We have to imagine that these universes, which according to our limited knowledge are expanded unlimitedly, are so great that the gross and subtle ingredients—the five elements of the cosmic manifestation, namely earth, water, fire, air and sky, along with the total material energy and false ego—are not only within the universe but cover the universe in seven layers, each layer ten times bigger than the previous one. In this way, each and every universe is very securely packed, and there are numberless universes. All these universes float within the innumerable pores of the transcendental body of Mahā-Viṣṇu. It is stated that just as the atoms and particles of dust are floating within the air along with the birds and their number cannot be calculated, so innumerable universes are floating within the pores of the transcendental body of the Lord.
Bigger than
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
No one can kill a devotee of the Lord because he is protected by the Lord, and no one can save a person whom the Lord desires to kill. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He can both save and kill as He likes. He became visible to His devotee Mahārāja Parīkṣit even in that awkward position (in the womb of his mother) in a shape just suitable for his vision. The Lord can become bigger than thousands of universes and can become smaller than an atom at the same time. Merciful as He is, He becomes just suitable to the vision of the limited living being. He is unlimited. He is not limited by any measurement of our calculation. He can become bigger than what we can think of, and He can become smaller than what we can conceive. But in all circumstances He is the same all-powerful Lord. There is no difference between the thumblike Viṣṇu in the womb of Uttarā and the full-fledged Nārāyaṇa in the Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma, the kingdom of Godhead.
The Lord can become bigger than thousands of universes and can become smaller than an atom at the same time. Merciful as He is, He becomes just suitable to the vision of the limited living being. He is unlimited. He is not limited by any measurement of our calculation. He can become bigger than what we can think of, and He can become smaller than what we can conceive. But in all circumstances He is the same all-powerful Lord. There is no difference between the thumblike Viṣṇu in the womb of Uttarā and the full-fledged Nārāyaṇa in the Vaikuṇṭha-dhāma, the kingdom of Godhead. He accepts the form of arca-vigraha (worshipable Deity) just to accept service from His different incapable devotees. By the mercy of the arca-vigraha, the form of the Lord in material elements, the devotees who are in the material world can easily approach the Lord, although He is not conceivable by the material senses.
Within this effulgence there are innumerable spiritual planets, and they are known as the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Each and every Vaikuṇṭha planet is many, many times bigger than the biggest universe within the material world, and in each of them there are innumerable inhabitants who look exactly like Lord Viṣṇu. These inhabitants are known as the Mahā-pauruṣikas, or persons directly engaged in the service of the Lord. They are happy in those planets and are without any kind of misery, and they live perpetually in full youthfulness, enjoying life in full bliss and knowledge without fear of birth, death, old age or disease, and without the influence of kāla, eternal time. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira has compared the inhabitants of Dvārakā to the Mahā-pauruṣikas of Vaikuṇṭhaloka because they are so happy with the Lord.
SB Canto 2
The kingdom of God, or the atmosphere of the Vaikuṇṭha nature, which is called the tripād-vibhūti, is three times bigger than the material universes and is described here, as also in the Bhagavad-gītā, in a nutshell. This universe, containing billions of stars and planets, is one of the billions of such universes clustered together within the compass of the mahat-tattva. And all these millions and billions of universes combined together constitute only one fourth of the magnitude of the whole creation of the Lord. There is the spiritual sky also; beyond this sky are the spiritual planets under the names of Vaikuṇṭha, and all of them constitute three fourths of the entire creation of the Lord. God's creations are always innumerable. Even the leaves of a tree cannot be counted by a man, nor can the hairs on his head.
We are just trying to follow in the footsteps of all these authorities. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not like ordinary fiction or mundane literature. It is unlimited in strength, and however one may expand it according to one's own ability, Bhāgavatam still cannot be finished by such expansion. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, being the sound representation of the Lord, is simultaneously explained in four verses and in four billion verses all the same, inasmuch as the Lord is smaller than the atom and bigger than the unlimited sky. Such is the potency of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
SB Canto 3
As explained before, the entire material world is a display of sixteen diversities and eight material elements. The analytical studies of the material world are the subject matter of Sāṅkhya philosophy. The first sixteen diversities are the eleven senses and five sense objects, and the eight elements are the gross and subtle matter, namely earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence and ego. All these combined together are distributed throughout the entire universe, which extends diametrically to four billion miles. Besides this universe of our experience, there are innumerable other universes. Some of them are bigger than the present one, and all of them are clustered together under similar material elements as described below.
First of all this boar was seen no bigger than the tip of a thumb, and within a moment He was as large as a stone. My mind is perturbed. Is He the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu?
This is the highest perfectional stage of the human form of life and the topmost perfection of all yoga.
For a perfect yogī, there are eight kinds of superachievements: one can become lighter than air, one can become smaller than the atom, one can become bigger than a mountain, one can achieve whatever he desires, one can control like the Lord, and so on. But when one rises to the perfectional stage of receiving dictation from the Lord, that is greater than any stage of material achievements above mentioned. The breathing exercise of the yoga system which is generally practiced is just the beginning. Meditation on the Supersoul is just another step forward. But to obtain direct contact with the Supersoul and take dictation from Him is the highest perfectional stage.
The Lord is described thus: namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. The purport of this prayer is that the Lord specifically protects the brāhmaṇas and the cows, and then He protects all other members of society (jagad-dhitāya). It is His will that universal welfare work depends on the protection of cows and brāhmaṇas; thus brahminical culture and cow protection are the basic principles for human civilization. Kṣatriyas are especially meant to protect the brāhmaṇas, as is the supreme will of the Lord: go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. As, within the body, the heart is a very important part, so the brāhmaṇas are also the important element in human society. The kṣatriyas are more like the whole body; even though the whole body is bigger than the heart, the heart is more important.
This universal egg, or the universe in the shape of an egg, is called the manifestation of material energy. Its layers of water, air, fire, sky, ego and mahat-tattva increase in thickness one after another. Each layer is ten times bigger than the previous one, and the final outside layer is covered by pradhāna. Within this egg is the universal form of Lord Hari, of whose body the fourteen planetary systems are parts.
SB Canto 4
Within this universe there is a planet called Siddhaloka. The inhabitants of Siddhaloka are by nature perfect in the yoga achievements, which are of eight varieties: one can become smaller than the smallest, lighter than the lightest, or bigger than the biggest; one can immediately get whatever he likes, one can even create a planet, etc. These are some of the yogic perfections. By virtue of the laghimā-siddhi, or purificatory process to become lighter than the lightest, the inhabitants of Siddhaloka can fly in the sky without airplanes or airships. It is hinted herein by Nārada Muni to Dhruva Mahārāja that by meditating upon the transcendental form of the Lord and at the same time chanting the mantra one becomes so perfect within seven days that he can see the human beings who fly in the sky. Nārada Muni uses the word japaḥ, which indicates that the mantra to be chanted is very confidential.
The four Kumāras are described herein as siddheśvarān, which means "masters of all mystic power." One who has attained perfection in yoga practice immediately becomes master of the eight mystic perfections—to become smaller than the smallest, to become lighter than the lightest, to become bigger than the biggest, to achieve anything one desires, to control everything, etc. These four Kumāras, as siddheśvaras, had achieved all the yogic perfectional achievements, and as such they could travel in outer space without machines. While they were coming to Mahārāja Pṛthu from other planets, they did not come by airplane, but personally. In other words, these four Kumāras were also spacemen who could travel in space without machines. The residents of the planet known as Siddhaloka can travel in outer space from one planet to another without vehicles. However, the special power of the Kumāras mentioned herewith is that whatever place they went to would immediately become sinless.
SB Canto 7
There is oneness, but God is great whereas the living entities are extremely small. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.20). The living entities are smaller than the atom, but God is greater than the greatest. Our conception of greatness may be represented by the sky because we think of the sky as being unlimitedly big, but God is bigger than the sky. Similarly, we have knowledge that the living entities are smaller than atoms, being one ten-thousandth the size of the tip of a hair, yet the quality of being the supreme cause of all causes exists in the living entity as well as in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Indeed, it is due to the presence of the living entity that the body exists and bodily changes take place. Similarly, it is because the Supreme Lord is within this universe that the changes dictated by the material laws occur.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
In this verse the word mahimabhiḥ means aiśvarya, or opulence. The Supreme Personality of Godhead can do whatever He likes. That is His aiśvarya. No one can command Him, but He can command everyone. Sad-aiśvarya-pūrṇam. The Lord is full in six opulences. The yoga-siddhis, the perfections of yoga, such as the ability to become smaller than the smallest (aṇimā-siddhi) or bigger than the biggest (mahimā-siddhi), are present in Lord Viṣṇu. Sad-aiśvaryaiḥ pūrṇo ya iha bhagavān (CC Adi 1.3). The word ajā means māyā, or mystic power. Everything mysterious is in full existence in Viṣṇu.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
The living entity is one with and different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As spirit soul, the living entity is one in quality with the Supreme Lord; however, the Supreme Lord is bigger than the biggest, and the living entity is the smallest of the small. This quotation is the third pada of a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.16.11).
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Renunciation Through Wisdom
No matter how big a thinker a tiny living entity may be, all his activities are limited by mundane boundaries, just as a frog in the well can never comprehend that such a thing as an ocean exists outside his little domain. He refuses to acknowledge that a mass of water infinitely bigger than his tiny puddle can at all be possible. Similarly, we are trapped in the dark well of our body and mind. And although we may try hard through yoga or empirical speculation to overcome our limitations, no matter how erudite we are it is impossible to reach beyond the limitations of our self-made well.
So, who can bring us news of the great ocean? Is there any record of how long we have been struggling in the water to stay afloat in the well of this material world, sometimes going up to the higher planets, sometimes coming down?
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Or the President Johnson, he has got some lordship. In this way you'll find different degrees of lordship. But here it is said that the supreme, superlative degree Lord is Kṛṣṇa. Above Him, there is no other Lord. Here we shall find that you are bigger lord than me, he is bigger than lord you, and somebody is bigger than him. In this way you can approach the lordship of Johnson. Then you can see another man. He is more than Johnson; another man, more than Johnson, like that. But when you reach Śrī Kṛṣṇa by such analytical process, you'll find that nobody is greater, nobody is equal than Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And He says something—we must agree to accept it. (laughs) We must... If we don't agree, that will not be beneficial for us. When a great man says something...
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Woman: There is. Besides the sparrows, the other birds, as a rule, here in America are bigger than the birds in Europe.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Woman: The same kind of bird are bigger here.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes. I admit that. I admit that. They are stout and strong. They are stout and strong. Yes. The squirrel, I see. I saw the squirrel in the park. Oh, they are also bigger.
Woman: They are bigger.
Now there is one rascal, he is preaching there is no need of śāstra. Without śāstra, how you can make progress? Just like you are seeing the sun daily just like a disk. But if you through the śāstra you see geography, then you will understand the sun is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. So how do you know? You have not gone to the sun planet, but how do you know that it is ninety million miles away from your sight and it is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth? How do you know? Through the śāstra, through the books. So, therefore, you should see through the śāstra, authoritative śāstra, books. What we are speaking about the moon planet, sun planet, or God, His abode is Vaikuṇṭhaloka, spiritual world, so many things we are talking. How we are talking? We are talking through the Vedic literature. Because Vedic literature is authoritative. According to Vedic civilization, we don't accept any book written by rascal. We take, we accept the authority of the Vedas.
While he is not sure, still he says, "I am scientific man." This is one defect. And of all these defects, there is sublime defect that our senses are imperfect. All our senses. The same thing, just like with our eyes we see daily the sun, but we see just like a disk. Due to our imperfect senses, we see a planet which is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet, we are seeing just like it is... That means we cannot see very distant place—or nearest. Even we cannot see our eyelids, which is just a smear over the eyes. Packed, the packing material of the eyes, we cannot see.
That you have to know from the śāstra. You do not know so many things. But if you read books, authorized books, then you understand, things are there. The same example that you do not know how big the sun planet is. But when you read books, scientific books, you understand that it is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. Similarly, if you are in knowledge, then you can understand where your father has gone. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:
Therefore Kṛṣṇa said, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam, paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ (BG 9.11). They do not know how much potential the Lord is, how much powerful He is. They are comparing the power of the Supreme Lord with his own power. A frog philosophy. The Dr. Frog. Frog is considering, "Atlantic Ocean may be a little bigger than the well." Because he is living always. Kūpa-maṇḍūka-nyāya It is, Sanskrit it is called kūpa-maṇḍūka-nyāya. Kūpa means well, and maṇḍūka means the frog. The frog is perpetually within the well, and if somebody informs him that there is another big span of water, Atlantic Ocean, he simply calculates that "It may be a little more than this well, little more than this well." But he cannot understand how great He is. So God is great. We cannot understand how great He is! That is our folly. We are simply calculating: "He may be one inch greater than me. Or one foot greater than me." That is mental speculation.
Similarly, māyā, illusion, is sometimes is generated. This is the creation of the material world, mahat-tattva-māyā. So this is not permanent. It comes and goes. Similarly, māyā is simply covering our eyes. Just the... Just like this cloud, it is not possible for the cloud to cover the sun. Sun is ninety-three millions, or at least, fourteen, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. So how a cloud, spreading over, say, a few miles, ten miles, it can cover the sun? No. The cloud cannot cover the sun, but the cloud can cover my eyesight. This is the position. Similarly māyā cannot touch Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādī philosophy is that māyā also covers Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa comes here, He comes covered by this māyā. No. This is not. Māyā cannot touch.
Here is vibration. So that, unless you reach that point... That is the ultimate. Not that vibration. Suppose I am vibrating conchshell. There is a huge sound. But is that vibration ultimate? Or the conchshell wherefrom the vibration is emanating, the conchshell is ultimate. The conchshell sound is going beyond this temple. Does it mean that conchshell sound is bigger than the conchshell? The vibration of the conchshell, apparently it seems to be very great, but does it mean it is great? The great is the conchshell wherefrom the vibration is coming. That is the ultimate source. So oṁkāra vibration is all over the universe, that's all right; but wherefrom it is coming? That you have to search out. When you search out you'll find Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate. Not the vibration. Is that clear? Yes. The same example. The sunshine, all over the universe it is spread. Does it make it is greater than the sun? The sun is the source of the sunshine.
Just like we have got creative power, God has got also creative power, but by your creative power you can manufacture a big airplane or a sputnik to fly in the sky, but God's creative power, millions and trillions of planets are floating in the sky. Just like the sun. You see every day, the sun is there in the sky, and it is lying in one corner of the sky, but this one planet itself is fourteen hundred thousand bigger than this planet. This planet is only a teeny, small planet in consideration of other planets. So we cannot know even what are there in this planet. So many things are unknown. So all these planets are floating. That's a fact. So that is the difference between God and me. I can create a small aeroplane, and I can take the credit that our science is so much advanced that we don't care for God. No, you cannot do, sir. You cannot manufacture a planet.
So which of them is right? By seeing your direct perception, sun just like a disc—is it right? Or you take it from authority that sun is such and such times bigger than the earth? Which one of them you'll accept? But you are not going to prove it that the sun is so great. You do not know. You accept from some scientist, from some astronomer, from some authority, that sun is so great. But you have no capacity to see yourself whether the sun is so great or not. Therefore the knowledge received from authority actually we are accustomed and we are accepting this type of knowledge in every field of our activities.
And the last defect is that my senses are imperfect. I cannot see properly, I cannot smell properly, I cannot touch properly. So many defects. Just for example I am seeing the sun everyday but I am seeing just like a disk. But it is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than the earth. So śāstra-cakṣusā. You must see through the śāstra, not with these eyes. Just like they say sometimes, "Can you show me God? Have you seen God?" Well, can you see God? You cannot see even the sun properly. How can you see God? Why you are proud of your eyes so much? If you cannot see even material object and you cannot see even the spirit soul...
Because there is no difference of the mouth and legs, provided the mouth is working as mouth and the leg is working as leg for satisfying the Supreme. Then there is no such distinction. As soon as Kṛṣṇa consciousness is absent, a so-called brāhmaṇa is puffed up. 'Oh, I am born in brāhmaṇa family. I am bigger than the śūdras." That is falldown. The real purpose is that either you be mouth or hand or waist or leg, the real purpose is to maintain the body very perfectly. That is real purpose.
Similarly, either you become brāhmaṇa or you become kṣatriya or you become śūdra or vaiśya, real purpose is how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. That is explained in Bhāgavatam.
Whenever there is measurement, there is form. It is not...
But because we cannot see the form, we say nirākāra. It is our incompetency. Just like I cannot see beyond this wall. My seeing power is limited. Therefore I see there is nothing beyond this. There is nothing beyond this room. That is not fact. There is everything. I can see the sun, which is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet, but my eyes are seeing, daily just like a disc. So don't believe your senses. Your senses are imperfect. Whatever knowledge you get by experimental knowledge, experimental method, that is the modern ways of understanding. But these things cannot be experimented. Therefore we have to take the knowledge from the Vedas. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham (MU 1.2.12). Tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13).
This gagana will be annihilated at the time of destruction, but that does not annihilate.
So the idea of gagana is not perfect idea of the Supreme. Gagana-sadṛśa, that is limited within the purview of our knowledge because we cannot think that anything can be greater than this big sky. No, He is mahato mahīyān, bigger than the biggest, aṇor aṇīyān, smaller than the smallest. Just like we can imagine atom, the smallest. But atom we can see by some way or other atom. Six atoms, trasareṇu. Six atoms, when it is combined, we can see through the windows with the sunshine so many trasareṇu. Those small particles which we see through the window with sunshine, they are combination of six atoms. They are not original atom. But the atomic constitution of the living entity is a thousand times smaller than the atom. Therefore aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān: "He is greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest."
So to commit mistake, illusioned, and our senses are imperfect. The knowledge we gather through our senses, that is imperfect because our senses are imperfect. Just like we see every day the sun with our eyes, but because our senses are imperfect, we see the sun like a disc, although it is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. In this way, if we analyze our senses, it will be found that our senses are imperfect. By the imperfect senses speculating, that is not perfect. Therefore all the speculators, they, so-called scientists, philosophers, they put forward theories: "Perhaps," "It may be," like that. That means it is not perfect knowledge. But if we receive knowledge from the supreme perfect God, that it is actually perfect. Our process is like that.
These are the versions of the Upaniṣads. Kṛṣṇa, or God... What is God? God means the Supreme Person. That's all. Just like I am person. You are also person. You may be bigger in quality, in opulence, than me. And somebody else may bigger, may be bigger than you. Somebody else bigger than him. So similarly you go on, searching after who is the biggest? Then you come to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is person. Simply go on searching. As we search. Here is a big man, and here is a bigger man. Here is another biggest man. So go on, go on, you go up to Brahmā. Then after Brahmā, Brahmā is also not the ultimate. Because from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we understand: tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye (SB 1.1.1). Ādi-kavaye. Ādi-kavi (means) is Brahmā. Brahmā is also educated by superior person. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. Brahmā is also educated. He's not self-sufficient. He gets education from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa haite catur-mukha.
We are all trying to become predominator. Everyone is trying. Bhoktā. "I shall..." Competition is going on. You are predominator, say, for one thousands of worker or office clerk. Your office is so big. So I want to make my office bigger than you. So I want to become greater predominator than you. This is our competition, is going on. But none of us is actually predominator. We are all predominated. And because we do not know that "I can never be a predominator," therefore I am under illusion, māyā.
This is really inquiry, "What I am?" So this inquiry goes on. This is called brahma-jijñāsā, this inquiry.
Now, if you inquire something, then you have to ask somebody. You cannot go on inquiring and answering yourself. That is another foolishness. If you inquire, then you have to inquire from a person who is bigger than you. Is it not? Can you inquire yourself when... Suppose you may cross a street. You have forgotten which way to go. Then you have to inquire some police standing there or some gentleman, "Where is this way?" So similarly, this inquiry, if this inquiry comes into you, that "What I am?" then you have to go to an authority. The Vedic injunction therefore asks you, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) "If you are actually seriously an inquirer, then you must go to a spiritual master."
So exactly like that. Here sun is an insignificant part, creation, of the Lord. And the sun has got so much effulgence, bodily rays, that it is illuminating and heating the whole universe. You cannot deny it. This is the position of the sun. And there are millions and trillions of suns, each one sometimes bigger than this sun. This is the smallest sun. There are bigger, bigger suns. So we can understand what is the bodily rays. There is no difficulty. That bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa is called Brahman. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣu vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam, tad brahma: (Bs. 5.40) "That is Brahman, that prabhā."
This nature, what you see, the sky, a round dome, that, above that, there are layers of five elements again. This is the covering. Just like you have seen the coconut. There is hard covering, and within the covering there is water. Similarly, within this covering... And outside the covering there are five layers, thousand times bigger than the one another: Water layer, air layer, fire layer. So you have to penetrate all these layers. Then you will get the spiritual world. All these universes, unlimited number, koṭi. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). Jagad-aṇḍa means the universe. Koṭi, many millions clustered together, that is material world. And beyond that material world there is spiritual world, another sky. That is also sky. That is called paravyoma. So by your sense perception you cannot estimate even what is there in the moon planet or sun planet, this planet, within this universe.
So the Paramātmā cannot be seen with your naked eye. You cannot see anything with your naked eye. You are very much proud of your eyes, but you do not see things as they are. Just like you are seeing daily the sun. You see it is just like a disk, but it is not a disk. It is fourteen hundred times, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet. So you cannot see God, Paramātmā, by these eyes, these material eyes. You have to create your eyes.
We, spiritual master, we say, "Surrender to Kṛṣṇa." Where is my difficulty? I haven't got to manufacture things by high meditation and tapasya. This is tapasya, simply to become a faithful servant of Kṛṣṇa. That's all. So where is the difficulty? This is tapasya, that "I shall not speak anything beyond what Kṛṣṇa has spoken." This is tapasya. But if I want to adulterate, "Oh, I am bigger than Kṛṣṇa. I am greater than Kṛṣṇa. I am Kṛṣṇa," then you spoil the whole thing. That's all. Therefore it is warned: idaṁ te na atapaskāya nābhaktāya kadācana. "Never speak to rascals." Na ca aśuśrūṣave. One who's not... Here is another opportunity, one is eager to hear.
So we are speaking to persons who are at least eager to hear. Śuśrūṣave. Vācyaṁ na ca māṁ yaḥ abhyasūyati. Abhyasūyati means one who is envious. So this is right warning. But still, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to create the situation so that people may kindly hear about Kṛṣṇa. That is our business. Although it is warned that if we discriminate in that way, that here is a person, he has not undergone any austerities.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Even Śaṅkarācārya, the impersonalist, he says nārāyaṇa paraḥ avyaktāt: "Nārāyaṇa is beyond this material creation." Avyakta. Avyakta means there is a total stock of material elements beyond this universe. There are so many things to be learned. This universe we see just like a ball, and this ball is covered by layers of water, fire, air, earth, like that. Circling. And each layer is ten times bigger than the previous layer. In this way the universe is covered. And beyond that covering, there is another sky. We are prisoned here within this universe. We are thinking that we are very free to move in the sky with, what is called, sputniks. But you cannot go beyond your limitation. That is not possible. They are going to the moon planet, again coming back. You see. That is our conditional life, that you are conditioned, packed up under certain regulations. If you violate, then you are punishable. You cannot violate.
I want to see personally. "All right, put up the light. Now see." That is your seeing power. You see under condition. Therefore your seeing power is imperfect. Your thinking power is imperfect.
So every sense... We are gathering knowledge by the imperfect senses. We are seeing every day, morning, the sun which is bigger than this earth by fourteen hundred thousand times. And we are seeing just like a plate. If he's not informed by an authority when he goes to school... The teacher of geography, when he informs, "My dear boy, the sun is very, very big," then he can understand. I am seeing that the one airplane is running very fast, flying in the sky. A child sees, "Oh, such a big thing. How it is flying?" He does not know that this machine is not flying independently. There is a pilot.
And knowledge Now, knowledge, so far our knowledge is concerned, it is very limited. We do not know We can have some experience of our present knowledge, but we do not know what was in the past and what is going to happen in the future. Present also, our knowledge is imperfect. Just like we are seeing the sun daily, but what is our experience? The sun is bigger than this planet, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger. Fourteen hundred thousand pieces of this earthly planet can be thrown into the sun planet, it is so big. Unless it is so big, how it is possible the sun planet is distributing heat and light for millions and millions of years, and although it is situated ninety millions miles?
We are confident. Therefore we are walking. But actually, the vast ocean, within a second, it can succumbic(?), so many cities. But by whose order it is keeping the honor, "No, not beyond this. You may be very great, that's all right, but not beyond this line, demarcated"? This is Kṛṣṇa's order.
The sun is so big, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth, and so powerful, blazing fire. You know, those who are scientific men, they know, the sun has got his orbit, and little deviation from the orbit can turn the whole world into snow, and turn the whole world into blazing fire. Where is our scientist friend? Is it not a fact? (Svarūpa Dāmodara makes reply) Yes. It is running under certain orbit exactly, because a little deviation from the orbit will create havoc, catastrophe. Immediately. Either fire or snow. So under whose order the sun is so strictly following the demarcation?
So we are think..., we have got limited energy, creative energy, so-called scientific knowledge, so-called other knowledge. Limited. Because our senses are limited. And we are thinking that God may be a little bigger than me, Kṛṣṇa? But as soon as it comes to the point that He, He can lift the mountain and the world, the planet, then they doubt. That is saṁśaya. But actually, if you are advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you must be free from all doubts. You must know perfectly well what is Kṛṣṇa. So that is also possible by devotional service. Just like Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). "If one wants to understand Me perfectly..." Kṛṣṇa cannot be understood perfectly, but still, just to drive away our doubts... Because we have got so many doubts. So that doubts can be also dissipated bhaktyā, by bhakti.
The whole planetary system is floating, but there may be some demon who can take one of them and put within the water. The planets are floating; that is known to everyone. We can see, actually, that such a big, gigantic mass... Even the sun, which is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth, that is also floating in the outer space. The support is ananta. They say "law of gravitation"; we say Saṅkarṣaṇa. Saṅkarṣaṇa. So He is holding every planet, and it is said that all these universes are resting on the hood of Śeṣa-nāga just like a small grain of mustard.
Don't think you are all and all. The rascals, the so-called human scientists, they are thinking they are all in all. "I am the monarch of all I survey." That is not. In God's creation there is smaller than the smallest and the bigger than the biggest. Nobody can claim that "I am everything." No. That is not possible. So they were standing on the... Without standing, how they are churning? But the sea water is up to the knees. How they can stand? So the seven mile sea water is up to their knees. Your, an ant, even seven inches is sufficient water. And for you seven feet is sufficient water. Similarly, others, even seven miles is not sufficient. This is the order of... Don't think that these are all stories. Surāsurāṇāṁ mathnatām. "How they can stand on the ocean? How they can churn? Oh, these are all stories." They are not stories. It may be story for you.
And such hundred years they live." So how the fly will understand? Similarly, we cannot understand. When the duration of life of Brahmā is described, we think it is story. Similarly, they will think also story. Nothing is story. In the Vedic literatures all informations are there. Their relative life, big and small, smaller than the smallest, bigger than the biggest. Don't think that these description in the Vedas, they are stories. They are not stories. They are facts. But we cannot accommodate in our poor teeny brain. That's all. So what we shall understand about God? It is not possible. Therefore it is said, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). In our present senses we always think of seeing. But we forget, what seeing power we have got? It is nothing. It is simply under certain condition we can see a little portion. We cannot see perfectly, so we should not believe in our seeing power. So therefore śāstra says, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ: "You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa and God by your present imperfect senses.
That is the difference. (break) ...quality but not full, not pūrṇa. Therefore puruṣaṁ pūrṇam. God has got the full qual..., not only this one planet—there are millions of planets floating in the air. You can see the sun planet. It is 1,400,000 bigger than this planet. That is also lying in the one corner. So that is God's creation. You can create a teeny 747, that's all. Therefore your power is there, the similarly, but very, very small quantity. So we have to take care of our teeny power. Just like the spark. The spark, put, put... But if it somehow or other falls down from the fire it is extinguished. It is extinguished. Similarly, we are part and parcel of God, the spark. If we remain with the fire, it is beautiful. And if, by chance, we fall down, then you are extinguished. Your brilliancy, the fiery quality, becomes extinguished. So our present position is like that.
Kṛṣṇa can manufacture this gigantic cosmic manifestation and He can manufacture also a small insect, smaller than the point.
You have seen sometimes in the book you'll find one insect is running. The shape is smaller than the full stop. This is Kṛṣṇa's craftsmanship. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. He can create bigger than the biggest and the smaller than the smallest. Now human being, according to their conception, they have manufactured the 747 airplane, supposed to be very big. All right. According to your consciousness, you have produced something big. But can you produce a small airplane like insect flying? That is not possible. Therefore greatness means that who can become greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest. That is greatness. If you can act one-sided... That is also not perfectly.
So of all these, the śruti-pramāṇa, or the evidence by the śruti, is very important. Pratyakṣa, anumāna and śruti. Pratyakṣa: direct perception. Direct perception has no value because our senses are all imperfect. So what is the value of direct perception? Just like we are seeing every day the sun just like a disc, say, about twelve inches or eleven inches. But it is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. So therefore our direct perception with the experience of these eyes has no value. Similarly all the senses, either eyes or nose, by smelling, by touching, by tasting, by hearing... There are so many senses we can experience knowledge. But because the senses are imperfect, whatever knowledge you are getting by exercising your senses, they're all imperfect. Just like the so-called scientists. Because they're trying to understand by exercising their, this imperfect senses, they always remain imperfect.
And this planet, earthly planets, is only a small planet in that universe. And on this earthly planet, there are so many cities. And in each city, there are so many newspapers. And each newspaper has got so many editions. This is the position of the material world. Now, think over the spiritual world. It is... The spiritual world is three fourths, three times bigger than this material... And there are so many planets, so many universes, and so many activities. So we can produce not one newspaper daily, but every minute a newspaper. We can produce. Unfortunately, there is no customer. You see? This is the difficulty. For material news, there are so many customers, but when we put something, spiritual news, no customer. This is the difficulty. Otherwise... You are thinking of one newspaper daily. We could issue every second a newspaper about spiritual news." So this sixty books is not sufficient. It is simply an introduction to the spiritual activities of the spiritual world. People have no interest. They do not know. We are simply trying to introduce it.
He can become the smaller than the smallest, the higher than..., the bigger than the biggest. That is Kṛṣṇa's power. (devotees pay obeisances) So, you can go? (end)
So this is past, present and future. And there are moving and... Just like we. We are, animals or man or birds and beasts and insect or aquatics, we are moving. And there are not moving, just like the hill, stones, the trees, plants, the grass. They do not move. But we are moving. So moving, unmoving. And we exist past, present, future. And there is biggest, bigger than the biggest, the whole universe. Although you have got airships, you cannot go, neither others. So many machines have been discovered, but go and see the... They cannot go even to the moon planet, what to speak of others. Therefore it is very big for us. When we speak of universe we cannot think of. They simply calculate, the scientists, by light year, and this year, that year, the speed. But we cannot approach even in this material world, and what to speak of Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa is in the spiritual world. We cannot calculate the length and breadth of this material world. Our knowledge is so imperfect and meager, and what we can understand of the spiritual world?
Paśyati means "one who sees," and apaśyati, "one who does not see," "blind." So there are two kinds of men within the world: paśyati, apaśyati. Simply having the eyes, one cannot see. This is not... Because our senses are imperfect. We see every day the sun just like a small disc. But it is not a small disc. It is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet. Therefore our sensual perception is not all. That is not perfect. We are deficient: we commit mistake, we are illusioned, we cheat, and our senses are imperfect. As such, there is no possibility of having perfect knowledge by a conditioned soul. That is not possible.
Before the age of attaining puberty, it is the duty of the father, or if she has no father, it is the duty of the elder brother to get her married somehow or other. (laughter) Give her in responsibility to another young man. This is the duty. Yes. This is the duty. So therefore... Female population is always bigger than the male population. Then you can ask, "Where so many husbands?" Therefore polygamy was allowed. And the kings, the kṣatriyas who had money and who had very nice strength also, they used to marry more than one wife. You'll find all the kṣatriyas... Even Kṛṣṇa, the best kṣatriya, He married 16,108 wives. Wholesale. (laughter) Yes.
Kṛṣṇa says, that "I am the seed-giving father of all living entities." "Of all" means sarva-yoniṣu, in different forms, in different species of life.
This outward dress is different. Somebody has become ant and somebody has become elephant or bigger than that, whole fish. Another fish there is timiṅgila. That perhaps we have not seen. Whale fish, some of them have seen. It is just like as big as a big house. And still, whale fish, just like you swallow up some small nut, they are called timiṅgila. So there are so many varieties of life. We do not know. But we know from the śāstras. In the śāstra we can know. Therefore we should consult Vedic literature to have full knowledge. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi: "In the water there are 900,000 species of life." Now, who can deny it? If you deny, then I shall tell you that "Go and count." (laughs) But we can get the full knowledge from the śāstra. This is called Vedic knowledge. Everything is complete.
The body is a combination of five elements. So there is stock in the... This universe is covered by seven layers: earth, water, fire, air, like that. When we shall be going to the spiritual sky, we have to pass through the seven layers. And each layer is ten times bigger than the first. Suppose we pass the air layer; the next layer, the fire, is ten times bigger. Then water, ten times. In this way, we have to pass through. We are so much tightly packed up. It is not so easy that I take a sputnik and go anywhere. No. That requires sādhana-bhajana, practice, how to give up this encagement of seven layers and then completely pure spirit soul, you enter into the spiritual sky. That is merging in the spiritual effulgence. Brahmajyoti. Then you can go further and enter into the spiritual planets, if you are fit for that. Otherwise you'll remain in the brahma-jyotir.
"I don't want any this, any kind of benediction. I have got You. I have no more necessity of any benediction."
But Kṛṣṇa is so kind, He gave him both, that "Dhruva, you desired for some material prosperity, a kingdom. So I have created one kingdom, Dhruvaloka, for you, which is so many times bigger than your father's kingdom. So you will... So that is especially for you. That is Vaikuṇṭha. You will go there. But you wanted your father's kingdom. So you take your father's kingdom also." So he enjoyed his father's kingdom for 35,000 years. In those days, a man used to live for 100,000's of years. Satya-yuga. So Kṛṣṇa is so kind that whatever desires you have got within, He'll give you all facilities. Akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ (SB 2.3.10). But intelligent persons, they will not ask anything from Kṛṣṇa. Just like a dependent child, he's fully dependent on the father. So father knows how to raise him to be a perfect man.
You do not know what is actually the position. Therefore the conclusion is that we have to take knowledge from the perfect. Śāstra-cakṣusā. Your eyes should be... Actually we are doing that. Now, directly we are seeing the sun. We see just like the disk. But when you go through scientific books, geographic and other authorit..., astronomy, they, "No, the sun is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet." So actually we are understanding about the sun not by our direct eyes but through the authoritative knowledge, through the śāstra, through the books.
Śruti-pramāṇam. That is evidence, śruti-pramāṇam. Śruti means Veda. In the Vedas it is stated... Just like Brahmā. He is receiving Vedic knowledge from, directly from God, Kṛṣṇa. Brahmaṇe darśayan rūpam. This is the process of understanding. Brahmā, how Brahmā is receiving knowledge? Directly he sees there is nobody there, but he is receiving knowledge. Directly he could not see.
Pradyumna: "The kingdom of God or the atmosphere of Vaikuṇṭha nature, which is called the tripād-vibhūti, is three times bigger than the material universes and is described here as also in the Bhagavad-gītā, in a nutshell. This universe, containing billions of stars and planets, is one of the billions of such universes clustered together within the compass of mahat-tattva. And all these millions and billions of universes combined together constitute only one-fourth of the magnitude of the whole creation of the Lord. There is the spiritual sky also. Beyond this sky the spiritual planets are there under the names of Vaikuṇṭha, and all of them constitute three-fourths of the entire creation of the Lord. God's creations are always innumerable. Even leaves of a tree cannot be counted by a man, nor the hairs on his head. However, foolish men are puffed up with the idea of becoming God himself, although unable to create a hair of their own bodies."
Prabhupāda: So I have protested this false God consciousness in all my purports. That is my business, to punish all these rascals. You see? I become very much angry, anyone says before me, "I am God, he is God, everyone..." I cannot control myself. (laughter) Yes. I am so obstinate enemy of these rascals. I want to kick them on their face, but it is incivility. It becomes... But I want to kick them. It will be my pleasure. Never mind I go to hell. Go on.
This is yogic power. Aṇimā laghimā prāpti. All kinds of siddhi, material siddhi. Whatever he likes, he can do. That is yoga-siddhi. Not simply pressing the nose and making some gymnastic. One must gain the yogic siddhi. By the, by the siddhi-yogī, he can do everything he likes. He can become smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. Whatever he likes he can get immediately in hand. Wherever he likes, he can go. That is yoga-siddhi.
So this Kardama Muni was a siddhi-yogī, and his wife, Devahūti... So he had nine daughters, and they were all distributed to the Prajāpatis. Just like Dakṣa Mahārāja, Prajāpati, and there were many others. And the only son was this Kapiladeva. He is incarnation of God, Kṛṣṇa. And He is one of the mahājanas. Mahājana means authority. There are twelve authorities according to Vedic śāstra. One of them is this Kapila.
This is called struggle for existence. Generally, yoga practice is executed for getting some material profit: aṇimā laghimā prāpti īśitā vaśitā mahimā. Aṇimā... The yogis, they have aṣṭa-siddhi-yoga, eight kinds of perfection. One can become smaller than the smallest or lighter than the lightest, bigger than the biggest, whatever he likes, he can get immediately, vaśita, he can control over, he can create a planet even. These are some of the yoga-siddhis. But here it is said that the supreme yoga system is not to aspire for material happiness, neither to become distressed by the material inconvenience.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa has become so merciful. Here, of course, the Deity is very big. Not very big. In Hyderabad we have got three times bigger Deity, like... But you can have a small Deity. Many Vaiṣṇava, they carry Deity with them, a small Deity in a small box, and they worship. So Kṛṣṇa... Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. He can become bigger than the biggest and the smaller than the smallest. That is Kṛṣṇa.
So real thing is bhakti, bhaktyā. Therefore it is said, bhaktyā pumāñ jāta-virāga aindriyāt. And the more you serve Kṛṣṇa, serve Kṛṣṇa... You give Kṛṣṇa to eat; you give Kṛṣṇa to be dressed nicely. Then you will forget dressing of yourself. Now see these devotees. They are dressing Kṛṣṇa so nicely, they are satisfied with that dressing of Kṛṣṇa. They are not very much busy for dressing themselves. This is bhakti-yoga, virāga.
If you think that "Because I have seen sunshine, then I have seen everything. I have known everything of the sun..." No. You do not know even how big the sun globe is. And when you read books, when you read scientific books, you can understand it is fourteen hundred times bigger than this planet. So ultimately God is person. He is not imperson. Impersonal understanding is imperfect, partial understanding, that if God, Kṛṣṇa, is sac-cid-ānanda vigraha... Sat, cit, ānanda (Bs. 5.1). So impersonal understanding of Kṛṣṇa means you understand only the sat portion. The two other portion, cit and ānanda, you do not know. You do not know.
So if you understand Kṛṣṇa, then you understand the impersonal Brahman realization and localized Paramātmā realization. That is stated in the Vedas. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. If you simply understand Kṛṣṇa, then you understand the other two features, because Kṛṣṇa is ānanda. You see Kṛṣṇa's feature.
The same example: the frog in the well is thinking of the Atlantic Ocean. He has never seen Atlantic Ocean. He's speculating. Some friend told him, "My dear friend, frog in the well, I have seen a vast mass of water." "What is that?" "Now, Atlantic Ocean." "What is that Atlantic Ocean?" "Very great mass of water." "Oh? Bigger than this well? Maybe four feet or ten feet or...?" In this way, if you speculate, you will never understand what is God.
If you want to understand God, then try to understand from God Himself. He knows. Just like if you speculate of a big man, a neighbor, a friend, that "What is his wealth? Oh, he appears to be very rich man and very strong man, very influential man."
"I am Brahman. I am the same Supreme," thinking, concoction, like that. So there is also hankering. And siddhi, yogis, they want many perfection: aṇimā, laghimā, mahimā, prāpti-siddhi, prākāmya, īśitā, vaśitā. There are eight kinds of yogic siddhi. You can become smaller than the smallest, you can become bigger than the biggest, you can become lighter than the lightest, you can get anything you like immediately. These are some of the yoga-siddhis. But this is also hankering. This is also hankering, not śānta. Either karmī... What to speak of ordinary being? They are simply hankering. Even the so-called perfect karmīs, jñānīs, yogis, they are also not śānta. They are hankering.
Therefore Caitanya-caritāmṛta kaṛacā says, bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī-sakali 'aśānta.'
Therefore we have seen because śāstra-cakṣuṣā. You should see through the śāstra. Otherwise what can you see with your tiny eyes? You cannot see, say, three yards more than that. Imperfect. Every senses, all sense, they are imperfect. You cannot see. You are seeing the sun, but what you are seeing? You are seeing just like a disc. But it is fourteen thousand times bigger than this planet. So your this naked sense perception has no value. Don't try to gather knowledge through these naked senses. Try to gather knowledge just like how creation is made. And that is stated here by the authorities, Kapiladeva. And if you take it, then your knowledge is perfect. And if you imagine, "Perhaps there was a chunk, and there was this, there was that"—all nonsense. At least we, Kṛṣṇa conscious men, we don't accept this nonsensical proposition.
So the eternal form is Kṛṣṇa, but Viṣṇu, Mahā-Viṣṇu, who is the origin of material creation, kalā-viśeṣa, He is the expansion of the plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, Pradyumna. In this way He is present everywhere. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. He is bigger than the biggest and the smaller than the smallest. Relativity. Now here we are small stature. So Kṛṣṇa is present in a stature so that we can touch Him, we can dress Him, we can decorate Him. Similarly, in other planets... It is relative. The law of relativity is going on everywhere. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān.
Just like Professor Einstein. He used to accept how God's brain is working. He appreciated. He was a great scientist. And the ordinary scientist also, they think that "Now we are able to do everything without God. Therefore we are bigger than God." That is not fact. You are greater scientist when by your scientific knowledge you prove the existence of God and how He is working so finely that varieties of things are coming out of material nature. That is the perfection of knowledge. Otherwise svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (SB 1.2.13). Hari-toṣaṇam. Unless Kṛṣṇa sees that you are trying to glorify Him by your knowledge... Then He becomes satisfied, that "I have given him some knowledge, and he is utilizing this knowledge for My glorification. He is My devotee."
This big mountain, Himalayan mountain, that is also form of Kṛṣṇa. The big Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, that is also form of Kṛṣṇa. He says bhūmir āpaḥ. Āpaḥ. Āpaḥ means water. So not only water in this planet, but there are millions and trillions of Pacific Ocean bigger than that in other planets. So inconceivable. Therefore God is inconceivable, acintya. Acintya-guṇa. Acintya, inconceivable.
So in this way Kṛṣṇa is existing. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanaṁ ca (Bs. 5.33). But the original form is Kṛṣṇa. Aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). That is original form. That form is existing in Vṛndāvana. And other forms, they are distributed. Goloka eva nivasati. Actually, Kṛṣṇa is living in His original form in Goloka Vṛndāvana. This form, Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, this is the form in Goloka Vṛndāvana. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣam (Bs. 5.30).
Anugraha. Anugraha means favor. Just like the father wants to favor the son always. Father wants that "My son may become very fit, competent to take all my favors." This is father's wish. Every father, even in this material world, if father is very big man, great man, he wants that "My son also, let him become bigger than me." Is it not practical? So if God, Kṛṣṇa, is the original father... Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4), Kṛṣṇa says. It is not concoction or contemplation.
You are so limited. So how you can go to the planet where Kṛṣṇa lives, Goloka Vṛndāvana? You cannot go even to reach these material planets, what to speak of the spiritual planets. The spiritual planets means crossing this wall, the sky, seven layers of wall. Earth, water, again. And each layer is ten times bigger than the other layer. This is the construction of the universe. So you have to penetrate through these layers. Then you come to the spiritual sky. And the spiritual sky, there are millions of planets, Vaikuṇṭha planets. And the topmost is Goloka Vṛndāvana. So just imagine how far it is, Kṛṣṇa's abode.
His body is different, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). So that sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, spiritual body, can be expanded, reduced. Aṇor aṇīyāh mahato mahīyān. He can expand this body, spiritual body, bigger than the biggest, and He can reduce the body smaller than the smallest. That is God's body. You cannot do that. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-caya... God is within the atom. How He is within the atom? Then anor anīyāh. He can become smaller than the smallest. He can become the bigger than the biggest. So Arjuna, when he saw the viśvarūpa, He showed him the bigger-than-the-biggest form. But His usual form is two-handed and two leg. Just like it is said in the Bible, "Man is made after the image of God." So God has got two hands, two legs exactly. But He is the omnipotent, almighty. Our power is limited, His power is unlimited. Otherwise He has got form.
So see development. Siddha. Siddha means those who have got yogic mystic power, siddhi, aṣṭa-siddhi. Aṇimā, laghimā, mahimā, prāpti, īśitva, vaśitva, these are called siddhis. Nowadays so-called yogis, they show some gymnastic. That is not siddhi. Siddhi is different thing. One can become smaller than the smallest. That is called aṇimā. One can become bigger than the biggest, just like Hanumānji. He jumped over the sea. Jumped over sea... This is mahimā-siddhi. One can become as big as required. Just like there is water. A grown-up man can cross water by jumping, but a small child cannot do. So proportionately, if you increase your body by the mahimā-siddhi, you can jump over the sea. That is possible. So these are called siddhas. We have got description in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about the Siddhaloka. There the people can go from one planet to another in this body. That is called siddhi.
Just like we understand from Bhagavad-gītā, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). So Visvasvate, Vivasvān, is the sun-god. The sun-god, Kṛṣṇa instructed him this Bhagavad-gītā. He says personally, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān. So do not think that simply there is sun. No. There are It is very, very big planet, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet. Don't think that there is vacant. No. We get information from Bhagavad-gītā that every planet is full of living entities. It is not vacant, but they have got different types of body. It is not vacant. Different types of body. In Brahma-samita we understand, yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣu aśeṣa-vasudhādi vibhūti-bhinnam (Bs. 5.40).
So what is the difference? They are also acting, you are also acting. Similarly, God, Kṛṣṇa, is the supreme father. So so far the activities are concerned, the same. But the difference is that God is great; we are small. That is the difference. God can create the so many planets. Just like the sun globe, it is... There are other globes also. They are bigger than sun. Anyway, the sun is very big. So God has created this big globe, means fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth—or even this earth—floating in the air. You can float a big 747 airplane also floating in the air, but you cannot make a globe like sun and floating in the air. That is the difference between you and God. The creative power is there. Because we are part and parcel, the value is there. Just like gold mine and a small particle of gold. So small particle has... It will be called gold, and it has got some value. But not as good as the gold mine. This is the difference between God and ourself.
"Life after life, let me remain a faithful servant of Your Lordship." This is Vaiṣṇava. He doesn't want anything. Why he will want? If he becomes servant of Kṛṣṇa, then what does he want? Suppose if you become servant of a very, very big man, then what is the question of your want? This is intelligence. Any servant of any big man, he is bigger than his master. Because he is given Master is given so many varieties of food. Master takes little, and the balance the servants eat. (laughs) So where is his want? There is no question of want. Just try to become servant of God, and all your necessities will be sufficiently fulfilled. This is intelligence. Just like a rich man's child, does he want anything from father? No, he simply wants father, mother. The father-mother knows what does he want, how he will be happy. That is the duty of the father and mother. Similarly, this is very good intelligence: just to try to become the sincere servant of Kṛṣṇa. All your necessities of life will be sufficiently supplied.
So everyone controls. So in that sense everyone is god. Everyone is opulent. In his relative position, everyone is opulent. I have got one thousand, you have got ten thousand, he has got hundred thousand. But we have got something. So in that way everyone is opulent. Everyone is god. I control my children, my family. Or bigger than me, my boss, he controls a big establishment, a factory, big factory. And similarly, the president, he controls the state. So relatively, everyone is controller, god; but he is not supreme controller. That is not possible. Supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ-paramaḥ-kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Therefore it is stated in the śāstra, "The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa also says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: (BG 7.7) "My dear Arjuna, above Me, there is nobody." Above Him, there is nobody. Therefore He is the supreme controller or Supreme Lord, Parameśvara.
So that world, the spiritual world, there is if you go beyond this covering of the sky. You cannot touch even the ultimate covering even, Brahmaloka. We can see there is a covering round, what is called? Horizon. That is covering. This covering is covered by seven layers, same earth, water, fire, ether. One layer is ten times bigger than the other layer. If you can penetrate and go through, then there is the other world, spiritual world. So this is the position. We should be clever enough to understand the constitution of this material world, this material body, and the spirit soul, how the spirit soul can be liberated, how the spirit soul can go to the spiritual world and live there eternally. Everything is very nicely described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). Everyone can go. Mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām (BG 9.25).
He can become still smaller. Anor anīyāṁ mahato mahīyān. If you want to worship Him as the virata-puruṣa, then He can show you the virāṭa-puruṣa. The sky is the head and the Pātāla is the leg. He can become so big that you will be frightened, as Arjuna became frightened after seeing. He can become. That is called Brahman. Bṛhatvād bṛhaṇatvāt. He can become the bigger than the biggest, and He can become smaller than the smallest. That is Kṛṣṇa.
Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo (Bs. 5.34). And the speed? Vāyor athāpi manaso, speed of the air and the mind. Still, avicintya-tattve: they cannot understand what is God. Ask any scientist, any physicist, any mathematician. Just like recently one rascal—he is doctor—he has said that "Sītā was sister of Rāma, and Rāma was this and that." So speculator. He has become bigger than the ācāryas, and because he has got little doctorate title, he's thinking that he has become very, very big. This is going on. This is called māyā manaḥ. Māyā is so strong that she is bewildering even so-called doctorates, deletes(?) and others. All rascals. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. Although they have got these university degrees, but they are rascals. Why? Māyayapahṛta-jñānā. Their knowledge has been taken away by māyā.
Very, very, I mean to say, great task she is performing, that immediately the cloud comes. Now it is so bright. Within a second a very big, dark cloud may come and cause devastation immediately. That is possible. These are the wonderful activities of Māyā. But still, she is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We see this sun so big, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth, and you see morning, how quickly it gets up, like this, immediately. The speed is sixteen thousand miles per second. So how it is being happenend? Yasyājñayā bhramati saṁbhṛta-kāla-cakro govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajā... It is being done under the order of Govinda. So therefore He's vibhu. He is great. But we do not know how great He is. Therefore we foolishly accept some pretender, some fraud, as God. We do not know what is the meaning of God. But it is going on. We are fools. Andhā yathāndair upanīyamānās. We are blind, and another blind man lead us: "I am God. You are God. Everyone is God." But God is not like that.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Bhukti-kāmī-bhoga, enjoyment of the bodily concept of life. They are called bhukti-kāmī. Bhukti and mukti. Mukti means the jñānīs, they want to be liberated from material bondage and merge into the existence of Brahman, Absolute. That is mukti. Bhukti, mukti and siddhi. And the yogis, they want siddhi, aṣṭa-siddhi. Aṇimā, laghimā. They can become more smaller than the smallest, bigger than the biggest. Prāpti, īśitā vaśitā prākāmya. There are eight kinds of siddhis the yogis can attain. But a devotee does not want all these things. He has no demand. These are the three demands: bhukti-mukti-siddhi. But devotee has no demand. That is the special qualification. Devotee never demands anything. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja, as soon as appeared Kṛṣṇa, he said: svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce (CC Madhya 22.42). "I don't say." So this is pure devotee. And as soon as you become pure devotee, then your love for Kṛṣṇa becomes actual fact in the spiritual world, and you can associate with Kṛṣṇa in conjugal love or as parent, or as friend, or as servant, in whatever...
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
So people do not understand, do not consult this Vedic literature, how it is stated the Supreme. How one can become Supreme? The Supreme... We judge the Supreme in the same philosophy, frog philosophy. "Atlantic Ocean? Oh, it may be a little bigger than this well. That's all." So our calculation of God is always like that. "Kṛṣṇa, He looks like us, just like a man. So what is there? He may be a little powerful than me. All right, He has spoken Bhagavad-gītā. All right. He's little more wiser than us." So we always compare with us. But it is not. He's supreme. We have no idea of the Supreme. Therefore we forget personality. Patiṁ patī... It is clearly stated, pati. Can pati, the husband or proprietor, can become imperson? No. When the conception of pati, husband and proprietor, is there, then He is personal. Patiṁ patīnāṁ paramaṁ parastāt mahān prabhavaiḥ puruṣaḥ.
Similarly, in the sun planet, not only the sun-god himself is a person, but all the population there, they are like sun-god, made of fire, their body is made of fire, they can stay in the fire. Just like the fish, their body is so made that they can live within the water. Similarly, there also there are many, many living entities. The sun planet is very, very big, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. So it is all congested with population. And because they are all fiery, everything made there fiery, therefore it is a blazing fire, and the illumination is coming all over the universe. But they cannot understand this, the so-called scientists. It is not... Beyond their conception. But this is a fact. And the moon planet is also fiery, exactly like the sun. Therefore that illumination is distributed. But the difference is, so far I can remember, that the moon planet fire is surrounded by cool atmosphere. Because the heat is coming through some cool atmosphere, it is at night so pleasing. It is not vacant. There is also living entities. This is one of the heavenly planets.
All right, let Him have some big pot." So he gave Him big pot. Then again He became full. Then in this way he had to put it in the ocean, and He became oceanlike. Then he understood that He is God. So this is Godly power. He can take the shape... As the ocean is big, so He'll take and take this bigger-than-the-ocean form. But He is the maker of all forms. He has made ocean. But is it very difficult to understand how God becomes fish? That does not mean that every fish is God. No. So there is Matsyāvatāra.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
Your machine, airplane, is running on the space—but so long the machine is working. As soon as your petrol is finished, immediately it will fall down. Immediately. But these big, big planets... This is only one of the small. The sun planet is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet. So that is also... We can see the sun is floating in one corner of this big space. So how you can say that it is not controlled, it is floating out of its own self? No. The answer is there in the Bhagavad-gītā, that "I enter into this material planets, and then I keep it floating." Gām āviśya aham (BG 15.13), dhārayāmy aham ojasā. Dhārayāmy aham ojasā. Something mak... Just like you float this airplane; so somebody has entered within it, that driver or pilot.
Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures
Sometimes they are as big as one big ship. But there are other fishes, we get information, they are called timiṅgila. The big fish, the whale fish, and timiṅgila means there is another big fish which swallows this timiṅgila, this whale just like anything. These informations are there. And in Calcutta Museum, in our childhood—it may be still existing—we saw one skeleton of a fish that is bigger than this room, a skeleton. It is hanging on the ceiling. So there are very, very big, big fishes. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi. You get immediately information, without being a biologist, scientist, you can get information. The Darwin's theory, in most perfection, there is in the Padma Purāṇa: jīva-jatiṣu. The evolutionary theory is there. But Darwin is missing the real point: Who is, who is evolving? He's missing the spirit soul. He cannot explain. That is imperfect.
Festival Lectures
He requested Kṛṣṇa, "Please become again just like my friend. This is very fearful." Yes.
So Kṛṣṇa, because He is all-powerful, Para-brahman... Para-brahman means the bigger than the biggest and the smaller than the smallest. Aṇor aṇīyāṁ mahato mahīyān. Aṇu. Aṇu means particle. We have got idea, atom. Kṛṣṇa can enter into the atom also. Aṇḍāntara-sthaṁ paramāṇu cayāntara-stham. Paramāṇu means atom. Kṛṣṇa can become so big that many universes can be put into his mouth. Just like Yaśodā-mā, Mother Yaśodā. He (she) wanted to check, "Whether You have eaten dirt? Show me Your face, mouth." As soon as Kṛṣṇa opened mouth, "Oh," Yaśodā-mā said, "all the universes are within." So Yaśodā-mā, out of affection, she thought, "Oh, this is something puzzling. All right, close your..." (laughter) That's all. That is God.
Everyone says, "Can you show me? I want to see." And what can you see? What is the power of seeing? At night, if there is no sunshine, you cannot see, so what is the use of your seeing? If there is wall, you cannot see what is beyond the wall. You are seeing every day the sun, but we are seeing just like a small disc. But actually it is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. Similarly, we cannot see which is situated a very long distance. We cannot see even the eyelid which is actually with the eyes. But we cannot see it. In this way, if you study, every one of your senses you will find imperfect.
General Lectures
Aśeṣa-tejāḥ means unlimited heat, fire. Unlimited fire. Nobody knows what is the source of this fire, but there is unlimited fire. Some ninety-three millions miles away from this planet, still, the heat is sometimes unbearable. Just see what is the fire. And it is so many times, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet, earthly planet. So Brahma-saṁhitā says in spite of the sun's so many, I mean to say, high qualification, it is moving under the order of Govinda. Yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro. It has got its own orbit, it is moving, kāla-cakro. Kāla-cakro means limited. Nobody is unlimited. Just like we are also moving within the time limit, kāla-cakra. So the planet, this planet is moving, other planet is moving. Similarly, the sun planet is moving. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, I think if I am not mistaken, the speed of the sun is sixteen thousand miles per second, but it is moving.
This is the highest perfectional stage for the human form of life, and the topmost stage in all yoga systems.
"For a perfect yogi there are eight kinds of superachievements. One can become smaller than an atom, one can become bigger than a mountain, one can become lighter than air, one can become heavier than any metal, one can achieve any material effect he likes—create a planet for example. One can control others like the Lord, one can travel anywhere within or without the universe freely, one can choose his own time and place of death and take rebirth wherever he may desire. But when one rises to the perfectional stage of receiving dictation from the Lord, that is more than the stage of the material achievements above mentioned. The breathing exercise of the yoga system which is generally practiced is just the beginning of the system.
That has been searched in Vedic literature by Lord Brahma, and he said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1): "We have searched out all types of gods, all types of gods, but the Supreme God is Kṛṣṇa." "Everyone is God," that's nice. But there is bigger God and little God also. So if you go on searching after bigger God, bigger God, bigger God, when you come to Kṛṣṇa you'll find nobody bigger than Him. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Mattaḥ parataraṁ nasti. In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find, Kṛṣṇa said that "Nobody is greater than Me." And actually when Kṛṣṇa was present on this earth, there was no contemporary who was greater than Kṛṣṇa. Neither even at the present moment, there is anyone who can claim that "I am greater than Kṛṣṇa." In opulence... Greatness in six kinds of opulences: in richness, in reputation, in strength, in beauty, in wisdom, and in renunciation. If you analyze, you'll find nobody is greater than Kṛṣṇa even in material richness.
That doesn't matter. We can get a dog's body, or we can get a demigod's body. We can live for five minutes. There are many insects and germs which live for five minutes, and there are living entities in Brahmaloka who live for five millions of years. All varieties of life there are within this universe. By Kṛṣṇa's creation, you will find, aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān: the bigger than the biggest and the smaller than the smallest. You will find. Just see in this New Vrindaban. There are big trees, also small, very insignificant, so small tree that you are trampling over it. So in the living condition there are so many varieties, 8,400,000's of species. But the problem is not to promote ourself from this small body to big body, from the ant's body to elephant's body. That is not our problem. Not to accept this material body—to have our spiritual body, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). Just like Kṛṣṇa has sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, Nārāyaṇa has got sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. So that is our problem.
Meditation means to realize the Supersoul, and to realize that Supersoul is everywhere. How everywhere? Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham (Bs. 5.35). The Supersoul is within the aṇḍa. Aṇḍa means brahmāṇḍa, universe, and everybody up to the atom. He's within the atom also. Paramāṇu. Paramāṇu means atom. 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.
Prabhupāda: ...but when you go to school, you understand it is many hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. So your knowledge is always imperfect. You have to know from authority. That is the rule. If you want to know about the sun, you have to go to the authority who knows about the sun, not by your intuition, you think, "Oh, it is a disc. It is like this. It is like that." You go on speculation, but it is not perfect knowledge.
Young woman: When I go to the authority, and he tells me about the sun...
Prabhupāda: Anyway, wherever you go, first of all you believe that "Here is the place where I can know the real thing." That is the authority. If you have no faith, then you have no knowledge. You remain with your own knowledge. Go on speculating. Therefore the Vedic instruction is tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12).
The sky is the same. The clouded sky is not different from the original sky, but the cloud has come and has covered the sun. Not the sun. It is not the actual term. The cloud has covered my eyes. The cloud cannot cover the sun. The sun is fourteen hundred times..., fourteen hundred thousands of times bigger than this earth. Now, how a cloud spreading over, say, one hundred miles or two hundred miles can cover the sun? It is not possible. It covers the eyes of us who are within one hundred and two hundred miles. So as the cloudy sky is not different from the original sky, it is simply covered, similarly, this material world is not different from the spiritual world, but it is simply covered. In ignorance we forget Kṛṣṇa. That's all. The forgetfulness is compared with the cloud.
You cannot see anything. Your power of seeing is so limited that you cannot see anything. Therefore you have to see through Kṛṣṇa, through Bhagavad-gītā. You are seeing the sun, it is like a disc. But when you see through astronomy, then you will understand it is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. So what is the power of your seeing? Why you are so much proud of seeing? This is nonsense. Why do you go to school? To learn how to see. Why you can sit down, anyone who hasn't got, never has gone to school and never taken an education, his seeing and a perfect MA, Ph. D. person's seeing, is that all right, the same thing? Then why you are proud of your nonsense seeing? This will be the answer. You have to prepare your eyes to see. You have these, these eyes have no value. Your argument on the imperfect experience of the senses has no value. Yes?
Science is everything." But if you are cool brain, then you will see that now, in comparison to the sputnik, there are millions and trillions of planets and stars, big, big planets like sun planet, which is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. Apart from sun planet, if we take this teeny planet, earthly planet, on which we are living, there are so many oceans, so many mountains, skyscraper buildings. But if you go above this planet a few thousand miles, oh, you will see just like a spot, this big planet. You will see just like a spot. Not only spot, this one planet, but there are millions of planets. They are floating in the sky like swabs of cotton. So if we give so much credit to the artist who has manufactured this sputnik, how much credit we shall give to the person who has manufactured this arrangement?
We should always know that our senses are always imperfect. Just like we are very much proud of seeing with my own eyes. We say sometimes, challenge, "Can you show me God? Can you show me this or that?" But we do not know how much imperfect are our eyes. We are seeing every day the sun, but we are seeing it just like a disk. But actually the sun is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet. We cannot see. If there is (indistinct), immediately there is darkness, we cannot see. Unless there is light, sunlight or electric light or moonlight, we cannot see. We cannot see our eyeballs. We cannot see the eyelid, nearest. Longest, longest we cannot see; nearest we cannot see. Therefore we should not be very much proud of our seeing directly, direct perception. So direct... Anyone who is trying to understand the Absolute Truth by direct perception, he can rise up to the impersonal Brahman understanding, not more than that. And those who are trying to understand the Absolute Truth within his heart, just like yogis...
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: There are eight kinds: aṇimā, laghimā, prāpti. Prāpti, now you are sitting here, now you have left something in London, you simply... (laughter). No telephone call; stretch your hand and get it. Prāpti. They can go by the beams of the sun in the sun globe. Prāpti. Then mahimā, you can become bigger than the biggest.
Śyāmasundara: How is that?
Prabhupāda: How is that? That you have to learn. (laughter) You practice yoga and you learn. Just like Hanumān, he jumped over the sea. So it is a question of becoming bigger. Just like you can jump over this space, but if you have got bigger body, then you can jump bigger space. That is called mahimā-siddhi. So if you increase you body proportionately, then you can cross the sea from here to here. Your legs become bigger and your jumping becomes more bigger. This is the process. It is called mahimā-siddhi. Again he carried the hill. Rāmacandra asked him, "You bring Me that medicine from there." He could not find it so he got up the whole hill. So those are yogic siddhis.
Prabhupāda: No. That is called direct perception. So direct perception is not perfect. It is no... Just like I see the sun (indistinct), but I see just like a disc. But it is not a disc. Therefore my direct perception of the sun is imperfect. When we go to scientific book, astronomy, then you can understand that it is so great, fourteen hundred lakhs, or fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than the earth. So this my direct perception, it has no value.
Śyāmasundara: What about the knowledge, for instance, "This snowball is white"? Isn't that a direct fact, this understanding by everyone?
Prabhupāda: Yes. The snowball is white, but it may be mixed up (indistinct) white. That is also very (indistinct).
Dr. Rao: Snowball is actually colorless. It is not white.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is called sajātīya-vijātīya bheda in Sanskrit. Different... Sajātīya. Just like two trees, two mango trees, but still there is difference. They are one as mango tree, but this tree is different from that tree. Similarly, the fingers. As finger they are one, but this finger is different from this finger. Although sajātī. Sajātī means of the same category, but there is difference. Although the same category, finger, but this finger is bigger than this finger. The whole body. It's a part of the body. Hand is different from leg. Leg is different from his head. Head is different from palm. Palm is different from sole. There are so many differences. They are called sajātī vijātī.
Śyāmasundara: So the one characteristic that they all have is that they are individuals, that they are individual.
Prabhupāda: That means, what he called three stages, karmī, jñānī, yogi. That karmīs, they are trying to improve their condition by this material science and material advancement of education, and some of them are trying to go the heavenly planets by pious activities. These are karmīs. And higher than the karmīs are the jñānīs. They are speculating on the Absolute Truth by their education and coming to the conclusion that God is impersonal; when we merge into that impersonal feature, that is our liberation. And the yogis, they are trying to get some mystic power by practicing mystic yoga system—wonderful power, aṣṭa-siddhi, eight kinds of perfection: to become lighter than the lightest, to become smaller than the smallest, to become bigger than the biggest. Whatever they like, they can get. They can subdue anyone, bring under his control with that yogic (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is always present, but if when you hold a ceremony, garbhādhāna ceremony, that "I am going to have sex with my wife for begetting a Kṛṣṇa conscious child," then you remember Kṛṣṇa. And at the time of sex, the mentality of the father and mother, that is acquired by the child. There is rules and regulation for garbhādhāna ceremony, and in the Bhāgavata you will find that as soon as a..., the..., one gives up the garbhādhāna ceremony, he is a śūdra. So who is observing this garbhādhāna ceremony at the present moment? Therefore everyone is śūdra. Kalau śūdra-sambhavāḥ. Everyone is born as śūdra. The father and mother gave birth as śūdra. So this birthright of brāhmaṇa is no longer in this day. Even they falsely claim, "Because I am born of a brāhmaṇa father I am brāhmaṇa," that śāstra will not support. Whether garbhādhāna ceremony was performed? And nowadays, especially, who knows that he is son of a brāhmaṇa? The woman is intermingling with everyone, and who has given birth of the child? Whether he is actually a brāhmaṇa's son, a śūdra's son, who knows it? So how he can claim, by birthright, a brāhmaṇa? That is not possible. Therefore everyone is śūdra. But he can be trained as a brāhmaṇa. That is pāñcarātrikī-vidhi. We are following this pāñcarātrikī-vidhi, not Vedic vidhi. Vedic vidhi is different. Pāñcarātrikī. By training. He has got little tendency, little fire, to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. All right, fan it, make the fire bigger than this. But if he gives up the firing process, he remains fire, but he will go unfinished. (Sanskrit), that a small seed, you sow it and regularly pour water... Just like Govinda dāsī introduced this Tulasī. She is responsible for introducing Tulasī in the Western countries.
Purports to Songs
So udapāsya. You give it up. Jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta. Just become submissive. Don't think yourself that you are very learned. Because if the senses are imperfect, how you can be learned? Whatever you see, that is imperfect. Just like we see every day the sun, these eyes. And what we see? It is just like a disc. Is it a disc? It is fourteen hundred times bigger than this earth. So what is the value of your seeing? You cannot see what is behind the wall. Still, you are proud of seeing—"Can you show me? Can you show me God?" And what power you have got to see? That he does not consider. He thinks, "I have got seeing power." Similarly, you study every sense—they are all imperfect, blunt. So any knowledge you acquire by gymnastic of the senses-useless. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching. Not Caitanya Mahāprabhu's, it is the Bhāgavata's teaching and Caitanya Mahāprabhu's the same. So we have to give up this nonsense idea, that "I can attain to the perfect knowledge by speculation, manodharma, by speculation, manodharma, mental gymnastic." This will not help us.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1969 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. What is the description?
Satsvarūpa: Very excellent location, right downtown. The things wrong with it is that the temple area is no bigger than the temple area we have now, but the location is just the greatest. Second floor. Still, right downtown.
Prabhupāda: Second floor. So what is the rent?
Satsvarūpa: Three hundred a month. But we can do it as long as... Presently, Patita-pāvana is working and so am I, and sometimes the gopīs get some money. So we wouldn't have any problem as long as Patita-pāvana would continue to work.
Prabhupāda: All right, Kṛṣṇa will solve the problems. But the space is not lesser than this temple?
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Now, who is that person, or the authority, who is giving that law, who is controlling that law? That is divine search. But that divine search cannot be completed by the speculation of our imperfect senses. Our senses are imperfect; therefore whatever knowledge we gather by speculating our imperfect senses, that is imperfect. Just like the sun. The sun is very big, bigger, fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth, but with our imperfect eyes we see just like a disk. If we remain satisfied with this imperfect knowledge, then we remain in darkness. We have to know the sun from the astronomer. They have calculated. They know. In this way knowledge, perfect knowledge, can be attained—when it is received through the perfect knower, not by speculation.
Prabhupāda: Well, what is the description?
Dhanañjaya: It's very nice. It's something like, ah, something like the size of this temple but bigger.
Devotee (2): Bigger than Los Angeles?
Dhanañjaya: And also it has a steeple.
Prabhupāda: Bigger, bigger. What is the price?
Dhanañjaya: Oh, more than 250,000 pounds.
Devotee (2): Quarter of a million pounds. Two lakhs of pounds.
Devotee (1): So that's six million dollars?
Dhanañjaya: No, one million. One million dollars.
Prabhupāda: Oh, that's all right. So by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, whichever book we are publishing, that is being accepted. And people inquire when they go for saṅkīrtana in big, big cities, they inquire, "Have you got this book? Have you got this book?" Yes. And we are receiving mail orders, at least twenty mail orders. And this time I was surprised. They have taken a godown in Los Angeles. This is bigger than the Rādhā-Dāmodara temple, so big. Only for stocking books and incense. We are manufacturing incense. That I suggested. Sometimes I went to Ramakrishna mission and I saw they are selling incense. So I suggested that "Why don't you..." So I gave them idea how to manufacture. Because I have...
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Just like we are seeing this ocean. We find it a vast ocean. But this vast ocean is nothing but a drop of water in the universe. There are so many, thousands or millions of vast oceans in the sky. So therefore the sky becomes the biggest. Then again, if you try to find out what is the bigger than this universe. We get information that these universes are coming out from the nostrils of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam... (Bs. 5.48). Just like with our breathing so many germs are coming out and going. So these all these universes are coming and going. So long it is exhaling, the universes are coming out. And inhaling, all finished. Then He becomes the biggest. Then you search out wherefrom this biggest personality comes? Then you come to Saṅkarṣaṇa. If you come to Saṅkarṣaṇa, then you come to Nārāyaṇa. If you come to Nārāyaṇa, then you come to Baladeva. If you come to Baladeva, then you come to Kṛṣṇa. And therefore Kṛṣṇa, the biggest.
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa went outside this universe, penetrating the sky. And Arjuna also accompanied Him. So it is Kṛṣṇa's power, He took His friend also. For ordinary human being it is not possible. But because Kṛṣṇa said that "All right, I'll take you." So He took him. This covering, universal covering, there are seven layers: earth, water, fire, air... Each layer is ten times bigger than the one layer. Then you go to the spiritual world.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Ten times bigger than each layer, it increases?
Prabhupāda: That one layer, the other layer is ten times bigger than the first layer, and the third are ten times bigger than that, ten times. In this way the whole universe is covered. What your scientists know? (laughs)
Prabhupāda: Direction, yes. That is said, mayādhyakṣena prakṛtiḥ: (BG 9.10) "Under My direction." So if it is possible for a common man like me, how much it is possible for God? That we have to understand. Now I want to go to India, London. Now everything arrangement is made. I can go immediately. So similarly, if God wants to do something, why He has to do something? Everything, as soon as He desires, everything is there. He wants "Let there be material creation." There is, immediately. This is God. We are thinking in my terms. "Oh, such a huge universe! How a person can create? Where he got this tool? Where he's got the hammer? And how he constructed it?" I am thinking like that. Because I am limited, I am thinking in my limited way. So I am denying, "There is no God." Therefore we have to first of all understand acintya, inconceivable power. Then we can understand God. If I think, "God may be..." That kūpa-maṇḍūka, that frog is thinking, "It may be little bigger than this, little bigger than this." So how you can understand Atlantic Ocean within the well? So these rascals are all frogs. So they are thinking in their own terms, God. And because they cannot accommodate, "There is no God, finish."
Prabhupāda: Therefore you are subordinate to the law, and the law is given by another, bigger person.
Krishna Tiwari: No bigger person. Now, now. These laws of nature...
Prabhupāda: How you say it is not bigger? Government is bigger than you.
Krishna Tiwari: No, no, no. That's misconception, whatsoever. As a matter of fact that's the opposite...
Prabhupāda: It is obstinacy. It is obstinacy. It is obstinacy. You cannot say government is under you. You are under government.
Prabhupāda: No, that... That is... You have to see through the śāstra. śāstra-cakṣuṣā. Just like you see the sun just like a disc, but when you go through the śāstra, authorized books, you understand that it is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth. So what is the value of your seeing? Why do you believe you're seeing so much? Your all seeing is defective. You cannot say that you are perfectly seeing. You cannot say that.
Student (1): Do you believe that there are other ways...
Prabhupāda: This matter which you are seeing, this is manifested. But there is material stock, unmanifested. A stock of water, stock of fire, stock of earth. Layer. This universe is covered by different layers, and each layer is ten times bigger than the other layers. That is unmanifested. That is unmanifested. Therefore vyakto 'vyaktāt. This, what we see, this is manifested, but the stock... Just like from the stock of your, I mean to say, stone and lime and cement and brick, you make a skyscraper building, manifested. But the stock is also there. Stock is also there. Similarly this manifested material world is there. It is taken from the stock. The stock is, a huge stock there is. We get information. Layer, the universe. And penetrating all these layers, we have to go to the spiritual world.
Professor: Oh, really?
Yogeśvara: Yeah. Our car was bigger than...
Prabhupāda: And they published it, "Rival of Nelson. The great rival of Nelson." They appreciated. Yes.
Professor: Sure, I know...
Prabhupāda: Everyone, everyone appreciated. After Ratha-yātrā, wherever our men went, they were received very well.
Professor: And what was the attitude of the Indian colony in London?
Prabhupāda: I do not know what is Indian colony.
Prabhupāda: Yes. No, especially of the Mr. Frog, Dr. Frog. He has never seen what is Atlantic Ocean and somebody informed him, "Oh I have seen such a vast mass of water." "Oh, is it bigger than this well?"
David Lawrence: Yes, beyond his conception.
Prabhupāda: These people are like frogs rotting in the well, and what they can understand of the Vedic knowledge?
David Lawrence: Yes. One of the themes, really, that interested me was this yearning, certainly it was true amongst the Jews, to return to a rural background, you know, to a rural sort of setting. I wondered if you felt much of the Vedas was in fact a firm belief an affirmation if you like, that the most true form of life, the most pure form of life is one that's lived alongside nature, not against nature as we seem to be doing in our urban setting.
Prabhupāda: No, no. Brahmā is a person like you and me. (Hindi) Jaya. (Hindi) Brahmā is also a living entity. Just like... (Hindi) We are all living entities. Similarly, Brahmā is also a living entity. Just like you are bigger than the ant, Brahmā is bigger than me. That is the difference only. But he's also living entity. So he lives for millions and millions of years. (Hindi) So the other gentleman not yet, not has yet come, our Asnani. So let him come. Then we shall begin talking. So it is not a fact that two millions of years ago, there was no living entity. This is all rascaldom. Time is immemorial, and many, many millions of years ago there were living entities, more perfect living entities. They're still living. But we have no information. Just like Brahmā. Brahmā's one twelve hours, if you believe in the Bhagavad..., statement of Bhagavad-gītā... sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ (BG 8.17). Read that.
Prabhupāda: That is special favor. In the beginning I was thinking, "Now my godbrothers, they have taken sannyāsa. They are begging from door to door. Why shall I beg? Let me earn money and start Kṛṣṇa consciousness." But that never happened. So I had to... I was obliged to take the dress of my godbrothers and preach, instead of earning money. Yes. Some astrologer told me that I should have been a man like a Birla. And I got all those chances in the chemical line, to become... Now I am bigger than Birla. That's all right. But even in business field, there were signs that in money things... I got so many good chances. But everything... Dr. Kartika Candra Bose he appreciated my activities, "Very intelligent boy." He certified to my father-in-law. This is the way of becoming rich man.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Devotee: The four or five first flashes were very, very big and regularly every thirty seconds it was big flash, bigger than lightning, brighter, very bright.
Gurukṛpā: Very brilliant.
Prabhupāda: One part like this?
Gurukṛpā: Yes, very fast.
Devotee: Across the sky, shooot, shooot, shooot. Very fast.
Gurukṛpā: About forty-five min..., we..., it was still going but the plane passed it and it stayed behind.
Prabhupāda: Mām ekam. Only Kṛṣṇa.
Dr. Patel: So āśrama varṇāśrama dharmo... Cārvāka says.
Prabhupāda: Somebody is bigger than Kṛṣṇa. Then what you'll do?
Dr. Patel: They're going, "All right, you can talk anything nonsense." It is nonsense, "You are a fool and a rascal, and a rogue and what you are calling so many words." He is that. And they believe him, that's all.
Prabhupāda: He yesterday talked like that.
Dr. Patel: Then... Then believe it!
Indian man (2): They say they're..., Kṛṣṇa is incarnation of Swami Narayan.
Prabhupāda: Yeah, they talk like that.
Prabhupāda: Yes. This is acintya-bhedābheda, simultaneously one and different. (break) ...covering of the universe. There are seven coverings. Each covering is ten times bigger than the one. Again, the seven elements...
Girirāja: So at night when we look up, everything that we see is within this universe.
Prabhupāda: Yes, within this universe, yes. And there are innumerable universes.
Girirāja: "And beyond that non-manifested matter there is the spiritual kingdom. That kingdom is described in the Bhagavad-gītā as supreme and eternal. It is never annihilated. This material nature is subjected..." (break)
Prabhupāda: Yes. The conclusion is that Kṛṣṇa being the reservoir of all pleasure, so the pleasure of fighting is there. So He can exhibit anywhere. (break) That is the understanding of Kṛṣṇa. As soon as we limit Kṛṣṇa like one of us, or little bigger than me, then I become doctor frog. (aside:) Don't come near. Why don't you tell them? (break)
Girirāja: "...Vasudeva attempted to take His son from the delivery room, and exactly at that time, a daughter was born of Nanda and Yaśodā. She was Yogamāyā, the internal potency of the Lord. By the influence of His internal potency, Yogamāyā, all the residents of Kaṁsa's palace, especially the doorkeepers, were overwhelmed with deep sleep and all the palace doors opened although they were barred and shackled with iron chains. The night was very dark, but as soon as Vasudeva took Kṛṣṇa on His lap and went out, he could see everything just as in the sunlight." (break)
Prabhupāda: He is a rascal. He is not fit to be seen by the great personality. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). You cannot see the sun-god. Does it mean there is no sun-god? What is the value of your eyes? It is imperfect. You are seeing the sun just like a disc, but it is fourteen hundred thousands of times bigger than this earth. Can you see it? Then what is the power of your seeing? Whatever you are seeing, that is defective. So don't be proud of seeing. What is your eyes? What is the value of your eyes? You cannot see even the eyelid. Can you see the eyelid? Although it is attached to your eyeball. So what is the power? Why you are so much proud of seeing? First of all, understand that "I am so defective, I cannot see perfectly, properly." And you want to see God with these defective eyes?
Prabhupāda: No, point is if in one place you can produce food grains, butter and milk, why not other place? That is my point. The land is everywhere the same. If one place... Now here, in Europe and America, there is enough production because the population is less. So the whole America is bigger than India, at least four times. And the population is not even half. What is the population whole America?
Bhagavān: 200,000,000.
Prabhupāda: And India?
Bhagavān: About 600,000,000.
Prabhupāda: Just see. And the land is four times more than India, at least. Therefore you find excess. You see? Otherwise, India is also producing. No, India is not producing. It is not utilizing all the land.
Prabhupāda: So there is no coconut tree, mango tree, banana tree. Huh? These are all useless tree, simply for becoming fuel. That's all. They're also condemned. Yes. Sinful trees. There are pious trees and sinful trees. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa... (pause) We have to go straight? (pause) This park is bigger than that Golden Gate Park?
Bhagavān: Oh yeah.
Prabhupāda: Eh? (pause)
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: Kṛṣṇa says that "One who is always active within is very dear to Me." Does this mean we should struggle to keep our minds engaged all the time in Kṛṣṇa's service.
Prabhupāda: Active within? Active within?
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: No, we must first of all understand that our senses are imperfect. Just like we are sitting in this room. We have got our eyes, but we cannot see what is there, going on, beyond this wall. The sun is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this earth, and we are seeing just like a disc. So the eyelid is just near the eyes, but we cannot see what is the eyelids. If the light is off, we cannot see. So we can see under certain condition. Then what is the value of our seeing? If we, even if we manufacture telescope, that is also manufactured by the imperfect senses, so it is also not perfect. So anything understood by manipulating our imperfect senses, that is not real knowledge. So our process of understanding real knowledge is to take it from the person who has the real knowledge. Just like if we contemplate or speculate who is my father, it is never possible to understand who is my father.
Prabhupāda: Oh, we have got any experience? You have got any experience? Then, why do you say nonsense, this? You have no experience, and you say something nonsense, ludicrous. They say "nature." What is the nature? Nature is a machine only. Just like the harmonium. It is also machine. But if one expert operator is there, it makes very melodious, oh, nice. So will the harmonium play automatically? And bring melodious sound? So they have no common sense even; still, they are scientist. That is our regret. They are less than common sense man. That you have to expose, that these people have not even common sense, and they are passing on as scientist. That you must protest because you are servant of God, you are servant of the scientist. Call them directly rascal. Let them defend that they are not rascal. He brought some scientist. I called him, "You are rascal, you are demon. You are everything," (laughs) and he tolerated. That means internally he accepted that he is a rascal. (laughs) Actually they... They have no common sense even. So we are not scientist, but we speak from common sense. That's all. Yesterday or day before yesterday, I was talking on common sense on law points, so Rūpānuga said that "You are bigger than lawyer." I do not know that I am bigger than lawyer, but I was speaking on common sense. The difficulty is they are misleading.
Prabhupāda: Hmm.
Haṁsadūta: You know the lady in the front here. There's this lady, Miss... Um, I can't think of her name. She called us yesterday, and she said it is much bigger than the land which we have purchased here, which is four acres. We bought four acres. So she didn't say how big it was. She didn't tell us. But she said there's several houses on it. And it will cost approximately 38,000 pounds. So it seems to be quite a sizable piece of land. And the man who owns the property, he knows that we are interested in it, and he is willing to work with us. And so far as we are told, that nobody knows about it. It is confidential. (end)
Prabhupāda: No, just like if you want to understand sun, say... what is called? Geography? Then you have to learn from the person who knows geography. You cannot learn from a person who has superficially studied. Then you have to go to the person who knows scientifically, astronomically, that sun is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet. You have to go to the astronomer. How far the sun is situated from us? So you have to go to the particular person who knows it. You cannot say that his knowledge and the child's knowledge, who is seeing the sun as a disc is the same. That you cannot say. If you want to know further enlightenment of the sun then you have to go to the person who is studying sun scientifically. So one who has studied the sun scientifically, his knowledge and a casual person seeing the sun, his knowledge is not the same. That you cannot say. Although everyone is seeing the sun, that's all right, but the knowledge of the sun, there are different.
Prabhupāda: No. The Bangladesh, they were Bengalis. Although the whole Pakistan, including Bangladesh and the other part, West Pakistan, East Pakistan, Bangladesh... So actually, Bangladesh is bigger than West Pakistan. They should have taken the government, majority. But the West Pakistan, by force they were ruling. They are not majority. So after all, they are Bengalis, maybe Muslim. They're intelligent than these Punjabis. Punjabis, they have got bodily strength, not brain. So these Bengalis, in Mujjhamat Raman, that was his demands, that: "We are majority. Why they should govern us? We should govern over them." This is the movement. So, but they're already in power. So how to throw them out of power? So he negotiated in India, that: "You help us to separate from..." And India's interest is that Pakistan becomes weak by separation, that is India's interest. So India agreed to help them. How to help?
Prabhupāda: Yes, there is a student here? (laughter)
Bahulāśva: He's in San Francisco. Or she's in San Francisco.
Prabhupāda: Why not woman become man? Then that will be nice. Manpower will increase. Because every country the population of woman is bigger than the man. So if a woman can be made into man, then manpower will increase.
Jayādvaita: Then the women will decrease.
Prabhupāda: No, there is no question of decrease. They are already increased. They will be equal quantity. (break) ...is there, therefore the dogs are not there. Dogs? Best friend, dogs, are not there today because the policeman is there.
Prabhupāda: That is His opulence. Here the material man, if he is rich man, he cannot become a poor man. That means he is lacking that opulence. (break) ...opulence. Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān. He can become the bigger than the biggest and the smaller than the smallest. That is opulence. You cannot manufacture a mosquito. You can manufacture a 747, but manufacture a mosquito, then we shall know your science. (laughter) ...the same machine. Otherwise how it is flying? (break) ...seen, so imperfect you are, that what are the machine there? And you are proud of seeing, nonsense. See the machine, where it is there, how the mosquito is flying.
Prabhupāda: This is Ba'hai temple?
Jagadīśa: No, no, it's back the other way.
Jayatīrtha: It's much bigger than this building?
Jagadīśa: Yes, it's quite a..., very nice. (break) (walking:)
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) ...buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke. So long one is in the bodily concept of life, he is animal. Will these people accept this? Hm?
Jayatīrtha: They won't like to.
Prabhupāda: Then?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: By our preaching we have to make them accept it.
Prabhupāda: Then where is the proof? From 1920 to 1975, where is a woman who is extraordinarily bigger than man?
Brahmānanda: Well, they might be able to bring some scientist who would say in 1975 that according to their calculations, there is no difference between the brain of a woman and the brain of a man.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Brahmānanda: In other words, that, what is considered scientific fact, that changes according to the social ideas that are prevalent in a particular time.
Prabhupāda: Rahu, yes. Rahu is between earth and sun. Moon is above sun.
Devotee (3): So it is bigger than the sun?
Prabhupāda: Not necessarily. The size is there in the Bhāgavata.
Paramahaṁsa: In Stockholm, Prabhupāda, in the museum, they have a whole room, and in the room there is all these... There's American flag and Swedish flag, and there's a whole exhibit with one teeny little rock about as big as my finger nail that the Americans gave the Swedes. It's supposed to be a rock from the moon. And they said in it that it's exactly as any kind of rock that you'll find on earth. (laughter)
Brahmānanda: Only civilized monkeys. (laughter)
Ambarīṣa: We(?) are living in the cities.
Prabhupāda: At least civilized man's forefather. (break) ...bigger than monkey. You remember? We were walking in that park?
Brahmānanda: Yes. Oh, yes. Many were in the trees, jumping. (break)
Prabhupāda: Birds who eat monkey. You know that? I have seen in Los Angeles zoo, monkey-eating bird. They capture the monkey by the neck and drop it. And when it falls down it dies, and meat. And I have seen one statue in the Central Park. They are catching goats-eagle. And there are big eagles. They catch up elephant. (break)
Prabhupāda: Then which is smaller is far away. (break)
Yaśomat-nandana: ...systems are bigger than the smaller ones?
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Yaśomatī-nandana: The upper planetary systems, are they bigger than the lower ones? In other words, sun is bigger than the earth, the moon is bigger...
Prabhupāda: Yes, there is measurement. (break)
Jayapataka: Some people say that "You are coming to India for preaching, but we Indians, we already know all the, about Kṛṣṇa and Rāma. Why don't... You should be preaching in the West, where the people don't know."
Mahāṁsa: Daily there are at least 2,000 to 2,2500 people coming to the program. There would be more if there was more space, but it's an enclosed hall, so we can't fit in more people. It's packed up.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: It's a lot bigger than it was three months ago?
Mahāṁsa: Oh, yes. We have very big publicity. And we get letters from different parts of Karnataka inviting us for programs in their villages.
Prabhupāda: Yes, you do that. (break) Some big man came to see me for cooperating with others like Chinmayananda and Vinoda Bhave.
Mahāṁsa: A businessman?
Prabhupāda: From the moon it can be made.
Haṁsadūta: (break) ...then the sun, it must be bigger than the sun.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Haṁsadūta: This moon planet must be a bigger planet than the sun if it's further away, because it appears bigger.
Prabhupāda: It does not look bigger than the sun. May be bigger. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) ...Kalākendra. So many kalākendras. Kalā means cheating, kalā. In Bengal, when it is called kalā, kalā deki dichi means cheating... (Hindi) I think in other countries also somewhere, they do so, that "I cannot do anything."
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Which way? This is natural lake or...?
Mahāmṣa: Yes, Prabhupāda. It never dries up. It stays full all year round.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Gigantic. Like the Hyderabad lake.
Mahāmṣa: It looks bigger than the Hyderabad lake.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Bigger.
Prabhupāda: (break) So if you are not independent, what is the value of your thinking independently?
Keśavalāl Trivedi: Absolutely none. None.
Prabhupāda: But everyone is thinking independently.
Prabhupāda: Dishonest. They are producing only dishonest men. (break) ...get a boat like this? No.
Jayapatāka: Not a dinghy. This is bigger than.... The dinghy is not suitable for rough water.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: How big is your boat? As big as that...
Jayapatāka: Forty feet. (break) ...boats in the back about two-thirds that size.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Jayapatāka: Those two big wooden boats back there? About two-third that size but not the same exact shape. Those are also big dinghies. (break) ...sagara, Midnapur, Diamond Harbor, that area, where...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That will immediately silence them. Big crane rolling in that can be seen. The crane will be bigger than any other temple that's already built here. (break) ...engineer from Larson and Tubro who came to meet you in Bombay? He says that they've built one building now, the tallest building in India. It's a thirty-five-story building. It's over three hundred foot high.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Madhudviṣa: Where is that? Bombay?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes.
Madhudviṣa: Air India building?
Prabhupāda: Separate. That is the way. That Hanuman Prasād in...?
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Hm. Yes, I remember him.
Prabhupāda: So, yes, so just suggest that way. Give him a plan.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Is he going to get any bigger than that?
Jayapatāka: I don't think so. He is half Australian and half Indian.
Prabhupāda: Best half. (laughter) Varṇa-saṅkara.
Jayapatāka: All of our cows are half and half, but the Western cows give the more milk.
Prabhupāda: So they have no ground to graze?
Prabhupāda: Nobody knows.
Jayapatāka: The volume is a million times more than the earth. Don't know the circumference. They say the sun is a million times bigger than the earth, volume.
Prabhupāda: (break) Cleansing.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Cleaning, pūjārīs, cooking.
Saurabha: Cleaning is very big job to maintain, especially with exhibitions that...
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Maintenance.
Jayapatāka: We can get a lot of people, village people, to come and live without pay and do the cleaning, but they won't be productive. I mean, they'll have to be supported by the temple. They'll just be cleaning all day.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: So why don't they be satisfied...?
Prabhupāda: No, they are bigger than Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's not their position.
Prabhupāda: Overintelligent.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: I remember one time Kārttikeya Mahārāja was chanting to a picture of Bhaktisiddhānta. You chastised him and said, "What is your connection with Bhaktisiddhānta? Your connection is with me."
Prabhupāda: Who said?
Prabhupāda: No.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's further away from us than the sun and twice as big as the sun. Ask Prabhupāda how big is the moon.
Indian man (1): Prabhupāda, how big is this moon? Is much more bigger than this?
Prabhupāda: You can see in the Fifth Canto. There is.
Hṛdayānanda: That means that māyā is just like a magician.
Prabhupāda: Yes, certainly. Therefore it is called māyā. Māyā means magician. Māyā means... māyā means affection, māyā means illusion, magician, so many things—strength, potency.
Prabhupāda: No...
Atreya Ṛṣi: Śrīla Prabhupāda, there is one point, that each of us thinks that our understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the only way. We must realize that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is much bigger, much, much bigger than our only concept that "This is bona fide, and this is the only way Prabhupāda wants it." We must appreciate that Prabhupāda is approving all of these ways, including how Siddha-svarūpa Mahārāja is preaching, and we must be more tolerant and accept each other. This is not un-bona fide. I've read his books.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda...
Atreya Ṛṣi: Yes, this is it. You are bringing in...
Prabhupāda: Our buses are bigger than this, I think. Eh?
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes.
Dr. Patel: This is a Matadar Campo(?), no? This is a Matadar Campo(?).
Devotee (2): (break) ...Deities with Acyutānanda Swami. He's going to travel down South India as soon as he's finished...
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, very nice. Better Gaura-Nitāi. Gaura-Nitāi is better.
Devotee (2): But Acyutānanda was explaining that people in South India don't accept Gaura-Nitāi so much as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: What Kṛṣṇa desires, if one dies, he's above all this material. But it should not be manufactured. The thing is that our spiritual master wants to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he has repeatedly stressed to distribute books, we shall distribute books by any means, that is good. That is good. And if you become moralist that, "Oh, they're taking this means, that means for selling of book, so I'm big moralist. I'm bigger than him."
Bhūrijana: I don't think there is so much enmity because of the books themselves.
Prabhupāda: No, I think that.. I do not know what they are doing, but I have information that they're not selling books.
Bhūrijana: Some I think. I think some.
Prabhupāda: But not...
Prabhupāda: You make arrangement.
Satsvarūpa: Yes. Very nice clean house, but not much bigger than a house like that. But very nice and clean.
Prabhupāda: Forty-eight cents?
Satsvarūpa: I don't know. Ambarīṣa? How much are cigarettes?
Ambarīṣa: I think they're seventy-five cents. They are very highly taxed.
Prabhupāda: Who cares for it? (laughter) Wine is highly taxed in India. When I was manager in Dr. Bose's laboratory, he was manufacturing alcohol(?) for medicinal purposes. The cost was one rupee eight annas per gallon. The government was levying duty. For medicinal purpose, five rupees per gallon, whereas purchasing liquor, fifty-eight. The government would take profit out of it, fifty-eight rupees.
Kīrtanānanda: How big is the temple room?
Hari-śauri: The temple room is not so big, fifty feet long and about thirty feet wide.
Prabhupāda: Bigger than here, double.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Very nice garden.
Prabhupāda: Very nice garden and on the riverside.
Kīrtanānanda: Can you bathe in the river?
Hari-śauri: Sometimes.
Prabhupāda: Yes, if you like, you can bathe.
Ṛṣi Kumāra: I saw one scientist on television, and he was saying on Mars there are mountains that are very, very big, much bigger than the mountains on this planet, and there's beautiful landscape, and they want to start a tourist industry, taking people back and forth.
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They want to start a tourist industry on Mars, taking people back and forth.
Prabhupāda: But there is no life.
Prabhupāda: No, if you accept Kṛṣṇa authority, then at least He is bigger than you.
Guest (2): Yes, sure. Not only authority on this thing. Because they have experienced, they have gone through that stage. And definitely we have to, because the..., just like from a teacher a boy learns, and it is that method. You have to learn from a higher person.
Prabhupāda: So you do accept Kṛṣṇa as the highest authority, and not only you accept, but all other authorities, they accept. Find out this verse. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12).
Prabhupāda: With smaller rathas.
Hari-śauri: Yes, palanquins.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But the crowd is bigger than ever.
Devotee: Yes, huge crowd.
Ādi-keśava: That's when we ah... Toṣaṇa, isn't that the picture that you showed them to show what our carts look like? He told the police, to get our permit, that our carts were like those little small rathas, so that we could get the permit. He said that we were having a parade with hand-pulled floats. When they thought of hand-pulled floats, they thought of little wagons.
Hari-śauri: They're going to get a shock.
Prabhupāda: The more you know about these things.
Ātreya Ṛṣi: You must inquire.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Oh, very good. Then is bigger than you. Very good. There is a verse in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe (CC Adi 2.117). To know, we have got limited knowledge, we cannot understand full what is God, but still we must try to understand what is God. This is the general definition of God. Suppose you take one item, God is rich, richest. Try to understand how He is richest, what is the topmost idea of all richness. Whether God possesses that richness. He possesses, but we do not understand. In this way we have to study, and all the saintly person have studied Kṛṣṇa, about these six things. They have analyzed the characters and symptoms and they have found īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Not blindly, but studying thoroughly about these qualities of God, they have decided īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1).
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the folly. You don't want to understand.
Mrs. Sahani: Because we have so many desire, we don't want to surrender.
Prabhupāda: We want to become bigger than Kṛṣṇa, than Arjuna. This is our folly. But the process is, as recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). You have to understand from the higher authorities.
Prabhupāda: Yes. You have got your intelligence. God has given you intelligence. Now you deliberate. But if you... A devotee, without using my intelligence, I surrender. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā (BG 7.19). Immediately you become the greatest mahātmā. If you simply believe in Kṛṣṇa, "What my nonsense intelligence...? What Kṛṣṇa says, I shall do. Bas." Your life is perfect. And if you think still that "I am more intelligent (than) Kṛṣṇa, let me deliberate and consider," then you remain rascal. You cannot be more intelligent than Kṛṣṇa. He says sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66), you take it. That is real intelligence. That is real intelligence. Just like obedient son, my father says to do it. "All right, I shall take it, although it does not appeal to me." That is good son. Natural guardian, father, if son understands "My father or mother, whatever they will say, it is surely for my good. They cannot be cheater." So intelligent son will take "Yes, my father says, I'll do it. That's all. Never mind it does not appeal to me." That is intelligence, real intelligence. "Because I am immature, my father knows my good, he says 'My dear son, do it. It will be nice.' I'll do it." That's all. Without any objection. That is intelligence. That is real intelligence. But the father gives the freedom, "Now you deliberate." But it is my duty, when father says, what is deliberation? I'll accept. That is intelligence. And if you do not do it, then you come to that karma, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). God offers, but the rascal, duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ, narādhamāḥ, will not do it. They'll suffer. Go on, continue to suffer. He'll not do it, all right, go on, suffer. Next life if he becomes dog, the ear is there, but he'll not be able to hear what Kṛṣṇa says: finished. That chance is finished. This is going on. The dog has ear, big ear, bigger than me.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: S. K. Samani, yes, Shri Krishna Samani. He liked it very much. Now the government has kept two policemen outside our Vṛndāvana temple to control the traffic, there is so much traffic. The policemen told me that we get even more people than Bankibihārī. But I don't think it's a fact, but the policemen say the crowd is bigger than Bankibihārī.
Driver: Should I take it around the gate? (conversation in Hindi)
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Also a lot of people are coming to the Delhi temple. The Maharani of Jaipur comes every second day. She is the daughter-in-law of the Maharani Gayatridevi. Everyone, lot of, many people are coming every day to our temple in Delhi.
Prabhupāda: What about Hyderabad?
Prabhupāda: No. Suppose, just like you are medical man, you are giving somebody medicine, you are giving the direction. If he wants to be cured, he must take your direction. Not that somebody comes, "No, no, you can take it this way, you can do this." That is nonsense. That is nonsense. This nonsense we want to stop. Kṛṣṇa is giving the instruction, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12), the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What business you have got to poke your nose and give interpretation? Are you bigger than Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa left it for you? This nonsense going on. Big, big swamis, big, big yogis, big, big politicians, simply misinterpreting, he's spoiling his own life and he's spoiling others. Bas. This is going on. Very serious condition.
Jayapatākā: Gigantic. He has given that to the university. Then we did a kīrtana at his... He has one temple of Rādhā-kānta. That's present ācārya is about a twenty-two-year old boy. He's in the sampradāya of Nimbārka Svāmī. So he doesn't know anything about, very much about spiritual life, although he is following the tradition. That's such a vast... That building is vast. I can't explain to you how big that is. It's at least five times bigger than our building in all ways, and... It is a huge compound. He has got much land in the name of the Deity. So he's becoming a member because he wants to read your books to understand about Lord Caitanya and spiritual...
Prabhupāda: Now for making member you should be very clear so that no misunderstanding takes place. Books, we shall give five books.
Pradyumna: Then, "John Erdman, a U.S. citizen who sails under the label of (sic:) Jayapak Swami and is in charge of the flourishing Māyāpur complex of the Society, recently had discussions with his chums to set up an In God We Trust Party in India also." Then, heading: "Bigger Than Defunct British Empire." "In a recent communication with Gargamuni Swami, alias Gregory M. Scharf, who looks after West Bengal, the chief from headquarters says, "Now we have become more than the British Empire"
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: This is your quote.
Prabhupāda: And what is British Empire? British Empire could not occupy the whole world. We are occupying the whole world.
Prabhupāda: He presented me one.
Jayapatākā: Many people ask that if the Gītār Gān could be put in Hindi.
Gargamuni: This Gītā Press, they have these little books selling for one rupee, and they've sold lakhs. If we can put Gītār Gān into many languages, it will be bigger than this Gītā Press.
Prabhupāda: So you can... It is poetry.
Jayapatākā: That's the difference, that Prabhupāda put it in poetry. Who has got that inspiration?
Prabhupāda: It is gān, gītā, song. One can chant it singing.
Prabhupāda: They go from one planet to another.
Caraṇāravindam: It is like a big plane. Bigger than jet.
Prabhupāda: And while flying they lay down eggs. And the eggs, while falling down, they become birds. By the, what is called?
Hari-śauri: Friction?
Prabhupāda: No, no. When they, what it is called. Velocity of falling down, it becomes fomented, and then the birds come out. Just like parasites. No? Parachute?
Hari-śauri: Yes, parachute.
Prabhupāda: I saw in London... Near London there is a village, Chelmsford, and he is Lord Chelmsford. We thought Chelmsford, the big state. (laughter) We were under the impression, Thames River is four times bigger than Ganges and (laughter) it is a canal. When I saw it, it is nothing but a canal. But they advertise this river, very big river. And underneath the water, men are going, and upper and wonderful. Big Ben, that Big Ben advertisement.
Haṁsadūta: Yeah.
Prabhupāda: Parliament. All photograph (laughter) actually. Downing Street, 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister's office and so on. And actually it's all (chuckles) no importance. Parliament, big, big advertisement. People are still going, they are paying fees to see.
Prabhupāda: That's it. So everyone can become a great soul if he accepts the proposal of God. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śara... (BG 18.66). Everything solved. But that he'll not do. Just like your first question was "How to solve these problems?" The problems will be solved as soon as he surrenders to God. But that he'll not do. He is bigger than God. He will make solution by his own plan. This is the difficulty.
Dr. Kneupper: Is that because of the age?
Prabhupāda: No, this is the... Just like anyone who is in the prisonhouse. They are all criminals, but some of them are first-class prisoners, some of them second-class, some of them third-class, but they are prisoner. Similarly, according to different time, people are more or less god..., godless. So this time is more godless. The prisonhouse is filled up with more third-class prisoners.
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Devotee: It's made to look like a desert but it's actually very lush and it looks a lot bigger than two acres.
Prabhupāda: (indistinct) ...these things are (indistinct), you can keep cows. Eh?
Devotee: I'm not sure if we can keep cows in there because it's inside of the city and sometimes they don't allow the cow within a certain zoning. And now the only problem we might run into with this is that it's not zoned right now for a church or a temple but...
Prabhupāda: Don't say "temple."
Prabhupāda: Mm.
Devotee: We were there this afternoon for a program, and all their land is so green, and they are growing vegetables by a patch no bigger than this mattress that you are sitting. They are working one, planting, then growing another. Just a small piece, they're planting.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Harikeśa: They have some way for the water to go to...
Prabhupāda: You should do like that here, in our land. Do like that. If they can do here, some few miles away...
Prabhupāda: Agra is very good.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Agra is even bigger than Mathurā and our book distribution would be good. I'm going to write and see what the possibilities are.
Prabhupāda: Nearby cities we can...
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes, that is what I'm thinking of. Near Vṛndāvana.
Prabhupāda: Away from Vṛndāvana.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: They think that "Why should we go to God? The devotees come here to beg from us. We are bigger than God."
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Puffed-up.
Prabhupāda: Therefore they say, "empty stomach." (break) Kim ajito na avati upasannan. Read the meaning.
Girirāja: "kim—whether; ajitaḥ—the Almighty Lord; avati—give protection; na—not; upasannān—the surrendered soul."
Prabhupāda: Wherever there is desert, there is thorn twig and camels.
Dr. Patel: Both. I think Australian desert is bigger than Indian desert, much bigger, as big as Sahara perhaps.
Gurudāsa: Desert means deserted.
Devotee (1): I went to Makrana, Śrīla Prabhupāda, and I saw they had them hitched for plowing.
Prabhupāda: Oh.
Dr. Patel: Camels are used for plowing even in Gujarat.
Prabhupāda: That's nice.
Rāmeśvara: This is part of the Universal Form exhibit. This is Mahā-Viṣṇu.
Prabhupāda: Oh, lying down.
Rāmeśvara: Very big. He's bigger than a human being.
Prabhupāda: Acchā.
Rāmeśvara: And this will be the Universal Form. He will have many heads and many arms. And with the controlling the lighting, His image will appear in mirrors on the ceiling and on the walls, so everywhere you look you'll see Him.
Prabhupāda: Oh. (laughs) All-pervading. It is very, very good improvement, encouraging. People will enjoy this.
Rāmeśvara: Not yet. They just began. Now they are spending this month, January and February, in Germany. This will be very valuable for our case there, if the scholars begin appreciating us from a different angle. But meanwhile, book distribution is bigger than ever in Germany.
Prabhupāda: That is the proof we are gaining ground.
Hari-śauri: The two champion big-book distributors are both German boys.
Rāmeśvara: Yes. They have outdistributed everyone, even in America.
Prabhupāda: Oh. Paraṁ vijāyate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Just see how small animal it is, and how freely it is going. Let them manufacture a small animal like this with chemicals. It has got all the symptoms of animal. It has got the desire. It has thinking, feeling, willing, then eating, sleeping, mating. Everything is there. And as such, the anatomic physiology is there, within such a full stop.
Hari-śauri: In Australia they've only got thirteen million people in the whole country, and it's bigger than America. And in Canada also, they only have a few million. And in Russia they don't have such a big population for the size of the land. But because they've set up these national divisions, then in one place they're killing the population...
Prabhupāda: No... Vedic process is that unless you create nice children or you can give them protection from death, don't create children. Brahmacārī. Remain brahmacārī. That is sensible, that "Why shall I beget children like cats and dogs if I cannot take care of them properly?" That is very gentlemanly. What is this? I create and kill? Most uncivilized. Don't create. That is civilized man. "If I cannot take care of them properly, I'll not create children."
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.
Bhavānanda: Not Kṛṣṇa. Not Kṛṣṇa but universal form.
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is... Kṛṣṇa is bigger than the universal form. Kṛṣṇa assumed the universal form, not that universal form made Kṛṣṇa.
Bhavānanda: No, but everyone taken together makes Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa... Arjuna wanted to see His universal form; then Kṛṣṇa assumed. Then Kṛṣṇa is the origin of the universal form. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ... (BG 10.8). Even universal form is coming from Kṛṣṇa. These rascals, they do not know.
Bali-mardana: Yeah. They call it "the train." It's bigger than a train.
Prabhupāda: No, rooms are nice?
Bali-mardana: Yes. They're not quite complete, but it's very comfortable.
Prabhupāda: So I am requesting you that from India you take books and distribute, and in exchange, half the money you send us in powdered milk and ghee.
Bali-mardana: Hm. Yes, I am prepared to order all the hardbound books from India. I've already ordered forty thousand Bhagavad-gītās and some four or five thousand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatams.
Prabhupāda: So why not make arrangement like that so that we can immediately take up? The buildings are there. We can begin work immediately.
Mr. Dwivedi: Yes, yes, yes. Buildings, big hall. For instance, in our college building, the, our... Just as you have got this open enclosure, it's bigger, I think, much bigger than this, to accommodate easily about a thousand people.
Prabhupāda: I think we should arrange like that. Let us arrange. So where you are staying now?
Mr. Dwivedi: I am staying at Narancha(?). We have our own flat on this paper route(?), Abhesivasana's flat here in Bombay.
Prabhupāda: I see. If you like, you can stay here also.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: No, that's okay because when it is shot it will be reduced even further. This is... You shouldn't go by the space. It's already bigger than a normal size page. But when it is... It'll be shot by the camera and reduced.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But relatively, it looks like there's a lot of space here.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. You can make it even more, but then it's going to become very small. It is all done proportionately. This is another sample. This is about thirty-five lines. One, two, three, four, five, six...
Prabhupāda: This is better composition than the former.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. I've improved it now. Seventeen, eighteen, twenty... This is thirty-six lines.
Prabhupāda: So this is good.
Prabhupāda: No.
Guṇārṇava: It's bigger than the downtown office of Punjab National Bank.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: All the banks.
Guṇārṇava: It's big.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. Let him come. I shall talk.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Jaya. Do you want us... Is there anything else to see...?
Prabhupāda: No.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That's all.
Prabhupāda: Hm, in detail.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: We want to blow up one area like they do on some maps. They show one city bigger than other places 'cause it's important. And after that, our next business is to now go upwards. Now we've gone outward this way. Now we have to show the sun, the moon, the sapta-ṛṣi, everything like that. That'll be very nice doing, how the sun is...
Yaśodā-nandana: Another unique feature of this map is that... Bhakti-prema Mahārāja found about... There is one space which is mentioned by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura in his commentary. The complete diameter from west to east and north to south, it is calculated to be 500,000,000 yojanas. In order to be able to adjust that, we needed 250,000,000 on each side.
Yaśodā-nandana: Not accepting the authority. The problem is the Pacific Ocean, according to Jambūdvīpa, for us it is the salt ocean. So the first question that Mahārāja was raising, that they will ask, how do we go between the west coast of America, which is very tiny, and Japan, as this according to their calculation we go west and we arrive around. And you keep still going further and you arrive back in America. The point about the Himalayas, that we did not raise, because that we could well understood. The Himalayas is much broader and much bigger than they think. We can fully understand it. But that point, from common-sense point of view we couldn't exactly understand. We thought of it all afternoon, and we came up with a few ideas, but we wanted to hear what Your Divine Grace...
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Our question was mostly coming out of how to draw what the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is saying. We're not supporting any kind of mundane argument, nor do we have any doubt in Bhāgavatam. We're simply trying to understand the Bhāgavatam.
Prabhupāda: And that is your credit.
Prabhupāda: If we introduce this Ratha-yātrā in every city, all other religions will be finished. (laughs) Eh?
Upendra: Yes, Prabhupāda. In San Francisco there's nothing. The only thing in San Francisco is the Chinese Parade people come for. And the next thing is Ratha-yātrā. It is bigger than the Chinese parade, the Ratha-yātrā.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It says here...
Prabhupāda: Ratha-yātrā is highly demonstrative. And what Chinese parade?
Upendra: One dragon only.
Prabhupāda: Childish. What dragon will help?
Prabhupāda: In London my sitting room is bigger than this, double. My sleeping room is like this. And my toilet room is half this. This is my quarters.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: You have so many places that you cannot visit them all in a year.
Prabhupāda: In everywhere. I have got now 120 places, palaces.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: And each place with fifty to one hundred servants.
Prabhupāda: Yes... So happiness, unless Kṛṣṇa gives, there is no question of happiness. Our business should be that we may not be uncomfortably living which will disturb our progress of Kṛṣṇa consciousness—that much. Other things? Depend on Kṛṣṇa. If He wants to make you Indra, you become Indra. There is no happiness even by becoming Indra. You... We read from books. Indra is how much disturbed, always fighting, devāsura. He has to fight. The same thing as here. Only difference is the standard of living in the heaven and the duration of life are greater. But if you have to struggle for existence, then what is the use of this duration of life, greater?
Śrutakīrti: Oh, thousands, tens of thousands of people. They served prasādam. I don't know how many. Several thousand. It was much bigger than San Francisco.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Bigger?
Śrutakīrti: Yes. I was at both. It was very big. It was... I think it was the best that I have seen. The carts were very beautifully decorated with nice carnations all over.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: People pulled it?
Śrutakīrti: Yes. They had no problem with the people pulling. There was nice kīrtana and a very nice feast. And Sudāmā Mahārāja was there with his players. They put on a play. That was the...
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: They liked that?
Śrutakīrti: Yes.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What preparations did they serve at the feast?
Śrutakīrti: For free they had an orange lassi and halavā and a sweet and a nice potato vegetable with sour cream. And they had a sweet booth, and I think they made about four or five thousand dollars selling sweets right at the beach walk. They had watermelon and samosās they were selling. It was a very big day.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Good weather.
Śrutakīrti: Excellent weather. It was hot.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Los Angeles has good weather.
Prabhupāda: Hm. Very good weather.
Śrutakīrti: Hawaii's weather is (laughs)..., it's better.
Prabhupāda: So I wanted to return again.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: The gate is bigger than the Governor's gate and the building is longer than the Writer's Building. Kṛṣṇa is first. When we build that temple, it will... (laughter) Then everyone will simply be silent. That will end all comment.
Prabhupāda: They are already silent. (laughter)
Citsukhānanda: Before I came to India, Prabhupāda, one Saturday night in Los Angeles about three weeks ago we had a big mahā-saṅkīrtana, big chanting party, because President Carter was coming to Los Angeles. So we got there about thirty minutes before he was coming, and we went with about 125 devotees from New Dvārakā. We went chanting through the street right in front of his hotel room. So he came in from the back way, but it was known to us that he heard the chanting, and all the main people from the government saw this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. We were chanting very nicely, dancing in the street. And everyone was protesting something different, but we were just happy and joyful, and everyone could see that this is positive, this is best thing. Everyone is griping about something, but we are all happy. We have no complaints. So we think that President Carter heard this kīrtana party.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: He's supposed to come to India this month.
Correspondence
1969 Correspondence
The pamphlet is very nicely done, and you have diagnosed the disease very well, increasing the material temperature to 107 degrees and calling death immediately. I think by the Grace of Krishna you are getting good inspiration from within as Krishna is giving you good wisdom. Your explanation for getting a new place bigger than the present one is approved by me in all respects. I think Krishna's plan is working and as you have already informed Mr. Leo Brown to find out a big place for us, Krishna will help us very soon. The Los Angeles plan as described by you is so nice. The climate of Los Angeles is very much suitable for me, and if by Krishna's Grace we can have a nice headquarters for the Western side as planned by you, I shall be glad to place myself at your disposal.
1971 Correspondence
From Paris I went directly to L.A., about 6000 miles at one stretch and I was on the plane for 12 hours, thereby getting a one day concession. From L.A. I went to San Francisco yesterday and the Rathayatra festival was very very gorgeously performed. There were three Rathas consecutively and Lord Jagannatha's Ratha was bigger than the other two. People received us so nicely and one mayor was the chief guest in the meeting in which more than 10,000 people assembled and the mayor spoke very highly of our movement. She is very much impressed with the basic principle of our Back to Godhead movement. In this way we are getting support gradually in the U.S.A. Maybe our movement will be supported in the future in the United Nations. So we Krishna Consciousness people have accepted a very important and responsible task in the whole world, therefore our principle work also must be very responsible.
From Paris I went to L.A. directly, about 6000 miles at one stretch and I was on the plane for twelve hours, thereby getting a one day concession. From L.A. I went to Rathayatra festival in San Francisco yesterday and the festival was very gorgeously performed. There were three Rathas and Lord Jagannatha's Ratha was bigger than the other two. People received us so nicely and one mayor was the chief guest in the meeting in which more than 10,000 gathered and the mayor spoke very highly of our movement. She is very much impressed with the basic principle of our back to Godhead movement. In this way we are getting support gradually in the U.S.A. Maybe our movement will be supported in the future by United Nations. So we Krishna Consciousness people have accepted a very important and responsible task in the whole world. Therefore our principle work must also be very serious and responsible.
From Paris I went directly to L.A., about 6,000 miles at one stretch and I was on the plane for 12 hours, therefore getting a one day concession. From L.A. I went to San Francisco yesterday and the Rathayatra festival was very very gorgeously performed. There were three Rathas consecutively and Lord Jagannatha's Ratha was bigger than the other two. People received us so nicely and one mayor was the chief guest in the meeting in which more than 10,000 people assembled and the mayor spoke very highly of our movement. She is very much impressed with the basic principle of our Back to Godhead movement. In this way we are getting support gradually in the U.S.A. Maybe our movement will be supported in the future by the United Nations. So we Krishna Consciousness people have accepted a very important and responsible task in the whole world, therefore, our principal work also must be very responsible.
1972 Correspondence
That idea has become prominent for all of you, it is bigger than maya's idea, therefore maya cannot interfere to make you quarrel or other things. But you especially are to take the credit. From the very beginning you wanted that place, and you got the land, got money from me, and now you have built the place by your concentration of energy. That is wanted. If there is some discrepancy anywhere, some non-cooperation, fighting, or if the work is slow or not to the standard, it is to be supposed that the person or persons in charge are not very much attached to Krishna. That means they will discriminate: my engagement is not good, other's engagement is good, like that.
1975 Correspondence
I am due receipt of your letter dated April 15th, 1975 and have noted the contents. I am very glad to hear all of the good news in your letter. This is very encouraging. Continue to preach vigorously, following all of the rules and regulations very carefully and Krishna will give you every facility. It sounds like the Rathayatra festival will be bigger than ever this year. I am hoping to come there again.
Regarding your physical malady, you should do whatever is required to treat it properly. Whatever is most practical. The names for the new child are approved by me. Circumcision is not important.
| Page Title: | Bigger than |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 28 of Mar, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=14, CC=1, OB=2, Lec=89, Con=80, Let=6 |
| No. of Quotes: | 192 |