Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 25.36-40
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
San Francisco, January 23, 1967

Prabhupada:

natah param parama sambhavata yad bhavatah svarupam ananda-matram avikalpam aviddha-varcah pasyami visva-srjam ekam avisvam atman bhutendriyatmakam adas ta upasrito ’smi

So the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, is the ultimate goal. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, mattah parataram nanyat asti kincid dhananjaya [Bg. 7.7]. In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says, “There is nothing more superior than Me.” So this statement of Bhagavad-gita is also confirmed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam by this verse. Ananda-matram. In the transcendental body of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is simply anandam, blissful. We should note it that this body, our material body, is niranandam, is without ananda. We are trying to adjust to have ananda, or pleasure, by the limited resources of our senses, but actually, there is no ananda, bliss. It is all miserable. This miserable body is condemned in every, I mean to say, practically, chapter and every sloka, every verse.

Therefore Rsabhadeva says, nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti [Bhag. 5.5.4]. Generally, people, they are mad, because more or less… Not more or less. Practically every one of us, we are mad. Why mad? Pramattah, this very word is used. Pramattah. Pramattah means mad. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma [Bhag. 5.5.4] This material nature’s program is such that the conditioned souls who are here, they should live in such a regulated life that ultimately they can go back to home, back to Godhead, because we are sons of the Supreme Lord. We have come here to enjoy material, pramattah svarthe, and we do not know what is our self-interest. We are thinking that “I am this body,” and therefore a little sense gratification… Because the body means there are different senses, and if we can gratify the senses we think that we are happy. This is madness. Rsabhadeva says, nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti [Bhag. 5.5.4]. The only business is sense gratification. He says, na sadhu manye: “This is not very good.” Sadhu means good. Just to distinguish between the body of the Supreme Lord, Krsna, and our body, here the body of Krsna is said, ananda-matram. Ananda-matram, simply full of…, reservoir of all pleasures. So because we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, we have also ananda-matram, simply blissful body we have got. That is called spiritual body. But because we have become mad, we have identified that this material body as “I am.” Therefore And material body means sense gratification. There is no other alternative. To enjoy this material body means to gratify the senses.

So this sense gratification means, as it is said by Rsabhadeva, na sadhu manye. “I do not think it is very good.” Why? Yata asann api klesada asa dehah [Bhag. 5.5.4]. If you act irresponsibly, without understanding yourself that you are not this material body, but you are spiritual body, then the result will be continuation of this material body one after another. Parabhavas tavad abodha-jatah. Therefore we are all abodha-jatah, born ignorant. Because from the very beginning of our life we know that “I am this body.” There is no education in the material world that we are not this body, we are soul. Although there are books of knowledge, just like Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, but nobody is interested. Therefore they are all mad. They are after the will-o’-the wisp, phantasmagoria, a wrong conception of life. Therefore all their activities are to be considered as defeat. Parabhavas, parabhavas tavad abodha-jatah. They are born ignorant, and they will continue to be ignorant, and they will be defeated by all their activities. Parabhavas tavad abodha-jato yavan na jijnasata atma-tattvam. So long he is not awakened to inquire “What I am…?” Simply under madness he is going after this bodily sense enjoyment, but he does not know that he is not this body. Therefore all his activities under this wrong conception of life are to be considered as defeat of his human mission of life. Yes. Just like the Supreme Lord is ananda-matram: simply ananda, bliss, transcendental bliss.

Therefore there is another verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam: ramante yoginah anante. Yoginah, those who are actually yogi… Yogi means who are trying to reestablish their link with the Absolute Truth. They are called yogis. There are different types of yogi, but the real purpose of yoga means… The ordinary yoga means to find out the Supersoul within yourself, because Supersoul is there. Ramante yoginah anante. So those who are actually yogis, they are not interested in this bodily sense gratification. They want unlimited blissfulness. Ramante yoginah anante satyanande. Satyanande means that is real happiness, which is never to be broken. That is real… Here, whatever we consider happiness… Actually, there is no happiness. But whatever we think that “This is happiness,” oh, that will also break. It will not continue. That will also break. So those who are actually yogi, they also, they also enjoy. But how they are enjoying. Satyanande. Real happiness, ramante yoginah anante. And that is unlimited. There is no end. Ramante yoginah anante satyanande cid-atmani. Cid-atmani, in full knowledge and eternity. Cit. Cit means knowledge. Here we do not know what sort of enjoyment we are doing. Cid-atmani. Iti rama padenasau param brahmabhidhiyate. This is the meaning of the word Rama. We chant daily Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Now, this word Rama is explained in this way. Rama means to enjoy life in the Supreme, transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead. That means dovetail your activities with Krsna consciousness and you will be able to enjoy life eternally, blissfully. This is the purpose of Krsna consciousness.

So in this verse we say, we see that Brahmaji says, pasyami visva-srjam ekam avisvam atman: “Now, You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are the central point of all manifestation.” Visvatman. Bhutendriyatma, bhutendriyatmakam adas ta upasrito ’smi. Bhutendriya. Now, everything creation… Here we see bhuta, there are so many, multi living entities, and they are enjoying what? Enjoying means with these indriyah, the senses. So bhutendriyatmakam. So these senses, this body, the spirit of enjoyment, and the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, these are the manifestations. So therefore, upasrito ’smi. Brahma says that “I surrender unto me…, unto You.”

tad va idam bhuvana-mangala mangalaya dhyane sma no darasitam ta upasakanam

This is the form which is searched after in meditation by persons who are engaged in yoga principle. Tad va idam bhuvana-mangala mangalaya dhyane. Dhyane means in meditation. Dhyane sma no darasitam: “We have seen this, this form.” That means the perfection of meditation is, if one is serious about meditation and if he follows the rules and regulation as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, the sitting posture, and the place, and the procedure, and the modes of eating, modes of living… There are so many things. If somebody follows those regulation and meditates according to that, then ultimately he will see the Supreme Personality of Godhead within himself. Therefore Brahma said that dhyane, “While I was in meditation I saw this form.” He revealed.

This form… How one does see the supreme form of Krsna? Simply by the method of service. Otherwise, there is no possibility. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau. If you be engaged in service attitude, then God will reveal Himself unto you. You cannot see God. You… By your tiny effort you cannot see God. This is not possible. Just like in the midnight, darkness, it is not possible to see the sun. You can see sun when sun itself reveals to you. Sun has got a time, say, 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. in the morning, at once reveals. And as soon as the sun reveals itself, you see yourself, you see the sun, and you see the world. And so long you do not see the sun, you are in darkness, the world is in darkness, and you cannot see. Similarly, without seeing the sun, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you cannot have actually the perfect knowledge of this manifestation of this world. The Vedanta-sutra, or the Upanisad, confirms it: tasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavanti. One who has understood the Absolute Truth, for him, there is nothing unknowable. Everything becomes revealed to him automatically. He hasn’t got to exert separately to understand or to study different departments of knowledge. But if he, by the process, if he is able to see, just like Brahma has seen, then he knows everything. Dhyane sma no darasitam ta upasakanam tasmai namo bhagavate ’nuvidhema tubhyam: “The same Personality of Godhead whom I saw in my meditation, now I see face to face. I offer my respectful obeisances.”

Then he quotes another verse from Bhagavad-gita, which is narrated as, avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. Those who are less intelligent, mudha. Mudha means… Mudha is generally called the ass. Mudha. So you can translate it that “less intelligent class of men.” Avajananti mam. When Krsna was present… When Krsna was present five thousand years before, not that everyone could see Him, because they had no such eye. Suppose if President Johnson comes before us immediately, but if you have no acquaitance, if you have no information of the feature of President Johnson or something, even if he is present we cannot see. We’ll think, “Oh, he may be an ordinary gentleman. As others come, he has also come.” Similarly, unless we know about Krsna by the symptoms… There are two mistakes: to understand God as common man or to accept a common man as God. Both things are mistake. So one has to understand. That understanding is there in the Bhagavad-gita. God Himself, Krsna Himself, is describing about Himself, so there is no difficulty. But unfortunately, we have developed such material consciousness that even God describes Himself, even we see God face to face, because we have no Krsna consciousness, therefore we cannot see. Therefore we cannot see. So avajananti mam mudha. Those who cannot see, they are described here as mudha. Mudha means foolish or less intelligent class men. So avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna says, “Because I am here amongst the human being as a man, therefore those who are less intelligent, they are deriding at Me.” Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam param bhavam ajananta [Bg. 9.11]. “Why they deride? Because they do not know what is My background.” Param bhavam. Param bhavam ajananta, sarva-bhuta-mahesvaram. “They do not know that I am the Supreme Lord, and situated in everyone’s heart. Because they do not know, therefore they deride at Me.”

tan aham dvisatah kruran samsaresu naradhaman ksipamy ajasram asubhan asurisv eva yonisu

So if anyone derides the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then… That means we must have impetus to know. But one who has no such impetus, he is called demon, or asura. So asura, one who does not want to understand the position of God, for them, Krsna says that tan aham dvisatah kruran. Dvisatah means there is a class who are always envious of God. As soon as you speak something about God, they become fire: “Oh, what is this God nonsense?” So they are dvisatah. Dvisatah means envious. They cannot even tolerate the name of God. “Don’t talk of God.” So it is not now individually infection; it is now worldwide. And therefore, the result is that the Communist party is developing all over the world due to this godlessness. And we have got experience, personal experience, in our selling our books, the Srimad-Bhagavatam. I have seen many gentlemen, as teachers and educationists. As soon as he sees Srimad-Bhagavatam, “Oh, it is about God. Oh, we cannot purchase. We cannot purchase. Because it is God, therefore we have no connection with it. We cannot purchase.” Such is the mentality. So that, by that such mentality, godless mentality, atheistic mentality, the people of the world, they are not happy. But still, they are fools. Because they are fools, they’ll not take to God consciousness or Krsna consciousness. But it is our duty to canvass, to request.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s one disciple, Prabodhananda Sarasvati, he took up a nice principle: dante nidhaya trnakam padayor nipatya kaku-satam krtva caham bravimi. His principle was that he would go to a gentleman, taking a straw in the mouth. According to Indian system, if you take a straw in your mouth, and if you go to see somebody, he’ll understand, “He is coming to me with most humble manner,” so he’ll receive you. “He’s surrendered soul.” So he will at least say, “Oh, what do you want to say?” So dante nidhaya. This is the sign. If you want to go to some big man, and if you take one straw in your mouth, he’ll accept. He will receive you. That is the system. So dante nidhaya trnakam. So Prabodhananda Sarasvati, he says that “I have taken the straw in my mouth.” Dante nidhaya trnakam padayor nipatya. “And I am falling down at your feet.” Padayor nipatya kaku-satam krtva caham. “And I am flattering you in hundreds and thousands ways.” Why? Why you are so humble? What is the intention? Kaku-satam krtva caham bravimi: “I want to say something. Please hear.” “All right. Say it. What is that?” He sadhava, “Oh, you are very learned man and you are very honest man.” He sadhava sakalam eva vihaya durad. “For the time being, so long I shall speak, whatever you have learned, please set aside. Please set aside.” Sakalam eva vihaya durad caitanya-candra-carane kurutanuragam: “Kindly hear for some time about the topics which Caitanya Mahaprabhu has presented before you.” We are servant of Lord Caitanya. So, in the disciplic succession we are trying to present. The Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s topic is yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa: [Cc. Madhya 7.128] “Whoever you meet, please try to convince him about Krsna consciousness.” So in order to preach Krsna consciousness, that Prabodhananda Sarasvati, he says that “I have taken straw in my mouth and I am falling down to your feet and I am flattering you in so many ways. Kindly, for the time being, you forget whatever you have learned. Please try to hear about the Krsna consciousness.” This should be the preaching method. Because you cannot enforce. You cannot enforce. The atheistic party, the godless civilization is so strong. So you are not weak. You are protected by the Supreme. But our mission is not to fight, but our mission is to convince. So this is the method to be accepted by devotees, those who are in Krsna consciousness, to preach the philosophy in the world.

Thank you very much. (end)