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Force (Other Lectures)

Lectures

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, December 26, 1972:

Pradyumna: "Driven by affection for his wife and children, a family man works day and night. A philanthropist works in the same way for love of the greater family, and the nationalists for the cause of his country and countrymen. That force which drives the philanthropist, the householder and the nationalists is called rasa, or a kind of..."

Prabhupāda: That attractiveness is called rasa, mellow, taste.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 17, 1972:

Pradyumna: (break) "...devotional service. Every service has some attractive feature which drives the servitor progressively on and on. Everyone of us within this world is perpetually engaged in some sort of service and the impetus for such service is the pleasure we derive from it. Driven by affection for his wife and children, a family man works day and night. A philanthropist works in the same way for love of the greater family and a nationalist for the cause of his country and countrymen. That force which drives the philanthropist, the householder and the nationalist is called rasa, or..."

Prabhupāda: So bhakti is explained, "Bhakti is some active service." It is not a sentiment. And service means work. Not like the karmīs. Karmī or anyone who is working, he is working with some taste. Just like the example is given here: A householder is working day and night. Unless he has got some taste... Suppose one has got wife and children. So to maintain them he has to work very hard. But there is some pleasure in serving the wife and children.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 17, 1972:

Pradyumna: "That force which derives... That force which drives the philanthropist, the householder and the nationalist is called rasa, or a kind of mellow, or relationship, whose taste is very sweet. Bhakti-rasa is a mellow different from the ordinary rasa enjoyed by mundane workers. Mundane workers labor very hard day and night in order to relish a certain kind of rasa which is understood as sense gratification. The relish or taste of the mundane rasa does not long endure and therefore mundane workers are always apt to change their position of enjoyment. A businessman is not satisfied by working the whole week. Therefore, wanting a change for the weekend, he goes to a place where he tries to forget his business activities. Then, after the weekend is spent in forgetfulness, he again changes his position and resumes his actual business activities. Material engagement means accepting a particular status for some time and then changing it. This position of changing back and forth is technically known as bhoga-tyāga, which means a position of alternating sense enjoyment and renunciation."

Prabhupāda: The material world, because everything is temporary, so sometimes when we are fed up with material activities, we stop to do it and become a renouncer. Bhoga-tyāga. "Grapes are sour." You know the story. A jackal entered into a vine orchard, and it was very high. It began to jump to get the grapes, but when he failed, he said, "Oh, these grapes are sour. It is nonsense." (laughter) The karmīs are like that, that they work very hard, but they cannot relish any permanent happiness. That is not possible. Therefore they give up. Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. They give up these worldly activities as false. Jagan mithyā. But they do not relish anything. Actually they do not relish what is Brahma-sukha. Therefore again they fall down.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 20, 1972:

That is called svarūpa-siddhi. Svarūpa-siddhi. So svarūpa-siddhi is attained at a certain stage. Just like svarūpa-siddhi... The desire for sex life is there in every human being, but when the boy and the girl come to the mature stage, it become manifest. It is, is not learned artificially. Similarly, the rāga-mārga, svarūpa-siddhi, becomes revealed or manifest. Śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya. Udaya. This very word, udaya, is used. Just like sun. Sun becomes visible when the sun rises automatically. You cannot force the sun to rise at dead of night. That is not possible. Sun will rise. You just wait. When the time will be right, morning, six o'clock, you'll find the sun.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 7, 1973:

This is India's mission. India's mission is that janma sārthaka kari': "Just make your life successful, and spread this knowledge all over the world." This is India's mission. India's mission is not to imitate technology and work like ass day and night. This is not India's business. Indians are not meant for this purpose. Those who have taken birth in Bhāratavarṣa, they are not ordinary human beings. Naturally, they are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Unnaturally they are being forced to be otherwise. Therefore it is misadjustment. It is not taking place. If you, even in this age, in this city, big city, oh, as soon as there is some religious meeting, thousands and lakhs of people gather. Why? They are meant for this purpose. Artificially, they are being withdrawn. "Don't think of Kṛṣṇa. Don't think of religion." Most artificial. Therefore there is fight. There is always fight.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 8, 1973:

That is taught by the Gosvāmīs, kṛṣṇot-kīrtana-gāna-nartana, always chanting the glories of Kṛṣṇa. Kīrtana, gāna, nartana, nartana means dancing. Dancing is very good. The more you dance, the more you become light; means the burden of material contamination becomes reduced. Dancing is so nice. Even if you don't feel ecstasy, if you dance by force, that will also help us. Kṛṣṇot-kīrtana-gāna-nartanau-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī. By dancing dancing, we shall develop our dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness, love for Kṛṣṇa. This is a nice process. Kṛṣṇot-kīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī. Then you will merge into the ocean of love for Kṛṣṇa. So this is the highest stage of ecstasy for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, always chanting Kṛṣṇa's name, dancing in ecstasy, and to be merged in the ocean of love for Kṛṣṇa. These are the perfection.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 28, 1972:

This service should be spontaneous, not forced. Just like a father loves his son spontaneously. A young man likes to love a young girl spontaneously. So bhakti should be like that. As soon as one hears the name of Kṛṣṇa, immediately, spontaneously, he should be ready to serve Him. That is pure devotion. Not that forced. In the beginning, we have to force, that "You rise early in the morning. There is maṅgala ārātrika. You have to perform it." But when this function will be done spontaneously, "Oh, this is the time to offer maṅgala ārātrika to my Lord..." That is wanted. That is wanted. Not that "Oh, it is a heavy burden to rise early in the morning and to offer maṅgala ārātrika." That is not spontaneous. But one has to act under the direction of spiritual master and śāstra, which is called vidhi-bhakti, regulative devotional service, he comes to the platform of spontaneous service.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 28, 1972:

We have got an example in this connection. Formerly there was child-marriage. Boys and girls were married at the age of ten years, twelve years. So at that time, there was no practically love. But the guardians, they induced the girl to go and offer her husband some eatables, to give her some service. In this way... That was just like regulative. But when they actually come in the platform of attraction, there is no need of direction. So the spontaneous love, when spontaneously we shall serve Kṛṣṇa, without any obligation, without any force, that is required. Spontaneous love, rāga-mārga.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 11, 1973:

So you can prepare. If you want to go to the higher planetary system, you can worship demigods. The Candra, the Moon planet, you are trying to go there. In this way you cannot go. But if you prepare in this life how to be promoted in the Moon planet or sun planet or heavenly planet, then you prepare yourself. Yānti... Not by force. You cannot go by your teeny sputnik and enter into the sun planet. That is not possible. You have to prepare yourself in this life. Yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). This is the injunction. But Kṛṣṇa also says, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16). Even if you go to the Brahmaloka, the highest planet of this universe, still you have to come back again. Mad dhāma gatvā punar janma na vidyate. Therefore a, a sane person should try in this life how to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the highest perfection of life. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching people how to go back to home, back to Godhead. Take advantage of this movement and be happy.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 10, 1972:

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he sings, jaḍa-vidyā saba māyāra vaibhava. This advancement of material education means advancement of the snares of the illusory energy of Kṛṣṇa. Māyāra vaibhava. Because we are already enamored by the glimmer of this material world. Just like the insects are attracted by the fire. They, with great force, enter into the fire without knowing that he's going to die. His forceful entrance into the fire means his sure death. Actually, we are seeing, especially in the Western countries, this motorcar civilization, when we run on on the motorcar, especially with high speed, it is always we think that any moment danger can take place. (aside:) You remember, you were driving your father's car, eighty miles. So I asked you, "Don't go so fast." So the materialistic way of life is that.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 11, 1972:

So everyone is infuriated by the force of sex life. There are many places... In Bhāgavatam it is said, puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etat tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhur. The whole material world is going on: the man is attracted by woman, the woman is attracted by man. And, seeking this attraction, when they are united, their attachment for this material world becomes more and more. And in this way, after being united, or after being married, one woman and man, they seek nice home, gṛha; kṣetra, activities, business, factory, or agricultural field. Because one has to earn money. So get food.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.1 -- Mayapur, March 25, 1975:

So it is the business of the guru to clear up these designations, dirty things. Therefore, vande gurūn īśam. Guru, first offering because he is the agent of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa said that "You give up all these designative dharma; take to real dharma." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam (BG 18.66). "That is your real business." But even Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa does not fail... But Kṛṣṇa does not force. So even upon the request of Kṛṣṇa we do not give up our designation. This is the difficulty. Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, and nobody practically, except the Pāṇḍavas and few other devotees, nobody took it seriously. And what to speak of now. They are talking of Bhagavad-gītā, scholars of Bhagavad-gītā, but without Kṛṣṇa. That is their business. These demons, they are preaching Bhagavad-gītā without Kṛṣṇa. Nobody preaches about Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 3.87-88 -- New York, December 27, 1966:

They are seeing Viṣṇu is sitting, but they do not care for Viṣṇu: "Oh, we don't want this." They do not care for even Viṣṇu. They are searching after Kṛṣṇa. And when Rādhārāṇī came, Kṛṣṇa could not hide Himself with four hands. He had to become two-handed. The Rādhārāṇī's love was so forceful that Kṛṣṇa could not retain His hiding, I mean to say, feature of Viṣṇu. So for other gopīs He could hide Himself, but they did not care. They simply offered their..., "Oh, Viṣṇu. All right." But they want Kṛṣṇa. But when Rādhārāṇī came, Kṛṣṇa could not hide Himself with His four hands. He became immediately two-handed as Kṛṣṇa.

So it is the force of love. It is the force of ecstasy that will help you in understanding the science of Kṛṣṇa, not other way. Not other. You cannot make a speculation; you cannot... Because what is your power of speculating power? Your senses are limited. In conditioned stage our power of, I mean to say, acquiring knowledge through the senses, that is limited.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 3.87-88 -- New York, December 27, 1966:

If you make research in a speed, and the speed is stated, koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṅgavānām... Just like if you want to cover a path which is very long, and how you measure its length? Now, by research. What is that research? Now, you go on by force. What is that force? The force of mind and force of velocity of the wind, velocity of the wind and velocity of the mind. And you push on in that way for ten millions or more than years in that way, still, you will find avicintya: you have not reached the goal. Research. If you make your research in such a speed and for many millions of years, still, avicintya-tattva, still it will be inconceivable.

So the best thing is that to believe it, and accept the opinion of authorities, and believe by the activities of God and His incarnation, and submit yourself to get the thing. That's all.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.1 -- Mayapur, March 1, 1974:

These rascals, they do not know. They think that "If I get a body of a king or a rich man, that is my success." But that is not success, because you may get a king's body or very exalted body this life, but you have to change this body. That is..., you will be forced. Suppose you are very in exalted position, you are minister or king or some..., but you'll not be allowed to stay. But these foolish persons, they do not know. They do not try to understand that "What is my next position?" Therefore they are called mad. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vi... Madman doing, he does not know what is the ultimate goal because they do not know that there is life after death. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). They do not know that. Therefore they are mad after this sense gratification.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 6.154-155 -- Gorakhpur, February 19, 1971 (Krsna Niketan):

They are hoping against hope. Don't you see? Everyone is trying to be very happy individually, nationally, but it is not happening. Sukhera lagiya, ei ghara bhandinu, agune puriya gelo (?). The nature's law is that, that it will set fire. Tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. Bhāgavata says that "Why you are hankering after happiness? If you are destined to get some happiness, you'll have it. There is no need of your further endeavoring." "Why? Everyone is trying. I shall try." No. Tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. Just like you don't hanker after distress. Why distress comes? Why distress is forced upon you? So many people come to us, "Swamijī, I am in distress in this way and that way." But he never wanted this distress.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.98-102 -- April 27, 1976, Auckland, New Zealand:

Just like nobody hankers after distress, but we have experienced, distress is forced upon us. So similarly, śāstra says that whatever happiness you are destined to get, wherever you remain, you'll get it by destiny. So there is no need of trying for suppressing distress and getting happiness. Don't waste your time in that way. But you try for that thing which you never got in other different forms of life. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This life is meant for this purpose, to understand Kṛṣṇa and God, or God. Yes. That is the only... athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is meant. Not for wasting our time simply with the animal propensities. The modern civilization, modern education, has no information about this. Nobody is trying to understand what is the actual aim of life. There is no such civilization. Therefore he is presenting himself, kuviṣaya-kūpe paḍi' goṅāinu janama. "Simply in the matter of searching after false happiness I have wasted my time." That he has condemned.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.100-108 -- New York, November 22, 1966:

This is the situation of the world. Everyone who has no spiritual knowledge, who does not know what he is, still, he is very much proud that he's very learned. So such kind of learning may be praised materially, but spiritually it has no value. Spiritually it has no value, because this is temporary, temporary. Just like by force, so many people is posted on the king's position, but after five years, ten years, again he's a common man. So similarly, all this material acquisition, they have no permanent value. Therefore those who are actually learned, they don't give any importance to this material acquisition. So Sanātana prabhu is, by his personal behavior, he's presenting himself that "People say that I am very learned, but actually I am not learned." This should be the position.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.101-104 -- Bombay, November 3, 1975:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu answered that Sanātana Gosvāmī... But he is actually very learned. If he is not learned, then how he can give up his post as the minister, finance minister? He is actually learned because he was inquisitive that "I must know the goal of my life, I must make my life successful, and therefore I must go to Caitanya Mahāprabhu." So Caitanya Mahāprabhu appreciated his approach, that "You have come to Me for better enlightenment. That means you are not ordinary person. You are not ordinary conditioned soul. Who can sacrifice such big post and the honor and come to a sannyāsī and submit to Me?" Therefore He says, prabhu kahe—kṛṣṇa-kṛpā pūrṇa haya: "God's mercy is fully there in You." Saba tattva jāna: "You have understood all the truths of life." Saba tattva jāna tomāra nāhi tāpa-traya. And he was inquiring that "Why I am forced to accept all kinds of miserable condition of life?" But, "For You there is no such thing."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.102 -- Baltimore, July 7, 1976:

We are hankering after independence, but so long we remain in this material world, there is no question of independence. So intelligent man, when he inquires about, when he thinks over, that "I want independence from so many things, but I am not independent. I am forced to accept, then where is my independence?" When this question arises, then he is human being. Otherwise he's as good as the cats and dogs. Because the cats and dogs, they cannot inquire. Just like an animal is being sent to the slaughterhouse, he cannot say "Why I am... What I have done? Why you are sending me to the slaughterhouse?" He cannot protest. Even he protests, nobody hears him. Nobody hears. He protests by crying, by screaming, but we have made our own theories: "This crying is nothing. It has no soul. We can kill."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.104 -- New York, July 10, 1976:

One must be inquisitive. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. He must be conscious that "I do not want all these things, miserable condition of life, and they are enforced upon me. I cannot check them; they are coming. No, there must be somebody superior who's law is being forced." That is the factor. That is religion. Religion means to find out the supreme controller who is forcing everything. That is religion. That is stated in the dictionary. Religion is not some sentiment, some ritualistic ceremony. No. This inquiry about the supreme controller, that's a fact. We see in every step there is a supreme controller, and we are foolishly declaring that we are independent. This is called foolishness. So real religion means to come out from this foolish conception of life, that "There is no controller. We are everything. Whatever we like, you can do. There is no life after death, and there is no life in other planets..." These are all ignorance. Simply fool's paradise. It has no meaning.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.108-109 -- New York, July 15, 1976:

A servant cannot become master. That is not possible. But as soon as... As long as we shall persist on this wrong conception of life, that "I am not master; I am servant," er, "I am not servant; I am master," then he will suffer. The māyā will give him suffering. Daivī hy eṣā. Just like outlaws, rogues and thieves, they defy government order: "I don't care for government." But that means he voluntarily accepts suffering. He has to take care of government law. If he does not ordinarily take care, outlaw, then he'll be put into the prison house and by force, by beating, by punishment, he has to accept: "Yes, yes, I accept."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.118-119 -- New York, November 23, 1966:

He's the supreme spiritual master within you. As soon as you will take to devotional service, He'll give you dictation, "You do this." What dictation? To go to hell? No. Buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam. In the Bhagavad-gītā: "I give him intelligence." Why? What for? Yena mām upayānti te: "By which he can come back to Me." That buddhi-yogam. He'll help you. If you think something... If He takes seriously about your case, if you are fully surrendered, then He'll direct you in such a way that you cannot go elsewhere except to Him, even sometimes you may find that "He is doing something against my will." I have got my personal experience. I never tried, never accepted that I shall become a sannyāsī. And I tried my best to keep myself in this material world. And He has, several times He has frustrated me and has brought me by force (to) this life. And now I am happy. I can understand that how much favor has Kṛṣṇa showed me. Yes. I did not understand in the beginning.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.120 -- Bombay, November 12, 1975:

So actually our problem is that we are diseased at the present moment, every one of us. What is that disease? Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). This is our disease: we are forced to die, we are forced to take birth, we are forced to become old and we are forced to become diseased. This is our problem, but nobody inquires about this. When there is death forced upon us, they simply cry, "Oh, my father is gone. My father is gone." When we are diseased, then we cry. But nobody inquires that "Why I am put into this condition?" That is intelligence. That is called brahma-jijñāsā. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. So this Caitanya Mahāprabhu's disciple Sanātana Gosvāmī is inquiring that, that "What I am? Why I am put into these difficulties?" This is intelligent question. One should go to the spiritual master, guru, for answering or making solution of these problems, not for getting some material profit, that "I have got some disease," and the guru says, "All right, you take this dust and you become cured." "I am poor," "All right, I am creating some gold for you. Take it." This is not relationship with guru. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). One should go to guru for making the ultimate solution of life, not temporary.

Festival Lectures

Lecture-Day after Sri Gaura-Purnima -- Hawaii, March 5, 1969:

So Lord Caitanya said the same thing. Lord Kṛṣṇa said... As the Supreme Lord, He commended—He has got the commanding power because He is the Supreme God—that "You surrender unto Me." Just like some superior, the teacher or father or king, says "You must do it." But there is force. A state says "You must do it," but if you do not do it, then there is force. Just like this draft board. They are demanding that "You must join. If you don't join, there will be force, and you will be forcibly joined after that." So here, in the Kṛṣṇa's order, because He is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, there is no force. That voluntary. He says that "This is life. You surrender unto Me." But He could force Arjuna to surrender, or anybody, because He is Supreme Lord. But that force He does not apply because He has given us little independence. Therefore, if He forces, then His gift of independence is misused from His side.

Lecture-Day after Sri Gaura-Purnima -- Hawaii, March 5, 1969:

Devotee: ...withdraw that independence, can we request Kṛṣṇa to force us to surrender to Him, due to our conditioning?

Prabhupāda: Yes, you can request Him. And He sometimes forces. He puts you in such circumstances that you have no other way than to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Yes. That is special favor. That is special favor. Yes. My spiritual master wanted me to preach, but I did not like it, but he forced me. Yes. That is my practical experience. I had no desire to accept the sannyāsa order and preach, but my spiritual master wanted it. I am not very much inclined, but he forced me. That is also done. That is special favor. When he forced me, at that time, I thought that "What is this? What...? I am committing some mistake or what is that?" I was puzzled. But a little after, I could understand that it is the greatest favor shown to me. You see? So when Kṛṣṇa forces somebody to surrender, that is a great favor. But generally, He does not do so.

Gundica Marjanam Cleansing of the Gundica Temple, Lecture (the day before Ratha-yatra) -- San Francisco, July 4, 1970:

Similarly, Kṛṣṇa went to His father's house, and He came to Kurukṣetra in the chariot. This is Ratha-yātrā. And Rādhārāṇī and the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, their only business was... After Kṛṣṇa departed from Vṛndāvana to Mathurā and He never returned... Once He returned. So Mother Yaśodā, the cowherd boys and the gopīs, they lost their life and vital force. So they were simply crying and weeping. That was their business. So Kṛṣṇa sent sometimes Uddhava to pacify them, that "I am coming very soon after finishing My business." So when they got this opportunity that "Kṛṣṇa has come to Kurukṣetra with His brother, sister, father. So let us go and see..." So they went to Kurukṣetra to see Kṛṣṇa.

Ratha-yatra -- New York, July 18, 1976:

There is the Jagannātha Deity. The King was very much anxious to establish a temple of Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and Subhadrā, but there was a contract between the sculptor and the King that the sculptor would go on working in closed door and the King should not disturb him. But when many days passed the King felt, "What this worker is doing?" So he forcefully opened the door, and he saw that the sculptor could not finish the Deity. So this form of Jagannātha, Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and Subhadrā, was unfinished. They were going under construction, carving, but the King forcibly opened the door. Therefore the King said, "I shall worship this unfinished Deity. Never mind." So this Jagannātha you see in this form because King Indradyumna wanted to worship Him in that form.

Radhastami, Srimati Radharani's Appearance Day -- Montreal, August 30, 1968:

It's not that Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, as the Māyāvādī philosophers say, that the impersonal Brahman appears in form. This is rascaldom. Actually, He appears in His own form, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā (BG 4.6). We are accepting this form not by our own potency. I have accepted this body, you have accepted this body, not by your own will. You have been forced to accept a particular type of body according to your work. You cannot make choice. Otherwise, everyone would have made his choice to take birth in America or some place like that, or heavenly planets. Oh, that is not choice. Just like if the foreigners, they apply for immigration, there is, the choice depends on the highest authority.

His Divine Grace Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Maharaja's Disappearance Day Lecture, (Srila Prabhupada's Sannyasa Guru) -- Seattle, October 21, 1968:

I cannot accept so much trouble." So... But I retired from my family life. I was sitting alone in Vṛndāvana, writing books. So this, my Godbrother, he insisted me, "Bhaktivedanta prabhu..." This title was given in my family life. It was offered to me by the Vaiṣṇava society. So he insisted me. Not he insisted me. Practically my spiritual master insisted me through him, that "You accept." Because without accepting the renounced order of life, nobody can become a preacher. So he wanted me to become a preacher. So he forced me through this Godbrother, "You accept." So unwillingly I accepted. And then I remembered that he wanted me to go to the Western country. So I am feeling now very much obliged to my, this Godbrother, that he carried out the wish of my spiritual master and enforced me to accept this sannyāsa order.

His Divine Grace Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Maharaja's Disappearance Day Lecture, (Srila Prabhupada's Sannyasa Guru) -- Seattle, October 21, 1968:

The child is afraid of taking medicine. That also I have experienced. In my childhood, when I became ill, I was very stubborn. I won't accept any medicine. So my mother used to force medicine within my mouth with a spoon. I was so obstinate. So anyway, similarly, I did not want to accept this sannyāsa order, but this Godbrother forced me. "You must." Apāyayan mām, he forcefully made me to drink this medicine. Anabhīpsu andham. Why I was unwilling? Anabhīpsu means unwilling. Andham, andham means one who is blind, who cannot see his future. The spiritual life is the brightest future, but the materialists cannot see to it. You see? But the Vaiṣṇavas, the spiritual master, they forcefully, "You drink this medicine." You see. Apāyayan mām anabhīpsu andhām śrī-keśava-bhakti-prajñāna-nāma. So this my Godbrother, his name is Keśava, Bhaktiprajñāna Keśava. Kṛpāmbudhi. So he did this favor upon me because he was ocean of mercy. So we offer our obeisances to Vaiṣṇava, kṛpāmbudhi. Vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca. The Vaiṣṇavas, the representatives of the Lord, they are so kind. They bring the ocean of mercy for distributing to the suffering humanity. Kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye (CC Madhya 6.254). So I am offering my respectful obeisances unto this His Holiness, because he forcefully made me adopt this sannyāsa order.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Disappearance Day, Lecture -- Los Angeles, December 13, 1973:

So that actually happened to my life. I was obliged to come to this movement to take up this very seriously. And I was dreaming that "Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura is calling me, 'Please come out with me!' " (pause) So I was sometimes horrified, "Oh, what is this? I have give up my family life? Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura is calling me? I have to take sannyāsa?" Oh, I was horrified. But I saw several times, calling me. So anyway, it is by his grace I was forced to give up my family life, my so-called business life. And he brought me some way or other in preaching his gospel.

So this is a memorable day. What he desired, I am trying little bit, and you are all helping me. So I have to thank you more. You are actually representative of my Guru Mahārāja (Śrīla Prabhupāda starts to cry) because you are helping me in executing the order of my Guru Mahārāja.

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

I was acting whimsically, by the dictation of my different senses." Kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mātsarya, like that. Na kāmādīnāṁ katidha na katidhā pālitā durnideśa. The śāstra says, you should not steal-an example. But I am stealing. Why? Na kāmādīnāṁ katidha na katidhā pālitā durnideśa. I know I should not steal; therefore I go to somebody's house very secretly, or push my hand very secretly in one's pocket. I know that I should not do this, but I am forced to do it. Why? I am dictated by my lusty desire. So I am become servant of my six senses. Manaḥ saṣṭhanīndriyāni prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). This is our position. Na manina kulya... Everyone knows. A thief knows if he commits theft he'll be punished, either by the police or by the laws of God. Everyone knows, but he still commits theft. Why? He is dictated by the lusty desires.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Disappearance Day, Lecture -- Hyderabad, December 10, 1976:

So 1922 I met my Guru Mahārāja through the exigency of my intimate friend, Mr. Narendranath Mullik. And I would not go. He told me information, "There is a nice sādhu. Let us go and see." I did not like very much these sādhus in those days, national spirit. So I said, "I have seen many sādhus. They come at my father's care. I was not very much pleased with their behavior." So he dragged me forcibly: "No, I have heard this person is very exalted." So I went. And his first opening version was that "You are educated young men. Why don't you preach Caitanya Mahāprabhu's gospel in the Western countries?" I did not know. So this was his blessing in the first meeting. I did not know, but because we belonged to a Vaiṣṇava family we were very much worshiper of Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda, our family Deity. So I was very much pleased that "Here is a personality who is going to preach Caitanya Mahāprabhu's gospel." I was very much pleased.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Disappearance Day, Lecture -- Hyderabad, December 10, 1976:

So it is better late than never. Yes. So he desired me. I thought, "Now I am a family man. Let me adjust things." I would have accepted immediately, but I was not so intelligent at that time. I thought "My responsibility to family is there. Let me wait." But still, Guru Mahārāja was so kind to me that when I was gṛhastha, I was seeing him in dreaming and I was... He asked me, "You come with me." So I was going, and after that, I was thinking, "Oh, I will have to take sannyāsa and go with him?" So it appeared to me very horrible. I was not very much inclined to take sannyāsa, but Guru Mahārāja is so kind that he ultimately forced me to take sannyāsa and do this work. So it is all his kindness. So this is the memory of his kindness.

Varaha-dvadasi, Lord Varaha's Appearance Day Lecture -- Bhuvanesvara, January 31, 1977:

We are now human being. It may be next life I become a crocodile according to karma, be forced by the laws of nature. Just like in Honolulu, Hawaii, we see so many young boys, they are enjoying, they are surfing in the middle of the ocean, struggling. So our karma, if you are practiced to that way, then at the time of death I shall think of just, in the middle ocean, swimming and struggling, then Kṛṣṇa will give opportunity to become a aquatic. Very easily we can remain within the water. That is the laws of nature. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6).

So our taking the shape of crocodile or boar or something animal that is karma. But that is a horse, real horse is karma but the Gladstone's becoming horse, that is not karma, that is enjoyment. We should understand like that, that when keśava dhṛta-kūrma-śarīra and varāha-śarīra, He's not forced by karma.

Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance Day Nitai-Pada-Kamala Purport -- Los Angeles, January 31, 1969:

Simply, if we want eternal pleasure, we must contact Nityānanda. Vidyā-kule ki koribe tār. Vidyā means education, and kula means family, nationality. So we may have a very nice family connection or we may have very nice national prestige, but after ending this body, these things will not help me. I'll carry my work with me, and according to that work, I shall have to accept by force another type of body. It may be something other than human body. So these things cannot protect us or give us the real pleasure.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Lecture -- Los Angeles, February 7, 1969:

So nothing is stopped. If you want to use your sex life, yes, you can use for producing Kṛṣṇa conscious children. Nothing is stopped. Simply it is purified. That's all. This is the whole program. There is no question of "Stop this." Stop cannot be. How it can be stopped? Suppose I am a human being. If somebody says, "Oh, you cannot eat," is it possible? I must eat. So there is no question of stopping. The question is purifying it. So... And the other philosophy is to, I mean to say, snub down forcibly, make it void, just like they say, "Just become desireless." They advocate. So how can I be desireless? Desire must be there. But I shall desire for Kṛṣṇa.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, SB 6.3.24 -- Gorakhpur, February 15, 1971:

This meditation is artificial. Therefore, they do not get any result. Simply waste time, and they remain the number one debauch, as they are. So this kind of meditation... Because they will not put any form... "The Brahman is impersonal." So how they can think of any form? It is very difficult to adjust. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā says, kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām (BG 12.5). They want to meditate upon impersonal Brahman, but it is very troublesome. Because Brahman is not impersonal, but force, they want to make Brahman impersonal.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, SB 6.3.24 -- Gorakhpur, February 15, 1971:

Just like there is a Parsi community in India. Fire worship is recommended in the Vedas. So that powerful sun, sun-god, they worship the sun. That is the stage of saura, saura stage. And then, next is the power vox populi, the power of the votes. That is the stage of Gaṇapati. Gaṇa... Gaṇa means the number of people. Just like in nationalism they are counting upon the power. In this way, they realize some sort of power, I mean to say, moving force or the soul. That is the stage of... They say, śivo 'ham. Śivo 'ham. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is the stage of śaiva. And when they expand that, that "This power, this spiritual power, soul, is all over, all-pervading, impersonal Brahman," that is... They, sometimes they accept Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu means all-pervading. But their realization of Viṣṇu is impersonal.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Lecture -- Atlanta, March 2, 1975:

Perhaps some of you know the name, Gauḍīya Math. And he was trying to spread this message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and by chance or by prediction, as you think, I was taken to Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura by one of my friends. I did not want to go there, but he forcibly took me there. Yes. And he ordered me that "You preach the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu in English language. This is very much essential." So on the first meeting he told me like that. That was my first meeting with him. So at that time I was in favor of Gandhi's movement. So I said that "We are not independent—subjugated. Who will hear about our message?" So Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura refuted my argument. I was very much pleased. I had so many talks. But I was very much pleased to be defeated, that "This so-called nationalism or any ism, they are all temporary. Real need is the self-realization."

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Address -- Los Angeles, February 9, 1975:

"My dear Lord, please wind up Your, these dazzling rays so that I can actually see Your face." Within brahma-jyotir the Kṛṣṇa is there. So Kṛṣṇa can be seen only by service. You cannot challenge Kṛṣṇa, "Kṛṣṇa, come here. I shall see You." No. That is not possible. You have to submit. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is the way. You have to surrender. So long you don't surrender, that is up to you. Kṛṣṇa will not force you. He is almighty, He can force you, but He does not do that. He says, "You do this. If you do not do it, that is your business. But I say you do it."

Arrival Lecture -- Mexico, February 11, 1975, (With Spanish Translator):

My dear devotees, ladies and gentlemen, I am very glad to see you again, I think, after four years? Three years. I was trying to come here again—I like this place—but due to various engagements and due to my old age also, I could not come earlier. But this time, by the arrangement of our Hṛdayānanda Mahārāja, I have been forced to come here. (laughter) So I must thank you for your nice reception. I was received by police escort very nicely, and I remember once I traveled with the governor of UP in 1962 from Lucknow to Kanpur. So exactly we were driving in the same fashion, escorted by the police motorcycle. So anyway, I am so pleased to see you, that you are interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Arrival Conversation -- Los Angeles, June 20, 1975:

Twenty-four and three guṇas. Three guṇas: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Twenty-seven. So twenty-seven layers of garbage. Underneath, the soul is. What he will do? He is a small particle, soul, and he is covered with so many material elements. To come out of it is very very difficult. But if one is engaged in devotional service he can come out immediately. Just like when one is spiritually perfect, he goes immediately to Kṛṣṇa, penetrating these material coverings of the universe. Immediately. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9), immediately. That is spiritual force.

Arrival Address -- Paris, August 11, 1975:

So we are trying to educate all people, all nations of the world to understand this one verse, that's all. Na jāyate vā mriyate vā kadācit. If he simply understands this one verse, he immediately becomes liberated. And actually, human life is meant for understanding this philosophy or this truth. Then his life is successful. And as soon as we understand that we are eternal, we are not mortal, then naturally our inquiry will be, "Where we can live eternally?" That will be the inquiry. In the material world as you are forced to take birth and death, so similarly in the spiritual world, the first advantage is there is no birth and death, just the opposite. So our process is to train people how to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the only education required in this human life.

Arrival Address -- Mauritius, October 1, 1975:

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: You explained that the active force is the spirit soul, and this is what is causing the body to move about, to eat, develop. If this is the active force, then at what stage are the activities of the soul realized as distinct from the activities of the body?

Prabhupāda: Oh, that is not very difficult. When the soul is gone, there is no activity of the body. Where is the difficulty to understand? So long the soul is there within the body, body is acting. As soon as the soul is out, it is not acting. It is very easy to understand. Is there any difficulty to understand? Why the body was moving one moment before, acting very nicely, but as soon as the soul is gone, it is dead body? That's all. Finished. It is lump of matter. What is the difficulty?

Arrival Lecture -- Melbourne, April 19, 1976:

Just like you see, so many kingdoms were there, Moghul Empire, British Empire, Roman Empire, and so many empires were there. Where are those empires? Finished all. That will finish. It will not stay. Now the so-called kings, the emperors, they are now practically beggars. So if we do not decorate Kṛṣṇa, if we decorate our personal body, then gradually it will be finished. You'll be forced to become naked, what to speak of decoration? This is the way of nature. But if you try to decorate Kṛṣṇa, then without decoration you'll be worshiped; you'll be beloved. And this is the secret, just opposite. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, yat karoṣi yaj juhoṣi yad aśnāsi (BG 9.27).

Arrival Address -- New York, July 9, 1976:

They are trying to go to the upper planetary system, and they can go. There is no difficulty. Yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti (BG 9.25). But you have to properly prepare. Not that because you have got one sputnik or airplane you can go by force. That is not possible. This is all rascaldom. This is not possible. But you can go if you prepare yourself. You can go even back to home, back to Godhead. Mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām. So there is every possibility. Now this is the crucial point of human form of life. We can go in the higher planetary system, we can go in the lower planetary system, we can stay where we are, or even we like we can go back to home, back to Godhead.

Initiation Lectures

Lecture & Initiation -- Seattle, October 20, 1968:

So this age is like that. Not only in India, in other countries the difficulties are in a different way. The problems are different. But there are problems, either in India or in America or in China. Everywhere, they are trying to make so many schemes for world peace. In your country also, in America even, there is no safety of life for big men like Kennedys, you see. Anyone can be killed at any moment, and there is no action. So there is another problem. In Communist country they are, by force, they're ruling on the citizens. So many Russians, so many Chinese, they are going away out of their country.

Brahmana Initiation Lecture -- New Vrindaban, May 25, 1969:

Oh, he is immediately to the brahminical place. If he is a liar, immediately he is pañcama, less than śūdra. You see? So these things were done. People have misused the whole thing: "Now I am born of a brāhmaṇa. By force I am brāhmaṇa." You see? Just like Paṇḍitajī, our late Prime Minister Paṇḍitajī. He was less than the caṇḍāla, but he was addressed as "Paṇḍitajī." "Paṇḍitajī" is the address of the brāhmaṇa. You see? By lakṣaṇam... Nobody cared for lakṣaṇa because his forefather, somebody, was a brāhmaṇa, although there was no garbhādhāna ceremony, no system, still. This is not accepted. People misunderstand Hindu culture, Vedic culture, that there are forced caste system. No. It is varṇābhivyañjakam, by the symptom, quality, qualification. It is not by birth.

Initiation Lecture and Bhagavan dasa's Marriage Ceremony -- New Vrindaban, June 4, 1969:

Under the three modes of material nature people are entangled. So to get out of this, the same proposition, as I explained in the beginning, to get out of this entanglement of constant transmigrating from one body to another, so this is the mantra. Simply to... Yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣam. Puṇḍarīkākṣam means Kṛṣṇa. So if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, you'll be forced to remember Him. As soon as the word "Kṛṣṇa" is there and the more you are practiced to this habit, then simply we'll see Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa—nothing more. You'll see nothing. Sarvatra sphūrti tāra iṣṭa-deva mūrti. As you make advance, then you'll see a tree, but you'll see Kṛṣṇa. You'll not see the form of tree. Sarvatra sphūrti tāra iṣṭa-deva... Because one who is conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa, he'll know how His energies are working in so many ways; therefore he'll be sympathetic. That is universal vision. That is universal love.

Initiation Lecture -- Boston, December 26, 1969:

Those who have taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously, even there are some faults, still, they are saintly persons. That is the recommendation of Kṛṣṇa. Because that fault may be due to his past habits, but that is being stopped. Just like you make the switch off, no more electric current will act, but the fan still gives some rounds due to the past force. Similarly, a Kṛṣṇa consciousness person, even if he's found in fault, Kṛṣṇa says, "No." Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). "He's saintly person, sādhu." Why? Now, the process he has taken up, that will cure him in due course of time. Śaṣvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati. So these who have fortunately come to this platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness by association, by practice, this is the way. So stick to it. Don't go away. Even if you find some fault, don't go away from the association. Struggle, and Kṛṣṇa will help you.

Initiation Sri Ranga, Romaharsana, Sridhara Dasas -- Los Angeles, July 3, 1970:

Unless one is recommended by the president... If he is eager, he is, I mean to say, accept brāhmaṇa, then we see that how he is attending our classes, how he is becoming little interested. Then we offer this first initiation. Otherwise, if we see that he is unmindful, then we should not canvass. Let him come. Just like Kṛṣṇa says Arjuna that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "You just surrender unto Me." He's saying. Not that by force making him surrender. That kind of surrender will not stand. We should not canvass.

Initiation Lecture -- Los Angeles, July 13, 1971:

Sometimes it is found that in incidents you will find in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, yasyānugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad... Therefore sometimes people do not come to worship because generally they say, "The Viṣṇu worship, or Vaiṣṇavas, they are generally poor. So I don't want to be poor." Yes. I was thinking like that. (laughter) When my Guru Mahārāja ordered me... When I was manager in Bose's laboratory, so he ordered me. So I thought, "Oh, I cannot do this. I cannot accept this sannyāsa." But he was so kind, and he is so kind still. Then he forced me, that "You must do it," taking, pulling my ear, he brought me to this line. In the beginning I was not willing. So it is his causeless mercy upon me. That I can understand now. I can understand now how much I have been relieved by accepting this life. So sometimes we find that our income is reduced.

Detroit Initiations -- Detroit, July 18, 1971:

That means more one is materially suffering, he'll not be interested to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But the example is this: The candy is the only medicine for jaundice. So we have to give him candy by force. And as he cure, as he cures, he'll say, "Oh, candy's very nice. Candy's sweet." So in the beginning we have to force. We have to give the medicine just like horse is given medicine. Three men required to induce medicine to the mouth of the horse. So this is our duty, to inject Hare Kṛṣṇa medicine just like pushing medicine in the throat of a horse. By force. (japa) (devotees chant prayers) Then neck, neck beads. Let them... (devotees continue prayers; devotee begins lecture again) Go on. I shall distribute this.

Initiation Lecture -- London, August 22, 1971:

If there is some siren, then immediately on the roof of this house, atom bomb will be dropped. Then immediately we shall flee away from this place. Why? Because we are not prepared to meet death. We do not wish to die. That's a fact. But death is forced. This is knowledge, that "I do not wish to die. Why death is forced upon me? Or if there is any means to avoid death?" The śāstra says, "Yes, there is." Bhagavad-gītā says, Kṛṣṇa says that... Kṛṣṇa says, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6), that if you... Mad-dhāma gatvā punar janma na vidyate. "If you come to my planet, dhāma," dhāma means planet, place, "then you'll never come back to take birth again in this material world."

Cornerstone Ceremonies

Foundation Stone Ceremony Speech -- Bhuvanesvara, February 2, 1977:

Of course, my Guru Mahārāja asked me... When I was twenty-five years old, I first met him. He asked me to do this task. But I thought that "Let me adjust my family life, and then I shall do this." But I took it very seriously. But family life, never it was adjusted, so he forced me at the ripe old age to take up this work. So I tried to make an experiment that nobody had done: "Let me try." But I tried sincerely, so by the grace of my Guru... Guru-Kṛṣṇa, they favored me. When I was on the Commonwealth Jetty, Pier, yes, I was thinking that "Who will hear me? As soon as I shall say to these people that 'No illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication and no gambling,' immediately they will say, 'Please go home. Don't talk here.' " Because I know that. This is their daily life.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Los Angeles, February 2, 1968:

So nothing is neglected. That is another point. But if somebody thinks that "I have got all these opulences; therefore God realization is very easy for me," no, that is not. So God realization depends on God, because God, you cannot oblige God by some force. Just like if you have got money, oh, you can do anything nowadays. If you have got strength of wealth, you can have any power, you can do anything. But that does not mean that you can purchase God. No. That is not possible.

Lecture -- Montreal, June 26, 1968:

So the original platform, that I am not this body, then every relationship becomes false, illusion. This is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, how this illusion develops. The illusion develops because it is the kingdom of māyā. Māyā is attracting us. What is that attracting force? That attracting force is for man, woman; and for woman, man. This is attractive. This whole world is going on, not only in the human society, but in dog society, cat society, hog society, bird society—everywhere—the woman is attractive for man, and man is attractive for woman. This is māyā. This is māyā. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavata says that this attractive feature is pulling on this material existence. Therefore the training is how to detract. In the beginning the brahmacārī training is given because to know that this body, woman body, is actually not attractive.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 27, 1968:

One devotee is praying to Kṛṣṇa that "So long, in my life, I have served my senses," kāmādīnām. Kāma means senses, lust. "So even what I should not have done, still, by the dictation of my lust I have done it." One has to do. When one is a slave or servant, then he's forced to act something which he does not like to act. He's forced. So here, a devotee's admitting that "I have done, dictated by my lust, something which I should not have done, but I have done it." All right, you have done, you are serving your senses. That's all right.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 27, 1968:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No, no. Is Māyā, Māyādevī, a pure devotee?

Prabhupāda: Yes, certainly. The police force, are they not honest servant of the government? Does it mean the police force tortures you; therefore they're rejected from the government servant? Their task is thankless task, that's all. Similarly, Māyā is also serving Kṛṣṇa, but there is no thanks. That is the difference. She has taken a thankless task to punish persons who are godless, that's all. So Māyā as it is, it is not that she is out of touch of Kṛṣṇa. Vaiṣṇavī. In the Caṇḍī, in the book of Māyā, it is state that "Vaiṣṇavī." The Māyā is described as Vaiṣṇavī. Just like pure devotee is called Vaiṣṇava, she is also described there as Vaiṣṇavī.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 30, 1968:

His mission, Lord Caitanya's mission, is ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayaḥ. If you want to love or if you want to be subordinate... Everyone is subordinate. This is false. Everyone wants to be independent, but nobody is independent. Everyone is subordinate. Nobody can say that "I am independent." Can you say, any one of you, that you are independent? Is there anybody? No. Everyone is subordinate willingly. Not by force everyone becomes subordinate. A girl says a boy, "I want to become your subordinate," willingly. Similarly a boy says to a girl, "I want to be your subordinate." Why? That is my nature. I want to be subordinate because my nature is to be subordinate. But I do not know. I prefer, I reject this subordination; I accept another subordination. But subordination is there.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 30, 1968:

Prabhupāda: So that is the disease. We are forced to bow down and we think that "I don't like to bow down." This is the disease.

Young man: He didn't force me to bow down.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 30, 1968:

Prabhupāda: Just try to understand. Who is here... That means biological force. You are subordinate to biology. Then why do you say that you are independent?

Young man: Well, I feel that I'm...

Prabhupāda: You are feeling wrongly. That is my point. That is your disease.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 30, 1968:

Young man: Kṛṣṇa... I don't...

Prabhupāda: No. Don't speak of Kṛṣṇa. That is far away. You just try to understand that you do not want to die, why you are forced to death?

Young man: Why am I forced to death?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Because you are subordinate.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 30, 1968:
You are bowing down to everyone. You are bowing down to death, you are bowing down to disease, you are bowing down to old age. You are bowing down to so many things. You are forced. And still you are thinking that "I cannot bow down. I don't like." Because you are saying "I don't like," therefore you are being forced. You have to bow down. Why you forget your position? That is our disease. Therefore the next process is that "I am being forced to bow down." Now we have to find out "Where I shall be happy even by bowing down?" That is Kṛṣṇa. Your bowing down will not be stopped, because you are meant for that. But if you bow down to Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's representative, you become happy. Test this. You have to bow down. If you don't bow down to Kṛṣṇa and His representative, then you will be forced to bow down something else, māyā. That is your position.
Lecture -- Seattle, October 2, 1968:

Although I am small, but I am individual. I have got all the power of thinking, feeling, willing. We are doing that. We are individual. You have come here by your individual will. Nobody has forced you. If you like, you can go. Somebody comes here, somebody never comes, somebody comes daily. Why? Even you are small, you have got individuality. Even in this conditioned state, you are so free, so much free. And when you are unconditioned, purely spirit, you do not know how much freedom you have got. It doesn't matter you are small, but you are a spiritual spark. Don't you see that a small spiritual spark which no physician, no medical science has still discovered, where is the soul, but the soul is there. That is a fact.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 4, 1968:

These nine kinds of different varieties of service to Kṛṣṇa will enlighten you, will advance you in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and your life will be successful. Any other question? Try to understand, question. It is not a thing that we are forcibly pushing. You have got intelligence. Kṛṣṇa has given you intelligence. Try to understand with your intelligence but do not try to avoid. Make your question to understand it, not making question to avoid it. There are two kinds of question. That question will not help you. If you try to avoid, then Kṛṣṇa will help you to avoid, and if you want to capture Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa will help you how you can capture. Two things are going on. Whatever path you want, you can accept.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 7, 1968:

So we should understand... This is brahma-jijñāsā, that "Why there is the surrendering process?" If I don't like to surrender, then I am forced to surrender. In the state also, if I don't mean to abide by the laws of the state, the state obliges me to surrender by police force, by military force, by so many things. Similarly, I don't want to die, but death forces me to surrender. I don't want to become old man, but nature forces me to become old. I don't want any disease, but nature forces me to accept some sort of disease. So this surrendering process is there. Now we have to understand why this is so. That means my constitutional position is to surrender, but the present difficulty is that I'm surrendering to a wrong person. When we understand that I should surrender to the Supreme Lord, then my constitutional position is revived. That is my liberty.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 11, 1968:

Therefore this process, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, it is forcibly. When you chant, I chant, loudly, at least you hear "Kṛṣṇa," your mind is immediately turned to Kṛṣṇa. So that is meditation. Because after all, meditation means you have to concentrate on the Supreme. The Supreme is nondifferent. Supreme name—Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name, nondifferent. So when you hear Kṛṣṇa, the name, you immediately remember the Kṛṣṇa person, and there is no difference between His name and the person. So immediately you associate with Kṛṣṇa. Forcibly. Even you don't like, I'll chant "Kṛṣṇa," you'll be forced to associate. You will chant "Kṛṣṇa," I'll be forced to associate. This is going on.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 11, 1968:

Thank you. (laughter) It is so simple, nice. Try to understand by your knowledge, question. We are not pushing forcibly. You have got your intelligence, argument, logic, everything. But you'll find it. Caitanyera dayāra kathā karaha vicāra. The author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta says that we are placing it for your judgment. Not that we are pushing it by force, that you have to accept it. Just like sometimes it is said that the Muhammadans, they propagated one hand sword and one hand Koran: "Either you accept Koran or there is sword for you." It is not that. It is placed for your judgment. And if you like, you can accept it. Otherwise, I came here empty-handed, I shall go back empty-handed. There is no loss, no gain. (laughter) So any other question? All right. Then join with Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 18, 1968:

This is practical way? (laughter) If you are not minding, the chanting will force you to mind upon Him. You see? Kṛṣṇa sound will by force. Chanting is so nice. And this is the practical yoga in this age. You cannot meditate. Your mind is so disturbed, you cannot concentrate your mind. Therefore chant, and by the sound vibration, it will forcibly enter it into your mind. Even if you don't want Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will enter within your mind. By force. (laughter) This is the easiest process. You don't require to endeavor. Kṛṣṇa is coming. (laughter) (Prabhupāda laughs) It is very nice process. This is recommended therefore, for this age. And others also will be benefited. You chant loudly. Others who are not accustomed, they will also. At least... Just like on the street, in the park, they say "Hare Kṛṣṇa!" How they have learned? By hearing this chanting. That's all. Sometimes the children, as soon as they see us, they say "Oh, Hare Kṛṣṇa!" In Montreal the children, when I was walking on the street, all the children, the shopkeepers, the storekeepers, they will say "Hare Kṛṣṇa!" And that's all. So we have forced Hare Kṛṣṇa within the mind. If you practice yoga, meditate, it may be beneficial for you, but this is beneficial for many others.

Lecture -- Montreal, October 26, 1968:

In our last meeting we were discussing. Why people are forced to commit sinful activities? This point is also discussed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Arjuna inquired from Kṛṣṇa, "What is that thing which forces a man to commit sinful activities?" Just like the same example that one man is seeing practically that one who has committed something criminal, he is punished. And he has heard it also from authorities, from lawyers or from respectable gentlemen, that "If you commit such and such sinful activities... If you steal, then you will be imprisoned for six months. If you cheat, you'll be imprisoned for such and such period. If you commit murder, then you'll be hanged." These things are taught some way or other. Either in religious scripture or by lawbooks or by morality or ethical principle, they are taught to the human, civilized human society.

Lecture -- Montreal, October 26, 1968:

If you make it a business, that "I shall do it and confess," then what will be the result? The result will be punishment. That is natural consequence. So people should come to the understanding that "These sinful activities I shall not do." But he is forced to do, impelled by the quality of passion and ignorance. That is answered in the Bhagavad-gītā. Why does he so, as if being forced by some agent? That is answered in the Bhagavad-gītā that rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ. Kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ.

Lecture -- Montreal, October 26, 1968:

So we have to take to this process. Then there will be no more force that you commit criminality. No. There will be no chance if you become pure by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It has to be attained by tapasya. That is said tapasā. Tapasā means voluntarily being regulated. That is tapasā. Brahmacaryeṇa (SB 6.1.13). Brahmacaryeṇa means controlling the sex appetite. That is a brahmacārī. Tapasā brahmacaryeṇa śamena ca damena ca. Śamena means keeping the mind, equilibrium, without being disturbed. The process of meditation is meant for keeping the mind in equilibrium. That is śama. And dama, dama means controlling the senses. My senses are always dictating me, "Oh, you take this. You enjoy this. You do that. You do that."

Srila Prabhupada and Disciples Speak -- New York, April 9, 1969:

So this process of getting out is noncooperation. That is called vairāgya-vidyā. So Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī says that "I was unwilling to accept this vairāgya-vidyā, but He forced me to take it." And... Apāyayan mām anabhīpsum andham: "Because I was blind, I thought that this material world is everything. Therefore I was blind. And therefore I was unwilling also." People are unwilling to accept the Kṛṣṇa consciousness because they are blind. They do not see actual position of their life. That is the position (of) conditioned soul. They are busy simply for sense gratification. So vairāgya-vidyā means not sense gratification, but to satisfy Kṛṣṇa.

Engagement Lecture -- Buffalo, April 23, 1969:

The child is crying, crying. The mother does not know how to pacify it. So in this way our suffering has begun from the womb of our mother. And then I do not wish to go to school. I am forced to go to a school. I do not wish to study. The teachers give me tasks. If you just study, analyze your life, it is full of suffering, full of suffering. But we have no inquiry. We have no inquiry. This is not education. Therefore Brahma-sūtra says, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now you should inquire why you are suffering. Is there any remedy for suffering? Then, if there is remedy, then you must take it. You must take advantage of the remedy." But we are callous. We do not care for it. This is not good.

Lecture at Engagement -- Columbus, may 19, 1969:

Somehow or other they are trying to realize that this sort of life is zero. Actually. Human life, simply increasing the demands of our senses, these activities are zero activities. Parābhava, defeating. Yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. When a human being, as long as a human being does not inquire "What I am? Why I am suffering? I do not wish to die. Why death is enforced upon me? I do not want to be diseased. Why disease is forced upon me? I do not want to become old. Why I become old? I do not wish to die. Why I..." These things are very important questions. That is called ātma-tattvam, self-realization. Human life is meant for this purpose, enquiring self-realization. And if we do not enquire, then we are no better than animals. Animals have no power to enquire about the self. They are simply busy with the problems of the body—eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Similarly, if human body is also engaged simply for eating, sleeping, mating and defending, that is not very good civilization. That is not at all human civilization.

Address to Indian Association -- Columbus, May 11, 1969:

So this is practical, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), cleansing the dirty things from the heart simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Yes. And the next thing is that bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. As soon as your heart is cleansed of all dirty things, then all the problems of material existence immediately solved. Bhava-mahā-dāvāgni. It has been compared with dāvāgni. Dāvāgni means the blazing fire in the forest. In this material existence, nobody wants unhappiness, but it comes, forced, by force. That is the law of material nature. Nobody wants that there may be fire, but especially in this country, wherever in a city we go, the fire brigade is always active. You see? Nobody wants fire, but the fire brigade is active. Yes. There is fire.

Lecture -- London, September 16, 1969:

Here is the Vedic process. Just like Arjuna said that śādhi māṁ prapannam, śiṣyas te 'ham: "I become your śiṣya." Śiṣya means disciple. That means "Whatever disciplinary action You will ask me to follow, I shall do it." This is called śiṣya. The word śiṣya comes from the word, Sanskrit word, sas-dhātu, means to rule over, sas-dhātu. So ruling by instruction, ruling by laws, and ruling by force, weapon. There are three kinds of ruling. If instruction fails, then evidences from lawbooks. And when that also fails, then force. That is the whole arrangement everywhere. The instruction is that you should not kill. But if you violate, then according to law you are arrested. If you still violate, then you are punished in so many ways by force. As this is going on in our ordinary life, the same thing is going on by God's will also. The kingdom of God... Here is also kingdom of God, and there is another, spiritual sky. That is also kingdom of God.

Lecture 'Nobody Wants to Die' -- Boston, May 7, 1968:

That is not practical. You can simply struggle for it and waste your time. But if you have got something tangible to meditate, that is very easy. So why not Kṛṣṇa? So nice, beautiful, and He's accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead by great sages, saintly persons, scholars and Vedic literature. And they have achieved success. Why not follow their example and simply concentrate your mind, meditate on mind? And that meditation is very nicely done by chanting. As soon as you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, your ear is forced to receive this Kṛṣṇa. And the Kṛṣṇa sound and Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent. This is the philosophy.

Lecture at Harvard University -- Boston, December 24, 1969:

That is the perfection of yoga. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yam... Dhyānāvasthita, by meditation, one can see. So this perfectional stage can be achieved when you are in the brahma-bhūtaḥ stage, Brahman realization stage. So Lord Caitanya said that if you chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the first installment of your gain will be that your heart, which is contaminated now with so many materialistic dust, it will be cleansed. And next stage will be bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. That means you'll realize yourself that "I am not this matter, I am soul. And my relationship with God is this. God is like this." And gradually, you will develop your love for God. You have got that love. Dormant love is there, but because we do not know what is God, because we do not see the beauty of God, because we do not know the mercy of God, therefore our love has been forced or placed in the dog. Instead of God, we have placed our love on dog. So we have to simply change. Our love is distributed in the matter in so many ways. That will not make me happy because I am not matter. I am a spirit soul. I have to transfer my love towards the Supreme Spirit, God, then I'll be happy.

Lecture at Harvard University -- Boston, December 24, 1969:

That's your independence. If you like you can take it. If you don't like, you don't take it. There are so many things. If you like, you take it; if you don't like, you don't take it. There is no enforcement. Every individual soul has got little independence. Not full independence. That can be used properly; that can be misused also. That depends on me. I am the master. So similarly... Just like the government. The government does not force anybody to go to the criminal department, neither government forces anybody to come to the university department. It is your individual liberty. You become criminal or a high standard scholar. (break) ...has to make his choice. He has got the freedom. He may be Kṛṣṇa conscious or he may be material conscious. If he's material conscious, he'll never be happy. If he becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, he'll be always happy. Now it is up to you whether to accept this or that.

Lecture to International Student Society -- Boston, December 28, 1969:

Guest: What are the specific principles that you would use in trying to determine whether it is absolutely necessary to fight? That sounds sort of like "Whenever in doubt, do the right thing." That's a very vague directive. You know that perhaps if somebody comes into your house and threatens your family, then you have to repel them with a certain amount of force, but how would you...

Prabhupāda: These instructions, these directions are there in the Vedic literatures. If somebody, it is said if somebody kidnaps your wife, if somebody sets fire in your house, somebody comes to kill you, then he is understood as aggressor and you can kill him immediately. There is no question of nonviolence. These are śāstric instructions. All right. So I think we can chant again.

Lecture on Teachings of Lord Caitanya -- Bombay, March 17, 1971:

So, that's a long story (indistinct). So, with that spirit he went to Vṛndāvana to find out Śyāmasundara to exploit Him, to take all the ornaments from Him. When he actually went to Vṛndāvana, he was finding out, "Where is Śyāmasundara? Where is Śyāmasundara?" Śyāmasundara came and, "Here I am." So, first of all he was (indistinct), "My dear boy, You give me all these ornaments I will give you nice thing." He said, "No, I cannot give you, my mother will be angry, no." (laughter) In this way then he decided that I shall take forcibly. In this way simply by the association of Śyāmasundara he became a devotee. That is the fact. Dhruva Mahārāja also went to worship Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa, to get the kingdom of his father. He was insulted by his stepmother that, "You cannot sit down on the throne, or on the lap of your father, because you are not born from my womb." So he took it very seriously. He went to his mother, "My stepmother insulted me like this."

Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, March 31, 1971:

It is not that we are forcing something. By force you cannot do anything. That is artificial. That is not... But it is a fact that in everyone's heart there is Kṛṣṇa consciousness because that is pure consciousness. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, naturally, just like father and the son, there is an eternal relationship. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we have got eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. That is now covered by the dirty things of māyā. But as soon as we remove, we cleanse these dirty things from our heart, then immediately we can understand what is Kṛṣṇa and what is our relationship with spirit.

Lecture -- San Francisco, June 28, 1971:

One ruling is śāstra, law codes. Just like every civilized country is ruled by the laws of the state, and the statute book which contains all the rules, that is called law books. That is also śāstra. That is śāstra. And then another śāsdhātu is śastra. Śastra means weapons, that like guns, swords. Śāstra and śastra. So there are two sections of people: those who are civilized, they are ruled by the śāstra, by the law codes, and those who are law-breakers, they are ruled by the śastra, weapons. Both things are required, śāstra and śastra. And sasam, sasam means government. The government has two department—criminal and civil. Civil department is controlled by the śāstra, law codes, and the criminal department is governed by the śastra, weapons. So this is the rule from time immemorial. Both things are required. Sometimes violence required, police force required for the unruly persons. They'll not care for the śāstra, don't care for śāstra, but you care for the śastra. So two things are there.

Lecture -- Los Angeles, July 20, 1971:

Because our disease is rebellious, no authority. We don't want any authority. That is our disease. We say we don't want any authority, but nature is so strong that he forces his authority upon you. You are forced to accept the authority of nature by your sensual exercise. You cannot say that "I am independent." You may say all nonsense, that "I don't want authority," but you are... Everyone is under authority. And that is our foolishness. We are under authority; still, we say we don't want any authority. This is called māyā, illusion. So the best authority is Kṛṣṇa. If we... After all, we have to accept authority. So why not best authority, Kṛṣṇa? Then your life becomes successful.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Pandal Lecture -- Delhi, November 12, 1971:

So it is not very difficult business, simply we'll have to agree, "Yes, Kṛṣṇa. So long I did not surrender unto You. Now I immediately surrender unto You." Just like Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he sang a very nice song, that arpiluṅ tuyā pade nanda-kiśora. Mānasa deho geho jo kichu mora. He says that "Whatever I possess." First thing his mind, mānasa. Just like Ambarīṣa Mahārāja. First of all we have to give our mind to Kṛṣṇa because mind is the creative force by which we become entangled. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that mind is the enemy or mind is the friend. If you can create your mind your friend, then there is immense profit Kṛṣṇa conscious. And if you create your mind enemy, the mind will drag you in so many things, you will forget your duty and responsibility of human life. Therefore yoga system, practicing yoga means controlling the mind. Controlling the mind. But the easiest process of yoga system is that you simply think of Kṛṣṇa always, then the perfection of yoga.

Lecture -- Bombay, March 18, 1972:

You have to change this dress. You have to change this body. And next body is depending on your activities. If you act sinfully, then you have to take the body, by force of nature, as cats and dogs. That is certain. Don't risk your life. Take the opportunity of human life and be Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is the message of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Kṛṣṇa personally comes to canvass, to "Please give up all this engagement, please come to Me, surrender unto Me, and I will give you all protection." This is the lesson we understand from Bhagavad-gītā.

Lecture at Christian Monastery -- Melbourne, April 6, 1972:

One thing is that nobody can understand God if he is sinful. But Kṛṣṇa says, God says, that "You surrender unto Me. I shall help you how to get rid of the resultant action of your sinful life." So to approach God, either you become sinless by your own efforts or you simply surrender unto God, and He will help you to become sinless. Whichever you like. He is giving full freedom. He is asking that you surrender. He is not forcing. God can force you—He is all-powerful—but He doesn't interfere with your independence. Because we are part and parcel of God—God is fully independent—so we have got also little particle of independence. As soon as we misuse that independence, disobey the words of God, we become sinful.

Speech -- New Vrindaban, August 31, 1972:

So in Calcutta and Bombay we saw thirty thousand people were daily attending, continually, for ten days. Similarly in Bombay. So although there is propaganda in India to forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but how they can forget? They're born in a land where Kṛṣṇa appeared. They cannot forget. They have been given the opportunity, took birth in India. That is also due to pious activities. But unfortunately they are being forced to be dragged. I do not wish to discuss this point. But Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. It is not that Kṛṣṇa is for Indians or for the Hindus or for... No. Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. So within your country, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is started since 1966 from New York, and gradually we are having more and more students and branches. So kindly continue this habit. Simply hear about Kṛṣṇa; then Kṛṣṇa will help you. He is within your heart. He'll help you in every way.

Lecture at Indo-American Society 'East and West' -- Calcutta, January 31, 1973:

That is really business of the human being that "I am put into this material condition of life. I am changing from one kind of body to another. Who knows that I am not going to become a tree next life?" But there is another species of life like tree, like birds, like beasts. There is no guarantee. There is no scientific guarantee that "You are not going to be tree, you are again going to become American." No, there is no guarantee. But there is guarantee. Because the so-called scientists cannot make solution of this problem, they do not believe in next life. That is their defect of knowledge, lack of knowledge. They cannot make any solution. He wants to live permanently, but he cannot live by the laws of nature. Why does he not make a solution of this? But we can give the solution. Everyone does not want to become old. But he becomes forced to become old. Why he does not make any solution? But that solution we can give. This is Eastern culture.

Lecture -- Jakarta, March 1, 1973:

Here is the yoga system Kṛṣṇa describes, sa ma guhyatamam, most confidential yoga system. What is that? Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto: (BG 18.65) "Simply always think of Me." Man-manā, mad-bhakta: "You just become My devotee." So this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Even I don't like it, think Kṛṣṇa, as soon as the name is chanted immediately I'm forced to think of Kṛṣṇa, immediately. Hare Kṛṣṇa, as I say, immediately I remember Kṛṣṇa, man-manā. Not only that, a devotee thinks of Kṛṣṇa because he develops love for Kṛṣṇa. And as soon as we develop our love for Kṛṣṇa, we must have to think of Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture -- Hong Kong, January 31, 1974:

Just like if you want to go to a foreign country you have to take the permission of the immigration department, visa, then you can go. If that law is there in this planet, why not for other planet? How you can go abruptly, by force? That is not possible. Yānti deva-vratā devān. You have to prepare yourself to go. You can go there. But after this life, if you are sufficiently prepared to enter that particular type of planet, you can go there. Similarly, you can go to the planet where Kṛṣṇa lives. Mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām (BG 9.25). So what is the difference between going to the higher planetary systems, heavenly planet, and going to the planet where Kṛṣṇa lives? The difference is, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). If you go to the planet where Kṛṣṇa lives, then you haven't got to come back again.

Public Speech -- Bad Homburg, Germany, June 22, 1974:

So in this conditioned life we are accepting one type of body and we are dying. Dying means giving up and being transmigrated, transferred to another body by the laws of material nature. It is not under my control. You cannot say that "After giving up this German body, I shall accept again another German body." That is not in your hands, sir. It is under the laws of nature. You cannot propose. You cannot force material nature. After this body, I can get any other body. That is stated here: tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Another form of a body. That form of body may be any one of the 8,400,000 forms of body. Therefore, if we are actually intelligent, we should try for being awakened or placed in our original body, the spiritual body. That will stop this constant change of body.

La Trobe University Lecture -- Melbourne, July 1, 1974:

We have come to serve God, His purpose. God is very kind upon every one of us. He comes Himself. He comes. He sends His son. He sends His devotee to reclaim. As I was explaining that in the material condition of life we have been changing from one body to another, this is not very good condition of life. Nobody wants to die, but he is forced to die. Nobody wants to take birth, but he is forced to take birth. Nobody wants to become old man, but he becomes old man. And nobody wants to become diseased, but he is forced to take some disease. This is our condition.

Sunday Feast Lecture -- Atlanta, March 2, 1975:

Prabhupāda: Yes. He was forced to come down. Why?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He broke the rules.

Prabhupāda: Anyone, even in this world or spiritual world, he has got the potency of coming down by misusing his little independence. It is nothing like that, that if you become president, you are secure. If you are not perfect, then you will be dragged down. Or if you think imperfectly... The formula is that in the spiritual world everyone is engaged in the service of the Lord. There is no other conception as in this material world everyone is engaged to serve his senses—he likes something, and he is engaged for that purpose. That service is there, but it is service to himself, his senses. But in the spiritual world there is no such thing as giving service to the senses. Simply giving service to the Lord. That is spiritual world. So as soon as you think that "Why shall I give service to Kṛṣṇa? Why not become independent?" you fall down immediately. So there is potency of thinking like that.

Lecture on Science of Krsna -- Hyderabad, April 14, 1975:

That we accept also. We say māyā. But one can be free from māyā. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. If you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, then one is not captivated by māyā. Māyā is there. Just like police is there. If you are not a criminal, then police has nothing to do with you. Police may be there. But if you are a criminal, then police will arrest you. Similarly, māyā is acting as police force of Kṛṣṇa. So as soon as you become criminal, forget Kṛṣṇa as your master, then the police, māyā, will capture you. That is the business.

Speech -- Vrndavana, April 20, 1975:

So actually, if we want to be happy, then we have to accept the principle of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. Bhakti comes out of love. You cannot make one forced to love you. It comes automatically. That automatic love is there in everyone's heart for Kṛṣṇa. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta:

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti sādhya kabhu naya
śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya

Udaya means it is awakened. Everyone has got love for Kṛṣṇa within the heart. That is natural. But that love is distributed in different ways. How? Yasyātmā-buddhiḥ kunape tri-dhātuke sva-dhiḥ kalatradisu bhauma idya-dhiḥ (SB 10.84.13). This love has been distributed familywise, communitywise, nationwise, countrywise, like that. So this love has to be concentrated, converted to be love of Kṛṣṇa. That is required.

Subha Vilasa Home Engagement -- Toronto, June 19, 1976:

But Prabhupāda is accepting this uncomfortable situation simply to establish Kṛṣṇa consciousness throughout the world, at least to give people the opportunity that "Choose, if you like, between the internal potency and the external potency." The external potency means you're forced. We have no choice. We're forced to undergo repetition of birth and death. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). Nobody likes to grow old, but this youthful age, soon it will become old age. And nobody likes to die. So present-day civilization is blindly going on. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās: (SB 7.5.31) the blind leading the blind. People are thinking that "My parents did it. Their parents did it. Generations have done it. So also we engage blindly in materialistic way of life and everything will be okay." But the result is that everyone is simply suffering, and after this lifetime they also have to suffer the consequences of this present life's activities blindly, not knowing that they're responsible for their activities.

General Lecture -- (location & date unknown):

There also it is stated, what is the meaning of religion. First of all, in the Fourth Chapter the Lord says that dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya yuge yuge sambhavāmi. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8), dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya yuge yuge sambhavāmi. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7). These things are there in the Bhagavad-gītā, that "Whenever there is discrepancies in the matter of executing religious principles, then I descend or incarnate; I come." Yuge yuge sambhavāmi, ātma-māyayā. Ātma-māyayā. He is not forced to come here. This very word is used, ātma-māyayā. As we are forced to come here by our destiny, karma, adṛṣṭa, which we cannot see We have got different bodies in this assembly-men, women, different features, different mentality. Why? According to different karma in the past.

Departure Talks

Departure Lecture -- London, March 12, 1975:

So these so-called scientists, after jumping like the jackal, could not get any place in the moon planet, and they have come down again. It is not possible. You cannot go to any of the planets, although they are material. You cannot... Just like you cannot go to any country without getting the visa permit, similarly... There are many planets. They are open for your entrance, but not in that way, that by force you will go. That is not possible.

Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). You have to qualify yourself to enter into such planets. They are called heavenly planets. You cannot enter by force. Therefore we are conditioned. We are not free. We are conditioned.

Conversation -- Hawaii, June 20, 1975:

Prabhupāda: You have to serve. If you do not serve, the strong will force you to serve.

Siddha-svarūpa: And it's the most horrible service, too.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Now this, as you say that the Hawaiians, they are meant for cleansing the hotel to get some money. And without money, he cannot live. So he forced to serve. What are the tanks? Petrol?

Siddha-svarūpa: I think so. Yeah. Shell Oil.

Prabhupāda: (break) Therefore the good intelligence is kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā pālitā durnideśān teṣāṁ mayi na karuṇā jātā na trapā nopaśāntiḥ: "I have served. I have served the so-called master. Actually I have served my senses." As they come to the hotel for sense gratification and do all nonsense and I have to serve him, so why I am serving? Oh, that is also for serving my senses. Without money I cannot serve my senses.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

Śyāmasundara: He says that everything goes by steps in nature, and not by leaps. In other words, there is a law of continuity, like there are no gaps in nature. Everything is gradual. There is a gradual differentiation.

Prabhupāda: No. There are two ways-gradual and immediate also. Of course, in one sense... (break) ...little force, it goes quickly. The ball has no power. So wonderful things are happening in the material nature due to the will of the Supreme. Everything happening is the same process; it is undergoing the process, but the method, pushed by God, it takes automatically. Just like He created this material nature.

Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:
Prabhupāda: Just like the potter: his wheel is going around and the clay is making a pot, but the original cause is the potter. He has given force to the wheel. After the wheel is running, then so many pots are coming out. So nature... Foolish people are seeing that the wheel is moving. They do not see that behind the movement of the wheel there is a potter who has given force. So there is no question of nature. Everything is God, Kṛṣṇa. This is imperfect vision, that the wheel is moving without any direction. So this kind of knowledge is imperfect. Real knowledge is, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, you take it from Bhagavad-gītā that mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ: (BG 9.10) "Under My direction the material energy is working." So the wonderful working of the material nature is not perfect observation. Behind the wonderful work of the material nature there is Kṛṣṇa, God.
Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

Śyāmasundara: It's difficult to understand, but a monad means a tiny particle of force which is...

Prabhupāda: And we say that is Kṛṣṇa

Śyāmasundara: He says that it has activity, consciousness, etc. But each monad is individual, and its inherent qualities are produced from that monad.

Prabhupāda: That monad, as we say, Kṛṣṇa, as we understand from Brahma-saṁhitā, that Kṛṣṇa is within the atom also.

Śyāmasundara: He says that a monad is the force or activity which constitutes the essence of a substance.

Prabhupāda: But Kṛṣṇa is the substance, summum bonum. Aṇḍāntara-stha paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham (Bs. 5.35). He is within everything. That is His all-pervasive nature.

Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

Śyāmasundara: Just like, for instance, say, this particulate substance, he would say that there is a force or activity which constitutes the essence of this substance, and that is the monad of this substance. He is attributing it to everything, matter.

Prabhupāda: So we take the atom. Atom is the smallest. So we say within the atom the force is Kṛṣṇa. He is simply suggesting there is some enforcing power. We are giving directly that that is Kṛṣṇa.

Śyāmasundara: But he says that in that enforcing power each atom is individual, separate, different.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa, by His omnipotency, can expand Himself in innumerable forms. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Ananta, unlimited. As it is clearly said, aṇḍāntara-stham. He is within the atom.

Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

Prabhupāda: You call it by any name, but within the atom there is the force—that is Kṛṣṇa. You call it monad or something else.

Śyāmasundara: He says the lowest type of monad is in matter, material forms, and then it proceeds up through higher monads, which are souls.

Prabhupāda: So we directly say (indistinct) Kṛṣṇa, that is (indistinct) spiritual.

Śyāmasundara: He says that each monad has an inner or mental activity, a spiritual life.

Prabhupāda: That is explained in everything, that as soon as we say there is Kṛṣṇa, so there is everything.

Śyāmasundara: So even between the atoms of matter there is a spiritual life, spiritual force?

Prabhupāda: Yes. That force means spiritual force.

Śyāmasundara: He says that all bodies are ultimate quantums of force, that the essential nature of all bodies is force.

Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Force is the spirit soul. Without the spirit soul, the body has no force. It is a dead body.

Śyāmasundara: But just as there is a dead body of a man lying there, still there is force going on in that body. There are worms coming out...

Prabhupāda: But that individual soul, force, is not perfect. As Kṛṣṇa is within the atom, the body is combination of so many atoms, so therefore the force for creating another living entity is there.

Śyāmasundara: So just the decomposing is a force, turning to gasses. So there is force in every body.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That individual soul's force is stopped. That we call dead body. But Kṛṣṇa's force is still there, because it is combination of atoms.

Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:

Prabhupāda: Yes. If Kṛṣṇa is there, there is Supersoul.

Śyāmasundara: So he would say that each particle of Supersoul or each monad is self-contained, that there is no loss of gain of force.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Eternal.

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Prabhupāda: Who is, who will force that categorical imperative?

Hayagrīva: That says, "One should act in such a way..."

Prabhupāda: So how he will act? He is immoral. How he will act morally unless there is force?

Hayagrīva: For him, he says that the categorical imperative is that "One should act in such a way that the maxim of one's action becomes the principle for universal law."

Prabhupāda: That cannot be done. By individual soul it is impossible...

Hayagrīva: For a man.

Prabhupāda: ...to do something which will be universally accepted. That is nonsense. That is not possible.

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Śyāmasundara: Another way of looking is that Hegel considered that his predecessors were abstract philosophers, in other words they were isolating or severing from the whole into parts and that each part was static, not moving, but he saw that the truth is dynamic, it is always changing that these dynamic or that these isolated factors, he called them moments, momentums, that the total of moments was a moving force, that truth was actually dynamic and always changing, not static.

Prabhupāda: That we can understand from our personal self, that I am the soul, I am existing, and the bodily features changes, changes. Then it is changing, therefore it is material. And the spirit soul, it is existing in all conditions. That is the difference between spirit and matter.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Prabhupāda: Your evidence... You will be satisfied with your evidence, but I have got my own evidence. Why shall I accept your evidence? You cannot force your evidence, your so-called evidence upon me. What is evidence? First of all you have to select, what is that evidence.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Karandhara: Centrifugal force.

Prabhupāda: Centrifugal.

Śyāmasundara: When planets go around the sun they go in such a speed, that there is no mass.

Prabhupāda: So, but who has set on the speed? How the speed is going on? That is not explained. But we have got our explanation. Kṛṣṇa says that "I enter into each and every universe and planet, and I keep them floating." That is understandable. Just like we have, in our childhood we used to, I mean to say, fly paper balloon by forcing into it some camphor smoke. Did you do it? We did this in our childhood. Such a big paper balloon, and then you take camphor, so much, and we struck up and burn it, and camphor is burning, it is producing too much—what is called—black smoke; and it becomes big, big smoke, it goes, very nice.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Another example is lot of these astronauts going to the moon, and sometimes they are afraid, they call the transition from the earth's gravitational force and the moon's gravitational force, there is a layer, this transition from one to another it is very critical. So they said that when the, these rockets or these Apollo instruments either go up or go down, they have to go to a certain angle, very specific, and if the angle is slightly changed, so they'll be either circulating the moon or either they'll be circulating the earth. They'll never be able to come down or go up, but they'll be floating like... There's no control.

Prabhupāda: Without any control.

Śyāmasundara: Because where the two gravitational pulls meet, there is a certain force. If you don't pass through it at the right angle, then you are caught in it.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: If you are not going right in the angle, say for example he has to go..., he's coming down so he has to go at 45-degree angles, slanting; he has to go 45-degree angle, but it changed by mistake, say 47 degree angles, then it will never come down. He'll be just circulating around, floating.

Prabhupāda: So, in the (indistinct) stage, we are dependent on the laws of nature, and we still, we are declaring we are free from any control. We are making our own proposition and theories.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Prabhupāda: Because they will be defeated. Because they will be defeated. They never recognize. That was British policy. Britishers wanted to... That is the cause of degradation of Indian culture. They manufactured such a... Even Dr. Radhakrishnan is a victim of that policy. They wanted to impress upon the Indians that before the arrival of the Britishers we were almost uncivilized: "We have made you civilized." And these rascal leaders, they accepted. That was their policy. Because they are very intelligent people. Lord Macauley (said): "If you keep them as they are, you will never be able to rule over them." And later on also, when Gandhi started that "Noncooperate with these rascals, they will go away. They are by force getting our cooperation and killing us." So noncooperate. Therefore he established the noncooperation movement. And Sir (indistinct), one of the greatest diplomats, statesmen of India, he said that "This is a very dangerous movement. Try to cut down this movement. Otherwise, if one percent of the Indian people noncooperate, it will not be possible for us to rule over this country." So in order to get our cooperation they are simply impressing that before the arrival of the Britishers, Indians were uncivilized. So many books they published.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Śyāmasundara: So Henri Bergson, his philosophy is called vitalism. He believes that there is a life force which is separate from the laws of physics and chemistry. Darwin thought that the life force was made up of physics and chemistry, but he said no, the life force is separate from Darwin's mechanical laws, and that science will never be able to adequately explain what is life, the source of life.

Prabhupāda: That's nice. It is soul. He's learning of soul. But he is unable to capture the..., positively. But the soul is not controlled by the physical laws. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. What does He say?

nainaṁ chindanti śastrāṇi
nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ
It is in the Second Chapter.
Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Śyāmasundara: When science tries to investigate something, they assume that what they are investigating is static, that it is a constant, that it is not changing, that it's static, mechanical. But the life force, he says, is dynamic; it's always changing, unpredictable.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Because it is living force, it must be dynamic. It is not a dead stone. Because it is living force, it must be dynamic. We are all living force, sitting here, we may sit down or we may go away. That nobody can check. Similarly, we are dynamic forces, and God does not interfere with our dynamic force. He allows us, "Do whatever you like." Because if He interferes with our independence, then we are no longer living entities; we become dead stones. So God does not interfere. He gives us full freedom. But at the same time He comes down and instructs us, "But why you are engaged in this foolish activity? Please come to Me, back to home, back to Godhead, (indistinct)."

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Prabhupāda: Not spiritual body, material body. Spiritual body cannot be changed.

Śyāmasundara: No. We're not talking about bodies, we're talking about the life force.

Prabhupāda: Life force means that the spirit soul has got spiritual body. That I have explained several times. Just like you have got this body. When you cut your coat, it is according to the body. Because we have hands, legs, therefore it is to be understood that this dress is made according to that real body. So originally the spirit soul has got body, so these physical elements are just like a covering, exactly to the size of the hands, legs, everything.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Śyāmasundara: He says that this life form is unpredictable, that it's always creating new things, new manifestations.

Prabhupāda: Yes. It is creating new things in the material phenomena. Otherwise how he is spiritually situated, there is no such changes. The only one business is to serve Kṛṣṇa, although when we satisfy Kṛṣṇa there are many varieties. That is spiritual varieties. At the present moment, because He is lover of varieties, we are creating this material (indistinct), varieties of body, and this is subjected to threefold miseries and difficulties—birth, death, old age, disease. So, so long we are materially entrapped, our so-called (indistinct) force is creating troubles. We are becoming more and more entangled.

Śyāmasundara: But can we ever predict the movement of the life force, the dynamic force...?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

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.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

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?

Prabhupāda: The future, because he is eternally servant of God, so now he has forgotten. He wants to become master, and the material nature is kicking him, life after life. So one day he'll come to his senses and become again, renovate himself to become servant of God.

Śyāmasundara: So we can predict that everyone will...

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Everyone will be. Somebody sooner, somebody later.

Śyāmasundara: So that the purpose of the life force then is to eventually go back...

Prabhupāda: Just like when a man becomes a prisoner, he will be freed, he'll be a free man at the end of his term, and within this term he is simply kicked by the police, so that he may not come back again to prison house.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Śyāmasundara: No. The life force is eternal but it advances to higher and higher levels.

Devotee: It's eternal, but I don't realize its eternality (indistinct).

Śyāmasundara: No. The forms. The life force itself is eternal but the forms will change up to the stage of immortality.

Prabhupāda: Material forms have changed. The living force has not. The same example: the living force is there, the forms babyhood to childhood, childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youthhood, the form is changed, but the person whose bodies have been changed, he is permanent, he is spiritual, he is not changed. But when he identifies with the body, he thinks that "I am changed." The example is, just like in the rainy season, at night there is cloud, and the cloud is moving, but if you see, you see the moon is moving, moon is moving. But actually the moon is not moving, the cloud is moving. You have any experience?

Śyāmasundara: Yes, we have.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Śyāmasundara: He says it's unpredictable, that the life force...

Prabhupāda: He does not know. At the present moment I am fallen, so even if I go to my original position, there is chance of again falling down. Otherwise, how I became fallen? Just like a child once falls and again stands up, he has got chance of again falling down. You cannot say, "Now he has stood up, he'll not fall again." That is not possible.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Śyāmasundara: Yes, I think so. His idea is that evolution, as it passes through different bodies, the life force, and that eventually on this planet, man will become immortal.

Prabhupāda: That is another nonsense.

Śyāmasundara: That life forms are improving more and more and and more, until some day they'll improve to be perfect.

Prabhupāda: After (indistinct), they are living sixty years, and they think (indistinct) sixty years (indistinct). Here in this material, either sixty years or hundred sixty years or millions of sixty years or trillions of sixty years (indistinct). One who is living for sixty years, for him millions of years means immortal.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Prabhupāda: That is nonsense.

Śyāmasundara: Whereas this philosopher thinks that we should just..., that the vital force is guiding everyone and is creating its own evolution, that we should just drift in the course of things and the vital force will determine history or will determine our future.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Vital force will determine. That is somewhat...

Śyāmasundara: Without our doing—without anything of our own doing.

Prabhupāda: No. Vital force must know how to make progress, how to do it. Then he'll be... If he does not know how to do it, how it will be possible? Can you do anything... Suppose you are learning some mechanical business, can you do it without direction? You have to learn. You must get a teacher. So, without teacher, that is not possible.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Prabhupāda: Spindle, axle, axle. So He is the axle. So the round is going on, but He is the center. Everything is going on but He is the center. Aham ādir hi..., what is called? Devānām. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo (BG 10.8). So the central point is God, and other things are just like a big wheel, and the big wheel has got so many parts. The, it has got the rim, it has got the spokes, it is going in force, but the axle is the same, always in the center.

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Śyāmasundara: No. I mean that seems like he..., there's a fallacy in his reasoning, because if the medicine were undesirable, still it will cure you.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Just like I was not desiring to take my medicine. When I was a child it was very difficult to give me medicine. Three men required. (laughter) Yes. One will capture me, another (laughing) will take my legs, and then my mother will by force, I will do like this. (gestures locking of teeth, trying to force spoon into mouth, much laughter all around) This was my position. I won't agree to take any medicine. I was so obstinate.

Śyāmasundara: So that which is really desirable...

Prabhupāda: But because it is desirable, the force was applied.

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Śyāmasundara: So we cannot judge what is desirable. Only...

Prabhupāda: No. Therefore our philosophy is mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). The great personalities, what do they desire? Therefore we accept spiritual master, higher authority. Whatever he desires, that should be standard of desire, not my desire. Just like Kṛṣṇa desired the fight, not Arjuna's desire. Arjuna desired not to fight, but he changed his desire not to fight, to fight, because Kṛṣṇa desired, wanted it. Therefore our standard of desire should be that which is desired by greater personalities, not by me. What I am? I should always think of me as fool. Just like the same, when I was child, I was not desiring to take medicine, but my parents desired. That desire should be forced. Similarly, this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, if actually the state is serious to do the best desirable thing, they should make a law that anyone who is not chanting sixteen rounds, he will be hanged! Then everyone must chant: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa—the whole world. (laughter)

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Śyāmasundara: Competition. But in order to compete, there has to be freedom.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is another thing. But nobody is independent. That is our point of view. Everyone is dependent. Somebody is voluntarily dependent on Kṛṣṇa and somebody is by force dependent on māyā. That's all. But he must be dependent.

Philosophy Discussion on William James:

Prabhupāda: So disease, when you are in diseased condition, it means increasing suffering. Disease increases. Without treatment disease increases, as fire, without being extinguished, without attempt of extinguishing the fire, it increases. Debt, compound interest, increases. So therefore the instruction is that disease, fire, and debt should not be kept as it is without any attention. The attention must be there to see that it is not increasing, it is being completely extinguished. That is intelligence. So therefore we must know our suffering is on account of disobedience to the orders of God, or on account of becoming irreligious. So we must find out the real system of religion, and we, there is already, but on account of our ignorance it is now covered by material contamination. Otherwise our relationship with God is a fact. We are thinking independently. That is foolishness. The demons, or the atheist class, they falsely think independent of the orders of God; therefore they are forced to accept which they do not want. Ultimately they are forced to accept the punishment—birth, death, old age, and disease—but still, atheist class, they deny existence of God. That is their foolishness. Actually God is there, His order is there, and if we are deficient in carrying out the order, we should take the instruction of bona fide spiritual master, the representative of God, and we should execute it, and then we become happy.

Philosophy Discussion on John Dewey:

Hayagrīva: He differs from Comte and Marx in that he did not believe that humanity is the object of worship. In fact, he excludes everything as an object of worship. He writes, "Nature produces whatever gives reinforcement and direction, but also it occasions discord and confusion. 'The divine' is thus a term of human choice and aspiration."

Prabhupāda: No. There is no question of human choice. Can you say that death is my choice? Huh? It is forced. So the, wherefrom the force is coming, that is God. Nobody wants to die, but there is force. You must die. Nobody wants to become old man. You must become old man. The sanity is to find out wherefrom this enforcement is coming. That is Supreme. Just like the government. If you disobey the orders of government, immediately you will be punished. So we can understand there is supreme authority. Similarly, I do not want to die. I am enforced to die. So there must be some supreme authority. That supreme authority is God. Either call nature or God, whatever you call, there is something supreme which is controlling you. How you can philosophize and imagine that man can imagine God, man can imagine this and...? That is insanity.

Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer:

Prabhupāda: So, but the thing is, that one should be rational that why there is frustration here? That "why" question is answered in the Vedānta-sūtra, athāto brahma jijñāsā. Now it is spoiled. Kenopaniṣad. Why? That is the rationality. I don't want to be frustrated, but I am forced to be frustrated. I don't want to die, but I am forced to die. I don't want to become old, I am forced to become old. Now this rationality must be awakened to why this is happening. That is what is required. Nature is working in that way so that I may be intelligent to inquire "Why?" Then there will be question, and by questioning and answering through bona fide spiritual master, we'll come to the conclusion that what is the aim of this world.

Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer:

Śyāmasundara: Yes, he says that the will is eternal, and it is always incarnated in one body after another. But he describes it as a force...

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is a force.

Śyāmasundara: ...an impersonal force.

Prabhupāda: Impersonal or personal, that will be discussed later on. First of all there is force, and he is being forced. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). He had associated with one of the modes of material nature, and as such he is being forced to act according to the nature. Just like you met your friend, she is forced. Nobody likes that, a wretched life, but she is forced, because she has associated with a certain material modes of nature. Just like these hippies, they are forced. They are coming from respectable family, there is no scarcity of money, and still they are lying on the street in wretched dress, wretched habits. So that this nature is forcing, "You do this." Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni. Because he has associated with a certain type of quality of the nature, he will be forced. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgasya sad-asad-yoni janmasu. The different types of species of life, the cause is kāraṇam, cause, is guṇa-saṅgasya. As he is associating with the material qualities.

Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer:

Śyāmasundara: But is this force irrational and blind? This is what he thinks.

Prabhupāda: No, this is not irrational. That will. You desire, you will like that, and as soon as you will, immediately material nature is helpful: "Yes, take this help," and you take the help and we are forced.

Philosophy Discussion on Martin Heidegger:

Prabhupāda: Therefore I do not want to die. That is the philosophy. Death is there. (air raid siren in background) Just like here is the siren, and you are (indistinct) die, but why he's defending? Why this siren is there, "Now death is coming, be careful"? That means, in other words, "I do not wish to die." That is my real concern, that I do not wish to die, but death is forced upon me. Therefore my concern should be how to avoid it. That is real concern. That is real philosophy. Why you forget this psychology, that "I do not wish to die"? Somebody will... Even animals. I have seen one pig, a small pig, what is called, pig, small. So the master took (indistinct). Psychologically he understands that he is taken, now he will be killed. Just crying, "peh, peh, peh." So why? This is a pig. He doesn't want to die. So everyone does not want to die, but still he knows that he will die. Therefore the real concern should be that I do not wish to die, that death is forced upon me, and that is my real concern. That is real philosophy, whether there is possibility of. Know that. That is intelligence. That intelligence is (indistinct) there in the human form of life. Animal, they, although they know it that death is there, but I don't want to go, die, but they have no capacity to stop death. But human beings can do that.

Philosophy Discussion on Ludwig Wittgenstein:

Śyāmasundara: My activities.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So try to understand, "I am" means my activities. So how my activities are going on? Presently we can see my activities are going on by the movements of my senses, of the limbs of the body. Therefore we come to the point that the moving force is "I am."

Śyāmasundara: That which moves the limbs.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That moving force, if "I am," then I am not this body, because as soon as the moving force from the body is gone, the body is of no value.

Philosophy Discussion on Ludwig Wittgenstein:

Prabhupāda: The first thing is that if I identify myself with the body, the body means movements of the limbs. Now if something is wanting, and the limbs do not move any more... But that moving force is "I am."

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Śyāmasundara: One of Jung's favorite techniques for improving a person's personality is to force that person to bring up the demonic force in himself and treat it as another person. If the demon within me is not really me, it's another personality which causes...

Prabhupāda: That is not very important, how one becomes affected by some disease. But when the disease is there, the treatment must be there. That is natural. Instead of tracing out the history, what is the use? That the disease is there, make treatment and be cured, that's all.

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Hayagrīva: And in his book, his autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, we find most of his thoughts about the, about theology and psychoanalysis. In that book he writes, "I find that all my thoughts circle around God like the planets around the sun and are as irresistibly attracted by Him. I would feel it to be the grossest sin if I were to oppose any resistance to this force." He sees all creatures as parts of God. He says, "Man cannot compare himself with any other creature. He is not a monkey, not a cow, not a tree. I am a man. But what is it to be that? Like every other being, I am a splinter of the infinite Deity."

Prabhupāda: Part and parcel. That is our theory. We are part and parcel of God. Like fire and the sparks.

Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell:

is settled up by higher authority, then he gives up this body and enters into (another) body.

Śyāmasundara: He says that matter is simply a series of events in which energy and not force as the real motive power, that what we call the material world, rather than being described as solid and understood in terms of force, that actually it is energy performing different events.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. It is forced by the energy. Matter has no form, but by the superior energy, the living entity (indistinct) mixed up (indistinct) matter and make the form. Just like a (indistinct) plate, clay, water, and fire. So the potter makes a form from the clay. Clay means earth and water, mixed up, and it makes a pot and then puts it with fire and it becomes a glass and so on. So tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ vinimayam. It is simply exchange of earth, water, and fire. But this mixture is being made by the potter. And the instrument is the potter's wheel.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: So my tendency is to (consider) everything as my own, but by the taking of the state I am forced to avoid(?). So how long will this work? By force how you can change one's mind? It is not possible. Therefore we say these things are only nonsense proposition. It will never happen because anyone who is in this material world, he has the prime tendency that I shall become the Lord. (indistinct) pratiṣṭhā. The material world means everyone is seeking after some profit, everyone is seeking after some adoration, and everyone is seeking, I mean to say, some position. This is the material world. So, if everyone, seeks profit, adoration and position, so how you can make equal by force?

Śyāmasundara: The communists have played upon this tendency and so the worker who produces more, he gets glorified by the state. He produces more units at his factory than the others, then he gets a small bonus.

Prabhupāda: Why he should get bonus?

Śyāmasundara: In order to, incentive, incentive bonus.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: That means that his tendency is to lord it over, and that he is being bribed. He wants some profit, "All right, I give you some bonus. This Russian communist idea is very good provided the citizens do not want any profit but that is not possible. Everyone wants profit. So how by law, by force, you can take it? It is not possible. The same proposition: that in the winter season the bugs cannot get blood, cannot come out due to the serious cold so they become dried up. Their skin practically dries, dries completely. There is no blood. That is (indistinct). But as soon as the bug gets opportunity, in the summer season, he can come out, immediately he bites somebody and sucks all the blood.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Śyāmasundara: So this is an example of the people in Russia who are forced by the state not to take profit.

Prabhupāda: Yes, but as soon as there is opportunity, they will take it. Because that is the (indistinct). As soon as he got some (indistinct), because it is mine, and he sold it and he utilized it for the purpose. So this is the psychological fact that everyone is trying to get some profit. By force you can make him not to take profit, but that is not possible.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: But not in that way, by force. That is not possible. You cannot change the mind even of a child by force, and what to speak of elderly man, educated man. Is it not so? Mind can be changed by our process: ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). Otherwise it is not. These things will be made (indistinct) complete, even in the ordinary position. Their utopia—it is not possible.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Śyāmasundara: His idea is that everything is produced from economic struggle. So that religion is like a police force, and it is invented by the bourgeois or the capitalist as a technique to dissuade the masses from revolting by promising them a better existence, or a happier existence after death so that they can be...

Prabhupāda: (indistinct) we are obliged to his proposal now. He has created a philosophy, which is being enforced by killing, by threatening.

Śyāmasundara: And he promises them a better future.

Prabhupāda: That's right.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Śyāmasundara: So religion is not just a police force for keeping people in illusion.

Prabhupāda: He does not know what is religion. He does not know, and he is trying to define religion. He does not know. I have defined already religion. Religion is the service spirit. That is religion. Now, real religion is the service... Everyone is engaged in giving service, but he does not know where his service will be successful. That he does not know. Therefore Kṛṣṇa gives us indication that "You serve Me and your service spirit will be successful." That is religion.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: Reality must be there. That we... Just like Mr. Marx, he certainly did not like to die, but he was forced to die. Why it takes place unless there is some superior force? We do not wish to have some accident but there is accident; so how you can check it? So in this way, the conception of God, there is always some superior, and there are many other things, common sense, we discuss daily that the, as the nature, things are going on so nicely, they are not accidentally. There are so many planets in the sky. Accidentally they are not colliding but they are remaining in their position. The sun is rising in due course of time, in the morning exactly in time. So there is nothing accidental. And because things are going on very systematically, so there must be some brain behind it, and that supreme brain is God. How you can deny it?

Philosophy Discussion on Mao Tse Tung:

Prabhupāda: Why it cannot be done? Search out the cause. You don't want to die, but you are being forced to die. First of all, answer this problem. Otherwise, "Devils cite scripture." You first of all become perfect.

Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:

Śyāmasundara: Whereas this philosopher thinks that we should just..., that the vital force is guiding everyone and creating its own evolution, that we should just drift in the course of things and the vital force will determine history or will determine our future.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Vital force will determine. That is somewhat...

Śyāmasundara: Without our doing, without anything of our doing.

Prabhupāda: No. Vital force must know how to make progress how to do it. Then he'll be... If he does not know how to do it, how it will be possible? Can you do anything? Suppose you are learning some mechanical business, can you do it without direction? You have to learn. You must get a teacher. So without teacher, that is not possible.

Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:

Prabhupāda: Static religion... Religion is not static because religion (?) (ritual?) is on the spiritual platform. The spiritual platform is not static because the spirit is the dynamic force in this body. So when it is uncontaminated by this material body, then how it can be static? Because the spirit soul is there within the body, therefore my body is moving.

Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:

Prabhupāda: So automatic cooperation is bhakti, and forced cooperation is karma. That is the... It looks the same thing. Karmīs and the bhaktas are working... Just like we are working in the same way. Karmī is typing and a bhakta is typing. It looks the same thing, but karmī is typing under force. His master has ordered, "You work it; otherwise you won't get salary." And a bhakta is typing for pleasing Kṛṣṇa and for glorifying Kṛṣṇa. So the typing looks the same, but the bhakta's typing and a karmī's typing different.

Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:

Śyāmasundara: Even though he thinks he's free. He thinks he's free.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
(BG 3.27)

He is being forced by the laws of nature, but he is thinking, "I am doing this." That is ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. He's a rascal.

Philosophy Discussion on Johann Gottlieb Fichte:

Prabhupāda: That, that information we are giving that in reality everyone is servant, but he is under misconception, he's thinking he's master and he's forced to serve māyā. This is reality. Just like a outlaw, he is thinking that free from the state law but he's forced to abide by the state law in the kingdom. Similarly my position is I must carry the order. I am inferior. I must carry out the order of the superior. The superior, the supreme superior is Kṛṣṇa. If I voluntarily become the servant and carry out His order, then it is my normal life. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam vraja (BG 18.66). Otherwise it is abnormal life. I have to serve māyā. Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Māyā will kick upon my face and force me to do something, prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi (BG 3.27). So I will be servant of prakṛti, material nature. That means I will be servant of my senses. By nature, my senses dictate, "Now you do this," I will be forced to do it. This is my position.

Philosophy Discussion on Socrates:

Hayagrīva: The way of action in the world. And the jñāna, or knowledge, in itself is not sufficient, but it must be applied and must serve as a basis for action in the world.

Prabhupāda: Yes, ethics is the basic principle of purification. Unless one does..., knows what is moral and what is immoral... Of course, in this material world everything is immoral, but still we have to distinguish good and bad. That is called regulative principle. Simply by following the regulative principle, if he does not reach the ultimate goal of spiritual life, so that is also not wanted. The real aim is to come to the spiritual platform and become free from the influence of these laws of material nature. So passion is the binding force in the material nature. Just like in the prison house the prisoners are kept sometimes chained by some iron shackles and other method, so material nature has given the chain, shackles, of sex life, passion, rajas tamaḥ. Kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ. Rajah-guṇah means the modes of passion. So modes of passion means kama, lusty desires, and krodha. When the lusty desires are not fulfilled, one becomes angry. But these things are the means of bondage in this material world. In another place it is said, tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye (SB 1.2.19). When one is afflicted with the base material modes of nature, namely rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa, then he becomes greedy and lusty. So ethics require to get out of the clutches of greediness and lusty desires. Then he comes to the platform of goodness, which will help him to go to the platform of spiritual life.

Philosophy Discussion on Rene Descartes:

Prabhupāda: No. Not force of nature. By force of God.

Hayagrīva: Yes.

Prabhupāda: In the heart of the brute also there is God.

Philosophy Discussion on Blaise Pascal:

Hayagrīva: Of all things in the world, Pascal considered this to be the strangest. He says, "A man spends many days and nights in rage and despair over the loss of his job or for some imaginary insult to his honor, yet he does not consider with anxiety and emotion that he will lose everything by death. It is a monstrous thing to see in the same heart and at the same time this sensibility to trifles and this strange insensibility to the greatest objects—death. It is an incomprehensible enchantment and a supernatural slumber, which indicates as its cause an all-powerful force," such as māyā.

Prabhupāda: This is, this is instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, that one who does not believe in God or disobeys the orders of God, a day will come when God will come as death, and his all power, all false prestige, all imagination, all plans will be all broken. Then after that, according to the transmigration of the soul, that person, because he did not obey the orders of God, he acted like animals, he gets the body of an animal. This is transmigration. And he suffers.

Philosophy Discussion on George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel:

Prabhupāda: That's all right. By force you can do that, you are doing that.

Hayagrīva: And I can relinquish it because I can will to relinquish it.

Prabhupāda: But first thing is that if you have got will, but reasonable will, first of all you have to think, "Who has kept this gold here? I am claiming proprietorship simply by coming here, but who has kept this gold here?" Why don't you think like that? What kind of human being you are?

Hayagrīva: A final point: he believed that man should have the freedom to choose his occupation. He writes, "In the Platonic state, subjective freedom was of no account. Since the..."

Prabhupāda: That means there are already different occupations, and you have freedom to select one of them. But the occupation is already there, created by somebody else. You have the freedom to make a choice. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam: (BG 4.13) "I have created these four principles of occupational duties." Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Now, if according to your qualification you can make a selection, "I, I like this occupation." But the occupation is already there. Just like a shopkeeper, he has got varieties of goods. The customer goes, he can say, "I like this." "All right, you can take it. This is the price." Similarly, the occupational duties are already there. The (indistinct) are already there. That is created by God. Now you can select one of them according to the price you can pay.

Philosophy Discussion on Auguste Comte:

Prabhupāda: Positivism, that we can understand, that every man eats. So they have to eat. That is positive. Every man sleeps; he must sleep. But the thinking, feeling, willing, even in eating, sleeping also, everyone has got his own taste, own method. So how these things will be adjusted? If you force upon them that "You must eat these things," that will create dissatisfaction.

Philosophy Discussion on Auguste Comte:

Hayagrīva: Concerning men and women and the qualities, Comte felt that women were inferior physically, intellectually, and practically to men, but that they surpassed men in goodness and love. He writes, "In all kinds of force, whether physical, intellectual, or practical, it is certain that man surpasses women in accordance with a general law which prevails throughout the animal kingdom. If there were nothing else to do but to love, women would be supreme."

Prabhupāda: Hn. So?

Hayagrīva: Is that so?

Prabhupāda: So that is natural distinction between man and woman, so how it can be changed? Woman is meant for certain activities and man is meant for certain activities. So how this can be changed? Artificially if you change it, it cannot be changed. Then, just like woman becomes pregnant, man does not become pregnant. How it will be changed?

Hayagrīva: Well from this he concludes that woman, being dominated by love, is morally superior to man.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Philosophy Discussion on B. F. Skinner and Henry David Thoreau:

Prabhupāda: How they will work together? They require Lenin, Stalin, or something like that, to force them to work. Still, in Communist country there are manager class. Not only worker class, the manager class. So this is all utopian theory. It has no practical value.

Purports to Songs

Purport to Gauranga Bolite Habe -- Los Angeles, January 5, 1969:

This conviction is very much necessary. Saṁsāra-bāsanā mora kabe tuccha ha'be. And he also says that "When I shall be free from the desires of material enjoyment, then it will be possible to see the real nature of Vṛndāvana." Viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha ha'be mana: "When my mind will be completely purified, uncontaminated from the material contamination, at that time it will be possible for me to see what is Vṛndāvana." In other words, one cannot go to Vṛndāvana by force and live there, and he will achieve that transcendental bliss. No. One has to make his mind freed from all material desires. Then one can live at Vṛndāvana and relish its residential benefit. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says that. Viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe, śuddha ha'be mana: "When my mind will be freed from the contamination of this material enjoyment and I shall be purified, then it will be possible for me to see Vṛndāvana as it is." Otherwise it is not possible.

Purport to Parama Koruna -- Atlanta, February 28, 1975:

So in the Kali-yuga there is scarcity of brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa is vairāgya. A brāhmaṇa is not interested with pounds, shilling, pence, "Get money and enjoy." That is not brāhmaṇa's business. What us enjoyment? That is illusion. You cannot enjoy because you are conditioned by the stringent laws of nature, and where is enjoyment? There is no enjoyment. But they are thinking, "I am enjoying." This is called illusion, māyā. There cannot be any enjoyment. When you are not free, when you are conditioned under the stringent laws of... You do not like to die. You are forced to die. You must die. You cannot say, "No, I will not die." No, that is not possible. So where is your freedom? But we are declaring, "Now we are independent." This is all illusion.

Page Title:Force (Other Lectures)
Compiler:Rishab, Mayapur
Created:10 of Jun, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=164, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:164