We have to learn (Lectures, Other)

Expressions researched:
"I have to learn" |"They will have to learn" |"have to practically learn" |"he would have to learn" |"they have to learn" |"we have to learn" |"you have to learn"

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 30, 1972:

We have got our limited sense that "I am sitting here." If you offer my foodstuff some yards off from me, I cannot reach, because I am limited. But Kṛṣṇa can expand His hand. He Himself comes. Svayam eva sphuraty adhaḥ. Kṛṣṇa becomes manifest to the devotee. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau (CC Madhya 17.136). When one becomes devotee, beginning from the tongue, jihvādau, by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau, svayam eva sphuraty adhaḥ, He becomes revealed. Yei nāma sei kṛṣṇa. That is the perfection of chanting without any offenses. Then you'll find the name is not different from Kṛṣṇa. When you are chanting, you'll find Kṛṣṇa is dancing on your tongue. This is the conclusion.

So we have to learn how to chant. Therefore in the śāstras, in the Purāṇas, the ten kinds of offenses are described. And Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has given very much stress to avoid these offenses. Śuddha-nāma. In the beginning we cannot chant pure form of the name, because we are accustomed... But still, by chanting process, then it becomes nāmābhāsa, almost pure. Ābhāsa means just like before sunrise, you find the darkness is off, but it is not sunlight. It is different from sunlight, but still, there is the dawn, you can see everything distinctly. Similarly, first there is offensive name and, if you avoid, avoid the ten kinds of offenses, then gradually it becomes nāmābhāsa. And Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura has said, Namācārya, that by nāmābhāsa, one becomes liberated. There was some argument with Haridāsa Ṭhākura and one brāhmaṇa in the office of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī's father, uncle. So there were some high level talks on this nāmābhāsa. So by nāmābhāsa one becomes liberated. By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra offensive, one becomes materially happy or distressed, but when one comes to the stage of nāmābhāsa, he becomes liberated. And when he chants pure name, there is Kṛṣṇa-prema. Just like Rūpa Gosvāmī: he was chanting. We are also chanting. But we are not in the stage of Rūpa Gosvāmī or Sanātana Gosvāmī and Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.10 -- Mayapur, April 3, 1975:

That human life is meant for tapasya, austerities, not to live extravagant life, irresponsible life like cats and dogs. No. That is not human life. That is animal life. So therefore śāstra says that you undergo austerities. Then your existence will be purified, and then pure knowledge you will get, and you will understand what is your position, why you are in this material world, why you are suffering the threefold miseries, why you are obliged to die, why you are obliged to become old man. So many things you have to learn. But if we learn like cats and dogs, then we spoil our life.

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.16 -- Mayapur, April 9, 1975:

If you want to serve Kṛṣṇa following the footsteps of mother Yaśodā, accepting Kṛṣṇa as your son, you'll get it. Accepting Kṛṣṇa as your son, Nanda Mahārāja following... We have to follow their principles, not that "I shall become Nanda Mahārāja" or "I shall become Yaśodā," "I shall..." No, that is Māyāvāda. You have to follow how they are loving Kṛṣṇa. You have to learn that. Then you'll get the chance of Kṛṣṇa's association.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.66-96 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

Everyone would address the other as prabhu. But officially one may be a spiritual master. But in spiritual platform there is no such difference. But officially, custom is that spiritual master is considered in the place of Supreme Lord, and therefore he is given the such respect. But the spiritual master, bona fide spiritual master, he thinks that "I am your disciple. I am your disciple." And practical example I have seen: our Guru Mahārāja, when we offered obeisances, he used to return me, dāso 'smi: "I am your servant." He used to return me this way, "I am your servant."

So these are the things we have to learn from the behavior, practical demonstration, of Caitanya's Mahāprabhu's life.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.106 -- New York, July 12, 1976:

Real dharma is when you come to the platform of sat. That sat we have to understand, what is sat and what is asat. Asat, nonpermanent. Everyone we know that this body is not permanent. And sat? That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. You have to learn it. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). The body is asat, it will be destroyed, but the soul, which will never be destroyed... Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate... Na hanyate hanyamāne śarī... (BG 2.20). Na jāyate mriyate vā kadācit. That soul is never born, never dies, kadācit, at any time.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.110 -- New York, July 17, 1976:

Heavenly planet begins from the sun, then moon, then Mars, Jupiter, like that. We have challenged this, that moon planet is beyond the sun planet. The moon planet is not the first planet. The sun is first, moon is second. So we have to learn from Vedic literature all this information. Many, many millions of years ago this Vedic literature was given to us. So about these planetary systems, everything is there, described. It is not unknown.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.112 -- Bombay, November 24, 1975:

If you want śānti, then you have to become a devotee. Otherwise yayātmā samprasīdati.

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo

yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

ahaituky apratihatā

yayātmā samprasīdati

(SB 1.2.6)

If you actually want peacefulness of your ātmā, then you have to learn bhaktir adhokṣaje. And this action cannot be checked, ahaitukī, if your bhakti is pure, without any motive. Bhakti means without any motive.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.146-151 -- New York, December 3, 1966:

Now, to understand Kṛṣṇa, we have to understand what is this creation, how this creation is going on, what are the activities, what are spiritual knowledge, what is philosophy, what is renunciation, what is liberation. All these things we have to learn very nicely. After learning these perfectly, then you can understand Kṛṣṇa. So in the nine cantos of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, all these different nine manifestation of His energies are described.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 21.49-61 -- New York, January 5, 1967:

Tripād-bhūtaṁ sanātanam. Tripād-bhūtam means this material manifestation is only one-fourth energy of the Supreme Lord. This inferior energy is only one-fourth manifestation of the energy. The three-fourths manifestation of energy (is) in the spiritual world, and that is sanātanam. That is not subjected to creation and annihilation as this material world is subjected to that creation and annihilation. That is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā. All Vedic literatures, they say the same thing. So we have to learn from authorized sources, and we can be informed perfectly about parāvara, para and avara. Avara means this inferior nature, and para means superior nature.

Sri Isopanisad Lectures

Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 1 -- Los Angeles, April 30, 1970:

So you read every śloka, every mantra. Whenever you get time, you read the purport, you read the meaning. The whole philosophy is there. Now you are growing. There will be so many questions, so many philosophers. But our philosophy is so sound and solid, that we can meet any philosopher of the world, any philosopher. But you have to learn it. The books are there, your intelligence is there, the guidance is there. Because you are preaching, sometimes we have to meet opposing elements. So if you cannot answer properly, that will be disqualification.

Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 10 -- Los Angeles, May 15, 1970:

Just like the Bhagavad-gītā, the old thing is being explained again by Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna. So we have no, nothing to research. Everything is there. Simply we have to hear from a person who is dhīra, who is not agitated by the six kinds of agitating agents. That is the process of Vedic knowledge.

tad viddhi praṇipātena

paripraśnena sevayā

upadekṣyanti (te jñānaṁ)

jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

(BG 4.34)

So always remember that we have to learn from a person who is dhīra, who has control over these agitating agents.

Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures

Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Verse 32 -- New York, July 26, 1971:

Kṛṣṇa does not say that "You give Me meat." Kṛṣṇa says, "You give Me fruits, flowers, vegetables, milk." So we prepare nice preparations out of these things, we offer it to Kṛṣṇa, and we take it. If Kṛṣṇa would have said that "Give Me eggs and meat," then we would have given and eaten it. But because we are Kṛṣṇa conscious, we do not take anything which is not accepted by Kṛṣṇa.

So in this way, this is called śama dama. We have to learn this art of elevation. Tapasya. That is called austerity, regulative principle; brahmacaryeṇa, by celibacy, or by restricted sex life; śamena, by controlling the mind; damena, by controlling the senses; tyāgena, by giving charity.

Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Verse 33 -- New York, July 19, 1971:

Kukkura means dog. Just like dog follows the master very faithfully. We have to learn something from the dog. The dog also is a teacher: how to become faithful to the master. That teaching we can have even from the dog. He is very satisfied. Whatever food you give, he'll not protest. Still, he'll remain faithful. There are so many good qualifications of a dog. So therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, vaiṣṇava ṭhākura tomāra kukkura bhuliyā jānaha more: "Kindly accept me as your dog. I shall serve you faithfully."

Festival Lectures

Ratha-yatra -- Los Angeles, July 1, 1971:

Love cannot be accepted unless it is reposed in Kṛṣṇa. That is love. And all other, everything, that is lust. It appears to be similar, but love and lust, there is so much difference of value. Just like gold and iron. Gold and iron. Real love is gold, and the so-called love, or lust, is iron. How you can evaluate gold and iron on the same level? It is not possible. So you have to learn real love. That is how to love Kṛṣṇa. Our whole process is training people how to love Kṛṣṇa.

Jagannatha Deities Installation Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.13-14 -- San Francisco, March 23, 1967:

Guest (3): You mentioned about how you should fulfill the supreme law, and you should be what your..., what the spirit tells you or what this Supreme Being, whatever, this tells you? I mean, like, if you, like, if you meditate a lot and you really, well, you feel something, that you should do something...

Prabhupāda: It is not something. It must be actual fact. There is no question of "something." "Something" is vague. You must speak what is that something.

Guest (3): Well, let's say it'd be to...

Prabhupāda: Oh, that you cannot express. That means you have no idea. So you have to learn. This is the process. I am speaking of the process. So if you want to have knowledge of Absolute Truth, the first thing is, basic principle is, faith. Then you must be thoughtful. Then you must be devoted, and you must hear from authentic sources.

Initiation Lectures

Brahmana Initiation Lecture -- New Vrindaban, May 25, 1969:

Titikṣa means tolerance. So many things in the material world will happen. We have to practice to tolerate. Tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. Kṛṣṇa says, "You have to learn tolerance. The sukha-duḥkha, happiness, distress, they will come like seasonal changes." Just like there is sometimes rain, there is sometimes snowfall, sometimes scorching heat. How you can fight? It is not possible. Try to tolerate.

Initiations -- San Diego, June 30, 1972:

One has to rise early in the morning. He doesn't like, but, "No. I will have to satisfy Kṛṣṇa." This is the beginning. "Oh, I have to chant sixteen rounds." He is lazy. He doesn't want to do it. But if he loves Kṛṣṇa, he must do it. He must do it. So in the beginning we have to learn how to love, but when you come to the state, oh, there is no question of... You may follow the regulative principle or not, because love is there.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Seattle, September 30, 1968:

Whenever you give some service, it is based on love. Just like mother giving service to the helpless child. Why? Love. So similarly, our life will be perfect when our love is perfect with the perfect Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then it is all right. You have to learn this. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness: in a relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Just like I am loving my disciples, my disciples are loving me. Why? What is the medium? Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 30, 1968:

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not something manufactured to mislead and bluff the people. It is a most authorized movement. Vedic literature, the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Vedānta-sūtra, Purāṇas, and many, many great saintly persons adopted this means. And the vivid example is Lord Caitanya. You see His picture, He is in the dancing mood. So you have to learn this art, then our life will be successful. You haven't got to practice anything artificial and speculating and bother your brain and... You have the instinct for loving others. That is instinctive, natural. Simply we are misplacing love and therefore we are frustrated. Frustrated. Confused. So if you don't want to be confused, if you don't want to be frustrated, then try to love Kṛṣṇa, and you'll feel yourself how you are making progress in peacefulness, in happiness, in everything that you want.

Lecture -- Seattle, September 30, 1968:

Just like Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, is entrance. Just like students, they pass their school examination then enters into the college. So you pass your school examination, how to love God, by studying Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Then study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and... That is graduate study. And when you are still farther advanced, post-graduate, then study Teachings of Lord Caitanya.

So there is no difficulty. The fact is that we have to learn how to love Kṛṣṇa. So direction is there and method is there, and we are trying to serve you as far as possible.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 2, 1968:

Even that small particle of spiritual soul is so powerful that as long as it is within this body, it keeps it fresh, nice, beautiful. And as soon as it is gone, immediately it becomes to decompose. Just see. Just like a drug, injection. A little, one grain, it keeps fit. It is something like that, it is so powerful. You do not know what is the power of that soul. That you have to learn. Then that is self-realization.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 7, 1968:

According to Hindu system, a father, mother responsibility ceases after he gets the children married, either daughter or son. So much obligation. Then they are free. So dependence, I am speaking on the dependence. So dependence is not bad; surrender is not bad. I have seen practically that woman surrendering to the husband... Still there are so many women in India, they are so happy and their life is so glorious. So we have to learn how things are to be done. Independence, artificial independence is no good always. Practically, we have no independence.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 9, 1968:

So everyone has got occupation. So just see how nice it is. So Bhāgavata says, it doesn't matter what is your occupation, but simply try to see whether by your activities or a particular type of occupation you have satisfied the Supreme Lord. That's all. Then,

ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā

varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ

svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya

saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam

(SB 1.2.13)

Hari-toṣaṇam: that your perfection of life will be considered in relation with the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. That you have to learn, how you are satisfying the Supreme Lord.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 11, 1968:

Just like what is material civilization? All activities minus God. This is material. And as soon as all activities plus God, it is spiritual. So all activities minus God means trouble, and all activities plus God is wholesome, is pleasing. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means all activities plus God. That's all. We are also doing the same thing. The candle is burned here, you also have candles at your home. You have got your apartment; this is also apartment. What is the difference between this apartment, your apartment? Because here is relationship of Kṛṣṇa. So you make everything in relationship with Kṛṣṇa, it is spiritual. That is the technique you have to learn in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Actually, there is nothing but Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but artificially we have covered Kṛṣṇa consciousness with something else, which is called māyā.

Lecture -- Boston, April 25, 1969:

So if you accept this austerity, that "We shall not eat meat, but we can have very nice foodstuff from grains, from fruits, from vegetables, milk, sugar, so many nice foodstuff," you will forget. Simply you have to learn. That is not very severe austerity. Simply our process is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how from this present consciousness we want to change to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture at International Student Society -- Boston, May 3, 1969:

Bhagavad-gītā is already printed in so many editions, but unfortunately, those Bhagavad-gītās are interpreted in their own interest. You see? Therefore we have published this Bhagavad-gītā. It is the essence of all Vedic literature, Bhagavad-gītā as it is. You have to learn Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Don't interpret in your own way. There is no possibility. But people do it, and foolish persons, they accept it. No, there is no question of interpretation. The first verse of Bhagavad-gītā is,

dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre

samavetā yuyutsavaḥ

māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva

kim akurvata sañjaya

(BG 1.1)

So these are plain truths. Kurukṣetra... Still there is a place of the name Kurukṣetra near Delhi. And people interpret, " 'Kurukṣetra' means this body." We do not know wherefrom he gets this meaning, what is that dictionary.

Lecture at Engagement -- Columbus, may 19, 1969:

This body is non-permanent situation. You are thinking, oh, you have got this nice body, American body, "We have got so much opulences. What we have to learn about Vedānta? We are very much happy." But, try to understand that how long you shall remain American? It is all right, you have got this nice body, beautiful body, you have got opulences, your country is very nice. But as soon as you change your body, that change of body is going on.

Lecture with Allen Ginsberg at Ohio State University -- Columbus, May 12, 1969:

If I explain to a human being, however illiterate, uneducated, he may be, if he has simply these two ears, he will understand what is God. Therefore the Vedic information is called śruti. Just try to hear. You haven't got to be educated or literate. God has given you these two ears and you can learn. Simply you have to learn from the authorized sources. Then you will understand God. And when you understand God, then you develop love of God.

Conway Hall Lecture -- London, September 15, 1969:

Guest (2): I'm sorry, I couldn't agree with you that Śiva is a demigod. I couldn't believe it.

Prabhupāda: That is stated in everywhere. You have to learn it.

Lecture at Krsna Niketan -- Gorakhpur, February 16, 1971:

We should always know our position, how much we are ignorant. I am claiming I am the... "It is my body." How your nails are growing, can you explain? Why there is no sensation in the nail? So many things you are unaware, even of your body. So how you can be aware that how your body is changing? You have to learn, therefore, from authorities, "It is being done." Just like Kṛṣṇa says, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāra... (BG 2.13). That is the process of knowledge.

Pandal Lecture at Cross Maidan -- Bombay, March 26, 1971:

Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He says,

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo

mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate

iti matvā bhajante māṁ

budhā-bhāva-samanvitāḥ

(BG 10.8)

So Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ. Sarvasya means including all other demigods. Even Brahma, Lord Śiva, and even Viṣṇu, they are emanations from Kṛṣṇa. We have got in the Vedic literature how Kṛṣṇa is the original person. Therefore Arjuna accepted, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12). And the Gosvāmīs, the Six Gosvāmīs, they have analyzed Kṛṣṇa's characteristics, Nārāyaṇa's characteristics, Lord Śiva's characteristics, Lord Brahmā's characteristics. They have analyzed very scrutinizingly everything and they have found it that Kṛṣṇa is cent percent God. Nārāyaṇa is ninety-six percent God, Lord Śiva is eighty-four percent God, Lord Brahmā is eighty-seven percent God. Of course, those who have studied Vedic literature, especially the book named Bhakti-rasāmṛta sindhu which we have translated into English, Nectar of Devotion or The Science of Devotion... So you have to learn from the Vedic literatures what is God, what are the living entities, what is their relationship, what is our ultimate goal of life.

Pandal Lecture at Cross Maidan -- Bombay, March 26, 1971:

As I have told you yesterday, Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna, bhakto 'si priyo 'si me (BG 4.3). "Because you are My pure devotee, because you are My friend, dear friend, therefore I am speaking to you Bhagavad-gītā, which is very mysterious." And that mystery is very nice. So in order to understand Bhagavad-gītā we have to learn it from the devotees. That is also not very difficult. It is not necessary that you have to find out a devotee. The devotee is already there, Arjuna. And if you simply follow the footsteps of Arjuna, if you simply try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as Arjuna understood, then your study of Bhagavad-gītā is complete.

Pandal Lecture at Cross Maidan -- Bombay, March 26, 1971:

Kṛṣṇa also says,

mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ

jagat avyakta-mūrtinā

mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni

nāhaṁ teṣu avasthitaḥ

(BG 9.4)

So everything is there. Kṛṣṇa says that "I am spread all over the world, all over the universe," avyakta-mūrtinā, "in My impersonal form. But everything is resting upon Me, but I am not there." These contradictory terms, how it is satisfied, how it is mitigated, we have to learn from a person who knows Kṛṣṇa. Not from others.

Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, April 10, 1971:

So we do not know what is Hari, what is God, what is Kṛṣṇa, and what is our activity to please Him. That we have to learn. That we have to learn satāṁ prasaṅgāt, by association with devotees. Satāṁ prasaṅgāt. Just like if you are a businessman, suppose a sharebroker, if you are a member of the stock exchange, your business is flourishing. You get more opportunities. The scientists, they make some association. Every particular... The lawyers, they make an association, Bar Association. That is needed. The engineer, they make an association. The doctors, they make a medical club. Similarly, if you have to learn Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you have to admit yourself with the society for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is necessary.

Pandal Lecture -- Delhi, November 20, 1971:

In the Bhagavad-gītā, it is said that you cannot stop the action of the mind even for a moment. And mind is the central point of our sensuous activities. Therefore, if you want to control the senses, then you have to learn this bhāgavata-dharma. Prahlāda Mahārāja therefore recommending, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1). From the very childhood one should practice this bhāgavata-dharma.

Rotary Club Lecture -- Hyderabad, November 29, 1972:

Unfortunately, in the foreign countries, before me, many other swamis went, tried to explain Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is very well known book of knowledge. In America and Europe and other countries there are many translations. But the Bhagavad-gītā, such translation is taken as a mental speculation. They do not take it seriously that this, "This is the statement by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it cannot be commented with my poor knowledge. What I am in comparison to Kṛṣṇa? He is tri-kāla-jña. He knows present, past, future, everything. What do I know? So my interpretation..." Just like "Kurukṣetra means this body," or "The five Pāṇḍavas means the five senses." If we interpret in that way, Bhagavad-gītā, according to our whims, we'll never understand what is the purport of Bhagavad-gītā. We have to learn Bhagavad-gītā as it is; otherwise, we'll miss the opportunity.

Rotary Club Lecture -- Ahmedabad, December 5, 1972:

We cannot apply experimental knowledge to find out who is my father. That is not possible. But how we can know? The know it, I can know from the authority of the mother. The mother says, "This gentleman is your father," we have to accept. There is no other experimental... Similarly, the soul, which is beyond the perception of your material senses, you cannot make an experiment. You have no means. But you try to perceive that what is that thing, missing, that now the body is dead. Now, there is something. What is that something? That you have to learn from the authority, Kṛṣṇa. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). There is a dehī, there is a proprietor of this body, and he's changing from one body to another.

Rotary Club Lecture -- Ahmedabad, December 5, 1972:

From experimental, you have not learned it, never you'll be able to learn it, not the scientists can discover. If they could discover, then no man would die. The medical science, if it could discover... So there are so many anomalies. Therefore you have to learn it only from the authority, and there is no other way. Śruti-pramāṇam. Śruti-pramāṇa means evidence from the Vedic knowledge. There is no other way.

Rotary Club Lecture -- Ahmedabad, December 5, 1972:

Indian man: No one in the world has seen that there is God? And...

Prabhupāda: You cannot say that no one has seen. You have not seen.

Indian man: I have not seen.

Prabhupāda: Yes, that's all. (laughter)

Indian man: Yes, but there may be...

Prabhupāda: You cannot say others.

Indian man: ...that I take your word, and I...

Prabhupāda: No, no. First of all, you should withdraw. You have not seen. But you cannot say others have not seen.

Indian man: I have not seen. That's why I...

Prabhupāda: That's all right. So you have to learn how to see. Then you have to learn how to see. You cannot see; you remain ignorant, fool, and you want to see God. You have to learn how to see God.

Indian man: But then, sir, so we, do we...?

Prabhupāda: First of all, you take this, that you do not know what is God. Now, you want to see God. Therefore you have to learn how to see God.

Lecture What is a Guru? -- London, August 22, 1973:

Kṛṣṇa says, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā, in the Bhagavad-gītā.

tad viddhi praṇipātena

paripraśnena sevayā

upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ

jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

(BG 4.34)

So you have to learn from guru by three processes. What is that? First process is you must surrender. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta (SB 11.3.21). Surrender. You have to find out such an exalted person where you can willingly surrender, "Yes."

Lecture -- London, August 23, 1973:

Now this śaraṇāgati, how to surrender to God, you have to learn. Therefore, as you have to learn something from a superior person, therefore it is recommended that how to learn... It is said, svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ (SB 6.3.20). In the śāstra it is recommended that twelve great personalities, you have to learn from them what is actually dharma, how to become obedient to the principles laid down by God. So they are described in the śāstra as twelve principle authorities.

Lecture -- London, August 23, 1973:

The original Manu is the emperor of the universe. That Manu. Then Prahlāda Mahārāja, Hiraṇyakaśipu's son, he is also mahājana. We have to learn how to execute dharma from these great personalities. Prahlādo janako bhīṣmaḥ. King Janaka and Bhīṣma, the grandfather Bhīṣma, and Bali Mahārāja and Vaiyāsaki, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, like that. Just like if you want to learn something, you have to approach some expert in the matter, similarly, if you want to learn what is dharma, how to execute it, then you have to approach such gurus or their representative.

Lecture -- London, August 23, 1973:

Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham (MU 1.2.12). So you cannot approach anyone else. As they are recommended... Just like government department. If you want to get some information, you have to go to a particular department and you have to learn it, similarly, if you actually want to know what is dharma, then you have to accept the disciplic succession of either of these great twelve personalities. That is dharma.

Lecture at Upsala University Faculty -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:

So simply by your speculation, research work, we cannot find out God. That is not possible, although God is here, everyone's heart. Sarvasya cāham hṛdi sanniviṣṭo (BG 15.15). God is there in everyone's heart. But who knows that? So there is a process by which one has to learn God, what is God. That is sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234). It is very peculiar process, that you have to learn God through the tongue. Through the tongue. They want to see God with the eyes, but the Vedic information is that you have to know God through the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvā. Jihvā means tongue. When you employ your tongue in the service of the Lord, then he becomes revealed.

Lecture -- Hong Kong, January 31, 1974:

The birthday ceremony of God is called jayantī. That is special constellation of the stars. But now the jayantī has been used for so many rascals and fools. This is not śāstric. So because Kṛṣṇa's janma and ordinary man's janma is not the same thing, therefore Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma ca me divyam (BG 4.9). Divyam means transcendental, not material. Not material. It is spiritual or transcendental, divyam. Janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). Still you have to learn it in truth.

Public Lecture -- Konigstein, Germany, June 19, 1974:

Kṛṣṇa says that patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati, tad aham aśnāmi: (BG 9.26) "Anyone who is offering Me these foodstuff made of patraṁ puṣpam, vegetable and food grains and milk and this..." He never says, "Give Me meat or eggs." No. He never says. He says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam. These foodstuffs we can prepare nicely in so many ways, and Kṛṣṇa says, "If somebody offers Me with faith and love, I eat it." Now, the question is, you see that "Whatever I offer, these things are there. How Kṛṣṇa has eaten?" Therefore His eating process is different. But He has eaten. That you have to learn from the śāstra, that pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate (Iso Invocation).

Lecture at St. Pascal's Franciscan Seminary -- Melbourne, June 28, 1974:

Everything belongs to God, but it becomes material and spiritual according to the purpose it is being utilized. So if you convert your life, everything for God-speaking for God, eating for God, sleeping for God, mating for God—then it is spiritualized. We have got four kinds of engagements: eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Defending for God also. So actually everything belongs to God. Now we have to learn it, how to utilize it for God. That is our philosophy.

Lecture at St. Pascal's Franciscan Seminary -- Melbourne, June 28, 1974:

To renounce this world is not very big thing because the world also, created by God. So instead of renouncing, if we utilize this God-created material world for God's service, then it is spiritual. Because originally it belongs to God. Originally it is spiritual. Therefore in the higher sense there is nothing material. Everything is spiritual because everything is coming, emanating from the Supreme Spirit. So we have to learn the art how to utilize everything for God.

City Hall Lecture -- Durban, October 7, 1975:

You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā, na jāyate na mriyate vā. When the description of soul is given there, it is said that the soul is never born. If the soul is never born, how the Supersoul is born? That you have to understand. Even the soul... We are ordinary soul. We are not..., also not born. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit: "At any time." Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). So we have to study this. We have to learn this. Superficially understanding will not help us. You have to become a serious student. That is wanted. And so far Kṛṣṇa is speaking, He is speaking for all living entities.

Lecture with Translator -- Sanand, December 25, 1975:

If Bhagavān says, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4), "I am the seed-giving father," so we, every one of us, we know that my father is person, his father is person, his father is person, and why the Supreme Person or the supreme father should become imperson? Why? And therefore we have to learn from Bhagavān, the Supreme Person, full knowledge. This Bhagavad-gītā is therefore full knowledge from the full Personality of Godhead. We cannot change even one word in this Bhagavad-gītā. That is folly.

Tenth Anniversary Address -- Washington, D.C., July 6, 1976:

The original Personality of Godhead is Kṛṣṇa. And the first expansion of Kṛṣṇa is Baladeva. Then from Him this Catur-vyūha, Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, like that. Then Nārāyaṇa. From Nārāyaṇa, the second Catur-vyūha, and from the second Catur-vyūha, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Mahā-Viṣṇu. In this way you have to learn the śāstras. You'll find that actually, as it is said in the śāstra, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Śyāmasundara: And the other yogic powers?

Prabhupāda: There are eight kinds: aṇimā, laghimā, prāpti. Prāpti, now you are sitting here, now you have left something in London, you simply... (laughter). No telephone call; stretch your hand and get it. Prāpti. They can go by the beams of the sun in the sun globe. Prāpti. Then mahimā, you can become bigger than the biggest.

Śyāmasundara: How is that?

Prabhupāda: How is that? That you have to learn. (laughter) You practice yoga and you learn. Just like Hanumān, he jumped over the sea. So it is a question of becoming bigger. Just like you can jump over this space, but if you have got bigger body, then you can jump bigger space. That is called mahimā-siddhi.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Prabhupāda: Vital force must know how to make progress, how to do it. Then he'll be... If he does not know how to do it, how it will be possible? Can you do anything... Suppose you are learning some mechanical business, can you do it without direction? You have to learn. You must get a teacher. So, without teacher, that is not possible.

Philosophy Discussion on Soren Aabye Kierkegaard:

Śyāmasundara: They say that at this level of existence that we can't say where it is coming from. We simply find...

Prabhupāda: Then you can't say, then you learn. Then you are not in the perfect stage.

Śyāmasundara: No. This is only the middle stage, he calls.

Prabhupāda: So the middle stage, so then you have to learn. You are not perfect, so you do not know. So one who does not know, his speculation, what is the value? Just like a child, if he does not know how the machine is working, how, then his speculation on this machine, what is the value of it?

Philosophy Discussion on Soren Aabye Kierkegaard:

Prabhupāda: So, for a devotee, there is no difficulty in approaching the Supreme immediately and directly, but for those who are following the impersonal way to spiritual realization, the path is difficult. They have to understand the unmanifested representation of the Supreme through such Vedic literatures as the Upaniṣads, and they have to learn the language, understand the nonperceptual feelings, and they have to realize all these processes. This is not very easy for a common man. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaged in devotional service, simply by the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, simply by offering regulative obeisances unto the Deity, simply by hearing the glories of the Lord, and simply by eating the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Lord, realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily.

Philosophy Discussion on Martin Heidegger:

Prabhupāda: Anyone, he may be Mr. Nixon, or he may be Mr. Ayub Khan, or a man in the street, or an ant, or Brahma, or anyone, because he has accepted asad-grahāt, this body, it is not exist; he must be in anxiety. This is knowledge. Therefore you have to learn knowledge from authorities-Prahlāda Mahārāja. So Prahlāda Mahārāja says, recommends, that you should give up this, this way of life. Hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpam. This acceptance of body is just like to fall down in a dark well, blind well.

Philosophy Discussion on Edmund Husserl:

Śyāmasundara: But by examining a phenomenon purely, without any other consideration, he says that each thing has its given content or its principle of principles, as an object of intuition. Or he calls it also a thing of authentic reality. Just like a leaf. If you look at a leaf, and you have no consideration of previous knowledge where do these things come, what is a leaf, anything, then the authentic reality of that leaf will present itself to my consciousness. It will be self-evident what is that leaf.

Prabhupāda: You don't take... That means that analytical study of the leaf.

Śyāmasundara: Yes. But without any previous knowledge—as if I knew nothing about leaves before, but I begin to look at the leaf and it will be self-evident what that leaf is.

Prabhupāda: So you can talk any nonsense. (laughter) Then what is the use of going to school? There is no need of opening so many schools and colleges. You go on studying, you can know all knowledge and talk all kinds of nonsense. Is that perfect?

Śyāmasundara: No. He says that if a man has a clear intelligence that he will be able to understand the essence of that...

Prabhupāda: But why these schools are there? Every day we see, actually, from the most intelligent persons, scientist, he has to go to a school. Not that at home, by speculating and talking nonsense, they have become a scientist. They will never become.

Śyāmasundara: But if evidence from that leaf—that it is the color green, for instance...

Prabhupāda: Still, you have to learn how the color green comes in.

Philosophy Discussion on Edmund Husserl:

Devotee (2): Well, even when one chooses a spiritual master, it's not as if he accepts anybody that comes along. He must have some criteria for choosing that person, and that criterion must begin with an observation of phenomena because that's all he has to work with. It's not as if you take any bhogī who is walking down the street and say, "All right, you become my spiritual master."

Prabhupāda: No. There is standard. There is standard. That is also authority. The Vedas says, tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet, abhigacchet śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham (MU 1.2.12). These are the qualities—śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. So accepting an authority as spiritual master, you have to check this, whether he is śrotriyam, whether he is brahma-niṣṭham. Śrotriyam means whether he has heard perfectly from his spiritual master, and by hearing, whether he is completely, firmly standing on brahma (indistinct). These are the two qualities. So anything, you have to learn the same thing from authority.

Philosophy Discussion on Sigmund Freud:

Prabhupāda: The science or philosopher, when they are imperfect in their knowledge, they, whatever they give, that is unscientific and without any basic principle of philosophy. So the, first of all we have to learn what is the objective of knowledge, what we are searching, knowledge. The knowledge that... Vedānta. Vedānta, Veda means knowledge and anta means ultimate. Unless you come to the ultimate point of knowledge, your knowledge is imperfect, insufficient.

Philosophy Discussion on Sigmund Freud:

Hayagrīva: He agrees with Marx in his belief that religion is a form of narcotic. He says, "The believer...," that is in God...

Prabhupāda: Well first of all, these men do not know what is religion. That is the defeat. That is their defect, either Marx or Freud of so many so-called philosophers, they do not know what is religion. They have to learn what is religion. Without knowing what is religion, why they are talking of religion and God? They have no knowledge about.

Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:

Śyāmasundara: It seems like these two philosophers have two different viewpoints. The first one, Huxley, said man can take nature into his own hand and mold his own evolution.

Prabhupāda: That is nonsense.

Śyāmasundara: Whereas this philosopher thinks that we should just..., that the vital force is guiding everyone and creating its own evolution, that we should just drift in the course of things and the vital force will determine history or will determine our future.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Vital force will determine. That is somewhat...

Śyāmasundara: Without our doing, without anything of our doing.

Prabhupāda: No. Vital force must know how to make progress how to do it. Then he'll be... If he does not know how to do it, how it will be possible? Can you do anything? Suppose you are learning some mechanical business, can you do it without direction? You have to learn. You must get a teacher. So without teacher, that is not possible.