Metaphor

Expressions researched:
"metaphor" |"metaphorical" |"metaphorically" |"metaphorism" |"metaphors"

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 8.2, Purport:

At the time of death all the bodily functions are disrupted, and the mind is not in a proper condition. Thus disturbed by the bodily situation, one may not be able to remember the Supreme Lord. Mahārāja Kulaśekhara, a great devotee, prays, "My dear Lord, just now I am quite healthy, and it is better that I die immediately so that the swan of my mind can seek entrance at the stem of Your lotus feet." The metaphor is used because the swan, a bird of the water, takes pleasure in digging into the lotus flowers; its sporting proclivity is to enter the lotus flower. Mahārāja Kulaśekhara says to the Lord, "Now my mind is undisturbed, and I am quite healthy. If I die immediately, thinking of Your lotus feet, then I am sure that my performance of Your devotional service will become perfect. But if I have to wait for my natural death, then I do not know what will happen, because at that time the bodily functions will be disrupted, my throat will be choked up, and I do not know whether I shall be able to chant Your name. Better let me die immediately." Arjuna questions how a person can fix his mind on Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet at such a time.

BG 9.26, Purport:

The impersonalist philosophers, who wish to maintain that the Absolute Truth is without senses, cannot comprehend this verse of Bhagavad-gītā. To them, it is either a metaphor or proof of the mundane character of Kṛṣṇa, the speaker of the Bhagavad-gītā. But, in actuality, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Godhead, has senses, and it is stated that His senses are interchangeable; in other words, one sense can perform the function of any other. This is what it means to say that Kṛṣṇa is absolute. Lacking senses, He could hardly be considered full in all opulences. In the Seventh Chapter, Kṛṣṇa has explained that He impregnates the living entities into material nature. This is done by His looking upon material nature. And so in this instance, Kṛṣṇa's hearing the devotee's words of love in offering foodstuffs is wholly identical with His eating and actually tasting.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.5.10, Purport:

Similarly, there are different kinds of literature for different types of men of different mentality. Mostly the market literatures which attract men of the crow's categories are literatures containing refused remnants of sensuous topics. They are generally known as mundane talks in relation with the gross body and subtle mind. They are full of subject matter described in decorative language full of mundane similes and metaphorical arrangements. Yet with all that, they do not glorify the Lord. Such poetry and prose, on any subject matter, is considered decoration of a dead body. Spiritually advanced men who are compared to the swans do not take pleasure in such dead literatures, which are sources of pleasure for men who are spiritually dead. These literatures in the modes of passion and ignorance are distributed under different labels, but they can hardly help the spiritual urge of the human being, and thus the swanlike spiritually advanced men have nothing to do with them. Such spiritually advanced men are also called mānasa because they always keep up the standard of transcendental voluntary service to the Lord on the spiritual plane.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.21.20, Translation and Purport:

Mahārāja Pṛthu's speech was very beautiful, full of metaphorical language, clearly understandable and very pleasing to hear. His words were all grave and certain. It appears that when he spoke, he expressed his personal realization of the Absolute Truth in order to benefit all who were present.

Mahārāja Pṛthu was beautiful in his external bodily features, and his speech was also very glorious in all respects. His words, which were nicely composed in highly metaphorical ornamental language, were pleasing to hear and were not only mellow but also very clearly understandable and without doubt or ambiguity.

SB 4.25.22, Purport:

The body of intelligence enjoys the objects of sense gratification that cover it, such as smell, vision and hearing. The word sunāsām ("beautiful nose") indicates the organ for acquiring knowledge by smell. Similarly, the mouth is the instrument for acquiring knowledge by taste, for by chewing an object and touching it with the tongue we can understand its taste. The word sukapolām ("nice forehead") indicates a clear brain capable of understanding things as they are. By intelligence one can set things in order. The earrings set upon the two ears are placed there by the work of the intelligence. Thus the ways of acquiring knowledge are described metaphorically.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.20 Summary:

To enhance the description of Lord Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes in this chapter the beauty of Vṛndāvana during autumn and the rainy season. In the course of his presentation he gives various charming instructions in metaphorical terms.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.74, Purport:

This rhetorical rule appears in the Ekādaśī-tattva, Thirteenth Canto, in connection with the metaphorical use of words. An unknown object should not be put before the known subject because the object has no meaning if the subject is not first given.

CC Adi 16.46, Purport:

In the last line of the verse quoted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the letter bha is repeated many times, as in the words bhavānī, bhartur, vibhavati and adbhuta. Such repetition is called anuprāsa, or alliteration. The words lakṣmīr iva and viṣṇoś caraṇa-kamalotpatti are instances of upamā-alaṅkāra, for they exhibit metaphorical beauty. The Ganges is water, and Lakṣmī is the goddess of fortune. Since water and a person are not actually similar, the comparison is metaphorical.

CC Adi 16.50, Purport:

Keśava Kāśmīrī first wanted to bluff Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by saying that since He was not an advanced student in literary style, He could not review a verse full of metaphors and literary ornaments. This argument has some basis in fact. Unless one is a medical man he cannot criticize a medical man, and unless one is a lawyer he cannot criticize a lawyer. Therefore Keśava Kāśmīrī first depreciated the Lord's position. Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was to the champion a student of grammar, how could He dare criticize a great poet like him? Lord Caitanya, therefore, criticized the poet in a different way. He said that although He was certainly not advanced in a literary career, He had heard from others how to criticize such poetry, and as a śruti-dhara, possessing a complete memory, He could understand the process for such a review.

CC Adi 16.70, Purport:

The great sage Bharata Muni, an authority on poetic metaphor, has given his opinion in this connection as follows.

CC Adi 16.71, Translation:

“"As one"s body, although well-decorated with ornaments, is made unfortunate by even one spot of white leprosy, so an entire poem is made useless by a fault, despite alliteration, similes and metaphors.’

CC Adi 16.86, Translation:

"Poetic skill used with due consideration is very pure, and with metaphors and analogies it is dazzling."

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 1.41, Purport:

There is also a book called Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, a transcendental account of loving affairs that includes metaphor, analogy and higher bhakti sentiments. Devotional service in conjugal love is described briefly in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, but it is very elaborately discussed in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi. This book describes different types of lovers, their assistants, and those who are very dear to Kṛṣṇa. There is also a description of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and other female lovers, as well as various group leaders. Messengers and the constant associates, as well as others who are very dear to Kṛṣṇa, are all described. The book also relates how love of Kṛṣṇa is awakened and describes the ecstatic situation, the devotional situation, permanent ecstasy, disturbed ecstasy, steady ecstasy, different positions of different dresses, feelings of separation, prior attraction, anger in attraction, varieties of loving affairs, separation from the beloved, meeting with the beloved, and both direct and indirect enjoyment between the lover and the beloved. All this has been very elaborately described.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 1.198, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu praised the metaphors and other literary ornaments of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s transcendental poetry. Without such poetic attributes, He said, there is no possibility of preaching transcendental mellows.

CC Antya 5.104-105, Translation:

“A poet who does not know the grammatical regulative principles, who is unfamiliar with metaphorical ornaments, especially those employed in drama, and who does not know how to present the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa is condemned. Moreover, the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are especially difficult to understand.

CC Antya 14.41, Purport:

This verse is clearly metaphorical.

CC Antya 18.98, Translation:

“The blue lotuses are friends of the sun-god, and though they all live together, the blue lotuses plunder the cakravākas. The red lotuses, however, blossom at night and are therefore strangers or enemies to the cakravākas. Yet in Kṛṣṇa's pastimes the red lotuses, which are the hands of the gopīs, protect their cakravāka breasts. This is a metaphor of contradiction.”

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 10:

The Vedic hymn known as Kāma-gāyatrī describes the face of Kṛṣṇa as the king of all moons. In metaphorical language, there are many different full moons, but they are all one in Kṛṣṇa. There is the full moon of His face, the full moons of His cheeks, the full moon of the sandalwood-pulp spot on His forehead, which is a half-moon, and the beautiful full moons of His fingernails and toenails. In this way there are twenty-four and a half moons, and Kṛṣṇa is the central figure of all of them.

The dancing movement of Kṛṣṇa's earrings, eyes and eyebrows is very attractive to the damsels of Vraja. Activities in devotional service increase the sense of devotional service. What else is there for two eyes to see beyond the face of Kṛṣṇa? Since one cannot sufficiently see Kṛṣṇa with only two eyes, one feels incapable and thus becomes bereaved.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 10:

Therefore it is the recommendation of Caitanya Mahāprabhu that one should simply hear from authorities who are actually devotees of the Lord. Hearing from professional men will not help. If we hear from those who are actually self-realized, then the nectarean rivers, like those which are flowing on the moon planet, will flow into our ears. This is the metaphor used in the above verse.

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, "A materialistic person can give up his material hankerings only by becoming situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness." Unless one finds a superior engagement, he will not be able to give up his inferior engagement. In the material world everyone is engaged in the illusory activities of the inferior energy, but when one is given the opportunity to relish the activities of the superior energy performed by Kṛṣṇa, then he forgets all his lesser pleasures. When Kṛṣṇa speaks on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, to the materialistic person it appears that this is simply talk between two friends, but actually it is a river of nectar flowing down from the mouth of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Nectar of Devotion 13:

One must be situated in pure devotional service before he can relish Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as it is.

In the above two verses of Rūpa Gosvāmī there are some metaphorical analogies that indirectly condemn the association of materialistic society, friendship and love. People are generally attracted to society, friendship and love, and they make elaborate arrangements and strong endeavors to develop these material contaminations. But to see the śrī-mūrtis of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa is to forget such endeavors for material association. Rūpa Gosvāmī composed his verse in such a way that he was seemingly praising the material association of friendship and love and was condemning the audience of śrī-mūrti or Govinda. This metaphorical analogy is constructed in such a way that things which seem to be praised are condemned, and things which are to be condemned are praised. The actual import of the verse is that one must see the form of Govinda if one at all wants to forget the nonsense of material friendship, love and society.

Nectar of Devotion 22:

There is the following statement in this connection: "O Murāri (Kṛṣṇa)! How wonderful it is that although the demons, who were always envious of the demigods, have failed to penetrate Your military phalanx, they have penetrated the region of mitra, the sun globe." The word mitra is used metaphorically. Mitra means "the sun globe," and mitra also means "friend." The demons who opposed Kṛṣṇa as enemies wanted to penetrate His military phalanx, but instead of doing this, they died in battle, and the result was that they penetrated the planet of Mitra, or the sun planet. In other words, they entered into the Brahman effulgence. The example of the sun planet is given here because the sun is ever-illuminating, like the spiritual sky, where there are innumerable illuminating Vaikuṇṭha planets. The enemies of Kṛṣṇa were killed, and instead of penetrating Kṛṣṇa's phalanx, they entered into the friendly atmosphere of the spiritual effulgence. That is the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore He is known as the deliverer of His enemies also.

Nectar of Devotion 26:

Kṛṣṇa used a buffalo horn as a bugling instrument. This instrument was always highly polished and circled with gold bands, and on the middle there was a hole. Regarding these instruments, there is a metaphorical statement about a gopī named Tārāvalī. It is said that Tārāvalī was bitten by the most venomous snake of Kṛṣṇa's flute. Then, in order to neutralize the poisonous effect, she drank the milk produced by the buffalo horn in the hand of Kṛṣṇa. But instead of decreasing the poisonous effect, it increased it a thousand times. The gopī was thus put into the most miserable poisoned condition.

Nectar of Devotion 27:

As far as breathing heavily is concerned, it is stated, "Lalitā (one of the gopīs) is just like a cātakī bird, which only takes water falling directly from the rain cloud and not from any other source." In this statement Kṛṣṇa is compared to the dark cloud, and Lalitā is compared to the cātakī bird seeking only Kṛṣṇa's company. The metaphor continues to say, "As a heavy wind sometimes disperses a mighty cloud, so the heavy breath from Lalitā's nostrils caused her to miss Kṛṣṇa, who had disappeared by the time she recovered herself."

Nectar of Devotion 38:

Vṛndāvana are compared to lakes filled with lotus flowers, and because of the scorching heat of separation from Kṛṣṇa, the lakes—along with the lotus flowers of their lives—are being burned up. And the swans in the lakes, who are compared to the vitality of the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, are no longer desiring to live there. In other words, because of the scorching heat, the swans are leaving the lakes. This metaphor is used to describe the condition of the devotees separated from Kṛṣṇa.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.5.9-11 -- New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969:

Simply setting some words in a jugglery way just to draw people's attention to waste time, that's all. Vāk-cāturyam. Vāsudeva-vyatiriktānya-viṣaya-jñānavād evānya-viṣayaṁ vāk-cāturyaṁ (ca) khilam, khilam eva ity aha, khilam.(?) It is insignificant. Citra-padam api yad vaco harer yaśo na pragṛṇīta. You can write nice books using your literary career, metaphor, and, what is called, so many things. They are producing nice literature. But if there is no glorification of the Lord, then, harer yaśo pragṛṇīta tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham. Then it is just like the place where the crows take pleasure. That's all.

Because such kind of literature will be accepted by men who are like crows. Tad vāyasaṁ tīrthaṁ kāka-tulyānāṁ kāmināṁ yati-sthānam uśanti manyante.(?) Just like kāminām, those who are very lustful, what is their pleasure spot? That vagina, that's all. That urinal. That is their pleasure. Is urinal, is very nice place? But he's sophisticated. He finds, "Oh, this is very nice place."

Lecture on SB 1.5.9-11 -- New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969:

On the contrary, this is a kind of literature very nicely written, metaphorical, and poetry, everything. But there is no question of glorifying the Lord. That is compared with, just like the same place, where the crows will take pleasure. On the other hand, other kind of literature, what is that? Tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api (SB 1.5.11). A literature presented to the people, to the public for reading, which are even grammatically incorrect, but because there is glorification of the Lord, it can produce revolution. It can purify the whole human society. My Guru Mahārāja, when he was selecting articles to be published in The Harmonist, if he sees simply that there is, several times the writer has written "Kṛṣṇa," "Lord Caitanya," like that, he passes immediately: "All right. It's all right. (laughter) It is all right." That so many times he has uttered "Kṛṣṇa" and "Caitanya," so it is all right. (chuckles)

Lecture on SB 1.5.9-11 -- New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969:

Just like my Guru Mahārāja, sādhu, a saintly person, immediately passes: "Yes. It is all right." It is all right. Because there is glorification of the Lord. Of course, general public will not understand... But this is the standard, standard version, spoken by Nārada. You write something; the aim should be simply to glorify the Supreme. Then your literature is pavitra, purified. And however nicely, either literally or metaphorically or poetically, you write some literature which has nothing to do with God, or Kṛṣṇa, that is vāyasaṁ tīrtham. That is pleasure spot for the crows.

This is the version of Nārada Muni. We should be taking note of this. And for the Vaiṣṇava there is one qualification: poetic. You should... Everyone should be poetic. So... But that poetry, that poetry language, should be simply to glorify the Lord. Then it is... Just like Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, they are poets. They have produced so many songs. But about whom? About Kṛṣṇa.

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

Therefore those who are paramahaṁsas, those who have understood the essence of this cosmic manifestation, they are not interested in such literature. On the other hand it is said that tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavaḥ. (commentary) Vināpi pada-cāturyaṁ bhagavad-yaśaḥ-pradhānaṁ vacaḥ.(?) Śrīdhara Svāmī gives note that there may not be any poetic, metaphorical, or analogical, ornamental language, but vināpi pada-cāturyam. Pada-cāturyam. Pada means composition. In every language there are rules and regulations for composing poetry or prose, grammatical, rhetorical. So even such knowledge, even without such knowledge, pada-cāturyaṁ bhagavad-yaśaḥ-pradhānam. Just like we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So we are not training our students any way about musical science, that "We have to chant in this way or that way, we have to dance in this way or that way." Without any musical knowledge, without any poetic understanding, even a child can take part in it, and he becomes immediately absorbed in ecstasy. Why? This is because we are chanting the glories of the Lord.

Lecture on SB 1.5.12-13 -- New Vrindaban, June 11, 1969:

Now Vyāsadeva is discussing different kinds of literature. So he has explained that any literature, however nicely prepared from rhetorical point of view, or poetical, metaphorical, grammatical, but if there is no information of the Absolute Truth, such literatures are useless and no saintly person will take any interest in such literature. They give it up. Just like the swans, they do not take pleasure in a place where the crows can take pleasure. As there is distinction between the crows and the swans, even in the bird's kingdom, or even in the animal kingdom... You'll find always. The different kinds of varieties of birds and beasts, they live together. Similarly, those who are saintly persons, those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious persons, their taste is different from the persons who are just like crows. Crows are interested in things... Carvita-carvaṇānām. Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "chewing the chewed." Already it has been chewed, and if somebody wants to try it, "Let me see. What is the taste there?" it is useless labor only.

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

This is called anuprāsa. It is literary beauty. Everything "ta." Tapas tapīyāṁs tapatāṁ samāhitaḥ. Anuprāsa. So many t's in one line. Tapas tapīyān. So in Bhāgavata, it is not that whimsically written. There is literary beauty, metaphor, simile, and what is called, symmetry, reason(?). Everything is complete. Not that whimsically a line, three lines, one line, and two lines, and it becomes a poetry. In Sanskrit poetry writing is not so easy. You have to follow so many rules and regulations. How many words in the beginning, first line, how many words in the second line. Sāhitya-darpaṇa. There is a book, Sāhitya-darpaṇa. Therefore it is called Sanskrit. Sanskrit, everything is reformed. It is not like that "B-U-T but, P-U-T put." If you say "u," "a," then you must say "B-U-T but" and "P-U-T put." But not that sometimes "put," sometimes "but." No. That will not be allowed in Sanskrit. The pronunciation must be regular. You cannot change. Saṁskṛta. Saṁskṛta means reformed, Sanskrit language. Devanāgarī. This language is spoken in the higher planetary system, even in Vaikuṇṭha. This language is spoken. Devanāgarī. Deva-nagara. Just like Tokyo is Japan-nagara, similarly... Nagara means city.

Lecture on SB 3.25.12 -- Bombay, November 12, 1974:

Why? Because they're killing the trees and making this grāmya-kathā newspaper, bunch of. Useless. They are making profit.

Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśaḥ. The devotees, Bhāgavata, they say, na yad vacaś citra-padam (SB 1.5.10). Very nicely spoken, figuratively, metaphorically, ornamentally, citra-padam. Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśaḥ pragṛṇīta karhicit. But there is no sense of kṛṣṇa-kathā. There are two kinds of kathās: grāmya-kathā and kṛṣṇa-kathā. So any literature which is very nicely presented from literary point of view, metaphorically, figuratively, but there is no glorification of the Supreme Lord... Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo jagat-pavitraṁ pragṛṇīta karhicit, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham uśanti mānasāḥ (SB 1.5.10). That is like the place for pleasure of the crows. Even in the birds' society there are crows and there are swans. You'll find the crows are interested in a place where filthy things are thrown out. All nasty things are thrown out. The crows will come and they will enjoy there. By nature. But the swans will not come. The white swans, they'll require very nice, clear water, with lotus flower in a garden, and birds are chirping. They're interested there. Similarly, there are men crowslike, and there are men swanlike. That is nature's division.

Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Montreal, July 1, 1968:

Therefore Lord's name is, another name is Uttama-loka. Uttama. Uttama-śloka means choicest words, "one who is worshiped by the choicest words." So they presented the choicest words, very learned scholars. I mean to say, grammatical, metaphorical, everything very nice. Sattvaikatāna-gatayo vacasāṁ pravāhaiḥ. And they presented their prayers just like flow of the water. They were very learned. So there was no impediment. They could say fluently, pravāhaiḥ.

Nārādhituṁ puru-guṇair adhunāpi pipruḥ. Prahlāda Mahārāja says that "These demigods and sages, they could not satisfy. Still, now..." Kiṁ toṣṭum arhati sa me harir ugra-jāteḥ. "How it is possible that the Lord will be satisfied by my prayers?" This is the humbleness. A devotee should always consider himself that he has no value. "How I can satisfy Kṛṣṇa or the Supreme Lord? I have no possession." That is the devotee's position. A devotee should never think that "I am well equipped. I have got very nice education.

Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Calcutta, March 5, 1972:

That I explained yesterday. It is very... Vaiṣṇava aparādha is the greatest dangerous offense. Therefore, Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His teaching to Sri Rūpa Goswāmī, He has especially, vaiṣṇava-aparādha hātī mātā, you are doing everything. He has compared Vaiṣṇava aparādha as mad elephant. He has very nicely metaphorically explained this. Just like you have a nice garden, very good garden, you are watering, you are giving protection, giving manure, everything. But if in that garden a mad elephant enters, then it will destroy everything, all your labor will go to hell immediately. It will destroy everything. Similarly, you may do anything very nicely; but if you commit offense at the feet of a pure Vaiṣṇava, then all your assets will be immediately vanquished. Vaiṣṇava aparādha. Because Kṛṣṇa is very angry. Tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān kṣipāmy ajasram yoniṣu (BG 16.19). In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, Kṛṣṇa said, dviṣataḥ krūrān. Dviṣataḥ, those who are envious upon Vaiṣṇava and Viṣṇu, the more dangerous position is to be envious of a Vaiṣṇava. Viṣṇu aparādha can be excused, God is very kind.

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

For offering prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you do not require any high qualification. It doesn't matter. You can offer your prayer from any standard of life. Not that you have to become a very learned man, very scholarly man, and you have to present your prayers in a very nicely selected words so that poetry, rhetoric, prosody, everything is there, metaphor. Nothing required. Simply you have to express your feelings.

So what is that real feeling? One must be aware of his position; then one can express his feeling. Feeling should be very sincere and automatic. And what is our position? That has been taught by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches us how to pray. He says in His prayer, na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). Jagadīśa: "O My Lord of the universe." Jagat-īśa. Jagat means universe and īśa means Lord. So it does not matter whether you are Hindu or Muslim or Christian or anyone. It does not matter.

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

So Prahlāda Mahārāja is encouraged. Tasmād ahaṁ vigata-viklava īśvarasya sarvātmanā mahi gṛṇāmi yathā manīṣam: "Therefore I shall try to offer my prayers according to my capacity." It is not that because one does not know Sanskrit or a particular type of language and he cannot pray very nicely with poetic simile, metaphors... These things are not required. Simply you have to open your feelings of love of Godhead. Then He's pleased. It does not depend on the particular type of language or poetic ideas. No.

Lecture on SB 7.9.18 -- Mayapur, February 25, 1976:

So, na tad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo pragṛṇīta karhicit, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham. Any literature, very nicely written, just like Shakespeare writing or some other, big, big mundane writers, their writing, it is very nicely written, grammatically very correct, and metaphorically very nicely meant... Na tad vacaś citra-padam. Citra-padam means very artistically written. There are literatures very artistical. Na tad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo pragṛṇīta karhicit. But there is no glorification of the Lord; simply literary presentation. Such kind of literature is described, tad vāyasa-tīrtham: "This kind of literature is preferred by the class of men who are like crows." Crows. But the Vedic literature, which is sung by Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva or a devotee, even that is broken language presented, tad gṛṇanti śṛṇvanti sādhavaḥ: "They'll be accepted by saintly person. They'll sing it and they'll accept it." That is the secret of success. If your literature is exactly following the mahājano yena sa gataḥ, then it will be liked by highly advanced saintly person. And if it is a presentation of mundane literary career... Therefore that gentleman has rejected even Aurobindo and Dr... Others he has rejected: "They are useless."

General Lectures

Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, April 7, 1971:

One who does not understand Kṛṣṇa, he is daring to write comments on the Bhagavad-gītā. That is misleading. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, duṣkṛtina. They will produce volumes of books. Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśaḥ (SB 1.5.10). Bhāgavata says that "You can produce volumes of books with nice literary, metaphorical arrangements." Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśaḥ na pragṛṇīta karhicit. The Bhāgavata says that "You can produce a nice book by mental concoction and speculation with nice grammatical and metaphorical arrangement, but if there is no glorification of Kṛṣṇa, then it is..." What is, like that? Tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham: "This is a place where you throw away all nasty things." After your mucus or any, all nasty things you throw away, the crows will come there. They will enjoy. Therefore Bhāgavata says, "Such literary productions where there is no glorification of the Supreme Lord, it is just like the enjoyable spot of the crows." But there is another class of birth who are called swans, rāja-haṁsa. They will not come there. They will not come there and enjoy with the crows.

Departure Talks

Departure Lecture -- London, March 12, 1975:

And, on the other hand, na tad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo pragṛṇīta kar..., na pragṛṇīta karhicit, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham. To the devotees, a literature, a so-called literature, very nicely written, with decorated words, metaphorism and these things... Tad-vāg-visargo, na tad vacaś citra-padam, very nicely, literally very nicely decorated, na tad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo na pragṛṇīta karhicit, but there is no mention about Kṛṣṇa and His glories... Just like especially in the Western countries you have got newspaper, big, big bunch of newspaper, but not a single line is there about Kṛṣṇa, not a single. So for the devotees this kind of literature is compared with the garbage. Tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham. Just like vāyasam, crows. The crows gather together where? Where everything nuisance thrown away, they gather together. You will find. That is the nature amongst the class of bird. Where all nasty things are thrown away, the crows will gather. The another bird, swans, they will not go there. The swans will gather in a very nice garden with clear water, lotus flower, and birds, and singing. They will gather there. As there are... By nature, there are different classes of animals, even in the birds, beasts.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Socrates:

Hayagrīva: Socrates, in a very famous allegory or metaphor, pictures humanity living in a dark cave, and the teacher has seen the light outside of the cave. He knows that there's something outside the cave that is light, and he may return to the cave to tell people in the cave that this is darkness. And the people in the cave, many of them would consider him to be crazy for speaking of such a thing as the light outside of the cave, and that this was a very, conceivably a very dangerous position to be in.

Prabhupāda: But actually that is the fact. Just like we are say so many times, Dr. Frog. A frog within the dark well, he is thinking, "Here is everything." And if he is informed, "Oh, there is big miles of water, Atlantic Ocean," so this Dr. Frog, from within the well he has never seen the Atlantic Ocean, and he cannot conceive that the water can be so expansive. So therefore those who are in the dark well, for them it is surprising that what is the light outside. But that's a fact. And one who has fallen, he is in the..., if he is crying that "I am fallen," so it is said that the man outside, he drops a rope, that "You catch this rope and I shall take it out." But he does not catch up. Just like we are presenting that you, everyone in the material world, you are suffering, you take, catch up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are refusing, or they do not admit; that is going on.

Philosophy Discussion on Plotinus:

Hayagrīva: He uses this following metaphor. He says, "We are like a chorus grouped about a conductor who allow their attention to be distracted by the audience. If, however, they"—that is we, the individual souls—"were to turn toward their conductor, they would sing as they should and would really be with him. We are always around the One. If we were not, we would dissolve and cease to exist. Yet our gaze does not remain fixed upon the One. When we look at it, we then attain the end of our desires and find rest. Then it is that all discord passes. We dance an inspired dance around it. In this dance the soul looks upon the source of life, the source of the intelligence, the root of being, the cause of the good, the root of the soul. All these entities emanate from the One without any lessening, for it is not a material mass."

Prabhupāda: Yes. There is good sense, that God is individual and the soul is individual. As he has given the metaphor or analogy that the con..., parties of a concert party...

Devotee: Conductor and a chorus.

Philosophy Discussion on Origen:

Hayagrīva: He uses this metaphor. He writes, "The human body has unity because its various members are all made for specific functions in it, and it is bounded by a single soul. In the same way, it seems to me, the whole immense, gigantic world should be regarded as one being kept alive by God's power and logos, as by a single soul."

Prabhupāda: But single soul is created, he says. But that single soul, his spiritual identity is never created. That is the difference between matter and spirit. Anything material, that is created. Spiritual is never created.

Hayagrīva: At the same time...

Prabhupāda: (aside:) You go and wash your face with water, running.

Purports to Songs

Purport to Sri-Sri-Gurv-astakam -- Los Angeles, January 2, 1969:

Nobody can preach, nobody can become a spiritual master, without obtaining power from the right source. Therefore the very word, it is stated here, prāptasya. Prāptasya means "one who has obtained." Prāptasya kalyāṇa. What he has obtained? Kalyāṇa. Kalyāṇa means auspicity. He has received something which is auspicious for all the human kind. Prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya. Here is another example. Guṇārnava. Arṇava means ocean, and guṇa means spiritual qualities. Just like the same example is going on. It is very nice poetry. There is nice rhethorics and metaphor. The example is set, blazing fire, and it is to be extinguished with the cloud. And wherefrom the cloud comes? Similarly, wherefrom the spiritual master receives the mercy? The cloud receives his potency from the ocean. Therefore the spiritual master also receives his power from the ocean of spiritual quality, that is, from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya. Such kind of spiritual master, one has to accept, and vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam, and one has to offer his respectful obeisances to such authorized spiritual master. (end)

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 14, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:

Prabhupāda: Then the analogy and metaphor should be like that. Nothing should be twice repeated. So there is Sāhitya-ratna in Sanskrit, Sāhitya-ratna. Caitanya Mahāprabhu defeated one great scholar simply by little mistake. Yes. Keśava Kāśmīrī. Keśava Kāśmīrī was great scholar, and Sanskrit great scholar means he must fluently speak in Sanskrit verses everything.

Allen Ginsberg: Everything he says must be done in perfect Sanskrit verses?

Prabhupāda: Oh, that is... Yes. That is Sanskrit scholar. Not in prose. He'll go on composing verses. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu at that time was sixteen years old boy, but He was very learned logician. So the Keśava Kāśmīrī, he was traveling all over India by, I mean to say, competing other paṇḍitas, other learned scholars. So he, everywhere he was victorious. So he came to Navadvīpa. And in those days Navadvīpa and Benares and Udipi and Kashmir, four, five places, were very scholarly.

Allen Ginsberg: I have been to Birbhum.

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation Including Discussion on SB 1.5.11 -- January 19, 1972, Jaipur:

Prabhupāda: Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśaḥ. You can present a literature very perfect from literary point of view, from metaphor and poetical, rhetorical, very perfectly written, citra-padam, attractive by language. Na yad vacaś citra-padam, such kind of literature, if there is no description of the glories of the Lord, na tad vacaś citra-padam. Just like there are so many sex literatures, very attractive, it is selling like anything. But we are not interested in those rascal literatures. Tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham, such literature is considered as the place of enjoyment of the crows. Vāyasam means crow. The crow take enjoyment in the garbage, you have seen? They won't go in a nice place. They will come all together. Just like vultures, they come together to take pleasure in a corpse, dead body. But a white swan, rāja-haṁsa, he goes to a place where there is nice water, lilies and lotus and nice trees. You have seen that St. James Park? They will find out such nice place. They won't go to imitate the crows. The crows-like people will take pleasure in such nonsense literature, sex literature, or any such literature. So many nonsense literatures nowadays they are having good sale. Because people are becoming crows-like, they have no high idea, they have no sense of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, naturally they will take. Just like hippies, they have become all bad taste, crows-like.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Garden Conversation -- June 14, 1976, Detroit:

Prabhupāda: "And what nonsense book you have got? (laughter) We are going to stop your sales." Tell them. "And we are going to stop your sales. Instead of helping you for selling your books, we are going to stop all these nonsense books. That is our mission." Tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham. That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Na yad vacaś citra-padaṁ harer yaśo jagat-pavitraṁ pragṛṇīta karhicit, tad vāyasaṁ tīrtham uśanti mānasāḥ (SB 1.5.10). That verse, that however nicely it is written with..., what is called, metaphor, poetic ornaments and very good language, grammatical set-up, and so on, so on. So that, although it is very nicely written from literary point of view, but because it does not contain any glorification of Kṛṣṇa, it is just like the spot where the crows take pleasure. Crows. The crows means they go the nasty place where all nasty things are thrown. They take pleasure there. So all these other literatures, they are meant for the crows. And this literature is meant for the swan, paramahaṁsa, white swans. So it is not the bodily color. It means those who are advanced in their development of life, consciousness, it is meant for them. It is not for the crows, who are still eating all nasty things in the garbage. Crows, they do that. They take pleasure where there are garbage, all nasty things and.... And the big swans, they will like water like this, garden like this.

Room Conversation and Reading from Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 1 and 12 -- June 25, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: "Those words which do not describe the glories of the Lord, who alone can sanctify the atmosphere of the whole universe, are considered by saintly persons to be like unto a place of pilgrimage for crows. Since the all-perfect persons are inhabitants of the transcendental abode, they do not derive any pleasure there." Purport. "Crows and swans are not birds of the same feather because of their different mental attitudes. The fruitive workers or passionate men are compared to the crows, whereas the all-perfect saintly persons are compared to the swans. Crows take pleasure in a place where garbage is thrown out, just as the passionate fruitive workers take pleasure in wine and women and places for gross sense pleasure. The swans do not take pleasure in the places where crows are assembled for conferences and meetings. They are instead seen in the atmosphere of natural scenic beauty, where there are transparent reservoirs of water nicely decorated with stems of lotus flowers in variegated colors of natural beauty. That is the difference between the two classes of birds. Nature has influenced different species of life with different mentalities, and it is not possible to bring them up into the same rank and file. Similarly there are different kinds of literature for different types of men of different mentality. Mostly the market literatures which attract men of the crow's categories are literatures containing refuse remnants of sensuous topics. They are generally known as mundane talks in relation with the gross body and subtle mind. They are full of subject matter described in decorative language full of mundane similies and metaphorical arrangements.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Roof Conversation -- January 5, 1977, Bombay:

Indian (3): I think the similes can be misunderstood also sometimes.

Dr. Patel: These are similes or metaphor—we don't know, but that is a fact.

Indian (3): Well, I don't think you or I, any of us, knows what is the fact. It's what's conveyed and interpreted to us that we know.

Dr. Patel: That means you must have blind faith in guru. If a guru says that "You jump in the well," and you can jump in the well, then you get the goal. That is why that man went with ten cows and came back after twelve years making them thousand. Otherwise he becomes a cowherd. "What will I get knowledge by doing caros, gaus(?) in the jungle?" No. But if he has faith, faith...

Prabhupāda: How much progress is being made?

Girirāja: Tremendous.

Trivikrama: That's what I was saying. I heard a tape two years ago, but I didn't...

Prabhupāda: No, no. I mean to say this construction.

Room Conversation -- November 13-14, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: We should always remember that the spiritual master is in the disciplic succession. The original spiritual master is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He blesses his next disciple, just like Brahmā. Brahmā blesses his next disciple, just like Nārada. Nārada blesses his next disciple, just like Vyāsa. Vyāsa blesses his next disciple, Mādhvācārya. Similarly, the blessing is coming. Just like royal succession-the throne is inherited by disciplic or hereditary succession-similarly, this power from the Supreme Personality of Godhead has to be received. Nobody can preach, or nobody can become a spiritual master, without obtaining power from the right source. Therefore the very word, it is stated here, prāptasya. Prāptasya means "one who has obtained." Prāptasya kalyāṇa. What he has obtained? Kalyāṇa. Kalyāṇa means auspiciousness. He has received something which is auspicious for all the human kind. Prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya. Here is another example. Guṇārnava. Arṇava means ocean, and guṇa means spiritual qualities. The same example applies. It is very nice poetry. There is nice rhethorics and metaphor. The example, blazing fire, is set, and it is to be extinguished by the clouds. And wherefrom does the cloud come? Similarly, where from does the spiritual master receive the mercy? The clouds receive their potency from the ocean.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Dr. Wolf -- Mayapur 29 January, 1976:

Mundane books are written by imperfect persons. Everyone has his own theory, which means he is imperfect. The Srimad-Bhagavatam says if there is a real presentation of spiritual understanding, then even if it is presented i broken language, it is accepted by high, saintly persons, because it glorifies the Supreme Person. On the other hand, if literature is highly metaphorically composed, if it does not glorify the Lord, it is compared to a place inhabited by the crows.

Actually, if some literature doesn't carry any real knowledge, what is the use of ornamental language? We are not interested in presenting ornamental language.

In India the system is that people go to see the Jagannatha Deity. The Deity is not very beautiful from the artistic point of view, but still people attend by the thousands. That sentiment is required. Similarly with our kirtana we are only using drums and karatalas, but people come to the point of ecstasy. It is not the ornamentation, it is the ecstasy. This ecstasy is awakened by sravanam kirtanam by devotees.