Just like if you become educated highly your next post is very nice. But if you are not educated, then your next post is not very nice. Similarly if you act in this body very nicely, yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ (BG 9.25). So you can prepare your next life. So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is next life to go back to Kṛṣṇa directly. That is our program. How? Simply by knowing Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Kṛṣṇa guarantees this: janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). If we want to go back to home, back to Godhead, simply try to understand what is Kṛṣṇa. And He's explaining in the Bhagavad-gītā. But if you foolishly misinterpret Kṛṣṇa, then you go to hell. But if you understand Kṛṣṇa as Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, then you go back to Kṛṣṇa. Where is the difficulty?
Educated (Lectures, Other)
Lectures
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
As soon as one understands that "I am not this body. I am different from this body," then his interest becomes different. Because he is under ignorance that "I am this body," therefore he's acting, working for this body. And as soon as he comes to the spiritual platform, brahma-bhūtaḥ, he is no more interested in bodily comforts. That is the Vedic civilization, that one is educated to become introspective. He is educated to become introspective. The brāhmaṇas, just like they are happy in any condition of life. That is our Vedic civilization. They accept poverty... Not accept poverty. They are not very much interested. Either lie down on the ground or lie down on the sofa—they don't find any difference, because they are not interested with these bodily comforts. People may say, "Oh, this is very uncivilized way, the primitive way of life, that he is lying down on the ground just like animal." But he does not know that he is not interested either lying down..., because when we sleep he forgets whether he lying down on the ground or lying on... (laughter) So that is not very important thing. But at the present moment they have taken that lying down on a very nice bedstead, cot, and silken bed, that is advancement of civilization. But that is not advancement of civilization—yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13)—because he is under the bodily concept of life. So what is this body? It is made of tri-dhātu: kapha, pitta, vāyu. So I am kapha-pitta-vāyu? No. I am different. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This knowledge is lacking.
No, no, another is. Duḥkhālayaṁ nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṁsiddhiṁ paramām... So our aim should be how to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the real mission of human life. Because after... Asatiṁś cāturaṁś caiva lakṣaṁs tān jīva-jātiṣu. There are 8,400,000 species of life. After evolving, we have come to this human form of life. Tad apy viphalā jātaḥ. So if we do not understand Govinda, govinda-caraṇa-dvayam, then it is viphalā. It is simply misused. The modern civilization, they do not know this. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for educating people that "You are simply wasting your time." "No. I am doing my duty." The people say, "This is my..." The doctor says, "I am doing my duty." The engineer says, "I am doing my duty." The father says, "I am doing my duty." The mother says, "I am doing my duty." That's all right. But Bhāgavata says, "Thank you very much, that you are doing your duty."
If it is so important, why they do not take to it?" That is also explained by Prahlāda Mahārāja. Matir na kṛṣṇe parato svato vā mitho 'bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām. Gṛha-vratānām. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). So matir na kṛṣṇe. If one sticks to this principle, that "I shall be happy with this material body, I shall be happy within this material world, within my country, within my society," in this way, if one thinks, they are called gṛha-vrata. So for such persons, gṛha-vratānām, those who want to become happy within this bodily envelopment, they are... (break) Therefore from the beginning of life one has to be educated the value of life or approach a devotee.
What is that next verse, Prahlāda Mahārāja?
- matir na kṛṣṇe parato svato vā
- mitho 'bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
- adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram...
- (SB 7.5.30)
Adānta-gobhiḥ. Because they cannot control their senses... The yoga system means to control the senses. Now yoga system has become a means of making the senses strong to enjoy. At the present moment, the so-called yoga system is a exercise for making the body strong and senses strong. There is another verse I forget. Na vṛṇīta tāvad. Naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghrim.
Na māṁ prapadyante. As soon as we see a person who is not a surrendered soul to Kṛṣṇa or God, then what he is? He is duṣkṛtinaḥ, full of sinful activities. Anyone who does not surrender to God, or Kṛṣṇa, he is, what he is? He must be either of these groups: duṣkṛtinaḥ, always sinful; mūḍha, rascal, asses; na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15), lowest of the mankind; and māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. If you say, "There are so many educated persons. They're not surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, or God. They're godless. So they have no value?" No, no value, actually, because their actual knowledge has been taken away. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. Why? Āsurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because they're following the philosophy of atheism. That's all. This is the root cause.
So one may argue, "Does it mean that all the bhaktas... We see they are not even educated... How he has realized Brahman?" That answer is given in the Bhagavad-gītā that
- māṁ ca avyabhicāriṇi
- bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate
- sa guṇān samatītyaitān
- brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
- (BG 14.26)
This very platform of serving Kṛṣṇa, avyabhicāriṇi, without any adulteration, means without any motive... When one is engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service without any motive... Not that "I establish a Deity in the temple with a motive that people will come, will give money, and I shall make it a path of earning my livelihood." That is not devotion. Devotion is without any motive. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). So without any motive, when one is engaged in devotional service, that is brahma-bhūtaḥ stage. That is liberated stage. According to Bhāgavata, liberation, mukti, means to be situated in one's constitutional position. That is called mukti. Muktir hitvā anyathā rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). Hitvā anyathā rūpa.
So this world, however faithfully you give service, it will be never recognized—because it is hallucination, illusion. You are serving your senses. You are not serving any person. You are serving your senses. So when one comes to this position, he understands that "I am actually servant, but I am posing myself falsely as master." That is real sense. Then whose servant I am? I am Kṛṣṇa's servant. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes and demands: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). We have forgotten that. We have forgotten Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's service. That is māyā. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes again and again as Himself, as a devotee, or he sends His servitors, His Vaiṣṇava, to preach this cult, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that "Educate people to serve Kṛṣṇa, to serve Me." Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. We are also preaching this cult, that "You serve Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). We are preaching this cult. So we are not manufacture anything. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is nothing concocted. It is fact. Everyone is servant, but at the present moment he's serving māyā. So, instead of serving māyā, let him serve Kṛṣṇa, the original Personality of Godhead. This is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very scientific movement, authorized movement, and there is a vast philosophy. We have published them, twenty big, big books, we have published. So our only request is that you all consciousness people, advanced, educated persons, they should try to understand this movement as it is and join, make his life successful and teach others also. People are suffering for want of this knowledge, and they are being misled by so many rascals. Dehātma-buddhiḥ. Andhā yathāndair upanīyamānāḥ. In the Bhāgavata it is said, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninas (SB 7.5.31). These people, they do not know what is the ultimate goal of life. Na te viduḥ. They do not know. The ultimate goal of life is to go back to home, back to Godhead. That, they do, actually do not know. They do not know even what is God, and what the question of going back to Him, back to home, back to Godhead? They do not know everything, anything. There is God, there is home of God. As we say, generally, we give you the name of God, His address, His father's name—everything—but they will not accept it. "There is no God. God is dead. I am God. You are God. God is loitering in the street." This is their theory.
So Kṛṣṇa... Ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ (BG 18.66). Kṛṣṇa is giving assurance. There are so many things that, by understanding Kṛṣṇa, simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa, you, your life is successful. The life, success of life is to stop this repetition of birth and death. That we also do not know. There is repetition of birth and death. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir. Kṛṣṇa says in the beginning, asmin dehe dehi. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir. Kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). Those who are actually educated, sober, they can understand that, that "Here is a man who's supposed to be dead, but he's not dead. He has transferred this body. That's all." Tathā dehāntara-prāptir. As I am transferring my body from babyhood to childhood, childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youthhood, youthhood to old body, similarly, as I have changed so many bodies, where is the difficulty to understand that after giving up this body, I'll get another body? And Kṛṣṇa is confirming. All the Vedic literature confirming: tathā dehāntara-prāptir. Another body. But we must know what kind of body I'm going to get. That is intelligence. Body, you must have to accept. As you have changed, as you accepted so many bodies, even in this life, then you have to accept another body. Now there are 8,400,000's of bodies. That you see.
Therefore our business is to point that "Kṛṣṇa is your friend." Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29). "He's the proprietor. Don't claim your proprietorship. You are not proprietor. You are falsely claiming; because what you are claiming as your property, it will be taken away by Kṛṣṇa at the time of your death. Everything will be finished." Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś ca aham, Kṛṣṇa says. Mṛtyu... Kṛṣṇa says, "I am death when I take away everything from the person—his life, property, body and everything." Actually, we claim, "This is my property." This is moha. Ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). Lokasya janasya moho 'yam. This is friendship, to educate people that "You are not proprietor. Kṛṣṇa is proprietor. You are not enjoyer. Kṛṣṇa is enjoyer. You are seeking out friends to give you protection. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme friend who will give you protection." If we spread this message all over the world, then I am friend of Kṛṣṇa, I am friend of the persons. Otherwise, I am not friend, because I cannot become friend. I can simply carry... Just like post peon give you five thousand rupees, delivers. He does not deliver. Somebody else is delivering. He's simply carrying. That's all. Similarly, if we simply carry the message of Kṛṣṇa as it is, we become perfect. It is not very difficult.
So dharmasya āpavargyasya arthaḥ na arthāya upakalpate. So dharma is not meant for developing economic condition. That is secondary. But dharma is meant for ultimate goal of liberation. People do not know that. People are not educated that what is the ultimate goal of life. Still, they take to religious life as a compromise between the contending elements, that "We must live peacefully under religious system." The aim is how to live in this material world peacefully. Sometimes religion and God is conceived in that way, that is, "If we have some conception of God, then we shall be moral, we shall be peaceful. Otherwise, there is no need of presenting God in the society." There are so many different opinions, different philosophers, different religious system, according to the modes of nature. But actually every system must be targeted towards realization of Kṛṣṇa, or God. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). That is Bhāgavata-dharma. Bhāgavata-dharma means realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Prahlāda Mahārāja recommended culture of this Bhāgavata-dharma from the very beginning of life: kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1). That is the success of human form of life, to execute Bhāgavata-dharma. The, the process... And dharma, as we have several times explained, dharma means the codes of Bhagavān. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19).
These are clear things. There is no hazy idea. Everything is clear. We have to become designationless, free from designation. We shall forget. Not that "Here are some foreigners. Pick up some quarrel with them and try to drive them away. Why they have come?" So many nonsense things are going on, for want of actual spiritual education. This is not good, at least, for Vṛndāvana. This is not good. People have not been educated properly with the Vṛndāvana spirit. Therefore things are happening like that. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam: (CC Madhya 19.170) how to engage the senses, being freed from designation, in the service of the Lord. That is Vṛndāvana life. That is Vṛndāvana atmosphere. If there is any other purpose than this, then it is very difficult to utilize the opportunity, the fortune of living in Vṛndāvana. One has to be designationless. Go on.
Country is not mine. I am a guest here. If I stay in a country, in a place, for, say, twenty years, fifty years, hundred years, does it, does it mean that it belongs to me? Because they have no Kṛṣṇa conscious idea, they are misled in thinking in that way. Some group of men are thinking that "This is our country. We are American," "We are Indian," "We are German." This is the false... Illusion. Actually, everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). He's the proprietor. But because people are not educated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are thinking, "I am the proprietor." Ahaṁ mameti janasya moho 'yam (SB 5.5.8). This ahaṁ mama, increasing the ahaṁ mama, is illusion. It is māyā. And that is going on. Therefore there is great need of spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the human society. Those who are actually welfare workers, they should come forward and join this movement to spread it. Actually, it is being accepted very nicely. Although not nicely, they have begun to accept it all over the world. This is our experience. And if we present the philosophy in correct viewpoint, people will accept it. And people will accept it, and people from all parts of the world will come to Vṛndāvana. Because they are hearing about Vṛndāvana, about Kṛṣṇa, naturally they are very much anxious to visit. But if we do not receive them nicely, if we remain sectarian, oh, it will be an unfortunate thing. That is my request. Those who are inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, they should be prepared to receive these foreigners, who are being educated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They should come here to visit; so they should be received, they should be welcomed. That is my request.
As the poor man suffers within the womb of his mother, similarly the rich man also suffers within the womb of his mother. The sufferings of taking birth is equal to the poor man and rich man. There is no difference. When there is disease, fever, it is not it is less painful to the rich man and very painful to the poor man. The pain is the same. So actually, so long there is material existence, the so-called suffering and enjoying, they're on the same level. There is no difference. But if we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as Kṛṣṇa assures, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66), "I shall get you relieved, released from all kinds of sinful activities." That is real auspiciousness. Means when Kṛṣṇa takes charge, He gradually educates the devotee buddhi-yogam, in devotion service, so that he may go back home, back to Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. That is real auspicity. In the material world, so-called auspicity, to become very rich, to become very educated, to become very beautiful, high parentage, they are also, in material consideration, they are auspicity, undoubtedly. But they are also adulterated with so many sufferings, threefold miseries: ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika, ādhidaivika. So actually such position is not auspicity. Real auspicity is go back to home, back to Godhead. Therefore it is said, pure devotional service... Pure devotional service means without any material motive. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Brs. 1.1.11).
So pure devotional service is the beginning of all auspiciousness.
It is simply an illusion, misidentification. Just like water and oil does not mix, but it appears that oil is fallen in the water, similarly, although we are in this material world, in the material consciousness, our identity is not actually in material consciousness. It is simply... Just like dreaming. The example is dreaming. Just like in dream I see so many hallucinations. Actually, dream is false. I am separate from the dream. But while dreaming, I think I am actually enjoying or suffering. Similarly, by the association of the modes of material nature, we are thinking like that. Otherwise, we are free from the contamination of the material nature. Simply by changing the consciousness, immediately we can transfer ourself to the spiritual platform. So the more we become advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, our original characteristics, which are very pure, they become manifest. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ. The factual example is here, these European and American boys. They were addicted to so many nonsense habits, but since they have taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness they have given up all these nonsense habits immediately, without any very great endeavor. So this is the fact. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra. Pure character, pure qualities will be manifest. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Similarly, just the opposite: if one is not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he cannot have any good qualities, however he may be educated academically. That is not possible. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Therefore, at the present moment, although the leaders are all very educated academically, but still, they cannot bring in peace in the society, because they're godless. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Great, great leaders, on account of their godlessness, they cannot lead the people nicely. Therefore there is no peace and prosperity in the society.
Acyutānanda: "Furthermore, a person engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, acting in devotional service..." Oh. "It is said by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, 'On account of a devotee's high grade of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even the demigods like to live with him, and therefore it can be understood that the qualities of the demigods have developed within his body.' On the other hand, a person who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has no good qualities. He may be highly educated from the academic point of view, but in the actual field of his activities he can be seen to be baser than the animals."
Prabhupāda: Yes. We see sometimes one man who is very educated, highly, university educated, but practical life—baser than animal. Because he, he has no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He's not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa cannot be like that. Go on.
Acyutānanda: "Even though a person is highly educated academically, if he cannot go beyond the sphere of mental activities, then he is sure to perform only material activities and thus remain impure."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Our so-called advancement of education means to live on the mental platform. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathena (SB 5.18.12). They have no information of the spiritual platform. They... After bodily concept of life, the next platform is mental and intellectual concept of life. But spiritual life is beyond mental and intellectual concept of life. So unless one comes to the spiritual platform, even on mental and intellectual platform, he cannot do anything good to the society. Hm.
Acyutānanda: "There are so many persons in the modern world who have been highly educated in the materialistic universities, but it is seen that they cannot take up the movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and develop the high qualities of the demigods."
Prabhupāda: Go on.
Acyutānanda: "For example, a Kṛṣṇa conscious boy, even if he is not very well educated by the university standard, can immediately give up all illicit sex life, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication, whereas those who are not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, although very highly educated, are often drunkards, meat-eaters, sex-mongers and gamblers."
Prabhupāda: Yes, this is... There is a practical example in this connection. Lord Zetland. He was a great philosopher, and he was governor of Bengal, and many good posts he held. But sometimes one of our Godbrothers went in London to preach, and this Lord Zetland, Marquis of Zetland, he asked the Gosvāmī that whether he could make him a brāhmaṇa. So he said yes, he could be made a brāhmaṇa, provided he can give up these habits: illicit-sex, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication. The honorable Lord replied: "It is impossible. It is impossible." So actually, unless one is trained into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is not a very easy thing to give up all these bad habits. But practically we see, because these boys, these European, American boys, they have taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness very seriously, without any external endeavour, they have been able to give up all these bad habits. Go on.
So we take this formula. If... We test whether he has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. If not, then he comes to the four groups: duṣkṛtina, mūḍha, narādhama, māyayā apahṛta-jñānā. We take it, immediately. He must be one of them, either duṣkṛtina or mūḍha or all, narādhama, māyayā apahṛta. He may be... Māyayā apahṛta-jñāna means he might be highly educated academically, but māyā has taken away his knowledge. Āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because he has taken to the principle of atheism, all these educational qualifications, or sharp brain... Kṛtinaḥ... Duṣkṛtina means... Kṛtina means one who has got very sharp brain, sharp memory; he's called kṛti. But on account of association with māyā, his brain is utilized for doing something harmful to the human society. They, they cannot do anything good to the human society. That is not possible. Then?
Pradyumna: "It has been seen that great Māyāvādī or impersonalist sannyāsīs—very highly educated and almost realized souls—may sometimes take to political activities or to social welfare activities. The reason is that they actually do not derive any ultimate transcendental happiness in the impersonal understanding and therefore must come down to the material platform and take to such mundane affairs."
Prabhupāda: The material variety is the perverted reflection of the spiritual variety. As it is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, Fifteenth Chapter: ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākha. This tree, this material world (is) compared with a aśvattha vṛkṣa. The root is up, upstairs, upwards, and the branches and leaves are down, downwards. Why? Because it is reflection, chaya, or māyā. The real tree is in the Vaikuṇṭha planet or in the spiritual world. It is only simply reflection. Just like a tree standing on the bank of reservoir of water, on the bank of a lake or a river, you'll see the tree is reflected downwards. So this description in the Fifteenth Chapter of this material world, downwards... Ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākha means this is only a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. The real tree is in the spiritual world. The other day, who was asking about this question? Some of our...? Ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākha? Who was asking me? Eh? Oh. Gopāla. He's not here. All right.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
So our main business is how to get out of this entanglement of this temporary body. The people are not very seriously thinking, neither they have got sufficient knowledge how the temporary body is obtained, how it is changed, another temporary body, and there are 8,400,000 different forms of body, and we are changing one after another. Why this disease? "If I am, my position is, as I understand from Bhagavad-gītā, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20)—I am not destroyed after the destruction of this body—why I am in this position that I have to change my body?" Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). This is intelligence. When you come to this intelligence, then athāto brahma jijñāsā; then the inquiry about spiritual life begins. But unfortunately, we are in such a civilization that we have no time to think of this great dangerous position of changing body one after another, and we have accepted it that "There is no remedy; we have to change or die for good." These theories, this ignorance, is going on, and Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the only movement which is trying to educate man to this standard of knowledge, that he may at least think that "I am not this body, as I understand from the śāstras. I am within the body. So how I can become free of this material body?" That is our real problem.
So to save us from death... That is the first business of humankind. We are teaching this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement for this purpose only. That should be the purpose of everyone. That is the sastric injunction. Those who are guardians... The government, the father, the teacher, they are guardians of the children. They should know it, how to give protection to the world's... Na mocayed yaḥ samupeta mṛtyum. So where is this philosophy all, over the world? There is no such philosophy. This is the only, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, which is putting forward this philosophy, not whimsically but from authorized śāstra, Vedic literature, authorities. So that is our request. We are opening different centers all over the world for the benefit of the human society that they do not know the aim of life, they do not know that there is next life after death. These things they do not know. So we are trying to educate them that "There is next life undoubtedly, and you can prepare your next life in this life. You can go to the higher planetary system for better comfort, material comfort. You can remain here in a secure position." Secure means this material life.
So you can prepare yourself for better life in the heavenly planets or in a better society in this world or to go to the planets where ghost and other wretches are controlling. Or you can go to the planet where Kṛṣṇa is there. Everything is open to you. Yānti bhūtejyā bhūtāni mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām. Simply you have to prepare yourself. Just like in youth life they are educated—somebody is going to be engineer, somebody is going to be medical man, somebody is going to be lawyer and many other professional man—and they are preparing by education, similarly, you can prepare for your next life. This is not difficult to understand.
So the beginning of spiritual life... (aside:) Oh? He doesn't require hearing? The beginning of life is gurvāśrayam, ādau gurvāśrayam. That is the beginning—every śāstra, every Vedic scripture. Just like Kṛṣṇa, He is the original spiritual master. Tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi kavaye (SB 1.1.1). Ya. Brahmā, Brahmā is the first living creature within this universe. So he was also enlightened and educated by the Supreme Lord. Not that because he's Brahmā he's independent. Nobody is independent. Knowledge must be received from the authority, and the supreme authority is Kṛṣṇa. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.
So here Caitanya-caritāmṛta is the teachings of Lord Caitanya and His life, practical life. He's Kṛṣṇa, and He's personally speaking. Kṛṣṇa first of all spoke about Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā, but foolish persons, mūḍha... Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritāḥ (BG 9.11). So Kṛṣṇa was misunderstood. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). People misunderstood. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His five opulences—Himself, His expansion, His incarnation, His energy, personal energy and marginal energy... There is no association of the external energy, as it is said here, that guru-tattva-kahiyāchi, ebe pāñcera vicāra. Guru-tattva is also along with Him. He's also representative of the Supreme Lord.
Lekhaka śūdra means he was a clerk, clerk. The clerk, clerical post was offered to the śūdras, to the laborer class. There was a strike in Calcutta of the clerks. George and Skinner (?), an European firm, they had many jute (indistinct). The clerks, I mean to say, made a strike. So when their, I mean to say, chief man met the manager, so, and asked that "Whether you want to compromise with us?" the manager said, "No. I don't wish to compromise with you. I don't care for you because you are educated laborer." He gave the title to the clerks, "educated laborer." So actually in Hindu society, the clerks were called educated laborers. So here it is lekhaka śūdra. Lekhaka śūdra means clerk, but he's śūdra. Lekhaka śūdra śrīcandraśekhara, tāṅra ghare rahilā. But spiritually there is no such distinction. We should always remember that materially, there may be higher, lower class. There is, always, in every society, in every country. But spiritually there is no such consideration. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's propaganda. He made Haridāsa Ṭhākura—he was a Muhammadan—as the spiritual master for saṅkīrtana, namācārya. And He picked up Sanātana Gosvāmī and Rūpa Gosvāmī, who were rejected by the Hindu society, and He made them gosvāmīs. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's peculiarity. And here also we see that a śūdra, a laborer class, a clerk, who is considered to be lower in the society, He was staying at his house.
Now, what is the nature of that Brahman? Is it impersonal or personal? Now, Vyāsadeva says, abhijñaḥ svarāṭ. No. "That Supreme Truth is cognizant. He knows." And Bhagavad-gītā also confirms that, vedāhaṁ samatītāni (BG 7.26). The Lord says, "I know everything. I know..." Unless He's cognizant, unless behind this mani..., cosmic manifestation, if there is no brain, if there is no cognizance, how nicely it can be made so regulation, I mean to say, timely, everything is working? The planets are working. Do you think there is no brain behind this? There must be. Therefore Bhāgavata says yes, abhijñaḥ... Abhijñaḥ means He's cognizant; He's not a fool. Therefore He's a person. Cognizant is a person. And it is said, svarāṭ. He also educated Brahmā. He also... Because Brahmā is considered to be the first created being in this universe. So Bhāgavata says, tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye. Ādi-kavaye means the first created being, and brahma means this Vedic knowledge. So He impregnated Brahmā with Vedic knowledge.
Who is the right person? That right person who is receiving the knowledge by the paramparā system. Not the right person like Dr. Radhakrishnan, because he's very much educated and world-famous, oh, a philosopher, therefore he's the right person. No. He's not the right person. The right person is... He may be a illiterate person, but if he follows the guru-paramparā, the disciplic succession, he's the right person. He's the right person. He may be illiterate. He may not know. Just like Lord Caitanya confirmed that brāhmaṇa, he was illiterate, but he was studying Bhagavad-gītā, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Yes." He embraced him. "My dear brāhmaṇa, you are really understanding Bhagavad-gītā." Because he knows the central point of Bhagavad-gītā. The central point. I have several times recited this narration, that Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He was traveling in South India, He saw that one brāhmaṇa was reading Bhagavad-gītā, and his neighbors, they knew it that "This brāhmaṇa is illiterate and he does not know even what is ABCD, and still he's reading Bhagavad-gītā." So they were joking, sometimes criticizing him. The brāhmaṇa, of course, he was reading as far as possible. What possible? So Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw the fun and approached the brāhmaṇa, "Oh, My dear brāhmaṇa, what you are reading?" He understood that "Here is a sincere person. He's not joking me. He's simply inquiring." So he said, "My dear Sir, I am illiterate. I do not know even the alphabets.
"Teacher." Still, he'll not say "Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa-phobia. (laughter) You see? He's always thinking, "If I say 'Kṛṣṇa,' oh, then I'll be in trouble." This is the demonic tendency, and that is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: na māṁ prapadyante mūḍhāḥ duṣkṛtino narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). The rascals and the lowest of the mankind, narādhama, and the asses and the, I mean, the nonsense—mūḍha—means ass, simply work for others. He has no self-interest. Ass. So mūḍha. Na māṁ prapadyante mūḍhāḥ. "A person who is as rascal as an ass," mūḍhāḥ, na māṁ prapadyante mūḍhāḥ duṣkṛtina, "and always engaged in sinful activities, and the lowest of the mankind and demon, he does not," I mean to say, "surrender unto Me, accept Me." Oh, there are many educated persons... Just like Dr. Radhakrishnan, he also says, he also, "Not to Kṛṣṇa." Then what about his education? Oh, that is also replied, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. "Oh, he's educated—so-called. The māyā has plundered his all knowledge." That means although... He's an educated fool. There are educated rascals. They have got some university degrees, but actually they are rascal, less than an ass. So that is also described: māyayā apahṛta-jñānā. They have acquired some knowledge undoubtedly, but the essence of the knowledge is taken away by māyā. Essence of the knowledge. Just like I give you milk, but I churn it. I take the butter out, and I give you milk. It is just like that. If milk is administered, taking out the butter, that is also a cheating, because milk means to take fat. Fat we require. For our proper maintenance of the body, we require fat. So milk-drinking means eating fat. So if the fat is already taken away, what is this milk?
Oh, how can you do that? If a person is not willing to take medicine, how he can be cured? He'll go to death. He must be willing to. That is a, I mean to say, explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. So that is very dangerous position, one who does not take care. Suppose if one wants to be educated without going to school. How it is possible? If somebody says, "Oh, I don't care for any school, colleges. I'll be educated at home," this is nonsense. Is it possible? Or will anybody recognize you? Then what is the use? Waste of time. That is the disease. Everyone thinks, "Oh, I am everything. I am perfect." That is the disease, material disease. Everyone is thinking, "I am independent. I am perfect. Whatever I think, oh, that is all right." This is going on. First of all, if anyone wants advancement, he must first of all think just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu is pretending, that "My spiritual master found Me a great fool (CC Adi 7.71)." So one must agree to become a great fool and study these scriptures from bona fide spiritual master. Then there is hope of advancement. Yes?
So you cannot get out of this durgā simply by bribing, by satisfying. You have to satisfy Durgā in a different way, in a different way. Just like... These are very easy to understand, that if you are in prison house, if you satisfy the superintendent of jail, somehow... I have seen in Delhi that one man was... He was a very nice young gentleman, and he was typing. He was typing. So I was... He was a fair gentleman, very nice looking young man. So I talked with him, "What is your case of condemnation coming?" So he acted as a spy in some government secretarial department. So he was put into prison for ten years. But he was educated, he was intelligent, and he pleased the superintendent of jail. Therefore, instead of keeping him in ordinary cell, he was put into the office and type. Now, try to understand. This prisoner, by his satisfying the superintendent of jail, he is little given concession not to be placed in ordinary cell, but he is working (in) the office as a typewriter. Or he is given some... Or there are many political prisoners, they are given first-class bungalow, first-class residence, and all facilities. But the superintendent of police has no power to release him. That is not possible. That is not possible. Similarly, by bribing or by satisfying Durgā, you can get a comfortable position within this material world, but your real business is how to get out of it. That Durgā cannot give. Hariṁ vinā na mṛtiṁ taranti. So long you do not come to the shelter of Kṛṣṇa... Mām eva prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). Unless you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, there is no possibility of getting out of the clutches of māyā. That is not possible.
So we shall discuss further tomorrow. (end)
Now, Sanātana Gosvāmī was minister, educated. He was a learned scholar in Parsi and Sanskrit. So how it is that he is placing himself in that way? Is he, I mean to say, imitating something, such humbleness, but actually he was not? Actually, he was... No. Actually he was so. A devotee does not say anything falsely, unless he feels, he feels himself like that. Why does he feel? He was educated. He belonged to the brāhmaṇa, aristocratic family. His association was all nawabs and zamindars, aristocratic family, and still, he says like this. Why? What is the defect, that he felt like that? Now he is expressing. Āpanāra hitāhita kichui nā jāni: "I do not know what is actually beneficial to me. I am thinking that 'If I am posted in a service like this and if I have got some aristocratic association, I have got some arrangement for sense gratification...' That is materialism. So I have passed my, wasted my time in that way. But actually I do not know what is beneficial to me." So grāmya-vyavahāre paṇḍita, tāi satya māni. In the Indian system a brāhmaṇa is addressed as "paṇḍita." Perhaps you know Paṇḍita Jawaharlal Nehru. Although he had no brahminical qualification, but because he was born in a brāhmaṇa family, so this title was... "Paṇḍita." A brāhmaṇa is addressed as paṇḍita, a kṣatriya is addressed as ṭhākura, and a vaiśya is addressed seth, sethji, a rich man. The vaiśyas are generally very rich men. Perhaps you have... As you have in your country the Rockefeller, Carnegie and Ford, similarly, in our country we have got many rich men just like Birla, Dalmiya, Bangar (?), and so many.
So therefore Sanātana Gosvāmī, he is very learned man in that time. Because it was Muhammadan time, he used to learn very nicely Arabic and Parsi, Persian language. Just like during British period we had to learn English, similarly, the state language was somewhere Arabic and somewhere Parsi. Sometimes, they are called mixed—that is called Urdu. So he was learned scholar, and he was also born of very nice brāhmaṇa family, Sanātana Gosvāmī, Sārasvata brāhmaṇa. So born brāhmaṇa family, well-educated, minister, everything, but he presents himself, nīca jāti, nīca-saṅgī, patita adhama, kuviṣaya-kūpe paḍi' goṅāinu janama! He has understood that the so-called, bodily conception that "I am rich man," "I am very learned man," "I am brāhmaṇa" or "I am American," these are useless understanding. One who understands like that, he is... Sanātana Gosvāmī—he's a nīca jāti, the bodily conception of life nīca jāti. Nīca jāti, nīca-saṅgī. Why the bodily concept of life? Because the association is bad. At the present moment we do not get any education or good association to understand our real identity. That is the difficulty. Therefore he says, nīca saṅgī, patita adhama. Adhama means lowest of the mankind; patita means fallen. If one does not understand his real interest, he is called fallen.
Because brāhmaṇas in India It is A custom is still: whatever he may be, because he's born in a brāhmaṇa family, he's addressed as paṇḍitajī. Paṇḍitajī. So here Sanātana Gosvāmī says, grāmya-vyavahāre. Grāmya-vyavahāre means in village transaction. "Actually I am not paṇḍita, but the villagers, my neighbors, they call me paṇḍita. And because they call me paṇḍita, I also think that I am a paṇḍita." I have seen it in Calcutta. One man was pulling on thela with a sacred thread, and another man, maybe he's village men, he "Paṇḍitajī, pala ela(?)." And he's pulling on thela, he said, "Betaji kag amar(?)." Now this is going on. What is the value of his asirvad(?), blessing, who is engaged in pulling on thela? But this is grāmya-vyavahāre. This is not actual fact. So Caitanya..., by the grace of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Sanātana Gosvāmī has learned it that "They called me paṇḍita. It is false address. I am not really paṇḍita." Why you are not paṇḍita? You are educated. You are very good scholar in Sanskrit and Parsi. And as in these days English is considered to be very important subject And actually it is. So unless one is educated in English, he's half-educated, still. So he was educated certainly. As a brāhmaṇa he was educated in Sanskrit, and as government officer, he had to learn, in those days, Urdu and Parsi. So he was educated. But he says that "Although they call me paṇḍita and I am, maybe I am little educated. But the difficulty is that I do not know what is the ultimate goal of life, or my real position of happiness." Āpanāra hitāhita kichui nā jāni.
Approach a bona fide guru, a spiritual master, and abide by his orders and do accordingly. Then your life will be successful. And if you keep yourself in the darkness, that "I am very rich man. I am very learned man, but unfortunately, I do not know what I am," so what is the use? The Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura: vidyā-kule hi karibe tāra. So if you do not know yourself, then what your so-called education and high family, high nationality, will help you? Nature's law is different. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). If you do not cultivate spiritual knowledge, if you remain like cats and dogs, then prakṛti, nature, will give you the cats' and dogs' body next life. Suppose you become very big businessman and you have got nice, very big balance and so on, so on, but by your activities you remain like a dog mentality is, then you are going to get the body of a dog. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). The test is at the time of death. At the time of death, if my mentality is different, so according to that mentality I shall get the body. This is called transmigration of the soul. There is no teaching of this science throughout the whole world, and we are trying to educate people. Of course, it is very difficult to understand, but this is the science, that there is transmigration of the soul. And if we do not take care of this, that "What I am going to become next life?" if you simply waste your time simply on the matter of eating, sleeping, mating and defense, then we are wasting our time. This is the subject matter of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
They are Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are the supreme instructor, full of knowledge, everything. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya. There is nothing short, but still, to show us example, They accepted guru. That is essential. So here Sanātana Gosvāmī, he is also born in a very well-to-do brāhmaṇa family. He was well-situated as minister in charge of the government of Hussain Shah. So everything was quite all right, and still, he thought himself as nica jati.
- nīca jāti nīca-saṅgī patita adhāma
- kuviṣaya-kūpe paḍi' goṅāinu janama
If we remain puffed-up, that "I am born in such and such family. I am educated such and such, and I am posted in such and such post, so now my life is successful," that is false. Life is successful when we understand that... Here it is said, āpanāra hitāhita kichui nā jāni. When we understand what is the goal of life, then life is successful. Not the temporary position, "I am getting good salary, I am very nicely posted, I have got good family," and so on, so on. No. One must know the goal of life.
This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that we are inducing people to understand the problem. It is not a sectarian movement or so-called religious movement. It is not a religion. It is educational cultural movement. Every man has to understand the goal of life. Every man has to understand why there is struggle for existence, if there is any remedy, if there is any process where we can live very peacefully without any disturbances, without any... These are the things to be learned in human life, and one should approach... Just like Sanātana Gosvāmī, he was minister, very educated, well placed, but he has approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So we should approach the Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or His representative, and surrender. Tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). The way is not challenging, "Can you show me God?" These are challenges. Not this way. God is everywhere, but first of all make your eyes to see God, then you challenge, "Can you show me God?" This attitude will not help us. Submissive. Tad viddhi praṇipātena. This is the injunction of the śāstra. If you want to understand the science, transcendental science, tad viddhi try to understand—but praṇipātena, very humbly. Just like Sanātana Gosvāmī is submitting very humbly.
The greediness... Greediness is very good. Kāmaṁ kṛṣṇa-karmārpaṇe. Strong desire, that is called lust. So, but this strong desire... Just like gopīs. The gopīs, they were village girls. They had no understanding of what is God, what is Kṛṣṇa. But they became very much lusty for Kṛṣṇa, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommended that ramyā kācid upāsanā vrajavadhūbir yā kalpitā: "There is no better type of worship than what was conceived by the gopīs." Their strong desire, "How we shall get Kṛṣṇa?" that was their day and night thought. That's all. Somebody is thinking in some way... The central point was Kṛṣṇa. I have already explained that, that Kṛṣṇa was going to the pasturing ground, and the gopīs at home, they were thinking that "Kṛṣṇa's foot is so soft and so delicate," and that "We dare not to take His feet on our breast, but He is now walking in the fields, pasturing ground, naked without any... And the stones pricking. How much He is feeling pain." Thinking this, they became fainted. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommended ramyā kācid upāsanā. These gopīs, they were not supposed to be educated. Village girls—who is giving them education? They are not Ph.D.'s. But still, strong desire for Kṛṣṇa. And that is called yeṣāṁ nirbandhinī matiḥ. Nirbandhinī, strong desire. It doesn't require any other price to become advanced in..., simply to become very strongly eager, laulyam. Then life is successful.
Thank you very much. (end)
So people are unaware of Kṛṣṇa and His position. Therefore one should go to the guru-tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12)—eva, "must," in order to learn Kṛṣṇa. That is... The example is being shown by Sanātana Gosvāmī, the minister. He is not ordinary man. He is trying to know from guru what is his actual position. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu knew Sanātana Gosvāmī, intelligent, advanced. So he doesn't require to be educated by teaching Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is the ABCD of spiritual life, preliminary study. Bhagavad-gītā is not meant for persons who are advanced. They know Kṛṣṇa. One who does not know Kṛṣṇa, for them, first reading book is Bhagavad-gītā, so that he can know what is Kṛṣṇa. But here Sanātana Gosvāmī is advanced; therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu is teaching him from the point where Bhagavad-gītā was ended. That Bhagavad-gītā ended... Kṛṣṇa, after teaching Arjuna different kinds of knowledge-karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, haṭha-yoga, dhyāna-yoga, so many, bhakti-yoga—ultimately He said, "Arjuna, because you are My very confidential friend, so I am giving you the confidential knowledge." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "You surrender unto Me, and whatever I say, you do. That is your duty." So from that point, when one surrenders to Kṛṣṇa... Why one should surrender to Kṛṣṇa? Everyone is puffed up that "I am as good as Kṛṣṇa. Why shall I surrender to Kṛṣṇa?" Many, many scholars, they comment on this verse, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ. Vraja, "Why? This is sophistry. Everyone should give up everything, simply surrender to Kṛṣṇa?" Still they say that "Why you are after Kṛṣṇa? Why not other gods or demigods?" That is their... Sometimes they question. But one who knows Kṛṣṇa, he cannot be deviated from this path, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). Bhagavān means Kṛṣṇa.
So those who are against God-principle, those who are not God-minded, they're the lowest creature. They're the lowest creature. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ: (BG 7.15) "Anyone who does not recognize God, he's the lowest of the lowest creature." Duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ. These, these terms have been used. Just like mūḍha, ass; duṣkṛtina, miscreant; and narādhamāḥ, and lowest of the mankind. Mankind. Mankind is meant for recognizing. This is the life. In animal life, one cannot recognize that there is God and everything is coming from God. They cannot read Vedas, or scriptures. They cannot take any instruction. So these Vedas and scriptures are there for human beings. Therefore, a human being, so-called human being with two hands and two legs, but they're animals who do not accept the authority of scripture and do not accept the existence of God, so Bhagavad-gītā very nicely describes them, narādhamāḥ. Naradhāmāḥ means lowest of the mankind. So our civilization is going to the lowest of the mankind. And we are, we are trying to advertise ourself that we are advancing, but the... Yesterday some boy came: "Who is God? I am God." He was speaking like that. You see. And he appears to be educated student. From his appearance it appears that he, he's educated. So this is education is going on, that they're going to be the lowest of the mankind. The purpose of education is to make man the highest of the mankind, but modern education is teaching lowest of the mankind. And if some of the students are taught to become highest of the mankind, their guardians become disturbed: "Oh, my son is going to be highest of the mankind? Swamijī, you are playing dangerous things." Oh. Just see. Swamijī's speaking, "No, don't smoke. Don't take tea. Don't have illicit connection with women. Be upright. Be devotee." "Oh, Swamijī's dangerous." And if somebody teaches, "My dear boys, take LSD, go to hell, and become mad. Go to the lunatic asylum," "Oh, that is..." What can be done? This is the situation.
He said that the mission of Lord Caitanya is ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanaya: "Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is ārādhya." Ārādhya means He is worshipable. He's the only worshipable personality. Ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanaya tad-dhāmaṁ vṛndāvanam: "And as Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshipable, similarly His place of pastimes, Vṛndāvana-dhāma, is also worshipable." Ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanaya tad-dhāmaṁ vṛndāvanam. And what is the best kind of worship for Kṛṣṇa? Now, ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā-kalpitā: "The highest kind of worship is as demonstrated by the damsels of Vṛndāvana, the girlfriends of Kṛṣṇa." Yes. They had no adulteration. Simply they were always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is going outside of the village, and they were thinking at home, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa's," I mean to say, "sole is so soft. How He's wandering in the jungle? There are so many particles of stone. Must be pricking." In this way. Kṛṣṇa is there; they are at home, but they are thinking of Kṛṣṇa, how He's walking, how His soft foot is suffering. In this way they are always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are not Vedantists. They are not brāhmaṇas. They are not educated. They were cowherds girls. But their love of Kṛṣṇa was so intense that Lord Caitanya recommends, "Oh, there is no better worship than, than it was being demonstrated by the damsels of Vṛndāvana." Ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā. Then what is the source of understanding Kṛṣṇa? Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Amalaṁ purāṇam. If you study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then you attain all these things. Śrī-caitanya-mahaprabhor matam idam. And premā pumartho mahān.
The duṣkṛtinaḥ, the miscreants, those who are always engaged in mischievous activities... Such persons are called duṣkṛtina. So duṣkṛtina class, na māṁ duṣkṛtina mūḍhā. Mūḍha means less intelligent or foolish class men. Na māṁ duṣkṛtina mūḍhā prapadyante. "They do not accept Me," narādhama, "the lowest of the mankind." "No, they have got very much educated." Kṛṣṇa says, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. "Yes, they are educated, but their knowledge has been taken away by māyā." Why? Āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ. "Because they have taken to this view, 'There is no God.' " On this account they cannot understand in spite of high degrees of university education. Māyāyapahrta-jñāna. So Kṛṣṇa says like that. The only reason is because duṣkṛtina mūḍhā māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuri-bhāvam... Therefore, in spite of all evidences from the śāstras, they'll not accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord, Personality of Godhead. That's it. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja requested his father so many times, but still, he did not agree that there is God. (break) But he agreed there is God when he was killed by God. Yes. That you cannot escape. Then you'll see God: "Here is God." The asuras, they'll never accept God, but when they are killed by God, they understand that "Yes, there is God." That is the difference between asuras and devas. The devas, they accept God while living, and the asuras accept God by being killed. That's all. And who can escape killing? Is there any scientist, is there any philosopher, any great man who can stop being killed by the cruel death? Is there any man? That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham (BG 10.34). "I am mṛtyu." Mṛtyu means death, which takes away everything at a time. Just like "I am very rich man," "I am very big industrialist," "I am prime minister," this, that, so many things. "I am in possession of all I survey. I am the master of my country and everything." That's all right.
So unless one becomes very much pessimistic of this material world... Actually, they are, but they want to forget. Somebody is trying to forget it by liquor. Somebody is trying to forget by LSD, and somebody is marijuana, or gañja. But that forgetfulness will not save you. You have to actually forget it, that "This is a condemned place," and you cannot forget this unless you have got ideal place before you. Therefore this śruti-pramāṇa, the Vedic knowledge, will give you: "Here is your ideal place, Kṛṣṇa. Come back to Kṛṣṇa. Try for it. Try your best for this." That is the life. That is human life. And unless one is not conscious to this platform, he is defeated. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ. We are born ignorant. And if we are educated more, more, more into the platform of ignorance, then our life is all defeat, parābhava. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. So long one is not awakened to spiritual consciousness... "What I am? Why I am suffering? Is there any remedy? How I can save me?"—these questions should arise. This is called brahma-jijñāsa. The Vedānta-sūtra explains this brahma-jijñāsa. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Athāto: "Now. Now it is the time for you to inquire about your Brahman realization, of your Brahman life." That Brahman life begins when we understand that "I am not this material body. I am spirit soul." That is brahma-jñāna. And one who has got this knowledge, he is brāhmaṇa. He is brāhmaṇa. One who has actually attained this knowledge, that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul," that is brahma-jñāna.
Lord Caitanya's pastimes going on, still going on, but some of the fortunate devotees, they can see. Anything, God's pastimes, that is perceivable through devotional service. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Only way. This is the process. No other process. No amount of speculation, no amount of academic education, no amount of philosophical discussion can..., one can... It is confirmed in the Vedic literature: nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhya, na bahunā śrutena. Na ayam ātmā... This self-realization is not possible. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhya, simply by discussion, nobody can arrive. Nobody can understand what is self-realization, what is Supreme Soul, the Absolute Truth. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena, na medhayā. Medhayā means one who is, who has got very good brain substance, he also cannot. Simply by agitating the brain, brain substance, one cannot understand. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhya, na bahunā śrutena, na medhayā. Śrutena, one who is highly educated, very good scholar, he also cannot understand. Then, what is the pro...? Janena saba puruṣe tena labhya: a person to whom God reveals Himself, he can understand. So we have to wait for that and for God's mercy. We have to be engaged in loving, transcendental service, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then He'll reveal.
Now here is Lord Caitanya's order. Whether we do understand or not understand, if we simply submissively give aural reception to these messages of Kṛṣṇa, then gradually we shall understand the whole philosophy and science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the summary. You may not understand at the present moment about the extensive constitutional position and philosophy of Kṛṣṇa. Still, if we submissively give aural reception to these messages, as it is described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Lord Caitanya, that will help us—Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta. This hearing process is very nice. That is recommended by Lord Caitanya. Simply by hearing. We do not require to be very highly educated or very good scholar in Vedānta philosophy. Whatever you are, you remain in your place. That doesn't matter. Simply try to hear, and by hearing everything will be... Svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. Because the process is that we cannot understand God or we cannot see God unless He reveals. So this revelation will come if we submissively hear. We may not understand, but simply by hearing, we can achieve that stage of life.
- Thank you very much. (end)
So the Sanskrit language was one, and the culture was Vedic. Therefore there was no disunion. Every part of the country in India, the same system. He may be a Bengali, he may be a Maharastrian, he may be a Gujarati, or he may be Oriya—there were so many provinces—but the culture was the same. Another unity was that sacred places were distributed all over India. Just like Gayā, a sacred place, it is situated in Bihar. And sacred place, Benares, it is situated in Uttar Pradesh. Vṛndāvana is situated on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Similarly, Kashmir, and Punjab also; in South India, Rāmeśvaram; in Himalayan province, Haridwar. In this way all these provinces were distributed, and still it is going on. The provincialism is amongst the educated circle. So far the mass of people are concerned, they don't know what is province. They travel from one province to another. They don't require any visa. They don't require any passport. So that was very nice.
So this Sanskrit scholar, Keśava Kāśmīrī, he came from Kashmir to challenge the learned scholars in other parts of the country. There were four celebrated places where highly educated scholars were there. One was at Benares. Benares still, it is considered to be the center of Sanskrit scholars place. Similarly Navadvīpa, where Caitanya Mahāprabhu was born. And in Bihar there was a place, Darbhanga. That is also a scholarly. So Benares, and Berhampur (?), Berhampur in East Bengal near Dacca. So some of the places in India, they are very famous for learned scholars. Still they are continuing.
So what is the result for such persons? Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ (SB 10.2.32). They might come to the highest position, because Brahman realization is also very high position. It is not ordinary thing, that "I am not this body. I am Brahman." This realization is not ordinary realization. It is also realized after purification of the mind. But that is also not sufficient. So āruhya kṛcchreṇa, after undergoing severe penances and philosophical research, even though he has risen up to the point of perfection, to the point of perfection, still, patanty adhaḥ, he has the chance of falling down. And that we have seen in many instances. Many sannyāsīns, they were very educated, and they have undergone severe penances, but without Kṛṣṇa realization they fall down. How they fall down? Sometimes they fall down, becomes a victim of a woman. Sometimes they fall down for this philanthropic work. Sometimes they fall down in the matter of opening hospitals. Generally they fall down by becoming a victim, victim of woman, and others, they also become victim of this material nature, become attracted by this social work. So a sannyāsī is supposed to be renounced order. He has nothing to do with this material world. Then why should he come to the social order or philanthropic order? That is his falldown. That is his falldown. He should be situated completely in spiritual order. He has nothing to do. He should simply be engaged in spiritual service, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the perfection of renouncement.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
The fact is, the Garga Upaniṣad says, etad viditvā yaḥ prayāti. One who quits this body after knowing what he is, sa eva brāhmaṇa, he is brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa... We are offering you the sacred thread. Why? Just you try to understand what is the mystery of life. That is brāhmaṇa. Vijānataḥ. We have read in this verse, vijānataḥ. One who quits this body after knowing things as they are, he is brāhmaṇa. And etad aviditvā yaḥ prayāti... And one who quits this body without knowing the mystery of life, he's a kṛpaṇā. Kṛpaṇā means miser. Just like if you get one million dollars and you could not utilize it, simply you see that "Oh, I have got this bank balance," you are happy simply by seeing it, then you are kṛpaṇā. You do not know how to utilize. And one who has got one million dollars and utilizing it and making millions and millions dollars, he is intelligent. Similarly, this body is invaluable. One who is utilizing it for culture of spiritual knowledge, he is brāhmaṇa. That is the difference between brāhmaṇa and kṛpaṇā. And one who is utilizing this body like cats and dogs for sense gratification, he is miser. He does not know how to utilize one million dollars. Everyone does not know. But it is the duty of the father, duty of the state, duty of the teachers to educate from the very beginning. Bhāgavata says that one should not become a father, one should not become a mother, one should not become a teacher, one should not become a king unless they are able to elevate their dependents to this spiritual knowledge, which can save him from repeated birth and death.
Thank you. (end)
Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures
So, he was very kind. "Oh, who has done this mischief, these poor animals?" So he searched out the hunter, and he went there. The hunter asked me, "Oh, why you are disturbing my business?" So Nārada said, "My dear hunter, I have come to beg something from you." So hunter thought that "This mendicant is a beggar, so he might have come to me to beg some skins, or deer skin or tiger skin." So he said, "All right, please, let me do my business. I shall give you skins, whatever you like." Nārada said, "No, no, I don't want anything from you. I have come to request you something." "What is that?" "How, if you are killing animals, why don't you kill them all at once? Why you are killing them half, and giving them so much torture?" "Oh," he said that "I have been educated in that way. I have been trained in that way killing of animals by my father. I take pleasure in it." So Nārada said, "So my request to you is that if you want to kill animals, please kill them immediately. Don't kill half. This is very great sinful." Then he inquired, "What is the sin?" He said that "You are killing so many animals, so you are accumulating sins." Then he explained everything, so he became little softened, and he inquired that "How to get out of these sinful activities?" That Nārada said that "If you follow my instruction, then you can get free from these sinful activities." "Now, what I will have to do?" He said that "First of all break your bow, then I shall tell you." "Oh, if I break my bow, then my business instrument is gone." "No, don't be afraid."
So māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī is recommending that happiness, material happiness also, is due to pious activities. Unless you are pious, you cannot be happy, even materially. And if you simply commit sins, Rūpa Gosvāmī has analyzed—you will read in the Nectar of Devotion—that distress is due to ignorance, simply ignorance. The distress and happiness... Actually you can see those who are not educated fairly, they cannot get any good job. Therefore it is, his distress is due to less, poor fund of knowledge. So actually our distress is due to ignorance and in ignorance only, we commit sinful activities. Therefore our topics began that, prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam. We are trying to remove the ignorance of the people, therefore we are giving the best service to the human society. We are simply trying to remove the ignorance. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), we are trying to polish or cleanse the heart. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. As soon as the heart is cleansed, the heart that... Now I am indifferently conscious. I am thinking that "I am American," "I am Indian," or "I am this," "I am that." "I have to work, I have got business." So many you have created. But, our process is, our process is to cleanse the heart. That you are nothing of this, you are simply eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. You engage yourself as eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa and become happy. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (CC Antya 20.12). Because we are ignorant of our constitutional position we have created all these problems.
According to Vedic system, education has to be taken from high class, intellectual person like the brāhmaṇas. But if you find that a person who is not a brāhmaṇa—he's less than a brāhmaṇa, or even lower caste—but if he has got some nice education, just accept him as your teacher and learn. Not that "Because he's lowborn or not brāhmaṇa, I shall not take the education from him." The point is that you have to take the education. And strī-ratnaṁ duṣkulād api. In India still the marriage takes place in equal family. The boy and the girl must be equally rich, equally cultured, equally educated. Equality. They find out. Even by horoscope, they test whether their astronomical calculations are also equal, so that after marriage they may not be unhappy. So many things, they are taken care of by the parents, and the marriage takes place. It is not that in youthful age the boy and girl mixes and... No. There are so many. But these things are now gone. So the point is that they were calculating especially to accept a girl from a family, they must be equal. But Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that if a girl is well qualified, strī-ratna... Strī-ratna means... Ratna means jewel. If a girl is just like jewel, very qualified, even she is born in low family, accept her. Nīcād apy uttamāṁ vidyāṁ strī-ratnaṁ duṣkulād api. Duṣkulād api means born of low family. Never mind. Don't care for her parentage.
He's sādhu. Even if we find some discrepancies in the life of a devotee... Just like these European, Americans. They're devotees. They are pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. How? They have no other desire. They simply want to satisfy their spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they are pure devotees. They have no other business. They have sacrificed everything. They are coming from rich family, rich nation, educated, everything. There is no scarcity in their country. Everything's complete. But still, for Kṛṣṇa they have forsaken everything. That is pure devotion.
- anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
- jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
- ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
- śīlanam bhaktir uttamām
- (Brs. 1.1.11)
Those who are trying to catch up here something, catch up here something, they have been described by Caitanya Mahāprabhu as khara jati abata (?). Khara jati abata. The kha... One, one of the devotee of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Mukunda, he was very, mean, confidential devotee. His class friend also, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's. So he was going sometimes here, sometimes there, sometimes here, sometimes there. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu became very angry upon him, and gave him the title khara jati abata. Khara jati abata: "Don't allow him to come here." He became so strict.
Festival Lectures
So here the teachers are addressed here brahma-bandho. Brahma-bandho means a person who is born by a brāhmaṇa father but is not acting as a brāhmaṇa. He's called brahma-bandho, dvīja-bandhu. Dvīja-bandhu, one who is born of a, actually born of a brāhmaṇa father, but he's not acting as a brāhmaṇa. So Hiraṇyakaśipu addressed the teachers brahma-bandho, not brāhmaṇa. "Because you are untrustworthy. I gave you, I entrusted you with my son to be taught, and you have taught him this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So against my will..." He says practically, brahma-bandho kim etat te vipakṣaṁ śrayatāsatā: "I entrusted my child for being educated by you, and you have instigated him to speak in favor of my enemy, Viṣṇu? Viṣṇu is my enemy. How is that?" Asāraṁ grāhito bālo mām anādṛtya durmate. "This rascal boy, he does not care for me, and he has learned this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and you have taught him. How is that?"
- santi hy asādhavo loke
- durmaitrāś chadma-veśiṇaḥ
- teṣāṁ udety aghaṁ kāle
- rogaḥ pātakinām iva
"So I think these demigods who are followers of Viṣṇu, they are coming in disguise and poisoning my son by teaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and you did not take care of him. So what is this?"
There is planet beyond this material sky. There is another sky. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Paras tasmāt tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). There is another sky, which is eternal. This sky is temporary. Just like your body, my body, or anything in this material world, they are temporary. They have got a date of birth, and they grow, they stay, they produce some by-products, then dwindle, and then vanishes. That is material nature. But there is another nature, which is called spiritual nature. Even when everything is annihilated, that nature stands. So that spiritual nature, or spiritual sky, is described in the Vedic literature, in the Upaniṣads, that there is no need of sunshine, there is no need of moonshine, there is no need of electricity. That is another sky. So our only business is to transfer ourself from this sky to that sky, that illuminating sky. That is the Vedic injunction. Tamasi mā jyotir gamaya: "Don't remain in this darkness, in this world of darkness. Come to the world of light." So this movement is very important movement. We are trying to educate people how to transfer one from this world of darkness to the world of light, which is called Goloka Vṛndāvana. So I am very much thankful to you that you have given me your time. So we have got our books; our devotees are preaching. Take advantage of this opportunity and make your life successful.
Thank you very much.
So that is required. That is human intelligence. And if we spoil our life like the animals... They are also eating; we are also eating. They are also sleeping; we are also sleeping. They are also having sex intercourse; we are also having sex intercourse. They are also defending; we are also defending. These four principles are common to the human being and to the animal. The special advantage of human being is that if he likes, he can stop this repetition of birth and death and go back to home, back to Godhead. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to educate people about this science, how to go back to home, back to Godhead. It is not a so-called religious movement. Of course, anything which has connection with God, you can take it as religious movement. But it is very scientific movement. For the big scientists, philosophers, thinkers, they should try to understand this movement. We have got fifty-seven books for convincing the philosophers, scientists. If you want to know the value of this movement through science, philosophy, we have got enough ingredients to supply you. Otherwise, it is simple, very simple.
So when Kṛṣṇa came to Kurukṣetra from Dvārakā with His brother and sister, these people in Vṛndāvana, they got news that Kṛṣṇa is coming there. Vṛndāvana is about the same distance. Kurukṣetra is greater distance. Anyway, they came to see Kṛṣṇa out of their love. And the most beloved personality, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, She was requesting Kṛṣṇa that "You are the same Kṛṣṇa. I am the same Rādhārāṇī. But the place is not the same. You are here in Kurukṣetra in royal opulence, and we are coming from the village. So if You again please come to Vṛndāvana." This was Rādhārāṇī's request. And it is very ecstatic feeling. Those who are advanced devotee, they can enjoy.
So we observe this incidence annually in as many places in the Western countries. At the present moment we hold this ceremony in London, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and where else? Buffalo, Melbourne, yes. So this is a very feeling festival. So I thank you very much. You have come here. And try to understand our philosophy. You are all educated boys and girls. We have got fifty-seven books. Try to read, and try to understand. And take it very seriously, and you will be happy.
Thank you very much. (end)
So we are always servant. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). Actual, our constitutional position is eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme controller. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for this purpose, that these foolish persons or rascals, mūḍhāḥ... I am not manufacturing the words "foolish" and "rascal." It is said by Kṛṣṇa. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). He has spoken like that. You'll find. Duṣkṛtinaḥ, always acting sinfully, and mūḍhāḥ, and rascals, ass. Narādhamāḥ, lowest of the mankind. "Oh, you are...? Kṛṣṇa, You are speaking so much ill of these materialist scientists? There are so many philosophers. They're all narādhamāḥ?" "Yes, they are narādhamāḥ." "But they are educated." "Yes, that is also..." But what kind of education? Māyayā apahṛta-jñānāḥ: "The result of their education—knowledge has been taken away by māyā." The more one is educated, the more one is atheist.
At the present moment... Of course, education does not mean... Education means to understand. Jñānī. Educate, educated means wise man, educated man, jñānī. The actual jñānī means māṁ prapadyate. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). That is education. The education does not mean to become atheist, "There is no God. I am God, you are God, everyone is God." This is not education.
Lowest of the mankind means that in the human form of life he was supposed to know that life is eternal and the soul is changing different types of bodies on account of karma, different types of activities. But although the gentleman is well dressed, he does not know. He does not know what is going to happen in his next life. Neither he believes in the next life. This is the position of the modern civilization. So anyone in that ignorance is called the lowest of the mankind, narādhama. If you say, "How I can say this gentleman, nicely dressed gentleman, lowest of the mankind? He has already passed his university education. He has got big, big degrees. And how I can say that he's the lowest of the mankind?" the answer is given by Kṛṣṇa. I do not require to answer. The answer is given there: māyayā apahṛta-jñānā. Māyayā. Certainly he's educated. He has got degrees. That's all right. But the essence of his knowledge has been taken away by māyā. Māyayā apahṛta-jñānā asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. Essence of knowledge is Kṛṣṇa. That he has no idea, what is Kṛṣṇa. This is the position of asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. The mahātmānas tu daivī-prakṛtim āśritāḥ, and the narādhamas, there are, there are asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. Just like Hiraṇyakaśipu and his son, Prahlāda. Prahlāda is mahātmā. Daivī-prakṛtim āśritāḥ. And Hiraṇyakaśipu is demon. He is māyayā apahṛta-jñānā asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. There are two classes of men, daivī-prakṛtim āśritāḥ and asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ.
So anyway, it was Kṛṣṇa's grace. I would not go, but their point of view was that unless I certify that sādhu, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he'll not be accepted. Therefore he dragged me. So I went to see Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura on that day. On the first meeting, just we offer our obeisances. It is the practice. So immediately he began his talking that "You are all educated young men. Why don't you take up Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's cult and preach all over the English knowing public? Why don't you take up this matter?" So I argued with him in so many... At that time I was nationalist. So I told that "Who will accept our message? We are dependent nation. Nobody will care." In this way, in my own way, in these younger days... But we belonged to the Vaiṣṇava family, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda, Rādhā-Govinda. That is our worshipable Deity. So I was very glad that "Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa cult, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's cult, this sādhu is trying to preach. It is very nice."
So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means variety of service to the Supreme. The example is just like, the varieties of different parts of the body: the head is there, the hand is there, the brain is there, the leg is there. The head cannot work like the leg, neither the leg can work like the brain. The hand cannot work the belly, or belly cannot work like the hand. Varieties. Similarly, there are varieties of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and if we serve Kṛṣṇa with our varieties, sa karmaṇā manasā vācā, then it is everything peaceful. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We do not want to stop the varieties. Varieties must be there. We are not nirveśeṣa-vādī, impersonalist. No. We are completely personalist. Kṛṣṇa is person, Rādhārāṇī is person, the devotees are person, the demigods are person, the cats person, the dogs person, the cows person, the calves person. But what is the meaning of Vṛndāvana? Vṛndāvana means everyone—the father and mother of Kṛṣṇa, Nanda Mahārāja, Yaśodāmāyī, the gopīs, the girlfriends of Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī and others, and the cowherd boys, and the cows, the calfs, the trees, the flowers, the fruits, the water. Everyone is for serving Kṛṣṇa. This is Vṛndāvana. Vṛndāvana means there is variety, and varieties of service and everything for Kṛṣṇa. That is Vṛndāvana.
So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is educating that the varieties of service should be concentrated for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa.
So 1922 I met my Guru Mahārāja through the exigency of my intimate friend, Mr. Narendranath Mullik. And I would not go. He told me information, "There is a nice sādhu. Let us go and see." I did not like very much these sādhus in those days, national spirit. So I said, "I have seen many sādhus. They come at my father's care. I was not very much pleased with their behavior." So he dragged me forcibly: "No, I have heard this person is very exalted." So I went. And his first opening version was that "You are educated young men. Why don't you preach Caitanya Mahāprabhu's gospel in the Western countries?" I did not know. So this was his blessing in the first meeting. I did not know, but because we belonged to a Vaiṣṇava family we were very much worshiper of Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda, our family Deity. So I was very much pleased that "Here is a personality who is going to preach Caitanya Mahāprabhu's gospel." I was very much pleased.
So somehow or other, it has begun, the blessings of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, as he wanted me, he desired me. So because he desired, my... I am not very expert or educated or nothing extraordinary, but only thing is that I believed in his word. That is... You can say that is my qualification. I believed cent percent in his word. So whatever success is there, it is just due to my firm faith in his instruction. So I am trying to follow. And by his grace, you are helping me. So actually, the responsibility will now depend on you. I am also old man. I may pass away at any moment. This movement should go on, you see, this movement started by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then accelerated by Gosvāmīs, and then again Viśvanātha Cakravartī. And when... Just like whenever there is... Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7). When there is some slowness, either Kṛṣṇa Himself or some representative comes to give it a push. So you should know it, that this movement should be pushed on. This should not be neglected.
Let us go and see." At that time I was young man, and I did not care for very much about so-called saintly persons. Because in our house, my father used to receive so many sannyāsīs, but some of them were not very to the standard, and due to my association with college friends, younger days, I lost my faith practically, although I was born in a Vaiṣṇava family. My father was a pure Vaiṣṇava. From my childhood, he gave me Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deity for worshiping. A ratha... I was playing with my boyfriends, Ratha-yātrā, Ḍola, like that. My father encouraged. So I was trained up in this line, but in my youthful age, when I was college student, gradually, by their bad association or something, gradually, I lost my activities. But when this friend, Mr. Mullik, took me to Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, he immediately asked me that, "You are educated young boys. Why don't you take up Lord Caitanya's message and preach in the Western world?" In the very first sight, he told me. At that time, I argued with him that "We are dependent nation, and who is going to hear about our message?" So he defeated my argument. (aside:) There is no necessity of closing. Yes. He defeated my argument. He was learned scholar. What I was? I was still boy. So I agreed (chuckles) that I was defeated. So after finishing our visit with Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, I got some impression that "Here is a person who has taken Lord Caitanya's message very seriously. Now it will be preached." My friend asked my opinion, that "What is your opinion?" So I gave this opinion, that "Here is a person who has taken Lord Caitanya's movement very seriously, and now it will be preached."
So when I was seventy years old I decided, "Now I must do and execute the order of my Guru Mahārāja. And thus this movement was started in 1965 from New York. And I was not very much hopeful because it is very difficult task, just opposite the European and Western culture. I came... When I first came, I had no money. So I got a free passage through some Indian steam navigation company. So I came by ship. So when I was on the ship at Boston port, Commonwealth port, I was thinking that "I have come here. I do not know what is the purpose because how the people will accept this movement? They are differently educated, and as soon as I will say, 'So, my dear sir, you have to give up meat-eating and illicit sex and no intoxication and gambling,' they will say, 'Please go home.' " (laughter) Because that was the experience of one of my Godbrother. He went to London, and he had the opportunity to talk with one big man, Marquis of Zetland. Marquis of Zetland was formerly governor of Bengal. At that time I was student. He was Scotsman, and I was student of the Scottish Churches' College. So he came to see our college, and he was standing in front of me in the second-year class. So he was very nice, good gentleman. So he proposed to my Godbrother, "Whether you can make me a brāhmaṇa?" So my Godbrother proposed, "Yes, we can make anyone brāhmaṇa provided you follow this principle: no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling." So that Lord Zetland immediately replied, "Impossible." (laughter) So I was thinking that "I will propose something which is impossible. Anyway, let me try."
Even if you cannot go outside, it doesn't matter. Wherever you are, either you are here in Nabadwip or in Calcutta, anywhere, so you become a guru. Don't remain a rascal. You become a guru. "Now, how can I become a guru? I am not very educated." No! You don't require to be very highly educated rascal. Simply repeat Kṛṣṇa consciousness as Kṛṣṇa said. You become guru. Unfortunately we don't care for Kṛṣṇa's instruction. We are busy with this ism, that ism, that ism. So we should remember—I don't wish to take much time—Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he took Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instruction very seriously, and he wanted his disciple to do. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura also wanted that, and Bhaktisiddhānta... This Māyāpur is meant for this purpose, to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world as it was desired by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma sarvatra pracāra. (CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126) So the beginning is there. We are preaching all over the world and you, my dear friends from Europe and America, you have taken this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Again I shall repeat the same logic. Andha-paṅgu-nyāya. Andha means blind and paṅgu means lame. Both of them are useless. Andha cannot see, he cannot walk, and the lame man cannot walk. Andha can walk but cannot see. And the lame man can see but cannot walk. Now let them both combine together. So the whole world is suffering for want of Kṛṣṇa consciousness or spiritual life. If American money and Indian culture mix together, the whole world will be benefited. That is my ambition. Take Indian culture and help with American money. The whole world will be happy. Andha-paṅgu-nyāya. If the andha is taken on the shoulder... If the paṅgu is taken on the shoulder of the andha, then the lame man can give direction.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
So this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means making people directly in contact with the Supreme. Therefore immediately they're happy. I have got thousands of letters from my disciples. They're feeling so much obliged that "We have got our life. We were hopeless." Actually, that is the position. Without Kṛṣṇa, without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we are all hopeless, confused. So I am very happy to see so many nice boys and girls assembled here. So take to this process. We have got sufficient literature-books, magazines. And the simple method is, even if you do not read, suppose you are not educated, illiterate, you can not read, and still you can reach Kṛṣṇa. Bhakti, devotional service is not dependent on any material condition. Because one man is very rich, he can get Kṛṣṇa? No. Because one man is very poor, he cannot get Kṛṣṇa? No. That's not right. Because one is Hindu or Indian, he can get Kṛṣṇa, not others? No. That is also not. Kṛṣṇa is unconditionally for everyone. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: sarva yoniṣu kaunteya (BG 14.4). Otherwise, how He can be God? If He is a Hindu God, just like they describe in the dictionary that Kṛṣṇa, a Hindu God—that is nonsense. Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. Kṛṣṇa does not say that "I am a Hindu God." But these rascals say Kṛṣṇa is Hindu God. This is going on. You see in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, sarva yoniṣu kaunteya. "In all species of life." Sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ. There are as many different forms of life. Tāsāṁ mahad yoni, brahma: "Their mother is this material nature, and I am their seed-giving father." Kṛṣṇa says that. So how can Kṛṣṇa be Indian or Hindu or this or that? No. Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. And the proof is that five years ago in the Western countries nobody knew what is Kṛṣṇa. How they're taking Kṛṣṇa in so loving attitude? This is the proof that Kṛṣṇa is for everyone, and everyone is for Kṛṣṇa.
So this life is not very congenial to the human society. The chaotic situation of the present human society is due to that there is no intelligent class of men. This is our challenge. The so-called scientists, so-called philosophers, they have no intelligence. Therefore the whole society (is) in the chaotic condition. So these boys and girls, American boys and girls, they're being taught, instructed to become first-class, intelligent man. This is the movement. But without intelligence... Just like your brain, if he, if brain is crazy, your body may be very strong, but that is useless because there is no brain. So at the present moment, especially in this Kali-yuga, there is lack of intelligent class of men, and this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is creating some intelligent class of men. And if other class of men follow their instruction, then the whole society (will be) peaceful, and they'll be happy in this life and they'll be happy in the next life. This is the sum and substance of our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Those who are interested will kindly come to our temple here in... We have got so many temples, and we have got our temple here also, New York. And there are preachers also. We have got good preachers. And educated boys and girls. We have got books. So my only request is that you take some interest, active interest in this movement, try to understand it, and if you cooperate, the whole human society will be happy.
Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)
So Kṛṣṇa is not so easy to approach by the nondevotees. Vedeṣu durlabha. Or even by studying Vedas, durlabha. Durlabha means not approachable, not approachable. Vedeṣu durlabha adurlabha ātma-bhaktau. But to His devotees He's very easy. He's very easy. Just like the gopīs. Gopīs, they are village girls, not educated, not brāhmaṇa, not Vedantist. But Kṛṣṇa is within their palms, within their hands. So this bhakti-yoga is so nice that Kṛṣṇa, or God, who is unapproachable by any other method-however efficient it may be, it is not possible—only by love and devotion in service He can be approached. It is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Kṛṣṇa has explained in the Bhagavad-gītā all systems-jñāna-yoga system, haṭha-yoga system, karma-yoga system, rāja-yoga system. But at the end He says that "If anyone actually wants to know Me, that is bhakti." Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ. If anyone wants to know Kṛṣṇa as He is... Kṛṣṇa has different features, especially three: brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11)—as impersonal Brahman, all-pervasive Paramātmā, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So if anyone wants to know actually what is Kṛṣṇa... Of course, it is not possible to know Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa reveals to the devotee, svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ, revelation. Just like Kṛṣṇa is explaining Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā. People should know. Why they are searching unnecessarily? Rascaldom. You cannot search out Kṛṣṇa, God, by speculation. If He reveals Himself by His causeless mercy, being merciful upon you, being pleased upon you, then you can understand Kṛṣṇa. You cannot search out Kṛṣṇa. That is not possible.
Similarly, when I shall give up this body, I shall accept another body. This is the beginning of understanding, that "I am not this body. I am living in this body just like I am not this coat, but I am living within the coat." There is very vivid example in the Bhagavad-gītā. If we read, we can understand that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul." When this realization is there, that "I am spirit soul," ahaṁ brahmāsmi... The exact word used in the Vedic literature, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That stage has to be attained in human form of life. In the animal forms of life, this understanding, that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul," in the animal stage of life it is not possible to understand. But in the human form of life it is possible because human being is advanced in consciousness and knowledge, and if he is educated, he can understand. And if he actually understands, then his position becomes brahma-bhūtaḥ, self-realized, prasannātmā. Immediately he becomes jubilant. There is no more any cause of moroseness. That is the symptom. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). Then there is no more hankering or lamentation. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. At that stage, brahma-bhūtaḥ stage, we can see everyone, spirit soul. I don't see an American or a Swiss gentleman or a French gentleman or a cat or dog or tree, but I see the spirit soul. That, in that spiritual state, brahma-bhūtaḥ stage, samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, one can see that within this body there is the spirit soul, and he wants to work for benefit of the spirit soul, not for the temporary body.
So those who are engaged in Deity worship, those who are engaged in saṅkīrtana party, those who are engaged in distributing books, those who are engaged in the office for keeping accounts—and all of them in devotional service—not a single moment waste. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). And whenever you have got time, read books. Now we have got volumes of books. Again we have got another five volumes of books. All are now immediately published. So you have got enough to study. And those who are gṛhasthas, children, we have got our Dallas. As soon as the children is fit, three to four years, you can send to Dallas. They are taking very much care. And if your children are educated Sanskrit and English, and reads all our books, he is more than any university M.A., Ph.D., more than. The M.A., Ph.D. of the ordinary university will not be able to be compared with that. So rest assured that education, culture, happiness, satisfaction, and next, go to home, back to home, back to Godhead.
Thank you very much. (end)
So I am very glad to see you, so many Kṛṣṇa's part and parcel. You have come to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So stick to the principles, then your life will be successful. The principle is to purify ourself. Just like when a man becomes sick, he has to purify himself by regulative principle, by diet, by medicine, similarly, we have got this material disease, covered by the material body, and the symptom of miseries are birth, death, old age and disease. So one who is serious about getting out of this material bondage and free from birth, death, old age and disease, so he must take to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is very simple and easy. If you do not know, if you are not educated, if you have no asset, you can simply chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and if you are educated, logician, philosopher, you can read our books, which are already in fifty in number. There will be about seventy-five books of four hundred pages to convince the philosopher, scientist, educationist what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is published in English as well as in other European languages. Take advantage of it. Along with the Deity worship in this temple, hold classes at least five hours. As in the schools and colleges there are regular classes, forty-five minutes' class, then five or ten minutes' recess, again forty-five minutes' class, in this way, so we have got enough subject matter to study, and if we study all these books, to finish them it will take at least twenty-five years. So you are all young men. I request you to engage your time in reading books, in chanting, in Deity worshiping, in going to preach, selling books. Don't be lazy. Always remain engaged. Then that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
I have no personal qualification, but I simply tried to satisfy my guru. That's all. My Guru Mahārāja asked me that "If you get some money, you print books." So there was a private meeting, talking, some of my important Godbrothers also there. It was in Rādhā-kuṇḍa. So Guru Mahārāja was speaking to me that "Since we have got this Bagh Bazaar marble temple, there has been so many dissensions, and everyone thinking who will occupy this room or that room, that room. I wish, therefore, to sell this temple and the marble and print some book." Yes. So I took up this from his mouth, that he is very fond of books. And he told me personally that "If you get some money, print books." Therefore I am stressing on this point: "Where is book? Where is book? Where is book?" So kindly help me. This is my request. Print as many books in as many languages and distribute throughout the whole world. Then Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will automatically increase. Now the educated learned scholars, they are appreciating our movement by reading books, by taking practical result. Dr. Stillson Judah, he has written one book, perhaps you know, Hare Kṛṣṇa and Counterculture, a very nice book about our movement, and he is giving importance. He has admitted that "Swamijī, you have done wonderful thing because you have turned the drug-addicted hippies into devotees of Kṛṣṇa, and they are prepared for the service of humanity."
So I am very glad to see this temple. You have purchased it? No. That's nice, very good space. And devotees are very nice. So our process is very simple, that we dedicate our life to the service of Vaiṣṇava and, according to his direction, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam, hearing and chanting of Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa, and refrain from the sinful activities. Then life is successful. It is not very difficult. We do not require to be very learned scholar or very rich men or to take birth in a very high family. We do not require all these things. If we are endowed with all these blessings, janma aiśvarya śruta śrī—means birth in high family or great nation, to be very opulent, rich, and very highly educated, or very beautiful—these things are very good material possessions. But if we have got them, it is all right. Even if we have not got, there is no impediment. Kṛṣṇa-bhakti is without any check by any material condition. Anyone can execute this devotional service, provided he wants to do it. And especially when one is endowed with other blessings, it is just like good scent in gold. Gold is appreciated by everyone. It is valuable, but there is no good flavor. Similarly, janma aiśvarya, to... You American boys and girls, you are born of a very big nation. That is very good. You are all educated, you are beautiful, and janma aiś..., śruta śrī, four things. These things are just like gold. But if you add Kṛṣṇa consciousness along with these qualification, then gold with flavor. Gold is valuable, and if there is flavor, it is more valuable. Of course, in the material world there is no gold which has got good scent.
Brahmānanda: He wants to know what you have offered that has resulted in such a wonderful emotional response from all the people here.
Prabhupāda: Because they are being spiritually educated. We are above material platform; therefore we have no distinction that one is American, one is Indian, one is black, one is white. We have no such distinction. Everyone is servant of God. Is that all right?
Woman Reporter: I know you are very much aware of all the other gurus, especially that have been coming to the United States in the recent years, and I wondered if you could explain why it is that you believe that you have the truth rather than someone else.
Prabhupāda: Explain?
Brahmānanda: She wants to know that there are many other gurus, and why do you feel that you have the truth?
Prabhupāda: Because we speak the truth. We don't give bluff that "I am God. I am this. I am that." We don't give. We are... Actual position: God is great, and we are all servants. This is our actual position. How can I say, "I am God"? So we do not give bluff. We say the real truth; therefore it appeals. And if I say something humbug, it will not appeal. It may act for some time, but it will not endure.
So if we simply understand one verse. There are seven thousand verse? No. Seven hundred, yes. Seven hundred verses. If we simply understand one verse only, as we have explained, then immediately we become brahma-bhūtaḥ, liberated. And that is the perfection of human form of life. A dog cannot understand. If I say to the dog that "You are not this body, you are spirit soul, you are eternal," he has no power to understand. And a human being can understand. He has got the capacity. So we are trying to educate all people, all nations of the world to understand this one verse, that's all. Na jāyate vā mriyate vā kadācit. If he simply understands this one verse, he immediately becomes liberated. And actually, human life is meant for understanding this philosophy or this truth. Then his life is successful. And as soon as we understand that we are eternal, we are not mortal, then naturally our inquiry will be, "Where we can live eternally?" That will be the inquiry. In the material world as you are forced to take birth and death, so similarly in the spiritual world, the first advantage is there is no birth and death, just the opposite. So our process is to train people how to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the only education required in this human life.
So now by the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, this movement has come to your country, and especially in a nice village like this, utilize it properly. It is a very ideal place. Not only this, there are many thousands of places like this. People should take advantage to live in such nice place, produce their necessities of life, and keep them fit and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and realize self. We don't say that you starve or become weak in health or weak in intelligence. No. You remain quite fit in intelligence and health, but don't be unnecessarily in need. The difficulty of the modern educated person is... Not educated, but so-called educated, they are attracted in the city for so many things unnecessary. Just like the club, the restaurant, the liquor and the cigarette, so many things. But if your attention is diverted to Kṛṣṇa, you will not feel inclined to enjoy all these unnecessary things. That is the test of spiritual life, that bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). Bhakti, advancement of devotional life, means no more taste for all these nonsense. That is the test.
So unless we understand this philosophy... It is not philosophy. Philosophy you can call, because the philosophy means the science of sciences. Philosophy is not a mental speculation. Philosophy is the prime science from which all other sciences are derived. That is philosophy. So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to educate people on this science of sciences to understand first of all that "What you are? Are you this body or different from this body?" This is essential. And if you go on constructing your big building on a defective foundation, then it will not stay. There will be danger. So modern civilization is based on this defective idea that "I am this body." "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian"—these are all bodily concept of life. "Because I have got this body from a Christian father and mother, therefore I am a Christian." But I am not this body. "Because I have got this body from a Hindu father and mother, therefore I am Hindu." But I am not this body. So for spiritual understanding, this is the basic principle to understand, that "I am not this body; I am soul," ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is the Vedic instruction: "Try to understand that you are spirit soul; you are not this body." The yoga system is practiced just to understand this. Yoga indriya saṁyamaḥ. By controlling the senses, especially the mind... Mind is the master or the chief of the senses. Manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7).
So we have come here in Toronto to open this center to give this enlightenment to everyone. It is not meant for a particular nation, particular religious system. It is a science. Suppose if we say that you become peaceful, you become honest, you become wise. These instructions are not meant for East or West. It is meant for everyone. So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to educate people how to become wise, honest, truthful, believer in God, so on, so on. This is the movement. So we think that you shall take seriously this movement. Actually, this is the platform of united nations, or united living beings. And we are not simply talking. This science is being discussed in volumes of books. We have already published about fifty-four books. These books are selling very nicely. It is not sentiment, it is a science. So we request the people of this nice city, Toronto, to take advantage of this movement, come here, read our books, make your questions solved, and you'll be all happy. It doesn't matter whether you are Canadian or Indian. It doesn't matter.
Thank you very much. (break) Any question to understand this? If there is any question, you can put. That's all. (end)
If you so desire, you can stop it. There is no difficulty. Very easy. And that is also explained by Kṛṣṇa: janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). Simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa. And He's explaining Himself. What is the difficulty to understand Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, Para-brahman, the greatest, and we are anu, very small. Our knowledge is very small, limited. It is not possible to understand Kṛṣṇa, but He is explaining Himself for our little understanding. Whatever we have got capacity to understand, that Kṛṣṇa is explaining. So if you simply take Kṛṣṇa's word, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Here is a chance. This Deity worship... When we see the form of Kṛṣṇa, naturally our mind is impressed that "Here is Kṛṣṇa; here is Rādhārāṇī; here is Jagannātha." So if you come daily and see Kṛṣṇa at least once-man-manā bhava mad-bhaktoḥ—where is the difficulty? But people are so much engrossed. Their education is so low grade. Just now, when I was coming from Bhuvaneśvara, the next room, next apartment, was occupied by some young men. As they were talking, it appeared they were educated, medical practitioner. They were addressing amongst themselves, "Dr. this," "Dr. this..." (break)
Initiation Lectures
So the general rule is that if one is inquisitive... Just as we follow in our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness society we ask everyone to come. We don't make any imposition that with such and such qualification one can sit here or hear. No. All these students who are initiated, they know we don't impose anything. "You must be such and such, you must be such an such educated, you must be Hindu or you must be brāhmaṇa, or you must be white or black..." No such restriction. Anyone. This is universal. Chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, everyone is welcome. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That's all. And hear something from Bhagavad-gītā. So following this principle, if one is a little more interested, then he offers himself. "Swamijī, I shall be initiated." So if I see that that boy or that girl is sincere and is following, then we say that "You have to follow these four principles." What are these? Niṣiddhācāra. These are injunction by Lord Caitanya, that no illicit sex life, no intoxication, no, I mean to say, nonvegetarian dishes, and no gambling. These four principles. So they agree, and he is given initiation for chanting beads, Hare Kṛṣṇa, at least sixteen rounds daily. So if one follows the rules and regulation rigidly...
So I went on his request, and I was so profited. So on the first visit he asked me that "Educated boys like you, you should go to foreign countries and preach the gospel of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There is great necessity." So I replied that "We are foreign-dominated nation, India. Who will hear about our message?" Actually, at that time the foreigners were thinking Indians as very nonsignificant because in the face of so many independent nations, India was dependent. There was one poet, Bengali poet. He lamented that "Even uncivilized nations like China, Japan and Burmese..." Not Burma. Burma was also dependent. "They are independent, and only India is dependent on the Britishers." So anyway, my Guru Mahārāja, he convinced me that "Dependence, independence, they are temporary. But we are concerned with the eternal benefit of the human kind, and therefore you should take up this matter."
We ask our students to refrain from that illicit sex life, nonvegetarian diet, and intoxication, and to take part in gambling. These four things. So ordinarily these four things are very prominent in the society, especially in the Western countries. But these students who take initiation and follows chanting, they very easily give up these four things without any difficulty. That is called anartha nivṛtti. That is the fourth stage. The fifth stage is then he becomes fixed up: "Yes." Just like one student, Mr. Anderson, I've not seen him, but simply by associating with our other devotees, he has written that "I wish to devote my whole being for this Kṛṣṇa consciousness." This is called niṣṭhā, fixed up. Tato niṣṭhā tato ruci. Ruci means they get a taste. Why these boys are going out? This chanting, they have got a taste. They have developed a taste. Otherwise for nothing they are not wasting time. They are educated, they are grown up. So taste. Fixed up, then taste, tathāsaktis. When the taste is, then attachment. He cannot give it up. And I receive so many letters. Some students, they could not cope with their Godbrothers, they go away, but they'll write that "I cannot go. I cannot go." He's captured. You see? Umāpati has written that letter, that he becomes in difficulty, he cannot live, he cannot l-i-v-e or l-e-a-v-e. He's in Dallas. You see? He cannot quit the company, or some misunderstanding, he cannot live with Godbrothers. But that is temporary. So that is called asaktiḥ, attachment. Tathāsaktis tato bhāva. Then gradually increasing, some ecstatic position, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. And then perfectional stage, that he loves Kṛṣṇa cent percent. So this is the process.
All right. You please sit down. So the boy is satisfied that "I am not going to a school. This gentleman is very nice. I didn't want to go to school, and he says, 'Yes, don't go to school.' But "You sit down here. What is this?" "This is cow." "And what is this?" "This is cow's leg." "What is this?" "One leg, two leg." That means he is being educated, but he does not know. He says that "Ah..."
So Lord Buddha's philosophy is like that. The atheistic people, they are against God. "Yes, there is no God. But you take this philosophy, ahiṁsā. Don't kill animals." That means if they stop animal-killing, then one day they will be able to understand what is God. Some day. Because so long one is accustomed to kill animals, he will never be able to understand what is God. That is Buddha philosophy. He situated the atheistic people on the line of understanding God. So this is, in one way, cheating. But this cheating is not cheating. Just like father or guardian sometimes cheats the young boy. That is not cheating; that is for his good. But actually, if you take the, I mean to say, behavior, it is something like cheating. So the Māyāvāda philosophy... This Buddha philosophy is also another Māyāvāda philosophy.
Yes, that is already done. When they were initiated hari-nāma, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, that acceptance of... Tasmāt guruṁ prapadyeta. Just like one has to enter himself into some educational institution for being educated more and more, similarly, one has to first of all accept a bona fide spiritual master. Then he gives him education one after another, one after another. So that initiation means that is the beginning. But that is not the end. There is no end. It will go on. It will go on. This is the second stage only. But the rules and regulations, they have already practiced, and they are doing them.
So you should be very careful in future. That is very easy to understand, who is a serpent. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, because one may inquire, "Who is asat? How can I understand?" asat eka strī-saṅgī kṛṣṇābhakta. Asat means who is attached to, very much attached to woman. You see that man, he was posing himself as yogi, and he is living with one woman. It was God's grace that he came with that woman so that he disclosed himself. By Kṛṣṇa's grace. Asat eka strī-saṅgī kṛṣṇābhakta. Strī-saṅgī. One should not be attached to any woman except his wife. Then he becomes asat. Asat eka strī-saṅgī kṛṣṇābhakta. So we should be very careful, asat, who is asat. It doesn't matter if one is very highly educated; still he should not be associated. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has given instruction that vidhayalam krto 'pi san (?) tyaja durjana-saṁsargam. Durjana-saṁsargam, association of rascals, nondevotees; tyaja, give up. "Oh, he is very learned scholar in Sanskrit, but vidhalayaṁ kṛto 'pi san, in spite of his being very learned scholar, you should kick him out." Vidhalayaṁ kṛto 'pi san. How is that? Yes, he is giving example, maṇinā bhūṣitaḥ sarpaḥ kim asau na bhayaṅkaraḥ. A serpent, you know some serpent has got jewels on the head. Does it mean a serpent with jewel on hood is not ferocious because he has got jewel? He's as ferocious as ordinary serpent. That these things we should know. So I do not know how this man was given shelter in our temple. Nobody could understand that "Here is a serpent," and he was accepted as Sanskrit scholar. So you should be very much careful about this thing in future.
So those who are going to be initiated with the sacred thread, they must always remember to follow all these rules and regulations. We should always remember that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for purifying the human society. Unless the human society is purified, there will be so many problems and disturbances in the human society. At least a certain percentage of the human society must be brāhmaṇa; otherwise the society cannot make any progress in spiritual life. And if we cannot make progress in spiritual life, then our human life is frustrated. After 8,400,000 species of life, evolution, one gets this human form of life. And if he does not properly utilize it, then he is committing suicide.
So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the greatest welfare activity for the human society because this movement is educating everyone how to fulfill the aim of life. The purport of the verse:
- apavitraḥ pavitro vā
- sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā
- yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣam
- sa bahyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ
- śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu śrī viṣṇu
Hare Kṛṣṇa. Now give them beads. (chants japa) These flowers, these flowers you can lay down. Flowers, flowers, yes. Flower, flower, here flower. Yes. This is not for Deity? This is not for the Deity? No, you can lay down, lay down on the floor, on the... Yes.
So, "All glories to the assembled devotees" means "including the children." Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that even children without any knowledge of Vedānta—and big, big philosopher—simply by attending the performance of devotional service even a child's mind can be glorious—without an education. That is...We are explaining in this statement of Sūta Gosvāmī: ahaituky apratiyatā. Apratiyatā means "it cannot change anymore." It doesn't matter what he is. He may be a grown-up man or a small child. He may be educated, noneducated; civilized or uncivilized; even man or animal. Everyone can take part in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Bhakti-yoga. This word is very important, that, ahaituky apratiyatā. Apratiyatā means "without any (indistinct)." Because, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is meant for the soul, not for the body. So far body is concerned, that is according to your past karma, it is destined. Sukham aindriyakaṁ daityā deha-yogena dehinām. Prahlāda Mahārāja says, that here in this material world we are after sense pleasure—everyone—birds, beasts, animals, aquatics, human beings, even the demigods—anyone who is within this material world, he is concerned with the gratification of the senses in different degree.
Because he has got the body of a dog it does not mean that he cannot remain a devotee. It can be trained. As you train the dog how to bite others, at night, so you can train the dog also how to become devotee. Therefore this is training. This child is being trained up from the beginning of his birth, in the association of devotees. So if it is possible for one child, many thousands and millions of children can be taught in the devotional... What is (indistinct)? But there is no chance; there is no chance. And the Bhāgavata says that if you cannot train your children to become free from birth and death, don't beget. Pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt, na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. That is called rascaldom. Don't beget child. Or, "Go enjoy sense gratification and use some contraceptive method." No. The (indistinct) should be that "I am a human being, so I must have a child who must be human being." What is that human being? Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. Here (indistinct) we have discussed last night. Tattva-jijñāsā. Everyone should be interested to enquire—athāto brahma jijñāsā, or tattva-jijñāsā, what is the aim of life, what is the absolute truth?
So, children should be educated also from the very beginning. (end)
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was resident of this place where you are taking sannyāsa. So what was the purpose of His taking sannyāsa? He was very respectable brāhmaṇa, Nimāi Paṇḍita. This tract of land, Navadvīpa, is the place of highly educated brāhmaṇas from time immemorial. So Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu belonged to a very respectable brāhmaṇa family, the son of Jagannātha Miśra, His grandfather, Nīlāmbara Cakravartī, very respectful, respectable persons. He took birth in that family. Personally He was very beautiful; therefore His another name is Gaurasundara. And He was very learned scholar also; therefore His another name is Nimāi Paṇḍita. So, and in His family life He had very nice, beautiful young wife, Viṣṇupriyā, and very affectionate mother, and He was very influential. You know that. In one day He collected about one hundred thousand followers to protest against the Kazi's order. So in this way His social position was very favorable. Personal position was very favorable. Still, He took sannyāsa, left home. Why? Dayitaye, in order to favor, in order to show mercy to the fallen souls of the world.
Cornerstone Ceremonies
So very clear. Kurukṣetra is dharma-kṣetra still. In the Vedas it is stated, kurukṣetre dharmam ācaret: "One should go to Kurukṣetra and perform religious rituals." Therefore it is dharma-kṣetra from time immemorial. And why should we interpret it that "This Kurukṣetra means this body, dharmakṣetra, this body"? Why? Why mislead people? Stop this misleading. And Kurukṣetra is still there. Kurukṣetra station, railway station, is there. So try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is, make your life successful, and spread this message all over the world. You will be happy; the world will be happy. Of course, I am now very old man. I am eighty years old. My life is finished. But I want some responsible Indian and combined with other countries... Other countries, they are giving good cooperation. Otherwise, it was not possible for me to spread in so short time, only seven or eight years, to preach this cult all over the world. So I require the cooperation of the Indian, especially young men, educated men. Come forward. Stay with us. Study Bhagavad-gītā. We haven't got anything to manufacture. Nothing to manufacture. And what we can manufacture? We are all imperfect. Whatever is there, let us study it and practically apply in life and spread the message all over the world. That is our mission.
Our friends, they have already begun translating. So there will be no scarcity of knowledge. Please come here, sit down at least once in a week, study all these books, try to understand the philosophy of life, and spread all over the world. That is the mission of Bhāratavarṣa.
- bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra
- janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra
- (CC Adi 9.41)
This is paropakāra movement, to do welfare to others, not like cats and dogs, simply bring money and sense enjoy. This is not human life. Human life is for paropakāra. People are in ignorance, without any knowledge of God, without the ideal of life. They are simply working like cats and dogs and hogs. So they should be educated. Human life is the chance for getting such education. So this is the center for educating the human society to become actually human being and make his life successful.
Wedding Ceremonies
Even up to our young time we have seen that without being married, no girl, no boy, could mix together. So this lust affair, this attraction, was little bit controlled. The father, the parents of the girl, and the parents of the boy would select. They had no personal selection. And that selection was made very scientifically, taking the horoscope of the girl, taking the horoscope of the boy, and calculating, "How this boy and girl will amalgamate? How their lives will be happy?" So many things, they were considered. And when everything was settled, then the marriage would take place. That is the system of old Indian, Vedic principle. And so far free love is concerned, as we understand, that was allowed only very in high circles, princely order. Because the girls were educated and grown up and she was given to select her husband, but not directly. We find in so many historical evidences from the Vedic literature that the girl used to express her desire that "I want to marry with that boy," and the father... This was amongst the kṣatriyas, the princely order, not with others. And the father would give a challenge, a bet. And if somebody will come and become victorious, then the girl would be offered. That was in special cases.
So according to Hindu conception of life, even there is some misunderstanding between husband and wife, it is not taken very seriously. Never taken very seriously. But in your country, in the name of liberty and freedom, there are so many things. I do not wish to discuss all those things. But according to Vedic system, husband and wife, united together, there cannot be any separation. Perhaps you have heard the name of Mahatma Gandhi. He was married when he was student, sixteen years old, and his wife was also of the same age. Later on Mahatma Gandhi became a very famous man. So one day there was husband and wife quarrel. So Mahatma Gandhi, he has written in his own biography, he drove away the wife: "You get out from my house." So the wife got out of the house and was crying in the street, "Where shall I go?" And again Mahatma Gandhi went there, "Come on." So even there was quarrel between Mahatma Gandhi and his wife. So this quarrel of husband and wife is not very serious thing. So I'll request you, even there is some misunderstanding, forget it. Don't take it seriously. Simply you concentrate on Kṛṣṇa consciousness business. You have got nice business now, both of you, conjointly working for editing my Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. You consult in that business and live peacefully. You are educated, she is also educated. If there is any misunderstanding, don't take it seriously. That is my request. Besides that, I am always at your service, I am always (here) to help you. So this marriage ceremony is very happy occasion. I shall request all friends, relatives, parents, to give their blessings to this nice couple and let us perform.
General Lectures
So... And the process is also very simple. You do not require to be highly educated or philosopher or talented or rich or poor, or black and white. Doesn't matter what you are. It is universal. Any human being with little intelligence, he can understand. And even he does not understand, this process is so nice that if you continue this process for a few weeks you'll be able to understand. This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare is transcendental vibration, sound. Sound is the origin of all creation. So this transcendental sound, if you vibrate, you will understand very quickly this philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And there is no loss on your part. Suppose you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa; you do not lose anything. But if there is any gain, why don't you try it? We simply request you with folded hands that you kindly chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. We are simply requesting you. We're not asking you to pay us something or to suffer something or be educated or be engineer or be lawyer, then come to us. Never mind what you are. Stay in your position. Simply try to chant these sixteen words, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. You can try for one week. And there is no hard and fast rules. You can chant anywhere and everywhere. While walking you can chant, while driving you can chant. Nobody is going to tax, that "You are chanting. Give me this tax." It is very easy.
This prayer is offering respectful obeisances to the spiritual master. Why? Because the spiritual master is the person who opens our eyes, complicated in ignorance, with the torch of transcendental knowledge. Timirāndhasya. Every one of us born ignorant, and we require specific education and training for seeing things as they are. Today I am very glad to meet you. You are all students of technology. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is also another technology. Unfortunately, in the modern state of civilization there are different department of knowledge. There is department of teaching medical science, there is department of teaching engineering, there is department of educating—so many other departments of knowledge. Unfortunately, there is no department for distributing knowledge in the science of the soul. But that is the important, most important thing, because the soul is the mainstay, is the background of all our movements.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means that if we want, if we are actually educated, then we must try to question that "Why I am suffering?" This is called brahma-jijñāsā. In the Vedānta-sūtra the first aphorism is athāto brahma jijñāsā. One should inquire about his existence as soul, not as body or as mind. Because he is neither body nor mind. So this Vedānta-sūtra says that athāto brahma jijñāsā. Atha ataḥ means this is the time, this human form of life, developed consciousness, with greater intelligence than the animals, one should inquire about his spiritual existence. That is real technology. And Śrīmad-Bhāgavata says that parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. So long one does not inquire about his spiritual existence... Every one of us is born ignorant because we do not know what is our real identity. Generally, we accept that "I am this body," but actually I am not this body. These things can be understood very easily. Suppose you are seeing all along a friend. All of a sudden he dies and you say, "My friend is gone." Well, your friend is lying there with all the body, hands, legs, everything. He's lying there. Why do you say that your friend is gone? Then you have never seen your friend. You have seen only his bodily structure. That's all.
There are many other forms, of course, but this form is the easiest, and just suitable for the people of this age. Just like you gather together and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Anyone can. Actually we are doing that. In your country, wherever I go I chant this, and the American boys and girls, they take part in it in parks, in our class. So there is no difficulty. And this is the easiest. Simply we do not ask that you must be very highly educated, you must be philosopher, you must be expert in breathing exercise or this way or that way. No. We don't require any qualification. Simply come and sit with us and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and see the result.
You do not know, because as you say you are here, here your coat is there, your pant is there, your hand is there, your body is there, but you cannot explain where you are. All right. Sit down. I shall explain. (laughter) This is the defect of modern education. We are educated in a way in which we have misunderstood, "This is my body. This is my hand. This is my leg. This is my country. This is my mother. This is my father. This is my school." "This is my," I know. I have the concept of "my." But who is conceiving "my"? We have no information where it is. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). Under misconception we understand my body as myself. I say, "It is my body," but I misidentify my body with myself. Is it not?
Therefore if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa... You may inquire why we are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa, this name, was chanted by Lord Caitanya, who introduced this movement five hundred years ago in India. We are following the footprints of Lord Caitanya. Because He chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa, therefore we are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. But Lord Caitanya has recommended that God has innumerable names, and any one of them can be chanted, and there is no hard and fast rules and regulations for chanting. It is not that you have to prepare yourself or you have to educate yourself or you have to adjust yourself for chanting. No. Everyone. Just like immediately we began to chant. You were not prepared, but you joined with us, you clapped with us, you danced with us. So similarly, there is no preoccupation or any rules and regulation. You simply chant. And this is very easy. While walking, you can chant whatever name you like. We like Kṛṣṇa. We chant always: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. While walking the streets, while you are going in the bus, and whatever, even while working with your hands, you can chant. There is no loss on your part. There is no expenditure on your part, but the gain is very great. Why don't you try it? Try it. That is our request.
So this philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā, supported by the movement of Lord Caitanya, chanting the holy name of Hare Kṛṣṇa, we are trying to push on in this part of the world, in pursuance of the order of Lord Caitanya, that pṛthivīte ache yata nagaradi grāma. (CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126) So I'll request Indian ladies and gentlemen who are present here to join this movement. This is your duty. Because you are Indian, you have got this duty. If you forget your duty, then you are forgetting your identity. So my special request in this meeting is for the Indian ladies and gentlemen to support this temple, and by supporting this temple, to support this movement. It is good not only for the Indians—for everyone. It is no sectarian religion. It is completely scientific and philosophical. Everyone can accept it, not dogmatically, but with reason and argument. And you can practically see that all my students, none of them are Indians. Until now, they are all American. They are educated, they are intelligent. They are trying to understand it with all logic and philosophy, and when they understand it nicely, they take to it very seriously. So my request is that this is a very nice movement. Everyone, either Indian, American or Canadian, should take part in it and encourage us.
Just like in a family, if you love your father, then you love your brothers, sisters, the servant of your father, the home of your father, the wife of your father, namely, your mother, everyone. The central point is father. This is crude example. Similarly, if you love Kṛṣṇa, then your love will be expanded everywhere. Another example, just like if you love a tree, the leaves, the flowers, the branches, the trunks, the twigs, everything. You simply pour water on the root, then your loving affairs for the tree will automatically serve. If you love your countrymen, if you want to see that your countryman becomes educated, advanced economically and mentally, physically, then what you'll do? You pay tax to the government. You don't hide your income tax. You simply pay tax to the central government and it will be distributed to the educational department, to the defense department, to the hygienic department, everywhere. Therefore... These are crude examples, but actually, if you want to love everything, then you try to love Kṛṣṇa. You'll not be frustrated because that is complete. When your love is complete, then you will not be frustrated. Just like you have got complete feeding. If you are satisfied with food completely, then you say, "I am satisfied. I don't want any more."
No. He simply feels your pulse and sees that you have got a disease and he gives you the medicine: "Yes. You take it." Similarly, we are suffering. That is a fact. Nobody can deny. Why you are suffering? Forgetting Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Now you revive your memory about Kṛṣṇa, you become happy. That's all. Very simple thing. Now don't try to find out the history when you forgot. You have forgotten, that is a fact, because you are suffering. Now here is an opportunity, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Revive your memory, your love for Kṛṣṇa. Simple thing. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, dance, and take Kṛṣṇa prasāda. And if you are not educated, you are illiterate, hear. Just you have got natural gift, ear. You have got natural tongue. So you can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and you can hear Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from persons who are in the knowledge. So there is no impediment. No impediment. It does not require any prequalification. Simply you have to use whatever asset you have got. That's all. You must agree. That is wanted. "Yes, I shall take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That depends on you because you are independent. If you disagree, "No. Why shall I take to Kṛṣṇa?" nobody can give you. But if you agree, it is here, very easy. Take it.
Just like if you keep yourself always in the sunlight there is no chance of coming down into darkness. The darkness cannot penetrate light. Light can penetrate darkness. This is our practical experience. You cannot make sunlight dark, but your darkness can be lighted by sunlight. Similarly, if you keep yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no chance of coming māyā and attack you. No. That is not possible. But if you forget Kṛṣṇa, then māyā immediately will catch you. Just like side by side there is darkness and light. If you keep yourself light, there is no darkness, and if you keep yourself in darkness... So you have to use your intelligence. God has given you intelligence, mind, senses, and you have to utilize them. If you utilize, then you become free from these clutches of māyā or being covered by the three modes of material nature, ignorance, passion, even goodness. Even you become a very good man, moralist, that is also a bondage. That is also your bondage. You may have good knowledge, you may be a very good philosopher, you can understand, you may be a very learned man to understand what is this world, what is this, how it is working—very great scientist, advanced, educated man. That is goodness. But that is not the cause of your being freed from material contamination. You have to go above goodness.
So mixed-up qualities means vaiśya, and pure goodness is brāhmaṇa, and pure passion is kṣatriya, and pure ignorance is śūdra. So these divisions you'll find everywhere throughout the universe. It is not that... But in India also at the present moment this caste system has become a hereditary. No. It is not hereditary. A śūdra can become a brāhmaṇa—if he qualifies himself. Just like a policeman can one day become the learned judge of high-court if he qualifies himself. There is chance. There is educational facilities. You educate yourself. You become doctor of law, you also one day. You become one day president. Everyone is open. Similarly, the chance is open for everyone how to become the supreme man. Supreme man means one who understands God and his relationship. He is supreme man. All others, they are below the supreme man. The supreme man is the first-class man, and the others, who are below God understanding, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are second class, third class, fourth class, fifth class, like that. This is the classification. So below the third-class, fourth-class man, śūdras, they are called caṇḍālas. Caṇḍālas. Caṇḍālas means fifth-grade man. The fifth-grade man also can be elevated to the first-grade man. That is the instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
So this is the consideration of material pious or impious. And impious means just the opposite: birth in abominable species of life, just like cats, dogs, hogs, or uncivilized people, ugly feature, no education. These are consideration, pious or impious. But either you become pious or impious, you cannot get out of these stringent laws of nature: birth, death, disease and old age. So we are educating our students to practice how to revive his old, the eternal constitutional position to serve the Lord. This is our practice. Just like here you can see the boys have decorated the sitting place of the Lord, how nice, with flowers and candles. It is not very expensive, but it is so beautiful that immediately it attracts. You see? So everyone can practice at home. Is it very difficult task, to gather some flowers and some leaves and decorate and have some picture or statue of the Lord, offer Him some fruits, flower? Everyone can do this. And by doing this, he gets the highest perfection of life: no more coming into this material world and suffer all these nonsense. This is our practice.
These living entities, innumerable living entities in so many universes in the material world or material universe or material nature, they are only fractional portion of all living entities. Only a fractional portion. Because they are condemned. Those who are in this material world, with this material body, they are condemned. Just like you take another example: just like in the prison house. The prison house, population in the prison house, they are condemned by the government. But their number is only fraction of the whole population, not that whole population of the state goes to the prison house. Some criminals who are disobedient to the laws of the state, they are put into the prison house under confinement. Similarly, these conditioned souls within this material world, they are only fractional portion of the whole living enti..., number of living entities in the creation of God, and because they have disobeyed or declined to obey or abide by the orders of Kṛṣṇa, or God, they have been put into this material world. Now, the problem is: if one is sensible, if one is inquisitive and serious, he should try to understand that "Why I am put into this material conditional life?" That should be the inquiry. This is called brahma-jijñāsā. In the Vedānta-sūtra this is the first inquiry, that people should be educated to that standard of life when he will be inquisitive to know, "Why I am put into this conditional life? What is the condition? I do not wish to suffer."
So we have got literature and magazines in this respect, publishing. We have got our Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, and Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nectar of Devotion, Easy Journey to Other Planets. So I request you that this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, especially in your country, is meant for giving a finishing touch to your present position. Don't take it otherwise. You are all educated students and girls and boys. I request you, try to understand what is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and take it very seriously. You will be happy, and because people of other countries, they are following your progress, so if you take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously and rightly, the whole face of the world will be changed. It will be turned into spiritual world. Of course, we do not expect that everyone will accept this philosophy, but even one percent population of the whole world accepts this... Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭha lokas tad anuvartate (BG 3.21). The Bhagavad-gītā explains that if some principal man accepts some theory and some philosophy, others follow. So we have got our center here. I request you all student to try to understand this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and purify yourself. And the purificatory process is very simple. We are simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. So my request, my fervent request to you all, that you are very nicely placed. Please try to understand this philosophy. Make your life very happy in this life or in the next life so that people of the world will be happy by following your example.
Thank you very much.
There are trees, there are aquatics, there are germs, reptiles, then birds, then beasts, then human beings. Out of this human form of life, more than fifty percent, they are uncivilized, and maybe twenty-five percent of the human beings, they are civilized. And out of them, maybe ten percent are believing in God, following religious principles. In this way the whole thing is being reduced. So in the Bhāgavata it is said that not only they are living for short duration of life, they are not intelligent enough that this human form of life is meant for God-realization. Now, especially nowadays amongst the educated circles, they inquire, "What is God? What is God?" You see. But apart from your country or Western countries, in... I have met in many, many large gatherings of universities. Especially, I am very sorry to say, many Indian students ask me that "What is God?" Now, India is supposed to be the place where God descends as Lord Kṛṣṇa, as Lord Rāmacandra, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So it is very surprising that Indian students are asking, "What is God?" So this is lamentable in this sense, that people are reducing in their sense of spiritual realization. That is a very regrettable fact. And the Bhāgavata says, parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam: "A man is supposed to be defeated in all his activities if he does not inquire what he is." This statement is also in Bible, you know, that "If one loses his own self and he gains all material prosperity, what does he gain?" Actually, this is the fact.
And the method is simple: chant Hare Kṛṣṇa: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare... If you simply chant, that is sufficient for your self-realization. But if you want to study this philosophy, or the science of God, through your philosophy and argument, logic, we have got enough stock of books. We have got sixty volumes of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Already we have published five volumes. We have got Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. We have got Teachings of Lord Caitanya. We are publishing Back to Godhead paper. So if you want to understand this philosophy by your learning, by your academic career, we have got sufficient stock to supply you—sufficient stock. Don't think that we are all sentimentalists, simply dancing. No. There is a background. There is a background. If you want... You are educated boys and girls. Try to understand this philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Your life will be successful. That is our aim. I'll not take much of your time.
Now, if you have got anything to ask from me, I shall reply for fifteen minutes. Then we shall begin our chanting, and I shall request you that you also join with our chanting. That is our request. Thank you very much. (pause) You have got any question? All right. Thank you. There is no question. Then chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)
So our business is to inform you. Just like one of the devotees of Lord Caitanya, he said that padayor nipatya, "Falling down on your feet," padayor nipatya, dante nidhāya tṛnakaṁ padayor nipatya, "taking a blade of grass on my mouth and falling down on your feet with flattering and informing you, 'My dear sir, you are very learned man. I know that. But for the time being, please set aside all your learning. Kindly hear what Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu says.' " We belong to that sect, Lord Caitanya's disciplic succession. So our business is falling down on your feet and flattering you and making many, I mean to say, salvation(?), I mean simply we request you that try to understand this philosophy, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You will be benefited. The so-called knowledge, so-called elevation, so-called upliftment, oh, this will be all finished as soon as your body is finished. But you are pure soul. You have to educate yourself how your soul can be saved from this cycle of birth and death within the species of 8,400,000's in different planets and different places. Just try to elevate to the spiritual world, back to home, back to Godhead. That is the mission of your human life. Don't lose this opportunity. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. It is easy thing, Hare Kṛṣṇa, only sixteen names. Anyone can chant. Even the child can chant. You try it. There is no payment; there is no loss. But you try it and you'll be benefited. That is our proposition.
They have analyzed who is God. The great sages, the liberated sages, they are not fools, rascals, that they will accept anyone God. No. They will test. This is the test. If you find somebody, that he is neither lower than anyone, neither equal to anyone, then he is God. There are other, many definitions of God. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47). Analytical study. Try to understand God. This is the business of human form of life, not that simply eating, sleeping and mating and defending. These are animal business. The animal knows how to eat, how to sleep, how to mate, and how to defend in its own way. So that is common formula for human being or animal. But there is one speciality in human society or human being—he can understand God, what is God. If I explain to a human being, however illiterate, uneducated, he may be, if he has simply these two ears, he will understand what is God. Therefore the Vedic information is called śruti. Just try to hear. You haven't got to be educated or literate. God has given you these two ears and you can learn. Simply you have to learn from the authorized sources. Then you will understand God. And when you understand God, then you develop love of God. And when you develop love of God without any motive and without any impediment, then you find, "Oh," svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce (CC Madhya 22.42), "I have no more any demand. I am completely satisfied." Try to come to this platform, transcendental stage. You cannot be happy simply by material advancement. That is not possible.
"Anyone who is thinking that this body of flesh and bone is self, he is an ass." (laughter) Sa eva go-kharaḥ. Go-kharaḥ. Khara means ass. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. And by his conceiving this body as self... They have no even common reason that "This bag of flesh, bone, urine, stool and secretion—can it be soul? Can it be self?" But they are finding out by exercising this body to find out the soul. The soul is there, but you cannot see it by material instrument. It is very fine. It is one ten-thousandth part of the tip of your hair. These are explained in the Vedic literature. So how you can find with your material eyes? You cannot see it. And because you cannot see it, you are concluding there is no soul. That is the ignorance. There is. There is soul, and this body has developed on the platform of that soul, and that soul is migrating from one body to another. That is called evolution. And that evolutional process is going on, 8,400,000's of species of life, aquatics, birds, beasts, plants, and so many species of life. And we have got now this developed consciousness, human form of life. We should properly utilize it. That is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We simply educating people, "Don't waste your valuable life, the human form of life. If you are missing this chance, you are committing suicide." That is our propaganda. Don't commit suicide. Take to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Su-medhasaḥ, this Sanskrit word, means intelligent persons. Medhas. Medhas means brain substance, one who has got very good brain substance. The brain substance... According to psychology, there is difference of brain substance. Not the brain substance equally, of equal weight, in every man's brain. You know, you are all educated students, psychology students. In our boyhood when we were a student in psychology class, Dr. Urquhart explained this brain substance. The man has got the highest brain substance—not all—up to sixty-four ounce. And woman has got the highest up to thirty-six or thirty-four. Of course, we are not discussing that point. Our movement is a spiritual movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is beyond brain. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ, manasas tu parā buddhir (BG 3.42). So there are different platforms and status of consciousness. Bodily consciousness means sensual consciousness. Above that, there is mental consciousness, speculative, philosophical, poetic. Above that, intellectual consciousness. And Kṛṣṇa consciousness—above intellectual consciousness.
These boys, they can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra twenty-four hours, they will never get tired. They will dance and they will chant. And you also, if you try it you will never get tired. Because it is not material. In the material world if you chant anything, any favorite name for three, four, or ten times, you will get tired. Yes. That's a fact. But because it is not material, if you chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra you will never get tired. The more you chant, your heart will be cleansed from all material dirty things. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (CC Antya 20.12). And the problems of your life within this material world... These are simple words, but it requires lots of explanation. What is the problem of our life? That you do not know. The modern education never gives enlightenment what is the problem of life. That is indicated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that those who are educated, advancing in knowledge, they should know what is the problem of life. The problem of life is, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). One should always feel the inconvenience of taking birth, janma; mṛtyu, inconvenience of death; jarā, inconvenience of old age; and inconvenience of disease. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi.
Similarly, in the winter season this wind will be another suffering. We have closed the doors tightly so that air may not come. Now the air is counteracting suffering and in another season the same air will be suffering. So, the air is the cause of suffering and it is the so-called cause of happiness also. Actually we are simply suffering, that we do not know. But we get information from Lord Kṛṣṇa that this place is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). It is a place for miseries. You cannot expect any happiness. That is our foolishness. That is our foolishness. We are trying to adjust things to become happy, but we are so foolish that we do not know there cannot be any happiness. This is called ignorance. This is called ignorance. Therefore Bhāgavata says parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāta. Abodha-jāta, every one of us born foolish. And we are acting in different ways to become happy, but we do not know that every step we are being defeated. We are fighting with the stringent laws of nature, struggle, but we are happy by some complacent thoughts that we have become happy, we are advanced. We are happy. We are becoming educated, we are advanced in science. But Bhāgavata says, "No, you are not advancing, you are simply being defeated, because you do not know how to get happiness. You are not trying for real happiness."
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to educate people how to live in spiritual atmosphere, and then there will be peace and prosperity. Unless one is in spiritual life... Because factually we are spiritual entities. Mamaivāṁśaḥ. We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the whole spirit, and we are His part and parcel. Just like a machine and there is small screw, a part of the machine. The screw, although it has no value, but because it is a part of the machine, big machine, if that screw is missing, you will have to purchase at any price. It has got value. The same screw, when it is without the machine, it has no value because it is only a small particle of the machine. Similarly, when we are out of the atmosphere, we are out of Kṛṣṇa atmosphere... There are many examples. Just like a fire and the sparks of the fire. They are of the same quality. If the sparks of the fire falls on your cloth, it will immediately burn. But the sparks of the fire and the whole fire is different in quantity. But in quality the sparks of the fire is as good as the fire. There are many examples. You can understand what is our relationship with Kṛṣṇa or God. We are small. We are atomic small, and Kṛṣṇa is unlimitedly great. That is the difference. Otherwise, so far quality is concerned, Kṛṣṇa and ourself, the same. As the part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, if we live always with Kṛṣṇa, then we are in spiritual life. If we always live in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then in spite of our living in this material world we are called jīvan mukta, "liberated in this material condition." Jīvan mukta. He has got to die and take liberation. Even in this life he is liberated.
So this human form of life is especially... It is given by nature to realize God. If we don't utilize this human form of life to understand ourselves and God and our relationship, then we are committing a suicidal policy. Our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is just an attempt to educate the foolish human civilization without any sense of God. Our life... As we are spirit soul, we are evolving through many species of life, and if we don't take advantage of this human form of life, then we are missing the chance. Without God consciousness or without Kṛṣṇa consciousness there cannot be any peace. Everyone is hankering after peace, but he does not know how to achieve peace. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the greatest welfare activities in the world, and we request everyone to take advantage of this great scientific movement. Our presentation is authoritative because we are guided by the principles of the old knowledge, the ancient knowledge of India, the Vedas. And the process of understanding this science of Kṛṣṇa is also made very easy in this age. The process, as you have already known, the process is chanting the holy name of God: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Now this is recommended in the Vedas, that "In this age people are so much fallen that they cannot realize God by the prescribed method; therefore the best chance for them is to chant this holy name of God."
Just like I am Indian, but you are honoring me. Why? Have I bribed you with my Indian money, currency? I came with forty rupees only, had no money. Why? Because you are having some message of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the state of being honored. Similarly, just like this time when I went to India, all my American students-forty students are still there—they're being honored very nicely everywhere. In every city—Calcutta, Bombay, Benares, Amritsar. Why? Many American tourists go there. They are not honored. But why these boys are honored? Only for this kṛṣṇot-kīrtana-gāna-nartana. They are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. So not only... This is the process. Any country you go, if you are strictly adhering to the rules and regulation and chanting sixteen rounds, that is your spiritual strength, and following the prohibitive rules, then you will be honored everywhere. Any part of the world you go, you'll be honored. It is not very difficult to chant sixteen rounds and following the regulative principles, but if you follow strictly, rigidly, you'll get spiritual strength and you'll be honored all over the world. Just take this secret. They'll not ask you to know how far you are educated, or that you have passed your M.A. examination or Ph.D. No. They will be charmed by this kṛṣṇot-kīrtana-gāna-nartana.
So this is our process, very easy. Anyone can adopt and make his life perfect. And if somebody says that "I am not educated. I cannot read book," still, there is possibility. you simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So you have got tongue. You have got ear. Kṛṣṇa has given you. And you'll be surprised to know that Kṛṣṇa is realized through tongue, not through eyes, not through ears. Tongue. Of course, after tongue, the other senses are following. Tongue is the chief. So we have to control the tongue. How to control? Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and taste Kṛṣṇa-prasādam. That's all. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adhaḥ. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). "You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa by exercising your sensual perception, speculation." It is not possible. Kṛṣṇa is so great that He is not within your sensual exercise. No. He can be understood by surrender. Kṛṣṇa, therefore, recommends this process: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Because our disease is rebellious, no authority.
I wanted to speak to the Vice Chancellor, and I expected him today, but he did not come. This is our unfortunate. I do not know why he avoided, but never mind; you try to understand. Don't spoil your children. The modern educational system without any knowledge of Bhagavān, I may tell you frankly, not only in India, everywhere, they are practically slaughterhouse. Because in our country, it is a different thing; at least we have got the Vedic culture at home if it is not in the schools. But in other countries, because there is no bhāgavata-dharma culture, the students, although they are provided with ample opportunity for education, the nicest educational system, nice building, nice facilities, everything nice, unfortunately the products are coming out frustrated, confused young men, and some of them are called hippies. They are educated. They are coming from very nice aristocratic family. In Western countries, in comparison to our country, every home is aristocratic. At least their standard of living is so high. So what we call aristocratic, that is a common affair. So this mishappening is going on all over the Western countries. Some of them are joining us, but this is the problem. The Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1). This is very, very important message. We should be careful to educate our sons, our boys, with bhāgavata-dharma from the very beginning of life. That was the Vedic system. Therefore, in the first twenty-five years of life, the children were sent to gurukula for learning this bhāgavata-dharma.
So this bhagavata dharma, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is started to educate people for enjoying satyānanda, satyānanda. At the present moment we have no information what is the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is described in the Vedānta-sūtra as janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), athāto brahma jijñāsā. The Vedānta-sūtra begins with this sūtra, that "Now this human form of life is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth and my relationship with Him." That is the human mission. The dogs and hogs, they cannot understand what is the aim of life, but in the human form of life we can understand that this form of life is especially meant for understanding the Absolute Truth, or Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa therefore says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). Absolute Truth means the Supreme. In the Brahma-sūtra it is indicated that the human form of life is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. We have to inquire about the Absolute Truth.
We have to inquire about the Absolute Truth. That is human form of life, not to waste our time simply going to the market and inquire, "What is the rate of rice and what is the rate of dahl?" That should go on, but along with it there should be inquiry what is the Absolute Truth and what is Kṛṣṇa, what is God. That is beginning of human form of life. Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. The foolish persons, foolish living entities, abodha-jāto... All of us, we are born ignorant; otherwise why we are sent to a school? Why the children are sent to a school? Because they're abodha-jāto. By birth they are all śūdras, abodha. Therefore according to Vedic system there are saṁskāras, reformatory methods, and when the child is taken for saṁskāra, that is called upanayana. Upanaya means bringing him nearer to understand spiritual life. That is sacred thread ceremony. Janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ. Everyone is born ignorant. Otherwise why a person even born in brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya family, why this upanāya saṁskāra is there? Because it is to be understood that when a person takes birth, he's śūdra. He has to be educated. He has to be given transcendental knowledge. That is the aim of human life. Unfortunately, these things are now stopped.
Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Yes. So this is going on. We are making something for our convenience, but we are creating something else which is inconvenient. So this is due to godless civilization. But if we become God conscious, then our progress of civilization will be very peaceful and happy. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathena asato dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ: "Anyone who has got devotion to the Lord, he is qualified with all the good qualities." Just like you are God conscious, so you have invited us to hear because you..., the good qualities are there. So without God consciousness there cannot be any good qualities. We are trying to educate people to be honest, to be gentle, fair-dealing, but actually, the result is people are becoming dishonest, miscreant, rogue, thief, due to (lack of) God consciousness. Just like in the airport, all gentlemen are searched out. What does it mean? That every one of us (is) dishonest. That is to be understood. So what the education has produced? Simply dishonest men. Why? Because godlessness. That's all. And they are trying to become... Every state is trying to become secular: "Don't talk of God. Don't talk of God." Then what you are? That is animal society. The animal society has no talk of God. There is only talk of how to fill up the belly. That's all. That is the business of hog. Śāstra says, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). Viḍ-bhujām means the hogs, the stool-eaters. The stool-eater is also working very hard day and night and gratifying senses. So does the human civilization is meant for imitating the hogs and dogs to work very hard day and night and gratify the senses? That's all? This is the only program at the present moment.
Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). "I am servant of God." That is wanted. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). This is the definition given in Vedic literature, that "If anyone develops God consciousness, then all the good qualities will develop automatically. And you give him all kinds of education, but if he is godless, it is all useless." That is compared with decorating the dead body. Just like dead body. A dead body is decorated. So it may be a satisfaction for the relatives, but what is the use of it, decorating a dead body? Bhagavad-bhakti-hīnasya jātiḥ japas tapaḥ kriyaḥ: "Great nationality, great work, great achievement, minus bhagavad-bhakti, God consciousness, is just like decorating the dead body." That's all. What is the use of decorating the dead body? Because actually this body is dead. As soon as the soul is away from this body, it is a lump of matter. So when the soul is off from the body, if somebody decorates that dead body, what is use? It is simply concoction. That's all. Therefore according to Vedic system, as soon as a body is dead, there is no question of decorating. Immediately burn it and finish. Make it into ashes. That's all. The body has no importance. Real, the soul is important, the living force. So we have no education about that living force, and the original living force is Kṛṣṇa, or God. So we have no information. So therefore this education is very, very essential, at least at the present moment. You may educate in any way—Christian way, Hindu way, Muslim—but educate all the people about God consciousness. Otherwise there is doom.
Therefore our Vedic injunctions are very supreme evidence, Veda-pramāṇam, śabda-pramāṇam. There are three kinds of evidences. First evidence is direct perception—I see personally. And then historical evidence, and then śabda-pramāṇa. Śabda-pramāṇa means evidence from the Vedas. Out of three kinds of evidences, the śabda-pramāṇas, or the evidences received from the Vedas, that is accepted. So for spiritual advancement especially we have to accept the Veda-pramāṇa, or evidences given in Vedic literature. So this disciplic succession, as Gosvāmī Hanumān Prasād said, that is essential. That is the Vedic injunction. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). This word abhigacchet, it is a form of verb which is used where the sense is "You must! You must!" There is no exception. You cannot say that "I may go to a spiritual master or I may not go. I can study at home." No. You must go. Just like in modern age also, if you (are) actually interested to be recognized as educated, you must get your admission in a recognized school or college and take degree. Then you will... If you study at home, you may be very great scholar, and if you say that you have passed M.A. examination, nobody will care for you. Similarly, if you actually want to be advanced in spiritual knowledge, then this is the injunction: tad-vijñānārtham. Tad-vijñānārtham means... Vijñāna means science. Spiritual knowledge is also a science. It is not sentiment; it is science. Now, if you like, you can make research work whether this is fact. Just like this cow dung. You may think that "This is contradiction. In one place it is said that stool of an animal is impure; now here it is again said that cow dung is pure. It is contradiction." So if you like, you can make analysis. But you accept the Vedic injunction as it is—you save so much time, that's all, and immediately become advanced.
So that is a very abominable condition of life, less than animals. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). The atheist class men are described as the lowest of the mankind, duṣkṛtinaḥ. Why? Narādhamāḥ, na duṣkṛtinaḥ: always engaged in sinful activities. That na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ, and rascals. Prapadyante narādhamāḥ, and lowest of the mankind. So "They are very educated." Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā: "Their knowledge has been taken away by the illusory energy." Why? Āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ: "Because they have taken to the philosophy of atheism." So their position... Of course, we approach everyone to preach this science of God consciousness, but it is very difficult. Those who have taken to this atheistic view, āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ... Āsuri... Just like we have got examples in our Vedic science, Vedic knowledge. There were many atheistic persons like Kaṁsa, Rāvaṇa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Dantavakra, they never accepted existence of God. But they had to accept the existence of God at the time of death. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś ca aham, that "Death, which takes away everything from everyone, that is... That death I am." So if we don't try to see God during our lifetime, then there will be an incidence which is sure—"As sure as death." That death is God. So to the atheistic person death is God. And to the theistic person, they can see, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). Those who have developed love of God, oh, they are enjoying the transcendental pleasure in every moment by seeing the artistic work of Kṛṣṇa. So that is the position of a devotee.
So my point is that you are all Vaiṣṇavas, try to do something good to the people, because they are all suffering. All suffering. For want of, lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness they do not know what is the aim of life, what is to be achieved. Simply they are working hard like hogs and dogs for sense gratification. They have no other ambition. They do not believe in the next life although it is a fact there is next life. And they do not know. They are not educated there is next life. How much irresponsibly we are working. Nature's law is very stringent. If you work irresponsibly, then you can, you have to accept... Sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ (BG 8.6). If you become attached to this material enjoyment, then you will have to accept a body, and there are 8,400,000 different forms of body. You have to accept. But this education is not there, whole world. So simply these Kṛṣṇa conscious people, they are trying to educate people on this point. So it is sometimes very distressing, but never mind. Nothing is be distressed. When you serve Kṛṣṇa, there is no question of distress. Simply do your best and people will surely be benefited wherever you go. A Vaiṣṇava, wherever he goes, he makes the place sanctified. Vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca. And kṛpā-sindhu. What these materialistic men can do mercy to the others? They cannot do anything. Here is the real mercy, to awaken a person to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is real mercy, because for want of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness he is suffering millions and millions of years. Sometimes he is becoming tree like that. Suppose here is a tree; it is standing for thousands of years.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very important movement—important in this sense, that we are educating people without any discrimination about Kṛṣṇa, what is Kṛṣṇa. And actually, as we understand from the Bhagavad-gītā, if we simply can understand what is Kṛṣṇa, as Kṛṣṇa says, that manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye, yatatām api siddhānām... (BG 7.3). It is very difficult to understand Kṛṣṇa. But still, Kṛṣṇa is understandable if we simply follow the instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā as it is, without any malinterpretation. Actually there are so many editions of Bhagavad-gītā all over the world, about six hundred, seven hundred in America, in Japan, in England. I have seen so many editions, English editions, what to speak of other language editions. So anyway, the malinterpretation is going on. We have, therefore, published Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, without any malinterpretation. Our business is to present Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). We say that, that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. What Kṛṣṇa says Himself, we simply carry the message. That's all. Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: (BG 18.65) "Just always think of Me," man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, "just become My devotee," and man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī, "just worship Me and offer your respectful obeisances unto Me. In this way you shall come back to Me." So we are teaching that, that... We are teaching our students that "Always think of Kṛṣṇa." Smārtavyaṁ satato viṣṇuḥ. Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa, the same category.
We have divided God's land: "This is America. This is India. This is Germany. This is England." But after all, this is our given name. This planet especially... Not only this planet, all other planets, Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-loka-maheśvaram: He's the proprietor. Formerly, five thousand years ago, this planet was being governed by Kṛṣṇa's representative, Mahārāja Parīkṣit. That is actually life. Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of all planets, and one should be Kṛṣṇa's representative to rule over the planet. That is Vedic system. There cannot be any king or emperor who is not representative of God. It is the duty of the representative of God to take charge of a planet and educate the persons, the citizens, into God consciousness. That is Vedic way of life. Not that the chief executive or the government simply levies taxes from the citizens and let them go to hell. This is not good government. The government must be responsible for the uplift of the citizens to the spiritual life. That is real government.
Just like the... I am changing, you are changing, everyone is changing. Every second, every moment, we are changing bodies. So similarly, changing of this body, accepting another body. After leaving this body, I'll accept another body. That body is not in my hands. What kind of body I am going to accept next, that depends on my work here, in this body. I am preparing my next body in this life. Just like a child is being, a boy is being educated to prepare his next life. If he is nicely educated, his next life is very bright. If he's not nicely educated, that will be very dark. Similarly, this chance, this human form of body, is a junction. From animal forms of life, by gradual process of evolution, I have come to this human form of life. Now I have to make out next what life. You can promote yourself to the higher planetary systems. You can promote yourself to the spiritual world. You can get your eternal life. That is called arthadam. That achievement you can do in this human form of life. So anyone who is attempting to get eternal, blissful life of knowledge, he is intelligent man. Otherwise, one who is spoiling his life simply for animal propensities, eating, sleeping, mating, he's no better than animal. That's all. Cats and dog. Polished cat, polished dog maybe, but he is animal. This bhāgavata-dharma means that, how to get out of these four defects of material life, or four miserable condition of material life—birth, death, old age and disease—and get eternal, blissful life of knowledge. That is called bhāgavata-dharma.
Simply we have to hear about Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone's heart, and we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa or forgotten our supreme father on account of material contamination. So if we hear about Kṛṣṇa attentively, just like you are doing now, kindly, it is very good opportunity. I thank you very much. You are all young boys and girls, but you are very fortunate. Your fathers, grandfathers, do not come here. But you have come. So because you are fortunate. So similarly, continue this. Just try to hear about Kṛṣṇa. Your life will be successful. You haven't got to do anything. It doesn't require that you have to become a master of degree examination, M.A., Ph.D. or D.S.C. No. God has given you these two ears, and if you kindly submissively hear from the realized souls, then your life will be successful. Actually, that is happening. All these boys and girls who have come to me in different parts of the world, simply by hearing... I have not bribed them, I have no money. So they are sacrificing their everything for me. Why? Simply by hearing me. That's all. So the hearing is so strong. And they are educated boys, they're university graduates. I'm not befooling them. But as they're hearing, they're understanding the gravity of the movement and gradually they're becoming convinced and firmly situated in the post. So this is called bhāgavata-dharma.
So where is my happiness?" This is called māyā. There is no happiness, but still, he's thinking that he is in happiness. This is called illusion. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). So this is... Just like the animal is in illusion. A hog is eating stool, but he's thinking that "I am enjoying, very nice." He's becoming fat. This is called illusion. You are not happy. Nobody's happy in this material world. Therefore the inquiry should be... That is the Brahma-sūtra. That is the Vedānta-sūtra: athāto brahma jijñāsā. Athāto brahma-jijñāsā. This human life is for understanding Brahman. What is that Brahman, Absolute Truth? That is required. If you are simply engaged, animal-like, eating, sleeping, mating, then where is the distinction between animal and us? There is no such distinction. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very, very important movement. We are trying to educate people to understand his self, self-realization, God realization, the duty, the aim of life, what is the aim of life. This is not aim of life—simply we forget, we forget, forgetful of our self, and we are thinking..., big, big professors, they are thinking, "Oh, after finishing this body, everything is finished." No, that is not the fact. Therefore it is stated that sanātana. Sanātana means eternal, and God is also eternal. And there is a place also, which is eternal. This place is not eternal. Just like your body is temporary, similarly, the whole material creation which you have got experience... We haven't got full experience. Whatever little experience we have got, that is also temporary. That is not sanātana. This whole material world is not sanātana, eternal. It is temporary. This body is also temporary. So our knowledge about this body and this world—insufficient knowledge. Therefore because we are eternal, we must find out an eternal and we must serve the eternal Supreme. That is called sanātana-dharma. This is sanātana-dharma. So we are teaching that sanātana-dharma.
So the present need of human society, because they're reducing their good qualities, satya śamo dama titikṣa ārjava... (BG 18.42). And money is becoming the most powerful thing. As it is stated here: vittam eva kalau nṛṇāṁ janmācāra-guṇodayaḥ. Formerly, if one is qualified brāhmaṇa, he may be a poor man, but a brāhmaṇa, when approaches a king, the king will stand up and offer him... Even Kṛṣṇa, when He was King of Dvārakā, Sudāmā Vipra, His friend, he came. Immediately He stood up and gave him His own seat. So because he was a qualified brāhmaṇa... So everywhere qualified brāhmaṇa was respected by the qualified kṣatriyas, vaiśyas. But now, there is practically no qualified brāhmaṇa, neither a qualified brāhmaṇa is respected. Vittam eva. But if one has got money, then he'll be respected. This is the symptom of Kali-yuga. Vittam eva kalau nṛṇāṁ janmācāra-guṇodayaḥ. If one has got money, Sethji, he may be not educated, without any good qualification, but somehow or other he has got money, he'll be respectful, not a qualified brāhmaṇa. Then dharma-nyāya-vyavasthāyāṁ kāraṇaṁ balam eva hi. Now justice, nyāya... Nyāya means justice, dharma and religious principle. Dharma-nyāya-vyavasthāyām, to establish justice, anyone who is powerful, he will get justice. You bribe. Nowadays... Of course, we do not discuss these things. Everyone knows. Justice can be purchased in this age. Balam eva hi. Dāmpatye ratir, ratir abhirucir hetur māyaiva vyāvahārike. These are the symptoms. Dāmpatye, husband and relationship, husband and wife, means sex power. We have practically seen in the Western countries, as soon as there is some disturbance in the sex relation of husband and wife, there is divorce.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is all-embracing. It can solve all the problems of the world—political, social, economical, religious, everything. It is all-embracing. So my request is that I am working now with my American disciples and European disciples. Why not Indians? I think in this meeting there are many young men, educated, learned scholars. Join this movement and, according to the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu,
- bhārata-bhūmite manuṣya janma haila yāra
- janma sārthaka kari' karo paropakāra
- (CC Adi 9.41)
This is the time to do welfare activities for the whole world. They are merged into confusion, everywhere. You know that in the Western countries, the hippy movements. What are the hippies? They're also educated, coming from very rich family also, but they do not like the way of envelopment as their fathers and grandfathers liked. They have rejected. So this is the golden opportunity to preach the Kṛṣṇa cult all over the world. You are lamenting because a few yards of land has been taken away from your country as Pakistan, but if you spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the whole world will become Hindustan. There is such potency; I give you my direct perception. People are hankering after it. So long I am in India, practically I am wasting my time. Outside India, this reception is taken so seriously that every part of my moment is properly utilized.
So I wanted to recite some stanzas from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but there is no very much time. Long, long years ago, the father of Mahārāja Bhārata, under whose name this planet is called Bhāratavarṣa, so he instructed: nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhati viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). Here is the Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhati viḍ-bhujāṁ ye. This human form of life, ayam deha... Ayam deha nṛloke: "in the human society." This is not meant for working very hard like the dogs and hogs. Kaṣṭān kāmān arhati viḍ-bhujāṁ ye. Simply by working hard, day and night, for sense gratification, this is done by the dogs and hogs. This is not meant for the human society. But, but at the present moment, people are being instructed in such a way... I've seen so many—especially in Calcutta—so many educated boys and girls, they are hankering after service. Day and night they are working. This is not the effect of education. The effect of education should be peaceful mind, peaceful living. That is the duty of the parents, of the guardians, of the government. When there is monarchical government... We see from the reign of Prthu Mahārāja. He was seeing that every brāhmaṇa is engaged in his occupational duty, every kṣatriya is employed, is engaged in occupational duty. Similarly vaiśya. There was no question of unemployment. That is the first duty of the government to see. Neither there is division of the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśya, śūdra, although it is made by Kṛṣṇa Himself: cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). There have been so many anomalies in the society for want of this Vedic culture. Now here is the opportunity. People are accepting Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement very nicely. You can introduce this Vedic culture throughout the whole world. They're receiving.
So I had some correspondence with him, and he admitted: "Swamijī, your people know much about these things than we know." So there is no question of you and me. It is simply education. Just like these boys. Four or fives year, ago, they did not know anything about this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But because they have been educated with this Bhagavad-gītā, they are also following me. And they are very sound in their conviction in this Western, Eastern culture, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Of course from my part of view, I do not think there is any East and West. Any knowledge is meant for the whole world. Any scientific knowledge. Just like Professor Einstein, if he discovered the law of relativity, it is not for the Western people. It is for the Eastern people also. So there is no such question. When there is culture, when there is knowledge, there is no question of Eastern and Western. But the difference is the Eastern people may know something very nicely and the Western people may take some time. Similarly, Western people may know something very nicely, the Eastern people may take little time. Just like for technology, they go to Western countries to learn how machine works. So they also learn it. In Eastern..., in India, they're also learning. So now the time is ripe that we should not think in terms of Eastern and Western. We should be hankering after real knowledge. That is wanted. That is the point of unity.
So I request all you ladies and gentlemen to take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is not a sentimental movement. It is a very authorized, scientific movement. You are all educated, advanced ladies and gentlemen. I'll request you to understand this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. The American boys, it is already we are combining East and West socially, politically, religiously, philosophically, economically, everything. There is solution. But if you take it seriously. If you think this is a movement, sentimental move... It is not sentimental movement. It is a most scientific movement. Any scientist come to me. I can convince him that it is a scientific movement. I asked similarly to Professor Kotovsky in Moscow that "My dear Professor, what is the difference between your movement, communist movement, and my movement? You, you have selected Lenin as God. I have selected Kṛṣṇa as God. Where is the difference of principle? You cannot live without a leader or God. I cannot live without a leader or God. That's a fact. Then where is the difference? Now it is to be judged whether Lenin is good or Kṛṣṇa is good. That is another thing. But your position is that you have to accept one leader, either Lenin or Jawaharlal Nehru or Hitler or this or Lord (?) Churchill. You have to accept. You cannot work independently. Therefore you have got so many parties. So here is also one party, Kṛṣṇa party. So where is the difference in philosophy? There is no difference in philosophy. Now let us study whether Kṛṣṇa party is good or Lenin party is good. Then whole solution is there."
...all politicians, let them come, study. (break) ...this is not a movement sentimental. No. It is scientific. (indistinct) ...Christian, anyone, because it is science. Automatic, "Two plus two equal to four." It is four for everyone. Not that because one is Muhammadan it will be five, or because one is Christian it will be three. No. "Two plus two equal to four." Just like (indistinct). Similarly, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will be efficient for everyone if he studies impartially. Otherwise, how in the Western world the Americans—they are not foolish people, all these young men; they are qualified, educated—they're accepting this movement very seriously? I have got many branches almost in every city in America now. Similarly, in Europe. Why not here? Simply I invite all the intelligent class of men to understand. Take one of our books. We have given not only one Bhagavad-gītā... (indistinct) means (indistinct). Anyone can take part (indistinct) illiterate, literate, rich, poor—anyone. But if anyone is proud of his education, let him come and study our books, understand this philosophy, and I'm sure he'll find (indistinct) satisfying. Don't take it as something sentimental, religious (indistinct). It is a scientific, educational movement. Take it in that (indistinct), and you'll be profited.
Thank you very much. (applause) (break) (kīrtana) (end)
So we are spreading this sanātana-dharma, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, throughout the whole world, not on the superficial platform of this bodily concept of life. We are teaching everyone that "You are not this body." Actually we are not, but it is because we are, at the present moment, we are educated as first-class rascals and fools, we are thinking that "I am this body." This is the defect of the modern civilization. But actually what Kṛṣṇa is trying to instruct Arjuna... Arjuna means everyone. He's not simply talking with Arjuna. Arjuna is simply via media. He's talking to the whole human society, intelligent class of men, that "We existed, we are existing now, and we shall exist also in the future." This is called sanātana, eternity. So na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ: "In the future we also shall exist." Now we should consider what is the problem now: I was present in the past, I am now present in the present, and I shall exist in the future. Then what is my problem? The problem is why I am changing this position of eternity? I am sanātana. I am eternal. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is the real existence, that I am Brahman. Brahman means eternal.
Sometimes the Christian missionaries go to our country. They bribe the poorer classes of men, and they become Christians—not by understanding the philosophy or the religion. Because India is poverty-stricken, so if you do some social work, give them some medicine, give them some financial help, they think of, being obliged, and whatever you like, you can tell them. Similarly, in Muhammadan time also, all the Indian Muhammadans, they were not coming from very respectable high family. You know, in India there are four classes of men: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Out of them, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya are considered the topmost class. Now everything has deteriorated. So we find from the history of this conversion, from the śūdra class, lower than the śūdra class, not very many from the higher class. So still, that was based on bribing, giving some social help, political help, financial help. But our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement I started in 1966. I came here with seven dollars and a few books. So it was not possible for me to bribe these educated young boys and girls. That was not possible. But they accepted the philosophy very seriously and gradually it is growing. Now there are many Indians, they are not here, but other than the Indians, they are here. So the thing is I am very glad that you take something very seriously. That is very good. So for the children also, kaumāra ācaret prājñaḥ. Prājñaḥ means one who is intelligent. He should begin learning Kṛṣṇa consciousness from the child life. That is our basic principle of this Gurukula. We are trying to generate some population fully Kṛṣṇa conscious so that they may preach in future very nicely.
This introduction is also another symptom of guru, prasāda distribution. Catur-vidha. Not ordinary. Catur-vidha means four kinds of eatables: carvya, cūṣya, lehya, peya. Something is chewed, something is swallowed up, something is licked up. In this way, there are different kinds of palatable dishes. Catur-vidha-śrī... Catur-vidha means four kinds of different types of varieties of prasādam. Catur-vidha-śrī... Śrī-bhagavat-prasādam. Śrī means opulent. If you eat bhagavat-prasādam, then gradually you become spiritualized. It has got the potency. If you eat the prasādam. Therefore it is said that realization of God can be done by the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau (Brs. 1.2.234). If you engage your tongue in the service of the Lord, then you realize God realization. So what is that tongue engagement? The tongue engagement is you chant the holy name of the Lord, and you take the prasādam, remnants of foodstuff given to the Lord. Then you become self-realized, God realized. By these two methods. You don't require to be very highly educated philosopher, scientist, and a rich man and..., to realize God. If you sincerely engage your tongue only in the service of the Lord, you realize Him. It is so simple thing. It is not very difficult. Therefore, this prasādam program is there, introduced by the guru, spiritual master. Śrī-vigra... Catur-vidha-śrī-bhagavat-prasāda-svādv-anna-tṛptān hari-bhakta-saṅghān. Hari-bhakta-saṅga means association of the devotees. These things are done... Outside we cannot do it. But if there are some devotees, we can order, "Please do it. Distribute like this. Do like this." Therefore hari-bhakta-saṅghān. Kṛtvaiva tṛptiṁ bhajataḥ sadaiva. And when he's fully satisfied that the prasāda distribution is going on, he's very much pleased and engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord by chanting and dancing. This is the fourth symptom.
So for eating, sleeping, mating and defending, there is no need of education. Education means athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is education. How to know the Supreme Absolute Truth—that is education. But the university, they are educating people how to eat, how to sleep. Eh? They are manufacturing so many eatables, different types of eatables, although God has given immense foodstuffs for human society. Just like these fruits, they are made for human beings. They are not eatables for the cats and dogs. They are meant for human beings. So eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has supplied, He is supplying immense foodstuffs for all living entities. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā (ISO 1). But there is allotment for the pig—the foodstuff is stool—and for the human being, the foodstuff—fruits, flowers, foodgrains, milk, sugar. So as God has allotted, you use that for your eating. Eating is required. Then your life is successful. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā. Do not try to imitate others. Do not try to imitate the hog and the pig to eat stool. That is not human bodies' foodstuff. You eat your own foodstuff. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthāḥ. This is life. Food is already there, but the difficulty is that we do not know that we should be satisfied with the foodstuff allotted to us by God. Īśāvāsya. The foodstuff belongs to Kṛṣṇa, God. You cannot manufacture in the factory this nice foodstuff—apple, orange, banana and others, so many hundreds and thousands. So therefore the only business of human form of life is to inquire about the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Being. That should be our inquiry.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a movement to educate people how to go back to Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. So our request is that you take advantage of this movement. Don't be fully simply absorbed in the activities of animal life—eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. This is also required, but under regulation. Eating is not prohibited in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, but eating is regulated. Don't eat anything without Kṛṣṇa's prasādam. Oh, Kṛṣṇa prasādam, there are so many varieties nice foodstuff. Be satisfied taking Kṛṣṇa's prasādam so your eating problem will be solved and you will advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to go back to home, back to Godhead. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very important movement for the human society, and this is not a Utopian thing. It is authorized. For every action of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement there is support from Vedas, Vedic literature. Just like whenever we speak something we immediately give evidence from the Bhagavad-gītā. It is not that something, "In my opinion it is..." No. We have no opinion. We don't give our opinion. We present Bhagavad-gītā as it is, that's all. As Kṛṣṇa says, we say the same thing. We have no difficulty. Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat, kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). "There is no more superior truth than Kṛṣṇa," Kṛṣṇa says. We accept that. We preach that, that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So everywhere this is going on; therefore there is necessity of awakening this God consciousness of the people. It is not a childish thing or sentimental fanaticism. It is real science. Because this human life is meant for understanding "What I am," ahaṁ brahmāsmi. "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). If you can educate people to become brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20), then prasannātmā, he becomes happy, jolly. Just like these American boys, American girls, they were many, many times in better condition of life. Now they are wandering with me. What can I give them? I cannot give them nice food. I cannot give them nice shelter. Neither I have money. They are coming. They are all rich men's sons, but they are after me. Why? Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. They have got something. They are feeling obliged that "Bhaktivedanta Swami has given us something." That is... Therefore they are after me. So this is the Brahmā cond..., brahma-bhūta ātmā. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. That is the sign. "I have become Brahman. I have become Nārāyaṇa." No. If you are prasanna, if you are always joyful, then it is to be understood that you have realized Brahman. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati. There is no śocana. Here in the material world I have got something. If I lose it, I cry, "I have lost, I have lost, I have lost." And if I do not possess, then kāṅkṣati, "I must get it. I must." These two businesses are going on. But when you become brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā, these two things will go away. Na kāṅkṣati na śocati.
So our only request is at the present moment, the whole world is for want of godly understanding. They are in darkness. So our duty is, when we have got this privilege of this human form of life, we should not keep ourself in darkness. Darkness means without any knowledge of the soul and God. So long I am thinking that "I am this body," it is in darkness. Except the human being, any other living being, they are all in darkness. Therefore human being's business is not to keep himself in darkness, but come to the light. So long we have got this material body, there are four necessities of life. They are eating, sleeping, sex intercourse and defense. So the cats and dogs, they also eat, they sleep, they have sex life and they can defend also. So therefore a human being should not be educated only for these four principles of animal necessities. The human necessity is to understand God. Therefore in civilized human society, there is some system of religion. Either you call it Christianity, Muhammadanism, or Hinduism, in civilized society there must be some form of religion. And a human being is supposed to follow the principles to have complete knowledge about God and himself, to know "What is the relationship between God and me?" and what is the goal of life.
So it doesn't matter whether you are Christian, Hindu, Muslim. The real purpose of life is to know God.
No, no, it is not example. It is stated in the Vedic literature. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. He is the chief living being amongst all living beings. God, is eternal; we are also eternal. God is also a living being; we are also a living being. This is the meaning. But God is one; we are many. And what is the significance of that one? That is stated: eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. "That one is maintaining so many living beings." That is God. So because He is a person, we are also person, but He is the person who maintains us. Therefore we go to God and beg for our daily bread. So our constitutional position is that we are predominated, and God is predominator. We are very small; God is very great. At the present moment we are defying this position; therefore we are in trouble. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we are educating people that "You are always subordinate to Kṛṣṇa. You surrender unto Him and you be happy. Do not remain in rebellious condition of life. Just surrender to God and you will be happy." That is the final conclusion of Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). So you are planning, we are planning so many things to become happy, but everything is failure. But if you take this plan, "Let us surrender to God," then every problem will be solved. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not that, that "You are Hindu. You become Christian," or "You are Christian. You become Hindu." That is not our plan. Our only request is that "Every one of you, you try to understand God, love Him and be happy." The final conclusion in the Bhagavad-gītā is that if you want to be peaceful, if you want the peace of your mind, you should understand three things. That three things are that to understand that God is the supreme enjoyer. This is one.
Brahmā-bhūtaḥ means self-realized, that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." This is the first realization, self-realization. So long we are not on this platform of spiritual understanding, we are equal to the animals. Animals, they do not know what is the difference between body and the soul. A dog is always thinking that "I am this body." Similarly, if a man thinks that "I am this body," he is no better than the dog because he has no realization of the self. Therefore the Vedic literature says, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. Actually we are standing on a false platform, understanding this body as the self, and in relationship with the body we are considering, "This country is my country. This man is my family man" or "my national man." So all these bodily concepts of life is based on ignorance, because we do not know soul. Actually the human life is meant for being educated that he is not this body; he is soul. That is the Vedānta-sūtra philosophy, to inquire about the spirit soul. That is our main business. Unfortunately... We are traveling all over the world. There is no institution, no school, no college, no university where this education is given, that "What I am? Am I this body, or I am something else? No. I am something else."
We have come to serve God, His purpose. God is very kind upon every one of us. He comes Himself. He comes. He sends His son. He sends His devotee to reclaim. As I was explaining that in the material condition of life we have been changing from one body to another, this is not very good condition of life. Nobody wants to die, but he is forced to die. Nobody wants to take birth, but he is forced to take birth. Nobody wants to become old man, but he becomes old man. And nobody wants to become diseased, but he is forced to take some disease. This is our condition. Now this human form of body is a chance to understand what is our real inconvenience—birth, death, old age, and disease—and to think of whether there is any way out of this entanglement of repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We are educating people how to get out of the clutches of illusion that continually, one after another, we have to take birth. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). Real problem is this. So if we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness—that means if we understand, "What is God? What I am? What is our relationship? What is the ultimate goal of our life?" If these things we understand, then we can get out of the clutches of illusion, repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. This is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, sum and substance. And to realize this, the method is very simple-chant the holy name of God. We are chanting the holy name of God: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. So our only request is that you have got this human form of body—don't misuse it. Don't waste it like animals simply by eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. You have got another business. A human being has got extra intelligence. That extra intelligence than the animal is meant for realizing himself, not to live like cats and dog. That is not human form of life.
So intelligent person, instead of waiting many, many births to understand Kṛṣṇa, may take it immediately what Kṛṣṇa says, as it is. Then his life is successful. So that is possible to understand Kṛṣṇa as He is saying. But because on account of our sinful activities, we cannot understand. Duṣkṛtina. Duṣkṛtina means always engaged in sinful activities, very intelligent person, but engaged in sinful activities. Nowadays... All the people are nowadays educated, but all of them, mostly, ninety-nine percent, they're engaged in sinful activities—illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication, gambling. These are sinful activities and, in spite of advancement of education all over the world, these things are going on. Therefore they cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is understood by a person who is no more engaged in sinful activities.
- yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
- janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
- te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
- bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
- (BG 7.28)
So we are trying, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for this purpose, that stop sinful activities and hear Kṛṣṇa and accept Him as He is saying. Then your life is successful. That's all. Very simple thing. And those who are adopting this ways, this process of life, is becoming successful practically. There is no doubt about it. Asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu. Asaṁśayam, without any doubt. Samagram, in full, not partial.
So this movement is undoubtedly increasing in the foreign countries, and why not in our country? So the government, the leaders and the guardians, they should deeply contemplate on the serious nature of this movement and help us. Now we are bringing men from the foreign countries to preach. How long I shall bring? If we want to spread this movement all over India very seriously, then we invite educated, intellectual young men to come forward to study this movement. It is not blind; we have got books. We have already published about fifty books on this movement. So for the Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement is meant for both kind of men. The ordinary men without any education, illiterate, he can also take to it, and the most advanced scientists, philosopher, philanthropist, politician, they also can take to it. So we are helping both ways. Those who are educated scientist, philosopher, for them we have got volumes of books. And those who are not educated, they can simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That will help them, both ways. Therefore this movement has become important and interesting. Our books are being purchased by the topmost class of man. Big, big professors in the universities, they are giving standing order. The books which are not published, they are putting standing order. Here our one sannyāsī is present, Satsvarūpa. He is visiting the libraries, universities, professors, and we are getting very good response. So don't take it as a sectarian movement. Don't misunderstand this movement as a CIA movement. These are all foolishness. Do you think that the Americans are so fools that for propagating their CIA movement they will become Vaiṣṇava and chant and dance? The Americans have become so fools? No. They have taken it very seriously. They are not CIA, not American nor European. They are Vaiṣṇavas; they are servant of Kṛṣṇa. Don't misunderstand them. And try to cooperate and help this movement for the benefit of the whole human society.
So we are..., our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for this purpose, that simply we are trying to educate people how to give up the control of the material energy, and under the control... Not to control the material energy; that we cannot do, that is not possible. But not to become under the control. That is very simple method: mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. Just like if you become honest, if you are not criminal, then there is no police control-police may be there. But as soon as you become criminal, you come under the control of police. Similarly our business is, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu has explained, and everywhere in the śāstra, and actually we are so, we are eternal servant of God, or Kṛṣṇa. This is our real position. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). But our disease is instead of becoming dāsa, we are trying to become the master of the prakṛti. This is called materialistic way of life. So that will not make us happy at any stage of our life. This is very dangerous. We are missing the point.
So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to educate people how to become attached to Kṛṣṇa. But if one does not know what is Kṛṣṇa, there is no question of increasing his āsakti for Kṛṣṇa. So to understand Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa personally appears to draw our attention to Kṛṣṇa. When we forget our āsakti, that is material life, forget our āsakti for Kṛṣṇa, that is our material life, or we struggle for existence in the material life. That is said by Kṛṣṇa:
- yadā yadā hi dharmasya
- glānir bhavati bhārata
- tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
- (BG 4.7)
This dharmasya glāni, deviation from the occupational duty... Dharma means occupational duty. Then Kṛṣṇa, out of His causeless mercy, He appears to teach us how to divert your attention and āsakti to Kṛṣṇa. So dharmasya glāni, deviation in the path of religious system, means to forget our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa ultimately, at the end of the Bhagavad-gītā, He says, as the Supreme Person, He orders, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66).
Merit is being used for bad purposes or sinful purposes. They are called duṣkṛtinaḥ. This is one group. Another group-mūḍha. Mūḍha means fools, rascals, or children, those who have no knowledge or one who does not know what is the purpose of life. They are called mūḍhas. And another group is called narādhamāḥ. Naradhāma means the lowest of the mankind. The highest of the mankind is one who is Kṛṣṇa conscious, and the lowest, one who does not know what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the lowest of the mankind. This human life, human form of life was given to him by laws of nature to understand Kṛṣṇa, or God, but he's not using it. Misusing it. They are called narādhama. And then, next group is māyayāpahṛta jñāna. You can say, "There are so many learned persons. They are not Kṛṣṇa conscious. They are after drinking and eating meat and... They are education." So then, He says that "They are educated. They have so-called educated, but their real knowledge is taken away." Just like one is rich man, but his money is taken away. So these four groups... So why this meritorious person or educated person, they do not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness? That means dull brain. So in order to make the dull brain suitable for understanding Kṛṣṇa, these four principles of austerities is the first need: no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication. Then his brain, the finer tissues of the brain, will develop to understand Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, not possible.
Śiṣyas te 'ham. Ahaṁ te śiṣya: "I just become Your disciple, and You just educate me. Please enlighten me." This is the position. Before that, Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, they were talking like friends. Friends means argument. We can go on arguing for days together, but there is no decision. That is friendly talk. But when there is talk between a master and disciple, there is no question of arguing. The disciple has to accept what is ordered by the master.
So Kṛṣṇa is accepted guru or the spiritual master, and Arjuna says, śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7). Prapannam means that "I am surrendered to You. I don't think myself on the equal level with You." The spiritual master and the disciple, they cannot be on the equal level. Therefore a spiritual master is called guru. Guru means heavy. Just like in the scale we put something this side, something that side. The thing which is weighty, that goes down. Similarly, guru is supposed to be weighty than the śiṣya. So Kṛṣṇa begins to speak when He is accepted as guru; otherwise He does not speak. Now, our subject matter is "Let Kṛṣṇa speak for Himself." So we have to accept Kṛṣṇa as the supreme authority. Then His speaking will be useful for us. Otherwise, if we think that Kṛṣṇa is on the equal level—"He is also a historical personality and His education and my education equal and so on, so on"—so long we think like that, then we cannot hear or understand Kṛṣṇa. But if we take the position of Arjuna—śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam—then Kṛṣṇa will speak to the disciple like Arjuna, and everything will be clear.
About Gosvāmīs, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, he has written, tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tuccha-vat bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau. (child talking) (aside:) Please take out. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīm. They were ministers. Naturally their associates were very, very big zamindars and rich men, aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīm. Maṇḍala-pati means leaders, social, political. So, gave up their company. Explain. Why? Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tuccha-vat bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau. Dīna-gaṇeśakau, the poor mass of people... We are thinking that we are advancing, but actually we are becoming poverty-stricken. So this very word is used, dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā. So this time is always. Unless the social leaders, the leaders of the society, they take care of the mass of people to educate them, dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā, if they do not become compassionate to the poor mass of people, who will deliver them?
Departure Talks
So we have started this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement to educate people in perfect knowledge. So we have got so many branches, and we have to travel and encourage them. So now I am going to the eastern hemisphere—from the western hemisphere to the eastern hemisphere. So I am going now in San Francisco. From there, I shall go to Hawaii, and then cross the international line, dividing East and West. Then we go to Manila, and therefrom we shall go to India. In Vṛndāvana we shall have Ūrja-vrata for one month. You also could observe ūrja-vrata here from the next Ekādaśī, one month. I have already instructed Karandhara to have a sky lamp and put candle in the evening to the Deity for one month. Each one, a small candle should... And then, after Ūrja-vrata, we have a big engagement in Hyderabad. And then in Bombay, then in Delhi. In this way. So in the meantime you go on with your work, hold the morning class, Bhāgavatam. Each verse try to understand scrutinizingly and worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Dress very gorgeously. Offer Them prasādam very gorgeously, and you take remnants of the foodstuff. So in this way keep yourself fit always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and there will be no chance for māyā to attack you.
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: So the world is a school house or a school ground where we become educated...
Prabhupāda: Yes, a playground, it is called field. It is called field. Kṣetrajñā. Idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate (BG 13.2). Idaṁ śarīram, this body is field, a small field. You wanted to play, "Alright take this field and work." That is going on. You are exhausted with this field, Kṛṣṇa gives another field, "Alright, take this." He gives another field, in this way changing different fields, fields of action, that's all. This body is field of action.
Śyāmasundara: It's not aimless, there's a gradual evolution...
Prabhupāda:. No, there is aim, that Kṛṣṇa is giving knowledge also. The Vedas are there, Kṛṣṇa is coming, giving knowledge, that this kind of playing will not help you, therefore I, His request, you give up all this playing, come to Me. This is the point.
Śyāmasundara: So Hegel has a method for relating all phenomenal objects to this whole, or to the ...
Prabhupāda: Hegel's method will not do because he has no idea. Hegel's method will not help.
Śyāmasundara: And that he fulfills the universal will, he's simply the executor of the world's spirit.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that's nice. That's nice. That is the system, Vedic system. A king must educate.
Śyāmasundara: But because he was so vague, this left room for someone like Hitler to come in and use this philosophy...
Prabhupāda: Well, Hitler came not as a king, he came as a usurper. He's not king. That is going on that any rascal, somehow or other he gets power, he becomes the head. But he has no training how to become actually the protector of the citizens. Therefore after the whole world is in trouble. He whimsically declares war and involve all the citizens, implicate. Therefore this support to monarchy is better in this sense that a person, by saint to saint, or by disciplic succession, or hereditary succession, he can be trained and if one man is trained nicely, he can govern over hundreds and thousands inhabitants(?) very nicely.
Śyāmasundara: So would you say that we are in a state of peace or a state of war?
Prabhupāda: Real peace... That definition we don't accept, "Stagnation is peace." We don't accept that. Our peace is working for Kṛṣṇa. That is peace.
- Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā mām.
- bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
- sarva-loka-maheśvaram
- suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
- jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
- (BG 5.29)
So our work is there. We are educating people that Kṛṣṇa is your friend. This is not stagnation, this is the real work, that we take Kṛṣṇa as the supreme enjoyer, so whatever enjoyable things are there, we are supplying to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa. "Kṛṣṇa, you take all nice foods. Kṛṣṇa you live nicely, you take all women, you enjoy rāsa-līlā, sixteen thousand wives. He is the supreme enjoyer, He should be given all enjoyment.
Śyāmasundara: No, he says that whatever is, is right, and that this good and this reason in its most concrete form is God. God governs the world.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That also we admit because in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yad yad vibhūtimat sattvam, mama tejo 'ṁśa-sambhavam, whenever there is some extraordinary power, it should be understood that it is derived partially from God's power. That we accept. So the dominance of American nation is God's favor. We can accept that. Now, if you put on the head representative like Mr. Nixon or some other, then it will deteriorate. If you spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness and if you make your president Kṛṣṇa conscious, then actually you will be God's empowered nation. Let the president become Kṛṣṇa conscious man. Why not? You are American, you can also capture the post. You can become senator, you can be congressman. So educate the American public (in) Kṛṣṇa consciousness, elect Kṛṣṇa conscious president and actually you will be God's favored nation is there. You have got the opportunity and the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is also in your hand, now it is up to you to utilize it and become actually the leaders of the world. That was my mission: "I shall go to America, and educate them, and they, if they follow, the whole world will follow." And that is coming to be true. You are all young men, it is in your hand. Now you make policy in that way. Just like the communists. A few communists, Stalin, Lenin, they formed a big communist party, now it is predominating all over the world. Similarly, you are so many nice, young, flowers, intelligent young Americans you have understood the philosophy, and now it is up to you to spread this "ism". You don't become stagnant—"Now I have understood Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I shall sit down and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa."
yāmasundara: The Scripture. The evidence which is written and spoken in...
Prabhupāda: Yes. And that is coming by śruti, by hearing. Just like Vyāsadeva heard from Nārada, Nārada heard from Brahmā, millions and millions of years ago. If you take, according to our calculation, Brahmā's age, Brahmā's one day we cannot calculate. It is now some, so many millions of years past, and still it is not even Brahmā's one day. So many millions of years. Because in Brahmā's one day seventy-two..., fourteen, fourteen Manus come and go. And each Manu's age is seventy-two millennium. One millennium means 4,300,000's of years. So such seventy-two millennium makes complete one Manu's life, and there are fourteen Manus in Brahmā's one day. So millions and trillions and billions of years, that is not very astonishing to us, because it is not even one day of Brahmā. That Brahmā was born, and intelligent philosophy is still existing from the date of Brahmā's birth. Brahmā was first educated by God. That is our calculation. So we get in the Vedas such intelligent information; therefore we understand that our forefather was very, very learned(?).
Hayagrīva: Bergson saw the greatest obstacle to this creative evolution to be the struggle with materialism, and he felt that politics and economic reforms cannot help matters.
Prabhupāda: No. These are different subject matter. It... Politics or economic development can help, provided it is guided properly. Otherwise, if the politics, economic development is aimed at understanding God and our relationship with God, then politics is all right. Otherwise it does not help at all. But this, so far Vedic civilization is concerned, the society is divided into eight division, varṇa and āśrama. So the sannyāsī, the brāhmaṇa, they are meant for educating the others to develop dormant God consciousness. And the kṣatriyas, they are to support these teachings of God consciousness because that is the objective of human life. But unfortunately, they have forgotten everything. They think simply taking care of the body and live comfortably and enjoy sense gratification. That is animal civilization; that is not human civilization.
Śyāmasundara: Qualitatively that's not a very high pleasure, so he would not recommend it.
Prabhupāda: What is his philosophy? First of all he says the greatest number of people, generally... After all, these conditioned souls, they are fools. So if the greatest number you take, that is a great number of fools only. Because in the conditioned state, abodha-jāto, they are all fools. Our Vedic philosophy is that a man is born fool, but he is made intelligent by educational culture. That is fact. That is fact. In practical life also we see that we send our boys, our children, to school to become educated. Out of the fools, so many fools, children, who go to school, some of them take degrees, and out of many who take the degrees, some of them become postgraduates, M.A., and out of many postgraduates, some of them become still more learned, doctor in philosophy, like that. So if you go to the quality, the number will decrease. You cannot say greatest number.
Hayagrīva: He further writes, "The truth is that there is hardly a single point of excellence belonging to human character which is not decidedly repugnant to the untutored feelings of human nature." So he felt that virtues are not instinctive in man, virtues like courage, cleanliness, self-control, these virtues have to be cultivated. They're not...
Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore in the human society there is educational system. Man has to be made a right rational animal. Although he is animal, he has to be educated in nice way. That depends on education, system of education, but in that connection studying the whole world's education system, the Vedic education is perfect. Therefore every man should be educated as they are instructed in the Vedic literature and a summary of Vedic literature is Bhagavad-gītā. So every man should read it as it is without any unnecessary interpretation. That will make the man perfect educated.
Hayagrīva: This is the continuation of Mill. He writes, "Limited as, on this showing, the Divine power must be, by inscrutable and insurmountable obstacles due to the existence of evil." Mill concludes that the existence of evil in the universe, or what he considers to be evil, pain and death, excludes the existence of an omnipotent God. He sees man in a position to aid the intentions of providence by surmounting his evil instincts. So God is not all-powerful, infinite in His power. If He were, there would be no evil, according to Mill.
Prabhupāda: No. God, evil is created by God undoubtedly, but the, it was necessary on account of the human being as, misuse of his free will. God gives him good direction but when he is disobedient, then naturally the evil power is there to punish him. Therefore the evil is not created by God but still it is created. It is necessary. Just like the government constructs the prison house. So this prison house creation is not the government's intention. Government wants that university is sufficient, people may be educated and highly enlightened, but because some, not all, misuses the independence, little independence, he creates evil circumstances, and he is compulsorily put into the prison house. Similarly, we suffer on account of our own evil activities but God, being Supreme, He punishes us for our evil activities. For God there isn't... When we are under the protection of God, there is nothing evil, only good thing. There is no evil. So God does not create evil but man's evil activities obliges God to create an evil situation.
Śyāmasundara: He sees that there are two basic or fundamental philosophical temperaments. The one he calls tendermindedness, which is exemplified by the rationalist, the idealist, the optimist, the religionist, and the dogmatist; and toughmindedness, or the empiricist, the materialist, the pessimist, the irreligious, the fatalist and the skeptic. He says that philosophers are of two types: tender minded and tough minded.
Prabhupāda: So this depends upon one's education. If one is educated, in one way he may become tender, and another man, if he is educated in a different way, he may be hard. But our proposition is that originally the soul is good. This tenderness and hardness, they are developed later on. But they are not standard. When you come to the platform of soul, there everything is good. In that platform, either tenderness or hardness, both of them are in the absolute. So our philosophy is that, as we understand from Bhagavad-gītā, that every living entity is part and parcel of God. So God is good, pavitra. Just like Arjuna accepts, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitram (BG 10.12). Pavitra means pure. But because we are part and parcel of God, therefore we are pure. The impurities are acquired by our contamination with this material world. So either you become tender or hard—that is impurity of this material world. So we don't give any credit to any person, either he is tender or hard. These are all material qualifications. When he is spiritually placed, then we give him, that he is now liberated, either from tenderness or from hardness. These are all material qualifications. One is hard, one is tender. So that is our material quality.
Śyāmasundara: Dewey says that the ethical goals are fulfillment of human needs and desires, that all morality should lead to this goal of fulfillment of human needs and desires.
Prabhupāda: The human need is to get out of the clutches of māyā. That is the actual need. Janma-maraṇa-mokṣaya, that is the need. But the modern society, they do not know what is needed. They are making simply plans, uselessly. Śrama eva hi kevalam (SB 1.2.8). Simply laboring hard, they do not know the need. The real need is to get out of the clutches of repetition of birth and death in different forms. But people do not know this. They are simply concocting ideas. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-maninaḥ. Durāśayā, hopeless, or they are trying to educate something which is impossible. They are making plans to be happy in this material world. And by the United Nations it is impossible. That is not intelligence. He says... We can say in the United Nations clearly that "Your, this attempt will be failure." It is already failure. (aside in Hindi) Hariṁ vinā naiva mṛtiṁ taranti. What is the solution? You cannot make any solution of this repetition of birth and death, disease and old age. What do you mean by solution? The real problems are there. So they do not know what are the problems, how to solve them. So andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās (SB 7.5.31). Some blind leaders, so-called leaders, they are leading other blind men. This is going on. They do not know what is the aim of life, how to make solutions of the problems. They do not know.
Śyāmasundara: Dewey's greatest faith was in the educational system, that the educational system should reflect the real welfare of the community.
Prabhupāda: Yes. This educational system is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, tan manye adhītam uttamam. The best educational system is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So because people are being educated without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is becoming valueless. Therefore we are giving, I mean to say, purificatory method in every department.
Śyāmasundara: Because value equals satisfaction.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa (indistinct). Kṛṣṇa is one, and everything is zero, so if there is one, zero is added-ten, hundred, thousand-increases its value. Take out the one and it is all zero. Thousands of zeros will not carry any weight (?). So they are all zero without Kṛṣṇa.
Śyāmasundara: He says that philosophy has a social responsibility to influence intelligent management of human affairs.
Prabhupāda: That we are doing. We are asking everyone that "You become Kṛṣṇa conscious and do things intelligently, your life will be successful. You'll be happy." How else you'll be happy? That is our propaganda.
Hayagrīva: This is Kierkegaard, who was a Danish philosopher, who lived from 1813 to 1855. He is generally regarded as the father of existentialism. He was Christian. He wrote, or he believed, that if the truths of religion are not innate within man, they must be brought to us by a teacher. If God comes to teach as He is, man would be over awed or over..., overcome. Therefore he comes as a servant of God in human form.
Prabhupāda: So man's general position is as good as animal. Therefore in the human society there is system of education. But man, being advanced in consciousness, he can be properly educated so that he can understand what is God by the teachings of authority, and that is our Vedic system. In the human form of life—not generally but in special cases—they are very much inquisitive to understand about God. That is technically called brahma-jijñāsā. inquiring about the Absolute. And that is only possible in the human form of life. Generally, any human being can be educated in the spiritual life or God consciousness, but if anyone awakens his inquiry, as it is stated, tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21), if one is actually anxious to inquire about God or the supreme knowledge, then he has to approach a guru. That's a fact. Without approaching a bona fide guru there is no possibility of understanding the nature of God and our relationship with Him. So one has to approach a guru. To accept a guru is not a fashion, it is necessity. If one is actually inquisitive, it is a necessity.
Śyāmasundara: This aesthetic salvation is only possible momentarily. Contemplation of poetry and art and music, these are...
Prabhupāda: No, that is possible. Just like practice. A child is practiced to play, but if he is constantly practiced to read and write, he becomes educated. So not momentary. It is a practice. If you practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then other consciousness will automatically vanish.
Śyāmasundara: But he is describing only one type of salvation, called aesthetic salvation, where one transcends the normal state of desire by seeing art or hearing music or poetry. Only this momentary transcendence.
Prabhupāda: So why momentary? It can continue perpetually.
Śyāmasundara: By seeing pictures and art...
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. You see Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa picture, you see the Deity, well-dressed Deity, artistically, flowers. So always see. Why momentary?
Śyāmasundara: So even aesthetically, one can have permanent salvation.
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Aesthetic with a—I mean to say—solid program. Because Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is all goodness. You find whatever the so-called philosophers will describe, we have got already there. Already there. If you say aesthetic salvation, this is aesthetic salvation. Śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-śṛṅgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādau **. To worship the Deity. And you cannot derive benefit unless the aesthetic sense is applied to the higher authority, with reverence and respect. That is wanted.
Hayagrīva: An old goat.
Prabhupāda: Yes. If he is not educated properly, he remains a old fool. Yes.
Hayagrīva: He says, "In one of the Vedic Upaniṣads, the natural length of human life is put down at one hundred years, and I believe this to be right. I have observed, as a matter of fact, that it is only people who exceed the age of ninety who attain euthanasia, who die, that is to say, of no disease, apoplexy, or convulsion, and pass away without agony of any sort. To come to one's end before the age of ninety means to die of disease, in other words, prematurely."
Prabhupāda: Yes, the maximum age in this millennium is hundred years, but formerly they used to live for thousand years. Before that they used to live for ten thousand years, and before that they used to live for one hundred thousands of years. So nowadays we don't think even they are going up to hundred years, even not ninety years.
Hayagrīva: Concerning early religious training, he writes, "So long as a man's early years are influenced by the religious thought inhibition, and by the lore one derived from it, as well as by the sexual one, we cannot really say what he," that is man, "is actually like." So he feels that early religious education actually warps a man's development, that you can't say what man can truly be like if you educate him to believe in a transcendental being.
Prabhupāda: That's a fact. If a child is given lesson that there is a supreme being controlling the whole cosmic situation, what is the wrong there? He should learn it.
Hayagrīva: But Freud felt that this inhibited man's natural development, that you can't know what man is naturally like as long as you inculcate him with these religious ideas.
Prabhupāda: Then why do you send your son to a school for education?
Hayagrīva: Well he felt that...
Prabhupāda: Naturally...
Hayagrīva: Some education, there has to be education.
Prabhupāda: That's all. This is also the most important education.
Hayagrīva: He says, "I disagree with you when you go on to argue that man cannot in general do without the consolation of the religious illusion, that without it he would not endure the troubles of life, the cruelty of reality."
Prabhupāda: Man cannot do without education. Without education a man remains an animal. Therefore in the human society there is a school, college, an institution, teacher—not in the animal society. So the principle is, the man is meant for being learned or being educated. That you cannot deny, that man life should not be like cats and dogs, simply eating, sleeping, mating, and dying. That is not man's life. Man's life is to become advanced in knowledge and education. And as I have already described, the ultimate knowledge: to understand God. If he is so-called educated, without any understanding of God, then his education is imperfect. You can deny the existence of God, but the God conception is there in the human society. Some may accept it, some may not accept it—that is another thing—but the conception of God, the whole civilized world, they have got some type of religion. Either you become Christian or Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim, religion means there is some cultivation of knowledge to understand God.
Śyāmasundara: That means he is constantly changing. Just like tomorrow my body will be slightly different, my mind may change, I may decide...
Prabhupāda: No. Change, but that changing is taking place under certain regulations, not that by accident. Just like if I become educated, then I get a change in my position, a very nice post, but this is not accident. Because I am educated, I am getting a nice post. And because I am not educated, so I am getting another post.
Śyāmasundara: Just like moods. For instance, today I may be happy, tomorrow I may be unhappy. So I'm not definite. There is no definite nature that I have.
Prabhupāda: That can be admitted to some extent, that it has not cause. Just like if you are put into the sea, so there you have no control and you are moving according to the waves. That means you have controlling power, but you are put in a certain condition where you lose your controlling power. So it is to be admitted that you are in an awkward position; therefore you cannot ascertain what change is going to take place next. That means you are not in a good situation. Just like a man, when he is on the land, he has got control. If a car is coming, he can take care. He can save from the accident. But when he is put into the ocean, the waves are floating him. So it is circumstantial, not accidental.
Devotee: Most people wanted to drop the bomb. And he was against it. So therefore his own philosophy is negated by himself.
Śyāmasundara: And his idea is that you have to educate...
Prabhupāda: And what is the ultimate goal of that education? So ultimate goal of education is to come to Kṛṣṇa. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). That is education. (indistinct), she is educated. Why? So ultimate knowledge is that, to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate. Surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ (BG 7.19).
Śyāmasundara: His idea is that emotions are what are determining good and bad, and if we educate people into scientific reality...
Prabhupāda: No. No emotion. We don't... Just like Arjuna. By emotion he was thinking, "I shall not fight." That was emotion. So "I shall be bad man, taking to these orders"—these are... Anything material, that is emotion, sentiment. Yes. So religion without philosophy is sentiment, and philosophy without religion is mental speculation. So therefore our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so sound. We do not go by sentiment. We accept the superior order of Kṛṣṇa (indistinct), it is perfect.
Devotee: So he says social environment in the highest essence that has to lead to controlling nature.
Prabhupāda: Here the thing is that these are all childish suppositions. The real thing is that he should be educated. He should be educated. This should be done. He should be educated from the very beginning that "You are not this body." This is the beginning of real religion. He is talking this way and that. Education is required. Without education these things cannot be taught—by rewarding, by this way, by that way, by machine... It is all nonsense, everything. The first education is that every children should be taught from the very beginning that "You are not this body," and he should be taught the nature of the soul. Then he will come to the Supreme Soul. Then he will gradually come to the relationship between the Supreme Soul and the individual soul. And when he develops love for the Supreme Soul he will not violate the order of the Supreme. So that is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Śyāmasundara: Like Sarasvatī. She thinks Kṛṣṇa lives in her heart, and she's always thinking of that.
Prabhupāda: Yes. She is hearing, she is being educated, and that fact she is now feeling. Similarly, if we educate all our children in that way, they will be nicely grown-up children.
Śyāmasundara: His idea is that the mind of people can be changed because the conditions...
Prabhupāda: But not in that way, by force. That is not possible. You cannot change the mind even of a child by force, and what to speak of elderly man, educated man. Is it not so? Mind can be changed by our process: ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). Otherwise it is not. These things will be made (indistinct) complete, even in the ordinary position. Their utopia—it is not possible.
Śyāmasundara: He also wants to abolish all inheritance rights, all rights of inheritance.
Prabhupāda: That is another nonsense proposal, because everyone's tendency is to give money to his children. That is the law everywhere. I have got some affection for my children. I want to give something to my children. So how you can stop this (indistinct). They are proposing all impractical.
Śyāmasundara: They are practicing this in Russia. There is no inheritance. There is no...
Prabhupāda: (indistinct), we have seen Russia is not happy. Russia is not happy and they are simply waiting for another opportunity, another revolution. (indistinct) this boy (indistinct), he is not happy. Similarly we can study. Just like when there is rice boiling you take one grain of rice and press it in your finger. If it is soft, then you can understand the whole rice is boiled. So we can understand the position of Russia from the sample, that boy. We haven't got to study more. And we could get some idea by talking with that professor that, how much foolish he is. He says that after death everything is finished. And he is passing on as a big professor, Indian department, Indology or something. So, if his knowledge is like that, if the sample of the citizen is like that boy, then what is their position? They may theorize so many things. So far as we are concerned, foreigners, we could not get even food to our satisfaction. There is no (indistinct) vegetables, no fruits, milk was (indistinct), no rice. That Madrasi gentleman, if he would not have contributed some dahl and rice and the..., then practically we would have starved.
Hayagrīva: He also stressed the process of remembering. It's called the, his, Plato's doctrine of recollection. And he says you can ask a boy, who may be ignorant of a subject, you can elicit answers from him, and this answers, he may give you the right answers, and this would suggest that he acquired this knowledge in a previous existence.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore we find a student in school is very intelligent and less intelligent. Otherwise both of them of the same age, why one is more intelligent, he grasps the matter very quickly, and why the other is not so intelligent? This is everything that putra-janma dṛḍhaṁ vidyā putra-janma dṛḍhaṁ dhanam. (indistinct) The two things especially, knowledge, education and money, they are earned in the previous birth, not that all of a sudden one has become rich, all of a sudden one has become very learned man. No. It is continuous. So if one man is extraordinarily learned, it is to be understood that it is the result of his previous culture. Similarly, if anyone is extraordinarily rich, it is to be understood it is due to his past pious activities. Janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrī (SB 1.8.26), these four things are achieved on account of previous pious activities: good birth, good opulence, aiśvarya, and good education, and good beauty. These are the results of pious, good activities. So you can see practically in your country between the black and white. The white men are more advanced in everything, and the black man, although he has got the same facilities, they are in inferior position. Why? It is putra-janma dṛḍham. That is the proof of past life. But so far we are concerned, we are not concerned about one black man or white man. Both of them are in the clutches of māyā. We want to educate all of them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and they have got equal opportunity, it is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ (SB 2.4.18). Never mind what is his body, if he is willing to become trained to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is the platform of the soul, that we can do.
Hayagrīva: He says, "Some men have pretended for their disobedience to their sovereign a new covenant or a new agreement with God, made not with men but with God. This also is unjust, for there is no covenant or agreement with God but by mediation of somebody that represents God's person, which none does but God's lieutenant, who has this sovereignty under God." Could a monarch use this argument, which is the argument of divine right, in order to discourage his subjects' rebelling under the pretense that they are communing directly with God? What guidelines are there to assure against this? There was... Wasn't there one king, King Vena, King...?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Vena. So everything depends on the king's accepting the absolute instruction of God. So king, in Vedic civilization, the king was absolutely following the regulation given by God, and it was confirmed by saintly persons, sages. Then it was executed; not whimsically. There was advisory board of the monarchy always. They were not politician, diplomat, but they were all saintly person, knew very well the Vedas, and they used to guide the monarch. Therefore the monarch is absolute governing body. The ministers were helping, but the king was educated by God's direct instruction, as Kṛṣṇa said, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān. Vivasvān, the sun-god, there are tradition two kṣatriya family—one from the sun-god and one from the moon-god. Sūrya-vaṁśa and candra-vaṁśa. The kṣatriyas in India, they claim. And that is a fact, because we see that Sūrya, sun-god, is the original kṣatriya. From him came Manu, Vaivasvata Manu. This is the age of Vaivasvata Manu, and from him came his son, Ikṣvāku. So by the paramparā system, if we take Kṛṣṇa's instruction... Kṛṣṇa's instruction is already there. If the governments all over the world take Kṛṣṇa's instruction, then every government will be perfect and there will be no disturbance of peace and happiness. That will be perfect world. Kṛṣṇa has given instruction in all fields of activities. Simply we have to take it practically. But the people are so foolish that instead of taking the standard way of living, they are manufacturing on account of their demonic tendency. They, the head of the state, they are degraded, either individually or collectively, so how there can be good government? If they become perfect according to the instruction of God, then everything will be perfect.
Hayagrīva: But at the same time the soul pervades the entire body.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. That portion which is spread all over the body, that is immortal. So this is the illumination or the shining of the soul. That the sun is situated localized in a particular place, that we can see everyday, but his illumination is distributed all over the universe. Similarly, although the soul is situated within the heart, his illumination is spread all over the body. So that is consciousness. So as soon as the soul is out from the heart, which is known as heart failure, when he leaves the heart, then what is the use of this heart? It becomes a lump of matter. Immediately consciousness is absent from the whole body. So it is upon the leaving of the soul this body there is no more consciousness. This is reasoning. Why a second before there was consciousness and after there is no consciousness? If you chopped up the body there will be no protest, there will be no feeling of pain, that "What is that?" This is reasoning, that something is missing. That soul has gone out; therefore the consciousness in the body is absent. That soul is immortal; the consciousness is also immortal. Now the consciousness, by the influence of illusory energy, is engaged in so many material things—consciousness of society, consciousness of nationality, consciousness of this, that, so many. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is educating movement, how the consciousness can be purified to remain only Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then his life is successful.
Hayagrīva: So he believes that through..., by providing the people with sense gratification the government can keep people from acting in an antisocial way.
Prabhupāda: That means he is also of the same category. No, that will not help. Just like, the example is given in this connection, that when there is fire, if you think that putting more and more ghee the fire will extinguish, that is not possible. To keep the society in order they must be educated according to his capacity, and they should be engaged for common benefit. That is required. Not that to encourage them in their bad habits things will be done nicely. No. That is not possible.
Purports to Songs
Vidyā-kule ki koribe tār. Somebody may say, "Oh, why he is going to hell? He is so much educated, he has got academic qualification, he has got degrees." Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura replies, vidyā-kule ki koribe tār: "If he has no connection with Nityānanda and if he does not come to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his vidyā or his so-called academic education, and kula, and birth in high family or great nation, will not protect him because nature's law will act. "Either you are born in a very big family or nation, or either you have got a very advanced academic education, at the time of death your work will be judged and you will get another body according to that work. So vidyā kule ki koribe tār. Why they are doing so, these animals, human animals? Ahaṅkāre matta hoiyā, nitāi-pada pāsariyā: "They have become maddened by a false concept of the bodily life.
So use that ear, sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ, and hear attentively, and mold your life as you hear from the realized soul. Sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-mano. One who remains like this, although he is imperfect fool, whatever he may be, he can conquer the ajita. Ajita means God. Nobody can conquer Him, but a devotee who sincerely hears about Him from the realized soul, he can conquer even Ajita, Kṛṣṇa. Just like gopīs. The gopīs were women and not very high class woman, cowherd's men, in the village, not in town, very educated, high society, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, no. They all belonged to vaiśya class. And they were woman, not Vedantist, not scholar. But they conquered Kṛṣṇa. Why? And that is this They heard about Kṛṣṇa, and they became lover of Kṛṣṇa. That is required. So that is the real qualification. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He was so strict about womanly association. Still, He recommended, ramyā kācid upāsanā vrajavadhū-vargabhir yā kalpitā: "There is no better type of worshiping Kṛṣṇa than the system which vraja-vadhū, the gopīs, adopted to love Kṛṣṇa. That is the first-class." That is the recommendation of Vedic śāstra. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). First-class religion Religion means to understand God. That is the sum and substance.
| Page Title: | Educated (Lectures, Other) |
| Compiler: | Mayapur |
| Created: | 26 of Oct, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=185, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 185 |