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Eternal truth

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

In pursuance of this eternal truth, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was heard by Emperor Parīkṣit, and it was recited by the able Śukadeva Gosvāmī.
SB 1.3.42, Purport:

At the critical hour of death one must recite the name of Govinda. This is the recommendation of all great transcendentalists. Śukadeva Gosvāmī had long ago stated the same truth, that at the end one must remember Nārāyaṇa. That is the essence of all spiritual activities. In pursuance of this eternal truth, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was heard by Emperor Parīkṣit, and it was recited by the able Śukadeva Gosvāmī. And both the speaker and the receiver of the messages of Bhāgavatam were duly delivered by the same medium.

No one is either equal to or greater than the Lord. The Lord is always great in all respects. "God is great" is eternal truth.
SB 1.11.31, Purport:

One should know, therefore, that the Lord is never on the level of the living beings, who are but expansions of His marginal potency, and one should never equalize the potent and the potency, although there is very little difference of quality between the potent and the potency. The queens were also expansions of His internal potency, and thus the potent and potencies are perpetually exchanging transcendental pleasures, known as pastimes of the Lord. One should not, therefore, become astonished to learn that the Lord married so many wives. On the contrary, one should affirm that even if the Lord marries sixteen thousand million wives, He is not completely manifesting His unlimited and inexhaustible potency. He married only 16,000 wives and entered in each and every one of the different palaces just to impress in the history of the human beings on the surface of the earth that the Lord is never equal to or less than any human being, however powerful he may be. No one, therefore, is either equal to or greater than the Lord. The Lord is always great in all respects. "God is great" is eternal truth.

One should think of the Lord always; the mind should not forget Him. One should become a devotee of the Lord and offer obeisances unto Him. One who lives in that fashion becomes undoubtedly endowed with the blessing of the Lord by achieving the shelter of His lotus feet. There is nothing to doubt about this eternal truth.
SB 1.15.30, Purport:

All pastimes or activities of the Lord are spiritual in nature, but to the laymen they appear to be on the same level with material activities. It so appeared that Arjuna and the Lord were engaged in the Battle of Kurukṣetra as the other party was also engaged, but factually the Lord was executing His mission of incarnation and association with His eternal friend Arjuna. Therefore such apparently material activities of Arjuna did not drive him away from his transcendental position, but on the contrary revived his consciousness of the songs of the Lord, as He sang them personally. This revival of consciousness is assured by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.65) as follows:

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo 'si me

One should think of the Lord always; the mind should not forget Him. One should become a devotee of the Lord and offer obeisances unto Him. One who lives in that fashion becomes undoubtedly endowed with the blessing of the Lord by achieving the shelter of His lotus feet. There is nothing to doubt about this eternal truth. Because Arjuna was His confidential friend, the secret was disclosed to him.

SB Canto 2

Your Majesty Mahārāja Parīkṣit, know that all that I have described in reply to your proper inquiry is just according to the version of the Vedas, and it is eternal truth.
SB 2.2.32, Translation:

Your Majesty Mahārāja Parīkṣit, know that all that I have described in reply to your proper inquiry is just according to the version of the Vedas, and it is eternal truth. This was described personally by Lord Kṛṣṇa unto Brahmā, with whom the Lord was satisfied upon being properly worshiped.

SB Canto 6

Actually there are two energies—material and spiritual. Both of them are ever-existing because they are emanations from the eternal truth, the Supreme Lord.
SB 6.15.8, Translation and Purport:

Divisions of generalization and specification, such as nationality and individuality, are the imaginations of persons who are not advanced in knowledge.

Actually there are two energies—material and spiritual. Both of them are ever-existing because they are emanations from the eternal truth, the Supreme Lord. Because the individual soul, the individual living entity, has desired to act in forgetfulness of his original identity since time immemorial, he is accepting different positions in material bodies and being designated according to many divisions of nationality, community, society, species and so on.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Madhya-lila

The word śraddhāvān (faithful) means understanding Kṛṣṇa to be the summum bonum—the eternal truth and absolute transcendence.
CC Madhya 22.64, Translation and Purport:

“A faithful devotee is a truly eligible candidate for the loving service of the Lord. According to one's faith, one is classified as a topmost devotee, an intermediate devotee or an inferior devotee.

The word śraddhāvān (faithful) means understanding Kṛṣṇa to be the summum bonum—the eternal truth and absolute transcendence. If one has full faith in Kṛṣṇa and confidence in Him, one becomes eligible to discharge devotional service confidentially. According to one's faith, one is a topmost, intermediate or inferior devotee.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Renunciation Through Wisdom

This process—hearing from higher authorities—is called the deductive, or descending, process of knowledge. It is the only authorized way to learn transcendental knowledge. By this method alone is eternal truth transmitted.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.7:

No matter how big a thinker a tiny living entity may be, all his activities are limited by mundane boundaries, just as a frog in the well can never comprehend that such a thing as an ocean exists outside his little domain. He refuses to acknowledge that a mass of water infinitely bigger than his tiny puddle can at all be possible. Similarly, we are trapped in the dark well of our body and mind. And although we may try hard through yoga or empirical speculation to overcome our limitations, no matter how erudite we are it is impossible to reach beyond the limitations of our self-made well.

So, who can bring us news of the great ocean? Is there any record of how long we have been struggling in the water to stay afloat in the well of this material world, sometimes going up to the higher planets, sometimes coming down? Only the Supreme Lord Himself or His empowered representative can possibly free us from confinement in this dark well. Under their guidance we can come to know of the limitless ocean of the spiritual sky. This process—hearing from higher authorities—is called the deductive, or descending, process of knowledge. It is the only authorized way to learn transcendental knowledge. By this method alone is eternal truth transmitted.

In this stage of realization, the eternal truth is no longer covered by the illusory, mundane pall of impersonal omnipresence, and what shines forth is the absolute spiritual personality.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

Śrī Nārada instructed Śrīla Vyāsadeva with the following words:

idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaro
yato jagat-sthāna-nirodha-sambhavāḥ
tad dhi svayaṁ veda bhavāṁs tathāpi te
prādeśa-mātraṁ bhavataḥ pradarśitam

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Himself this cosmos, and still He is aloof from it. From Him only has this cosmic manifestation emanated, in Him it rests, and unto Him it enters after annihilation. Your good self knows all about this. I have given only a synopsis.

In this stage of realization, the eternal truth is no longer covered by the illusory, mundane pall of impersonal omnipresence, and what shines forth is the absolute spiritual personality. The fullest manifestation of that spiritual personality is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the transcendental form of eternity, knowledge, and bliss, who is beyond the manifested and unmanifested material cosmos.

Message of Godhead

If we want to acquire transcendental knowledge, our first duty will be to understand that the spirit soul is eternal truth. The external ingredients, the body and the mind which develop around the spirit soul, are all relative or partial truths.
Message of Godhead 1:

Everyone who happens to take his birth in India is a potential benefactor of others, because it is on Indian soil alone that the culture of transcendental knowledge has been most elaborately presented, from ancient times to the present. The saints and sages of Bhārata-varṣa, as India has long been known, never tried to cultivate or satisfy artificially the needs of the body and the mind exclusively; they always cultured the transcendental spirit soul, which is above the material body and mind. And even now, the saints and sages continue to do so, in spite of all difficulties. But it would be sheer stupidity if Indian people attempted to do good to others without first themselves attaining transcendental knowledge.

Now, if we want to acquire transcendental knowledge, our first duty will be to understand that the spirit soul is eternal truth. The external ingredients, the body and the mind which develop around the spirit soul, are all relative or partial truths. In the second chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, the Personality of Godhead explains this fact elaborately:

"The spirit soul which pervades this body is eternal, and thus one should understand that no one can destroy the eternal, ever-existing spirit soul. Although this material body is subject to annihilation, the proprietor of the body is eternal. Therefore, O scion of Bharata, knowing this eternal truth, you can go on with your fighting engagement.

The spirit encaged by this body and mind is eternal truth and indestructible. No one can destroy the eternal spirit.
Message of Godhead 1:

The kṣetrajña is the eternal spirit, whereas the kṣetra is matter, which is temporary and ephemeral. This eternal truth is summarized in the Vedas in the aphorism brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "Spirit is fact and the world is a false shadow." By "false shadow" one should understand that the world is temporary, existing only for the time being. But one should not make the mistake of thinking the world has no existence at all. I really possess my temporary material body and mind, and I must not make myself a laughing stock by denying the existence of my body and mind. At the same time, I must always remember that the body and mind are temporary arrangements. However, the spirit encaged by this body and mind is eternal truth and indestructible. No one can destroy the eternal spirit—that is what we need to understand at the present moment. The indestructible spirit is thus above the conception of violence and nonviolence.

This eternal truth, the indestructible spirit, does exist as the living entity in each and every body.
Message of Godhead 1:

Today, the whole world is mad after the culture of knowledge in relation to temporary arrangements for the gross material body and the subtle material mind. But more important than the body and mind is the spirit, which has been set aside without any proper culture of knowledge. As a result, the darkness of nescience has overshadowed the world and has brought about great unrest, disturbance, and distress. How long can one enjoy external happiness? It is like soaping the outer garments without putting any nourishment into the stomach.

But this eternal truth, the indestructible spirit, does exist as the living entity in each and every body. He is very minute and is finer than the finest atom. Learned experts have attempted to make a measurement of this living spirit. They say that the living spirit, the soul proper, can be measured approximately as one ten-thousandth part of the tip of a hair.

Lectures

Philosophy Discussions

Snow is white, water is liquid, stone is hard, chili is hot, sugar is sweet. These are eternal truths, fundamental truths. Similarly, a living entity is eternal servant of God. This is eternal truth. It cannot be changed.
Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

Śyāmasundara: Particles of lava dust gathered in the snow and in the air...

Prabhupāda: That is not pure snow. That is another thing. Pure snow is white. Just like water. Water, by nature, it is crystal. But when it comes in touch with the earth, it becomes muddy. So that muddiness is due to contact with something external. Snow is white by nature, but in contact with something else it looks red. But the truth that snow is white, that is truth. Not that snow becoming red... You are making, or by some other contact it is looking like that. But snow is white, that's a truth.

Śyāmasundara: But he says that there are two types of truth. There's innate truth...

Prabhupāda: This is innate truth: as three angles of a triangle are equal to 180 degrees, similarly snow is white. Snow is white, water is liquid, stone is hard, chili is hot, sugar is sweet. These are eternal truths, fundamental truths. Similarly, a living entity is eternal servant of God. This is eternal truth. It cannot be changed. Water is liquid. That is the natural position, but when water becomes hard, it is due to temperature, under certain conditions, but as soon as the temperature reduces, the water becomes liquid. So liquidity of water is truth. Similarly, whiteness of snow is truth. Similarly, servitude of the living entity is truth. But he is serving māyā. That is untruth. If we take that there are two types of truth, there cannot be two kinds of truth. Truth is one. What we take as truth, that is māyā.

Why? You say that redness of snow is possible under certain circumstances?
Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

Prabhupāda: This is reason, that truth is one. When we find another competitor truth, that is māyā. Truth cannot be two.

Śyāmasundara: This is what he says, that these innate truths are governed by the principle of contradiction. That is, the opposite of the truth is impossible to conceive. If something is true, the opposite of that truth is impossible to conceive.

Prabhupāda: The opposite is māyā. Opposite to truth is māyā.

Śyāmasundara: Just like the sum of the angles of a triangle must equal 180 degrees. It is impossible to conceive of the opposite.

Prabhupāda: Similarly, the other example that snow is white. To think of snow not white, that cannot be conceived.

Śyāmasundara: He says that "snow is white" is not one of these eternal truths; that it is possible to conceive that snow could be red.

Prabhupāda: Why? You say that redness of snow is possible under certain circumstances?

Śyāmasundara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: So that is possible in every case. Therefore the real feature of snow is not red. It appears to be red under certain conditions, but that is not truth; that is untruth.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

If you cannot describe the reality, then you have not received the reality.
Room Conversation with Biochemist, Dr. Sallaz -- June 4, 1974, Geneva:

Yogeśvara: He says it's a moral question. He already has his guru, and his guru has died. He's gone over to the other side, and he can't change gurus.

Prabhupāda: But there is no question of changing guru. If he is actually searching after the truth, then why he is denying the truth when it is delivered? (French)

Yogeśvara: He would have to be sure that it was the actual highest truth.

Dr. Sallaz: The real truth, eternal truth. Because you see...

Prabhupāda: That is... That we are... (French)

Yogeśvara: This is what the conclusion we came to yesterday with that other guest, that he says they have also find truths in China, they have also found truths in other scriptures.

Prabhupāda: So what is that truth? (French) (break) ...is that reality?

Yogeśvara: He says he himself, he doesn't have the words to describe it.

Prabhupāda: If you cannot describe the reality, then you have not received the reality. (French) (break) That means, as soon as you say you cannot describe, then you have no idea what is the reality.

So that you have to learn, how with this body you can utilize your energy to understand the Absolute Truth and reestablish your relationship with the Absolute Truth.
Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:

Professor Durckheim: Now may I put a question? Just I think there is one way to reconcile. This was given just now as a Christian view or of the other side, as far as the body is concerned, because I think there are three consciousness, conscience of body. The one looks only at health, the second one only of beauty, but the third one we are never talking about has to look to transparence of our body consciousness, to become transparent in a way that in our body and through our body we might look for the Absolute Truth.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Professor Durckheim: That this goes together. (German)

Prabhupāda: Yes. So the thing is that if my life is based on false conception that "I am this body," so the bodily appreciation of beauty or any other thing, that is also false. That is also false. If I am not this body, then anything conceived in relation with this body, that is false. (German)

Vedavyāsa: He says that usually we see the body in connection with beauty or health. But there is another possibility, to use the body as a transparent medium to conceive the Absolute Truth.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is explained here. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. That means with this body you should not waste your time like the birds and beasts but utilize it for inquiring about the Absolute Truth. That is reality. (German)

Dr. P. J. Saher: Not only to the Absolute Truth, but to communicate together. Think of the smiling of a child, its first communication between man. It's not only the body as instrument for the eternal truth but under, among us.

Prabhupāda: So that you have to learn, how with this body you can utilize your energy to understand the Absolute Truth and reestablish your relationship with the Absolute Truth.

Yes, that is real business. And we have created so many unnecessary, superfluous business. We have set aside the real business, to know the father. And that is the mistake of this civilization.
Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:

Prof. Pater Porsch: Can we not also say that self and not self must separate, either in death involuntarily, or through destiny.

Prabhupāda: Must separate, must separate.

Prof. Pater Porsch: Either through death or destiny.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is called death. You separate from this body; you accept another body. This period is called death. (German) So the body which you occupied previously, that is false now. Now the body which you have occupied now, that is important now. So you are giving stress on the body which I am changing after few years. That is the problem, misunderstanding.

Professor Durckheim: I think it would be important for us all to know what you would say to the question, "How to realize the last truth, and what do you mean by realize the eternal truth?"

Dr. P. J. Saher: (German) (break)

Vedavyāsa: He said that in the Bible it is said that our aim should be to know the father.

Dr. P. J. Saher: Not only the aim but the life consists in this, to know the father, God, by this... (indistinct)

Professor Durckheim: That is exactly what you say, that real life, real eternal life, means nothing but to recognize the father in the son.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is real business. And we have created so many unnecessary, superfluous business. We have set aside the real business, to know the father. And that is the mistake of this civilization.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

The authority will give. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is giving authority. The śāstra is giving authority.
Answers to a Questionnaire from Bhavan's Journal -- June 28, 1976, Vrndavana:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Would you like to hear another question, Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: It is said that while the śrutis embody the eternal truths of Hinduism, the smṛtis, which embody the rules of conduct need to be revised according to the dictates of the changing times.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Will such a stand be acceptable to all sections of Hindus, and if so, how can the new smṛtis come into being and who will give them sanction and sanctity?

Prabhupāda: The authority will give. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He is giving authority. The śāstra is giving authority. But in this age, Kali-yuga, it is full of faults, the ocean of faults. And Śukadeva Gosvāmī is giving direction,

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
hy asti eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet
(SB 12.3.51)

So although in this age there are so many faults, it is like the ocean of fault, but still there is one very great advantage, that simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one becomes purified. So this smṛti injunction we should take up, and actually we see all over the world how it is purifying all section of people. So take this, then śruti smṛti... Ah...

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Purāṇadi?

Prabhupāda: Yes, everything will be fulfilled. The easiest method. Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (SB 12.3.51).

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: So the śrutis are eternally...

Prabhupāda: Śruti, it is based on śruti. Śabdad anavrtti. In the Vedānta-sūtra. Simply by chanting, śabdat, brahma, śabda brahma. Śabdad anavṛtti, in the Vedānta-sūtra. By chanting the holy name of Lord, one can become liberated.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

The world situation is that you can speak truth if it is palatable. And if it is unpalatable, don't speak. But this thing cannot be maintained when you are preaching spiritual life. There we cannot cheat. Spiritual life must be declared very frankly.
Room Conversation with C.I.D. Chief -- January 3, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: So you expand it. A dog is thinking, "I am this body. I am bulldog," "I am greyhound." And man is also thinking, "I am American," "I am Indian." But they do not know their real identity, and they are fighting like dogs. And this is going on in the name of civilization. And when we put forward Bhagavad-gītā, the first lesson is that aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase: (BG 2.11) "Arjuna, you are talking like a very learned man, but you are lamenting about the body. But actually..." Gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ: "So far the body is con..., this is lump of matter. So whether it is dead or alive, nobody seriously think of it, no learned, paṇḍita." Of course, those who are fools, rascal, they can take it. But those who are actually learned, they do not talk about this body. So upon this statement just see the world situation. Everyone is busy on the concept of body. So what is the position of the world? Apaṇḍita, ignorance. And such people are going on as learned scholars, as politicians and leaders and so on. So how there can be peace? If you bring different types of dogs, greyhound and bulldog and Indian dog and bring them—the "United Dog Association" (laughter)—so will there be peace? That is the position. I declared in Melbourne in a public meeting that this United Nation is the unity of barking dog. I told. It was published in the paper. They also criticized me, "The Swami has come to hound." (laughter) But that is actually the fact. If you become impartial judge, not on behalf of CID or anyone, then you see the actual.

CID Chief: That is the truth, eternal truth. What you have said...

Prabhupāda: No, we are speaking about Kṛṣṇa. So if I say that Kṛṣṇa says like this and it is a fact, then what is our fault? But they are taking very serious, just like especially nowadays in Western country they are opposing that "This philosophy is a brainwash." So this is our position. Satyaṁ brūyāt priyaṁ brūyāt mā brūyāt satyam apriyam.(?) The world situation is that you can speak truth if it is palatable. And if it is unpalatable, don't speak. But this thing cannot be maintained when you are preaching spiritual life. There we cannot cheat. Spiritual life must be declared very frankly. Not that we have to declare; it is already declared. Kṛṣṇa says, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanam, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). The spirit soul is within this body. The body is different from the spirit soul, and as it is changing—the body is changing—similarly, after death, so-called death... Because spirit has no death, no birth. Na jāyate na mriyate vā. So this knowledge is the beginning of spiritual life. And if you are preaching, they are opposing us. India also opposing. This is our position. They take Bhagavad-gītā and they mislead them. And we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. That is our fault. So what we can do. Can you suggest?

CID Chief: (laughs) I am a layman. What...?

Prabhupāda: No... You should be very kind upon... And what we can do? And if I cheat in the name of Bhagavad-gītā, then I become a great leader.

Correspondence

1969 Correspondence

It is estimated from authoritative sources of Vedic literature that Bhagavad-gita is eternal truth and was first revealed within our knowledge at least 120 millions of years ago. So what other literature can be compared with Bhagavad-gita throughout the whole world or universe?
Letter to Arundhati -- Tittenhurst 2 November, 1969:

Regarding your working hours, if you can work more, of course that is very good. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that we should be engaged in Krishna's service always, without any gap. So we should mold our life in such a way that not a minute will be blank without Krishna's service. Regarding your first question, the proof of Krishna Consciousness is that the Bhagavad-gita it is oldest transcendental literature about God-consciousness in the history of the world. It is estimated from authoritative sources of Vedic literature that Bhagavad-gita is eternal truth and was first revealed within our knowledge at least 120 millions of years ago. So what other literature can be compared with Bhagavad-gita throughout the whole world or universe? The second proof is that Krishna is accepted as the Supreme Personality, not only in the modern age, namely within two thousand years, by great acaryas like Sankaracarya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Lord Caitanya, etc., but before this in all Vedic literatures given by Vyasadeva, Krishna is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So whatever is spoken by the Supreme Lord Himself is certainly the most authoritative. So far as we are concerned, we do not make any alterations in the statements of Krishna. Therefore we are also authority. Just like 2 plus 2 equals four is mathematical truth. Anyone who accepts this axiomatic truth and works on this principle is also authority. To become authority is simply to follow the authority. If someone makes 2 plus 2 equal to 3 or 5, he is a rascal. That means he does not follow the authority and thus he fails to become himself an authority.

1975 Correspondence

So at the present moment, we are thinking let us serve this "ism" or that "ism" or so on, but actually we should serve God and then everything will be taken care of. This is not some sectarian faith but it is eternal truth.
Letter to Mr. A. D. Nyamiaka -- Bombay 10 November, 1975:

I had requested Jnana das for you to come and see me in Nairobi and he said you were to come, but unfortunately I did not meet you. Anyway I am glad that you are appreciating this Krsna consciousness movement which is meant for the welfare of all living entities in the universe. Our philosophy is that there cannot be happiness or peace unless everyone serves the Supreme Lord. Just like the body cannot be nourished unless food is supplied to the stomach. When the food is supplied to the stomach, then the entire body becomes nourished very nicely. But if I foolishly think let me put the food not in the mouth hole but in the ear hole or the eye hole, then that is simply foolishness and there will be no good result. So at the present moment, we are thinking let us serve this "ism" or that "ism" or so on, but actually we should serve God and then everything will be taken care of. This is not some sectarian faith but it is eternal truth. I am glad that you are reading Bhagavad-gita. Try to do this regularly. Chapter 2 is very important because it explains that we are not this body, that we are spirit soul, part and parcel of God. One has to have this preliminary understanding if he is to advance in spiritual life.

Page Title:Eternal truth
Compiler:Sharmila, Visnu Murti
Created:08 of Dec, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=5, CC=1, OB=5, Lec=2, Con=5, Let=2
No. of Quotes:20