Indirect (Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"Indirect"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.13-17 -- Los Angeles, November 29, 1968:

Nandarāṇī: When householder women raise their children in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this seems to be an indirect service for Kṛṣṇa. Should they try to serve Him more directly by, you know, maybe cooking in the temple or being, you know, something like this, more directly, or is raising children and just having the household function, is that enough service? Is that enough service?

Prabhupāda: Yes, the thing is we should be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Just like electrification. Touching electricity by one wire, another joining another, another wire, if the touch is there factual, then the electricity is everywhere. Similarly if our Kṛṣṇa consciousness is rightly connected, then there is no question of direct or indirect. Because absolute world there is no difference. As soon as it is touched with the direct connection... That is called disciplic succession. Because the connection is coming down one after another, so if we touch here, the spiritual master who is connected by the same way, then the electric connection is there. There is no question of direct or indirect. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). Simply we have to see whether the connection is disconnected. If the connection is there, tight, then the electricity come without fail. So in our conditioned stage there will be so many doubts, so many implication. But the same thing as I gave you example, that don't be very much hasty to receive the result immediately. Simply we have to follow. We have to follow. Tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt. This is advised by Rūpa Gosvāmī. The six things we have to take particular care, and six things we have to avoid in order to be perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG 2.13-17 -- Los Angeles, November 29, 1968:

Yes, the thing is we should be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Just like electrification. Touching electricity by one wire, another joining another, another wire, if the touch is there factual, then the electricity is everywhere. Similarly if our Kṛṣṇa consciousness is rightly connected, then there is no question of direct or indirect. Because absolute world there is no difference. As soon as it is touched with the direct connection... That is called disciplic succession. Because the connection is coming down one after another, so if we touch here, the spiritual master who is connected by the same way, then the electric connection is there. There is no question of direct or indirect. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2).

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

Devotee: "Anyone who has completely surrendered himself to the activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is no longer obliged to anyone, nor is he a debtor to anyone as we are in the ordinary course of activities. It is said, 'Anyone who has completely surrendered unto Kṛṣṇa, Mukunda, giving up all other duties, is no longer a debtor, nor is he obliged to anyone, not the demigods nor the sages nor the people in general, nor kinsmen, nor humanity, nor forefathers.' That is the indirect hint given by Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna in this verse, and the matter will be more clearly explained in the following verses."

Prabhupāda: That's all. So? There is a verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,

devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṟṇāṁ

na kiṅkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan

sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ

gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam

(SB 11.5.41)

The meaning of this verse is that anyone who is born in the human society, civilized society, he is indebted immediately. Just like child is born in a family. So according to Vedic injunction, he immediately becomes indebted to so many items. What is that?

Lecture on BG 3.1-5 -- Los Angeles, December 20, 1968:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "The ultimate goal is Kṛṣṇa, because the philosophers who are also sincerely searching after the Absolute Truth come in the end to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. The whole process is to understand the real position of the self in relation to the Superself. The indirect process is philosophical speculation by which gradually one may come to the point of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the other process is by directly connecting with everything in Kṛṣṇa consciousness."

Prabhupāda: Yes. If you want to go to the goal by philosophical speculation, analyzing "This is not spirit," the neti neti, "this is not Brahman, this is not spirit," that also will help you. But in this age, such philosophical study... Not in this age, every age. That is a very long term process. But when people lived for a very, very long time, it may be it was possible to arrive at the goal of life by such process, but in this age there is no time.

Lecture on BG 3.1-5 -- Los Angeles, December 20, 1968:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "The indirect process is philosophical speculation by which gradually one may come to the point of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the other process is by directly connecting with everything in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Out of these two, the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is better because the philosophical process does not purify the senses. Kṛṣṇa consciousness..."

Prabhupāda: Philosophical process... You can show by jugglery of words your academic qualification, but it will not take you to the right... We have seen many such philosophical speculators. They are simply talking in the meeting.

Lecture on BG 4.5 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968:

In this way, Viṣṇu, Mahā-Viṣṇu, is expansion of the expansion, kalā. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48). Yasya kalā-viśeṣaḥ. Kalā means expansion of the expansion. That Mahā-Viṣṇu is kalā of Kṛṣṇa. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **.

So not necessarily all appearances of Kṛṣṇa is direct or He, Himself. There are expansions and expansion of the expansion. That is clearly explained. Ete ca aṁśa-kalāḥ. Some of them are direct, some of them are indirect. But this word Kṛṣṇa is, kṛṣṇas tu, He is but the Supreme Person. Bhagavān svayam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Lecture on BG 4.10 -- Vrndavana, August 2, 1974:

They simply make negative. Negative will not help us. Negative, there is of requisition negativeness.

But here it is said that... "One is vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ (BG 2.56), or you have to be detached from all these nonsense things, but the result will be, by jñāna-tapasā, by knowledge and penance and austerities, when you'll be purified, then you'll come back to Me." This is positive. This positive... Our philosophy's positive, not negative. Negative is, I mean to say, that is... What is called? Anya-vyatireka... Sanskrit. Direct and indirect. This is indirect method. And direct method is positive. So you be positively engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in Kṛṣṇa's service, then you'll always remain on the transcendental platform, making the material activities zero. That is wanted.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, March 26, 1968:

This is a different system. And the topmost. (Sanskrit commentary) Tvam anyo vā tadṛṣo mad-āśrayo mad-dāsya-sakhyādy-ekatamena bhāvena.

There are five kinds of direct āsakti. Āsakti means attachment. And there are seven kinds of indirect attachment. Indirect attachment is not bhakti, but direct attachment is called bhakti. If you are attached to Kṛṣṇa by the direct method, it is called devotional service. And if you are attached to Kṛṣṇa by indirect method, then it is not devotional service. But that is also attachment. Just like Kaṁsa. Kaṁsa was the maternal uncle of Kṛṣṇa, and there was a foretelling that Kaṁsa would be killed by his sister's son, eighth son of his sister. So Kaṁsa became very anxious and he wanted to kill his younger sister, Devakī, Kṛṣṇa's mother. So she was saved by her husband, Kṛṣṇa's father, Vasudeva, by some compromise. The last compromise was...

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Fiji, May 24, 1975:

The attachment is there. Mayy āsakta-manāḥ. Kaṁsa, out of fearfulness, because he heard that Kṛṣṇa will kill him, so he was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, "Whether Kṛṣṇa is coming to kill me? Whether Kṛṣṇa is coming to kill me?" So he also became attached, bhayāt. Kāmād bhayāt krodhāt. There are so many examples. So these are indirect attachment. And direct attachment, just think of what is the result of direct attachment. If by indirect attachment they became so exalted, when you become directly attached with Kṛṣṇa by love, just see what is your position. So that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Calcutta, March 8, 1972:

This is also Kṛṣṇa. But their poor brain cannot understand. They simply preach impersonalism. But here it is described, what is impersonalism. Impersonalism means expansion of Kṛṣṇa's energy. That is impersonal. That is also Kṛṣṇa, but indirect. Everything is there, mat-sthāni sarva..., but you cannot find out Kṛṣṇa there. So this material world is also expansion of Kṛṣṇa's energy. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vayuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4). "They are also My energy, but they're separated." So although separated, because it is coming from Kṛṣṇa, it is also Kṛṣṇa. Because everything coming out of gold, that is also gold. So in higher sense, practically there is no... (end)

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

Because the author, Vyāsadeva, after compiling Vedānta-sūtra under the instruction of Nārada Muni, his guru—Vyāsadeva's guru is Nārada Muni—he was not satisfied even after compiling Vedānta-sūtra. He was not very happy. So Nārada Muni advised him that "You should directly describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then you'll be happy. It is indirect. All the Vedic literatures, they are indirect. You directly..." Therefore Vyāsadeva took Vedānta-sūtra and from the very beginning of Vedānta-sūtra, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), he commented on the Vedānta-sutra. Janmādy asya yataḥ anvayad itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ/ tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yatra sūrayaḥ. In this way. Here Kṛṣṇa personally gives the Brahma-sūtra. So Brahma-sūtra's commentary is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.1 -- London, August 6, 1971:

Pradyumna: "Śrī Vyāsadeva asserts herein that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead and all others are His direct or indirect plenary portions or portion of the portion. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has even more explicitly explained the subject matter in his Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha, and Brahmā, the original living being..."

Prabhupāda: Jīva Gosvāmī has got six sandarbhas, theses: Bhagavat-sandarbha, Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha, Tattva-sandarbha, Prīti-sandarbha, like that. So these books are... I don't think it is published in English. So these sandarbhas are so philosophically discussed that throughout the whole world, there is not a single philosopher who can defy these Jīva Gosvāmī's six sandarbhas.

Lecture on SB 1.1.1 -- London, August 7, 1971:

Pradyumna: "Obeisances unto the Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, directly indicates Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the divine son of Vasudeva and Devakī. This fact will be more explicitly explained in the text of this work. Śrī Vyāsadeva asserts herein that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, and all others are His direct or indirect plenary portions or portions of the portion."

Prabhupāda: Yes. This will be explained in the Third Chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto. When describing different incarnations, so in that list of different incarnations, Kṛṣṇa's name is also there. So Vyāsadeva has purposefully explained in that verse that there are so many incarnations. It has been described there that Kṛṣṇa, or God, has got so many incarnations, just like so many waves of the river. If you have got some experience of the flowing river you'll find so many waves are coming, one after another, one after another. He has got so many incarnations that you cannot count even.

Lecture on SB 1.1.3 -- London, August 20, 1971:

You have seen sometimes the pigeons fighting. But a pigeon and crow does not fight. A pigeon and pigeon fights. So this is also another indirect way of love. You'll see the pigeons, they will fight and again sit down in the assembly of the pigeons, not that the pigeon is going to the assembly of crows. Go on.

Lecture on SB 1.2.1 -- New Vrindaban, September 1, 1972:

I do not know how many hairs are on my head, and still, the rascals claim, "I am God." How much rascaldom it is, you can just imagine. God is not like that. God knows everything. That is God. Anvayād itarataś ca. Indirectly and directly. Directly I can see this is my finger, but I do not know what is the composition of the finger. So direct, indirect. Indirectly I do not know. Directly I can see. So we may have some experience of direct perception, but God has got both direct and indirect perception. We do not know how a flower is coming out, but God knows how the flower is coming out.

So in this way, if we study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we can understand what is the nature of God. Not we manufacture, but the reason, the philosophy, the authority, is everything there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- Montreal, August 2, 1968:

Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. He attracts everyone. Kṛṣṇa attracts both the nondevotees and devotees. Devotees are very much attracted to Kṛṣṇa to render service, and nondevotees are attracted to Kṛṣṇa to kill Him, but everyone is attracted. Somebody is attracted to vanquish God. That is also another attraction, indirect attraction. If I always think of my enemy, "How shall I vanquish him?" that is an attraction. And if I think of somebody, of my friend or somebody, "How shall I make him happy?" that is also attraction.

Lecture on SB 1.5.11 -- New Vrindaban, June 10, 1969:

"You should compile one first-class literature which the swan class men will hear, will chant and enjoy. So far, what you have done, that will be enjoyed by the crow class men. But you do something which will be enjoyed by the... Then you will be satisfied. Otherwise, you'll not be satisfied." That was his indirect hint. "You are not satisfied by, even after compiling Vedānta-sūtra. That means, that indicates that these literatures will not be satisfactory for the swan class of men, or paramahaṁsa." Paramahaṁsa means the topmost transcendentalists.

Lecture on SB 1.8.25 -- Vrndavana, October 5, 1974:

So somebody wants to love Kṛṣṇa as enemy, just like Kaṁsa. That is also vṛndāvana-līlā. He is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa in a different way, how to kill Kṛṣṇa. Pūtanā, she also apparently came as lover of Kṛṣṇa, to offer her breast for sucking; but the internal desire was how to kill Kṛṣṇa. But that is also taken indirect love, indirect love. Anvayāt.

Lecture on SB 1.8.44 -- Los Angeles, May 6, 1973:

What is that prayer? Now call Kṛṣṇa by ill names. That is their prayer. They offer prayer to the Supreme that "You have no eyes, You have no hand, You have no leg, You cannot speak, You cannot..." So many things, all negation. So is that prayer? If I say, "You have no eyes," so in an indirect way it is to call you, "You are blind." If you have no legs, that means you are lame. You cannot hear: you are deaf. You cannot speak: you are dumb. So is that prayer? If I say, "My dear sir, you are blind, you are lame, you have no eyes..."

Lecture on SB 1.8.44 -- Mayapura, October 24, 1974:

The purpose, it is said, kavibhir nirūpitaḥ: "By high-class scholars, they have ascertained." What is it? Yad uttama-śloka-guṇānuvarṇanam: (SB 1.5.22) "God is to be worshiped simply by glorifying Him by the best words, uttama-śloka." Not that "My dear God, You have no eyes. You have no leg. You have no hand. You have no mouth." What is this? It is the indirect way of insulting God. If one man has no eyes, then what he is called? He is called blind. So if one man has no legs, he is called lame. So similarly, if we worship God that "You are blind. You are lame. You are headless. You are brainless," what is this worship? Similarly, this kind of worship-daridra-nārāyaṇa, "Nārāyaṇa is daridra"—is just like that. No. Here Kuntī says that kala-padaiḥ, Kala-padaiḥ, "by chosen words."

Lecture on SB 2.3.17 -- Los Angeles, June 12, 1972:

Not new. The old, original body, spiritual body. Therefore, as soon as you get the spiritual body, the sun has no power to take it away. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, that "The fire cannot burn it, the weapon cannot kill it, the water cannot moist it..." In so many way, indirect way, are described. The spirit cannot be destroyed by anything material. Matter... Just like this body is matter. This body can be cut into pieces, but the spirit soul cannot be. The body can be burnt into ashes, but the spirit soul cannot be.

Lecture on SB 3.26.6 -- Bombay, December 18, 1974:

Anartha upaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam. Sākṣāt, directly. Yo may have many other means to become free from this useless, purposeless life. There may be karma, jñāna, yoga. But that is indirect. That is not actually factual. Suppose a poor man is trying to get out of this condition, poor condition. He becomes a rich man. So that is also purposeless. From poor man to become rich man, it is also purposeless. Because today you are rich man; again you will become poor man. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30), chewing the chewed, sometimes poor man, sometimes... Practically we see a man in our presence. He was very poor man; he became rich man. And again his everything, business, failed.

Lecture on SB 5.5.1 -- Johannesburg, October 20, 1975:

He has got full knowledge. We may not have because we are very tiny. A child may not have knowledge, but the father knows everything. Similarly, He is the supreme father. He knows everything. He has got full knowledge. Anvayād itarataś ca artheṣu. There are things, indirect and direct. In both ways He is abhijña; He is well aware, everything. Then the next question is svarāṭ. Svarāṭ. Because we are thinking in our own way of life, that "If God has got so much knowledge, wherefrom He got it?" Because we have got experience that whenever we require knowledge we go to a superior person and take knowledge from him—"Then wherefrom God has got so much knowledge?" Therefore the answer is svarāṭ. Svarāṭ means He is fully independent. He is not dependent for knowledge to anyone else. So these things are there. We have to study very nicely.

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

So he said, "I want to become immortal." Lord Brahmā said, "That is not in my power because myself is not also immortal? How can I give immortality?"

So he was a demon, he thought by cheating Brahmā, indirect way, he took all the benediction, that "I shall not die by any, killed by any man, any demigod, any animal, or any living being. I shall not die in daytime, I shall not die at night, I shall not die in the sky, I shall not die on the land, I shall not die in water." In this way, as much as possible, by the definition of negation, no this, not this, not this, he thought, "Now I have become immortal."

Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Johannesburg, October 22, 1975:

Then one day it will become so, that although God is unconquerable, you will conquer Him. Prāyena ajita jito 'py asi. You'll conquer over God. You cannot conquer God, but God agrees to be conquered by His devotee. This is the indirect meaning, to become devotee. This is the way.

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Madras, January 2, 1976:

So simply to make the material world zero, śūnyavādi... Just like the Buddhist philosophers, they think śūnyavādi. And the Māyāvādī, nirviśeṣa. They are practically the same. The Buddhists say, "There is no God." And the Māyāvādīs say, "There is God, but He has no head, tail, nothing." It is in the indirect way to say there is no God. What is difference? If somebody says, "There is no God," and if somebody says, "There is God, but He has no head, He has no tail, He cannot eat, He cannot sleep," negatively. The same definition in a negative way. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that veda na māniyā bauddha haila nāstika. Our standard of philosophy, especially Vaiṣṇava philosophy... Anyone who does not accept the Vedic principle... Because vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15).

Lecture on SB 7.9.29 -- Mayapur, March 7, 1976:

So he did something very, I mean to say, obnoxious by offering all the benediction to Hiraṇyakaśipu. He was a very cunning materialist. First of all he asked for becoming immortal, but when he learned that that is not possible, then he thought, "I am very intelligent diplomat. I can screw out my fulfillment of desire in a indirect way." So all these people in this material world, they have got a cheating propensity. Out of four deficiency, one deficiency is cheating. Every wants... One wants to cheat his fellow man, man or beast, everyone. Even the dog, cats, they are also.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

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

Prabhupāda: Hmm. So our relationship with Kṛṣṇa, or God, there are different rasas. These are the primary rasas. And there are secondary, indirect rasas. Just like Kaṁsa. Kaṁsa wants to kill Kṛṣṇa. That is also another rasa. So what are the rasas, indirect rasas? Just read.

Pradyumna: "...which are called neutrality, servitorship..." Oh, indirect. "Comedy, compassion, fear, chivalry..."

Prabhupāda: Eh? What is that?

Pradyumna: Uh, comedy.

Prabhupāda: Comedy, hāsya-rasa, creating a situation that everyone will laugh. That is also rasa. Hāsya-rasa. Then?

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

So the fact is, the idea is that you can make your relationship with Kṛṣṇa with any kinds of rasas. Because beyond these twelve rasas, there is no other rasa. There are... These twelve rasas is complete: five primary and seven secondary. Direct and indirect. Therefore our Gosvāmīs' instruction is that you establish your relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Yena tena prakāreṇa manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet. Somehow or other, you establish, you fix up your mind in Kṛṣṇa. Just like Kaṁsa. He fixed up his mind on Kṛṣṇa how to kill Him. He was always thinking... He was also Kṛṣṇa conscious, that... But he was thinking, "As soon as Kṛṣṇa will take birth, I shall immediately kill Him." And he was anxious, "Whether He is born, whether He's born, whether He's born?"

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

"Whether He is born, whether He's born, whether He's born?" So when his sister, Devakī, was pregnant, he was thinking of the pregnant..., Kṛṣṇa, within the womb, "When He will take birth, when He will take birth, when He will take birth?" That was... That was also Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but that kind of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not bhakti. The indirect Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is not bhakti. That is attachment for Kṛṣṇa. That will also give benefit. Just like Kaṁsa and other enemies of Kṛṣṇa, who were killed by Kṛṣṇa, they got immediately salvation, immediately got salvation.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.111 -- New York, July 19, 1976:

They are thinking that there is no spiritual energy separately, but by combination of matter, chemicals, the spiritual energy comes into existence. That is wrong; that is not fact. Spiritual energy is completely different from the material energy. That is energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but spiritual energy is direct, and material energy is indirect. Both of them are energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and when there is question of energy, śakti, some energy, so we have to accept the source of energy. Just like electric energy. We see there is electric energy, but there is source of electricity, the powerhouse. How can you deny it? Those who are foolish persons, they think that a childish, that this bulb is giving light automatically. No. That is not fact. The fact is, the electric energy is coming from the background, the powerhouse, then about the bulb is giving light.

Festival Lectures

Janmastami Lord Sri Krsna's Appearance Day -- Montreal, August 16, 1968:

By definition, God is the perfect entity. So just as we've seen that existence of Kṛṣṇa cannot be checked... And actually nobody can prove that Kṛṣṇa does not exist, neither can they prevent Him from existing. This is sort of an indirect way to prod you to think about the position that you're in now. People become very proud because they have some material opulence or material knowledge, and they tend to think that they are self-sufficient. But actually, we're dependent on so many things. For example, we are just taking it for granted that our bodies will remain unmutilated by various forces in nature, when actually at any moment the bodies could be totally destroyed.

Varaha-dvadasi, Lord Varaha's Appearance Day Lecture Dasavatara-stotra Purport -- Los Angeles, February 18, 1970:

So the Lord appeared neither man nor animal. This is the difference between the Lord's intelligence and our intelligence. We are thinking that we can cheat the Lord by our intelligence, but the Lord is more intelligent than us. This Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted to cheat Brahmā by indirect definition. First of all he wanted to become immortal. Brahmā said, "That is not possible because even I am not immortal. Nobody in this material world is immortal. That is not possible." So Hiraṇyakaśipu, the demon... The demons are very intelligent. He thought that "Round about way I shall become immortal." He prayed to Brahmā that "Please give me the benediction that I shall not be killed by any man or any animal." Brahmā said, "Yes, that is all right." "I shall not be killed in the sky, on the water or on land."

General Lectures

Lecture -- Seattle, October 9, 1968:

Young woman: Is it better to inquire directly a question to the spiritual master directly, or is it better... Is it better to wait for the answer to come in an indirect, or in a less direct way? Is it better to...

Prabhupāda: No. You should find out a spiritual master. Everyone should find out. That is the injunction of the Vedas. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva... (MU 1.2.12). (break) If you are interested to understand the spiritual science, then you must find out. That is your business. All right. It is past ten, uh, nine. No? Yes. Now chant Hare Kṛṣ

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on David Hume:

Prabhupāda: Yes. So far direct perception is concerned, it is like that. But indirect perception, taken from authorities, that is different.

Śyāmasundara: He distrusts any kind of authority and says that the only kind of things that we can know for sure are mathematical proofs and immediate sense perceptions. Like we can perceive that there is time and there is space, like that. That is the only knowledge he will admit.

Prabhupāda: And beyond the time and space?

Śyāmasundara: We can't know anything.

Philosophy Discussion on Ludwig Wittgenstein:

Prabhupāda: Experience means by sense experience. That means whatever is not under direct perception, sense experience, that is false.

Śyāmasundara: Either direct or indirect. But how can I experience that statement that "Everything is Brahman"?

Prabhupāda: Indirect is there. Just like we accept that everything has got some cause. So I am a person; the cause is my person father, and his father is also person. Similarly, the ultimate father, the original father, although I have not seen, I cannot sense perceive, still, I must conclude that He is a person.

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Śyāmasundara: He says that the senses can say "This exists," but if they said something... The senses can say "This exists," but the indirect is what says "This being is." In other words, it describes what exists—not only that something exists but what exists. So this intellect, or this being able to describe the essence of something, proves that we are made of this essence, that this is our real nature, that we are... It is not simply blindly existing but that there is some essence. He says that to exist means to act. He says actuality means continuous activities; there's no..., no rest.

Prabhupāda: That is karma-yoga. Because work, activities, why they are so active? Because they want to enjoy. That's all. That's all.

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Sense enjoyment, you can say. Sensual enjoyment. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme proprietor of the senses. So when we help Kṛṣṇa for His sense enjoyment, then naturally we also (indistinct). Same example, just like a rasagullā. A rasagullā is to be enjoyed. So the hand takes it and puts it into the stomach. The hand does not enjoy it directly. And when it is put into the stomach, the hand also enjoys, the stomach enjoys, the eyes enjoys—everything. The direct enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa, and all others, indirect enjoyer. By satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, others will be satisfied. Not directly. Just like a beloved wife, when she sees the husband is eating nicely and he is enjoying nicely, she becomes happy. She becomes happy. So there are two different categories: the predominated category and the predominator category. So by seeing the predominated happy, the predominator becomes happy. That is (indistinct).

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Hayagrīva: The fifth... (break) This is the continuation of Carl Jung. The fifth type of rebirth is called transformation, and this is a form of indirect rebirth. One may use the initiation ceremony of the twice-born, of the brāhmaṇa. In other words, one has to witness or take part in some rite of transformation. This may be a ceremony, and through his presence at the ritual the individual participates in divine grace.

Prabhupāda: That is transfer, transformation of the body into knowledge. Dvija, this word, exact word, is dvija. One birth is by the father and mother, and the next birth is by the spiritual master and Vedic knowledge. That means..., that is also liberation. He understands that he is not this material body.