Opponent

Expressions researched:
"opponent" |"opponent's" |"opponents"

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 10.32, Purport:

Among logicians there are different kinds of argument. Supporting one's argument with evidence that also supports the opposing side is called jalpa. Merely trying to defeat one's opponent is called vitaṇḍā. But the actual conclusion is called vāda. This conclusive truth is a representation of Kṛṣṇa.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.15.16, Purport:

The demon father employed all his weapons to kill the devotee son, Prahlāda, but by the grace of the Lord he was saved from all sorts of dangerous actions by his father. He was thrown in a fire, in boiling oil, from the top of a hill, underneath the legs of an elephant, and he was administered poison. At last the father himself took up a chopper to kill his son, and thus Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared and killed the heinous father in the presence of the son. Thus no one can kill the devotee of the Lord. Similarly, Arjuna was also saved by the Lord, although all dangerous weapons were employed by his great opponents like Bhīṣma.

SB 1.17.32, Purport:

A secular state may be impartial to any particular type of faith, but the state cannot be indifferent to the principles of religion as above-mentioned. But in the age of Kali, the executive heads of state will be indifferent to such religious principles, and therefore under their patronage the opponents of religious principles, such as greed, falsehood, cheating and pilfery, will naturally follow, and so there will be no meaning to propaganda crying to stop corruption in the state.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.1.29, Translation:

After Kavi, Mahāvīra and Savana were completely trained in the paramahaṁsa stage of life, Mahārāja Priyavrata ruled the universe for eleven arbudas of years. Whenever he was determined to fix his arrow upon his bowstring with his two powerful arms, all opponents of the regulative principles of religious life would flee from his presence in fear of the unparalleled prowess he displayed in ruling the universe. He greatly loved his wife Barhiṣmatī, and with the increase of days, their exchange of nuptial love also increased. By her feminine behavior as she dressed herself, walked, got up, smiled, laughed, and glanced about, Queen Barhiṣmatī increased his energy. Thus although he was a great soul, he appeared lost in the feminine conduct of his wife. He behaved with her just like an ordinary man, but actually he was a great soul.

SB 5.1.29, Purport:

In this verse, the word dharma-pratipakṣaḥ ("opponents of religious principles") refers not to a particular faith, but to varṇāśrama-dharma, the division of society, socially and spiritually, into four varṇas (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra) and four āśramas (brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa). To maintain proper social order and help the citizens gradually progress toward the goal of life—namely spiritual understanding—the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma must be accepted.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.4.5, Purport:

If one undergoes tapasya but does not become a Vaiṣṇava, however, one does not develop good qualities. For example, Hiraṇyakaśipu and Rāvaṇa also performed great austerities, but they did so to demonstrate their demoniac tendencies. Vaiṣṇavas must meet many opponents while preaching the glories of the Lord, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that they not become angry while preaching. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given this formula: tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā/ amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31).

SB Canto 7

SB 7.3 Summary:

Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted to become immortal. He wanted not to be conquered by anyone, not to be attacked by old age and disease, and not to be harassed by any opponent. Thus he wanted to become the absolute ruler of the entire universe. With this desire, he entered the valley of Mandara Mountain and began practicing a severe type of austerity and meditation.

SB 7.13.7, Purport:

Anyone advancing in spiritual knowledge must reject such literature. Furthermore, one should not concern oneself with the conclusions of various logicians or philosophers. Of course, those who preach sometimes need to argue with the contentions of opponents, but as much as possible one should avoid an argumentative attitude.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.6.28, Purport:

Vedic etiquette enjoins: gṛhe śatrum api prāptaṁ viśvastam akutobhayam. When enemies come to their opponent's place, they should be received in such a way that they will forget that there is animosity between the two parties. Bali Mahārāja was well conversant with the arts of peacemaking and fighting.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.2.33, Translation:

O Mādhava, Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord of the goddess of fortune, if devotees completely in love with You sometimes fall from the path of devotion, they do not fall like nondevotees, for You still protect them. Thus they fearlessly traverse the heads of their opponents and continue to progress in devotional service.

SB 10.2.33, Purport:

Devotees generally do not fall down, but if circumstantially they do, the Lord, because of their strong attachment to Him, gives them protection in all circumstances. Thus even if devotees fall down, they are still strong enough to traverse the heads of their enemies. We have actually seen that our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has many opponents, such as the "deprogrammers," who instituted a strong legal case against the devotees.

SB 10.2.33, Purport:

A devotee is always protected by all of the Supreme Lord's opulences, of which no one can deprive him (teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22)). Thus a devotee cannot be defeated by any opponents. A devotee, therefore, should not deviate knowingly from the path of devotion. The adherent devotee is assured all protection from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.39.10, Translation:

Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma, the vanquisher of heroic opponents, laughed when They heard Akrūra's words. The Lords then informed Their father, Nanda Mahārāja, of King Kaṁsa's orders.

SB 10.44.2, Translation:

Seizing each other's hands and locking legs with each other, the opponents struggled powerfully, eager for victory.

SB 10.44.4, Translation:

Each fighter contended with his opponent by dragging him about in circles, shoving and crushing him, throwing him down and running before and behind him.

SB 10.44.17, Translation:

(Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued:) As the women spoke thus, O hero of the Bhāratas, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the master of all mystic power, made up His mind to kill His opponent.

SB 10.44.19, Translation:

Lord Balarāma and Muṣṭika, expertly displaying numerous wrestling techniques, battled each other in the same way that Lord Kṛṣṇa and His opponent did.

SB 10.52.13, Translation:

Unseen by Their opponent or his followers, O King, those two most exalted Yadus returned to Their city of Dvārakā, which had the ocean as a protective moat.

SB 10.54.35, Translation:

Lord Kṛṣṇa tied up the evil-doer with a strip of cloth. He then proceeded to disfigure Rukmī by comically shaving him, leaving parts of his mustache and hair. By that time the Yadu heroes had crushed the extraordinary army of their opponents, just as elephants crush a lotus flower.

SB 10.56.24, Translation:

The fight went on without rest for twenty-eight days, the two opponents striking each other with their fists, which fell like the cracking blows of lightning.

SB 10.58.54, Translation:

Arjuna, wielder of the Gāṇḍīva bow, was always eager to please his friend Kṛṣṇa, and thus he drove back those opponents, who were shooting torrents of arrows at the Lord. He did this just as a lion drives away insignificant animals.

SB 10.59.14, Translation:

The Lord severed the heads, thighs, arms, legs and armor of these opponents led by Pīṭha and sent them all to the abode of Yamarāja. Narakāsura, the son of the earth, could not contain his fury when he saw the fate of his military leaders. Thus he went out of the citadel with elephants born from the Milk Ocean who were exuding mada from their foreheads out of excitement.

SB 10.68.22, Translation:

(King Ugrasena has said:) Even though by irreligious means several of you defeated a single opponent who follows the religious codes, still I am tolerating this for the sake of unity among family members.

SB 10.71.3, Translation:

Only one who has conquered all opponents in every direction can perform the Rājasūya sacrifice, O almighty one. Thus, in my opinion, conquering Jarāsandha will serve both purposes.

SB 10.72.39, Translation:

As they thus fought, this contest between opponents of equal training, strength and stamina reached no conclusion. And so they kept on fighting, O King, without any letup.

SB 10.72.42, Translation:

Understanding this sign, mighty Bhīma, the best of fighters, seized his opponent by the feet and threw him to the ground.

SB 10.76.21, Translation:

At one moment the magic airship built by Maya Dānava appeared in many identical forms, and the next moment it was again only one. Sometimes it was visible, and sometimes not. Thus Śālva's opponents could never be sure where it was.

SB 10.78.3, Translation:

Seeing Dantavakra approach, Lord Kṛṣṇa quickly picked up His club, jumped down from His chariot and stopped His advancing opponent just as the shore holds back the ocean.

SB 10.78.13-15, Translation:

Having thus destroyed Śālva and his Saubha airship, along with Dantavakra and his younger brother, all of whom were invincible before any other opponent, the Lord was praised by demigods, human beings and great sages, by Siddhas, Gandharvas, Vidyādharas and Mahoragas, and also by Apsarās, Pitās, Yakṣas, Kinnaras and Cāraṇas. As they sang His glories and showered Him with flowers, the Supreme Lord entered His festively decorated capital city in the company of the most eminent Vṛṣṇis.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.71, Translation:

An opponent may say, “This is your interpretation, but actually the Supreme Lord is Nārāyaṇa, who is in the transcendental realm.

CC Adi 2.108, Purport:

A learned man who has thoroughly studied the scriptures cannot hesitate to accept Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If such a man argues about this matter, certainly he must be doing so to agitate the minds of his opponents.

CC Adi 3.49, Purport:

Lord Caitanya accepted sannyāsa, leaving aside His householder life, to preach His mission. He has equanimity in different senses. First, He describes the confidential truth of the Personality of Godhead, and second, He satisfies everyone by knowledge and attachment to Kṛṣṇa. He is peaceful because He renounces all topics not related to the service of Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has explained that the word niṣṭhā indicates His being rigidly fixed in chanting the holy name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya subdued all disturbing opponents of devotional service, especially the monists, who are actually averse to the personal feature of the Supreme Lord.

CC Adi 4.66, Purport:

This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.3.23), spoken by Lord Śiva when he condemned Dakṣa, the father of Satī, as an opponent of Viṣṇu, confirms beyond a doubt that Lord Kṛṣṇa, His name, His fame, His qualities and everything in connection with His paraphernalia exist in the sandhinī-śakti of the Lord's internal potency.

CC Adi 7.99, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, as a preacher, turned the minds of the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. They were melted by the sweet words of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and thus became friendly and spoke to Him also in sweet words. Similarly, all preachers will have to meet opponents, but they should not make them more inimical. They are already enemies, and if we talk with them harshly or impolitely their enmity will merely increase. We should therefore follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu as far as possible and try to convince the opposition by quoting from the śāstras and presenting the conclusion of the ācāryas. It is in this way that we should try to defeat all the enemies of the Lord.

CC Adi 7.150, Purport:

Our propagation of the saṅkīrtana movement is continuing, despite many opponents, and people are taking up this chanting process even in remote parts of the world like Africa. By inducing the offenders to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu exemplified the success of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We should follow very respectfully in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya, and there is no doubt that we shall be successful in our attempts.

CC Adi 8.12, Purport:

Lord Caitanya preached this cult, instructing the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in His eight verses, or Śikṣāṣṭaka, and He said, ihā haite sarva-siddhi haibe sabāra: "By chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, one will get all perfection in life." Therefore one who does not show Him respect or cannot appreciate His mercy despite all these merciful gestures is an asura, or opponent of bona fide devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu, even though he may be very much exalted in human society. The word asura refers to one who is against devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 6.177, Translation:

The Bhaṭṭācārya presented various types of false arguments with pseudo logic and tried to defeat his opponent in many ways. However, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu refuted all these arguments and established His own conviction.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

Caitanya visited numerous places in Southern India as far as Cape Comorin and returned to Purī in two years by Pandepura on the Bhīma. In this latter place he spiritualized one Tukārāma, who became from that time a religious preacher himself. This fact has been admitted in his ābhāṅgas, which have been collected in a volume by Mr. Satyendra Nāth Tagore of the Bombay Civil Service. During his journey he had discussions with the Buddhists, the Jains and the Māyāvādīs in several places and converted his opponents to Vaiṣṇavism.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 21:

Kṛṣṇa's speech, which contains all good qualities in the universe, is described in the following statement by Uddhava: "The words of Kṛṣṇa are so attractive that they can immediately change the heart of even His opponent. His words can immediately solve all of the questions and problems of the world. Although He does not speak very long, each and every word from His mouth contains volumes of meaning. These speeches of Kṛṣṇa are very pleasing to my heart."

Nectar of Devotion 21:

Regarding His moral principles, it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that Kṛṣṇa is ruling over Vṛndāvana as death personified to the thieves, as pleasing bliss to the pious, as the most beautiful Cupid to the young girls and as the most munificent personality to the poor men. He is as refreshing as the full moon to His friends, and to His opponents He is the annihilating fire generated from Lord Śiva. Kṛṣṇa is therefore the most perfect moralist in His reciprocal dealings with different kinds of persons.

Nectar of Devotion 33:

When a friend wants to satisfy Kṛṣṇa by performing some chivalrous activities, the friend becomes the challenger, and Kṛṣṇa Himself becomes the opponent; or else Kṛṣṇa may give audience to the fighting, and by His desire another friend becomes the opponent. A friend once challenged Kṛṣṇa thus: "My dear Mādhava, You are very restless because You think that no one can defeat You. But if You do not flee from here, then I shall show You how I can defeat You. And my friends will be very satisfied to see this!"

Nectar of Devotion 33:

There is a statement in the Hari-vaṁśa that sometimes Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa fought in the presence of Kuntī, and Arjuna would be defeated by Kṛṣṇa. In such chivalrous fighting between friends, there is sometimes bragging, complacence, pride, power, taking to weapons, challenging and standing as an opponent. All of these symptoms become impetuses to chivalrous devotional service.

Nectar of Devotion 33:

In these chivalrous activities, only Kṛṣṇa's friends can be the opponents. Kṛṣṇa's enemies can never actually be His opponents. Therefore, this challenging by Kṛṣṇa's friends is called devotional service in chivalrous activities.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 39:

Akrūra narrated all the stories regarding Kaṁsa. He told how Nārada had met Kaṁsa and how he himself was deputed by Kaṁsa to come to Vṛndāvana. Akrūra explained to Kṛṣṇa that Nārada had told Kaṁsa all about Kṛṣṇa's being transferred from Mathurā to Vṛndāvana just after His birth and about His killing all the demons sent by Kaṁsa. Akrūra then explained to Kṛṣṇa the purpose of his coming to Vṛndāvana: to take Him back to Mathurā. After hearing of these arrangements, Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, who are very expert in killing opponents, mildly laughed at the plans of Kaṁsa.

Krsna Book 44:

After Kaṁsa's wrestlers expressed their determination, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the killer of Madhu, confronted Cāṇūra, and Lord Balarāma, the son of Rohiṇī, confronted Muṣṭika. Kṛṣṇa and Cāṇūra and then Balarāma and Muṣṭika locked themselves hand to hand, leg to leg, and each began to press against the other with a view to coming out victorious. They joined palm to palm, calf to calf, head to head, chest to chest and began to strike each other. The fighting increased as they pushed each other from one place to another. One captured the other and threw him down on the ground, and another rushed from the back to the front of another and tried to overcome him with a hold. The fighting increased step by step. There was picking up, dragging and pushing, and then the legs and hands were locked together. All the arts of wrestling were perfectly exhibited by the parties as each tried his best to defeat his opponent.

Krsna Book 55:

Thus being empowered by his wife, Pradyumna immediately went before Śambara and challenged him to fight. Pradyumna addressed him in very strong language, so that his temper would be agitated and he would be moved to fight. At Pradyumna's words, the demon Śambara, being insulted, felt just as a snake feels after being struck by someone's foot. A serpent cannot tolerate being kicked by another animal or by a man, and it immediately bites its opponent.

Krsna Book 56:

Although Jāmbavān was the strongest living entity of that time, practically all the joints of his bodily limbs became slackened and his strength was reduced practically to nil, for he was struck constantly by the fists of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Feeling very tired, with perspiration all over his body, Jāmbavān was astonished. Who was this opponent who was fighting so hard with him? Jāmbavān was quite aware of his own superhuman bodily strength, but when he felt tired from being struck by Kṛṣṇa, he could understand that Kṛṣṇa was no one else but his worshipable Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This incident has special significance for devotees.

Krsna Book 56:

In a sporting attitude, Kṛṣṇa wanted to engage in a mock fight with His devotee. As we have experienced from the pages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead has all the propensities and instincts of a human being. Sometimes, in a sportive spirit, He wishes to fight to make a show of bodily strength, and when He so desires, He selects one of His suitable devotees to give Him that pleasure. Kṛṣṇa desired this pleasure of mock fighting with Jāmbavān. Although Jāmbavān was a devotee by nature, he did not know that his opponent was Kṛṣṇa while he gave service to the Lord by his bodily strength. But as soon as Kṛṣṇa was pleased by the fighting, Jāmbavān immediately understood that his opponent was none other than the Supreme Lord Himself. The conclusion is that he could understand Kṛṣṇa by his service, for Kṛṣṇa is sometimes satisfied by fighting also.

Krsna Book 83:

Not knowing the identity of Lord Kṛṣṇa, my father fought with Him continuously for twenty-seven days. After this period, when he became fatigued, he could understand that since no one but Lord Rāmacandra could defeat him, his opponent, Lord Kṛṣṇa, must be the same Lord Rāmacandra. He thus came to his senses and immediately returned the Syamantaka jewel. Furthermore, to satisfy the Lord, he presented me to Him to become His wife.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 1.3:

The thing to take note of is that no demon will compliment other demons' plans. Every demon will declare that since his plan is the most wonderful, all others must vote for him. Then an opponent will say that in actuality his plan is the best and hence he should rightfully be given all the votes. In this age of votes, the fighting over who is to actually get the votes has untimely broken all the stairways to heaven. If one calmly considers the facts, one will easily conclude that all these plans manufactured by the perverted brains of the demons, with their myopic vision, can never bring peace in the world.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.1:

Unfortunately, the stubborn impersonalists cannot comprehend that the final spiritual destination, beyond even the four Vedic goals (religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation) is absolutely pure and transcendental love of Godhead. They mistake the devotees of the Lord for sentimentalists and consider them their philosophical opponents. Besides these out-and-out impersonalists, there is a certain group of devotees that has deviated from the path of pure devotion and fallen prey to pretension. These cheaters actually end up following the impersonalists' path of trying to merge with the Supreme Lord. Such materialistic sentimentalists are not counted among the devotees of the Lord.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.1:

Going by the oft-quoted dictum that it is better to have a learned enemy than a foolish friend, I feel encouraged in this matter. An intelligent opponent will present reasonable rebuttals, but an ignorant friend may bring about disaster with his floundering. Therefore we feel no compunction about strongly arguing against the points Dr. Radhakrishnan makes in his Bhagavad-gītā commentary.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is -- Los Angeles, November 23, 1968 :

If a man is very influential, he is also opulent. If a man is very strong... Now the strong man, formerly strong men had request, ahh, respect. All the kings, they were respected on their personal strength. They used to..., they had to fight with the opponents. So that is also opulence. Then beauty. A very beautiful man or woman, that is also opulence. And wise, very learned, wise man, that is also opulence—scientist, philosopher, mathematician. So they are also opulent. And renouncer. Renouncer, that one who give up everything, he has everything in his possession, but he disposes himself, that is called renunciation. Just like king, Mahārāja Bharata, under whose name India is called Bhārata-varṣa.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Montreal, August 24, 1968:

But there is another instance, Ṭhākura Haridāsa. He was to be... He was also enticed by a prostitute at night, but he turned the prostitute to be a devotee. You see. At night, she came. She was induced by some of Haridāsa's opponent's party and she came, very beautifully dressed, at night, and Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, "How you have come here?" "Oh, you are so nice, so beautiful, so young. So I have come to embrace you." Like that, whatever. "All right. Please sit down. I shall fulfill your desire. Let me finish my chanting. Then we shall enjoy life." (laughter) So he was chanting, the morning came.

Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Bombay, March 27, 1974:

Kṛṣṇa, also was giving him instruction that "You are a kṣatriya. It is your duty. There is no consideration of your relatives or your grandfather or your ācārya. When there is opponent you must fight." That... In this way they were talking. The talking was that Kṛṣṇa wanted to satisfy His senses and Arjuna wanted to satisfy his senses. This was going on. Talking. But Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, He is īśvara. His senses should be satisfied. Then it is service. That is the whole subject matter of Bhagavad-gītā.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.7.13-14 -- Vrndavana, September 12, 1976:

Although it is against the regulative principle to strike the opponent party below this waist, Kṛṣṇa advised that "Unless you transgress this law, you cannot kill him." So he was stroken below the waist, and he was not killed, but his waist was broken. Therefore it is said vṛkodarāviddha-gadābhimarśa. Then he died. This is mentioned here. So bhagnoru-daṇḍe. Bhagna uru. Uru-daṇḍa was broken. Bhagnoru-daṇḍe dhṛtarāṣṭra-putre. Dhṛtarāṣṭra-putra, Duryodhana was dhṛtarāṣṭra-putra. At that time, Drauṇi, his master was Duryodhana. A brāhmaṇa became a servant of kṣatriya, that is degradation. A brāhmaṇa cannot become servant. Nobody can become servant. Only the śūdras can become servant.

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

I do not know whether nowadays the politicians keep. But we find from Vedic literature, viṣa-kanyā. Viṣa-kanyā means a girl, from the childhood, is injected poison, little by little, little, little, little, little. So when she is grown up, she, whole body is poisonous. So the politician used to engage such girl to kill his opponent politician. Very nice, beautiful girl, and (s)he will go, and as soon as the kissing will be there, he will die. Just like poisonous. Yes, it is fact. It is not story. I read in medical journal. There was one... Not medical journal. In logic class. It is called some "Typhoid Mary." "Typhoid Mary." A girl whose name was Mary, wherever she would go, all the people associating with her will be attacked with typhoid.

Lecture on SB 1.15.39 -- Los Angeles, December 17, 1973:

Now you have got your independence. So I request you to take the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā to preach all over the world." That was my request. Because I was thinking of preaching this Bhagavad-gītā. So I thought that "Gandhi's position is better. If he takes up this job, preaching of Bhagavad-gītā, many people will give attention. Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ (BG 3.21). He is a recognized good man, so people will follow." But he did not do so. He stuck up to the politics. And unless he was killed by another opponent party, he did not give it up.

Lecture on SB 1.16.10 -- Los Angeles, January 7, 1974:

So Bhaumāsura, by the grace of Lord Śiva, he got one thousand hands. And he wanted to fight, but he was so powerful that nobody would dare to come before him to fight. Therefore he was practicing to fight with the hills and mountains and cracking them and smashing them. So one day he complained to Lord Śiva, "My Lord, you have so kindly given me the hands to fight, but I don't find any opponent to fight. So what is the use of these hands, so many?" So Lord Śiva could understand that "He is a demon." So he said, "You rascal, one day you will find some enemy when your desire will be fulfilled for good." So he had to fight with Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa finished him. So it is a natural desire.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 25.19-31 -- San Francisco, January 20, 1967:

The speciality of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was that He used to put very sound arguments, and He used to defeat His opponents in such a way that they were satisfied. They were not inimical. And with the evidence of śāstra. Not that argumentum vaculum. He was putting reasonable arguments and evidences from śāstra, scripture. Sarva-śāstra khaṇḍi' prabhu bhakti kare sāra. And the beauty was that He was defeating all other arguments against devotional service. He was establishing only that God is great, and we are meant for serving Him. On this basis He was arguing and He was defeating others.

General Lectures

Pandal Lecture at Cross Maidan -- Bombay, March 26, 1971:

Simply by argument and reasoning, you cannot make any spiritual advancement. Because you may be very good, I mean to way, logician, putting forward nice arguments, but somebody may come who is better than you. He will spoil all your logic, and he will establish his own logic. That is nyāya-śāstra. In Sanskrit there is nyāya-śāstra. So they are taught how to defeat his opponent. Therefore the Absolute Truth you cannot understand by argument, by material dealings.

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Questions and Answers -- Montreal, August 26, 1968:

Prabhupāda: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was considered at that time to be the greatest learned man in India. At that time nyāya-śāstra, logic, amongst the learned scholar logic is the greatest weapon to get victory over His opponent. So learned scholar is always a very learned scholar in logic, nyāya-śāstra. So this logic was taught in Bihar, Dharvanga. India, in different parts of India, different kinds of education was imparted. In Benares, the Mayavāda philosophy was very prominent. In Dharvanga, logic was very prominent. In Navadvīpa, philosophy was very prominent, and nyāya also.

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to Mahatma Gandhi -- Cawnpore 12 July, 1947:

So you are also in a plight to find out a proper solution for the present political tangle created by your opponents. You should therefore take a note of warning from your insignificant friend like me, that unless you retire timely from politics and engage yourself cent per cent in the preaching work of Bhagavad-gita, which is the real function of the Mahatmas, you shall have to meet with such inglorious deaths as Mussolini, Hitlers, Tojos, Churchills or Lloyd Georges met with.

Letter to Ramakrishna -- Allahabad 26 September, 1952:

For the last two years approximately I have met expenses from this business to the extent of Rs 600/- month. Calcutta, Allahabad, Ranchi High-Court & Ry Journey altogether five different items of expenses have been so far met. But all of a sudden my sister opponent firms have designed to remove me from this place. By their trick the Drug Controller has suspended my business for the last one and a half month with the result that about Rs 1000/- has been locked up & sealed and I have been put to shame by my servants.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Balavanta -- Ahmedabad 13 December, 1972:

I have had a good laugh and enjoyed your tricking the opponent candidates in election race, especially in front of the college students. That is a very good sign. Now I want that we shall recruit more and more our men amongst the intelligent class of men. They, because they are little educated or they have got some wealth or fame or ability, so they will be sometimes little puffed-up, but that is all right, they deserve it. Now we shall have to learn the art how to approach such higher-class of men and attract them to apply themselves to this Krishna Consciousness process of self-realization.

Letter to Balavanta -- Ahmedabad 13 December, 1972:

Only after exhausting every possibility of peaceful solution shall we fight anyone. Just like Krishna. He did not call for fighting until after every chance for settlement failed. So we shall try to overcome our opponents by, first, our words and our behavior, and all means of friendly approach we shall attempt by sober planning, and only later, all else failing, shall we actually fight. That is our philosophy.

Letter to Mukunda -- Bombay 27 December, 1972:

We are more interested that the mass of men shall support us—what good a handful of high-class supporters will do? Just like in your country, there was election, and the opponent of Mr. Nixon, he was supported by all high-class men, but because Mr. Nixon had help of the common men he was successful and won the fight. But, if even one such high-class man becomes preacher on our behalf, if he actually becomes converted to Krishna Consciousness preaching work, then that is the best contribution of your preaching also.