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Worthless (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 3.8-13 -- New York, May 20, 1966:

There are recommendation in these Vedas, pañca-yajña. Pañca-yajña means that unknowingly we are killing many living entities. Suppose we are... When we are walking on the street there are many ants who are being killed on the pressure of our shoes. So that is also counted as sin. In God's kingdom, in God's, I mean to say, state. Just like here you have to pay by your life if you kill one man. If you commit a murder, you have to repay this murdering sin by your own life. That is, of course, imperfect law, man-made law. Similarly, in God's law also, if you kill any living entity, you have to suffer for that, because in the God's eye there is no question of man or animal or ant or fly or something like that. Every living entity is the son of God. Now, suppose your father has got five sons. One of them is worthless, is doing nothing. And if the other son says, "My dear father, this son, your youngest son, or this son, is worthless. He is doing nothing. Let us kill him," will your father agree? Because he is worthless, will your father agree? No, he will say, "No, no, no. You have nothing to do. He is not harming you. He is eating my, my subsistence. I am paying for his subsistence. Why you should kill him?" So similarly, in this material nature, all these living entities in different forms, they have come for material enjoyment and everything is being supplied by the Supreme Lord. We have no right to kill them. We have no right. According to God's law, if one is conscious... The same thing: Just like the father will never agree to kill a worthless child by the competent boy... No.

Lecture on BG 6.32-40 -- New York, September 14, 1966:

" Aprāpya yoga-saṁsiddhim: "He could not achieve the perfection." Kāṁ gatiṁ kṛṣṇa gacchati: "Then what happens to him?" Because half finished... Just like a person was studying for medical certificate or medical qualification, and out of six years, he simply performed two years. Oh, neither he is a doctor, neither he is a clerk. He is useless. He becomes useless. So Kṛṣṇa is being asked by Arjuna whether a person who is trying for perfection of life in spiritual advancement, if he finishes only a portion or half, so what happens to him? Does he become useless or worthless? Simply wasted time? Kaccin na ubhaya-vibhraṣṭaḥ chinnābhram iva naśyati: "Is it not like that, that a cloud assembles..." When the clouds are compact together then there is possibility of raining, but if by wind it is broken, now there is no possibility of rain. The example is very nice. Kaccit na ubhaya-vibhraṣṭaḥ.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Bombay, January 13, 1973:

A very nice, big machine, aeroplane, 747, but if there is no pilot, who will drive it? The machine is worthless unless there is the pilot. Similarly this is also machine, this body. Yantrārūḍhāni māyayā (BG 18.61).

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.3.14 -- Los Angeles, September 19, 1972:

If there is no good government, strong government, the rogues, thieves, smugglers and so many other disrupting elements, they will grow. Because they are always existing. They find out the opportunity. As soon as there is some revolution, political upsurge, or mismanagement of the government, these undesirable elements, they come out. So when the father of Veṇa Mahārāja left home, the kingdom became unruly. Therefore the sages and saintly persons, they asked the queen that "Your son, although he is worthless, so let him become king. There must be some king."

Lecture on SB 1.15.27 -- Los Angeles, December 5, 1973:

The Bhagavad-gītā, being spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the essence of all Vedic wisdom. It is nicely presented by the Lord Himself for all who have very little time to go through the vast Vedic literatures, like the Upaniṣads, Purāṇas and Vedānta-sūtras. It is put within the study of the great historical epic Mahābhārata, which was especially prepared for the less intelligent class, namely the women, the laborers, and those who are worthless descendants of the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and the higher sections of the vaiśyas.

Lecture on SB 1.16.2 -- Los Angeles, December 30, 1973:

First-class man, dvija-varya-śikṣayā, they used to teach. They used to advise. And if the king was worthless, sometimes they would kill the king. And next son, his son would take possession.

That was done in the case of Mahārāja Veṇa. Mahārāja Veṇa, he was upstart. He was born of a low-class mother, so he become so upstart that in his boyhood he was playing with friends, and if there was some quarrel, he would kill such friend. So his father became so disgusted, tried to reform him in so many ways, but he could not be reformed. The father, Mahārāja Aṅga, he left the kingdom all of a sudden, being disgusted.

Lecture on SB 2.9.7 -- Tokyo, April 24, 1972:

Just like in Christian philosophy, they say, "The father and the son, the same." Is it not? Yes. So similarly, here the father and son, or the spiritual master and God, they are same, but at the same time not same. It is simultaneous. This is called acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, simultaneously one and different. I think the Christian philosophy is like that. Christ, son, and God, Holy Ghost—they are simultaneously one and different? Is that? So that is the position. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ, kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya **. So we can interpret... When the Christian people say that... Just like they say "only son." So we can interpret... Of course, we are not going to interpret. We can take it that anyone who becomes confidential... Just like father position. He has got many sons. One son who is very obedient, he says, "He is my only son, and others not sons." Does he not, father say, sometimes? "Actually he is my son." Sometimes father says like that. But that does not mean that he has got only one son. He has got many sons, but all of them are useless, worthless. He is only bona fide.

Lecture on SB 7.9.26 -- Mayapur, March 4, 1976:

So Prahlāda Mahārāja is appreciating that "I am worthless. I have no qualification." That should be the position of the bhaktas always. Never we should think that "I have become a big bhakta." No. Caitanya-caritāmṛta author says humbly, puriṣera kīṭa haite muñi se laghiṣṭha: (CC Adi 5.205) "I am lower than the worm in the stool." Does it mean that he is actually? No. But he's feeling like that. An advanced devotee, they're always so humble and meek, they always think of himself as worthless. And still, the Lord is so kind and favorable. That is His causeless mercy, that "I am not qualified, I am not worthy of this facility." This is the humbleness. Kvāhaṁ rajaḥ-prabhava īśa tamo 'dhike 'smin. "Not only I am influenced by rajo-guṇa, but mostly, seventy-five percent, I am infested with tamo-guṇa."

Initiation Lectures

Initiations -- Los Angeles, January 10, 1969:

Just like I told you about Bhadrasena. He was challenging Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa was defeated. And when Kṛṣṇa became defeated, He had to take on His shoulder His friend. So this is another thing. And to be satisfied with little power and little influence within this material world, that is nothing. That is worthless. As soon as this body is finished, everything is finished. It has no value. Just... Yam labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ. You just try to achieve something, will achieving, you will no more want anything. So all these yogis, all these karmīs, all these jñānīs, they are not peaceful because they are wanting something, wanting something. So long you will be wanting something, there cannot be any more peace. Mind that. When there will be no more demand, that is peace. And that is only for Kṛṣṇa bhakta, kṛṣṇa-bhakta niṣkāma (CC Madhya 19.149), because he has no demand. Ataeva śānta: "Therefore he is peaceful."

General Lectures

Lecture at Auckland University -- Auckland, April 17, 1972:

The gross body is made of material elements—earth, water, fire, air, sky—and the subtle body is made of mind, intelligence and ego. So when we quit this gross body, the subtle body carries me to another gross body. This is the law of transmigration. It is not the question of belief. It is a fact that if we neglect to study this scientific knowledge, then we are missing the opportunity, because in this human form of life the developed knowledge can study what is there within this body which is so important, which missing, this body becomes worthless.

Page Title:Worthless (Lectures)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, ParthsarathyM
Created:13 of Dec, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=10, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:10