Gṛhastha is different. Gṛhastha means he knows everything. But he is not so advanced, but he wants to live with wife and children, but for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is gṛhastha. And those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, simply living like animals and has got children and wife, they are animals; they are gṛhamedhi. The gṛhastha means he is making the best use of a bad bargain. And the gṛhamedhi means he is animal. Therefore this is spoken about the gṛhamedhi. Mostly people now, they are showing that "I am very beautiful man," showing family, but he is called gṛhamedhi. So what is the happiness of the gṛhamedhi? Yan maithunādi, that sex pleasure, that's all. Otherwise they have no other happiness, working day and night like ass. The only hope is, at night they will enjoy sex. That's all. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi. What is that sex? That itching. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ (BG 2.14). That itching sensation. Therefore śāstra says that "Tolerate that itching. Don't be implicated with this repetition of birth and death." First thing, brahmacārī—"Tolerate this itching. You'll avoid so much displeasure, so much unhappiness of life. Be careful." That is brahmacārī life. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya It is simply itching, satisfying the itching sensation, little happiness. What is that happiness? Just like there is itching in your body. If you itch it, you feel some pleasure. It is like that. So viṣaheta dhīraḥ. Dhīra, one who is sober, one is advanced, he will little tolerate that itching sensation and be happy because this is not my necessity. This is only of the skin. This is my skin disease. Now I am not the skin. I am soul. My duty is how to serve Kṛṣṇa.
Best use of a bad bargain (Lectures)
Expressions researched:
"best out of a bad bargain"
|"best use of a bad bargain"
|"best use of the bad bargain"
|"best use of this bad bargain"
|"better use of a bad bargain"
|"make the best of a bad bargain"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So this is going on. So without taking any account how the things are going on, if you are actually serious for spiritual emancipation of life, then the, the process recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, as, and as practically demonstrated by Arjuna, if we follow this principle then we shall be proceeding towards the spiritual emancipation of life undoubtedly and without fail. So whole thing is that we have to make the best use of a bad bargain. The, that whole thing is the senses, senses are the cause of my material miseries. Now I cannot avoid the senses in my present status of life. The best thing is that senses may be engaged in the service of the Lord so that automatically they'll be restricted and purified, and my spiritual life will be revealed and the spiritual perfection will sure to come.
Tasmād asaktaḥ, tasmād asaktaḥ satatam. Asakta: "Don't be attached." Kāryaṁ karma samācara: "Do your duty, as duty, as you are duty bound. But don't be attached to that work. Because you should always know that your real work is self-realization." Asakto hy ācaran karma param āpnoti puruṣaḥ: "And if you practice like that, then the same perfection of life you will attain." Don't be attached to your work. Don't be attached, unattached. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. Anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ. The same advice is given in several places, that "Work, but do not work with attachment. Just to make the best use of a bad bargain, that's all. You go on working like that."
- tasmād asaktaḥ satataṁ
- kāryaṁ karma samācara
- asakto hy ācaran karma
- param āpnoti puruṣaḥ
- (BG 3.19)
And if you continue your work unattached like that, then the result will be that you will also reach that perfectional stage of life, as Śukadeva Gosvāmī.
The other day I tried to explain this verse of Rūpa Gosvāmī. Rūpa Gosvāmī, he has stated in two ways the attachment and detachment. He says, anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ. Viṣayān. The things of our enjoyment, that should be accepted, anāsaktasya, without any attachment. I require this for maintenance of my body; therefore I accept this. This is called anāsaktasya. So, in other words, just to make the better use of a bad bargain. I am now materially encaged. So I must make the best use of this body by dovetailing myself with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa-sambandhe. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe.
Similarly, when everything we see in connection—nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe—in connection with Kṛṣṇa, when everything we see that "This can be utilized very nicely for Kṛṣṇa's service," that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is God consciousness, everything to see in connection with Kṛṣṇa. The Gosvāmīs, they give us this formula. Prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ. The Māyāvādī philosopher, they say that "This world is false. This world is false." Some philosophers, they are meditating to the voidness, that "These things are all nonsense. Voidness is best." This is frustration. But we know that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa and it can be used for Kṛṣṇa. Why void? Why false? Reality. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to accept everything in reality, not false. This tape recorder machine, it is material. The Māyāvāda philosophers, they will say it is false. We say,"It is not false. It is temporary, but it can be used for Kṛṣṇa." That is the best use of a bad bargain. Similarly, this body is not false, but it is temporary. How can I say false?
Devotee: Verse sixteen: "There is no possibility of one's becoming a yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much, or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough (BG 6.16)."
Prabhupāda: Yes. This is very nice. (laughs) Nothing is prohibited because after all, you have to execute the yoga process with this body. To make the best use of a bad bargain. You see? This material body is the source of all miseries. Actually the spirit soul has no misery. Just like normal condition of a living entity is healthy life. Disease takes place by certain contamination infection. Disease is not our life. Similarly the present position of material existence is a diseased condition of the soul. And what is that disease? The disease is this body? Because this body is not meant for me, it is not my body. Just like your dress. You are not the dress. But we are differently dressed here. Somebody red color, somebody white color, somebody yellow color. But that color, I am not this color. Similarly this body, I am white man, black man, Indian, American or this, Hindu, Muslim, Christian. This is not my position. This is all diseased condition. Diseased condition. You are trying to get out of the disease.
That is yoga system. To connect again with the Supreme. Because I am part and parcel.
Unfortunately, we are neglecting our own culture. We are now imitating how to become technologist. This is the position of India. Nobody is interested to take this culture of Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously.
But in the Western countries, where they have tasted very well the fruits of material advancement of life... Therefore the young men there, they are not very much interested to live like their fathers and forefathers. They are taking very much interest in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So in India they have come that "Material happiness is not all." That is required. To make the best use of a bad bargain.
But our ultimate goal of life is spiritual realization. The Bhagavad-gītā is there. So many other śāstras are there, but Bhagavad-gītā is the beginning of spiritual life, ABCD. So even if we do not learn the ABCD of spiritual life, how our life will be successful in the mission?
So our only aim is to spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, spiritual life, all over the world.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So that division, different division, is scientifically made in the Vedic conception of life, varṇāśrama. Four varṇas and four āśramas. Āśrama for spiritual advancement and varṇas for material advancement. So we want both of them because our life is combination of spirit and matter. So it is not that... To make the best use of a bad bargain. Suppose you have got a car. It is not very good car. It's not American car, but Ambassador. (laughter) Thrice breaks. But you have to utilize it. Bad bargain. Similarly, some way or other, we have got this material body, we cannot neglect it. We don't say that "Neglect it. Don't care for the body." No. Why?
That is the instruction of the Gosvāmīs. Anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ. Don't be attached to the bodily demands. Bodily demands means eating, sleeping, sex life, and defending. These are bodily demands. So if we say that "I am not this body, so I don't care for this eating, sleeping..." No. That is not. It is not vairāgya. This kind of renunciation is not recommended by our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the Gosvāmīs recommend anāsaktasya viṣayān. You do not be attached to the demands of the body, but you utilize it for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Eating is required. If you don't eat nicely, then body cannot be maintained.
Retirement means no more material affairs. We are active on the platform of this bodily consciousness. That is also required for some time, not for all the time. The aim is to work for the soul. But because now we are covered by this material body, so we have to utilize the best use of a bad bargain. It is a bargain, that we have got this material body. But because... Just like you take care of your car because you, the spirit soul, will utilize it for going here and there. Without a man being interested going by car, nobody takes care. Similarly, this is also a car given by nature.
The camel is a kind of animal that takes pleasure in eating thorns. A person who wants to enjoy family life or the worldly life of so-called enjoyment is compared to the camel. Materialistic life is full of thorns, and so one should live only by the prescribed method of Vedic regulations just to make the best use of a bad bargain. Life in the material world is maintained by sucking one's own blood. The central point of attraction for material enjoyment is sex life. To enjoy sex life is to suck one's own blood, and there is not much more to be explained in this connection. The camel also sucks its own blood while chewing thorny twigs. The thorns the camel eats cut the tongue of the camel, and so blood begins to flow within the camel's mouth. The thorns, mixed with fresh blood, create a taste for the foolish camel, and so he enjoys the thorn-eating business with false pleasure. Similarly, the great business magnates, industrialists who work very hard to earn money by different ways and questionable means, eat the thorny results of their actions mixed with their own blood. Therefore the Bhāgavatam has situated these diseased fellows along with the camels.
A female wants male, a male wants female. This is the attraction. This is the basic principle of binding the conditioned soul in this miserable life of repeated birth and death. This attraction. Therefore Vedic civilization is based on how to get out of this attraction. The varṇāśrama-dharma... There is attraction, you cannot avoid it. To best, to make the best use of a bad bargain. Therefore, from the very beginning, a child is trained how to become brahmacārī. Brahmacārī. No sex life. Up to twenty-five years. Throughout the whole life, but at least for twenty-five years. That is called brahmacārī-āśrama. But if one is still persistent for sex life after being trained for twenty-five years, he is allowed to marry. That is called gṛhastha-āśrama. And because he has been trained up to be detached from sex life, so, for some time he enjoys, then he gives it up. Just like Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Jahau. Virūḍhāṁ mamatāṁ jahau. There was training; therefore Parīkṣit Mahārāja could give up.
This māyā is very much manifest in sex life. They accept the sex life is very nice, but after that, there is so many distresses. Legal or illegal, it doesn't matter. Legal distresses or illegal distresses, but it is distress. Every one of us, we know. Therefore everything—to make the best use of a bad bargain. We have got this material body. The cause was there. The cause was there that because we wanted to enjoy and did not like to serve Kṛṣṇa. This is the cause. Kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare. We are serving Kṛṣṇa. That is our, I mean to say, place, constitutional position, to serve Kṛṣṇa, but sometimes we desire: "Why shall I serve Kṛṣṇa? Why shall I serve the spiritual master? I shall enjoy. I shall enjoy." But that enjoyment was there by serving Kṛṣṇa, but he wanted to become enjoyer independent of Kṛṣṇa. That is the cause of falldown. With Kṛṣṇa, you can enjoy very nicely. You have seen the picture, how with Kṛṣṇa the gopīs are nicely dancing, enjoying; the cowherd boys are playing. Enjoy with Kṛṣṇa, that is your real enjoyment. But without Kṛṣṇa, when you want to enjoy, that is māyā. That is māyā.
Now, that does not mean that Prahlāda Mahārāja is recommending to neglect the, this family life or society and... No. He was family man. Prahlāda Mahārāja was a great king. He was ruling over. So it is not the question of neglect. But we must know that if we become more and more entangled in these affairs, then our real business will be lost. Our real business is how to get out of this entanglement, not to be more and more, I mean to say, implicated in this entanglement. That should be the point of view: to make the best use of a bad bargain. That should be the philosophy of life. We are put into this material existential condition, and we have to get out. But at the same time, so far, so long this material body is there, we have to maintain it also. Just like... The example is very nice. We can cite that you have to go to some place, and you have got a car. You have to take care of the car so far it can carry you to your destination, not that you simply take care of your car and you forget your destination and your own body. This is not your business. Similarly, we have to carry on our business. We have to...
The people of India, they are accustomed to take bath daily. So immediately they take some advantage, and they begin to take bath. And there are so many water taps in the station, and every tap is engaged. So to make the best use. Because they think that "We have got a half an hour at our disposal, so let us finish it properly." So once taken bath, then the whole day's journey is pleasant. Similarly, this body is not false. Not only this body, everything material. We don't take it is false. We take it as temporary. And temporary, how it should be utilized for our best purpose? Just like the mail passengers in the train, they are using the half an hour time for taking bath, utilize. Similarly, although this body is temporary, we can utilize it for the best purpose. What is that best purpose? Realization of Kṛṣṇa. If we can utilize this temporary body for utilization, for understanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness and be fixed up in that Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is the best use of the bad bargain.
So, of course, sometimes we require car. But we should not forget Kṛṣṇa simply for the manfacturing and riding car. This is foolishness. This is foolish. We can utilize everything for Kṛṣṇa's service. Just like we have got so many cars... Not here. Here also we have got many, eight to ten buses and cars. In the foreign countries each temple has got more than dozen cars. So, but these cars are used for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to make the best use of a bad bargain. So we never use car for sense gratification.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
So we have to rectify ourself. Unless we approach to the spiritual stage... That is the process. Just like a diseased man, he cannot imitate the healthy man. A healthy man eats as he likes, but a diseased man, if he eats as he likes, he'll die. Death is sure. So he has to be restricted, not the healthy man. So if you want really happiness, if you want really freedom, and if you really want everything is reality, then you have to transfer yourself to the spiritual world, in association with Kṛṣṇa. That is the whole process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And for that purpose, just like a student for getting a degree in the university, he, I mean to say, tolerates all kinds of inconveniences—"Never mind. Let me pass and go away"—similarly, we have to make use, the best use of this bad bargain, this material body, and continue in Kṛṣṇa consciousness just to achieve the highest perfection of life, freedom, love. This is the process. And if we imitate... The same example. If we, in diseased state, if we imitate a healthy man's activities, then death is sure. Death is sure. Nobody can say, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa enjoyed with so many girls. Oh, let me enjoy also." You cannot, because you are in diseased condition. If you do that, then you continue your diseased life and you'll die.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
Recently I was in Moscow. I had a talk with a big professor of Indology, Professor Kotovsky. So he was speaking that "Swamijī, after this finishing, annihilation of this body, everything is finished." So I was astonished that a learned professor who is posing himself on a very advanced post, he has no idea about the soul and the body, how they are different, how the soul migrating from one body to another. And everyone is accepting this body as the self, and "There is no life after death; therefore make the best use of this bad bargain and enjoy sense gratification as far as possible." But this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is checking this wrong progress of human civilization. Our first proposition is that "You are not this body; you are spirit soul. Some way or other, you are in contact with this material world, and you have got this material body, and under illusion, you are accepting something which you are not."
People, unfortunately, they have no sense what is spiritual life. The modern civilization, they do not know that we have to change this body, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13), just like animals, cats and dogs, they do not know that they have to change the body or they are not the body, they are beyond, something. This is the modern civilization. They try to make the best use of a bad bargain in this way, that "We have got this body. Let us enjoy senses to the utmost." But that is not the fact. Sense enjoyment means infection of the material modes of nature. That is sense enjoyment. Just like we infect some disease, and that disease will come out some day, will be manifested. They are called kutastha, phalonmukha, and prārabdha. Three stages. Infection..
General Lectures
Prabhupāda: Real, everything is problem with this body. Everything is problem. Beginning from the birth of your this body, manufacturing of the body by father and mother, it is a problem. Therefore a serious man will always think how to get out of this problem, setting aside all other problems. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). How to get out of this material body. It is not that "This is small problem; this is big problem." The whole body, material body, acceptance of material body, is problem. The disease... Yes.
Woman (4): But you have to accept the problem because you have the body.
Prabhupāda: That's it, to make the best use of a bad bargain.
Woman (4): I wouldn't think so bad bargain. If you have a bad body, that's a bad body...
Prabhupāda: It is a bad bargain because there are four problems. Even if you are very rich, you have no economic problem, you've got everything(?), but you have to take birth, you have to die, you have to suffer from disease, you have to accept old age. These problems you cannot avoid. Either you are rich man or poor man or American or Indian or white or black, it doesn't matter. The problems, the four problems of material existence, will always trouble you. Nobody wishes to die, but he has to die. Nobody likes disease, but he has to suffer from disease. So these are the problems. If you don't think they are not problems, then you are less intelligent. You have to become more intelligent. The animals, they don't care for death.
This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kinds of changes of material world. So although it is temporary, we cannot say it is false. It is not false. That is the difference between Māyāvāda philosophy and Vaiṣṇava philosophy. The Vaiṣṇava philosopher takes the temporary thing, although temporary. They know how to make the best use of a bad bargain. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy.
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: I observe in nature that everything is killing something else for eating so it seems only rational that I should be able to eat animals.
Prabhupāda: Well, that also accepted in the Vedic philosophy, jīvo jīvasya jīvanam. One life is, one living being is food for another living being. But that does not mean that you shall kill your son and eat, and it will be supported by the society. That is discrimination, that is conscience. You can say that "I must eat some, another living entity. That is by nature's law. So I produce my children and I kill them and I eat them so that the population problem will be solved." You can say that. Will you be accepted? So therefore there must be discrimination. That you have to eat another living being, that is nature's law, but if you eat fruit, you don't kill the tree. You take the fruit. If you eat vegetables, you take, still it is growing, and that is a factually not killing. But if you eat animals, you are killing. Actually he is being dead. So things should be done intelligently so that... The word is to make the best use of a bad bargain. So our philosophy is that although you can take that, although it is not killing, it is taking fruits, flowers and vegetables, it is taking from him, it is not killing, and we are offering to Kṛṣṇa and so if there is any responsibility, it is Kṛṣṇa's responsibility. We take the prasāda. Therefore we have no such responsibility and that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhuñjate te tv agham pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt (BG 3.13). Anyone who is cooking for himself, he is taking all responsibility for sinful activity even if he is a vegetarian, it doesn't matter. Yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ. But if he takes the remnants of yajña—we are offering Kṛṣṇa daily—this is performing yajña. So we are taking the remnants of yajña. This is our philosophy. We are not taking directly. If I take directly, either a vegetarian or non-vegetarian, then I become responsible. Sinful. This is our philosophy. The law is there, but we have to tackle things very intelligently.
Śyāmasundara: So he says that everything should be utilized to extract the most pleasure from life.
Prabhupāda: That is our theory, to make the best use of a bad bargain. We are already cheated, "Now all right, let me utilize it." That's all. You don't admit that "I have been cheated, now I am utilizing it."
Śyāmasundara: Therefore he says that we must endure our state, our suffering state, and make the best of a bad bargain.
Prabhupāda: You should endure, at the same time you should find out the way that your suffering may be stopped. That is intelligent. That is intelligent.
| Page Title: | Best use of a bad bargain (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Laksmipriya, Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 19 of Apr, 2009 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=23, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 23 |