Todays Bhagavad-Gita As it Is Class2.7 Spoken By His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada You Must Approach Krishna07-08-73 London

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" You Must Approach Krishna "

 

73/08/07 London, Bhagavad-gita 2.7

 

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Pradyumna (leads chanting, etc.):

 

karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah

prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah

yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me

sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam

[bg. 2.7]

 

" Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of

weakness. In this condition, I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for

me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct

me. "

 

Prabhupada: This is very important verse in Bhagavad-gita. It is a turning

point of life. Karpanya-dosa. Miserly, dosa means fault When one does not act

according to his position, that is fault. And that is called miserly. So

everyone has got his natural propensities, svabhava. Yasya hi svabhavasya

tasyaso duratikramah. Svabhava, natural propensities. It is a common example, it

is given, that yasya hi yah svabhavasya tasyaso duratikramah. One, habit is the

second nature. One who has, who is habituated or one whose nature,

characteristic in some way, it is very difficult to change. The example is

given: sva yadi kriyate raja sah kim na so uparhanam. If you make a dog a king,

does it mean that he'll not lick up shoes? Yes, dog's nature is to lick up

shoes. So even if you dress him like a king and let him sit down on a throne,

still, as soon as he'll see one shoe, he'll jump over and lick it. This is

called svabhava. Karpanya-dosa.

 

So in the animal life, it is not possible to change one's nature, which is

given by the material energy, prakrti. Prakrteh kriyamanani. Karanam guna-sango

'sya, karanam guna-sangah asya sad-asad-janma-yonisu [bg. 13.22]. Why? All

living entities are part and parcel of God. Therefore originally the

characteristic of the living entity is as good as God. Simply it is a question

of quantity. Quality is the same. Quality is the same. Mamaivamso jiva-bhutah

[bg. 15.7]. The same example. If you take a drop of sea water, the quality, the

chemical composition is the same. But the quantity is different. It is a drop,

and the sea is vast ocean. Similarly, we are exactly of the same quality as

Krsna. We can study. Why people say God is impersonal? If I am of the same

quality, so God is also person, how He can be imperson? If, qualitatively, we

are one, then as I feel individually, so why God should be refused

individuality? This is another nonsense. The impersonalist rascals, they cannot

understand what is the nature of God. In the Bible also it is said: " Man is made

after God. " You can study God's quality by studying your quality, or anyone's

quality. Simply the difference is quantity's different. I have got some quality,

some productive capacity. We also produce, every individual soul is producing

something. But his production cannot be compared with production of God. That is

the difference. We are producing one flying machine. We are taking very much

pride that: " Now we have discovered the sputnik. It is going to the moon

planet. " But that is not perfect. It is coming back. But God has produced so

many flying planets, millions and trillions of planets, very, very heavy

planets. Just like this planet is carrying so many big, big mountains, sea, but

still it is flying. It is floating in the air just like a cotton swab. This is

God's power. Gam avisya. In the Bhagavad-gita, you'll find: aham dharayamy

ojasa. Who is sustaining all these big, big planets? We are explaining gravity.

And in the sastra we find that it is being carried by Sankarsana.

 

So the quality is the same, but the quantity is different. So because the

quality's same, so we have got all the propensities as God has, as Krsna has.

Krsna has got loving propensities with His pleasure potency, Srimati Radharani.

Similarly, because we are part and parcel of Krsna, we have also got this loving

propensity. So this is svabhava. But when we come in contact with this material

nature... Krsna does not come into the contact of the material nature.

Therefore, Krsna's name is Acyuta. He never falls down. But we are prone to fall

down, to be under the... Prakrteh kriyamanani. We are now under the influence of

prakrti. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [bg. 3.27]. As soon as we

fall down under the clutches of this prakrti, material nature, which means...

Prakrti's composed of three qualities, goodness, passion and ignorance. So we

capture one of the qualities. That is the cause, karanam guna-sanga. Guna-sanga.

Means associating with different quality. Guna-sanga asya jivasya, of the living

entity. That is the cause. One can ask: " If the living entity is as good as God,

why one living entity has become dog, and one living entity has become god,

demigod, Brahma? " Now the answer is karanam. The reason is guna-sanga asya. Asya

jivasya guna-sanga. Because he's associating with a particular guna.

Sattva-guna, rajo-guna, tamo-guna.

 

So these things are described very vividly in Upanisad, how guna-sanga

acts. Just like a fire. There are sparks. The sometimes the sparks fall down

from the fire. Now there are three conditions of the fire spark falling down. If

the spark falls down on dry grass, then it can immediately ignite the grass, the

dry grass. If the spark falls down on ordinary grass, then it burns for some

time, then again it becomes extinguished. But if the spark falls down on the

water, immediately extinguished, the fiery quality. So those who are captured by

the sattva-guna, sattva-guna, they are intelligent. They have got knowledge.

Just like brahmana. And those who are captured by the rajo-guna, they are busy

in material activities. And those who have captured tamo-guna, they are lazy and

sleepy. That's all. These are the symptoms. Tamo-guna means they're very lazy

and sleepy. Rajo-guna means very active, but active like monkey. Just like

monkey's very active, but they're all dangerous. You'll never see inactive.

Whenever it will sit down, it will make gat gat gat gat.

 

So these are activities, foolish activities. But when one is in goodness,

he's sober. He can understand what is the value of life, how one should live,

what is the aim of life, what is the goal of life. That goal of life is to

understand Brahman. Brahma janatiti brahmanah. Therefore the good quality means

the brahmana. Similarly, ksatriya. So they are guna-karma-vibhagasah. Guna. Guna

has to be taken into account. Sri Krsna therefore said: catur varnyam maya

srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah [bg. 4.13]. We have captured some kind of guna. It

is very difficult. But we can immediately transcend all gunas. Immediately. How?

By bhakti yoga process. Sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [bg.

14.26]. If you take the bhakti-yoga process, then you are no longer influenced

by either of these three qualities, goodness, passion, and ignorance. That is

also stated in the Bhagavad-gita: mam ca avyabhicarini bhakti-yogena sevate.

Anyone who is engaged in the devotional service of Krsna, avyabhicarini, without

any deviation, staunch, devout attention, such person, mam cavyabhicarini

yogena, mam ca avyabhicarena yogena bhajate mam sa gunan samatityaitan [bg.

14.26]. Immediately, he becomes transcendental to all the qualities. So

devotional service is not within these material qualities. They are

transcendental. Bhakti is transcendental. Therefore, you cannot understand Krsna

or God without bhakti. Bhaktya mam abhijanati [bg. 18.55]. Only bhaktya mam

abhijanati. Otherwise, it is not possible. Bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas

casmi tattvatah. Reality, in reality, if you want to understand what is God,

then you have to adopt this bhakti process, devotional service. Then you

transcend. Therefore, in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Narada says that: tyaktva

sva-dharmam caranambujam harer [sB 1.5.17]. If anyone, even by sentiment, gives

such, gives up his occupational duty according to guna... That is called

svadharma... Svadharma means one's duty according to the quality he has

acquired. That is called svadharma. The brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, they

are divided guna-karma-vibhagasah, by guna and karma.

 

So here Arjuna says that karpanya-dosopahatah-svabhavah. " I am ksatriya. "

He understands that: " I am doing wrong. I am refusing to fight. Therefore, it is

karpanya-dosa, miserly. " Miserly means I have got some means to spend, but if I

don't spend this is called miser. Krpanata. So krpanata. There are two classes

of men, brahmana and sudra. Brahmana and sudra. Brahmana means he's not miser.

He has got the opportunity, great asset of this human form of body, many

millions of dollars worth, this human... But he's not using it properly, simply

seeing it: " How beautiful I am. " That's all. Just spend your beauty or utilize

your asset, the human... That is brahmana, to be liberal. And the... Etad

viditva prayati sa brahmanah, One who knows... Therefore Prahlada Maharaja says:

durlabham manusyam janma adhruvam arthadam. He was preaching amongst his class

friends. He was born in a demonic family, Hiranyakasipu. And his class friends,

also, of the same category. So Prahlada Maharaja was advising them: " My dear

brothers, let us cultivate Krsna consciousness. " So other boys, what do they

know about Krsna conscious...? Prahlada Maharaja is liberated from the very

birth. So they said: " What is this Krsna consciousness? " They could not

understand. So he was convincing them: durlabham manusyam janma tad apy adhruvam

arthadam. This human body is durlabham. Labdhva sudurlabham idam bahu

sambhavante. This human form of body is a great concession given by the material

nature. People are so miscreant and foolish. They do not understand what is the

value of this human form of life. They engage this body for sense gratification

like cats and dogs. The sastra therefore says: " No, this human form of body is

not meant for spoiling like the hogs and dogs. " Nayam deho deha-bhajam nr-loke.

Everyone has got a body, material body. But nr-loke, in the human society, this

body is not to be spoiled. Nayam deho deha-bhajam nr-loke kastan kaman arhati

vid-bhujam ye. This human form of life, simply working uselessly hard, day and

night, for sense gratification. This is the business of the hog and dog. They

are doing also the same thing, whole day and night, working hard simply for

sense gratification. So therefore in the human society there must be a system of

division. That is called varnasrama-dharma. That is Vedic civilization. That is

really called Arya-samaja. Arya-samaja does not mean to become rascal and fool

and deny the existence of God. No. That is Anarya. Just like Krsna rebuked

Arjuna: anarya-justa. " You are talking like anarya. " One who is not Krsna

conscious, he's anarya. Anarya. Arya means who is advancing in Krsna

consciousness. So really Arya-samana means Krsna conscious person. Otherwise,

bogus, bogus arya-samana. Because here from the Bhagavad-gita says, Krsna says

Arjuna, rebuking, because he was refusing to fight, because he does not know

what is his duty, again Arjuna is admitting here that

karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah. " Yes, I am anarya. I have become anarya. Because

I have forgotten my duty. "

 

So actually aryan samaja means Krsna conscious society, International

Society for Krsna... That is Arya. Not bogus. So here, Arjuna is explaining,

putting himself: " Yes, karpanya-doso. Because I am forgetting my duty, therefore

upahata-svabhavah, I am bewildered in my natural propensities. " A ksatriya

should be always active. Whenever there is a war, there is fight, they must be

very much enthusiastic. A ksatriya, if another ksatriya says: " I want to fight

with you, " he, oh, he cannot refuse. " Yes, come one. Fight. Take sword. "

Immediately: " Come one " That is ksatriya. Now he's refusing to fight. He's

forgetting his duty, ksatriya duty. Therefore, he's admitting: Yes,

karpanya-dosa. Karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah. " My natural duty I am forgetting.

Therefore I have become miser. Therefore my... " Now when you become miser, that

is a diseased condition. Then what is your duty? Then go to a person who can...

Just like when you become diseased, you go to a physician and ask him " What to

do, sir? I am now suffering with this disease. " This is your duty. Similarly,

when we are perplexed in our duties, or we forget our duties, it is very nice to

go to the superior person and ask him what to do. So who can be superior person

than Krsna? Therefore Arjuna says: prcchami tvam. " I am asking you. Because it

is my duty. I'm now falling in my duty, faulty. So this is not good. So I must

ask somebody who is superior to me. " That is the duty. Tad vijnanartham sa gurum

eva abhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. This is the Vedic duty. Everyone is perplexed.

Everyone is suffering in this material world, being perplexed. But he'll not

search out a bona fide guru. No. That is karpanya-dosa. That is karpanya-dosa.

Here, Arjuna is coming out of the karpanya-dosa. How? Now he's asking Krsna.

Prcchami tvam. " My dear Krsna, You are the most superior person. That I know.

You are Krsna. So I am perplexed. Actually, I am forgetting my duty. Therefore,

I am asking You. "

 

So you have to approach the Supreme Person, means Krsna or His

representative. All others are rascals and fools. If you approach a person,

guru, who is not representative of Krsna, you are approaching a rascal. How

you'll be enlightened? You must approach Krsna, or His representative. That is

wanted. Tad vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. So who is guru?

Samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham. A guru is full Krsna conscious.

Brahma-nistham. And srotriyam. Srotriyam means who has heard, who has received

knowledge by the srotriyam patha. By hearing from superior authority. Evam

parampara-praptam imam rajarsayoh viduh [bg. 4.2]. So here we have to learn from

Arjuna that when we are perplexed, when we forget our real duty, and therefore

we are puzzled, then our duty is to approach Krsna as Arjuna is doing. So if you

say: " Where is Krsna? " Krsna is not there, but Krsna's representative is there.

You should approach him. That is the Vedic injunction. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum

eva abhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. One must approach guru. And guru means Krsna

originally. Tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye muhyanti yat surayah. Janmadyasya

yatah anvayat itaratas ca arthesu abhijnah svarat. You have to approach. That is

guru. So we consider, we take Brahma... Because he's the first creature within

this universe, he's accepted as the guru. He imparted... Just like we belong to

the Brahma-sampradaya. There are four sampradayas, Brahma-sampradaya,

Sri-sampradaya, Rudra-sampradaya and Kumara-samapradaya. They're all mahajanas.

Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. We have to accept the line

of action which is given by the mahajana.

 

So Brahma is mahajana. You'll find Brahma's picture with Veda in his hand.

So he's the, he gave the first instruction of Veda. But wherefrom he got the

Vedic knowledge? Therefore Vedic knowledge is apauruseya. It is not man-made. It

is God-made. Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam [sB 6.3.19]. So how God, Krsna

gave to Brahma? Tene brahma hrda. Brahma, brahma means the Vedic knowledge.

Sabda-brahma. Tene. He injected Vedic knowledge from hrda. Tesam satata-yuktanam

bhajatam priti-purvakam [bg. 10.10]. When Brahma was created, he was perplexed:

" What is my duty? Everything is dark. " So he meditated, and Krsna gave him

knowledge that: " Your duty is this. You do like this. " Tene brahma hrda ya

adi-kavaye. Adi-kavaye. Brahma is adi-kavaye. So actual guru is Krsna. And here

is... Krsna is advising the Bhagavad-gita. These rascals and fools will not

accept Krsna as guru. They'll go to some rascal and fool and miscreants, sinful

person, and accept guru. How he can be guru?

 

So guru is Krsna. Here is the example given by Arjuna. Prcchami tvam. Who

is that tvam? Krsna. " Why you are asking Me? " Dharma-sammudha-cetah. " I am

bewildered in my duties, dharma. " Dharma means duty. Dharmam tu saksad

bhagavat-pranitam [sB 6.3.19]. Sammudha-cetah. " So what I have to do? " Yac

chreyah. " What is actually my duty? " Sreyah. Sreyah and preyah. Preyah... They

are two things. Preya means which I like immediately, very nice. And sreya means

ultimate goal. They are two things. Just like a child wants to play all day.

That is childish nature. That is sreya. And preya means he must take education

so that in future his life will be settled up. That is preya, sreya. So Arjuna

is asking not preya. He's asking instruction from Krsna not for the purpose of

confirming his sreya. Sreya means immediately he was thinking that: " I shall be

happy by not fighting, not by killing my kinsmen. " That, he was, like a child,

he was thinking. Sreya. But when he came to his consciousness... Not actually

consciousness, because he's intelligent. He's asking for preya, uh, sreya. Yac

chreyah syat. " What is the, actually, my ultimate goal of life? " Yac chreyah

syat. Yac chreyah syat niscitam. Niscitam means fixed-up, without any mistake.

Niscitam. In Bhagavata, there is, called niscitam. Niscitam means you haven't

got to make research. It is already settled up. " This is the decision: " Because

we, with our teeny brain, we cannot find out what is the actual niscitam,

fixed-up sreya. That we do not know. That you have to ask from Krsna. Or his

representative. These are the things. Yac chreya syat niscitam bruhi tan me.

 

So... " Kindly speak to me that. " " So why shall I speak to you? " Here says:

sisyas te 'ham [bg. 2.7]. " Now I am accepting You as my guru. I become Your

sisya. " Sisya means: " Whatever you'll say, I'll accept. " That is sisya. The

sisya word comes from sas-dhatu. Sas-dhatu. Sastra. Sastra. Sasana. Sisya. These

are from the same root. Sas-dhatu. Sas-dhatu means rule, ruling. So we can rule

in various ways. We can be ruled, becoming a sisya of a proper guru. That is

sas-dhatu. Or we can be ruled by sastra, weapon. Just like king has got weapon.

If you don't follow the king's instruction or government's instruction, then

there is police force, military force. That is sastra. And there is sastra also.

Sastra means book, scripture. Just like Bhagavad-gita. Everything is there. So

we must be ruled, either by sastra, sastra or guru. Or becoming sisya. Therefore

it is said: sisyas te 'ham. " I become voluntarily... I surrender unto You. " " Now

you become sisya. What is the proof that you have become My sisya? " Sadhi mam

tvam prapannam. " Now I am fully surrender. " Prapannam.

 

So this knowledge required, how to find out real guru and how to surrender

unto Him. The guru does not mean that I keep a guru. So as order-supplier " My

dear guru, I am suffering from this. Can you give me some medicine? " " Yes, yes.

Take this medicine. " " Yes. " Not that guru. If you are suffering from some

disease, you go to a physician. It is not guru's business to give you some

medicine. A guru's business is to give you Krsna. Krsna sei tomara, krsna dite

para. A Vaisnava is praying guru: " Sir, you are devotee of Krsna. You can give

me Krsna if you like. " This is the position of sisya. Guru's business is how to

give you Krsna, not any material things. For material things, there are so many

institutions. But if you want Krsna, then guru's required. Who is, who requires

a guru?

 

tasmad gurum prapadyeta

jijnasu sreya uttamam

sabde pare ca nisnatam

brahmany upasamasrayam

[sB 11.3.21]

 

Who requires a guru? Guru's not a fashion. " Oh, I have got a guru. I shall

make a guru. " Guru means one who's serious. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta. One has to

seek out a guru. Why? Jijnasu sreya uttamam. One who is inquisitive of the

Supreme. Not guru make a fashion. Just like we keep a dog, fashion. Similarly,

we keep a guru. That is not guru karma (?). " Guru will act according to my

decision. " Not like that. Guru means one who can give you Krsna. That is guru.

Krsna sei tomara. Because Krsna is guru. That is stated in the Brahma-samhita.

Vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau [bs. 5.33]. Vedesu durlabham. If you

want to search out... Although Vedas means knowledge, and the ultimate knowledge

is to understand Krsna. Vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [bg. 15.15]. This is

the instruction. So if you independently wants to study Vedas, just, there is,

there are some rascals... They say: " We understand only Vedas. " What do you

understand Veda? How you'll understand Veda? So Vedas says, tad vijnanartham sa

gurum eva abhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. You'll understand Vedas by taking one,

purchasing one Vedas book, or taking it, you'll understand Vedas? Vedanta is not

so cheap thing. Without becoming a brahmana, nobody can understand a Veda, what

is Veda. Therefore, it is restricted. Without becoming brahmana, nobody is

allowed to study Vedas. It's all nonsense. What you'll understand about the

Vedas? Therefore Vyasadeva, after compiling the four Vedas, dividing the four

Vedas, he made Mahabharata. Because the Vedas, subject matter of Vedas is so

difficult. Stri-sudra-dvija-bandhunam trayi na sruti-gocarah. For women, for

sudras, and for the dvija bandhu. They cannot understand what is Vedas. So all

these rascal dvija-bandhus and sudras, they want to study Vedas. No, that is not

possible. One has to become first of all situated in the brahminical

qualification, satyam samo damas titiksva arjavam jnanam vijnanam astikyam

brahma karma sva-bhava... Then touch Veda. Otherwise, what you'll understand

Vedas? Nonsense. Therefore, Vedas says: tad vijnanartham sa gurum [MU 1.2.12].

You must approach a guru to understand Veda. And what is that Veda? Vedais ca

sarvair aham eva vedyam [bg. 15.15]. The Vedas means, to study Vedas means to

understand Krsna. And surrender unto Him. This is Vedic knowledge. Where Arjuna

says that: prapannam. " Now I am surrender unto You. I am now no more going to

talk with You on equal level just as if I know so many things. " He was right,

but he was thinking on the material platform. He was thinking that pradusyanti

kula-striyah. If everyone... This is material point. But Vedic knowledge is

spiritual, uttamam. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasu sreya uttamam [sB 11.3.21].

Uttamam. This sreya. Uttamam. Yac chreya syat niscitam. Fixed-up. There is,

there is no question of changing. That instruction is now, will be given by

Krsna. Sarva-dharman parityaja mam ekam saranam vraja. And this takes place --

bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [bg. 7.19].

 

So therefore in order to achieve the highest, goal of life, one should

fully surrender to Krsna or His representative. Then his life is successful.

 

Thank you very much. (end)

 

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