So this is the proof of Arjuna's character, a devotee's character. A devotee is always devatā, demigod. So one who is devotee, one who is Kṛṣṇa conscious, sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). Sura means devatā. All the good qualities of devatā. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa will never accept that killing is very good. No. "For the satisfaction of my tongue, I shall kill so many animals." A devotee will never accept. Ahiṁśa. Ahiṁśa. That is the third quality. Amānitvam adambhitvaṁ ahiṁśā kṣāntir ārjavam (BG 13.8). These are... Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. Amānitvam. Amānitvam means to accept this body as "I am." This is amānitvam, er, not to accept. That is amānitvam. Everyone is proud that "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Englishman." So it is boastful, very proud of this body. So knowledge means "I am not this body. I am not this body." That is amānitvam. Adambhitvam. As soon as we become aware that "I am not this body," then my false pride immediately goes. Amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁśā. Then ahiṁśā, nonviolence. Ārjavam, simplicity. There are eighteen qualifications of the demigods. So one who becomes a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa conscious, these, all these good qualities develop.
Good qualities (Lectures)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
So people are trying to elevate the status of the society by so many things. But they do not know the secret. The secret is that if one is trained only to become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, all good qualities automatically will be visible in his person. There is no need of separate endeavor, how to make a man honest, how to make a man religious, how to make a man high-thinking, simple living. These are good... Śamo damas, titikṣa ārjavaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam (BG 18.42). All these qualities immediately develop. Because a living entity, spirit soul, he is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Mamaivāṁśo jīvaḥ (BG 15.7). Kṛṣṇa says all this. Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4). "They have come to this material world. I am the seed-giving father. They wanted to enjoy. So I have given them chance. But actually I am the father. The material nature is the mother." Just like we have got experience, the father injects the living entity in the womb of the mother. And the mother, by her blood, develops the body of the child. Similarly, all these living entities, 8,400,000 species, the... Bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām (Bg 7.10). The father is Kṛṣṇa. He has given the seed in the womb of this material nature.
"No, he's a very big man. He has opened such big, big hospitals, big, big schools, big, big, big..." Yes, that may be good from the material estimation, but because he's not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, these are not good qualifications. Harāv a... This one word: Harāv abhaktasya, harāv abhaktasya. If one has no devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he cannot have any good qualities. These are not good qualities. Actually that is so. Suppose if you, the... According to karma-kāṇḍa vicāra, if you open a school, so in the next time, you will have good education. It is pious activities from material point of view. So the benefit will be that you will have good education in your next life. Accepting that it is very nice, next life I shall be very learned scholar, but to become that learned scholar I'll have to take my birth. But he does not know that how much difficulties are there to take birth. Kṛṣṇa says, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānu-darśanam (BG 13.9).
So these are activities, foolish activities. But when one is in goodness, he's sober. He can understand what is the value of life, how one should live, what is the aim of life, what is the goal of life. That goal of life is to understand Brahman. Brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ. Therefore the good quality means the brāhmaṇa. Similarly, kṣatriya. So they are guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. Guṇa. Guṇa has to be taken into account. Śrī Kṛṣṇa therefore said: catur vārṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). We have captured some kind of guṇa. It is very difficult. But we can immediately transcend all guṇas. Immediately. How? By bhakti yoga process. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). If you take the bhakti-yoga process, then you are no longer influenced by either of these three qualities, goodness, passion, and ignorance. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: māṁ ca avyabhicāriṇī bhakti-yogena sevate.
"When I require, I shall use it; otherwise not." That is master of senses. "I shall not act impelled by the senses. Senses should act under my direction." That is svāmī.
Therefore Arjuna is called Guḍākeśa. He is master of... He is also, when he likes. He is not a coward, but he is compassionate because he is devotee. Because he is devotee of Kṛṣṇa... Anyone who becomes a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, all the good qualities manifest in his body. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). All godly qualities. So Arjuna, he is also... Otherwise how he can become intimate friend of Kṛṣṇa unless of the same position? Friendship becomes very strong when both the friends (are) on equal level: same age, same education, same prestige, same beauty. The more similarity of position, then the friendship is there, strong. So Arjuna is also on the same level of Kṛṣṇa. Just like if somebody becomes friend of the president, friend of the king or queen. So he is not ordinary man. He must be of the same position. Just like the Gosvāmīs. The Gosvāmīs, when they gave up their family life...
Kṛṣṇa is the name of God. Kṛṣṇa means the all-attractive, all-good. All-attractive means He must be good; otherwise, how He can be attractive? A bad, someone who is bad, he cannot be attractive. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, this very word, means all-attractive. He has got all the good qualities, all the opulences so that He is attractive. That is the right description of, or right nomenclature of God. If God has got any name particular which is full in everything, that word is Kṛṣṇa. It is a Sanskrit word, but it indicates... Kṛṣṇa means God. In the śāstra it is said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ means controller, and paramaḥ, the supreme. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). That is the instruction of Vedic literature. So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a sectarian religious movement. It is a scientific philosophical movement. Try to understand it. But the process is very simple. The process is by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
"Now I have brahminical qualifications, I am now educated, I am very cleansed, I am very controlled"—these things are brāhmaṇa qualification—"I know what is what," jñānaṁ vijñānam, but he does not try for becoming immortal, then that kind of thinking is also bondage, that "I am this, I am that." Even though he is very learned, sattva śamo damas titikṣā śuci, all these good qualities are there. But if he does not try to be, go further ahead, how to become immortal, so this type of fine entanglement is also entanglement. And those who are passionate, they are thinking, "I am so rich, I am so powerful, I have got so many nice business, bank balance, I have got my big family, nice wife." These are passion conception of life. So they are certainly bound up. And those who are ignorant, means one does not know what is the value of life, lying down anywhere, lazy, sleeping, unclean, do not know the value of life, they are in ignorance. They are very firmly bound up.
Therefore our business should be not to associate with the material qualities. Even up to goodness. Material quality, goodness means the brahminical quality. Sattva śama damas titikṣā. So devotional service is transcendental to these good qualities also. In this material world, if somehow or other, he has got the birth in a brāhmaṇa family or he's executing his duties exactly a strict brāhmaṇa, still he's conditioned under the laws of this material nature, still. And what to speak of others, those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance. Their position is most abominable. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ: (BG 14.18) Those who are in the modes of ignorance, jaghanya, very abominable condition. So at the present moment... That is śūdra. Kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. In this age of Kali, everyone is in the modes of ignorance. Śūdra. They do not know because they have no... One who know that "I am spirit soul; I am not this body," he is brāhmaṇa.
So Kṛṣṇa conscious person is neither interested in pious activities or impious activities, but one who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all activities are pious, transcendental, automatically. He hasn't got to try separately. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā (SB 5.18.12). Anyone. Take for example nonviolence. Nonviolence is good quality. Now here, you see Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. Arjuna is a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Automatically he's trying to be nonviolent. "Why should I fight?" This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because he is devotee of Kṛṣṇa, nonviolence is already his quality. People are starting vegetarian society to become vegetarian, a very uplifted society. But the persons who are in Kṛṣṇa conscious, they are already vegetarian. That means the people in the ordinary status, they are trying to acquire some good qualities, but in Kṛṣṇa conscious person you will find all the good qualities automatically. That is the difference.
The sva-dharma, the principle is a kṣatriya's duty to fight, is to kill in fight. If you are in fight, you become sympathetic, then the same example: the dancing girl, when on the stage, if she is shy, it is like that. Why she should be shy? She must dance freely. That will be credit. So in the warfield, you cannot be compassionate. That is not required. In so many ways. Ahiṁsā ārjava, these are good qualities. In the thirteen chapter, Kṛṣṇa has described ahiṁsā, nonviolence. Nonviolence is generally accepted. And actually Arjuna was nonviolent. He was not a coward, not that because he was coward, therefore he was refusing to fight. No. As a Vaiṣṇava, naturally he is nonviolent. He does not like to kill anyone, and especially his own family men. He was taking a little compassion. Not that he was a coward.
Any person who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his quality of goodness, namely, he does not indulge in illicit sex life, he does not smoke even or take tea or coffee even, he does not eat any forbidden foodstuff, neither he takes part in unnecessary gambling. So good character is immediately there. That is the test. How one is spiritually advanced will be tested how he has acquired all the good qualities. Not that a yogi talking with a cigarette in hand. There is a picture. (laughs) In our Back to Godhead somebody was talking with our representative. He cannot give up smoking even for a moment, chain smoker, and claiming, "I am God, I am spiritually advanced," (laughs) and so many nonsense thing. You see. He's being kicked up by material energy in so many ways, and still he's claiming, "Oh, everyone is God, I am God." God is so cheap thing, you see. And they are satisfied. "I am God." That's all. So this bluffing, these cheating things are going on. And because we are unable to cheat and bluff, nobody cooperates with us. They want to be cheated and bluffed. That is the business. Yes. Go on.
There is another instruction in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ: "If one is situated in pure devotional service of the Lord, then, whatever he may be, all the good qualities of the Lord will develop in him, will develop, all the good qualities." And harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ: "And one who is not a devotee of the Lord, however academically he may be educated, his qualification has no value." Why? Now, manorathena: "Because he's on the platform of mental speculation, and due to his mental speculation, he is sure to be influenced by this material nature." He's sure to. So if we want to be free from the influence of the material nature, then our habit of mental speculation may be given up. That is the instruction in this verse.
So this is due to our being situated in the modes of passion.
As I have told you, there are three kinds of modes of material nature. One is goodness, one is passion, and one is ignorance. So ignorance is the lowest quality, passion is still better than ignorance, and goodness is the highest good quality within this material world. And one has to transcend even goodness. Then he can go to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness platform. So one should not remain on the platform of passion. He should try to rise on the platform of goodness, and from there he should try to be promoted in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is one method. But if you take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness directly, then automatically you transcend the platform of ignorance, passion, and goodness. Go on.
That Kṛṣṇa consciousness will help him to be the best man in the world. Api cet su-durācāraḥ. And there are other confirmation in the Bhāgavata, that yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ: (SB 5.18.12) "Anyone who has attained the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he attains all good qualities automatically." And harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ: "Anyone who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness..." When I speak of Kṛṣṇa, you can take it as God.
So in... So a person who is devoid of God consciousness, however he may be qualified from the material point of view, the scripture says that his qualification will not help him in doing things which are not desirable. He'll, he'll, he'll not be prohibited to do things which are not desirable. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ: (SB 5.18.12) "Because he's devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he's sure to commit mischief in this material world."
So if you take up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, which is meant for the brāhmaṇas, if you become brāhmaṇa by quality, then your, the Western nations will be... Especially in America, they'll be first-class nation. They'll be first-class nation. You have got intelligence. You have got resources. You are also inquisitive. You catch up good things. So you have got good qualities. You take up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously and you'll become the first-class nation of the world. That is my request. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)
Not that "I am born in a brāhmaṇa family and I am doing the work of a cobbler. Still, I am a brāhmaṇa. No, not like that. Guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ. Kṛṣṇa never says that brāhmaṇa is born in a brāhmaṇa family. Here it is clearly said, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Guṇa means quality. As you purchase something, that it is good quality, nice quality, similarly, you should accept a brāhmaṇa, a kṣatriya, a vaiśya, a śūdra, by the quality and by the work.
Not only that. Just like you qualify yourself as a lawyer, but you do not practice. So who will call you lawyer? Nobody will call. But if you are qualified and if you are practicing, everyone says, (Hindi) He will go. People will go to consult with you. But if you do not practice, simply you have passed legal examination, nobody will come to you. So two things are required: the brahminical qualities and work like a brāhmaṇa. These two things.... If you are born in a brāhmaṇa family and you are, "Oh, all blessing to you," oh, what power you have got to bless me? You are not in quality, not in work.
So angry, we can give up anger only when we are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Otherwise it is not possible to give up lust and anger. It is not possible. Simply... When he was... When... Why Lord Jesus Christ was able to forgive them? Because he was engaged in God's service. Therefore he was... So it is such a thing. Sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ. One who is actually Kṛṣṇa conscious, automatically all the good qualities overtake him without any separate endeavor. So
- kāma-krodha-vimuktānāṁ
- yatīnāṁ yata-cetasām
- abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ
- vartate viditātmanām
- (BG 5.26)
So one who is always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, automatically he becomes freed from lust, anger, and this is the stage of brahma-nirvāṇam. Brahma-nirvāṇam means cessation of material conception of life and be engaged in spiritual, transcendental position. That is called brahma-nirvāṇam.
Then you'll see everything clearly and be satisfied. "Oh, this is my position."
So this is the process of the more you become purified, the more you'll be advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And your advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness will be tested, how you are developing good qualities. Officially I'm Kṛṣṇa conscious yogi, but I am still addicted to so many nonsense habits—that means you are not advancing. That is the test. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). He hasn't got to learn how to become good. Simply by executing this devotional service, he'll be all good. That is the test.
They are not heartless. They are very submissive.
There are six, twenty-six qualifications of a factual devotee of the Lord. They are very kind. They are very obedient. They are sober, economic, everything, all good qualifications. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). One, if he becomes the devotee of the Lord, all good qualities automatically will develop because he is good. By nature a living entity is the perfect good, but due to the contamination of the lust, he has become vicious. He has become vicious. By nature he's not vicious; he's perfect. Because he's part and parcel of the gold, he's gold. By outward covering he has become something nonsense.
So this is the process. We are trying to, I mean, to introduce in the modern society Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and that will make us all-perfect, happy, and after leaving this body we shall enter into the kingdom of God, where there is eternal life, bliss and full knowledge.
Suppose a child does not know that fire burns, but the child catches fire. The fire is so cruel that it will not excuse. The laws of fire will act, even on the child. The child is innocent or ignorant. Innocence is also sometimes ignorance, due to ignorance. We sometimes praise the quality of child, the ignorance. But that child, when grown up, becomes a vicious man. So this ignorance, or innocence, they are not very good qualities.
So yeṣām anta-gataṁ pāpam. Pāpam means sin. "One who has been completely freed from the reactions of sinful acts," anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām, "of those persons who are simply engaged in activities of piety," te, "those people," dvandva-moha-nirmuktāḥ, "they can become free from this duality of interest." That means one who becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, he has no distinction between one person to another. He has no distinction, "Oh, this is Indian," "This is American," "This is Chinese," "This is Russian." No. He transcends this. By Kṛṣṇa consciousness we can transcend this material consciousness of different interests.
So I do not want to kill these ants."
This is the effect of devotional service. The same man who was taking pleasure by killing one animal half-dead, he is not prepared to kill even an ant. This is called bhakti. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). If one becomes a devotee of the Lord, akiñcana-bhakti, then sarvair guṇaiḥ, all good qualities will come out automatically. Because every living entity is part and parcel of God. God is all-good. Therefore every living entity, potentially, constitutionally, he is also good. As God is good, we are also good. But due to our material association, we have become bad. So if we revive our old position, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then automatically we shall become all-good. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended therefore, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (CC Antya 20.12). If you want to see, the to stop this blazing fire of material existence, then you have to spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world. And the practical effect, you can see, what is already done, how they have become. Our limit, there are limitation, we cannot accept anyone and everyone as disciple.
The real predominator is the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā prabhur eva ca. He's the predominator. Na tu mām abhijānanti. People, they do not know. They want to become predominator themselves. That is not possible. By nature, he's not so. I want to be predominator, but actually, I am being predominated by my desires, by my lust, by my anger, by my avarice, and so many good qualities. They are controlling me. I am angry. So I tell you something nonsense. You see? So that... I am predominated by the anger principle, kāma-krodha. So therefore one who knows that "I am not predominator; I am predominated..."
Suppose I am, I am the head of the family. I am thinking that "I am head of the family." But I am being controlled by the family members. I want to satisfy my wife. I want to satisfy my children. And if they are unsatisfied, then there is disruption in my family. Suppose I want to become the president. So my business will be to keep the citizens satisfied. Otherwise, next vote, I shall not get the post.
One who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is happy. He is peaceful. He does not do any harm to anyone, not even to the ant. What to speak of other animals. He enjoys according to the direction of Kṛṣṇa. And enjoys very nicely. So his life becomes peaceful, happy and everything. That is desire of life.(?) He becomes qualified with all the good qualities. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). Anyone who becomes Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all the good qualities automatically develop. Develop, they develop. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ.
And one who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he has no good qualification at all. Why? Mano-rathenāsati dhāva... Because he is hovering over the mental plane. He has no more any touch with the spiritual plane. So long we are on the material plane, or gross bodily plane, or subtle mental plane, oh, we have to suffer. We have to go to the spiritual platform, and that spiritual platform is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So now, somebody may say that "If a devotee is engaged in the service of the Lord, that's all right, but if his behavior is not up to the standard, then what happens to him?" Of course, a devotee is naturally developed, developing the twenty-six good qualities, but even if he does not develop those qualities... Of course, that very quality, that he is a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, that is sufficient. But still, if somebody is not up to the point, but he is unflinching, not moving, he is perfect devotee of Kṛṣṇa, then Lord Kṛṣṇa says, api cet su-durācāraḥ. Api cet su-durācāraḥ. Durācāraḥ means his conduct is not good, and su-durācāraḥ means still further. So api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. Ananya-bhāk means "Without deviating his attention to any other demigod or any other business, if one is simply cent percent engaged in My service, but his character is, general activities are not so to the point, still," the Lord says, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). Sādhu means a pious man or a religious man. Sādhu means the honest man and all good qualities. Still, although he is found that he is not to the standard, but his only qualification is that he is acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness sincerely... It may be...
That is your false pride. You are not God." Adambhitvam. Amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā (BG 13.8). Then nonviolence. As soon as one is a realized soul, he will be nonviolent. These are the different stages of acquiring knowledge. And when one is in full knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he becomes qualified with all the good qualities, all the good godly qualities. The Bhāgavata says, yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12) If one is actually in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then all godly, good qualities will develop. Because we are part and parcel of God, the godly qualities are there. It is simply covered. Just like the fire is covered by ashes. If you fan out the ashes, then the fire comes out. Similarly, spirit soul is pure. So when he comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he becomes pure soul. Amānitvam adambhitvam. Amānitvaṁ sva-sat-kāraṇam apekṣatvam, adambhitvam dharmikatva-khyāti-phalaka-dharmācaraṇa-virahaḥ.
The chief of them is bhakti, mayi ca ananya-yogena, without any diversion. Ananya-yogena bhakti-yoga. That is the chief point. Then other qualities of knowledge will develop automatically. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12).
As soon as you become a pure devotee of the Lord, all the good qualities of the demigods, surāḥ. There are two classes of men: sura and asura. Sura means devotees, and asura means nondevotees. So good qualities can be found in the suras. Ahiṁsā amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntir ārjavam (BG 13.8). There are many instances that the devotees are all qualified.
Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja, he was only five years old boy and his father was always chastising him because his only fault was he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. So the world is so made, full of demons, that simply for your fault of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra you'll have so many enemies, even your father.
And asuras means just the opposite number of viṣṇu-bhakta. They are asuras.
So if you develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if you develop love for Kṛṣṇa, then automatically the qualities of the suras, or the demigods, will develop. You haven't got to endeavor separately for becoming qualified in good qualities. Automatically. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ, harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ (SB 5.18.12).
But if one is nondevotee, he cannot have any good qualities. Why? Now, mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ. Because he is on the mental platform. Devotee means one who is acting on the spiritual platform, and nondevotee means those who are acting on the material platform, either bodily platform or mental platform. These are material platform. Bodily platform, they are called karmīs. They are working for their personal benefit.
So both platform are material platform. Therefore it is said harāv abhaktasya. Those who are devotees of the Lord, they are not acting on the mental or the gross material platform. They are not working on that platform. They are working on the spiritual platform.
So good qualities can be attained automatically when you work on spiritual platform. But if you work on material platform, means the gross body and the mind, then good qualities cannot be attained. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). Therefore we find that educated persons, so-called educated... They are not educated because in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, the so-called educated persons are bereft of real knowledge, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15). Apahṛta-jñānāḥ. Why? Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because they have taken the position of becoming an atheist, no faith in God. They are asura. So any asura, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ... He may be MA, PhD, from academic career, but his real knowledge is taken away. Therefore he is atheist.
That is not possible. Lakṣmī can be kept at home with Nārāyaṇa, but she cannot leave Nārāyaṇa. So if you want to enjoy false lakṣmī, that is different thing.
Therefore a person who is devoid of knowledge, who is not devotee, Kṛṣṇa conscious, he has no value. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ. He cannot have any good qualities. This is our test. We are not very learned, but we can test because we have got the testing tube. Just like a scientist tests chemically, analytically tests, how pure one chemical is within the test tube, similarly, we have got a test tube. What is that?
So therefore in this age, if we want to save ourselves from this onslaught of this age, the proposition is kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ. Parīkṣit Mahārāja was informed by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, "My dear King, I have described about the faulty nature of this age." Kaler doṣa-nidhi. Doṣa-nidhi means an ocean of faults. "But there is one good opportunity." Kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ. "There is one good quality." What is that? Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (SB 12.3.51). Simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one can become free from all this contamination and he can go back to home, back to Godhead." This is another advantage of Kali-yuga. In other yuga one has to undergo so much severe austerity, penances. Then one can realize. But in this age the things have been made easy. That is also mercy of Kṛṣṇa because these people are so much, disturbed and fallen, downtrodden, they cannot undergo very severe austerity. Simply chant.
"Sir, let us divide it honestly. Let us divide the booty honestly." Now, their basic principle is dishonesty, and now they want to divide honestly. So all these rascals, politicians, they are all dishonest, and they are trying to make adjustment honestly. Honestly. What is this honesty? There cannot be honesty. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ. Anyone who is not a devotee of the Lord, he cannot be possessing any good qualities. That is not possible. He must be dishonest if he is a not devotee of the Lord. He must be dishonest. This is the verdict of the śāstras.
Everyone is trying to be enjoyer. Kṛṣṇa has given little freedom. "All right. You want to enjoy. Enjoy it." But you have to be in this material world. And in the material world, as soon as you come to the material world, immediately you become contaminated by the modes of material nature.
Material nature has three modes, or three qualities—good quality, passion quality and ignorance quality. Goodness, passion and ignorance. So material world means you associate with the material three qualities—goodness, passion or ignorance. And according to that, as you associate, you get a certain type of body.
Kṛṣṇa orders prakṛti, the material nature, that "He wants to enjoy in this way; you give him a suitable body like that." You... "He wants to enjoy by becoming a tiger: 'Immediately I shall jump over an animal.' " Because phalgūni mahatāṁ tatra, the weak is the food for the strong. So sometimes we think that we shall be strong like tiger or lion. Kṛṣṇa is sitting within you. He says, "All right, you become a tiger."
Daivī sampat means the characteristics by which they can make very easy progress for liberation and spiritual realization. That is called daivī sampat. As soon as one becomes a devotee, this daivī sampat automatically becomes manifested. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). As soon as one develops his original dormant love of God, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then all the good qualities becomes manifest. Because the good qualities are already there. This is the process. People are trying to make people very honest. But how they can be honest? Unless there is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is very difficult to become honest. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ. Mahad-guṇāḥ, good qualities, good characteristics, good behavior, moral qualities, cannot be developed if one is not Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is not possible. If people are simply paid to be Kṛṣṇa conscious, then the state will save so much expense. Because they have to maintain huge establishment to stop criminal activities. But if people become devotees, there will be no more criminal activities. That's a fact.
Therefore it is the duty of everyone to train everyone. Just like the parents. They should train their children to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. The state should encourage how people can become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then automatically all the good qualities will come. Now, actually, in the United States the government is realizing the importance of our movement because the government has failed to stop this intoxication habit, LSD. In the Western countries, the younger generation are becoming too much addicted to this intoxication, LSD habit, and it has become a problem to the government and they have established so many institutions to stop this habit, but they have failed. But they are seeing wonderful result amongst our camp, that simply coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they have given all intoxication. It is practical. They have given up. So some of the institutions, government, they are inviting us, that "How you can help?"
That can be developed. It is not that stereotype, one who is condemned, he cannot be raised. No. Anyone can be raised. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted Jagāi and Mādhāi. They fell down. They're born..., they are born in brāhmaṇa family, nice family, but due to bad association they became drunkard, they became woman-hunters, meat-eating, gambling, so many, all these good qualities. At the present moment, in the human society, without these they are not civilized. They must have a club. What is this club? I have seen in Germany. Just like we have got, after few steps, a (Sanskrit?), similarly, in Hamburg I have seen, a few steps after there is a small club. What is the business of the club? The business of club that a young woman should be there, and there should be wine and cards for playing gambling. And whenever they get holiday, they, you won't find him at home. He has immediately gone to the club. You see? So these things... Not only in Germany.
Yes. That, if he is seriously devotee, that demonic qualities will disappear very soon. Kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā. Api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30), kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā. Just like electric fan is moving, and you make the switch off. Still you will find, it is moving. But that movement will stop very soon because switch is off. Similarly, a devotee, if it is sometimes found that he is demonic, that demonic, if he is sincerely a devotee, that demonic qualities will go very soon.
- kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā
- śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati
- kaunteya pratijānīhi
- na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati
- (BG 9.31)
So if one is strongly a devotee, then, gradually—it may take little time—all good qualities will be manifest in his body. So, any other question?
Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). The God can be realized only by the devotees who have got all these good qualities. These good qualities already mentioned, samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. That is God consciousness. God consciousness does not mean that I shall be protected, I shall be happy, and let others be unhappy. Let them go to hell. Never mind. No. That is not God consciousness. Therefore, in order to become perfectly God conscious, the first-class men must be there in the society. And that first-class man is described here, śamo damas tapaḥ: he is able to control the mind, he is able to control the senses, tapaḥ, he has undergone austerities, tapaḥ. Śaucam, he is always clean, outside and inside, śaucaṁ kṣāntiḥ, always peaceful, ārjavam, simplicity, and jñānam, full of knowledge, vijñānam, practical application of knowledge in life, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam, and firmly convinced about the existence of the Supreme Lord. These are the qualification of the first-class man. Brahma-karma svabhāva-jam. These are the qualities.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Now pure goodness means one has to transcend even this material platform of goodness, because in the material platform of goodness there is possibility of being contaminated by the other two qualities, namely passion and ignorance. Sometimes it becomes mixed up. The material type of goodness is just like a pure brāhmaṇa—satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā—with all the good qualities: truthfulness, controlling the senses, controlling the mind, full of knowledge, tolerance, and knowledge..., knowledge means about the Supreme. These are brahminical qualifications. But sometimes these brahminical qualifications also become contaminated by the other two qualities, passion and ignorance. It has been experienced. At the present stage also, we see that many persons who are coming to the brahminical family, but they have been contaminated by the other two qualities, passion and ignorance. So there is possibility. In the material goodness there is possibility of being attacked with the other two qualities and thereby fall down.
Prabhupāda: That is the special prerogative of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ. If one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, then all the good qualities of the demigods will automatically manifest in Him. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). On the contrary, those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, they have no good qualification. Harāv abhaktasya. They are simply hovering on the mental platform, and therefore they fall down. Yes, go on.
Pradyumna: "The Vedas contain regulated principles of knowledge covering social, political, religious, economic, military, medicinal, chemical, physical, and metaphysical subject matter and all that may be necessary to keep the body and soul together."
What is that reason, kāraṇa? The reason is kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. He has associated with a particular type of the material qualities therefore he has to accept a particular type of body. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. Therefore we are instructing our students, "Associate with the good qualities, good qualities." The best qualities of association is devotional service, a devotee. Because they're transcendental, above goodness, above goodness. Just like you are living in this temple. This is above goodness according to Vedic.... If you live in the forest that is goodness, association with goodness, because there is no material contamination, simple life in the forest. Or in the village, not in the village, in the forest. Therefore formerly all the sages and saintly persons they used to live in the forest. That is goodness. And if you live in the city that is association with passion. And in the city if you live in the brothel, the liquor shop, gambling, that is association with ignorance. Three kinds.
Even the police, they also give certificate that "We don't have to take much worries to control this crowd," when our Ratha-yātrā festival go.
So actually, this is the fact. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). If one develops Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotion to Kṛṣṇa, then naturally, without any separate endeavor, all the good qualities will develop. This is the symptom how one is advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That means all the good qualities will be visible in his character. That is practical. Anyone can test. Just like these boys, these girls, European, American boys and girls who have taken to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, just see how their bad habits have been altogether stopped. Sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ. All good qualities will develop. You see practically. You see practically. These young boys and girls, they never asked me that "Give me some money. I shall go to cinema," or "I shall purchase a packet of cigarettes. I shall drink." No.
If one is very, very intelligent, then he takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, and his life becomes successful, he becomes free from so many addictions... This is the result of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). Simply by becoming a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, all the good qualities of the demigods... Demigods... Just like Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Nārada. There are many, many demigods. They are good qualified. Otherwise, how they are posted in such exalted position? They are very qualified. So simply by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, all the good qualities of the demigods, or all godly qualities, will manifest. There is no doubt about it. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra... (SB 11.2.42). They will be reluctant. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59). They will find something so nice that they will give up all this nonsense. This is the process. Unless you give something better, how one can give up his bad habits?
The śāstra says, "Do you think that a snake coming to you with a jewel on head is not dangerous or ferocious?" He's as dangerous, as ferocious, as the serpent without jewel. Similarly, any materialistic person, however educated he may be, so-called educated, he is simply a snake, dangerous. That's all. He has no qualification. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ. One cannot have good qualities unless one is advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Read.
Pradyumna: "The harmful, foolish and passionate cannot be devotees of the Lord, however they may advertise themselves as devotees by outward dress. A devotee is always qualified with all the good qualities of God. Quantitatively, such qualifications may be different, but qualitatively, both of them are one and the same."
Prabhupāda: Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)
Always chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and... Chant and hear. Naturally, with the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, you will memorize the form of Kṛṣṇa, the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. In this way if we fix our mind always on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, naturally these good qualities will come. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). Bhakti. Unless you have got bhakti... Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ. Who can fix up his mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa unless he's a bhakta? Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ.
So these are the primary qualification. And alpa-bhāṣiṇi. Alpa-bhāṣiṇi. Munayaḥ alpa-bhāṣiṇi śuśrūṣamāṇe. At the same time, service must be there. And simply, "I'm chanting, but no, I'm not giving service..." That may be possible for Haridāsa Ṭhākura. He was simply chanting 300,000 times. That was possible by Haridāsa Ṭhākura. But if we imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura, that "I shall chant only," that is not chanting.
The jñāna, after jñāna, there is the stage of bhakti. Without jñāna, bhakti is kaniṣṭha-adhikārī. With jñāna he is uttama-adhikārī. These are described by Caitanya, in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So the idea is that if one is advanced devotee, then all the good qualities will be visible in him. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā (SB 5.18.12). He has no other desire. Akiñcana-bhakti. If he has got any other desire to fulfill, then it is mixed. It is not śuddha-bhakti; it is vaidhī-bhakti. Karma-miśra-bhakti, jñāna-miśra-bhakti, yoga-miśra-bhakti. Bhakti must be there. Otherwise, karma, jñāna, yoga, nothing is successful. Bhakti must be there. But when karma, jñāna, yoga, everything is without contamination, simply bhakti... Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167). That stage is ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam. Simply to satisfy.
For the good. For the good of the devotees. He's always after seeing good of the devotees. Therefore from this instruction of Kuntī, our business should be always how to become devotee. Then all good qualities will come upon us. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). If you simply develop your devotion, dormant devotion, natural devotion... We have got natural devotion.
Just like father and son, there is natural affection. And the son has got natural devotion to the father, for father, for mother. Similarly, we have got our natural devotion. When we are actually in danger, even the scientists, they also pray to God. But when they are not in danger, they defy God. So therefore danger is required in order to teach these rascals that there is God. So that is natural. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). That is our natural...
So Dhṛtarāṣṭra went according to the instruction of Vidura. Gāndhārī followed. Gāndhārī never said that "I am now old. I have lost my children. These nephews, they're taking care of me. Why shall I go with my husband?" No. She also went.
So there are many good qualities in Mahābhārata about Gāndhārī. Therefore she is described here as tapasvinī. Tapasvinī. Very chaste faithful wife. Ideal wife. Gāndhārī. Tapasvinī. So what is the purport? Read it.
And as soon as he becomes lover of God, he becomes fully qualified with all good qualifications. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). This is the test. He hasn't got to be trained up how to become honest, how to become clean, how to become this, how to become that. If he becomes a lover of God, Kṛṣṇa, then all the good qualities automatically reveal. Just like when you are out of diseased condition, all your healthy symptoms are revealed, manifest. It doesn't require to bring them separately, to bring them separately. It is already there. Because every living entity is part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa, he has got all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa, very minute quantity. The Gosvāmīs have analyzed: seventy-eight percent. Not in full, but in minute quantity. It is not joke. Seventy-eight percent of the qualities of Kṛṣṇa is there in living entity. And Kṛṣṇa means all-good; they're all good qualities.
The śūdra is not fit for government management. As such we find so many difficulties in the government because the head or the head man, they are all śūdras. They have dressed like administrator, but they are śūdras. This is the symptom of Kali-yuga. There is no brāhmaṇa, there is no kṣatriya, there is no vaiśyas. Maybe a few vaiśyas, and all śūdras. A brāhmaṇa means the good quality, first-class quality. That is very, very rare to be found.
So it was the business of the king to see that things are going on. First of all, there is classification: intelligent class or brāhmaṇa; and the administrator class or kṣatriya; and the mercantile class, money-producing class. So everyone is engaged, and he's doing his own business. But this division must be there. Without division the society will be in chaos. The example is given... I have several times mentioned that, that just like in this body, there is division: the head division, the arms division, the belly division, and the leg division. They are all required. You cannot say that simply legs will do.
There was a very good example of our Kṛṣṇa conscious men in Melbourne. That was published. There was a fire in one building, and they were, I mean to say, stranded. They were crying. So our girls went there and saved them. Nobody came. Therefore it is said, yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). If one is God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious, then other material good qualities will automatically develop. These girls in our Melbourne temple, they were not asked by me or their president, "You go and save them," but out of their good will they went and saved them, and some of the girls jumped from three story and they captured in this, what is called, canopy. So it was published and very much appreciated by the public. So the idea is that one cannot be merciful unless he is a devotee. The so-called mercifulness showed by the philanthropists, humanitarians, that is all false. They are humanitarian, but they maintain slaughterhouse. What is this humanitarian? It does not appeal to you that animals are being killed?
They are humanitarian, but they maintain slaughterhouse. What is this humanitarian? It does not appeal to you that animals are being killed? So the real fact is that without becoming a devotee of Kṛṣṇa or God, nobody can be qualified with good attributes. It is not possible. Therefore śāstra says that "Make people devotee." Then automatically, all the good qualities will come in. Next.
Nitāi: "Since dharma, or the principles of religion, will be lost in the proportion of three out of four, the symbolic bull was standing on one leg only. When three-fourths of the population of the whole world become irreligious, the situation is converted into hell for the animals. In the age of Kali godless civilizations will create so many so-called religious societies in which the Personality of Godhead will be directly or indirectly defied. And thus faithless societies of man will make the world uninhabitable for the saner section of people. There are gradations of human beings in terms of the proportionate faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
One can acquire the respective qualifications by one's own efforts, and thus the son of a Vaiṣṇava can become a mleccha or the son of a caṇḍāla can become more than a brāhmaṇa, all in terms of their association and intimate relation with the Supreme Lord."
Prabhupāda: Yes. So if we qualify ourself as Vaiṣṇava and devotee, then all other good qualities will automatically manifest in the body. That is the purpose of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that you accept this movement... For example... There are many examples. This is also one practical example. In your state the government has spent millions and millions of dollars to stop the intoxication habit, but it was failure. But as soon as the same person comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness camp, he immediately gives up. This is practical. And there cannot be any comparison of the qualities of our students with any religious institution or any school, college. You cannot have. Because they are devotee. As soon as you become devotee, all good qualities...
So Dharitrī, the earthly planet, was lamenting that "Due to the contamination done by the Kali, I am thinking I am lost of all these good qualities." So śaucam, satyam, truthfulness. We must remember always that we are part and parcel of God. So we have all the good qualities of God; that is our nature. Just like the drop of the ocean water, it has got all the qualities of the ocean. There is no doubt about it. Therefore, even if we take a little drop of ocean water, because the ocean water is salty, we taste the water salty. The salt is there also, but in minute quantity. The ocean has got millions and trillions of tons of salt, and here, in the drop of the water, there is a grain of salt. But salt is there. Another example: just like a little portion of gold. So that is also gold; it is not iron. So naturally, in our original position we have got all the good qualities of God. Now, due to the material contamination, the godly qualities are now covered. The godly qualities are there, but it is covered. That covering is possible due to our very minuteness, very small quantity. Therefore we are fallible, but Kṛṣṇa is not fallible.
That is the test. If one is actually advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you'll not find any fault in him. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā. If one has got unflinching faith and devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead... Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇaiḥ, all the good qualities. These are the good qualities, mentioned here: satyaṁ śaucam, śamo damaḥ santoṣa ārjavam, sāmyam, so many, twenty-six good qualities of Vaiṣṇava. These good qualities will be manifest. Then we understand, "Oh, here is actually a pure devotee." A pure devotee cannot be contaminated, just like God cannot be contaminated. But we are part and parcel, a small God. We can say, "God, I am God," but if you have got sense, you will say that "I am not the great God, but I am small God." That is sense. Because you have got the God qualities, you are not the Supreme. That is not possible. Supreme is Supreme. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). That is the Vedic injunction, that He is the chief of the eternals.
One in this sense: that all the qualities that God has, the same qualities the living entity has. But the difference is God has all the qualities in fullness, and so far we are concerned, we have got all the godly qualities in minute. That is the difference. Aṇu and vibhu. Vibhu means unlimited, and aṇu means limited. So we have got opulence, fame, beauty, strength, influence, knowledge, all good qualities that God has. But God has got in full, we have got in minute quantity.
So anyway, qualitatively, we are one with God. Therefore our business is how to again unite with God qualitatively. That is the highest perfection of human life. And this chance of realization, how we can unite again with God or Kṛṣṇa, is given only in the human form of life. We are wandering in so many species of life, transmigration of the soul. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). Just we change our dress, similarly we are changing our body every moment, and finally we are changing to other body. Not only we are changing or transmigrating from one body to another, but we are transmigrating from one planet to another. These things are all explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Those who are developing the modes of good qualities, they are gradually being promoted to the higher planetary system, heavenly planet-Satyaloka, Janaloka, Maharloka. In those planets the duration of life is very long, the possibilities of sense enjoyment is very nice. Everything thousands, thousands times better than this. This is not very difficult to understand. Just like in your country... Although within this planet the standard of living is far, far nice, better than some other countries, similarly there are hundreds and millions of planets, other planets, where the standard of living is far, far better. So we are, according to our work, we are sometimes promoted to those planets and sometimes to the lower-grade planets, adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ.
As you know, there are twenty-six qualifications mentioned in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and one of the qualifications is kavi, poet. Every Vaiṣṇava in our disciplic succession, all the Vaiṣṇavas... In the later ages, within 200 years... During Caitanya Mahāprabhu's time, there were Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, Vaiṣṇava, Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, Kavi-karṇapūra. They were all big poets. Later on, Vidyāpati, Caṇḍīdāsa. No, Caṇḍīdāsa before Lord Caitanya. Jayadeva. He also, before Lord Caitanya. All big, big kavis. The Jayadeva kavi's, this pralaya-payodhi-jale dhṛtavān asi vedam **. So a Vaiṣṇava devotee of the Lord is expected to have all good qualities. The more you become advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all the good qualities that were covered by the cloud of māyā will come out. Good qualities are already there. Just like Kṛṣṇa has got sixty-four good qualities in full, and we are minute particles of Kṛṣṇa; therefore we have got also those good qualities in minute particles. But these good qualities are now covered. Just like fire is covered by the ashes. So it does not act.
This answer is there in the śāstra: yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ. This means that if one is turned to be a pure devotee, then all the good qualities automatically become manifest in him. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathenāsato dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). Whereas a nondevotee, he has no good qualification because he is acting on the mental platform, as such, he will be always attracted by material things.
In this connection I shall recite one historical incident from the Purāṇas. There was a hunter in Prayāg. Prayāg you know, in Allahabad. So he was hunting in the forest indiscriminately. So Nārada Muni was passing through the jungle and he was very compassionate to see the animals being half-dead and half-killed by the hunter. Nārada Muni, being Vaiṣṇava, he was very kind to all living entities, so he went to the hunter whose name was Mṛgāri. So the Mṛgāri thought that "This saintly person is coming to me for some deerskin," so he said, "Sir, don't disturb in my business. If you want deerskin I shall give you. Please get out of my activities for the present." Nārada Muni said that "I have not come here to ask for deerskin, but I simply ask you that if you want to kill the animals, you kill them total. Why you are killing half?" The hunter said, "What is the difference between killing whole and killing half?"
The hunter, the Vaiṣṇava, he replied, "Sir, there were so many ants on the ground. Therefore I was trying to avoid trampling them." So Parvata Muni was surprised, that "This man was hunting and killing animal half. Now, because he has become a Vaiṣṇava, he is not prepared to kill even an ant."
So this is the practical instance that if one becomes devotee of the Lord, all the good qualities manifest in his body. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied to Parīkṣit Mahārāja that "You are saying right that simply by atonement, simply by punishment, one cannot become honest." Practically speaking, if you simply enact laws to make people honest, it is impossible to do that.
Without regulative principle you cannot correct yourself. So that regulative principle cannot stay if you are not a devotee. This is the gradual process. Simply if I say, "Follow the rules and regulation," it will not stay unless you become a devotee. That is the test of devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because it is so powerful, devotional service, that as soon as you become a devotee, gradually, immediately, all the good qualities of your original position...
Good qualities means we are part and parcel of God, so God is good, so we are also good. Otherwise how can I be part and parcel of God? If God is gold, then I am gold. So why I become iron? I am not iron, but I am covered with dirty things. I look like iron. This is the position. Actually I am not iron; I am gold, because I am part and parcel of God. If God is good, then I am good. So because I am covered by the material dirty things, I look like not gold. So this is the test. As soon as you become God conscious, your original all good qualities will manifest automatically.
That "One who has got unflinching faith, devotion to the Lord," yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā, "without any motive, then all the good qualities of God will manifest in him very soon."
- kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā
- śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati
- kaunteya pratijānīhi
- na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati
- (BG 9.31)
- api cet su-durācāro
- bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
- sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ...
- (BG 9.30)
These things are there. The devotional service is so nice. If you simply take to devotional service, then all good qualities will come. You don't have to educate him, to send some reformatory school or this or that. That will be explained. In devotional service, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice. If you simply take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then all your... Because originally you are good.
Bhagavān is transcendental, above this universe. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: trai-guṇya-viṣayā vedā nistrai-guṇyo bhavārjuna. That nistrai-guṇya means nirguṇa. (Hindi) He has no qualities—this is nonsense. When one is powerful, all-powerful, how he can think that He has no good qualities? Is it possible to think like that? That means He has no material qualities. When there is nirviśeṣa, when there are such description, "The Absolute Truth has no form," that means He has no material form. As soon as there is question of form, we think of form like you have got a form, I have got a form, he has got a form. Immediately we think of form like that. When Veda says "God is formless," that means He is not under the conception of form which you can conceive. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). His form, His form is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā, that aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti (Bs. 5.32). He has got form, but every part of His limb has got the power of other limbs.
Then universal brotherhood: "As I am part and parcel of God, my brother is also, my friend is also, the dog is also like that, the cow is also like that. They're all part and parcel of God as spirit, as spiritual spark. Therefore they're all equal. Why shall I envy him? Why shall I utilize(?) him? Why shall I trouble him?" These good consciousness, good qualities, automatically develop. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā. Anyone who has developed Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all the good qualities of the demigods will manifest in his body. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). The demigods are supposed to be very highly qualified. So all the godly or demigodly qualities will manifest. They are... Vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca. The Vaiṣṇava becomes the ocean of mercy to others. They're going door to door: "Please be Kṛṣṇa conscious. You'll be happy." Actually that is the fact. So who can be merciful than these Vaiṣṇavas? They are giving the right contribution to the society. They need it.
They're going door to door: "Please be Kṛṣṇa conscious. You'll be happy." Actually that is the fact. So who can be merciful than these Vaiṣṇavas? They are giving the right contribution to the society. They need it.
So simply by God consciousness, simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we can develop all the good qualities, we can conquer over all reactions of our sinful life. Simply we have to follow the regulative principles as they're enjoined by the ācāryas, as they're... Very simple method. And by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, as much as possible, then we keep the standard. We keep the standard means we keep ourself in liberated state. Simply we have to be cautious that māyā, or material conception of life, may not again attack us. So (he) says, na tathā hy aghavān rājan pūyeta tapa-ādibhiḥ, yathā kṛṣṇārpita-prāṇaḥ. Anyone who has dedicated himself, his life, to Kṛṣṇa, na ta..., yathā kṛṣṇārpita-prāṇas tat-puruṣa-niṣevayā... How one can become dedicated to Kṛṣṇa? Tat-puruṣa-niṣevayā. That Supreme Personality being served, being served. By serving.
When one is in animal condition, that means more sinful. So we have to become sinless. That requires jñāna-vairāgya. Jñāna-vairāgya. So jñāna, vairāgya can be attained very easily if one becomes a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yoga-prayo... This is the verdict of all Vedic literatures, that if one becomes devotee, then he'll develop his original good qualities. Because we are part and parcel of God, so we have got good qualities. It is covered now by material contamination. That gold, gold is gold, but it is covered by mud, dirty things, one cannot understand whether is it gold or something else. So our position is like that. So when we are free from these dirty things, then our original life becomes manifest. That is called mukti. Mukti hitvā anyathā rūpaṁ svarūpea avasthiti. Mukti means now we are differently contaminated situation. Roga-mukti. There is a verse, roga-mukti. One is suffering from fever, and when there is no more fever it is called mukti. Similarly, we are suffering on account of this diseased condition. This material life means diseased condition. It is not our real, but they do not know. They do not know. They are thinking this is life. But this is not life. They have no information. So this sinful life, suffering.
Here it is said suśīla, "well behaved," "good character." Suśīlāḥ sādhavaḥ. Sādhavaḥ, character like ideal. You have got ideal, Lord Jesus Christ. Suśīlāḥ sādhavaḥ nārāyaṇa... Why? Nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇāḥ: because they are devotee of Nārāyaṇa. If you become simply nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa, devotee of Nārāyaṇa or Kṛṣṇa, all good qualities will come to you automatically. All good qualities. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). Take practical example. These boys, these girls, how they have become so nice? They are known as "bright-faced." Why? Because nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇāḥ: they have taken seriously Kṛṣṇa as the object of worship. So actually if you want happiness within this world, peace, and prosperity, just become Kṛṣṇa conscious. All problems will be solved and you will be happy.
You can keep yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness as it is prescribed. Then your life is secure, akuto-bhayaḥ. Therefore no more fear. Because why? Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: (BG 18.66) "If you become surrendered unto Me and if you keep yourself under My instruction, then I'll give you protection." Therefore it is said, akuto-bhayam. Then your character will be formed, you'll become... You'll manifest your all good qualities simply by becoming nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa. And so far atonement... We began this atonement. So atonement is concerned, here it is said, prāyaścittāni cīrṇāni nārāyaṇa-parāṅmukham. You can have some atonement, but if you are bereft of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so this purification will not be complete. How? Rājendra surā-kumbham ivāpagāḥ. According to Vedic civilization, a pot in which wine was kept, it is impure forever. It is impure forever. You cannot use for any other purpose. It is so abominable. If you think that "This bottle contained wine. Now wine is finished.
Naṣṭa-sadācāraḥ. He had no..., he lost all the sadācāra. Sadācāra, these are the sadācāra: to rise early in the morning, to take bath, attend maṅgala-ārātrika, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, read books, Vedic literature, and then prasādam—always some prescribed duty for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is called sadācāra. So Ajāmila, on account of this association of this prostitute, he lost all good qualities, sadācāra, and then he took all abominable professional for earning money. That will be described next verse.
Those who are addicted to these bad habits, in their hundreds and thousands of life they will never be able to understand what is God. The door is locked for them. So naṣṭa-sadācāra. As soon as you become illicit sex hunter, prostitute-hunter, addicted, then you will lose your sadācāra. All good behavior finished. Naṣṭa-sadācāra. Why? Dāsyāḥ saṁsarga-duṣitaḥ. On account of association with the prostitute, one will lose all his good qualities.
In this way the next stage is, as soon as he lost all sadācāra, then his profession became bandy-akṣaiḥ kaitavaiś cauryair garhitāṁ vṛttim āsthitaḥ. Bandy-akṣaiḥ. Just like it is very common thing, nowadays especially, that as soon as you find somebody solitary: "Yes, what you have got? Give me. Otherwise I shall kill you. Here is knife." This is called bandy-akṣaiḥ. Arrest somebody and take whatever he has got. This is called bandy-akṣaiḥ. And kaitavaiḥ, cheating: "I shall give you this. I shall..." There are so many cheating processes. Bandy-akṣaiḥ kaitavaiś cauryaiḥ. Cauryaiḥ means stealing.
Therefore they are protesting, "How is that? It is already settled up. This man has committed so many sinful activities. So they are under our jurisdiction. Who are you, you are forbidding us?" But the Viṣṇudūtas have come there because although he was sinful, although he was most impious, although he was a prostitute-hunter and cheater and so many good qualities, still, he has chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa at the end of his life. Immediately Viṣṇudūtas... This is the facility. Whole life sinful, ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ (SB 2.1.6), but he has remembered Nārāyaṇa at the end of his life. Very painful life. At the time of death it is very, very painful. We have got experience. Therefore you do not wish to die, because it is very, very painful. Similarly, after death, immediately, by the discrimination of Yamarāja, he gets another body. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). Daiva-netreṇa, by the supervision of superior power, the Yamarāja takes away, and then he gives a body. First of all he is put into the hellish condition of life as he will get.
So the Yamadūtas, they very politely submitted. They could understand immediately that these persons so nicely decorated, four hands, looking very youthful, all the good qualities... So with due submission, they said that "You look so nice, gentle. Why you are interfering with our duties?" Kim arthaṁ dharma-pālasya kiṅkarān no niṣedhatha. So they accepted the submission. Very humbly they submitted, with great respect. Therefore they were smiling. And the word is used here, tān pratyūcuḥ prahasya idam. When there is argument, dealing, if the words are exchanged very politely, so things go on nicely. So prahasya. Prahasya, now they are challenging, the Viṣṇudūta, that "You are claiming to become the servants of Yamarāja, and he is Dharmarāja, he is authority, and how is that you do not know whom to arrest and whom not to arrest? This man is now free from all sinful reaction. How is that you are claiming to be servant of Yamarāja, Dharmarāja, and do not know?" Therefore they were smiling.
Democracy. You become good man. You will see government is good. So therefore the mass education should be how to become good man. And how one can become good man? That is also stated in the śāstras: yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). If one is simply made a devotee and he has got unflinching faith in God, Kṛṣṇa, then all the good qualities automatically develop.
So therefore this is the duty. This is duty of this society, to make everyone a devotee, a sincere, a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. If you make the people all good, you will have good society, you will have good government. You will have everything good. And if you create rascals and fools, how you can expect good government? That is not possible. Therefore all serious, thoughtful men should take it that Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very, very essential in this world.
Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break)
So if one associates with the sattva-guṇa, then he is promoted gradually to the higher planetary system. Higher planetary system. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Everything explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Those who are developing the good qualities of this material world, three qualities, so ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ. The upper planetary system, heavenly planetary system... Therefore we say that you cannot go to the moon planet, from the śāstra. Because the moon planet, who will go? Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ. Unless one is in the modes of goodness, they cannot enter there. It is not possible. "By force," if you say, "Yes, we have gone; we are going," you may say, but we are followers of the śāstra. Śāstra-cakṣuṣaḥ. We see through the śāstra. We understand that these men, they are not even rajo-guṇa, or maybe in rajas-tamo-guṇa. But where is sattva-guṇa? Sattva-guṇa. So through the śāstra we can understand that who is who through śāstra. Therefore in my poetry, on the strength of śāstra, I said that rajas tamo guṇe erā sabāi ācchanna, vāsudeva-kathā ruci mahe se prasanna: (SB 1.2.16) "Most of the population here is covered by the material modes of ignorance and passion. Absorbed in material life, they think themselves very happy and satisfied; therefore they have no taste for the transcendental message of Vāsudeva.
What is that? Śamo damo... Tapo satyam. Cleanliness. So this is also trained up, how to become clean, to rise early in the morning, take bath, wash mouth, feet. Guṇa-sampannaḥ. Then take to maṅgala-āratika. In this he was also trained up. Ayaṁ hi śruta-sampannaḥ śīla-vṛtta-guṇālayaḥ. Guṇa means sad-guṇa, this śamo damo titikṣa ārjava, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam. These are guṇālayaḥ, reservoir of all good qualities. Dhṛta-vrata. These things not occasionally but regularly, dhṛta-vrata. "I must rise early in the morning"—that is called dhṛta-vrata, vow. "I must do it." Dhṛta-vrato mṛduḥ, mild, gentleness. This is human life, not to live like cats and dogs. That is not human life. Real human life, the picture is here. One must be trained up to all these qualifications. Just like nowadays we send our boys to school, college, for being trained up as a technician, formerly the boys were sent for education... These are the effects of education.
Education means to become human being. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, he also, although he was a politician, but brāhmaṇa, he also says who is educated, paṇḍita.
Kevalayā bhaktyā vāsudeva-parāyanāḥ, dhunvanty aghaṁ nīhāram iva bhāskaraḥ. It is said, dhunvanti Every sinful reaction becomes washed away if one becomes vāsudeva-parāyanāḥ, kevalayā bhaktyā. All these qualities can be attained by a devotee automatically. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇair tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). Sarvair guṇaiḥ, all good qualities As it said, guṇālayaḥ, the reservoir of all good qualities. This can be attained, this stage can be attained, only by training in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So about Ajāmila, the Yamadūtas, they said, "We know that this man Ajāmila was fully qualified before." Dhṛta-vrato mṛdur dāntaḥ satya-vāṅ: truthful, never speaks untruth. Satya śama dama, satya. Or satya-vāṅ means paraṁ satyaṁ dhīmahi. Paraṁ satyam is Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva. Who is only speaking about Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Truth, he is called satya-vāṅ. He does not speak anything... Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). He is simply glorifying. If one's life is dedicated to preach about Kṛṣṇa, then he is also satya-vāṅ.
This kind of study of Vedas is useless. Now, we have seen so many sannyāsīs, so-called sannyāsīs, talking on Vedānta and smoking at the same time. You see? So Ajāmila was not like that. He was a scholar in the Vedic literature. Ayaṁ hi śruta-sampannaḥ śīla-vṛtta-guṇālayaḥ. And he was very well behaved and reservoir of all good qualities. Guṇālayaḥ. Dhṛta-vrataḥ, and avowed to follow the regulative principles.
This point we have already discussed, that the most important point is that even one is such qualified, there is chance of falldown as Ajāmila.
So anyway, this, this brāhmaṇa, although so much qualified, and because he kept one prostitute it is clearly stated, naṣṭa-sadācāra: "All his good qualities became void." All his good qualities. Naṣṭa-sadācāra. Why naṣṭa-sadācāra? Dāsyāḥ saṁsarga-dūṣitaḥ: "Simply by association with a prostitute." Dāsyāḥ saṁsarga-dūṣitaḥ. This Bhāgavata was written five thousand years ago, and this story... Śukadeva Gosvāmī said, "I am speaking an old story." That means this incident of Ajāmila was not less than fifty thousand years ago. At that time, five thousand years ago, Śukadeva Gosvāmī is narrating "a very old story." And very old sto..., at least forty thousand, fifty thousand years old. So just see how Vedic civilization was planned from the very..., time immemorial. Simply by association of illicit sex life so many qualities became null and void.
At least people may see that "Here is a class of men—ideal character, ideal behavior, spiritual advanced, and very frugal and very nice." That is... Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). That is natural. If one becomes a devotee... That is the certificate, that how one has achieved good qualities. That is the test of becoming a devotee. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ. A devotee means he has, what is called, awakened all the good qualities. The good qualities are there. Because we are part and parcel of God, there is no bad quality in our constitutional position. We are godly. We may be small, but the same quality. So there cannot be originally. Asaṅgo 'yaṁ puruṣaḥ. This is Vedic instruction. A living entity means spiritually part and parcel of God. There cannot be any bad quality. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). Arjuna said to Kṛṣṇa that pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān: "You are the most pure." So how His part and parcel can be impure? Gold may be a small particle, gold, but it is gold. It cannot be otherwise. Similarly, we, being Mamaivāṁśaḥ. Kṛṣṇa says that "They are My living beings. They are My part and parcel." So there cannot be any bad thing. The bad thing is because we have accepted this material body.
So this movement is very important movement because it is creating first-class men so that others will see and follow. So this is required. Yad yad ācarati śreyān tad tad itaraḥ īhate. It is natural. A father may be drunkard, but he doesn't like to see his son has become drunkard. This is natural. Everyone appreciates good quality. So similarly, if we can create an ideal class of men, then others who are fallen will try to become like us.
So don't take this movement very insignificantly. Very serious. And those who are members, they should become ideal. We have got very easy, easy method to become ideal. Avoid these four principles of sinful life and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa sixteen times—you become ideal.
To become very pious man does not mean that he is a liberated man. He is good man, on the platform of the quality of goodness, but he is not a liberated man. Try to understand. A good man is not a liberated man. Good man is also conditioned soul. He is bound up by good condition. Just like to become a brāhmaṇa. That does not mean that... He has acquired the good qualities but that does not mean that he is a devotee. You will find in this prayer. You will find many good men but you will find rarely a pure devotee. So good man is not a devotee. Try to distinguish. Good man is good for this material existence but devotee is different from good man. A devotee...
Just like Arjuna. Arjuna is killing, engaged in killing. People may think that "Oh, Arjuna is not very good man. He is killing his grandfather, he is killing his, what is called, nephews, and devastating the whole family. Oh, he is not a good man." Sometimes comment, people comment like that. But Kṛṣṇa says, bhakto 'si priyo 'si me: (BG 4.3) "You are My very dear friend." Just try to understand.
As soon as he fell down at the feet of Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, he said, "You are Durvāsā Muni. You are so great, powerful. Don't put me into this difficulty. What you want?" "Now you excuse me." "Excuse? If I have got any resultant actions of my pious activities, take everything. Take everything. You be saved." This is Vaiṣṇava, and this is avaiṣṇava.
Therefore harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). If one may have all the good qualities but if he is not a devotee of the Lord, his good qualities have no value. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathena āsato dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). They are simply carried away by the mental concoction. This is their qualification. So karmī, jñānī, yogis, they are all restless because they are carried away by the whims of mind. And a bhakta is fixed up. Bhajate mām ananya-bhak, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya-manaso. This is devotee. They do not like to show any power. Power is already there. Just see. This Ambarīṣa Mahārāja was not a yogi. He did not know. He was simply surrendered, simply fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa.
"What is the use of killing my family members? Let them enjoy the kingdom. I shall better beg and live." He was thinking in that way because a devotee, yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). A devotee, a pure devotee, is naturally qualified with all good qualities. Automatically it comes as he becomes... Just like as a man suffering from fever decreases the degree of fever—he becomes healthy—similarly, with the increase of our degree of devotional service, naturally all the good qualities that is constitutionally existing in the pure soul... Pure soul, being part and parcel, it is naturally very pure. And Vedas says even when the soul is within the material existence, it is not mixed up. It remains always separate. Just like if you put a drop of oil in the water it does not mix—although it is in the water, it does not mix—similarly the spirit soul, part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa, although in the material world, he does not mix. Therefore if there is a process...
A drop of ocean water contains the same chemical composition. Similarly, qualitatively we are as good as God in our original position. Now we are covered by this material body, but as soon as we take to the devotional service, that is our original position. Then very quickly we develop our good qualities, original godly qualities. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇair tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12).
So devotees are generally very good, godly qualities. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna, he was insulted by his brothers, his wife was insulted, his kingdom was usurped, taken away, that..., forced to go to the forest for twelve years. So many troubles they had to undergo due to the political intrigues by the cousin-brothers. Still, while he was in front of fighting, he thought, "What is the use of fighting and killing my cousin-brothers? Better let them enjoy. I retire. Kṛṣṇa, I cannot fight," he said. Why? Because he was a devotee. He was prepared to forego his claim. It is not that he was a coward.
They have no eyes to see. This Godless civilization will not make them happy. That's a fact. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad guṇa manorathena asato dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). If one is Godless, then however qualified he may be from the material point of view, he is useless. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad guṇā. He cannot have any good quality. Why? Manorathena asato dhāvato bahiḥ. Because he is on the mental platform. So by speculation on the mental platform, he will accept which is not spiritual. Asata.
Asato māṁ sad gamaḥ. That is the Vedic injunction. Don't keep yourself in the asata, but you try to transcend to the sat platform, oṁ tat sat. That means spiritual platform. So those who have no spiritual knowledge, they are on the mental platform. There are many platforms of our life. Indriyānī parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ manasas tu parā buddhir (BG 3.42). So ordinarily we are bodily, we think I am this body. This is called... Body means my senses.
Satya-śama-dama-titikṣa. The first quality is truthfulness. The second quality is controlling the senses. Controlling the mind. Śama-dama-titikṣa, to be very tolerant; ārjava, very simple; full of knowledge; full of theism; so many qualities. These qualities are mentioned. So here Prahlāda Mahārāja says, viprād dvi-ṣaḍ-guṇa-yutāt. When one is a vipra, that means he has got all the good qualities, material good qualities. He is truthful. He is conversant with the science of religion. He knows what is God, what is Brahman. He is self-controlled. He is not sensual. So many good qualities. So Prahlāda Mahārāja says that "Even one has attained the stage of becoming a vipra, and he has acquired all the good qualities required for becoming a vipra, but if he is lacking one quality..." What is that? Viprād dvi-ṣaḍ-guṇa-yutā aravinda-nābha pādāravinda-vimukhāt: "But he is adverse to God consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He has got all the good qualities, he has studied Vedas, but if he is not God conscious..." Pādāravinda. Aravinda-nābha pādāravinda.
So therefore, aravinda-nābha, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose navel has the lotus flower," aravinda-nābha. And pādāravinda: "And His feet is also just like lotus, aravinda." Aravinda-nābha aravinda-pāda. That means Supreme Personality of Godhead. So a vipra, a qualified person with all good qualities, material qualities, if he is lacking the simple quality that he is not conversant with the science of God, vimukhāt, he is not very serious to understand what is God... That is the position.
Now, at the present moment, everyone is highly educated to the material standard, but they have no knowledge what is God. So even they become vipra, because they are lacking this knowledge, Prahlāda Mahārāja says that a person, a dog-eater who has God consciousness is better than him. Śvapacaṁ variṣṭham. Śvapaca means a person who is born in the family of dog-eaters. Śvapacaṁ variṣṭham. Manye tad-arpita-mano-vacanehitārtha.
Śvapacaṁ variṣṭham. Śvapaca means a person who is born in the family of dog-eaters. Śvapacaṁ variṣṭham. Manye tad-arpita-mano-vacanehitārtha. There is description, mauna-vijñāna-santoṣa-satyāṣṭika-dviṣād-guṇān, yad vā śamo damas tapo śaucaṁ kṣānti ārjava viraktataḥ. Mauna-vijñāna-santoṣa-satyāṣṭika-dviṣād-guṇān. The eleven, twelve qualities, good qualities, is described in the Vedic literature. What is this? That śama. Śama means the equilibrium of the mind. Dama. Dama means controlling the senses. Śamo damas tapaḥ, austerity. Tapa means... Tapa means from tapa, heat. Just like this heat is not tolerable. I require the fan. So tapa means to accept voluntarily some physical trouble. That is called tapa. There are many sages who, in, during summer, they will burn fire all sides and meditate. There is already high temperature, 112 degrees in India. Sometimes 180 degree, and still they have fire all sides, all sides. Yes. And they are meditating, not disturbed. So this is called voluntarily tapa.
Yes. And they are meditating, not disturbed. So this is called voluntarily tapa. And in winter season, when the temperature is forty degrees, fifty degrees, is of course, not below zero, anyway, he goes to the water and dip into the water simply keeping the mouth up and meditating. So there are some severe processes for tapasya. So this is one of the good qualities.
But in this age it is very difficult. To undergo such voluntary tribulations for realization, self-realization, meditation is not possible in this age. Therefore the Vedic injunction is that "You simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma eva kevalam (CC Adi 17.21). You don't have to take any botheration. In whatever position you are, you just try to consent in your mind to hear the sound of Hare Kṛṣṇa, best type of meditation, because it is not possible to acquire all these qualities, tapa. So śamo-damas-tapa-śaucam. Śaucam means cleanliness, hygienic principles, to take bath thrice, at least once, daily. Therefore to keep no hair is better.
No. A vipra, because he is studying... Vipra means one who is engaged in the studies of Vedas. That is... Veda-pathād bhaved vipraḥ. So if he is studying Vedas, then must be qualified with all the good qualities. Because just like Bhagavad-gītā, it is said that "These are the good qualities." So study means to accept the instruction. Study does not mean simply to become a book... No. Study means to apply practically in life what you learn from the Vedas. So if anyone is seriously studying, then naturally he is qualified with all the good qualities. Yes. No. You can say.
That in the material world there are three qualities: the quality of goodness, the quality of passion, the quality of ignorance. These three qualities are working. We see varieties in this material world due to the interaction of these three qualities. So there are varieties of men. Some of them are in good quality, some of them are in quality of passion, some of them are in the quality of ignorance. Therefore they have got different types of faith also, not that your faith or my faith may be the same, because you may be in the quality of goodness, I may be in the quality of passion or ignorance. So faith is according to the particular quality of the person who is professing that faith. So the sattvic faith, the faith in goodness, that is faith in Brahman, the Supreme. That is called goodness, brahminical faith. And above this... This is sattvic. Sattvic means goodness. So goodness... In the material world even goodness is sometimes contaminated with tinges of passion and ignorance. herefore in the material world nothing can be in pure goodness. So one has to transcend the goodness platform of this material world and come to the platform of pure goodness, śuddha-sattva, where there is no more contamination of passion and ignorance. That platform is called God consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Sometimes a Vaiṣṇava born in a village, he purifies the whole village. These are statements in authentic scriptures. So apart from village, a Vaiṣṇava born in a family can give the best service to his family because he purifies. Sa-kulam. The host of his ancestors and forefathers, everyone is purified. Na tu bhūrimānaḥ. But the person who is simply proud of being born of a brāhmaṇa family, and even if he has all the good qualities of a brāhmaṇa, but if he's simply proud, he has not engaged his qualification in understanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness, Prahlāda Mahārāja says that he is useless. Better than him is he who has engaged his everything, prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā. Everything means I have got my body, I have got my mind, I have got my words. I can serve you by my words, just like I am serving you. Somebody can serve by his mind, somebody can serve by his bodily service. So everything should be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then he is glorious. He is glorious. He is better than that person who is simply materially qualified and proud of his material qualification and acquisition but does not engage himself in the service of the aravinda-nābha, Viṣṇu.
And those who are not devotees, they are low grade," hīna chāra, "condemned." So nobody can be exalted personality without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is not possible. This is the verdict of the Vedic knowledge. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathena āsato dhāvato bahiḥ: (SB 5.18.12) "Those who are not devotees of the Lord, they cannot have any good qualities." That is not possible. "Why? There are so many big, big men, doctors, doctorate, having so big, big title from university." No. The śāstra says, "Yes." Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā. Why they have no good qualities? Because mano-rathena: "They are hovering over the mental platform." They have no realization of the spiritual platform. Therefore you'll find all these great scientists, philosophers, they are simply concocting with mind. The mind has no value. With mind you cannot reach spiritual platform, because it is material. With material instrument you cannot go to the spiritual platform. It is not possible. God can be understood. God is all-spirit, and He can be understood by spiritual method, not material method.
Bhadra means a perfect gentleman, bhadraloka. That is the general etiquette, to address somebody as bhadraloka. Especially in Bengal it is very common word, bhadra. And the other parts also. So bhadra means perfect gentleman. Just see. Prahlāda was perfect gentleman. A devotee is perfect gentleman. Why? Now, because he has developed all good qualities. That is bhadra. A devotee cannot be abhadra. He must be bhadra. That is perfection. Therefore a devotee is never rude to anyone. When Rūpa Gosvāmī was here, some very learned scholar to talk with him śāstrārtha, talking on śāstra. So when he approached Rūpa Gosvāmī, he asked that "I want to talk with you about śāstra." And he said, "I am not a very learned man. How can I talk with you? You are so learned man." So he said, "If you think that you are not learned, then you give me in writing that "I am not learned." So he immediately gave him: "All right, take it. I am not learned." (laughs) So when he was going away with that cheat, that "He is the most learned scholar, and Rūpa Gosvāmī's defeated," then Jīva Gosvāmī was standing outside.
So Prahlāda is bhadra. He's not that type of devotee. He doesn't want anyone's inconvenience, bhadra. So how he became bhadra? Because he's devotee. It is said, yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). As soon as you become a perfect devotee, all the good qualities of the demigods will develop automatically. We have already studied the story of the vyādha. He was a hunter, and by the grace of Nārada, when he became a devotee, he was not ready to kill even an ant. In the beginning his profession was hunting. He was very much pleased to kill the animal half. Sometimes the Muslims, they kill the animal simply, and it throbs and sufficient blood come also. They like that. So the hunters, some of the hunters, they also kill the animal half. So they take pleasure. I have seen in my own eyes in Calcutta. One hotel man was cutting the throat of a chicken and half-cut, and the half-dead chicken was jumping like this, and the man was laughing. His little son, he was crying. I have seen it.
If one is pure devotee, then he has all the good qualities. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja was addressed, prahlāda bhadra bhadraṁ te (SB 7.9.52). Bhadra, a gentleman. Who can be more gentleman than the devotees? The devotees are thinking, "How these rascals will be happy?" Prahlāda Mahārāja, śoce tato vimukha-cetasa māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: (SB 7.9.43) "My Lord, I am thinking that these rascals, simply for flimsy happiness, temporary happiness, they are making so gorgeous arrangement." Big, big road, big, big building, big, big car, congested. If you want to go one mile it will take two hours. Māyā-sukhāya. We have seen in your country. You'll go two miles in a car in three hours. So what is the use of this car? In London I have seen. I was going. It was about two miles, and it was so congested that it took two hours. Paris is always congested. So in India also they are becoming like that. So this is māyā-sukhāya. They are thinking that "Getting a car, we shall be very, very happy," but there is no place to drive car. (laughter) Therefore it is called māyā-sukhāya. And for manufacturing this car there are three thousand parts. So many factories are going on for that.
Even a brāhmaṇa, unless one is qualified by the twelve prescribed qualities in the śāstra, he cannot be accept..., he cannot be accepted as brāhmaṇa. Śrīdhara Swami says that even though one is qualified with all those good qualities which indicates that one is brāhmaṇa... Prahlāda Mahārāja also says that, viprād dvi-ṣaḍ-guṇa-yutād. Even though he is qualified, but he is not a devotee. Generally, those who are very highly qualified brāhmaṇa, they are very proud, and they do not become a devotee, generally. "Oh, devotion, this is for poor man. This is for those who are not highly educated, for them. They are chanting, dancing." They criticize like that. But actually that is not the fact. Jīva Gosvāmī was the most learned scholar. Rūpa Gosvāmī was most learned scholar. All the... Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself, the most learned scholars. His one description of the Bhāgavata śloka. What is that śloka? Ātmārāmāś ca munayo. He explained in sixty-four ways to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was very proud of his knowledge. He was a great scholar, Bṛhaspati. He is considered to be incarnation of Bṛhaspati, the learned scholar of heaven.
So here it is said that janma, birth in a good family or high family, or good behavior. Janmācāra. Janmācāra, and guṇa, quality. Suppose a man is a great philosopher, a great learned scholar. That is a very good qualification. So these things will not be considered. If a man is very learned scholar or coming of a very respectable family and has got all good qualities, that will be neglected. Another man, if he has all the bad qualities but he has got money, he's respected. He'll be respected. This is the symptom of this age. And dharma-nyāya-vyavasthāyāṁ kāraṇaṁ balam eva hi. Dharma. Dharma means suppose you have acted something irreligious. In every religion, in every scripture, there are many things, you do it, and do not do it. So that is called following the religious principle. In every religion, either Hindu or Christian or Muhammadan, there are some rules and regulations. Just like in Muhammadan religion, drinking is greatest sin. And Hindu religion, flesh eating, especially cow's meat, is greatest sin.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Acyutānanda: "Furthermore, a person engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, acting in devotional service, can develop all the good qualities that are generally found in the demigods. It is said by Śukadeva Gosvāmī in the Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Eighteenth Chapter, 12th verse, 'My dear King, persons who have unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa and are without any duplicity can develop all the good qualities of the demigods.' "
Prabhupāda: Yes. A devotee can develop all the good qualities of the demigods—immediately. Because ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). As soon as the heart is cleansed... Because the soul, as he is, he's pure. Asaṅgo hy ayaṁ puruṣaḥ. The spirit soul is not contaminated or does not associate with the material modes of nature. It is simply an illusion, misidentification. Just like water and oil does not mix, but it appears that oil is fallen in the water, similarly, although we are in this material world, in the material consciousness, our identity is not actually in material consciousness. It is simply... Just like dreaming. The example is dreaming. Just like in dream I see so many hallucinations. Actually, dream is false. I am separate from the dream.
So this is the fact. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra. Pure character, pure qualities will be manifest. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Similarly, just the opposite: if one is not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he cannot have any good qualities, however he may be educated academically. That is not possible. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Therefore, at the present moment, although the leaders are all very educated academically, but still, they cannot bring in peace in the society, because they're godless. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Great, great leaders, on account of their godlessness, they cannot lead the people nicely. Therefore there is no peace and prosperity in the society. Go on.
Acyutānanda: "Furthermore, a person engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, acting in devotional service..." Oh. "It is said by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, 'On account of a devotee's high grade of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even the demigods like to live with him, and therefore it can be understood that the qualities of the demigods have developed within his body.' On the other hand, a person who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has no good qualities. He may be highly educated from the academic point of view, but in the actual field of his activities he can be seen to be baser than the animals."
Prabhupāda: Yes. We see sometimes one man who is very educated, highly, university educated, but practical life—baser than animal. Because he, he has no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He's not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa cannot be like that. Go on.
Acyutānanda: "These are practical proofs of how a Kṛṣṇa conscious person becomes highly developed in good qualities, whereas a person who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot do so. We experience that even a young boy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is unattached to cinemas, night clubs, naked dance shows, restaurants, liquor shops, etc. He becomes completely freed. He saves his valuable time from being extravagantly spent in the way of smoking, drinking, and attending the theater and dancing. One who is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness usually cannot sit silently for even half an hour."
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is also another symptom, restlessness. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person can sit down in one place. Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura. He was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, sitting one place, day and night. There is not a single example in the world that one can sit down, I mean to say, ordinary persons. They cannot. They must be restless. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice that one can sit down in one place. Of course, it is not to be imitated. It is to be attained. Anywhere. Just like Gosvāmīs. They used to live underneath a tree one night. So these things are possible when one is advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Go on.
Acyutānanda: "Simply because he is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he automatically gives up all this nonsense and develops a high character. One develops the highest character by becoming a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. The conclusion is that no one can truly have any good qualities if he is lacking Kṛṣṇa consciousness."
Prabhupāda: Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). This is the conclusion, that if one is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, we do not accept him as highly qualified. That is the statement of Kṛṣṇa Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā:
- na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
- prapadyante narādhamāḥ
- māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
- āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ
- (BG 7.15)
So we take this formula. If... We test whether he has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. If not, then he comes to the four groups: duṣkṛtina, mūḍha, narādhama, māyayā apahṛta-jñānā. We take it, immediately. He must be one of them, either duṣkṛtina or mūḍha or all, narādhama, māyayā apahṛta.
Pradyumna: (reading:) "Furthermore, a person engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, acting in devotional service, can develop all the good qualities that are generally found in the demigods." Oh.
Prabhupāda: Read, "in Kṛṣṇa consciousness..."
Pradyumna: " 'Happiness In Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.' Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has analyzed the different sources of happiness. He has divided happiness into three categories, which are (1) happiness derived from material enjoyment, (2) happiness derived by identifying oneself with the Supreme Brahman, and (3) happiness derived (through) from Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In the tantra-śāstra, Lord Śiva speaks to his wife, Satī, in this way: 'My dear wife, a person who has surrendered himself to the lotus feet of Govinda and who has thus developed pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be very easily awarded all the perfections desired by the impersonalists; and beyond this, he can enjoy the happiness achieved by the pure devotees.' Happiness derived from pure devotional service is the highest because it is eternal. But the happiness derived from material perfection or understanding oneself to be Brahman is inferior because it is temporary. There is no preventing one's falling down from material happiness, and there is even every chance of falling down from the spiritual happiness derived out of identifying oneself with the impersonal Brahman."
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
So now the whole world is full of Jagāi-Mādhāis. That is a fact. Now, by the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they can be delivered. How they can be delivered? That is being instructed by the author, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, by personally behaving. Agaty-eka-gatiṁ natvā hīnārthādhika-sādhakam (CC Adi 7.1). Hīnārtha, those who are dispossessed of all good qualities. Hīnārtha. Artha. Artha means possession, money. Artha, anartha, and paramārtha. So paramārtha, there is no question of paramārtha. Even they have no artha, ordinary riches, all poor men. You see in the street, not only... Here, of course, we are poor country, but in your country also, they are also hippies. Unnecessarily they have become poor. Here, by circumstantially they have become poor like wretched person, loitering in the street. Now, while I was coming and I was thinking that formerly when we used to go through the street we could see so many nice confectioners shop. But at the time here there is a tea shop. Tea shop and dry leaf, that's all. You cannot get any good food—no more kacaurīs, śṛṅgāra rasagullā, no more. Finished, all finished.
Because he'll simply speculate on the mental plane and he will fall down under the spell of this material energy. He has no standing. However materially, academically qualification he may be, it is clearly stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā. We have given you the list, twenty-six qualifications. As we become advanced in devotional service, all these good qualities will develop automatically. There is no need of legislation. There is no need of, but, anything, but all those good qualities will develop. Otherwise, what is the meaning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Is it a sentiment or fanaticism? No. It is a science. If you follow the rules and regulation and systematically, then all these qualities will develop. You'll practically see it. And as soon as these qualities are there, then you become actually lover of your country, you become a lover of your fellow man. You become friend, God, everything.
Festival Lectures
Arrival Addresses and Talks
They are not ordinary boys and girls. They have taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Their quality is greater than any mundane erudite scholar. It is a challenge. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). Anyone who has developed God consciousness, love of God, all good qualities will automatically develop in him. All good qualities. Test any of our students, how they are good, how they are advanced. Test it. Bring anyone in this world and test any one of our boys. You'll find how much difference there is in their character, in their feeling, in their consciousness. So this is the only thing. If you want peaceful society, then you must make them God conscious, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Everything will be automatically solved. Otherwise your so-called United Nations will not help.
"How these drug-addicted hippies have become devotee?" That is his surprise. He has mentioned that, that "We appreciate your movement, that you have turned so many drug-addicted hippies into devotee of Kṛṣṇa and in the service of humanity." That they are appreciating. And that is the fact. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ. If one is turned into devotee, then all the good qualities automatically become manifest. That is the verdict of Bhāgavata. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Anyone who is not a devotee, his material qualification has no value. Mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ. He is hovering over the mental plane. Therefore in your country, Western country, the so-called big, big philosophers, scientists, they could not do anything tangible, because they are hovering on the mental plane. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Manorathena. Mana means mind and ratha means car. They are driving on the mental car. So mind is material. Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja-selling more books?
Initiation Lectures
This Kṛṣṇa consciousness marriage does not mean sense gratification. No. The marriage is for producing nice children, Kṛṣṇa conscious children. Because at the present moment the population is not being produced very nicely; therefore there is disturbance of peace all over the world. But if there are Kṛṣṇa conscious children, they'll grow up and they will possess all good qualities. So peace automatically will come if people become Kṛṣṇa conscious, because they become highly qualified, without committing any sinful activities. If such population is there in the world, there is no question of disturbance. Everyone will be peace, peaceful and happy. So our marriage, Kṛṣṇa consciousness institution encouraging marriage, on this ground: not to produce cats and dogs, but to produce highly qualified devotees. So you should always remember that. And there is no... Once married, there is no question of divorce or separation. That you should remember.
Prabhupāda: Thank you. What is her name?
Devotee (2): Bhaktin Sue's name is Guṇavati dāsī.
Devotees: Hari bol!
Prabhupāda: Full of good qualities. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). Anyone who is pure devotee of the Lord, all good qualities...(break ) (end)
General Lectures
So actually, we are under the grip of this material nature, and we are being pushed life after life in different bodies by the influence of material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). How prakṛti, nature, is working? According to the quality we acquire. Gunaiḥ. There are three qualities: the good quality, the quality of passion, and the quality of ignorance. So we are being contaminated by certain type of quality, and the nature is supplying me a type of body. And there are 8,400,000's of bodies, and we are going through them in a cycle. And as soon as we become, I mean to say, devotee, or we look forward to the Paramātmā, then we can be free from the cycle of repeated birth and death. This yoga system is..., meditation means to find out the Paramātmā. The Paramātmā is described in the śāstras: His feature, His body, His hand, Supersoul. And one has to meditate. And by meditation, when one is in samādhi, always thinking of the Supersoul, then he becomes freed from this material entanglement.
You cannot induce them even to smoke. We don't say that you go on with all nonsense, at the same time you become spiritually advanced. We don't talk all this nonsense. There must be practical exhibition that one is advanced in spiritual consciousness. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). All good qualities will develop. That is spiritual advancement. That is the test. But it may be due to my past habit I may sometimes commit mistake, I may fall down. But Kṛṣṇa says, śaśvad bhavati dharmātmā. Even if he falls down sometimes out of ignorance, still, he'll very soon become purified. The process is so nice. Just like a fan is moving and make the switch off. Still you will see the fan is moving, but rest assured it will stop because the switch is off. Similarly, a person taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his material life's switch is off immediately. And even though it is seen it is moving, it will stop very soon. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to put off the switch of material existence immediately. It is so nice. Yes.
Young man (5): What are the good qualities you referred to not too long ago?
Prabhupāda: To become devotee of Kṛṣṇa. That is the greatest quality. We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. We have forgotten it. And when we come to understanding that "I am part and parcel of God," that is your greatest qualification. Simple thing. What is the greatest qualification of good citizen? American, when he thinks that "I am American citizen. I have to look after the interest of American state," that is his good qualification, or good citizenship. Similarly, when you transcend all these artificial designations, that "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am this or that..." "I am part and parcel of the Supreme," that is the greatest qualification.
That "If anyone has got devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then he develops all the good qualities." Just like Sanātana Gosvāmī. Because he was a devotee, he did not distinguish the king, whether he was Muhammadan or Hindu. He immediately accepted that "You are representative of Kṛṣṇa." That is the version. Arjuna, because he was a devotee, although he was in the battlefield, he was insulted, his wife was insulted, his kingdom was usurped, still, he said, "Better not to fight and kill my kinsmen." That goodness was not found on the other side, Duryodhana. Because Arjuna was a devotee, he was compassionate with his brothers, not to kill them. But Kṛṣṇa wanted that this fighting must go on because He wanted to install Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, the pious king, on the throne. So therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and the support of the royal family is very old relationship. And at the present moment people need this Kṛṣṇa consciousness very badly.
Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathena asato dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ: "Anyone who has got devotion to the Lord, he is qualified with all the good qualities." Just like you are God conscious, so you have invited us to hear because you..., the good qualities are there. So without God consciousness there cannot be any good qualities. We are trying to educate people to be honest, to be gentle, fair-dealing, but actually, the result is people are becoming dishonest, miscreant, rogue, thief, due to (lack of) God consciousness. Just like in the airport, all gentlemen are searched out. What does it mean? That every one of us (is) dishonest. That is to be understood. So what the education has produced? Simply dishonest men. Why? Because godlessness. That's all. And they are trying to become... Every state is trying to become secular: "Don't talk of God. Don't talk of God." Then what you are?
Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). "I am servant of God." That is wanted. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). This is the definition given in Vedic literature, that "If anyone develops God consciousness, then all the good qualities will develop automatically. And you give him all kinds of education, but if he is godless, it is all useless." That is compared with decorating the dead body. Just like dead body. A dead body is decorated. So it may be a satisfaction for the relatives, but what is the use of it, decorating a dead body? Bhagavad-bhakti-hīnasya jātiḥ japas tapaḥ kriyaḥ: "Great nationality, great work, great achievement, minus bhagavad-bhakti, God consciousness, is just like decorating the dead body." That's all. What is the use of decorating the dead body? Because actually this body is dead. As soon as the soul is away from this body, it is a lump of matter. So when the soul is off from the body, if somebody decorates that dead body, what is use?
No. If actually one loves God, he must love everyone. That is the sign. That is the sign. Just like my heart is now thirsty. I am quenching with drinking water and putting here. So as soon as put this water here, immediately the energy distributed all over the body. So a God conscious person cannot be neglectful or envious to anyone. That is the test. This is test. Sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ. All good qualities. So this is a good quality, love your neighbor, to give them service. So if actually one person is God conscious, he must be sympathetic with the troubles of his neighbor, or anyone, not only human being. Animals also. They are also living entities. A God conscious person has no discrimination between human being and animal or trees or plants because they are also living entities.
Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you must present somebody else, that "Here is another person..." Then we have to compare whether Kṛṣṇa is actually Supreme Personality of Godhead or the another person. Because there is definition of God: aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47).
So the present need of human society, because they're reducing their good qualities, satya śamo dama titikṣa ārjava... (BG 18.42). And money is becoming the most powerful thing. As it is stated here: vittam eva kalau nṛṇāṁ janmācāra-guṇodayaḥ. Formerly, if one is qualified brāhmaṇa, he may be a poor man, but a brāhmaṇa, when approaches a king, the king will stand up and offer him... Even Kṛṣṇa, when He was King of Dvārakā, Sudāmā Vipra, His friend, he came. Immediately He stood up and gave him His own seat. So because he was a qualified brāhmaṇa... So everywhere qualified brāhmaṇa was respected by the qualified kṣatriyas, vaiśyas. But now, there is practically no qualified brāhmaṇa, neither a qualified brāhmaṇa is respected. Vittam eva. But if one has got money, then he'll be respected. This is the symptom of Kali-yuga.
It is said in the śāstra, yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvaiḥ guṇaiḥ tatra samāsate surāḥ. If you have unflinching faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then all the good qualities of demigods will develop unto you. It is not story. It is fact. Just like these European and American students. They, in their previous life, before becoming Kṛṣṇa consciousness, according to our standard, they were all immoral. Our, in India, illicit sex life still, it is admitted, if it is not followed, to have sex relation with other's wife or other woman except one's wife, that is called immoral or sinful. So in Western countries these things are not immoral or sinful. It is very daily affair. But now, because they have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they have given up all these things. No illicit sex life. Unless one is married, he must remain brahmacārī or vānaprastha or sannyāsī. Only gṛhastha, duly married wife, he can have sex. This is morality. And you should not kill the animals unnecessarily. That is immoral. You are already intoxicated by the influence of māyā. You should not be more intoxicated. This is immoral. You should not indulge in gambling. These are immoral. So as soon as you become Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then all these immoralities vanish immediately.
Prabhupāda: This is immoral. You should not indulge in gambling. These are immoral. So as soon as you become Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then all these immoralities vanish immediately. That is the only. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā, sarvaiḥ guṇaiḥ tatra samāsate su..., harāv abhaktsya kuto mahad-guṇā. One who is not Kṛṣṇa..., he cannot have any good quality or any morality. That is the decision of the śāstra. So if you want to revive the morality of the society, you must take up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then everything will come.
Guest (1): Sir, this..., why we did not have a world with universal brotherhood, universal love?
Prabhupāda: Because you don't want it. Because you don't want it. You do not want. That, that, that is explained in the previous verse, that Kṛṣṇa says,
- sarva-dharmān parityajya
- mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
- ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
- mokṣayiṣyāmi...
- (BG 18.66)
These miserable conditions are there because we are all sinful. So Kṛṣṇa gives protection that "You surrender unto Me, and I give you protection from the reaction of all sinful life." So who wants Kṛṣṇa? You do not want.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes and canvasses, and He tells the conditioned souls, "You must surrender to Me." And if one chooses not to surrender to Kṛṣṇa, that means that he himself wants to become Kṛṣṇa—without any qualification. The spirit soul is infinitesimal spark of Kṛṣṇa. And that spark, when not in touch with Kṛṣṇa, the fire, becomes like the sparks of the fire not in contact with the fire: extinguished. So there is no good qualities for the living beings who are outside Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So the four types of men who surrender to Kṛṣṇa, they're doing so with some selfish interest. All of the conditioned souls are acting for their own selfish interest. They do not know otherwise. But somehow or other, if one of the conditioned souls will surrender to Kṛṣṇa by the grace of a pure devotee, then that immediately puts him into a situation of becoming purified. The greatest purification is to come in touch with a pure devotee of the Lord. There are many many ritualistic activities prescribed in the Vedic literatures for gradual purification.
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: So real truth is that God has got a plan, and one who knows it, that is real truth. One who hasn't got to be taught by another man but by nature, he knows it; that by nature he knows it, that is a symptom of his life, true life. And one who does not know it, that is not. That is explained in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, nitya siddha kṛṣṇa bhakta. That truth is there already, but he has forgotten it. Therefore by this propaganda of devotional service, chanting and hearing, he simply revives the truth. The truth is there, that I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the conclusion should be anyone who is cognizant of this truth that I am eternal servant, that is symptom of this truth. There is no other symptom. That is the symptom of truth, that is the symptom of goodness, all good qualities, everything good. He is good by nature. The living entity, he is part and parcel of the supreme good. But by his material association he has become bad. So again he has to draw it to goodness by this propaganda, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is our business.
Śyāmasundara: He says there are two types of truth. One is just like the principle of a triangle, there are three angles equal to 180 degrees, and the other type of truth is gathered by experience. For instance, we see that snow is white, but it is also possible that snow may be red.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is our system. We say, the social service, that "No illicit sex." If people indulge in illicit sex, society will be in chaotic condition. "No meat-eating." If we go on eating meat, then we revolt against the will of God, because God is the father of all living entities; He does not like that one of His son unnecessarily killed by another son on the plea that he is advanced son. The father cannot agree that the advanced son kill the ignorant or foolish son, the father will not agree. Therefore we say no meat-eating. When other foods are available, why one should eat meat? When there is wife, why there should be illicit sex? So religion means one should be good character. That is religion. This is one of the qualification becoming, that one who is actually religious, God conscious, that all the good qualities, either socially, politically, everything, even politician religious. Just like Arjuna, he was on the battlefield. This is politics. But because he was devotee he was hesitating to kill his enemies all. So this is the character of a devotee, that he can sacrifice his own interest because he has become a devotee. Others cannot do. (break)
Śyāmasundara: Yes. He understands this, but his idea, he wants to get to the basis of morality by saying that...
Prabhupāda: That is a good quality. That is brahminical quality, not to break promise, to be truthful. That is goodness.
Śyāmasundara: This is an example of how one should look at his actions; that he should judge his own actions according to what he would want everyone else to do, and that these must be...
Prabhupāda: But it is not possible that everyone will be able to do. Just like you become truthful. It may be universal truth, but you do not expect that everyone will be truthful. That is not possible. Therefore it is not universal. It is meant for certain types of men. How can he say this is universal?
Śyāmasundara: But it is not combined with virtue.
Prabhupāda: Why not virtue? If you get happiness, that is virtuous. That means he has no standard knowledge. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). If a man is not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he has no good qualities. He may be a great philosopher, scientist, but he is a nonsense. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā, mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). By his mental speculation he is coming again and again on this material platform, that's all. He has no idea what is happiness, what is goal of life, the aim of life. He has no such idea. Vague. So therefore imperfect knowledge. (break) (end)
Śyāmasundara: There's a corollary to his theory of evolution that our standards of morality have also evolved from primitive stages. For instance, in a group, within a group of apelike creatures who were normally fighting with each other for dominance, one may develop the quality of sympathy for someone else. So by that sympathy he cooperates with the other person and together they survive when the others die. So that evolution of sympathy, morality, love, compassion—the good qualities of the human being—have evolved due to necessity, evolution, survival of the fittest.
Karandhara: The thing is this whole perspective of evolution... There doesn't have to be a sequence, that one came before the other. They all were there.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Karandhara: Just like you take a ray of the sunshine that's in this room. It's come from the sun, but simultaneously it's occurring with the sun. It's not there as a sequential evolution of that particle...
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes.
Śyāmasundara: It's not that one has to develop them independently?
Prabhupāda: No. Automatically it will come. Because the good qualities are already there in the spirit soul, and it is being purified, uncovered by the material contamination. The original cult is coming out. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Śyāmasundara: What does the word "cult" mean?
Prabhupāda: Cult means... What do you mean by cult? Cult is an ordinary word.
Śyāmasundara: I've always thought cult meant something sectarian or...
Prabhupāda: Not sectarian. Cult means the natural occupation.
Revatīnandana: It usually means... A group with a common interest is usually called a cult. Some group with some common, agreed-upon interest.
Prabhupāda: But that is lacking in the present society, because these rascals, they are proud of their nationals but they are denying this same national life to the animals. They are being sent to the slaughterhouse. Therefore they are rascals. Why the animals should be denied their national right? They are born in the same country. They have a right to live at the cost of God. Why we are interfering with their independence, given right? Therefore they are rascals. Their so-called social, moral, philosophical, political, they are all rascaldom. Therefore our decision is, harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā: (SB 5.18.12) anyone who is not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he has no good qualities. In the other direction, we will find so many defects with his so-called moral and social position.
Śyāmasundara: He says that God... He defines God as the active relation between the ideal and the actual.
| Page Title: | Good qualities (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 27 of Jun, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=129, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 129 |