National consciousness

Expressions researched:
"national consciousness" |"national consciousness."

SB Canto 1

The so-called leaders of men in the modern age are attached by national consciousness, but they do not know that such false consciousness is also another designation of the materially conditioned soul.

SB 1.15.40, Purport: To become purified of material contamination is the necessary qualification for becoming one of the associates of the Lord. No one can become an associate of the Lord or can go back to Godhead without such purification. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, therefore, to become spiritually pure, at once gave up his royal opulence, relinquishing his royal dress and garments. The kaṣāya, or saffron loincloth of a sannyāsī, indicates freedom from all attractive material garments, and thus he changed his dress accordingly. He became disinterested in his kingdom and family and thus became free from all material contamination, or material designation. People are generally attached to various kinds of designations—the designations of family, society, country, occupation, wealth, position and many others. As long as one is attached to such designations, he is considered materially impure. The so-called leaders of men in the modern age are attached by national consciousness, but they do not know that such false consciousness is also another designation of the materially conditioned soul; one has to relinquish such designations before one can become eligible to go back to Godhead. Foolish people adore such men who die in national consciousness, but here is an example of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, a royal king who prepared himself to leave this world without such national consciousness. And yet he is remembered even today because he was a great pious king, almost on the same level with the Personality of Godhead Śrī Rāma. And because people of the world were dominated by such pious kings, they were happy in all respects, and it was quite possible for such great emperors to rule the world.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Mahatma Gandhi led the country. Then you came to your national consciousness, and you combined together, and the Britishers went away.

Lecture on SB 3.25.9 -- Bombay, November 9, 1974: So there must be some leader. In order to get knowledge, we have to find out some leader. And actually, by our experience, whatever we're doing... Just like we got independence. So there was a leader, Mahatma Gandhi. He led the country. Then you came to your national consciousness, and you combined together, and the Britishers went away. The opinion was against them. So there must be leader. And that leader is a person. That leader cannot be an imperson. No. That is not possible. I think there was a news in the newspaper, Free Press Journal, that the faith in personal God is diminishing. That means they are becoming more foolish. The faith in personal God is diminishing, percentage diminishing. That means people are becoming more and more foolish. That is natural. This is Kali-yuga. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ [SB 1.1.10]. The more this age of Kali will increase, people will diminish in their bodily strength, in their memory, in their mercifulness, in so many ways. Eight kinds of diminishing, decreasing. Actually, we find, even in Western countries, the present generation, they are not as strong as their father or grandfather. Bodily strength decreasing. Memory is decreasing. There is no mercifulness. Now, at the present moment, if somebody is being killed and you are passing, nobody takes care. "Let him be killed." Because dayā, mercifulness, is diminishing. The duration of life diminishing. The bodily stature diminishing. The memory diminishing. Everything is diminishing.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

Every Indian is an individual person, but he has sacrificed his individuality and engaged himself for the service of the country. That is national consciousness.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 31, 1972: So Kṛṣṇa is not alone. Kṛṣṇa is not nirākāra. Kṛṣṇa is not impersonal, because He has got so many personal associates. Nityo nityānām. All these personal associates, they're individual persons. We are all person. You are person, I am person. We are all individual. I have got my individual opinion; you have got your individual opinion. Oneness means when these individual opinions are coincided in the matter of surrendering to Kṛṣṇa; that is oneness. Oneness does not mean that all these individuals become one, homogeneous. No. They keep their individuality, but they become one in the service of Kṛṣṇa. That is oneness. Now everyone is working for his sense gratification, personal. When everyone becomes agreed that "We shall satisfy Kṛṣṇa," that is oneness. That is oneness. One nation. We can understand: one family. One family means they're individual persons, but they're working for the interest of the family—all of them combinedly, conjointly, working. Similarly, they're working conjointly for the society, or they're working conjointly for the community, or conjointly working for the nation. That is oneness. When we speak, "We are Indian nation, oneness," that oneness does not mean that every individual Indian has become homogeneous with other Indians. No. Every Indian is an individual person, but he has sacrificed his individuality and engaged himself for the service of the country. That is national consciousness. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As there is national consciousness, community consciousness, family consciousness, so many other consciousness, similarly, Kṛṣṇa consciousness means all persons agree to work for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is oneness. Oneness does not mean we lose our individuality. Sometimes, individually we fight. Just like in the legislative assembly, our representative, M.P.'s, they go and fight. There is a deliberation. But that purpose is to serve the country. Therefore, instead of the difference of opinions, they agree to work in this way. That is legislative assembly. Similarly, individuality there must be always, but when we find out a one means to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, that is oneness. Ekatvam anupaśyataḥ [Īśo 7]. Eka. That is ekatvam. Why a... In other words, ekatvam... This is the version of the Īśopaniṣad, ekatvam anupaśyataḥ. Ekatvam anupaśyataḥ. Ekatvam, at the same time, anupaśyataḥ. That means we are all spirit soul. We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. That is anupaśyataḥ. And on this basis, when we find ekatvam, oneness, that is the platform of peace, that "We are all servants of Kṛṣṇa." Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised this, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa [Cc. Madhya 20.108-109]. When we feel that "Eternally I am servant of Kṛṣṇa, you are servant of Kṛṣṇa," that is ekatvam. Not that we become a lump of thing. No. Impersonality cannot be... Personality cannot be changed. Jīva-loke. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ jīva-loke sanātanaḥ [Bg. 15.7]. This individuality is sanātana, eternal. But when we disagree to serve Kṛṣṇa, that is asanātana, not sanātana. That is artificial. So here in this material world, we have disagreed to serve Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the whole proposal is again agree to serve Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. This is real philosophy. We disagreed; therefore we came into this material world, and we are fighting with one another. Now again the proposal is, agree to this oneness, ekam. Then there will be peace. Jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchanti. These things are there.

1967 Correspondence

One who is engaged in national service like Washington or Gandhi, he becomes the most prominent with national consciousness.

Letter to Brahmananda -- Calcutta 12 December, 1967: You should not waste too much time for editing as we have done in the matter of Gita Upanisad. If there is good English it is welcome but we should not edit as Hayagriva has replaced "devotional service" with "knowledge of self." Knowledge of self is not complete until one is actually engaged in devotional service. There are many citizens who have complete sense of national knowledge but out of many of them, one who is engaged in national service like Washington or Gandhi, he becomes the most prominent with national consciousness. Similarly, when one is mature in knowledge of self, he must knows what is the duty of the self. The impersonalist due to poor fund of knowledge, forgets of the self. They are much concerned for being freed of all duties which is not possible by the living force. The living force is always dynamic, therefore the living entity cannot stop discharging duties. Real duty begins in Krishna Consciousness. The impersonalist cannot accommodate such spiritual activities of devotional service therefore they are satisfied only by so-called knowledge of self.