Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.7.46 Prabhupada: nirupyatam iha svarthah kiyan deha-bhrto ’surah nisekadisv avasthasu klisyamanasya karmabhih Prahlada Maharaja is instructing his friends, all small children, about Krsna consciousness. He is instructing so many things. We have been discussing this subject matter for the last few days. Now he’s placing before them for submitting, for consideration. “My dear friends,” deha-bhrtam, those who have accepted this material body, asura… Asura means demons. He also belonged to the family, atheistic family. His father was great atheist, and all his friends… Because his father was king, so all his friends happened to be the citizens of that atheistic kingdom. So all of them are being addressed as asura. Asura means demons, godless. There are two kinds of people, asura and sura, or deva and asura. So who are asuras and who are devas? Devas means godly, and asura means nongodly, or atheistic. In the Vedic literature you’ll find there are definition that there are two kinds of people. Dvau bhuta-sargau loke daiva asura eva ca. There are two kinds of people in this world: visnu-bhakto bhaved daiva. And who are… Daiva means godly. Who are godly? Visnu-bhaktah, those who are devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or those who are in Krsna consciousness, they are called godly. And asuras tad-viparyayah. Tad-viparyayah means just the opposite number. What is the opposite number? The atheists. At once they hear something of God, oh, they become fire: “What is this God? I am God.” So he is asura. So Prahlada Maharaja is asking the asuras, his friends, “My dear…” Friends are sometimes addressed in strong languages. That does not affect friends, in friendly terms. So Prahlada Maharaja directly asserting that “You are all atheists.” But he was speaking among friends. There was no questions of offending. And actually they were sons of all atheists. So he is submitting, “My dear friends,” that nirupyatam iha svarthah, “you just try to find out what is your interest. You do not know your interest.” Everyone is called selfish: “I am self-interested.” Yes. You should be self-interested. Everyone should be self… And that is the nature. I am thinking for my self- interest; you are thinking for your self-interest. When we become philanthropist, there is also self-interest. “I want to become a very welfare worker in the society because there is my self-interest that you will elect me as president or some big officer.” Oh. So self- interest is natural. That is not abominable. If you become self- interested, that is not abominable. That is nice. But you do not know what is your self-interest. Prahlada Maharaja submits that nirupyatam: “Just try to analyze what is your self-interest.” nirupyatam iha svarthah kiyan deha-bhrto ’surah karmany arabhate dehi… nisekadisv avasthasu klisyamanasya karmabhih Now you are trying to be happy by your work. Everyone is trying to be happy by his work. A man, ordinary worker, he is also trying to be happy by working, and a great capitalist, he is also trying to be happy by work. But Bhagavad-gita says that they are trying to be happy in what sense? They’re trying to be happy with the body for sense gratification. But how long you shall be able to satisfy your senses? Your interest is different: not sense gratification. Your interest is that you have to find out what you are. So that is described in Bhagavad-gita very nicely, that you are this consciousness. Avinasi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idam tatam. That you are, that permanent, the consciousness. And what is that consciousness? That consciousness is, pure form, is Krsna consciousness, that “I am servant of God.” This is pure consciousness. So long my consciousness is designated, “I am American,” “I am Indian,” “I am Chinese,” “I am Russian,” “I am Hindu,” “I am Muslim,” “I am Christian…” These are all designations due to this body. But actually I am neither American, neither Indian, nor Christian, nor Hindu, nor Muslim, but I am eternally the servant of God. So Prahlada Maharaja is submitting that “If you are servant of God, eternally, then you find out your engagement, eternal engagement. That is the duty of your human form of life. Don’t be misled by designation.” Krsna consciousness means to become free from all designations. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. You have to become free from all designations. Tat-paratvena nirmalam. And in connection with the Supreme Lord you have to become nirmalam. Nirmalam means without any contamination. Last night in the television, one boy was asking me, “Swamiji, you are all after spiritualism. Why you are using this clay as tilaka and so many things you are using which is matter?” So I explained to him… Perhaps you have known. Actually, there is no matter, actually, in this sense, because everything is emanating from the Supreme Spirit. Everything is emanating… Janmady asya yatah [Bhag. 1.1.1]. What is the Absolute Truth? The Absolute Truth is that from which everything is emanating—the source, the fountainhead, the fountainhead of everything. So whatever we see… Now, of course, we are in condition, material condition. We see everything material. But even this material energy is also spiritual because it is coming from the spirit, the Supreme Spirit. Suppose anything comes from the fire, it is hot. Fire, anything coming from… Anything you take. You are cooking daily, and as soon as you cook something it becomes very hot, and you take it from… It is hot. You cannot touch it. So by nature, everything is hot or everything is spirit because it is coming from the spirit, by nature. Just like sunshine. Sunshine has got all the qualities of the sun. Sunshine has got temperature. Sunshine has got illuminating power as the original sun has got. Similarly, although the whole creation, whole manifestation, is the display of the energy of the Supreme Lord, they are not different in quality. In quality there is no difference. Just like the sunshine and the sun. It may be the temperature in the sun planet is very great. That’s all right. But you cannot say that sun is hot, but the sunshine is cold. No. That cannot be. That cannot be. It may be the degree of temperature lesser, but there is temperature. That is the sign that it is coming, emanating from sunshine. Similarly, in the Bhagavad-gita you’ll find that this whole manifestation, there are different kinds of energy. That is confirmed in the Vedas, Vedic literature, Upanisad also: parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate. The energy of the Lord are differently manifested. Just like this light. Take the same example, fire. Fire is placed in one place, but it is manifesting in different way. It is illuminating, it is distributing its heat from one place. Similarly, the Supreme Lord, He may be far, far away. He’s not far, far away, because He is present by His energy. Just like sunshine. Sun is far, far away from us, but he is present just before us by his shining. We can understand what is sun. Similarly, if you study the energy of the Supreme Lord, then you are in conscious, or Krsna consciousness. So if you engage yourself in the energy of Krsna, then you become Krsna conscious. And as soon as you become Krsna conscious, you become nonseparated. You become nonseparated from Him. Just like qualitatively the sunshine and the sun is hot, warm, similarly, you are also the same spiritual energy, or this whole world is spiritual energy, nothing but… There is nothing but spiritual… Sarvam khalv idam brahma. Everything is Brahman. But how to realize it? If everything is Brahman, then why we are separating, “This is material, this is spiritual”? This is maya. This is called maya. Maya means illusion or forgetfulness. How it happens? It happens just like the sunshine is covered by cloud. Sunshine is covered by cloud—not all the sunshine. An insignificant part of the sunshine is sometimes covered by the cloud. And when it is covered by the cloud, there are so many inconveniences. Just like you say in New York when you find a sunshine in the sky, you say, “Oh, today is very nice.” Why nice? Because the pure sky is open. Therefore it is very nice. And so long it is over, covered by cloud, you don’t find so happy. Similarly, if you can, I mean to say, drive away the cloud of ignorance, then you actually becoming Krsna consciousness. Cloud of ignorance. And what is that cloud of ignorance? The cloud of ignorance is that “I am the enjoyer.” The first beginning of cloud of ignorance… (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
San Francisco, March 22, 1967,
(incomplete lecture)