This material nature is the separated energy of the Supreme Lord, and similarly the living entities are also the energy of the Supreme Lord, although they are not separated but eternally related. So the Lord, the living entity, material nature and time are all interrelated and are all eternal. However, the other item, karma, is not eternal. The effects of karma may be very old indeed. We are suffering or enjoying the results of our activities from time immemorial, but we can change the results of our karma, or our activity, and this change depends on the perfection of our knowledge. We are engaged in various activities. Undoubtedly we do not know what sort of activities we should adopt to gain relief from the actions and reactions of all these activities, but this is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
We can change...
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Preface and Introduction
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
The effects of karma or activity may be very old. We are suffering or enjoying the results of our activities from a time immemorial, but still, we can change the result of our karma, or activity. That will depend on our perfect knowledge. We are engaged in various activities undoubtedly, but we do not know what sort of activities we shall adopt that will give us relief from the actions and reactions of all activities. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
You can dovetail. Instead of thinking of that "I shall eat," if you think that "God shall eat," so your eating process will not be stopped. But that simply by thinking that God shall eat, you shall dovetail your desire with the Supreme. You will... God wants to eat from you, and you want to give Him eating. So your desire and God's desires is dovetailed. You become perfect. Similarly, in every step we can change our present activities, dovetailing our present consciousness, dovetailing with the supreme consciousness, and the result will be, if you go on practicing like that, then what will be the result? Now, the result is,
- karma-jaṁ buddhi-yuktā hi
- phalaṁ tyaktvā manīṣiṇaḥ
- janma-bandha-vinirmuktāḥ
- padaṁ gacchanty anāmayam
- (BG 9.51)
If you practice in your life, while you are human being, you, if you utilize your life in that way, then at the end, when you give up this body, you go back to Godhead for eternal life, eternal bliss, eternal knowledge, and live happily, without any material miseries. That is the result.
I have several times explained this word dharma in this class. Just like heat of the fire. Without heat, a fire has no meaning. Wherever there is fire, there is heat and light. Therefore heat and light is the dharma or religion of fire. That means fire cannot change its dharma. As this dharma, as we generally understand by the word faith, that we can change. Today I am Hindu. I can become tomorrow a Christian. You are Christian today. You can become, I mean to say, Hindu or Muslim tomorrow. So this faith can be changed, but this dharma, as I explain, that natural sequence, natural occupation or natural intimately connection... Just like the fire, heat and light. This cannot be changed. Either the fire is in America or the fire is in India or a fire is in Russia, the heat and light is there. That is actually the dharma.
As I was explaining in one morning, the pig has got also tongue, that is indriya, sense, and I have got also tongue, but his tongue will like to eat stool. We won't like. Because the different body, the tongue is also tasteful in different way. So indriyāṇi. Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi. First of all with subtle mind we create a different type of indriya. If we live like dogs and hogs, then that mentality will give me similar senses, the body of a dog and hog. And we change our taste according to dog and hog. Similarly, we can change our taste according to the body of demigods. But the subject matter of tasting or enjoyment is the same. Eating, sleeping, sex and defense. That will continue. But the quality of eating may be different. Not the quality, but the form may be different. So in this way things are going on.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
As it is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā,
- yānti deva-vratā devān
- pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ
- bhūtāni yānti bhūtejyā
- yānti mad-yājino 'pi mām
- (BG 9.25)
That is the human life. You prepare yourself for higher standard of life or to make a permanent solution of your miserable condition of life, namely birth, death, old age and disease. This is required. This is human business, or dharma.
So how you can attain that dharma? Dharma means the occupational duty. Dharma is not a sentiment. Practically, nowadays people have taken dharma, religious means..., "religion" means a kind of faith. But that is not the description of the Vedic śāstra. Faith we can change. Today you are Hindu. Tomorrow you can become Muslim. Or today you are Muslim. Tomorrow you can become Christian. You can change your faith. But that is not religion. Change of faith or accepting some faith, that is not religion. Religion means which you cannot change.
It is not so cheap thing that one can understand God so easily while he is in the modes of material nature, especially the lower grade modes.
So at the present moment, most people, they are in the lower grades of the material qualities, ignorance and passion. Therefore you see all over the world, rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobha (SB 1.2.19). Every man is greedy and lusty. Every man. So in this position, it is very difficult. Alakṣyaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (SB 1.8.18). So unless you change this quality... This quality can be changed. It is not that it is stereotyped. How these European, American boys and girls, they are coming to Kṛṣṇa consciousness? How? They have changed their quality. By the process, we have got this process. In this process we can change the quality.
We read Bhagavad-gītā, the words of Kṛṣṇa. Then how we can change the meaning of Gītā when it is spoken by Lord? Does it mean that I am greater than the Lord? "Kṛṣṇa left something to be told by some rascals later on"—is that the meaning of Bhagavad-gītā? Then where is the authority of Bhagavad-gītā? If the meaning was to be corrected and commented by a conditioned soul, then where is the authority of Bhagavad-gītā? Then what is the necessity of reading Bhagavad-gītā? Simply because it is written in Sanskrit? No. That is not the fact. The words of Bhagavad-gītā are Kṛṣṇa. That should be taken into consideration. That is real reading of Bhagavad-gītā. And if we read Bhagavad-gītā according to my whims—I like some stanza; I take it, and other stanza I give up—that is not reading of Bhagavad-gītā. You have to take everything, what it is presented.
Dharma means your occupational duty. The "religion," word "religion," translation of the Sanskrit word, dharma, is not perfect. Is not perfect. Religion is a kind of faith. That we can change. But dharma, dharma means your occupational duty. You cannot change. You have to execute it. What is our dharma? What is our compulsory duty? I have several times analyzed this fact. Our compulsory duty is to serve. Compulsory duty. Every one of us is serving and all the boys and girls present here can know it. And nobody can deny that he or she is not serving. Everyone is serving. That is our compulsory duty. I may change my faith I am Christian or I am Hindu. I may change myself to become a Mohammedan or Christian or Hindu, but my real occupational duty is to render service to others. That cannot be changed. That is the real enunciation of religion. And therefore in the Vedic system it is called sanātana-dharma.
Sanātana-dharma means that eternal occupational duty which you cannot cease.
General Lectures
Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommended, ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam. As Kṛṣṇa is worshipable, ārādhya, similarly His place is also ārādhya, worshipable. So as He is all-pervading, similarly, His place is also all-pervading. So how things can be changed into Vaikuṇṭha? That is by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada yatra gāyanti mad-bhaktāḥ. So the bhaktas, they are also so powerful that by chanting the holy name of God, they make the supreme all-powerful Lord descend in that place. Therefore the statement of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura that ye dine gṛhete bhajana dekhi, se dine gṛhete goloka bhāya... So we can change our home also into Vaikuṇṭha. We can change our home. It is not difficult. Because as Kṛṣṇa can be all-pervading, Vaikuṇṭha is all-pervading. But we have to simply realize it by the authorized process. Everyone, we can change our home into Vaikuṇṭha.
So God, or the Supreme Truth, Absolute Truth is that from whom everything has come. So that is the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), "Absolute Truth is that from whom everything has come into existence." So the common platform is therefore, if we try to understand the Supreme Soul, and we turn our loving propensities to that Supreme Soul, that is called religion. Religion is not kind of... In the dictionary it is said, "Religion is a kind of faith." No. It is a permanent, I mean to say, arrangement. It is not the faith. Faith we can change. Today I am Hindu; I can become Christian tomorrow. You are Christian; you can change your faith tomorrow. So religion... In Sanskrit word religion does not mean faith. Religion means the original characteristic. That is called religion. So original characteristic means that cannot be changed. That quality, that characteristic is always with us. So Vedic version is that the living entity is eternal servant of God. When he forgets this relationship, that he is eternal servant of God, that means his material existence.
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: But is our... Is the result of our inquiry to change the external environment?
Prabhupāda: Yes. If you are seriously inquiring and if you know things as they are, then we can change our activities. What we are preaching? That your business is to know Kṛṣṇa. So if people actually take this movement seriously, then his mode of life will be changed. That is practically happening. All our students, they were leading a certain type of life, and since they have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, their whole program has been changed.
Purports to Songs
By the contact of spiritual service in devotion of the Lord, we can gradually spiritualize our whole act of senses. 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.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Jayatīrtha: Just like in Europe, we have a regional committee for managing, I understand...
Prabhupāda: What is that regional co...?
Jayatīrtha: Isn't it Bhagavān, Haṁsadūta...?
Prabhupāda: Yes, I have said that Haṁsadūta, Bhagavān and Brahmānanda may...
Jayatīrtha: So it's a kind of regional committee for managing.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Jayatīrtha: So we similarly...
Prabhupāda: That we can change also. For the time being, it is going on.
Atreya Ṛṣi: I think what Śrīla Prabhupāda has said to us is that if we have very close cooperation, the spirit of committee consultation always exists...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Indian Man(2): I can't understand that how we can change over to the Indian future about Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
Prabhupāda: If we preach, it will be all right. That is going on perpetually, darkness and light. If you bring light, darkness will go out, will be driven away.
- kṛṣṇa sūrya sama māyā andhakāra
- yāhan kṛṣṇa tāhan nāhi māyāra adhikāra
- (CC Madhya 22.31)
Just like now there is sunshine. Although it is not very bright, but still the darkness of night has gone away. So bring in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; it will go away.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Puṣṭa Kṛṣna: Translation, "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings, nor in the future shall any of us cease to be."
Prabhupāda: Yes, that means in the past we existed, at present we are existing, and in future we shall continue to exist, individually. And that is our experience. I existed in the past as a child. So I existed as a person. I existed as a young man, so I existed as a person. I am an old man now, now I am existing as a person. Naturally, the conclusion is when I shall change this body, I shall remain as a person. How we can change this conclusion? I am continuing to exist as a person. I am still existing as a person. And here is the authority, He says in the future also you remain a person. So there is time factor, past, present and future, and in all these time factors I live as a person. Not only I, but also Kṛṣṇa. He says "I also remain as person. You Arjuna, you also person, I am also person, and all these soldiers and kings who have assembled, they are also persons." So our personality continues, past, present and future.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Brahmānanda: Well, his reputation is that he is the toughest judge in the state. The DA deliberately arranged for this judge. So it will be a little difficult.
Prabhupāda: So the toughest judge, does it mean he will be unjust also?
Brahmānanda: Well, he might be a little prejudiced against us.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: But it doesn't... It just means the case will go longer. Still they have no case.
Prabhupāda: Then we can change.
Prabhupāda: That is not possible in the dog. A human being can do. So this opportunity is there, and people are not giving them this opportunity. This is the greatest harmful civilization. They are keeping them in ignorance for that. Anyway, if people agree to take our guidance, we can change the face of the world. That is a fact. Whole world will be peaceful immediately.
Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
I thank you very much for grasping the momentum of Krishna Consciousness, by your advanced service attitude. I can only wish that Krishna may give you more and more strength in understanding His transcendental nature. The only process for perceiving Krishna and His name, qualities, form is our sincere service attitude with our senses. Beginning from the tongue, all our senses are practically led by the tongue sense, whose business is to vibrate and to taste. If we can change the materialistic nature of the tongue, by changing of taste and vibration, then automatically the other senses become purified. And we can render service to Krishna with purified senses. As such we should try to chant and eat Krishna prasadam as much as possible.
1974 Correspondence
You simply educate the people in this Krsna Conscious philosophy and then there will be no difficulty in capturing the government. In your country there is very good system of democracy. As we have seen just recently the people, as the common people have so much power, that they were able to get down this Nixon, who is obviously a rascal. So if we can simply convince a good majority of persons then they will automatically want a Krsna Conscious leader. And if there are Krsna Conscious leaders in the government then they will act as Krsna's representative and will be able to save the world from the disastrous condition of life. At the present moment there is nothing but great calamity but by injecting Krsna Consciousness into the masses we can change this situation greatly.
1975 Correspondence
We require the help of many, many young men like you to understand this philosophy thoroughly and preach this movement in an organized way all over the world. Fortunately some young men cooperated with me in the USA, therefore I have been able to push on this movement in the western countries. Similarly if some of the young, educated men like you in India join this movement, we can change the present situation of poverty and restlessness all over India.
| Page Title: | We can change... |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Kanupriya |
| Created: | 24 of Jan, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=12, Con=5, Let=3 |
| No. of Quotes: | 21 |