Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.1 in Hindi Translated into English

Prabhupāda:
nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke
kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye
tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ
śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam

• [SB. 5.5.1]

This is the conversation… [Transl. Should I speak in Hindi? Speak in Hindi? Okay. Ṛṣabhadeva is giving instructions to His sons. He had one hundred sons. Of them the eldest son was Mahārāja Bharata by whose name our this country is named Bhāratavarṣa. Not only this country but all countries, in fact this whole world is Bhāratavarṣa. So His instruction is āyam deha, this body that we have got, nṛloke, in the human society. Everyone has got a body. There is dog body, sheep body, hog body, demigod body, and many other bodies. Total 8,400,000 thousand species of bodies through which the living entities are travelling. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir [Bg. 2.13] The living entity accepts one type of body and according to his karma in that body he gives up that body and accepts another body. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, [aside:] sit down.

ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
[Cc. Madhya 19.151]

[Transl. In this way the spirit soul is wandering throughout. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir. Just like in this body we go through changes. These boys here, they will change their bodies. These bodies will not stay. The child body will not remain, the boy body will not remain, the youth body will not stay, even the old body will not remain. As a person, in this life, changes body one after another, similarly, after giving up this present body the living entity will accept another new body. That is guaranteed. The example is there. If a young man says that I will not become an old man that is not possible. You must become. The body must be changed. We have no freedom that we will remain young only or boy only. No. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has given a very nice example.

dehino ’smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
[Bg. 2.13]

[Transl. There is no room for argument in this. Tathā dehāntara... We are obserbing that after leaving one body we are accepting another body, so after giving up this body we have to accept another body. Where is the need for argument? The Supreme Lord Himself is speaking. If someone says that I can see a boy is growing to a youth, but I cannot see that after this body is dead and burnt to ashes, how there is another body? This is fool’s argument. How the soul transmigrates, as a boy’s body changed into a youth’s body but can we see how did the change take place? But it does change. We only say it is happening but we don’t have the eyes to see it happening. [Transl. The subtle body…just like, I sleep at night and have a dream. In the dream I have gone to a forest. Can the person who sleeps beside me see how I have gone to the jungle? But actually I have gone. Everybody can understand this that though my body is lying in a nice cot I left the bed and gone to the jungle where I met a tiger and started screaming. But the person sleeping next to me says, why are you screaming? Oh, there is tiger, there is a tiger. Where is tiger? There is no tiger! You are here! But there is. But he cannot see. Similarly, how the subtle body carries us to another body that the foolish persons cannot see. *Paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ. [Bg. 15.10]

[Transl. This is stated in Bhagavad-gītā. One who has knowledge, he sees. Therefore it says, dhīras tatra na muhyati [Bg. 2.13] One who is sober, who is knowledgeable, who is advanced, for him it is not difficult to understand. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir. For foolish people who do not know anything, who have never associated with saintly persons, who haven’t heard the reality from sādhus, and who think whimsically, it is difficult. But for those whose eyes are enlightened with knowledge, there is no problem. They understand. Dhīras tatra na muhyati. He also understands by knowledge where does a person go after death? In the śāstra… śāstra-cakṣuṣāt: [Vedānta-sūtra] One should see through the via media of śāstra. That’s why the śāstras are made for.

[Transl. To know what is what, what is God, who is God-from where can we have the knowledge of these things? Can we see everything directly? Just like we describe the Vaikuṇṭha planets, the Goloka dhām, the hellish planets, we haven’t gone there. But śāstra-cakṣu, whatever is described in the śāstra we should try to understand it. And especially the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa is personally saying tathā dehāntara-prāptir. There is no need to doubt about it. Only foolish people will doubt. The Supreme Lord is presenting with logic, kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā. Dehino ’smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā [Bg. 2.13] Kaumāra, yauvana and jarā: boyhood, youthhood and old age. The body goes through changes. It is very logical. The Lord further explains, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre, nityaḥ śāśvato ’yam. [Bg. 2.20]

[Transl. He explains all this. We should understand it. According to the direction of the śāstra and of the Supreme Lord’s words we should try to understand things. Then we will know that what is reality, ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā. [Bg. 14.18] The upper planetary system…Those who have acted piously they get promotion to the higher planets. Those who have neither advanced nor degraded, they live in this earthly planet. And adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ, jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā [Bg. 14.18] Those who are acting sinfully—eating meat, drinking wine, taking intoxicants, for them adho gacchanti, they go to the lower planets, to hellish planet, become animals or poor. These things are mentioned in the śāstra. So we should act accordingly. Then only it is human life, otherwise, like dogs and sheeps simply eat, sleep, produce children, and die—that’s dog’s life. Sa eva go-kharaḥ. [SB. 10.84.13]

[Transl. One who does not perfect his human form of life, the human life is achived for this very purpose to understand the goal of life. Why Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Veda, Vedānta were compiled? So that people can take shelter of these literatures. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: [MU 1.2.12] [“To understand that transcendental science, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master.”]

[Transl. To realize this science. Just like students go to school and college, that interest is gone now, now they go to school and college to learn how to strike hammer. They don’t go there for acquiring the knowledge of self realisation. They want to know how to open a hammer factory, be trained in that art, and for that they go to foreign countries to learn more so that they can earn more money and enjoy life. This is going on. Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva said that these activities—to work hard whole day, what for so much work? Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate. [SB. 5.5.1] Taking so much hardship only for sense gratification is the work of a hog. Therefore the name ‘hog’ is mentioned. So much hard labour day and night.

[Transl. You may have seen. In Calcutta there are no hogs. They might be somewhere. In the villages you see they wander about whole day and night with hardship. Why? To find out where is stool. That’s all. So the same thing, stool is their food and they work whole day only for that. And our food is not stool but something else which will transform into stool, and we are working hard for that. Whatever halavā, purī we will eat, will turn into stool only. So hogs eat when the food is transformed into stool and we eat to produce stool stool. What’s the difference then? If someone says, well, I eat purīs and stuff, but that purī will turn into stool. Then the hog will eat it. Therefore the example of a hog is given. Ayaṁ deha, this body that we have got, nṛloke, in the human society, kaṣṭān kāmān, you have to work for supplying the bodily demands. You have to eat, you have to sleep and you have to gratify the senses. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. [Hitopadeśa 25]

[Transl. You have to arrange some means to defend yourself. Do it. But do not forget the real aim of life. You have become so much like hogs and asses that you have forgotten the real thing. That is not correct. This is not just for now, it was current even then, otherwise why would Ṛṣabhadeva instruct like this? Nowadays the numbers of hogs and asses are more, before they were less. Because, the varṇāśrama-dharma was established in order to convert the hog-like and ass-like people to human beings, but they rejected it. Everyone is like hogs and dogs. Janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ: by birth everyone is a śūdra. From birth everyone is hogs and asses. Of this there is no doubt. But the varṇāśrama-dharma is meant to gradually transform hogs and asses to demigods. [Transl. Those who were most intelligent they were classified as brāhmaṇas, less intelligent than them were kṣatriyas, less intelligent than them were vaiśyas and those who were least intelligent were accepted as śūdras. But nowadays the intelligence itself is missing. Therefore śāstra call them, kalau śūdra-sambhava. In Kali-yuga there is none but śūdras. That is the reason the śāstra has no value and respect. Because, the śāstra is meant for the brāhmaṇas. The brāhmaṇas are supposed to be learned. They should purify their conduct. Śama, dama, satyam, śaucam, dāna: peacefulness, self control, truthfulness, purity, charity etc—these are brāhmaṇas twelve qualities. Are these qualities taught in the society now? Even those that are born in the brāhmaṇa family they have also given up. They gave up just to beat hammer. Just imagine what kind of human society this is! Everything is lost. Therefore in Kali-yuga there is only one process, simply chant the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam [Cc Ādi 7.76/ Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa]

[Transl. The world is filled up with hogs, asses and śūdras. They are busy working hard whole day only for sense gratification. Ṛṣabhadeva says, this is not proper. The way you are wasting this human life…It is very, very valuable becuse you have received it after many, many lifetimes. Therefore it is not proper to waste it simply for eating, enjoying sense gratification and producing children. This is Ṛṣabhadeva’s main concern. Why? Because tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ. This is your business. Sattvā, the root foundation of our existence…Just like our body, it is not purified; therefore I have to die. Why do I die? Nobody wants to die. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi: birth, death, old age and disease. [Bg. 13.9]

[Transl. Just like, we get fever. Who wants to be afflicted by fever? But we get it because of some reason. Some disease, infection etc. That’s why this temperature. To get fever is not natural, it is unnatural. Similarly, when we get information from the śāstra na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20] that when the body is destroyed the spirit soul is not dead. He gets another body. Just like when our cloth is torn we throw it away and puts on another cloth, tathā dehāntara, in the same way, when this body no longer works, all its organs no longer act, just like you buy a motor and when it is too old you throw it away and take a new car, similarly this body is also a vehicle. Yantra. The Supreme Lord Himself has said, yantrārūḍhāni māyayā. It is a machine awarded to us by the nature.

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
[Bg. 18.61]

[Transl. This verse is very important. Try to understand it thoroughly. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated within the hearts of all living entities. The Lord is there and I am also there. Jīvātmā and Paramātmā: the spirit soul and the Super soul. The Supreme Lord has also confirmed this in the Bhagavad-gītā,

kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi
sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata
[Bg. 13.3]

[Transl. Kṣetra and kṣetrajña. This body is kṣetra or land. Just like there is land and there is also a farmer. Both of them together produce a fruits which we eat. In the same way, we take help of this body to do things, we mean the spirit souls, and the fruits produced by our combined effort we enjoy. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa. [SB. 3.31.1] The Supreme Lord decides. The Supreme Lord says that the embodied soul—the owner of the body, the spirit soul, he is called kṣetrajña, and there is one more kṣetrajña and that is Me.

kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi
sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata [Transl. For example, the individual soul is aware of his own field of activities. Like you and me. I can tell the pains and pleasures of my body. You can tell the pains and pleasures of your body. But the Supreme Lord, sarva-kṣetreṣu, He knows the pains and pleasures of all bodies. He knows mine and yours. So there are two. The foolish people who say that the spirit soul and the Supersoul are one, their knowledge is not correct. The individual soul is separate and the Super soul is separate. That’s why the Lord has used the conjunction ‘ca’ which means and. That’s a fact. Had I become Paramātmā. I would have understood the pains and pleasures of your body! And had you become Paramātmā you would have known my pains and pleasures! You don’t know! But the Supreme Lord knows it all. That’s why we accept Bhagavān: the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata. So jīvātmā and Paramātmā are both there. That’s why the Supreme Lord said,

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati
[Bg. 18.61]

[Transl. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is present within all living entities. Do I live within all living entities? Then How am I Bhagavān? Nobody considers these things. But declares, ‘I am God.’ How you are God? Are you present within all living entities? Do you understand everyone’s happiness and distress? No. Nothing. But became Bhagavān. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati. Bhagavān is sitting within the hearts of all living entities as Paramātmā. This is mentioned in the Upaniṣad that there are two birds and they are sitting together in the tree. So who are those two birds? One is jīvātmā and the other is Paramātmā. One of the birds eats the fruits of the tree and the other bird simply watches. Anumantā upadraṣṭā. [Bg. 13.23] He simply observes what he wants. The Supreme Lord is the friend of all. Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ [Bg. 5.29]

[Transl. The Supreme Lord is such a good friend that wherever the jivatma goes, to any body whether a hog’s body or a demigod’s body, the Lord accompanies him. How to explain to these foolish people that changing body one after another and enjoying happiness and distress and in this way wander about throughout the universe should be stopped, you fools! Stop this you asses! Mūḍhā: asses, stop this business if you want be happy. Why are you wandering about like this leaving one body and accepting another body? Tathā dehāntara-prāptir. [Bg. 2.13] To preach this to the foolish the Supreme Lord incarnates. We are so foolish that even after being explained by the Supreme Lord we don’t understand. We are so foolish. Therefore the Supreme Lord declares,

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
prapadyante narādhamāḥ
[Bg. 7.15]

[Transl. Those who are lowest among mankind they don’t understand all this. Those who don’t understand what is Bhagavān and Bhagavad-gītā and simply talk all nonsense like Bhagavān is black, who is Bhagavān and so on, they are fools and ignorant only. It is very unfortunate for the society that such persons are acting as preachers. They speak all nonsense bypassing Bhagavān. You understand? Therefore Bhagavān says that those who don’t know about Me… Surrender will come from knowledge, prapadyante. The Supreme Personality of Godhead says this,

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
[Bg. 7.19]

[Transl. Who surrenders fully at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord? One who, after many births, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante, understands perfectly that [aside:] Hare Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is almighty and I am tiny and my duty is to take shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet. The Supreme Lord Himself said,

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

[Transl. Abandon all varieties of religion and surrender unto Me—that is the duty of the human beings. [Bg. 18.66] It is not the business of the human beings to work hard whole day like hogs and eat stool or eat foods that will turn into stool and remain satisfied. That is not the aim of human life. Therefore it says here nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke, especially for the human beings. If dogs, sheeps and hogs work hard whole day and enjoy then that is not…They have no alternative because they are dogs. But despite being human beings if we act like dogs and hogs then we are definitely ruining our human form of life. This is being stressed here. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke. Deha-bhājāṁ. Deha-bhājāṁ means anyone who has received a material body. Bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ [Bg. 7.4]

[Transl. This material body consists of earth, water, fire, air and ether. This is matter. And within this gross body there is a subtle body consists of mind, intelligence and false ego. And he who puts on that subtle body is jīvātmā. Somebody becomes entangled in the gross and somebody becomes entangled in the subtle body. And the real body, nobody knows. Mūdhā nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam [Bg. 7.13] Ṛṣabhadeva explains here how people can understand that original body. Tapaḥ.

tapasā brahmacaryeṇa
śamena ca damena ca
tyāgena satya-śaucābhyāṁ
[SB. 6.1.13]

[Transl. In another place Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes to Parīkṣit Mahārāja that this is the process. No knowledge will be gained by working like dogs and sheeps. But by penance, celibacy, truthfulness, cleanliness. Śuci. Therefore a brāhmaṇa is called śuci. And one who is not a Brāhmaṇa, he is muci. śuci and muci. So who is a muci? One who has left the association of the Supreme Lord is a muci. His only business is with skin. A muci is expert in identifying which is cow skin which is buffalo skin, which is goat skin. So one whose only attention is about skin—this is Indian skin, this is American skin, this is Hindu skin, this is Mussalman skin, he remains a muci only. He is not śuci. He will become śuci only when he will understand ‘Ahaṁ brahmāsmi.’ I am spiritual a spirit soul. Part and parcel of Paramātmā. Then he will become a brāhmaṇa. Brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ.

[Transl. A person who realises Brahman: the Supreme Lord and who has acquired knowledge about the Supreme Lord is a brāhmaṇa. One who identifies with the body, means an expert in skin, he is a muci. Muci means tannery expert. We call muci, and nowadays in polished language they call tannery expert. Call me tannery expert! What is your business? I am tannery expert! A big post! [laughs] Actually he is just a muci. If you call him a muci he will become angry. But tannery expert, earns four thousand rupees salary, that’s all right. Very respectable person. This is going on. So Ṛṣabhadeva advices that do not remain a tannery expert. Tapaḥ. Perform tapasya. That is brāhmaṇa’s duty. Tapo, tapasya. Tapasyā is the first thing in human life. The purpose of human life is tapasya. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. [Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.1]

[Transl. In other lives like those of dogs and hogs they have four business, āhāra, nidrā, bhaya, maithunaṁ: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Eat, sleep very nicely, enjoy sense gratification to your full satisfaction and try to defend yourself from enemies. Fear must be there all the time. So long you have this body fear must be there. And nirbhaya. Abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir. This is tapasya. There will be no fear. Sattva-saṁśuddhir. Sattva means our present existence. Why it is impure? Because we have to die. These things should be contemplated upon. Tapo divyaṁ. Tapasyā or to accept hardship is also there in the material activities. Suppose a big scientist discovers something that is also tapasya. Without hard labour it is not possible. Yesterday we were flying from Bombay and the pilot Mr. Bhattacārya, out of respect, showed us everything in his cabin how the flight takes of and how it lands. It is very interesting. [Transl. So these electronic methods, pressing buttons, mostly buttons,that is also tapasya. Otherwise how wonderfully it is working. So it is also tapasya. So nowadays people are totally absorbed in this tapasya. But Ṛṣabhadeva says, tapo divyaṁ. Not for this kind of tapasya. That is mechanical skill. This is not tapasya. Previously wonderful things like airplane, big buildings were constructed by the demons. The brāhmaṇas were not making. The brāhmaṇas’ duty was to undergo tapasya to attain the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahma jānāti… Ṛṣabhadeva is reffering to that tapasya. To make an wonderful aeroplane…Making an aeroplane is wonderful, but it is very risky. If by mistake you press a wrong button then everything is finished. It is not perfect. Not perfect. Display of mechanical skill is certainly there, but that mechanical skill is not complete. We require these material mechanical skill but behind this the real skill to purify our existence, śuddheta sattva, that is actual skill. Śuddheta sattva. That is the goal of human life. To purify the existence. *Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. [Bg. 2.20]

[Transl. When this body is finished I don’t die, I continue to live. Tathā dehāntara prāptir, I will have to accept another body. This botheration has to be realised. Now we are sitting in this house and there are also some trees around this house. About ten cubic from here there is a tree. We are sitting comfortably in this room, but that tree cannot even move ten inches. Ten inches. It has also got life. Why did he get a tree body, because his existence if not pure. As one continually degrades one gets a tree body. And it cannot even move. It has to stand in one place. One should analyse all these things as to why this is happening? It can happen to me as well. There are many examples of this. That Yamalārjuna trees, they were children of the demigod. But because they acted like animal and Nārada Muni cursed them that they want to become like animal, so let me chastise them. So he said that since your behaviour is like animal. They were naked, enjoying the company of the celestial ladies. [Transl. Nārada Muni was passing by that place. The apsarās immediately put on their clothes, but these persons were so intoxicated by drinking wine that they did not even look at Nārada Muni but remained naked. So Nārada muni considered that they have become so foolish, in spite of being born in the demigod family, they should be punished. So he cursed them that you take birth as trees. Stand naked in the road and will have no shame when others see. This is tree body. They become shameless. These are mentioned in the śāstra, and we should understand it. We become shameless, remain impure, and not try to advance in spiritual life. We don’t try even, not perform tapasya, live like dogs and sheeps. Then what did we gain by getting this human form of life? This is to be understood. Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva advices tapaḥ, undergo tapasya. This is tapasya. This is the aim of human life. Therefore in our culture the first requirement was tapasya. From the very childhood.

kaumāra ācaret prājño
dharmān bhāgavatān iha
[SB. 7.6.1]

[Transl. Where these things are taught nowadays? Everything is described in the śāstra. From childhood children should be taught to become brahmacārī. Brahmacārī guru-kule vasan dānto [SB. 7.12.1] What is the benefit of residing in the gurukula? Dānta, he will learn how to become sober. Dhīras tatra na muhyati [Bg. 2.13] These things are not taught. From the beginning he learns to smoke bīḍī and associate with sinful people. Therefore tapasya is required. But In Kali-yuga severe tapasya is not possible. Because the millennium has change. So at least this much tapasya should be done in this yuga as to chant the holy name of Supreme Lord keeping a fixed number of rounds daily. Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ. [Śrī Ṣaḍ-gosvāmy-aṣṭaka 6]

[Transl. The Gosvamīs were doing this in Vṛndāvana to teach us. They would keep a fixed number of rounds to chant daily and they would complete it. So big, big ācāryas like Haridāsa Ṭhākura used to chant the holy names three hundred thousand times a day. Three hundred thousand times is not possible, therefore one must fix up a number of rounds to chant daily. We, in our society, have prescribed to chant the holy name 16 rounds in the bead. This amounts to about twenty-five thousand holy names a day. This can be accomplished in two hours. We work so hard, but can’t we perform tapasya for two hours? But they will not do it. It’s very difficult. [aside:] Sit down. So this tapasya one must do. We, for doing this tapasya, told our disciples, “Do this much tapasya of chanting sixteen rounds daily, and give up striyaḥ, sūnā pānaṁ, dyūta: illicit sex, meat eating, intoxication and gambling. [SB. 1.17.38]

[Transl. That means no illicit sex both for men and women. Nowadays men and women have no consideration; that should not be there. Get married and live together peacefully. Sex life between man and woman according to śāstra is all right. And sexual relation between man and woman without scriptural injunction is sinful. Don’t indulge in that. And violence unnecessarily to kill animals and eat, or buy meat from butcher and eat is a grave sin. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has produced so many nice things for you to eat as prasāda, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ, [Bg. 9.26] thousands of varieties of things, you eat, you are a human being. The Lord’s remnants of food. Don’t eat meat. That is abominable and sinful. Why do you eat? This is tapasya. Illicit sex is sinful one should give it up, eating meat etc should be given up, intoxication should be given up, and no gambling. To give up these things is tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ.

[Transl. By following this you will attain devotional service to the Supreme Lord. As a proof, look at these American and European people they have completely given up all these things. And they are developing devotional service to the Supreme Lord. So this is tapasya. Give up these four things and chant the holy name of the Lord. This is Kali-yuga, everyone can do this. There is no difficulty. This is tapo divyaṁ. Why this tapasya is required? To attain the shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that is the goal of life. Only one who has become completely purified by practing tapasya can he attain the Supreme Lord. Otherwise it is not possible.

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
[Bg. 7.28]

[Transl. By worship the Supreme Lord with determination in this life one will attain the Supreme Lord, back to home, back to Godhead. For that, just undergo little tapasya. To eat, sleep, enjoy life and jump around like dogs and sheeps will get you nowhere. Because, you are completely under the control of nature. [Transl. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. [Bg. 3.27] What will you gain by that? Nothing at all. You would be simply jumping and barking like dogs. There will be no benefit, because you are under the laws of nature. Just like Durgādevī is chastising Mahiṣāsura. The demon tried to create havoc, but ultimately Durgādevī killed him. in the same way, Durgādevī will not spare anyone. Don’t think she only killed that demon and she will not harm me. That is a mistake. Anyone who is an *asura…What is the meaning of asura? Asura is he who does not obey the Supreme Lord. Anyone who will become an asura Durgādevī will kill him. [Transl. This should be understood. Therefore one should perform tapasya in human form of life. Tapo divyaṁ. Divya means for the almighty, for the sake of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Kali-yuga it is very easy to attain the Supreme Lord. As we are natuarally fallen in this age therefore the Supreme Lord has also recommended the easy method. He knew that it won’t be possible for us to go to the jungle and perform tapasya. You stay wherever you are, sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir. [SB. 10.14.3]

[Transl. You live in your own home. It is not that you will have to take sannyāsa from gṛhastha āśrama. Simply hear the topics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is why we open centres so that you will come to us and hear about the Supreme Lord. By hearing about the Lord, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ [SB. 7.5.23] the ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. [Śrī Śikṣāṣṭaka 1] the dirty mirror of the heart will be cleansed and you will gradually realize everything. This is our appeal to you all that please come here and hear as much as possible, otherwise hear at home only. But hear you must as things are described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Please do not ruin everyone by distorting the actual meaning of the Bhagavad-gītā.

[Transl. Do good to others. Whatever the Supreme Personality of Godhead has said is correct. It is not proper to misguide everyone by misinterpreting it. He is most sinful who, by interpreting, ruins himself and others as well. One must not do that. As the Supreme Lord has said. Therefore we have presented Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, no interpretation. Just as the Supreme Lord said, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto…, [Bg. 18.65] the Lord said, always think of Me, and we simply tell others to think of Him. What is the need to interpret? That grave foolishness. Give up such mischief and follow what the Supreme Lord instructs. Then your life will become successful.

Thank you very much.

Devotees:
Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]