One may not have faith, or one may have faith, but it must be accepted. For example, just on the street we see, "Keep to the right." This is the law given by the state. So you may believe it or not believe it; you have to carry out. So it cannot be changed in any circumstance. Therefore dharma does not mean a faith. It is compulsory. So the compulsory law is that God is great, and we are subordinate or servant of God. You may believe or not believe; the God's law will apply upon you forcibly. Exactly like the state law, you may have faith or no faith; you must accept it. Otherwise it will be forcibly imposed upon you. So dharma, as it is explained in English dictionary, "a kind of faith," that is not proper meaning. Dharma means that you are obliged to obey the laws given by God. Just like our material condition, birth, death, old age and disease. So one may say that "I do not believe in death. That is false." You may believe or not believe; you have to die.
Exactly like (Lectures, SB)
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for educating people how to think of God constantly. And if we practice like that, then, after giving up this body, we are going to get a body which is exactly like God. This body is called sac-cid-ānanda. Sat means eternal, cit means full of knowledge, and ānanda means full of bliss. This body, this material body, is just the opposite number. It is neither eternal, neither full of knowledge, neither full of bliss. And if we develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness or God consciousness, then next body we shall get a body... (end)
The comparison is therefore with the forest fire. Forest fire takes place without anyone's attempt. Simply by collision of two dry wood, there is friction, electricity is produced, and the dry leaf immediately catch hold of the electricity and it becomes fire. So this material world, everyone is trying to be peaceful, happy, tranquil. No. There must be fire. Exactly like that. The fire brigade is always ready because they know that at any moment there will be fire.
Therefore they are kept in ignorance, and the world is suffering therefore. They do not know what is the goal of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). They are trying to adjust things by illusory energy. That's all. Therefore, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ. It is exactly like the, a blind man is trying to lead other blind men. This is going on.
Therefore this is the process, yad-anudhyāsinā, you have to take one knife. This is knife. What is that? Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23). This is knife. If you want to get rid of this entanglement of material existence, one body after another, then this is the only instrument by which you can unknot the knot and come out of the entanglement. Chindanti. This very word is used, chindanti: "It cuts." Chindanti kovidās tasya. Kovida means very intelligent person.
So for our present understanding, subordinate means a servant. But don't carry out the idea of servant in relation to God. Here nobody wants to be servant. Everyone wants to be master. Because to become servant is very, not very, mean, a palatable thing. So but to become a servant of God is not exactly like this. Sometimes servant of God becomes the master of God. The real position of the living entity is a servant of God, but in Bhagavad-gītā we see that the master, Kṛṣṇa, has become the servant of Arjuna. Arjuna is sitting on the chariot, and Kṛṣṇa has accepted his drivership. Is not the servant of the owner of the chariot? So in spiritual relation we should not carry out the conception of this material relationship. Although the relationship are there. The whole relationship, as we have got experience in this world, the same relationship are there in the spiritual world. But that relationship is not contaminated with matter.
There is no difference. But if you ras..., play rascaldom, "This word means this, this word means that, this word means..." This is rascaldom. If you play rascaldom, then you'll remain a rascal. You'll not improve. But if you hear exactly like Arjuna...
As Arjuna said, sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye (BG 10.14), "My dear Kṛṣṇa, whatever You are saying, that is all right, in toto. I don't misinterpret." Param, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). This is understanding of... You understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is in devotion, bhakto 'si. Kṛṣṇa instructed Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna. He said that this Bhagavad-gītā, this yoga system is now lost.
This is the creation. So just imagine that what is God's creation, how He attains every universe continually. His līlā is going on. As soon as in one universe the Kṛṣṇa's birth, appearance, is finished, immediately in another universe His birth takes place. This is called nitya-līlā. Exactly like... The same example: as soon as six-thirty, morning, finished here in India, immediately the six-thirty of the sunrise in some other place. Six-thirty another place. another... The six thirty is going on. It is very easy to understand. The six-thirty or seven-thirty or eight, nine, whatever you take, that is going on. That is called nitya-līlā. Kṛṣṇa's līlā is going on. So just imagine how many universes are there.
"Why this material world is created?" That is created for us. Because Kṛṣṇa knows that some of them, they want to enjoy this material world, to give them facility everything is arranged there. This is a, a replica of the spiritual world, but it is temporary, exactly like the Kumbha Mela camp is temporary. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). A chance is given to the living entities to enjoy to their satisfaction, and the Vedic instruction is there so that they may follow and again come back home, back to home, back to Godhead. This is the whole arrangement.
So guṇeṣu guṇavān iva. Now, the Supersoul does not become affected by the material qualities, but the individual souls, they are affected by the material qualities. Sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. But the Supersoul is above these guṇas always.
Now another point is that this creation is, because it is material creation, it does not exist forever. It is..., come into existence, and again it will be finished, annihilated. Exactly like our body. As this body, we have got this body on certain date, and it has got to be annihilated at a certain date, similarly, this gigantic cosmology, material manifestation, it has a date of creation, and it, it stays for some time... Everything material, there are six changes. First of all, birth; then staying for some time; then growing; then producing some by-products; and then dwindling; and then finish. Exactly like our body. Just like this body is born at a certain date, then it grows, it stays, it produces some by-product. From this body, many children come out-by-product. Then it becomes old, declining. And then one day, finished. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six changes. Six changes.
So actually the modern men, without being properly civilized, without being properly educated, they are exactly like dogs, hogs, camels and asses. We take it like that, they are no better than. So what is the votes of them? What will they choose? They will choose another big camel or big cat or big dog, that's all, because he doesn't know. If you are human being, you know who is another human being. But if you are dog, camel and ass, how can you understand who is a human being? Therefore people sometimes misunderstand us, just like the dog comes: bow, wow, wow, wow. Similarly, the society of dogs, they also come, making their chase upon these Kṛṣṇa conscious people. They take away from the street. They do not know that they are the best persons in the world. They are disseminating the message of God, making people men of character. No illicit sex, no gambling, that is character. They are becoming saintly person, always chanting. But they have no respect.
So this is very important verse. Form and formless. When we speak of formless, we speak that God or even living entity, all of us, we have no material form. Just like we have got this form, but this form is temporary and it will never come again. As soon as this form is finished, I will have to take another form. That form may not be exactly like this. So this is the formula for everyone. But for Kṛṣṇa, He has no material form. He has got spiritual form. Therefore His form is eternal. We do not remember our past lives, incidences, because the form has changed. But Kṛṣṇa remembers because His form does not change. The evidence is the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says... When He was questioned by Arjuna, "How can I believe that You spoke this philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā 400,000,000's of years ago to the sun-god?" So Kṛṣṇa says that "Yes, you were also present there, because you are My constant companion. But you have forgotten; I remember."
God is floating gigantic planets like sun, moon, in the space. You cannot do that. You can float a small sputnik.
So you have got the creative power, God has got the creative power. But God's creative power cannot be compared with your creative power. You have got the creative power, but not exactly like God. This is the conclusion. You cannot become God. You can imitate or you can do something very little. Just like little children, they play with little toys. Similarly, you can play with little toys and advertise yourself great scientist. That's all. But you are nothing. You are nothing. This is to be realized. This is called bhakti-yoga. The rascals are puffed up, "I am God." Foolishly. How you can be God? You may have some qualities, very minute quality of God, but you cannot claim that you are God. The same example. The small spark of fire is also fire. Nobody... There is no doubt. A small particle of gold is gold, but it cannot be compared with the gold mine. That is not possible.
The coat is dead. But because the man is there who is putting on the coat, therefore the coat is moving, the pant is moving, the shoe is moving, the hat is moving. Similarly, this body is dead. It is numbered: this dead body will remain for such and such time. That is called duration of life. But people are interested with this dead body exactly like the cobbler class or these decorating men. So decoration of the dead body. Aprāṇasyeva... Aprāṇasya means dead. Aprāṇasyeva maṇḍanaṁ loka-rañjanam. Loka-rañjanam: "It is very pleasing to the relatives." That's all. Similarly, to get liberation, nirañjanam-nirañjanam means to get out of this so-called decoration of the dead body—one requires to acquire knowledge.
Actually, the whole Mahābhārata is full of activities of Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa is only a scene in the Mahābhārata. He's speaking in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. So Nārada Muni says, "That sort of description will not be very much congenial, because the people are not steady. Their anxiety... Their mind is disturbed in so many ways exactly like a boat moving in the tossing of the waves of the sea. So this sort of understanding of God will not give them much benefit. You describe completely on the pastimes, on the activities of the Supreme Lord. That will give people release from these material clutches."
So any way, if we try to associate, simply by chanting or hearing, that means we are associating with Kṛṣṇa. And the more we associate with Kṛṣṇa, the more we become purified. Just like more you remain with the fire, you become warmer, warmer, warmer. And one day you become so warm you exactly like fire. The example I have given that if you put an iron rod in the fire, it becomes warm, warmer, warmest, and then it becomes red. And when it is red, it is no longer iron. It is fire. Similarly, simply by chanting and hearing you spiritualize yourself. So a day will come when this material body also will be fully spiritualized. The... That fully spiritualized means there will be no more material activities; simply these spiritual activities will be there.
And if you do not know—in ignorance—then go liquor shop, hotel, restaurant. So after all, we are part and parcel of God. God is fully independent, and we are minute part. The same example, that the spark is minute portion of the fire. It has got the burning capacity—not exactly like God, but it has got the godly power. There are so many examples. This morning I was discussing that you are living entity, part and parcel of God. You have created one aeroplane, 747, with five hundred passengers and many tons of loads of things, it is flying. So that is your creation. And God's creation is this planet. This is also running one thousand miles per hour, and so many big, big ocean, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and so many big, big mountains, it is also carrying. It is also floating in the air, and the 747 is also floating. That is your creation and this is God's creation. That is the difference.
"This is called microphone." And if he says correctly that "This is microphone," that statement is correct, although he may be a child, a fool. Similarly, ācāryavān puruṣo veda. Anyone who is following ācārya, whatever he says it is correct. Because he does not manufacture. He says what he has heard from the ācāryas exactly like the child, what he has heard from his father, from the superior, he speaks.
This is called sammohita, bewildered. If you are running on a car, if you think, "I am the car," as it is foolishness, similarly, I have got this yantra, machine, body, and it is running on on account of my presence, or I am driving, or Kṛṣṇa is giving me intelligence how to drive, but if I identify myself with this body, exactly like a foolish man—he is driving the car, and if he identifies himself with the car, he is a foolish man—so this is called sammohita. Yayā sammohito jīva. Therefore the example, as I was citing last night, that we do not see the driver, and when the driver goes away, then we see that the car is not moving, and then I can understand, "Oh, the driver, my father, or my son, has gone away." We sometimes cry, "My father has gone away," or "My son has gone away," but because we are sammohita, we actually never saw the father or the son. We accepted this coat-pant body as father and son. This is called sammoha, bewildered.
Tat te 'nukampām. And he rather thanks Kṛṣṇa, that "I had to suffer many more times, but You have minimized it, giving me little suffering. So it is Your mercy." And if anyone lives on that attitude, everything taken as Kṛṣṇa's mercy, then he is guaranteed to go back home, back to Godhead. Mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk. Dāya-bhāk means his going back to home, back to Godhead, is exactly like the inheritance of property by the son. Mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk. So we should learn from the Pāṇḍavas that Kṛṣṇa was always present with them, still they had to suffer so much material tribulations. So they were never unhappy, neither they requested Kṛṣṇa that "My dear friend Kṛṣṇa, You were always with us. Still we had to suffer." Never expressed that. That is pure devotion. Never try to take any benefit from Kṛṣṇa. Simply try to give benefit to Kṛṣṇa. Do not take any benefit from Kṛṣṇa. This is pure devotion.
"Now we want a son like You." So Kṛṣṇa said, "There is no second one beyond Me, so I shall become your son." So He became son. So He must play perfectly, that Yaśodāmāyi may not understand that "Here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Then the feelings of mother and son will disappear. Kṛṣṇa is playing exactly like a little child. So that is Kṛṣṇa's mercy. This is Kṛṣṇa's mercy. Similarly, to us. We are not so elevated like Nanda Mahārāja or Yaśodā Mahārāja (māyi). We're just beginners. So we do not know what is Kṛṣṇa. We cannot see Kṛṣṇa, either His virāḍ-mūrti or this mūrti. So what we can see? We can see stone, wood, or material things. So when Kṛṣṇa appears to be seen by you and He appears like a stone statue, He's not stone statue. Don't think. Therefore we must learn how to see Kṛṣṇa. So we should not think that "Here is a stone statue." As soon as we think of stone statue, then our, this feeling, bhāva, will be lost. So the answer is that if we establish some temple and Deity and take it as a means of livelihood... (break)
The karmīs, they have got dirty things, sense enjoyment. The jñānīs, they have got also dirty things. One may say that "Mukti is dirty thing?" Yes. According to Vaiṣṇava calculation it is dirty thing, because Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he said, kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. Kaivalyam means to become one with the Supreme, mukti. He said, "It is exactly like hell." Kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tri-daśa-pūrākāśa-puṣpāyate. "And these heavenly planets," the domain or the objective of the karmīs, "that is like flower in the sky." And durdāntendriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate.
So He's always finding out the opportunity how you can be taken back home, back to Godhead. Just like affectionate father. Rascal son left his father, loitering in the street and have no shelter, no food, suffering so much. The father is more anxious to take the boy home. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father. All these living entities within this material world, they're exactly like the misled child of a big, rich man, loitering in the street. Therefore the greatest benefit to the human society is to give him Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Greatest... You cannot give any benefit; any kind of material profit will not satisfy the living entity. If he's given this Kṛṣṇa consciousness... Just like the same process. A bewildered boy is loitering in the street. If he's reminded, "My dear boy, why you are suffering so much? You are the son of such and such very rich man. Your father has got so much property. Why you are loitering in the street?" And if he comes to his consciousness: "Yes, I am the son of such and such big man. Why shall I loiter in the street?" He goes back home. Yad gatvā na nivartante (BG 15.6).
So these things are to be understood. Kṛṣṇa is para. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ (BG 8.20). In the Bhagavad-gītā we get this information. There is another nature exactly like this. But these so-called scientists, they are so ignorant, they cannot estimate that there is another nature, there are spiritual planets... This... They do not know even how many planets are there, how they are situated, how they are inhabited. They think simply this planet is full of living entities; in other planets, there is no living entity. But that is not the fact. Every planet, every planet is full with living entities. Even in the sun planet, moon planet. So this is a subject matter we have discussed many times. So Kuntī has already pointed out that Kṛṣṇa is īśvara and He's beyond the jurisdiction of this material world. That Kṛṣṇa, when He comes here... Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7). He comes.
So these are very high-grade spiritual understanding in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is not fiction or imagination, concoction. They are facts. They are facts. And every devotee can have such privileges if he is actually advanced. If you...
Don't think that the privilege which was given to Mother Yaśodā... If not exactly like that, everyone can have that privilege. If you love Kṛṣṇa as your child, then you'll have such privilege. Because the mother has got... Because mother loves the most. Nobody... In this material world, there is no comparison of mother's love. Without any exchange. Even in this material world. Mother loves the child without any expectation of return, generally. Although in this material world it is so polluted, still sometimes mother thinks: "The child will be grown up. He will be big man. He will earn money, and I shall get it." There is still some feelings of exchange. But while loving Kṛṣṇa, there is no such feeling of exchange. That is called unalloyed love.
Now, vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate. I was going to come to this point. Vidhi-mahendrādiś ca kīṭāyate. Vidhi means Brahmā, and mahendra means the king of heaven, Indradeva. Such, such, big, big men, what to speak of these Churchill or Subhash Bose or... These big, big, they're kīṭāyate. Kīṭāyate means a devotee thinks this Brahmā and Indra exactly like these insect. That is the conception. So that is actually the fact. Everyone... It is the relative world. Relatively, it looks very gorgeous, but the actually... Just like proportionate. You put five upon ten, and five millions upon ten millions. The ratio is the same, half. Similarly, these big, big men, these big, big politicians, they are struggling exactly like the insect. The whole life, they struggle. And in the morning, at a certain time, they're heap, heaps of dead body. That's all. We have seen it in Calcutta.
The conclusion: na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). So after the annihilation of this body the soul does not die. He accepts another body. This is our disease. This is called bhava-roga. Bhava-roga means material disease. So Kṛṣṇa, being the Supreme Living Entity, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13) Kṛṣṇa is exactly like us. Or we are imitation of Kṛṣṇa. The difference is Kṛṣṇa is vibhu, unlimited, and we are aṇu, we are limited. That is the difference. Otherwise, qualitatively, we are as good as Kṛṣṇa. Therefore whatever propensities Kṛṣṇa has, we have got all these propensities. Kṛṣṇa has the propensity to love the other sex. Therefore we have got this propensity, to love the other sex. The beginning of love is there in Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, eternal love between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. So we are also seeking eternal love, but because we are conditioned by the material laws, it is interrupted. It is interrupted.
Then of course we can say that Kṛṣṇa is taking birth. Yes Kṛṣṇa takes birth but His birth is not like ours. That we should know. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). Kṛṣṇa is taking birth as the son of Devakī or Mother Yaśodā, but He's not taking birth exactly like us. That is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. When Kṛṣṇa appeared, He did not come out or did not come out from the womb of Devakī. He first of all appeared. You have seen the picture. And then He became a small child on the lap.
"Simply big name and big form, it has no value." Bhavataḥ adarśanam. Because Kṛṣṇa was taking farewell, parting. So regretting, Kuntī regretted that "You'll go. So we cannot see You. Then if we cannot see You, then what is the value of our name, fame?" This is... She's lamenting. Bhavataḥ a... yarhi hṛṣīkāṇām iva īśituḥ. It is exactly like the senses. Now we are after sense enjoyment. This material world means sense enjoyment. But without Kṛṣṇa or without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no possibility of sense enjoyment. The senses are there. You have got big hands, big legs, and everything big, big. But when there is no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even you cannot utilize these. Hṛṣīkāṇām. Hṛṣīka means senses. Therefore intelligent person, he knows that "My senses without Kṛṣṇa has no value." That is devotee. "Therefore so long my senses are active, it may be used for Kṛṣṇa." That is bhakti. Right conclusion. Because without Kṛṣṇa, these senses have no value. Therefore there is some intimate relationship with my senses and Kṛṣṇa.
So just like the waves of the river carry so many straws scattered here and there, and sometimes by whirlwind, all the straws meet together in the water, so our meeting—"I am the father. You are the son. She is the wife. He is the grandson," or "He is father," or "She is..."—in this way, our mixing up in a group of family is exactly like the assembly of some straws in the waves of the river. It has no meaning. Just like the straws, they gather together by the movement of the waves, and again, by the movements of waves, the straws are scattered here and there, here and there, here and... Nowadays it is very practical. Just like I am an Indian. I have my family. You are European, you are American. You have got family. But now where we are from, the family, we scattered. This is practical. We have no more any connection with our father, mother or children. No. We are now gathered in another group, Kṛṣṇa conscious society.
So this is māyā. Janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). We gather exactly like the straws, and on account of māyā's influence, we become very much attached: "Oh, here is my son. Here is my wife. Here is my family. Here is my..." And this is the, what is called, entanglement. Our main business is in the human form of life how to get out of this material world. They do not know. They not only create family but also society, community, nation, In this way we are embarrassed. The so-called nationalism, socialism and communism—simply moha, moha, exactly the same way as the small, that insects, under some illusion, moha, they come to the light and sacrifice their life. I have told you many times. We have seen in 1947, partition days, Hindu-Muslim fighting. One party was Hindu, other party was Muslim.
Just like we were discussing in this beach morning about the spiritual world. Spiritual world is exactly like the material world, varieties. There is also house. There is also tree. There is also road. There is also chariot. There is... Everything is there—but without inebriety, without inebriety. There, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). For example, just like there is tree also. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa. But they, those trees are not like this tree. Suppose you, here, you want some fruit, say mango. You go to the mango tree, you taking mango, at the same time desire, "Why not little grapes?" But this mango tree cannot supply you grapes. But in the spiritual world you are eating mango, at the same time, if you desire grapes, the same tree will supply you.
So the king can rule over the country... Why country? The world, world over. If he takes shelter of Kṛṣṇa, Ajitā means Kṛṣṇa conscious, God conscious, such person, as they are advised in the śāstra, then they can rule over the any part of the world or the whole world exactly like Indra, the king of heaven. He is ruling over perfectly. Paridhyupāntām anujānuvartitaḥ. So in this way Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira... (reading:) "Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, after being enlightened by what was spoken by Bhīṣmadeva and Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the infallible, engaged himself in matters of perfect knowledge because all his misgivings were eradicated. Thus he ruled over the earth and seas and was followed by his younger brothers."
Tattva-vit, those who are in knowledge of the tattva or the Absolute Truth, they know that ultimately the Absolute Truth is manifested as a person like you, like me. Not exactly like you, like me, but so far personality is concerned, individuality is concerned, He is like us. In the Bible it is said, "Man is made after God." Because God is person, therefore we are person. Otherwise, where from our personality comes? God is the origin of everything. Therefore He is the origin of personality, individuality, otherwise how we are persons? How we are individuals? Wherefrom we get this personality, individuality?
Pradyumna: Translation: "I have the very same Gāṇḍīva bow, the same arrows, the same chariot drawn by the same horses, and I use them as the same Arjuna to whom all the kings offered their due respects. But in the absence of Lord Kṛṣṇa, all of them, at a moment's notice, have become null and void. It is exactly like offering clarified butter on ashes, accumulating money with a magic wand or sowing seeds on barren land." (SB 1.15.21)
Prabhupāda: Very important verse, hm? Tad abhūd asad īśa-riktam. Everything will be null and void when there is no God. That's all. The modern civilization has got everything, but without God consciousness, any moment it will be finished. And there are symptoms... Any moment. At the present moment, this godless civilization, as soon as there is declaration of war, the America is prepared to drop atom bomb, Russia is... The first nation who will drop the atom bomb, he will be victorious.
We have got everyone experience. Similarly, in this material world everyone of us we have gathered together like the straws. Actually we are under the waves of the material nature. So, when we gather together, we make a community that "We are Americans," that "We are Indians," that "We are this," "We are that," "We are family..." That is exactly like that. By chance we meet together; again, by the waves of the nature, we are separated. No more son, no more country, no more... Everything's finished. This is going on. But so long we've gathered together, we take it very seriously. We forget that at any moment we'll be kicked out of this gathering. That is ignorance. They do not try to understand what is our real position.
Just like something, a horse, is passing before your eyes. You see the horse is passing through your windows, and then you do not see the horse. Does that mean the horse is finished? No. The horse is running. But when it comes before your window, you see. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa's līlā, pastime, is going on. And when He appears here... Exactly like the sun. The sun is always present, but the planet is rotating. So when it comes before your eyes, you see the sun. But if you do not see the sun, it does not mean sun is finished, as formerly they used to think like that "The sun is dead."
So if you become perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness... Perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness means no more material desire. That's all. Only Kṛṣṇa. That is perfection. So long you will have a pinch of material desire, you will have to take birth.
Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). "Because God comes as human being with two hands, two legs, one head, therefore He is one of the, one of..." No. It is miscalculation. Just like in the hospital, there are so many patients lying down on the bed, and when the doctor comes, if the patient thinks, "Now he is also patient," how is that? He is not patient. He has come to treat patient. Similarly, God may come like us. Because otherwise he will not accept. If He something... God never incarnates with four-handed viṣṇu-mūrti. This will be something extraordinary. So He comes like exactly like us, but He is not one of us. That is God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So if the government is by the people, yes, you select your representative. If you are a fool, then you will select another fool. So Bhāgavata says, śva-viḍ-varāha uṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. Anyone who is not a devotee, Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee of God, then he may be in a exalted post, but he is praised by some people who are exactly like śva. Śva means dog, and viḍ-varāha means pigs who eat stool. Śva-viḍ-varāha. Viḍ-varāha. And uṣṭra, uṣṭra means camel. And uṣṭra-kharaiḥ. Khara means ass. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ (SB 2.3.19). If a person who is not a devotee, he is praised or he is exalted, then the praisers, the persons who is praising him, he must be among these animals: dog, camel, pig and ass.
So the whole population is like that, like dog, like camel, like ass and like viḍ-varāha, pig, the stool-eater, the whole population, at the present moment.
Because this is a... Kuru dynasty is the paramparā system of emperors, all-perfect. So whether this child will be like that?" That was his inquiry, first. So all the brāhmaṇas replied, "Yes, sir, this is just quite fit, your family." Therefore it is said here that susamaṁ guṇaiḥ: "By quality, exactly like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira."
So unless one is qualified, highly qualified, how he can be installed as the head of the executive of the state or the world? And this has been given charge to a third-class voters who have no character. So how you can expect the elected persons to be perfect? That is not possible. This is not the system. This is the system.
God has given us freedom, little freedom. Just like a child is given freedom. Naturally, out of affection, mother, father, gives freedom. But not complete freedom. Because child's freedom is nonsense. It must be protected. Therefore all the living entities who have come to this material world for enjoying, it is also exactly like the child. A small child, you let him be free—he will catch up sometimes this, catch up sometimes that. He does not know what is his real interest. But because he is child, he is catching this, catching that, catching that. Sometimes he catches fire and burns his hand. Sometimes he falls down in the water. Sometimes he catches snake. These are all dangerous things, but he does not know.
So similarly, we are in the modes of material nature.
Sometimes he falls down in the water. Sometimes he catches snake. These are all dangerous things, but he does not know.
So similarly, we are in the modes of material nature. There are three modes of material nature: sattva-rajas-tamaḥ. Those who are in darkness, tamaḥ, completely in darkness, do not know anything. Exactly like the child does not know what is his actual interest. Know to..., not. Generally, everyone who is in this material world, he does not know what is actually, what thing he should capture. He does not know. That is the difficulty. Mūḍha. They are therefore mūḍha. Real interest is to capture Kṛṣṇa. That is real interest. But he does not know. The capturing power and capacity is there. Even a child... In the beginning, the children, there are so many other things. But the child will capture that biscuit, because he knows it is eatable something. But he does not whether it is poison I am giving. He does not know that.
"Whether you know God?" "No, sir." "Then you are rascal." That's all. No more test. One test is sufficient: "Whether you know God?" Because this human life is meant for knowing God. This temple is meant for human being, not for the cats and dogs. So if you (do not) know God, then you are a rascal. You are exactly like the cats and dogs. That's all. This is the verdict. Now you can fight. "Why you are calling me cats and dogs?" But this is the... We are talking, following Kṛṣṇa, the great authority. But what Kṛṣṇa says, that is right. If you scrutinize by your logic, argument, philosophy, science, you will find that Kṛṣṇa is perfectly right. Therefore we accept Kṛṣṇa.
The law will say, "You are rascal. You are thief. You must be punished." So these so-called educated scientists, philosophers, what they are doing? They are simply doing mischief. Therefore they are duṣkṛtina. Duṣkṛtina. Mūḍha. Mūḍha means rascal. Ass. Because nobody knows what is the aim of life. They're exactly like the ass. He does not know what is his interest. Unnecessarily he is carrying three tons of cloth of the washerman. Therefore he is called ass. His gain is a little morsel of grass. He can get grass anywhere. Still, he is thinking, "I am obliged to this washerman. Because he is supplying me grass, therefore I must have three tons of cloth on my back." This is ass. This is ass. He has no interest. Not a single cloth belongs to him, and he is carrying, oh, three tons of cloth. Therefore the ass. Ass means one who does not do know his interest, and he works unnecessarily and wastes his time.
And how much qualified he must be. Because a king is supposed to be the representative of God to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness of the people. That is king's duty. Therefore he's called nṛdeva. Anyone who is trying for Kṛṣṇa, to make people Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is a representative of Kṛṣṇa, real representative. Therefore guru is offered the respect exactly like Kṛṣṇa. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata **. Because he is kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya, he's the..., doing the most confidential service, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wants everyone to surrender to Him, and the spiritual master is doing the same: "Please surrender to Kṛṣṇa." Therefore he's the most confidential servant of Kṛṣṇa. He should be honored as Kṛṣṇa. That is the duty of the king also. Everyone should come forward. The father, the mother, the king, the spiritual master.
I want to know." That was the question. Because that Bhārata dynasty, they were rulers of the world, emperors and great devotees at the same time. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). They were not emperors and kings, simply tax collector. No. They were rājarṣayaḥ, rājarṣi. Rājarṣi means royal majesty. But in their behavior, they exactly like great saintly persons. Rāja and ṛṣi. That is called rājarṣi. Rāja means royal king and ṛṣi means saintly person.
"I am white," "I am black," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am śūdra," this way—"I am this body." Ātmavit means "I am the self; I am the soul." Bhāgavata... This is the Vedic word. If one understands that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul," he is called ātmavit, or he is liberated. He is not bodily conscious platform. There are three platforms of identification with self. Those who are grossly in ignorance, exactly like animals... Just like a dog. A dog thinks that he is the body. He cannot think that he is not the body, he is the soul. That is not possible. Because he is born in such a body, he is entrapped in such a body, animal body, they cannot think that the animal, the cat and dog, is different from the body. But at the present moment, so many big, big scholars and professors and educationists, they are also the same category as the dog.
So there are two energies, exactly like heat and light. One, the spiritual energy, and the other is material energy. The material energy is inferior energy and the spiritual energy is the superior energy. What is the spiritual energy? Jīva-bhūta, these living entities. The living entity is superior because it is controlling the inferior energy, matter. These are very scientific. It is not sentiment. Everything Kṛṣṇa consciousness is scientific. Simply one requires the brain to understand. Then, when he understands, he will see Kṛṣṇa in everything. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta: sthāvara-jaṅgama dekhe nā dekhe tāra mūrti (CC Madhya 8.274). When a devotee, advanced devotee, sees something, he does not see the formation of that thing. He sees the energy. A highly advanced devotee will not see the stone.
Ghostly haunted, every one of us. This māyā-grasta, one who is under the influence of this material energy, just like, exactly like a man who is ghostly haunted. Ghostly haunted. Perhaps some of you have seen a man ghostly haunted. He talks all nonsense. Similarly, the māyā-grasta jīva, those who are in this material-too much absorbed in the bodily concept of life, without any self-realization... Everyone is thinking like madman, that "These things will give me protection." Because he has become mad, pramatta. Pramatta. Teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanam. You are fighting with soldiers. That's all right. But if you know, "All my soldiers will die," then what is the use of your fighting? Or you take some means that your fighting will be victorious. No. They do not know. Teṣāṁ nidhanaṁ pramattaḥ, teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanaṁ paśyann api na paśyati. Seeing every moment,
Pradyumna: Translation: "One who wants a large stock of grains should worship Aditi. One who desires a worldly kingdom should worship Viśvadeva, and one who wants to be popular with the general mass of population should worship the Sādhya demigod."
Prabhupāda: So these are the problems. We have to cease (?). Exactly like that. Just like government departments. If you want to have this, you have to go to a particular department-building department, water department, so many... electric department... many departments. Tax department, income tax department, support tax department.
They don't want anything beyond Kṛṣṇa. That's all. They don't want to know anything except Kṛṣṇa. The advantage is that if you can know Kṛṣṇa, then you know everything. And if you get Kṛṣṇa, you get everything. Therefore this conclusion cannot be perceived by less intelligent class of men. Exactly like that. If one is intelligent, he goes to the river from the village, and he takes there bath. River water is never contaminated because constantly the wave is flowing. Suppose you contaminate a certain portion, but it does not stand, it flows down immediately.
Unless they are discussed by devotees, such literatures cannot be relished by the higher class of men. So the conclusion is that the Lord is not impersonal in the ultimate issue. He is the Supreme Person, and He has His different activities. He is the leader of all living entities, and He descends at His will and by His personal energy to reclaim the fallen souls. Thus He plays exactly like the social, political or religious leaders. Because such roles ultimately culminate in the discussion of topics of the Lord, all such preliminary topics are also transcendental. That is the way of spiritualizing the civic activities of human society. Men have inclinations for studying history and many other mundane literatures—stories, fiction, dramas, magazines, newspapers, etc.—so let them be dovetailed with the transcendental service of the Lord, and all of them will turn to the topics relished by all devotees.
Because we are given a particular cell. Either we are Americans or Indians or Chinese or Russian, we have been given this planet. Live—you cannot leave it by your will. Although there are millions and billions of planets, and although you have got machine to fly, but because we are conditioned, checked by the laws of nature or God, you cannot go. Exactly like the man who is put into certain cell, he cannot change at his will without the superior authority. So Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that don't try to change this cell, from this cell to that cell. That will not make you happy. If you think, if a prisoner thinks that "I am in this cell. Let me request the superintendent of the jail to change my cell and I'll be happy," that is a mistaken idea. One cannot be happy so long he is under the prison walls. One should become free. That should be the aim of our life. So we are trying to be happy by changing the cell, by this "ism" to that "ism," by capitalism to communism, from communism to this "ism," that "ism." That will not make us happy.
So you have seen Indian turban—very, very big, made of silk and jewels. Perhaps you can, you have seen the typical turban by the Indian Airways, a big turban. So what is the use of the turban? It is a great burden, you, if you do not bow down before the Lord. Similarly, if you don't engage your hand in the service of the Lord, it is exactly like the dead man's hand. If the dead man's hand, if it is decorated with nice, glittering, golden bangles, what is the beauty? There is no beauty. So we'll discuss tomorrow again. Thank you.
Just like a woman, if he's artificially trying to be man, as it is botheration, it is not possible. If a woman is dressed like a man, does it mean that he's man, she is man, or she can enjoy like man? No. False dress. Similarly, here, in this material world, we are falsely dressed with this material body and imitating Kṛṣṇa, enjoyer. Exactly like the woman dressed in male's dress wants to enjoy. That is not possible. Similarly, here, the living entity, either dressed in male dress or female dress... This outward body is dress. Somebody is dressed like a female, somebody is dressed like a male, but none of them are male. Both of them are originally female, prakṛti. Prakṛti means feminine gender. Prakṛti. In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find, aparā, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām: "This material energy, earth, water, fire, air, these are...they are also My energy," Kṛṣṇa says. "But they are inferior energy.
Either you see Kṛṣṇa form or Rāma form or Viṣṇu form or Nārāyaṇa form or Baladeva form, or His incarnation, Nṛsiṁha-deva form, Matsyāvatāra, Mīnāvatāra... So many. If we do not increase our anxiety or inclination to see one of the forms of Viṣṇu... Here it is specifically mentioned, Viṣṇu. Not others. Liṅgāni viṣṇor na nirīkṣato ye. If we do not see, then our eyes are exactly like the painted eyes on the plumes of the feathers, or plumes of the peacock. It looks very nice, but it has no value. No, it has no seeing power. So our, these eyes are also painted, because it is material. These eyes will remain when I shall give up this body, but it will have no more seeing power. The seeing power is gone when the spirit soul gives up this body. So in spite of the beautiful eyes, it is unable to see. Similarly, so long we have got this instrument... This is an instrument to work. Māyayā...
Actually there is no tiger. Similarly we have created this material world and activity. People are running, "Oh..., sonh, sonh, sonh, sonh, sonh, sonh, sonh," identifying that "Oh, I am the manager. I am the factory owner. I am this, I am that. We have got his politics. We have to defeat such competitors." All these things are created exactly like that, svapna-draṣṭur ivāñjasā, just like a man is creating his particular situation simply by dream. That's all.
All gone. So this situation, our contact with matter, is just like dream. Actually we are not fallen. Therefore, because we are not fallen, at any moment we can revive our Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As soon as we understand that, "I have nothing to do with. I am simply Kṛṣṇa's servant. Eternal servant. That's all," immediately he becomes liberated. Exactly like that: as soon as you... Sometimes we do that. When the fearful dreaming becomes too much intolerable, we break the dream. We break the dream when it becomes intolerable. Similarly, we can break this material connection at any moment as soon as we come to the point of Kṛṣṇa conscious. "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is my eternal master. I am His servant." That's all. This is the way. Actually we are not fallen. There cannot be any fallen.
Those who are thinking of becoming gopī, the maidservant of another gopī. That is our proposition. If I think that "I shall become Mother Yaśodā," that is also Māyāvāda. That is also Māyāvāda, exactly like that, if one thinks that "I shall become Kṛṣṇa." Our only proposition is how to be engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa. That is explained.
So if there is difficulty, we should discuss among ourselves and clear it, but there must be thorough discussion and understanding. And the president of the center, he should be able to answer the questions of other members. If he is unable, then he should ask the local general secretary. Then, at last, it should come to me, not that all the questions are going to me directly and "We are simply busy, vouchers and reports." So these things should be very carefully noted. The president means he must be very expert. He should be... Secretaries, they should be all expert in reading.
It is not nirviśeṣa, zero. The rascals, they do not know what is actually Vaikuṇṭha is or the kingdom of God. And they dismiss everything by declaring, "Zero, without any varieties." Nirviśeṣa śūnyavādi. They have no information; therefore, "zero." But actually that is not. Exactly like this sky, the Vaikuṇṭha sky is there. Like the planets here, there are also planets. As in the sky, outer space, here in this material world big, big...(break) So there also there are many big, big aeroplanes running on.
So nothing is different from here, but they are permanent, real. Here everything are temporary and false. This is the difference. Everything, there is also tree, there is also flower, there are also palaces, there are aeroplanes, there are chariots, men, women, but they are real, and here it is unreal.
The same example, the mirage. It appears exactly like water, but it is not water. It is false. But there is real water. We should not think that because it is false water, therefore there is no water. Water is illu... That is Māyāvādī theory. Because here... Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: Śaṅkarācārya, that "Only Brahman, impersonal Brahman, is fact, and everything, all varieties, they are mithyā." No. They have no full information of Brahman. When we get full information of Brahman, the Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa He is ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ (Bs. 5.37).
And I have read in the paper, when the Sputnik was carrying the Russian aeronautics, he was simply seeing down, "Where is Moscow?" (laughter) "Where is Moscow?" Because this impersonal traveling was very much agitating, he was finding out, "Where is Moscow?" So this kind of realization of the Absolute Truth will not stay, will have, will have to fall down. Exactly like that. The Russian aeronautics, without getting any shelter in the sky, he was simply hankering after Moscow. That my book, that Easy Journey to Other Planets... One gentleman, he became very much enthusiastic, that "Oh, we can go to the other planet?" And "Yes, you can go. Read this book." "Then I shall come back again?" "And why you shall come back again? You shall remain there." "No, no, no. I don't want that. I don't want that. I shall go and come back."
Everyone is engaged in hard labor simply for satisfaction of the senses. So they have become mad. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vi... And they are acting without any consideration of the effect. They do not consider whether it is sinful or not. They do not believe in the next life. They do not discriminate what is sinful, what is pious—nothing. Exactly like animals.
Kapiladeva is also Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa's incarnation and Kṛṣṇa, they are all the same. Svāṁśa, vibhinnāṁśa. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Kṛṣṇa has got ananta, unlimited forms, unlimited incarnations. It is said in the Bhāgavatam the incarnations are expanding or going on exactly like the waves in the sea or in the river. You cannot count. So many incarnations, and all of them are Kṛṣṇa. Therefore in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Just like Kṛṣṇa as arcā-vigraha, Deity worship in the temple... Now, in India there are many thousands of temples. Now outside of India we are increasing not many thousands, but many hundreds. So Kṛṣṇa is expanding. All these Kṛṣṇas, They are not different; They are one. Advaita. Kṛṣṇa in the Vaikuṇṭha and Kṛṣṇa in this temple, They are not different. Advaita. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta. Although ananta, They are not different. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ (Bs. 5.37).
Because we want to do it. We persist. Kṛṣṇa does not say that you do anything else than to "Surrender to Me." He says only these things, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam... (BG 18.66). But we want to do something else. But anything else, you cannot do without Kṛṣṇa's permission. Exactly like the child. The child persists to do something, but still wants to take permission from the mother: "Mother, I want this. I want to do this. I want to do this." Mother sometimes says, "No, no, you don't do this." But when he persists, "All right, you do it." It is like that. We are... Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15). Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. I wanted to do something, and Kṛṣṇa sanctions, and we do. But we do it at our own risk. Kṛṣṇa is not responsible. But without sanction of Kṛṣṇa you cannot do anything. That is a fact.
If an animal is informed that "There is liberation," what he will understand? He will not understand. It is not possible for him. Similarly, at the present moment, the human society has become exactly like animals. They do not know what is meaning of apavarga or liberation. They do not know. But time was there when people understood that this human life is meant for apavarga. Apavarga, to cease from the business of pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. That is called apavarga-vardhanam. So the questions made by Devahūti and the answers, which will be given by Kapiladeva, that is apavarga-vardhanam. That is wanted. This is the instruction of the whole Vedas. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. For apavarga everyone would try. Everyone should try his best. "And what about my maintenance?" To maintenance the śāstra never gives any stress, that "You try for maintenance." The śāstra says, "It will come. It is already there. It will come."
How much exalted he was, just we can imagine. And born in the royal family, very exalted position, great warrior. He said that "Kṛṣṇa, I cannot execute this yoga system. It is not possible." Cañcalaṁ hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa pramāthi balavad dṛḍham, tasyāhaṁ nigrahaṁ manye (BG 6.34). "My mind is so disturbed that to control the mind is exactly like that, to control the wind." Suppose there is very heavy wind, and if one tries to stop it by spreading his hand, is it possible? It is not possible. He has given this example. Pramāthi balavad dṛḍham. Mind is so uncontrollable, just like madman. Mind's business is like that. Immediately I am accepting something and again rejecting. Everyone has got this experience. Therefore he frankly said that "To control the mind is not possible for me. I cannot do so."
Just like sunshine is impersonal, but the sun-god is person. If sun-god is not person, how Kṛṣṇa says, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam: (BG 4.1) "This Bhagavad-gītā..." He says to Arjuna, that "This Bhagavad-gītā, science of Bhagavad-gītā, or this yoga system, bhakti-yoga system, I spoke to sun-god. Exactly like that, I am speaking to you."
So Arjuna is person, and Kṛṣṇa is person. Therefore the..., in the sun planet the predominating deity is a person. He is not imperson. So you cannot understand that person simply by seeing the sunshine. That requires better qualification, how to enter the sun planet, how to see the predominating deity.
Their body is so made. This is intelligent study. Otherwise, if you simply compare with my intelligence, my position, my circumstances, and we'll conclude all others like that, that is blindness. That is not... Blindness.
So similarly, impersonal realization of God, that is imperfect exactly like the understanding of the sunshine is not understanding of the sun globe and the sun-god. Everyone can understand. It is not very difficult. If you think that "Because I have seen sunshine, then I have seen everything. I have known everything of the sun..." No. You do not know even how big the sun globe is. And when you read books, when you read scientific books, you can understand it is fourteen hundred times bigger than this planet. So ultimately God is person.
Whatever I like, I shall do," this icchā, and dveṣa, "I don't like to carry out the orders of law," dveṣa—this is very nice example—the result is that he will be arrested, and he will be put into the jail.
So it is exactly like that. We are in this material world on account of this icchā and dveṣa. We wanted to satisfy the senses, material senses, independently. And we wanted to disobey the orders of the Supreme Lord. These are the two causes for which we are put into this material world. So we have to rectify this mentality, that "I am independent. I am God. I can do whatever we like." This mentality has to be rectified. For that rectification we are in this material world, and we are undergoing different types of miserable condition of life to become rectified so that we may come to the senses, that "I want to be happy. I want to enjoy life.
The moon is rising, the ocean is flowing, and the breeze is blowing. Everything is doing its own duty. Unless there is some superior brain, arrangement... This is common sense, because in the material world we have no direct connection with the Supreme Lord. But in the spiritual world there is direct connection. That is exactly like heat.
So either material world or spiritual world, they are two different energies of the Supreme Lord: parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktiḥ. They are śakti. Parasya. Just like here it is said, paraḥ pumān. Parasya. Parasya means beyond this material world. That is paraḥ. Śaṅkarācārya also, he admits, nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ avyaktāt: "Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, He is paraḥ.
Viyoga, vi-yoga, discontact, and contact. So we are now separated. Separated superficially . "What is God? I don't care for God. I am God, this, that." Therefore, yoga system is required to connect again your relation, reestablish. It is not broken. It is exactly like that: a boy is away from home for many, many years, so he is now separated or discontact. But immediately he can contact by remembering his father, mother, family, immediately. Immediately the relationship is revived. So yoga system means from time immemorial we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa, or God. This is our position. Kṛṣṇa bhuli' sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha (CC Madhya 20.117). Because we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa, anādi, before creation, therefore I am looking after external things for my happiness. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ.
Generally, human being. In other higher planetary system they are also like human being. Their features are exactly like us: two hands, two legs, one head, like that. But they are very pious. They are God conscious. Every, in every planet the living entities or human being, they are of different grades. Just like in this planet also, in some portion of this world there are savages, uncivilized persons, and in some portion of the world there are civilized persons, intelligent persons, God conscious persons, as there are different grades of persons in this planet, similarly, there are different grades of beings, living beings or human beings, in different other planets. The higher and lower grades are calculated in terms of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Consciousness is there everywhere, every living entity. Not only human being but also animals, the consciousness is there.
You cannot do unrestricted things. In the human society there are books of regulation—not for the animal society. The lawbook is meant for the human society, not for the animal society. So the human society becomes free, without observing any social conveniences or social custom or abiding by the laws—no, that is not human body. That is exactly like animal body.
So Ṛṣabhadeva says, "My dear boys, you should not spoil this body, human form of body, like the hogs." He has specifically mentioned the name of the hogs, viḍ-bhujām. Then what it is meant for? He said, tapo divyam (SB 5.5.1). This human form of life is meant for austerity, penance. You should voluntarily accept some regulative principles, even they are not very much liking to you. Just like our students.
You have seen the picture of Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā. We have got the picture, Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa had at that time great-grandsons, but you see His picture just like a boy, young boy, very nice. So the spirit is never old. Never old. Always young. You'll find, those who are studying the Vedic literatures, that in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas the inhabitants are always young, exactly like God. God is always young, fifteen to twenty years old, just like boy. So Ṛṣabhadeva says that "You are wanting happiness..." And happiness... Death does not mean happiness, disease does not mean happiness, birth does not mean happiness, old age does not mean happiness. So when you are happy? If you are subjected to birth, death, old age and disease, then where is your happiness? That is called illusion, māyā. Actual happiness is not there.
So here, it is suggested that in this human form of life, you have got two choices. Either you again go to hell or you go back to home, back to Godhead. Two choices, that in, by evolutionary process, you come to the human form of life after going through eight million forms of lower-grade life. Then you come to this human form of life, when your consciousness is developed. You are not exactly like animals. The animal propensities are there, but it is decent. Because you have got good, advanced consciousness. The animals eat; we also eat. But our eating process is more decent than the animals. We have got nice kitchen. We can prepare varieties of foodstuff by mixing so many eatables. Because we have got intelligence, we can do. The animals cannot do. So similarly, sleeping. There are animals. There are animals. They also sleep. We also sleep, but our apartment is very nice, we have got nice bed—in a improved way.
Regretting, lamenting, my Lord I got this human form of life. Unfortunately I have simply wasted. Why? Rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā. It is exactly like drinking poison knowingly. Sometimes we become poisonous unknowingly. Sometimes food poison or something poison. But if one takes poison knowingly, that means he's killing himself. He knows it. Similarly, in this human form of life, if we do not come to this understanding sahasā vipaścit, that without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I am simply taking poison, then his life is spoiled, gata-smṛtir vindati tatra tāpān. He will simply be put into miserable condition. That is the nature's way, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā dur... (BG 7.14).
Pradyumna: "My transcendental body, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), looks exactly like a human form, but it is not a material human body. It is inconceivable. I am not forced by nature to accept a particular type of body; I take on a body by My own sweet will. My heart is also spiritual, and I always think of the welfare of My devotees. Therefore within My heart can be found the process of devotional service, which is meant for the devotees. Far from My heart have I abandoned irreligion, or adharma, and nondevotional activities. They do not appeal to Me. Due to all these transcendental qualities, people generally pray to Me as Ṛṣabhādeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the best of all living entities."
Prabhupāda:
- idaṁ śarīraṁ mama durvibhāvyaṁ
- sattvaṁ hi me hṛdayaṁ yatra dharmaḥ
- pṛṣṭhe kṛto me yad adharma ārād
- ato hi māṁ ṛṣabhaṁ prāhur āryāḥ
- (SB 5.5.19)
So, God, whether impersonal or personal, that we cannot conclude by our speculation. It is not possible. Durvibhāvyam. Durvibhāvyam means beyond your conception, beyond your speculation. But He says that idaṁ śarīram. He has got His body;He is not impersonal. He comes sometimes as incarnation. We can see Kṛṣṇa with two hands, two legs, one head.
Pradyumna: "The true activity of the sense organs—mind, sight, words and all the knowledge-gathering and working senses—is to engage fully in My service. Unless his senses are thus engaged, a living entity cannot think of getting out of the great entanglement of material existence, which is exactly like Yamarāja's stringent rope."
Prabhupāda:
- mano-vaco-dṛk-karaṇehitasya
- sākṣāt-kṛtaṁ me paribarhaṇaṁ hi
- vinā pumān yena mahā-vimohāt
- kṛtānta-pāśān na vimoktum īśet
- (SB 5.5.27)
So the entanglement is made by the senses. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung that śarīra avidyā-jāl, joḍendriya tāhe kāl, jīve phele viṣaya-sāgore. This body is covering of ignorance, śarīra avidyā-jāl. Everyone has got a material body, and according to the different proportion of ignorance (aside:) This child is so crying. From three miles we can hear. Balanaṁ rodanaṁ balam. This is strength of the children, crying. They can disturb the whole world (laughter) simply by crying. So just see.
He said, "Durvāsā Muni, unless you beg pardon from Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, there is no question of excusing you. The sudarśana-cakra will not excuse." Therefore Vaiṣṇava aparādha is very, very offensive. You should be very careful. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has warned vaiṣṇava aparādha, hātī mata. Vaiṣṇava aparādha, offense at the feet of Vaiṣṇava, is exactly like mad elephant. If a mad elephant enters your garden, then he spoils everything. This has been given. Vaiṣṇava aparādha means hātī mātā. Mātā means mad, and hātī means elephant. So we should be very, very careful not to commit any offense at the feet of Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava does not take any offense. He does not care who is offender, but Kṛṣṇa takes care. Kṛṣṇa will never tolerate if a person is Vaiṣṇava aparādha. Mind that. Just like a big man. You can offend him, he doesn't mind. But if he does something harmful to his child, so he becomes very angry.
Pradyumna: "In this way Lord Ṛṣabhadeva followed the behavior of cows, deer and crows. Sometimes He moved or walked, and sometimes He sat down in one place. Sometimes He lay down, behaving exactly like cows, deer and crows. In that way, He ate, drank, passed stool and urine and cheated the people in this way."
Prabhupāda:
evaṁ go-mṛga-kāka-caryayā vrajaṁs tiṣṭhann āsīnaḥ śayānaḥ kāka-mṛga-go-caritaḥ pibati khādaty avamehati sma
A character, avadhūta, without any connection with human bodily activities, Ṛṣabhadeva remained lying down on the street just like animals. We see so many cows and birds and crows, they do not care for anything of this material world, but eating, sleeping, mating, that is there. As in the human society, so amongst the lower animals the same activities are there.
Just like if you have got some business with a very big man, when his representative comes, you treat him as the same person because he is authorized agent. That is natural. Just like in India during British days, the governor general, viceroy—his name was viceroy—so people treated him exactly like the king, viceroy, in place of the king. Although he was a servant, but still, the honor was given to him just like the king. His dress was like king. He was given honor like king. Wherever he would go, he was received like the king. But he is not king. He does not say that "I am king," but his honor is like the king. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair, uktaḥ **. It is said in our all..., that you sing always, vede gaya yahāra carita. You read this verse daily. Guru-mukha..., vede gaya yahāra car... What is that? Eh? Who can sing this?
The spirit soul will change this body, as it has already changed from babyhood to childhood, childhood to boyhood. That I already explained. So what type of body I am going to accept next life? I am not going to die. I am simply changing body. Just like we change dress. If one dress is torn or old, we change another dress. Exactly like that. This body we change when it is no more usable. We have got our spiritual body. And they say the spirit is formless. No. Now if this body is my dress, then how the body has got these hands and legs? Just like because you have got actually hands and legs, therefore your coat and pant has got hands and legs. If you have no form, then how the coat and pant is made? The coat, the pant has got legs because actually I have got leg. The coat has hands or body because actually I have got body. So the argument that the spirit is formless, that is bogus. Unless I have got form, how the dress body is made with hands and legs and heads and everything?
There are so many jungle wood, we can use it for cooking. But if the sandalwood, which is so valuable, if we do not know what is the value of sandalwood, if we use it for cooking and burning... Similarly, if we use this human form of life exactly like the cats and dogs, simply for sense gratification, then we are committing suicide.
The whole Vedic civilization means how to utilize this human form of life for better purposes. Even modern scientific point of view. Not scientific, but they say. Accepting their version... Just like Darwin's theory: by evolution you come to the human form of life. Accepting that from monkey one becomes a human being, so what is after this form? Then they have no information.
The bhaṭṭācārya is supposed to give him prescription that "I've committed such sins, sir. What is my atonement?" He gives you a prescription that "You do like this." So Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that "According to the gravity of sinful life, one has to execute the prescribed atonement." Exactly... He gives the example, doṣasya dṛṣṭvā guru-lāghavaṁ yathā bhiṣak cikitseta rujāṁ nidānavit (SB 6.1.8). Exactly like when you go to consult a physician, he prescribes a nice medicine or costly medicine, according to the gravity of the disease. If you have simply some headache, he may prescribe you something like aspirin. But if you have got something else, very severe, he immediately prescribes that "It has to be surgically operated, and the expenditure will be one thousand dollars." (laughter)
Spiritual is completely unknown to us because we do not know what is spiritual. We are identifying with this body. You do not know even that "I am spirit soul." So where is the possibility of spiritual understanding? One cannot see himself, what he is. He is thinking, "I am this body," exactly like the dog. The dog is thinking, "I am dog." So if I think, "I am American," "I am Indian," where is the difference? There is no difference. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). If one thinks that "I am this body," then he's no better than sa eva go-kharaḥ. The animals, they also think like that, "I am this body."
Yateta mṛtyor avipadyata, avipadyatātmanā, doṣasya dṛṣṭvā guru-lāghavaṁ yathā bhiṣak cikitseta rujāṁ nidānavit (SB 6.1.8). According to the sinful activities, one should accept the prescription and program of atonement exactly like a..., a physician prescribes different type of medicines according to the gravity of the disease. The other day I was explaining. Just like the state law is that if you commit a murder, if you kill your fellow man, then you have to atone that sinful activity by being killed, by offering your life. That's a fact. Everyone knows it. You cannot escape. If you have killed one man... Of course, not man; if you kill even an ant, you are responsible for that, what to speak of man. Because that distinction is imperfect because this is man-made law.
The, when the king orders... It is very old law. It is not new law, "Life for life." So that, when the king awards, or the judge, high-court judge, that "This man must be hanged," the judge is not the enemy of that man, but, according to law, in order to save him from further trouble in the next life, this prescription of hanging is there. The..., exactly like that: according to the disease, the prescription of medicine is there. Similarly, according to the gravity of the sinful activity, the atonement is there. If one has killed a man, he should be should be hanged—according to the gravity of his sin. So that is showing mercy upon him. But, if he's not killed, then he'll be killed in so many ways. He'll be... Suppose something, some animal, and this man who has killed. He will take another birth and he will slaughter him. There are so many subtle laws. Māṁsa.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommended that considering the gravity of your sinful life, you should undergo a type of atonement. They are prescribed in the śāstras. You have to do that. Otherwise, there is no rescue. Exactly like that, if you have committed murder, if you become killed here, then your sinful activities is neutralized. Otherwise, you'll have to suffer next life. So when a king orders a subject, or the state orders that "This man should be hanged," it is not cruelty to him. It is mercy. They do not know. It is a mercy. Otherwise why... Every state, anywhere you go, the law is there, "Life for life."
So atonement must be done. But King Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he's very intelligent.
By performing some type of atonement I become free from the sinful activities." Suppose a man, he has committed murder and he's killed. So the sinful reaction of his committing a murder is neutralized. But it does not mean that next time, next life he'll not again kill another man. That is not guaranteed. Exactly like that, you are diseased, the physician gives you medicine, you are cured. But it is not guarantee that you'll not be attacked again by that type of disease. That is not guarantee. One man is suffering from venereal disease, and it is painful. Doctor gives some painful injection. Some way or other, he's cured, but again he's attacked with venereal disease, again comes to the doctor. There are many instances like that. A man has committed theft and he was punished. He was taken to the government custody and he was punished for six months or one year.
If he's asking that "You can ask anything else from me"—he's a rich man—ask him for millions of dollars or something like that. But instead of..., if you ask for your foolishness, that "Please give me some broken grains of rice..." So similarly, to go to Kṛṣṇa and to ask some material benefit is exactly like this, to go to some rich man and ask from his "Please give me some broken grains of rice." Why one should ask for material happiness from Kṛṣṇa? Material happiness will roll on his feet: "Please take me, please take me." These Kṛṣṇa conscious boys and girls, in sixty centers, just see how they are materially opulent. They're living in the best house. They're eating best food. They're in best consciousness. They have got the best hope. Everything best. Their feature of body is best. What you want material happiness more than this? They have got wife, children, happiness, home—everything—full. So material happiness is nothing to a Kṛṣṇa conscious person. He gets automatically by the grace of Kṛṣṇa.
He has got form, but every part of His limb has got the power of other limbs. Just like I can see with the eyes only, but Bhagavān, Kṛṣṇa, can see with His fingers. I can eat with my tongue, with my mouth, but Kṛṣṇa can eat by seeing, by eyes. Therefore His form is not exactly like your form.
That is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā (BG 9.11). Because they see as a human being they commit mistakes and they say, "How it can be?" Just like Arjuna inquired from Kṛṣṇa, "How can I believe that You delivered the yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god?" Arjuna was taking the position of ordinary man. Because our form, we have got this form in our previous form, body, we are existing because we are eternal, but we don't remember.
Adyātmika ādibhautika. But because they are in māyā they are thinking they are happy. Kṛṣṇa's form is not like that. He is always ānandamāyā. We see Kṛṣṇa's form in a picture. He is always happy. Therefore His form is not like our form. Therefore indirectly it is said "formless." His qualities are not exactly like our qualities; therefore He is called nirguṇa. Apāṇi pāda grahītā. Just like Veda says that He has no hands, no legs, but still He accepts the sacrifices which you offer Him. How He accepts? Paśyaty acakṣuḥ. He has no eyes but He sees everything. How you can adjust it? Two contradicting things. He has no eyes but He sees. Upadraṣṭā anumantā. So His words are there in the Bhagavad-gītā. Your conception of eye, that if God has no eye then how He can see? Is it not the next question? But He sees. That means He has eyes which is not exactly this eye. Therefore you can say He has no eye.
Yes. So another place you will find, acakṣuḥ. But here it is said that He has thousands of eyes. So how you can adjust? That means His eyes are not exactly like our eyes. I cannot see if this room is dark—so much defective are my eyes. But His eyes are not like that. Even there is darkness or light, He can see.
"One who knows perfectly well about Me, he becomes liberated." But they do not know. They accept Kṛṣṇa as ordinary man. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ (BG 9.11). Because they are rascals, they accept Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being. God can display Himself, manifest Himself, just exactly like ordinary human. Just like when He was displaying Himself as a child, a perfect child to Mother Yaśodā, He would break everything if Mother Yaśodā would not supply mākhana, you see, as if He is in need of mākhana. But these Māyāvādīs, they said, "Oh, here is... How He can be God?" Brahmā became bewildered: "How this boy can be the Supreme Lord? Let me test." So... Indra became bewildered. Muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ, the Bhāgavatam says. Even big, big demigods, they become bewildered to understand.
The Kashmir state was so strict, if somebody had stolen others' property and it is proved, the thief's hands will be cut off. Still, I think, in Arabia there is. This is a strict law. So if some golden ornament is lying on the street, out of this fear—and people were simple at the time—they will not touch. Exactly like garbage they will not touch. It was lying on the street. The law was that nobody should touch. If some golden ornament is there, the actual proprietor, he will come and pick it up. You do not require to assist him also, taking, "I shall..." No, you cannot touch. If you touch, your hands will be cut off. So if one learns this habit, that others' property, others' money is just like garbage, nobody touches... Mātṛvat para-dāreṣu para-dravyeṣu loṣṭravat, ātmavat sarva-bhūteṣu. And one who thinks like himself sarva-bhū..., all living entities. What is that? If I prick you, then you feel some pain, so why should you prick others?
Somebody is mistaking that "Real enjoyment, there cannot be any varieties. If there are varieties, then what is the difference between this and that?" So these varieties are different in quality. This is material quality, and that is spiritual quality. They have no distinction between matter and spirit. They cannot understand this exactly like cats and dogs.
So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not to stop your enjoyment but to bring you in the platform where you can enjoy eternally. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So if you want false enjoyment, then you remain in this material world in the darkness. But the Veda says, tamasi mā jyotir gama: "Don't keep yourself foolishly in darkness. Come to the light." So in order to come to the light, you have to follow certain restrictions. Just like you are diseased, and if you want to come to be healthy again, then you have to follow some restrictions, some injunctions.
So because the Viṣṇudūtas were very beautiful, four-handed, exactly resembling Lord Viṣṇu... As I have explained, in the Vaikuṇṭhaloka all the inhabitants, their feature of the body are exactly like Lord Viṣṇu, four-handed, with conchshell, lotus flower, club, and disc. So they never saw Viṣṇudūta before, these Yamadūtas, because they go in an atmosphere where sinful activities are executed. But this time they were astonished, that "How these beautiful personalities are here?" Kiṁ devā upadevā vā yūyaṁ kiṁ siddha-sattamāḥ. So, "Will you kindly let us know wherefrom you are coming? Are you coming from the Siddhaloka planet or heavenly planet?"
They are not old. You will find all these pictures of Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa—all young men. So they are also... The inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha on the spiritual planet, they are also exactly of the same feature. You everything get exactly like God. This is Vaikuṇṭhaloka. The opulence is also like that. Sārṣṭi. There are five kinds of mukti, liberation. One is sāyujya, to merge into the existence. That is also mukti. But Vaiṣṇava does not like such kind of mukti. They think to merge, to become one with the Supreme and lost our individuality, that is, Vaiṣṇava thinks, as hell. Kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. Why? We shall keep ourself, our individuality, the body exactly like Kṛṣṇa. In the Goloka Vṛndāvana they keep exactly like two-handed Kṛṣṇa. In the Vaikuṇṭha they also keep themselves four-handed as Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa. So the Vaiṣṇavas are very intelligent.
Spirit soul is always fresh. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). So they are describing that "You are... You look all just very young." And sarve cāru-caturbhujāḥ: "And you are beautifully embodied with four hands." Sarve cāru-caturbhujāḥ. (aside:) What is that? Dhanur-niṣaṅgāsi-gadā-śaṅkha-cakrāmbuja-śriyaḥ: "And exactly like Viṣṇu, you have got dhanur, bows; and śaṅkha, conchshell; cakra, disc; gadā, club; and ambuja, padma, lotus flower. Everyone." That means everyone in the Vaikuṇṭhaloka, they are exactly like the bodily feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa. This is called sārūpya-mukti. There are five kinds of liberation. This liberation, to have the same bodily feature like Nārāyaṇa, is called sārūpya, "the form exactly like Viṣṇu." Sārūpya-mukti. There are five kinds of liberations: sāyujya, sālokya, sārūpya, sārṣṭi, sāmīpya (CC Madhya 6.266).
Kṛṣṇa has kept so many witnesses, and He is sitting Himself within. How you can hide and seek? No hide and seek. That is another foolishness, illusion. How you can hide yourself from Kṛṣṇa? That's not possible. And we are violating the laws of nature, and we are suffering. No excuse. Exactly like that: if a child catches fire, the catches fire will no excuse because it is a child. No. It will act. So we should know that, that... (aside:) Yes, yes. Aiye. There cannot be any excuse. Therefore we have to be very, very careful. And the best carefulness is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). Simply if we surrender. (aside:) You take this letter and post immediately, immediately after class. In that envelope our Dhruvānanda Mahārāja has written that "I am enclosing herewith one bird's-eye view plan." Eh? Have you done? If he has done, ask him and put it. If he has not, without that plan we shall send. Aiye. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
If you are going to office to earn your bread, very hurriedly to attend the office, and you are killing so many ants, you are becoming entangled. You think, "I am going to office to do my duty very hurriedly," but you are becoming implicated. But if you go out for receiving some help for worshiping Viṣṇu, then you are free. Then you are free. Exactly like that: soldier who is fighting in the battlefield and killing so many men and he is given gold medal, "Oh, you have killed so many. So many lives you have killed of the opposite party, enemy. You take this Victoria Cross." He becomes recognized by the government. The same man, when he comes home, if he kills somebody for his sense gratification, he will be hanged. The same man. The same soldier, when he is fighting for king's service, government service, government is supplying him food, everything—"So fight very chivalrously"—and offering him gold medal.
Tad-rūpa-guṇa-svabhāvāḥ. And their qualities are also the same. And svabhāvāḥ, and nature, character, is also the same. That is oneness. When one is liberated in his original spiritual feature, he becomes equal, just like in svarūpa, in form; guṇa, in quality; and svabhāvāḥ, characteristics, exactly like Viṣṇu. Prāyeṇa dūtā: "It is very difficult to recognize." Just like in this world also, if the president or the king comes in common dress, you cannot understand who is president, who is king and who is a common man. Similarly, in the Vaikuṇṭha world also the inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha, they have got the same feature of the body, same qualities, and same characteristics. This is described here. Try to understand. What is that?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Viṣṇudūtas are looking exactly like Viṣṇu.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Prabhupāda, don't the living entities on Brahmaloka have bodies like Lord Brahmā?
Prabhupāda: Not exactly. Brahmā is four-handed.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh, they don't have...
Haṁsadūta: Prabhupāda, you said that when a person changes original spiritual form, just like the Viṣṇudūtas, they have their four-handed form. Does that mean that they will never rise up to the state of associating with Kṛṣṇa in two-handed form? What does it mean, "original form"?
The difficulty was a devotee is not accustomed to all these tricks of materialistic way of life. They are not interested in such things. Purposefully, they avoid all these things. Because devotional life means coming to the original position. Original position is that we are part and parcel of God; therefore our original position is godly. Not exactly like God, but godly. Just like gold and a particle of gold is also gold. A drop of ocean water contains the same chemical composition. Similarly, qualitatively we are as good as God in our original position. Now we are covered by this material body, but as soon as we take to the devotional service, that is our original position. Then very quickly we develop our good qualities, original godly qualities. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇair tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12).
And in Kṛṣṇa consciousness condition you serve Kṛṣṇa directly. That is the difference. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). And you serve Kṛṣṇa. Then you become purified. Your senses are purified exactly like the same example, that when a citizen is free and willingly obeying the laws of the state, he is free from contamination. And as soon as he is disobedient, he is contaminated. Therefore he is put into the jail. Similarly, our material existence means that we have revolted against the will of Kṛṣṇa or God. Therefore we are dragging the struggle for existence, and as soon as we become again obedient to Kṛṣṇa, we shall always remember that our characteristic is to serve. So by natural way, if we serve God, then we are happy, and by unnatural way, if we serve our senses, then we are unhappy. This is the difference. Service you have to give.
And then, when it is over-ripened, it falls down. Then finished, business finished. Similarly... But when the mango is finished, it does not mean the tree is also finished. The tree is there, and again, in the next season, there will be mango and the same changes will go on. Similarly... It is a crude example. We spirit soul, we are eternal exactly like the tree. Tree is not eternal, but in comparison to the fruit, it is eternal. A tree lives for hundred thousand, five hundred, years and the same business go on. The mango, it is coming in fu..., just like flower, then green, then grows, then dwindles. So we are eternal, and our different bodies are just like seasonal fruits. On account of our different karma, we get different body. So this body is undergoing the six kind of changes. But the soul, he is not going any change. He is the same.
"Here is gold." Just like when I was in South Africa, even in the city Johannesburg there are so many gold mines within the city, gold mines. So ordinary man, how it will... How he'll know that there is gold in the soil? He must be expert. To find out the soul within this body, it is not the business of rascals and fools. He must be very expert, exactly like the soil expert. And then, by analysis... This is called neti neti, na iti. It is very easy. If you think, study your body, take this finger, so you'll say, "My finger." Nobody will say, "I finger." Just like we sometimes examine little child, "What is this?" "Finger." "So a finger, which finger?" "My finger." "Head?" "My head." "Leg?" "My leg." Everything, "my, my." And where is "I"? This is intelligence. Everything, he is studying, "my," and who is "I"? This very question will establish the fact, dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13), that "I" is within this body. Therefore I am speaking, "my."
This is the process of education. If one does not ask, "Who am I? What is the goal of my life?" but instead follows the same animal propensities as cats and dogs, what is the use of his education? As discussed in the previous verse, a living being is entrapped by his fruitive activities, exactly like a silkworm trapped in its own cocoon. Foolish persons are generally encaged by their fruitive actions (karma) because of a strong desire to enjoy this material world. Such attracted persons become involved in society, community and nation and waste their time, not having profited from having obtained human forms. Especially in this age, Kali-yuga, great leaders, politicians, philosophers and scientists are all engaged in foolish activities, thinking, "This is mine, and this is yours."
So, Prahlāda Mahārāja has very nicely analyzed the characteristics of the soul by twelve items: ātmā, nitya, avyaya, śuddha, eka, kṣetra-jña, āśraya, avikriya, sva-dṛk, hetuḥ, vyāpaka, asaṅgī, anāvṛta. These things I have explained in Calcutta. Again we may repeat. These are important points. The characteristic of ātmā, either ātmā or paramātmā, the same characteristics are there. Exactly like gold bar and gold particle. The chemical composition of the gold bar and the gold particle is the same. So, ātmā nitya eternal. The materialistic scientists, they have no information of the ātmā. They think that this material combination of elements evolved some living force. That is their theory. As such they think that in other planets, where the atmosphere is different, they think there is no life, because they do not know that life means presence of the ātmā, and the ātmā, the soul, can live in any condition of material existence, any condition. Even in fire the ātmā can live because according to the information we receive from Bhagavad-gītā, the ātmā is never burned even in the fire.
So Vaiṣṇava is always sorry for the rascals in the world. Otherwise he has nothing to be unhappy. He can sit down anywhere; he can sleep anywhere; he can eat anything. He doesn't require anyone's help. He... As Kṛṣṇa is self-sufficient, similarly, Kṛṣṇa, not exactly like that, but a Vaiṣṇava is also self-sufficient, depending only on Kṛṣṇa. That is Vaiṣṇava. So he has nothing to lament or nothing to regret. He is always pleased in the service of the Lord, but he is always sorry for the conditioned souls who are for suffering the material pangs on account of ignorance.
Lakṣmī, she is constant companion of the Lord. So it is said, aṣruta. What is that? Adṛṣṭa. Adṛṣṭa aṣruta pūrvatvāt. She became afraid because she also never saw such gigantic form and half-lion, half-man. God has so many forms: advaita acyuta anādi ananta-rūpam. Ananta-rūpam; still, advaita. So in the Bhāgavata it is said that God's incarnations are exactly like the waves of the river or the sea. Nobody can count. You'll be tired if you want to count the number of waves. It is impossible. So God's incarnations are as many as there are waves. So you cannot count the waves; therefore you cannot understand how many incarnations He has got. Even Lakṣmī, even Anantadeva, they haven't got. So our experience—very limited. Why should we say that "God cannot have this, God cannot have..." like that? This is godlessness. They make section.
"I worship the Supreme Lord, the prime, the primeval Lord Govinda." Why? Yasya prabhā prabhavato: "By expansion of whose bodily luster or effulgence, jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi, many, many millions and trillions of universes are generated in that brahma-jyotir." Exactly like the, within the sunshine, the effulgence, there are millions and trillions of planets, similarly in the effulgence of Kṛṣṇa, bodily effulgence, there are millions and trillions of universes. Yasya prabhā prabhavato (Bs. 5.40). On account of His bodily luster being expanded, there are creation of so many millions and trillions of universes. But if you take it for granted that each star is a universe—no. That, according to Vedic literature, that is not accepted. But in each and every universe, there are millions and trillions of planets. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa (Bs. 5.40). Aśeṣa means there is no end.
Just like a drop of ocean water and the vast mass of water, quantitatively they are different. Qualitatively they are one. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa has knowledge and you have knowledge, but the quantity of Kṛṣṇa's knowledge and your knowledge is different. He is full of all knowledge. You are almost full of all knowledge, but not exactly like Kṛṣṇa. And especially in your conditional life you are covered. All your knowledge is covered. Even that fragmental knowledge is also covered. Therefore you are in illusion. Because we are fragmental, therefore we are subjected to be covered by the illusory spell. Just like the sky and the sun. Sometimes there is covering by cloud. The cloud covers a few miles or the cloud covers the eyes of living entities like us, but the cloud does not cover the sun or the whole sky.
The cowherd boys, they are satisfying Kṛṣṇa by going in the forest, playing with Him, mock-fighting with Him. That is also variety. And when He comes home, Kṛṣṇa is taken care by Mother Yaśodā, different dress, different foodstuff, variety. Similarly, when in the company of the gopīs, varieties, So variety is the mother of enjoyment. So it is not that I'll have to do exactly like you. I'll have to serve Kṛṣṇa, but no mental concoction, following the footstep, anuvarṇitena. Again, you can create variety, but it must not deviate from the original authority. That is wanted.
And therefore..." Ye asmat pituḥ. The demigods were afraid of, very much afraid. Therefore when he was killed everyone became very pleased. There(fore) Prahlāda Mahārāja said that "Nobody is unhappy on account of death of my father." He said, modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā: (SB 7.9.14) "My father was exactly like scorpion and snake, so killing of such animal, living entity, is pleasing to everyone, even sādhu. Even bhaktas, they also become pleased." They do not want anyone is killed or anyone is done something harmful. Bhakta never desires. But they also take pleasure when the vṛścika, the scorpion, and the snake is killed. You have got experience. There was a snake in my bathroom. So you all sādhus became very alert to kill it, (laughter) although you are sādhu. So that is natural. When there is snake, there is no question of sādhu or asādhu. Kill him. Sādhur api, very nice. Modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: "Like the ordinary living entity, my Lord, You have no such discrimination, thinking like 'He is my friend; he is my enemy; he is favorable; he is unfavorable.' Such conception of low grade and high grade You have not got. But according to one's gradation of service, You offer them benediction exactly like the desire tree offers fruits according to the desire of the person. The desire tree has no distinction of low grade and high grade position of the beggar."
Prabhupāda:
- naiṣā parāvara-matir bhavato nanu syāt
- jantor yathātmā-suhṛdo jagatas tathāpi
- saṁsevayā surataror iva te prasādaḥ
- sevānurūpam udayo na parāvaratvam
- (SB 7.9.27)
It is very important verse. Discrimination. Sometimes the atheist class demons, they say, "Why God has made somebody so opulent and why somebody so poor?" This is the general question. Perhaps you have met, eh? So that is being solved. Parāvaratvam. Para means better, and apara means inferior. Superior and inferior. There are two things, superior and inferior, everywhere, but in the eyes of God, Kṛṣṇa, there is no such thing, superior or inferior.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: "This cosmic manifestation, the material world, is also Your body. By Your potential energy known as kāla-śakti, this total lump of matter is agitated, and thus three modes of material nature are manifested. In this way You become awakened from the bed of Ananta-Śeṣa, and from Your navel a small transcendental seed is generated, from which the gigantic universe becomes manifest. Exactly like the small seed of banyan tree, the lotus flower of the cosmic manifestation is grown up."
Prabhupāda: These verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they are Vedic mantras. They're not ordinary wording, set of wording. It is not. Veda-mantra, saṁhitā. So every one of you must try to chant. This is required. Each verse of Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they are Vedic mantras, veda-mantra. So simply by chanting them we become purified. So every one of you... There is diacritic marks, literation, transliteration, so everyone should try to chant the mantra. That is very beneficial.
Now there are so many boys. So if he says, "No, no, no. I'll not become a young man. I shall remain a child," that is not possible. He has to change his body. There is no question that he does not like to change his body. No, he must have. So similarly, this body, when it is finished, you may say that "I don't believe there is another body," but there is—"must"—exactly like that, that a young man, he may think, "This body is very nice. I am enjoying. I shall not become old man." No, you must become. That is the law of nature. You cannot say. Similarly, after death, when this body is finished, you must have another body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). And who is speaking? The Supreme Lord, the Supreme Person. He is speaking, the supreme authority. And if you, by your ordinary reason, you try to understand that what is the law, a very simple example is given there.
Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19). Vāsudeva is the origin of everything. This knowledge. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. Nothing else. That conclusion can be achieved when you are nirguṇa, not saguṇa.
So in the spiritual world, it is not void, not impersonal; it has everything exactly like this. There are (indistinct), trees, houses, everything. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). Surabhīr abhipālayantam. Prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa. This kalpa-vṛkṣa, there is tree, but it is not like this tree. A different, kalpa-vṛkṣa. From this tree, whatever you want you can get. That is called kalpa-vṛkṣa. In the material world, because it is covered by the three guṇas, you can get the mango from the mango tree and the orange from the orange tree, not that any tree you have grown you get both the mango and the orange, that is not.
| Page Title: | Exactly like (Lectures, SB) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 23 of Nov, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=119, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 119 |