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Acara means one should learn how to behave. That makes a gentleman and a rough person

Expressions researched:
"Ācāra means one should learn how to behave. That makes a gentleman and a rough person"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Nāpi ca ācāraḥ: "They do not know etiquette." Ācāra. Ācāra means one should learn how to behave. That makes a gentleman and a rough person. Nāpi cācāraḥ. Ācāraḥ means . . . Ācāryavān puruṣo veda (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14.2). Ācāraḥ, this is . . . ācāraḥ means he learns from the śāstra how we should live, that, preliminary, that you must take bath, you must wash your hands after eating or you must take bath after evacuating.

We don't want to stop the tendency of material enjoyment. No nivṛtti. The human life is meant for nivṛtti. The cats' and dogs' life is for pravṛtti. The sex desire, they cannot stop it. It is not possible. If you teach some dogs that, "You forget the sex life," it is impossible. That is not possible. So they cannot stop this desire of sex life. But if a human being can be induced . . . therefore there is brahmacarya system, there is Vedic education, there is Bhagavad-gītā, so many other things. If people take advantage of these books they can stop this pravṛtti, this intense desire for enjoying this material world. But the asuras, they do not know that what we should accept and what we should not accept. Pravṛtti means to accept something, and nivṛtti means to deny something. So they do not know. This is the first symptom of the asuras. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca na viduḥ. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ. Āsurāḥ janāḥ (BG 16.7), those who are demons, asuras, they do not know it.

Then next symptom? Na śaucam: they are very unclean. These things you will find nowadays everywhere, all over the world. They are not clean. The cleanliness is next to godliness. To rise early in the morning and cleanse yourself, evacuate, then take bath, cleanse your teeth, cleanse your hands, legs, and be refreshed, that is required. Śaucam. Śuci. This is the brahmin's business. Just like brahmin's another name is śuci. And one who does not observe the cleanliness process, he is called muci, means cobbler. So this is the symptom, that the asuras, they do not know which way is their goal of life. Na śaucam: "They are very unclean." Na śaucam.

Nāpi ca ācāraḥ: "They do not know etiquette." Ācāra. Ācāra means one should learn how to behave. That makes a gentleman and a rough person. Nāpi cācāraḥ. Ācāraḥ means . . . Ācāryavān puruṣo veda (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14.2). Ācāraḥ, this is . . . ācāraḥ means he learns from the śāstra how we should live, that, preliminary, that you must take bath, you must wash your hands after eating or you must take bath after evacuating. So many things are there. Nitya-karma-vidhi. In the Vedic literature you find all these directions. But now they have given up. Especially Vedic culture was there long, long ago all over the world. But now that is finished. Now in India, also, where little Vedic principles were still glowing, that is now being finished also. Nāpi cācāraḥ. They are learning from the Westerns how to remain unclean, how to eat meat, how to drink wine and so on, so on, so many things.

Nāpi cācāro na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate. And they do not know what is truth or what is truthfulness. Or, in other words, everyone is liar. I have seen many big, big gentlemen that for nothing they will speak lies. For nothing, without any profit. They will speak so many lies. Na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate. To become truthful is one of the brahminical qualifications. Satyam. That is required. But the asuras, they don't care for. They will go on telling lies, volumes of lies. They don't mind for it. These are the symptoms. Na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāro na satyaṁ teṣu. And their life is aimless, not actual life. Real life means with aim. The asuras, they have no aim. They do not know what is the aim, neither they follow.

Page Title:Acara means one should learn how to behave. That makes a gentleman and a rough person
Compiler:Nabakumar
Created:2022-12-21, 08:53:55
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1