Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.9.11 Pradyumna: (leads chanting, etc.) syamavadatah sata-patra-locanah pisanga-vastrah surucah supesasah sarve catur-bahava unmisan-mani-praveka-niskabharanah suvarcasah “The inhabitants of the Vaikuntha planets are described as having a glowing sky-bluish complexion. Their eyes resemble the lotus flower, their dress is of yellowish color, and their bodily features are very attractive. They are just the age of growing youths. They all have four hands, they are all nicely decorated with pearl necklaces with ornamental medallions, and they all appear to be effulgent.” Prabhupada: So, still you are not prepared to go to Vaikuntha? If you get this body, if you go to Vaikuntha, four hands, catur-bahavah, four hands? You cannot see any human being here with four hands. Although Krsna is two-handed, but Narayana, He is four-handed. Therefore when the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes on this platform… You have seen two hands, not four hands. Four hands is not for human being. It is only Brahma has got four hands, and above him, in the spiritual world, all the inhabitants, they have got exactly the form like Visnu. You cannot distinguish who is Visnu and who is ordinary living being. But Visnu has got some special feature on His chest. So by seeing that, He is recognized by the goddess of fortune, Laksmi. Otherwise, just like here, if some big man comes, president, he looks like ordinary man, but he has got his badge. By that badge one can understand that he is president or some big man. From general body feature, bodily feature, one cannot understand distinction between Visnu, Lord Visnu, and the devotees. But there are special features of Lord Visnu by which He can be… Then? Pradyumna: Purport: “The inhabitants in Vaikunthaloka are all personalities with spiritual bodily features not to be found in the material world. We can find the descriptions in the revealed scriptures like Srimad-Bhagavatam. Impersonal descriptions of transcendence in the scriptures indicate that the bodily features in Vaikuntha are never to be seen in any part of the universe. As there are different bodily features in different places of a particular planet, or as there are different bodily features between bodies in different planets, similarly the bodily features of the inhabitants in the Vaikunthalokas are completely different from those in the material universe. For example, the four hands are distinct from two hands in this world.” Prabhupada: So in other planets also there are different types of body. Some of the bodies are prominent in earth, earthly body. Just like we have got here earthly body. Similarly, fiery body, watery body, gaseous body, there are different types of body. What the scientists know about? Maybe in Candraloka they are going, but they cannot see the body. They say that there is no life. Suppose there is gaseous body, so they do not see it. But every planet has got different types of body. And Vaikuntha planets also their bodily features are described herein. Then? Pradyumna: Next verse? Pravala… [break] Prabhupada: …valuable jewels. Pravala is coral. Is that? Yes. Pradyumna: Pravala-vaidurya…( break) Prabhupada: …skin some animal nowadays. Nowadays it has become fashion. Pradyumna: Furs. Prabhupada: Cowskin dress. Syamasundara: Leather. Prabhupada: Leather dress. Leather was specially used for shoes. Now they have become dress—advancement of civilization. Has become coat. You see? Iti manyate. The Bengali verse is: pisaci paile yena mati-cchanna haya. Just like ghost-haunted person, he talks so many nonsense things, similarly, pisaci paile yena mati-cchanna haya maya-grasta jivera haya se bhava udaya Maya-grasta, those who are too much materially covered, they are thinking, “This is nice. This is nice. This is nice.” In Kali-yuga it is said, lavanyam kesa-dharanam. Kesa-dharanam. When I did not come to your country, I was thinking, “What is that kesa-dharanam?” But as soon as I came to your country I saw the hippies—big, big hair. Kesa-dharanam. Kesa means hair. It is predicted. Just see. This is sastra: “In the Kali-yuga people will think very, think themselves of very beautiful feature by keeping long hairs.” That is stated. This is called sastra. Five thousand years ago Bhagavata was written, and there the symptoms of Kali-yuga are mentioned, and this is one of the symptoms, lavanyam kesa-dharanam. In the Twelfth Canto you will find this description, svikara eva ca udvahe—all these predictions are there. “Marriage will be done simply by agreement.” Now it is… Just see. It is being done. Svikara eva. Svikara means agreement: “I accept you.” No actual marriage ceremony is performed. Practically marriage is going out of date. So these symptoms are there. Dampatye ratim eva hi. Husband and wife’s relations will be stronger if there is sex power. That’s all. Otherwise divorce. Just see the symptoms. Dampatye ratim… Sutratam… Sutrate… Vipra. Vipratve sutra-dharanam: “A brahmana means having a piece of thread, that’s all.” Vipratve sutra-dharanam. And only two-paisa worth sutra will… Just like in India: “Oh, I am brahmana because I have got this thread.” That’s all. Vipratve sutra-dharanam. Avrttya nyaya-rahitam(?): “If you have no money, then you cannot get justice.” If you are poor man, then you will never get justice. You see? First of all, if you want to get some money… Somebody, he is not paying. You have to go to court. So first of all the pleader will charge, “Give me so much money.” Then stamp charges, then percentage of stamp charges. Suppose you are claiming $5,000. Then you have to five percent… So so many thousand dollars you have to pay for stamp charges to claim, to push good money after bad money. The money which is not being realized, that is bad money. Now you have to push further good money to realize that bad money. So if you have no good money to push, then you cannot get even that bad money. And that also will be pending for years together. Unless you bribe the clerks and the bench clerk and others, “Please get my case swiftly in…” So he will ask money, bribe. So anyway, then Bhagavata says anadhena nyaya ratim(?): “If you have no money, then don’t expect justice. Don’t expect justice.” Even high court judges, they take bribe to give you favorable judgement. In India we have seen so many bribe. Police, you give bribe; high court judge, you can give bribe. This is the position of Kali-yuga, horrible position. The king or the so-called president is simply showbottle. If you approach… You cannot approach. Formerly, if anyone was ill-treated, injustified, then he could go in front of the king. Just like Lord Ramacandra, He was approached by a citizen: “My Lord, in the presence of father, son has died. What is Your kingdom?” Just see. The king is responsible. Natural death is father dies first, the son dies later on. But somebody’s son died in the presence of the father. He immediately brought the case before the king: “Why it is?” This is called king. The king is responsible. In our Krsna book you will find that one brahmana’s sons were stolen, and he, every time he chastised the king. You have read that portion? Yes. So in Kali-yuga they are not actually functioning as king or president, but still, they are drawing high salaries and respect, doing harm to the people, and still, they are exploiting. This is Kali-yuga, very abominable condition, precarious condition. You cannot get justice, you cannot get nice food, you cannot get nice treatment, your age is diminished, your power is diminished, everything is topsy-turvied. The best thing is to prepare yourself very quickly to go back to home, back to Godhead, and there you become one of them, like these Vaikuntha persons. These are the description already there. So many ornaments. We do not see what is… If you ask somebody… They may have some plastic utensils, but if you ask somebody that “Have you seen pearl, sapphire, or coral, or diamond?” everyone will say, “I have never seen in my life.” And still they are proud: “Oh, we are now advanced.” What advanced? Simply plastic and paper. I see in Japan, all paper, simply papers. All big, big buildings packed up with papers. I was observing from the train all the big, big… What is the contents? Contents means paper. That’s it. The house is made of paper. And Japan is considered to be very advanced, and industrialist. Simply outward dress. Actually nobody has got any wealth. The money is also paper. No pearl, no gold, no silver, nothing. But they are satisfied with papers. That’s all. Paper house, paper money, paper book, paper everything. Plastic, paper. Now intelligent person should be anxious that if Krsna says, mad-dhama gatva punar janma na vidyate. Yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama: [Bg. 15.6] “If you go to this planet…” Why you are trying nonsensically to go to the moon planet? Suppose you have gone there? What is there? You see piles of dust. That is your explanation. Why don’t you try here, rascals, and go, and become so nicely dressed with decoration, ornaments. And all young men. What is that? Sarve catur-bahava unmisan-mani. Where is that? Pradyumna: Supesasah. Prabhupada: Surucah supesasah. Supesasah. What is the meaning of supesasah? Pradyumna: Growing youthful. Prabhupada: Yes. Supesasah means this. Just like we are old man. Now it has become slackened. But when I was young it was very tight. This is called supesasah, muscles very tight. Supesasah means young, all young. Suvarcasah, and luster. When a man is young, there is some luster, attractive luster. This is nature’s gift. A woman becomes… A girl becomes full of youth, lustrous. A man, a boy becomes… Attraction. Without attraction, there cannot be sex. And without sex, there will be stopped of generation. So by nature these things are there. So sastra makes some adjustments. The natural attractions are there, but they know what is the meaning of this attraction. Therefore, according to Vedic rules, the boy is selected by the father, the girl is selected by the father. They are given in marriage so that that natural attraction can be utilized for generating good population, not prostitution. You see? Therefore early marriage, selection by the parents, these are recommended. That is called marriage. Now the boys and girls are loitering in the street, and they are mixing freely and having all business. And then one day say, “All right, I agree. You are my wife. You are my husband.” Svikara eva ca udvahe. These are the signs of Kali-yuga. It is simply deteriorating. The human civilization is deteriorating. In the name of advancement of civilization, they are becoming animals simply. And the more the age of Kali-yuga will increase, these things will also increase more and more, more and more. Later on, you won’t get foodstuff. You will be obliged to kill some animal and eat. Now you have got alternative. But we are becoming very much fond of animals, so Krsna will, or nature will make some arrangement that you cannot eat except animals. That day will come. You cannot eat, even if you do not like. Nobody will say, “I don’t like.” Everyone will like. So there will be no supply of wheat, no supply of rice, no supply of sugar, no supply of fruit. These things will be stopped. No supply of milk. These are stated. You won’t get. Then naturally… Just like in Arabian desert, they were animal eaters. What is growing there? So if in Jerusalem, if they have eaten flesh, so that is not their fault. Jesus Christ might have allowed: “All right.” But why in other places where there are so many nice foodstuff? What is the reason? If you don’t get something… (someone calling in Japanese) Who is this? Syamasundara: He’s gone to see. Prabhupada: So…(someone calling in Japanese) It is Japanese language? Why? He wants to see. Hm. So eternal life, yad gatva na nivartante [Bg. 15.6]. Eternal life, such nice, always youthful, such nicely dressed, and four hands. Now you are eating with two hands. You will get four hands. (laughter) So you can voraciously eat also if you like, with four hands. How much you can eat, two hands? So these are the facilities. Why don’t you try for this? And Krsna assures, mad-yajino ’pi yanti mam. yanti deva-vrata devan pitrn yanti pitr-vratah bhutani yanti bhutejya yanti mad-yajino ’pi mam [Bg. 9.25] So when there is facility, you can go to this kingdom of God. Why don’t you…? Just like a student studies very faithfully, taking so much pains. Why? He expects that “Somehow or other, if I can pass this examination, I will get a very nice job, good salary, and live very happily.” Everyone hopes like that. A businessman works so hard day and night with the hope that “At the end of my life, if I get a good balance, bank balance, then I shall live peacefully without any botheration.” So everyone hopes like that for future. But what is this civilization? They have no future hope. The rascal professors, they say…, he is saying that “After death everything is finished.” After death everything finished—why? Why there are so many varieties of life? After death there is life. But you do not know what is that life. That is your ignorance. Here is a chance, Krsna consciousness movement, that you get next life very good life. If you complete, you go to Vaikuntha and get life like this. If you don’t complete, if you are so unfortunate that you cannot complete one life, that is unfortunate. Why you… So then you get chance to get your birth as a human being in very rich family, in very pious family. That chance is again given so that you can revive your, again, Krsna consciousness. So those who have taken to Krsna consciousness, it is a chance. You had previously some advantage of executing this Krsna consciousness. Somehow or other, you could not… Not you or you— all of us, we could not. So Krsna has given another chance. So don’t miss this chance. Make it complete. Make it complete and go to Vaikuntha or Krsnaloka. Such a nice proposal. Where it is? Who can give this? Therefore Rupa Gosvami adored Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, namo maha-vadanyaya krsna-prema-pradaya te: [Madhya 19.53] “Oh, You are the greatest of the munificent.” Namo maha… Vadanya means the greatest munificent, who gives charity in the greatest… So Caitanya Mahaprabhu is giving that. What is that? Krsna-prema. Simply by loving Krsna, you are promoted. This is the greatest gift. The human society is so rascal, they cannot understand what is this Krsna consciousness movement. The greatest gift to the human society given by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So those who are intelligent, those who have taken to this Krsna consciousness movement, they should be very serious to execute the, I mean to say, program. Very nice. We should always pray to Krsna that “Krsna, You have given this chance. Please have Your grace upon me—I may not miss it. By maya’s influence I may not miss it. You have given me so great chance.” This should be our business. If you have got to pray anything… Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu prayed, na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi “Simply I may remain a faithful devotee of Your…” That’s all, without any reason, without any cause, causeless. This should be our vow. If we, taking to Krsna consciousness, if we want to make some material asset, then we are cutting our throat, suicidal. The only prayer should be how to remain a pure devotee. If we remain a pure devotee, there is chance. Anyabhilasita-sunyam [BRS 1.1.11] Because Krsna, He is so kind, at the same time so strict also. Strict. If you have got a pinch of material desire, you cannot go to Vaikuntha. You cannot go. Therefore niskincananam. You have to become completely niskincana, nothing wanted of this material world. That is called tapasya. Anyabhilasita-sunyam [Madhya 19.167]. If you want to utilize Krsna… You can utilize. If you want kingdom, Krsna will give you kingdom. That is not very difficult for you (Him). Krsna can give you liberation, to merge in His effulgence. That also Krsna will give. But it is very difficult to get Krsna’s service, very difficult. Krsna will give you everything, whatever you want. By Krsna conscious, being Krsna conscious, by rendering devotional service, if you want to have some material profit, Krsna will give you. Krsna will give you. That is not very difficult thing for Krsna. If you want to merge in His existence—the Mayavadis—all right, you can get it. But that it not real profit. Real profit is here described, in Vaikuntha, how they are face to face seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, having the same body, and same ornaments, same opulence, everything same. Sarupya, salokya, sayujya. Sayujya is damn rascals. Sayujya-mukti, never, merging, never, no Vaisnava will take. But sarupya, so far our Gaudiya Vaisnava is concerned, they do not want even this sarupya, same bodily feature. They don’t want anything. They simply want how to serve Krsna. That’s all. That is Gaudiya Vaisnava vicara. So here is the description of sarupya-mukti, the same bodily features like Narayana. This is called sarupya-mukti, same bodily feature. Pravala-vaidurya-mrnala-varcasah parisphurat-kundala-mauli-malinah. Kundala, earrings. Here no male person have any earrings. But formerly you will find pictures of big, big kings, they have got earrings. You have seen? Yes. That is opulence. Jaipur Maharaja’s photograph, earrings, big, nice. Ornaments, huge ornaments. Krsna is going to tend the cows—He has got so much ornaments. That is asset. Formerly also in our childhood, a woman having no sufficient ornaments, he (she) will be ashamed to go to the society: “Oh, others will think me so much poor. I will not go. I’ll never go.” Therefore I was surprised when I came to your country. I saw young girls and ladies, they have no bangles, no ornaments. At least, I was surprised. And smoking cigarettes. (laughter) What is this opulence? See? I heard they are very rich. They have got the tendency, but they do not get it. Those who are very rich, they are getting ornaments. These are the psychological. Every woman, every girl, has the aspiration for nice ornament, nice dress. But they don’t get it. Therefore dissatisfied. In the Manu-samhita it is recommended that if you want to keep your wife satisfied, you must give sufficient ornament. These are the psychological things. So the Kali-yuga, therefore, daksyam kutumba-bharanam. People will be so much wretched that they’ll be unable to maintain his wife and children. Therefore in this age, if a man can maintain his family, that will be daksyam: “Oh, very fortunate.” So don’t take this so-called material civilization has got any value. Reject it. You see? And be prepared for going back to home, back to Godhead. That should be aim. Don’t be allured by these rascal leaders. And the another rascal, the Mayavadi, they cannot believe all these things—“Make it zero.” Sunyavada. They also do not like the modern ways of life, disgusted, but they have no adjustment, and therefore “Make it impersonal, zero, finished.” Here is not zero. Here is substance. We are not after zero. We are after substance. The substance is described here. Just try to understand. We are not fakir. Fakir, this word is used in… One who has no hope, simply loitering in the street, he is a fakir, hopeless. So all are, they are fakirs. And we are not fakir. We are hoping to go there, to live with Narayana or Krsna, having this greatest opulence, eternal body, blissful life, full of knowledge and opulence. That’s all. Devotees: All glories to Srila Prabhupada. (obeisances) (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Tokyo, April 27, 1972