Tad-vijñānārtham. Vijñāna means science, not speculation. So one should understand God scientifically. That is required, not imagination. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they say, "You can imagine your God." This is rascaldom. How you can imagine your God? God is God. God means the supreme controller, the Supreme Being. In the dictionary you'll find this word: "God means the Supreme Being." He is also a being like us, individual. Just like we are here, face to face. You are one individual; I am one individual. We are talking or hearing. Similarly, God is also individual. Just like Kṛṣṇa said,
- imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
- proktavān aham avyayam
- vivasvān manave prāha
- manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt
- (BG 4.1)
So He's individual person. He instructed the sun-god millions and millions of years ago. So Arjuna inquired, "How it is possible that millions of years ago. . .? Because You are my contemporary. You are of the same age." So Kṛṣṇa said that "Millions of millions of years ago, when I spoke this philosophy to the sun-god, you were also present, because you are My intimate friend. Whenever I descend, you are also there. But the difference is that you have forgotten; I remember that I said like this."
So that is the difference between Kṛṣṇa and ordinary living being. Kṛṣṇa remembers everything, knows everything. Vedāhaṁ samatītāni (BG 7.26): "I know everything." That is Kṛṣṇa. But we do not know. That is the difference. Kṛṣṇa is not impersonal. He's also a person, but He is not a person like us, like you, like me. His personality is supreme. Nobody is greater than Him. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8). These are the Vedic information. He's individual, but He has nothing to do. He's such individual. Just like Kṛṣṇa is here. The whole world is going on under Kṛṣṇa's direction, but He has nothing to do. He's enjoying with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. That is Kṛṣṇa's position. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). He has to create one universe or destroy one universe—He hasn't to take any attention. He's engaged in His pleasure—Kṛṣṇa, the reservoir of pleasure. His pleasure is never disturbed by all these activities. He's so perfect. Just like in our Society, we are not perfect. Still, you boys and girls, you love me. Whatever I say, immediately done. So if an ordinary person like me, he can do things without his personal endeavor, how far. . ., how Kṛṣṇa is great, that na tat-samaḥ, there is nobody equal to Him. How great He is, how powerful He is, you can just imagine. If the ordinary person can have some power that he hasn't got to do anything personally—simply by his desire everything is done—so why not Kṛṣṇa also? Where is the difficulty?
In the Bible I think it is said, "God said, 'Let there be creation,' and there was creation." Is it not? So that is Kṛṣṇa. He simply desires, "Let there be creation," and immediately everything is ready. That is Kṛṣṇa. How it is being done? Automatically? No automatically. It is done regularly, as you do. Hetunā: there is cause. But the original cause is Kṛṣṇa's desire. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1).
- īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
- sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
- anādir ādir govindaḥ
- sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
- (Bs. 5.1)
The original desire is Kṛṣṇa's. What we are doing also, that is also, the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. We cannot do anything independently. If I go to heaven or go to hell, that is also sanctioned by Kṛṣṇa. Without Kṛṣṇa's desire I cannot do anything. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:
- sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
- mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
- vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
- vedānta-vid vedānta-kṛd ca aham
- (BG 15.15)
So this theory that the world is going automatically or we have come into this material world without any reason, without any cause. . . Kim anyat kāma-haitukam. They say, the rascal says, that our coming to this material world is to the lusty desires of the father and mother. Therefore the child has no meaning. It is a by-product of the lusty desire. So if I don't want it, kill it, destroy it. This is going on. But that is not the fact. The child has come into the womb of the mother, a particular type of mother, not the sa. . ., every mother is producing the same type of child. No. Why? There is cause. There is cause, hetunā. Without cause there cannot be anything. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1), the cause is his activities. According to the activities, he is producing the next body automatically. That is automatically. But there is cause, his activity.
That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Kāraṇam. Kāraṇam means cause. What is the cause? The cause is that as he's associating with a particular type of the modes of nature, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. . . If he's associating with tamo-guṇa, then next life he's preparing in the lower animal kingdoms or most degraded family. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ (BG 14.8). If one is associating with tamo-guṇa, ignorance—no knowledge; in the darkness—then he is gliding down to the lower species of life: animal, birds, beast, trees, plants, aquatics, insects, serpents—so many. Adho gacchanti. Adhaḥ means going down. Tāmasāḥ. And ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Those who are in the goodness, those who are associating with the modes of material nature in goodness, just like satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjavam, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42): brahminical qualification—truthful, controlling the mind, controlling the senses, simplicity, tolerant, full faith in scripture and God, full knowledge, practical application of knowledge. . . This is called sattva-guṇa. So if you cultivate sattva-guṇa, then you are elevated to the higher planetary system. Why there are so many planets? The moon planet, the sun planet, so brilliant planets—why there are? There are also different places for different kinds of living creature. There is hetu. There is cause. And similarly, rajo-guṇa, passionate. . . So madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ.
So there is hetu. Hetu means cause. Not without cause. Nobody has taken birth in this material world without any cause. And according to the cause, the particular type of body is built up. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). A big science there is. Unfortunately there is no education for this science. Maybe in future they will take interest. As we are publishing the books and going to the universities and to the professors, there may be. There is possibility now. Otherwise these rascal did not know what is the science. They did not care. Big, big professors, big, big scientists, they are putting the theories that life has come from chemicals, chemical evolution, and they are getting Nobel Prize. And if they are offered that "Take these chemicals. Produce a life," they'll deny.
So this ignorance is going on. Therefore for future guidance, Parīkṣit Mahārāja inquired this question, that "How the living entity got this body, material body? Whether it is automatically, without any cause, or with cause?" But with cause. . . It will be explained. It is not. . . When the cause is there. . . Just like if you infect some disease, automatically you'll suffer from the disease. It will come automatically. That is automatically. But your becoming infected, that is cause. So if you become cautious not to be infected, then the cause of lower birth or suffering you can avoid. Therefore we have started this Society. Society. Society means that you'll get here the cause of being elevated. Just like there are so many Societies, equal class of men: "Birds of the same feather flock together." So here is a Society. Who will flock here? Who will come here? Because this Society is meant for liberation. People are suffering so much on account of material condition of life. Nobody is happy. That is a fact. But because they are in ignorance, they are accepting unhappiness as happiness. This is called māyā. This is called māyā.