Out of that small number of human beings, most are totally ignorant of spiritual life, are unclean in their habits and have no faith in the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In short, most human beings live like animals. These can actually be deducted from the number of human beings that comprise human or civilized life. It is very difficult to find a few human beings who believe in the scriptures and the existence of God, or, for that matter, in proper behavior. Those who do believe in the value of these things are known as ārya, a word denoting those who believe in advancing in spiritual life. Out of those who believe in the value of the scriptures and the advancement of human civilization, there are two classes—the righteous and the unrighteous. Those who are righteous generally execute fruitive activities in order to derive some good result for sense gratification. Out of many such persons who engage in righteous activities for sense gratification, only a few come to know about the Absolute Truth. These are called jñānīs, empiric philosophers. Out of many hundreds and thousands of such empiric philosophers, only a handful actually attain liberation.
Advancement of human civilization
Expressions researched:
"Human advancement, advancement of civilization"
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|"advanced human civilization"
|"advanced knowledge of human civilization"
|"advancement in human civilization"
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|"human civilization has advanced"
|"human civilization is advanced"
|"human civilization will advance"
|"human civilization, advanced civilization"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 13 - 18
Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.
The demoniac are engaged in activities that will lead the world to destruction. The Lord states here that they are less intelligent. The materialists, who have no concept of God, think that they are advancing. But according to Bhagavad-gītā, they are unintelligent and devoid of all sense. They try to enjoy this material world to the utmost limit and therefore always engage in inventing something for sense gratification. Such materialistic inventions are considered to be advancement of human civilization, but the result is that people grow more and more violent and more and more cruel, cruel to animals and cruel to other human beings. They have no idea how to behave toward one another. Animal killing is very prominent amongst demoniac people. Such people are considered the enemies of the world because ultimately they will invent or create something which will bring destruction to all. Indirectly, this verse anticipates the invention of nuclear weapons, of which the whole world is today very proud. At any moment war may take place, and these atomic weapons may create havoc. Such things are created solely for the destruction of the world, and this is indicated here. Due to godlessness, such weapons are invented in human society; they are not meant for the peace and prosperity of the world.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
As we have discussed more than once, one should not be puffed up by borrowed plumes. All energies and powers are derived from the supreme source, Lord Kṛṣṇa, and they act as long as He desires and cease to function as soon as He withdraws. All electrical energies are received from the powerhouse, and as soon as the powerhouse stops supplying energy, the bulbs are of no use. In a moment's time such energies can be generated or withdrawn by the supreme will of the Lord. Material civilization without the blessing of the Lord is child's play only. As long as the parents allow the child to play, it is all right. As soon as the parents withdraw, the child has to stop. Human civilization and all activities thereof must be dovetailed with the supreme blessing of the Lord, and without this blessing all advancement of human civilization is like decoration on a dead body. It is said here that a dead civilization and its activities are something like clarified butter on ashes, the accumulation of money by a magic wand and the sowing of seeds in a barren land.
SB Canto 2
Our friends, relatives and so-called wives and children are not only fallible, but also bewildered by the outward glamor of material existence. As such, they cannot save us. Still we think that we are safe within the orbit of family, society or country.
The whole materialistic advancement of human civilization is like the decoration of a dead body. Everyone is a dead body flapping only for a few days, and yet all the energy of human life is being wasted in the decoration of this dead body. Śukadeva Gosvāmī is pointing out the duty of the human being after showing the actual position of bewildered human activities. Persons who are devoid of the knowledge of ātma-tattva are misguided, but those who are devotees of the Lord and have perfect realization of transcendental knowledge are not bewildered.
An intelligent human cannot live the life of an animal; rather, man should try to utilize his intelligence in arts and science, poetry and philosophy. In such a way he can further the progressive march of human civilization. But here the idea given by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī is that the reserve energy of human life, which is far superior to that of animals, should simply he utilized for self-realization. Advancement of human civilization must be towards the goal of establishing our lost relationship with God, which is not possible in any form of life other than the human. One must realize the nullity of the material phenomenon, considering it a passing phantasmagoria, and must endeavor to make a solution to the miseries of life. Self-complacence with a polished type of animal civilization geared to sense gratification is delusion, and such a "civilization" is not worthy of the name. In pursuit of such false activities, a human being is in the clutches of māyā, or illusion.
The materialists want to prolong life as much as possible because they have no information of the next life. They want to get the maximum comforts in this present life because they think conclusively that there is no life after death. This ignorance about the eternity of the living being and the change of covering in the material world has played havoc in the structure of modern human society. Consequently there are many problems, multiplied by various plans of modernized man. The plans for solving the problems of society have only aggravated the troubles. Even if it is possible to prolong life more than one hundred years, advancement of human civilization does not necessarily follow. The Bhāgavatam says that certain trees live for hundreds and thousands of years. At Vṛndāvana there is a tamarind tree (the place is known as Imlitala) which is said to have existed since the time of Lord Kṛṣṇa. In the Calcutta Botanical Garden there is a banyan tree said to be older than five hundred years, and there are many such trees all over the world. Svāmī Śaṅkarācārya lived only thirty-two years, and Lord Caitanya lived forty-eight years. Does it mean that the prolonged lives of the abovementioned trees are more important than Śaṅkara or Caitanya? Prolonged life without spiritual value is not very important.
The ass is an animal who is celebrated as the greatest fool, even amongst the animals. The ass works very hard and carries burdens of the maximum weight without making profit for itself. Footnote. The ass is generally engaged by the washerman, whose social position is not very respectable. And the special qualification of the ass is that it is very much accustomed to being kicked by the opposite sex. When the ass begs for sexual intercourse, he is kicked by the fair sex, yet he still follows the female for such sexual pleasure. A henpecked man is compared, therefore, to the ass. The general mass of people work very hard, especially in the age of Kali. In this age the human being is actually engaged in the work of an ass, carrying heavy burdens and driving ṭhelā and rickshaws. The so-called advancement of human civilization has engaged a human being in the work of an ass. The laborers in great factories and workshops are also engaged in such burdensome work, and after working hard during the day, the poor laborer has to be again kicked by the fair sex, not only for sex enjoyment but also for so many household affairs.
Brahmā is the representation of the mode of passion, and Viṣṇu is the representation of the mode of goodness, while the mode of ignorance is represented by Lord Śiva, the father of material activities. Material nature is called the mother, and the initiator for materialistic life is the father, Lord Śiva. All material creation by the living entities is therefore initiated by the mode of passion. With the advancement of the duration of life in a particular millennium, the different modes act by gradual development. In the age of Kali (when the mode of passion is most prominent) material activities of different varieties, in the name of advancement of human civilization, take place, and the living entities become more and more involved in forgetting their real identity—the spiritual nature. By a slight cultivation of the mode of goodness, a glimpse of spiritual nature is perceived, but due to the prominence of the mode of passion, the mode of goodness becomes adulterated. Therefore one cannot transcend the limits of the material modes, and therefore realization of the Lord, who is always transcendental to the modes of material nature, becomes very difficult for the living entities, even though prominently situated in the mode of goodness through cultivation of the various methods.
SB Canto 3
It is also affirmed herein that the brāhmaṇas are the best of the twice-born. Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas are all twice-born, but the brāhmaṇas are the best. When there is a fight between two persons, each of them protects the upper part of his body—the head, the arms and the belly. Similarly, for the actual advancement of human civilization, the best part of the social body, namely the brāhmaṇas, the kṣatriyas and vaiśyas (the intelligent class of men, the military class and the mercantile men) should be given special protection. Protection of the laborers should not be neglected, but special protection should be given to the upper orders. Of all classes of men, the brāhmaṇas and the Vaiṣṇavas should be given special protection. They should be worshiped. When their protection is performed, it is just like worshiping God. That is not exactly protection; it is a duty. One should worship the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas by offering them all kinds of endowments and sweet words, and if one has no means to offer anything, he must at least use sweet words to pacify them. The Lord personally exhibited this behavior towards the Kumāras.
It is stated clearly herein that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His plenary expansion of Supersoul, is present in all living entities. The living entities have 8,400,000 different kinds of bodies, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is living in every body both as the individual soul and as the Supersoul. Since the individual soul is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, in that sense the Lord is living in every body, and, as Supersoul, the Lord is also present as a witness. In both cases the presence of God in every living entity is essential. Therefore persons who profess to belong to some religious sect but who do not feel the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every living entity, and everywhere else, are in the mode of ignorance.
If, without this preliminary knowledge of the Lord's omnipresence, one simply attaches himself to the rituals in a temple, church or mosque, it is as if he were offering butter into ashes rather than into the fire. One offers sacrifices by pouring clarified butter into a fire and chanting Vedic mantras, but even if there are Vedic mantras and all conditions are favorable, if the clarified butter is poured on ashes, then such a sacrifice will be useless. In other words, a devotee should not ignore any living entity. The devotee must know that in every living entity, however insignificant he may be, even in an ant, God is present, and therefore every living entity should be kindly treated and should not be subjected to any violence. In modern civilized society, slaughterhouses are regularly maintained and supported by a certain type of religious principle. But without knowledge of the presence of God in every living entity, any so-called advancement of human civilization, either spiritual or material, is to be understood as being in the mode of ignorance.
SB Canto 4
The Vedas give the eternal regulative principles for auspicious advancement in human civilization which have been rigidly followed in the past. The strong evidence of this principle is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is called Janārdana, the well-wisher of all living entities.
Sense gratification means domination over material nature. The whole competition between conditioned souls is based upon domination of this material nature. Modern scientists are proud of their knowledge because they are discovering new methods to dominate the laws of material nature. They think that this is the advancement of human civilization—the more they can dominate the material laws, the more advanced they think they are. Dhruva Mahārāja's propensity in the beginning was like that. He wanted to dominate this material world in a greater position than Lord Brahmā. Therefore elsewhere it is described that after the appearance of the Lord, when Dhruva Mahārāja thought and compared his determination to his final reward, he realized that he had wanted a few particles of broken glass but instead had received many diamonds. As soon as he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, he immediately became conscious of the unimportance of his demand from the Lord to have an exalted position better than Lord Brahmā's.
It is said that Dhruva Mahārāja was the great-grandson of Lord Brahmā. This indicates that Dhruva Mahārāja's time was in the Satya-yuga in the beginning of creation. During one day of Lord Brahmā, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, there are many Satya-yugas. According to the Vedic calculation, at the present moment the twenty-eighth millennium is current. It can be calculated that Dhruva Mahārāja lived many millions of years ago, but the description of the palace of Dhruva's father is so glorious that we cannot accept that advanced human civilization did not exist even forty or fifty thousand years ago. There were walls like those in the palace of Mahārāja Uttānapāda even very recently, during the Mogul period. Anyone who has seen the Red Fort in Delhi must have marked that the walls are made of marble and were once decorated with jewels. During the British period all these jewels were taken away and dispatched to the British Museum.
The conception of worldly opulence was formerly based mainly on natural resources such as jewels, marble, silk, ivory, gold and silver. The advancement of economic development was not based on big motorcars. Advancement of human civilization depends not on industrial enterprises, but on possession of natural wealth and natural food, which is all supplied by the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that we may save time for self-realization and success in the human form of body.
SB Canto 6
When Lord Kṛṣṇa was sitting on His throne and Nārada fortunately entered His assembly, even Lord Kṛṣṇa immediately stood up with His officers and ministers to offer respectful obeisances to Nārada. Nārada knew that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Kṛṣṇa knew that Nārada was His devotee, but although Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord and Nārada is the Lord's devotee, the Lord observed the religious etiquette. Since Nārada was a brahmacārī, a brāhmaṇa and an exalted devotee, even Kṛṣṇa, while acting as a king, offered His respectful obeisances unto Nārada. Such is the conduct visible in the Vedic civilization. A civilization in which the people do not know how the representative of Nārada and Kṛṣṇa should be respected, how society should be formed and how one should advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness—a society concerned only with manufacturing new cars and new skyscrapers every year and then breaking them to pieces and making new ones—may be technologically advanced, but it is not a human civilization. A human civilization is advanced when its people follow the cātur-varṇya system, the system of four orders of life. There must be ideal, first-class men to act as advisors, second-class men to act as administrators, third-class men to produce food and protect cows, and fourth-class men who obey the three higher classes of society. One who does not follow the standard system of society should be considered a fifth-class man. A society without Vedic laws and regulations will not be very helpful to humanity. As stated in this verse, dharmaṁ te na paraṁ viduḥ: such a society does not know the aim of life and the highest principle of religion.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
Nyāsa-mantra includes ācamana, or first drinking a sip of water kept in the right hand. There are different viṣṇu-mantras to purify the body. The gopīs, and in fact any householders, knew the process for being purified by chanting Vedic hymns. The gopīs executed this process first to purify themselves and then to purify the child Kṛṣṇa. One executes the process of aṅga-nyāsa and kara-nyāsa simply by drinking a little sip of water and chanting the mantra. The mantra is preceded with the first letter of the name, followed by anusvāra and the word namaḥ: oṁ namo 'jas tavāṅghrī avyāt, maṁ mano maṇimāṁs tava jānunī avyāt, and so on. By losing Indian culture, Indian householders have forgotten how to execute the aṅga-nyāsa and are simply busy in sense gratification, without any advanced knowledge of human civilization.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
The best thing is that we are now here in this planet and immediately take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and surrender unto Him and become perfect. Why should you wait for another birth or in another planet? Finish. Now, if you are actually serious about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then finish now. This is the opportunity. Labdhvā sudurlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte (SB 11.9.29). This birth is obtained after many, many evolutionary process. Mānuṣyam artha-dam. This human body can give you the highest perfection. So tūrṇaṁ yateta, be very serious and try for that perfection. Anumṛtyu pated yāvat, until next death comes. But we are not serious. We are not very serious. We are serious about how to make our sense gratification very nicely. That is our seriousness. Human advancement, advancement of civilization means how nicely you can gratify your senses. This is going on. Only to give all sorts of comfort to this body. But actually human civilization means that people should be very serious to have perfection of this human body, spiritual perfection. That is perfect human civilization. That is missing at the present moment.
Animal education means when we are too much interested with eating, sleeping, mating and defending, that is animal education. Eating, sleeping, mating and defending, oh, you'll find in animals. There is no distinction. They have got their own defending measures, they have got their own sleeping measures, they have got their own mating measures. You are mating with your wife in a secluded place, in a nice room, in a decorated room, but a dog is mating on the street, but the result is the same. So to improve the method of mating is not advancement of civilization. That is animal civilization polished, that's all. The animal also, the dog can also defend from other dogs. And if you think that you have discovered atomic energy to defend yourself, that is not advancement of human civilization. The defending measure, that's all. Similarly, you go on analyzing.
Vedic civilization, unless one is inquisitive for the solution of the problems, he is not on the human being standard. Because there are so many problems. The animals cannot inquire, but a man can inquire. So unless one comes to this point, to inquire how these problems can be solved, he's not developed to human consciousness. He's still in the animal consciousness. Actually, the problem is that... What is this human civilization, advanced civilization? They are trying to solve problems. One problem is presented, and they try to solve it. Just like at the present moment they have manufactured atomic bomb, and all the nations are anxious to keep peace, and they have started that United Nations organization to solve the problem. Although they are unable, but they are trying. So advancement of civilization means by nature some problem is offered, and they are trying to solve it. Anything you take, it is an attempt for trying to solve the problem. Just like in your country there is subway. What is that subway? Because on the surface there is a lot of traffic, to solve this problem they want to go underground. And in this way somebody thinks, "Oh, Western countries have advanced than the Eastern countries. They have made some solution." But after that, there is another problem. So problem after problem.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So śāstra says that "Everyone, every living entity, has got a general tendency for these things: sex life, meat-eating and drinking." Then where is the need of shastric injunction? That shastric injunction is there not to encourage them, but to restrict them. In the human life, pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānāṁ nivṛttis tu mahā-phalā. You have got a tendency for sex life, take for example. This is your tendency. But if you can check it, that is your success. Not that because you have got tendency, you have to increase it. That is not human civilization. Human civilization means we have got so many animal propensities, and if we can control them, that is advancement of human civilization. Just try to understand. Not that "Because I have got this tendency, let me increase it without any restriction." That is not human civilization. Human civilization... That is the distinction between animal and human being. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa jñānena (SB 6.1.13).
So in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you will find everything, whatever is necessity, for the advancement of human civilization, everything is there described. And knowledge also, all departmental knowledge. Even astronomy, astrology, politics, sociology, atomic theory, everything is there. Vidyā-bhāgavatāvadhi. Therefore if we study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam very carefully, then you get all knowledge completely. Because Bhāgavata begins from the point of creation. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Vedānta. It is the explanation of Vedānta-sūtra. Vedānta means the essence of cream of Vedic knowledge. That is Vedānta. That cream of Vedānta knowledge is further explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So we are publishing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Our students specifically, they should take care of reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We have therefore prescribed in our school, Dallas, that let them simply learn Sanskrit and English, because English translation they will be able to read, and the Sanskrit verses are there. And from the very beginning, if they begin education with Bhagavad-gītā and then comes to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and reads the whole literature, then they will be more than M.A., Ph.D. More than. The knowledge will be so advanced.
General Lectures
So the example is set by the Supreme Personality of Godhead that human civilization will advance only on the basis of brahminical culture and cow protection. As soon as there is falldown from brahminical culture, and as soon as there is discrepancy in the protection of cows, there will be no more peace in the world. Therefore He specifically said, go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for the protection of brahminical culture and cows. Then automatically the peace of the world will come, if two things are done. This is Vedic literature. They pick up the essence of the things, and all other things follows. Just like meditation. Meditation means... Not meditation, the yoga system. Yoga indriya-saṁyamaḥ. Yoga system means to control the senses. This is the primary factor of practicing yoga.
Philosophy Discussions
Hayagrīva: He says reason is by nature equal in all men. Now isn't reasoning power different in different men?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Otherwise why it is called "This man is intelligent," other man is called "You are ass." So when, on this reasoning platform, when one comes to the conclusion that the living force within the body is different from this lump of matter, then he is on the human platform. And if he keeps himself that this life means combination of these material things, then he remains an animal. This is the reasoning. Where is the life? You analyze beginning from the breathing up to the urine and stool—where you will find life? That is human reasoning. Human civilization is now advanced in analyzing things in the chemical laboratory. So if we analyze this breathing, it is air. So you replace this air, let life come again. What is this breathing? Breathing is simply exhaling and inhaling some air. So by machine, by electric, what is called, batteries, let it work and it will act accordingly, breathing. But does it mean it will bring life? So they say breathing is stopped; therefore life is stopped. So breathing can be revived, but where is the life? They say the blood has become white. So blood can be colored. So anything of this body, analyze perfectly and bring life; then you say that life is combination of this matter. You cannot bring it; therefore it must be concluded that life is different from this combination of matter. This is reasoning. This is human reasoning. And if you still keep yourself that this body is, it is everything, then you are animal. This is reasoning. That is the verdict of the Vedic..., sa eva go-kharaḥ. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13).
Conversations and Morning Walks
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
George Gullen: We are much in ignorance about those matters, I understand that, and...
Prabhupāda: Yes. Complete ignorance, like animals. So the leaders of the society, if they are serious about advancement of human civilization, they must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness; otherwise, they'll be baffled.
George Gullen: Well, we do not teach about these things...
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is the defect.
George Gullen: .... in public schools because we do not know.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Now whether still we shall remain in ignorance or we shall learn this science and teach, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is not a sectarian religious movement. No, it is not that. This is science, scientific. So leading personalities like you, teachers, professors and other leading men, they should try to understand what is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is and join. It is for the human society, it is not for a certain section.
Correspondence
1970 Correspondence
Everyone of us knows it very well by practical experience that when we eat something, or in other words when we put foodstuffs in the stomach, the energy created by such action is immediately distributed throughout the whole body. Similarly, when you pour water on the root of the tree, the energy created by such watering is immediately distributed in the whole tree, never mind how great it is. But it is not possible to water the tree part by part, neither it is possible to feed the different parts of the body separately. One who does not know this method is missing the point.
At the present moment the human civilization has advanced very much to live comfortably so far our material necessities are concerned, but still we are not happy because we are missing the point. Simple material comforts of life are not sufficient to make us happy. The vivid example is America, and not to mention of other countries. The richest nation of the world having all facilities for material comforts, is producing a class of men completely confused and frustrated in life. I have dealt with them very intimately, and I have found out that the cause of their unhappiness is not material want, but it is insufficiency of spiritual comforts.
1973 Correspondence
Vedic knowledge is definite. Take for example Padma Purāṇa, there it is said there are 8,400,000 species of life: two million trees, one million insects, four hundred thousand humans. Nowhere do we find about so and so many, but exactly the number is given. Or we see the description of Kali yuga, and we are experiencing it. "People of this age will keep big bundles of hair and thus think themselves very beautiful." So this is going on. "For want of bathing the population of this age will appear like Pisacas"—hippies. Everything is given in Vedas exactly. Why should we go to such men for knowledge? They pose themselves as big leaders, philosophers. But we have to accept our leader according to the standard symptoms—or qualifications. The standard text book for civilized administration is Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. A leader must be peaceful, self-controlled austere, pure, tolerant, honest, wise learned and religious. Not like your President Nixon—a rogue and thief—such men cannot do any good to society, only those who are trained up in the Ultimate Goal of human life, they can lead—because human life is meant for going back to Godhead. Therefore our society is serving the whole world by supplying the missing part for perfect advancement of human civilization, we are supplying the head. Although all parts, such as legs are necessary, the whole thing is useful only when there is a head. So, everything is already there but it is now mixed up, we want to bring the whole world in to order by giving the right directions to all classes of men. Right direction means, to deliver the instructions of Krishna, and because Krishna is perfect, if you present this knowledge anywhere it will automatically defeat all the existing concocted hodge-podge ideas congesting the feeble brains of so-called scientist, philosophers or anyone.
| Page Title: | Advancement of human civilization |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika, Serene |
| Created: | 03 of Sep, 2009 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=13, CC=0, OB=1, Lec=7, Con=1, Let=2 |
| No. of Quotes: | 25 |