Bhagavad-gétä 9.

23–24
—
December 12, 1966, New York

661212BG-NEW YORK [29:58 Minutes]

Audio

Prabhupäda:

ye 'py anya-devatä-bhaktä
yajante çraddhayänvitäù
te 'pi mäm eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pürvakam
[Bg 9.23]

[Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of Kunté, is really meant
for Me alone, but it is offered without true understanding.]
Now, worship of the Supreme Lord and worship of other demigods, that is
being discussed in this verse by Lord Çré Kåñëa. Actually, there is no need of
worshiping any demigod beside the Supreme. But in the lower stage... Just like
the other day we have discussed. Because we cannot immediately give up our
concept of material existence and material happiness and material
distress—we take into consideration very seriously, without any spiritual life,
or without any idea of spiritual existence—therefore sometimes recommended
in the Vedic literature that "For this purpose you can worship this demigod."
Just the, just like the other day I gave you the example that those who are
diseased, they are recommended to worship the sun-god.

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There are different kinds of desires. One who wants beautiful wife, he has been
recommended to worship Umä, the wife of Lord Çiva. In this way, there are
hundreds of demigods, and we have got hundreds of desires. Just like one who
wants to eat flesh, oh, he's advised to worship Goddess Kälé, because the Vedic
literature will not allow to have a regular slaughterhouse. No. That cannot be.
But still, those who want the facility of eating flesh, they are advised that "All
right, you worship Goddess Kälé and sacrifice a goat before the goddess, and eat
it." But there is a great list of formulas to make that, I mean to say, sacrifice of
goat, not that I take a goat or cow to the slaughterhouse and cut it. No, that is
not allowed. The idea is to restrict him, not to encourage him.
Just like, not your country, in our country, there is prohibition. In some cities
there is strictly prohibition: no wine can be available. But still, there are wine
shops, under government license. So this wine shop does not mean to
encourage citizen to come and drink wine. No. The idea is to restrict. To
restrict. Those who cannot live without liquor, for them, there is some
concession. Because one must live, after all. Similarly, one who cannot avoid
meat-eating, for him, that demigod, Goddess Kälé... But unfortunately, some
foolish persons, they have advertised by Goddess Kälé worshiping, he has
become God. These are all foolishness.
This recommendation... Here it is said by Lord [indistinct], te 'pi mäm eva
kaunteya: "That worship of different demigods is indirectly offering worship to
Me, because they are My representatives." But avidhi-pürvakam.
Avidhi-pürvakam means "it is not prescribed." Avidhi-pürvakam. It is, what is
called, in English, which is not legal. Illegal.
Devotee: Prohibited.
Prabhupäda: Eh? Not prohibited. Something which is not allowed by law, but
sometimes some concession is given. So anyway, it is clearly stated here,
avidhi-pürvakam. But vidhi-pürvakam, also. Vidhi-pürvakam means under
regulation.

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Just like in your body. In your body you have to take special care of your
stomach, the digesting machine for your foodstuff. If your digestion is all right,
then the energy will be supplied equal to the all parts of the body. So that is
necessary. But at the same time, it is not prohibited, that you should not take
care of the hand, which is a part of your body. That's all right. Similarly, to
worship demigods may be accepted if people know that these demigods are
authorized agents of the Supreme Lord. There is acceptance of Supreme Lord.
But those fools who do not accept the Supreme God and misunderstand that
"This particular type of demigod is all in all," oh, they are doing nonsense. They
are doing nonsense. They are keeping, placing, so many competitors of the
Supreme Lord. That is avidhi-pürvakam. Avidhi-pürvakam. That is illegal.
Nobody can be competitor of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is known
as asamordhva. Asama-ürdhva. Nobody is greater than the Supreme Lord, and
nobody is equal, on the same level.
Everyone, whatever he may be, however powerful he may be, they are all living
entities. There are innumerable living entities, and some of them are, by
degree, one is powerful more than the other. So in the material world we can
see that Brahmä, Lord Brahmä, is the most powerful demigod. Similarly, Lord
Çiva is also next to Brahmä or equal to Brahmä. Somebody says he's more than
Brahmä. Whatever it may be. So Lord Çiva and Lord Brahmä are considered to
be the most powerful demigods, but still, it is prohibited that one should not
think of them as equal to the Supreme Lord. It is strictly prohibited in
Vaiñëava Puräëas.
It is said like this: yas tu näräyaëaà devam...

yas tu näräyaëaà devaà

brahma-rudrädi-daivataiù
samatvenaiva vékñeta
sa päñaëòé bhaved dhruvam

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 [Cc Madhya 18.116]

[A person who considers demigods like Brahmä and Çiva to be on an equal

level with Näräyaëa is to be considered an offender, or päñaëòé.]
"Any person who keeps on the same level demigods like Brahmä-Rudra"—that
means Brahmä and Lord Çiva—"with Näräyaëa"—Näräyaëa is the Supreme
Lord—yas tu näräyaëaà devaà brahma-rudrädi-daivataiù... They are very big,
big demigods, but even they cannot be placed on the equal level of Näräyaëa,
the Supreme Lord. Yas tu samatvena vékñeta: anyone says that "To me everyone
is the same, he is päñaëòé." He is päñaëòé means nonfaithful, unfaithful,
unbeliever. He is päñaëòé. Sa päñaëòé bhaved dhruvam. He's unbeliever. He has
no faith in God. He's an unbeliever.
So if we worship demigods as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, then it is all
right. But if we accept a particular type of demigod as he is the Lord, then that
is irregular. That is not... That is not accepted here in the Bhagavad-gétä,
avidhi-pürvakam.

ahaà hi sarva-yajïänäà
bhoktä ca prabhur eva ca
na tu mäm abhijänanti
tattvenätaç cyavanti te
[Bg 9.24]

[I am the only enjoyer and the only object of sacrifice. Those who do not
recognize My true transcendental nature fall down.]
The Lord says, "I am the only enjoyer, beneficiary, of all kinds of sacrifices."
Ahaà hi bhoktä. Ahaà hi sarva-yajïänäà bhoktä. Bhoktä means enjoyer. Just
like in the office or in the factory, so many workers, they are working day and
night, producing money, but who is the bhoktä? Who is the enjoyer? The
enjoyer is the proprietor. They are not enjoyer. They are laborer. They are

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worker.
Similarly the, the, any kind of worship, any kind of sacrifice, any kind of
charity, any kind of penance, any kind of austerity, any kind of philosophical
discussion, any kind of meditation... There are so many things recommended
for self-realization or the Supreme Absolute Truth realization. So Lord Kåñëa
says, "Of all those processes, the ultimate beneficiary is I am, Myself, Lord
Kåñëa." Ahaà hi sarva-yajïänäà bhoktä prabhur eva ca. "Master." Prabhu means
master. Na tu mäm abhijänanti: "People do not know Me," na tu mäm
abhijänanti, "that 'Kåñëa is the Supreme Enjoyer, the Absolute Enjoyer.' "
We are all enjoyed. There are two things: enjoyer and the enjoyed. Just like a
crude example can be given that the husband and wife. The husband is
supposed to be the enjoyer, and the wife is supposed to be the enjoyed. But the
enjoyment is the same for both. But if you make division, it is understood that
husband is predominator and the wife is predominated. So here prabhu, prabhu
means He's the predominator. And everyone is predominated. Everyone.
Therefore, those who are predominated, their duty is to satisfy the
predominator. And when the predominator is satisfied, both the predominator
and the predominated gets the equal result.
So the Vaiñëava philosophy... They want to remain predominated by the
supreme predominator. And the Mäyäväda philosophy, the monist, they want
to merge into the predominator. Their idea is to become themselves
predominator. When they fail to become predominator in this material world...
We are all trying to become predominator. Everyone is trying. Bhoktä. "I
shall..." Competition is going on. You are predominator, say, for one thousands
of worker or office clerk—your office is so big—so I want to make my office
bigger than you. So I want to become greater predominator than you. This is
our competition is going on.
But none of us is actually predominator. We are all predominated. And because
we do not know that "I can never be a predominator," therefore I am under

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illusion, mäyä. The real predominator is the Supreme Lord, Kåñëa. Ahaà hi
sarva-yajïänäà bhoktä prabhur eva ca. He's the predominator. Na tu mäm
abhijänanti. People, they do not know. They want to become predominator
themself. That is not possible. By nature, he's not so. I want to be
predominator, but actually, I am being predominated by my desires, by my lust,
by my anger, by my avarice and so many good qualities. They are controlling
me. I am angry, so I tell you something nonsense. You see? So that... I am
predominated by the anger principle, käma-krodha.
So therefore one who knows that "I am not predominator; I am
predominated..." Suppose I am, I am the head of the family. I am thinking that
"I am head of the family." But I am being controlled by the family members. I
want to satisfy my wife. I want to satisfy my children. And if they are
unsatisfied, then there is disruption in my family. Suppose I want to become
the president. So my business will be to keep the citizens satisfied. Otherwise,
next vote, I shall not get the post. So I am being predominated by the voting
powers. But I am thinking that "I am predominator." This is called illusion.
Nobody is predominator. He's predominated by some other principle.
Therefore, one who knows this..., one who does not know, na tu mäm
abhijänanti, one who does not know, tattvena ataç cyavanti te, they fall down,
under the illusion, cyavanti te. And one who knows that "I can never become
the predominator; I shall always remain the predominated..." If I do not become
predominated voluntarily by the Supreme Lord, if I do not surrender unto Him
and voluntarily agree to be predominated by the Lord, then I shall be
predominated by the elements of material nature, this käma, krodha, lobha,
lust, desire, anger, enviousness, so many things. They'll predominate me. The
senses will predominate me.
Actually, we are, at the present moment, we are servants of the senses. My
senses dictate something. I am obliged to do it. I cannot avoid it. A simple
thing: as soon as my tongue dictates, "Please smoke," oh, immediately I have to
take one cigarette. Immediately. If somebody does not smoke, then he asks
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permission. Sometimes... We do not smoke. Sometimes some gentleman comes
and he becomes too much agitated by not smoking, say, five minutes or ten
minutes. He asks permission, "Swäméjé, can I smoke?" He's being predominated.
He does not know. He's thinking that "I am smoking," but he does not know
that smoking is eating him. He's thinking that "I am enjoying LSD," but LSD is
killing him. This is the position. It's killing him.
So because he does not know that who is the predominator, therefore cyavanti,
he's falling down. He's falling down. So best thing is intelligence. Best
intelligence is to accept Supreme Lord, Kåñëa, as the predominator and be
predominated by Him. That is our natural life. One who does not know, he falls
down. Na tu mäm abhijänanti tattvena... Tattvena, by truth. Simply to know
Kåñëa, "Oh, Kåñëa was somebody born in India, and He was very powerful and
He was very intelligent. He has written Bhagavad-gétä..." But we do not know
actually what Kåñëa is.
And this Society especially meant to broadcast the knowledge about Kåñëa.
Therefore we have named particularly this Society the Society for Krishna
Consciousness. There is the... People do not know it. They are writing
commentaries on Kåñëa's book, but they are speaking nonsense, because they
do not know Kåñëa. Tattvenätaç cyavanti te: "They fall down from the truth."
This is...
So therefore we should try to know Kåñëa by paramparä system. Kåñëa is
delivering His instruction to Arjuna, and if we understand as Arjuna
understood—that is mentioned in the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä—then
we can understand Kåñëa to some extent. We cannot understand Kåñëa in full.
That is not possible, because He's unlimited, and we are limited. So our power
will fail to understand Kåñëa fully. But if we understand something, something
about Him...
Just like in the Bhagavad-gétä you'll find,

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 janma karma me divyaà
yo jänäti tattvataù
tyaktvä dehaà punar janma
naiti mäm eti kaunteya
[Bg 4.9]

[One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities

does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but
attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.]
"My dear Arjuna, anyone who simply knows how I take My birth and how I am
working," janma karma me divyam, "transcendentally, that person becomes
immediately liberated." How is that? Now, tyaktvä deham: "After quitting this
body, he never comes again to this material world." Then where does he go?
Mäm eti: "In My kingdom."
So simply by knowing how Kåñëa, He is unborn, how He's taking birth, and the
Supreme, how He's working like us—these two things, if we know simply about
Kåñëa... How do we know? Therefore the Vedic injunction is, tad-vijïänärthaà
sa gurum eva abhigacchet [Muëòaka Upaniñad 1.2.12].
[To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with
firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly
devoted to the Absolute Truth.]
If you want to know Kåñëa, then you must approach a person who knows
Kåñëa. Don't try to know Kåñëa by your own imagination. People are trying to
know Kåñëa by his faulty imagination. In that way Kåñëa cannot be known.
So if we want to know Kåñëa, then you have to know Kåñëa as Arjuna knows.
Because Arjuna understood Kåñëa, what He is. Otherwise, he would not have
changed his decision. His decision was not to fight, but he changed his
decision. He fought because he understood Kåñëa. Understood Kåñëa.

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So here it is stated, na tu mäm abhijänanti: "People do not know that I am the
beneficiary, I am the enjoyer, of everything. I am the Lord of everything.
Therefore everything should be done for Me. Everything should be offered to
Me. That will make him happy, peace." We are hankering after peace, but we
do not know what is peace. We are unnecessarily, illegally claiming
overlordship on Kåñëa's property. How we can be in peace?
The material agent, the material energy, is there. Suppose if I encroach upon
others' property, will it be peaceful? The police action is already there. Why the
police is there? So that one may not encroach upon others' right. Police is
there. The law and, what is called, law order, law and order department,
department of law and order. So they are... Why that is? That everyone should
be, I mean to say, free to enjoy his right. So you cannot encroach upon others'
right.
But here, in our material conception of life, our only business is to encroach
upon the right of others. That is our business. We are all encroaching on the
rights of others. That is our business. So how you can expect peace? I do not
allow even a poor animal to live. I am encroaching upon his body. The poor
animal is living at the cost of God, but I am encroaching upon his right. And
still, we want to establish our right. We encroach upon others' property, others'
land, and we want peace. How there can be peace? Our business is to encroach
upon others' property, and we want to be peaceful? That there cannot be
peaceful.
The police action is there; similarly, the material nature is the police action of
the Supreme Lord. As the state is protected by the department of law and
order, similarly, this whole universe is protected by the stringent laws of
nature. If we violate, the stringent laws of nature will not excuse me. Even a
children, if he transgresses the law of nature, if he touches fire, the fire will not
excuse because he is child. No. Ignorance is no excuse.
Similarly, everything, the Prabhu, the Supreme Lord, God, is the proprietor of

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everything. Ahaà hi sarva-yajïänäà bhoktä ca prabhur eva ca. Na tu mäm
abhijänanti. They do not know that God is the proprietor of everything, so they
are encroaching upon God's property, and nature is punishing. This is our
position. You cannot avoid.
daivé hy eñä guëamayé
mama mäyä duratyayä
[Bg 7.14]
[This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material
nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can
easily cross beyond it.]
The law of nature is very strong and stringent. Just a small example: a child,
touching fire. Oh, fire does not excuse. Just see how much stringent law of
nature. So law of nature is very stringent.
So everything belongs to Kåñëa, or the Supreme Lord, and we do not know it
and therefore we are encroaching upon the property of Kåñëa, and law is..., the
law of nature is punishing us. This is going on. Then if you want to stop this,
then you have to surrender to the Lord. Mäm eva ye prapadyante mäyäm etäà
taranti te [Bg 7.14]. Anyone who surrenders unto the Supreme, he becomes
away from the stringent laws of nature. He becomes peaceful. He becomes
happy.
One who is in Kåñëa consciousness, he is happy. He is peaceful. He does not do
any harm to anyone, not even to the ant, what to speak of other animals. He
enjoys according to the direction of Kåñëa, and enjoys very nicely. So his life
becomes peaceful, happy and everything. That is desire of life. He becomes
qualified with all the good qualities.
Yasyästi bhaktir bhagavaty akiïcanä
sarvair guëais tatra samäsate suräù
[SB 5.18.12].

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 [All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge
and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed
unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Väsudeva. On the
other hand, a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material
activities has no good qualities. Even if he is adept at the practice of mystic
yoga or the honest endeavor of maintaining his family and relatives, he must
be driven by his own mental speculations and must engage in the service of the
Lord's external energy. How can there be any good qualities in such a man?]
Anyone who becomes Kåñëa consciousness, all the good qualities automatically
develop. Develop. They develop.
Haräv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guëäù. And one who is not in Kåñëa
consciousness, he has no good qualification at all. Why? Mano-rathenäsati
dhäva... Because he is hovering over the mental plane. He has no more any
touch with the spiritual plane. So long we are on the material plane, or gross
bodily plane, or subtle mental plane, oh, we have to suffer. We have to go to
the spiritual platform, and that spiritual platform is Kåñëa consciousness. We
have to change the consciousness from material platform, from mental
platform, from intellectual platform, to the platform of Kåñëa. That is our
program, Kåñëa consciousness.
So if we become fully Kåñëa conscious, there is no chance of falling down. If we
do not become, then there is always chance of falling down, down, down,
down, down.
Thank you very much. [end]

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