Brahminical culture means

Expressions researched:
"Brahminical culture means"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Brahminical culture means the social position in which everyone is assisted to elevate himself to the highest position of understanding the position and the constitution of the soul.

Lecture on BG 2.46-47 -- New York, March 28, 1966:

Dead body, where there is no consciousness, the dead body does not feel even he is chopped up by some chopper, because the consciousness is gone. Therefore, it is not very difficult to understand that "I am the consciousness. I am not this material body." We have discussed all this point. Now, so far scriptures are concerned, there are different scriptures all over the world in the civilized society, but Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that "The essence of all scripture is to understand my constitutional position." That's all. All the rituals... We should not be stuck up to the rituals or to the formulas of the... Of course, in the preliminary stages we require to stick to the formulas of religious scriptures. But we must know that the whole idea is targeted to understand my real position. That is the whole idea of all scriptures. In the Bhagavad-gītā it has been very nicely described, yāvān artha udapāne tāvān samplutodake.

yāvān artha udapāne

sarvataḥ samplutodake

tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu

brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

(BG 2.46)

Brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ. One who knows the constitution of the soul, he is called brāhmaṇa. Because the soul is Brahman. Soul is not matter. So one who knows the constitution of the soul, he is called brāhmaṇa. We have already discussed this matter, that brāhmaṇa does not mean a particular class or born in a particular country. A brāhmaṇa means who knows the position of the soul, or the constitution of the soul. He is brāhmaṇa. Just like a person who is conversant with medical science. He is called medical man or a doctor. It doesn't matter whether he is born in India or born in America or whether he is black or white. It doesn't matter. One must have the qualification of a medical man, and he is called a doctor. Similarly, Bhagavad-gītā also accepts the brahminical culture, the brahminical culture. Brahminical culture means the social position in which everyone is assisted to elevate himself to the highest position of understanding the position and the constitution of the soul. That should be the aim of human society.

Human society is not animal society. The difference between animal society and human society is that a human being, whoever he may be, he can, if he is taught, if he is given training, if he is educated, he can understand his real position, that he is not this body, but he is pure consciousness; he is spirit soul.

Brahminical culture means people should learn how to speak truth, satya, śama, how to control the mind, how to control the senses.

Lecture on BG 4.13 -- Bombay, April 2, 1974:

So ordinarily, when people are not on the standard of bhagavad-bhakti, devotees of the Lord, there is division of the society. There must be. Otherwise things cannot go on. In the śāstras we find that there is division even in my body: the brain division, the hand division or the arms division, the belly division and the leg division.

The brain division is the brāhmaṇa, and the arm division is the kṣatriya, gives you protection. As soon as somebody is going to attack you, immediately, automatically you spread your hands. Kṣatriya. Kṣat means injury. In Hindu it is called kṣatra. So kṣat trāyate. A kṣatriya's business is one who can save you from being injured by others. That is kṣatriya. And brāhmaṇa means the intelligent class. So as in the body, the brain is also required the hand is also required the belly is also required, and the leg is also required. Although the activities of the leg is not so important than the activity of the brain. Comparatively studying, the brain is most important part of the body, this head. If you cut the head of a man, then, in spite of possessing the arms, belly and legs, he is dead man. But if you cut the hand or the leg, he can live, and the brain can work. This is an example.

Similarly, when the society is divided nicely in these four divisions, the brahminical culture, the kṣatriya culture, the vaiśya culture, and the śūdra culture... Brahminical culture means people should learn how to speak truth, satya, śama, how to control the mind, how to control the senses. Satya, śama, damaḥ, titikṣā, how to become tolerant, ārjavam, how to become simple in life, how to become cleansed, how to acquire knowledge and how to practically apply the knowledge in daily life.

Jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam. And āstikyam means full faith in the Vedic literature. That is called āstikya. Āstikya generally is called theism. So if one has full faith and full knowledge in Vedas, he becomes theist. If he has no sufficient knowledge in the Vedas, he becomes atheist. So just like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, veda nā māniyā bauddha haila nāstika. The Buddhists, they did not accept the authority of the Vedas. Therefore they are called nāstika, or atheist. That is the definition, that if you do not accept the authority of the Vedas, then you become atheist. So this is the brahminical.... One of the brahminical qualification is how to live under the Vedic civilization. That is brāhmaṇa.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Brahminical culture means the aim of advancement of civilization is spiritual realization, self-realization, Viṣṇu.

Lecture on SB 1.3.20 -- Los Angeles, September 25, 1972:

Why one is suffering? He is suffering for indulging in sense gratification. We are educating people that "You enjoy your senses through Kṛṣṇa. Through Kṛṣṇa. You like to dance? Yes. You dance through Kṛṣṇa. You want to eat nice? You eat through Kṛṣṇa. You want to sing? You sing through Kṛṣṇa. You want to paint? You paint through Kṛṣṇa." This is our education. Not directly for my sense gratification. I want to paint nice picture. So because I wanted my sense gratification, now painting has become several logs. Especially in your country. What is that painting? That means the tendency toward making it zero. Śūnyavādi. We say, "You have got taste for painting. You are nice painter. Just paint Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. You see how nice it is." So painting is not to be stopped. It is simply diverted for Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We don't want to kill, but we simply divert to Kṛṣṇa. Purification, that is. If you don't divert your attention to Kṛṣṇa, then more and more, you will become sinful, and everything will be polluted.

So that was being observed formerly. As soon as there was some discrepancy in the brahminical culture... Brahminical culture means the aim of advancement of civilization is spiritual realization, self-realization, Viṣṇu. Ultimately, Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the prerogative. That is a special chance for the human being. This chance is not for any other living being. So for this purpose, there are so many rules and regulation: Manu-saṁhitā, the social system, the political system, the spiritual system, so many things. Everything chalked with an aim: how to understand Brahman. Brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. As soon as one understands what is Brahman, Parabrahman, Kṛṣṇa—Kṛṣṇa is Parabrahman—then his life is perfect. That was the aim.

Brahminical culture means śamo damo titikṣa. Titikṣa means without something I may suffer. Suffer. So one should be practiced to suffer. Suffer, that is tapasya.

Lecture on SB 5.5.23 -- Vrndavana, November 10, 1976:

Āhāra means eating. Āhāra, nidrā, sleeping, and fearing, and sense enjoyment. These are required, but not for increasing but decreasing. Just like when a person is diseased he should not eat as he likes. Because he is diseased, doctor prescribes that "You take little barley water or glucose, no solid food, if you want to be cured." Similarly, these things are necessity so long this body is there. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. But this should be decreased, not increased. That is human civilization, not to increase. Just like the Gosvāmīs in Vṛndāvana. They did not come here to increase āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. No. They came here to decrease. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **. That is wanted. This is Vṛndāvana-vasi, not that to live in Vṛndāvana and increase this āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. This is not Vṛndāvana-vasa. The monkeys are also living in Vṛndāvana, and the dogs are also and hogs are living in Vṛndāvana. But they do not know how to decrease āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam. You'll see the monkeys. They are also in Vṛndāvana. But you'll find one male monkey followed by three dozen female monkeys. That is not vṛndāvana-vāsa. Āhāra-nidrā. That means it requires brahminical culture, damo, śamo. That is wanted. That is brahminical culture.

Unfortunately the present civilization, they are not meant for decreasing. They are simply increasing. The Western civlization means increasing the means of sense gratification, "machine, machine, machine, machine." So, and the brahminical culture means śamo damo titikṣa. Titikṣa means without something I may suffer. Suffer. So one should be practiced to suffer. Suffer, that is tapasya. Tapasā brahmacaryenā (SB 6.1.13). Tapasya begins from celibacy. We are practiced to sex life or sense gratification. Tapasya means first of all stop this. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13). This is practice.

So to become fit for going back to home, back to Godhead, it is not so easy. It is not so easily... We have to make our material life almost zero. Not almost zero—practically zero. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). That is wanted, practice. Therefore this, our Kṛṣṇa consciousness center, is meant for practicing this śamo damo titikṣa. Therefore we want to see how far he is eligible to pratice the śamo damo titikṣa. So some new boy come, and as soon as they are given some work, not very good for sense gratification, they go away. That means they are not prepared. It is better they may go away. In Bengal it is said, dusta gorute sunya goaloa(?): "If there is troublesome cows, better keep the cowshed zero, without cow. Don't allow." So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for elevating the animal class of men to the platform of brāhmaṇa. Therefore the sacred thread ceremony is given as second initiation, that "He has practiced now śamo damo titikṣa ārjava, and he has learned what is Kṛṣṇa, what he is, what is his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, now how to act for satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa." These are brahminical qualification. If one is elevated to this platform This platform is called sattva-guṇa. Sattva-guṇa.

Brāhminical culture means śama, dama, controlling the mind, controlling the senses.

Lecture on SB 6.1.61 -- Vrndavana, August 28, 1975:

This business on the public way, kissing, embracing, this is meant for the śūdras. Therefore it is said, kalau śūdrā-sambhavāḥ: "In the Kali-yuga the population is all śūdra." There is no brahminical culture. Brāhminical culture means śama, dama, controlling the mind, controlling the senses. A real brāhmaṇa will never agree to embrace the opposite sex in public way. No. That is not brāhmaṇa's business. He has been trained up how to become controller of the mind, controller of the senses. That is the first business of a brāhmaṇa. Śama, dama, satyam. He is truthful, śaucam, clean, thrice taking bath. So you should always... You are given the chance of becoming brāhmaṇa. You should not become again śūdras or mlecchas or caṇḍālas. Be careful. This is brāhmaṇa business. If we again come back to caṇḍālas or śūd... Caṇḍāla means less than the śūdras. Even śūdras, they eat meat under control. But caṇḍālas, they eat meat without any control. So just like in the Vedic society, although there are meat-eaters, they would eat meat after offering sacrifice to Goddess Kālī. Restriction. Restriction. Because if you eat meat from the slaughterhouse there is no restriction. You can go and purchase at any time. But if you follow the scriptural regulation, they say, "Yes..." It is restriction. It is indirectly saying, "Don't eat," but because this less intelligent person will not be able to understand, therefore they are given some permission under certain restriction. This is restriction, that "If you want to eat meat, then you must offer sacrifice to Goddess Kālī and then you can." And the Goddess Kālī is worshiped once in a month. That means by restriction he will come to his senses; he will give it up. So śūdra, up to śūdra, there is possibility of raising him. Although he can see ideal character, it is not that anyone be ideal character like a brāhmaṇa. That is not possible. But still, in the society there must be an ideal person who is actually brāhmaṇa.

General Lectures

Brahminical culture means cleanliness is next to godliness.

Lecture -- Los Angeles, December 4, 1968:

Madhudviṣa: Disease-bearing in animals, something that is diseased and can give you a disease, what is your, what is the Vedic attitude towards protection from these animals?

Prabhupāda: Protection? Cleanliness. Just like if you keep your apartment very cleansed, if you keep your clothes and body very cleansed, you won't find this insect disturbing you. Just like the flies, they go in a nasty place. So you should be cleansed. You should take protection in that way. You cannot kill them. The cockroaches, the modern method of bathroom attached in 600th floor... So (laughs) this is unclean. Therefore the cockroaches are born there, you see? So if you keep yourself clean, there will be no more disturbances. The incense will keep off all insects. You make fresh food, there will be no germs. You take warm, immediately prepared, that is germicide foodstuff. But if you keep for months together in the refrigerator, that will contaminate with germ, disease. Therefore the brahminical culture means cleanliness is next to godliness. You have to keep your body clean, you have to keep your apartment clean, everything clean, and there will be no more disturbance. Bahyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ. The Vedic literature says that you should keep yourself externally and internally cleansed. Externally, you can keep yourself clean by soap, water, and change of dress, washed dress, externally. And internally, by thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Then there will be no more disturbance.