The Matchless Gift

The aim of this Krsna consciousness movement is to bring all living entities back to their original consciousness. All living entities within the material world are, to varying degrees, afflicted with a type of madness. This Krsna consciousness movement aims at curing man of his material disease and reestablishing his original consciousness.

In a Bengali poem a great Vaisnava poet has written, “When a man is haunted by ghosts, he can only speak nonsense. Similarly, anyone who is under the influence of material nature should be considered haunted, and whatever he speaks should be considered nonsense.” One may be considered a great philosopher or great scientist, but if he is haunted by the ghost of maya, illusion, whatever he theorizes and whatever he speaks is more or less nonsensical. Today we are given the example of a psychiatrist who, when requested to examine a murderer, proclaimed that since all the patients with whom he had come in contact were more or less crazy, the court could excuse the murderer on those grounds if it so desired. The point is that in the material world it is very difficult to find a sane living entity. The prevailing atmosphere of insanity in this world is all caused by the infection of material consciousness.

The purpose of this Hare Krsna movement is to bring man back to his original consciousness, which is Krsna consciousness, clear consciousness. When water falls from the clouds, it is uncontaminated like distilled water, but as soon as it touches the ground it becomes muddy and discolored. Similarly, we are originally pure spirit soul, part and parcel of Krsna, and therefore our original constitutional position is as pure as God’s. In Bhagavad-gita Sri Krsna says:

mamaivamso jiva-loke
jiva-bhutah sanatanah
manah sasthanindriyani
prakrti-sthani karsati

“The living entities in this conditional world are My fragmental parts, and they are eternal. But due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” (Bg. 15.7)

Thus all living entities are part and parcel of Krsna. By Krsna it should always be remembered that we are speaking of God, Krsna denoting the all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead. As a fragment of gold is qualitatively the same as a gold reservoir, so the minute particles of Krsna’s body are therefore qualitatively as good as Krsna. The chemical composition of God’s body and the eternal spiritual body of the living entity is the same—spiritual. Thus originally, in our uncontaminated condition, we possessed a form as good as God’s, but just as rain falls to the ground, so we come in contact with this material world, which is manipulated by the external material energy of Krsna.

When we speak of external energy or material nature, the question may be raised, “Whose energy? Whose nature?” Material energy or nature is not active independently. Such a concept is foolish. In Bhagavad-gita it is clearly stated that material nature does not work independently. When a foolish man sees a machine he may think that it is working automatically, but actually it is not—there is a driver, someone in control, although we sometimes cannot see the controller behind the machine due to our defective vision. There are many electronic mechanisms which work very wonderfully, but behind these intricate systems there is a scientist who pushes the button. This is very simple to understand: since a machine is matter, it cannot work on its own accord but must work under spiritual direction. A tape recorder works, but it works according to the plans and under the direction of a living entity, a human being. The machine is complete, but unless it is manipulated by a spirit soul, it cannot work. Similarly, we should understand that this cosmic manifestation which we call nature is a great machine and that behind this machine there is God, Krsna. This is also affirmed in Bhagavad-gita where Krsna says:

mayadhyaksena prakrtih
suyate sa-caracaram
hetunanena kaunteya
jagad viparivartate

“This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all the moving and unmoving beings, and by its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.” (Bg. 9.10)

There are two kinds of entities—the moving (such as human beings, animals and insects) and nonmoving (such as trees and mountains). Krsna says that material nature, which controls both kinds of entities, is acting under His direction. Thus behind everything there is a supreme controller. Modern civilization does not understand this due to lack of knowledge; it is the purpose of this Society for Krsna consciousness therefore to enlighten all people who have been maddened by the influence of the three modes of material nature. In other words, our aim is to awaken mankind to its normal condition.

There are many universities, especially in the United States, and many departments of knowledge, but they are not discussing these points. Where is the department for this knowledge that we find given by Sri Krsna in Bhagavad-gita? When I spoke before students and some faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the first question raised was: “Where is the technological department which is investigating the difference between a dead man and a living man?” When a man dies, something is lost. Where is the technology to replace it? Why don’t scientists try to solve this problem? Because this is a very difficult subject matter, they set it aside and busily engage in the technology of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. However, Vedic literatures inform us that this is animal technology. Animals are also trying their best to eat well, to have an enjoyable sex life, to sleep peacefully, and to defend themselves. What then is the difference between man’s knowledge and animal’s knowledge? The fact is that man’s knowledge should be developed to explore that difference between a living man and a dead man, a living body and a dead body. That spiritual knowledge was imparted by Krsna to Arjuna in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita. Being a friend of Krsna’s, Arjuna was a very intelligent man, but his knowledge, as all men’s, was limited. Krsna spoke, however, of subject matters which were beyond Arjuna’s finite knowledge. These subjects are called adhoksaja because our direct perception by which we acquire material knowledge fails to approach them. For example, we have many powerful microscopes to see what we cannot see with our limited vision, but there is no microscope that can show us the soul within the body. Nevertheless, the soul is there.

Bhagavad-gita informs us that in this body there is a proprietor. I am the proprietor, and others are the proprietors of their bodies. I say, “My hand,” but not “I hand.” Since it is “my hand,” I am different from the hand, being its owner. Similarly, we speak of “My eye,” “My leg,” “My this,” “My that.” In the midst of all of these objects which belong to me, where am I? The search for the answer to this question is the process of meditation. In real meditation, we ask, “Where am I? What am I?” We cannot find the answers to these questions by any material effort, and because of this all the universities are setting these questions aside. They say, “It is too difficult a subject.” Or they brush it aside: “It is irrelevant.” Thus engineers direct their attention to creating and attempting to perfect the horseless carriage and wingless bird. Formerly, horses were drawing carriages and there was no air pollution, but now there are cars and rockets, and the scientists are very proud. “We have invented horseless carriages and wingless birds,” they boast. Although they invent imitation wings for the airplane or rocket, they cannot invent a soulless body. When they are able to actually do this, they will deserve credit. But such an attempt would necessarily be frustrated, for we know that there is no machine that can work without a spirit soul behind it. Even the most complicated computers need trained men to handle them. Similarly, we should know that this great machine, which is known as the cosmic manifestation, is manipulated by a supreme spirit. That is Krsna. Scientists are searching for the ultimate cause or the ultimate controller of this material universe and are postulating different theories and proposals, but the real means for knowledge is very easy and perfect: we need only hear from the perfect person, Krsna. By accepting the knowledge imparted in Bhagavad-gita, anyone can immediately know that this great cosmic machine, of which the earth is a part, is working so wonderfully because there is a driver behind it—Krsna.

Our process of knowledge is very easy. Krsna’s instruction, Bhagavad-gita, is the principal book of knowledge given by the adi-purusa Himself, the Supreme primeval person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is indeed the perfect person. It may be argued that although we have accepted Him as a perfect person, there are many others who do not. Rut one should not think that this acceptance is whimsical; He is accepted as the perfect person on the evidence of many authorities. We do not accept Krsna as perfect simply on the basis of our whims or sentiments. No—Krsna is accepted as God by many Vedic authorities like Vyasadeva, the author of all Vedic literatures. The treasure house of knowledge is contained in the Vedas, and their author, Vyasadeva, accepts Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Vyasadeva’s spiritual master, Narada, also accepts Krsna as such. Narada’s spiritual master, Brahma, accepts Krsna not only as the Supreme person but the supreme controller as well—isvarah paramah krsnah: [Bs. 5.1] “The supreme controller is Krsna.”

There is no one in the creation who can claim that he is not controlled. Everyone, regardless of how important or powerful, has a controller over his head. Krsna, however, has no controller; therefore He is God. He is the controller of everyone, but there is no one superior to Him, no one to control Him; nor is there anyone equal to Him, no one to share His platform of absolute control. This may sound very strange, for there are many so-called gods nowadays. Indeed, gods have become very cheap, being especially imported from India. people in other countries are fortunate that gods are not manufactured there, but in India gods are manufactured practically every day. We often hear that God is coming to Los Angeles or New York and that people are gathering to receive Him, etc. But Krsna is not the type of God manufactured in a mystic factory. No. He was not made God, but He is God.

We should know then on the basis of authority that behind this gigantic material nature, the cosmic manifestation, there is God—Krsna—and that He is accepted by all Vedic authorities. Acceptance of authority is not new for us; everyone accepts authority in some form or another. For education we go to a teacher or to a school or simply learn from our father and mother. They are all authorities, and our nature is to learn from them. In our childhood we asked, “Father, what is this?” and father would say, “This is a pen,” “These are spectacles,” or “This is a table.” In this way from the very beginnings of life a child learns from his father and mother. He learns the names of things and the basic relations of one thing to another by questioning his parents. A good father and mother never cheat when their son inquires from them; they give exact and correct information. Similarly, if we get spiritual information from an authority and if the authority is not a cheater, then our knowledge is perfect. If we attempt to reach conclusions by dint of our own speculative powers, however, we are subject to fall into error. The process of induction, by which, reasoning from particular facts or individual cases, one can arrive at a general conclusion, is never a perfect process. Because we are limited and our experience is limited, it will always remain imperfect.

If we receive information from the perfect source, Krsna, and if we repeat that information, then what we are speaking can also be accepted as perfect and authoritative. The process of parampara or disciplic succession is this very process of hearing from Krsna or from authorities who have accepted Krsna and repeating exactly what they have said. In Bhagavad-gita Krsna recommends this process of knowledge:

evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh

“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.” (Bg. 4.2)

Formerly knowledge was passed down by great saintly kings who were the authorities. In previous ages, however, these kings were rsis— great learned scholars and devotees—and because they were not ordinary men the government which they headed worked very nicely. There are many instances in Vedic civilization of kings who attained perfection as devotees of God. For example, Dhruva Maharaja went to the forest to search out God and by practice of severe penance and austerity found God within six months. Although he was only a five-year-old prince with a very delicate body, he was successful because he followed the directions of his spiritual master, Narada. The first month Dhruva Maharaja was in the forest, he simply ate some fruits and vegetables once every three days and drank a little water every six days. He finally restricted his inhalation of air and stood for six months on one leg only. After he executed these severe austerities for half a year, God became manifest before him, eye to eye. It is not necessary for us to practice such severe austerities, but simply by following in the footsteps of Vedic authorities we also can see God eye to eye. This vision of God is the perfection of life.

The Krsna consciousness process is based on austerity, but it is not very difficult. There are restrictions governing eating and sex life (only prasadam, food first offered to Krsna, is taken, and sex is restricted to married life), and there are other regulations which facilitate and foster spiritual realization. It is not possible in these days to imitate Dhruva Maharaja, but by following certain basic Vedic principles, we can make advancement in spiritual consciousness, Krsna consciousness. As we advance, we become perfect in knowledge. What is the use in becoming a scientist or a philosopher if we cannot say what our next life will be? A realized student of Krsna consciousness can very easily say what his next life is, what God is, what the living entity is and what his relationship with God is. His knowledge is perfect because it is coming from perfect books of knowledge such as Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

This then is the process of Krsna consciousness. It is very easy, and anyone can adopt it and make his life perfect. If someone says, “I’m not educated at all, and I cannot read books,” he is still not disqualified. He can still perfect his life by simply chanting the maha-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Krsna has given us a tongue and two ears, and we may be surprised to know that Krsna is realized through the ears and tongue, not through the eyes. By hearing His message, we learn to control the tongue, and after the tongue is controlled, the other senses follow. Of all the senses, the tongue is the most voracious and difficult to control, but it can be controlled simply by chanting Hare Krsna and tasting Krsna prasadam, food offered to Krsna.

We cannot understand Krsna by sensual perception or by speculation. It is not possible, for Krsna is so great that He is beyond our sensual range. But He can be understood by surrender. Krsna therefore recommends this process:

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

“Give up all varieties of religiousness, and just surrender unto Me; and in return I shall protect you from all sinful reactions. Therefore, you have nothing to fear.” (Bg. 18.66)

Unfortunately, our disease is that we are rebellious—we automatically resist authority. Yet although we say that we don’t want authority, nature is so strong that it forces authority upon us. We are forced to accept the authority of nature. What can be more pathetic than a man who claims to answer to no authority but who follows his senses blindly wherever they lead him? Our false claim to independence is simply foolishness. We are all under authority, yet we say that we don’t want authority. This is called maya, illusion. We do, however, have a certain independence—we can choose to be under the authority of our senses or the authority of Krsna. The best and ultimate authority is Krsna, for He is our eternal well-wisher, and He always speaks for our benefit. Since we have to accept some authority, why not accept His? Simply by hearing of His glories from Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam and by chanting His names—Hare Krsna—we can swiftly perfect our lives.

From The Matchless Gift
By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

The ambition to be a learned scholar

TEXT 11

bahu-śāstre bahu-vākye citte bhrama haya

sādhya-sādhana śreṣṭha nā haya niścaya

TRANSLATION

If one becomes a bookworm, reading many books and scriptures and hearing many commentaries and the instructions of many men, this will produce doubt within his heart. One cannot in this way ascertain the real goal of life.

PURPORT

"In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.13.8) it is said, granthān naivābhyased bahūn na vyākhyām upayuñjīta: "One should not read many books, nor should one try to make a profession of reciting many books, especially if one is a devotee." One must give up the ambition to be a learned scholar and in this way earn a worldly reputation and financial facilities. If one diverts his attention to studying many books, he cannot fix his mind in devotional service, nor can he understand many scriptures, for they are full of grave statements and meanings. In this connection Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives his opinion that those who are attracted to studying many kinds of literature concerning various subject matters, especially fruitive activities and philosophical speculation, are deprived of unalloyed devotional service because of their splayed attention.

Man has a general tendency toward fruitive activities, religious ritualistic ceremonies and philosophical speculation. A living entity thus bewildered since time immemorial does not understand the real goal of life, and thus his activities in life are wasted. Innocent persons misled in this way are deprived of unalloyed kṛṣṇa-bhakti, devotional service to the Lord. Tapana Miśra is a vivid example of such a person. He was a learned scholar, but he could not ascertain what the goal of life is. Therefore he was given a chance to hear Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructing Sanātana Gosvāmī. Lord Caitanya's instruction to Tapana Miśra is especially significant for persons who loiter here and there collecting books and reading none of them, thus becoming bewildered regarding the aim of life."
[Caitanya Caritamrta, Adi 16.11, by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]

Man's Corruption and Economic Solution

"With the progression of the age of Kali, people are becoming very proud, and attached to women and intoxication. By the influence of the age of Kali, even a pauper is proud of his penny, the women are always dressed in an overly attractive fashion to victimize the minds of men, and the man is addicted to drinking wine, smoking, drinking tea and chewing tobacco, etc. All these habits, or so-called advancement of civilization, are the root causes of all irreligiosities, and therefore it is not possible to check corruption, bribery and nepotism. Man cannot check all these evils simply by statutory acts and police vigilance, but he can cure the disease of the mind by the proper medicine, namely advocating the principles of brahminical culture or the principles of austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. Modern civilization and economic development are creating a new situation of poverty and scarcity with the result of blackmailing the consumer's commodities. If the leaders and the rich men of the society spend fifty percent of their accumulated wealth mercifully for the misled mass of people and educate them in God consciousness, the knowledge of Bhāgavatam, certainly the age of Kali will be defeated in its attempt to entrap the conditioned souls. We must always remember that false pride, or too high an estimation of one's own values of life, undue attachment to women or association with them, and intoxication will divert human civilization from the path of peace, however much the people clamor for peace in the world. The preaching of the Bhāgavatam principles will automatically render all men austere, clean both inside and outside, merciful to the suffering, and truthful in daily behavior. That is the way of correcting the flaws of human society, which are very prominently exhibited at the present moment."
[Srimad Bhagavatam;Punishment and Reward of Kali : SB 1.17.24 : PURPORT by A.C Bhaktivedata Swami Prabhupada]

The Importance of Hearing

"In the material world, we manufacture many things for our material comfort simply by hearing. They are already there, but just by hearing, one can transform them. If we want to build a very high skyscraper, this does not mean that we have to create it. The materials for the skyscraper—wood, metal, earth, etc.—are already there, but we make our intimate relationship with those already created material elements by hearing how to utilize them. Modern economic advancement for creation is also a product of hearing, and similarly one can create a favorable field of spiritual activities by hearing from the right source. Arjuna was a gross materialist in the bodily conception of life and was suffering from the bodily concept very acutely. But simply by hearing, Arjuna became a spiritualized, Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Hearing is very important, and that hearing is produced from the sky. By hearing only can we make proper use of that which already exists. The principle of hearing to properly utilize preconceived materials is applicable to spiritual paraphernalia as well. We must hear from the proper spiritual source."
[SB 3.26.purport]

Hindus and Muslims Living in Peace

"In India, even in the interior villages, all the Hindu and Muslim communities used to live very peacefully by establishing a relationship between them. The young men called the elderly members of the village by the name cācā or kākā, "uncle," and men of the same age called each other dādā, "brother." The relationship was very friendly. There were even invitations from Muslim houses to Hindu houses and from Hindu houses to Muslim houses. Both the Hindus and the Muslims accepted the invitations to go to one another's houses to attend ceremonial functions. Even until fifty or sixty years ago, the relationship between Hindus and Muslims was very friendly, and there were no disturbances. We do not find any Hindu-Muslim riots in the history of India, even during the days of the Muslims' rule over the country. Conflict between Hindus and Muslims was created by polluted politicians, especially foreign rulers, and thus the situation gradually became so degraded that India was divided into Hindustan and Pakistan. Fortunately, the remedy to unite not only the Hindus and Muslims but all communities and all nations can still be implemented by the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement on the strong basic platform of love of Godhead."
[ Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 17]

How Should One Cultivate Human Spirit

[Draft of Lecture Meant to be Delivered at the International Congress in Japan 1961. Published October 1962 in ‘The Mother’ (India) by Aurobindo of the Aurobindo Ashram

Part 1]

by Tridandi Goswami A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

Culture of human spirit by the human being is the prime duty of humankind. All great thinkers, philosophers, reformers and persons who thought for the whole of human society in terms of its welfare in general, thought like [this] from time immemorial. Out of them those who were perfectly self realized soul[s] or the perfect human being[s], recorded their self realized experience in the books of knowledge known as the Vedas or the scriptures. There are various types of attempts to understand the import of the Vedas by those who are not themselves perfect beings and as such the books of knowledge have been again molded in the ways of the quality of imperfect interpreters.

Apart from all these controversial points, we may safely generalise that there are four different classes of human beings all over the world and they are (1) The intelligent class of men or good men or the Brahmins (2) The politicians or the ruling class of men, the men of passion or the Kshatriyas (3) The productive class of men or the men of mixed quality compounded of passion and ignorance called by the name of the Vaishyas and (4) The labour class of men or the men in ignorance called by the name of Sudras. And all of them are meant for co-operation for the common cause of cultivating human spirit. When they co-operate for the common cause there is harmony and progress but when they non-co-operate with one another there is unrest and trouble in the society.

At the present moment there is a tendency of non-co-operation between the different classes of men on account of their missing the common cause of human spirit and therefore there is prime need of a batch of intelligent class of men to combine together and thus educate the other classes in the matter of co-operation for human spiritual culture. The world is now dominated by the third-grade productive and fourth-grade labour class of men and there is scarcity of intelligent class of men and that of political philosophers also. Diplomats are not political philosophers. Without being guided by the intelligent class of men and political philosophers. The productive class of men and the labourer class of men have formed into groups of capitalist and communists ; both of them being practically disabled from the common cause of cultivating human spirit. These two classes of men are more or less concerned with the bodily necessities of life without reference to needs of the human spirit. The intelligent class of men can be interested only in the culture of human spirit and therefore there is need of the intelligent class of men to reform the diplomats, capitalists and the communists all over the world.

'HOW SHOULD ONE CULTIVATE HUMAN SPIRIT is a grand question by the modern materialistic man who had so long thought of the identity of the human being either with the human body or with the human mind. Some of us identified the living being with the human body and some of us speculated on the construction of the psychic activities in thinking feeling and willing and misinterpreted them with the human or living being. If we ask somebody what is his name, he at once answers that his name is John, he is the son of Frank, his native place is in London and his occupation is to earn money by hundreds of thousand. If he is further asked whether he is satisfied with his identification of the body as Mr. John Frank of London, certainly he will reply. If he is a sane man at all, in the negative.

Any man identified with the body or the mind is not at all satisfied because he is always troubled in the body and the mind in spite of his all endeavours to avoid them. The troubles are the three fold miseries of life. The first trouble is in relation with his body namely that he may feel some sort of headache, fever, heat, cold and so forth which he does not want at all. The second trouble is in respect of his mind. Even if one is quite all right se far as his body is concerned, his mind may be in trouble for so many cares and anxieties.

In the modern set up of materialistic civilization nobody is free from cares and anxieties. There are so many great men in the modern world and almost all of them are so much troubled in the mind that they cannot sleep at night peacefully without being intoxicated by some artificial means. Insomnia is a disease for the man always troubled in the mind.

The third trouble is in our relation with other living beings. India thought that the arrangement of the Panchashila will allow her to live in peace and friendship with other nations of the world but in spite of her following a policy of neutrality, her immediate neighbour and friend China has occupied a portion of Indian territory and for this the mind of the Indian leaders is in trouble. We have nothing to do with politics in this connection but we have taken up this particular incident just to get an idea of our trouble in relation with other living beings. The Law court is another place where there is ample evidences of human trouble in respect of our dealings with one another. Even there is trouble in the dealings between husband and wife, father and son, friend and friend, man and animal and so forth and so on. It is concluded, therefore, that there are many troubles between one living creature, with another for want of the culture of human spirit.

And above all these troubles there is another insurmountable trouble imposed by the laws of nature, Famine, pestilence, war, earthquake, volcanic eruptions, flood and so many other things like that are always troubling the human being even though we do not want them. Big brains of world leadership are always busy to get rid of these troubles but so far they have failed to achieve any success over the threefold miseries for want of cultivating human spirit.

A living being's intuition is to get over all the above mentioned troubles of life and live in peace and friendship and the prosperity of eternal life and knowledge.

When I received the letter of invitation from Mr. Toshihiro Nakano, he expressed the following sentiments in his letter under reference. He wrote to say "This seems to be good opportunity for you to present your evidence by attending the glorious meeting to indicate that you have been lending every effort to attain the long-sought goal of securing the ultimate peace and infinite prosperity of humankind, a terrestrial paradise."

Living beings other than the human being, although feeling all the above mentioned troubles, are unable to take any measure against them. The human being is gifted with higher talented status of consciousness and he is always trying to get rid of all these troubles because he is meant for such realisation. Foolish human beings in the third and fourth grade of above mentioned classifications take it for granted that it is impossible to get over the troubles but the intelligent class of men do not give up the attempt and they do try it even life after life. There is no doubt that this congress is being organised only to fit out the ways and means of infinity prosperity which is the natural urge of a developed human being. The intelligent class of men probe into the psychic field in various ways to find out the right path of satisfaction. Such attempt in psychology for producing good poetry philosophy and thoughtful matter by the human being, has failed to achieve the end of his life namely peace, prosperity in eternal life, knowledge and happiness. When the living being admits failure both in the gross and subtle spheres of materialistic satisfaction, he is sure to search after the Human spirit which is transcendental to the gross and subtle material elements.

The identity of human spirit or the living energy of the living being is never to be identified with the body or the mind. Body and mind are two gross and subtle coverings of the living being. The doubtful scientist may make a dissection of the whole body in his biological research laboratory but be cannot find out the living spirit within the body. By dissection of the body we can see only that the body is something like reinforced structure of bones, marrow, nerves, muscle, skin, blood and secretion. The bones are the supporting pillars of the construction and the nerves are like the binding ropes? And on this superficial structure of bones and nerves there is the reinforced plastering with flesh and blood: There are different ventilating holes or windows of the body and from each of them always bad smell is emanating because all the secretions of the body are different grades of urine and stools. This obnoxious structure of the body is accepted falsely as beautiful without the knowledge of the beautiful human spirit now invisible with the light of matter. This obnoxious structure of the body is the germinating source and breeding ground of all kinds of diseases and when it is old enough and shattered by hard struggle for existence against the odds of the above mentioned threefold miseries, it is full of agrievement and the temple of diseases. The material scientist has no remedy for the wretched condition of life. To pull on with such a troublesome body is also another difficulty because the bodily needs are never to be satisfied. It is troublesome in every inch and with all, the whole false structure is susceptible of collapsing within a moment and that also without and previous notice.

Can the material scientist move this false body made of bones and nerves without the spiritual aid? No, it is not at all possible. Had it been possible to do so by the materialist, then he could move the railway trains without any steam or electric power. Even the steam and electric power is unable to act without the help of a living spiritual being.

They see to the wonderful acts done by the seemingly imperceptible spiritual living being but do not search after the wonderful actor playing the parts of this wonderful act. In the modern days of throwing sputniks in the outer space we are amazed to hear about the revolving of the space vehicle but we neglect to study the spirit behind the bodily structure of the man who works on the sputnik. Certainly the structure of the body as described above, of the sputnik man, is not at all different from that of another non-sputnik man. The difference lies in the qualities of the spiritual spark of the individual being and we have neglected to make a study of it. The body is a lump of matter and it is a burden of the conditioned soul like the fetters of a convicted prisoner of state.

The sum and substance of an analytical study of the physical and anatomical conditions of living beings is explained above. And the ultimate end of such body is to turn into moths, stool or ashes. The dead body is either buried in the grave to be transformed into moth, it is given to be devoured by other animals and birds and the result is that it turns into stool or it is burnt into ashes.

Such a constructive body certainly cannot be imperishable as some of us wrongly think of. We have to seek out the imperishable element beyond the body and that is the process of CULTIVATING HUMAN SPIRIT. And that is the function of the human form of life. Find out the permanent out of the perishable. They are busy in keeping up the perishable body by eating vitamin values. And what are these vitamins? They are after all different active principles of different grades of foodstuff. But on the ultimate analysis, however valuable a foodstuff is there, when it is cooked up as eatables it becomes decomposed in some hours. How is it then possible to keep fit the perishable body by eating such perishable vitamins? The sane man therefore does not try to keep up the body by artificial means, knowing well the sad end of the perishable body in spite of all endeavours. Such sane man makes the best of a bad bargain for the purposes of spiritual culture only and nothing more. The Bhagwat Geeta has given its final judgement that the body is undoubtedly perishable but the living entity embodied is eternal.

But we must always remember that the human form of body is distinct from all other animal bodies. Biological and physiological features of the bodies of man and animal may be on the same level but psychologically there is great difference between the two classes of bodies. This distinctive feature of the human body is a special prerogative of the human body. It is explained in the Puranas that there are 84 lacs species of life in the biological evolutionary process. There are nine lacs of aquatic species of life, twenty lacs species of immovable plants and trees, eleven lace species of worms, ten lac species of birds, thirty lac species of beasts and four lac species of human beings. The highest class of human beings is the intelligent class of men as mentioned herein before. Such intelligent class of men cultivate the qualities of truthfulness, forbearance, restraint, simplicity, faithfulness, toleration, knowledge and conviction in the existence of God. Therefore to be situated in the highest developed consciousness of a human being is the highest cultural efficiency in the evolutionary process of the living being. Such intelligent class of men can churn out the human spirit from the inert material body as it is possible to churn out fat out of the liquid milk. Before churning of the milk it appears that there is no such thing as butter within the milk but after churning, the butter begins to float on the surface and it is collected for proper use. Similarly on the outward dissection of the human bodily structure we cannot see what is the human spirit but by culture of proper and systematic knowledge derived from the right sources we can gradually feel for it, think of it and work for it.*

( To be Continued )

This Material World is Meant for HARD LABOR

Teachings of Queen Kunti, Chapter 26:
The letter pa is for parisrama, which means “labor.” In this material world, one must work very hard to maintain oneself. In Bhagavad-Gita (3.8) it is said, sarira-yatrapi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmanah: “one cannot even maintain one’s own body without work.” Krishna never advised Arjuna, “I am your friend, and I shall do everything. You just sit down and smoke ganja.” Krishna was doing everything, but still He told Arjuna, “You must fight.” Nor did Arjuna say to Krishna, “You are my great friend. Better for You to fight and let me sit down and smoke ganja.” No, that is not Krishna consciousness. A God conscious person does not say, “God, You please do everything for me and let me smoke ganja.” Rather, a God conscious person must work for God. But even if one does not work for the sake of God, one must work, for without work one cannot even maintain one’s body. This material world, therefore, is meant for parisrama, hard labor.

WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH THE WORLD?

On the 16th of February 1957 a meeting was held at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to discuss the above subject matter. Distinguished gentlemen from different categories spoke on the subject, but practically nobody could give us a definite direction as to what actually the matter was that was troubling the whole situation.

This feeling of pinching in the existence of our life is a good sign for progress. It is an urge for enquiry what is the wrong in the world that gives us trouble? This trouble is not a new thing but it is a matter of permanent settlement in all the days of life, but it may be felt at different times in different colour. The troubles are in varieties in relation with our mind and body, in relation with our dealings with other living beings and in relation with natural phenomenons.

The present pinching trouble of our political leaders in the matter of Kashmir affairs is a trouble in relation with our other friendly nations. Kashmir is a part of India, not only at present but it is so from a time immemorial but the Kashmir problem has arisen as a matter of course because the world is so created that must there exist some sort of trouble, may be it is in relation with the body or other living beings or the natural phenomenon.These troubles are like the forest fire. Fire takes place in the dense forest without any attempt by any living being. Nobody in the forest do want such fire, but it takes place without any demand. When there is fire, the living beings in the forest are put into trouble and sometimes it so happens that most of the forest creatures die in that havoc. There is no fire brigade in the forest or on the top of a forest mountain and there is no hope for of extinguishing the fire by any human attempt. It takes by the natural laws, and it is extinguished by natural laws also, that is, when there is torrent of rains in the forest.

That is the natural law and these laws are so rigid and stern that no human brain, however it may be powerful, can solve these problems of natural laws.An intelligent person, who has actually developed some finer qualities of human consciousness, can understand that every law is made by an intelligent brain and behind every law there is the lawmaker who makes the law.

So for all these natural laws, there is the Supreme Lawmaker, who is the Absolute Personality of Godhead. In the 'Bhagwat Gétä' we have, therefore, information that natural laws are so stringent that they cannot be overcome by anybody. But whoever surrenders unto the Supreme Lord can overcome them.The King is the lawmaker and if he likes he can forgive a lawbreaker by special prerogative of the King - by the 'King's mercy,' but the King can do no wrong even if he sometimes breaks the law. That is, an experience of a common man in the phenomenal world and the same thing is applicable in the matter of Supreme laws also.The natural laws are like police actions by the agents of Godhead.

Men, who are too much captivated by the glamour of material beauty and tries to enjoy it falsely without acknowledgement of its Creator, are called demons. The stringent natural laws are meant for the criminals but not for the law-abiders. Therefore, the perfect answer to the question 'What is the matter with the world?' is that Men have become demons by breaking laws of God, and therefore they are being punished by the police action of material nature. That is the verdict of all scriptures and that is our day-to-day life's experience.In the 'BHAGWAT GITA' a vivid description of the law-breaker demoniac men are given in the 16th chapter and such men are punished by the laws of God - are also maintained.

Human civilizations are conducted in two ways. One type of civilization can make every human being as much qualified as God is. And the other type of civilization can make every man no less than a jungle beast and thereby making this world unfit for human habitation.A human being is called a rational animal. When rationality is destroyed, the human being is left an ordinary animal. The difference between a human being and an animal is based on the strength of human being's being above the animal propensities. The animal part of a human being necessarily require food to eat, shelter to live in, protection from fear and gratification of senses. These four principles of life are common both to the man and the animals. But there is another thing which is specially meant for the human being. This is God-consciousness.

This God-consciousness is conspicuous by absence in the animal life, while in the human life this God-consciousness is in dormant stage even in the society of the aborigines. This God-consciousness develops in different grades of human civilization in terms of particular place, time and persons. This God-consciousness is called Religion or Culture of Life without which no civilization can stand.The present day civilization is trying to avoid this God-consciousness of human life by artificial method of material science and forcible atheism. It is learnt from reliable sources that in an atheistic state, the village people were called in a meeting and were asked to pray in the Church for daily bread. The innocent villagers prayed in the Church for daily bread, and when the prayer was over the state officers asked them whether breads were supplied. The village men replied that there was no bread.

The atheist politicians asked them again to pray for bread from them (the statesmen) and bread was at once supplied. And by this method the innocent villagers were made victims of propaganda by atheistic politicians with the result that all the villagers became gradually faithless in God, because wrongly they accepted that the bread was supplied by the politicians and not by God.The poor victims of such propaganda did not understand that the breads supplied by the politicians were not made by the father of the politicians but actually they were sent by God. No politician can manufacture bread without wheat. No wheat is produced without sun rays or rains from the sky. No rains are possible without obedience to God.

No atheist can live and decry God without eating bread. And therefore whoever eats bread without acknowledging in gratitude of his indebtedness to God is certainly a demon and for such demons the stringent natural laws are meant for punishment. A time is nearing when there will be no wheat paddy in the field and no politician will be able to make a quick supply of bread. The food problem is already acute.The atheistic civilization is to be troubled more and more with the progress of materialism. We have such foretellings in the pages of Çrémad Bhagwat. The more the people are turning to the atheistic, the more things of disturbing elements do appear before us. And that is the thing which matters at present. This is a wrong type of civilization.

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Christ and Krishna

Srila Prabhupada: What is the meaning of the word Christ?

Father Emmanuel: Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning "the anointed one".

Srila Prabhupada: Christos is the Greek version of the word Krishna.

Father Emmanuel: This is very interesting.

Srila Prabhupada: When an Indian person calls on Krishna, he often says, "Krsta". Krsta is a Sanskrit word meaning "attraction". So when we address God as "Christ", "Krsta", or "Krishna" we indicate the same all-attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Jesus said, " Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Thy name," the name of God was Krsta or Krishna. Do you agree?

Father Emmanuel: I think Jesus, as the son of God, has revealed to us the actual name of God: Christ. We can call God "Father", but if we want to address Him by His actual name, we have to say "Christ".

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. "Christ" is another way of saying Krsta and Krsta is another way of pronouncing Krishna, the name of God. Jesus said that one should glorify the name of God, but yesterday I heard one theologian say that God has no name -- that we can call Him only "Father". A son may call his father "Father", but the father also has a specific name. Similarly, God is the general name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose specific name is Krishna. Therefore whether you call God "Christ", "Krsta", or "Krishna", ultimately you are addressing the same Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Father Emmanuel: Yes, if we speak of God's actual name, then we must say, "Christos". In our religion we have the Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe we can know the name of God only by revelation from the son of God. Jesus Christ revealed the name of the Father, and therefore we take the name "Christ" as the revealed name of God.

Srila Prabhupada: Actually, it doesn't matter -- Krishna or Christ -- the name is the same. The main point is to follow the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures that recommend chanting the name of God in this age. The easiest way is to chant the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare. Rama and Krishna are names of God and Hare is the energy of God. So when we chant the maha-mantra we address God along with His energy. This energy is of two kinds, the spiritual and the material. At present we are in the clutches of the material energy. Therefore we pray to Krishna that He may kindly deliver us from the service of the material energy and accept us into the service of the spiritual energy. This is our whole philosophy. Hare Krishna means, "O energy of God, O God (Krishna), please engage me in Your service." It is our nature to render service. Somehow or other we have come to the service of material things, but when this service is transformed into the service of the spiritual energy, then our life is perfect. To practice bhakti-yoga [loving service to God] means to become free from designations like Hindu, Muslim, Christian, this or that, and simply to serve God. We have created Christian, Hindu and Mohammedan religions, but when we come to a religion without designations, in which we don't think we are Hindus or Christians or Mohammedans, then we can speak of pure religion, or bhakti.

Father Emmanuel: Mukti? [liberation from material miseries]

Srila Prabhupada: No, bhakti. When we speak of bhakti, mukti is included. Without bhakti, there is no mukti, but if we act on the platform of bhakti, then mukti is included. We learn this from the Bhagavad-gita (14.26):

mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate

"One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down under any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman."

Father Emmanuel: Is Brahman Krishna?

Srila Prabhupada: Krishna is Parabrahman. Brahman is realised in three aspects: as impersonal Brahman, as localised Paramatma and as personal Brahman. Krishna is personal and He is the Supreme Brahman, for God is ultimately a person. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11), this is confirmed:

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj-jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmati
bhagavan iti sabdyate

"Learned transcendentalists, who know the Absolute Truth, call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan." The feature of the Supreme Personality is the ultimate realisation of God. He has all six opulences in full: He is the strongest, the richest, the most beautiful, the most famous, the wisest and the most renounced.

Father Emmanuel: Yes, I agree.

Srila Prabhupada: Because God is absolute, His name, His form and His qualities are all absolute and they are nondifferent from Him. Therefore to chant God's holy name means to associate directly with Him. When one associates with God one acquires Godly qualities and when one is completely purified he becomes an associate of the Supreme Lord.

Father Emmanuel: But our understanding of the name of God is limited.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, we are limited, but God is unlimited. And because He is unlimited, or absolute, he has unlimited names, each if which is God. We can understand His names as much as our spiritual understanding is developed.

What is the difference between Krishna consciousness and Christianity?

Father Emmanuel: May I ask a question? We Christians also preach love of God, and we try to realise love of God and render service to Him with all our heart and all our soul. Now, what is the difference between your movement and ours? Why do you send your disciples to the Western countries to preach love of God when the gospel of Jesus Christ is propounding the same message?

Srila Prabhupada: The problem is that the Christians do not follow the commandments of God. Do you agree?

Father Emmanuel: Yes, to a large extent you're right.

Srila Prabhupada: Then what is the meaning of the Christians' love for God? If you do not follow the orders of God, then where is your love? Therefore we have come to teach what it means to love God. If you love Him you cannot be disobedient to His orders. And if you are disobedient your love is not real.

Srila Prabhupada: All over the world people don't love God. They love their dogs. The Krishna consciousness movement is therefore necessary to teach people how to revive their forgotten love for God. Not only the Christians, but also the Hindus, the Mohammedans and all others are guilty. They have rubber-stamped themselves as Christian, Hindu or Mohammedan, but they do not obey God. This is the problem

Visitor: Can we say in what way the Christians are disobedient?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. The first point is they violate the commandment "Thou shall not kill" by maintaining slaughterhouses. Do you agree that this commandment is being violated?

Father Emmanuel: Personally, I agree.

Srila Prabhupada: Good. So if the Christians want to love God, they must stop killing animals.

Father Emmanuel: But isn't the most important point...

Srila Prabhupada: If you miss one point there is a mistake in your calculation. Regardless of what you add or subtract after that the mistake is already in the calculation and everything that follows will also be faulty. We cannot simply accept the part of the scripture we like and reject what we don't like and still expect to get the result. For example, a hen lays eggs with it's back part and eats with it's beak. A farmer may consider, "The front part of the hen is very expensive because I have to feed it. Better to cut it off." But if the head is missing there will be no eggs any more because the body is dead. Similarly, if we reject the difficult part of the scriptures and obey the part we like, such an interpretation will not help us. We have to accept all the injunctions of the scriptures as they are given , not just those that suit us. If you do not follow the first order, "Thou shall not kill," then where is the question of love of God?

Visitor: Christians take this commandment to be applicable to human beings, not to animals.

Srila Prabhupada: That would mean Christ was not intelligent enough to use the right word: murder. There is killing, and there is murder, Murder refers to human beings. Do you think Jesus was not intelligent enough to use the right word. Killing means any kind of killing and especially animal killing. If Jesus had meant simply the killing of humans he would have used the word murder.

• Mathew:5:21: Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
• Mark:10:19: Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
• Luke:18:20: Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
• Romans:13:9: For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
• James:2:11: For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

Father Emmanuel: But in the Old Testament the commandment "Thou shall not kill" does refer to murder. And when Jesus said, "Thou shall not kill," he extended the commandment to mean a human being should not only refrain from killing another human being, but should also treat him with love. He never spoke about man's relationship with other living entities but only about his relationship with other human beings. When he said, "thou shall not kill," he also meant in the mental and emotional sense -- that you should not insult anyone or hurt him, treat him badly and so on.

Srila Prabhupada: We are not concerned with this or that testament but only with the words used in the commandments. If you want to interpret these words, that is something else. We understand the direct meaning. "Thou shall not kill" means, "The Christians should not kill." You may put forward interpretations in order to continue the present way of action but we understand very clearly there is no need for interpretation. Interpretation is necessary if things are not clear. "Thou shall not kill" is a clear instruction. Why should we interpret it?

Father Emmanuel: Isn't the eating of plants also killing?

Srila Prabhupada: The Vaisnava philosophy teaches that we should not even kill plants unnecessarily. In the Bhagavad-gita (9.26) Krishna says:

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

"If someone offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water, I will accept it." We offer Krishna only the kind of food He demands, and then we eat the remnants. If offering vegetarian food to Krishna were sinful, then it would be Krishna's sin, not ours. But God is apapa-vijna -- sinful reactions are not applicable to Him. He is like the sun, which is so powerful that it can purify even urine -- something impossible for us to do. Krishna is also like a king, who may order a murderer to be hanged, but who himself is not subject to punishment because he is very powerful. Eating food first offered to the Lord is also something like a soldier's killing during wartime. In a war, when the commander orders a man to attack, the obedient soldier who kills the enemy will get a medal. But if the same soldier kills someone on his own he will be punished. Similarly when we eat only prasada [the remnants of food offered to Krishna], we do not commit any sin. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (3.13):

yajna-sistasinah santo
mucyante sarva-kilbisaih
bhunjate te tu agham papa
ye pacanty atma-karanat

"The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food that is first offered for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin."

Father Emmanuel: Krishna cannot give permission to eat animals?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes -- in the animal kingdom. But the civilized human being, the religious human being is not meant to kill and eat animals. If you stop killing animals and chant the holy name Christ, everything will be perfect. I have not come to teach you, but only to request you to please chant the name of God. The Bible also demands this of you. So let's kindly cooperate and chant, and if you have a prejudice about chanting the name Krishna then chant "Christos" or "Krsta" -- there is no difference. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said: namnam akari bahu-dha nija-sarva-saktis. "God has millions and millions of names, and because there is no difference between God's name and Himself, each one of these names has the same potency as God." Therefore even if you accept designations like Hindu, Christian or Mohammedan, if you simply chant the name of God found in your own scriptures, you will attain the spiritual platform. Human life is meant for self-realisation -- to learn how to love God. That is the actual beauty of man. Whether you discharge this duty as a Hindu, a Christian or a Mohammedan, it doesn't matter -- but do it?

Father Emmanuel: I agree.

Srila Prabhupada: [pointing to a string of 108 meditation beads] We always have these beads, just as you have your rosary. You are chanting, but why don't the other Christians also chant? Why should they miss this opportunity as human beings? Cats and dogs cannot chant, but we can because we have a human tongue. If we chant the holy names of God, we cannot loose anything; on the contrary, we gain greatly. My disciples practice chanting Hare Krishna constantly. They could also go to the cinema, or do so many other things, but they have given everything up. They eat neither fish nor meat nor eggs, they don't take intoxicants, they don't drink, they don't smoke, they don't partake in gambling, they don't speculate and they don't maintain illicit sexual connections. But they do chant the holy name of God. If you would like to cooperate with us then go to the other churches and chant, "Christ", "Krishna" or "Krsta". What could be the objection?

Instead of keeping the churches closed, why not give them to us?

Father Emmanuel: There is none. For my part I would be glad to join you.

Srila Prabhupada: No. We are speaking with you as a representative of the Christian church. Instead of keeping the churches closed why not give them to us? We would chant the holy name of God there twenty-four hours a day. In many places we have bought churches that were practically closed because no one was going there. In London I saw hundreds of churches that were closed or used for mundane purposes. We bought one such church in Los Angeles. It was sold because no one came there, but if you visit the same church today, you will see thousands of people. Any intelligent person can understand what God is in five minutes; it doesn't require five hours.

Father Emmanuel: I understand.

Srila Prabhupada: But the people do not. Their disease is that they don't want to understand.

Visitor: I think understanding God is not a question of intelligence but a question of humility.

Srila Prabhupada: Humility means intelligence. "The humble and meek own the kingdom of God." This is stated in the Bible, is it not? But the philosophy of the rascals is that everyone is God and today this idea has become popular. Therefore no one is humble and meek. If everybody thinks he is God, why should he be humble and meek? Therefore I teach my disciples how to become humble and meek. They always offer their respectful obeisances in the temple and to the spiritual master, and in this way they make advancement. The qualities of humbleness and meekness lead very quickly to spiritual realisation. In the Vedic scriptures it is said, "To those who have firm faith in God and the spiritual master, who is His representative, the meaning of the Vedic scriptures is revealed."

Father Emmanuel: But shouldn't this humility be offered to everyone else also?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, but there are two kinds of respect: special and ordinary. Sri Krishna Caitanya taught that we shouldn't expect honour for ourselves, but should always respect everyone else, even if he is disrespectful to us. But special respect should be given to God and His pure devotee.

Father Emmanuel: Yes, I agree.

Srila Prabhupada: I think the Christian priests should cooperate with the Krishna consciousness movement. They should chant the name of Christ or Christos and should stop condoning the slaughter of animals. This program follows the teachings of the Bible; it is not my philosophy. Please act accordingly and you will see how the world situation will change.

Father Emmanuel: Thank you very much

Srila Prabhupada: Hare Krishna!

Dog Race in a Dangerous Place

Dog Race in a Dangerous Place

morning walk in Denver, Colorado, on June 28, 1975.

Srila Prabhupada: Until these world leaders read my books and take to this Vedic culture, what kind of civilization will they have? Dog race. Horse race. They want this. Rat race. That's all. Their civilization is a race. Dog race. Horse race. Rat race. The citizens do not know anything about this great science of the soul. Modern civilization means that people are simply becoming rascals, animals. Of course, strictly speaking, theirs is a motor race. They have advanced beyond the common dog race to a motor race. But if a doggish person is running not on four legs but on four wheels, does that mean he is not a dog? It is the same race. The same race--whether by running on four legs or on four wheels. The race is the same, and the dog is the same.

So this civilization is a glorified dog race. Modern man does not know, "I may feel proud of racing around in a car, but is there any value if I do not understand the meaning of my life?" Hmm? So this is going on. A big, big highway for dog racing--that is modern civilization.

And when rascal yogis and swamis present their version of the Vedic culture, they say something like, "By this transcendental meditation you will keep your dog race very nice." In reality, these yogis and swamis are bewildered by this materialistic civilization. "Oh, very nice. It is very nice." That's all. In Bhagavad-gita Krishna describes such personalities. Mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam: "Bewildered by the modes of material nature, fools and rascals do not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible." The modern world is filled with such mudhas, rascals. So, again, the only hope is that you distribute my books as much as possible.

In London there is a big stadium for dog racing. Do you know that? Many people go to see the dogs race.

Disciple: In America dog racing is very popular, as well. Here in Denver, people love to go.

Srila Prabhupada: To the dog race? [Laughter.]

Disciple: We've gone there, too, Srila Prabhupada, to distribute your books.

Srila Prabhupada: In Australia, also--Sydney--oh, they are very fond of dog racing. Many men take their big dogs for racing.

Disciple: It makes for good gambling.

Srila Prabhupada: And in Europe, being aristocratic means keeping many horses and many dogs. That is aristocracy. The aristocrats ride on horses, and taking their dogs, they go to the forest and kill some innocent birds. This is the extent of their heroic activities. [To a Disciple:] Do you remember that palace we went to see in France?

Disciple: Yes. In the hallway they had many pictures of aristocrats killing birds and foxes. Pictures to memorialize these great personalities and their heroic activities.

Srila Prabhupada: In Paris we saw a huge statue of Napoleon. And we recalled Napoleon's boast, "I am France." France is still there, but there is no Napoleon. [Laughter.] Napoleon, finished. Hitler, finished. Gandhi, finished.

Disciple: Srila Prabhupada, in the same place where we saw that statue of Napoleon, formerly there had been another statue, one of Louis XIV. Napoleon pulled that one down and replaced it with his own statue.

Srila Prabhupada: And some day someone else will come and replace Napoleon's statue. For instance, in Karachi they have pulled Gandhi's statue down.

Nothing in this material world will stay. So always chant Hare Krishna. This is a very dangerous place. Padam padam yad vipadam: This is a place where at every step there is danger. Right now, for example, we are walking in a very nice park, but at any moment there may be a revolution and the whole thing may change. The whole thing may become like fire, just as it has now become in India. So we should remember that here in this material world, padam padam yad vipadam: At every step there is danger.

Therefore, give up your attachment for this place. That is real intelligence. And yet the modern educational system is misleading people into maya-sukhaya: making gorgeous plans for temporary happiness. That's all. If in the slaughterhouse the animals are kept very comfortably, what is the meaning of it?

Disciple: No meaning. They'll still be slaughtered.

Srila Prabhupada: It is sure that all the animals will be slaughtered. So even if, let us say, the animals could arrange that "All right, before being slaughtered, let us live very comfortably," would that be very good intelligence? Intelligence consists in inquiring, "Why must we be slaughtered? How to stop this business?" That is intelligence. How do you define slaughterhouse? What does slaughterhouse mean?

Disciple: A slaughterhouse is a place where many animals are sent to be killed brutally.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. In a slaughterhouse, many animals are brought together expressly to be killed. So this whole material world is a slaughterhouse. And when there is need, many two-legged animals will be brought together into a war and killed.

This place is a slaughterhouse. And yet the foolish two-legged animal is thinking, "I am now very comfortably situated." He forgets, "I am going to be slaughtered." Mrtyu-samsara-sagarat: "This place is an ocean of slaughter." In Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna confirms it--mrtyu-samsara-sagarat. This place is a slaughterhouse. But people are accepting it as their home. Another name for this material world is mrtyu-loka. Mrtyu-loka--"the place of death." But still, they are taking it as a very comfortable place. This is their intelligence: accepting a slaughterhouse as a very nice place. When you point these things out to these animals who are going to be slaughtered, how do they respond?

Disciple: Well, Srila Prabhupada, just a few days ago, in New York, a lightning bolt struck an airliner and sent it crashing down onto a big highway. A ghastly, horrifying scene, with hundreds of people screaming in agony as they lost their lives. After that, I was passing out your books at the Denver airport and mentioning, "How about that New York crash? Seems any of us could die at any moment, you know?"

But most people in the terminal looked up from their cushy chairs and said, "Oh, I've got my whole life in front of me." Things like that. "I'm just devoting my attention to getting ahead. I'm enjoying my life far too much to start indulging in that kind of negative thinking."

Srila Prabhupada: Oh. Just see. Slaughterhouse. But still, somehow people hope to find real, lasting comfort within the slaughterhouse.

Disciple: Srila Prabhupada, in your lecture the other day in Los Angeles, you said that when a great war happens, with many people killed, it has been arranged by the Supreme. As in the battle of Kuruksetra.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Krishna states that fact to Arjuna. "You are feeling intense affection for your family members, even though they are trying to usurp your kingdom by mounting a massive attack. You are thinking, very nobly, that you do not wish to kill your family members.

But it is already settled. They must be killed here. I have brought them. You may kill them or not kill them--they will be killed. That is My plan. If you want, you may take credit that you have been victorious in the battle."

And modern warfare is the same kind of arrangement. It is all prearranged. War means bringing many two-legged animals together and killing them. Finished. And that is happening every so often. A Napoleon is being sent for killing. Or a Hitler is being sent for killing. In India, the Lord Himself comes for killing. Lord Ramacandra came for killing Ravana, and Lord Krishna came for killing the Kauravas.

Disciple: But, Srila Prabhupada, in these big wars aren't the Lord's devotees killed, also?

Wasn't that true even during the battle of Kuruksetra?

Srila Prabhupada: Well, during the battle of Kuruksetra, all five Pandava brothers were saved. When the battle was over, all five brothers remained. So when there is a war, it is not that all the devotees are saved, but mostly they are saved. And more importantly, Krishna assures,

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so 'rjuna

"Upon giving up this body, those who know the transcendental nature of My advent and activities never return to this miserable and temporary material world. Rather, they come back home to Me."

Like We Identify With Our Car

This is stated in the Bhagavad-gita:

isvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya
[Bg. 18.61]

So isvara, the Supreme Lord, is there. Now He's giving chance, "You living entity, you did not surrender to Me. You wanted to enjoy this material world. So you take this chariot and take this driver and go on." This is going on. Krsna is very kind. Ye yatha mam prapadyante. "Whatever you want, you do it. But you'll never be happy." That is the point. "You can do whatever. I will give you chance. I'll give you." Just like you want a Rolls Royce car. "All right, it is." If you want this car, "All right." So you are changing this car. Sometimes you are carried by the doggish cars, sometimes goddish car. These are all cars, but we are different from the car. We wanted to sit down in a certain car, so Krsna is giving us the chance. Bhramayan sarva-bhutani yantrarudhani [Bg. 18.61]. Yantra means car or machine. It is very easy to understand. So this is going on because we are identifying with the car. Just like foolish man, if he rides on a Rolls Royce car, he's thinking "Now I am very rich man. I have bought a Rolls Royce." Similarly, if one body has got inferior car, he thinks that "I am poor"; identifying with the car.

But he's not car. He's different from car. This knowledge is required. This is called visoko brahma-sampattya. When we understand our spiritual identity, then we are no more lamenting or jubilation, equalit... equilibrium. Read the purport. It is very important verse.

Pradyumna: "Doubts of duality begin from the misconception of the material body, which is accepted as the self by less intelligent persons. The most foolish part of our ignorance..."

Prabhupada: That we were discussing in our walking, that the basic principle of this modern civilization is wrong. Everyone, the so-called advanced scientists, so-called advanced philosopher or politician, everyone is thinking that "I am this body." So on the basic principle they're wrong. Therefore the so-called advancement of civilization is wrong. It's... At one point mathematical calculation, if you have done mistake in one point... Two plus two equal two. Why if you have made up three, the mistake, then the whole calculation will be mistaken. The balance, it will never tally. Similarly, our present civilization... Not present; it is always there. Now it is very strong bodily conception of life, so the basic principle is wrong. Therefore what..., whatever we are advancing, that is wrong. Parabhava That is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Parabhavas Basic principle is wrong, abodha, in ignorance. In ignorance. Abodha means without any perfect knowledge.

So we are born without any perfect knowledge. That is natural. We have to sent..., we have to be sent to school for learning. Therefore these books are there. Why for these books are being written? Just for the learning of the human society. So they can learn it. Cats and dogs cannot read these Bhagavata or Bhagavad-gita. It is meant for human society. So they should take advantage of this knowledge. But if they remain in the darkness of ignorance, then what is the meaning of their advancement? It has no meaning. So that is going on. They too do not accept knowledge from the authority. They manufacture. How you can manufacture? You are a fool, so whatever you manufacture, so-called knowledge, that is also foolish. How can we depend on your foolish knowledge? Abodha-jata. Everyone is fool. He cannot manufacture. He has to learn to take knowledge from a person who knows. The he's perfect. That is our system. We are taking knowledge from Krsna. We are taking knowledge is perfect. We are taking authority. As we are, we are defective. Our position is sometimes we do mistake -- "two plus two equals five." But it is not fact. So two plus two must be four. But if we make "five" or "three," that means the whole background becomes wrong. That is... we are liable to do that mistake. And illusion. Illusion means two plus two equal to four; I have written "five," but I am seeing it is all right. I'm seeing it is all right: "two." Therefore one should not correct himself. Another person should take the editorial correction work, because the man who has written he sees that it is right. This is called illusion. [Srila Prabhupada, Lecture, Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.15.31 -- Los Angeles, December 9, 197]

Boatman & The Technology Student

[The Story of the Boatman & The Technology Student]

In India, especially in Bengal, there are many rivers. The land is full of rivers. Because it is on the bank of the Bay of Bengal, all rivers are falling. Therefore Bengal, the land of, especially the east Bengal, is full of rivers. One student of technology was going home, and he was on the boat. So the student was asking the boatman, "Do you know what are the stars?" The boatman said, "Sir, we are ordinary boatman. What do we know about these stars?" "Oh. Then your fifty percent of life is wasted, useless." Then he was asking, "Do you know what are these trees? Do you know any science of botany?" He said, "Sir, we are ordinary laborer. What do we know about botany?" "Oh. Then seventy-five percent of your life is useless." In this way the student of technology was asking the boatman, "Do you know this? Do you know that?" And he said that "I am ordinary man. What do I know all these things?" Then all of a sudden there was a black cloud, and there was storm, and the river began to be inflated, and the boatman said, "My dear sir, do you know swimming?" "Oh," he said, "no." Then he said, "Then your cent percent knowledge is spoiled. Now you have to go down to the river. Your life is finished." In this way they dropped in the river, and the technological student, because he did not know how to swim, so the storm and the waves grabbed him.

The idea is that we are making progress, certainly, in technology, in economics, in so many other departments of human necessities. But Bhagavad-gita says that real problem of this world, or real problem of our life, it is said in the Bhagavad-gita, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsan am. If you are intelligent enough, then you should see the real problem is birth, death, old age and disease. Janma means birth, and mrtyu means death. Janma-mrtyu-jara. Jara means old age, and vyadhi means disease. So actual material problem is this, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi. We have forgotten that "In the abdomen of my mother, how precarious condition I was living in." Of course, we can know from the description of medical science or any other science how the child is packed up there and how much suffering is there. The worms bite the child and he cannot express; he suffers the suffering. Similarly, the mother eats something and the pungent taste also gives him suffering.

So these descriptions are there in the sastras, in the scriptures and authentic Vedic literature, how the child suffers within the abdomen of mother. So these are the sufferings of birth. At least, one child has to remain in that air-packed condition at least for ten months. Now just imagine if you are put into that air-packed condition for three minutes now, you will immediately die. But actually, we had that experience to remain in the mother's womb in that air-packed condition for ten months. So suffering was there, but because the child was incapable of expressing, therefore... Or his consciousness was not so elevated. He could not cry, but the suffering was there. Similarly, at the time of death there is suffering. Similarly, old man. Just like us, we have got so many complaints, bodily complaints. Because now everything, the anatomical or physiological condition, is deteriorating. The stomach is not digesting foodstuff so nicely as when I was young I could digest. So the sufferings are there. Similarly, disease. Who wants disease? So modern technology, they have advanced undoubtedly, but there is no remedy for, I mean to say, to stop birth, death, old age and disease. This is real problem. But because these problems cannot be solved by the modern scientific advancement of knowledge, they have practically set aside or neglected because they cannot solve it.
But there is a solution. There is a solution. That solution of this problem is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that,

mam upetya kaunteya
duhkhalayam asasvatam
napnuvanti mahatmanah
samsiddhim paramam gatah
[Bg. 8.15]

"My dear Arjuna, if somebody comes to Me..." "Me" means here the Supreme Personality of Godhead is saying, Krsna. "If somebody comes to Me, then he hasn't got to take birth again in this miserable material condition." Duhkhalayam asasvatam [Bg. 8.15]. Duhkhalayam means the place of miseries. We are thinking that we have made a paradise, but actually the place is miserable, because the threefold miseries, they are there. Either in America or in India or in any other country, China, or any other planet, the material miseries which are three kinds, adhyatmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika... Adhyatmika means miseries pertaining to the body and the mind. Sometimes we are feeling headaches, sometimes we are feeling some other pains. Any things which are pertaining to the body and mind, there is some pain. These are called adhyatmika. Similarly, there are other pains, inflicted by other living entities. They are called adhibhautika. Similarly, other pains also, which is offered by the nature, by the laws of nature. All of a sudden there is earthquake, all of a sudden there is famine, or similar other which we have no control over. So these three kinds of miseries are always there. But under the spell of illusion we are thinking that we are happy. And the illusion means that the material energy is so illusory that however a living entity may be in abominable condition, he thinks that he is happy. You take any animal, just like take the hog:that life is most filthy life. Of course, you have no experience to see in your city, hogs. In India there are many hogs in the city, and they are living in filthy place:they are eating stool, and most abominable life. But even you ask a hog that "You are living in such abominable condition. Let me do you something good," he'll refuse to accept. If you give him something, nice preparation, as we have got in India, halava, he'll not accept it. He will accept stool, because his body is meant for that purpose and he will not like any palatable foodstuff. He will like that stool. This is the spell of maya.

So Krsna consciousness means that if we want, if we are actually educated, then we must try to question that "Why I am suffering?" This is called brahma-jijnasa. In the Vedanta-sutra the first aphorism is athato brahma jijnasa. One should inquire about his existence as soul, not as body or as mind. Because he is neither body nor mind. So this Vedanta-sutra says that athato brahma jijnasa. Atha atah means this is the time, this human form of life, developed consciousness, with greater intelligence than the animals, one should inquire about his spiritual existence. That is real technology. And Srimad-Bhagavata says that parabhavas tavad abodha-jato yavan na jijnasata atma-tattvam. So long one does not inquire about his spiritual existence... Every one of us is born ignorant because we do not know what is our real identity. Generally, we accept that "I am this body," but actually I am not this body. These things can be understood very easily. Suppose you are seeing all along a friend. All of a sudden he dies and you say, "My friend is gone." Well, your friend is lying there with all the body, hands, legs, everything. He's lying there. Why do you say that your friend is gone? Then you have never seen your friend. You have seen only his bodily structure. That's all. Similarly, at the present moment the humanitarian work is going on, but we do not know what is the basic principle of humanitarian work. The Bhagavata answers this: yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke [SB 10.84.13]. A person who is in the knowledge that "I am this body and...," sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma-ijya-dhih, and if one thinks that "In relations with this body, my kinsmen, they will protect me," and if he thinks that "The land where the body is grown, that is the worshipable land," then he is, I mean to say, accepted like animal. Sa eva go-kharah [SB 10.84.13].

So these instructions are there. Unfortunately, we have no time, neither we have desire to understand actually what I am, why I am suffering, what is this world, what is my relationship with this world, what is God, what is my relationship with God. These questions are very important questions, and there is technology to understand these questions. And the Srimad Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam, Vedanta-sutra, all these literatures are there. If you kindly, of course, see to these literatures, you'll find the solution of the problems of life. But we are not interested. That is the difficulty. We are thinking that we are happy, we have no problem, although there are so many problems and we are not happy. This is called maya. Maya means what is not. Ma means not. Ya means this. This is called maya. We are thinking that we are happy, but actually we are not happy. And even if we are happy, how long we are happy? Suppose, taking for example you Americans, you are the richest nation of the world. Your material comforts and everything is greater than other countries, standard of living. But just try to think how long you can remain as American. Say, for fifty years or hundred years, at most. Then... But we do not know what is going to happen in my next life because we do not believe in the next life. But actually there is next life. So if you don't take care of my next life and if we irresponsibly waste our valuable human form of life like ordinary animals... The ordinary animals, they demand something for eating, they want to sleep, they want to defend, and they want to mate. So similarly, if human being is also busy with the four principles of bodily demands, namely eating, sleeping, mating and defending, then, according to Vedic literature, it is said that he is not human being. Dharmena hina pasubhih samanah. If the human being does not understand his real spiritual identity and simply busy with the four demands of bodily necessities, then pasubhih samanah:he's as equal as with lower animals, cats and dogs.

So Bhagavad-gita gives you clue. It is not very difficult to understand this science. The Bhagavad-gita gives you the information of the spirit soul very simply. The Bhagavad-gita says,

dehino 'smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati
[Bg. 2.13]

Just like within this body, when you were a child you were within this body:not exactly this body, but another body, which was so small. Now where is that body? That body is gone. You have got another body. So Bhagavad-gita says, as we are changing body moment to moment, dehino 'smin yatha dehe... [Bg. 2.13]. Dehinah means the soul, the spirit soul, who is embodied within this body, as he is changing body from moment to moment. This is a fact, a medical fact, that you are changing body every moment. Similarly, the last change is called death. But we have to take..., we have to accept another body. But we do not know what sort of body we are going to accept. That technology is wanting in the modern civilization. But there are 8,400,000's of different bodies, and after leaving this body you may enter any of such bodies. You may become, after leaving this body, you can become American or you can become Indian or you can become Chinaman or you can become god in the moon planet or some other planet, or you can become dog, you can become hog, you can become serpent:anything. That requires... That is under the control of the material nature. That is not under your control. But if you take to this Krsna consciousness, it will be under your control. How it is possible? The Bhagavad-gita answers this:

yanti deva-vrata devan
pitrn yanti pitr-vratah
bhutejya yanti bhutani
mad-yajino 'pi yanti mam
[Bg. 9.25]

If you want to enter into another planet, say moon planet or sun planet or Venus planet... There are innumerable planets. The ultimate, highest planet is called Brahmaloka. And the advantage of going to Brahmaloka is also stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that you can get a life, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmano viduh [Bg. 8.17]. You can get there life for millions and millions of years. But still, there is death and there is birth and there is that old age and there is that disease. But mad-dhama gatva punar janma na vidyate. But if somebody is transferred to that planet which is called Krsnaloka, Goloka Vrndavana, or Vaikuntha, then one hasn't got to come back to this material, I mean to say, temporary existence. So these informations are there, and they are very scientific. They are not dogmatic. If you accept them with reason and argument and with human consciousness, the solutions are there.

So Krsna consciousness is the movement. It is not new movement. This movement is at least, current, since five hundred years before. Lord Caitanya, He started this movement in the fifteenth century. So this movement is current everywhere in India, but in your country, of course, it is new. But our request is that you kindly take this movement little seriously. We do not ask you to stop your technological advance. You do it. There is a nice proverb in Bengal that a woman who is busy in household work is also..., she also takes care for dressing herself nicely. It is the nature of women. When they go out they dress very nicely. So similarly, you may be busy with all kinds of technology. That, that is not forbidden. But at the same time, you try to understand this technology, the science of soul. That is there. It is not a bogus propaganda. It is factual. It is science. As science is not bogus propaganda, similarly this Krsna consciousness is also not bogus propaganda. As science means two plus two equal to four, similarly Krsna consciousness means mitigating the all problems of life. So... And the process is very easy. We are... Not we are. It is recommended by Lord Caitanya that in this age, for self-realization it is this process:

harer nama harer nama harer nama iva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
[Adi 17.21]

Lord Caitanya says that in this age, when our life is very short, we are not very much enlightened in spiritual matters and we are very lazy at the same time, and at the same time we are unfortunate, so under these conditions the people are recommended simply to chant Hare Krsna. Harer nama harer nama harer nama iva kevalam. Now this Hare Krsna movement, you may say that "This ‘Krsna' is Indian name or Hindu name. Why shall we chant ‘Krsna'?" But if you have got any name of God, you can chant that also. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that God has millions and billions of names. So any name is as good as "Krsna." It doesn't matter. Then why we chant Hare Krsna? Because we are following the footprints of Lord Caitanya, and He chanted this holy name, we are chanting. So we shall request you most humbly that it is..., there is no loss on your part, but the gain is immense. If you take to this chanting Hare Krsna, then gradually your misconception of this life will be cleared off. You will understand your real identity and you will act in that way. And the technology is so nice that you may remain in your business, that doesn't matter. Simply you have to chant Hare Krsna. Suppose you are walking on the street. If you chant Hare Krsna, nobody is taxing you, nobody is bothering you. But if by chanting Hare Krsna, if you derive some benefit, why do you neglect it? That is our submission. So this movement is for making solution of the problems of life, and it can be easily done. And anyone can accept it. It doesn't matter whether he is Indian or American or Hindu or Muslim or Christian. It doesn't matter. Simply this vibration: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

When you are with Krishna, where is the question of darkness?

"The example is given that when the sun is in the sky then where is the question of darkness? Similarly, when Hare Krishna mantra is vibrating on your tongue and you are hearing attentively, then your consciousness become clear or Krishna Consciousness, and there is no question of maya or hazy consciousness. Just as when the darkness and the light come together the darkness cannot stand before the light, so maya cannot remain in the presence of Krishna. Always remember therefore to chant Hare Krishna, and that will save you in all circumstances without any doubt." ~ Srila Prabhupada letter, 13th December, 1972

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"Actually mind carries you to the next body. So mind goes with you. The material mind, material ego, material intelligence become nil when you are completely liberated. But at that time your spiritual mind acts. It is not very difficult to understand. Somebody is acting under the impression... Just like one of our students, he was acting under the impression that he is Frenchman and doing something subversive, and now he is thinking that "I am Krsna's." (chuckles) He has stopped all those nonsense. [break] When he was thinking that he's a Frenchman, that mind was there. And now he's thinking that "I am Krsna's," the mind is there. ~ Srimad-Bhagavatam class 7.9.11, Montreal, August 17, 1968

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"Just as by clapping the hands one can cause many birds to fly away, similarly the birds of all sinful activities which are sitting on the body can be made to fly away simply by dancing and clapping before the Deity of Krsna." ~ NOD, Ch 9)