Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.39 Nitai: “My dear mother, the characteristics of form are understood by dimension, quality and individuality. The form of fire is appreciated by its effulgence.” Prabhupada: dravyakrtitvam gunata vyakti-samsthatvam eva ca tejastvam tejasah sadhvi rupa-matrasya vrttayah So little explanation is there. This is the transformation of the elements, how from sky, the air; from air, the fire; fire, water. Everything in that proportion is explained by Sankhya philosophy, how one after another, the form, taste, smell, touch are appreciated in different objects differently. Just like some eatable things—the form is appreciated by taste. The flower—the form is estimated by its smelling, aroma. So that is being explained. You can read the purport. Nitai: “Every form that we appreciate has its particular dimensions and characteristics. The quality of a particular object is appreciated by its utility. But the form of sound is independent. Forms which are invisible can be understood only by touch; that is the independent appreciation of invisible form.” Prabhupada: Just like the air. We cannot see, but we can touch. The air passes. It touches our body. We can understand, “Now the air is passing.” Then? Nitai: “Visible forms are understood by analytical study of their constitution. The constitution of a certain object is appreciated by its internal action. For example, the form of salt is appreciated by the interaction of salty tastes, and the form of sugar is appreciated by the interaction of sweet tastes. Tastes and the qualitative constitution are the basic principles in understanding the form of an object.” Prabhupada: So actually, everything has got form, and there is—why not?—the form of God also. He has got virad-rupa, and He has got small, also, rupa. We have got experience of the virad-rupa in the Bhagavad-gita. But that is not permanent rupa. Permanent rupa of Krsna: Dvi-bhuja-muralidhara. He has got two hands and playing on flute. That is permanent rupa. Virad-rupa, as it was shown to Arjuna, it is called naimittika, “under certain conditions.” That is not eternal rupa. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta… Anadi, eternal. The eternal rupa is described in the sastra, venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam barhavatamsam asitambuda-sundarangam kandarpa-koti-kamaniya-visesa-sobham govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Bs. 5.30] The eternal form is venum kvanantam. Krsna is always playing on His flute. That is eternal form. His eternal pastimes and eternal form is in Vrndavana. He does not go anywhere personally, leaving Vrndavana. Padam ekam na gacchati. He is always in Vrndavana, but at the same time, He is everywhere. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah: [Bs. 5.37] “Although He is always in His abode, Goloka Vrndavana, still, He is present everywhere.” How He is present? Andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati: [Bg. 18.61] “He is situated in everyone’s heart.” He is situated in each and every universe. The universe is created by His breathing. yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Bs. 5.48] So the eternal form is Krsna, but Visnu, Maha-Visnu, who is the origin of material creation, kala-visesa, He is the expansion of the plenary expansion of Krsna. Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Aniruddha, Pradyumna. In this way He is present everywhere. Anor aniyan mahato mahiyan. He is bigger than the biggest and the smaller than the smallest. Relativity. Now here we are small stature. So Krsna is present in a stature so that we can touch Him, we can dress Him, we can decorate Him. Similarly, in other planets… It is relative. The law of relativity is going on everywhere. Anor aniyan mahato mahiyan. So we have several times explained, bhakti means to engage all our senses in the service of the Lord. Our sense of seeing, eyes, nose, ears, tongue, hands, legs—everything should be engaged for Krsna’s service. All different parts of the body can be engaged. Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate [Cc. Madhya 19.170] Krsna can be served by all our senses according to the direction of the sastra and guru—sadhu, sastra, guru. Just like Ambarisa Maharaja. He is devotee. We have to follow. Sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh. The senses… The mind is the chief of the senses, and immediately under the mind, ten senses are working, ten: five knowledge- gathering senses, jnanendriya, and five working senses, karmendriya. And they have got different types of activities—hands, legs, tongue, ear, eyes. And above these, there is ahankara, false ego in the material world. The eleven senses, and the twelfth is the false ego. The false ego means I am thinking, “I am this body. I am body.” Then expansion of body: “I belong to this family”; “I am the husband of this body”; “I am the father of this body”; “I am the brother of this body.” Or “I belong to this nation”; “I belong to this species.” This is called twelfth conception. It is different consciousness according to different body. And then “It is mine.” With all these eleven senses, I form an idea of “I” and then my possession, “mine.” Aham mameti [SB 5.5.8]. Janasya moho ’yam. This is called illusion, maya. So mind, it is expansion of the mind, different way. Manasa-vrtti. This is called the characteristic of the mind. Then subtle action of mind: thinking, feeling, willing. And the mind is expanding in hundreds, thousands, millions of ideas. In this way I am becoming entangled. So when this mind is controlled… The yoga system is for that purpose. Those who are too much bodily concept of life, bodily consciousness, they should practice this yoga, hatha-yoga, astanga-yoga, so that the mind can be purified. As soon as the mind is purified, then all this expansion into thousands and millions of ideas will be controlled, and the only idea will be Krsna. This is called yoga system, concentrating. Dhyanavasthita yogena pasyanti yam yoginah. Dhyanavasthita-manasa: “The mind is controlled, and the focus of the mind is on Krsna or Visnu.” Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah [SB 12.13.1]. Then we can see the effulgence, and the localized, and then the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So any system of yoga, either hatha-yoga, jnana-yoga, or… Karma-yoga is in the lowest standard. And above all, bhakti-yoga. Then, when you come to the bhakti-yoga, that is the perfection of life. Bhakti-yogena manasi samyak pranihite amale. Bhakti-yogena amala: “The mind becomes cleansed.” Ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. That is the effect of…, direct effect of bhakti-yoga, because the mind is now contaminated, and under the creation of senses and sense activities, we are making millions and trillions of ideas and become entangled in that idea. We have to accept millions and trillions of body and then go on in the cycle of birth, death, old age and disease. This is implication. So purify the mind. That is the chanting of Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam. When our mind is cleansed… This is maha-davagni. This expansion of mental ideas, thousands and millions, that is maha…, bhava-maha-davagni. Bhava-maha-davagni. So it is the duty of guru to get out his disciple from the bhava-maha-davagni. Samsara-davanala-lidha-loka-tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam **. Karunya, karunya. So what is the guru? Guru has received the karunya. Karunya means just like the cloud has received water from the sea, similarly, a guru, spiritual master, receives the cloud of mercy from the ocean of kindness of Krsna. Ghanaghanatvam. And it is only the cloud that can extinguish the forest fire, samsara. No other watering system will be helpful. If there is fire in the forest, your fire brigade or buckets of water will not help. It is impossible. Neither you can go there; neither you can render any service by your fire brigade and bucket. Then how the fire can be extinguished? Now, ghanaghanatvam. If there is cloud in the sky and if there is rainfall, then the expansive forest fire can immediately be extinguished. So that cloud is supposed to be the spiritual master. He pours water. He pours water. Sravana-kirtana-jale karaye secana. What is that water? The water is this sravana-kirtana. Bhava-maha-davagni, the fire, the forest fire of material existence, is blazing continually. So you have to extinguish it by the rainfall from cloud, and that rainfall means sravana-kirtana. Sravana means hearing, and kirtana means chanting. This is the only way. Sravana-kirtana-jale karaye secana. In this way Caitanya Mahaprabhu has advised that harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam [Adi 17.21]. In this age, Kali-yuga, it is very difficult to perform the yoga system. This is also yoga, bhakti-yoga. Other yoga system is very difficult to execute. It is not possible. Even if it is possible—it may be possible for one or two persons—but bhakti-yoga is so nice that even a small child can practice it. We see practically, the small children. They also taking part in it without any education, without any culture, without any knowledge, automatically chanting, dancing, taking caranamrta, offering respect to the Vaisnava. Automatically it is becoming. And that makes his life successful. Bhakti-yoga is so nice. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat. Even little bit practiced, it will never go in vain. It will be an asset. Krta-punya-punjah. In this way… Just like if you put a one single paisa in the bank deposit, that is your money. It will be never lost. And when it becomes a lump sum, the bank asks you to… Credit you get, one hundred rupees or similar… Similarly, bhakti-yoga is so nice that whatever you acquire, intentionally or unintentionally, even if you neglectfully chant Hare Krsna by imitating others, by joking others, it will have effect. There is a verse in Nrsimha-Purana that one Muhammadan died calling harama. They say harama. Anything against their religion is called harama. So he was trapped by a boar, and the boars, the pigs, they… The Muhammadans, they call it harama. So when he was attacked, he said, harama. So harama. But it was taken as “Ha Rama,” “O Rama,” and he was liberated. So it is so nice. Some way or other, practice “Ha Krsna, Ha Rama.” Then your life is successful. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Bombay, January 14, 1975