The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Vancouver, Canada, on April 20, 2001 (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology Volume 68)

 

First of all, I offer my thousands and thousands of humble obeisances at the lotus feet of my Guru, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. And at the same time, I offer my thousands and thousands (koṭi koṭi) daṇḍavat praṇāmas at the lotus feet of my śikṣā-guru, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja. Perhaps you know what my relationship with Svāmījī was. We did not have only one relationship. We had so many relationships.

He was my śikṣā-guru. We both took sannyāsa from the same guru. We both took sannyāsa from my Gurudeva, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. In this respect, I am more senior. I am a senior in this regard. But as a śikṣā-guru, as a godbrother of my Gurudeva, he is the most senior. He is my śikṣā-guru. We were very close friends (bosom friends).

He had not taken sannyāsa, so I insisted, “Oh, you must take sannyāsa.” At that time, our Guru Mahārāja also said, “Why have you not taken sannyāsa?” Thus, he took sannyāsa, and what was I? I was like a priest for that. I made his daṇḍa, I gave him his daṇḍa, his ḍor-kaupīna, and everythіng. I taught hіm how to wear іt and how to use these things. There is a recording of the thіngs he discussed with me on the eve of his departure. After that, he stopped discussing or talking with anyone and closed his eyes for the last time.

He said, “I pray to you that you will put me into my samādhi with your own hand.” There were so many of his godbrothers and so many ISKCON GBC there at that time — Brahmānanda, Bhagavān dāsa, Kīrtanānanda, so many. But I don’t know why he chose me and requested, “Put me into my samādhi with your own hand.” He requested not only once, but several times, “Help my devotees, my disciples.”

He said, “I have collected so many monkeys from everywhere.” I don’t want to say this, but this is what he really said to me. He did not speak in English, but he spoke in Bengali, so they could not understand what he was saying. He wanted to conceal what he was saying. Otherwise, they would have become angry. He spoke primarily in Bengali and occasionally in English to his disciples so they could understand. He called them and instructed them, “You should hear from Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja and try to follow forever. I want him to help you become a good devotee.”

I followed his order. I put him in samādhi according to all the Vedic rules and regulations. My Gurudeva taught me all these things. I learned from him how to perform a marriage, perform a fire sacrifice and perform the ceremony for sannyāsa. He also taught me how to establish mūrtis (vigraha-pratiṣṭhā), and everything else. He used to know all these things.

So, I have only come to obey Svāmījī. I know that wherever he went is a very sacred place for me. That is why I go to all these places, to take the dust of his lotus feet on my head. He is sending me everywhere. He inspires me to go worldwide, and all are honouring and hearing from me. I don’t know how much exactly, but I have travelled so many times worldwide from East to West and again from West to East, North to South and South to North. All are hearing from me. This is his mercy. I am like a dry straw with no qualifications. I am nothing. Their mercy is everything. Only through their mercy am I here.

Now, what is Vedic culture? We think we know, but really we have many misconceptions. What is Veda? Veda means knowledge. Knowledge of what? Where did this world come from? Who are we? What is this universe? Why do we become old? A person does not want to be blind; he does not want to be lame or anything, but why is he blind from birth? Why was he born into that family?

Someone is born into the president’s family (e.g. Clinton), and someone else is born into a beggar’s family. Someone is reading so much, yet he fails his exams for sixteen years. He fails fifteen times, sixteen times. Why? He has no intelligence. Some people are dumb. Why do these things happen? Buddhism and all other religions have no explanation for these things.

But sanātana-dharma (Vedic culture) has the answers that satisfy these inquiries entirely. So, what is Vedic culture? Vedic culture means to know the answers to all these questions: Why do we become old? Why do all these things happen? Who created this world? What becomes of us after death? Why is someone very happy throughout life, and why is someone else suffering since birth? The Vedas have explained everything thoroughly. Not a single question remains unexplained. Everything is described in the Vedas.

Who spoke the Vedas? Kṛṣṇa Himself, Nārāyaṇa Himself or Viṣṇu. What has been explained in the Vedas is correct to the fullest extent. There was only one Veda, and that was the Atharva Veda. Vyāsadeva realised that the people of Kali-yuga could not understand the language of this Veda, and he therefore divided it into four: Ṛg Veda, Sāma Veda, Yajur Veda, and the remaining portion was again called the Atharva Veda. In this way, the four Vedas were created. What is the subject matter of these Vedas?

The four Vedas were further divided into Brāhmaṇa Veda and Upaniṣad Veda. The Brāhmaṇa Veda describes fire sacrifices which can fulfil a worldly desire or other worldly desires like the desire for bhūr, bhūvaḥ, svāh, mahāḥ, janaḥ, tapaḥ, satya – all these desires. These fire sacrifices can give one anything up to the attainment of Brahmaloka. One who has no son can have a son through a fire sacrifice. One who is ill can become healthy. One can have ten heads like Rāvaṇa.

One can attain so many things. Through a fire sacrifice, one can be like Hiraṇyakaśipu, who could not be killed in the day or the night, in the sky or on land, inside or outside, or in any month of the year. One can achieve all these things through a fire sacrifice. This is Brāhmaṇa Veda. What should be the qualities of one doing the fire sacrifice?

[“(1) One who invokes the particular deities (devatās) to be present in the sacrifice by reciting the mantras of Ṛg-Veda, and thus performs the sacrifice, is called hotā.

(2) One who sings aloud and chants the hymns of the Sāma-Veda to please and glorify invoked deities is called udgātā.

(3) The adhvaryu murmurs and continuously chants the prosaic section of the Yajur-Veda. He performs his specific duties, paying extra attention to its various aspects and meaning, which is why his participation in yajña is quite prominent.

(4) Protecting the yajña from external obstacles, rectifying the possible mistakes in recitation, and removing various types of discrepancies arising in the detailed performances related to the yajña is the function of the brahmā. He is the chief priest of the yajña. He supervises the overall functioning of the yajña and rectifies the faults. So this brahmā is considered superior to all other ṛtviks (priests). Hence, it is imperative for the brahmā, who undertakes the primary responsibility to supervise the whole sacrifice, to have complete knowledge of the three Vedas (Ṛg, Sāma, Yajur).” (True Conception of Guru-Tattva)]

He should be qualified in the rules and regulations of all the Vedas. However, the desires fulfilled in this way are all for worldly desіres.

The Upaniṣad Veda comprises transcendental knowledge, which is also called Vedānta (the essence of all knowledge). What is this world? Who is brahma? Who is the creator? What happens to the living being after death? The Upaniṣad Veda has all the conclusions. The Upaniṣad Veda has many divisions, like Āraṇyaka, and so forth, for those in household life and others who have given up everything and gone to the forest to remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead (Parabrahma).

In Bhārata (India), there were, and still are, people who can recite all the ślokas from the Gītā from memory. Vyāsadeva kept all the mantras of the Vedas in his heart and could speak them. As this age advances, however, there is no real brahmācārya. All are becoming lusty. There is no proper food, air or water. Now, one has to take mineral water from somewhere. There are practically no uncontaminated vegetables or foods, which is a big problem. For those of this age with less intelligence, Śrīla Vyāsadeva composed a useful book called Vedānta-sūtra (Upaniṣad-sūtra or Brahma-sūtra). Therein, Vyāsadeva summarised all the teachings of the Vedas and Upaniṣads into 550 sūtras.

Sometimes in the Vedas and Upaniṣads, it has been written that brahma is nirākāra, nirviśeṣa and avyakta anādi (without form or qualities). The actual teaching of the Vedas is that Bhagavān has a form, but people today do not accept this. Vyāsadeva has clarified everything. Modern people don’t have faith in Kṛṣṇa, but accept impersonalism. Now, especially, I am seeing everywhere in the world that Buddhists are preaching so much. But yet, they don’t accept the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They don’t even recognise or say that brahma has a form.

In Christianity, we see that not all Christians properly accept the form of God. But really, it has been written in the first chapter of the Bible, “God created man after His own image.” They cannot deny this. They cannot deny this statement from the Bible. They cannot deny it, never. Then why do they not accept the form of God? If He is Father and Jesus is His son, then if the son has some form, his father must also have some form. They cannot deny it. But still, they say He has no form because they are ignorant of the deep philosophy within the Bible.

Muslims also deny the form of God. But in their Koran, it is written, “Inallah kalaka mein suratihi – Khoda (or Allah) has created human bodies similar to His own form.” They cannot deny this. Buddhists don’t even have any faith in God, but why then are there so many Buddha mūrtis everywhere? I have seen a Buddha mūrti that was over twenty-five feet hіgh. There are so many Buddhas. Buddhas are everywhere. Why do they do so? From where do we get our form? They cannot reсonсіle these truths.

So, we must have faith in the form of God. Bhagavān has a form. He has so many attributes, He has so many qualities, He is very powerful. In a second, He can create lakhs and lakhs of universes; in a moment, He can destroy them all, and again create them all. He can turn a dry straw into the master of the whole world, and the master of the whole world into a dry straw. He can do anything. He can do the impossible. The word impossible does not exist for Him. He can do everything. He is God. God – G stands for Generator, O stands for Operator, D stands for Destroyer. So many qualities are there.

Buddhism originated only twenty-five hundred years ago. Vedic culture insists that one honour the guru, be very respectful, and give up one’s wicked ways. Someone may ask, “Why are you worshipping so many demigods and Gods like Rāmacandra, Varāhadeva, Nṛsiṁha, Śaṅkara, Gaṇeśa, Kālī, Durgā, so many?” We have only one God. However, if there is a king, a queen must be with him. If one is king, a kingdom must have many officials and generals. In the same way, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has multiple energies and deputed servants.

So, Vyāsadeva compiled Vedānta-sūtra but saw no one could understand and reconcile it, so he wrote a commentary. What is that commentary? Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the complete commentary on Vedānta-sūtra. Whatever is in the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Āraṇyaka and so forth, he summarised into the Vedānta-sūtra. Then again, he explained it first in the Bhagavad-gītā and then in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The essence of all the Upaniṣads is the Gītā, and the essence of all the Vedas, of all literature, is the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ
śuka-mukhād amṛta-drava-saṁyutam
pibata bhāgavataṁ rasam ālayam
muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.3)

[“O expert and thoughtful men, relish Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.”]

īśvara aṁśa jīva avināśi
cetanā amala sadā sukha rāśi

Rāma-carita-mānasa

[“The forever conscious and blissful living entity is an eternal, indestructible part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”]

mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati

Bhagavad-gītā  (15.7)

[“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.”]

Buddhists say that this world is false, but is not false. We have seen that Rāma has come, Kṛṣṇa has come, and Śaṅkara has come to this world. So, how can this world be false? It is never false. But you are not this physical body. If you think, “I am this physical body,” this is false. “I am this physical body” is quite false. “All others are mine; this is my father; this is my mother.” They will die one day and be brought to a crematorium to be cremated.

At one time, we were very beautiful. In our youth, when we were about sixteen years of age, we were very beautiful. But now what? Our teeth are gone. All our hair has become white. We’ve lost our sight and everything else. At the time of death, you cannot take anything from this world with you. To identify with the body is to be like the dogs. These are not my words. Veda is the source of this statement. Dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ – a life devoid of religion is the same as animal life (Hitopadeśa 25). Having this human body, if you do not realise who is brahma, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who you truly are, then you are like an animal. But not an ordinary animal, lіke an anіmal whose taіl has been сut and whose horns have been broken. At the time of death, you cannot take anything with you, not even a single strand of your hair.

Vyāsadeva divided the Vedas and then summarised them in the Brahma-sūtras. He wrote the Mahābhārata, the fifty-four Purāṇas, and so many other things. It was all perfect. But yet, he was lamenting, “It is not perfect. Why am I worried? Why am I not happy with this?” In the meantime, his transcendental Guru, Nārada, came and said, “Oh, you look very sad. Why are you sad?”

Vyāsadeva said, “I am the patient. Only a doctor can say what the disease is.”

“You have written Vedānta-sūtra, Mahābhārata, and all the Purāṇas. You have written everything. But you have not written about the very sweet glory of Kṛṣṇa, the sweet pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. Have you written these things? Then what have you written? The Supreme Lord has become the son of Yaśodā and Nanda. Have you written this?”

“No.”

“Have you written that He serves all the gopīs?

Have you written this?”

“Oh, how can I write this? I cannot write this. I have no realisation and no power to write like this.” Kṛṣṇa can take the shoes of Nanda Bābā on His head, and while dancing, He comes to His father, “O father, these are your wooden sandals.” This is Vedic culture – love and affection. God is love, and love is God. And it has only been proved in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, not anywhere else. This is Vedic culture. This is Vedic knowledge, that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
mṛḍayanti yuge yuge

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.28)

[“All of the incarnations mentioned above are either plenary portions or portions of the plenary portions of the Lord, but Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. All of them appear on planets whenever there is a disturbance created by the atheists. The Lord incarnates to protect the theists.”]

Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Though He is a baby, taking the milk of His mother. His mother chastises Him, “I don’t want to give my milk to You. You are a very naughty boy.” Who can say this? Can Brahmā say this? Can any realised soul say this? Can Vyāsadeva say this? No one can say this. Even Vālmīki and Vasiṣṭha cannot say this. But the gopīs can, His friends can. They can defeat the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Kṛṣṇa will be very happy to be defeated by them. This is Indian culture, Vedic culture – love and affection.

So Vyāsadeva wrote all these things in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. How? He took shelter of Nārada Ṛṣi. Nārada Gosvāmī instructed him, “Take shelter of bhakti.”

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

Bhagavad-gītā (18.66)

[“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”]

Mām ekam. Who is saying this? Kṛṣṇa. He says this not only once but several times in the Gītā.

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te

Bhagavad-gītā (7.14)

[“This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.”]

Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Kalki, Vāmana are not separate Gods. Only Kṛṣṇa is God. He sometimes manifests Himself as Rāma, as Himself, Kṛṣṇa, and as others. There are not many different supreme Gods. The one supreme God is Kṛṣṇa.

Then who is Śaṅkara? Who is Hanumān? Who is Durgā? Who is Kālī? Westerners or Muslims sometimes say, “You are worshipping so many gods and goddesses.” But we can never worship others as God. The only God is Kṛṣṇa. Then who is Śaṅkara? Here we have Śaṅkara, Durgā, Rāmacandra, Lakṣmaṇa, Sītā, Hanumān, so many. So are we worshipping so many gods? No, no, no. There are so many manifestations of God. Rāma, Kalki, Varāha, all these gods are only Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes He comes in that form. There are no separate gods.

Śaṅkara must be followed as Guru. Pārvatī as Guru, and Hanumān as Guru. In the service of Rāma, Hanumān came flying from India. He entered Laṅkā, and in a moment he destroyed and burnt the whole city. Bhasmasura was a demon who wanted to burn Śaṅkara. He had a boon from him, but Kṛṣṇa came and saved him. Otherwise, Śaṅkara was in great danger.

Vedic culture says you should honour your mother and father. Honour the guru. This is our duty. Speak the truth. Be nonviolent. These are ordinary matters. However, if your mother and father go against God, leave them. You also know that Bharata was a very high-class devotee. His mother was Kaikeyī. Rāmacandra was ordered to go into the forest for fourteen years by the influence of Kaikeyī. What happened then? Bharata said, “Now you are not my mother. I am not your son. This relationship is severed.” Prahlāda also did this, Vibhīṣaṇa as well.

jāke priya na rāma-baidehī
tajiye tāhi koṭi bairī sama,
jadyapi parama sanehī

tajyo pitā prahalāda, bibhīṣana bandhu,
bharata mahatārī
bali guru tajyo kanta braja-banitanhi,
bhaye muda-maṅgalakārī

Rāma-carita-mānasa (174.1-2)

[“If someone does not consider Śrī Sītā and Śrī Rāma to be dear to him, then he should be given up as if he were ten million enemies, even if he is most dear to you. Thus, Prahlāda Mahārāja rejected his father, Vibhīṣaṇa his relatives, Bharata his mother, Bali Mahārāja his Guru, and the gopīs their husbands, and they attained joy and auspiciousness.”]

Mīrābāi’s husband and family were opposed to her bhakti. She wrote to Tulasī dāsa for advice, and he wrote back to leave them immediately. Even Bali Mahārāja rejected his Guru (Sukrācārya) because he was opposed, not wanting to give anything to Vāmanadeva. All the gopīs left their husbands. This is Vedic culture.

etāvān eva loke ’smin
puṁsāṁ dharmaḥ paraḥ smṛtaḥ
bhakti-yogo bhagavati
tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.22)

[“Devotional service, beginning with the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is the ultimate religious principle for the living entity in human society.”]

This is Vedic culture. And who is the Supreme God? Kṛṣṇa Himself, Rāma Himself. And in this Kali-yuga, this Iron age, there is kīrtana, “Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.” This is Vedic culture, especially in this age. You cannot concentrate your mind for a moment; it is very hard. You have no time for worshipping in this age. From morning until the next morning, you are always engaged. When will you do arcana? You cannot do arcana either.

But you can chant the holy name while driving your car, “Hare Kṛṣṇa.” While walking, “Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa.” While doіng anythіng you сan сhant, “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti. Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.”

While driving your car, “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.”

While you are walking in a nice park, why not take your mālā and сhant, “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.”

Your son is weeping, but you should not tell him, “You should sleep, you should sleep.” You should chant, “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.”

At the birth of your son or daughter, chant, “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.”

Even at the death of your father, mother, wife, or relative, you can take them on your shoulders and chant, “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.”

You can quarrel with anyone and chant. You should chant while quarrelling, “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.”

Thus, you can be happy forever (eternally). This is the essence of Vedic culture. If this culture is not there, then іt means that there іs no Vedіс сulture. Try to have love and affection for all. If you want to realise who you truly are, if you want to realise the Supreme Personality of Godhead, if you want to realise this whole material world and universe, what should you do? “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.”

Please don’t follow Buddhism, Jainism, or any of these very dangerous things. It will spoil your life. Better chant, “Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti, Govinda Dāmodara Mādhaveti.”

Have very strong faith in the holy name that Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced. What name? It is very powerful, the most powerful, Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.

hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare

iti ṣoḍaśakaṁ nāmnāṁ kali-kalmaṣa-nāśanaṁ
nātaḥ parataropāyaḥ sarva-vedeṣu dṛśyate

Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad

[“After searching through all the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime for this age than the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa.”]

Source(s): Purebhakti.com, Serve Love – Bhakta Bandhav (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology transcribed and edited by the Bhakta Bandhav Team)

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org.in and/or Bhaktiart.net
Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)