Misdeed (Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"misdeed" |"misdeeds"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Introduction to Gitopanisad (Earliest Recording of Srila Prabhupada in the Bhaktivedanta Archives):

So another advantage is that if one reads Bhagavad-gītā very sincerely and with all seriousness, then by the grace of the Lord, the reactions of his past misdeeds will not act upon him. The Lord says very loudly in the Bhagavad-gītā in the last portion, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ (BG 18.66). The Lord takes the responsibility. One who surrenders unto the Lord, He takes the responsibility to indemnify, to indemnify from all reactions of sins.

mala-nirmocanaṁ puṁsāṁ

jala-snānaṁ dine dine

sakṛd gītāmṛta-snānam

saṁsāra-mala-nāśanam

One cleanses oneself daily by taking bath in the water, but one who takes once bath in the sacred Ganges water of Bhagavad-gītā, his, the dirty material life is altogether vanquished.

Lecture on BG 2.46-62 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1968:

"Oh, you are now well-to-do." "Yes, you do not know how much I have worked hard." When he's happiness, he takes the credit for himself, and when he's in distress, he gives the discredit to Kṛṣṇa. "Oh, Kṛṣṇa has put me into such miserable..." But a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, when he's in distress, he'll say, "Yes, due to my misdeeds I should have suffered a hundred times more than this distress, but Kṛṣṇa is so kind, He has given me little. That's all." And when he's happiness, "Oh, it is all given by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore all the opulence should be utilized for Kṛṣṇa's service." This is the difference. He's asking, Arjuna is asking, what are the symptoms of Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Sthita-prajña. Sthita-prajña means steadfast in intelligence. So these are the difference. I have read one speech, Chicago speech by late Vivekananda Swami. He's talking to the audience that "You work so hard, why you give credit to God?" You see? If you find his Chicago speech, you'll see. Go on.

Lecture on BG 6.30-34 -- Los Angeles, February 19, 1969:

"Energy." Now, one who sees a tree, he's philosopher, Kṛṣṇa conscious person is philosopher. If he studies, "What is this tree?" He sees the tree has got a material body just like I have got this material body, but he's a living entity, due to his past misdeeds he has got such abominable body that he cannot move even. But his body is material and material means the material energy and material energy, who's energy? Kṛṣṇa's energy. Therefore the tree has got Kṛṣṇa connection. And the tree, as living entity is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. So in that way if you discuss philosophy, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you see, don't see the tree, you see Kṛṣṇa there. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You don't see tree. You see Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So you have to practice like that. That is yoga practice. That is samādhi. Yes, go on.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.8.51 -- Los Angeles, May 13, 1973:

Unless one is careful to his sense that "Why should I drive so fiercely or without any care that others may be injured, my car will be injured? Why shall I created this trouble? Let me drive the car very conscientiously..." So that is required. Simply atonement, or giving fine for some misdeed, that is not sufficient. One should be awakened to his knowledge about his responsibility.

So this gṛhamedhī... There are two words: gṛhamedhī and gṛhastha. I have explained many times. Gṛhamedhī has no philosophy. He is like cats and dog. Every animal has also family, wife, children. So those who have no responsibility in life, no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are called gṛhamedhīs, and those who live with family, wife and children, but have got this sense of responsibility, that "I am meant for developing my dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness," they are called gṛhasthas. So there is two words.

Lecture on SB 3.25.23 -- Bombay, November 23, 1974:

Better we may again go to that suffering so that we can remember You always." So the devotee sometimes welcomes suffering because that is an opportunity of remembering Kṛṣṇa very constantly. Tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam (SB 10.14.8). So when a devotee suffers, he thinks that "It is due to my past misdeeds. So I am suffering not very much, a very little, on account of Kṛṣṇa's grace. So it doesn't matter." So after all, it is, everything, in the mind, suffering and enjoying. So a devotee's mind is trained up in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore he does not care for suffering. That is the difference between a devotee and nondevotee.

Lecture on SB 5.5.3-4 -- Bombay, March 29, 1977:

"When a person considers sense gratification the aim of life, he certainly becomes mad after materialistic living and engages in all kinds of sinful activity. He does not know that due to his past misdeeds he has already received a body which, although temporary, is the cause of his misery. Actually the living entity should not have taken a material body, but he has been awarded the material body for sense gratification. Therefore I think it not befitting an intelligent man to involve himself again in the activities of sense gratification, by which he perpetually gets material bodies one after another."

Lecture on SB 5.5.4 -- Vrndavana, October 26, 1976:

Pradyumna: "When a person considers sense gratification the aim of life, he certainly becomes mad after materialistic living and engages in all kinds of sinful activity. He does not know that due to his past misdeeds he has already received a body which, although temporary, is the cause of his misery. Actually the living entity should not have taken on a material body, but he has been awarded the material body for sense gratification. Therefore I think it not befitting an intelligent man to involve himself again in the activities of sense gratification, by which he perpetually gets material bodies one after another."

Prabhupāda:

nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma

yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti

na sādhu manye yata ātmano 'yam

asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ

(SB 5.5.4)

So it is recommended that mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes (SB 5.5.2). Mahat-sevā, we have described the symptoms of mahātmā. The sum and substance of mahātmā is mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). That is mahātmā. Otherwise durātmā.

Lecture on SB 6.1.32 -- Surat, December 16, 1970:

So the constables of Yamarāja inquired from the Vaikuṇṭhadūta, the messengers of Vaikuṇṭha, that yūyaṁ pratiṣeddhāraḥ: "Why you are interrupting in our business?" Pratiṣeddhāro. Pratiṣeddhāraḥ. Pratiṣeddhāraḥ means the opposing elements. "Why you are opposing? We are Yamadūta. It is our duty to take away a sinful man, sinful soul, like Ajāmila, who has simply acting misdeeds throughout his whole life. Now, at the end of his life, we are authorized to take him to the Yamarāja. Why you are preventing us? Why you are interrupting in our business?"

Lecture on SB 6.1.32 -- Surat, December 16, 1970:

So, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Persons who are very much influenced by this materialistic way of thought, āsuri-bhāvam āśritāḥ, such persons are always engaged in misdeeds, duṣkṛtina. Misdeeds. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ. Why they are engaged in misdeeds? Because mūḍha. They do not know what is the responsibility of this human form of life. They are simply wasting their life in animal propensities, mūḍha. Mūḍha is the symbol of an ass. He does not know. The ass does not know why he is working so hard for the washerman. He carries a very heavy load, but he does not know "Why I am carrying so much heavy load?" That is the symbol of an ass. If you work so hard, you must know what benefit you are deriving out of it. But the ass does not know.

Lecture on SB 6.2.1 -- Vrndavana, September 5, 1975:

A devotee, when he is in troubled condition, he thinks, "My Lord is so kind that He is purifying me. I am suffering from my past misdeeds. So Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He is purifying me, giving me little suffering. That's all right. Therefore I must be obliged to Him." And he offers more respectful obeisances to the Lord: "My Lord, You are purifying me." If one lives like this, mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk, his liberation is guaranteed.

Lecture on SB 7.9.1 -- Mayapur, February 8, 1976:

The devotees can understand that even sometimes we meet very reverse condition of life, it is also favor. Tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇaḥ (SB 10.14.8). Anyone who can see that this unfavorable condition of life is also another favor of Kṛṣṇa... Tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇaḥ. "Even there is some suffering, it is not given by Kṛṣṇa. I am suffering on account of my past misdeeds, and Kṛṣṇa is so kind that I would have suffered many hundred thousand times more than the present suffering, but Kṛṣṇa is adjusting the whole thing by little suffering." This is the vision of devotee. Tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjana evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam. Ātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam. A devotee never accuses Kṛṣṇa that "Kṛṣṇa, I am serving You so nicely, and You are giving me so much suffering?" No. This is not devotee's view.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.1 -- Mayapur, March 1, 1974:

If simply for sense gratification you are acting so whimsically, as you like, as you please, this process of activities, or gati, is not good. Na sādhu manye, Ṛṣabhadeva says, "Oh, it is not good." Why it is not good? Now, yata... "Because, you just try to understand, you have got this body on account of your past misdeeds, this body, this material body." These rascals, they do not know. They think that "If I get a body of a king or a rich man, that is my success." But that is not success, because you may get a king's body or very exalted body this life, but you have to change this body. That is..., you will be forced. Suppose you are very in exalted position, you are minister or king or some..., but you'll not be allowed to stay. But these foolish persons, they do not know. They do not try to understand that "What is my next position?" Therefore they are called mad.

General Lectures

Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, April 7, 1971:

Tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. So a devotee, his business is that "Because I have got this material body and because I had my past misdeeds, although I am suffering, it does not matter. It comes and goes. It does not matter. Let me do my duty." That is advice of Kṛṣṇa. A devotee is not disturbed by the material condition. Tat te 'nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo (SB 10.14.8). If there is some reverse condition of life, a devotee thinks, "It is also grace of the Lord because I am minimizing. With minimum trouble, I am minimizing the effects of my past misdeeds." They think like that. So persons who are not devotees, they do not know that only Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He can get me relieved from these material clutches. There is no other way. Hariṁ vinā na mṛtiṁ taranti.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is karma. Karmaṇā, or according to our past karmas, we are in a particular position. So this position can be changed. It is not that it will continue. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that "You are suffering on account of your past misdeeds, the reaction, but this suffering is caused on account of your not surrendering unto Me. Now you surrender. I will stop this reaction of...," ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo (BG 18.66). This offer is already there, but still we do not take advantage. That is our dog's obstinacy, and we are suffering, and we shall continue to suffer.

Purports to Songs

Purport to Gaura Pahu -- Los Angeles, January 10, 1969:

Love, this word, can be applicable only with Kṛṣṇa, with God. Because we are created for that purpose. To love means to love Kṛṣṇa. So that is wanted. That is spiritual love. So prema-rathana. I could achieve that transcendental position of love, but I am neglecting. Therefore I am calling my spiritual death. And these things are happening due to my past misdeeds. Due to my past deeds, misdeeds, I have got a type of body. Everyone who has got this material body, it is due to past misdeeds. The... sometimes we call pious deeds. Actually, so long one gets this material body there is no pious deeds. Pious deeds means no more material body. That is pious deeds. Otherwise it is to be taken as a fact that even Brahmā, who is the chief living entity within this universe and has got a mass of years as duration of life, all power, still, that is also considered as misdeeds. Because he has got the material body. So we are going deep down and down, one after another, body, by our misdeeds. In the Bhāgavata also it is stated that they do not know that by this sense gratificatory process they will have another body.

Purport to Parama Koruna -- Los Angeles, January 16, 1969:

Viṣaya majiyā, rohili poriyā, se pade nahilo āśa. "I could not desire to be attached to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya." So why it is so? So he's lamenting that āpana karama, bhuñjāye śamana, that "I am suffering the sequence of my past misdeeds, that I could not be attracted by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is a punishment on me by the Yamaraja, the superintendent of death." Actually, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, saṅkīrtana movement, is so nice and attractive, every simple, I mean to say, unsophisticated person shall be attracted. But if one is not attracted it is to be understood that he is being punished by the laws of the superintendent of death. Anyway, if we stick to this principle of chanting, then even Yamarāja, the superintendent of death, he'll also fail to punish.