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Brother of... (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.1 -- London, July 7, 1973:

When these Pāṇḍus, the five sons, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, at at that time not Mahārāja, Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva, they were very small children, so they were taken care of by Dhṛtarāṣṭra and other elderly family... Bhīṣmadeva. He was the grandfather of the Pāṇḍavas. He was the elder uncle of Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Bhīṣma was elder brother of Dhṛtarāṣṭra's father. He was so old. But he was... Actually, the kingdom belonged to Bhīṣma, but he remained a brahmacārī, he did not marry. There was no issue of Bhīṣmadeva. Therefore his nephews, Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Pāṇḍu, they were inheritor.

Now, after the death of Pāṇḍu, there was conspiracy. Dhṛtarāṣṭra wanted that "Actually, this is my kingdom. Now, somehow or other, I could not get it. Now my brother is dead. So if I do not inherit, why not my sons.?" This was the politics. Politics are always there, and enviousness, jealousy. This is the nature of this material world. You cannot avoid it. Spiritual world means just the opposite.

Lecture on BG 2.1-11 -- Johannesburg, October 17, 1975:

"Kṛṣṇa, actually I am puzzled. It is my duty to fight, but now I am puzzled whether I shall fight or not fight because, after all, the other side, they are my relatives, family members, dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ. Dhṛtarāṣṭra is my elder brother of my father, and his sons they are my cousin-brothers. So I am puzzled whether I shall fight." He plainly explained his position that "Not that I have become anārya. I have got sufficient strength. I can fight, but I am puzzled whether I shall fight in this case or not."

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

So actually, long, long years ago there was no division of this planet. The planet is one, and the king was also one, and the culture was also one. The culture was Vedic culture, and the king was one. As I told you that the Kuru dynasty kings, they ruled over the world. It was monarchy. So there was a fight between two cousin brothers of the same family, and that is the theme of this Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā was spoken in the battlefield. In the battlefield, we have got very little time. This Bhagavad-gītā was spoken when the two parties met on the battlefield. And Arjuna, after seeing the other party, that the other party, all of them belonged to his family, all family members, because it was fight between cousin brothers, so he became compassionate. Compassionately, he said to Kṛṣṇa, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, I don't wish to fight. Let my cousin brothers enjoy the kingdom. I cannot kill them in this fight." This is the subject matter of Bhagavad-gītā. But Kṛṣṇa induced him that "You are a kṣatriya. It is your duty to fight.

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- Hyderabad, December 13, 1976:

There is history among, about King Bharata, King Bharata, under whose name this planet is called Bhāratavarṣa. No, not that Bharata. There are three Bharatas. One Bharata is the son of Ṛṣabhadeva. Another Bharata is the son of Mahārāja Duṣyanta. Another Bharata is the younger brother of Lord Rāmacandra. Out of these three Bharatas, the son of Ṛṣabhadeva is the person after whose name this planet is called Bhāratavarṣa. So another Bharata was the son of Mahārāja Duṣyanta. He was very powerful, supposed to be or partial incarnation of God. So in his life he would not allow the uncivilized men to exist. He was king. He used to kill them. Why uncivilized men? Even the kṣatriyas, if they are not ruling properly according to the kṣatriyas... Kṣatriyas are supposed to be the ruler of the world. But if they are deviating from their duties, Paraśurāma, the brāhmaṇa, would kill them. On the whole, in the Vedic civilization everyone should be in order.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.2 -- London, August 10, 1971:

Then we offer respect to Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. Rūpa Gosvāmī. Vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau. All the Gosvāmīs, six Gosvāmins. Vande rūpa-sanātana... Sāgraja. Sa agraja. Agraja means elder brother. Sanātana Gosvāmī was the elder brother of Rūpa Gosvāmī, and Rūpa Gosvāmī accepted him as his spiritual master. Śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitam. Associated by Raghunātha. There are two Raghunāthas: Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. Sa-jīvam, with Jīva Gosvāmī. This is the process. Vande 'haṁ śrī-guroḥ śrī-yuta-pada-kamalaṁ śrī-gurūn vaiṣṇavāṁś ca śrī-rūpaṁ sāgrajātaṁ saha-gaṇa-raghunāthānvitaṁ taṁ sa-jīvam. Then we go to Caitanya Mahāprabhu's status: sādvaitaṁ sāvadhūtam. That is also... First of all, Advaita Gosāñi, then Nityānanda Mahāprabhu, Prabhu. Mahāprabhu is applicable only to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Others, all prabhus.

Lecture on SB 1.3.28 -- Los Angeles, October 3, 1972:

The cheating is from the government. Why the people will not learn how to cheat?

So this is going on. This is called demonic. Demon means for their own sense satisfaction, they are prepared to do anything wrong. Just like this Kaṁsa. Kaṁsa, the elder brother of Kṛṣṇa's mother, and as soon as he heard an omen from the sky that "You rascal Kaṁsa, you are taking your brother and sis..., brother-in-law and sister in your chariot to their home in their marriage ceremony, but you rascal do not know this sister's son will kill you." "Oh, my sister's son will kill me?" Immediately caught up sister: "Finish my sister." Vasudeva saw. "What nonsense you are doing? You are such a big king. And your sister, younger sister, and she is married in this auspicious moment. Why you are killing?" "No, she is the cause of my death." Then, "Your sister is not the cause of your death. Her son. That's all right. But I promise, all the sons will be delivered to you." Because it is the husband's duty to give protection.

Lecture on SB 1.7.49-50 -- Vrndavana, October 7, 1976:

Pradyumna: "Sūta Gosvāmī said: O brāhmaṇas, King Yudhiṣṭhira fully supported the statements of the Queen, which were in accordance with the principles of religion and were justified, glorious, full of mercy and equity, and without duplicity. Nakula and Sahadeva (the younger brothers of the King) and also Sātyaki and Arjuna, the Personality of Godhead Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Devakī, and the ladies and others all unanimously agreed with the King."

Prabhupāda:

dharmyaṁ nyāyyaṁ sakaruṇaṁ
nirvyalīkaṁ samaṁ mahat
rājā dharma-suto rājñyāḥ
pratyanandad vaco dvijāḥ
(SB 1.7.49)
nakulaḥ sahadevaś ca
yuyudhāno dhanañjayaḥ
bhagavān devakī-putro
ye cānye yāś ca yoṣitaḥ
(SB 1.7.50)

So bhagavān devakī-suta. Bhagavān. People may inquire, "What kind of Bhagavān He is? He has taken birth as the Devakī-suta. Any ordinary man, he takes birth as the son of such and such gentleman or such and such mother. So what kind of Bhagavān He is?" Therefore we have to understand how Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). He appears as the son of Devakī or Vasudeva. We have to know this. And if you can know then you become immediately liberated. Our business is liberation.

Lecture on SB 1.8.24 -- Mayapura, October 4, 1974:

So it was the duty of the elderly members of the family. After all, they were very respectable kṣatriya family. So the elderly members means Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Vidura and Bhīṣmadeva. Bhīṣmadeva was the grandfather of the family, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra was the elder brother of Pāṇḍava, and Vidura was also brother, Vidura, also elder. Pāṇḍu was the youngest, the father of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira and... So it is, after all, a, what is called, varṇāśrama family, Vedic family. So the elderly people had the responsibility to raise the fatherless children. So Dhṛtarāṣṭra took charge as the eldest member. So māyā is very strong. He began to think that "Actually this kingdom belongs to me. I am the eldest son, but because I am born blind, therefore it was given to my younger brother. Now he is dead. Now he's dead, so the property belongs to me. Some way or other, it was transferred to my younger brother. Now the younger brother is dead. Then again I become proprietor.

Lecture on SB 1.10.3-4 -- Tehran, March 13, 1975:

"In those days the king of Hastināpura, now part of New Delhi, was the emperor of the world, including the seas, up to the time of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the grandson of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. His younger brothers were acting as his minister and commanders of state, and there was full cooperation between the perfectly religious brothers of the King. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was the ideal king or representative of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa..." The king should be the representative of Kṛṣṇa. (reading:) "...to rule over the kingdom of earth and was comparable to King Indra, the representative ruler of the heavenly planet. The demigods like Indra, Candra, Sūrya, Varuṇa, Vāyu, etc., are representative kings of different planets of the universe. And similarly Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was also one of them, ruling over the kingdom of the earth.

Lecture on SB 1.15.45 -- Los Angeles, December 23, 1973:

Pradyumna: Translation: "The younger brothers of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira observed that the age of Kali had already arrived throughout the world and that the citizens of the kingdom were already affected by irreligious practice. Therefore they decided to follow in the footsteps of their elder brother." (SB 1.15.45)

Prabhupāda: This kalinā... We are reading kalinādharmeṇa. Kalinā adharma. The two are mixed together becomes one, a sandhi. Kalinādharmeṇa. So kali. Kali means quarrel, unnecessarily quarrel. Kali... Kalinā, "by the age of Kali." This is the age of Kali. There are four ages-Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali-degrading, gradual degrading. This nature's way is to degrade. That is the nature's way, time factor. Just like you construct a very nice house today, good looking, fresh, but by ages it will become old. Your body, my body, in youthhood it is very beautiful, and in due course of time it will be ugly like me. So this is the work of the time. Similarly, nature's way, there are four ages: Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga, Dvāpara-yuga, Kali-yuga. Seasonal changes.

Lecture on SB 1.15.49 -- Los Angeles, December 26, 1973:

And sometimes the maidservants also gave birth. So they are called dāsī-putra. Such son could not claim to the throne, but were provided, dāsī-putra. So Vidura's history was like that. He was a dāsī-putra, brother, a step-brother, not exactly step-brother, but brother, of Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra. But he was a very saintly person, because formerly, in the previous life, he was Yamarāja. So he was not ordinary man. So he cultivated spiritual consciousness. Now, after leaving this body, he returned again, pitṛbhiḥ sva-kṣayaṁ yayau. He again returned to his original post. Temporary, he got the life of a śūdra; again he returned back by his pious activities. Similarly, there are many narrations in the Purāṇas. Sometimes Indra, the king of heaven, he was also cursed by Bṛhaspati to become a hog in this planet.

Lecture on SB 1.16.3 -- Los Angeles, December 31, 1973:

And the śāstra should be guided by ācārya, guru. Ācārya means one who knows what is there in the śāstra. He practices in his life and teaches the disciple. He is called ācārya. Ācārya is not a whimsical thing. He must know. Therefore Parīkṣit Mahārāja appointed ācārya, śāradvatam. He is the brother of Droṇācārya. Droṇācārya was also ācārya, but he was military ācārya. And here he was ācārya for Vedic rituals, ācārya. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva (MU 1.2.12). Guruṁ kṛtvā. In order to do things very rightly, you must appoint... Just like if you are going to the court to file some suit, do it very nicely. You have to appoint a very good lawyer. Similarly, these Vedic principles, the Vedic rituals, they should be performed under the direction of ācārya, guru, not whimsically. So therefore this kind of sacrifices are forbidden in this age, in this age.

That was discussed between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Chand Kazi, the Muhammadan magistrate of Nadia.

Lecture on SB 3.26.39 -- Bombay, January 14, 1975:

The eleven senses, and the twelfth is the false ego. The false ego means I am thinking, "I am this body. I am body." Then expansion of body: "I belong to this family"; "I am the husband of this body"; "I am the father of this body"; "I am the brother of this body." Or "I belong to this nation"; "I belong to this species." This is called twelfth conception. It is different consciousness according to different body. And then "It is mine." With all these eleven senses, I form an idea of "I" and then my possession, "mine." Ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). Janasya moho 'yam. This is called illusion, māyā.

So mind, it is expansion of the mind, different way. Mānasa-vṛtti. This is called the characteristic of the mind. Then subtle action of mind: thinking, feeling, willing. And the mind is expanding in hundreds, thousands, millions of ideas. In this way I am becoming entangled. So when this mind is controlled... The yoga system is for that purpose. Those who are too much bodily concept of life, bodily consciousness, they should practice this yoga, haṭha-yoga, aṣṭāṅga-yoga, so that the mind can be purified.

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Bombay, November 6, 1970:

I know so many cases. The judges are bribed and they give favorable judgment. You bribe any judge, then he accepts. One big judge and a big man's brother, P.R. Das. He was a very famous judge in high-court and, in Patna high-court, and he is the brother of a great pleader, C.R. Das. So he was taking bribe. He was taking bribe. And this was known to the other judges and the chief justice also. Complaint was there by other judges that "He takes bribe." So in one case... Because there are rivals in everywhere. You see? So in one case he was to just deliver the judgment and everyone knew that he has taken already bribe, some thousands of rupees. So chief justice called him in his room, that "Mr. Das, I have heard that you do this business, and you have done this also today. All reports are with me. You immediately resign and go. Otherwise I shall take action. You immediately resign and go away.

Lecture on SB 6.1.20 -- Chicago, July 4, 1975:

It is very old. And the emperor, up to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, they were ruling all over the world. There was one flag, not many flags. Therefore it is called Mahābhārata.

So Mahābhārata, the Battle of Kurukṣetra was executed by two section of brothers of the same family. It was the one empire, one king, but Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his younger brother... They were two brothers. So Dhṛtarāṣṭra being blind, he was not qualified to occupy the throne, so his younger brother, Pāṇḍu, he was given the throne. And Pāṇḍu died untimely, keeping his children, these five brothers, Pāṇḍavas. Because they were son of Pāṇḍu, they were known as Pāṇḍavas. So Pāṇḍu also belonged to the Kuru family, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra's son also belonged to the Kuru family. Actually they are Kauravas. But when there was fight between the two brothers' son, one party was known as Kaurava, and the other party was known as Pāṇḍava.

Lecture on SB 6.3.18 -- Gorakhpur, February 11, 1971:

Six months. We are also sleeping six months in a year because we sleep, generally, ten to twelve hours. So if you half day, means half year. We are also all Kumbhakarṇas. Anyone who sleeps more than six or seven hours, he is a Kumbhakarṇa. Kumbhakarṇa was the brother of Rāvaṇa. He was sleeping six months, and six months he was awake. That means anyone who sleeps half the, out of twenty-four hours, anyone, if he sleeps twelve hours, he's a Kumbhakarṇa. So at least I think that one should not sleep more than seven hours utmost. That is sufficient, sufficient, seven hours. So you can sleep six hours at night and one hour to rest in daytime. That is sufficient. But if you sleep more than that, then you are Kumbhakarṇa. You should adjust things. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau. That's the Gosvāmins.

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- San Francisco, March 6, 1967:

Kṛṣṇa also happened to be grandfather of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Because Kṛṣṇa's sister was married to Arjuna and Mahārāja Parīkṣit is the grandson of Subhadrā, Arjuna's wife. Therefore Kṛṣṇa also happens to be grandfather of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, and Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira also happens to be grandfather, being the eldest brother of his grandfather. So Kṛṣṇa is the authority. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī is giving authoritative answer as it was spoken by Kṛṣṇa. This is the way of speaking. One should cite authority. Śukadeva Gosvāmī was not less authority. As I described the other day that there are twelve authorities. Out of them, Śukadeva Gosvāmī himself is one of the authorities. But still, he is citing the authority of Kṛṣṇa. That is the way of presenting things. That is called Vedic knowledge, that you must giving... Whatever you say, it must be supported by the authority. Just like a good lawyer. He gives good evidence from other courts' judgement, authority. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī said that "This very question was inquired by your grandfather, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, to Kṛṣṇa because they were put into so many calamities, the Pāṇḍavas. Kṛṣṇa was their personal friend.

Lecture on SB 7.9.10-11 -- Montreal, July 14, 1968:

The Pāṇḍavas, they were friends of Kṛṣṇa, and they were put into so many difficulties. Their kingdom was stolen, their wife was insulted, they were forced to live in the forest, giving up the kingdom—so many difficulties. Their house was set in fire, the other party, his cousin brothers. So Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, the eldest brother of the Pāṇḍavas... Practically this question was raised by Parīkṣit Mahārāja to Śukadeva Gosvāmī. The question was that Viṣṇu or Nārāyaṇa, He's the supreme opulent, Lakṣmī-pati, the husband of the goddess of fortune. So persons who are Viṣṇu-bhakta or Vaiṣṇava, why they become poorer? Why this contradiction? And the devotees of Lord Śiva... Śiva presents himself as the poorest man. He has no dwelling house even. He lives underneath a tree. And his wife Durgā, she is the proprietor of this universe. She is also following the husband. She has also agreed to live underneath the tree. Never complains, "Oh, my dear Śiva, you don't construct a house even. What is this?"

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.98-99 -- Washington, D.C., July 4, 1976:

That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So if we follow the methods, the method prescribed by Kṛṣṇa is very easy, but still, because we misunderstand Kṛṣṇa... Therefore, if we go through the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, then we can easily understand Kṛṣṇa. That is recognized by Rūpa Gosvāmī, the younger brother of Sanātana Gosvāmī. Two of them were ministers. So Rūpa Gosvāmī has described,

namo mahā-vadānyāya
kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-
nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ
(CC Madhya 19.53)

He said, "Caitanya Mahāprabhu, You are Kṛṣṇa. Now, this time, You have appeared as Kṛṣṇa Caitanya in order to give everyone Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa made some condition, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), but here now, as devotee of Kṛṣṇa, You are distributing Kṛṣṇa without any condition. Therefore mahā-vadānyāya: You are the most munificent incarnation." So somehow or other, Sanātana Gosvāmī, he became attracted to Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He resigned his ministerial post, and he has come to surrender to Caitanya Mahāprabhu while he was at Benares. Therefore it is said, tabe sanātana prabhura caraṇe dhariyā.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.172 -- New York, December 14, 1966:

Balarāma. Balarāma is considered to be the elder brother of Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa was present, Balarāma became His elder brother. When Rāma was there, this Balarāma represented Himself as His younger brother, Lakṣmaṇa. So Balarāma is the first manifestation of His personal expansion.

vaibhava-prakāśa yaiche devakī-tanuja
dvibhuja-svarūpa kabhu, kabhu haya caturbhuja
Vaibhava-prakāśa, vaibhava manifestation... The example is given: just like when Kṛṣṇa was born, He was not exactly born from the womb of His mother. So He appeared first of all with four hands. Then, when the mother prayed... She could know that Kṛṣṇa has come. She prayed for become an ordinary child, and at once He became two-handed. This is called vaibhava-prakāśa manifestation. Ye-kāle dvibhuja, nāma-vaibhava-prakāśa. When He is two-handed, it is called vaibhava-prakāśa, and when He is four-handed, it is called prābhava-vaibhava.

Festival Lectures

Govardhana Puja Lecture -- New York, November 4, 1966:

So as if somebody, if there is incarnation of God, somebody believes and somebody does not believe, when Kṛṣṇa was actually present on this earth, it is not that everybody understood that Kṛṣṇa was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not even up to date. Only few persons, the five brothers of the Pāṇḍavas and the damsels of Vṛndāvana, only in the fingers' count, say, out of the whole population, say, hundred or two hundred men knew Him that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise everyone thought that "He is an ordinary man just like one of us, but most powerful. That's all." Similarly, the demigods in other planets, they also thought, "Oh, he's a foolish person. They are thinking of a cowherd boy as God," sophisticated, like that. And especially Indra, the heavenly kingdom..., king of heaven. He was... He's very powerful, so he thought, "What god he has come? My God, He cannot come." This was some speculation. Even Brahmā also speculated.

Varaha-dvadasi, Lord Varaha's Appearance Day Lecture Dasavatara-stotra Purport -- Los Angeles, February 18, 1970:

That is history, inform..., historical information from Mahābhārata.

Then next incarnation is Lord Rāma. So He fought with Rāvaṇa who had ten heads. So ... And the next incarnation is Balarāma. Balarāma is the elder brother of Kṛṣṇa. He is incarnation of Saṅkarṣaṇa, next expansion of Kṛṣṇa. So He was very white in complexion, and He was wearing blue garments, and with His plow He was, sometimes He was angry with Yamunā River, and He tried to dry up the Yamunā River. That description is given here. And Yamunā, out of His fear, she agreed to the proposal of Balarāma. And the next incarnation is Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha, He decried the Vedic principles. Therefore He is calculated as atheist. Anyone who does not agree with the Vedic principles, he is considered as atheist.

Initiation Lectures

Brahmana Initiation Lecture with Professor O'Connell -- Boston, May 6, 1968, (Glenville Ave. Temple):

That's all right. So that Hari-bhakti-vilāsa is written by Sanātana Gosvāmī in the name of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. Because Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī was a very young boy, and Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī, they were very elderly. But because all the six Gosvāmīs happened to be direct disciples of Lord Caitanya, so Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, although very young, he was treated as younger brother of Sanātana Gosvāmī. So this book was actually written by Sanātana Gosvāmī, but it was published or dedicated to Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. In this book the rules and regulation of the Vaiṣṇavas are described—of the brahmacārīs, the students; of the gṛhasthas, householders; vānaprastha, retired men; and sannyāsī, renounced order—how gṛhastha should live, how brahmacārī should live, how vānaprastha should live, how sannyāsīs should live.

Initiations -- Sydney, April 2, 1972:

Sahadeva, the youngest brother of Arjuna. That's all. Our names are so many, but the real name is dāsa, dāsa, "servant." Our position is servant of the servant. We don't want to become master of the master. Our position is servant of the servant. Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). The more we become servant of the servant, the more we become advanced. It is very difficult to understand from material stand of... Here everyone wants to become master of the master. And the spiritual world, they want to become servant of the servant. That is a bigger position. So as we make advance in spiritual life, we understand this. So, that's all right. No. No. You perform the marriage, that change, and get them promise. Yes. Yes, take it.

Initiations -- Los Angeles, April 16, 1973:

Prabhupāda: So you know the rules and regulation? What are the rules?

Larry: No meat-eating, gambling, sex or intoxication.

Prabhupāda: Illicit sex. So, Śrī Lakṣmaṇa dāsa. You know Lakṣmaṇa dāsa? He is the younger brother of Rāmacandra. Lakṣmaṇa dāsa.

Brahmānanda: Stuart?

Prabhupāda: Why you are laughing? So everyone should have neckbeads immediately. You know the rules and regulations? What is that?

Stuart: No meat-eating, no illicit sex life, no intoxication and no gambling.

Prabhupāda: Thank you. Sutrajit.

Sutrajit: Jaya. Thank you, Prabhupāda.

General Lectures

Lecture -- London, September 14, 1969:

"Yes, I am betting my wife." And they lost in the game. So the wife became the property of the other party. So they wanted to retaliate only. So then, in the assembly they said, "Well, Draupadī has now become our property. Whatever we like, we can do. So we want to see her naked beauty." You see. This was the demand. So one of the brothers of Duryodhana was asked, "Make her naked. Let us see naked." So she became the property. The others, they did not protest. But Kṛṣṇa supplied clothing as much as required. You have seen the Draupadī's vastra-haraṇa. So these Pāṇḍavas, they were so much harassed. They were by trick taken away their kingdom; they were put into a house which was set into fire; their wife was insulted; they were driven to the forest for twelve years. So many things harassed. But still, when there was fighting in front, when he saw his brothers are standing, he said, "Oh, I will have to fight with my, these cousin-brothers. Kṛṣṇa, I am not going to fight." Just see how much tolerant. Not at all angry.

Address to Rotary Club -- Chandigarh, October 17, 1976:

This is the question by Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Dhṛtarāṣṭra was the father of the Kurus, and the Pāṇḍavas were the five brothers, the sons of the younger brother of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Mahārāja Pāṇḍu. So Dhṛtarāṣṭra was blind, born blind. Actually he was to inherit—the eldest son of the family. But on account of his blindness the throne was given to his younger brother, Pāṇḍu. So the sons of Pāṇḍu is known as Pāṇḍavas, and the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra are known as Kurus or Dhṛtarāṣṭra. So after all, politics, it is always very intriguing in all times. So Dhṛtarāṣṭra was very sorry that he could not become the emperor. At least his son should be. Because he was blind, that's all, but his sons were not blind. So naturally father wants... So this is the whole history of Mahābhārata, intriguing, politics, and ultimately there was fight between the two parties, Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas, to decide. By logic, by morality and other things, everything failed. Then there was declaration of war. The Bhagavad-gītā is spoken in that warfield.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.

Hayagrīva: there's only one good. That's God.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That's a fact. You are thinking that this man is, so how he is good? He is limited in his power. He may think of his brother, of his nation, of his society but what does he do of other living beings? So how he can be good? A good man, speaking even a man like Gandhi, he is a good man, but when he was approached that stop cow killing, he could not do anything. Although he is advocating non-violence but he, the violence committing in the slaughterhouse, thousands and thousands of animals being killed, violence, what did he do? So how he is good man? Nobody can be good man.

Hayagrīva: Only a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

Page Title:Brother of... (Lectures)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:06 of Nov, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=28, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:28