In the purport it is said that according to the Vedic version there is no existence beyond brahman.
sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma
It is also in the Bhagavad-gītā we find that śloka, "I am the basis of impersonal brahman," Kṛṣṇa explaining in the Bhagavad-gītā. And in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that whatever we see is parāsya brahmaṇaḥ śaktiḥ, everything is an expansion of the energy of the Supreme Absolute Truth, brahman. And when brahman is mixed with the three qualities: goodness, passion, and ignorance, the result is the material expansion which is sometimes called saguṇa-brahman, and which consists of these twenty-five elements. On the other side there is nirguṇa-brahman where there is no material contamination, or in the spiritual world. That is the spiritual world, the three modes: goodness, passion, ignorance are not present. nirguṇa. nirguṇa means without guṇas. nirguṇa-brahman is simple unalloyed goodness. And saguṇa-brahman is described by the sāṅkhya system of philosophy as consisting of the twenty-five elements including the time factor, past, present and future. I will go back one verse, number fourteen.
mano 'haṅkāraś cittam ity
antar-ātmakam
caturdhā lakṣyate bhedo
vṛttyā lakṣaṇa-rūpayā
Internal subtle senses are experienced as having four aspects in the shape of mind, intelligence, ego, contaminated consciousness. Distinctions between them can be made only by different functions since they represent different characteristics. When pure consciousness is polluted by material contamination, and identification with the body becomes prominent, one is said to be situated under false ego. For example, when rain is falling from the sky, it is pure, but when it come in contact with earth, it become muddy. So when pure consciousness is polluted by material contamination by the material modes of nature, then and when identification with the body becomes prominent, one is said to be situated under false ego. "I am a man, I am born in Sweden, therefore I am Swedish." This is not our real ego. This is a false ego. The real ego is "I am the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa."
jīvera 'svarūpa' haya — kṛṣṇera 'nitya-dāsa'
So consciousness is a function of the soul, and therefore behind consciousness there is soul. In the second chapter there are many verses which explain consciousness. Consciousness polluted by material contamination is called ahaṅkāra. ahaṅkāra means ahaṁ, and kāra means—ahaṁ means "I", and kāra means "the doer". ahaṅkāra, "I am the doer." But actually that is not true. Kṛṣṇa is the doer. There is one verse in the Bhagavad-gītā...
Q: Behöver du mer ljus? Skulle du vilja ha lite mer ljus?
A: Ja, det vore bra.
prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature. Purport: Two persons, one in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the other in material consciousness, working on the same level, may appear to be working on the same platform, but there is a wide gulf of difference in their respective positions. The person in material consciousness is convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything. He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. The materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Kṛṣṇa. īśvaraḥ paramaḥ Kṛṣṇaḥ, Kṛṣṇa is supreme controller. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience. He does not know that the gross and subtle body is a creation of material nature under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such his bodily and mental activities should be engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So most people in the world, they are bewildered by the influence of false ego. They think that because they are born in a certain country, in a certain body, they are from this country and that they are the body, man or woman, black or white. And this false ego creates conflict based on the false ego when we identify ourselves with the body, with our country, and we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa, that He is the supreme controller. And the person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is a symptom of his nescience. We cannot even move our eyelids or our finger without the permission of Kṛṣṇa and the demigods which are under His control.
He does not know that this gross material body is a creation of material nature under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And in such his primary activities, should engage himself for Kṛṣṇa in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Even the individual spirit soul, when he sits in an animal body, he identifies himself with that body. But in the human form of life, our consciousness is advanced, so we can understand that we have to relinquish the false ego and we can understand who we are in our relationship with God, Kṛṣṇa. The body is like a machine made of the material energy. This is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā:
īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrāroḍhāni māyayā
The Supreme Lord is seated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine made of material energy. This machine is our body, made of material energy. Yantra, machine. Māyayā, under the spell of the material energy. And it is also important to understand that īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati. Hṛd-deśe, He is seated in the location of the heart. Tiṣṭhati, He is situated there. And bhrāmayan, causing to travel, sarva-bhūtāni, all living entities. So the Supersoul is there and causing all living entities to travel here and there. So if we don't understand this, then we are in ignorance, we are very much bewildered. So one can say that most people today in this time and age are bewildered, that they have no knowledge of this. And they exhibit no knowledge at all. Dasavatar said that President Trump, his slogan is "America First". It is like philosophy, but who ought to say Kṛṣṇa first? President Trump is a very insignificant jīva, who is bewildered by the material energy. We forget our past deeds, but the Supersoul, Paramatma, He knows everything about the past, present and future. Upadraṣṭā and anumantā ca, He is the witness of all our activities. Otherwise how can one, if I did something wrong in my past life and I have to suffer for it, how is it possible? Because of the witness, Supersoul. And the living entity gets what he deserves and is carried by the material body which is created in the material energy under the direction of the Supersoul. And the living entity becomes under the spell of the bodily situation. The body is even comparable with a car. Some cars go very fast and some cars go slow, but the driver is the same. And it is by the mercy of God, by the order of God, that we get this body and to fulfill these desires which we had in the past. And the living entity is not independent. That is our ignorance. We are all under the Lord's control. Although we cannot see Kṛṣṇa, He put us under the control of māyā, the material energy. Therefore we have to surrender, because we are under Kṛṣṇa's control. What alternative do we have than to surrender? Even children have to surrender to their parents, and students to the teacher, and we have to surrender to the government. We have to pay tax and follow the rules and regulations in society, otherwise we get in trouble. We have a controller. So what shall we do? Our duty is to surrender. And then Kṛṣṇa in the next verse says:
tam eva śaraṇaṁ gaccha
sarva-bhāvena bhārata
tat-prasādāt parāṁ śāntiṁ
sthānaṁ prāpsyasi śāśvatam
O descendant of Bharata, surrender unto Him utterly. Tat-prasādāt parāṁ śāntiṁ, by His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode.
in the supreme eternal abode. sthānaṁ prāpsyasi śāśvatam
tam eva śaraṇaṁ gaccha
śaraṇaṁ gaccha, surrender, sarva-bhāvena, in all respects. Tat-prasādāt, by His grace, parāṁ śāntiṁ, supreme peace, sthānaṁ prāpsyasi śāśvatam. You will get eternal, you will be able to enter into the eternal abode. And that will relieve you from all kinds of miseries of this material existence. People feel so much anxiety, and the reason is that we don't surrender to Krsna, who is within the heart. And this is not unique for us. All the great authorities in the past, Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa, surrendered to the Supreme Lord who is within the heart. And it is the evidence of great authorities like that. It's not only personal experience. So it's important to... even if we cannot feel the presence of the Supersoul, but there the spiritual master comes, who is the external manifestation of the Supersoul, and so we can hear from him what we cannot hear directly from the Supersoul. Srila Prabhupada said he can hear from Krsna. Krsna personally speaks to him. And we have guru, sādhu, and śāstra. The guru, and the sādhu, the saintly person, and the śāstra, non-different from each other. And we can learn from them this transcendental knowledge. Guru-sādhu-śāstra. Otherwise, we can also hear from others, but if they are bewildered by false ego, they cannot really guide us in a proper way to the supreme and eternal abode, and we will not be at peace, we will always feel anxiety. So this is so important to understand. And the problem for us also, when we are in the material world, in this machine, then we become attracted to sense objects.
dhyāyato viṣayān puṁsaḥ
saṅgas teṣūpajāyate
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ
kāmāt krodho 'bhijāyate
While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises. It is like we can see all around us, and also within ourselves. From anger,
krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ
sammohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ
smṛti-bhraṁśād buddhi-nāśo
buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati
from anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. And when memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool. Jaya Śrī Śrī Pañca-tattva ki jaya! Therefore, when we stay in the temple, we are surrounded by spiritual sense objects, like the Deity, the spiritual master, the paintings on the wall. So these spiritual sense objects, it is good if we become attached to them. And from this attachment to spiritual sense objects, there is no lust, but attachment to Krsna, some kind of love, beginning of love. It is like if you are not Krsna conscious, you become full of material desire by contemplating the objects of the senses. Even looking on a piece of chocolate, or if you look on a movie or the opposite sex, one becomes subjected to material desire. But if you are Krsna conscious, you don't feel like that. In the beginning one has to avoid sense objects, because otherwise we become attached to them, we become lusty. So the solution is that senses require real engagement. And if they are not engaged in transcendental loving service to the Lord, they will seek engagement in the service of materialism. Isn't it like SVT, television, Swedish, so many programs they have, unbelievable, because the senses, they require real engagement. If they are not engaged in transcendental loving service to the Lord, they seek engagement in the service of materialists.
They have to engage our mind and the senses in something. And the material world is like a puzzle. It is confusing. And therefore, even we had this seminar this summer, from the...
Q: Madhurya-kadambini?
A (Aristaha d): Oh, yes. By His Holiness Keshava Maharaja. And he said it was like a map, that we can find our way to our destination. Madhurya-kadambini is not so easy. It is rather difficult. Prabhupada tried to make it easy for us, but in the higher stages of bhakti, it is not that easy. Many fall down, because pure love of Krsna, prema, there are so many obstacles and impurities we have to eradicate. So we need a road map and guidance from advanced devotees. Not even we, we are insignificant. Even the great demigods, who are actually controlling the universe, they are also subjected to the influence of sense objects. Even Lord Siva. He was sitting in meditation, Parvati deviated him for sense pleasure. So Indra also. Visvamitra Muni, for thousand years was meditating, but Menaka, apsara from heavenly planets, came there to lure him. His eyes were closed, but he was hearing the anklet bells of Menaka. And then he opened his eyes, and he was captured by her beauty. So he was a king before, maybe he had experience of female association, but the taste still remained within him. Just by hearing anklet bells, opening his eyes, he was captured by maya. So unless one is transcendentally situated, it is not possible to cease from sense enjoyment. I was looking at this video about the nun, Carmelite nun. They stay within the monastery the whole life. They never go out, maybe if they become sick. But you can only, if you want to visit them, you can only speak through a grill. Even if relatives come, they cannot go out, all of them remain behind. Because they sense all these things, to protect themselves like that. But not so many of them, very few who can discipline themselves like that. But the nun said actually, the life is monotonous. Do the same thing every day. She's been living like that for 25 years, but she was happy, because of peaceful mind, peaceful mind. Without peace, there is no happiness, Krsna says in another verse of Bhagavad-gita. But if we restrict ourselves from sense enjoyment through some regulation...
something like restricting a diseased person from certain types of eatables. The patient doesn't like it, and he doesn't lose his taste for eatables. Therefore, aṣṭāṅga-yoga is for less intelligent persons having no better knowledge. But if we are advancing, if we have a taste for the beauty of Lord Kṛṣṇa, if we make advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no longer a taste for dead material things disappear. Therefore, when devotees go to preach, distributing books, if they have a higher taste, they are not affected by the material surroundings. Otherwise, we become allured. So, restrictions are, therefore, for less intelligent neophytes in the spiritual advancement of life. So for us, temple protect us from material world. Also, actually, until we have a taste for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, restrictions are there. When one is actually Kṛṣṇa conscious, he automatically loses his taste for pay things. But even advanced devotees have fallen down because the real taste is not there. Śrīla Prabhupāda was a wonderful example. He came to America alone, and he went to Bowery, Lower East Side, full of drunkards and very fallen souls living there, but he was not affected by them, by it. He could preach and make more devotees. It's very rare. You must be extremely pure, empowered by Kṛṣṇa to do such a feat. Now we have the social media, internet, and smartphones, and what is good, you can hear devotees from all over the world. On the other hand, it's māyā, so much māyā. So Śacīnandana Swāmī, he calls the smartphone "the monster in the pocket". Like a monster, it can be very dangerous. It can elevate the mind or degrade the mind. But everything can be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and if Śrīla Prabhupāda would be here now, he would utilize everything in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Big problem for most of us is that sex, sex life with a woman. There is one śloka by Śrī Yamunācārya:
yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor
nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt
tad-avadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāṇe
bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca
"Since my mind has been engaged in the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, having engaged in an ever-new transcendental humor, whenever I think of sex life with a woman, my face at once turns sour, and I spit at the thought." Even thinking about sex life, he turn away from it and he spit at the thought. He rejected completely, even though he was an emperor king before he became a devotee. He had all facilities for sex life, wealth, power, everything. So we can see like Viśvāmitra, on the other hand, he fell down, was misled by Menakā into sex enjoyment. Haridāsa Ṭhākura didn't fall down. He actually made this girl a devotee. She chanted 192 rounds every day on the instruction of her spiritual master, and she gave up everything and became like a first-class devotee by the association of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is such a transcendentally nice thing that automatically material enjoyment becomes distasteful. It is as if a hungry man is satisfied through getting sufficient quantity of nutritious eatables. But when there was this rock festival in San Francisco, Avalon Ballroom, Prabhupāda went there, and he gave a speech and there was a kīrtana. All these rock groups were there, and they played together in the kīrtana. But when Prabhupāda left, he said, "This is not a place for brahmacārī," like a rock concert. So one has to be very careful. Kṛṣṇa is always testing us. Is there any question, comment?
Q: "You said that there are many here who have fallen down. And therefore they haven't had real faith? They haven't had real faith?"
A: "Taste?"
Q: "Faith."
A: "Faith."
Q: "That is to say that they have become wonderfully happy, but they have missed the faith in Kṛṣṇa."
Q: "He didn't say faith, he said taste."
Q: "Oh, I see. You said that there are many here who have fallen down. Did you say that it was because they didn't have real taste or that they didn't have real faith?"
A: "It was both. They simply became overwhelmed by..."
A: "...the object. But maybe not so many, I don't know, but some..."
Q: "It is talked about in Caitanya-caritāmṛta that kaniṣṭha, madhyama and uttama-adhikārī, it depends on developed faith. Uttama-adhikārī is mentioned full of faith. Kaniṣṭha has little faith and wavers, and so on."
A: "It was indeed Swamiji who said about Brahmananda Swamiji that 'There are no gurus, no gurus lost.'"
Q: "Because a guru... Then one cannot speak of lost gurus."
A: "Gurus do not become lost, no."
Q: "I mean, if one seeks a guru, he definitely has faith, although not all the way to prema. So when he becomes a guru he has..."
A: "The explanation for that could be that it shifts."
Q: "What?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "What do you remember from... I have some memories of Harikesha Das, right? Like, when he is married, he lives an ordinary life, ordinary clothes and hairstyle. But very attached to Prabhupada and very much... And think it was... We have all had the opportunity to listen to him, although he might not follow... I don't know how much he follows, but Prabhupada and Harikesha still stand to them. I think especially for guru. It's women, it's money and it's fame, fallen. But if one cannot... Even sannyasa is very demanding and maybe only for a few. But if one gets married and still practices Krsna consciousness, that is allowed, isn't it?"
A: "Yes."
Q: "In years past we had good access to some association with Manya-dās, by the way."
A: "What?"
Q: "In years past we had good access to some association with Manya-dās."
A: "Manya-dās, yes. He shared many things. He also talked a bit about this thing with Harikesha. He gave me a strong impression that Harikesha expressed that it was difficult, he wanted to get support, but he got no support. He was pushed into taking sannyasa. Various things. So those kinds of things can also play a rather big role. Not just the individual."
Q: "And when you hear Harikesha remember... They live... He has another āśrama, but Krsna consciousness is still there, isn't it? More or less."
A: "I don't know that."
Q: "What?"
A: "I cannot answer that."
Q: "No. But it is interesting how anyone, very pronounced uttama-adhikārī guru... Prabhupada under all circumstances, until his last breath he dictated his Bhāgavatam. He did not identify with the body."
Q: "When Swamiji said that... I know many here who were jñānī... for example Venu-dās and Tapas-dās and Madana-dās... They were initiated and definitely how devotionally... during that time... completely incredible. It is completely clear that devotionally... But then for example he has stopped completely and it is so incredible how it can change completely... It is completely incredible. For example Bhabhananda..."
A: "I also heard an interview with Gurukrupa Swami..."
Q: "Yes?"
A: "...he had his problems and he was too young, he understood that later, to take sannyasa..."
Q: "Gurukrupa?"
A: "...he was one of the first initiated, he preached in Japan..."
Q: "Where he collected a lot of money for the Mayapur project, a lot of money."
A: "Yes, okay."
Q: "Then that Prabhupada had such a... How are the unpious... what do you say... impious... That is, impious. Are the Japanese going to make any progress if they don't give a loka?"
Q: "Maybe we should stop?"
A: "Yes, now it has gotten late. Jaya Srila Prabhupada."