- bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
- jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
- vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
- sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ
- (BG 7.19)
After many, many births of this kind of contaminated diseases and births and body, when by culture of knowledge, by austerities, by penances, by brahminical culture one becomes very, very learned and wise, at that time he can understand what is God—not before that. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān (BG 7.19). Not the rascals and the fools can understand what is God. Only the jñānavān. So as you are trying to become jñānavān for higher status of life, similarly, if you become jñānavān to understand God, then God consciousness will come. Not so easily.
- manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
- kaścid yatati siddhaye
- yatatām api siddhānāṁ
- kaścin etti māṁ vtattvataḥ
- (BG 7.3)
So not only ordinary human being. What they can understand about God? Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye. What is the perfection of life? One must know. The perfection of life is to understand that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is perfection of life, when one can understand.
- brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
- na śocati na kāṅkṣati
- samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
- mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
- (BG 18.54)
So after becoming Brahman-realized soul, when he is fully liberated from material contamination—goodness, passion or ignorance—prasannātmā, na śocati na kāṅkṣati, he has no material hankering, neither he laments for any material loss, samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, when he visions all living entities as spirit soul, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām, at that time he is eligible to understand what is bhakti. And bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55): if you become bhakta, if you have got the opportunity to come to that platform, then you can understand God. Otherwise, God is not so easy to understand. (break) (answering another question) What is your duty? That is the first thing. Do you know what is your duty?
Indian man (1): Duty . . . (indistinct) . . ..
Prabhupāda: You manufacture your duty, but you do not know what is your duty. (laughter) Duty is: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is your duty. Anything you manufacture duty, that is not duty; that is cheating. (applause) First of all, you learn what is your duty; then talk of duty. In your office if you go, if you say, "Anything I do, it is my duty," no. You must know the particular work you are advised to act by the superintendent or the director, not that you can manufacture your duty. If you execute that duty, then you are dutiful. Otherwise, you are simply creating trouble, just like a monkey. They create their duty, and wherever he goes, "Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!" The monkey's duty is no duty. A man must know what is duty, and he should execute. That is duty.
Indian man (1): As you have explained, Lord Kṛṣṇa . . . (indistinct) . . . Arjuna to do his duty.
Prabhupāda: Well, first of all you try to understand Kṛṣṇa, what He says. Then, if you are dutiful, then you can say who is the other dutiful. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). If you come to that stage of life, then you are dutiful. Otherwise, if you create your duties as monkey, that is not duty. (pause) Hare Kṛṣṇa.