Washington D.C. (Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"Washington D.C." |"Washington DC" |"Washington"

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.105 -- New York, July 11, 1976:

Prabhupāda: So this is the beginning, that if you want to be devotee, then you must approach the spiritual master who has got the power. Śrī-guru-caraṇa-padma, kevala-bhakti-sadma, vando mui sāvadhāna mate. Sāvadhāna means very carefully, not whimsically. Then?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna: Yāṅhāra prasāde bhāi

Prabhupāda: Yāṅhāra prasāde bhai, ei bhava toriyā yāi. Huh? Kṛṣṇa-prāpti hoy yāhā hoite. So why one should go to spiritual master? Because yāṅhāra prasāde bhāi: "My dear brother, if you get the benediction from the spiritual master..." Yāṅhāra prasāde bhāi, ei bhava toriyā yāi. What is that benediction? The benediction is not that "Cure my disease." They do not know, generally. Therefore they are cheated. The other day in Washington, one lady came with backache. So she came for curing the leg trouble. That is going on. "So you should approach a spiritual master? There is so many doctors, hospital. You go there." "No. Here you show me your miracles." And people are also cheating like that—some miracles and he becomes God. This is going on. But the miracle of spiritual master is yāṅhāra prasāde bhāi, ei bhava toriyā yāi. This is miracle: no more material existence. Then ei bhava toriyā yāi. So real thing (?) is one can cross over the ocean of nescience. That is real gain. That is the real favor of spiritual master, not that cure your leg and again walk here and again become, break your leg, and again come. Not like that.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Seattle, October 2, 1968:

Now, this is very simple. Try to understand. Just like this fire, this lamp, is located at a certain place but the illumination is distributed all over this room, similarly whatever you see, display of this cosmic manifestation, they are display of the energy of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is situated in one place. That we cite in our Brahma-saṁhitā: govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. He's a person. Just like your President, Mr. Johnson, he's sitting in his room in Washington, but his power, his energy, is acting all over the state. If it is possible materially, similarly Kṛṣṇa, or God, the Supreme Person, He is situated in His place, abode, Vaikuṇṭha or kingdom of God, but His energy is acting. Another example, the sun. The sun, you can see sun is located at a certain place, but you see the sunshine is overflooding the whole universe. The sunshine is within your room. So similarly, whatever you are using, you yourself also, we are all display of the energy of the Supreme Lord. We are not different from Him. But when the cloud of māyā or illusion covers my eye, we cannot see the sun. Similarly, when the material concept of life covers me, we cannot understand what is God. We say God is dead. So we have to uncover our eyes from this illusion. Then you'll see directly God: "Here is God." Yes.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 4, 1968:

Who can worship Kṛṣṇa? That is described here, that budhā. Budhā means most intelligent person. Bodha, bodha means knowledge, and budhā means one who is wise, full of knowledge. Everyone is after knowledge. Here you have got this Washington University. There are many students. They have come here to acquire knowledge. So one who has acquired the perfection of knowledge or the highest platform of knowledge, he is called budhā. So not only budhā but bhāva-samanvitāḥ. Bhāva means ecstasy. One must be very learned and wise, at the same time he must feel ecstasy spiritually. "Such person," Kṛṣṇa says, iti matvā bhajante mām. "Such persons worships Me or loves Me." One who is very intelligent and one who is transcendentally very full of ecstasy, such person loves Kṛṣṇa or worships Kṛṣṇa. Why? Because iti matvā, "by understanding this." What is this? Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo (BG 10.8), "I am the origin of everything, sarvasya." Anything you bring, that is, if you go on, search out, then you will find ultimately it is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 9, 1968:

Prabhupāda: Because you want it.

Young man (3): Pardon?

Prabhupāda: Because you want it incorporated. Your state wants it. Your state means you.

Young man (3): The Washington state government.

Prabhupāda: Yes, government wants it. You cannot be revolting against the government. (chuckling) You have to live keeping pace with the government. We are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That does not mean we shall not use this electricity, we shall not take an apartment or we shall not sleep. Something unnatural we have to do. Why? Everyone abides by the law. We have to abide by the law. There is no difficulty. And government provides that religious society or this society, they should get themselves incorporated so that it is recognized. In so many activities they want to know whether this society is recognized. So we have to take all these measures. We cannot go out of the purview of the general rules and regulations.