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)

What is Dharma?

sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati
[SB 1.2.6]

The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.

In this statement, Sri Suta Gosvami answers the first question of the sages of Naimisaranya. The sages asked him to summarize the whole range of revealed scriptures and present the most essential part so that fallen people, or the people in general, might easily take it up. The Vedas prescribe two different types of occupation for the human being. One is called the pravrtti-marga, or the path of sense enjoyment, and the other is called the nivrtti-marga, or the path of renunciation. The path of enjoyment is inferior, and the path of sacrifice for the supreme cause is superior.

The material existence of the living being is a diseased condition of actual life. Actual life is spiritual existence, or brahma-bhuta existence, where life is eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge. Material existence is temporary, illusory, and full of miseries. There is no happiness at all. There is just the futile attempt to get rid of the miseries, and temporary cessation of misery is falsely called happiness. Therefore, the path of progressive material enjoyment, which is temporary, miserable, and illusory, is inferior. But devotional service to the Supreme Lord, which leads one to eternal, blissful, and all-cognizant life, is called the superior quality of occupation. This is sometimes polluted when mixed with the inferior quality. For example, adoption of devotional service for material gain is certainly an obstruction to the progressive path of renunciation. Renunciation, or abnegation for ultimate good, is certainly a better occupation than enjoyment in the diseased condition of life. Such enjoyment only aggravates the symptoms of disease and increases its duration. Therefore devotional service to the Lord must be pure in quality, i.e., without the least desire for material enjoyment. One should therefore accept the superior quality of occupation in the form of the devotional service of the Lord without any tinge of unnecessary desire, fruitive action, or philosophical speculation. This alone can lead one to perpetual solace in His service.

We have purposely denoted dharma as “occupation” because the root meaning of the word dharma is “that which sustains one’s existence.” A living being’s sustenance of existence is to coordinate his activities with his eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, Krsna. Krsna is the central pivot of living beings, and He is the all-attractive living entity or eternal form amongst all other living beings or eternal forms. Each and every living being has his eternal form in the spiritual existence, and Krsna is the eternal attraction for all of them. Krsna is the complete whole, and everything else is His part and parcel. The relationship is one of the servant and the served. It is transcendental and is completely distinct from our experience in material existence. This relationship of servant and the served is the most congenial form of intimacy. One can realize it as devotional service progresses. Everyone should engage himself in that transcendental loving service of the Lord, even in the present conditioned state of material existence. That will gradually give one the clue to actual life and please him to complete satisfaction.

We are all hankering for complete self-satisfaction, or atma-suprasada, but first we must know what the real self is. The word atma, or “self,” refers to the body, the mind, and the soul. Actually, we are the spirit soul covered by two kinds of “garments.” Just as a gentleman is covered by his shirt and coat, so I, the soul, am covered by a gross body consisting of the physical senses and a subtle body consisting of mind, intelligence, and false ego. A person covered by false ego identifies with his body. When asked who he is, he will answer, “I am an American,” or “I am an Indian,” etc. But these are bodily designations; they are not his real identity.

The Vedic literature teaches that one begins to understand his real identity when he thinks, aham brahmasmi: “I am Brahman, or spirit soul.” Therefore the Vedanta-sutra says, athato brahma jijnasa: “Now one should inquire about spirit.” The human form of life is meant for advancing in knowledge of spirit, and this knowledge is the beginning of real happiness.
Everyone is hankering for happiness because by nature we are happy: anandamayo ’bhyasat. As spirit souls we are naturally happy, blissful. But we are suffering because we have been covered by five gross material elements—earth, water, fire, air, and ether—and three subtle material elements—mind, intelligence, and false ego.

Materialists, identifying themselves with these coverings, seek satisfaction through these gross and subtle elements of the body. In other words, they simply seek sense gratification, the happiness of the body. In the material world everyone is working hard only for this happiness. Some people try to be happy by gratifying the physical senses, and some try to be happy by gratifying the mind in such pursuits as art, poetry, and philosophy. But neither gross nor subtle sense gratification can give us real happiness, because real happiness belongs to the soul. And we actually see that although people are endeavoring throughout the whole world for bodily comforts, for sense gratification, they’re not happy. They cannot be happy, because the basic principle of happiness is missing.

Suppose you have a nice coat. If you simply show the coat and iron the coat and keep it very carefully, you’ll never be happy. Similarly, now you are trying to get happiness from gratifying the coat of the body, but that is not possible. Happiness comes only when you make the soul happy. Or, suppose you have a bird in a cage. If you simply polish the cage but do not give the bird any food, the bird will never be happy. Similarly, the material body is the cage of the soul, and if we simply care for the body, the soul will never become happy. So, the beginning of spiritual knowledge is to understand that the soul is encaged within the body and mind and that neither bodily comforts nor mental satisfaction will ever bring the soul real happiness.

Then how can the soul become happy? As stated in the present verse of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the soul can become happy only when living according to the supreme dharma. A common English translation for the word dharma is “religion,” but, as mentioned above, a more accurate meaning is “that which sustains one’s existence” or “one’s essential characteristic.” Everything has an essential characteristic. The essential characteristic of chili peppers, for instance, is to taste very hot. When we go to the market to purchase chili peppers, we test how hot they are. If they are not very hot, we reject them. So the dharma of chili peppers is to be very hot. Similarly, the dharma of sugar is to be sweet.

Then what is the dharma of the soul? When entrapped by the material nature, the soul adopts various artificial dharmas based on his false identification with the body. Someone born in a Hindu family will say, “I am a Hindu,” someone born in a Muslim family will claim, “I am a Muslim,” someone born in a Christian family will claim, “I am a Christian,” and so on. But as I have already explained, one’s real identity is the spirit soul—aham brahmasmi: “I am Brahman. I am a spirit soul.” When we come to that platform of spiritual understanding, our essential characteristic becomes clear.

As explained here, sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. The supreme dharma of the soul is bhakti, devotional service to the Supreme Lord. That is our essential characteristic. Everyone is already a devotee—a devotee of his country, his society, his family, his wife, his children, his senses. No one can say, “I do not serve anyone.” You must serve, because that is your dharma. If a person has no one to serve, he keeps a cat or dog and serves it. So to render loving service to someone else is our essential characteristic. But we are missing the point. We are loving cats and dogs and so many other things, but we are neglecting to love God. Therefore, we are not getting real happiness. When we shall direct our love toward the proper object—Adhoksaja, or Krsna—we’ll become happy.

When the word dharma is taken to mean “religion,” we can understand from this verse of the Srimad-Bhagavatam that rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord is the highest form of religion. The question asked by the sages at Naimisaranya was, “What is the best form of religion, by which anyone can become elevated to spiritual emancipation?” Some people may say that the Hindu religion is best, others may recommend the Christian religion, others may say that the Muslim religion is very good, others may say that Buddhism is very good, and so on. But the Srimad-Bhagavatam does not advocate the Hindu, Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist religion. It gives a general description of the best religion: “The best religious practice is that which enables you to become a devotee of Adhoksaja.”

“Adhoksaja” is a Sanskrit name for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The literal meaning of the name Adhoksaja is “He who defeats, or ‘pushes down’ (adha), all efforts to understand Him by means of knowledge gained through sense perception (aksa-ja).” This name of God—Adhoksaja—is an answer to the mental speculators who research the question “What is God?” and write volumes of books. To them the name Adhoksaja says, “You may go on speculating for many thousands of years, but you will never be able to understand God in that way.”

Generally people say, “God is great.” But they do not know how great He is. God’s greatness is indicated perfectly by the name “Krsna.” If you want a perfect definition of the word “God,” then it is krsna, because the word krsna means “all-attractive.” Unless one is all-attractive, how can He be God, the greatest? If one is great, he must be attractive. For example, John D. Rockefeller and Henry Ford were considered great men because they were very rich, and their great wealth made them attractive.

So wealth is one feature of attraction. Therefore God must be the most wealthy person. Beauty is another attractive feature—so God must be the most beautiful person. Many people, when they see a picture of Krsna, are convinced they have never seen such a beautiful person, although He’s a little blackish. Similarly, Krsna fully possesses the attractive opulences of strength, wisdom, fame, and renunciation. And because these six opulences of infinite wealth, beauty, strength, wisdom, fame, and renunciation make Him all-attractive, God is known by the name “Krsna.” With these transcendental opulences He can attract the richest person, the most beautiful person, the strongest person, the wisest person, the most famous person, and the most renounced person. Such infinite attractive features are impossible for us to understand through mental speculation based on sense perception, and so Krsna is also known as Adhoksaja, the name used in this verse of the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

So, here the Srimad-Bhagavatam gives a simple definition of the best religion: That religion is the best by which you can develop your devotion and love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How nice this definition is! You may follow Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam—it doesn’t matter. But the test of your success is how far you have developed love of God. If you have developed your sense of love for God, you have actually followed religious principles. Religion does not mean that you go to a temple, mosque, or church and as a matter of formality observe some rituals, make some donation, and then come back home and do all kinds of nonsense. That is not religion. Suppose someone is said to be great. What is the proof of his greatness? He must have great riches, knowledge, influence, beauty, etc. Similarly, what is the proof that someone is a man of religious principles? The proof is that he has developed love of God. Then he is religious.

Now, someone may say, “Oh, yes, I love God.” But what is the nature of that love? In our experience in this world we commonly see that a man will love a beautiful girl. But for how long? As long as she is beautiful. And a girl loves a boy—for how long? As long as his pocket is all right. This is not love: it is lust. “I love your skin, I love your money”—that is not love. Here the Srimad-Bhagavatam states that love of God must be ahaituki, free of selfish motivation. Not that we say, “My dear God, I love You because You supply me my daily bread.” Whether in the church, temple, or mosque, people generally offer the same kind of prayer: “O God, give me my daily bread.” In India people generally go to a temple and pray, “My dear Krsna, I am in difficulty. Please get me out of it,” or “I am in need of some money. Kindly give me a million dollars.” This is not love of God.

Of course, this kind of religion is far better than atheism. As Lord Krsna states in the Bhagavad-gita (7.16): catur-vidha bhajante mam janah sukrtino ’rjuna. Anyone who goes to God and asks for some benediction is a pious man. But he’s not a devotee. He may be counted among pious men because he recognizes the supremacy of God, but he has not developed the highest principle of religion, love of God.

Lord Sri Caitanya describes love of God in His Siksastaka (7):

yugayitam nimesena caksusa pravrsayitam
sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me

“O my dear Govinda! Because I cannot see You, every moment seems like twelve years to Me.” Everyone has some experience of this feeling. If you love someone and you expect your beloved to come at any moment, you will feel as if every second were a full day. Then, because Lord Caitanya cannot see Krsna, He says, caksusa pravrsayitam: “Tears are pouring from My eyes like torrents of rain,” and sunyayitam jagat sarvam: “I see the whole world as vacant.” And all on account of separation from Govinda, or Krsna: govinda-virahena me. When you cannot tolerate separation from Govinda, that is pure, causeless love of God.

The next word used in the Srimad-Bhagavatam to describe pure love of God is apratihata, which means “without being hampered for any reason.” Sometimes people say, “I cannot love Krsna because I am a very poor man,” or “I cannot love Krsna because I have no education—I cannot study Vedanta philosophy.” No. To love Krsna you don’t require any material acquisition. You can begin developing your love of Krsna simply by bringing some fruit or a flower to the temple and offering it to the Deity form of Krsna. That is one of the six signs of love

Rupa Gosvami describes in his Upadesamrta (4):

dadati pratigrhnati guhyam akhyati prcchati
bhunkte bhojayate caiva sad-vidham priti-laksanam

First, you must give something to your beloved and accept something from your beloved. If you simply go on accepting but you do not give anything, then there is no love. Then guhyam akhyati prcchati: You should not keep anything secret within your mind, and your beloved should not keep anything secret within his or her mind. And bhunkte bhojayate caiva: One should give the beloved eatables and accept eatables from him or her. When we cultivate these six kinds of loving exchanges with Krsna, we develop pure love of God. And that love should be without any material motivation and without impediment.

If you can develop such love for God, you will feel su-prasidati, complete satisfaction. No more anxiety, no more dissatisfaction. You will feel that the whole world is full of pleasure (visvam purna-sukhayate). So the best religion is that which teaches one how to become a lover of God, and the best welfare work is to distribute this knowledge. These are the purposes of the Krsna consciousness movement. Krsna consciousness is such a beautiful thing. It does not depend on any material acquisition, nor can it be checked by any impediment. In any part of the world, at home or away from home, you can chant the Hare Krsna mantra in ecstasy and attain love of God very quickly.

From "Dharma: The Way of Transcendence"

Although You Are in this Bodily Conception of Life, Still, You Can Work From The Spiritual Platform

Bhagavad-gita 2.48-49
--
[Lecture, givin in New York City, April 1, 1966]
(660401BG.NY)

Prabhupada: All glories to the assembled devotees. All glories to the assembled devotees. Now, spiritual consciousness, and to continue it... Simple theoretical knowledge that “I am consciousness; I am not this body,” anything, simple theoretical knowledge, cannot help us. (aside:) You can put on this light. Unless...

Just like a person. He studied medical science or law, anything, any technical science. He gets all theoretical knowledge. But if he does not practice, then that knowledge will gradually subside. You see? Similarly, that “I am not this body, but I am that pure consciousness,” that is already analyzed in various ways. Now, we are in practical life. Now, if we say that “I am not this body,” so what is the use of working for this body? The whole world is moving under the bodily conception of life. Because I am born in this land, my body is born out of this land, American land, therefore I am thinking “American.” Because I am born in India, therefore I am thinking “Indian.” Because I am born of a certain family, therefore I am identifying myself with that family. Because my father has given me some name, so I am identifying with that name. So my position is that I am all around surrounded by this bodily conception of life.

Now, from studying Bhagavad-gita or deeply thinking over the matter, I come to understand that I am not this body. That is settled. That’s all right. But actually I am working on bodily plane. This adjustment is required, that yes, you, for the present moment, because you are entangled or enwrapped within this, encaged within this body, so you cannot say that “I will work without this body.” But you can work in such a way that even without this body, even with this body you can work in your spiritual platform. Although I am in this bodily conception of life, still, I can work from the spiritual platform. That technical knowledge is instructed by Lord Krsna to Arjuna, that “You are not this body, but you have to work at the same time.” Then how? Now, here is the formula: yoga-sthah kuru karmani. Yoga-sthah. Yoga-sthah means that you remain in spiritual consciousness, but at the same time, you go on with your usual work. You remain in spiritual consciousness and go on with your work. It is very difficult? I am working with bodily conception of life. How I can be situated in spiritual conception of life? So, this techniques is... sangam tyaktva dhananjaya. Sangam tyaktva dhananjaya. Without being touched with bodily conception. And how it can be done? Siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga ucyate. That neutrality will be that...

In the former verse it has been already explained that “You have right to work but not for the result. Don’t be cause of the effect of your result. Then you will be bound up.” We are being bound up by reaction of every work. It is just like this world is so situated... Just you know that a sound vibration... Practically, nowadays everyone knows it, that any sound vibrated, it, within a second it takes round all over the world seven times. It is so... The arrangement is so.

Just like in a pond if you drop a stone, the circle, the circle begins to enlarge, enlarge, enlarge, enlarge, enlarge, and so similarly, we catch the radio vibration. You know there is numbers. Under such and such vibration, you can catch the sound. So the whole arrangement is like that. Now, if we work even in that arrangement, yoga-sthah, being situated in my spiritual plane, then that will reach to the spiritual sky by enlargement of the circle, enlargement of the circle. I can do work here. You will find in the Bhagavad-gita that the Lord says that patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati: “Anyone who offers in devotion patram puspam, a little flower, a little, small leaf, a little water, I accept them. Because it is offered to Me in devotion, therefore I accept them. I take them in My hand.” But people may ask question that “Where is the hand? Where is the hand of God?” He says that “I take.” “I take” means “I take it in my hand.” Without hand there is no question of taking. Therefore Vedic hymn says that apani-pado javano grahita: “The Lord has no legs, no hands, but still, He can walk more than the speed of the air, more than the speed of the mind, and He can accept whatever we offer. But He has no hand; He has no leg.” So this means that He has no hand, He has no leg, like our limited measured hand or leg. He can stretch His hand anywhere. And similarly, He can stretch, He can hear, from anywhere. That is the prerogative of the Supreme Lord.

I have given you several times the example that the sun is far, far away from us. Still, he can distribute his heat and light to us. So if we work with God consciousness, although we are here in this platform, material platform, that work is admitted by the Supreme Lord. That is called yoga-sthah. Yoga-sthah... Yoga means keeping touch with the Supreme. That is called yoga. There are different kinds of yoga mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita, especially jnana-yoga, karma-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. And within jnana-yoga there are many other yogas—dhyana-yoga, hatha-yoga, so many things.

Now, here it is said that yoga-sthah kuru karmani: “You be situated in your yoga or in meditation.” Generally yoga is understood as meditation. But yoga, real meaning of yoga—to keep in touch with the Supreme—that is called yoga, to keep in touch. So you have to work for, er, from the platform of spiritual consciousness. At the same time you have to work. The Lord never says that “You stop work,” never says. Arjuna... Arjuna’s friend was Lord Krsna, but Krsna never said... He is God Himself. He is the Supreme Personality of God Himself. He never said Arjuna that “I am your friend. I shall supply all your necessities. You don’t require to work. You stop.” No, He never said that. Rather, Arjuna was declining to fight, but Krsna is inducing him to fight. So in spiritual platform there is no question of stopping work, no question of stopping work. But work for the Supreme. That’s all, isavasyam idam sarvam, with God consciousness.

Now, there are three processes of yoga: jnana-yoga, and karma-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. Now, jnana-yoga, take for example jnana-yoga. Jnana-yoga means to keep in touch with the Supreme by speculation of higher knowledge, that discriminating what is spirit and what is matter. So there are philosophers, they are discriminating that “This is matter...” Neti neti: “This is matter, and this is spirit.” Now, that requires study, and that requires knowledge also. Now, suppose a man is neither educated, neither he has got sufficient knowledge, philosophical knowledge. Then what happens to him? He will not be able to perform yoga-sthah kuru karmani? No. He is also a bona fide person. He can also perform the work. Because he has no knowledge and because he is uneducated, that doesn’t mean that he cannot do the..., or he cannot work from the spiritual platform. He can also do. That, how he can do, that is the technique. This technique is explained herewith, the siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva, siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva, that “You do not be anxious for the success and failure of the attempt you are making.” Success and failure. A common example can be cited in this connection.

Suppose you are working for your master. You are working in a firm for selling something. The master says that “You go and find out some customers for this particular thing.” You go out. You go out. Now, you sincerely work for it. Suppose you get business worth 100,000 dollars or something like that. And suppose one day you don’t get any business. Now, the day in which you got some business and on the day in which you did not get any business, it doesn’t matter. Your connection with the master is there, so you get your salary. When the profit is 100,000’s of dollars, you don’t expect any profit out of it. And when there is no business, there is no loss on your part. Siddhy-asiddhyoh. Similarly, if you act on behalf of the Supreme Lord, you can do any work you are situated. That doesn’t matter.

But if you act on behalf of the Supreme Lord... Just like Arjuna is being requested indirectly that Lord Sri Krsna says that “This fighting is My plan. So if you work for it, so you have nothing to enjoy or suffer out of the reaction because you shall work under My instruction.” That is the... If we work on behalf of the Supreme Lord, then that is called yoga-sthah. So our work is also not stopped, and at the same time I am situated in the spiritual platform. That technique is taught by Lord Krsna. Yoga-sthah kuru karmani tyaktva sangam dhananjaya: “You do not be attached with the profit and loss of anything, but you simply do your duty. You don’t care for the success or failure. And if you are, I mean to say, steady either in success of failure, that is called yoga. That is called yoga.” Don’t mind for the success or failure.

Do act on behalf of the Supreme Lord. And if you are steady in that position, then your working in spiritual platform is successful. Sangam tyaktva. Sangam tyaktva means “Don’t be associated with the result of the work. Let the result come, whatever it may be, but you have to do your duty nicely and for the sake of God.” Sangam tyaktva. Kartrtva abhinivesam ca tyaktva yoga-sthas tam karmani kuru yuddhadi.(?) Kartrtva. Kartrtva means that you are the doer. “Forget this. You are not the doer. You are being ordered to do it.” Just like there is an example that you take a rod and kill a snake. Now, the rod is practically killing the snake, but actually the rod is not responsible because the man who has taken the rod, who is killing the snake, he is responsible for killing the snake, not the rod. So we have to become the rod in the hand of the Supreme. Then all the reaction of our work will be... I will not be responsible for the reaction. The Lord will be responsible for that. That is the system. Yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya.

Now, for a householder, according to our Vedic system... I have already described to you the four divisions of social system and four division of spiritual orders. Now, all the social system and orders, they are so designed that everyone is working for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. In a higher section of the social order, just like the brahmanas and the ksatriyas and the vaisyas, the system is that in every household they establish the Deity, I mean to..., the form of the Supreme Lord. Either in picture or in idol, they establish that. Now, what is the function in your household affairs? You have got wife, you have got children, and you require some money. And the activities in householder affair is that you have to get some store from the market, and they are brought in your house, and they are stocked, and in due time they are cooked, and you take your foodstuff and then go to your work. This is generally the whole system of household work.

Now here, the yoga-sthah kuru karmani. In India there are many families still. At least in my family, when I was family man, I was also doing this, that the Deity, Lord Krsna, the murti... Murti means Deity or the idol of Radha-Krsna, established in a room. That is called the God’s room. The God’s room. So our duty is to rise early in the morning and open the door of the God’s room, offer Him some prayers and some kirtana, and then cleanse the room and then begin our daily duty, take our breakfast and... The whole idea is that “The proprietor of this house is the Supreme Lord, and we are all workers.” The whole idea is “The proprietor is the Supreme Lord, and we are all workers.” Now, I am going to my office, to my work, to earn some money, because without money my household affairs cannot be run. So I am thinking that “This money is required; otherwise God’s service will be stopped.” So in earning that money in my office or in my workshop, my God consciousness is there. Therefore, even in earning, whatever may be the process, you are yoga-sthah; you are situated in yoga. Now, you get your money. Then you go to the market. You are thinking, “Oh, this is a very nice thing. Oh, it can be offered to Lord Krsna. It can be offered to Lord Krsna.” Just like sometimes you bring some fruits for me, thinking, out of your love, “Oh, Swamiji will take this and he will like it.” So the consciousness is love. Out of love, you think of Swamiji. Similarly, Swamiji is thought because he is in relation with God. So similarly, we can think of also God. God or anything, relation with God, that is God consciousness. Just like electric charge. Anything connected with the powerhouse and anything later on connected with that powerhouse link—everything is surcharged with electricity.

So our life should be so formed that in our every activity there will be God consciousness. That is the technique of yoga-sthah. You haven’t got to separately being seated in meditation as yoga, generally as we understand. Now, how much you can devote your time to meditation? Suppose one hour in the morning or one hour in the evening you can devote. But if you mold your life in such a way that always, twenty-four hours, you are in meditation, that is the platform of yoga-sthah kuru karmani. I am earning for the Supreme Lord. Then, when I earn, I bring things for cooking, I am thinking, “Oh, this thing will be cooked for Lord.” Now, your wife cooks, and she is also very clean because it is being cooked for Lord Krsna. You see? Now, as far as I am concerned here, I also cook myself my food and offer to Krsna, and therefore I ask my friends that unless it is offered to Krsna, you please do not take it. You see? Sometimes I see that in your country, while cooking, they taste. They taste. But I request them that don’t taste before the cooking is finished. After cooking is finished and when it is offered to the Deity, then you take as much as you like, as much as you like. So that means there is God consciousness, that “This thing is being cooked for the Lord.” The cooking will go on. If you don’t think of God, you require cooking because you want to eat. The cooking is there in the program. But if you think that this cooking is done for God, then your God consciousness is there.

The cooking you cannot avoid. As a householder you have to cook for yourself, you have to cook for your children, you have to cook for somebody else or for your own self. Just like I am cooking. I have no here family or children, but I am cooking for myself. So cooking you cannot stop. But if you cook with the understanding that “This foodstuff is being cooked for the Lord. The Lord may be offered first; then we shall take,” this is God consciousness. This is God consciousness. But is it very difficult thing? Anyone can accept this. Anyone can do it. It is not... Because your cooking business is not stopped. Simply the mode of thinking has to be changed. That’s all. A small technique, that “I am earning for God. I am cooking for God. I am eating also for God. I am eating also for God.”

How is that eating you are...? “Now, because my body is dedicated to the service of the Lord, if I don’t eat sufficiently to keep my body fit, then how can I work?” So your eating is also God consciousness. Your sleeping is also God consciousness. So that is the way. We have to mold our life’s activities. Now, when I think that “I have to keep this body fit for working for God,” so then that is not, I mean to... That is not bodily conception of life. Just like when you think that “My car has to be kept very nicely so that I can take nice work for it,” then you are not identified with your car; you simply want to take some service of the car. Similarly, if you think that “This body is required for acting, for working on behalf of the Supreme Lord; therefore I must keep the body fit to work,” so that is not your identification with the body. But if I use this body for sense gratification and therefore I make my body stout and strong to enjoy sense enjoyment, that is the cause of my bondage.

So it is a simple technique, and we have to understand it and we have to act it on the program as they have been made by experienced devotees, experienced devotees. Now, another thing. Take this... See the advantage of God consciousness. Now, if you have got determination that “I shall not take anything which is not offered to God,” because your life is meant for God’s service... You earn for God; you cook for God; you eat for God. Therefore the whole life is like that. Now, if you are cooking for God, if you are purchasing stores for God, then you have to know what sort of things can be offered to God because... Always remember that you are going to the store not for your own purpose. You will find in later chapters that pacanti te agham papah... Er, no. The idea is that anyone who is doing everything for the sake of the Lord, he is freed from the reaction, but anyone who is doing anything on his own account, he is being entangled in that action and reaction. So that is the technique of becoming yoga-sthah. Yoga-sthah kuru karmani.

In the next sloka, in next sloka, it is very clearly explained that

durena hy avaram karma
buddhi-yogad dhananjaya
buddhau saranam anviccha
krpanah phala-hetavah
Krpanah phala-hetavah.

Now, here is... The word krpana is very significant. Krpana. There are two classes of men. The krpana means miser, krpana, miser. And just the opposite word of krpana is brahmana. I have already explained to you sometimes that brahmana... Brahmana means who knows that “I am not this body; I am the... I am the... I am in spirit, conscious. I am soul, spirit, consciousness,” one who knows perfectly well this understanding and the science also, that “I am qualitatively one with the Supreme Lord,” aham brahmasmi. The Vedic mantra says, aham brahmasmi. That means “I am Brahman. I am not this matter. I am Brahman.” So one who knows this science, he is called brahmana. And that doesn’t matter who is he and where he is born. That doesn’t matter. Simply knowing this science... Now, the opposite word is krpana. Krpana means miser. Whom you call miser?

The miser is a man who has got enough money but does not spend it. He is called miser. Miser means who has got enough assets, but he does not spend. He simply sees his money and satisfied. He does not spend it, properly utilize it. He is called krpana. Is it right, the miser explanation? So krpana, who is krpana, and who is brahmana? Brahmana means who has known that “I am spiritual identity. I am qualitatively one with the Supreme Lord. I am the part and parcel of the Lord.” This knowledge, one who has developed highly and perfectly, he is called brahmana. And krpana means who has not utilized this human form of body to understand that he is spiritual identity, Brahman, but he simply knows that “I am this body, and because this body is born in a certain place, so I am identified to that country or to that society or to that family.”

They are called krpana. Krpana means that he has not properly utilized the developed consciousness he has got in his asset. A human being has got the developed consciousness than other sub-human or the animal society. So he has to utilize. Just like you have got 100,000’s of dollars. Now, if you properly utilize, it can be increased. It can be increased to millions of dollars by your intelligence if you utilize it. And if you do not utilize it, if you keep it as it is, that is also very good, but sometimes we lost the whole thing. They are called krpana. Foolishness. Foolishness.

So we must utilize this human form of body properly to understand that “I am not this body; I am pure consciousness. And this pure consciousness I have to practice in such a way that in next life I get my pure conscious or into pure spiritual body, not again this material body.” This material body, we must always know, this is a foreign thing. We have already explained to you that this is just like dress. Dress. Dress is a foreign thing to my body. Similarly, this gross and subtle body—gross body of this material five elements and the subtle body of mind, ego, intelligence—they are my foreign things. So I am now encaged in foreign things. My whole life mission is to get out of these foreign things. I want to be situated in my real spiritual body. That can be done if you practice. If you practice during this life to..., always to be spiritually situated, then your next life, after leaving... Even within this body, when you get clear conception that “I am not this body,” and you are clearly working from the spiritual platform, as Lord Krsna prescribes here that yoga-sthah kuru karmani, “Be situated in yoga and act in your daily duties,” then similarly, if we practice this to work in such a way that we have to work from the spiritual platform, then your next life will be free from this material bondage and you get your freedom life.

Spiritual body means your freedom life. We do not know; we have no conception that in our spiritual body how much we can be powerful. We do not know that. There is calculation. There is calculation that suppose God is cent percent perfect. So when you get your spiritual body, you may not be as powerful as God, but almost near to God. You get seventy-eight percent. You get seventy-eight percent of the whole power. That is a calculation by the great sages. They have calculated that a living entity can attain to the perfection of seventy-eight percent. Now, in our present material condition we have no spiritual power at all. We are always encumbered and conditioned by material forces. You see? So therefore one who does not utilize this body for perfection, for liberation, he is called krpana. Krpana. This is stated here. Krpanah phala-hetavah. Krpanah phala-hetavah.

That krpana, that means miserly person who does not utilize this human form of life for better profit. Then he wants that “Oh, I have done so much. I must get the profit. I must get it.” What profit you get? For the bodily enjoyment? For sense enjoyment? Oh, sacrifice it. Sacrifice it. You know that there is a word, yajna, sacrifice. Sacrifice means—it is a common word—that you dedicate, you dedicate your life for the service of the Lord, this life. You’ll not be sufferer. What is there, suffering? Now just the prescription or the formula I have just cited before you that your householder life... Now, you are doing everything. You are earning money; you are getting from the store; you are cooking. Everything... Nothing is stopped. Simply change your mentality, that everything is being done for God. It is not at all difficult. Simply we have to adopt it. We have to adopt it. So krpanah phala-hetavah. Now, if you think, “Oh, why...? I am earning for my palatable dishes. Why shall I offer it to God? This is there are so many, I mean to say, encumbrances. I am not going to do,” then you become krpana, miser. But if you be a brahmana... Brahmana means udara, liberated, liberal, not liberated, liberal. The opposite word of krpana is liberal. “I offer this body for the service of the Supreme.” I become so liberal. Not for my sense enjoyment.

So one who engages this body for sense enjoyment, he is called krpana, miser. And one who engages this body for the service of the Supreme Lord, he is called brahmana. So Lord says that “You don’t be krpana. You don’t be miser.” Miser want... Now, here, suppose there are so many rich men in your country and so many foundations also. And I tell you my practical experience. I wrote some letters to some good foundation that “I want to start here in America an institution for God consciousness, international institution for God consciousness. You kindly help me.” Now, they have flatly refused that “Our pledge is not anything for religion or God.” Just see. That means, according to Bhagavad-gita, they are all misers. Although they have got very good foundation, they are making actually some charities, but they are miserly. They do not know where to make charity, where to make charity. The karma-yoga, karma-yoga... It will be clearly stated by Lord in later chapter, yat karosi yaj juhosi yad asnasi dadasi yat kurusva tad mad-arpanam. The karma-yoga process is that “Whatever you do, whatever you take trouble for, whatever you eat, and everything, offer to Me. Offer to Me.” That is called karma-yoga, or yoga-sthah. But the people have developed such a consciousness at the present moment that whenever they hear of God or whenever they hear of some religion, they at once become adverse to it. In my country also the same position...

Now, this book, my Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is recognized by the government. The Ministry of Central Government, they have recognized this book, and they are purchasing hundred copies of each part. They recognize. But when I told that “For this publication of the whole thing, I require 500,000’s of dollars. The government can take up this work,” “No, our government is secular. Secular.” So I could not get any help from my government. You see? And here also I approached some foundation that “Here is my program, that I want to start one institution for God consciousness. Please, your... The institution will be established in your country. Your people will be benefited. I don’t take any money. I don’t make any profit. I want to simply give my service.” And I have got their letter, on the Rockefeller Foundation. They have flatly refused: “No, we are not going to contribute anything for religious purpose or for God consciousness. It is not possible.”

So people have become so averse to the sense of God. How they can be happy? At least from the Bhagavad-gita we find it clearly they cannot be happy. However they make progress in material advancement of science and economy and everything, oh, they cannot be happy. They cannot be happy. The whole thing is the wrong process. Here is the process recommended in the Bhagavad-gita, that yoga-sthah kuru karmani. Yoga-sthah kuru karmani. Unless you work. No work is condemned. Whatever you do, that doesn’t matter. But if that work is done on behalf of the Supreme Lord, that makes you purified. That makes you happy. But that science is lacking altogether all over the world, not only here or there. The whole thing... In Russia they are preaching godless civilization: “There is no God.” Here also there are even some churches. I know they are preaching that God is dead. You see? They are preaching like that.

So the condition is very precarious at the present moment. And we are preaching Bhagavad-gita and the formula, but the formula is practically very difficult to apply in the present circumstances. You see? Yoga-sthah kuru karmani. People have gone so much ahead in material, I mean to say... Material civilization means only sense gratification. That’s all. It has nothing more than this. And actually we are seeing that as much as we are making economic progress, as much money we are getting, the next program is how to spend it for sense gratification, how to spend it for sense gratification. They have no other program, no other program. You see? Everywhere. But here the formula is that nothing for your sense gratification; everything for God. The work is not condemned. Work you can do. Whatever in situation, position you are by God’s will you are put in, that doesn’t matter. Your work is not bad, provided you work for the Supreme Lord. That’s all. That is the technique.

So durena hy avaram karma. Here it is emphatically emphasized that durena hy avaram karma buddhi-yogad dhananjaya: “By application of this God consciousness, you throw away all other work. Any work which you cannot do with God consciousness, don’t do it.” Now, here is the injunction in Bhagavad-gita that “Anything which you cannot do with God consciousness, stop doing.” But the whole world is engaged, doing things in which there is no God consciousness. There is no God consciousness. And here it is enjoined that buddhau saranam anviccha krpanah phala-hetavah: “Only those who are krpana, those who are not self-realized, they are hankering after sense gratification. They want to enjoy the fruits of their labor. But you don’t be. Arjuna, you don’t be. If you want to be spiritually situated, if you want to work from the spiritual platform, then you don’t do it. You work on the spiritual platform and don’t do anything which you cannot do in God consciousness.”

This is clearly stated here. Now, it is, of course... It depends on us whether to accept it or not accept it, because God has given us independence. You’ll find also in the Bhagavad-gita at the end that after the instruction is given, the Lord inquires from Arjuna that “I have given you all instruction necessary. Now whatever you like, you do.” So this is the position. The Lord never interferes with the little independence that has been offered to us. We have got little independence because we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Oh, so under certain percentage we have got independence. Not full independence, but under certain percentage we have got independence. And that independence we can use properly or misuse it also. When we misuse, then we become krpana, the miser. And when we use it properly, then we become brahmana. So durena hy avaram karma buddhi-yogad dhananjaya buddhau saranam anviccha, saranam anviccha krpanah phala-hetavah. Buddhi. By intelligence, by intelligence you take shelter of the Supreme Lord. Don’t be miser and be hankering after the result of your work and enjoy for yourself. No, sacrifice. Sacrifice means you sacrifice your energy. God is not hankering after your money or whatever you have got. He is full in Himself. He is full in Himself. He doesn’t require.

Now in India there is a system of worshiping the Ganges water. Ganges water. Ganges water. There are five sacred rivers which the Hindus, they worship. They are Ganga, Yamuna, Kaveri, Godavari, Narmada. Just like you have got your Hudson River here, similarly there are many rivers, and one of them... These five rivers, they are accepted as the sacred river and people take their bath and offer their respect. Now, what is the process of respect? The process of respect is just like worshiping the Ganges water. Now, after taking your bath, you stand on the water and take little water from the river, just like this. The river is flowing. You take little water like this, and chant your mantra and offer it. Now, this offering, offering of water, wherefrom the water is come? Oh, you have taken the water from the Ganges. You have not brought even the water from your house. You are taking the water from the Ganges, and you are again offering the same to the Ganges with some mantra. So similarly, the Ganges has got immense water. If you take one palmful of water out of it, the Ganges is not in loss. And again, if you offer a palmful of water on the Ganges, the Ganges does not gain anything. But utilizing the Ganges water and offering to the Ganges, you become a devotee of Ganges. Similarly, the offering to Lord... What you have got? Your body, it is also given by God. Your intelligence, it is given by God. The facility of work, it is given by God. Everything is given by God. Now, what do we work? Now, suppose I am writing books. All right. In which you are writing? On paper. All right, who has given you paper?

Now, you make philosophical study. “Well, paper I purchased from the market.” Market, how does it supply paper? “It is manufactured in mills.” Oh, it is manufactured in mills. Where they get the raw materials? “Oh, from the wood.” How the wood is produced? Oh, then you come to the God. You cannot produce the wood. You simply bring wood from the forest and get it to chemically purified and make a plaster, and the paper is made. So no raw material you can manufacture. Raw material has to be taken from God’s stock. Now, if the raw material is taken from God’s stock, then how the paper becomes yours? This is God consciousness. Everything we’ll find that nothing is our. We simply... The economists also say that we cannot manufacture anything; we can simply transform from one form to another. That’s all. We can give our labor only. And that labor also, given the strength... Now, suppose I work with my hand. Now, I am claiming, “This is my hand,” but if God withdraws the power of your hand, paralyzed, oh, your pride is at once vanished. Not your hand. You see? So in everything, nothing is yours. I am also... As spirit soul, I am also part and parcel of God. And we are thinking independently that “I have no connection with God.” This is very horrible condition. The whole world is suffering because this misconception of life, misconception of life, that he has forgotten his eternal relationship with God. So we have to revive it. We have to revive it, this process. The Bhagavad-gita has prescribed,

durena hy avaram karma
buddhi-yogad dhananjaya
buddhau saranam anviccha
krpanah phala-hetavah

Krpanah means those who are anxious for enjoying sense gratification, by the fruits of their labor. They are called krpana. And those who have sacrificed the whole body, whole intelligence... Sacrifice... You always remember: what we can sacrifice? Just like we take Ganges water from Ganges and offering Ganges, so everything is obtained from God, and now, if we offer the same thing to God, then we become liberated. Actually I am not proprietor in anything. Myself is also not... I am also the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. These are the conception. Without this conception, without this God conception, there is no spiritual realization and there is no happiness, either personally, or impersonally, or socially, or economically or politically. There cannot be.

Of course, today there is no time. Otherwise I would have recited. Those who have got my books, you will see that how much profusely the earth was producing during the time of Maharaja Yudhisthira, because the executive head of the state was a pious, so how nature was helping. Nature was helping. Now India there is scarcity, scarcity of foodstuff. But the same India was producing so much grains, even during British time, that many thousands and thousand tons of rice were being exported from India to other countries. You see? That I have seen. I have seen. My maternal uncle was very rich man by simply exporting rice to the foreign countries. Yes. Spices... And old history you will find that India, they had got their own ships for exporting spices to Greece and other countries of Europe. The history is there. And they were supplying muslin cloth, even just before the British period, Muslim period. So India’s export, export, I mean to say, status was far greater than other countries. And these spices and other export attracted persons from Europe, that Vasco de Gama, and the Columbus also wanted to go, but he fortunately came to America. You see?

All these Europeans and the Britishers went and established their supremacy. So India was so rich. But now how that India has become so poor? The same land is there. Why? Because they have lost that old culture, God consciousness. You see? And at least my calculation is that, that a state, a secular state... Secular state means he has no... Here in America you have got state religion. You have got state religion. But in India there is no state religion. Every country has state religion. Even Pakistan, it has divided. It is now a part of India. But they have also their state religion. But unfortunately India has no state religion. That means deliberately they are trying to disconnect with God relation, godly relation. But in the same India... You just read the history, five thousand years before, how much profusely the nature was supplying. In the morning we are studying that portion. Mr. Paul was reading that portion, that how much nature was giving. So nature can give you anything. After all, it is the nature that supplies your necessities, not the industry. Industry simply transformed in a different way, and a certain class make profit out of it. Industry does not mean really economic improvement. Real economic improvement means what you produce from the land. That requires God help. Without raw materials, even your industry cannot go on. Just like I have cited the example of paper. Nowadays paper is made from wood. Now, if there is no sufficient... Now you have got in your America sufficient wood, so you can make, produce paper in large quantity. But suppose the woods are finished. Then industry will be finished.

Anyway, we should always be in conscious that everything that we have in our possession, even our body, even our mind, even our energy, everything, that is God-gifted. One who has got this conception of life, he is brahmana. He is the one who knows Brahman. One who does not know this and simply lives for sense gratification, he is called the miser. So we shall not be miser. We shall be the brahmana. That should be our... And there is no restriction. Don’t think that because you are born in America, you cannot become a brahmana. No, you can become a brahmana. There is no restriction. Brahma janatiti brahmanah. The formula is that janmana jayate sudrah samskarad bhaved dvijah. Janmana jayate sudrah. Everyone who is born, first born by the father and mother... Then he is called a sudra. Even he is born in a brahmana family, he is called a sudra. Then samskarad bhaved dvijah. Then, by culture... The cultural birth is called the second birth, dvija. The higher caste in India, they are called dvija. Dvija means the first birth by father and mother, that is... Animal birth and man birth is the same because the process is the same. But unless one takes his birth by higher culture, he cannot be called dvija.

Sometimes the birds are also called dvija. Dvija means twice-born. Twice-born. Just like the birds... The sea bird lays the egg first, and then it is fomented. And from the, I mean to, the egg, the cub comes out, the offspring comes out—the second birth. Therefore birds are also sometimes called dvija. Similarly human and higher status of life, they must have twice-born. Therefore the brahmanas, the ksatriyas, and the vaisyas, this thread, this thread is the sign that “My second birth has been done.” This is the emblem. This upavita, upanayanam, this is the sign. In India higher caste you will find this sacred thread. Sacred thread means when he is accepted, when he is given the second birth, this thread ceremony, there is a thread ceremony. So second birth means samskara, samskara, reformation, reformation. It doesn’t matter where and how he is born. It doesn’t matter.

The other day I cited the example of Jabali Upanisad. He could not say even his father’s name. But because he was so sincere that he declared before Gautama Muni that “Either my mother or myself, I do not know who is my father,” Gautama Muni ac..., “Oh, you are brahmana. You are truthful. You are truthful.” So these are the qualifications, samskara, cultural birth. Cultural birth makes the twice-born. Samskarad bhaved dvijah. Janmana jayate. By birth everyone is sudra. And when he is reformed, when he is culturally rebirth, taken rebirth, then he is dvija, twice-born. And after being dvija, veda-pathad bhaved viprah. Veda-pathat means this knowledge, scriptural knowledge, Vedic wisdom. By studying this Vedic wisdom he becomes a vipra. And after studying, when he knows, “Oh, I am spiritual. I am not this matter,” and he knows the constitution of himself, constitution of the Supreme Lord, then he is brahmana. Therefore the whole mission of human society should be how to prepare brahmana. Then peace and prosperity will be there. If you keep them just like cats and dogs in the platform of sudra, how can you expect? Do you mean to say there is any peace in the dog society? No. That is not possible. Peace can be had only, really—human society.

So this is the culture. The Vedic, whole Vedic culture is to make a man a brahmana, not to keep him in the sudra stage, not to. Every father has to take care. The state has to take care, the teacher has to take care—how to make the children, the poor children, the innocent children, to..., a perfect brahmana. The whole culture is like that. You see? so Bhagavad-gita teaches that. And don’t become... Don’t remain in the sudra stage and a miser, but just try to become a brahmana by culture. Then your life will be successful.

Thank you very much.