Śrī Īśopaniṣad Lecture [recites verses 1–12] , Los Angeles , 1971-07-08

Prabhupāda: [sings along with Govindam prayers, then recites Śrī Īśopaniṣad verses 1-12 with devotees]

["The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance."]

["Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong."]

["One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no alternative to this way for man."]

["The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance."]

["Although fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running. The powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence."]

["The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything."]

["He who systematically sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being."]

["One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?"]

["Such a person must factually know the greatest of all, the Personality of Godhead, who is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated, the self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling everyone's desire since time immemorial."]

["Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge."]

["The wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of knowledge and that a different result is obtained from the culture of nescience."]

["Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessings of immortality."]

["Those who are engaged in the worship of demigods enter into the darkest region of ignorance, and still more so do the worshipers of the impersonal Absolute."]

[05:10] Page?

Karandhara: Page 14 in the middle, almost the middle of the first paragraph. "The Vedas are not known like that. The Vedic knowledge was originally imparted into the heart of Brahmā, the first created living being, and Brahmā in his turn disseminated the knowledge to his sons and disciples, who have continued the process down thorough history."

Prabhupāda: Formerly, the spiritual master, the disciplic succession, there are two ways. One is called śaukra and another is called sautra. Śaukra means succession from the seminal. Just like son. Son is born by the semina, and the disciple is born by Vedic knowledge. So the one familywise is called śaukra. Śukra means semina, coming from the śukra. And the other is sautra: by hearing.

The spiritual master... In India still there are gotras. Gotras means coming from that great sage. Just like our family belongs to the Gautama gotra. Gautama Ṛṣi, from him the familywise gotra, and similarly disciplic succession is also gotra. There is no difference between putra and chatra. Putra means son, and chatra means disciple. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said, putrāṁś ca śiṣyāṁś ca: they are equally treated. Both of them equally eligible for hereditary rites from the person, either he is son or disciple.

So Brahmā distributed knowledge to some... Practically everyone was his son, because he was the first living creature. So later on, disciples also, son's son. So in this way Brahmā distributed this Vedic knowledge, some to the sons, some to the... Vyāsadeva also, he distributed knowledge, some to his sons, some to his disciples. That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So that is the process of disseminating Vedic knowledge.

Then?

Karandhara: [reading:] "The Lord being pūrṇam, or all-perfect, there is no chance of His being subjected to the laws of material nature, while the living entities and the inanimate objects are all controlled by the laws of nature and thus ultimately by the potency of the Lord. The Īśopaniṣad is a part of the Yajur Veda."

Prabhupāda: There are four Vedas—Sāma Veda, Yajur Veda, Ṛg Veda and Atharva Veda. Originally there was one Veda, but later on, Vyāsadeva divided them into four. So Yajur Veda is one of the Vedas, and the Īśopaniṣad is stated there. All the Upaniṣads are stated in the different kinds of Vedas. Therefore Upaniṣad is accepted as Vedic study.

Go on.

Karandhara: "The Īśopaniṣad is a part of the Yajur Veda, and as such, it contains information as to the proprietorship of all things that exist within the universe."

Prabhupāda: Just like evidence. Evidence... [aside:] Now you can sit down. Evidence, whenever we want to give evidence... Just like in law court, the evidence, you have to cite the section or the preamble of the laws. Similarly, in our human civilization this evidence is Veda. If you find something stated in the Vedas, that you have to accept. That's all. Axiomatic truth. And because the Vedas were particularly studied by the brāhmaṇas, high-class qualified brāhmaṇas, therefore they are also accepted as authority.

Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He was at Purī, the king of that place, Mahārāja Pratāparudra, he inquired from Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, "Oh, what is your opinion about this Caitanya who has come here?" He said that "He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So the king immediately accepted it. King said, "Oh, He is Supreme Personality of Godhead?"

So he accepted immediately. There is no question of experimenting. Because an authority like Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya is stating, a brāhmaṇa, and... He was very learned scholar. You know Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's name. So because he said that "He is Supreme Personality..." He did not ask any storekeeper, but he asked a learned brāhmaṇa who knows things.

So similarly, we have to accept in that way. In each and every case, if we want to research, it is not possible, because our senses are blunt senses. What you can do? Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet [Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma parva 5.22]. The śāstra says that "Things which are beyond your conception, beyond your mental speculation"—avāṅ-manasā gocaraḥ—"neither you can express by words, neither you can think of." Avāṅ-manasā gocaraḥ.

So such things it is useless [to] try to understand by arguments. That is simply nonsense. You can, of course, inquire, but that inquiry is not challenge. If you inquire from your spiritual master by challenge, then it is your misfortune. You have to inquire from the spiritual master—that is indicated—sevayā, by service, by making him satisfied.

Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā [Bg. 4.34]. First of all you have to surrender, and then you have to please him by service. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ **. If you can please him, then naturally Kṛṣṇa is pleased upon you. That is the injunction.

So this praśna... First of all you should find out somebody where you can surrender. If there is duplicity in surrender, that is useless. First of all see whether you can surrender there; then accept him spiritual master, and then please him by your service and inquiry. That is Vedic principle.

Thank you very much.

[14:03] [kīrtana] [Prabhupāda plays gong] [prema-dhvani] [end]