You cannot have perfect knowledge unless you hear from the authority. So Kṛṣṇa is the authority. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means you take knowledge from the best authority. Don't manufacture knowledge. That will not help you. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Will not help you
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Lecture on BG 2.14 -- Germany, June 21, 1974:
We don't try to speculate. That may or may not be successful, but if you accept knowledge from the perfect authority, that knowledge is perfect. Just like we are speculating, "Who is my father?" You can speculate who is your father, but that speculation will not help you. You will never understand who is your father. But you go to your mother, the supreme authority. She'll immediately, "Here is your father." That's all.
Lecture on BG 2.19 -- London, August 25, 1973:
The cats and dogs never read Freud's philosophy, but they know how to enjoy sex life. So this dog's philosophy will not help you, that "I have got this body, and how to enjoy the bodily sex life." This is dog philosophy. A dog knows all these things. Your philosophy should be how to refrain from sex life. That is knowledge.
Lecture on BG 3.1-5 -- Los Angeles, December 20, 1968:
You have to accept something. Simply by rejecting, it will not help you. But you have to accept something. That acceptance is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Simply negation will not help you. You must have some positive engagement.
Lecture on BG 3.27 -- Melbourne, June 27, 1974:
Now, if we imitate that "These boys and girls are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. It is a name only. So let me chant... Instead of Kṛṣṇa, let me chant John," but that chanting will not help you because you cannot chant more than three, four times or ten times, that's all. But this is the proof. And this Hare Kṛṣṇa, this chanting, if you ask these boys and girls, they can chant continually for twenty-four hours in ecstasy, continually, without any stoppage. That is spiritual name.
Lecture on BG 4.1-6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1969:
So in every department, if you want to take education in a particular line, you have to qualify yourself to enter that school or college. Similarly, if you want to study Bhagavad-gītā, then you have to become a devotee. Simply academic educational qualification will not help you, because it was spoken to the devotee.
Lecture on BG 4.9 -- Bombay, March 29, 1974:
Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). That is real meditation. So in this way, if we engage our life, that means bhakti-yoga, then Kṛṣṇa reveals, ataḥ sri-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). If you simply speculate, tax your senses to understand Kṛṣṇa by so-called scholarship, that will not help you. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau. You engage your tongue in the service of the Lord, then He'll reveal.
Lecture on BG 4.11 -- Vrndavana, August 3, 1974:
You can work hard in this material energy, but that will not help you. Therefore, those who are devotees, they also take shelter of Kṛṣṇa's energy. That is internal energy, not external energy. Internal. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (BG 9.13). Daivīṁ prakṛtim means internal energy.
Lecture on BG 4.11-18 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1969:
Study, simply study will not help you. You must study from a bona fide teacher. Otherwise it will be misleading. Just like if you want to be a medical practitioner if you purchase books from the bookstore, medical books, and you study, that will not help you. You have to admit yourself in a medical college and study there. Then you will understand.
Lecture on BG 4.23 -- Bombay, April 12, 1974:
When we go to distribute books, we are doing this very organizedly all over the world, and it has become very successful, very successful. So why not in India? Why you are neglecting this process? Why you are manufacturing something nonsense? That will not help you.
Lecture on BG 4.24 -- Bombay, April 13, 1974:
Just like if you go very high with your airplane.... Just like they are trying to go to the moon planet. Because they are not getting any shelter, they are coming back again. And if you are going to the moon planet, why you do not stay there? But they cannot stay there. Similarly, this so-called Brahman realization, or Brahman, actual Brahman realization, that will not help. You must stay somewhere. That is the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavam. We have to take shelter. That is aim, paramaṁ guhyam. "You take shelter of My lotus feet."
Lecture on BG 5.3-7 -- New York, August 26, 1966:
It was particularly said to Arjuna that "You are thinking that you are, you'll not fight. Better, you are thinking, that you shall beg instead of killing your kinsmen. You do not want kingdom. But that is not a practical proposition. You, you, you just try to understand why you have to fight. What is the cause?" That means He was giving hint that "You'll have to fight for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you'll get happiness. Simply by leaving, simply by becoming mendicant, it will not help you."
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Hyderabad, April 27, 1974:
Why you are, I mean to say, killing others and yourself by interpreting Bhagavad-gītā? You give your own thesis in a different way. But these people, they take advantage of the popularity of Bhagavad-gītā and interpret in a different way according to their own whims. Therefore people do not understand what is Kṛṣṇa. That is the difficulty. And the purpose of Bhagavad-gītā is to understand Kṛṣṇa. And all the so-called scholars' and politicians' commentary is to banish Kṛṣṇa or to kill Kṛṣṇa—the Kaṁsa's policy. The Kaṁsa was always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, how to kill Him. This is called demonic endeavor. So that will not help you.
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Melbourne, June 29, 1974 :
If you, by chance, by mistake, you violate the regulative principle, that is excused, but if willingly, if you go on committing sinful life—so just like in the Churches they go to confess and again begin—that kind of business will not help you. That kind of business will not help you.
Lecture on BG 7.2 -- Hyderabad, April 28, 1974 :
You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa if you remain under your personal intelligence. Everyone says that "I shall understand this by my own dint of knowledge, by speculation." That is not possible. Kṛṣṇa says that you have to understand. Here also it is the same thing said, jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam vakṣyāmy aham, "I shall speak to you." So this is the secret of success, if you want to understand God, what is God. Everyone, there are many philosophers, scientists, they are trying to understand God by research, but that research will not help you. You have to understand directly from God, or from God's representative. That is the way.
Lecture on BG 8.21-22 -- New York, November 19, 1966:
Tv ananyayā means without any adulteration. Adulter... What is that adulteration? "Now I love God for some material benefit." That is adulteration. "I love God to become one with Him." That is adulteration. This adulteration in devotional service will not help you. Unadulterated.
Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Calcutta, March 7, 1972:
So there is spiritual world. There is spiritual world. And there is spiritual body, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, Kṛṣṇa, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). So all this to be learned through bhakti-yoga. We cannot learn by speculation. That is not possible. That is jaḍa-vidyā, jaḍa-vidyā. It is rāja-vidyā. Jaḍa-vidyā will not help you to understand Kṛṣṇa. That will not help. No.
Lecture on BG 9.26-27 -- New York, December 16, 1966:
So the Vedic literature teaches us that tarko 'pratiṣṭhaḥ: "In the spiritual matter, you cannot argue." Your argument will be failure because you may be very good arguer, but I may come. I can cut all your arguments. And somebody else comes—he cuts all my arguments. It is a question of logic. So there are many logical experts. So by arguments we cannot reach the Supreme Truth. Tarko 'pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnāḥ. Not by purchasing books from the market and reading it. No. That also will not help you. Tarko 'pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnāḥ. If you purchase Bhagavad-gītā, you purchase Bible, you purchase Koran, or... So many, there are, literatures. They are also authorized. That's all right. But you cannot learn them by your own study.
Lecture on BG 10.2-3 -- New York, January 1, 1967:
Everyone is trying to get himself free from anxieties, but he does not know how to get out of this anxiety. This taking shelter of intoxication is no use to get oneself free from anxieties. It is a drug. It is oblivion. Sometimes, for sometimes we forget everything, but again when you come to your consciousness the same anxieties and same thing are there. So this will not help you.
Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Miami, February 27, 1975:
Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised, bhāgavata paṛā giyā bhāgavata-sthāne: "If you want to learn Bhāgavata, then go to the person bhāgavata who is realized soul." Not professional. That will not help you. Official professional—I go to a temple, to a church, and go back again to hellish condition of..., no. You just associate with the person bhāgavata who is realized soul and hear from him this the same book, the same knowledge. Kṛṣṇa's representative. Just like Kṛṣṇa says, tat samāsena me śṛṇu. Me śṛṇu: "Hear from Me or My representative. Then you will benefit."
Lecture on BG 13.22-24 -- Melbourne, June 25, 1974:
The devotees who are constantly thinking of Kṛṣṇa, trying to understand Kṛṣṇa and engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, such personality, after giving up this body...We have to give up this body. Everyone, the cats, dogs, they will also give up body. We shall also give up body. But the difference is, a devotee after giving up this body, he does not get anymore material body. So our request is, those who have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, don't fall down again in the material qualities. That will not help you. Remain strictly adherent to the spiritual activities and your life will be successful.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Lecture on SB 1.2.7 -- Hyderabad, April 21, 1974:
Therefore it is said vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ (SB 1.2.7). If you learn how to practice bhakti-yoga, and that is upon Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa... Vāsudeva... And bhakti-yoga therefore says, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. Not śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam of the politician. That will not help you. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ.
Lecture on SB 1.2.11 -- Tirupati, April 26, 1974:
If we try to understand the Absolute Truth, then we can approach only up to the impersonal feature. Just like if we simply want to come to the light, so we can see the sunshine is light. But if we want to study what is the sun globe and if we want to study what is the predominating deity in the sun globe, that is different thing. That is, simply coming to the light, sunshine, will not help you. You must have strength and process to go to the sun globe.
Lecture on SB 1.2.13 -- Los Angeles, August 16, 1972:
"Oh, I am a brāhmaṇa, I am doing my duty." "But do you know Kṛṣṇa, do you serve Kṛṣṇa?" "Yes, I know Kṛṣṇa, I am Kṛṣṇa." This will not help you. Suppose a big man, a president, if you say, "I am president," what the government will think of you? "He is a crazy fellow." Similarly, these rascals, when they say, "I am God," then we take it, "That is a crazy fellow."
Lecture on SB 1.2.19 -- Vrndavana, October 30, 1972:
So naṣṭa-prāyeṣu abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18). Nityam. This point we have discussed. The Bhāgavata has to be studied from a person bhāgavata. Bhāgavata-sevayā. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). One has to learn Bhāgavatam from a person you can surrender. Praṇipātena. Paripraśnena sevayā. Two things. There must be service and surrender. And between the two things, surrender and service, there is paripraśna. You cannot ask about spiritual knowledge from a person by challenging. No. That will not help you.
Lecture on SB 1.5.28 -- Vrndavana, August 9, 1974:
Just like people do some business or work to get some money to maintain the life, similarly, if somebody takes the saṅkīrtana as the means of livelihood, that will not help you. You can go on hearing saṅkīrtana from such professional men for millions of years; still, you will remain where you are, not rajas-tamopahā. You cannot get out of the bondage of... Therefore you have to hear from the saṅkīrtyamānaṁ munibhir mahātmabhiḥ. Mahātmā. Mahātmā means mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ (BG 9.13). Mahātmā means those who have finished this material business.
Lecture on SB 1.7.5 -- Vrndavana, September 4, 1976:
You may be a very religious person, executing the ritualistic ceremonies very nicely, very expertly, but if you do not know Adhokṣaja, Viṣvaksena... Viṣvaksena is another name of Kṛṣṇa. If you do not become anxious to understand, athāto brahma jijñāsā, then all these ritualistic ceremony of religion, of different types of religion, śrama eva hi kevalam. Simply waste of time. The jñānīs, they are simply trying to understand. No. You can go on understanding, but if you do not come to the understanding abhidheya... No. Abhidheya is acting actually. Sambandha is understanding. So if you do not come to the platform of acting, abhidheya, then simply understanding will not help you. And acting also with the aim to achieve.
Lecture on SB 1.8.24 -- Los Angeles, April 16, 1973:
This is very significant, that you may have many enemies or many fighters, very powerful fighters, but if you remain at the protection of Kṛṣṇa, then nobody can do you anything, harm. Rākhe kṛṣṇa māre ke: "If Kṛṣṇa protects you, nobody can kill you." But if Kṛṣṇa kills you nobody can give you protection. That is this, rākhe kṛṣṇa māre ke, māre kṛṣṇa rākhe ke. This is the... If Kṛṣṇa desires to kill you, nobody can save you. Just like a big man, a rich man, is suffering from disease. All first-class physician, medicine, hospital, available for him, but still, he dies. That means Kṛṣṇa desires that "This man must die." So these things will not help you.
Lecture on SB 1.8.42 -- Los Angeles, May 4, 1973:
So if we simply become renouncer, that will not help us. Then again we shall become enjoyer, so-called enjoyer. That is like pendulum, balancing, tak, tak, this way, this way. If you simply become this side, renouncer, then again we go to that side, enjoyer... So here is the remedy. If you want really detachment from this material world, you must increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise this kind of so-called renouncement will not help you. That is a fact. Therefore Kuntīdevī is praying, tvayi me ananya-viṣayā, "without any diversion." That is the definition given by Rūpa Gosvāmī of bhakti. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam: (Brs. 1.1.11) no other desire. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167). Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam. Here in this material world, some of them are jñānīs, and some of them are karmīs. Karmīs means fools, unnecessarily working very, very hard—they are karmīs. And jñānīs, when he's little elevated, he thinks, "So what for I am working so hard? I don't require so many things.
Lecture on SB 1.8.42 -- Los Angeles, May 4, 1973:
Therefore simply renunciation, that "I give up attachment for worldly things," that is not sufficient. Simply renouncement will not help you. It may be a helping process, but that will not help you absolutely. When you increase attachment for Kṛṣṇa, then this renouncement will be perfect. So make renouncement perfect, or, if you increase attachment for Kṛṣṇa, automatically your attachment for this world will diminish. Two things cannot go. Our attachment... Just like a woman, if she is attached to two men, one husband, another paramour—so two things cannot go. The attachment increases for the paramour; otherwise why she accepts a paramour? These are examples there. Although she's working at the husband's place very nicely, but the mind is there to the paramour. Because "When I shall meet him at night, this and that," you see.
Lecture on SB 1.8.47 -- Mayapura, October 27, 1974:
So we give up this association. Unless we take Kṛṣṇa's association there will be no ānanda; it is simply zero. In the zero platform you cannot remain for many years or many days. Then you'll fall down. If you don't get, if you don't increase your affection for Kṛṣṇa—simply you give up the affection of this material world—then you cannot stay for many days. You'll fall down. You'll fall down. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Simply negative process will not help you. You must take the positive position. So that is required. Otherwise, devotional service means vairāgya-vidyā. It is the transcendental education to become unattached to this material world. This is called vairāgya.
Lecture on SB 1.15.21 -- Los Angeles, December 1, 1973:
The modern civilization, they are so rascals, they are expecting something utopian, that by material advancement of civilization they will be happy. Now, one gentleman, that doctor, what is his name, Ifrenzia,(?) yes, he said that in Sweden they are the richest men, but the largest number of suicide cases are there. So this kind of material richness will not help you. That will not help. Actually, practically, we are experiencing. Why their every nation is dissatisfied? Although they have materially advanced so much, but dissatis... In your country also, why this section of people have become hippies? From university student, they have become hippies. Why? Frustration. They know that "What is this life? If I am become educated, then what is my future?" There is no future. Frustrated.
Lecture on SB 1.15.28 -- Los Angeles, December 6, 1973:
If you do not act yourself, your words will have no value. (break) ...cut. Evaṁ paramparā prāptam (BG 4.2), if you have got connection with the original powerhouse, then there is electricity. Otherwise it is simply wire. What is the value? Simply wiring will not help you. The connection must be there. And if you lose the connection, then it is of no value. Therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means you have to keep yourself always connected with the original powerhouse.
Lecture on SB 2.1.1 -- Delhi, November 4, 1973:
Religion is, according to Vedic culture, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Dharma, it should be given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just like law is given by the state, government. You cannot manufacture law. That is not possible. If you manufacture some law that "I have manufactured this law," that "I will follow this law, my law," that will not help you. You must follow the law given by the government. Similarly, religion means the religion which is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And the ātmavit, those who are actually self-realized, they accept that religion, not any manufactured religion.
Lecture on SB 2.1.1-2 -- New York, April 19, 1973:
So this time, in this life I may become very big man, or big politician, big diplomat, big businessman, but next life, after your death, it is your big, your greatness of this material will not help you. That will depend on your work, and nature will offer you a certain type of body, you'll have to accept. Of course you will forget. That is the concession given by nature. Just like we do not remember what we had been in our past life. If I remember that suppose I was a king in my past life, now I have become a dog, then how much suffering it will be. Therefore by nature's law one forgets. And death means this forgetfulness. Death means this forgetfulness.
Lecture on SB 2.1.3 -- Vrndavana, March 18, 1974:
You cannot remain impersonal or in void because your position is..., because you are living entity, because you are part and parcel of the supreme living entity, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). He is always full of jubilation. So you also, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, you also want jubilation. But how you can get jubilation, how you can be jubilant in the sky, in the zero? This is the difference between Māyāvāda philosophy. Therefore you cannot be happy even by getting free from this encagement, material world, and if you place yourself in impersonalism and voidism, that will not help you. Try to understand it. That will not help you.
Lecture on SB 2.1.6 -- Paris, June 14, 1974:
So it is very important movement. Those who are very intelligent, they can take to it. Or you become intelligent or not intelligent, but know, at least, unless one is pious, he cannot take to this movement. But somehow or other, if you take this movement, then your this valuable life is successful. Janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām. It is not cats' and dogs' life. It is human form of... Utilize it properly. Properly means to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, not dog conscious, cat conscious or this conscious or... No. These will not help you. Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then you will be able to remember Kṛṣṇa at the time of death and your this valuable life is properly utilized. Janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām. You have got very nice valuable body, but it will be properly utilized if you learn how to remember Nārāyaṇa at the time of death.
Lecture on SB 2.4.1 -- Los Angeles, June 24, 1972:
Jñāna and tattva-darśī. Simply jñānī, simply a-b-c-d knowledge, academic education will not help. You must be jñānī, at the same time, tattva-darśī. That tattva-darśana cannot be possible by mental speculation. Ciraṁ vicinvan.
Lecture on SB 3.25.3 -- Bombay, November 3, 1974:
The prapadyante means bhakti-yoga. So the śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam is the beginning of bhakti-yoga. Therefore he says, tāni me śraddadhānasya kīrtanyāny anukīrtaya. Anukīrtaya: "Just speak to us by following the paramparā system." Anu. Anu means following. Anu means always, and anu means following. Anu-gamana, anu-karaṇa. Anu-karaṇa means imitation. Anu-gamana means follower and go. So here, anukīrtaya. First of all you must know from the authorities what is the truth. Then you speak. Don't speak nonsense. It will not help you or your followers. That is called anukīrtaya.
Lecture on SB 3.25.10 -- Bombay, November 10, 1974:
So guru means repeatedly his business is to enlighten the disciple how to become detached to this material world. Simply detachment will not help you. The other philosophy, Śūnyavādi, that you make zero this material detachment... No. That is not possible. We have got... Because we are ānandamaya, we want ānanda, sac-cid-ānanda. Actually, we are searching after eternal life, sat. That is sat, eternal life. And cit means knowledge. And ānanda... Sac-cid-ānanda. We are seeking that. Partially, if we simply understand eternity, that will not help us. We must have blissful knowledge. So the Māyāvādīs, those who are impersonalists, they want to make these material varieties of life zero. Because they are very much disgusted with this material life. So jagan mithyā. They say, "This is mithyā. This is false."
Lecture on SB 3.25.19 -- Bombay, November 19, 1974:
So when one is completely Brahman realized, then there is no more chanting, hearing or Vedic hymns. Everything stop. The same theory. Buddhist theory and Māyāvāda theory is almost practically the same. They are saying, "Make it zero," and they are saying, "It is mithyā, false. Stop it." Brahma satyam, brahma satyaṁ jagan... Brahma satya means Brahman realization, "I am Brahman. I am the same Supreme... So 'ham." But that will not help you. That is simply theoretical. Practical is bhaktyā bhagavaty akhilātmani.
Lecture on SB 3.25.19 -- Bombay, November 19, 1974:
The Bhāgavata says there..., tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (SB 1.5.18). Now, not only in cats' and dogs' life, even in heavenly life and other life, we are simply inquiring, "Where is my sense gratification? Where is my sense gratification?" That kind of inquiry will not help you. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta. You should inquire for something which you never did before. That is brahma-jijñāsā. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. "What I am?" I am thinking, "I am this body," and I am engaged, but actually I do not get any pleasure, any happiness. But when I get information that "When you'll be realized, self-realized, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā... (BG 18.54). When you'll be self-realized, Brahman realized, then you'll be prasannātmā..." Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. Yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ. These are the shastric injunctions.
Lecture on SB 3.25.25 -- Bombay, November 25, 1974:
You are studying the Vedic literature, Vedānta-darśana. That is very good. But what is the goal of Vedānta-darśana?" Veda means knowledge, and anta means the end, Vedānta, the ultimate knowledge. What is that? Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). Kṛṣṇa says that "If you are actually studying Vedānta, then ultimately you have to understand Me." Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham: "I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I understand. I am the knower of Vedānta." So if you hear from Kṛṣṇa what is Kṛṣṇa, that is actually understanding Vedānta. If you do not understand Kṛṣṇa and if you simply advertise yourself Vedāntī, that will not help you.
Lecture on SB 3.25.27 -- Bombay, November 27, 1974:
So, so long we are in the service of māyā, duṣkṛtinām, engaged in sinful activities, it is not possible. But if you engage the positive and the negative... The Māyāvādī, they are simply trying to be negative. There is no positive engagement. But here in the bhakti-yoga the negative is there and positive is there. Therefore there is electric light bulb, negative and positive. Therefore there is enlightenment. Simply negative will not help you. And if you don't care of the negative sides, simply positive also will not. But bhakti-yoga is so strong, if you take to the positive side of service of Kṛṣṇa, the material service or māyā's service will automatically become negative. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt (SB 11.2.42). That is called vairāgya. The bhakti-yoga means vairāgya-yoga. Vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yogam.
Lecture on SB 3.25.31 -- Bombay, December 1, 1974:
So Kapiladeva could understand the desire of His mother. The mother was submissive because to understand the sāṅkhya-yoga, bhakti-yoga, it requires... The first condition is submission. Tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). You cannot understand the sāṅkhya-yoga system or bhakti-yoga system by falsely being proud that you are very learned scholar or speculator. These things will not help. You have to hear about Kṛṣṇa very submissively and accepting, not challenging. Then you will be able to understand. Sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhiḥ. You remain in your position. It doesn't matter what you are, simply you hear about Kṛṣṇa. There are so many things about Kṛṣṇa we can hear. Even if we are not educated, we can hear from a person who can speak rightly. But that person must be selected, not ordinary person, not professional person, but here it is said, tattva āmnāyam. Āmnāyam means by disciplic succession. We have to accept a positive party.
Lecture on SB 3.25.39-40 -- Bombay, December 8, 1974:
So you can love Kṛṣṇa as sakhā, as Arjuna did. And similarly, Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he simply heard about Kṛṣṇa, śravaṇam. These are the nine processes. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ: "Of Viṣṇu, of Kṛṣṇa." Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu—the same. Not anyone else. You cannot say that "I am hearing about Mr. such and such, a great politician, śravaṇam." No, that will not help you. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. Smaraṇam, "also always thinking of Me."
Lecture on SB 3.25.44 -- Bombay, December 12, 1974:
It is all-pervading. Just like one is interested in the flower of the tree. If he wants... If he says that "I shall water the flower because I am interested with the flower," or "I shall water the fruit," but that will not help you. If you water on the fruit or on the flower because you are interested, the fruit also will dry and the flower also will dry. But if you water on the root of the tree, which carries the fruit and flower, your fruit and flower automatically will live. Similarly, if you render service to Kṛṣṇa, bhakti, then your so-called social service, country's service, family's service—everything will be performed perfect. You don't have to endeavor separately for social service or any other service.
Lecture on SB 3.26.1 -- Bombay, December 13, 1974:
So we have to receive knowledge from Bhagavān or from a person who is servant of Bhagavān, not that another imitation Bhagavān. Then you'll spoil your life. That will not help you. Bhagavān says, atha te sampravakṣyāmi. Sam means samyak, in full, full knowledge, not partial. Atha te sampravakṣyāmi. Pra means prakṛṣṭa-rūpe. Vakṣyāmi. Vakṣyāmi means "I shall speak." Tattvānām. Tattvānām, tattva is one. Absolute Truth, it cannot be two; but there are different phases of understanding the Absolute Truth. Therefore here it is plural number, tattvānām. Tattva is one. That is explained in another place. Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam (SB 1.2.11). Although tattva is realized in different phases, three phases, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. Brahman, impersonal feature, brahmeti paramātmā. First localized feature, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). That is Paramātmā. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham.
Lecture on SB 3.26.26 -- Bombay, January 3, 1975:
"You just produce food grain." And bhavanti bhūtāni. Bhūtāni means all living entities, they will be stout and strong by eating. What you want more? Annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. And if there is sufficient rain, then automatically, then it will be very easy to grow food grains. Parjanyād anna... If there is no parjanya, rain, then your so-called tractor will not help you, or knowledge, agricultural knowledge, will not help you. You will have to depend on Kṛṣṇa for rains. Parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. And yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ (BG 3.14). If you perform yajña, then there will be regular rainfalls.
Lecture on SB 3.26.26 -- Bombay, January 3, 1975:
And that can be easily done if you become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Bhaja vāsudevam. You have to become devotee of Vāsudeva. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ (SB 1.2.7). You have to take the shelter of bhakti-yoga, Vāsudeva. Then your life will be successful. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā (BG 7.19). You have to become sudurlabhaḥ mahātmā, not cheap mahātmā. A cheap mahātmā will not help you. You have to become real mahātmā. What is real mahātmā? Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ (BG 9.13). That is mahātmā.
Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Hyderabad, April 12, 1975:
The medicine, as directed by the physician, you should take. You should not manufacture your own way of doses. Suppose physician says that "You take five drops of this medicine, mix with water and take it." You have to follow. If you say, "No, let me be cured immediately. Let me take hundred drops" or "one drop." No. That will not help you. Similarly, you should read Bhagavad-gītā as it is prescribed by the physician, Kṛṣṇa. Then you will benefit. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says personally that imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). This yoga system is avyaya, eternal. Kṛṣṇa is eternal, and Kṛṣṇa's words are eternal, and you are also eternal. This is our position.
Lecture on SB 5.5.5 -- Vrndavana, October 27, 1976:
The God's law or nature's law, will not take account of your premiership, prime ministership. What you are actually—that is nature's law. Kṛṣṇa is there within your heart. Outwardly you become a very big man—minister, president and so on—and God is seeing within what you are. Within. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Within you are a dog, and outside if you are a president, that will not help you. That will not help you. Abodha-jātaḥ. Therefore whatever plan they are making, that's all defeat. Plan-making is already there. Kṛṣṇa has given plan gradually. The last plan is sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is real plan. This is Kṛṣṇa has given so many plans: karma-yogi, dhyāna-yogi, this yogi, that. But everywhere He has concluded that the real plan is how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Lecture on SB 5.5.14 -- Vrndavana, November 2, 1976:
He, superficially he might have said something which is not understandable, but he also followed the same thing, bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha. But due to unfavorable time, he had to say about impersonal feature. But ultimately he said, bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindam, bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha mate. You rascal, you just worship Govindam. And this jugglery of words, grammatical jugglery, will not help you at the time of death. Nahi nahi rakṣati dukṛn-karaṇe(?). If you misinterpret that "With this grammatical addition or grammatical alteration this meaning can be derived." No. That is mal-interpretation. Real understanding is bhaja govindam. Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. Lord Brahmā, he also says, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. And Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, he is incarnation of Śaṅkara, he also saying, govindam, bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam, bhaja govindam. And we are following the same thing, so that is guru-paramparā, that is real knowledge. So don't approach a cheater, but actually approach a teacher, not a cheater. Then bhakti-yoga will be... That teacher is guru, and he is representative of Kṛṣṇa. He does not say anything else.
Lecture on SB 5.5.14 -- Vrndavana, November 2, 1976:
Not that officially, I attend bhāgavata-kathā for seven days or ten days in a year, and there are 365 days, and other 355 days, I go to the share market and simply inquire about the raise of this share and that share. That will not help you. Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18), then it is bhakti-yoga. This manufacturing of seven days bhāgavata-kathā, it is business. It is not bhāgavata-kathā. In the Bhāgavata comments, there are so many authorized comments, just like Śrīdhara Svāmī, Vīrarāghavācārya, Vijayadhvaja, Viśvanātha Cakravartī, Jīva Gosvāmī, and Giridhārī Gosvāmī, so many. Nowhere it is stated that you hear bhāgavata-kathā for seven days. You will not find. Therefore this seven days bhāgavata-kathā, so far we can understand, it is not authorized. Here also it is said, nityam, mat-kathayā ca nityam. Never you will find seven days. In another place it is said, nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā. Nityam, you have to hear Bhāgavatam daily. Not that a prescribed method, formality, for seven days. No, that is not authorized. Here it is also said, mat-kathayā, bhāgavata-kathayā ca nityam. Mad-deva-saṅgāt, not in the association of the karmīs, jñānīs, yogis, no. That will not help us.
Lecture on SB 5.5.30 -- Vrndavana, November 17, 1976:
If we understand Kṛṣṇa through Caitanya Mahāprabhu... Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that "You become guru." How? Yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). Don't change, don't alter. You simply try to preach what Kṛṣṇa has said. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instruction. If you follow this instruction... Don't make any addition and alteration of your so-called learned scholarship That will not help you. You must present Bhagavad-gītā as it is. Yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa. There is everything, very easily done, provided we follow paramparā system.
Lecture on SB 6.1.1 -- Melbourne, May 21, 1975:
That is explained in the śāstra, hasti-snāna. The example is very right. Hasti-snāna. Hasti, hasti means elephant. Elephant, they go into the water, in the lake, in the pond, and very nicely cleanse their body. Body very nicely cleansed, and after taking bath, as soon as it comes to the bank on the ground, he takes some dust and throw over the body. So atonement... Sometimes we make atonement. I have committed some sin. I go to church or go to temple. I make some atonement. Then after finishing that business, again I do that business. So this kind of habit will not help you. You must try to stop the bad habit. That you can do when you are in the association of devotees. Otherwise it is not possible.
Lecture on SB 6.1.2 -- Honolulu, May 6, 1976:
You'll not be admitted in the spiritual kingdom unless you know Kṛṣṇa, what He is. And as soon as you understand Kṛṣṇa, you are fit—"Come on." Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). And as soon as you go, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). Everything is explained. And therefore Kṛṣṇa comes. We have got pravṛtti to enjoy this material world. Kṛṣṇa comes personally, that "This will not help you." He comes personally: "You give up this habit. You simply surrender to Me. I will take you back to home, back to Godhead." This is... Pravṛttir eṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ nivṛttes tu mahā-phalam. We are inclined to enjoy this material world, but if we stop this material enjoyment, we are fit for spiritual life. That is the philosophy.
Lecture on SB 6.1.7 -- Honolulu, June 15, 1975, Sunday Feast Lecture:
So this saṅkīrtana movement is so nice. Anyway, don't disbelieve. It is in the śāstra. So there are hellish planet, hellish birth, 8,400,000 species of birth. So we have to take information from the śāstra. Don't be foolish. You create your mental concoction. No, that will not help you, because you are not free. Nobody is free. Everyone is under the grip of material laws. Even if I think, "I am free," that is my foolishness. I will be forced to act. Even if I do not want to become old man, I will be forced to become old man. And if I, after this giving up this body, if I... Suppose nature is offering me a dog's body.
Lecture on SB 6.1.13-14 -- New York, July 27, 1971:
One should be cleansed. Bāhya means externally, and abhyantara, internally. Externally, you take soap, water, soda, and cleanse yourself, body. Take bath, cleanse, keep your clothing very cleansed. Unclean habit will not help you, unclean habit. Cleanliness is godliness. Truthful. Truthfulness. These are the qualities of brāhmaṇa. Satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjavam āstikyaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam. Those who are brāhmaṇas, they must be qualified with all these symptoms. Satyam. This satyam, truthful. How truthful? You, even before your enemies, you'll disclose everything. Such truthful. That is the instruction of ācāryas.
Lecture on SB 6.1.15 -- Auckland, February 22, 1973:
We cannot be desireless. We cannot be inactive. That is also not possible. We must be active—but active for working for Kṛṣṇa. Then it is devotional life. That is being taught in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that it is not simply negation. Simply negation will not help you. There must be some positive occupation. So we say, "Do not do this, but do this." We say, "Do not eat meat," but we say, "Eat Kṛṣṇa's nice prasādam, halavā." So he forgets meat-eating. This is our process. We give immediately alternative. You dance. You don't dance in the naked club; dance in the Kṛṣṇa's temple. The dancing is there, but is purified.
Lecture on SB 6.1.22 -- Honolulu, May 22, 1976:
So we should be very serious. We should not fall down from the standard of Vedic culture. If you are actually serious about stopping this, manaḥ ṣaṣṭhāni indriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati. This is struggle for existence. In this material world everyone is struggling to survive. But who is surviving? That way, materialistic way of life will not help you to survive. That is prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni (BG 3.27). Nature is so strong that you must die. "I am very strong." You may be very strong, that's all right. There is a, I mean to say, joking story that one man thought how to avoid death—Hiraṇyakaśipu. So he thought that the Yamarāja is the superintendent of death, he comes to take. So I shall make such policy that he may not come to me. What is that policy? "Bring some stool. I shall smear over my body, and out of bad smell he will not come." So he began to smear stool on his body at the time of death. So this is going on. They are making body very stout and strong so they will survive. Nobody will survive, sir, unless he is Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Lecture on SB 6.1.22 -- Honolulu, May 22, 1976:
So praṇipāta, if you find out somebody where you can fully surrender, then accept guru. Don't make guru a fashion, just like you keep a dog, fashion, pet dog. People, they generally do that, that "Everyone has a guru. Let me collect. Let me pick up some guru who will be dancing dog." That kind of guru will not help you. You must be convinced that "Here is a guru where I can surrender." So then you can make praśna, or question. Then the question will be answered.
Lecture on SB 6.1.23 -- Honolulu, May 23, 1976:
So we should be very serious. We should not fall down from the standard of Vedic culture. If you are actually serious about stopping this... Manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). This is struggle for existence. In this material world everyone is struggling to survive. But who is surviving? That way, materialistic way of life, will not help you to survive. That is... Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni (BG 3.27). Nature is so strong that you must die. "I am very strong." You may be very strong, that's all right, but you must. There is a, I mean to say, joking story that one man thought, "How to avoid death?" Just like Hiraṇyakaśipu. So he thought that "Yamarāja is the superintendent of death. He comes to take, so I shall make such policy that he may not come to me." What is that policy? "So bring some stool. I shall smear over my body, and out of bad smell, he'll not come." So he began to smear stool on his body at the time of death. So this is going on. They are making body very stout and strong so they'll survive. Nobody will survive, sir, unless he is Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Lecture on SB 6.2.2 -- Vrndavana, September 6, 1975:
In a Bengali there is a proverb, bhajana kara sādhana kara mūrti jānle haya(?), that "Whatever you are executing as a bhajana, sādhana, that's all right, but it will be tested at the time of your death." It will be test. Just like a parrot is chanting, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa," but when some cat comes in, "Kaw, kaw, kaw." No. Then missing. So parrot life will not help you. You must be really chanting without any offense. Then it is possibility that at the time of death... Death will be there. You may be very proud of your body, that "I am permanent." No. "As sure as death." And after death you have to change your body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). That we do not know, what kind of body I will enjoy. Now I have got Serji's(?) body. That's all right. But your karma will decide the next body.
Lecture on SB 6.2.16 -- Vrndavana, September 19, 1975:
You are suffering from some headache, and that is also disease. And you are suffering from cancer, and that is also disease. But when you are suffering from headache the doctors may give you a tablet, Anacin, and the headache is cured. And this is laghū, very insignificant disease. But if you are suffering from cancer, that tablet will not help you. Therefore gurūṇāṁ ca laghūnāṁ ca. As there are different types of diseases—some of them are very, very acute and severe, and some of them are very insignificant—similarly, the grades of sinful activities are there. Some of them are not very serious and some of them are very, very serious. So as the physician prescribes costly medicine for serious disease, similarly, maharṣibhiḥ, big, big saintly persons, liberated persons, they have prescribed prāyaścitta, atonement, for severe types of sinful activities and insignificant types of sinful activities.
Lecture on SB 6.2.17 -- Vrndavana, September 20, 1975:
This is the... "My dear boys..." Ṛṣabhādeva instructed His children, hundred sons, "My dear boys, just prepare yourself for tapasya." That is the whole Vedic civilization, tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ. Tapasya for realizing God. This is the only business of the human life, not any other business. Any other business will not help you. Otherwise everyone would have been very rich man. Everyone is trying, whole day and night working. Does it mean that everyone is becoming Birla and like that? No. That is not possible. You can get only what is destined to you, not more than that. You cannot get more than that.
Lecture on SB 7.6.4 -- Vrndavana, December 5, 1975:
As it is said, prayāsaḥ. The first thing is atyāhāra, eating too much than necessity, atyāhāra, or collecting more than you require. For maintenance of your body you have to secure some monetary benefit—but not more than what you require. People are not satisfied. At the present moment everyone is trying to get more and more and more and more and more. There is no satiation. This kind of endeavor is forbidden. It will not help you. But people are mad after money. If he is getting, say, five hundred rupees, he says, "No, why five hundred? Five thousand." And if he gets five thousand, then he says, "Why five thousand? Five lakhs." And if he gets five lakhs, then he says, "Why five lakhs? Five crores." This is there. The whole world is going on. They are never satisfied. You go to any rich man: "Sir, you have now enough money. Please come to our meeting in the morning, seven-thirty." "No, I have no time." He's earning money.
Lecture on SB 7.7.29-31 -- San Francisco, March 15, 1967, (incomplete lecture):
Guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā sarva-labdhārpaṇena ca, saṅgena sādhu-bhaktānām. And you have to live with society who are trying to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sādhu-saṅgena. Simply official offering will not help you. You have to contact. Therefore this association required. This Society is necessary to give chance to the people that they may come and live in the Society and they reform their character, their habits. So that is required. These are all recommended: saṅgena sādhu-bhaktānām. Sādhu-bhaktānām. Sādhu and bhakta. Not the karmīs. There are different classes of men. Some of them are called karmīs, some of them are called jñānīs, some of them are called yogis, and some of them are called bhaktas, or devotees.
Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Calcutta, March 5, 1972:
So, therefore, material knowledge will not help me. Therefore they struggle so. You are under the grip of natural laws, daivi hy eṣā guṇamayī (BG 7.14). Natural, nature's law are very stringent. You cannot interfere with the... Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). The prakṛti, the nature, material nature is so strong that you cannot interfere with her business, that is not possible. So your material knowledge will not help you, unless you have got Kṛṣṇa consciousness knowledge. You can, anyone can understand. Suppose if I want to protect this body with all hygienic principles, soaps and pumice and injection and medicine and so many things, does it mean that you shall live? Can you overcome the laws of nature? No, that is not possible. Can you overcome the laws of nature that you will not fall sick? No, that you cannot. Can you make any material laws or scientific knowledge that you will not become old? No. You cannot stop death, you cannot stop birth, you cannot stop old age, you cannot stop disease. So what is the value of your material knowledge? And these are the troubles.
Lecture on SB 7.9.16 -- Mayapur, February 23, 1976:
He has strictly forbidden. Those who are not Vaiṣṇavas, professional, for money's sake they recite Bhāgavata, any, anything. They want money. Sometimes they may recite Bhāgavatam. Sometimes they flatter you. Sometimes they read other book also. They want money. Such kind of association will not help you. Satāṁ prasaṅgāt. That is the same thing, Narottama dāsa, sat-saṅga chāḍi' kainu asate vilāsa, te kāraṇe lāgila mora karma-bandha-phāṅsa. This karma-bandha-phāṅsa, the Sanskrit is saṁsāra-cakra-kadanā. The Bengali is karma-bandha-phāṅsa, entanglement in work and resultant action of... That is going on. The saṁsāra-cakra means one after another. This life is going on, and we are creating the resultant action of our karma, and according to the process, we get another body.
Lecture on SB 7.9.43 -- Calcutta, March 23, 1976:
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He also, He is thinking of these fallen souls. He has come again. First of all He came as Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "You rascal, you are creating so many plans. It will not help you. You just surrender unto Me." He said, but still, we are so rascals, we could not take up the proposal of Kṛṣṇa: "Oh, why shall I surrender? Kṛṣṇa is also as good as I am. I am also a man; He is also man." Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritāḥ (BG 9.11). These rascals, they are so rascal that Kṛṣṇa, because Kṛṣṇa comes to bestow His mercy as human being, they think that "Kṛṣṇa is like me." Paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto. The rascal means he does not understand what is Kṛṣṇa, paraṁ bhāva. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). And these other rascals, they are declaring that "Kṛṣṇa is dead and gone; now I am Kṛṣṇa." So this is going on.
Lecture on SB 7.9.55 -- Vrndavana, April 10, 1976:
So anything which can be used for Kṛṣṇa's service, that is not material; that is spiritual. So we must use it. But not for sense gratification. Therefore we have to use and work exactly under the direction of spiritual master. Otherwise it will be sense gratification. Don't manufacture. Guru-mukha padma-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya, āra na kariha mane āśa **. If you want to be guided, then take in every step the words of guru. Manufacturing will not help you. Prahlāda Mahārāja become so great because he was initiated by Nārada Muni. That is required. Chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava sevā, nistar payeche kebā. Nobody can become perfect without serving the bona fide spiritual master. That is the motto. So evaṁ pralobhyamāno 'pi varair loka-pralobhanaiḥ (SB 7.9.55). So much attractive... Now, if somebody says, or Kṛṣṇa says that "I'll give you immediately five lakhs of rupees and one beautiful girl also. You give up this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement," how many will be restrained? That is very difficult. But our boys have been tested. They are not after money, most of them, or women. But generally... Therefore it is said, loka-pralobhanaiḥ. In this material world everyone is after money and woman. Money and women. That is called viṣaya. Viṣaya.
Lecture on SB 7.12.2 -- Bombay, April 13, 1976:
One should take bath three times. In India there is no difficulty. Even in Western countries you have got very good arrangement, hot water and cold water. You can arrange and can take bath. This is essential. Not that sleeping up to ten o'clock. This kind of civilization will not help you. This asuric civilization will degrade the human society. He got the opportunity of elevating himself, even going back to home, back to Godhead. But for want of real civilization they are going again back to monkey and cats and dogs. This is a fact. So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to save them from going back to become cats and dogs. Instead of going back there, they are trying to send him back to God.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, December 26, 1972:
You know that pendulum works: (makes noise) kaut kaut kaut kaut. Bhoga, tyāga, bhoga, tyāga. So Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān pari... You have to give up this bhoga dharma and tyāga dharma. Sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66). You are now engaged in two kinds of dharma. Somebody, karmīs, they are bhoga, bhoga dharmī. They want to enjoy. And tyāgī, they want to renounce this bhoga. So both of these will not help you. Bhoga-tyāga. Then what? Sevā. You have to take the dharma of sevā. That is bhakti. Kṛṣṇa-sevā. For Kṛṣṇa, you can accept anything. That is It may appear bhoga. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja, Pṛthu Mahārāja, they were kings, very opulent kings. Dhruva Mahārāja. So still they were great devotees. Not only ordinary devotees, mahājanas.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 20, 1972:
Similarly, the devotional service, we have to execute with patience, with enthusiasm. Utsāhāt dhairyāt niścayāt tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt. We must be enthusiastic that we... "I shall engage myself very nicely in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement." That is first qualification, enthusiastic. Dullness will not help you. You must be very enthusiastic. My Guru Mahārāja used to say, prāṇa ache yara sei hetu pracāra. A preacher can, a person can become a preacher if he has got life. A dead man cannot become a preacher. So you must be very enthusiastic that "I shall preach the glories of the Lord to my best capacity." It is not that one has to become very learned scholar to become a preacher. Simply it requires enthusiasm, "My Lord is so great, so kind, so beautiful, so wonderful. So I must speak something about my Lord." This is the qualification, enthusiasm. You may not know Kṛṣṇa very perfectly. It is not possible to know Kṛṣṇa very perfectly. Kṛṣṇa is unlimited. We cannot know Kṛṣṇa cent percent. That is not possible. But Kṛṣṇa reveals as far as possible you can understand. So if we are sincere servant of Kṛṣṇa, utsāhān, and if we serve patiently, then Kṛṣṇa reveals.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 7, 1973:
That is not possible. Even the so-called Gods, they also, when there is some toothache, they go to the doctor. They cannot control even toothache. So these kind of Gods will not help you. Take to Kṛṣṇa. Take to Kṛṣṇa as Kṛṣṇa says, the method: man-manā bhava mad-bhakto, mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). These things are there in the Bhagavad-gītā. You take it, practice it, and see how your life becomes successful and how you become happy. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 7, 1973:
Thus we have seen many sannyāsīs, they give up this world as brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, but they do not get any benefit out of it. Therefore they come down again to open hospitals and schools and philanthropic work. They fall down. Now, if it is brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, if jagat is mithyā, then why you are coming again to open hospitals? It is mithyā. But brahma satya. If you have realized Brahman, you are truth. Then why truth is coming to untruth? Because they could not get any pleasure. They want pleasure. Simply sitting down, that "I am now Brahman, Brahman," that will not help. You must act as Brahman. You must get pleasure acting as Brahman. Then there will be ānanda. Otherwise, it is not possible. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ (SB 10.2.32). These are the śāstric injunctions.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.6 -- Mayapur, March 30, 1975:
So this kind of Bhāgavata reading will not help you. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt: (SB 11.2.42) "If you are actually advancing in devotional service, then the symptom will be that you'll have no more material hankerings." That is real. So if you actually hear about Kṛṣṇa's pastimes with Rādhārāṇī, then hṛd-roga-kāmān apahinoti, then our heart disease, lusty desires, will vanish. That is the result. I have repeatedly said. So if you become more lusty by seeing the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa with Rādhārāṇī or hearing, that means you are not fit. Stop it. Stop it. Don't be foolish. So in the spiritual platform, the everything are there, but they are different in quality. Just like iron is also metal and gold is also metal, but the quality is different; similarly, don't take that Kṛṣṇa's loving affairs with Rādhārāṇī is exactly like our loving affair with our girlfriend. No. It is not like that. One is gold, and one is iron.
Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.10 -- Mayapur, April 3, 1975:
When you are fixed up by tapasya, determined with vow, then He will talk to you. He's ready to talk, but you require to acquire the qualification to hear Him. And what is that qualification? This Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service. As it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10). Such persons... (aside:) Don't do it. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānām. Satata means always, twenty-four hours, not that five minutes I meditate and rest of the time I live like cats and dogs. No. This kind of meditation will not help you. Kṛṣṇa says, satata. Satata means twenty-four hours. You have to mold your life in such a way that twenty-four hours you'll think of Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.8 -- Vrndavana, March 15, 1974:
So here the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta is describing about Kṛṣṇa. Here it is: svayaṁ bhagavān kṛṣṇa ekale īśvara. Isvara, Bhagavan, is Kṛṣṇa. Don't accept these humbug, bogus Kṛṣṇa and bogus Bhagavān. Then you'll be misled. And nowadays, especially India, there are so many gods. No! Here it is said, svayaṁ bhagavān kṛṣṇa ekale īśvara. If you accept this, then you understand what is Kṛṣṇa. And if you manufacture another dini Kṛṣṇa, no, that will not help you. Kṛṣṇa is one, but He has got many expansions. Therefore the expansions are called āra yata saba dekha. There are... Just like Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, Viṣṇu, Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa, Catur-vyuha Nārāyaṇa. There are hundreds and thousands of Viṣṇu-tattvas. So āra saba yata dekha tāṅra parikara, expansions. Real, original Kṛṣṇa, the Bhagavān, is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam. Ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28).
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 6.154 -- Gorakhpur, February 16, 1971:
They have given up all other occupation and have accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So India also, we can do that. What is the difficulty? We must do this We must accept this... Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān (SB 1.3.28), janmanām ante jñānavān mām prapadyate. We are cultivating knowledge. Kṛṣṇa says, "After cultivation of knowledge for many, many births..." Not in one life, but many, many births. "One, when actually intelligent, jñānavān, actually wise, he surrenders unto Me." Why should you wait for many, many births? Supposing that you are very intelligent, you are very wise, you are speculating, but according to Bhagavad-gītā, why should you waste your time in that way, speculating? Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyaḥ (Bs. 5.34). Speculating process will not help you. Ciraṁ vicinvan.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 22.21-28 -- New York, January 11, 1967:
So Lord Caitanya says that "Simply by thinking that 'I am not this matter; I am spirit soul, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. I am Brahman,' that will not help you to get liberation." The real fact is that the individual living entities, they are part and parcel of the Supreme, but somehow or other, they wanted separation from the Supreme and wanted to lord it over the material nature. Therefore they are entangled. That is the real fact. And as such, we find from the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord asked that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "Just surrender." So therefore, unless there is surrender of the individual soul to the Supreme, there is no question of liberation.
Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures
Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Lecture -- Bombay, January 3, 1973:
Eh? (break) ... that your, this so-called talk will not help you. But that does not mean that in the spiritual life there is no talk. But Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is spirit. So why He's talking Bhagavad-gītā? What is... What do you think of Kṛṣṇa's talking? (break) ...nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇa. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇa, rasa-vigraha, caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ.
Festival Lectures
His Divine Grace Srila Sac-cid-ananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Appearance Day, Lecture -- London, September 3, 1971:
So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very bona fide because we say the same thing as Kṛṣṇa says. We don't make any addition, alteration. Not like big scholars like, "It is not to Kṛṣṇa..." Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65), and the scholar interprets, "It is not to Kṛṣṇa." Just see (the) foolishness. Kṛṣṇa directly says, "unto Me." He says, "Not to Kṛṣṇa." Misleading. Such misleading guru will not help you. So therefore to find out a bona fide guru means that he does not change the words of Kṛṣṇa. That is his position. He places everything as it is, and he has understood thoroughly the science.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
Arrival Address -- Los Angeles, February 9, 1975:
It is all stated there. So Kṛṣṇa can be understood only by devotional service, by no other. You cannot speculate, "Kṛṣṇa may be like this." Just like Māyāvādīs, they imagine. The imagination will not help you. You cannot imagine God. That is foolishness. God is not subjected to your imagination. Then He is not God. Why He should be subjected to your imagination? So these things are to be understood properly, and one can understand properly when he's pure devotee. Otherwise not. Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtāḥ: (BG 7.25) "I am not exposed to everyone." Why He should be exposed to everyone? When He's pleased, He will reveal Himself to you. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234). You cannot ask the sun to appear immediately. When he is pleased, he will appear in the morning. Similarly, you have to please Kṛṣṇa so that He will appear before you and talk with you and bless you.
Initiation Lectures
Initiations -- San Diego, June 30, 1972:
Just like a doctor gives you prescription, "Don't eat this. Don't do this," similarly, there are so many "don't"s and so many "do"s. So we have to accept the "do"s, not the "don't"s. Ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167). This is called favorably cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have to accept the "do"s, not the "don't"s. Ānukūlyasya saṅkalpa, ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam. We have to accept the favorable things. So if illicit sex life is unfavorable for my advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, I must accept it. You cannot argue. That will not help you. Similarly, intoxication. Similarly, meat-eating. Similarly, gambling. Because these are the four pillars of sinful life: illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. The roof of sinful life is held by these four pillars.
General Lectures
Lecture -- Seattle, October 4, 1968:
These nine kinds of different varieties of service to Kṛṣṇa will enlighten you, will advance you in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and your life will be successful. Any other question? Try to understand, question. It is not a thing that we are forcibly pushing. You have got intelligence. Kṛṣṇa has given you intelligence. Try to understand with your intelligence but do not try to avoid. Make your question to understand it, not making question to avoid it. There are two kinds of question. That question will not help you. If you try to avoid, then Kṛṣṇa will help you to avoid, and if you want to capture Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa will help you how you can capture. Two things are going on.
Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, April 10, 1971:
"There is no more superior factor than Me." Then how we can think of Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being? What is your answer? How do you form such idea? These are the challenges by Kṛṣṇa. And I cannot understand how Kṛṣṇa is accepted as ordinary person. Then either you don't believe in Bhagavad-gītā... That is a different thing. But don't try to malinterpret, wrongly interpret Bhagavad-gītā in your own way. That will not help you. You can propound your own philosophy as you like. Everyone has got the right. Nāsau munir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam: "One cannot be a philosopher, muni, thoughtful man, unless he has got a different philosophy." That's a fact. Everyone wants to propound a type of philosophical method and tries to become famous. That is the natural way. But you make your philosophical presentation in different way. You have got right. But don't try to interpret in Bhagavad-gītā in your own way. That cannot be accepted. And that will not give you the effect of Bhagavad-gītā. You have to accept Bhagavad-gītā as it is.
Lecture What is a Guru? -- London, August 22, 1973:
Supreme means the highest authority. Highest authority means nobody is equal to him, nobody is greater than him. That is supreme. So these rascals who are claiming to become God, is it a fact that nobody is equal to him, nobody is greater than him? There are so many.
So this kind of guru, this kind of rascal, will not help you. Guru must come from the paramparā system by disciplic succession. Five thousand years or five millions of years, what was spoken by the supreme God or guru, the present guru also will say the same thing. That is guru. That is bona fide guru. Otherwise, he's not guru. Simple definition. Guru cannot change any word of the predecessor. There is one instance in Caitanya Mahāprabhu's life.
Lecture on Gurvastakam at Upsala University -- Stockholm, September 9, 1973:
Don't make a cheap guru or a fashion guru, just like you keep sometimes a dog as a fashion. Similarly, if you want to keep a dog, or if you want to keep a guru as a fashion—"I have got a guru"—that will not help. You must accept a guru who can extinguish the blazing fire of anxiety within your heart. That is the first test of a guru.
Sunday Feast Lecture -- Atlanta, March 2, 1975:
There is a frog within the well, and one of his friends came to him, "My dear friend, I have seen a vast mass of water, Atlantic Ocean." "What is that Atlantic Ocean?" "It is vast." "How much? Maybe ten times more than this? Or twenty times? Come on." (laughter) "No, no. It is very, very vast." So these rascal speculation of God is like that the speculation of the frog about Atlantic Ocean. These mundane philosopher, scientists, they are thinking of God in that way, the Dr. Frog's philosophy. The Dr. Frog's philosophy will not help you to understand what is God.
City Hall Lecture -- Durban, October 7, 1975:
That means you have to study the subject matter very scientifically. Then you will understand that although Kṛṣṇa comes as a human being, still, He maintains His position as God. That is real understanding. Unless you understand this fact, you will misunderstand Him. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says as soon as you understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, then you become liberated. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. Simply superficial study will not help you. Then you have to study to become a serious student of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and study Him. Then you will understand. Otherwise, superficially, we cannot understand.
Philosophy Discussions
Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:
Prabhupāda: No, there is aim, that Kṛṣṇa is giving knowledge also. The Vedas are there, Kṛṣṇa is coming, giving knowledge, that this kind of playing will not help you, therefore I, His request, you give up all this playing, come to Me. This is the point.
Philosophy Discussion on Jeremy Bentham:
Prabhupāda: In Bombay. It was prohibited area. So Gandhi made this prohibition as far as possible. Now they are lifting. Because simply prohibition will not help you. Unless you have got a better engagement, this prohibition will not help you. By law you can say, "Don't do this," but if you have no better engagement, this order of the law, "Don't do this," will not act. Will not act. Just like government, your government is trying to stop this intoxication. They could not. It is increasing. But so far our society is concerned, anyone who is coming here, immediately there is no intoxication. That means he gets something better. Therefore he voluntarily checks himself. And it is possible to check. So unless you give better thing, simply by prohibition you cannot check. That is not possible. The same example again, just like a thief, he knows the prohibitive order that you shall not steal. He knows the prohibitive order even in śāstra, that if a man is a thief he will suffer this kind of hellish condition. So he has heard it from the lawyer and from the śāstra that stealing is not good and he has seen it that a thief is arrested and is punished but still he does it. But a Kṛṣṇa conscious person will not do it. That is the difference. So by law or by pressure you cannot make anyone moral. That's not possible. He has to be given something which is better than morality, then he will stop committing all kinds of sins.
Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:
Prabhupāda: That is... Yes. That is his life, to cooperate with God. That is his real life. But here in this material world he is simply noncooperating. He's simply noncooperating. Unless he is noncooperating, why Kṛṣṇa says that "You surrender unto Me." That is simply noncoop... Anything here, karma, jñāna, yoga, anything... Other animal life, you throw away. Even in the higher level of human life, where karma is regulated, jñāna is there, knowledge is there, and yoga is there, but because there is no surrender to Kṛṣṇa, they will not help you to become happy. So that... Caitanya-caritāmṛta says bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī sakale aśānta. Aśānta means restless. Restless. Bhukti means karmīs. They want simply sense enjoyment. They are called karmīs. And mukti, the jñānīs, they want mukta, mukti.
Philosophy Discussion on Johann Gottlieb Fichte:
Prabhupāda: That, if there is water, that water is this well. How can there be more than this? And maybe big well, that's all. But that is his conception. So this conception will not help. You cannot create God. Just like we have got God, Kṛṣṇa. As soon as there was necessity to give protection to the inhabitants of whole Vṛndāvana, the torrents of rain, and it requires a big umbrella, and immediately He lifted the whole mountain: "Come on, under this, let Me see how long this torrents of rain go on. I shall hold." That is God. He... So He was seven-years-old boy. He was not a meditation God. Nowadays that the rascals are becoming God by meditation. What is meditation God? God is always God. Does it require meditation to become God? There are all these rascals, they are preaching, "You meditate and you become God. You think that 'I am moving the sun, I am moving the earth, I am...' " This is rascaldom. But Kṛṣṇa, He is not that kind of God. He is always God. Now it is necessary, "All right. Lift this." This is God. Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya. Whole strength is there to lift the mountain. That is God.
Philosophy Discussion on Socrates:
They are refusing, or they do not admit; that is going on. But if one is fortunate, he can catch up the rope, and the man wants to help him, he can get him out. But he has to catch up. It is Kṛṣṇa's advice also, that "You are crying, you are suffering, you are finding, trying to find out how your suffering will be ended." That materialist, they are doing their own way, and the impersonalists, they are doing in their own way; the yogis, they are doing in their own way. Everyone is trying to get out of the suffering. But when Kṛṣṇa says that these things will not help you, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), he does not catch up. That is his misfortune.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1971 Conversations and Morning Walks
Interview with Reporters -- November 10, 1971, New Delhi:
Prabhupāda: No. Faith is the beginning. But you have to... If you don't increase that faith scientifically, then that faith will not help you.
Interview with Reporters -- November 10, 1971, New Delhi:
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because you are (indistinct), it is better to surrender and be peaceful. (break) ...here, there, here, there, here. Kṛṣṇa says, "No. That surrender will not help you. Just surrender to Me, you will be happy." So intelligent person will feel that "If I have to surrender, why not to Kṛṣṇa? Why surrender to some foolish man? Let me surrender to Kṛṣṇa. If my business is to surrender, I cannot do without surrender." That is intelligence. That Kṛṣṇa says,
- bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
- jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
- vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
- sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
- (BG 7.19)
Therefore who surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, he is mahātmā. It is very rare mahātmā, su-durlabhaḥ. So anyone who has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, they are mahātmā. They are not ordinary men. So mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ.
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation -- June 29, 1972, San Diego:
Prabhupāda: By executing your particular type of religion, the result must be there. The result is "How I shall go back to home, back to Godhead." If that desire is not developed, it is simply waste of time. You may profess this religion or that religion or this religion, or that religion. It doesn't matter. You are simply wasting time by following the dogmas and ritualistic this or that. That will not help you. Phalena paricīyate. Whether you have come to this consciousness, "What I am? I am not matter; I am spirit. I have to go back to my spiritual." That... That is wanted. So either you may be Hebrew or may be Hindu or Christian. We want to see whether that consciousness has arisen. If it is not, then you have simply wasted time. Either you be Hindu or brāhmaṇa or this or that, it doesn't matter. Śrama eva hi kevalam (SB 1.2.8). Simply wasting time.
Room Conversation and Interview with Ian Polsen -- July 31, 1972, London:
Prabhupāda: That will not help you.
Ian Polsen: No, but the reason why I mention it is that I think it is a magazine that Your Grace might contribute to, to propagate Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because it's based on three principles: principles of traditional religion, the principles of spiritual guidance from a spiritual master, and the invocation of the name of God. There is great similarity there, and I think that the few people who read that magazine could be reached through the magazine.
Prabhupāda: What is the name?
Ian Polsen: It is called Studies in Comparative Religion. And I can leave the... I have no interest in this magazine except that I subscribe to it.
Prabhupāda: Hm. Comparative religion, from our point of view, that there cannot be many religions, cannot be many religions. Religion means... We define religion as the law given by God. So we understand from Bhagavad-gītā that God says, Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: "Always think of Me, become My devotee, offer your obeisances unto Me." So any religion that has no conception of God, how he can think of God? If I think of something, that something must be known to me; otherwise how can I think of it? If I imagine something, that is not wanted. My imagination of God... God is not a thing to be imagined by me. He is a concrete thing.
Room Conversation and Interview with Ian Polsen -- July 31, 1972, London:
Prabhupāda: That's all. People after sense gratification. A diseased man, who cannot digest, if he thinks that "I shall eat this, I shall eat that, I shall eat that," but actually he cannot digest. Eating this or that, how it will help him? (laughs) If you have lost your digesting power, then if you change, "I eat this, I shall eat that," that will not help you. So the modern civilized man, he has lost the point how he can be happy. He is simply changing the program of sense gratification. That's all.
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation -- November 3, 1973, New Delhi:
Prabhupāda: So if you make that association, that will not help you. Joint mess, dormitory. Or joint family. Just like in India. There are five brothers. They're earning. Father and mother is the leader. They're handing over the money, and the father, mother managing. That is Indian system, a joint family. So joint family or joint mess, the same thing. So if you make like that, a center, then it is no good. You must get spiritual strength. Karmī strength will not help you. What they are doing in Babar(?) Road, these girls?
Guru dāsa: They're preparing some śṛṅgāra for Deity.
Morning Walk -- December 18, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: If you simply make it a slogan, but you remain same as the man who does not know what is God, then what is the meaning of this slogan? That will not help you." Just like sometimes they put the signboard, "Goodman and Company," businessmen. The signboard is "Goodman," but he is cheating simply, from business point of view. That kind of signboard will not help you. If you actually believe in God, then try to understand what is God. Otherwise how you can believe? If you do not know the person in whom you have to trust, how you can trust Him? Is it clear or not? I say, "Trust in Him," but if I do not know that man, how I can trust? You must explain that "This man is in this way trustworthy." Otherwise what is the meaning of my trust? This science should be understood, what is God and what is trust. That you discuss thoroughly, threadbare. Otherwise how you will be able to preach? Ask all questions. I will answer. But you must be thoroughly conversant that there is need of God and everyone must trust in God.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk -- January 3, 1974, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Then stop it. Take instruction from the śāstra. Don't speculate. That will not help you. The same example, a child's speculation, "Who is my father?" He will never be successful. But as soon as he asks his mother, "Who is my father?" Immediately knowledge: "Here is your father." Finished.
Morning Walk -- March 15, 1974, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: Then, that, if you become idle, you'll be diseased. You'll have dysentery. That's all. That will not help you. You'll have to suffer. That, that, that stage has already come. Because so many rascals are idle, now there is so many things want. So you'll suffer. If you don't work, then you'll suffer.
Morning Walk -- March 26, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: ...not this, not that. That will not help. You must act in such a way that these people accept you as superior. (break) ...(Hindi) (break) ...not a paid servant. (break) ...bring Bhagavān at your control. You can bring Him at your control by love. Just like Yaśodāmayī... She's showing the stick: "Kṛṣṇa, if you do like this, then I will chastise you." And He's crying. That is premā. (break) Premā pum-artho mahān. That is the highest achievement, to achieve the love of Godhead. And if you love God, then you achieve love of everyone.
Morning Walk -- March 29, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: That... Yes, immediately. Because he does not accept the authority of Vedas. That is real knowledge. Nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātam Yes, yajña, I mean to say, criticize the yajña-vidhi. Yajña-vidhi you cannot criticize. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). Karma-bandhana. So yajña must go on, and the vidhi must be followed. That is real acceptance of Vedic knowledge. If you manufacture your own concoction, "This is good, this is bad," that will not help you.
Morning Walk -- May 28, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: Yes the whole basic principle I have already explained. Because they are animals, so sometimes ferocious animal. That's all. Animal, there are different types of animals. Tigers and lions, they are ferocious animal. But you live in the animal society. So animal society, some, another animal comes as very ferocious, that is not very astonishing. After all, you are living in animal society. So you become human being, ideal. This is the only solution. We have already declared, this is animal society. If some ferocious animal comes out, so where is the astonishment? After all, it is animal society. Either a tiger comes or elephant comes, they are all animals. That's all. But you don't become animal. Counteract. That is required. Then after... A human being is called rational animal. If you come to the rationality, that is required. If you remain also another animal, another type of animal, that will not help you.
Morning Walk -- May 29, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: No, because they have no knowledge. How we can enjoy life without knowledge? They also accept that for this comfortable situation they require knowledge. The engineering knowledge, this knowledge, that knowledge. But that knowledge is not sufficient. You require another knowledge. That you are lacking. You are deficient in that knowledge, self-realization. That is the defect. This knowledge will not help you. For eating, sleeping knowledge, this child, if I give him some eatable, immediately he knows the knowledge, "This is eatable. I shall capture it and put it in the mouth." It doesn't require any education. That is natural. If I love this child, he will respond. This knowledge is already there. Even a dog, "Tch, tch, tch, come on, come on," he will come. So for this eating, sleeping, mating, the knowledge is there in the animals, in the children. That doesn't require any advanced knowledge. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (To child) Come on. Come on, yes. Very intelligent. (laughing) Thank you very much.
Room Conversation -- June 20, 1974, Germany:
Prabhupāda: That consciousness will not help you...
Guest: It won't.
Prabhupāda: ...that will rather check you.
Room Conversation with Bhurijana dasa and Disciples -- July 1, 1974, Melbourne:
Prabhupāda: Smoke means also fire. But you require blazing fire, not smoke fire. So blazing fire takes place if the wood is dry, immediately takes place. Otherwise, you go on enjoying the smoke. Be satisfied. "When there is smoke, there is fire." But it will not be useful. (chuckling) It will be useful, gradually the wood will dry. It takes long time. Just try to understand this example. You require the flame, not the smoke. But if you are satisfied with the smoke, that is your business. If you simply be satisfied—"The smoke is also fire. Unless there is fire, why the smoke comes?"—that's a good argument, but smoke will not help you. You require the flame. That flame cannot be produced if the wood is wet. Wet means materially contaminated. Is that example all right?
Satsvarūpa: Yes, that's true.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Prabhupāda: "You must give up intoxication up to drinking tea and cigarette," and they have given up, these young men. So they are utsāhaḥ. There is enthusiasm: "Yes, we must do it." That is wanted, not theoretically on the armchair of devotional service. That will not be successful. Armchair theory will not help you. You must be practical and there must be enthusiasm. Then it will be successful. You are sitting in the same position and you are thinking that you are making progress. That will fail. You have to come out with enthusiasm. Then it will be successful. That is required.
Morning Walk -- May 29, 1975, Honolulu:
Prabhupāda: There is no question of "my friends and relatives." That is described in the Bhāgavatam. Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu ātma-śainyeṣu. He is thinking, "They are my soldiers. They will give me protection." Ātma-śainya. Śainya means soldier. Asatsv api. It is false, but he is thinking like that. That is foolishness. When you have to fly, you have to fly on the strength of your wings, own wings, not your son's wings or daughter's wings or... That will not help you. Svakarma-phala, phala-bhuk. You have to enjoy or suffer according to your own activities.
Room Conversation with the Rector, Professor Olivier and Professors of the University of Durban, Westville -- October 8, 1975, Durban:
Prabhupāda: Yes. That I want. Without science, simply sentiment will not help you.
Morning Walk -- December 18, 1975, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govinda... He has asked, mūḍha-mate. One who is rascal, he does not worship Govinda. In this he says, "You rascal, nahi nahi rakṣati duḥkṛṅ karaṇe, prāpte sannite koro marame. You have learned so much grammar, grammatical jugglery to interpret śāstra in this way, that way. These things will not help you at the time of your death. You rascal, bhaja govindaṁ." Bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate. "You rascal!" He says mūḍha! (everyone laughing)
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk -- January 21, 1976, Mayapura:
Prabhupāda: No. And why they should accept Bhāgavata? We are not accepting Bible, so why they should accept Bhāgavata? That is no argument. You must present the Vedic knowledge in such a way that they will be obliged to accept: "Yes, it is right." (break) ...something, Mr. Agarwal, that "Nobody complains about eating," you will do a great service, I tell you. Everyone will come and say, "Oh, such a nice food." They will come here for eating, if not for anything. (break) You were proposing about our Vṛndāvana. So if this thing is done, that the eatables are very nice, then visitors will come. Otherwise this manager, that manager, this manager will not help you. Phalena paricīyate. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Room Conversation with Professor Francois Chenique -- August 5, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):
Prabhupāda: Your simply this grammatical jugglery of words will not help you. Bhaja govindam. Therefore we, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. We, our principle is to worship Govinda the ādi-puruṣa, tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. So without coming to that stage, perfection is not complete. Partial, the sac-cid-ānanda, the brahma-anubhūti is partial, sat. "I am not matter. I am not destructible. I am eternal." This is sat. And cit, knowledge, full knowledge about spiritual... But ānanda you have to come to the third stage, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti.
Morning Walk -- December 5, 1976, Hyderabad:
Prabhupāda: That you cannot imagine, how it is possible. That is your material knowledge. But you have to accept from the statement of śāstra that although He is far, far away, within your heart. Aṇḍāntara-stha-para... He is within the atom also. So that you cannot imagine. That requires a different knowledge, Vedic knowledge. The material knowledge will not help you, but you cannot imagine. You have to accept Vedic knowledge. What is stated in the Vedas, that you have to accept. That's all. Otherwise there is no possibility. Therefore to understand Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's activities you have to learn from Kṛṣṇa. That is Bhagavad-gītā. You cannot manufacture your knowledge. That is not... Because you are defective—your senses are imperfect—so whatever knowledge you get through your senses, that is all imperfect. You cannot get perfect knowledge by your imperfect senses. That is not possible. Therefore the Vedic injunction is tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). In order to learn that transcendental science you have to approach a guru who knows it.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:
Prabhupāda: They were trained by the first-class brāhmaṇas, saintly persons. They abided by their order. There was committee, advisory committee. Even at the time of his death, he's asking advice from the saintly..., "What is my duty?" That is king. He's not doing anything whimsically. And the first-class man should be first-class. Then second-class man, executive, kṣatriyas, they will force: "You must do it!" And then the third class, they should produce and carry out the order of the second class, king. And fourth class, they cannot do anything. Let them serve everyone, that's all, śūdras. They have no intelligence. But everyone is important, cooperatively. This is society. You require also legs; you require also heads. Simply heads will not help you.
Room Conversation -- January 27, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:
Prabhupāda: No. You are nonsense, that is accepted, but do not think that because you have manufactured printing press, you have become God. That is our proposal. We give you credit. And we can also say that without your printing press, people were not dying. Formerly people were copying. Everyone's business was going on. There was no need of mass studying. Only the brāhmaṇas, they used to copy and they used to vibrate the knowledge. And those who were interested, they were hearing and getting the knowledge. So what was the harm? It is little facility that... The same logic: The dog is running, four legs, you are running by four wheels. That does not mean that the dog will die, you'll not die. You'll die also, and dog will die. So this four-wheel car will not help you ultimately. Ultimately you have to die.
Correspondence
1969 Correspondence
Letter to Sir -- New Vrindaban 27 May, 1969:
Besides this, even if one is initiated into brahmanahood it does not mean that he shall stop his general work and helping his family. I do not know why you are so upset that he will not help you anymore. Anyway, I am forwarding your letter to your son to negotiate with you further in this matter. But rest assured that he will not be accepted into brahmanahood at least for one year henceforward.
Letter to Uttamasloka -- New Vrindaban 7 June, 1969:
We should follow the regulative principles, regard being had to situation, circumstances and objectives. We should not be greedy and we should not mix with persons not interested in Krishna. In this way, we can make steady progress and maintain our membership in Krishna's family. Thus, at the end of this life we will enter actually into the spiritual world. So your main business should be to spread Sankirtana, becoming tolerant as the tree and becoming humbler than the grass. If you have anytime any difficulty, please try to settle up in the above way, but do not leave the company of devotees. That will not help you, even though there may seem to be some difficulties.
1970 Correspondence
Letter to Jayapataka -- Los Angeles 21 January, 1970:
This is Sankara's last instruction to his followers, and the purport is that the mayavadi philosophers are very much accustomed to draw favorable meanings from unwanted interpretations by grammatical jugglery. In Sanskrit the grammatical jugglery is a great puzzle, there are many words which can be changed into different meanings by grammatical root derivations and affixing and prefixing pratyayas. So Sankara advised that do not try to exact favorable conclusions by beating the Sastras, but be submissive to Lord Govinda and worship Him. Otherwise, this grammatical jugglery of words will not help you at the time of death. At that time only if you can someway or other remember the Lotus Feet of Govinda, Krishna, that will save you, O' the fool number-one. Don't waste your time in misinterpreting the sastras.
1971 Correspondence
Letter to Rayarama -- Bombay 22 October, 1971:
Similarly temple worship is essential for purifying us from the material contamination and without being purified we cannot glorify the Lord. As it is stated in Bhagavad-gita that the Lord is completely pure and we cannot approach Krishna without being purified. So as you say that you do not feel very much encouraged in Deity worship and temple life, I see that your disease is still continuing. Under the circumstances simple academic career will not help you. If you want to live with us you must accept temple life, namely cleanly shaven head, observing the regulative principles, decorating the body with tilak, etc. You know all these things.
1975 Correspondence
Letter to Lalitananda -- Hawaii 26 May, 1975:
Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated May 13rd, 1975 and have noted the contents. I am very sorry that you have taken to homosex. It will not help you advance in your attempt for spiritual life. In fact, it will only hamper your advancement. I do not know why you have taken to such abominable activities. What can I say? Anyway, try to render whatever service you can to Krishna. Even though you are in a very degraded condition Krishna, being pleased with your service attitude, can pick you up from your fallen state. You should stop this homosex immediately. It is illicit sex, otherwise, your chances of advancing in spiritual life are nil. Show Krishna you are serious, if you are.
| Page Title: | Will not help you |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika, Mayapur, Visnu Murti |
| Created: | 13 of May, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=97, Con=24, Let=5 |
| No. of Quotes: | 126 |