On the arrival of the autumn season, all the cows, deer, birds and females in general become pregnant, because in that season all the husbands generally become impelled by sex desire. Such pregnant females are exactly like the transcendentalists who, by the grace of the Supreme Lord, are bestowed with the benediction of their destinations in life. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has instructed in his Upadeśāmṛta that one should execute devotional service with great enthusiasm, patience and conviction and should follow the rules and regulations, keep oneself clean from material contamination and stay in the association of devotees. By following these six principles, one is sure to achieve the desired result of devotional service. For him who patiently follows the regulative principles of devotional service, the time will undoubtedly come when he will achieve the desired result, as the females reap results by becoming pregnant.
Reap
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 3
These servants of Mine have transgressed against you, not knowing the mind of their master. I shall therefore deem it a favor done to Me if you order that, although reaping the fruit of their transgression, they may return to My presence soon and the time of their exile from My abode may expire before long.
From this statement we can understand how anxious the Lord is to get his servitor back into Vaikuṇṭha. This incident, therefore, proves that those who have once entered a Vaikuṇṭha planet can never fall down. The case of Jaya and Vijaya is not a falldown; it is just an accident. The Lord is always anxious to get such devotees back again to the Vaikuṇṭha planets as soon as possible. It is to be assumed that there is no possibility of a misunderstanding between the Lord and the devotees, but when there are discrepancies or disruptions between one devotee and another, one has to suffer the consequences, although that suffering is temporary. The Lord is so kind to His devotees that He took all the responsibility for the doormen's offense and requested the sages to give them facilities to return to Vaikuṇṭha as soon as possible.
SB Canto 5
When the conditioned soul accepts the shelter of the creeper of fruitive activity, he may be elevated by his pious activities to higher planetary systems and thus gain liberation from hellish conditions, but unfortunately he cannot remain there. After reaping the results of his pious activities, he has to return to the lower planetary systems. In this way he perpetually goes up and comes down.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
The Muslim governor then said, "Since You have so kindly accepted me, please give me some order so that I can render You some service."
If one is purified by following Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's orders—that is, by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa—one must certainly be eager to render service to the Lord. This is the test. When one engages enthusiastically in the Lord's service, it is to be understood that he is reaping the results of chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa and Hari.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Renunciation Through Wisdom
The mahātmās have shown the perfect path of charity: devotional service to the Lord. If anyone ignores this path and instead builds hospitals, his effort to help humanity is a mere pretense. Humanity can never reap any permanent advantage from such activities. Indeed, the number of patients only increases along with the number of hospitals. And as for feeding the poor, this will never eradicate poverty, but encourage it. Frankly speaking, we are not against opening hospitals or feeding the poor, or any other such humanitarian service. But what we have learned from our beloved spiritual master is that when devotional service to the Lord is neglected, every other activity is illusory and futile. Without genuine devotional service, even opening hospitals and feeding the poor in the name of Lord Kṛṣṇa is futile. Spiritual groups that do not strictly follow in Lord Caitanya's line cannot comprehend this because they do not wish to abide by the instructions of the mahātmās. They do not follow Lord Caitanya's injunction to be "more humble than a blade of grass." If they were that humble, they would give up their pride in being the doer of good deeds, the wisest person, the most devoted, and so on.
The austerities a monist performs are painful both during the initial stage of practice (sādhana) and when he has supposedly reached perfection. The impersonalists suffer excruciating pains trying to establish the oneness of matter and spirit through speculative theories. Thinking that Brahman is impotent, through sophistry they try to equate the Lord's inferior, material energy with His superior, spiritual energy, thus reaping ridicule from truly learned circles. In attempting to prove that the Absolute Truth cannot be the Supreme Personality of Godhead with unlimited energies, they argue that this would mean immutable Brahman is actually mutable. Thus their logic loses all cohesion and they become a laughingstock. In trying to refute the established theory of pariṇāma-vāda, or the "transformation of energy," they accuse Śrīla Vyāsadeva of being mistaken when he says that the material universe and the living entities are all transformations of the Lord's energy and are therefore real, not false. Thus in their philosophical discussions the monists reject the main purport and essence of all Vedic scriptures and their corollaries and hang on to nonessential injunctions, such as tat tvam asi, "You are that." They like to deliberate on these subpoints, but when confronted with the arguments of a learned Vaiṣṇava, they turn and run from the battlefront.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Here is an authoritative book. He is the perfect being who is eternal and all-pervading, omnipotent, omniscient. All individual selves are more or less subject to the affliction of ignorance. We are, all living entities except God, everyone, everyone, they are subjected to ignorance, forgetfulness. That's a fact. Ignorance, egoism. Egoism means that without having the qualification, one declares that "I am God." This is egoism. Without having the qualification of God, if one declares that "I am God," a foolish man, that is called egoism. Egoism, desire, aversion and dread of death. They have to do various kinds of work, good, bad, and indifferent, and reap the consequences thereof. That means they are subjected to the acts of your, I mean to say, reaction of their acts. If you do some good thing, then you reap the good result. If you do some bad thing, then you reap the bad result. And because we are defective, therefore we do something good, sometimes bad.
The blind rascal leaders, they do not know, and they are becoming leaders. So what kind of leader? Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ. One blind man is leading several other blind men. So what will be the result? The result must be disaster. That is being done. Therefore the program is, as it is stated, karmaṇy akarma yaḥ paśyed akarmaṇi ca karma yaḥ. This is intelligence, how we have to work, but without reaping any good or bad result. That means working for Kṛṣṇa. That is called akarma. I have already explained. In this way sa buddhimān manuṣyeṣu (BG 4.18), if you work for Kṛṣṇa... The vivid example is Arjuna. He is working for Kṛṣṇa. So you can do also. Simply by fighting... Arjuna was not chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. So you can do also. Because... Nowadays in the Kali-yuga because people are... (break) ...because they knew the duty, but at the present moment... (break) ...kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. In the Kali-yuga, because there is no such division, so everyone is śūdra or less than śūdra. This is their yajña. This is also yajña. That is stated in the Śrīmad-B... Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ (SB 11.5.32).
Just like dog and cat. Dogs and cats, they have no idea that the dog is not this body. It is a soul also. It has taken a dog's body. Cat is also a soul, but by his karma, by his destiny, by his past work, he has to accept this body. A tree, that is also a soul, but by his past karma or action, he has taken this body of the tree. So we should understand from the authority, as Kṛṣṇa says, that idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram: "It is a field. It is a concession or..." Field is exactly the term. "Field of work," as we say generally, in the field of activities." So it is field. And I have given a chance to occupy this field and act accordingly. Try to understand. I have got a different type of field, and I have to work on it and reap the result out of it and suffer pains and pleasure. That is already settled up. As soon as I have got a particular type of body, my pains and pleasures are already settled up, already settled up. You cannot make any improvement or degradation.
So far the body is concerned, that has been taken care in so many lives. In animal life, in bird's life, beasts' life, aquatic life. Now athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is the Vedānta instruction: "Now we should take care of the soul, of the Brahman." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is required. That is spiritual knowledge. Unfortunately, for want of spiritual knowledge, for want of studying Bhagavad-gītā properly, we are simply taking care of this, I mean to say, temporary body. That is being explained. First of all Kṛṣṇa said that this body is the kṣetra. Kṣetra means field of activities. We are acting according to the body we have received. And this owner of the body is working; just like a cultivator has got a certain amount of land and he is cultivating and producing foodstuff according to his own capacity. This is called karma-kāṇḍa. We are working with this body and reaping the result and enjoying it. In this way we are repeating again and again, again and again, transmigration of the soul from one body to another. Tat kṣetraṁ yac ca yādṛk yad vikāri.
Just like somebody is using this body, undergoing austerities, penance, according to the spiritual, regulative life, and one man is using this body only for sense gratification, drinking and sex. So it is my choice, to utilize this body as I like, and I also reap the result. The same example: You are given a field, a piece of land. You can grow twice, thrice in a year very nice foodstuff, sometimes pulses, sometimes paddy, sometimes the mustard seed. Any land... In India, we have seen that a cultivator produces three, four kind of food grains in a year. That is the system...
So as we till our land and gets foodstuff according to my labor, according to my intelligence... Food grains I can produce once twice, thrice, if I work hard. Generally, they work two times: three months, three months. And those who are very lazy, they work three months. But even working for three months, they can acquire foodstuffs for the whole year. That I have seen. So similarly, as we get some land and work for ourself, similarly, this body is also like that land. And I am... This "I," the soul, I can reap good result or bad result as I work with this body. This is very similar.
Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). Guṇa means... According to the guṇa, you make your desire, That is contamination. And as there is contamination, as there is similar disease, similarly, as we desire similar body, we can get by the order of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa gives order because we want it. Kṛṣṇa does not force you to enter into the dog's body or hog's body or demigod's body or human being's body, but as we create situation by desire, Kṛṣṇa gives us the facility to possess such body, and we work on, and we reap another result. This is called material existence.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
In order to understand that Absolute Truth, it is the duty of everyone to hear, śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca, and chant; and dhyeyaḥ, means meditating or remembering, dhyeyaḥ; and pūjya, and worshiping; nityadā, regularly. Whom? Bhagavān sātvatāṁ patiḥ, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the master of all righteous persons. He's master of everyone, but the devotees, they especially recognize that Lord is the master of everyone. And the demons, they do not care for God, and God also do not care for them. Let them do their own work and ripe (reap) their own fruit. God does not take responsibility for the demons, but He takes responsibility for the devotees.
Just like ordinary laws. If you are working honestly, business or karma, that's all right. But if you do something wrong, then you are punishable. So karma and vikarma. Vikarma is punishable. Karma you can do. You ripe (reap) your own fruit by working. You become big man, you become rich man, and you become poor man also, by your karma. If you cannot handle your business nicely, then you become poor man. And if you can handle your business nicely, you become rich man. That is karma. Karma means you have to enjoy the result, fruitive result. That is called karma. And vikarma means punishable, pāpa. And akarma means you do something, but you are neither punishable nor rewardable. It is rewardable, practically. And that is bhakti, or satisfying Kṛṣṇa. There is no result. There is result; ultimate result is go back to home, back... But the material... Materially, if you expect some material profit by becoming a devotee, that is not possible. That is not possible. Māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate (BG 14.26). Then you become above all the resultant action of karma.
Actually, Kṛṣṇa wants that "You don't try to eat forbidden apple, the, this apple tree, but You give up this. You come to Me." That Kṛṣṇa wants. But because we want to eat, we want to enjoy this material world, He is so kind, He is sitting along with us and giving us... Just like you sometimes take your dog, and whatever the dog wants, you allow him to do, out of love; similarly, whatever we wanting to do, Kṛṣṇa is allowing, "All right." Kṛṣṇa's real desire is "You rascal. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66)," but I'll not do. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is giving me all chances: "Do whatever you like. But if... You reap the result. If you hear My word, then you give up this. You come again. Because your position is prakṛteḥ paraḥ. Your position, My position, is prakṛteḥ paraḥ. Your position is prakṛteḥ paraḥ. Why you are rotting in this, within this material world?" In this way, if we understand our position and God's position and our relationship with God, in this way, if we become enlightened, jñānam, then ātma-darśanam. Ātma-darśanam, that means self-realization.
According to the type of mentality he's creating in the present life, he's getting next life similar body. "As you sow, so you reap." This is going on. So therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa brahmite. The living entity is rotating. Out of them... Millions, numberless living entities are rotating. Out of them, one who is fortunate... Ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kono bhāga... (CC Madhya 19.151). Kono, not all. If all would have been so fortunate, everyone would have taken to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is being distributed freely everywhere. But why they are not taking to it? Because unfortunate. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, kono bhāgyavān jīva: "Only one who is fortunate." So because... Why fortunate? Because if he takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all the problems of his life become solved. But he'll not take to it due to his unfortunate condition. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, "Only the fortunate persons..." There are many fortunate persons all over the world, and many unfortunate persons also. So those who are fortunate, they're taking to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this ideal life, hopeful life, pleasant life, blissful life, life of knowledge. They're taking to it. But it is the duty of Vaiṣṇava to go door to door to make them fortunate. Although they are unfortunate, but you have to go door to door to make them fortunate. That is your duty.
You are maintaining sixth-class, seventh-class men. Your education is meant for that. Why you are afraid of crimes now? This is the result. Now enjoy the result. As you reap so you..., as you sow, so you reap. Therefore this movement is specially meant for making first-class, second-class men at least. Or even third class, fourth class. But what is this? You are producing sixth-class, seventh-class, tenth-class men, and you expect that there will be no crime, people will be happy, it will be peaceful? That is not possible. If you want to be happy, peaceful, then you must take this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and try to create at least a group of men first class. Just like we are doing that. People will see their behavior, their character, their mode of life, and at least they will be attracted.
So we do not know subtle laws of nature, subtle laws of God, how things are happening, how things are going on. And without knowing these facts, our human life is spoiled. So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to convince, educate people the value of life, how the process of living conditions are going on. Not we have manufactured all this. It is received from the Vedas. Vedas means the book of knowledge. Veda means knowledge. Vetti veda vido jñāne. Jñāna means knowledge. So human life is meant for taking knowledge, jñāna. Jñāna-vairāgya. So vāsudeve bhagavatir bhakti-yoga-prayojitaḥ, janayaty āzu vairāgyam. When we understand... We are now implicated in so many sinful life, and we have to reap the result. We have to suffer for it in dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). We are not going to die. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). It is not that everything... The atheists thinks like that—"When this body is finished, everything is finished." That is not the fact. There were atheists in India also. They say, bhasmī-bhūtasya dehasya kutaḥ punar āgamano bhavet, yāvaj jīvet sukhaṁ jīvet. That is the atheistic theory, actually, that we are not, I mean to say, this, subjected to death. Na jāyate na mriyate vā. We are not subjected. This... We are simply changing the dress, this body. But as soul, I am eternal, you are eternal, and on account of our uncontrolled senses, unbridled senses, we are changing different types of body. Suppose I am now human being, I am enjoying life very nicely, but if, next life, I become a dog, street dog, we can see how miserable life it is. Or even I become a very powerful, strong animal, a tiger or a lion, there is still... It is miserable life. Miserable life. So long we shall be in the material world, changing different bodies, it is miserable. Kleśada āsa dehaḥ. Any body, it is kleśada, painful, miserable.
Philosophy Discussions
Hayagrīva: Well, in what way is God concerned with the moral or immoral actions of man? Is God indifferent to them, or has He simply set the laws of nature in motion and allowed men to follow their own course and reap the fruit of their own karma?
Prabhupāda: The nature's course is that because we have disobeyed God, therefore we are thrown into this material world under the supervision of the material nature to correct him. So, so long he is in the material world, there is distinction between moral and immoral. Although both of them are material, it has, actually has no meaning, moral or immoral. But in the material world that conception is there, moral or immoral. But when one is in the spiritual world, there is no such thing as immoral; everything is moral. Just like gopīs, they were others' wives, but they were coming to Kṛṣṇa in dead of night. That is immoral. But because they are coming to Kṛṣṇa, it is not immoral. Therefore in the spiritual world there is no such thing as moral or immoral. Everything is moral. In the material world there must be moral and immoral; otherwise this material transaction cannot go properly.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1971 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Thank you very much for your humbleness. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He has taught, therefore, that
- tṛṇād api sunīcena
- taror api sahiṣṇunā
- amāninā mānadena
- kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
- (CC Adi 17.31)
- (indistinct) because here everyone is puffed up.
Dr. Singh: Ahaṅkāra.
Prabhupāda: Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā. (Dr. Singh laughs) So humbleness is very good qualification. And in the Bible also it is said the humble and meek will reap the kingdom of God. I think you will find.
Śyāmasundara: Inherit the earth.
Prabhupāda: Ah, yes.
Śyāmasundara: The meek shall inherit the earth.
Prabhupāda: So this is..., because our puffed up condition on account of this body is illusion, because I am not this body. Therefore, brahma-bhūtaḥ, those who are self-realized, they are prasannātmā. Any condition of life they are happy, jolly.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Gupta: They are increasing the load like this.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Gupta: Donkey's load. Go on increasing, increasing.
Prabhupāda: Therefore this example is given: ass. For nothing, not for himself. He'll be given a little grass. The grass is available here. But still, he's engaged. Employment. Ass will reap, eat little grass. Grass is available everywhere. But still, he'll work for others, loading, overloading. This is ass. He has no sense, "So why I have taken so much overload? I can get grass anywhere. Let me remain free." But he has no such sense. Neither he will be allowed. (laughs) This is ass. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa... (break) ...there are many bābājīs. They are collecting cāpāṭis and smoking bidi, and have one or two women. That's all. It is going on. So they should be drawn: "Come on! Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and take the plough." Not that you become Rūpa Gosvāmī simply by smoking. They are thinking they have become Rūpa Gosvāmī. Rūpa Gosvāmī lived like that. So they think by changing the cloth, loincloth, they have become Rūpa Gosvāmī. And whatever nonsense they like, they can do. (break) ...taken and all these bābājīs should be employed, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and draw plough." Then it will be nice.
Dr. Patel: Tat kṣetraṁ yac ca yādṛk yad-vikāri yataś ca yat, sa ca yat... (BG 13.4). (break)
Prabhupāda: ...prajña. This point must be clearly understood. Then you go further. A kṣetra... This body is kṣetra. Kṣetra means "the field of activities." Just like a kṛṣana works in his field, and he reaps his result. As he works, he gets the result. Similarly, this body is kṣetra, and we are working with this body. And we are reaping the result. Karmaṇa daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). Karmaṇa. So this is the kṣetra and kṣetra-jña. Now... And next He says that "I am also kṣetra-jña. I am also kṣetra-jña." How He's kṣetra-jña? Because He's Paramātmā.
Dr. Patel: He's the presiding...
Prabhupāda: Therefore... Therefore there are two kṣetra-jñas: one, the jīvātmā, and one, the Paramātmā. The Māyāvādīs do not accept it. They say the only kṣetra-jñaḥ. Jivātmā and Paramātmā the same.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Mr. Malhotra: I visited that. So this was the seat of very old temples, oldest temples in this place, this Haya. (?) And they say this is one of the oldest of the oldest towns or cities of the country. Small place, Pasir, with a population of about 10-15,000 people. All the temples are in the Kṛṣṇā River, in the Kṛṣṇā river. (break) Whatever I am today, that is all due to my past karmas, good or bad, I mean.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Mr. Malhotra: And whatever I am doing today, that I will have to reap the harvest in the future.
Prabhupāda: You are creating the next position.
Mr. Malhotra: So that means that I am bound by my past karmas. My destiny, my fate is tied with the past karmas. So I have no other goal but to have the phala of past karmas. Or can I change my fate?
Prabhupāda: Yes. You are enjoying the past karmas, and you are creating new karmas.
Correspondence
1975 Correspondence
Material life means attachment for women, children, friends, countrymen, position, wealth, and good name. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam material existence is compare to a forest full of plunderers, dacoits, jackals, tigers and other ferocious animals. The jackals are compare to one's wife and children. In the dead of the night jackals cry very loudly, and similarly one's wife and children in this material world also cry like jackals. The children say, "Father is wanted: give me this, I am your dear son." Or the wife says, "I am your dear wife. Please give me this. This is now needed." In this way one is plundered by the thieves in the forest. Now knowing the aim of human life, one is constantly being misguided. The aim of life is Visnu, or Krishna (Na te vidhu svartha-gatim hi visnum) Everyone works very hard to earn money, but no one knows that his real work is to serve Krishna, the supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead of spending money to advance the cause of Krishna consciousness, one spends his hard earned money on clubs, brothels, liquor, drugs cigarettes, slaughterhouses and so forth. All these activities are sinful, and because we are engaged in such sinful activities constantly we are constantly reaping the result of our sinful work, which is suffering in one way or another.
| Page Title: | Reap |
| Compiler: | MadhuGopaldas, Serene |
| Created: | 09 of Jan, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=2, CC=1, OB=3, Lec=14, Con=4, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 25 |