Modes influence towards diff destinations | SB 5.26.2 | RUS, MSK| 20 May 2001| Gopal Krishna Goswami

Om Namah Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

Om Namah Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

Om Namah Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Om Namah Bhagavate Vasudevaya.

Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 5, Chapter 26, Text 2.

Shraddhaya, Karma, Gatahaya, Gatahaya, Prita Gwida, Prita Gwida, Sarva Iva Sarvasya, Sarva Iva Sarvasya, Karatamyeena, Karatamyeena, Avanti, Avanti.

So this is one of those long prose verses And we have tried our best to break it out so that you could chant it. This is not the original composition of Śrīm Śukadeva Gosvāmī, so the chanting is not going to be as smooth as it is when there's the original composition in 4 lines. Tri-guna-atvarkārṭhu.

Tri-guna-atvarkārṭhu.

Śraddhāya-karmā-ketāya-prasvudā. Śraddhāya-karmā-ketāya-prasvudā. Sarvā eva sarvāsyā.

Sarvā eva sarvāsyā.

Aratām ina pavanti.

Aratām ina pavanti.

Tri gunadvākarṭu śraddhaya.

Tri gunadvākarṭu śraddhaya.

Rāma gatāya pitak vidhā.

Rāma gatāya pitak vidhā.

Sarvā eva sarvāsyā. Sarvā eva sarvāsyā. Śrī-gnāt-vād-kārṇṭu śuddhāya kārma-gṛtāya pitāgṛdhaḥ sarva-eva-sarvasya tātāmīnā bhāvanti. So in this chapter, you're going to be reading about the hellish planets. The materialists hate this chapter. They don't want to accept that there's anything known as the hellish planets. When the Fifth Canto first came out, our devotees were distributing these in the airports in America. But they soon discovered something unique. People would buy these books, read about the hellish planets, and get so scared, leave the books behind at the airport. They didn't want to take it home and read about the hellish planets. A mature life works on the principle ignorance is bliss. That is, they don't want to be aware of the reaction to the sinful activities, and they think they can just go on without expecting any reaction. So in this chapter, Śrīla Deva Gosvāmī is confirming the existence of the hellish planets or the naraka-lokas, which are situated between the Garbhodākṣayā-ocean and Patala-loka. There are 28 hellish planets. Now, the subject of today's worth of course is not the hellish planets, but this was, is from a chapter entitled "The Hellish Planets." And you will get a detailed explanation of how for different types of sinful activities there is different type of punishment. All our activities are being witnessed by several personalities, as Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in 3rd canto "Kānmana deva-nityānā-jantu-deva-papataye." All our activities are being witnessed by several demigods. And for example, the sun god, the moon god, the stars, the Lord in the heart, the fire god, all of them are witnesses to everything we perform. And based on what we, how we perform, our next life is decided. Now in this verse, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī is specifically talking about the three modes of nature and how the living entity comes under the influence of the three modes. In the fifth verse of the 14th chapter, Kṛṣṇa— in the fifth verse of the 14th chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna explains that material nature consists of three modes. When a living entity comes in contact with material nature, he gets conditioned by these modes. What are the three modes? Janmasāyaṁ māyām. Janmasāyaṁ māyām. Janmasāyaṁ māyām. Janmasāyaṁ māyām.

Janmasāyaṁ māyām. Janmasāyaṁ māyām.

It doesn't matter which part of the world you reside in, you see the influence of these three modes. Now, definitely goodness is better than passion and ignorance. And Śrī Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī is saying goodness is illuminating, inspires one to abstain from sinful activities. Of course, under the influence of goodness, a person is falsely happy that he's doing the right thing. And he may not even make spiritual progress. Just like someone's born in a Brahminical family, he thinks he knows everything, doesn't need to be told anything, hence doesn't make any progress, but doesn't degrade too much either. Now, under passion, the living entity develops unlimited desires and longings. And he's very attached to realizing these unlimited desires and longings. And the living entity, in order to realize his unlimited desires, he engages in a variety of fruitive activities. Just like we see, majority of the population today is under the influence of passion and ignorance. People have unlimited desires. Just like Narada Muni explains in the 7th canto, you can satisfy a hungry man by giving him food, a thirsty man by giving him water, an angry man by giving him the opportunity to shout, but you can never satisfy a greedy man. So Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gītā, 14th chapter, that Under the influence of passion, unlimited desires develop, unlimited longings, and you engage in fruitive activities in order to achieve those. Then under ignorance, the living entity causes the, the mode of ignorance causes one to be, to be unaware of the goal of life. Causes delusion of the living entity. People become mad, indolent, sleepy, lazy. So Kṛṣṇa is explaining in the 14th chapter, the 14th chapter is called the Three Modes of Material Nature, how the living entity, the moment he comes in contact with material nature, he comes under the influence of either of the three modes. So similarly, in this verse of the Bhāgavatam that we are discussing today, Śrīla Devadāsa Gosvāmī is saying that a living entity comes under the influence of 3 types of activities. Now as Kṛṣṇa says in the 14th chapter of the Gītā, there is a competition going on between the modes for supremacy. Sometimes the mode of goodness becomes prominent or wins. Sometimes the mode of passion wins. And sometimes the mode of ignorance. Therefore, the spiritual advice is, even to go beyond goodness and to come to the level of pure goodness. Kṛṣṇa further explains the symptoms of the living entity under the different modes. What are the symptoms of one in goodness? All the gates in the body are illuminated with knowledge. Kṛṣṇa says in the 14th chapter, The symptom of Oneness is that all the gates in the body are illuminated with knowledge. There are 9 gates in the body: 2 eyes, 2 nostrils, 2 ears, the mouth, anus, genitals. Just like we have 2 main entrances to this temple door, to this temple room, and of course you have 2 windows through which someone can jump in if he wants to. So if somebody wants to come in the temple room, He has to come through these two doors. Similarly, there are nine gates in our body, and through these gates we can manifest auspicious or inauspicious desires, activities. So when Krishna says, the symptom of one's goodness is that all the nine gates are illuminated with knowledge, this means that the eyes are trained to understand that if you want to see, you should see the form of the Lord and not something vulgar. The nostrils are trained to understand their real business is to smell incense and flowers offered to the Lord and not fragrances that you buy in the department store. So similarly, one who is under the mode of goodness, he, he at least has the understanding that the senses should not be misused but rather should be used correctly. Amarikṣma Rāja gave us a classic example of how these senses can be used in service to the Lord. He uses eyes to see the form of the Lord. He uses ears to hear the glories of the Lord. He uses nostrils to smell incense and flowers offered to the Lord. So similarly, one who is in goodness, his 9 gates are illuminated with the right understanding. Now in passion, what are the symptoms that get manifested? Great attachment. You see that in mature life, anyone attached to his possessions. Prabhupada told us a story that once when he was traveling in his younger days, there was a man traveling in the bus in Calcutta with some burnt wood, but he was holding on to it as such valuable possession. So under passion, there's great attachment, unlimited desires. Hankering and desires keep multiplying. Under illusion, one becomes mad, bewildered. Kṛṣṇa also explains in the 14th Chapter where the living entity goes when he passes away under the different modes. Suppose somebody dies in goodness, then he gets promoted to the heavenly planets, Brahmaloka, Jānaloka. Then suppose he dies in passion, takes birth again amongst those engaged in fruitive activities,. And suppose he dies in ignorance. A combination of passion and ignorance. Then he goes down to the animal kingdom. So actions performed in goodness tend to purify the individual. Actions performed in passion tend to give more distress. And in ignorance, it generally is— gives one more pain. Results in foolishness. Now generally those who are in goodness, they tend to worship some demigods. And in passion, they even worship demons. In Bhagavad-gītā, Prabhupāda gives an example of a businessman in Calcutta who was worshipping Hitler during the Second World War. You've heard of Hitler? So there was a businessman who was worshipping him. Why? Because he started the Second World War and this businessman made a lot of money. They started worshiping, and in ignorance people even worship ghosts, spirits, etc. Then Krishna also explains how there is food, the food that we eat, in different modes, isn't it? He explains food in goodness, passion, ignorance. Then Krishna also explains different type of sacrifices. Natyam vijñānaṁ. Under the different modes. For example, If you do a sacrifice according to scriptural injunction and not expecting any return, that is sacrifice in the mood of goodness. Kṛṣṇa explains in the 5th verse of the 18th chapter that 3 things should never be given up by anyone. What are the 3 things? Yajña, dāna, and tapasya. He says even the great sages should never give up. I give this up. So there are different types of sacrifice that one can engage in. So when a sacrifice is performed according to religious ritual and you're not expecting anything in return, then it is sacrifice in the mode of goodness. Then sometimes people do sacrifice to get name, fame, and pride. You may not see a lot of this in your country, but in countries like India, you do see a lot. People will do a sacrifice, but in exchange, they want a big name to be put up somewhere, or they become proud, "I'm sponsoring this sacrifice." So that becomes sacrifice in the mode of passion, where you become proud as a result of the sacrifice you're doing. Then there is sacrifice which is performed in complete defiance of scriptural injunctions. In which no scriptures, scriptural, spiritual food is distributed, no Vedic hymns are chanted, no remuneration given to qualified priests. So that becomes sacrifice in the mode of passion. So in a sacrifice, at the end of the sacrifice, prasāda distribution is very necessary. But therefore we see in any Hare Kṛṣṇa sacrifice or feast or festival, in the end you always have prasāda distribution. In fact, Prabhupāda was very, very keen on prasāda distribution. For some of the big temples in India like Bombay, Vrindavan, and Māyāpur, he wanted everyone who came to the temple to be given free prasāda. So, and sacrifice is done with a passion. No scriptural injunction is followed. There's no sacrifice, no religious qualified priests are there, no chanting of Vedic hymns, no distribution of prasāda.— that sacrifice is more of ignorance. Actually, the Bhagavad-gītā gives us so detailed information that one can easily understand with the help of the Gītā or the good man, Prasād RAVAL. You have Three Worlds of Nature and Divisions of Faith, two whole chapters devoted to this theme. Then you also have in the 18th chapter of Bhagavad-gītā where Kṛṣṇa discusses different types of understanding determination, and happiness under the three modes. For example, understanding. What is understanding and the mode of goodness? Sūskāsaḥ, Kṛṣṇa. One important point Kṛṣṇa says of understanding and the mode of goodness is you must know what is to be done, what is not to be done, what is right, what is wrong. What is to be feared and what is not to be feared. What is binding and what is liberating. So first point in this goodness, eh, understanding the mode of goodness is you must know what is to be done and what is not to be done. In ignorance, we don't know what should be done, what's not to be done. Just like when there's sunshine, you can see everything in the right perspective, but in darkness, you can't do that. So understanding the mode of goodness is accepting what is favorable for spiritual advancement and rejecting what is unfavorable. Then understanding the mode of goodness is, you should know what is to be feared and what is not to be feared. What should a devotee fear? Do all of you have to fear Maya also? Once a devotee asked Prabhupāda what was he praying. Prasada had just finished reading the Deities and Prabhupāda perhaps said something. The devotee wanted to know what was he praying. Prabhupāda said, "I was praying to Kṛṣṇa that I may not fall in Maya." So a devotee is fearful of Maya. Therefore, he doesn't take chances and he's always prepared. When Maya Devi came to seduce Haridas, she was defeated because Haridas was absorbed in chanting the Holy Name. Then Kṛṣṇa says, understanding the mode of goodness is knowing what is liberating and what is going to lead to bondage. So what is liberating and what is going to lead to bondage? Activities in devotional service are liberating, and activities in defiance of devotional principles are the cause of bondage. So Kṛṣṇa explains this as understanding in the mode of goodness. Then in understanding in the mode of passion is, you cannot distinguish between what is to be done, what is not to be done, what is to be accepted, what is to be avoided. Then you have understanding in the mode of ignorance. When you accept a religion to be a religion, that is understanding in the mode of ignorance. Have you heard of terrorists? Have you heard of terrorists? Terrorists. Terrorists. Terrorism. So there are certain terrorists who believe that we go and bomb or kill the other people, that's our religion. And they get big rewards when they do that. There are such terrorists operating in many parts of the world, including India. So that is understanding the mode of ignorance. Because under ignorance, you consider what is an irreligious activity to be a religious activity. So that is ignorance. Then determination. Determination is also three types: goodness, passion, ignorance. All the sages talk about developing determination. Prabhupada, but you mean that materialists are not determined? They are also determined. More than devotees, they're determined to go on with Sanskrit. So you have determination of three categories also. Now, what is determination? The mode of goodness is by which you become steadfast in yoga and have control over body, mind, and senses. Just like steel. Steel is very hard to break. Prasad RAVAL. So determination, the mode of goodness, is steadfast, becoming steady on the devotional path. And with determination, controlling your body, mind, and senses. Control of body, mind, and senses is key to spiritual advancement. Devotees around the world often want to know, how can we develop determination? So how can you develop determination? How do you develop nishta? By? Spoken in akriya. As we execute the process of devotional service more and more, we develop determination. So determination in goodness is when you can control your body, mind, and senses. Then what's determination in passion? Doesn't matter how much you hear, you're still attached to karma-kanda, fruitive activities. And economic development. Why do people want economic development? Because economic development is the means for sense enjoyment. So determination and passion is that when you're very attached to fruitive activities and you want economic development to further enhance your facilities. And what's determination and ignorance? You cannot go beyond the dreaming state. No control of mind and sense. You're lazy. And they're always dreaming. Then Krishna talks about 3 types of happiness. Now Krishna says these are the 3 types of happiness. What is happiness in the mode of goodness? Which in the beginning is bitter and later on becomes sweet and which wakes you up to self-realization. And what is happiness in the mode of passion? In the beginning it is sweet, then becomes bitter and which is derived from the contact of the senses with sense object. And what is ignorance? It's from beginning to end based on laziness, inaction. Some people are just happy being lazy. So happiness in the mode of goodness is that in the beginning it may be bitter, but then it becomes sweet. Why is it bitter in the beginning? Because we're so used to sense enjoyment. We are trained in sense enjoyment. We have brought up in that atmosphere and we, and when we have to give it up, it is painful. It's just like a child that has a habit of sucking his thumb. See, tell a baby not to suck the thumb, he's going to cry. But then when he grows older, he's happy that I gave up this bad habit. So similarly, when you have to give up nonsense activities to which you are used, lead a disciplined life like getting up in the morning, following regular principles, In the beginning it's painful. What? So, in the beginning it is bitter, but in the end it becomes sweet. Just like each of you can recall, in the beginning when you came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, following these rules and regulations must have been difficult. But now it's so easy. Now it's become a natural way of life. At one time, if you got up at 4 o'clock in the morning, it was a miracle. Now? You don't feel like sleeping beyond 4. So happiness is the mother of goodness. In the beginning it's bitter, but in the end it becomes sweet. But it must wake you up to self-realization. Suppose you work very hard, maturely, to become a doctor, a lawyer, or to get a big degree. Bitter in the beginning, sweet in the end. Because it doesn't wake you up to self-realization, it's not happiness is the mother of goodness. So happiness is the mother of passion is— that which in the beginning is sweet and then becomes bitter. So when you engage in sense gratification, at the beginning it is sweet, then it becomes bitter. And which is derived of contact of the senses with sense objects. Just like when you engage in sense gratification, in the beginning it is sweet, but then you will have to go to the hellish planets. So, is it worth while? Not only do you have to go to the hellish planets after death, But even when you're alive, you get these material reactions like ill health, disease, etc. So Krishna is explaining these different modes. And Krishna is explaining in the 14th chapter, 5th verse, that anyone who comes in contact with this material nature, he comes in contact with these three modes. So Śrī Kṛṣṇa Yoga Svāmi, in the verse we're discussing today, is making the same point. He's saying that in this material world there are three kinds of activities, but there's something beyond goodness also. As we said earlier, even if you are in goodness, there's competition for supremacy from the other modes. The highest is to come to the level of pure goodness. Just like three basic colors, red, yellow, and blue, they combine together and create unlimited colors. Similarly, these three modes combined and produce unlimited desires. So the level of goodness is definitely better than the others, but the best is the level of pure goodness. What is pure goodness? Pure goodness is a stage where one engages in unalloyed devotional service all the time. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He came to South India, He met Rāmānanda Rāya. In a town called Vidyānagar, on the banks of the river Godāvari, insulting. So he asked many questions. Lord is anxious to glorify His devotee, devotee is anxious to glorify the Lord. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked questions to Rāmānanda Rāya to enhance His glories. What is the most important thing in life? He wanted to know the highest principle. And Rāmānanda explained, following the varnāśrama. Varnāśrama is division of the society into four varnāt and āśrama. He said, this is also Monday. Then he asked if this guy went further. Then Ramana explained, "Yath karochi yath nāti yath dēruchi dērāti yath." Whatever you do, whatever offering you do, do it as an offering unto Me. This is good, but still doesn't come to the level of pure devotional service. Ultimately, what did the Lord accept? Ramana's statement, how one should dedicate all one's actions for the pleasure of the Lord. And he cited the example of the mood of the gopis. So gopis manifested the mood of unalloyed devotional service. They did not consider what was good for them or bad for them, whether they would go to hell or heaven. What was their concern? What will make Kṛṣṇa happy? When Uddhava asked the jñānis for some dust from their feet, they refused. The yogis also refused. The brahmanas also refused. What did the gopis say? Take, take, take! So the devotee's understanding at the highest level is What makes Kṛṣṇa happy will make me happy. But generally, what do we think? What makes me happy should make Kṛṣṇa happy. The average religious person thinks, "What I, what makes me happy, that should make all of you happy and Kṛṣṇa happy." Okay? That's a neophyte understanding. An advanced understanding is, what makes Kṛṣṇa happy makes me happy. So beyond goodness, is shuddha-sattva or pure goodness. Sakṣto. And on the level of pure goodness, all our activities are dedicated to the pleasure of Godhead. Just like Rūpa Gosvāmī says in Bhaktirāsaṁrtaḍhasaḥ indhu, a devotee is engaged 24 hours in service of the Lord. Even sleep is considered devotional service, but sleep is going to give you strength to go on for the next 18 hours. So Śrīla Gosvāmī is explaining That one is acting in goodness, he is religious, and he is happy because he feels, "Oh, I am religious, I am better than the others." But because he is not in pure goodness, the mood to preach is not there. He is in goodness, he is happy, "I am okay, I am safe." He doesn't care what happens to the rest of the world. But Vaishnavas, are trying to be in pure goodness. In fact, a Vaishnava is happy and unhappy at the same time. Prasada RAVAL says, "So ceta to vimukhata, ceta ta indhyārtha-māyā-jakāya-vāramudhato vimurham." My dear Lord, when I look at the attempts of the materialists who are trying to convert distress to happiness, I become sad. And unlimited. So Vaishnava is sad when he sees human form of life being wasted. At the same time, he's happy because he's engaged in devotional service. Just like when Lord Caitanya was traveling in southern India, they say Bodhi Vāsudeva Datta came to meet him. He said, I want to ask you a favor. First, guarantee me that you'll give me that favor. And what is the favor he asked? Please, give your nuts back to God and then let me suffer the sinful reaction. So, Vaishnava should operate on the platform of pure goodness. And those who act in passion, they achieve misery and they get attached to fruitive activities. Prigyasvatsa. And ignorance, you live unhappy, limited, like an animal. So Prabhupada often said our Kṛṣṇa conscious movement should operate on the level of sūdra-sādhva. Rules and regulations are there. But the purpose of these rules and regulations is to come to the platform of developing devotional service. As we execute devotional service, especially in association with devotees, as we engage in preaching, distributing these books, etc., we will make more and more advancement and we'll get a better understanding of our relationship with Kṛṣṇa. So, Śrīla Devadāsa Mahāprabhu is saying, because the deities are influenced by different modes of nature, Their destinations are also in different directions. Just like if we've operated in goodness always, then you get promoted to heavenly planet. But how long can you remain there? Permanently? Yeshu! How long can a airplane remain in the sky? Only as long as there is enough fuel, then it has to come. So you can stay in the heavenly planets only as long as the karma allows. Then you have to get out. And those who've been in passion, they can stay place, birth in a kingdom where they have the opportunity to engage in fruitive activities again. And ignorance, you take your birth among the beasts, the lower animal kingdom. So as I said earlier, Śrīla Gurūdāsa Mahāprabhu is going to be describing to us the hellish planets, and this will give you a good understanding of what follows for different actions. Avoid committing bhajstāvas on the devotional path. And take this path very seriously, and then we'll be able to make spiritual advancement. And our goal is not to remain at the level of goodness, but to come to the stage of pure goodness. And by executing devotional service in the association of devotees, we'll be able to achieve that state. Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna.

Hale Krishna, Hale Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Lama Lama, Hare Hare.