London, July 14, 1973

Pradyumna (leads chanting, etc.):

tataù ç aì khä ç ca bheryaç ca

paë avä naka-gomukhä ù

sahasaivä bhyahanyanta

sa ç abdas tumulo 'bhavat

[Bg. 1.13]

Translation: " After that, the conchshells, bugles, trumpets, drums and horns were all of a sudden sounded, and the combined sound was tumultuous."

Prabhupä da: So there are mention of various types of musical instruments. Those instruments are no longer in use. But different types of bugles, drums, kettledrums, as they use in modern days. So the same principle. By musical instruments, the soldiers are kept alive so they can fight nicely. Sa ç abdas tumulo 'bhavat: " When simultaneously all the instruments were sounded, it become tumultuous." Next verse. Tataù ç vetair hayair yukte mahati syandane sthitau. Read it.

Pradyumna (leads chanting, etc.):

tataù ç vetair hayair yukte

mahati syandane sthitau

mä dhavaù pä ë ò avaç caiva

divyau ç aì khau pradadhmatuù

[Bg. 1.14]

Translation: " On the other side, both Lord Kå ñ ë a and Arjuna, stationed on a great chariot drawn by white horses, sounded their transcendental conchshells."

Prabhupä da: So you have seen the picture. Kå ñ ë a is driving four white horses. (reads from purport:) " In contrast with the conchshell blown by Bhé ñ madeva, the conchshells in the hands of Kå ñ ë a and Arjuna are described as transcendental." Kå ñ ë a is transcendental. Nä rä yaë aù paro 'vyaktä t. Kå ñ ë a is not of this material world. Kå ñ ë a's body, Kå ñ ë a's activities, everything of Kå ñ ë a, they are transcendental. They are not of this material world. Divyam. In the catuù -ç loki Bhä gavatam it is said when Kå ñ ë a was instructing Brahmä, aham evä sam evä gre: [SB 2.9.33/34/35/36] " Before this material creation, I was existing." In the Vedas also, it is said, eko nä rä yaë a ä sé t. " Before creation, only Nä rä yaë a was there."

So Kå ñ ë a's position is always transcendental. He is not any creation of this material world. But because he comes just like a human being and acts also just like human being, those who are less intelligent, avajä nanti, they think of Kå ñ ë a as ordinary human being. Avajä nanti mä à mü ò hä ù [Bg. 9.11]. Mü ò hä ù. Mü ò hä ù means asses. Or less intelligent class of men. They cannot understand Kå ñ ë a's position. Kå ñ ë a's position is always transcendental.

When Arjuna inquired from Him about His instruction to sun-god, Kå ñ ë a said, imaà vivasvate yogaà proktavä n aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. This bhakti-yogam of as mentioned in the Bhagavad-gé tä... Bhagavad-gé tä is bhakti-yogam, to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So this literature is also transcendental. Bhakti is also transcendental. Bhakti is not any activities of this material world. Janma karma me divyam [Bg. 4.9]. So bhakti is activity in relationship with Kå ñ ë a. Therefore it is not material. Sa guë ä n samaté tyaitä n brahma-bhü yä ya kalpate, mä à ca yo 'vyabhicä reë a bhakti-yogena sevate [Bg. 14.26]. Bhakti-yoga is transcendental. And because Kå ñ ë a is transcendental, you cannot understand Kå ñ ë a by any material method. Therefore Kå ñ ë a says, bhaktyä mä m abhijä nä ti [Bg. 18.55]. The method also is transcendental, not of this material world. So if we can understand simply these facts, that Kå ñ ë a is transcendental, Kå ñ ë a's name is transcendental, Kå ñ ë a's form is transcendental, sac-cid-ä nanda-vigrahaù. É ç varaù paramaù kå ñ ë aù sac-cid-ä nanda-vigrahaù [Bs. 5.1]. Kå ñ ë a's body is sac-cid-ä nanda, not body like this. This body is asat, acit and nirä nanda, just the opposite. This material body is asat. Asat means temporary. It will not exist. But Kå ñ ë a's body is not like that. Kå ñ ë a's body is eternal. That is cit. Sat-cit. Full of knowledge.

So less intelligent class of men, they cannot understand Kå ñ ë a. Therefore ç ä stra says, ataù ç ré -kå ñ ë a-nä mä di na bhaved grä hyam indriyaiù [Cc. Madhya 17.136]. These indriya, these material senses, cannot speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is not possible. Ç rama eva hi kevalam [SB 1.2.8]. That is simply laboring, wasting time. Kå ñ ë a should be understood as Kå ñ ë a says. He can explain Himself. Nobody can explain. Because our senses are imperfect. We are deficient by four kinds of faults. We commit mistake; we are illusioned; with imperfect senses, we try to speak transcendental knowledge; therefore cheating. With imper... They will say, " Probably, " " Maybe." This is the so-called scientists' language. That means imperfect knowledge. Still, they want to teach. This is cheating. Knowledge must be perfect. Then you can teach others.

So our process is to receive the perfect knowledge from the perfect source and distribute it. We don't manufacture knowledge. Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-gé tä as it is, as it is. The Bhagavad-gé tä is already perfect. Why shall I interpret with my imperfect senses? This is cheating. But people want to be cheated. Vaï cita-vaï caka-sampradä ya. The whole world is full of cheaters and cheated. Because we want to be cheated, there are so many cheaters. They don't want real thing. Here is the real thing, Bhagavad-gé tä, the Supreme Personality of Godhead speaking personally about Himself. Why should we interpret? Does it mean that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme authority, left something unexplained to be interpreted later on by some rascals? No. But the rascals dare; they interpret. That is cheating. That is another fault. There are 640-45 editions of Bhagavad-gé tä. Simply cheating. Amongst them, there are big, big scholars. Not scholars. All rascals, but they cheat. They pose themselves as scholars and people want to be cheated, so they take their words. So they cannot understand Kå ñ ë a. Cheated. They take the shelter of the cheaters. Therefore they are cheated.

So the mä yä is very strong. Mä yä always dictates so that we may be cheated: " Why you are taking Kå ñ ë a as the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Don't take. He is ordinary man. You can be also equal with Kå ñ ë a. You also become God. You become also incarnation." This is going on. And people flock there because they want to be cheated. What Kå ñ ë a says, they will not accept it. Kå ñ ë a says, sarva-dharmä n parityajya mä m ekaà ç araë am: [Bg. 18.66] " Only take to Kå ñ ë a consciousness." Sarva-dharmä n. Because any dharma which is not approved by the Supreme Lord Kå ñ ë a, that is not dharma. Dharmaà tu sä kñ ä d bhagavat-praë é tam [SB 6.3.19]. A human being or a demigod or very exalted person cannot manufacture dharma. That is not possible. Real dharma is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kå ñ ë a, and that real dharma is stated in the Bhagavad-gé tä: sarva-dharmä n parityajya mä m ekaà ç araë aà vraja [Bg. 18.66]. " Just surrender unto me." This is real dharma. Surrender to Kå ñ ë a and follow His instruction; your life will be perfect. Because you follow the perfect instruction, therefore you are also perfect. Simple process. To become perfect, we have to follow the perfect instruction.

So in the Bhagavad-gé tä there is perfect instruction. And if we take it as it is and follow it, then we become perfect. To become perfect is not very difficult job. But because we don't want to become perfect, because we want to be cheated, we do not become perfect. This is the difficulty. So we should know from the very beginning that Kå ñ ë a is transcendental. And all His activities, they are all transcendental. Although Kå ñ ë a appears just like ordinary human being... He does not appear like ordinary human being because Kå ñ ë a, when He was three months old only, He killed the Pü tanä rä kñ asé. A three month's old child cannot kill such giant demon. It is not possible. Kå ñ ë a, when He was six or seven years old, He lifted the Govardhana Hill. So what is the difficulty for Kå ñ ë a? If Kå ñ ë a can float big, big gigantic planets in the air just like cotton swab floating, so is it very difficult for Kå ñ ë a to lift a mountain with His hand, with His finger? That is not difficult for Kå ñ ë a. But those who want to be cheated, when Kå ñ ë a shows His transcendental strength, they don't believe it, another cheating. They, they'll admit, " Oh, these are... What is called?

Devotee: Mythology.

Prabhupä da: Mythology. As if Vyä sadeva wrote this Ç ré mad-Bhä gavatam to put before these rascals some mythology, some imaginary things. Just see how they want to be cheated. Such an exalted personality like Vyä sadeva, who has given us the Vedic literature, he presented something which is imaginary. What business He has got? Therefore sometimes these cheated people, they deny to accept that Bhä gavata is written by Ç ré Vyä sadeva. But those who are actually ä cä ryas, those who can guide us, like Ç aì karä cä rya, Rä mä nujä cä rya, Madhvä cä rya, big, big..., Caitanya Mahä prabhu, they do not say like this, that " It is mythology. It is imaginary." They accept as it is. So we have to follow these mahä jana. Mahä jano yena gataù sa panthä ù dharmasya tattvaà nihito guhä yä m [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. We have to follow great personalities, ä cä ryas. ä cä ryavä n puruñ o veda. One who has got, one who has taken shelter of ä cä rya, bona fide spiritual master, he knows. Ä cä ryavä n puruñ o veda. Because he is receiving the right knowledge from the right source, ä cä rya... Evaà paramparä -prä ptam imaà rä jarñ ayo viduù [Bg. 4.2]. Ä cä rya means by disciplic succession. As Kå ñ ë a says, disciplic succession, all the ä cä ryas will say the same thing. They will not change, they will not interpret. They can explain. But the original fact is not distorted. That is ä cä rya. Ä cä rya will never say that " Kå ñ ë a is material. Kå ñ ë a... There was no such thing as Kå ñ ë a. There was no such battle, Battle of Kurukñ etra. These are all imaginary." So if we don't want to be cheated, then we should take Kå ñ ë a as He is presenting Himself and as it is confirmed by the ä cä ryas. Then our knowledge is perfect. So here it is said,

tataù ç vetair hayair yukte

mahati syandane sthitau

mä dhavaù pä ë ò avaç caiva

divyau ç aì khau pradadhmatuù

[Bg. 1.14]

Kå ñ ë a and His devotee Arjuna, they are on the same platform. Therefore Mä dhava and Pä ë ò ava. They blew Their transcendental conchshells. This is not ordinary. (reads from purport:) " The sounding of the transcendental conchshells indicated that there was no hope of victory for the other side." This is the sounding. Divyau. They are also sounding their conchshell, even Bhé ñ ma, but that cannot be compared with the conchshells of Mä dhava and Pä ë ò ava. Arjuna, associates, they are also equally powerful. Nobody can be associates of Kå ñ ë a without being very, very much advanced. Just like fire can mix with fire, similarly water can mix with water; similarly, unless one is transcendentally advanced, he cannot be associate of Kå ñ ë a. Ç ré la Narottama dä sa Ö hä kura sings,

gaurä ì gera saì gi-gaë e, nitya-siddha kori mä ne,

se jä y brajendra-suta-pä ç

Gaurä ì gera saì gi-gaë e. Ç ré Caitanya Mahä prabhu, Kå ñ ë a, and His associates,

ç ré -kå ñ ë a-caitanya prabhu-nityä nanda

ç ré -advaita gadä dhara ç ré vä sä di-gaura-bhakta-vå nda

[I offer my obeisances to Ç ré Kå ñ ë a Caitanya, Prabhu Nityä nanda, Ç ré Advaita, Gadä dhara, Ç ré vä sa and all others in the line of devotion.]

All the devotees. So Narottama dä sa Ö hä kura says, " So all these associates of Caitanya Mahä prabhu should be known—they are also of the same category." Gaurä ì gera saì gi-gaë e, nitya-siddha kori mä ne. This word nitya-siddha is significant. Nitya-siddha and nitya-baddha. There are two kinds of living entities. Nitya-baddha means ever-conditioned. Ever-conditioned means those who are in this material world, they do not know when they came in touch with this material world. Neither they do know when they will be liberated. They are called nitya-baddha, ever-conditioned. And similarly, there are nitya-siddhas. Nitya-siddhas means they never come in contact with this material world, and even they come here for some business, they do not forget their position. That is nitya-siddha. Try to understand. There are two kinds of living entities: nitya-siddha, nitya-baddha. Nitya-baddhas are within this material world. Beginning from Brahmä down to a small ant, insignificant ant, they are all nitya-baddhas. Anyone who is in this material world—nitya-baddha. And nitya-siddhas, they belong to the spiritual world. They never come in contact with this material world, and even they come for some business under the order of the Supreme Lord, they do not touch these material qualities They remain always transcendental. As Kå ñ ë a remains always transcendental, even though He is in this material world, similarly, Kå ñ ë a's nitya-siddha associates, they are also transcendental. They never touch this material world.

So try to understand the position of Kå ñ ë a. Kå ñ ë a is nä rä yaë aù paro 'vyaktä t, transcendental, paraù avyaktä t. That is puruñ ottama-yoga in the Bhagavad-gé tä. Kå ñ ë a has said, " Anyone who has understood Me, ajam avyayam, ajam—I never take birth in this material world, neither I am deteriorated by material contact—he knows me perfectly." That is called puruñ ottama. Puruñ a uttama. Uttama. Uttama means " not of this material world." Ut. Ut means above, and tama means this darkness. So ut-tama means " above this darkness." So uttama puruñ a. Puruñ a uttama. Puruñ a. Puruñ a means enjoyer. Prakå ti means enjoyed. So actually, we are not puruñ a; we are prakå ti. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gé tä, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakå tià parä m, jé va-bhü tä à mahä -bä ho yayedaà dhä ryate jagat [Bg. 7.5]. Apareyam, these material elements, bhü mir ä po 'nalo vä yuù, earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence, bhinnä me prakå tir añ ö adhä, these are separated energies, material energies of Kå ñ ë a. They are also prakå ti. As this material world is prakå ti, similarly, there is another prakå ti, Kå ñ ë a gives information. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakå tià parä m. But that is parä -prakå ti. So we are not puruñ a; we are prakå tis. Although by materially dressed, we appear to be puruñ a, actually, we are not puruñ a. Just like if you dress one woman like a man, that does mean she has become man. She is woman. Similarly, we are puruñ a in the sense that we are trying to imitate the supreme puruñ a, Puruñ ottama. Kå ñ ë a is the Supreme enjoyer. We are trying to become imitation Kå ñ ë a. Just like so many rascals, they declare that " God, I am God." That is the last snare, Mä yä vä da. First of all we try to become enjoyer like the head of the family man or a minister or this and that, so many. Everyone is trying to become head, enjoyer. And at last, being baffled in every respect, he wants to become God. This is the last snare of mä yä. Nobody can become God. He is Puruñ ottama and we are prakå tis. Artificially, how we can become enjoyer? Prakå ti means enjoyed. Enjoyer and... Predominator and the predominated.

So jé va-bhü ta, we jé vas, we are all prakå ti. Puruñ a is only Kå ñ ë a. All living entities... Viñ ë u-tattva is puruñ a-tattva, and we are ç akti-tattva, ç akti, energy, marginal energy of Kå ñ ë a. So energy is prakå ti. The prakå ti is not puruñ a. So Mä yä vä da philosophy is wrong. They pose them as so 'ham. So 'ham " I am the same." How you can be same? In the ç ä stra it is said that " You living entity, you are prakå ti." How you can become same, you puruñ a. This is mistake. How prakå ti, how a woman can become man? Artificially one can become. Here also so-called woman, they are also puruñ a. They are thinking puruñ a. Puruñ a means enjoyer. Here woman is also thinking to enjoy, and the so-called man is also thinking to enjoy. Everyone. Nobody wants to serve. Everyone wants to be served. Puruñ a attitude. Everyone wants to be served. Nobody wants to serve. This is the material conception of life.

So when we agree to serve, not to be served, that is liberated person. When we agree to serve only, not to be served. Not to accept service from others, but to serve others—that is real liberation. But here the material disease is that everyone is making plan " How others will serve me." This is called mä yä. This is called mä yä. Mä yä means that artificially we want to be served. That is not possible. When we agree to serve... As Caitanya Mahä prabhu has given us the path of liberation, jé vera svarü pa hoy nitya-kå ñ ë a-dä sa, this is our position. We are eternal servant of Kå ñ ë a.

So when we engage ourself in the service of Kå ñ ë a... The whole Bhagavad-gé tä is spoken on this basis. Arjuna was artificially declining to serve Kå ñ ë a. Kå ñ ë a wanted him to fight, and Arjuna was putting so many reasons, " How he could fight and kill the other side who are his kinsmen, who are nephews, who are brothers, grandfather? " This argument were being put. So that means he refused to serve Kå ñ ë a. That is material condition. He was thinking in his own terms. He wanted to enjoy the family members, the so-called nephews, brothers, that " If they are killed, then what is the use of my, this kingdom? " [break]...but people thinks that I get kingdom I enjoy myself. That is condition. But a liberated soul will take the kingdom, but it will be used for Kå ñ ë a's service. That is liberated, soul.

In this way we should try to understand, Kå ñ ë a, Kå ñ ë a's name, Kå ñ ë a's fame, Kå ñ ë a's associates, Kå ñ ë a's activities, all divyam, transcendental. They are not material. Therefore it is mentioned here, divyau ç aì khau pradadhmatuù [Bg. 1.14]. Divyau ç aì khau. The ç aì kha used by Kå ñ ë a and Arjuna, they are not ordinary ç aì kha. Thank you very much. Hare Kå ñ ë a. (end)