Lecture

—
Los Angeles, February 2, 1968

Prabhupāda:

vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga-
śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī
kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye
[Cc. Madhya 6.254]

This verse was composed by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. You know Sārvabhau-

ma Bhaṭṭācārya? You have not heard?

Devotees: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Who was he? Who was Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya?

Nandarāṇī: He was a great impersonalist who was converted by Lord Caitan-

ya to Vaiṣṇavism.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And Nandarāṇī knows better than you. (laughter) So girls
are intelligent. Yes. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was a great impersonalist and
a great logician. The impersonalist school, amongst them, there are very, very
learned scholars. Śaṅkarācārya himself, he was unique scholar. At the age of
eight years only, he studied all the Vedas. And not only he studied, he became
a critical student, Śaṅkarācārya. He was incarnation of Lord Śiva; therefore
nobody can be compared with him.

So amongst the impersonalist school, there are many great logicians and
high class scholars. But according to Vedic principles, God realization does
not depend on material intelligence or scholarship. It is stated in the Ve-
das, nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyaḥ: "You cannot realize the self simply by
arguments or very scholarly speeches." No. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labh-
yo na bahunā śrutena: "Neither by studying many, many different types of Ve-
dic literatures." Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na bahunā śrutena named-
hayā: "Neither by sharp brain or memory." These are good qualifications—to
be scholarly, to be a very good speaker, and to have very good memorizing po-
wer. These are materially very good qualifications. But they are not qualifica-
tion for realizing God. Then what is the qualification of realizing
God? Yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyaḥ: "God can be realized only to whom He
reveals-labhyaḥ Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23." You cannot oblige God to become
manifest before you because you are very good scholar or you are a very rich
man or you are very good looking or you have got very good memorizing po-
wer. No. Yam evaiṣa vṛṇute. When He is pleased, then He reveals unto the de-
votee. Therefore our business should be, for God realization, to please Him.
And that pleasing process is this devotional service. Let us engage in His servi-
ce, and when He becomes pleased, "Yes. He's very sincerely..." Just like
the gopīs. They were village girls, not even born of very high family. Cow-
herds, ordinary agriculturists, cowherds men. So their daughters. So how
much education you can...? There was no education practically. In the village
even men... In India still, they are ninety-percent illiterate. And what to speak
of the girls, the men are not even literate. Because according to Vedic civiliza-
tion it was not necessary that everyone should go to school. There was no ne-
cessity. Because things were being learned by śruti, by aural reception. Know-
ledge from the perfect man, one would hear, and he would become learned.
There was no necessity of, I mean to say, learning ABCD. No. Even in Vedic
age, everything was memorized. There was nothing in writing. People were so
sharp in brain that once heard from the spiritual master, they will never for-
get. The brahmacārīsystem made their brain so powerful that whatever they
will hear from the spiritual master, they will keep in the brain and never for-
get. They will repeat verbatim. Smṛti. It is called retaining power.

So God realization does not depend on material opulence. Material opulen-

ce means to take birth in high family, janma. Janma means high parentage.
Then... Janmaiśvarya, and wealthy, great riches. These are material opulen-
ces: high parentage, great riches, and great learning, and great beauty. These
four things are material opulences. Janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrī [SB 1.8.26]. Jan-
ma means birth, aiśvarya means wealth, and śruta means education,
and śrī means beauty. So for God realization these things are not essential,
but Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can utilize everything. So nothing is ne-
glected. That is another point. But if somebody thinks that "I have got all the-
se opulences; therefore God realization is very easy for me," no, that is not. So
God realization depends on God, because God, you cannot oblige God by so-
me force. Just like if you have got money, oh, you can do anything nowadays.
If you have got strength of wealth, you can have any power, you can do anyt-
hing. But that does not mean that you can purchase God. No. That is not pos-
sible. If you have got beauty, you can conquer over very stalwart, very strong
men. Just like what is the... Cleopatra. You have heard the Grecian history.
She was very beautiful, and she conquered many great warriors. So beauty so-
metimes can conquer even the greatest man, but that does not mean beauty
can conquer God. No. That is not possible. So the vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-
yoga [Cc. Madhya 6.254]. To conquer God is bhakti. If you are advanced in de-
votional service, then you can conquer God. Just like the gopīs, as I was spea-
king, their parentage was not very high, not at all high. Village, agriculturists,
farmers, no education, practical... No education at all. And they were not rich
at all. Agriculturists, farmers, they are not very rich. So how they conque-
red Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa was just a play toy in their hands. Gopī-bhāva-
rasāmṛtābdhi-laharī. They conquered Kṛṣṇa simply by devotional service.
That's all. They did not know anything except Kṛṣṇa. They did not, I mean to
say, care anything. Simply they were..., always they were thinking of Kṛṣṇa.
The one instance of their absorption in Kṛṣṇaconsciousness is explained, that
when Kṛṣṇa was going on the pasturing ground, the gopīs were crying at ho-
me. Why? They were thinking that "Kṛṣṇa's body is so delicate, so soft, that
we, when we take His lotus feet and place on our breast or chest, we think it is
hard, very hard for Him. So Kṛṣṇais walking in the forest. There are so many
particles of stones. They are pricking, and how much Kṛṣṇa is feeling pain."
This thinking made, caused their crying, "How Kṛṣṇa is feeling pain." And the
whole day, they will think of Kṛṣṇa like that, and when Kṛṣṇa will come back
from the pasturing ground, then they will be relieved that "Kṛṣṇa has now co-
me back." This was their business. Now, this sort of thinking of Kṛṣṇa does
not require any riches or any high parentage or any beauty or any education.
So we have to develop such Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Our, this Gauḍīya-sampra-
dāya, CaitanyaMahāprabhu's, in Caitanya Mahāprabhu's descendants, our li-
ne of God realization is that separation, feeling of separation. Not that we ha-
ve got Kṛṣṇa within our hand. No. The feeling of separation, worship
of Kṛṣṇa by feeling of separation is better than the worship by directly mee-
ting. Vipralambha-sevā.

So this vairāgya-vidyā, renunciation... Vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-

yoga[Cc. Madhya 6.254]. Bhakti-yoga means vairāgya-vidyā. Vairāgya-vidyā-
means no more attachment for this material world. That is vairāg-
ya. So bhakti-yoga means vairāgya-vidyā. So this Sārvabhau-
ma Bhaṭṭācārya said, vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yogam. This vairāgya-vid-
yā means bhakti-yogam..., śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ. So Kṛṣṇa, the
supreme original personality, He has come down to teach us this vairāgya-vid-
yā. Vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga-śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ, śrī-
kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī [Cc. Madhya 6.254]. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitan-
ya. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has appeared in the form of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya.
So SārvabhaumaBhaṭṭācārya says, "My respectful obeisances unto Him." So
naturally this context came into my mind—these boys' vairāgya. So one who
becomes advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, naturally they become disinteres-
ted for any material pompous name.(?) They do not care. So vairāg-
ya. This bhakti-yogameans vairāgya-vidyā. You can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. [break]
Karandhara: ...Vaiṣṇava earlier.

Prabhupāda: Oh. What is the price of this?

Gargamuni: No charge.

Prabhupāda: No. What do they sell?

Gargamuni: Oh. This drum was broken, but he gave it to us free. I do not
know what the...

Prabhupāda: It was, it is broken?

Gargamuni: It was broken, but we fixed it.

Prabhupāda: Oh. All right. When they give in charity, they give something
broken. (laughter) (Bengali) Khana goruke brāhmaṇake dana (?). In India
there is a..., charity is given to the brāhmaṇas. So a man saw that his cow is
blind. "All right, give it in charity." So charity means... Charity should be the
first-class thing if it is really charity. But nowadays people give in charity just
for name. "Oh, I am giving something." This charity... You have read Bhaga-
vad-gītā. There are three kinds of charity: sattvic, rajasic, tamasic. Sattvic,
charity in goodness, is with due consideration that "Here should be given the
charity." Just like the Vedic injunction is to give charity to
the brāhmaṇas. Why? That is the worthy place, to give charity in the hands
of brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇava. Real brāhmaṇas. I don't say caste brāhmaṇa.Be-
cause they will employ whatever you give them in the service of the Lord. The-
refore charity, that is sattvic charity. There is no question of profit or name.
But, "Charity should be given here. Here is something, God's service." That is
sattvic. And rajasic means for the sake of name. "Oh, people will say I am so
charitable." That is rajasic. And tamasic, one who does not know where the
money is going... Just like in the Bowery Street some, that drunkard comes
and polishes the motorcar, and somebody gives five dollars, and he immedia-
tely goes to drink. That means this charity means give him impetus for drin-
king. So if charity creates such drunkard, oh, that is very dangerous. He has to
suffer, the man who is giving in charity. Therefore in charity also there must
be consideration. It must be sattvic. So anyway, it has come here. So it is satt-
vic. Whatever his mind may be, anyway, he has given to this temple; so it is
sattvic. Chant. (end)