Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.16 Nitai: (Purport:) “Tat-purusa means a person engaged in Krsna consciousness as the spiritual master.” Translation: “My dear King, any sinful person, by practicing the principles of austerity, penance, brahmacarya and other practices, cannot become completely purified as one can by dedicating his life to the service of Krsna’s lotus feet under the direction of the Lord’s bona fide devotee.” Prabhupada: na tatha hy-aghavan rajan puyeta tapa-adibhih yatha krsnarpita-pranas tat-purusa-nisevaya We are discussing the process of purification. Different methods have been described, by prayascitta and by tapasya. We have discussed. And then kevalaya bhakta. Bhakti includes everything— karma, jnana, yoga, everything. And it is specially recommended that by austerities and other methods, there is possibility, but it may not be successful. But if we adopt this process, devotional service, then it is sure. So this purificatory process means nivrtti-marga. And pravrtti-marga means without any knowledge where we are going on, rushing on—we are doing everything, whatever we like—that is called pravrtti-marga. People are generally engaged in pravrtti-marga. Especially in this age, they do not care what is going to happen next. Therefore they feel relief that “There is no life after death. Let us enjoy this life to the best capacity. Then after death, never mind what will come.” First of all, they deny to believe the next life. And even there is next life, and even if I am going to become cats and dogs, they do not mind. This is the experience of the modern age, irresponsible life. But our Krsna consciousness movement is teaching people that “Don’t live irresponsibly.” Take, for example, that you may say, “There is no life.” But if I put the argument, “Suppose there is life…” Now this is also supposition, because nobody, those who are in ignorance, they do not know whether there is life or whether there is no life. So you are arguing, “There is no life,” but you do not know whether there is life. That is not in your knowledge. So supposing you have to take both the ways and think over it… You are simply thinking on the point that there is no life. Now, why don’t you take my proposition, “If there is life”? Because you have not ascertained whether there is life. We say there is life. We take the example: just like this child has got his next life. The child may say, “There is no life next life.” But actually that is not the fact. The fact is, there is life. The child will change this body and he will become a boy. And the boy will change this body; he will become young man. That is a fact. But by simply obstinacy if you say there is no life, that you can say. But take this argument: if there is life, then how much irresponsibly you are making your future life so dark? The same example: if a child does not go to school, does not take education, if he thinks, “There is no other life than this life, I shall play all day. Why shall I go to school?” he may say so, but there is life, and if he does not take education, in next life, when he is young man, if he is not posted in a good position then he suffers. This is irresponsible life. So before we get next life, we must be free from all sinful lifes. Otherwise we are not going to have better life. Especially going back to home, back to Godhead, one has to finish the resultant action of his sinful life in this life. In the Bhagavad-gita you will find, yesam tv anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam te dvandva-moha-nirmukta bhajante mam drdha-vratah [Bg. 7.28] To become a staunch devotee of Krsna, perfect devotee of Krsna, means one has become freed from all reaction of sinful life. Yesam anta-gatam papam. No more committing any sinful activities. And whatever sinful activities he had done in his previous life, that is also negated. That is also made negation. There is no more reaction. Yesam tu anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam. So people are engaged either in sinful activities or in pious activities. So those who have not only finished the resultant action of their past sinful activities but at the present moment, they are simply engaged in pious activities, such person, yesam tu anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam, te, such person, dvandva-moha-nirmukta, without any hesitation, without any doubt, bhajante mam drdha-vratah. That is the So anyone who is engaged in Krsna’s service with firm conviciton and devotion, it is to be understood that he is now free from all reaction of sinful activities. A Vaisnava never commits any sinful activities, and whatever he had done in the past, that is also finished. This is said by Krsna. Or in other words, if you devoutly engage yourself in the service of the Lord, then certainly you are freed from all reaction of sinful activities. So how it is possible? Yatha krsnarpita-pranah. Pranah, pranair arthair dhiya vaca. Prana, prana means life. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Krsna, such person How this dedication of life to Krsna’s service can be made possible? That is also stated here: tat-purusa-nisevaya. You have to take shelter of a person who is a devotee of Krsna, and you have to serve. That means you have to accept a devotee, a true devotee, a pure devotee, as your guide. That is our process. The Rupa Gosvami says in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, “The first process is, first step is adau gurvasrayam to accept guru.” Accept guru Guru means Krsna’s representative. One who is not Krsna’s representative, he cannot become guru. Guru does not mean any nonsense can become guru. No. Only tat-purusa. Tat-purusa means a person who has accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead as everything. Tat-purusa-nisevaya. That means Vaisnava, pure devotee. So it is not very difficult. By the grace of Krsna there are pure devotees, so one has to take shelter of him. Adau gurvasrayam. Then sad-dharma-prcchat: after accepting a bona fide spiritual master, one should be inquisitive to learn what is the science of Krsna. Sad-dharma-prcchat sadhu-marga-anugamanam. And this Krsna consciousness means one has to follow the footsteps of the devotees, sadhu-marga-anugamanam. So who are those sadhus? That is also mentioned in the sastra, we have already discussed. svayambhur naradah sambhuh kumarah kapilo manuh prahlado janako bhismo balir vaiyasakir vayam [SB 6.3.20] That two…, twelve personalities are mentioned especially, that they are mahajana, they are authorized, bona fide guru, and you have to follow their path. It is not difficult. So Svayambhu means Lord Brahma. Svayambhuh naradah sambhuh. Sambhu means Lord Siva. So each of them, out of these twelve mahajana, four are very prominent, that is, Svayambhu means Brahma, and then sambhuh, Lord Siva, and then kumarah. And there is another sampradaya, Sri sampradaya, from Laksmiji. So we have to accept a spiritual master who are strictly in these four line of disciplic succession. Then we shall be gainer. If we accept a so-called guru, then it will not be possible. We have to accept guru in the disciplic succession. Therefore it is recommended here, tat-purusa-nisevaya: we have to serve him faithfully and always honestly. Then our purpose will be served. And if you take to this line of action, dedicating life to Krsna and always engaged in the service of Krsna under the direction of tat-purusa—means who has no other business than to preach Krsna consciousness—then our life is successful. We become free from all sinful reaction, and without being purified… Because Krsna, or God, is pure. Arjuna said, param brahma param brahma pavitram paramam bhavan: “My Lord Krsna, You are the supreme pure.” So unless we are pure we cannot approach Krsna. That is the statement in the sastra. Without becoming fire, you cannot enter into fire. Similarly, without becoming completely pure, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That is accepted by all religious system. The Christian system is also like that, that without becoming pure you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. So the human life is meant for this purification. We are working very hard for getting our daily bread. People are not getting their bread sitting idly. That is not possible. They are working very hard. This nice city of Denver is there. It has not sprung up from the jungle or desert. One had to work very hard to make this city so nicely, perfectly standing. So we have to work. If we want happiness, then we have to work. There is no doubt about it. But Krsna says that yanti deva-vrata devan [Bg. 9.25] Somebody is working to become happy within this material atmosphere by becoming very big man within this world, or a little more intelligent, they are not happy in this life, but they want to become happy in the next life. Sometimes they go to the higher planetary system. So yanti deva-vrata devan pitrn yanti pitr-vratah [Bg. 9.25]. So as you work, you get the desired result. But at the last line, Krsna says, mad-yajino’pi yanti mam: “If you work or if you worship Me, then you come to Me.” Then where is the difference between going to Krsna and keeping within this material world? The difference is abrahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino ’rjuna [Bg. 8.16]. In this material world even if you go to the topmost planet, Brahmaloka, still, there is birth, death, old age and disease. Or you have to return back again. Just like these people are going to the moon planet and again coming back here. So this kind of going and coming back here is not good. Yad gatva na nivartante [Bg. 15.6] If you go to such planet wherefrom you haven’t got to come back again to this material world, that is highest perfection. That is Krsnaloka. So Krsna says that “If you are working so hard to become happy in this material world, the same labor, if you worship Me, Krsna, then you come to Me.” Mad-yajino ’pi yanti mam. What is the benefit especially? Mam upetya kaunteya duhkhalayam asasvatam napnuvanti: [Bg. 8.15] “Anyone who comes to Me, he hasn’t got to come back again to this material world.” So our Krsna consciousness movement is teaching people how to go back to home, back to Godhead, Krsna. That will make the people happy eternally. So in this life also, Krsna conscious people, they are not unhappy. You can see practically. We are sitting in a very nice room and chanting Hare Krsna and taking prasadam. Where is unhappiness? There is no unhappiness. And other processes, they have to undergo so many unhappy processes. Here, Krsna consciousness, there is nothing unhappiness. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita: susukham kartum avyayam. Susukham. When you execute devotional service, it is not only sukham—sukham means happiness—but another word is added, susukham, “very comfortable, very happy.” Kartum, to execute devotional service, is great pleasure, great happiness. And avyayam. Avyayam means whatever you do, that is your permanent asset. Other things, that is finishable. Suppose you are very much advanced educated person. You have passed M.A., Ph.D., and something, something. But it is not avyayam; it is vyayam. Vyayam means it is finishable. As soon as your body is finished, your so- called degrees all finished. Then again next life if you become a human being, of course again there is chance of becoming M.A., Ph.D., but the first M.A., Ph.D. in this life, that is finished. So whatever we are acquiring here, that is not avyayam. Vyayam means expenditure, and a means “not,” not expenditure. If you have got some money, if you spend, then it is vyayam, finished after some time. Avyayam means you spend as much, still not finished. That is avyayam. So devotional service of Krsna is explained as susukham kartum avyayam. Whatever you do, if you have attained success ten percent, that ten percent your permanent. Therefore it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrasto sanjayate. Those who could not finish the bhakti-yoga in this life, they get another chance of human life. Not only human life, it is stated they go to the heavenly planet, they enjoy there, and then again come back in this planet. And that also not ordinary man. Sucinam srimatam gehe: he takes birth in very sanctified family, just like brahmana-Vaisnava, sucinam, and srimatam, very rich family. Then it is his duty. So those who are born rich… You Americans, you are supposed to be born rich. Actually it is so. So you should think in this term, that “Due to our previous devotional service, by Krsna’s grace we have got our birth in this country. There is no poverty,” srimatam. So you should take to Krsna consciousness very seriously. You have got the opportunity. You are not poverty-stricken. You haven’t got to waste your time, “Where is food? Where is food? Where is food?” Just like in other, poverty-stricken country, they are embarrassed to find out food. But you are very fortunate, so don’t waste this opportunity by becoming hippies. Don’t waste. Become devotee, Krsna’s devotee. The Krsna consciousness movement is there, and we have got so many centers. Just try to learn this Krsna consciousness science and make your life perfect. That is our request. Thank you very much. (end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Denver, June 29, 1975