One should be truthful. Truthful means that you should be so much truthful that even his enemy asks him, "Where is your money," he'll say, "Here is my money." He'll not, I mean to say, hide anything. That is truthfulness. Of course, in this age it is very difficult, but these are the items, to become truthful, controlling the mind, controlling the senses, śamo damas titikṣā, tolerance, ārjavam, simplicity, then āstikyam, firm faith in the śāstra, scripture.
Just like Bhagavad-gītā is scripture. So firm faith... Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: (BG 18.65) "You simply always think of Me, Hare Kṛṣṇa." Not difficult. Bhava Kṛṣṇa has given you the tongue. Every one of you can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Where is the... You have no expenditure but great gain. You become highly elevated gradually by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Now, Kṛṣṇa says personally man-manāḥ: "Always think of Me." Not only that, anyone who is thinking of Kṛṣṇa always, twenty-four hours, Kṛṣṇa gives him the certificate—the topmost yogi.
- yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
- mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā
- śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
- sa me yuktatamo mataḥ
- (BG 6.47)
So Kṛṣṇa says... This is called theism, believing in the śāstra. Any śāstra. It doesn't mean that simply... All śāstras, according to time, circumstances, people, there're different śāstras. The Bible is also śāstra. Koran is also śāstra as much as... They are spoken according to the time, according to the circumstances.
Just like in the Bible, the first injunction is "Thou shall not kill." This means the people were, in those days, at least people who were all around Christ, they were very much expert in killing. Otherwise why he says first, "Thou shall not kill"? So this injunction must be followed. Unfortunately they first of all killed Jesus Christ: "You are speaking 'Thou shall not kill'? I shall kill you." Just see. This is the position. "So what is my fault? You want to kill me?" "Because you are speaking of God, therefore we shall kill you." And actually it actually happened. This is demonic.
So there are many other instances. Prahlāda Mahārāja, five years old boy, he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. His father did not like. "Why you are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa?" "Because Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord." "Kṛṣṇa is Supreme Lord? I am Supreme Lord. You do not do this." So the boy would not give up. So the father was even prepared to kill a five year old boy. The fault was that he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. He was given poison. He was thrown into the fire. He was pulled from the hill. He was very powerful king, and whatever he ordered his servant carried out, but he was saved in all circumstances by Kṛṣṇa.
So this is demonic nature. They will simply try to suppress Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement because these symptoms are there, na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāro na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate. There is no truthfulness. They do not know what is ultimate truth. Satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the beginning is satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi. Janmādy asya yataḥ: (SB 1.1.1) "The absolute truth... I am meditating upon the supreme truth, Absolute Truth." What is absolute truth? Janmādy asya yataḥ: "From whom everything has come into existence, that is Absolute."
So what is the nature of that Absolute Truth? Is it a dead body or a living body? There are two things, something dead and something living. So what is the nature of the absolute truth? So that is replied, janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ (SB 1.1.1). Abhijñaḥ means cognizant, living. The Absolute Truth is not dead; it is living. We are pushing forward this theory.
The modern scientists, they are of opinion that life comes from matter. We say, "No, life comes from life. Matter comes from life." This is satyam. I do not know how they get Nobel Prize, putting forward a false theory that life comes from matter. The matter... So why don't you produce life in the laboratory? Matter is there. Chemicals are there. You mix them and produce a life. When some such chemist is inquired, "Whether you can produce life if I give you the chemicals?" they will immediately say, "That I cannot say." Then why do you speak like that? So this is asuric. If they accept that everything comes from the living being, then they will have to accept God. So they want to avoid this: "Everything matter." But that is not the fact. Origin is life. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8). Aham. Kṛṣṇa is life. He's not dead matter. So...
Now, what to speak of Kṛṣṇa, you can, if you think of yourself... This material body, how it has developed, such big body? Because the living spark is there. The gigantic material thing grows on the basis of spirit soul. We can understand that. The spirit soul is the basis. Our body, very small particle, spiritual particle, takes shelter in the womb of the mother, and gradually the living spark develops this body. That is our practical experience. And if, some way or other, the living spark is gone... Suppose a dead child is born. It will not grow. It will not change. So this is very simple thing, that on this living being the matter grows, not from matter living being comes in. So we have written a small pamphlet, and in German language it is already published. People are very gladly accepting, reading this book. What is the name you have given?
Haṁsadūta: Life Comes From Life.
Prabhupāda: No, German name?
Haṁsadūta: Leben Komt von Leben.
Prabhupāda: So, na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate. The demonic people, they do not have the truth. Only on false theory, the Darwin's theory... We have commented upon Darwin's theory also in our book, Scientific Basis of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Dr. Svarūpa Dāmodara Brahmacārī, he has written a small booklet. He has criticized Darwin very strongly, that he is a speculator. A speculator cannot give you truth. That is not possible. By speculation you cannot say, "Two plus two equal to five." That is not science. "Two plus two equal to four," that is everywhere. And if you speculate, "No, two plus two equal to five," or "two plus two equal to three," that is not science. So scientific basis means it should be fact, not speculation, mano-dharma. Mano-dharma means speculation.
Therefore śāstra says, harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). Harāv abhaktasya, one who is not a divine nature or devotee of the Lord, he has no qualification. "Oh, he's MA, PhD." No, he has no qualification. "Why?" Now, mano-rathena, he is simply speculating. He has no truth. How by speculation...? Every one of us, we are imperfect. We are very much proud of our eyes: "Can you show me?" What qualification your eyes have got that you can see? He does not think that, that "I have no qualification; still, I want to see." These eyes, oh, they are dependent on so many condition. Now there is electricity, you can see. As soon as there is electricity off, you cannot see. Then what is the value of your eyes? You cannot see what is going on beyond this wall.
So don't believe your so-called senses as the source of knowledge. No. The source of knowledge should be by hearing. That is called śruti. Therefore Vedas' name is śruti. Śruti-pramāṇa, śruti-pramāṇa. Just like a child or a boy wants to know who is his father. So what is the evidence? That evidence is śruti, hearing from the mother. Mother says, "He is your father." So he hears; he does not see how he became his father. Because before his body was constructed the father was there, how could he see? So by seeing, you cannot ascertain who is your father. You have to hear from the authority. The mother is the authority. Therefore śruti-pramāṇa: the evidence is hearing, not by seeing. Seeing... Our imperfect eyes... There are so many obstacles. So similarly, by direct perception, you cannot have the truth.