Krishna - The shelter of all living entities | SB 8.5.21 | May 1991 | Toronto | Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. 5:6:21. Lord Brahma says, I, Mahāśiva, all three demigods, the demons, the living entity born from the recreation, the living being born of eggs, the tree and plant sprouting from the earth, and the primitive people, all of you here, All come from the Supreme God, from His incarnation of Rajneesh. And for the great thing you have heard from me, let us pay devotion to the Supreme Lord and teach self-realization of His Lotus Feet. Responsibility, purpose, and reminder, these things are given under Swami Prasad RAVAL. Channel creation of water and rivers, food from perspiration, and food from the seeds. In this way, all the activities emanate from the Jnāna-ālottāna, from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Ultimately, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the source of all living entities. Om jñānānanda-nanda-kīrṇāṇa-nanda-nāṣṭra-jñānaṇa-vṛṣṇaṇa-kṛṣṇaṇṭhaḥ, paśṇīpura-vaiṇṇāḥ. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, So, so this verse has been spoken by Lord Rama, and he explains The— in the Supreme Yavana age, in the Supreme Yavana age, the demigods, after being defeated by the Asuras, they approached Lord Brahma or Bharat, and Lord Brahma, when he was approached by the demigods of Bharat, he agreed to come to their rescue. And the devatas, along with Lord Brahmā, are on their way to approaching the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or Godhead. When He enters into any house, even a beggar's house, then again and again, even powerful devatas like Indra, Śiva, Nāmūla, Our Excellency, the Supreme Commissioner of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, to those who think that the Kṛṣṇa glories are obtained by possessing the Supreme Lord, all are ignorant of form, unfortunately, and not studied the topmost scriptures, the Āgama Śrīla Prabhupāda. Very carefully, The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam stands for the Supreme position of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has been described by Śrīla Prasāda RAVAL as the topmost scripture on the planet. So in the previous verse, we also read how Lord Rāma had obtained great strength because he had been meditating as his Lotus Feet have formed. And because of the meditation, his face became very brilliant and bright, and he picked up courage. Now, in this verse, Lord Kṛṣṇa is explaining that the Lord is the cause of all causes. He is the cause of all from us. In the Bhāgavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-indriṣu-pānteya mudraya samārdhyaḥ, hāṁ vidyāto 'hamām, hāṁ vidyāto 'vāsitaḥ. I am the seed-given father of all living entities. Kṛṣṇa is the seed-given father of all living entities. Nothing is actually independent of Kṛṣṇa. In the Bhāgavata Mahābhāgavatam it is said, janma-tasya yogodayā vidyāvārtha-kṛṣṇa-vāmi-jāma-svāraḥ. Janma-tasya yogodayā. Everything actually is taking birth from whom? From Kṛṣṇa. Everything is actually from Him. Now who is that? There is anything independent of Him. Neither are all living entities independent of Krishna, nor is a Krishna's nameless independent of Krishna. Maya prakṣema pravahim yujetaḥ carcarām. This material energy is working under My direction. So janmātā te yeko'mayāt. Everything existing was from whom? From Krishna. And this is exactly the point that Lord Brahma is making in this verse. Lord Brahma in this verse is explaining that there are four categories of living entities. In this cosmic manifestation, there are four kinds of living entities, you understand? It is not that the living entities on this— in this cosmic manifestation only consist of a two-legged human being. It won't include the present concept of civilization. Only those human beings are considered living beings. And we realize that the others cannot be considered living beings. They are not idealists. They can only exist as long as we want them to exist. And when we no longer need them, they will be annihilated. That is the present-day civilization, that only after the child comes out of the mother's womb is he considered a human being. The child in the mother's womb, he is meant for abortion because he is not a human. That is the unfortunate mundane concept of life. So in this cosmic manifestation, there are 4 categories of living entity, whether they be clean or not clean. One is jadāyu-jāna. Jadāyu-jāna means those entities that come out from the embryo, like the human being, the animal. They fall in the category of jadāyu-jāna. They come, they were from the embryo. When they are gross under their Āndhajā means those entities that take birth from the egg. Like there are many birds that take birth from the egg. So Āndhajā, Āndhajā refers to those entities that take birth from the egg. Then there is Śrīdajā. Śrīdajā represents those that take birth from separation.. And the example of those who take birth from perspiration are insects and germs. There are many insects and germs that take their birth from perspiration and they die within moments of taking birth. So that is amlāṁ kāṭpīyaḥ śveṇaṇyāḥ. In different germs, they take their birth from perspiration. And then there is, um, Urvijya. Urvijya means those vegetables from seeds. And what takes root from seeds? The trees, the plants, vegetation, etc. They fall in the category of Urvijya. So within this cosmic manifestation, there are four sources of birth. Those that come out from the embryo, those that come out from the egg, those that come from respiration, and those that come from— from seed, and those that come from seed. So Lord Brahman is stating, all these souls are coming from me, anantita prabhavata. I am the Supreme Father of all the four categories of entities. Those that take birth from seed, I am their father. Those that take birth from masturbation, I am their father. Those that take birth from egg, I am their father. And those that take birth from embryo, I am their father. This is the conclusive statement of the Bhagavad-gītā. So, janma-darkeya, everything is taking birth from Kṛṣṇa. And what is His characteristic? Swarūpa.— completely independent. The Lord is completely independent, whereas you and I are completely dependent. We are dependent on everything. We can only see when the sunshine is there or electricity is there. When there is no sunshine and no electricity, we cannot even see each other, isn't it? So, this Supreme Power is for us. Completely independent. And we are the opposite. We are the opposite to that. We are completely dependent. We are dependent upon other living entities. We are dependent upon material nature, etc., for our survival. We don't have the capacity to be independent of material nature. For example, last evening we were lecturing on Lord Rishabhadeva. So Lord Rishabhadeva, or the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, So Lord Rishabhadeva was very powerful. So Indra, the demigod, in spite of rain, he became very envious of the exalted position of Rishabhadeva. So Indra decided, "I'm not going to send any rain." When Lord Rishabhadeva was a king, he decided not to send any rain. But Rishabhadeva was so powerful that he created a rain on his own. You have to remember. Lord Krishna did not need anyone's help to create the world. He created rain on his own because he was God himself. But you and I, as a species and as a progressional nature, you and I are not capable of producing rain upon rain upon rain, transplanting roots, etc. But recently, because of the disconnect from God, when Indra became envious of him and Indra decided to become mortal, So to be a conscious knowledge is always to allow and be a cosmic consciousness. Now, if Michelle Bond is related by the three laws of the soul nature, this is another point that is being made in this book, that is, subsequent, present, and following. By random will and force, Everything is created, as Lord Mahāmātra is pointing out in this verse. And when it comes to the world, everything is being maintained. And when the creation becomes very painful, when it is improperly situated, then everything is destroyed by the influence of some one. So the influence of these three gunas, first is guna rāja, guna tama, guna satva. Is very prominent in the material world. Therefore, when it comes to the emotional problems, we are advised to even go beyond the influence of Kṛṣṇa with them. Why? Because in Kṛṣṇa's world also there is the concept of sense enjoyment. The only difference is that the There is a recognition that God exists, that the laws of God must be followed, and that sinful activities must be given up. But the concept of selfless devotional service to God is not there in these other religions. Therefore, we are supposed to be transcendental to even the modern business and come to the state of sudha sattva. Sudha sattva means the state of pure goodness. Suddhasattva is a stage where living entity has had nothing but the opportunity to spell the Lord. And in spelling the Lord, the individual devotee is ready to tolerate all inconveniences, all difficulties, because his only interest is to serve the Lord. So, uh, technically, it also not a solution When he came home to ask, "Namanderoy, what is the code of life, what is the higher code of life?" So Ramanderoy said, "Varnāśrama." So he was Varnāśrama. But Śrī Rūpa Mahāprabhu rejected that. Because even in Varnāśrama, now all the basic ritualistic guidelines of different ācāryas like nama-samhāda,— still there is a dimension of freedom, hope, and enjoyment, and the concept of selfless service to the poor can happen. Many politicians in America will reject it or imagine it as a solution, or as religion, or imagine it as the highest purpose of life. So, as Mother Teresa explained, that even though one may hate, kanadi is such a pleasant land, Still there is always a competition going on between the other modes, and sometimes the mode of passion becomes dominant, sometimes the mode of ignorance. That's why we often see in our preaching, we meet people that say, "Yes, we are straight pious, we go on pilgrimage, we go to puja, we worship the Lord." But at the same time we see that these people also get carried away with the other modes, and they engage in sinful activities also. So that's how we have to face the three worlds. But those who capture the spiritual path are supposed to go beyond the three worlds. Here in this verse, it is also mentioned about the luna avatara. The avatara of the Lord gave you reconciliation on the basis of his sankruti. Through these scriptures we can recognize both the genuine incarnation and both the fake incarnation. So there are different categories of avataras. It is impossible to count the various incarnations of the Lord. Just like, to give an example, the waves of the ocean or the atoms in the elements or atoms in the universe, It will be an impossible thing. So similarly, the samadhi, the way it is in the nature, it is impossible. But the great means and methods for the incarnation into different categories: Purusha Avatara, Juna Avatara, Meera Avatara, Manvantara Avatara, Chaturanga Avatara, and Yuga Avatara. 6 categories of Avatars. In this verse, reference is being made to the guna avatar, because Yama is the guna avatar. So there are 6 varieties of avatars, guna avatar, vidya avatar, yama avatar, chakravyūṣṇa avatar, indriyā avatar, and puruṣa avatar. So through this, we through the scriptures, we can recognize who is incarnation and who is not an incarnation. We don't speculate just because somebody does too many mistakes in explanation of Vedānta subject. Like, Prasād RAVALI, she gave us a story of Dr. Bhaktivedānta Mahāprabhu. Dr. Bhaktivedānta Mahāprabhu, we know, was working as a magistrate. Dr. Bhaktivedānta Mahāprabhu, the great spiritual master in our line of the Vedic tradition, was working as a magistrate under the British government in the province of Rijeka. So there was one man, yogi, who was pretending he was Krishna, and he was fooling around with all the young girls using these are gopis and using rather beautiful young girls as a non-consensual activity with himself, claiming to be an avatar of Krishna. The whole town was looking at him, all the girls, and none happened what he thought. Chakravarti Maharaj was well-versed in the scriptures, and he knew that this man is a cheater. So he had arrested him and put him in jail. So his father, Bhakti Maharaj, had arrested him and put him in jail. At the same time, by coincidence or fate, by the language of the Lord, his wife children also escaped. And the whole town started talking that, "Oh, we have Chakravarti Maharaj's boy in jail." the plant with the feet of the Lord. Now he will come as son, wife, and Jai Ram, respect, Om, Swaraj, Jai Hind, all the things. But then in the whole town, the coaching talk was of being religious man, believing God, seeing the plan of God. Ultimately the man said, 'Those guys planted up because my religion will all be covered, and the whole town will realize there is nothing but Hinduism.' So we recognize in our power, not on the basis of some magic. Like in India, people do a lot of magic. In India, everyone is called "meister." You go to a Vālādhvāma or Rishi cave, in front of every āśrama, the guru is called "mālāvāla." And Jagadgūrū, they were proud of it. They didn't like using the word Jagadgūrū, because this word Jagadgūrū becomes so cheap. They thought of it, they didn't want to be called Jagadgūrū. Even though they were the real Jagadgūrūs. Never could have been one of the leaders of the whole world who was taking Krishna consciousness to the whole planet. So Prabhupāda never really meant that. So because of those negative feelings that were so deep in him, Prabhupāda did not want to be acknowledged by his own second guru. So the point that we are making is that we don't recognize an avatar on the basis of our subjective statements. But we recognize Avatar on the basis of spiritual injunction and not beyond that. Then the last one that we want to touch on is that the mood of Lord Kṛṣṇa and the memory loss to take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we must understand that the Lord is the cause of all causes and the owner of all The only real worship of God is here. In the material world, we are bringing worship in so many variations, as I understand, that naturally for the mother's day, they will bring a worshiping of the mother. Of course, the mother is missing. Then they have Father's Day, Mother's Day, Christmas Day, Valentine's Day, this day, that day. So many different occasions where everyone is trying to worship everybody else. But the real object of worship should be simply think of Krishna, give God a big hello, a huge welcome. Krishna, Ārtha, Mithila, He is the only Eṣvara, Master, and everybody else is subordinate brother. So we are all subordinate brothers. Kṛṣṇa is the only Master. This recognition must be there. So this is all these. We take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. How? We should follow the footsteps of Lord Rāma. Taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa has to be through some practical steps. It cannot just be a sentimental statement. Just like if you go to Lingāraṇa in India, You will find so many people, they're crying, rolling on the ground and saying, "Yes, Kṛṣṇa, where are you? Where are you?" But sometimes they won't even say his sound that long. So we don't mean to cry for Kṛṣṇa, but they will tell me, "I'm taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa, I'm being genuine." So what is that? How does one take shelter of Kṛṣṇa? First, one must focus the mind on Kṛṣṇa. Isn't it? That we already discussed, how Brahman forces His monument to be set up. Then when I am describing the glories of the fundamental personality of Godhead, we can never adequately describe all the transcendental attributes of the Lord. It is stated in the Ānanda-gītā, you and I have one chance. But Ananda Keśava has hundreds of terms, thousands of times. But even with his thousands of terms, he cannot adequately describe the unlimited grace of the Lord. Even his thousands of terms are inadequate to describe the very strong mental attributes of the Lord. So where is the question of I fully describe and be understood from the Lord, the Lord Krishna. But with the common sense that we have, with choices, words, we can describe in different classes of qualities of the Lord which we learn from the Vedic scriptures. So Brahman is God, God is going as Supreme Lord. So similarly, we should also glorify the Supreme Lord in the Vedic Now, the argument in front of the joining the Lord in His birth by His various attributes is, importantly, His chanting the name of Krishna. When you chant the name of Krishna, you automatically glorify being, being kept down in modern culture in Krishna. You're praying to the Lord to be again in the bosom of Earth. You're acknowledging the supremacy of Krishna. You're acknowledging that your whole being is a non-difference of Krishna. A jīñī mahāprabhu himself says, my dear Lord, you are so merciful that you have invested all the transcendental energy in your body being. The Lord has invested all the transcendental energy in the body being. Meaning the birth of the arms, hey, when the Holy Means will fall among the people from the wall, and the people fell by the Holy Means and the wall would go like this. So these Kali Yuga in the present atmosphere We don't have to become expert in Sun Salutation and repeat the shlokas which got Manas chanting, which got Indra chanting, which got Shiva chanting. Isn't it? Imagine if you were all to, okay, sit down and only memorize all these verses, then try by the morning. Any of you have survived? 10,000 should be left alive. So if we wake up tomorrow morning to learn all the Sun Salutation shlokas and just repeating Some people are unable to speak, whatever. No, it won't get any easier. You shut down all these hotels and the TV, scope the world itself. They are for the purpose of God and given the benediction of Prasad RAVAL. They know he is a Krishna. Anybody can stand in any situation. There's no harm and foul to it. That's the beauty. There's no harm and foul to it. But Jai Guru Devi. He can anytime and any praise, still hear the sound of women's cries in the midst of all the pain and the suffering. Do what the Swami himself lived here thousands of months and thousands of years, still in broken hearts, when we in Kali Yuga are blessed with one bathroom toilet. So certainly the control of one person in 2 years should be an easier task than the meeting of thousands of men to thousands of years of glorifying the Lord. So this last 10 and 2 years should be used in glorifying the Lord. It should be the right question answer all the time. And it was very wonderful to see when we were getting ready for the class, everybody was asking very scientific questions about the way it works. In fact, it brought to mind— at least it brought to my mind— the incident of Lord Chaitanya and the fellowship of being a Gaurīja devotee. Lord Caitanya personally set the example of how the temple of the Lord will be cleaned. So Lord Caitanya and all the associates came to clean the temple, and there were hundreds of devotees who were working. Hundreds of buckets of water were being passed from one temple to another, but everybody was just passing the bucket and chanting Hare Krishna, and many signs like this. Those who made it to the the temple which I built in Krishna's name. So that is what we should mold our mind. The temple I accomplished by building Krishna's name, the temple will only be vibrating Krishna's glory, the temple will only be engaged in Krishna's purpose. Not engaged in bhakti-yoga, not engaged in backbiting, not engaged in mundane topics, because these are destructive for achievement and goal of life. We should engage in those activities that are constructive for achieving the spiritual goal of life and stay away from those activities that are destructive for achieving the goal of life. Therefore, in English speech, or based on this, you, Professor Sami, and various partners have given us some very valuable guidelines how we can adopt those kind of activities that are constructive and stay away from those that are destructive. One should be enthusiastic, one should be observant, one should be patient, one should have more faith in the scriptures, give up his property, do knowledge, these are activities by which one can enhance his devotional service. Adhyāna mālāprāyaṇaḥ kāra-bandhāraṇaḥ mārga-bandhāṇaṇaḥ, kāra-bandhāraṇaḥ mārga-bandhāraṇaḥ, mārga-bandhāraṇaḥ, kāra-bandhāraṇaḥ, dāvāṇaṇghīṇaḥ, sādhīrīpaḥ. But that is the intention. By one medium, through spiritual, through one spiritual activity, a devotional person of the heart And through another, it is enhanced. So what we first listed was all the activities by which the knowledge process can be enhanced. Then again, as Prasad RAVAL has first talked, over-interpreting, over-reading, over-exceeding through mental influences, being greedy, being absorbed in selfish, only-minded people, being arrogant, and engaging in self-sabotage. Talk independent of Krishna means you must go away from spiritual people. Therefore when you are in a situation where some other type of devotee approaches to you and wants to get into prajāpa or false finding or criticism we should just tell him that "Muhurta Prabhuji I am very keen on science please let me just use this example by raising the point which stands out in your sankirtana." "By this, in bad days and due to fajr, my spiritual life will be robust." If we have a complete spirit approach to spiritual life, then Kṛṣṇa will begin jihāda, īśvara-prāyaṣṭhānaṁ, and annihilate Satan occasionally, and give us the necessary intelligence and strength so that we can march forward on the direction of God and not look back at the misdeeds of the enemy. Me has left behind. Does he have love for me and pray for me? Just like when you pass school, you don't want to meditate on the school anymore, you just want to get rid of it. Similarly, after you give up the material life and come to spiritual life, you should not meditate on material life anymore. You should not meditate on the activities of material life that you have left behind. Rather, you should meditate on activities of spiritual nature Because when meditating on activities of a personal nature, we will get attached to those concepts. But if we meditate on the show activities that we have left behind, then once again our attachment to those show activities will get revived, and with the attachment that are going to revive, then we will become difficult to push on in the process of the Course in Miracles. Therefore, we should retain the mind Mature concepts with spiritual goals. Just like a mature-minded people have a goal, okay, I'm going to make so much money, I'm going to make New Year resolution, my birthday resolution, I'm going on. So we should also have other goals. And what is the principal goal? To always remember Krishna, never forget Krishna, never get out of Krishna consciousness. So that is the principal goal. Now, except everything that is favorable— and anything that is not faithful to Vedānta principles, please give it up. Doesn't matter what exactly might be there. Think I would be out of knowledge if I would not be here today. It's all okay. You are going to commit sins, my dear friend, whichever kind it is, that's okay. You are going to become a Krishna conscious, please pay the price. Don't bargain. So pay the price, don't bargain, and you will realize spiritual path. To summarize, the first, Lord Brahmā is establishing that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the source of all the living entities. And in this verse, Lord Brahmā has discussed the four stages of birth of living entities, namely preparation, seed, embryo, and embryo, and egg. And Lord Brahmā has established that Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all of Congress, and now the Brahman from the subsequent verses is going to start this glorifying. He's already started glorifying Congress first, and now from Manchester he's glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is approaching for shelter. And we glorify the Supreme Lord by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, and we should tie the Hare Krishna mantra to the Congress. If we tie the Hare Krishna mantra to the Congress, Then the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra will never be separated from the heart. And when the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is never separated from the heart, then you will be free from fear, no anxiety. But when the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is not at the heart, then there is fear, uncertainty, fear of death, fear of all things, attachment to the body, etc. But when the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is hooked on to the channel, You become fearless. If you want to become fearless, you don't have to make insurance and buy 100 insurance policies, but you have to try to enact the mantra of the Prasada, and then you will become under Krishna's divine protection. I was— I was suggesting, if a Prasada is very short-lived, when it's harmful and when it is helpful to be independent from devotion, service. Once it gets me, you can initiate in the devotional service. Initiate means you're always busy, you're always meditating. How can I serve Krishna better? How can the temple work better? How can the gāstric vessel be— how can it be maintained? You're always meditating, how Krishna can be served better. Just like a materialist, you're always thinking, how can I make more money? How can I get more friends? So that is certainly good. Now regarding the second aspect of the question, independence. So, in spiritual life, independence from dark currents is independent. The nature of the mind is always to be independent and superior. And the mind is always unflinching and it has the habit of accepting and rejecting. Therefore, one is counseled to take shelter of his mind is transcendent so that one can know what is best and one can do. What is to be used and what is not to be used. So if you use initiators, being initiated through initiators or coming up with ideas of this method is a constant practice of Kṛṣṇa. That's not in any way conflict with the theory of the independence of Kṛṣṇa. You understand? It's not that if I'm going to use initiators, if I'm going to use my brain, I have to be independent of everybody. Is that clear? Any more? Do you want to know how to avoid intimate charity with other devotees? Is that your question? Oh. A devotee basically should be nice with everyone, even when he is talking with non-devotees. You should be very respectful. A devotee does not want to cause pain even to an ant. It is not that we are provided with police, with a lot of police in our way of doing, you understand. We should be very respectful to all living entities. Of course, there is question of anything that we deal with people in different, different meditations of spiritual order. But in principle, one should be respectful to every living entity. I don't know. Yeah. Veggie Planet sometimes? Okay, I thought. Yeah. Being nice doesn't mean you compromise the truth. You can be friendly, you can be respectful, but the truth cannot be compromised. For example,— phone your relatives, telephone your country people, you would have seen them, for example. Okay, now the mother feels so much pain, they have tendency to also put pressure to make her weak in her spiritual life. So when they talk into that mother, the mother is crying, and the mother is talking to people, it doesn't mean you say, "Mummy, Mummy, yes, yes, you're right, yes, you're right, yes, go to the So, you know, it doesn't mean that you compromise on the truth. You should be firm on the truth but still speak the truth in a palatable manner. Just like the Bible says that the truths are like dog's paws tearing on the handkerchief. Okay. The Bible said that one would compare the attributes of these truths to dog's paws tearing on the handkerchief. So, we don't go on the street and say, "Hey, what's up, dog?" And take to the bone. You know, that gives you a clue. We see very nicely, first, the American ability to tell time. These activities they are engaging in are very similar to the activities of dogs or chimpanzees. You follow? So the slowest is actually the chimpanzee. Every day we see the wild and the white collar. And then some of the people who are in the white collar, some of them have a lot of friends or relatives— allow the bombing of people, tanks, white horses, birds, and the rain, the sun. The truth cannot be compromised. Prabhupāda's beauty was— he had many aspects of beauty, but one aspect of his beauty was he never compromised his truth. And because he never compromised his truth, he was able to show that the most golden flower of God. So we belong to his succession where we do not make compromising themselves. But you will see that in a challenging, respectful manner. You understand? Like some kind of way, like, start shouting, chopping their voice, or driving home a point. We don't want to do all that. We want to be gentle, okay?