Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.17 Pradyumna: srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-kirtanah hrdy antah stho hy abhadrani vidhunoti suhrt satam [Bhag. 1.2.17] Translation: “Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, who is also the Paramatma in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, does cleanse the desire for material enjoyment in the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His (Krsna’s) messages, which are themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.” Prabhupada: So Krsna is very selfish. He says… Here it is said: sva-kathah krsnah. Anyone who is engaged in hearing Krsna’s katha. Katha means words, messages. So, in the Bhagavad-gita also, Krsna says, mam ekam: “Only unto Me.” Ekam. This is required. Although everything is Krsna, but according to the pantheist theory we cannot worship everything. Everything is Krsna, that’s a fact, but that does not mean we have to worship everything; we have to worship Krsna. The Mayavadi philosophers, they say, “If everything is Krsna, so whatever I worship, I am worshiping Krsna.” No. That is wrong. Just like the same example can be given that in the body, I am this body, everything “I,” or “mine,” but when foodstuff is to be taken, it is not to be pushed through the rectum, but through the mouth. That is the only one. You cannot say, “The body has got nine holes: two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, one rectum, one genital—nine holes. So why not push the food in any hole?” That is Mayavadi theory. “After all,” they say, “the foodstuff has to be given to the body, inside the body. So I can push the foodstuff through any hole. There are so many holes.” Sometimes in medical science, when it is impossible to push food through the mouth, they push through the rectum. That is artificial. But emergency, they do sometimes. But that is not the way. The real way is that food is required to be given to the body, but it must be given through the mouth, not through any other hole. Similarly, if we actually want our contact with the Absolute Truth, then we have to go through Krsna. Krsna has many forms. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. Ananta-rupam. So… Because nothing is but Krsna, everything is Krsna’s energy, the process is… To contact the Absolute Truth means Krsna. Therefore Krsna here says… Not Krsna. Vyasadeva says, through Suta Gosvami, that “Krsna is very kind, very friendly to the suhrt satam.” Satam. Satam means devotees. He is very intimately in friendship with devotees. Krsna’s another qualification is bhakta-vatsala. Here it is also said, suhrt-satam. Satam means devotees. He is friend of everyone. Suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. Without Krsna being friend of everyone, nobody can live for a moment. You are… Krsna is protecting everyone, supplying food to everyone. nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman Eka, that one person, supreme personality… There are… We are all personalities. All living entities, we are all personalities. We are not a homogeneous lump. Everyone has got individual, individuality. So every one of is a individual personality. Everyone. So Krsna is the supreme personality. That is the difference. He is also an individual. The only difference is that He is supreme; we are all subordinate. We are dependent on Krsna. If Krsna does not manage things nicely, then we are doomed. Just like we were walking on the sea beach. Such a vast ocean. We are confident that “The sea waves cannot come beyond this line.” We are confident. Therefore we are walking. But actually, the vast ocean, within a second, it can succumbic(?), so many cities. But by whose order it is keeping the honor, “No, not beyond this. You may be very great, that’s all right, but not beyond this line, demarcated”? This is Krsna’s order. The sun is so big, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth, and so powerful, blazing fire. You know, those who are scientific men, they know, the sun has got his orbit, and little deviation from the orbit can turn the whole world into snow, and turn the whole world into blazing fire. Where is our scientist friend? Is it not a fact? (Svarupa Damodara makes reply) Yes. It is running under certain orbit exactly, because a little deviation from the orbit will create havoc, catastrophe. Immediately. Either fire or snow. So under whose order the sun is so strictly following the demarcation? Such a big body. Our, in our practical experience, if he has got heavy body, he moves like this. He’s not steady. But such a huge body is exactly… According to astronomical calculation, they calculate, some one ten-thousandth part of a second, in this way. So we have to study this, under whose order… They say there is no God, but how these things, the natural functions, are being performed strictly, without any deviation? That is replied in the Brahma-samhita: yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami The sun is the eye for all planets. We are very much proud of our eyes. “Can you show me?” What, nonsense, what can you see? Eh? You cannot see anything without sun. You are so much proud of your eyes? You cannot see. Why do you say, “Can you show me?” First of all be qualified to see. Then you can see. But the rascals say, “Can you show me God?” They cannot see even ordinary things if there is no sunshine, and they want to see God. Just see. How much lunatic, crazy. You can see God, but you have to qualify the eyes. Then you can see. So the sun is our eyes, actually. Not only this planet, all the planets within this universe. Therefore it is said in the Brahma…, yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam. The gayatri-mantra, gayatri-mantra, om bhur bhuvah svah, that is worshiping the sun, sun-god, savita, savitr. So, yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam. Raja samasta-grahanam. Just like there is king, president, similarly, the sun planet is the king of all planets. (aside:) Those who are standing, they can stand near the wall; don’t block. Yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam raja samasta-sura-murtih. All the demigods, they are worshiping. This gayatri-mantra… Yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah. Unlimited temperature, unlimited temperature. For millions and millions of years it is diffusing temperature, and if it is little more, we become, ninety millions away, ninety millions of miles away, still, little rising of temperature, we become suffocated. Asesa-tejah, unlimited temperature. And moving, yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah, yasyajnaya, “by whose order,” bhramati, “is moving,” sambhrta-kala-cakrah, “the orbit.” Sun has got orbit. Sixteen thousand miles per second moving. But moving how? Not a little deviation. Exactly in the line. Because little deviation will cause havoc. Just the same way: a little pouncing over, the whole sea, finished Los Angeles. You see? So this is the order of Krsna. That is admitted, all Vedas. Yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakrah, yasyajnaya…, govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **. So Krsna is such powerful. We should know what is Krsna. And these rascals, they are becoming incarnation of Krsna, Krsna personally present. Where is your power like this? If somebody kicks on your face with boot, you cannot do anything, and you are becoming God. You see? So Krsna is so powerful, at the same time so kind. Just see His kindness. Simply you hear His words, sva-katha, krsna-katha. He is speaking in the Bhagavad-gita. You hear. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru: [Bg. 18.65] “You just become My devotee,” Krsna says. Man-manah, “Always think of Me.” Man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah, “Just become My devotee.” Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji, “You worship Me.” Mam namaskuru, “Just offer your obeisances unto Me.” We cannot do that? Is that very difficult thing? If we hear patiently, with a little attention, and hear Krsna’s words, what Krsna is saying in the Bhagavad-gita or what is spoken about Krsna in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, simply if we hear. We don’t require any qualification, any education, any Ph.D., M.S.T, this, that. No. Simply Krsna has given you the ears. So you can hear. What is the difficulty? Krsna is so kind, If you simply become a little inclined to hear about Him… If you hear and do not understand what Krsna is speaking and what is spoken about Krsna, you do not understand… Suppose you have no education, you do not understand Sanskrit or even English translation. Still, simply by hearing, srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah [Bhag. 1.2.17], by simply hearing, punya-sravana-kirtanah. Punya means pious. We are all sinful. Life after life, we have committed sins, and this body is the evidence that we are sinful, this material body. It may be degrees different, but anyone who has got a material body, he is sinful. So every one of us is sinful, but simply by hearing… Hearing, this hearing is possible in this human form of life. But even cats and dogs, if they hear, even the trees and ants and insects, they hear, they will also gain the benefit. This transcendental vibration. We human beings, we hear about Krsna, we can understand about something that “Krsna is saying like this,” but the small child, or an animal, or even trees, insects, if they hear this Hare Krsna mantra, they’ll be benefited. They will be benefited. This is the fact. Because the vibration… Just like when there is thunderbolt vibration, that vibration has got effect on everything… That is scientific. Everything. Similarly, this vibration of Hare Krsna mantra is so strong that it will benefit anyone who hears. Therefore we are sending sankirtana party. They may understand or not understand, they may appreciate or not appreciate, we are forcing them to become pious simply by hearing this Hare Krsna mantra. It is so nice. Srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-kirtanah [Bhag. 1.2.17] The whole world is full of sinful life. So we are creating the atmosphere, punya-sravana. Chanting and hearing. Simply by these two processes. Punya-sravana-kirtanah. Punya, pious. So anyone who is coming here, even he does not understand a single word which we are speaking, if he simply hears, he becomes pious. Simply by hearing. Even a our child, he becomes pious. And unless we are free from our sinful life, we cannot understand about God. yesam tv anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam te dvandva-moha-nirmukta bhajante mam drdha-vratah [Bg. 7.28] This is stated in the Bhagavad-gita. So those who are sinful, they cannot understand what is God. Therefore the whole world is godless. They are so sinful, their life, their civilization, has been made so much sinful, the four principles of sinful: illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating, and gambling. The whole world is full of these four business. Therefore they are all sinful. He may dress like a very nice gentleman, but he’s a sinful man. So he cannot understand. Therefore it is very difficult to convince these rascals about God. They say, “I am, everyone is God, I am God, you are God, God is dead.” They are so dull. You see? Therefore our business is to cleanse their heart. So we vibrate, and Krsna helps from within. Krsna said, Suta Gosvami said, srnvatam… Those who are giving, who are taking the chance of hearing Hare Krsna mantra… srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah [Bhag. 1.2.17]. Krsnah is nominative case. Srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-kirtanah. Anything hearing about Krsna, that is also pious. Krsna is supposed to be doing something according to our material calculation, killing somebody. Or Krsna is dancing with other’s wife. According to material calculation, this is not allowed. You cannot dance with the other’s wife, not in your country, but that is the Vedic civilization. But Krsna did it. Although the gopis came to dance with Him, captivated by His beauty, but they became purified, punya-sravana-kirtanah. If simply by hearing about Krsna one becomes pious, how they become pious simply by dancing with Krsna? This is the theory. Not that Krsna wanted some young girls to dance with Him. He can create millions of young girls, immediately. But were they devotees. They wanted to dance with Krsna, might be captivated by His beauty. But they wanted Krsna. Krsna gave them chance, “All right, come on. Dance with Me. And be purified.” Just try to understand. Just simply by hearing about Krsna, one becomes purified, and what to speak of persons who are dancing with Krsna. This opportunity is there. You can dance with Krsna, you can play with Krsna, you can talk with Krsna. So our Krsna consciousness movement is giving this chance to everyone. Everyone, without any discrimination. So how it is purified? One may say that “Simply by hearing how one becomes purified?” No. Krsna helps. Here it is said: hrdy antah stho hy abhadrani vidhunoti suhrt satam. Krsnah vidhunoti. Krsna helps you. Those who are hearing with attention… Krsna is within you, everyone, Paramatma. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61] Krsna is with you. Krsna is so kind, Krsna is so sympathetic, as soon as He sees, “Oh, this soul…” Because every soul is Krsna’s son… So He’s very much anxious. Just like a father. If a son is in difficulty, the father is more anxious; “How this boy will be rescued from this difficulty?” Similarly, we are suffering in this material world. Krsna is more anxious to get us back to home, back to Godhead. Therefore, as soon as He sees, “Oh, he is hearing about Me. Oh, thank you. I shall help you.” Immediately He vidhunoti, He washes all the dirty things. The dirty thing is that “I shall be happy by material enjoyment.” This is the basis of dirty things. The rascal does not know that he cannot be happy in any condition, any material condition. Brahma is unhappy, Indra is unhappy, what to speak of you, you are teeny creature. Nobody can be happy in this material world. They must be always in anxiety because they have accepted something which will never make him happy. Therefore we have to counteract it, these dirty things, that we are trying to be happy in this material world. These dirty things are accumulated within our heart. Life after life, we have selected so many bodies. “Now I shall become tiger. I am eating flesh, but I cannot attack the animal and eat fresh blood.” Krsna is so kind: “All right I am giving you the chance to become a tiger. You become a tiger. I’ll give you all nails and teeth so that you can pounce over immediately. There is no need of opening slaughterhouse; you can directly eat.” You see. So I wanted to enjoy as a tiger, I wanted to enjoy as a cat, as a dog, as a Brahma. In so many lives, so many planets. But everywhere I have become frustrated. That is the fact. Now, in this human form of life, is the chance to take to Krsna consciousness and make your life perfect. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Los Angeles, August 20, 1972