Eternal duty

Expressions researched:
"eternal duty"

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

O best of the Satvatas, you have quite correctly asked about the eternal duty of the living entity toward the Supreme Lord

SB 11.2.11, Translation: Sri Narada said: O best of the Satvatas, you have quite correctly asked about the eternal duty of the living entity toward the Supreme Lord. Such devotional service to the Lord is so potent that its performance can purify the entire universe.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

But because you are soul, spirit soul, part and parcel of God, you have got a particular duty. That is eternal duty

Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- Montreal, August 2, 1968: But because you are soul, spirit soul, part and parcel of God, you have got a particular duty. That is eternal duty. That eternal duty is described here, sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. And adhoksaja. Adhoksaja, this Sanskrit word, is applicable to this Absolute Truth. Aksaja, adhoksaja. Aksaja means experimental knowledge, things which you can perceive by your present senses. Just like you can touch. You can understand a thing by touching, if it is hard or soft, liquid or solid. You can smell, you can hear -- so many sensual activities. So things which you can perceive by your sensual activities, they are called direct knowledge or knowledge by experiment. But which is beyond your experiment, that is called adhoksaja. Adhoksaja means beyond your sense perception. So God's another name is Adhoksaja, means beyond our perception. You cannot understand God by directly seeing or directly smelling, or directly hearing, or directly tasting or touching. It is not possible at the present moment unless you are spiritually advanced, unless our seeing power is rectified or hearing power is modified. In this way, when our senses are purified, then we can hear about God, we can see God, we can smell God, we can touch God. That is possible.

I am eternal. So what is my eternal function?" That is meditation. "What is my eternal function? What is my eternal duty? Where is my eternal home?" That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness

Lecture on SB 1.15.32 -- Los Angeles, December 10, 1973: So this is to be understood. Therefore Yudhisthira Maharaja, svah-pathaya matim cakre. This is meditation actually. "What I am? Wherefrom I have come? I am eternal. Why my body is not eternal? I would have been very happy if my body would have been eternal, but that is not being possible." Everyone knows. "But I desire that I may not die, my body may not be vanquished. That is my desire." But nobody is meditating upon this subject matter. They have learned some meditation -- I do not know what kind of medi... This is meditation, matim cakre. Svah-pathaya matim cakre nibhrtatma yudhisthirah. So these things are to be solved. So Yudhisthira Maharaja, now he will retire after this. So he will give up the kingdom. Not that... This is the Vedic system. However rich you may be, however prosperous you may be at your home or in your nation or in anyway as you think, but you have to think that "Actually these things are temporary. I am eternal. So what is my eternal function?" That is meditation. "What is my eternal function? What is my eternal duty? Where is my eternal home?" That is Krsna consciousness.

So it is not that official accepting a spiritual master, but one should be very much inquisitive to understand about eternal duty or eternal activities

Lecture on SB 7.7.30-31 -- Mombassa, September 12, 1971: So Prahlada Maharaja is recommending how to begin bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga, the first beginning is adau gurvasrayam, as Rupa Gosvami recommends. Adau gurvasrayam, the beginning, first beginning is to accept a bona fide spiritual master. Adau gurvasrayam, . Sad-dharma-prcchat. So it is not that official accepting a spiritual master, but one should be very much inquisitive to understand about eternal duty or eternal activities. Sad-dharma. Sat means eternal, and dharma means characteristics. Eternal characteristics. What is that eternal characteristics? With this body, we change our characteristics. That is not eternal characteristics. Just like a human body. The standard of living of a human being and the standard of living of an animal, different. As the body ch

Festival Lectures

So apart from that reference, Bhagavad-gītā is eternal because it teaches what is your relationship with God, what is your eternal duty to God, and what is the ultimate end of life

Ratha-yatra Lecture at The Family Dog Auditorium -- San Francisco, July 27, 1969: So try to understand this philosophy of Krsna consciousness. It is not a new thing. This Krsna consciousness philosophy was taught five thousand years ago. Not only five thousand years -- Bhagavad-gita is the philosophy of Krsna consciousness, and although it was five thousand years ago in our memorable history, but in the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that it was spoken some millions of years ago to the sun-god. So apart from that reference, Bhagavad-gita is eternal because it teaches what is your relationship with God, what is your eternal duty to God, and what is the ultimate end of life. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, and the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gita is that one has to give up all sorts of rascaldom or concocted religion. Simply one has to surrender to God. That is religion.

General Lectures

We are preaching to the world not any occupational duty but we are preaching eternal duty

Lecture -- Delhi, December 13, 1971: Dharma, I have explained, occupational duty. So long we have got this material body we have got particular type of occupational duty. We are preaching to the world not any occupational duty but we are preaching eternal duty. This occupational duty is in connection with the body. That is not eternal. Suppose this life I've got a body, human body, or brahmana birth, or a son in the Rockefeller family, and according to that body, I have got a particular type of duty, standard of living. Deha-yogena dehinam. But as soon as the body's changed, I get another body, the whole duty change. Now I may have a very comfortable body, American body, Rockefeller family body, but next life, according to my karma, we are preparing our next life. Suppose if I get the body of a dog, then my occupational duty will be (indistinct).

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

The parts and the Whole being eternally related, it is the eternal duty of the parts to render service unto the Whole

Letter to Raja Mohendra Pratap -- Cawnpore 13 July, 1947: To summarise the conclusions of Bhagavad-gita it may be said that,

1) God is one and everything is in Him and He is in everything. 2) To render transcendental service unto God is to serve everything that be, just like to water the root of the tree is to water the different branches and numerous leaves of the tree or to supply food to the stomach is to vitalize all the senses and the sense organs of the body. 3) The parts are automatically served when the Whole is served but when the parts are served the whole may not be served or not served at all.

4) The parts and the Whole being eternally related, it is the eternal duty of the parts to render service unto the Whole.