Kks Lecture - Bhagavad Gita 4.31

KKS Lecture Bhagavad Gita 4.31 27/04/2007 (Eve of Vysa Puja) Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, 4th chapter, entitled Transcendental Knowledge, text 31: Nayam loka ’sty ayajnasya, kuto ’nyah kuru-sattama Translation: O best of the Kuru dynasty, without sacrifice one can never live happily on this planet or in this life: what then of the next? Purport……….A life of Krishna Consciousness is therefore the solution to all the problems of material existence.

Yes, a life of sacrifice, a life for the pleasure of Krsna. In the Narada-Pancaratra we find that description: sarvopadhi vinirmuktam… ucyate. It basically means that we work for the satisfaction of the senses of Krsna and not our own senses; that we therefore don’t worry about so many designations or different kinds of identity. Everyone is looking for some identity. In the car I was writing something about that- “in search of identity”- because people in this world are always searching out some identity. And it’s because I read this article yesterday, about identity, and it was saying that one’s identity

is made out of what is stored in one’s memory and out of the influence from the social environment that one is in. Fine. So I was thinking a little bit about this and I was thinking, “Yes, well our memory…it’s true. I may remember I am from Holland- it adds to my identity- I may remember that I stayed a long time in Vrndavana- it adds to my identity- I may remember that I speak so many languages- it adds to my identity…and like this, if you add up all the things we remember, it adds to our identity.

Of course, in Sanskrit this is called upadhi, this is called designation, these kind of identities. And it is stated that these upadhi’s they’re actually based on false identification that we identify with particular physical situations. So people go through different roles at different times of their life. Bhagavad-Gita also says, Dehino ‘smin...(whole thing) That we go through these different stages of life and each one we have a different identity- quite different. I mean, I feel distinctly different in my identity than I did 30 years ago- quite different.

Some part of my identity may be the same but still the role that we play changes considerably with time. At present I play a nice role, the role of sanyassi is pretty goodprobably the best role I ever played. I’ve had to play many parts so far: I had to play the part of a school boy- I didn’t like that at all! I had to play the son of my father, and I remember that he took me to a cloth store

and I had to wear grey pants with a crease and he wanted to buy me grey sweater on top- and I flipped!

I went on strike and I said, “No, No, No! I will not have this grey sweater!” It was a grey monster sweater with two little pockets on the side- it was absolutely horrendous! So I made such a stink that I got my mother on my side and I was allowed to pick my own sweater! And in revenge I picked a bright red one- as red as could get, you know! Shoo! So I remember many parts I’ve had to play and some I liked more than others. But then again, all these parts had their limitations because they were all material parts. So material parts were always imperfect. I was looking for a part that I could really like and in that sense in search for identity, because I tried out different identities but they didn’t really fit. I tried out hippie for a while!

Of course you know, I was always a hippie with some money in the bank! What I could I do! My parents had some money so therefore, although I was a hippie it wasn’t that tough. Even when I would go to Greece and live on the islands just off the fruits and the tomatoes that we would steal from the orchards, still I knew that if it gets really bad, I can always ring home and they’ll send me something. But it was more romantic just living without money on the beach.

So I played all these parts for the sake of experience, for the sake of adventure, but in all of them there was really something lacking. Now I’m playing this part of a sanyassi and I’m even playing the part of a spiritual master.

I do a good dramatic performance; I raise my hand and give blessings! Because I saw in the movies that that’s what you’re supposed to do! So I hope it works! Not touching, just the rays! The rays are coming out, don’t you see! In the movies there’s usually rays of light but whatever- they’re there! So I play this part but I’m not playing this part just on my own; I don’t play this part like a kid who has dressed for an occasion in imitation- no I play my part. I play the part that has been given to me, that is all. I play the part that has been given to me by the vaisnavas.

Why am I calling it a part? Because in one sense, although I think this time I really found my identity in this life as a devotee, in this life dedicated to Krsna, in this life where I’m living for the pleasure of Krsna; I think it’s real and it’s what I really want to be. Now I’m happy in this life, this life of a sadhu, because a sadhu is described…his nature is…he is a person…a sadhu is a person who is sadava- thoroughly honest. Thoroughly honest- it really means that he has some integrity in his heart; it means that he cannot tolerate any falsity; it means he cannot accept anything but the Absolute Truth. But that also includes that he cannot tolerate any falsity within himself because this is the paradox of the age of Kali; that everyone in the age of Kali has weaknesses and low nature- very sinful nature- and this nature we sought of say goodbye to this nature when we take up devotional service. We say goodbye and we let this nature just

sort of die off, we let it dry up. And maybe it still stands there like a dried and shriveled up plant in the desert. We have not given it any water for a long time and we’re definitely not going to either, but is it dead or is there still some life in it?

We’re not going to invest anything in these things! That’s my commitment, that is my sacrifice because my sacrifice is sankirtanaglorification of the Supreme Lord congregationally, spreading the mercy of the glorification of the Supreme Lord.

We’re not going to test it- we’re not going to test it in this age of Kali because will we ever become completely spotless? Will we ever become completely spotlessly pure, without any tinge of falsity in our nature? Will it happen? I don’t know, I don’t know. All I can, is that I don’t meditate on that so much; I don’t bring out a microscope or a magnifying glass to see if I can find a trace of something.

The result is certainly the mercy of the Supreme Lord- undoubtedly. And then who cares about qualities when he has the mercy of the Lord.

All I can say is, we’re not going to feed it! We’re not going to water it!

So I think this point that the nature of Kali Yuga may reflect in us, is something we can all recognize. Everyone of us can see that we are affected by Kali, we can see it. But we make our commitment not to act upon this aspect of our nature; we just simply

make our commitment to act for the service of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission, the Holy Name, and everything will come-

We will more and more attract the mercy of the Lord because at the end of life, what counts is not necessarily our qualities but really counts is whether we have pleased the Supreme Lord. When Lord Caitanya is pleased, that’s enough. And that’s what we see because we see that so many vaisnavas get the mercy, we see that through this movement so many got the mercy and they didn’t have all the qualities, we know that. We know the history of some who have left, who have already left. We know the history of some who did service and then for years, for years they were in Maya- but first they did big service- then for years they were in Maya and then somehow or other they became ill, they came to Vrndavana and they were allowed to leave in Vrndavana! We know so many like that; we know stories where Prabhupada appeared at the end. The story of Sudama: Sudama- he left Krsna consciousness, he was a sanyassi, he gave it all up, he left the regulative principles but then Prabhupada had asked for Sudama and Prabhupada had said that he would save

Sudama, he said, “For all the service he has done I will save Sudama.” And then it is said that at the end of his life, Prabhupada suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

Although Sudama had up to that point not been following spiritual standards but just in the last week or so had been surrounded by devotees who had been chanting and so on. For so long he had not been following, still he got the mercy. So if we please Lord Caitanya, if we please the spiritual master, if we somehow or other please Krsna, then everything will work and that is the system, that is the system. Therefore the system is to take shelter, take shelter of sankirtana. Yes we try; we try to develop good qualities. I meet so many devotees, naturally, and so many times people speak about not having good qualities. It’s a big topic in what devotees are presenting as an impediment to their spiritual advancement. They always say, “I don’t have all these qualities…” and so on and “…that’s my major stumbling block.” Generally my mood is: Don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it. Get into service; do lots of service and that is the way to attract

the mercy and the quality will come. It will come in the course of service, it will just come with time. And then if something is lacking, the Lord will overlook it and do the rest.

spiritual world and the eternal relationship with Krsna- I have no idea what my eternal identity is, I don’t know. So still, I think that I’m a bona fide representative of the parampara, still I have faith that I can deliver people or that I can deliver the goods.

Anyway, back to the topic of identity. So we have so many roles and so many identities. And now in my current identity, it is my service to be a via media; I somehow or other be transparent to Krsna’s teachings, His will, His desire, the desire of the Acaryas and so on.

Not on my strength, but rather on guru krsna-rupa hana sastrera pramane guru-rupe krsna krpa karena bhakta-gan. So the spiritual master is as good as Krsna- the representative of Krsna- and Krsna, through the spiritual master, is delivering the disciple. Therefore it’s not the spiritual master who’s delivering the disciple, it’s Krsna, it’s Krsna!

So that is my service and I’m trying to do that with whatever power is in my possession. And then I’m praying that Krsna will do the rest and that the blessings of my spiritual master will do the rest. That’s how it works. Still, in search of identity in the sense, there’s also the spiritual body in the

So therefore I think it’s possible to be the representative since it was done with the blessing of my spiritual master, who wanted me to be like this and since I desire to give up a personal agenda and to simply be an instrument and try in that way. I think then Krsna will do the rest, ultimately Krsna will deliver us from birth and death. That’s how it is. (Baby screams in audience) Therefore it’s not a sacrifice at all to be a sanyassi! It’s like…I like to tell the story of the bramhacari in Radhadesh who saw this little skinny mataji go up the staircase with a huge suitcase. And he said to me, he said, “Oh, I cannot let that poor mataji carry this big suitcase.” I told him, “Prabhu, don’t worry about it you know, she’ll somehow or other manage it.” He said, “No, I cannot let such a skinny girl carry such a big suitcase.” And he went up.

And two years later, I saw him in a flat and there were two babies and they were crying, oh boy! It was intense!

And he was looking at me like, ohhh… I said, “I told you not to carry that suitcase!” What to do, what to do! So yes, it is very nice. My life is getting nicer everyday, it’s getting nicer all the time.

For twenty years I was in the grhastha asrama and four years in the vanaprastha asrama. The relationship with my former wife started in a karmi relationship and then we became devotees. And I must say that the devotee part was better than the karmi part. So there was a progressionimprovement- it was getting better because in the karmi part there was the free morale and everything was possible. There were no limitations because it was the sixties and the seventies and “FREEDOM”- that’s what it was all about but I didn’t always like it, I must say. It was painful sometimes. So I liked the grhastha asrama which was based on vows, based on principles, based on commitments, based on loyalty, based on trying to act according to some sense of duty; I liked it that there was some duty because it made things very clearl, it sort of took it off the platform where you can expect anything. In the material relationship, that was there prior to Krsna consciousness, anything could happen- anytime- because we were free. So that caused so much anxiety

actually, but that grhastha asrama was better. But then it also had its limitations, because I realized that I’m putting so much energy, so much energy in this relationship with this one person, I put so much energy in this one relationship, and then when I took sanyassashoo! I was just amazed that like with how many people one can maintain a relationship!

to be one to give lectures without thinking about it before ;I do the thinking during the lecture and often it’s some sort of meditation- some people say I’m just rambling- but it’s a mediation. But this case, I was thinking about it because I thought I want some sort of message, I want some sort of deeper purpose, some sort of meaning in the whole thing. What’s the point if it is just some sort of ritual? And if I go through some whole ordeal of a big ritualistic performance, I don’t know if I can tolerate that. I would like it to be something meaningful. Now lately, I have been spending my time doing some research on the history of Gaudiya Vaisnavism, that means the vaisnavas that were there at the time of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and who came after Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the history of our movement basically.

It’s amazing! Instead of with my one wife, I’m having relationships with so many people! It’s quite amazing. And they’re all meaningful, they are all favorable for Krsna consciousness and we are advancing through that. And therefore I’m seeing that life has improved tremendously- tremendously, with big jumps. It’s much more satisfying to be able to work on a much broader scale. Well we are here today, at the eve of a festival and I have just sort of (for convenience sake) stuck a Vyasa-Puja celebration before the Nrsimha festival so that- if we want to- that we can combine it. And I’ve been thinking about festivals and about this festival and I’ve also been thinking, “Well, what am I going to say? What is my message going to be?” I’ve been thinking about it. Although I am known

So I have been looking at one particular episode, which is described in the BhaktiRatnarka, which is a book which deals with Vaisnava history. And there in the BhaktiRatnarka, that episode, it describes three great vaisnavas who came up after the main Goswamis- the main six Goswamis had sort of the left the planet- then Srinivasa Acarya, Narottama das Thakura and Syamananda

became the main the leaders amongst the vaisnavas and they became the great inspiration.

And they were going with all the manuscripts of the original writings of the Goswamis to Bengal and some of us may be familiar that these manuscripts were stolen by some king who had an astrologer working for him. And this astrologer would tell him, anytime that some people would pass by the road with wealth, then the astrologer would tell him exactly what it was and the king would just send his soldiers to go and collect it. So they did a good collection, it was good team work. And he was a good astrologer. So this astrologer had said that these… “soon some group of men will come and they will be carrying the greatest treasure and they will be hardly accompanied by any guards or anything, so we can easily get it.”

Okay, so that king stoled the original books of the Goswamis- in a whole series of boxes he had it- fine. Then it is said that king, when he opened up the boxes and he found books inside instead of gold and jewels, he was shocked! And it’s said, but when he started, out of curiosity, he just started to

read some of the palm leaves and as he started reading, he couldn’t stop and eventually he became so much impressed, that he became a devotee. He became a devotee and he started to realise, “I’ve committed a great offence.” So therefore he arranged for Srinivasa to be brought and then eventually he surrendered to Srinivasa, became his disciple and…Well, it is described then (no longer in the BhaktiRatnarka- but in other scriptures and other notes and books)- that at the time Srinivasa, he convinced the king to make many, many manuscripts of the books of the Goswamis. And hundreds of brahmanas were engaged in hand-copying all his original manuscripts. And Narottama, he went with the same mission to his place of origin where he was from- an aristocratic family- so he also managed to get many manuscripts copied. And Syamananda went to the royal family in Orissa and asked the King also to arrange to copy many, many manuscripts. So this was a strategy because in those days a book distributor had to kind of to arrange for his own books. You couldn’t just say, “Well, where are the books? My books are not here! Then we don’t go out…”

No, in those days you just get someone to hand copy a book. Well, so then how to distribute all these books? Well, they decided that they weren’t going to bother going from person to person and door to door because that was going to take too long. So therefore they organised some very big festivals and in these big festivals they distributed the books. So there was a whole series of festivals dedicated to several vaisnavas.

we’ve been here. I don’t know how many Nrsimha Caturdasi’s we’ve been here! But quite a few now. I’ve lost count in fact! And some people have been here almost eternal in this Nrsimha Caturdasi’s! So whatever may be, we have been here and it’s significant to us to be here with Lord Nrsimhadeva. So these festivals are significant. Then Narottama began to lead the kirtana.

And then there was the Kaitri festival, which was the first Gaura Purnima festival and it was a super transcendental event! In that event in the Kaitri festival, first of all, all the vaisnavas came together. Vaisnavas came from everywhere. Many, many great devotees came: Jahnava mata, the wife of Lord Nityananda came; also Acyutananda, the son of Advaita Acarya, he came. So you can see the kind of personalities that were there, that were still alive, they came and they blessed the whole assembly. And then it is described that Srinivasa had arranged for all these Deities to be installed. So that was also a big thing, that all these temples were started there and it was a major happening. Just like we have this temple and we return here every year and it is a major thing in the year- Nrsimha Caturdasi-

And it’s said when Narottama began to lead the kirtana, it became such a wonderful kirtana that at one point they all saw Lord Caitanya, they all saw Lord Nityananda and they saw entire Panca-Tattva dancing in that kirtana. So everyone saw, so everyone was overwhelmed and ecstatic. Then what happened was, suddenly they all disappeared! So then everyone was heartbroken and people fell to the ground but such ecstasy, such attachment, it’s said the ground became muddy of the tears. That is how it is described. It must be quite intense crying party there! And then it is said that everyone who came to that Kaitari festival was presented with these books. And in this way everyone was getting a taste of nectar

and everyone was getting so many divine instructions. One should understand that up to that point, there-were-no-books! Yes, Bhagavad-Gita was there, yes, Bhagavatam was there and the original texts but no Goswami literature- nothing, nothing there! Nothing. So it was quite serious, but then from that day on everyone had Bhaktirasamrtasindhu, everyone had Caitanya Caritamrta.

All these books now were widely available and in this way everyone thoroughly absorbed the conclusions of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. So that was very important because so much misconceptions had come about after Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had left. All these apa-sampradayas came up, all these imitations and people had just learned something from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings but nothing was recorded of His teachings. So everyone just did his own thing and added something of his own- it was a huge mess, huge mess. But this Kaitri festival, it was particularly for two purposes: 1) It was meant to taste nectar and to in this

way get great inspiration. And the other aspect of this festival was that it was finetuning the Siddhanta. So I was thinking also that maybe we have to use this festival for that purpose; we have to use it for the purpose of somehow or other finding inspiration and becoming absorbed in hearing and chanting- a lot of hearing and chanting- and I guess I would like to hear a lot of chanting because as you can hear I’m still recovering from the South African Ratha Yatra, which really did it to me!

Well, it was also…I had already had a little birthday party in South Africa and there, straight after the Ratha Yatra when my voice was still gone, I think litres of cream and litres of everything was put on top in 105 preparations! And then just when I got over that then I had an ice-cream party in England- another surprise birthday party! So ice-cream and cake with one candle! So my voice is weak- and so is the microphone! So let us somehow or other become absorbed in hearing and chanting and in this way find inspiration, realising that Lord Caitanya is also present. In the Caitanya Caritamrta, chapter 7, Adi-lila, there is a purport (I think it’s 50 or 51) where it is

described that whenever devotees are gathering and whenever there is the chanting of the Holy Name and whenever there is Krsna prasada, there surely Lord Caitanya will be personally present. So there is no doubt that Lord Caitanya will be personally present in our festival, just as much as in Narottama’s festival in Kaitari. So He will be here in our festival for sure. So we should just make sure to see Him.

of Guru Tattva today and tomorrow. So today I already made some statements on the nature of Guru Tattva and I would like to say some more, I don’t know yet what will come out- I have no idea- but I’m sure that in the reciprocation something will happen because these Vyasa-Puja’s are certainly beyond ritual; they’re not ritual, they are an exchange and there is a reciprocation. When we are genuinely trying to make very sincere offerings, then (Prabhupada was also like that) the intellectual platform becomes more spontaneous and so many things will happen. And therefore we are waiting to see what will be revealed. But with this lecture I sort of tried to well, you call it ‘Setting the scene’ just as the Bhagavad-Gita is called like that in the beginning- ‘Setting the scene.’ So with that I think the scene is set. Now it’s time for Arjuna and Krsna to blow their conch shells, very loud and the drama can unfold and begin! So I end with this for today, waiting for more to come tomorrow.

We should not close our eyes or be blind because it’s said, dekhiniya dekha…surya… an. That means that even while looking, the non-devotees can never see Krsna just as the owls cannot see the light of the sun or the rays of the sun, cannot see. So if we try to see Krsna in the kirtana’s, in the Deity form, in the worship, in the whole glorification,; if we try to understand how Krsna is receiving these offerings and how Krsna is reciprocating with these offerings, then we can perceive the presence of Krsna surely. And then we carry that presence of Krsna with us in our heart. So that is one thing that I would like to happen and the other thing is some Siddhanta. I would like to kind of make some statements regarding Siddhanta and maybe especially on the topic