Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.6.1
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Hong Kong, April 18, 1972

(Prabhupada leads kirtana with children. Children pay obeisances at end.)

Prabhupada:

kaumara acaret prajno dharman bhagavatan iha durlabham manusam janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam [SB 7.6.1]

This is a verse spoken by Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada Maharaja, when he was a five years old boy, like all these children. Kaumara. Kaumara age is called from five years to ten years. That is called kaumara. So Prahlada Maharaja was born of an atheist father. The father was atheist number one, Hiranyakasipu. He is described as raksasa, demon, like that. Daitya. Daitya means demon. There are two classes of men. One class is called daitya and the other class is called devata. Dvau bhuta-sargau loke daiva asura eva ca. There are two classes of men known as daiva and another asura. Visnu bhaktah bhaved daiva asuras tad viparyayah. Those who are devotees of the Lord, they are called daiva or devata, demigods. And those who are just the opposite number, they are called daitya or demon. So Hiranyakasipu was atheist. Fortunately, he was so fortunate that he got a great Vaisnava devotee son, Prahlada Maharaja. You have heard his name, Prahlada Maharaja. He is one of the mahajanas. There are twelve mahajanas in the sastras. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah.

tarko ’pratisthah srutayo vibhinna nasau munir yasya matam na bhinnam dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam mahajano yena gatah sa panthah

The mystery of religious life is very, very secret. Secret means for ordinary man it is very difficult to understand. Therefore sastra says tarko ’pratisthah. If you want to learn what is spiritual life simply by your argument, dry, philosophical speculation, it will never be achieved. Tarko ’pratisthah srutayo vibhinna. If you study the Vedas, there are different Vedas. Principally Sama, Yajur, Atharva, Rg. But you cannot understand the objective of the Vedas simply by studying yourself. Therefore Vedas says, Kathopanisad, tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet srotriyam brahma-nistham samit-panih [MU 1.2.12] Like that. In every sastra the injunction is if you want to understand the essence of Veda, then you must approach a realized, self-realized person. In the Bhagavad-gita also the same thing is said. Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya [Bg. 4.34].

So Prahlada Maharaja, although he was born of a father who was atheist number one, godless, by the grace of Narada Muni he became a great devotee. So his father was very careful that nobody comes and instructs his son about Vedic way of lfe or God consciousness, Krsna consciousness. He was very careful not to allow anyone. He appointed teachers for his son, strictly prohibiting about… Just like nowadays it has become, what is called? Secular state. Don’t talk of God. This is the present situation of the world, atheist class. Don’t talk of God. But they do not know that they have not much improved by don’t talk of God. The situation is becoming grimmer and grimmer. But they have no eyes to see. They have no eyes to see. This Godless civilization will not make them happy. That’s a fact. Harav abhaktasya kuto mahad guna manorathena asato dhavato bahih [SB 5.18.12]. If one is Godless, then however qualified he may be from the material point of view, he is useless. Harav abhaktasya kuto mahad guna. He cannot have any good quality. Why? Manorathena asato dhavato bahih. Because he is on the mental platform. So by speculation on the mental platform, he will accept which is not spiritual. Asata.

Asato mam sad gamah. That is the Vedic injunction. Don’t keep yourself in the asata, but you try to transcend to the sat platform, om tat sat. That means spiritual platform. So those who have no spiritual knowledge, they are on the mental platform. There are many platforms of our life. Indriyani parany ahur indriyebhyah param manah manasas tu para buddhir [Bg. 3.42]. So ordinarily we are bodily, we think I am this body. This is called… Body means my senses. So civilization based on this bodily concept of life are interested only sense gratification. That is their aim of life. Indriya. Sense gratification. And those who are disgusted with sense gratification, they go little higher on the mental platform, mental speculation. Just like philosophy, poetry, like that. Gross means they are working very hard day and night for sense gratification. Just like hogs and dogs. That is stated in the sastra. Nayam deha deho bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye. Rsabhadeva says that this human form of life is not meant for working so hard like cats and dogs. That is not recommended. Ayam deha. But the material world, people are so enchanted that working day and night they think “I am enjoying.” This is called maya. Actually he is working day and night and he is thinking that “I am happy. I am making progress.” This is called maya. So the world situation is very very downward. Don’t think that you are making progress. It is not progress. Sastra says parabhavas tavad abodha-jato yavan na jijnasata atma-tattvam. So long a human being is not interested in the subject matter of atma-tattva, what I am, then whatever he is doing, he is becoming defeated. He is not victorious. He is defeated. Parabhavas tavad abodha-jato. Abodha-jato. He is a rascal fool. He does not know what is his interest. He does not know that by nature’s law,

prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]

By nature’s law we have to transmigrate in so many species of life, from aquatics to plants, trees, then insects, then flies, then birds, then beast, then uncivilized human being. Then we have got this civilized form. Especially those who are born in India. Because in India the varnasrama-dharma is here. India, Hindu, Hindu is a foreign name given by the Mohammedans. Actually our real position is followers of the varnasrama-dharma. Four varnas and four asramas. This is the stepping stone for civilized life, varnasrama. Brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra; and brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasa. This system of social order, I mean to say, spiritual and material, it is so systematically done that one who follows this system, automatically he becomes at the end Krsna conscious. That is the highest objective. Unfortunately they do not know it. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah [SB 7.5.31] They are enchanted by the glaring materialistic, material energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Just like we come from airport to this hotel. This city is very nice. Not only this city. I am traveling all over the world. There are very very nice cities in Europe, America, and other countries also. It is all right. You decorate this city nice, you make your life very comfortable. But if you forget Krsna, then you are defeated. Then you are defeated. That is the instruction given by Krsna to Arjuna. Yuddhyasva mam anusmara [Bg. 8.7]. Arjuna did not stop his fighting capacity. He was a ksatriya. And Krsna did not encourage him that you should stop fighting. Rather Arjuna was trying to stop fighting. Krsna said, “No. You are ksatriya. You cannot stop fighting.” So don’t think that by becoming Krsna conscious one becomes a vagabond. No. One gentleman talked with me that “Your Vaisnava philosophy has made our country coward.” No. You do not know what is Vaisnava. In India there were two great fights. One the fight between Rama and Ravana, and the other great fight was between the two, Kurus and the Pandavas. In both the fighting the hero was Vaisnava. The hero, Hanumanji, Vajrangaji, who fought on behalf of Lord Ramacandra, he is a Vaisnava. And Arjuna, who also fought on behalf of Krsna, he is a ksatriya. So they do not know what is Vaisnava philosophy.

Vaisnava philosophy means the Vaisnava is ready to do anything for God’s sake. That is Vaisnava. It is approved by God, Krsna, then they are ready to do anything. This is Krsna consciousness movement. It is not that by Krsna consciousness movement everything, our daily routine work will be stopped. No. I am very glad to see that these small children are being trained here in such a far distant place from India. I thank our Bhurijana Prabhu for this work. But this is the aim for training them in Krsna consciousness, brahmacari. If one becomes very solid in Krsna consciousness then his further progress of life. Just like I was quoting the instance of Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada Maharaja was a devotee from the very birth, but he was a great king, he was a great ruler. Dhruva Maharaja, he was also a devotee from the very beginning of his life, but he was a great ruler, a great king. So do not misunderstand that by accepting Krsna consciousness everything will be stopped. No. Nothing will be stopped. Simply one has to change the consciousness. That’s all. Just like Arjuna did. Arjuna was a fighter in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. He remained a fighter after hearing Bhagavad-gita. He did not change his position as a fighter, as a ksatriya. But in the beginning he was thinking non-Krsna conscious. He was thinking of his personal interest, personal sense gratification. But at the end he decided to satisfy Krsna. This is the difference, materialism and spiritualism. If you want to satisfy your senses that is materialism, and if you want to satisfy Krsna’s senses, that is spiritual. You have to satisfy. Our position is… (end)