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Laws of nature (Lectures, SB cantos 1 - 4)

Expressions researched:
"law of nature" |"laws of nature" |"nature's law" |"nature's laws"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

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

This universe we see just like a ball, and this ball is covered by layers of water, fire, air, earth, like that. Circling. And each layer is ten times bigger than the previous layer. In this way the universe is covered. And beyond that covering, there is another sky. We are prisoned here within this universe. We are thinking that we are very free to move in the sky with, what is called, sputniks. But you cannot go beyond your limitation. That is not possible. They are going to the moon planet, again coming back. You see. That is our conditional life, that you are conditioned, packed up under certain regulations. If you violate, then you are punishable. You cannot violate. You have to remain within the conditions of material nature. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama... (BG 7.14). You cannot violate. If you want to violate the laws of nature, then you will create another difficulty. Another difficulty.

Lecture on SB 1.1.1 -- Caracas, February 20, 1975:

So far sex is concerned, that is also guaranteed. The birds, when they are in the eggs, there are two eggs, one male, one female. And you will find these birds, beasts, they are in pair. Just about two months before, when I was in Māyāpur, the two snakes, not very big, small, were found in the lavatory, and they were also two, in pair. That means this pair in birds and beasts, in animals, in snakes, they are found. The tiger, the elephant, there are two. So there is no scarcity of sex also. And so far defense is concerned, everyone is provided with nails, jaws, and wings, and everything. According to their capacity, they can defend also. So in this way, so far our four necessities of life required, it is already arranged by the laws of nature. So we, means the living entity, or the soul, we are wandering throughout the whole universe in different types of bodies. And because we are part and parcel of God, our four necessities of life, namely the food, shelter, sex and defense, that is already provided. So for these four things we need not work very hard.

Lecture on SB 1.1.2 -- London, August 15, 1971:

So that is our main business from the very beginning of life. Kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1). This human form of life is so rare, after many, many millions of birth, many many millions of years rotating through different species of life, by the evolutionary process, we have come to this human form of life. In this life also, if you are simply engaged in the matter of eating sleeping, sense gratification, and defending, then where is the advancement? No advancement. So that inquiry should be there, that "What I am? What I am put into these tribulations of conditional life under the laws of nature?" Unless this question arises in one's mind, he's not a human being. He's animal. Just Sanātana Gosvāmī went to Caitanya Mahāprabhu and although he was minister, very learned scholar, he said, "My dear Lord, people eulogize me as very big man, learned man, minister. But I know that I do not know what I am. This is my position." Grāmya-vyavahāre kaha ei paṇḍita, tāi satya māni. "The people, the ordinary people, common people, they say that 'You are so great scholar, so rich man, minister.' They say like that. But I know that I am fool number one. I do not know what I am." This is the position.

Lecture on SB 1.1.2 -- London, August 15, 1971:

Just think of your past life and now this life. Why there is difference? Because it is based on religion. Based on religion. Therefore religion, then economic development. Dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. Ātma-dharma or bhāgavata-dharma. Ātmānaṁ sarvato rakṣet. The śāstra says to protect yourself, that is a... What is called? In English there is a proverb: "Self-preservation is the first law of nature"? What is that? So self means soul. Your soul may not fall down. That is your first business. Ātmā, ātmā means soul, mind, and the body. So we have taken body. Everyone is prepared... Now people are not even anxious how to protect this body. They violate so many laws of eating, sleeping, mating, and become diseased. Even they do not know how to protect this body, what to speak of the mind and the soul. They're so rascal. Ātmānaṁ sarvato rakṣet tato dharmaṁ tato dhanam.(?) That is the version in the Vedic literature, that "Try to protect yourself first, then dharma, then your religious principle, then dhana, then money." But at the present moment they don't care for the self; they don't care for religion. They want simply money.

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

So there are so many rules and regulation and laws, and the Supreme Lord, who is maintaining, creating this universe, there is no law? How do you think like that? For a small city, an insignificant city... In our estimation, it is not insignificant, but in comparison to the universe, what is the value of this London city or New York city? As soon as you go a little high up, say, twenty-five miles above, you cannot see your city. It is all finished. Similarly, there are so many cities in the stars and planets, upwards. So many universes, so many seas, mountains, skyscraper, houses, we cannot see. Because in the universe these are all simply insignificant particles only. So if in this insignificant particle there are so many state laws, you just imagine to manage this universal affair, the Supreme Lord, how much laws and regulation must be there. Who can deny it? Deny means he's a rascal. But intelligent man will understand that if in a small place there are so many rules and regulations, and in so big place, so universal—aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu—there are laws.

The scientists also admit that the nature's law is so systematic. Even Professor Einstein, he agreed, that "As I advance, I see there must be a big brain, God." Is it not?

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

So that is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, that these laws, these material laws of nature, they are very strong. They are enacted by the Supreme Lord, as we understand from the Bhagavad-gītā, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Mayādhyakṣeṇa, "Under My superintendence." The laws... Just like laws are there; at the same time, the government has got a department which is called law and order department. The laws are going on nicely, the law and order department examines. So that examiner, departmental, may be, but the original examiner is the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, mayā adhyakṣeṇa: "Under My superintendence." Just like in our institution, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, although I am the head, still, I have got so many assistants, the GBC members. They are assisting me, departmental. Somebody is here, somebody is there. Similarly, God has departmental management, and because it is such a huge affair, there are... What is a koṭi? Koṭi means ten million? Huh? Ten millions multiplied by thirty-three. How many it comes?

Lecture on SB 1.1.2 -- Caracas, February 23, 1975:

So dharma, as it is explained in English dictionary, "a kind of faith," that is not proper meaning. Dharma means that you are obliged to obey the laws given by God. Just like our material condition, birth, death, old age and disease. So one may say that "I do not believe in death. That is false." You may believe or not believe; you have to die. Similarly, one may believe or not believe; he has to take birth. Death means to give up this body and accept another body. That is very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). Just like a child. He must accept the body of a boy. The boy, he must accept next the body of a youth, and the youth must accept the old man's body. This is the law of God. You must accept it. And just when this body is no more practically usable, then you have to accept another body and begin a new life. This is the law of nature, or the law of God. Nature is dull, material. Nature cannot work automatically without the incentive or manipulation of God behind nature. Foolish people think that nature is working automatically. That is their ignorance. Nature is working under the direction of the Supreme Lord.

Lecture on SB 1.1.2 -- Caracas, February 23, 1975:

Lord says that "Under My superintendence the material nature is working, and therefore so many wonderful changes are going on." So nature is working under the order of the Supreme Lord, and we are under the stringent laws of nature. Therefore we are obliged to carry out the natural sequences. Just like I already explained, from childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youthhood, youthhood to old age, these are natural laws. And after mature old age, you have to change this body and accept another body. So if we say that "I have no faith in the orders of the material nature. I avoid it," that is not possible. So therefore this dharma means you may have faith or may not have faith; you have to abide by the laws of nature. People therefore say, "As sure as death." I may think or you may think that "Don't care for death. There will be no death," but it will happen. Therefore the conclusion is that you cannot manufacture any laws of religion.

Lecture on SB 1.1.4 -- London, August 27, 1973:

So samam āsata, they were performing the sacrifice for one thousand years. How they were able to do? Because in those days, in the Tretā-yuga... Tretā-yuga... In the Satya-yuga they used to live for one hundred thousands of years; in Tretā-yuga, ten thousands of years; and in the Dvāpara-yuga, one thousands of years. And now in this Kali-yuga, one hundred years. That also not complete. Nobody can complete one hundred years, and it is reducing. Maybe our forefathers or grandfathers might have lived for hundred years, but we are not living so much. And gradually, our children, our grandchildren, they will gradually reduce that span of life so much so that at the end of Kali-yuga, if a man would live for twenty to thirty years, he'll be considered a grand old man. Yes. We are reducing. But formerly, they were living so many years. Alpāyuṣaḥ. Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ. Prāyeṇa. Almost everyone is short span of life. Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ. Kalau. In this age, kalau. It is not for a particular nation or party or religion. Everyone is subjected to the laws of nature.

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

So there are different types of bodies within this material world. We can compare. Just like ant's body, a fly's body, and my body. A fly's body may remain for few years, or, few hours. So our body may remain for few years. And similarly, there are other living entities like Brahmā, their body remains for a few decades. But every body, each body, is subjected to this law of nature: birth, death, disease, and old age. So God's body is not like that. It is eternal. Here in this material world we can possess a body which may exist for millions of years, but that does not mean it is eternal. It is not eternal. But God's body is eternal. Therefore, in the Vedic language, when it is said, nirākāra-nirākāra means "who has no form"—it does not mean that God has no form. He has got form, but His form is different from this form upon which you have got experience. Our experience is whatever form we can think of, even Brahma's form, that is liable to be annihilated. But God's form is not like that. So when in the Vedic language it is said, nirākāra—means nir, nir means "not," and ākāra means "form"—that means "God's form is not like ours." It is not that He has no form. He has form, but His form is different from ours.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- London, August 26, 1971:

So there was big meeting of the sages, and Sūta Gosvāmī was on the chair. So amongst the audience, one sage, his name was Śaunaka, he was putting questions to the speaker and he was answering chapter by chapter. So one question was there, that in this age, Kali-yuga... Kali-yuga means the age of dissension, disagreement. Nobody agrees with anybody. Everyone is independent. That is the sign of... They don't... Unless they are forced, they don't care for any authority. Of course, we care or do not care, the authority is there. If I do not care, then I will be forced to care. That is the law of nature. So in this age, the question was, "What is the best form of religion by which one can become elevated to spiritual emancipation?" The best form of religion. So somebody may recommend that Hindu religion is best, or others may recommend that Christian religion is very good and others may say, "Oh, Muhammadan religion is very good," and others may say, "Buddhist religion is very good." But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says very nicely... Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam does not advocate that "Hindu religion is good" or "Christian religion is good" or "Muhammadan religion is good" or "Buddhist religion is good." Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives a general description. What is that? Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ: "That is the best form of religion for a person."

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Calcutta, February 23, 1972:

So śāstra says that don't try to increase your so-called happiness by laboring so hard. Whatever body you have got, a certain of, certain type of happiness you will get. Just like a hog. A hog has got a certain type of body; he feels pleasure by eating stool. He cannot improve it, because he has got the body like that. So according to our body, we get our happiness. So our time should be saved for improving Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the law of nature. Don't try to improve your material condition. The material happiness, whatever is destined according to your body, which is already given to you, and you'll have it, without any endeavor. Yathā dukham ajajñātaḥ. Just like you have to enjoy or suffer also, that is also according to the body, ajajñātaḥ. You don't endeavor for the distress, but you get it. Similarly, you don't endeavor for happiness—you'll get it.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Hyderabad, November 26, 1972:

The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart so how you can hide yourself from the vigilance of the Supreme Lord? The Supreme Lord is witness. So according to your karma... And that is also explained in another place in Bhagavad-gītā. Why people are getting superior and inferior types of bodies? That is explained, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu (BG 13.22). Sad-asad—good and bad, first-class and third-class. Sad-asad-janma-yonisu. Species of life, they are getting. The reason is, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. Because he's associating with different modes of nature. There are three modes of nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance. So if you associate with goodness, you get one type of body. If you associate with passion, you get another type of body. If you associate with ignorance, you get another type of body. This is law of nature and the witness is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So there is exactly everything in order. You cannot escape that. Divī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). It is not possible to escape. This is karmavāda. But this karmavāda, just like one man is sentenced by the law to be hanged, nobody can save him, but still there is King's mercy, he can save you.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Hyderabad, November 26, 1972:

Well, that... Just like a child when he's crawling, he touches a fire and he's burned. He forgets. But when he's grown-up, if he inquires from the parents, "Why this scar is in my hand?" The father reminds, "My dear child, you did like this." So because you have forgotten, that does not mean it did not take place. You have forgotten, you do not know, what you were doing at this time yesterday. You are so forgetful. So your remembering or forgetful doesn't matter. The law of nature must work severely. It doesn't matter whether you forget or you do not know the law. Forgetfulness of law is no excuse. You must suffer. Just like the child when he touches the fire, the fire does not consider, "Oh here is an innocent child, why should I burn him?" He must be burned. That is law of karma. When you touch fire it must act and you must suffer. Without any judgement the law is already there.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Delhi, November 12, 1973:

So that perfection ideal is different of different persons. Somebody is thinking that "If I have a nice bungalow and a nice bank balance and nice wife and children and family, then my life is perfect." Somebody is thinking that "If I can make my country very happy in comparison to other countries, then it is happy..." So there are different types of perfection. But actual perfection is... They do not know. That is indicated, that I am... Because I have been described, I am the soul. I am not this body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). Within this body there is the dehī. Dehī means the proprietor of this body. So that dehī, he is, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ, he is changing from one body to another. One body... Just like we have got experience in this life also, from childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youthhood. As we are changing, past and present, therefore after this body is annihilated, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20), I am not annihilated; I take another body. That body... What kind of body? That will depend on my work. Just like we become diseased. As we infect certain type of disease, we suffer from that disease. This is practical. Nature's law is there. If you infect some disease, you will have to suffer from that disease. Similarly, as we are creating our mentality by different types of activities, our next life will be according to that mentality. This is the law of nature.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Detroit, August 3, 1975, University Lecture:

Similarly, the old man, when he will finish this body, he will get a different body. This is called dehāntara-prāptiḥ, accepting another body. So we are changing, but we are so fool that we do not understand what is the real problem of life. We are simply busy in some temporary problems. Real problem is that a living being is eternal, and by the laws of nature, by his karma, he has to change his body. That is real problem. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. And we can see, if we have got eyes, that there are many varieties of life, 8,400,000 varieties of life. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. So Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. According to your karma, you will get another body. That What kind of body I shall get? That I do not know. Then what is your education? Suppose you are being educated. You know aim, that "I shall become a lawyer," "I shall become a scientist," "I shall become mathematician." With this purpose you are being educated. But what purpose you are being educated for the next life? Do you know this? No. Then what is your education? You may be very good scientist, but can you manufacture a scientific law that you will never die? No. That is not possible. You will never take birth after death? You will never be diseased? You can manufacture nice medicine for a type of disease, but you cannot stop disease. You cannot stop birth, you cannot stop death, you cannot stop disease, you cannot stop old age.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Detroit, August 3, 1975, University Lecture:

Just a yard from our room the tree is standing, but he has got so many disadvantage. He cannot move an inch. There is severe cold, there is scorching heat, there is blast, there is wind and sunshine, but he has no power to move. And we are human being. We are in a comfortable room. Why these different changes of condition, although the tree is also living being and I am also living being? Who has made this condition? But we have no knowledge. So I may get that condition next life. Then what is the value of my education? Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). Because at the time of death, the, your mentality, my mentality, will decide what kind of body I am going to get. That is under the laws of nature. You cannot dictate that "Give me this American life or Indian life." No. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). By your karma it will be decided whether you will be American, Indian, or snake or tree or bird. Daiva-netreṇa. Just like when you go to the court, the court will decide whether you will be punished or you will be rewarded. You cannot dictate to the court that "Sir, give me this judgment." No. That is not possible.

Lecture on SB 1.2.10 -- Delhi, November 16, 1973:

We go, walk, walking in the morning. We see so many nice bungalows—they are sleeping, as if the sleeping will save him. No. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. These four things. They are thinking that these four things will save him. No. "Now we are situated in a very nice bungalow, very good income, very good wife and children." But any moment you can be kicked out of this situation, and you have to accept another body which is not very comfortable. This is nature's law. This is tattva-jijñāsā. If we simply foolishly think, "Now I am very secure," that is God... (break) ...Vṛndāvana, They were ministers in the government of Nawab Hussein Shah. But when they lived in Vṛndāvana, about their life it is stated by Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **. These things, nidrā, āhāra, vihāra. Nidrā means sleeping, āhāra means eating and vihāra means sense gratification. So nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau, conquered. Conquer. We have to conquer. This is called jitendriya.

Lecture on SB 1.2.14 -- Los Angeles, August 17, 1972:

So those who are under the karma, under the principles of nature's law—that is karma, nature's law—they are different. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ, ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā (BG 3.27). Those who are ordinary living entities, they are being carried away by pull, they are being pulled by the ear by nature's law. But those who are devotees, their position is different. They are under the special attention of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He therefore declares: kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati (BG 9.31). "My dear Arjuna, you can declare to the world that anyone who is My pure devotee, he'll never be vanquished. I shall take care." Why He is asking Arjuna to declare? Because a devotee's attempt is never baffled. That is Kṛṣṇa's desire. Even His own declaration may be sometimes false, but if a devotee declares, Kṛṣṇa will see, it must be done. It must be done.

Lecture on SB 1.2.15 -- Los Angeles, August 18, 1972:

So knot begins... Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). The world, we are bound up within this material law of nature—why? Because we have got strong desire for sex. Not only also human society, in animal society also. The central point is sex. Yan maithunādi... These people are working so hard because they have got the aim, "I will enjoy sex life." Just like in your country, the hippies. They have given up everything, but sex is there. They cannot give it up. They have renounced everything, their father's property, their happy life, everything, but the sex is there. They cannot leave it. That is the central point of knot. "Where you shall go, sir? Here is your knot."

Lecture on SB 1.2.17 -- San Francisco, March 25, 1967:

At the time of death, if our consciousness is pure, then it is sure that next life is not material. Next life's pure spiritual life. But if our consciousness is not pure at the point of the verge of death, just leaving this body, then we have to take again this material body. That is the process going on by nature's law. We have got our finer body. This is gross body. The body which you are seeing, which I am seeing, this is gross body. Just like shirt and coat. Within your coat, there is shirt, and within your shirt, there is a body. Similarly, the pure soul is covered by shirt and coat. The shirt is mind, intelligence and false ego. Mind, intelligence and false ego. False ego means that the wrong conception that "I am matter. I am something, product of this material world." This wrong conception makes me localized. Just like because I have taken my birth in America, therefore I think myself American. Because I have taken my birth in India, therefore I think myself as Indian. But as pure soul, I am neither Indian nor American. I am pure soul. Because this is designation. This American, or Indian, or German, or Englishman, or cats and dogs and this and that, black and white, all these are designations. Spiritual consciousness means to become free from all these designations.

Lecture on SB 1.2.21 -- Los Angeles, August 24, 1972:

Karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Bs. 5.54). In the Brahma-saṁhitā this is, that "Those who have taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, their karma, their action of, resultant action of karma, is stopped." How it is stopped? Kṛṣṇa gives you assurance in the Bhagavad-gītā: ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66). "I shall give you protection from all kinds of resultant action of your sinful life. You just surrender to Me." Kṛṣṇa can do everything. Just like king can give you, excuse you. Although by law you are condemned to death, but if you appeal to the supreme executive, the king or the president, if he likes, he can excuse you. Similarly, by nature's law we cannot be freed from the resultant action of our sinful life. That is not possible. But if Kṛṣṇa desires, if Kṛṣṇa is pleased upon you, He can excuse, He can excuse you. Chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ, kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi. How cāsya karmāṇi? Dṛṣṭa eva ātmani īśvare. Because, at that time, actually when you are Kṛṣṇa conscious, we'll always see Kṛṣṇa ātmani, within mind, within heart. That very seeing is, what is called, immunity from all sinful activities. Then you become free, go back to home, back to Godhead.

Lecture on SB 1.2.22 -- Vrndavana, November 2, 1972:

Uru-dāmni-baddhāḥ. Uru means very strong. Dāmni means rope. Just like if your hands and legs are tied very strongly, it is very difficult for you to move. Similarly, by the laws of nature, every living entity is bound up very strongly, īśa-tantryām, by the laws of the Supreme Lord. We are bound up. We cannot deviate. We cannot violate the laws of nature. Everyone can experience. A little violation, little deviation from the laws of nature, we accept some suffering. That is our daily experience. Suppose we are eating, but if we eat little more than we digest... The laws of nature is that you can eat as much as you can digest. But if you eat more than you can digest, immediately, by the laws of nature, you suffer from indigestion. You cannot violate. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Nobody can violate the laws of nature.

So we have discussed how to get out of the laws of nature—mukta-saṅgasya jāyate. Mukta-saṅga means one who has become freed from the three modes of material nature. After being freed from the laws of material nature or by the three modes of material nature, then we can talk of vāsudeva-bhakti. But one can become free from this bondage of material nature simply by devotional service to Vāsudeva. That is being stressed in this chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from the very beginning.

Lecture on SB 1.2.31 -- Vrndavana, November 10, 1972:

He knows that "This individual soul wanted to enjoy this material world," so He gives him facility: "Now you enjoy." Those who have no discrimination of eating—all abominable things one can eat—he's given the chance of eating everything up to stool in the form of a hog. The facility's given. One who is shameless... Now this civilization has spread in the Western countries—they want to remain naked. There are so many nudie clubs. So next life they'll be given chance to become tree, to stand naked for thousands of years. This is laws of nature. They do not know how they're getting chance, different types of body for different types of enjoyments, material enjoyment. Sometimes he's put as a poor man; sometimes he's put as a rich man. Sometimes as demigod, sometimes as cat, sometimes as dog. In this way, it is going on. But they are..., there is no knowledge. The modern civilization, they do not take care of this Vedic information, neither they have got any sufficient knowledge how these 8,400,000 species of life are becoming possible. They have no science. But here it is stated: antaḥ-praviṣṭa ābhāti vijñānena vijṛmbhitaḥ.

Lecture on SB 1.3.10 -- Los Angeles, September 16, 1972:

He says, mayādhyakṣeṇa, "Under My direction," Kṛṣṇa says, "Prakṛti, this material nature, is working." Mayādhyakṣeṇa. Just see how he is working, how prakṛti is working. Just like in this month in your country, it is called fall? September? After a few days, so many trees will fall, all the leaves will fall down. Again in April, immediately, millions of leaves will grow, immediately, all. If you have to manufacture these leaves, one after another, and set up in the tree, just see, how much difficult it will be. But by the laws of nature, by God's energy, immediately, within a few days, millions of trees are getting their leaves again and millions of trees, they are falling. Millions of fruits are coming out. Similarly, all this cosmic manifestation came into existence simply by the will of God. Not that... Just like in season, there are hundreds and thousands and millions of fruits. You haven't got to create each fruit. When the season is there, the fruits are all ready, immediately. Similarly, when God says, "Let there be creation," millions of planets, immediately created. That is God. Not that cheap God, "I am God." In your country they come, and you become cheated. We don't accept such cheap God. We want this God. Simply by His will, millions of universes are created.

Lecture on SB 1.3.14 -- Los Angeles, September 19, 1972:

So the idea is that there is no food problem. As the mother earth said to King Pṛthu that "I am restricting," so the more you become sinful, the food supply will be stopped. This is the law of nature. At the end there will be no foodgrains, at the end of Kali-yuga. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. There will be no foodgrain, no fruits, no milk, no sugar. You have to live on flesh and blood. At that time, being hungry, you will kill your own children and eat flesh and blood. That day is waiting. So this is the civilization. Most heinous civilization. It can only be saved by spreading this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Otherwise there is no way.

Lecture on SB 1.3.14 -- Los Angeles, September 19, 1972:

So there was such a time because Pṛthu Mahārāja's father was a demon. He stopped all religious activities. Therefore people became demonic, and there was restriction of food supply. Then Pṛthu Mahārāja made arrangement, and there was sufficient foodstuff. Dugdhemām oṣadhīr viprās tenāyaṁ sa uśattamaḥ. Since Pṛthu Mahārāja arranged the whole society to be religious, to be God conscious, everything become beautiful. This can be done even now. If people become Kṛṣṇa conscious, the whole world will become beautiful, Vaikuṇṭha, without any anxiety. That is possible. Because that is nature's law. Just like if you become criminal, the state police force will always harass you. You cannot get out of it. He'll harass you. But that is expensive job for the government. Because it requires extra police, extra management, extra everything. But if the people become honest, God conscious, so many expenditure will be reduced. And money will be saved for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness or for Kṛṣṇa's service. Then the whole world will become exactly as it was in the Pṛthu Mahārāja's day.

Lecture on SB 1.3.15 -- Los Angeles, September 20, 1972:

So change means imperfect knowledge. No change means that is perfect knowledge. So we follow that no change policy. No, not that because I think I have become now advanced, I change this to that. That mean I am not advanced. My knowledge is imperfect. Therefore I am changing.

So this verse, the appearance of Vaivasvata Manu is described. So Vaivasvata Manu is incarnation of God. Svāyambhuva Manu, Vaivasvata Manu. As I told you, there are fourteen manus within the day. Now out of that fourteen manus, this is the seventh manu. It is going on. This Vaivasvata Manu is the seventh manu. So another seven manus, when they will be finished, this one day of Brahmā will be finished, and there will be another devastation. This is the law of nature.

Lecture on SB 1.4.25 -- Montreal, June 20, 1968:

This is animal conception, "I am this body." So due to this misconception of our life, we have accumulated many dirty and dusty things within our heart. So if we hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā, even if we do not understand it, the action will be there. The action will be there. Just like if you touch fire, either you understand it or not understand it, that fire is fire. It will burn your finger. Just like if a child, he does not understand what is fire, but if he touches fire, his fingers or hand will be burned immediately. There is no mercy: "Oh, here is an innocent child. He does not know." No. the law of nature will act. Similarly, kṛṣṇa-kathā, puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtana, it is so pious and it is so spiritual that anyone who will hear it, either by understanding or without understanding, the action will be there like fire. So varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ (SB 2.1.1).

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

So the laws of nature is working. I am under, completely under the laws of nature. I may declare independence falsely. That doesn't matter. Nature's work will go on. And what is that nature's work? Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā (BG 7.14). Nature is also Kṛṣṇa's nature. This material nature is Kṛṣṇa's nature. So material nature is not bad itself. She is also engaged in service of Kṛṣṇa. Just like the police force. Police force, as the department of government, is not bad. It is doing faithfully service to the government. It is bad to me because I am criminal. Otherwise police force as it is, department, is not bad. Do you think that government is maintaining a nonsense bad department? No. It is serving the government. But it is bad for the criminals. Similarly, this māyā, the external energy, the māyā, it is bad for those who are godless, who are rascals. For them, māyā is there. Otherwise, for devotee, there is no influence of māyā.

Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find that māyā is strong only, it is very difficult to surpass the laws of nature, for whom? Who is not surrendered soul to Kṛṣṇa. Māyā. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etām... If you are not criminal, what business you have got with the police department? Nothing. Let the police department remain. You have nothing to do.

Lecture on SB 1.5.17-18 -- New Vrindaban, June 21, 1969:

The nature's law is acting. So you don't try for being elevated to the higher standard of life or higher planetary system. There is no need of wasting your energy in that way. So higher or lower, that will come. That will come without... Just like we try to become happy or peaceful, but by circumstances we are put into unhappiness, disturbed condition of life. Nobody asks for it, but we are sometimes obliged to accept this. Similarly, by..., without your endeavor, if you can be put into distressed condition of life, why not, without your endeavor, you may be put in the happy condition of life? So don't try to be elevated in happy condition of life or distressed condition of life. Try for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then your energy will be properly utilized. This human form of life so important that in this life only we can try to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on SB 1.5.17-18 -- New Vrindaban, June 21, 1969:

So to become too much rich, too much puffed up with opulence like the two sons of Kuvera, is another chance of being degraded. To remain a little poor is better condition for developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore our duty should be not to become a very great man in the consideration of these materialistic men. If he wants thousands and millions of dollars, become like a Rockefeller or Ford, that will be great a estimation of these common materialistic man, but from spiritual point of view, such things have no value—unless such opulence is engaged in the service of the Lord. Otherwise, it is the cause of falldown.

So Nārada Muni says that "Just try to save people to take to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and other things will automatically... Whatever is destined by the laws of nature, they will get it. So there is no need of performing ritualistic ceremonies for being promoted to the heavenly planets or this or that. It is useless. What does he gain by that? He'll come down again. So don't teach them like that. Simply teach them to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That will make their life successful."

Lecture on SB 1.5.18 -- New Vrindaban, June 22, 1969:

So the statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukham. You don't try for so-called economic development. You cannot have more than what you are destined to get. It is already settled up. This, this living entity... You see different grades of standard of living condition. So they're according to the past karma, daivena, daiva-netreṇa, karmaṇā. So you cannot change that. That nature's law, you cannot change. Why you have got varieties of life, varieties of position, varieties of de...? It is destined. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. Viṣaya, these material enjoyment—means eating, sleeping, mating and defending—these... Only standard is different. I am eating something, you are eating something. Maybe, in my calculation, you are eating not very good. In your calculation I am not eating very good. But the eating is same. You are eating. I am eating.

Lecture on SB 1.5.33 -- Vrndavana, August 14, 1974:

He is not a poor man, he is not uneducated, the topmost man, elected President of USA, but there is cheating even there, just see. And what to speak of others? Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ (BG 3.21), in the Bhagavad-gītā it is, tat tad eva itaraḥ janaḥ, sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokas tad anuvartate. If a person, president, cheats his countrymen somehow or other, and why not others? They will also do that. "Oh, president does it. What I am? What can I know?" In this way, the more we are inclined to sense gratification, the more we are becoming sinful. And more we are becoming sinful, the more we must suffer. That is the law of nature. Āmayo yaś ca bhūtānāṁ jāyate yena suvrata.

So by this karma... vikarma rather. Karma means when you act according to the śāstra, that is called karma. Lawful activities. The lawful activities is very good. But unlawful activities, you are punishable. So the business of sense gratification is unlawful activities. You cannot gratify your senses more than necessity. Everywhere that is the stringent laws of nature. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). You cannot surpass it. Duratyayā. If you surpass, then you will be punished. There is simultaneous law of nature. The example is that you can eat, say, four ounce or eight ounce foodstuff. If you eat ten ounce, then there will be suffering, indigestion, you cannot eat, there will be dysentery, so many things. That is nature's law. So people are becoming entangled in karma. Yajña sa karma, one should work for Yajña, for Kṛṣṇa. But they are not doing that. They are doing for sense gratification. Ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇā. Bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpaṁ ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt (BG 3.13). That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. If you live only for sense gratification, then you become entangled in the law of karma.

Lecture on SB 1.7.5-6 -- Johannesburg, October 15, 1975:

So this is very important thing. We do not gain anything. We gain only another body—again begin chapter, the same struggle for existence. And that also, there is no guarantee. According to our karma, we shall have to accept a body. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). As we associate... Just like we develop a certain type of disease as we contaminate the germ. If you contaminate the virus of smallpox, then you have to suffer from smallpox. Nature's law is so strict; you cannot avoid it. If you have been attacked by the mosquito carrying malaria germ, then you have to suffer from malaria. So kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. As you take precaution that "I may not be attacked with malaria or smallpox or this or that"—so many, we take precaution—similarly we have to be very precautious for our next body. If we become precautious, then there is chance of being promoted. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). If you keep yourself in the sattva-guṇa, the brahminical qualification, śamo damas titikṣā ārjavam, satyaṁ śaucaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānam, āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam... (BG 18.42). Similarly, there are kṣatriya qualities, there are vaiśya qualities, there are śūdra qualities, and there are śūdrādhama quality, less-than-the-śūdra quality. So in any quality, in any position, even by sentiment, tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ (SB 1.5.17), if we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is the greatest profit from any position. It doesn't matter in which position he is, either he is on the brāhmaṇa position or kṣatriya position or vaiśya position or śūdra position or caṇḍāla position.

Lecture on SB 1.7.5-6 -- Johannesburg, October 15, 1975:

We cannot be independent. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ, ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā (BG 3.27). If we think that we are independent, that is due to our ignorance. We are not independent. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ, ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. He is simply sammohita, by false prestige. He is not independent at all. We should always remember this. We are dependent on the laws of nature. We cannot say, "Now I invented some scientific discovery. We shall not going to die." That is not possible. You must die. That is the law of nature. You must die, you must take birth also, and you must be diseased, and you must suffer from old age. These are the four disadvantages of material existence. So if we want to get out... This is anartha. That will be explained in the next verse. Read it.

anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād
bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje
lokasyājānato vidvāṁś
cakre sātvata-saṁhitām
(SB 1.7.6)

This Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is sātvata-saṁhitām, spiritual knowledge. It has nothing to do with anything material. Simply spiritual knowledge. So vidvān. Vidvān means the most learned, Vyāsadeva, not ordinary. Śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte. He is mahā-muni. Muni means thoughtful philosopher, and he is mahā-muni. He is greater than any thoughtful philosopher, Vyāsadeva, Veda-vyāsa.

Lecture on SB 1.7.5-6 -- Johannesburg, October 15, 1975:

So Brahmā said, "That is not possible. Nobody is immortal within this material world. I am not immortal. How can I give you the benediction of immortality? That is not possible." So nobody... Everyone is under the laws of nature. It may be... The duration of time may be little more or less, but everyone must die. This is... And if we want to stop this business of material existence, then here is the recommendation, anarthopaśamam... Anartha. "Why we shall die?" This question does not arise. If I am immortal, as it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā...

na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
(BG 2.20)

So this question does not strike us, that "If I am immortal—I have no birth, I have no death..." na jāyate mriyate vā kadācit "...at any time. Not that sometimes I was dying. No, never." Nityaḥ śāśvato yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This is the position. "Then why I am accepting this birth and death and old age, disease? This is my problem."

Lecture on SB 1.7.7 -- Vrndavana, April 24, 1975:

So we are increasing our anarthas, anarthas, and we are becoming entangled in the cycle of birth and death. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Once we take a certain type of body, we enjoy or suffer for some time; then again we have to give up this body, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13), and there is no guarantee what sort of body you are going to get. But it is certain that you are going to get a body. And that may be offered to you by the laws of nature. It may be an important, more important body than what we have got just now, or it may be less important. It may be cats and dog or hog, and it may be the body of demigod. That is according to karma. So in this way we are passing our life eternally. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). We get one type of body, and again we give it up. Dehāntara-prāptiḥ. This is called anartha, anartha. Anartha upaśamam. What is that anartha? This is anartha. Why shall I get a new type of body? I am eternal. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Why I am getting this temporary body? This is called brahma-jijñāsā. Unless a man is awakened to this consciousness, "Why?"—Kena Upaniṣad—he is not human being; he is animal. The animal cannot question.

Lecture on SB 1.7.20-21 -- Vrndavana, September 17, 1976:

We see, practically. So one who is born in rich family, he should think that Kṛṣṇa... But he has no knowledge, he has no good advisor, he has no guru. So he is, he thinks that "I have got this money for nothing. Let me enjoy wine and women. Let me..." He becomes spoiled. So although he was given the chance, śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe (BG 6.41), janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrī (SB 1.8.26). Although he was given the chance by nature's law, he spoils himself. Just like in America—I always say that you are born in a rich nation's family, your country is not poor, there is no scarcity, but you should take advantage of it. Don't spoil your life because you have got so much money for nothing or every enjoyable thing. You should always think, "It is all Kṛṣṇa's mercy that we have got this opportunity. We are honored as Americans." Now because the Americans, they have misused their opportunity, now they are degrading. To save your country, take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and enlighten them. Enlighten them. That is your service, actually service of the country. Push this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. They have got good opportunity. And it will be very successful, materially and spiritually.

Lecture on SB 1.7.32-33 -- Vrndavana, September 27, 1976:

Don't do anything thinking yourself as independent. You cannot be independent. If you don't accept mataṁ ca vāsudevasya, then by the ear you'll be pulled by the māyā to do something. You'll be obliged to do something. You are not independent. As soon as we forget this principle, we become fool enough to consider as independent: "I am as good as... I am God." That is rascaldom. That is rascaldom. So 'ham. So 'ham, that does not mean that "I am as good as. I am God." No. I cannot be God because I am under the obligation of the laws of nature.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
(BG 3.27)

You cannot be independent. You are not independent. If you falsely think that you are as good as God or you are independent, that is ahaṅkāra-vimūḍha. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā.

Lecture on SB 1.7.36-37 -- Vrndavana, September 29, 1976:

Another pramatta is that those who are mad after sense gratification. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma (SB 5.5.4). There is another verse, nūnaṁ pramattaḥ. Those who are pramatta, those who have no responsibility of life, sometimes unnecessarily stealing and doing some, so many wrong things... Vikarma. Why? Now pramatta, he is also crazy. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma (SB 5.5.4). And why he is taking risk of being punished? Suppose one man is stealing. He'll be punished. Either by the law of the state or by the laws of nature or God, he'll be punished. He can escape the laws of the state, but he cannot escape the laws of nature or God. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi (BG 3.27). It is not possible. Just like the laws of nature. If you infect some disease, so you'll have to be punished. You'll suffer from that disease. That is punishment. You cannot escape. Similarly, anything you do, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). If you live like a cat and dog, that is infection, guṇa, the modes of ignorance. Then your next life you become a dog. You must be punished. This is law of nature.

Lecture on SB 1.8.20 -- Mayapura, September 30, 1974:

So Kṛṣṇa comes. What is the mission of Kṛṣṇa? That we were talking in this morning. What is the mission of Kṛṣṇa? Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). This is the Kṛṣṇa's karma. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma me divyam (BG 4.9). We come here, and Kṛṣṇa also comes here. So what is the difference? The difference is we are forced to come here by the laws of nature according to our karma. We do some activities, sinful or pious, mostly sinful. So we create another life, and we are forced to enter into such body. It may be now I am in the human form of body. Next life, according to my karma, I may be forced to enter into the dog's li..., dog's body. So we are forced. There is no, I mean to say, choice. I cannot say (to) nature that "Do not put me into the dog's body. Kindly put me into the king's body." No. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). This decision will be taken by superior authority. You cannot dictate that "I shall become like that." No, that is not possible. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.8.30 -- Los Angeles, April 22, 1973:

Just like Kṛṣṇa appeared as the Fish Incarnation. Tad atyanta-viḍambanam (SB 1.8.30). So Kṛṣṇa's disappearance and appearance, His taking birth, these are all bewildering. It is not that... We are forced to take birth. We are, we are , we living entities, conditioned souls, we are transmigrating from one body to another, being forced by the laws of nature. But Kṛṣṇa does not appear by being forced by the laws of nature. That is the difference. Therefore those who are foolish rascals, they think that: "I have taken my birth in this world and Kṛṣṇa has also taken. Therefore I am also God." They, they do not know that you have to take birth by the force of laws of nature. You have been given the chance of very nice body, beautiful body, as American boys and girls, educated, with opulence. If you misuse it, then you are going to get another body according to your mentality.

Lecture on SB 1.8.32 -- Los Angeles, April 24, 1973:

Therefore Kṛṣṇa's birth is transcendental. Our birth is by force, by the laws of nature. He's not under the laws of nature. The laws of nature works under Him. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Prakṛti, nature is working under the order of Kṛṣṇa, and we are working under the order of nature. That is the difference. See... Kṛṣṇa is the master of nature, and we are servant of nature. That is the difference. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate. Therefore Kuntīdevī says: kecid āhur. Somebody says like that. Somebody says like that, that the unborn has taken birth. How the unborn can take birth? It appears like that but it is not taking birth. It appears just like He has taken birth like us. No.

Lecture on SB 1.8.33 -- Los Angeles, April 25, 1972:

Just you have got a very nice example. Just like Jesus Christ, Lord Christ. So what was his fault? But the sura-dviṣām, the envious persons killed him. And if we find, if we analyze, what is the fault of Jesus Christ, there is no fault. The only fault he was preaching about God. And still he'd find so many enemies. He was cruelly crucified. So you'll always find this, sura-dviṣām. So Kṛṣṇa comes to kill these sura-dviṣām. Therefore vadhāya ca sura-dviṣām. These envious persons are killed.

But this killing business can be done without the presence of Kṛṣṇa. Because there are so many natural forces, war, pestilence, famine. Anything. Just set on working. Millions of people can be killed. So Kṛṣṇa does not require to come here to kill these rascals. They can be killed simply by Kṛṣṇa's direction, nature's law. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā (Bs. 5.44). The nature has got so much power that it can create, it can maintain, it can annihilate, dissolute, everything. Nature is so powerful.

Lecture on SB 1.8.33 -- Mayapura, October 13, 1974:

Why they are mūḍhāḥ? Because they are sinful. Why they are sinful? Because narādhamāḥ, lowest of the mankind. Human form of life was given to him to become purified, but they are engaged in sinful activities so that next life they'll be cats and dogs and hogs and trees. Why trees? Trees stands naked. And now this nudie movement is there, how to remain naked. That means next life they are preparing for becoming tree: "Thousand years, stand up here, naked. Nobody will object." Yes, this is the law of nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). These rascals... Because the rascals, they do not know. And even the information is there, still, they'll not accept. This is their position.

Lecture on SB 1.8.34 -- Los Angeles, April 26, 1973:

So Kuntīdevī is describing different statements of different persons why Kṛṣṇa appeared. Somebody says that He appeared on the request of Devakī and Vasudeva. Somebody says He appeared on the request of Brahmā.

So there is bhūri-bhara, bhūri-bhara. It is said: bhārāvatāraṇāyānye bhuvo nāva ivodadhau. Bhuva, this world becomes overburdened. Overburdened. As soon it becomes overburdened, there must be a war, pestilence, famine, epidemic and finish. This is natural. Overburdened. Nature's law. This is called... In economics there is some law. So why the world becomes overburdened? The earth planet... Not only earth planet. There are many millions of other planets also. They are bearing big, big mountains, big, big oceans. Why it becomes overburdened?

Lecture on SB 1.8.35 -- Los Angeles, April 27, 1973 :

So, asmin bhave. Asmin means "this." Creation, bhave means creation. Bhava, bhava means "you become". "You become" means you vanish also. As soon as there is question of you become, you vanish also. Anything which is born must die. This is the law of nature. The so-called scientists are trying that they will stop death by their scientific research work, but they do not know that anything born must die. Janma-mṛtyu. This is relative. And anything which is not born, that will not die. The matter is born. Anything material, that is born. But spirit is not born. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin. The soul is never born, and therefore never dies.

Lecture on SB 1.8.39 -- Los Angeles, May 1, 1973:

So unless we remain Kṛṣṇa conscious, we are liable to be punished for all these unknowingly committing sinful activities. Knowingly, of course, you'll be... That's a fact. Unknowingly. Knowingly or unknowingly. Just like fire. A child unknowingly touches the fire. Does it mean that the fire will excuse the child? No. The nature's law is so strict, so stringent, that there is no question of excuse. In the ordinary law also, ignorance is no excuse for legal obligation. If you go to the court, and if you say, "My lord, I did not know that the result of this action is this, criminal," that is not pleading that you'll be excused. So therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness must be there. If we actually want to be free from the reaction of sinful life, that we are doing, knowingly or unknowingly, then Kṛṣṇa consciousness must be there. Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66). Therefore it is recommended, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). Always we have to be engaged in chanting: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma..., so that Kṛṣṇa will save us. Knowingly we cannot commit any sinful activities. That is one thing. Unknowingly also we cannot do it. Then we'll be liable.

Lecture on SB 1.8.40 -- Los Angeles, May 2, 1973:

Our opinion, that the population has increased. Everywhere they say the population has increased, and they're checking the population by artificial means, by rascal method. Why? The birds and bees, they have no checking. They are increasing their population without any contraceptive. But are they in need of food? Have you seen any bird that is dying for want of food? Never. Any animal? It may be, animal in the city, they may be dying for want of food. That is also not very seen. But in the jungle you go, you see all the animals, big, big animals like elephant, they are very stout and strong. Who is supplying them food? The tiger, the lions, everyone—everyone is living. Some of them are vegetarians, some of them are nonvegetarian, but nobody is in want of food. The tiger... By nature's way, the tiger do not get every day food. Naturally, because he is nonvegetarian. So he gets his food with a little difficulty. Because who is going to face the tiger to become its food? Nobody's going, "Sir, I am very philanthropist, I have come to you to give you food. Take my body." Nobody's going. Therefore he has got difficulty to find out its food. Because in the jungle the... There is jungle's laws also, nature's law. As soon as the tiger is out, there is one animal that is called fayo(?). I do not know what is the name in English. It will follow the tiger and it will sound "fayo, fayo," so the other animals will know: "Now the tiger is out."

Lecture on SB 1.8.41 -- Mayapura, October 21, 1974:

So long the life is there, everyone is thinking, "I have got this responsibility. I have got this responsibility. I have got this responsibility," and they are working very, very hard and doing all nonsense. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma (SB 5.5.4). Now, somebody's stealing for the sake of family maintenance, doing so many sinful activities, but when they are scattered again by the laws of nature, nobody will be sympathetic to me if I suffer for my own sinful activities. But they do by the so-..., for the so-called family. They get money, and they... Due to affection... First of all, whatever he earns, by hook or by crook, first of all he wants to see that his wife, children, are fed up very nicely. And, at last, if there is some remnants, he can eat, out of affection. You see?

Lecture on SB 1.8.47 -- Mayapura, October 27, 1974:

So the so-called sneha, if it is not properly done... Nature's regulation is so strict that you cannot avoid the consequence. That is not possible. These are practical. I have seen another practical... In front of our residence there was another neighbor. So the old man had his daughter-in-law. So she was beating her one child. So I inquired through my servant, "Why this young woman is beating her child?" Now, then the servant brought me the news that this boy gave paraṭā to his elder brother who is suffering from typhoid. The typhoid... In typhoid fever, solid food is forbidden strictly, but the boy did not know. He asked his younger brother that "If you steal one paraṭā and if you give me, I am very much hungry." So he became very sympathetic to his brother, and he gave the paraṭā. And the boy was ill; he aggravated the illness. So as soon as the mother heard that he gave a paraṭā to him, he (she) began to beat: "Why did you give?" Now, it was charity, it was affection and sympathetic, but the result was beating with shoes. So if we do not know where charity should be given, then, where affection should be there, then we are under the laws of nature; we shall be punished if it is not properly done. There is punishment.

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

That is the recommendation by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). There are two kinds of, what is called, atonement. One atonement, by the prescribed method. You have done... Just like I'll give you common example. Just like you have committed theft. One atonement is that you go to the jail and live there for some time. This is atonement. If you have committed a murder, then you also be hanged. These are the laws. When the king orders somebody to be hanged on account of his committing murder, the king is not sinful. King is helpful. King is helping that rascal to atone his murdering activities. Otherwise, if he is not hanged, then next life, next time, he will be put into difficulty. Next time he will have to become animal. He will be slaughtered. These laws they do not know. Why these animals are being slaughtered? There is some nature's law. They were murderer or slaughterer in their past life as human being. Now they have assumed, they have accepted a body to be slaughtered by the laws of nature. When an animal is slaughtered in sacrifice, there is mantra. The mantra is that... The animal slaughter in sacrifice is recommended for the animal-eaters, not for all. Those who are... To restrict.

Lecture on SB 1.9.2 -- Los Angeles, May 16, 1973:

That is the ways of this material nature. The ways of material nature is that you cannot remain in comfort. That is not possible. By laws of nature... Tri-tāpa-yatana, three kinds of miseries, adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika, they must be there always. Just like I am your spiritual master. You have kept me very nicely, to your best capacity, but I am coughing. I am coughing. So even if we are situated in one kind of comfortable position, then another uncomfort will come and attack. That is called tri division. Adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika. Or there is no cough, or there is no trouble, but you receive on very unsatisfactory letter from a friend; you become very sorry. This is called adhyātmika, pertaining to the mind, pertaining to the body. Adhyātmika. Adhibhautika: troubles offered by other living entities; and adhidaivika, trouble offered by the higher authorities. Just like excessive heat. You cannot control. Excessive cold.

Lecture on SB 1.10.3-4 -- Tehran, March 13, 1975:

The conception of one world state can only be fulfilled if we can follow the infallible authority. An imperfect human being cannot create an ideology acceptable to everyone. Only the perfect and the infallible can create a program which is applicable at every place and can be followed by all in the world. It is the person who rules, and not the impersonal government. If the person is perfect, the government is perfect. If the person is a fool, the government is a fool's paradise. That is the law of nature. There are so many stories of imperfect kings or executive heads. Therefore, the executive head must be a trained person like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, and he must have the full autocratic power to rule over the world. The conception of a world state can take shape only under the regime of a perfect king like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. The world was happy in those days because there were kings like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira to rule over the world." Let this king follow Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira and show an example of how monarchy can make a perfect state. There is instruction in the śāstras, and if he follows, he can do that. He has got the power.

Lecture on SB 1.10.5 -- Mayapura, June 20, 1973:

How nature can be controlled? Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). This is the law of nature. If you become disobedient to God, then prakṛti or nature will give you trouble in so many ways. And as soon as you become submissive, surrender to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there will be no more natural disturbances. I have heard in 1900, 1898—I was born in 1896—so I have heard, I have seen also, I remember, in Calcutta there was a very virulent type of plague epidemic in 1898. So Calcutta became devastated. All people practically left Calcutta. Daily hundreds and hundreds of people were dying. I was one year old or one and a half year old. I have seen what was happening, but there was plague epidemic. That I did not know. I, later on, I heard from my parents. So one bābājī, he organized saṅkīrtana, Hare Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana. When there was no other way, so he organized saṅkīrtana all over Calcutta. And in the, in saṅkīrtana, all people, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi, everyone joined. And they were coming, they were going road to road, street to street, entering in every house. So that Mahatma Gandhi Road, 151, you have seen. The saṅkīrtana party we received very nicely. There was light, and I was very small, I was also dancing, I can remember. Just like our small children sometimes dances. I remember. I could see only up to the knees of the persons who were joined. So the plague subsided. This is a fact. Everyone who knows history of Calcutta, the plague was subsided by saṅkīrtana movement.

Lecture on SB 1.10.5 -- Mayapura, June 20, 1973:

So, in this way, there is order that one life is meant eaten by another. That is nature's law. But we should use discrimination what kind of foodstuff, what kind of living entities we shall eat. That Kṛṣṇa... (?). We have taken vow to eat only Kṛṣṇa's prasādam. There is something. Whatever Kṛṣṇa orders. So that is a fact that each and every living entity is meant for another living entity for eating. When we get human form of life, the animals, they, just like, another eat vegetables. Similarly, the cows. Nature's law is there. Although one animal is meant for by another these animals, they use their discrimination by nature's law. Tigers will never come to your garden to eat fruits and vegetables. No. By nature, they have got teeth and jaws to kill another animal. They want to eat, drink blood, fresh blood. Nature has given them all the provisions for that. Similarly, we human beings, this is scientific. Our teeth are meant for eating fruits. That is one Dr. Cooney, in your Germany. He said that... And actually, if you eat fruits and milk, you will have never any kind of sickness. That's a fact. So they're also life.

Lecture on SB 1.10.6 -- Mayapura, June 21, 1973:

So one man, one medical practitioner, he killed his servant in the operation room very mercilessly. The servant was implicated with his wife. To revenge, he called the servant in the operation room. The servant did not know that he was to be killed. And immediately he was captured, chloroform, and mercilessly killed with knife and then packed up in a box. He was taking the corpse in a different place to throw away. In the meantime a police officer was passing. He saw that drops of blood is coming out of the box. He immediately arrested. So this case was. Then the doctor was condemned to death. So Mr. Armstrong was appointed his lawyer. So he was solacing, "Don't worry, I shall get you released by appeal." So our so-called scientists, they also say like that: "In future we shall do this. In future. Now you go to hell. That's all." But in future they cannot do anything. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Nature's law is so strong. The so-called childish scientists, they cannot give any relief. That is not possible. That is not possible. It is simply false promise. And those who are fools and rascals, they believe that in future... Future, but what they have done in the past? They cannot do anything.

Lecture on SB 1.10.11-12 -- Mayapura, June 25, 1973:

So bhava-sāgarasya. The whole universe is bhava-sāgara. Sāgara means ocean, or sea. And bhava means repetition of birth and death. Bhava. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). In the Bhagavad-gītā, once we take birth, we remain here for some time, then we give up this body; we accept another body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). We have to... So long we are in this material ocean, we have to accept these laws of nature, repetition of birth and death. This is called bhava-sāgara. So we are eternal, nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). It requires little intelligence, that "I am eternal. Why I am in this business, accepting one body, and again giving up, giving it up? And there is no guarantee what kind of body I'm going to accept next." There is no guarantee. It will be according to your work. We can become an insect, or we can become the demigod. We can become tree; we can become animal—anything, according to our karma. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1).

Lecture on SB 1.13.15 -- Geneva, June 4, 1974:

So therefore he was punished. Now just see. In his childhood he was playing with an ant, piercing the rectum with a thorn. That is also taken account, "All right. You will be punished." Just see how finer laws are there in nature. So the Maṇḍūka Muni did that. Therefore it was recorded he should be punished like that.

This is our position. Anything... If you are walking on the street, if you kill an ant by walking, you will be punished. This is nature's law. We are in such a dangerous position. In every movement there is punishment. Now, if you believe the śāstras, that is different thing. If you don't believe, then do anything you like. But from śāstra we can understand the laws of nature, or God, is very, very strict, very, very strict. So Maṇḍūka Muni also chastised Yamarāja, that "In my childhood, without any knowledge I did something and for which you have given me so great punishment. So you are not fit for becoming a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya. You become śūdra." So he was cursed to become śūdra. Therefore Yamarāja took his birth as Vidura and was born in the womb of a śūdra mother. This is the history of Vidura's birth.

Lecture on SB 1.15.1 -- New York, November 29, 1973:

So you cannot violate the laws of Kṛṣṇa, or laws of nature, that is not possible. You are not at all independent. Because these rascals, they'll not understand this. They are always thinking, we are independent. That is the cause of all unhappiness. Nobody is independent. How you can be independent? Nobody is independent, neither you can be independent, neither nobody is independent. That factual, who is independent? Here you are sitting, so many boys and girls, who can say "I am independent of everything"? No, nobody can say. So this is our mistake, and by misusing our independence we are suffering in this material world in so many ways. That has to be reformed. That has to be checked. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has preached, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). We living entities, we are eternally servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is our position. But if we deny this position, "Now why shall I become servant of Kṛṣṇa? I am independent," then suffering begins, immediate. Kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vañcha kare, as soon as you desire to enjoy independently, immediately—that means immediately he is captured by māyā.

Lecture on SB 1.15.20 -- Los Angeles, November 30, 1973:

So you American people, you have become tiger now, Nixon tiger. But if you don't behave obligely, if you don't feel obliged, if the tiger feels obliged that "By the grace of the saintly person, I have come to the stage of becoming a tiger, I must be very much obliged to him..." But instead of becoming obliged, if you want to eat, then again become a mouse. If the saintly person has got the power to make you from mouse to tiger, then he can convert you again from tiger to mouse. You must always remember this. So by the grace of God, Kṛṣṇa, you have become so powerful nation, rich, beautiful, educated. By grace of Kṛṣṇa you have become, but if you forget Kṛṣṇa, then you are again going to be mouse. Remember that. Nobody will care for you. Just like Englishmen. Englishmen, they established the British Empire, great, powerful, most powerful nation in the world. Now they are not so. Because they misused their power. So you get power, opulence, by the grace of Lord, Kṛṣṇa. And if you misuse it, then you become again... That is happening. That is the nature's law. Nature's law.

Lecture on SB 1.15.20 -- Los Angeles, November 30, 1973:

If He does not give protection, you cannot enjoy your life. That is not possible. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says... Kṛṣṇa is giving protection, but not as much as He wants to give you protection, because you deny to accept it. Because you deny to accept His protection, therefore He is giving protection to you as much as you want. And if you want full protection, then the condition is sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "Give up your own manufactured, concocted means of protection. You just surrender unto Me, and I will give you protection." Protection for what? "Protection from sinful activities." We are victimized by our sinful activities due to ignorance. We do not know what to do, what not to do. Out of ignorance we do something, and we become victimized by the laws of nature. But if you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, He will give you protection. You will never be victimized. You will never be victimized. Because Kṛṣṇa says,

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te
(BG 10.10)

Kṛṣṇa will guide you. Kṛṣṇa is within yourself, and He can speak to you. You can hear Him also, provided you are fully surrendered.

Lecture on SB 1.15.22-23 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1973:

So without understanding our real identification, if we remain intoxicated and wander within this wonderful universe... You cannot live. It is not that because you have settled up, "Now I am in America or India. Let me live here comfortably. I have got very good arrangement." But you will not be allowed to live, sir. You must have to change. You may make very good arrangement, but who is allowing to stay here. You will not be allowed to stay here. But they do not know. Intoxicated, because intoxicated. Everyone is thinking that "I shall stay forever. Let there be very big iron skyscraper building. I will be able to stay." But because intoxicated, he cannot understand that he will not be allowed to stay. You may simply spoil your energy. That's all. The energy which was given to you to understand God, you are spoiling that energy in skyscraper building, but you will not be allowed to stay. This is nature's law.

But the rascals, they do not know because they are intoxicated already by the nature's law, māyā, and they are still being intoxicated, more drink liquor, more drink liquor, and go to hell.

Lecture on SB 1.15.24 -- Los Angeles, December 3, 1973:

Prabhupāda: Now read the purport also. (SB 1.15.24)

Pradyumna: "According to the anthropologists, there is nature's law of struggle for existence and survival of the fittest. But they do not know that behind the law of nature, there is the supreme direction of the Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is confirmed that the law of nature is executed under the direction of the Lord. Whenever therefore there is peace in the world, it must be known that it is due to the good will of the Lord, and whenever there is upheaval in the world, it is also due to the supreme will of the Lord. Not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Lord. Whenever, therefore, there is disobedience of the established rules enacted by the Lord, there is war between men and nations. The surest way to the path of peace is, therefore, dovetailing everything to the established rule of the Lord. The established rule is that whatever we do, whatever we eat, whatever we sacrifice, whatever we give in charity, must be done to the full satisfaction of the Lord. No one should do anything, eat anything, sacrifice anything, or give anything in charity against the will of the Lord. Discretion is the better part of valor, and one must learn how to discriminate between actions which may be pleasing to the Lord and those which may not be pleasing to the Lord. An action is thus judged by the Lord's pleasure or displeasure. There is no room for personal whims. We must always be guided by the pleasure of the Lord. Such action is called yoga-karmasu kauśalam, or actions performed which are linked with the Supreme Lord. That is the art of doing a thing perfectly."

Prabhupāda: (aside:) That child... So the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, the statement is there by Kṛṣṇa,

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham
(BG 15.15)

Actually, everyone is suffering or enjoying. There is no enjoyment, only suffering. But the struggle for existence, to counteract the suffering, we take it as enjoying. Actually there is no enjoying.

Lecture on SB 1.15.25-26 -- Los Angeles, December 4, 1973:

This is the theory of struggle for existence and survival of the fittest. The law of nature is like that, that the stronger overpowers the weaker. The stronger overpowers the weaker. In another place it is stated,

ahastāni sahastānām
apadāni catuṣ-padām
phalgūni tatra mahatāṁ
jīvo jīvasya jīvanam

A living entity, they live by eating another living entity. What is that? Ahastāni sahastānām. Sahastānām means those who are endowed with hands. That means man, man form, human form, they have got hands. So those who have no hands..., just like the animals, they have got legs, they have no hands. So ahastāni, those who have no hands, they are food for the animal with hands: bite that animal. Those animal with hands... They are animal, those who are eating another animal; they are not human being. Although they have got the form of human being, they are not considered human being. Human being means when he's civilized, cultured, then he's human being. If he's not civilized, if he's not cultured, simply having two hands-he's animal.

Lecture on SB 1.15.25-26 -- Los Angeles, December 4, 1973:

So this is the law of nature, that the weaker section is devoured by the stronger section. So here it is said, jalaukasāṁ jale yadvat. In the water, there are so many aquatic animals, the struggle is going on. The stronger fish eating the weaker fish. This is going on. That is the law of nature. Therefore meat-eaters, so long they are like animals, they can go on with this nature's law. You are man, you are stronger; therefore weaker animal—cows and goats—you slaughter them. They are stronger bodily, but they have no intelligence. So man has got intelligence. So if you misuse your intelligence in that way, you can do that. That is nature's law. But human being means culture, advance, in spiritual consciousness. That is human. So this consciousness is developing gradually.

Lecture on SB 1.15.34 -- Los Angeles, December 12, 1973:

So Kṛṣṇa's two business is going on in this material world. One is paritrāṇāya sādhūnām (BG 4.8), and the other is vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām. One business is to give protection to the law-abiding devotees. Devotee means who accepts the Supreme Lord as the supreme controller and accepts himself as subordinate. This is devotee. Devotee is not very... Actually, we are subordinate to the laws of nature, and the nature is being manipulated by the Lord. Therefore, ultimately we are subordinate to the Supreme Lord. God is great; everyone knows it. But I am not great; I am subordinate. Acceptance of this philosophy means, I mean to say, godly conscious or Kṛṣṇa conscious. Very simple thing. There is no difficulty. But the demons are so rascal, they will not admit it. They are already under control-prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27)—under the control of the stringent laws of material nature. Still, foolishly that rascal demon is thinking that he is free. This is rascaldom. Just like a outlaw, an outlaw is thinking that he doesn't care for the government. Although he is put into jail, he is punished there, still, he is declaring, "No, I don't care for the government." Madness.

Lecture on SB 1.15.34 -- Los Angeles, December 12, 1973:

So therefore association is so important. Saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ. According to association we infect different qualities. That they do not know. But nature's law is so particular, as soon as you infect by association a particular type of quality, you have to suffer for that. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He was asked by one devotee, gṛhastha devotee, householder, "Sir, what is the duty of a gṛhastha devotee, Vaiṣṇava?" Devotee means Vaiṣṇava. So He immediately informed him, asat-saṅga-tyāga ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra: (CC Madhya 22.87) "A Vaiṣṇava's behavior should be that he should give up the company of asat, nondevotee." That is his first business. He should give up the company of nondevotee. This is first business. Because he will be infected. Therefore we insist our students that "Don't go out." Even you are discomfortable, you should tolerate, but you should not go out of the society. Then you will surely fall down, surely fall down.

Lecture on SB 1.15.34 -- Los Angeles, December 12, 1973:

Therefore this Yadu dynasty was placed amongst themselves. Because there was no other person to kill the Yadu..., and any one of the Yadu dynasty. Therefore this fratricidal war was manufactured and they died. Yayāharad bhuvo bhāraṁ tāṁ tanuṁ vijahāv ajaḥ, kaṇṭakaṁ kaṇṭakena. Kaṇṭakaṁ kaṇṭakena. Just like if you have got some thorn pricked in your leg, you take another thorn and get it out. This is the law of nature. One demon is killed by another demon. That is the keeping balance. There is war. We have experience. One demonic nation has grown up very strong, so immediately another demonic nation declares war, or he declares war—both of them are finished. This is going on.

Lecture on SB 1.15.34 -- Los Angeles, December 12, 1973:

Actually, Kṛṣṇa does not want you to do anything else except to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is Kṛṣṇa's desire. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is His desire. People say foolishly, "What is the desire of God?" And here is the the desire of God. Openly it is said that "You give up all other occupations. Simply take to this occupation, how to become a devotee." Man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ. That is Kṛṣṇa's desire. But we shall not do that thing. We shall do everything except that thing. That is our problem. And therefore we are suffering. That is demoniac. That is demoniac. Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ, disobedient to Kṛṣṇa.

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
prapadyante narādhamāḥ
māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
(BG 7.15)

Āsuraṁ bhāvam is there. So in order to save sometimes, āsuraṁ bhāvam, that is increasing the āsuraṁ bhāvam, so immediately there is death.

So this law is going on, nature's law. Nature is not independent. Nature is working under the direction of the Lord. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). So everything is under the law, under the order of God, but He is not under anyone's order, anyone's guidance or anyone's order. That is God. That is the difference. This morning we were discussing that if everything has got cause, then God has got also cause. Some of our... Yes. But that is the difference, that if God also has got cause, then how He becomes God? He is one of us. God has no cause. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1).

Lecture on SB 1.15.35 -- Los Angeles, December 13, 1973:

Therefore the incarnation is already there, Kṛṣṇa is there, Kṛṣṇa's instruction is there, but people are not taking advantage of it. Not taking advantage of it. Everything is there. Therefore our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to rescue these rascals from this ignorance and give Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Most philanthropic work. They will become dog next life; we are trying to save them, "Don't become dog. Just become god or godly." This is our movement. But they are persistent to become dog. Even they are coming here, again falling. Persistent to become dog. So that is nature's law, what can be done?

So this is the bhū-bhāraḥ. Bhū-bhāraḥ, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is also incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is absolute. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the same. That is absolute. In relative world consciousness is different from the person, but in the absolute world consciousness and the subject matter of consciousness is the same. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name is the same; Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's form the same. Therefore when you worship Kṛṣṇa's form it is not waste of time; it is worshiping Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.15.35 -- Los Angeles, December 13, 1973:

So real thing is bhakti. So when people become rascals and nonsense and do not care for God consciousness, devotion to God, that is become bhū-bhāraḥ, burdened. That has now become. Now Kṛṣṇa has, because at the present moment in the Kali-yuga... Kṛṣṇa formerly came to kill big, big giant demons like Rāvaṇa and Kaṁsa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, very, very big giant. But that the present moment where is that big giant? They are all poor. There is no... Although by mentality they are all rogues and rascals and demons, but in material condition they are very very poor. That is stated. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). People are so unfortunate that even the bird and beast, they can get their two meals, eating, sleeping, mating; they have got their arrangement. At the present moment a human being has no arrangement what he is going to eat in the morning or in the evening, whether he has got any chance of sex life. These things are preliminary requirement, but nobody is guarantee of these things, they are so unfortunate. They are not getting the preliminary necessities of life, what to speak of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are so unfortunate. So why should come Kṛṣṇa to kill them? They are already killed by the laws of nature. They are already killed, half-killed. Therefore Kṛṣṇa has come in the form of His name. Please chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.15.36 -- Los Angeles, December 14, 1973:

But Kṛṣṇa is not like that, and that is described here. Although Kṛṣṇa left this world, that does not mean that He left this world as we leave. Our leaving this world means we are leaving this material world and accepting another body. Therefore, at the present moment we are not in our own body. Our body is changing. Now this American body, and next birth may be Russian body. This is going on. You are fighting against the Russians, Americans, but he may get the Russian body next life. Therefore as American, he fought the whole life with the Russian, and he is going to become a Russian. Sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ (BG 8.6). This is the law of nature. This is the law of nature. Then again fights with American as soon as he gets the Russian body. Then he becomes again American. This is going on. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Sometime Russian, sometime American, go on fighting. That's all. So this is called māyā. (laughter) This is māyā.

Lecture on SB 1.15.36 -- Los Angeles, December 14, 1973:

So we have to understand what is Kṛṣṇa. And as soon as you understand Kṛṣṇa, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ, in truth, if you understand Kṛṣṇa, then you become liberated. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). So we have to understand Kṛṣṇa like that. Sva-tanvā: He left this body not as we leave our body. No. We are leaving and accepting our body by the force of nature, material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Our business is going on being forced, enforced by the laws of nature. Kṛṣṇa is not under the laws of nature; neither He has got distinction between His self and body. This is to be understood. Sva-tanvā. If somebody thinks that "Kṛṣṇa left His body and died like us..." There are a party, they think like that, "Kṛṣṇa also died like us." But that is not the fact. Kṛṣṇa left His so-called body just to befool the rascals. Because the rascals are thinking, "Kṛṣṇa is like us," therefore to bewilder them, Kṛṣṇa leaves a māyā body so that they may think that "Kṛṣṇa is like us." But actually here is the secret, that jahau sva-tanvā. He left this world in His original body. He has no such distinction. Śravaṇīya-sat-kathaḥ. If His body is like our body, material body, then what is the use of hearing about His activity? We are interested in the words of Kṛṣṇa. If Kṛṣṇa is like us, He has got the same material body, then why we should be interested to read Bhagavad-gītā, He is also a man like us?

Lecture on SB 1.15.40 -- Los Angeles, December 18, 1973:

So in the Bhāgavata it has been explained. Just like a man has got six wives, and when he comes from office, his six wives are waiting. One wife has captured his one hand, another wife has captured another hand. One wife has captured one leg, another one leg. In this way, some, hair... So in this way he is incapable. Everyone is asking, "You come to my room." But how he can go? He is captured. So this is the position. A materialistic person is captivated by so many objects of sense gratification. That is his prison house. The state laws, if you are criminal, they put him into the jail. But nature's law is such that you don't require... Your senses will keep you intact in jail. You don't require to be handcuffed. The senses are so strong that it will keep you in this material world, incapable. You cannot move. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Guṇamayī. Guṇa means qualities. Everyone is compact, bound up by different qualities: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. And guṇamayī means... Guṇa means rope also. In this way he was bound up by the ropes. Just like if I tie your hands and legs with rope, you are helpless, similarly, the guṇamayī, the mother nature, has tied up, and we are bound up by the laws, stringent laws of material nature. So daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā. You cannot get out of it. It is not possible. How to get out of it? Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). If one is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, he can get out of it. That is the only way.

Lecture on SB 1.15.44 -- Los Angeles, December 22, 1973:

But for human society, this kind of ignorance is not good, to submit to the laws of nature against my principles. I do not die. The laws of nature is forcing me to die. I do not wish to be old man. The laws of nature forcing me to become old man. So this can be avoided. And for avoiding this problem, this human form of life is there. But they do not care. They are thinking, "advancing." What advancing? Advancing means this body... Now you have got nice, beautiful American body, but by your work, if you are going to accept next life dog's life, then what is the benefit of your activities? Because there is no guarantee that you will again get the American body. Even if you get the American body again, but there is no guarantee that you will be allowed to live. If you get the American body of a cow, you will be slaughtered, even though you are American. So this is ignorance. Therefore Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja has accepted mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186), to follow the footprints of great personality. That is advancement. Otherwise degradation, degradation.

Lecture on SB 1.15.45 -- Los Angeles, December 23, 1973:

Unless Kṛṣṇa is perfectly right, why should we accept Kṛṣṇa? If He is ordinary rascal, then why, what is the use of reading His book, Bhagavad-gītā? No. All the ācāryas, all the saintly scholars, they have accepted. Therefore we have accepted. Because He is beyond all, I mean to say, faults. What is the difference between ordinary man and a liberated man? Liberated means not under the conditions of material nature. He is called liberated. Liberated means who is not conditioned by the laws of nature. He is called liberated. So Kṛṣṇa is the liberated Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore He has no defects. And those who are... Just like we are..., we are not liberated. Therefore we have got four defects. The four defects are that we commit mistake. Anyone, big, big man, he must commit mistake, because he is not liberated. He is under the laws of material nature. Who is here in this meeting who can say that "I have never committed any mistake"? Is there anybody? However learned scholar you may be, commit mistake is inherent. Similarly, to become illusioned. Illusioned means to accept something which you are not or which is not fact. That is called illusion. Just like sometimes we see that the sun is on the western side, but reflection is on the glass, and the glass is reflecting some light. So we are thinking that sun has come to the other side. We have got this experience. Sun is this side, reflecting the sun shining, and on the glass or on mirror, and the same reflection is this side. So we are thinking that "Sun is this side. The sunlight is coming..." That is called illusion.

Lecture on SB 1.15.49 -- Los Angeles, December 26, 1973:

So we have become so rascal that we do not believe in the transmigration of the soul. Actually, I am...Presently I can understand that "I had such and such body; now I have transmigrated to this body." How I have done, that is not known to you or me. That is called acintya. Perceptive. Just like the child is changing body, and you saw one child on the lap of his mother. So after few years, you come. You cannot recognize the same child who has grown up: "Oh." The mother says that "This is such and such." "Oh, you have become so grown up." So things are taken imperceptibly. That is going on by the subtle laws of nature. It is a great science, but there is no discussion of this science in any university of the whole world. And they are advancement of knowledge. They are claiming advancement of knowledge. What knowledge you have got? You do not know what you are, and you are advancement in knowledge.

Lecture on SB 1.15.50 -- Los Angeles, December 27, 1973:

This is the benefit of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious. Vāsudeve bhagavati. Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ. One who takes shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa by bhakti-yoga process... Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ... (SB 1.2.7). When applied... Janayaty āśu vairāgyam. Because in the human form of life, two things are required. That is perfection: jñānaṁ vairāgyam. Jñānam means knowledge, and vairāgyam means detachment. When one has full knowledge, then he becomes detached from this material world. We are suffering in this material world because we have got attachment. And the attachment is by nature's law, man's attachment for woman, woman's attachment for man. This is attachment. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etam (SB 5.5.8). The central point is sex, and that is the attachment. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam. The whole world, this material world, is moving. What is the central point? Sex attachment. So one has to become free from this attachment. That is called vairāgya. Vairāgya.

Lecture on SB 1.16.3 -- Los Angeles, December 31, 1973:

So everyone in this material world, he does not know what is the aim of life. Unnecessarily he is making plan, this plan, that plan, this plan, that plan. And all plan is being frustrated by the laws of nature. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Every plan will fail. And those who are plan-making persons, they are all rascals. They do not know that what kind of plan should be made. The plan should be made that everyone should be God conscious. Then every plan will be successful. Otherwise all, everything will fail.

So these sacrifices are forbidden in this age, Kali-yuga, because there is no expert brāhmaṇa who can conduct the sacrifices, neither people have got any means. Now, so far bhūri-dakṣiṇān, so there was one king. He performed this sacrifice, and by the grace of Lord Śiva, he got the information of a golden mountain. So golden mountain, he collected enough gold from that mountain, and in the sacrifice he made everything made of gold, everything. So he distributed utensils. That is the system, that to the brāhmaṇa who attends the sacrifice, they are given money, utensils, cloth, bedding. Because brāhmaṇas, they do not care for material possessions. They are simply engaged in Brahman consciousness, God consciousness.

Lecture on SB 1.16.12 -- Los Angeles, January 9, 1974:

So always we must be disturbed. If everything is all right... Just like in your country, supposing everything is all right. But what is that severe disease? Cancer. Cancer. People are afraid of cancer. Or something else. Must be. You cannot be peaceful here. That is not possible. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). But the foolish rascals, they cannot understand that "I want to live peacefully, happily. Why these things are enforced upon me?" That is consciousness, real consciousness. Nobody wants to die, nobody wants to suffer from disease. Nobody wants to be suffering from any calamity, or nobody wants that there should be fire. Now just see. Especially in America we see, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun, going down, fire brigade. But nobody wanted fire, but the fire brigade is alert because there must be fire somewhere. That is expected. That is expected. And if there is fire, there will be havoc. So nobody wants the havoc, but it takes place. It takes place. This is the nature's law. Because as soon as dharmasya glānir bhavati, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham. There may not be discrepancies in the process of religious life. That is nature's law.

Lecture on SB 1.16.21 -- Hawaii, January 17, 1974:

So that is the law of nature. So nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). Then why don't you accept the supreme authority? This subordinate authority... We have to accept somebody as our leader. It is not possible that we can live without leadership. That is not possible. Is there any party, is there any school, or is there any institution that they're conducting without any chief leader or director? Can you show me any instance throughout the whole world? Is there any instance? No. Just like from our camp somebody has left, but he has accepted Gaurasundara or Siddha-svarūpa Mahārāja as chief. The principle is there, that you have to accept one chief. But intelligent is that which, what kind of leadership we shall accept. That is knowledge. We have to accept the servitorship or underhand, to become underhand of some person. So the intelligence is that "Whom we have to accept?" That, there lies intelligence: "What kind of leader we shall accept?"

Lecture on SB 1.16.21 -- Hawaii, January 17, 1974:

So this is the problem. Animal-killing is not within the category of human civilization. When a man becomes civilized, he knows how to produce food. He can till the ground. He can produce food grains. He can produce fruits and flowers and so many things. Even in the animal kingdom, there are different kinds of animals. They do not touch meat-eating even. They do not touch. Every, every animal has to live by destroying or killing another animal. That is nature's law. Jīvo jīvasya jīvanam. Either you eat vegetable or you eat meat, it doesn't matter. Vegetable has also got life. But there is allotment. Just like the cows or other animals, they do not eat meat, they live on grass. Grass has got (also) life, but because they eat grass life, therefore they will eat meat? No. The allotment. Similarly, human being should be also... There is allotment. For human being, God has given us the foodgrains, the fruits and... Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find. Kṛṣṇa is saying that "Anyone who is supplying Me this patraṁ puṣpam..." Patram means leaves, vegetables, and puṣpam means flowers. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalam, fruits. Toyam, and milk. So why? He is speaking in the human society. He's not speaking in the animal society. Therefore it is already described what kind of foodstuff we shall take. So patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalam. This is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We offer to Kṛṣṇa the patraṁ puṣpam—flower, vegetables, grains, milk products—and we take prasādam. This is our movement.

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

So it is only Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement trying to bring back Vedic culture so that people may be very happy. It is not a business; it is not a religious sentiment. It is a program to make everyone happy. Sarve sukhino bhavantu. This is Vedic culture. Not that "I exploit you, you exploit me, I cut your throat, you cut my throat." This is not human society. And this has begun already. Because you cut throat of the animals—you are very expert, cutting throat—now you will cut throat each other. This is the... So a sober man, thinking all this downfall of the human civilization, he becomes very unhappy. He becomes, very unhappy. Oh. This human civilization, human being, human form of life, was given by God or the nature for cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness, spiritual. That is not possible in the lower form of life, animals, the cats and dogs. And this is an opportunity given by nature's law. Now we get this body. Now you understand your position, what you are, to understand that you are not this body. So long in the lower grade of life you were under the impression that you are a body, the cats and dogs. They do not know that the body and soul is different. But it is the human form of life to understand that "I am not this body."

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

So the evolution means developed consciousness, and according to the developed consciousness, one gets a particular type of body. This is nature's law. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ, ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham... (BG 3.27). The evolution means evolution of consciousness. The same child, when he's... He'll get a different body. Just like a female child. By evolution, means when she gets another body, youthful body, her consciousness is different. If you get the body of a pig, your consciousness is different from the consciousness of a man. A pig will very easily eat stool, but a human being will not eat. Similarly, in every behavior... Just like we, Kṛṣṇa conscious people, we have given up intoxication. Now, if somebody comes and bribes and offers some money that "You take this one thousand dollars and drink," you'll not agree. Because your consciousness is developed. So evolution is not of the body. Evolution of consciousness. And as your consciousness develops, you get a particular type of body. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). Therefore, the evolution should be of the consciousness. And this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When you come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then your life is perfect. And fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, then you, after giving up this body—tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9), no more material body.

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

We are already in inauspicity. And therefore these descriptions are there. You have no fixture anything—where to live, where to take bath, where to eat, where to have sex life—nothing fixed up. Everything catastrophe, chaos. What more inauspicity you want? Everywhere. Here even one problem, another, in another country, another problem, another problem, another problem. He must be problematic. Daivī hy eṣā... Because anyone who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, he must be punished by the laws of nature. He must be punished. Therefore it is said, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ... (BG 7.14). They're already, in inauspicity. The whole atmosphere is inauspicious. So if there is little more inauspicity, what is the wrong there? There is nothing... The more inauspicity will come. Now, still, in your country you are not poverty-stricken. You have got enough food. These things also will be stopped. Now you have got food in chaos, but there will be no food also. Then the mother and father will eat his own children. This is world, this Kali-yuga, everything. No food will be produced.

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

Because the difficulty is they do not know what is the aim of life. The aim of life, that we are conditioned by this material nature, embodied by the material elements, and that is the cause of our all miserable condition of life. Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva says, nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma. Pramattaḥ (SB 5.5.4). We are so mad under the bodily... Everyone is under the... Big, big scientists also, they are also. They don't believe there is soul. Big, big scientists, politicians, philosophers. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). They remain animals. If anyone has taken this body as the self... Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. So the modern Kali-yuga is very, very dangerous for the human being. They are given chance by the laws of nature, "Now take your birth as human being." Because to get a body as a human being or as a demigod or as a king or as a lower class man or as an animal, as an..., that is not in our hands. That is in the nature's hands.

Lecture on SB 1.16.24 -- Hawaii, January 20, 1974:

Kālena vā te balināṁ balīyasā. Time is very powerful. Another place in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā.

tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido
na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ
tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ
kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā
(SB 1.5.18)

So in due course of time, everything happens. That is the nature's law. When I was also a child, I was looking very beautiful, but kālena, in due course of time, I'm now old man, a ugly man. Nobody likes. (laughter) So this is the influence of time, influence of time. So influence of time will act. You cannot check it. Influence of time, that is nature's law. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā (BG 7.14). That is māyā's strength. How you can check? It is not in your power.

Lecture on SB 2.1.1-2 -- New York, April 19, 1973:

Therefore one who is actual Kṛṣṇa conscious, paṇḍita, paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ... (BG 5.18). Paṇḍitāḥ, he does not see the outward dress; he sees the living entity encased in this particular type of body. So he has no concern with the body. Therefore a sādhu always thinks of everyone's benefit. Just like Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī. Of the Gosvāmīs it is said, lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau tri-bhuvane mānyau. Because they were benefactor for all kinds of living entity, therefore they were honored tri-bhuvane, in three worlds. Tri-bhuvane. Lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau. Nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau. A sādhu's business is for the benefit of all living entities. A sādhu does not like to cut even a tree, because he knows, "Here is a living entity. He is standing here for many years by his karma, and he has to continue this for many years more. So he cannot avoid this because it is nature's law." Just like if you are put into prison for six months, nobody can save you, nobody can make you less, one day less than six months. So we get our particular type of body, we have to remain in that body for a certain period by the laws of nature. So by cutting the body—the living entity does not die—but because we check the continuation of his period, therefore we become sinful. You cannot cut even a tree without Kṛṣṇa's purpose. Without Kṛṣṇa's purpose we cannot kill even an ant, we cannot cut even a tree, then we shall be liable to punishment. So a sādhu sees that "Here is also a living entity."

Lecture on SB 2.1.1-2 -- New York, April 19, 1973:

Our Godbrother, Śrīdhara Mahārāja, says... He was speaking from a paper that one of our great politician, very, in India, he has now become a dog in Sweden. It is published. There were enquiries about some prominent men in India, and he has answered, and one of the answer is, "Such-and-such politician, he is now one of the two dogs of a gentleman in Sweden." You see. So this time, in this life I may become very big man, or big politician, big diplomat, big businessman, but next life, after your death, it is your big, your greatness of this material will not help you. That will depend on your work, and nature will offer you a certain type of body, you'll have to accept. Of course you will forget. That is the concession given by nature. Just like we do not remember what we had been in our past life. If I remember that suppose I was a king in my past life, now I have become a dog, then how much suffering it will be. Therefore by nature's law one forgets. And death means this forgetfulness. Death means this forgetfulness.

Lecture on SB 2.1.1-5 -- Boston, December 22, 1969:

So Parīkṣit Mahārāja, you know, I have several times spoken, he had only seven days to meet his death. He was young man, but some way or other, he was cursed by a brāhmaṇa boy, not a brāhmaṇa, that he would meet death within seven days, and... This is Vedic culture, that before death one should prepare very nicely to go back to Godhead. This is Vedic culture. The modern civilization, they do not know what is going to happen after death. But our Vedic culture is not so blind. Vedic culture has got an aim, what is the aim of human life, not aimless life. Aimless life is animal life. They have no aim. By the laws of nature they are going on, transforming from one body to another, and ultimately they are coming by evolutionary process to the human form of life. And especially this civilized human form of life, it is very responsible life. One has to make his choice whether he wants to continue his materialistic way of life and change the body, one after another. That is very risky job. You should always remember that if in my next body I am given a body like a tree, just see, in this part of the world, how condemned life. They are standing in the snowfall. You have got house. You are protecting yourself. They cannot even move. So there is possibility of getting such life.

So we should be so much responsible, how to avoid such laws of nature. We can have any form of life out of 8,400,000 species that are before you. You should always remember that "If by chance I slip to one of them, then how I have wasted my time." This is responsible life. Labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte. Bahu-sambhavānte means after many, many appearances. This is appearance. This body, present body, is one of the appearances.

Lecture on SB 2.1.2 -- Vrndavana, March 17, 1974:

You have treated your life like cats and dogs. You did not take advantage of your human life. Now nature will give you, "All right, again you become cats and dogs." Punar mūṣiko bhava. They do not know. They do not know the secret science of nature. You may be a very great leader, prime minister now. Next life you are going to be a dog in Scandinavia. (laughter) You see?

But how can you check it? What is your power? Suppose by nature... There are so many lives. Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). So you have to accept another body. Now, that is not in your hand, how to accept. That is, that will depend on your nature, karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa, and nature will give you the suitable body. So if you waste your time in this human form of life like cats and dogs, then you are going to get... Otherwise, wherefrom the cats and dogs are coming? They are coming... Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). We are changing this body. So why you deny that in your next time you cannot become? No. That is your theory, but nature's law is different from your theory. You rascal, what do you know? You learn from the authorities. So the Gosvāmī's business is to do, how to save these people, these rascals, from this repetition of birth and death.

Lecture on SB 2.1.2-5 -- Montreal, October 23, 1968:

And why they are so much ignorant? "Because they have made home as the center of activities. They do not know; neither they are educated. It is not their fault. The system of education is faulty. They do not give any education about the ātma-tattvam. They give education that, about economic development, about technological understanding, about scientific understanding of the laws of nature, and so many other things, but there is no department of knowledge to understand what is soul. Apaśyatām. Because they do not see, they do not know, therefore they are too much attached to this body, and this body means home. And home means wife. Wife means children. Children means money. Money means society, so many things. Yes.

Lecture on SB 2.1.4 -- Delhi, November 7, 1973:

So these things are coming gradually. But still pramatta, people are mad after that. The same thing. What is that? Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu (SB 2.1.4). They are mad. "We have to maintain the society, friendship, family, country, community." And there is fighting. There is rivalryism. Because when there will be shortage of food, shortage of everything, then there will be naturally fighting like cats and dogs, killing. People are indulging in killing even his own son, abortion. Because people are degrading, they are killing live thing. So that will be reacted. In the womb the man, the person, will be killed. Reaction. Why so many abortions are taking place nowadays? Because the child which has come into the womb of the mother, he is sinful. He has done previous life so many killings. Now he has to be killed so many times. He has to be killed so many times. As many times he has killed other poor animals. This is the law of nature. Just like in the state laws, if you kill somebody, the state law will kill him. Life for life. Similarly, God's law, how even if you kill one ant even, you will be responsible for this, and it will have to be punished. They do not know this. They do not know this. They think that "I am very well situated. I have got very good balance. I am born in a nice nation or community or society. I have got wife, my children. They will give me protection." They will not give you protection. Nobody will give you protection. You have to protect yourself. Everyone is responsible for his own work. Nobody will be responsible for your work.

Lecture on SB 2.1.4 -- Vrndavana, March 19, 1974:

So our real problem is how to revive our original, eternal life. That is struggle. The modern people, scientists, philosophers, they even do not know what is our original constitutional position, and... Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). I do not die, even after the destruction of this body. These things are unknown. And still, they are posing themselves as leader of the society. Therefore the śāstra says, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ: (SB 7.5.31) "One blind man is leading several other blind men." Te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ: "They do not know that they are bound up by the laws of nature very tight, hands and legs." There is no question of freedom.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
(BG 3.27)

So real life is to know what is the value of my life, how I have to attain the original position. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). And now I am getting this śarīra, or body, and I am being annihilated one after another. And I am getting one body annihilated, again getting another, next body. This great science is unknown to the modern civilization, and therefore they are considered as pramattaḥ, all madmen, hankering after some temporary happiness. Pramattaḥ. They are called pramattaḥ.

Lecture on SB 2.1.5 -- Los Angeles, August 13, 1972:

Now, if at the ultimate end of this body, if we can remember Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful. What? How is that? Now as soon as we remember Kṛṣṇa, immediately we are transferred to the spiritual world, the abode of Kṛṣṇa or Goloka Vṛndāvana. It does not take even a second's time. Spirit soul is so forceful that anywhere... The yogic success is like that. Yogic, those who are successful yogis, they, at the..., they do not die by nature's law. They control even their death. How is that? They make yoga practice, and when they think that one is perfect now, so he leaves this body and he transfers himself to any planet he likes. There is no need of sputnik. Similarly, the bhakta-yogī, he does not like to stay in any one of the planets within the material world, because he knows from the authoritative description of Bhagavad-gītā and Vedic literature. Just like you'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna: (BG 8.16) "My dear Arjuna, beginning from the Brahmaloka, the highest planetary system within this universe, down to any other, I mean to say, downwards planet, you can travel anywhere, wherever you like..."

Lecture on SB 2.1.5 -- Delhi, November 8, 1973:

Now, we are presenting Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If you don't accept Supreme Personality of God, Kṛṣṇa, then what is your Supreme Personality of Godhead you present? Then you compare who is actually Supreme Personality of Godhead. What is the meaning of Supreme Personality of Godhead? Why you are taking? Why you are taking sectarian? Kṛṣṇa claims, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya (BG 14.4). All forms of life. Not only human forms of life, even animal forms of life, vegetable forms of life, aquatics. They are all... Actually that is the fact. We are not this form. We are not this body. But according to our mentality, by nature's law we are getting a particular type of body. Actually, I am spirit soul. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). Just like I am developing my ideas, youthful ideas. I am getting youthful body. I am developing childish ideas, getting childhood body. So as you develop, Kṛṣṇa, or God, has given you full freedom. You have come to this material world to enjoy. Now you make your plan of your enjoyment. God will give you a particular type of body and you enjoy. Just like the hog, he is enjoying. He is enjoying. What he is enjoying? Enjoying stool. It is very good for him enjoyment. But it is not for enjoyment for you. You'll..., that, "Oh, what a nasty animal it is. It is eating stool." But he is enjoying.

Lecture on SB 2.1.5 -- Delhi, November 8, 1973:

Kṛṣṇa says, "Give me patraṁ puṣpam, vegetables, flowers, grains, milk." So you can prepare hundreds and thousands of preparations from these article, and you take the remnants of foodstuffs of Kṛṣṇa, that is human life. Not to eat kadarya, kadarya, nasty things. That is not human life. So if you continue to eat all the kadaryas, then you get ultimately the body of a hog, no discrimination even for stool. That is the laws of nature.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
(BG 3.27)

Prakṛti, nature, will give you chance, "All right, you want this?" Mind... You are creating... Mind is the creating force.

Lecture on SB 2.1.6 -- Paris, June 14, 1974:

So this is the point. So you are trying to understand the whole analytical study of the material world. That is very good. But if you do not know how to remember Nārāyaṇa at the time of death, then you are going to be cats and dogs. That's all. Because you are very fond of dog. Especially in the Western countries, every gentleman, every lady has a dog. So what will you think at the time of death? Dog. So that is nature's law. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā. At the time of death, the mental condition which you have created, that will carry you to the next body. Therefore don't create your mind doggish. Make it Kṛṣṇa conscious. And that is very nice. Then at the time of death you remember Kṛṣṇa and you will be transferred to the Kṛṣṇaloka. That is described: etāvān sāṅkhya-yogābhyām. Therefore it is advised, "Whatever you may be, it doesn't matter. Practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That will save you." Otherwise... Janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām. Janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām ante.

Lecture on SB 2.3.1 -- Los Angeles, May 19, 1972:

So this process of hearing from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā, must be continued. That is our life. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23). Śravaṇam means hearing. Kīrtanam means chanting about Lord Viṣṇu. Not for others. "Now I am hearing and chanting about Nixon." (chuckles) That will not help. Because everyone is busy in newspaper, "What Nixon said, what he is doing..." Everywhere. The politicians, they have made the minds of general people, general public, that they're very much interested what the politician says. Every day he says that he's simply speaking all nonsense; still, he's interested. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). They are called, "chewing the chewed again and again." Matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho 'bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām.

na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ
durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ
andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās
te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ
(SB 7.5.31)

Īśa-tantryām, by the laws of material nature, one who is bound up tight, hands and legs... we are all. We cannot, I mean to say, neglect the laws of nature. If you eat little more, then you have to fast for three days. That we actually know. If you expose little to cold, then you have to pay ten dollars to the doctor fine. So they are so much bound up by the laws of nature; still, they are thinking, "I am free. I am independent. Where is God? I am God." Just see. Such foolish persons, that every moment he's being kicked on his face by the boot of material nature, and still he's saying, "I am God, I am independent."

Lecture on SB 2.3.9 -- Los Angeles, May 26, 1972:

Kṛṣṇa says the sufferings of birth... They do not understand, such fools, that what is the suffering of birth. Even if you are not killed, you have to remain compact in a vat, airtight. And the worms, they are biting. So many things. Suffocated. That is one thing. But if he can live at least for ten months, the mother does not kill, abortion, then it has got a chance to come out. Otherwise, there is no chance to come out ever. He dies within the womb, again transferred to another womb, and again it is killed. So those who are too much sinful, those who are causing these abortions, they will get this sort of life. They will never see light. One womb, killed; another womb, killed; another womb, killed; another womb, killed. This is so sinful, this abortion. And the modern civilization and the priestly order, they are passing: "If the mother selects... otherwise, there is no objection, abortion." Such foolish world is going on. You see? There are so many subtle laws of nature.

Lecture on SB 2.3.17 -- Los Angeles, July 12, 1969:

This dhāma, everywhere, either this material world or the spiritual world, that belongs to Kṛṣṇa, or God. We are not proprietor of anything. But in this material world, this is, although it is a property, it is the property of the Supreme Lord... Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything belongs to God. Just like everything belongs to government, either in the prison house or outside the prison house, similarly, this material world is just like prison house, conditioned life. Just like in the prison house you cannot change your cell from this cell to another cell. Just like in free life you can go from this home to that home, in prison life you cannot do that. You must stay to your cell. So all these planets are like cells. We are trying to go to the moon planet; that is not possible, not in this way. That way is different. I have explained many times in this meeting. Because we are given a particular cell. Either we are Americans or Indians or Chinese or Russian, we have been given this planet. Live—you cannot leave it by your will. Although there are millions and billions of planets, and although you have got machine to fly, but because we are conditioned, checked by the laws of nature or God, you cannot go. Exactly like the man who is put into certain cell, he cannot change at his will without the superior authority. So Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that don't try to change this cell, from this cell to that cell. That will not make you happy. If you think, if a prisoner thinks that "I am in this cell. Let me request the superintendent of the jail to change my cell and I'll be happy," that is a mistaken idea. One cannot be happy so long he is under the prison walls. One should become free. That should be the aim of our life. So we are trying to be happy by changing the cell, by this "ism" to that "ism," by capitalism to communism, from communism to this "ism," that "ism." That will not make us happy. You'll have to completely change from this "ism," this materialism. That's all. Then you'll be happy.

Lecture on SB 2.3.17 -- Los Angeles, July 12, 1969:

That I have repeatedly explained in this meeting. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). Simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa, how He appears, how He disappears, what is His constitutional position, what is my constitutional position, what is the relationship with Kṛṣṇa, how to live. Everything. Simply if you understand these things, Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ... Tattvataḥ means reality, scientifically. Not by whims or sentiments or fanaticism. No. Everything. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is everything scientific, solid scientific. It is not bogus. It is not imagination. So tattvataḥ. That is called tattvataḥ, in fact, in reality, in truth. If one understands Kṛṣṇa in truth, then the result is tyaktvā deham. By giving up this body... We have to give up this body, willingly or unwillingly. A day will come when you have to submit to the laws of nature and give up this body. Even your president, Mr. Kennedy, he was going in procession, but when nature's law demanded that "Now you submit your body here and change for another body," he had to. There was no question, "Oh, I am president, I am Mr. Kennedy, I cannot do this." No. You have to do it. Force. That you do not understand, how this nature's force is working on us.

Lecture on SB 2.3.18-19 -- Los Angeles, June 13, 1972:

That is not possible. We may be very intelligent to cheat here the police or the government or the laws, but it is not possible to cheat the supreme laws. That is not possible. Therefore, in order to avoid the superintendence of the Supreme Lord ... because there is superintendence ... as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, you have read, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). "Under My superintendence the law of nature is working." So we are under the laws of nature. The nature is very vigilant, strong agent of Kṛṣṇa. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). So we cannot avoid. Even if we deny, "There is no God, there is no systematic government or stringent laws," just to avoid our responsibility, but that will not save us. Now, the argument is in the previous verse. It is said that we are decreasing our duration of life. The scientists will say, "No, we shall stop it." Taking this argument, Bhāgavata says, "Suppose you stop death ..." It cannot be.

Lecture on SB 2.3.18-19 -- Bombay, March 23, 1977, At Cross Maidan Pandal:

What is health? First of all you have to understand that however healthy you may be, you must die. What problem you have solved? Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9), Kṛṣṇa says. It is not my manufacture. However you may try to remain very healthy, nature's law is that you must die. How you can help yourself? After all, you have to meet death. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. So long you have got this material body, there is no question of health. You must suffer. You may be very great scientist in oblivion, but the nature's law must act.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate
(BG 3.27)

Foolish persons-ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā-bewildered by false egotism, he's thinking, "I am improving health, I am improving this, I am doing..." He's improving nothing. He is completely under the clutches of material nature. He cannot act anything independently. That is the law of nature.

Lecture on SB 2.3.20 -- Bombay, March 24, 1977, At Cross Maidan Pandal:

Who cares for your manufactured system? Just like nobody cares for if you make some law, that "I have made some law," and go to the court, "Sir, I have made this law. Please accept." "He's lunatic. Drive him away." That is not possible. This is dharma, as Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is dharma. Don't manufacture dharma. (break) Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7). What is that glāni? Discrepancy. So glāni is disobedience to the order of God. That is glāni. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata. So the whole world is denying, śūnyavādi, nirviśeṣa-vādi, nirākāra-vādi: "No God. God is dead." So what kind of religious system they'll manufacture? They are simply misled. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ (SB 7.5.31). Very tightly regulated by the laws of nature, and still, we are independently manufacturing religion. This is not possible. Give us this... Sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). Actually this is dharma. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). It doesn't matter whether you are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or any other sect. The test is how much you are advanced in understanding God. That is the... If you do not understand God, if you have no obedience to God, that is not dharma.

Lecture on SB 2.3.21 -- Los Angeles, June 18, 1972:

So bhāraḥ paraṁ paṭṭa-kirīṭa-juṣṭam. A silk turban with pearl, what is called, decoration, bedecked with pearls, these are the signs of king. Just like we decorate Kṛṣṇa with turban, bedecked with jewels. So this turban is good so long we bow down before the Deity. Otherwise it is a great burden. Although it is made of silk, still, it will be a great burden. The idea is that if we bow down or surrender unto the lotus feet of Mukunda-Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa, one who gives liberation—then we can enjoy princely order or richness. There is no harm. But if we are lacking in that capacity to surrender unto the Supreme Lord, and simply we become puffed up with these riches, then it will be a burden. Burden means very soon everything will be lost. Just like you cannot keep the burden, heavy burden, on your head for a long time, similarly, this nice turban, silk turban, will be felt as great burden. This is the law of nature. If you misuse the power and do not feel obliged to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has given you the power, then you'll be finished very soon.

Lecture on SB 2.3.24 -- Los Angeles, June 22, 1972:

Even if you say "primitive," the primitive life is very nice. Primitive life means simple life. Keeping pace with the nature's law. It is very nice. Primitive life ... It gives you anxiety-free life, and therefore, even if you take it as primitive, the saintly persons, sages, they used to live long, long years, and their brain was so sharp, because they were taking natural food, fruits, grains, and milk that helps to develop human brain for understanding subtle subject matter. So even Vyāsadeva... You have seen the picture of Vyāsadeva. He's writing books just near a cottage only. But he's writing. Nobody can create such literature. But he was leading very simple life, in a cottage. Even, say, 2,000 years ago or little more, there was Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, he was a brāhmaṇa, but great politician. His politics are studied even now in M.A. class. And because he was a great politician, diplomat, under his name in our India, in New Delhi, the capital, there is a neighborhood which is called Cāṇakya Purī, and all the foreign embassies are there.

Lecture on SB 2.8.7 -- Los Angeles, February 10, 1975:

So here the question is... This question is almost inquired by intelligent persons, that "We have come to this material world and suffering, but the living entity is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, or God. How he has come to this material world?" That is very intelligent question. Therefore it is said here, yadṛcchayā: "It is automatically, by nature's law," or hetunā, "or there is some cause? Whether there is any cause about the living entities coming down in this material world? Which one is correct?" So without any cause, there cannot be anything. That is logic. And the rascal philosopher's statement, "It happened automatically. There was a chunk, and the creation came...," this is rascal's philosophy. Jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8). The rascals, they do not accept that there is a cause of this creation. That they do not understand. They do not know, and they theorize. You'll find mostly in the Western countries all these philosophers... The Darwin's theory... He cannot give any reasonable cause. Some theory: "It may be, perhaps, for millions of years there was no..." Speculate. And he admits that "Whatever I am presenting, it is all my speculation." We have seen his letter, some, from 150 years ago. He wrote a letter to a friend. He admitted that "Whatever I am presenting, that is speculation." But science is not speculation. Science cannot be speculation. That is not science. "Two plus two equal to four"—this is science. And if you speculate—"Two plus two equal to five" or "Two plus two equal to three"—that is not science.

Lecture on SB 2.9.4-8 -- Tokyo, April 23, 1972:

Sudāmā: Śrīla Prabhupāda? If they are really going there in the moon planet, then the bodies of the living entities are different than our bodies because the...

Prabhupāda: No, you cannot go and live there.

Sudāmā: Right. So perhaps if they are really going there, then if they cannot..., and the living entities are living there as it is stated in the scripture, then perhaps they are doing very much damage or intruding, going against the laws of nature.

Prabhupāda: First of all let us admit that they are going. That is my first objection, whether they are actually going or giving bluff.

Pradyumna: And you suggested before that if on the moon planet there was such intelligent beings, that if someone was aiming to go to the moon, they could just by mystic powers...

Prabhupāda: Yes. Divert them.

Pradyumna: Divert them.

Prabhupāda: To some hellish place. (laughter) Nowadays they are going airplane, sometimes diverted. Yes. So if they are demigods, they have got better brain and... There are so many questionable things, contradictions of the... We cannot take, accept it, that the statement in the Vedic literature, they are not right, but they are right. No, we cannot.

Lecture on SB 3.25.7 -- Bombay, November 7, 1974:

So our business is also like that. We are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, and we should give, render, we should render service to the best of capacity. That is our real constitutional position. But here Devahūti says that bhūmann asad-indriya-tarṣaṇāt. Asad-indriya-tarṣaṇāt. At the present moment in this material world, we are busy to enjoy these material senses. This is our position. Everyone is satisfying. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ, manasas tu parā buddhiḥ... (BG 3.42). In this way, you go, and when you go beyond the range of buddhi, that is soul. That is spiritual platform. In the ordinarily we are, in the material platform, we are interested in gratifying senses: "I like it. I must have it." But that sense gratification means we are becoming implicated, implicated in the laws of nature. That is also stated in the śāstra.

nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma
yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti
na sādhu manye yata ātmano 'yam
asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ
(SB 5.5.4)

This is the instruction in the Vedic literature, that the people in this material world, they are very, very busy. Not only men—even the animals, even the birds, beasts, insect. We see on the beach, there are so many dogs, and they are assembled there for sex.

Lecture on SB 3.25.9 -- Bombay, November 9, 1974:

So then you will understand ya bhagavān. Ya bhagavān puṁsām īśvaraḥ. Bhagavān means Īśvara, controller. You are not independent. Everyone is dependent. Somebody is dependent of somebody, somebody... But you are dependent. Nobody can say, "I am independent." Even President Nixon, he's not independent. He was dragged down from the post. So you cannot say that "I am independent." That is a foolish proposal. You must always think that you are dependent. That is said, stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). Bahir-artha-māninaḥ, and there is said, te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ. Īśa-tan... We are bound up by the laws of nature, hands and legs, tightly, and you still think that you are independent? You don't care for God? This is the mūḍha. The mūḍha says like that. No intelligent man will say like that. So why it is so happened? The Devahūti says that tamasā andhasya, lokasya tamasā andhasya. Generally, all these people in this material world, lokasya, they are blind by the darkness of ignorance. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes. Therefore Kapiladeva comes. When they become dark, when they become blind out of ignorance—"There is no God," "I cannot see God"—then God comes, "Here I am. See. See My feature. I am a person. I am a flute-player. I am... I enjoy in Vṛndāvana. Why don't you see Me?" That is called yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7).

Lecture on SB 3.25.10 -- Bombay, November 10, 1974:

They do not offer to Kṛṣṇa, and they eat whatever they like. The result is that you have misused this opportunity of human life, to understand Kṛṣṇa and go back to home, back to Godhead, so that you'll be happy eternally. You'll be freed from this entanglement of bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). You enjoy one duration of life; again you have to give it up. Then you accept another duration of life. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate. This human life is meant for getting rid of this business, taking birth and dying, taking birth and dying. This is meant. This is... This opportunity's given, but if you do not use it properly, you use it as cats and dogs and hogs, then the..., by nature's law, you will get the body next life cats and dogs and hogs. You eat even stool. Because you had no discrimination in eating, the "All right, you can now eat..." the pig's body, hog's body you get, and eat even up to stool. That opportunity is given. And you have sex life with your mother and sister. You see hog's life. They have no sex discrimination. They do not discriminate, "It is..., she is my mother," or "She is my sister." No. So this is hog's life. Therefore śāstra says that "Don't be foolish to lead a life like hogs." Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). The material civilization should not be like that. What is that? Now, simply for sense gratification. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān. That sense gratification is also not very easy. People are working so hard. They are stealing even, risking life. So many things they are... This is not very easygoing life. Kaṣṭān kāmān. Everything is studied by śāstra. Arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye. This kind of life is meant for the hogs.

Lecture on SB 3.25.11 -- Bombay, November 11, 1974:

Therefore father said, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Kṛṣṇa says, the supreme father, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4). He's the supreme father. You don't care for father. Therefore... The nature is working under the direction of the supreme father. That's a fact. So if you do not care for your father, then the result will be nature will reduce supply. Reduce supply. Nature will not allow to the demons to flourish. No. That is not allowed. Tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān kṣipāmy ajasram andha-yoniṣu (BG 16.19). The demons are always liable to be punished. Some big, big demons like Rāvaṇa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, the Lord personally comes to punish them. Otherwise, the ordinary demons, they are punished by the laws of nature. Kṛṣṇa does not require to come to punish these petty demons. But when there is big, big demons like Rāvaṇa, like Hiraṇyakaśipu, like Kaṁsa, then Kṛṣṇa, or Lord Rāmacandra, They come to punish them.

Lecture on SB 3.25.20 -- Bombay, November 20, 1974:

Now, some people came, very prominent men of Bombay, some... They have also invented something to educate or to enlighten the residents of the forest and the mountains. No, no, what you are doing for here? But they are interested... Not interested. It is a hobby. Nobody can be... There is mountain, and suppose, suppose in Africa, there are so many Africans, they are living in the... There is nature's law, but there is a process. This process is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by which everyone can be elevated. Not by these material means. Material means, you cannot do that. We are... Just like in the Śukadeva Gosvāmī's statement it is said,

kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā
ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ
ye 'nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ
śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ
(SB 2.4.18)

You can make everyone happy, even the kirāta. Kirāta means the Africans. They are called niṣāda. Niṣāda was born as the son of the king... I forget just now name. Mahārāja Pṛthu's brother.

Lecture on SB 3.25.42 -- Bombay, December 10, 1974:

So we should not misuse this... Labdhvā sudurlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte mānuṣyam (SB 11.9.29). We should not waste our this valuable life, human form of life. We begin our this evolution. First of all, the world is covered with water. Pralaya-payodhi-jale dhṛtavān asi vedam **. Now, still, three-fourth of this earthly planet is covered with water. In the beginning, the whole earthly planet was covered with water. Gradually, the water is drying up, and the land is coming. Then we are calculating, "This is Asia. This is America. This is Europe." Land is coming out. And gradually land, land, land, land—there will be only land, no water. That means destruction. When there will be no water and scorching heat, the whole earthly planet will be ablaze and everything will be burned into ashes. Then again there will be rainfall, and everything will be mixed up, and then again there will destruction. This is going on. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). And similarly, our position with this body. This will be also dissolved again. This nice form you have got, I have got, but when it will be finished, this is finished forever. We are not going to get any more. You will get different body, not exactly this body. It is bubble. One bubble lost, that is lost forever. That is lost forever. But we are so foolish, we are thinking, "This is permanent settlement, permanent settlement." This is called ignorance. There is no question of permanent settlement. Temporary under the... Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Under the laws of nature we are getting different types of bodies, different types of opportunities. And it is going on. But we are spirit soul; we are not this material body.

Lecture on SB 3.25.44 -- Bombay, December 12, 1974:

So we are planning, one after another, various plans to be very happy in this material world. But they will not make us happy—that's a fact—because this place is certified by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam: (BG 8.15) "This is a place for misery." This material world is a place for misery. This body is meant for suffering miseries, and the land is meant for suffering miseries. That we do not understand. But we are placed in a miserable condition all round. That is material life. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). But we have got attachment for this material happiness, even it is duḥkhālayam, it is very much painful, miserable, and we are making plans how to become happy here. This is called struggle for existence. It is going on perpetually. We are making some plan to be happy, and it is dismantled by the laws of nature. You study the whole history of the world: it is simply struggling. We are making some plan to be out of miserable condition, but it is causing another miserable condition. Therefore it is called daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). This is māyā. We are simply planning to overcome some problem, some difficulties, but it is becoming more difficult. This is the fact.

Lecture on SB 3.26.5 -- Bombay, December 17, 1974:

So because we are duṣkṛtinaḥ, mūḍhāḥ, narādhamāḥ, therefore there are so many varieties of life. Guṇair vicitrāḥ sṛjatīm. And that is being done by the material nature. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Prakṛti, nature's law, it does not... It is so perfect machine... One... We have several times said. Just like there is perfect machinery: if you have contaminated the germs of cholera or smallpox, venereal disease, then you must suffer from that disease. The machine is working. Machine is working. Similarly, the machine of the prakṛti is working very finely. As soon as you contaminate one kind of sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, then you become contaminated, and your activities and your body and your mode of life—everything according to that contamination.

Lecture on SB 3.26.19 -- Bombay, December 28, 1974:

These varieties... According to the Western Darwin's theory, they do not give any nice description of the varieties. But the varieties of living entities are there before creation. They become manifest in next creation. Just like in this creation one is dying as demigod, I mean to say, at the last dissolution, and one is dying as dog, or one is dying as a fish. So when the next creation will come out, they also will come out in that way, again as fish, because his activities in the form of fish was not completed. So one has to complete the term of one particular type of body. That is the law of nature. So they remain in dormant stage in the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu at the time of dissolution. Prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said. Prakṛtiṁ yānti māmi... Then, at the time of creation, they come out again in the same body as it was in the last creation. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, anādi karama-phale, paḍi' bhavārṇava-jale. Of course, the evolution takes place, but at the time of creation the particular type of body which I inherited in my last birth or millennium I get again, and again begin evolution. This is the process, going on. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). The dissolution takes place.

Lecture on SB 3.26.27 -- Bombay, January 4, 1975:

You see the whole world, the big, big politicians. In our government, central government, there is a planning commission. Perhaps every one of you know it, planning commission. From, for the last twenty years they are making simply plans, and no plan has become successful. Every plan (chuckling) is unsuccessful, and the result is eight rupees kilo rice, your staple food. The plan has come successfully to bring rice eight rupees per kilo. That is not possible. So long the, you are materially affected and making plan how to get out of it, the material nature is so strong that it will baffle all your plans, and therefore you will have to remain perpetually restless. One plan you make, and it is baffled by the material nature, stringent laws of nature. And at last, making plan, making plan, making plan—one day the time comes and immediately orders, "Please vacate your presidency, your prime ministership." Although I am trying to make plan, successful plans, up to the point of death... Pralayānta, pralayānta, asuric plan, up to the end of life... And then he entrusts. He says, "My dear son, my dear daughter, I could not fulfill this plan, so you do it. Now I hand it over to you." And the son also going on, making plan, plan, plan. It will never be fulfilled.

Lecture on SB 3.26.29 -- Bombay, January 6, 1975:

So these things are taking place daily within the womb of the mother—how the child is developing from the day of union of the father and the mother, and, on the first day, it is like a pealike form by the semina of father and mother, and then everything develops. Different types of body, different types of intelligence, different types of brain—how it takes place? If it is simply material, then all children would have come out of the same quality. But it does not so come. Every child, baby born, has got everything separate from the others. How subtle laws of nature is working, we can just imagine. It is not possible to understand by our these material senses even this material formation of the body, what to speak of spiritual understanding.

Lecture on SB 3.26.29 -- Bombay, January 6, 1975:

Īśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated in everyone's heart. He is supervising what kind of yantra, or machine, this living entity requires for fulfilling his desires. That is karma. He is engaged in such karma, and he is manufacturing by his karma another body. Everything is going on by the laws of nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Guṇaiḥ. By different guṇas—sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, goodness, passion, and ignorance—very subtle machineries are going on. They are all material.

So here it is said, therefore, dravya-sphuraṇa-vijñānam. Dravya means physical. Dravya-jñāna. Dravya-jñāna means physical knowledge. And brahma-jñāna means spiritual knowledge. So here it is said, dravya-sphuraṇa. The material, physical, phenomenal atmosphere is developing one after another. The medical science, they are trying to study different cells; but wherefrom the cells came into action? That is by the influence or by the manipulation of prakṛti. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni (BG 3.27). And prakṛti is working under the direction of Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ (BG 9.10). Therefore, ultimately, by the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead everything is going on. But how it is going on, that we cannot explain. We have got limited knowledge.

Lecture on SB 3.28.17 -- Nairobi, October 26, 1975:

So this is the simplest method how to make life sublime and superb, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. And here it is said that apīcya-darśanaṁ śaśvat sarva-loka-namaskṛtam. Sarva-loka-namaskṛtam. It is not that Kṛṣṇa is worshipable by the devotees. He is worshipable by the nondevotees also. But how the nondevotees are worship How Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by the nondevotees? They do not want to worship Kṛṣṇa. How he makes...? He doesn't want. That's all right. But nature will oblige him to worship. How he can escape the laws of nature? Kṛṣṇa will come before you as death, and you have to worship Him. Kṛṣṇa says, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham (BG 10.34). If you do not take advantage of worshiping Kṛṣṇa within your lifetime, Kṛṣṇa will come, just like Nṛsiṁha-deva came to Hiraṇyakaśipu: "You rascal, now do you think that you are independent? Do you think?" Immediately finished, within a second.

Lecture on SB 3.28.17 -- Nairobi, October 26, 1975:

So if you don't worship Kṛṣṇa during your lifetime, then you have to worship at the time of your death, and He will take away all your possession. Therefore He is worshipable by everyone, devotee and nondevotee. The devotee take advantage of this life and worship Him, and the rascal, fools, demons, they are forced to worship Kṛṣṇa at the time of death. Therefore it is called sarva-loka-namaskṛtam. You have to worship Him. You cannot escape, you rascal. If you escape, then the time will come—He will take you, He'll take everything, all your possession, and the nature will give you the body of a dog. Just go on, barking, for so many years. This is the law of nature. You cannot stop it. It is not possible. You better take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and worship as sane man, as nice gentleman. Then your life is successful.

Page Title:Laws of nature (Lectures, SB cantos 1 - 4)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Mayapur
Created:11 of Dec, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=125, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:125