Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.14 Pradyumna: “As I have advised you, My dear sons, you should act accordingly. Be very careful. By these means you will be freed from the ignorance of the desire for fruitive activity, and the knot of bondage in the heart will be completely severed. For further advancement, you should also give up the means. That is, you should not become attached to the process of liberation itself.” Prabhupada: karmasayam hrdaya-granthi-bandham avidyayasaditam apramattah anena yogena yathopadesam samyag vyapohyoparameta yogat So, the bhakti-yoga process is described in the previous verses. Real purport is, karmasayam, how to be free from karmasayam. So long our mind will be absorbed in karmasayam, then there is no question of becoming free from this material body. Karmanubandham na mucyate deha-yogena tavat. This is already advised, the whole purpose is how to make the spirit soul from the bondage of contamination of repetition of birth and death. That is the purpose of human life. Karmasayam, everyone is trying to become happy by working hard and getting the result. Abrahma-bhuvanal lokah, not only here, but also in other planets up to the Brahmaloka, this process is going on. And to counteract this process, in the previous three verses it has been explained how one can gradually become relieved. The first process is recommended, hamse gurau mayi bhaktyanuvrtya. So this is the Vedic injunction. If we want to understand this science… It is science, it is not sentiment. Bhakti-yoga is not sentiment, it is a science. Therefore we have to take it from authorized Vedic instruction. Srila Rupa Gosvami has advised that science means you have to take it from the Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge means there is no mistake, there is no cheating, there is no imperfect senses. Everything is perfect. So science means, which is perfect knowledge. Not perhaps, it may be, that is not science, theory. Theory is not science. Science, the most important items of science is observation and experiment. First of all to study the situation by observation, and then practically, when you are able to make an experiment, then it is science. Otherwise, theoretical knowledge has no meaning. So in order to know that science, one has to approach a perfect teacher. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. Here also it is said, gurau hamsa. Hamse gurau mayi. The mayi is also significant. That means, paramahamsa guru means, he’s as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because he does not deviate from the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the symptom of guru. Guru does not deviate from the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He does not manufacture something new, novel. No, the same thing. Just like Krsna says in the Fourth Chapter, although He is the speaker, millions of years ago He instructed the science to the Sun god, and again when He was instructed to Arjuna, He said that, “I am instructing the same thing.” Sa evayam puratanah. Not that on account of change of time, the instruction has been changed, no. (aside:) What is that exact verse? Sa evayam puratanah? Devotee: Yogah proktah puratanah. Prabhupada: Yogah proktah puratanah. Puratanah, not something new. This is nonsense. There cannot be something new. Everything established. Science means, scientific knowledge means, it is not something new. Just like the sun rises from the eastern horizon. So millions of years ago, the sun used to rise from the eastern horizon, and still it is going on. Not that because time has changed, the sun is rising from the western side or northern side, no. Knowledge means… That is Vedic knowledge. Established knowledge. It cannot be changed in any circumstance. That is Vedic knowledge. What was millions of years ago fact, it is fact now. So, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. So in order to know that factual knowledge, one has to approach the bona fide spiritual master. We have several times explained this, who is bona fide spiritual master, confirmed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that amara ajnaya guru hana, “You become a guru on My instruction.” So those who are affiliated with Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instruction, he is guru. Not anyone else. Amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Then one may argue that if Caitanya Mahaprabhu is ordering, so anyone can order? No, Caitanya Mahaprabhu is not ordering something new. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that “Under My instruction you become guru.” But the instruction is Krsna’s, the same instruction, yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also does not deviate from krsna-upadesa, what to speak of others. And those rascals who are deviating from the instruction of Krsna, how he can become guru? They are interpreting in a different way, how they can become guru? That is not guru. We should simply remember this fact, whether this person is speaking the same thing as Krsna says, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, as Ramanujacarya says, even Sankaracarya. He, superficially he might have said something which is not understandable, but he also followed the same thing, bhaja govindam bhaja govindam bhaja govindam mudha. But due to unfavorable time, he had to say about impersonal feature. But ultimately he said, bhaja govindam bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam mudha mate. You rascal, you just worship Govindam. And this jugglery of words, grammatical jugglery, will not help you at the time of death. Nahi nahi raksati dukrn-karane(?). If you misinterpret that “With this grammatical addition or grammatical alteration this meaning can be derived.” No. That is mal-interpretation. Real understanding is bhaja govindam. Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **. Lord Brahma, he also says, govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami. And Sripada Sankaracarya, he is incarnation of Sankara, he also saying, govindam, bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam. And we are following the same thing, so that is guru-parampara, that is real knowledge. So don’t approach a cheater, but actually approach a teacher, not a cheater. Then bhakti-yoga will be… That teacher is guru, and he is representative of Krsna. He does not say anything else. So bhaktya anuvrtya. Anuvrtya means following. Not that I have become more than my guru, I can invent something. No. Bhakti means, sadhu-marganugamanam. You have to follow the sadhu, the acarya. That is bhakti. Bhakti does not means that I am so learned I can manufacture something. That is rascal. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasa-dasa-dasanudasah. That is bhakti. You have to become servant of the servant of the servant of the servant. Not that at a point you become suddenly very learned scholar, and you do not remain a servant, but you want to become a master, to dictate the guru. That is rascal. That will not help us. Here it is said, bhaktyanuvrtya. Bhaktya, bhaktya, bhakti means seva. Bhaja sevaya. When bhakti, bhajata sukti(?). Bhaja means sevaya. Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya [Bg. 4.34]. So we have to understand this bhakti-yoga by bhaktyanuvrtya, not otherwise. Not that I am very learned scholar, I can give a different interpretation and… No, that is not bhakti. Bhaktyanuvrtya vitrsnaya dvandva-titiksaya ca. Then mat-karmabhir mat-kathaya ca nityam. This is a very important word nityam, mat-kathaya. The Bhagavan says, “My words,” so krsna-katha mat-katha. Krsna says, mat-katha. We can say, krsna-katha. So krsna-katha, Krsna is speaking personally Bhagavad-gita, this is krsna-katha. Krsna is speaking the words, that is krsna-katha. And Srimad-Bhagavatam also krsna-katha, it is spoken about Krsna. Janmady asya yato ’nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah [Bhag. 1.1.1]. Param satyam dhimahi, that is param satyam, krsna-katha. Bhagavan is param satyam. Param Brahman. Not only Brahman, Param Brahman. The Mayavadi philosophers, they are concerned with the brahman-katha but, we (are) very interested not only (in) brahman-katha but parabrahman-katha, that is Krsna consciousness, that is wanted. Param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg. 10.12]. So krsna-katha. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also says, yare dekha tare kaha krsna-upadesa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. This is guru. Krsna-katha. So here it is said that, mat-katha, mat-karmabhir mat-kathaya ca. So…, and how? Mat-karmabhir mat-kathaya ca nityam, twenty-four hours. Nityam means always. Not that officially, I attend bhagavata-katha for seven days or ten days in a year, and there are 365 days, and other 355 days, I go to the share market and simply inquire about the raise of this share and that share. That will not help you. Nityam bhagavata-sevaya [SB 1.2.18], then it is bhakti-yoga. This manufacturing of seven days bhagavata-katha, it is business. It is not bhagavata-katha. In the Bhagavata comments, there are so many authorized comments, just like Sridhara Svami, Viraraghavacarya, Vijayadhvaja, Visvanatha Cakravarti, Jiva Gosvami, and Giridhari Gosvami, so many. Nowhere it is stated that you hear bhagavata-katha for seven days. You will not find. Therefore this seven days bhagavata-katha, so far we can understand, it is not authorized. Here also it is said, nityam, mat-kathaya ca nityam. Never you will find seven days. In another place it is said, nityam bhagavata-sevaya. Nityam, you have to hear Bhagavatam daily. Not that a prescribed method, formality, for seven days. No, that is not authorized. Here it is also said, mat-kathaya, bhagavata-kathaya ca nityam. Mad-deva-sangat, not in the association of the karmis, jnanis, yogis, no. That will not help us. Narottama dasa Thakura says, tandera carana-sevi-bhakta-sane vas janame janame hoy ei abhilas To live with the devotees. If we associate with the karmis or the jnanis or the yogis, then it will not be possible. Then you will be mislead. Therefore it is said that mad-deva-sangat. Mad-deva-sangat means one who has absolutely taken the shelter of Krsna’s lotus feet, mad-deva. There are many others, of course nobody is deva, deva is Krsna. But there are others, demigods. There are thirty-three millions of devas. But Krsna especially, He says, mad-deva, one who has taken Krsna as the only worshipable deity. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam [Bg. 18.66], that is it. One who has taken such vow, that krsnas tu bhagavan svayam, I shall take to the shelter of Krsna, that is not very easy thing. But, that is the ultimate point. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. That mad-deva, that Krsna, is my worshipable deity only. This conclusion comes after many, many births of culturing knowledge, jnana, yoga, karma, it is not so easy. Therefore we have to take shelter of such person who has taken Krsna as the only shelter, vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma [Bg. 7.19]. We have to take shelter of such mahatma. Not others. Mad-deva these are the different items, mad-deva-sangad guna-kirtanan me. Not that now they have invented that, why Hare Krsna, we can chant sivo ’ham, sivo ’ham, om, om, kali, kali, durga. They (are) all nonsense. They are all nonsense. Here bhakti-yoga means, here it is, guna-kirtanan me. Not others. You cannot (indistinct), “This is also good, that is also good.” No compromise, krsna-kirtana. Just like Gosvamis, they said, krsnotkirtana-gana-nartana-parau. Not others. Utkirtana, Hare Krsna. Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet. These are the instructions. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh [SB 7.5.23], not of Siva, not of Durga, not of any other demigod. Sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam. Here (indistinct) says, guna-kirtanan me. So these are the items we should, nirvaira-samyopasamena putra jihasaya deha-geha. This is also one of the important items, that I am executing devotional service, but I have no detachment from my family life. The bhakti-yoga means bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra syat [SB 11.2.42]. That is bhakti-yoga. Everyone can test, “How much I have become detached from my, this worldly affection. This is my family, this is my country, this is my society, this is my son, this is my wife, this is my children.” This is moha. Janasya moho ’yam aham mameti [SB 5.5.8], we have to give up this. If we have not been able to give up this attachment, worldly attachment, that means we are not making any progress. Therefore it is said clearly, deha-gehatma. Eh? Buddheh. What is that? Jihasaya deha-gehatma-buddheh. Atma-buddheh. Deha-gehatma-buddheh. Everyone is thinking “I am this body.” Everyone is thinking, “This is my country,” nationalism. “This is my socialism.” “I am brahmana, I belong to the brahmanas,” “I belong to the ksatriyas.” “I belong to America.” “I belong to India.” This is deha-gehatma-buddheh, and yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke [SB 10.84.13]. Anyone who is thinking like that, deha-gehatma, sa eva go-kharah, he is no better than the cows and the asses, animal. Deha-gehatma-buddheh is animal conception. One has to come to understand that “I am not this body, I am not this mind or intelligence.” Aham brahmasmi, I am part and parcel of Krsna, Param Brahman. Mamaivamso jiva-bhutah [Bg. 15.7] So, in this way if we practice according to the prescription, sastra-vidhi, that is wanted. Not that without sastra-vidhi, you can become liberated. That is not possible. Yah sastra-vidhim utsrjya vartate kama-karatah na sa siddhim avapnoti, Krsna says. And if you give up, sastra-vidhim, and act according to your whims, then there is no question of perfection. Na sa siddhim avap…, na sukham, like that. The sastra-vidhim (indistinct). Rupa Gosvami also advised like that, sruti-smrti-puranadi-pancaratra-vidhim vina aikantiki harer bhaktir utpatayaiva kalpate [BRS 1.2.101] There are so many they have invented. Just like Hare Krsna mantra is prescribed in the sastras, and they have invented so many. Although there is the name of the Supreme Lord, still you have to follow the sastra. If you say Rama Rama Rama, Radhe Radhe Radhe, Krsna, there are so many mentioned. That is also name, but you have to follow the sastra. Sastra says: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare You have to take that. Not that you can say, nitai-gaura radhe-syama, hare krsna hare rama, no. Why? Is there any in the sastra? No, you have invented. What is the value of your invention? You are not perfect. But they like that “It is my guru, I have got some followers, I invent some type of chanting.” This is nonsense. You must follow, mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. You cannot invent. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu… (break—end)
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Vrndavana, November 2, 1976