Lect STO 1973-09-09 To Students on --etc
ANNOUNCER: The following is a lecture [splice]
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
recorded on September 9th, 1973, in Stockholm, Sweden.
PRABHUPĀDA: So in order to enter into spiritual life, two things are required,
as enunciated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
ei rūpe…
brahmāṇḍo bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja [Cc. Madhya 19.151]
The living entities, they are wandering throughout the universe,
changing bodies, transmigrating from one body to another,
one place to another, one planet to another,
but they are rotating within this universe, material universe, brahmāṇḍo bhramite.
This science is unknown to the modern education department,
how the spirit soul is transmigrating from one body to another
and how he’s being transferred from one planet to another.
We have got our book,
'Easy Journey To Other Planets'.
So guru can help you to transmigrate from this planet directly to the spiritual sky,
where there are innumerable spiritual planets.
They are known as Vaikuṇṭhaloka.
And the topmost planet in the spiritual sky, that is called Goloka Vṛndāvana.
That is Kṛṣṇa’s planet.
By Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we are trying to give information,
how one can be transferred directly to the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet,
Kṛṣṇaloka.
That is our mission.
So what is the difference between this material world and the spiritual world?
The difference is that in the material world you have to change your body,
although you are eternal.
nityaḥ śāśvato… na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20]
You are not destroyed after the annihilation of this body, material body,
but you transmigrate to another body.
And that body may be one of the 8,400,000’s of forms.
There are 8,400,000’s of forms.
jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi [Padma Purāṇa]
There are 900,000 forms in the water, two millions forms of trees and plants,
eleven hundred thousand forms of the insect,
and then one million forms of the birds.
And then three million forms of the beasts.
And then we come to this human form of life.
Now it is our choice,
whether you are going to be transferred again through the cycle of
this transmigration of the soul from the one body to another
in the lower species of life,
or you want to be transferred to the spiritual sky.
And you can transfer yourself to the highest spiritual platform,
which is known as Goloka Vṛndāvana.
That is your choice.
You have been given the chance of this human form of body to make your choice.
You are completely under the control of material nature,
but the material nature gives you a chance to get this human form of body.
Whatever you like, you can do.
That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:
yānti deva-vratā devān pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā mad-yājino ’pi yānti mām [Bg. 9.25]
The purport is that those who are going,
are trying to be elevated to the higher planetary system, which is called Devaloka,
or the planets of the demigods…
There the standard of living, duration of life, is very, very large.
Or if you want to be transferred to the Pitṛlokas,
or in the lokas of the ghosts, bhūtejyā, or if you want
to be transferred to the loka where Kṛṣṇa lives—
mad-yājino ’pi yānti mām [Bg. 9.25]
now it depends on your practice.
But the rotating,
wandering within this material world from one body to another
or from one planet to another, that is not advised.
That is called saṁsāra.
Saṁsāra means material existence.
That is called saṁsāra.
bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg. 8.19]
You take your birth once in some form of body.
You live for some time.
Then you have to give up this body.
Then you have to accept another body.
Then again live for some time.
Then give up that body.
Again accept another body.
In this way, it is going on.
That is called saṁsāra, rotating within this material world.
That is compared with dāvānala.
Dāvānala means forest fire.
Forest fire.
You have got experience.
You have seen, might have.
In the forest, nobody goes to set fire, but it takes place.
Everyone knows it.
Similarly, within this material world, nobody wants to be unhappy.
Everyone is trying to be very happy, but he is forced to accept unhappiness.
This is the position.
Therefore it is called dāvānala.
Dāvānala means nobody willingly sets fire, but there is fire in the forest.
Similarly, in this material world,
everyone is trying from time immemorial—even at the present moment.
There is some occasional war, world war, and they manufacture some means.
In our days, when we were young men, there was a League of Nations.
Perhaps some of you may know.
When the nineteen hundred, nineteen…,
when the First World War was finished, these nations,
they formed a League of Nations.
League of Nations means just to arrange for peaceful living between the nations.
So there was forest fire again.
Nobody wanted war, but there was Second World War.
Again.
And again they are trying to, the League… What is that?
United Nations.
But the war is going on.
The Vietnam war is going on, the Pakistan war is going on,
and many others are going on.
So you may try your best to live very peacefully, but nature will not allow you.
There must be war.
It is not possible.
In the history, especially in European history,
there were so many wars—Carthagian War, Greece War, Roman War,
Seven Years’ War between France and England, and Hundred Years’ War…,
so…, so far we have read in the history.
And the war feeling is going on, not only between nation and nation,
between man to man, neighbor to neighbor—
even between husband and wife, father and son, this war is going on.
This is called dāvānala, forest fire.
Forest fire means in the forest nobody goes to set fire, but automatically,
by the clash, friction of the dried bamboo, there is electricity and it catches fire.
Similarly, although we do not want unhappiness,
still, by our dealings we create enemies and friends, and there is fight, there is war.
This will continue.
This is called saṁsāra-dāvānala.
Try to understand.
So guru means spiritual master means who can deliver one from this forest fire.
Just like when there is forest fire, the animals are very much disturbed,
and they die mostly.
The snakes, they die immediately.
So this forest fire, saṁsāra- dāvānala, is going on perpetually,
and the person or the authorized person who can deliver you
from this forest fire of material existence, he’s called guru, or the spiritual master.
saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka- trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam [Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka 1]
How he delivers?
What is his means?
The same example.
When there is fire in the forest, you cannot send fire brigade,
or you cannot go there with bucketful of waters to extinguish the fire.
That is not possible.
Then how it will be extinguished?
Fire means it requires water to be extinguished.
But where the water is coming from?
From your bucket or from your fire brigade?
No.
It must come from the sky.
When there will be torrents of rain from the sky,
this forest fire, blazing forest fire will be extinguished.
So these rains from the sky,
it does not depend on your scientific propaganda or manipulation.
It depends on the mercy of the Supreme Lord.
So the spiritual master is compared with the cloud.
Just like from the cloud there is torrents of rain, similarly,
a spiritual master is considered just like cloud.
Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka [Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka, 1]
Just like cloud takes the water from the sea—cloud hasn’t got its own water.
Cloud takes water from the sea—similarly, a spiritual master
brings mercy from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Just see the comparison.
He has no own mercy,
but he carries the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
That is the qualification of spiritual master.
A spiritual master will never say that “I am God.
I can give you mercy.”
No.
That is not spiritual master.
That is a bogus, pretender.
A spiritual master will say, “I am servant of God.
I have brought His mercy.
Please take it and be satisfied.”
This is spiritual master’s business.
Just like a post peon.
A post peon, when he delivers you some large amount of money,
it is not his own money.
The money is sent by somebody else.
But he honestly delivers you:
“Sir, here is your money; take it.”
So you become very much satisfied with the peon.
Although it is not his money, but when, in case of need,
you get the money sent by your father or somebody else,
brought by the peon, oh, you get very much satisfaction.
Similarly, we are all suffering in this blazing fire of material existence.
The spiritual master brings the message from the Supreme Lord and delivers you.
And if you kindly accept, then you’ll be satisfied.
This is the business of the spiritual master.
Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka trāṇāya-kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam
prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇarṇavasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam [Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka, 1]
So spiritual master is offered obeisances:
“Sir, you have brought the mercy from the Supreme Lord.
Therefore we are much obliged to you.
To deliver us, you have come.
We offer our respectful obeisances.”
This is the meaning of this verse.
vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam [Śrī Gurv-aṣṭaka 1]
That means the first qualification of the spiritual master, or guru,
is to deliver you some message by which immediately
your blazing fire in the heart will be stopped. [splice]
If you simply try to love.
The process is that you worship the Deity, you take the prasādam,
you chant the holy name, you follow the instruction of the spiritual master.
In this way you’ll be trained up how to understand Kṛṣṇa,
and then you life is successful.
This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Thank you very much.
Hare Kṛṣṇa
Subtitles by Gopī Kāntā Dāsa, Causelessmercy.com Sponsored by Jitarati Dāsa & Pratyatoṣa Dāsa