Lectures

Prabhupada:

avidya-karma-samjnanya
trtiya saktir isyate

This is a verse from Visnu Purana. It is stated there that visnu-saktih para, "The energy of the Supreme Lord is spiritual." Energy and the energetic, they are nondifferent. Just like the sunshine is the energy of the sun globe, but the quality of sunshine and the sun globe is the same. It is not different. The sunshine is bright, illuminating, hot. Similarly, we can understand the sun globe, the temperature may be very high, but the quality is the same. So visnu-saktih para prokta [Cc. Madhya 6.154]. God has got one energy. That energy is spiritual energy. And ksetrajnakhya tatha para: and the same energy is manifested in another form, which is called ksetrajna, or marginal energy, or the energy in which we living creatures are acting. Ksetrajnakhya tatha para. And avidya-karma-samjna, and trtiya saktir isyate. And besides these energies, there is another energy, which is avidya, ignorance. Karma-samjna: and it is based on fruitive activities. Anya means besides these two energies, spiritual energy and the marginal energy, living entities, there is another energy, which is called avidya. Avidya means ignorance. And karma-samjna: and in that energy, one has to enjoy his, the fruit of his own labor. This is the material world. This material world is also energy of Krsna, or God, but here ignorance prevails. Ignorance is prominent. Avidya, ignorance. Therefore one has to work. Practically one hasn't got to work, but because he is, one is in avidya, ignorance, therefore he has to work. Avidya-karma-samjnanya trtiya saktir isyate.

So actually, there is one energy, spiritual energy. Krsna, or God, is the whole spirit, and the energies emanating from Him, that is also spiritual. Saktih saktimator abhinnah. In the Vedic language we understand that the saktiman, or the energetic, Krsna, and the energy, they are nondifferent. So this material energy is also nondifferent from Krsna. In other words of Vedic language it is said, sarvam khalv idam brahma: "Everything is Brahman." In the Bhagavad-gita also, Lord Krsna says that maya tatam idam sarvam. Sarvam means all; idam, this manifestation, this cosmic manifestation, whatever you are experiencing... Krsna says that "I am expanded as this cosmic manifestation." Maya tatam idam sarvam avyakta-murtina. This impersonal feature, avyakta, mat-sthani sarva-bhutani naham tesu avasthitah: [Bg. 9.4] "Everything is resting on Me, or everything is expansion of Myself." Naham tesu avasthitah: "But I am not there." This philosophy, acintya-bhedabheda, simultaneously one and different, is our philosophy, inaugurated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, although it is in the Vedanta-sutras. So everything is simultaneously one and different from the Supreme Lord. But there are two classes of philosophers. One class says that God and the living entities are different, and there is another philosopher, monist philosopher. They say God and the living entities are one. So this acintya-bhedabheda philosophy adjusts that "God and the living creatures, they are simultaneously one and different." They are one in quality, just like the energy and the energetic, the sun globe and the sunshine. In quality, in sunshine there is heat, there is illumination, light. In the sun globe also, there is heat, there is illumination. But the degrees are quite different. You can bear the heat and illumination of the sunshine, but you cannot go to the sun globe or you can bear the heat and temperature there. The scientist says that so many millions miles away, if somebody goes or some planet goes near the sun globe, it will immediately burn into ashes. Similarly, God and ourself, Krsna and living entities, they are qualitatively one, but quantitatively, we are very minute. Anu. We are smaller than the atom. Nowadays there is atomic theory. We can see the atoms within the holes of the windows when there is focus of sunlight. That is called prasarenu. Prasarenu means six atoms combined together, then it is visible. Otherwise, atom is also not visible with our naked eyes. There is atomic theory, paramanuvada, in Vedic literature also. And Bhagavata says that the scientists may be one day able to count how many atoms are there within this universe. This is not possible, of course, but it is theoretically. The Vedic, er, Srimad-Bhagavata says that "It may be possible one day by scientific research, one can count how many atoms are there within this cosmic manifestation. Still, it is not possible to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead by our ordinary sense perception." Atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. Krsna, or God, is not perceivable by your material senses. It is not possible. Atah, therefore, sri-krsna-namadi. Atah sri-krsna-namadi. Namadi. Namadi means "beginning from His name." Because we try to understand Krsna beginning by chanting His holy name, Hare Krsna. Then, after chanting Hare Krsna, when our heart is purified, then we can understand His form, sac-cid-ananda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1].

So either His name or His form or His quality or His paraphernalia or His activities -- none of these can be understood by your material senses. It is not possible. Atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. Indriyaih, the senses. Then how it is understood? Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah. When we take to the transcendental loving service of the Lord, then the Lord reveals Himself. We cannot understand. He reveals Himself. Therefore sevonmukhe hi jihvadau. Jihva means tongue. The first business of is to engage the tongue in the service of the Lord. How you can engage the tongue in the service of the Lord? By chanting and glorifying His name, fame, quality, form, paraphernalia, pastimes. This is the business of the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau. When the tongue is engaged, gradually all other senses are also engaged in the service of the Lord. The tongue is the most important sense within our body; therefore for controlling our senses it is recommended that one should control first of all the tongue. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura sings in his song: ta'ra madhye jihva ati lobhamaya sudurmati. Our present conditional state is like this. Sarira avidya-jal, we are packed up in the network of this material body. It is just like a fish is caught within a net. Similarly, we are caught up by this network of this material body. Not only this body -- we are changing this net in various phases of life. There are 8,400,000's of holes of this network. This is a network of ignorance, avidya-jal. Avidya means ignorance. Sarira avidya-jal jadendriya tahe kal. And this network, my imprisonment within this network of ignorance, is being continued on account of these dangerous senses. Sense enjoyment. So out of these dangerous senses, Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, the tongue is the most dangerous. Tongue is the most dangerous. The tongue... If we cannot control the tongue, then the tongue will oblige me to take different types of body, one after another. If I am very much fond of satisfying my tongue by flesh and blood, then nature, material nature, will give me facility to taste flesh and blood fresh and give me a body of the tiger. If I do not discriminate of eating, then material nature will give me a body just like a hog, when we have to accept as our food stool.

So we are so-called materially suffering and enjoying according to this body. Therefore this body, this human form of body, is a great opportunity, because God realization begins by engaging the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau [Brs. 1.2.234]. By engaging the tongue in the loving service of the Lord, one can make advance in Krsna consciousness, ultimate realization of God, the tongue. So this tongue in the human body can be engaged. In other body, in the cat's body, dog's body, tiger's body... Tiger may be a very powerful animal. No animal is powerful or better than human beings. That is accepted. So this human form of life is a great boon to the living entity who is traveling through the cycle of birth and death, perpetually changing different sorts of body. Here is the opportunity, human form of body. We can utilize the tongue properly and get out of these clutches. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau. So seva, seva means service; jihva adau, beginning from the tongue. So if we can keep our tongue engaged, always chanting Hare Krsna mantra... Because "Krsna," this sound, is not different from Krsna. Krsna is absolute. Nothing is different from Him. Krsna and Krsna's name is not different. In the material sense, everything is different. I myself is different from this body. I am not this body. But Krsna is not like that. Krsna and Krsna's body is the same. Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritah [Bg. 9.11]. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, "Rascals and fools, they deride at Me because I appear as a human being. They are thinking just like I am ordinary human being." Param bhavam ajananto. "These rascals do not know what is My influence and what I am." Param bhavam. "What is My nature they do not know. Without knowing Me, they consider, 'Krsna is an ordinary human being.' " Avajananti mudha. This very particular word has been used, mudha. Mudha means rascals. So in spite of this warning, there are so many rascals passing as big scholars. They say like this. When there is order of Krsna that "You surrender unto Me," the rascals comment, "It is not to Krsna but the unborn spirit which is within Krsna." He does not know that Krsna is not different from His body, Krsna is not different from His name, Krsna is not different from His fame. Anything pertaining to Krsna is Krsna. They are monists, they are philosophizing that oneness, but as soon as they come to Krsna, immediately they divide: "Krsna is different from His body," or "Krsna's body is different from Krsna."

So atah sri-krsna-namadi. So Krsna's name and Krsna is not different. Therefore, as soon as my tongue touches the holy name of Krsna, that means immediately it associates with Krsna. So if you constantly keep yourself associated with Krsna by chanting this mantra, Hare Krsna, then just imagine how you are being easily purified simply by this process, chanting, jihvadau, engaging the tongue in chanting. And your tongue wants very palatable dishes to taste. So Krsna is very kind. He has given you hundreds and thousands of palatable dishes, remnants of foodstuff eaten by Him. You eat. In this way, if you simply make it a determination that "I shall not allow my tongue to taste anything which is not offered to Krsna, and I shall engage my tongue always chanting Hare Krsna," then all perfection is within your hold. All perfection. Two simple things: Don't eat anything which is not offered to Krsna. That's all. Our Krsna prasadam are so variegated, nice varieties... The variety is the mother of enjoyment. How much enjoyment you want with your tongue? You can have simply by eating Krsna prasadam. And the more your tongue is purified, the more you relish the chanting of Hare Krsna mantra. Relish. Anandambudhi-vardhanam. It is stated by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that it increases the ocean of bliss, transcendental bliss. Ocean does not increase. We have no experience within this material world. If ocean would have increased, then all the lands would have been swallowed up many long, long years ago. Ocean does not increase. But this ocean, transcendental bliss, is increasing. Some of you must have experienced, those who are actually relishing. The authorities like Rupa Gosvami, he says that "What I shall chant with one tongue? If I would have millions of tongues, then I could chant a little more. And what I shall hear with two ears?" So he's expecting, he's aspiring to have millions of ears and trillions of tongues to relish this chanting Hare Krsna. So that is another stage, of course, when this chanting will be so melodious that we shall try to have more ears and more tongues to utilize it. Atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. By our present senses, we cannot understand what is Krsna, or what is God, what is His name, what is His form, what is His quality. Therefore immediately, if we try to understand Krsna by His picture, "Oh, Krsna is embracing Radharani or the gopis," we shall mistake. Because unless our senses are purified, we shall accept Krsna and Radharani as ordinary young boy or girl and their dealings. But actually it is not. It is pure. Caitanya-caritamrta kar has distinguished that the loving affairs of the gopis with Krsna and the ordinary, these lustful dealings of human beings, there is a gulf of difference. He compares that the gopis' love with Krsna is gold, and our so-called love here is iron. As there is difference between gold and iron, similarly there is difference between the loving affairs of gopis with Krsna and these mundane, so-called lusty affairs between men and women or boys and girls. It is never equal. Therefore, atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved... [Brs. 1.2.234]. These present senses, these impure senses, contaminated senses, cannot understand Krsna; therefore we should follow this principle: sevonmukhe hi jihvadau. First of all, engage chanting Hare Krsna. There is Radha and Krsna. Hara is Radha, and Krsna, there is. But don't try to understand by the present senses, but simply chant their holy name, Hare Krsna. Then ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. When your, the dust on the mirror of your heart will be cleansed, and it will cleanse by simply chanting, ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam, and there will be no more any material condition...

That is the next stage. If you chant Hare Krsna mantra without any offense, then immediately the stage will be that you are freed from all material anxieties. That is the test. How I am advancing in chanting will be tested how far you are free from material anxieties. That's all. Ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. Then real life begins. So long you are perturbed by material disturbances, you should know that your spiritual life has not begun. This is confirmed in everywhere. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati [Bg. 18.54]. Prasannatma. Bhagavad-gita says, "When one is Brahman realized..." Brahman realized means one who understands that "I am not this body. I am pure spirit soul, eternal servitor of Krsna." Simply understanding that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul," is not enough. That is not sufficient knowledge. Of course, that is good. That is just on the marginal step between matter and spirit. But you have to transcend completely this material existence and come to the platform of spiritual understanding. So for that purpose you have to go further after Brahman realization. Brahman, brahma-bhutah prasannatma [Bg. 18.54]. If you are actually Brahman realized, the symptom will be that you are always joyful, no anxiety. Anxiety, why...? Everything is very nicely discussed in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad. When you forget Krsna, or God, and if we think there is something else than Krsna, then we are afraid. And those who are convinced and realized souls that there is nothing but Krsna, where is the cause of fearfulness? Therefore those who are pure devotees, they are not disturbed even in most distressed condition of life. What they think? They think, tat te 'nukampa...: "My Lord, it is Your great mercy that You have put me into this distressed condition." Tat te 'nukampam su-samiksamanah [SB 10.14.8]. So in the distressed condition, the devotees take it an opportunity that "I have got a very nice opportunity to remember God constantly. Krsna, You are so kind that You have given me this distressed condition."

So this Krsna consciousness is very nice. If we try to make progress on this line, we'll feel even... Yasmin sthite gurunapi duhkhena na vicalyate [Bg. 6.20-23]. Bhagavad-gita says if one is situated in Krsna consciousness, even in the terrible situation, fearful situation, he is not afraid. Just like Prahlada Maharaja. You see? Prahlada Maharaja, a five-years-old boy, his father tortured him like anything. But he was not afraid. He was not afraid. This is the Krsna consciousness state. The boy is not afraid. Even in such tortured condition, when his father challenged him, "Prahlada, with whose strength you are so powerful that you do not care for me?" he immediately answered, "My dear father, by whose power you are talking like that?" So Krsna consciousness is so nice that even one is put into the terrible condition of distress, he is not perturbed. Narayana-parah sarve... There are many verses like that. We can quote hundreds. Narayana-parah sarve na kutascana bibhyati [SB 6.17.28]. If one becomes Krsna conscious, he is not afraid, any condition of life. Na kutascana bibhyati. Svargapavarga-narakesv api. If he is put into the hell or in heaven or in the spiritual world or any world, he is happy. Tulyartha-darsinah. He thinks everything is all the same. "Either you put me in the hell or heaven or this or that, (it) is all the same." Because he is always with Krsna, chanting Hare Krsna. Krsna is always with him. So where is the cause of being afraid that "This place is not good; this place is very good"? No. Wherever Krsna is there is very good. That's all.

So we have to practice and train the tongue very nicely. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah [Brs. 1.2.234]. And the more our tongue is engaged in the loving service of Krsna... It is very nice service. You simply chant and eat Krsna prasadam. Is it very difficult service? Everyone will accept, "Oh, yes." But unfortunately, everyone does not accept. (laughter) (chuckles) You see. Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore says, etadrs i tava krpa bhagavan mamapi: "My dear Lord, You are so kind that You have approached Me in..., by transcendental sound. Or You are always with Me." You can be. If I take, then Krsna is always with me. If I reject, then... That is the ignora... "Krsna is everywhere" means as soon as we accept, Krsna is immediately with us. And as soon as we reject, oh, He is far, far away. So Krsna can be with us very easily simply by this chanting or engaging the tongue in His service. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommended this process, or He inaugurated this process in this age. Although it is not new system, but He especially introduced because His incarnation is to reclaim the fallen souls of this age.

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Radhanath Swami is a Vaishnava sanyassi (a monk in a Krishna-bhakti lineage) and teacher of the devotional path of Bhakti-yoga. He is author of The Journey Home, a memoir of his search for spiritual truth. His teachings draw from the sacred texts of India such as The Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, and Ramayana, and aim to reveal the practical application of the sacred traditions, while focusing on the shared essence which unites apparently disparate religious or spiritual paths.
Born Richard Slavin, on December 7, 1950, in his teens he came to confront a deep sense of alienation from suburban Chicago life and the civil injustices of mid-century America. At the age of nineteen, while on a summer trip to Europe, his internal struggles culminated in a commitment to search for God wherever it might lead him. Meditating on the Isle of Crete, he felt a supernatural calling and the next morning set off alone to find spiritual India. The Journey Home documents his odyssey as a penniless hitch-hiker though Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and finally India. There he lived as a wandering ascetic, first amongst the forest dwelling Himalayan yogis and later amongst a wide variety of gurus and spiritual practitioners throughout India and Nepal. Ultimately, he was led to the holy town of Vrindavan, where he found his path amongst the Bhakti-yogis.
In Vrindavan he found the teacher he was searching for in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and representative of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, (the Krishna-bhakti tradition stemming from the 16th century mystic avatar Sri Chaitanya). In choosing Bhaktivedanta Swami, as his guru, Radhanath Swami felt compelled to shear his matted locks and reenter Western society with a mission to share the sacred wisdom he had received. This return exemplifies the form of devotional yoga which is at the heart of Radhanath Swami’s teachings, a spiritual practice expressed as tangible action meant to bring about personal fulfillment and benefit the world.
At the the age of 31 he took the monastic vows of a Vaishnava sanyassin and became known as Radhanath Swami.
Today Radhanath Swami travels regularly throughout India, Europe and North America, sharing the teachings of Bhakti-yoga. He resides much of the year at the Radha Gopinath Ashram in Chowpatty, Mumbai. For the past twenty-five years he has guided the community’s development and has directed a number of acclaimed social action projects including Midday Meals, which daily serves more than 260,000 plates of sanctified vegetarian food to the children of the slums of Mumbai. He has also worked to establish missionary hospitals and eye camps, eco-friendly farms, schools and ashrams, an orphanage, and a number of emergency relief programs throughout India.


What Is Real Self Confidence?

Radhanath Swami

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