Range of...

Expressions researched:
"PRICE RANGE" |"beyond this range" |"long range social" |"material range" |"range of" |"ranges of" |"ranging from" |"seeing range"

BG Chapters 1 - 6

BG 2.52, Purport:

The Vedic rites and rituals are imperative for neophytes: comprehending all kinds of prayer three times a day, taking a bath early in the morning, offering respects to the forefathers, etc. But when one is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is engaged in His transcendental loving service, one becomes indifferent to all these regulative principles because he has already attained perfection. If one can reach the platform of understanding by service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, he has no longer to execute different types of penances and sacrifices as recommended in revealed scriptures. And, similarly, if one has not understood that the purpose of the Vedas is to reach Kṛṣṇa and simply engages in the rituals, etc., then he is uselessly wasting time in such engagements. Persons in Kṛṣṇa consciousness transcend the limit of śabda-brahma, or the range of the Vedas and Upaniṣads.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.2.6, Purport:

In this statement, Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī answers the first question of the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya. The sages asked him to summarize the whole range of revealed scriptures and present the most essential part so that fallen people or the people in general might easily take it up. The Vedas prescribe two different types of occupation for the human being. One is called the pravṛtti-mārga, or the path of sense enjoyment, and the other is called the nivṛtti-mārga, or the path of renunciation. The path of enjoyment is inferior, and the path of sacrifice for the supreme cause is superior. The material existence of the living being is a diseased condition of actual life. Actual life is spiritual existence, or brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20) existence, where life is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. Material existence is temporary, illusory and full of miseries. There is no happiness at all.

SB 1.2.8, Purport:

There are different occupational activities in terms of man's different conceptions of life. To the gross materialist who cannot see anything beyond the gross material body, there is nothing beyond the senses. Therefore his occupational activities are limited to concentrated and extended selfishness. Concentrated selfishness centers around the personal body—this is generally seen amongst the lower animals. Extended selfishness is manifested in human society and centers around the family, society, community, nation and world with a view to gross bodily comfort. Above these gross materialists are the mental speculators who hover aloft in the mental spheres, and their occupational duties involve making poetry and philosophy or propagating some ism with the same aim of selfishness limited to the body and the mind. But above the body and mind is the dormant spirit soul whose absence from the body makes the whole range of bodily and mental selfishness completely null and void. But less intelligent people have no information of the needs of the spirit soul.

SB 1.3.9, Purport:

As King Ṛṣabha advised His sons, tapasya, or voluntary acceptance of penance for realization of the Transcendence, is the only duty of the human being; it was so done by the Lord Himself in an exemplary manner to teach us. The Lord is very kind to the forgetful souls. He therefore comes Himself and leaves behind necessary instructions and also sends His good sons as representatives to call all the conditioned souls back to Godhead. Recently, within the memory of everyone, Lord Caitanya also appeared for the same purpose: to show special favor to fallen souls of this age of iron industry. The incarnation of Nārāyaṇa is worshiped still at Badarī-nārāyaṇa, on the range of the Himalayas.

SB 1.8.16, Purport:

The activities of the Lord are always inconceivable to the tiny brain of the living entities. Nothing is impossible for the Supreme Lord, but all His actions are wonderful for us, and thus He is always beyond the range of our conceivable limits. The Lord is the all-powerful, all-perfect Personality of Godhead. The Lord is cent percent perfect, whereas others, namely Nārāyaṇa, Brahmā, Śiva, the demigods and all other living beings, possess only different percentages of such perfection. No one is equal to or greater than Him. He is unrivaled.

SB 1.8.19, Translation:

Being beyond the range of limited sense perception, You are the eternally irreproachable factor covered by the curtain of deluding energy. You are invisible to the foolish observer, exactly as an actor dressed as a player is not recognized.

SB 1.8.19, Purport:

He is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by such authoritative personalities as Vyāsa, Devala, Asita, Nārada, Madhva, Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Jīva Gosvāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī and all other authorities of the line. He Himself has declared as much in many places of the authentic literatures. And yet there is a class of men with demoniac mentality who are always reluctant to accept the Lord as the Supreme Absolute Truth. This is partially due to their poor fund of knowledge and partially due to their stubborn obstinacy, which results from various misdeeds in the past and present. Such persons could not recognize Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa even when He was present before them. Another difficulty is that those who depend more on their imperfect senses cannot realize Him as the Supreme Lord. Such persons are like the modern scientist. They want to know everything by their experimental knowledge. But it is not possible to know the Supreme Person by imperfect experimental knowledge. He is described herein as adhokṣaja, or beyond the range of experimental knowledge. All our senses are imperfect. We claim to observe everything and anything, but we must admit that we can observe things under certain material conditions only, which are also beyond our control. The Lord is beyond the observation of sense perception. Queen Kuntī accepts this deficiency of the conditioned soul, especially of the woman class, who are less intelligent.

SB 1.8.20, Purport:

Even the greatest philosophical speculators cannot have access to the region of the Lord. It is said in the Upaniṣads that the Supreme Truth, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is beyond the range of the thinking power of the greatest philosopher. He is unknowable by great learning or by the greatest brain. He is knowable only by one who has His mercy. Others may go on thinking about Him for years together, yet He is unknowable. This very fact is corroborated by the Queen, who is playing the part of an innocent woman. Women in general are unable to speculate like philosophers, but they are blessed by the Lord because they believe at once in the superiority and almightiness of the Lord, and thus they offer obeisances without reservation. The Lord is so kind that He does not show special favor only to one who is a great philosopher. He knows the sincerity of purpose. For this reason only, women generally assemble in great number in any sort of religious function. In every country and in every sect of religion it appears that the women are more interested than the men. This simplicity of acceptance of the Lord's authority is more effective than showy insincere religious fervor.

SB 1.8.42, Purport:

Her affection for the Pāṇḍavas and the Vṛṣṇis is not out of the range of devotional service because the service of the Lord and the service of the devotees are identical. Sometimes service to the devotee is more valuable than service to the Lord. But here the affection of Kuntīdevī for the Pāṇḍavas and the Vṛṣṇis was due to family relation. This tie of affection in terms of material relation is the relation of māyā because the relations of the body or the mind are due to the influence of the external energy. Relations of the soul, established in relation with the Supreme Soul, are factual relations. When Kuntīdevī wanted to cut off the family relation, she meant to cut off the relation of the skin. The skin relation is the cause of material bondage, but the relation of the soul is the cause of freedom. This relation of the soul to the soul can be established by the via medium of the relation with the Supersoul. Seeing in the darkness is not seeing. But seeing by the light of the sun means to see the sun and everything else which was unseen in the darkness. That is the way of devotional service.

SB 1.9.28, Purport:

Incidents mentioned in the Vedic literatures, such as the Purāṇas, Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa are factual historical narrations that took place sometime in the past, although not in any chronological order. Such historical facts, being instructive for ordinary men, were assorted without chronological reference. Besides that, they happen on different planets, nay, in different universes, and thus the description of the narrations is sometimes measured by three dimensions. We are simply concerned with the instructive lessons of such incidents, even though they are not in order by our limited range of understanding. Bhīṣmadeva described such narrations before Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira in reply to his different questions.

SB 1.11.38, Purport:

In the Vedas and Vedic literatures (Śruti and Smṛti) it is affirmed that in the Divinity there is nothing material. He is transcendental (nirguṇa) only, the supreme cognizant. Hari, or the Personality of Godhead, is the supreme transcendental person situated beyond the range of material affection. These statements are also confirmed even by Ācārya Śaṅkara. One may argue that His relation with the goddesses of fortune may be transcendental, but what about His relation with the Yadu dynasty, being born in that family, or His killing the nonbelievers like Jarāsandha and other asuras directly in contact with the modes of material nature. The answer is that the divinity of the Personality of Godhead is never in contact with the qualities of material nature in any circumstances. Actually He is in contact with such qualities because He is the ultimate source of everything, yet He is above the actions of such qualities. He is known, therefore, as Yogeśvara, or the master of mystic power, or in other words the all-powerful.

SB 1.16.16, Translation:

Mahārāja Parīkṣit heard that out of His causeless mercy Lord Kṛṣṇa (Viṣṇu), who is universally obeyed, rendered all kinds of service to the malleable sons of Pāṇḍu by accepting posts ranging from chariot driver to president to messenger, friend, night watchman, etc., according to the will of the Pāṇḍavas, obeying them like a servant and offering obeisances like one younger in years. When he heard this, Mahārāja Parīkṣit became overwhelmed with devotion to the lotus feet of the Lord.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.2.26, Purport:

In the creation of the Lord there are many wonderful things we can see with our own eyes every day and night, but we are unable to reach them equipped by modern materialistic science. We should not, therefore, depend on the fragmentary authority of materialistic science for knowing things beyond the range of scientific purview. For a common man, both modern science and Vedic wisdom are simply to be accepted because none of the statements either of modern science or of Vedic literature can be verified by him. The alternative for a common man is to believe either of them or both of them. The Vedic way of understanding, however, is more authentic because it has been accepted by the ācāryas, who are not only faithful and learned men, but are also liberated souls without any of the flaws of conditioned souls. The modern scientists, however, are conditioned souls liable to so many errors and mistakes; therefore the safe side is to accept the authentic version of Vedic literatures, like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is accepted unanimously by the great ācāryas.

SB 2.6.29, Purport:

The manifested personalities are the demigods like the ruler of the heavenly kingdom, Indra, and his associates; and the nonmanifested personality is the Lord Himself. The manifested personalities are mundane controllers of the material affairs, whereas the nonmanifested Personality of Godhead is transcendental, beyond the range of the material atmosphere. In this age of Kali the manifested demigods are also not to be seen, for space travel has completely stopped. So both the powerful demigods and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are nonmanifested to the covered eyes of the modern man. Modern men want to see everything with their eyes, although they are not sufficiently qualified. Consequently, they disbelieve in the existence of the demigods or of the Supreme God. They should see through the pages of authentic scriptures and should not simply believe their unqualified eyes. Even in these days, God can also be seen by qualified eyes tinged with the ointment of love of God.

SB 2.7.24, Purport:

The many eternals are supported by the one eternal, and thus both the eternals are qualitatively one. Due to such oneness, both the eternals constitutionally have a complete range of sentiments, but the difference is that the sentiments of the chief eternal are different in quantity from the sentiments of the dependent eternals. When Rāmacandra was angry and showed His red-hot eyes, the whole ocean became heated with that energy, so much so that the aquatics within the great ocean felt the heat, and the personified ocean trembled in fear and offered the Lord an easy path for reaching the enemy's city. The impersonalists will see havoc in this red-hot sentiment of the Lord because they want to see negation in perfection. Because the Lord is absolute, the impersonalists imagine that in the Absolute the sentiment of anger, which resembles mundane sentiments, must be conspicuous by absence. Due to a poor fund of knowledge, they do not realize that the sentiment of the Absolute Person is transcendental to all mundane concepts of quality and quantity.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.3.28, Purport:

The word uru-rasam is also significant here. Hundreds of delicacies can be prepared simply by the combination of grains, vegetables and milk. All such preparations are in the mode of goodness and therefore may be offered to the Personality of Godhead. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26), the Lord accepts only foodstuffs which are within the range of fruits, flowers, leaves and liquids, provided they are offered in complete devotional service. Devotional service is the only criterion for a bona fide offering to the Lord. The Lord assures that He positively eats such foodstuffs offered by the devotees. So, judging from all sides, the Yadus were perfectly trained civilized persons, and their being cursed by the brāhmaṇa sages was only by the desire of the Lord; the whole incident was a warning to all concerned that no one should behave lightly with brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas.

SB 3.9.10, Purport:

This verse particularly mentions that even sages who are averse to the principles of devotional service to the Lord are also condemned to undergo the terms of material existence. Not only in this age, but formerly also, there were many sages who tried to invent their own systems of religion without reference to devotional service to the Supreme Lord, but there cannot be any religious principle without devotional service to the Lord. The Supreme Lord is the leader of the entire range of living entities, and no one can be equal to or greater than Him. Even the Lord's impersonal feature and all-pervading localized feature cannot be on an equal level with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, there cannot be any religion or system of genuine philosophy for the advancement of the living entities without the principle of devotional service.

SB 3.11.16, Translation:

Vidura said: I now understand the life durations of the residents of the Pitā planets and heavenly planets as well as that of the human beings. Now kindly inform me of the durations of life of those greatly learned living entities who are beyond the range of a kalpa.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.25.26, Purport:

The first aphorism in the Vedānta-sūtra is athāto brahma jijñāsā. In the human form of life one should put many questions to himself and to his intelligence. In the various forms of life lower than human life the intelligence does not go beyond the range of life's primary necessities—namely eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Dogs, cats and tigers are always busy trying to find something to eat or a place to sleep, trying to defend and have sexual intercourse successfully. In the human form of life, however, one should be intelligent enough to ask what he is, why he has come into the world, what his duty is, who is the supreme controller, what is the difference between dull matter and the living entity, etc. There are so many questions, and the person who is actually intelligent should simply inquire about the supreme source of everything: athāto brahma jijñāsā. A living entity is always connected with a certain amount of intelligence, but in the human form of life the living entity must inquire about his spiritual identity. This is real human intelligence.

SB 4.30.22, Purport:

The Vedas also indicate that simply by chanting the holy names of the Lord one can without a doubt become spiritually advanced. We cannot approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the speed of mind or words, but if we stick to devotional service we can easily and quickly approach Him. In other words, the Supreme Lord is attracted by devotional service, and He can approach us more swiftly than we can approach Him with our mental speculation. The Lord has stated that He is beyond the range of mental speculation and the speed of thought, yet He can be approached easily by His causeless mercy. Thus only by His causeless mercy can He be attained. Other methods will not be effective.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.9.1, Purport:

One cannot directly perceive the kingdom of heaven, its king and other inhabitants, or how they perform their various engagements, for no one can go to the heavenly planets. Although modern scientists have invented many powerful space vehicles, they cannot even go to the moon, not to speak of other planets. By direct experience one cannot learn anything beyond the range of human perception. One must hear from authorities. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī, a great personality, says, "What I am describing to you, O King, is what I have heard from authoritative sources." This is the Vedic system. The Vedic knowledge is called śruti because it must be received by being heard from authorities. It is beyond the realm of our false experimental knowledge.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.34.23, Translation:

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma sang, producing the entire range of musical sounds simultaneously. Their singing brought happiness to the ears and minds of all living beings.

SB 11.18.28, Translation:

A learned transcendentalist dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and thus detached from external objects, or My devotee who is detached even from desire for liberation—both neglect those duties based on external rituals or paraphernalia. Thus their conduct is beyond the range of rules and regulations.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.96, Purport:

Although the potency of māyā is inferior in quality to the marginal potency, which consists of the living beings, who are part and parcel of the Lord, it nevertheless has the power to control the living beings, just as fog can block the actions of a certain portion of the sun's rays although it cannot cover the sun. The living beings covered by the illusory energy evolve in different species of life, with bodies ranging from that of an insignificant ant to that of Brahmā, the constructor of the cosmos. The pradhāna, the chief cause of all causes in the impersonal vision, is none other than the Supreme Lord, whom one can see face to face in the internal potency. He takes the material all-pervasive form by His inconceivable power. Although all three potencies—namely internal, external and marginal—are essentially one in the ultimate issue, they are different in action, like electric energy, which can produce both cold and heat under different conditions. The external and marginal potencies are so called under various conditions, but in the original, internal potencies there are no such conditions, nor is it possible for the conditions of the external potency to exist in the marginal, or vice versa. One who is able to understand the intricacies of all these energies of the Supreme Lord can no longer remain an empiric impersonalist under the influence of a poor fund of knowledge.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the Lord, being equally disposed toward every living being, has no enemies and no friends but that He has special affection for a devotee who always thinks of Him in love. Therefore neutrality and partiality are both among the transcendental qualities of the Lord, and they are properly adjusted by His inconceivable energy. The Lord is Parabrahman, or the source of the impersonal Brahma, which is His all-pervading feature of neutrality. In His personal feature, however, as the owner of all transcendental opulences, the Lord displays His partiality by taking the side of His devotees. Partiality, neutrality and all such qualities are present in God; otherwise they could not be experienced in the creation. Since He is the total existence, all things are properly adjusted in the Absolute. In the relative world such qualities are displayed in a perverted manner, and therefore we experience nonduality as a perverted reflection. Because there is no logic to explain how things happen in the realm of spirit, the Lord is sometimes described as being beyond the range of experience. But if we simply accept the Lord's inconceivability, we can then adjust all things in Him. Nondevotees cannot understand the Lord's inconceivable energy, and consequently for them it is said that He is beyond the range of conceivable expression. The author of the Brahma-sūtras accepts this fact and says, śrutes tu śabda-mūlatvāt: the Supreme Personality of Godhead, being inconceivable to an ordinary man, can be understood only through the evidence of the Vedic injunctions. The Skanda Purāṇa confirms, acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet: "Matters inconceivable to a common man should not be a subject for argument." We find very wonderful qualities even in such material things as jewels and drugs. Indeed, their qualities often appear inconceivable. Therefore if we do not attribute inconceivable potencies to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we cannot establish His supremacy. It is because of these inconceivable potencies that the glories of the Lord have always been accepted as difficult to understand.

CC Adi 7.39, Purport:

In describing the Kāśīra Māyāvādīs, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has explained that persons who are bewildered by empiric knowledge or direct sensual perception, and who thus consider that even this limited material world can be gauged by their material estimations, conclude that anything that one can discern by direct sense perception is but māyā, or illusion. They maintain that although the Absolute Truth is beyond the range of sense perception, it includes no spiritual variety or enjoyment. According to the Kāśīra Māyāvādīs, the spiritual world is simply void. They do not believe in the Personality of the Absolute Truth or in His varieties of activities in the spiritual world. Although they have their own arguments, which are not very strong, they have no conception of the variegated activities of the Absolute Truth. These impersonalists, who are followers of Śaṅkarācārya, are generally known as Kāśīra Māyāvādīs (impersonalists residing in Vārāṇasī).

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 9.223, Purport:

The range of mountains in South India beginning at Kerala and extending to Cape Comorin is called Malaya-parvata. Concerning Agastya, there are four opinions: (1) There is a temple of Agastya Muni in the village of Agastyampallī, in the district of Tanjore. (2) There is a temple of Lord Skanda on a hill known as Śiva-giri, and this temple is said to have been established by Agastya Muni. (3) Some say that the hill near Cape Comorin known as Paṭhiyā served as Agastya Muni's residence. (4) There is a place known as Agastya-malaya, which is a range of hills on both sides of the Tāmraparṇī River. Cape Comorin itself is also known as Kanyā-kumārī.

CC Madhya 15.169, Purport:

As soon as one fully surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, he becomes a Vaiṣṇava. In this verse from the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa promises to relieve His devotee from all the reactions to sinful life. It is a fact that a fully surrendered Vaiṣṇava is completely out of the range of material infection. This is to say that he does not suffer the results of his previous pious or impious actions. Unless one is freed from sinful life, one cannot become a Vaiṣṇava. In other words, if one is a Vaiṣṇava, his sinful life is certainly ended. According to the Padma Purāṇa:

aprārabdha-phalaṁ pāpaṁ kūṭaṁ bījaṁ phalonmukham

krameṇaiva pralīyeta viṣṇu-bhakti-ratātmanām

"There are different stages of dormant reactions to sinful activities to be observed in a sinful life. Sinful reactions may be just waiting to take effect (phalonmukha), reactions may be still further dormant (kūṭa), or the reactions may be in a seedlike state (bīja). In any case, all types of sinful reactions are vanquished one after another if a person engages in the devotional service of Lord Viṣṇu."

CC Madhya 19.153, Purport:

A creeper generally takes shelter of a big tree, but the bhakti-latā, being the creeper of spiritual energy, cannot take shelter of any material planet, for there is no tree on any material planet that the bhakti creeper can utilize for shelter. In other words, devotional service cannot be utilized for any material purpose. Devotional service is meant only for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sometimes men with a poor fund of knowledge maintain that bhakti can be applied to material things also. In other words, they say that devotional service can be rendered to one's country or to the demigods, but this is not a fact. Devotional service is especially meant for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it is beyond this material range. There is a river, or causal ocean, between the spiritual and material natures, and this river is free from the influence of the three modes of material nature; therefore it is called Virajā. The prefix vi means vigata ("completely eradicated"), and rajas means "the influence of the material world." On this platform, a living entity is completely free from material entanglement. For the jñānīs who want to merge into the Brahman effulgence, there is Brahma-loka. The bhakti-latā, however, has no shelter in the material world, nor has it shelter in Brahma-loka, although Brahma-loka is beyond the material world. The bhakti-latā grows until it reaches the spiritual sky, where Goloka Vṛndāvana is situated.

CC Madhya 20.311, Purport:

Viṣṇu is beyond the range of the material manifestation, and He is not within the control of the material energy. He is the supreme independent Personality of Godhead. This is admitted even by Śaṅkarācārya: nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt (Gītā-bhāṣya). In his constitutional form, Śiva is a mahā-bhāgavata, a supreme devotee of the Lord, but because he accepts māyā’s association—especially the quality of ignorance—he is not free from māyā’s influence. Such an intimate association is completely absent in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Lord Śiva accepts māyā, but in the presence of Lord Viṣṇu, māyā does not exist. Consequently Lord Śiva has to be considered a product of māyā. When Lord Śiva is free from māyā’s influence, he is in the position of a mahā-bhāgavata, a supreme devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. Vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ.

CC Madhya 20.313, Translation:

“"Śrī Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is situated beyond the range of material nature; therefore He is the supreme transcendental person. He can see everything inside and outside; therefore He is the supreme overseer of all living entities. If someone takes shelter at His lotus feet and worships Him, he also attains a transcendental position.""

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 9:

Lord Brahmā informed Nārada that none of the great sages, including himself, could estimate the potential strength and energy of the Supreme Lord. He admitted that even if Ananta with His thousands of tongues tried to estimate the Lord's energies, He would fail. Therefore the Personified Vedas also prayed:

dyupataya eva te na yayur antam anantatayā

tvam api yad antarāṇḍa-nicayā nanu sāvaraṇāḥ

kha iva rajāṁsi vānti vayasā saha yac chrutayas

tvayi hi phalanty atannirasanena bhavan-nidhanāḥ

"My Lord, You are unlimited, and no one has estimated the extent of Your potencies. I think that even You do not know the range of Your potential energies. Unlimited planets float in the sky just like atoms, and great Vedāntists, who are engaged in research to find You, discover that everything is different from You. Thus they finally decide that You are everything." (SB 10.87.41)

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 20:

The living entities are factually beyond this covered inferior energy. They have their pure spiritual existence and their pure identity, as well as their pure mental activities. All of them are beyond the manifestation of this material cosmos. Although the living entity's mind, intelligence and identity are beyond the range of this material world, when he enters into this material world due to his desire to dominate matter, his original mind, intelligence and body become covered by the material energy. When he is again uncovered from these material or inferior energies, he is called liberated. When he is liberated, he has no false ego, but his real ego again comes into existence. Foolish mental speculators think that after liberation one's identity is lost, but that is not so. Because the living entity is eternally part and parcel of God, when he is liberated, he revives his original, eternal, part-and-parcel identity.

Easy Journey to Other Planets

Easy Journey to Other Planets 1:

When a satellite is thrown into outer space, a child may not understand that there are scientific brains behind it, but an intelligent adult realizes that scientific brains on earth are controlling the satellite. Similarly, less intelligent persons do not have information of the creator and His eternal abode in the spiritual world, which is far beyond our range of visibility, but in actuality there is a spiritual sky, and spiritual planets which are more spacious and greater in number than planets in the material sky. From the Bhagavad-gītā we receive information that the material universe only constitutes a fraction (one fourth) of the creation. Such information is extensively available in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and in other Vedic literatures.

Light of the Bhagavata

Light of the Bhagavata 26, Purport:

In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord has expressed His willingness to accept fruit, flowers, leaves, and water from His devotee when they have been offered to Him in devotional affection. The Lord can eat anything and everything, because everything is but a transformation of His own energy. But when there is a question of offering Him something, the offerings must be within the range of the eatables the Lord has ordered. We cannot offer the Lord that which He has not ordered. The Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, cannot be offered anything beyond the range of good foodstuffs like rice, dal, wheat, vegetables, milk and milk preparations, and sugar. At Jagannātha Purī the Lord is offered such foodstuffs, and in all scriptures the very same foodstuffs are mentioned everywhere.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.1 -- Ahmedabad, December 6, 1972:

Uttamā-bhakti, first-class bhakti, what is that? Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam: without any kind of desire than to serve the Lord. And in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also, it is said, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ. Paraḥ means transcendental, beyond this material conception. Kṛṣṇa, or the Absolute, Nārāyaṇa, that is para. Nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ avyaktāt. Nārāyaṇa is not anything of this material world. Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Viṣṇu. The Absolute Personality of Godhead, He is not anything of this material world. When we use this word, nirākāra, that means His form is not anything of this material world. But He has got His form. That is a transcendental form. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Nirākāra means He, He has no such form, as we have got this material form. This material form is neither of the three transcendental bliss, sac-cid-ānanda. This is asat, acit, and nirānanda. This body, this material body is asat, acit, and nirānanda. Therefore, when in the Vedic literature or in authorized statement we find "nirākāra," that means His form does not belong to this asat, acit, or nirānanda. But He has His form. Divyam. Janma karma me divyam (BG 4.9). Divyam, transcendental. And Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya also, who especially preached impersonalism, he also admits that nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ avyaktāt: "Nārāyaṇa, the form of Nārāyaṇa, is beyond the range of this avyakta." Avyakta and...

Lecture on BG 4.3-6 -- New York, July 18, 1966:

Now, what is this newspaper? Oh, you, from newspaper you understand that "In China such and such things have taken place. And in India such and such things have taken place." Or from radio message you understand that "Such and such things have taken place." But you are not experiencing them directly, whether such and such things have actually taken place. But you accept the authority of the newspaper. You accept the authority of newspaper and you believe it, that in China such and such things have taken place and in India such and such things have taken place, which is far beyond the range of your direct perception. Similarly, there are many instances. We have to believe the authority to take knowledge. And the more the authority is perfect, your knowledge is perfect. The more the authority is perfect, your knowledge is perfect. Direct perception in all cases, it is not possible to receive direct perception of everything. Take, for example... (shouts from outside on street) Ask them not to make noise.

Lecture on BG 6.21-27 -- New York, September 9, 1966:

So this yoga process is... Because we are being entangled in this material world due to these uncontrolled senses. So the whole process of yoga indriya-saṁyama—we have to control the senses and turn our face toward that actual spiritual happiness. Then our life will be successful. Manasaivendriya-grāmaṁ viniyamya. Mind and the indriya-grāmam, and the whole range of the senses, that has to be controlled. Then we can gradually, if we practice, gradually we shall understand what is the real happiness and how to attain it.

Lecture on BG 13.26 -- Delhi, September 22, 1974:

Prabhupāda: One who is intelligent, he comes to the senses and he understands that "I had been servant of kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mātsarya, like that. So I have served them, but nobody is satisfied. Nobody is satisfied. (break) ...teṣāṁ na trapā na karuṇā jātā... They are not satisfied. You go on serving. Even Mahatma Gandhi. He was serving his country, but he was killed by his countrymen. It is a fact. So you cannot satisfy. Who can give more service than Mahatma Gandhi. But the, what was the return? The return was that his countrymen killed him. This is the return. You go on serving your senses in the name of your country, society, family... They'll never be satisfied. And as soon as there is possibility, they'll kill you. So why should you be so much serious about serving other than Kṛṣṇa? That is sense. Better serve Kṛṣṇa. Then you'll learn. What is the result?

Brahmānanda: Mṛtyuṁ śruti-parāyaṇāḥ. Prabhupāda: Mṛtyum atitaranti. Then you surpass the jurisdiction, beyond the range of birth and death. What is the last line? Brahmānanda: Mṛtyuṁ śruti-parāyaṇāḥ. Prabhupāda: Ah. Mṛtyu. You conquer over this repetition of birth and death simply by this process of hearing, śruti-parāyaṇāḥ. Śruti-parāyaṇāḥ. If you simply hear Bhagavad-gītā from realized souls regularly, by hearing only, you will be able to conquer over birth, death, old age and disease. This is the result.

Lecture on BG 16.8 -- Tokyo, January 28, 1975:

But you have not seen who is Japanese government, president. How do you conclude there is government? You have not seen the president or the supreme head. So how do you say there is government? We have not seen who is the president, who is the prime minister. Then how do we conclude that "There must be government. Otherwise how it is going on so nicely." You may see, you may not see, so many things, but does it mean... That is not a good logic, that "I have not seen." I have not seen, but the sound is coming. The car is there. There must be somebody there. Even if we do not see, you have to conclude like that. Just like there is sound. The sound is of car, and the car, there must be one driver. You have not seen. So how do you conclude there is a driver? How do you conclude? And why do you give stress on your seeing power? What is the power of your seeing? You cannot see. Now you cannot see the car. It is beyond your seeing range or beyond the wall. Then how you conclude that there is a car? And if there is a car, there is a driver. If there is driver, there are passengers. So how do you conclude all this? Why do you give this... This is childish reason, "I cannot see." You cannot see; therefore there is no existence. That is not good logic.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Mauritius, October 5, 1975:

Verse:

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo

yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

ahaituky apratihatā

yayātmā suprasīdati

(SB 1.2.6)

This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Chapter Two, text number six. There was a big meeting of great sages, saintly persons, about 2,500 years ago at Naimiṣāraṇya. Naimiṣāraṇya still... Those who have gone to India, they know. Near Lucknow there is a place. It is called now, railway station, Nimsar. So there is Naimiṣāraṇya. So there in the meeting the questions were put by the sages, that, to summarize the whole range of revealed scriptures, because in India the Vedic literatures are many-folded. First of all there are the four Vedas—Sāma, Yajur, Ṛk, Atharva. Then they are explained or supplemented by the Purāṇas, eighteen Purāṇas. Then they are further explained by hundred eight Upaniṣads. Then they are summarized in Vedānta-sūtra, Brahma-sūtra. And then again, the Brahma-sūtra is explained by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāṣyāyāṁ brahma-sūtrāṇām. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the direct commentary by the author himself. Therefore you will find at the end of each chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-purāṇe brahma-sūtra bhāṣye. Bhāṣya means commentary. Commentary means to explain. Just like in the Brahma-sūtra the first aphorism is athāto brahma jijñāsā: "This human form of life is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth." Brahman means Absolute Truth, the supreme truth.

Lecture on SB 1.2.25 -- Los Angeles, August 28, 1972:

So, Kṛṣṇa is adhokṣaja. Adhokṣaja means beyond our sense perception. Therefore we have to know Kṛṣṇa from Kṛṣṇa, not by our speculation. Kṛṣṇa may... That is frog philosophy. Frog philosophy. He's simply calculating with reference to his teeny well, three feet. So if we want to speculate, what experience we have got, what knowledge we have got that we can speculate to understand the supreme, all-pervasive, Supreme Personality of Godhead? That is not possible. Therefore His name is Adhokṣaja. If you want to know Kṛṣṇa, then you have to take to this process of devotional service, rendering service unto Him. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau (Brs. 1.2.234). Bhejire, bhejire, bhaj-dhātu. Bhaja means sevā. So bhejire. You have to take to this devotional service. And Kṛṣṇa also says bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). He doesn't say by knowledge or by work or by yoga, mystic yogic power, one can understand God. No. That is not possible. These are all akṣaja, within the range of our sense perception. But bhakti is not within the range. Bhakti is the transcendental process. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Brs. 1.1.11). Jñāna and karma, knowledge and fruitive activities, they are of this material world. And anyābhilāṣitā—they're all of this material world, anyābhilāṣitā, desiring other than Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.8.19 -- Mayapura, September 29, 1974:

Now, who is, who can understand Kṛṣṇa? There are so many impediments. One side, there is curtain of māyā; another side, everyone is a rascal and fool; and another side, Kṛṣṇa is beyond your sense perception. This is the position. How much one must be alert. Then one can understand. Just like the Gosvāmīs. Is Kṛṣṇa is so easy thing to be understood? But there is process. So if we do not adopt the process, then how we can understand Kṛṣṇa? These are the so many difficult things. One side, one thing is the māyā is checking. Māyā is trying to put stumbling block for your advancement of spiritual life. Māyā-javanikācchannam. And the other side, we are all fools and rascals. And the, again, Kṛṣṇa is adhokṣaja, beyond the range of sense perception. This is the position.

Lecture on SB 1.16.17 -- Los Angeles, January 12, 1974:

Mahārāja Parīkṣit, because he was addressed, rājarṣi, pūrveṣāṁ vṛttim anvaham... He was following strictly the occupational duty of his forefathers. Anu, ahani, day to date, not forgetting even for a single moment. Therefore he could see that what is that Kali. The Kali, we have, I mean, avoiding Kali: no illicit sex, no gambling, no intoxication, and no meat-eating. These are Kali. You will understand from this chapter gradually. These four things are representative of Kali. Now at the present moment, all over the world, Kali's influence is going on. Everyone, almost everyone, 99.9 percent. You cannot say cent percent because there are some saintly persons. So take it, 99.9 percent, all under the influence of Kali. Illicit sex life, gambling, intoxication and meat-eating. So how these people can see what is Kali? He is himself under the influence of Kali. Therefore, Parīkṣit Mahārāja's situation, vartamānasya, tasyaivaṁ vartamānasya, how he was being situated, in what position he was. Just like not to go so far as to go to Parīkṣit Mahārāja. Even those who are neophytes, trying to be beyond the range of Kali-yuga, our members of the Kṛṣṇa society, because they have given up these four sinful activities, they can see how one is influenced by Kali. So this is the position. Therefore he could see. Now because the so-called leaders, so-called presidents, they are themself agent of Kali, how they can stop this illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling, and intoxication? They cannot do. So you have to take shelter of the śāstra, and then you will be able to avoid it. Otherwise, it is not possible.

Lecture on SB 3.25.7 -- Bombay, November 7, 1974:

So our business is also like that. We are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, and we should give, render, we should render service to the best of capacity. That is our real constitutional position. But here Devahūti says that bhūmann asad-indriya-tarṣaṇāt. Asad-indriya-tarṣaṇāt. At the present moment in this material world, we are busy to enjoy these material senses. This is our position. Everyone is satisfying. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ, manasas tu parā buddhiḥ... (BG 3.42). In this way, you go, and when you go beyond the range of buddhi, that is soul. That is spiritual platform. In the ordinarily we are, in the material platform, we are interested in gratifying senses: "I like it. I must have it." But that sense gratification means we are becoming implicated, implicated in the laws of nature. That is also stated in the śāstra.

Lecture on SB 6.3.20-23 -- Gorakhpur, February 14, 1971:

Twelve mahājanas, authorities, we have discussed yesterday morning.

dvādaśaite vijānīmo

dharmaṁ bhāgavataṁ bhaṭāḥ

guhyaṁ viśuddhaṁ durbodhaṁ

yaṁ jñātvāmṛtam aśnute

(SB 6.3.21)

So the science of Kṛṣṇa is very difficult to understand. Durbodham. Durbodham. Durbodham means very, very difficult to understand. Therefore you have to approach the mahājanas. People, they try to understand which is impossible to understand by their own effort. That is a great mistake. Therefore this very word is used, durbodham. What is religion and what is God, that is very, very difficult to understand. The Vedic injunction is, in order to understand, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master, durbodham. Guhyaṁ viśuddham. Why durbodham? Why it is very difficult to understand? Because it is transcendental, viśuddham, beyond the range of this material atmosphere. Our knowledge is... We get knowledge after creation of this body; therefore all knowledge is material. We tax our brain, which is a material production only. So there is no possibility of understanding religion or God by taxing the material membrane.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 21.62-67 -- New York, January 6, 1966:

So these things are sometimes executed by great īśvaras, controller, like Brahmā, like Śiva. They sometimes exhibit material frailties. They are not fallible in that way, but they teach us by their behavior that even personalities of the most exalted position, they are also sometimes subjected to the spell of illusory energy. The idea is that we should be very careful. Nobody should think that he is beyond the range of material energy. At any time we can fall down. But if we stick to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa as our protector, and take shelter unto His lotus feet sincerely, then even if we fall down sometimes, not intentionally, but accidentally—because we are practiced to so many bad things, so it may be possible that even I take full care, still, the influence is so strong, I may fall down—Kṛṣṇa excuses such kind of falldown. Excuses. But if we intentionally think, "Oh, because I am in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, because I am engaged in devotional service, oh, I can do any nonsense and Kṛṣṇa will excuse me," no. Not like that. Kṛṣṇa will excuse you provided you do not do anything intentionally wrong. Generally, those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness fully, they have—I have already explained to you—they have got all these twenty-six qualifications. That is the perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When we see the twenty-six qualification in full present, that means he is perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If those qualities are not present, that means there is still, I mean to say, a touch of contamination of material nature. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā (SB 5.18.12).

General Lectures

Lecture at Christian Monastery -- Melbourne, April 6, 1972:

God is unapproachable by your mental concoction. But there is another process: if you understand God by this the paramparā system. Just like on this roof there is some sound, and every one of us making some suggestion what is the sound: "This may be like this. This may be like that. This may be like that." This is one process of knowledge, to understand the unseen by speculation. This is one. It may be successful or may not be successful. There is no certainty. But if somebody from the roof says, "The sound is due to this," then our knowledge is perfect. Similarly, if we speculate about God, who is Adhokṣaja, who is beyond the range of our mind and speculation, then it is very... Then we can come to the conclusion of Brahman realization, impersonal God, no more than. But if we hear from God or His representative, then we get perfect knowledge of God.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 7, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: Materialistic means that is the ultimate end of materialistic life. Because they want new pleasure, new pleasure, new pleasure, so sometimes this, sometimes that... Sometimes they think the civilized way is better; sometimes the uncivilized way is better. That's all, this way and that way. That is called punaḥ punaś ca... And then you'll take again to civilized way of... I think some of the hippies are taking now. Yes. Because the same example, stool, this side or that side, it is stool. So these materialistic persons, they are trying to change from this side to that side, but it is stool. That is the... That they do not know. They are accepting stool as something very sublime, and therefore they are trying to change the position, sometimes this side, sometimes that side. Hitvā anyathā rūpam. This is anyathā rūpam, means a living being. Being spiritual, his business is spiritual, but he has accepted material as the platform of his happiness. That is his fault. So material thing, either this side or that side, it is material. Bhoga-tyāga. So therefore he is not happy. And we are trying to give him spiritual platform for happiness. That is real happiness. But he is so much attached to the material happiness that he cannot believe that there can be any happiness beyond this range. That is his ignorance, mūḍha. Therefore we call them mūḍha, rascals. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, "When you become spiritually realized, then prasannātmā, happiness." Otherwise it is not possible. Material thing, you take this side or that side—there is no question of happiness. When you become brahma-bhūtaḥ, spiritually realized, then there is happiness, prasannātmā, immediately. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati, samaḥ sarveṣu (BG 18.54).

Conversation with Professor Hopkins -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prof. Hopkins: So you would see the Bhagavad-gītā then as accessible to a wide range of people, at an elementary level or beginning level, whereas Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam would be for more advanced, more advanced people.

Prabhupāda: Not only advanced, completely advanced. Because so long one will be, stay on the material platform, he will be envious of others only, animal propensity, dog. Dog does not like another dog is coming. So unless one is spiritually realized, the dog mentality will remain there. It is said nāsau munir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam, even amongst the topmost thinkers, if he does not refute other thinkers, he is not a good thinker. That enviousness. He will not be established a good thinker if he cannot... If a scientist, if he cannot refute the previous scientist, he is not a scientist. This is material world. Everyone is envious of the other. So Bhāgavata meant for who is no more envious. Simply loving.

Prof. Hopkins: Why, why is that more necessary for Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam than for Bhagavad-gītā?

Prabhupāda: More... Bhāgavatam, I told you, it is a counterpart. Just like when you have passed the school examination then next you admit yourself for degree or graduate degree. Similarly, Bhāgavata is the end of education. Everyone is progressing. When one comes to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and understands it then his education is complete.

Room Conversation with Professor Olivier -- October 10, 1975, Durban:

Prabhupāda: Yes. But if one cannot distinguish between the car and the driver of the car, then he remains just like a child. A child may think that the car is running automatically, but that is foolishness. There is a driver. The child may not know, but when the child is grown-up, educated, still he does not know, then what is the meaning of his education?

Prof. Olivier: Now, this is the whole range of education in, well, as far as I am aware, in the whole of the Western world, and it covers primary and secondary and tertiary education. There is no place for an in-depth study of...well, of the soul and of the...

Prabhupāda: I talked with one big professor in Moscow. Perhaps you may know him. His name is Professor Kotovsky. He is the leader of Indology in Moscow. So I had a talk with him for about an hour. That talk was published in some paper. He says, "Swamiji, after this body is annihilated, everything is finished." So I was surprised. And he is holding a very responsible post, Indology, and known to be very good scholar. He was good scholar, but he also does not know.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Janardana -- Los Angeles 21 January, 1968:

Yes, anything of which we have no conception, the unknown particle, that is the representation of Paramatma. Yes, your interpretation is quite feasible, because from the Vedic literature that spiritual particle is measured as 1/10,000 part of the upper portion of the hair. So if the physicist's conclusion about the measurement of the soul, that is 100 times finer than what they are already discovered. But however fine and smallest it may be, there is measurement of spirit soul, maybe beyond the experimental knowledge of human scientists. The confusion must continue because this measurement of spirit soul is beyond the range of experimental mind, and understanding. Therefore, confusion. Therefore you have to accept the experience of spirit soul from Vedic literature. If one tries to understand otherwise they will remain in confusion. Subject which is beyond their understanding by experimental knowledge, and if they try to understand it by the same experimental knowledge, that means confusion. This has to be understood by descending process of disciplic succession, or by deductive process, meaning for instance, my mother says this man is my father, I accept, there is no experience. God's name is therefore Adhoksaja which means beyond experimental knowledge. You can inform them that here is statement in Vedic literature (Padma Purāṇa) that the measurement of soul is 1/10,000 of the upper portion of the hair. You are meant for doing this and I shall assist you as far as possible. I thank you for your promise to send me one letter a week.

Letter to Satsvarupa -- San Francisco 3 April, 1968:

One thing you may inform all devotees that Maya cannot touch a pure devotee: When you find a devotee is supposed in difficulty it is not the work of Maya but it is the work of the Lord by His Personal internal energy. The Pandava's tribulation in so many ways, Lord Ramacandra's departure to the forest, His wife the Goddess of Fortune's being kidnapped by Ravana, Lord Krishna's death being caused by the arrow of a hunter, Thakura Haridasa's being caned in 22 market or Lord Jesus Christ being crucified are all acts of the Lord personally. We cannot always understand the intricacies of such incidences. Sometimes they are enacted to bewilder persons who demons. You should therefore discuss in the Istagosthi from current reading matters from B.G. or S.B. We should only try to understand everything from the standard of devotional service. It is stated clearly in the B.G. that any one who is cent per cent engaged in the service of the Lord is transcendentally situated and the influence of Maya has no more any action on such body. The Lord and His pure devotees are always beyond the range of Maya's action. Even though they appear like action of Maya, we should understand their action of Yogamaya or the internal potency of the Lord.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Karandhara -- Nairobi 16 October, 1971:

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your telegram reading as follows: SUGGEST THAT WE PUBLISH SIMULTANEOUSLY ALONG WITH THE TEN THOUSAND MOROCCO BOUND GITAS TEN THOUSAND PAPERBACK EDITIONS FOR LOWER PRICE RANGE CONSUMER MARKET AND FIVE THOUSAND HARDCOVER GITAS FOR LIBRARIES LETTER TO FOLLOW.; I fully approve of this suggestion.

1972 Correspondence

Letter to Jagadisa -- Los Angeles 29 September, 1972:

I am especially interested in your college program for the students, because they are intelligent and inquisitive to understand the higher things of knowledge, so try to approach them nicely and lead them gradually into Krsna Consciousness or the topmost knowledge. I am surprised to hear that the universities are freely allowing us to reside on campus and propagate Krsna Consciousness, this is a very good sign. I am going in a few days to San Francisco to speak at the San Francisco State University there on the topic of "Krsna Consciousness: The Best Alternative Life Style, the Ideal Community, the New Social Order." The professors and students at the University intend to "examine particular new movements in depth. The basic issue underlying the study of these movements is whether they comprise the beginning of a trans-national world culture, and what long range social and political effects might result from them." So we shall reply in this manner and illustrate that the Krsna Consciousness movement is the best solution for solving all these problems and that it is the best trans-cosmic culture for making everyone happy.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Hamsaduta -- Bombay 2 January, 1973:

Now you have started something tangible and solid in German-speaking countries, you are printing books, magazines, and distributing them widely, collecting huge funds, now the work is just beginning. So you have got a little facility now, utilize this opportunity to take advantage of Krsna's favoring you in this way. Consider that each day shall be a new challenge for you to push on Krsna Consciousness movement within your range of managing. But I think that you are developing things nicely already, you are one of my senior disciples, and you know these things already, only you are little humble so you have said like that. Yes, even the devotee doesn't care a pinch for even Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, like that, because devotees are the most exalted personalities as the servants of Krsna, still they think themselves lower than everyone, and that humble attitude is their credit. What credit is there for someone who is himself actually lower than everyone but claims that he is better than everyone, or even he may claim that he is lower than everyone, still what is his credit? But the devotee, being the topmost grade of living entity, when he gives all credit to others and takes nothing credit for himself, that is his credit. Thank you, along with your good wife Himavati, for helping me in this way.

Letter to Lynne Ludwig -- Los Angeles 30 April, 1973:

Krishna tells Arjuna, His disciple, that "It is lust only . . . which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world." In the Vedic language, their word for materialistic "love" as we call it at present day; "kama" lust for material desire, not love. The word for love, actually love we find in Vedas is "prema", meaning one's love of God, only. Outside God, there is no possibility of loving. Rather it is lusty desire the whole range of human activities, whatever and whenever, so long with this atmosphere of matter, the every activity of the human being—or any living entity—is based upon or given impetus, and thus polluted, by the attraction between male and female, sex-desire. For that sex-life, the whole universe is spinning round—and suffering! That is the harsh truth. So-called love, here, means "you gratify my senses, I'll gratify your senses," and as soon as that gratification stops: immediately there is divorce, separation, quarrel, hatred. So many things there are, going on under this false conception of love. Actual love means love of God, Krishna.

1974 Correspondence

Letter to Hrdayananda -- Geneva 4 June, 1974:

As GBC your first responsibility is to keep yourself spiritually fit and see that all the devotees in your zone of management are chanting 16 rounds, rising early and strictly avoiding the sinful activities. If they are doing this, then management will be at your finger's end. Of course I am encouraged to hear that in each center you have stressed the distribution of my books and you are seeing that devotees daily go out for sankirtana as a primary devotional item. So you have a very wide range of area to cover and many things to look after, please do it very soberly, consulting when necessary with your GBC Godbrothers. Our progress is slow but sure, when walking down the street, we first place one foot down and when it is firm we take another step. We want to firmly establish centers in South America. I fully agree that the centers should be as far as possible manned by men who are native to the country; that will make our position even stronger, just as in the USA all you men and women have managed.

1977 Correspondence

Letter to VARIOUS -- Unknown Place Unknown Date:

You should not go to modern scientists for perfect knowledge. They cannot supply that. Krsna will supply you. Of course, sometimes there is allegorical reference in the Vedas, just like the body is called the city of nine gates, like that, so we may sometimes misunderstand due to our imperfect reading. Even it is true that they have landed on the moon, so what is their accomplishment? If I come to Earth planet and land in the Sahara desert, then I say, "Oh, this planet is a barren desert, no one lives here?" The moon may be like that or like this, so what does that help to our Krsna consciousness movement. We have nothing to do with moon planet or this planet and that planet in Krsna consciousness. We simply want to serve to Krsna, that's all. Do not be disturbed by these things. Simply go on with your work in positive mood. That will be best for you and for other also. After all intelligence to understand Krsna is not within the range of your material senses. You cannot make any experiments and calculations and expect to find Krsna. But if somehow or other you are fortunate enough to find out a pure devotee of the Lord, then you get opportunity to him, and as you surrender Krsna gives you the intelligence by which you may come to him, that is sure. No other process will give us any intelligence to understand things as they are, except Krsna consciousness.