This kidnapping was allowed among the kṣatriyas, and fight. That is kṣatriya marriage. Unless there is fight, that marriage is not complete. The red vermillion which we apply, that is kṣatriya principle. After killing the opposite party, the blood will be smeared over the hair of the bride. That is conquer, victory.
Red (Lectures)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Lecture on BG 2.4-5 -- London, August 5, 1973:
So I am also, because I am born of a materialist father, I am also materialist. And You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, You are offering to give me some benediction. I can take any kind of benediction from You. I know that. But what is the use of it? Why shall I ask You for any benediction? I have seen my father. Materially, he was so powerful that even the demigods, Indra, Candra, Varuṇa, they were threatened by his red eyes. And he gained over, control over the universe. He was so powerful. And riches, wealth, power, reputation, everything complete, but You have finished it in one second. So why You are offering me such benediction? What shall I do with them? If I take that benediction from You and I become puffed up and do everything wrong against You, then You can finish it within a second. So kindly do not offer me such benediction, such material opulence. Better give me benediction to be engaged in the service of Your servant. I want this benediction. Let me be benedicted by You that I may be engaged in the service of Your servant, not directly Your servant."
Lecture on BG 2.7-11 -- New York, March 2, 1966:
First of all, we have recorded in your... You have heard it, that acceptance of spiritual master must be selected, you see, after careful examination, just like one selects his bride or bridegroom after careful examination. And in India they are very careful because the marriage of the boys and girls take place under the guidance of the parents. So the parents very carefully see. So similarly, if one has to... The acceptance of spiritual master is necessary. According to Vedic injunction, one, everyone, should have a spiritual master. Perhaps you have seen a sacred thread. We have got sacred thread. Mister Cohen, you have... This kind of... Sacred thread. That sacred thread is the sign that this person has his spiritual master, has a spiritual master. Just like... Here, of course, there is no such distinction. A married girl... And according to Hindu system, they have got some sign so that people can understand, "This girl is married." They put on a red, I mean to say, painting here so that others know that "This girl is married."
Lecture on BG 2.7-11 -- New York, March 2, 1966:
A prostitute cannot... There was king's ruling that a prostitute cannot (laughs) part here. And then again, when a girl is well dressed, it should be considered that she has got her husband at home. And when she is not well dressed, then it should be understood that her husband is out of home. You see? And a widow's dress... There are so many. There are symptoms. So similarly, this thread, sacred thread, is a sign that this person has accepted somebody as his spiritual master. He has got his... Just like this red mark symbolizes that "This girl has her husband," similarly, this sacred thread is the symbol that "This man has got his spiritual master." So there is a ceremony. You see? So according to Vedic system, one has to accept a spiritual master in order to make a solution of his life. In every step of his life the spiritual master guides him. He also makes question to the spiritual master and he guides him so that he will, his life, his progress of life, may be systematic.
Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:
Because the name is not different from God. Try to understand. Similarly, if you touch fire, it will act. If you do not know or know what is the quality of fire, it doesn't matter. If you touch fire, it will act. Similarly, if you actually chant the holy name of God, it will act. The example is: just like you put a iron rod in the fire, it becomes warm, warmer, and gradually, it becomes red hot. By the association of fire, the iron rod becomes fire. Iron rod is not fire. But by association with the fire, it becomes as good as fire so that when it is red hot, you touch anywhere, the iron rod will burn. Similarly, if you keep yourself always in touch with God, then gradually, you become godly. You do not become God, but you become godly. And as soon as you become godly, then all your godly qualifications will come out. This is the science.
Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Mauritius, October 1, 1975:
This is called illusion. We have no power. We are put under certain condition; then we work. Otherwise we cannot work. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni (BG 3.27). Prakṛti, material nature, puts us under certain condition and we work accordingly, not independently. And the prakṛti, material nature, also working under somebody. Just like when you go on the street you see red light and green light. As soon as you see red light you stop your car. So this red light and green light is being manipulated by the police, and the police is working under government. Similarly, this whole material nature is acting like red light or green light, but behind that red light and green light there is the supreme brain. That is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So as a layman or as child cannot understand how the red light and blue light, green light, is working... He sees simply, he thinks automatically it is being done. That is foolishness. It is not being automatically done. There is machine. There is manipulator behind this red light. So this is intelligence. Anyone who is concluding that "On the street the red light and green light is working automatically; there is no brain behind it," he's a rascal. Simi larly, the whole material cosmic manifestation is working... Even the big sun planet, it is also working under certain direction. Yac cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇām.
Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Rotary Club Address -- Hotel Imperial, Delhi, March 25, 1976:
Therefore Kṛṣṇa chastised him that "You are talking like very scientific, learned scholar, but you are a fool number one because you are accepting this material body as the self." This is ignorance. This is confirmed in another place, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). This kuṇape, this bag of three elements, kapha pitta vāyu, or, take it, the skin, muscle, veins, bones, urine, stool, blood—what you will find if you dissect this body? They are all material things. What is blood? It is also water, red water. The urine, this is also water. And this bone, bone is nothing but earth hardened. If you take plaster of Paris... They sometimes show artificial bone also in the medical college. But that is not. That is bone. That is earth.
Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Public Lecture With German Translation Throughout -- Hamburg, September 10, 1969:
The process is that we have to give up all our false consciousness. We are, under false consciousness, I am thinking, "I am Indian," you are thinking you are German, and the dog is thinking "I am dog," and cat is thinking "I am cat." So this bodily consciousness, bodily concept of life, will keep us conditioned within the material nature. Therefore our first business is how to get free from all these designations. Just like I am putting on this saffron cloth, but I am not saffron cloth. Or you are putting a red cloth or black coat, you are not that cloth. Within the coat, you are the person. Similarly, within the dress, I am the person. So at the present moment we are on the dress consciousness. "I am German dress," "I am Englishman dress," "I am Indian dress." "I am male dress," "I am female dress." So this is called conditioned life.
Lecture on BG 2.16 -- London, August 22, 1973:
The Indian civilization means they are interested in sat, and others they are interested in asat. Asat means which will not exist. I've already explained. In India, of course, materially, five hundred, five thousand years ago, materially also, India was very opulent. Why five thousand years? Even five hundred years or four hundred years, India was so opulent that Europeans were attracted to go to India. Even during the time of Mogul Empire. It was so opulent. Those who have gone to India, you'll find if you visit in Delhi, the Red Fort. Red Fort you'll find there are pictures of birds and trees on the wall and the eyes of the bird is now hole or some parts. Means it was bedecked with jewel. On the wall there was decoration of birds. Just like we paint now. There is also paint. But that is not painting.
Lecture on BG 2.16 -- Mexico City, February 16, 1975:
We are acting in three modes of material nature. Some of them are acting in goodness, some of them are acting in passion, and some of them are acting in ignorance. So there are three different modes of activities. Now, when you mix up three, three into three, it becomes nine. And again if you multiply nine by nine, it becomes eighty-one. So it increases in so subtle division of the mixture of the three qualities. Just like the painter. He knows how to mix the three original color, namely blue, yellow and red. The red color represents passion, and the yellow color represents ignorance, and the blue color represents goodness. So as the color painter, er, painter knows how to mix and make varieties of colors, similarly, the three modes of material nature being mixed up, they are represented in so many different forms of body.
Lecture on BG 2.17 -- Hyderabad, November 22, 1972:
They think like that, that "We are making progress." At all, no progress, practically. They have no knowledge. That is their position. They have no knowledge. So we have to understand from the authority. There are so many arguments. Now, if you say "This body's dead because the blood has become white. Blood corpuscles, they are now become white instead of becoming red." So if that is the possible, so why don't you make the blood red? By some chemical injection or by adding some color, as soon as the blood becomes red... Why don't you do that? No. If you say "That was 'natural' redness. That natural redness cannot be brought," then your science is defective. And even if we accept that natural redness is the cause of living force, there are many natural redness in the flower, in the jewels. Why does it not move? So all the arguments of these foolish scientists, or so-called logicians, that can be, I mean to say, nullified, if you are intelligent. We have to take..., accept it, because it is said by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality.
Lecture on BG 2.17 -- London, August 23, 1973:
The Absolute Truth is that from whom everything is emanating. And He knows everything. Anvayād itarataś cārtheṣu. We have explained many times. Artheṣu. Just like I am conscious. But I do not know actually what is there within my body, how it is constituted, how, how many veins are there, how the blood is becoming red, how... We have no, actually, information. I do not know what is within this finger. I am claiming it is my finger. Here it is my finger, but I do not know how the finger is constituted. Therefore I am not abhijñaḥ. Although there is my consciousness, I am not abhijñaḥ. Abhijñaḥ means expert in the knowledge. That is called abhijñaḥ. Very experienced. But Kṛṣṇa is abhijñaḥ. That is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Kṛṣṇa is abhijñaḥ. That is said. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), in the Bhāgavata, beginning. Janmādy asya yataḥ anvayāt: indirectly or directly. Anvayāt means directly. Itarataś ca: or indirectly. We may know directly that "This is my finger." But indirectly I do not know what is the constitution of finger, how it is working, how it is moving. You do not know. I know directly this is my hair. But indirectly how I am cutting hair and again it is growing, it is unknown. I say these are my hairs, but I cannot count how many hairs are there.
Lecture on BG 2.18 -- Hyderabad, November 23, 1972:
So anyway, Kṛṣṇa appears in four colors—red, black, yellow, and white—in different ages. So in this age, Kali Yuga, Kṛṣṇa appears as Caitanya Mahāprabhu, yellow color. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣā akṛṣṇam. Akṛṣṇa may be red. Akṛṣṇa may be white. But this akṛṣṇa means pīta, yellow. Because other akṛṣṇa, red and white, was in the Satya-yuga and Tretā-yuga. Therefore here akṛṣṇa means the yellow. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam (SB 11.5.32). He's always surrounded by His intimate devotees. He's surrounded by many devotees. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, wherever He was going, thousands and thousands of people were following His saṅkīrtana, but especially He, He was always surrounded by five special devotees: śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu nityānanda, śrī-advaita gadādhara, śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. He's Himself, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya; His expansion, Nityānanda; His incarnation, Śrī Advaita Prabhu; His internal energy, Gadādhara; and His external, marginal energy, Advaita Prabhu, er, Śrīvāsa. But He has got another energy, which is called external energy. External energy cannot come in front of God, Kṛṣṇa. This is māyā. Just like darkness cannot come in front of the sun.
Lecture on BG 2.18 -- Hyderabad, November 23, 1972:
So if we are in touch with Kṛṣṇa's energy, with a little knowledge, we are directly in touch with Kṛṣṇa. This is the process. As you become constantly in touch with Kṛṣṇa, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you become purified. Purified. Just like if you put one iron rod in the fire, it becomes warm, warmer, warmer, and at last it becomes red hot. When it is red hot, it is fire. It is no more iron rod. Similarly, if you keep always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you become Kṛṣṇized. This is the process. Then everything becomes purified; then your spiritual life is manifested. Then your life is successful.
So the first beginning is... Here, as it is said by Kṛṣṇa, antavanta ime dehāḥ: don't be attached with this body. The body is material, but even this body is material, it can be spiritualized by the same process, by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Spiritualized means when this body will forget the materialistic activities. This body, you can utilize for sense gratification. Just generally people are doing. Eating, sleeping, mating and drinking and so on. So you can utilize this body... That is material. But if you engage this body for the service of the Lord, it becomes spiritualized. As I have already explained, the iron rod, constantly in touch with fire, it becomes, at end, it becomes red hot. That is fire. At that time, it acts like fire. You touch that red-hot iron rod anywhere, it will burn. Similarly, this body can be spiritualized, although it is material body. How? Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234).
Lecture on BG 2.27-38 -- Los Angeles, December 11, 1968:
Śīlavatī: I understand that it is an offense to wear red or blue in the Kṛṣṇa temple. Why is this true?
Prabhupāda: What is that?
Devotee: She says that it is an offense to wear red or blue in the temple.
Prabhupāda: Blue?
Devotee: Red or blue. She wants to know why this is.
Prabhupāda: I do not follow.
Madhudviṣa: Why is it an offense to wear red or blue clothing in the Kṛṣṇa temple? That's what she thinks.
Prabhupāda: Oh. (laughs) Because it is red and blue. Is that all right?
Śīlavatī: Because the temple red and blue?
Prabhupāda: You see, you have to accept the Vedic injunction as it is. There is some meaning which may not be explained immediately, but because it is so enjoined, we have to accept it. Just like the conchshell. The conchshell is the bone of an animal. Now in the Vedas it is said that if you touch the bone of an animal or human being, you have to take bath immediately to purify yourself. Now, this conchshell is also a bone of an animal. Now, it is kept in the Deities' room. Now, if you say, "The bone of an animal is impure. How it is that it is kept in the Deities' room?" So actually it is being done. Why it is being done? Because it is injunction of the Vedas. Similarly, all such injunctions we have to accept, but there is meaning. There is meaning, and that may not be understood immediately. That doesn't matter. So if, instead of red garment, if you take this saffron, what is harm to you? So you should accept the injunction.
Lecture on BG 3.13-16 -- New York, May 23, 1966:
Now, you are eating. You do not know how your foodstuff is going to the stomach, how it is being transformed into different kinds of secretion, how it is being transferred from the stomach to the heart, how that secretion becoming red, and that red blood is again circulated from the brain to the toe. These nice machinery work is going on within your body. This physiological condition is present in your body. You are taking your foodstuff. The necessary juice, vitamins, are taken by the stomach. It is distributed, and the exhaustion of your body is supplemented, and the unnecessary things evacuated by stool, urine. The nice thing is going on. Now, as soon as this consciousness is stopped, will this function go any more? No. You will find the same brain is there; the same heart is there; the same stomach is there by dissection of the body. You will see the same veins. Everything is there complete. But only thing is wanting—that consciousness. Therefore everything is stopped. This is a common factor. Everyone can know it.
Lecture on BG 3.13-16 -- New York, May 23, 1966:
Now, why your, or this work? Any work. Suppose you will drive a motor car. That is a sort of work in the street. There is injunction that "You should drive on the right. You should stop your car when there is red light. You should not proceed an inch." So, so many regulations, even for your driving car, anything... Anything of your life—you want to do—there are directions, proper directions from the authorities. And why not for your spiritual life? Why not for?
For spiritual life you can do anything and everything, whatever you like, what you manufacture in your own brain? No. How can you do it? In every field of your work, in practical life, you have got some direction, that "You have to act in this direction." Suppose you are working, running on a factory. Oh, there are so many factory laws. Anywhere you go, there are direction from the superior authorities.
Lecture on BG 3.18-30 -- Los Angeles, December 30, 1968:
So those who are concentrating mind, thinking of Kṛṣṇa, that is the perfection of yoga system, but they have no idea of Kṛṣṇa. They make some circle, they concentrate. That is a practice only, how to engage one's mind. Because mind is so flickering, I am thinking of a red circle, and then next moment, I think something red, and from that red, I go to something red, something red, oh... Mind is gone. You see? So this concentration of mind is very difficult in this age because mind is so agitated. Therefore force them to hear Hare Kṛṣṇa. Even they have no mind to hear, you chant loudly Hare Kṛṣṇa. They will hear. Their mind will be dragged.
Lecture on BG 4.3-6 -- New York, July 18, 1966:
So as you make your progress, spiritually, as you become hot... Just like I have given several times the example. If a iron, iron put into the fire, it gets warm, warmer, warmer and becomes red hot, and as soon as it is red hot, it is no longer iron. It is fire. The iron, wherever it will touch, it will burn because it has got the quality of fire. Similarly, even if you are in these bodies, material body, if you advance yourself in spiritual consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you will be spiritualized. Your body will be spiritualized. You'll be no more be affected by this material contamination. The more you make advance, you'll feel it. Pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam. It is not for future tasting, but you'll understand it, understand it. So we have to make our progress in that way.
Lecture on BG 4.5 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968:
So those who are promoted to Vaikuṇṭha, they get four hands like Nārāyaṇa. But in the Kṛṣṇaloka, Kṛṣṇa is two-handed. So even in this material world there is one personality, Brahmā, he has got four hands. So we can get also the same body, the same features, the same opulence. Sālokya, sārṣṭi, sāmīpya, sālokya, there are different kinds of liberation. Or sāyujya. (break)
...he is saying that Kṛṣṇa has no change of body. He is giving the example just like a diamond or a valuable stone, you'll find a different colors. Sometimes you'll find red, sometimes you'll find green, sometimes you'll find some other color, the same stone. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa when appears, that is explained in the Bhāgavatam, He appears in different colors. Sometimes in blackish color, sometimes in reddish color. These are explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And in this age Kṛṣṇa appears in the yellow color, Lord Caitanya.
Lecture on BG 4.5 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968:
So Kṛṣṇa's appearance does not mean that He has become different. The nice example is set here by Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, just like a valuable stone. You take your hand, in your hand, you find sometimes yellow, sometimes red, sometimes white, like that. So, tava ceti mat-sakhatvat tavanti janmāni tavāpi abhut.(?) "And because you are My eternal friend, so whenever I appear, you also appear." Just like, those who are personal associates, whenever the chief boss goes, his personal assistants also go. That is natural.
Lecture on BG 4.6-8 -- New York, July 20, 1966:
Liquidity of water cannot be changed. Whenever there is conception, water, if I am blind, so... Suppose somebody gives me, "Take here a glass of water," I know it is liquid. So as the liquidity of water cannot be changed. Now, as soon as you speak of fire, so we understand fire is hot. Now, if you, if you... Can you change that fire becomes cold and still it is fire? No. As... So long it is fire, it is hot. So long it is water, it is liquid. Similarly, everything you analyze. Take for example chili. Chili, red pepper. Oh, it is very hot. Now, when you take chili from the market you see how much, what is the degree of its hotness. If it is very hot, oh, it is very good chili. If you find a chili sweet like sugar, oh, you'll reject it. "Oh, this is not good." Because that is the religion of the chili, to become very hot. Similarly, sugar. If you take sugar, if it is very hot, "It is nonsense. I want sweet."
Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Montreal, June 13, 1968:
The material energy... I shall give you another example. Just like in the street light there is red light and green light and yellow light. The yellow light is, I mean to say, seen sometimes. But either the red light or the green light is always. But it is working under the same electric energy. Sometimes it appearing green, sometimes appearing yellow, sometimes appearing red. But on the background the same energy. Now, by the red light you have to stop, by green light you can start. Your activity becomes different by different light because light is acting by the same energy.
Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:
The example I have several times repeated: just like you put an iron rod in the fire. It becomes warm, warmer, and gradually it becomes red hot. When it is red hot, it is transformed into the nature of fire. It is no longer iron. Similarly, if you constantly remain in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you at once transfer yourself to the higher nature of Kṛṣṇa, and that is your liberation. And if we can die in higher nature, then this formula, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti... (BG 4.9). oh, he does not come back again to this material world. So we shall have to try, we shall have to practice this Kṛṣṇa consciousness in such a way, that we shall permanently exist in higher nature. And if we can die in that higher nature, then our place in the transcendental world is reserved. That is the whole thing.
Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:
So whole process is that the eternal has to get rid of this nonpermanent material contact. And he has to take leave for the spiritual world. So... (aside:) Come on. So the whole process is that during our present existing life we have to practice in such a way that we remain constantly on the higher nature, on the spiritual nature. Exactly in the same way: just like you put the iron rod in the fire and make it warmer, warmer, warmer, warmer, and so long it does not get red hot, so it becomes fire. This is practical. In the same way you have to put yourself in such a way that you are always in, constantly in, the higher nature, not that for one hour, two hour we make this association, we try to be in higher nature and after leaving this place we again turn to the lower nature. No. We should always, whatever we hear from here, from this place, we should try to understand clearly without any doubt.
Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:
Just like the same example, just like putting the iron rod in the fire, and the iron rod becomes hot, red hot, gets the nature of fire, similarly, if we constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, being transcendental to these stages of bhaya, fear, and attachment, and krodha, anger, if we put ourself, completely under Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it will be very easy to attain the superior nature of Kṛṣṇa. That is the formula given here, that superior, how to attain that superior nature. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ (BG 4.10). Mām upāśritāḥ. That is the main thing. One has to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Mām eva ye prapadyante. This very thing, everywhere we will find, this Bhagavad-gītā, that Kṛṣṇa is stressing on His personal feature. Mām eva ye prapadyante: "Anyone who takes shelter of Me..." "Anyone who thinks of Me," man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ... So these things are there. Simply we have to take up this thing, Kṛṣṇa. Then everything, the whole solution is there. (aside:) Why these boys are disturbing? They are not sitting, and talking.
Lecture on BG 4.13 -- New York, April 8, 1973:
So Kṛṣṇa says four classes of men, catur varṇyam... Catur means "four", and varṇa means "division of society". Just like varṇa means color. As there are division of color, red, blue and yellow, similarly human being, human society should be divided according to the quality. The quality's also called color. Catur varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). So there are three qualities in this material world. Three qualities. Or three colors. Red, blue and yellow. You mix it. Then you become eighty-one colors. Three colors, three upon three, multiplied, it becomes nine. Nine upon nine, multiplied, it becomes eighty-one. So there are eight million four hundred thousands different forms of living entities. Due to this mixture of different qualities. Nature is manufacturing different types of body according to the association of the living entity to the particular type of quality.
Lecture on BG 4.15 -- Bombay, April 4, 1974:
Just like in our Vedic system, one has got the red mark on the forehead, one woman. It is to be understood that she is married. Similarly, one who has got the sacred thread means that he has approached qualified ācārya, and the ācārya has recognized him as brāhmaṇa. This is sacred thread, not that purchase one sacred thread and get it and become a brāhmaṇa. No. This is very important thing. And then divide. First of all educate. Where is that education? Of course, this is meant for...
At least in India, Indians should be educated as brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission.
Lecture on BG 4.34 -- Questions & Answers -- August 14, 1968, New York:
Brahman and Supersoul, we have been discussing this morning... Perhaps just we began the verse and you have forgot. Just like myself, I am soul, the spiritual soul. My place is within this heart. Now, in the medical science, they have found it that the heart is the center of all vitality of this body. Modern materialistic science they have found that whatever we are eating, it is going to the stomach and it is being transformed into various types of secretions, and the important secretion is coming to the heart and it is becoming red by coming to the heart. Then again from the heart there are many veins; it is being distributed to different parts of the body. So... But they could not found that where is the point wherefrom this vitality is coming. Wherefrom this vitality is coming? They could not find it. They have localized that here is the source of all energy.
Lecture on BG 5.22-29 -- New York, August 31, 1966:
Then you'll have... That means everything will be transformed into spiritual. By Kṛṣṇa consciousness everything will be transformed into spiritual. Just like the iron rod, if you put into the fire it gets warm, warmer, and when it is red-hot, then it is no longer iron rod, it is fire, similarly, if we constantly engage all our energy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then, even though we have increased the temperature to 107 degrees, that will be transformed into 107 degree of spiritual life. Yes. That is the secret of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
As we'll understand when we come to the Ninth Chapter, it is clearly stated that su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam (BG 9.2). It is very happy to adopt this principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So instead of lamenting what has been done—that is useless. No use lamenting. We have to now go, make progress, advance by Kṛṣṇa consciousness and utilizing everything for that purpose, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then everything will be all right.
Lecture on BG 6.1 -- Los Angeles, February 13, 1969:
This Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice is turning this material body into spiritual body. How it is done? The example I have several times given, that you put the iron in the fire. The more it is warm, it becomes fire. When the iron is red hot—that when the iron has acquired the qualities of fire—you touch the iron anywhere, it will act as fire. Similarly, this body, although it is material—there are so many examples. A metal, electrified, the metal is not electricity. But when it is electrified, you touch the metal, you get electric shock immediately. Just like the electric wire. Copper, it is copper. But as soon as it is electrified, you touch it, you get electric shock. There are so many examples. Similarly, if your body is spiritualized, then the material action is no more. Material action means sense gratification. So the more one becomes spiritualized, the material demands become nil. No more material activities.
Lecture on BG 6.16-24 -- Los Angeles, February 17, 1969:
To make the best use of a bad bargain. You see? This material body is the source of all miseries. Actually the spirit soul has no misery. Just like normal condition of a living entity is healthy life. Disease takes place by certain contamination infection. Disease is not our life. Similarly the present position of material existence is a diseased condition of the soul. And what is that disease? The disease is this body? Because this body is not meant for me, it is not my body. Just like your dress. You are not the dress. But we are differently dressed here. Somebody red color, somebody white color, somebody yellow color. But that color, I am not this color. Similarly this body, I am white man, black man, Indian, American or this, Hindu, Muslim, Christian. This is not my position. This is all diseased condition. Diseased condition. You are trying to get out of the disease.
Lecture on BG 6.32-40 -- New York, September 14, 1966:
In India we have got some showbottles in the medicine shop. Some red water put into the big bottle and with electric light. That means advertisement: "Here is a bottle of medicine." But that is a showbottle, red water. So red water will not cure the disease. You must have really, actually, a mixture, fever mixture. But that fever mixture is very difficult.
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, September 10, 1968:
God is great; there is no doubt about it. Everyone, even in the lowest status of life, he can admit. I don't speak of the animals. Animals, they have no sense of God. I am speaking of the human being. There are different, different grades of human civilization—the highest type of civilization and the lowest aboriginal—but every one of them has got a sense of God. That is there. This is the special prerogative of human being. Not that only the civilized men. Perhaps you know all, when you came here from European countries in America, the Red Indians. They are considered as aboriginals; still, they have some religion, they have some conception of God.
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1968:
This is also Kṛṣṇa's dhāma, because everything belongs to God, Kṛṣṇa. Nobody's proprietor. This claim that "This land, America, belongs to us, United States," this is false claim. It does not belong to you, nobody else. Just like some years ago, four hundred years ago, it belonged to the Indians, Red Indians, and someway or other, you have now occupied. Who can say that others will not come here and occupy? So this is all false claim. Actually, everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says that sarva-loka-maheśvaram: (BG 5.29) "I am the supreme proprietor, controller, of all planets." So everything belongs to Him. But Kṛṣṇa says everything belongs to Him. So everything is His dhāma, His place, His abode. So why should we change here? But He says yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramam (BG 15.6). Paramam means the supreme. In this dhāma also, they are Kṛṣṇa's dhāma, Kṛṣṇa's planets, but here it is not parama, the supreme. There are troubles. Just like this birth, death, disease, and old age. But if you return to Kṛṣṇa's personal abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana, cintāmaṇi-dhāma (Bs. 5.29), then you get eternal life, blissful life, full of knowledge.
Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- London, August 4, 1971:
One should be qualified to enter into certain association, atmosphere. That... If you spiritually qualify yourself, then after giving up this body you get a spiritual body and you enter in the spiritual world. That's all. Very easy. You make yourself spiritualized in this life. That example is... Just like you put one iron rod in the fire; it becomes warmer, warmer, warmer, and at the end it becomes red hot. At that time it is no longer iron rod. It is fire. You touch that iron rod anywhere; it will burn. Similarly, by spiritual activities you can make this body spiritual so that there will be no more material activities. That is spiritual body. Just like in this body we are training our boys and girls... They are young boys and girls, but they are no more interested to go to the restaurant, hotel or cinema or dancing party. They are simply interested to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. How they have given up all these young men's demand? How it is possible? You can see. So when your material activities are stopped, that is spiritual body.
Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- Stockholm, September 10, 1973:
That is not very difficult to understand. Just like a living man and a dead man. Living man means the body is carrying the spirit soul, and dead man means the body is there, but there is no spirit soul. But as soon as the body is dead or the spirit soul is out of it, immediately it begins to decompose. The same body, as long as carrying the soul, there is no such thing. Therefore if you keep your body spiritualized, then there is no question of decomposition or diseases. Another example: just like if you take an iron rod and put into the fire, it becomes warm, warmer, and at the end, it becomes red-hot. When it is red-hot, it is no more iron rod, but it is fire. You touch that iron rod, red-hot, anyplace, it will burn. Similarly, if you make your body spiritualized by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then there is no question of disease.
Lecture on BG 7.2 -- Hyderabad, April 28, 1974 :
These things have to be understood, that nāma-nāminaḥ abhinnatvān, identical. So when we chant "Kṛṣṇa," "Hare," "Rāma," they are directly connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even though we do not know how to chant, there are, according to śāstric, I mean to say, injunctions, there are ten kinds of offenses. When we avoid that offenses, then it is pure chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. So even if we chant with offenses in the beginning—it cannot be free of offenses—still it will act. Just like you come near the fire, you can feel the warmth, and with direct touch it becomes red hot. So, we have to be in touch with the fire, then gradually we become warmer, warmer, warmer, warmer and red hot, red hot. Just like another example, just like you take a lead, iron rod, and keep in touch with the fire. It becomes warm, warmer, warmest, then gradually the iron rod becomes red hot. When it is red hot, then it is fire. You touch that iron rod anywhere, it will burn. The quality of fire is already acquired.
Lecture on BG 7.2 -- London, March 10, 1975:
That is stated in the Bhāgavatam. When Kṛṣṇa was born, then Gargamuni was calculating about His horoscope, and he said to Nanda Mahārāja that "This, your child..." Idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. Śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. "Your child had formerly white color." White color... Sometimes some critics criticize us that "Kṛṣṇa everywhere He is black. Why in your temple white?" But it is said that śukla, śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ: "Your son had other colors also, white and red and yellow, and now He has assumed blackish color."
Lecture on BG 7.4 -- Vrndavana, August 10, 1974:
So we do not neglect this bhūmir āpaḥ..., although it is separated energy, but when we reconnect in the service of the Lord, it becomes spiritual. It requires little time to understand. And the example, as we have given many times, that you put one iron rod in the fire. It becomes warm, warmer, warmer, warmer. Then, when it is red-hot, it is no longer iron rod, but it is fire. Similarly, everything in this material world, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4), although it is separated from Kṛṣṇa, if you engage it in the service of Kṛṣṇa, it is no more material. It is spiritual. This is the philosophy of Vaiṣṇavas. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate.
Lecture on BG 7.11-12 -- Bombay, February 25, 1974:
So soon as you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, you become spiritual. Just like as soon as there is fire, immediately you become hot, warm. You touch the iron rod in the fire; it becomes warm, warmer, warmer, then it becomes red-hot. And when it is red-hot, it is no more iron rod; it is fire. You touch everywhere, the same iron rod will burn. Similarly, if you become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, there is nothing material. Your body's spiritual, your mind is spiritual, your soul is already spiritual—everything is spiritual. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So simply we have to bring Kṛṣṇa in every activities. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that for, for that purpose. And there will be no problems. You bring Kṛṣṇa. Yat karoṣi yaj juhoṣi yad dadāsi yad aśnāsi yat tapasyasi kuruṣva tad mad-arpaṇam (BG 9.27). Kṛṣṇa says, "Whatever you eat..." Just like we are eating prasādam. Others will see, "They are eating ḍāla-bhāta, and they are calling prasādam." Because he has no Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Lecture on BG 7.28-8.6 -- New York, October 23, 1966:
Therefore, as he becomes free from the contamination of the three modes of material nature, therefore he's not going to have next body of this material nature. Next body he's not going to have material... The same example: just the, if you put iron rod into the fire, it becomes gradually the fire. The nature of fire the iron rod attains. So when it is red-hot, there is no possibility of its being the iron, but it is fire.
So by our activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we become free from the contamination of these three modes of material nature, and thus, at the end, we become purely, purely spiritual, transcendental.
Lecture on BG 8.5 -- New York, October 26, 1966:
Prabhupāda: There is a story. In a cowshed there was fire. So after that incidence, the cow, as soon as the cow sees something red, oh, they began to disturb, "Oh, there is fire." Similarly, here, tasting the bitterness of so-called rascaldom, they think that Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is also similar rascaldom. So we shall begin? So when they have sent the file? Did you ask?
Brahmānanda: I think two days ago.
Prabhupāda: Oh. Then they might have received.
Lecture on BG 8.28-9.2 -- New York, November 21, 1966:
And suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām. And He is the friend of all living entities. And suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati: "When a person understands that God is the proprietor of everything, God is the friend of everyone, God is the enjoyer of everything, by knowing these three things, one becomes very peaceful." That is the peace formula. You cannot become in peace so long you think that "I am the proprietor." You are not actually the proprietor. You cannot claim proprietorship. Just like take for example this land of America. Say four hundred years before, the Red American, Red Indians, they were the proprietor. Now you are the proprietor. Now, after, say, four hundred years or thousand years, somebody will come. They'll become proprietor. So actually, we are not proprietor. The land is there, we come here, and we claim falsely that "I am proprietor."
Lecture on BG 9.34 -- New York, December 26, 1966, 'Who is Crazy?':
I cannot be void. I cannot lose my individuality and personality. That is nonsense. How can I? So long I am sitting in this body... Or take this same crude example. So long I am sitting on the car, I am displaying so much individuality, and so much discrimination. As soon as there is red signal, I stop my car. There is blue signal, green signal, I start my car. I'm using my consciousness. I'm working. And, simply by getting down from the car, I lose everything. I become void? What is this nonsense? No.
There is neither voidness, nor impersonalism. The Bhagavad-gītā does not agree to that. In the Second Chapter you have read it, that Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa says that, "Arjuna, Myself, yourself, and all these persons who have come here to fight with one another, they were individual selves before, they are individual selves now, and they will continue to be individual selves in the future. So don't be mad that you shall not fight. Their, I mean to say, identity, spiritual identity, will continue."
Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:
And what is that? What is that spiritual master? Simply a red dress like this or having a big beard? No. Samit-pāṇiḥ. Samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. You have to go to a person who is conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa. You have to go. So this is the formula. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3). Martyeṣu yatamāneṣu sahasreṣu madhye yo yadṛk ca mat-tattva-vit. Nobody inquires even. But if a man is fortunate to inquire, he can make progress and come to this understanding, that Kṛṣṇa is the origin, cause of all causes.
Lecture on BG 10.8 -- New York, January 7, 1967:
If you have got this faith, then don't give up this connection. Please try to come here and try to understand us. Why you should try to understand us? Because we are speaking here about God, nothing else. No business, no politics, no nonsense. Therefore you should come here. Sādhu-saṅga. This is called association with sādhu. Who is a sādhu? If somebody says "A man with red dress or a great beard or something..." There are so many conceptions of sādhu. But sādhu is described in the Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord Himself, who is sādhu. He said api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). Sādhu is one who is unflinchingly engaged in loving service of the Lord. He is a sādhu. That is the test, who is a sādhu.
Lecture on BG 13.3 -- Hyderabad, April 19, 1974:
Just like in America. Before the Americans, the Europeans or from other countries, mostly Europeans, they went to America... And the American land was there. The ingredients were there. But because the red Indians, they had no sufficient intelligence, they could not make America like present time. Lack of intelligence. So we are manufacturing so many things industrially, but the intelligence is also given by Kṛṣṇa. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhiḥ. The buddhi is also given by Kṛṣṇa. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ. "I am sitting in everyone's heart." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: (BG 15.15) "From Me, one gets intelligence, memory, and also forgets."
Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Bombay, September 27, 1973:
Therefore there are eighty-four. Eight million four hundred thousand. This is guṇa.
Just like color painter. There are three colors only: blue, red and yellow. But an artist can multiply the colors into many types of colors simply by mixing, simply by mixing. Similarly, these three qualities—sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa—these are the main qualities. Now they are mixed together. Sometimes this portion is greater than the other portion. In this way material nature is the greatest artist. You can see how she has manufactured so many bodies, nice bodies, eight million four hundred thousand.
Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Miami, February 27, 1975:
Take our human society. Some of them are very good men, very truthful, very honest, very learned, and knows what is God. You find such men also. And you will find also very much passionate. And you will find also men like cats and dogs, no knowledge, blind. So there are three types of men. Why? Because there are three qualities or modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Now, you mix up these three qualities with another three varieties of qualities. Just like the painter, they mix up different colors. The original color is blue, yellow and red. Now, you mix up these colors. You can... Hundreds and thousands of colors you can make. It requires expert handling. Similarly, originally these three qualities, goodness, passion and ignorance. Now, three into three equal to nine, and nine into nine equal to eighty-one. So we get immediately account for eighty-one varieties, and each variety is thousand and millions. Therefore eight million four hundred thousand, that is calculated.
And we have got so many varieties of life. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ, means the aquatics, there are nine hundred thousand, and the trees and plants, two millions, and eleven hundred thousand, these flies and insects. Kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ. And then birds, one million types of birds. Then three million types of beasts. Then four hundred thousand of human being, civilized, uncivilized, white, red, black, so many varieties. In this way, the whole calculation is eight million four hundred thousand different types of body.
Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Miami, February 27, 1975:
So if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, you associate with Kṛṣṇa. And if you associate with fire, you become warm. Similarly, if you associate with Kṛṣṇa, then you become gradually Kṛṣṇaized. And when you perfect... Just like you put one iron rod into the fire. It becomes warm, warmer, warmer, and at last, it becomes red hot. At that time it is fire because it has acquired the quality of the fire, although it is iron rod. So the process is to remain with the fire. Similarly, if you remain with Kṛṣṇa by chanting His holy name, then you will be purified and one day will come—you will be Kṛṣṇaized. The process is very simple: chant Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. That's all. (break) ...twenty-four hours. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). This is not my word; this is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have to associate with kīrtana. The reading is also kīrtana, and chanting on the beads, that is also kīrtana. There is no difference. So make your life in such a way. Either chant Hare Kṛṣṇa or read books. And when you are hungry, you take little prasādam. Don't take much. Then you will sleep more. Take as little as possible. Then you will also sleep... Our business is to conquer over the demands of the body. The demands of the body is eating, sleeping, sex and defense. So spiritual life means make it almost nil.
Lecture on BG 16.5 -- Calcutta, February 23, 1972:
And God is paraṁ pavitra is admitted in the Īśopaniṣad. Apāpa-viddham, asnāviram. Asnāviram means in the body of God there are no veins, and therefore apāpa-viddham. Veins, as soon as you have got this veins, that is material body. The body is maintained under certain material condition. You eat, and this eating substance transformed into secretion, then through the veins this comes to the heart, and heart it becomes red, corpuscle, the blood, the blood is diffused. Therefore there are so many channels, veins. And these things are pushed on with the air, and if there is shortage of air circulation, the man becomes paralyzed. This is scientific. So these things are required for the material body, not for the spiritual body. In spiritual body, asnāviram, there is no vein. Therefore one who misunderstands Kṛṣṇa as having a material body, he has been described in the Bhagavad-gītā as mūḍhā. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). He has no veins. There is no difference between His body and His soul. We have got difference with our body and soul; therefore this existence with this material body is not śuddha, is not pure. Therefore, sattva-saṁśuddhir, abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir.
Lecture on BG 18.41 -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:
Just like you are sitting here, so many boys and girls in different dress. Some is dressed in black coat or some in white coat or red coat. If I ask you what you are, if you say "I am black coat," or somebody says, "I am white coat," that is not your identification. Similarly, we living entities, we are neither American or Indian nor African nor Englishman. We are all spirit soul. That is our position. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is perfect knowledge. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi, I am spirit soul. When you come to this understanding, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170), then your position will be different from this material understanding.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Lecture on SB 1.1.2 -- London, August 15, 1971:
That is going on. The great two wars began from Europe simply on this basis. The German and Englishmen. The Englishmen, by their colonization, they made the whole world red in the map. Africa and Asia, India and America, Canada. And the Germans thought, "So this shopkeepers' nation..." Hitler used to say "shopkeepers' nation." "How they have occupied the whole world, and we are so intelligent? We are manufacturing so many things. We have no market to sell." That is the cause of the two great wars. This is a fact. Anyone, any politician, any gentleman knows what was the cause. The cause was Germany is always envious of England. Why this enviousness? Because England wants to lord it over, send Lord Clive to India to exploit.
Lecture on SB 1.1.2 -- London, August 17, 1971:
Just try to understand. Just like a good citizen means that he is following the state law, as we do actually. When there is red light, immediately you stop your car because you have to abide by the laws of the state; otherwise you become criminal. Although there is none to look, still, you have to stop your car, "There is red light." That is obedience. And then, when there is green light, you start your car.
Lecture on SB 1.1.3 -- London, August 20, 1971:
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are narrated, and the narration is systematically depicted by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Thus the subject matter is appealing to all classes of persons, including those who seek liberation and those who seek to become one with the Supreme Whole. In Sanskrit the parrot is also known as śuka. When a ripened fruit is cut by the red beaks of such birds, its sweet flavor is enhanced. The Vedic fruit which is mature and ripe in knowledge is spoken through the lips of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is compared to the parrot not for his ability to recite the Bhāgavatam exactly as he heard it from his learned father, but for his ability to present the work in a manner that would appeal to all classes of men.
Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Delhi, November 12, 1973:
Caitanya Mahāprabhu advises kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). And what is the benefit? The benefit is, because Kṛṣṇa is the supreme pure, you become purified. Just like if you remain with the fire, you become warm, warmer, warmer, warmer. Just like in the fire you put one iron rod. It becomes warmer, warmer. At the end the iron rod becomes red-hot. And when it is red-hot, it is no more iron rod; it is fire. You touch everywhere; it will burn. The same process. If you remain with Kṛṣṇa always, you get Kṛṣṇa's quality. You have got the quality because you are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. If Kṛṣṇa is gold, you are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa; therefore you are also gold. But at the present moment, as the gold is covered by dirt, at the present moment we are spirit soul, we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, as good as Kṛṣṇa, but we have been covered by this material body. Therefore we have to take out ourself from this material body. That is called siddhi, that is called perfection.
Lecture on SB 1.2.8 -- Bombay, December 26, 1972:
This is the nature of material world. So many empires were there. There was Roman empire, there was Carthaginian empire, there was Mogul empire, there was British empire, and so many empires. They are no longer existing. Sometimes when I pass by the side of the Red Fort, we see the department, the apartments of the great Mogul emperors in Red Fort, they are now lying vacant. So this is the material nature. Therefore Cāṇakya Paṇḍita advises, san-nimitte varaṁ tyāgo vināśe niyate sati: "If you are actually religious, then don't spoil your money for sense gratification." Use it for sat karyam. Sat karya means for service of Kṛṣṇa. Oṁ tat sat paraṁ brahma. San-nimi. San-nimitte varaṁ tyāgo vināśe niyate sati. That is Vedic civilization. If money comes, you don't hate it. Welcome. But it should be used properly. That is proper use. If you use properly your money, then you make your path parapavarga, clear. And if you misuse your money, then you become again entangled in the 8,400,000's of species of life.
Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Vrndavana, October 23, 1972:
So this śraddadhānāḥ, if we have got little faith that... Just like people come here with little faith. That faith is the little spark of fire. Now you have to fan it, fan it, so that fire may increase. Tat śraddadhānāḥ munayaḥ. So śraddadhānāḥ, Rūpa Gosvāmī has given us the formula that if you have got little faith in for understanding the Absolute Truth, Bhagavān, then ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15), associate with sādhu. Who is sādhu? Sādhu means devotee. Kṛṣṇa says, api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). He's sādhu. Not a sādhu having big beard or mustaches and having red cloth without any sense of Kṛṣṇa. He's not sādhu. Sādhu means one who is fully engaged in the service of the Lord. He's sādhu. Api cet su-durācāraḥ. Even if he's not very well-behaved, su-durācāra, still he's sādhu. Why? Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. He has no other business than to love Kṛṣṇa. This is the symptom of sādhu.
Lecture on SB 1.2.18 -- Los Angeles, August 21, 1972:
Abhadra means dirty things, inauspicious things. What is that inauspicious thing? Inauspicious things means the heart disease for sense enjoyment; this is inauspicious, Different varieties, abhadreṣu. There are three modes of material nature. And multiply it three, mix it again, it becomes nine, and again multiplied, nine by nine, it becomes eighty-one. So these, this... Originally the three... Just like three colors, yellow, red and blue. These three colors, you mix... Those who are artists, those who know the color display... Simply you mix three colors in different way, and it becomes varieties of color. So our heart disease, dirty thing, varieties of sense enjoyment, varieties. So heart is full with varieties of sense enjoyment. Therefore by nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18), by daily, regular worshiping Bhāgavatam, we become free from the dirty things.
Lecture on SB 1.2.23 -- Los Angeles, August 26, 1972:
So when creation has taken place, the things should be managed properly, so Kṛṣṇa Himself, He expands into three forms for management. One form is Lord Viṣṇu, one form is Lord Śiva and the other form is Lord Brahmā. Brahmā creates, Lord Viṣṇu maintains, and Lord Śiva destroys. Because in the material nature, you cannot have anything permanent. That is material nature. It is just like the flashlight. When you pass through roads and avenue, there are three colors-red, blue and yellow. They're passing through, always. Not that the blue is always existing, or red is always existing, or the yellow is always. Passing, simply. That is the nature, material nature. Here, everything is born. That is called sṛṣṭi, creation.
Lecture on SB 1.3.9 -- Los Angeles, September 15, 1972:
So we should take guidance from a perfect source of knowledge, and utilize it for making our life perfect. That is wanted; not that because "I want sense gratification, so let me have complete freedom for sense gratification. That is the idea now, life." No, that is not ideal. As I have several times explained to you that law is meant for human beings. What is law? Law means restrictions. You cannot have sense gratification unrestricted; that is law. Otherwise, what is the meaning of law? Just like when we are driving car, the law is red light, we have to stop. That is law. Because if you unrestrictedly drive your car, there will be accident. Either you will die or somebody will die.
Lecture on SB 1.3.11-12 -- Los Angeles, September 17, 1972:
It is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam (SB 11.5.32). Kṛṣṇa-varṇam. Kṛṣṇa varṇayati, or in the category of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa-varṇam. And tviṣā akṛṣṇa, by His complexion He is not black. Akṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇa means not black. So not black. It may be other color. Yes. That may be. But in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said... When Gargamuni was preparing the horoscope of Kṛṣṇa, he said, śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. Incarnation of God, either white, śuklo raktaḥ, either red, yellow, or black. These colors accepted. So Gargamuni said, śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ: "Your son, this son, formerly He appeared in white color, in red color, in yellow color. Now He has appeared in black color." So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was yellow color. Therefore, when it is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tviṣā akṛṣṇam, "He is not black," that means "He is pīta, He is yellow." Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam (SB 11.5.32). "He is always associated by His devotees."
Lecture on SB 1.3.19 -- Los Angeles, September 24, 1972:
I have several times explained. Just like law, state law. The state law can be given by the government. You cannot manufacture law. Nobody will care for your law. The state law is that "You must keep right your car. As soon as there is red light, you must stop." If you violate, you will be punished, although it is very simple thing. Similarly, religion means the law of God. You cannot violate it. If you violate, then you will be punished. If you think that "This religious system is very stiff. Let me manufacture my own religion," so that kind of religion is not accepted by the Vedic culture. And when actually the real religion is violated... Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati... (BG 4.7). Glāniḥ means violation. Tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham. At that time the Supreme Lord or His representative comes to establish real religion.
Lecture on SB 1.3.23 -- Los Angeles, September 28, 1972:
We are sparks of fire. So with the fire, if the sparks are "fut-put"... You see sometimes, the sparks; it looks very beautiful. The same spark, as soon as falls down from the fire, extinguished. The fiery quality immediately extinguished. So our material condition is like that. We have given up the company of Kṛṣṇa, and we wanted to be happy in this material world; therefore we are suffering. So same spark, particle of carbon, if you put again to the fire, it will again become red hot and fire. So this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that we are trying the sparks, which by chance has fallen down from the fire, to pick it up again and put it in the fire. That is real happiness.
Lecture on SB 1.5.14 -- New Vrindaban, June 18, 1969:
So any way, if we try to associate, simply by chanting or hearing, that means we are associating with Kṛṣṇa. And the more we associate with Kṛṣṇa, the more we become purified. Just like more you remain with the fire, you become warmer, warmer, warmer. And one day you become so warm you exactly like fire. The example I have given that if you put an iron rod in the fire, it becomes warm, warmer, warmest, and then it becomes red. And when it is red, it is no longer iron. It is fire. Similarly, simply by chanting and hearing you spiritualize yourself. So a day will come when this material body also will be fully spiritualized. The... That fully spiritualized means there will be no more material activities; simply these spiritual activities will be there.
So Nārada Muni is instructing Vyāsadeva, and we shall discuss next meeting. Thank you very much.
Lecture on SB 1.5.22 -- Vrndavana, August 3, 1974:
So he purchased some rotten betel nuts with two annas, and washed it and sold it at four annas, or five annas. In this way, again, again, again, that man became so rich man. One of their family members was our Godbrother. Nandi family. That Nandi family still, they have got four hundred, five hundred men to eat daily. A big, aristocratic family. And their family's regulation is as soon as one son or daughter is born, five thousand rupees deposited in the bank, and at the time of his marriage, that five thousand rupees with interest, he can take it. Otherwise there is no more share in the capital. And everyone who lives in the family, he gets eating and shelter. This is their... But the original, I mean to say, establisher of this family, Nandi, he started his business with a red, a dead rat, or mouse.
Lecture on SB 1.7.32-33 -- Vrndavana, September 27, 1976:
Pradyumna: "Thus seeing the disturbance of the general populace and the imminent destruction of the planets, Arjuna at once retracted both brahmāstra weapons, as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa desired. Arjuna, his eyes blazing in anger like two red balls of copper, dexterously arrested the son of Gautamī and bound him with ropes, like an animal."
Prabhupāda:
- prajopadravam ālakṣya
- loka-vyatikaraṁ ca tam
- mataṁ ca vāsudevasya
- sañjahārārjuno dvayam
- (SB 1.7.32)
- tata āsādya tarasā
- dāruṇaṁ gautamī-sutam
- babandhāmarṣa-tāmrākṣaḥ
- paśuṁ raśanayā yathā
- (SB 1.7.33)
Prajopadravam ālakṣya. This is the duty of the king or the government—to see that the citizens are in peaceful condition. So two brahmāstra weapons released, one by Aśvatthāmā and by Arjuna, it created a havoc, catastrophe. And the people were suffering.
Lecture on SB 1.8.18 -- Chicago, July 4, 1974 :
So the devotional service is so nice that—this example I have given many times—just like in front of your house there is small letterbox, a red letterbox, but if you put your letters within that box it will go ten thousand miles away. Therefore it is post office. It is not a box. It is post office. The post office has kindly come before your door for your convenience, so that you can put your letters there and it will go to the destination. Similarly, this arcā-vigraha, He is just like that. Although Kṛṣṇa is universal, still He has agreed to take your service. That will be accepted.
Lecture on SB 1.8.26 -- Los Angeles, April 18, 1973:
So those who are intoxicated, they cannot understand. They think: "It is my property. I have stolen, I have stolen this land of America from the Red Indians. Now it is my property." But he does not know that he's a thief. He's a thief. Stena eva sa ucyate (BG 3.12). In the Bhagavad-gītā. One who takes the property of God, and claims his own, he's a thief. Stena eva sa ucyate. Therefore we have got communistic idea, the devotee, Kṛṣṇa conscious person. We have got Kṛṣṇa conscious communistic program. What is that? That everything belongs to God. Just like they are thinking that everything belongs to the state. These communists, these Moscow, Moscowites, or the Russian, or the Chinese, they are thinking state-wise. But we are thinking not state-wise. We are thinking God-wise. Everything belongs to God. The same philosophy. You extend. Simply you require little intelligence, little intelligence. Why do you think that this state belongs to a few number of people? If you think that there are population, American population, this land of America belongs to this population. Why do you think like that? You think this is property of God.
Lecture on SB 1.15.50 -- Los Angeles, December 27, 1973:
So in kṣatriya marriage it was not so easy. The boy had to show how much powerful he is. Then the girl would be offered. Not only that; there will be killing. The opposite party may be killed. When there is fight, there is killing. And by killing, the blood is smeared over here. That is the red sign. That is the red sign, now used with vermillion. Not by killing. Yes, it has become... It is made easier. (laughter) Formerly the red sign was not so easy. There must be blood. That is kṣatriya. Kṣatriya means the fighting race, fighting caste, king, royal. They must be very chivalrous fighting, not timid. A kṣatriya cannot be timid. Brāhmaṇas kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdra, they are trained differently. Brāhmaṇa—for understanding Vedic knowledge and guide the other three subdivisions, namely kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, not śūdras. Śūdras were not supposed to understand Vedic knowledge. Especially brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas.
Lecture on SB 1.16.3 -- Los Angeles, December 31, 1973:
That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām iti kaunteya (BG 4.9). Such person, Kṛṣṇa conscious person, who knows Kṛṣṇa... If you think of Kṛṣṇa, naturally you know of Kṛṣṇa. You know of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is within your heart. So if you think of Kṛṣṇa, then gradually you become Kṛṣṇized. Just like you put the iron rod in the fire. Gradually it becomes fire. Warm, warmer, warmer, then red-hot. When it is red-hot it is fire. Whenever you touch, it will burn immediately. Similarly, if you think of Kṛṣṇa, the same example... Touching fire. So Kṛṣṇa will purify you. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ (SB 1.2.17). Just like you are being purified by hearing about Kṛṣṇa daily. Otherwise why you are coming here? We have no money to bribe you to come here. You are feeling, becoming Kṛṣṇized; therefore you are coming.
Lecture on SB 1.16.3 -- Los Angeles, December 31, 1973:
"He is simply chanting 'Kṛṣṇa,' although He is Kṛṣṇa Himself." Kṛṣṇam-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam. Therefore He has hidden Himself. His bodily color is more Kṛṣṇa, but golden. That is also stated. Kṛṣṇa has got four colors. Śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. When Gargamuni made the horoscope of Kṛṣṇa, that "This child has three other colors, śuklo raktas tathā pītaḥ. He had His color. Red color and white color and now..., and yellow color. Now He has assumed black color." Śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. So therefore His name was Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa has another color. Pīta. Pīta-varṇa-gauraḥ. That is Lord Caitanya. Therefore tviṣā akṛṣṇa: "Bodily complexion, not kṛṣṇa." Such Kṛṣṇa, chanting Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam (SB 11.5.32). Followed by many devotees, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. At least followed by Nityānanda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, Gadādhara Prabhu, like that. So this is the description of the incarnation of God in Kali-yuga. Pracchanna-avatāra. There is another avatāra, Kalki.
Lecture on SB 1.16.11 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1974:
Just like we have different color, different skin, different color, similarly, tviṣā, by His skin, He is not kṛṣṇa, He is not black. Tviṣā akṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇa means not black. So "not black" means you can accept any other color which is not black. So that there is proof in the śāstra that Lord, Kṛṣṇa, has also many colors. Śuklo raktas tathā pītaḥ. When, similarly, when Kṛṣṇa's horoscope was made by Gargamuni, he said that "This child formerly had śuklo raktas tathā pītaḥ. He was white color, He was yellow color, and He was red color." So this pītaḥ, yellow color, is also Kṛṣṇa's another color. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam. So here, tviṣākṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇa means not black. So "not black" means you must take the other three, namely white, red, and pīta. So other two colors in the Satya-yuga and Dvāpara-yuga, was manifested, red color and white color. Hayagrīva, white color. So the pīta..., kṛṣṇa color is also finished. Therefore pīta, yellowish color.
Lecture on SB 1.16.17 -- Los Angeles, January 12, 1974:
There are thousand, thousand times better standard, the duration of life, paraphernalia for enjoyment, facilities, so many things. They are higher and higher. As you go to the higher planets, they are higher and higher, thousand times. Just like in this planet also we see that some nation's standard of living is higher than other nation. Take for example you Americans. Your standard of living, from material point of view, you have got greater facilities, or you have created your own good facilities. Similarly the more the intelligent persons are, they create their own facilities by the grace of God. Just like in this America, the Red Indians were there, but they could not develop the country. But when the Europeans came and settled in this country, now this country has become the first-class country in comparison to other countries. So it is the intelligence.
Lecture on SB 1.16.19 -- Hawaii, January 15, 1974:
"One who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously and perfectly, he must be very, very intelligent." Dull brain cannot accept it. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). So we have to make our brain very clean. And for that purpose you require to drink not very much, at least, one pound or half-pound milk daily. That is essential. But no meat-eating. This is intelligence. The milk is also conversion of the blood, everyone knows. Just like we drink the milk of our mother. The color of the milk is white, but everyone knows that milk is produced from the red blood, red corpuscle. So this is the process, that people are very much anxious to drink the blood of cows from the slaughterhouse.
Lecture on SB 1.16.20 -- Los Angeles, July 10, 1974:
So any field of activities, if we act for Kṛṣṇa, that is called yajña. Yajña means to act for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or the supreme authority. Just like a good citizen. A good citizen means who is acting exactly to the regulative laws. He is good citizen. Even in ordinary driving car, if you exactly follow the rules and regulation of traffic transaction, if you stop when there is red light, if you start when there is green light, you don't go to the left, if you follow these rules and regulation, then there is no question of your being a criminal. But as soon as you do not follow, immediately you are criminal. You will get a ticket. Therefore the regulative life means... That is religious life, when you execute your occupational duty just according to the law. There are state laws and there are laws also. So actually, we should perform the divine laws.
Lecture on SB 1.16.21 -- Hawaii, January 17, 1974:
So patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalam. This is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We offer to Kṛṣṇa the patraṁ puṣpam—flower, vegetables, grains, milk products—and we take prasādam. This is our movement.
So here it is said that puruṣādair ivārtān. So not only eating meat, but there are cannibals also. I've heard that in Africa still, there are cannibals. Not only Africa, in other parts of the world, they also sacrifice a human being. I think in America also formerly, the Red Indians used to kill a human being? Eh?
Lecture on SB 1.16.26-30 -- Hawaii, January 23, 1974:
Our teacher would ask me, "You write ten pages, handwriting." So that means practicing ten pages, my handwriting will be set up. So even if we do not follow sixteen rounds, where is the question of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? So don't be artificial; don't be, I mean to say, a showbottle. Be real thing. And that is wanted. If you want real benefit of spiritual life, don't be showbottle. Do you know showbottle? The medical shop, a big bottle. It is full of water only. And color is red or blue or something like. But the real medicine does not require... (aside:) No, not now. Real medicine does not require a showbottle. A small... If one can chant purified offenseless, once kṛṣṇa-nāma, he is free from all material bondage. Once only.
Lecture on SB 2.1.1 -- New York, April 10, 1969:
You put into the fire, it becomes warmer, warmer. The more it is connected with fire, it becomes warm, warm, warm. And at last it becomes red hot, so that at that time, if that iron is touched to any other thing, it burns. It does not act as iron; it acts as fire. Similarly, by this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, continuous chanting, you will make your body spiritualized. At that time, wherever you go, wherever you touch, he'll be spiritualized. Similarly, the iron... Without being spiritualized, without being red hot, if you touch, it will not act.
So every one of us, those who have come to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, expected to preach in the future and to become a spiritual master also in the future. But first of all you must spiritualize yourself; otherwise it is useless. So kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe. Without... Just like without being red hot, you cannot burn any other thing. Similarly, without being fully spiritualized, you cannot make others spiritualized.
Lecture on SB 2.2.5 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1968:
There are 8,400,000 species of life, and we may think of in a varied way. That is the technique of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. At the time of, if we keep our Kṛṣṇa consciousness intact, that is our perfection of life. Otherwise we do not know what is my next life. The example is given just like air is passing. Air is very subtle matter. If it is passing on the rose flower, the flavor is carried in other place also, rose scent. And if the air is passing on the stool, the scent or the bad smell of the stool is carried to the other place. Similarly, if you make your consciousness rosy, then your next life is rose flavor. (laughs) And if you make your consciousness stool, then your next life is condemned.
Lecture on SB 2.3.2-3 -- Los Angeles, May 20, 1972:
Then where is the perfection of your technological institute? You are missing the real point. Therefore abodha-jātaḥ, everything is failure, all technology failure. Failure, simply failure. What is the use of? You do not know real technology. Therefore it is failure. But the informations are there. If we are intelligent enough, then we can take that "What is this? Why a dead man cannot be revived into life again? Then what is the fact?" But nobody wants to die; he wants to continue. Why he becomes old? Old means warning and, of the... Just like the, what is that, yellow light. "Now please prepare for the red light." So this is coming... You stop this. Technology. Where is your technology? But the information is there. Bhagavad-gītā. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). Then as you have changed so many bodies, from your mother's womb up to the point of death, so you are going to change another body. Therefore any sane man will say "Oh, then what is that body?
What kind of body I am going to get?" And that is intelligent. That is intelligence. And, if he does not know, he dies like cats and dogs, then he spoils his whole life, human form of life. This is going on. Have saṅkīrtana. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on SB 2.3.18-19 -- Los Angeles, June 13, 1972:
Suppose you increase the duration span of life to a very extensive way. In reply to that, it is said that "What is the use of living for so many years?" If the life is not properly utilized ... Now, the living for many, many years, so the trees are also living, standing in one place, living for many years. In San Francisco we saw. They say that one tree, red tree, very tall, very stout and strong, and they said that this tree is standing there for seven hundreds of years. So what is the benefit? So we can argue that "You cannot compare with tree and us. Because we have got so many facilities." What facilities? That facility ... The tree's life ... That is life, admitting, but it cannot breathe. So immediately the answer is bhastrāḥ kiṁ na śvasanty uta. Bhastrāḥ, bellow ... You have seen big, big bellows in blacksmith shop. That is also made of skin. Just like our body is made of skin, that bellow is also made of skin, and it has got a big nose and breathing is coming, "bas, ghans, ghans, bas."
Lecture on SB 2.4.2 -- Los Angeles, June 26, 1972:
Therefore, when Prahlāda Mahārāja was offered material benediction, so he said, "My dear Lord, what You are offering me? I have already seen all these things. My father was so powerful that even demigods would be threatened by his red eyes, and he expanded his influence all over the universe. But You have finished it within a second. So why shall I ask for such benedictions? If You want to give me some benediction, please engage me in some service of Your servant. That is real benediction." Caitanya Mahāprabhu also recommended: gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). To become a servant of servant of servant of servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is paramparā system. In that way one can give up the deep attachment for all these, our creation, our developing attachments, gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittaiḥ. At any moment, all these production of attachments can be dismantled, and it is being done so. But they have no knowledge. They have no knowledge. They are thinking that they will be able to enjoy this expansion of attachment, ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). No. You cannot enjoy. Even if you enjoy, it is for a few years only.
Lecture on SB 3.25.27 -- Bombay, November 27, 1974:
What is our business at the present moment? We are serving māyā in different varieties. So māyā has got three modes—sattva, rajas, tamas or mixed. Just like the color displayer, very expert in mixing colors. Actually there are three colors: blue, red and yellow. This blue, red, yellow, the color display of the mix-three into three equal to nine; nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. So in this material world we, living entities, we are colored in this way. Three into three—sattva, rajas, tamo-guṇa. Three into three equal to nine, and nine multiplied by nine, eighty-one. So there eighty-one colorful living entities are there. Somebody's human being; somebody's demigod; somebody's cat; somebody's dog; somebody's servant; somebody's tree; somebody's plant... There are 8,400,000's of forms of life. And that is our service. Just like the dog is barking. He's thinking that he's dog. So his business is barking. That means serving the laws of material nature. Similarly, somebody's serving, somebody's serving in some way someone-variety.
Lecture on SB 3.26.2 -- Bombay, December 14, 1974:
Yes, it is possible. Just like you put one iron rod in the fire. It will become gradually warm, warmer, warmer, then the iron rod will be red hot and if that redness you will touch anywhere, it will burn you. It is no more iron rod, it is fire. So you keep yourself always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then even if you possess this material body, you will be in the spiritual world. This is called jñānam. Jñānam ātma-darśanam, jñānaṁ niḥśreyasāya.
So we have to come to this platform, spiritual platform. We are suffering on account of being on the material platform. So by keeping yourself always in the fire of Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you are transferred to the spiritual world. Very nice example, this iron rod, red hot. You cannot use it for any other purpose.
Lecture on SB 3.26.5 -- Bombay, December 17, 1974:
Does it mean the politician want to remain there for good? Why they want to come out? So similarly, here in this material world it is simply vicitra, varieties. We call, "This is first class. This is second class. This is third class." It is simply varieties. Actually, it is all third class. There is no first class, second class. Guṇair vicitrāḥ. Just like you like some color. Somebody likes red color, somebody likes blue color, sometimes yellow color. But after all, it is color, you like this or that. Similarly, sattva-guṇa is yellow color, and tamo-guṇa is blue color, and rajo-guṇa is red color. So you may like this color or that color—after all, it is material color.
So you should become free from all this colorful life of material existence and you become pure. But how you can become pure? That is also given in the Bhagavad... Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26). Guṇān. Here it is said, guṇair vicitrāḥ: "By the colorful mixture of these modes of material nature, there are so many varieties, varieties of the modes of nature." But if you want to be out of this colorful material life and you realize yourself, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am Brahman, and I am the same quality as God," then you have to engage yourself in devotional service.
Lecture on SB 3.26.8 -- Bombay, December 20, 1974:
You will find in the Bhāgavata, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, when there was talking between the queens and Draupadī at Kurukṣetra on some festival, that, as women, mixing together, they talk about their marriage, about their family, about their husband, so they were also talking. So Draupadī was asking the queens of Kṛṣṇa how they are married. Because in each time Kṛṣṇa had to fight to get the wife. That is the kṣatriya principle. Without fight, there is no marriage. There must be some fight. And after killing the opposing party, their blood is taken and smeared over it. This is red vermillion. Now it can be purchased. (laughter) There is no fight. You can purchase, two paisa, that's all. But formerly a kṣatriya must fight, and there were many opposing princes, and the victorious prince must kill or at least get some blood from the body, and as victorious, the wife will be smeared.
Lecture on SB 5.5.1 -- Tittenhurst, London, September 12, 1969:
How it is? The practical example I have given several times that in this body there are different parts of the body. The different parts of the body cannot enjoy senses or satisfy independently. The different parts of the body will depend on the whole body. You can catch up an nice cake, foodstuff, but the fingers, the parts of the body, cannot enjoy it. But if the fingers catch it and puts into the mouth, it goes to the stomach. Then there is some secretion from the stomach, and it goes to the heart, it turns into blood, it is transfused in different parts of the body, and immediately your finger becomes red. This is the process. Tapo divyaṁ yena (SB 5.5.1). Sense gratification is there, but through Kṛṣṇa. Then you feel complete sense gratification. Just like the gopīs, perfect. All devotees, but the gopīs are the supreme.
Lecture on SB 5.5.1-2 -- Bombay, March 25, 1977:
There is no excuse. Similarly, we are contaminating different types of modes of nature. There are three modes of material nature—sattva-guṇa, raja-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. Now mix it up, three into three equal to nine, nine into nine it becomes eighty-one. Again eighty-one... It increases. Those who are expert in mixing color, they know how to make different colors by mixing the original three colors: blue, yellow and red. Similarly, we are in this material world under the clutches of the modes of material nature, and according to different circumstances we are mixing with different modes of nature. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Because we are mixing with different types of material nature, next life we are preparing. Tatha dehāntara praptir. We have to accept another body. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya. This is our position. Don't be very happy that "Today I am such and such big person. It will continue." No, sir, it will not continue. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). You have to change your body.
Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Boston, April 28, 1969:
That is the instruction of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva to His sons. He says, "My dear sons, you cannot imitate your standard of demands of the body like cats and dogs and hogs. Oh, that is... Then you'll waste your time. You have got better opportunity." Just like there is very nice example. In this land of America, the Red Indians were living. Still they are living. But their standard of living, their standard of the same demands of the body, is different from the civilized nations who have come from Europe to this country. Therefore it is, America, is now so rich, because their standard of living and their standard of living is different. They could also develop this country very nicely, but their civilization, their standard of living, their consciousness, was different. So it is on the basis of different standard of consciousness the standard of living and existence is dependent.
Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Hyderabad, April 11, 1975:
Generally there are three types of material nature, three qualities: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Now, you multiply these three by three: it becomes nine. And again you multiply nine by nine: it becomes eighty-one. It is mixture. Here these guṇas, the qualities, are not pure. They are mixed up. Just like color mixing. Originally there are three colors: red, yellow and blue. And you mix it... Those who are color expert, they can display many thousands of colors. So similarly, in the nature's way there are different colors or different guṇas, and every one of us, we have got a particular type of guṇa with different desires, different plans, different so many things. Now, in the human form of life, you have got the chance to discriminate yourself or separate yourself from these colorful different species of life. That is the main duty of human form of life. Labdhvā sudurlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte (SB 11.9.29). We do not know, we have forgotten that how many species of life we have come through, transmigrating from one after another. Therefore this human form of life is called labdhvā sudurlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte. After many, many births... We should not misuse it. Very responsible life. If you are misled, that is a dangerous civilization. That is going on. Dehātma-buddhi. As our chief guest Mr. Naidu(?) said, that deha means śarīra, mind, and then spirit.
Lecture on SB 6.1.3 -- Melbourne, May 22, 1975:
And if you infect the rajo-guṇa, then your life is different. Therefore there are varieties of life. Why there are varieties of life? Because we have infected different varieties of infection. There are three kinds of infection originally: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, just like originally there are three colors: red, yellow, and blue. Now, you mix up these three colors. Three into three, it becomes nine, and nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. So those who are expert color mixer, they make varieties of color originally from these three color. Similarly, originally there are three kinds of material modes of nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance. Now mix it. It become nine, and again nine into nine, Therefore there are 8,400,000 forms of life on account of this mixture.
Lecture on SB 6.1.7 -- Honolulu, May 8, 1976:
So there are three modes of material nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance. So long we are in this material world, puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho 'pi bhuñjante tad-guṇān. If we remain in certain place, we must be affected by the modes of that place. So there are three modes, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa. We have to associate either with the modes of goodness or with the modes of passion or with the modes of ignorance. Now, three into three, it becomes nine, and nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. So mixture. Just like color. There are three colors: blue, red and yellow. Now, those who are expert in manufacturing color, artists, they mix these three colors in different way and they display. Similarly, according to the guṇas or mixture, association—kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya—we get different types of bodies. Therefore we see so many varieties of bodies. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). So the person who is taking very much pleasure, dancing in the sea like fish, so he is contaminating that modes of nature so that in next life he will become a fish. He'll be very free to dance with the ocean.
Lecture on SB 6.1.11 -- New York, July 25, 1971:
So from historical point of view you Europeans and Americans, you belong to the kṣatriya stock of old India, and somehow or other you have forgotten this Vedic culture. Originally you belonged to this Vedic culture. The Vedic culture was all over the world, even in America—different types of worship or concept of God. The Red Indians also had some religion.
Lecture on SB 6.1.11 -- New York, July 25, 1971:
But real, real fact is if you want to advance in spiritual understanding, if you want to make a solution of all the problems of your life, then you have to accept this life of austerity, tapasya. Restriction. Restriction is meant for human beings, not for the animals. Just like in our common dealings, when you drive your car, you have got some restriction. You cannot drive your car on the left side. That is offense. "Keep to the right." You cannot drive your car when there is red light, or yellow light. You have to follow the restriction. But the dog, if it keeps to the left or crosses the street when there is red light, it is not punished, because it is animal, dog. But if you violate the laws, you'll be punished. Why? That means you have got advanced consciousness. If you do not follow the rules and regulation, then you are nothing but animal. Human being, human life means voluntarily accepting the laws, the rules and regulation. That is human life. But now the propaganda is that everyone, one wants to be free, no regulative life. This is animal life. Just try to understand.
Lecture on SB 6.1.13-14 -- Los Angeles, June 26, 1975:
He was a child playing on the lap of His mother. And when Pūtanā came and wanted to kill the child, the small child God, He killed Putana, a big demon. So even He was at that time three months old, still... And not only Pūtanā, many other demons. And then, when He was six or seven-years-old boy, so at that time there was crisis in Vṛndāvana, and He lifted the Govardhana Hill with His finger. This is God. Aiśvaryasya samāgrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47). God has got unlimited strength. You have seen in Kṛṣṇa picture: Kṛṣṇa is killing so many demons. That horse demon? Kesi, Kesi. Kṛṣṇa simply pushed His hand in the mouth of the horse. Because to control a horse means he control his mouth; then you can control the whole big animal. So immediately the horse came before Him, He pushed His hand within the mouth of the horse, and the horse began to feel it is red-hot iron. So this is God. Aiśvaryasya samāgrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ.
Lecture on SB 6.1.27-34 -- Surat, December 17, 1970:
Material means when the consciousness is not Kṛṣṇa. That is material. The same example, that iron rod, if kept to the fire, gradually it becomes warm, warmer, and at last it becomes red. When it is red, it is no longer iron; it is fire. Similarly, by spiritual association, your body gradually becomes spiritualized. And at the perfection stage, there is no more material activities, simply the activities of the fire.
Lecture on SB 6.1.30 -- Philadelphia, July 14, 1975:
So we are misled. We are engaged in studying the machine, that's all. Instead of using the machine to cross over the ocean, take the advantage, they are very busy in studying the machine. Is that very good intelligence? Machine is already given to you. You cannot study even. You do not know. Even if you study, you cannot say... I claim, "It is my body," and if somebody asks me, "How many hairs you have got in your body?" I cannot say. How I am eating something, how it is being turned into some secretion, it is going to the heart, it is becoming red and it is again distributed through the nerves and veins—I do not know anything. I can simply theorize. But the machine is not under your control. The machine is made by God or by nature. It is very subtle machine. If you are very expert, the first thing is that what is the use of simply studying the machine? You got it. You utilize it for going to the destination. That is your intelligent. No, they forgot to use the machine for going to the destination; they are simply studying the machine. And that is going on in the name of science. What is this nonsense science? Simply busy in studying the machine.
Lecture on SB 6.1.32 -- Honolulu, May 31, 1976:
So this way nature's law is acting. And what is this nature's law? Nature's law means a system, a machine. Just like in this government there is system. You cannot violate. "Keep to the right!" "Stop here, red light!" You must have to stop. "I'm governor." "Never mind, you stop." This is law. You cannot say that "I am governor," "I am Mr. Ford" or "Mr. Rockefeller," "Why shall I stop my car?" No, it is government law. You must stop. So this is practical going on. How you can violate the nature's law? It is not possible. Nature's law is so strict, a little deviation will put you into suffering. This is going on. That is Yamarāja. And if you violate more and more and more, then you suffer more and more and more. This is the law. You cannot escape. So that is fixed up. But as there is some exceptional cases... Just like one has committed murder, so by law he must be hanged. By law. That is the general law everywhere, all over the world: life for life.
Lecture on SB 6.1.39-40 -- Surat, December 21, 1970:
Of course, that is Western philosophy, that because the animals are increasing, they should be killed. We Indians also, we have taken that view—because we cannot give protection to the cows, they must be sent to the slaughterhouse. That is the modern view. But that is not injunction of the Vedas. The Vedas says that everyone has right to live, every living entity. That is going on not only in consideration of the animals—even in human beings. Just like the Americans, they were all Europeans, and they entered this American land, killed so many Red Indians. So these kind of things are going on, but that does not mean that is the law. You killed so many Red Indians for your benefit, but you have to suffer for that. So that... This is going on in the human society, but that does not mean it is dharma. No. Dharma means you have to abide by the regulation given by the Vedas. You have to adjust things. Sometimes in Africa the man-eaters, they kill their grandfather, make a feast. The Russians also, they maintain such theory, that old men, they should be neglected. I have heard. I do not know. They become burden. But that is not Vedic injunction.
Lecture on SB 6.1.41-42 -- Surat, December 23, 1970:
The difference between material world and spiritual world is that here in this material world these three qualities are acting. Therefore we find so many different varieties of men. There are three qualities: the quality of goodness, the quality of passion, and the quality of ignorance—sattva, rajas, tamas. Now, these qualities, again mixed up, they create several varieties of... Just like three multiplied by three becomes nine. Nine multiplied by nine becomes eighty-one. Eighty-one multiplied by eighty-one, it becomes so many varieties. Expert color men, they take three colors—that blue, red, and yellow—and mixes the color, and varieties of color is manufactured. Similarly, these three guṇas, originally they are coming from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Lecture on SB 6.1.41-42 -- Surat, December 23, 1970:
A quack is not a medical man, however he may show all red bottles, white bottles. There is a Bengali proverb, naj jal yac curi tini ei daktar.(?) One stethoscope, naj(?), and some bottles, jala, and talking all nonsense, he becomes a doctor. That means the quack doctor, not a... Qualified doctor, he knows what is what. So naj jal yac curi tini ei daktar(?). In Bengali they say. And mostly in villages they go on like that. But of course, they have got some experience. I know in Allahabad there was a doctor, Kabhir, a Dr. Kabhir. And because in my previous household life I was a chemist and druggist, I was supplying medicine, so he was my customer. So he had that... This Dr. Kabhir was a compounder. Later on he practiced. So he had very, very big prac... He was my biggest customer. He was purchasing medicine like anything. But he had experience. He learned from an experienced doctor. He cannot be called a bogus, because whatever he learned, he was... But generally, one who is not a bona fide doctor, he is called a quack. So anything, experience required, not that you have to go to the medical college. If you are trained under a bona fide doctor, then also you can get the quality of a doctor. Similarly, the whole thing is tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). One should go to the bona fide spiritual master to learn this transcendental science.
Lecture on SB 6.1.44 -- Los Angeles, June 10, 1976:
This material world is karma-kṛt—you have to do something. Kṛṣṇa has explained that "Without acting, you cannot even maintain your body and soul together." Śarīra-yātrāpi te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ. If you become idle, then you cannot even maintain your body. That is the difference between civilized man and uncivilized man or developed country... (aside:) Stop that. Developed country and undeveloped country. Just like America. This land was inhabited by the Red Indians. They could not do anything, but the Europeans, when they migrated, they made it so beautiful country. So karma-kṛt, one has to work. This material world is so made. Tṛtīyā karma-saṅgā anyā śaktir īṣyate.
Lecture on SB 6.1.46 -- Detroit, June 12, 1976:
That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: overlap. The rajo-guṇa is overlapping tamo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa is overlapping sattva-guṇa; in this way, it is going on. Therefore we see varieties. So that is stated here, that deva-pravarās trai-vidhyam upalabhyate, guṇa-vaicitryāt. Guṇa-vaicitryāt, by mixture of different guṇas. Just like color, painter. There are three colors originally: red, yellow and blue. Now those who are expert, they can mix these. If you mix yellow and blue, it becomes green. Those who are painters, they know. And yellow mixed with red, it becomes orange. In this way those who are painters, they know how to mix color, and varieties come. Guṇa-vaicitryāt.
So there are originally three colors. Similarly, originally three guṇas. Now they become mixed up. Three into three equal to nine; nine into nine equal to eighty-one; and again eighty-one, and eighty-one... Nature's law is very subtle. Those who are botanists, scientists, they know how the color of the flower... So many varieties. They calculate, a little... There is regular principle. Not that by chance it has become yellow, chance it has become red. This is rascaldom.
Lecture on SB 6.1.56-62 -- Surat, January 3, 1971, at Adubhai Patel's House:
A prostitute should, I mean to say, comb her hair in that way so that people can understand she is prostitute and she is chaste woman. And this sindūra, the red, red lead, these were the signs. A vidava, one who has no husband, they should wear without any skirt, sari without any skirt, vidava, without any bangles. So people will understand, "This woman is without husband," "This woman is prostitute," "This woman is chaste woman," "This woman is not married," "This woman's husband is away from home." So different dresses. Proṣita-bhartṛkā. Proṣita-bhartṛkā. The name was... A woman whose husband is away from home, she should not dress very nicely. She should not comb her hair. That is the system. There are so many systems.
Lecture on SB 7.5.22-30 -- London, September 8, 1971:
There are many instances; a devotee risked even life for preaching glories of God. So Prahlāda Mahārāja also did that. He knew that "My father is nothing but a ferocious animal, Hiraṇyakaśipu." Even big, big demigods would be threatened by his red eyes. He was so powerful. Still, he was executing devotional service at the risk of life. And he was put to so many dangerous condition of life. Still, he did not give up. Then, if we try to understand Prahlāda Mahārāja's character... Now, at the present moment the teacher said that, naisargikīyaṁ matir asya rājan. "My dear king, your boy, this tendency of God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is by nature. We never taught him. Please don't be angry with us unnecessarily." Niyaccha manyum. "Please give up your anger." Niyaccha manyuṁ kad adāḥ sma mā naḥ. "Don't degrade us in that way."
Lecture on SB 7.6.3 -- Montreal, June 16, 1968:
Different person, your consciousness may be different from my consciousness. You are thinking in a different way; I am thinking in different way. Similarly, consciousness is there. That is a symptom of life, symptom of spirit soul. But the difference is due to material contamination. Just like superficially your blood and my blood, the same, red. But if we analyze, oh, there may be so many chemicals present in your blood, and so many chemicals may be present which is not exactly equal. Similarly, as soon as there is life and there is spirit soul, the focus of the spirit soul, consciousness, must be there. I am present in this body—how I can understand? Because this consciousness. You pinch any part of your body: you feel. This is your consciousness. That means I am present in this body, and as soon as I am away from this body, you may cut this body into pieces—there will be no consciousness. There is no feeling.
Lecture on SB 7.6.3-4 -- San Francisco, March 8, 1967:
Because the time has changed. You have to take, consider according to the time, circumstances, atmosphere. Here, at the present moment, our mind is so disturbed that concentration of meditation is not possible. But this chanting, as soon as we chant, by force our mind is engaged in chanting and hearing, by force: "Hare Kṛṣṇa." So even my mind is disturbed, by the vibration I am attracted. So that is, this meditation is recommended. Other meditation, if I sit down and think, I am thinking of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, which is red. At once a red bird comes in my vision and the bird begins to fly and it goes away. You see? So that kind of artificial meditation will not succeed. Meditation is not actually possible in this age.
Lecture on SB 7.6.7 -- Vrndavana, December 9, 1975:
That is fact. But the devotee can change. This is new birth, undoubtedly. Just like these, our European, American students. They are new birth. They have given up their old birth practices. So birth is changed. Punar janma. So that is possible only by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one has to change his body without changing body... The body is changed, but we see that the same body..., but it is not the same body. It is cin-maya. The same example, that the iron rod put into the fire, it becomes red hot, so it is no longer iron; it is fire. Similarly, if we constantly keep ourself in touch with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then the body is no longer material; it is spiritual. Therefore a spiritual body is not burned. They are kept, samādhi. Just like in Western countries they give samādhi to any, everyone, tomb, entombing. In India the tomb is offered to a very advanced spiritually person. You'll find many tombs in Vṛndāvana because their body is spiritual. No, no... This is the idea.
Lecture on SB 7.7.25-28 -- San Francisco, March 13, 1967:
So therefore we are simply wasting our time, simply wasting, asat, simply wasting our time. So Prahlāda Mahārāja says that "It is your duty, my dear boys." Bīja-nirharaṇaṁ yogaḥ pravāhoparamo dhiyaḥ: "So you just kill, destroy the seed and..., so that no more it will become green after getting some water." There are another example. They are called in India moya carpaka(?). Carpaka means bed bug. And I do not know what is the condition here. In India, the bed bug, they, during the winter season, you'll find just like a simple skin only, nothing. There is nothing. But as soon as the summer season comes, oh, they bite the bodies and become red, fatty, immediately. So similarly, sometimes we may become just like a skin, and as soon as there is a drop of water and a little impetus for material enjoyment, oh, we become immediately... So this is seed. So seed should be destroyed. What is that seed? How it can be destroyed? Now, I am thinking that "I am master." I have to think that "I am servant." That's all. I am thinking, "I am master of this material world." I have to think that "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa." That's all; nothing more.
Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Hawaii, March 21, 1969:
The sun-god, or the sun, or the predominating deity in the sun planet, he does not come out to manufacture another planet. He is there. You can understand from this material example how things are being created through the sunlight, how the planets are growing due to sunlight. If there is no sunlight, we'll see all plants will die. That is our experience. And because the sunlight is there, the plant is growing, they are becoming green, they are becoming red, they are becoming flavored. So all interaction of these five elements, water, earth, fire, heat and ether... So wherefrom the sunlight comes? From the sun. Wherefrom the sun comes? From the brahma-jyotir. Wherefrom the brahma-jyotir comes? It is from Kṛṣṇa. Try to understand how Kṛṣṇa is the Absolute Truth or the original source of everything.
Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Calcutta, March 5, 1972:
Then from Brahma, Lord Siva appeared. Brahmā śiva viriñcit(?). And Viṣṇu is the origin. From Viṣṇu's navel lotus flower, Brahma appeared; and from Brahma, Lord Siva appeared. Lord Siva's another name is Rudra. When Lord Brahma created the four Kumāras, Sanaka, Sanātana, Sananda, Sanat-kumāra, so Brahma asked them, "My dear boys, you just marry and advance the progeny, create more sons and grandsons." They refused. They said, "My dear father, we are not going to marry. We shall remain brahmacārī." So naturally, when father's disorder is disobeyed, he becomes angry. So Brahma became angry, and his eyes became red. At that time, from the red eyes the Rudra, Lord Siva, appeared. So he was asked to increase the progeny, and he begot many thousands of demons. Then he was stopped, no more you have progeny. Then Dakṣa and others, they were asked. Dakṣa Mahārāja was very expert in giving birth. He was giving birth hundred children at a time. Therefore his name is Dakṣa, very expert in giving birth to children. So in this way, creation was there, sons and grandsons. Manu is also one of the sons of Brahma.
Lecture on SB 7.9.10 -- Montreal, July 10, 1968:
So vairāgya, this detachment from matter, is automatically done. We have got the propensity to love something, at least a dog if not God. So if we turn our face to the loving attachment to Kṛṣṇa, then paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59). If you are given better thing... Just like in children. He is loving something, but if you give him something better, something red, oh, he is attached immediately. He gives up the old thing and takes up the red thing.
So you cannot... The jñāna system, the yoga system is by force they are trying to detach. That is not possible.
Lecture on SB 7.9.47 -- Vrndavana, April 2, 1976:
Then which of them I shall take? That is also stated in the śāstra. While making the horoscope of Kṛṣṇa, Gargamuni, he said, idānīṁ kṛṣṇataṁ gataḥ. Śukla-raktas tathā pītam idānīṁ kṛṣṇataṁ gataḥ: "Nanda Mahārāja, your son, this child, has now appeared as kṛṣṇa, blackish." Idānīṁ kṛṣṇataṁ gataḥ. "Otherwise this very child appeared in previous ages." Śukla-raktas tathā pīta: "He... Sometimes He appeared in white color, sometimes red, sometimes yellow." This yellow color refers to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, golden color. So this is also confirmed. If somebody says that "He is Kṛṣṇa. Why He is not blackish?" No. He appears as the devotee of Kṛṣṇa in golden color. We say, therefore, "Golden Avatāra."
Lecture on SB 7.9.49 -- Vrndavana, April 4, 1976:
If breathing is lost, you can put some air within, just like the bellow, and by machine, by some electric arrangement, the bellow can go on and the breathing will come out. Why don't you do that? It is very easy. Anyone can do it. And not anyone, at least one who has got some mechanical idea. So do you think that the breathing will bring the life? Do you think? It is not possible, sir. It is air only. That is not possible. Then you take the blood. What is this blood? The blood is nothing but red water. You cannot say that injecting some red water, you can bring life. Analyze it very intelligently. Then what is the composition of this body? The air or the water, the same. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4). It is said here, mahad-ādayo. Mahat-tattva and its expansion. Even in the subtle mind, manaḥ prabhṛtayo. Mind, intelligence, egotism. You analyze everything, but you won't find there the life. No. That is not possible.
Lecture on SB 12.2.1 -- San Francisco, March 18, 1968:
A girl prostitute, her dress is different. A men sannyāsī, his dress is different. A brahmacārī, his dress is different. So by the dress one can understand that who is who. That is the system. So that dress is offered by the spiritual master after qualified. Just like if a girl is married, then his (her) dress is offered during the marriage ceremony. One of the symptoms of married girl is some red powder between the two divisions of the hair. So one can understand that "This girl is not..." So similarly, there are different dresses according to qualification, according to the situation. But in the Kali-yuga, that, anyone can take any dress without any regulation, without any formality. Simply by dress. Suppose... Just like sannyāsī. Because a sannyāsī has to dress himself in these saffron-color garments, so sannyāsī has the privilege, if he goes to a householder's house, he is very respectfully received, and if he wants something, the householder gives him. That is the system. Now, if somebody sees that "It is a very cheap process of earning money, so let me dress in this saffron color and beg from door to door. What is the use of laboring so hard...?" So that will go on. Misuse of dress. Misuse of dress. Liṅgam eva āśrama-khyātāu. Āśrama, a gṛhastha. Āśrama means... There are four āśramas: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, and sannyāsī. They have got different dresses. But they have got different duties also. But in the Kali-yuga, simply by dress one should be known that either he is a sannyāsī or a brahmacārī or gṛhastha.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, December 26, 1972:
When there is fighting, in fighting, they take all means, all propaganda, all means, you know that. Fighting, one... The aim is how to own victory. Although there are so many international laws, they don't care for it. Just like bombing. Bombing. Sometimes the opposite party, they keep soldiers under Red Cross, because Red Cross is not bombed according to international... But they, they get information and they bomb also. These are common practice. Just like in India, in the Hindu-Muslim fight, the Muslims were keeping weapons within mosques. You know that. Everyone knows. So there (are) so many international law of the fighting, but when there is necessity, they neglect all international law and they take advantage.
So then... I have heard from a very reliable officer, Mr. MacPherson, in Allahabad... He was my... At that, at that, at that time, I was keeping a drug shop. So he was my customer. And when he was coming, he was talking with me many past stories of the war. So once he narrated... He was also one of the commanders. That the First War, Marshall Foch? He was in Second World War, or First? I think First World War. Or First? I think First World War.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 17, 1972:
The brain is serving the body under some rasa. So similarly... That is natural division, throughout the whole universe, anywhere. And because the whole universe is being carried on by the three modes of material nature, goodness, passion, ignorance... And there are mixture also. There are three: goodness, passion and ignorance. Just like there are three colors, yellow, red... (aside:) You stand on... You disturbing... Yellow, red and blue. And those who are artists, they mix with three colors and it becomes nine. And again, the nine into nine, it becomes eighty-one. In this way, all these divisions, different forms of living entities, they are being conducted under some modes of material nature, either pure or mixture. And therefore we find so many varieties. (aside:) Why don't you put...? Yes. So many varieties of living entities. 8,400,000 species of life, forms. 8,400,000.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 26, 1972:
How, what kind of hṛṣīka, senses? Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). The senses are to be purified. Tat-paratvena. Tat-paratvena means being always attached with Kṛṣṇa. If you simply see Kṛṣṇa with your eyes, then your eyes will be purified and spiritualized. Because you are touching... Just like if you keep yourself always in touch with fire, you become warm. Warm, warm, warmer. If you put one iron rod in the fire, it becomes warm, warmer, warmer, and at last, it becomes red hot. When it is red hot, it is fire. It is not more iron rod. You touch that red hot iron anywhere, it will burn. Similarly, if you keep always in touch with Kṛṣṇa, you become Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇized, and you can appreciate what is Kṛṣṇa.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 1, 1972:
Therefore we see any civilized human society, there is a kind of religious system. It doesn't matter whether it is Hinduism, Christianism, or Buddhism, or Muhammadanism, but there must be a religious system. Without this system, that human society is not considered as human society. That is animal society. In the... Even I understand that in America the Red Indians, who are supposed to be not civilized, they had also a religious system. So maybe a perverted form of religious system. Similarly, in India also there are primitive races in the jungles, they have also... Religious system means approving the authority of some Supreme Being. That is religious system. So in the animal society there is no such conception that "There is God. We have got some relationship with God," what is that relationship. This type of discussion cannot be present in the animal society. So dharma artha kāma mokṣa. Generally religious system is taken for improving social and economic condition. Artha. Artha means economy. Artha is required for sense gratification. We require economic development for our sense gratification. And when one is completely satisfied, then he can cultivate about spiritual realization, mokṣa, āpavarga.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Calcutta, January 29, 1973:
So every... Stenayor sa ucyate. Everyone in this material world, one who has no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he's a thief, he's a rogue, he's a robber. Everyone. Just like the Americans. They occupied the land of America by killing the Red Indians, and now they are claiming proprietor, and there is immigration department: "Nobody can come here. It is our land." This is going on. The first thing is stolen property, everyone. There is another story. A group of thieves stolen some things, and when they were dividing, one of them: "Kindly, morally divide. Morally divide. Honestly divide." The thing is taken dishonestly, and they are dividing honestly. This is going on, whole world. Everything is taken dishonestly, and when there is question of division, the United Nations honestly divides it.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.8 -- Mayapur, April 1, 1975:
There is no problem. But you can make this māyā-loka also Vaikuṇṭha-loka by spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the same quality. Just like iron is iron, but you can make it fire. How? Simply putting it into the fire. Gradually, warm, warmer, then it becomes red hot. At that time, the iron is no longer iron; it is fire. Similarly, if you can propagate Kṛṣṇa consciousness constantly, then, by spreading this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, you can make the whole world Kṛṣṇa conscious, and then it will be Vaikuṇṭha. The same example. You put the iron rod with the fire, and it becomes hot, hotter and then red-hot. When it is red-hot then it is no more iron rod. It is fire. Anywhere you touch, it will burn.
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for that purpose. Increase Kṛṣṇa consciousness and there will be no more kuṇṭha, no more anxiety. People are trying to be anxiety-less, and that is only possible by this movement. Put always in touch with Kṛṣṇa. And the method is very simple—Hare Kṛṣṇa. That all. If you keep yourself in touch with Hare Kṛṣṇa... We have already been known as Hare Krishna people all over the world, Hare Krishna people. So increase this population, Hare Krishna people, and it will be Vaikuṇṭha.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 6.254 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1968:
Sky is the reflection of Kṛṣṇa's bodily effulgence; therefore it is blue. Just like if the cover of the light is blue or, I mean to say, red, the radiance also becomes... Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is blue. It is described in the Vedic literature, veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam (Bs. 5.30). God's bodily hue is just like bluish cloud. But it is very beautiful.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.111 -- New York, July 19, 1976:
hings are going on. Just like the heat and light is there; therefore, even though you are within the room, you can understand the sun is there. Or even there is cloud covering the sun, that does not mean the sun is not there. So it is simply foolishness. We say sometimes that "There is no God. Can you show me? I have not seen God." These are all rascals' propositions. When we see... Any foreign country, you see that a city is maintained very nicely, the police is there, the light is there, the green light, the red light is there—we can immediately understand that there is government. Any sane man, how he can say that government is dead? This is foolishness. There cannot be any question of "God is dead." If you say "I cannot see Him," so you cannot see even the government head man. Can you see the President always? But you have to accept that there is a system of government; therefore the head of the government is there.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.112 -- New York, July 20, 1976:
The same example, the sun and the sunshine. Sunshine is the potency of the sun, but the quality of the sun and the quality of the sunshine is the same, heat and light. So viṣṇu-śakti, there are... According to the Vedic information, He has got many multifarious potencies. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). Different types of śakti. We can see different types of agency, er, what is called, energy, is working within this creation. Take for example the leaves of the tree. Some of them are green; some of them are red; some of them are yellow; some of them are mixed. Similarly fruits—different tastes; flowers—different flavor. Varieties. But wherefrom it is coming? The sunshine. The sunshine is the same, but it is acting in different way, so we see different manifestation. This is crude material example. Similarly, if we take the spiritual original, then the original is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8). It is not different from Kṛṣṇa. Ahaṁ sarvasya. All these colored manifestation, it is coming from Kṛṣṇa. Mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: "Everything is coming from Me." So this understanding is real Kṛṣṇa consciousness, when you understand that there is one only. Eka brahma dvitīya nāsti. And Kṛṣṇa is above Brahman. We have got a slight idea of Brahman, generally, but Kṛṣṇa is Parambrahman. There are many millions of Brahmans, and above them, the Supreme Brahman is Kṛṣṇa. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). Arjuna admitted.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.255-281 -- New York, December 17, 1966:
"Just like it is, in contact with the fire the iron becomes red hot and it become fire, similarly, in contact with Saṅkarṣaṇa, this material energy gets potency, and thereby the material manifestation is there."
- etau hi viśvasya ca bīja-yonī
- rāmo mukundaḥ puruṣaḥ pradhānam
- anvīya bhūteṣu vilakṣaṇasya
- jñānasya ceśāta imau purāṇau
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the Tenth Canto, it is stated that "This Rāma and Kṛṣṇa"—Rāma means Balarāma, and Kṛṣṇa—"They are the root of this material creation. And both of Them enters into each and every universe and maintains that." Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham (Bs. 5.35)
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.330-335 -- New York, December 23, 1966:
So these fourteen Manus we have mentioned yesterday. Now yugāvatāra. Yugāvatāra means just like there are four yugas: Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali. The ages of each yuga we have mentioned already. Now in the Satya-yuga, when the yugāvatāra comes, He is white. He is Hayagrīva in the Satya-yuga, as white as our Hayagrīva brahmacārī. Yes. He is white. And rakta. Śukla-rakta-kṛṣṇa-pīta-krame cāri varṇa. In the Satya-yuga when the incarnation of yugāvatāra comes, His complexion is white. And in the next yuga, Tretā-yuga, the complexion is red. And the next yuga, Dvāpara-yuga, the complexion is black, Kṛṣṇa. And the next, Kali-yuga, the complexion is yellow.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.330-335 -- New York, December 23, 1966:
Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣā akṛṣṇam. By complexion He is akṛṣṇa. Akṛṣṇa means not kṛṣṇa, not black. Not black, you may take, if not black, then it may, as there are four colors, so He may be white, He may be red, He may be yellow. Now, out of these three colors, in the Satya-yuga white is already done. And in the Tretā-yuga red is already appeared. Then the balance is pīta. Kṛṣṇa is also done. Then the pīta, the yellow. So therefore His color is very golden colored, yellow. Lord Caitanya's complexion not exactly white like you, but He was golden color, golden with yellowish tint, a very nice complexion, Lord Caitanya's. He is... Therefore His name is Gaurāṅga. Gaurāṅga means white complexion. Another name is Gaurasundara, "very beautiful." So kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam (SB 11.5.32). Tviṣā, tviṣā means by complexion akṛṣṇa, not kṛṣṇa. Although He is Kṛṣṇa, His complexion is not kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.330-335 -- New York, December 23, 1966:
So that Gargamuni, by astrology, said to Kṛṣṇa's father Nanda Mahārāja, "This boy, this child who is born as your son, He had three colors before." Āsan varṇās trayo hy asya: "This child had three colors before. I see." Just see the astrology. From astrology he says that "He had three colors before." That means God. "He had three colors before." Gṛhṇato 'nuyugaṁ tanūḥ: "According to the age, according to the millennium, He had three other colors." Śuklo raktas tathā pīta idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ: "And He had that white color and red color and yellow color. Idānīm, just now, He has assumed this black color." So this was the astronomical calculation of Kṛṣṇa's birth. Satya-yuge dharma-dhyāna karāya 'śukla'-mūrti dhari'.
Now, śukla-mūrti, that white incarnation of God, He will teach the people... The incarnation of God, why does He come? That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7).
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 22.31-33 -- New York, January 16, 1967:
So that is a very thankless task. She is discharging the duty entrusted to her by Kṛṣṇa, but everyone, especially the transcendentalists, oh, they are hating, "Oh, māyā, māyā, māyā." Nobody will like, transcendentalists, māyā. Either personalist or impersonalist. But she's engaged. Just like police. Police is engaged by the state, but nobody likes police. Everyone will criticize police. Thankless task. Because they, unless they become strict, unless they become red-hot iron (?) they cannot execute their duty. That is their way of punishing. But people do not like them. Nobody likes police. You see. Even a police comes all of a sudden here to sit down here to hear us, we'll suspect, "Oh, he has come with some purpose." (laughs) It is such a thankless task. Similarly, māyā is entrusted with thankless task. She cannot approach Kṛṣṇa, neither she is liked by the conditioned souls.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 1 -- Los Angeles, April 30, 1970:
So the superior, supreme controller, is Kṛṣṇa, either on this inferior energy or superior energy. That is going on. So superior energy means that we can control over the material world. Not completely. That is also under condition. But we have got some control over this material world. But Kṛṣṇa has control over us also. We cannot do anything out of our own whims. Just like we are manufacturing this nice microphone with intelligence. Just like you American people, you are manufacturing so many nice things, and why other people, they cannot manufacture? What is the reason? You are also superior energy, and before you, the Red Indians, they are also superior energy. The animal, he's also superior energy. The cow, for example, that is also living entity, superior energy, and a man, he's also living entity, superior energy. But the man is sending the cow to the slaughterhouse. It is helpless, and the man is powerful. How this distinction? How this distinction? That distinction is due to the superior controller, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa has given man superior intelligence, superior intelligence... In the Bhagavad-gītā, Fifteenth Chapter, fifteenth verse, you'll find that sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo: (BG 15.15) "I am sitting within the heart of everyone." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. "One can memorize or forget on account of Me."
Festival Lectures
Radhastami, Srimati Radharani's Appearance Day -- Bhagavad-gita 18.5 -- London, September 5, 1973:
Similarly, after the child is born, then another saṁskāra, jāta-karma-saṁskāra. So there are so many saṁskāras. Saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ: By following the saṁskāra, purificatory process, one becomes brāhmaṇa. The upanayana-saṁskāra, the sacred thread saṁskāra. So when Kṛṣṇa was having the jāta-karma-saṁskāra by Gargamuni, the priest of Vasudeva... He was sent to Nanda Mahārāja to perform the Kṛṣṇa's jāta-karma. So he was a learned astrologer. He said, "Nanda Mahārāja, your this son formerly had three other colors: śuklo raktas tathā pīta. He was of white color, He was of red color, He was of yellow color." Idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. "Now He has appeared in blackish color." Idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. So kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam (SB 11.5.32). Tviṣā means by complexion He is not black. Then He must be either of the three-white, red and yellow.
His Divine Grace Srila Sac-cid-ananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Appearance Day, Lecture -- London, September 3, 1971:
So spiritual knowledge is beyond the scope of our sense speculation. Beyond the scope. Just like when a soul, a spiritual spark only, leaves this body, you cannot see. Therefore, atheistic class of men, they speculate, "There may be a soul; there may not be soul." Or, "The bodily function was going like this; now it stopped. The blood corpuscles now cease. It is no more red; it is white; therefore life..." These are speculation. This is not actual knowledge. Actual knowledge you get from the authority, Kṛṣṇa. He says, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati. Just like the soul is passing through different stages. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). Deha, deha means this body. Asmin dehe, in this body, there is dehi. Dehi means who is the owner of this body. That is soul. That is passing through childhood, boyhood, babyhood, youthhood, old age.
Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakanatha Deity Installation -- Los Angeles, July 16, 1969:
Now today this function of installing Deity, this is authorized. Just like several times I have given the example that when you put your mails in a box in the street, because it is written there U.S. Mail, you know that it is authorized box. And if you put your letters within this box, it will surely reach the destination. The post office will work. So there is no difference between the huge post office building and that small box because it is authorized. Similarly, the difference between idol worship and Deity worship is like that. Unless authorized process is accepted, it is idol worship. That is the general rule. If somebody thinks that "There is a box, red and blue, on the street. Why shall I go to that box? Let me have similar box at my door and it will be cleared by the postman because it is blue and red," that will not be so. Because the box which you put at your door, that is not authorized.
Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakanatha Deity Installation -- Los Angeles, July 16, 1969:
That is not possible. It is fire, so you have to become fire. And how to become fire? Fire, you are also fire, but now you are covered fire, covered by this material body. Therefore you have to spiritualize this body by purificatory process. The same example, just like the iron rod, it is iron, but you put into the fire. It becomes warm, warmer, warmer, then red hot, then it is fire. Similarly, by this process, chanting process, by regulative process, you are becoming warmer, warmer, warmer, warmer. And when you fully become red hot warm, then your body is as good as Kṛṣṇa's. So we have to keep ourself always in the fire of Kṛṣṇa consciousness; then everything is all right. (laughs) Otherwise, it will become dull and it will be simply idol worship. That's all. That is the difference between idol worship and Deity worship. If there is no life, then it is idol worship, hedonism. And when there is life, feeling, "Where is Kṛṣṇa? Here is Kṛṣṇa. Oh, I have to serve Kṛṣṇa, I have to dress Him, I have to serve Rādhārāṇī, She is here. Oh, I must do it very nicely. And as far as possible decorate Her to the best capacity." In this way, if you always feel Kṛṣṇa conscious, then you are fire.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
Arrival -- Philadelphia, July 11, 1975:
Materially, there is distinction, but when you come to the spiritual platform, then, when you discern the spirit soul within everyone, that is equal. That is... Just like you are differently dressed in red shirt; I am differently... This dress, this difference, must be there. There are so many men and women. They are differently dressed. You cannot say they are all equal by the dress. But within the dress, the living entities, they are all the same. We make this distinction: material, not spiritual.
Initiation Lectures
Initiation of Hrsikesa Dasa and Marriage of Satsvarupa and Jadurani -- New York, September 5, 1968:
Prabhupāda: Now you come this side; you come this side. Yes. And there is red, red sindhu? No? Red sindhu? No?
Brahmānanda: There is a ring.
Prabhupāda: There is a ring? All right. Give her this ring and now just cover the head. You cover. You cover the head. And somebody stuck up this, his cloth and his (her) cloth. Knot. Make a knot. You make. Yes. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Now chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break) Godbrothers and sister, give them good wishes.
Initiations -- Sydney, April 2, 1972:
After quitting this body, he does not accept any more material body. The spiritual body is already there within this material body. So those who are engaged in Yajñeśvara's service, they are giving up this material body and developing a spiritual body. The example can be given: just like an iron rod. It, put into the fire, it become warm, then warmer, warmer, and at last, it becomes red hot. When the iron rod is red hot, it is no longer iron rod; it is fire. Similarly, if you practice this spiritual way of life, the same way, gradually you will become completely spiritualized. Completely spiritualized means that no more material activities. That is possible. If we follow the process, we can turn our life from material contamination to pure spiritual life. And that will help us going back to home, back to Godhead. That's all.
Deity Installation and Initiation -- Melbourne, April 6, 1972:
Girl Devotee (6): No meat-eating, no illicit sex, intoxication, and no gambling.
Prabhupāda: So your name is Devadarśana dāsī, "who can see all the demigods." Right hand. (japa) Give them garland. After initiation they'll exchange it. Give them. Give them on the... Yes. On their neck. You can sit down here. Where is that red powder? Get some. You sit there. He sits here. After changing garlands they will change place and the bride will give the powder and cover her head. No, the bride, bridegroom, yes. Come on. Come on. What is the name?
Śyāmasundara: Sanaka dāsa.
Prabhupāda: Sanaka dāsa. Know rules and regulations? What is that?
Sanaka: No meat-eating, no illicit sex, no gambling and no intoxication.
Prabhupāda: That's good.
Deity Installation and Initiation -- Melbourne, April 6, 1972:
Now change the garland. Now give her the vermillion, red powder. Cover her head.
Initiation Ceremony -- Melbourne, July 1, 1974 :
So those who are going to be initiated, they should understand that chanting of the holy name means directly associating with the Supreme Lord. So as I have given several times the example of the iron rod and the fire: if you touch the iron rod with the fire, it becomes warmer, warmer and then red hot. Similarly, when you chant offenselessly the holy name of the Lord, gradually you become purified, and when we chant holy name without any offense, then we immediately live at the shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa. When we are almost free from contamination, then we become liberated, and when we chant purely the holy name, we are situated on the lotus feet of the Lord. And the more we go on chanting, we enjoy loving exchange affair between the Lord and ourself.
Wedding Ceremonies
Wedding Ceremony and Lecture -- Boston, May 6, 1969:
Prabhupāda: Now you sit down and cover the head. Yes. Cover the head. Yes. Just like... There is no, that red? Vermillion?
Himāvatī: Where is that red crayon?
Prabhupāda: Now you can sit down there, next her. No, you sit left. Now change. You sit here. Yes. Now she'll always remain on your left. You come forward. Now you say...
Satsvarūpa: Jāhnavā has so long, my Godsister, has so long been in my care. I now give her over to Nanda Kiśora prabhu.
Prabhupāda: You say you shall "take charge of Jāhnavā, my wife, (Nanda Kiśora repeating) and I shall look after her comforts throughout her life, and I shall supply her all necessities of life." And you say that "I accept you as my husband. (Jāhnavā repeating) I shall see to your comfort throughout my life. Without any separation we shall live peacefully, in happiness and distress, without any separation, for executing Kṛṣṇa consciousness." Change your garland and place. Jaya. Now you cover her head like that. Yes. Not in that way. From this part. All right. Change your seat. Yes.
Wedding Ceremony and Lecture -- Boston, May 6, 1969:
So you say, "I accept (Baradrāja repeating) Rukmiṇī as my wife. I shall maintain her throughout my life, supply all necessities of life, and we shall work together for prosecuting Kṛṣṇa consciousness." You say that "I accept you (Rukmiṇī repeating) as my husband, and I shall serve you as your most obedient wife, to keep you in all comforts, in all distress and happiness, and we shall continue our life for Kṛṣṇa consciousness." Now change. Change the garland. Mind that this promise has been made before Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. You cannot change all these promises. Change your seat. Cover the head. Cover the head and give her this red. Cover it nicely. You see, here. You should keep your wife always covered. (laughter) Don't allow this miniskirt or minishirt. (laughter) According to Vedic civilization, respectable woman cannot be seen even by the sun. Asūryaṁ paśyat. How can you avoid sun? But it is said like that. The sun will find difficulty to see one man's woman. Yes. Asūryaṁ paśyat. Asūryam. Sūrya means the sun. Sun cannot. Sun will also hanker after her: "How can I see that woman?" (chuckles) So woman should be always in privacy. They should be respectfully protected by the husband and the father. That is the way. All right. Then it is finished. Now let us perform yajña. (devotees offer obeisances) Now chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. After performance of yajña. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Mix it. Mix it.
Initiation of Sri-Caitanya dasa and Wedding of Pradyumna and Arundhati -- Columbus, May 14, 1969:
You say, (Arundhatī repeats) "I accept you as my husband, Pradyumna, and I shall help you in the matter of Kṛṣṇa consciousness throughout my life. I shall never separate from you in all conditions, in happiness or distress." Now you change the garland. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. Now you... You put this cloth upon... Now cover the head. Yes. And give her head vermillion, red. (break) (prayers continue) Put silently on this. Now chant, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
General Lectures
Lecture on Maha-mantra -- New York, September 8, 1966:
Otherwise a dead man could have been again revived to consciousness. Because if matter is the cause of consciousness, then the whole matter is there already. Whole matter. The dead body means, so far material substance is concerned, everything is there, present. Nothing has disappeared. If you say there is no blood-oh, that is not very difficult thing, blood, a red substance. Do you mean to say something red injected within this body will bring back the life? No. If redness is the cause of life or consciousness, then modern chemical can make immediately by chemical combination the whole thing red. Or take example: there are many natural stones, they are by nature red. If you say that "This artificial redness cannot give life; the natural redness is the cause of life," then you take the stone. It has got natural redness, but there is no life. But there is no life. So redness is also not the cause of consciousness of life. That is a wrong theory. That is a complete... Consciousness is completely different thing, qualitatively different. Nothing is different from one to another, just like I have explained already that the earth, wood, then smoke, then fire—everything is linked up, but everything is also different from one another.
Lecture on Maha-mantra -- New York, September 8, 1966:
That is the thing, that you have to spiritualize, spiritualize these material sense, I mean to say, organs. And then, when you spiritualize, then you can have the spiritual vision and see God and yourself. The same example which I have recited many times: just like the iron rod. Iron rod, you put into the fire. It gets warm—warm, warmer, warmer. And when it is red hot, then it is no longer iron. Iron it is, but it does not act as iron, but it acts as fire. That iron rod which is red hot in association with fire, you can take that rod and touch anything; it will burn. That means it is no longer acting as iron; it is acting as fire. Similarly, if you associate with this transcendental incarnation, sound incarnation of God, then you will be gradually godly. You will be godly. You can become godly with God's association, not by any other material, extraneous things. No. Just like you can have fire only in association with fire, not with water. If you want to get yourself warm, then you have to associate with fire, not with water, not with air.
Lecture to Technology Students (M.I.T.) -- Boston, May 5, 1968:
The same soul is changing, just like you are changing your dress. Now you are in some colored dress. You may have some white dress or some red dress. Similarly, vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). As soon as your dress is old enough, you cannot use it any more, you have to change the dress. Similarly, the present body, as soon as it is no more workable, you have to accept another body. Now, taking it accepted as dress, that the next body means next dress, so that dress will be offered according to the payment, or according to your work. If you have worked just like a god, then you get the dress of a god, and if you have worked like a dog, then you'll get the dress of a dog.
Lecture Excerpt -- San Francisco, September 14, 1968:
Spiritual in the sense... Just like... This example also I have given several times. Just like you put an iron rod in the fire. When it becomes warmer, warmer, red hot, it is fire. It is no longer iron. Similarly, when you are completely absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and service, you are completely spiritual. Your material activities... Because your material activities have stopped, therefore your body is no longer material. Materialism means... Just try to understand. Material..., what is materialism and spiritualism. Materialism means sense gratification, and spiritualism means to love God. That's all. Personal sense gratification. Here the relationship is just like a girl or a boy. The so-called love is temporary. That's all. There is no love. As soon as there is some discrepancy of sense gratification, oh, there is separation. There is divorce. There is separation. Because the so-called love is based on sense gratification. That is materialism. And when there is no sense gratification, the satisfaction of the lover only, that is spiritualism. So in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, when your business will be only to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, then you must know that your senses and your body have become spiritualized. Actually, in higher platform, there is nothing material thing. Higher platform means when a person sees nothing but Kṛṣṇa as everything. Even himself, he's also Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture -- Seattle, October 9, 1968:
So he was receiving direct order, He was speaking directly. But if somebody says that "How I can know that I am satisfying the Supreme Lord, because the Lord is not directly present before me?" this argument is not a very strong argument. The Lord is present by His words. Just like in your Bible, there are ten commandments. So if you follow... Just like the state is present by the lawbooks. If you follow the law, then you are satisfying the state. Just like "Keep to the right." If you are following the rules, you are keeping your car on the right side, you are stopping when there is red light, that means if you are satisfying the regulation, then you are satisfying the state. Similarly, if you satisfy the regulative principles, then you are satisfying the Lord. It is very nice. It is very simple thing. But you must try to satisfy. Whether by your work, by your activity, you have satisfied, then your life is perfect. Ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ, svanuṣṭhitasya. It doesn't matter whatever you are doing, but you have to see whether by your action the Supreme Personality of Godhead is satisfied.
Lecture -- Seattle, October 18, 1968:
It cannot be extinguished. If it is extinguished, how we are manifesting our living condition? It is not extinguished, but it is covered. Just like when fire is covered, you'll feel heat on the covering, but you cannot see the fire directly. Similarly, this spiritual spark is covered by his material dress; therefore we cannot see. The doctor says, "Oh, the bodily function has failed; therefore heart has failed. He is dead." But why heart fails he does not know. There is no medical science, calculated. They will say so many reasons, that "Because the blood corpuscles, red corpuscles has ceased to function, it has become white; therefore it is..." No. This is not right answer. The blood can be made red... Or redness is not life. There are many natural product which is red by nature. That does not mean there is life. So this argument, that red corpuscles have ceased; therefore life has ceased—no. There are so many arguments and counterarguments.
Lecture -- Montreal, October 26, 1968:
So three into three equal to nine. Nine into nine equal to eighty-one. Therefore you will find manifestation of eighty-one kinds of qualitative living entities. And they are divided into 8,400,000 species of life. These are very scientific studies. Try to understand it. And this human form of life is the chance to get out of this entanglement. These eighty-one, again if you multiply eighty-one by eighty-one, then it becomes huge quantity. So in this way these qualities are mixed up, colors. Just like three colors, blue, red and yellow. You mix and you produce multi-colors. If you are expert in color mixing... All these picture, whatever you are seeing, there are only three colors—blue, red and yellow—and you mix, varieties of color. Those who are artists, they know it very well. Similarly, these three qualities, three colors. The yellow is sattva-guṇa and the blue is the tamo-guṇa and the red is rajo-guṇa. These colors, they are representation of these three modes of material nature. Redness means passion, and blue, black, that means ignorance, and yellow, yellow is goodness. Therefore you see Kṛṣṇa and all others, they're in yellow dress. Of course in the spiritual world there is no such distinction. There is variety, but there is no inebriety. That is spiritual world.
Lecture -- Los Angeles, November 13, 1968:
So we don't say that the varieties created by God is false. No. It is real. How can I say it is false? This flower, it is designed by God so nicely, it is colored so nicely. It has got its use. There is variety. Even there is greenness... There is so many things varieties. There is color display, sometimes a dark red, sometimes it is light red. So nicely created by Kṛṣṇa, and I shall say it is false? Why it is false? It is Kṛṣṇa's creation. Let me take it and offer it to Kṛṣṇa. This is called bhakti. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I don't enjoy it; it is Kṛṣṇa's creation. It must be offered to Kṛṣṇa. And after offering to Kṛṣṇa, you'll enjoy. After offering nice prasāda, Kṛṣṇa is full, Kṛṣṇa is not eating. You'll enjoy. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't reject anything. This tape recorder we don't reject. We don't say, "Oh, it is material. We shall not touch."
Lecture Excerpt on Twenty-four Elements -- Los Angeles, November 14, 1968:
Ten knowledge-acquiring, five, and working senses, five. Ten. So eight, ten-eighteen. Then sense objects. Just like I have got eye, but I have to see something, dṛśya. So there are five sense objects. Eighteen and five-twenty-three. And mahat-tattva, the original stock of all material... In this way, they are called twenty-four elements. So this whole creation, whatever material creation we have got, they are made of these twenty-four el... Just like colors. Varieties of color means three colors: yellow, red and blue. Those who are expert in color mixing, they'll mix these three colors into eighty-one colors. Three into three equals nine; nine into nine equals eighty one. So expert colorists, they can display these three colors into eighty-one. Similarly, the material nature, of course, this is one, one energy, but within this energy there are three qualities: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. By interaction of these three qualities, the manaḥ, buddhi, ahaṅkāra—the subtle elements—are manufactured, and then from the subtle elements, the grosser elements are manufactured. Then their objectives. In this way, the creation is going on. But it requires so much time to create such huge cosmic manifestation, but God is so perfect, as soon as He desires, He says, "Let there be creation." Immediately the creation. That is God.
Lecture -- New York, April 16, 1969:
They are coming by nature's way. Nature is helping. And nature has helped you to come to this life, to civilized form of life, where you can have education, where you can have nice compartment, apartment, nice food, nice association, nice car, nice city. Because... What is the difference between this nice and, I mean to say, not nice? Because you have got nice intelligence. In this land of America, when the Europeans did not come here to colonize, the Red Indians were there. They could not develop this American land so nicely, nice cities, because they were less intelligent. Now you are intelligent, you have developed it. That means if you have got nice intelligence, you can live nicely. Now what is the limit of that nice intelligence? That limit of nice intelligence is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. What is that? Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). After developing, going through many species of life, many intelligent human forms of life by cultivating knowledge, education, when one comes to the limit of education and knowledge, he understands what is God. What is God. That is the limit of.
Northeastern University Lecture -- Boston, April 30, 1969:
Just like by electric energy you have got heater, at the same time, cooler also. The energy is one, but in one place it is utilized for heating; in another place it is utilized as cooling. Similarly, this, er... Take the energy of sunlight. The sunlight is one, but by the sunlight some flowers are becoming red, some flowers are becoming blue, the leaves are becoming green. So everything is due to the same energy, sunlight, but the variety is there. Variety is there. So energy may be one. Just like in your country, by electric energy you are working in so many ways. So do not, I mean to say, make minus all these varieties, the energy in diverse varieties. Therefore the whole conception is, Brahman conception is, that unity in diversity. Everything is working by the energy of the Supreme Brahman, and in the energy we have got different diversities. So we cannot neglect the diversities, although the energy is one.
Speech to Maharaja and Maharani and Conversations Before and After -- Indore, December 11, 1970:
Prabhupāda: Yes. There are so many things. So many things. But there is explanation in the Vedas, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). The energy of Kṛṣṇa is working so wonderfully that it appears that exactly it is done by expert person. Now, take a flower, this flower. How nicely it is painted.
Indian man (1): Comes out of a green thing, red.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Just see. And how perfectly it is made, coloring. The most beautiful. Nobody can suggest that further coloring this way would have been better. No. This is parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī. Automatically it is done. Automatically.
Lecture at Krsna Niketan -- Gorakhpur, February 16, 1971:
But one who is liberated by understanding Kṛṣṇa, one who is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, he also changes his body and he accepts immediately a spiritual body. And so long he lives, that is also spiritual body. That is spiritual body in the (this) sense because that body is engaged in spiritual activities only. There is no material activity; therefore that is spiritual. The same example: the iron rod, although it is rod, because it has become red hot it is no longer rod; it is fire. Similarly, this material body becomes spiritualized when one is completely Kṛṣṇa conscious, because he has no more activity of this material body. His actions are... The same example, try to follow. When it has become so hot, red hot, that it is no more acting as iron rod, it is acting as fire. Similarly, and when he changes this body also, he immediately... Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). Then he does not come in material body. Immediately, a spiritual body develops. As this material body has developed from the spirit soul, on the platform of spirit soul, similarly, what is the difficulty to understand a spiritual body can also grow? There is no difficulty. So our, this material body, everyone knows that it grows or it changes from one body to another because the spirit soul is there. Similarly, one who is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, as it is said by Kṛṣṇa, tyaktvā deham: as soon as this body is given up, immediately, another, spiritual body is offered.
Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, February 23, 1971:
If you are thirsty, then if you simply chant "water, water, water," your thirst will not be quenched. You have to get the substance water. But in the spiritual world it is, being absolute, the name and the person whose name we are chanting, they are the same. Therefore by chanting this holy name of God, Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa... Hare is addressing the spiritual energy of the Lord, and Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. So by being in touch with the Supreme Lord and His energy directly, we become purified. Exactly like if you take one iron rod, put into the fire, it becomes warner, warmer, and at last it becomes red hot. When it is red hot, it is no longer iron; it is fire. Similarly, if you constantly become in touch with the Supreme Lord by chanting His holy name, which is not different from the Supreme Lord, then you become spiritually purified. And as soon as you are spiritually purified, then all misunderstandings of this material world immediately vanquished. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, April 10, 1971:
Take for example, just like Māyāvādī philosopher, they say brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. But jagat, not mithyā, but temporary. And still, even if it is mithyā, false, it can be turned into truth by this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That is possible. Nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that it can transform the matter into spirit. How? Not transform, but the faith or feature is changed. Consciousness is changed. The same example as we have several times recited, that you take an iron rod, put into the fire. It becomes warm, warmer. But when it is red hot, it is no longer iron; it is fire. If you touch that rod, hot iron, in any place, it will burn. Similarly, Vaiṣṇava, by his spiritual advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, makes the whole body spiritualized. Just try to understand the same example. By developing your Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you can make your body spiritualized, completely forgetting all material activities.
Lecture Excerpt -- London, August 13, 1971:
Similarly, we are so imperfect that we may have little knowledge even of our own body. We are eating, but how the eatables are being transformed into secretion, how they are becoming blood, how they are being passed through the heart, and it becomes red, and again diffuse all over the veins, and in this way the body is maintained, we know something, but how the work is going on, how this factory is going on, how the factory, machine, is working, we have very little knowledge. So indirectly we know that "This is my body." "Indirectly" means we have heard, but we have no direct knowledge. But Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme, the original of everything, He knows everything. Anvaya-vyatirekābhyām, indirectly and directly. Kṛṣṇa knows. I do not know how my body is working, but Kṛṣṇa knows. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata (BG 13.3). Kṣetra-jña... He is real, Supersoul. There is a Supersoul who is in knowledge of everything.
Lecture -- London, July 12, 1972:
This is practical, not theoretical. "Kṛṣṇa" means Kṛṣṇa. Just like here in this material world, if I want to drink water, if I say "water, water, water," that will not satisfy me. I want the substance water. So here there is difference between the name and the substance. But in the absolute world there is no such difference. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Kṛṣṇa the person and Kṛṣṇa's name the same thing. Therefore if you chant "Kṛṣṇa," then you are in direct touch with Kṛṣṇa. So that will help you for your spiritual advancement. Just like if you are in touch with fire you will get yourself warmer and warmer and warmer, and at last you'll get red fire. Similarly, if we are in touch with Kṛṣṇa, then we advance spiritually, and then we become completely spiritualized, our original Brahman. This is the process. Simple process.
Lecture -- Jakarta, February 27, 1973:
This material world is running on under the influence of three qualities of the modes of material nature, sattva-guṇa, raja-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. There are three qualities. (break) Therefore you do not find one kind of living entity, because there are three qualities, and again multiplied three by three, it becomes nine qualities, then again multiplied nine into nine, then it becomes eighty-one qualities. Just like an expert artist, he's using three colors: blue, red and yellow. You mix the colors and he will manifest thousands of colors, thousands of colors. So actually the basic position of this material world is the three qualities: sattva-guṇa, raja-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Now they are mixed up. Here you cannot find out purely sattva-guṇa. Sattva-guṇa is the topmost quality in this material world. But here in the material world also, you cannot find pure sattva-guṇa. When you come to the pure state of sattva-guṇa, that is transcendental stage, spiritual life. Pure sattva-guṇa means there is no more attack by the other two guṇas. That is pure, śuddha-sattva. That is called śuddha-sattva, pure goodness. In that stage one can understand what is Kṛṣṇa. First of all one has to come to the goodness quality platform. Then he has to transcend that quality of (indistinct), and that position means no more attacked by the other two lower qualities, namely passion and ignorance. So, sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vāsudeva sarve, that stage is called vāsudeva. Vāsudeva means that Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, appears. That's why Kṛṣṇa's father's name was Vasudeva.
Lecture at the Hare Krsna Festival at La Salle Pleyel -- Paris, June 14, 1974:
So as it is said that in the beginning was the word, that means before the creation there was the transcendental sound. So that word, or transcendental sound, is not like the material sound. If we associate with the transcendental sound Hare Kṛṣṇa, then we become purified to become transcendental. Just like we can have a crude example. You take one iron rod and put into the fire. The iron rod will be warm, warmer, and gradually it will be red hot. When it is red hot, then it is no longer the iron rod; it is fire. So how it has become fire? By association with the fire. Simply, therefore, if you simply keep yourself touch with God by the vibration of transcendental sound, gradually you become godly. So as soon as you become godly, you become the same quality-aiśvaryasya samagrasya: full riches, full power, full strength, full knowledge, everything full.
Public Speech -- Bad Homburg, Germany, June 22, 1974:
So this bodily consciousness, bodily concept of life, will keep us conditioned within the material nature. Therefore our first business is how to get free from all these designations. Just like I am putting on this saffron cloth, but I am not saffron cloth. Or you are putting red cloth or black coat; you are not black coat. Within the coat, you are the person. Similarly, within the dress, I am the person. So at the present moment we are on the dress consciousness: "I am German dress," "I am Englishman dress," "I am Indian dress," "I am male dress," "I am female dress." So this is called conditioned life. So in this conditioned life we are accepting one type of body and we are dying. Dying means giving up and being transmigrated, transferred to another body by the laws of material nature. It is not under my control. You cannot say that "After giving up this German body, I shall accept again another German body." That is not in your hands, sir. It is under the laws of nature. You cannot propose. You cannot force material nature. After this body, I can get any other body. That is stated here: tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Another form of a body. That form of body may be any one of the 8,400,000 forms of body. Therefore, if we are actually intelligent, we should try for being awakened or placed in our original body, the spiritual body. That will stop this constant change of body.
Lecture at St. Pascal's Franciscan Seminary -- Melbourne, June 28, 1974:
We are lacking in God consciousness on account of being impure. So by chanting, glorifying the Lord's name, you will be purified. The example is, just like you put one iron rod in the fire. It become warm, warmer, at last red-hot. When it is red-hot, it is no longer iron rod; it is fire by association with the fire. Similarly, if you remain always, constantly, in association with God, then you become godly, and you become purified. Then your vision will be clear. So God and God's name, the same, because God is Absolute. If you chant, glorify, God's name, that means you associate with God directly. And if we... Associate with God means you gradually become godly. This is the meaning of chanting the holy name of God.
Tenth Anniversary Address -- Washington, D.C., July 6, 1976:
Just like if we do not know what is the government and if we do not know what is the order of government, then what is our position? We'll commit every step some mistake, and we shall suffer. So we must know what is dharma and... A cat, dog cannot understand dharma, but a human being is supposed to understand dharma. Lawbooks are made for the human being, not for the cats and dogs. "Keep to the left" or "Keep to the right," the signboard is there in the street. Or the red light is there, blue light is there—for whom? For the human beings, not for the cats and dogs. The cats and dogs may disobey; there is no criminality on their part because they are cats and dogs. So there is law of God, there is God. If human being does not know what is God and what is the law of God, then he's no better than the cats and dogs. He must know. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19).
Departure Talks
Departure Lecture -- London, March 12, 1975:
That is not very difficult. They give the example that the water mixes with the vast mass of water, and they become one. But that is not the fact. You can make an experiment that you take a little red water and put it in the ocean. The ocean does not become red. So chemically also, the water, they are composition of molecules of water. But it is mixed with water. That is a fact, but there is another process which evaporates the water. Suppose you are mixed with the water. The Māyāvādī philosophy, that "We... Let us mix with the big water. Then I become big..." Because here in the material world he tried to become big in so many ways but he could not become big, therefore he wants to merge into the biggest, Brahman, so that he thinks that he will become... He is already Brahman. So the Brahman effulgence is combination of so many sparks of living entities.
Philosophy Discussions
Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:
Śyāmasundara: Yes. He divides it into two classes. One is there are logically necessary principles, the truths of reason as innate knowledge, just like the three sides of a triangle equal 180 degrees. That is innate knowledge, or logically necessary truth. This is also called a priori knowledge, or knowledge that exists independently. Then he says that there is knowledge acquired by experience, or a posteriori, accidental knowledge—just like snow is white, but it could be red; it's possible that it could be red—this type of truth which comes from our experience but it's accidental and it is not necessary.
Prabhupāda: So real truth is that God has got a plan, and one who knows it, that is real truth. One who hasn't got to be taught by another man but by nature, he knows it; that by nature he knows it, that is a symptom of his life, true life. And one who does not know it, that is not. That is explained in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, nitya siddha kṛṣṇa bhakta. That truth is there already, but he has forgotten it. Therefore by this propaganda of devotional service, chanting and hearing, he simply revives the truth. The truth is there, that I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the conclusion should be anyone who is cognizant of this truth that I am eternal servant, that is symptom of this truth. There is no other symptom. That is the symptom of truth, that is the symptom of goodness, all good qualities, everything good. He is good by nature. The living entity, he is part and parcel of the supreme good. But by his material association he has become bad. So again he has to draw it to goodness by this propaganda, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is our business.
Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:
Śyāmasundara: He says there are two types of truth. One is just like the principle of a triangle, there are three angles equal to 180 degrees, and the other type of truth is gathered by experience. For instance, we see that snow is white, but it is also possible that snow may be red.
Prabhupāda: But this is also experienced, that the three angles of a triangle make 180 degrees.
Śyāmasundara: But this truth exists independently, without any...
Prabhupāda: How independently? Not everyone knows what is a triangle, what is an angle, and what is a degree. When one comes to study geometry, then he understands. You cannot ask any child or any man who has no knowledge of geometry that these three angles of a triangle makes 180 degrees...
Śyāmasundara: But this truth exists, whether the man knows it or not. This truth exists, that three sides of a triangle equals 180 degrees.
Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:
Śyāmasundara: Because there is also a truth that snow is white, they say snow is white, but that truth is not absolute because snow could be red also. But a triangle must always equal 180 degrees. That is an absolute truth, a necessary truth.
Prabhupāda: So any mathematical calculation is like that. Why this example? Mathematical means this: Two plus two equals four. That is always the truth.
Śyāmasundara: He is trying to prove that there are certain truths that we cannot deny they exist independent of our knowledge. Fundamental. And there are other truths that people say, like snow is white, which may not be true because our senses deceive us.
Prabhupāda: That is your defective senses. But snow is white, that's a fact. Why should it be red? At least we have no experience with red snow.
Śyāmasundara: I've seen red snow.
Prabhupāda: How it is?
Śyāmasundara: Particles of lava dust gathered in the snow and in the air...
Prabhupāda: That is not pure snow. That is another thing. Pure snow is white. Just like water. Water, by nature, it is crystal. But when it comes in touch with the earth, it becomes muddy. So that muddiness is due to contact with something external. Snow is white by nature, but in contact with something else it looks red. But the truth that snow is white, that is truth. Not that snow becoming red... You are making, or by some other contact it is looking like that. But snow is white, that's a truth.
Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:
Śyāmasundara: He says that "snow is white" is not one of these eternal truths; that it is possible to conceive that snow could be red.
Prabhupāda: Why? You say that redness of snow is possible under certain circumstances?
Śyāmasundara: Yes.
Prabhupāda: So that is possible in every case. Therefore the real feature of snow is not red. It appears to be red under certain conditions, but that is not truth; that is untruth.
Śyāmasundara: What about two plus two equals four?
Prabhupāda: That is true.
Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:
Prabhupāda: My point is that he says that there are two types of truth. No. There cannot be two types of truth. That is my protest. I say there is only one truth. When you think two types of truth, then you are mistaken. Then same thing: when you think that two plus two equals five, then you are mistaken. Two plus two is always four. That is truth. Similarly, snow is white always. That is truth. When you think it is red, it is untruth. But you cannot say it is another type of truth. Mistake cannot be accepted as another type of truth. Mistake is mistake.
Philosophy Discussion on Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz:
Prabhupāda: The conditional truth is the untruth.
Śyāmasundara: Just like if I saw by my senses some snow that was red.
Prabhupāda: That is due to your defect of seeing a condition and not knowing the condition.
Śyāmasundara: But I can explain by sufficient reasons why that snow is red.
Prabhupāda: Just like a living entity is trying to become master—"I am the monarch of all I survey." That is untruth. The truth is that he is eternal servant. You cannot say that because one is trying to be imitation God, that that is another truth. You cannot say that. That is māyā. There cannot be a second God. God is one. That is truth, absolute truth. Our point is that we do not accept this proposition, that there are two types of truth. That is not at all acceptable. Truth is one.
Philosophy Discussion on David Hume:
Śyāmasundara: He separates fact from idea. For instance, I may think this table is red, but it is actually brown. So my idea is incorrect.
Prabhupāda: Your idea may be, but actually it has got a color, either red or yellow. So if you have eye disease, you cannot see actually, but one whose eyes are not diseased, he can see whether it is yellow or red. Just like sometimes glaucoma—you see the moon as two moons, but actually there is one moon. But due to your eye disease you see two moons. But one who is not diseased, he sees one moon. Therefore we have to take knowledge from a person who is not diseased. Not that because my eyes are diseased, I cannot see things right way, I shall say, "Oh, there is no possibility of having right knowledge." That is not correct.
Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:
Prabhupāda: If you have got material idea, then it will... (break) ...so the fire makes it warm, warm, hot, red hot. When it is red hot, you cannot say it is iron, it is actually burning. You touch that red hot iron, you know it is iron rod but it is acting as fire. Similarly, when everything is acting for Kṛṣṇa's (indistinct). It has no other business. Just like in this dictaphone and all these things, you don't use for any other purpose, therefore it is spiritual. Prachurja(?), it is called prachurja. Prachurja means this original function is stopped. That gold. Just like this is wooden, but if you cover it with gold plate, everyone will say, "Golden." (indistinct). It is called prachurja. That means his wooden quality is covered. Therefore it is gold. And another is that when it is completely made of gold. So both ways it is gold. Both ways. Prachurja te and (indistinct), you transform gold into table or you cover it with only gold, they are both ways (indistinct) golden.
Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:
Prabhupāda: God has made the law so perfect that one after—one cause affects something, and that affects another thing, another thing, one after another, so many things, ultimately. So we do not know so many things. We see the fruit, but how the fruit is growing, under which law, we simply explain nature. But it is not nature. There is a law. It is not only growing, the apples are having this nice color outside the skin, they have been painted; everything is perfectly being done by the laws, by the energy of Kṛṣṇa. Just like if you want to make a beautiful fruit, you paint it yellow or red, you take so much time. You apply your energy. The same energy is being applied there. Otherwise why, wherefrom you get the idea that a nice fruit can be painted like this? God is dictating that "You want to make a fruit, paint, you do like this, do like that." So similarly He is doing. But my doing takes so much time, because my energy is so blunt and limited. But His energy is so perfect that immediately (indistinct). The same example, just like Telex. There are so many methods, now this is latest. Immediately type here, immediately there. So before that, one could not believe that how is it I type here and five thousand miles away the type striking. So there is a law. It is not that it is magic.
Philosophy Discussion on John Dewey:
Prabhupāda: Yes. Viṣṇu... In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, it is said that varṇāśrama-dharma. Varnāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān (CC Madhya 8.58). Any man who executes this varṇāśrama-dharma, he satisfies Viṣṇu. The varṇāśrama-dharma is there, and the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, the vaiśyas, and the śūdras. So according as they are prescribed, how the brāhmaṇas should live, how the kṣatriyas should live, how the..., then there is no trouble. The whole problem is solved. But they have killed the varṇāśrama-dharma. They are now all śūdras. The śūdras, how they can make solutions? Śūdras means nonintelligent persons. So what they can do? They are running on democratic government voted by the śūdras. So what these rascal śūdras will do? They require... Śūdras are meant for serving the higher sections—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya. And if the śūdras are given government... Just like we are seeing, in Africa they have been given independence, but they have not improved. The Englishman is still controlling, the Indians are still controlling. And what is the meaning of their so-called self-ruling? We have seen it, still they are poor, because they are śūdras. Śūdras have no brain. In America also, the whole America once belonged to the Red Indians.
Philosophy Discussion on Ludwig Wittgenstein:
Prabhupāda: This is evidence: that there is no soul. The self, the individual soul, is now departed; therefore this body is lump of matter. This is evidence. And because the soul is there, therefore the body changes or develops. Just like if a child is born dead, then the body does not develop or changes. It remains in the same condition. But so long the soul is there, the child grows or changes his body. That is evidence. Because the soul is there, therefore the child is growing or changing body from childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youth. Suppose a child is born, doctor says it is dead child. You say something is wanted, but what is that something? You do not know. Otherwise, if you know, you add it. What is that something? Suggest, what is that something? Simply vague idea something, that is nonsense idea. That is not science. You must give, "This is wanting." Suppose that you say that the blood, the redness, just like nowadays blood supply is the theory, so what is this blood? Blood is a liquid, red liquid, like chemical or something, with some salt. So you can add salt, just like in cholera cases, they add saline injection. So dead body, you give saline injection, make it red by some color, give him life. If you say that "Red blood is now white," so make it red. What is the difficulty? There is no difficulty. There are so many chemicals. If you say the redness is the life, then there are many natural products, just like jewels, by nature it is red. Why is it not alive? Why it is not alive? By natural redness of something, if you say that is the cause of life, then there are many jewels. What is called, jewels?
Śyāmasundara: Ruby.
Philosophy Discussion on Edmund Husserl:
Prabhupāda: Well, simply understanding green is not complete study of the leaf. The main questions are why it is green? Why the other leaf is yellow? That is real enquiry. Why this flower is red and that flower is white? And why the leaf is green? This is the real enquiry, "Why?"
Śyāmasundara: That isn't possible to understand...?
Prabhupāda: How it is possible? You explain how is it possible.
Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:
Prabhupāda: As soon as you come to the platform of human being, there is one similarity: religion. It may be under different name. Even in the aborigines, there is religion. Just like Red Indian, they have a religion.
Śyāmasundara: Yes. And they have the same symbols, many of them.
Prabhupāda: Whatever it may be, that is a common concept. To accept some type of religion, this is common. Now, that type of religion may be different from me, but the principle is there. Just like eating principle is there, sleeping principle is there; similarly religious principle is there.
Philosophy Discussion on Jean-Paul Sartre:
Prabhupāda: No. Responsibility is there, and still freedom is there. Just like ordinarily, in our dealing, out of responsibility the direction is "Stick to the right." Or there is a red light, "Stop." So if I do not care about the red light, then I become criminal. That is responsibility. You have responsibility, but at the same time you have got the discrimination. Without discrimination there cannot be any responsibility. So responsibility is not blind. That means you should discriminate. You should know what is right and wrong. That is responsibility. If we do wrongly, then we will have to suffer. That is responsibility.
Śyāmasundara: Yes. But his idea is that because we are free, we tend to avoid responsibility.
Prabhupāda: That is freedom, that you can make your choice between right and wrong. That is freedom. Freedom does not mean you are dull.
Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell:
Dr. Rao: White light. You see white light, but white light is composed of seven colors: violet, indigo, blue, you know, (indistinct) and green, yellow, orange and red. So, but you are seeing white. (indistinct).
Devotee: (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: But that is imperfect.
Dr. Rao: That is imperfection.
Prabhupāda: So therefore it is concluded that direct perception is always imperfect. (laughter)
Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:
Prabhupāda: I, I, I did not see, but I saw some mosquelike building in the, what is called, Red Square. I saw that building, but that is vacant. They are worshiping Stalin, no, Lenin. Yes. They are worshiping Lenin's tomb. That I have seen in the Red Square. And there was a church or mosque, I do not know. The building is, can be called a church or mosque...
Hayagrīva: Church.
Prabhupāda: That was vacant.
Hayagrīva: It's more like a museum.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Philosophy Discussion on Mao Tse Tung:
Devotee: The antithesis is there in his teaching. He defeated his own instruction in his preface. That's what I was trying to... One thing about Mao's Communism in Russia in its relation to the Soviet Communism is that Soviet Russians are finding that the (indistinct) in a commune is going down because the family life is broken up. The children are taken away from the parents. The parents live separately and see one another occasionally. Similarly, it's dropping still more sharply in Red China, Mao's state. So Mao, in an effort to curb back and to reduce things to their natural order, wants to still further dissolve the struc...
Prabhupāda: But we don't accept either Mao or Marx. We don't accept anyone.
Devotee: Why are you discussing them?
Prabhupāda: Discussing to defeat their philosophy. Because their philosophy is accepted in the world, so we are giving the weak points of that philosophy.
Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:
Śyāmasundara: He says that the mind has two functions also, but he describes them slightly different. He says that first one is contemplation, that is perceiving the qualities of an object. And this is a, it's called a neurological activity. In other words, when the nerve endings in the body react with the qualities of an object. If an object is red, my nerve ending perceives that it is red. This is the object.
Prabhupāda: Just like if there is a tamarind, immediately there is saliva in my tongue.
Śyāmasundara: (laughs) This is what he calls contemplation.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Purports to Songs
Purport to Brahma-samhita Verses 32 and 38 -- New York, November 5, 1966:
Just like a iron rod put into the fire. Gradually the temperature rises. It becomes warm, warmer, warmest, very hot, then red hot. When it is red hot, then it is no longer iron; it is fire. Similarly, by our contact in devotional service of the Lord we can change the whole position of our material existence. And we have... If we have developed to that state of unalloyed love for God, then God can be seen twenty-four hours, not that once seen and again not seen. No. This is described here, that santaḥ, the great devotees, unalloyed devotees, who are liberated souls, have no connection with material activities or philosophical speculation, such unalloyed devotees, because their eyes are smeared with the ointment of love only, therefore they can see the Lord sadaiva, always, twenty-four hours.
Purport to Nitai-Pada-Kamala -- Los Angeles, December 21, 1968:
Narottama boro duḥkhī. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, the ācārya, he is taking for himself that "I am very unhappy." He is representing ourselves. He is liberated, but representing ourself. "My dear Lord, I am very unhappy." Nitāi more koro sukhī: "So I am praying Lord Nityānanda to make me happy." Rākho rāṅgā caraṇera pāśa: "Please keep me in some corner of your red lotus feet." That's all.
| Page Title: | Red (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Rishab, Mayapur |
| Created: | 23 of May, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=188, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 188 |