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Have no idea (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.24-25 -- London, July 20, 1973:

People are searching after God. But actually there is the planet where God lives, Kṛṣṇa lives. But you have got your machine, aeroplane, sputnik. You can reach there, but you cannot reach even the highest planet, even on this material planet, material universe. Everyone sees. We see the stars or planets. Now you have got the machine; you go there. No. You cannot go. You are so limited. Even you cannot go to the moon planet, which is so nearest. You cannot go. But still, we are proud of our these airplanes, sputniks. We are thinking, "Now we have become God." These rascals they do not know what is God. They are all rascals. They have no idea what is God. Therefore they have accepted another rascal as God. This is going on. You cannot reach. Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṅgavānām, so 'pyasti yat prapada-sīmny avicintya-tattve (Bs. 5.34). Śāstra gives you. Just like your material science also gives you information that there is one planet, highest planet, and one can go there by sputnik in forty thousands of years. So who is going to live forty thousand years to reach there? But they have got theoretically all these things. The highest planet. Material. That is not spiritual.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- New York, March 4, 1966:

The whole thing is in my hand. If I want to be degraded, I can prepare myself in this life for such degradation in the next life. And if we want to elevate ourself to the highest perfection of life, as to become one of the associates of God, we can prepare ourself like that. You'll find in the, in the advanced chapters, that yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ (BG 9.25). Now, we are trying to go to the moon planet. Now, here, in this life, if cultivate ourself for the same thought, the moon planet... That means the moon planet, about moon planet, we have to hear, and we have to think that "I shall go in such and such place." Unless you hear, you cannot abide here. Just like our friend, Mr. Cohen, he has left for California. Now, so far I am concerned, I have no idea of California. Now, he has told me that after reaching there, he'll write about the description of the place. Now, suppose if, reading that description of the place, I think of going there, so I prepare myself, "Oh, I must go there." So just like I, I was describing that cintāmaṇi-dhāma (Bs. 5.29), what sort of trees are there. And you were very much pleased that "I must go there." So we have to hear. Unless we hear what sort of God He is, what sort of God's place is, what is the mode of life there, we cannot be attracted. We cannot be attracted.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

Prabhupāda: The Vedic injunction is uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata, that "You wake up. You have got this chance of human form of body. You take advantage of it." These are the Vedic instructions. Uttiṣṭhata, "Get up, be awake." Jāgrata, "Be awakened to understand your identity." Therefore one who is not trying to understand his identity, spiritual identity, he's sleeping.

Revatīnandana: Yes? (question is asked) How can we know ourselves in Kṛṣṇa consciousness? How can we know ourselves through Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Prabhupāda: That you will know as they have known. These boys, these girls, they had no idea of Kṛṣṇa four years ago. Now they are fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. So if you follow their process, you'll understand what is Kṛṣṇa.

Revatīnandana: All right, we'll take one more. Yes? (long question is asked) Well, I couldn't quite follow you. I couldn't hear you distinctly.

Prabhupāda: Why don't you come forward? Come here.

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

Can you say, thirty-six years before, where you were? You cannot say. Or suppose you live for hundred years. Can you say hundred years after where you shall be? You cannot say because you are imperfect, because you are imperfect. So God is not imperfect. God is perfect being. Here yoga system also accept like that. According to the yoga, God is the Supreme Person who is above all individual... Individual, now here you see the individual. The every, every living entity is individual. That, this particular word, that individual self and is free from all defects. And because He's free from all defects, His statement is defectless. And therefore we must admit. My statement, because I am imperfect, my statement is also imperfect. I have no idea of the past and future. How can I say that in future you will be like this, or in the past you were like this? I cannot say. That, who is defectless—who can see past, future and present equally, and there is no defect—he can say.

Lecture on BG 2.17 -- Hyderabad, November 22, 1972:

So this is a great science. Unfortunately, the so-called scientist, he has no idea. He does not know. They simply say that "We do not know, but we are trying to know." That's all right. But here is the knowledge, perfect knowledge, in the Bhagavad-gītā. Why don't you take it? That they will not take. They'll go on speculating and promise falsely that "In future we shall be able to inject some matter within the body and the body will again become alive." That is their dream. In the past history, it was never possible; at present also, it is not possible. How you can expect in future? But they are under illusion. They think like that, that "We are making progress." At all, no progress, practically. They have no knowledge. That is their position. They have no knowledge.

Lecture on BG 2.19 -- London, August 25, 1973:

Actually. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13), because after giving us this body, we have to accept another body. So this is going on. And ignorance, without knowledge of self, we are being kept in ignorance. The so-called educational system, all over the world, there is no such education. They are kept in darkness and ignorance and still so much money is being spent, especially in the Western countries. They have got money, big, big high schools, but what is the production? All fools and rascals. That's all. Because they do not know. They have no idea what is self. And without this knowledge... Knowledge means self-realization, that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." That is knowledge. And knowledge how to eat, how to sleep, how to defend, how to enjoy sex life, and volumes of books on this subject matter, these are not knowledge. They are known even by the cats and dogs. The cats and dogs never read Freud's philosophy, but they know how to enjoy sex life.

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

At the present moment, although it is Kali-yuga, there are some persons who are trying to understand God. At least, there is attempt. But, at the end of Kali-yuga, say, about 400,000's of years, then people... Because they're becoming animals, more and more. The more we become animals, we cannot understand God. So our modern civilization is to make the people animal. That is advancement of civilization. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhiḥ narāṇām. The modern civilization is how we can eat very nicely, how we can sleep nicely, how we can have sexual intercourse nicely, how we can defend nicely. Only these four principles are being taught. They have no idea what is soul, what is God, what is the relationship with the soul. So this is, this type of civilization is increasing. So just imagine how much it will be increased after four hundred thousands of years. The Kali-yuga has begun only five thousand years. Within this five thousand years, we have so much degraded, illusioned by the māyā as advancement of civilization. This is māyā. So the more days go, we shall be more illusioned. So there will be no capacity to understand about God. At that time, God will come to destroy all this population by cutting their throat. That is kalki-avatāra.

Lecture on BG 2.26-27 -- London, August 29, 1973:

Just like so many things are taking place by interaction of different material elements. Similarly, if you don't believe in this existence of the soul, if you think that there is no soul, the life is the result of combination of matter, nitya-jātam, and when this combination of matter is some way or other dismantled, then there is no more soul, it is finished. It began at a point by combination of matter, and it ends in a point by disintegration of matter. If you think like that, then also tathāpi tvaṁ mahā-bāho. Kṛṣṇa is criticizing Arjuna, mahā-bāhu. Actually he is mahā-bāhu. Mahā-bāhu means mighty-armed. One who has got a very strong, mighty arm, he can fight very strongly. Then also, why should you give up your fighting spirit? Why should you lament for combination of chemicals and material elements. Suppose this house is a combination of material elements. So some way or other, if it is dismantled, who laments for it? No sane man will lament. Similarly, if you have no idea of the existence of soul, then also you do not require to lament. Tathāpi tvaṁ mahā-bāho nainaṁ śocitum arhasi.

Lecture on BG 2.27-38 -- Los Angeles, December 11, 1968:

So here fighting is a matter of duty. That is the kṣatriya spirit. Fighting is not killing. Because people have no idea what is the soul, therefore they think that stopping war will help us in peaceful condition of the society. There are so many troubles so long this body is there. War is one of the items. Even war is stopped, there is no question that people will live forever. No. That is not the law of nature. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). This life, the problem is how to stop our contact with this material body That is the problem. Not that these general people, they are thinking, "If war, there is no war, then we shall be very happy." How you'll stop your war with māyā? Māyā has declared war with you, or you have declared war with māyā. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). The māyā, the material nature is enforcing, "Why you are closing this door?" "Oh, because it is very cold outside." Who is forcing? Immediately there will be cold, immediately there will be fog, immediately there will be excessive heat, immediately there may be earthquake. How you can stop it? So they simply think... Just like innocent child, they are concerned with the immediate problem. But sane man is concerned with the ultimate problem. So our ultimate problem is not this war. The ultimate problem is repetition of birth and death.

Lecture on BG 3.18-30 -- Los Angeles, December 30, 1968:

So those who are concentrating mind, thinking of Kṛṣṇa, that is the perfection of yoga system, but they have no idea of Kṛṣṇa. They make some circle, they concentrate. That is a practice only, how to engage one's mind. Because mind is so flickering, I am thinking of a red circle, and then next moment, I think something red, and from that red, I go to something red, something red, oh... Mind is gone. You see? So this concentration of mind is very difficult in this age because mind is so agitated. Therefore force them to hear Hare Kṛṣṇa. Even they have no mind to hear, you chant loudly Hare Kṛṣṇa. They will hear. Their mind will be dragged. It is so nice thing. He hasn't got to (chuckling) concentrate. I'll force him. You see? So as soon as he hears "Kṛṣṇa," oh, he advances immediately one step. So this is the nicest and the great service to the humanity. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. And then they'll be profited.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Bombay, March 21, 1974:

Bhagavān means the most powerful, most influential, the supreme wise, most beautiful, most learned, most renouncer. Just see Bhagavān's renouncement. If we construct a building, how much attached we become to that building. But Kṛṣṇa has constructed this whole universe. Whole universe means... We have no idea what is the universe. We have no idea what is this planet. We are trying to go to the moon planet. We have no exact idea even of the moon planet. And there are innumerable planets. Vasudhā. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣu vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam (Bs. 5.40). Each planet is of different type, different climate, different facilities, different standard of life. And there are ananta, innumerable planets. You cannot count even. So this is only one universe, and there are millions of universes. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). So Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Lord, is creator of these all universes. Still, He does not come here. He comes occasionally. But He does not claim. You utilize. He has given to you. "You living entities, you wanted to enjoy this material world. All right, I give you. Enjoy." Beginning from Brahmā, down to the ant, they're enjoying, and they're creating their own karma-phala. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1).

Lecture on BG 4.7-9 -- New York, July 22, 1966:
So as soon as we become free from the designations, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam... (CC Antya 20.12). That means when we can see exactly the position on the mirror of our mind after dusting over, that "My position, my constitutional position is that I am eternal servant." But we should not think that my service in the material world, and my service in the spiritual atmosphere is the same. No. It is not the same. We, we are shuddered, "Oh, after liberation, we have to become a servant. Oh." We shudder because we have no idea that what sort of servant is in the transcendental world. In the transcendental world, there is no distinction between the servant and the master. Here is distinction between the servant and the master, but in the transcendental world, in the absolute world, everything is one. Therefore there is no distinction between servant and master.
Lecture on BG 4.7-10 -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969:
Just like people are trying for so many years to go to the moon planet. The Russian and the American scientists are competing. But they are so bound up, they go some, say, thousands and thousands of miles up, again come back. Just see how they are bound up. You cannot go. So this is the nearest planet, and there are so many other planets also. So you cannot go by your whims or by your will. This is called bondage. But if you become free—when you are in spiritual understanding, then you are free—then you can travel anywhere. The perfect yogi, he can travel in any planet. That is freedom. That is little freedom. We have no idea what is the freedom of the spirit soul. That we have forgotten because for, from time immemorial we have been bound up under the laws of material nature, so we do not know what is freedom. But there are information of the freedom, how a spirit soul can become free.
Lecture on BG 4.13-14 -- New York, August 1, 1966:
Kṛṣṇa is playing with the boys just like boys play. They say, sometimes make some one body's defeated. So when the, he became, he has to carry the other boy on his shoulder, so many manufactured playing things. So similarly, sometimes Kṛṣṇa was being defeated. So He has to carry other boy on His shoulder. These things were being done. Because we have no idea of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, therefore we take it as trifling. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so sublime that all perfection of our desires are there. Whatever we are desiring, whatever desires we have got constitutionally, all those desires will be perfectly fulfilled when we are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You see? So Kṛṣṇa, here He says that na me karma-phale spṛhā. Kṛṣṇa did not require any friend to play with Him.
Lecture on BG 4.39-42 -- Los Angeles, January 14, 1969:

Just like people are trying. The same thing which they have got at home... Just like a naked woman. They are still going to the theater to see naked dance. You see? What is that? They have no idea. The same thing. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30), chewing the chewed, trying to find out in which naked dance there is pleasure. That's all. So when one comes to the knowledge that "I have seen so many different types of naked dance and naked woman. What I have got? What I have gained? What satisfaction is there? Why I am not satisfied?" That is knowledge. That is knowledge.

Lecture on BG 5.3-7 -- New York, August 26, 1966:

Sannyāsa, simply by renouncing this world, if you do not find out the Absolute Truth, then it is simply accepting tribulation voluntarily. Because suppose I have to give up my family life. Anyone is comfortable in family life, but suppose he leaves such family life and takes this life of mendicant. It is not very comfortable. But why shall I accept this position if I have no idea of the Absolute Truth? That is... So sannyāsas tu mahā-bāho duḥkham āptum. So if you don't find the Absolute Truth, then it is simply meant for accepting miseries. Miseries. And yoga-yukto munir brahma na cireṇādhigacchati. But one who is dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even he is at home... It was particularly said to Arjuna that "You are thinking that you are, you'll not fight. Better, you are thinking, that you shall beg instead of killing your kinsmen. You do not want kingdom. But that is not a practical proposition. You, you, you just try to understand why you have to fight. What is the cause?" That means He was giving hint that "You'll have to fight for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you'll get happiness. Simply by leaving, simply by becoming mendicant, it will not help you."

Lecture on BG 6.46-47 -- Los Angeles, February 21, 1969:

Just like you are a spirit soul. You are the proprietor of this body. I am proprietor of this body, you are proprietor of your body. But because I am sitting within this body, but Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of all bodies because He is sitting everywhere. Just like this house may be owned by me or somebody else. That house may be owned by him. But the whole America is owned by the state. Similarly when there is question of greatness, that is possible, that expansion. And because I cannot expand, frog philosophy, therefore Kṛṣṇa cannot expand, that is nonsense. We are thinking always in terms of my position. How it is possible for Kṛṣṇa to expand because I cannot expand . What you are? What is your position? Why do you compare Kṛṣṇa with you? Yes, Kṛṣṇa can expand. So many examples are given. Don't think because you cannot expand, therefore Kṛṣṇa cannot expand. that is the defect of nonsensical philosophy. They formally say "God is great." But, when actually he thinks, "Oh, how much great He should be? I cannot do this. How Kṛṣṇa can do." But formally, "Oh, God is great." They have no idea how God is great. That we'll find in Bhagavad-gītā. Therefore the superexcellence of this science of God. Akhilātma-bhūtaḥ (Bs. 5.37). If you want to know how God is great then you have to take reference of this Vedic literature. No other literature.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, March 17, 1968:

In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find Kṛṣṇa says that the four divisions of society: brāhmaṇas, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra... That is natural. Somebody is inclined for spiritual advancement, oh, they should be picked up as brāhmaṇas. Now, we are training boys who are spiritually inclined, and now unnecessarily we are being called for military service. Just see, how discrepancy! The foolish person has no knowledge that "This boy is being trained up in higher science. Why he should be disturbed?" But they have no idea. Therefore imperfect. The intellectual persons, those who have got brahminical qualification... These boys are being restrained for being trained up as brāhmaṇa, brahmacārī. They don't take, I mean to say, meat-eating; they don't take part in intoxication; they don't take part in gambling; they don't take part in illicit sex life. So they are being trained as complete brāhmaṇa, the highest intellectual person, purified person in the society. If there is one brāhmaṇa in a family, or one society, the whole family, whole society becomes sanctified.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, March 17, 1968:

If you make this world as belonging to the human society, that is defective. It belongs to everyone. It belongs to the trees community, it belongs to the beast community. They have got right to live. Why should you cut the trees? Why should you send the bulls to the slaughterhouse? This is injustice. And how you can meet justice by doing yourself injustice? Because you have no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You do not know that Kṛṣṇa is original father and we are all sons. The tree is my brother, the ant is my brother, the bull is my brother, the American is my brother, the Indian is my brother, the Chinese my brother. This is universal. Therefore you have to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness before you talk of this nonsense universal brotherhood and this United Nations and all this nonsense. These are useless talks if you have no idea how to think of universal brotherhood or United Nations. Useless. Therefore they are talking for years, years. Still, they are the same fools. Don't you see? The United Nations, they have got their headquarters here. Simply talking nonsense. That's all. That is their business.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Sydney, February 16, 1973:

Unfortunately, the impersonalists, they have no idea of the form, form of the Lord. Because they're impersonalist, they do not accept any form of the Lord. But there is the form of the Lord. Form of the Lord, there must be. God is accepted as the supreme father. In Christianity also it is accepted, the supreme father. In every religion He's accepted the supreme person, supreme father, supreme master. So how He can be accepted as imperson? From logical point of view... Just like you are a person, your father is a person, his father is also a person, his father is also a person. Go on, even you do not know your topmost forefather, you know it that he was a person. Similarly, the supreme father, the father of all fathers, how He can be imperson? Logically you cannot conclude. He must be a person. And that is the Vedic version also. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- London, March 9, 1975:

So Kṛṣṇa is saying, summarized. They are explained by the mad-āśrayaḥ, those who are devotees. So in this way we have to increase our attachment for Kṛṣṇa. And when we increase our attachment for Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa says, asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu (BG 7.1). Now everyone has got some doubt, whether there is God or not, whether God is person or imperson, whether He is something... He has no idea. In any religion you take, ask him, "What do you know about God?" That he cannot explain. Because he is not in the platform, how he can be understand God? That is not possible. It is not... But we are confident what is God, what is His father's name, what is His name, what is His address, everything. No saṁśaya, no doubt. Everything complete. Asaṁśayam. We are confident that we are going to Kṛṣṇa, back to home, back to Godhead. There is no doubt, asaṁśayam and samagram. Sama means full.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Durban, October 9, 1975:

Who can say what is the purpose of reading Vedas? That is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). By reading Vedas, any Vedas, you have to understand God. Then it is perfect reading of Vedas. If you do not understand what is God, then what is the use of reading Vedas? Śrama eva hi kevalam (SB 1.2.8). Simply waste of time. If you have read Vedas, then give me full information of God. Then I can understand that you have read Vedas. If you have no idea of God, then it is useless advertisement that "I have read Vedas."

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- Ahmedabad, December 14, 1972:

Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu. Generally, whole human society, especially at the present moment, nobody cares for perfection of life. They do not know what is perfection of life. Just like animals, they do not know what is perfection of life. They think perfection of life: to gratify the senses. "We have got these senses. Let us..." Because they have no idea that there is life after death. Therefore their only proposition is, "Now we have got this life and we have got these senses. Let us enjoy it to the fullest extent." This is their perfection. But actually, that is not perfection. Perfection means, self-realization means to know that ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am not this matter; I am spirit soul." To understand this. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54).

Lecture on BG 7.18 -- New York, October 12, 1966:
There is no need of practicing yoga. But people are... Because kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.20). That material desires, "I want to keep myself fit to enjoy life. Oh, let me take this yoga," or "Let me go to the church," "Let me have a swami as my spiritual master, order-supplier." So these things are going on all over the world. So such class of men, they worship different kinds of gods with a desire, with a material desire. They have no idea how to get out of this matter. They want to use this material world to the best capacity. That is their idea. Just like in..., in the Vedic literature there are different recommendations. "Oh, if you want to cure your disease, then you worship sun." So that is fact. Suppose if you are diseased, you simply keep yourself in the sunshine. You'll be cured. You'll be cured. That's a fact. So similarly, "If you want to be beautiful, then you worship such-and-such god. If you want very good learning, education, then you worship such-and-such god."
Lecture on BG 9.2 -- New York, November 22, 1966:

But we get information from such historical literature as Mahābhārata. Mahābhārata is called history in the Vedic literature. So kings were performing very big sacrifices. Millions of rupees, millions of valuables, gold and silver, they were distributed. Oh, that is not possible. That was being done by the kings. Kings used to collect tax from the citizens but at the same..., at the time when they performed sacrifice, they were distributed to all the citizens, all of them. So that process is not. Nowadays the state simply collects taxes but never distributes. So we have no idea what is yajña. But this yajña is the performance of kings or the heads of the state, and dāna of the general householders, and tapasya for brahmacārī, sannyāsī, vānaprastha. So these are different kinds of rules in religious life.

Lecture on BG 9.4 -- Melbourne, April 23, 1976:

Sometimes some foolish question is there, "Can you show me God?" The answer God is giving, that mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam: "I am everywhere. If you have eyes to see, you can see Me." So actually God is everywhere; otherwise how He is God? God means the great. But you do not know how great He is. We simply say, "God is great," but we have no idea how God is great. That is explained in the Vedic literature, that He is everywhere. God is everywhere. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham. Eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭim (Bs. 5.35).

Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:

Therefore, ajam anādi. Anādi, you cannot find out any date. Adyasya sapariṇāmena asya deha-janmasu janma-stha anādim ity anena viśeṣataḥ mukta-cid-vargāc ca veda.(?) Anādi. Now, anādi, this word, should be very nicely analyzed. Anādi means without any cause. Now, Kṛṣṇa may be spiritual, but there are other spiritual bodies also. There are many spiritual bodies, and we are also having spiritual body, but it is now covered. But our spiritual body is also due to Kṛṣṇa. Because everything is born, everything is born. So my spiritual body is also born. It is not born exactly, but because we have no idea about the spiritual existence, therefore the cause and effect we have to take it for granted.

Lecture on BG 13.2 -- Melbourne, April 4, 1972:

Just like dog and cat. Dogs and cats, they have no idea that the dog is not this body. It is a soul also. It has taken a dog's body. Cat is also a soul, but by his karma, by his destiny, by his past work, he has to accept this body. A tree, that is also a soul, but by his past karma or action, he has taken this body of the tree. So we should understand from the authority, as Kṛṣṇa says, that idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram: "It is a field. It is a concession or..." Field is exactly the term. "Field of work," as we say generally, in the field of activities." So it is field. And I have given a chance to occupy this field and act accordingly. Try to understand. I have got a different type of field, and I have to work on it and reap the result out of it and suffer pains and pleasure. That is already settled up. As soon as I have got a particular type of body, my pains and pleasures are already settled up, already settled up. You cannot make any improvement or degradation.

Lecture on BG 13.5 -- Bombay, September 28, 1973:

The human life is meant for making solution of birth, death, old age and disease, but they will not take it. "Oh, that's all right. Let us die." "You are going to accept a next life as a tree." "Never mind." They say like that. "I'll forget." "No, you'll have to stand up seven thousand years in one place." "That's all right." They have become so dull. This is called Kali-yuga. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). Very slow, very bad. Manda means very bad. Sumanda-matayo, and if one has got some path or some sect, that is also adulterated, nuisance. Manda-matayoḥ. Manda-bhāgyaḥ, unfortunate. Even people have no idea what he's going to eat tomorrow. Actually, these things are coming. Manda-bhāgya, most unfortunate. Upadrutāḥ, always disturbed by so many natural disturbances, health disturbances, political disturbances. This is the position.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 2, 1973:

Our propaganda is not for the East and the West, but our fight is with the ignorance of the people because at the present moment people are kept in ignorance, in foolishness, that he is this body, bodily identification. But still, there is difference between East and West. In the West, I have talked with big, big professors, learned scholars. They have no idea of next life.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 2, 1973:

I talked with Professor Kotovsky in Moscow. He said, "Swamiji, after annihilation of this body, everything is finished." They have no idea that there is soul. And in India even the poorest man, he knows that, "There is next life. I existed in the past, and I will exist in the future." This Vedic conclusion is known even to the poorest man, illiterate man. That is, of course, the difference between East and West.

So anyway, our position is that we should not identify this body as self. Kṛṣṇa says here that

adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁ
tattva-jñānārtha-darśanam
etaj jñānam iti proktam
ajñānaṁ yad ataḥ anyathā

Adhyātmā-jñānam, to understand oneself as the spirit soul, that jñānam. Adhyātmā-jñānam, tattva-jnanārtha-darśanam. Philosophy should be utilized. Logic and philosophy should be utilized for self-realization, not for simply mental speculation.

Lecture on BG 16.11-12 -- Hawaii, February 7, 1975:

But we are speaking of the demons, materialistic persons. Demon means materialistic person, who are simply busy for these temporary bodily comforts. They do not know anything else. The body is material. Therefore all these activities for comforts of the body... That is demon, more or less. So cintā... the demons, they are anxiety. Everyone has anxiety, but their anxiety, aparimeyām. Just like ordinary man he has got some anxiety: "How to maintain my family? How to get some money to maintain family?" like that. But the demons, they are unmeasurable, unlimited. You'll find big, big businessmen. They have got very, very long project, "How to do this? How to do this? How to increase this factory? How to make it world-renowned?" and so on, so on, so on. There is no limit of anxiety. Cintām aparimeyāṁ ca. Unlimited means they have no idea of future life, they do not believe, mostly, at the present moment. Formerly they used to believe, even these asuras.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.2 -- London, August 17, 1971:

Any religion which does not teach about God, which does not know what is God, that is cheating religion. That's all. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra (SB 1.1.2). Cheating, religion. And the Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has said, pṛthivīte yāhā kichu dharma-nāme cale, bhagavat prahe tāhāṅ paripūrṇa chale. "In the all over the world, what is going on..." It is a strong criticism. In the name of religion, the Bhāgavata says, "They're all cheating." That's all. Because they have no idea what is God. Neither in their principles there is service of God, there is dedication to God. Simply official in the so-called religion. Therefore Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura said, "These are all cheating religions." Religion means when one accepts some religion, he must know, "What is God, what I am, what is my relationship with God, what are the laws of God, how I am to act." So many things you have to learn. That is religion. Simply stamping myself with some rubber stamp that "I belong to this religion, I belong to that religion," that will not help. That is cheating. You are cheating yourself.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Montreal, August 3, 1968:

Just like at the present age they have no idea what is God. They are asking, "What is God?" and they are proud of their education. Just see. This is the godless result of godless civilization. This is discrepancy of dharma. So at this age, at this stage, when people have forgotten God, when they are speaking that "God is dead," now this Bhagavad-gītā or this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra has descended, just like Kṛṣṇa says,

yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
(BG 4.7)

"At that time, I appear." So this is... Kṛṣṇa has appeared in His holy name, Hare Kṛṣṇa. There is no difference between this holy name Kṛṣṇa and the person Kṛṣṇa, because Kṛṣṇa is absolute. There is no difference between His name, between His form, between His quality, between His pastimes, between His abode, between His entourage. There is no such difference. Materially there is difference. I am Indian, I am person, and my place, India, is different. You are American. This is all designation of this body. So Kṛṣṇa says that yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7).

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Montreal, August 3, 1968:

Ram means enjoy. We want enjoyment, but we do not know how we can have permanent enjoyment. When you have got permanent enjoyment by reciprocation of transaction with the Supreme, then that particular accepter of our reciprocation is called Rāma. That means by... We enjoy the loving exchange between God and ourselves. That position is called rama. But if you have no idea what is God, how we can exchange our feelings, then there is no question of rama. Rama means when we are in position of exchanging our loving attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then He's known as Rāma. The capacity in which He accepts our service, loving service, is called Rāma, ramante.

Lecture on SB 1.2.8 -- Vrndavana, October 19, 1972:

So even one executes his sva-dharma very nicely, but if he does not develop his Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then śrama eva hi kevalam (SB 1.2.8). This is also simply spoiling the life. On the other hand, Nārada Muni gives his opinion, tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ (SB 1.5.17), "If one gives up his occupational duty and takes shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa," caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ, "so even he is not mature and falls down from the devotional service on account of so many reasons, still, he is not loser, whereas a person who is executing his occupational duties very nicely, but he has no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no idea of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he doesn't get anything. He's loser." Ko vārtha āpto 'bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ. Sva-dharmataḥ, keeping in his own position as a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra, if he is executing his duties very nicely, but has not developed Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it is to be understood that he has lost everything. This is the verdict of śāstra.

Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Vrndavana, October 23, 1972:

So tat śraddadhānāḥ. The first thing is śraddhā. Ādau śraddhā. That is the beginning of Kṛṣṇa conscious life. Rūpa Gosvāmī has given this formula that in order to attain to the perfectional stage of life, how to love God,... Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means that we are try, teaching people how to love God. This is the sum and substance. Unfortunately, people have no idea of God, who is God, what is His form... Generally, they think God has no form. If anyone has advanced little in spiritual life, they come to the point of nirākāra, or nirviśeṣa-brahman, formless. That is the first step in Brahman realization. We have already described this. But beyond that they don't want to proceed. They think this is fac..., this is final, to realize the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth, that is final. That is Māyāvāda philosophy. No, that is not final. Still you have to advance, realize Paramātmā. Still you have to advance, realize God, the Supreme Personality of God.

Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Vrndavana, October 23, 1972:

So we are teaching people how to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That means one who has surpassed the realm of Brahman and Paramātmā, they can realize, they can understand what is the process of loving God. If they have no idea of God, then whom to love? You cannot love air or sky. You must have form. But they have no idea what is the form of God. Therefore śāstra says, "Here is form." Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Vigraha means form. Without form, how we can love? So to come to that perfectional stage, how to love God, this is our philosophy. How to love God. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). That is first-class religious system which helps the followers to come to the point to love God. That is first-class religion.

Lecture on SB 1.2.26 -- Vrndavana, November 6, 1972:

"Everyone who has taken birth on the land of Bhāratavarṣa, he must make his life successful." Because here we have the opportunity in, what is mumukṣava, what is liberation, actually. We have got this information in Bhāratavarṣa. No other country. Their liberation means so-called political liberation and making humbug all these things. Fighting with one an... That is not liberation. Liberation means to get out of the cycle of repetition of birth and death. That is called liberation. But they have no idea whose liberation, what is liberation, after liberation, where to go. All this knowledge, practically blocked. So it is very difficult to understand the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam like this verse: mumukṣavo ghora-rūpān hitvā bhūta-patīn atha. They do not understand. People are so misguided, ill-educated, that they do not understand it. Otherwise, the land of Bhāratavarṣa is meant for liberation. In other land they take birth. They have no information of liberation. Here, in this land, Bhāratavarṣa, there is the idea of liberation, mukti. Mukti.

Lecture on SB 1.3.18 -- Los Angeles, September 23, 1972:

He is even within the atom. So He can come out from anywhere provided He is called by a pure devotee. And He is all-powerful. He can come out from anywhere and everywhere. He is everywhere. And this word is nara—from human being—but He is not nara, He is nara, meaning He is appearing like human being, half human being, and siṁha, half-lion. And the nails of the hands, and this great giant atheist was killed within a second. And keeping Brahmā's promise, he took benediction that he would not be killed by any man, any demigod, any animal, by any weapon, in daytime, in night, so many things, definition by negation. First of all he wanted directly, "Kindly make me immortal." So Brahmā said that "I am not immortal. How can I make you immortal? You can ask something else?" So he thought, "Let me become immortal indirectly. I shall not die in daytime, nighttime," because he has no idea that beyond day and night there is also another time. That he forgot.

Lecture on SB 1.3.30 -- Los Angeles, October 5, 1972:

So this universal form... The impersonalists, they are very much fond of this universal form. It is very favorable. But what is this universal form? This universal form is external expansion of the supreme form, Kṛṣṇa. You can understand it very easily, that we all living entities, we are a spiritual form, very minute. Materially we cannot understand. But there is a form. We get the information from the śāstra, although we cannot see it with our material eyes. Śāstra says that every living entity is one ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair. Śāstra says. Everyone has seen the tip of the hair, but he has no idea how to divide it into ten thousand parts. Keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca (CC Madhya 19.140). Keśāgra. Agra. Agra means tip, keśa means hair. So you just imagine only that you see the top, tip of the hair, and divide it into ten thousand parts. That one part is the form of the living entity.

Lecture on SB 1.5.13 -- New Vrindaban, June 16, 1969:

If you take one cent from somebody else without doing something good to him or without exchanging something, then you are debtor, and you have to pay him with interest and compound interest. That is the law of karma. You cannot take anything. We are debtor to so many things. People have no idea. Devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṟṇām (SB 11.5.41). These are stated in the śāstras, that we are indebted, debtor to the demigods. Just like we are getting so much sunlight. We are enjoying: "Oh, today is a very nice day." But do we pay any tax? Do we pay anything? No. But in the Vedic injunction there is sun-god worship. Therefore we find that so many demigods' worship, yajñas. The feeling that "I am taking so much advantage from the sunshine, so I must give him something," this is called sacrifice.

Lecture on SB 1.5.30 -- Vrndavana, August 11, 1974:

If you want to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then you must abide by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But they have no idea who is Supreme Personality of Godhead, what is His order, what is our relationship with Him. These things are unknown. It is simply known to the, I mean to say, devotees. Why it is monopolized by the devotees? That is also answered in the Bhagavad-gītā: bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). If you want to know what is God, what is Kṛṣṇa, then you have to go through this bhakti-mārga, or devotional... There is no other way. Kṛṣṇa never says that He can be known through speculation or cultivation of so-called speculative knowledge. No. Then He would have said "Through jñāna one can understand Me." No. Neither karma one can understand. Neither yoga. This is explained in many, various places of the śāstra. Only bhakti. Only bhakti. And it is the duty of the spiritual master, or mahātmā, to spread bhakti cult. That is the most confidential... That is the most merciful humanitarian activity.

Lecture on SB 1.5.35 -- Vrndavana, August 16, 1974:

So first of all we must know what is bhagavat, or Hari, then we may try to satisfy Him. Unfortunately, we do not know what is God. Where is the question of satisfying Him? This is the... At the present moment, vague idea, what is God; practically no idea. What is their God? "God is good." They... Sometimes they say, "God is great," but what is that God, how great He is, how He is good, nobody knows. So where is the question of hari-toṣaṇam? If I do not know... Somebody says that "You go and satisfy Mr. such and such, Mr. John." So I do not know who is Mr. John, where does he live, what does he do, then how can I satisfy him? This is the position.

Lecture on SB 1.8.52 -- Los Angeles, May 14, 1973:

Therefore, spiritual education begins from this body. As Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). Asmin dehe, in this body there is the spiritual spark who is the proprietor of the body. This is the beginning of spiritual education. What is, the scientists cannot imagine, or they have no idea, from there we begin our education in spiritual life, beyond their jurisdiction, beyond the jurisdiction of the scientists. And how they can understand this movement? It is beyond their jurisdiction. When they will receive one hundred or one thousands of Nobel Prize, at that time they may be able to understand that where Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement begins. They do not know even where the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement begins. Therefore, generally people cannot understand what is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. They think it is some religious sentiment. Like so many other religions, it is like that. No. It is most the scientific movement, purifying the existence of the living being so that he can eternally, blissfully live, with complete knowledge. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. To purify.

Lecture on SB 1.13.10 -- Geneva, June 1, 1974:
Just like we had been immediately to the park, very nice park. They know how to live comfortably in the material world, but there is no spiritual information. Missing point. That is the defect of the Western civilization. They have got some vague idea of God, practically no idea. But human life is not meant for that purpose, simply living very comfortably in material life. The other necessity is that they should know Bhagavān, become bhāgavata. That is another necessity. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, it is the desire of Kṛṣṇa that these people who have no information practically about Bhagavān, so they should learn something from this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Lecture on SB 1.15.30 -- Los Angeles, December 8, 1973:

Now here, the same thing is repeated: Arjuna, who directly heard from Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes some people say that "Arjuna heard directly from Kṛṣṇa, but we don't find Kṛṣṇa in our presence, so how can I accept?" It is not a question of direct presence, because you have no idea of the absolute knowledge. Kṛṣṇa's words, Bhagavad-gītā, is not different from Kṛṣṇa. It's not different from Kṛṣṇa. When you hear Bhagavad-gītā, you are directly hearing from Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa is not different. Kṛṣṇa is absolute. Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's name, Kṛṣṇa's form, Kṛṣṇa's quality, Kṛṣṇa's instruction, everything Kṛṣṇa's, they're all Kṛṣṇa. They're all Kṛṣṇa. This has to be understood. They're not different from Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa's form here, He's Kṛṣṇa. He's not a statue. "He's a marble statue." No. He's Kṛṣṇa. He has appeared before you because you cannot see Kṛṣṇa. You can see stone, wood; therefore He has appeared in that form. You think that it is stone and wood, but He's not stone and wood; He's Kṛṣṇa. This is called Absolute Truth. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa's words are also not different from Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa's words are there in the Bhagavad-gītā, it's Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.15.39 -- Los Angeles, December 17, 1973:

So even though one is expert, paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna pratigraha, avaiṣṇavo gurur na sa syāt. Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ, he is expert in reciting all the mantras, Vedic mantras, he knows everything—but he is not a Vaiṣṇava. You find nowadays, impersonalists, voidists, so many brāhmaṇas, they have no idea what is God, who is God. That is called avaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava knows what is Viṣṇu, what is God. But avaiṣṇava, non-Vaiṣṇava, they do not know. So this is the formula, that even one brāhmaṇa is expert in all knowledge, but he does not know who is God, gurur na sa syāt, he cannot become guru. This is the stricture. Sad-vaiṣṇavaḥ śva-paco guruḥ. That is śva-paca. Śva-paca means dog-eaters. They are considered to be lowest of the mankind, dog-eaters.

Lecture on SB 1.15.42 -- Los Angeles, December 20, 1973:

Here it is explained how from that original reservoir of all energy, things are coming. That is the lesson in Vedānta-sūtra, janmādy asya yataḥ: (SB 1.1.1) "Everything is coming from one source." Yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante. These are Vedic mantras. That is Brahman. Brahman means inexhaustible, avyaya. There is no exhaustion. Pūrṇam. As we learn, pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idam (Īśopaniṣad, Invocation), everything complete. Complete, we have no idea of complete. We think complete also limited. Complete satisfaction. Suppose you have got a bank balance, a million dollars. You think, "It is now complete. I am fully satisfied." But he hasn't got the complete idea. The bank balance may be one million dollar today, but if I spend it, it will be gradually reduced, and one day it will be zero. So that is not complete. Complete means you go on spending as much as you like; still, it remains complete. That is complete.

Lecture on SB 1.15.47-48 -- Los Angeles, December 25, 1973:

So we have got enough material to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. My Guru Mahārāja was questioned by one big politician. He came to see him. So my Guru Mahārāja... He was asking, "What are your activities?" So at that time he was publishing one paper. I think it is still published in Māyāpura. It is called... What is called, Dainik? Daily news, it was a daily newspaper, small. Navadvīpa Prakash, like that. Nadiya Prakash. Nadiya Prakash. So daily. So this politician inquired from Guru Mahārāja, "You are publishing a daily paper about God consciousness?" "Yes." "No, what you are writing?" He was surprised. The politicians think that newspaper can be filled up with rubbish political news only. That's all. They cannot think that newspaper can be filled up by news from spiritual world. Yes. They have no idea. They have no idea there is spiritual world. So my Guru Mahārāja explained that "Why you are thinking of only one small newspaper? You do not know what is spiritual world. This material world is one-fourth portion of the whole creation of the Lord. And the three-fourths' portion is the spiritual world. And in this one fourth portion there are innumerable universes.

Lecture on SB 1.16.1 -- Los Angeles, December 29, 1973:

So here it is said that tataḥ parīkṣid dvija-varya-śikṣayā: "He was educated and trained up by the best class of the brāhmaṇas," not by the śūdras. Śūdra's training, what he can become? He can become a rascal, that's all. The training was entrusted to the first-class brāhmaṇa, who is himself trained up to speak truth, satyaṁ śamo damaḥ, to remain clean, to become very simple in habit, to become master of knowledge, and practical application. Such person should be the trainer, should be the teacher. Not a third-class rascal becomes a teacher and professor. He has no idea how to speak truth. He is speaking all lies, theories, and getting Nobel Prize. Such a śūdra is honored at the present moment. You see? Who has no knowledge. So many so-called philosophers and scientists, simply speaking lies and untruth. They have no knowledge. As soon as you challenge them, they will say, "Yes, we are trying. In future we shall do it." But if you are trying, then where is your knowledge? Why you are taking the post of a teacher? You are a cheater. You have no full knowledge, and still, you are putting some theory to mislead the people.

Lecture on SB 1.16.22 -- Hawaii, January 18, 1974:

One who thinks that "I am this body," he's no better than dog and cat. However nicely dressed he may be, he's a dog, he's a cat. That's all. No more than animal. Because he has no knowledge of his self. (aside:) Don't do that. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke... (aside:) You cannot sit like this? Yes. Sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. This is going on. People are bewildered, thinking "I am this body," just like cats and dogs. "And the issues from the body or connection with the body, that is mine." Sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu. "I have got some connection, bodily connection, with woman. Therefore she's my wife or my protected," something like that. Children, also—the same thing, bodily. They have no idea of the spirit soul, simply body. "So the body is born in a particular land. Therefore I am national." Bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. They're sacrificing so much their energy for the particular land because by accident, he's born in this life in that land. Everything is described in the Bhāgavata. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ (SB 10.84.13). Bhauma means land.

Lecture on SB 1.16.22 -- Los Angeles, July 12, 1974:

These ordinary university degrees, M.A., Ph.D... Because the essence of knowledge is there. Nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalam idam (SB 1.1.3). It is stated that what is the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? Nigama-kalpa-taru. Nigama means Vedas. It is just like kalpa-taru, desire tree. We have no idea of desire tree, what is desire tree. It is in the Vaikuṇṭha-loka. The trees are desire tree. Desire tree means from any tree you can get any fruit or anything you want. That is called desire tree. Here it is fixed up: you can get mango from the mango tree. But in the desire tree, whatever you want, you can get. So kalpa-taru. Kalpa-taru means any departmental knowledge that you require to execute your human form of life, so that you will find in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalam (SB 1.1.3). Galitaṁ phalam means the fruit matured in the tree. Here we artificially mature. We take the fruit unripe, and by artificial method, we get it ripened. But that is not acceptable. But the fruit which is ripened fully in the tree, that is very palatable, sweet. Nigama galitam. Galitaṁ phalam, fully matured fruit, this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Fully matured fruit of the desire tree known as Vedas.

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

So "I am not this body," that is the whole scheme of Vedic knowledge. Apaśya... This is the important point. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). Because they do not know what is the necessity of life, therefore they have created so many news. Just like big, big newspaper, bunch of papers, full of rubbish news only, advertisement, cinema. But you won't find anything talking about the necessity of the... (break) So to become a gṛhastha is not bad. But to become unaware of the necessity of the soul, oh, that is bad. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, they are sannyāsīs. They have also renounced gṛhastha life. But they have no idea what is the goal of life. They are simply thinking in negative way: "This life is very troublesome." That they have realized, that even in highest stage of life of the material relation, your country, President Nixon, he's the president of the most rich country, but there is no happiness. He is now embarrassed, so many attacks are upon him. And he does not know how to defend him, how to keep his position.

Lecture on SB 2.1.3 -- Paris, June 12, 1974:

So we should not think like animals. We should think like human beings. That is required. That thinking is "How to awaken my dormant love for God." That is required. That is human activity. That is there already. It is not artificial. Now, in this temple, you are all citizens of Paris city. Four or five years ago, you had no idea what is Kṛṣṇa. But now you are dancing, chanting in Kṛṣṇa. Why? Have I, have I given you some bribe? I brought Kṛṣṇa from India, and I am making you to dance, giving you some bribe? Is it a fact? What do you think? And what is my money? I came to Western country with seven dollars. Also I have got now money, enough money. That is your money, of course, (laughs) (laughter) But why you are dancing in Kṛṣṇa's name? What bribe I have given you?

Lecture on SB 2.4.2 -- Los Angeles, June 25, 1972:

They want salvation, to merge into the impersonal Brahman effulgence of the Lord. And yogis, they also want some mystic power. So karmī, jñānī, yogi—everyone wants something, but a devotee does not want anything. That is devotion. They know, "What shall I do with all these things?" They have no attraction for anything material. These are all material. Some, a better position, and in some lower position. That's all. Karmīs are entangled in this materialistic way of life, and the jñānīs, they are also some or less entangled. Because they have no idea what is God, they think God is impersonal. God is impersonal means there is no God. So if they have no idea of God, how to go back to kingdom of God? So they are also materialistic. Negation of material, negation. Because they are very much frustrated. Just like in your country, the hippies. The hippies means negation of a positive materialistic life. That's all. Negation. They are simply denying that "I, we don't want the way of life as our father and grandfathers are going on."

Lecture on SB 2.9.9 -- Tokyo, April 25, 1972, Informal Class in Room:

Param. You can say "It is a very nice apartment. Why shall I (go) after Vaikuṇṭha?" But he has no idea. He thinks that "If I go to Europe I get a better standard of living, better woman and better salary." But he has no idea what is param. Therefore, paraṁ na yat-param. There is no more superior. All superior finished. This is Bhāgavata. Paraṁ na yat-param. Final. Final beauty, Kṛṣṇa. Final opulence, final strength, final wisdom. Everything final in Kṛṣṇa, ultimate. No more. Na yat-param. Therefore He is called Parameśvara. Īśvara means commander. There are many commander, controller, but Kṛṣṇa is called Parameśvara. "No more." And Kṛṣṇa says mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). Para means superior. "There is no more superior than Me." Paraṁ na yat-param. This is meaning of.

Lecture on SB 3.26.7 -- Bombay, December 19, 1974:

Although we are in a miserable condition, continually, every moment, every second... This place is like that. Kṛṣṇa says, not that we are saying. Kṛṣṇa says, duḥkhālayam. Continually you have to suffer. But we are, we have become so much habituated in this suffering, we do not accept it as suffering. We take it as very pleasing, because we have no idea what is actually happiness. Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad atīndriyaṁ grāhyam (BG 6.21). Real happiness, what is real happiness? Sukhaṁ yat. Then what is sukham? That is not to be appreciated by these material senses. Sukham ātyantikam. Ātyantikam means supreme. This is not... Whatever so-called happiness we derive in this material world, that is dependent on so many conditions. That is not ātyantikam. Ātyantikam means the supreme happiness. That is different from this material happiness, but we have no information or taste because we have been conditioned for many many creation, anādi.

Lecture on SB 3.26.17 -- Bombay, December 26, 1974:

So the atheistic philosopher, they think that this combination of prakṛti and puruṣa is without any aim, without any idea, just like a man and woman meets and they may have sex. There was no idea, but they have sex. They give this example. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, Sixteenth Chapter. There is no aim, and that puruṣa becomes subdued by the prakṛti, and the manifestation comes. But this Kapiladeva, you will find, and we Vaiṣṇava philosophers, we do not admit this, that "without any aim." There is aim. Why Kṛṣṇa says that this material world, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19)? Bhūtvā bhūtvā. There is aim. The manifestation of prakṛti, cosmic manifestation, is there to give the living entities another chance for liberation. One chance is given. Just like we have got. Śrī Prakṛti is now manifested, and we are living entities. We are here, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4), in many varieties. So what is the aim? The aim is God realization. By evolutionary process, gradually, we come to the human form of life. Aśītiṁ caturaś caiva jīva-jātiṣu, jīva-jāti. Jīva, under different species of life, they are evolving.

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

So we can study our history of life, that someone was born in India; someone was born in America; someone was born in Africa, Canada. So we have come together. There was no idea that we shall have to give up our family relationship and come into this society of Kṛṣṇa conscious. So similarly, we mix together, intermingle, by chance. Not by chance—by the arrangement of the Supreme, by providence. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). So we play the part of the son, the father, the wife, the children, but it is exactly the same—a straw gathering by the waves of the river. So just like sometimes in a foreign country we make some relationship, brother, father, but that is not actually the fact. The real father is Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayoyaḥ (BG 14.4).

Lecture on SB 5.5.1 -- Los Angeles, January 20, 1969:

There are so many different varieties of heater. But the heat of the sun cannot be compared with any other heat. You cannot say that "Because I have got little heat, I have become sun." (laughs) This is ludicrous; it is not possible. So those who are claiming that "I am God," "Everyone is God," they are simply, what can I say? Less intelligent persons. (laughter) They have no conception what is God. They do not know what is God. This claim that "I am God," that means he has no idea what is God. Therefore he is falsely claiming. You may have minute quantity of God's quality, but that does not mean you are God. Just like the same example. You may have a minute quantity of the total heat of the sun, but that does not mean you are sun. So qualitatively we are one, everyone has got some temperature, 98 degrees. But not that a million degree. That is not possible. Why the million? If you rise your temperature to 107 degrees, then finished your life. These are practical.

Lecture on SB 5.5.1-8 -- Stockholm, September 6, 1973:

Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva says nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke, to collect for eating, sleeping and mating, whole day and night working, this is not good. Then what is good? Tapaḥ. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed (SB 5.5.1). Sattvam means your existence has to be purified. Our existence, this existence is not purified, therefore we have got this material body. Now what is the decitement (?). Let us have this material, we are enjoying very nicely. What is this bad? But these rascals, they have no idea that we can avoid the, I mean to say, miserable condition of this body. We can avoid. This, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudar... (BG 13.9), but they do not know that this is unhappiness, this is distaste.

Lecture on SB 5.5.1-8 -- Stockholm, September 6, 1973:

So the, this intelligence, that is difference between the animal and the man. If one hundred men was being taken away like that, immediately the man who was taking to kill them, immediate, why one hundred, ten men would have been sufficient, or two men would have been sufficiently stronger. They would not tolerate. Similarly we are also being driven by the laws of nature to accept these inconveniences, repetition of birth, death, old age, and disease. But at the present moment, why at the present moment, always, these people, these rascal people, they do not know that we can be rescued from this repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. They have no idea. And that is civilization. How to get out of this birth, death, old age, and disease, that is civilization. But no one, nobody knows, scientists no, philosopher no, politician. They can concede that there is such possibility.

Lecture on SB 5.5.7 -- Vrndavana, October 29, 1976:

Suppose a big political leader, in the beginning he is interested with his family, with his family members, but sometimes he takes to national interest, for all members of the country, or the society, community. And then there is fight between one community to another community, one family to another family, one nation to another nation, because that extended self-interest does not make the thing perfect. That extended self-interest must be up to Viṣṇu. Then it will be perfect. But that they do not know, because they have no idea that there is Viṣṇu, the Supreme Lord, or Kṛṣṇa. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). They do not know. They think that I have extended my self-interest to my country, to my family, I have become a big man. And people also give him honor. This we have practical experience but that is extended self-interest. That is not actually philanthropy.

Lecture on SB 6.1.1-4 -- Melbourne, May 20, 1975:

Do you mean to say by combination of this blood, flesh, bones, urine, and stool and so many other things, you can, by combination, make a person like big scientist, philosopher, mathematician, by combination of these ingredients? Is it possible? Then there are much quantity of blood and flesh and this in the slaughterhouse. You bring and mix with them stool and urine and make a Professor Einstein. (laughter) You are advanced scientist. You bring this ingredient and make a very intelligent man. So this is all foolishness. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). Anyone who thinks this body as the self, then he is in the animal kingdom. One, if anyone wants spiritual knowledge, he first of all know what is spirit, then spiritual knowledge. If you have no idea of spirit, what is the value of your spiritual knowledge? There is no value. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13).

Lecture on SB 6.1.9 -- Nellore, January 7, 1976:

Actually he had no idea about pāpa and puṇya. Actually, those who are animal-hunter, they cannot understand what is spiritual life, what is God, what is sinful life, what is pious life. There is a verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam quoted by Mahārāja Parīkṣit,

nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād
bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt
ka uttamaśloka guṇānuvādāt
pumān virajyeta vinā paśughnāt
(SB 10.1.4)

Unless one is animal hunter, he cannot be away from chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. So Nārada Muni said that "If you kill the animal totally it is less sinful than you kill them half." Nārada Muni said, "No, if you kill the animal half, it is more sinful than you kill them whole." The hunter said that "From my childhood I have been taught like this by my father. I do not know which is sinful, which is pious." Nārada Muni, as Vaiṣṇava, advised him that "You stop this hunting business and I will give you your livelihood." So hunter, having seen a Vaiṣṇava, was little convinced about spiritual life. Then he said that "Sir, if you give me my livelihood, then I can give up my, this business." Then Nārada Muni suggested that "You and your wife may come with me. I shall arrange for your livelihood. You give up this business."

Lecture on SB 6.1.20 -- Chicago, July 4, 1975:

So human civilization should be to raise the fourth-class man to the first-class man. That is human civilization. But there is no idea who is first-class man. Everyone is a drunkard, everyone is illicit sex hunter, and everyone is gambler, and everyone is meat-eater. Where is first-class man? There is no first-class man. All fourth-class man. And they are being taught simply how to manufacture big, big skyscraper, and every year, new model of car. Is that civilization? That is not civilization. You may be advanced in technology. So technology means technician. Suppose a man knows how to work in electricity, in so many things. Does it mean he is a learned man? No. Learned, first-class man, that is given in the Bhagavad-gītā: śamo damaḥ satyaṁ śucis titikṣā ārjavaṁ jñānam, vijñānam āstikyam brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). These are the first class.

Lecture on SB 6.1.26 -- Honolulu, May 26, 1976:

Here in this material world there is no love because the man and woman, they have no idea that "I mix with the man, the man who satisfies desires with me." No. "I will satisfy my desires." This is the basic principle. The man is thinking that "Mixing with this woman, I'll satisfy my sense desire," and woman is thinking that "By mixing with this man, I shall satisfy my desire." Therefore it is very prominent in the Western countries, as soon as there is difficulty in personal sense gratification, immediately divorce. This is the psychological, why so many divorces in this country. The root cause is that "As soon as I don't find satisfaction, then I don't want." That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: dāṁ-patyaṁ ratim eva hi. In this age, husband and wife means sex satisfaction, personal. There is no question of that "We shall live together; we shall satisfy Kṛṣṇa by being trained up how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa." That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Don't do anything for your personal sense gratification. Do everything for Kṛṣṇa's sense gratification.

Lecture on SB 6.1.44 -- Los Angeles, July 25, 1975:

Just like a street boy does not take education because he has no idea of next life. But his father, his mother, is anxious that "My son's next life, future life, will be spoiled if he does not take education." They are anxious. Similarly, the father and the mother, the guru, the friend—everyone should be actually well-wisher of his friend, dependent, when he gives spiritual education. Then he is friend. Otherwise they are enemy. Pitā na sa syāj jananī na sa syāt. The sastric contraception means that "If you cannot educate your sons how to stop repetition of birth, then don't become a father. Don't become a mother." This is śāstric... "Don't become a guru. Don't become so on, so on, well-wisher, if you cannot stop."

Lecture on SB 7.5.22-30 -- London, September 8, 1971:

So here it is said, gṛha-vratānām. Gṛha-vrata means those who have taken this family life or material life as all in all. That's all. Vrata. Vrata means vow. "I shall improve my family condition, I shall improve my social condition. I shall improve the international condition or political condition." All these things, they are called gṛha-vratānām. They have no idea that beyond this life there is another life. Therefore they are stuck up with this idea. They are called gṛha-vrata. Generally, at the present moment, everyone is gṛha-vrata. That's all. They simply want "How to improve my economic condition." That's all. Individually, socially, family wise, internationally or nationally, that is their aim. They are called gṛha-vrata. So Prahlāda Mahārāja said, because he knew that his father is number one gṛha-vrata, atheist number one, and materialist number one, so when he inquired, "How you developed Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" he said immediately, flatly, to his father, "My dear father, don't worry. You will never will have Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on SB 7.6.3-4 -- San Francisco, March 8, 1967:

Duḥkham means distress. Nobody tries to invite distress in his life. But distress overcomes him. Similarly, the quantity of happiness or the measurement of happiness, that is already predestined by nature, is already there. So "You should not bother..." Because they are all atheistic boys. They are after material improvement, economic development. The atheist class of men, they are always busy for economic development. They have no idea of spiritual existence or spiritual advancement of life. That is the distinction between atheistic life and theistic life. Atheistic people are not concerned, not a drop they are concerned for advancing in spiritual life. So because he was speaking amongst the boys who came from atheistic family, he said, "My dear friends, don't bother yourself for developing your economic condition, because that is already arranged there. You better utilize your short time, short span of life, for understanding Kṛṣṇa or be Kṛṣṇa conscious." That is his version. Tat-prayāso na kartavyo yata āyur-vyayaḥ param. "Because you have got limited span of life."

Lecture on SB 7.6.6-9 -- Montreal, June 23, 1968:

The ultimate goal, they do not know. Not nowadays... In all the days there are a class of men who are called demons, and here Prahlāda Mahārāja instructing to the children of the demons, those who have no idea of what is the ultimate aim of life. They are called demons. The Aryans and the demons, sura and asura. Aryan means those who are advancing. And those who are static, not advancing... Static means limited with the animal propensities of life, āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. This is animal propensities of life. And when there is question of spiritual advancement, that is called human society. Because the spiritual consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, cannot be injected in the animal society. So na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi visnum: (SB 7.5.31) they do not know what is the ultimate goal of life. The ultimate goal of life is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to understand God, to understand oneself, "What I am, what is God, what is my relationship with God." This is human civilization. So Prahlāda Mahārāja is trying to instruct his class fellows like this.

Lecture on SB 7.6.15 -- New Vrindaban, June 29, 1976:

This philosophy can solve all the problems of the world. Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā. Whatever is given to you, you enjoy, what is allotted to you. Mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam. Do not touch other's property. But we violate this law, therefore we suffer. So it is stated here, pretya iha, if we (indistinct) death. Unfortunately, the modern civilization is keeping people in so darkness that they have no idea that there is a life after death. Just like animal, "Let us enjoy, beg, borrow, steal and enjoy." No. That is not good. Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "No it is not good." Prahlāda Mahārāja... Everyone will say, those who are in knowledge. Yato ātmano ayam, kleśada. You can do whatever you like, but you'll get a body which may be more troublesome than the present body. In the present body we have got so many troubles, adhyātmika, adhidaivika, and if we do not work properly, then we shall get another body, more troublesome. More troublesome.

Lecture on SB 7.7.32-35 -- San Francisco, March 17, 1967, (incomplete lecture):

In the beginning stage, he offers respect to the Deity in the church or in the temple or in the mosque, according to different religious conceptions, but he has no idea who is actually devotee, and what is his duty towards others. He does not know. This is the first stage. But he has got good faith in religion and in God. That is the beginning.

Lecture on SB 7.7.40-44 -- San Francisco, March 20, 1967:

Prahlāda Mahārāja is recommending that either material prosperity within this planet or in other planet, they are all destructible. They're not permanent. Therefore nirmala, not free from the contamination of material nature. That is also recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā: ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16), that even if you go to the highest planet, that is also perishable. So we are not interested in perishable things. Unfortunately, people have no knowledge that what is that unperishable. They are accustomed in the association of perishable things for many, many lives. (aside:) Is not working? Yes. Therefore they have no information what is the... If we say that "You work for nonperishable thing," he'll be astonished because he has no idea that there can be anything which is not perishable. So Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends that "Don't try for nonperishable things...," "Don't try for perishable things. Try for nonperishable things." And that is bhaktyā uktayeṣaṁ bhajatātma-labdhaye.

Lecture on SB 7.9.1 -- Mayapur, February 10, 1977:

You'll find that the rascals who have no idea about Kṛṣṇa, they are very much fond of painting Kṛṣṇa's picture dealings with the gopīs, because they take it that it is just like we deal with young men or woman, it is something like that. So that is a great mistake. They should not. Then they will become sahajiyā. Very strictly prohibited. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Śukadeva Gosvāmī has warned that one should not even dream like that, that "Kṛṣṇa's dealing with gopīs is just like our dealing with woman." No. It ms completely different. Therefore we have to understand Kṛṣṇa. Vyāsadeva has devoted nine cantos to understand Kṛṣṇa, and then, in the Tenth Canto, he has put the gopīs' dealings with Kṛṣṇa. That is also beginning from twenty-ninth chapter.

Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Hawaii, March 21, 1969:

So this is all expansion. Try to understand how Kṛṣṇa... Because we have got very limited knowledge. Ātmavat manyate jagat. The same Dr. Frog. Dr. Frog is calculation in his own way, and he is puzzled how there can be an Atlantic Ocean or Pacific Ocean. Because he has never experienced, he has no idea, he is thinking, "This three feet water expansion, that is very big water." So our folly is that we are trying to study Kṛṣṇa, or God, by our own standard, frog standard. We do not know how great Kṛṣṇa is, how His potency is great, how He is manufacturing, how He is... Because we think, "If we have to manufacture something, I require some tools, I require some energy, I require some ingredients. I have to collect it. Then I can make." Therefore we are surprised, "How Kṛṣṇa can make, or how God can create, this universe? Where is that instrument? Where is that ingredient?" They cannot. They are thinking in that way, that "I require instrument. Kṛṣṇa requires the hammer and the saw to manufacture this comic manifestation." I am thinking in that way. Therefore I cannot believe it, how the cause of this cosmic manifestation can be a person. They are thinking imperson. Impersonal bigness, they think it is very important. Actually, it has no value. Background is person. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that brahmaṇo 'haṁ pratiṣṭha: "The impersonal Brahman, I am the cause. I am the source of impersonal Brahman."

Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Hawaii, March 21, 1969:

We have got answers for everyone. The major question is that the demons, they want to become God. So let them explain what the demon means by the word God. If he comes under that definition, then we shall accept him God. But if there is no idea of God, then his claim is false. Just like I am in your country. If I falsely claim, "I am citizens of America," how can I be accepted? You can be accepted as citizen of America because there is a definition of the word "citizen of America." So your position comply with that definition—you can be accepted as citizens of America. And my position does not comply with that definition; therefore I am not citizen. So in this way. "All right, I accept you God, but what is your definition of God?" Just ask him to explain.

Lecture on SB 7.9.11-13 -- Hawaii, March 24, 1969:

Everyone is thinking that his understanding is the greatest. He has no idea that how greatest God is. We say "God is great," but we do not know how great He is. This Pacific Ocean is an insignificant drop of water within this universe, this material universe. And this universe is also... Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that this universe is just like a, a small mustard seed in the bag of mustard seeds. If you take one bag of mustard seeds, you cannot count how many there are. Is it possible? If you take a bag of grains, is it possible to count how many grains are there? Caitanya Mahāprabhu has compared this universe... One of His devotees, Vāsudeva Datta... That is the attitude of devotee. He requested Caitanya Mahāprabhu, "My dear Lord, You have kindly come to deliver the fallen souls. Please fulfill Your mission. Take away all the souls, conditioned souls of the universe. Don't leave them, not a single. Please take them away. And if You think that they are not eligible or some of them are not eligible, then please transfer their sinful reaction upon me. I shall go on suffering. But You take away all of them." Just see the attitude of a devotee.

Lecture on SB 7.9.12 -- Montreal, August 18, 1968:

There are so much brain in manufacturing this world, and is it false? Suppose if you decorate this temple and invite some friend, if he says, "Oh, this is all false," is it not decrying or insulting you? You decorate this temple so nicely, you prepare very nice foodstuff, and he says, "Oh, this is all false." Why? That means he has no appreciation. He's prosaic, he's dull, he's a rascal. So therefore devotees, they appreciate, "O God, O Kṛṣṇa, how nice You are. How nicely You have manufactured these trees, these flowers, the sky, the planets, the sun, the moon." And he becomes overwhelmed with joy: "Oh, my God is so great." And the rascal says it is false. (chuckles) You see how much rascaldom? False. Is it false? If you want to construct one building, you have to work hard your whole life, and if I say "It is false," how much insulted you are. So they do not know, they have no idea what is God. Yes.

Lecture on SB 7.9.12 -- Montreal, August 19, 1968:

It is said that a verse written in broken language... Suppose a person, a great devotee, is writing some prayers for God, but he has no idea of the rhetorical or prosodic method, the system of poetry. He has no such idea, but he is simply expressing his feeling. But if that feeling is correct, even the language is broken... There are many examples. Just like a child, he prays mother, parents, simply by crying. It has no language, but the mother understands what is the feeling of the child. It is the feeling that is taken into consideration, not the language. So Prahlāda Mahārāja very much encouraged, that tasmād ahaṁ vigata-viklava.

Lecture on SB 7.9.27 -- Mayapur, March 5, 1976:

Just like the example is given here that saṁsevayā surataror iva. Surataror iva. Surataroḥ means the desire tree. It is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā, desire tree. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa (Bs. 5.29). That is kalpa-vṛkṣa. Kalpa-vṛkṣa means... You have no experience. We have no experience. Kalpa-vṛkṣa, there is in the higher planetary system and especially in the Vaikuṇṭha world. There are, trees are kalpa-vṛkṣa, because everything is spiritual; nothing is dead. Here you can take some fruits or flower from a particular tree, but there, if you like, you ask kachori and samosa from a tree—you get. But we have no idea what is surataroḥ, what is kalpa-vṛkṣa. Whatever you desire, you'll get it. Surabhīh, surabhīr abhipāl... The cows are surabhī. Here you have got limitation. You can milk morning and evening to a certain extent, but there the cows are surabhī. Surabhī means you can milk as many times as you like, and as much milk as you want, you can take it. But these things are there. But we have no information. We are struggling here. Manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7).

Lecture on SB Lecture -- Melbourne, May 19, 1975:

But India still, although it is so fallen, you go to a remote village. A common man, he has no education. He believes. He believes. And here in the western countries, I saw many many big, big professors. They have no idea. I met one big professor, Kotovsky, in Moscow. He said, "Swamijī, after finishing this body, everything is finished." Just see. He is a big professor and in charge of a very big department, Indology. He has no idea. But this is not the fact. The fact is that we are all sparks, spiritual spark, part and parcel of God. Somehow or other, we have come into this material world for sense enjoyment. In the spiritual world there is no sense enjoyment. There is sense purification. In the material world the senses are impure. They simply want to enjoy material things. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means that you have to purify your senses. That is the way.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

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

That Girirāja. He was talking to Mr. Motta, every so-called learned scholars, they have no, I mean to say, idea what is God, what is Kṛṣṇa, and where to speak of satisfying Him? But the bhakti means that he, a bhakta, is always ready to sacrifice everything to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. But if one has no idea what is Kṛṣṇa, then where is bhakti? For the impersonalist, there cannot be any bhakti because they have no information of Kṛṣṇa. They do not know what is Kṛṣṇa. And bhakti means satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. If I know the person, if I know what is his nature, then I can know also how to satisfy him. If you have no information of any person, then where is the question of satisfaction?

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, December 27, 1972:

He has no idea there is better activities, better sleeping, better eating. That he cannot understand. Therefore śūnyavādi. They want to make zero. "These activities are giving me so much trouble. Make it zero." Just like sometimes one cannot tolerate the pains of diseased condition. Sometimes they commit suicide—stop these activities. So the śūnyavādi, they are like that—committing suicide; stop these activities. But they do not know that there is activities. There are... After being cured of this material disease, when one is healthy... That healthy activities are the devotional activities. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, māṁ ca avyabhicāriṇi yogena yaḥ sevate. Sevate means there is activities. It is not stoppage of activities. Sevate. Sevate means giving service. Giving service is not stopping activities. But that is a different type of activities, healthy activities.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 5, 1973:

One has to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the perfection of life. This human life should be utilized for going back to home, back to... But they have no idea. They do not know what is God, where is back to home, back to Godhead—nothing, no education, although the knowledge is there in the Bhagavad-gītā and other śāstras. Everything is there, but we have become so fools that we take Bhagavad-gītā and comment in a different way so that people may not understand. He does not understand himself, and how he'll explain? Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ (BG 7.25). Because without becoming a devotee, nobody can understand Bhagavad-gītā. That's a fact. So they, one may be very good scholar, ABCD, but the ABCD knowledge is not sufficient to understand. Bhakto 'si priyo 'si me rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam (BG 4.3). Simply by erudite scholarship you cannot understand. Then Kṛṣṇa would have selected somebody else who is scholarly advanced. But He was selecting Arjuna, although he was a soldier. He was not a Vedantist, he was not a brāhmaṇa, but he was ordinary soldier. Maybe royal family. Gṛhastha. But He selected him. Why? Bhakto 'si: because he was devotee. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā is to be understood by devotee from the very beginning.

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

People say that inactivity, silence, that is perfection. But no. In bhakti cultivation, there is no such thing silence. Always active. The same example can be given that Arjuna... Arjuna became devotee not by silence, but by being active. Activity, spontaneous activity. "I have to do this. My Lord will be pleased. So I have to do this." Activity. But if I have no idea what is Lord, what does He want, how He's pleased, if we do not know all these things, naturally there will be no activity. But one who knows what is this Lord, what does He want, what is my relationship with Him, then there is activity. So actually, that bhakti, bhakti is not silence. Bhakti is activity.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 10, 1973:

Our life is ānanda. Sac-cid-ānanda. Eternal life, blissful life, life of knowledge. But we are put into this material condition which is ignorance, miserable and temporary. Just opposite. Instead of having eternal, blissful, knowledgeable life, we have got this body which is non-eternal, non-permanent, and always miserable in condition, and not blissful. Always miserable and always in ignorance. Just the opposite. So Kṛṣṇa is not like that. If we think of Kṛṣṇa like that, then it is a mistake. That Māyāvādī philosopher, they are thinking of Kṛṣṇa like that, that Kṛṣṇa is like me. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā. They are rascals, mūḍha. They are thinking there is something above Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they are mūḍhas. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). Because they have no knowledge, paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ. They do not know the paraṁ bhāva, the bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, they have no idea, they have no knowledge. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is, therefore, giving them the real knowledge. Kṛṣṇa, how He's enjoying. His, how He's joyful. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhiḥ (Bs. 5.37).

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 2, 1972:

Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice that even in the training period, although he's not mature, and even one falls immature stage, there is no loss. That is also confirmed by Nārada Muni: tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer patet tato yadi apakva... (SB 1.5.17). There is a verse like this—I don't exactly remember—that if one is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and, and without being mature, somehow or other, if he falls down, there is no loss, whereas other persons, who are sticking to their sva-dharma, but has no idea of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he does not gain anything. These are the statements of Nārada. Therefore our position should be, our real active life begins when we begin to serve Kṛṣṇa with our senses without being designated, without being situated in designation. This is transcendental stage.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.5 -- Mayapur, March 29, 1975:

They have no idea what is Bhagavān. This is one of the description of Mahā-Viṣṇu, that from His breathing, innumerable universes are coming out. When He is exhaling, the universes are coming out, and when He is inhaling, all, everything, is going within Him. This is Bhagavān. So anyway, this is partial exhibition of the energy of the Lord. And this is one-fourth energy. This material world is manifestation of His one-fourth energy. The three-fourth energies are in the spiritual world. So in that spiritual world Kṛṣṇa exhibits His spiritual energy. That is only spiritual energy. This material world is made of material energy, and we are marginal energy.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.9 -- Mayapur, April 2, 1975:

The bīja-pradaḥ pitā, the father, is the seed-giving person, and the mother is receiving the seed, and then she is impregnated and they develops the body. As we have got experience, the creation, the creative energy, this is going on, the same process, everywhere. So this Kāraṇābdhiśāyī Viṣṇu—we have already discussed to some extent—is the origin of this material creation. That, the scientists says, that... I do not know exactly what is their theory, but so far I have heard, that... There are so many theories. One of them is "There was a chunk, and from that, this material world..." They have no idea what is material world or spiritual world. But in that way a creation take place.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.80-95 -- San Francisco, February 10, 1966:

So all these activities are, up to the last stage, to become one. Therefore 99.9%, they will talk of void and impersonalism. They have no idea.

So Kṛṣṇa, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that this emotion, by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, developing love of God, is far, far beyond these four principles of perfection, above the idea of becoming one with the Supreme.

pañcama puruṣārtha-premānandāmṛta-sindhu
brahmandi ānanda yāra nahe eka bindu

This pañcama puru... This is fifth dimension. One, religiosity; two, economic development; and three, sense gratification; and four, to become one with the Supreme. So above these four, this is fifth. This is the fifth stage of perfection. What is that? Developing love of Godhead and getting emotion out of that. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says this emotional stage is so transcendental and so elevated that there is no comparison with the other four principles.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.108 -- San Francisco, February 18, 1967:

So people do not understand, do not consult this Vedic literature, how it is stated the Supreme. How one can become Supreme? The Supreme... We judge the Supreme in the same philosophy, frog philosophy. "Atlantic Ocean? Oh, it may be a little bigger than this well. That's all." So our calculation of God is always like that. "Kṛṣṇa, He looks like us, just like a man. So what is there? He may be a little powerful than me. All right, He has spoken Bhagavad-gītā. All right. He's little more wiser than us." So we always compare with us. But it is not. He's supreme. We have no idea of the Supreme. Therefore we forget personality. Patiṁ patī... It is clearly stated, pati. Can pati, the husband or proprietor, can become imperson? No. When the conception of pati, husband and proprietor, is there, then He is personal. Patiṁ patīnāṁ paramaṁ parastāt mahān prabhavaiḥ puruṣaḥ.

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

Ask any learned scholar in these days that "What is the ultimate goal of life?" They will say, "Oh, there is no particular end (?). Let us live very happily, and after death everything is finished." I have consulted many men, big, big professors, Indian and foreign. They have no idea of the first education in the Bhagavad-gītā: tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). There is change of body. There is already change of body. I was a child, I was a boy, I was a young man. Now the body is changed—I have got this wretched body, old man's body. So all these bodies... That is simple, logical.

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

We see at night so many stars and planets, but we have no idea. So we do not know even what is this material world perfectly, and what to speak of spiritual world. But the spiritual world is there, as there is this material world, and the living entity belongs to the spiritual world. Actually he belongs to the spiritual world. By chance or some way he has come to the material world. So when he goes back again to the spiritual world, then he gets his normal condition of life. Unfortunately, in the modern education there is no information of the spiritual world, the spiritual identity, and go on, our relationship with God—nothing. Simply they are working like cats and dogs under the influence of māyā and the suffering. To stop this suffering, one must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and understand the position of his life and be perfect.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 25.29 -- San Francisco, January 21, 1967:

If you go up by a sputnik some few hundreds and thousands of miles, that is not joke. That is not to be ridiculed. But the danger is that if you do not have shelter, then you come down. If you have no shelter, then what is the use of going up? That shelter is Kṛṣṇa, that supreme abode or Vaikuṇṭhaloka, kingdom of God. So because they have no idea that there is kingdom of God or God is person, you can reach there, you can talk with Him, therefore they have no shelter and their intelligence is not purified, because they have not still completed what is actual knowledge. Actual knowledge, it is stated in the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). That is actual knowledge. When he comes to the point of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrenders: "My Lord, I have simply wasted my time in this way. Now I understand vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19), You are Vasudeva, Kṛṣṇa. You are everything." That is the ultimate end of knowledge. And so long one does not come to this point, it is to be understood that he has no shelter.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 25.29 -- San Francisco, January 21, 1967:

Unfortunately he has taken now politics. He's after to take back Pakistan and join it with India. That has become his mission. So he is going to jail even—because political movement. So everything he's doing; now his sannyāsa is finished. Now no more Brahman. Now again India and Pakistan. That's all. So this is sure. Vivekananda came here to preach Hindu religion. Before that he had no idea of philanthropic work. And when he came back to India, "Oh, this is your religion. Oh, so many Indians they are suffering. So many Indians they have no shelter. Oh, give them shelter. Give them hospital." Now he became... And collected fund. Vivekananda started new religion, daridra-nārāyaṇa. Daridra-nārāyaṇa means the poor, poverty-stricken Bowery men, they should be served, not Kṛṣṇa. That is their mission. The Ramakrishna Mission means to serve daridra-nārāyaṇa. "Nārāyaṇa has become daridra." He has invented some words, "Nārāyaṇa has become daridra." You see Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa, so opulent. According to Vivekananda, He has become poor now.

Festival Lectures

Janmastami Lord Sri Krsna's Appearance Day Lecture -- London, August 21, 1973:

Amrtatva means immortality. So the modern civilization, they have no idea, either the great philosopher, great politician or great scientist, that it is possible to attain the stage of immortality. Amṛtatva. We are all amṛta. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, na jāyate na mrīyate vā kadācin. We living entities, we never die, never take birth. Nityaḥ śāśvato yaṁ, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Every one of us, we are eternal, nityaḥ śāśvato; Purāṇa, the oldest. And after annihilation of this body, we do not die. Na hanyate. The body is finished, but I have to accept another body. Tathā dehāntara prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13).

Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami's Appearance Day -- Vrndavana, October 19, 1972:

If you say, "How I can say this gentleman, nicely dressed gentleman, lowest of the mankind? He has already passed his university education. He has got big, big degrees. And how I can say that he's the lowest of the mankind?" the answer is given by Kṛṣṇa. I do not require to answer. The answer is given there: māyayā apahṛta-jñānā. Māyayā. Certainly he's educated. He has got degrees. That's all right. But the essence of his knowledge has been taken away by māyā. Māyayā apahṛta-jñānā asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. Essence of knowledge is Kṛṣṇa. That he has no idea, what is Kṛṣṇa. This is the position of asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. The mahātmānas tu daivī-prakṛtim āśritāḥ, and the narādhamas, there are, there are asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. Just like Hiraṇyakaśipu and his son, Prahlāda. Prahlāda is mahātmā. Daivī-prakṛtim āśritāḥ. And Hiraṇyakaśipu is demon. He is māyayā apahṛta-jñānā asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ. There are two classes of men, daivī-prakṛtim āśritāḥ and asurī-bhāvam āśritāḥ.

Govardhana Puja Lecture -- New York, November 4, 1966:

According to Bhāgavata, a living entity, before his death he is, by superior judgement it is thought that "Where this living entity, where this particular man or dog or anything... He is dying. Where it will be placed?" So when that place is sanctioned, the place is selected, that "This particular man should go in such and such body," then he is at once transferred to the semina. That small particle, spiritual particle, is transferred to the semina of the father, and the father injects the semina into the mother's womb, and it gets a particular type of body according to his karma. That is Bhāgavata's version. But the Sāṅkhya philosophy, they say, because they have no idea that there is spiritual spark, they think simply that, simply the father and mother's or man and woman's sex life produces life.

Jagannatha Deities Installation Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.13-14 -- San Francisco, March 23, 1967:

Guest (3): You mentioned about how you should fulfill the supreme law, and you should be what your..., what the spirit tells you or what this Supreme Being, whatever, this tells you? I mean, like, if you, like, if you meditate a lot and you really, well, you feel something, that you should do something...

Prabhupāda: It is not something. It must be actual fact. There is no question of "something." "Something" is vague. You must speak what is that something.

Guest (3): Well, let's say it'd be to...

Prabhupāda: Oh, that you cannot express. That means you have no idea. So you have to learn. This is the process. I am speaking of the process. So if you want to have knowledge of Absolute Truth, the first thing is, basic principle is, faith. Then you must be thoughtful. Then you must be devoted, and you must hear from authentic sources. In this way, these are the different methods. And when you come to the ultimate knowledge, from Brahman platform to Paramātmā platform, then Paramātmā to the Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead, then your duty shall be to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the perfection of your active life. These are the process.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Address -- Detroit Airport, July 16, 1971:

Recently I was in Moscow. I had a talk with a big professor of Indology, Professor Kotovsky. So he was speaking that "Swamijī, after this finishing, annihilation of this body, everything is finished." So I was astonished that a learned professor who is posing himself on a very advanced post, he has no idea about the soul and the body, how they are different, how the soul migrating from one body to another. And everyone is accepting this body as the self, and "There is no life after death; therefore make the best use of this bad bargain and enjoy sense gratification as far as possible." But this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is checking this wrong progress of human civilization. Our first proposition is that "You are not this body; you are spirit soul. Some way or other, you are in contact with this material world, and you have got this material body, and under illusion, you are accepting something which you are not."

Initiation Lectures

Sannyasa Initiation -- Los Angeles, February 20, 1970:

They have no idea. They say that we can imagine an idea. According to impersonalists, they say sādhakānām hitārthaya brahmaṇo rūpa kalpanaḥ. Because we cannot concentrate our mind in impersonal therefore they say, "Imagine some form." They think that Kṛṣṇa is imagination. Yes. (laughter) That is their Māyāvāda. Kṛṣṇa was personally present and He killed all the demons. Still, these demons says imagination. That is demonic. Therefore we do not agree with them.

Lecture at Sannyasa Initiation -- Los Angeles, May 27, 1972:

So, but this foolish civilization, they do not know it. It is our duty on behalf of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa wants it. Lord Caitanya wants it. Therefore, success or no success, that doesn't matter, Kṛṣṇa will help us, but it is our duty to enlighten the whole human society with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are forgetful of Kṛṣṇa. They do not know what is God, therefore they say that God is dead, there is no God, God is impersonal. So many theories they have got. Actually, they have no idea what is God. On the other hand, against this propaganda of godlessness, we are giving directly God. Here is God, Kṛṣṇa. We give His name, His father's name, His address, His activities (laughter), everything. So these rascals may be informed at least. This is our duty. Try your best, and be blessed by Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya.

General Lectures

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

We say God is almighty, all-powerful, but we have no idea what is meant by "all-powerful." We think that all-powerful means "I am so much powerful. He may be ten times powerful than me." Or somebody says, "twenty times." "All right, let us compromise. Fifty times." (laughter) This kind of speculation is like the frog's speculation within the well. There is a frog within the well, and one of his friends came to him, "My dear friend, I have seen a vast mass of water, Atlantic Ocean." "What is that Atlantic Ocean?" "It is vast." "How much? Maybe ten times more than this? Or twenty times? Come on." (laughter) "No, no. It is very, very vast." So these rascal speculation of God is like that the speculation of the frog about Atlantic Ocean. These mundane philosopher, scientists, they are thinking of God in that way, the Dr. Frog's philosophy. The Dr. Frog's philosophy will not help you to understand what is God.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:
Prabhupāda: So Kṛṣṇa can change matter into spirit, spirit into matter. That is in His power. The rascals and fools, when Kṛṣṇa appears in His own body, ātmamāyā, they think it is just like material body, but they do not know that to Kṛṣṇa there is no such distinction of material and spiritual. Even accepting that He had got a material body, there is no hampering—He has changed into spiritual body. Otherwise how is it possible, Kṛṣṇa, He has got material body, now He was seven-years' boy, Kṛṣṇa is lifting the whole Govardhana Hill? And as much as Kṛṣṇa desires, "Let this big planet sun float in the air," so is it difficult for Him to lift the whole hill? There is no difficulty at all. That is omnipotency. And those who cannot understand Kṛṣṇa, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā (BG 9.11), deride Him, "He is a man, therefore these are all stories," they have no idea of Kṛṣṇa. But we don't take Him as ordinary human being. Therefore He can change anything into anything, matter into spirit, spirit into matter, as He likes. That is His omnipotency. Otherwise what is the meaning of omnipotency?

Śyāmasundara: Because He is the central monad which controls all monads... Prabhupāda: Yes. Everything. So taking the theory, the central monad and the other monad, the central monad is the cause of it. But he does not believe in the cause.

Philosophy Discussion on David Hume:

Prabhupāda: His knowledge is imperfect.

Śyāmasundara: He says just like a cherry, say a fruit...

Prabhupāda: In logic there is relative study, and at the end of all relative truth there is absolute truth, the summum bonum. So he has no idea of the summum bonum, or the substance.

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Prabhupāda: Happiness everyone thinks. Even a drunkard, he is feeling happiness. Is that happiness? The hog, by eating stool, is feeling happiness. Is that happiness?

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.

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Prabhupāda:. No, there is aim, that Kṛṣṇa is giving knowledge also. The Vedas are there, Kṛṣṇa is coming, giving knowledge, that this kind of playing will not help you, therefore I, His request, you give up all this playing, come to Me. This is the point.

Śyāmasundara: So Hegel has a method for relating all phenomenal objects to this whole, or to the ...

Prabhupāda: Hegel's method will not do because he has no idea. Hegel's method will not help.

Śyāmasundara: His method is called the dialectic.

Prabhupāda: Dialectic means speculation.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Prabhupāda: This is, this worship and the concept of worship, if actually one believes or knows, so the real worship is that which pleases God. If you manufacture... Just like I want a glass of water, and if my servant gives me a glass of hot milk, is that worship? Worship means what I want, if you give me, then I am satisfied. But if I want a cold glass of water, you give me..., if you think, "No. Milk is better than water," so that, will that satisfy me? So these concocted ideas of worshiping will actually satisfy God, that is wrong theory, that one can worship God according to his own dictation. That means his God is fictitious. He has no idea of God. And he can concoct ideas. But actually if there is God, one should worship according to the dictation of God. But if he does not know what is God, what is the dictation of God, then he is a rascal. What is the use of his so-called worship? It may be to some extent a sentiment, but that is not worship. If you want to worship God, you must worship God according to His dictation. That is real worship.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Prabhupāda: What will be the answer? If you want to worship God, you must worship according to the dictation of God. If you have no such dictation, if you have no idea of God, then how you can worship God? You can worship a ghost, according unto you. If freedom is given to your conception, then you can worship a dog instead of God, because you do not know what is God and what God wants you to do. So without the conception of God, real, how one can worship God by whimsical ideas?

Hayagrīva: This has always been a very touchy subject in the schools.

Prabhupāda: This is the real subject.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Hayagrīva: ...it was extremely difficult for Bryan to maintain any kind of prosecution with these...

Prabhupāda: But because both, we say that both of them are ignorant about the beginning. So if both of them are ignorant, so either you say six thousand, seven thousand, or six million, this is all imagination. It is not fact. But the six thousand or seven thousand, that is not the fact-millions and millions of years. But the fact is this, that God created this cosmic manifestation, and He impregnated the living entities to appear in different types of body according to the soul's desire. That I have already explained. The soul... "Man proposes; God disposes." Not only human form of life but all the animal forms of life, they are also from the very beginning. Not like Darwin's theory that there was no human form of life in the beginning. That is a wrong theory. All the forms of life were there, and the, actually the body is external; within the body there is the soul. So the body is created by material nature and the soul is part and parcel of God. This is the real idea. So how they can refute this idea if they have no idea about the beginning of life?

Hayagrīva: It was very difficult on the basis of the Bible. The Vedas date the creation back, oh...

Prabhupāda: That it is a question of time, and it is the beginning.

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Prabhupāda: Everything is good! That is our philosophy. When the God kills the demons, immediately flowers are showered upon Him from the sky. You have not read in...? He is good. He is always good. He has no idea of God, and still he poses himself as philosopher. God is good. Kṛṣṇa chanted, danced with others' wives at dead of night. Any man who does it, he is immediately a debauch, licentious. But still we worship that rasa-līlā. We worship that rasa-līlā. We keep the picture of God's dancing with others' wives. That is God. In all circumstances, God is good. That is worshipable. That is idea of God. Not that I put Him under my judgment: "Oh, yes, you are good, but not so good." Then I am a fool. I create my own God. "I am better than God. I can create God." No. God creates you. You cannot create God.

Philosophy Discussion on William James:

Prabhupāda: So one may not feel like that, that means that God does not exist? Suppose one man does not feel very good talking about God. That means God is null and void?

Śyāmasundara: According to James's philosophy...

Prabhupāda: That means he is an atheist. He's a godless.

Śyāmasundara: He considers himself to be a religious man.

Prabhupāda: Considers... He has no idea of God. What kind of a religious man he is? We say he is a nonsense.

Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer:

Prabhupāda: No, not for a second. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Not for a second you can live without will. You must will. Because we are living.

Śyāmasundara: What about the Buddhists, who desire...

Prabhupāda: That... They do not believe in the soul. They have no idea.

Śyāmasundara: They desire a state of non-willingness. The Buddhists desire a state of no will.

Prabhupāda: No, their philosophy is that willingness is a symptom at a certain condition of material combination. So you dismantle this material condition so there will be no more willing or no more suffering. That is their philosophy. But that is not fact, that's not fact.

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Devotee: By following the regulative principles, we develop a Kṛṣṇa conscious conscience.

Prabhupāda: No. Regulative principle is good—he may be, one may be moral, ethical—but that does not mean he is a Kṛṣṇa conscious. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person, even without moral principles, he is higher than the person without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, simply sticking to the moral and ethical principles, he has no... Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12). Anyone who is not a devotee of Hari, Kṛṣṇa, he has no good qualification. He may be good morally, good about following rules and regulations, but that does not mean that he is good. We have many instances in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Those who are strictly following their religious principles but has no idea of devotional service, he does not gain anything in this life. And a person who has engaged himself in the devotional service of the Lord, even if he falls down due to immaturity, he has gained so many things.

Philosophy Discussion on Sigmund Freud:
Prabhupāda: A person does not like to bear children; therefore this contraceptive method is there. It is botheration, painful. It is called pain. (indistinct) (indistinct) means pain. So nature is prohibiting that, (indistinct), child delivery, so the man is also given so much trouble. The woman is also given so much trouble. So why is the trouble there? The (indistinct) for everything is don't be implicated in this sex life. If you simply tolerating a little itching sensation, then you will not have so much pain. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). These ordinary men who are attached to the materialistic way of life, their only happiness is this sexual intercourse. So śāstra says this happiness derived from sexual intercourse is very, very insignificant. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham. This is not happiness. It is very (indistinct) third class or even lower than happiness. But because we have no idea of other happiness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the materialistic way of life, that is the happiness. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham. That is a very insignificant happiness. Then how is this happiness experienced? Kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham. You have got itching, and if you scratch like this, so you get some happiness, but aftereffects of that happiness is very abominable. So even if you have legal sex, the mother has to undergo the labor pains and the father has to take responsibility for raising the children nicely, give them education. Of course, one who is irresponsible like cats and dogs, that is another thing. But those who are actually gentlemen, for them it is not painful. Therefore they are avoiding children by contraceptive methods, because they know to raise children is a very difficult job. So śāstra's injunction is simply to try to tolerate this itching sensation and you save so much pain. This is real psychology. That itching sensation can be tolerated if one practices this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you will not be very much attracted by this sex life.
Philosophy Discussion on Sigmund Freud:

Prabhupāda: Evidently he is frustrated, without any knowledge of religion. He had no idea. He has seen that so many sentimental religious system, and he has concluded like that. But first of all let him understand what is religion. Religion cannot come into existence without understanding the idea of God. Religion without God cannot be religion. According to Vedic system, religion means the order given by God. But if one has no conception of God, that there is no question of religion. So Godless religion is, certainly, it is sentiment. That is not religion. So he has studied something which is not religion; therefore he has got so many doubts about religion. Real religion is that there is God, that is a fact, and whatever orders the God gives, that is religion. So he does not know what is God. How he will know what order He is giving? So for him everything is not religion.

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Śyāmasundara: So actually he is defining the soul but he doesn't call it the soul.

Prabhupāda: He has no idea of the soul. Poor fund of knowledge

Śyāmasundara: He calls it the center.

Prabhupāda: Yes. He is missing the point.

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Hayagrīva: In the atheistic Communism he says, "The goals of religion, deliverance from evil, reconciliation with God, rewards in the hereafter, and so on, turns into worldly promises about freedom from care for one's daily bread, the just distribution of material goods, universal prosperity in the future, and shorter working hours." In other words, material, worldly promises are given.

Prabhupāda: In the Communism?

Hayagrīva: In, in atheistic Com..., in Communism.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But they have no idea of spiritual life, neither they can understand that there is spirit with the soul, within the body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). That they cannot understand.

Hayagrīva: But he feels that socialism or Marxism, Communism, cannot possibly replace religion in the proper traditional sense.

Prabhupāda: No, it is not religion. It is simply mental speculation—how to adjust material things. It will never be able to adjust it. That is their simply imagination. It will all fail at the ultimate end.

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Prabhupāda: ...speculation. That is our opinion. They are simply mentally speculating. It has no value. Unless you are directly in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and assimilate the instructions given by Him, by all your reason, and then in practical life you execute it, then one can become guru, he can do good to others; otherwise not possible.

Hayagrīva: And on the other hand religion, the Christian religion which was understood in the Middle Ages, has become strange and unintelligible to the man of today.

Prabhupāda: It is because it is simply dogmatic. The preachers of the religion, they have no idea, clear idea, but officially they speak something. Neither he understands, neither he can make others to understand. But Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not such big thing. It is clear in every respect. Therefore this is the expected movement as Mr. Jung wanted. So every sane man should cooperate with this movement and liberate the human society from the gross darkness of ignorance.

Philosophy Discussion on B. F. Skinner:

Śyāmasundara: He says there are three things that this society has that keeps people from disobeying, that is God...

Prabhupāda: This is all speculation. It has no meaning.

Śyāmasundara: ...God, the police, and what other people will think.

Prabhupāda: But if you have no idea of God, what is God, and why am I expecting that you will fear God? You do not know what is God, and you are talking of God.

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

Śyāmasundara: He says that the opposite of static religion is dynamic religion. He says that this type of religion...

Prabhupāda: Dynamic because he has no idea of God and God consciousness. He thinks it is dea..., static. But they can see practically. We are Kṛṣṇa conscious, how much activities we have got. Deny it. So he does not know what is God, what is religion, and he is philosopher. You see?

Śyāmasundara: He says that... He would probably call our type of religion dynamic religion.

Prabhupāda: Dynamic, yes.

Philosophy Discussion on Aristotle:

Hayagrīva: One last statement from Aristotle. He states, in his Politics, he says, "The beauty of the body is seen, whereas the beauty of the soul is not seen." Is this true?

Prabhupāda: Beauty of the soul is real beauty, and beauty of the body is superficial. Not every body is beautiful. There are so many bodies very ugly, and there are so many bodies very beautiful. So the material sense, this ugliness and beautifulness, they are all artificial. But the beauty of the soul is real; that is not artificial. So unless we see the beauty of the Supersoul, Kṛṣṇa, we have no idea what is actually beauty. Therefore devotees, they want to see the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, not any artificial beauty of this material world.

Philosophy Discussion on Thomas Aquinas:

Prabhupāda: It..., it is the same argument, that when you are dressed it appears that you are not different from the dress. The coat is moving, the pants is moving, but actually it is completely different from the person who is putting on the coat and shirt.

Hayagrīva: So in other words they, he, he actually had no idea of spiritual form as such.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Hayagrīva: He considered that matter was necessary to give the soul form.

Prabhupāda: No. He has got his original form.

Philosophy Discussion on George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel:

Prabhupāda: Physical extinction, everyone says that—even Christian religion says—you go to hell, go to heaven. So who goes to heaven? Who goes to heaven? What is the qualification? Reasonably, one who has given up this physical.

Hayagrīva: He says spiritual extinction as well as physical, nirvāṇa.

Prabhupāda: But then he has no idea what is spiritual. Spiritual is eternal, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). How does it, spiritually... Spirit is also annihilated, then where is the difference between matter and spirit? Imperfect knowledge. And still they are big philosopher. Scanty knowledge.

Philosophy Discussion on Thomas Henry Huxley:

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

Prabhupāda: Yes.

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

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

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

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

Hayagrīva: You said that.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I think this is my statement.

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

Prabhupāda: So without religion, without spiritual ideas, then what is the difference between dogs and man? There is no difference. Dharmeṇa hīna paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. That is the verdict of Vedic civilization. If you do not know what is the spiritual necessity of life, and for awakening his spiritual interest of life the religious system is introduced in the human society... But in that, of course so-called religion system will not help. Therefore we repeatedly say religion means the execution of the order of God. So if you have no conception of God, no conception, no idea what is God's order, then there is no religion also. That is not religion. So that kind of religion is also, can be neglected, but religion must be there. Otherwise the human society becomes another edition of the animal society.

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

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: He's trying to make an ideal arrangement where no conflicts come about.

Prabhupāda: That is materially impossible.

Hayagrīva: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Unless you come to the spiritual platform, that is not possible at all. But he has no idea of the spiritual life. But these dreams are there because everyone is spiritual being, so he wants that ideal society. But because he has no spiritual idea or aim, he is simply putting some program which is almost Utopia. It will never be possible.

Hayagrīva: He feels that Walden II should be a community without a leader, that uh...

Prabhupāda: He wants to become leader.

Page Title:Have no idea (Lectures)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Serene
Created:26 of Jun, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=129, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:129