The Lord continued: My dear mother, devotees who receive such transcendental opulences are never bereft of them. Neither weapons nor the change of time can destroy such opulences, because the devotees accept Me as their friend, their relative, their son, preceptor, benefactor, and supreme deity. They cannot be deprived of their possessions at any time. Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita that one may elevate himself to the higher planetary systems, even up to Brahmaloka, by dint of pious activities. But when the effects of such pious activities are finished, one again comes back to this earth to begin a new life of activities. Thus, even though one is promoted to the higher planetary systems for enjoyment and a long duration of life, still that is not permanent settlement. But as far as the devotees are concerned, their assets, the achievements of devotional service, and the consequent opulence of Vaikuntha, even on this planet, are never destroyed. In this verse, Kapiladeva addresses his mother as śānta-rūpā, indicating that the opulences of devotees are fixed, because devotees are eternally fixed in the Vaikuntha atmosphere, which is called śānta-rūpā, because it is in the mode of pure goodness, undisturbed by the modes of passion and ignorance. Once one is fixed in the devotional service of the Lord, his position of transcendental service cannot be destroyed, and the pleasure and service simply increases unlimitedly. For the devotees engaged in Krsna consciousness in the Vaikuntha atmosphere, there is no influence of time. In the material world, the influence of time destroys everything, but in the Vaikuntha atmosphere, there is no influence of time or of the demigods, because there are no demigods in the Vaikuntha planets. Here, our activities are controlled by different demigods. Even if we move our hand and leg, the action is controlled by the demigods. But in the Vaikuntha atmosphere, there is no influence of the demigods or of time. Therefore, there is no question of destruction. When the time element is present, there is the certainty of destruction, but when there is no time element—past, present, or future—then everything is eternal. Therefore, this verse uses the word na naṅkṣyati, indicating that the transcendental opulences will never be destroyed. The reason for freedom from destruction is also described. The devotees accept the Supreme Lord as the most dear personality and reciprocate with Him in different relationships. They accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the dearest friend, the dearest relative, the dearest son, the dearest preceptor, the dearest well-wisher, or the dearest deity. The Lord is eternal. Therefore, any relationship in which we accept Him is also eternal. It is clearly confirmed herein that the relationships cannot be destroyed, and therefore the opulences of those relationships are never destroyed. Every living entity has the propensity to love someone. We can see that if someone has no object of love, he generally directs his love to a pet animal, like a cat or a dog. Thus, the eternal propensity for love in all living entities is always searching for a place to reside. From this verse, we can learn that we can love the Supreme Personality of Godhead as our dearest object, as a friend, as a son, as a preceptor, or as a well-wisher, and there will be no cheating and no end to such love. We shall eternally enjoy the relationship with the Supreme Lord in different aspects. A special feature of this verse is the acceptance of the Supreme Lord as the supreme preceptor. Bhagavad-gita was spoken directly by the Supreme Lord when Arjuna accepted Krsna as guru, or spiritual master. Similarly, we should accept only Krsna as the supreme spiritual master. Krsna, of course, means Krsna and His confidential devotees. Krsna is not alone. When we speak of Krsna, Krsna means Krsna in His name, in His form, in His qualities, in His abode, and His associates. Krsna is never alone, for the devotees of Krsna are not impersonalists. For example, a king is always associated with his secretary, his commander, his servant, and so much paraphernalia. As soon as we accept Krsna and His associates as our preceptors, no ill effect can destroy our knowledge. In the material world, the knowledge which we acquire may change because of the influence of time, but nevertheless, the conclusion received from Bhagavad-gita, directly from the speeches of the Supreme Lord, Krsna, can never change. There is no use interpreting Bhagavad-gita. It is eternal. Krsna, the Supreme Lord, should be accepted as one's best friend. He will never cheat. He will always give His friendly advice and friendly protection to the devotee. If Krsna is accepted as a son, He will never die. Here, we have a very loving son or child, but the father and mother, or those who are affectionate toward him, always hope: "May my son not die." But Krsna actually never will die. Therefore, those who accept Krsna, or the Supreme Lord, as their son will never be bereft of their son. In many instances, devotees have accepted the deity as a son. In Bengal, there are many such instances, and even after the death of the devotee, the deity performs the śrāddha ceremony for the father. The relationship is never destroyed. People are accustomed to worship different forms of demigods, but in the Bhagavad-gita such a mentality is condemned. Therefore, one should be intelligent enough to worship only the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His different forms, such as Laksmi-Narayana, Sita-Rama, and Radha-Krsna. Thus, one will never be cheated. By worshipping the demigods, one may elevate himself to the higher planets, but during the dissolution of the material world, the deity and the abode of the deity will be destroyed. But one who worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead is promoted to the Vaikuntha planets, where there is no influence of time, destruction, or annihilation. The conclusion is that the time influence cannot act upon devotees who have accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as everything.
na naṅkṣyati mayi neṣāṁ sa u lokaś
na naṅkṣyati no me 'nimiṣo leḍhi hetiḥ
yeṣām ahaṁ priya ātmā sutaś ca
yeṣām ahaṁ priya ātmā sutaś ca
sakhā guruḥ suhṛdo daivam iṣṭam
The Lord continued: My dear mother, devotees who receive such transcendental opulences are never bereft of them. Neither weapons nor the change of time can destroy such opulences, because the devotees accept Me as their friend, their relative, their son, preceptor, benefactor, and supreme deity. They cannot be deprived of their possessions at any time.
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā
cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale
svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam
vande 'haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca
śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam
sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ
śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca
he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate
gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te
tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari
vṛṣabhānu-sute devī praṇamāmi hari-priye
vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
Hare Krsna. So with your blessings, I'll try to say something on this very beautiful verse, very famous verse also. It's quoted in Caitanya-caritamrta and probably Nectar of Devotion also. So yesterday we heard that the devotees, they don't desire any benedictions from the Lord, or opulences, or bhukti, mukti, siddhi, like this. But Krsna awards them anyway. Yet even without desiring, the devotee enjoys even in this life all the offered benedictions. So, devotional service gives the results of all other paths and much more, of course. And today we hear that these spiritual opulences that are attained by performing devotional service, they will never be destroyed. So, that's very encouraging. And we know also from Bhagavad-gita, this famous verse:
nehābhikrama-nāśo 'sti pratyavāyo na vidyate
svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt
that in this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, or however you say, diminution. Even a little advancement can protect one from the greatest type of fear. So whatever we do for Krsna is an eternal asset, it can never be destroyed. Nothing can take that from us. And so, that's very encouraging. But all the things we do in this material world, they will, of course, at one point be taken away from us, or we will be taken—we will die. So we have to choose wisely where we invest our energy, our time, and our consciousness in this world. And the best investment, of course, is to do devotional service. So in this world, many people do investments, and they speculate whether it will be beneficial to put their money in this stock, what to say, stocks or this company, invest in this company or that. And no one really knows, and it's always a great anxiety if you try to earn in that way. But the fact is that if you invest in devotional service, there will be a hundred percent guarantee that the investment will give the best possible outcome. So, like Narayani Mataji, she always speaks about our spiritual bank account, and whatever you put in this spiritual bank account, it will always continue to grow, and it's never lost. Whereas any investment in this material world, whatever we do in this temporary realm, it will, with a hundred percent certainty—thank you, certainty—it will be completely lost, totally.
A: So therefore, Jesus Christ, there is one famous quote from the Bible, from the Sermon on the Mount, that... Let's see.
Q: What profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his eternal soul?
A: Yeah, that is also a nice one. You can tell... it was another, but you can please tell that one also.
Q: What profit a man who gains the whole world but loses his eternal soul? Yeah, that is one quote.
A: That is in the Bhagavad-gita, that one.
Q: Yeah, Prabhupada wrote it in the purport to nehābhikrama verse.
A: And then it says like this: "Do not collect your treasures on earth where moths destroy and rust corrodes, and where thieves break in and steal."
Quite nice one. But collect your treasures in heaven where neither moth destroy nor rust corrodes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. Nice quote. So we have to think wisely where we invest our time, our energy, and our intentions and consciousness. Yeah, and also Prahlada Maharaja, he speaks about this. Like Prabhupada says here that the demigods, even you go to the higher planetary systems, and you can enjoy for... I was calculating the other day. It seems like the demigods, they live for one manvantara. And then there is a new... After one manvantara, they are changed. There is a new Indra, and there is a new... all these prominent demigods, they are changed after one manvantara. And one manvantara is like three hundred million years. So it's a very, very long time. But Prahlada says: "My dear Lord, now I have complete experience concerning the worldly opulence, mystic power, longevity, and other material pleasures enjoyed by all living entities, from Lord Brahma down to the ant. As powerful time, You destroy them all. Therefore, because of my experience, I do not wish to possess them. My dear Lord, I request You to place me in touch with Your pure devotee and let me serve him as a sincere servant."
So everything will be lost, even the greatest, opulent situation in the heavenly planets. From the eternal point of view, it's also very short time. So Krsna is time. kālo 'smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho. "Time I am, and I have come to destroy everything in this world," Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita. So this is the situation, that time here in the material world, nothing will last, because time is gradually eating up everything. Time and tide wait for no one. And so, it's amazing, but still we are in the conditioned state, we don't understand this. paśyann api na paśyati. We see, but we don't see it. We see, but still we refuse to understand that this is the reality. And still we go for all this, we try to build up a wonderful life, kingdom, palace, everything in this material world. I was just thinking about my brother, he's an architect, and he gets all these jobs with the rich people. They ask him to build like their mansions. So now he has been working for the founder of Spotify, Daniel Ek. He is like an immensely rich person in Sweden. He has so much money, millions and billions and whatever. So he bought, he wanted to build a house for himself, so he bought a very, very expensive house outside of Stockholm. He bought it for millions and millions of crowns, very beautiful house on Stockholm. And then he got the job there to—it was a kind of run-down place, but it was a very beautiful old, old house. So he got this job to rebuild this house, or to renovate it, and also build many more things and like that. So for six years he has been working there. And this Daniel Ek has never even asked him how much he wants, because it's below his dignity. He has so much money, he can just pay, pay and pay, pay. So for six years, and imagine to have an architect working for you. And he's just the architect, and then there's also the whole staff who is building all these things. And it's like an amazing place, he has made a whole book, my brother, about this place, because it's a very special place. And everything is just top class, and he has all this, of course, a personal pool inside the house, and so many different saunas—dry sauna, wet sauna, Japanese sauna, and all this. And then his own gym, and then the whole house of course is like a palace, everything is just top, best of everything. So you can just imagine, it's the most expensive house, or personal abode, that was ever built in Sweden. So it's just amazing, they will live there for a few years, and they spend millions and billions of crowns and so many years to create this dream house and dream palace. And then they will just, very shortly, they will have to leave all this. And they will be so attached to it, and probably the karma is running out if you live like this, and you have so much money, usually you don't, you kind of just spend your good karma. And next time maybe they will be born as rats in this house or something, who knows. Yeah, so we invest so much time in this temporary situation, where we could, if we just spend a little, a fraction of the effort, investing in our eternal asset, then the gain will be so wonderful. So we should invest in our spiritual assets, our spiritual opulences. And what are those? So of course, if we, as devotees, get a lot of money, is that a spiritual opulence? Not really. It's material, of course. It can be of use, of course, for spiritual purposes, and then the money is spiritualized. So, but our real spiritual assets, these are our inner treasures. So, like our faith in Krsna, for example, our enthusiasm to serve, our taste for the holy name, our intensity, our devotion, our relationship to Krsna, our love, our spiritual friendships also, one could say, the relationship we develop to other devotees, things like this. So these are our spiritual assets, and these will never be lost. Of course, we cannot take our japa with us when we go, and our books, and also the devotees we spend time with, we can't take with us, but we can take like the taste we have for the holy name, and the knowledge of the śāstras, or the realizations rather, we have, and also our loving relationships. All these things will never be lost. Because the devotee, even in this world, if we become pure devotees, we are living in this world in the Vaikuntha atmosphere. And the Vaikuntha atmosphere means nothing is destroyed. So the real wealth we have, like in Caitanya-caritamrta, there's a verse describing the three riches of the devotees. There are three riches. And these are Mahaprabhu says like this—or I'm not sure if it's Mahaprabhu, it's probably, maybe it's Rupa... I shan't say, I'm not sure.
veda-śāstre kahe sambandha abhidheya prayojana
kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa-bhakti prema tina mahā-dhana
In the Vedic literature, Krsna is the central point of attraction, and His service is our activity. To attain the platform of love of Krsna is life's ultimate goal. Therefore, Krsna, Krsna service, and love of Krsna are the three great riches of life. So Krsna, kṛṣṇa-bhakti, and kṛṣṇa-prema, these are the three riches of life according to this verse. And also when Mahaprabhu and Ramananda Raya had this conversation, then Mahaprabhu asked Ramananda Raya: "Who is the greatest capitalist?" And then Ramananda Raya answered that the one who is richest in love of Radha and Krsna, he is the greatest capitalist. So this is our real wealth, the love we develop for Krsna, because that will never be destroyed, and it will only increase the more we engage in this loving relationship. So ultimately, this loving relationship we have with Krsna, like Prabhupada writes in the purport, that we can relate to Krsna in so many different ways, in different rasas. And then he says that if... there's a quote which is similar to what Prabhupada writes in the purport:
"If we make Krsna our master, we will never be cheated. If we love Krsna as our son, He will never die. If we love Krsna as our lover, He will be the best of all, and there will be no separation, because Krsna is the Supreme Lord. He is unlimited, and has an unlimited number of devotees."
So all these things that we long for in this world, and that which is most important to us, and which is giving us the greatest satisfaction and pleasure—the loving relationships we have—these are perfected when we actually repose our love in Krsna, because in this world, unfortunately, even we have nice and loving relationship, they cannot last forever. But the relationship with Krsna is eternal and can never be lost. So one who develops this kind of relationship with Krsna in any of the rasas, that is the greatest treasure. And that will always continue to exist. In this world, when we develop it in this world, we can live very happily here, and when we go back to the spiritual world, then we will engage in this kind of relationship with Krsna for eternity. So there is also one quote from the Nīti-śāstra: "One who gives up the eternal for the temporary loses everything. And one who gives up the temporary for the eternal loses nothing."
Yeah, so this is what we've talked about. And, yeah, one who gains Krsna, he gains everything, because Krsna is everything, everything is included in Krsna. And, one who doesn't have Krsna in his life, even if he has everything else, he ultimately loses everything. And therefore, like when, for example, when there was this Battle of Kuruksetra, and they went to Krsna to ask Him if He could participate on their side—Arjuna and Duryodhana. And, Krsna or... Arjuna immediately when he was offered either Krsna or His armies, he immediately understood that: "Krsna, I want You, because if I have You, then I have everything. I don't have to worry."
And of course he was victorious with the help of Krsna. And Duryodhana made the other choice, he took the army. He thought that, he invested in what seemed from a material point of view to be much more powerful. But in the end he lost everything. So this is our—this is the choice we have to make every day, every minute. We have to think about this: how can we invest our attention in the best possible place? Because our attention is our greatest asset, and that is what we have control over. So many things in this world we can't control. Whatever happens to us and the situations around us is also not always that we can, or very often, mostly, we can't control it. But where we invest our attention, and what is our attitude, what is our intention, that is completely under our control. And therefore, Viktor Frankl, he said that everything can be taken from a human being except... how was this quote now? I forgot it.
A: ...except... how was this quote now? I forgot it. Anyone knows it?
Q: To choose his attitude.
A: He can choose his attitude, yeah.
Q: Our will to hope.
A: Yeah. Everything can be taken from a man but his last... annoying, I can't remember it now. Anyway. Yes, okay. So, and also the devotees are the greatest asset. There is this story about Dhananjaya Prabhu. Prabhupada's disciple. He got this name when he was initiated, Dhananjaya, "the winner of wealth", "the conqueror of wealth". So he thought that maybe I should be the one who brings a lot of wealth to this Hare Krsna movement, maybe that is my mission. So then he heard Prabhupada speaking about that there is a mountain of gold in the Himalayas somewhere. And then he got an idea. "Wow." So he asked Prabhupada: "Do you know where this mountain is?" And Prabhupada said: "Yes." "Can you tell me where it is?" Prabhupada said: "Yes." And then Prabhupada said: "But why do you want to know?"
"I thought that maybe I can go there and just take some of this gold, like maybe thirty kilos or something, and we can use it for the spreading of this Hare Krsna movement. We can use it for preaching." And then Prabhupada said: "No. Go out and make devotees. Make thirty devotees. Devotees are more valuable than gold."
So, that was a nice instruction he got, that devotees are actually more valuable than gold. And as we know, for Krsna, He thinks that one devotee... there's a quote like this one: "One devotee cannot equal the wealth in the entire creation." There's a quote like this from Caitanya-bhagavata, that devotees are invaluable. And if we can have devotees in our life as mentors, as friends, and Krsna and the devotees, then we are in a very good position.
A: Anyone wants to ask something or add something? It was a very long purport.
Q: I think you said that these riches, wealth, spiritual wealth is always there. But that it can also be covered.
A: Mm.
Q: Like cloud.
A: Yeah.
Q: Covered by offence.
A: Yeah.
Q: But it's still there.
A: Yeah, good point. It can be covered. It can look like it's almost destroyed for some time, but as you say, it's covered, it's only covered.
Q: I had this frequent question is that—and I've been thinking about it, I also have maybe an answer—that Vaikuntha means nothing is destroyed, everything is eternal. And in some sense at least, we enjoy in this world that things are temporary. If they would be eternal, then we can't really appreciate them. So someone might come and say that that seems very boring. If there is no distress, how can there be any happiness? There has to be light, there has to be darkness. What would you say?
A: In this world, that's because this is the world of duality. So there's always this... one thing has the other, the opposite—it's the world of opposites. And, yeah, it's like the more you suffer, the more you can then appreciate when you are rid of the suffering, so to say. So there have to be always these opposites. In order to enjoy the light, you have to sometimes experience the darkness and things like this. So this is how it is in this world. So that's why it's so, it's almost impossible for us to imagine a world where everything is eternal and everything is only happiness, and everything is only bliss.
Q: That just seems like a fantasy. Why would there be such a world?
A: Why not? Why shouldn't there be such a place? Isn't this what we all long for? A place... we always want to avoid distress, isn't it? As soon as distress comes, we try to avoid it. We are creating, building up a civilization where we are just trying to avoid death, trying to avoid suffering, trying to just make everything as secure as possible. So this means that if this is what we are searching for and trying for, it means there must be such a thing. If we are thirsty, that means water must exist. It's a sign that such a thing like water exists. So if we have a hunger for something that will last, for something that will always be happy, it means that there actually exists such a... it's a sign that such a place exists, that we have these desires and we try for it all the time. Everyone is doing. Even the little insect, if you chase it, it runs away, it wants to live eternally, doesn't want to die. No one wants to die. Because we are eternal, that's why.
Q: We have this yearning for this perfect love.
A: Yeah.
Q: Like, with a lover, and we lose everything. And a love that is so consuming and so fulfilling that we don't think about anything else. And then everything is in scripture. This is love with Krsna, between the devotee and Krsna.
A: Yeah, we just have to expand our consciousness, open up our views a little bit and believe that there is something beyond this little, small, limited world that we are living in now. But the mentality of today is that it's just foolish to think that there is anything beyond, that it's just fantasy, and it's just childish to believe in something beyond this world, that we should just live here and now and maximize our enjoyment in this world, and this is what is glorified everywhere. And people who have another opinion are considered to be childish, foolish, dreamers.
Q: Frog-in-the-well.
A: Yeah, frog-in-the-well, questioners of our limited perception, and mind, and intelligence. We are so limited. We can't even imagine what it would be to have a relationship with God.
A: I just remembered that... upplysningen... I don't know how to—what is it in English, but this time, seventeenth, eighteenth...
Q: Enlightenment.
A: Enlightenment, thank you. And then there was like, a drive for—what was it—encyclopédie, yeah, in France, they had this revolution, all these things. And so they made an encyclopedia to try to explain all kinds of things in this world. So if you look up "religion" or "God", then it was just noted: "see superstition". What do you call it in Swedish? vidskepelse. You know what superstition is. Yeah, it's such an atheistic time we're living in, and especially in Sweden, maybe. Atheistic country. But in Bhagavad-gita, the seventh chapter, verse twenty-four or twenty-five, this is where Krsna is explaining, avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannaṁ manyante mām abuddhayaḥ. And the purport of that verse is the longest purport of Bhagavad-gita. It's so much. It's so long.
A: The longest purport in the Bhagavad-gita, I think it must be...
Q: śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam?
A: Yeah, I think so. Okay. Thank you very much. Grantha-rāja Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ki jaya. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya.