The Supreme Knowledge

From the English lecture of Sri Srimad Radha Govinda Goswami Maharaja at Baltimore, U.S.A.

The Supreme Knowledge

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The Supreme Knowledge

The Supreme Knowledge

ida jnam upritya mama sdharmyam gat sarge 'pi nopajyante pralaye na vyathanti ca By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one can attain to the transcendental nature like My own. Thus established, one is not born at the time of creation or disturbed at the time of dissolution.
-Bhagavad-gt 14.2

The Supreme Knowledge

|| r r Guru-Gaurgau Jayata ||

Dedicated to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupda Founder-crya of the International Society for Ka Consciousness
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r-bhagavn uvca para bhya pravakymi jnn jnam uttamam yaj jtv munaya sarve par siddhim ito gat -Bhagavad-gt 14.1
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The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Again I shall declare to you this supreme wisdom, the best of all knowledge, knowing which all the sages have attained the supreme perfection. In the fourteenth chapter, the Lord has described the three modes of material nature. The Lord Himself is the master of the material nature. In this verse, He is saying - para bhya pravakymi jnn jnam uttamam - O Arjuna, now I am again going to describe to you the supreme knowledge, the best of all education, that knowledge which is beyond the modes of material nature uttamam. Sometimes in Sanskrit tamah means ignorance, and it also means material world. Uta means beyond tamah. Again I am going to explain you the supreme wisdom. This means that the Lord has already described this knowledge in the previous chapters. It indicates that this knowledge is extremely important. About this knowledge, the Lord says yaj jtv by understanding this knowledge sarve munaya all the sages in the past cultivated devotional service unto Me and attained perfection, siddhi. Siddhi means perfection. The perfection of life is to understand God and love Him. How can we love r Ka? How can we know Him in full? Its when we try to hear His glories. Muni means silent. Here silence means one who does not speak nonsense but always speak about Ka, His glories and chants His holy names. rpda rdhar Swami has written yat mauna yathrtha bhana. Describing the word mauna, he says mauna is to speak about the glories of the Supreme Lord. So in the past all the sages adopted this process of devotional service. They heard this knowledge from the
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authorized source and by cultivating this knowledge they attained the supreme perfection of life. The Lord is helping us by giving this knowledge which will make our life successful and blissful. This knowledge is most sublime and very easy to cultivate. That is why it is very essential to hear Bhagavadgt. Freedom from birth and death In the second verse the Lord explains the significance of this knowledge ida jnam upritya mama sdharmyam gat sarge 'pi nopajyante pralaye na vyathanti ca By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one can attain to the transcendental nature like My own. Thus established, one is not born at the time of creation or disturbed at the time of dissolution. -Bhagavad-gt 14.2 Those who accept and cultivate this knowledge attain mama sdharmyam. Sdharmyam means nature. Just as the Lord is full of knowledge, eternity and bliss, any devotee cultivating this knowledge of bhakti-yoga attains the same nature as the Lord. Sarge 'pi nopajyante - although in the material world, creation and annihilation takes place again and again, but in the spiritual world, Vaikuha, there is no birth and death. The Lord is speaking in plural, which means that there are so
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many devotees. The Supreme Lord says - They cultivated this knowledge and have attained My abode where there is no birth and death. Sarge means creation and pralaye means annhilation. Anyone who takes birth in this material world has to die. In Bhagavad-gt, the Lord says janma-mtyu-jarvydhi-dukha-donudaranam. One should always know the faults in birth, death and between them old age and disease. Many times rla Prabhupda said, these are the real problems of life. There are so many institutions and societies all over the world trying to solve many problems, but there is no solution to any problem in this material world. There is no one in this world who can say, I have no disease. Everyone has some kind of disease and everyone has to become old and no one can escape death. Therefore a person should solve these problems. Ka is saying that those who are fortunate enough to accept this knowledge given by Me become free from birth and death. The most important service To understand Ka and His devotees and to devote one's whole life in their service is the real solution to all the problems of life. The most important service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is to chant His holy names. In r Caitanya-caritmta it is said - tra madhye sarva-reha nma-sakrtana. Nma-sakrtana is the best process to attain the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is the best of bhakti and it is the best of all sdhana. This is a very easy process of yoga just to vibrate ones tongue. What is the difficulty in cultivating this knowledge? Anyone
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can chant and take prasd. rla Prabhupda often says that there is no difficulty in eating prasd and chanting the holy names. The Supreme Lord is saying the same thing: ida jnam upritya mama sdharmyam gat. Everyone wants a life which is full of knowledge, bliss and eternity sac-cidnanda and completely free from birth, death, old age and disease. The natural desire of every living entity is to be happy. rla Prabhupda says, Yes, you can be happy but chant Hare Ka and remain happy. This is the simplest process. Hare Ka, Hare Ka, Ka Ka, Hare Hare Hare Rma, Hare Rma, Rma Rma, Hare Hare. Essence of all knowledge There are so many ignorant persons in this material world who try to become like God. So, the Supreme Lord is saying, here is the process to get free from all the problems of life. Why should one not adopt this process? If one wants to become like God, then he should accept this knowledge. Although the living entity cannot become God, because God is God, but he can attain the same nature, same nanda, same jna and eternity by surrendering unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But what is that knowledge which is repeated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead again and again in Bhagavad-gt? What is the main topic? What is the essence of all knowledge? mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbha dadhmy aham
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sambhava sarva-bhtn tato bhavati bhrata The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, and it is that Brahman that I impregnate, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata. -Bhagavad-gt 14.3 The Supreme Lord is saying mahad brahma, this material nature is My yonir; and tasmin garbha dadhmy aham - I impregnate this material nature.

Sambhava sarva-bhtn - then all the living entities take

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birth in this material world. Tato bhavati bhrata - O Bharta, O Arjuna, actually I am the seed giving father and this material nature is like My external wife, not real wife. I impregnate this material nature by glancing - maydhyakea prakti syate sa-carcaram. After the Supreme Personality glances over the material nature, she becomes pregnant and gives birth to the bodies of so many living entities. To understand that God has created this material world and is also providing us with all the necessities of life is real knowledge. We come across one picture in rmad-Bhgvatam where it is depicted that Mahavishnu is glancing on the material nature. The material nature represents Durg-dev. She is sitting on the tiger and the Supreme Lord lying in the Kraa ocean is glancing on her, then this material nature becomes pregnant. But what are the seeds? The seeds are the living entities, which are unlimited in number. The Lord gives all the living entities to the prakti by glancing over her and then she creates bodies for the living entities. There are eighty-four lakhs different kind of bodies. To understand that our bodies are created by the Lord and all the necessities are also provided by Him is knowledge. He has given us these things to be touched, to be eaten, to be smelled and to be seen. We have five kinds of knowledge acquiring senses rpa, rasa, gandha, abda, spar. By the eyes we can see so many things, rpa; by the ears we can hear so many things, abda; by the skin we can touch things, spar; by the nose we can smell, gandha; and by the tongue we taste so many things, rasa. So to taste or to experience many things the Lord has given us these knowledge acquiring senses. He has also given us mind to accept and reject things. To accept is called
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sakalpa and to reject is called vikalpa. I like this is sakalpa and I dont like this is vikalpa. One who understands that Ka has provided us with so many facilities, that He has created this body and the things which can be experienced by our senses, then he is a human being. The inferior energy of the Lord The Supreme Lord says mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbha dadhmy aham. Brahma means non-material, spiritual. But for the material nature the Lord is using here the word mahad brahma. This mahad brahma, material nature is my yonir. So why is the Lord saying prakriti is mahad brahma? There are some special words with which if the prefix mahad is used then it means inferior, lower. Actually mahad means great, but sometimes it means lower, inferior. This prakti is not actually Brahma but mahad brahma. There is a word in Hindi, prayn which means to depart. But when we use the word mahprayn, it means death. Not everywhere but sometimes mah means inferior. Similarly, there is another word called akha which means conchshell. But when the prefix mah is used with akha then mah-akha means the skull of a human being. Bhima was blowing mah-akha in the battlefield of Kuruketra. paura dadhmau mah-akha bhma-karm vkodara -Bhagavad-gt 1.15 Mah-akha does not mean big akha. So here mahad brahma does not mean superior brahma but means the lower
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nature, material nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. rla Prabhupda writes in his purport, that the Supreme Lord says, This material nature is My yoni and I give her so many seeds like living entities, and then she creates bodies for them. Our relationship with Ka Again the Lord is saying: sarva-yoniu kaunteya mrtaya sambhavanti y ts brahma mahad yonir aha bja-prada pit It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunt, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father. -Bhagavad-gt 14.4 sarva-yoniu kaunteya mrtaya sambhavanti y O Kunt nandana, O son of Kunt, there are so many species of life. Yoni means species. There are eighty-four lakhs species of life. Mrtaya means bodies. Ts means of all living entities and of all bodies and of all species of life. ts brahma mahad yonir - this material nature is yoni, like mother and I am the seed-giving father. rla Prabhupda has translated aha bja-prada pit as I am the seed-giving father of every living entity. tvam eva mt pit tvam eva tvam eva bandu sakh tvam eva
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tvam eva vidhy dravina tvam eva tvam eva sarva mama deva deva -Mahbhrata Ka is our everything. He is our real father, He is our real mother; tvam eva mt pit tvam eva. He is our real brother, He is our real relative, and He is our real friend. He is our real knowledge, He is our real guru, and He is our real wealth. tvam eva sarva mama deva deva, O worshipable Lord and master of all demigods! You are my sarva, You are everything for me. This knowledge is given by Lord r Ka, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in rmad Bhagavad-gt and elsewhere also. So many times the Lord has said I am the real father, I have created everything. mamaivo jva-loke jva-bhta santana - The living entities are My parts and parcels, I am their real relative. No one can claim that this child is my son or she is my daughter, she is my wife, he is my brother. Only Ka can say, This belongs to Me. We have many relationships in our dreams, but as soon as we awaken, they are finished. Likewise all other relationships are false. This is a dream life. Our real life begins when we become a devotee of Ka and start knowing and loving Him. Those who cannot understand this knowledge are very, very unfortunate. Their life is miserable. The real knowledge One must understand that Ka is everything, our father, mother, friend and relative. He is giving us sunlight, He has created this earth, He is giving water, He is giving fruits and eatables, and He is providing all our necessities. Therefore, we
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must love Him. Love should only be used for Ka otherwise there is no love, it is only lust. Lust means satisfying our own senses, and love means satisfying the senses of the beloved. Our real nature is to love r Ka, to sing His glories and hear His glories. We should decorate Him, we should cook for Him and dance for Him. We have to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the real bhajanya, worshipable object. In this material world if one satisfies his wife, his son or if he satisfies the society, what will he gain? When we try to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead and if He is pleased, then our life is successful. The Supreme Lord is saying that supreme knowledge means to understand that He is the creator of this material world, He is the real master and enjoyer of everyone, and that He is providing all the necessities of life. One must understand this truth and one should try to serve and satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding is real knowledge. ******

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Sri Srimad Radha Govinda Goswami Maharaja A Disciple of His Divine Grace Founder Acarya: International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupda

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