Bhram satya jagat mitya

Radiant Divinities! Blessed and beloved children of the Divine! When I was preparing myself to come to participate this morning there came this thought: “Are the declarations of Vedanta useful and applicable only upon the high plane of philosophy, metaphysics or higher inner spiritual realisations and experiences, or are these declarations capable of being interpreted and applied for our own immediate enrichment, upliftment, help and benefit, making a significant contribution to our life here, now, at once, in a practical, concrete, tangible and immediately fruitful manner?”

The answer was immediate: It was not a question of whether these great declarations and truths are capable of being interpreted and applied for immediate benefit spiritually and otherwise, but rather they are actually meant to start inspiring us, uplifting us, helping and benefiting us right from the very moment when our eyes alight upon them for the first time in some sacred scripture or book or even when our ears hear them for the very first time from the lips of some speaker expounding the truths of the scriptures. Right from the first moment a person comes to know about a certain truth, immediately it is expected, it is meant to bring about a powerful transformation in the reader or hearer or thinker.

The highest ultimate declaration, the quintessential truth, declared by people of the supreme absolute experience is brahma satyam jagan-mithya jivo-brahmaiva naparah (Brahman alone is real, the world is unreal. Jiva is not other than Brahman). The full verse is slokardhena pravakshyami yaduktam granthakotibhih, brahma satyam jagan-mithya jivo-brahmaiva naparah—I shall tell you within the compass of half a verse the quintessence, the heart, the very essence of the teachings expounded in innumerable scriptures and that is: Brahman alone is real. This phenomenal appearance before us is only a relative reality, ever-changing, unstable, unreliable, never dependable, limited, subject to time and space, subject to decay and dissolution, having a beginning and an end. Characterised by these defects and shortcomings, everything here seen, perceived by the human individual consciousness, is but a mere temporary relative reality. And the individual soul that thinks of itself as the knower of this, or the seer of this, or the experiencer of this ever-changing phenomenal flux, which is called samsara or the universe, is a non-entity, for Brahman alone is real and the jivatman,the individual, is Brahman plus upadhis (limiting adjuncts or additions).

If you take a pot to the Ganga and fill it full of water, the water in the pot no longer resembles the Ganga. It isn’t flowing. Boats can’t ply on it. You cannot take a bath in it. But a philosopher will dare anyone to challenge the truth that the water confined in the pot is in any way different in essence from the water that is flowing as the river Ganga. They are identical in every respect, and modern science will prove it. It is Ganga alone flowing and it is Ganga alone in the pot, but Ganga with some limiting adjuncts, some confining factors. It is a conditioned Ganga, but Ganga nevertheless. Therefore, this half verse ended up with the declaration: jivo-brahmaiva naparah (The individual soul is not different from Brahman).

I then asked myself: “In what way can this great transcendental truth uttered as the very heart of the highest Vedantic experience, as the very quintessential central truth and fact of kevala advaita,absolute monism and the monistic experience, in what way can it be of immediate fruit, immense benefit and enrichment to the aspirant?” I said, “It reveals a whole series of truths.”

There was no current at the time and so, except for a candle, I was in darkness. Immediately the truth flashed to me: “This darkness is not the reality. What exists is only brilliant sunshine scattering in all ten directions, pervading everywhere, prevailing always without change, without anything to bar or hamper it, filling everything with light, radiance, effulgence, brightness. That is the reality where everything is seen clearly; this darkness is only a temporary condition. As the earth rotates, the sun will rise and the whole place will be flooded with light. Even when I am lighting a candle and thinking I am in darkness, there is only light and light only. This darkness is a temporary superimposed condition due to certain limiting adjuncts. The light is the reality; this darkness is a passing unreality, a relative reality. The positive factor is the reality; the negative factor is a temporary mode or condition.”

I said: “The full moon is the reality, not the eclipse. Silence is the reality, not the little sound that comes over it.” That is the truth. And when the Vedantic experience is stated as brahma satyam (Brahman alone is real), it means that Truth prevails in all three periods of time without hindrance, without change; always it is full. And what is that Truth? Anando brahmeti vyajanat (He knew bliss as Brahman). Those who have drunk this honey, this bliss, declared: “Sweetness, sweetness, sweetness, everything is sweetness, sweetness beyond description; all is beauty, auspiciousness, bliss.” And that is the Reality that is everywhere present in all its fullness, always, always unchanging, without contradiction, successively borne out by the experience of all mystics, of all times, of all climes—ancient, medieval, modern, oriental, occidental, everywhere.

What a tremendous realisation! What a tremendous realisation that at this moment the bliss of Brahman pervades everywhere within and without! Bliss is the great Reality. Peace supreme, immeasurable, profound peace is the great Reality. To ponder this is itself an instant energiser, instant awakener, instant inspirer.

One thought led to another. “Now,” I said, “gloriously the sun will rise from beyond the mountain on the opposite bank of the Ganga. That is the reality, and in this reality we must live. In this truth we must act, we must pursue our spiritual path. With what great strength, elation, positiveness, with what wonderful sublime feelings of zeal, fervour, we can pursue our spiritual path if we keep ourselves in the awareness of this truth—brahma satyam jagan-mithya jivo-brahmaiva naparah.That peace, that bliss, that fullness, that Light of lights alone exists, and I am That. In essence I am no other than That.”

The thoughts went on: “When that is so, then this is the time, this is the moment, that we must take fullest advantage of this awareness that is being granted to us due to our entry into the life spiritual and our great good fortune to be living in an atmosphere where this truth is always being affirmed, an atmosphere filled with this truth. If light is the great reality and not darkness and we are privileged and fortunate to live in a place of light, then we must make hay while the sun shines and live in this great truth. We must rejoicingly pursue our spiritual path and sadhana with great zest and not allow this period of sunshine to pass away.”

Then came another parallel idea: “Strike while the iron is hot.” The wise blacksmith heats his metal white hot. Then only can he hammer it into shape. If he let that moment go, the metal will become hard and no longer malleable. Then came a third idea: “Take time by the forelock.” In the Western concept, time has been conceived of as an old, bald-headed person with a long beard and only a tuft of hair or forelock above his forehead. You have to catch him by the forelock as he approaches; otherwise, as the rest of his head is bald, once he gets past he will slip away.

Therefore, we must be up and doing knowing the importance of the now and how to live in the now wisely, alertly and with vigilance. The Yogi is daksha (expert). The Yogi is ever vigilant and never misses an opportunity. Therefore, we must always be on the alert and put these truths together: Light alone is real, not darkness; make hay while the sun shines; strike while the iron is hot; take time by the forelock.

These truths are brought to our attention not to fill us with a sense of urgency, or then we will spoil the situation. There is a saying: “Haste makes waste.” It is not to build up tension, pressure, a state of anxiety—then everything will be lost. You have to be calm and cool, but at the same time, instantaneous should be your action. Never allow an opportunity to pass by.

It is not so much to create in you an undesirable state of urgency or haste, but to focus your attention upon the importance of the now,the reality of the now,the great significance, the vital value of the now.Life is lived only in the now,not in yesterday or tomorrow. Now is a state of light, a state of bliss. Each now is filled, is a cornucopia filled with an abundance of everything that is necessary and desirable for your gaining supreme, divine perfection. Now holds the key to liberation, to joy, to spiritual blessedness, to perfection, to everything that is regarded as the supreme goal of life. It is in order to focus our attention on the importance, the significance, the value of the now,that these great teachings are given.

So rejoice now, and engage yourself in sublime spiritual life, in divine life. Then you will always have reason ever to be rejoicing. If you rejoice in the now and put yourself heart and soul into utilising the precious now by striking while the iron is hot, by making hay while the sun shines, then you will know that brahma satyam jagan-mithya is not only meant for some lofty state of inner realisation. It has a value and a significance, an immediate message, an immediate power to energise us and enrich us in our spiritual life, in our sadhana,in our yoga abhyasa,in everything which we call the higher life.

Purity alone, Truth alone prevails everywhere. Peace alone pervades everywhere. Joy alone, bliss alone, is the reality because Brahman alone prevails, and it is a declared experience: brahma satyam jagan-mithya jivo-brahmaiva naparah.That means that all problems are self-created due to this one truth not being kept before us always. “In me there is no problem, in me there is only bliss, peace, shining divinity”—this truth must always be made the basis of your life, established in your consciousness, ever remembered, ever pondered, ever kept before you as you live your day-to-day life.

The moment you emerge into wakefulness you must emerge into awareness of your divinity. You must emerge into this consciousness of your wonderful privilege of being one with the Divine. “Essentially I am one with the Divine, I am Divine. Divinity is my eternal, unalienable, real nature, nitya nija svarupa.”We have to live in the truth, and the truth shall make us free. To live in the truth is the greatest blessedness.

And to live in the truth all facilities have been brought together in a concentrated form in this holy Ashram of Gurudev due to his infinite compassion, love and grace. And due to God’s special divine grace upon us, we have had these unique facilities placed in our hands to be utilised now. Do not allow this opportunity to pass away and later on regret. Now is the important life, now is the reality, now is Brahman.

God bless you to ponder your life in the light of this lofty truth: brahma satyam jagan-mithya jivo-brahmaiva naparah.If jagat is mithya (the world is unreal), why unnecessarily endow it with so much power to disturb you, distract you, agitate you, upset you, worry you, to change you from your course? How can it? We are terrorising ourselves with shadows upon the wall, thinking that they have a semblance of reality. And the more importance we give these false temporary appearances by forgetting this truth, the more powerful they become.

By forgetting that Brahman alone is the reality and endowing these things with a reality they do not possess, we create our own problems, we create our own obstacles, we create our own temptations. We are afraid of darkness thinking it is reality, not seeing that light alone is the reality.

Therefore, this is a discipline, this is an exercise you must be engaged in: “This is nothing, it cannot come in my way, it has no power. It is mithya,it is only a false appearance. I am living in the Reality. Who can assail me? What can affect me?” In this way brahma satyam jagan-mithya has to be invoked to help you at every step, each moment, every day in your spiritual life.

Then each day will be a victory. Each day will be an ever progressive liberation. That is the value of these great truths brought into our own context, our own frame of reference. Then immediately they will transform us. They are not meant only for books or scholars or pundits or ultimate realisation; they are meant for now also. Let us ponder how valuable this one little great truth, one central truth of Vedantic realisation, can be to us, to every sadhak,to every Yogi, to every bhakta.Ponder this, realise its importance. Be wise, apply it, live in its light and become blessed. God bless you all!

OMA ‘Vedanta Mission’ Page dedicated to Sri Adi Sankara

Message of Sri Adi Sankara

Sri Sankaracharya sums up the entire message of Vedanta in three crisp aphorism like sentences. They are :

(a) Brahma Satyam, (b) Jagat Mithya, and (c) Jivo Brahmaiva naparah.Brahma Satyam :

Brahman is the all pervasive life principle, consciousness. Not the conditioned consciousness which manifests at the level of brain, but ‘that’ which exists before & inspite of the manifestation too. Not ‘consciousness of something’, but the very conscious principle as such. Contrary to what some people believe that ‘life’ is a product of some chemistry, the Upanishads thunder that Consciousness is that which isthe ultimate truth, the timeless & transcendental reality. It exists first and matter follows after. This is not only what the scriptures reveal, but also what is logical too. If we look at matter – the atoms, the electron, proton etc then we find that these things are so perfectly created & organised that there has to be some intelligence working. That which existed before to have brought about such an orderly & beautiful creation has to be a conscious entity. We can never imagine the whole process getting started with lifeless, inert matter. Consciousness alone has to be the first & eternal reality. Rest is created, and is thus perishable. That is what this sutra reveals. Brahma Satyam. The word satya means that which exists in all the three periods of time. Past, present & future. That which transcends time, and is thus timeless. That which exists at all times, that which cannot be effaced by time. Consciousness is that which not only exists at all times but also at all places. It exists as the very truth of all that is. It is the atma of everything – living or non-living things. It is our basic essence, our truth too. That is the God which we all worship.Jagat Mithya :

The word Jagat embraces in itself this entire world, this cosmos. All that which is or can be an ‘object’ of our knowledge. It includes not only the gross but also the subtle ‘objects’. The thoughts, emotions, the energy all come under this word ‘Jagat’. That which is near or far, inside or outside, now or later, good or bad everything is part of this Jagat. This word has been described as reffering to that which is ‘Jayate gachati iti jagat’, i.e. that which is born & dies is jagat. Birth & death are movements in time. That which is in time constantly changes, there is a constant flux. Something starts this process of activation & manifestation of time and thus we see this dynamic flux. A realm of experience presents itself in front of us. What exactly starts this process is a different matter, but the point here is that all what is thus brought about is ultimately transient, is not ultimately there. It is comparable to being in a dream world. Something activates the process of dreaming, and when it does get activated we see a realm of experience which is not ultimately there. Mithya is that which is not there in all three periods of time. That which had a birth at a particular time and that which will certainly die at some point of time. It is there in this present moment, because of some reason – known or unknown. The above aphorism of ‘Jagat Mithya’ thus implies that all what is available for experience is transient.

Mithya also implies that which does not have the capacity to give us that which we basically seek. It is certainly beautiful,in fact very beautiful, it is also true that ‘objects’ of the world alone are useful for our worldly needs & purposes, but at the same time this is also a fact that we basically remain where we were. It is like eating a dream food, with which we never satiate our hunger. However much we eat the dream food, we will still remain basically hungry. Whatever we have sought in this world may have helped our life to get comfortable & organised, but has certainly not helped us in eliminating the fundamental desire ‘to seek’ something more. Like hunger the seeking still remains as it is. The only difference is that it now manifests differently. That which is Mithya does not have any independent existence, thus it is not really dependable, for the simple reason that it itself is perishable. What ever our heart basically seeks will never be got from this Jagat. That is the implication of this sutra. It is something to be seen in a detached way & not taking too seriously. Whatever happens in the world never really matters, knowing this a person should not plan to aggrandise & enjoy, he should rather serve & give. This philosophical tenet, which is a fact of life provides us a logic & basis for our religious values, culture & even the real goal of life.Jivo Brahmaiva naparah :

This sutra means that ‘every jiva – the apparent limited & finite entity is basically the infinite & limitless Brahman, and nothing else. The truth & essence of an indiidual is the truth & essence of this whole world or rather God. Every Jiva is basically God himself wearing a cloak of limited equipments, and moreover, identified with ones equipment he lives a limited & transient life. It is basically a case of non-apprehension followed by mis-apprehension of the truth of oneself. We take ourselves to be limited and therefore we are & remain limited. Body & all our equipments are certainly limited in time &space but ‘I’ who knows and objectifies all these is not. A seer is always different from seen. We are conscious of the body & mind complex so we have to be different from them. We are that which knows, that which illumines, that eternal life principle – Brahman. The Upanishads reveal that whoever knows his or her true reality is a healthy person, rest are diseased. They are certainly not at ease, there seems to be some bug in them. It is the bug of mis-apprenhension of ones true self as a limited guy. If we were really limited then someone ‘could’ have helped us, but when we just errorneously take ourselves to be limited then it is something which God also cannot do anything about, except come and provide right knowledge. It is we who have to pause, think, deliberate, meditate & realise. Everything of this individual gets changed, except the ‘I’ – the self-effulgent, blissful essence. One who knows that alone lives a true life which every human deserves to live. That alone was the secret of all saints, sages & even the avatar purushas. This alone is the real teaching of all our scriptures.

The awakening of limited Jiva to the realm of limitless Brahman is not a journey in the realm of time, but it is by transcending the very time, by right knowledge. Karma is a means to attain something in the realm of time, so it is not really relevent here. With karma we attain that which is unattained. In karma we turn our attention to that which should be rather than that which is. So in order to awake to our true self, one has to keep aside all cravings to ‘do or achieve something’. One has to relax and be highly observant and see some fundamental facts of life & our true self. That which is limitless & infinite is not sometjhing to be attained but that which is to be known. It is already attained, one should realise that ‘I am already that’, We just have to directly know it. All sadhanas are directedonly for this ultimate goal of life. This is the objective of sanyas & Moksha. Drop the hankering for everything, relax, and see that which alone is.Consequences of the opposite :

If a person does not understand & see these facts directly then it is obvious that the fellow will take resort to that which is its opposite. Lets see what will be the consequences of that. Such a person is too fascinated by the glare of the world, he will remain an extrovert, and also an eternal seeker. To live an ego-centric existence will be his destiny, and to face the music of egocentricity an unavoidable fact. Inside him there will always remain a sense of lack and outside he will continuously keep on seeking something or the other. He will take worldly things too seriously, and will be able to go to any extent for achieving such worldly things. Such people alone play dangerous games with nature and will still not be satisfied with it. Resorting to that which is opposite amounts to create & produce the devils. Communicating these tenets of Vedanta alone amounts to helping the individual in particular & also the world at large. This is what all Rishis declared, this is what Lord Ram & Krishna lived and this is what Bhagwan Sankaracharya worked & lived for. Lets go into these deeply and see these facts of life. Lets redeem ourselves with true knowledge.

OM TAT SAT

Srimad-Bhagavatam

(Nārada Muni had asked how one could ignorantly defy one’s own father. The Haryaśvas understood the meaning of this question.) One must accept the original instructions of the śāstra. According to Vedic civilization, one is offered a sacred thread as a sign of second birth. One takes his second birth by dint of having received instructions in the śāstra from a bona fide spiritual master. Therefore, śāstra, scripture, is the real father. All the śāstras instruct that one should end his material way of life. If one does not know the purpose of the father’s orders, the śāstras, he is ignorant. The words of a material father who endeavors to engage his son in material activities are not the real instructions of the father.

Bhagavad-gītā (16.7) says, pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ: demons, who are less than human beings but are not called animals, do not know the meaning of pravṛtti and nivṛtti, work to be done and work not to be done. In the material world, every living entity has a desire to lord it over the material world as much as possible. This is called pravṛtti-mārga. All the śāstras, however, advise nivṛtti-mārga, or release from the materialistic way of life. Apart from the śāstras of the Vedic civilization, which is the oldest of the world, other śāstras agree on this point. For example, in the Buddhist śāstras Lord Buddha advises that one achieve nirvāṇa by giving up the materialistic way of life. In the Bible, which is also śāstra, one will find the same advice: one should cease materialistic life and return to the kingdom of God. In any śāstra one may examine, especially the Vedic śāstra, the same advice is given: one should give up his materialistic life and return to his original, spiritual life. Śaṅkarācārya also propounds the same conclusion. Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: this material world or materialistic life is simply illusion, and therefore one should stop his illusory activities and come to the platform of Brahman.

The word śāstra refers to the scriptures, particularly the Vedic books of knowledge. The Vedas-Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg and Atharva—and any other books deriving knowledge from these Vedas are considered Vedic literatures. Bhagavad-gītā is the essence of all Vedic knowledge, and therefore it is the scripture whose instructions should be especially accepted. In this essence of all śāstras, Kṛṣṇa personally advises that one give up all other duties and surrender unto Him (sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66)).

One should be initiated into following the principles of śāstra. In offering initiation, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement asks one to come to the conclusion of śāstra by taking the advice of the supreme speaker of the śāstra, Kṛṣṇa, forgetting the principles of the materialistic way of life. Therefore the principles we advise are no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling and no meat-eating. These four types of engagement will enable an intelligent person to get free from the materialistic life and return home, back to Godhead.

In regard to the instructions of the father and mother, it may be said that every living entity, including even the insignificant cats, dogs and serpents, takes birth of a father and mother. Therefore, getting a material father and mother is not a problem. In every form of life, birth after birth, the living entity gets a father and mother. In human society, however, if one is satisfied with his material father and mother and their instructions and does not make further progress by accepting a spiritual master and being educated in the śāstras, he certainly remains in darkness. The material father and mother are important only if they are interested in educating their son to become free from the clutches of death. As instructed by Ṛṣabhadeva (SB 5.5.18): pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt/ na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. One should not strive to become a mother or father if one cannot save one’s dependent son from the impending danger of death. A parent who does not know how to save his son has no value because such fathers and mothers may be had in any form of life, even among the cats, dogs and so on. Only a father and mother who can elevate their son to the spiritual platform are bona fide parents. Therefore according to the Vedic system it is said, janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ: one is born of a material father and mother as a śūdra. The purpose of life, however, is to become a brāhmaṇa, a first-class man.

A first-class intelligent man is called a brāhmaṇa because he knows the Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Truth. According to the Vedic instructions, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet to know this science, one must approach a bona fide guru, a spiritual master who will initiate the disciple with the sacred thread so that he may understand the Vedic knowledge. Janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ saṁskārād dhi bhaved dvijaḥ. Becoming a brāhmaṇa through the endeavor of a bona fide spiritual master is called saṁskāra. After initiation, one is engaged in study of the śāstra, which teaches the student how to gain release from materialistic life and return home, back to Godhead.

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching this higher knowledge of retiring from materialistic life to return to Godhead, but unfortunately many parents are not very satisfied with this movement. Aside from the parents of our students, many businessmen are also dissatisfied because we teach our students to abandon intoxication, meat-eating, illicit sex and gambling. If the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads, the so-called businessmen will have to close their slaughterhouses, breweries and cigarette factories. Therefore they are also very much afraid. However, we have no alternative than to teach our disciples to free themselves from materialistic life. We must instruct them in the opposite of material life to save them from the repetition of birth and death.

Nārada Muni, therefore, advised the Haryaśvas, the sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa, that instead of begetting progeny, it would be better to leave and achieve the perfection of spiritual understanding according to the instructions of the śāstras. The importance of the śāstras is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjyavartate kāma-kārataḥna sa siddhim avāpnotina sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim

“One who disregards the injunctions of the śāstras and acts whimsically, as he likes, never achieves the perfection of life, not to speak of happiness. Nor does he return home to the spiritual world.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam

(Nārada Muni had asked how one could ignorantly defy one’s own father. The Haryaśvas understood the meaning of this question.) One must accept the original instructions of the śāstra. According to Vedic civilization, one is offered a sacred thread as a sign of second birth. One takes his second birth by dint of having received instructions in the śāstra from a bona fide spiritual master. Therefore, śāstra, scripture, is the real father. All the śāstras instruct that one should end his material way of life. If one does not know the purpose of the father’s orders, the śāstras, he is ignorant. The words of a material father who endeavors to engage his son in material activities are not the real instructions of the father.

Bhagavad-gītā (16.7) says, pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ: demons, who are less than human beings but are not called animals, do not know the meaning of pravṛtti and nivṛtti, work to be done and work not to be done. In the material world, every living entity has a desire to lord it over the material world as much as possible. This is called pravṛtti-mārga. All the śāstras, however, advise nivṛtti-mārga, or release from the materialistic way of life. Apart from the śāstras of the Vedic civilization, which is the oldest of the world, other śāstras agree on this point. For example, in the Buddhist śāstras Lord Buddha advises that one achieve nirvāṇa by giving up the materialistic way of life. In the Bible, which is also śāstra, one will find the same advice: one should cease materialistic life and return to the kingdom of God. In any śāstra one may examine, especially the Vedic śāstra, the same advice is given: one should give up his materialistic life and return to his original, spiritual life. Śaṅkarācārya also propounds the same conclusion. Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: this material world or materialistic life is simply illusion, and therefore one should stop his illusory activities and come to the platform of Brahman.

The word śāstra refers to the scriptures, particularly the Vedic books of knowledge. The Vedas-Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg and Atharva—and any other books deriving knowledge from these Vedas are considered Vedic literatures. Bhagavad-gītā is the essence of all Vedic knowledge, and therefore it is the scripture whose instructions should be especially accepted. In this essence of all śāstras, Kṛṣṇa personally advises that one give up all other duties and surrender unto Him (sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66)).

One should be initiated into following the principles of śāstra. In offering initiation, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement asks one to come to the conclusion of śāstra by taking the advice of the supreme speaker of the śāstra, Kṛṣṇa, forgetting the principles of the materialistic way of life. Therefore the principles we advise are no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling and no meat-eating. These four types of engagement will enable an intelligent person to get free from the materialistic life and return home, back to Godhead.

In regard to the instructions of the father and mother, it may be said that every living entity, including even the insignificant cats, dogs and serpents, takes birth of a father and mother. Therefore, getting a material father and mother is not a problem. In every form of life, birth after birth, the living entity gets a father and mother. In human society, however, if one is satisfied with his material father and mother and their instructions and does not make further progress by accepting a spiritual master and being educated in the śāstras, he certainly remains in darkness. The material father and mother are important only if they are interested in educating their son to become free from the clutches of death. As instructed by Ṛṣabhadeva (SB 5.5.18): pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt/ na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. One should not strive to become a mother or father if one cannot save one’s dependent son from the impending danger of death. A parent who does not know how to save his son has no value because such fathers and mothers may be had in any form of life, even among the cats, dogs and so on. Only a father and mother who can elevate their son to the spiritual platform are bona fide parents. Therefore according to the Vedic system it is said, janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ: one is born of a material father and mother as a śūdra. The purpose of life, however, is to become a brāhmaṇa, a first-class man.

A first-class intelligent man is called a brāhmaṇa because he knows the Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Truth. According to the Vedic instructions, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: to know this science, one must approach a bona fide guru, a spiritual master who will initiate the disciple with the sacred thread so that he may understand the Vedic knowledge. Janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ saṁskārād dhi bhaved dvijaḥ. Becoming a brāhmaṇa through the endeavor of a bona fide spiritual master is called saṁskāra. After initiation, one is engaged in study of the śāstra, which teaches the student how to gain release from materialistic life and return home, back to Godhead.

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching this higher knowledge of retiring from materialistic life to return to Godhead, but unfortunately many parents are not very satisfied with this movement. Aside from the parents of our students, many businessmen are also dissatisfied because we teach our students to abandon intoxication, meat-eating, illicit sex and gambling. If the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads, the so-called businessmen will have to close their slaughterhouses, breweries and cigarette factories. Therefore they are also very much afraid. However, we have no alternative than to teach our disciples to free themselves from materialistic life. We must instruct them in the opposite of material life to save them from the repetition of birth and death.

Nārada Muni, therefore, advised the Haryaśvas, the sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa, that instead of begetting progeny, it would be better to leave and achieve the perfection of spiritual understanding according to the instructions of the śāstras. The importance of the śāstras is mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjyavartate kāma-kārataḥna sa siddhim avāpnotina sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim

“One who disregards the injunctions of the śāstras and acts whimsically, as he likes, never achieves the perfection of life, not to speak of happiness. Nor does he return home to the spiritual world.”