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Chicago (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.46-62 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1968:

When there is miseries, a Kṛṣṇa conscious person takes the responsibility himself, and when there is happiness, it is due to Kṛṣṇa. But the materialistic person is just the opposite. When he is in miseries, he'll say, "Oh, God has put me into such miseries." And when he's happiness, his friend says, "Oh, you are now well-to-do." "Yes, you do not know how much I have worked hard." When he's happiness, he takes the credit for himself, and when he's in distress, he gives the discredit to Kṛṣṇa. "Oh, Kṛṣṇa has put me into such miserable..." But a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, when he's in distress, he'll say, "Yes, due to my misdeeds I should have suffered a hundred times more than this distress, but Kṛṣṇa is so kind, He has given me little. That's all." And when he's happiness, "Oh, it is all given by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore all the opulence should be utilized for Kṛṣṇa's service." This is the difference. He's asking, Arjuna is asking, what are the symptoms of Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Sthita-prajña. Sthita-prajña means steadfast in intelligence. So these are the difference. I have read one speech, Chicago speech by late Vivekananda Swami. He's talking to the audience that "You work so hard, why you give credit to God?" You see? If you find his Chicago speech, you'll see.

Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Bombay, September 27, 1973:

So dry grass means although he has fallen, he has no material desire. That is sattva-guṇa. There are men, who... Just like devotees. The devotees are also wandering, moving in Bombay, but they have no such desire to enjoy Bombay. That desire is dried up. They're not walking in the Bombay street for going to the cinema or to the restaurant or to the meathouse or that or that, no. Don't consider they are on the same position like others. There are many persons loitering in the street, but they are different person. They are not in touch with anything of Bombay, material facilities.

Similarly, there are persons who are via media—half this side, half that side. And there are persons who are fully in Bombay life. Or Bombay... Any city life. We don't speak only Bombay. Suppose we are in London. We are wandering, traveling in many, many nice cities better than Bombay. What is Bombay? Bombay is nothing in comparison to New York or Chicago or Tokyo. Very, very big, big cities.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.8.18 -- Chicago, July 4, 1974 :

So I am very glad this, to, to see the Chicago temple. You are doing very nice, and the hall is also very nice. So go on with your service attitude and realize Kṛṣṇa. Then your life will be successful.

Thank you very much.

Lecture on SB 5.6.4 -- Vrndavana, November 26, 1976:

This is required. And Tulasī dāsa, he has also said... Tulasī dāsa is big poet in Hindi language. He has written the Rāma-carita-manas. His opinion... Not only his opinion, that is the Vedic opinion, that... He says, dhol gamar strī śūdra, paśu śūdra nārī, ei ei sab śāsana ke adhikārī (?). So this statement will not be very palatable to the Western girls. They want independence. In Chicago, when I was there, they talked about independence of the woman. They asked me question. So I replied, "No, woman cannot be given independence." So there was a great agitation against me. In many papers I was very much criticized. But actually it is the fact, because they are innocent, not so intelligent and... These are all practical. We may avoid discussing, but Bhāgavata is very open for discussing all subject matter. That is fact. We should not hide anything artificially. We must discuss the fact. Not only here, the mention it is, the Manu-saṁhitā. Manu-saṁhitā recommends, "A woman should not be given independence." For their interest they must be protected by father, husband, and sons, because if they are polluted, they become very dangerous. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said that duṣṭā bhāryā.

duṣṭā bhāryā śaṭhaṁ mitraṁ bhṛtyaś cottara-dāyakaḥ
sa-sarpe ca gṛhe vāso mṛtyur eva na saṁśayaḥ

"If the wife is not chaste and friend is cheater, or śaṭham..." Śaṭham means duplicity, not very sincere friend. Outwardly he's showing he's very good friend, but inwardly he has got some intention. Such friend, duplicity, and unchaste wife, duṣṭā bhāryā śaṭhaṁ mitraṁ and bhṛtyaś cottara-dāyakaḥ, and servant giving reply, and sa-sarpe ca grhe vasaḥ, and in your room if there is a snake... Of course in this big, big concrete building there is no question of snake, but in cottages, huts, made with mud, earth, there are sometimes snakes. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said, "If you live with a duṣṭā bhāryā and a duplicity friend and an answer-giving servant and a snake, then you are sure to die sometime. You'll be cheated."

Lecture on SB 6.1.22 -- Indore, December 13, 1970:

So when a student who goes there who knows something about musical art, he is charged more. Is it a fact? He is charged more. He is charged more because extra endeavor has to be done to make him forget what nonsense he has learned. Because this learning is all nonsense, so one has to take... Just like so many people come. I have to talk so many hours to forget, to make him forget what nonsense he has learned. So he should be charged more, this student. And one who comes as blank slate... They have accepted Kṛṣṇa consciousness because they are blank slates. And in India they think that they have learned so many things. Yes. They have learned from Radhakrishnan, they have learned from Aurobindo, they have learned from Vivekananda, the Ramakrishna, this, that, so many nonsense—except Kṛṣṇa. They have learned everything from so many nonsense except Kṛṣṇa. Now here there is so much advertisement of Ramakrishna... Just see these American boys, they do not know even the name of Ramakrishna in America.

Guest (5): (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Huh? But ask them. They do not know even. He might have gone to Chicago. That's all right. But what is his influence there? But here it is advertised, "Oh, Ramakrishna went to America. Vivekananda went to..."

Devotee: There was no temple like that in Chicago, Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Devotee: There was not temple like that in Chicago.

Prabhupāda: No.

Devotee: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: They never heard of the Ramakrishna. And here... Just like homeopathics. They advertise, "American homeopathics." But there is not a single shop of homeopathic medicine in America, not a single shop. And this is going on. All these bogus homeopathic practitioners, they write, "American homeopathic medicine," and so on, so on. They do not allow this homeopathic medicine as bona fide practice. They are not so foolish that you will give water and it will be accepted as medicine. There you cannot ask even any medicine directly from the drug shop without doctor's prescription. If you go, offering to a medical drug shop, and "Give me this medicine," no, he'll not do so. "Bring doctor's prescription." That is law.

Lecture on SB 6.1.26 -- Chicago, July 11, 1975:

So similar plan is always there, that we are struggling for existence and accumulating so many things. Just like you have got this nice city, Chicago. Not only Chicago; there are many others in America. But the people are not thinking that "How long I shall remain American and enjoy this? Maybe fifty years, twenty-five years or utmost hundred years. But everything will be taken—my American citizenship, my body, my wealth—everything will be taken by death. So what insurance I am doing for that purpose, that it will not be taken, I shall enjoy it?" Therefore mūḍha. There is reason why they are called mūḍhas, rascals. They do not know their actual interest. Everyone, not only you, everyone, the whole material world, they do not know what is is actual interest. Everyone should be self-interested. That is very good. But the fools, rascals, do not know what is his actual self-interest. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). Svārtha-gatim means the self-interest. Svārtha. Sva means own, and artha means interest. He does not know. Therefore he is mūḍha. He does not know his self-interest. It is very good that you become self-interested, but if you do not know what is your self-interest, then you are a mūḍha.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.66-76 -- San Francisco, February 6, 1967:

So Cai..., according to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the so-called Vedānta societies, the so-called, I mean to say, learned scholars on Vedānta, they are not actually Vedānta scholars. They are all fools and rascals. Because Vedānta-sūtra is very difficult to understand. The compiler, the author of Vedānta-sūtra, is Vyāsadeva. He himself thought it wise that "I must leave one commentation of Vedānta-sūtra. Otherwise, in future, people will misunderstand and misuse Vedānta-sūtra." In this connection I'll, oh, I may declare herewith that some of you, if you read the Chicago speech by Vivekananda... That was, he was the first man. He came from India to preach this Hindu philosophy in 1893. Some of you know. So he has got his speech, Chicago speech of Vedānta. You'll see, it is simply rascaldom. Simply. By his speech it is written... If you can secure, you bring it, you'll see how rascaldom he was. You'll be surprised. Even a clergyman from this country, oh, he was surprised. "Oh, you come from India and you are decrying God in this way? Oh, I'm surprised." He was..., simply he has decried God: "Oh, why do you care for God? Throw Him, God. You are God." In this way, he has spoken.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.106 -- New York, July 12, 1976:

The two words are used in the śāstra, alpa-medhasaḥ and sumedhasaḥ. Medha means brain substance. So those who have got brain substance, they are called sumedhasaḥ, and those who have no brain substance, filled up with cow dung, they are called alpa-medhasaḥ. So this distinction I made in Chicago. It made a very great agitation because I discriminated that men are found to have more brain substance than the woman. So there was a great agitation. But this is fact psychologically, that brain substance in man is greater than the brain substance in woman. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrāḥ (BG 9.32). But in spiritual understanding there is no such distinction because sad-dharma, spiritual understanding, has nothing to do with this body. The brain substance, more or less, is in connection with this body, but the sat, the spirit soul, it has nothing to do with the body. So long it has to do something with the body, that is called māyā. He's sat, but he is absorbed in the thought of asat. That is called māyā, what he is not. He is absorbed in thoughts of the bodily comforts of life. That is asad-dharma. The karmīs, jñānīs, yogis, they are all asad-dharmī because there is reference to the body. Karmī, in gross ignorance he knows that "Everything is this body, so let me enjoy bodily comforts, sense enjoyment, as far as possible." Not only in this life, next life... Even if he believes in the next life, but still, he's after these bodily comforts. "I shall be promoted in the higher planetary system. I shall go to moon planet, I shall go to the Mars planet," and so on, so on. These are karmīs' plan. Anything within this material world, that is all asat.

Festival Lectures

Ratha-yatra -- Philadelphia, July 12, 1975:

So we observe this incidence annually in as many places in the Western countries. At the present moment we hold this ceremony in London, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and where else? Buffalo, Melbourne, yes. So this is a very feeling festival. So I thank you very much. You have come here. And try to understand our philosophy. You are all educated boys and girls. We have got fifty-seven books. Try to read, and try to understand. And take it very seriously, and you will be happy.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival -- Philadelphia, July 11, 1975:

Prabhupāda: This death is artificial. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). He does not die. He is not killed. There is one verse that "If one thinks that 'I am killer,' and one thinks, 'I am killed,' both of them do not know what is life." In the Bhagavad-gītā there is a verse. So I am eternal. That's a fact. Therefore I do not wish to be killed. But I do not know how to keep myself. That I do not know. We are giving that information, how you can keep yourself eternal. This is the greatest gift to the human society. He wants to live eternally, but he does not know how to live eternally. His energy is being spoiled by this skyscraper building construction. But he is not very serious to construct his body eternal. He will not be able to live in the skyscraper building. Maybe he will be allowed to live, to live there as a rat. There are rats, so many rats. Actually, this is the fact. The person who has got very attachment for that place but he is not to live there, but on account of attachment, thinking of that place at the time of death—but he is so sinful he cannot be given the human body—then he is given the cat's or the rat's body: "Live here." Or a tree or a plant. So where is the science discussing all this? Wherefrom the tree has come? They are satisfied only that "I have now a skyscraper building," but do not know that whether he will be allowed to live here. Vairāgya-vidyā. These things are being discussed in meeting, in our meeting anywhere. But they have no brain to understand.

Kīrtanānanda: And they don't want to hear.

Prabhupāda: No. Caraṇe sarve varṇe kaye (?). A thief, if you speak to him, "My dear Mr. Thief, it is not very good work. You will be arrested. You will be punished. Why you are taking this risk?" so will he give up stealing? He knows himself, "Yes, I will be arrested and punished, but still I shall do." This is ignorance.

Kīrtanānanda: How was the Chicago festival?

Prabhupāda: Yes, Chicago is nice city. It is river?

Ravindra-svarūpa: This is called the Schuylkill River, Schuylkill.

Prabhupāda: It is a river?

Ravindra-svarūpa: Yes. (break)

General Lectures

Lecture -- Vrndavana, March 14, 1974:

Prabhupāda: So we are all very fortunate that different nations, from different parts of the world, are now combined together in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Some of you, you have come from Europe: England, France, Germany, Holland, Rome. Similarly, you have come from America: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco; Canada: Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver; Africa: Nairobi, South Africa. So it is very good example that you have come from different parts of the world to join in the Saṅkīrtana movement. That is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission.

Page Title:Chicago (Lectures)
Compiler:Jahnu
Created:28 of Dec, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=11, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:11