From knowledge to realization

Today morning we will discuss an important verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam, which is actually the seed for the controversies.

This chapter, seventh chapter of the third canto is the seed from which much of the conversation in the subsequent sections of the Srimad Bhagavatam is going to proceed. As we know, the Srimad Bhagavatam is a book of question answers. So there are nested conversations.

Those of you who have studied computers know about nested loops. So one loop inside another. So there are nested conversations.

So the outermost nest is Suta Goswami and Shravanakadi Rishi. And another nest within that is Sukadeva Goswami and Parikshit Maharaj. And within that, there is a nest of now here Vidura and Maitreya.

And within that, there will be further a nest of Devahuti and Kapila. And in this way, the conversation goes into greater and greater depth. So the chapter started with a series of questions by Vidura.

In essence, he asked, how is it that if the Lord is situated in the heart of all living beings, then why are the activities of the living beings unfortunate? Why do the activities lead to misery and misfortune? And here in this question, it is described that Maitreya is initially surprised. But then he answers the question. Maitreya is surprised how Vidura can get a question like this.

Indirectly what he is saying is, is the Lord to be blamed for the unfortunate, miserable activities of the living entities? Then Vidura replies, Maitreya replies that actually it is the Maya of the Supreme Lord. The Lord is beyond Maya, but it is the Maya which causes the living entities to engage in unfortunate activities based on their own desires. And he gives a series of answers in 3-4 verses.

And after that, Vidura says, now by your clear answers, all my doubts are dispelled. And then he's speaking further. So this verse is 19, 17, 18, 19, 20.

They constitute one thought unit, which basically talks about how to rise from knowledge to realisation through service. So that will be the theme of our class today. From knowledge to realisation through service.

So we'll go over these verses one by one. So 17th verse is quite a well-known verse. यश्च मूध तमो लोके यश्च बुद्धे परंगता ता उभाव सुखम एदेते क्लिष्यत्य अंतरितोजन He says there are two kinds of people in this world are happy.

यश्च मूध तमो लोके, those who are completely in ignorance, they are happy. And यश्च बुद्धे परंगता, those whose intelligence has transcended this material existence. It's a very interesting phrase.

It is not that those who have transcended material existence. Yes, they may be physically still in material existence, but their intelligence has transcended. यदाते मोह कलिनम् बुद्धिद्वितितरिष्यति तदागन्दासि निर्वेंदम् शोताउविस्युतर्सिच्य In the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, in verses 52 and 53, when describing the symptoms of a self-realised person, Krishna says his intelligence has gone beyond the forest of delusion.

So saying यश्च बुद्धे परंगता, whose intelligence has transcended. So what happens to such a person? ताव उभाव सुखम एहेते These two people are happy. One who is completely in ignorance and one who is completely transcended.

And क्लिष्यत्य अन्तरितो जनहा, अन्तरितो means those who are in between, क्लिष्यत्य, they suffer. So I used to always wonder how can somebody in ignorance actually be happy? Bhagavatam is saying that these people are happy, सुखा होता. So I got some insight during the recent Cricket World Cup.

You know, actually if you look at people, they are happy. They are so happy that they are ready to sacrifice their nights sleep and spend their money blowing crackers throughout the night. So they are celebrating.

So actually we have nothing to do with our body and we have nothing to do with our nation. And those who are playing for the nation have very little to do with the nation also. You know, they are just interested in money.

But look at the series of misidentifications. The first is misidentification with the body. Second is misidentification with the country.

Third is misidentification with the game, which is actually not even born in this country. It has come from America. And fifth is a misidentification with those who are playing a game which has come from abroad and who are playing it not even for the love for the nation.

They are playing it just for money. So it's a series of five misidentifications one by one. एश्चमूद तमोनो के So those who are in ignorance like this, they are blissful.

उभाव तां उभाव सुखाव एधे दे And then those who are transcendent. Now we may not have transcended all material attachments. But many of us have to some extent become indifferent to cricket.

So we don't bother about it. The same time the cricket matches were going on. There were so many wonderful programmes in the temple.

Devotees were coming and participating, chanting, dancing, singing. Not bothering at all. They are happy in their own world.

But क्लिष्यत्य अंतरी तोजन So some of us may still have some residual attachments. And then you are wondering what is the score? India-Pakistan match. Who won? Who lost? And there is anxiety.

So one student asked me this question. We say that all the happiness of material world can be summarised as आहार विद्रा भैमेथ So where does the happiness of cricket come in आहार विद्रा भैमेथ? So eating, sleeping, waiting, defending. So where does cricket come amongst? So I was just travelling from one place to another.

So there were television sets everywhere. So I just happened to see one cricket match. And if you look at the players, it was probably the end of a particular match.

The death hovers as they call it. The phrase was death hovers. As if you are going to die if you lose the match.

So if you look at the faces of the people, there is so much tension. So much fear. So actually the whole cricket is nothing but भै.

So you create so much tension, so much anxiety, so much pressure. They don't use the word anxiety or tension or fear. They use the word pressure.

And they say those who can't cope with the pressure, they call them jokers. But all of them are actually jokers. Because they are taking such a small and insignificant thing so seriously.

But the point is, see all the material pleasures are actually not pleasures. They are simply reliefs from a self-created misery. Just like when a person engages in sense gratification.

It's not that sense gratification gives happiness. Actually when a person becomes lusty, lust creates agitation of the mind. And when one fulfils the lust, there is just a temporary relief from that self-created agitation of the mind.

And actually that agitation is so severe, here the word used is तीव्रह. It's very intense. So bhakti is also तीव्रह.

But material life also, the agitation is very तीव्रह. It's very intense. And that agitation creates so much anxiety, so much misery, that when one actually engages in the pleasure, the relief from anxiety that one experiences, we call it as, people call it as enjoyment.

So, same way with respect to a sports like cricket, people create so much भाई. They don't use the word भाई. They use anticipation, excitement, thrill, all these positive sounding words.

But the fact is the same. So they create भाई, and when they get relief from the भाई, they call that as great pleasure. And of course, after they get, if they don't get relief from that भाई, they are going to suffer all the luck.

So, actually if you see, cricket, world cup, objectively also if you look at it, there are 14-16 countries, whatever countries are there, out of them only one country is going to be successful. So that means, out of the 16 countries that are participating, 15 countries are going to be miserable. So it's actually producing misery, not happiness.

So for most people, that भाई leads to misery. For some people, whom the भाई leads to happiness. Actually, that happiness creates a greater भाई.

Because the next time when India is going to face the world cup, there is so much more pressure. Because you are the defending champions. See the word also, defending.

आर्विद्राभाई मेरे कुछ नहीं चाहिए. You know, defence. So as soon as we acquire something, we have to defend it.

And that defence creates anxiety. So, actually those who are completely in the materialistic conception of life, they feel as if this is pleasure. They feel as if it is pleasure.

But, that pleasure is like a bubble. And the bubble, it bursts sooner or later. When it bursts, there is no more pleasure.

So as the Bhagavatam is saying, both these are ways of happiness, but both are not equivalent ways of happiness. Why? Because one happiness is very temporary, whereas the other happiness is eternal. And, therefore, after telling this verse, that's why, like many times people say that, okay, you people enjoy chanting Hare Krishna, we enjoy going to movies.

We go and enjoy watching cricket. So you enjoy your way, we will enjoy our way. Why bother? Yes, we can all say like that.

But the problem is that one enjoyment is very temporary, the other enjoyment is eternal. That's why, although the Bhagavatam says that, yes, these two kinds of people are happy, the Bhagavatam doesn't say that, okay, you stay in those people who are ignorant, you should stay in ignorance. With Maitreya, Uddhura doesn't say that, okay, I will stay in ignorance.

What does he say? Now I will try to rise to knowledge. So the next verse, which was discussed a little bit yesterday, he says, artha bhavam vinishchitya, artha abhavam vinishchitya. He says, vinishchitya, I have understood, I have ascertained, artha abhavam, that there is no meaning to this material existence.

pratitasya naatmanah, pratitasya means that which appears to be, pratithona, apparent, naatmanah, it has no connection with the atma. So this particular phrase, pratitasya naatmanah, is referring to an earlier example given by Maitreya Rishi. He says that, sometimes in a dream a person sees that somebody is attacking him and he comes with a whirling sword and chops off his head.

And he is watching, his head is being chopped off. Now if your head is being chopped off, how can you watch? Who is watching? That means that actually, pratitasya naatmanah, we have nothing to do with this body. So he says, yes, I have intellectually understood.

artha abhavam vinishchitya pratitasya naatmanah That, although I have intellectually understood it, how will I realise it? tam chaapi ushmacharan sevaya paranude tam, that truth, yet sevaya ushmach So, by the service, paranude, paranude means, I will give up this material attachment and I will realise this truth. So, actually he says, yes, I have intellectually understood it, now I want to realise it. How will I realise it? Through service.

And that service, how it brings about an effect, is described in today's verse. Yet sevaya bhagavata But interestingly, he is telling that I will serve you. Vidura is telling that not that I will serve the Supreme Lord.

Although Vidura had a direct relationship with the Supreme Lord. He is saying, I will serve you. A spiritual master like you, when a sincere student or disciple serves him, then one can become free from illusion.

Because one gets realisation of the absolute truth. So, yet sevaya bhagavata So, here the word yet yet is like a adjective. So, or a pronoun.

It refers to the spiritual master who is talked about in the previous verse. There is no reference to the spiritual master in this verse. Bhagavata, haa So, by service to the spiritual master, what happens? To that Supreme Lord, Bhagavata, prati raso bhaveti vraha Prati raso, strong attachment develops strength.

And what is the characteristic of that Supreme Lord? So, Vishwanath Chakradhakur beautifully elaborates in this verse. And he says, kutasthasya madhudvisaha So, kutasthaha Stha means to be situated. Kuta means tower.

So, just like if a bird is situated high up on top of a tower and all that is happening below doesn't affect you. You just observe it from a distant perspective. So, kutastha means one who is situated on a tower.

That refers to a liberated soul. One who is situated at a higher level and is not affected by the ups and downs of this world. So, the liberated soul is kutastha and the Supreme Lord is the original kutastha.

He is not just the original kutastha. He is the eternal kutastha. He is the eternally transcendental person.

Kutasthasya Madhudvisaha Madhudvisaha refers to the killer of the madhumviman. So, now we know at the start of the creation there are different versions of the story but a common thread in all the stories which happened in different millennia is that Madhu clouded the clouded the intelligence of Brahma and stole away the Vedas. So, after Brahmaji was born at that time he did the tapasya, he got the knowledge and as he was trying to apply the knowledge, what happened? He stood with his madhumviman kaitabh king and it was a high-tech robbery.

Why high-tech robbery? Because the Vedas were not written as books. The Vedas were actually in the form of subtle sound vibrations in the mind of Brahmaji. But Madhu and Kaitabh were such powerful demons that they could influence the mind and by influencing the mind they stole away that knowledge from Brahmaji and Brahmaji became panic struck and if that knowledge is stolen away, the whole purpose of creation will be defeated.

So, immediately the lord came over there and there was a big fight. So, eventually the lord killed and delivered the two demons. So, among all the names that could be used for the supreme lord, Madhudvisha has used.

Why? Because here he is talking about how our ignorance has to be destroyed. So, kutasthasya you are eternally transcendental situated, you never come under ignorance my dear lord. Not only do you never come under ignorance, those who may come under ignorance due to the influences of demoniac personalities like Madhu, you destroy those demoniac influences and you free your devotee from ignorance.

Madhudvisha. Now, Madhudvisha refers to dvisha means dvesh or envy. So, Madhudvisha means one who is envious of Madhu.

Now, can the lord be envious of anyone? The lord loves everyone. The surdam sarva-bhutana he is the well-wisher of all living entities. Then why is it used? Madhudvisha.

So, actually Madhu is the name of the body of a demon who has a soul or who is a soul and in that demoniac body he is doing sinful activities and that's why the lord doesn't hate the soul of the demon Madhu. He hates the demoniac personality and that's why he doesn't kill the soul. He actually kills the body which impels a person to do sinful activities.

Sometimes you may wonder in modern society there is this whole idea that we should not kill anyone. Now, Buddhism spread because of its appeal of non-violence and its influence has spread far beyond the number of people who have converted to Buddhism. So, non-violence has become a very appealing ethic for most people today.

And they say even if somebody has killed somebody, you should not hang him. You can just put him in jail. You should not kill him because we cannot give life we should not take life.

That's fine but tell that to him. Tell that to the person who already took life. Isn't it? So, now what happens? This non-violence when we say that okay somebody has committed murder, don't kill him.

Then if you are not going to kill him, you have to keep him in jail. And who is going to maintain him in the jail? The tax paid by the law-abiding citizens. So, what happens is, if you don't have capital punishment, the law-abiding citizens' money is used to maintain the law-breakers.

Somebody may have murdered a family member and they work out a… … … … … The treatment of killing, what does it do? It's a treatment. And although we say that actually it is the soul who has desired not the body. But the body creates certain pushes.

The body creates certain pushes. So in a demon's body, normally the cushions are drawn and that's why when somebody is killed, he is liberated from that body. The soul still has this karma, but if he gets a purer body, then the sinful cushions are no longer there.

So every body creates a particular kind of cushion. And of course, cushion is not the same as porcelain. Cushion is not the same as porcelain.

The body pushes under a particular direction, but we can counter-push. And that counter-pushing ability develops by our spiritual advancement. In modern science, because of genetics, they say that just people are programmed by their genes to believe in a particular way.

If somebody is a murderer, by his genes, he is angry. What can you do about it? Now, by his genes, yes, he may be short-tempered, but he cannot be forced. He is not forced.

He has the freedom by which he can counter-push. Yes, when people come to teenage years, the hormones start getting secreted and people start feeling emotions and pullings, pushings, which they never felt before. But if everybody started acting according to their pushings and pullings, then there will be complete chaos in society.

So civilised human society means that we counter those pushings. In fact, animals are completely governed by their instincts. Their instincts push them to act in a particular way, and they just pose to it.

So, when a cat sees a rat, the cat cannot think, today they got it. The cat is just pushed. It cannot counter-push.

It just acts upon it. But human beings can. And to the extent we think that we are just products of our biological pushings, to that extent we are intellectually justifying our degradation to the animal level.

We are not only degrading to the animal level, but we are intellectually justifying our degradation to the animal level. So we can all counter-push. And the whole process of spirituality, especially bhakti, is meant to develop the counter-push.

So, when the counter-push becomes stronger and stronger, then we go beyond our pushings. So, here he is telling, paran de. Paran de means, I will go beyond.

I will break free from all these attachments. How? Sevaya. By service, I will break free from all these attachments.

So, in the Parpur, Sevaya Prabhupada explains that, actually, this Madhu Vishaha, he says, Prabhupada says, the Lord is the enemy of the Madhunim. Or in other words, he is the enemy of the sufferings of his pure devotee. So what is the suffering for a pure devotee? Just now, a few words ago, it was said that a pure devotee has no sufferings.

But here it is said, sufferings of a pure devotee. Actually, in the early days of our work, some devotees started circulating. Srila Prabhupada said that all of us who have come to this lotus feet are eternal associates of Lord Chaitanya.

Who have been sent specially to assist in spreading the Krishna consciousness in India. So, now the devotees are really bewildered that eternal associates of Lord Chaitanya. They are really sitting fast, they should do this.

How could we be eternal associates of Lord Chaitanya? So, there, some of the devotees went and asked Prabhupada, Prabhupada, are you really a small devotee of eternal associates of Lord Chaitanya? So, Prabhupada said, yes. You know, the devotees didn't know what to say, what to do. And Prabhupada paused.

Sometimes Prabhupada would pause, and he paused when he was pregnant with me. And then Prabhupada smiled and said, everyone is. Everyone is an eternal associate of Lord Chaitanya.

So, what Srila Prabhupada meant is that, that actually the number should become proud of our association. Now, it is true that surely Lord Chaitanya has sent some assistants to our Srila Prabhupada. But, actually, a devotee never thinks that I am special.

Prabhupada never, generally speaking, he spoke that, you know, I have been sent from the spiritual world. I was instructed by the spiritual master. So, here we see the suffering of a pure devotee.

In one sense, all of us are pure devotees. But when we are covered by ignorance, then we suffer. And even a pure devotee like Brahmaji, when he is covered by ignorance, he suffers.

So, what did the Lord do? The Lord came and killed Madhu and Sita. So, the Lord is not envious of anyone. The Lord loves everyone.

But if we see that certain people have certain tendencies which come from their body, then the Lord may kill that person. Now, in Kali Yuga, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has come. He will not kill.

But, you know, he may give some devotees some terrible disease like cancer. It will become, you know. You wonder, why is he serving the Lord? Why is he doing such a thing? But, actually, that is also meant for purification.

So, Madhudveshara. And Rati Raso Bhaveti Vraha. So, Chakravarthi Pada explains.

Vraha. This Vraha means intense. So, he says that actually when the Rati, when the attraction to the Supreme Lord develops, then that attraction is so intense.

So, one point is that it blinds one to all other material and spiritual pleasures. It's very interesting. Chakravarthi Pada says.

It blinds one. A devotee becomes blind to material pleasures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard J. J. Goswami's Gita Gopis being sung.

You know, it was a woman singing and he was a sannyasi. And he could not go near her. But he is blinded in the material life.

He just ran straight. Who is this person who is singing the Gita Gopis so sweetly and reminding you of the Loving Lord? He wanted to go and embrace that person. He says when Tathagudra started singing the Gopi Gita.

At the Jagannath Vallam Gardens. At that time, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was so grateful. He says, Bhuvidha Jana.

You are the great benefactor because you are reminding me of Krishna. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was just like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. There, in the Jagannath Vallam Gardens, he was blinded to the fact that this was a king.

And he was a king, a materialistic person. Now, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was very strong about avoiding him. He wanted to embrace him.

So, what happened to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu similarly? He was blinded to the fact that this was a woman. And the sannyasis could not allow him to go near a woman. What was she called? That's Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

How did that happen? Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came back to his consciousness. The devotee may be transcendental. But, he has a normal situation.

He behaved in a way which is conducive for the development of… for setting the good example for society. So, about a dozen years ago, the Bhaktiang Hospital started. Many devotees were there in that hospital.

So, Raghavan Maharaj gave a talk at that time. He said, for the smooth functioning of this hospital, we request all devotees to conduct themselves in the mode of goodness. Irrespective of whether they are below it or above it.

So, we may be transcendental. But, we cannot act transcendental. If you want to set a good example, it's just right.

So, that was Raghavan Maharaj. Even if you think that you are transcendental, even if you are self-satisfied, that still you act to set an example for others. In 3.17, 18, 19.

Krishna, I told you the possibility that somebody might be transcendental. But, still you should act in an example. At the point where you are, a devotee becomes blinded to material reality.

A devotee becomes blinded even to spiritual reality. How even to spiritual reality? We know in the Gopis, in the Ras Pilla, when the Gopis were searching for Krishna, in the distance they saw a bluish-hued personality. As they were delighted, they ran towards the personality.

And then they saw that the personality had four arms. And it was Narayana. And they were heartbroken.

Even for the Gopis, if they get the darshan of Krishna, their hearts become elevated. The devotees on seeing Krishna were heartbroken. And they asked him, Have you seen Krishna? Please tell me where is Krishna? And, you know, Krishna just pointed.

Krishna, you know, he couldn't even mask his voice. He could mask his form, but he couldn't mask his voice. So he spoke, and the Gopis said, This is Krishna, this is not Narayana.

He just pointed. And the Gopis ran in that direction. And actually Radharani was behind all the Gopis.

She was searching everywhere. She was so pleased. And Radharani came last over there.

So she came over there and she saw, Have you seen Krishna? Please tell me where is Krishna? And, you know, Krishna wanted to point similarly. These two hands. But the love of Radharani was so great, and that love brought this continuous reciprocation from within the heart of Krishna, that two extra hands disappeared.

And it tried to point, and it couldn't point, and there was Krishna in front of it. Radharani saw it with double dawg. Just as, you know, when Jagannath was in Subhadra, and Radharani, Krishna was in Subhadra, when hearing Krishna's pastime, what happened? Their hands disappeared.

So their hands became withdrawn. When Jagannath was there, their hands became withdrawn. For Subhadra, their hands disappeared.

Same thing happened in Krishna's world. And Radharani, Krishna was in the foundation. So the devotee is blind.

He is blind even to spiritual happiness. So, darshan of Krishna is a great spiritual happiness. You see how Drona Maharaj was so ecstatic when he had darshan of Krishna.

But for the devotees, that becomes completely blind. It's one-pointed. They have not started with anything else.

And, of course, that is for Gaurav and Vaishnavas. Even for Vaishnavas, they become indifferent to the spiritual happiness of liberation. As Prabhudana says, Kaivalya, Naradha, it's like hell.

And Parvayod, Vyasanadhana. Vyasa means distress. Ardhana.

Ardhana means to destroy. So, the service of the lotus feet, what happens? It destroys all the distresses. Now, interestingly, there are many words which are common in Sanskrit and the vernacular languages of India like Hindi or Marathi or Bengali.

But often, due to the passage of time, the words remain the same but their meanings become different. Just like Ra, in Hindi means anger. Ra in Sanskrit means attachment.

Now, they are related because one Ra relates to the other Ra. If you are attached, you will become angry sooner or later. Similarly, in Sanskrit, the word Vyasa means distress.

In Hindi, Vyasa means bad habits. So, they are related because bad habits lead to distress. So, there are Vyasa Mukti, there are programmes to remove Vyasa Mukti, remove bad habits.

Vyasa Ardhana. That actually, the distresses get removed. How do the distresses get removed? Because when one serves the Supreme Lord, that Pratibha, Soho, that gives a higher taste, a higher happiness.

And that higher happiness frees one from the lower desires. And when the lower desires go away, then automatically, the sinful reactions, which come as a result of those activities impacted by the lower desires, the sinful reactions also go away. And then one becomes free from this.

And of course, even before that, if the lower desires go away, then also the category becomes free from this. Because the desires themselves create so much agitation of the mind. The desires, when we put them in desires, they create so much distress.

And that's why, in the chapter on Tengla, I think the eighth chapter of the Ramcharitamutthav Gita, so there Asha Hi Parvam Dukham Nirasha Parvam Sukham Desire is the root cause of the greatest misery. And freedom from desire is the greatest joy. Okay, here's another word, Nirasha.

Nirasha in Hindi or Marathi means rejected, disappointed, hopeless. It has a very negative connotation. But Nirasha in Sanskrit has a very positive connotation.

Liberation from desire happens. In Bhagavad Gita also, Krishna says, Nirashiv Nirmamo Bhutva, just become free from desire. Nirashiv, become free from desire.

Now, actually, Arjuna is already Nirash. Oh, I don't want to write it. And Krishna didn't become Nirash, but the two Nirashas are different.

So like that, Krishna Arjuna, come and become free from all these things. And then, in the next verse, after today's verse, we just discussed that briefly, he's describing the reality of the asociated goals. Durapaya Alp Tapasa.

Durapaya means very rare. Alp Tapasa that those who have performed very little tapasya, for them Seva Vaikuntha Vratmasu Those who are on the path of Vaikuntha Vratma is path. Seva Vaikuntha Vratmasu That is, those who are on the path of Vaikuntha Yatropagiyate Nityam Deva Devo Janardana That, in that, what the souls who are on the path of Vaikuntha do Upagiyate Nityam They are constantly glorifying what? Deva Devo Janardana So Janardana, one who destroys the misery of the Janars Deva Deva, he's the lord of all lords So that service is very rare.

So service to devotees who are dedicated to Supreme Lord is very rare And if you take that service, you should cherish that what you do in service Now interestingly What does Durapaya do after this? He says, okay, service to the devotees is very rare. Now I should serve the devotees. And does he go to some other pilgrimage to find some devotees to serve? Now how does he? He just says, okay, Maitreya, you are my spiritual master and I want to serve you.

But how will I serve you? By hearing you. And after glorifying service, what does he do? He starts asking a series of questions. In fact after this, the questions will be about the structure of the universe, the levels and lengths within the universe Quite intricate questions So, now he's glorifying service.

But what service is he doing? He's doing the service of hearing. So hearing itself is a service You know There are there are some devotees within this con who are a little bit more intellectually orientated Many times they start feeling that Prabhupada always gives very basic things Prabhupada doesn't teach anything deeper So, therefore we should read Piyushacharya's books, we should go to those who have read Piyushacharya's books Now there's nothing wrong in reading Piyushacharya's books. Prabhupada himself recommended that we should read Piyushacharya's books But that should not be with the idea that Prabhupada is not giving us anything Prabhupada has given us everything But Prabhupada never said that we should not read Piyushacharya's books So, we should have a proper attitude So, many devotees keep asking me this, but I also I'm considered sort of intellectually orientated.

So, I asked Raghavan Maharaj this question. Maharaj gave a beautiful answer. So, I had asked many devotees around this question, many senior Vaishnavas and the general answer of most senior Vaishnavas is that actually Prabhupada's books contain many deep things but we have to go deep to read them So, Raghavan Maharaj gave a beautiful answer He said that our primary motivation for reading Shri Prabhupada's books should be to serve Shri Prabhupada To express our gratitude to Shri Prabhupada for all that he has given us Now, Prabhupada is not there on the planet and none of us can serve Shri Prabhupada Even when he was there, we could not serve him physically much So, for us, the only direct service to Shri Prabhupada is reading his books So, he says, you read Prabhupada's books not because you want some intellectual gratification Read it to express your gratitude to him And Raghavan Maharaj said, if you read with this attitude you will find all that is hidden in Prabhupada's books.

It will come out And you will see how Prabhupada's proposals are prevalent in the media So, therefore, hearing is itself a very valuable and important service Of course, hearing is not the only service After hearing, you need to apply And therefore, Shri Prabhupada had time for a morning class and then in the evening class and then he would go out and preach So, preaching is also a service And through these services the service of hearing but the important thing is if you don't do this service of hearing then the other activities they will not remain a service They will just either become work or they will become ambition The work, because somebody is sitting there So, I have to do it. It becomes a work It becomes a burden Or, if I am doing it because it's my ambition both will become my mistake So, burden is in Tamoguna and ambition is in Rajoguna But, when we hear when we do service of hearing properly and then when there are other services then we will be able to do those services in a service attitude And then, this combination of hearing and service will lead us to One day, we will also come to this thing It will also develop and it's attraction to Krishna and when that attraction develops then all the excuses will go So, quickly summarise We started by discussing the theme of from knowledge to realisation through service So, we started how those in ignorance and those in transcendence are happy But, ignorance and happiness is different Ignorance and happiness is temporary Transcendence and happiness is eternal And, all ignorance and happiness is just a relief from the self-created misery It's not actually positive happiness And then, the 18th verse describes how we can rise, even if we are intellectually convinced, we become intellectually convinced by theory, and then we enter service By that, we get realisation And, then we discussed this particular verse elaborately about how, what happens by service to the spiritual master We develop a relationship with Krishna And then, we discussed about material And, only on Krishna And then, we discussed concluding about how, hearing itself is a service And, hearing, along with the service and their balance they sing out from the mouth of the keep us in goodness and help us rise in all consequences Thank you very much.