He done it in a nice way, and Narada Muni showed so much respect and enthusiasm because of his character, his qualities. So this is like in anything, if you want to develop, if you want to be expert, so you need that encouragement, that support, that inspiration, and example. So Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Prabhupada named it Bhagavad-gita As It Is because it's coming in a tradition where those who are translating Bhagavad-gita, they actually follow themselves the Bhagavad-gita. It's not only some theoretical knowledge or speculation. And sometimes people even take advantage, they make money because of Bhagavad-gita is famous, and if I twist it in this way, that's something interesting from the speculative point of view. But from the spiritual, transcendental point of view, it's actually useless. It should come in paramparā. Krsna says this in Bhagavad-gita:
evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
sa kāleneha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa
He said that this supreme science was received through the chain of the disciplic succession, from guru to guru, it's a chain of the disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. It's interesting that Bhagavad-gita is actually meant for the leaders in society, the kings, those who are ministers, those who are leading. They should have proper knowledge so that they can benefit others. So the rājarṣis... A king should be not only rājan, a king, but He should also be ṛṣi. Ṛṣi means a saintly person, saintly qualities, saintly character. Today they have election in Sverige, and sometimes, from my point of view, one is missing something very essential, and that is the character of those who are desired to be the leaders. That is that they are really showing qualities that they are selfless, they want to actually work for others' welfare, and they themselves are ready to go through many hardship and difficulties just for others' welfare. Not that they are sometimes, as we see, mainly motivated by position, power, prestige, and these things. But actually, this disqualifies oneself to be leader. One has to be selfless and show that character, not only when you are official, but also behind the scene, privately. There should not be any difference between private life and official life if you are a leader. Then you can have trust in such a leader, you can respect that kind of leaders. So Bhagavad-gita is spoken to Arjuna, to kings. So as we said, this supreme science was received through the chain of the disciplic succession, and the rājarṣis, the saintly kings, understood it in that way. But then Krsna says, in due course of time, succession was broken, and therefore this science, the supreme science As It Is, appears to be lost. So Krsna again and again is describing how He appears. We had a few days ago Janmastami. So:
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, and a predominant rise of irreligion, at that time, Krsna says He descends Himself. So He again and again He comes, and He establishes guru-paramparā. Paramparā, chain of disciplic succession. So our Srila Prabhupada comes in such succession, and that Bhagavad-gita As It Is is very powerful. Prabhupada himself said that in a practical way, that so many editions were there published before he came to the West. But none of those editions of Bhagavad-gita actually made any devotee of Krsna. And that's the purpose of Bhagavad-gita, to understand we should take shelter of Krsna, we should serve Krsna, we should surrender to Krsna. That's the conclusion of Bhagavad-gita. But the practical result was that no one came devotee of Krsna. But when Srila Prabhupada published Bhagavad-gita As It Is, it was so different because speaking from the point of view we call vijñāna, realized knowledge. That you really understood it deeply, and you are practicing it yourself, and you can explain it in a very practical way and guide others. That's vijñāna. Like the example we gave with the one who is making a guitar, for instance, if you really know it, you can also explain it, you can guide, you can encourage. So Bhagavad-gita is very special book. Because it's meant for, it's for all people, but it's also especially meant for leaders. And Krsna also says in Bhagavad-gita that actually it's the king of knowledge, rājavidyā:
rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ susukhaṁ kartum avyayam
That this is king of education, rāja-guhyam, it's most secret of all secrets. Why secret? Because you cannot understand it just from the theoretical point of view. You have to actually engage yourself in yoga, in bhakti-yoga. Yoga means to connect, connect to the Lord. So it's the most secret of all secrets because only when you are engaged in devotional service, in bhakti-yoga, you can realize the truth, the absolute truth. In this world we have relative truths. Sometimes people say, it's right for me, it don't have to be right for you, but for me it's right. So that's relative truths and things, truths, so-called truths are changing constantly. But the absolute truth is always the truth in all circumstances, at all times. And that absolute truth, if we take shelter of that, that is our good fortune. So rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyam, it's the most secret of all secrets. Pavitram, it's cleanest knowledge. And pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam, because it gives direct perception of the self, the transcendental self, by realization. Again now, realization, vijñāna. It is, Krsna says, it's the perfection of religion. And it's susukhaṁ kartum avyayam. It's avyayam, it's everlasting. It's not coming and going, it has real substance. It's not relative knowledge, it's absolute knowledge. Susukhaṁ kartum avyayam, everlasting and with joyfully performed, it's blissful. Susukham, sukham is joyful, susukham is very blissful. So transcendental knowledge, it has a taste, because it's the truth. Like there are so many different kinds of research in this world. In universities there are so many different departments that are trying to find out what's the truth. But the real truth, the absolute truth, can only be understood from above. It has to descend. Because we are too limited to understand the absolute truth. We are very, very limited. We have actually four defects that is blocking our endeavor to understand the absolute truth, and we are completely dependent on getting truth from above, descending truth. So these four defects are bhrama, pramāda, vipralipsā, and karaṇāpāṭava. Bhrama is that we have a tendency to commit mistakes. I think everyone today have commit some mistake. Whether we want it or not, some kind of mistake. Small or big, but some kind of mistake. Pramāda, we are in illusion. According to Bhagavad-gita, we are not these bodies. Understanding from that we need from a higher level is that the body is a dress, and we are the eternal soul in the body. But the tendency is we get into that illusion, we think it's me. I'm Swedish, I'm Indian, I'm African, I'm German, I'm black and white, I'm tall or small, so many identities which are temporary and constantly changing, this body is constantly changing also. So we are in illusion. We think we are something which we are not. We think we are these bodies, but actually, when death is coming, according to Bhagavad-gita, He leaves this body. And that directly realize, this body is like a dress. And for instance, this example to understand the difference between a living body and a dead body, if you have been present when someone dies. I was there when my father died, years ago, and if it's someone which is very close to you, or dear to you, so it's very emotional, it's very sad moment. And sometimes we say, he or she has left us. But one could say, what do you mean by left us? The body is here, the same body, and it was very dear to me. Very, very important to me, this body, it's the same body. What do you mean have left us? If we pick up the hand, we have the same hand we used to hold with such feeling, this is my beloved one. Such feeling, the same hand, same fingers, same fingerprints, everything is there as before. What do you mean have left us, he or she has left us? But now for us it's obvious that that which really I loved, that which really touched my heart in this relationship is not there anymore. It's not there. And it's the same body, that doesn't give any what do you say, tröst in Swedish, what do we say? Solace, thank you. Doesn't give us any solace because now we see, oh, it's very illusory that we think we are this body. The body is very valuable, but it's temporary. It's not me, something I'm using. But I, the self, the ātmā as it's called in Bhagavad-gita, is eternal. And so this illusion is very, very strong, especially in our modern culture where there is a lot of propaganda that we should think that this is the perfection of life, if we can somehow or other enjoy on the bodily platform. But actually, according to Bhagavad-gita, it's a great illusion. Because we have another kind of needs, and we cannot satisfy them through external perfections. Doesn't matter how much money we have, whatever position, prestige, fame, glory we have, it's all goes on the surface. But we have deep needs. So because we are in illusion in this way, how can we actually understand things as they are? So we spoke about the four defects that disqualify ourselves to really understand things as they are. That we are depending on knowledge from above. So bhrama, we make mistakes; pramāda, we are in illusion, we think we are something which we are not. And vipralipsā, we have the tendency to cheat ourselves and cheat others. That is a weakness, human weakness, isn't it? I think if we are honest, we can all experience that within ourselves, we have this tendency to cheat ourselves and cheat others. Not maybe in a sometimes very gross way, but in a subtle way. So this is also disqualification. And the last one, karaṇāpāṭava, is that our senses are imperfect. Like our eyes, wonderful instruments, but they are very, very limited. If we go into a dark room, we cannot even perceive the hand in front of us. It's very, very limited. Although they are fantastic instruments, but they are very limited. We don't see what's behind this wall here right now. This kind of eyes doesn't allow us to experience that. It's very limited. The ears also, what do we hear? Some things we hear, but there are so many more levels of sound. And smell and taste and all the senses, it's very limited. So because of these four defects, bhrama, pramāda, vipralipsā, and karaṇāpāṭava, we are like stuck in ignorance. Although we might be super smart, super intelligent from the material point of view, great scientist or PhD or Nobel Prize winner and so on, but if we are conditioned by these four defects, we don't see things as they are. We can speculate and we can try to understand, but the real truth has to come from above. So we are depending on that. And if you are so fortunate that you can get knowledge from above, knowledge that descends, and it's explained by those who have realized that knowledge, as we spoke about in guru-paramparā, then you can start to see things as they are. And that means avoiding so many difficulties, unnecessary painful situation. Prabhupada said that the real knowledge start with understanding the difference between that which is eternal and temporary. If you mix this together, you are bewildered. You have to see clearly what is eternal and what is temporary. If you don't see it, you are bewildered. So that's the basis of knowledge. And so Bhagavad-gita explains this basic eternal absolute truth, but also He explains how in a practical way how we can realize this and how we as we spoke about yoga, to connect to the Lord. Connecting to the Lord means that the consciousness becomes purified. Now it's many dirty things there, kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya: lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride, and envy. They are disturbing us. So by connecting with the Lord, the consciousness becomes purified. We start to get in contact with our true self, and the relationship to the Lord. And that's where really life starts to become auspicious. Because we are on the platform of that which has real substance, not only that which is coming and going. Seemingly it seems like this is last, but it doesn't. I cannot take real shelter of it because it's temporary. Especially in this age of Kali, four ages: Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga. In Kali-yuga, there is actually the Lord appears in a form of the holy name, in the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. It's explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam:
kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet
So it's explained that although Kali-yuga is doṣa-nidhe, it's an ocean of problem, unlimited problems, an ocean of faults, asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ, there is still one very good quality in Kali-yuga: kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya, simply by chanting the holy name, hearing transcendental sound vibrations, mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet, one can be elevated and be promoted to the transcendental platform. So that is a special benediction in this age of Kali. Panca-tattva, our arcā-vigrahas here, our deities, they are appearing to spread this avatar. kali-kāle nāma-rūpe kṛṣṇa-avatāra, in this age of Kali, the chanting of the holy name is the incarnation of Lord Krsna. It's incarnation of Krsna. And simply by chanting the holy name, one can purify one's consciousness. So purified consciousness is something important, and it's something we can realize. Because if the consciousness is impure, we don't have any peace inside. This is very common in this age, so many anxieties and worries inside. In the external world of course inside, a lot of anxieties, internal disturbances and problem. And so, transcendental sound vibrations to connect to the Lord, incarnation of the Lord, so we can purify our consciousness, so we can realize that selfishness is diminishing, greed is diminishing, pride is diminishing, illusion is diminishing, and more and more that in relationship to others, it becomes we have pure motives. There is more and more manifesting real love. So love is for Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but when we also develop that relationship, we also develop it to everyone, every living entity. So this is universal love. So sometimes one try in so many ways to because many people have a feeling, it should really be love. Why is so many frictions and disturbances in relationships, or between different groups or nations and so on, and constant try for try to establish peace, year after year after year? But somehow or other, very difficult, extremely difficult it seems. So actually, it's something deeper one has to understand. What we all have in common, what is our true nature. And if we come in contact with our true nature and the relationship to the Lord, then we can start to develop, it's called sama-darśanaḥ. You can see everyone with an equal vision. That is the proof of that real spiritual development goes in the right direction. Sama-darśanaḥ, that you are able to see everyone with an equal vision. Not only human beings, but also the animals, nature. You see the soul, the ātmā is present everywhere. And you, not only a theoretical thing, oh, I should respect everyone, you feel it. That is real progress. Sama-darśanaḥ. Krsna says:
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śvapāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater... See, something deeper, see the soul. That's sama-darśanaḥ. It comes by purifying our consciousness, purifying the heart. And that's how we make progress individually, but also in society at large. So, not so much discussion about this in this political debate now, valdagen, but that is essential. If you want to really change something to go in the right direction, you have to understand how can we develop good character, good qualities among human beings. If it's not there, you can try with so many reforms and laws and try to get some kind of clarity how we should go in in a good direction, but the real problem is still there. Why is selfishness there? Why is envy, greed, pride, these qualities, why is it there? Real medicine is how to cure this. So that's why we need knowledge from above. We are too limited to understand it, we just get stuck. Because of these four defects, we get stuck. So this Hare Krsna maha-mantra, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, is transcendental sound vibrations, and actually, the Lord is not different from the name. When we say Krsna, Krsna is there in the name. If we say something material, there is a difference between the name and the substance. For instance, if we are thirsty, if we say water, it doesn't slake our thirst because it's a difference between the sound water and the substance water we can drink. But when we chant the transcendental sound, the holy name, the Lord's name, there is no difference. We say Krsna, Krsna is there. And if we do it sincerely from the heart, we really mean it and we take shelter of the Lord, Krsna is appearing. Like Draupadi, I think some of you know how Draupadi was going to be stripped naked, most embarrassing situation. And she was try to defend herself. But she understood, what can I do? These big kṣatriyas, they can do what they want with me from the external point of view. So she just raised both her eyes, her arms, and she just completely took shelter of Krsna in chanting the holy name. She cried out, she cried really from her heart, totally depending on Krsna. And then, as a most wonderful, mystical experience, Krsna appeared and became the sari. They tried to strip her naked, but Krsna appeared in the form of the sari and there was just more and more cloth was emulating. They could never strip her naked. I just imagine how she felt, so grateful. She had so much love for Krsna, and she just cried to Krsna, and Krsna so kindly appeared. So this is how we should chant the holy name, always. And we are chanting, we also have this japa-mālā. I think some of you are familiar in japa-mālā. So we have 108 beads on this mālā. And on each bead, you chant like: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. So you can chant kirtana is simply together, but you can also in a individual way also repeat the Hare Krsna mantra and try to hear, and try to do it with feeling. If you don't have a mālā, you can also just say, pronounce it. But if you want to go a little deeper, you can also get mālā, and you are also engaging the touch sensation, it's a support. Actually, we have, if you are interested, now on Sundays, 12:30, I have a little course or workshop in japa meditation. If you want to come a little earlier, at 12:30 we are just discussing about the holy name and techniques how to improve our meditation, our chanting, and then we chant one round, we call it one round when you chant like this. We chant one round together. And that's also very wonderful experience when you do it together. So, if you are interested, you are invited on Sunday, come a little earlier, 12:30, and just we call it japa course, japa workshop. Thank you very much. So maybe you have any questions, comments, something you want to add, some...
Q: It's quite interesting now, there are some scientists or there are research into quantum mechanics and what they have concluded is that you can't actually know anything about the actual substance that we are experiencing out there, for reality, but they've concluded that fundamentally everything is consciousness. Because there is nothing independent of the observer, so to speak. So, I just found it interesting that they have come to that point through logical deduction or, basically through inference and experiments and stuff like that. It's kind of like the impersonal aspect of jñāna. But it also points to the, to ultimately know, truth it has to be revealed through a relationship. So, we've come to that point through just logic of like understanding, okay, everything is consciousness. But I was curious, how, how can you know that, say, Bhagavan, or Krsna, is actually a blue-colored boy?
A (Mukunda d): As we spoke about in the beginning, it's a knowledge which is coming from above, and we are depending on that. And we spoke about guru-paramparā, disciplic succession, and so it seems like sometimes naive, God is a blue boy, innocent little boy, and He is the cause of all causes, He is the Supreme Controller. But the wonderful thing is, Prabhupada he just showed in such a practical way that bhakti-yoga is not only theory. Because of these four defects, we have to engage in service, loving service, devotional service, bhakti-yoga means service. And through bhakti-yoga, through service, we can connect to the Lord, we can, especially if we have a desire to understand who is that Lord, so the Lord is also revealing Himself. As Rupa Gosvami says:
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ
That with our limited material senses, we cannot understand the holy name, the Lord's form, His qualities and pastimes, but by sevonmukhe hi jihvādau, just by engaging our tongue, it's material, the tongue, material elements, but by sevonmukhe hi jihvādau, by engaging our tongue in vibrating transcendental sound and tasting prasada, Krsna prasada, so then one becomes purified, and so the Supreme Absolute Truth ultimately is a person, and the Supreme Absolute Truth can expand in many different forms. But He is described like that, the original form is Krsna, as simply a cowherd boy. And by engaging in devotional service, serving Krsna, Krsna will also reveal Himself. So, there are many other forms of the Lord and one can have different relationship to different also incarnations, but Krsna is considered He is the original form of the Lord. So it's a mystical process. And everything is actually mystical. It's just we are so used to reality, we don't think think about it like that, but just if we just for one second, think about our heart. It's in every body, the heart is pumping. Completely mystical. We have not arranged it, it's not under our control. It's just boom, boom, boom, and the effect of that of the blood is circumbulating. Completely mystical. Who has arranged it? If we are absolutely not being involved in that. So, and just our ability to breathe, we are breathing so many times, now just during this little short lecture here, but it's everything is in one sense mystical. But when we get knowledge from above, we can understand how we can purify the heart and realize how to connect to the absolute truth, to the source of everything. And then everything actually falls into place. Some last maybe question, comment? So we will continue to sing a little more before we eat, before we take Krsna prasadam. Can we request Radha, would you like to sing? Thank you. So thank you again. Hare Krsna. And you can just sit where you are, and we will sing a little, you can...