Çré Caitanya-caritämåta,

Madhya-lélä 20.118–119
—
December 1, 1966, New York

661201CC-NEW YORK [25:15 Minutes]

Audio

Prabhupäda:

...uöhäya, kabhu narake òubäya

daëòya-jane räjä yena nadéte cubäya
[Cc Madhya 20.118]

[In the material condition, the living entity is sometimes raised to higher
planetary systems and material prosperity and sometimes drowned in a hellish
situation. His state is exactly like that of a criminal whom a king punishes by
submerging him in water and then raising him again from the water.]
So Lord Caitanya is explaining the positions of the conditioned soul. They are
completely under the grip of this material nature. And just like one is seated on
the car and the driver drives him—if the driver is not under control, he drives
him anywhere, to any hell—similarly, we are sitting on this car of this body,
supplied by the material nature, and she is driving anywhere—sometimes up,
sometimes down. In this way we are suffering life after life, birth after birth.
This is our condition. We are not independent; completely under the stringent
laws of material nature.
So daëòya-jane räjä yena nadéte cubäya. The example is very nice, that a culprit

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is drowned in the water, again taken for some time to take breathing. He was
suffocating. Nature... He's not meant to be killed, but he is to be given suffering
in that way. So material nature is giving us suffering, miseries like that.

bhayaà dvitéyäbhi... dvitéyäbhiniveçataù syäd

éçäd apetasya viparyayo 'småtiù
tan-mäyayäto budha äbhajet taà
bhaktyaikayeçaà guru-devatätmä
[Cc Madhya 20.119]

[When the living entity is attracted by the material energy, which is

separate from Kåñëa, he is overpowered by fear. Because he is separated from
the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the material energy, his conception of
life is reversed. In other words, instead of being the eternal servant of Kåñëa,
he becomes Kåñëa’s competitor. This is called viparyayo ’småtiù. To nullify this
mistake, one who is actually learned and advanced worships the Supreme
Personality of Godhead as his spiritual master, worshipful Deity and source of
life. He thus worships the Lord by the process of unalloyed devotional service.’]
Therefore Bhägavata, Çrémad-Bhägavata, is giving direction, bhayaà
dvitéyäbhiniveçataù syät. When we are forgetful of Kåñëa consciousness, when
you think that "There is no God. This matter is everything. This material
manifestation which we see, that is everything all in all, and there is no Lord,
no, I mean to say, supreme controller," when we think like that, that begins,
that is the point of our anxiety, beginning of anxiety: bhayam, fearfulness.
We are all fearful because, as we have got these bodily necessities, we want to
eat something, we want to sleep, similarly, we have fear, and we have demand
for mating. These four principles are animal life. We are always fearful. And
why we are fearful? Because we have taken it that there is no God. There is no
God; therefore we are fearful.
Just like a forlorn child, when he thinks that "My... I am... My father and my

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mother, lost." You might have experienced. A child lost, he cries. He thinks
himself, "I am helpless. Where is my mother? Where is my...?" Similarly, when
we are helpless, we are fearful. And those who are Kåñëa conscious, they are
not helpless. They know, "Above me, there is Kåñëa." And çaraëägati,
surrender, means to have firm conviction that "Kåñëa will protect me. I am
engaged in Kåñëa's service, so Kåñëa will give me protection."
If I work in some ordinary man's service, he gives me protection. Don't you
think if you work for Kåñëa, He'll not give you protection? Because you have no
faith, therefore we are seeking protection from elsewhere. Kåñëa is able. He
says, ahaà tväà sarva-päpebhyo mokñayiñyämi [Bg 18.66]:
[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver
you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]
"I shall give you protection from all sinful reactions." But we have no faith. We
are thinking, "Oh, it is written in the Bhagavad-gétä. That's all right, but I must
have my protection in a different way."
So dvitéyäbhiniveçataù. Because he thinks there is anything superior than
Kåñëa, therefore he is fearful. Why a conditioned soul is fearful, that is
explained in the Bhägavata. Bhayam dvitéyäbhiniveçataù syät. So this mäyä, the
illusion, when we take shelter of this illusion, then we are afraid. And when we
understand that "Illusion, this energy, is under the control of Kåñëa, because
illusion, this material energy, is also Kåñëa's energy, inferior energy. So even if
I, I am within this material energy, when I am forgetful of Kåñëa, this material
energy is fearful for me, and when I am in Kåñëa consciousness fully, there is
no question of fearfulness from material nature."
Therefore tan-mäyayä äbhajet tam. Äbhajet tam. And therefore it is our duty to
regain our lost consciousness, Kåñëa consciousness. That is the duty of this
human form of life. Äbhajet tam bhaktyaika éçam. Simply by devotional... If you
want to worship the Supreme Lord, then you have to worship Him simply by
service. There is no other process. You cannot worship Kåñëa by this

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controlling breathing or by mental speculation or by some pious activities or by
charities. You have simply... You have to worship Him simply by your
devotional love. That is the only way. Bhaktyai..., bhaktyaika, only one, bhakti.
There is no other means. There is no second means to understand God without
this devotional service. Rest assured. Foolish creatures, they take this, that.
They do not understand. They come to the, that impersonal, void, all the
nonsensical conclusion and... Because they do not take shelter of this,
devotion, therefore they cannot have any conclusion. It is not possible.
Therefore, more or less, they become atheists or after the voidness or
impersonalism, and so many things there are. They create.
But because Kåñëa, or the Supreme Lord, cannot be understood by any other
process, it is simply waste of time. If you want to know Kåñëa, if you want to
know God, then you have to take this process. That is a... Bhaktyaikayeçam,
äbhajet tam bhaktyaikayeçaà guru-devatätmä: "He is the Supreme Lord, He is
the Supersoul, and He is the supreme spiritual master." In this way. He's the
supreme spiritual master within you. As soon as you will take to devotional
service, He'll give you dictation, "You do this." What dictation? To go to hell?
No. Buddhi-yogaà dadämi tam [Bg 10.10].
[To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the
understanding by which they can come to Me.]
In the Bhagavad-gétä: "I give him intelligence." Why? What for? Yena mäm
upayänti te: "By which he can come back to Me." That buddhi-yogam. He'll help
you.
If He think something... If He takes seriously about your case, if you are fully
surrendered, then He'll direct you in such a way that you cannot go elsewhere
except to Him, even sometimes you may find that "He is doing something
against my will." I have got my personal experience. I never tried, never
accepted that I shall become a sannyäsé. And I tried my best to keep myself in
this material world. And He has, several times He has frustrated me and has

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brought me by force [to] this life. And now I am happy. I can understand that
how much favor has Kåñëa showed me. Yes. I did not understand in the
beginning.
So sometimes, if Kåñëa takes special care for you, He'll do in such a way that
you will have no other way than to go back in. He'll take charge. Take charge.
If we sincerely want Kåñëa, if He sees that "Oh, here is a person. He wants Me,
but he's a foolish. He wants Me; at the same time he wants to enjoy this
material world. So crush this, crush this, his material propensities, and let him
become simply devoted." Yes. Sometimes we see like that.
In the, in the Çrémad-Bhägavata there is a question by Çukadeva Gosvämé, er,
by Mahäräja Parékñit. Mahäräja Parékñit... Because he understood that his
grandfathers were put to so many difficulties, although Kåñëa was their friend,
personal friend. So everyone became astonished: "How is that? These five
brothers, the big brothers... Mahäräja Yudhiñöhira, he was the most pious man.
Arjuna was the greatest warrior, and Draupadé, their wife, directly the goddess
of fortune. And so much nice... And above all, Kåñëa is their personal friend,
and still, they were put into such difficulties. They lost their kingdom. They
lost their wife. And they were put into so many... For thirteen years they had
to undergo so many troubles." So this was astonishing. Even Bhéñma, he cried,
that "I cannot understand why these five brothers are put into so many
difficulties in spite of their all these qualities."
So their grandson, Mahäräja Parékñit, when he was being taught by Çukadeva
Gosvämé, he had some suspicions about devotion to Kåñëa. Not suspicion; just
to teach us, he inquired that "Lord Kåñëa, He is Viñëu. He is the, I mean to say,
master of the goddess of fortune. Why people who become Kåñëa conscious or a
devotee of Viñëu, they remain poorer, and others, those who worship Çiva and
other demigods, they become very rich? What is the reason? He is the
proprietor of everything. So one who wants Him, they become poorer, whereas
Lord Çiva, he hasn't got even a house of his own, he's a pauper, and one who

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worships him, he becomes richer."
You know the history of Lord Çiva. He hasn't got a house even. [chuckles] He
lives under the tree, or in some mountain. But one who worships Çiva, oh, they
get material opulence very nicely. Therefore a person have become very
easily... And they can smoke gaïja. So all this captivates person to become a
devotee of Çiva. Our Ginsberg is a devotee of Çiva. Perhaps you know. Anyone
who wants this material prosperity, naturally they become the devotee of Çiva.
So this is contradictory. "Çiva has no house even, not even a dwelling place,
residence. He's a pauper. And worshiping him, one becomes richer. And Kåñëa,
Kåñëa is... Sahasra-çata-sambhrama-sevyamänam [Bs 5.29]:
[I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending
the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by
millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by
hundreds of thousands of lakñmés or gopés.]
'Always thousands of goddess of fortune is serving Him,' He's such opulent.
And so kåñëa-bhakta, devotee of Kåñëa, they appear to be poorer. Why?" This
question was... Just the opposite.
So the answer was given by Çukadeva Gosvämé that "This very question was
also put to Kåñëa by your grandfather. So instead of answering myself, I'll put
that very question-and-answer between your grandfather and Kåñëa." So what
is that? "Now, a similar question was put by your grandfather Mahäräja
Yudhiñöhira to Kåñëa, and Kåñëa answered like this." What is that? Yasyäham
anugåhëämi hariñye tad-dhanaà çanaiù [SB 10.88.8]:
[The Personality of Godhead said: If I especially favor someone, I gradually
deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a
poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after
another.]
"If I do somebody some special favor, then My first duty is I become him

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crushed in all material possession." You see? Why? "Because to make him more
surrendered to Me." When he becomes helpless, he has no other way. "Kåñëa,
please take me." When he has something, he thinks, "Oh, these things will
protect me, my material possession." Therefore he does not surrender.
Now, Kåñëa sees that "This man, this living entity, is very much devotee, but
he wants something, this nonsense. So crush him so that when he'll feel
helpless, he will come to Me. No more. So I'll give him all protection." So there
is a policy of Kåñëa. Sometimes He puts us into test, whether we are sincerely
devotee of Kåñëa. Because we are always after sense gratification, so if Kåñëa is
not a order-supplier, then one rejects Kåñëa. We want God, or Kåñëa, to be our
order-supplier. So we must order Kåñëa, "Give me this. Give me that. If You
cannot give me, then what are You, Kåñëa? I don't want You." This sort of
bhakti, or devotional service, is not accepted by Kåñëa.
Just like Mr. Sulye[?], our Godbrother, German, he told me personally that
during wartime many German women, some, they prayed into the church to
get back their husband, son or brother, because all went to war, and nobody
returned. And they become atheist: "Oh, there is no God. We prayed so much
to God to get back my husband, to get back my brother, but they are dead." But
the brother was not returned and the husband was not returned. So result
was...
So if we pray, go to Kåñëa with that purpose, that He should be our
order-supplier, then there is no question of kåñëa-bhakti. We must fully
surrender. Fully surrender: "Let Him do." Äçliñya vä. That is taught by Çré
Caitanya: äçliñya vä päda-ratäà pinañöu mäm marma-hatäà karotu vä adarçanät
[Cc Antya 20.47].
[Let Kåñëa tightly embrace this maidservant who has fallen at His lotus feet,
or let Him trample Me or break My heart by never being visible to Me. He is a
debauchee, after all, and can do whatever He likes, but still He alone, and no
one else, is the worshipable Lord of My heart.]

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Äçliñya vä päda-ratä: "Either You embrace me or You trample me down on Your
feet, neglect me, and You make me broken-hearted, and not being present
before me all the life..." Äçliñya vä päda-ratäà pinañöu mäm marma-hatäà
karotu vä. Marma-hatäm means "If You make me broken-hearted. I love You so
much. I want You, but You never care for me. That's all right. Still You are my
worshipable, unconditionally. I don't want any return from You. Still You are
my worshipable." This is pure devotion. Kåñëa takes all care. Don't think...
Because He says personally, ahaà tväà sarva-päpebhyo mokñayiñyämi [Bg 18.66].
[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver
you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]
Why should you be so anxious? But one who is in love with Kåñëa, he wants to
see Him, he wants to love Him. But even He does not present Himself before
the lover, the lover says, "Oh, still, You are my lovable object, worshipable.
Whatever You can do... You are... You are free to treat me as, as You like, but
You are my worshipable..." This is pure. So as soon as we come to this stage, that
is perfection. That is perfection. Don't expect anything, return.
Now these Gosvämés, the Sanätana Gosvämé... There is a nice story about
Sanätana Gosvämé, of whom we are now studying. Sanätana Gosvämé and
Rüpa Gosvämé, two brothers, they went to Våndävana for devotional service.
So their all business was... Rüpa Gosvämé, especially, he was always engaged in
writing books. And when he was hungry, he went to some householder: "Give
me a piece of bread." And everyone at Våndävana... They were leaders. All the
Våndävana inhabitants, they took... Even their household quarrels, they used
to represent, "Swäméjé, this is our position. Please settle up." So whatever
decision he would give to the villagers, they will accept. Their court was
Swäméjé, Rüpa Gosvämé. So he was so lovable.
So one day Rüpa Gosvämé was thinking that "If I could get some, I mean to say,
commodities for cooking, then I would have invited Sanätana Gosvämé to take
some prasädam." He thought like that. And, and after, say, one hour, one young

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girl came with sufficient quantity of rice, flour, ghee and vegetables, so many
things: "Bäbäjé..." They were called... They call in the India, especially in
Våndävana quarter, they call all these transcendentalist svämés "Bäbäjé."
"Bäbäjé, please accept these commodities. There is some ceremony at our house.
So My mother has sent you all these things." "Oh, very good." He was thinking
that "If I could get some commodities and I could prepare something and invite
Sanätana Gosvämé." So the things were there.
So Rüpa Gosvämé inquired, "Where do You live? Oh, You are very nice girl.
Where do You live?" "Oh, I live in this village. You do not know?" "No, I have
never seen You. All right. Thank You very much." Then She went away. And
invited Sanätana Gosvämé, "My dear brother, please come and take your
prasädam here. I have got some food." "All right." So Sanätana Gosvämé came
during prasädam time, and Rüpa Gosvämé has prepared so many nice dishes.
They were also expert in cooking, expert. You know, all devotees, they are
expert. That is his qualification.
So then Sanätana Gosvämé was inquiring, "Where did you get all these things,
so nice things, you have prepared in this jungle? How did you get?" So he
narrated the story, "Yes, in the morning I thought that 'If somebody sends me
something...' So by Kåñëa's grace, somebody, a nice girl, a very beautiful girl,
and She brought all these things." "Who?" He began to state about the girl's
beauty.
Then Sanätana Gosvämé said, "Oh, I have never seen such beautiful girl.
How...?" "Yes, I have also never seen." "Ohhh. Then She must be Rädhäräëé.
She must be Rädhä. You have taken service from Rädhäräëé? Ohhh. You have
murdered me. We don't want to take any service from Kåñëa, and He has taken
the opportunity, sent us... We want to simply give our service, not any
exchange. Oh, you have done a great mistake. Rädhäräëé has taken this
opportunity." So he began to cry that "We have taken service from Kåñëa. We
have given Her trouble." This is pure devotion. They were very sorry that

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"Kåñëa was troubled to send me all these goods."
So this is the process. Kåñëa is also finding always opportunity, "How to serve
My pure devotee." And pure devotee's so clever that he won't accept any
service from Kåñëa. Just like the Arjuna, he never said, "Kåñëa, You are God.
Why You are putting me to war indirectly? You can give me everything." Kåñëa
said, "No." He never said that, Arjuna. Kåñëa said, niyataà kuru karma tvaà
karma jyäyo hy akarmaëaù [Bg 3.8]:
[Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. A man
cannot even maintain his physical body without work.]
"You are kñatriya. You have to fight." He never said. So we should not take God
as order-supplier. That is not devotion. That is mercantile business. Kåñëa is
not going to be a lover by mercantile mentality. You are..., you must give Him
service. Äbhajet tam. This is the process of devotion.
Thank you very much. [end]

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