Bhagavad-gita Ch 1 : Verse 15 [London, July 15, 1973]    So one day when he will be advanced devotee, he will not ask any more. He knows that "Why shall I bother God? He is supplying everyone food, so why shall I ask Him food? My food is also there. Let me serve Him." That is his higher intelligence. That is higher intelligence, that "Why shall I ask food from God? God is supplying food to the cats, dogs, ants, elephants, and I want little food, he will not supply me? And especially when I engage myself in His service? Ordinary man pays to his servant, and I shall starve if I am engaged in the service of God?" This is intelligence. This is intelligence. "Why shall I bother God? If He likes, I will starve. That doesn't matter. But I must engage myself in the service of the Lord." This is intelligence. -Srila Prabhupada

Translation: "Then Lord Krishna blew His conchshell named Pancajanya; Arjuna blew his, the Devadatta; and Bhima, the voracious eater and performer of Herculean tasks, blew his terrific conchshell named Paundram." 

Prabhupada: So Vrkodara, Bhimasena, is advertised as voracious eater. But he can perform Herculean task also. Just like the elephant, it eats voraciously, but it gives service also. Similarly if we simply eat voraciously and we cannot give any service that is not good. We must eat sumptuously and give service also. In Bengali it is said that pete keli pithe soy. If one is given sufficient food in the belly, he can carry more burden on the back. So Bhima-karma, his activities were very Herculean, very, very, difficult tasks he performed.

So everyone is named here with his task. The first name is, Krishna, Hrisikesa. Hrisikesa. He is the master of the senses. Govinda. Go means senses. "Who gives pleasure to the senses." So Krishna has got many names, thousands, out of which, the Krishna name is chief, mukhya. That is described in Vedic literature. People say God has no name. That is right. He has no particular fixed name. But His names are there according to His different activities. Just like His name is Devaki-nandana. Because He accepted Devaki as His mother, therefore He is called Devaki-nandana. Similarly, He is called Nanda-nandana, Yasoda-nandana, Vrajendra-nandana---in relationship with Nanda Maharaja, Yasoda, His foster father and mother. Similarly, He is sometimes named Partha-sarathi because He acted as the chariot driver of Arjuna. Arjuna's name is Partha. His mother's name is Pritha, Kunti's. From Pritha, his name is Partha. From his father's name, Pandu, his name is Pandava. So in this way big personalities or anyone, they should tally, the name should tally with the activities. This is nomenclature.

In the... According to Vedic civilization, after the birth of the child, there was name-giving ceremony, what kind of name. So that was calculated astrologically, that what kind of name he should be given, because the name should carry some meaning of the activities of his life. So Krishna is named here Hrisikesa. Hrisikesa, Krishna, in the fifteenth chapter is described that He gives direction to everyone. Sarvasya caham hridi sannivistah: "I am sitting in everyone's heart as Paramatma." Realization of the Absolute Truth are three features, Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan.

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate

Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. The same object. So the Brahman realization is impersonal realization. Just like the sun, the sun globe, and the sunshine. They are one, but the sunshine, realization of the sunshine, is not realization of the sun globe. Or realization of the sun globe is not realization of the sun god who is within the sun globe. Vivasvan. His name is Vivasvan. The present predominating Deity in the sun planet, his name is Vivasvan. And his son Manu is called Vaivasvata Manu. This is the age of Vaivasvata Manu. So at the... This is very nice example, that the sunshine, the sun globe and the sun god. They are all one, but still, the sun globe is not the person, sun god; neither the sunshine is not the person sun, although they are one. This is called acintya-bhedabheda-tattva, inconceivably one and different simultaneously.

So Brahman realization is also God realization, but it is partial. The Supreme Lord is sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah. He is person. But He is not a person like us. He is sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah. Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah. Vigraha means person. So He is person, Bhagavan. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate. Three features, realization of the Absolute. The first realization, imperfect realization, is impersonal Brahman. Further advanced realization--Paramatma realization. And ultimate realization--the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. These are the three stages.

So when He is Hrsikesa, it is His Paramatma feature. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita,

isvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya

Isvara, the Supreme Lord, Krishna. Isvara means the Supreme, isvara means controller. But the supreme controller is Krishna. Isvarah paramah krsnah. Control everyone of us, we are controller. We control our family, our society, our business, our factory. There are different kinds of controller. So in that sense everyone is isvara, but different types of isvara. But the supreme isvara.... Supreme means nobody controls Him, but He controls everyone. That is Supreme. Here we are controller, but we are also controlled, somebody else, superior than me. Therefore we cannot be called supreme controller. Supreme controller is Krishna.

When Krishna was present on this planet, nobody could control Krishna, but He controlled everyone. Nobody could control Krishna. So therefore the great saintly persons, even Brahma, they have decided, that isvarah paramah krsnah: "The Supreme controller is Krishna." He controls even Brahma, adi-kavaye. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said, tene brahma hrida adi-kavaye. Tene, He instructed Brahma sabda-brahma, Vedic knowledge, hrida, through heart. That is Hrisikesa. You can argue that "Brahma was the first creature within this universe. So how he could be instructed by somebody else?" No. The somebody else is always there within the heart, Hrisikesa. Hrisikesa means controller. Sarvasya caham... Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita, sarvasya, in the fifteenth chapter, sarvasya ca aham hridi sannivistah: "I am sitting in everyone's heart." Mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca: "From Me, one remembers and one forgets also." Forgets also. If you want to forget Krishna, so Krishna will give you such intelligence that you will forget Him forever. Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham.

So the atheist class, demon class, they want to forget Krishna. So Krishna gives him such intelligence that he can speak of atheism so many volumes. But he is getting that intelligence from Krishna. Krishna gives everyone the chance that "Whatever you want to do, you can do. I will give you intelligence. So if you want to become atheist, then I will give you intelligence how to become first-class atheist, like Hiranyakasipu, Ravana, Kamsa. And if you want to become devotee, then I will give you intelligence also in that way." Buddhi-yogam dadami tam yena mam upayanti te. Tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam. Anyone who is engaged in His service with love and affection, tesam, not all, not all... Because not all, not everyone wants to serve Him. Everyone wants to become God, imitator. Imitation. Therefore they say, "Why Krishna shall be alone God? I am God." You are God. That's all right. But you are not the Supreme God. Why you forget that? Above you... You may be a God at home of your wife, but when you go to your office, you are not god; your master is god. He directs you to do something; you have to do it.

So we may claim that "Every one of us, we are God," but nobody can claim that "We are supreme; I am Supreme God." That is not possible. That can, Krishna can claim only. Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: "My dear Dhananjaya, there is no more superior personality than Me." And He proved it. So God cannot be manufactured. God is God. Krishna, when He was three months old on the lap of His mother, still, He was God. He could kill the Putana. So God cannot be manufactured by so-called meditation and mystic power. You can get some of the insignificant powers of God, but simply, but you do not know how much powerful is God. That you do not know. Therefore when a person gets little power, he thinks that he has become God. He does not know how much powerful God is.

So therefore sastra says that "You may be god in your own atmosphere, in your own jurisdiction. You may think that you are God." And everyone thinks like that. "But the Supreme God is Krishna." Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. In the Upanisads it is said that God is also a person like me, you. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. But His personality is different from your personality, from my personality. What is that difference? Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman: "He supplies all the necessities of all other personalities." That is the difference. God is supplying us food. This conception is there in the Bible, "God, give us our daily bread." This is nice. Accepting that you are getting all supplies from God, this is sukrti, this is punyavat.

If one, anyone says, "Oh, what God? We are creating our own food." Just like the Communist says. They are duskritina, rascals. But if anyone even goes to the church and temple for asking something to God, he is pious. At least, he has approached God. So one day when he will be advanced devotee, he will not ask any more. He knows that "Why shall I bother God? He is supplying everyone food, so why shall I ask Him food? My food is also there. Let me serve Him." That is his higher intelligence. That is higher intelligence, that "Why shall I ask food from God? God is supplying food to the cats, dogs, ants, elephants, and I want little food, he will not supply me? And especially when I engage myself in His service? Ordinary man pays to his servant, and I shall starve if I am engaged in the service of God?" This is intelligence. This is intelligence. "Why shall I bother God? If He likes, I will starve. That doesn't matter. But I must engage myself in the service of the Lord." This is intelligence. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate. This intelligence comes after many, many births of endeavoring for self-realization. It is not easily comes.

So there is no question of scarcity for devotee. Just like this morning I was discussing with a gentleman. So a devotee is not in need of everything. Why he should be? He cannot be. Even one who is not devotee, if he is getting supplies from God, how is it that the devotee will not get? Just like the government. The government, although there is prisonhouse, the government supplies the food. Not that because they have gone to the prisonhouse, they are starving. Rather, those who are unemployed, they prefer prisonhouse, that without any service, they will get free food.

So anyone within this material world, they are prisoners. Bhramayan yantrarudhani mayaya. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrid-dese 'rjuna tisthati. Isvara, the Supreme Lord Krishna as Hrisikesa, He is sitting in everyone's heart as Paramatma, and He is guiding. This is confirmed in the Vedas that two birds are sitting on one tree. These two birds, one is Krishna and another, (the) living entity, Paramatma and jivatma. The jivatma is eating the fruit, and Paramatma is simply becoming witness. Anumanta upadrasta. Paramatma is seeing, Hrisikesa is seeing that you are doing this. So we may forget what nuisance we had done in our last life, but Paramatma is there, witness; you have to get a body according to your work. Karmana daiva-netrena. You are working, that is being witnessed by the Paramatma. And He is also giving advice. Because we have forgotten Krishna, we have rebelled against Krishna. We want to act according to our whims.

Just like a child wants to do something according to his whims. Father checks him, "My dear child, do not do this." But if he likes, if he persists, father says, "All right, you do it." This is the position. The Hrisikesa, Paramatma, He is always guiding us, but we do not accept His guidance. This is our position. Arjuna has accepted Krishna, that "I shall be guided by You. Although You'll not fight." Therefore here it is said, Hrisikesa, He's guiding Arjuna. The hrisika means the senses. Hrisika-isa. Isa means Lord, master, isvara or isa. So Hrisikesa. Actually, He is the master of the senses. In the Bhagavad-gita you will find. In the Eleventh Chapter it is said, sarvatah pani-padam tat, "God has His hands and legs all over the universe." What is that? This, our hand, our legs, this is God's hands, God's leg. He is the master. I am claiming, "This is my hand," but as soon as God withdraws the power of your hand, it is paralyzed, you cannot repair. Therefore the real proprietor is Krishna. You are not proprietor. You have been given the facility to use it, for..., use it not for your sense gratification, but for the satisfaction of the Lord. Then your life is perfect. Because the things belongs to Krishna. He is Hrisikesa. He is the master. Just like we are sitting in this house. Somebody has given us. Similarly, everything belongs to God. This is self-realization. My body belongs to God, my mind belongs to God, my intelligence belongs to God, I am spirit soul, I am part and parcel of God. Therefore everything belongs to...Isavasyam idam sarvam. Everything belongs to God. So if you don't use it for God, that is called demonism. And if you use it for God, that is devotion. That's all.

One must realize that "Everything belongs to God; nothing belongs to me. Even this body is given to me by God. "Why a different body? The different body is... God gives us different body according to our karma. That is explained. Karmana daiva-netrena jantur dehopapattaye. How we get a different type of body? We have got different types of body. Because according to our past karma, we have created a certain type of body and now we have entered into that body and working according to past karma.

The Christian theologicians, they do not believe in the karma. I was student in Christian college, Scottish Churches College. So in our younger days, the Professor, Dr. W.S. Urquhart. So I heard his lecture, that he did not believe in the karmas. He said that "If I am suffering or enjoying for my last karma, who is the witness? Because some witness must be there that I have done this." But at that time we were not very expert. But this Hrisikesa is the witness, anumanta upadrasta. Upadrasta. He is simply seeing. So the Christians, they have no Paramatma idea. Sometimes they say holy ghost. Means a clear idea. But this Hrisikesa is clear idea. Hrisikesa. Hrisika-isa.

So this bhakti, devotional path, is meant for satisfying the master of the senses. Hrisikena hrisikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate. Hrsikena, by your senses, when you serve the Hrisikesa, the master of the senses, that is called bhakti. This is the definition of bhakti. Hrisikena hrisikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate. Narada-pancaratra. So that is our business. We should under... That is self-realization. Isavasyam idam sarvam. Everything belongs to God; nothing belongs to us. This is Bhagavata communism. As the communists, they say, "Everything belongs to the state," we say "Everything belongs to God." We never say that anything belongs to anyone. No. This is Bhagavata communism. So everything belongs to God. So one can utilize God's property as much as he requires, not more than that. Then he will be thief, he will be punishable. Just like father's property. Each and every son has got the right to live at the father's protection. Ma gridhah kasya svid dhanam. That is spiritual communism. Whatever wealth is there within this universe, all belong to God, and we are, as sons of God, we have got right to take advantage of this wealth, but not more than what I require. That's all. This is spiritual communism. If you take more, then you become punishable. This is the law of nature.

Therefore our aim of life should be to understand that every..., to know... This is self-realization, that everything belongs to God. Nothing belongs to us. This is self-realization. I also belong to God. My, this body made of five elements, gross body... Bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh, earth, water, fire, air, sky. This is gross body. And subtle body, kham mano buddhir eva, mind, intelligence, ego. These eight. Krishna says, bhinna me prakritir astadha: "These eight kind of prakriti, they are My energy. They are My energy." So this whole universe is creation of Krishna's material energy.

We are marginal energy of Krishna. So we are now put into this material energy because we wanted to enjoy this material world. In the spiritual world the only enjoyer is Krishna, either in spiritual or material world, He is the only enjoyer. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram. "I am the enjoyer." So this is to be understood, that He is the supreme enjoyer. He is also enjoyer of My energy. Because my energy is derived from Krishna's energy. Just like master and servant. The master is paying him food, anything for comforts. He is getting energy. So how the energy should be utilized? For the master, not for his sense gratification. This is perfection of life. You produce anything by your energy, but you cannot use it for your sense gratification. Then you become perfect. And if you want to do it, then Hrisikesa, the master of the senses, will give you intelligence how to do it. Just like He is giving Arjuna intelligence. Therefore He is mentioned as Hrisikesa. How to win victory? How to utilize his energy for Krishna? Krishna wanted the battle. Arjuna was a military man. He utilized his military strength for Krishna's purposes. That is the perfection of life.

So whatever you have got, if you utilize it for Krishna's sake, hrisikena hrisikesa-sevanam bhakti, that is bhakti. Even by fighting, you can be a great devotee, just like Arjuna. He was not chanting on the beads, but he was fighting. But still, bhakto 'si priyo 'si me. Krishna says, "Oh, you are My great devotee." Now people, may say that "He was not chanting. He was fighting. How he became a great devotee?" But Krishna says, bhakto 'si priyo 'si me: "You are My dear friend. You are My devotee. Because you are utilizing your energy for Me." So bhakti means you utilize your energy for Krishna. Then your life is perfect. Thank you very much. (end)

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 
---Jai Srila Prabhupada!---

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