Topics covers

1. Only a devotee can take decision to take shelter to Supreme Person
2. Compared Crocodile with Samsar/worldly bondage
3. 2 examples on how mind is superior to senses, and then how it roots ultimately to Paramatma
4. Explains how at the back of everything consciousness is there and explains how creation starts
5. About Purusa avatars and that they are the enjoyers, and we are to be enjoyed
6. Krishna is Sarve karan karanam
7. Gajendra do not mention any name — Krishna, Rama. But he is describing the qualities of the Supreme Lord.
8. Supreme Lord is beyond Karya and Karana

śrī-gajendra uvāca
oṁ namo bhagavate tasmai
yata etac cid-ātmakam
puruṣāyādi-bījāya
pareśāyābhidhīmahi
(SB 8.3.2)

yasminn idaṁ yataś cedaṁ
yenedaṁ ya idaṁ svayam
yo ’smāt parasmāc ca paras
taṁ prapadye svayambhuvam
(SB 8.3.3)

Gajendra, the leader of the herd of wild elephants tried to rescue himself from the clutches of crocodile. He fought for 1000 years. Ultimately he thought all my powers and my everything is now lost or exhausted. Now I am seeing my death is inevitable. Gajendra was thinking what to do. Ultimately he took the decision. When the death is imminent any moment now, at this time Supreme Lord, who is Lord of all Lords, Almighty, Parameshwar, Bhagavan - only He can rescue me. I want to take shelter to Him.

This decision of making up his mind to take absolute shelter to the absolute Supreme Person is because he was a devotee previously and he has got eternal good impressions(Sukriti). But those who are dush-kritishali, they will not take this decision. They will not take shelter of Supreme Lord.

Now what is the circumstance Gajendra is in? Actually he was imperiled fighting with a formidable crocodile with his teeth fastening him. He was in so much trouble. At that time he was thinking - My position is not like that, so much perturbation of heart I cannot have. Crocodile is this samsar, world. You are fastened by the worldly bondage in the form of crocodile. Any moment we may lose this chance of the human birth. If we want to rescue ourselves from the clutches or the attack of the crocodile of worldly bondage then we are also to take shelter of the Supreme Lord. He can rescue us. By hearing the prayer of Gajendra ultimately Narayana appeared and rescued him. So if I, with that heart and eagerness of the Gajendra, can say this prayer Supreme Lord may be satisfied, may grace, that is the hope.

What Gajendra is praying - oṁ namo bhagavate tasmai yata etac cid-ātmakam. He is making obeisance to the Lotus feet of Bhagavan and not Brahma and Paramatma. “Almighty Bhagavan who can rescue under all circumstances, I am taking shelter to His Lotus feet. “

Now one person is hearing in the class from the professor/teacher and his ears are quite correct. And the teacher asks him I have so long instructed you. Tell me what I was explaining. “Oh my mind was somewhere else — I could not hear.” Scientifically, those words struck in his ears and reported to the subtle brain and brain reacted yet he could not understand because his mind is somewhere else.

Another example – There is one person. His room is by the side of a road. His friend told him it is my marriage ceremony today. When you see my band party and other friends are going you should come out from your house and join the procession. That procession came and there was big song. He also saw like this but he did not come outside. What is the matter? His friend felt insulted thinking by seeing me he did not come out. Next day, his friend tells I shall sever all connection with you as you have insulted me. You said you will come and join the procession but you did not do it even after seeing. He explains my mind was somewhere else. I was reading one novel and got so enchanted by it that I forgot everything. There was sound of marriage procession but I could not understand. It was seen by his eyes and automatically it went to the subtle brain but yet he could not understand because his mind is somewhere else. If it does not go to mind, then he cannot see, he cannot understand. Here also you can prove this, there are many persons sitting and if you ask them “What I have said?” They won’t be able to say because if their mind is somewhere else.

Then even if it goes to the mind we cannot understand (Gurudev pointing to his table) — “This is weight. This is book. This is watch.” This decision is taken by intellect, which is finer than mind. It is said in the Gita:

indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur
indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ
manasas tu parā buddhir
yo buddheḥ paratas tu saḥ
(Bg 3.42)

As compared to gross objects of the senses, sense organs are superior/finer. But mind is finer than the gross sense organs and intellect is finer than mind. If it goes to intellect, then you can take decision like “This is weight”. But those who are spiritualists, they say even if it goes to intellect you cannot see till there is consciousness in the back. Without consciousness intellect also can’t function, mind can’t function. It must go to the consciousness, Atma. By the touch of Atma gross and subtle bodies becomes conscious and they can act. When Atma leaves it’s a dead body. E.g. when the iron is in touch with fire it becomes red hot. That iron can also burn other things. But if it is separated from the fire, after sometime it becomes iron which has got no such power. When Atma enters, then this body is conscious and subtle body (mind, intellect) is conscious. So if it goes to Atma, then you will see.

Atma is given power by Paramatma. So actually if it does not go to Paramatma then we cannot do anything. The biologists can see it only superficially but if you deeply think you will find that if it does not go to Atma, Paramatma we cannot see anything. As Param Pujya Swami Maharaj said in very simple words — “If anybody says I do not believe in Supreme Lord, how long he can say? Eternally? Who has given you the power to say — “I don’t believe?” When you will perish who will come to say — “I don’t believe”. The power you are getting is from the Cause. He is giving you the power. When He withdraws then you are nothing but the dead body. How long will you stay in this world - 40, 50, 70 or a 100 years? After that what will remain? It will be burnt! I don’t believe, who has given you the power to say I don’t believe? When the power is withdrawn you cannot say anything. But you have got so much vanity.

Supreme Lord, He is regulating everything, all-pervading spirit.

yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante
yena jātāni jīvanti yat prayanty
abhisaṁ viśanti tad
vijijñāsasva tad brahma
(Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.1)

Some persons give this (atheistic) reasoning: ‘As in the wood you do not see fire like that from nothing you can get something.’ But actually if you see there is fire in the wood but it is not manifested. In the wood, and in everything, there is pancha mahabhoota (five elements) — earth, water, fire, air, sky. So, the fire is there in a dormant state and by rubbing it will come out. So, from something is something coming. Nothing cannot be cause of something. From chetan(consciousness), chetan comes. From absolute conscious substance(Supreme Lord) all the spirit souls are coming out. In Gita it is said, “This gross body and subtle body is outcome of my aparā potency (material energy). And real self is the spark of the spiritual energy(parā potency) .”

At the back of everything all-consciousness Supreme Lord is there. Eko ‘ham bahu syām. How creation starts? Initially there is Pratham puruṣa — Karnodaka-śāyī Mahā Viṣṇu. He thinks, “I am one, I shall become many”. Then He observes the inert prakṛti (material energy) and He infuses/imparts the chetan (the consciousness) — all the jivas. After the creation of Ananta, infinite Brahmandas or planets, then second manifestation of Karnodaka-śāyī Mahā Viṣṇu — Garbhodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu becomes the antaryami (indwelling monitor) of all the Brahmandas. In the third personal manifestation as Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu, He enters in each Brahmanda - to protect and maintain that, and also resides in the heart of every jiva as Paramatma.

So, if it does not go to Paramatma then we cannot have any kind of sensation (experience). As sun is there giving light. The sunlight has the potency of giving light or giving heat from where? If Sun is not there where from light will come? Light is the potency of Sun. Similarly the absolute conscious substance Supreme Lord is the owner of infinite kinds of potencies. His three main potencies are internal potency, marginal potency and external potency. Then there are mixture of these potencies making infinite kinds of potency. Jivas are not the part of the substance (Supreme Lord). They are part of the potency of the substance. They are always subservient to Supreme Lord. Supreme Lord is the possessor of all kinds of potencies. Jivas are not the possessor of the potency, they are part of the one kind of potency (marginal). So they are always subservient. As my potency works for me, potency of the Supreme Lord will work for Him. I am the servant of the servant of the servants of Supreme Lord. All these gross body, subtle body, has become conscious from that Supreme Lord Vāsudeva.

Who is Vāsudeva? Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha is the first vyuha. Nārāyaṇa has extended himself in four forms. First Vāsudeva — Adi vyuha. You will find in Chaitanya Charitamrta Krishna mādhurya Lila vigrah gopa-vesh... Vāsudeva has kṣhatriya vesh(form) and kṣhatriya abhiman(ego). You will find Vāsudeva in Mathura, in Dwarka, not in Vraja Dham. In Vraja Dham there is Nanda-nandana Krishna, who has gopa-vesh. For that reason, Nārāyaṇa has descended to rescue.

We think we are puruṣa. Puruṣa means we have the power, we are enjoyers. But actual enjoyers are three Puruṣa-avatars. They are the enjoyers and we are to be enjoyed by them. We are not the enjoyers. If anybody can have that knowledge, he can have no bondage in this world. He cannot come to this world. Wrongly we think we are the enjoyers due to being enveloped by the illusory energy. Puruṣa-avatars are the only enjoyers. They are regulating and Paramatma Kṣīrodaka-śāyī Viṣṇu is regulating. He is inside us. He is seeing. We can do, by our relative independence, good and bad action but result is in His hand.

karmaṇy evādhikāras te
mā phaleṣu kadācana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr
mā te saṅgo ’stv akarmaṇi
(Bg 2.47)

Fruits are regulated by You [Supreme Lord], He is saying. As friend He is staying.

puruṣāyādi-bījāya. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam. He has got form, He is not formless. I am not submitting to a formless thing. He has got form, He is Almighty, and has transcendental spiritual form. The halo of personality of the Vāsudeva is called Brahma, halo of the personality of Nārāyaṇa where jñānī wants to merge themselves. Jyotir Shyamsundaram, in that jyoti there is Narayana, Shyamsundar is there. They cannot see because they have got no devotion, they have got no knowledge of the Supreme Lord. Only they see the halo of the person, but inside the halo there is Supreme Lord, His form is there. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, I am taking shelter to Him, He is ādi-bījāya, He is the cause of all causes. ‘He’ and not ‘It’. He is masculine and not neuter. Raso vai saḥ. sah is masculine. In Gita and chatuh shloki Bhagawat it is ‘aham’. aham means person and these have been explained by Prabhupada. Aham means Krishna which includes all transcendental realm, all entourage, everything, that is all.

Before creation He is there and after creation He is there. When it will be total dissolution then also ‘aham’ Krishna will remain. His transcendental realm, His entourage, everything. They are eternal. So if you have connection with Krishna then you have touch with the eternal. Even all Brahmandas are destroyed and annihilated, that will not be annihilated. It will remain. For that reason, here pareśābhidhīmahi. Pareśā means Lord of all other Lords. Brahma, Rudra are also lords but pareśā is superior to the demigods; He is the Lord of all Lords, Parameshwar.

Dhīmahi - I take absolute shelter, I make obeisances to the Lotus feet of Parameshwar. I am meditating that He is the ultimate reality who has got transcendental spiritual form. He is the Lord of all Lords. I am meditating upon Him. I am not meditating on a cipher where there is no form, no attribute, nothing. I am not meditating on ‘nothing’.

yasminn idaṁ yataś cedaṁ
yenedaṁ ya idaṁ svayam
yo ’smāt parasmāc ca paras
taṁ prapadye svayambhuvam
(SB 8.3.3)

Gajendra is clearing (any doubts) to whom I am taking shelter. He is not mentioning any name Krishna, Rama etc. But he is describing the qualities of the Supreme Lord. So, scientists cannot determine, it is beyond the domain of scientists. Scientists should determine why electron, proton movement is like this. They cannot determine. It belongs to the spiritualism, they cannot understand. In the paramanu (atom) the consciousness is there. In the upadan, the gross thing, at the back of that there is chetan. All-pervading spirit is there, the whole world is in Him. In all these gross things which we see by our gross sense organs Supreme Lord is there.

Nimitta karan — by His power all this is created. E.g. there is earth (clay) but you cannot make any form out of it. You want to make a clay pitcher but you cannot do it without one modeler, playmaker –a conscious entity. Then there has to be tools like wheel and stick. Then in that you will pour the earth then there will be a form made. So there has to be a consciousness behind everything and every form. Like that these are created by Supreme Lord, with Supreme Lord in all the things. Again, He is the cause – Karya and Karana. Whatever we see the gross things and their cause (prakriti), Krishna is beyond that. He is the causal, karya is also from Him. He is all-pervading. Karana - At the back of the prakriti, He is there. Again, He is svataḥ-siddha—self-effulgent, neither he is karya not He is karana, He is beyond these.