Maybe, whatever it may be. You have tasted? (laughter) So the tongue is so formidable enemy. Simply for tasting, they will commit so many sinful activities. They will commit so many abominable actions simply for tongue. And that is a straight line. Tongue, then belly, then genital. So if you can control the tongue, the other things will be controlled. Therefore, tā'ra madhye jihwā ati lobhamoy sudurmati. Lobhamoy, it is very greedy. And sudurmati, it very difficult to control.
Belly (Lectures)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Lecture on BG 1.15 -- London, July 15, 1973:
So Vṛkodara, Bhīmasena, is advertised as voracious eater. But he can perform Herculean task also. Just like the elephant, it eats voraciously, but it gives service also. Similarly if we simply eat voraciously and we cannot give any service that is not good. We must eat sumptuously and give service also. In Bengali it is said that peṭe keli piṭhe soya (?). If one is given sufficient food in the belly, he can carry more burden on the back. So Bhīma-karma, his activities were very Herculean, very, very, difficult tasks he performed.
Lecture on BG 1.41-42 -- London, July 29, 1973:
Just like one is born in brāhmaṇa jāti, kṣatriya jāti, vaiśya jāti, śūdra jāti. So each jāti, they have got different types of responsibilities. So when the unwanted children, irresponsible children, they do not follow any more the tradition, the family tradition, or jāti-dharma, so they create a class of population in the varṇa-saṅkara. So everything becomes topsy-turvy, hellish condition. And actually it has so happened. Now there is no more jāti-dharma. Everyone is engaged somehow or other to fill up the belly. Formerly, formerly there was stricture. The brāhmaṇas, the kṣatriyas, and the vaiśyas, these three higher castes, there were certain restrictions. The brāhmaṇa would not do this or the brāhmaṇa must do this. So that is called jāti-dharma. A brāhmaṇa cannot accept service from anywhere. I have discussed many times.
Lecture on BG 1.43 -- London, July 30, 1973:
This is control. Otherwise, by force... Just like the yogis, they try artificially by some gymnastic. That may be possible for some time, but it is... There are many instances, it became... (break) Because by force they cannot control the senses. That is not possible. You must give better engagement. (break) By force, if you think that "I shall control my tongue, I shall control my eyes, I shall control my genital, I shall control my belly." Artificial. That may be possible for some time. But they are so strong, the senses are so strong, artificially it cannot be stopped. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā... (break)... stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. You give the senses better engagement. Then you can control. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir uttamā. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena... (CC Madhya 19.170). (break) You have to purify the senses. How? By engaging the senses in the ser... (break)... tat paratvena. (break) Then you will be able to purify the senses, and with purified senses, when you are engaged in the service of the Supreme, that is called bhakti.
Lecture on BG 2.1-5 -- Germany, June 16, 1974:
So this was a discussion between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. So the subject of discussion was that although the battle was declared, Arjuna, when he actually found that "On the other side there are my relatives," how he could slay them? Kṛṣṇa advised that "Everyone must execute his prescribed duty without consideration of any personal loss or gain." According to Vedic civilization, there are four divisions of the society. Everywhere the same divisions are there all over the world. This is very natural. Just like we can study from our own body, there is head, there is arm, there is belly, and there is leg, similarly, in the society there must be a class of men who should be considered as brain, another class of men should be there who will protect the society from danger, another class of men will be expert in producing food grains and give protection to the cows and make trade, so. And the rest class of men, namely who cannot work as brain neither can work as protector from danger, nor they can produce food grains or give protection to the cows, they are called śūdras—as you cannot avoid, to make your body complete, the brain department, the arms department, the belly department and the walking or working department.
Lecture on BG 2.2-6 -- Ahmedabad, December 11, 1972:
So these things are topsy-turvied. Simply it has become a farce. Actually if we want to establish Vedic civilization, then we must follow strictly the principles of Vedas as it is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. And if it is practiced, then daiva-varṇāśrama-dharma. That is required. Daiva-varṇāśrama-dharma. There must be the four divisions. Just like we have got four divisions in our body: the head division, the arm division, the belly division, and the leg division. The leg division is the śūdra, the belly division is the vaiśya, and the arm division is the kṣatriya, and the head division is the brāhmaṇa. So these divisions are now lost. Actually, there is no kṣatriya, no brāhmaṇa. Maybe there are some vaiśyas and śūdras. So suppose if your whole body there is only belly and leg, then what is the body? If you have no head and no arm, then how it is? What kind of body it is? So therefore, in the social order of the present day, there is no brāhmaṇa, no kṣatriya. Only there are some few vaiśyas and śūdras. So therefore there is chaos all over the world. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for creating some real brāhmaṇa. At least, there may be head. They are all mad after the influence of the material energy. So there is need of some brāhmaṇa who can give advice to the people how to live, how to become God conscious, how to become happy. There is great need of this movement. Simply so-called classless society will not help us. That is not Vedic civilization.
Lecture on BG 2.3 -- London, August 4, 1973:
The tongue is the most strong enemy as sense, as perverted sense. And these rascals they say, "No, you can eat whatever you like. It has nothing to do with religion." But Vedic śāstra says, "You rascal, first of all control your tongue. Then you can understand what is God."
So this is called Vedic injunction—perfect. If you control your tongue, then you control your belly, then you control your genital. Rūpa Gosvāmī gives instruction,
- vāco-vegaṁ manaso krodha-vegam
- jihvāvegam udaropastha-vegam
- etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ
- sarvām apīmāṁ sa pṛthiviṁ sa śiṣyāt.
- (NOI 1)
This is instruction, that anyone who has become competent to control the tongue, to control the mind, to control the anger, to control the belly and control the genital..., if six kind of control is there, he is fit for becoming spiritual master; he can make disciples all over the world. And if you cannot control your tongue, if you cannot control your anger, control your mental concoction, then how you can become even a spiritual master? That is not possible. Pṛthiviṁ sa śiṣyāt. One who did... That is called gosvāmī, gosvāmī or svāmī, master of the senses. Master of controlling these six kinds.
Lecture on BG 2.9 -- Auckland, February 21, 1973:
According to Vedic system, there should be four classes of men: the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, social order; and spiritual order: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, and sannyāsa. This is perfect system of human civilization. So I shall briefly describe. Brāhmaṇa is compared with the head. Just like you have got your body. In the body there are different departments: the head department, the arms department, the belly department, and the leg department. So to maintain your body fit, you must have all these four departments rightly working. Your brain must work very nicely, your arms must work very nicely, although also the digestive system, intestines, stomach, that must also work very nicely, as well as the legs also must work nicely. Then you are perfectly fit. Similarly, in the social system there must be the head department.
Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:
According to Vedic system, there are four classes of men in the society. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Human society must be divided into four classes of men. Just like in our body, there are four different departments: the brain department, the hand department, the belly department, and the leg department. You require all these. If the body is to be maintained, then you must maintain properly your head, your arms, your belly, and leg. The cooperation. You have heard many times the caste system of India: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. This is not artificial. It is natural. In any society you go, not only in India, in any other country, these four classes of men are there. Intelligent class of men, administrator class of men, productive class of men, and laborer class of men. You call it by different names, but there must be such division. As I told you, there are divisions in my own body—the brain department, the arms department, the belly department, and the leg department.
Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 9, 1966:
There is some happiness. Nobody wants to take so much trouble, but at home, because there is some happiness by seeing the children, by maintaining the children, by..., therefore he takes so much trouble. Now, at the same time, the children has also some troubles of life. Now, if one of the children requests the mother, "Mother, you have given birth to me, and... But I find my life very troublesome. Better you again put me in your belly." (laughs) Is it a good proposal? It is not at all a good proposal. This is a disappointment. "Oh," the mother says, "oḥ, my dear son, you are in trouble. Therefore you want to come again into my belly? You want to merge into my existence again?" Well, the mother is unable. He cannot, she cannot do that. But if, if such kind of request is made to the Supreme Lord, He can accept that.
Lecture on BG 2.31 -- London, September 1, 1973:
But the government does not know or the leaders do not know that to engage people in such industrial affair means to bring them to the śūdra platform. Śūdra platform. Every government is encouraging people how to become śūdra. But actually, the human society must be divided into four parts. Four divisions: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. Just like in our body there is division. The head department, the arms department, the belly department and the leg department. You cannot say, "Let there be only leg department. There is no use of head and arms and belly." Will that go on nicely? If your body, you cut off all other parts and simply keep the legs, will that be very nice proposal? Leg is required. But if you keep the body only by the legs, then this kind of body is dead body. Any part of the body. Especially the head. If you cut off the head then the body is altogether dead. You can cut off the arms, you can cut off the legs, but it is very difficult to cut off the belly also. Then it will be dead.
Lecture on BG 2.40 - London, September 13, 1973:
So therefore, scientifically it is divided. Mukha bahu rupadebhyo(?). Just like in your body you find scientifically it is designed by God or Lord Brahmā: "This is brain department, this is arms department, this is belly department, this is leg department." All of them required. You cannot avoid any one of them. This is called sva-dharma. One must be fixed up to his own position. That is the real perfect social system.
Now here it is said, tyaktvā sva-dharmam. This is material division. The spiritual is different. So far... I am combination of matter and spirit; so far my body is concerned, there is division. But when I come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is not like that. That is simply for everyone. Either he's externally a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, American, Indian, black, white, it doesn't matter. That is bodily. When you come to the spiritual platform, that is one. Because spirit is one.
Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Delhi, November 10, 1971:
Just like brāhmaṇa is considered to be the brain. A man may be very healthy body, but the, if the brain is cracked, this body will not help. Everything is spoiled. So at the present moment there is no brain, there is no brāhmaṇa, neither there is kṣatriya, simply śūdras and vaiśyas, mostly śūdras. So, as in your body there are divisions, the brain division, the arm division, the belly division, and the leg division, similarly the human society must be divided like the scientific divisions. A section of people must be very intelligent class of men, brāhmaṇa. A section of people may be very strong, kṣatriyas, politicians, fighters. A section of people must be producers, the vaiśyas, and a section of people must be śūdras, or the legs. Just as compared with your body. The full body means, the head, the arms, the belly and the legs. If you say that there is, there is no need of head, is that very bodily sound? It is dead body. It is dead body. So, our propaganda is that we want to make a section of people brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa means one who knows Brahman. That is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. And we are all Brahman, you, me, everyone, because we are part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi, this is the philosophy, that I am not this matter, I am Brahman.
Lecture on BG 4.13 -- New York, April 8, 1973:
Just like you have got this body. And if you think "This part of the body's very expensive, always eating. Cut it off." Then you'll dead. Similarly, just to keep your body in good condition, in living condition, you must have your head, you must have your arms, you must have your belly, you must have your legs. You cannot say that "I can avoid this part of the body." No. Similarly, catur varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13), the four divisions of the society must be there. Otherwise it will be chaotic or dead body.
So at the present moment, the difficulty is there is no brāhmaṇa, there is no kṣatriya. There are only the vaiśyas and the śūdras, belly, vaiśya means belly and śūdra means the leg. So if, out of the four divisions, one is wanting, the society must be in chaotic condition. The four must exist. Although comparatively head is the most important part of the body, still you cannot neglect the leg also. This is a cooperative combination.
Lecture on BG 4.13 -- Bombay, April 2, 1974:
So ordinarily, when people are not on the standard of bhagavad-bhakti, devotees of the Lord, there is division of the society. There must be. Otherwise things cannot go on. In the śāstras we find that there is division even in my body: the brain division, the hand division or the arms division, the belly division and the leg division.
The brain division is the brāhmaṇa, and the arm division is the kṣatriya, gives you protection. As soon as somebody is going to attack you, immediately, automatically you spread your hands. Kṣatriya. Kṣat means injury. In Hindu it is called kṣatra. So kṣat trāyate. A kṣatriya's business is one who can save you from being injured by others. That is kṣatriya. And brāhmaṇa means the intelligent class. So as in the body, the brain is also required the hand is also required the belly is also required, and the leg is also required. Although the activities of the leg is not so important than the activity of the brain. Comparatively studying, the brain is most important part of the body, this head. If you cut the head of a man, then, in spite of possessing the arms, belly and legs, he is dead man. But if you cut the hand or the leg, he can live, and the brain can work. This is an example.
Lecture on BG 4.13-14 -- New York, August 1, 1966:
Just like my body. My body, there are different parts of my body. The head is the most important part of my body. The next important part is my arms. The next important part is my belly. And the next important part is my legs. But although the head is the most important part of my body, there is no question of neglecting the lowest part of my body, the legs. Similarly, although there are divisions in the human society, four divisions, according to the different modes of nature... The highest class is called the brāhmaṇa, or the most intellectual class. And the next class is called the kṣatriya, just the administrative class. And the next is the vaiśya, or the mercantile, productive class. And the next is the śūdras, or the laborer class. So all of them, they are required. But if they cooperate for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so there is no strife between these higher and lower classes.
Lecture on BG 4.13-14 -- New York, August 1, 1966:
The same example can be said here also, that the leg, the hands, and the belly and the mouth—what they are? They are cooperating. Cooperating for what? Cooperating for maintaining this body. This is the common interest. And how it is cooperated? To supply everything to the stomach. The brain is working, earning some money, the hand is fetching something and cooking, and the mouth is chewing, and the leg is going, but the whole function is targeted to fulfill the demands of the stomach. If these parts of the body non-cooperate with the stomach, they'll become feeble and weak and there will be no capacity to work.
Similarly, Kṛṣṇa consciousness means that in whatever division I may be... I may be the brāhmaṇa, I may be the kṣatriya, I may be the vaiśya, or the śūdra. That doesn't matter. But if we cooperate for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there will be perfect peace in the world. This is a fact. So this idea of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is very important factor, although people are, I mean to say, they are unknown to this fact, although it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Lecture on BG 4.14 -- Bombay, April 3, 1974:
Parāṁ gatim, that is open for everyone. It is not that because one is śūdra or one is caṇḍāla, he is not allowed to enter into the kingdom of God. Only the brāhmaṇas are allowed. No, it is not like that. The same thing, same example, that in the body there are four divisions: the head division, the arm division, the belly division, and the leg division. It is not that only the head get the facilities of living condition. No. Everyone.
Lecture on BG 6.25-29 -- Los Angeles, February 18, 1969:
Just like anger, tongue. then jihvā-vegam. Then udara-vegam. From tongue come little down. Udara means belly. The belly is already filled up, still I want to fill it more. That is called vegam, pushing of the belly. And when there is so much pushing of the tongue and pushing of the belly, the next underneath the genital, there is force of the genital. Then I require some sex. If I eat more, if I use my tongue unnecessarily, if I allow my mind to do anything and everything, then I cannot check my genital also. There will be sex urge which I cannot check. In this way there are so many pushing. Rūpa Gosvāmī says one who has control over all this pushing machine, he can become spiritual master. Not that spiritual master is manufactured. One has to learn this. How to check the pushing of these things. Etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ (NOI 1). One who can control over these pushing and remain dhīraḥ, steady, pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt: He can make disciples all over the world.
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, March 17, 1968:
So these rascals, they have no knowledge how to train as brāhmaṇa, how to train as kṣatriya, how to train as vaiśya. Just like, of course, in other field of action, in the śūdras and vaiśyas, there is nice training in your country. If anyone wants to become a businessman, oh, there is training, colleges and schools, technological. That's nice, very nice. But why everyone should be dragged for technology? This is foolishness. Just like in your body, for maintenance, proper maintenance of the body you require the head, you require the arms, you require the belly, you require the legs. So all these four divisions of the body required. You cannot say, "Oh, we don't require this head." Oh, it is nonsense. You require everything. You require the head, you require the arms, you require the belly, and you require the leg. This is fit body. Suppose if there is a body without head—oḥ, it is dead body. It is body undoubtedly, but if there is no head, simply the trunk is there, it is called dead body. The head is considered to be the intellectual part of the body. Similarly, if there is no brāhmaṇa in the society, that is a dead body. If there is no spiritual man in the society, that is a dead society.
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Madras, February 14, 1972:
Just like this finger is the part and parcel of your body. What is the business of this finger? It is to serve this, serve this body always. I want, "Mr. Finger, please come here." "Oh, yes." He will do(?). And everything, part and parcel means to serve the whole. That is also explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that the brāhmaṇa is the facial part of the universal form of the Lord, the kṣatriya is the arms of the universal form, the vaiśyas are the belly of the universal form of the Lord, and the śūdras, they are the legs of the universal form of the Lord. So the leg..., the head may be very important part of the body, but you cannot neglect the legs. If you want to keep the body in fitness, then the brain must work nicely, the hand must work nicely, the belly must work nicely, and the legs also must. Catur varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13).
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Auckland, April 15, 1972:
We can imagine. Just like gagana-sadṛśa. So God is great, but we have no knowledge how He is great. We can simply think of gagana, the sky. That is the greatest. That is our... But we do not know that millions of skies are within the belly of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There our estimation, gagana-sadṛśa, is imperfect. How He can be gagana-sadṛśa? Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). Jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ. Jagad-aṇḍa means universe, and the gagana is within the universe. Gagana, we cannot see beyond this gagana, but beyond this gagana there is another gagana. In the Bhagavad-gītā... You are reading Bhagavad-gītā. You must know it. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ: (BG 8.20) "There is another sky, spiritual sky." Sanātana. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ avyaktaḥ avyaktāt sanātanaḥ, sarveṣu naśyatsu na vinaśyati. This gagana will be annihilated at the time of destruction, but that does not annihilate.
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Diego, July 1, 1972:
In the civilized nation, there is the four divisions of spiritual life and four divisions of... But they do not know it. But those who are followers of Vedic culture, they know how the divisions are to be made. Just like in your body, you have got four divisions: the head division, the arms division, the belly division, and the leg division. They're all required. It is not that simply you have got a nice brain like Professor Einstein; that will do. No. You must have hands also. You must have belly. You must have legs. Then it is complete. The head is most important part of the body—that is all right—but leg is also required. You cannot neglect leg. So similarly, this division is very scientific: intelligent class of men and martial class of men and productive class of men and laborer class of men. When we compare the laborer class of men with intellect, intellectual class of men, there is difference. But both of them are important factors to maintain this body. That is called varṇāśrama-dharma.
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Durban, October 9, 1975:
"Then," one may question, "if I simply try to achieve Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then how my belly problem will be solved?" The answer is tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. According to Vedic injunction, you are destined to achieve a certain amount of happiness and certain amount of distress also, because you cannot achieve here in this material world any happiness which is not disturbed. There must be distress. So there are two things, happiness and distress. So as you are getting distress without inviting it... Nobody invites distress, "Let distress come upon me." Nobody invites, but it comes. Similarly, even if you do not pray for happiness, whatever is destined to you, it will come. So don't bother yourself about the material distress and happiness. Try to achieve Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which you could not achieve in so many lives after life. That is injunction. That is called absolute knowledge.
Lecture on BG 7.2 -- London, March 10, 1975:
Work very hard. You have got tendency to work from morning, six, to night ten o'clock, eleven o'clock. We see. Early in the morning the road is congested. They are going to work. But they do not know why they are working. They know, "I am working for filling up this belly." That they know. No, that is not the purpose of working. For filling up the belly the animals, the ants, the cats, dogs, birds, they are also working. And you shall also work for filling up the belly only? Then what is the value of your life? You should work for yajña. That is human life. Yajñārthe karma.
Lecture on BG 7.2 -- London, March 10, 1975:
So do anything. If Kṛṣṇa is satisfied, that is yajña. That is yajña. And one should live for that purpose. Yajñārthe karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yam. Work very hard, but yajñārthe. And if you work so hard like ass and cats and dog simply for satisfying your tongue or belly or the genital, a straight line, then you are going to hell. Yajñārthe karmaṇaḥ anyatra karma-bandhanaḥ. Then you are becoming bound up by the laws of nature. If you eat and sleep and act like dog, then become dog next life. And if you act like god, then you'll get god, very easy thing. So whatever you like, you can do. But the śāstra gives you direction, yajñārthe. "Act, work, work hard for pleasing the Supreme Lord." Yajñārthe. Otherwise you will be bound up in the cycle of birth and death. Don't do it.
Lecture on BG 7.3 -- London, March 11, 1975:
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching people that "You have no other business than to work for Kṛṣṇa. That's all." This is Kṛṣṇa business. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness business. That is called the highest perfection. Saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gataḥ. Siddhi. Here it is, siddhi. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Siddhaye means to understand "What is my position? Why I am working so hard day and night for simply for sense gratification, for satisfying the tongue, to fulfill the belly, and satisfy the genital? This is my business. That is being done by the dogs and hog." When one comes to this sense, that "Shall I work like the cats, dogs, and hogs, or I have got any other business?" that is human life.
Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Calcutta, March 8, 1972:
As soon as he has become Kṛṣṇa conscious, he has fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Immediately he becomes the greatest mahātmā. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. A mahātmā like me, because, simply by changing dress... That is another thing. Because sometimes this dress gives us good opportunity for easy livelihood. That is another thing. But those who take this dress for begging and for fulfilling the hungry belly, that is..., that mahātmā is different thing. He is not mahātmā; he is durātmā. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that if one is inclined to collect money by showing Deity, it is better to become a sweeper in the street. It is better to become a sweeper in the street, because he's earning his livelihood honestly. And this man who is keeping a temple and doing all nonsense, simply by showing Deity, collecting some money, this class of men, they're most sinful. You cannot do so. You cannot take other's money.
Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Paris, August 10, 1973:
There is a story in Hitopaniṣad, Hitopadeśa, from which the Aesop's Fable is translated. There, there is a story: udarendriyānām. Udara. Udara means this belly, and indriya means the senses. There is story of udarendriyānām. The senses, all the senses met together in a meeting. They said that: "We are king, senses..." (aside:) Why it is open?
"We are working." The leg said: "Yes, I am, whole day, I am walking." The hand says: "Yes, I am working whole day, wherever the body says: "You come here and pick up the food" bringing things cooking. I cooking also." Then the eyes, they said that: "I am seeing." So every limb, length of the body, they made a strike that, "No more we are going to work only for the stomach who is eating only.
Lecture on BG 13.3 -- Hyderabad, April 19, 1974:
Kṛṣṇa has divided the society, human society, in four divisions: the brāhmaṇa, the kṣatriya, the vaiśya, the śūdras. These divisions of the human society must be there. If there is no intelligent person, brāhmaṇa, simply śūdras, you cannot be happy. That is not possible. Just like to keep your body, there must be head, there must be arms, there must be belly, and there must be legs. Simply if you have got legs, that is dead body. Even simply you have got head, that is also dead body. Four things must be there. How you can violate? "No, no, we don't require head" or "don't require leg." No, no. Kṛṣṇa says, "no." Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13). "This is My regulative principle. I give you. Just maintain a first-class, intelligent man. Don't disturb them. Give them all facilities. Let them cultivate Vedic knowledge and help you." That is required.
Lecture on BG 13.19 -- Bombay, October 13, 1973:
So to organize human society these qualities should be taken into consideration. We should divide. Just like in our body we have got four departments. This head department, the arm department, the belly department and the leg department. Everyone is working according to the departmental function. The brain is working differently. The office or the direction, the brain is giving direction. Then my hand is moving, my leg is moving. Similarly, there must be a directory department. In office also there are board of directors, then secretaries, then clerks, then menials, then servants, then cāparāsi. So even in your body this arrangement is there.
How can you avoid? If you simply say that "Let there be all heads," that cannot. Or "Let there be simply legs." That is cannot that cannot be. There must be the heads, the legs, the hands, the belly. Similarly, the whole society should be divided into that way and they should work cooperatively. The central point. Just like this head, leg, hands, they are working cooperatively for the benefit of this body, whole body. Actually for the benefit of this belly. Because we are all working now for eating without eating we cannot live. Then it is after sleeping, then mating the, then defending. First there must be arrangement for eating. So, practically the stomach is the king in this bodily arrangement, the stomach.
Lecture on BG 13.19 -- Bombay, October 13, 1973:
There is a story, Udarendriyāṇām in the Hitopadeśa written by Viṣṇuśarma. There, there was strike. All the hands legs eyes, they observed strike, that "This belly, the stomach is eating only, and we are working. So we shall not work. We shall not work, stop working. Just like nowadays striking goes on. So they stopped working, and after few days, all of them became weak because they were not feeding the stomach. Then they arranged another conference. "Why we are becoming weak?" Then the fault was found out that because we are not giving to eat to the stomach. So all then agreed, "Well, let the stomach eat, and let us work." So this is the nature's arrangement. The stomach will simply eat and the hands and legs and eyes, they must work.
Lecture on BG 18.41 -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:
That is very natural. Just like in your body, my body is divided into four divisions. The head, head department. In every, I mean to say, unit, there is head department, the first-class department, the second-class department. So we can understand from our own body, there is head department, there is arms department, there is belly department and there is the leg department. So head is first-class. Because if the arms, belly and legs are there and head is cut off, then everything is useless. If the head is there, arm is cut off, you can go on with your business. So there is four divisions everywhere.
Lecture on BG 18.41 -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:
If education is given according to the quality and position, then there will be complete system in the whole human society. Take the same example. Just like your body, if your head is working nicely, if your hand is working nicely, if your stomach is working nicely, if your leg is working nicely, then the whole body is to be considered as healthy and working nicely. If any part of this body, either head, leg, or arms or belly, does not work nicely, then the whole body becomes diseased. So that is the instruction of Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavad-gītā.
Lecture on BG 18.41 -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:
Although the leg is not as important as the head, still leg is also required. There is necessity. You cannot avoid the leg. Similarly, there should be first-class intelligent men, administrative class of men, mercantile class of men and the worker class of men, but they should cooperate.
Just like in this body, the head, the arms, the belly and the legs, they are cooperating for the proper upkeep of the bodily health. Similarly, if we actually want the human society should be organized, then the intelligent class of men, the administrative class of men, the mercantile class of men, and the worker class of men, they should cooperate for understanding Kṛṣṇa, or God.
Lecture on BG 18.45 -- Durban, October 11, 1975:
Therefore the brāhmaṇa is considered to be the head of the body. Just like we have got this body, this head is to be considered as brāhmaṇa, and the arm is to be considered as kṣatriya, the belly is to be considered as vaiśya and the leg is considered as śūdra. So as to maintain this body nicely you must everything in order—the head, brain must be in order, the hand, arms must be in order, the belly must be digesting food and getting energy and the leg also must walk—similarly—sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ, never mind you are a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra—if your aim is to keep the body in order, then either you become brāhmaṇa, either you become kṣatriya or śūdra, everything is in order. That is required. Unless these instructions are followed as given by Kṛṣṇa... He comes. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7). He comes there. He leaves this instruction. If you take advantage of this instruction and make your society, family, or government, everything, according to the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, then everything is perfect. Otherwise you are doomed. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Lecture on SB 1.1.4 -- London, August 22, 1971:
When we were in the womb of our mother, the situation was so troublesome that we remembered at that time Kṛṣṇa. "Kṛṣṇa..."Just like when we are in great trouble we sometimes remember God. Similarly, that condition, packed-up condition, when the child's in the belly... You get consciousness back... Death means unconscious for seven months. That's all. That is death. There is no death. Death means I give up this body, enter the womb of another mother's body. And the mother nourishes by the materials..., the intestine joined with the belly. So mother supplies it through the pipe and the child grows. When it is fully grown, then he gets back his consciousness. So at that time it becomes very much troublesome to remain in that packed-up condition. So those who are pious, virtuous, they remember at that time, "O Kṛṣṇa, I am again put into this condition of..."(laughter) Oh, don't laugh. It is very serious subject. Try to understand.
Lecture on SB 1.2.4 -- Rome, May 28, 1974:
There is some sensation. And if we smoke cigarette or drink, it is simply the tongue. The tongue is dictating, "Do this, do that. Take this, take coffee, take tea, smoke, take flesh, take chicken, take this, take this, take..." That means that out of the all senses, the tongue is most formidable. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, tā'ra madhye jihvā ati lobhamoy sudurmati tā'ke jetā kaṭhina saṁsāre. It is very difficult to conquer over the tongue. And if you can conquer over the tongue, then you can conquer over the belly, and then you can conquer over the genital. The straight line, one after another. Tā'ra madhye jihvā ati.
Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Calcutta, February 26, 1974:
This is the result. This is the result. Therefore this is material dharma. Ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ. That vibhāga, or division must be there. Otherwise there must be chaos. Just like in your body there is division, the brain division, here, the brain division, the arms division, and the belly division, and the leg division. So these divisions are required. If you have no brain, then how you can control your other senses? If you have no strength in your arms, how can you protect yourself? If you have no digestive power, there is no food, how you live? And if there is no leg, or the laborer class, how you will walk? This is natural division. Therefore varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ, the varṇāśrama division must be there. That is human society.
Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Rome, May 24, 1974:
So formerly there was no meetings of the śūdras. The meeting was held about, amongst the brāhmaṇas, saintly persons, to consider how people will remain happy, how their spiritualistic life will be advanced. Therefore the brāhmaṇas were the heads, and others, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas and śūdras, they used to take instruction from the brāhmaṇas, for their livelihood. That was very good system. That is natural. Just like in this body there are the same brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. The brāhmaṇa is the head, the brain, and the kṣatriya the arms, and vaiśya the belly , and śūdras is the legs. So when the body is healthy condition, the brain is very nice, then the brain gives direction to the legs, to the hands, to the belly. Brain, if one has got good brain, he does not eat much. "Why should I eat more? When I am not hungry, why shall I load the belly?" It requires brain. And "No, here is a very nice palatable thing. Let me load it." Because he has no brain. And after loading, then dysentery. You see? So in every action, the brain is required.
Lecture on SB 1.2.8 -- Vrndavana, October 19, 1972:
In this way, kṣatriya must execute his system of life. Similarly vaiśya, he must also execute his system of life: kṛṣi-gorakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (Bg 18.44). Agriculture, cow protection. Nowadays, either brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya or vaiśya, practically everything is lost. Nobody is executing his occupational duties. Simply śūdra, without any knowledge, without any enlightenment. Try to get some money and fill up your belly and go on sleeping, that's all. This is śūdra-karma-svabhāva-jam. Paricaryātmakaṁ karma. Therefore śāstra says kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. In this age practically 99.9% population are śūdras, because they have given up, they have forgotten everything, what is the duty of brāhmaṇa, what is the duty of a kṣatriya, what is the duty of a vaiśya. Maybe some vaiśyas are there and śūdras are there.
Lecture on SB 1.2.8 -- Bombay, December 26, 1972:
The tongue has to be engaged in the service of the Lord?" Yes, that is the sastric injunction. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. If you simply engage your tongue in the service of Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa will appear to you, svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. He will personally appear before you. And what is that? You can utilize your tongue simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and satisfy the tongue by taking prasādam. Finished. Very simple and very easy. By simply controlling your tongue, you can control all other senses. You can control belly, you can control the genital, you can control everything. Therefore, here is recommendation, "Please do not take this, do not take this. Don't take animal foodstuff. Simply take Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Don't drink, don't smoke..." There are so many don'ts, and so many do's also.
Lecture on SB 1.2.8 -- Hyderabad, April 22, 1974:
That is necessary. You cannot say, "Let us all become technologists, śūdras, that you can get money for purchasing wine and meat." But the ideal life is lost. Ideal life is lost. There must be... Just like if you want to keep your body fit for everything, there must be brain. If you say that "There is no need of brain. We simply want legs," so how what is this body? A dead body. There must be the head, there must be the hands, there must be the belly, and there must be the legs. So brāhmaṇa is the head of the society, brain of the society. And the kṣatriyas are the arms of the body. And the vaiśyas, the belly of the body. The stomach and the belly must be kept in order. If you do not eat, if you do not digest your food, the brain will not also work, hand will not also work.
Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Vrndavana, October 20, 1972:
This is ignorance. It is a very good example of foolishness. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa has provided everything. Kṛṣṇa is giving food to the elephant. In Africa, there are millions of elephants, and each elephant is eating at least eighty-two pounds at a time. But who is supplying the food? They have no economic problem. They have no bank balance. How they are eating? This is to be studied. This is called nature's study. So why you are so much busy for fulfilling the belly with a little two cāpāṭis? If the elephant can get so much food at a time, can I not get two, two cāpāṭis or four cāpāṭis? I can get also. But there is no confidence. He's thinking that "Unless I work very, very hard, I cannot live." The more a man is civilized, he's thinking like that. They accuse us, these Kṛṣṇa conscious people, that "They are escaping. They do not want to work." Not only us. Anyone... That is the allegation against the sādhus, that they are parasites, dependent on the society, eating at the cost of others. So many accusations. But actually, that is not the fact. Kṛṣṇa has provided food for everyone. Just like these birds. They're living very peacefully in this tree, and they have no problem. The monkeys... Who is going to give? Anyone, as soon as he sees a monkey, he drives: "Get out. Get out. Get out." But still they are living. They are eating.
Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Vrndavana, October 20, 1972:
This material world is ignorance, darkness. Because he, people have no knowledge of that Kṛṣṇa is providing everyone food. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. That is the injunction of the Vedas, that one supreme one is supplying food to everyone. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. So Kṛṣṇa is supplying everyone. Nobody has to starve. The only business is how to develop our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is our only business. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (SB 1.5.18). Simply if we become engaged for economic development, fulfilling the belly, and we forget our real business, developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is not very intelligent work.
Lecture on SB 1.2.13 -- Los Angeles, August 16, 1972:
So when you come to the system of varṇāśrama, this is by nature. It is creation of God, just like in your body there are four divisions—the brain, arms, belly and legs divisions. So how can you avoid? This is natural. Unless you have got brain, if your head is cut off from the body, then what is the value? It is dead body. Similarly, at the present moment there is no brahminical culture. There may be very strong arm department, there may be very well-equipped economic department or labor department, but because the head is not there, it is a dead body. Therefore the whole society is suffering; there is no brāhmaṇa, or the head. We are creating brāhmaṇas so that the society may be saved. We are not creating rascals; we are creating brāhmaṇas. So if you all are responsible, if you know your duty, try to save the society, especially in your country, America. By God's grace you have enough of everything. And you have got intelligence also, otherwise how you are coming? Unless you are born of intelligent father and mother, how you are taking this?
Lecture on SB 1.2.13 -- Los Angeles, August 16, 1972:
It can be made in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because when you accept Kṛṣṇa as the supreme master, the supreme proprietor, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29), then you become classless. Just like in this body there is brain. Brain is very important, and leg is not so important. But it is important, because if the leg does not help you to move, simply brain, how it will help? So there is cooperation. Although the brain is the most important part of the body, still leg is required, hand is required, the belly is also required, everything is required. We do not avoid anything. We do not say "Stop this." No. Everything is required, just like we have discovered this microphone. Yes, it is required, we are taking advantage of it and speaking nicely about Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on SB 1.2.13 -- Vrndavana, October 24, 1972:
That was his (her)... But she had finished her lunch. then Kṛṣṇa said, "Just go, find out some foodstuff, any little in the kitchen." They said, "No, everything is finished. There is no food." "No, just try to see." Then, in one pot, they saw a little śāk, a vegetable, was stuck up. So they brought it and Kṛṣṇa took it, immediately. So as soon as Kṛṣṇa took, all the Durvāsā Muni and company, they, they felt that their belly is filled up. Tasmin tuṣṭo jagat tuṣṭaḥ. So they were feeling ashamed that "How we shall go? We cannot take any food?" So they fled away from the Ganges.
Lecture on SB 1.2.19 -- Vrndavana, October 30, 1972:
The... Rūpa Gosvāmī's... That six kinds of control. One who has controlled over his speeches, over his anger, over his tongue, over his mind, over his genital, over his belly, when one has full control over these six things, he's a gosvāmī. Pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt. He can make disciples all over the world. That is the injunction of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. He was himself a gosvāmī. In the beginning, when he was a minister, he was not a gosvāmī, but later on, when he became completely educated by Śrī, Śrīla Mahāprabhu, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, both the brothers, Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, they became gosvāmīs. And other gosvāmīs, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, they became their assistants. This Vṛndāvana, the present Vṛndāvana is the excavation of the Six Gosvāmīs. This place where we are sitting, here the Six Gosvāmīs used to assemble daily for discussing on Bhāgavata. Especially it, it is the place of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī's nephew.
Lecture on SB 1.2.21 -- Los Angeles, August 24, 1972:
Just like if you are, just like Dhruva Mahārāja. Dhruva Mahārāja wanted the kingdom of his father, but actually when he saw Lord Viṣṇu before him, he said, "Sir, I do not want anything." Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce (CC Madhya 22.42). "My dear Lord, I have no more any aspiration of this kingdom or that kingdom, that kingdom." This position comes. It is just like that... You are hungry, but if you are given food, if, when your belly is filled up, you will automatically say, "No, no, I don't want any, anything more. That's all right." Kṛṣṇa consciousness is like that. Actually, we don't want to eat. We have nothing to eat. I am spirit soul, you are spirit soul. It is our material hankering. In order to maintain this body, we require some material things to eat. Otherwise, as spiritual soul, I or you don't want to eat anything. There is nothing to be eaten. Therefore the eating propensities should be satisfied by eating Kṛṣṇa's prasādam, so that you gradually become spiritualized and your eating propensities may be diminished. Just like the Gosvāmīs.
Lecture on SB 1.2.24 -- Vrndavana, November 4, 1972:
Therefore one should not jump. One should learn Bhāgavata, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as recommended by Caitanya Mahāprabhu's secretary, Svarūpa Dāmodara: bhāgavata giyā paḍa bhāgavata sthāne.(?) One who is practical bhāgavata, one who knows what is Bhāgavata, what is Bhagavān. Not from the professional reciters, who are reading Bhāgavata for belly's sake. Now they are reading Bhāgavatam, and if they get more money, they can become a sweeper. Because their consideration is money. They'll give up immediately reading of Bhāgavatam. But my Guru Mahārāja used to say that it is better to become a sweeper and honestly earn one's livelihood than to become a false Bhāgavata reader for earning livelihood. Yes. Because they'll mislead the whole public. Nobody will improve. And actually we have seen that so many people, they're very much accustomed to attend the Bhāgavata-saptāha, but they remain in the same darkness as they were. No improvement. That is not possible.
Lecture on SB 1.3.14 -- Los Angeles, September 19, 1972:
So man has become like that. If his belly is filled up with some rubbish thing and if he is free to have sex life, then he thinks, "My life is perfect now." And more perfect life, dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. In this age, if one man can maintain his wife and children, he will be considered a great man "Oh, he is so able, that he is maintaining his wife and children." Maintaining wife and children, even cats and dogs can do. But in this age, if a man can maintain his wife and children, he will be considered as very expert. Because most people will have no wife, no children. This is the age. So more you become sinful, the more you become irresponsible, the more you become Godless—these things are awaiting.
Thank you very much.
Lecture on SB 1.5.22 -- Vrndavana, August 3, 1974:
That is the difficulty. That is the difficulty. That I was explaining, that at the present moment mostly persons, they are śūdras. Just like in your body there are four divisions. Your head division, your arm division, your belly division, and your leg division. And if you cut off everything, simply you keep the legs, then what will be done? So at the present moment there is no brāhmaṇa, no kṣatriya. Maybe some vaiśyas only. Only śūdras. Therefore there is chaos. If the division is made, kept, as it is advised in the Bhagavad-gītā, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13), according to guṇa and karma, then the society is maintained very nicely, properly. If your head is working nicely, if your arms are working nicely, if your stomach is working nicely, leg is working..., then you are fit. But if you have got only legs, and head, there is no head, there is no arm, then what is the...? Dead society.
Lecture on SB 1.8.18 -- New York, April 10, 1973:
We cannot even imagine how long, how far it is extended. But such universes are coming out from the breathing of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Yaḥ kāraṇārnava-jale bhajati sma yoga-nidrām ananta-jagad-aṇḍa-saroma-kūpaḥ (Bs. 5.47). From His breathing, when He exhales, innumerable universes come out, and when He inhales, all those universes again enters. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It is generated and again annihilated. This is going on. This is one side, that innumerable universes can be put into the nostril hole of the Mahā-Viṣṇu. And another side, He can enter even within the atom. This is God consciousness. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. He is greater than the greatest. We generally say, "God is great," but we do not know how great He is. People say, "God is great," but we have no conception how great He is. He is so great that He can swallow innumerable universes within His belly.
Lecture on SB 1.8.29 -- Mayapura, October 9, 1974:
So why these people should suffer without Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" That is samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Therefore preaching required. He preaches. Kaniṣṭha-adhikārī Vaiṣṇava, he remains compact in temple worship, that's all, to show the Deity and get some money and fill up the belly. My Guru Mahārāja condemned this process. Of course, it is condemned in this sense, that those who are thinking that "I have got this temple. Let people come here out of sentiment and they'll pay, and it will be a source of income for my filling up belly..." This is most condemned. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that ṭhākura dekhiyepayesara ujgarache, rastaya jara diye jivika bharyam kara bhalo(?). One should be honest. He should work for getting some money. Just like Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa never said that "Arjuna, you sit down. I am your friend. I shall do everything for you. You sleep." No. Arjuna was a kṣatriya. He should fight.
Lecture on SB 1.8.36 -- Mayapura, October 16, 1974:
The aim is to satisfy Viṣṇu. We should always remember this fact, that we are eternally servant, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu. As I have given many times the example, there are so many parts of the body, but what are they meant for? To satisfy the belly. You are walking, you are catching, you are thinking, you are doing so many things—what is the aim? The aim is satisfy the stomach. You cook, you earn hard money, and then you purchase goods and cook nicely and put it into the stomach. Is it not? So that...
There is a story in the Hitopadeśa: Udarendriyāṇām. Udara. Udara means this belly, abdomen, and indriya means senses.
Lecture on SB 1.8.46 -- Los Angeles, May 8, 1973:
The brāhmaṇa must be there, the kṣatriya must be there, the vaiśyas must be there and the śūdras must be there, and the state should look that these things are observed scientifically and they are being educated in that way. That is king's business. He must see that the kṣatriyas, those who are kṣatriya spirited, they are being trained up as kṣatriya. The brāhmaṇas are being trained up as brāhmaṇa. Everything is required. Just like in your body, all the four divisions... Just like head, that is brāhmaṇa; the arms, that is kṣatriya; the belly, that is vaiśya; and the legs, they are śūdra. So as much as the head is required, so much the legs are also required. You cannot say, "One class will do." No. But the modern tendency is one class of men. And therefore therefore there is confusion. There must be four classes. That is scientific.
Lecture on SB 1.8.49 -- Mayapura, October 29, 1974:
. So Śukrācārya was rejected by Bali Mahārāja, Śukrācārya. "No, this family guru or the jāta-gosāi, no." Real guru. So why rejected? When Śukrācārya was thinking that "This man Bali is going to give everything to Viṣṇu. Here is Vāmana. Then how I shall live? Because I get something from this man, and I live. So if he's going to give everything to Viṣṇu, then what is our position? We shall starve." That is their business only, how to exploit the disciple and take money from him and fill up the belly. That is Śukrācārya's business. Therefore Bali Mahārāja rejected, "No, no, I don't want you." So there are many instances. Svajana-tyāga. The gopīs, when they were going to Kṛṣṇa, they, all the svajana, their brother, the husband, their sons and everyone forbade, "Oh, where you are going, where you are going?" Or the yājñika brāhmaṇas' patnī, they also did not care for Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on SB 1.10.6 -- Mayapura, June 21, 1973:
So brāhmaṇa means this portion, head, brain. And kṣatriya means this portion, arm. And vaiśya means this portion, belly. And śūdra means this, leg. So no part is unimportant. Every part is important for upkeep of the body. But comparative study, this part is more important. If my head is cut off, then all other parts may remain. It will not act. Similarly, at the present moment there is no brāhmaṇa. All śūdras, simply legs. If you keep the legs of the body, what is the value of this body? There must be head. Everything must be there. Everything must be there. The head must be there, arms must be there, the abdomen must be there, the legs must be there. Then it is complete body. Similarly, this scientific division, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13), the division of the human society according to quality, the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Kṛṣṇa says, mayā sṛṣṭam: "This is My creation for upkeep of the social system."
Lecture on SB 1.15.22-23 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1973:
So what is that? One of them made a false pregnancy with a stone on the belly wrapped with cloth, and another boy or another man, he went to a ṛṣi that "Sir, can you tell what is child in the womb of this woman?" She is not woman, she is man. So the saintly person could understand that "These people have come to joke me." So he immediately cursed—vipra—that "Yes, what is there in the womb, that will be the cause of destroying your whole family." So when they were cursed, the came to their senses: "What you have done?" So actually, it was a stone. So they began to rub the stone so that there will be no existence of the stone. Rubbing, rubbing, rubbing, rubbing—that pulp and water, that was distributed, and all of them became sticks. So then, after that, they became intoxicated, and they could not understand amongst themselves who is friend, who is enemy, and took those sticks and began to beat one another. In this way they died. This is the story. You know It is stated in the Kṛṣṇa book.
Lecture on SB 1.15.39 -- Los Angeles, December 17, 1973:
So this varṇāśrama-dharma means one has to accept these principles of varṇāśrama-dharma and act accordingly. A brāhmaṇa should act accordingly to brāhmaṇa principles. Satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā. The kṣatriya should act accordingly. The vaiśya should act according. The same example, as we have given many times, that I have got my head department, arms department, belly department, and leg department. To keep the body fit, everyone should act very nicely. Brain should work nicely, arms must be strong, belly must be fit to digest foodstuff, and legs must work. Similarly, these things... The varṇāśrama-dharma is necessary. It is not a convention. It is not a convention, that "The Hindus or the Indians, they are our only brāhmaṇas." No. Here are also brāhmaṇas. Because it is creation of God. God's creation must be there.
So now this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is picking up who are the brāhmaṇas. They mixed up.
Lecture on SB 1.16.4 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1974:
The example is given... I have several times mentioned that, that just like in this body, there is division: the head division, the arms division, the belly division, and the leg division. They are all required. You cannot say that simply legs will do. What about the head and arms? "I don't require." That is not... That is dead body. That is dead body. Any part of the body, you cannot miss. They must be all in order; then your body is fit. Similarly, in the human society, the social body, there must be these classes: the head class, the arm class, the belly class and the leg class. Very scientific. You cannot simply... If you have got intelligent class of men, but nobody is helping him, then what, what will be the use of intelligence? The intelligent class must be there, but to help him the less intelligent class men also required. Just like if there are only intelligent class, that will be chaos.
Lecture on SB 1.16.20 -- Hawaii, January 16, 1974:
So vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegam, krodha-vegam, udara-vegam. Udara-vegam is the urge of the belly. "I shall eat this, I shall eat that, I shall eat that." Why? Simply you shall eat bhagavat-prasādam. Prasāde sarva-duḥkhānam. Then udara-vegam, and upastha-vegam, the urge of the genital. That is the most important. The jihvā-vegam, jihvā-vegam, udara-vegam, then genital, the straight line. So if one can control the urge of these three things... Tā'ra madhye jihvā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that out of the urges of the tongue and other senses, down to the genital, up... There are many urges: urge of the mind, urge of the anger, urge of the talking, urge of the tongue, then belly, then genital. In this way, we are driven by so many urges. So out of that, the strongest enemy is our tongue, is our tongue. Jihvā-vegam. If one can control the urges of the tongue then he will be naturally able to stop the urges of the belly and the urges of the genital, three straight line.
Lecture on SB 2.1.2 -- Vrndavana, March 17, 1974:
We are not interested with this bodily concept of life and... Although we have got this body, but we, we do not think that body is all in all, mind is the..., mental speculative... No. The Gosvāmīs, they are described, how the Gosvāmīs, six Gosvāmīs. First gosvāmī, the first qualification is sense control. Vāco vegaṁ krodha-vegam udara-vegam upastha-vegam manasa-vegam. In this way, six kinds of vega, urge. Urge for talking, vāco vegam; krodha, or anger; mind, and that belly, stomach, and then genital. They are forcing. They are forcing. Material life means these six senses are forcing us to remain in the material... But a gosvāmī means one who has control over these six urges of the senses. Etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ (NOI 1). As soon as one is practiced to control the urges of the senses, then he becomes a gosvāmī. That is the first definition of gosvāmī. Etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ. Being forced by the urges of these six senses... And there are so many people. They are being criminally charged, police inquiries, and still, they are gosvāmīs. So this is not good. Gosvāmī should be very ideal. We have given title "Gosvāmī." So you must be very ideal. Ideal is there—six Gosvāmīs.
Lecture on SB 2.9.4 -- Japan, April 22, 1972:
They are eating so much. They have got also food. Therefore śāstra says that "Food is already there." So many people say, "Oh, so many people are dying, starving." And where is the man? Show me who is dying for starvation. These are all pleas. They won't take any tapasya for understanding, but they will work hard like asses, like hogs and dogs, for two meals. But we should consider that we are taking so much penances for simply filling our this hungry belly, appetite. Why not little tapasya for Kṛṣṇa, chanting sixteen rounds? But will... That is also very difficult. Then? Tapasya, penance in pure bhakti-yoga.
Lecture on SB 2.9.16 -- Tokyo, April 30, 1972:
Just I have given the example: Gandhi throughout the whole life gave service, but there were some persons who were not satisfied. It is not possible. Therefore the sensible man should consider that "What is the use of this service?" Just like this Vivekananda society, their daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā. The daridras are lying on the street, but they collect money in the name of serving the poor, and they live very comfortably—big, big belly. You see. All the sannyāsīs are eating and sleeping and doing everything, all nonsense. But they are collecting money. They have no other source. We don't say that we are collecting money for daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā, no. We collect money directly for serving Kṛṣṇa. We give directly, that "We have got our Kṛṣṇa. We have to serve.
Lecture on SB 3.25.4 -- Bombay, November 4, 1974:
So this is civilization. Unless the society is divided into these eight divisions, that is animal civilization. That is not human civilization. You must be systematized, regulated system. Just like in this body there are different divisions: the head division, the arm division, the belly division, and the leg division. Similarly, without these four divisions, no society can be conducted very nicely. Then it will be chaos. So sthāne sthitāḥ means to remain in these regulative principles of varṇāśrama. That is called sthāne sthitāḥ. You remain in your position. It doesn't require you have to change. It is not that a śūdra, without becoming a brāhmaṇa... Of course, śūdra will become brāhmaṇa—by hearing. Brāhmaṇa means brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ. If he hears, even a śūdra, he can understand what is Brahman. Then he becomes brāhmaṇa. So this is required. Sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ. With great attention, body, mind and words, intelligence—with everything, one must hear.
Lecture on SB 3.25.8 -- Bombay, November 8, 1974:
America you cannot get any house with one lakh. At least, four lakhs, five lakhs, ten lakhs. So if you have got ten thousand rupees in your pocket, you can purchase that one-lakh-worth house immediately. You give ten thousand rupees downpayment, and the bank will pay ninety thousand. And gradually, you take it. So there is so much facility that you can earn money. So the country's so like that. There is no economic problem. There is no poverty. Nobody is poverty-stricken. So these people, these boys and girls, American, they have not joined me... Their belly's filled up. Not only that. They can send money for filling up your belly. They are sending money actually. Just today I have got, received information from the American Express. Whatever we are spending, lakhs and lakhs of rupees here, in Bombay, in Māyāpur, in other places, I am getting contribution from there. This is a fact.
Lecture on SB 3.25.9 -- Bombay, November 9, 1974:
That is our self-interest. That is our self-interest. If we want to become perfect, then we must see what is the ultimate Absolute Truth. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is the instruction of Vedānta.
This life is meant for simply how to understand the Absolute Truth. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. Jīvasya... But that is missing now. Nobody is inquiring, neither there is any institution throughout the whole world where there is tattva-jijñāsā, what is the Absolute Truth. Simply technical knowledge—how to become this, how to become that, to fill up this belly. But we cannot see even that the birds, beasts, they do not become technologists. How they are getting food? There are 8,400,000 forms of body. The human form of body are 400,000. Out of many bodies that live in jungle, they have also no technology, no education, no systematic government, nothing—but they are also eating. The birds and beasts are eating.
Lecture on SB 3.25.23 -- Bombay, November 23, 1974:
So this devotional service, this line of action, is so nice that if we practice, if we make advance, then even in this material world, staying, there will be no more suffering. That is called jīvan mukta. Jīvan mukta means although he is in this body, but he is not suffering the bodily miserable condition. It is a question of absorption of thought. I have read in some paper that Mr. Stalin, the communist leader, he had to undergo a surgical operation of operating on the belly. But doctor wanted to, what is called, chloroform, but he said, "No, there is no need. You can go on with your operation." So even in ordinary life it is possible. Because the mind is absorbed in a different way, even a surgical operation does not disturb a man.
Lecture on SB 3.25.28 -- Bombay, November 28, 1974:
So at the present moment, especially in Kali-yuga, they are not very much educated, mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhā... (SB 1.1.10). They are simply busy how to earn some money and fill up the belly, that's all. They are not no more interested in Vedānta-sutra. Mandāḥ, mandāḥ means very slow, or very bad. They are so badly infected with the influence of māyā, they do not care to understand that there is life after death, and that life may be anything of these 8,400,000 forms of life.
Lecture on SB 3.26.4 -- Bombay, December 16, 1974:
Brāhmaṇa, he is supposed to know six kind of activities, ṣaṭ-karma. Ṣaṭ means six. What is that six kinds of? Paṭhana pāṭhana. Brāhmaṇa must be very learned, very expert, expertly learned in Vedic knowledge. That is called paṭhana. And pāṭhana: and he must teach others. He must be teacher, not that "I know and keep all the knowledge in my belly." No. Therefore formerly all the brāhmaṇas they had catuṣpāṭhī. The brāhmaṇa will sit down anywhere and begin teaching others. The student will come. That is brāhmaṇa's business. Paṭhana... But unless he is himself learned, how he can teach? So therefore, first of all he must be learned, paṭhana, and then pāṭhana, then he can teach others. Paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana. He must worship the Supreme Lord, and he must teach others how to worship the Supreme.
Lecture on SB 3.26.19 -- Bombay, December 28, 1974:
This is the division. The brāhmaṇa is to be considered the mouth of the Virāḍ-rūpa Bhagavān, the universal form of the Lord; kṣatriya, the bāhu, the arms; and vaiśya, the belly; and śūdra, the leg. So they are meant for cooperation, not that simply falsely becoming proud that "I am brāhmaṇa. You are śūdra." No. The brāhmaṇa is equally important than the śūdra, though both of them are required. But comparatively, because brāhmaṇa is considered to be the brain, he's very important. So the brain must be there. Otherwise, simply possessing hands and legs, what is the meaning if there is no brain?
So at the present moment there is practically no brain, simply hands and legs and belly. Not even hands, simply belly and legs. Rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ. Rajas, rajas means belly, filling up. And tamas, ignorance, ordered. The leg is ordered, "Go there"; it goes. They cannot do anything independently.
Lecture on SB 3.26.26 -- Bombay, January 3, 1975:
Either you become śānta or ghora or mūḍha, three kinds of position in this material world... śānta. Śānta means in the brahminical qualification, and ghora means activities, material activities, fruitive activities, and mūḍha, just like animal, neither śānta nor ghora, simply animal. Udaram bharitaḥ. Svārtham udaraṁ bharitaḥ. Svārtham, interest, means if one somehow or other fulfills his belly, then he thinks, "Now all my mission is fulfilled." This is called mūḍhatvam. Svārtham udaraṁ bharitaḥ. Dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. Generally in this age, people will be interested to fulfill his own belly. Because that is also very difficult task nowadays. To get sufficient food daily, that is also a problem. And if one can maintain his family in these hard days—family means husband, wife, and a few children—then dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam, then he is just like Mahārāja Dakṣa. Dakṣa, dakṣa means very expert. Those who are maintaining big family, working very nicely, many business, they are called dakṣa. So in the Kali-yuga, if one can maintain a family, small family, then he will be considered dakṣa. Dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. Otherwise, if one can fulfill his belly only, his all interest is fulfilled. This will be the condition of this age. That means mūḍhatvam, mostly mūḍhatvam. They do not know. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31).
Lecture on SB 3.28.1 -- Honolulu, June 1, 1975:
So that is the trick—how we shall always think of Kṛṣṇa even we are engaged in our occupation duty. That will make us perfect. Actually, real sva-dharma is to be attached to Kṛṣṇa. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, but because we have got this material body, we have got this bodily concept of life. Therefore the Vedic injunction is divided that one class should be brāhmaṇa, one class should be kṣatriya, one class should be vaiśya, another should be śūdra. In this way they should cooperate for the ultimate benefit of life, just like in our body there is the head, there is the arm, there is the belly, and there is the leg. So we are all cooperating for upkeep of the body. Similarly, if either as a brāhmaṇa or as a kṣatriya or as a śūdra we keep up in mind that we have to serve Kṛṣṇa, then in either position we can become perfect. That is confirmed in many places.
Lecture on SB 3.28.18 -- Nairobi, October 27, 1975:
So dhyāyed devaṁ samagrāṅgam. The dhyāna, the meditation, should begin from the lotus feet. As soon as you begin kīrtana, first of all concentrate your mind on the lotus feet, not all of a sudden jump over the face. Be practiced to think over the lotus feet, then still higher, the knees, then the thighs, then the belly, then the chest. In this way, at last go to the face. This is the process. It is described in the Second Canto. The process is how to think of Kṛṣṇa. Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ. This is meditation. So this... By kīrtana it becomes very easy. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra twenty-four hours like Haridāsa Ṭhākura... That is not possible. So as much as possible... Tīrtha-yaśasa. Kīrtana, this is also kīrtana. We are talking about Kṛṣṇa, reading about Kṛṣṇa, reading Kṛṣṇa's instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā or reading Kṛṣṇa's glories in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. They are all kīrtana. It is not that simply when we sing with musical instruments, that is kīrtana. No. Anything you talk about Kṛṣṇa, that is kīrtan.
Lecture on SB 3.28.19 -- Nairobi, October 29, 1975:
Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane (SB 9.4.18). You engage your senses. So this is practice. First of all think of the Deity. First of all think of the lotus feet, then the knees, then the eyes, then the belly, then the chest. In this way, as you become practiced, then go further, advance. In this way, when you become fully practiced, then automatically, in whatever condition you are, you will be able to meditate upon Kṛṣṇa. That is the highest perfection of life. Satataṁ kīrtayanto mām (BG 9.14). Satataṁ cintayanto mām. If you always think of Kṛṣṇa, always chant... Chanting is also meditation. As soon as you chant, you immediately remember Kṛṣṇa, His form, His name, His quality, His pastimes. So where is difficulty? The Gosvāmīs practiced it.
Lecture on SB 5.5.1 -- Los Angeles, January 20, 1969:
That is the verdict of Vedic literature. If you say that we have got senses, so in order to keep the body fit, we have to give something for the enjoyment of the senses. That is accepted, yes. But don't aggravate it. The śāstra says that do not increase artificially the demands of the senses. Then you will be entangled. Just like eating. We have got tongue, we have got belly. We require to eat something for maintaining the body. That's right—you maintain. But do not try to satisfy the senses, tongue or belly or any other senses, unreasonably. Why? That is unreasonable. What is that unreasonable? Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthāḥ (ISO 1). What is ordained to you, what is allotted to you, you eat. Just like for human being.
Lecture on SB 5.5.1 -- Johannesburg, October 20, 1975:
So it is not that because one person is belonging to the worker class and another person is becoming the first class, there is differentiation. No. Everyone is important. Just like in this body the head is very important. That is a fact. If the head is cut off, then whole body is finished. But that does not mean that head is simply required without leg. Leg is also required; the hand is also required; the belly is also required. Similarly, the first-class man, the second-class man, the third-class man and the fourth-class man, all of them are equal provided they are adjusted for the higher aim of life, the higher aim of life—the brain. The brain means... First-class brain means to realize self, to understand God, and do accordingly.
Lecture on SB 5.5.5 -- Stockholm, September 10, 1973:
That is my real interest." So, so long one is not enlightened to that standard of life, then he is defeated. Then how he is defeated? Gata-smṛtir, gata-smṛtir vindati tatra tāpān āsādya maithunyam agāram ajñaḥ. He remains a ajñaḥ, foolish. And what is his happiness? His happiness is sex life. That's all. That is his happiness. Maithunyam agāram. He is in the prison house of this material nature, but he does not know that "I am in prison." He is simply enjoying the three things. Udāram varitha.(?) Udāram varitha: the tongue, the belly and the genital. That is stated here. Gata-smṛtir vindati. And to enjoy this material, he has to undergo so much tribulation. Tāpān vindati.
Lecture on SB 5.5.15 -- Vrndavana, November 3, 1976:
So don't waste your time making material plan, big, big plan. "Big, big monkey, big, big belly, Ceylon jumping, melancholy." One European gentleman, he translated this Bengali proverb. Baro baro badare, baro baro pet, lanka dingake mata kare het.(?) There are many monkeys. The one monkey, he jumped over the Indian Ocean, went to the other side. So there were other monkeys also. They were asked, "Can you do it?" And mata kare het:(?) "He simply bowed down." So this plan is meant for how to, by chanting "Jaya Rāma," I'll jump over the other part of the material world. That is required.
Lecture on SB 5.5.17 -- Vrndavana, November 5, 1976:
This is human life. This is human life, not that upstart, foolish, rascals, śūdras, that is human society. That is dog society. That is not human society. Human society must be intelligent class of men. They will train the other people. Everything is required. The kṣatriya is required, the vaiśya is required, the śūdra is also required. Just like it is given in the śāstra that to keep a fully equipped body there must be head, there must be arm, there must be belly, and there must be leg. Leg is also required, not that simply brain is required. Brain is required to direct the way: "Go this way; go that way." In that sense śūdra is also... Brain cannot walk; the leg will walk. So the brain will give direction, the hand will give protection. Everything is required. Therefore we have named this "Kṛṣṇa conscious society." "Society" means all classes of men required. But we train them how to make life perfect. That is wanted, not that one-sided, simply brāhmaṇa. That variety. This is called variety, not nirviśeṣa-vada, classless: "No brāhmaṇa required, no śūdra required." No, everything is required. Everything is required, but they should be properly trained up.
Lecture on SB 5.5.18 -- Vrndavana, November 6, 1976:
First of all, it is said about guru, anyone who takes care of his subordinate, he is guru. The first charge is that you should not become a guru unless you are completely in awareness how to save your dependent from the path of birth and death. That is the first question. Not that "I am your guru. I can cure some colic pain in your belly." They go to guru also for that purpose. People generally go to guru, rascals go to guru, to another rascal. What is that? "Sir, I have got some pain. Give me some ashirvad so that my pain may be cured." "But why you have come here, rascal, here for curing your pain? In the village you can go to some doctor, or you can take some tablet. Is it the purpose of coming to visit guru?" But generally they come to guru and ask for blessing for some material benefit. They are rascals, and therefore Kṛṣṇa also gives them a rascal guru. They want to be cheated. They do not know what is the purpose of going to guru. They do not know. They do not know what is the problem of my life and why shall I go to guru. They do not know. And the so-called gurus also take advantage of this ignorance of the public, and they become a guru. This is going on. The guru does not know what is his responsibility, and the rascal public, they do not know what for one should go to guru. This is the difficulty.
Lecture on SB 5.5.18 -- Vrndavana, November 6, 1976:
But śāstra says that you should not..., you are rascal. You should not become a guru because you have no power to save your disciple from the clutches of imminent death. We will not cheat others. Gurur na sa syāt, this is Bhāgavatam. You are rascal if you are not confident that you can save him from the clutches of birth and... This is my problem. But they do not know what is the problem. They think that little pain in my belly or in the head, if the guru can give me a little dust and it is cured. You will find that there are so many cheaters. In some..., about forty years ago, I know near Lucknow, some guru came, he was curing all disease by giving little dust. All cheating. Later on it was detected. Thousands, thousands men came to him, even big, big capitalists, they also. Everyone has got some disease, and they want to see the miracle by giving little dust, and he is curing disease: "Oh! Such a guru!" These things are going on. But Bhāgavata says that both the public must know what for one should go to guru. Not that it is a fashion to keep a guru, just like to keep a dog. No. He must know what is the purpose of guru.
Lecture on SB 5.5.34 -- Vrndavana, November 21, 1976:
So the physician, the doctor, surgeon, he wanted to give him anaesthetic, chloroform. He refused: "There is no need of. Let the operation go on. I shall see what is there within the belly." Strong-minded, here, even in material conception, he was, he undergo, underwent the surgical operation without any chloroform. So that is possible. If one is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he has no more bodily conception of life. That is not to be imitated. It is on the highest stage it is possible to forget completely, and he is liberated. Deha-smṛti nāhi yāra saṁsāra bandhana kāhāṅ tāra. He is no more conditioned by the material nature.
Lecture on SB 6.1.7 -- San Francisco, March 1, 1967:
Now, the television man was asking how it is possible. It is possible. One may not understand. Just like a child, he does not know how he is produced. I know. I asked my mother in my childhood, "My dear mother, how did I come out from your belly?" I still remember. So my mother showed me her navel: "You come out from this place." So anyway, a child cannot understand, but when he grows up, he understands everything. So how Kṛṣṇa consciousness acts, how this transcendental sound cleanses your heart, you may not understand in the beginning, but if you take to it and if you practice it, then you understand.
Lecture on SB 6.1.7 -- San Francisco, March 1, 1967:
And when actually commit violence or do something with my hands or legs or something, that is certainly sinful. So we can commit sins in three ways: mind and words and karma, by action. Thinking, feeling and willing and acting. Therefore a svāmī or gosvāmī means who has control over the function of the mind, of the words, and of the activities of the senses. There is definition. "One who can control the tongue, one who can control the mind, one who can control the words, one who can control the belly, one who can control the generative organ, he is svāmī." And pṛthiviṁ sa śiṣyāt: "He is allowed to create disciples all over the world."
Lecture on SB 6.1.22 -- Honolulu, May 22, 1976:
This is Vedic injunction. If you want to know perfectly everything, then you must go to the proper teacher. Then you will learn. But how you can imagine from here? A dwarf is trying to touch the moon. How it is possible? That is not possible. The Vedic injunction is in order to... Tad-vijñānārtham. Higher science. Vijñāna means science. If you want to know higher science—not this science, simply filling of the belly, not this science—higher science, which is above fulfilling the belly, that, for that purpose, you have to go to guru. Guru means who knows more than you. That is guru. So who can know more than Kṛṣṇa? Therefore we have to accept Kṛṣṇa as guru and learn from Him. Then you'll get perfect knowledge. And Kṛṣṇa also says that tad viddhi. Here Veda says, tad-vijñā... Tat, tat, sat, the real knowledge, transcendental knowledge, tat sat, which is eternal. So here Vedas says that tad viddhi, tad-vijñānārtham, and Kṛṣṇa also says, tad viddhi: "You try to understand this transcendental knowledge." Tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). Don't go to a guru to challenge him: "I shall see how much my guru knows." Then it will be useless. Praṇipātena.
Lecture on SB 6.1.31 -- San Francisco, July 16, 1975:
This is sannyāsī's business. So they must be well received. At the present moment, if a sannyāsī is trying to enter in some householder's house, immediately the doorman, "Please get out. Get out. Get out." Because some of the sannyāsīs, they have taken this dress as a means of livelihood. But still in the village, any sannyāsī—he may be a cheater, still he is welcome. In the cities, of course, in India, they are now doubtful, "Whether he is actually sannyāsī or to fill up his belly he has taken this dress?" So this is the formula. So very learned men, the... generally, the sannyāsī and brāhmaṇas, they should be worshiped, not the fools and rascals.
Lecture on SB 6.1.32 -- Surat, December 16, 1970:
Why people are taught to work so hard? Simply for morsel of bread and little sense gratification. So Ṛṣabhadeva says that that is done by the hogs and dogs. Daily they are whole day and night working: "Where is some food? Where is some stool?" But that human form of life is meant for that purpose, working hard, so hard like hogs and dogs simply for fulfilling the belly and having sex life? No. So they should be taught for tapasya. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet (SB 5.5.1). Ṛṣabhadeva was advising, instructing His sons, "My dear boys, this life is meant for tapo-divyam, for spiritual realization, austerity. That should be taught."
Lecture on SB 6.1.46 -- Detroit, June 12, 1976:
Otherwise, what is the use of these hands and legs? There is no use. Who will give direction? They are now trying to make classless society. Therefore they are bringing the whole human society into ruination. It cannot be done. There must be classes. Just like in my body there are four divisions: brain, arms, belly, leg. So they are required. Leg is also required, hand is also required, belly is also required. Similarly, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacārī—varieties. And when the varieties center around Kṛṣṇa, it becomes beautiful. Kṛṣṇa center, and the circle, rasa dance, it becomes very beautiful.
So unless people accept this principle, that Kṛṣṇa center, their, all their plans will be futile.
Lecture on SB 6.1.50 -- Detroit, June 16, 1976:
We are prohibiting, "No meat-eating." So this is controlling the sense. Because unless you bring the senses under control, there is no question of spiritual advancement. Tār madhye jihvā ati. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Tṛpyanti neha kṛpana bahu-duḥkha-bhājaḥ. The sense, the tongue, the belly, the straight line, and then the genital. If you can control the tongue, then you can control your belly and then control your genital. And that is required. Unless you can control the genital, there is no question of liberation from this material bondage. This is the principle.
Lecture on SB 6.1.52 -- Detroit, August 5, 1975:
This is the position of all of us living entities. Because we cannot control the mind and the senses, especially karmendriya, the eyes, the ear, the tongue, the touch, the udara upastha... Pāṇi, pāda, pāyu, udara, upastha, these five karmendriya Pāṇi means hand, pāyu means rectum, and pāda means leg. Udara means belly, and upastha means genital. And these are karmendriya, and mind So mind dictates, "Oh, let me see this beautiful thing"—immediately eyes act. "Let me hear this sweet song"—immediately ear is engaged. So of all, the jihvā, the tongue, is very strong. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung, tā'ra madhye jihwā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati. Amongst all the senses, the tongue, taste, it is very strong. In your country especially, for the tongue so many advertisement: this wine, that wine, varieties of cigarettes, restaurants, roasted beef, so many things, just attracting the tongue, "Please come here. Please come here and be entangled." This advertisement. So one has to control the tongue. Tā'ra madhye jihwā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati. This is very secret science that you have to clear out your path of liberation by controlling the tongue. Then other things will be controlled, the straight line: tongue, then belly, then genital. Therefore in our society we have restricted the tongue: "Don't eat meat. Don't take intoxication." And then, the straight line: "No free use of the genital, illicit sex." These things are required if you want to be free from this material entanglement. This is called tapasya.
Lecture on SB 6.3.12-15 -- Gorakhpur, February 9, 1971:
When these classes of men forget that we are all parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as soon as they neglect... Always remember: being parts and parcel, our duty is to serve the Supreme. The same example: the finger, hand, being part and parcel of body, is always engaged in the service of the whole. So these brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, they are also parts and parcels, the same position. Brāhmaṇa is the head, kṣatriya is the arm, vaiśya is the belly, and the śūdras... But everything is required. If you want to keep up your body in sound condition of... Any part of the body is important.
Lecture on SB 7.5.1, Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, January 12, 1973:
So Prahlāda Mahārāja, his father Hiraṇyakaśipu was so powerful king that he became by force, demonic force, he became practically the ruler of the all planets. There are different planetary system within this universe. So this demon Hiraṇyakaśipu, some way or other, he achieved great prowess and he conquered over all the planets. Even the demigods, they were under the subjugation of Hiraṇyakaśipu. So his son Prahlāda from the very beginning of his life, because he got instruction from Nārada Muni within the belly of his mother... This is the story. When the demigods conquered over this Hiraṇyakaśipu, they captured his wife Kayādhu. At that time the wife of Hiraṇyakaśipu was pregnant, and Prahlāda Mahārāja was there.
Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- New York, April 9, 1969:
Why not Haimāvatī's child? Even a lizard is here in this room, he is also hearing. This is transcendental sound. Just like there was a sound, everyone's attention was diverted there. So sound is so penetrating. Sound is the origin of creation. So this is transcendental sound. It penetrates everyone's heart. Because everyone is spiritual being. That is the specific significance of sound vibration. It is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, ahaituky apratihatā. This spiritual cultivation cannot be checked by any material impediment. Because the child is packed within the womb, within the belly, under the shackles (circles?) of intestines and so miserable condition... In the belly or the abdomen of the mother, the child remains in a very miserable condition. Because the consciousness is not developed.
Lecture on SB 7.6.2 -- Vrndavana, December 3, 1975:
When Dhruva Mahārāja saw Viṣṇu he did not say, "Now let me become one with You." No. He said, svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce. There is svāmi, master, and the servant is feeling full satisfaction by seeing the master. This is real satisfaction, not that stop our relation, not that the child is crying and praying to the mother, "Mother, you push me within your belly. We become one." No. It is crying for the love exchange of mother. "Mother, give me your breast milk. I will be satisfied."
So there is no question of oneness. This oneness is false. There must be separate existence. Then there is satisfaction. A friend loves his friend and the other friend exchanges love.
Lecture on SB 7.6.6 -- New Vrindaban, June 22, 1976:
Talking unnecessary useless talk, that is control over the tongue. Vāco vegam. Krodha-vegam: "I am just going to be very angry upon you." No, we have to control. In this way when one is able to control over these things, especially jihvā-vegam udaro-vegam upastha-vegam, straight line—the urge of the tongue, the urge of the belly and the urge of the genital—then we become svāmīs, gosvāmīs. Artificially, it is not to be suppressed. Nidrāhāra-vegam, these are material things.
Lecture on SB 7.6.9-17 -- San Francisco, March 31, 1969:
So according to Vaiṣṇava philosophy or Vaiṣṇava activities, because this tongue is very strong to be conquered, to be win over, the tongue is given Kṛṣṇa prasādam. First thing is tongue is controlled, that "You should not eat such and such things, you should not drink such and such things, you should simply take Kṛṣṇa prasādam." That means that is the process of controlling the tongue. And if you can control the tongue and draw a straight line, then you control your belly and control your sex also. That is the formula. Because these three things are making us too much attracted to the society, friendship and love. Kuṭumba-poṣāya viyan nijāyur na budhyate 'rthaṁ vihataṁ pramattaḥ. In this way, for maintaining the family members—kuṭumba, kuṭumba means family members—he is in madness. Pramattaḥ. The very word is used here, pramattaḥ. In madness, he is forgetting his real business and he's simply wasting time in this way for maintaining family or society and friendship.
Lecture on SB 7.6.10 -- New Vrindaban, June 26, 1976:
There are eleven hundred thousand varieties of insects. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ. Kṛmayo means insects. They are one million and one hundred thousand varieties. How many you have seen? But there are so many. So you'll find they have got all equipment for sense gratification. Even the smallest, full-stop-like insect. So we were discussing about the mosquito. The mosquito, as soon as he sits down, any part of your body, immediately he injects his, that nozzle, and within a second sucks the blood. Immediately. And if you allow two seconds, then his belly is filled up with blood. Just see the facility. So this life, this mosquito life is that there was strong desire to drink blood, so nature has given the facility, all right. But the body is very, very small. The mosquito, if the body would have been very large, then it will kill every man. So he has been offered a very small, tiny body so that... His desire is to suck blood, but it cannot suck blood very much. The mosquito, bugs, there are so many. This is called adhibhautika. Adhibhautika means we are troubled by other living entities. These bugs, this mosquito, and many others. Just like you are passing on the road, a dog comes, barks and... So this is called adhibhautika; adhyātmika, pertaining to the body, mind and other living entities; and adhidaivika, offered by nature. There is always trouble.
Lecture on SB 7.6.10 -- New Vrindaban, June 26, 1976:
Eating, sleeping, mating, we can minimize it. But don't, we don't say that you starve, you keep your body uncomfortably, and then fall sick, and then your Kṛṣṇa conscious business is hampered. No. Yavad-artha prayojana. Anāsaktasya viṣayān. Don't be attached to sense gratification. Satisfy senses as little as possible, which is essential, needed. It is not stopped. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa, anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ. Don't be attached to the sense gratification. Just like eating, it is also a kind of sense gratification, to satisfy the tongue, satisfy the belly. But eating is also necessary if we want to maintain our body, and with the body you have to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Without maintaining the body, or disturbing the body, we cannot.
Lecture on SB 7.6.15 -- New Vrindaban, June 29, 1976:
That is stated there in the Seventh Canto by instruction by Nārada Muni: gṛhastha, householder, or anyone. By nature, you'll see, if you throw one bag of food grains anywhere, so many birds will come. But as soon as their belly is filled up they will go away. They will not take more than that for tomorrow. Sañcaya. That is nature. They know, "Tomorrow we shall get again somewhere grains. There is no need of stocking." This is nature you'll find amongst animal kingdom. Similarly, we should also learn that Kṛṣṇa has given us this belly, so He has provided also the eatables. That is real philosophy.
Lecture on SB 7.6.17-18 -- New Vrindaban, July 1, 1976:
Because we can not give up material enjoyment. We have been habituated since time immemorial, many life after many life, simply for sense gratification. It is not very easy to give up the idea. Therefore śāstra says even if you have got idea of sense gratification, still you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't try it otherwise. Just like the devatās. They have got facilities for all sense gratification. Sense gratification means udara-upastha-jihvā, jihvā, this tongue and the belly and the genitals. This is the prime sense gratificatory sources. Very palatable dishes, fill up the belly as much as possible, and then enjoy sex. This is material. In the spiritual world these things are absent. In the material world these things are very prominent.
Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Hawaii, March 21, 1969:
He is educated. He knows so many things, artist. But for livelihood he has to go early in the morning and come late in the evening. So what is the result? This is the way of materialistic life. Life means that they should not work. Working hard, very hard working, that is the animal's business. The animal should be engaged to work hard for feeding, whole day. Just like the cow is standing here, sometimes eating this, sometime eating that, sometime eating that. What is the business? Only business: to fill up the belly. That's all. But after all qualification, if one has to do the same thing just to fill up the belly, working twelve hours, fourteen hours, then what is this civilization? Has this civilization given the opportunity that "Oh, you have no more to work. Simply sit down, every, all comforts."
Lecture on SB 7.9.10 -- Montreal, July 9, 1968:
Then this qualification also is there, controller. And when one is completely controller of the senses, or when one is actually svāmī or gosvāmī... There is no difference between these two words. Svāmī means controller, and gosvāmī is still clearer. Go means senses, controller of the senses. So Rūpa Gosvāmī says who can be a spiritual master. So he has given specifically this definition, that one who has got controls over the tongue, over the speech, over the mind, over the belly, and over the genitals, and over the anger. If anyone has control over these six things, then he can become spiritual master. Pṛthiviṁ sa śiṣyāt: "He is allowed to make disciples all over the world." Otherwise not.
Lecture on SB 7.9.16 -- Mayapur, February 23, 1976:
When you are sevonmukha, fully in service, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau... That service begins from jihvā, from the tongue. Tā'ra madhye jihvā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati, tā'ke jetā koṭhina saṁsāre. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, "It is very, very difficult to control the tongue." Therefore the tongue should be engaged in service of the Lord, beginning from the tongue. If you can control the tongue, then you can control your belly, then you can control your genital, and then you become jitendriya. So we have to become jitendriya. Indriya means the senses. They are given to us for material enjoyment, just like the hog is also given the tongue to taste stool. Not your tongue. Your tongue is meant for tasting prasādam, not stool. Your tongue is meant for chanting, not eating stool. So you have to control this. Then there will be possibility of getting the shelter of apavarga-śaraṇaṁ. The repetition of birth and death Everyone should be afraid of the saṁsāra-cakra-kadanāt.
Lecture on SB 7.9.19 -- Mayapur, February 26, 1976:
That is the instruction in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt 'na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. Your duty is to give protection to children, father, mother. That's very good. But real protection is that "My children, this boy, this girl, has come in my belly. Now this is the last. I shall train them in such a way that next birth, he'll not have a material body." How it is? Yes, it is possible. How? Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). One can give up this material body... Everyone has to give it up. There is no doubt. But one is giving up this body and accepting another body.
Lecture on SB 7.9.21 -- Mayapur, February 28, 1976:
So by good fortune I saw You. Now I have retired from my so-called happy life. Now please tell me what is my position?" Ke āmi kene āmāre jāre tāpa traya: "Why I am? What I am? Why I am put into this condition of suffering?" Just like one goes to the physician, a diseased man. He submits and inquires from the physician that "Why I am suffering from this pain? Some pain always in the heart, some pain in the belly, some pain in head. So what is the disease?" So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "The disease is that you are servant of Kṛṣṇa. You are, rascal, trying to be master of the world." This is the struggle. A servant is trying to become master. How it is possible? It is simply entanglement. Just like in an office, a menial servant, if he wants to imitate the master, he'll be involved in so many difficulties. So that is our position.
Lecture on SB 7.9.40 -- Mayapur, March 18, 1976:
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: "My dear Lord, the infallible one, my high position is just like a person having more than one wife, the co-wives trying to attract the husband in their own different ways. For example, the tongue is being attracted to palatable dishes. The genital wants to have sex with an attractive woman. The touch sensation is trying to contact soft things. The belly, although fulfilled, still wants to eat more. And generally the ear, without attempting to hear about You, is attracted for cinema songs. The smelling sensation is still another side; restless eyes to see sense gratificatory sense scenes; and the active senses attracting on another side. In this way I am embarrassed."
Prabhupāda:
- jihvā ekato acyuta vikarṣati māvitṛptā
- śiśno 'nyatas tvag-udaraṁ śravaṇaṁ kutaścit
- ghrāṇo anyataś capala-dṛk kva ca karma-śaktir
- bahvyaḥ sapatnya iva geha-patiṁ lunanti
- (SB 7.9.40)
It is a very good example. In the previous verse Prahlāda Mahārāja explained, naitan manas tava kathāsu vikuṇṭha-nātha samprīyate durita-duṣṭam asādhu tīvram. So Kṛṣṇa-kathā is not palatable. This is māyā's influence. So we cannot engage our senses for Kṛṣṇa. This is the disturbing condition of material world. Senses are there, I am there, and how the senses should be utilized, the subject matter is also there, but it is misled. This is called māyā. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). We are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on SB 7.9.40 -- Mayapur, March 18, 1976:
So the master is sense. The jihvā is my master. He is asking, "Why don't you come to this restaurant." "No, no, my belly is already filled up." "No, you must come." (laughter) You'll see. A man is coming from home after sumptuously eating, and as soon as he comes to the street, immediately he enters a restaurant and drinks a cup of tea and few biscuit or... Why? What is the necessity? You are already filled up in your belly, and still, again, immediately you are... "No, it is very palatable." So you are servant of your tongue. "Because it is palatable, although my belly is already filled up, so I must satisfy my tongue."
So I am master... I'm not master; I'm servant of the tongue. Then just below the belly there is one genital. He has used it with his wife, and still, he goes to the prostitute. Servant. "Let us have some new taste." For tasting new sex enjoyment, people simply travel from one place to another.
Lecture on SB 7.9.40 -- Mayapur, March 18, 1976:
And must chant or talk something. So if you talk of Kṛṣṇa, if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and if you give prasādam, the tongue will be controlled. This is our program, that let everyone chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and let everyone take Kṛṣṇa-prasādam. Then the jihvā will be controlled. Here the jihvā is so formidable, the first jihvā is mentioned. So if you can control your tongue, then you can control your belly also. Because without control of the tongue... If you lock up, that "I shall not accept anything except prasādam," so if you go on the street and if you see hundreds and thousands of restaurant, you'll not be allured. "No more chop cutlet, finished, because I cannot take anything without being offered to Kṛṣṇa."
Lecture on SB 7.12.6 -- Bombay, April 17, 1976:
That is called swami or gosvāmī. Go means senses, and svāmī... Everyone in this material world is controlled by the senses. That is material world. We cannot control our senses. The tongue is dry and dictating, "Take a cigarette, take a cigarette," and immediately I begin to smoke. That means I am dictated by the tongue. Then tongue, then belly. The belly is filled up, and still, there is some nice food stuff—"All right, let me eat." Control, cannot control. And then genital. That, we know very well, we cannot control. This straight line: tongue, belly, and the genitals.
Lecture on SB 11.3.21 -- New York, April 13, 1969:
The function of human activity is to know oneself, what he is, and then begin his work. And if he works simply just like animal, eating, sleeping, mating and defending... These are animal activities. If you simply endeavor for eating whole day and night, and if you are satisfied whatever you like to eat, and you think that "My mission of life is finished, now my belly is full with foodstuff," that is not human civilization. But in this age people are degrading so much that at the end of the day, if he can have a full belly meal, he says, "Oh, I am now satisfied." Just like animal. Or "If I can sleep in a nice apartment, oh, I am very happy." Or "If I can mate with a beautiful opposite sex, oh, I am happy." These are animal happiness.
Lecture on SB Lecture -- Melbourne, May 19, 1975:
You don't think that all men are of the same intelligence or same category. No. Still there is intelligent class of men. Just like those who are scientists or philosophers, religionists, they are supposed to be first-class men. But unfortunately, now nobody can recognize who is first-class and last class. So for proper management of the whole society the first-class, second-class, third-class men must be there. Just like in your body there are different parts of the body. The head, the arm, the belly, and the leg. This is natural. So without head, if we have simply the arms and belly and legs, it is a dead body. So unless you are guided, the human society, by the first-class men, the whole society is dead society. There must division according to cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma... (BG 4.13), not by birth, but by quality. So anyone can be trained up first class, second class, as he likes. That is called civilization. Some men should be trained up as first-class men, some men should be trained up as second-class men, and some men should be trained up as third-class men, and balance, who cannot be trained up, they can assist the other three higher class.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 17, 1972:
So cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). The society must be divided... By natural way, it is divided: the intelligent class, the administrator class, the productive class, and the worker class. And they should cooperate. Then the society's perfect. The same example: Just like in your body you have got divisions, the head division, the arms division, the belly division and the leg division. It is not that leg is less important than the head. But leg is... Head is most important. Without head, the arms, the belly, or the leg cannot work. So there should be cooperation. But the division must be there. This is the vision of Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa conscious persons. They do not say it is false. They utilize everything for the purpose of Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Most scientific and authorized movement. Trying to place people in his original, constitutional position and cooperate for the service of Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.172 -- New York, December 14, 1966:
Similarly, we have got dvādaśa tilaka. The same names are there. Lalāṭe keśavaṁ dhyāyet. When dvādaśa tilakas are made, these twelve names are remembered. Lalāṭe keśavaṁ nārāyaṇam athodare: Nārāyaṇa on the belly. Then vakṣaḥ-sthale, then here, then here, then here, then here. In this way, twelve names there are. In this way... Of course, these are very technical. It may be not very interesting, but there are similar names of Kṛṣṇa-Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa—and how they are divided, it is an artistic... The Vāsudeva name, the four hands... How you can distinguish? The four hands you will find everywhere, and the symbolic representation in the hand, that lotus flower, club, and the wheel, and the conchshell.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
Sri Isopanisad Invocation Lecture Excerpt -- Los Angeles, April 27, 1970:
So if you keep yourself to the business of His mouth, then you have to preach. Then you are a brāhmaṇa. Mukha-bāhūru-pāda-jāḥ. As we have got divisions in this body—this mouth, the arm, the belly, and the leg—similarly, the gigantic body of Kṛṣṇa, virāṭ-puruṣa, His mouth is these brāhmaṇas, His arms are the kṣatriyas, His belly is the vaiśyas, and the legs are the śūdras. Or the brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. So they have got different position in the different parts of the body of the whole, complete whole. So if you keep to your position and act like that, take the facility, then you are complete. Otherwise, like the screw, you are thrown away. You have no value.
Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 9-10 -- Los Angeles, May 14, 1970:
They are surprised. Gargamuni was telling me yesterday evening that people ask, "Where do you get so much money? You are purchasing so many cars and big church property and maintaining fifty, sixty men daily and enjoying. What is this?" (laughter) So they are surprised. And we are surprised why these rascals are working so hard simply for filling the belly. So Bhagavad-gītā says, yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgrati saṁyamī. We are seeing that these people are sleeping, and they are seeing we are wasting our time. This is opposite view. Why? Because their line of action is different, our line of action are different. Now, it is to be decided by an intelligent man whose actions are actually right.
Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 10 -- Los Angeles, May 15, 1970:
You haven't got to hear from such nonsense, but you have to hear from the dhīrāṇām, those who have controlled their senses. That is the gosvāmī, or svāmī. One who has six kinds of control: control of the mind, control of the tongue, control of anger, control of speaking, control of the genital, and control of the belly. Six kinds of agitating agents: the mind, the tongue, the belly, the genital, the speaking... So one who has control over these six things, he is called dhīrāṇām. Dhīra. Hara eva (?) dhīra. Just like in Kumāra-sambhava. There is a nice poetry made by a great poet, Kālidāsa.
Festival Lectures
Lecture-Day after Sri Gaura-Purnima -- Hawaii, March 5, 1969:
First important class is called who are seeking success of the human form of life, and the next class, they are seeking success to become very rich within this material world by political power. Another next class is trying to be successful by material opulence, by earning money, the mercantile community. First class, second class, third class. They are third class. And the fourth-class men, they are called śūdras. That means they have no other ambition than to fill up their belly also. That's all. They have no intelligence to become brāhmaṇa, neither to become kṣatriya, administrator, or to occupy political powers; neither they have energy to become very rich businessmen or industrialists. Therefore they are called fourth-class men.
Gundica Marjanam Cleansing of the Gundica Temple, Lecture (the day before Ratha-yatra) -- San Francisco, July 4, 1970:
You have to go to Vietnam to fight." This is not very scientific. He has been trained up as a carpenter, and now he's called to fight. That is not perfect division of... The fighting is required, but there must be a class fully trained up for fighting. That is kṣatriya. There must be a class of men simply for cultivation of spiritual knowledge. There must be a class fully for business, cow protection, agriculture. That is also required. Nothing is neglected. Just like in our body there are four parts; the mouth, the arms, the belly, and the legs. So everything is required for proper upkeep of the body. Not that you ask the mouth to walk or ask the leg to eat. How it is that? The modern civilization is defective. They do not know how to maintain society. There is therefore no peace. Especially there is want of brain. Crazy. Just like throughout the whole body, the head is the most important part of the body. If you cut your hands, you can live, but if you cut your head, you cannot live. Then whole thing is gone.
His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Disappearance Day, Lecture -- Bombay, December 22, 1975:
So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means variety of service to the Supreme. The example is just like, the varieties of different parts of the body: the head is there, the hand is there, the brain is there, the leg is there. The head cannot work like the leg, neither the leg can work like the brain. The hand cannot work the belly, or belly cannot work like the hand. Varieties. Similarly, there are varieties of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and if we serve Kṛṣṇa with our varieties, sa karmaṇā manasā vācā, then it is everything peaceful. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We do not want to stop the varieties. Varieties must be there. We are not nirveśeṣa-vādī, impersonalist.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
Arrival Address -- New York, April 5, 1973:
Just like to keep up your body you require your head, you require your arms, you require your belly, and you require your legs also. Comparatively studying, head is very important than the leg, but that does not mean leg is unimportant. Everything wanted for the upkeep of the body. Similarly, for upkeep of the society, human society, there must be intelligent class of men, there must be administrator class of men, there must be productive class of men and there must be worker class of men. At the present moment, the human society is giving stress on the mercantile class of men and worker class of men. Actually, there is no intelligent class of men or administrative class of men. So our movement is creating some intelligent class of men. According to our Vedic knowledge, the first-class intelligent man is he who knows what is God. He's first-class intelligent man. Otherwise cats and dogs, they also eat, sleep, have sexual intercourse, and die.
Initiation Lectures
Initiation Lecture Excerpt -- London, September 7, 1971:
Go on making progress to become pure Vaiṣṇava. Then your life is successful and you'll give the best service to the human society. (aside:) You can... But what can be done? Still you have to remain a Vaiṣṇava. And perhaps you know it, the tigers cannot eat daily. Tiger life means almost starvation. You'll find, if you have ever seen a real photograph in forest of a tiger, the belly is... There is no food. They cannot get food. Because they are ferocious, by nature's law, it is not allowed by the..., he'll take food every day. No. After fifteen days, one month, gets a prey and eats the blood. They cannot eat. So tiger life is not very comfortable life. (laughter) You'll have to starve. And if you become Vaiṣṇava, three times you get nice prasādam. (laughter) This is practical. You see. (laughter) You see.
Sannyasa Initiation -- Mayapur, March 16, 1976:
Take some practical example. I have traveled all over the world many times. I have seen America from village to village, Africa, Australia. There is so much land vacant that if we properly utilize that, we can produce so much food grains that we can feed ten times as many population as it is now. That's a fact. We do not utilize the land properly. And Kṛṣṇa has given us the formula, annād bhavanti bhūtāni: "You produce anna." Annād bhavanti bhūtāni. Then the animals and the human being will be well-fed and they will be happy. If anyone, either animal or man has his belly filled up with sufficient food, he'll never be dissatisfied. That is the nature. So unfortunately we are not following the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. If we follow the whole social system, political system, economic system of the whole world will be very, very nice, and everyone will live very peacefully and there will be no fight, no ism, no schism. Everything will be all right. That is the purpose of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't think that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a matter of sentiment. No, it is practical.
Delhi Initiations -- Delhi, August 31, 1976:
Prabhupāda: Tejas is not saying and you also not detect. You should be very careful. If you remain ignorant, all ignorant, then where is progress? Everything ignorant I have to find out. So many big, big monkeys, nobody could find out. Big, big monkey, big, big belly. You also did not. That's all... Who is next?
Pradyumna: That is all, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: So? (Hindi) (break) Yes. Because some of them, they could not follow Hindi.
General Lectures
Lecture -- London, September 26, 1969:
The Supersoul is within the atom. That is the power of God. He can become bigger than the universe. He can put many millions of universes within His belly. At the same time, He can enter within the atom. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. Mahato mahīyān means greater than the greatest and the smaller than the smallest. So in this way, first realization, Brahman, impersonal. Then next higher realization is Paramātmā, Supersoul. Brahman realization more or less realized by philosophical speculation, and Paramātmā realization is achieved more or less by meditation. But Bhagavān realization is transcendental devotion. That is beyond the philosophical speculation and mental meditation, beyond.
Lecture -- Gorakhpur, February 18, 1971:
Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, "Those who are intelligent, they should always place before them four principles of miserable condition." Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). We should not be illusioned. We should know that there is, I mean to say, distresses when we take birth. We have forgotten. We do not know how much suffering we had to undergo when we were within the belly of our mother. It is very miserable condition. We had to remain there in packed-up condition like this in a bag, and it is suffocating. And because we are... At that time, the skin is very tender. There are many worms and germs within the belly, mixed up with stool and urine; they bite.
Lecture -- Gorakhpur, February 18, 1971:
So just try to understand what is the miserable condition of birth. But because we forget, we think we are very happy. And again, not only that, as soon as we take birth, again a new chapter of life begins. Again you... Even after coming out of the womb, when we are little child we cry. There may be mosquito biting or bugs biting or something in the belly, troubling, crying. Mother is trying to pacify, but we are crying, crying. We cannot express. So these are the miserable condition of life.
Lecture -- Bombay, March 19, 1972:
So everything is scientifically described in the Vedic literature. You haven't got to make any research. It is already there. You have to simply accept it and take it. Then your life will be sublime, your life will be successful. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is that, to make everyone's life successful. (Sanskrit) Everyone become happy. That is the mission of everyone. "Everyone" means those who are devotees. How people will be happy? That is their mission. It is not that we start a mission just to make some money and to fill up our belly, hungry belly. No. It is a mission to see that everyone is happy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the mission.
Lecture at Christian Monastery -- Melbourne, April 6, 1972:
So what the education has produced? Simply dishonest men. Why? Because godlessness. That's all. And they are trying to become... Every state is trying to become secular: "Don't talk of God. Don't talk of God." Then what you are? That is animal society. The animal society has no talk of God. There is only talk of how to fill up the belly. That's all. That is the business of hog. Śāstra says, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). Viḍ-bhujām means the hogs, the stool-eaters. The stool-eater is also working very hard day and night and gratifying senses. So does the human civilization is meant for imitating the hogs and dogs to work very hard day and night and gratify the senses? That's all? This is the only program at the present moment.
Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972:
Earn some money, and eat something, and sleep, and have some sex life, and die—this is not higher science. This is not higher science. Higher science is brahma-jijñāsā, to inquire about Brahman. That is higher science. This science, earning money and fulfilling the hungry belly, this science the birds and beast also know how to do it. It does not require much education. There is no scientific education how to enjoy sex life. Everyone knows how to do it. Similarly, there is no need of scientific education, how to eat or how to find out your food. The birds and beast, they are also finding out, and are they also eating. So these are not higher sciences. The higher science is to inquire, athāto brahma jijñāsā, to inquire about God, the Supreme. And that can be done by the human being, not by others. Not the cats and dogs. So if we do not give education of this higher science to the human society, if we keep them dumb about this, or if we make secular state, prohibitive injunction to understand God, then it is an animal society. It is an animal society. So such things happen sometimes.
Rotary Club Lecture -- Hyderabad, November 29, 1972:
There are so many descriptions. It takes a long time. I don't wish to take much of your time. The... Just like our part of the body is this head, the part of the body is the hand, the part of the body is the belly, and the part of the body are the two legs. So the head is considered to be the brahminical portion of the society, and the arm is considered as the kṣatriya portion of the society, and the belly is the vaiśya part of the social body, and the legs are śūdras. So in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). So as you require to keep your body completely fit—you require your head, you require your arms, you require your belly, you... Nobody is lower or higher. Of course, comparatively, when we see that the head is more important than the leg, but you cannot do deal, also without leg. Neither you can do without head. Everything is required in the social body. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). So this scientific social system, a class, intelligent class of men, should be the head of the society. And the fighting class or the martial class of men, they should be the administrators. And the productive class, merchants and industrialists, they should be the belly of the society. And the laborer class, they should be the legs of the society. This is the idea we get from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Lecture at Bharata Chamber of Commerce 'Culture and Business' -- Calcutta, January 30, 1973:
Just like the whole body. The whole body's one unit, but there are different departments also—just like the head department, the arms department, the belly department and the leg department. This is scientific. The head department is called the brāhmaṇa. In the society... And the arms department is called the kṣatriyas, and the belly department is called the vaiśyas, and the leg department is called the śūdras. This is scientific division of business. Although the head department is most important department, because without head, other departments, the arms departments, the belly department and the leg department will be finished. If the arms department is lacking, still business can go on. If the leg department is lacking, the business may go on. But if the head department is not there, if the, your head is cut off from the body, then in spite of having all these arms, legs and bellies, they all become useless. So the head department is meant for culture. Without culture... Just like without head, the arms department, the belly department, the leg department are all useless. Similarly without culture, all these businesses, they creates confusion and chaos.
Lecture at World Health Organization -- Geneva, June 6, 1974:
The Vedic civilization is varṇāśrama-dharma. If the varṇāśrama-dharma is not properly protected, then there will be population who are called varṇa-saṅkara, mixed population. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra—that is the natural division. The society must be divided... Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). (aside:) There is no need. The natural division... Just like you have got natural division in your body: the head, the arms, the belly and the legs, similarly, social divisions, there is. Some of them are very intelligent men, class of men, and some of them are martial-spirited persons, and some of them are interested in trades and industry, and some of them are interested only for filling up the belly.
Lecture at World Health Organization -- Geneva, June 6, 1974:
We don't say that. According to the Bhagavad-gītā, the..., there is a section of men who will produce food, there is a section of men who will be spiritually elevated, and there will be section of men who will manage as the government or the king, and the balance men, they're all śūdras. They'll help these three men. This is Bhagavad-gītā. Not that everyone will be cultivator. No. There must be management, and there must be brain also, and there must be worker also. This should be... This is natural division. But all should combine together for spiritual cultivation. Just like we have got our brain, our arms, our belly, our legs. They're all required. We cannot reject the legs and keep only hands. That is not possible. But the hands, leg, brain and belly should combine together to keep the body healthy. That is the aim.
Philosophy Discussions
Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:
Prabhupāda: If we become envious, that "Why this man has become rich? I shall encroach upon him," that is again, another type of revolution or encroachment. That is not required. You remain in your position as you have been allotted, but everyone be engaged in the service of the Lord. The, another example is that the, there are different position of different parts of the body—the head, arms, the belly, the legs. They are different parts of body doing different function. But the idea is how to maintain this body. So if we, even if we remain in different position, that is we get from the birth, but we, we should be engaged in the service of the Supreme, the owner. Just like the hand is owned by the body; therefore hand must work for the body. The leg is owned by the body; therefore the leg must work for the body. So we are all part and parcel of God, and we should, everyone, we should work for God. And how we shall work, that we have to hear from the position where we are, and act accordingly, then there will be real spiritual communism.
Philosophy Discussion on Auguste Comte:
Prabhupāda: Hmm. So woman, sex, there is sex, sexual necessity and the bodily demand. So woman not only give the sex pleasure to the man, but woman should prepare good foodstuff also for the man. The man is working very hard. When he comes home, if the wife supplies him good foodstuff and nice comfort and sex, then the home becomes very happy. That is practical experience. So after hard working, when man comes home, if he finds out good foodstuff and nicely satisfied by eating, and then the woman gives satisfaction by sex, then both of them remain fully satisfied, and then they can improve their real business, spiritual understanding, because human life is meant for making progress in spiritual understanding. Spiritual, first of all they must know that the spirit soul is the basis of material life even, and the body is built up on the soul, and within the body there is soul. This understanding is required both for the man and the woman. Although woman is less intelligent, still, by the help of the husband, he..., she can become intelligent. This we think, we see in the instruction of Kapiladeva. Kapiladeva is the son of Devahūti, and He is engaged in teaching the mother. So a woman, either as daughter, as wife or mother, remains subordinate and gets knowledge from the man, either from the father or the husband or son. Then that life is elevated. We find also in the conjugal life of Lord Śiva and Pārvatī, in the Purāṇas we see always Pārvatī is questioning and Lord Śiva is answering. In this way woman is elevated, and the comforts given by the woman, comforts of the tongue, of the belly, and the genital, in this way, cooperative life, both of them becomes advanced in spiritual life.
Purports to Songs
Purport to Parama Koruna -- Atlanta, February 28, 1975:
So there is necessity of a class of men who will act as the brain of the society. That is called brāhmaṇa. That is real human society, where there are four classes of men: one acting as brain, one acting as arms or armies or protection, one acting as belly, or the food digesting machine... Unless you eat and digest food, how your body will be maintained? So everything is very scientifically designed in the Vedic civilization. So in the Kali-yuga there is scarcity of brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa is vairāgya. A brāhmaṇa is not interested with pounds, shilling, pence, "Get money and enjoy." That is not brāhmaṇa's business. What us enjoyment? That is illusion. You cannot enjoy because you are conditioned by the stringent laws of nature, and where is enjoyment? There is no enjoyment. But they are thinking, "I am enjoying." This is called illusion, māyā. There cannot be any enjoyment. When you are not free, when you are conditioned under the stringent laws of... You do not like to die. You are forced to die. You must die. You cannot say, "No, I will not die." No, that is not possible. So where is your freedom? But we are declaring, "Now we are independent." This is all illusion.
| Page Title: | Belly (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Rishab, Mayapur |
| Created: | 24 of May, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=139, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 139 |