Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.7.32-35 Prabhupada: (chants mangalacarana prayers) So we have been discussing instruction of Prahlada Maharaja, a five-years-old boy, instructing his class fellows. So self-analysis. And he says, “When self-analysis is complete, then the result will be that the person who is in full Krsna consciousness after studying self-analysis, his vision will be universal.” That is the stage of universal understanding. vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane gavi hastini suni caiva sva-pake ca panditah sama-darsinah [Bg. 5.18] In the Bhagavad-gita you have read that a learned person, who is actually learned, he sees everyone on the equal level, sama-darsinah. How? Vidya-vinaya-sampanne. A person who is very highly learned, very gentle, civilized, vidya-vinaya-sampanne brahmane, and a brahmana, still higher, intellectual personality, gavi, a cow, hasti, means an elephant, suni, the dog, sva-pake ca, and the dog-eaters, suni caiva sva-pake ca panditah sama, all these—there are different varieties of living condition—but still, one who is in Krsna consciousness, he sees everyone on the same level. How it is, that? Has he become a madman, that a highly intellectual person and the dog, he sees on the equal level? Yes. Because he is not seeing on the material platform; he is seeing on the spiritual platform. In the spiritual platform, there is no distinction. The all distinction is due to our material conception of life. Varieties, the bodies, there are 8,400,000 varieties of bodies, and because we are under the concept of this bodily, I mean to say, identification, therefore we see so many varieties. So a person who is actually in Krsna consciousness, Prahlada Maharaja says that if he prosecutes the devotional service under the guidance of bona fide spiritual master… That is the beginning of this verse: guru-susrusaya bhaktya, beginning with serving the bona fide spiritual master. harih sarvesu bhutesu bhagavan asta isvarah iti bhutani manasa kamais taih sadhu manayet So as soon as one is fully in Krsna consciousness, he does not see anyone bad. Everyone he sees, he is sadhu. Sadhu means saintly. So that, his vision, completely changes. He does not see any enemy. There are three stages of development in spiritual life, in Krsna consciousness. The first stage is when he’s under the training. That is called neophyte stage. That, in that stage, he offers his respect to the Deity. arcayam eva haraye sraddhaya yah istan pujan kriyate na tad-bhaktesu canyesu sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah In the beginning stage, he offers respect to the Deity in the church or in the temple or in the mosque, according to different religious conceptions, but he has no idea who is actually devotee, and what is his duty towards others. He does not know. This is the first stage. But he has got good faith in religion and in God. That is the beginning. The second stage is that, isvare tad-adhinesu balisesu dvisatsu ca prema-maitri-krpopeksa yah karoti sa madhyamah The intermediate stage is that he sees four things: isvara, the Lord, the Supreme Lord, and then His devotee, tad-adhine. Tad-adhina means one who has accepted subordination of the Supreme Lord. He is called devotee, or one who has surrendered. So he sees God, God’s devotee, and balisa. Balisa means innocent person, one who has no sense what is God, neither he’s against God, he’s called balisa. And dvisatsu. And there are atheists. Atheist class, they will, as soon as they hear of God, oh, they become fire. So dvisatsu, they are envious of the Lord. So these four classes are visioned in the second stage. And he deals with four classes differently: he loves God, he makes friendship with devotee of God, and he instructs sincerely, just like Cai…, Prahlada Maharaja is instructing to his friends because they are innocent. They are neither against nor for. So he is instructing them. But those who are dvisat… His father…, he was not instructing his father because he knew that his father was atheist number one. So he was avoiding. So this is the second stage. And the third stage, or the highest stage, he does not see any distinction that who is atheist or who is friendly or who is innocent. He sees that “Everyone is the servant of God, everyone. Therefore he’s good.” He does not make… That is very higher position. We should not imitate. We must begin from the beginner stage, then second stage. Generally, the devotees are on the second stage. The highest stage is very rare to be seen. So, harih sarvesu bhutesu bhagavan asta isvarah iti bhutani manasa kamais taih sadhu manayet So when one reaches the highest stage of perfection of Krsna consciousness, he has no more any distinction, and he thinks everyone as sadhu, as devotee. He thinks himself that “I am the worst.” He thinks anyone, “Oh, everyone is serving the Supreme Lord. They are engaged in the service of the Lord. Simply I am so fool that I cannot engage myself.” He simply laments himself. That is the highest stage. He sees, “Everyone is engaged in the loving service of God, but simply I am unable to serve God. So kindly…,” he prays to God, “my dear Lord, please give me strength so that I can serve.” This is the first-quality stage. Evam nirjita-sad-vargaih kriyate bhaktir isvare. These are the process of devotional service when the senses are completely under control. This highest stage means, even in the first stage, second stage, the senses are controlled. evam nirjita-sad-vargaih kriyate bhaktir isvare vasudeve bhagavati yaya samlabhyate ratih “If anyone prosecutes his devotional service in full Krsna consciousness, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, then gradually he develops ratih.” Ratih means affection, affinity, attachment for the Lord. Now we have got attachment for the matter. So as we make progress, we gradually become freed from material attachment and come to the platform, complete attachment for God. So attachment, that is my natural instinct. I cannot be free from attachment. I shall be either attached to this matter or I shall be attached to spirit. If I am not attached to spirit, then I must be attached to matter. And if I am attached to spirit, then my material attachment is gone. This is the process. So Prahlada Maharaja says, “In this process, if a person advances in his spiritual consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, then vasudeve bhagavati…” The Vasudeva means Krsna. Vasudeve bhagavati: the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Yaya samlabhyate ratih: “He becomes automatically attached.” And so long we are not attached to Vasudeva, then our attachment for this matter will oblige me to transfer or transmigrate from one body to another, and I’ll have to circumambulate in the 8,400,000 species of life, lower grade, higher grade. That will continue. Therefore this is the opportunity, this human life, to become a devotee of Vasudeva or to become fully Krsna conscious. Now, when one becomes fully in Krsna consciousness, or a devotee of Vasudeva, Krsna, his characters are described: nisamya karmani gunan atulyan viryani lila-tanubhih krtani yadatiharsotpulakasru-gadgadam protkantha udgayati rauti nrtyati Bhagavat, bhagavad-rati lingany ahuh. Now, a person, how he is fully in Krsna consciousness, his symptoms are now being described. Bhagavad-rati-lingani ahur nisamyeti gunani bhakta-vatsaladi. Now, he says, nisamya karmani gunan atulyan viryani lila-tanubhih krtani. This incarnation of… In the Bhagavad-gita, you have learned that the Supreme Lord Krsna says that yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati, tadatmanam srjamy aham [Bg. 4.7] Whenever there is discrepancy in the discharge of religious principles, then there is incarnation of God. Whenever there is… Because this is… Everything, God is the supreme proprietor. Isavasyam idam sarvam. Now, the kingdom of God is everywhere, but this material world is also kingdom of God, but here the people are 99.9 %, they are forgetful. They have forgotten God. Therefore in this material world, there are religious principles. In every civilized society, there is some form of religion, without any exception. Either you be Christian or be Muhammadan or Buddhist or Hindu, that doesn’t matter, because the whole idea is this is the process. Human civilization, to make progress means self-realization. So as soon as there is discrepancy in the matter of self-realization—they become too much materialistic—then the incarnation of Godhead comes and He instructs. Just like Lord Krsna came in five thousand years before, and He has left His instruction. So why? Because we shall get the opportunity of hearing His activities. By hearing His activities means we shall be associating Him because His activities, because He is Absolute, there is no difference between He and His activities. There is no difference. So here, nisamya karmani gunan atulyani. So just like you are kindly hearing the description given by Prahlada Maharaja. So this is the process. So when one becomes highly elevated in Krsna consciousness, so as soon as he hears Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavata or Bible, anything description of Krsna, or God, then atiharsotpula kasru-gadgadam protkantha udgayati rauti nrtyati, as soon as he hears, he becomes so much ecstatic that immediately he begins to dance and sing and becomes very happy. As soon as he hears. Just like somebody hears that in some business he has earned ten millions of dollars. He becomes so much, I mean to say, enthusiastic, “Oh, I have got this,” and dances and like that. This is, of course, material conception. Similarly when one has actually in Krsna consciousness, in developed position, his symptom will be that as soon as he hears of Krsna, or God, he becomes immediately ecstatic and begins to dance and cry and sing just like a madman. So this stage… We have several times cited the example, that reading of Bhagavad-gita… When Lord Caitanya was traveling in South India, He saw one brahmana, he was reading Bhagavad-gita, but he was illiterate. But he was crying. So on inquiry from Caitanya Mahaprabhu what he is reading, he frankly admitted that “I am illiterate. I do not know even the letters. But my Guru Maharaja asked me to read Bhagavad-gita daily, so I am trying to read it. But I cannot read it.” Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu inquired, “Then why you are crying?” He replied, “Yes, I get an ecstatic sentiment. As soon as I touch this book, I see the picture, that Krsna is driving the chariot, and Arjuna is sitting, and He is instructing. So Krsna is so kind, Krsna is so faithful to His devotee, that He has taken the menial execution of service to His devotee. These feelings, whenever I feel, I am crying.” This is the stage. This is the stage, when one becomes too much, I mean to say, glorifying about the wonderful acts. This is very wonderful act. The Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the greatest, God is great, but He has taken the service of a devotee as a menial driver. So this feeling gave him in ecstasy. This is a sign. It is not artificial. Tad guna-sunavan, er, sruti-matrena. Just like if you place, if you pour some water on the ground, you will see where there is down level, it will at once go to that side. Without any arrangement, you simply pour the water, and it will go down where the level is down, just like the rivers are flowing to the sea level. Similarly, a highly developed Krsna conscious person, at once he will hear about something of Krsna, he will be in ecstasy. Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There was a devotee of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. His name was Murari Gupta. He was physician to the then Nawab, Muslim Nawab. Now, they were sitting. The Nawab was going some hunting excursion or something like that, but he was Nawab’s physician. He was to accompany him. So they were sitting on the back of the elephant. In the meantime that Murari Gupta saw one peacock, and as soon as he saw the peacock, the feather, he at once remembered Krsna and at once fainted and fall down. This is called alambana. This is called alambana. Alambana means anything to the context, immediately he remembers his Lord and becomes ecstatic. This is the first-class stage of Krsna consciousness. So there are many instances. Caitanya Mahaprabhu showed this manifestation in His life. We shall discuss. We are discussing now in the morning class. So Prahlada Maharaja says, yada atiharsotpulakasru-gadgadam. He became so glad that he is faltering in speaking. Caitanya Mahaprabhu, when He was dancing in Jagannatha Puri during car festival and was singing, He could not utter “Jagannatha.” He was uttering, “Jaga-aga-aaa-aaa…” Like that. He was faltering, faltering. These signs are that. They become at once transferred to the spiritual atmosphere and platform. These are very higher stage. Yada graha-grasta iva kvacid dhasaty akrandate dhyayati vandate janam. Just like one man is haunted by ghost. He shows different caricatures. Sometimes he laughs; sometimes he cries; sometimes he is falldown; sometimes he touches your feet. These are the symptoms. yada graha-grasta iva kvacid dhasaty akrandate dhyayati vandate janam muhuh svasan vakti hare jagat-pate narayanety atma-matir gata-trapah He forgets. Just like a madman forgets that “I am in office” or “I am in the society, in my friends’ circle. If I show this caricature, they will…” (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
San Francisco, March 17, 1967,
(incomplete lecture)