Rādhāṣṭamī:

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī's Appearance Day

—
Bhagavad-
Bhagavad-gītā
gītā 18.5
—
London, September 5, 1973

Pradyumna:: (leads chanting, etc.)

Pradyumna

yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma
na tyājyaṁ kāryam eva tat
yajño dānaṁ tapaś caiva
pāvanāni manīṣiṇām

Translation: "Acts of sacrifice, charity and penances are not to be given up

but should be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even
the great souls." (Translation not on tape)

Prabhupāda: ...yajño dānaṁ tapaś caiva pāvanāni manīṣiṇām.There are

four stages of spiritual life. The brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprast-
ha and sannyāsa. For brahmacārī, yajña. Yajña means to satisfy the Supre-
me Personality of Godhead. Varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān,
viṣṇur ārādhyate[Cc. Madhya 8.58]. The whole scheme...

(aside:) I thinking I am feeling very hot. I have to take off... In another

place it is said, yajñārthāt karmaṇaḥ anyatra karma-
bandhanaḥ [Bg. 3.9]. (Prabhupāda's clothing is being taken off; it sounds li-
ke his sweater.) That's all right. That's all right. Keep it now.

So brahmacārī, in the beginning of life... Brahmacārī means beginning of

life, student life. They must be trained up how to satisfy the Supreme Perso-
nality of Godhead. This is the first training. The brahmacārī is trained up to
rise early in the morning and offers fire sacrifice, then studies of Ve-
das, then saṅkīrtana. There are so many routine work for brahmacārī. So
this must be executed. And for gṛhastha-dāna, charity. Gṛhasthamust be
prepared or trained up to give charity. And who will accept the charity? The
charity will be accepted by the brahmacārī and sannyāsa. Not the vāna-
prastha. Brahmacārī will accept charity on behalf of the spiritual master.
And a sannyāsīwill accept charity only for his maintenance. That's all.
The gṛhastha cannot accept charity. But a gṛhastha-brāhmaṇa, he can ac-
cept charity, but he will not, I mean to say, accumulate money by taking
charity. Whatever he gets, he must spend. Then dāna-pratigraha. Prati-
graha means accept. But he cannot keep in bank a bank balance. He must,
whatever extra he has got, he must immediately give in charity. Then he can
accept, a gṛhastha-brāhmaṇa, accept charity. There is a proverb in Bengali,
that "A brāhmaṇa, even if he gets one lakh of rupees, one hundred thou-
sands of rupees, still he is a beggar." Because he will not keep it. He will not
keep it for... He will immediately distribute it in charity. Therefore he is ca-
lled in Bengali lakh take baundigi. (?) It doesn't matter he gets one lakh of
rupees contribution, but still he remains a beggar. Because immediately he
will distribute. So these things are very important things. Yajña-dāna-
tapaḥ. And for sannyāsī and vānaprastha-tapasya. Tapo div-
yam [SB 5.5.1]. Tapasya means accepting voluntarily all kinds of inconve-
niences, voluntarily.

Now, the material activities are that we are trying to avoid inconvenien-
ces. Material life is. But spiritual life means to execute tapasya, austerity,
penance, even at the risk of all inconvenience. This is called tapas-
ya. So Kṛṣṇa says, yajña-dāna-tapaḥ, kāryaṁ na tyājyam. You can give up
your family life, but you cannot give up this yajña-dāna-tapaḥ. That you
cannot, at any circumstances. These things must be continued. Yajña-dāna-
tapaḥ na tyājyaṁ kāryam eva tat. Kāryam means "must," "you must per-
form." The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, karma-tyāgī, they do not work. Their prin-
ciple is always study Vedāntaphilosophy, and whatever they require, a little,
they will beg, taking alms from gṛhasthas, and live and follow the strictly
the principles of austerity. They are very strict. Those who are really Māyā-
vādī sannyāsī, not false, they follow strictly three times taking bathing.
Even in severest cold they must. They lie down on the floor and always
read Vedānta and Sāṅkhya philosophy. But in spite of all these austerities,
they do not approve the worship of Deity, the transcendental form of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because they are impersonalist, they do
not worship.

So śāstra says that ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas tvayy asta-bhā-

vād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ: [SB 10.2.32] "So these people, although they are
thinking of themself as liberated, they have become liberated..." The Māyā-
vādī sannyāsīs address amongst themselves: namo nārāyaṇa. "Namo
nārāyaṇa" means every one of them has become a Nārāyaṇa. This is their
philosophy. And from this namo nārāyaṇa principle, Vivekananda Swami
has manufactured the word "daridra-nārāyaṇa." So Nārāyaṇa has become
very cheap thing for them. Everyone has become Nārāyaṇa; everyone has
become God. Just like the rascal God is now in the hospital. God is under
operation. (laughter) A "guruji" God. So they have no shame even that "If I
am God, I cannot cure my bodily pains, what kind of God I am?" But these
rascals will proclaim that they are God, and there is set of rascals, they will
accept, "Oh, here is God." Vivekananda also said that "Why you are finding
out God? Don't you see, so many gods are loitering in the street?" So God
has become a funny thing for them. No. We do not accept such God. Our
God is different. Our God is:

yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ

brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ
samatvenaiva vīkṣeta
sa pāṣaṇḍī bhaved dhruvam
[Cc. Madhya 18.116]

Our Nārāyaṇa—that is real Nārāyaṇa, exalted—we cannot even compare

with that supreme Nārāyaṇa with such demigods like Lord Brahmā, Lord
Śiva, what to speak of these rascals. Yas tunārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ brahma-ru-
drādi-daivataiḥ, samatvenavīkṣeta. Any person, rascal, if he thinks
that Nārāyaṇa is equal to Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva... There are Māyāvādīs.
They say "Any demigod is as good as Viṣṇu. You can worship any demigod.
It doesn't matter. You..." Because their ultimate understanding is that the
Absolute Truth is impersonal, and you can imagine any form. It doesn't
matter. You ultimately reach that impersonal, merge into the impersonal.

This is their philosophy. But that is not the fact. The ultimate issue of the
Absolute Truth is Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhaga-
vān iti śabdyate [SB 1.2.11]. Absolute Truth is realized in three phases: first
of all impersonal Brahman, then localized Paramātmā, and then the Supre-
me Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān sva-
yam [SB 1.3.28]. The Absolute Truth is described as Bhagavān, and there
are many expansions of Bhagavān. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rū-
pam [Bs. 5.33]. Ananta-rūpam. Kṛṣṇa has expansion, millions and trillions.
Just like as Paramātmā. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁhṛd-deśe 'rju-
na tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]. Not only He resides in everyone's heart, but in every
atom also. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ govindam ādi-
puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁbhajāmi [Bs. 5.35] **. So Kṛṣṇa has got many expan-
sions. But they are all one. Advaitam acyutam. Just like you have got expe-
rience that the sun, if you have got millions of pots, the sun is reflected; you
will find millions of suns, but although the sun is one, but we see that mi-
llions of suns are there in millions of pots. This is the understanding. God is
one, but He can expand Himself in millions and millions. There is no ques-
tion of counting. Unlimited, but still, one. Advaita. Acyuta. The Māyāvā-
dī philosophy is that because God has expanded Himself in so many, all-
pervading, therefore he is finished. He is finished. Just like material concep-
tion. You take any big paper and make it into pieces and then throw it—the
original paper is lost. There is no more existence. That is Māyāvādī philo-
sophy. Māyāvādī philosophy means because God is all-pervading, therefore
He has no form. He has finished His form. There cannot be any form. And
this is material conception. This is not spiritual conception. Spiritual con-
ception is pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇam eva avaśiṣyate [Iso Invoca-
tion]. If Kṛṣṇa is the complete, supreme, so even He expands Himself in mi-
llions and trillions of complete forms, still, He is complete. Still, He's com-
plete. This is conception of Kṛṣṇa. So therefore avyaya. Avyaya means acyu-
ta, avyaya. Acyuta means He does not fall. It is not like that, that in my
bank I have got one hundred pounds; if I take one, two, three, four, five in
this way, one hundred finished, my bank balance is finished. It is not like
that. Kṛṣṇa is so complete that immediate forms may be expanded from
Him; still, He is complete. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya. These verses you have
already read in the Īśopaniṣad.

So that is the conception of Kṛṣṇa. So unless you, from the very begin-
ning you practice yajña, or if you are a gṛhastha, give in charity, and when
you take sannyāsa, you undergo tapasya,how you will understand this phi-
losophy? It is not possible. In the Kali-yuga, however, this yajña is not pos-
sible. As there are ritualistic yajña, sacrifice as recommended in the Ve-
das, that is not possible. It is very expensive. You have to acquire so much
ghee and grains and so many other things. Feed so many, daily, people. It is
very difficult task to perform the ritualistic yajña.Therefore Kṛṣṇa has made
easy. What is that? Yajñaiḥsaṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ. That
is recommended in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ
[SB 11.5.32]

This is the process of performing yajñas. Yajña-dāna-tapaḥ.What is that yaj-

ña? Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam. Kṛṣṇa-varṇam. Varṇa means category.
Just like brāhmaṇa-varṇa, cātur-varṇa. Varṇa means class. Cātur-
varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ [Bg. 4.13]. As Kṛṣṇa said.
So kṛṣṇa-varṇam: in the category of Kṛṣṇa. So kṛṣṇa-varṇa. Or "One who is
describing Kṛṣṇa," varṇayati. Kṛṣṇaṁ varṇayati iti kṛṣṇa, iti kṛṣṇa-
varṇa.Either belonging to the category of Kṛṣṇa... He is not belonging to the
category of the jīva soul. He belongs to the Supreme Personality of God-
head, kṛṣṇa-varṇa. Or chanting always the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa-
varṇaṁ tviṣā akṛṣṇam. Means He is Kṛṣṇa... Because He belongs to the ca-
tegory of Kṛṣṇa, therefore He is Kṛṣṇa. But we have got conception, Kṛṣṇa is
blackish. Yes, that's a fact. Asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam. Asita. Asita means
black. Asitāmbuda. So black cloud. Ambuda means cloud. Asitāmbuda-
sundarāṅgam. His complexion is like blackish cloud, but very, very, very,
very beautiful. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīyam. He is so beautiful that many mi-
llions of Cupid cannot be compared with Him, although He is black. So here
the same Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-varṇam, although He belongs to the same category
of Kṛṣṇa, tviṣā, by complexion, akṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇameans "not Kṛṣṇa."
So it may be any other color. It may be... There are so many colors.

So akṛṣṇa. He's not kṛṣṇa, not blackish. So there may be... But no. There
are fixed colors for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śukla, śuklo rak-
tas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ.When Kṛṣṇa was born at Nanda Ma-
hārāja's place, or Kṛṣṇaappeared then,... So according to Vedic system there
is jāta-karma. As soon as child is born, immediately horoscope is made and
according to horoscope his name is given. There are daśa-karma. Daśa-kar-
ma. So one of these is at the birth, that before the child is begotten, there is
one saṁskāra, garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. Similarly, after the child is born,
then another saṁskāra, jāta-karma-saṁskāra. So there are so
many saṁskāras. Saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ: By following the saṁskāra, pu-
rificatory process, one becomes brāhmaṇa. The upanayana-saṁskāra, the
sacred thread saṁskāra. So when Kṛṣṇa was having the jāta-karma-
saṁskāra by Gargamuni, the priest of Vasudeva... He was sent to Nan-
da Mahārāja to perform the Kṛṣṇa's jāta-karma. So he was a learned astro-
loger. He said, "Nanda Mahārāja, your this son formerly had three other co-
lors: śuklo raktas tathā pīta. He was of white color, He was of red color, He
was of yellow color." Idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. "Now He has appeared in bla-
ckish color." Idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. So kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam [SB
11.5.32]. Tviṣā means by complexion He is not black. Then He must be eit-
her of the three-white, red and yellow.

So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's color is yellowish golden color. Therefore it is

said, "He is Kṛṣṇa, but now He has appeared in golden complexion." Kṛṣṇa-
varṇaṁ tviṣā akṛṣṇam. And sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam. "He is always su-
rrounded by His associates." Aṅga, upāṅga. Aṅga means personal,
and upāṅgameans expansion of the expansion, which is called kalā. The
first expansion is called avatāra, and when there is another avatāra-
from avatāra, that is called kalā. Rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-
niyamenatiṣṭhan [Bs. 5.39]. Very scientific analysis in the śāstra. Not that
any rascal comes, "I am God." This is not acceptable. We have to unders-
tand śāstra-vidhi, as śāstra it is said. So about Śrī Cai... Because Śrī Caitan-
ya Mahāprabhu appeared, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so many
rascals have imitated: "Well, this Nimāi Paṇḍita, if He can become avatā-
ra, then why not Gadādhara Paṇḍita?" This Ramakrishna, his name was Ga-
dadhar Chatterjee. So he was also imitation of CaitanyaMahāprabhu. Whe-
re is the reference in the śāstra? So far Caitanya Mahāprabhu is concerned,
there are so many innumerable references, in Mahābhārata, in Bhāgava-
ta, in Purāṇa, in Upaniṣad. Therefore we accept Him as the Supreme Perso-
nality of Godhead. Not by rascal's vote that "Let us vote this man is God;
then he becomes." So kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁtviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-
pārṣadam [SB 11.5.32]. He associated with other devotees—Nityānan-
da Prabhu, AdvaitaPrabhu, then Gadādhara Prabhu and Śrīnivāsa. Śrī-
kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-
bhakta-vṛnda. Whenever Caitanya Mahāprabhu is present, there are so
many devotees. Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. So sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam. This is
the incarnation of Kali.
 So yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ [SB 11.5.32]. Tho-
se who have got brain substance, not dull, filled up with cow dung, they can-
not understand what is the saṅkīrtana-yajña. But śās-
tra says, yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ: "Those who
have got nice brain substance, they can perform this yajña, saṅkīrtana-yaj-
ña." Then it fulfills the injunction of the Bhagavad-gītā, yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-
karma. So for this saṅkīrtana movement, saṅkīrtana-yajña, in this age, befo-
re the Deity of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and associated (with) Nityānan-
da, Advaita, others... If not all, at least Nityānanda or Gadādhara. Gaura-
Gadādhara or Gaura-Nityānanda, or all of them, five. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitan-
ya prabhu-nityānanda. You have got Pañca-tattva? No picture here? It was
there.

Devotee: When... Revatīnandana Swami takes with him travelling.

Prabhupāda: Oh, all right. So Gaura-Nityānanda is here. That's all right. So

this is the yajña. So yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma natyājyam. You cannot give
up in any stage of life, but because the yajñas mentioned in the Vedas it is
not possible to perform in this age Kali-yuga because they are mandāḥ su-
manda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ [SB 1.1.10]. In this age people
may advertise themselves they are making very good progress. They are all
unfortunate, disturbed. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyāḥ. Man-
da-bhāgyāḥ means unfortunate. And upadrutāḥ, always disturbed. This is
the position of the people in this age. How they can perform the Vedic ritua-
listic ceremony? It is not possible. So this is the yaj-
ña. So yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtanaiḥ,you keep Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and per-
form yajña, the saṅkīrtana-yajña before Him, and you become all perfect.
So easy. So easy. Because you cannot give up yajña. But in this age, Kali-yu-
ga, people are so unfortunate, so rubbish, that it is not possible to perform
the Vedic ritualistic yajña. That is not possible. Therefore Kṛṣṇa has given
you the opportunity that you can perform. Kalau tad dhari-kīrta-
nāt. Kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ [SB 12.3.52]. Mak-
ha means yajña. That was performed in the Tretā-yuga. And in the Satya-
yuga, meditation. In the Dvāpara-yuga, Deity worship. Kalau taddhari-kīr-
tanāt. In the Kali-yuga, simply by kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya[SB 12.3.51]. And
this is the śāstra's injunction.

So I am very pleased that you are keeping this center nicely in our own
standard by performing yajña, by saṅkīrtana, and today is Rādhāṣṭamī. You
perform. Our yajña is saṅkīrtana, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the pleasure po-
tency of Kṛṣṇa. Rādhākṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmād ekātmā-
nāv api bhuvipurā deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau, śrī-
caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭamadhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptam [Cc.
Ādi 1.5]. When Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa is one. Ekam advitī-
yam. But eko bahu syāt. He can expand Himself. So when He wants to en-
joy, so the pleasure potency is manifested from His personal body. That
pleasure potency is Rādhārāṇī. Rādhārāṇī is not ordinary living entity.
Rādhārāṇī is Kṛṣṇa's personal pleasure potency. Hlādinī-śakti.

So just today is the appearance day of hlādinī-śakti. So if you want to

please Kṛṣṇa... Because our business is to please Kṛṣṇa. Hari-toṣaṇam. Our
this movement is hari-toṣaṇam. Saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam. Ataḥ pumb-
hir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ. Varṇāśrama-
vibhāgaśaḥ. Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasyasaṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam [SB 1.2.13]
. Not only our. This is the aim. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is also said, ve-
daiś ca sarvair ahameva vedyaḥ [Bg. 15.15]. The whole Vedic literature is
meant for searching out Kṛṣṇa and to satisfy. So Kṛṣṇa personally comes to
give you the information. Sarva-dharmān parityaj-
ya mām ekaṁśaraṇam: [Bg. 18.66] "You rascal, you give up all these enga-
gements. Simply you surrender unto Me."

And what about other demigods? There are so many demigods. What we
have to do? Kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ[Bg. 7.20]. "This demigod is wors-
hiped by persons who have lost all intelligence." Hṛta-jñāna. Hṛta-jñā-
na means naṣṭa-buddhayaḥ, one who has lost of the intelligence. There is
no need. Simply mām ekam. That is the instruction of Bhagavad...That is
the śāstra instruction. Viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā nānyat tat-toṣa-
kāraṇam. Na te viduḥ svārtha-
gatiṁ hi viṣṇum [SB 7.5.31]. Oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyan-
ti. This is Ṛg Veda mantra. Actual aim of life is to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu,
and Kṛṣṇa is the origin of viṣṇu-tattva. And He is pleased through
Rādhārāṇī. Therefore we don't keep Kṛṣṇa alone. No. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. First
Rādhārāṇī. So that day is today. First you have to worship Rādhārāṇī. If
you go through Rādhārāṇī...

Therefore in Vṛndāvana you will see all devotees, they will address one
another, "Jaya Rādhe." Still. Because they know that "If Rādhārāṇī is plea-
sed, if I can please Rādhārāṇī..." Rādhārāṇī is presented, the original plea-
sure potency, always absorbed in thought of Kṛṣṇa. So anyone who comes
before Rādhārāṇī to serve Kṛṣṇa, oh, She becomes so pleased, "Oh, here is a
devotee of Kṛṣṇa." She immediately recommends, "Kṛṣṇa, oh, here is a de-
votee. He is better than Me." This is Rādhārāṇī. I may be a, not devotee. I
may be most fallen rascal. But if I try to reach Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī,
then my business is successful. Therefore we should worship Rādhārāṇī
first. That is our business. Instead of offering directly one flower to Kṛṣṇa,
you just put it in the hands of Rādhārāṇī: "My mother Rādhārāṇī, Jagan-
mātā, if you kindly take this flower and offer it to Kṛṣṇa." "Oh," Rādhārāṇī
says, "Oh, you have brought a flo-
wer?" Kṛṣṇa said, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayaccha-
ti [Bg. 9.26], but don't try to offer Kṛṣṇadirectly. Just offer through
Rādhārāṇī. It will be very much appreciated by Rādhārāṇī.

So this is our philosophy, to please Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī, and just

today is the auspicious day of Rādhārāṇī appearance. So we should of-
fer puṣpāñjali and pray to Rādhārāṇī that "Rādhārāṇī, kindly be merciful
and tell about me to Your Kṛṣṇa. To Your Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is
Yours." Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not independent. Kṛṣṇa is
Rādhārāṇī's property. So you have to approach Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī.
That is, today is the auspicious day. Worship Rādhārāṇī very nicely and be
happy.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)