The Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice means you have to transfer yourself from this material energy to the..., under the control..., from the control of material energy, under the control of spiritual energy. That's all. That spiritual energy is Rādhārāṇī. You have to become under the control. That, I'll give you one concrete example. Just like a person is always under the control of government as citizen. When he is outlaw, he is under the criminal law, and who is law-abiding, he is under civil law. He cannot say that "I cannot remain within the law of the government." He has to. That is his position. Artificially he may deny, but he will be forced. Similarly, our position is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. And as part and parcel we have to render service. If we voluntarily render service, out of love, that is spiritual energy. And we are forced to render service under pressure, that is material energy. In the material energy we are forced.
Deny (Lectures, BG)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Mythology. As if Vyāsadeva wrote this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to put before these rascals some mythology, some imaginary things. Just see how they want to be cheated. Such an exalted personality like Vyāsadeva, who has given us the Vedic literature, he presented something which is imaginary. What business He has got? Therefore sometimes these cheated people, they deny to accept that Bhāgavata is written by Śrī Vyāsadeva. But those who are actually ācāryas, those who can guide us, like Śaṅkarācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, big, big..., Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they do not say like this, that "It is mythology. It is imaginary." They accept as it is. So we have to follow these mahājana. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ dharmasya tattvaṁ nihito guhāyām (CC Madhya 17.186). We have to follow great personalities, ācāryas. ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who has got, one who has taken shelter of ācārya, bona fide spiritual master, he knows. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. Because he is receiving the right knowledge from the right source, ācārya... Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). Ācārya means by disciplic succession. As Kṛṣṇa says, disciplic succession, all the ācāryas will say the same thing. They will not change, they will not interpret. They can explain. But the original fact is not distorted. That is ācārya. Ācārya will never say that "Kṛṣṇa is material. Kṛṣṇa... There was no such thing as Kṛṣṇa. There was no such battle, Battle of Kurukṣetra. These are all imaginary." So if we don't want to be cheated, then we should take Kṛṣṇa as He is presenting Himself and as it is confirmed by the ācāryas. Then our knowledge is perfect.
So if we serve Kṛṣṇa, that is our Acyuta position. If we deny to serve Kṛṣṇa, that is vicyuta, fallen condition. Acyuta and vicyuta. So to become Kṛṣṇa conscious means acyuta-gotra. Acyuta-gotra. Gotra, perhaps you do not know. Gotra is the family tradition. According to Vedic civilization, everybody has got gotra. Gotra means of the same family, of ṛṣis, gotra, from the ṛṣis. So we have to become acyuta-gotra, again belonging to the family of Kṛṣṇa. Now we are fallen. Therefore we have forgotten that we belong to the family of Kṛṣṇa. When we revive our consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that "I belong to the Kṛṣṇa's family..." Kṛṣṇa is not alone, eko bahu śyāma. He wants to enjoy.
So even if we have violated the jāti-dharma and kula-dharma... That is a fact. We have done so. There is no denying this fact. Every one of us, we have done that. Then what is the next duty or remedy? Because we have violated everything. So that, for that purpose, in the Bhāgavata gives you direction. Here is the verse: devarṣi-bhūtāptaṁ nṛṇāṁ pitṟṇām (SB 11.5.41). Pitṛ, pitṛ piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ. So we are obliged to offer piṇḍa and water to the pitṛs. But here is an, what is called, an outlet. Devarṣi, we are indebted to the devatās. Ṛṣis, we are indebted to the great sages. Devarṣi, devarṣi bhūtānām. We are indebted to so many other living entities, bhūtānām, and nṛṇāṁ. We are also indebuted to the human society. Nṛṇāṁ, pitṟṇām. We are indebted to the pitṛs, forefather. Pitṟṇām. So na kiṅkarā nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan. One becomes freed from the servitude of all these personalities, devarsi-bhūtāpta nṛṇāṁ pitṟṇām (SB 11.5.41).
So... (break) ...utsanna kula-dharmānāṁ manuṣyāṇāṁ. Manuṣya, janārdana. Jana means general public, and "one who controls." Kṛṣṇa controls every... (break) ...Janāradana. So "My dear Janārdana, Kṛṣṇa, in the human society, if we spoil this traditional process, then what...? It becomes..." Narake niyataṁ vāso (BG 1.43) If you do not... (break) ...if we live like cats and dog, then next life we get cats and dog... (break) But these rascals, they do not know. They do not believe in the next life. So it is horrible condition. Purposefully you put yourself if you do not follow... (break) ...process. The varṇāśrama-dharma... (break)... society. Utsanna-kula-dharmānāṁ manuṣyānāṁ janārdana, narake niyatam. Niyatam means always. (break) Just like the hog, hellish life... (break) ...eating stool, living in filthy place. māyā is dictating, "You are... (break) ...more than a king." Yes. Sometimes Indra became a hog, and... By the curse of Bṛhaspati. So when Brahmā again came to recall him,... (break) ...he was Indra. He denied. (break) ...responsibility. Family... (break)... The hog... (break) ...āvaraṇātmikā-śakti. (break) ...lowest standard of living. He will think that "I am very happy." This is called āvaraṇa... (break) So if the hog thinks that "I am living..." (break) ...Then he will die. in the human mind,... (break) ...hellish condition of life, then he can make progress in spiritual life. And for so long he thinks that "I am living very peacefully, very happily..." (break) ... then athāto brahma jijñāsā. Unless one comes to that... That sense will come when one follows the tradition of family life. (end)
So Kṛṣṇa is accepted universally the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Why people are making research, "Where is God?" I do not know. Why they are uselessly taking so much hard labor to search out God? Here is God, Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavān uvāca. So there is no reason, there is no, I mean to say, chance of not accepting Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa personally says that mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: (BG 7.7) "There is no more superior element above Me." Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8). "I am the origin of everything." Aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). Then... There are so many statements, "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So anyone who is actually serious about understanding about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no difficulty. But because we are obstinate, because we are sinful, because we are lowest of the mankind, because our knowledge has been taken away by māyā, and because we are atheists, we do not accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality. Otherwise, there is no reason. Kṛṣṇa therefore describes: na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Unless one is duṣkṛtina, always miscreants, full of sinful life, he cannot deny Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So we have to divert the activities for Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna, he, in the beginning, he denied to fight. That, our subject matter. He was crying. "No, no, I cannot fight." So apparently Arjuna was very nice gentleman that he is forgetting his claim over the kingdom, he's nonviolent, he's not willing to fight with his brothers, and he was crying so compassionate. So from materialistic point of view, he was very nice. But immediately, as we'll begin tomorrow, Kṛṣṇa says that "Why you are thinking like anārya?" Anārya. Anārya-juṣṭam. "This kind of thinking is not for āryas, Āryans. It is for the non-Āryans." He did not... And the whole Bhagavad-gītā was spoken to Arjuna to make him ārya. And at the end, Kṛṣṇa inquired from Arjuna that "What is your decision?" Yathecchasi tathā kuru (BG 18.63) But Arjuna replied, kariṣye tad-vacanam. Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava. (BG 18.73) "Now I shall fight." And Kṛṣṇa gave him certificate: bhakto 'si priyo 'si me (BG 4.3). "You are very dear friend, and My great devotee." Now, fighting is not very good business, killing. But sometimes, by killing, one can become a great devotee of Kṛṣṇa.
So that argument has no end. But when he accepts Him as spiritual master, there is no more argument. One has to accept whatever He says. Therefore he's accepting as spiritual master. After this, Arjuna will never say, "This is wrong, this is, no," or "I don't agree." No. He'll accept. So acceptance of spiritual master means to accept anything, whatever he says. Therefore one has to select a spiritual master whom he can completely surrender. That is the technique. Veda-vākya. Just like in the Vedic injunction, nobody can deny. Similarly, spiritual master is also representative of Veda. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. So similarly, it is just like Vedic injunction. So spiritual master has also got the great duty. He has to instruct the disciple in such a way that he may not be misled, and that is not possible because a spiritual master is he who will simply speak from authoritative sources. He'll speak from Bhagavad-gītā, Bhāgavata, or what was spoken by Nārada, Vyāsa, that is his authority. He does not say, "In my opinion it is..." No. Therefore it is perfect, it is coming from the disciplic succession, and if one agrees to such instruction, then he's also perfectly advancing. It is not difficult to understand. So he's accepting. "Now I accept You as my spiritual master. You teach me." Is that the statement? Yes.
I shall speak some verses from Bhagavad-gītā, Second Chapter, in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa instructed. The beginning of instruction is the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. So Arjuna, representing ourself, conditioned soul, covered with the material body and thinking in bodily conception of life... He was to fight with his brothers, nephews, grandfather, Bhīṣmadeva, also teacher the military science, Droṇācārya. In this way the business was not very palatable. Although he was forced to fight by the opposite party who were very near, thick and thin people, and he had to kill them, so it was not very satisfactory to him. Therefore he flatly denied to fight: "Kṛṣṇa, I am not going to fight." He left his weapon, and then Kṛṣṇa was surprised that "My friend, Arjuna, he is denying to fight in My presence."
So Sañjaya, the private secretary of Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra, he was relaying the message which was going on in the battle of Kurukṣetra by higher process. Nowadays we have got experience of the television, but the another process, antar-dṛṣṭi, that is also television. You can see the reflection of external activities within your heart, and you can explain. So Sañjaya, the private secretary of Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra, he explained that Arjuna was denying to fight.
"My dear Arjuna, you are My friend, personal friend, and you are proposing this, which is befitting to the anārya." Anārya-juṣṭam: "This is not for the Aryan. You are kṣatriya, you are meant for fighting for justice, and you are denying to fight? Oh, this is not good." Anārya-juṣṭam: "This kind of proposal, cowardice, can be proposed by the anārya." Ārya means the advanced. One who is advanced in knowledge, in civilization, they are called ārya, Aryan civilization. So in the Aryan civilization there are four divisions to maintain the society in the correct balance. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). The society must be divided into four classes of men. The first-class means most intelligent class of men. They should be trained up as brāhmaṇa. Śamo damaḥ satyaṁ śaucaṁ titikṣā ārjavaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). So this is the beginning of civilization, not that all śūdras as it is now in this age. Kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. Kali-yuga, there is no training how to qualify a section of person to become first-class brāhmaṇa. That training is not there, neither kṣatriya, neither pure vaiśya class.
So here Kṛṣṇa is addressing Arjuna, anārya: "Non-Aryan. You are kṣatriya. Your service is now required to fight with persons who have created injustice. So what is this, that you are denying to fight?" Anārya juṣṭam. And asvargyam. Asvargyam means "By denying your duty you cannot be elevated in your next life or you cannot be elevated in the higher planetary system." For a kṣatriya, it is the duty of the kṣatriya to fight and lay down his life. Then he is promoted to the higher planetary system. That is the shastric injunction. If he becomes victorious, then he enjoys this material world, and if he dies, he is promoted to heaven. These things are there. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is advising Arjuna, asvargyam: "If you deny to fight, then you will be refused to enter in the higher planetary system." Akīrti-karam. "And you are known as a great fighter, great soldier and My friend, and this will be going against your reputation. Don't do this."
Then Arjuna decided to accept Kṛṣṇa as his guru. He... Śiṣyas te 'ham: "I become your disciple." To become disciple means no more argument. When we talk friendly there is argument, counterargument. But when there is order from guru there is no more argument. Therefore Arjuna says that kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ: "Actually my behavior should be exactly like a kṣatriya, to fight for the just cause, but in this case I am denying. Therefore I am kṛpaṇa." Kṛpaṇa means one who does not properly use his position. One man is very rich, but he does not use his money, simply sees the money. He is called kṛpaṇa. Similarly, Arjuna is powerful, he can fight, he is a kṣatriya, but he is denying his ability. Therefore he is thinking that "I have become kṛpaṇa, miser. Although I have got strength, I am denying to fight." "Although I have got money, I do not spend." These are called kṛpaṇa. So kārpaṇya-doṣopahata: "Now I am infected with kārpaṇya-doṣa." Kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ.
"A first-class yogi is he who is always thinking of Me." Therefore this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, if we simply chant and hear, the first-class yogi. So these are the process. So Kṛṣṇa wants to Arjuna that "Why you are indulging in this weakness of mind? You are under My protection. I am ordering you to fight. Why you are denying?" This is the purport.
Everyone has got a body, material body. But nṛ-loke, in the human society, this body is not to be spoiled. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke kaṣṭān kāmān arhati viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This human form of life, simply working uselessly hard, day and night, for sense gratification. This is the business of the hog and dog. They are doing also the same thing, whole day and night, working hard simply for sense gratification. So therefore in the human society there must be a system of division. That is called varṇāśrama-dharma. That is Vedic civilization. That is really called Ārya-samāja. Ārya-samāja does not mean to become rascal and fool and deny the existence of God. No. That is Anārya. Just like Kṛṣṇa rebuked Arjuna: anārya-juṣṭa. "You are talking like anārya." One who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he's anārya. Anārya. Ārya means who is advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So really Ārya-samāna means Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Otherwise, bogus, bogus ārya-samāna. Because here from the Bhagavad-gītā says, Kṛṣṇa says Arjuna, rebuking, because he was refusing to fight, because he does not know what is his duty, again Arjuna is admitting here that kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ (BG 2.7). "Yes, I am anārya. I have become anārya. Because I have forgotten my duty."
Yes. Don't turn your attention. Just hear me. Kṛṣṇa, although He is present there, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but still, He did not encourage him. From worldly point of view, when somebody says that "I'll... I give it up. I don't want it. I don't want to fight with my friends or my relatives. Better let them enjoy. I shall forego my claim," from worldly point of view, this is a very, I mean, gentlemanly behavior, that one is foregoing his claim for the matter of his relatives or friends. But Kṛṣṇa is not encouraging that proposal. We have to mark it. Kṛṣṇa is not encouraging. Kṛṣṇa is rather... Kṛṣṇa is, rather, inducing Arjuna that "It is not a very good proposal. It is not befitting your position. You belong to the Āryan family. You belong to the kṣatriya, royal family. And you are denying to fight? No, no, this is not good. And I am your friend. I have taken the responsibility of your chariot driver, and, if you do not fight, what people will say?" So He is not encouraging. Just see.
Kārpaṇya-doṣa means a miserly man, miserly man. He was conscious of the fact that he was a great hero, he was a great fighter, and, at the same time, the enemies were there. So his actual duty was to fight with the enemy. They were offering fight. For a kṣatriya there are some obligations. If somebody challenges that "I want to fight with you," a kṣatriya cannot deny. If somebody challenges, "Yes, I want to bet with you, gambling," a kṣatriya cannot deny. And for that reason, the Pāṇḍavas lost their kingdom. The other side, his cousins, offered them, that "All right, let us come to betting." So betting, the bid was they offered the kingdom. "Now, if you, if you," I mean to say, "defeated, if you are defeated, then you lose your kingdom." So they lost their kingdom. Then the next, next offer was that "If you are defeated, you lost your wife." So they lost their wife. And similarly, they were put: "Now, this time, if you are defeated, you have to go to the forest for twelve years." So there was a great plan behind them, and the Pāṇḍavas were defeated in so many ways, and they were harassed, embarrassed for not less than twenty years. And now they were to fight, face to face. Now he is not prepared to fight. That means he has become miserly, mean he is deviating from his duty. Now.
Now, to take such guidance means the spiritual master should also be a very perfect man. Otherwise, how can he guide? Now, here Arjuna knows that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the perfect person. So therefore he is accepting Him as śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam: (BG 2.7) "I am just surrendering unto You, You self, Yourself, and You accept me as Your disciple because friendly talks cannot make a solution of the perplexity." Friendly talks may be going on for years together, but there is no solution. Here, accepting Kṛṣṇa as the spiritual master means whatever Kṛṣṇa will decide, he has to accept. One cannot deny the order of a spiritual master. Therefore one has to select a spiritual master whose order, carrying, you'll not commit a mistake. You see? Now, suppose if you accept a wrong person as spiritual master, and if you, if he guides you wrongly, then your whole life is spoiled. So one has to accept a spiritual master whose guidance will make his life perfect. That is the relation between spiritual master and disciple. It is not a formality. It is a great responsibility both for the disciple and for the spiritual master.
Now here Kṛṣṇa is addressed as Hṛṣīkeśa. Hṛṣīkeśa... We should always remember that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is present as incarnation. Now, God is all-powerful. God is all-powerful. So if He comes before you, you cannot deny, that "How is that, God has come?" You cannot say that. If God is all-powerful, then it is His choice. It is His free will. He can come before you, come before you, provided you are such qualified devotee. So there cannot be any solid argument that "God cannot come" or "God..." Of course, so far Vedic literatures are concerned, they accept the incarnation of God. So Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and so He is addressed as Hṛṣīkeśa. Hṛṣīka... Hṛṣīkeśa, it has got a significant, significant meaning. Hṛṣīka. Hṛṣīka means the senses, hṛṣīka. And īśa. Īśa means Lord. Īśa means Lord. So He is the Lord of the senses. He is the Lord of the senses. Similarly, Govinda, Govinda... Here also, Govinda name is also there. Yes. Na yotsya... Na yotsya iti govindam uktvā tūṣṇīṁ babhūva ha (BG 2.9). Govindam. Govinda.
One evidence is pratyakṣa. Pratyakṣa means direct perception. Just like I am seeing you, you are seeing me. I am present, you are present. This is direct perception. And there is another evidence which is called anumāna. Suppose in that room, and I am coming just now, I do not know whether any person there is or not. But there is some sound, I can imagine, "Oh, there is somebody." This is called anumāna. In logic it is called hypothesis. That is also evidence. If by my bona fide suggestions I can give evidence, that is also accepted. So direct evidence, and, what is called, hypothesis or suggestion evidence. But the strong evidence is śabda-pramāṇa. Śabda, śabda-brahman. That means Vedas. If one can give evidence from the quotation of the Vedas, then it has to be accepted. Nobody can deny the Vedic evidence. That is the system. How it is so? Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given very nice example. That is in the Vedas. Just like we keep conchshell in the Deities' room. Conchshell is considered very pure, transcendental; otherwise, how we can keep before Deity and you blow conchshell? You offer water with conchshell. How you can offer? But what is this conchshell? The conchshell is the bone of an animal. It is nothing but bone of an animal. But the Vedic injunction is that if you touch the bone of an animal, you'll have to take bath immediately. You become impure.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu, even not accepting Him as incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, if simply you accept Him as ordinary scholar or man, there was no comparison of His scholarship. But He said that "My spiritual master found Me a great fool." What is that meaning? That "A person, even in My position, always remains a fool before his spiritual master. That is good for him." Nobody should impose that "What do you know? I know better than you." This position is not, denied. And other point is, from the disciple's point of view, why he should remain always a fool before a person? Unless he's actually authorized, actually so great that he can teach me as a fool. One should select a spiritual master in that way and as soon as the spiritual master is selected, one should remain always a fool, although he may not be a fool, but the better position is like that. So Arjuna, instead of remaining on the same level as friend and friend, voluntarily accepting to remain a fool before Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa is accepting that "You are a fool. You're talking just like a learned man, but you are a fool because you are lamenting on a matter which no learned man laments." That means "A fool laments," that "You are a fool. Therefore you are a fool." It is in a round about way... Just like, what is called in logic? Parenthesis? Or something like that, called. Yes. That if I say that "You look like that person who stole my watch," that means "You look like a thief." Similarly, (chuckles) Kṛṣṇa, in a round about way, says that "My dear Arjuna, you are talking just like learned man, but you are lamenting on a subject matter which no learned man laments."
We can give evidence. He accepts Kṛṣṇa as the supreme authority. He has written so many nice poems praising or worshiping Kṛṣṇa. And at the last time he says, bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate. "You rascal fools. Oh, you are depending on grammar to understand. This is all nonsense." Bhaja govindam. "Just worship Govinda." Bhaja govindaṁ bhaja... Three times he says. "Just worship Govinda." Bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindam. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says three times, harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma (CC Adi 17.21). Three times means giving too much stress. Just like we sometimes say, "You do this, do this, do this." That means no more denial. Finish all stress. So as soon as one thing is three times stressed, that means final. So Śaṅkarācārya says, bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate. Mūḍha, mūḍha I've several times explained. Mūḍha means rascal, ass. You are depending on your grammatical understanding, dukṛn karaṇe. Dukṛn, these are grammatical affix and prefix, pratya, prakaraṇa. So you are depending on this verbal root, that verbal root, and creating, interpreting your meaning in a different way. All this is nonsense. This dukṛn karaṇe, your grammatical jugglery of words, will not save you at the time of death. You rascal, you just worship Govinda, Govinda, Govinda. That is the instruction of Śaṅkarācārya also.
Yes. That is the sign of liberated soul. Because to become attracted by Kṛṣṇa, that is our normal condition. So he was liberated; therefore normally he became attracted with Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. That is his normal life. One who is not attracted by Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, he will be attracted by President Johnson's pastimes. (laughter) One has to be attracted. One has to be attracted by the dog's pastimes. Don't you see a person how he is serving the dog? The dog stands, passes urine, he also stands. You see? He's a human being, and he is waiting for the dog passing urine. How much he is attending the pastimes of the dog? So if you (are) not attracted by the pastimes of God, then you'll have to be attracted by the pastimes of the dog. There is no other alternative. Either māyā or Kṛṣṇa. The atheist, agnostic, they deny Kṛṣṇa's pastimes; therefore they remain attracted by the pastimes of this material world. Yes?
Prabhupāda: No, I... If you do not believe, that does not mean the things become null and void. That is not a fact. Suppose a thief does not believe in the prison house. That does not mean the prisonhouse will be closed. A thief may think like that. That is another thing. But the prisonhouse will continue, and as soon as you commit theft, you will be put there. That's all.
Man (8): I think that there is no point in answering a question with a parable. In point of fact, the things you've been postulating tonight is a denial of observable truth.
Madhudviṣa: Of what truth?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Observable truth.
Prabhupāda: Yes. It is truth. (laughter) Anyone who has got eyes to see, he can see the truth.
Man (9): Do you believe in the essential unity of religious paths in such a way that soon people will take to God and yoga?
Madhudviṣa: He said do you believe in any unity between religious paths.
Prabhupāda: Yes, religion is only one. Just like religion... Our definition of religion is dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: (SB 6.3.19) "Religion means the laws and the codes given by God." That is religion. Now, God is one. God cannot be two. And what He says, that is also one. So if we accept that one law of God, that is religion. Then there is unity. But if you create your own religion by your imagination, that is another thing. Religion means the laws given by... Just like state law. State law is acceptable by everyone. I have given this instance. The state law is that "Keep to the right" or "left." Everyone accepts. There is no disunity. So if we actually take the words of God, then there is unity. But if we do not take, if we create our own system of religion, that is a different thing.
Another significance of this word Hṛṣīkeśa... Because in Nārada-Pañcarātra the bhakti means hṛṣīkeśa-sevanam. Therefore this very name is mentioned here, Hṛṣīkeśa. Hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate. Bhakti means to serve Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses. And the master of senses, some rascals are describing that Kṛṣṇa is immoral. He is master of senses and He is immoral. Just see how he has studied Bhagavad-gītā. If Kṛṣṇa is perfect brahmacārī... Kṛṣṇa is perfect brahmacārī, for... It was declared by Bhīṣmadeva. Bhīṣmadeva is the first-grade brahmacārī in the universe. He promised to Satyavatī's father... You know the story. Satyavatī's father... His, Bhīṣmadeva's father was attracted by a fisherwoman, fishergirl. So he wanted to marry. And the father of the girl denied, "No, I cannot give my daughter to you." So "Why? I am king, I am asking your daughter." "No, you have got a son." Bhīṣmadeva was the son of his first wife, mother Ganges. The mother Ganges was wife of Santanu Mahārāja, and Bhīṣmadeva was the only remaining son. The contract was between Santanu Mahārāja and Ganges, Mother Ganges, that "I can marry you if you allow me that all the children born I shall throw in the water of the Ganges. And if you do not allow me, then immediately I shall leave your company." So Santanu Mahārāja said, "All right, still, I shall marry you." So she was throwing all the children in the Ganges. So this Bhīṣmadeva... So after all, father, so he became very much sorry, that "What is this? What kind of wife I have got? She is simply throwing all the children in the water."
So those who are in the bodily concept of life, they cannot advance in this real knowledge, that we are eternally servant of God. Our constitutional position is like that. If we do not serve God, we do not agree... We are servant of God, but if we deny that "No, I am not servant," so that means I become servant of māyā. Servant I'll have to remain. That is my constitutional position. So one must first of all understand what is his identity. So this is the beginning of a lesson given by Kṛṣṇa, that "You are lamenting for this body. This is not your identity. This is not your identity. You are wrongly thinking." Just like if your coat is some way or other destroyed, that does not mean that you are destroyed. If your car by accident is broken, that does not mean that you are finished. Sometimes we get accident, that is another thing. But I am not the car. I am not this body, I am not this coat. This is real knowledge. Although sometimes we become little sorry, but the identity is different. So Kṛṣṇa says that "You are talking like learned man, but you do not know your identity. You are not this body."
So here is an authority, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Authority. His authority, authorityship, is accepted by all over the world. In, in our India there are five different disciplic succession of authorities, just like the Śaṅkarites, followers of Śaṅkarācārya, and Vaiṣṇavites. Generally, they are two: Māyāvādī, impersonalists; and personalists. The personalist school, philosophers, they are divided into four: Rāmānuja-sampradāya—that means followers of Ācārya Rāmānuja; Madhvācārya-sampradāya, or the followers of Madhvācārya; Nimbārka-sampradāya, followers of Nimbārka Ācārya; and Viṣṇu Svāmī-sampradāya. They, their conclusion is the same. Although they are four in number, their conclusion is the same. And another sect is Śaṅkarite sampradāya. So all these four, I mean, five different section of the Hindus, they accept Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All of them. There is no denial. Although they are five, they have got different theses and philosophies, little, little difference, not, I mean, conclusion, but still... Now, Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, he, he is supposed, he is considered to be impersonalist. Impersonalist means he does not believe in the personal form of God. But still, he has commented in this, of this Bhagavad-gītā, Śaṅkara-bhāṣya. He has admitted there that "Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Personality of Godhead." He has also admitted. Others, they are Vaiṣṇavites, other ācāryas, other authorities, they are Vaiṣṇavites. They have naturally admitted because they believe from the beginning. But even Śaṅkarācārya, who is impersonalist, he has also clearly written that sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ: "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." And there are many evidences in many scriptures and Vedic scriptures that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Here we shall find that you are bigger lord than me, he is bigger than lord you, and somebody is bigger than him. In this way you can approach the lordship of Johnson. Then you can see another man. He is more than Johnson; another man, more than Johnson, like that. But when you reach Śrī Kṛṣṇa by such analytical process, you'll find that nobody is greater, nobody is equal than Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And He says something—we must agree to accept it. (laughs) We must... If we don't agree, that will not be beneficial for us. When a great man says something... And He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is saying that we are all individual persons. We are all individual persons. God is also individual person. It is confirmed in the Vedic literature. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). Nityo nityānām. Nitya means eternal. We are all eternal. This is plural number. So amongst all the eternal living entities, He is the chief. This is a definition of God, is given in the... Nityo nitya. Cetanānām, nit..., cetanaś cetanānām: "We are all conscious, conscious beings." So He is the supreme conscious. He is the supreme conscious. Now, of course, there are some yogic schools. In America you'll find. They do not believe in God. But it is not actually... The yoga principle does not deny the existence of God. God is there.
God has no objection. Now, from God we have become many. Now, suppose I or you want that I don't want to keep myself as one of the many. I want to become one with Him. If you like that, that is called sāyujya-mukti. So God does not deny you. "All right, you merge into Me." But that does not mean all other manies also merge into Him. That does... Because, individually, I want to merge into the existence of God, that does not mean all other manies... Because many means not only myself. There are millions and billions and trillions of many. So if out of that trillion, billion, one wants to merge into the existence of God, God is all-powerful; why he should be denied? "All right, you merge into Me. If you don't want to keep your individuality, if you want to merge into Myself, all right, you are welcome." Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (BG 4.11). In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find it, "Anyone who wants Me in any way, I fulfill his desire."
In the battlefield, janādhipāḥ, they are not ordinary men. Now in the battlefield the poor mercenaries, they go to give their life, whereas the janādhipāḥ, the leaders of the people, they sit down very comfortably. They do not go to the battlefield. They simply give order in writing, and the poor mercenaries, paid soldiers, they are paid for giving their life. Money is so sweet that one is prepared to give his life for money. Such men are sent to the war field. And the janādhipāḥ, they are after also money, but they carefully avoid the battlefield. Minister of Defense, perhaps he has never seen a battlefield, Minister of Defense. Formerly it was not like that. When there was fight, because they are kṣatriyas... Kṣatriyas, they will never go back from fighting. Yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam. That is the symptom of kṣatriya. When there is fight, they will come forward first. Śauryaṁ tejo... Vīryaṁ yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam īśvara-bhāvaś ca dānaṁ ca. Kṣatriyas means they are very powerful, strong, and when there is fight, a kṣatriya, if he is challenged by somebody that "I want to fight with you," he cannot deny. "Yes. What kind of fight you want, bows, arrows, or club, or sword?" Any way they will fight. And fight means until one is dead, the fight will go on. That is fight.
So Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as spiritual master. In the beginning, he was talking like friend. Friend to friend, talking, sometimes it comes to nil, no conclusion, simply waste of time. It is called vitaṇḍā. That sort of argument has no value. Because it will never come into conclusion. But when we talk with authority, the spiritual master, representative of Kṛṣṇa, then we cannot argue. We have to accept. Guru-vākya. Guru-vākya, you cannot deny it. It may not be agreeable to you in the beginning, but you cannot deny it. That is it: system of Vedic system. Here Arjuna has accepted Kṛṣṇa as the spiritual master. Śiṣyas te aham. "I become Your disciple. Because we were talking till now as friends, but this will not decide the case. My case is very serious. My duty is to fight, but I do not like to fight. Some affection, some family relationship, is deterring me to fight, making me coward. So therefore it is a very complex position. And I find that You can make a solution of this complex position. I therefore accept You as my spiritual master. And I fall down under Your lotus feet as Your disciple." Śādhi māṁ prapannam. "I am surrendered. Now You kindly protect the surrendered soul."
So in this life you remain a prime minister, and in next life you become a dog. Then where is the benefit? There is not... Therefore these atheist fools, they want to deny next life. That is very horrible for them. That is very horrible to them. If they accept next life... They know their life is very sinful. Then what life they are going to get by the laws of nature? When they think of it, they shudder. "Better deny it. Better deny it." Just like a rabbit. Enemy is in his front, and he is going to die, but the thinks, "Let me close my eyes. I am out of danger." This is atheistic view, that they are trying to forget that there is... Therefore they deny, "There is no life." Why not? Kṛṣṇa says that "You had a childhood body. You had a baby... Now you have... Where is that body? You have left that. You are in different body. Similarly, this body you'll change. You will get another body." And who says? Kṛṣṇa says. The most superior authority, he says. I may not understand, but when He says... This is the process of our knowledge. We accept knowledge from the perfect person. I may be fool, but the knowledge received from the perfect person is perfect. This is our process. We don't try to speculate. That may or may not be successful, but if you accept knowledge from the perfect authority, that knowledge is perfect.
So we have to understand from the authority. There are so many arguments. Now, if you say "This body's dead because the blood has become white. Blood corpuscles, they are now become white instead of becoming red." So if that is the possible, so why don't you make the blood red? By some chemical injection or by adding some color, as soon as the blood becomes red... Why don't you do that? No. If you say "That was 'natural' redness. That natural redness cannot be brought," then your science is defective. And even if we accept that natural redness is the cause of living force, there are many natural redness in the flower, in the jewels. Why does it not move? So all the arguments of these foolish scientists, or so-called logicians, that can be, I mean to say, nullified, if you are intelligent. We have to take..., accept it, because it is said by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality. Because we cannot say anything, why it is avināśi, why this body's not avināśi, but the consciousness is avināśi, that we cannot explain; therefore we have to accept the version of the supreme authority. That is education. That is education. We, we cannot deny. Because we cannot give any counterproposal. So how we can deny Kṛṣṇa's proposal? Avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. Yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. This is also very significant. Idaṁ śarīram.
Therefore as this universe, material cosmic manifestation is working very nicely, you have to accept there is God. You cannot deny. So that consciousness, superconsciousness, that is different. You cannot say that "I am the same. I have got superconsciousness." That is not possible. Then, if you have got superconsciousness, why don't you feel about my pains and pleasure? The superconsciousness is of Viṣṇu. That is all-pervading consciousness. That is also the same. Nature is the same. As I have got my consciousness all over this body, similarly, the superconsciousness is there all over the universe. As I feel pains and pleasure on account of some disturbance on this body, similarly, as soon as we create some disturbance with this universal atmosphere, the supreme consciousness is disturbed. That disturbance is going on. Therefore, in spite of all arrangement... Pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate (Īśopaniṣad, Invocation). That, by God's creation, everything is complete. There is no flaw. But because we are creating disturbances, the world situation is different.
"Let me stop them so that they may, in future, they may become sober." Sadaya-hṛdaya darśita: Two sides. First of all he was very much compassionate, that poor animals, they are being killed. And another side, he saw "The whole human race is going to hell. So let me do something." Therefore he had to deny the existence of the soul because their brain will not tolerate such things. Therefore he did not say anything about the soul or God. He said that "You stop animal killing." If I pinch you, you feel pain. So why should you give pain to others? Never mind he has no soul; that's all right. He did not talk anything about soul. So these people say the animals have no soul. But that's all right, but he's feeling pain when you are killing the animal. So you also feel pain. So why should you give pain to others? That is Lord Buddha's theory. Sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam. Nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātam. He denied that: "I don't accept Vedas." Because in the Vedas there is sometimes recommendation, not for killing, but for giving rejuvenation to an animal. But killing, in that sense, is there for sacrifice. But Lord Buddha did not accept even animal killing in sacrifice. Therefore, nindasi. Nindasi means he was criticizing. Nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātaṁ sadaya-hṛdaya darśita. Why? He was so kind and compassionate. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. God is very kind, very compassionate. He does not like. But when there is necessity, He can kill. But His killing and our killing is different. He's all good. Anyone killed by Kṛṣṇa, he immediately gets salvation. So these thing are there.
When you become Vaiṣṇava, the brahminism is already included. General process is, unless one does not come to the sattva-guṇa platform, he cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the general rule. But this Kṛṣṇa, devotional service, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is so nice that simply by hearing about Kṛṣṇa, you come to immediately to the brahminical platform. Naṣṭa-prāyeṣu abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18). Abhadra. Abhadra means these three qualities of material nature. Even brahminical qualities. The śūdra quality, the vaiśya quality, or the kṣatriya quality, or even brāhmaṇa quality. They are all abhadras. Because in brāhmaṇa quality, again the same identification comes. "Oh, I am brāhmaṇa. Nobody can become brāhmaṇa without birth. I am great. I am brāhmaṇa." This false prestige comes. So he becomes bound up. Even in brahminical qualities. But when he comes to the spiritual platform, actually, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "I am not brāhmaṇa, I am not sannyāsī, I am not gṛhastha, I am not brahmacārī," Not, not, not...These eight principles, varṇāśrama, He denies. Then what You are? Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). "I am the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa." This is self realization.
We are eternally individual. It is not that by the influence of māyā you have been cut into pieces. No. Here it is said you cannot be cut. Another, it cannot be burned. If you study one verse of Bhagavad-gītā, you understand so many things. It cannot be burned. Now if it cannot be burned, then in fire also there is soul. The materialists say that in the sun globe, it is impossible to have living entities there. No. Because it cannot be burned. So impossible, possible. So this Vedic knowledge that sun planet is a planet just like other planets, and it is fiery, and the residents are also fiery body. So why one should be astonished that there is living entity? Then why they should deny that there is no living entity? They are denying that in the moon planet also there is no living entity. Why? Why? Living entity can be everywhere. Sarva-ga. This very word has been used in Bhagavad-gītā. Sarva-ga. You'll find it. Sarva-ga means he can go everywhere. He can live in the fire also. And actually we see that in the air there is living entity, in the water there is living entity, in the land there is living entity. So why not in the fire? Fire is one of the elements like air, water, land. So if in other elements there is possibility of living beings, why not in one? What is the reason? What is the argument? And Vedic literature gives us information that in the fire there is germ also. Just like in water there is germ; in the earth there is germ; in the air there is germ, living entities. Similarly in the fire there is also.
Viṣṇujana: "We have to accept this truth because there is no other source for understanding the existence of the soul, although it is a fact by perception. There are many things we have to accept solely on grounds of superior authority."
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Viṣṇujana: "No one can deny the existence of his father based on the authority of his mother. There is no other source for understanding..."
Prabhupāda: Now everyone knows that "When I am born, there must have been somebody my father." This is the conclusion. "And now, who is my father?" That is evidence to be taken from mother. Similarly nobody can deny the existence of God because everything has got a father, generator. So therefore this whole creation, there must be generator. Now how we can see the father? Through the mother, Vedas. That's all. As we understand our father through the mother, similarly through the mother of Vedic knowledge you can understand what is God.
Hm. Therefore our philosophy is acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Acintya, inconceivable. Just like you are trying to conceive that whole world is God, and still, God is not there. That is spoken by God Himself, Kṛṣṇa: mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni nāhaṁ teṣu avasthitaḥ (BG 9.4). Mayā tatam idam, avyakta-mūrtinā. So this impersonal feature, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti (SB 1.2.11), the impersonal feature is Brahman. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. That means sarvedam akhilaṁ jagat, parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktiḥ sarvedam akhilaṁ jagat. Just like the sunshine. You are in the sunshine. That is a practical faith. The sunshine is not different from the sun. The sun is ninety-three millions of miles away, but still, because you are in the sunshine, you are in sun. Can you deny it? That is the thing. You are in the sunshine. The sunshine is not different from the sun. But still, it is not the sun. This is the philosophy, inconceivably, simultaneously one and different. The sunshine is not different from the sun, but still, it is different. Similarly, the whole manifested, the cosmic manifestation is God, but still He is..., it is not God. This is, therefore it is called inconceivable, acintya. With our teeny brain, we cannot accommodate how it is one and different. Therefore it is called acintya. Acintya-bhedābheda: different and separate, simultaneously. Everything. Idaṁ hi viśvo bhagavān ivetaraḥ. The whole world is Bhagavān, but it appears different from Bhagavān.
Therefore the sva-dharma changes. Sva-dharma changes as soon as one is elevated to the spiritual platform. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). Who? Brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. One who is engaged in devotional service. A devotee's position is transcendental. He has no, no more sva-dharma in the bodily concept of life. Because he's neither brāhmaṇa, neither kṣatriya, nor vaiśya nor śūdra. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, "I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a śūdra, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a brahmacārī, I am not a sannyāsī." In this way He negativated all the eight items because sva-dharma means varṇāśrama dharma. Varṇa and āśrama. Four castes: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. And four spiritual order: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu denied, that "I am not this, I am not this, I am not that, I am not that." Then what you are? Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). Gopī-bhartuḥ means this maintainer of the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa. Gopī-bhartuḥ. Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayoḥ. "I am the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant who is engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa (CC Madhya 13.80)."
So this theory, that separating the material elements by which this material body is formed, if they are broken or they are sent back to their original position, then we are free from all distresses, material... But we, at least those who are following this Bhagavad-gītā, this philosophy does not say that the material body is all in all. Beyond this material body, there is spirit, and the symptom of that spirit is understood by consciousness. Consciousness. That is the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā. Now, you cannot deny consciousness. You cannot deny consciousness. And consciousness minus... Body minus consciousness is dead body. Everyone knows it. A child can understand it, that I am speaking, you are hearing because your consciousness is present, my consciousness is present. As soon as my consciousness is deducted from this body, then this same mouth will not speak, the same hand will not move, the same your ear will not hear. The whole thing will be stopped. So it is very common sense affair, that consciousness, that is the main thing in this body. So any intelligent man with common sense can understand this. Now, what is this consciousness? This consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Just like wherever there is some fire, there is heat or there is smoke. When you see something... Suppose you are sitting here. If you find somewhere smoking, then you are afraid, "Oh, there must be some fire. Otherwise why smoke is coming?" Or wherever you feel some heat, although you do not see the fire directly, still, you can understand that there is fire. Because there is smoke... Because there is heat, therefore there is fire. Similarly, this consciousness, nobody can deny this consciousness. Now, this consciousness, because this consciousness is, therefore I am, my, I mean to say, identification or my energy is being produced in the shape of consciousness. So this consciousness proves that I am the soul, present here. That is Gītā's philosophy, and that is the whole Vedic philosophy.
Just like we belong to the devotee group of philosophers. Then there are others who are impersonalists. But they, or both of them, they do not deny the presence of the soul, presence of the soul. The Buddha philosophy, they do not recognize the soul. They, according to them, that the combination of matter at a certain stage produces consciousness. But that philosophy, that argument, can be refuted that with matter, you cannot produce consciousness. Because... Take the example of a dead man. The dead man is there. All the elements, material elements, are all there present. But you cannot revise, you cannot revoke that man to consciousness. The elements are there, the ingredients are there. Now, if you think this ingredient has been decomposed or deteriorated, then replace that ingredient. Just like in a machine. In a machine some part is wear and tear. It is not working, stopped. You can replace that part into new part, and the machine will work. But this is not like that. If you think that something has deteriorated in this body, therefore it has become dead. Say, for example, that they say generally, due to heart failure. Now, heart... Medical practitioners they know it that heart is always pumping like this, pumping like this. Now, can you produce heart action by artificial pumping? No. It is not possible. They give respiratory oxygen gas and so many things, but it cannot be revived.
Therefore it is a fact that the soul, soul is different from this body. So long the soul is there, the body acts. And we, with our blunt senses, our gross senses, we cannot see the soul. Therefore we deny it. Because our imperfect senses cannot see this. We cannot see so many things. So many things. Just like we are seeing this place is vacant, the outer space, but there are instruments. If you see with those instruments, you will find they are full of germs. Full of germs. Take a drop of water, as clear as possible. But if you see with microscope, you will see, "Oh, it is full of germs." So imperfect vision of existence, of the existence of the soul, does not mean that there is no soul. The soul is there. Soul is there, and we can feel the presence of the soul by the symptom of consciousness. Consciousness. And that's a clear fact.
So similarly, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham, "I am the source of Brahman, the effulgence." That's a fact. Brahman is not greater than Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is greater than Brahman. Mattaḥ parataro nāsti. You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā, "There is no more greater truth than Me." These people, they cannot understand; less intelligent. The same example. Because they see that the sunshine is spreading all over the universe, therefore it is more important, greater than the sun planet. But actually it is not. The simple truth. And if you go into the sun planet you will find Vivasvān the sun-god is there. The sun planet is so dazzling due to his presence. Similarly, with all impersonal conception, when you reach Kṛṣṇa, then you reach to the goal. There are so many crude examples. Just like your country. There are so many departmental government businesses going on. This department, that department, all over the country. The whole thing is concentrate in the President. How can I deny it? The everything is going on on the finger's end of the President. This is a crude example. Similarly, ultimately, unless there is the Supreme Person on the background... That, Hayagrīva has brought one book, Evidence of God. So the many scientists they have written in that book, and they have agreed that if God is there, He must be person. He must be person.
Now, this patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam has been specifically mentioned by the Lord because it is universal. It is universal. If a man says that "All right, Lord wants to eat from me. But I am poor man. What I can give Lord for eating?" No, no, no. Even if you are a poor man, the poorest man, oh, these four things you can collect, one leaf, little water, one fruit, and one flower. Any, any poor man. Of course, in the city like New York, it is very difficult, (laughs) but in India it is not at all difficult. Because mostly they live, ninety percent of the population, they are villagers. So any villager, if he goes to another villager, "Sir, I want some flowers for worshiping God." "Oh, take it!" Immediately. Nobody will... In your country also, nobody will deny that. But here in the city there is no flower at all. Where to collect? If you go to the florist then I have to pay. That's a different proposal. But actually, in ordinary course of life, nobody is bereft of these four things.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Purport: "The demigods are empowered administrators of material..."
Prabhupāda: Yes. "The demigods are empowered administrators of material affairs." How can you deny the existence of demigod? Go on.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "The supply of air, light, water, and all other benedictions for maintenance of the body and soul of every living entity are entrusted to the demigods who are innumerable assistants in different parts of the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
Prabhupāda: Just like my body. Different limbs are working and helping me. I want to go somewhere. The limbs, or the part which is called leg, they will carry me. Similarly, by the supreme order of Kṛṣṇa, all these demigods are acting just like my different parts of the body are acting. Yes. Go on.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Their pleasures and displeasures are dependent on the performance of yajñas by human beings. Some of the yajñas are meant for satisfying the particular demigods, but even in so doing Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped in all yajñas as the chief."
Prabhupāda: Just like if you obey the department, say, the police department. You are obeying the police department means you are obeying the government. Nobody can manufacture a police department and force you to obey. Because it is one of the important department of government, therefore as soon as there is police handcuff you have to stop. You may be very rich man, millionaire, but you have to obey the orders of the police, otherwise you will be prosecuted. And wherefrom. That man is an ordinary man; simply he stops you. Why do you stop? Because you obey the government.
To get yourself promoted in higher standard of life, from C-class prisoner to become A-class prisoner, that is not required. Bhagavad-gītā does not teach us that you improve your life in the respect that you are now C-class prisoner; you become A-class prisoner. No. You should not remain a prisoner. You should get yourself this prison life. This material life is prison life. Just like in prison house we are forced to undergo some sort of miseries. We may agree or not agree; we have to undergo. In prison life you cannot deny. The state agents are there. He prescribes some work; you must do it. If you say, "No, I cannot do it. I am not accustomed to do it, no." Then you'll be again more punished.
Similarly, this is our prison life. This material existence is our prison life. And prakṛti, nature, is the forceful agent. She is always enforcing us to do, to act. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). So this is going on. Now, if you want to get rid of this imprisonment, then you should begin this karma-yoga, karma plus yoga. Yoga means in connection with the Supreme. That connection with the Supreme begins with this formula, yajña, sacrifice.
Similarly, the whole cosmic manifestation which is present before you, so nicely going on, don't you think there is a consciousness behind it? How can you deny that there is no consciousness in the matter of sun rising, moon rising, seasonal changes, and so many planets floating in the air? So many wonderful things are being done in the material nature. Do you think it is without being done, consciousness? No. There is also consciousness. Just like for the management of your own body, due to the consciousness everything is being well done, similarly, everything that you see very nicely well done in the material nature, that is also being done by superior consciousness. This is human reasoning. How can you deny it? Can you deny it? I don't think any sane man can deny it.
How it is not properly discharged? Just like you love your body. Nobody can deny. Everyone loves his body. All right, what do you want to do? I want to maintain my body nicely. Then what is the means of maintaining your body very nicely? Now, I have to take nice vitaminous foodstuff and supply to the stomach, and then there is assimilation, secretion of different blood or different, I mean to say, humor and so on. The physiological condition is going on. The main position is that you have to give proper foodstuff to this body.
Now, how to supply the foodstuff to the body? The main source of supplying is this mouth. Now we have got several holes in this body, especially nine holes, big holes. Just like these two eyes, they are holes. The ears, they are holes. The mouth is one hole. And the evacuating process is another hole. This navel is another hole. There are nine holes in this body. Now, if somebody says that "I have to put foodstuff within the body..." Just like in medical treatment, sometimes, when one cannot take foodstuff from the mouth, foodstuff is injected from the rectum or somewhere else artificially. But that is not the system of supplying the foodstuff. The real process of supplying the foodstuff is through the mouth. If somebody says, "Oh, there are nine holes. You can put the foodstuff any hole," no, that will not do. You have to supply the foodstuff through the mouth.
So as individual person what is my position? My position is... Just like you are individual citizen of the state. What is your position? To serve the state. That is your position. That is good citizenship. What does it mean, a good citizen? One who is trying to serve the state. Take, for example, in Russia, in China. They have made the state as worshipable. Any component part of the state, citizen, is to sacrifice everything for the state. In your country also, the draftboard is calling, "Come on. You have to go to the fight." But you cannot say "No," because you are component part of the state. If you deny, then you are not a good citizen. You'll be arrested, you'll be harassed by the government. Similarly, we are component parts of the whole, supreme whole.
This is self-realization. It is very simple thing. Self-realization does not mean anything very extraordinary. Hitvā anyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). Mukti, this is called... Mukti means liberation or self-realization. What is that? Hitvā anyathā-rūpam. Giving up a different identity. In the conditioned state we are identifying "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am human being," "I am this," "I am that," "I am white," "I am black." These are all designations. Actually, this is not self-realization. Self-realization is that "I am neither American nor Indian nor black nor white, nor anything. I am a spirit soul, part and parcel of the whole, Kṛṣṇa." This is self-realization. So long it is not completely realized, so long we have got doubt, we have to make progress. And as soon as we come to the point and firmly convinced, that is self-realization.
Yes. If somebody says, "Oh, why shall I serve God?" all right, then you shall have to serve dog. That's all. Therefore he is befooled. He does not know that he has to serve somebody. His constitutional position is like that. He cannot escape. So therefore if he denies to serve God, Kṛṣṇa, then he has to serve māyā, illusion, in the hope that "I have become the master."
Just like in your country the President Johnson was the master. Actually, he was not the master; he was the servant of the country. Now the country has dismissed him. He is no longer master. So our mastership in this material world is like that. Actually, we are servant, but we are thinking master. In a family, I am servant of my wife, I am servant of my children, I am servant of my servants, but I am thinking I am master. "I am master of this family. I am master of this country. I am master of this society." Nobody is master.
"I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a śūdra. I am not a brahmacārī, I am not a gṛhastha, I am not a vānaprastha..." Because our Vedic civilization is based on varṇa and āśrama. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu denied all these things: "I do not belong to any one of these." Then what is Your position? Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ: (CC Madhya 13.80) "I am eternally servant of the maintainer of the gopīs." That means Kṛṣṇa. And He preached: jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). That is our identification. We are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the servants who have rebelled against Kṛṣṇa, they have come to this material world. Therefore, to reclaim these servants, Kṛṣṇa comes. And Kṛṣṇa says,
- paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
- vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
- dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
- sambhavāmi yuge yuge
- (BG 4.8)
Kṛṣṇa comes. He's so kind.
So let us take advantage of Kṛṣṇa's coming here, leaving behind Him this Bhagavad-gītā, and read it perfectly, and make your life perfect. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is not a bogus movement. It is a most scientific movement. So outside India, these European, Americans, they are taking advantage of it. Why not these Indian youths? What is the wrong there? This is not good. Let us join together, start this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement very seriously, and deliver this suffering humanity. That is our purpose. They are suffering for want of knowledge. Everything is there, complete. Simply by mismanagement... Simply by the... It is being managed by the rogues and thieves. Take. You become perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and take the management and make your life successful.
Don't you see how God is supplying all the necessities of birds, beasts, and everyone? Ours also. We don't acknowledge. Because we are civilized, we are, we do not acknowledge. The birds, beasts also do not acknowledge, but because they are birds and beasts. So we are just becoming like birds and beasts, denying the existence of God, denying the authority of God.
We are taking advantage. Vidadhāti kāmān. If Kṛṣṇa does not supply you this light, sunlight, you will die. But He does not charge anything. But because you are human being, you should try to repay: "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is giving us so much facilities. Let me render some service unto Him." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is to acknowledge, "O God, You are so kind. You are giving so many things. So I have collected this fruit. It is Your fruit, I know. Still, please accept." This is finish, your business. You are a great devotee. You are a great Kṛṣṇa conscious personality, and Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Kṛṣṇa does not want you, from you, very nice thing. Kṛṣṇa is complete in Himself. He can produce many, many nice things. He is not begging from you, but still, He is expecting something from you because He is supplying so many things to you. Is it not?
Therefore Kṛṣṇa has said... This is the old. It is not new type of religion. It is the, it is the oldest. Bhagavad-bhakti. Bhagavān is there, and the living entities are there. Their relationship is there. Now, by forgetting God, forgetting Kṛṣṇa, we are busy with the problems, but we are forgetting the real problems. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that bhakto 'si. One has to become bhakta. So bhakta means... Bhagavān, if there is Bhagavān, then there is bhakta, and there is bhakti. But these people are denying the existence of bhakta, Bhagavān. "There is no God." Now, how he can become bhakta? Or how there will be execution of bhakti? Bhakta, Bhagavān, bhakti. The same thing. Bhakta is in relationship with Bhagavān, and the transaction between Bhagavān and bhakta is called bhakti. Bhakti means ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167).
The talking was that Kṛṣṇa wanted to satisfy His senses and Arjuna wanted to satisfy his senses. This was going on. Talking. But Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, He is īśvara. His senses should be satisfied. Then it is service. That is the whole subject matter of Bhagavad-gītā.
Because Arjuna denied to serve Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wanted that "This battlefield... This Kurukṣetra war is arranged by Me. You are simply an instrument." Nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasācin. "Even if you do not fight, all these bodies who have assembled here, they are not going back living. They will be killed. Now if you like, you have to fight. But the conclusion is already there." Because paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). It was Kṛṣṇa's plan to kill all these asādhus, duṣkṛtām, Duryodhana and company. That was His plan. So that is His business. He came to install Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, Dharmarāja, on the throne, and He wanted to kill the adharma, Duryodhana and company. That was his business. So therefore this Kurukṣetra war was planned and Arjuna was to help Him because Arjuna was a devotee. Bhakto 'si sakhā ceti. Because Kṛṣṇa's friend. Everything is done by Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa... And Arjuna is devotee.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is incarnation. They are teaching love of Godhead. We are not teaching some ritualistic process, that "You become Hindu. You become Christian. You become Muhammadan." We are simply teaching, "You try to love God. You have forgotten God. You have declared, 'God is dead.' These are all nonsense. God is there. You are here. You are suffering because you have forgotten God. You try to love God. Your normal life will come back. You will be happy." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
There is nothing, artificiality. So there is no question of sectarianism, that "In this temple the Christians will come" or "The Muhammadans will not come." Anyone. Because we are teaching what? Teaching love of Godhead. Either you become Christian or Muhammadan, Hindu, how you can deny God? Those who are denying God, their case is different. But one who is accepting God as the central figure in religion, how they can deny this movement? Because we are teaching love of Godhead. That's all. Go on.
Yes. We also. We cannot deny the Vedic version. Tat tvam asi is a Vedic version. So either you are Māyāvādī or Vaiṣṇava, you cannot deny it.
Just like two lawyers are arguing in the court. The medium is the law court. So neither of them can deny the law court, but one has to establish his convictions by argument, by logic. So similarly, tat tvam asi is the code of Vedic principle or Vedas, "You are that." Tat tvam asi. Tat means that supreme spirit. "You are." So our philosophy, Vaiṣṇava philosophy, we begin from this point. As Kṛṣṇa began Bhagavad-gītā from the point that "You are not this body," we begin from this version, tat tvam asi. Tat tvam asi. "You are not this." That means "What I am?" Then I must be something; otherwise what is my identity? That reply is your identity is that "You are as good as God." That means you are qualitatively the same. Tat tvam asi. Qualitatively you are...
The mistake of the Māyāvāda philosophy is that "You are the same." You are the same in which way? I am the same in quality, not in quantity. Just like if I say, "You are as good as President Nixon," there is nothing wrong because you are American, he is American. Is there anything wrong? From the point of view, American citizenship, you are as good as President Nixon. But when you go deep into the matter, you will find, oh, you are far, far away from President Nixon. Similarly, we are identifying ourself with this matter, but Vedas says that "You are not matter. You are supreme spirit soul." Not supreme, "You are spirit soul."
So the constructor, construction of the machine may be very complicated, wonderful, very nice, everything is all right, but a living entity required to pull on the button. Without pulling on the button, however nice arrangement may be in the machine, it cannot work. That is our experience. We cannot deny it. The wonderful machine, working... Now, business machine, there are so many wonderful machine. They are working also. Sometimes calculating brain is required; electrical brain is there. Everything is all right. But unless a man puts on the button, plies the button, it cannot work. That thing is important.
But how you can deny the living force behind this gigantic, mechanical arrangement? Call it material world, material machine, or whatever you may call. How you can deny? At least from your practical experience you cannot deny. You may put some jugglery of words, but the actual fact is this.
So duṣkṛtina means a person who does not believe this. They are called miscreants. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). So God, in His incarnation, appears with two missionary purposes. One purpose is paritrāṇāya sādhūnām, just to protect the pious who are obedient to the laws of God or the laws of nature. And to vanquish persons who are disobedient. They are called duṣkṛtina. This duṣkṛtina, or miscreant, is described in another place also in the Bhagavad-gītā. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). The purpose is, Kṛṣṇa says, that those who are miscreants, always disobeying the laws of nature or always denying the prime factor behind the wonderful activities of nature, such miscreants, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ. Mūḍhāḥ means they are rascals.
Now the question may be that "Why they do not surrender? Why they do not believe in God? Why they do not take to God consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness? They are very educated, advanced. They have got university degrees. But why they do not do it? They are supposed to be very culturally advanced." So the answer is given there in the Bhagavad-gītā, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because their intention is to deny God, therefore although they are very much advanced in so-called education, the effect of knowledge has been taken away by the illusory energy of māyā. The māyā has taken away the effect of knowledge.
Just like we met some Indian gentleman while coming. I asked him, "Why don't you come to temple?" "Swamiji, I am searching after some employment. I have lost my employment." Just see. he has come from India, so, about fifteen thousand miles away, and the problem is still unemployment. Why he has come here, so far distant? That means he's educated. Otherwise, this country would not allow him immigration. But the problem is there, unemployment.
Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). And such persons are repeatedly chewing the chewed. One plan is made; that is frustrated. Another plan again made, again frustrated. Again plan made, again frustrated. But still, they will go on plan-making, but they will never accept the actual truth. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ: (BG 7.15) "Their knowledge has been taken away by the energy of māyā." Māyā apahṛta-jñānāḥ. Why māyā is taking away? Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because they have taken this principle, to deny God. That's it. Only for this reason, for this fault only, the māyā is acting so severely. Māyā will never allow such person to understand the real truth. They will go on making plan-making, it will be frustrated, again plan-making, again frustrated, again frustrated.
So similarly, the ultimate change of this body is called death. When this body is no more workable, then we transmigrate to another body. That body is offered to us according to our consciousness. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). At the time of death, the situation of your consciousness makes you ready for accepting a similar body. And if you quit this body in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you get a body by which you can associate with Kṛṣṇa. That is to be understood, how it is possible. Therefore the training should be Kṛṣṇa conscious. (break)
...in particular type of consciousness. That we cannot deny. Now if we change our consciousness to Kṛṣṇa type of consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is perfection of our life. The process is: by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa we keep always alive to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So far necessities of the body, material body, is concerned, the demand is there; demand is here. You can accept from that type of body, by this body, simply by understanding, by advancing in knowledge. And the perfection of knowledge is to know who is God. Or where is God. That is perfection. So long one does not understand what is God or the Absolute Truth by whom everything is being emanated, the knowledge is imperfect. Knowledge is not finished. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante: (BG 7.19) "After many, many births of cultivating knowledge, one comes to the understanding of accepting God is the prime source, fountainhead of everything." That is perfection of knowledge.
At the present moment people are denying the existence of God, or they are thinking that God is dead. That means imperfection of knowledge. They have to still make progress to the perfectional point. And that test is to understand, "Here is God, and He is the fountainhead of everything." That perfection of knowledge you will have simply by reading... Any scripture you can read. The same conception is there. But in the Bhagavad-gītā it is more clearly explained so that you can understand with all reason, arguments, and scrutiny too. It is not dogmatic. That is the beauty of Bhagavad-gītā.
But Lord Buddha, although we accept him as the incarnation of God and he was born in India and he propagated his philosophy from India, but because he denied to accept the Vedic principle, therefore he is known as atheist, because he, Buddha, did not accept the Vedic principles. He denied. And there was reason why he did not. That is a secret thing. That secret—because his whole philosophy was to stop animal killing, animal killing. Now, in the Vedic scripture, you will find, animal sacrifice is recommended. So he wanted to preach, "Stop animal killing." Now, if there is evidence from the Vedas that animal can be killed under certain circumstances, then his whole preaching becomes topsy-turvied. So he was obliged to deny the authority of the Vedas. And because he did not accept the authority of the Vedas, the Vedantists and the followers of Vedas, they called the Buddhist philosophy as atheism. This is the explanation.
And whenever I surrender... Because my position is to surrender. I am spiritual, that atom, however big body I can develop. I can develop the body like an elephant, but the elephant is conducted under the direction of a man. You know? Such a big animal is controlled by a small boy of human being. So everyone is under control. We cannot deny that. So we have to... We are under control of different dimensions of that spiritual energy covered by material energy. But the real control is from Kṛṣṇa. That we have to understand. Either we follow this path or that path...
Now, suppose there are impersonalists who believe in the ultimate, I mean to say, merging into the supreme effulgence, brahma-jyotir. And what is that brahma-jyotir? Brahmajyoti is just the atomic spiritual combination of atomic spiritual portions. That is brahma-jyotir. Just like the sun rays. Those who are scientists, those who know what is the sun ray... The sun ray is a small molecular, glazing atom, the sun ray. You have got experience of sun ray, but what is the sun ray? It is not homogeneous. It is heterogeneous. When you can analyze the sun ray, you'll find small particles of molecules. Similarly, brahma-jyotir is also spiritual atoms combined together. Just like the sun rays, different material molecules combined together, similarly, brahma-jyotir is also like that. Now as in the sun rays there are different planets—they are also generated from the sun rays—similarly, from the brahma-jyotir there are different planets, but those planets we cannot see here. That is beyond this sky. So in that planets, spiritual planets, there are different forms of God, Kṛṣṇa. That is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā.
So result is that even one is in need of money or he is in distress, as we'll find in the Seventh Chapter, that catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtino 'rjuna, so even if you have got some desire within yourself, so the Bhagavad-gītā says, in spite of having that desire, you can worship Kṛṣṇa and ask so that in future your desires will be desireless. You will not ask anything because that is pure devotion. So we have to wait.
Just like jñānī. Jñānī, he does not desire anything to take in exchange, but he simply wants to know Kṛṣṇa, "What is my relation with Kṛṣṇa?" This is called jñānī. He has no other desire. Therefore eko bhaktiḥ viśiṣyate. Jñānī has been eulogized. So even I am not jñānī, even I am a needy person, if I take to Kṛṣṇa and ask Him, that process is also recommended because ultimately, when I shall be purified, I shall know my real nature. Then I shall say like Dhruva Mahārāja, svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce: (CC Madhya 22.42) "My dear Lord, I am fully satisfied. I don't want anything." Because spiritual consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is so bright, so illuminated and so valuable that in the presence of such consciousness, you will directly deny to have any valuable things of this material world.
You have got tendency for sex life—make it regulated by marriage ceremony. This is Vedic civilization, not that like cats and dogs you meet together and have sex life. No. That is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā. Dharmāviruddhaḥ kāmaḥ, which is not against religious principles, that kind of sex life, Kṛṣṇa says, "I am that sex life." So nothing is denied. Nothing is denied, but everything should be regulated. That is human form of life. And that regulative principle begins from the varṇāśrama-dharma, four kinds of varṇas and four kinds of āśramas. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. These are varṇas. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13). This is.... This program is chalked out by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You cannot neglect it. Then the karmas will topsy-turvy.
Therefore here it is said, karmaṇy akarma yaḥ paśyet. If we regulate this system—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra—then although they are engaged as a śūdra or as a brāhmaṇa or as a kṣatriya or as a vaiśya, still, they are not becoming entangled in such karma. That is called akarmaṇi ca karma. Karmaṇi. Karmaṇi means there must be result, but you have to make it akarma, no result, no result. And that is bhakti-yoga. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā.
So we fall down when we deny to accept Kṛṣṇa as the supreme or we try to imitate Kṛṣṇa, "Why Kṛṣṇa shall be enjoyer? We shall also enjoy. Why Kṛṣṇa shall have rāsa dance? We shall also (have) rāsa dance. Why Kṛṣṇa will marry sixteen thousand wives? We shall at least sixteen wives." When this competition spirit comes, then we fall down. Fall down means Kṛṣṇa gives the chance. "All right, you also go. You also dance in the hotel, ball dance, and he complicated(?)." Because he does not know what is rāsa dance, he imitates ball dance. So everything, what is going on in this material world, it is imitation of Kṛṣṇa's activities. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). The Vedānta-sūtra says. Everything that is going on, it is simply generated from that original. So... But it is contaminated.
Because in the in touch with the material three qualities. Some of them are goodness, some of them are passion and some of them are ignorance. The example is given: Just like fire, big fire, and the sparks are coming out from the fire. That is natural. Similarly, the big fire is Kṛṣṇa, and we are small sparks. So the sparks sometimes fall down from the original fire, "phut! phut!" falls down. So falls down... When the fire sparks falls down on the dry grass, it creates fire. And if it is fallen down on the land, it keeps the fiery element for some time. But if it falls down on the water, immediately it is extinguished.
If I have got my senses, my father, who manufactured me, he has also senses. This is right conclusion. How is that? I have got my senses, I have got my propensities, I have got my form, and why these things should be denied to my father, and especially the supreme father? Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says that avyaktaṁ vyaktim āpannaṁ manyante mām abuddhayaḥ, paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ (BG 7.24). They do not know. But actual fact is that when our senses will be sacrificed for the satisfaction of the supreme senses, then our life is successful. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170).
Now, in these days of Communism, the idea of Communism... Now, in the Kṛṣṇa science, there is very nice conception of spiritual communism, in the Kṛṣṇa science. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata you'll find that there was a discussion between Nārada and Yudhiṣṭhira, and Nārada was explaining that in this manifested material world, either in the higher planets or in this planet or in the outer space, whatever wonderful things and resources, material resources are there, they are all manufactured by the Supreme Lord. Just try to understand. Everything in this world, whatever there is, that is not done by any human being. That is done by God. Nobody can deny it. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Therefore all living entities, beginning from the ant to Brahmā, the highest human being or the highest demigod, all of them, they have got the right to use them. They have got the right to use them.
Just like we are trying to understand Bhagavad-gītā just (as) Arjuna understood. Arjuna was direct hearer from Kṛṣṇa. So as he understood Bhagavad-gītā, we are trying to understand in that way. Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), that "You give up all other engagements. You just surrender unto Me." And what we are preaching? We are also saying that "You surrender unto Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa said, "You surrender unto Me," because He is the Supreme Person Himself. And we are canvassing, "You surrender to Kṛṣṇa." So what is the difference? There is no difference. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). The spiritual path is to follow the footprints of predecessors, great ācāryas who has realized. Then you become perfect.
Not imitate, but to follow. Imitation is different thing. So this is not imitation, but this is following the footprints. So one who wants to become devotee, he has to follow certain rules and regulation which are enacted by authorized persons in this line. We cannot deny it. Therefore there is necessity.
But faith should not be blind. Blind faith is useless. Now we have already discussed that one should go to the spiritual master with surrender and question and service—three things. First of all, for acquiring knowledge we have to find out the suitable personality, and if we are fortunate enough to find out such suitable personality, then first thing is to surrender. And that, after that surrender, there are questions. One must be very intelligent to put questions to the spiritual master. Without questions you cannot make progress. So blind faith is never required, neither questions should be in a mood of challenge. That should not. Questions or answers should be just to understand. And that should be accompanied with service. This is the mood. Whole Vedic process... Nobody can deny in the Vedic process that there is no need of spiritual master. There is. So śraddhāvān. Therefore the faithful, the faithful can acquire knowledge.
So the conclusion is that that spiritual spark is not impersonal. It is actually personal. The soul is actual person. As God is actual, personal, similarly, because we are part and parcel of the Supreme, therefore, if I am a person, then God must be person. God is the father of everyone. Now, if I am the son—I have got personality; I have got individuality—how can you deny the individuality and personality of the Supreme Lord? So these things require intelligence. Intelligence. Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tat buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam (BG 6.21). Atīndriyam. Atīndriyam means you have to transcend these material senses. Then you can actually appreciate what is happiness.
So generally the animals were allowed to swim over, to cross over the other part, other bank, and men, they took small boats and they would... Now, there was very good current, so many horses, they swept away by the current. And one lean and thin horse came. He is asking, "Let me know how much water this is?" You see? So similarly, if what was impossible for Arjuna, such a stalwart, such an advanced and, I mean to say, in every respect, and directly a friend of Kṛṣṇa, he is admitting that "Kṛṣṇa, this process is not possible for me. Oh, I am a military man. I have to look after the administrative affairs. So how can I concentrate my mind in that way which you have prescribed? So it is not possible for me." He flatly denied. He flatly denied.
Always glorifying, they are mahātmās. They are great souls. If you want to be great soul in terms of the Vedic literature, in terms of Bhagavad-gītā, in terms of great saints and sages, then you have to adopt this Kṛṣṇa consciousness and chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. No other process will be possible. It is not impossible. Just imagine. A personality like Arjuna, with all facilities of life and five thousand years before the circumstances were different, and still, he denied. So yoga system... Actually, if you simply making a show, showbottle of meditation, if you are satisfied, oh, that is a different thing. Make yourself a showbottle. But showbottle demonstration will not make you successful. It is clearly according to Bhagavad-gītā. Showbottle demonstration will not make you successful. You have to be really bottle of medicine. Then it will cure. You know... Of course I... Here is not...
In India we have got some showbottles in the medicine shop. Some red water put into the big bottle and with electric light. That means advertisement: "Here is a bottle of medicine." But that is a showbottle, red water. So red water will not cure the disease. You must have really, actually, a mixture, fever mixture. But that fever mixture is very difficult.
Now, Kṛṣṇa says... Kṛṣṇa does not say, "Oh, you are My friend. You are so favorably situated. How you deny it? No, no. You cannot deny it." Now, He gave so much stress on the fighting—"Oh, you are kṣatriya. You must fight"—but so far the yoga system, He gave him the idea—"This is the yoga system"—but He is not stressing.
Then Kṛṣṇa says that jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam idaṁ vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ (BG 7.2). Now this knowledge of God is not a sentiment, it is science. It is science. This is scientific. Nobody can deny it. We are not preaching any particular type of sentiment, or any frog's speculation. It is fact. How our relationship with the Supreme Lord can develop, how we are related with Him, these things are fact on philosophical basis. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is assuring Arjuna that "What I'm talking to you is not a religious sentiment, but it is jñānam." Jñānam means it is practical knowledge. Jñānam. Jñānam means theoretical knowledge, and vijñānam means practical knowledge. So Kṛṣṇa says, jñānam. Jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam: "I am just speaking to you the exact knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with practical demonstration." (break)
...appear for practical examination. Simply knowing that such and such chemical element mixed with such and such chemical element becomes such and such chemical element is theoretical knowledge. Oxygen and hydrogen mixed together produces water. This is theoretical knowledge. But when in the laboratory you actually act—such and such quantity of oxygen gas you mix with such and such quantity of hydrogen gas—at once there is formulation of water. As soon as you mix alkali and acid together, there is at once reaction, soda-bicarbonate. So similarly, theoretical knowledge that we have got a particular type of relationship with God, that you cannot deny. Anything, whatever you have got in your possession, you have got some particular relationship. Suppose you are Americans, we are Indian. So we have got some particular relationship with the state. I am Indian citizen, you are American citizen. So relationship must be there. You are sitting here. There is some relationship. Suppose my students, they have got relationship with me. I am their teacher, they are my disciples. Or if you are not my disciple then you are audience, I am speaker. Must be there some relationship.
As it is stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). There is a planet which is called cintāmaṇi-dhāma, Goloka Vṛndāvana. So in that dhāma... As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, mad dhāma. Dhāma means His abode. Kṛṣṇa says, "I have got an abode, particular." How we can deny? How is that abode? That is also described in Bhagavad-gītā and in many other Vedic literatures. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). Here, any dhāma, any planet you go... Just like we have got in this planet. But we have to go back from this planet. You'll not be allowed to stay here. You are Americans, that's all right; but how long you shall remain American? These people, they do not understand it. You'll have to go back in some other planet, in some other place. You cannot say, "No, I shall remain here. I have got my visa or my permanent citizenship." No. This will not allow you. One day death will come, "Please exit." "No, sir, I have got so much business." "No. Damn your business. Come on." You see? But if you go to Kṛṣṇaloka, Kṛṣṇa says, yad gatvā na nivartante, you haven't got to come back again. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6).
So you have to select a nice place, sacred place. Then you have to sit right angular and you have to close your eyes half, not full, and see on the tip of your nose. You cannot change your āsana. There are so many rules and regulations which is not possible at the present moment. What to speak of at the present moment, even five thousand years ago, when circumstances of the world was different... And a personality like Arjuna, who was talking with Kṛṣṇa face to face... Just imagine what is his position. Arjuna belonged to the royal family. He was a great warrior and intimate friend of Kṛṣṇa and constantly living with Him. He, after hearing this process of yoga, aṣṭāṅga-yoga, he said, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, it is not possible for me." He flatly said, admitted that "For me, these rules and regulation and practice and controlling the mind is not possible." He flatly denied.
We cannot see ourself, where I am in this body. But I am in this body. As soon as I go away from this body, this body's useless. Not even worth farthing. The such nice brain, such nice dress, such nice activity, as soon as I go away, I leave this body... Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). As I leave this body and accept another body, this body's useless, immediately. Similarly you are seeing the whole cosmic manifestation, the gigantic body of this material world. So there is something, soul. Just like in this body, there is soul. Similarly this gigantic body has got a soul. That is God. How you can deny it?
In śāstra we say:
- eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭiṁ
- yac chaktir asti jagad-aṇḍa-cayā yad-antaḥ
- aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-sthaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.35)
Eko 'py asau racayitum. Just like this body has developed. How it has developed? Because the spirit soul is there. The spirit soul is injected by the semina of the father, and it is put within the womb of the mother. And then the two secretions develops into small body, like a pea, and that develops, gradually. When the development is complete, on the seventh month, the child moves. His sense, consciousness, comes. He's in the dreaming condition then. In the beginning, he's unconscious. Suṣupti. Then dreaming condition. He returns to his consciousness. And then he wants to come out. And then, in due course of time, at the end of ten months, the child comes out. This is the process of bodily construction, material bodily construction. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha upapattaye (SB 3.31.1). This is the beginning of body. So a dead child, coming out, does not grow because the soul is not there.
So Kṛṣṇa says: "Just try to increase your attachment for Me. Practice this." It is not difficult. Just like we have got attachment for something here in this material world. Somebody's attached to do business, somebody's attached to woman, somebody's attached to man, somebody's attached to riches, somebody's attached to art, somebody's attached to... So many things. There are many subject matters of attachment. So attachment we have got. That we cannot deny. Everyone. We have got some attachment for something. That attachment should be transferred for Kṛṣṇa. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are attached to something with consciousness, not blindly. So we have got the consciousness. When we turn our attachment, or train ourself to increase our attachment for Kṛṣṇa, that is called bhakti-yogam. Bhakti-yogam. You have heard the name of yoga. Yoga means connecting link. So if you practice this bhakti-yoga, then, gradually, you increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa. That is the... It is stated also in the Bhagavad-gītā: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). "If you practice bhakti-yoga, that is called bhaktyā, then you can understand Me. Not otherwise."
Because we have to see God. Just like I told you, if you see the sun, then automatically you see everything. You see yourself, you see your neighbor, you see the city, you see the house, you see... Everything you can see when there is sunlight. Similarly, if you can see God, then you can see everything. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. If you can understand what is God, then you understand everything. Then why don't you take this process to understand God? That is the prerogative of human life, to understand God. Why you deny the existence of God? How you can deny? You cannot deny. There is a controller, supreme controller. That we have to accept. We are not free. We are being controlled. However we are trying to become independent of any controller, that is not possible. Prakṛteḥ... You are under the control of the prakṛti.
Rascals and fools, they are thinking that "We are independent." They are completely under the grip of the material nature. Every one of you know. We want to do something; we don't want excessive heat. Why there is excessive heat so that we have to manufacture this fan and air condition, so many things? This is simply struggle against the control of the material nature. This is a fact. And we have to accept this. You cannot deny it. That is described:
- prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
- guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
- ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
- kartāham iti manyate
- (BG 3.27)
Those who are fools and rascals, they are thinking, "We are independent." You are not independent. Under the prakṛti, under the nature. And what is the prakṛti? Prakṛti is the agent, or agency, of Kṛṣṇa. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram: (BG 9.10) "Under My control." Prakṛti is controlling you or me, and prakṛti is being controlled by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the supreme controller. That is accepted in the Vedic literature, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Kṛṣṇa is controller—we are surprised. How? I am also a human being, and Kṛṣṇa is also a historical person, human being. How He is controller of the whole material nature? That is answered, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. Although He comes as a person, but He is not a person like us. He is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). That we can understand, study.
So this impersonalists and the voidists, they are of the same group, denying the existence of God. But that is not the fact. There is God. The devotees know there is God, and He is Bhagavān. God is called Bhagavān Therefore although it is said here... Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by Kṛṣṇa, everyone knows. But in some places in the Bhagavad-gītā it is described as bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān and Kṛṣṇa—the same person. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). Bhagavān, there is a definition of the word bhagavān.
- aiśvaryasya samagrasya
- vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ
- jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva
- ṣaṇṇāṁ bhaga itīṅganā
- (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47)
Bhaga, we understand the word bhāgyavān, bhāgya. The bhāgya, bhāgyavān, this word comes from bhaga. Bhaga means opulence. Opulence means riches. How one man can be opulent? If he has got money, if he has got intelligence, if he has got beauty, if he has got reputation, if he has got knowledge, if he has got renunciation—this is the meaning of Bhagavān.
Just like Arjuna did. He was conscious... In the beginning of the fight he was conscious of his relatives, of his family, means bodily. But when he understood Bhagavad-gītā from Kṛṣṇa, he said, "Yes," kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73). In the beginning he denied to fight, but when he understood Bhagavad-gītā, he agreed, "Yes, I shall fight." Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava. "I am now full conscious." Naṣṭo mohaḥ: "This attachment, bodily attachment, is now finished. Kṛṣṇa, it is now finished." Naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā. Because we forgot, I have already said that we are forgetful. This is our another nature. "Now my forgetfulness is gone," tvat-prasādāt, "by Your mercy. You have taught me Bhagavad-gītā, so by Your mercy my two things—that bodily attachment and misconception of life—is now gone. Now I know that I am Your servant. I am Your eternal servant, and it is my duty to carry out Your order. Therefore I agree." Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73). "I shall now execute. You want me to fight, no consideration of my relatives or family. I shall fight with them." This is the conclusion of Arjuna.
So any conditioned soul... There are two kinds of living entities: the liberated and the conditioned soul. So we should not receive any knowledge from conditioned person. We must receive knowledge from the liberated. So Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān, the Personality of Godhead—who can be more liberated than Himself? Therefore He says—we should accept it. If you are fortunate enough, then whatever He says, you should accept it. He says that mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. Everyone, at least human being, advanced human... The advanced human being is called Aryan, means advanced. Anyone who is advanced in spiritual knowledge, he is to be called Aryan. So the Aryan civilization, Vedic civilization... When Arjuna, I mean to say, denied to fight, Kṛṣṇa accused him that "You are talking like non-Aryans. You are not Aryan." Anārya-juṣṭam, akīrti-karam arjuna: (BG 2.2) "You are talking like a non-Aryan, and which will defame your reputation. Don't say like that." So Aryan means one who is advanced in spiritual knowledge. So Kṛṣṇa says that "If you increase your attachment for Me..." Mayy āsakta. Mayi āsakta. Āsakta means "attachment." "Simply if you increase your attachment for Me," mayy āsakta-manāḥ, "in such mind..." That is called, actually, meditation.
The example is... Just like Arjuna. Arjuna was a warrior, fighter. So when he proposed that "I shall not fight. They are my brothers, my grandfathers, my nephews," that was his proposal. Kṛṣṇa said, "Wherefrom you got this nonsense idea? You are in the warfield and are denying to fight." That means by his nice proposal that "I shall not fight," Kṛṣṇa was not pleased. But after understanding Bhagavad-gītā, when he saw that "Kṛṣṇa wants this fight," "Yes. Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73)." That is perfection. So he remained a warrior and still he became perfect. So everyone can remain in his own occupation, varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ, but one has to see that whether Kṛṣṇa is satisfied. Then whatever he is doing, that is perfect. That is Kṛṣṇa conscious.
So tac-chakti viṣaya vivikta-svarūpa viṣayakaṁ jñānam. You'll have full knowledge about the constitutional position of yourself, this material world, the spiritual world, God, our interrelationship, time, space, everything. There are many things to be known. But the principal thing is that the God, the living entities, time, work, and this material energy. These five things are to be known. You cannot deny that "There is no God." God is controller, supreme controller. You cannot say that you are not controlled. There is controller. Just like in the state, you cannot say there is no controller. There is controller. In every street, in every house, there is control, government control. Suppose this store, here is also government control. You have to build store like this, you cannot live. If it is residential house, "The fire arrangement should be like this." There is control. Even you walk in the street, you drive your car, there is control: "Keep to the right." You cannot cross where there is written "Stop." You have to stop.
So Kṛṣṇa is showing practically by accepting His friend, very dear friend, as His disciple. That means he is showing who is guru. Guru is Kṛṣṇa and one who understands Kṛṣṇa. That is guru. Don't accept these rascals and fools as guru, who denies Kṛṣṇa. He is not guru. He is cheater. Kṛṣṇa is showing, and Arjuna is accepting, śiṣyas te 'ham (BG 2.7), "I become your śiṣya." That means Kṛṣṇa is the original guru. And one who speaks on behalf of Kṛṣṇa, he is guru. That is guru. This is the test: whether he is aware of Kṛṣṇa. Then he is guru. Otherwise he's not guru. First of all you understand that. So that is mahātmā. Kṛṣṇa has said, sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. That is mahātmā. Who mahātmā?
So this is the position, that we do not know what is the perfection of life. Kṛṣṇa says, therefore, begins real knowledge. This chapter is "Knowledge of the Absolute." So everyone... You ask any M.A., Ph.D., that "What is your next life, sir?" "Gow! Gow!" (laughter) That's all. "Gow! Gow!" means "Why you are bothering about these things?" Now, this is the position. And we have taken very hard job to convince these people about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They will not accept it. They will deny immediately. They will say, "Why do you bother us? You do your own business. Let us do our own business." But why we are bothering? Because we are servant of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wants that these rascals should be informed. These rascals should be raised from this status of ignorance. So that is our mission. Therefore we are going and pleading, "Sir, I am a beggar, I have come to beg from you that you kindly purchase one book and you read it." So sometimes they are doing. After all, human being... So this is our... This is our business. We are stressing on pushing on these books because modern man, if he purchases one book, then at least he will see one line, "What these nonsense have written?" So if he reads one line, if he is intelligent man, he will understand the value. That is sure. That is sure.
So Kṛṣṇa is there, and Kṛṣṇa is explaining Himself, "I am like this." But unfortunately we'll not understand Kṛṣṇa, but we'll try to speculate what is God. This is our disease. Kṛṣṇa is explaining Himself; God is explaining Himself. We shall not take that statement, but either we shall deny or we shall accept God without any head and leg and so on, so many things. This is our disease. Therefore in the previous verse it has been explained,
- manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
- kaścid yatati siddhaye
- yatatām api siddhānāṁ
- kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ
- (BG 7.3)
Out of many millions and millions of persons, actually they are serious to understand, "What is the aim of life? What is God? What is my relation..." Nobody is interested. Just like... Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). Everyone is interested with this bodily conception of life like cats and dogs. This is the position. Not only now, always, this is the material condition. But somebody, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu, out of millions, one tries to understand, to make his life perfect.
Just like if you sit down on the bank of a river, you cannot keep an account of the waves, how many waves are passing, similarly, there is no account how many incarnations are coming out from Kṛṣṇa. But Kṛṣṇa is above all. Here Kṛṣṇa personally says, and it is confirmed by all the sages, authorities, formerly by great sages like Nārada Muni, Vyāsadeva, Asita, Devala, and in the modern age by all the ācāryas: Śaṅkarācārya, Madhvācārya Rāmānujācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī—so many other ācāryas—Lord Caitanya. Everyone accepts that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How can you deny? We have to be guided by the ācāryas. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who follows the principles of ācāryas, he knows the things as they are. That is the verdict.
In the Bhagavad-gītā also, we find: ācāryopāsanam. We have to follow the footprints, footsteps, of the ācāryas, because they can give us right direction. And one who does not follow the ācāryas and creates and manufactures his mental concoction, his version will not be accepted. There are many different commentaries on the Bhagavad-gītā, but not all of them are according to the direction of the ācāryas. You have to accept Bhagavad-gītā as it is under the direction of the ācāryas. They do not make any change. They explain how Kṛṣṇa is the greatest. Not that comment in a different way and deviate you that Kṛṣṇa is ordinary man.
So I do not know why they say, "Can you show me Kṛṣṇa?" Kṛṣṇa is showing Himself in so many ways. They will not take it. It is not at all difficult to see Kṛṣṇa every moment, in every step, if we study what Kṛṣṇa says: "I am," "This is." Puṇyo gandhaḥ pṛthivyāṁ ca. Everything is there. Now, within the earth, the every stock is there. The flavor of rose flower is there, and the flavor of some other flower is also there, but you cannot take out by your so-called scientific chemical process. You take some lump of earth and extract from it the flavor of rose. It is there. That is a fact. Because you sow the seed of a rose flower, it will exact the rose flavor from the earth. That's a fact. Who can deny it? Otherwise, wherefrom the flavor is coming? Kṛṣṇa also, He, it is said, jīvanaṁ sarva-bhūteṣu. He's the life, seed. Bījo 'ham... Next, next verse He'll say, bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 7.10). Bīja, the seed. The seed is so nicely made by Kṛṣṇa's brain that as soon as you put on the seed within the earth and put some water, it will come out, fructify, and gradually grow and exact the flavor, the color, everything. This is a fact. No, everybody knows. Not only that, a small seed of banyan tree... Bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām. There is also Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise how this wonderful thing can happen? A small seed just like a mustard seed, and it... Not only one tree, but many millions of fruits, and in each fruit, many millions of trees. This is Kṛṣṇa's brain. You cannot do that. The so-called manufacturers, they can manufacture one watch, very complicated, but not that from that watch many watches will come. No, that is not possible.
Lord Buddha appeared to stop this animal killing. But because in the Purāṇas there are sometimes regulative principle of killing animal, therefore he had to deny the authority of Vedas, because those who are after killing animals, they will find some clue that "Here in the Vedas the animal-killing is sometimes recommended." But that animal-killing is not a, I mean to say, instigation that "You go on killing animals." You can understand by a nice example. Just like the government opens liquor shop. It does not mean the government is encouraging to drink liquor. It is not like that. The idea is that if government does not allow some drunkards to drink, they will create havoc. They will distill illicit distillation of liquor. To check them, the government opens liquor shop with very, very great, high price. The cost... If the cost is one rupee, government excise department charges sixty rupees.
So whenever in the scripture it is said that God is without form, that means He has no form which we have got experience. But He has got form. Just the same example. When you cannot measure, you say a point has no length, no breadth. But actually, it is not a fact. The point has length and breadth. We have no instrument to measure it, that's all. Similarly, when as soon as we say "form," we understand this form. Just like I am seeing your form, you are seeing my form. So we understand that God may be a form, and because God also comes in this form also. Just like in Bhagavad-gītā it is said, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam: (BG 9.11) "Because I have come in the form of an ordinary human being, they are deriding: 'How He can be God?' " So many scholars, so many philosophers, they deny to accept Kṛṣṇa, God. Why? Because He appears to be just like you and me, a human being. But God can appear in any way because He is all-powerful. He sometimes appears as fish; sometimes He appears as tortoise; sometimes He appears like a boar; sometimes He appears half-lion, half-man. Similarly sometimes He appears man, sometimes He appears as woman.
So neither God is limited to any five imaginative forms or this form or that form. His form nobody can imagine, neither He is within our perception. But He is as He is. Paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūta-maheśvaram (BG 9.11). Therefore we have to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead from authoritative sources, just like the Bhagavad-gītā. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself speaking, "What I am." This is the science of God. If we take Him as He is saying, then we become perfect knower of God. There is no difficulty. But if we deny, then we are in difficulty. Those who have accepted Kṛṣṇa as He is, God as He is, they have attained perfection also. It is practical. Not that we are. There are millions and billions followers of Kṛṣṇa in India. Not only ordinary followers. Just like many great stalwarts, educationists, I mean to say, saintly person like Śaṅkarācārya, Madhvācārya, Rāmānujācārya, great educated and learned scholars, they have accepted. Lord Caitanya has accepted. And... There are so many others also. And there are millions and millions of temples of Kṛṣṇa.
Now, this spiritual vision at the present moment, because we are covered by the material dress, or material senses, therefore the spiritual world or anything spiritual is not conceivable due to our material senses. But we can feel that there is something spiritual. That is possible. Although we are fully in ignorance of the spiritual matter, still, we can feel. If you analyze yourself silently, "What I am? I am this finger? I am this body? I am this hair?" you'll deny, "No I am not this." So beyond this body, what is, that is spiritual. That we can feel. Similarly, as we cannot find our self within this matter, although I'm here, that we can distinguish, the distinction between dead body and living body, something minus. That something is spirit. That something is spirit. Although we have no eyes to see, but the spirit is there. That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā. Avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. That spiritual existence is eternal, whereas this body is not eternal.
There is another nature. You cannot deny it. Where God's kingdom, creation, how far it is, and how widespread it is—by your imagination you cannot determine. The so-called advancement of scientific knowledge is useless in the estimation of the total creation. This creation, material creation, is one-fourth exhibition of the total creation. And the three-fourth exhibition of the total creation is the spiritual world. So there are also... Like here we have got so many planets and each planet is full of living entities, as this planet is full of living entities, similarly, in other planets, upper, middle, down, there are millions, millions of different types of living entities. It is a false statement that "Only on this planet there is living entities; in other planets there are no living entities." That is nonsensical. There are living entities exactly like this. Maybe the climate, the situation, little different. Just like your climate, India climate... Even on this planet there are different climatic situations, European, American, Australian, Asian. So that is God's varieties of creation.
So suppose if you are saying that "I don't believe in God," but who has given you this power to say that "I don't believe in God." You are speaking, "I don't believe in God," but as soon as there is something, you cannot speak, everything stops. So who has given you this speaking power that you dare to say that "I don't believe in God"? Will you not think that "How I am speaking? Who has given me the power?" Do you mean to say that this speaking power has come automatically from the stone? This body is just like as good as stone. As soon as the speaking power is withdrawn by the supreme authority, you are as good as stone, this body. What is the meaning of this body? So who has given you the speaking power that you are denying that "I don't believe in God"? Therefore an atheist or an unbeliever, he must be a first-class foolish man. There is no other reason that one can deny the existence of God. It is very simple reasoning, that who has given you the power to talk and who, if he withdraws the power from you, then what is your value? How can you boastly say that "I don't believe in God"? This very power of speaking is the proof that there is the greatest authority who gives you everything.
Therefore the Kṛṣṇa conscious person, he knows that "Everything, whatever I have got, it is not my, under my control. The controller is different. I am feeling... I am simply using it. I am talking. This is my hand. I am working, but if the power of working is immediately withdrawn—it is paralyzed—have you got any power to revive this working power of this hand? No. You have not. One hand will work; another hand will stop. Who stops?" These things are to be thought. How can I deny? There is something. If I don't believe in God, but I must believe some power beyond me which is controlling me every step. Either call it God or anything, nature, but there is a controlling power. You have to admit. How can you deny it? Therefore anyone who denies the existence of God, he is a foolish man. He is not very intelligent man. No intelligent man will deny. So Kṛṣṇa says, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). Kṛṣṇa is saying here, because He was present on this earth just like a human being with some supernatural power. But mostly, 99% of people, they could not recognize Him, could not recognize Him that He is the supreme power, Supreme Personality of Godhead. Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ. Because they have no eyes to see.
So this ahaṅgrahopāsanam, that is number one. Then next upāsanā, next worship, is ekatvena pṛthaktvena (BG 9.15). Pṛthaktvena means pantheism. Just like there are persons who are worship any demigod as God. Their opinion is that there are different forms of God. So any form we accept as God and worship, we shall be benefited. We shall approach the highest perfection. That is another section. So this can be adjusted that God is everywhere. That... There is no denying this fact because by His energy, He is everywhere.
Just like we are His energy. Living entities, they are superior energy of God. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām. Parām means superior. So we are also energy. So energy and the energetic, they're one. Just like the sun and the sunshine, they're not different. So wherever the sunshine is there, there is sun. You cannot deny that. Wherever the sunshine is there, there is sun. Similarly, wherever the energy of God is there, there is God. So in that way, everything is God. Pṛthaktvena. Everything... Pantheism. These are different processes. But these processes one has to transcend. Just like simply studying the sunshine is not complete study of the sun. Although sunshine is not different from the sun, still, if you simply study scientifically, scientifically, what is the molecules, what are these rays, where this brilliant illuminative came... So many things you can go on studying. That is also, one sense, studying the sun, but not sun also.
So Arjunācārya, "Oh, you are taking food? What is that?" No. He did not. I am mistaken. Sorry. He said that "You are..." So the wife said, "Ācārya, you have become so much cruel nowadays?" "Oh, what is that?" "Two boys, very nice boys, they have brought so many foodstuff. You loaded on their head, and they denied to take it, and you have beaten them, chastised?" He said, "No. I have never done this. Why shall I do it?" Then she described, "Oh, such a nice beautiful boy." Then Arjunācārya understood that "Because I wanted that God does not deliver, so He has delivered these goods, and because I cut these alphabets that He does not give personally, so He has shown that beating mark."
Come forward. Yes. And this is the process of devotional service. It is not very difficult. Everyone can execute. To think of God, to offer some obeisances to God, and to be, to serve something, to render some service unto Him, and just to become a party of God. That, just like we identify, everyone identifies to some party, either politically, socially or religiously, economically. We have got so many fields of activity. But, in each and every field, we have got a party feeling. You cannot avoid that. In political field, oh, we have got so many parties. Even in your own country, even there are democratic party or conservative party and this party, that party. Worldwide is also the capitalistic party, the communistic party. In our country also there is congress party. So party's already there. Socially also, oh, we are Christian, I am Jew, I am Hindu. Of course, this is religiously. And socially also. In India, there is very social party. So you cannot avoid this partyism. All ladies and gentlemen who are present here, I ask you, do you not belong to any party? Can you deny that "I don't belong to any party"? Oh, everyone belongs to some party.
Now what are the opulences? You have got, everyone of you, has got the idea of opulences. What are those opulences? Wealth, riches, strength, or influence, and fame, and beauty, knowledge and renunciation. These six things are called opulences. One has got, one, if a man has got sufficient riches, he attracts. This man attracts poor man. This is a instrument of attracting. Sometimes we also approach very rich men. Give us some contribution. Although we are Kṛṣṇa conscious. So richness has got attraction. You cannot deny it. Of course, for Kṛṣṇa, we can do anything. We have no restriction. For Kṛṣṇa's service, we can do everything. So anyway, richness, if a man is very rich, wealthy, he attracts.
Nowadays a fashion has become, daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā. This is nonsense. What is the daridra-nārāyaṇa-sevā? Why you are taking care of the daridras? If you have got such vision, such outlook, that in everyone's heart... That is a fact. Everyone's heart there is Nārāyaṇa. There is no denial. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati: (BG 18.61) "Īśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated in everyone's heart." If you have got such vision—you are seeing in everyone the Supreme Nārāyaṇa—then why should you designate only the daridras? Others also, you should see dog-nārāyaṇa. You should see kukkura-nārāyaṇa. Why daridra-nārāyaṇa?
If you have got such broad vision, why you are taking particular? That is imperfect vision. You cannot send the chāga-nārāyaṇa, goat-nārāyaṇa, to the slaughterhouse and allow the daridra-nārāyaṇa to eat the meat. This is not bhakta's business. This is demonic. Bhakta's business is... Here it is clearly stated, adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānām. You should be equally kind to everyone, to the daridras, to the dhanīs also. Here everyone is daridra because everyone is lacking knowledge. So nobody is rich. Here the so-called rich is also daridra because he has no knowledge. And the so-called daridra is also daridra.
Now, Brahman, the Absolute Truth, how we can understand the Absolute Truth? Absolute Truth means the Supreme. Now we have got experience that everything is created by somebody, everything, whatever we see, this pillow, this seat, or this book, or this microphone, whatever we are seeing. Even my body is created by my father and mother. Everyone can understand. So why they should deny the creation of this material world?
We see. Everything material, that has got a beginning, date of birth and date of death. And there are, in the middle, between the birth and death, there is disease and old age, deterioration. Old age means deterioration. Just like this body. When I was young man, child, I was also jumping. Now I have to go with a stick. The deterioration... This is called de... Deterioration. Deterioration means now it is coming to be finished.
So this material world... How this rascal says that "It was existing"? "It was existing." Nothing was existing. Otherwise why the Brahma-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), that "The Absolute Truth is that from whom, or from which, everything is taking birth." This is Brahma-sūtra. So "everything is taking birth" means this material world also has taken birth from that Absolute Truth. That is answered in the Bhagavad-gītā, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). Kṛṣṇa says that "I am the origin of all births, everything." So the material world was not existing. This is insufficient. How you can say it is existing? Anything you see, material, it has got a date of birth. Who can deny it? Can you present anything material which was, which has no beginning? Everything has got beginning. So how you can say this material world has no beginning? This is nonsense.
Therefore hetumadbhir viniścitaiḥ. Hetu means "with reason," not like dogmatic obstinacy. You must have the beginning. Then, as soon as you, we, accept that this material world has had a beginning... The śāstra says it has beginning. Just like Brahma-sūtra, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Why it says, janmādy asya (SB 1.1.1)? Everything has beginning.
But Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given us a special gift, but, that in spite of our not understanding everything very analytically, as they are described in the Vedic scriptures, one can understand himself by the simple process by chanting the holy name of the Lord. That is special gift of Lord Caitanya. He says that if you chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, then automatically everything will be revealed unto you. Because in this age it is very difficult to follow the process of knowledge. Just like amānitvam, to give up the pride of one's existential, material existential condition, amānitvam. Amānitvam means... Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī: sva-sat-kāraṇāpekṣatvam. Sva-sat-kāraṇa apekṣatvam, adambhitvam dharmikatvam. First thing is that to deny the material existence, that "I am not this matter." So this is not ordinary thing, that "I am not matter." But Lord Caitanya says that this realization that "I am not matter" will be very easily realized if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa sincerely. He says that ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). If we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, the immediate, first installment of profit will be the understanding that ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam.
Therefore the first condition of acquiring knowledge is adambhitvam. Amānitvam adambhitvam. First of all to deny that "I am not matter. I am..." Then "If I am not matter, then I am God." Oh, then Kṛṣṇa says, "No. That is your false pride. You are not God." Adambhitvam. Amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā (BG 13.8). Then nonviolence. As soon as one is a realized soul, he will be nonviolent. These are the different stages of acquiring knowledge. And when one is in full knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he becomes qualified with all the good qualities, all the good godly qualities. The Bhāgavata says, yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12) If one is actually in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then all godly, good qualities will develop. Because we are part and parcel of God, the godly qualities are there. It is simply covered. Just like the fire is covered by ashes. If you fan out the ashes, then the fire comes out. Similarly, spirit soul is pure. So when he comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he becomes pure soul.
Why Caitanya Mahāprabhu denied these social orders? Because He was to give immediately benefit to the fallen souls of this age. So He denied this system, not that He decried this system, but He knew that this system cannot be introduced strictly at the present moment in this age. So in this way, gradually, he presented jñāna-miśra-bhakti, devotional service with knowledge, renouncement of this material connection. In every step, Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Oh, this is not suitable. This is not suitable." Then at last... Not at last, in the middle, Rāmānanda Rāya suggested that jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva: "One should give up the false knowledge, false knowledge that 'I am God. I am God.' " This is false knowledge. So when this was recommended by Rāmānanda Rāya to Caitanya, that "One should give up this false knowledge..." Jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva. "One should be very meek and humble," namanta eva jīvanti, "and in that way if he lives," san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām, "and tries to receive knowledge from really self-realized persons..." The motto of life. He is describing the motto of life, that "One should not be falsely proud, one should be very much meek and humble, and try to receive knowledge from self-realized persons. If one continues, follows these principles, then one day he will find that God, who is ajita, who cannot be conquered by anyone, who cannot be known by anyone, God realization..."
So this is called illusion. We are using Kṛṣṇa's property, but we are claiming "our." That is called illusion. Therefore śāstra says, Veda says, īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam: (ISO 1) "Everything belongs to God." You cannot create this big mass of water, sea, or ocean. That is not possible. Who has created? Somebody has created. That is stated in the śāstra. There is perspiration. This water is perspiration of Mahā-Viṣṇu. We can understand because we are minute particle of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). So sometimes we perspire and create some water, say, half an ounce water. But if somebody has unlimited power to perspire and create water, where is the difficulty to understand? There is no difficulty. If you take it for acceptance that this vast mass of water has come from the perspiration of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So there is nothing to deny this fact. Acintya-śakti. Acintya-śakti means inconceivable power. We have got inconceivable power. Because we are minute particle of God, we have also minute inconceivable power. We do not know how the hairs are growing, but the energy is there within me. Similarly, so many things come out from the inconceivable power of Kṛṣṇa.
Just like Arjuna. Arjuna fought because he thought that this war, this Kurukṣetra battle is for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73). In the beginning, Arjuna denied to fight. He thought, "Why shall I fight with my kinsmen? Let them enjoy." But when he understood that "It is Kṛṣṇa's desire," nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasācin: "It is already planned." Kṛṣṇa said, "My dear Arjuna, you are thinking that you'll save your relatives, but you are wrong. It is already planned. Those who have come here, they must be killed. That is already My plan. You simply become an instrument." Nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasācin. So when Arjuna understood that "It is the Kṛṣṇa's plan. Then I am servant of Kṛṣṇa; I must satisfy Kṛṣṇa." Arjuna therefore asked, Kṛṣṇa therefore asked Arjuna, "Now, after hearing My instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā, what you are going to do?" Arjuna replied, naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā. "My Lord Kṛṣṇa, my illusion is now over." Smṛtir labdhā, "I have got my remembrance. Everything belongs to You. For Your satisfaction everything must be done." Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73). "Yes, I'll fight."
Just like a small grain of poison, venomous poison. If it is injected in your body, you will die immediately. It has got so power. Similarly, the minute spirit soul is so minute, one ten-thousandth part. Still, because that minute spirit soul is there, you are moving, you are acting, your brain is working, you are denying the existence of God, you are doing all these things. Sūkṣmatvāt tad avijñeyaṁ dūrastham, dūrasthaṁ cāntike ca tat.
Dūrastham. Now, you cannot calculate where this abode of God is there. Dūrastham. Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara. If you go with your plane with the speed of mind, panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi (Bs. 5.34), by airplane, vāyu-ratha... This vāyu airplane is mentioned in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Vāyor athāpi manasaḥ, and with the speed of mind. Muni-puṅgavānām, discovered by great scientists, still, avicintya-tattve, it is so far away. Avicintya-tattve. Therefore it is called dūrastham.
Puruṣa, the living entity, is fully under the control of material nature. That's a fact. You cannot deny it. If you deny it, then ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. Simply by false egotism we declare independence, but that is not possible. This is jñāna. So this puruṣa, this living entity, prakṛti-stha, being under the control of prakṛti, material nature, bhuṅkte, he is obliged, He is forced. Prakṛti-jān guṇān. He is forced, he is obliged to accept the supremacy of the modes of material nature. Prakṛti-jān guṇān.
Today I may be in good position, I may be millionaire, I may be prime minister, but when death will come it will take everything from you, and it will oblige you to go to a species form of life which you cannot you deny. Puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān (BG 13.22). If (indistinct) have infected some disease, you must suffer from it. There is no excuse. Even a child, if he touches the fire, the fire will not excuse. "Because it is a child, he does not know, therefore I shall not burn his finger." No. No excuse. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). You cannot escape the stringent laws of nature. That is not possible. If you are foolishly thinking that "I shall escape the punishment or reward of the prakṛti."
Just like your hand, part and parcel of your body. Its only business is with this body. I am taking care of this body, I am taking of this hand, this leg, this head because there is intimate relationship with this body and with this head. I am not... Suppose if you are in danger, your head is in danger, I am not going to protect. But when my head is in danger, I prepared to give life. Similarly, we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is all-powerful. He says, "I will give you protection." Just like I am giving protection to my hands and legs, so what about Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa also prepared. But if you deny His protection, that is a different thing. But if you are prepared to take His protection, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyaḥ, then you should immediately attain abhayam, no more fear. Rākhe kṛṣṇa māre ke māre kṛṣṇa rākhe ke: "If Kṛṣṇa wants to kill you, who can save you? Nobody can save you. And if Kṛṣṇa wants to protect you, who can kill you?" This is... This is philosophy, abhayam. So if you want to be fearless, if you want to sanctify your existence, take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, don't be deviated. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)
Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). So exactly like that. Here sun is an insignificant part, creation, of the Lord. And the sun has got so much effulgence, bodily rays, that it is illuminating and heating the whole universe. You cannot deny it. This is the position of the sun. And there are millions and trillions of suns, each one sometimes bigger than this sun. This is the smallest sun. There are bigger, bigger suns. So we can understand what is the bodily rays. There is no difficulty. That bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa is called Brahman. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣu vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam, tad brahma: (Bs. 5.40) "That is Brahman, that prabhā."
That is jaḍa-vidyā, māyār vaibhava. They can expand the influence of māyā. We are already influenced by māyā. Prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritaḥ. We have taken this material world as very fascinating, very attractive. We want to stay here and enjoy. This is material life. Everyone who is attracted to the material world, they are sinful or fallen. Kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare. The, our material life begins... We are spirit soul. When our material life...? When we try to deny, try to not serve Kṛṣṇa but independently we want to enjoy life, that is called material life. Independently we want to enjoy without Kṛṣṇa, without God. That is called material life. So such persons are called demons.
We don't want to stop the tendency of material enjoyment. No nivṛtti. The human life is meant for nivṛtti. The cats' and dogs' life is for pravṛtti. The sex desire, they cannot stop it. It is not possible. If you teach some dogs that "You forget the sex life," it is impossible. That is not possible. So they cannot stop this desire of sex life. But if a human being can be induced... Therefore there is brahmacarya system, there is Vedic education, there is Bhagavad-gītā, so many other things. If people take advantage of these books they can stop this pravṛtti, this intense desire for enjoying this material world. But the asuras, they do not know that what we should accept and what we should not accept. Pravṛtti means to accept something, and nivṛtti means to deny something. So they do not know. This is the first symptom of the asuras. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca na viduḥ. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ, āsurāḥ janāḥ (BG 16.7), those who are demons, asuras, they do not know it.
So it is a false... When the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs say that jagan mithyā, Jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8), "There is no God..." The Bauddha philosophers, they say that "This jagat, this world, has come into existence by combination of matter." The modern scientists also say. They say that "Chemical evolution, by combination of chemicals, everything has come out, but there is no creator." They will deny this. This is the symptom of the asura. So from this instruction you can understand who is a rascal and asura. As soon as they say that "There is no God. The world is created by chance. By chance..." Aparaspara-bhūtam. Aparaspara: "One thing mixed with another thing..."
How the example? The example is kim anyat kāma-haitukam. Just like a man and woman, by chance they become lusty and have sex, and the woman becomes pregnant, and the child is coming, just like this is a creation, accidentally, accident. The man or woman becomes lusty accidentally, and there is sex and therefore the creation of the child. This is their theory, not that "This child is a living entity, and he is coming from his last birth, and he's taking particular type of body according to his last birth," no conclusion like that. "God is the judge what kind of body he should get." Daiva-netreṇa.
Material body means it is given to you for your suffering. But that they do not know. They think, "I am enjoying." Eating, sleeping, mating—in any body you will have these facilities. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. Even you become a dog or you become a hog or you become a man or you become a demigod, these four facilities you will get everywhere, eating facility, sleeping facility, sex facilities and defense facility. You will get. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. And the human form of life, these facilities should be minimized, denied. Not only minimized, no meat-eating, no illicit sex. That is nivṛtti-mārga. But the asuras, they do not know. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttim. That this life is meant for nivṛtti-mārga, they do not know. When you say, "Don't do this," they think otherwise.
Just like Gandhi refused to take justice from the British court. That was his one of the items. He said that "There is no justice. So we shall deny to take any judgement from the British Court." That was his, one of the items. He never... When he was prosecuted, he never defended. He said, "Why shall I defend? There is no justice here. Why shall I spend my money for defending? No, you can do whatever you like. You are in power." Gandhi did always like that. "Here is no justice, so why shall I plead for justice?" That was Gandhi's philosophy, noncooperation. Whenever he was arrested, he will simply stand. That's all. Of course, he was given a seat. Such a big man, the court would offer him a seat. But he will never plead yes or no. "No, whatever you like, you can do. I don't expect justice from you." That was Gandhi's... He'll never plead. And all his followers did that. Therefore they were all sent jail. And by going to jail they got svarāja. And he declared, jail svarāja ke mandira hai: "If you want to get svarāja, independence, you must be prepared to go to jail."
This is Vedānta, beginning. So therefore human life is meant for understanding the absolute truth, God, the background of everything. Immediately answer is there: "The Brahman means janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), the origin of everything." That is Brahman, origin of everything. There must be something origin. That is consciousness. Not that asatyam: "There is no origin." What is the nonsense? This is not human consciousness. This is animal consciousness, "There is no origin." There must be origin. I am... Because my origin is the father, my father, cause... I am born by my father. Common sense. Then his father, then his father, his father, go on, go on, go on... Although you do not know, but this is a fact that father is born by his father, and his father is born by his father. How can you deny it? He may not know the grandfather, great grandfather or more than that, but there must have been some person. Similarly, we may be foolish—we do not know; we cannot understand who is the original father—but there must have been the original father. That is God. That is God.
So this alpa-buddha, less intelligent class, demons, they do not understand this. Why? Kāmam āśritya duṣpūram. Unnecessarily dambha. Just like the same example, dog. The dog is very proud, barking, "Yow! Yow! Yow!" He does not know that "I am chained." (laughs) He's such a foolish that as soon as the master, "Come on." (laughter) So māyā is the master: "You rascal come here." "Yes." And he be see..., proud: "I am something." This doggish civilization, naṣṭa-buddhaya, lost all intelligence... Less intelligent these are called. Kāmaṁ duṣpūram. So kāmam, the lusty desires... On account of this body there is lusty desire. We cannot deny it. But don't make it duṣpūram, never to be satiated. Then finished. Make it limited. Make it limited. Therefore, according to the Vedic civilization, the lusty desire is there, but you cannot use it except for the purpose of begetting a nice child. That is called pūram, means restricted.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye. These are the bhakti path. The demon is thinking, "I have got so much money. I have got so many friends, and so many relatives, so many family members." Caitanya Mahāprabhu is denying that na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4), just the opposite: "I don't want any material friends or followers, neither I want money. Simply I want to serve You. Simply I want to serve You." So in these three verses everything is... Word meanings are there. So these are the demonic propensities, and the very thing can be changed into devotional service, and then we become devotee or demigod. So I am going tomorrow. So here you shall try to become devotee, not to think like demons. That will not help us. Then āśā-pāśa-śatair baddhāḥ. We'll remain bound up in material bondage. You cannot stop desires. That is not possible, but purify the desire. Purify the desire. Purify desire means that the same hopes, hope against hope, just to improve your position as devotee... That will help you to make your life successful. Thank you very much. (end)
That's all. Where is the difficulty to understand? Just like this finger is the part and parcel of my body. The business of finger is to carry out my order. I ask the finger: "Please come here." "Yes, I am ready." "Come here." "Yes, I'm ready." Similarly, we should be like that, always ready to carry out the order of Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like Arjuna did. Arjuna, in the beginning, he denied to carry out the order of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wanted fight. He said, "No. Kṛṣṇa, I cannot fight. I cannot kill my kinsmen, the other side, my brothers, my nephews, my grandfather. No. I stop." Then Kṛṣṇa explained the actual position and He asked him: "Now, what is your decision? You can do whatever you like. I have explained everything." He said, "Yes, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73)." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One must be ready to do anything for Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Not that "According to my whims, I shall decide." No, this is position. We must be ready because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Just like my hand is moving because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Just like my hand is moving because I want to move it, similarly, we are all, all living entities, we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa; therefore, our duty is simply to move according to the will of Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
One who has actually undergone austerities, penances, then the result will be that he will surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is bhakta. So after tapasya, one becomes bhakta. And as soon as one becomes bhakta, he enjoys life. He enjoys life. Natural stage. That is mukti. Hitvā anyathā-rūpam. Muktir hitvā anyathā-rūpam. Anyathā-rūpam means defying the authority of God. That is anyathā-rūpam. Because we are a part and parcel of God, therefore our business is to abide by the orders of God. But as soon as we defy God, that is anyathā-rūpam. So mukti means hitvā anyathā-rūpam. That is mukti. Mukti means hitvā anyathā-rūpam, giving up this nonsense practice, defying God. Anyathā-rūpam. Sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ, to be situated in his own constitutional position. What is the constitutional position? The constitutional position is to serve. Just like part and parcel of my body, this finger, is to serve the body. This is constitutional position. If the finger denies, "No, I am God. Why shall I serve you?" that is anyathā-rūpam.
| Page Title: | Deny (Lectures, BG) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Mayapur |
| Created: | 23 of Feb, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=125, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 125 |