Material advancement means

Expressions researched:
"material advancement means" |"materially advanced means" |"material advance means"

SB Canto 1

Being materially advanced means taking birth in an aristocratic family and possessing great wealth, an education and attractive personal beauty.

SB 1.8.26, Translation and Purport: My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling. Being materially advanced means taking birth in an aristocratic family and possessing great wealth, an education and attractive personal beauty. All materialistic men are mad after possessing all these material opulences, and this is known as the advancement of material civilization. But the result is that by possessing all these material assets one becomes artificially puffed up, intoxicated by such temporary possessions. Consequently, such materially puffed up persons are incapable of uttering the holy name of the Lord by addressing Him feelingly, "O Govinda, O Kṛṣṇa." It is said in the śāstras that by once uttering the holy name of the Lord, the sinner gets rid of a quantity of sins that he is unable to commit. Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually the Lord's holy name has such powerful potency. But there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere. A materially puffed up person may utter the holy name of the Lord occasionally, but he is incapable of uttering the name in quality.

SB Canto 7

Especially in this Kali-yuga, material advancement means degradation and attraction to many unwanted necessities that create a low mentality.

SB 7.15.29, Purport: If one becomes very rich through his professional activities, through trade or through agriculture, this does not mean that he is spiritually advanced. To be spiritually advanced is different from being materially rich. Although the purpose of life is to become spiritually rich, unfortunate men, misguided as they are, are always engaged in trying to become materially rich. Such material engagements, however, do not help one in the actual fulfillment of the human mission. On the contrary, material engagements lead one to be attracted to many unnecessary necessities, which are accompanied by the risk that one may be born in a degraded condition. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.18):

ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā

madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ

jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā

adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ

"Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds." Especially in this Kali-yuga, material advancement means degradation and attraction to many unwanted necessities that create a low mentality. Therefore, jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā: since people are contaminated by the lower qualities, they will lead their next lives either as animals or in other degraded forms of life. Making a show of religion without Kṛṣṇa consciousness may make one popular in the estimation of unintelligent men, but factually such a materialistic display of spiritual advancement does not help one at all; it will not prevent one from missing the goal of life.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Material advance means "I am this body." "I am American." "I am Indian." "I am brāhmaṇa." "I am kṣatriya." "I am man, woman."

Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Bombay, December 29, 1972: Spiritually advanced means gradually you forget that I am this material body. I am Kṛṣṇa's. I am Brahman. That is spiritually advanced. And material advance means "I am this body." "I am American." "I am Indian." "I am brāhmaṇa." "I am kṣatriya." "I am man, woman." This is materially advanced. Both ways. This human form of life... Because it is not animal life. Always remember that I'm not animal. I'm now human being.

Materially advanced, means he has got better facility for satisfying the senses.

Lecture on BG 13.2 -- Melbourne, April 4, 1972: Prahlāda Mahārāja says... He was instructing his class friends. He was a five years old boy. And he said, "My dear friends, that the material happiness..." Material happiness means sense gratification. This is material happiness. Everyone is materialistic, or materially advanced, means he has got better facility for satisfying the senses. That is material life. And spiritual life means he does not satisfy his own senses, but he satisfies the senses of God. That is spiritual life.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Material advancement means expanding the sense gratificatory process.

Lecture on SB 1.3.20 -- Los Angeles, September 25, 1972: There are 8,400,000 species of life. This human form of life is the only opportunity to understand God. Cats, dogs, even demigods, they also, because their opulence, sense gratification, is so great that they have no time. Just like here in this world also, those who are too rich, they are simply after sense gratification. They have no time to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So to become too much materially opulent means that is another danger. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has said therefore, jaḍa-vidyā jato māyāra vaibhava. The expansion of material advancement... Material advancement means expanding the sense gratificatory process. That is material. The more you expand how to satisfy your senses, that is material. And the more we expand how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, that is spiritual. That is the difference between material and spiritual. It does not mean that material stone, material, and spiritual means it becomes zero.

Festival Lectures

Materially advanced, means we are entangled with the network of māyā.

Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami's Appearance Day -- Vrndavana, October 19, 1972: One may be materially, academically very learned, so-called learned, but he does not know what is the aim of life, why he's put in this material condition, ke āmi kene āmāya jāre tapa-traya. They are trying, tapa-traya, and miseries of life, we know. There is heat and cold, adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika. These are miseries. And there are problems—birth, death, old age and disease. But we do not know from which source they are coming, and they are being enforced upon us, and still we are proud of our education. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore sings, jaḍa-vidyā jato māyāra vaibhava tomāra bhajane bādhā. The more we become so-called materially advanced, means we are entangled with the network of māyā.

jaḍa-vidyā jato māyāra vaibhava tomāra bhajane bādhā

anitya saṁsāre moho janamiyā jīvake koroye gādhā

So anitya saṁsāra, this material atmosphere, it is anitya. Anitya means temporary. Although temporary, I shall live here, say, for fifty years or hundred years. Still, I am very much busy to make adjustment of my, this temporary living condition. Everyone is busy: how to have a house, how to have nice bank balance, how to be secure nationally, this way, that way. We are embarrassed with so many problems. But at any time, at any moment, the notice may come: "Please vacate this place." We have to do that. But we do not take care of this.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Material advancement means generally, woman and money. So they have tasted all this woman and money enough. Woman, money are available very easily. But they are not interested.

Press Interview -- October 16, 1976, Chandigarh: Interviewer: What is your analysis for why it is not being... [break] Prabhupāda: Because you have rejected... (faulty recording inaudible) Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā it is said, find out this verse, bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛta-cetasām samādhau na vidhīyate [Bg. 2.44]. Vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ. Those who are, whose attention is drawn to the material comforts, they cannot take an interest in spiritual life. [break] Our attention is diverted how to improve materially. Therefore we are disinterested. But they have seen much about material advancement, they are not happy. Material advancement means generally, as we understand from the literature, viśayinaṁ saṅdarśanam atha yoṣitaṁ ca [Cc. Madhya 11.8]. Material comfort means woman and money. So they have tasted all this woman and money enough. Woman, money are available very easily. But they are not interested.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

The more material advancement means more you become dependent, more you become rascal.

Room Conversation -- January 27, 1977, Puri: Prabhupāda: Your scientific knowledge, your car, means you are more dependent. Now, suppose you have to stay here. You had to, some very important business. Now whole thing is finished. But if you have calculated without having this car, then you would have done your duty. So the more material advancement means more you become dependent, more you become rascal. That is calculation by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Jaḍa-vidyā jato, māyāra vaibhava, jīvake karaye gādhā, tomāra bhajane bādhā. Anitya saṁsāre, moha janamiyā, jīvake karaye gādhā. My business is that how to leave this material conditional life and become free. Now, with this so-called advancement of science I am becoming more and more attached. So I'll never get freedom. This is the result. Because I am trying in different way how to get, freedom. "Yes, wait millions of years. We shall do it. We shall do this." Gādhā, ass. You'll die trillions of times within millions of years, and he is expecting good result of his scientific... By the time, he'll become a banyan tree and stand there by nature's law, and he's expecting good result after millions of years. So gādhā, ass.

1969 Correspondence

Material advancement means there is amply opportunity for eating, sleeping, mating, and defending.

Letter to Rupanuga -- Hawaii 14 March, 1969: Your seventh question, "How is it that there is so much material "advancement" in the USA even though there is no formal demigod worship? Is a man after economic development automatically worshiping Lord Siva whether he is making Yajna or not?" Actually there is no material advancement in the USA. Material advancement means there is amply opportunity for eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Superficially, it appears that in the USA there is sufficient provision of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, but actually nobody is safe even in his good apartment. I have got practical experience in New York. Several times my typewriter and tape recorders were stolen and the police could not take any action. There are many persons in the Bowery street, they have no shelter to live. So if a certain fraction of the people are supposed to be very materially happy at the cost of others, that is not material advancement. Had it been so, then why there are so many persons confused and frustrated? So actually there is no material advancement here. Here, I am seeing practically that Gaurasundara, such a nice intelligent and qualified boy, he has to work hard 12 hours simply for his subsistence. I think there are many instances like that, so this is not material advancement. You can call it capitalist advancement, and the reaction for such advancement is communism. Such movement is simply suppressed in your country, but actually the reaction is this. So the Western type of civilization, industrialism and capitalism, is no material advancement. It is material exploitation. When one gets the bare necessities of life, namely peaceful home, sumptuous eating, necessary sex life, and feeling of security, then it is called material advancement. In the absence of such four preliminary necessities of life, it is not at all material advancement—just try to understand. According to Vedic civilization, a man is supposed to be rich when he has got sufficient grains and cows. Here we have neither sufficient grains or cows, but you have got sufficient quantity of papers only—falsely thinking that it is money. When there is some catastrophe, this bunch of papers will neither supply milk or grain. They will be seen only and the man will starve.