So when he is situated in that practical status of spiritual realization, then he is to be understood that he is actually situated in the yoga. Not that I am going to a class and, weekly or twice weekly attending yoga class, and I remain the same thing for the so many years. No. There should be practical realization. What is that practical realization? Praśāntātmā. Praśāntātmā. The mind is calm and quiet, no more agitated by the attraction of this material encirclement. You see? So jñāna-vijñāna...kūṭastho vijitendriyaḥ. The first qualification is called vijitendriyaḥ, sense control. Advancement in the yoga system means yoga indriya-saṁyamaḥ. Yoga means to... Because our whole life is disturbed due to the senses. Senses. This material life means sense gratification. That's all. The sum and substance of materialistic life means sense gratification.
Weekly (Lectures)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
One can understand Kṛṣṇa by being constantly engaged in His service. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānām. Not that weekly once go to the church. No. Twenty-four hours, satata-yuktānām, engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We are teaching people how to become twenty-four hours engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. This is our business. We don't allow karma, jñāna, yoga. No. Simply. And that is kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167). There is no question of jñāna and karma. That is not pure bhakti. Pure bhakti means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam, ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (Brs. 1.1.11), simply to serve Kṛṣṇa favorably, as Kṛṣṇa becomes pleased. This is bhakti. This is pure devotion.
As soon as I chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, immediately my sinful reaction is finished. But that does not mean that "Because I chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then let me, from morning to evening, let me do all kinds of sinful reaction and sinful activities, and I shall chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, everything will be finished." Just like in Christian religion there is a faith that confession, weekly confession. That is nice. When you confess your sinful activities before the higher authorities, before the representative of God, Lord Jesus Christ, or God, or Kṛṣṇa, your sinful activities are finished. That's all right. But that does not mean that you shall go again, and again commit sinful activities, and again come at the end of the week and finish your business. No. This is not meant. One should be conscious.
Then you'll be satisfied." Not sidelight. Completely. Bhavatānudita-prāyam (SB 1.5.8). Here it is said, parāvareśa... Anudita-prāyam, anukta-prāyam. A sidelight. People take... Just like, "All right, yes, we accept God. But we cannot devote our whole time for God. We shall go weekly once or fortnightly once, or one hour in a day, partial. Our business is another. We want to enjoy sense gratification, and we shall go to church or temple just to ask God to supply our ingredients of sense gratification: 'Oh God, give me this. Give me this. I am poor man. I am this. I am this. I am suffering. I have got some disease.' " But still Bhagavad-gītā says that they are sukṛtina. Because they go to temple or church asking God something, because they are accepting that "There is God who can satisfy our needs," therefore they are sukṛtina. But those who are duṣkṛtina, miscreants, they don't believe in God. Then where is the chance of asking God, "Please give me this, give me that"? Because they don't believe in God.
The idea is that one has not only to understand little about God, but one has to live in God. Then his life will be successful. Not that "Yes, God is great, and I go weekly in the church or in the temple. I offer my respect." No, that will not make you liberated. You have to be very serious to understand your relationship with God and go back to Godhead. Then your life will be successful, not that simply by understanding little. No. That is the same position. Just like you cannot derive any benefit or you cannot sit down very nicely in a tottering ship, so if you keep your life always tottering... That tottering, that stage, or, I mean to say, what is called, tilting stage of life can be stopped only by devotional service, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ (SB 1.2.20). One has to make his life tranquil. How this is possible? By this Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
We have to disinfect us, counteract all result of sinful activities. Asat. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says that sat-saṅga chāḍi' kainu asate vilāsa, te-kāraṇe lāgila ye karma-bandha-phāṅsa. If we give up sat-saṅga, association of Kṛṣṇa consciousness or God consciousness, and if we simply take pleasure in the materialistic way of life, then we shall be entangled, simply entangled. Sat-saṅga chāḍi kainu asate vilāsa.
So people, generally, even though they have some kind of religion, all over the world, religion has become a secondary thing. Understanding of God, it is something like recreation, weekly recreation. That sort of life will not help. Of course, that is the beginning. That's nice. That is not bad. In the Bhagavad-gītā, two classes of men have been described. One class of men:
"During the whole life, whatever sinful activities I have done, now I leave it here, and I become purified." That's a fact. One becomes purified. But the ordinary man, he does not know how to keep purified life. Therefore again comes back home and again commits the sinful activities. And sometimes again he may go. Just like in your, the Christian church, they go to the church weekly, and they, what is called, atone, atonement. So this kind of business is not very good. Once purified, you remain purified. So when the holy places of pilgrimage become piled up with all the sinful reaction of common man, a saintly person when he goes there, he makes the holy place clean. The holy place becomes unclean due to the common men's coming there and leaving their sinful reaction. So holy place becomes overburdened with the sinful results of other people. But in that holy place, when a devotee goes, then again the holy place becomes cleansed. This is the idea. Bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatāḥ.
So bhāgavatāḥ. Bhāgavata means one who has his relation with Bhagavān.
Just like Pṛthu Mahārāja, the king. We were discussing. So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement comprehends all sides of life. It is not that a stereotype "churchianity," weekly going to the church and come back and do all. No. It is embracing all sides of our life. But the only aim is how to go back to home, back to Godhead. So we have to educate these classes of men, śva-viḍ-varāha-uṣṭra-khara, these class of men: dogs, hogs, camels, and the asses. The world is full of these classes of men, and you have to educate them. Your responsibility is very great. You have to make an ass a devotee, a camel a devotee, a dog a devotee, a hog a devotee. This is your mission. Next.
"Out of many millions of men," manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu, kaścid vetti..., kaścid yatati siddhaye. Generally, people are busy how to earn money, how to get money and satisfy senses. That's all. That is their end of life. Get money. Somehow or other, get money and expend for sense gratification. In America I have heard that people, they have got money. They spend fifty thousand dollars weekly for seeing naked dance. You see? So money is being misused in this way. Everyone wants sense gratification. And for sense gratification, they want money. And they are earning money somehow or other and applying that in sense gratification. But the result is confusion and frustration. That's all. Result is confusion and frustration. Therefore this is not new thing.
The process is generally ādau śraddhā. Ādau śraddhā, in the beginning... Just like you have come here with some honor or with some respect. That is called śraddhā. Śraddhā means faith: "All right, let us go there. What is this Kṛṣṇa conscious temple?" This is the beginning, that you come. This is called śraddhā. Then if you like it, "Now, here the people, they speak nicely from the books," then you come daily or weekly and associate with the... Ādau śraddhā tato sādhu-saṅgaḥ. Sādhu-saṅgaḥ. This is the process. First of all one must get a little faith and then associate with the devotees. Ādau śraddhā tato sādhu-saṅgaḥ atha bhajana-kriyā. Then, by associating with the devotees, we learn that "These devotees are worshiping the Deity, they are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and they are eating prasādam, and they are very happy. So why not engage me also in this way?" So therefore gradually they come and offer, "Now, sir, I shall join, and initiate me." In this way we are doing.
"Sir, you have spoken about atonement, but they are doing atonement. Every moment they are suffering, but still, again he is committing the sinful activities. So what is the use of this atonement?" Just like in the Christian church they go to confess every weekly, "Sir, I have done it." "All right, give some fine." And again, next week, again, the same thing going on. So this is very intelligent question. The atonement is there in every religion. In the Vedic process there is atonement, but what is the use of this atonement if he does not cease committing the same sinful activity? Just like practically we see a thief. So he knows that "I am committing theft. I shall be punished if I am arrested." He knows it; otherwise why he goes silently at night and break? He knows it well that "If I am arrested I will be punished."
That includes everything. All these austerities, penance, charity, and cleanliness... They're clean. They're taking bath every day three times, at least two times, they are taking bath, although previous to this, perhaps weekly they were taking once bath. You see? So how they have become? This is practical proof. Vāsudeva-parāyaṇa. Therefore whole people of the world should be made vāsudeva-parāyaṇa by the simple method of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and they will be all peaceful. It will become Vaikuṇṭha. Otherwise it is hellish. It is, has already become a hell, the whole world. And if you don't take to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this hellish condition of life will simply make progress, in spite of all your education and economic development. That's a fact. Those who are thoughtful, they should take this Movement very seriously.
There is a very nice story. I have several times perhaps recited that one morning... In the western countries also fair takes place, some in county, some village place. So in India there are weekly bazaar which is called haṭṭa. So at that time the salesmen with their goods, commodities, they assemble and many purchase are..., just like in market place. So there was a market, weekly market, and thousands of people assembled there. So one old lady of that village, she began to cry. Then her elderly son inquired, "Mother, why you are crying?" "No, where shall I accommodate all these people to lie down in the, at night? There are so many people in this village, and how I shall accommodate?" The son began to laugh. "My dear mother, you don't bother. It will be all arranged." "No, my dear son, I am very much perplexed."
Festival Lectures
Paṭhana means he must be a very learned scholar, study the Vedic literature, and must teach others also. That is brāhmaṇa's business. And in that way, whatever the disciples bring, that is his income. No salary, no contract, that "If you pay me hundred dollars or five hundred dollars weekly, then I can teach you." No. There is no such contract. Teaching is free. It is the business of a brāhmaṇa to give free education to everyone. Now, it is the... Just like in our institution, I am your teacher, but there is no such contract that you have to pay me. But you pay me more than anything. So paṭhana pāṭhana, that is the means of livelihood of brāhmaṇa. And kṣatriya, they are kings. They can levy tax of the citizens because they are giving protection from being hurt by others. Kṣatriya means one who gives protection (to) a man being hurt by others. That is the real root meaning. Kṣatriya.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
Prabhupāda: No. I imagine. Kṛṣṇa makes it perfect. I think, "It would have been nice if it would have been like this," but Kṛṣṇa... Yei prasāde pūre sarva āśā. Long, long ago, when I was publishing Back to Godhead, one sheet, I was thinking that "What is this sheet? If it would have been like Illustrated Weekly, then it would have been nice." Now they are coming like that.
Jayapatākā: Now Illustrated Weekly is nothing compared to Back to Godhead.
Prabhupāda: No. (laughs) Better than Illustrated Weekly. I thought of getting some help from artist. For painting picture, I will dictate, and they will paint picture. Now Kṛṣṇa has got lots of artists. So depend on Kṛṣṇa. He can do everything. Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma. This new catalogue you have seen? They have made nice catalogue, Rāmeśvara prabhu. Rāmeśvara prabhu is very competent manager of the BBT.
Initiation Lectures
What is this business? Is it very intelligent business? If you want to take poison, then take poison and die. Why you go to the physician and counteract it and again take poison? You see?
So there are certain systems that... Just like in Christian religion, they go weekly to the church and confess their sinful activities, and it is counteracted. That's all right. God can counteract anything, or God's representative can do that. But again just coming from the church again I begin the same thing? It is the gravest type of sinful act. That is the Vedic injunction. Nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ. Anyone who commits sin on the strength of chanting the holy name of Viṣṇu, oh, his sinful activities cannot be vanquished even by so much attempt performing sacrifices or penances. No it is not possible. He's condemned.
General Lectures
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī's question is that suppose a man commits some sinful activities and he executes some atonement. In atone... This atonement is prescribed in every religion... (child sounds in background) (aside:) This is disturbing. Attention is diverted. Yes. So just like in the Christian church, they have the atonement process, confession. So suppose if you go weekly in the church and confess your sinful activities and it is excused, but again, next week you again commit the same sinful activities. Then what is the use of that confession and atonement? If you make it a business that "The whole week I shall commit sinful activities, and on Sunday I shall go to church and confess it, then everything will be balanced, squared-off account," that is all right. Then again from Monday you begin the sinful activities. So is that very good business? So Parīkṣit Mahārāja's question is that, that the atonement is there. But if one commits atonement and again commits sinful activities, then what is the use of such atonement? It is just like...
While working, you can chant. While at home, you chant. When at office, you chant. There is no license, no expenditure, no loss, but the gain is very great. That is our request.
So we thank you very much that you are sympathetic with this movement and coming every weekly to participate in our love feast. So if you simply come by taking part in this feasting festival, you'll be infected with Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
| Page Title: | Weekly (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 12 of Nov, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=18, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 18 |