God consciousness means
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Lectures
Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: How do you feel about Rabindranath Tagore, the poet?
Prabhupāda: (laughs) So you want my right answer? The answer is that anyone who has no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he has no good qualification. Or he's a fool, in simple word. So we have to test whether one has got Kṛṣṇa consciousness or God consciousness. If one has no God consciousness, then according to Bhāgavata: harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā [SB 5.18.12]. Those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, they cannot have any good qualification. Why? Manorathena asato dhāvato bahiḥ. Because they are, they have no God consciousness means they do not know what is God; therefore their consciousness is either on the bodily platform or mental platform or intellectual platform. God consciousness is on the spiritual platform. So those who are in the bodily platform, they're trying to satisfy the senses. And those who are on the mental platform, they're writing poetries and philosophical speculation to satisfy the mind. Similarly, there is intellectual platform. But soul is above intellect.General Lectures
Philosophy Discussions
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Lord Brockway: And you, you may easily have a person who is very God conscious, beautiful in their own lives, beautiful to all the group around them, who have no understanding of the problems of the world at all.
Prabhupāda: That is not perfect God conscious. That is partial. Perfect consciousness means full understanding also. That is perfect God consciousness. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3). This is the Vedic injunction. If you understand only God, then you understand everything. But if he does not understand everything rightly, that means he's not fully understanding God. This is the... If, as you say, that a man is fully God conscious, but he cannot do this, cannot do that, that means his understanding of God consciousness is still lacking. It is not full understanding. A full understanding of God consciousness means he's a perfect man. He's a perfect man. He'll never commit anything mistake. Because he's guided. Teṣām... What is that? Bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam, buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam... Find out. A God conscious person is getting direct instruction from God. How it can be defective? It cannot be. Practical. But if one is defective, he's not yet fully God conscious.1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Swiss Man (1): (French)
Yogeśvara: (translates) And in that situation, always thinking of God like that, our philosophy is that naturally these others things, charity, humanitarian works, they will all come naturally?
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ [SB 5.18.12]. As soon as you become a unalloyed devotee of God, all the good qualities will manifest in you. If the good qualities does not manifest in you, that means you are not yet perfect in God consciousness. Just like you European boys, American boys, why you have given... [break] ...one of the item is that good quality that "Why shall I give trouble, pain, to other animals?" This is within the God consciousness. Just like poor-feeding. This program we also follow. In our temple, especially in India, any man can come and take his food. Yes. We have got arrangement. In the U.S.A also, Los Angeles, New York, we invite anyone, "Come and take food." We don't want to see that anyone is hungry. We don't want to see. So God consciousness means all the good ideas we are manufacturing, they will be manifested in God consciousness automatically. Therefore our duty should be, if we want to make all human being well-behaved, then we must try to make every one of them God conscious.1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: To understand God means one must be first-class civilized man. Just like university is meant for first-class student, similarly, God consciousness means meant for the first-class human being.
Sandy Nixon: O.K. This question's a hard one for me to ask because it shows ignorance on my part. But I'm not asking it in ignorance. I want your answer on tape, O.K.? Does all desire ultimately have to go, including the desire to attain Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
Prabhupāda: Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you will have simply rubbish desires. And when you are Kṛṣṇa conscious, then you desire rightly.1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Ambarīṣa: Everybody serves in their own way, but it's all...
Prabhupāda: That is.... Unless you come to the service of God, it is wrong.
Devotee (2): I think he's asking, "But if it is service to God, then in God's eyes, all service to Him."
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Reporter: Right.
Prabhupāda: Yes. God, service to God means, just like you put foodstuff in the stomach. Then the service, supplying energy, is distributed automatically. The eyes get service, the ears get service, the hands get service, legs get service, everything. But if you put foodstuff in the eyes, instead of giving service, you make it blind. If you put foodstuff in the ear, instead of hearing, it is blocked. Then that is ignorance. You do not know where to give service. The knowledge, God consciousness means to know where to give service, so that the service will be automatically distributed. You pour water on the root of the tree and the energy will be distributed to the trunk, to the branches, to the twigs, to the leaves, to the flowers, everyone.Correspondence
1970 Correspondence
Try to convince in the meeting that the difference between animal society and human society is that the human society has in some form the ideals of Krishna Consciousness or God Consciousness. That is religion. Religion without God Consciousness has no meaning. And God Consciousness means that we are eternally related with Him. He is the Father, and everyone of us is the part and parcel or son. He is the Supreme Leader, and we are subordinates. He is the Supreme Maintainer, and we are completely dependent on Him.
Whatever we possess, including our body and our self, everything, belongs to Him. When one is completely in sense of this fact—he is God Conscious. And unless a living entity becomes God Conscious, he cannot be happy. So this is our propaganda. There is no question of sectarianism. Every religion should have this aim in view. But that system of religion which teaches development of God Consciousness is first class. We have to estimate by the result, and not by the formalities. So this movement, Krishna Consciousness, very quickly develops this God Consciousness, and it is very easy to adopt it.
But, at the same time, we must remember that a sinful man cannot develop God Consciousness. The four pillars of sinful life are: 1) illicit sex, 2) animal killing or animal eating, 3) indulgence in intoxication in any form, and 4) take to the life of gambling. We therefore request all religious institutions to check their followers from the reactions of these four principles of sinful life. That will pave the way of developing God Consciousness, and thus all the people will be happy.
It is not a question of following this religion or that religion. It is a question of philosophy of life. Our Krishna Consciousness philosophy is practical, easier, and based on sound reasoning and philosophy. We place it before impartial, thoughtful men of the world, and we are certain that they will find it sublime.1973 Correspondence
Page Title: | God consciousness means |
Compiler: | Serene, Haya |
Created: | 05 of Dec, 2008 |
Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=6, Con=4, Let=2 |
No. of Quotes: | 12 |