Foolish men (Lectures)

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "foolish men"or"foolish man"or"foolish * men"or"foolish * man"or"foolish * * men"or"foolish * * man"or"foolish * * * * men"or"foolish * * * * man"or"foolish * * * men"or"foolish * * * man"or"men foolishly"or"men foolish"or"man foolish"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.30 -- London, July 23, 1973:

The Māyāvādī philosophers, they simply stop these material activities. Just like Buddha philosophy, nirvāṇa. He simply advises to stop this. But after stopping, what is, sir? "No, zero. Zero." That cannot be. That is not possible. This is their mistake. But the people to whom Buddha philosophy was preached, they are not so intelligent that there can be better service after giving up this service. Therefore Lord Buddha said, "You stop this service. You become happy because ultimately everything is zero." Śūnyavādī. Nirviśeṣavādī.

The Māyāvādīs, there are two kinds of Māyāvādīs: the impersonalists and the voidists. They are all Māyāvādī. So their philosophy is good so far, because a foolish man cannot understand more than this. A foolish man, if he is informed that there is better life in the spiritual world, to become servant of God, Kṛṣṇa, they think, "I became servant of this material world. I have suffered so much. Again servant of Kṛṣṇa? Oh..." They shudder, "Oh, no, no. This is not good. This is not good." As soon as they hear of service, they think of this service, this nonsense service. They cannot think of that there is service, but there is simply ānanda. One is still more eager to serve Him, Kṛṣṇa. That is spiritual world. That they cannot understand. So these nirviśeṣavādī, impersonalists, they think like that. Just like a diseased man lying on the bed, and if he is informed that "When you will be cured, you will be able to eat nicely, you will be able to walk," he thinks that "Again walking? Again eating?" Because he is accustomed to eat bitter medicine and sāgudānā, not very palatable, and so many things, passing stool and urine, activities on the bed. So as soon as they inform that "After being cured there is also passing of stool and urine and eating, but that is very palatable," he cannot understand. He says, "It is something like this."

Lecture on BG 2.2-6 -- Ahmedabad, December 11, 1972:

He said that "After killing my family men..." Dhṛtarāṣṭra, dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ, pāṇḍavāḥ... Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Pāṇḍu, they were two brothers, and their sons, cousin-brothers. So generally, people want to increase his material opulence to show to his friends and relatives. When one person constructs a very new, very nice house, he invites his relatives and his friends to show them that "Now I have become so opulent." So Arjuna is thinking in that term, that "Suppose I conquer over and I get the kingdom. But if my relatives and brothers are dead, whom shall I show?" This is another kind of vairāgya. How this material relationship makes one foolish, Arjuna is playing the part of a foolish man, and Kṛṣṇa will chastise him. We shall see later on. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break)

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 7, 1966:

Neither I can say what I shall be in my next birth. These are the distinctions. If we falsely claim that "I am God, I am that supreme consciousness," it is our lunacy. It is our lunacy. We should not indulge in that way, and anyone teaching in that way, that is a cheating. It is not possible. Here is an authoritative book. He is the perfect being who is eternal and all-pervading, omnipotent, omniscient. All individual selves are more or less subject to the affliction of ignorance. We are, all living entities except God, everyone, everyone, they are subjected to ignorance, forgetfulness. That's a fact. Ignorance, egoism. Egoism means that without having the qualification, one declares that "I am God." This is egoism. Without having the qualification of God, if one declares that "I am God," a foolish man, that is called egoism. Egoism, desire, aversion and dread of death. They have to do various kinds of work, good, bad, and indifferent, and reap the consequences thereof. That means they are subjected to the acts of your, I mean to say, reaction of their acts. If you do some good thing, then you reap the good result. If you do some bad thing, then you reap the bad result. And because we are defective, therefore we do something good, sometimes bad.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Mexico, February 12, 1975:

So Kṛṣṇa began His teaching to Arjuna, chastising him that "You do not know anything; still, you are talking like a learned man." This is the fault of a person without any spiritual knowledge. Every man in this material world is almost without any spiritual knowledge. Still, they are proud of their learning, their knowledge, their degrees. This is going on. When Sanātana Gosvāmī approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he first of all presented himself as a person without knowledge. Sanātana Gosvāmī was coming of a very brāhmaṇa, aristocratic family. He was very learned scholar in Sanskrit and Urdu; still, he presented himself before Caitanya Mahāprabhu as a foolish man. So actually that is the position. He said, grāmya-vyavahāre paṇḍita, tāi satya māni, āpanāra hitāhita kichui nā jāni. He said that "These common men say that I am very learned paṇḍita, but I am such a rascal, I do not know what I am."

So this is the position for everyone. You ask any learned scientist, professor, "Who are you?" He'll say, "I am Mr. John." He'll say, "I am Mr. John, I am American," or "I am Mexican," "I am Indian," like that. So this is ignorance. Nobody is this body. That is the first lesson of spiritual knowledge. So long we identify with this body, that "I am Mr. Such-and-such," "I am American," "I am Indian," this is all ignorance. When you actually understand that you are not this body—therefore you are not American, nor Indian nor Mexican, but you are spirit soul—then your spiritual education begins. And that is... In Sanskrit it is called ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am spirit soul." Spiritual... Spirit soul has no connection with this material world. When one understands fully this, I mean to say, fact, that spirit soul is different from this material world, then he's actually learned. In that stage he's called situated in brahma-bhūtaḥ stage. The symptom of brahma-bhūtaḥ is brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54).

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- New York, March 11, 1966:

Because Arjuna was disturbed that "How can I fight with my grandfather? That is all right. That is my duty to fight, but how can I fight with my grandfather, Bhīṣmadeva, with my teacher, Droṇācārya? It is not possible." So he is playing the part of a fool, but he was not a fool, but just to teach us. Unless he becomes a fool like us, why this Bhagavad-gītā will come?

The Bhagavad-gītā... Just like it is play. Kṛṣṇa is constant companion of Arjuna. So Arjuna cannot be put into that ignorance. It is for our benefit that by the will of the Lord Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna is put into that sort of ignorance. So he is asking Kṛṣṇa all these questions just like a foolish man, and Kṛṣṇa is giving instruction so that it is being recorded in the history of Mahābhārata for future generations. So here Arjuna, he was declining to fight, declining to fight, that "How can I fight with my grandfather?" You see? "He is respectable. He has brought me up since my father's death. And here is my teacher, Droṇācārya. He has taught me this military art. Whatever I am warrior, my expertness is due to him. And do you think, Kṛṣṇa, I shall kill them? No, I can fight with them. I can kill them, but it is not my duty." So Arjuna, and, says like that. But Kṛṣṇa says, "No. You must be dutiful. Never mind who is that, your grandfather or your teacher. No. When there is fight... You are a kṣatriya. A kṣatriya should not be..., has no other consideration in the fight. He must fight."

Lecture on BG 2.14 -- Germany, June 21, 1974:

We can understand with little thinking that in this body I am..., even in this life. At night I get another body. I dream. I dream there is tiger. I go to the forest, and there is a tiger, and it is coming to kill me. Then I am crying, and actually I am crying. Or, in other way, I have gone to some beloved, man and woman. We are embracing, but the bodily action is going on. Otherwise why I am crying? And why there is discharge of semina? So people do not know that I am leaving this gross body, but I am entering into subtle body. Subtle body is there, not question of inside. We are packed up. Just like this body is packed up with shirt and coat, so the coat is the gross body, and the shirt is the subtle body. So when this gross body is resting, the subtle body is working. The subtle body is there. The foolish men, they cannot understand that "I am compact in some body, either subtle body or gross body." One who is too sinful, very much sinful, he does not get the gross body. He remains in the subtle body, and that is called ghost. You have heard. Some of you might have seen. There is ghost. Ghost means he doesn't get. He is so sinful that he is condemned to remain in the subtle body. He does not get the gross body. Therefore, according to Vedic system, there is śrāddha ceremony. If the father or relative has not gotten the gross body, by that ceremony he is allowed to accept a gross body. That is the Vedic system.

Lecture on BG 2.17 -- London, August 23, 1973:

"I am supreme." As these rascals say that "I am God." How you can be God? Are you supreme? As soon as we ask this question, "Are you supreme?" "No." Then how you have become God? The supreme means... That is also... We consulted dictionary. The Supreme means the "highest authority." So is any one of us the highest authority? No. Nobody is highest authority. Everyone is under the grip of material nature. How you can be highest authority? But they imagine, "Yes, I am high authority. I am..." Meditate: "I am the highest authority, I am moving the sun, I am moving the this," simply rascaldom. This is their meditation. Falsely think that "I am the supreme, I am controlling everything. The sun is moving under my direction, the everything, the water is, seas, I mean to say, there under my direction." Simply... This is their meditation. Impersonalists. Just try to understand how much foolish they are. Any sane man will say that "I am moving the sun, I am moving the moon, I am moving the sea"? Any sane man will say like that? Nobody will say. Will you say? Anyone here? That you are moving the sun, you are moving the moon? Who is there, anyone? Who can say? Nobody can say. And still these rascals they are claiming that he has become God. God... "We are all God."

Lecture on BG 2.25 -- Hyderabad, November 29, 1972:

Now, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). So we are getting our birth in different types of body. The reason is I am associating with different types of the modes of nature. My mind is carrying me. It is not death. It is foolish to say that "This man is now dead. Everything is finished." That is rascaldom. Not finished. It is going on. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). The foolish rascals, they say, "Now this man is dead, finished." Big, big professors, they are saying, "Swamiji, after death everything is finished." And he's professor. Just see. Rascal fools they are becoming leaders, professors, politicians, How the people will be happy? They are put into the ignorance of life. Always put. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). They have been enamored by the external feature of Kṛṣṇa's energy. This is also Kṛṣṇa's energies, this material world. But we are attracted by this material energy. We should be attracted by the spiritual energy. That is perfection of life. Both energies are Kṛṣṇa's. Apara, para. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā. So we are now attracted by the apara energy. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (. 7.4), these material elements. We want. Because we are attracted by the material energy, therefore, when we construct a very nice stone house, oh, we think, "Now, yes, my life is successful. I have got a very nice house, made of stone." Are you stone? No. Still, my attraction is for the stone. Therefore Kṛṣṇa gives me facility. "All right, you take the stone and try to... But you'll never be happy. Happy you'll be when you surrender to Me." Just like a child is given by the father all facilities to play, but at the same time, the father says, "My dear child, don't play like this. It is not good."

Lecture on BG 2.46-62 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1968:

It includes everything. Just like Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we are... Take practical example. We are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Now take any religion and take their highest conclusion—it is there in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Take for example Buddhism. They say nonviolence. Oh, we are nonviolent. Christianism, love of God. Oh, we are simply meant for loving God. Mohammedan, servant of God, to render service to the Lord. Oh, we are twenty-four hours engaged in the service of the Lord. Yogis—samādhi, always in samādhi, absorbed in the thought of the Supreme. We are always absorbed in the thought of Kṛṣṇa. So take any religion, any process, any well. This river, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, will overflood everyone. There cannot be any comparison. What is there? How much water is there in the well? In the river, unlimited. Thousands of wells can be merged into the river. This example is given. Kasmin tu bhagavo vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. If you know Kṛṣṇa, you know everything. You know science, you know mathematics, you know philosophy, you know geography, everything. There is no dirth of knowledge. Don't think that a Kṛṣṇa conscious person actually, he can be a foolish man. No. That is given guarantee in the Bhagavad-gītā,

teṣām evānukampārtham

aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ

nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho

jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā

(BG 10.11)

A devotee who is always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for him there is nothing unknown. He knows everything. Just like we can give information of the whole creation. Not only of this material world, of the spiritual world. Clear conception. Where is where, what is what, everything. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The more you make progress, then you fully, I mean to say, conversant with all departmental knowledge. Everything is completed.

Lecture on BG 2.62-72 -- Los Angeles, December 19, 1968:

The same example can be repeated. Suppose if you go in the outer space... Just like the sputnik men, they go sometime. People think, "Oh, where he has gone, so high, so high." But he has not gone anywhere. He's coming down again. So it is false clapping, "Oh, he has gone so high, so high." What is the use of going so high? You are coming down next moment. Because you have no power to enter into another planet. So what your machine, this sputnik or these planes, will help you? You have to come down again. Rather, you shall fall down in some Atlantic Ocean, or Pacific Ocean, and somebody will go and pick you up. You see? This is your position. So voidism means to fly in the sky and be puffed up, "I have come so high, I have come so high, so high." (laughs) That foolish man does not know how long he'll keep in that high position. You see? He will come down. This is māyā's attraction. He'll have to come down. There is a verse,

ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas

tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ

āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ

patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ

(SB 10.2.32)

This is the prayer by Prahlāda Mahārāja. He says, "My dear Lord, lotus-eyed, Aravindākṣa," ye anye. "Some third-class men, they are very much proud of ending this material life, these nirvāṇa or these impersonalists." Vimukta-māninaḥ. Vimukta-māninaḥ means they are simply falsely thinking that they have surpassed the clutches of māyā. Falsely. Vimukta-māninaḥ. Just like if you falsely think that "I am the proprietor of this Los Angeles city," is it not your false thinking? Similarly, if anyone thinks that "Now I have attained nirvāṇa or I have merged into the Supreme." You may think like that.

Lecture on BG 4.3-6 -- New York, July 18, 1966:

Just like the example... We can give very tangible example. Just like in the prison house sometimes the head of the country goes to visit, to see, to inspect how the prison life is going on or to give them some instruction, some good lesson, that "Why you are rotting in prison? You become good citizen." Now, suppose the head of the state goes to the prison and to instruct the prisoners, and if the prisoners think, "Oh, he is also a prisoner. The head of the state who has come to instruct, he is also one of the prisoners, like us."

So similarly, if we think that Kṛṣṇa is like us, He is also assumed a material body and He is one of us, then it is a mistake. It is a mistake. That is explained. In the later chapters you'll find. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam: (BG 9.11) "Oh, because I appear just like a man, the foolish man considers Me as one of them. But I am not as one of... I am not one of them." Here it is clearly said that "I appear, I appear." Prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya. "I appear in My own spiritual nature. I don't accept this lower nature, this material nature." So we are, when we appear... Just like we have appeared. We have appeared in this material world, accepting this material body, the lower nature. But when Kṛṣṇa comes, He does not accept the lower nature. He comes in His original, superior, or higher, nature. That is the difference between Kṛṣṇa and ourselves. Here it is clearly said, prakṛtiṁ svām. Svām means own, personal, internal nature.

Lecture on BG 4.4 -- Bombay, March 24, 1974:

Vivasvān is the present sun-god, or the president. Just like you have got the president in your country. The Americans, they have got their president. Similarly, each and every planet has got its president. The present president is called Vivasvān. Of course, their duration of life is very, very great, greater than ours. But still they are also human being. They are also living being, having a different type of body. They can live in that sun planet although it is fiery. That I have already explained. (children talking) The children must not talk.

So Arjuna knew it perfectly well. "But as there are foolish men like me..." They cannot understand that Kṛṣṇa spoke this Bhagavad-gītā millions of years ago to the sun-god. We immediately say, "Oh, these are all story." But it is not story. It is fact. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, to clarify the matter, Arjuna, to clarify matter to the fools like us, he's asking this question that "My dear Kṛṣṇa, we are contemporary. As I am born some years ago, You are also born some years ago. We are cousin-brothers. So how can I believe that You spoke this science, or the yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā, to the sun-god?

Lecture on BG 4.19-25 -- Los Angeles, January 9, 1969:

So ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Their intelligence is contaminated because they have no information of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So long one does not reach to that point, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19), "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is everything." It can take some time but unless you reach to that point your all intelligence is imperfect. Your knowledge is imperfect. That you must know. Therefore one who takes Kṛṣṇa, he is most intelligent. Tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ, āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ (SB 10.2.32).

Just like these foolish men, they are going very high on sputniks and other machine but they cannot find out the shelter and come back. You see. But they are thinking, "Oh, we are so much advanced in science. We go so high." You go high, what is your result? You come back again. They will be puffed up. "Yes, it will be perfect in so many years, in this way and that way." They will never accept defeat. But actually you see they go and come back, that's all.

Similarly these foolish persons who are thinking that "I shall merge into the brahmajyoti," they are less intelligent because they cannot exist there. He has got inclination, desires. There is no facility for fulfilling your desires unless you go to Kṛṣṇa. Therefore in order to fulfill the desires he'll come again to this material world. Because he wants activities, pleasure. Ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt. The spirit soul and the Supreme Lord is by nature joyful. Whenever there is question of joyfulness there must be varieties. So there is no variety. So without variety he cannot remain therefore very long. He has to come. But because he has no information of the spiritual varieties he is bound to come back to this material variety. That's all. So therefore their intelligence is less. They are not very high class men. Yes. (end)

Lecture on BG 4.20-24 -- New York, August 9, 1966:

They are meant for giving a new life to the animal. By Vedic mantra... The Vedic mantra are so powerful that that was a test how a dead animal can get, regain new body. An old animal is sacrificed and it gets a new youthful life. That was the test. It was not meant for killing. Don't misunderstand that sacrifice. But that is mentioned in the Vedas. So people misused that sacrifice means... That sacrifice... They wanted to give evidence from Vedas, "So here is... Animal sacrifice is mentioned in the Vedas. Why we shall stop?" So Lord Buddha started his movement, completely stopping this animal sacrifice. But he knew that "These foolish men will come and give me evidence that 'Here in the Vedas animal sacrifice is recommended. Why you are preaching? Why you are preaching stoppage of animal killing?' " Therefore he completely rejected Vedas. He said that "I don't accept Vedas."

That is stated in a very nice verse about Lord Buddha by a Vaiṣṇava poet.

nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātaṁ

sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam

keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare

It is very nicely composed. The idea is that the poet is praying Lord Buddha. And Lord Buddha is also mentioned in Bhāgavatam as incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. So he is praying Lord Buddha, "My dear Lord, you have assumed now the buddha-śarīra, body, just to, by taking compassion on the poor animals, and therefore you are also deprecating the animal sacrifices recommended in the Vedas."

Lecture on BG 5.17-25 -- Los Angeles, February 8, 1969:

No, they have got very nice ear. Yes. You do not know. (laughter) The snake, there is a statement...The snake, they can hear very nicely. The snakes are charmed by nice musical sound. Yes. The snake charmer in India, they sing very nicely, flute, and the snake comes and... (laughter) Like this. Immediately. I have seen. And when he comes, then they have got methods to capture the snake. And besides that, there is another example, of foolish man. The foolish men are compared like the frogs. The general example is that somebody is chanting or singing something. The example is that by such singing they are losing their duration of life. As the frog sings... Have you heard any sound of the frog? "Ka-ka-ka, ka-ka-ka." You have heard? (laughter) Have you heard? Yes? So what is the result of that sound? In rainy season the frogs they sing very nicely. So they like rainy season. "Ka-ka-ka, ka-ka-ka, ka-ka-ka," like that. The result is the snake can understand, "Here is a frog." He stealthily comes and immediately finishes "ka-ka-ka." (laughter) Similarly, anything, vibration, except this chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are like "ka-ka-ka." And the result is that one day Yamarāja, the superintendent of death comes and captures. "All right. Come on. That's all. Finished. Finish your 'ka-ka-ka.' " He might have been very great lecturer, politician, but when death comes your ka-ka-ka finished. Immediately "ka-ka-ka" finished. You have seen. Your President, Mr. Kennedy, was going to lecture, or he finished some lecture, is going to another place and the "ka-ka-ka" finished immediately.

Lecture on BG 5.17-25 -- Los Angeles, February 8, 1969:

Even if we are finished... We can be finished. Now modern life is that we are traveling in airplane. It can be crashed at any moment. But those who are "ka-ka-kas," they'll be finished. And they are chanting; they will go to Vaikuṇṭha. Finishing will be there. It is not that because we are Kṛṣṇa conscious we will not be finished. The example is that you'll be captured by the mouth of a cat but when the cat captures with its mouth its kitties, they feel very good pleasure. And when he captures a rat, oh, it finished. Similarly, everyone will be captured by the laws of nature, but a devotee will be carried with great care to Vaikuṇṭha and others will be thrown again into this material existence. But people will say, "Oh, your devotee is also dying and the nondevotee is dying," just like the foolish man. The cat is capturing in the mouth both the kitty and the rat. They are not same thing. Apparently it seems that the same thing but it is not the same thing.

Kṛṣṇa says, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya: (BG 4.9) "Just after finishing this body he does not come again to this material world. He goes directly to Me." So there must be death either of the devotee or of the nondevotee. But those who are devotees, constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they will be carried to Vaikuṇṭha and others will come back to accept any form of body. Therefore the method should be that we should... sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ (BG 8.6). Twenty-four hours, we shall remain in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Even death takes place, you are not loser. That's all. You are gainer here; you are gainer there, after death. Sādhu māro vā jīvo vā. Those who are sādhu, devotees, they either live or die—their benefit is there. When they live, they chant, dance, and eat Kṛṣṇa prasāda, enjoy, and when they die, they go to Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Where is the loss? There is no loss. So keep yourself sādhu. Sādhu. Sādhu means saintly.

Lecture on BG 6.21-27 -- New York, September 9, 1966:

That pleasure, why it is not ended? Because spirit is eternal and the Supreme Lord is eternal, therefore reciprocation of their loving exchanges, they are eternal. They are eternal. The living spirit is eternal, the Lord is eternal, and their exchange of feelings, or loving feelings, that is also eternal. So one who is intelligent, they should refrain from this sensual enjoyment of this material body which is flickering, which is not in essence, and should seek such enjoyment of spiritual life. That is called rāsa-līlā. You have heard about Lord Kṛṣṇa's rāsa-līlā. That is not ordinary exchange of feelings of this material body. That is exchange of feelings of the spiritual body. So sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad buddhi-grāhyam (BG 6.21). One has to use his intelligence to understand what is real happiness. Foolish man cannot understand what is real happiness. Intelligent. So as soon as one becomes intelligent... The next śloka will describe it. Vetti yatra na caivāyaṁ sthitaś calati tattvataḥ. One who does not know what is real happiness, they are seeking happiness in this material world.

There is a nice story. A man, a friend, was advised by his friend that "If you chew sugar cane, oh, it is very nice, sweet." The friend who was advised to chew sugar cane, he had no experience what is sugar cane. So he asked his friend, "Oh, what is the sugar cane?" The friend suggested, "It is just like a bamboo log." So the foolish man began to chew all kinds of bamboo logs. So how he can get the sweetness of the sugar cane? Similarly, we are trying to have happiness and pleasure, but we are trying to derive happiness, pleasure, eschewing this material body.

Lecture on BG 7.2 -- San Francisco, September 11, 1968:

Here it is said that manuṣyas teṣāṁ śāstra 'dhikara yajñānāṁ sahasra-madhye. Now, what I am, what is God, what is this material world, how it is working, these things are business of an educated man. A foolish man cannot take. Therefore śāstra adhikāra. Śāstra means one has got some knowledge in the śāstras, in the books of knowledge. As soon as we find out one who has got books of knowledge, knowledge in books, or śāstra, the quantity will be at once reduced. In this quarter if you find out how many noneducated people are there, oh, you'll find many. And as soon as you want to find out how many M.A.'s are there, at once the number will be reduced. Similarly, there are many men, but if you want to search out some man who is trying to make perfection of his life, at once the number will be reduced. And out of them Just like so many transcendentalists, swamis, yogis there are. If you count amongst them who wants to understand God, who has got the knowledge of God, at once the number will be reduced. Again.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that out of many, many thousands of people, somebody is interested for making perfection of his life. And out of many, many thousands of men who are actually trying to make perfection of their life, you'll find somebody—or you may not find out—who knows God or Kṛṣṇa. But Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He comes Himself to be known by everyone. And He's so kind also that before His departure from this material world, He leaves behind Him this Bhagavad-gītā so that you can know from His personal talks what is God. So if you read Bhagavad-gītā rightly, as it is spoken by Kṛṣṇa, not foolishly interpreting nonsensically, but as it is, as it is... Call the spade a spade. Kṛṣṇa says that "I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Lecture on BG 7.2 -- Nairobi, October 28, 1975:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Indian man (4): So can you show me something about that viśva-svarūpa?

Prabhupāda: You ask me? So am I Kṛṣṇa? (laughter) Why you are asking foolishly? That means you do not know Kṛṣṇa. You are thinking me as Kṛṣṇa. That you are foolish man.

Indian man (4): No, I am not calling you are Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Then why you are asking to show viśva-rūpa?

Indian man (4): Viśva-svarūpa because Kṛṣṇa...

Prabhupāda: Viśva-svarūpa will be shown by Kṛṣṇa, not by not me. I am not Kṛṣṇa.

Indian man (4): No, I am not saying you are Kṛṣṇa. But you have said you are something about the...

Prabhupāda: I am Kṛṣṇa's servant. What Kṛṣṇa says, I am carrying. That's all. That is my position. I am peon. When the peon delivers one thousand rupees or shillings to you, it is not his money. The money is paid by somebody, but I honestly deliver to you. That's all.

Indian man (4): But Kṛṣṇa has not given you power as guru?

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Indian man (4): So you can show?

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Nairobi, October 29, 1975:

So this business, four business—eating, sleeping, mating and defending—these are common. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ sāmānyam etat. This is common. Then what is the special advantage of human life? The special advantage is athāto brahma jijñāsā. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. You should be inquisitive to know the value of life, the Absolute Truth. That is... The dog cannot do it. That is the distinction between dog and human being. The human being... In the human form of life there should be inquiry about Brahman, Parabrahman. That is human life. So after inquiring what is Brahman, Parabrahman, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), the original source of everything, when you attain brahma-jñāna, brahma-bhūtaḥ, that is your perfection, not that to compete with the dog in eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That is not civilization. That is not perfection of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). These foolish men, animalistic, dogs and cats, two-legged animals, they do not know what is the aim of life.

Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum. The aim of life is to understand Viṣṇu, the Supreme Lord. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. They are trying to become happy in the bahir-artha, in the external energy of God, material energy. And the so-called leaders, politicians, philosophers, scientists, they're all blind. They do not know what is the aim of life. Still, they are leading the whole society.

Lecture on BG 9.11-14 -- New York, November 27, 1966:

So Lord Kṛṣṇa says that the mūḍha... Mūḍha means the foolish, just like animals or less than animal. An ass, he is called mūḍha. So avajānanti. Avajānanti means deride. "Deride at Me." That any person who does not believe in God, he must be either a madman or foolish man number one. Any person who does not believe in God. There is no reason that we cannot believe in God. There is every reason. So suppose if you are saying that "I don't believe in God," but who has given you this power to say that "I don't believe in God." You are speaking, "I don't believe in God," but as soon as there is something, you cannot speak, everything stops. So who has given you this speaking power that you dare to say that "I don't believe in God"? Will you not think that "How I am speaking? Who has given me the power?" Do you mean to say that this speaking power has come automatically from the stone? This body is just like as good as stone. As soon as the speaking power is withdrawn by the supreme authority, you are as good as stone, this body. What is the meaning of this body? So who has given you the speaking power that you are denying that "I don't believe in God"? Therefore an atheist or an unbeliever, he must be a first-class foolish man. There is no other reason that one can deny the existence of God. It is very simple reasoning, that who has given you the power to talk and who, if he withdraws the power from you, then what is your value? How can you boastly say that "I don't believe in God"? This very power of speaking is the proof that there is the greatest authority who gives you everything.

Lecture on BG 9.11-14 -- New York, November 27, 1966:

Therefore the Kṛṣṇa conscious person, he knows that "Everything, whatever I have got, it is not my, under my control. The controller is different. I am feeling... I am simply using it. I am talking. This is my hand. I am working, but if the power of working is immediately withdrawn—it is paralyzed—have you got any power to revive this working power of this hand? No. You have not. One hand will work; another hand will stop. Who stops?" These things are to be thought. How can I deny? There is something. If I don't believe in God, but I must believe some power beyond me which is controlling me every step. Either call it God or anything, nature, but there is a controlling power. You have to admit. How can you deny it? Therefore anyone who denies the existence of God, he is a foolish man. He is not very intelligent man. No intelligent man will deny. So Kṛṣṇa says, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). Kṛṣṇa is saying here, because He was present on this earth just like a human being with some supernatural power. But mostly, 99% of people, they could not recognize Him, could not recognize Him that He is the supreme power, Supreme Personality of Godhead. Paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ. Because they have no eyes to see. There are...

Lecture on BG 9.15 -- New York, December 1, 1966:

Just see our imperfectness. (after spitting, coughing:) This body... We have got imperfectness, coughing something. So how we can become perfect? We are under the stringent rules and regulations of the nature. A little difference will put me into difficulty. So we are not all independent so long we are conditioned. So if... Suppose you are a businessman. You send your representative for securing business. And if he represents himself to the customer, "I am the proprietor. I am the proprietor," how long he can prolong? As soon as the master will know that "This foolish man is representing himself as the proprietor of this firm," at once cancel. Because there is cheating. He's not proprietor. Similarly, anyone who says that "I am God" he should not preach. He can think himself for acquiring knowledge of God. That is another thing. "I am God." "I am God" means to understand the quality of God, because I am qualitatively God. Because I am part and parcel of God, therefore my qualities are the same. Just like I have several times repeated that a part of gold, even a molecular part, a particle of gold, so it is gold. It is nothing but gold. Similarly, although we are very minute fragments of the Supreme, still, the quality is the same.

Lecture on BG 9.34 -- New York, December 26, 1966, 'Who is Crazy?':

Everything is being conducted by the supreme laws of nature, but the foolish man thinks that I am something. I am independent. This is foolishness. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. Ahaṅkāra, this false egoism—ahaṅkāra means false egoism. What is that false egoism? That I am not this body, and I think I am this body. This is called false egoism. Therefore Śaṅkarācārya, I mean to say, he preached his mission that you are not this body. You are spirit soul. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Now, still, when we try to realize ourself, self-realization, there also foolishness, or the dictation of the māyā, or illusory energy, continues.

What is that? Somebody's trying to realize his self. I am not this body. He understands that I am not this body. I am spirit soul. Then? If you are spirit soul, then what is your position? Oh, void. Impersonal. Spirit soul, that means voidness? Oh, there is nothing after finishing this body? This voidness? There are philosophers who preach voidness. After this, finishing this body, there is nothing. And other philosophers, impersonalists, they say that, as soon as this body is finished, my personal identity is finished. Do you think like that? Is it possible? So long I am in this body, this body is not actual I am.

Lecture on BG 10.1 -- New York, December 27, 1966:

So therefore Kṛṣṇa gives you message that these living entities, they are very unhappy in this material world under the spell of material energy, under the spell of illusory energy, they are thinking that they are happy. In ignorance...

Just like the animals, they cannot know, they do not know, what is unhappiness. When there is a slaughterhouse, they'll be slaughtered next moment. They are standing and eating grass because, due to ignorance. They do not know. Similarly, when human society becomes thrown (?) into ignorance, they do not know what is unhappiness. Their struggle for existence and therefore, therefore they are in unhappiness. They are never satisfied, full of anxiety. In spite of having all these things, the foolish man says, "Yes, we are advancing in civilization." This is their ignorance and foolishness.

So Kṛṣṇa conscious person, if they want to serve Kṛṣṇa, if they want to render some service to Kṛṣṇa, their first business is to dispel this ignorance of the humans. That is the best service. That is the best service. People have manufactured so many philanthropic associations, charitable associations, and hospitals, so many things. But, if somebody or if some association can enlighten people to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is the best service to the human society. That is the best service to the human society.

So a further advancement from neutrality, that I love Kṛṣṇa or God because He's great. No, that love is not sufficient. We must render some service to the Kṛṣṇa. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna is rendering service to Kṛṣṇa as a soldier. Kṛṣṇa wanted that the battle of Kurukṣetra should be executed and Arjuna did not like it because it was concerned to his family members, with his brothers, so he did not like it. But, when, after hearing this Bhagavad-gītā, he became Kṛṣṇa conscious, he executed the will of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wanted that the fighting must continue. So he executed in spite of his own conclusion that he would not fight.

So this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that one has to do. That is better con... Simply to know, simply to make God as order-supplier, I love God because He gives me my daily bread, that is also good, good sense. But better sense is that how you can serve Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 10.4-5 -- New York, January 4, 1967:

Without(?) touching. So therefore we must distinguish that what is matter and spirit. Matter cannot work without touch of spirit. Matter is dependent on spirit. This is knowledge, not that matter is prominent and spirit is neglected. That is foolishness.

Therefore in the present education there is hardly a few persons who are actually in knowledge because they have neglected the spirit side of the activity. They have taken only the material side of the activity. So if you come to according to the Bhagavad-gītā, then it is a civilization of fools. That you may call...(?) They are giving too much stress on the motor car machine and not to the driver. The driver is neglected. This is foolish civilization. Man is neglected.

I think in my childhood when I was a student, Scottish Churches College, I read one magazine from your country. I think that magazine is still current, Scientific America. Is there any magazine? Yes. In magazine I saw one picture. I think that skyscraper was beginning at that time. A man was working very heartily, and the picture is there that for manufacturing matter, a soul is being killed. You see? That is material civilization. They are giving too much stress on the matter, on the material side, but they are neglecting the spirit. That is not civilization. One should give more stress on the spiritual side because that is the active principle. So that is called knowledge. A man is to be understood in knowledge when he is giving, I mean to say, importance to the spiritual side. He is called jñānī. Otherwise they are fools. So jñānam. Jñānam means cid-acid-vastu-vivecanam, to understand what is matter and spirit.

Lecture on BG 13.3 -- Paris, August 11, 1973:

Not that a big professor says that after the finishing of this body, everything is finished. He's a rascal. He's identifying... Everyone is identifying, just like cats and dogs, with this body. The body is kṣetra. Body is not the person. A child in ignorance may say that this fine, nice motor car is running automatically. But it is not running automatically. There is a driver. He does not know it. Similarly, the whole universal activities is going on. Don't think it is going on automatically. No, that is foolish knowledge, that nature is working automatically. No. There is kṣetrajñam, Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata. Everywhere Kṛṣṇa is working.

In another place it is said: mayādhyakṣeṇa (BG 9.10). He is not working like foolish man. He is working as the superintendent. Every detail he's taking account, how you are doing. That is said in the Bhagavad-gītā: mayā-adhyakṣeṇa. Kṛṣṇa says "You do this." Immediately, nature will do that. Kṛṣṇa says, "You do this." Immediately... Not only nature, we are also doing under Kṛṣṇa's direction. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, fifteenth chapter: sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo (BG 15.15). "I am sitting in everyone's heart." Here also, the same thing. Sarva kṣetreṣu. Not only I am sitting, but Kṛṣṇa is also sitting. So Kṛṣṇa is sanctioning. Kṛṣṇa is giving permission. Then I am doing. I cannot alone do it.

So Kṛṣṇa is always ready to give you direction. He's there for direction. But unfortunately we do not obey Him. That is our material disease. If we obey Kṛṣṇa, if we act according to Kṛṣṇa, then there is no problem. Because Kṛṣṇa cannot be mistaken. I am imperfect, I can be mistaken. But Kṛṣṇa cannot be mistaken. Therefore, if we act according to the direction of Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful. And to give you direction, Kṛṣṇa is sitting within your heart, side by side. As I am sitting, you are sitting within this heart, the soul is within the heart.

Lecture on BG 13.15 -- Bombay, October 9, 1973:

Otherwise all the great saintly persons, just like Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, all big, big ācāryas who were actually controlling the Vedic civilization still, they established thousands of temple and mūrtis, especially in South India. Still Raṅganātha temple, Tirupati temples, visited by hundreds and thousands of people. So does it mean they have all become fools? They go to see some stone? No.

Therefore one has to become a devotee. Because only devotee can understand that "Here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally standing before me." That devotee. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena (Bs. 5.38). Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when he visited Jagannātha temple, He was very anxious to see the Deity, Jagannātha temple. And as soon as He entered the Jagannātha temple, immediately He fainted, "Oh, here is My Lord." And others are seeing, "What is this foolish man? Here is a wooden form of Jagannātha and this man has fainted." But that is the difference between this man and you. Unless you develop your devotional attitude, you cannot see God. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55).

Therefore those who are not devotees, they cannot see God. It is not possible. Even God comes before him, just like when Kṛṣṇa was present before everyone. Five thousand years ago He was present. In the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, He was present. All the soldiers, all the kings, everyone was seeing Him, but only Arjuna and few of the Pāṇḍavas, they knew that "Here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa." Not all of them. But all of them got salvation. Everyone who died in the presence of Kṛṣṇa—that is stated—they all got salvation. Because after all, they saw Kṛṣṇa. So that is the position. When Kṛṣṇa was personally present, even the few Pāṇḍavas and the few inhabitants in Vṛndāvana, nobody could understand Him that the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Others...

Lecture on BG 16.8 -- Tokyo, January 28, 1975:

And if you say, "By chance, I am now convicted," that is not chance. There is no question of chance. This is a false logic, chance. Nothing takes place by chance. That is sound reasoning. Chance means ignorant. One who does not know, he says chance. That is ignorance. That is not knowledge. Knowledge is different thing. So they are rascals, you can say. This kind of logic, "I have not seen. It has come by chance. There was a chunk," these are all nonsensical proposition. There is īśvara. This is sound knowledge. As you conclude by seeing the arrangement in the Tokyo city there is government, similarly, if you are intelligent enough, then you can understand there must be a controller. That is theism. That is knowledge.

Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). Therefore this foolish class of men who are simply studying, they want time to find out, but actually if he is wise, if he is searching out regularly by wise conclusion, then, at some time, he will come to the conclusion, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante: after many births of research work, he will come to this conclusion that there is God, Vāsudeva. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). Then he is the first-class mahātmā. But that is very rare. Everyone is durātmā, anīśvaram: "There is no īśvara. This is a false manifestation." That is not false. You study everything. You study even one plant. You can see so many arrangement, so many fibers. Fine fibers are coming out, and from one fiber to another. Even a small herb and vegetable, you will find there is craftsmanship. You cannot say it is chance. You cannot do it. So there is brain. That is right conclusion, "There is brain behind it," and that is theism. And that brain, what is the brain behind this, who has this brain behind this, behind this, behind this, behind this, if you come... Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19), after searching out for many, many births, then one comes to the conclusion that vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). You come to the conclusion, "Kṛṣṇa is the cause of everything." That is already concluded. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1): "Īśvaraḥ, the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa." Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ... There are so many controllers. Just like this city is being controlled by the police commissioner or somebody else. So above him, above him, above him, there is controller. And the... Above all, the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. That is the conclusion.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.1 -- New Vrindaban, September 1, 1972:

We have got experience that I am a living entity, I am coming out of my father who is also living entity. He is coming of his father, he is also living entity. So how the origin of everything can be a stone-like chunk? No. This is logic. This is philosophy. Therefore Bhāgavata says that janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ (SB 1.1.1). Abhijñaḥ means He is full of consciousness, knowledge. Sat cit. Cit means He is living. He is not like a dead stone. That cannot be, because we have no experience that from dead stone life is coming.

Sometimes they put argument, taṇḍula-vṛścika-nyāya. In Sanskrit it is called. You have no experience here. In India we have got experience. Sometimes from heap of rice, one scorpion is coming out. So foolish men, they will think that the heap of rice, piles of rice, is giving birth to a scorpion. No, that is not the fact. One who knows the scorpion This animal is very clever. They lay down eggs within the heaps of rice, and by the fermentation of rice, it comes out. So actually, rice is not producing the scorpion. It is coming out under some chemical fermentation process. There are manifestation of living entities. There are different types. Udbhijja. Just like trees, they are coming out of the seed. If the seed is sown on the ground, under favorable conditions it comes out. This is also life. And some of the living entities are coming out of eggs. Aṇḍaja. Aṇḍa means egg. That you know. The birds, they first of all lay down eggs, and then, by fermentation, the life comes out. And some of the living entities are coming out from perspiration. You have got experience, so many bugs. If you keep your beds very unclean, by your perspiration the bugs are grown. It is called svedaja, coming out of perspiration. Svedaja, aṇḍaja, udbhijja, and jarāyuja, and embryo, just like we have come out. So there are different processes of begetting or, I mean to say, giving birth to a living entity. But God is origin, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So He must be cognizant, He must know everything. Otherwise how He can be creator, and He can be origin? But His knowledge is perfect.

Lecture on SB 1.3.23 -- Los Angeles, September 28, 1972:

So anyone who has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, He is the most intelligent man. Jñānavān. Kṛṣṇa says, unless one is fully wise, after many, many birth, after many, many birth... Because everyone is trying to place a competitor of Kṛṣṇa. Just like I have said it... "Oh, why that Rāma-Kṛṣṇa? Here is another with big beard, Ramakrishna." So... But he is not wise? That kind of Ramakrishna is for the foolish man, and those who are presenting, he is also foolish. But bahūnām... In this way, foolishly accepting something as God... When one actually becomes wise, after many... If he is actually searching after God... Catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtino 'rjuna, ārto arthārthī jñānī, anisandes(?) tu..., jñānī ca bharatarṣabha. Jijñāsur jñānī ca bharatarṣabha. Jijñāsuḥ (BG 7.16).

So four classes of men comes to God. If they are pious, if the background is piety; then out of that class of men, inquisitive, jijñāsu; jñānī..., jñānī means those who are wise; and ārta, distressed: arthārthī, those who are in need of money. Generally people, ordinarily, if he is pious, then when he is in distress, he prays to God, "My dear Lord, I am in distress. Kindly save me." Or if somebody is in want of money, he also approaches God, "My dear Lord, for want of money I am suffering. Kindly give me some money." These are two classes. And the other two classes, jñānī, simply for knowledge, what is the actual constitutional position of God. He is called jñānī. And inquisitive, and inquiring what is God. So these four classes of men try to understand God or approaches God.

Lecture on SB 1.5.4 -- Los Angeles, January 12, 1968:

Therefore we should not be wasting our valuable time of human life simply for economic development. We should be inquisitive about "What I am." This is the first inquiry. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is called brahma-jijñāsā. So Nārada Muni is instructing Vyāsadeva that "You have already inquired..." Because he's the spiritual master, he knows how Vyāsadeva inquired and how learned he was, how he studied very seriously. Everything known. Therefore he's asking, jijñāsitam adhītaṁ ca brahma: "You have inquired very elaborately about Brahman, and you have studied about the subject matter Brahman, sanātanam, eternal, athāpi śocasi, but still, I see that you are morose. You are not happy." Śocasy ātmānam akṛtārtha iva prabho. Akṛtārtha means "Of this you have done nothing." Just like a foolish man sometimes, in very grave thought that "What is the ultimate goal of my life? I do not know what to do," so "You are thinking like that."

So answer, vyāsa uvāca. Now, Vyāsa's answer is asty eva me sarvam idaṁ tvayoktaṁ tathāpi nātmā parituṣyate me. "Yes, sir. You are right. I have studied about Brahman, I have inquired about Brahman, and I know what is Brahman." He says, "I know what is Brahman." Asty eva me sarvam idaṁ tvayoktaṁ tathāpi nātmā parituṣyate me. "But I do not know why I am not satisfied. I'm not satisfied." Tan-mūlam avyaktam agādha-bodhaṁ pṛcchāmahe tvātma-bhavātma-bhūtam: "Therefore you are my spiritual master. I am asking you to find out what is the defect in me. What is the defect in me that, in spite of my so advancement of knowledge in spiritual science by studying..., by inquiring, and by writing so many books, the..." You'll be glad to know that this Vyāsadeva is the original writer of Vedānta-sūtra. You have heard about Vedānta-sūtra. There are many, I mean to say, classes in here in your Los Angeles. There is a Vedānta Church. This Vedānta philosophy was written by this Vyāsadeva.

Lecture on SB 1.5.32 -- Vrndavana, August 13, 1974:

Ah! So in this way māyā is always entrapping him. We are always suffering three kinds of suffering—adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika—and we think, "Now we are very happy. Now we have got this electric fan, or air-conditioned room. So Yamarāja will not be able to enter, and I am secure. I have got good bank balance and good wife, good children..." No, no, no. This is illusion. Na sādhu manye yata ātmano 'yam asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ (SB 5.5.4). So long you will possess this material body, so you'll have to suffer. That is described here, tāpa-traya. Tāpa means miseries, and traya means three. So cikitsitam. A sane man, when he's suffering, he goes to the doctor, physician: "Sir, I am suffering from disease. Give me some medicine." So he takes medicine. That is sane man. And insane man, he does not go to the physician for treatment. He thinks, "This is natural. What is that?" This is the difference between foolish man and sane man.

The Vedas, therefore, instruct that tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). One who is actually human being... Just like Sanātana Gosvāmī. Sanātana Gosvāmī, even up to the position of his ministership, he was not on the standard of human being. When he approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu and submitted, "Sir, I have come to You to know what I am, why I am suffering in this threefold miserable condition of life," that is human life. That is the beginning. Before that, it is animal life. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. When one is inquisitive about himself, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "Why I am suffering?"... Ke āmi kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya.

Lecture on SB 1.7.5-6 -- Johannesburg, October 15, 1975:

This is very significant. Yantrārūḍhāni māyayā. We are riding on a machine. This body is a machine, but we are accepting machine as myself. 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.

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Vrndavana, April 18, 1975:

So the Indians especially, they have got the opportunity to learn these Vedic śāstras and realize his self and introduce this Kṛṣṇa consciousness throughout the whole world. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. And all ācāryas, they do like that. That is the business of real ācārya. So bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje. So this is very important thing because it is said, lokasya ajānataḥ: "These foolish men, they do not know that their problems can be solved only by this bhakti-yoga, Kṛṣṇa consciousness." They do not know it. Lokasya ajānataḥ. Therefore vidvān... Vyāsadeva is vidvān. He is the first-class vidvān. Cakre sātvata-saṁhitām. This saṁhitā means Vedic literature for enlightening people. So every Vaiṣṇava's duty is that you make your life first of all perfect by understanding your real position and preach this cult because lokasyājānataḥ: all people throughout the whole world, they are ajānataḥ. Ajānataḥ means they do not know anything. Although very proud... They think that having some material advancement of life, that is perfection. No. Ajānataḥ, mūḍha. That is not perfection. That is not perfection. Perfection is muktiḥ sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ, to be situated in his own original position. That can be done anywhere. Bhakti-yoga can be practiced any part of the world, as it is experienced practically. What is bhakti-yoga?

Lecture on SB 1.8.18-19 -- Bombay, April 9, 1971:

Mūḍha-dṛśā. Mūḍha. Mūḍha means the same ass, those who are seeing like ignorant or ass. What is the example? Just like an actor, theatrical actor playing on the stage. A child, he is seeing somebody acting, but the child has forgotten that his father acting. Because the father has dressed in a different way and he's a different posture, playing on the stage, although the child is sitting amongst the audience, he cannot understand that "He's my father playing." Because he hasn't got the understanding. It may be that who is elderly than me, that means one who is advanced his knowledge, he can see. Or the mother can say, "Oh, don't you see your father is playing there?" So although the child and the mother is there, one cannot see, other can see. That means one who has got knowledge, he can see. One who hasn't got knowledge, he cannot see, although God is everywhere. God is everywhere. Everywhere. Na lakṣyase mūḍha-dṛśā naṭo nāṭyadharo yathā (SB 1.8.19). Naṭo. Naṭo means the theatrical actor. When he is dressed just like an actor, the foolish man cannot see him. Naṭo nāṭyadharo yathā.

Lecture on SB 1.8.20 -- Mayapura, September 30, 1974:

So everyone has got some special qualification. That is God's gift. The... Similarly, this is also an animal. It has got the special qualification: they can discriminate what is water and what is milk. So this world is mixed up, spiritual and material things. Just like your body, my body, this is also mixture. Anything is a mixture of spirit and matter. So one who can discern the spirit from the matter, he is called paramahaṁsa. So intelligent man... Paramahaṁsa, what is the paramahaṁsa? Now, munīnām. Paramahaṁsa... Muni means very thoughtful. So if you are thoughtful, then you'll be able to discern between matter and spirit. The body is moving, but those who are not muni, thoughtful, they think the body is moving automatically. But actually, that is not the fact. Because the spirit is there, therefore it is moving. So muni, those who are thoughtful, they can understand. Foolish men, they cannot understand. They cannot understand that beyond this body there is another force, which is helping the movement of the body. They cannot understand the Bhagavad-gītā statement: tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). That moving force is perpetual, eternal. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). It is not lost after the destruction of the body, but it is transferred to another body. They cannot understand, because they are not muni. The muni means very thoughtful. And how one can become perfect muni? That is also said here. Amalātmanām. Amala. Mala means dirty things, and amala, amala means just the opposite. No. Amala, "a" means "no." His heart is cleansed of all dirty things. Such men. Amalātmanām. So these are the qualifications. Paramahaṁsa, one must be only spiritually interested like the swan. He is interested only to drink the milk, not the water. Similarly, one must become paramahaṁsa. One must be interested with spiritual advancement of life, not material. Reject. Reject it.

Lecture on SB 1.8.44 -- Mayapura, October 24, 1974:

Kṛṣṇa, if you simply hear about Kṛṣṇa... Sthāne sthitāḥ. It doesn't require to change your place. You may be in, in your place, position. You may be a medical practitioner. You may be engineer. You may be any other man, mercantile man. Whatever you may be, it doesn't... You may be a learned man. You may be a foolish man. It doesn't matter. But you hear. That is... If you want to get the position of Vaikuṇṭha, then you simply hear. It doesn't matter what is your position. Kṛṣṇa never said, "Only this kind of man..." Of course, there is classification. The classification is sinless and sinful. Only the persons who are sinless, they can understand about God. That sinlessness can be achieved very easily, as I was explaining last night. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravana-kīrtanaḥ (SB 1.2.17). Simply if you hear about Kṛṣṇa, then the sinless automatically, sinlessness automatically comes in, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), simply by hearing. So by hearing, hearing, it is both the process and the medicine, both, everything. Because one has to become sinless, so one has to adopt some means by which one can become sinless. So simply by hearing, you become sinless. And after being sinless, you become more and more interested.

Lecture on SB 1.8.49 -- Mayapura, October 29, 1974:

He was against Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Father being killed. Similarly, suhṛt mitra. Just like Vibhīṣaṇa. Vibhīṣaṇa is Rāvaṇa's brother. But he complicated himself in the plan how Rāvaṇa should be killed with Rāmacandra. Rāmacandra... He made a..., that "This, my brother, should be killed." Suhṛt mitra.

So there are many instances. Bali Mahārāja. Bali Mahārāja he rejected his spiritual master: "Oh, you are nonsense. You cannot become my spiritual master." Because why? That Śukrācārya, when Bali Mahārāja was going to promise, so Śukrācārya advised, "Don't promise anything. He is Viṣṇu. He has come as dwarf to take everything from you." Then Bali Mahārāja found that "This is a foolish man." This Śukrācārya, Śukrācārya means jāta-gosāi, by semina they become ācārya. The semina. That is the, in India, guru-vaṁśa. Guru-vaṁśa, guru means spiritual master. The spiritual master, vaṁśa. That is disciplic succession. Evaṁ paramparā, that is guru-vaṁśa, not by semina. That is going on. The Śukrācārya: "This is my guru's family." Guru's family... "He has begotten a child, so something must be given. His credit is he's begotten child. Therefore something must be given." So this is going on, Śukrācārya. So Śukrācārya was rejected by Bali Mahārāja, Śukrācārya. "No, this family guru or the jāta-gosāi, no." Real guru. So why rejected? When Śukrācārya was thinking that "This man Bali is going to give everything to Viṣṇu. Here is Vāmana. Then how I shall live? Because I get something from this man, and I live. So if he's going to give everything to Viṣṇu, then what is our position? We shall starve." That is their business only, how to exploit the disciple and take money from him and fill up the belly. That is Śukrācārya's business. Therefore Bali Mahārāja rejected, "No, no, I don't want you." So there are many instances. Svajana-tyāga. The gopīs, when they were going to Kṛṣṇa, they, all the svajana, their brother, the husband, their sons and everyone forbade, "Oh, where you are going, where you are going?" Or the yājñika brāhmaṇas' patnī, they also did not care for Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB Excerpt -- New York, March 7, 1975:

Indian woman: Because I got all the stages of bhakti in Bengal Vaiṣṇavism.

Prabhupāda: No. Bengal Vaiṣṇava is not foolishism. You have... First of all you have to understand Kṛṣṇa. Then go to understand what is Kṛṣṇa's rāsa-līlā. You do not understand Kṛṣṇa. Why you jump over His activities?

Indian woman: Well, I was given that work to do for research.

Prabhupāda: So some foolish man has given you like that. (laughter) Yes. You should ask him that "You, Mr. Rascal, (laughter) why you have given, 'jump over to here?' Why not other?" That Kṛṣṇa, to understand Kṛṣṇa, the Bhāgavata begins, athāto brahma jijñāsā, janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ... (SB 1.1.1). You know Sanskrit, I think.

Indian woman: Yes, I know.

Prabhupāda: So, do you understand this verse?

Indian woman: But this is from first verse from Brahma-sūtra, right?

Prabhupāda: No, no, Brahma-sūtra and first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Do you understand this Bhāgavatam, this śloka?

Indian woman: Not actually.

Prabhupāda: Then why do you jump over there? Education means from the beginning. Therefore a small child, he wants to be educated. He immediately goes to the M.A. class? Or he learns ABCD? So therefore those who have given you this task, they are not realized souls. All fools and rascals.

Indian woman: (giggles) Thank you very much.

Lecture on SB 1.15.30 -- Los Angeles, December 8, 1973:

The time, you know, everyone, time's business is to destroy. You construct very nice house-ten years or, say, five years after, you have to again replace it because the time has destroyed it, so many things. The time..., time destroys. This is the business of time, kāla. And karma, our karma, because we are always engaged in sinful activities, karma. Kāla, karma, and tamas, ignorance. Ignorance. Tamas means darkness, and the symptom of tamo-guṇa is laziness and sleep. Those who are lazy and sleeping, you must know he's under the influence of tamo-guṇa. And rajo-guṇa, always acting foolishly. Just like these people are running. They're rajo-guṇa. But actually in this world there are two guṇas-rajas and tamas, ignorance and foolishly active. Foolish active is very dangerous. There are four classes: lazy intelligent, busy intelligent, lazy foolish, and active foolish. The active foolish is a fourth-class man. So at the present moment they're very active, but they're all foolish. Therefore the world is in danger. Active foolishness. Foolish, if he stops, he does not work, it is better. But as soon as he becomes active he becomes more dangerous.

So this rajas-tamo-bhāva is prominent. There is no sattva-guṇa, goodness. It is very rare. The symptom of goodness is that he can see everything right. That is goodness. Prakāśa. Just like in sunshine you can see everything clearly. Similarly, one who sees clearly things as they are, they are in the goodness, mode of goodness. There are three modes of the material nature. One who's acting foolishly, he's in rajo-guṇa, and one who does not know what is the meaning of life, simply laziness and darkness, that is tamo-guṇa. So those who are in the tamo-guṇa, jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. So they will go to the again to the animal kingdom. They'll go again animal kingdom. Rajo-guṇa may have their human birth again, but that is also very difficult. But if you stay in the sattva-guṇa, then your life is successful even if you do not get Kṛṣṇa in this life; you'll get next life if you keep yourself sattva-guṇa. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18), they will gradually be promoted to the higher planetary system or in the spiritual world.

Lecture on SB 1.15.31 -- Los Angeles, December 9, 1973:

So you take this chariot and take this driver and go on." This is going on. Kṛṣṇa is very kind. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (BG 4.11). "Whatever you want, you do it. But you'll never be happy." That is the point. "You can do whatever. I will give you chance. I'll give you." Just like you want a Rolls Royce car. "All right, it is." If you want this car, "All right." So you are changing this car. Sometimes you are carried by the doggish cars, sometimes goddish car. These are all cars, but we are different from the car. We wanted to sit down in a certain car, so Kṛṣṇa is giving us the chance. Bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni (BG 18.61). Yantra means car or machine. It is very easy to understand. So this is going on because we are identifying with the car. Just like foolish man, if he rides on a Rolls Royce car, he's thinking "Now I am very rich man. I have bought a Rolls Royce." Similarly, if one body has got inferior car, he thinks that "I am poor"; identifying with the car.

But he's not car. He's different from car. This knowledge is required. This is called viśoko brahma-sampattyā. When we understand our spiritual identity, then we are no more lamenting or jubilation, equilibrium. Read the purport. It is very important verse.

Lecture on SB 1.16.17 -- Los Angeles, January 12, 1974:

How you can become God? What is your power? What you have shown like God? We accept God, Kṛṣṇa, Lord Rāmacandra, and others, by seeing His activities. Kṛṣṇa, at the age of seven years old, He lifted Govardhana mountain. Govardhana-dhārī, Giridhārī. So what you are? You cannot raise even five kilos of load, and you are becoming God?

So these so-called gods are accepted by so-called devotees. These are all rascaldom. Therefore it is called māninaḥ. They are thinking, by mental speculation, that "I have become God." What you have got, power? What you have done that you have become God? But they are foolish. They do not calculate the value of his, strength of his becoming God. But they are thinking of... Therefore it is called māninaḥ. Now, you can think at your home that "I am the proprietor of the Bank of America." So you may become a crazy fellow like that. But to become proprietor of the Bank of America is different thing. But these foolish men will think like that. "I am God, I am moving the sun, I am moving..." This is their meditation. Perhaps you know. These rascals, these dogs, not gods, they think like that: "I am moving the sun, I am moving the earth..." Therefore it is called vimukta-māninaḥ. Mānina, thinking, foolishly thinking. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ.

Why they are thinking foolishly? We see they are advanced in knowledge. They can put forward so many words about becoming God. That has been described by Śrīdhara Svāmī, vāk-cāturya. Their so-called explanation that they have become God, that has been described by vāk-cāturya, jugglery of words, to be fool another fool. That's all. Therefore in Bhāgavata, in another place, it is said that śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ (SB 2.3.19). Puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. If one person who is not devotee, if he is praised as very exalted, so wherefrom these praising words are coming? Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ. Such praising comes from the persons who are like dogs. Śva-viḍ-varāha, the stool-eater pigs. Śva-viḍ-varāha uṣṭra, camels, and khara means ass. These classes of men, they praise such another big, big animal, śva-viḍ-varāha uṣṭra. Because anyone who is not a devotee of the Lord, he is not rājarṣi, devarṣi. He is not praiseworthy at all. He is a fool. He is a rascal. That is our conclusion. No, it is real conclusion. Because Kṛṣṇa says, mūḍha. Mūḍha means rascal. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15).

Lecture on SB 1.16.19 -- Los Angeles, July 9, 1974:

When I was in New Vrindaban, our Kīrtanānanda Mahārāja purchased one cow without calf. (someone says, "Children have to go out") Yes. So that cow was actually crying because the calf was taken away for slaughtering. It is not that they have no soul, they cannot understand, they have no feeling. But they are helpless. Everything is there. The butchers, the cow slaughterers, or their supporters, they say wrongly that the animal has no soul. This is a rascal philosophy. Why animal has no soul? The question should be...

Here Yamarāja is addressing the cow as amba, mother. "Why you are so unhappy? From your face it appears." So Yamarāja was foolish man, that he is addressing a cow as mother? This is civilization. It doesn't matter one is appearing as a cow or a man or a dog or a demigod or a civilized man, uncivilized man. One who knows that the soul is there... Unless there is soul, how Yamarāja is asking the cow, "It appears that you are very much bereaved, so what is the cause, mother, of your bereavement?"

So this culture, that Yamarāja, is asking an animal, mother... Without any soul? No. Everyone has soul. The rascals, they do not know it. One has to become paṇḍita. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18), in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said. So those who are actually learned, they know. They know that one may be a living entity, one may be a tree, one may be an animal, one may be a cow, one may be an elephant, one may be a learned brāhmaṇa scholar, one may be a caṇḍāla, untouchable. Everyone is a soul. Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ.

Lecture on SB 2.1.3 -- Vrndavana, March 18, 1974:

Then children. Then embarrassment. Contraceptive. That is also embarrassment. So this embarrassment is going on. And then again death. Then again go to the womb of the mother, and be killed within the womb of the mother, abortion. So the whole life is full of embarrassment. Why? That "why" question does not arise, that "Why I am embarrassed?"

So therefore the Māyāvādīs, they think that "Make me zero, void. Then there will be no pains and pleasure, no embarrassment." Their philosophy is like that. Impersonal, that is also the same thing. Or void. Voidism, the same thing. "Make it zero." Just like the foolish man, when one is embarrassed, he commits suicide. He commits suicide. He thinks, "If I end this body, then my embarrassment will be finished." So these are the circumstances. Why? Now, apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). He does not know "What is the necessity of me, soul, how to get me relieved from that." That he does not know. So therefore this word is used: apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). He does not see that "I am spirit soul. My necessity is different from the bodily necessity." (break) "Then I'll become comfortable." Even one knows that "I am not this body," but the body is home... Or I know that "I am not this room," but I am engaged always how to keep this room very neat and clean. That is my business. I do not know that there is another business. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). That is the defect.

Lecture on SB 2.3.14-15 -- Los Angeles, May 31, 1972:

Prabhupāda: What is this? You stop all this. Hear attentively. Don't divert your attention in that way. Then?

Pradyumna: As we have already quoted above from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu of Rūpa Gosvāmī, even mundane things, if dovetailed in the service of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, are accepted as transcendental. For example, the epics or the histories of Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, which are specifically recommended for the less intelligent classes (women, śūdras and unworthy sons of the higher castes), are also accepted as Vedic literature because they are compiled in connection with the activities of the Lord. Mahābhārata is accepted as the fifth division of the Vedas after its first four divisions, namely Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg and Atharva. The less intelligent do not accept Mahābhārata as part of the Vedas, but great sages and authorities accept it as the fifth division of the Vedas. Bhagavad-gītā is also part of the Mahābhārata, and it is full of the Lord's instruction for the less intelligent class of men. Some less intelligent men say that Bhagavad-gītā is not meant for householders, but such foolish men forget that Bhagavad-gītā was explained to Arjuna, a gṛhastha (family man), and spoken by the Lord in His role as a gṛhastha. So Bhagavad-gītā, although containing the high philosophy of the Vedic wisdom, is for the beginners in the transcendental science, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is for graduates and postgraduates in the transcendental science. Therefore literatures like Mahābhārata, the, purāṇas and similar other literatures which are full of the pastimes of the Lord, are all transcendental literatures, and they should be discussed with full confidence in the society of great devotees.

Lecture on SB 2.3.21 -- Los Angeles, June 18, 1972:

As such, the first process of hearing in the routine work of devotional service is the essential point. Hearing by all classes of devotees from the authentic sources like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is essential. The common man who is puffed up with his material position and does not bow down before the Deity of the Lord in the temple, or who defies temple worship without any knowledge of the science, must know that his so-called turban or crown will only succeed in further drowning him in the water of the ocean of material existence. A drowning man with a heavy weight on his head is sure to drown more swiftly than others, who have no heavy weight.

A foolish puffed-up man defies the science of God and says that God has no meaning for him, but when is in the grip of God's law and is caught up with some disease like cerebral thrombosis, that godless man sinks into the ocean of nescience by the weight of his material acquisition. Advancement of material science without God consciousness is a heavy load on the head of human society. So one must take heed of this great warning.

Lecture on SB 2.9.10 -- Tokyo, April 26, 1972:

Pradyumna: "The kingdom of God or the atmosphere of Vaikuṇṭha nature, which is called the tripād-vibhūti, is three times bigger than the material universes and is described here as also in the Bhagavad-gītā, in a nutshell. This universe, containing billions of stars and planets, is one of the billions of such universes clustered together within the compass of mahat-tattva. And all these millions and billions of universes combined together constitute only one-fourth of the magnitude of the whole creation of the Lord. There is the spiritual sky also. Beyond this sky the spiritual planets are there under the names of Vaikuṇṭha, and all of them constitute three-fourths of the entire creation of the Lord. God's creations are always innumerable. Even leaves of a tree cannot be counted by a man, nor the hairs on his head. However, foolish men are puffed up with the idea of becoming God himself, although unable to create a hair of their own bodies."

Prabhupāda: So I have protested this false God consciousness in all my purports. That is my business, to punish all these rascals. You see? I become very much angry, anyone says before me, "I am God, he is God, everyone..." I cannot control myself. (laughter) Yes. I am so obstinate enemy of these rascals. I want to kick them on their face, but it is incivility. It becomes... But I want to kick them. It will be my pleasure. Never mind I go to hell. Go on.

Lecture on SB 3.25.3 -- Bombay, November 3, 1974:

That is also, I mean to say, confirmed in the Vedic language. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate, na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). So He has nothing to do personally. His energies act. Then try to understand why Bhagavān is attributed with the word svacchandātmā. Because...

Just like a big man. He wants to do something. He simply says to his secretary, "This thing must be done." He does everything. And he is quite confident that "I have told my secretary, and it will be done." So secretary is a person's śakti, energy. Similarly, if an ordinary man within this world has so much energies or secretaries to act, so just imagine, although Kṛṣṇa is Jagadīśvara, He's managing the whole universe... He's managing. There is brain. The foolish men, they say there is no brain. No, there is brain. But we do not know who is the brain. That is our foolishness. But if we take information from the śāstra, we can understand what is that brain. That brain is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā:

Lecture on SB 3.25.8 -- Bombay, November 8, 1974:

So this Sanātana Gosvāmī, I was speaking to you. He was minister. He had enough money. When he retired, he came to home bringing money with him, one big boat full with golden coins. Just imagine. Big, big coins in those days. Aseraphee.(?) It is... At that time it was eighty rupees worth. Now there is no gold. Where is aseraphee.(?) It is paper only. One-rupee note. So, so Sanātana Gosvāmī, in those days... Even we have seen in our childhood in India, there was gold coins available, any number you want. People used to purchase this guinea gold for making ornament. We have seen it. There was no... Now you cannot get this guinea gold. So that is all finished. So Sanātana Gosvāmī was very rich man. Still, he's asking Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu that grāmya-vyavahāre paṇḍita tāi satya māni: "These foolish villagers, or my neighbor men, they call me 'Paṇḍitajī.' " He was brāhmaṇa. Actually he was paṇḍitajī. You know, in India, the brāhmaṇa is addressed as "paṇḍita." Because a brāhmaṇa is expected to become very learned. A foolish man cannot be a brāhmaṇa. Learned means Vedic knowledge. Veda-pāṭhād bhaved vipraḥ. How one becomes brāhmaṇa? By studying thoroughly the Vedic literature, when one can understand Brahman, he realizes himself, hṛdayānanda, then he becomes brāhmaṇa. Therefore a brāhmaṇa means naturally paṇḍita. But nowadays simply by birth. That is another thing.

Lecture on SB 3.25.16 -- Bombay, November 16, 1974:

"You do this to become pious." So in this Kali-yuga people have lost all stamina, how to become pious. They are so sinful. But here is the only means: you simply come here and hear about Kṛṣṇa. You have got ears, Kṛṣṇa has given you ears. And Kṛṣṇa has given you tongue also. You can speak. Just like we are reciting the verses. So the tongue is there, the ear is here, there, and you can hear from realized soul and make your life perfect simply by hearing. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ (SB 1.2.17). Because one cannot be devotee unless he is purified. A sinful man cannot become a devotee. Duṣkṛtinaḥ. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ (BG 7.15). One class of men, duṣkṛtinaḥ, always committing sinful life. Such rascals, such foolish men... Duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. Narādhama means lowest of the mankind. Why lowest of the mankind? Because the human life is meant for purifying your existence. You are under condition of birth, death, old age, and here is the chance to purify yourself. If you don't do that, then you are mūḍha, duṣkṛtina, narādhama. You don't take chance. Mūḍha, narādhama.

So this class of men, they are not interested. They will suffer this material existence continually, one after another, one of chapter, one of chapter... Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19), one life. And if he gets one life very opulent, that is, then he doesn't care for what is next life. "Let me drink and enjoy. Eat, drink, and be merry and en..." This is going on all over the world.

Lecture on SB 3.25.42 -- Bombay, December 10, 1974:

There are many incarnation. Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a list of different avatāras, and the conclusion... Lord Buddha's also name is there. Kīkaṭeṣu bhaviṣyati, sura-dviṣām. So Lord Buddha's name is there, and Jayadeva has also given his poem Daśa-vidha, Daśāvatāra-stotra. In that Daśāvatāra also, Lord Buddha's name is there: keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. So Vaiṣṇavas, they know, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, how many avatāras are there. They do not accept therefore any bogus avatāra. Some rascal will say that "I am avatāra." The Vaiṣṇava will not accept. Tasmāt śāstra-vidhānoktam. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that śāstra-vidhānoktam, kāryākārya. We have to accept and reject according to the śāstra, not that any bogus man comes and says that "I am avatāra." That is not acceptable. The Vaiṣṇava will not accept. A foolish man may accept; that is a different thing. So certainly, the Supreme Personality has got many avatāra, but each avatāra has, has been mentioned in the śāstras, different avatāras. So Kapiladeva is avatāra. Therefore He is saying, "Me," mad-bhayāt . Mad-bhayāt .

Lecture on SB 3.25.43 -- Bombay, December 11, 1974:

"There may not be... I must be very safe and sound in every respect, in my social position, so far my health is concerned, anything." Everyone wants that security. But there is no security. That is called struggle for existence. There is no security, and the rascals are struggling to get security. How it is possible? If this place is meant for that purpose, padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām, then how you can get security? This is foolishness, mūḍha. There is no possibility of security; still, they are making security in this way, that way, this way, that way, that way.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ: (BG 15.7) "All these living entities..." Kṛṣṇa does not say that "I am for the Hindu living entities or the Indian living entities." Where it is in Bhagavad-gītā? Why the foolish men take it that Kṛṣṇa Hindu, Kṛṣṇa Indian? Kṛṣṇa says that suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām: "I am friend of all living entities," sarva-bhūtānām. Not only human society, but animal society, the plant society, the aquatic society, there are so many living entities. Ananta-koṭi. Sa anantyāya kalpate. The living entities, there is no limit. There are so many quantities. And Kṛṣṇa says that suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati: "When one understands that I, Kṛṣṇa, is the friend of everyone..." Kṛṣṇa, when says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), He does not say to Arjuna. He says to all living entities, without any exception. Sarva-bhūtānām. Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām. This is position of Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 3.28.20 -- Nairobi, October 30, 1975:

Ācāryavān puruṣo veda: one who has accepted ācārya... One who knows the śāstra and practically behaves according to the regulation of śāstra, he is called ācārya. Acinoti śāstrārthaḥ.

So all the ācāryas... In India there are many thousands and thousands of temples, very, very big temples, especially in South India. Some of them you have seen. Each temple is like a big fort. So all these temples were established by the ācāryas, not that the people whimsically established. No. Still there is very prominent temple, Balaji temple, Tirupati, Tirumalai. People are going, and the daily collection is more than one lakh of rupees still. Although they have been propagated so vigorously not to visit temples, but people... That is the birthright in India—they are automatically Kṛṣṇa conscious, automatically. Therefore all the demigods, they also desire to take birth in India. Automatically.

So the temple worship is essential. So those who are against temple worship, Deity worship, they are not very intelligent class of men, foolish, mūḍha. Again, the same word.

Lecture on SB 6.1.2 -- Honolulu, May 6, 1976:

So Parīkṣit Mahārāja is trying to understand pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Pravrtti means here in this material world, anyone who has come, beginning from Lord Brahmā down to the small ant, they have come on account of pravṛtti, means for enjoying sex. This is material world. So long one will be engaged in sense enjoyment in different varieties, he will have to remain within this material world. Kṛṣṇa is so kind. We wanted to enjoy this material world; therefore He has given us full chance: "Yes, you enjoy." Kṛṣṇa does not want that you should enjoy this material world. That is not He... Sometimes the foolish men, they say that "Kṛṣṇa has given us this facility for sense enjoyment. Why we shall not take it?" Sometimes the so-called ṛṣis and yogis, they also say, "Yes, when you have got the senses, it is meant for enjoyment. Why it should be stopped?" Yes. Because... Really it has to be stopped. If you want real life of eternal enjoyment, then you have to stop. If you don't stop, then you remain here.

Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). You have to take birth according to your desire, either as Brahmā or as ant, as a cat, as a dog, as demigod, and according to your capacity, Kṛṣṇa will give you: "All right." Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). If you want from Kṛṣṇa sense enjoyment, He will give you all facilities. But Kṛṣṇa does not want. Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is His mission, that "You will never be happy in this process of pravṛtti-mārga."

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Sydney, February 17, 1973:

As soon as you give up this body, prakṛti will take charge. Take charge means the prakṛti will test what is the mentality at the time of your death, and he will give you a body like that, automatically. The nature's law is working so nicely, so perfectly, that everything is becoming manifest automatically. Just like fire, ah, flower. You see how beautiful flower, rose flower, is coming into existence automatically. Don't think that there is no brain. There is brain, but the brain is so perfect and instant that you are seeing that it is becoming automatically grown. No. There is brain. Just like electric, electrons. Just like here is a machine working, and pushing some buttons it is recorded, and pushing some buttons it is stopped. A child may think that it is being done automatically. No. There is a big brain behind this machine, big brain. But a foolish man sees that it is being automatically. Similarly, nature's law is parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). Na tasya kāryam... These are the Vedic versions. Na tasya kāryaṁ kāraṇam ca vidyate. Just like if we have to construct a skyscraper building, then we have to work so hard to collect the materials and piling them and making them secure and so many things. So..., but this material creation, this universe, was created not like that. Just like it is said in the Bible, " 'Let there be creation,' and there was creation." Similarly, actually it is so. Parāsya śaktir. God's potencies are so subtle and perfect, as soon as He desires, immediately thing is ready. This is called yoga system, yoga system. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is known as Yogeśvara. Of all the yogis, He is the supreme yogi. Yathā yogeśvara. So, there is work, but do not think that "There was no work; automatically it comes." No. There was work, but it is so subtle and perfect. The same thing, the working, so many things are working, going on within the machine, that simply I push it on and it acts. Similarly, work is there for creation. The work is there, but it is actuated by the perfect potency of Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 6.1.26-27 -- Philadelphia, July 12, 1975:

The politician or, what is called, leaders, andha, they will promise you that "You will be happy in this way. You give me vote, and I shall bring heaven for you, and let me become minister. That is... You simply wait, and as soon as I become a minister and president, I will give you such and such benefit." So you select Mr. Nixon, and again you become disappointed. Then we request, "Mr. Nixon, you get out." And we accept another fool. This is going on. This is going... But śāstra says you will not be getting right information in that way. These foolish men, they will promise you something, and he is unable to make you happy. You will be again disappointed, again regret. Then what is..., wherefrom I shall get the right information? That Vedas says, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) "If you want right information, then go to the guru." And who is guru? That Caitanya Mahāprabhu explains that āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa (CC Madhya 7.128). He says, "You just become on My order." Guru means who carries the order of Kṛṣṇa. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa. Or who is Kṛṣṇa's servant, that is guru. Nobody can become guru unless he carries the order of the Supreme. Therefore you will find... Because every one of us is ass, we do not know what is our self-interest, and somebody comes, "I am guru." "How you become guru?" "No, I am self-perfected. I don't require to read any book. I have come to bless you." (laughter) And the foolish rascals, they do not know, "How you can become guru?" If he does not follow the śāstra or the supreme authority Kṛṣṇa, how he can become? But they accept, guru.

Lecture on SB 7.6.5 -- Vrndavana, December 7, 1975:

That is the arrangement. And after retirement of life, vanaṁ vrajet. Pañcāśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet. Prahlāda Mahārāja also said to his father, hitvātmā-ghāṭaṁ gṛha-andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad harim āśrayeta. Formerly big, big kings, everyone—compulsory retirement, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. Vanam means go to the forest. One who goes to the forest, he is called vānaprastha. From vana, the word vana, has come vānaprastha. Pañcāśordhvaṁ vanaṁ vrajet, that "After fifty years of age one must go to the forest for meditation, for tapasya, austerity." And when he is perfectly trained up... This training is given from brahmacārī life, gṛhastha life also, but people are not taking training. They are not kuśalam. Actually they do not know what is the aim of life. They are cats and dogs. So one who is kuśala, actually knows the aim of life, for him, yateta ksemāya bhavam āśritaḥ. Because in the material existence it is simply suffering. But these foolish men, they do not understand. They are thinking, "Enjoyment." How you can enjoy? Kṛṣṇa says, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam: (BG 8.15) "This is a place for suffering." Actually suffering, tri-tapa-yātanaḥ, adhibhautika, adhidaivika adhi... But because they have become fools and rascals, they do not understand that they are suffering. They are taking it they are enjoying. Bhavam āśritaḥ. Therefore, anyone who is in such condition, abominable condition, condemned condition, they must take to shelter of Kṛṣṇa consciousness so long the body is strong enough. (break) ...when the body is old and it cannot move, it is attacked with rheumatism, and so many other things, indigestion. No. So long it is śarīraṁ puruṣam. Puruṣam, why this word used? There are women also. Puruṣam does not mean man. Puruṣam means one who wants to enjoy. He is called puruṣa. Anyone here in the material world, although one has got the body of a male or although one has got the body of a female, both of them are for enjoyment. Therefore it is used, puruṣa.

Lecture on SB 7.6.7 -- Vrndavana, December 9, 1975:

So one has to study the body, where is the "I," then what is the relationship of the "I," what is the position of the "I," "What I am?" This is intelligence. This is intelligence. Caitanya Mahāprabhu begins from here to teach Sanātana Gosvāmī that this "I," I, you, we are—jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). This is the beginning of Caitanya's teachings. Therefore, rascals, they cannot understand what is the movement of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They think that "This crazy fellow, unnecessarily chanting and dancing," because they cannot understand what is this movement. This movement starts when one can understand what is "I." From that point it starts. So what they will understand? Unless one comes to the understanding point what I am, what he will understand Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement? That is the defect. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu is so kind that without understanding, being a fool number one, if he simply joins Caitanya Mahāprabhu's chanting and dancing, he understands immediately, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), immediately, and he understands "What I am."

So we should not waste our time, mugdhasya bālye kaiśora, and foolish old man, full with disease and invalidity. No. We should immediately begin our spiritual life, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is called brahma-bhūtaḥ. If we come to this point, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am Brahman; I am not this body," that is very fortune, good fortune. But people are... All men, whole, throughout the whole world, they are under this bodily concept of life, and they cannot find out where is the soul, "Where I, where I am." So they are all fools and rascals. So if one comes by cultivation of knowledge, spiritual knowledge, comes to understand that "I am within this body," that is called brahma-bhūtaḥ, brahma-jñāna, ahaṁ brahmāsmi.

Lecture on SB 7.9.9 -- Montreal, July 4, 1968:

Yes. Just like in a diseased condition of your eyes you cannot see. In diseased condition of your hands you cannot touch. In diseased condition of your legs you cannot walk. All your senses, in diseased condition, cannot work. Similarly, in material diseased condition you cannot understand what is God. You have to cure yourself from this diseased condition. Then you will see, you will touch, you will perceive, you will know, you will feel—everything. Those who are unable to cure the disease, they want to kill. Just like a patient is suffering in very bad type of disease. The physician cannot kill, then..., cannot cure him, then he thinks, "Let me die. Let me commit suicide." So this voidism or impersonalism is a symptom of frustration, not being able to cure the disease. But actually, the living entity is eternal. Just like a rascal or foolish man thinks that "I am suffering so much. Let me commit suicide, and it will be a great relief." It is foolishness. He will be put into further torture after this life. He will become a ghost. So because they do not know that living creature is eternal, therefore they want to make the ultimate solution as void, zero. But it cannot be zero. It is not possible, because you are eternal. Therefore you have to cure. And that curing process is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (aside:) Ṛṣi Kumar? Why you are there? Come here. (chuckles) All right. Any other questions? Yes, try to understand nicely. Yes.

Lecture on SB 7.9.20 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1976:

So those who support this accident theory, they are simply rascals. How accident can take place exactly in the same time and in the same way, exactly in the same season changing? And the flowers are coming. The atmosphere is different. Is that accident? Less intelligent, mūḍhā. They will not agree that it is being done by God, by the direction of..., mayādhyakṣeṇa (BG 9.10). Adhyakṣa means direction. So the sun, moon, or anything material that is working, we see they are working very wonderfully, but don't think that they are working automatically or independently. No. That is not possible. The foolish man may think like that, "automatically." No, there is no automatically, no accident. Therefore, yena yasmād yataḥ yad uta, superior, inferior—everything is systematically being done according to the desire. They say, "Not a blade of grass moves without the desire of Kṛṣṇa." That's a fact. Without Kṛṣṇa's desire... Every step we are going forward, it is guided by Kṛṣṇa. It is not directly by Kṛṣṇa but through the instrument of Kṛṣṇa. This is nature. Nature is nothing but instrument. Durgā. Durgā. Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni vibharti durgā (Bs. 5.44). This Durgā energy. Durgā energy means this material energy. Durgā. Durgā means fort. We are packed up within this fort. You see the round sky. It is just like a football. And within, we are packed up. Just like the soldiers, they are within the fort or there are other persons also, similarly, this is a durgā. Durgā. Duḥ means difficult, and ga means going. Dur-gā. So because the nature is feminine, therefore it is called Durgā. So just like in the fort, in the jail, if you are put, it is dur-gā, very difficult to come out, very, very difficult. Duḥ means it is not so easy. Therefore it is called dur-gā. You cannot enter in the fort or in the jail. Big, big walls, you cannot enter there without permission, and you cannot come out without permission. That is called durgā. So this Durgā, or durgā-śakti, material energy, very, very powerful. You cannot come out from this fort of material existence without superior permission. That is Kṛṣṇa's permission. Mayādhyakṣeṇa: (BG 9.10) "Under My vigilence, under My superintendence."

Lecture on SB 7.9.48 -- Vrndavana, April 3, 1976:

The other day in Delhi, somebody questioned that "If God is everywhere, what is the use of going to the temple to see Him?" Just see how contradictory it is. If God is everywhere, why He is not in the temple? But these foolish persons, they do not know what he is questioning. Kṛṣṇa is everywhere. Just like the electricity is everywhere, but when you catch the switch, then it is under your control. Electricity is everywhere, but still, by arrangement we can touch the electricity or take it into service by preparing electric wiring and switch. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is everywhere, and you can worship Kṛṣṇa from anything. Everyone knows that this Deity is made of stone. The ground floor, the marble stone, black and white, and the Deity is also black and white. Everyone knows. But why you see the black and white Deity in this temple and gather together and offer prayer? Is it the same marble of the ground, black and white? That means you are seeing in a different position. That is love, love of Kṛṣṇa. Those who haven't got the love, they are seeing that "The same stone on the floor and same stone in the Deity. What these foolish men are worshiping?" They say that "I can worship this stone also." No, no. Kṛṣṇa says, "Yes, that is... The stone on the floor, that is also I am, but I am not present there." This is called acintya-bhedābheda. "Yes, stone I am also, but I am not there at the same time."

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.12 -- Mayapur, April 5, 1975:

So in this way we have to study īśvara-tattva, then śakti-tattva, jīva-tattva. That is knowledge; that is education. Not whimsically suggesting something and talking foolishly and... Athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi jānāti tattvam (SB 10.14.29). If you want to know the truth, then you have to follow these principles, how to know īśvara-tattva. And how to know? Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Then you have to go, approach the bona fide guru. He will let you know. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). No challenge. That is foolishness. No challenge. Praṇipātena. First of all surrender. You don't surrender to a foolish man, but you have to surrender. Now it is your business to find out where to surrender. But you have to surrender. This is the process. Without surrender, you cannot understand the truth as it is. That is the instruction of Vedas everywhere. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam: (SB 11.3.21) "One has to surrender to guru." Why? Jijñāsu: "If you are inquisitive to know the Absolute Truth." And if you want to know something which is flickering, relative truth, that is another thing. But if you want to know the Absolute Truth, śreyaḥ uttamam... Absolute Truth means ultimate benefit, śreya. Ultimate... Yes, exactly the word, benefit. If you want ultimate benefit, then guruṁ prapadyeta. Who is guru? Śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam: one who is expert in understanding the Vedic literature, śābde pare ca, especially transcendental.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.119 -- Gorakhpur, February 17, 1971:

Because God is not poor. He is our father. Just like rich father, there is no insufficiency. In a rich family, the father is very rich, and the sons, they can draw anything from the rich father. Similarly, we can draw anything from Kṛṣṇa, the supreme father. But our, this so-called independence for sense gratification, will not make us happy. That is the position. You can independently try to become Brahmā, what to speak of this prime minister or this king or... You can become Brahmā, Indra, Candra. You can become. They are also living entities in higher position. Just like your president, he is also an Indian, but in higher position. That's all. Your prime minister, he is also Indian. Similarly, all these demigods, Indra, Candra, Varuṇa, they're demigods, they are highly posted as servant of God. But just like a foolish man thinks a constable in the street is the supreme power without knowing the background of the constable's position, similarly, those who are foolish persons, they think demigods are the supreme. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Hṛta-jñānāḥ means lost of all intelligence.

So if we actually try to understand Kṛṣṇa from all points of view on the basis of Vedic literature, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam... (SB 1.3.28). And Kṛṣṇa personally says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). Kiñcid. "Nobody. Nobody is greater than Me." How a foolish man can say that "I am greater than Kṛṣṇa"? So we have to give up all these foolish ideas. We have to take the real fact as it is. And then we become Kṛṣṇa conscious and our life becomes successful. That is our propaganda.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 8.128 -- Bhuvanesvara, January 24, 1977:

Guest (1): Americans, they are not allowed to see Jagannātha temple. What Prabhu Bhaktivedanta is doing? What he's doing for them?

Prabhupāda: That is up to you. We... (break) ...vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ, arcye śilā-dhīr. Everyone knows in the temple... Just like Jagannātha. Everyone knows Jagannātha is made of wood, or, in other temple, made of stone. But people, do they come to see wood and stone? So if anyone thinks... Sometimes the atheist class, they think that "These foolish men, they are going to see a piece of wood." This is nārakī-buddhi. Similarly, arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matiḥ. Those who are acting as guru according to the description, if somebody thinks that "This man is ordinary person," and vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ, similarly caraṇamṛta, Gaṅgajala, if somebody thinks ordinary water, so "he's nārakī." So these Europeans, Americans who are properly initiated according to Vaiṣṇava system, according to Caitanya Mahāprabhu's indication, if somebody thinks their jāti, angrej jāti or American jāti, he's nārakī. What can be done?

Guest (2): What are the reasons why one should not hear from one who has got sufficient knowledge on Lord Kṛṣṇa if he is not outwardly a Vaiṣṇava? That means he's not having śikhā or kunti, like that.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Hari-śauri: He says, "What's wrong with hearing from someone if he has some knowledge of Kṛṣṇa even if he doesn't have a śikhā and tilaka and what have you?"

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.100-108 -- Bombay, November 9, 1975:

He is foolishly thinking that he is master. But he is always... Twenty-four hours, he is being kicked by the laws of nature. But the foolish man cannot understand. Therefore they have been called mūḍha. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). They... He does not come to the sense that "Where I am master? I am servant of the dictation of māyā, the rules and regulation of material nature. Where is my mastership?" This intelligence does not come. He is thinking still he is master, he can control the nature, he can control everything, he is God, he is this, he is that. That is the misconception. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in the very beginning of His instruction He is saying to Sanātana Gosvāmī that "You inquired from him what is your position," ke āmi, " 'What I am?' You are servant of Kṛṣṇa." This is the first impression.

jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa

kṛṣṇera taṭasthā-śakti bhedābheda-prakāśa

(CC Madhya 20.108)

This is the great philosophy. Acintya-bhedābheda. Just like... I have already explained now. So 'ham, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is bhedābheda-prakāśa, I am the same quality of Kṛṣṇa, I am the same Brahman also, but I am not the Parabrahman. Parabrahman is Kṛṣṇa. When Arjuna... He is Brahman. When he realized Kṛṣṇa, he addressed Him, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). He never claimed equal with Kṛṣṇa. That is not knowledge. That is ignorance. So in this way, Sanātana Gosvāmī will understand his position, relationship with Kṛṣṇa, and Sanātana Gosvāmī, we shall understand.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.119-121 -- New York, November 24, 1966:

Therefore it is advised that our fearfulness, "How I shall live? What I shall eat? Where I shall live? Where I'll, I'll have my shelter...?" We are always perplexed with all these fearfulness. Why? Because we have forgotten that there is one who is giving me all protection. We are, we have become so foolish that..., that the lower animals than the human being, they have no economic problem. They are freely living. In the morning they do not care where they shall eat. But there is eating. No animal, no bird, is dying of starvation. Have you seen any animal or any bird has died out of starvation? And who is providing him? So they have no economic problem. The only this foolish, advanced, civilized man, under the name of so-called misusing the intelligence, which was given to him for realization of God, misusing for sense gratification, and therefore they are troubled. That is the whole problem. The world's problem is due to this forgetfulness. Īśād apetasya viparyayo 'smṛtiḥ. They have forgotten the protection of Kṛṣṇa, God. They think that "By this adjustment, we shall be able to protect." Nonsense. It is not possible. Can you protect yourself from death? No. Then what is your protection? So this is the formula: bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt. Dvitīya means that a, a secondary existence beyond God which is, in Bible, it is said, Satan and God. So this satanic mentality has made them under the control of material nature. Satanic mentality. What is that satanic mentality? That "I want to be God." Always thinking falsely, "I am God," or "Independent," "I can do anything, everything," "Whatever I survey, I am the lord of whatever I survey." These foolish things are going on.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.119-121 -- New York, November 24, 1966:

So one has to accept. Sādhu-śāstra-kṛpāya. They are always merciful. But one has to accept them and become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Sādhu-śāstra-kṛpāya yadi kṛṣṇonmukha haya. And as soon as he agrees to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then his path becomes clear. He'll get rid of these material clutches and this always full life full of anxiety and problems, he'll kick. These things, sādhu, śāstra, saintly person and scripture, they have to be accepted. If you don't accept them, then there is no other way. Why there is no other way? Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī (BG 7.14). He's citing again from Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is the book of evidence. Lord Caitanya is citing. Because it is Vedic. Just like in the law court you have to cite section from the law book, not from your concocted mind. No foolish man can argue in the law court, because he has to refer in every step from the law book. Sādhu means that he has to give evidence from the scriptures. Not that "I think... In my opinion you can do this." He's not a sādhu; he's a fool. What is your opinion? You are a conditioned soul. Can you manufacture something? No. You cannot manufacture anything. You have to give reference from authorized scripture. So Lord Caitanya is giving evidence from Bhagavad-gītā: daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī (BG 7.14). Why you cannot yourself get out of these material clutches? The reason is this: daivī hy eṣā. It is, material clutches is so powerful. You cannot get out. It is not possible. Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. "This material nature, which is My energy," Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "it is very strong, very strong." In the history you'll never find that anybody has overcome the laws of material nature by his own effort. No. It is not possible.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.137-146 -- Bombay, February 24, 1971:

The duṣkṛtinaḥ, the miscreants, those who are always engaged in mischievous activities... Such persons are called duṣkṛtina. So duṣkṛtina class, na māṁ duṣkṛtina mūḍhā. Mūḍha means less intelligent or foolish class men. Na māṁ duṣkṛtina mūḍhā prapadyante. "They do not accept Me," narādhama, "the lowest of the mankind." "No, they have got very much educated." Kṛṣṇa says, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. "Yes, they are educated, but their knowledge has been taken away by māyā." Why? Āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ. "Because they have taken to this view, 'There is no God.' " On this account they cannot understand in spite of high degrees of university education. Māyāyapahrta-jñāna. So Kṛṣṇa says like that. The only reason is because duṣkṛtina mūḍhā māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuri-bhāvam... Therefore, in spite of all evidences from the śāstras, they'll not accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Lord, Personality of Godhead. That's it. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja requested his father so many times, but still, he did not agree that there is God. (break) But he agreed there is God when he was killed by God. Yes. That you cannot escape. Then you'll see God: "Here is God." The asuras, they'll never accept God, but when they are killed by God, they understand that "Yes, there is God." That is the difference between asuras and devas. The devas, they accept God while living, and the asuras accept God by being killed. That's all. And who can escape killing? Is there any scientist, is there any philosopher, any great man who can stop being killed by the cruel death? Is there any man? That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham (BG 10.34). "I am mṛtyu." Mṛtyu means death, which takes away everything at a time. Just like "I am very rich man," "I am very big industrialist," "I am prime minister," this, that, so many things. "I am in possession of all I survey. I am the master of my country and everything." That's all right. As soon as death comes, "Oh, I am Jawaharlal Nehru," "I am Gandhi," "Oh!

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.281-293 -- New York, December 18, 1966:

Several times just I have explained this thing, but this material, spiritual, or the qualitative differences, that is for us, not for Kṛṣṇa. How it is? Just like government has got different departments. There is criminal department, civil department, and this department, that department, so many departments. Now, for us the criminal department may not be so pleasing or civil department may be very much pleasing, but for the government both the departments are equal because they have to maintain equally, either criminal department or the civil department. The government has no distinction that "This is criminal department; therefore this department should be neglected," or "It is inferior." No. Rather, in criminal department the government may spend more than civil department. Similarly, these distinctions, these qualitative distinctions, matter, spirit, and the different kinds of modes, they are distinction for us, not for Kṛṣṇa. He is Absolute. He is Absolute. To the Absolute, there is no such distinction. Therefore when Kṛṣṇa comes, when Kṛṣṇa comes in this material, He is not affected by this. Suppose the minister, the secretary of the president, goes to the criminal department to see the prison house. He is not affected by the prison rules. It is simple to understand. If the prisoner thinks, "Oh, he is also one of the prisoners because he has come here," this is nonsense. He is not prisoner. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa comes in this material world, if a foolish man thinks that he is also one of us, he is foolish number one. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritāḥ: (BG 9.11) "Foolish persons, they think that I am one of them." These examples are very nice. We can understand.

So here it is stated that Viṣṇu...,

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.353-354 -- New York, December 26, 1966:

Now, even there are characteristics, somebody does not accept also. Just like Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He never said that "I am avatāra." But from His symptoms, from His characteristics, later on great sages, great philosophers, they decided that He's avatāra. Just like here. Sanātana Gosvāmī's stressed Him, testing, and he's trying to confirm it by Lord Caitanya. Because Lord Caitanya described here that in this Kali-yuga the avatāra, His symptoms are like this: kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra pārṣadam (SB 11.5.32). He is in the category of Kṛṣṇa; by His complexion, He's non-black. Akṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam. And He's always followed by confidential associates. And people who are intelligent, they worship Him by the process of saṅkīrtana. Saṅkīrtanair yajñaiḥ kalau yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ. Su-medhasaḥ means those persons who are, who have got good brain substance. Not foolish persons. Su-medhasaḥ, a man of great brain substance, they can understand, "Oh, here is..." That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in Mahābhārata, in Upaniṣad, in Purāṇas, about Lord Caitanya's appearance. There are many symptomatic explanation. But still there are many fools, they do not accept.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 25.36-40 -- San Francisco, January 23, 1967:

"Oh, he may be an ordinary gentleman. As others come, he has also come." Similarly, unless we know about Kṛṣṇa by the symptoms... There are two mistakes: to understand God as common man or to accept a common man as God. Both things are mistake. So one has to understand. That understanding is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. God Himself, Kṛṣṇa Himself, is describing about Himself, so there is no difficulty. But unfortunately, we have developed such material consciousness that even God describes Himself, even we see God face to face, because we have no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, therefore we cannot see. Therefore we cannot see. So avajānanti māṁ mūḍha. Those who cannot see, they are described here as mūḍha. Mūḍha means foolish or less intelligent class men. So avajānanti māṁ mūḍha mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "Because I am here amongst the human being as a man, therefore those who are less intelligent, they are deriding at Me." Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam paraṁ bhāvam ajānanta (BG 9.11). "Why they deride? Because they do not know what is My background." Paraṁ bhāvam. Paraṁ bhāvam ajānanta, sarva-bhūta-maheśvaram. "They do not know that I am the Supreme Lord, and situated in everyone's heart. Because they do not know, therefore they deride at Me."

Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures

Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Verse 32 -- New York, July 26, 1971:

"You are the Supreme Lord, paraṁ brahma, and pavitra, the purest." So Kṛṣṇa..., Arjuna knew that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, and still, in the Eleventh Chapter he requested Kṛṣṇa that "If You'll kindly show me Your universal form." Try to understand. Arjuna knew it very well that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. Why he wanted to examine Kṛṣṇa? Not for himself, but for others. Because Arjuna knew it very well that in future so many false Gods would appear: "I am God." So before accepting anyone as God, imitating Kṛṣṇa, one should inquire from him "Whether you can lift a hill? Whether you can show the universal form? Whether you can kill such and such demons? Then I shall accept." That is intelligence. Don't accept a foolish man, declaring himself as God, and you accept also God. God is not so cheap. You should know what is God. These descriptions are there. No more, no man, no living entity is greater than God. Therefore God is said: "God is great." Great means nobody can be greater than Him, nobody can be equal to Him. That is greatness. Six opulences. That is analytical study what is God.

So these things are being taught from authoritative scripture and..., what is God, what is our relationship with Him, and what is our function in that relationship. We should know it. Unless we try to know it, simply we waste our time in frivolous activities, that is not proper utilization of human form of life. We are simply requesting people that "You don't waste your valuable time." Our time is so valuable. It has been calculated by Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was a great politician, prime minister, in India, about three thousand years ago, when Candragupta was the emperor. It was about contemporary to Alexander the Great in the Greek history. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was there. He was a great diplomat. He has calculated the value of our life. He says... It is very practical. Anyone can calculate.

Festival Lectures

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Disappearance Day, Lecture -- Bombay, December 22, 1975:

And the, my conception is the bodily conception, that "I am this body. I am born in this country; therefore I belong to this nation, I belong to this community, I belong to this family, I belong to this species," this is called pravṛtti-mārga. This is scientific division, pravṛtti-mārga and nivṛtti-mārga. Why the scientific? Because it is the fact. Science means fact. I am not this body. I am spirit soul. That is, just like a man suffering from some disease, so that is not his normal life to suffer from some disease. Normal life is to keep healthy life, no disease. That is normal life. So in order to keep to the normal life, we must know how to cure the disease. Just like when you have got fever, you go to the doctor, he says, advises "You do this" and "You do not do this." The "do not do this" means nivṛtti-mārga, and "do this," pravṛtti-mārga. If you are serious to cure your disease, then you must know what you should do and what you should not do. But just like a man, a very foolish man, he is suffering from disease but he does not know how to cure the disease, what to do and what not to do, similarly an animal-like man, a two-legged man, he does not know what to do and what not to do. This is explained here.

Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca, janā, pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca, janā na vidur āsurāḥ (BG 16.7). Janā, there are two kinds of men, asura and daiva. Daiva āsurā eva ca. There are two all throughout the whole universe, there are two classes of men: one is called daiva, and one is called āsura. One who knows his relationship with God, he is called daiva, and one who does not know, just like animal, they are called āsura. There is no particular caste or creed, that here is a caste of āsura, caste of daiva. No. Anyone who knows what is God and his relationship with God, sambandha, and then works according to that relation, and achieve the goal of life, he is called daiva, or devatā. And one who does not know this, what is the goal of life, what is God, what is my relationship with God, he is āsura.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Los Angeles, July 20, 1971:

So fragmental part of gold is gold; it may be fragmental. Similarly, we are minute particles of God's body; therefore, qualitatively, we are as good as God. The chemical composition of God's body and our body... Not this body. This is material. I am speaking of our spiritual identification, that body. That is as good as God. The chemical composition is one. But similarly, as the rainwater falls down on the ground, similarly, as we come in contact with this material world,... Material world means it is being manipulated by the material energy of Kṛṣṇa, prakṛti, nature. Nature means whose nature? As soon as we speak of nature, it must be inquired, "Whose nature?" God's nature. Nature is not acting independently. That is another foolishness. In the Bhagavad-gītā, it is clearly said that nature, this material nature is not independent. Just like a foolish man, when he sees that machine is working automatically, machine is not working automatically. There is a driver. A foolish man cannot see behind the machine a driver. That is our defect in vision. A machine, there is electronics working very wonderfully. But behind that electronic work, there is a great scientist who is pushing the button. It is very simple to understand. Machine is matter. It cannot work out of its own accord. It is working under some spiritual direction. Just like this machine, the tape recorder, is working, but it is working under the direction of a living entity, a human being. The machine is all complete, but unless it is manipulated by a spirit soul, it cannot work. Similarly, take it for granted that the whole cosmic manifestation is a great machine, nature. But behind this material nature, there is God, Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture at Caitanya Matha -- Visakhapatnam, February 19, 1972:

If one tries to understand Kṛṣṇa, as He is, not by fiction, not by speculation, not by so-called scholarly, foolish commentation, but Kṛṣṇa should be understood as He is. Then, that is right Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and then one will be able to understand how Kṛṣṇa is working, how the whole world, material atmosphere, and material, cosmic manifestation is working. Then you will understand. Kṛṣṇa says, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10), under my supervision. To understand Kṛṣṇa, and anyone who understands Kṛṣṇa, scientifically, then he, Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. Not the foolish man, the intelligent man, who knows Kṛṣṇa actually, then the result is tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9). Immediately he becomes liberated. So after giving up this body, he never, no more comes back to accept another, this material body. He goes back to home, back to Godhead. (break)

This living entity, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, how he has got this condition of material life? That can be explained in this way. Just like this fire spark. As long as it is in the fire, it is also just like fire, glowing, glowing. Only it is spark, it is glowing. But, if it falls down from the fire, then immediately it becomes extinguished. The glowing quality becomes extinguished, and there are three kinds of different position of the living entity according to the quality of this material nature he associates. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgaḥ asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu. The living entity is the same, but when he comes into this material world, he associates with three kinds of material qualities, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. So one who is in sattva-guṇa, brahminical qualification, actually, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13).

Lecture Excerpt -- Jakarta, February 25, 1973:

...all politicians, let them come, study. (break) ...this is not a movement sentimental. No. It is scientific. (indistinct) ...Christian, anyone, because it is science. Automatic, "Two plus two equal to four." It is four for everyone. Not that because one is Muhammadan it will be five, or because one is Christian it will be three. No. "Two plus two equal to four." Just like (indistinct). Similarly, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will be efficient for everyone if he studies impartially. Otherwise, how in the Western world the Americans—they are not foolish people, all these young men; they are qualified, educated—they're accepting this movement very seriously? I have got many branches almost in every city in America now. Similarly, in Europe. Why not here? Simply I invite all the intelligent class of men to understand. Take one of our books. We have given not only one Bhagavad-gītā... (indistinct) means (indistinct). Anyone can take part (indistinct) illiterate, literate, rich, poor—anyone. But if anyone is proud of his education, let him come and study our books, understand this philosophy, and I'm sure he'll find (indistinct) satisfying. Don't take it as something sentimental, religious (indistinct). It is a scientific, educational movement. Take it in that (indistinct), and you'll be profited.

Lecture -- Jakarta, February 26, 1973:

No. The main meaning is very plain: that Dhṛtarāṣṭra was asking his father's secretary, Sañjaya, "My dear Sañjaya, māmakāḥ, my sons and pāṇḍavāḥ, my brother's sons, Pāṇḍavas, they assembled," dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre (BG 1.1), "in the Kurukṣetra Field, which is known as dharma-kṣetra, the religious pilgrimage. After that meeting, what did they do?" Now, where is the difficulty to understand this verse? But unfortunately, one so-called scholar or so-called foolish man will come, he'll say, "Dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetra means this body." No. "Where you get this meaning, sir?" But he'll say, explain in this way: "The Pāṇḍava means five senses." Well, in which dictionary you'll find? This is going on. This rascaldom is going on. If you'll give up this rascaldom, simply read Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then you'll become successful in life. That is our preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Śyāmasundara: When we conceive of "fire burns," we are shaping an interpretation of the phenomenon. We have experienced it, so we shape an interpretation, and that becomes a law in our minds.

Prabhupāda: What is that law in the mind, you may think or may not think, the law will act. (laughter) Simply speculation. It has no meaning. It is called jugglery of words, that's all. To some foolish men, he is accepted as a great philosopher, but it is simply jugglery of words, that's all.

Śyāmasundara: He says because the mind imposes a priori these laws upon nature as both necessary and universal, that proves that the mind is creative and that it's not a blank slate or tabula rasa.

Prabhupāda: Mind is creative, that's a fact. Creative. He is creating and again rejecting. That is the mind's business, saṅkalpa-vikalpa.

Śyāmasundara: So he says that to apply those four categories of reason onto objects in order to understand them, he says this creates certain knowledge, and so that further judgment beyond these categories would be guesswork or unprovable dogma. But, he says, still the mind is not satisfied with these partial explanations. Even though knowledge that transcends these categories is guesswork, still the mind desires to know something beyond them.

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Hayagrīva: He says this can be intuited, but not known.

Prabhupāda: Not known? To foolish man everything is unknown, but to a man who is in knowledge, he knows everything. From the authority or my direct perception, somehow or other the knowledge is there. So "unknown" means that he doesn't care to know. Where to take knowledge he doesn't know, neither he personally knows; therefore it is unknown.

Hayagrīva: For him we cannot experience God through our senses.

Prabhupāda: No, that is not possible. We always say that when God explains Himself, that is also not to everyone—only to the devotees. The devotees can accept the Personality of Godhead as He instructs. A nondevotee or atheist he cannot understand; he simply speculates. But by speculation it is not possible to understand God.

Hayagrīva: Kant says that speculative reason is unable to attain to a sure or adequate conception of God.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is our..., that the speculator cannot reach vicinity of God. It is not possible. Athāpi te. Only one can understand by the mercy of God, and this mercy is bestowed upon a person who is devotee, who is surrendered to God. Otherwise this mercy is reserved, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ: (BG 7.25) "I am not revealed to everyone and anyone; rather, I am covered by yoga-māyā." Because revelation means when one becomes devotee this covering curtain is... What is called, curtain?

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Prabhupāda: Yes. This (indistinct), called varieties of (indistinct).

Śyāmasundara: But can we predict, can we tell in advance what there will be, what is the future?

Prabhupāda: The future is to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the ultimate future. But because he's not intelligent, he has to be kicked on his face very strongly by the (indistinct). That is the foolish man. And if one is intelligent, he can tell immediately, "Oh, my duty is to serve Kṛṣṇa." That's all. "Why I am trying to serve my senses?" But to come to this platform, this understanding that "I am eternal servant of God. My business is to serve Kṛṣṇa," it requires (indistinct); therefore the māyā is there. Just like police force. The police force is there after the criminal, just to teach him that "You cannot (indistinct) the laws of the state. When you are under our supervision, and we shall simply kick on your face, that is our business." So māyā is always kicking on the face, and (s)he is creating varieties, that's all. This is called conditional life.

Śyāmasundara: So that much is predictable, that for...

Prabhupāda: You can see it is not predictable, it is actually happening. Everyone is trying to be happy, but he is being frustrated. Everyone can see. They are manufacturing different ways of material happiness but becoming frustrated. This is māyā's kicking. There is no question of prediction. Any man who has got a little intelligence, he can see.

Śyāmasundara: So someone can understand, someone can know what the life force is going to do in the future, how it will manifest itself in the future?

Philosophy Discussion on John Dewey:

Prabhupāda: It is the cause and effect. One is the cause of the other; other is the cause of the other. But actually it is the consciousness that requires to be changed—either by hearing from authority or by circumstances. There are two processes to achieve knowledge. This, in Bengali it is said, dekhe sekhara, teke sekhara. When one is actually in an awkward circumstances, that's a fact. So "This kind of way of life is not good. I have to change it." This is called tekhe sekhara. When he is actually in danger, he takes precautions of danger. But one who is intelligent, he understands by hearing that "If you do like that, then you will fall in danger." So that man is intelligent who learns by hearing from the authorities. And one who actually experienced the awkward position, and then he changes his consciousness... That is also one of the processes, but this is better. Therefore our process is to approach the bona fide teacher and learn from him everything. That is brahmacārī life. Not by practical experience. That is Vedic knowledge. The experience is already there. You simply hear and take it. Then it becomes easier. But if you expect that "First of all let me fall down into the ditch, then I shall cry..." Better man is, he takes advice, "Don't go there. You'll fall down in the ditch." Just like Kālidāsa. Kālidāsa was in the beginning he was a great fool. So he was cutting a tree, sitting on the branch. So some intelligent men was going around, "What you are doing, nonsense? You shall fall down." He didn't care, but cutting, he actually fell down. Then, "Oh, you are very intelligent! How did you say? How did you foretold?" Then they saw that he was a first-class fool. So "This boy should be taken to the king's daughter to become her husband." The girl was so intelligent that the challenge was that "Any man who will defeat me in argument, I shall marry." But she was so intelligent that nobody could defeat. So all the learned scholars, the father was asking, "Bring me an intelligent boy to marry her." So they did not find any intelligent boy. Whoever comes, he is defeated. So they decided "Now, because she is so determined to have a very nice husband, we shall make this boy her husband, this fool number one." So they took him there and instructed that "That girl..." and he will show his finger like this. "You'll show this." So he was a fool, so "All right, I'll do that." So when he was brought to the girl, the girl held up one finger and he showed two fingers, and then the all the paṇḍitas, "Oh, the answer is given him. Your girl says eka brahma, 'Brahman is one.' " And he immediately answered (indistinct), "There is no two Brahma. Brahman is one." The girl also thought, "Yes, this boy is a genius." So in this way this foolish man was made her husband, and at night, when she came to understand that he was fool number one, she kicked him and asked him, "Get out of my room." So he became very insulted: "My wife has kicked me.

Philosophy Discussion on Soren Aabye Kierkegaard:

Prabhupāda: So man's general position is as good as animal. Therefore in the human society there is system of education. But man, being advanced in consciousness, he can be properly educated so that he can understand what is God by the teachings of authority, and that is our Vedic system. In the human form of life—not generally but in special cases—they are very much inquisitive to understand about God. That is technically called brahma-jijñāsā. inquiring about the Absolute. And that is only possible in the human form of life. Generally, any human being can be educated in the spiritual life or God consciousness, but if anyone awakens his inquiry, as it is stated, tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21), if one is actually anxious to inquire about God or the supreme knowledge, then he has to approach a guru. That's a fact. Without approaching a bona fide guru there is no possibility of understanding the nature of God and our relationship with Him. So one has to approach a guru. To accept a guru is not a fashion, it is necessity. If one is actually inquisitive, it is a necessity. So the qualification of guru is also given there, that what sort of guru you should search out. Śābde pare ca niṣṇātam (SB 11.3.21). A guru is he who has taken full training in the ocean of spiritual knowledge or Vedic knowledge, śābde pare. Śābde means the Vedic words, or vibration of sound, but that is not ordinary sound, material sound, but spiritual sound. Just like we are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, this spiritual sound. So one who has taken full bathing in the ocean of spiritual sound, and how he has realized the symptom of his life is that such guru is no more interested in materialistic way of life. Such guru does not manufacture gold or jugglery words to attract some foolish men and make money. That is not guru. Guru means who has no more interest in material things. Śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam. He has taken shelter of the Supreme Lord, completely satiating his material desire. So one should approach such guru, then tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). By serving such guru, bona fide guru, and surrendering unto him, and then questioning him, he can make actual progress in spiritual life, and then he understands properly what is God, what is our relationship with Him. That is perfection of human life.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Indian man: Sir, we see that Dr. Stanley Johnson... He is my friend. He said he was traveling in Moscow. One lady got in the train, and she told him, "You look religious. You must very rich also." No. "Sir, you look religious, so you must be very rich." He said, "Why? Why do I look rich?" Because they have the idea that only rich men can think of religion.

Śyāmasundara: Yes. That's their whole idea.

Prabhupāda: That means foolish, all set of foolish rascals, that's all. From his talking we can understand. He is the leader. So he is a big foolish man, and his followers must be all fools. That's all.

Śyāmasundara: Yes. He said that religion is made up by the capitalists to keep the...

Prabhupāda: That means he does not know religion, what is religion, and he wants to define religion. What a foolish man he is. He does not know what is the meaning of religion. Religion means which you cannot change. That is religion. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Yes. Even up to this day, because India is standing on religion, although it is (indistinct), it is all broken, still, all over the world—I have traveled—they are adoring India.

Śyāmasundara: But their explanation is that because everyone is so poor in India that they rely on religion for condolence.

Prabhupāda: But still, people come from other countries to learn religion here. And one Chinese writer, I have seen his book. He plainly writes that "If you want to study religion, it is India."

Śyāmasundara: But more people go from India there to learn science.

Indian man: No, no.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: That is another nonsense. He is a nonsense rascal. That is being proved by his talks. Tāvac ca śobhate mūrkho yāvat kiñcin na bhāṣate. You cannot understand a rascal fool unless he talks. Now he is talking. And sooner I did not know that he is so fool, but I can understand now he is a great fool. This is the test. Tāvac ca śobhate mūrkho yāvat kiñcin na bhāṣate. Mūrkha, you can... A mūrkha can dress himself very nicely, like gentleman sitting amongst the gentlemen, but a learned man and a fool will be understood as soon as he speaks. As soon as talks like a foolish man, one can understand, "Oh, he is a rascal." And as soon as one speaks great subject matter, then one can understand, "Oh, he is learned." So by his talking, now we can understand he is a great fool.

Śyāmasundara: So his follower was Nikolai Lenin. Mostly he reinforced all of Marx's ideas, but he added a few touches of his own. One is that revolution is fundamental, that history...

Prabhupāda: There were so many revolutions. It is not that they have made revolution. There were other revolutions, especially in Europe, the French Revolution. There were so many revolutions.

Śyāmasundara: He studied the revolutions, and he said that history moves in leaps and progresses toward the Communist leap. So he wants to make a leap into the dictatorship of the proletariat, and this he calls the final stage of development of history.

Philosophy Discussion on Thomas Henry Huxley:

Prabhupāda: Then that does not mean that the ātmā becomes the paramātmā. Just like a drop of water, you put into the sea, it mixes with the sea. It is not mixing. Now suppose it is mixing, but that does not mean that the drop of water has become the sea. He is mixed with the seawater, but that, that does not mean he is the sea. He was not sea before, and after dropping him in the sea, he remains as what he was, but he is mixed up in the sea. Just like an airplane is flying, you see, and going higher and higher, and going very high you do not see. That doesn't mean the airplane is lost. You do not see. So these Sankarites' proposal is defective. Just like a green bird enters a tree but you do not see the bird anymore. You simply foolishly think that he has become one with the tree. But that is foolishness. He keeps his individuality, but your defective eyes cannot see him anymore. The Sankarite theory is like that, a defective understanding, that the individual soul merges into the Supreme. He keeps always his individuality. The foolish man cannot see how he has merged or existing.

Hayagrīva: He says, "There is no external power which could affect the sequence of cause and effect which gives rise to karma. None but the will of the subject of the karma which could put an end to it." Now by willing to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, the individual allows Kṛṣṇa to put an end to his karma.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Hayagrīva: Is that...? So Kṛṣṇa is called Mukunda.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So our idea is(?) that is Mukunda.

Hayagrīva: So Huxley has no idea that, of the, of this.

Prabhupāda: I said, I said this, that Kṛṣṇa is therefore called Mukunda.

Philosophy Discussion on Samuel Alexander:

Prabhupāda: There is no meaning of omnipotency if God cannot come and talk with His devotee.

Hayagrīva: Because they have no experience, they think that...

Prabhupāda: That means poor fund of knowledge. The knowledge is imperfect. They are talking of God omnipotent, and He cannot talk with His devotee. Just see. He is restricted by his own law, by his own experience. He is such a fool.

Hayagrīva: This was also Aristotle's view. He said it's foolish for, he says man directs love toward an object that can reciprocate love.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Hayagrīva: Therefore it's foolish to love Zeus because Zeus does not extend his love to man. This was the Aristotelian view, that there's no reciprocation.

Prabhupāda: No, Zeus? Zeus I, I don't follow.

Hayagrīva: Oh, Zeus is a, the Greek God, Greek name for God.

Prabhupāda: He reciprocates to the advanced devotee. Just like it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrva... (BG 10.10). One who is in full love with God, He talks with him. He does not talk with ordinary rascals. And in the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti: (Bs. 5.38) one who has developed love of God, such person always sees God within his heart. So it is a question of Just like Kṛṣṇa says, that "I am talking to you because you are My devotee," bhakto 'si. Why God should talk with nondevotee? He has no business. Just like king, he talks with his immediate officials, minister. He does not talk with the street man. How you can expect? How this street man can express that "I want to talk with the king or the president"? There is no question. He talks. He talks with the qualified devotees, not with others.

Page Title:	Foolish men (Lectures)
Compiler:	MadhuGopaldas, RupaManjari
Created:	25 of Apr, 2013
Totals by Section:	BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=87, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:	87