Spiritual Master
Book:
Canto:
Chapter:
Verse:
Location:
Date:
Srimad Bhagavatam
4
23
16
Austin, TX, USA
24 August 2023
So today we are reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , 4th Canto, 23rd Chapter, text 16
khāny ākāśe dravaṁ toye
yathā-sthānaṁ vibhāgaśaḥ
kṣitim ambhasi tat tejasy
ado vāyau nabhasy amum
khāni — the different holes in the body for the sense organs; ākāśe — in the sky; dravam — the liquid substance; toye — in the water; yathā-sthānam — according to proper situation; vibhāgaśaḥ — as they are divided; kṣitim — earth; ambhasi — in the water; tat — that; tejasi — in the fire; adaḥ — the fire; vāyau — in the air; nabhasi — in the sky; amum — that
Translation and purport by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada
In this way, according to the different positions of the various parts of the body, Pṛthu Mahārāja merged the holes of his senses with the sky; his bodily liquids, such as blood and various secretions, with the totality of water; and he merged earth with water, then water with fire, fire with air, air with sky, and so on
Purport
In this verse two words are very important: yathā-sthānaṁ vibhāgaśaḥ. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Second Canto, Fifth Chapter, Lord Brahmā clearly explained to Nārada how the creation took place, and he explained one step after another the proper divisions of the senses, the controller of the senses, the objects of the senses, and the material elements, and he also explained how they are created one after another: the air from the sky, the fire from the air, the water from the fire, the earth from the water, etc. It is important to know thoroughly the process of creation as it applies to this cosmic manifestation. Similarly, this body is also created according to the same process by the Supreme Lord. The Personality of Godhead, after entering the universe, creates the cosmic manifestations one after another. Similarly, the living entity, after entering a womb of a mother, also collects his gross and subtle bodies, taking ingredients from the totality of sky, air, fire, water and earth. The words yathā-sthānaṁ vibhāgaśaḥ indicate that one should know the process of creation and should meditate upon the creative process inversely and thus become free from material contamination. (End of the purport)
vande ’haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-
kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca
śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-
raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam
sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-
sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ
śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-
lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
So, my dear listeners, what if we are not able to know all these things, the inverse process of the creation, in order to become free from material contamination. What if we do not understand this science about one element into another element into another element and then we're lost in the cycle of birth and death? This is a process by the aṣṭāṅga-yogisto know all these things and to meditate in this way. So, the good news is we don't have to worry about all this stuff the aṣṭāṅga-yogis did. All we have to do is take the bhakti yoga process very seriously as given by Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita. And it's made even more easy by the wonderful mercy of Lord Caitanya and even more easy by the wonderful, wonderful blessings of Lord Nityananda. So, what is this actual process given by Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda?
harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā
Chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names, there is no other alternative, there is no other alternative, there is no other alternative for God realization. It's wicked, despicable age of Kali. If I say things three times that emphasizes it. If I say shut the door, shut the door, shut the door, that means you should shut the door. Some cold wind is coming in you see. If I say things three times it's very, very, very emphatic. So, when it's said three times,
harer nāma harer nāma, harer nāma,
it's making very, very, very, very, very crystal clear. It's not vague. It's not uncertain. It's very very to the point we have to chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. It's a very simple thing.
In other words we have to train ourselves to always be Krishna conscious. Just like when you take a course in the university, you go to the classes, you do the homework, you study for the exams, etc., etc., etc. And then the final day, the final process, the final processing, or what are you going to call it, the final event in that class is the final exam. The final exam, that's everything, how well you were studying, how well you were learning, how well you match to the subject matter. So, the final exam, the final exam will make you or break you. If you flunk the final exam, you're in bad shape. If you ace it, that means making A's, make an excellent grade, you call it acing the exam… if you ace the exam, you're in very, very good shape. You're now recognized as an honors student, you get all kinds of special privileges, and you're very much encouraged to go forward to get that degree you wanted, even some higher-level degrees you're running after. So, in the same way that the final exam is very important when you're studying a subject matter in the school or university, the final exam that we all have to face, even more essential, even more important, even more, very, very, very important, is the final exam called death. If you can ace the exam by remembering that beautiful Lord who is standing on the bank of Keshi Ghat, playing the fifth note in His flute, and any of His leelas, that's just one example, even killing the Putana demon, sucking the poison out of her breast. …if you can remember anything about Krishna, His name, His fame, His qualities, His entourage, His paraphernalia, His wonderful, wonderful acharyas like Srila Prabhupada…if you can remember anything related with Krishna, even the prasadam, or the deity worship, or the karthals, if you can remember anything that's in relationship with Krishna, you're in good shape. Very, very good shape. So, your destination will be back to home, back to Godhead.
And if you don't remember Krishna, what is your destination? Well, there's 8,400,000 different species and you're going to end up in one of them. It may not be on the earth planet, it could be in a different planet, it could be in a different universe even. According to your non-devotional mentality, you receive a certain type of body. What if at the time of death, you were lusty? Prabhupada explained that lust is so powerful, even old men are paying money to go to a dance club to see naked women in Paris. If you're lusty at the time of death, well, good luck! You can get full facility for your lusty desires in the body of a pig, a hog. A hog has no discrimination, sex with his mother, sex with his sister, sex with his daughter. He knows he can enjoy sex whoever he wants but he has to eat stool also taking it very, very, yummy, yummy, yummy stool in the tummy. So, if that's what you want whatever mentality you have at the time of death, that determines your next body. And anyone of the 8,400,000 species. So, if you would like to not take another material body… why not take another material body? Well, material body means subject to birth, death, old age and disease, the fourfold miseries and the threefold miseries, adhyātmic, adhibhautic and adhidaivic..misery in the mind and the body, miseries caused by other living beings and miseries caused by natural disasters like the drought we're having right now. If you would like to not have to taste these fourfold and threefold miseries in the next life, then you need to get out of this rotten existence called the material world, which is actually a penal colony, a place of punishment. It's like they have the prisons for the criminals, they have to reside in the prison. Well, guess what? This is a prison. The material world is a prison. Certain prisoners are more highly, have special qualifications.
[( phone ringing) …Why do they call during Bhāgavatam? We should turn off that ringer during Bhāgavatam. It's not proper. Bhāgavatam interrupted by a telephone. Not proper at all. A telephone call during Bhagavatam. It's not proper. You have to put it in another room somewhere. You shouldn't have to hear a ringer during Bhagavatam. This is not proper. Prabhupada would never allow such things.]
So, what we want, you see, this is even special… certain, certain prisoners may be highly placed, they get a special cell. Well! that's a heavenly planet. this is special for highly elevated prisoners they get a certain, better privileges. The heavenly planets are also hellish, you may say, how can we be hellish? Well, it's hellish because you still have to get sick and die there. Maybe you don't get sick, still you have to die. Everyone has to face death and nobody wants to die. So, we should be a little intelligent, a little sober minded to not be carried away by these modes of nature thinking, ‘oh yes, I can enjoy here, there's so much pleasure here, eating, sleeping, mating, defending. Yeah, let me enjoy. Let me enjoy. Let me enjoy these senses’. There's no sense in trying to enjoy the senses because it's not me, it's not me. Sense gratification forces me to misidentify myself with this body which is rotting and getting old. Therefore, even though it may appear I can enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy by gratifying these senses, but actually there's no real enjoyment. It's like…. the sense gratification is like the donkey and the carrot. The master holds a little carrot in front of the donkey hanging on a stick. The donkey is running after that carrot carrying a huge, huge burden on the back. A little beast of burden they say. But he never gets the carrot. It's always dangling in front of him. So, material happiness is like that. It's always dangling in front. You never become satisfied by gratifying your senses because it is not you. If you want actual satisfaction, you have to become a goswami. See there's two categories, goswami and godas. You can master your senses or you can serve your senses. Rupa Goswami encourages us to master our senses.
vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ
jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ
sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt
One who can control mind, words, anger, tongue, belly and genitals can make disciples all over the world.
So, when you can bring these 6 pushing, these vegam, they are called in Sanskrit language, when you can bring these vegam under control, you become powerful for studying the Krishna conscious movement and of course that means you're powerful in being Krishna conscious also. Unless you're fixed and purely fixed in bhakti, you cannot become powerful for spreading the Krishna consciousness movement. So, anybody who is powerful enough to make disciples all over the world, obviously his senses are under control. His mind, words, anger, child-bearing genitals are very nicely dovetailed in the service of the Lord. We don't deny these things like the Mayavadis or the Buddhists saying it's all false, you know. Jivan, what is that verse? Param satyam jivam. They say this world is false. Not real. They try to deny this world. Deny, deny, cut, cut. What is it? brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Spirit is truth and matter is false. It's not false. Matter is not false. It's just like the prison is not false. Is the prison false? No. There's a place for the free citizens, there's a place for the prisoners. No one says the prison is false. The prison is real. It's for those who are disobedient to the laws of the state. So, this material world is real. We never say it's false like the Mayavadis or the Buddhists. We never say it's false. It's real.
So, one has to learn how to get out of the prison. I may think I'm sitting here in the prison and I think I can get out of the prison by saying here I'm an inmate in the prison and say this prison is false therefore I'm now liberated. Does that make sense? I'm sitting here locked in a cell and thinking, ‘oh this prison is false and I'm liberated’. That's the dream of the Mayavadi. They think I'm liberated because I say the prison is false therefore, I'm liberated. No... You're still locked up in a prison cell to think I deny this prison therefore I'm liberated. No. You want to get out of the prison you have to become obedient to the laws of the state. And then you get out of the prison So let us not be carried away by this bogus philosophy that spirit is truth and matter is false. brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Let us not be carried away.
Let us enter the transcendental realm called Krishna consciousness. There's an amazing, amazing realm and it's there waiting for us right now.
aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti
paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti
ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane.
Can you imagine getting reconnected with that person who is manifesting infinite spiritual universes and infinite material universes from Himself at every minute. Just imagine becoming reconnected when Krishna says, suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ ..I am the most intimate well-wishing friend of every civilized being. Wait a minute. How can Krishna be pointing He is neither… nor a living entity…… how can Krishna be my intimate friend? He has so many queens in Dwarka and those gopis…How can He be my intimate friend? How is that possible? Well, it is possible, my dear listeners. It is possible. In fact, it's a fact. Just as Krishna is the most intimate husband of each one of those 16,108 queens, can you just imagine, because Krishna manifests each and every one of them, Krishna can manifest each and every living entity through all of existence. He wants to have that sweet intimate loving relationship with every one of us. All we have to do is agree to love him. He's giving us His unlimited love and we're saying ‘no thank you, no thank you, later, later, later. I have to do this, I have to do that, I have to get some followers, get some money, have some sex pleasure. No, no, no, wait, wait, wait, later, later, later’. You see how stupid we are? We're thinking ‘let me enjoy this material a little longer let me get a little more pleasure’ here is it, we're so stupid we're so asinine like asses we're thinking ‘let me get a little more pleasure here and later on I'll take to Krishna consciousness, solely and purely.’
We're actually cheating ourselves, my dear listeners, we're cheating ourselves trying to enjoy separately from Krishna. There is… try to understand this point, there is no enjoyment separate from Krishna. It doesn't exist. It absolutely does not exist. And here we are sleeping in the lap of the witch Maya, dreaming, dreaming, dreaming. ‘Yes, I can enjoy. Yes, I can enjoy. Yes, I can enjoy here in my own little world where I think I'm the center of all existence’. See how asinine and stupid we are, mahamūḍha, we're great fools. Why don't we listen to the great acharyas like His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thakur? Why don't we listen to Narada Muni and Vyasadeva and Lord Caitanya? Why don't we listen to these great authorities? Why we keep going on our own little mental platform? It's time we stop and listen to these authorities. Let their teachings go not in one ear, not the other ear. Let these teachings go in both ears and go deep, deep, deep, deep into our heart to rid us of all the lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, and envy which is deeply, deeply rooted. You realize how many layers of lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion we have? After millions of lifetimes in this material world, you realize how many layers you have of these things sitting in your heart? How many layers we have of this lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, and envy? It's inconceivable how many layers we have. Actually, it's uncountable how many layers of lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, and envy we have sitting in our hearts. It's uncountable. But the beauty is in one stroke finished.
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
Abandon all other pseudo religions and simply fully surrender to Me. I will deliver you from all your sense of reaction.
mā śucaḥ …There's nothing to worry about. Don't hesitate. Don't worry. sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi ‘I will now deliver you from all of those layers. It's those millions and millions and trillions and quadrillions and quintillions of layers of lust, anger, greed, madness, and now boom, I finish it, liberate him, all of it’. Why are we so unintelligent, so foolish, so spaced out? We don't want to fully surrender. Why are we holding on to this body? I can enjoy it a little bit. Surely there must be some enjoyment here. I can enjoy it. What is the enjoyment in these senses? What enjoyment we can get from these senses? And still we think, yes, I can enjoy these senses. When are we going to have a little sense to realize I can enjoy these senses? Yeah, we hold on, you know, hope against hope. Surely, I get a little pleasure out of these senses. I mean, it's time we wake up and stop dreaming, you know, this little dream that I can enjoy here, these material senses. Why do we keep thinking like this? When are we going to hear the great acharyas? When are we going to hear the spiritual masters beating on our heads with his philosophy? Wake up, wake up, wake up. Why are you sleeping in the lap of the witch Maya? Jīv jāgo, jīv jāgo, gauracānda bole. Lord Caitanya is calling, wake up, wake up, you sleeping soul. But here we are all sleeping, sleeping, sleeping, sleeping. Where? In the lap of the witch Maya. We have our heads in Maya's lap. The witch Maya, we have our heads in Maya's lap. ‘Oh yes’, dream, dream, dream, dream, dream. When are we going to come out of this hallucination, we're in? When are we going to get out of this hallucination? We're so still we want to hold on to, ‘Oh yes! I can enjoy here. Surely Krishna will let me have a little enjoyment’. So anyway, we've been rambling on here quite a while.
Let's see if we have any objections. Any complaints or questions? No, we can end it here. I don't want to take up too much of your time. There’re so many things to do. ... rambling on and on here. Anybody has any questions or we can end it here. I'll give you a minute to write it down. Do you have any questions?
I'm afraid there's no questions. Oh, here's one.
Zaheel Zalay: Hare Krishna, Srila Gurudev. Please forgive me. Due to exams, I was not able to join the Bhagavatam.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Well, you're here now. They say better late than never. Even if you catch even one minute of the Bhagavatam class, you're unlimitedly benefited. This Bhagavatam is so powerful, even if you catch even one syllable of the Bhagavatam class, you're unlimitedly benefited. This Bhagavatam is so powerful. Even if you catch even one syllable of the Bhagavatam class, you're unlimitedly blessed. I'm glad you're here even though you're tied up with exams. Actually, we're all tied up in exams right now. We have a final exam coming. Zaheel Zalay, you have to remember you have a big final exam coming up very soon. It's called death. So don't…. you might study for these other exams. That's all right. Understand this exam is more important than the other exam. That's called death. You have to prepare yourself for death, the final exam of death. Every day you must cram and study and prepare yourself for death.
Amalapurana: Hare Krishna Srila Gurudeva! What Lord Krishna means when He says, mā śucaḥ, do not fear.?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: ‘Don't worry about surrendering to Me. There's no problem. There's no anxiety, nothing to worry about mā śucaḥ. Don't hesitate. Don't have to be afraid of anything. Just trust Me’. It's like we say in America, in the money, in God we trust. You can trust Krishna. There's nothing to worry about, nothing to hesitate about, nothing to be afraid about. Just go ahead and surrender because in Krishna we trust.
Okay now…
Zaheel Zaley: Srila Gurudev, the question is how can one always depend on Guru and Krishna?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari:: It's a matter of intelligence and realizing on my own, I'm nothing. I tried for so many years to be a spiritualist without having a guru. Even I turned down, can you believe it? I had 2 invitations to go and hear from Prabhupada. I said no. I turned down two invitations to actually go and be with Prabhupada. Because I was thinking I don't need a guru. I'm already a guru. Hmm, I'm God. I'm God. Then…. the Mayavada philosophy, I'm God. Who needs a guru? Of course, I was cheated by two rascals. So, they say once burned, twice shy. I was twice burned, so I was twice shy. I've been cheated by two bogus gurus. I was skeptical about these gurus. But actually, Guru is very important. Someone says, can I just take Krishna as my Guru? Yes, you can, then do what He says. I'll just take Krishna as my Guru. But then you have to do exactly what Krishna says. If you accept Krishna as your Guru, you have to obey Him. What does Krishna say?
tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth
So, if you understand that Krishna is the supreme authority, then you have to. How to always depend on Krishna? Well, actually you're already depending on him for everything. Your every breath of air depends on Krishna. The proper temperature you're living in right now, if it was too hot or too cold, you would die. Your body would die. You depend on Krishna with every minute. You're already depending on Him. Now you have to realize you're already depending on Him with every minute.
Hare Krishna Das: Kindly enlighten. Your Grace said there is no sense in sense gratification. How do deal with the facilities that come in the course of one's life.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Engage them in Krishna’s service. Just like one sense is a...Just like one opportunity for sense gratification is sex life. Well, engage in Krishna’s service, get married, have some Krishna conscious children. So, whatever, if there's any opportunity for sense enjoyment, engage them in Krishna's service. It's like you want to eat. Eating is also sense gratification. Well, go ahead and satisfy your eating desire by taking prasadam. So, you have to transcendentalize all of your sense gratification. I like to read books. I like to watch videos. You can go to a site on the internet. There are so many lectures on Prabhupada. You can see Prabhupada. So many Krishna conscious videos, audio recordings, there's a place where you can download hundreds of Prabhupada's lectures onto your smart phone, you can hear him all day long, driving down the street, or cutting, going and working in your garden, you can hear Prabhupada all day long. There are so many facilities where you can gratify your senses. There are so many kirtans recorded. There are so many things you can do to gratify your senses in Krishna conscious way.
Okay, let's see.
Gauri: How can we develop seriousness in Krishna consciousness in the neophyte stage?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Well, Gauri, I can tell you, you have to become serious. It's like if you're driving a car you have to be very serious about driving it carefully otherwise, you'll have an accident. You have no choice Gauri,you have to be serious. Do or die. You have to be serious. You have no choice. Just like you're walking. You're walking on a pathway which is on the edge of a cliff up a mountain. Be very serious to stay on that pathway or you'll fall off the mountain. You have no choice but to be serious otherwise you can risk everything and lose everything. You have to be serious.
Leela Manjari:Training ourselves to be Krishna conscious all the time means focusing on our sadhana more?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Yes, your sadhana, your hearing, your chanting, it means becoming more. We have to learn how to laser focus our attention, everything we're doing. Now that we're spaced out halfway, you're doing something halfway and our mind is somewhere else. We have this disease, we neophytes have this disease, we do things halfway. We're thinking about something else and doing this service, or my mind is somewhere off in the blue somewhere. We're not really focused on our service. It's a problem for those neophytes, that we don't focus on our service. And therefore, our service is not first class, it's second class, third class, fourth class, tenth class. So, we have to learn to give up this tendency of being spaced out, having our mind wandering here and there. Whatever we're doing, let me focus on doing it nicely. My japa, my hearing, my reading, my aarti, the cleaning of the dishes, cooking, whatever it may be. Let me do it. Taking care of Tulsi. Let me do it with full attention. Let me give up this tendency to be spaced out and not focus on what I'm doing. We have to beg Guru and Krishna to help us give up this bad habit we have.
Okay..
Govardhan Das: Srila Gurudeva happiness is only with Krishna. Why is it I am yet to find that happiness struggling very much, please enlighten me.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Govardhan, you're not at all happy, you're completely miserable. Let me know if you're always miserable, you're not really happy at all. I have no happy, zero happiness, you're a completely total and miserable wreck. Let me know.
Okay,
Yuga-dharma: How can I get free from layers of ignorance, sleepiness, laziness, lust, anger and greed?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare
Japa, kirtan, dive deep, deep, deep, in the nectarean ocean of chanting Hare Krishna. Don't do your chanting halfway, go deep deep deep like somebody wants to take a dip in the ocean, Dig a deep dip in the ocean of the holy names.
Panchatattva Das: Kindly enlighten comparison of devotion with other senior devotees in our centre…comparison of devotion with those senior devotees in our center, ISKCON, is good for our spiritual growth and getting in competition with the seniors. Example, book distribution, comparison or competition with seniors is a good sign or a sign of jealous or weakness to not be able to execute Krishna consciousness properly from my end.
Sankarshan Das:Prabhupada encouraged transcendental competition and book distribution. He loved it. He fanned the fire of competition. So go for it. Prabhupada encouraged competition and book distribution. Very much encouraged. (Devotee in the audience: Prabhupad encouraged only Book distribution or other services also?) Well, you see somebody doing nice.. to do, try to do something nice that is very good. If somebody gives a powerful class, try to give them a more powerful class. It's nice. It's not that you're... Actually, in the mind you should be worshipping this sort of devotees, worshipping them as great saintly personalities, being inspired by their example to try to take what they're doing and do even better. There's nothing wrong. (Audience: jealousy..is a good feeling?) Actually, it has to be in the mood of transcendental love. I very much love and appreciate this great advanced devotee. You think it is no good, this is a rascal, then it is mundane. But I appreciate this devotee is so wonderful I'm so inspired with their example to also do something wonderful. That way. I hope that makes it clear.
Bhakta-Prantik: Attachment and bodily identities are sense gratification. I understand it is only theory. Putting this to practice seems like a mountain to climb. What should I do?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Well, climb the mountain. There are people who love climbing mountains. It's a great sport. Mountain climbing is a very popular sport. So being a Transcendental Mountain Climber. It seems impossible to give up this. I mean here I am attached to sense gratification. It seems actually impossible to get rid of it. It is like.. take a huge mountain to climb. Well, take it as a sport. I may be attached to this sense enjoyment, okay, that's understandable. I've been attached to sense enjoyment for millions of lifetimes. It's understandable why I'm still attached to it. Well, take it as a treadmill sport. I'm determined to give it up. Just like Yāmunācārya Albandru….
yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor
nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt
tad-avadhi mama bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne
bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca
Even though he became a good acharya, he still would sometimes have flashbacks on his days of sense gratification. His mind would sometimes flash back. So instead of trying to enjoy those memories of having sex with so many women, he would… saṅgame, nārī in the verses, nārī, women, he would spit it up. So, one has to be a good spitter, you see. These thoughts of sense enjoyment. Spit at them. It's like a stool. Flush it down the toilet. You have to see these diseases in the heart. Being attached. Thinking on the body. Enjoying these attachments. You have to learn how to flush them down the toilet, get rid of them. Get out of here, you rascal thought, you're not welcome here in my brain. Now I only want to think about Krishna and Guru and Lord Caitanya and how I can please the Vaishnavas and my spiritual master. I want to get rid of all this dirt in my heart.
Okay,
Caitanya dasa: Your grace said there is no happiness separate from Krishna, however I'm not able to convince myself 100%.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: That's good, you recognize, it's good, Chaitanya Das, it's very good, you're recognizing your own mental disease. Now you have to be your own doctor. You should be your own doctor. The mind is the child and the intelligence is the mother. So, the mother sees the child is off the track doing something naughty, the child doing something wrong. The mother has to train the child. …So if your mind is not totally convinced then you have to say okay mind you still full of doubts okay well this I'm going to train you, my dear mind.
bhajahū re mana śrī-nanda-nandana-abhaya-caraṇāravinda re
durlabha mānava-janama sat-saṅge taroho e bhava-sindhu re
My dear mind, please understand, right now you think there's some happiness separate from Krishna, but my dear mind, try to understand your foolishness. There is no happiness separate from Krishna. So now please engage yourself in the devotional service of the divine son of Nanda Maharaj. If your mind is still stupid thinking there's happiness separate from Krishna, you've got to train that rascal. Okay, rascal mind. Give up your stupid nonsense thoughts and come back to sanity. You have to train your own mind. The intelligence understands that the mind is not convinced. You have to preach to your own mind. Preach to yourself. Preach to your own mind. Okay mind, give up your nonsense. Come back to sanity, my dear mind. Stop being an insane fool you stupid mind. You come back to sanity by understanding and realizing there's no happiness except from Krishna Consciousness.
So, is there anything else? If nothing else, Guru Mataji, you want to add some points? Here's a question here.
Devotee 1: Srila Gurudeva, thank you for such a nice class. Srila Gurudeva. I feel that like I have love for everyone. The whole world is like my family. I feel I have love everyone. But I don't feel the love for Krishna. I don't feel the love for Krishna. I like everyone but I don't feel love for Krishna.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: I see, Krishna is also there, how you can love everybody except for Krishna. That is stupidity. I love everyone , I don’t love Krishna. How you can be so stupid to think I love everybody but I don’t love Krishna
Devotee 1: I love but I don't have the feeling. I don't know I have it or not.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: You have feelings for everyone else but not Krishna?
Devotee: Yes. Krishna and...
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: What about Nityananda? Do you have love for Lord Nityananda?
Devotee 1: I love but I don't feel. I don't feel like people.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Well, for us, neophyte devotees, we don't really feel the love. Therefore, Lord Caitanya was praying, when will my heart be decorated with pure love, He, Lord Caitanya was putting himself in your position. He was putting himself in your position. I'm chanting but I don't feel any love. Lord Caitanya put himself in your position. When will that day be mine when chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, I have tears of love flowing through my eyes. So, He was putting Himself in your position to teach you what should be your mood. So, you should be in that mood when oh when will that day may be mine when I have tears of love falling in my eyes by chanting the holy name you should hanker and hanker for that day but you can actually feel love for Krishna.
Okay anything else?
Devotee 1: Thank you so much Gurudeva
Devotee 2: There is another question.. Ya..a question from Bala Govinda ..He's over 60 years old.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: What?
Devotee 2: He is over 60 years old
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Actually you're eternal.
Devotee 2: No, I'm just...
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Okay, go ahead.
Devotee 2: So, I'm adding this. It's not part of the question, but I'm adding that he's over 60 years, and he's asking. He is offering obeisances, and he's telling that he has a family, a wife, 2 grandchildren, daughter, son-in-law, I care about them, I feel needed by them, they do not prevent me from practicing Krishna consciousness. How should I proceed? Whether trying to leave the family … like renounce or to stay with that the family, make every effort to include them in Krishna consciousness as much as possible.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: So, they are not devotees?
Devotee 2: Some kind of devotees.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: If he can create a Krishna Conscious atmosphere in the house, make the house like an altar and regular seva going on, make the house. a temple like atmosphere and you can stay there. Make the house as good as Vrindavan. Train them and encourage them, inspire them to also become Krishna conscious. If they are against it, then they can even sabotage it, then he should leave it. If they are open, they are willing to learn, then he should stay, if they are willing to learn, give them a lot of prasadam, that will change their mind.
Okay,
Bhaktin Preeti: How to check our thoughts whether we are competing for pleasure, or ..out of envy.
Audience:..Srila Gurudeva, what was the question…
Sankarshan Das Adhikari (reading out the question of Bhaktin Preeti): If I'm trying to, if I'm engaged in transcendental competition, trying to do more books than somebody else, is it my, is it a proper mood or I'm doing it out of envy that's what she wants to know… Am I competing to please Krishna or I’m doing out of envy…
Sankarshan Das Adhikari (answers): That will be seen by your attitude you have for to the other devotees. If you're in the mood of bowing down to their feet and begging for their mercy, then it's transcendental. Otherwise, if you say, who are these jerks? They're no good. Then it's mundane.
Let’s see
Devotee 3: Gurudeva I'm not able to stay in sattva guna, what should I do? I'm not consistent and determined to chant.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: The thing is right now, as neophyte devotees, our minds are really off the track. They are running here, they are dancing here, dancing there, looking for sense enjoyment in this material world. That's our rascal mind. You keep bringing it back, bringing it back, keep bringing that mind back, okay mind, keep bringing it back, keep bringing it back. What is that verse,
yato yato niścalati
manaś cañcalam asthiram
tatas tato niyamyaitad
ātmany eva vaśaṁ nayet
From whatever and wherever the mind wanders, due to its flickering unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the self.
So, it's like a naughty kid running here, running there, passing urine here, all kinds of things a naughty kid is doing. You've got to keep train the kid, train the kid, train him to be a good mature adult. So, we have to keep working, working, working, working on that rascal mind until he finally surrenders.
Bhaktin Sheila: Please remind how to learn from others' mistakes.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Now we are foolish and make mistakes ourselves. Well, one thing I see is so many gurus fell down. I go, …wow, I'm very careful. So many exalted gurus, they were big leaders of our movement, they came initiating spiritual masters and now they're finished. I think what caused them to fall down? Why did they fall down? I think, well, I had to be very careful I don't follow that example and fall down. It'd be a great disaster for my disciples. The Ritviks would be in ecstasy. Oh, just see, Sankarshan Das fell down.. ki jai. Another one of those so-called gurus fell down with the dust. I mean, I have to be very, very careful. See, try to understand that material nature is very very tricky and sneaky. Very very tricky and sneaky. Mayadevi is very tricky and sneaky. You must be very very careful. The razor's edge, when you're shaving your face, if you're not careful you cut yourself. Practicing Krishna consciousness is like a razor's edge. You have to be very careful; it'll be a slip in blood. So, I say very, very, very careful in practicing Krishna consciousness. A little inattention, the whole thing is finished.
Bhaktin Priya: If we are purified slowly with sadhana, why does the feeling of low and high with material effects?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: You're purified slowly with sadhana. Why does the feeling of low and high with material effects? I can try to guess what you're asking. Material nature is up and down, up and down. Get some instant pleasure in the material world, get instant pleasures and all kinds of misery and some instant pleasures, all kinds of misery. And they get drunk and have some instant pleasures. They go get a hamburger and get some instant pleasures. But we're purified slowly. Why are we purified slowly when I can get sensory identification very quickly, one could ask. The thing is we're habituated to sense gratification since time immemorial Even though it's our original nature to be absorbed in loving service to Krishna. Right now it seems a little artificial for us. To be honest, we may be nearby devotees, it still seems artificial for us. You know, rising early, chanting on the beads, you know, I could be sleeping in and then getting up and having some sense gratification. It seems a little artificial in the beginning. We have to understand, just like the example of the jaundice patients. What is the cure for jaundice? Sugar candy. How does it taste? Horrible. When it's spit it out, it tastes so bad. But guess what? By taking the sugar candy, you gradually get over the jaundice and then you come back and you like it again, oh wow! these tastes great give me another sweet ball. Give me another one of those ‘simply wonderful’. How about a Gulab Jamun? So, we have to understand and be patient and understand it takes time we awaken our original natures, original transmittal natures, so we have to do the duty, the doctor said ‘my dear patient you must take sugar candy every day. You know it tastes horrible. You must do it’. So, we take the order of the spiritual master and we practice Krishna consciousness, understanding that gradually, gradually, gradually, the original pure taste of loving Krishna with every thought, word, and deed at all times, at all circumstances will become manifested.
Devotee 4: One question Gurudeva!
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Ya
Devotee 4: Question by mataji from Lithuania: How to control emotion in difficult situation
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: That is the problem which many of us neophytes have. Our emotions get carried away. Difficult situation, be cool headed … we get carried away…I have a very good example of my own life when we had a robbery in our Miami temple. You see someone who's cool-headed. I don't think I'm there yet, but my godbrother really was a cool-headed. He came out of, there was a robbery going on, and I yelled out Narasingha’s name. He heard me yelling, so he came out of the office to see what was going on and the thieves were there with their guns and he turned around to go back into the treasury office and the thief ran at him, ran at him and hit him on the head with a gun and cut him on the head. But Abiram was so cool headed, it was amazing. He even had blood coming out of his head. He didn't freak out. He just said, very cool-headedly, he told the treasurer, he said, ‘get the gun and shoot the bastard.’ Because it was amazing how he kept his cool. After that he became Prabhupada’s personal servant also. He was so cool headed even when he was hit with a head with a gun and he had blood coming out of his head he remained as cool. I had to learn from his example. I had to keep my cool in every and all situations. It was amazing. And because he was cool-headed, the thieves were running scared out the door because he was so cool-headed. So, this is a problem for many of us. We lose our cool and we become emotional in a difficult situation. So, we have to learn how to be...
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
Always be joyful in our loving relation with Krishna and never be carried by the ups and downs of the material world. Okay…
Jagadisvara (asks for Dvijanagaramani gaura) : Is it more important for new people to use talents for Krishna or learn discipline and devotional service?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: They are both important. We encourage everyone to use your talents. Not that, well, forget your talents. Just do this, do that. No. We encourage everyone to use their talents. That will encourage people. The whole point is we want to enthuse people. Get them excited and enthuse in devotional service. They have a talent, engage their talent in Krishna's service. This is Prabhupada's style. He engaged the devotees' talents in Krishna's service. It's the same, but along the same line, we engage their talents, we have to learn the disciplines of Krishna consciousness. Just like one girl, what was her name? Judy? Yeah. Prabhupada had her, she knew how to paint a little bit, so Prabhupada had her do paintings. Then in 26th second avenue, this girl Judy, engaged her in paintings. She had the ability as an artist, so he very encouraged her to use her painting talents. She became Jadurani then. You know, at that time, a very leading devotee in our movement. But Prabhupada engaged her in painting talent, even sitting in the other side of his room, he was doing his work. He set up a little art studio in there, doing their painting work right there in Prabhupada's area. So, it's very important to engage their talents and at the same time we can teach them the discipline of Krishna consciousness. Both things should be going on.
Okay, let's see. Oh, this is from Dvijanagaramani gaura.
Okay. All right. And then we have Bhakta-Pranthik.
Bhakta-Pranthik: Activities being done by Prthu in this verse seems impractical.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: No, this is not for us. This is for the Ashtanga yogis. That was the system in Satya Yuga, this is not the Satya Yuga, where you can live for a hundred thousand years. These are not practical. We should chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama. This is the practice of the age of Kali. That was the Satya Yuga practices. Okay,
Sarada Devi dasi: How can one remain calm when the external situation is disturbing?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: That's something many of us have to learn. How to always keep it cool, in all situations? We have to understand that Krishna is in control. He's always in control of every situation. Krishna's never going to cheat us or abuse us in any way. We have to have faith in Krishna. He's always there protecting us and guiding us and blessing us. That's how we can learn to be undisturbed in all situations. Having full faith, Krishna's always there. He's always conscious, always blessing at every minute.
So, we've gone a little bit over time here now, we can stop here. There are no more questions?
Devotee 5: If same question when someone asks... if disturbance is inside, how to tackle with Krishna consciousness? It is not disturbance outside, but disturbance inside, can you please explain?
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: I don’t know if I have understood your question correctly …It doesn't matter what's going on the outside, what matters is what you do in the inside, right?
Devotee 5: Yes
Sankarshan Das Adhikari: Ya … happiness and distress, pain and pleasure, honor and dishonor, in all situations there's a verse like that in the Bhagavad-Gita. Pain and pleasure, happiness and distress, honor and dishonor, wealth and poverty in every situation. Simply take shelter of Krishna. That’s all.
So, there's nothing else we can stop here. I thank everybody for tuning in. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare.