Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja

Today I shall speak to you of the history of a boy devotee named Prahlada Maharaja. He was born in a family that was stubbornly atheistic. There are two kinds of men in this world: the demons and the demigods. What is the difference between them? The main difference is that the demigods, or godly persons, are devoted to the Supreme Lord, whereas the demons are atheistic. They do not believe in God because they are materialists. These two classes of men always exist in this world. At the present moment, due to the Age of Kali (Age of Quarrel), the number of demons has increased, but the classification has existed since the beginning of creation. The incident I am narrating to you occurred very, very long ago, a few million years after the time of creation.

Prahlada Maharaja was the son of the most atheistic person and the most materially powerful as well. Because the society was materialistic, this boy had no opportunity to glorify the Supreme Lord. The characteristic of a great soul is that he is very eager to broadcast glorification of the Supreme Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, for example, was very eager to broadcast the glorification of God, but demoniac people misunderstood him and crucified him.

When Prahlada Maharaja was a five-year-old boy, he was sent to school. As soon as there was a recreation period, when the teacher was away, he would say to his friends, “My dear friends, come on. We shall speak about Krsna consciousness.” This scene is related in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Seventh Canto, Sixth Chapter. The devotee Prahlada says, “My dear friends, this is the time, in this young age, to prosecute Krsna consciousness.”
His little friends reply, “Oh, we shall now play. Why take up Krsna consciousness?”

In answer to this, Prahlada Maharaja says, “If you are intelligent, then you must begin bhagavata-dharma from childhood.” The Srimad-Bhagavatam offers bhagavata-dharma, or the process leading to scientific knowledge about God. Bhagavata means “the Supreme Personality of Godhead,” and dharma means “regulative principles.” This human form of life is very rare. It is a great opportunity. Therefore Prahlada says, “My dear friends, you are born as civilized human beings, so although your human body is temporary, it is the greatest opportunity.” No one knows the length of his life. It is calculated that in this age the human body may live up to a hundred years. But as the Age of Kali advances, duration of life, memory, mercy, religiousness, and all other such assets decrease. So no one has any assurance of long life in this age.

Still, although the human form is temporary, you can achieve the highest perfection of life while in this human form. What is that perfection? To understand the all-pervading Supreme Lord. For other life forms this is not possible. By the gradual evolutionary process we come to this human form, so it is a rare opportunity. By nature’s law, a human body is ultimately given to you so that you can promote yourself in spiritual life and go back home, back to Godhead.

The ultimate goal of life is Visnu, or Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In a later verse Prahlada Maharaja will say, “People in this material world who are enamored with the material energy do not know what the goal of human life is. Why? Because they have been enchanted by the Lord’s glaring external energy. They have forgotten that life is an opportunity to understand the ultimate goal of perfection, Visnu.” Why should we be very anxious to know Visnu, or God? Prahlada Maharaja gives a reason: “Visnu is the dearmost person. That we have forgotten.” We all seek some dear friend—everyone searches in this way. A man searches for dear friendship with a woman, and a woman searches for dear friendship with a man. Or else a man searches out a man, and a woman searches out a woman. Everyone searches after some dear friend, some sweet friend. Why? We want the cooperation of a dear friend who will help us. This is part of the struggle for existence, and this is natural. But we do not know that our dearest friend is Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Those who have read the Bhagavad-gita will find this nice verse in the Fifth Chapter: “If you want peace, then you must understand perfectly that everything in this world and other worlds is the property of Krsna, that He is the enjoyer of everything, and that He is the supreme friend of everyone.” Why perform austerity? Why perform religious rituals? Why give in charity? All these activities are meant for pleasing the Supreme Lord, and nothing more. And when the Supreme Lord is pleased, you will get the result. Whether you want to gain higher material happiness or spiritual happiness, whether you want to live a better life on this planet or on other planets—whatever you want you will get if you please the Supreme Lord. Therefore He is the most sincere friend. Whatever you want from Him, you can get. But the intelligent man does not want anything that is materially contaminated.

In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna says that by pious activities one can elevate oneself to the highest material planet, known as Brahmaloka, where the duration of life is millions and millions of years. You cannot figure the duration of life there; your arithmetic will be ineffective. The statement in the Bhagavad-gita is that the life of Brahma is so long that 4,320,000,000 of our years are only twelve hours to him. Krsna says, “Whatever position you want, beginning from the ant right up to Brahma, you can have. But the repetition of birth and death will be there. However, if by practicing Krsna consciousness you come to Me, then you don’t have to come back to this miserable material condition.”

Prahlada Maharaja says the same thing: We should search for our dearmost friend, Krsna, the Supreme Lord. Why is He our dearmost friend? By nature He is dear. Now, what do you consider the dearmost thing? Have you analyzed? You yourself are the dearmost thing. I am sitting here, but if there is a fire alarm I shall at once take care of myself: “How can I save myself?” We forget our friends and even our relatives: “Let me first of all save myself.” Self-preservation is the first law of nature.

In the grossest sense, the word atma—“self”—refers to the body. In the subtler sphere the mind or intelligence is the atma, and in the real sense atma means the soul. In the gross stage we are very fond of protecting and satisfying the body, and in a subtler stage we are very fond of satisfying the mind and intelligence. But above the mental and intellectual planes, where the atmosphere is spiritualized, we can understand, “I am not this mind, intellect, or body. Aham brahmasmi—I am spirit, part and parcel of the Supreme Lord.” That is the platform of real understanding.

Prahlada Maharaja says that of all living entities, Visnu is the supreme well-wisher. Therefore we are all searching for Him. When a child cries, what does he long for? His mother. But he has no language to express this. By nature he has his body, born of his mother’s body, so there is an intimate relationship with the mother’s body. The child won’t like any other woman. The child cries, but when the woman who is the child’s mother comes and picks him up, at once he is pacified. He has no language to express all this, but his relationship with his mother is a law of nature. Similarly, by nature we try to protect the body. This is self-preservation. It is a natural law of the living entity, just as eating is a natural law and sleeping is a natural law. Why do I protect the body? Because within the body is the soul.

What is this soul? The soul is a part of the Supreme Lord. As we want to protect the hand or the finger because it is a part of the whole body, similarly we try to save ourselves because this is the defending process of the Supreme. The Supreme does not need defense, but this is a manifestation of our love toward Him, which is now perverted. The finger and the hand are meant to act in the interests of the whole body; as soon as I want the hand to come here, it comes, and as soon as I want the finger to play on the drum, it plays. This is the natural position. Similarly, we are searching for God, to dovetail our energy in the service of the Supreme, but under the spell of the illusory energy we do not know it. That is our mistake. Now, in human life, we have an opportunity to understand our actual position. Only because you are human beings have you all come here to learn about Krsna consciousness, about the real goal of your life. I cannot invite cats and dogs to sit down here. That is the difference between human beings and cats and dogs. A human being can understand the necessity of pursuing the real goal of life. But if he loses the opportunity, it is a great catastrophe.

Prahlada Maharaja says, “God is the dearmost personality of all. We have to search for God.” Then what about the material necessities of life? Prahlada Maharaja replies, “You are after sense gratification, but sense gratification is automatically achieved by contact with this body.” Because a hog has a certain type of body, his sense gratification comes from eating stool, the very thing that is most obnoxious to you. At once, after evacuating, you leave to get free from the bad smell—but the hog is waiting. As soon as you evacuate, he will at once enjoy. So there are different types of sense gratification according to different types of body. Everyone who has a material body receives sense gratification. Don’t think that the hogs eating stool are unhappy. No, they are getting fat in that way. They are very happy.

Another example is the camel. The camel is very fond of thorny twigs. Why? Because when he eats thorny twigs, the twigs cut his tongue, blood oozes out, and he tastes his own blood. Then he thinks, “I am enjoying.” This is sense gratification. Sex life is also like that. We taste our own blood, and we think we are enjoying. This is our foolishness.

The living entity in this material world is a spiritual being, but because he has a tendency to enjoy, to exploit the material energy, he has contacted a body. There are 8,400,000 species of living entities, each with a different body, and according to the body, they have particular senses with which they enjoy a particular type of pleasure. Suppose you are given thorny twigs to eat: “Ladies and gentlemen, here is very nice food. It is certified by the camels. It is very good.” Would you like to take it? “No! What nonsense are you offering me?” Because you have a different body from the camel, you have no taste for thorny twigs. But if you offer them to a camel, he will think it is a very nice meal.

Now, if the hogs and camels can enjoy sense gratification without great struggle, why not we human beings? We can—but that is not our ultimate achievement. The facilities to enjoy sense gratification are offered by nature, whether one be a hog, a camel, or a human being. So why should you labor for facilities that you are destined to receive anyway, by nature’s law? In every form of life the bodily demands are satisfied by the arrangement of nature. This gratification is arranged, just as there is an arrangement for distress. Do you like fever? No. Why does it come? I do not know. But it does come, does it not? Yes. Did you try for it? No. So how does it come? By nature. That is the only answer. And if your misery comes by nature, your happiness will also come by nature. Don’t bother about it. That is the instruction of Prahlada Maharaja. If you receive the miseries of life without effort, you will similarly achieve happiness without effort.

Then what is the real purpose of the human form of life? Cultivating Krsna consciousness. Other things will be obtained by nature’s law, which is ultimately God’s law. Even if I don’t try, I will be supplied with whatever I am to achieve because of my past work and my particular type of body. Your real concern, therefore, should be to seek out the higher goal of human life.


From "The Transcendental Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja"
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We Worship Govinda, The Original Personality of Godhead- That is our business

Sri Brahma-samhita, Verse 33
--
New York, July 27, 1971

Prabhupada: Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **.

This verse, angani yasya sakalendriya-vrtti-manti [Bs 5.32], we have explained. Next verse is advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. There are thirty-six verses in this record. You have chanted only three verses, three or four.

So the next verse is,

advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam
adyam purana-purusam nava-yauvanam ca
vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.33]

Krsna, He has got multiforms. We are also Krsna’s forms, vibhinnamsa. There are two categories of forms, Krsna’s: visnu-tattva and jiva-tattva. Visnu-tattva, a Krsna person, and jiva-tattva, separated personalities. So the jivas, they are also Krsna’s forms, vibhinnamsa. They are called vibhinnamsa. Just imagine the living entities, innumerable forms there are. That is conditioned living entities. Whatever we see within this material world, that is only a fragment part of all the living entities. The major portion of the living entities, they are in the spiritual world. They are called nitya-mukta, ever-liberated. And we, in this material world, we are nitya-baddha, ever-conditioned. Besides that, Krsna has got Visnu tattva form, personal. Visnu tattva form means that one form is as powerful as the other form. In the vibhinnamsa form, we are not as powerful as Krsna. But there are forms of Krsna who are as powerful as Krsna. Diparcir eva hi dasantaram abhyupetya [Bs. 5.46].

Just like you take this candle and you light on another candle, another candle—but all these candles are of the same power, although the original candle is there. Similarly, Krsna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, and there are innumerable other forms of Godhead also. But they are as good as Krsna. Purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate. The potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so great that if another Godhead is expanded, both of them are of the same potency. Therefore it is advaita acyuta. Acyuta means who never falls. Living entities, although they are forms of Krsna, they fall down. Just like our present condition is fallen condition. We are in the matter. But the personal expansions, they never fall in the matter. Therefore another name of God, or Krsna, is Acyuta. Acyuta means never falls.

Advaita acyuta anadi. Our beginning is from God, but God has no beginning. Anadi. Advaita acyuta anadi ananta-rupam, although the forms are many millions and trillions. Advaita acyuta anadi ananta-rupam, adyam purana-purusam. Adyam, original. Therefore the oldest person. Krsna, God is the original person; therefore the oldest person.

Still nava-yauvanam ca. But still He’s always youth, youthful. Vedesu durlabha. To search out Krsna by academic education, by mental speculation, by pursuits of different types of knowledge is not possible. Advaita acyuta anadi ananta-rupam adyam purana-purusam nava-yauvanam, vedesu durlabha. You cannot find out Krsna by simply academic education. Adurlabha atma-bhaktau. But He is available from His devotee. If you approach a devotee of Krsna, he can deliver you Krsna like anything: “Here is Krsna. Take.” Krsna is so nice. He becomes a doll in the hands of devotee. He agrees. Just like before mother Yasoda He was trembling. Mother Yasoda showed Him the cane.

So this is Krsna’s merciful pastime, that He becomes very easily available to the devotees. Otherwise it is very difficult to find out where is Krsna, how is Krsna. So our process is therefore to go through the devotees, not directly. Directly one cannot understand what Krsna... Vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Bs. 5.33]. We worship Govinda, the original Personality of Godhead. That is our business.
Now you can begin. (end)

What Is “I,” “You,” & “Others”?

[Bhagavad-gita 2.12--Hyderabad, November 17, 1972]

Prabhupada:

na tv evaham jatu nasam
na tvam neme janadhipah
na caiva na bhavisyamah
sarve vayam atah param

Krsna is giving more enlightenment on the living entity, soul. “Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.”

Now, Krsna says that “In the past I existed. So also you. And so also all these soldiers and the kings who have assembled in this fighting. They existed in the past. For the present, there is no question of asking... We are existing. And in the future also, it is not that we shall not exist.” That means, “We shall exist.” So what is “I,” “you,” and “others”? I am individual person. You are individual person, and all others, they’re also, each and every one of them, individual persons. So in the past we were all individuals; at present we are all individuals; and in the future also, we shall remain individuals. So where there is question of merging, become one? Here Krsna says that “In the past we are individual persons, in the present we are all individual persons, and in future also, we shall remain individuals.”

So the Mayavadi theory that impersonal, how it stands? Neither God is impersonal, nor the living entities are impersonal. Every one of us—person. The difference between the Supreme Person and our personality is that He is all-powerful; we are limited. Our power is limited. Everything, ours, limited. Anu, vibhu. He is great; we are small. He is infinite; we are infinitesimal, very small. Otherwise, in all other qualities, we are one. There is no difference. Sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. In eternity, in blissfulness, and in knowledge. Everything is there. But Krsna’s knowledge and our knowledge, different.

Just like Krsna said, imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]. “I spoke this yoga system, Bhagavad-gita, long, long ago to the sun-god.” Vivasvan manave praha. “And the sun-god explained it to his son, Manu; and Manu again, in his turn, he explained to his son, Iksvaku. In this way, this knowledge of Bhagavad-gita is coming by the disciplic succession.” So Krsna says, “I spoke.”

So it is millions and millions, at least, four hundred thousand millions of times, millions of years ago, according to the calculation of Manu. So Krsna said million; and millions of years ago this Bhagavad-gita, He remembers. But Arjuna inquired from Him that “How can I believe that You spoke this Bhagavad-gita millions of millions years ago to sun-god, because we are contemporary?” Krsna and Arjuna, they’re of, practically of the same age.

So Arjuna was calculating as a human being about Krsna. That was his mistake. That was his not mistake. That was his inquiry to clear the mistake of our. We mistake Krsna as one of us. Because Krsna comes down as human being, we, due to our lack of knowledge, poor fund of knowledge, we think Krsna is as good as we are. But actually it is not. Krsna is God. We are ordinary living entities. His knowledge, His power of remembrance, His power of knowing everything perfectly is different from our knowing. But unfortunately we think, “God may be little greater than me.”

That is that Dr. Frog philosophy. We have explained several times. Kupa-manduka-nyaya. The frog within the well, he is calculating the dimension of Pacific Ocean. So by this dog, frog philosophical way, we can, we cannot understand what is God. We must receive the knowledge from God Himself, or from a person who knows God. Otherwise, there is no possibility. Now, according to maya..., Mayavada philosophy, they say that there is no duality. It is a kind of illusion that we see difference between God and ourself. That is maya.

Then Krsna is not advocating herewith about the impersonal feature of the Lord. He says, ah, He represents... He is God himself. He says “I, I was existing as I am existing now, and in future also, I shall exist like this.” So He was speaking as individual person. So in the past He says that “I was individual person.” And in the present He’s individual person. So why these Mayavadi philosophy, philosophers, do not understand this direct version from the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Because asuram bhavam asritah. The Mayavadi philosophers, they do not accept the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead. They think God is as good as they are. Therefore they introduce themselves as Narayana. But according to Vaisnava philosophy, Narayana cannot be equal to any one of us.

What speak of us, Narayana cannot be equally estimated even with great demigods like Lord Brahma, Lord Siva. That is... The Vaisnava Purana says, yas tu narayanam devam brahma-rudradi-daivataih, samatvenaiva vikseta sa pasandi bhavad dhruvam: “Anyone who calculates Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, equal with such demigods, not, what to speak of ordinary human beings, even big, big demigods like Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, he immediately becomes a pasandi, atheist.” So if... The Mayavadi philosophy, they put forward this argument that “Because we are now in maya, we are thinking that we are different from God.” But Krsna is making thus such differentiation that... He’s making, He’s saying, “You and I and all these.” So does it mean that Krsna is also covered by maya or illusion? Because He is very clearly differentiating between Him and the living entities, all individuals. So if the Mayavadi philosopher is right that this differentiation is due to our illusion, then we have to accept Krsna is also in illusion. Because He’s making differentiation. So if Krsna is in illusion, then what is the use of taking His version? Because our proposition is that we have to take knowledge from the perfect person. So if Krsna is in illusion, then how He can become perfect person, and the knowledge delivered by Him is perfect? No. Krsna is not illusioned. We are in illusion. Krsna is not in illusion. Krsna cannot be in illusion.

(reads from purport:) “In the Vedas, in the Katha Upanisad as well as in the Svetasvatara Upanisad, it is said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the maintainer of innumerable living entities...” The Supreme Personality of Godhead... Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko bahunam vidadhati kaman. There is eka and bahu. The bahu, they are also nitya and cetana. That means we living entities, we are also cetana and eternal. And Krsna is also eternal and cetana. So so far the living symptoms and the eternity is concerned, both the living entities and God, Krsna, they are one. But the difference is that eko bahunam vidadhati kaman, that one, that chief one, although He’s eternal and living force as we are, but He is the chief. He maintains all others. That is the version.

Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman, tam atma-stham ye ’nupasyanti dhiras tesam santih sasvati netaresam. This is the version from Kathopanisad. Nityo nityanam. He’s the supreme eternal amongst all the other eternals. Cetanas cetananam. He’s the supreme living force amongst all other living forces. Eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman. That one, singular number, eka, He is providing, maintaining, all other living entities. Tam atma-stham. He is also in everyone’s heart. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. Tam atma-stham ye ’nupasyanti dhirah. Anyone who can perceive His presence, dhira, very highly learned or very gentle, dhira... Dhira means who is not disturbed. He’s called dhira. And there are others who are called adhira. Adhira means those who are disturbed. So those who are in the material world, they are always disturbed. And those who are on the spiritual platform, they are dhira. Dhiradhira. About the Gosvamis it is said:

krsnotkirtana-gana-nartana-parau premamrtambho-nidhi
dhiradhira-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pujitau
sri-caitanya-krpa-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bharavahantarakau
vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau

So one who is in the transcendental position, he’s dhira. One poet, poet Kalidasa, he has described, dhira means: “Even in the presence of provocation, one who is not disturbed, he’s called dhira.” He has described about Lord Siva.

When Lord Siva was being worshiped by Parvati, Lord Siva was naked and Parvati was worshiping the siva-linga, but he did not become agitated. Therefore Kalidasa has described: dhira. Dhira. One who is not... The first disturbance is sexual disturbance. So anyone, although he is completely potent with all the potencies, but still, he is not disturbed with sex impulses, he’s called dhira. Actually, that is called brahmacari. Brahmacari is not he is impotent. He can marry. He can beget children. But self-restrained. He’s so self-restrained, that he’s not disturbed. Unless he desires that “I shall have sex and for begetting children,” he’s not disturbed. That is called dhira. Not by seeing any woman or man, one is disturbed. He’s adhira. She’s adhira. So dhiradhira-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau...

The Gosvamis, they were equally respectable for the dhiras and the adhiras. So a, a spiritual master, a gosvami, should be equally merciful both for the dhiras and the adhiras. Otherwise, he cannot become a preacher. Preacher has to meet so many fallen souls. So he, if he becomes disturbed, then he cannot preach. Therefore dhira. This word is here: anupasyanti, tam atma-stham ye anupasyanti dhira. He’s called dhira. Without being dhira, you cannot perceive the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within your heart, because the God is there in Paramatma feature. But you have to become dhira, without being disturbed.

Then you can understand: “Here is Krsna within my heart.”

premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti
yam syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.38]

This dhira can be possible when we develop love for Krsna. Then we become dhira. Otherwise, it is not possible. Otherwise we shall be disturbed.

Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena [Bs. 5.38]. And how we can see God? Not with these eyes. These eyes, but there must be some ointment. That is called prema. Just like a mother sees his child, although not very beautiful, very beautiful. Because he has, she has got love for the child. Others, they are seeing the child not very beautiful. The mother, out of ecstatic love, sees the child very beautiful. So similarly, unless we have developed our love for Krsna, we cannot see the Supreme Personality of Godhead within our heart, not only within our heart, everywhere.

premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti
yam syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.38]

(reads purport) “The same Vedic truth given to Arjuna is given to all persons in the world who pose themselves as very learned but factually have but a poor fund of knowledge.” This is poor fund of knowledge that “God and I, we one. Now, because we are illusioned, we are thinking that God is different from me, but when the illusion is over, then I and God become one.” This is Mayavadi theory, monism. But actually this is not clear knowledge.

God is..., God is always distinct from me. He’s the Supreme. It is not that we are equal to God. We are equal to God in quality, not in quantity. Therefore those who are thinking that they are equal to God in every respect, they are illusioned. Maya, mayaya apahrta-jnanah. They have been called, they have been designated by Krsna as mayaya apahrta-jnanah. Although they appear to be very learned scholars, but the essence of the knowledge is taken away by maya. Therefore they say that God and ordinary human being is the same. Mayaya apahrta... Asura. This is called asura-bhava. Asura-bhava means not to accept the supremacy of the Lord but think Him as one with all individual souls. But that is not the fact. That is poor fund of knowledge.

Actually, when one becomes advanced in knowledge, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, bahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19]. In due course of time, after many, many births, when he actually comes to the platform of knowledge, he can understand that “Vasudeva is great and I am small, I am insignificant.” Therefore he surrenders. Vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah [Bg. 7.19]. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate. This is the sign of knowledge. When one surrenders to Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is to be understood that he has actually attained knowledge. Otherwise it is ignorance. To think of Krsna and ordinary person as equal is not knowledge; it is illusion.

So anyone who takes shelter of Krsna by the words of Krsna, believing Him... So... Just like Krsna says, mam ekam saranam vraja. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. Krsna orders that “You surrender unto Me. You become My devotee. You always think of Me.” Man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah. “You become My devotee.” Mad-yaji. “You worship Me. You offer your obeisances unto Me.” Persons who are in poor fund of knowledge, they think, “It is too much. Krsna is demanding too much. It is sophistry.” No, no. That is not sophistry. That is the real position. Otherwise, without surrendering to Krsna, if you think yourself, that you are Krsna, that is in illusion, avisuddha-buddhayah, contaminated intelligence. Avisuddha-buddhayah. Ye ’nye ’ravindaksa vimukta-maninas tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah [SB 10.2.32]. Because they cannot understand Krsna, so their knowledge is not perfect, or not purified. Knowledge perfect is there in every living entity, but it is contaminated by the contact of maya. So one who can understand the position of Krsna and himself, he’s called mukta. Mukta means liberated. Mukti means to know perfectly what is our relationship with Krsna. That is called mukti. (pause)

The verse...

antavanta ime deha
nityasyoktah saririnah
anasino ’prameyasya
tasmad yudhyasva bharata
[Bg. 2.18]

Yuddha, fighting, Arjuna was ksatriya. It is his duty. Because here, in this material world, violence is also required. Violence. Because everyone is competitor, everyone is trying to become the Supreme, so there will be violence. Just like in your state, at the present moment, there is violence because one party is trying to become Supreme than the other.

That is going on everywhere, all over the world, the struggle for existence. Everyone is trying to become supreme than the other. So there must be violence. So expecting that there will be violence, the ksatriya class required. Just like in the state, expecting that there will be violence, therefore the police department is maintained, the military department is maintained.

So you cannot avoid violence from this material world. It is useless proposal. Our Mahatma Gandhi tried to stop violence. He started the nonviolence movement, but factually he had to die by violence. So ksatriya, they are trained up violent to become violent to stop violence. That is required. Therefore Krsna advises that “Don’t try to become nonviolent because...” Tasmad yudhyasva bharata. “Don’t think that by killing the body, your grandfather, or your nephews and your brother on the other side, they will be finished.

No. They’ll live. The body may be destroyed.” Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. But actual soul, he’ll transmigrate. According to Vedic philosophy, if a ksatriya dies in proper fighting, then he is immediately transferred to the heavenly planet, the heavenly planet. Because he sacrifices his body for right cause. Formerly, the fight was not a very trifle thing. After much consideration, then fighting or war was declared. Just like the fighting between the Kurus and the Pandavas; first of all, there was great endeavor to stop the fight. Krsna Himself became the messenger and was going from this party to another. Because Krsna... Both the parties were Krsna’s family relatives. So He wanted to stop and mitigate the misunderstanding by mutual settlement. But it was not possible.

The Duryodhana’s party said that “We are not prepared to spare even a small piece of land which can hold the tip of the needle.” Sucagra-bhumi. Then it was decided there must be fight. That fighting was meant for the ksatriyas. Formerly, there was no democracy. The so-called democracy. Democracy means that there was one king only; now there are hundreds of kings. One king and few ministers. Now one governor, one, I mean to say, three dozen secretaries, and three dozen... So many things... It is overburdened.

The tax, tax is overburdened because there are so many officers. They have to be sumptuously paid. So tax is required. So in this age, Kali-yuga, by, I mean to say, finishing the monarchical system, people have accepted the democratic system, but it is not very much improvement. Because the state expenditure has very much increased and people are very much overburdened with taxes. So Krsna advises that tasmad yudhyasva. Tasmad yudhyasva bharata. “Don’t think that your grandfather, or the other party, relatives, they’ll be destroyed by fighting. It is not the fact, that, by destruction of the body, the soul is destroyed.” Real purpose is... Bhagavad-gita. That we should understand that the soul is always existing, even...
Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20].

ya enam vetti hantaram
yas cainam manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijanito
nayam hanti na hanyate
[Bg. 2.19]

There is another example. Krsna says... Because the soul is immortal, eternal, so if somebody kills somebody, the body is destroyed, but the soul is not destroyed. So if one thinks that “I have killed him, he’s finished,” he’s also foolish. And one who thinks that “If I have died in the fight, then I will be finished.”

No. Ubhau tau na vijanitah. Both of them are ignorant. Ubhau tau na vijanito nayam hanti na hanyate. The living soul is never killed, neither he can kill others. For duty’s sake... Of course, when there is fight... That is called dharma-yuddha. Dharma-yuddha, by the order of the Supreme. Just like Arjuna was fighting by the order of the Supreme. That is dharma-yuddha. If there is no sanction by the dharma, there is sastra injunction, “In this case fighting should be there, in case, in this case, there should be no fighting...”

So one who follows the principles of regulation in the Vedas, that is called dharma-yuddha. Even there is fight, there is religion, there is piety. Even by killing and being killed. Two ksatriyas are fighting. Either he kills or he is being killed, in both ways they are profited. That will be explained. Just like Arjuna was advised that “My dear Arjuna, why you are hesitating to fight? Both ways you’ll be benefited. If you can kill your enemies, then you get the kingdom, you enjoy. And if you are killed, then you are promoted to the heavenly planets. So where is your loss? Where is your loss?” This is the instruction given. A ksatriya who is fighting for the real cause, as sanctioned by the dharma-sastras, when both ways he’s profited. If he becomes victorious, he’s profited, but if he’s killed in the battle, he’s also profited. Both ways.

ya enam vetti hantaram
yas cainam manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijanito
nayam hanti na hanyate
[Bg. 2.19]

Then the next verse He clearly explains:

na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire
[Bg. 2.20]

This soul... “Do not think that soul is born.” No. As God is ever-existing, the soul is ever-existing. It is not... There is no question of birth. And when there is no question of birth, there is no question of death. Because we experience, anything, anybody, who has taken birth, he dies. Nobody will live here. So if the soul has no birth, there is no question of death. And as Krsna, God, God is eternal, advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam adyam Purana [Bs. 5.33].

Purana means old. Because Krsna is the original person, therefore He must be Purana, the oldest, older than Brahma. Because Brahma is given birth by Krsna. Therefore Krsna has been addressed in the Bhagavad-gita as prapitamaha [Bg. 11.39]. Brahma is called pitamaha, the grandfather, and prapitamaha means “the father of the grandfather.”

So Krsna has been addressed as prapitamaha, “father of Brahma.” Therefore He’s adi-purusa. Actually, within this creation, Lord Brahma is the original person, because he was firstborn. There was no other person before him. But he’s given birth by Narayana, from the abdomen of Narayana in the lotus flower. Therefore He’s the father of Brahma.

Prapitamaha [Bg. 11.39]. So Krsna here says, because that Mayavadi philosophy’s also nullified here. Because here it is said, na jayate, na jayate mriyate va kadacin nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah. Mayavada philosophy says that the living entity has become separated on account of illusion. Not becomes separated. He is... There is no separation. But it is illusion; he’s thinking, “I am different from God.” But Krsna says, mamaivamso jiva-bhutah jiva-loke sanatanah [Bg. 15.7]. That amsa, part and parcel of God, he’s sanatana. Not that, being covered by illusion, he’s thinking “I am separated.” He’s separated always, sanatana. That is the statement of the Vedas. Separated.

Although separated, quality one, but that separation, that fragments of Krsna, that is sanatana. It is not that by maya we are fragmental separated; when we are liberated, we merge into the body or the effulgence of God. We are separated in..., perpetually. Although we are eternal, but we are perpetually... vibhinnamsa. In the Varaha Purana it is said, vibhinnamsa, “separated part and parcel.” So we should understand very clearly that, although we are eternal, part and parcel, but we are separated. Separated in this sense that we are, everyone of us, are individual, not merge into the existence. Everything is existing. In the Bhagavad-gita, you’ll find: mat-sthani sarva-bhutani naham tesu avasthitah. Everything is existing in Him, Krsna. But still, Krsna is not the living entity.

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna.

The Great King Maharaja Pariksit, The Ancient Vedas

[Srimad-Bhagavatam--Montreal, June 20, 1968, (new98)]

Prabhupada:

om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
caksur-unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah
sri-caitanya-mano ’bhistam
sthapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyam
dadati sva-padantikam
he krsna karuna-sindho
dina-bandho jagat-pate
gopesa gopika-kanta
radha-kanta namo ’stu te
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya [break]

Today I shall speak before you about Maharaja Pariksit. The hero of Srimad-Bhagvatam is King Pariksit as the hero of Mahabharata, the great history of India, Mahabharata. Now, this Bharata I have several times explained. Bharata means this planet, and Mahabharata means the complete history of the whole world. Nowadays, at the present moment, history means a chronological record, but previously, history means only the important incidences at different times, they were recorded. Therefore, in Mahabharata or any other Purana also… Puranas are also history. We don’t find any chronological incidences one after another. But the most important selected incidences, especially in connection with God realization, they are recorded.

So this Mahabharata is also history, and as history is liked by common man, so Mahabharata was written by Vyasadeva for understanding of the most common men. Stri-sudra- dvijabandhunam trayi na sruti-gocara. The Vyasadeva has given explanation why he compiled Mahabharata, the great history of this Bharata. Now it is called India, but the planet was called Bharata, Bharata-varsa. So he has given explanation that “The Vedic principle, Vedic instructions, they are not directly understandable by commen men and women.’’

Stri-sudra-dvijabandhunam. Who are common men? Women class, as a class, and sudra, laborer class, working class, and Stri-sudra-dvijabandhunam. And dvija means twice-born, the higher caste. The higher caste means they must be twice-born. How is that? One birth is father and mother, real father and mother, and the next birth is spiritual master and the Vedas. That means when one is trained up in the matter of real knowledge—Veda means real knowledge—by the guidance of the spiritual master, he is supposed to be twice-born. So dvija-bandhu. Twice-born means cultural society.

Those who have Vedic cultured, those who have followed the Vedic principles rigidly, it doesn’t matter whether he is a householder or a brahmacari or a sannyasi. There are eight divisions of human society: four divisions social structure, and four divisions for spiritual enlightenment. So unless the eight divisions are properly managed, that is not human society. Human society is distinct from animal society by culture. What is that culture? Vedic culture, knowledge. Vedic means knowledge. One must be equipped with full knowledge. “So this Vedic culture,’’ Vyasadeva says, “or the Vedic principles, are not very easily understood by women class, by worker class, and dvija-bandhu.’’ Dvija-bandhu means the boys who have taken birth in the family who are supposed to be very cultured, but their habit is different. They are called dvija-bandhu. In every country, that deterioration of social structure has already begun. They are called varna-sankara. Varna-sankara factually means that those who are illiterate. So for them it is very difficult to understand the Vedic principles. Therefore the same knowledge is described in stories just like Mahabharata, Puranas, and for understanding of all men, all women. So Mahabharata is especially written for such class of men and women. And the hero of Mahabharata is Arjuna. Similarly, the hero of Srimad-Bhagavatam is Arjuna’s grandson, Maharaja Pariksit, King Pariksit.

Now the history of Srimad-Bhagavatam is like this, that Pariksit Maharaja was a great king, emperor of the world, very pious devotee, all qualified. So sometimes he went to the forest for hunting. The hunting is allowed to the ksatriyas, kings, royal kings. Why? Because a king has to look after administration of the society; therefore sometimes he has to order to kill some men, “Hang this man.” Or sometimes he will take the sword in his own hand and kill the culprit, criminal, immediately. So therefore the killing practice was allowed to the ksatriyas, royal family. Therefore sometimes the king would go into the forest and kill some animals to practice. Just like in the medical laboratory, physiological laboratory, some animals are tested to see the physiological condition of the body, similarly, always these experiments are made on the animals. So Maharaja Pariksit went to the forest for hunting. So he was very tired. He was very tired, and he entered the cottage of one hermitage. He was at that time in meditation.

So Pariksit Maharaja was very much thirsty and hungry, and because he was king, he can order anyone, royal order, so he entered the cottage and asked the hermitage, that muni, that “Please give me something to eat. I am very hungry,” or “Give me some drinking water.” But he was in meditation. By chance he could not hear Maharaja Pariksit. He was silent. But because he was king, king, royal power, he little became agitated, although he was very nice king, “Oh, he is disordering, er, disobeying my orders?” then he became disgusted. And there was a dead serpent lying there. So he took that dead serpent and put it on the neck of the hermitage and went away.

Now, that hermitage had one boy, a ten years, twelve years old, and that boy had some playmates. They were playing, and some of the boys informed the son of that hermitage that “Your father has been insulted by the king. He is garlanded with a dead snake.” So that boy, the son of that hermitage became very angry, and he cursed him. That one point is here to see, that a child of a brahmana, a son of a brahmana, was so powerful that he could curse a great king like Maharaja Pariksit that “You have insulted my father. So that snake will bite you within seven days, and you will die.” This was the version. Now the boy came back home and saw the father was garlanded with the dead snake, and he began to cry, began to cry. He felt so much that his father was insulted. His father was brahmana. He was brahmana. “Oh, brahmana has been insulted by the ksatriya?”

So he felt too much. He began to cry. So by his crying, that hermitage came to his senses and asked the boy, “Why you are crying?” “Oh, father, you do not know. You have been insulted by the king in this way, and I have cursed him.” Oh, his father became astonished. “Oh, you have cursed Maharaja Pariksit? Oh, you have done the greatest blunder. Oh, such a nice king. Depending on him, the subject, the citizens, are sleeping very peacefully. There is no danger. And you have cursed him?” Oh, he became very much sorry. And that description is there. Next day we shall explain how he was sorry. But after all, the cursing was already there.

So he sent information to the king that “My dear king, this accident is already done. So you prepare yourself for death.” That information was given. So Pariksit Maharaja was also very sorry, that “I insulted a brahmana, which I should not have done,” and he welcomed the cursing, that “It is good for me that I have been cursed, so that in future I shall not dare to act like that.” He was such a nice king. Anyway, he was young man. He was not old man. He was within thirties. So immediately he entrusted the whole kingdom to his young boy, and he left home, left home and went to the Ganges side. The kingdom of Maharaja Pariksit was supposed to be situated somewhere in New Delhi, and there is a river called Yamuna.

So Yamuna, Ganges, practically it is coming out from the same source. And that is according to Jiva Gosvami. But Yamuna is supposed to be more sacred than the Ganges, because in the Yamuna Lord Krsna enjoyed. So in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that Maharaja Pariksit went to the bank of the Ganges. But near New Delhi side there is no Ganges; there is Yamuna. So it is to be taken that he went to the side of the Yamuna. Anyway, the news spread all over the world that “The great king has been cursed, and he is going to die within seven days.”

So all great sages, saintly persons, scholars, kings, they went to see him at the Ganges side. There was great assembly. And Pariksit Maharaja inquired from everyone that “Now it is settled that I am going to die. The time is fixed already. Within a week, I shall be dying. Now what is my duty?” The thing is that before death we must prepare ourself.

The present nonsense civilization, they don’t prepare. They simply accept the flash life as all in all. The other day I was corresponding with one gentleman in London, Mr. Webb(?). He is little atheistic. He said that “There is no life, next. Just like a flower. A flower is bloomed and finished.” So I have replied that “No, it is not finished. How it can be finished? The seed of the flower remains.” Seed of the flower remains.

So, so long the seed of the flower will remain, there will be many thousands and millions of manifestation of the flower. Similarly, this body may be finished, but the seed of the body, the soul, that is eternal. It will develop another body. That is a fact. Just like in this very life every one of us experiencing that because I, I am the seed of this body… Seed. Just try to understand this word seed. Just like you have got idea: a small seed of a banyan tree. It is smaller than even a mustard grain, but in that seed there is potency of a big tree, so high, hundred stories high. In your country I see so many big trees very high.

There are many other big trees in other planets. So…, but that big tree means that seed. Within that seed, there is so much potency. That we do not understand. Actually, the materialist scientists, they cannot produce such seed. That if you want the tree, you have to sow one seed. If you have to produce a child, you have to sow. The man has to sow the seed in the womb of the woman. This is a practical.

So the seed is eternal. That we get information from Vedic literatures. Bijo ’ham sarva-bhutanam. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. That bija, that seed, does not, I mean to say, annihilate because the body is annihilated. This is the basic principle of understanding for making progress in spiritual life. One who does not understand this basic principle, that the spirit soul, the seed, is eternal, and it is transmigrating different bodies… And factually we know that “My father gave the seed in the womb of my mother, that seed. And from that seed developed this body. But I am… When my body was just like, as small, just like a pea, I was there. And I have become so big. I am there. So many bodily changes have taken place, but I am there.” Similarly, tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati [Bg. 2.13]. Similarly, when we change this body finally and take another body, so one who knows the fact or the science of birth and death, he is not disturbed. He is not disturbed. Dhiras tatra na muhyati. Dhira means intelligent, cool-headed, not rascal.

So this very word is used, dhira. Dhira means cool-headed, not disturbed. Na muhyati: “He is not bewildered.” He’s just changing this body. So now the business is that before changing this body, “What kind of other body I am going to get?” That is my business. That we can get according to as I deserve. Just like as you educate yourself in your childhood, so you get a particular type of post when you are businessman or working man. If you have got sufficient education, you could get good post, good salary. And if you are a nonsense, then you have to work like ordinary man, no good post. Just we have got, we get different types of post according to our culture or education, similarly this body, this human body, is the preparation ground for the next type of body. If you neglect that, then we are getting…, we are taking the risk.

So Pariksit Maharaja, he was not a fool. He was a learned king. So all the great sages and saintly persons assembled there. He asked them, “My dear sirs, you are so kind that you have come here at the time of my death. So kindly let me know what is my duty at the present moment.” So there were different kinds of authorities.

Different kinds of authorities means some were in favor of fruitive activities, karma-kanda, pious activities; some were in favor of yoga principles; some were in favor of philosophical speculation; and some were in favor of devotional service of bhakti. So fortunately, Sukadeva Gosvami, a boy of sixteen years old, but he was highly elevated in spiritual knowledge, the son of Vyasadeva, he was wandering all over the world, naked and without any care for his body or social convention. Of course, he did not come into the cities, but he heard that Pariksit Maharaja was going to die. “He is in need of some spiritual instruction.” So he also came there in that meeting. And when he was coming, because he was a naked boy, sixteen-years-old boy, the street boys were throwing stone upon him. Somebody was fighting just like a madman. But when he entered the assembly, everyone stood up.

Then the rascal creatures who were annoying him, they fled away: “Oh, he is important man, that so many sages and saintly person has stood up.” Anyway, when he reached there, Pariksit Maharaja received him that “It is my good fortune that at this time you have come, because it is very rarely you go to anyone’s house, but Krsna has sent you. Now what is my duty?” Pariksit Maharaja was, from the very beginning… Because the whole family, Pandava family, they were devotees of Lord Krsna, so naturally he was devotee of Lord Krsna. And when he was child, he was playing with the doll of Krsna. These are described here. So he asked, “What is my duty? Shall I continue my talks on Krsna, because naturally I am inclined to Krsna? So what is your advice?”

So in answer to that, Sukadeva Gosvami… Now, one thing we should note in this connection, that Pariksit Maharaja, he was a powerful king. He was equipped with all, everything, but he did not counteract the curse. He could counteract that curse. He was so powerful, but he accepted: “All right. I am cursed. I shall give up my life within seven days.” That means he took it as an opportunity that “I am going to death within seven days. That is certain. And I must prepare myself fully so that my next life I can approach Krsna.”

So this is a good opportunity, that “I have got seven days’ time.” We haven’t got seven seconds’ time. We do not know. Nobody has served me notice. We find by practical experience that we are walking on the street—all of a sudden there is some accident, and we die. There is possibility. So the important point is that Maharaja Pariksit was fortunate enough to get seven days’ time before his death. But we do not know how much time is there for our death. So how much serious we shall be. Canakya Pandita says that “If you want to make spiritual advancement, then you should always think that “Death is next moment. Death is next moment.” Because there is no guarantee when death is coming. If I think that death is next moment, that is not any utopian. The next moment may be my death. And Canakya Pandita says, “But if you want to be materially happy, you should always think that ‘I shall never die,’ ” although it is false idea. Everyone will die. So Pariksit Maharaja, he was preparing. How he was preparing? He did not take seven days even a drop of water. He sat down tight on the bank of the Ganges, and the Sukadeva Gosvami narrated this Srimad-Bhagavatam, and he heard, and at the end of seven days, at the particular time, he was bitten by a snake and he left this world.

Now, the beginning of the Second Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam is the answer, sri-suka uvaca: “Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said.” Because in the previous chapter the questions were put by Maharaja Pariksit, that “What is my duty? What is my duty?” So he says… Because he wanted to know about Krsna, so Sukadeva Gosvami is approving his very nice prasna, question:

variyan esa te prasnah
krto loka-hitam nrpa
atmavit sammatah pumsam
srotavyadisu yah parah
[SB 2.1.1]

“My dear King Pariksit, you have put very nice question. And to hear about Krsna is the topmost subject of hearing.” Srotavyadisu yah parah. Parah means topmost, the highest. “So your question, whether to hear about Krsna, is welcome.” Variyan esa te prasnah krto loka-hitam nrpa: [SB 2.1.1]

“This prasna, this question, is very much beneficial to the people in general,” loka-hitam. Because Pariksit Maharaja was questioning, and Sukadeva Gosvami was answering, but there were many other persons. Although the questions and answers were only for Pariksit Maharaja, not for others, but everyone expected that because Sukadeva Gosvami was speaking to the king, that speaking must be very important to everyone.

So all the great sages… Even the father of Sukadeva Gosvami, Vyasadeva, who is the compiler of so many Vedic literatures, he also came there to hear his sixteen-years-old boy. He was so elevated. It does not matter whether a man is old or young; it is the question of knowledge. So Sukadeva Gosvami was so elevated that so many persons assembled there.

And the Suta Gosvami, who spoke the Srimad-Bhagavatam for the second time amongst the sages of Naimisaranya, he was also present in that meeting, and he heard from Sukadeva Gosvami, and he repeated to the sages of Naimisaranya. So sri-krsna-sravanadhi-prayena parama-prasna krta esa tu variyan. Sukadeva Gosvami is congratulating Maharaja Pariksit, that “You have raised the question of Krsna, understanding Krsna. It is very welcome.” Yah prasno ’pi srotavyadisu param: “Such kind of question is the topmost question, topmost question. There is no more better question than this.” In other words, when you become inquisitive to understand the Krsna consciousness, then that very questions will elevate you to the highest perfectional stage.

So, srotavyadisu yah para, yasya prasna syapi sravanadau paramah purusarthah. Now, Sukadeva Gosvami says that “The question put by you and the answers which I shall give to you, even the general persons who are assembled here, they do not understand it rightly, but simply hearing that mantra, or the answers, will give him the highest quality benefit.’’ In another place it is stated, srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-kirtanah [Bhag. 1.2.17]. Now, this the classes which we hold here We invite everyone, but those who are fortunate, they come here.

But even those who are coming here, they do not understand the philosophy, but simply by hearing the vibration of Hare Krsna or the sound vibration, just like I am speaking to you, they will be benefited, even without understanding. It is such a nice thing. Srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-kirtanah. That Krsna, description of Krsna, is itself a pious activity, punya-sravana. Because it is pious, so anyone who is speaking or anyone who is hearing, both of them are benefited. How they are benefited?

srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah
punya-sravana-kirtanah
hrdy antah-stho hy abhadrani
vidhunoti suhrt satam
[Bhag. 1.2.17]

Krsna is situated in everyone’s heart. It is not that because I am a sannyasi, Krsna is sitting within my heart. No. Krsna is sitting in everyone’s heart. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. And He is sentient. He is perfect in knowledge. So this very act, that one is trying to understand Krsna, that makes Krsna very pleased. Because he has kindly come here, so Krsna is within you, and because you are giving your patient hearing, He is already pleased. He is already pleased with you.

And the effect will be that srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-kirtanah, hrdy antah-stho hy abhadrani. Abhadra means the nasty things which we have accumulated within our heart since time immemorial. The beginning is that “I am this body,” this conception. This is animal conception, “I am this body.” So due to this misconception of our life, we have accumulated many dirty and dusty things within our heart. So if we hear Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita, even if we do not understand it, the action will be there. The action will be there. Just like if you touch fire, either you understand it or not understand it, that fire is fire. It will burn your finger. Just like if a child, he does not understand what is fire, but if he touches fire, his fingers or hand will be burned immediately. There is no mercy: “Oh, here is an innocent child. He does not know.” No. the law of nature will act. Similarly, krsna-katha, punya-sravana-kirtana, it is so pious and it is so spiritual that anyone who will hear it, either by understanding or without understanding, the action will be there like fire. So variyan esa te prasnah [SB 2.1.1].

So it is now quarter past, ten past eight. Now, we shall discuss this meeting of Pariksit Maharaja and Sukadeva Gosvami continually, so you please come, even if you do not understand. You can understand because we invite questions and answers. So any human being can understand. But even if you do not understand, the action of hearing will be there. [break] They are purified or attracted simply by this sound vibration. It is so nice. So if we simply give our aural reception to this transcendental sound, then there is immense profit, immense profit. So we invite everyone to come here and take this advantage. Thank you very much.

On Blaise Pascal: The Original Sin

[Philosophy Discussions with Srila Prabhupada]

Hayagriva: This is a section, a continuation of Pascal, Blaise Pascal. P-A-S-C-A-L. Pascal saw man situated in the universe between two extremes—between the abyss of infinity and the abyss of nothingness. Man has a body like the animals and an intellect like the angels or demigods. As such, he is neither a demigod nor an animal but somewhere between the two. Due to this situation, man is intelligent enough to know that he is in a miserable situation. Nonetheless, he has a great desire to be happy and to rid himself of his misery. Pascal saw that all men complain and suffer regardless of the situation. According to him, man engages in all kinds of hobbies and games and diversions in order to divert himself from his misery. But ultimately nothing really helps. What man once possessed and now has lost is perfect happiness. Pascal believes that the emptiness felt by man can only be filled by God. Isn’t..., is this the same as...

Prabhupada: Bhagavad-gita.

Hayagriva: Bhagavad-gita (laughs).

Prabhupada: Mudha janmani janmani mam aprapyaiva [Bg. 16.20]. Because he does not get under the shelter of Krsna, so life after life he is trying to be happy and he is becoming baffled. He is manufacturing new way of sporting—sometimes diving in the water, sometimes flying in the air. So this sporting, as soon as, according to his desire, God is supplying, “All right, you want to fly, you become a bird. You want to dive in the water, all right, you become a fish, big fish.” So God is giving you and trying to see whether giving up all this nonsense plan he comes to God and surrenders unto Him: “Sir, I have, I have tried all my plan; I could not become happy. Now, my Lord, you say that ‘You give up all this nonsense business, you surrender unto Me, I will make you happy.’ ” Then he becomes happy. For this message, God comes. Because this rascal will not do according to the desire of God; therefore God comes personally and teaches him—as Lord Ramacandra, as Lord Krsna, as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and He, They, He gives the same instruction, that “You surrender unto Me and act according to My instruction; you will be happy.” But he will not do that.

Hayagriva: Whereas Descartes stressed reason, Pascal says that the principles that are understood by the heart are absolutely certain and that they are certainly adequate to overcome all skepticism or doubt in God. Is this something like the Supersoul speaking in the heart? Or how can one be certain that it is the Supersoul?

Prabhupada: Yes, he is speaking. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that buddhi-yogam dadami tam yena mam upayanti te: “I give him intelligence by which he can always live with Me,” upayanti. He is living along with... Every living entity is living with God. But out of his ignorance, he does not know. So what for the other bird is there? What He is doing? And He is living as witness. He is friend, that “What this nonsense is doing? He will suffer.” So He is finding out the opportunity how he will take instruction from the other bird, God. And He gives instruction. But to whom? When he surrenders, and he is engaged in this service, then He gives him instruction. Tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam, buddhi-yogam dadami [Bg. 10.10]. He gives. God is giving intelligence to everyone, but the nondevotee, he is not surrendered; he will not accept. The same example, when the thief goes to steal, God gives him that “Don’t do this. You will suffer,” and he knows that, that God says, He is speaking that “Don’t do this,” but still he does. So he suffers. But if he can purify and acts according to the instruction of God, then he is perfect. That is the difference between demon and devotee. Devotee strictly follows the order of God; he is happy. And demon, he also knows what is God’s desire; he disobeys, he acts according to his whim, he suffers. So God is giving instruction. There is no doubt about it. Externally He is giving instructions through His agent, spiritual master, through books; and internally as consciousness, conscience. He is giving, always, but the rascal will not accept. Then he must suffer. What can be done?

Hayagriva: Pascal believed in the doctrine of original sin. That doctrine holds that at one time man fell from grace by committing some sin or other, and that fall from grace accounts for his present position between the demigods and the beasts. In other words, that original sin accounts for man’s engagement, or encagement, in matter.

Prabhupada: Yes, this is our...

Hayagriva: What was this original sin?

Prabhupada: To disobey the order of Krsna, or not to serve Krsna. Just like some servant, he tries that “Why I am serving this master? Why not become a master.” The, sometimes psychologically it comes. A man is working in the office, he is seeing the managing director is sitting and is taking all the money, and sometimes the worker... Just like a capitalist and the worker. Why it is Communist movement? That they are thinking that “We are working, and the capitalist is taking the money.” So they revolt, they make strike, and they form a society that “We have the..., we must have this money.” That is communism. So similarly, when the living entity—he is eternally part and parcel of God; to serve God, that is his real position—but when he thinks that “Why I shall serve God? I shall enjoy myself,” that is the beginning of falldown. So what is your question? When the... This was your question, that “When the sinful life begins?”

Hayagriva: Oh, what was, what was this original sin?

Prabhupada: This is the original sin. When he thought of not to serve God but to become God, that is the original. Just like the Mayavadis, they have knowledge, they have philosophy, everything, but still trying to become God, which is impossible. Then there is no meaning of God. If simply by meditation and by some material efforts one can become God, then where is the use of God? You cannot become God. But artificially you can try to become God, and that artificial way of becoming God is the beginning of sinful life.

Hayagriva: He believed that it is impossible..., it is impossible for man to understand the universe or his position in the universe. In the material world we cannot look for certainty or stability because our reasoning powers, our reason, is always being deceived. Consequently, man must surrender to the dictates of his heart and to God.

Prabhupada: Yes, that is our position. We, we are teaching Krsna consciousness means that you act according to the instruction given by Krsna. We are not depending on heart, because a heart, the dictation is coming, but it is not appreciated by the demons, nondevotee. Therefore direct, direct instruction is the Bhagavad-gita, and it is explained by His devotee. So in this way, if we take right from God and His representative. Not that (indistinct). So therefore Krsna consciousness movement is teaching or preaching God consciousness so that people may take instruction of this Bhagavad-gita as it is and act accordingly and be happy. That is our program. We do not manufacture any ideas. The ideas are already there. Simply we are preaching. If one is intelligent, fortunate, he will take it and be happy.

Hayagriva: Of all things in the world, Pascal considered this to be the strangest. He says, “A man spends many days and nights in rage and despair over the loss of his job or for some imaginary insult to his honor, yet he does not consider with anxiety and emotion that he will lose everything by death. It is a monstrous thing to see in the same heart and at the same time this sensibility to trifles and this strange insensibility to the greatest objects—death. It is an incomprehensible enchantment and a supernatural slumber, which indicates as its cause an all-powerful force,” such as maya.

Prabhupada: This is, this is instruction of Bhagavad-gita, that one who does not believe in God or disobeys the orders of God, a day will come when God will come as death, and his all power, all false prestige, all imagination, all plans will be all broken. Then after that, according to the transmigration of the soul, that person, because he did not obey the orders of God, he acted like animals, he gets the body of an animal. This is transmigration. And he suffers.

Hayagriva: He also writes, “If we submit everything to reason, our religion will have no mysterious and supernatural element. If we offend the principles of reason, our religion will be absurd and ridiculous.”

Prabhupada: Yes, that is a fact. Because religion means the orders given by God. So if we faithfully carry out the orders of God, then that is religion. But if we don’t carry out the orders of God, this is cheating religion. That is not religion. That is condemned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. That cheating religion are kicked out from the Srimad-Bhagavatam. So any religious system which has no conception of God and does everything, every year changes by resolution of the priests, that “Now this is all right,” against religious principles—that is a farce. That is not religion.

Hayagriva: This is by way of saying that we should not accept our faith blindly, but at the same time we should not expect everything to be comprehensible to our understanding.

Prabhupada: Yes. That just like the father and the child. The father says, “You do this.” So that is all-comprehensive. The father’s idea is complete; it is good for the son. But the son says, “No. I want to act in this way.” That is his folly. Similarly, what God says, that is religion, and... So there is no question of blind following. If you know, “Here is God. He is all-perfect, and whatever He is saying, that is all-perfect. Let me accept it,” then you are gainer. And if apply your reasoning and change it according to your whims, then you suffer.

Hayagriva: He also writes, “The greatness of man is great in that he knows himself to be miserable. A tree does not know itself to be miserable. These miseries prove man’s greatness. They are the miseries of a great lord, a deposed king.”

Prabhupada: Yes. The..., that is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, that you are trying to live long, so does the tree not live longer than you? If you are trying by scientific method how to live more than hundred years or (indistinct), but the tree is living for ten thousands of years. Does it mean this is perfection of life, to live long? That is not perfection of life. So in this way, analyze all other living condition. When you come to God consciousness, that living condition is perfect, because by God consciousness or Krsna consciousness you understand God—how to behave with Him; what is your relationship with God—then you become perfect and you go to the kingdom of God and live there eternally.

Hayagriva: Descartes was more in the jnani tradition, and Pascal more in the bhakti tradition. He says, “Employ the rule of love not of intellect,” and for Pascal, knowledge can only be attained by curbing the passions, submitting to God, and accepting the revelation of God. And he was also Christian. And he said “There is no happiness apart from religion.”

Prabhupada: Yes. We say the same thing, that without religion one is animal. Because the animal society there is no church, there is no religion, there is no discussion about God. So if the human society, as they are doing now, that they are denying discussion about God even in the schools and colleges, so it is the most degraded form of society, and the consequence is there: they are all suffering.

Hayagriva: Although he was considered a great philosopher, he concluded that philosophy in itself only leads to skepticism, that faith is needed, and he always added here, “God.”

Prabhupada: Philosophy means, real philosophy means to understand the truth. That is philosophy. So without understanding about the truth, if he encourages untruth... Just like some philosophers are philosophizing on sex life. So the people are becoming degraded. So what is philosophy in sex life, that is an (indistinct). It is there in animal and man also. So sex life is not actual life; it is a symptom of life only. So if we stress on this point only, that is not philosophy. Philosophy means, as it is stated, tattva jnanartham darsanam. To find out the Absolute Truth, tattva, that is philosophy. And tattva means the spirit soul or the spiritual atmosphere. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate. So those who are discussing about Brahman or Paramatma, Supersoul, or Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are real philosopher because they are trying to find out the Absolute Truth, and others are bogus.

Hayagriva: That’s, that’s all.

Prabhupada: That’s all. (end)

Knowledge of Krsna’s Appearances and Activities

There are two forces of nature working in us. By one we decide that in this lifetime we will make spiritual advancement, but at the next moment the other force, maya, or illusory energy, says, “What is all this trouble that you’re going to? Just enjoy this life and be easy with yourself.” This tendency to fall into forgetfulness is the difference between God and man. Arjuna is a companion and associate of Krsna’s, and whenever Krsna appears on any planet, Arjuna also takes birth and appears with Him. When Krsna spoke Bhagavad-gita to the sun god, Arjuna was also present with Him. But, being a finite living entity, Arjuna could not remember. Forgetfulness is the nature of the living entity. We cannot even remember what we were doing at this exact time yesterday or a week ago. If we cannot remember this, how is it possible to remember what happened in our previous lives? At this point we may ask how it is that Krsna can remember and we cannot, and the answer is that Krsna does not change His body.

ajo ’pi sann avyayatma
bhutanam isvaro ’pi san
prakrtim svam adhisthaya
sambhavamy atma-mayaya

“Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.” (Bg. 4.6)

The word atma-mayaya means that Krsna descends as He is. He does not change His body, but we, as conditioned souls, change ours, and because of this we forget. Krsna knows not only the past, present and future of His activities, but the past, present and future of everyone’s activities.

vedaham samatitani
vartamanani carjuna
bhavisyani ca bhutani
mam tu veda na kascana

“O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.” (Bg. 7.26)

In Srimad-Bhagavatam we also find that the Supreme Lord is defined as one who knows everything. This is not the case with even the most elevated living entities, such as Brahma and Siva. Only Visnu or Krsna knows everything. We may also ask that if the Lord does not change His body, why does He come as an incarnation? There is much difference among philosophers concerning this question. Some say that Krsna assumes a material body when He comes, but this is not the case. If He assumed a material body like ours, He could not remember, for forgetfulness is due to the material body. The actual conclusion is that He doesn’t change His body. God is called all-powerful, and in the verse quoted above, His omnipotence is explained. Krsna has no birth, and He is eternal. Similarly, the living entity has no birth, and he is also eternal. It is only the body with which the living entity identifies that takes birth.

In the very beginning of Bhagavad-gita, in the Second Chapter, Krsna explains that what we accept as birth and death is due to the body, and as soon as we regain our spiritual body and get out of the contamination of birth and death, we should be qualitatively as good as Krsna. That is the whole process of Krsna consciousness—the revival of our original sac-cid-ananda spiritual body. That body is eternal (sat), full of knowledge (cit), and blissful (ananda). This material body is neither sat, cit, nor ananda. It is perishable, whereas the person who is occupying the body is imperishable. It is also full of ignorance, and because it is ignorant and temporary, it is full of misery. We feel severe hot or severe cold due to the material body, but as soon as we revive our spiritual body, we become unaffected by dualities. Even while within the material bodies there are yogis who are impervious to dualities such as heat and cold. As we begin to make spiritual advancement while in the material body, we begin to take on the qualities of a spiritual body. If we put iron into a fire, it becomes hot, and then it becomes red-hot, and finally it is no longer iron, but fire—whatever it touches bursts into flames. As we become advanced in Krsna consciousness, our material body will become spiritualized and will no longer be affected by material contamination.

Krsna’s birth, His appearance and disappearance, are likened unto the appearance and disappearance of the sun. In the morning it appears as if the sun is born from the eastern horizon, but actually it is not. The sun is neither rising nor setting; it is as it is in its position. All risings and settings are due to the rotation of the earth. Similarly, in Vedic literatures there are prescribed schedules for the appearance and disappearance of Sri Krsna. Krsna’s rising is just like the sun. The sun’s rising and setting are going on at every moment; somewhere in the world people are witnessing sunrise and sunset. It is not that at one point Krsna is born and at another point He is gone. He is always there somewhere, but He appears to come and go. Krsna appears and disappears in many universes. We only have experience of this one universe, but from Vedic literatures we can understand that this universe is but a part of the infinite manifestations of the Supreme Lord.

Although Krsna is the Supreme Lord and is unborn and unchangeable, He appears in His original transcendental nature. The word prakrti means “nature.” In the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, it is stated that there are many kinds of nature. These have been categorized into three basic types. There is external nature, internal nature and marginal nature. The external nature is the manifestation of this material world, and in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita this is described as apara or material nature. When Krsna appears, He accepts the higher nature (prakrtim svam), not the inferior material nature. Sometimes the head of a state may go to the prison house in order to inspect the prison and see the inmates there, but the prisoners are in error if they think, “The head of the state has come to prison, so he is a prisoner just like us.” As pointed out before, Sri Krsna states that fools deride Him when He descends in human form (Bg. 9.11).

Krsna, as the Supreme Lord, can come here at any time, and we cannot object and say that He cannot come. He is fully independent, and He can come and disappear as He likes. If the head of a state goes to visit a prison, we are not to assume that he is forced to do so. Krsna comes with a purpose, and that is to reclaim fallen conditioned souls. We do not love Krsna, but Krsna loves us. He claims everyone as His son.

sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita

“It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving Father.” (Bg. 14.4)

The father is always affectionate to the son. The son may forget the father, but the father can never forget the son. Krsna comes to the material universe out of His love for us to deliver us from the miseries of birth and death. He says, “My dear sons, why are you rotting in this miserable world? Come to Me, and I’ll give you all protection.” We are sons of the Supreme, and we can enjoy life very supremely without any misery and without any doubt. Therefore we should not think that Krsna comes here just as we do, being obliged by the laws of nature. The Sanskrit word avatara literally means “he who descends.” One who descends from the spiritual universe into the material universe through his own will is called an avatara. Sometimes Sri Krsna descends Himself, and sometimes He sends His representative. The major religions of the world—Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Moslem—believe in some supreme authority or personality coming down from the kingdom of God. In the Christian religion, Jesus Christ claimed to be the son of God and to be coming from the kingdom of God to reclaim conditioned souls. As followers of Bhagavad-gita, we admit this claim to be true. So basically there is no difference of opinion. In details there may be differences due to differences in culture, climate and people, but the basic principle remains the same—that is, God or His representatives come to reclaim conditioned souls.

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham

“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself.” (Bg. 4.7)

God is very compassionate. He wishes to see our miseries cease, but we are trying to adjust to these miseries. Because we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, we are not meant for these miseries, but somehow or other we have voluntarily accepted them. There are miseries arising from the body and mind, from other living entities and from natural catastrophes. We are either suffering from all three of these miseries, or at least from one. We are always trying to make a solution to these miseries, and this attempt constitutes our struggle for existence. That solution cannot be made by our tiny brain. It can be made only when we lake to the shelter of the Supreme Lord.

We can become happy when we are reinstated in our constitutional position, and Bhagavad-gita is meant to reinstate us in that position. God and His representative also come to help. As stated previously, they descend upon the material world from the superior nature and are not subject to the laws of birth, old age, disease and death. Krsna gives Arjuna the following reasons for His descent upon the world:

paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge

“In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re-establish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.” (Bg. 4.8)

Here Krsna says that He comes when there is a decline in dharma. The Sanskrit word dharma has been translated into English as “faith,” but faith has come to mean a religious system that goes under the name of Christian, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. But the word dharma does not have the same meaning as faith. The faith of an individual may change from Hindu to Buddhist to Christian to Moslem, etc. People have the ability to accept one faith and reject another, but dharma cannot be changed. It is the nature of every individual to render service, either to himself, his family, his community, nation or to humanity at large. This rendering of service cannot in any way be divorced from the living entity, and it is this that constitutes the dharma of every living being. Without rendering service, one cannot exist. The world goes on because we are all rendering and exchanging service. We must forget whether we are Christian, Moslem or Hindu, and we must understand that we are living entities whose constitutional position is to render service to the supreme living entity. When we reach that stage of understanding, we are liberated.

Liberation is freedom from temporary designations which we have acquired from association with material nature. Liberation is nothing more than this. Because we have material bodies, we take on so many designations; thus we call ourselves a man, a parent, an American, a Christian, Hindu, etc. These designations should be abandoned if we at all want to become free. Under no circumstances are we master. We are at the present serving, but we are serving with designations. We’re the servants of a wife, of a family, of a job, of our own senses, of our children, and if we have no children we become servants of our cats or dogs. In any case, we must have someone, something to serve. If we have no wife or child, we have to catch some dog or other lower animal in order to serve it. That is our nature. We are compelled to do it. When we at last become free from these designations and begin to render transcendental loving service to the Lord, we attain our perfectional state. We then become established in our true dharma.

Thus Sri Krsna says that He appears whenever there is a discrepancy in the dharma of the living entities, that is to say whenever the living entities cease rendering service to the Supreme. In other words, when the living entity is too busily engaged serving his senses, and there is an over-indulgence in sense gratification, the Lord comes. In India, for instance, when people were over-indulging in animal slaughter, Lord Buddha came to establish ahimsa, nonviolence to all living entities. Similarly, in the above-quoted verse, Sri Krsna says that He comes in order to protect the sadhus (paritranaya sadhunam). Sadhus are typified by their toleration of all other living entities. Despite all inconveniences and dangers, they try to give real knowledge to the people in general. A sadhu is not the friend of a particular society, community or country but is a friend of all—not only of human beings, but of animals and lower forms of life. In short, the sadhu is an enemy of no one and a friend to all. Consequently he is always peaceful. Such persons who have sacrificed everything for the Lord are very, very dear to the Lord. Although the sadhus do not mind if they are insulted, Krsna does not tolerate any insult to them. As stated in the Ninth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Krsna is alike to all, but He is especially inclined to His devotees:

samo ’ham sarva-bhutesu
na me dvesyo ’sti na priyah
ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya
mayi te tesu capy aham

“I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” (Bg. 9.29)

Although Krsna is neutral to all, for one who is constantly engaged in Krsna consciousness, who is spreading the message of Bhagavad-gita, He gives special protection. It is Sri Krsna’s promise that His devotee shall never perish: kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati (Bg. 9.31).
Not only does Krsna come to protect and save His devotees, but also to destroy the wicked (vinasaya ca duskrtam). Krsna wanted to establish Arjuna and the five Pandavas, who were the most pious ksatriyas and devotees, as rulers of the world, and He also wanted to vanquish the atheistic party of Duryodhana. And as mentioned before, a third reason for His coming is to establish real religion (dharma-samsthapanarthaya). Thus Sri Krsna’s purpose for coming is threefold: He protects His devotees, vanquishes the demonic, and establishes the real religion of the living entity. He comes not only once, but many, many times (sambhavami yuge yuge) because this material world is such that in the course of time, after an adjustment is made, it will again deteriorate.

The world is so conceived that even if we make a very good arrangement, it will gradually deteriorate. After World War I an armistice was signed, and there was a short period of peace, but World War II soon came, and now that that is over they are making preparations for World War III. This is the function of time (kala) in the material world. We build up a very nice house, and after fifty years it deteriorates, and after one hundred years it deteriorates even more. Similarly, when the body is young, people care for it, always lavishing affection upon it and kissing it, but when it grows old no one cares for it. This is the nature of the material world—even if a very good adjustment is made, it will in course of time be vanquished. Therefore adjustments are periodically required, and from age to age the Supreme Lord or His representative come to make adjustments in the direction of civilization. Thus Sri Krsna descends many times to establish or rejuvenate many different religions.

From "The King Of Knowledge--Raja Vidya"

Culture on the Basis of Protecting Cows

--Los Angeles, December 4, 1968

Prabhupada: Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **. (three times with devotees responding)

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.29]

Thank you very much. So we are worshiper of the original Absolute Personality of Godhead, Govindam. Govindam. Go means senses, go means cow, and go means land. And vindam, vindam means who gives pleasure-the pleasure potency of all these three things, senses, cows, and the land. The land. Sarva-loka-mahesvaram, in the Bhagavad-gita it is said. The proprietor of all land, the maintainer of all land, to give pleasure to the people of all land, is Govinda, Krsna. Govindam. And He is the protector, and pleasing to the cows. You have seen many pictures of Krsna, He is loving cow. Why cow is loved by Him? Why not another animal? There are many other animals. Why particularly cow? Because cow protection is the most important business of the human society.

In offering obeisances to Krsna, it is said, namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca: "I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Person, who is the protector of the brahmanas and the cows." Go-brahmana-hitaya ca jagad-dhitaya. The first qualification is that He protects the brahmanas and the cows. Next, He protects the whole world. Jagad-dhitaya krsna. And He is Krsna, govindaya, this Govinda.

So the example is set by the Supreme Personality of Godhead that human civilization will advance only on the basis of brahminical culture and cow protection. As soon as there is falldown from brahminical culture, and as soon as there is discrepancy in the protection of cows, there will be no more peace in the world. Therefore He specifically said, go-brahmana-hitaya ca. This Krsna consciousness movement is for the protection of brahminical culture and cows. Then automatically the peace of the world will come, if two things are done. This is Vedic literature. They pick up the essence of the things, and all other things follows. Just like meditation. Meditation means... Not meditation, the yoga system. Yoga indriya-samyamah. Yoga system means to control the senses. This is the primary factor of practicing yoga. Now the senses, we have got five senses acquiring knowledge and five working senses.

So of all the senses, the tongue is considered to be the most powerful sense. The Vaisnava, they therefore try to control the tongue. They do not allow the tongue to eat everything and anything. No. Svami or gosvami means who has control over the senses. Generally, people, they are servant of the senses. When people, when a man becomes, instead of becoming servant of the senses, when he becomes master of the senses, then he is called svami. Svami is not this dress. This dress is superfluous, just to...

As in everywhere there is some uniform dress to understand that "He is, he..." Actually, svami means who has control over the senses. And that is brahminical culture. Satya sama dama titiksa arjavam, jnanam vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava-jam. Brahman, Brahman means brahmana, brahminical culture. Truthfulness, cleanliness, and controlling the senses, controlling the mind, and simplicity and tolerance, full of knowledge, practical application in life, faith in God-these qualifications are brahminical culture. Anywhere we practice these qualifications, he'll revive brahminical culture. It is not that in a particular country or particular society or particular class of men they are brahmanas. No. Bhagavad-gita does not say that. Brahma-karma svabhava-jam. Svabhava-jam, natural activities.

So truthfulness, controlling the senses, controlling the mind, and simplicity, and cleanliness, and tolerance, and knowledge, and practical application of knowledge in life. So this Krsna consciousness movement is for training brahmacaris. Brahmacari means who are being practiced to the brahminical culture. So, there must be a portion of the population well versed in brahminical culture. Ekas candras tamo hanti na ca tara sahasrasah. Just like in a garden if there is one nice flower plant, rose, with good scent, the whole garden becomes flavored, you see? Scented. Similarly, we do not expect that the whole population of the human society will be taking to this brahminical culture; but even one percent of the whole population accepts this brahminical culture, Krsna consciousness, then the whole world will be peaceful. Not even one percent, less than one percent. It is so nice.

So Krsna consciousness movement is very scientific movement. Unless you raise the population from the animal propensities, how you can expect peace? Do you think is there any peace in the dog society, in the cat society? No, it is not possible. You keep some dogs. They meet.

As soon as they meet together there will be howling-"gow, gow, gow, gow." So you cannot expect if you create dog society, then you cannot expect. You have to create a portion, a certain percentage of the population, brahmanas. Then there is possibility. Just like in the sky the numerical strength of the stars are greater, but there is one moon. That one moon is sufficient to illuminate the sky. Ekas candras tamo hanti na ca tara sahasrasah. Millions of millions of stars twinkling, they cannot dissipate the darkness. You see. Only one moon, only one sun. So try to make some percentage of the population actually brahmana. Go-brahmana-hitaya ca. And protect the cows. Actually, we are taking so much advantages. So from the cows, the milk. And from the milk we can make hundreds of vitaminous foodstuff, hundreds. They're all palatable.

So such a nice animal, faithful, peaceful, and beneficial. After taking milk from it, if we kill, does it look very well? Even after the death, the cows supply the skin for your shoes. It is so beneficial. You see. Even after death. While living, he gives you nice milk. You cannot reject milk from the human society. As soon as there is a child born, milk immediately required. Old man, milk is life. Diseased person, milk is life. Invalid, milk is life. So therefore Krsna is teaching by His practical demonstration how He loves this innocent animal, cow. So human society should develop brahminical culture on the basis of protecting cows. The brahmana cannot take any other food except it is made of milk preparation. That develops the finer tissues of the brain. You can understand in subtle matters, in philosophy, in spiritual science. Just like in a scientific college, not ordinary man can understand the scientific intricacies. They require some preliminary qualification to enter into the scientific college. They require some preliminary qualification to enter into the law college, in the postgraduate classes. Similarly, to understand the subtle or finer implications of spiritual science, one has to become brahmana. Without becoming brahmana it is not possible.

Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita it is said, catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13]. There are four classes of men created by God: catur-varnyam. How they are divided? How the classification is made? Guna-karma-vibhagasah: by classification of quality and work. Not by birth. In India, of course, this classification of guna-karma-vibhagasah was originally planned from the Vedic age. But later on, a class of men, without any qualification, without any practical work, they claimed that "I belong to such and such class." Therefore India's falldown was inevitable. So Bhagavad-gita says, "Not like that." Bhagavad-gita says that these classes of men, catur-varnyam-the brahminical class, the ksatriya class, the vaisya class, and the sudra class-is everywhere. Not only in India, but also throughout the whole universe, in every country, in every nation, in every society, there must be some people who have brahminical tendency. Just like from your country, we have picked up some boys and girls who are inclined to adopt this way of life.

So this Krsna consciousness movement is simply picking up where there are brahminical class of boys, girls, men. Not that we are taking account, "Oh, who is your father? Is your father a brahmana?" No. We don't take account. His father may be anything; it doesn't matter. But if he has got tendency to accept this Krsna consciousness, we immediately welcome: "Come on." And we teach him this brahminical qualification-to become brahmacari, not to indulge in illicit sex life, don't take nonvegetarian diet. We recommend not exactly nonvegetarian diet. We are vegetarian diet, we restrict from nonvegetarian diet, but we recommend Krsna prasadam. We have no quarrel with the nonvegetarians, because vegetable also has got life. The plants, the grass, the trees, the fruits, the flowers, they have also life. They are not dead. So simply becoming vegetarian is no great qualification. Somebody is taking meat and somebody is taking vegetable, it does not make any difference. But we are taking vegetables not as vegetarian. We are taking as Krsna prasadam, remnants of foodstuff offered to Krsna. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that,

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah

Krsna said that "If somebody offers Me some foodstuff prepared from vegetables and fruits and grains"-grains are also fruits-"so with love and devotion, then I eat." Therefore we offer these things to Krsna. Just like here, we have offered fruits. Not that because we are vegetarian, but Krsna wants this. Just like if you invite some of your friend, you ask him, "My dear friend, what do you like to eat?" So if he says, "I like this," so you immediately supply. This is the sign of love. Similarly, because Krsna says, "If somebody offers Me fruits, flowers, grains, milk, with devotion and love, I will eat," so we are pledged to Krsna, I offer these things to Krsna, and we eat. That is our process. We have no quarrel with nonvegetarian or vegetarian. No. Because vegetable has also got life. And in the Bhagavad-gita it is also stated that yajna-sistasinah santo mucyante sarva-kilbisaih. You have to eat after offering sacrifice. Sacrifice means to worship the Supreme Lord. That is called sacrifice.

So if anyone eats the remnants of sacrificial foodstuff, then he is freed from all kinds of sins. The purport is that those who are vegetarian, they are thinking that "We are better than the nonvegetarian." But it is not the fact. Either you eat vegetables or nonvegetable, you are liable to be punished because you are accepting something without offering to the supplier. That is the law. We must acknowledge at least that "This foodstuff is supplied by the Supreme Lord, and we are obliged to Him." In Christian Bible also, they pray, "O God, give us our daily bread." So one should accept that it is supplied by God. So if one does not even accept this obligation, then he is sinful, certainly. So, yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra. Yajna-sistasinah santo mucyante sarva-kilbisaih. One who offers sacrifice and then he takes foodstuff, then he becomes freed from the sinful activities. In the eating there is sinful activity also. But bhunjate te tv agham papa ye pacanty atma-karanat: anyone who is simply cooking for himself, he is simply eating sins. These are the statements of Bhagavad-gita. Therefore it is our duty to offer foodstuff to the Lord and then take it: "My Lord, You have supplied so nice foodstuff for my maintaining my life, so You first of all taste it, and then I shall eat it." It is very nice. This is Krsna consciousness. This is Krsna consciousness.

Krsna is not going to take your foodstuff. But simply if you think like that, then you become freed from the implication of sinful activities. We are in such a position that in every step there is sinful activity, every step. This world is so made. Just like nonviolence. Nonviolence, the Buddhist philosophy, the Jain philosophy, they advocate nonviolence. But how one can be nonviolent? We are walking on the street, there are so many ants and small germs, they are being killed. We are breathing, so many animals are being killed. We are drinking water, so many animals are being killed. How it is possible to become nonviolence? It is not possible. Therefore in every step we have to act in Krsna consciousness, or God consciousness. Then there is indemnity from the sinful activities. That is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita, that yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra loko 'yam karma-bandhanah [Bg. 3.9]. Unless you act in Krsna consciousness, or God consciousness, or as ordered by Krsna, or God, then you become bound up by the reaction.

yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra
loko 'yam karma-bandhanah
tad-artham karma kaunteya
mukta-sangah samacara
[Bg. 3.9]

"Therefore, My dear Arjuna," Krsna instructing Arjuna, that "you simply act for Krsna, or God," tad-artham, "not for any other purpose." Don't create your action. Simply act according to the direction of the Lord. Mukta-sangah samacara. Then you will be freed from the reaction of your act. There are many examples. Just like a soldier: when he is killing in the battlefield on the higher authorities of government and commander-in-chief, he is not liable for killing. He is, rather, rewarded. The same man, if he kills on his own account somebody, he is hanged. Immediately he becomes liable to the law.

Therefore the whole life should be so modeled that we shall simply act for God, or Krsna. That is Krsna consciousness. The Krsna consciousness activities are called bhakti, devotional service. And how they are discharged, that is very nicely explained in many Vedic literatures, Bhagavad-gita also. Especially in Narada-pancaratra it is stated,

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hrsikena hrsikesa-
sevanam bhaktir ucyate
[Cc. Madhya 19.170]

One has to become freed from all designations. Freed from all designation. What is the designation? "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brahmana," "I am ksatriya," "I am this," "I am that." These are all designations. Actually, I am spirit soul. I have got this designation on account of my accepting this material body, but I am not this body. This is the first instruction in the Bhagavad-gita. Spiritual instruction begins from this platform, that "I am not this body." Because bodily concept of life is animal life. The dog thinks that "I am this body"; the cat thinks, "I am this body." But if a human being thinks that "I am this body," then what is the difference between cats and dogs? Human being must try to understand, "What I am?" This is called knowledge. And when he comes to the understanding aham brahmasmi, "I am spirit soul, oh, I am spirit soul..." Just like Socrates, he realized. When he was asked by the judge, "Mr. Socrates, how you want to be entombed?" he answered, "First of all, capture me; then you entomb me. You are seeing my body. You have no vision that I am soul." This is right vision.
Bhagavad-gita says, therefore, panditah sama-darsinah.

vidya-vinaya-sampanne
brahmane gavi hastini
suni caiva sva-pake ca
panditah sama-darsinah
[Bg. 5.18]

Panditah means one who is learned. He sees everything equally, because he does not see the body. He sees the spirit soul. He sees the spirit soul, both in human being... The different kinds of human being... Somebody may be very high, or somebody may be very, very low, or animal, or... But panditah, one who is learned, he sees the spirit soul. Panditah sama-darsinah [Bg. 5.18]. He knows that this is only dress. Suppose a gentleman has come in this meeting. If he is not properly dressed, that does not mean he should be hated. Similarly, one who is pandita, learned, he does not discriminate between man and animal because they have got different dress. No. The animal life and human life, so far maintenance of the body is concerned, it is equal. The animal eats, the man eats. The animal sleeps, the man sleeps. The animal mates, the man also mates. The quality or degree of mating or eating may be different, but the eating is there, sleeping is there, mating is there, and defending is there. But what is the difference between man and animal? Man knows, at least, he should try to know, "What I am? What is God? What is this world? What is our interrelation?" This is man's business. This is called athato brahma jijnasa.

In the Vedanta-sutra, the first sutra, aphorism, is atha atah brahma-jijnasa: "This human form of life is meant for inquiry about the spirit, Supreme Spirit, Brahman." That is the beginning of spiritual education. So spiritual education-first to understand "What I am," then "What is God," "What is this world." "What is our interrelation," then "What is God's position," "What is my position," "How I shall deal with God"-these things are spiritual education, and human life is meant for that purpose. The nature gives chance to the living entity, this developed consciousness of human being, in order to understand these things. And if he is fortunate enough to understand that he is spirit soul, he is Brahman, then the Bhagavad-gita gives definition of such man that brahma-bhutah prasannatma: [Bg. 18.54] as soon as he comes to the understanding of spiritual platform, then he becomes joyful, immediately-freed from all anxieties. Joyfulness means freed from all anxiety. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati [Bg. 18.54]. He has no more any hankering and no more lamentation. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati, samah sarvesu bhutesu... And he sees everyone on the spiritual platform, equally. And then the life of devotion, service to the Lord, begins.

So this is the process. This is the process of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the process is recommended that one should become freed from the designation. Because designation, accepting the designation, means ignorance. That is ignorance. So we have to transcend this position of designation. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. And by reviving our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord, we become cleansed. That is brahminical stage. Sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. Nirmalam means cleansed, and hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam. When your consciousness is cleansed, then you can only render service to the Lord. Otherwise not. So long our consciousness is not clean, consciousness is polluted, there is no possibility of rendering service to the Lord. Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam [Cc. Madhya 19.170].

Hrsika, hrsika means senses purified by being freed from designation. When it is purified in connection with activities of Krsna, or God, then he can render service to the Lord, Hrsikena. That is called bhakti. This is bhakti. Bhakti is nothing artificial. It is the activity of healthy stage. Just like a man, when he is diseased, his activities are differing from the man who is cured and healthy. To become healthy does not mean to kill the patient. To kill..., not to kill him, but to cure him from the disease, that is real treatment. The whole treatment of the human society should be like that: to cure him from the disease of forgetfulness his relationship with God. Then when he is cured, when he is in healthy state, then there will be no more trouble in the world. Peace and prosperity can be established when people are no more in the designated stage, when he is free. So it is not expected, however, that cent percent population of the world will be such free from all contamination. But even a certain percentage only, even most insignificant, one percent or less than that, millions in one, then the face of the world will change.

So this Krsna consciousness movement is just trying to turn the face of the people towards the Supreme Lord and by practical application of the knowledge in life, brahmacari, grhastha, vanaprastha, sannyasa... This is the process. So it is not sectarian process. Just like students can be picked up from any society, similarly, person inclined to understand the science of God can be picked up from any society. There is no question of designation. It is not that it is meant for the Hindu or meant for the Christian, meant for the Buddhist. Anyone who is interested in the science of God, they are welcome in this movement, Krsna consciousness.
Thank you very much. (devotees offer obeisances)