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Harsh (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.20 -- London, July 17, 1973:

As it is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra kharaiḥ (SB 2.3.19). What is that verse? Uṣṭra-kharaiḥ, saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ. They.... in this world we see there are many great men, so-called great men, and they are very much praised by the general people. So Bhāgavata says, that anyone who is not a devotee, who never chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, he may be very great man in the estimation of rascals, but he is nothing but an animal. Śva-viḍ-varāha-uṣṭra-kharaiḥ. "So how you can say such a great man. You are saying that animal." Our business is very thankless task. We say any man who is not a devotee, he is rascal. We say generally. It is very harsh word, but we have to use it. As soon as we see that he is not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, then he's a rascal. How do we say? He is not my enemy, but we have to say because it is stated by Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 5.26-29 -- Los Angeles, February 12, 1969:

"Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future (BG 5.26)." So first thing is that suppose somebody speaks of me very harshly. Naturally we become angry. Just like somebody calls me, "You are dog," or "you are hog." But if I am self-realized, if I know perfectly well that I am not this body so you call me hog, dog, or king, emperor, majesty, what is that? I am not this body. So either you call me, "Your majesty," or you call me a dog or a pig, what I have got to do? I am neither his majesty nor a dog nor a cat—nothing of the sort. I am servant of Kṛṣṇa.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.3.21 -- Los Angeles, September 26, 1972:

So now, in this age, people are not very intelligent. They are claiming, "We are advancing in science. The brain has advanced and so on, so on." Formerly there was animal brain. The Darwin's theory: "Now the brain has evolved." No. Actually, they are degrading. They are degrading. Formerly the brain was very sharp. Otherwise why it is said, dṛṣṭvā puṁso 'lpa-medhasaḥ? The opposite word of this alpa-medhasa is su-medhasa. Alpa means less, and su means very nice. So su-medhasa. We are all alpa-medhasa, less intelligent, in this age. Out of so many alpa-medhasa rascal... In other, in a harsh words, alpa-medhasa means rascal, less intelligent or no intelligence. So there is su-medhasa. Su-medhasa. That is also stated. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ.

Lecture on SB 1.7.49-50 -- Vrndavana, October 7, 1976:
You'll find in the Īśopaniṣad. There is the mantra, Vedic mantra. And if you think, consider, that "Kṛṣṇa is doing so many things, this is sinful." No. Therefore God is always good. God is good. There is a common word. Even if you see that He is doing something wrong, that is not wrong. That is right. Tejīyasāṁ na doṣāya (SB 10.33.29). He's so powerful, for Him there is no wrong. He's never wrongdoer. Therefore devotees, they do not expect that "Kṛṣṇa will always be very kind upon me. He may be harsh, but that is also good." Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa's devotee, even he is harsh, he is unkind, so-called unkind, it is also good. Just like Nārada Muni cursed the Yamalārjuna. What is that? Their name? The Kuvera's sons? They were cursed to become tree, but what was the result? The result was that although they became trees they were fortunate enough to see Kṛṣṇa personally. So God or His devotee, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa devotee, you should always take that they're always good. God is good. And the devotee is good. Either we see that He's merciful... He's always merciful. Therefore devotees never take anything as not merciful. Tat te anukampām. They take everything from Kṛṣṇa as sympathy, anukampā. Tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇaḥ (SB 10.14.8).
Lecture on SB 1.13.10 -- Geneva, June 1, 1974:

It was spoken by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira when Vidura came back home... Vidura left home. Although he belonged to the royal family, his nephew Duryodhana behaved with him not very nicely, so he left home. Before the beginning of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, he was very fond of his eldest brother Dhṛtarāṣṭra. So he was always giving him good counsel, "My dear elder brother, why you are intriguing against the Pāṇḍavas?" But he would not hear the younger brother's advice. So his son, Dhṛtarāṣṭra's son, Duryodhana, he understood it that "This, my uncle, is always instigating my father not to take part in the matter of the vanquishing of the Pāṇḍavas." So he used very harsh word, because Vidura, although he was the son of king, but he was not born of the queen. He was born of a maidservant. Formerly, the queens had many maidservants, and they also sometimes begot children by the king. So they were called dāsī-putra. By legal significance, they were not inheritor. So Vidura was born like that. He was not born of the queen, but of the maidservant. But his elder brother Dhṛtarāṣṭra liked him very much. He got him raised—he was younger—very nicely. He got him married and gave him sufficient property. He was very kind upon him. And therefore Vidura was also very much obliged to his eldest brother, and he was always giving him good advice, and a great devotee.

Lecture on SB 1.15.40 -- Los Angeles, December 18, 1973:
Although He is in His abode, but He is everywhere. Here is Kṛṣṇa. Although He is living in Goloka Vṛndāvana, He is in this temple, He is within our heart. Simply we have to take advantage, how He is present, how He is advising. That is the technique. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. God is everywhere. He is prepared to guide you. He is prepared to help you. Because He is father, He is always prepared. But we do not take His guidance. We do not take His shelter. That is the difficulty. So why you do not take? Because ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8), we have attachment, "This country is mine. This family is mine. This wife is mine. The children is mine. Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine." So you have to become nirmama, without "mine." And why we are accepting this "mine," ahaṅkāra? Ahaṅkāra. Ahaṅkāra means false ahaṅkāra, false identification. So everyone is fighting because the false identification, "I am this body." He does not know. In this way we are so much in ignorance. Therefore the word used, mūḍha, is the appropriate word. Mūḍha, "rascal." We call everyone rascal. That is a harsh word. But actually that is the fact. They do now know what is what.
Lecture on SB 1.15.45 -- Los Angeles, December 23, 1973:

Just like we are not speaking on the slogan, "In God We Trust." Is that that slogan, "In God We Trust"? So this is a slogan, but it is the duty of the government, that "We are using this slogan, but actually what we are doing about people's education that they may know what is God and then trust?" But everyone is godless. And still, as a matter of fashion, we are writing, "In God We Trust." This is another cheating. Nobody trusts in God, and they write, "In God We Trust." And unless I write... Of course I do not wish to say very harsh word, that unless I cheat you that way, how a man will accept one piece of paper as one thousand dollars? (laughter) You see? It is a grand cheating, that "I am giving one thousand dollars to you." But if I value, it is not even one farthing. This is called māyā. It is not, but I accept. I accept. If people become enlightened, "No, we are not going to accept this piece of paper as one thousand dollars. We must have gold," so many things will be solved immediately. So many things. But because we agree to be cheated, the cheaters are cheating and things are going on wrong. This is called Kali-yuga.

Lecture on SB 1.16.21 -- Los Angeles, July 11, 1974:

In a family where there is good mother and good wife, that is happy family. And one who has no good mother and good wife, then it is hell. This is Vedic culture. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said, mātā yasya gṛhe nāsti. If somebody has no mother at home, bhāryā cāpriya-vādinī, and the wife is very harsh, dealing with the husband not very properly, araṇyaṁ tena gantavyam, he immediately give up that house and go to the forest. This is Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. That what is the use of such nonsense house?

mātā yasya gṛhe nāsti
bhāryā cāpriya-vādinī
araṇyaṁ tena gantavyaṁ
yathāraṇyaṁ tathā gṛham

For him the home is as good as forest. Therefore there is no family system. Everything finished.

Lecture on SB 2.3.2-3 -- Los Angeles, May 20, 1972:
The only intelligent person is he who has completely surrendered to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and engaged in his service. He's the only intelligent. And all are rascals. That's all. This is our conclusion. Anyone, let come. We shall prove it. Let anyone come, either the karmīs, jñānīs, yogis, anyone. We shall prove that "You are rascal #1." This is our challenge. If he's a sane man, he'll understand that he's a rascal. Otherwise, he will fight, unnecessarily. Therefore we do not say directly such harsh words, that "You are rascal." But we should know at least that they are all rascals. At least we should know. They have no intelligence. Because they are entangled. Just see this list. Here is, brahma-varcasa-kāmas tu. Brahma-varcasa means those who are desiring to become one with the effulgence, to merge into the effulgence of the Lord. Varcasa. Varcasa means the effulgence of Kṛṣṇa. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40).
Lecture on SB 6.1.7 -- San Francisco, March 1, 1967:

Just like in Christian religion, at the time of death, if somebody admits that "I have committed this kind of sin," it is supposed that he is forgiven. Similarly, in Muslim scripture there is also similar injunction, and in Hindu scripture there are many such injunctions. And as far as possible, they are followed by different followers. So the same thing is confirmed here: "My dear King, if somebody does not atone for his sinful activities..." Sinful activities function in three ways. Here it is stated. What is that? Mana-ukta-pāṇibhiḥ. Mana-ukta-pāṇibhiḥ: by mind, by activities of the mind, and by activities of our words, and by activities of our senses. And if I hurt you by harsh word, then that is also a sin. And when actually commit violence or do something with my hands or legs or something, that is certainly sinful. So we can commit sins in three ways: mind and words and karma, by action. Thinking, feeling and willing and acting. Therefore a svāmī or gosvāmī means who has control over the function of the mind, of the words, and of the activities of the senses. There is definition. "One who can control the tongue, one who can control the mind, one who can control the words, one who can control the belly, one who can control the generative organ, he is svāmī." And pṛthiviṁ sa śiṣyāt: "He is allowed to create disciples all over the world."

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968:

The other day there was some difficulty in my dictaphone and the mechanic man came. He opened. So many arrangements of different kinds of wires. Similarly, we have got this body, a similar arrangement. The veins are so nicely arrangement, the intestines are so nicely arranged. Just like the same way as in a machine the wirings are very nicely arranged. So if for that machine there is a brain, don't you think that in this machine, behind this, there is no brain? There must be brain. This is common sense affair. So this godless civilization means people have lost even common sense. Even common sense. Otherwise, you may, if you use in a harsh word, that they have become fools and rascals, that's all. They have lost their common sense.

Festival Lectures

Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance Day Nitai-Pada-Kamala Purport -- Los Angeles, January 31, 1969:
Every one of us, as living entity, we are searching after pleasure. But the pleasure which we are seeking, that is flickering, temporary. That is not pleasure. Real pleasure is nityānanda, eternal pleasure. So anyone who has no contact with Nityānanda, it is to be understood that his life is spoiled.
se sambandha nāhi jā'r, bṛthā janma gelo tā'r,
sei paśu boro durācār

Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura uses here very harsh word. He says that such human being is an animal, an uncontrollable animal. As there are some animals that cannot be tamed, so anyone who has not contacted Nityānanda, he should be considered as an untamed animal. Sei paśu boro durācār. Why? Because nitāi nā bolilo mukhe: "He never uttered the holy name of Nityānanda." And majilo saṁsāra-sukhe, "and become merged into this material happiness." Vidyā-kule ki koribe tār.

Page Title:Harsh (Lectures)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Serene
Created:09 of Dec, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=12, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:12