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Ability (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Memory may be poor. Everything depends on cultivation. If you cultivate something, your memory increases. Everyone becomes expert not in one day but by cultivation. Similarly, if you try to remember, then your memory will help you to remember. It is not difficult.
Lecture on BG 2.1-10 and Talk -- Los Angeles, November 25, 1968:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Can Kṛṣṇa give us the ability to someday remember every word that you are saying to us now? Because I myself, I forget so much. I want to hear just how you are talking and I can't.

Prabhupāda: What is that? I don't follow.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I want to be able to hear you saying exactly what you're saying now. I want to always be able to hear it, but I forget. My memory is very poor.

Prabhupāda: Why? No. If we try... Memory may be poor. Everything depends on cultivation. If you cultivate something, your memory increases. Everyone becomes expert not in one day but by cultivation. Similarly, if you try to remember, then your memory will help you to remember. It is not difficult. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that we have to try to remember Kṛṣṇa. He's so beautiful, His instructions are so nice. If we simply remember Kṛṣṇa... That was the perfection approved by Lord Caitanya. I think I have narrated the story. When Lord Caitanya was traveling in South India in a big temple, Raṅganātha temple, He went to see the Deity, and He saw one brāhmaṇa was reading Bhagavad-gītā. And people were joking him, "Oh, Mr. brāhmaṇa, how you are reading Bhagavad-gītā?" Because they were the neighbors, they knew that this brāhmaṇa was illiterate and he was studying Bhagavad-gītā. So they were joking. But the brāhmaṇa did not care them. He was taking the book and in his own way he was reading. Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw this incident, He came to the brāhmaṇa. So He asked the brāhmaṇa, "My dear brāhmaṇa, what you are reading?" So he could understand "This persons is not joking with me; He is serious." So he explained, "My dear sir, I am reading Bhagavad-gītā. Unfortunately, I am illiterate. I do not know even the alphabets." "Why you are reading Bhagavad-gītā?" So he said that, "My spiritual master knows that I am illiterate, but still, he has asked me to read Bhagavad-gītā. What can I do? Therefore I have taken this book. I am seeing simply. I do not know how to read." "Oh, that's all right. You cannot read. But I see that you are crying. How you are crying if you are not reading?" "Yes, I am crying. Of course, there is cause." "What is that?" "As soon as I take this Bhagavad-gītā, I remember Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is sitting as driver and Arjuna is hearing. I have heard the story. I know something of the instruction but cannot read. So as soon as I take this book, this picture comes before me and I simply think, 'Oh, how Kṛṣṇa is nice that He has become a charioteer of His devotee. He is so great. Still, He has accepted a menial service of His devotee.' This gives me so much pleasure that I cry." Caitanya Mahāprabhu embraced him, "Your Bhagavad-gītā reading is perfect. You have taken the essence."

One man is very rich, but he does not use his money, simply sees the money. He is called kṛpaṇa. Similarly, Arjuna is powerful, he can fight, he is a kṣatriya, but he is denying his ability.
Lecture on BG 2.1-11 -- Johannesburg, October 17, 1975:

Then Arjuna decided to accept Kṛṣṇa as his guru. He... Śiṣyas te 'ham: "I become your disciple." To become disciple means no more argument. When we talk friendly there is argument, counterargument. But when there is order from guru there is no more argument. Therefore Arjuna says that kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ: "Actually my behavior should be exactly like a kṣatriya, to fight for the just cause, but in this case I am denying. Therefore I am kṛpaṇa." Kṛpaṇa means one who does not properly use his position. One man is very rich, but he does not use his money, simply sees the money. He is called kṛpaṇa. Similarly, Arjuna is powerful, he can fight, he is a kṣatriya, but he is denying his ability. Therefore he is thinking that "I have become kṛpaṇa, miser. Although I have got strength, I am denying to fight." "Although I have got money, I do not spend." These are called kṛpaṇa. So kārpaṇya-doṣopahata: "Now I am infected with kārpaṇya-doṣa." Kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ.

Whenever you meet any person very exalted, very extraordinarily able, you understand that "This ability is Kṛṣṇa's mercy, vibhūti."
Lecture on BG 7.8 -- Bombay, February 23, 1974:

The beginning is tasting. Everyone drinks water or drinks something else. So try to taste the liquid, thinking that "This taste is Kṛṣṇa." You see in the morning the light of sunshine: "Here is Kṛṣṇa." In the evening you see the moonlight: "Here is Kṛṣṇa." There is sound always, especially in a city like Bombay. It is full of sound. So whenever you hear any kind of sound—sound is the vibration of the sky—you remember: "This sound is Kṛṣṇa." Śabdaḥ khe. And whenever you meet any person very exalted, very extraordinarily able, you understand that "This ability is Kṛṣṇa's mercy, vibhūti."

In this way, if you practice, and if you chant also Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and if you hear from realized souls about Kṛṣṇa, then you gradually become advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And when you come to perfection... Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. This Kṛṣṇa's appearance, disappearance, His activities, will be revealed to you. Svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. When Kṛṣṇa becomes manifest, revelation, then you understand what is Kṛṣṇa, what is His activities, what is His name, what is His pastimes. Everything becomes revealed. Then you can understand perfectly. Not... We cannot understand perfectly, but so far our ability is concerned, we can understand Kṛṣṇa. And if we a little bit understand Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). Simply by little understanding Kṛṣṇa.

Mama vartmānuvartante means "Everyone is trying to come to Me, according to their capacity, ability, but one who actually wants to understand Me, the simple process..." Just like the staircase is there, but not in this country, in Europe and American countries, side by side, there is lift, elevator.
Lecture on BG 18.67 -- Ahmedabad, December 10, 1972:

But all the processes are not the same. They're aiming at the same goal, karma, jñāna, yoga, bhakti, but bhakti is the highest step. Because when you come to the platform of bhakti, then you can understand what is Kṛṣṇa. Not by karma, jñāna, yoga. That is not possible. You are trying, you are going towards that aim, but Kṛṣṇa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). He does not say, "By jñāna, by karma, by yoga." No. That you cannot understand. You can go forward, steps. But if you want to know Kṛṣṇa, then bhakti. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). This is the process. Therefore mama vartmānuvartante means "Everyone is trying to come to Me, according to their capacity, ability, but one who actually wants to understand Me, the simple process..." Just like the staircase is there, but not in this country, in Europe and American countries, side by side, there is lift, elevator. So instead of going step by step to the highest flat, you take the help of this lift. You go immediately, within a second. So if you take the lift of bhakti, then immediately you come in contact with Kṛṣṇa directly. Instead of going by step by step by step. Why should you take? Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "You simply surrender unto Me. Your business is finished." Why should you labor so much, step by step by step by step by...? (break)

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Because the father was very great, Parāśara Muni, so there is no question of father and mother. Everyone comes in his own ability according to karma. Nobody is responsible for his birth. Everyone is responsible for his work.
Lecture on SB 1.5.1-4 -- New Vrindaban, May 22, 1969:

So when Vyāsadeva was morose, his spiritual master is addressing Vyāsadeva as pārāśarya mahā-bhāga. Mahā-bhāga. Pārāśarya means Vyāsadeva is the son of Parāśara Muni, who was a great sage. His mother was Satyavatī. Actually Vyāsadeva was born... His mother was a fishergirl, fisherwoman. In Bengali we call māchaoyālī. So, but because the father was very great, Parāśara Muni, so there is no question of father and mother. Everyone comes in his own ability according to karma. Nobody is responsible for his birth. Everyone is responsible for his work. So Vyāsadeva became a great personality although he was son of a fisherwoman. Pārāśarya. He's addressing, "My dear son of Parāśara, mahā-bhāga." Mahā-bhāga means "You are very fortunate." Bhāga means fortune. Bhāgya. Mahā-bhāga. Pārāśarya mahā-bhāga bhavataḥ kaccid ātmanā parituṣyati. "Do you think that you'll be satisfied identifying yourself with this material body or mind? That is not possible." Parituṣyati śārīra ātmā mānasa eva vā. Śārīraḥ śarīrābhimāny ātmā, ātmanā tena śarīreṇa kaccit kiṁ parituṣyati(?). One who is... "You have compiled so many books on this concept of life, that the living entities are, some of them are considering that 'I am this body,' and some of them are considering 'I am this mind,' and some of them are considering 'I am this intelligence,' but he is none of them. He's above this. He's transcendental." Unless he comes to that position, there is no question of paritoṣa, or satisfaction.

Each one of them have got some land, and they are producing food grains or any other products according to his ability and capacity, and he's enjoying this property. Therefore he's called kṣetra-jña or kṣetrī.
Lecture on SB 1.8.48 -- Mayapura, October 28, 1974:

So actually our body belongs to Kṛṣṇa, and I also belong to Kṛṣṇa. Pārakya. In both senses it belongs to other. Other means Kṛṣṇa. So, logically both the body, mind, intelligence, and myself—everything should be engaged for Kṛṣṇa's interest. That is real knowledge. That is real knowledge. Kṛṣṇa says that kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata (BG 13.3). He is also kṣetra-jña. I am kṣetra-jña because I possess this body, and the body is kṣetra, the field of activities. Just like here the cultivators, they have got... Each one of them have got some land, and they are producing food grains or any other products according to his ability and capacity, and he's enjoying this property. Therefore he's called kṣetra-jña or kṣetrī. The field is called kṣetra and the owner is called kṣetrī, or kṣetra-jña. Kṣetra-jña means that cultivator knows that "This earmarked land is mine." Kṣetra-jña. "It belongs to me." So actually this field does not belong to him; it belongs to the government, because he has to pay, collect, tax to the collector. So actually land does not belong to him; it belongs to the government. Similarly, where is the difficulty to understand that although I am cultivating this body, karma...? Taking this body as my field of activities, we are doing work. Everyone can understand it. But finally this body belongs to Kṛṣṇa, as this land belongs to the government.

Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājanas. So we are discussing Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction and his character, his ability. This is Vaiṣṇava.
Lecture on SB 7.9.43 -- Calcutta, March 23, 1976:

So we are followers of mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājanas, out of the twelve mahājanas. There are also described, who are mahājana. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. The indication is there. The question will be, "Who is mahājana?" So mahājana means... That is also stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, svayambhūr nāradaḥ śaṁbhuḥ kapilaḥ kaumāro manuḥ prahlādaḥ (SB 6.3.20). So Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājanas. So we are discussing Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction and his character, his ability. This is Vaiṣṇava. Bhāgavata means the glories of the Lord, Bhagavān, and the glories of the devotees, both. There is no difference between Bhagavān and bhagavad-bhakta. There is no difference. But that does not mean, like Māyāvādī, that bhagavad-bhakta is also God. No. That is explained by Viśvanātha Cakravartī. Sākṣād dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktaḥ **. Bhakta bhagavān, bhagavān bhakta. Vaiṣṇava, he is equally good like God. Sākṣād dharitvena samasta-śāstraiḥ. But he's so power... He's more than. Sometimes he's more powerful than Bhagavān. Just like materially, if somebody sees that "This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, is now spread all over the world. Even Caitanya Mahāprabhu could not do it," that does not mean that I am great than Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Philosophy Discussions

Man's perfection will depend on his ability to understand God. God is already there. It is not that a perfect man is by imagination creating God.
Philosophy Discussion on John Dewey:

Prabhupāda: Anyone who cannot think of a supreme controller, he is an insane man. He is not a sane man. How he can propose? Where is his experience? Everything is going on under some control. Even this wonderful machine, computer, that requires an operator. So how one can think of without controller things are going on very systematically? This is insanity. It has no meaning.

Hayagrīva: He sees God emerging as man's striving for perfection.

Prabhupāda: No, that God is there. Man's perfection will depend on his ability to understand God. God is already there. It is not that a perfect man is by imagination creating God. Anything created by man, that is controlled. God is the supreme controller. So man is dying under the control of the Supreme, so how man can create God? He is already under the rules of God, that he must die, he must suffer from disease, he must become old. So if he cannot control what is already imposed by God, how he can think of God? How he can create a God? That is also another insanity. First of all you become independent of the laws of God, then you can think of creation of God. You are completely under the supremacy of the Supreme Lord. How you can think of creating God? That is another insanity. So all these atheistic person who are thinking that "We can create God," "God is imagination," they are all insane person.

That is the beginning of another nonsense. Everyone speaks in his own language. What does he..., what he means by speak?
Philosophy Discussion on Thomas Henry Huxley:

Hayagrīva: This is Thomas Henry Huxley. Huxley felt that the main difference between man and the animals is the ability to speak. Now, is...

Prabhupāda: That is the beginning of another nonsense. Everyone speaks in his own language. What does he..., what he means by speak?

Hayagrīva: But isn't speech, which is the articulation of the intellect, the primary difference between man and the animals in the sense that is it not through words that one can come to understand God?

Prabhupāda: That is another thing, but the animal has a, his own language, as the human being has his own language. So why does he say that? When he speaks, he speaks from the very beginning in his own language.

Hayagrīva: Well he, he, he mentions speech as being "Intelligible, rational speech..."

Prabhupāda: They have got rational speech.

Hayagrīva: "...that accumulates and organizes experience which is almost lost with the cessation of indi..., with every individual life in other animals." In other words, man has a history due to language, but animals may be able to articulate certain basic facts to one another, but they have no culture or history.

Prabhupāda: Then those who speak in Sanskrit language, they are only human beings; all other animals. If he says like that, Sanskrit language is the oldest...

Page Title:Ability (Lectures)
Compiler:Alakananda, Matea
Created:13 of Sep, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=9, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:9