A dog is also searching after food; a hog is also searching after food; a bird is also searching after food; a man is also searching after food. Now, in the broad road so many cars are going in seventy mile speed. What is their research? "Where is food? Where is money?" Ask anybody who is very busy in driving car in seventy miles speed that "What is your business?" He will answer that "I have got to take money from there. I have to do this business." That is also money. This will be the answer. They have no other answer. And if you ask him, "What you will do with your money?" then he will say, "I shall live in a very nice apartment, I shall eat very nice foodstuff, I shall have to enjoy very good sex life and I will have to defend myself." But the Bhāgavata says, or the supreme authority says, "No, this is not your business. Because you are human being... This business is also there in the animal life. Therefore your business is tattva-jijñāsā, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. When you are developed animal... Now you are also animal because you don't enquire about the Absolute Truth. But you are developed, so now your business is to enquire about the origin of everything." Your business is not to increase the problem of the four necessities of life. By this karma or unnecessary activities you are increasing simply problems.
Bird (Lectures, SB)
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Just like amongst the birds and beasts there is no economic problem. The birds rise in the morning, and they chirp between themselves, and after a few hours or minutes they go away, and they get their food. Similarly, the animals also, they also go. Even in the jungle, they get their food. The birds and beasts, they have got their home. The bird lives on the top of the tree very comfortably at night without any disturbance. Similarly, the beast... Even in the jungle there are elephants, there are tigers, there are so many others. They have got their some place to rest. So far sex is concerned, that is also guaranteed. The birds, when they are in the eggs, there are two eggs, one male, one female. And you will find these birds, beasts, they are in pair. Just about two months before, when I was in Māyāpur, the two snakes, not very big, small, were found in the lavatory, and they were also two, in pair. That means this pair in birds and beasts, in animals, in snakes, they are found. The tiger, the elephant, there are two. So there is no scarcity of sex also. And so far defense is concerned, everyone is provided with nails, jaws, and wings, and everything. According to their capacity, they can defend also. So in this way, so far our four necessities of life required, it is already arranged by the laws of nature. So we, means the living entity, or the soul, we are wandering throughout the whole universe in different types of bodies.
And because we are part and parcel of God, our four necessities of life, namely the food, shelter, sex and defense, that is already provided. So for these four things we need not work very hard. Because they are available even in the animal life, birds life, beasts life, lower form of life, and why not in human life? Therefore the śāstra says,
- tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido
- na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ
- tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ
- kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā
- (SB 1.5.18)
They say that "So far these necessities of life are concerned, they are ready, supplied." In any life, either in human life or in birds and beasts, lower animal, trees, plants, that is ready. Therefore we should not waste our time for these things, but we should be ready to enquire about the Absolute Truth. So human intelligence is there to enquire about the Absolute Truth. So they have got better developed consciousness or intelligence than the lower animals. So that higher intelligence should be utilized for enquiring about the Absolute Truth. So that is... Vedānta-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), athāto brahma jijñāsā. This life, human life, is not meant for wasting time for adjusting how to get better food, better shelter, better sex and better defense. So the human intelligence is that when one thinks that "If these necessities of body are ready even for the animals and beasts and birds, then why not it is ready for me?" It is ready for the human being also. That is a fact. We see when human being are uncivilized, the ready food is there. They live in the jungle. There is fruit ready for eating. Everything is ready there. They do not know how to produce food, the uncivilized man. They eat some animal. They eat some fruit.
So He has provided everyone's food. There is no problem. It is mistake to accept it that "Because there is overpopulation in the world, there is problem." Just now like we were walking on the St. James Park, the swan, ducks, they are producing one dozen children at a time. And that is also twice, thrice in a year. So they have no problem. Where is the problem of overpopulation? They are not starving. Unless you go and capture them and kill them, they are not dying. You see from the birds, animals—nobody dies of starvation. Eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. Kṛṣṇa is there. He is supplying food for everyone. So where...? There is no question of starvation. Then why rivalry? Rivalry means "I want to enjoy more sense gratification" That is rivalry. Otherwise, there is no question of rivalry. Everything is there, complete. Pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate (Īśopaniṣad, Invocation). God's creation is perfect. There cannot be any imperfectness. Even there is overpopulation, God will supply food. Don't bother. But because we have no faith in God, because we have forgotten God, we do not know what is God, therefore we have created the economic problem. Otherwise there is no problem. You can see how they are jolly, they are walking. So by nature's study we have to learn. If we don't go to the Vedic knowledge, we can see that "Where is the problem in the lower animals?" There is no problem. They are confident. The problems for lower animal is there when they are in the city, but if they live natural life, there is no problem.
Therefore the conclusion is that if we approach God for some material benefit, we may be cheated at some time. Therefore it is said, dharmaḥ projjhita atra kaitavaḥ: "This kind of motivated religious system is completely thrown away from this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam." Intelligent persons should know that "God is supplying food to so many living entities. Why He shall not supply me?" There are 8,400,000 forms of living entity. Out of that, only 400,000 forms are human body. So eight million means there are fishes, there are trees, there are plants, there are insect, there are birds, beasts, and in this way, eight million. They are getting all their foodstuff supplied by God. This morning we were walking on the, in the park. We saw. So many fruits are thrown on the street. That means the birds have eaten them, and they have thrown so many. So God supplies immense bread or eatable things without any asking. In a African jungle there are hundreds, thousands of elephants. They eat, at a time, huge quantity of food. But still, they are supplied by God. Actually, even from practical point of view—I have traveled all over the world—there are immense place. We can produce foodstuff for supplying food, ten times of the whole world population. So therefore there is no need of approaching God with a motive for material supplies or material satisfaction.
In the Vedic literature we get information, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām, eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). God, the description of God, is given there that "He is also living entity like us. He is also eternal like us." Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. But what is the difference between Him and us? That is described, eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān: "That one God is supplying all the necessities of these many." So we should not approach God for economic satisfaction or for bread or for wood or for anything necessary for our life. God has arranged food for everyone, the aquatics, the birds, the beasts, the trees, the elephants or the other, four-legged animals, and why not for human being? Human being also, those who are uncivilized, still living in the forest, they have no arrangement for economic development, or they do not know, but they have got also food. Therefore śāstra says,
- tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido
- na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ
- tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ
- kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā
- (SB 1.5.18)
"One should try for developing God consciousness, not for anything else, because happiness and distress, they come automatically." We haven't got to try for it. Happiness, everyone aspires for happiness. Nobody aspires for distress, but distress is forcibly come upon you. Similarly, the śāstra says, "As distress comes without any desire, similarly, happiness also will come without any endeavor." So long we are in the material world, the so-called happiness and distress will come and go, but our, the human life, the endeavor should be how to find out or revive our relationship with God. That is our main business.
These three things, if we understand properly, that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer, bhoktā; He's friend also. Kṛṣṇa is so nice friend that... Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Lord, is situated in everyone's heart as friend. That is stated in the Upaniṣads. Two birds are sitting on one tree as friend. One bird is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other friend is simply witnessing. He is friend, He's supreme friend, not so-called friend. Actually He's our supreme friend. He's always trying to get us back to home, back to Godhead. Not only He's sitting within our hearts, but He's descending as Kṛṣṇa.
- yadā yadā hi dharmasya
- glānir bhavati bhārata
- abhyutthānam adharmasya
- tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
- (BG 4.7)
He comes and canvasses. What is that canvassing? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). "Why you are engaged in so many so-called occupations? You simply surrender unto Me." Ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi.
The ants, perhaps you know it, they love very much intoxicants. And therefore they are after sugar. Sugar has got properties intoxication. Wine is made from sugar, from molasses. So the ants, they want to be very much intoxicated. So this intoxication is not only in the human society. In the animal society, in bird society, in beast society. Loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityā hi jantor na hi tatra codanā. Vyava, vyavāya, sex intercourse, vyavāya; āmiṣa, meat eating; madya-sevā, intoxication—they are there everywhere, not only in human society. This is the pravṛtti.
Anāsaktasya viṣaya, this is called viṣaya, material enjoyment. Eating, sleeping, mating and defending. This is called viṣaya. So one has to give up this viṣaya. Narottama (Locana) dāsa Ṭhākura says, viṣaya chāṛiyā, se rase majiyā, mukhe bolo hari hari. Unless you are detached from the viṣaya... Viṣaya is there even in birds' life, beasts' life. Viṣayaḥ sarvataḥ syāt. So in the beginning we cannot give up this viṣaya all of a sudden. But we should be trained up not to be attached to the viṣaya.
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are narrated, and the narration is systematically depicted by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Thus the subject matter is appealing to all classes of persons, including those who seek liberation and those who seek to become one with the Supreme Whole. In Sanskrit the parrot is also known as śuka. When a ripened fruit is cut by the red beaks of such birds, its sweet flavor is enhanced. The Vedic fruit which is mature and ripe in knowledge is spoken through the lips of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is compared to the parrot not for his ability to recite the Bhāgavatam exactly as he heard it from his learned father, but for his ability to present the work in a manner that would appeal to all classes of men. The subject matter is so presented through the lips of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī that any sincere listener that hears submissively can at once relish transcendental tastes which are distinct from the perverted tastes of the material world. The ripened fruit is not dropped all of a sudden from the highest planet of Kṛṣṇaloka. Rather, it has come down carefully through the chain of disciplic succession without change or disturbance. Foolish people who are not in the transcendental disciplic succession commit great blunders by trying to understand the highest transcendental rasa known as the rāsa dance without following in the footsteps of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who presents this fruit very carefully by stages of transcendental realization.
Similarly, our Kṛṣṇa He is supplying everything, everyone. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Actually Kṛṣṇa is supplying everything. Whatever you have got. Whatever you are eating you cannot manufacture in the factory. It is supplied by Kṛṣṇa. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Everything is being supplied. What to speak of animal, human life, in the animal life the necessities are eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Everything is there. Eating—there is enough fruit in the tree. The birds will very nicely jumping over from one tree to another, eating. Sleeping—they have got a nest, at night without any disturbance, they sleep. Mating—with the birth they are two eggs, one male and one female. Sex life is there. And defending—they know. The bird, if you attack, they immediately go up. He knows how to defend. The (?) in the (?) Park, the swans, as soon as they pass, immediately jump over the water. They know how to defend. This morning a small mouse he has gone up to collect a small sweetmeat. So these intelligence are there even in the lowest animals, even in the ant. So advancement of civilization, how to make this body comfortable, that is not advancement of civilization. That kind of civilization is there even in the cats and dogs. They know. Nobody has to go to the university to learn how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex life, how to defend. Nobody hasn't got to. It doesn't require education. It is already there, everyone. If you attack me, I shall immediately defend with my hands. You see? Natural. So ekāntataḥ śreyas means don't spoil this human form of life only for satisfying the animal propensities. You try to advance in spiritual consciousness.
Sometimes from heap of rice, one scorpion is coming out. So foolish men, they will think that the heap of rice, piles of rice, is giving birth to a scorpion. No, that is not the fact. One who knows the scorpion This animal is very clever. They lay down eggs within the heaps of rice, and by the fermentation of rice, it comes out. So actually, rice is not producing the scorpion. It is coming out under some chemical fermentation process. There are manifestation of living entities. There are different types. Udbhijja. Just like trees, they are coming out of the seed. If the seed is sown on the ground, under favorable conditions it comes out. This is also life. And some of the living entities are coming out of eggs. Aṇḍaja. Aṇḍa means egg. That you know. The birds, they first of all lay down eggs, and then, by fermentation, the life comes out. And some of the living entities are coming out from perspiration. You have got experience, so many bugs. If you keep your beds very unclean, by your perspiration the bugs are grown. It is called svedaja, coming out of perspiration. Svedaja, aṇḍaja, udbhijja, and jarāyuja, and embryo, just like we have come out. So there are different processes of begetting or, I mean to say, giving birth to a living entity. But God is origin, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So He must be cognizant, He must know everything. Otherwise how He can be creator, and He can be origin? But His knowledge is perfect.
So that dharma is enacted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just like Kṛṣṇa says, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya: "For the matter of reestablishing the principles of dharma." There is difference of understanding between dharma and "religion," although the Sanskrit word dharma is translated into English as "religion." Religion in the dictionary it is explained as faith, but dharma is different. Dharma you cannot change. In whichever condition you are, you have to follow the special characteristic. And that I have already explained. That special characteristic is that every living entity is engaged in service for others, every living entity. Human being, birds, beasts, animal—every living entity is giving service to somebody else. That is dharma.
There are 8,400,000's of forms. All together, every one of us, not only human being, but also animal, beast, birds, trees, plants, insect, everyone—they are all part and parcel of the Supreme, just like the hair, a piece of hair, is also part and parcel of the body. When one hair is picked up, you feel pains and pleasure. When the finger is pinched, you feel pains and pleasure—because they are part and parcel. Now, this is our relationship with God: part and parcel. God, or Kṛṣṇa, is the whole, and we are part and parcel. Then what is our duty? If this relationship is accepted, then what is the duty of the part and parcel? The duty of the part and parcel is to serve the whole. Anyone can understand. This finger is part and parcel of my body, so as the body desires, the finger is working. I desire the finger may work here like this; immediately works.
Pradyumna: "As it is stated hereinbefore, in the Bhāgavatam the Absolute Truth is to be known, so the questions of the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya are proper and just because they pertain to Kṛṣṇa, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. In Bhagavad-gītā the Personality of Godhead says that in all the Vedas there is nothing but the urge for searching after Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa. (BG 15.15). Thus the questions that pertain to Kṛṣṇa are the sum and substance of all the Vedic inquiries. The whole world is full of questions and answers. The birds..."
Prabhupāda: Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Atha, "Now, this is the time for inquiring about the Absolute Truth." "This is the time" means this human form of life. Animals cannot inquire. Therefore Vedānta-sūtra says, athāto brahma jijñāsā: inquire about the Absolute Truth. Brahma, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). The ultimate Absolute Truth is Kṛṣṇa, the person. Paramātmā is plenary expansion, and Brahman is impersonal effulgence. So if one understands Kṛṣṇa by question and answer, then he understands the other three features. But simply by understanding the impersonal feature, Brahman effulgence, one cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. Neither by understanding or seeing the Paramātmā, one can understand Kṛṣṇa. To see the Paramātmā is the business of the yogis. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). Yoginaḥ, the yogis they are trying to see Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu within their heart by meditation. Meditation means this. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). And the jñānīs they want to stop these material varieties, make it impersonal, and merge into the existence of Brahman effulgence. But devotees, they do not, neither of them, neither they even want to be transferred to the Vaikuṇṭhaloka. They are satisfied in any condition life, provided they have got the opportunity to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is the ambition.
Pradyumna: "The whole world is full of questions and answers. The birds, the beasts, and men are all busy in the matter of perpetual questions and answers. In the morning, the birds in the nest become busy with questions and answers, and in the evening also, the same birds come back and again become busy with questions and answers. The human being, unless he is fast asleep at night, is busy with questions and answers. The businessmen in the market are busy with questions and answers, and so also, the lawyers in the court and the students in the schools and colleges. The legislators in the parliament are also busy with questions and answers, and the politicians and the press representatives are all busy with questions and answers. Although they go on making such questions and answers for their whole lives, they are not at all satisfied. Satisfaction of the soul can only be obtained by questions and answers on the subject of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is our most intimate master, friend, father or son, and object of conjugal love. Forgetting Kṛṣṇa, we have created so many objects of questions and answers, but none of them are able to give us complete satisfaction."
Prabhupāda: Therefore, materialism means forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, there is no other existence as material. Just like in dream. In dream, some way or other, we create an atmosphere. But actually, there is no different atmosphere. But by our brain, hallucination, we create something. So created in dream, we have got experience, everyone, "I am the worker. I am doing this. I am flying. I am going there. I am riding the path(?). I am working. I..." "I" is there. This "I" false ego is there. Ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). So forgetting Kṛṣṇa, when we concentrate only "I" and "mine," that is material world. That is material world. Material means separated. When I create, when we forget Kṛṣṇa, when I create "I" and "mine," that is material. Make it clear.(?) Otherwise, īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1).
So everything is there. Fortunately in India we have got everything, but our modern leaders, they are neglecting their own thing. They are begging technology from other countries. That is their misfortune. But actually... Just like I am, singlehanded, trying to present the original Vedic culture. People are accepting all over the world very happily. India should have tried. The government should have known this. Unfortunately, they are all bereft of this knowledge, their own culture. There is a Bengali verse written by one poet, āpanār dhana vilaya-diye bhikṣā-māge parera dvāre.(?) They have lost their own culture; now they are begging from other countries. Anyway, this culture, this Bhāgavata culture, is not for any particular country or particular nation. It is meant for everyone. God is not monopolized by anyone. God is for everyone. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4). Sarva-yoni, all kinds of species of living entities, all forms, not only human being, but aquatics, trees, plants, insects, reptiles, birds, beasts, animals... There are 8,400,000 species of life in the land, in the sky, in the water. All of them are sons of God. This is universal brotherhood. When we can think all living entities... Because the central point is missing. Central point is God, but we are making central point—somebody is making his own self, his body; somebody is making his family; somebody is making his society, community, or nation; or somebody is making the whole human race. But they are all imperfect. Unless we can make... All the living entities are our own men... Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). That is learned. That is knowledge. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ.
What is the perfection of life? The perfection of life means to get out of this material condition and to be situated in our original, spiritual life. Originally we are all spiritual spark, we all, sitting here, not only we, human beings, even other living entities, everyone—the trees, the plants, the aquatics, birds, beasts, insects, microbes, everyone. Wherever you'll find living symptoms, they are all part and parcel of God. But according to their karma, according to their pious and impious activities, they have been obliged to accept a certain type of body. That is in the hands of nature. Your science will not help. Your science will not help. It will be considered by the material nature.
In the human form of life, you should try to understand what is God. That is your special prerogative. If you think that "If I become engaged for searching out God, then how my other problems will be solved?" the answer is that tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham: "Your other problems are already solved. As there is arrangement for your distress, similarly there is arrangement for your happiness." Nobody wants distress, but why distress comes upon us? It is already arranged. Similarly, if distress is arranged already, then my happiness is also arranged. Tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. So we should not be disturbed by the so-called distress and happiness. They are coming and going. Kṛṣṇa has advised in the Bhagavad-gītā: āgamāpāyino 'nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. The so-called distress and happiness, they come and go like seasonal changes. Just like we have got summer season, winter season. The winter also not staying for good, neither the summer is staying for good. It will change. Cakravat parivartante sukhāni duḥkhāni ca. There are so many. So we should not bother about this material happiness and distress. That is perfect civilization. We shall depend on the arrangement of God, as lower animals, they are depending. The birds, rising early in the morning, they chirp, but they are not hampered, "Where to find out food?" They know, "There is somewhere our food." They go and get it. Similarly, our real problem is that we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa or God. We must revive our God consciousness again—that is not very difficult task—and save time, how to reestablish our relationship with God.
Prabhupāda: You must have your neck, neck beads tight.
Gurudāsa: Right around the neck?
Prabhupāda: Yes. So what is your question? There is no question... Preaching..., preaching is... Preaching... Haridāsa Ṭhākura was inquired by Caitanya Mahāprabhu that, that "You are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Is it for everyone?" Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied: "Yes, it is for every... Even the trees, the birds, the beasts, they'll be benefited." So what is the question of human society? Here or there, it doesn't matter.
Gurudāsa: We've developed...
Indian: If hearing is more important than chanting, then from whom a man should hear about Kṛṣṇa? It is from anyone?
Prabhupāda: What is that question?
Devotee: He says hearing, hearing is more important...
Prabhupāda: Everything is more important, but hearing is especially given.
Indian: From whom one should hear about Kṛṣṇa?
Prabhupāda: From Kṛṣṇa devotee, not a professional man.
"Those who are actually knower of the Absolute Truth, they know that the Absolute Truth is manifested in three features: impersonal Brahman and localized Paramātmā, antaryāmī or the Supersoul..." As Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that in each body there is a soul, kṣetra-jña. Idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram ity abhidhīyate. The body... I am not this body, but I know it is my body. Therefore I am kṣetra-jña and the body is kṣetra. And Kṛṣṇa says that kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata (BG 13.3). That sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata, in every body, that manifestation of God, or Kṛṣṇa, is called Paramātmā, or Supersoul. So the Supersoul and the soul, both of them are sitting on this body. It is compared with a tree. Just like on the tree two birds sitting, friendly birds. One is eating the fruit and another is simply witnessing. Upadraṣṭā-anumantā.
So this is the science. So human life is meant for understanding this science. This is the ultimate science. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Human life is not meant for wasting like cats and dogs, simply eating, sleeping, mating. That is not human life. At the present moment they are simply engaged in these four principles of bodily demands of life—how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sense gratification and how to defend. Unfortunately, we have become less than the animals because the animals, they have no problem. Even the birds... Out of all living entities, 8,400,000 of forms, the human forms are only 400,000. The majority of the living entities, they are in different forms.
There are aquatics, there are insects, there are birds, beasts, trees, plants, then human being, by evolution process. So they have no problem. You can see, in the early morning, these parrots, they are dancing, chirping, and they have no problem. Immediately they will go to some tree and they will find out some little fruit. They will eat. Their eating problem... There is no eating problem. There is no sleeping problem, and there is no sex life problem also. Along with them, there is opposite sex. And they defend in their own way. So these are not actually problems. These are already settled up according to your body. That is the verdict of the śāstra. Tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā. According to your body, your eating problem, your sleeping problem, your sense gratification problem and defending problem are already settled. That is the verdict of the śāstra. Your real problem is, as our Pañca-draviḍa Mahārāja explained, how to solve the problem of repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. That is your problem.
So here in this verse it is said that sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Then what will be my profit? Suppose I simply love God. I love. The loving propensity is there in me. I love some boy. I love some girl. I love my country. I love my family. I love my society. I love my country. The loving propensity is there. There is no doubt. Everyone, even cats and dogs, because he is living entity, he has got that loving propensity. A tiger also loves its cubs. But this love, when it will be applied to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is the perfection of life. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). What kind of love? Ahaitukī. To love God not for any other reason, that "God will give me some wealth, God will give me this, God will... I shall take from God this." No. Ahaitukī, no cause, that "Because I am in want of some money, therefore I shall go to church or temple or love God." No. Ahaitukī. Just like people generally go there like that, "O God, give us our daily bread." Well, why you are asking God for daily bread? Daily bread is already given to everyone, even birds and bees. Your bread is also there. But people do not know that "My bread is already there. Why I shall bother God for daily bread? Let me learn how to love God." God is giving us so many things without asking. God is giving us light, God is giving us water, God... Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhiḥ... (BG 7.4). Everything He is giving you, without which cannot live. And He will not give us our bread?
The real aim of life is how to get satisfaction, full, complete satisfaction. And that satisfaction, complete satisfaction, can be achieved only by prosecution of devotional service. There is no other method. If you want to be happy, free from all cares and anxieties, then you have to engage yourself in devotional service of the Lord. That will make you free from all material anxieties and all material miseries. We are all seeking after that position, how to become completely happy. Our whole struggle for existence... Anyone, in any place, any country, they are all struggling for existence, either human being or animal or birds or beasts, how to become happy. This happiness of the mind, ātmā, is only possible when we are engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the only remedy. There is no other alternative.
Cup, yes, that was his business. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu take away some of his fruits and donā, as a friend. So one day Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that "Śrīdhara, you take benediction from Me." So he said "What benediction, Sir?" "Well, you are so poor that your house is not even properly repaired. There are so many holes in the roof." He, "Still, I have a nice house because it is better than the bird's nest. They have no roof. (laughter) They have no roof, and they live on a tree. I have got a shelter. What is the difficulty? There is no difficulty." In this way Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to offer him so many thing, and he said that "No, I have no trouble for this. If You want to benedict me, please give me pure devotion on Your lotus feet." Bhakti. So that is pure devotion. That we should hanker after, how to fix up our mind always in the service of the Lord. That we are trying to teach, that's all. (end)
You cannot get out of it, out of these four kinds of material tribulation, without being favored by the Supreme Lord. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. Mama māyā duratyayā, it is very difficult to get out of the entanglement of created by My māyā, illusory energy. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14), but anyone who surrenders unto Me, he can get out of this entanglement. So here it is stated that sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ yato bhaktir adhokṣaje, the whole human civilization is trying to get freedom from some inconvenience. The state, politics, sociology, humanity, religions, so many things. So ultimately it is taken religion is the path of vimukti, religion. Because other things are being tried by the animals. The animals also have their ways of getting out of inconvenience. They know how to do it. Just like a bird, he knows that on the land I am in danger. As soon as there is some danger, immediately flies up to the tree. He knows. So everyone knows. You will find in animal kingdom, in birds' kingdom, everyone knows how to protect. It is said, we learn from Bhāgavata that also that fish within the water, they have got so sensitive power that miles away if some enemy is coming, they can understand and they take shelter. Just like a dog can smell from distant place that somebody unknown is coming. So every animal has got special qualifications. Don't think that human being is only intelligent. No. The intelligence for these four things, how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex intercourse, and how to defend, these intelligence are there in every animal. Don't think simply human being has got this intelligence.
Material world means everyone is working hard only for the happiness of the body. And some of them, they are trying to be happy by the happiness of the mind. Just like arts, poetry, philosophy, speculating on. But both of these kinds of happiness will not give us real happiness. Because real happiness belongs to the soul. Basic principle of happiness missing. Therefore simply by bodily comforts, sense gratification, we cannot be happy. And actually it is so happening. People are endeavoring throughout the whole world for bodily comforts, for sense gratification, but they're not happy. There cannot be happiness. Because... The same example. Suppose you have got a nice coat. If you simply show the coat and iron the coat and keep it very nice, that does not mean you'll be happy. Because you are trying to get happiness from the coat or shirt. That is not happiness, that is not possible. Happiness is possible when you try to make happy the soul. Then happiness is possible. Another example is given—just like a bird within the cage. If you simply wash the cage and keep it very nice and don't give any food to the bird, then the bird will never be happy simply by polishing the cage. So this is the cage, this material body is the cage of the soul. Therefore material living being is called conditioned or encaged. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā.
So in the previous verse it has been discussed, what is first-class religion. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). In the lower animal life, lower species of life, there is no question of religion. We have discussed many times that there is a gradual process of evolution from low..., lower animal life to the human life. Aśītiṁ caturaś caiva. Aśīti means eighty, catura means four, lakṣām, eighty-four lakhs, 8,400,000. Non... To tell...(?) Janma paryayāt. This is the evolution. From lower animals, from fish to plants, trees, insects, reptiles, birds, beasts. In this way, we come to the human form of life, and this human form of life is meant for dharma. Practically also, we see that the state laws, state laws are meant for the human beings. State laws are not for the animals. Animals, they do not require to observe the state laws. Neither they are able to do so. That is the difference between animal and human being.
Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha upapatti (SB 3.31.1). By karma everyone is working, but even (everyone) is working in three modes of nature. This material world, there are three modes of nature: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. So if you are working in tamo-guṇa, then you are preparing a body of tamo-guṇa. If you are working rajo-guṇa, then you are preparing a body for rajo-guṇa. Similarly, sattva-guṇa. Everything is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. What is the different result? Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ. Those who are working in sattva-guṇa, they will go to the higher planetary systems. There are Janaloka, Maharloka, Tapoloka, Brahmaloka, Satyaloka, Siddhaloka. You'll go there. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ (BG 14.18). And if you want to remain in the middle planetary system, then that is rajo-guṇa. And jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. And those who are working in tamo-guṇa, jaghanya, most abominable behavior, they will go to the animal kingdom or the lower planetary system. This is the process. As you are contaminating, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Sat and asat-janma. Why there are so many varieties of life? Cats, dogs, trees, aquatics, birds, beasts, human beings, demigods, civilized, uncivilized, so many. Why there are so many varieties? kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. As he is associating with different types of qualities, he is getting a different types of body. This is going on.
Everywhere, the Christians go to church to get their bread. "O God, Father, give us our daily bread." What is this demand? God is supplying bread to the cats and dogs and birds and bees and everyone. Why He shall not give me? That means they do not know what to pray. Dharmasya hy āpavargyasya. "God, give me relief from these four kinds of tribulations." That should be prayed. Bread? What is this? Suppose if you go to a king and he says, "All right, you can ask anything from me," and if you say, "Give me bread, a piece of bread," (laughter) is that very intelligent? If you have approached a king, you should ask, "My dear lord, my dear your majesty, may give me something so that I may get free from all kinds of trouble." That should be the prayer. What is this prayer? "Give me a little bread"? Of course, it is better than the rascals who are atheists. They do not approach God. They say, "Oh, what is God? I am God. I shall, by economic development, I shall create so many breads. Why shall I go to church?"
This is ignorance. It is a very good example of foolishness. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa has provided everything. Kṛṣṇa is giving food to the elephant. In Africa, there are millions of elephants, and each elephant is eating at least eighty-two pounds at a time. But who is supplying the food? They have no economic problem. They have no bank balance. How they are eating? This is to be studied. This is called nature's study. So why you are so much busy for fulfilling the belly with a little two cāpāṭis? If the elephant can get so much food at a time, can I not get two, two cāpāṭis or four cāpāṭis? I can get also. But there is no confidence. He's thinking that "Unless I work very, very hard, I cannot live." The more a man is civilized, he's thinking like that. They accuse us, these Kṛṣṇa conscious people, that "They are escaping. They do not want to work." Not only us. Anyone... That is the allegation against the sādhus, that they are parasites, dependent on the society, eating at the cost of others. So many accusations. But actually, that is not the fact. Kṛṣṇa has provided food for everyone. Just like these birds. They're living very peacefully in this tree, and they have no problem. The monkeys... Who is going to give? Anyone, as soon as he sees a monkey, he drives: "Get out. Get out. Get out." But still they are living. They are eating.
So pa means pariśrama, laboring. And pha means the hard laboring so that foam comes out of the mouth. Pa, pha, ba. Ba means baffled. In spite of all laboring hard, life is baffled. Pa, pha, ba, bha, and bha, bhaya. Bhaya means always fearful—"What will happen next?" And ma. Ma means mrtyu. So in this way, struggling—pa, pha, ba, bha, ma—that is called pavarga. So here it is said, dharmasya hy āpavargyasya. Apa. Apa means just to make nullified this life of pavarga. That is, means, liberation, to come to the original position, spiritual life. Dharmasya hi āpavargyasya na arthāyopakalpate. Not that you go to church and temple and pray to God, "God, give me some money. I am in distressed condition. Please..." God can do that. It is not very difficult. He is doing already. The birds and beasts, they do not go to church or temple, but they have no problem. They are living very happy. So that is not the aim of life. The aim of life is how to regain our God consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and love Him. Because we do not love God, therefore we have been obliged to love māyā, Satan. This is our present position.
So I may get that condition next life. Then what is the value of my education? Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). Because at the time of death, the, your mentality, my mentality, will decide what kind of body I am going to get. That is under the laws of nature. You cannot dictate that "Give me this American life or Indian life." No. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). By your karma it will be decided whether you will be American, Indian, or snake or tree or bird. Daiva-netreṇa. Just like when you go to the court, the court will decide whether you will be punished or you will be rewarded. You cannot dictate to the court that "Sir, give me this judgment." No. That is not possible.
This human form of life, deha-bhājām... The cats and dogs and hogs, they have also accepted a body. And the trees, the plants, the insects, the birds, beasts—everyone has got body, material body. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). I have explained it. According to the infection of the modes of material nature, one is getting a type of body, nature's way. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi. The same example: if you contaminate some disease, you'll have to suffer or you'll have to accept that disease. So similarly, this is the nature's way. If you are associating with a certain type of quality of the material nature, you are preparing your body for that purpose.
So this has been described in the previous verses: jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā nārtho yaś ceha karmabhiḥ. If you have no program for tattva-jijñāsā, then why should you work so hard? Food is available for birds and beasts. You have also your food. That is already there, destined by nature's way, by God's arrangement. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. God provides food just before your birth. A child takes birth; the mother, young mother, has no milk on the breast a minute ago. But as soon as the child is born, immediately there is profuse milk in the breast of the mother. That is the nature's arrangement. Before birth, the food, the child immediately require, the mother's breast, there is milk supply immediately. So by God's arrangement, the economic position is already arranged. Our only business is tattva-jijñāsā.
Just like this body. Your body, my body, this is bahir-artha, external. Just like my, this wrapper. This is external. Real person is not this wrapper or this body. Real person is the soul. But they have no information of the soul, neither information of Viṣṇu, the origin of soul. They are interested with the external body. That is called bahir-artha. Bahiḥ means external. Artha means interest. Just like you have seen, our, in our Bhāgavata, the picture, that one lady is taking care of the cage, and the bird within is dying. So bahir-artha-mānī means this, that we are taking care of the body, external body, but not taking care of the soul within. This is the civilization of cows and asses. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). Go means cows, and khara means asses. Therefore here it is said, ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ (SB 1.2.13).
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that Kṛṣṇa, or the Supersoul is situated within your heart. He's not very away long, long distant. He's just within yourself, sitting within you. You are also sitting in the heart and the Supreme Lord also as Supersoul, He is sitting there. You are sitting there two, just like friends. That is stated in the Upaniṣad, that two friends, two birds, sitting on the same tree. So this body is the tree, and you are sitting. So as soon as we are sincere, we are eager to develop our spiritual consciousness, He gives us opportunity. Buddhi-yogam. That is buddhi-yoga. Intelligence He gives. What for? Yena mām upayānti te: by which one can attain perfection in understanding the Supreme Lord. This is given by Him. So we have to become serious and very eager. Unless you become eager... God wants to see you, that how much you are eager. So with the development of our eagerness and sincerity to have our knowledge in spiritual understanding, God will help us.
So here it is the same thing. Yad-anudhyāsinā yuktāḥ karma-granthi-nibandhanam. Nibandhanam. It is tightly interknotted, our karma-granthi. We had some types of activities in our past lives, and we have got this body. Everyone. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha upapattaye (SB 3.31.1). The different types of body, 8,400,000 species of life, different types of body. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi, 900,000 species in the water. In this way, planets, creepers, serpents, insects, birds, beasts, then human form. This is the process of evolution. So each body is a concession by Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is sitting in everyone's heart. You want to do something. Just like for doing something you must have particular type of instrument, similarly, the body means particular type of instrument. So you desire to do something, Kṛṣṇa gives you a particular type with the senses, and you act. This is the change of body. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa. Daiva-netreṇa, by superior examination it is settled up that "This man or this beast is dying..." Of course, for lower than animals, they have got natural process of evolution. But when you come to the human form of body, you have got responsibility. Now you can make your next life better than this or lower than this.
"My dear Arjuna, whatever forms of life you are seeing..." There are eighty-four lakhs species of life. That means eight millions and four hundred thousands of different varieties of life. Not one, two, three or one thousand, three thousand. No. We have not seen. Even the biologists, or the anthropologists, they cannot calculate. But from authoritative, revealed scripture we get this information that there are eight, eight, 8,400,000's of species of life of which human beings, they are divided into 400,000's species of life. And eighty, eighty million, eight million, there are other species of life. But Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, claims that all of them, never mind, either he is bird or beast or man or a snake or whatever he may..., god, or semi-god, demigod, anything, whatever... "There are different forms, but apart from the forms, real identity is that all of them, they are My sons. I am actually bīja-pradaḥ pitā, seed-giving father." Just like the father gives the seed, and the mother receives the seed, and the body is formed according to the mother's body. And when the body is completely formed, it comes out, either from cats, either from dog, either from man, or anything. That is the process of generation. The father gives the seed, and it takes, emulsified, two kinds of secretion within the womb of the mother, and in the first night the body is formed like a pea. Then gradually it develops. There are certain holes, the nine holes. They first of all come out, nine holes. We have got nine holes, two eyes, one mouth, two ears, and penis, and so many things. So when they are fully developed, they come out. And according to their last karma, or action, they get this body and enjoy, or suffer. That is the process of birth and death which is going on. And after finishing this life, again dies, again enters into the moth..., womb of the mother, again gets another type of body, again comes out. This is going on. This is going on.
Suppose by chloroform I am unconscious; I don't feel the pains of operation. Oh, that does not mean that I am out of these pains and pleasures. This is artificial. So real, real pleasure, real life is here, as recommended in Bhagavad-gītā by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Just see. Karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ. Manīṣiṇaḥ means the thoughtful. "They give up the reaction of, of work, being situated in the platform of consciousness. And the result will be that janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ, this bondage of birth and death and disease and old age, he becomes free from that." Then the next life? Padaṁ gacchanty anāmayam. Anāmayam. Anāmayam means where there is no death, no, I mean to say, old age, no birth, no disease. That is possible. That is called Vaikuṇṭha. Vaikuṇṭha. The Sanskrit word is Vaikuṇṭha. Vaikuṇṭha means vigata-kuṇṭha. Kuṇṭha means anxiety, anxiety. Here, due to our material contamination, we are always full of kuṇṭha, anxiety. Even a bird, when he's eating, he's seeing like this; this way, this way, this way, "Somebody's coming, or kill me. Oh." Full of anxiety. We are also anxiety, anxious. The politician is anxious. So long we are in contamination of this material body, we must be anxious. We must be anxious.
Cetas, everything is working within the heart, the whole thing. Heart is the central point of this body. So when the heart is not punctured by the rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa and you become situated on the modes of goodness, then you become jubilant. Jubilant means he can understand at that time that "Why these people are working so hard like cats and dogs?" The human life is meant for understanding what is God. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This life is meant for simply understanding what is God. The animal life, they cannot understand. That life is different. But the human life is developed, consciousness is developed. He can understand. This is called goodness. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. How one becomes intelligent? He can study... When he is on the platform of goodness, he can study the nature that "Why I shall work so hard for getting all my material necessities?" This is being supplied by nature. The birds and beasts, they are getting their food, they are getting their mates, they are being protected in their own way, they have got a sleeping nest, apartment. So even an animal, even a small ant... We sit down in the garden, we see, even the small ant it has got family, it has got home, it has got eating. Everything is there. From ant to the elephant. Who is supplying? They have no business. They do not do any business. They have no profession. But they are getting their necessities of life.
Bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiḥ. Our material life begins by a knot in the heart. What is that knot? That is sex desire. This is the knot. A man is hankering after a woman, and a woman is hankering after a man. This attachment is the beginning of material life. Everyone, not only human society. In animal society, in bird society, in beast society, you'll find this sex attachment. This is the hṛdaya-granthiḥ, beginning. Therefore, according to Vedic civilization, the first teaching to a student is to give him lesson how to become brahmacārī. How not to become attached in sex life, that is called brahmacārī. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13). Tapasā, to become brahmacārī, to become..., abstaining from sex life, it requires tapasya. It is not so easy thing. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa damena śamena (SB 6.1.13). One has to practice how to control the mind, how to control the senses. This is brahmacarya. Tapasya. It requires tapasya. At the present moment, the students are, what to speak of tapasya, they are given all kinds of luxuries. So how there will be brahmacārīs? It is not possible. Especially in the Western countries, the boys and girls, they are educated in one place, co-education, and they live in the same building, and there are so many things. You know, better than me.
So spiritual realization is the ultimate goal of our life. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā nārtho yaś ceha karmabhiḥ. We have discussed these verses previously. This human form of life, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā... Jijñāsā, about the truth, inquiry about the truth, that is the main business of the living entity. But lower than human being—animals, birds, beasts, trees, aquatics, insects—they have no privilege to inquire about the Absolute Truth. It is in the human form of life one can inquire about the Absolute Truth. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. So when one is actually inquisitive about the Absolute Truth, he realizes three transcendental subject: brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11).
So foolish activity has no meaning. Without brain, simply active, that is dangerous. Sober activity is required. Just like a high-court judge. He is paid very lump sum, money, but he's sitting on his chair and simply thinking. The others may think that "We are working so hard, we are not getting so big salary, and this man is getting so big salary. He's sitting only." Because foolish activity has no value. It is dangerous. So this modern world, they very active, but they're foolishly active, in the ignorance and passion, rajas tamas. Therefore there is confusion activity. Foolish activity, there is accident. Sober activity required. Because, just like unless you come to the platform of fire, you cannot utilize the material things. Fire is required. Similarly, to make your life successful, there is gradual evolution from aquatics to plant life, plant life to insect life, insect life to reptiles, reptiles to bird's life, then beast life, then human life, then civilized life.
Kṛṣṇa, God is so kind. Whatever you want, you take. That is, nature is helping. Nature is working under the direction of God, and whatever you want, He understands, because He is sitting with you within the heart, like two birds. One bird is eating, one bird is simply seeing. The seeing bird is God and eating bird is the living entity. So that is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ. Fifteenth Chapter. "I am sitting in everyone's heart." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15). One Dr. Farquar, in our college life, he was a Scotsman, so he did not believe in the karma-vāda. And there are so many philosophers like that. But actually, īśvara, Kṛṣṇa, God, is sitting within your heart. He is witness.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said anumantā upadraṣṭā. Upadraṣṭā means witness. This is also explained in the Upaniṣads, that one bird is eating, another bird is seeing. The seeing bird is God, upadraṣṭā. He's noting down that you like this. He's noting down that you like to eat such and such thing. You'll find so many animals; they are eating differently. The hog is eating stool, the tiger is eating fresh blood, another animal is eating something, something. All facilities are there. Open hotel: you come on and take whatever you like. And the witness... God is so kind, this person has no discrimination of eating, so let him become dog, hog. The hog has no discrimination. Whatever you think: you give him halavā, he will eat; you give him stool, it will eat. There are goats, so many animals, and no discrimination. The human being, there must be discrimination.
Those who are in the platform of goodness, they worship nārāyaṇa-kalāḥ śāntāḥ, Nārāyaṇa and His expansions. In the spiritual world, there are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets. As we have got experience within this material world, within this universe, there are innumerable planets, similarly there is another sky. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). That sky is eternal. This sky is not eternal. It is created. It has got a date of creation, and it will be annihilated at a certain date. So beyond the sky there is another sky, which is called paravyoma, or sanātana, eternal sky. And in that sky there are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets. Vaikuṇṭha means vigata-kuṇṭha hy asmāt. There is no anxiety. Here in this material world everyone is full of anxiety. This is the material nature. Even a small bird—you give some grains to the small bird, he'll be full of anxiety. He'll look like this, look like this. Yes. "If somebody's coming to kill me? Somebody's coming to kill me?" That is explained by Prahlāda Mahārāja: sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5). The living entities in this material world, they are full of anxieties. Why? Asad-grahāt. Why? Because they have accepted something which will not exist. Asad-grahāt. There are two things: asat and sat. So oṁ tat sat. Paraṁbrahma Bhagavān, He's sat. And this material world, asat. Asat means "that which does not exist."
Tayā vilasiteṣu guṇeṣu guṇavān iva. Now, the living entity wanted to enjoy this material world. We get different types of bodies on account of our desire to have such body. We want to enjoy the material, the matter, in a certain way, and Kṛṣṇa gives us the opportunity to enjoy as we liked Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Everything is under control of Kṛṣṇa. Although the body's obtained by material arrangement, still, behind the matter, there is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is... As the living entity enters this material world, Kṛṣṇa is also there along with him. Sometimes the Māyāvādī philosophers, they mistake that the soul and the Supersoul, there is no such difference: only the soul is the Supersoul, or the Supersoul is the soul; ātmā, Paramātmā, they are both one. But not they are not both one. They are two. That is stated in the Upaniṣads, that they are sitting in one tree like two birds, friendly birds. One is enjoying the fruit of the tree; other is only witnessing. So the witnessing bird is Paramātmā, and the fruit-eating bird is ātmā. These are the Vedic statements.
So both the living entity, and the Supersoul is sitting on the same tree. This body is supposed to be the tree, and the heart is supposed to be the nest. And in the nest, as there are two birds, similarly, there is one bird, the living entity, individual, and the Supersoul, both. One is eating the fruit; the other is simply observing, witnessing. Anumantā upadraṣṭā. Anumantā means "giving order." Just like a child wants to take something, but he also depends on the order of the father. The child is insisting: "Father, I want this." Father says, "No, you don't take it." "I shall touch it. I shall touch the fire." Father says, "No, don't touch it." But he's insisting and crying, so father says, "All right, you touch." Similarly, we create our own fortune and misfortune. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). So the father wants us to do something else, but we want to do something else against the wish of the father. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa wants that everyone of us should surrender unto Him and work according to His direction, but we want to do against His will. Therefore we create our own fortune and misfortune. That is the way.
Ariṣṭāsura. The attacking with his horns. Kṛṣṇa is just like playing with a toy. That is Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa is always anxious to give us enlightenment, that "This is not your life. Why you are rotting in this material world? Come back." In many ways... Deva-tiryaṅ-narādiṣu. He's coming not only in the human society, but in the animal society also. He's coming in all kinds of... There are so many societies, aquatics, jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra-saṅk... There are so many living entities, 8,400,000, and they have got their own society. As we know, birds of the same feather flock together. So that is called society. That is there in the... You'll find all the ants are together. All the birds are together. All the beasts are together. So we form this animal society or the human society. That is not a new thing. That is a... You'll see all the crows, they will flock together. The crows will not mix with the pigeons. The pigeons will not mix with the crows. That is natural.
So there are so many societies. Deva-tiryaṅ-narādiṣu (SB 1.2.34). And in every society, there is incarnation of God according to their position. According to their language, according to their problems, there is incarnation. We do not see other incarnations, but we can see the human form of incarnation. Rāmādi-mūrtiṣu kalā-niyamena tiṣṭhan (Bs. 5.39). But from the śāstra we can understand that there are incarnations amongst the lower animals, beasts, birds and everywhere. The purpose is to reclaim the fallen souls. So not only He incarnates, but He sends His devotee, He comes as devotee. Just like Kṛṣṇa was misunderstood because Kṛṣṇa demanded that "You surrender unto Me." So we misunderstood because we are mūḍhas. The mūḍhas, they do not surrender. Kṛṣṇa says they are, they are very good scholars of Bhagavad-gītā. But they cannot understand these simple things. Kṛṣṇa is demanding, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), but he'll not do that. And he is a scholar of Bhagavad-gītā. The simple truth, he cannot understand. Neither he can follow. If I am actually follower of Bhagavad-gītā, then Kṛṣṇa says that "You surrender unto Me," then, if I am actually follower, I shall surrender unto Him. That is my business. But no. I shall not surrender. "I am Kṛṣṇa. Why shall I surrender to You?"
This Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is in everyone's heart. He is also sitting with me in the heart. I, as spirit soul, I am sitting there, and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu as Paramātmā, as guiding Supersoul, He is also sitting in the same position. One is... It is stated in the Upaniṣad that two birds are sitting in one tree. One bird is eating the fruit and the other bird is simply witnessing. So Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu as Paramātmā, He is witnessing the activities of the individual soul. And according to the activities of the individual soul, He is getting the necessary result. He is witness. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is confirmed, anumantā and upadraṣṭā. Upadraṣṭā means witness. Suppose you are doing something. I have nothing to do with your activities, but I can see..., I am seeing what you are doing. So He is upadraṣṭā. And anumantā. Anumantā means the individual soul cannot do anything without the sanction of the Supersoul. Either you may do something good or bad, but it has to be taken sanction from the Supersoul.
So sātvata-tantra means books or literature of devotional service. In the Vedas there are different departments, they are divided into three parts-karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa. Therefore the other name of the Vedas is trayī. Strī-śūdra-dvijabandhūnāṁ trayī na śruti-gocarā: (SB 1.4.25) for women, for śūdras and for dvija-bandhus, sons of the higher class but not properly educated. Bandhu means friend, a man born by a brāhmaṇa father, but he is not qualified as a brāhmaṇa. He will be called a dvija-bandhu, not dvija. Dvija means twice-born; actually he is twice-born. The birds are also called twice-born: one birth is the egg, and the other birth is from the egg, closed. Similarly every human being is born śūdra, without any knowledge. Either he is born by the brāhmaṇa father or a śūdra father, he is born a śūdra, because there is no knowledge.
Just like a man has got several sons, but all of them, in the beginning, they are illiterate. Now, in their grown-up age, by accepting different departmental knowledge, one becomes a medical practitioner, one becomes engineer, one becomes lawyer, or one becomes vagabond. So not by birth, one becomes engineer or medical man or this or... No. Everything by culture, by education. Similarly, the Vedic culture means everyone is given the chance to become first-class brāhmaṇa. That is called brahminical culture. Everyone is given. Because without becoming a brāhmaṇa, nobody can understand what is God. And the human life is meant for understanding God. That is the only business of human form of life. Not like cats and dogs—how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sexual intercourse, and how to defend. These the animals know. The birds, bees, they know how to do it.
And when I was in New York, one old lady, she used to come to my class. Not in Second Avenue. When I first started in 72nd Street. So she had a son. So I asked, "Why don't you get your son married?" "Oh, if he can maintain a wife, I have no objection." Just to maintain a wife is a great job in this age. Dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. And still we are very much proud that we are advancing. Even a bird maintains a wife, even a beast maintains wife. And human being hesitates to maintain a wife? You see? And they are advanced in civilization? Hm? It is a very horrible age.
So he is comparing all the books written by Vyāsadeva, including the Vedānta philosophy. He says that this is vāyasaṁ tīrtham. Vāyasaṁ tīrtham. Vāyasam means crows. And the crows, and their place of pleasure. Have you seen crows? In India we have got many crows. In your country crows are not very... But in India the crows, they take pleasure in all nasty things. The crows. You'll find they will take pleasure in a place where all nasty things are thrown, garbage. They'll pick out the garbage, find out where there is mucus, where there is pus. Just like flies. They'll sit down on the stool. Mākṣikaṁ bhramarā icchanti. And the bees, they will try to take honey. Even in the animals you'll see. The honey... The bees will never come to the stool. And the ordinary flies, they never go to collect honey. Similarly, there are divisions in the birds, divisions in the beasts, divisions in human society. So you cannot expect that ordinary person will come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You see? Because they have been trained to become flies, they will taste stool. You see? The modern education is to teach people to become flies, only stool. Not here, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But you make it a honeycomb. Those who are after, seeking after honey, they will find, "Here is something." You see? Don't make it a stool society. You see? Make it a honey society. At least, give chance, those who are seeking after honey. Don't cheat people. So they'll come.
Because such kind of literature will be accepted by men who are like crows. Tad vāyasaṁ tīrthaṁ kāka-tulyānāṁ kāmināṁ yati-sthānam uśanti manyante.(?) Just like kāminām, those who are very lustful, what is their pleasure spot? That vagina, that's all. That urinal. That is their pleasure. Is urinal, is very nice place? But he's sophisticated. He finds, "Oh, this is very nice place." This analytical study, (chuckling) how Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is revolting, but... (laughter) But we must talk the real thing, (laughing) that this commentator Śrīdhara Svāmī, he has given very nice example: kāmināṁ rati-sthānam. As the lusty man finds pleasure in the vagina, similarly, this sort of literature, nonsense literature, are enjoyed by persons who are just like crows. Not, what is called, swan. Swan will not go to that place. They will search out some place where there is nice transparent water and lotus flower, lilies, and nice trees and good birds. They are taking enjoyment. So even if you see among the animal society, in the bird society there is discrimination, and if in the human society there is no such discrimination, what kind of civilization that is? A crows' civilization. Black crows' civilization. Simply trying to take pleasure in nonsensical clubs, in liquor shop, in so-called cinema. They are trying to take pleasure there.
Now Vyāsadeva is discussing different kinds of literature. So he has explained that any literature, however nicely prepared from rhetorical point of view, or poetical, metaphorical, grammatical, but if there is no information of the Absolute Truth, such literatures are useless and no saintly person will take any interest in such literature. They give it up. Just like the swans, they do not take pleasure in a place where the crows can take pleasure. As there is distinction between the crows and the swans, even in the bird's kingdom, or even in the animal kingdom... You'll find always. The different kinds of varieties of birds and beasts, they live together. Similarly, those who are saintly persons, those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious persons, their taste is different from the persons who are just like crows. Crows are interested in things... Carvita-carvaṇānām. Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "chewing the chewed." Already it has been chewed, and if somebody wants to try it, "Let me see. What is the taste there?" it is useless labor only.
Suppose if you go to a place, to a..., where you can earn money, as much as you like, and if you go there, and if you do not earn anything, you come empty-handed, so, as your mission becomes unsuccessful. Similarly, if in the human form of life you are simply engaged in the animalistic way of life—eating, sleeping, mating, and defending in a nice way than the birds and beasts—then you are not gaining anything. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ. In many places these things are very nicely explained. Abodha-jātaḥ. We are born... We are born ignorant. A child is born ignorant. If the father, mother, guardians, do not give him education, then his life is spoiled. The child has no fault. It is the fault of the guardian. Similarly, in this human form of life, if the state, the father, the teacher, the school, college, and every, who are responsible for raising the child to knowledge, to become wise, if they do not care and simply they have trained for eating nicely, sleeping nicely and mating nicely and defending nicely, then there is no gain. The life is the... A chance is missed. Nārada Muni says that "Without coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if he's simply engaged in a polished way to this animalistic way of life—eating, sleeping, mating and defending—then he does not gain anything. On the other side, if a person without any knowledge, without any understanding, by sentiment takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and, being immature, if he falls down, there is no loss." This is the conclusion.
Here the two modes of nature is explained, kāma and lobha, er, rajas tamas. So if we are entangled with rajas-tamas, then our perpetual desire for lusty sense enjoyment and greediness will not stop. It will drag me more and more, more and more, and entangle me. But sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati. But if we give up these two qualities, the remainder quality means goodness, that sattve, you will get, you will give, you will get, at least, peace of mind. Sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati. Evaṁ prasanna-manasaḥ. When you are in, in the platform of satisfaction, sattva-guṇa... Just like the brahminical qualification. They are satisfied with anything. A brāhmaṇa is not supposed to improve his economic condition. He's not interested. He's simply satisfied: "By the grace of God, whatever I have got, that is sufficient." God is supplying everyone, even birds and beasts and cats and dogs. Eko yo bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. He is giving food to everyone. So sattva-guṇa means to remain satisfied whatever is obtained by, from God, by His free will. That's all. They are not after economic development.
So this is here, yayā sammohito jīva, by these designations. All these living entities, they are captivated by these designations. Yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam. He is thinking that the spirit soul has become Indian, American, African, or bird, beast. No, tri-guṇa. Paro 'pi, although he is transcendental to all these designations, manute anartham. Unnecessarily we are creating separative confusion. Manute anartham, tat-kṛtaṁ cābhipadyate. And by that designation, he is thinking, "I am Indian, I must act as Indian," "I am European, I must act as European." Tat-kṛtaṁ ca abhipadyate. This is called anartha: unnecessarily. The spirit soul is originally part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. He should develop his Kṛṣṇa consciousness and go back to home, back to Godhead. That is his real business. But on account of this anartha, created designation, he is suffering. And he is trying to adjust things materially. That will never be possible. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). You go on trying to adjust things on the material platform, it will never be done. Durāśayā. This has been described, durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). This is durāśayā. This hope will never be fulfilled. One must know it certain. If you want to be happy, if you want to be peaceful, if you want to be elevated again to your original, constitutional position, then you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and be happy.
Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva has forbidden, that "This life, human form of life, is not meant for working so hard like hogs and dogs." Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This is the advice. But we are advancing in civilization—to get our food, we have to work so hard. This is condemnation of life. Human life should be very peaceful, and without any hard work we shall get our food and save time for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is human life, not that for senses gratification we work so hard like an ass. This is called anartha. Anartha means unwanted things. We can see practically. The birds and beasts, they are living very easy and comfortable life without any problem. They rise early in the morning regularly. You have seen. As soon as there is little light, immediately they will rise up and they will talk amongst themselves and go, one tree to another, and he will eat one or two fruits, little fruits, ample fruit. They have no scarcity of food. And live very pleasantly. For eating, sleeping, sex life, they have no problem. These are primary necessities of life. Why there should be problem for these things? But in the human society there is problem. That is called the effect of Kali-yuga. Effect of Kali-yuga means the so-called advancement of material civilization means to become godless, immoral, and they must suffer. That is going on.
So vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19). Vāsudeva is everywhere, and He is ready to help us, and if we become sincere to take knowledge from Vāsudeva... Even you are in the wilderness, anywhere you are, you are with Vāsudeva. You are not alone. He is so friendly that He is living with you as your most intimate friend. That is described in the Vedic literature. Two birds are sitting in one tree. This is the tree, and two birds, ātmā and Paramātmā, they are sitting in the same tree. One is acting according to his whims for enjoying senses, and another is simply looking over: "When this rascal will turn his face towards Me?" This is going on. (aside, referring to microphone:) Why it is stopped? Oh. So Vāsudeva is always ready to help us, provided we want to take help from Him. And He, not only internally He is helping, externally also, He's sending His representative to teach us. And there is śāstra, just like this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Sādhu, śāstra, guru. Guru is there, śāstra is there, saintly persons are there. You take advantage. And the Lord is there within yourself. So why don't you take? This is intelligence. If we don't take the advantage... And this is possible in the human form of life. A cat and dog cannot take advantage of the sādhu, śāstra and guru. Only the human being can accept it. Therefore here it is said, yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyām. Yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyāṁ kṛṣṇe parama-pūruṣe (SB 1.7.7). The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, sātvata-saṁhitām, given by Vyāsadeva... Not given by Vyāsadeva.
Similarly kṛṣṇa-bhakti is there. If we carefully study, yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyām... Study means you can say that it requires education. No. It doesn't matter. śrūyamāṇāyām. Kṛṣṇa has given you the ears. Therefore Vedic knowledge is called śruti. You go to a proper person, guru, and hear from him. Therefore this word is used: śrūyamāṇāyām. If you hear from the right person, then kṛṣṇe parama-pūruṣe bhaktir utpadyate. Then you develop your Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And if you say, "What is the use of bhakti? Let me enjoy." No. It is required, if you are serious. What is that required? Śoka-moha-bhayāpahā. Things are going on śoka, moha and bhaya. Bhaya means fearfulness. Even a small bird, he's also fearful. You see the bird is sitting up. It is not coming down. Why? Sometimes it comes down when we are not there. What is that? Fearfulness. Fearfulness. It is a small bird. We have nothing to do with them. Nobody has got... But still it is fearful. So any body, any material body you accept there will be fearfulness. And why you are fearful? There is loss and gain. So when there is loss there is śoka, and the śoka..., and fearfulness is moha, illusion—because I don't belong to this material world. Artificially you have accepted this body. On account of this body I am subjected to these principles: śoka, moha, bhaya. So as you become advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, more and more you advance, then these three things—śoka, moha, bhaya—will be completely eradicated. That is the gain of bhakti-yoga.
This is pravṛtti-mārga. Pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānāṁ nivṛttes tu mahā-phalām. So the whole Vedic literature is there how to make him stop this pravṛtti-mārga. That is the whole plan. Otherwise there are many instances, loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityas tu jantuḥ. Nitya. A jantuḥ, he's called jantuḥ. Jantuḥ means animal or no intelligence. Those who are jantuḥ, they have got this tendency. Pravṛttir eṣā. What is that? Vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā: sex and meat-eating. Āmiṣa, meat, egg, fish; and madya, intoxication. This is pravṛtti. Loke vyavāya. Vyavāya means sex. Āmiṣa-madya-sevā nityā tu jantuḥ. Jantuḥ means living being, conditioned in the material world, they have got this general tendency. Pravṛtti. You will find in animals, in birds, in beasts, and beastly human being, two-legged beast... There are four-legged beasts and two-legged beasts. Four-legged beasts are the animals—cats, dogs, tigers, etc. Cows, asses. They are four-legged beasts. And there are two-legged beasts, dvi-pāda-paśu. It is not manufactured; it is there in the śāstra. Dvi-pāda-paśu. Dvi means two, and pāda means legged. So any human being who is attached to this pravṛtti-mārga-sex, meat-eating, intoxication, gambling—he is dvi-pāda-paśu, two-legged animals. This is pravṛtti-mārga.
So Kṛṣṇa is pūrṇa in every respect, and if we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa-sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18)—if we fix up our mind always at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then everything will follow very perfectly. That is promised by Kṛṣṇa. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10). If one is engaged always in love and affection... Not as official love. Ecstatic love, spontaneous, that is wanted. That example is here in Vṛndāvana. At least, as we get information of Vṛndāvana from the śāstras, from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, how spontaneously the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana—the gopīs and the cowherds boys and the birds, beasts, the calves, the animals, the trees, everyone, even the flies, the bees, the insect, even the dust, the grass—everyone is..., they are all cinmaya, spiritual. They are not material. But they are attracted to Kṛṣṇa in different varieties.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly said that this whole cosmic manifestation is combination of material energy and spiritual energy. So therefore in the Vedas... Veda means knowledge, vetti veda vido jñāne. In the Sanskrit verb vid, vid-dhātu. Vid-dhātu means knowledge, "to know." Vetti veda vido jñāne vinte vid vicaraṇa(?). Labhe vindati vindate. So vid-dhātu. From vid-dhātu the Veda has come. Veda means knowledge. So from the Vedas you can have all different types of knowledge, namely material knowledge and spiritual knowledge, both, perfectly. Because we have now forgotten our spiritual energy, we do not cultivate spiritual energy; therefore the Veda is there. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, in simple Bengali language, it is said, anādi-bahirmukha jīva kṛṣṇa bhuli' gela, ataeva kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa karila (CC Madhya 20.117). Because these rascals, anādi-bahirmukha, do not know. (bird chirping in background) Just like this bird chirping, but he does not know what he is, wherefrom he is coming, where to go—nothing. That is low-grade life. So we are now forgetful of our spiritual energy, and because we do not know spiritual energy. Therefore we have no knowledge of God. This is our position, and it is coming since very, very, very, very, long time. Time immemorial. Therefore the Vedas are there.
So janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has described this ādi from ādi-rasa. Ādi-rasa means the conjugal love. That is called ādi-rasa. So janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Wherefrom the ādi-rasa comes? The attraction between man and woman, that is a fact. The attraction is there in everywhere, either human society or animal society or bird society, bee society, the attraction is there. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). This whole world is existing on mithunī-bhāva, sex. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). These things are there. So wherefrom it comes, this ādi-rasa? Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has described in his comment on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the beginning, that Kṛṣṇa is the origin of ādi-rasa, janmādy asya (SB 1.1.1). From there, this ādi-rasa is generated. That is Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. So everything is there. Otherwise, imperfectness. So as there is ādi-rasa, Kṛṣṇa is enjoying with the gopīs and Rādhārāṇī. Similarly, He enjoys with bībhatsa-rasa, vīra-rasa, killing. Killing is also vīra-rasa. Because He is the reservoir of all rasas. So janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So do not think that this violence or fighting is bad. No. Nothing is bad when it is utilized for Kṛṣṇa. And nothing is good when it is utilized for your sense gratification. Everything is bad.
Prabhupāda: It is called śabda-vedī. He who... Just like I cannot see where is the bird. He's chirping. But śabda-vedī, I can throw wherever the bird is, it will go and kill. That is called śabda-vedī. Mahārāja Daśaratha used it. Therefore he was cursed that he would die being aggrieved when Rāmacandra will be banished. Go on.
Pradyumna: "So this is a finer military science than that of the gross military military weapons used nowadays. Arjuna was taught all this, and therefore Draupadī wished that Arjuna feel obliged to Ācārya Droṇa for all these benefits. And in the absence of Droṇācārya, his son was the representative. That was the opinion of the good lady Draupadī. It may be argued why Droṇācārya, a rigid brāhmaṇa, should be a teacher in military science. But the reply is that a brāhmaṇa should become a teacher, regardless of what his department of knowledge is. A learned brāhmaṇa should become a teacher, a priest and a recipient of charity. A bona fide brāhmaṇa is authorized to accept such professions."
Prabhupāda: So there is nothing especial to be explained. The only important part of this verse is, that don't learn guru-māra-vidyā. Even if you become more learned that your guru, you should not exhibit it before your guru. You should always remain a fool number one. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu showed Himself by His example. Guru more mūrkha dekhi 'karila śāsana (CC Adi 7.71). Caitanya Mahāprabhu was not mūrkha, but He has taught us that before guru, we shall always remain a mūrkha. That is advancement. Not that "I know more than guru. I don't care for guru. Now give me blessing that I can find out some better guru." This nonsense, if you don't find... If your guru is not perfect, then why you are asking blessing to find out another?
There are three guṇas, qualities, in the material world. Sattva-guṇa. Tri-guṇamayī. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī (BG 7.14). Guṇamayī. Triguṇamayī in this material world, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. So those who are influenced by the sattva-guṇa, they are first class. First-class means first-class in this material world. Not in the spiritual world. Spiritual world is different. That is nirguṇa, no material qualities. There is no first-class, second-class, third-class. Everyone is first-class. That is absolute. Kṛṣṇa is first-class, His devotees are also first-class. The trees are first-class, the birds are first-class, the cows are first-class, the calves are first-class. Therefore it is called absolute. No conception of relative, second-class, third-class, fourth-class. No. Everything is first-class. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ (Bs. 5.37). Everything is composition of ānanda-cinmaya-rasa. There is no classification. Either one is situated in dāsya-rasa, one is situated in sākhya-rasa, or in vātsalya-rasa or mādhurya-rasa, they are all one. There is no such distinction. But there is variety. You like this rasa, I like this rasa, that is allowed.
Ordinarily, you cannot see God, either inside or outside. Alakṣyaṁ sarva-bhūtānām antar bahiḥ (SB 1.8.18). Although we say that God is there within, God is outside, but why you cannot see? Because we are not devotees. But as soon as you become a devotee, you become a lover of God or Kṛṣṇa, then you can see.
Kṛṣṇa is present everywhere. He says, antar bahir avasthitam. The Brahma-saṁhitā says,
- premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
- santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
- yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.38)
Premāñjana-cchurita. By prema... Prema means love. The ointment of love, when it is smeared over the eyes, then those who are devotees, santaḥ, saintly persons, they can see always Kṛṣṇa within his heart. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti. Antaḥ. And bahiḥ, so far experience, that he sees everything. One who is lover of God, he can see Kṛṣṇa in everything. Whatever he sees, he sees Kṛṣṇa there, because he knows that "This thing is produced out of Kṛṣṇa's energy." Take for example a flower. A devotee sees a flower produced by Kṛṣṇa's energy. He sees the beauty of flower, appreciating Kṛṣṇa's artistic sense. When he hears the sweet voice of a bird, he immediately understands that "Kṛṣṇa is speaking so nicely through this bird." This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Everywhere he sees. Antar bahiḥ.
So unless we become very serious to understand Kṛṣṇa, it is very, very difficult to understand Kṛṣṇa. Māyā-javanikācchannam. On the one side, Kuntī says, antar bahir avasthitam: "Kṛṣṇa, You are within..." Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe (BG 18.61). Kṛṣṇa is not far away. Kṛṣṇa is always with you. He, He's so friendly that just like two birds... It is said in the Upaniṣads: the one bird is eating the fruit of the tree; another bird is simply guiding and seeing. Because this material world, living entity wanted to enjoy. Just like you have seen that the dog and the master. The master is so friendly to the dog out of love. It is a dog, but when it is passing stool, he's waiting. Why? Is the duty of the master to wait because the dog is passing stool? No. Out of love. Out of love. We can see from practical example. Similarly... The master may be a great millionaire, but still, he loves the dog so much that on the morning walk he takes his dog and the dog is passing urine... What, what business dog has got? To pass urine and stool and go this way and that way. But the master is attending. Similarly, God, or Kṛṣṇa, is so affectionate that we have come here in this material world simply to pass stool and urine, still He's attending. Still, He's attending. Just imagine what merciful is Kṛṣṇa.
In the Upaniṣads it is said that two birds... The one bird is Paramātmā. Kṛṣṇa has become Paramātmā. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that kṣetra-kṣetrajña. There are two things. One is this kṣetra, this body. Kṣetra, just the field. Just like we are tilling the field. And the tiller, the kṛṣāṇa. Similarly, we are, we have got this field, and we are growing our own, harvesting our own grains. Just like you are doing. So according to our labor, according to our attempt, we are getting food grains. Similarly, we have got this body, and I am, the spirit soul is the tiller. So according to my karma, I am getting the result. So similarly... Not only I am there, but Kṛṣṇa is also there. He's seeing what you are doing, what you are doing, what you want more. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ (BG 15.15). Kṛṣṇa says, "I am sitting in everyone's heart." Why? "Just to give him the facilities. This rascal living being has come to the material world to till the field to get some result. All right. Let him do that." Just like children play on the beach, do all nonsense, and the father sees, "All right, you have finished your business? Come on." So Kṛṣṇa is like that. He is simply seeing. We are acting so nonsensically, and Kṛṣṇa is giving us... The same way, a dog passing stool and urine, the master is attending. Or the father is seeing. The children are playing on the beach. They're making big, big house on the sand, and it has nothing, no value, but Kṛṣ..., the father is giving the opportunity, "All right, do it."
So this ignorance, this life of ignorance we have passed in the, I mean to say, the forms other than the human being. Animal life, bird's life, beast's life. Now this life should be peaceful, calm and quiet. And jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā, simply for inquiring about the Absolute Truth. That should be the business. Simply. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Simply sit down. Just like we are sit down. We are sitting down and inquiring about Kṛṣṇa. This is life. And what is this life? Working day and night like the ass? No. That is not life. Therefore Bhāgavata says your life should be engaged for this purpose: tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. Kovida means intelligent. Then: "How my economic problem will be solved?" The answer is: tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. You are after happiness. Are you after distress? "No, sir." Why distress comes upon you? You are not anxious for distress, calamities. Why do they come upon you? Similarly, so far your happiness is also concerned, that will also come upon you. Because your life, according to your karma, is mixed up with some portion of happiness, some portion of distress. If the distress comes without any invitation, the happiness also will come without invitation. Without any invitation. Because you are destined already that so much happiness, so much distress you will have. Destined.
So one who has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa fully, no other business, he is guru. This is the definition of guru. There is no difficult to understand who is guru. One who follows strictly the principles laid down by jagad-guru, he is guru. So the jagad-guru says... Because we have to learn everything, especially spiritual subject matter, from guru. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). This is the injunction of the Vedas. If you want to understand Brahman... Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This life, human life, is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth: athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is not meant for any other purpose. This life, any life... There is no question of inquiring about "Where shall I eat? Where shall I sleep? Where shall I have sex? How shall I be saved from fear?" There is no such question. This is already arranged. These things are already arranged even for the birds and beasts. They are also living. They are also eating. They are also sleeping. They are also having sex life. They also defend them from danger. So by nature the arrangement is already there. So only thing is, difference, that in other life... There are 8,400,000... So eighty-million, 8,000,000 lives, they do not know except these things. And out of the four millions, eight million, four..., 400,000 human species, so mostly they are like animals. So unless one comes to the Vedic civilization, he's not human being. He's not human being.
So we brothers, why should we fight?" Similarly if we become God conscious, if we become Kṛṣṇa conscious, this fighting will be over. "I am American, I am Indian, I am Russian, I am Chinese." These all nonsense things will be over. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice. As soon as people become Kṛṣṇa conscious, this fighting, this political fighting, national fighting, will be over immediately. Because they'll come to real consciousness that everything belongs to God. And as the children, a child of the family has got right to take advantages from the father, similarly if everyone is part and parcel of God, if everyone is child of God, then everyone has got the right to use the property of the father. So that right is not that right, the right belongs to the human being. According to Bhagavad-gītā, this right belongs to all living entities. Never mind whether he's living being or animal or trees, or birds or beast or insect. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We do not think in terms of that simply my brother is good, I am good. And all bad. This kind of narrow, crippled consciousness we hate, we kick out. We think: paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find.
Just like in the state, because a man is lying street, poor man, has no help, can I kill him? Will the state excuse me? "No I have killed one poor man. He had no necessity. There was no need for him in the society. So why should he live?" Will the state excuse me that: "You have done very nice work."? No. That poor man is also the subject of the citizen of the state. You cannot kill. Why not expand this philosophy, that the poor animal—the trees, the birds, beasts—they're also sons of God. You cannot kill. You'll be responsible. You'll be hanged. Just like by killing one poor man on the street you'll be hanged. Never mind it is poor. Similarly in God's eyes, there is no such discrimination. What to speak of God, even a learned man's vision, there is no such discrimination, "This is poor, this is rich, this is black, this is white, this is..." No. Everyone is living entity, part and parcel of God.
So this is the illusion. Therefore śāstra says, ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam. Janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). How a man becomes entangled in this material world, everything is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam. This material world means sex attraction, mithunī-bhāva. The man is searching after woman; woman is searching after man. This is material life, in human life, in bird's, beast's... Just these sparrows—they are trying to make some nest on this chandelier to enjoy sex and lay eggs. Therefore they require some place. The basic principle is sex. First of all sex life, then other necessities. First of all, seeing, man and woman. Then, when they unite, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ (SB 5.5.8). When they unite and they get children, then the hard knot of heart—"She, my wife. She's (He's) my husband. We cannot separated..." Hard knot. Hṛdaya-granthi. Already there is attraction. Now this attraction becomes more and more tight, after unity. Then we require a place to live together, "Home, sweet home." Yes, very sweet. The whole day and night, work. And this is moha. He is working hard day and night. There is not a single moment leisure, and still, he's: "Sweet home." This is illusion.
So ataḥ gṛha. As soon as a man and woman or a male-female, either bird, beast or human being or demigods, everyone... Then he requires home, gṛha, then land to produce food, gṛha-kṣetra, then children. Gṛha-kṣetra. Because when a man is married, the social life, if he has no children, that is means vacant home. Putra-hīnaṁ gṛhaṁ śūnyam. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has said, avidyaṁ jīvanaṁ śūnyam: "One who is not educated, his life is zero." Avidyaṁ jīvanaṁ śūnyam. And diśaḥ śūnyā abāndhavāḥ: "And if you want to go to some foreign place, if that place is not a holy place..." Because according to Vedic system, they go on touring to see holy places, tīrtha-sthāna, or to a friend's house. "So if you are going to some foreign countries, if there is no friend and no devatā, then it is useless." Diśaḥ śūnyā abāndhavāḥ. Or putra-hīnaṁ gṛhaṁ śūnyam: "You are married, but you have no children. That is also vacant, zero." Putra-hīnaṁ gṛhaṁ śūnyam. Sarva-śūnyā daridratā: "But if you are poor, then everything is zero." Your vidyā is zero. Your home is zero. And your friend is zero because nobody will care you.
So real point is putram. Ato gṛha-kṣetra-suta. Suta means putra. And according to... (aside about birds?) Drive them. So required, married life requires children. Otherwise, it is vacant. So Bhāgavata says that ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam (SB 5.5.8), that "I possess..." In another place it is said that we are thinking very secure: "I have got a nice body, stout and strong. I take daily exercise in the morning and I keep myself fit." Ataḥ... That verse is...? The...? Deha-kalatrādi. "I have got good wife..." Sainya means ātma-sainya, su, asatsu, ātmā... We are thinking, "I am in the family life. I am very happy. I am very secure. I have got my good wife, I have got my good children, and so many things... I have got good bank balance. So I am secure." So śāstra says, pramattaḥ tasya nidhanaṁ paśyann api na paśyati. Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu. I was forgetting.
So aja... We are also aja because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. And nitya. Nityaḥ śāśva... Ajo nityaḥ. Nitya... The Māyāvāda philosophy is that we are aja, and Supreme Brahman is aja. So when we are uncovered by this material body, we mix with the aja. That is their theory, monist. We merge into the existence of aja. But that is not fact. You merge. That is like merging a green bird into a green tree. When a green bird enters a green tree it appears that the green bird is now merged and he, it has no more existence. No. That is not... One can understand. The bird enters into the green tree does not mean the bird has lost his existence. His individuality is still there. Similarly, when we merge, even in Brahman effulgence, we do not lose our individuality. Although it appears that we have lost our identity, individuality, but actually that is not the fact. And because it is not fact, therefore our another quality is ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt: (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12) we want ānanda.
As Kṛṣṇa is ānandamaya... We see Kṛṣṇa is always engaged in pastimes, either with the cowherd boys or with the gopīs or with His father, mother, or in the fight of battlefield, Kurukṣetra, or in killing some demon. But His pastimes are always there. He's never inactive. He's never inactive. There it is said, viśvātmann ajasya akartuḥ. He has nothing to do, but still He is acting. Akartuḥ. Akartuḥ means He has nothing to do. Here, so far we are concerned, we have to do something in the material world. We are destined. Śarīra-yātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that "If you do not work, you cannot maintain even your body. You have to work." You see therefore all living entities... At night, millions and trillions of living entities, they come, fly and work. The work has no meaning. The work is death. Still, they are working. So what to speak of others? The birds, the sparrows, they are working, from here to there, here... And we are also working. So that is the nature of material existence.
Just like a rascal. He's simply washing the coat, but does not take care of the body. Or a bird is in the cage and if you take care of the cage and don't take care of the bird within the cage... The bird is crying: "Ka Ka. Give me food, give me food." But you are taking care of the cage. This is foolishness. So why we are unhappy? Why, in your country especially... You are supposed to be the richest country in the world. You have no scarcity. No scarcity of food, no scarcity of motor car, no scarcity of bank balance, no scarcity of sex. Everything is there, complete, in full abundance. And still why a section of people are frustrated and confused like the hippies? They are not satisfied. Why? That is the defect. Because there is no balance. You are taking care of the bodily necessities of life, but you have no information of the soul. And there is necessity of the soul also. Because soul is the real subject matter. Body is the covering only.
So you should read all this. You have got: Bhāgavata, everything explanation. This is ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛtti, ultimate relinquishment from all sufferings. What is that? Mām upetya. "One who approaches Me or one who comes to Me, back to home, back to Godhead." So they have no knowledge what is God and whether one can go back to home, back to Godhead, it is a practical thing or not. No knowledge. Simply like animals. That's all. No knowledge. They pray: "O, God, give us our daily bread." Now ask him: "What is God?" Can he explain? No. Then whom we are asking? In the air? If I ask, if I submit some petition, there must be some person. So I do not know what is that person, where to submit this petition. Simply... They say that He's in the sky. The sky, there are so many birds also, but that is not God. You see. No knowledge, no knowledge. Imperfect knowledge, all. And they're passing on scientists, philosophers, great thinkers, writers, and... All rubbish, all rubbish. The only book is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā. All rubbish.
And on the other side: na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo jagat-pavitraṁ pragṛṇīta karhicit tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham... (SB 1.5.10). Tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham. Any literature which has no connection with the knowledge of God, tad, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham, that is just like the place where the crows take enjoyment. Where the crows take enjoyment? In the filthy place. And the swans, the white swans, they take pleasure in a nice, clear water where there is garden. where is birds.
In each of them... Gām āviśya (BG 15.13). Dhārayāmy aham ojasā. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that "I enter into each planetary system, each universe, and by My power I hold it. It is floating." Why it is floating? Because Kṛṣṇa is there. The atheist may not believe it, but it is a fact. It is a fact. How? Just like an animal or a man, while he is living, he can float in the air or in the water. That everyone has seen. But if the man is dead, it will not float. It will fall down. Is it not a fact? So why it is floating? Because a very small particle of Kṛṣṇa's spiritual potency is there. That is living entity. Big, big... An elephant, he can also float in the water, and the horses, elephant, and what to speak of man? This is practical. Because a small particle of the Supreme is there within this body... Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). Very small particle. How much small? One ten-thousandth part of the top of the hair, so small. It has got so power that it can hold the whole body floating in the air. Air... There are very, very big, big birds. They are floating in the air, very, very big eagle. They fly from one planet to another. Their resting place is... They start from one planet, and they go and rest in other planet. And they lay their eggs while flying. That eggs also become a bird simply by air cohesion.
o here it is said, kliśyamānānām. They are... Everyone is suffering—birds, beasts, animals and trees, plants, and even Brahmā, even Indra. Indra is also not safe. He is always anxious: "Nobody, competitor, may come." So here in this material world everyone is kliśyamāna, suffering, at least with anxiety. Sadā samudvigna, asad-grahāt. Tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehināṁ sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5). Everyone in this material world—always anxiety. Kliśyamānānām. Therefore it is called... Asmin bhave kliśyamānānām. Why kliśyamānānām? Why they are always suffering in anxiety? Avidyā-kāma-karmabhiḥ. Because they are rascals. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is giving so much stress: "You rascal, give up all this business. You surrender unto Me," because everyone is rascal. That is Kṛṣṇa's very good mercy. He's the supreme father. Therefore directly He says that sarva-guhyatama: "This is the most confidential knowledge I am giving you: rascal, you give up everything and simply surrender unto Me." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Yes. That is required.
So God has given everyone's food. Just like even if you are in the prison house, the government provides your food. Similarly, although this material world is to be considered as prison house for the living entity, still there is no scarcity of anything. Our necessity, so far our bodily necessities are concerned, in eating, sleeping and mating and defending, that is arranged for everyone according to his life. That is arranged. So in the lower species of life they cannot understand that everything is there, arranged, although they know, just like a bird, a bird rises in the early morning, he knows there is some food. He knows. But still he is busy to find out the food. So little business, little flying from one tree to another, he..., he sees in all, most, fruits, all the small or big, there are so many fruits they can eat. Similarly, for all the living entities, there is arrangement for food, food grains. Eating, sleeping, mating and defending, there is arrangement. Even in Africa there are some trees which produces fruits, those fruits are harder than the iron bullet. But these fruits are used by the gorillas. They collect those fruits, just like we chew some nuts, so they also enjoy chewing that nut. But it is so hard. I read in some book, so perhaps you also know, that the quarter of the jungle where gorillas live, God gives them fruit: "Yes, here is your food."
So simply by Kṛṣṇa's glancing, Kuntī is expressing that so many beautiful things are there. "Simply by Your glance." So if you simply plead for Kṛṣṇa's glancing, so there is no question of scarcity, there is no question of need. Everything will be complete. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. You depend on nature's gift. By the grace of Kṛṣṇa... They are... Our opinion, that the population has increased. Everywhere they say the population has increased, and they're checking the population by artificial means, by rascal method. Why? The birds and bees, they have no checking. They are increasing their population without any contraceptive. But are they in need of food? Have you seen any bird that is dying for want of food? Never. Any animal? It may be, animal in the city, they may be dying for want of food. That is also not very seen. But in the jungle you go, you see all the animals, big, big animals like elephant, they are very stout and strong. Who is supplying them food? The tiger, the lions, everyone—everyone is living. Some of them are vegetarians, some of them are nonvegetarian, but nobody is in want of food. The tiger... By nature's way, the tiger do not get every day food. Naturally, because he is nonvegetarian. So he gets his food with a little difficulty. Because who is going to face the tiger to become its food? Nobody's going, "Sir, I am very philanthropist, I have come to you to give you food. Take my body." Nobody's going. Therefore he has got difficulty to find out its food. Because in the jungle the... There is jungle's laws also, nature's law. As soon as the tiger is out, there is one animal that is called fayo(?). I do not know what is the name in English. It will follow the tiger and it will sound "fayo, fayo," so the other animals will know: "Now the tiger is out."
This is most essential education. Unfortunately, the so-called scientists are making more and more attached to this body, How much misleading they are. Therefore I am speaking to our scientist friend that "Now it is the time for making propaganda amongst the so-called scientists, philosophers, leaders, politicians." Because they are misleading the whole people of the world under the bodily concept of life. They are fighting. So the opportunity of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, this is the human life, they are checking that, stopping that. Greatest enemy of the human civilization, these rascals. These rascals who is checking Kṛṣṇa consciousness or God consciousness, and alluring them in different concept of life by designation, they're the greatest enemy of the human society. They are checking the progress of human life. If we accept evolutionary theory, by evolution we have come to... Actually, we have come from aquatics to plants and trees and then insects. Then beasts, birds. In this way we have come to this human form of life. Now what is next evolution? That they do not know.
So atha viśveśa viśvātman viśva-mūrte sva-keṣu me. Sva-ka. Sva-ka means kinsmen, own. We are thinking, "This is my own, this is my own." Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam (SB 5.5.8). This is moha, illusion. How this illusion come into existence? The illusion comes... First of all, there is natural affinity, attraction, for man and woman. A man is seeking after woman, woman is seeking after man. That is in human society, in bird society, beast society, everywhere. Even flies, insects, you'll see that one female is attached to the male, male is attached. So this is beginning of material attachment. Then by attachment, when one male finds out another woman, or one finds out another man, they unite. So this attachment becomes fixed up again. Already there is attachment, and as soon as they are united, that attachment becomes more firm. Tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. I have already got attachment, but when I am again united actually, that attachment increases. Now, after the attachment increases to some degree, then next degree is find out nice apartment to live together. That is another increase of attachment. Then we have got an apartment. Find out some means of earning money. Formerly, they were earning..., there were no factories.
So everyone has to find out—with great difficulty. The lion, although so powerful, he has to find out his food—another animal to eat—with great difficulty. Not so easily. So ap... Pavarga means labor, and pha means foam, the foam. When you work very hard, from your mouth a kind of foam comes out. Pha. Pa, pha, ba. And in spite of so much hard labor, it is ba. Ba means birth, futile, useless. Pa, pha, ba. And bha, bha means fear. Bhaya, bhaya, fear. Although you are working so hard, there is always some fearfulness: "Now things will be done like this, or not like this," fearful. That is the nature. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna, bhaya. This life, this material body means eating, sleeping and fearing. This is one of the symptom. Although I am eating very nicely, I am thinking whether I am overeating so that I may not feel sick. So bhaya is always there. A bird, you'll see eating, and looking this way, that way. Why? If some enemy is not coming. So, this is bha. Pa, pha, ba, bha, and ma. At last maraṇa, mṛtyu, death. This is called pavarga. Pavarga means pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. Pa means hard labor. Pha means so hard that foam comes out of mouth. And ba means he's still frustrated. And bha means fearfulness. And ma means mṛtyu. This is the call, apavarga.
So everyone is inquisitive, every one of us, even the animals, birds, beasts, everyone, inquisitive. But when one becomes inquisitive to understand God, then his human life is fulfilled. Then he is actually in human life. Otherwise, to simply inquisitive what is the price of gold, that means selling and purchasing, make some profit, and when there is profit, then there is sense gratification. That's, this is their aim. When they get some money, immediately how to spend it for sense gratification, not only for personal self but also family. Divā cārthehayā rājan kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā (SB 2.1.3).
Our life is being spoiled. How? Nidrayā hriyate naktam. At night we are sleeping or enjoying sex. Nidrayā hriyate naktaṁ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ (SB 2.1.3). Vyavāya means sex. So at night we have got two business, sleeping and sex. And daytime, divā cārthehayā rājan. At daytime, simply "Where is money? Where is money?" Artha, or self-interest. Divā cārthehayā rājan. Īhayā means searching after, desiring. Then, as soon as he gets money, then what business? Divā cārthehayā rājan kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā (SB 2.1.3). Kuṭumba means family. So as soon as we get money, we spend it, go to the store, purchase so many things. So this is our business.
So we have got this mystic power, but we do not know. The example is given like that. The, the deer who has got musk in the navel and the flavor is very nice, so he is jumping here and there, here and there, here and there. Where is this flavor? He does not know the flavor is in his navel. You see. The flavor is there in him, but he is finding out, "Where it is? Where it is?" Similarly we have got so many dormant mystic power within us. We are unaware. But if you practice the mystic yoga system, some of them you can evolve very nicely. Just like the birds are flying, but we cannot fly. Sometimes we desire, "Had I the wings of a dove..." There are poetry: "I could immediately go." But that mystic power is also within you. If you develop by yogic practice, you can also fly in the air. That is possible. There is a planet which is called Siddhaloka. In the Siddhaloka, the inhabitants, they are called... Siddhaloka means they have got so many mystic powers. We are trying to go to the moon planet by so many machines. They can fly. As soon as they desire, they can go.
So the human life is meant for such cultivation, not for seeking where is food, where is shelter, where is sex. These are already there. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate... (SB 1.5.18). These things are not our subject matter of inquiry. These are already there. It is enough there even for the birds and beasts. And what to speak of human being? But they have become so rascal. They are simply absorbed in the thought of the where is food, where is shelter, where is sex, where is defense. This is the misguided civilization, misguided. There is no question of these things for... There is no problem at all. They do not see that the animal has no problem, the bird has no problem. Why the human society will have such problem? That is not at all problem. Real problem is how to stop this repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. That is real problem. That problem is being solved by Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. If you simply understand what is Kṛṣṇa, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9), there are no more material birth.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice, if you make friendship with Kṛṣṇa, then you can talk with Kṛṣṇa as Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja requested: "Kṛṣṇa, kindly stay a few days more." So Kṛṣṇa, not few days more, Kṛṣṇa will remain perpetually with you if you love Kṛṣṇa.
Therefore kṣatriyas are allowed to go in the forest and kill some animal. Because he has to practice. So what kind of animal? Not the cows or simple animal. He must kill one tiger, one lion, one jungle boar. Ferocious, very ferocious animals, That was the kṣatriya's business. Not that a rabbit (laughter) or an innocent bird, sports. This kind of sporting was not allowed. If you want to kill, you must kill one rhinoceros. Then one can understand that you have power of killing. That kṣatriya used to do. Even, say, twenty-five years ago, Mahārāja of Jaipur, he used to go into the forest every year and he would fight with a tiger, simply with a sword, simply with a sword. He would fight with a tiger in the jungle, and he was so expert, he would kill. And then the tiger would be brought in procession, in royal procession. Because the king used to say, "This tiger is the king of forest, or the lion is the king of the forest. I am also king. So after his death, there must be a royal reception." So this was, the function was going on. So kṣatriya means they used to kill, practice. Unless they practice, how they can kill? And now our president, they practice only smoking, (laughter) that's all. That's all. And when there is fight, he is in the chamber, safety chamber, and others are, the poor boys, they are called by the draft board, and go and fight. This is not kṣatriya, These are śūdras. Kṣatriya, when there is fight, the king must come forward first. The other party's king also. The king will fight with king, and the soldiers will fight soldiers according to position. And when the king is killed, then victory is owned. It doesn't require that all the soldiers were killed. No.
So we are falsely trying to enjoy māyā. Enjoy means master. That is not possible. Tribhir guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ. This is the influence of the three modes of material nature. We are falsely thinking that... The so-called scientific advancement, they are also trying to control over māyā, nature. That cannot be. It is not possible. But they will go on trying for it. The māyā, there is a nice example I have seen in somewhere, in India. There was a mirror and a bird, a sparrow, was coming. And as soon as he comes before the mirror, there is another sparrow on the other side. So he'll strike the mirror, that "There is another bird." And he would also strike. In this way he was struggling. That shadow sparrow was striking and he was trying. He was trying. He thought that "I shall defeat the other sparrow." But that is not possible. That is not possible. I have seen it practically. This is foolishness. The bird is thinking that "There is another sparrow. Strike it." And he is also striking. That perpetual striking is going on. That is called struggle for existence. He has no sense.
Just like Kṛṣṇa says that "I am the father of all living entities." Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4). And He is accepting not only human society. Sarva-yoniṣu. Sarva-yoniṣu means in all species of life. Kṛṣṇa claims that "Fish, beginning from fish, aquatic life, these living entities, they are also My sons. The birds, they are also My sons. The beasts, they are also My sons. The trees, they are also My sons. The human beings, they are also My sons. The demigods, they are also My sons." Sarva-yoniṣu, "in every species of life." This is the conception of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We do not say that simply human being has soul No. Every living entity. Even a small ant, a small plant, it is living entity. By its different work, he has got a different dress only. Just like we are sitting so many persons, and we have got our different dresses according to our different choice, similarly, we get these bodies. We are all sons of God. There is no doubt about it. We (are) all spirit soul, either in the human form of body or animal form of body or tree form of body, anything. Sarva-yoniṣu. We are all living entities. But we have got different dresses. That's all. According to karma. This is the philosophy. So we cannot make that "These dressed living entities are important than the other dressed living entities." No. Everyone. The paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). Those who are actually learned, paṇḍita, sama-darśinaḥ, they are equal, equipoised: "Never mind, here is a dog, he is also living entity; and here is a brāhmaṇa, he is also living entity. By his work he has got the body of a brāhmaṇa, and here he has got the body of a dog. But as living entity, they are all equal.
You cannot understand what is God, what is Kṛṣṇa. Generally, all people, they do not know what is God. And what to speak of understanding whether God is pleased or not pleased. They do not know what is God. This is the position of the world. They do not know what is God, neither there is any education to understand, although the human life is meant for understanding God. That is human life. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. The animal life, their inquiries are... In the morning... Just like birds, they chirp, "Where we have to go now to find out our food? Where we shall eat today? Where we shall go?" That is their questions and answers. Similarly, we also, human beings, we go to the share market, "What is the value? What is the price of this commodity? What is the price of that commodity? " For eating purpose. Not these questions. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. The human life should be engaged in inquiring about Brahman. "What is the Absolute Truth? What is my position in relationship with the Absolute Truth? What is my duty towards the Absolute Truth? What is my ultimate aim of life?" These questions must be discussed. Perhaps these questions are being discussed by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and no other movement. They do not know. The Māyāvādīs, they deny the existence of God. They become themselves God.
So it does not mean that Arjuna was not fully surrendered. Arjuna was fully surrendered, and Arjuna was fully protected by Kṛṣṇa. Neither these queens, sixteen thousand queens could be plundered away by some cowherdsmen. But the... It is an instance, that even a person like Arjuna, he will be helpless without Kṛṣṇa. He will be helpless, what to speak of ourselves? He will be helpless. That is his... He is showing that example. Kṛṣṇa was... So so 'haṁ nṛpendra rahitaḥ puruṣottamena: "Now I am bereft of the association of my dearest friend, Kṛṣṇa." Sakhyā, sakha means friend. Sakhyā priyeṇa. Not only friend, very dear friend, priyeṇa. Suhṛdā. Suhṛdā means... Suhṛt. There are different kinds of friends. But suhṛt is a friend who always thinks of his friend, how he will be happy. That is called suhṛt. That is... This description is given about the devotees also. Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29). A devotee is always thinking how whole world will be happy. Suhṛdaṁ sarva... Not only human being, but animals, birds, trees, beasts, everyone. A devotee does not like to see even a grass is unreasonably cut. That is devotee vision.
Therefore if we want actually protection, we should take protection of the Supreme, Kṛṣṇa, or His devotee. Kṛṣṇa is suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram, suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām: (BG 5.29) "I am the friend of everyone." He can become friend. He is living within our heart as friend. But we refuse the guidance of such a nice friend. That is our misfortune. Kṛṣṇa is so kind, so friendly, that you are... Just like one bird is flying from one tree to another, and another bird is following him. So similarly we are flying from one body to another. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). But Kṛṣṇa does not leave us. He's also going with you just to give you guidance. But we won't give Him. Just like father... It is very natural. Father naturally wants to guide the son without any motive. That is father's nature. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa, or God, the supreme father, is naturally inclined to give us protection, naturally.
So our duty is, the human form of life, duty is that we should know that we are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa and, forgetting our relationship, we have come to this material world, and there is struggle for existence, beginning aquatics, jalajā nava... There are nine hundred thousand species of aquatics. Who is that physiologist who can know nine hundred thousand species of aquatics? But in the śāstra you will find, exactly. It doesn't say nine hundred one, Or eight hundred ninety-nine. No. Nine hundred. Nine hundred thousand species, there are. So because we are in the material contact, and according to our desire, we are having different types of body—aquatics, trees, birds, like that. This is our botheration. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9), in this way you are... This is our problem. Therefore human civilization means when people are interested to solve the problems. That is human civilization. Otherwise animal. Struggle for existence. They... There is no human side, that is on the animal side, struggle for existence. Human life is not for struggle. To become sober, not like animals. The animals are engaged whole day and night for searching out food and sense gratification, sex. That is not human civilization.
So this word hṛt-tāpa upaśamāni... Hṛt means heart, and tāpa means miseries or burning, heat. Tāpa means burning heat. If there is fire and there is heat, sometimes it is intolerable. So hṛt-tāpa means the burning fire blazing within the heart. So that is always. Anyone who is in this material world, he has got this disease, burning fire within the heart, anyone. That means severe anxiety, everyone. Even a small bird, he is also full of anxiety. You give him some grains. It will come. It will eat. At the same time, it will look this way, that way, this way, full of anxiety. Although there is food, he is eating, still, there is anxiety, "Somebody may come, kill me." So everyone is full of anxiety. That is the material nature. Nobody can say "I have no anxiety." That is not possible. If he says like that, he is a liar. That is not possible. Is anyone here who can say that he or she has no anxiety? Of course, when you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no anxiety. That is the distinction. Anxiety there is, but to relieve this anxiety one has to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise not. You cannot get relief. (child says, "Prabhupāda") Yes. (laughter) So you may say that "Sometimes we have got anxiety, and sometimes we are very nice." So even accepting that, Arjuna says, deśa-kāla-artha-yuktāni. Deśa, kāla, the time and space within this material world, and artha means purpose, everything, any time... Arjuna does not say that "sometimes." At any time, if we are materially attached, then this hṛt-tāpa must be. Hṛt-tāpa means burning fire, blazing fire within the heart. It will continue.
Hm. And even Mr. Nixon is in such exalted post, he's also full of anxiety, when he'll be kicked out. You see. So find out any man who is not in anxiety. Not only human being but also animals, birds, beasts—everyone. That is the symptom of material existence, anxieties.
So spiritual life means anxiety-less. This is the difference between material life and spiritual life. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54), in the Bhagavad-gītā it is described what is spiritual life. As soon as you are identified with the Absolute Truth, Brahman, then symptoms will be prasannātmā, jubilation: "Oh, I do not belong to this material world. I belong to the spiritual world. I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Why should I suffer so many things?" That is jubilation. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). The prasannātmā means na śocati na kāṅkṣati. He has no lamentation, no hankering. Here people are always full of anxieties because they have got hankering, "I want this. I want that." And there is lamentation. What they possess, if it is lost, they cry, "Oh, my things are lost." And what they do not possess, they hanker. So their anxiety is there, either he possesses or not possesses. This is material anxiety. If you have no money, then you will hanker after money, "How to get money, how to get money, how to get money?" And when you get money, then how to utilize it, how to, where to keep it, in the bank, or in the house, or who will take away? Somebody will take away. So where is anxiety-less? You possess or not possess, the real disease is anxiety. So when one becomes brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20), self-realized, identified with the Absolute Truth, then he has no more anxiety. This is the best education, when you become anxiety-less. That is perfection of education.
It is very scientific and very practical. So by going to Kṛṣṇa, you can talk with Kṛṣṇa personally. You can play with Kṛṣṇa personally. You can dance with Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa-loka. Just like we have got a picture, rāsa dancing. Here is picture, Kṛṣṇa's. Everyone can get this opportunity. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes to show practically how enjoyable life with Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. Kṛṣṇa is simply jolly, ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). In Vṛndāvana life you will see, everyone is jolly. The birds, trees and the water, the land, the cows, the calves, the inhabitants, the cowherd boys—everyone is happy simply by loving Kṛṣṇa. Simply by loving Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa therefore manifests His līlā that "Why you are rotting in this material world? Come to Me and enjoy life eternally." That is Kṛṣṇa business. He is so kind. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7). People, when they become debauch to enjoy life in this material world... What is the enjoyment? The last enjoyment is sex life. Is that very good enjoyment? But they have accepted. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Maithuna means sex intercourse. That is their life and soul. They do not know. They have no information. There is better pleasure, eternal pleasure. That they do not know.
So real thing is bhakti. So when people become rascals and nonsense and do not care for God consciousness, devotion to God, that is become bhū-bhāraḥ, burdened. That has now become. Now Kṛṣṇa has, because at the present moment in the Kali-yuga... Kṛṣṇa formerly came to kill big, big giant demons like Rāvaṇa and Kaṁsa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, very, very big giant. But that the present moment where is that big giant? They are all poor. There is no... Although by mentality they are all rogues and rascals and demons, but in material condition they are very very poor. That is stated. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). People are so unfortunate that even the bird and beast, they can get their two meals, eating, sleeping, mating; they have got their arrangement. At the present moment a human being has no arrangement what he is going to eat in the morning or in the evening, whether he has got any chance of sex life. These things are preliminary requirement, but nobody is guarantee of these things, they are so unfortunate. They are not getting the preliminary necessities of life, what to speak of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are so unfortunate. So why should come Kṛṣṇa to kill them? They are already killed by the laws of nature. They are already killed, half-killed. Therefore Kṛṣṇa has come in the form of His name. Please chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
So te sādhu kṛta-sarvārthāḥ. They have executed all duties. Kṛta-sarvārthāḥ. Jñātvā ātyantikam ātmanaḥ. We are hankering after happiness, temporary, but we do not know what is ultimate happiness. So they knew what is the ultimate happiness. Ātyantikam. Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad atīndriya-grāhyam (BG 6.21). Bhagavad-gītā. Ātyantikam. The ultimate happiness is not perceived by these gross material senses. The ultimate happiness is appreciated, understood, by transcendental senses. The same senses... Means now the senses are covered by material infection. So when you purify this material infection, then your senses become pure. And in that pure senses, you can enjoy real happiness. Therefore here it is said, ātyantikam ātmanaḥ manasā dhārayām āsuḥ. So they knew what is the ātyantikaṁ dhār..., Vaikuṇṭha. Vaikuṇṭha-caraṇāmbujam. Vaikuṇṭha. Vaikuṇṭha means vigata-kuṇṭha. Kuṇṭha means anxiety. And God's another name is Vaikuṇṭha. If you take shelter of the lotus feet of God, Kṛṣṇa, then you become without anxieties. This is the only. Everyone is full of anxiety. Even a bird, even a beast, even a small ant, what to speak of our position. The material world is such, we must be full of anxieties. That is explained also. Asad-grahāt. Because we have accepted something flickering as shelter. If you accept something which is not permanent, which is tiltering... In a boat suppose which is tiltering, at any moment you will be drowned.
So Kṛṣṇa has given different foodstuff for different animals. So for human being who is determined to go back to home, back to Godhead, they have got their food. For them, no meat-eating. For them, fine kacuri, rasagullā, puri, for them. As you are... I think Dr. Benard Shaw, he wrote one book, You Are What You Eat. If you eat stool, then you are stool. Because after all, this body will be stool. Because after death, the result is either the body becomes stool or ash or earth. Those who are burying on the ground, in due course the body will turn into earth. That's all. And those who are burning, like in India, Hindus do, this will turn into ash. And those who are throwing for being eaten by the animals and birds... Just like Parsees do in India... They throw, and vultures come, and they eat it, within a second. So after eating, it will be stool of the vulture. That's all. So this beautiful body will be resulted in three things: either stool, earth or ash. And we are taking so much care—for stool, earth, and ashes. And the occupier of the body? Forgotten. And we are advanced scientists. This is our position.
A person can go to the planets of the demigods, devān. There are many demigods: Indra, Candra, Varuṇa, Vāyu. Brahmaloka, Prajāpatiloka, Siddhaloka—they are in the higher planetary systems. This is... We are now situated in the middle, Bhūrloka. It is called Bhūrloka. Above this, there is Bhuvarloka. Above that, Svarloka, Janaloka, Maharloka, Satyaloka, like that, ūrdhvaloka. They are higher planetary... Then middle. And then lower planetary system. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ. If you develop sattva-guṇa, the quality of goodness, then according to your degree of goodness, you get promoted to the higher planets. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ (BG 14.18). If you are in the passion modes, then you stay here in this middle planetary system. And jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. Those who are in the most abominable condition of life, adho gacchanti, they go down. Not only the down planetary system, but even to the animal kingdom, the beasts, birds, trees, plants, aquatics. You have to go.
Cats and dogs, they don't require training. Because what is the modern civilization? Eating, sleeping, sex life, and dying. It does not require any education. Just like these children. When I distribute these cookies, it does not require... Immediately spreads the hand and immediately in the mouth. (laughter) So for eating, there is no necessity of training. Everyone knows. Similarly, sleeping also, everyone knows. And similarly sex intercourse everyone knows. And dying there is no question. (laughter) So where is the education? Where is the necessity of education for these things? Rascals. You are enhancing advancement of knowledge how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex life, and how to die. Where is the necessity of education for these things? There is no necessity. Anyone—animals, man, birds, beasts, insects—they know all these thing. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. It does not require any education. If there is education for this purpose, that is for restraining. Just like in human society. There is education for sex life, marriage. What is that marriage? Marriage means restricting sex life to one. That is education. If you are not restricted in that way, then you are animal. That is education. But... Because sex life does not require any college education, but if there is education in sex life, not to increase the propensity of sex life, but to reduce it... To reduce it.
So we are not interested with such kind of literature; however from literary point of view, from poetic point of view, they are very nicely written. If there is no kṛṣṇa-kathā, there is no description of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no devotee should be interested. Even though... Even we do not touch the daily newspaper. Why? Because there no is kṛṣṇa-kathā. One and the same thing, punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). Repeating the same... "This man was stolen of his property. This politician has said like this. That politician has replied like this. There was disaster. There was fire. There was this..." These news are full with newspaper, so many bunch of papers. So who cares for it? Tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham, crowlike men. Not the swans, white swans. White swans, they go to the very clear water where there is nice garden, nice birds are chirping, nice fruits are there. You will find the white swans will go there, in the park. And the crows will go... Where everything garbage, nasty things are thrown away, they'll enjoy there. Even in the animals, the birds, you'll find this distinction. Why the crow does not go to the nice garden? And why the swan does not go to the crow society?
So there are different classes of men, crow society and swan society. The swan society is different from the crow society. How you can make equal? The people are making, try to make classless society. It is not possible to make classless society because every living entity is being controlled by a different quality. So the qualitative distinction must be there. You cannot make them classless. It is all imagination. The crow class, the swan class, the pigeon class, the dog class, even in the animals, even in the birds, even in the plants... There is a plant, rose tree, and there are other plants, useless, no fruit, no flower. It is simply meant for becoming fuel. So by nature there are so many distinctions. You cannot make equal everything. This is called variety. But everything is required, provided one knows how to utilize it, and that is possible by Kṛṣṇa conscious person, not by ordinary person. To accept all varieties of creation and engage them in Kṛṣṇa's service, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So in order to save the human society from this dangerous condition, without any knowledge of God, without any knowledge of religious principle, there must be some strong king, strong government, to save the people. Because this human life is a chance. Other inferior type of life, animals, birds, beasts, trees, it is not possible. They are also living entities, but human life is developed consciousness. So this is nature's gift, that "Now you try to understand what is God. Now you try to understand what is your relationship with God. Now you practice yourself, how to go back home, back to home, back to..." This is the business of the human society. So unless the king or government looks after it, how people will be advanced? The government is advocating that "You drink, you eat meat, you have prostitution and gambling, and give me tax. Finished. My business is finished." So Parīkṣit Mahārāja was not like that. Parīkṣit Mahārāja is conquered all these places to serve Kṛṣṇa, to teach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore he conquered. Otherwise... That is the business of all devotees.
But God is the whole family. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti. He's supplying food to the elephants. We are, we are so much advanced in civilization that because we cannot take care of a child, therefore we are killing child even within the womb of mother, abortion. We are so unfit. But God, you see, He's feeding millions of elephants in the Africa. Not only elephants, there are so many. Out of 8,400,000 species of life, there are 8,000,000 species of life nonhuman being, the majority—the birds, beasts, reptiles, trees, so many other living entities. But they have no business. They have no occupation, profession, to maintain themselves. So who is maintaining them? Who is there? Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. Even if within your room, there is a little hole, sometimes you'll find thousands of ants coming out. Have you got this experience? And who is feeding them? Who is supplying them food? They are living within that hole, millions, and hundreds and thousands of ants, but they're also eating, they're also sleeping, they have got their wife, they have got their children. But who is supplying food? So in this way, if you analyze that everything is being maintained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is real understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how Kṛṣṇa is great, or God is great. So that is a real civilization of life, to understand, to appreciate, to appreciate the greatness of God. That is real civilization.
Therefore it is said, abodha-jāta. These rascals, who have no sense what is what, to understand, the atheist class of men, abodha-jāta, whatever they are doing, their so-called scientific advancement, material advancement, that is all their defeat, defeat, simply being defeated, simply creating problems. Even those problems are not existing in the society of birds and bees. You'll see. There may be big fire, but the birds are dancing in the street. They have no problem. Because they are living under condition as they have been offered by God. Similarly, if we also live God conscious... Ātma-tattvam. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. Your only business is to inquire about the soul, about the spirit soul. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is the Vedānta-sūtra. This human life is meant for only inquiring about the soul. That is the only business. And besides this, whatever you are doing, you are simply being defeated, abodha-jāta, because you are all fools and rascals. And so long we'll make program how to become happy materially, your mind being absorbed in material things, not in the spiritual matter, you'll have to accept another body. This is your problem.
The people do not even know that there is dehāntara-prāptiḥ, again we have to accept another body. They do not care for it. And there are so many varieties of body. Just like if we are sitting here, so many ladies and gentlemen, each one of us has got a different type of body. Nobody's body is similar exactly to the other body. This is a fact. We can see. So why we have got different types of body? That we do not try to understand. Not only human body, but there are other bodies also. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. We have got bodies in the water, we have got bodies on the land, the tree life, the plant life, the insect life, the birds' life, the beast life, the human form of life... Amongst the human beings there are different varieties—some American, some Indians, some others. So why they are different bodies? What is that science? Why there are different types of bodies?
So varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ kṛto loka-hitam (SB 2.1.1). Loka-hitam. Actually our, this movement is the prime welfare activities to the human society, loka-hitam. It is not a business. Business means my hitam, my benefit only. It is not. It is Kṛṣṇa's business. Kṛṣṇa's business means Kṛṣṇa is for everyone; therefore Kṛṣṇa's business is meant for everyone. We therefore welcome everyone. There is no distinction. "Come here and chant," loka-hitam. And a sādhu, a saintly person should always think of loka-hitam. That is the difference between sādhu and ordinary man. Ordinary man, he thinks only of himself, or expanded himself, for family, for community, for society, for nation. These are all expanded selfishness. Expanded. When I am alone, I am thinking of my benefit only. When I am little grown up, I think of my brothers and sisters, and when I am little advanced, I think of my family. Little advanced, I think of my community. Little advanced, I think of my country, my nation. Or I can think of the whole human society, internationally. But Kṛṣṇa is so big that Kṛṣṇa includes everyone. Not only human society, animal society, bird society, beast society, tree society—everything. Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā: (BG 14.4) "I am the seed-giving father of all these forms." There are 8,400,000 different kinds of forms. Kṛṣṇa claims "They, all of them, are My part and parcel living entities, but they are now covered by different dress only. But they are living entities." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness vision.
So why I am so much anxious of protecting this family? Everyone will die." Paśyann api na paśyati. They see, but still do not see. They see daily that "I am working so hard for these things, but these things will be destroyed, as it has been destroyed previously in the history." So many empires were destroyed. The British empire destroyed, the Roman empire destroyed, the Egyptian empire destroyed, the, I mean to say, the Indian empire... Formerly..., just like Parīkṣit Mahārāja. He was the emperor of the world. So these things, paśyann api na paśyati, they see that "They cannot give me protection. When I shall be called for death..." Just like Parīkṣit Mahārāja is preparing. "At that time, all these, my soldiers, my bank balance, my good wife, my good children, my good countrymen—no. Nobody can give me any protection." Just like when you have to fly in the sky, you have to protect yourself. No other can... Take it for the birds or for the airplanes. If you are being crushed in the airplane, no other airplane can protect you. You'll have to come down from the sky. (laughter) Similarly, when death will come, none of you will be able to give me protection. Either my good state or good family or good bank balance or good this, that. No. That's all, finished. You see?
So kṛṣṇa-praśna means all-including, everything—past, present, future, moving, not moving, and big and small. This is Kṛṣṇa understanding. Kṛṣṇa understanding means past, present, future, small, large, moving, not moving. This is Kṛṣṇa understanding. But everything is in either of these categories. Everything must be either in the past or at present or in future. 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? The material world is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa's one-fourth energy. And the three-fourths' energy is manifested in the spiritual world. This is the understanding of Kṛṣṇa.
So whole world is missing the point that he is not this body, the body is his encagement, and we are accepting sometimes golden encagement and sometimes iron encagement, and sometimes silver encagement and wooden encagement. He's thinking by changing the encagement, he will be happy. But he does not know this is encagement, or cages. So either you are put in the golden cage or iron cage or wooden cage or any cage-cage is cage. And so... So long you are not free... Just like the bird is kept into the cage. He's unhappy. He's unhappy. It may be golden cage. It doesn't matter. Similarly, we cannot be happy with this encagement. We must be free from the encagement. Freedom. That is called liberty, mukti. That is required. So the Māyāvādī philosophers, they do no know that "Suppose, even I get free, so where shall I go?" He thinks, "I shall be free in the sky." Just like impersonalism. Sky is impersonal. So if suppose a bird is given freedom, but he flies in the sky, will he be happy? No. That also he'll not be happy. Then he'll again think of that "It was better to remain in the cage. Now what is the value of my, this freedom? I'm not happy." And again go back to the cage. You will see in India. There is a bird, fiftil.(?) Fiftil. The man who keeps that bird in the cage, sometimes he takes it to the open field, and he opens the door, opens the door, and the bird walks, sometimes flies. He is given freedom. Then again the man: (makes coaxing sound:) ts-ts-ts-ts. He says like that, and the bird comes again within the cage. You'll see. If you have seen, those who are Indian. But he thinks that "I have been given freedom now. But where shall I go? Where shall I go? I have to eat." So he again comes back: "Better to live within this cage. Better to live within this cage."
Puppies. And the mother is helping the puppies by giving breast milk. So family you'll find everywhere. Even the birds, they have family, two birds, always together, the husband and wife. They have got a nest, and some eggs also. And they are also trying to, I mean to say, manufacture some nest. As soon as the lady bird is pregnant, they, immediately their attempt will be to find out some straw and make a nest. You have seen it perhaps, studied it. You see? So long the lady bird is not pregnant, there is no question of nest. This is natural. You'll find everywhere. Even the ants and the birds, beasts, everywhere. So this kuṭumba-bharaṇam is a duty of living entity. It doesn't matter whether he's a human being or a dog or a bird or a cat. That is natural. That is not very great credit. But the present yuga, Kali-yuga, if one can maintain his family and maintain an apartment, he's to be understood as a very great, successful man. He does not see that this success is there even in the ants and the birds and the beasts. What is this success? And he's happy. And he's happy.
This whole material world is based on sex desire. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). Everywhere, either in cat society, dog society, human society, bird society, beast society, anywhere you go, even aquatics, fish, insects, flies, ants—everywhere you will find this attraction, sex attraction. This is the ādi-rasa. Everyone is trying to get some taste. So this is the beginning of taste. So we have got attraction, natural attraction. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam. This material world is simply attraction of this sex life. So when they are actually unite(d) in different ways... But they must unite. Either in a legal way or illegal way, they must unite. Because attraction is there. But human civilization, they have given some law, not like cats and dogs. Just like in the morning, in the street we saw, the dogs were enjoying sex life. So in the human society, that kind of sex enjoyment, although it is now actually being done in the Western countries... I have seen it. You see? In some public parks or in beach. They don't care, becoming just like cats and dogs, no human civilization. So for human civilization, there is some restriction: the allowance, marriage. That is a civilized way. And the fact is the same, but in a civilized way there is.
This is confirmed in the Upaniṣad. Two birds are sitting on the same tree as friends. One is eating the fruit, one is simply observing. Anumantā. That is stated in the Bhag... Upadraṣṭā anumantā. Anumantā. Anumantā means you cannot touch any fruit of this world without the sanction of the Supersoul. Therefore He is anumantā. If you say, "Then if He is giving me sanction for any action, then how I am responsible?" No. He is not giving. Because you are insisting, therefore He says, "All right, do it, at your risk." He is insisting, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "Simply surrender." He is insisting that. But you are insisting in a different way: "I want to steal, I want to this, I want to this." But Kṛṣṇa knows everything, that "This rascal will do. All right, do it at your risk." Anumantā upadraṣṭā. And He remains witness: "Because you have done this, now you suffer. Now you suffer."
Because actually the father is the... Kṛṣṇa is the father not only of the human society—of the bird society, the beast society, dog society, cat society, everyone's father, sarva-yoniṣu. That is Kṛṣṇa. Try to understand Kṛṣṇa. And if you simply try to understand and little understand, then your life is successful. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). Simply by understanding even little, your life is successful. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt. Mahato bhayāt. This is bhaya. They do not know what is bhaya, fearfulness. They are very proud of becoming this and that, but they are not afraid of death, how much painful it is. And if you are sinful, then you will be allowed to enter in the womb of your mother and your mother will kill you. They are not afraid. They are so rascal. These risks are there. So make your life in such a way, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9)— don't enter into the mother's womb. Punar janma naiti. Then? Go directly to Kṛṣṇa. That is success of life.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī, after discussing that there are many subject matter for the materialistic persons who are unaware of self-realization... The very word used: apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2), those who are looking forward for self-realization. That is the only business for human life, but our education system is so defective that there is no program for self-realization. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommended that we should not be bewildered by the occupation of our materialistic life. He has very clearly discussed that all of these things, they cannot give us protection. There is nice example. Just like when a fly..., a bird flies in the sky, he has to depend on his own strength. In that flying method, neither his father, neither his mother nor his children can help. If he has got sufficient strength to fly, then he is fly very smoothly. Otherwise... Take the, for example, for an aeroplane also. If it has got sufficient strength, arrangement, to fly, it will nicely fly. Otherwise, there is crash. Similarly each of us individually should be preparing for our next death. Not that we should not think that "My family, my community, my nation, my friends can help me." No. Everyone is responsible for his own activities.
But the śāstra says that this human life is meant for understanding God, nothing else. Other things are already arranged. You are harassed by the problems of eating, sleeping, mating, but there is no such question. Eating arrangement is there. Even the birds and bees, they are confident. They have no office-going, they are not lawyers, engineers, politicians, to earn their bread, but the bread is ready for them. Even for the beast, birds, so they are confident. So this is not problem. Real problem is to understand God. And what will the benefit by understanding God? Then the problem of your birth, death, old age and disease will be solved. That is the real problem. We are undergoing repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. These problems can be solved simply by understanding what is God. This is the solution.
I have seen in this Delhi near Jawarmal Street the small Muhammadan boys, they are reading Koran. That is very good. From childhood they should learn, learn about God. And that is recommendation in Bhāgavata. Prahlāda Mahārāja said that kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān (SB 7.6.1). Kaumāra, from the beginning of life, children should be engaged. Therefore we have opened the Gurukula, Dallas. The small children, four years, five years old, they are hearing about Kṛṣṇa, about God. They are chanting about Kṛṣṇa, they are rising early in the morning, attending maṅgala-ārātrika. Anyone goes there... Even the education superintendent came to visit our temple. He was astonished that "How these children are happy. How children, they are being educated." So this is to be introduced. Kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavat..., durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma. This human form of life is durlabham. Durlabham, very rare to achieve. It is not so easily obtained. We have to pass through evolutionary process, 8,400,000 species of life, aquatics... Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. We have to pass through aquatics, animals in the water, then trees, plants, then insects, birds, beasts. After all, we get this human form of life, especially civilized form of life, with some idea of religion. If we do not utilize it... Religion means to understand God. That is religion. In religion, a godless religion, where there is no conception of God, that is not religion. That is called cheating religion. In the name of religion, but there is no conception of God. That is not religion.
So this sort of bluffing blind leaders cannot make happy the human society. This is the only solution: to push on Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, love of Godhead. Everyone will be happy, the human society. Viśvaṁ pūrṇaṁ sukhāyate. Whole universe will be just like Vaikuṇṭha. Vaikuṇṭha means without anxieties. The material civilization means full of anxiety, full of anxiety. Nobody... Just like everyone, every animal, every bird, everyone is anxious. The bird, you give him some grains, it will eat, but it will look like this: "Oh, if somebody is not coming to kill me." Anxiety, you see. America is so great, big nation, full of anxiety: "Russia is not coming? China is not coming? Oh, the Vietnam is there." The China is also, "Oh, America is doing something. Oh. Let us see." This is going on. What is this greatness? Increasing the anxieties, that's all. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5). Because they have accepted something unreal which will not give them happiness. Here is reality, love of God. You take it. Don't expect that it will be taken by all the nations, all the people. You take it individually and see how much you are happy. Individual. That is our request.
So we have no place. So we don't mind. We can sit down underneath a tree and preach this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Some gentleman has offered this garage. That's all right. So people are afraid to give us place, you see, because we are pushing God consciousness. That is our fault. You see? This is the position. So never mind. We can sit down anywhere and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. And I'll request you to come and join us, and you'll be happy.
So to get this body means I have got material desires. This body. This is the philosophy. Anyone who has got this material body, beginning from Brahmā... He is considered the first creature within this universe, most intelligent, most learned, but still, because he has got this material body, he's not akāma, without any material desires. He has got material desire. He wanted to become the supreme head of one universe. Just like we try to become supreme head of a family, then of a society, then of a nation, of a community. Then I desire to be head, also... Go on, go on, increasing. To lord it over. So, so long there will be desire to lord it over, then we have to accept a body. It doesn't matter what kind of body. It may be Brahmā's body, it may be cat's body, it may be man's body, it may be bird's body, it may be beast's body. That will depend on my desire. But if I have got any desire, material desire to fulfill, then I must be prepared for accept next body, another.
So if one wants to finish this business, accepting... And accepting a material body means to become subjected to the laws of material nature. You get a material body, and if you want that "I shall not die," it is impossible. It is not good. Then you must die. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). You get a material body and again you give it up, and again you get it. This is going on.
Animals are meant for working hard, but now, men are being educated to work like animals. And there is no end. So they are called karmīs. Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa has designated these animals, these karmī animals, who are working very, very hard, just like hogs and dog... they have been described in the Bhagavad-gītā as mūḍhāḥ. Mūḍhāḥ, rascal, foolish. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has explained why they are mūḍhāḥ. These karmīs, they want some eating, sleeping, mating. But why so much hard work? Now, eating, sleeping, mating... Just see the birds; they are free. They don't work at night, at least. But human beings, day and night. Night also, night duty. "I shall get some more money." So there is no end. How they can be happy? They are simply thinking of, that "I shall work very hard, and I shall get money and enjoy my senses."
So the consciousness is there in the trees also. But that has been known by the scientific apparatus, but according to our Vedic injunction, that is already mentioned in the śāstras, that the trees have consciousness. They are also living entities. Don't say that they are without life. They have got life. And therefore the system is... Just like we pick up flowers from the trees for offering to Kṛṣṇa, but the injunction is that after evening you should not touch the tree. The idea is that they are sleeping, don't disturb. So the consciousness of the trees are admitted in the Vedic literature. Similarly, the consciousness is developed from tree to worms, microbes, worms, germs—their consciousness is little more higher. Then birds, their consciousness is little more higher; then beasts, their consciousness is little more higher. This is development, gradual process of evolution. Gradual process of evolution means gradual process of developing the status, the state of consciousness. In this way the consciousness in human form of body is further developed, very nicely developed. And similarly, there are other elevated living condition in higher planets. They are called demigods.
That is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā: yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhuti-bhinnam (Bs. 5.40). If you try to read Vedic literature... Not very many. Try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Try to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. These two books will give you sufficient knowledge, and we should take advantage of it, because our consciousness is developed. We should not waste our time simply reading these all nonsense literatures, sex literatures. Simply wasting their time. Tad vayasaṁ tīrtham. To read nonsense ordinary literature and books or newspaper is compared just like the pleasure place of the crows. The crows, they are very much attached to the rejected refuse, garbage. In your country I don't see many crows, but in our country there are many crows, and the garbage section is pleasure, pleasuring place there. Where rejected things, they take pleasure in that. But the swans, the ducks, they take pleasure in clear lake with lily flower, nice garden, and nice birds are chirping. They take pleasure in that place. Similarly, there are classes of men also like crows and like swans. The swans, they will take pleasure in this kind of literature, Vedic literature. And the crowlike men, they will hunt after that rejected garbagelike things. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). What is there in the sex literature? There is no new information; the same sex life, that's all. Sometimes half-naked, sometimes naked, sometimes this, sometimes that, but the central place is sex.
So this is the business of developed consciousness, human consciousness. Otherwise, consciousness is there in the dog, in the cats, in the worms, in the trees, in the birds, in the beasts. Consciousness is there. But are we meant for living in that consciousness? Cats' and dogs' consciousness? No. Therefore Bhāgavata says that labdhvā sudurlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte: (SB 11.9.29) "After many, many births you have got this nice body, human form of body." And what to speak of American body, the nicest body, very beautiful body, very rich body. Don't misuse, please. Utilize it. Develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness and be happy. That is our propaganda. We are not asking anything that "Give me some fees, and I give you some mantra." The mantra is being distributed free in the street. You simply take it, chant it, and just see how you are developing your Kṛṣṇa consciousness. An inch development, advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is a great profit. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt. This consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if achieved in the slightest degree, it can help you for the highest benefit. For the highest benefit, to takes you to the spiritual kingdom, Vaikuṇṭhaloka, Vṛndāvana. So don't be proud that "I have got human body" unnecessarily. Don't be proud that "I can live very, very longer period than the cats and dogs."
Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). Because they are mental speculators. They have no value. They have their value in their own way, but according to our line of thought, they have no value. So prajalpa ... In this way, prajalpa, there is tendency of talking. You talk of Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like we assembled together, few friends, (baby cries) we want to vibrate something. Just like the child is also vibrating. That is nature. A bird will vibrate, a beast will vibrate. So we have to vibrate the transcendental sound. Then we shall be saved from the plundering business of the sun. This is the secret. Always talk of Kṛṣṇa and you must know that you are saving yourself. You are not dying yourself. Because talking of Kṛṣṇa means you will understand about Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa says, "Anyone who understands Me rightly, then after giving up this body, he comes to Me." And as soon as you go to Him, back to home, back to Godhead, your life is eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge.
So you cannot compete. Simply by competing with these things, animal life, that is not excellence of your life. Real excellence is that these animals, they cannot become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is the difference only. You can excel with all these lower animals, trees, birds, beasts and others, so many, only by awakening your Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the only business. And if you lack in that matter Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then the other animals, lower animals, they are far, far advanced. They are far, far advanced. So as human being, we should consider all these points. The Bhāgavata is pointing out each and every step of our life and helping us how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. When Nārada Muni advised Vyāsadeva that "You have written so many books, but actually they are not very much beneficial to the human society. You write such a book that they will come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness." So this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is especially written to bring these rascals and animals to come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Persons who have no discrimination in the matter of foodstuff and who eat all sorts of rubbish are compared to hogs. Hogs are very much attached to eating stools. So stool is a kind of foodstuff for a particular type of animal. And even stones are eatables for a particular type of animal or bird. But the human being is not meant for eating everything and anything; he is meant to eat grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, sugar, etc. Animal food is not meant for the human being. For chewing solid food, the human being has a particular type of teeth meant for cutting fruits and vegetables. The human being is endowed with two canine teeth as a concession for persons who will eat animal food at any cost. It is known to everyone that one man's food is another man's poison. Human beings are expected to accept the remnants of food offered to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the Lord accepts foodstuff from the categories of leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. (BG 9.26). As prescribed by Vedic scriptures, no animal food is offered to the Lord. Therefore, a human being is meant to eat a particular type of food. He should not imitate the animals to derive so-called vitamin values. Therefore, a person who has no discrimination in regard to eating is compared to a hog.
Pradyumna: "And even stones are eatables for a particular type of animal or bird. But the human being is not meant for eating everything and anything, save grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, sugar, etc. Animal food is not meant for the human being. For chewing solid food the human being has a particular type of teeth meant for cutting fruits and vegetables. The human being is endowed with two canine teeth as a concession..."
Prabhupāda: Our teeth is just like... You take fruit, you can easily cut. But if you take meat, bite... That is not natural. Unnaturally. But you take fruit, immediately you cut. and... So that is discrimination, that "We have to take some food, but what kind of food we shall take?" So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that you take only kṛṣṇa-prasādam, that's all. You save yourself. Even if I cannot discriminate, Kṛṣṇa's prasādam I take, it is transcendental. I don't require any discrimination. Don't require. Kṛṣṇa-prasādam. And Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). We offer Kṛṣṇa foodstuffs, what He wants. Kṛṣṇa is God. He can take anything. He can eat the whole world. And eating the whole world means all animals, all men, all everything, vegetables, not vegetables.
If you cannot read, then sit down and simply see the Deity's form. That will also give you. Anything, anything done. Little dancing, little, a little ringing the cymbals or singing Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra... Anything you do. These children... Just like they are dancing. They are also being spiritual profited. It will never go in vain. Somehow or other he has shown some jubilation in front of the Lord, it is noted immediately. Therefore this verse is there, pādau nṛṇāṁ tau druma-janma-bhājau. If you do not move to the temples, then what is the difference between your legs and the trees which are standing without legs? They have legs, but they cannot move. Tree's another name is pādapa. They drink water with their legs. Just like we drink water in our mouth... So it is not that all animals act in the same way. No. Just like there is a bird (which) is called bat. They pass stool through the mouth. You know? Yes. So there are different processes. The fishes in the water, they touch with the wings.
So we are advancing in the art of cutting stone and wood. That's all. This is our advancement. Just like in your country, within two months they can build one wood house. Means expert in cutting wood. This is advancement. Wood-cutter, stone-cutter. But we are not meant for cutting wood and stone. We are meant for understanding our spiritual identity.
There are many birds, the wood-cutter birds. So that is not very expert manifestation of our intelligence. So this cleansing of heart will be possible by hari-nāma-dheyaiḥ, this chanting of hari-nāma,
- harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
- kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
- (CC Adi 17.21)
Anything, any spiritual process, is meant for cleansing the heart. Either you take karma-yoga or jñāna-yoga or dhyāna-yoga or bhakti-yoga, the ultimate goal is that cleansing the heart. At the present moment I am under misconception, dirty things accumulated on my heart, that "I am this body," and therefore I do not try to realize that I am soul, and under bodily concept of life... As the animals they are also in bodily concept of life, they are busy eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Similarly, human civilization has become like animals. They are interested only in eating, sleeping, mating, and defense. That's all. But that is not our position. It is a chance to get out of the entanglement of birth, death, old age, and disease.
So this virūḍhāṁ mamatām. Mamatā means "It is mine." That is called mamatā. Mamatā. Mama means "mine." The consciousness of "mine" and "I," this is called mamatā. "I am this body, and in relationship with this body, everything is mine. My wife, my children, my home, my bank balance, my society, my community, my nation, my country, my." This is called mamatā. So how this mamatā, or the consciousness of "my," grows? There is a machine, manipulated by māyā, illusory energy. The beginning. What is that? Attraction. A man is attracted by woman, and the woman is attracted by man. This is the basic principle. Here, in this material world, there is no attraction for God, but there is attraction. That attraction is, on the whole, sex attraction. That's all. The whole world, not only human society, animal society, bird society, beast society, any society, any living being, the attraction is sex. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). The attraction here, the center of attraction, is sex. So, boys and girls or any, in younger age there is that sex impulse increase and want mating.
That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Kāraṇam. Kāraṇam means cause. What is the cause? The cause is that as he's associating with a particular type of the modes of nature, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa... If he's associating with tamo-guṇa, then next life he's preparing in the lower animal kingdoms or most degraded family. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. If one is associating with tamo-guṇa, ignorance—no knowledge, in the darkness—then he is gliding down to the lower species of life: animal, birds, beast, trees, plants, aquatics, insects, serpents, so many. Adho gacchanti. Adhaḥ means going down. Tāmasāḥ. And ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Those who are in the goodness, those who are associating with the modes of material nature in goodness, just like satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjavam, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42), brahminical qualification, truthful, controlling the mind, controlling the senses, simplicity, tolerant, full faith in scripture and God, full knowledge, practical application of knowledge... This is called sattva-guṇa. So if you cultivate sattva-guṇa, then you are elevated to the higher planetary system. Why there are so many planets? The moon planet, the sun planet, so brilliant planets—why there are? There are also different places for different kinds of living creature. There is hetu. There is cause.
So this ignorance is going on. Therefore for future guidance, Parīkṣit Mahārāja inquired this question, that "How the living entity got this body, material body? Whether it is automatically, without any cause, or with cause?" But with cause... It will be explained. It is not... When the cause is there... Just like if you infect some disease, automatically you'll suffer from the disease. It will come automatically. That is automatically. But your becoming infected, that is cause. So if you become cautious not to be infected, then the cause of lower birth or suffering you can avoid. Therefore we have started this society, society. Society means that you'll get here the cause of being elevated. Just like there are so many societies, equal class of men. "Birds of the same feather flock together." So here is a society. Who will flock here? Who will come here? Because this society is meant for liberation... People are suffering so much on account of material condition of life. Nobody is happy. That is a fact. But because they are in ignorance, they are accepting unhappiness as happiness. This is called māyā. This is called māyā.
No, this same verse. Practice it. In this way you practice one mantra daily. Each mantra will purify you hundred yards daily. Go forward. These mantras are very powerful, given by Vyāsadeva Gosvāmī, vibrated. And spoken by... Śuka-mukhād drava-saṁyutamrtam. That is explained in the beginning. Just like a ripened fruit in the tree is already very sweet, and if it is touched by the beak of the parrot, it becomes sweeter. These are natural course. If the parrot touches the fruit, he cuts little by his beak, beak. Beak, you call beak? Then it becomes still sweeter. Śuka-mukhād drava-saṁyutam. Similarly, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is already sublime, transcendental. And when it is spoken through the mouth of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, it becomes still sweet, just like the fruit. The parrot is also called śuka. It is called śuka-pakṣi, śuka bird. So this comparison is given. As the fruit becomes still sweeter by the touch of the beak of the parrot, similarly, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, because it is already spoken by Vyāsadeva, ripened fruit, the experienced contribution of Vyāsadeva, all the Vedic literatures, but when it is spoken through the paramparā system of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, it becomes still sweeter.
Yogamāyā means... Here, this is also Kṛṣṇa's exhibition of māyā, but it is temporary. In the another, spiritual world, that is also exhibition of Kṛṣṇa's māyā, but it is permanent. Here is a perverted reflection, we say. Just like shadow, shadow, the shadow of the tree in the water—everything is perverted, opposite. So that shadow is not the substance. The substance is there. On the bank of the river, that is really. Similarly the spiritual world is There also, everything is there. There are trees, there are fruits, there are flowers, there are men—everything is there, birds, beasts, everything. But they are all real. Here, bahu-rūpa. Bahu-rūpa means, which it is not reality. That, this bahu-rūpa is also reflection, but it is not real. That is the difference. Ivābhāti. Therefore it is called ivābhāti: "It appears like that." Actually it is not. Just like in some shop you see so many ladies and gentlemen are standing with nice dress. What is called that...?
So Māyāvādī philosophers, when they come to know that this is māyā's place, so therefore they want to make it varietyless, formless. This is their theory. So, but that is not the solution. This is māyā. This form or no form, this is māyā. When we develop our real spiritual form and enjoy in company and association of the Supreme Lord varieties, just like Vṛndāvana, variety... In Vṛndāvana the cows, the trees, the water, they are also spiritual. Some devotee wants to serve Kṛṣṇa becoming a cow. Some devotee wants to serve Kṛṣṇa becoming a bird, becoming a monkey. And somebody is serving as gopī or as cowherd boy, as father, as mother. But they are all spiritual. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ. They are all expansion. Just like when Brahmā took away all the friends and cows of Kṛṣṇa, immediately expanded Himself in the same way. So all the cows and all the cowherd boys, in every case, they were all expansion of Kṛṣṇa, pleasure potency. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ (Bs. 5.37). Nija-rūpa. So the varieties are there also, but here the variety is māyā. Māyayā bahu-rūpayā. The same example, the mirage. It appears like water, but that is not real water. Similarly, here māyayā, because it is false. They appear like that varieties but they are false. Māyayā bahu-rūpaya. Ramante. This ramante, this pleasure, is material pleasure because guṇeṣu. Ramamāṇa guṇeṣu asyā. They are trying to take pleasure in the material modes of nature. Mamāham iti manyate.
There is a story that one gentleman, he was coming to Calcutta early in the morning because he has to go hundred miles, so to catch the first train at six o'clock. Then he will reach at nine o'clock in city. Then he can attend office at ten o'clock. So... And again, going back, the office hour is finished at five o'clock. He was to go to home at ten o'clock. But still, he will go for sleeping six hours. The whole day and night is engaged for earning two meals. So they will undergo so much tapasya only for two meals which is obtained very easily by the cats and dogs. But they are not prepared to undergo any tapasya for understanding God. This is their position. For meals the birds, bees, they are not going to office. There are 8,400,000 forms of life. Only the civilized form of, the so-called civilized men, they are undergoing so much trouble for their meals. But others, they are not going fifty miles. They have got ready food. They sit down on any tree. Oh, there are enough fruits. Little eating, finish their business. Or take the elephants also. They are eating so much. They have got also food. Therefore śāstra says that "Food is already there." So many people say, "Oh, so many people are dying, starving." And where is the man? Show me who is dying for starvation. These are all pleas. They won't take any tapasya for understanding, but they will work hard like asses, like hogs and dogs, for two meals. But we should consider that we are taking so much penances for simply filling our this hungry belly, appetite. Why not little tapasya for Kṛṣṇa, chanting sixteen rounds? But will... That is also very difficult. Then? Tapasya, penance in pure bhakti-yoga.
Therefore they conclude like that." They have got experience that there is superior soul and inferior matter. "So Kṛṣṇa has also got the superior soul and inferior matter, material body." No. Kṛṣṇa has no material body. Otherwise, how He can remember what He spoke forty millions of Arjuna cannot. Vedāhaṁ sama... He knows past, present, and future. Svabhijñāh svarat. These things are there. So as soon as you also get rid of this material body, you also become like that, like Kṛṣṇa, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). So in order to get That is our original body. So in order to get that original body, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is there. So anything more? (break) ...enjoy as much as possible. "Let me come fifty miles and take this wild bird toasted. Very tasteful." Because their life will be finished, "So whatever taste and enjoyment I can enjoy, let me finish it, because after this body is finished, everything will be finished." But our is not The body may finish, but our spiritual enjoyment is there if we get our spiritual consciousness. This is our proposition. We will get varieties of enjoyment. Chale-bale lāḍḍhu kha śrī-madhumaṅgala. There is only store in lāḍḍu and kachori in Vṛndāvana. Rabri. Makhana. Kṛṣṇa is makhanacora. Makhana thief is the All right.
The Upaniṣad also it is stated that He... The two birds are sitting on the same tree, the jīvātmā and paramātmā. The one bird is eating forbidden fruit, and the other bird is seeing. So He is seeing. But how He is seeing? The Veda, the Vedic literatures, apaśyati. Therefore sees. Apaśyati means see. But you said, acakṣuḥ. He has no eyes. How He sees? That is His eyes. He has no eyes like you, a three feet distance, that's all, finished, your eyesight. He can see. From many thousands and millions of miles away He can see. So it is the distinction. When it is stated, impersonalism, He is not a person like us. Kṛṣṇa says, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam: (BG 9.11) "Because I come here to be visible to the rascals, instead of taking advantage of this visibility, they are describing, nirākāra. Mūḍhā, rascals. I come here personally and still they say nirākāra, impersonal. Mūḍhā, rascals, fools, asses."
So we should note it by this verse that some sort of tapasya must be done if we are serious about God realization. That is wanted. And then the first realization is jyoti, brahma-jyotir. Generally, the Māyāvādī transcendentalists, they think that this realization of brahma-jyotir is all in all. The yogis, they think that realization of sarva-guhāvāsam, sarva-bhūta-guhāvāsam... Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). God is there in everyone's heart. This is accepted in all śāstra. In the Bhagavad-gītā says, here also it is said, sarva-bhūta-guhāvāsam. Guhā means the heart, core of heart. So He is there. So one feature is brahma-jyotir; another feature is sarva-bhūta-guhāvāsam. The Lord is everywhere, not only your heart, my heart or any animal's heart, beast's heart, bird's heart, but He is also within the atom.
This is the instruction in the Vedic literature, that the people in this material world, they are very, very busy. Not only men—even the animals, even the birds, beasts, insect. We see on the beach, there are so many dogs, and they are assembled there for sex. So this is the material world, indriya-prīti. Therefore śāstra says that human life should be, consider... They should think, "Whether we shall spoil our life simply by sense gratification, or there is some other business?" Yes, there is some other business. That is tapasya. That is tapasya means we should restrict sense gratification. Sense gratification, either regulated or nonregulated, is meant for animal life. Sense control is the human life. Therefore you'll find in Vedic culture big, big learned scholars, big, big kings, they dedicated their life for tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). If you want to purify your existence, then you must take to the process of tapasya. Tapo divyam.
This life is meant for simply how to understand the Absolute Truth. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. Jīvasya... But that is missing now. Nobody is inquiring, neither there is any institution throughout the whole world where there is tattva-jijñāsā, what is the Absolute Truth. Simply technical knowledge—how to become this, how to become that, to fill up this belly. But we cannot see even that the birds, beasts, they do not become technologists. How they are getting food? There are 8,400,000 forms of body. The human form of body are 400,000. Out of many bodies that live in jungle, they have also no technology, no education, no systematic government, nothing—but they are also eating. The birds and beasts are eating. Everyone is eating. The ants within your home, within the hole of your room, they're also eating. So who is not eating? Everyone is eating. Why you have made a civilization to work hard like an ass for your eating? What is this civilization? If everyone is, without working, they're getting their food, then what is your advancement of civilization that you have to work like an ass to get your food? That is not advancement of civilization. Therefore, because we are becoming animal, less than animal, therefore they are decreasing the personal God. This is the idea.
This material life is sammoha, ahaṁ mameti. Atha... The material life begins: puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam. This material life is described in four lines. What is this material life? Now, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam. Etam, this material life, is nothing but an attraction of sex. Puṁsaḥ striyā. The man is after woman, and woman is after man. This is material life, beginning. Everywhere, not only human society. Even in bird society, dog society, cat society, or demigods' society—everywhere you'll see the sex attraction. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. And... They are seeking, and as soon as they are joined together to satisfy the sex desire, their the, I mean to say, attraction becomes more and more tight. Then ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). So as soon as they are combined, they require one house or apartment or cottage or nest. Something must be private. Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra. Then to work, to earn livelihood, one must have some land. Either you construct skyscraper building or till it for get some food grain. Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra, suta. Then without children, married life is frustrated.
Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśaḥ. The devotees, Bhāgavata, they say, na yad vacaś citra-padam (SB 1.5.10). Very nicely spoken, figuratively, metaphorically, ornamentally, citra-padam. Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśaḥ pragṛṇīta karhicit. But there is no sense of kṛṣṇa-kathā. There are two kinds of kathās: grāmya-kathā and kṛṣṇa-kathā. So any literature which is very nicely presented from literary point of view, metaphorically, figuratively, but there is no glorification of the Supreme Lord... Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo jagat-pavitraṁ pragṛṇīta karhicit, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham uśanti mānasāḥ (SB 1.5.10). That is like the place for pleasure of the crows. Even in the birds' society there are crows and there are swans. You'll find the crows are interested in a place where filthy things are thrown out. All nasty things are thrown out. The crows will come and they will enjoy there. By nature. But the swans will not come. The white swans, they'll require very nice, clear water, with lotus flower in a garden, and birds are chirping. They're interested there. Similarly, there are men crowslike, and there are men swanlike. That is nature's division.
So na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo jagat-pavitraṁ pragṛṇīta karhicit, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham uśanti mānasāḥ (SB 1.5.10). Mānasāḥ means those who live in the mānasa-sarovara. In Bombay I don't find any such place, but even in Western countries, especially in London, there are many nice parks, very clear water. And in America also. Wherever these Europeans have settled. In Sydney, Australia, there are many nice parks with water. Formerly, in India also, in old Dvārakā, Mathurā, the parks were there. Parks are necessary for cleansing the mind. So the fact is that as there are classes of birds which are called crows and there are classes of birds which are called swans, white swans... "Birds of the same feather flock together." That is an English proverb. The crows will mix with crows, and the swans will mix with swans. Therefore the devotees are swans, and the most advanced devotee is called haṁsa, paramahaṁsa. Paramahaṁsa. So those who are haṁsas, they are not interested in the matter for the crows. Therefore a haṁsa, a paramahaṁsa, when he hears a question from a person about transcendental, uttamam, śreya uttamam... Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). A person who is interested to enquire about the transcendental subject matter, kṛṣṇa-kathā, then the person who is questioned, he becomes very glad.
So here it is called apavarga-vardhanam, how to increase interest in liberation. People have become so dull, they do not understand what is the meaning of liberation. They do not understand. Just like animal. He... If an animal is informed that "There is liberation," what he will understand? He will not understand. It is not possible for him. Similarly, at the present moment, the human society has become exactly like animals. They do not know what is meaning of apavarga or liberation. They do not know. But time was there when people understood that this human life is meant for apavarga. Apavarga, to cease from the business of pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. That is called apavarga-vardhanam. So the questions made by Devahūti and the answers, which will be given by Kapiladeva, that is apavarga-vardhanam. That is wanted. This is the instruction of the whole Vedas. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. For apavarga everyone would try. Everyone should try his best. "And what about my maintenance?" To maintenance the śāstra never gives any stress, that "You try for maintenance." The śāstra says, "It will come. It is already there. It will come." But we have no such faith that "God is given..., giving food to the animals, to the birds, to the beasts, to the trees, everyone, and why He shall not give me? Let me engage my time for apavarga." They have no faith. They have no such education. Therefore good association required, not the crow's association, but swan's association. Then this sense comes.
There are two things: conditioned life and liberated life. Eight million, four hundred thousand forms of life there are. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Nine lakhs forms of life in the water. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi. (aside:) The child may be... Sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. The trees and plants, they are two million. Sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati, kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ. And the germs and insects, reptiles, they are eleven hundred thousand, eleven lakhs. Pakṣiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam. Then birds, they are ten lakhs of forms. Then beasts, animals, so they are three millions forms. And then human beings, they are 400,000. Very small quantity. Of all the living entities, the human forms, they are very small number, 400,000. Aśītiṁ caturaś caiva. Aśītim means eighty, and catura means four. So 8,400,000 species of forms.
So the bhakti means bhaktyā pumāñ jāta-virāga aindriyāt. From indriya, this word has come, aindriya, "pertaining to indriya." Everyone in this material world is engaged in sense gratification. That is the only... The cats, dogs and so-called civilized man is simply nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma (SB 5.5.4), doing all kinds of sinful activities. Why? Yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti, simply for sense gratification. Simply for sense grat... This is material world. And spiritual world means there is no question of sense gratification. Simply they want to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. That is spiritual world. Just like Vṛndāvana. What is the picture of Vṛndāvana? Vṛndāvana means there Mother Yaśodā, Nanda Mahārāja, the Rādhārāṇī, the gopīs, the cowherds boys, Śrīdāmā, Sudāmā, the land, the water, the trees, the birds—everyone is trying to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. That is Vṛndāvana. Vṛndāvana means nothing. When Kṛṣṇa left Vṛndāvana for Mathurā, all of them become dead. That is Vṛndāvana. Similarly, you can live always in Vṛndāvana, always in Vaikuṇṭha, if you are mad after Kṛṣṇa. That was the teachings of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. By His practical example, He showed. When He was in Jagannātha Purī, He was mad always, day and night. Last twelve years of His life was passed in madness.
Everyone is misguided, everyone is acting in this world under the bodily concept of life. And they are very very much unhappy on account of this. Because as soon as one understands that "I am not this body," he immediately becomes Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. Prasannātmā means, what do you mean by prasannātmā? Na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). No more material desire. That is brahma-bhūtaḥ. Everyone is trying for material sense gratification—the animals, the beasts, the birds, and the human being. That is material world. He is simply śocati and kāṅkṣati. When there is loss he is crying, and when there is no possession he is hankering. These are the two diseases of material existence.
So long you will have desire for sense gratification, localized or expanded, the quality does not change. The quality will change when this sense gratification will be transferred to Kṛṣṇa, not sense gratification for me, for my family, for my society, for my nation, or for my species. Just like there are many philanthropists. They are busy doing welfare activities for the human race, but they are not interested for the benefit of the animal race. "Animal race should be slaughtered, and human race shall eat." This is their philosophy. But we have already discussed Kapiladeva's philosophy, suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. The animal has got also body; we have also got body. But a Vaiṣṇava is not only a friend to the human society, but he is friend to the animal society also, the bird society, tree society, every society. A Vaiṣṇava does not like unnecessarily a tree should be cut down. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. A Vaiṣṇava does not like to trample over an ant. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Sarva-dehinām. Titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām (SB 3.25.21). We have already discussed this verse.
The ultimate, mṛtyuś carati mad-bhayāt . So bhaya, bhaya means fearfulness. Bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt. In the previous verse the Lord Kapiladeva said that "If anyone wants to get out of this fearful situation..." Bhayaṁ tīvraṁ nivartate. Ātmanaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ bhayaṁ tīvraṁ nivartate. We are always fearful. Material life is not very happy life because we are always fearful. That's a fact. Nobody can say, "No, I am not afraid of anything." That is false. Everyone is afraid of something, everyone—bird, beast, human being, everyone, bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt—because we have got absorption in the second category of life. Second category means this bodily conception of life, dvitīya abhiniveśa. I am thinking at the present moment that "I am this body." Everyone is thinking. Therefore, when there is fear of destruction of this body, we become very much afraid, perplexed. We have seen in Los Angeles. There was earthquake, and all the neighborhood, women especially, began to scream, fearful, "Now death is coming."
Just like within the earth you have seen, you go to the beach, you'll find within the sand, there are so many living entities. But they are inferior, and the plants on the sand, we have seen there are many green plants, herbs, they are better. They have improved their consciousness. But better than these plants and herbs are the crawling insects, snakes, snail, because they can move. The herbs, they cannot move, and within the sands there are living entities, they cannot sprout. So in this way, this is called evolution, one after another. So the insects, the reptiles, they are better than the standing herbs and plants, and these insects, the worms, they grow wings at the end of their life. In this way they are elevated to the bird's life. In this life they could not attain the bird's life, but on account of very strong willingness they grow the wings, and next life they become small birds, they fly. So they are better, the small birds, they are better than these insects. Then there are birds, big, big birds, the eagle birds, they can fly very high. In this way, beast life, that is better. In this way, beast life, then human life, uncivilized life, that is better. And then civilized life, that is better. Then civilized life, those who are organized, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, they are better. And amongst the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, the brāhmaṇa is the best, because they are on the platform of spiritual realization. This is the evolution. Evolution, we are coming in that evolution. Bahu-sambhavānte.
So we must always know. So when it is said, pratyag-dhāmā svayaṁ-jyotiḥ, it is described the Paramātmā, or Supersoul. Kṛṣṇa is Paramātmā. Paramātmā's business is to witness, witness, to see our activities, because He is within our body. Kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata. So He is, He is so kind, He is... That is described in Upaniṣad, that the two birds are sitting in one tree. One bird is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird is simply witnessing. That witness bird is God, Kṛṣṇa, and the eating bird is ātmā. So He is giving chance, as we want. Actually, Kṛṣṇa wants that "You don't try to eat forbidden apple, the, this apple tree, but You give up this. You come to Me." That Kṛṣṇa wants. But because we want to eat, we want to enjoy this material world, He is so kind, He is sitting along with us and giving us... Just like you sometimes take your dog, and whatever the dog wants, you allow him to do, out of love; similarly, whatever we wanting to do, Kṛṣṇa is allowing, "All right." Kṛṣṇa's real desire is "You rascal. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66)," but I'll not do. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is giving me all chances: "Do whatever you like. But if... You reap the result. If you hear My word, then you give up this. You come again. Because your position is prakṛteḥ paraḥ. Your position, My position, is prakṛteḥ paraḥ. Your position is prakṛteḥ paraḥ. Why you are rotting in this, within this material world?" In this way, if we understand our position and God's position and our relationship with God, in this way, if we become enlightened, jñānam, then ātma-darśanam. Ātma-darśanam, that means self-realization.
So this mixture has to be analyzed and separated. Just like in printing there is color separation process. It is also like that, color separation process. The sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, now mixed up by expert management, by expert process they can be separated, and we can come purely on the sattva-guṇa platform. And as soon as we come to the sattva-guṇa platform, then we can see things as they are. Chindanti sarva-saṁśayaḥ. When we are in the mixed-up qualities, then mumuhe, then we are bewildered.
Just like at the present moment the human society cannot understand what is God, cannot understand. Mumuhe. It is the chance, human form of life, to understand God, and therefore śāstra, Vedānta, says atha, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now you inquire about Brahman." Uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata: "Why you are sleeping again? This is a chance." There is a very good example, that some people, they keep that kit-kit(?) bird, and they are trained up to walk on the field and again come in the cage. So the master gives him the chance, "Now, get out. Come in the free field." So if he likes, he can go away, fly away. But his attraction is so acute that after sometimes, walking on the field, again the master says, "Kit, kit, kit, kit." Again he enters. He could fly away. This is a chance.
So the Supersoul is also living with the..., along with this ordinary living entities as friends. That is described in the Upaniṣad, that two birds are sitting on one tree. One bird is eating the fruit and the other bird is simply witness. Paramātmā, upadraṣṭā anumantā. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Paramātmā is existing within our heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). He is simply upadraṣṭā. He is not enjoying. He has no interest to enjoy this material world. But the other bird, the living entity, he is trying to enjoy this material world. And according to his karma, upadraṣṭā... I wanted to do something or I have done something. The resultant action, I will have to enjoy or suffer in the next life. The witness is the Paramātmā, sākṣī, upadraṣṭā anumantā, antaryāmī, sākṣī. We cannot do anything without the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Paramātmā feature. He is fulfilling our desires and waiting for the opportunity when the living entity will give up this business of eating the fruit of this body, of the tree, and simply become engaged, again come back to the Supersoul. That opportunity He is looking after. So the Christian philosophers, they do not believe in the Paramātmā feature, and they say that "If I am punished for my past deeds, then who is the witness?" Because in the court, if somebody is charged with criminality, there must be some witnesses. So we heard a Christian professor in our college. They did not believe in this witness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is witness within the heart. Witness must be. This is very intelligent, that without witness, how my charges, charges upon me, can be substantiated? The witness is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Upadraṣṭā anumantā. He is seeing everything. So that is puruṣa also, and we are also puruṣa. And above these two puruṣas, the Supreme Puruṣa is Kṛṣṇa, as it is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, Eighth Chapter, puruṣottama-yogam.
We have accepted the asat, these twenty-four elements as described before, as identification with me. Asat: they are not permanent: temporary situation, changing one after another. So asad-grahāt, sadā samudvigna-dhiyām, always full of anxiety, "What will happen next? What will happen next?" You will see even a small insect, birds, beasts, human being, animal, even elephants, tiger, lions—everyone is fearful. There cannot be any fearlessness in this material existence. Even big nation, American nation, they are also fearful of the Russian. And the Russians are fearful of the Americans. You can see. The whole political field... Our Indians are fearful of Pakistan. Pakistan is fearful... This is material existence. You cannot avoid it unless you take shelter at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
Why Kṛṣṇa says that this material world, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19)? Bhūtvā bhūtvā. There is aim. The manifestation of prakṛti, cosmic manifestation, is there to give the living entities another chance for liberation. One chance is given. Just like we have got. Śrī Prakṛti is now manifested, and we are living entities. We are here, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4), in many varieties. So what is the aim? The aim is God realization. By evolutionary process, gradually, we come to the human form of life. Aśītiṁ caturaś caiva jīva-jātiṣu, jīva-jāti. Jīva, under different species of life, they are evolving.
- jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi
- sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati
- kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ
- pakṣiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam
In this way, the evolution is coming—from aquatics to plants life, the insect, reptiles, then birds, then beast, then human life.
Īśvara, the Supersoul, it is said here, antaḥ puruṣa-rūpeṇa, the Supersoul. And the Bhagavad-gītā also confirms, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ. He is situated in everyone's heart. In the Upaniṣads also, it is said that two birds are sitting in one tree. So one bird is eating the fruit, and the other bird is simply observing as witness. Anumantā upadraṣṭā—in the Bhagavad-gītā. So just imagine. There is no limit of the living entities. Sa anantyāya kalpate. Anantyāya means there is no numerical count. Innumerable. Nityo nityānām. Nityānām, bahuvacana, plural number... So there is no limit of these living entities. And still, Kṛṣṇa has to live within the heart of every living entity. Just see. And every living entity has different business. And He has to sanction and witness.
So take this opportunity, human life. Don't miss. You may be very proud of your intelligence, but this intelligence is not very good intelligence if you are devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you are a mūḍha. If, by your intelligence, you learn how to surrender to Kṛṣṇa and worship Him with bhāva, that is real intelligence. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). And if you try to become intelligent, some tricks, material trick, to get some money or cheat others, that is not very good intelligence. These cats and dogs that... They have also such intelligence. How to steal food from the room, the cat knows very well. So that is not intelligence. That intelligence can be found, even birds, beasts, everywhere. Real intelligence is how to regain your Kṛṣṇa consciousness and be promoted to the stage of bhāva, and at the time of death maintain that bhāva, and then your life is successful. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9).
So this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is very authentic movement from the śāstra, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu practiced it, Nārada Muni practiced it. All the great sages, they practice it. The śāstra says, kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (SB 12.3.51). In this age, Kali-yuga, we are surrounded by so many faulty things checking our spiritual advancement of life. That is the only necessity of human being, the spiritual advancement of life. So far eating, sleeping, sex life, and defense, everyone is doing in his own capacity. That is not the business. That is there. Even the birds, beasts, they are doing that. The only business of human life: athāto brahma jijñāsā, to inquire about the Supreme, the same Brahman. Brahmaṇaḥ sthānam, bhāvanaṁ brahmaṇaḥ sthānam. Always think of brahma. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. These thoughts, these activities, they are required. That is the only business. But we have manufactured so many other business and engagement, leaving aside the real business of life. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching all over the world the real business of life. Those who are fortunate, they will take advantage of this movement and make his life successful.
We have got perfect knowledge from the śāstras: jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Now, we say there are 900,000 forms of life within the water. We have not gone within the water; neither as biologist we have studied. We have taken the perfect information from the perfect source. We say 900,000. This is called Vedic knowledge. This is perfect. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. This evolution theory is already mentioned. Darwin has taken this from this Vedic knowledge, and he has placed the whole thing in his imaginative way. Otherwise the evolutionary process is mentioned in the Vedic scripture. First of all aquatics, then plants and trees, then insect, then birds, then beasts, then human being. Now, in the human being form, because by gradual process of evolution we have got advance consciousness, the, I mean to say, subject matter is given to us. Now make your choice now again. Nature has given this opportunity whether you want to go the sat-patha or asat-patha; whether you are again wish to go to the cycle of evolution or if you want to make further progress. Further progress means this human form of life you can go to the higher planetary system. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). Now you can make your choice. You are now civilized, very advanced intelligence. Now whether you want to go to the cycle of evolution again or whether you want to stop this and go to your original position. These two things are there: sat-patha and asat-patha. If you make further progress this asat-patha, asat-patha asat. Asat means it will not stay.
"I am the seed-giving father of all living entities." It doesn't matter in different forms. He does not say that "I am the father only of the white, not of the black." He never says. He has no such distinction: white, black, European, American, or poor, rich, bird, beast, human being. No. He does not make any discrimination. He is always ready to bestow favor as the original father. That is God.
Maybe, whatever. So aṅkuśa; vajra, thunderbolt; then aṅkuśa; then dhvaja, flag; and saroruha, lotus—these four things are there. You have seen. Sometimes Viṣṇu lotus feet is painted and these signs are there. So sañcintayet. What about, sañcintayet? These things, minutely, that "Here is the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and on the sole, upon the sole, these marks are painted." Lāñchanāḍhyam, deriving. It is very brilliant, beautiful. Kṛṣṇa's everything is beautiful. Uttuṅga-rakta-vilasan-nakha-cakravāla. This is the special significance of Kṛṣṇa's hand, that these nails are raised and reddish, uttuṅga-rakta-vilasan-nakha-cakravāla. It is just like cakravāla bird. Jyotsnābhiḥ. And from the effulgence of the nails, jyotsnābhiḥ, āhata, if you see the brilliance and effulgence of the nails of Kṛṣṇa, nails in the finger of Kṛṣṇa, then the result will be that āhata-mahad-dhṛdayāndhakāram.
Aham. Kṛṣṇa says that "All these living entities in 8,400,000's of species..." He doesn't mean that only human being. The animals, the birds, beasts, trees, everything—all living entities—they are all sons of God. He says, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ. The material nature is the mother. Just like in ordinary way, the father and mother requires to give a birth to a child. Similarly, this material nature is the mother. We have got this body from the mother, material nature. Just like we get the body from the mother's womb. Father gives the seed and mother gives the body. In the combination we get out. Similarly, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4), Kṛṣṇa impregnates this material nature with the living entities, and when there is creation they come out. This is the process.
So here, I shall try to explain the teachings of Ṛṣabhadeva, His teachings to His sons. "My dear son," nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke, "My dear sons, this body," nṛloke... He has particularly mentioned: nṛloke, this body in the human society. Ayaṁ dehaḥ, this body, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke. Deha-bhājām means anyone who is embodied. So the cats, dogs, trees, birds, beasts, insects, reptiles, they have all body. But He's specifically mentioning nṛloke, the body in the human society. Ayaṁ dehaḥ, "This body in the human society," nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1), "it is not meant for working very hard to satisfy the senses." Why you are working so hard? What is the principle? What is the aim? Everyone is working very hard. What is the...? Sense gratification. So Ṛṣabhadeva says, "Simply for sense gratification we should not work so hard."
He says, tapo divyaṁ: (SB 5.5.1) "My dear sons, this body is meant for tapo, austerity." Austerity. What is that austerity? Divyam, to realize God. That is the whole Vedic principle, that human body, human society should be trained intelligently in such a way that he can understand God. This is the goal of life. In the Vedānta-sūtra... Those who are philosophically advanced, they might have studied the Vedānta-sūtra or Brahma-sūtra. So the first aphorism of the Brahma-sūtra is athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now this human form of life is there..." We have got it by the material nature's grace. There are 8,400,000 different forms of life, transmigration or evolution, as you say.
- jalajā nava-lakṣāni
- sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati
- kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ
- pakṣiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam
In this way there are aquatics, 900,000 different forms of life. And then, from aquatics to plants and trees, two million forms. Then insects, different insects, eleven..., 1,100,00. Then birds, ten..., one million different forms. Then beasts, three million different forms. In this way there are eight hundred millions.
So Ṛṣabhadeva is pointing out that this sense gratification problem or desire or propensity is there even in the hogs and dogs. Therefore He says, distinguishing the human form of life from the life of lowest class of animals, that He says ayaṁ deha, "this body." Na ayaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke. Nṛloke means in the human society. Everyone has got body. The dog has body, the cat has body, the tiger has body, the bird has body. Everyone has got body. Similarly we have also got body. Therefore He is warning, "My dear sons, in this body the aim of life should not be sense gratification after so much trouble." If the point is sense gratification, then why so much, I mean to say, manifestation of economic development? Do you think that those who are not fortunate to have these flyways or motorcars or a skyscraper building... Take for example the most aborigines, the most uncivilized nation somewhere in Africa or any other part of the world. Are they not sense gratifying? The dogs and hogs, they are not sense gratifying? So if the ultimate aim of life is simply sense gratification, then why should we take so much trouble?
There are many saintly persons residing on the bank of the river Ganges. Early in the morning they cleanse the body. They go to evacuate on the field. After evacuating they come to the river, cleanse the body very nicely, and smear the body with the clay received from the river, and they sit down at a place and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa—whole day. They don't care for whether they have got to eat or not to eat. By God's grace somebody is coming, somebody is giving something, somebody is giving something. Just like in your country also you are offering, somebody is offering food, somebody is offering something. So there is arrangement by God's law, everyone shall eat. It is not that... You have never seen any animal or any bird has died for starvation. No. There is no starvation in the law of God. Everyone has food. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. By the laws of nature, by God's order, everyone has, I mean to say, provision for four things. What is that? Eating, shelter, and sense gratification, and defense. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. This is secure. Everyone. If you see a bird, bird's life. By nature, one bird has got another mate. A male and female, they are together. Anywhere you go: a tiger, a tigress; a dog, a she-dog; a hog, a she-hog. So these are not problems. Here also, anyone. A boy, a girl; a man, woman; there is. So the arrangement is there. That is not problem.
Then what it is meant for? The next line He says that tapaḥ. Tapaḥ means austerity. Austerity. What is that austerity? The austerity is to follow the rules and regulations by which one can elevate himself to the spiritual platform. That is required. In human... Either you practice yoga or haṭha-yoga or jñāna-yoga or dhyāna-yoga or karma-yoga or... Everything is yoga. As I explained last night in the meeting in the church, that yoga is one staircase to reach to the perfection of spiritual realization, and there are many steps. Just like haṭha-yoga, dhyāna-yoga, jñāna-yoga, there are many steps. But the perfectional stage is bhakti-yoga. The perfectional stage is bhakti-yoga. That should be the aim of life. But people do not know it that what is the aim of life. The aim of life is self-realization and to understand and to know and to reestablish our lost relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That should be the aim of life. Therefore it requires tapaḥ. Tapaḥ means voluntarily accepting some penances. Just like I am inclined for sense gratification, and tapasya means voluntarily avoid too much sense gratification. The śāstra does not stop sense gratification. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. If the nature law allows sense gratification to the lower animals, birds and beast, why not to the man? But it should be controlled. Tapasya.
Ṛṣabhadeva says that simply for sense gratification, don't work so much. Actually, we haven't got to work. Everything is there. We have repeatedly discussed. Just like in the morning the birds get up, they do not work very hard. They know that "We shall go in some, upon some tree, and there is food, there is some fruit, and we shall eat." There is no, no good prob..., very great problem. The animals also, they are assured, everyone is assured. And even human being, just like sannyāsīs, they are also assured. Just like when I came to your country, there was no friend, there was no relative, but assurance was there that "I am going for Kṛṣṇa's business. So there is some provision, never mind where it is." That much faith we must have. Actually, for even one is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, one is not devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he has also provision. That provision is there. Why should we work so hard? Our business is to save time how to become advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But people cannot understand this.
But still, we have to refrain from such unnecessary hard labor. It may be that government may take action against me because I'm speaking something revolutionary. Yes. But that is the fact. Why you should work? God has made provision for the birds, beasts, animals, ants, and if I'm devotee of God, He'll not give me food? What I've done wrong? So don't be agitated in that point. You will have all your necessities of life, but you remain fixed up in your determination in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't be agitated by this nonsense belief.
All different forms of species of life, as they are existing at the present moment—you'll have aquatic animals, you'll have plant life, microbes, insects, birds, beasts, human beings, uncivilized human beings, civilized human beings—as they are presently existing, they existed even from the very beginning of creation. Not that in the creation there was no human being. From Vedic history we understand that in the creation, when everything was all water, at that time, a lotus flower grew out of the abdomen of Viṣṇu and there was creation of Brahmā. So Brahmā is supposed to be the most intellectual personality within this universe. My point is that in the beginning the creation was the most intelligent personality, not that in the creation there was lower animals, no. Lower animals were there. The... Just like at the present moment all kinds of living entities are there.
Just remember that the whole different grades of evolution of life means purifying the existence. The aquatic animals, when they are developed into plant life, that is little purified. Then from plant life, microbes, insects, that is still more purified. From microbes, insects, birds' life, different grades of birds' life, that is still more purified. And from birds' life to beasts' life, that is still more purified. And, from beast life to human form of life, that is still more purified. And from uncivilized human form of life to civilized human form of life, that is still more purified. In this way this purification process is still going on. From this human form of life there are other life in upper planetary systems. They are called demigods. Just like you are trying to go to the moon planet. You cannot go because your body is not purified to stay there. Just like in your American country you do not allow everyone—there is check by the immigration department, what class of men you shall admit—similarly, you cannot enter in the moon planet by force unless you are purified.
In India there are examples like Haridasa Ṭhākura, Prahlāda Mahārāja. And the Western countries also, Lord Jesus Christ, he is śaktyāveśa-avatāra, God's son. And he tolerated so much. These are the examples of mahātmā. Don't misunderstand that we are preaching that mahātmās are only in India. No. By the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead there are mahātmās even amongst the birds, even amongst the beasts, even amongst the lower than animals. Because this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is going on in different places, in different circumstances. That is God's desire. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7). So Kṛṣṇa wants this. Just like in your country there is welfare activities by the government. The welfare department is seeing that nobody is unhappy for want of money. Similarly, mahātmās, they are also in the welfare department of Kṛṣṇa. They are sent to different countries, different places, different species of life, so that the living entity may take advantage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So these things are there. I can quote many verses like that. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness is very easy, and everyone should become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is the aim of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). We are trying to adjust things externally, but that will never be fulfilled. Durāśayā. This is hope against hope. You cannot do anything independently because you are fully under the clutches of māyā. Bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Kṛṣṇa says, "My dear Arjuna, Īśvara, the Supreme Lord, is situated in the core of everyone's heart." He is not far away. And He is observing. In the Upaniṣads it is said that there are two birds on one tree. One is eating the fruit, and the other is witnessing. The witnessing bird is Kṛṣṇa, and the eating bird is the jīvātmā.
So actually, spirit soul has nothing to do for livelihood. They are working so hard. That is māyā. Because everyone is working for economic development, this is māyā. Just like the newspaper reporter asked me, "the crisis." They created a situation that ultimately it has come to a crisis. The big, big oil tankers are now standing without any work, and they're feeling scarcity. Actually, we haven't got to work for our livelihood. There are 8,400,000 species of living entities. Out of that, only 400,000 species of life are human form. Other 8,000,000, they are bird, beast, trees, insect, aquatics, so many varieties. So they have no economic problem. The bird, beast, aquatic, they have no economic problem. They have sufficient... Our material necessities are to eat, to sleep, to have sex life, and to have protection from danger. These are our problems. So living entities less intelligent than the human being, they have no problem of this field of activities. They are eating. They have no problem for eating. They have no problem for sleeping. They have no problem for sex life. And neither they have problem for any defense. That is already there. A bird, early in the morning, chirps very nicely. He has no problem. He will go anywhere and get some fruits and eat and sleeping accommodation is there on top of the tree. And the sex: the male bird, the female bird, they take birth simultaneously. And defense, they know how to defend themselves. They are in danger on the ground; they live on the top of the tree. So they know how to defend, how to enjoy sex life, how to eat, how to sleep. So there is no problem.
It is a different science. The more you are inclined to render service, the more spiritual truth becomes revealed. And two things: if you are not inquisitive, don't bother yourself to have a guru. Useless. There is no need. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta (SB 11.3.21). Tasmād. Therefore. What is therefore? Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. If you are inquisitive about transcendental science, śreya uttamam... Śreya and preya—two things are there. Śreya means ultimate good, and preya means immediate sense gratification, it is preya. And śreya means ultimate good. So if one is inquisitive to know what is the ultimate goal of life, for him, a guru is required. But if he wants immediate some sense gratification, he doesn't require a guru. For sense gratification there is no need of guru. Even these birds and beasts, they know how to gratify senses. There is no need of university or teacher. Say for sex life, nobody requires to go to the university. They know. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. These four things, there is no need of university education. But at the present moment to go to university means how to gratify the senses very scientifically. Scientifically. How to steal scientifically. Does it require any scientific knowledge how to cut throat and how to steal? No. They require education for spiritual understanding, tad-vijñānārtham, not this vijñānārtham, this material knowledge. It doesn't require. It is simply a waste of time. This modern university education is simply a waste of time.
So we should know, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8), this material world is nothing but a false attraction between man and woman. Not only in human society—in birds, beast, animal, aquatics, trees, plants, everywhere. You will find these pigeons, as soon as one female pigeon is there, and the male pigeon immediately wants to canvass, "Please come, let us unite." You have seen this is nature's way, sparrow. The same things: puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī. So, therefore in the human society, by Vedic knowledge, by education, you have to understand that we are bound up within this material world. What is the cause? The cause is that attraction between man and woman. This is the cause. Puṁsaḥ. Puṁsaḥ means the bhokta, the enjoyer. Here the male and female, both of them are puṁsaḥ, puruṣaḥ, because everyone has got that feeling that "I shall enjoy." Nobody is feeling that "I shall be enjoyed." Everyone is thinking, "I shall enjoy." Nobody wants to be predominated; everyone wants to be predominator. This is the illusion.
Kṛṣṇa claims, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā. Kṛṣṇa has relationship not only in the human society, in animal society, in bird society, in plant society, in insect society, in demigod society. Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya (BG 14.4). He doesn't claim that "I am interested with the Indians," or "the Hindus" or "the brāhmaṇas," or "this." No. He claims all forms of body. So therefore these foreigners, so-called foreigners, they have got already relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Every living entity has got relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). How they can be separate? It is not possible. But they forgot it. And this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to revive their original consciousness. Śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye... "Oh, I am Kṛṣṇa's." As soon as this consciousness comes, he becomes perfect. It is already there. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti śrādhya kabhu naya, śravaṇādi.
The singular number nitya, or Kṛṣṇa, He supplies food to everyone. Oh, whatever we require, that is already settled up. Therefore we should not spend our energy for maintenance of the body. That is not required. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad brahmatām upary adhaḥ (SB 1.5.18). Our human energy should be utilized only for that purpose which was not fulfilled in other lives, in the 8,400,000 different species of life, and you are changing, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13), by nature's law, prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi (BG 3.27). According to guṇa and karma, we are changing our body in 8,400,000's of species and forms. That is By nature's law it is going on, and the nature's law, according to the body, one has to eat, sleep, and sense gratification and protection. At night we see so many dogs. The whole day they could not get food. At night they are crying. And there are other bodies; they are eating nicely. Even the small birds, they have got food. But this dog, they cannot get food. This is God's arrangement. They are condemned life. Otherwise others are getting food; why this body is not getting food? The hogs, they are eating stool.
So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for showing mercy to the innocent who are suffering in this material world. That is wanted. It is not daridra-nārāyaṇa seva, that "I am very rich man. I am rich Nārāyaṇa, and therefore I can serve the daridra-nārāyaṇa." There is no question of serving. That is not. No. The fact is everyone is suffering. There is nobody... Because asad-grahāt. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5). Anyone within this material..., he is suffering, full of anxieties. Even the birds and beasts, you'll find, they are full of anxiety. Why? Asad-grahāt. Because he accepted this material body, which is asat, which is temporary. Asato mā sad gamaḥ. Therefore Vedic injunction is, "Don't stay in this material existence. Come to the spiritual existence, sat." Oṁ tat sat. This is the civilization, not to keep the people in ignorance and flatter them that "You are making very good advance." There is no advance unless one is interested in spiritual life. There is no... Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (SB 1.5.18). In this way we are wandering within this universe in different forms of life, in different planets, in different social positions, in so many varieties.
A character, avadhūta, without any connection with human bodily activities, Ṛṣabhadeva remained lying down on the street just like animals. We see so many cows and birds and crows, they do not care for anything of this material world, but eating, sleeping, mating, that is there. As in the human society, so amongst the lower animals the same activities are there. There is no change. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. Śāstra says viṣayaḥ, the objects of sense enjoyment, sarvataḥ syāt, everywhere. There is no difference. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. So viṣaya. Sometimes we say, viṣayī. Viṣayī, generally they mean a man having estates to manage. But actually viṣaya means this eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. These things are there. So He was callous: "Never mind." Although He was the emperor, but when He took the position of avadhūta, without any conception of body, He became like ordinary animals, exemplifying that the, so far the body is concerned, the activities of the body, there is no difference between the lower animals and the higher animals; or, in other words, without spiritual conception of life, simply in the bodily conception of life we are equal with the animals. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ sāmānyam etad paśubhiḥ narāṇām.
So here is Ṛṣabhadeva giving example. So far the body is concerned, it has nothing to do with the spiritual activities. The body is as good as that of the animals, the crows and the cows, birds, beasts. He is showing the same now, that so far body is concerned, it is the same thing. But when you come to the spiritual platform, that is... This is negation or equation with the material body. But real activities are ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanaṁ bhaktir uttama. Simply be ready to work for Kṛṣṇa, sad-dharma-pṛcchāt, as Sanātana Gosvāmī exemplified. He came to Caitanya Maha Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīm. He was minister. His business was with the big, big men, maṇḍala-pati. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīm sadā tucchavat: "It has no meaning. No more dealing with them." Tucchavat. Bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau. And in order to give some benefit to the dīna-gaṇeśakau Gaṇa. Gaṇa means general public. To give them some benefit, that is Vaiṣṇava life. Stop material activities, and for the benefit of the mass of people, dīna. They are very dīna, very poor. Mahad-vicalanaṁ gṛhiṇāṁ dīna-cetasām. Dīna-cetasām. They're very, very crippled, dīnasām. Gṛhiṇām. Those who are gṛhi, they are very dīna, very poor-hearted, because they do not know anything except to maintain the family.
This is Kṛṣṇa's activity. A devotee never takes the credit of any wonderful thing. But it is a fact. What wonderful thing we can play? Kṛṣṇa can do that. Therefore His name is nānā-yoga-caryācaraṇo bhagavān kaivalya-patiḥ. Kaivalya-patiḥ. Kevaladvaitavādī, Māyāvādī philosophers, they think that kaivalya, to become one, one... Just like if you fly in the sky, after going long distance we cannot see you. It appears that you are no longer existing, you have mixed up, you have become one with the sky. But actually it is not the fact. That is not one with God. I cannot see you. The example is given: just like a green bird enters into a green tree. So it appears that the tree has become, the bird has become one with the tree, no more separate existence. No. It appears like that. Actually that is not the fact. The fact is that the bird, green bird, existing with the green tree, but due to my defect in the eyes I am seeing it has become one.
So, ear for hearing Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, nose for smelling the flower offered to Kṛṣṇa... In this way, hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). When you engage your senses, hṛṣīkeśa sevanam... The senses are not yours, because this body is given by Kṛṣṇa through the agency of māyā. You wanted this thing. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). He knows what you are wanting because He is constantly seeing you. He is sitting within your heart, the same tree, two birds. One bird is I am, the individual soul; another bird is Kṛṣṇa. So He knows, and He is giving us, giving me the facility.
- īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām
- hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati
- bhrāmāyān sarva-bhūtāni
- yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
- (BG 18.61)
He knows what I am desiring, and He is asking māyā, "Give him this body."
But the Vedic civilization is that "Do not try to invent some order. That will create disturbance. Be satisfied. Whatever you have got by nature's way, be satisfied. Don't spoil your time. Save your time for Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That is Vedic civilization. That is the purpose of life, the valuable life. Bahūnāṁ saṁbhavānte. This life, human form of life, we have got bahu saṁbhavānte, after many, many years in the evolutionary process. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati, kṛmayo rudra-sāṅkhyakāḥ. We are coming, one after another, from the lowest low-grade life in the water. Then plants, creepers, trees, then insect, then flies. In this way—then birds, then beasts—in this way, millions and millions years after, we have got this human form of life, especially those who are civilized. There are 400,000's forms of human life also—not all the same: the uncivilized and civilized, the black and white, and so many different grades of men. They have different intelligence. In this way, one who has taken birth in India, he is the most fortunate.
There are many living entities. Out of them, some of them are cala, and some of them are acala. Cala means moving. Just like tree is not moving, but it is life. But a small insect, it is moving. Sthāvara jaṅgama, they are called in technical words. Sthāvara means standing in one place, and the vegetables, trees, plants, they are more condemned. They cannot move even. They'll have to stand up in a place for thousands of years. There is no possibility even to move. If there is storm, scorching heat, pinching cold, they cannot move. They'll have to suffer. So it is very condemned life to become tree and plant, sthāvara. Then jaṅgama. The jaṅgama means moving. So there are many varieties of moving animals. The insects, the birds, the beast, then human form. So how out of the human moving forms, the civilized form... Out of the civilized form, those who are in Vedic culture... Out of the Vedic culture, many are addicted to the fruitive activities, ritualistic ceremony, how to go to the heavenly planet, how to become members of rich family. They are working very hard, karmi. So out of many millions of karmīs, one jñānī... Jñānī means who understands, "What is the use of this karma, fruitive activities?" So out of many jñānīs, one is mukta, liberated. And out of many millions of mukta-koṭiṣv api mahā-mune—one is a bhakta. This is the gradual development.
So in this way you should understand how strongly you are controlled by the nature's law. But foolishly we say, "No." That is not. Just like this Mahārāja Parīkṣit, such a powerful king, he is now somehow or other cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy that "You must die within seven days." So he is preparing. He has got time, seven days. But what we have got? We haven't got even seven minutes' warning. At any moment we can die. And what we are doing? That is the foolishness. One must be ready, that "I will have to die. And 'die' means I will have to accept another body." Now, there are so many forms of body. As I was explaining aquatics, 900,000, then trees. As the water dries, the vegetation comes. You have got experience. That is the nature's process. And after vegetation, then the flies, insects, moving, up to trees and plants, not moving. Then they move—flies, grasshoppers. And they turn into birds again, very freely flying. And there are many, many big birds in the sky, eagles. Some of the eagles, you have got experience. There are monkey-eating eagles. They capture the monkey. And there are eagles elephant-eating. (laughter) We get all this information. Elephant, they will capture elephant and take it away. (laughter) Just imagine. It is no joking. This is a fact.
So there are so many birds, eagle birds, they fly, and they go from one planet to another. They are resting... Just like a bird you see, they fly from one tree to another tree. So their resting place is one planet to another. Just see. You are trying to go to the moon planet bogusly. I'll say bogusly because you could not go there. The moon planet is far away from the sun planet. So it is not possible to go there by the so-called jets plane. No. It is far, far away. It is sixteen hundred thousand miles away from the sun. The modern scientist calculation is ninety-three million miles, the sun is situated, and above that, sixteen hundred thousand miles up, there is moon planet. So by the Vedic calculation it is not possible to go there by the method we are attempting. That is not possible. And the proof is that why, if they are going to the moon planet, why they cannot stay there? Now, the argument is that "There is no vegetation. The atmosphere is different, where living being cannot stay." They say like that. But from the Vedic information we understand that moon planet influence the vegetation in all other planets. So if the moon planet helps vegetation in all other planets, how it is that there is no vegetation? So there are many thing, contradiction, and practically we see, they are going to the moon planet, but they cannot stay, uselessly going and coming. So let them do that, but we have got our other inform..., other sources of information, that we cannot go to the moon planet. It is not possible.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Devotee (1): Would the spirit soul that is within, say, a cow's body, is in a different shape?
Prabhupāda: Yes. It has got also legs. But the shape has taken according to his desire. Every animal has got these four things. Just like bird, it has got two wings, two legs. The animal has got four legs. And the man has got two hands, two legs. So the same parts of the body, they are appearing in a different type. But the four limbs of the body are there. Hm?
Devotee (2): Is the original body of the spirit soul a human form?
Madhudviṣa: The question is that whether the eternal form of the spirit soul is a human form or is it...
Prabhupāda: Yes, human form. God is also human form. "Man is made after the shape of God." I think there is in the Bible. Is it not? So God is also like human form. Here you see Kṛṣṇa, two hands, two legs.
The whole Vedic civilization means how to utilize this human form of life for better purposes. Even modern scientific point of view. Not scientific, but they say. Accepting their version... Just like Darwin's theory: by evolution you come to the human form of life. Accepting that from monkey one becomes a human being, so what is after this form? Then they have no information. What is the next life? If the evolution is... That is also accepted in the Padma Purāṇa, 8,400,000 species, forms of life, and then we come to this human form of life. What is next? That is the question. But they have no knowledge. They have no sense. They cannot explain what is next. And there is next life. If by evolutionary process through the channel of so many species of life, 900,000 aquatics. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa... Two millions trees and plants, then 1100,000 insects, and one million species of birds, and then 33,000,000 species of animals, four-legged animals, paśu. And then we get this human form of life, especially civilized form of life. Then what is next? That question nobody inquires, neither there is answer by the so-called modern scientist, that what is next.
So, we were discussing last night about nivṛtti-mārga, the opposite direction of progressing towards hellish condition of life, that by nature's own way the living entity comes to the human form of body by the evolutionary process. That we have already discussed. There are 900,000's forms in the water. Then there are two millions forms of trees, plants. And jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Then insects, moths and flies, like that, they are 1,100,000 forms. Then birds, one millions forms. Then beast three million forms. And then human being, civilized or not civilized, there are 400,000. This is the total number of different forms of life. The living entity, spirit soul, is the same, but they are passing through different forms of life. Just like I am the same man. I have passed through my babyhood body, my childhood body, my youthhood body. Now I have come to another body. So it is a fact that I was staying in a baby's body. Now it is another body. A very simple thing, that we are changing body, but I am, the soul, the same. We have to understand this thing. The evolution is going on.
Prabhupāda: No, no, no. That is different. This is a different Das. So so many cases, I know, in the legal take bribe. They take bribe. Therefore it is called Kali-yuga. The whole atmosphere is surcharged with vicious condition, anywhere. You go to the court, you go to the church, you go to the priest, you go to the so-called spiritual master... The time is so vicious. You see? The only rescue is to become sincere to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then one is safe. Otherwise the whole atmosphere is very dangerous. That's all. (devotees offer obeisances) (break) There are nice birds. Cuckoo.
Devotee: That cuckoo bird?
Prabhupāda: "Co-co, co-co, co."
Haṁsadūta: In India everything is alive.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Haṁsadūta: In India it appears that everything is alive.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Prabhupāda: Therefore monkeys are considered very fools.
Haṁsadūta: Foolish.
Prabhupāda: Foolish, yes.
Revatīnandana: They're like people, and the leaders kill them.
Prabhupāda: There are some birds; they also eat monkeys.
Haṁsadūta: Birds.
Revatīnandana: Big hawks like eagles.
Prabhupāda: Monkey-eaters. I have seen that bird in Los Angeles zoo, monkey-eater bird.
Revatīnandana: They're from Africa, big eagles.
Haṁsadūta: Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja told us about the monkeys in Vṛndāvana.
Prabhupāda: Yes. There are many monkeys.
Himāvatī: Big monkeys.
Prabhupāda: No, no.
Therefore intelligent devotee they do not ask like the unintelligent devotee go to the church and pray to God, "Give us our daily bread." He's God's servant, and He will not get your bread? You have to ask from God? No. God is giving bread to the eight million other living entities. Birds, beast, tigers, elephants, they are not going to the church for asking bread. But they are getting it. So if God is supplying everyone's food, why He shall not supply you? He is supplying you. So we should not go to God for begging some material benefit. That is not actual devotion. We shall go to God for begging how one can be engaged in His service. That should be the begging: "Hare Kṛṣṇa," means... Hare means "O the energy of God and Kṛṣṇa. O Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa, please engage me in Your service." This is Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. It is simply praying, "O my Lord Kṛṣṇa, O Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Kṛṣṇa's energy, kindly engage me in Your service." That's all. Finished all business. This is Vaiṣṇava. So Vaiṣṇava has no necessity. He knows that "I have no necessity. My only business is to serve Kṛṣṇa." Therefore he is happy in all conditions.
So not that all living entities are going to the hell, but some of them. Some of them. Because most of the living entities, they are less than the human being—8,400,000. So eight millions they are below the human standard of life, human being. They are animals. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Nine lakhs, hundred thousand in the water, different types of forms, body. Then insect... Then plants, trees, then insect, then birds, then beast, then human being. This is the evolution. So these eight million different forms of body below the human being, they are not punishable because they are animals. They have no intelligence. Then again, amongst the human being, those who are intelligent, those who are acting according to the Vedic instruction, they will not be also suffering. Those who are avoiding the instruction of the Vedas, they will be put into that hellish condition of life.
So in the Fifth Chapter, at the end of the Fifth Chapter, Śukadeva Gosvāmī has described the different sufferings, body in the hellish condition. We are, according to change of body, we are not only going through the evolutionary process of different types of body, as we have got experience here: the aquatics, the trees, the plants, the insect, the birds, the beast, then a human being. Similarly, after human being, if we do not work properly with our advanced consciousness, then we go down again in the hellish planet that are down this universe. And if we act piously, then you go to the upper planetary system. This moon planet is also one of the upper planetary system. But you cannot go by sputnik. That is not possible. It is all foolishness. The moon planet is situated above the sun planet. They are not going to the moon planet; therefore they have stopped their propaganda. So above that moon planet, there is Venus, there is Jupiter, there is Mars, and so many others. So in the śāstra it is said, ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). If you act very piously, in the mode of goodness, then you are promoted to the higher planetary system. And if you do not work in the modes of goodness—in the modes of passion—then you remain in this planet and become changed into so many bodies. And if you still work... Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. If you are so abominable that you do not work as a human being and just like animal, then you go to the hellish condition. This is nature's law.
"I have heard you, my dear sir." Śukadeva Gosvāmī is the guru of Parīkṣit Mahārāja. So he became very much anxious, "Oh, so many people are suffering in the hellish condition?" So he immediately asked his spiritual master, "Kindly let me know how these living entities who are suffering in this way can be saved, can be delivered from the severe pain of hellish condition of life." This was his question. So the answer is given that,
- na ced ihaivāpacitiṁ yathāṁhasaḥ
- kṛtasya kuryān mana-ukta-pāṇibhiḥ
- dhruvaṁ sa vai pretya narakān upaiti
- ye kīrtitā me bhavatas tigma-yātanāḥ
"My dear Parīkṣit, if, before the end of the life..." We are committing so many sinful activities. We are committing so many sinful activities. Just like in the Western countries they are killing so many birds and beasts, especially cows, thousands and thousands. They are all becoming implicated. You have no right. Even Christ said, "Thou shalt not kill." (aside, to someone fiddling with tape recorder:) What is that business? Stop it. Who is making this "kut, kut"?
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to purify the designation. And so long we are in the darkness of this designation, that "I am this," "I am that," "I am this," "I am that," that is ignorance. Suppose a thief—he is thinking that "If I do not steal, I cannot exist. I'll die. So I cannot stop stealing. I must go on." So this is ignorance. But if he thinks over that "The cats and dogs and the birds and beasts, they are very nicely eating. They are not stealing anyone's... Whatever he gets by the grace of God, he is happy," this is knowledge. Vimarśanam. Vimarśanam. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything God's property. And we are all part and parcel, sons of God, so the property is for us. It is not for others. Just like father's property is meant for the son's enjoyment. That's a fact.
As the sannyāsī knows what is the aim of life, similarly, a gṛhastha also may know. So such gṛhastha, sex life is allowed, who knows the aim of life. And one who does not know the aim of life, simply enjoys sex, he is called gṛhamedhi. These two words are there. In Sanskrit literature every word has got particular meaning, particular thought. Therefore it is called Sanskṛta, most performed and purified literature, Sanskrit. Sanskrit means purified. Saṁskāra. Just like we offer saṁskāra at the time of initiation, purification. So our main problem is the sex life. That is... Because sex life is the basic principle of material life. Either you are human being or you are demigod or you are a bird, you are a beast, you are a fly, you are a fish, you are tree, plants—everything—the basic principle of material life is sex. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etat tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ (SB 5.5.8). Everything is there. You have got books. You study and follow the practice. Be little sober. It is not that you'll not be able. You'll be able. And Kṛṣṇa will help. As soon as you are very eager, then Kṛṣṇa will help. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10).
So these are simple truths, all explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. It is open to everyone. Kṛṣṇa is everyone's father. You may take Kṛṣṇa Indian God, or Kṛṣṇa Indian, or Hindu, but Kṛṣṇa says that sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya: (BG 14.4) "In all forms of life, in all species of life, whoever he may be, I am the seed-giving father." So don't think that Kṛṣṇa is for the Hindus, for the Indians, or for the human being. No. Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. Otherwise how He is God? If He is for a particular section, then how He can be God? God cannot be for a particular type of man or particular section, particular society. God is for human being or the birds, beasts, aquatics, insect, trees, plants, everyone. That is God. He says, sarva-yoniṣu: "In every species of life, whatever form may be, that doesn't matter," ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4), He says, "I am the seed-give father." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So here this very word is used, itihāsam. Itihāsam means history. Itihāsaṁ purātanam. But it is very old. All these Purāṇas... This Purāṇa means, Purāṇa means "very old." Very old history. Purāṇa, this word, very word, means "old." So there are eighteen Purāṇas in Vedic literature. Because there are three kinds of living entities... Some of them are in goodness, some of them are in passion, and some of them are in ignorance. For all people, there are different kinds of Purāṇas. Those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance, they cannot generally understand the historical references made in the sattvic Purāṇa. Just like this Bhāgavata, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is also one of the Purāṇas, essence of history. Whole history. Similarly, Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, Viṣṇu Purāṇa, these are Purāṇas in the modes of goodness. There are different types of people. The example is given just like there are different types of birds. A pigeon class... "Birds of the same feather flocks together." You see? That is natural. The pigeons will flock together and the crows will flock together. The swans will flock together. The swans will never go to the crow or the crow will never go to the swan. In human society also the same natural tendency is there. Of course, now we are becoming more liberal. Otherwise, formerly, the white people will not mix with black people. So this is not new. It is by nature. Everyone has got a particular type of society, environment.
That means those who are swanlike men, they take the essence, not the adulteration. Similarly, there are elevated persons who are also called paramahaṁsa. Paramahaṁsa. The same example of the haṁsa, swan. Paramahaṁsa means they are interested with the essence of this world, not with the adulteration. What is the adulteration? The adulteration is matter and the essence is spirit. Just like this body. What is this body? This body is that I am a spirit soul, living entity. I am encaged in this material body. Everything. Even in the atom there is some active principle. A drug, there is some active principle. So similarly, in this body, my body, your body, or any body, what is the active principle? The active principle is that living soul. As soon as the active principle is gone, then it is useless. "Dust thou art, dust thou be-est." Then this body is made of this earth, and it again becomes earth. Either as stool or as earth or as ashes. These are the our experience. Just like Hindus, they burn this body. So this body become ashes. And there are communities, they throw out the body for being eaten up by birds and beasts. So it becomes stool. Because after eating they will pass stool. So the aftereffects of this beautiful body will be stool or ashes. We are now soaping so nicely, dressing so nicely this body, but the (laughs) aftereffects will be stool or ashes. Or earth. In your country you bury the body. So after few days it will be moth-eaten, and it will be turned into earth.
So we have to utilize. The paramahaṁsa means they take the essence. What is the essence of this body? The essence of this body is the spirit soul. So one should try to understand what is science of that spirit soul. They are not interested with the adulteration. Just like the example is given: the swan. The swan takes out the active principle. The swans, they live in a very nice place where there is very clear water, nice garden, nice fruits, flowers, birds chirping. You will find, these white swans are there. When I was in London I saw there was a, there is a nice Regent Park. There are many swans. The park is mostly flower, rose flower, nice park. So they are living there. And the crows, where they live? They'll go where you throw away all nasty things. They will go and enjoy there. You see, the crows. Why? Why the crows does not do like the swans, and the white swans do not do like these crows? These are the different qualities. The whole world is moving in different qualities. Therefore the quality of goodness, that has to be acquired in human form of life. This temple is meant for the persons who are in the quality of goodness, those who are after the essence of the world—paramahaṁsa. And this, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is also meant for the paramahaṁsas. Not for the crowslike men but swanslike men, those who are white swans, trying to live in a very nice place, clear water, nice tree, nice fruits.
So in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the beginning you'll find in the introduction, paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavaḥ atra. Atra means "in this book, in this transcendental literature," dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra... (SB 1.1.2). Kaitavaḥ means cheating. Dharmaḥ means religiosity. Religiosity or the cheating type of religiosity is not here. It is for paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ, for persons who are not envious. The crowlike birds or crowlike men or karmīs, they're envious. You'll find. And even, without any offense... Just like dog: You pass on. Without any offense, he'll bark, "Ow, ow, ow, ow." (laughter) You have no offense. You have no offense, but it will try to pick up some quarrel with you. Sometime it will come to bite you unless you have got sufficient stick to show. (laughter) So, similar... There are dogs and cats and hogs. There are similar men also. They will simply pick up quarrel unnecessarily. Sometimes political leaders... Just like in Europe, Hitler unnecessarily picked up some war, and there was devastation all over the world. You see. There was no gain. The Germany become defeated and bifurcated. So this leader could not do anything good to the nation, but unnecessarily picked up some quarrel. So that is the cause of world trouble, the crowlike men, the doglike men, the hoglike men. So we have to create paramahaṁsas, good men. Then you can expect peace and prosperity. If you create cats and dogs, then how can you expect that there will be peace, there will be no war, there will be no disturbance? No. Paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vāstava-vastu vedyam atra (SB 1.1.2).
So you take advantage of it. Don't spoil life. Labdhvā sudurlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte (SB 11.9.29). This human form of life is obtained after many, many millions of years. We have to come through the evolutionary process from aquatics to plants, trees, insects, serpents, birds, beasts. In this way we have come to this human form of life. And in this life we can hear about Kṛṣṇa, think about Kṛṣṇa, see Kṛṣṇa's Deity, so many opportunities. And if you take this opportunity, be accustomed to think of Kṛṣṇa... When we speak of Kṛṣṇa, means God. Kṛṣṇa is the God, Supreme. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So Kṛṣṇa has very kindly agreed to come to your city, Denver city, this temple. Take advantage of it. Come daily, see Kṛṣṇa, think of Kṛṣṇa, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, take Kṛṣṇa's prasādam, and be happy. This is our movement. We want to see that everyone is happy. That is the Vedic vision. Sarve sukhino bhavantu. This is human life. Human life means paropakāra. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission, to do others something auspicious. That is human life. The animal life means do..., "For my good, I will do harm to many others." That is animal life. So this is not life, the human life, that for our sense gratification, we are killing so many animals, we are doing so many mischievous things, we are cheating others. We can do that, but we are becoming more and more implicated. At the time of death the Yamarāja will come and take us to the hellish condition. Therefore foolish people they want to forget that there is next life. No, there is next life. We are discussing every day. Next life is there. We are every moment getting a different body. This is the scientific study. I do not know why they cannot understand. This is biology. Biology means we are, every moment we are getting a new body. This is biology.
Real mother and guru-patni, the wife of spiritual master or teacher. Ādau mātā guru-patni, brāhmaṇi, the wife of a brāhmaṇa, and rāja-patnikā, the queen, she is also mother, rāja. Dhenu, cow. Dhenu, dhātrī, nurse. Dhenur dhātrī tathā pṛthvī, as well as the earth. Earth is mother because she is giving us so many things, fruits, flowers, grains for our eating. Mother gives for eating, cow gives us milk. This is sense. But if one becomes addicted to prostitute hunting then he will be fallen. That is the example. Then he'll become thief, rascal, cheater, drunkard, and so on, so on, so on. Why? Now, only for maintaining the family. The family maintenance, the cats and dogs, they also do, the birds also do, but they do not do anything unnatural. The bird maintains his children, brings some fruit or something in the mouth and push into mouth of the small kiddies. That is natural. But why one should take unfair means for maintaining family? This is culture. This is culture. But nowadays they have manufactured "Necessity has no law." "I require money, somehow or other I must have it and let me adopt this means, that means." No. So evaṁ nivasatas tasya lālayānasya. Lālayānasya tat-sutān. So without understanding what is the duty of human being, because he is fallen... We should not bother for maintaining our family and children till the time of death. No. Up to twenty-five years. A brahmacārī is trained to refrain from sex life, that is brahmacārī, celibacy. But if he is still not able, then he is allowed to accept gṛhastha life. There is no cheating, hypocrisy, that I proclaim myself as brahmacārī or sannyāsī and I secretly do all nonsense. This is hypocrisy. The hypocrisy life will not make one advanced in spiritual life.
So that history is recorded in the Vedic literature. There are different varieties of planets, there are different standard of comfort, different standard... It is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā that yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). The brahma-jyotir, the effulgence of Kṛṣṇa's body... Just like effulgence of the sun-god's body is the sunshine. We can very easily understand. This is a material thing. There is sun-god. The sun-god, his name is Vivasvān. Everything is there. Imaṁ vivasvān, imaṁ vivasvān yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam. Kṛṣṇa says that "I spoke this philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā to Vivasvān." Vivasvān is the name of the person who is predominating in the sun globe. So we have to know from Kṛṣṇa that sun globe is not vacant. When the king is there, the other things are also; the kingdom is also there. That is a planet with fire, just like this planet is earth predominant, and that planet is fire predominant. And there are five elements: earth, water, fire... Somewhere the water predominates, somewhere the fire predominates, somewhere... We can experience. Just like on the sea, beach we go. We are standing where the earth is predominant, but just a few yards after, the water is predominant. But on the earth there are so many living entities—birds, beasts, human being—why not in the water? Where is the wrong there? It is also one of the five elements. You cannot live in the water; that does not mean others cannot live. This is common sense. They have got different body. They can live. The fish, you take out of the water—it will die. And if you are put into the water, so long you can swim... Otherwise you'll die.
But if one becomes addicted to prostitute-hunting then he'll be fallen. That is the example. Then he'll become thief, rascal, cheater, drunkard, and so on, so on, so on. Why? Now, only for maintaining the family. The family maintenance, the cats and dogs, they also do, the birds also do, but they do not do anything unnatural. A bird maintains his children, brings some fruit or something in the mouth and puts into the mouth of the small kiddies. So that is natural. But why one should take unfair means for maintaining family? This is culture. This is culture. So but nowadays they have manufactured. "Necessity has no law." "I require money, so somehow or other I must have it. Let me adopt this means, that means." No. So evaṁ nivasatas tasya lālayānasya. The lālayānasya tat-sutān. So without understanding what is the duty of human being, because he is fallen, so we should not bother for maintaining our family and children till the time of death.
No. Up to twenty-five years. A brahmacārī is trained to refrain from sex life. That is brahmacārī, celibacy.
So the whole civilization is how to restrict this sex desire. Because... Why restriction? Because the sex desire, sex life, will keep him within this material world in different bodies, either as human being or as animal or as bird or as insect—so long there will be this sex desire. To become free, to become liberated means to become liberated from sex desire. That's all. This is the basic principle. Not that this tantra-yoga, how to increase sex desires. This is not civilization. Civilization is how to cut down sex desire and ultimately become free, paramahaṁsa. That is civilization according to Vedic culture. Therefore the training from the very beginning, brahmacārī. Brahmacārī is instructed in such a way that he'll remain brahmacārī throughout the whole life. A brahmacārī is open to accept either a gṛhastha āśrama or vānaprastha āśrama or sannyāsa āśrama, but the guru advises, "Better remain all through brahmacārī. No botheration." So he's trained properly, but still if he has desire, then he's allowed to become a gṛhastha. That is also for a limited time. The whole plan is how to stop, because as soon as here, that Ajāmila, he was not properly married, he became the husband of a prostitute. But there are ten children, but he's entangled with the family, with children, and now he's engaged bhuñjānaḥ prapiban khādan bālakaṁ sneha-yantritaḥ, one after another. First of all sex desire, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8).
This world, what is this world, material world? The material means sex desire. That's all. The woman is hunting after man, and the man is hunting after woman. Either in human society or bird society or beast society or dog society or cat society, the principle is sex. And the human society means to understand this, that what is the basic principle of material life. If we understand it is sex, therefore we have to cut down the sex desire gradually by becoming brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. This is the process. Otherwise, if I do not know what is the cause of my material bondage, then how we can take remedy? This is the cause, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam. The desire is there. As soon as one is grown up, reaching youthful time, the sex desire is very strong, very strong. So they unite, a man..., a boy finds out a girl, a girl finds out a boy. They unite, and there is sex, and as soon as there is sex then there is bondage. Immediately. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitha. As soon as they unite, then the relation becomes very tight, very strong. Then, as soon as one is married, or unmarried—generally speaking married—then he wants apartment. Ato gṛha. Gṛha means apartment. So long he remains brahmacārī there is no need of apartment. He can dine right out on the street. (laughter) But as soon as they're joined together, immediately apartment, gṛha. Then how to maintain the apartment? Then he must have land. Because formerly there was no industry. Everyone must produce his own food by tilling the field. So to produce food he must have some land. So land was available, still available. One can produce. But they have left that process of livelihood. They are taking to industry.
This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is specially meant for creating that mentality of the members of the society. That's all. If at the end of his life he simply remembers Kṛṣṇa, that is natural. Whatever you practice whole life, that will come out at the time of your death. That is natural. Sa evaṁ vartamāno ajñaḥ. Ajña. He does not know. Ajña, the very word is used here, ajña, foolish. He is thinking that he will be able to remain forever and enjoy the association of his family and children. Therefore it is said here, ajña. Everyone is thinking that "My..., this material atmosphere, my bank balance, my nice house, my nice family, children, they will protect me." That is foolishness. Nobody will protect you. You have to protect yourself. Just like while you are flying in the sky, airplane or the birds, when there is danger no other plane will be able to save you. No other bird will be able to save you. If you have got your own strength of flying with your wings, then you can be saved.
This is the system of varṇāśrama-dharma—four kinds of varṇas and four kinds of āśrama. It is very scientific. The whole idea of human civilization should be how to fix one to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to Viṣṇu. Because they do not know na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). The real interest is to approach Viṣṇu, to go back to home, go back to Godhead. That he does not know. He is entangled with these material affairs. Anartha. They are called anartha. They are not required. When you get a human form of body you must know that your food and shelter is already ordained. You don't require to try for this. Even the birds and beasts, they do not try for their food and shelter. They are certain that "Somewhere we have got our shelter and there is somewhere my food." Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Kṛṣṇa, the supreme patron, He is supplying food to everyone. He is supplying food to the elephant, who eats one time one hundred pounds, and He is supplying a grain of sugar to the ant also. So why should bother about my food? That is śaraṇāgati. When a man becomes śaraṇāgata, he knows perfectly well that "Somehow or other there is my food." A sannyāsī... sannyāsī means sat nyāsa, to fully surrender to Kṛṣṇa. But the sannyāsīs, they misuse in another way.
So this is our misconception. We are thinking that this paraphernalia—my country, my community, my countrymen or my family, my wife, my children and so many things, mine, mine, mine—so I'm thinking that they will give me all protection. No. Therefore, in the Bhāgavata it is said, dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu asatsv api. He knows that "They will be finished. They cannot give protection to themselves. What protection they'll give to me?" This is knowledge. This is knowledge. Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api pramatta teṣāṁ nidhanam (SB 2.1.4). He knows that they will be finished, paśyann api na paśyati. He has practical experience, yet still he does not see. This is called māyā. Māyā means thing is one and he's thinking otherwise. His soldier, the so-called soldier, the protector, will be finished, but still he's depending on him. Suppose a bird is flying with his family in the sky. But if there is some danger, then no other bird can help him. You have to help yourself. Just like aeroplane. If dozens of aeroplane is flying, but if one aeroplane is in danger, no other plane can give him any help. It will fall down and crash. Finished.
Nṛ-deham ādyaṁ sulabhaṁ sukalpam. This nṛ-deham, this machine is very carefully made not by me, but by the nature. Nature is the agent of God. I wanted to do something. That means I require a particular type of machine. God orders nature that "This living entity wants something like this. You give him a machine." So the prakṛti, or the nature, gives us different types of machine. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). I am neither driving the machine; neither I have made the machine. I have been given as gift to work on or to fulfill my desire. This is the position. So śāstra says that "You have got now a very good machine." Nṛ-deham. The human form of body is very good machine. Nṛ-deham ādyaṁ sulabhaṁ sukalpam. It is very rare. With great difficulty, you have got this machine because we have to come through so many machines, the aquatics, the plants, the insects, the trees, and the serpents, reptiles, then birds, then beast, millions and millions of years. Just like you have seen this. The trees are standing there, maybe standing for five thousand years. So if you get that machine, you cannot move. You have to stand in one place. So we had to go through this. Foolish people, they do not know.
So these questions do not arise. They are simply, I mean to say, engrossed with animal propensities—eating, sleeping, mating, and defending—as if these are the problems. These are no problems. We have created these problems. Eating is no problem. The animals, they do not endeavor for doing some work for eating. Eating is already there. The birds, beasts are eating. Similarly, human body, eating is there. For example, we are, these forty heads, we are traveling. So eating is already there. Before our coming, our Padubhai(?) has arranged for our eating. So why should we think for eating? So, but actually that is the fact. There is no problem of eating. They have created this problem. God has given enough food. In America they throw away foodstuff in the ocean. You see. This is nonsense. Because they have no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they do not know that these food grains belong to Kṛṣṇa. He has sent. So instead of throwing in the ocean, it should be dispatched to the countries where there is scarcity.
So here we are all prisoners within the material world, and some of us are first-class prisoners, and some of us second class, and some of us third class. Therefore, we see the higher class of men in the society, middle class of men in the society, either in human society or even animal society... There is first-class animal, second-class animal, third-class animal. In the trees also, the same work is going on by nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). One tree is supplying mango, so this mango tree is respect, and another tree, which is producing nothing, they are cut and made into fuel, because useless, no use. So amongst the trees, also you will find first class, second class, third class. Amongst the birds, beasts, animals, there is... Just like lion. He is also animal, and dog is also animal. They are not on the same level. Amongst the birds there are swans and there are crows. The crow is different from the swan although they are birds. The standard of enjoyment by the crows is different from the standard of enjoyment of the swan, white swan.
So śās-dhātu means ruling. So there is ruling. You cannot think that you are independent. There is government. If you disobey the ruling, the government has got police department, and if you are still disobedient there will be military department. You cannot disobey the rulings of the government. Similarly, this government, God's government, there are so many things—government officers, department rulings. Don't think that there was a chunk and immediately there was... Nonsense. It is not chunk. (laughs) It is regular government. Just like we have here a small place. In Hawaii you have got so many government officers, rulers. And do you think such a vast (indistinct) is manifested and there is no ruling? Just see how poor thought. There is ruling. Don't think all of a sudden that... Any sane man can understand that things are being carried systematically—the seasonal changes, the seasonal fruits and flowers, the sunrise, the moonrise, the birds, death, old age, disease, everything systematically. And is that happening by chance? Why by chance one does not live forever? There is no such chance, sir. There is ruling. You cannot say, "Now here is a chance the man has not died." Where is that chance? Why do you speak of nonsense chance? It is not chance. It is ruling. You must die. However, utopianly says, "Now we shall live." Oh, that is not. There is ruler.
Only the rascals, they think, "We're enjoying." Everyone is suffering. This is a place for suffering. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15), Kṛṣṇa says, who has created this place. It is a place of suffering. Every moment you are suffering due to this body, due to the mind, due to the suffering imposed by other living entities. The mosquito will bite, the flies will disturb you, the bugs are there, and then the dogs will bark unnecessarily. You are passing, and his business is barking. Ha? "Bow! Bow! Bow!" (laughter) So this is also suffering. You don't like the next door the dog is barking. So in this way, if you are sober man, you don't want all this suffering, but it is imposed upon you. How do you think that you are living very happy? This is foolishness. It is not... This place, either ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokān punar āvartino... Wherever you go, you read from the śāstra, the demigods, they're supposed to be very happy in the upper planetary systems—they are also not in happiness. There is fight between the demons and the demigods and so on, so on. The same politics, same (indistinct), the same..., so many things. Here in the small scale, just like two birds, they fight also. You've seen them. So their fighting you neglect. But your fighting—there is atom bomb. And similarly there is fighting in upper planets also.
Just see. It is practical. Because his... The life is finished there is no sex life. Actually that is the fact here. Birds, beast, you will find the pigeons, the dogs, they are enjoying sex at least four times in a hour. There are men also like that. So here in this material world the sex life is the top pleasure. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham. It is very abominable. Just imagine what kind of happiness it is, but we are forced to act like that. So tuccham, very insignificant. Yan maithunādi gṛhamedhi sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). What kind of pleasure? Kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham. It is just like itching between the two hands. And tṛpyanti neha kṛpanā bahu dūḥkha-bhājaḥ. The aftereffects of sex life is very, very bad.
Nature's law is so subtle. Uru-dāmni baddhāḥ. Bhāgavata says, uru-dāmni baddhāḥ. Just like a man is tied up tightly, hands and legs, by the laws of nature we are tied up in that way. Every part of our body is being controlled by some controller. We cannot violate a very insignificant portion of nature's law. Kṛṣṇa is perfect. We think that, we rogues, "Kṛṣṇa cannot see." But Kṛṣṇa has kept so many witnesses, and He is sitting Himself within. How you can hide and seek? No hide and seek. That is another foolishness, illusion. How you can hide yourself from Kṛṣṇa? That's not possible. And we are violating the laws of nature, and we are suffering. No excuse. Exactly like that: if a child catches fire, the catches fire will no excuse because it is a child. No. It will act. So we should know that, that... (aside:) Yes, yes. Aiye. There cannot be any excuse. Therefore we have to be very, very careful. And the best carefulness is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). Simply if we surrender. (aside:) You take this letter and post immediately, immediately after class. In that envelope our Dhruvānanda Mahārāja has written that "I am enclosing herewith one bird's-eye view plan." Eh? Have you done? If he has done, ask him and put it. If he has not, without that plan we shall send. Aiye. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati: (BG 18.61) "My dear Arjuna, the Lord is situated in everyone's heart." Why He is situated there? Because He is the suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29). We are sons of God. He is very sorry that unnecessarily we are wandering within this universe and suffering in different types of bodies, and this is going on. So īśvara, He is very well-wisher, friend. He is simply trying to turn His face towards you. That's it. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 18.61). He has given little freedom, so do whatever you like. But He is simply taking the chance, "When this rascal will turn towards Me?" That is His business. That is stated in the Vedic śāstra, that two birds are sitting in the same tree. One is eating the fruit and the other is simple witnessing. So the eating bird is the jīvātmā, individual soul, and the witness bird is God, Paramātmā. So He is giving us the facility. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna ti..., bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni (BG 18.61). You cannot, out of your own power, you can go to the higher planetary, lower planetary, anywhere. No. That is to be sanctioned by God. Bhrāmayan. I want to go here, there. He will give me facility. And what is the process? Now, yantra, a machine. Just like you have got the machine, aeroplane, you go from here to there, similarly, this is also a yantra, this is also a machine. The difference is that this is God-made machine or Yes, everything is God-made, and your machine is man-made. Here the machine is growing automatically, and your machine, each and every machine you have to manufacture in the factory. That is the difference. Both of them are machine, but this machine is God-made, and the other machine is man-made.
So every living entity who has forgotten Kṛṣṇa, trying to imitate Kṛṣṇa, that is sinful. So these sinful activities we are doing in ignorance, in lower grade of life. Just like cats and dogs and birds and trees and the..., they do not know, there is no capacity. They are so much covered with ignorance that a tree is standing, you cut it: there is no protest because it is so dull. Similarly, you take the animal, slaughterhouse, it cannot protest. These are the symptoms of ignorance. And as soon as there is awakening of Kṛṣṇa consciousness or advanced consciousness, then if I pinch you, immediately you protest, "Why you have pinched me?" That is the difference between the lower-grade life and higher-grade life. So if in the higher-grade life we do not understand Kṛṣṇa, then we are making suicide, cutting our own throat. That is sinful. So here is a chance, the human form of body. Death will come to the dog and to me also. Then where is the difference? The difference is so long I am living, I can try to understand Kṛṣṇa; others cannot. If we miss this opportunity, then we are committing suicide. This is the verdict of the śāstra.
So nature's way, evolution... The punishment is beginning from the aquatics. Then gradually, gradually, by evolutionary process, nature gives the chance that from aquatics you become plants and trees; then from plants and trees you become insect, reptiles; then from that, you become bird; then from that, you become beast; and from that beast, you become human being. In this way, by evolutionary process, you come to the platform of becoming a human being. Now, developed consciousness, you have to decide, "Where... Whom I shall serve now? I have... So long I have served the laws of material nature, and it has brought me to this platform." Now you have to decide, "What kind of service I shall accept?" That is human life. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Jijñāsā means enquiry. A sane man will understand that "I have been engaged in different types of service, now by evolutionary process, I have come to the human form of life. What is my real service? Under whom I shall work? Shall I loiter in the street like the dog, or find out some good master?" This is human life.
So what is the difference between going to the heavenly planet and going to Kṛṣṇa? The difference is ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokān punar āvartino 'rjuna: "My dear Arjuna, if you go even to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka, you will again fall down." Then? Mad-gatvā na nivartante: "If you come to Me, you will have not..." So why not select this, that "I have to work for the next life. Why not devote this life for Kṛṣṇa? I shall go back to home, back to Kṛṣṇa"? This is intelligence. I am suffering so many lives, accepting this fish life or the tree life, the plant life, the moth life, the insect life, the serpent life, the bird's life. And not only bird's life—there are so many varieties of birds, beginning from the eagle. There is a big eagle bird. We have no information. They are very big bird. They are flying in the sky, and their rest is from one planet to another. Just like here you find the birds, they are flying from one tree to another. Similarly, there are so big birds... They are called garuḍa. So garuḍa, these birds, they start their flying from one planet and sits in another planet. Just try to understand what is their flying. Not only that, they also lay eggs while flying, and the eggs, while falling down, it becomes another bird. And these birds can pick up elephants for eating. So this is God's creation. So if you want to become such a big bird, you can become. (laughter) Yes. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (BG 4.11). God is so kind. Whatever you desire, you will get. Therefore it is depending upon our discretion, that "What kind of desire I shall maintain?" That desire is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you will be happy. Otherwise, you prepare your next life and you suffer or enjoy and again next life, again next life... That is not very good. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Nobody wants that, that "I accept some position: again it is lost. Again I accept another position, again it is lost."
So to come to this understanding in the material world... In other ages, they voluntarily used to take up how to make life perfect, but in this Kali-yuga, everyone is manda. Manda means very, very slow. They do not care that there is next life, and we have to take care of it and make our next life spiritual or go back to home, back to Godhead. These things we do not... Perhaps this message is being distributed by this movement only. Otherwise, people are in darkness, very slow, and most of them very bad, mandāḥ sumanda-matayo (SB 1.1.10). And if one is a little interested, then he's captured by some party. Sumanda-matayo. Mata means cult. So many cults there are. They'll mislead. So people are attracted by such cults. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyāḥ. And everyone is unfortunate. They have no fixed, I mean to say, arrangement, even for the bare necessities of life. What the animals, birds and beasts, they have got arrangement, they believe in that, but our human society, because we are so advanced, there are so many hundreds and thousands of men, there is no fixed purpose of life. Even in your rich country we see such men without any purpose, without any aim of life. So they are called manda-bhāgyāḥ, most unfortunate. Most unfortunate. Manda-bhāgyāḥ and upadrutāḥ. Over and above that, they are always disturbed. This is the condition of life.
The human civilization means to create the population dhīra, not to be disturbed by sex impulse. This is human civilization, not that so many so-called sādhus and... They are now preaching openly the yoga by sex. Yoga by sex. They have invented. Yoga means to find out the Supreme Lord within one's self, within the core of the heart. That is real yoga. Yoga means to connect. To connect with whom? With sex life? No. The sex life connection is there even in the birds, beast, ants, animals, worms—everywhere—because the whole world is going on on sex life. Does it require any yoga system? But people are fallen so down that they have invented because people want it, and these rascals, they exploit. This is going on. So real yoga system means to control the senses, not to increase or indulge. They are clearly advertising in the Western countries, "Transcendental meditation. There is no restriction. There is no question of faith," and so many things, means as people want it. They want money, and they advertise like that. People do not want to follow the religious principles. People do not want any restriction. They advertise, "Yes. You haven't got to follow any restriction. You haven't got to believe in some religion. You simply pay me $127, and I give you mantra, and you become happy." This is going on.
So the nature's law is so nice or so perfect that by seeing only, you will be infected, by seeing only. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). We are put into such a position that every moment we are being affected by the three modes of material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. The prakṛti, the nature, is working so expertly. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. And kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu (BG 13.22). In this way our transmigration from one body to another, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13), it is due to this infection of contacting different material modes of nature. The whole world is going on. So therefore our business of human life is how to protect ourself from this infection of material nature. That should be the aim of human life, not that allow us to be infected more and more and become implicated in the cycle of birth and death, sometimes lower, sometimes higher. This is not intelligence. The intelligence is how to get out of it. In the lower animal forms of life the nature takes care. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati, kṛmayo rudra-sāṅkhyakāḥ. From the aquatics to the plant life, then insect life, then bird life, then beast life, then we come to the human life. And that is also When we come to the civilized life we should not waste our time like animals or lower creatures.
So this man, being attracted with the śūdrāṇī, naturally there was children. So he began to maintain them. This is natural affection. Even cats and dogs, they maintain their children. The birds also, they maintain their kiddies. So although children were born of śūdrāṇī, natural, there was affection. So he required money. But he became sinful; he could not earn money honestly. A sinful man cannot earn money honestly. Just like a thief: because he has adopted the means of earning money by sinful activities, he cannot take to honest work. He can work, but he is accustomed to steal. He knows that "This work is not good." If he is arrested, he will be punished. He has seen that one thief arrested and punished, and he has heard also that if one steals, he will be punished. And he has heard also from the śāstra, either law book or Vedic literature, that "Stealing is not good. It is punishable." But still, he does it. That means a sinful man cannot restrain himself from sinful activity. He has to do it. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Unless you give up the particular situation with the modes of nature, it is not possible for him to restrain himself from committing sinful activities.
Again they become busy in opening hospital and school and philanthropic work, politics, because they could not get ānanda. That is the defect of the impersonalists. They can simply understand ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am not this body. I am not matter. I am spirit." But that much understanding will not help. It may be helpful for some time, but because he is bereft of ānanda, he will fall down. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho 'nādṛta yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Ānanda you cannot get without being a servant of the Supreme Lord. That is ānanda, reciprocation(?). That is Vṛndāvana. There is ānanda, cinmāya, ānanda, because everyone is engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa. The cowherd boys, the calves, the cows, the birds, the beasts, the trees, the water, the father, mother, playmates—everyone—Kṛṣṇa is the center. That is ānanda. And if you make Kṛṣṇa minus, then there is no ānanda. You may be Brahman realized, you may be seeing the Paramātmā, but there is no ānanda.
So Kṛṣṇa comes. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7). This is the process. Every living entity is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. He belongs to the Kṛṣṇa's family. Kṛṣṇa's family. This is our original position. Vṛndāvana means whole Kṛṣṇa's family. Even the birds, beast, trees, plants, water—all belong to the Kṛṣṇa's family. Advaya-jñāna. Therefore anything in Vṛndāvana is as good as Kṛṣṇa. Even the dust of Vṛndāvana is as good as Kṛṣṇa. This is the philosophy, Absolute Truth. So Kṛṣṇa, out of His causeless mercy, He comes. At a certain interval during one day of Brahma, He comes. He exhibits His līlā, that "Anyone who desires to go back to home, back to Godhead, they can enjoy with Me like this." This is Kṛṣṇa's mission. "Come on. Why you are playing here and suffering this māyā's play? Come to the real play." This is Kṛṣṇa's mission. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). Kṛṣṇa comes: "Just try to understand Me, why I come."
So we have to take information from the authoritative literature what is the position of this material world, the spiritual world, God, and His relationship with us, our position. This is real knowledge, not that a knowledge that how to live. Living condition is fulfilled by the nature's way. There are 8,400,000 different forms of living entities. They are not concerned how to eat, how to sleep. They know, by nature's arrangement there is already arrangement. Just like the birds in the morning. They rise up early in the morning. They are not concerned where they will eat. They know there is already arrangement for eating. The elephants in Africa, they know that God has already arranged for their eating forty kilos at a time. The ants within the room, they know there is already arrangement. So if God has arranged for everyone, eight million different species of life or forms of life, why not for human being? There is arrangement. But in the human being is advised to do certain things. They must do it. Then there is no question of scarcity.
Perhaps you do not know. There are nine million types of aquatic animals. So we have to pass through all these nine millions. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. And lakṣa-viṁśati, 200,000's. I am sorry, not nine millions; 900,000. And then two millions species of plant life, vegetable life, we have to pass through. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati, kṛmayo rudra-sāṅkhyakāḥ. And eleven hundred thousands species of worms and reptiles. Sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra, pakṣiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam. And there are ten hundred thousands of species of the birds. So similarly, there are three million types of four-legged animals. And the human species of life are only 400,000 species, or types, as you say. In this way the total is 8,400,000's of types of bodies, and we have to pass through, by transmigration, from one body to another, another, another, another. Now we have got this civilized form of body. Prahlāda Mahārāja says that it is very rare opportunity. We should not misuse this body just like other animals. Then it will be our foolishness.
Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam. When we have got this human form of body, then we shall live more than the cats and dogs? No. Adhruvam. Adhruvam means this body also will not exist. Adhruvam. It is not eternal. This soul is eternal, but the body is not eternal. But although it is not eternal, the distinction between this body and the animal body is that although it will not exist... As a dog's body will not exist or a cat's body will not exist or the bird's body will not exist, similarly, this body also will not exist. That's a fact. But arthadam: but if you like, you can attain the highest perfection of life in this body. That is the opportunity. Therefore, from the very beginning, a child should be given opportunity how to make his life perfect. That is Vedic civilization.
In this way, as the other day I was speaking, not here, in San Francisco, that in this age especially, a man will think himself very successful if he simply can maintain one wife and a few children. That's all. He will think himself very successful. And actually, it is a problem for present day people to maintain even an wife, which is... An animal, an animal is also maintaining a wife. There is no difficulty for him. A dog has a wife and children, so he has no economic problem. A bird has wife and children, but he has no economic problem. But man has gone so down that he is thinking to keep wife and children is an economic problem, to avoid it. To avoid it use contraceptive method, no children, simply indulge in sex life. So man has become so down and down, especially in this age. But it is not a problem. Bhāgavata says that this is not a problem. You are thinking of maintaining your wife and children. Oh, that is already arranged. As this is arranged for the animals, for the birds, for the beasts, to have a wife and enjoy sex life and beget some children, then why not for you? You are advanced human being. Then Bhāgavata says that tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. One who is intelligent, one who knows things as they are, he is called kovidaḥ. Kovidaḥ means very expert. So Bhāgavata advising the most intelligent man that tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ: "If you are intelligent, then you should try for advancing your Kṛṣṇa consciousness."
So Prahlāda Mahārāja says, durlabhaṁ. Durlabhaṁ means very rarely obtained. Our modern anthropologists, they also admit it, that after many evolution of different species of life, this human form of life is obtained. But they do not know what is meant for. That is answered here, Prahlāda Mahārāja. We have to pass through many millions of species of life. There are 900,000 species of life in the water. Eleven hundred thousand species of life Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Sthāvarā means plants and trees. Two million species of life. And jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati, kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ. And worms, they are 1,100,000 species of life. Kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ. Pakṣiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam. And birds, they are one million species of life. And then four-legged beasts, they are three million species of life. And human form of life, beginning from the most uncivilized to the civilized form of life, they are only 400,000 species of life. So in consideration of all the total species of life, human form of life is very small. Only four hundred. Out of 8,400,000's of species of life, human form of life is only 400,000. Out of that, there are many uncivilized.
Just like two birds. So he is acting as my friend. That is described in the Upaniṣad, that two birds are sitting in one tree in friendly terms. One bird is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird is simply witnessing. So the bird which is eating the fruit of the tree, that means we are enjoying happiness or distress out of my own activities or this bodily activities... But the other bird, or Supersoul, He is not affected with the activities of the body. He is simply looking when this bird will turn to Him. That is His friendship. So suhṛt, this very word is suhṛt. So īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). This is confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and all Vedic literature. So that suhṛt is simply looking to the opportunity when the other bird, instead of eating the fruit, looks to his friend. That's all. He's simply waiting for the opportunity. And He's sending His servant, He's coming Himself as incarnation, He is leaving books like Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bible, just to attract me. "My dear friend, come this side. Come this side." Suhṛt. And He is ātmeśvara. And He is the proprietor of myself because I am part and parcel of God. So therefore He is the Supreme. So He is Just like you are part and parcel of your father. Similarly, everyone of us we are part and parcel of the Supreme Father. As you do not find any good friend than your father... (end)
That is also explained, deha-yogena dehinām. Another standard of sense gratification. Because the human body's sense gratification is different from dog's body's sense gratification. Or European sense gratification is different from African sense gratification because it is due to the body. So wherever you take your birth, in this planet or another planet, or this family or that family, this nation or that, that sense gratification arrangement is already there according to your body. You cannot improve it. If a dog likes to gratify his senses like a man, it is not possible because he has got a particular type of body. Deha-yogena dehinām. So that sense... Just like a dog has no economic problems. So a cat has no economic problems, a bird has no economic problem. But we civilized human being, we have got economic problem. Why? Now, because the advanced consciousness which are to be used for understanding our relationship with God, we are utilizing, misusing it for sense gratification. The advanced consciousness which was given to us by the law of nature, to utilize it to understand what is God, what is my relationship with Him, and what is my duty in that relationship, this is the boon to understand in the human life, but we don't care for it.
Oh, we are trying to improve the condition of our eating. The dog eats some meat, but we are not meat-eaters, but we want to imitate dog, so therefore we have to arrange so many things. We have to maintain a big slaughterhouse. So dog has no problem, but we have got problems. Because we are misusing our advanced consciousness simply in the same way as the dog. Eating, sleeping, mating or defending. The dog has also defending power. As soon as another dog comes, "Bow, bow, bow." So similarly, we have got defending power, immigration department, visa department, this department, defensive department. What is this? This is all defense. So eating, sleeping, defense, or sex life is required, but you have got another prerogative. Consciousness. That is to be changed into, that is to be improved into Kṛṣṇa consciousness or God consciousness. That is your duty. So unless we are trained up to change our consciousness which we have had in many other animal life Because this is evolutionary process. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni. From 900,000 species of life of aquatics, then trees and plants, then reptiles, worms, then birds, then beasts, then uncivilized men, then we have come to this form of civilized men who are, there is intelligence for production, there is nice brain for so many things. So how it should be utilized? Prahlāda Mahārāja says it should be utilized for understanding God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise, it is simply a misuse of life. Thank you very much.
By nature's law we have to transmigrate in so many species of life, from aquatics to plants, trees, then insects, then flies, then birds, then beast, then uncivilized human being. Then we have got this civilized form. Especially those who are born in India. Because in India the varṇāśrama-dharma is here. India, Hindu, Hindu is a foreign name given by the Mohammedans. Actually our real position is followers of the varṇāśrama-dharma. Four varṇas and four āśramas. This is the stepping stone for civilized life, varṇāśrama. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra; and brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. This system of social order, I mean to say, spiritual and material, it is so systematically done that one who follows this system, automatically he becomes at the end Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is the highest objective. Unfortunately they do not know it. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatim hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). They are enchanted by the glaring materialistic, material energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
We are in the cycle of birth and death. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma (BG 4.9). Tathā dehāntara-prāptir. After death we shall get another body, but we do not know what kind of body we are going to get. There are 8,400,000 different types of body and the life begins from the grass, from the ground. We have seen so many grass. And gradually the grass is eaten by some animals or insects, and then there is semina. Then the same semina becomes insect. From insect to bird, bird to beast, from beast to animals. It takes millions and millions of years to come to the form of human being. This is evolution. They do not know it. But that is the process. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja says durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma. You must understand that this human form of body you have got after many millions of years. Don't waste it like animals. If we utilize this human form of body just like cats and dogs, what is the difference between my life and dog's life? Therefore he says: durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ tad apy adhruvam arthadam.
There are so many things, just like the forms of life, how many form of life are there. That is stated in the Vedic knowledge. 8,400.000 species. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni. In the water, there are 900,000 forms of life. It does not say one million or eleven hundred or, no, exactly. Nine hundred. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Sthāvarā means the living entities which cannot move. Just like the trees, plants, they are also living entities, but they cannot move. They are called sthāvarā. Two millions. Now where is the botanist who can give exact information how many plants and trees are there? But you get fully, full information. Sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ. This is the evolutionary process, from aquatics to the plant life, then insect life, kṛmayo. Rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ. Rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ means eleven hundred thousand. Pakṣiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam. The birds, after insects, the next evolution is to the bird species. So there are one million different species of birds. Pakśiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam. Paśavaḥ triṁśal-lakṣāni. Then beast, four-legged beast, animals. There are three millions. And mānuṣāḥ catur-lakṣāṇi. And then we come to the form of the human being; there are also four hundred thousand species. In this way, altogether there are 8,400,000 species, forms of life.
So these things happened on account of not clear conception of life. That is Prahlāda Mahārāja. Therefore the clear conception of life, how to serve God, Kṛṣṇa, that is called bhāgavata-dharma. This should be taught to the children. Otherwise when he is engaged in so many nonsense service it will be very difficult to drag him from this false engagement and again establish him to the Kṛṣṇa's service. So when we are children—we are not polluted—we should be trained up in bhāgavata-dharma. That is Prahlāda Mahārāja's subject matter. Kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha durlabhaṁ mānuṣa (SB 7.6.1). We are serving. The birds are serving. They have got small, kiddie, children. They are picking up food and working very hard and bringing it in the mouth, and the small kiddies, they are chanting, "Mother, mother, give me, give me," and eat food. There is service. There is service. Don't think that anyone is without service. Everyone is serv... A man is working hard day and night. Why? To give service to the family, to the children, to the wife. The service is going on but he does not know where to give service. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ: (BG 18.66) "Give Me service. You'll be happy." This is this philosophy, bhāgavata-dharma.
There are many examples. Just like in a nice cage, in a golden cage, there is a bird. If you don't give any food to the bird and simply wash the cage very nicely, oh, there will be always, (imitates bird:) "Chi chi chi chi chi chi." Why? The real bird is neglected. Simply outward covering. So similarly, I am spirit soul. That I forgot. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am Brahman." I am not this body, not this mind. So people are trying to burnish the body and the mind. First of all they try to burnish the body. This is material civilization. Very nice clothing, very nice food, very nice apartment, very nice car, or very nice sense enjoyment—everything is very nice. But that is to this body. And when one is frustrated to this very nice arrangement, then he goes to the mind: poetry, mental speculation, LSD, marijuana, drinking, and so many things. These are all mental. Actually, happiness is not there in the body, nor in the mind. Read happiness is in the spirit. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad atīndriya-grāhyam (BG 6.21). The real, the ultimate happiness is that which is beyond this material senses. Ātyantikaṁ yat tad atīndriya. Atīndriya means—indriya means the senses—transcendental to the senses. That means that spiritual. There are many instructions and practical also.
So therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja says that "If you think that sense enjoyment is the pleasure of life, that can be had in all sorts of other bodies." The hogs also has got sense enjoyment, the dog also has got sense enjoyment. They are not forbidden. Nature has provided sense enjoyment for cats, dogs, and birds, beasts, everyone. Because that is a demand. So human life... Of course, this should be restricted or as much as possible, as it is available without any extraneous endeavor. Just like we allow our students, "Get yourself married. So by grace of Kṛṣṇa the wife or the husband which you have, just live peacefully. But don't try to encroach upon other's wife or other's husband." That should be restrained. That is humanity. So we have to live very peacefully so that we may not be disturbed in our material existence. But our ultimate aim should be spiritual realization. Sukham aindriyakaṁ daityā deha-yogena dehinām, sarvatra labhyate. If you are after sense enjoyment... Sarvatra means in all species of life. Suppose you happen to get a body, next body, as a hog, as a dog, or even lower than that. That sense enjoyment will be there. But this opportunity will not be there. This opportunity, to make yourself Kṛṣṇa conscious and just to leave this condemned place and go back to Godhead, that opportunity will not be there. That opportunity is for the human being. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja said, tat-prayāso na kartavyo yata āyur-vyayaḥ param: "Therefore we should not simply waste our time for improving the paraphernalia of sense enjoyment."
Because the time has changed. You have to take, consider according to the time, circumstances, atmosphere. Here, at the present moment, our mind is so disturbed that concentration of meditation is not possible. But this chanting, as soon as we chant, by force our mind is engaged in chanting and hearing, by force: "Hare Kṛṣṇa." So even my mind is disturbed, by the vibration I am attracted. So that is, this meditation is recommended. Other meditation, if I sit down and think, I am thinking of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, which is red. At once a red bird comes in my vision and the bird begins to fly and it goes away. You see? So that kind of artificial meditation will not succeed. Meditation is not actually possible in this age.
The materialistic attraction means, the first attraction is sex. This whole world, not only human society, in animal society also... There are 8,400,000's of different kinds of societies according to different kinds of species of life. "Birds of the same feather flock together." As it is said, that a species, a particular type of species of life... Not only that, we human beings, we have flocked together. Birds of the same feather. This is not very important thing. If you combine together as American or Indian or Chinese or many other names, oh, same thing in there in the lower animals also. Therefore this saying is very nice, that "Birds of the same feather flock together." So this propensity of combination of society, community, amongst the human being, is not very important improvement. So in this way, our attachment increases. So when we are old enough, Prahlāda Mahārāja says that ko gṛheṣu pumān saktam. The older we are, our attachment for home—home, society, society, friendship, love—increases.
That is stated there in the Seventh Canto by instruction by Nārada Muni: gṛhastha, householder, or anyone. By nature, you'll see, if you throw one bag of food grains anywhere, so many birds will come. But as soon as their belly is filled up they will go away. They will not take more than that for tomorrow. Sañcaya. That is nature. They know, "Tomorrow we shall get again somewhere grains. There is no need of stocking." This is nature you'll find amongst animal kingdom. Similarly, we should also learn that Kṛṣṇa has given us this belly, so He has provided also the eatables. That is real philosophy. It is not recommended that you get more than what you require. No. Yāvad artha-prayojanam. Especially for Kṛṣṇa conscious persons. Everyone has got right to claim what is absolutely required. In the Bhāgavata, it is stated if anyone takes more than that, then he's a thief and he's punishable. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1), everything is God's property. Either on this land or in the sky or in the water, everything is God's property. And Kṛṣṇa claims also, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram, suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29). In the Vedic version, you'll find, īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam. This philosophy can solve all the problems of the world. Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa.
So when the time will come that I shall be jolly always that 'There is my guardian, Kṛṣṇa'?" Kadāham aikāntika nitya kiñkaraḥ praharṣayiṣyāmi. Anātha. Everyone is in this material world, anātha. Anātha means without any protection. The... We are thinking, "My family, my wife, my children, my society men, my nation will give me protection." No. Nobody can give you protection. It is false hope. Just like the birds, when they fly in the sky, everyone has to take his own care. Nobody can help anyone. One can help only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Not in the material way. Nobody can help. Because... This is called destiny. I have given that example that in our country Mahatma Gandhi, he was a big man, he was in the meeting. In your country also, President Kennedy. So nobody could help him when he was killed.
Although it is just like dream, say, ten years before or twenty years before, oh, I was in India. I was a family man. I was sitting with my wife and children and doing something else. Now that thing is now dream. So we are passing... Just like at night we dream something, so this is also another kind of dream, because this is concrete dream, and at night we see abstract dream. The quality is dream. Sometimes we are in abstract dream, and sometimes we are in concrete dream. This is also dream. We do not know how many lives we have passed before this, hundreds and thousands and millions. "Oh, sometimes I have been a cat." Oh, that is now dream. Sometimes I might have been a dog. Not might have been, because the evolution is there. We are coming by evolutionary process from aquatics to vegetable life, from vegetable to, I mean to say, reptile life, then, from bird's life, then beast's life, then uncivilized life. Then we have come to the civilized form of life under the grip of nature. So we have passed so many status of life. So they have become now dream. If somebody says, "Oh, forty millions of years before, you were a tree," so will you believe it? It is dream. But actually I was, by nature's law.
So in Sanskrit word there are two implications in the understanding of our existence. One is deha. Deha means this body. And dehi means the proprietor of this body. I am the proprietor of my body, you are the proprietor of your body. So Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "For all the proprietors of the body"—that means for everyone who has accepted this material body, all living entities—"that is the best thing." What is that? Sadā samudvigna-dhiyṁ. And anyone who has accepted this material body, his symptom is that he is full of anxieties. This is the disease. To get this body, material body, means to remain always full of anxieties. Either you become the first-class, I mean to say, executive head, President Johnson, or an ordinary man in the Bowery Street—everyone is full of anxiety. Not only human society but also bird society, beast society—everyone. Anyone who has got this material body, he's full of anxiety. But we want to get free from anxieties. That is our aspiration.
Similarly, he is born of a demon father, so he is presenting himself that "I am a demon. I am born of a demon father." Ugra-jāteḥ. Ugra-jāteḥ means... Ugra means violent. Demons are always violent. So "I am born of a violent father. How can I please the Lord? Brahma, Lord Śiva, and so many other demigods, they have failed to please, to pacify the Lord in His angry mood, and I am born a demon, born of a demon father. So my position is so lower." Kiṁ toṣṭum arhati: "How can I please the Lord?" Ugra-jāteḥ. Brahmādayaḥ sura-gaṇāḥ: "Where demigods like Brahma, munayo, great sages, and siddha..." Siddhas, they are the particular citizens of Siddhaloka. They are called Siddhas. There is a planet which is called Siddhaloka. There is description in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam of the Siddhaloka in the Second Canto. Siddhaloka is a planet where the inhabitants can fly in the air without any machine, without any airplane. Just like bird can fly in the air without any machine, so the denizens of Siddhaloka, they can also fly in the air without any machine, without any airplane, and they can go from one planet to another. They are called Siddha. Siddha means they have got eight kinds of perfection. The yoga system, those who are practicing yoga, their ultimate goal is to achieve eight kinds of perfection, not that simply exercising, finish.
In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛta-cetasām (BG 2.44). Bhoga, bhoga means sense enjoyment, and aiśvarya means opulence, wealth, riches. Persons who are very much attached to sense gratification and hankering after material opulence, bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayā, and by such thing, apahṛta-cetasām... Apahṛta means bewildered; cetasām, consciousness. Such persons, they are thinking that "These things will save me." They never think that they will have to leave all these things behind him, and he has to go alone. Just like when a bird flies in the sky, so he has to leave behind him everything, and he has to fly in the sky on his own strength. There is no other help. Why bird? Take these airplanes, jet planes. When we get on the sky, leaving this land, no more we can depend on our strength on the land. If the plane is sufficiently strong, then we can fly; otherwise there is danger. Similarly persons who are very much materialistic, they are thinking that this opulence, prestige, and material strength will save him. No. That is bewilderment. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, tayā apahṛta-cetasām. Apahṛta-cetasām means whose consciousness has become bewildered by these material opulences. Such persons, tayā apahṛta-cetasām, for them, vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ samādhau na vidhīyate. Samādhi. Samādhi means concentration in the vyavasāyātmikā, niścayātmikā-buddhiḥ. Niścayātmikā means to be firmly convinced that "Kṛṣṇa consciousness will only save me." This conviction such persons cannot have. Which persons? Those who are too much sensuous and after material opulence.
Yogis, they attain asta-siddhi, eight kinds of perfection: animā, laghimā, mahimā, prāpti, like that, īśitā, vaśitā, like that. So the Siddhaloka means they are born siddhas. They haven't got to practice this mystic yoga system. Just like a small sparrow: it can fly automatically. Why a small sparrow? Even a small insect. But if you want to fly, you have to create so many big machineries. So in that case, in the matter of flying, the small insect or the small sparrow is siddha. You are trying to fly in the sky with so many jets and 747 Jumbo. But a small fly, it can fly immediately, I mean, two miles within some seconds. So they are siddhas. What you cannot do, if other can do, that is called siddhi. So there is no question of disbelieving. We can see so many small insects, birds. They can fly from one tree to another. You cannot do that. If you have to go from one tree to another, you have to take so many trouble . So it is not to be rejected, "Ah, there cannot be any... This is unbelievable." But we have got this information from the śāstras. We are staunch believer: "Yes, there are siddhas." We are believers. That is called theism: one who believes in the statements of śāstra.
In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that "Kṛṣṇa consciousness is eternally existing in every human being, every living entity." Not only human being. You have seen the one picture that a calf, how he is loving Kṛṣṇa by licking His body. You have seen it. So even in the calf, even in the animal, even in the bird, even in the beast. We have described all these things in our Teachings of Lord Caitanya, that when Kṛṣṇa was present in Vṛndāvana, how the cranes, how the cuckoos, how the peacocks, how the walks(?), how the flowers, how the creepers were loving Him. How they were loving Kṛṣṇa. So it is not a thing that we have to teach. Simply by good association, by reference, it comes out. It is called suptotthita-nyāya. Just like a man sleeping at night, he forgets everything, where he is lying on and what he is doing and which family does he belong to, which country does he belong to, what is his occupation. Everything he forgets. Sleeping means forgetfulness. But as soon as he is awakened, he remembers everything. Everything. "Oh, I have to go to office. I have to do this thing. I have to meet such and such person." Everything. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sleeping in everyone's heart. He is hankering. He is hankering after how to love Kṛṣṇa, but he is being checked up. The māyā is checking him: "Don't try to love Kṛṣṇa. If you love Kṛṣṇa, then you will forget all these material activities." Māyā is speaking.
Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva (Bs. 5.38). Sadaiva means constantly, without any cessation, you can see God always, everywhere. Everywhere. Sthāvara jaṅgame dekhe, nā dekhe tāra mūrti. You will see tree, but you will not see the tree; you will see there Kṛṣṇa. You will see a bird, but you will see there Kṛṣṇa. That stage will come. Premāñ... When your loving spirit is developed fully like the full moon, then in the full moon night, as you can visualize the whole city, similarly, by raising yourself to the platform of loving service of Kṛṣṇa, you will see God face to face. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti yaṁ śyāmasundaram (Bs. 5.38). That God is Śyāmasundara. This Kṛṣṇa is called Śyāmasundara. Śyāma means blackish, but He's very beautiful, very, very beautiful. Śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ. Acintya means inconceivable. His qualities, His transcendental qualities, are inconceivable. When in the Vedic literature it is said that God is quality-less, nirguṇa, nirguṇa means He is transcendental to these material qualities. But His transcendental qualities are there. So He is called that acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ govindam. We just offer our prayers, three verses only from this Brahma-saṁhitā, before our this recitation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That Govinda is the original Personality of Godhead, and Śyāmasundara, with a flute in His hands, and He is very (sic:) pastimious, always smiling. And by His smiling He offers you blessings. You also, by seeing His smiling, you remain everlastingly smiling. It is so nice.
But there is restriction. How there is restriction? When people become godless, there is restriction of supply. Just like practical experience. I am saying from my practical experience that in my childhood I saw that India was exporting millions of tons of rice and wheat and other grains also, oil seed grains, huge export business. That India is now begging grains from other countries. You see. Why? Because they are gradually becoming godless. The population theory I don't believe, because if Kṛṣṇa is supplying, eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān... And actually we find that there is no population problem. Amongst the animals, amongst the birds, there is no contraceptive method. They are increasing their population, and they are being fed by God. So why in the human society the population theory is so acute? Because they are becoming less than animals. The animals, they beget, they mate at a certain period, but a human being, at the present moment, they have no such restriction. Any time. Therefore they want contraceptive method.
So our this movement is based on practical activity. Whatever talent you have got, whatever little strength you have got, education you have got... You haven't got to learn anything. Whatever you have got, in whatever position you are, you can serve Kṛṣṇa. Not that you have to learn something first and then you can serve. No. The service itself is learning. The more you try to render service, the more you become advanced how to become experienced servant. We don't require any extra intelligence. Otherwise... The example is gaja-yūtha-pāya. The elephant, the king of the elephants, he satisfied. He's an animal. He's not a brāhmaṇa. He's not a Vedantist. Maybe very big, fatty animal, but after all, he's animal. Hanuman was animal. There are many such things. Jaṭāyu was a bird. So how they satisfied? The Jaṭāyu fought with Rāvaṇa. Yesterday you saw. Rāvaṇa was kidnapping Sītā devi, and Jaṭāyu, the bird, he was going, flying. Rāvaṇa knew how to fly without machine. He was very, very materially powerful. So the Jaṭāyu attacked him on the sky: "Who are you? You are taking away Sītā. I shall fight you." So Rāvaṇa was very powerful. He was defeated, Jaṭāyu, but he fought. That is his service. Never mind defeated. Similarly, we have to fight. Those who are opposing Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we have to fight with them to our best capacity. Never mind if we are defeated. That is also service. Kṛṣṇa sees the service.
So vipra means just the previous stage of becoming completely a brāhmaṇa. Janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ: "By birth everyone is born a śūdra." Saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ: "When he goes to the spiritual master and the spiritual master initiates him, at that time his second birth is there, dvija." Dvija. The birds are called also dvija because they get twice birth. Once they come as egg, the form of birth in the egg, and then, when they come out from the egg and the shell, break the shell and come out, that is real life. Similarly, we are in the egg, within the shell of ignorance. So when we come out from the shell of ignorance, that is our second birth. The first birth is by father and mother, and the second birth is by the spiritual master and Vedic knowledge. There is also mother. The Vedic knowledge is mother, and the spiritual master is the father. So saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ. The spiritual master trains the student gradually. That is called initiation. That is called dvija. Janmana jāyate śūdraḥ: "By birth by the father and mother, everyone is śūdra." It doesn't matter where he takes his birth, not that only India they are brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Everywhere. Cātur-varṇyam mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find that these four system of social division—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra—they are all over the universe, not that... Don't think that it is in India. Everywhere.
Well, when one has got faith in God he must have the necessary activities. Otherwise what kind of faith it is? Just like if I say that "I have faith in you, but I don't trust you," what kind of faith I have got? If I say, "My dear friend, I have faith in you," and if you want me to do something, I don't do it, then if I say, "How can I do it?" then what kind of faith that is? So this sort of faith is not required. Faith means real faith. So whenever there is real faith, there is activity also. That is faith. When there is real Kṛṣṇa consciousness, God consciousness, then there is activity for pleasing the God. Simply I believe in God simply for exacting things from God, that is a different type of faith. That is in the lowest stage. Just like a small child, he has got faith, but if a learned educated child, he has got different faith, "Oh, my father, my mother they have done so much for us," he wants to repay. He wants to oblige the father. That is also another faith, the same faith. So somebody is trying, "O God, give us our daily bread." This is also faith, but somebody is trying how to please God. He is not asking... Because he knows that "If God is father, then he is supplying bread to animals, to birds and beasts. Why not to me? So my bread is already guaranteed. So let me serve the father." This is higher type of faith. "Why shall I ask, bother my father? If he is father, then he has already made arrangement for my eating." That is natural. Does it mean that every day the child asks father, mother, "Mother, father, give me my bread." Oh, the father is already preparing bread for you. He'll call you. But he is lacking the faith. He is asking. Another is not asking. He is confident that "Father will give me bread. Now let me serve my father." This is higher type of faith.
What is the difference between Kṛṣṇa and your body? That is said in the Bhagavad-gītā also. When Arjuna inquired from Kṛṣṇa, "Kṛṣṇa, You say that You spoke this yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā to sun-god, but I know that You are born just like me. Your age and my age is similar. You are my friend. How can I believe that You spoke this philosophy to sun-god, which means some millions of years ago?" So what was the reply of Kṛṣṇa? The reply was that "Your birth and My birth, there are many, many times. But I remember them all and you forget. That is the difference." Why we forget? Because we get a different body. Just like you remember you had been a child. Just like here is a small baby, he has got a small body. But when she'll be grown up girl she'll forget, because the body has changed. Forget. So because we change our body, therefore we forget. This is a fact. Just like when you, at night you are in dream. You forget your body. You are dreaming that you have got a body of a bird. You are flying in the sky and you have forgotten completely that you are Mr. and Mrs. such and such, lying in a room. You have forgotten. So in daily experience we can understand that due to change of body we forget. Death means change of body and forgetfulness. That is death. So Kṛṣṇa said that "You forget, you have forgotten, but I have not forgotten." That means indirectly Kṛṣṇa says that "I do not change My body, but you change your body." So we are all changing our body.
Therefore we should try to give to Kṛṣṇa, not to ask. Because He has given us everything without asking. Without asking. We go to temple or churches to ask for our daily bread, but the birds and beasts, they have no churches, no temples, they do not ask. But how do they get their bread? Therefore according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is no actually bread problem. The only problem is that we have forgotten our relationship with God. Whatever... Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido (SB 1.5.18). Therefore the instruction of Bhāgavata is, "Just try to revive your lost relationship with God, or Kṛṣṇa." That relationship is never extinguished, but sometimes it is covered. Just like a crazy boy forgets his father and mother and home, goes away. But the relationship between the son and the parents cannot be lost. As soon as the son comes back, the parents receives him very nicely. Similarly, we are all sons of the Supreme Lord. We have forgotten our father, we have forgotten our relationship, and we are loitering in this material world as helpless, and if we revive our consciousness, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that "My home is in the spiritual world. I am a foreigner in this material world..." Just like a foreigner is traveling from one place to another, similarly, I am also changing my body from one body to another, one planet to another. But there is no permanent settlement anywhere in this material world. This is our condition.
Just like a child. He does not ask anything from his parents. The parents are careful to supply everything he needs. Similarly, God is already careful to supply our needs. Just like in the beast society, bird society, they do not pray. They haven't got any church. They do not go to the church to pray, "My dear Lord, father, give us our daily grains," but they are supplied without prayer. So that arrangement is already there. Therefore one who is intelligent, his prayer should be simply gratitude, that "My dear father, You have supplied the necessities of my life so much amply, I must be feeling very grateful. So these preparations I have made for You because it is Your goods. You have supplied these grains, so You kindly first of all take. Then I will take." So Kṛṣṇa-prasādam. This is Kṛṣṇa-prasādam, acknowledgement. So we are not prepared even to do that, neither we are prepared to follow the rules and regulation. We must follow the rules and regulation, what is allotted for us or what should be offered to Kṛṣṇa. If we want to offer Kṛṣṇa something, then we must offer such things which Kṛṣṇa wants to eat. So we do not know, neither we care to know. We simply ask, "Oh, give me my bread or grains. Then my business is finished." No. That is the difference. But this man who is going to church or temple to ask for food is better than that man who has no connection with God, so much better that he has some relationship with God: "My dear father, You give me." At least, he accepts—"The father sends the bread." That is very good.
So Kṛṣṇa-prasādam. This is Kṛṣṇa-prasādam, acknowledgement. So we are not prepared even to do that, neither we are prepared to follow the rules and regulation. We must follow the rules and regulation, what is allotted for us or what should be offered to Kṛṣṇa. If we want to offer Kṛṣṇa something, then we must offer such things which Kṛṣṇa wants to eat. So we do not know, neither we care to know. We simply ask, "Oh, give me my bread or grains. Then my business is finished." No. That is the difference. But this man who is going to church or temple to ask for food is better than that man who has no connection with God, so much better that he has some relationship with God: "My dear father, You give me." At least, he accepts—"The father sends the bread." That is very good. But when the son will be intelligent, he will know, "The father sends the bread even without my prayer. Therefore I must offer my gratitude." That is intelligence. That is pure devotion. (break) Father is not only my father; He is father of all living entities. So He is supplying other living entities. They cannot offer any gratitude. The beast, the birds, they cannot offer any gratitude. But I am human being, I have got developed consciousness. I must feel grateful for God's mercy and offer my gratitude. That is my duty. (end)
So as soon as there are enemies, there is lamentation, anxiety. Śokāgninā. Such lamentation is just like fire of lamentation. Śokāgninā sakala-yoniṣu. If you think that only the human society such things are there—somebody's enemy, somebody's friend—no. In any society, any yoni... You have seen in the even in the sparrows, the bird society, they are also fighting. You have seen it. They are also mixing very intimately, again fighting, So either you take birds... Or dogs. They are famous for fighting. So this is going on: somebody very dear, somebody inimical and fighting between them. Sakala-yoniṣu dahyamānaḥ. You cannot get escape by avoiding one society and go to the other society. That is not possible. Thus fire of disagreement, enmity and friendship, it will go on, not only here, even in the heavenly planet. In the heavenly planet there is fight between the devas and asuras. The asuras are envious of the devas, and devas are also envious of the asuras. Everywhere. Even King Indra, he has got enemies although he's very opulent. We want to go to the heavenly planet for enjoying the opulence of that atmosphere, but there is also the same thing. (aside, coughing:) Water. So you cannot avoid it, Prahlāda Mahārāja says.
Crows gather in a place, filthy place, where all rotten things are kept. The crows come there. Where all rotten things are there, all the crows will come. But when there is lotus, the crows will not go there; the haṁsa, swan, they'll go there. Even in the bird society there are classes: crow society, swan society, pigeon society, sparrow society. Everyone has got society. But one society is different from another society. Similarly, where there is kṛṣṇa-kathā, the crowslike men will not come. Where there is cinema, where there is prostitute dance, where there is drinking, the crowslike men will gather. Tad vāyasa-tīrtham. Tad vāyasa... Vāyasa means crows. So, na tad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo pragṛṇīta karhicit, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham. Any literature, very nicely written, just like Shakespeare writing or some other, big, big mundane writers, their writing, it is very nicely written, grammatically very correct, and metaphorically very nicely meant... Na tad vacaś citra-padam. Citra-padam means very artistically written. There are literatures very artistical. Na tad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo pragṛṇīta karhicit. But there is no glorification of the Lord; simply literary presentation.
There is one story in this connection. Not story; these are facts. A hunter spread his net. So some little birds, they fell down in the net and they are crying. They are crying. So the father, mother, when they came, they saw that their children are in danger: "It is caught by the net of the hunter." So mother immediately jumped over it to save the children, and she was also captured. Then the father saw, "Now if I go to save them, I'll be captured. Let me go away. Let me take sannyāsa. That's all." (laughter) That is intelligence. (laughter) You cannot give protection to your family, to your society. To your... No, you cannot give. That is not possible. They must die. They must be captured by the network of māyā. You cannot save them. If you want to save them, then make them Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is the only remedy. Unless you are expert in saving your children by giving them Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you are not, you should not become father and mother. That is real contraceptive method, that "I shall... We are married, undoubtedly, husband and wife, but unless we are competent to give protection to my children—no more death—we should not beget children." This is real contraceptive.
Here it is said, āpavarga. Āpavarga. Āpa. Ā-pavarga. Ā means just the opposite, ā, "not." And pavarga, pavarga I have several times explained to you. Pa means pariśrama, laboring, working very hard. This material world, everyone is working very hard-man, animal, bird, beasts, everyone. It is meant for that, just opposite of the spiritual world. In the spiritual world there is no question of working, what to speak of hard working. There is no question. Na tasya kāryaṁ kāraṇaṁ ca vidyate. This is the definition of God: na tasya karyam kāraṇam ca vidyate. He has nothing to do. You see. Kṛṣṇa is simply enjoying. He has nothing to do. He hasn't got to go to the market. We are servants. We go to the market and prepare food for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa's simply playing on His flute. And if you, with devotion, offer Him food, He will eat. He has nothing to go. So similarly, those who are servants of Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual world, they also haven't got to do anything, what to speak of hard work. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). Everything automatically is there. We haven't got that idea; therefore sometimes people accuse that I am poisoning so many young men; they are doing nothing. We are practicing that prema, that we haven't got to do anything; still, it will come, everything. That is real practice. We haven't got to do business, we haven't got to go to the office, but still, things will come. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Na tasya kāryaṁ kāraṇaṁ ca vidyate.
We have already studied the story of the vyādha. He was a hunter, and by the grace of Nārada, when he became a devotee, he was not ready to kill even an ant. In the beginning his profession was hunting. He was very much pleased to kill the animal half. Sometimes the Muslims, they kill the animal simply, and it throbs and sufficient blood come also. They like that. So the hunters, some of the hunters, they also kill the animal half. So they take pleasure. I have seen in my own eyes in Calcutta. One hotel man was cutting the throat of a chicken and half-cut, and the half-dead chicken was jumping like this, and the man was laughing. His little son, he was crying. I have seen it. He was crying. Because he's innocent child, he could not tolerate. He was crying. And the father was saying, "Why you are crying? Why you are crying? It is very nice." Just see. So without being devotee a man will become cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel, cruel, in this way go to hell. And devotee cannot tolerate. We have studied in the life of Lord Jesus Christ. When he saw that in the Jewish synagogue the birds were being killed, he became shocked. He therefore left. Jes... He inaugurated the Christian religion. Perhaps you know. He was shocked by this animal-killing. And therefore his first commandment is "Thou shall not kill." But the foolish Christians, instead of following his instruction, they are opening daily slaughterhouse.
So if we accept this principle, that "This is my nonsense activities, that I am trying to become very big in this material world, and that will not satisfy us..." Even Brahmā has no satisfaction. He is also full of anxiety. This material world is like that. You may be very, very, very, very, very big man, but anxiety you cannot escape. That is not possible. That is material world. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt (SB 7.5.5). Samudvigna-dhiyām. Everyone in this material world, even this bird, a small bird, he is also always anxious that "So many people are here, and there is so many daṇḍas. They may not kill me." Therefore they're very cautious. As soon as you raise the daṇḍa, immediately they go away because anxiety is there. Or either in Brahma's life or ant's life, this is the material nature. Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asat... Why? Asad-grahāt. Because you have accepted this material body, this means you have accepted anxiety.
In the history of the devotees there was one devotee of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Īśāna. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to give him some benediction. He was very poor man. Even his roof, thatched roof, that was not properly... There were so many holes. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "My dear Īśāna, if you like, you can take some benediction." "No, why I shall take benediction?" "No, you have no roof even on your thatched house." He said, "Why? There are many birds. They are living on the tree. There is no roof at all. I have got roof with some holes, that's all. And they have no roof at all, so how they are living? For this purpose I shall ask You benediction? No, no, no." In this way he refused. So that is pure devotion, that "I shall not take any benediction from the Lord, but I shall give everything to God." This is. There is competition. The Lord wants to give the devotee all opulences, and the devotee refuses to accept it. He wants to give his life and soul to the Lord. This is perfection. The gopīs, the gopīs, the ideal, the topmost devotee, they gave their everything to Kṛṣṇa, but they did not ask anything from Kṛṣṇa. Their honor, their body, their life—everything, sacrificed everything. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said to the gopīs that "I have no power to repay your debt. You be satisfied with your own activity. I cannot give you anything."
So why so much restriction on the sex life? The people do not understand throughout the whole world. They are captivated by sex life, especially in the Western countries. Puṁsāṁ-striyaṁ-mithunī-bhavam etat. Material existence means a desire of sex life, both man and woman. Puṁsāṁ-striyaṁ-mithunī-bhavam etat. Not only in human society, in animal society, in bird society, everywhere, that is material life. Tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. And when they are united for this purpose, a man and woman, they... We are already attached to the material activities. Then our attachment becomes more and more strong. Tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. Then, out of this attachment, ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). In this way, being united, then they want gṛha, apartment, to live together. Then they want some land. Formerly there was no service. The gṛhastha used to produce the food grains from the land. Neither there was factories or big, big offices to get job. One had to produce his own food from the land. So simply apartment will not help. I must require some land for eating. Gṛha-kṣetra-sūta. Then we desire for some children. Sūta, āpta, then friends. Sūta, āpta. Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta vittaiḥ. But all these establishment can be maintained by money only.
These people, especially modernized people, according to śāstra and scientifically... It is not the śāstra accuses mūḍha. Kṛṣṇa says. It is not that Kṛṣṇa is angry upon anyone. Actually, one who does not know the aim of life, he is mūḍha, rascal, that's all. He does not know. Simply they are working so hard like animals and eating, sleeping and mating, and they are thinking this is the end of life. Therefore they are mūḍhas. That is not life. The birds and beasts, they are also doing the same thing. In the morning they find out any tree, anywhere they stop, and small fruits they can eat. So the eating arrangement is already there, although they have no kitchen or hotel. The eating arrangement is there. And then sleeping: they have got a small nest. Or without nest, they sit down on the top of the tree and sleep. Eating, sleeping, and mating, sex. There is always a pair, one male, one female. They are born like that. The sex is there. Eating is there, sleeping is there, and being afraid of other animals, that is also there. As soon as they are little afraid, immediately the sparrow goes up to the... You cannot catch him. So these things are there even in the animal life, lower grade of life. But is that human life is also meant for that, the same thing? There is no other aim of life? No. That they do not know. Therefore śāstra says, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). They do not know what is the aim of life.
First decreasing-religiosity. People will become irreligious, and they will forget what is telling truth. They will be accustomed to speak lie. And śaucam, no cleanliness. And kṣamā. Kṣamā means forgiveness. Suppose I have done some wrong... (break) ...but there is no forgiveness. Kṣamā-rūpaṁ tapasvinaḥ, people is advised, especially those who are following penance and austerity, yogic principle or devotional life, they should learn to excuse. In our dealings, there are so many faulty dealings between ourselves. So if we take everything very seriously, then it is very difficult to live. So kṣamā. But that kṣamā—kṣamā means forgiveness—will reduce. Nobody will forgive. Retaliation, vengeance, that will increase. So four items: religiosity, truthfulness, cleanliness, and forgiveness. Four. Then dayā. Dayā means mercy. What is dayā? Who is, I mean to say, less strong. Just like animals, birds, beast, you should be very merciful. Just like children: you should be very merciful to children. According to Vedic injunctions, children, woman, brāhmaṇas, old men, and cows. How many? Children, women, brāhmaṇa, cow, and what else?
| Page Title: | Bird (Lectures, SB) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Mayapur |
| Created: | 20 of Feb, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=282, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 282 |