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Real enjoyer

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 3

Lord Śiva desires that all luxurious articles, such as nice garments, garlands, ornaments and cosmetics, be given to Lord Kṛṣṇa only, because Kṛṣṇa is the real enjoyer.
SB 3.14.28, Purport: The real purpose of Lord Śiva is to serve the Soul of the soul, Lord Kṛṣṇa. He desires that all luxurious articles, such as nice garments, garlands, ornaments and cosmetics, be given to Lord Kṛṣṇa only, because Kṛṣṇa is the real enjoyer. He refuses to accept such luxurious items himself because they are only meant for Kṛṣṇa. However, since they do not know this purpose of Lord Śiva, foolish persons either laugh at him or profitlessly try to imitate him.
One should not think that he is the proprietor, benefactor, friend or enjoyer. He should always be cognizant that the real enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; that is the basic principle of bhakti-yoga.
SB 3.27.5, Purport: The so-called national leader or humanist does not serve everyone; he serves his senses only. That is a fact. But the conditioned soul cannot understand this because he is bewildered by the spell of material nature. It is therefore recommended in this verse that one engage very seriously in the devotional service of the Lord. This means that one should not think that he is the proprietor, benefactor, friend or enjoyer. He should always be cognizant that the real enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; that is the basic principle of bhakti-yoga.

SB Canto 4

If one wants peace of mind and tranquillity in society, he must accept the fact that the real enjoyer is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 4.24.66, Purport: "The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries." (BG 5.29) If one wants peace of mind and tranquillity in society, he must accept the fact that the real enjoyer is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is the proprietor of everything all over the universe, and He is the supreme friend of all living entities as well. By understanding this, people can become happy and peaceful individually and collectively.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.20.17, Translation: [This is the mantra by which the inhabitants of Kuśadvīpa worship the fire-god.] O fire-god, you are a part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, and you carry to Him all the offerings of sacrifices. Therefore we request you to offer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead the yajñic ingredients we are offering the demigods, for the Lord is the real enjoyer.

SB Canto 7

If one wants to enjoy real peace and prosperity, he should give everything to Kṛṣṇa, who is the real enjoyer, real friend and real proprietor.
SB 7.14.34, Purport: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the root of everything, and therefore He is the best pātra, or person, to whom everything must be given. In Bhagavad-gītā (5.29) it is said:
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

If one wants to enjoy real peace and prosperity, he should give everything to Kṛṣṇa, who is the real enjoyer, real friend and real proprietor. It is therefore said:

yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā
(SB 4.31.14)
By worshiping or satisfying Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, one can satisfy everyone, just as one can water the branches, leaves and flowers of a tree simply by watering its root or as one satisfies all the senses of the body by giving food to the stomach. Therefore, a devotee simply offers everything to the Supreme Personality of Godhead to receive the best results of charity, religious performances, sense gratification and even liberation.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

The real enjoyer is the Supreme Lord.
Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966: Any feature of realization will lead the person to spiritual life. But comparatively, the first realization is Brahman and the higher realization is Paramātmā, and the ultimate realization is Bhagavān. So the Bhagavān, He is the real enjoyer. He is the real enjoyer. You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā that bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram [Bg. 5.29]. The Lord says that "I am the enjoyer. Whatever is being done here, I am the enjoyer." And bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram. "I am the proprietor." So therefore bhoga, bhoga means enjoyment. The real enjoyer is the Supreme Lord. We are enjoyed, we are not enjoyer.
I am thinking that "I am enjoying with my sense organs," but you are not enjoying. The real enjoyer is that small spiritual spark within you. That spiritual spark has got the potency of enjoyment, but that is not being manifested on account of being covered by this material tabernacle, and therefore this enjoyment is not perfect.
Lecture on BG 6.21-27 -- New York, September 9, 1966: Just like the animals, they are not intelligent enough. Therefore they cannot enjoy life as a human being can, standard. So here, in the Bhagavad-gītā also, it is said that buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam. Atīndriyam. Now, just take the example of a dead man. The senses, the hands, the nose, the sense organs, and everything is there, but now he cannot enjoy. The dead body, it cannot enjoy. Why? This requires intelligence. Why the dead body cannot enjoy? What is the difference? The body is lying there. The hands and the nose and the legs and the eyes and all other sense organs are there. But why the dead body cannot enjoy? That requires intelligence. That means that the enjoying energy, the spiritual spark, that has gone away. Therefore it has no power to enjoy. Then, if you make advance further with intelligence, then you will understand that actually the body was not enjoying, but that little spark, spiritual spark, that was enjoying, not this body. This requires little intelligence. I am thinking that "I am enjoying with my sense organs," but you are not enjoying. The real enjoyer is that small spiritual spark within you. That spiritual spark has got the potency of enjoyment, but that is not being manifested on account of being covered by this material tabernacle, and therefore this enjoyment is not perfect.
The fingers can help the real enjoyer, namely the stomach. It can pick up some nice foodstuff and put into the mouth, and when it goes to the stomach, the real enjoyer, then all the prakṛtis, all the parts of the body, all the limbs of the body, they feel satisfaction.
Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Paris, August 10, 1973: The example, as we have given several times, that this finger captures some nice foodstuff, but actually the fingers are not enjoyer. The fingers can help the real enjoyer, namely the stomach. It can pick up some nice foodstuff and put into the mouth, and when it goes to the stomach, the real enjoyer, then all the prakṛtis, all the parts of the body, all the limbs of the body, they feel satisfaction. So the enjoyer is the stomach, not any part of the body.
The real enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Paris, August 10, 1973: There is story of udarendriyānām. The senses, all the senses met together in a meeting. They said that: "We are king, senses..."

"We are working." The leg said: "Yes, I am, whole day, I am walking." The hand says: "Yes, I am working whole day, wherever the body says: "You come here and pick up the food" bringing things cooking. I cooking also." Then the eyes, they said that: "I am seeing." So every limb, length of the body, they made a strike that, "No more we are going to work only for the stomach who is eating only. We are all working, and this man, or is stomach is eating only." Then the, the strike... Just like the capitalist and the worker. The worker under goes strike, no more working. So all these limbs, parts of the body, they observed striking, and after two, three days, when again they met, they talked amongst themselves that: "Why we are becoming weak? We cannot work now." You see. The legs also said: "Yes, I am feeling weak." Hands also feeling weak, everyone. So what is the cause? The cause... Then the stomach says: "Because I am not eating. So if you want to remain strong, then you must give me to eat. Otherwise... So I am the enjoyer. You are not enjoyer. You are to supply things for my enjoyment. That is your position." So they understood: "Yes, we cannot directly enjoy. It is not possible."

The enjoyment must be through the stomach. You take one rasagullā, you, the fingers, you cannot enjoy. You give it to the mouth, and when it goes to the stomach, there is immediately energy. Not only the fingers enjoy, the eyes, all other parts, they feel satisfaction and strength also. Similarly the real enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa.
The real enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa because He is controlling the prakṛti and controlling you.
Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Miami, February 25, 1975: In France there was Napoleon Bonaparte, in Germany there was Kaiser, and in our country there was Gandhi or somebody else. So they come here. They falsely declare as enjoyer. But actually they are not enjoyer. They're kicked out. They come to enjoy the nature, but the nature kicks them out. This is the fact. So then who is the enjoyer? The real enjoyer is Kṛṣṇa because He is controlling the prakṛti and controlling you. We can very easily understand, two things are there, matter and living entities, but none of them are independent. There is a controller. That controller, supreme con..., is God, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore He is enjoyer.
Real enjoyer or proprietor is Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, September 30, 1973: There are many scriptures and many philosophers, ṛṣis, as I explained yesterday, nāsau ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnā: "He's not a philosopher who hasn't got a different opinion." Because this material world is practically a challenge to the supreme authority. The supreme authority Kṛṣṇa, He's the bhokta actually, He's the enjoyer.

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati [Bg. 5.29]

That point is missing. Real enjoyer or proprietor is Kṛṣṇa. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram. He's the proprietor. Sarva loka, not only of this loka, earthly planet, but there are innumerable planets within this universe and there are innumerable universes also, not one universe.
This is a Bengali poetry. It says, "As soon as we forget the real enjoyer and we want to enjoy, immediately that is called māyā."
Lecture on BG 13.20 -- Bombay, October 14, 1973: If you want śānti, you must learn these three things, that bhoktā, enjoyer, is Kṛṣṇa... We are not enjoyer, but every one of us, we are thinking we are enjoyer, individually, collectively, nationally, socially, communical..., any way, everyone.
kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare
nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
(Prema-vivarta)

This is a Bengali poetry. It says, "As soon as we forget the real enjoyer and we want to enjoy, immediately that is called māyā." And as soon as we give up this mentality... That is confirmed by Bhagavad-gītā.

māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
[Bg. 14.26]
As soon as you give up this mentality, that "I am the enjoyer," as soon as we change our mentality, that "Kṛṣṇa is enjoyer," then immediately we become liberated.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

The real enjoyer is the proprietor.
Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Detroit, August 3, 1975, University Lecture: We are earning money by some occupation. That's all. Then what is the purpose of this money? Now, if you are dharmic, dharmaikāntasya, if you are actually religious, then your money is not meant for sense gratification. Na arthasya. Dharmaikāntasya. Kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ. Not for your sense gratification. You should know that this money, excess money you have got, it is God's money, because in the Bhagavad-gītā we learn, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ [Bg. 5.29]. He is bhokta. He is bhokta. Bhokta means enjoyer. Just like we were just coming here. This Ford company and this company and so many, there are. So the factory is going on. The bhokta is the managing director or the proprietor, not the worker. Worker can get their salary, that's all. So bhokta, real enjoyer, is the proprietor.
There are also living entities in the spiritual world, but they know perfectly well that real enjoyer, proprietor, is Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on SB 1.15.1 -- New York, November 29, 1973: We living entities, we are trying to become happy within this material world, "Why you are in the material world, why not in the spiritual world?" The spiritual world, nobody can become the enjoyer, bhokta. That is only Supreme, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva... [Bg. 5.29]. There is no mistake. There are also living entities, but they know perfectly well that real enjoyer, proprietor, is Kṛṣṇa. That is spiritual kingdom. Similarly, even in this material world, if we understand perfectly well that we are not enjoyer, Kṛṣṇa is enjoyer, then that is spiritual world.

Philosophy Discussions

Kṛṣṇa is the real enjoyer.
Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell: Prabhupāda: No. The Vṛndāvana, they did not know Kṛṣṇa, even Yaśodā-mayī did not know that He is God. Otherwise, how the transaction of pleasure will be done, if they knew that He is God? Then they could not show, I mean to say, freely mix with Kṛṣṇa. They did not know that Kṛṣṇa is God. "Kṛṣṇa is our friend, boy friend." They're all neighborhood children. From childhood they are grown up, and the girls, when they are twelve, thirteen years old, they're married. So Kṛṣṇa was not married. (indistinct) wait up to twenty years. But the girl friends, so they are coming to Kṛṣṇa, they could not forget Kṛṣṇa. And they wanted to serve their husbands, but it was not possible. Because in our India, twelve-years-old boy, they got married. But a girl, twelve years, thirteen years, she is (indistinct) young. But the girls had love for Kṛṣṇa, but they are married—some of them had children—but still, they used to come to Kṛṣṇa due to old friendship. That is a fact. But this kind of friendship is not allowed in the society. Therefore it appears like immorality. And Kṛṣṇa also instructed them, when the gopīs came at midnight. He said that "What you have done?" He (indistinct) immediately. That instruction is there. But still they insisted. Their love for Kṛṣṇa is so intense that He must dance with them. They have come and they are not going back. So Kṛṣṇa is always servant to His devotees. And that another point is that Kṛṣṇa is the real enjoyer. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram [Bg. 5.29]. So even He danced with others' wives, actually He's the proprietor. So from that sense, angle of vision, there is no immoral.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

That is called illusion, māyā. Actually, he cannot enjoy, but, forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the real enjoyer, he wants to enjoy.
Room Conversation with M. Lallier, noted French Poet -- June 12, 1974, Paris:

Yogeśvara: Why does the living entity try to enjoy material nature in such a way?

Prabhupāda: The, the... When he forgets that he cannot enjoy, the only enjoyer is God, Kṛṣṇa, when he forgets this principle he wants to enjoy.

M. Lallier: Yes.

Prabhupāda: That is called illusion, māyā. Actually, he cannot enjoy, but, forgetting Kṛṣṇa, the real enjoyer, he wants to enjoy. That is his... Just like a child imitates the mother for cooking. The other day, in Geneva, the fire ceremony was going on. The mother was offering oblations, and the child also immediately took some and he... You have seen that?

Yogeśvara: Yeah.

Prabhupāda: So he's not fit for that business, but he imitates. That is childish. Sometimes goes to the kitchen, wants to make foodstuff, preparation, and he is given some toys that "You just play with it." So every living entity is part and parcel of God. So God is enjoyer, God is controller. So he wants to imitate God. That is called māyā.
Real enjoyer is the Supreme Lord.
Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:

Professor Durckheim: There is only one way toward peace, through self-realization of those who are responsible.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Self-realization, that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that one should understand that "I am not enjoyer. Nobody is enjoyer." That is false. They are trying, endeavor, for enjoying this world, and that is false. Real enjoyer is the Supreme Lord. We are trying to occupy this land, that land. "This is Germany. This is England. This is France. This is India. This is my land, worshipable. Land is worshipable. It is my land." But he should know that no land belongs to us. Everything belongs to God. And this is a fact. The land is not created by us. The ocean is not created by us. Then why should we claim, "This is German ocean, and this is English ocean"? This is all false imagination. So when it comes to this understanding, that "Nothing belongs to us..." The United Nations, they are fighting for the last twenty years, but they are fighting on the false ground because everyone is thinking, "This land is mine. I must protect it." So they have no self-realization, and there is no peace.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

The real enjoyer and sufferer is the soul, not this body.
Garden Conversation with Professors -- June 24, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: There are so many thing enjoyable, but who is enjoying? That is the question. The real enjoyer and sufferer is the soul, not this body. When the soul is out of this body the body is no more enjoyer or sufferer; it is a lump of matter. The sense of enjoyment and suffering is there so long the soul is there. Therefore the soul is important. And if you can study the soul then you can understand what is God.

Peter: How do you know there's a soul?

Prabhupāda: Because you are speaking. Because you are inquiring, I know the soul. Because you are soul, therefore you are inquiring. As soon as the soul is out of your body, you cannot inquire anymore. Inquiry finished.
So in the dialectic process, try to bring this thesis, that within this body there is the real enjoyer, and try to convince them in that way.
Conversation on Roof -- December 26, 1975, Sanand:

Prabhupāda: Such mind is imperfect. What is this satisfaction? If mind is imperfect, so mental satisfaction is never complete satisfaction. That is also another illusion. It will be changed again. Again revolution. This is going on. So in the dialectic process, try to bring this thesis, that within this body there is the real enjoyer, and try to convince them in that way. That will be great service.

Harikeśa: You've already done it.

Prabhupāda: I've done with a few selected men. Now it has to be spread. We have to face bigger field. Then it will be nice. Hm? Thesis, antithesis and synthesis. This is good. This is scientific method.
Page Title:Real enjoyer
Compiler:Rati, Haya
Created:21 of Nov, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=5, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=10, Con=4, Let=0
No. of Quotes:19