Awaken from the sleep of material consciousness; recognize your eternal spiritual nature beyond bodily existence.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Lecture at Arlington Street Church — May 3, 1969, Boston 690503LE-BOSTON [101:27 Minutes] Lecture_690503LE-BOSTON Satsvarūpa: We're going to chant the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which His Divine Grace Swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta introduced in this country about two years ago. Not that he manufactured it.
It's in the Vedic scriptures, and for this age in order to get spiritual realization, bliss consciousness, for anyone who is at all interested in the matter, is chanting, chanting this mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa, which is open to everyone. So please chant with us. We chant responsively. I'll chant, and you join in to chant the mantra through [indistinct]. First we sing some prayers to our spiritual master and all the spiritual masters in the disciplic succession.
For that portion we repeat this rhythm. [plays karatāls] We'll recite the mantra one time so we know it. Just repeat after me: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. [audience repeats one word at a time] [leads kīrtana] Prabhupāda: [prema-dhvani] All glories to the assembled devotees. All glories to the assembled devotees.
Thank you very much. [26:24] [recites maṅgalācaraṇa prayers] om ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ [I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.] śrī-caitanya-mano-'bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam [When will Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, who has established within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?] vande ’haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitāṁ taṁ sa-jīvam sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtaṁ parijana-sahitaṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devaṁ śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-pādān saha-gaṇa-lalitā-śrī-viśākhānvitāṁś ca [I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and unto the feet of all Vaiṣṇavas. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī along with his elder brother Sanātana Gosvāmī, as well as Raghunātha dāsa and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī. I offer my respectful obeisances to Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda along with Advaita Ācārya, Gadādhara, Śrīvāsa, and other associates. I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Śrī Kṛṣṇa along with Their associates including Śrī Lalitā and Viśākhā.] he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te [O my dear Kṛṣṇa, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherd men and the lover of the gopīs, especially Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.] tapta-kāñcana-gaurāṅgī rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari vṛṣabhānu-sute devi praṇamāmi hari-priye [I offer my respects to Rādhārāṇī, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vṛndāvana. You are the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, and You are very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa.] hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare [27:56] Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your participating with us in this saṅkīrtana movement, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to awake the sleeping living entities. In the Vedic literature, Upaniṣads, we find these verses, which says, uttiṣṭha jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata [Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.14]. [Please wake up and try to understand the boon that you now have in this human form of life. The path of spiritual realization is very difficult; it is sharp like a razor's edge. That is the opinion of learned transcendental scholars.] The Vedic voice, transcendental voice, says, "O humanity, O living entity, you are sleeping. Please get up." Uttiṣṭhata. Uttiṣṭhata means "Please get up." Just like when a man or a boy sleeps past, and the parents, who have got knowledge that he has got to do something important, "My dear boy, please get up.
It is now morning. You have to go. You have to go to your duty. You have to go to your school." Just like responsible parents, fathers, mothers, they awake the sleeping, indolent boy, similarly, the Vedas are considered as the mother of the human society.
So Vedas, it is crying, uttiṣṭhata: "Please get up. Please get up." And what is that sleeping? Sleeping means just like when we sleep, we forget ourself. Anyone, either common man or a very rich man, when he's fast asleep he forgets himself.
Sometimes he dreams. Although he is sleeping in very nice apartment, nice bedstead, but he is dreaming that he is thrown into the ocean or into the fire or something like that. Sometimes he is dreaming that he is flying in the sky—so many things dreaming. Everyone, you have got experience. Similarly, our this state of consciousness, material consciousness, is on the sleeping state, in the darkness of sleeping state.