlada Maharaja's father was his biggest enemy. He also tried everything he could to kill his son. But when his father was killed Prahlada went to the Lord and even though his father was demonic he still prayed that he might be liberated. See his magnanimous nature. A devotee has no enemy therefore he can forgive. Somebody else may identify a devotee as his enemy but a devotee has no enemy. Isn't it amazing? We have no enemies. Even if a devotee is in some difficulty he does not blame anyone for it. So one should develop the quality of forgiveness. If you develop the quality of forgiveness then you will find that Vaisnava relationship will develop very well with others. The quality of forgiveness will be there if you also can develop the quality of humility. Material life means this philosophy 'tooth for tooth' but in spiritual life we don't have this philosophy 'tooth for tooth'. So we should all develop the quality of forgiveness.
Another quality that Krishna talks about is truthfulness. Truthfulness is an austerity for a tongue. In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna talks about the austerity of the tongue. What is the first quality Krishna mentions? Truthfulness. Krishna says, being truthful is an austerity. That is a fact, isn't it? Because we all used to be untruthful. To lie is so common today that people don't see how often you lie, they see how often you speak the truth. So it is by and large the world of liars. So one austerity of the tongue is to speak words that are truthful. Speaking words that are truthful means as follows. The beginning of truthfulness is being truthful to Krishna's instructions. There are so many people that take Krishna's instructions and distort them. So we have to be truthful to the instructions therefore the Bhagavad-Gita is called "As it is". The extension of truthfulness is that we practice truthfulness in following the vows to the spiritual master and Krishna. The further extension of truthfulness is to be truthful in our dealing with each other. At least in dealing with Vaisnavas. So truthfulness is one of the qualities.
Then another quality that will help us a lot, Krishna mentions is as an austerity of the tongue, is to speak words that are pleasing. Then Krishna says speak words that do not agitate others. If you want to have good Vaisnava relationship our endeavor should be not only to speak words that are truthful, not only to speak words that are beneficial but also to speak them in a manner that does not agitate others. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu told us, offer all respect to other without expecting anything in exchange. So our endeavor should be to speak words that are truthful and to speak words in the manner that does not agitate others. There is a statement in Sanskrit, speak the truth but speak it in a pleasing matter. We speak the truth but always in a pleasing matter. Not that to please the audience you speak what the audience wants you to speak. So if we endeavor to practice truthfulness we can succeed...
...Another quality one should develop is control of the senses and control of the mind. Krishna separated these so we will also separate the two for discussion. After all we cannot be higher then Krishna. All Bhagavad-Gita is nothing but Krishna's presentation of the philosophy and Prabhupada translated this philosophy. Therefore as Prabhupada and Krishna are presenting these separately we should also discuss them separately. One thing Krishna says is controlling the senses. We have these knowledge-acquiring senses, objects of the senses, working senses. The senses need engagement. You cannot be in a position that the senses don't have any engagement so we engage the senses in the positive manner.
Control of the mind is another quality that Krishna talks about. In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna also discusses austerities of the mind. What are those qualities Krishna says which are the austerities of the mind? One is satisfaction. Be satisfied by what is provided by the will of the Lord. If you want to control the mind you have to know why the mind is always agitated. So Krishna says, be satisfied by what is provided by the will of the Lord. You endeavor but don't overendeavor. What is the difference between endeavor and overendeavor? Overendeavor means you work so hard that your basic sravanam-kirtanam suffers. Endeavor has to be there. You cannot avoid that. But don't overendeavor that you have no time for the basics of the spiritual life. So in order to control the mind one thing that Krishna says is being satisfied by what is provided by the will of the Lord, satisfaction.
Another is simplicity. If your whole approach to life is simple life then automatically you will be able to control the mind. But these days very few people believe in simple living. Of course all of you probably believe in that and that's why you are here. But usually the slogan is high living. Our slogan is 'simple living and high thinking'. And the materialistic philosophy is 'high living and simple thinking'.
To control the mind the best is to engage the mind positively. Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked Ramananda Ray what should one constantly meditate upon. Ramananda Ray said, one should meditate on the holy name, qualities and pastimes of the Lord. So when we talk about meditating on the holy name you may say, "Oh, what can you meditate on the holy name?" Any suggestions? Ramananda Ray says, meditate on the holy name. The question is how to meditate on the holy name. Chant and hear attentively, okay, what else? Hear from pure devotees, okay, what else?Ñ› Regarding meditating on the holy name there are many subject matters you can meditate. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, 'My dear Lord, You are so kind that you have invested all Your energies in Your holy name but I am so unfortunate that I have attraction for them". Isn't it our position? The Lord has invested all His energies in the holy name but I have no attraction. Or do we all have attraction?
Then meditate on the holy name as the omnipotent, how the holy name is omniscient, how the holy name like the touchstone. Everyone who chants the holy name benefits. How the holy name is the remedy for this age. How in Kali-yuga that is an ocean of vice there is on benediction. And what is Caitanya Mahaprabhu says in the opening lines of His Siksastaka? Ceto darpana marjanam - this chanting of the holy name results in cleansing of the heart. This morning we were discussing Prahlada Maharaja's identification of the six enemies. How can you curb these six enemies? By chanting the holy name. Then meditate how there are different stages of chanting the holy name. First is the offensive stage, then there is the stage of minimizing offences, then there is the purified stage. Meditate on that. In this way there are so many points to meditate. The holy name is the most valuable asset that you can possess. Sanatana Goswami had a touchstone. Where did he keep it? Underneath a heap of garbage. Why? He had something more valuable than that. What was that? The holy name. So, meditate on the holy name, then on the qualities and pastimes.
There are so many qualities that we read about in Brahma Samhita. How the Lord is all-pervasive. How there is no difference between His body and soul, advaita. How He is infallible, Acyuta. How He is Acintya, inconceivable. How He is the oldest but ever-youthful. How He can do any function with any part of His body. Can you do any function with any part of your body? No, you cannot. Then the Lord's pastimes. Arjuna says in the Bhagavad-Gita, to control the mind is more difficult than the wind. What did Krishna say? By practicing the regulative principles of Bhakti-yoga you can develop the desire to attain me and thus control the mind. By chanting your rounds, following the regulative principles of Bhakti-yoga you can develop the ability to control the mind.
Happiness and distress. These you cannot avoid in material life but devotees should be equal in both. How do you react when something good, happiness come? When does a devotee really become happy? When he gets what he wants materially? He is happy when he becomes Krishna conscious and sees Krishna consciousness spread. A devotee should be equal in happiness and distress. Should there be distress, a devotee thinks, he should have realized something million times more but the Lord is so kind, He has minimized it.
Then another quality that Krishna says is that one should become fearless. Prabhupada's father gave him the name Abhay, Abhay Caran De. Why? He wanted his son to be fearless. And Prabhupada was fearless. After all how could he have taken Krishna consciousness all over the world? He came to the former Soviet Union in 1971 when it was such a strict Communism. He could be arrested and put in jail but he came. This fearlessness is one of the qualities of a devotee. When we speak about fearlessness what does it actually mean? Just like there is a very nice bhajan by Govinda das. In this bhajan he says as follows. Bhajahu re mana, sri nanda-nandana, abhay-caranaravinda re. My dear mind, you are full of fear. If we look at the society, everyone's mind is full is full of fear. We are fearful that we may loose what we have. What is the solution? Take shelter of the son of Maharaja Nanda. A devotee becomes fearless when he takes shelter of the process of devotional service.
It is just like a child, if he is holding his hand in father's hand then he is fearless. And if the same child is alone he is full of fear. A devotee is fearless because he has faith that the Lord is always going to protect me. Prahlada Maharaj was always being threatened by his father but he was fearless. His father said, "You are not scared of me? Where are you getting your strength from?" "I am getting my strength from the same source you are getting your strength". So a devotee hopes against hope that Krishna's mercy will come. In the Tenth Canto of the Bhagavatam Lord Bhrama says as follows, "If a devotee is undergoing distress due to his past sins and still he goes on sticking to devotional practices then he becomes eligible to get Your unlimited mercy and go back to the Kingdom of Godhead". A devotee may be undergoing some distress but he still goes on executing the process of devotional service and for that he becomes eligible to obtain the unlimited mercy of the Lord.
So fearlessness does not mean that you are not going to use your intelligence to properly protect Krishna or yourself or Krishna's property. I am a devotee of Krishna, I am fearless therefore I will leave the doors of my house or the temple open. That's not intelligence. Fearlessness means that you have full faith and confidence that because you are executing Krishna's instructions Krishna will protect you...
...Then nonviolence. That's another quality devotees have. What is nonviolence? Not harming anyone. A devotee's mentality is not to harm anyone. Do you know the story of Jada Bharata? Who was Jada Bharata in his previous life? A deer. And when he became Jada Bharata, son of a brahmana, he pretended as he was deaf and dumb. Actually he was not deaf and dumb, he was fully alert. But when he was asked to carry King Rahugana he carried but he was walking so carefully that he would not even keep his foot on the ground till he saw for the next three feet no entity was stepped on. Vaisnava is truly nonviolent. He does not want to harm any entity.
Do you know that story from the Caitanya Caritamrita about the hunter Mrigari. That hunter at one time was getting pleasure in half-killing animals but then he got so transformed that he would not keep his feet on the ground till he saw that there was no entity on the ground. Lord Buddha was a prince. He was born in a royal family. And as he was brought up as a prince he had no idea of what is misery. He had never experienced misery, he had never seen misery, he had never heard of misery. But then he found out that there is misery, so he left his palace and started Buddhism. Buddhism talks about real nonviolence, not hurting, not killing anyone. But what do the modern day Buddhists do? Eat everything. This is their Buddhism. Actually we are real Buddhists because we practice total nonviolence. Our philosophy is not to kill anyone.
Then another quality Krishna mentions one should develop is satisfaction. In material life if you pretend that you are satisfied people think that something is wrong with you. Especially in the American society. If you go for a job interview the real thing you have to impress your boss to get the job is that you are not satisfied and you are going to work hard to obtain better results. This is probably happening in Russia also for jobs. If you go for a job they want to see if you are really not satisfied with what you have. And if you are satisfied then they will not give you the job. They want someone who really wants to get to the top by hook or crook.
But a devotee is satisfied in any condition. We saw Srila Prabhupada when he was traveling around, sometimes he would to the temple and there he lived in a hut. In the early days of our movement in India we did not have any facilities, not the big temples we have now. Now when the ISKCON devotees come to India they see big temples in Bombay, Vrindavan, Mayapur and they say, "Oh, look at these temples, big palatial temples!" But when Prabhupada came there with his Western disciples we did not have any temples. One day Prabhupada would be living in a hut and another day in a different city he would be living in a better facility. He accepted both as the will of the Lord. So satisfaction does not mean you don't endeavor. You endeavor but you know that you are not the ultimate controller. You know the ultimate result is not in your hand. And then in spite your best effort whatever the result is you accept that.
We endeavor but don't endeavor so hard that your spiritual life gets weak. Just like people are very health-conscious now therefore before they buy a product they want to read on the packaging what the contents is. If they see that there is something bad for their health they drop it like a hot potato. So be satisfied in the sense that never endeavor to the point that your spiritual life gets compromised.
Then austerity. Oh, why do you talk about austerity? Nobody likes to even hear this word. People would say, "We don't mind chanting Hare Krishna but please don't tell us about any austerities". Without austerity you cannot attract the Lord. Fortunately, the austerity plan we have is very reasonable. It is not what Dhruva Maharaj practiced thousands of years ago. Austerity means voluntary accepting inconveniences for a higher cause. The tongue says, "Let's go to some restaurant and buy anything you see there". But the intelligence says, "No, no! I am going to eat Krishna-prasad because if I eat Krishna-prasad I will be able to purify my mind and senses". So austerity when is targeted for self-realization helps you to make spiritual advancement. In beginning when you hear of austerity it is very scaring. But when you begin to practice of devotional service you find it is not so scaring because you begin to get pleasure from the process of chanting and hearing and that gives you the strength to practice austerity.
In other words, just like a student, he studies very hard but what is his motivating factor? I am going to get good grades in school. What is the motivation behind that? I am going to get a good job. I will make good money. That's what forces a child to go through material austerity. Similarly there is spiritual austerity. We voluntarily undergo some inconveniences but what is the goal? To please Krishna. And by this austerity I will make spiritual advancement. If in order to make spiritual advancement I have to make some sacrifice I should do that. After all that is the goal of life. So the strength to practice austerity comes from the process of sravanam-kirtanam and especially when this process is executed in the association of devotees.
We have been explaining this point this morning how executing devotional service in the association of devotees makes it so sweet. Just like now you are listening to a lecture in a big group and sometimes some of you may be giving lectures also in a big group. If you are all alone listening to the lecture you won't get as much fun as you get with a big group. And if you are giving a lecture, if you just speak to one man instead of big group it won't give much pleasure either. You can do kirtan all alone but when you do kirtan with a group won't you get more fun? When you execute devotional service in association of devotees austerity becomes easier to practice. Another quality is charity. You may say, "Maharaj, we are all poor people, where can we give charity from?" What can you give in charity? What do you have that you can give? We have in charity the opportunity to give knowledge. But sometimes we are very miserly, we don't give knowledge, we don't preach. We go on strike, "I am not going to preach". We should be charitable. Charity means to give people knowledge by which they can stop the repetition of birth and death. In the material world people love to give charity. If you want to do mundane charity then give people Krishna-prasad. Highest charity is giving people knowledge of God.
So Krishna has explained some of these qualities that we have discussed today and we devotees should endeavor to cultivate these qualities. Now, attentive chanting the holy name help you develop all these good qualities. Why do we have so many books? Have you ever realized that you belong to a movement that has more scriptures, more literatures to study than anyone. What are all these literatures for? For us to study. God helps those who help themselves. Mother Yasoda was trying to tie Krishna down. First she was not successful but when Krishna saw that His mother was so determined He allowed her to tie Him. So sometimes when you hear about these qualities you may think, "Oh, that's not for me. I am never going to be able to do it". You will be surprised, if you endeavor you will be able to do it.
Haridas Thakur was dedicated to chanting the holy name 300,000 times a day. Even in old age Haridas did not stop. Sanatana Goswami, when he saw Haridas, he said, "Some people chant but do not preach and some preach and do not chant. But you are simultaneously doing both". Prabhupada says, this should be the mentality of every devotee in the Krishna consciousness Movement: practice and preach. When Lord Caitanya was touring Southern India He met a very dear devotee of the Lord named Vasudeva Vipra. Vasudeva Vipra was suffering from severe leprosy. So severe that his whole body was full of worms. And he was so compassionate that when a worm would fall down he would pick it up and put it back. And his whole body was full of puss, bad smell. Vasudeva Vipra went to see Caitanya Mahaprabhu but Mahaprabhu had already left the house of Kurma Brahman. So when he went there and saw that Mahaprabhu had already gone he fainted. He was so heart-broken that he could not have Mahaprabhu's darsan. But Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Lord. He knew that He left Vasudeva in great pain so He came back to meet him and as soon He saw him He embraced him. And when He embraced him his disease was gone and Vasudeva Vipra became a handsome young man. Previously he was ugly, bad smell was coming out of his body and nobody would come near him. Now he became so handsome. So he was concerned that he may become very proud. Generally people become proud in the following conditions: when they are very handsome or beautiful, when they are very rich, very educated. In these situations people become proud very easily.
So Vasudeva Vipra told Lord Caitanya, "Previously nobody would even come near me. But now by Your mercy I became so handsome. I am afraid I may become very proud. What should I do to remain humble?" What did Lord Caitanya say? "Chant Hare Krishna and preach the glories of Hare Krishna and you will always be humble and meek". In the purport Prabhupada says the following, "Every devotee in this Krishna consciousness Movement was saved practically like Vasudeva Vipra was saved. So each one of us should chant Hare Krishna and spread the glories of the holy name". Imagine if each one of us took that seriously to what extend the glories of the holy name would spread. If would spread like forest fire. The only impediment is lack of our own determination to spread.
So in any community it is very important that we develop good Vaisnava relationship. Often we want to know what do we have to do to cultivate good Vaisnava relationships. One way is to develop these transcendental qualities that we have discussed. Another is to look at the good qualities in every Vaisnava. This is known as Vrindavan vision. If you endeavor to see you will find good qualities in everyone. Rupa Goswami has given us the guidelines of six rasas to help improve Vaisnava relationships. I already discussed two: to reveal one's mind and take instructions from others. Besides these tow there are four more rasas. Give in charity, accept charity. Serve prasad and eat prasad. All these activities help improve relationships amongst devotees.
If we become single-pointed in our understanding that our business is to advance devotionally then also our relationships will improve. As we said in the morning lecture, it does not matter if you are householder or a full-time brahmacari, or doing business, studying or doing job. Our main goal is to advance spiritually. Vaisnava relationships get broken also when different people have different goals. But if you all have the goal to please Krishna, to make Krishna the enjoyer and beneficiary then the relationships will automatically become good. Often in the name of Krishna we subtly want to be the enjoyers. It is all in the name of Krishna but actually it is for my pleasure. Then you cannot have good relationships. We have to be very transparent in our dealings. This is a very important element in spiritual life and the ISKCON Society has the GBC leadership that is very strongly moving in this direction of making the leadership very transparent. That means we want whatever is inside to be outside and whatever is outside to be inside. We want the leadership to be internally pure and externally pure.
The relationships will improve also by practicing humility. Caitanya Mahaprabhu told us, "Offer respect without expecting anything in return". Normally our principle is, okay, I will offer you something but you should offer me something in return. But Lord Caitanya said, "Offer respect without expecting anything". Another important element that will help you in improving Vaisnava relationships is if you take to heart Canakya Pandit's advise. Canakya Pandit says, "Deal with others the way you want others to deal with you", so deal with others the way you want them to deal with you. How do you want them to deal with you? Respectfully? So deal with others respectfully. Call each other "Prabhu". That will also help you. Prabhupada gave us this system of calling each other "Prabhus". Try it. That will help you in your relationships. So try to develop these qualities and you will succeed. You heard that saying, "Try and try again and you will succeed at last". Hare Krishna.
Q: Here we don't have enough association of senior devotees, they don't come often to our place, so it is hard to develop all those qualities. How to develop all those qualities? What will help us in our situation?
A: Even if senior devotees would visit you every day you won't develop these qualities till you make an effort. We have to make an effort and effort means, we have to chant our rounds nicely, read, associate. You see, please don't mind it, this argument that senior devotees don't visit enough is not really the best argument. There are places where senior devotees visit all the time but there are still devotees that don't develop these qualities. Therefore it is a question of endeavor. I don't want that you Niznhi Novgorod devotees would feel, "Oh, now we have a good excuse for not developing these qualities. Senior devotees don't come here". In this way you will never grow.
Q: In Bhagavad-Gita Prabhupada says that violence can be used but it should be used to maintain the order in the society. The brahminical principle is non-violence. What is the practical suggestion for us when we should be violent, when non-violent?
A: In principle we are non-violent. But suppose someone comes here with machine-guns and attacks the temple. Then we have to protect the Deities and the temple. You are walking on the road and somebody comes to attack you, you have to use your intelligence.
Q: Can you explain what is simple living for a devotee.
A: Of course it is going to vary from a devotee to a devotee. Simple living generally means simple living, to live within your means. Let's say you earn two thousand rubles a month, so you are living within that. If you are earning a lot then your simple living standard will be a little higher. Simple living for a family in America is very different from simple living for a family in India. In America if you have two cars they say you are living simply. In India if you have two cars they say you live in a lot of luxury. But for devotees simple living means just not living beyond your means and you are satisfied when you are living within your means. Now I cannot say simple living means you have to live in a one-room apartment with ten other people. That's going vary from family to family. We don't have any such standard that simple living strictly means this, you have to live in a room of this feet by this feet, sleep on the ground, use cold water in Winter.
Q: You gave an example of Haridas Thakur as a perfect devotee. Sanatana Goswami said to him, "Some chant but do not preach, some preach but do not chant but you are simultaneously doing both". Can you explain this a little more.
A: You quoted Sanatana Goswami's glorification of Haridas Thakur, "Some chant but do not preach, some preach but do not chant but you are simultaneously doing both". Like in India you see a lot of people who go to Vrindavan and they only chant. They don't have a preaching spirit. And there are some people who preach but they don't have a good character. I know many people who are forceful preachers but they don't have good sadhana, they don't have good character.
Q: How can it be?
A: Because there can be different types of preaching. It is not that everybody's preaching will be based on the principle of purity. There is motivated preaching. So he said, "You are simultaneously doing both".
Q: Sometimes among the devotees we see different groups. Some people are more into philosophy but they are not active. And some may be not so expert, they are new but they are trying to preach and do something. And these groups criticize each other.
A: We should not criticize each other. We should not think what I am doing is right and what everybody else is doing is wrong. One of the problems is that we often think, I am sincere, I am right and everybody else is wrong. That mentality should be avoided. We want to use the benefit of doubts. Trust other people also have some sincerity. And if you in doubt of something reveal your mind, have a frank talk with them. We should avoid criticizing each other. We should always avoid Vaisnava-aparadhas. There is no need to be know as the best man. Krishnadas Kaviraj, the compiler of Caitanya Caritamrita said, " Even if somebody utters my name, all his good qualities will go away, so don't even take my name".
Q: Generally Krishna's completion is depicted as bluish. Why sometimes in the pictures he is white or fair-complexioned? And the Deities are also sometimes curved from white marble.
A: Because you cannot get marble in bluish. Krishna's original color is syam but devotees also worship Krishna in black marble stone, white marble stone and in brass. You can have your choice. Variety is the spice of life. You have in Bombay temple Radha-Rasabihari where Krishna is all white and this was Prabhupada's favorite Deity. You have in Vrindavan Krishna black, Radha-Syamasundara. So you can have your choice.
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