LecturesBhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures690208 - Lecture BG 05.17-25 - Los Angeles: Revatīnandana: Verse 21: "Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme." Prabhupāda: There is a word ātmārāma, in Sanskrit. Ātmārāma means one who is satisfied with his self. He is called ātmārāma. Because self is the basic principle of this body, the soul, so one who is satisfied with his soul, he is called ātmārāma, or self-realized person. One who seeks pleasure externally, he is materialist, and one who seeks pleasure internally, he is spiritualist. That is the difference. Yes. Revatīnandana: "An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them." Prabhupāda: Yes. Material pleasure is circumstantial, in contact with this body. Similarly material distress. So those who are ātmārāma, enjoying in the platform of soul, they are not concerned with this external pleasure and pain. Yes. Revatīnandana: Verse 23: "Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogī and is happy in this world." Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the perfection of yoga practice. The yoga practice means one should be tolerant. According to yoga system there is a practice: In winter season they go deep into the water up to this. In cold winter they dip into the water up to this and meditate. And in scorching heat they, I mean to say, ignite fire all side and sit down in the midst and meditate. These are the processes. What is that? To learn toleration. Toleration. But fortunately, we haven't got to do all these things. You see? (chuckles) We can chant very nicely in a nice room like this, with statues of Jagannātha, chanting and dancing, and derive thousand times greater and beneficial result than those practices. Besides that, if you try to imitate those practices, it is not possible at all. It may be possible for one or two person, but it cannot be practiced in a mass scale. But this practice of self-realization can be practiced by anyone, even by the children. Therefore it is universal self-realization process. And in this age Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore recommends, kalau—kalau means in this Age of Kali—nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva: there is no other process feasible. No other process. Any process of self-realization will be very, very difficult. But here is a process, even if you have nothing, you can simply . . . God has given you this tongue, and God has given you this ear. Simply sit down. If you cannot, I mean to say, utilize your tongue in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, you simply sit down and let others chant, and you hear; you get the benefit. Who can give you more feasible program of self-realization than this? Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu's recommendation, "There is no other alternative, no other alternative, no other alternative," is a fact. Kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā. Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21). Simply chant and you get the result. And those who are chanting, those who have joined this movement, those who are seriously engaged, ask them how they are advancing, how they are realizing. The method is very simple.
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