Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanisource | Go to Vanimedia


Vaniquotes - the compiled essence of Vedic knowledge


Conception (Lectures, BG)

Expressions researched:
"concept" |"conception" |"conceptions" |"concepts" |"conceptual" |"conceptualization" |"conceptualize" |"conceptually"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: concept* not "vedic concept*" not "material concept*" not "bodily concept*

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG Introduction -- New York, February 19-20, 1966:

So Arjuna was a devotee in relationship with the Lord as a friend. The Lord can become a friend. Of course, this friendship and the conception of friendship which we have got in the mundane world, there is a gulf of difference. This is transcendental friendship which... Not that everyone will have the relationship with the Lord. Everyone has got a particular relationship with the Lord and that particular relationship is evoked by the perfection of devotional service. At the present status of our life we have not only forgotten the Supreme Lord, but also we have forgotten our eternal relationship with the Lord. Every living being, out of many, many millions and billions of living beings, each and every living being has got a particular relationship with the Lord eternally. That is called svarūpa. Svarūpa. And by the process of devotional service one can revive that svarūpa of oneself. And that stage is called svarūpa-siddhi, perfection of one's constitutional position. So Arjuna was a devotee and he was in touch with the Supreme Lord in friendship.

Lecture on BG Introduction -- New York, February 19-20, 1966:

The impersonal Brahman is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā that impersonal Brahman is also subordinate to the complete person. Brahmaṇo 'haṁ pratiṣṭhā (BG 14.27). Impersonal Brahman is also. It is... The impersonal Brahman is more explicitly explained in the Brahma-sūtra as the rays. As there is the rays of the sunshine, sun planet, similarly, the impersonal Brahman is the shining rays of the Supreme Brahman or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore impersonal Brahman is incomplete realization of the absolute complete whole, and so also the conception of Paramātmā. These things are also explained. Puruṣottama-yoga. When we shall read the chapter of Puruṣottama-yoga it will be seen that the Supreme Personality, Puruṣottama, is above the impersonal Brahman and partial realization of Paramātmā.

Lecture on BG Introduction -- New York, February 19-20, 1966:

The Lord is the original creator. He is the creator of Brahmā, He is the creator... That is also explained. He is the creator of Brahmā. In the 11th Chapter the Lord is addressed as prapitāmaha (BG 11.39) because Brahmā is addressed as pitāmaha, the grandfather, but He is the creator of the grandfather also. So nobody should claim to be the proprietor of anything, but he must accept things which are set aside by the Lord as his quota of maintenance. Now, there are many examples how we have to utilize the allotment of the Lord. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Arjuna, he decided in the beginning that he should not fight. That was his own contemplation. Arjuna said to the Lord that it was not possible for him to enjoy the kingdom after killing his own kinsmen. And that point of view was due to his conception of the body. Because he was thinking that the body was himself and the bodily relatives, his brothers, his nephews, his father-in-law or his grandfather, they were expansion of his body, and he was thinking in that way to satisfy his bodily demands. And the whole thing was spoken by the Lord just to change the view. And he agreed to work under the direction of the Lord. And he said, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava (BG 18.73).

Lecture on BG Introduction -- New York, February 19-20, 1966:

When we hold on the conference on the sanātana-dharma, people belonging to some of the noneternal religious faiths may wrongly consider it that we are dealing in some sectarian thing. But if we go deep into the matter and take everything in the light of modern science, it will be possible for us to see sanātana-dharma as the business of all the people of the world, nay, all the living entities of the universe. Non-sanātana religious faith may have some beginning in the annals of the human society, but there cannot be any history of the sanātana-dharma because it continues to remain with the history of the living entities. So far living entities are concerned, we find it from the authority of the śāstras that living entities have also no birth or death. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly stated that the living entity is never born, nor does it ever die. He's eternal, indestructible, and continues to live after the destruction of his temporary material body. With reference to the above concept of sanātana-dharma we may try to understand the concept of religion from the Sanskrit root meaning of the word dharma. It means that which is constantly with the particular object. As we have already mentioned, when we speak of fire it is concluded at the same time that there is heat and light along with the fire.

Lecture on BG Introduction -- New York, February 19-20, 1966:

That padam avyayam, that eternal kingdom, can be reached by one who is nirmāna-mohā. Nirmāna-mohā. Nirmāna means we are after designations. Artificially we want some designations. Somebody wants to become sir, somebody wants to become lord, somebody wants to become the president, or somebody wants to become a rich man, somebody wants to become something else, king. All these designations, so long we'll have attachment for all these designations... Because after all these designations belong to the body, and we are not this body. This is the first conception of spiritual realization. So one has no attraction for designation. And jita-saṅga-doṣā, saṅga-doṣā. Now we are associated with the three modes of material qualities, and if we become detached by devotional service of the Lord... So long we are not attracted by devotional service of the Lord, we cannot be detached from the three modes of material nature. Therefore the Lord says, vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ, these designations or these attachments are due to our lust, desire.

Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is -- Los Angeles, November 23, 1968 :

So far we are concerned, Vaiṣṇavas, we accept. There is no doubt about it. There are four different parties of Vaiṣṇavas. All of them accept Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are eight commentaries on the very authoritative, very large commentaries on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam of these Vaiṣṇavas, and all of them accept Kṛṣṇa. So far the other party is concerned, the impersonalists led by Śaṅkarācārya, a great stalwart scholar, he also accepts Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He says, sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṇa: "The concept of Personality of Godhead, here is Kṛṣṇa." And people may misunderstand; therefore he has specifically mentioned Kṛṣṇa who has appeared as the son of Devakī and Vasudeva. Particularly, just like when you have to put your identification, you have to give the, your father's name or your husband's name. Similarly, the same principle as Śaṅkarācārya has followed. He has said "Kṛṣṇa, the Kṛṣṇa who is, wh has appeared as the son of Devakī and Vasudeva." So there is no two opinions. No, "Or this Kṛṣṇa, maybe another Kṛṣṇa." No. So that is stated here. Yes. Kṛṣṇa is accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead by all the followers of Vedas. That is a fact. Yes.

Lecture on BG 1.15 -- London, July 15, 1973:

So therefore śāstra says that "You may be god in your own atmosphere, in your own jurisdiction. You may think that you are God." And everyone thinks like that. "But the Supreme God is Kṛṣṇa." Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. In the Upaniṣads it is said that God is also a person like me, you. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). But His personality is different from your personality, from my personality. What is that difference? Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān: "He supplies all the necessities of all other personalities." That is the difference. God is supplying us food. This conception is there in the Bible, "God, give us our daily bread." This is nice. Accepting that you are getting all supplies from God, this is sukṛti, this is puṇyavat.

Lecture on BG 1.21-22 -- London, July 18, 1973:

It is not so easy thing that "I do everything, whatever I like." Some rascals preach that "Oh, religion has nothing to do with your eating. You can eat anything you like, and still you become a religious man." This is all nonsense. Nobody can become religious man if he is attracted by sinful activities. It is not possible. You must stop sinful activities. That is first condition. Otherwise you cannot understand what there... People... Perhaps, in this Kṛṣṇa conscious, except this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement, all rascals, they do not know what is God. They have no clear conception of God. Because they are sinful. We can give the name, address and everything of God, clear conception, not vague idea, "God may be like this, God may be like that." Why maybe? He is God.

veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ
barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam
kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
(Bs. 5.30)

Clear conception. The śāstra, Brahma-saṁhitā, clear description of God, veṇuṁ kvaṇantam. He is playing on flute. It is not that the Muralīdhara, Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa, has been imagined by some poet. No, it is described in the śāstra, the form of the Lord. He is busy in playing flute, veṇuṁ kvaṇantam. Aravinda dalāyatākṣaṁ (Bs. 5.30), His eyes are just like petals of the lotus flower. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda, barhāvataṁsa, there is a peacock feather on His head.

Lecture on BG 1.21-22 -- London, July 18, 1973:

Cupid is supposed to be the most beautiful in this material world. Kandarpa-koti-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.30). Clear conception.

This is the description of God in the śāstra. And when God came, Kṛṣṇa came on this planet, the same description. He is playing on flute, He has got the feather, peacock feather. So this painting of Kṛṣṇa is not an artist's imagination. It is exactly the form. So here is the form of the Lord. Here is the name of the Lord. Here is the activities of the Lord. This is clear conception. A sādhu knows what is God. Or sādhu cannot know. They are thinking, "God must be like this, God may be like this, He must be a very old man," because adi-puruṣa. He is the first living... In this way... So you cannot create God by imagination. That is not possible. God is God, always. You have to know simply what is God. He is never cyuta.

Lecture on BG 1.23 -- London, July 19, 1973:

These are four principles of human activities. First beginning is dharma. Dharma means to abide by the orders of the Supreme. That is dharma. So people do not know who is the Supreme and what is His order. So what kind of religion? They accept dharma as religion, faith, a superfluous faith only. But that is not dharma, religion. Dharma means to abide by the orders of the Supreme. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). That is the meaning of dharma: obedience to God. There is no conception of God, and what to speak of obedience. But this is the simple meaning of religion: obedience to God. That's all, three words. God is the supreme proprietor, God is the maintainer... Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). Therefore we are maintained, we are predominated, we are servant, we should remain obedient to God. This is religion. Where is the difficulty? Unfortunately, they do not know what is God, what is His command, what is religion. They do not know. They manufacture. And because they do not know the simple process, they are called durbuddhi, not very nicely intelligent. A rascal, in other words.

Lecture on BG 2.2 -- London, August 3, 1973:

So here, bhagavān uvāca. Vyāsadeva does not say that kṛṣṇa uvāca. If, if he would have said, "Kṛṣṇa," then people would have misunderstood. He's directly speaking, bhagavān uvāca, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So anyone who is impersonalist, how he can understand Bhagavad-gītā? Bhagavān means person. Bhagavān is not imperson. The Absolute Truth is manifested in three features: Brahman, Paramātmā, Bhagavān. Brahman is the beginning, impersonal. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Because... Just like fire. Fire is burning somewhere, but its heat and light is impersonal. Suppose here is big fire. Just like we got fireplace. That is in one corner. But the whole room you are feeling heat. That heat is impersonal. But the fireplace, where there is blazing fire, that is personal. So impersonal conception is the offshoot of the person. That will be explained in the Thirteenth Chapter: mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam (BG 9.4). Kṛṣṇa says that "Everyone, everywhere I am spread. I exist everywhere." How does He exist? By His energy. That energy is impersonal. But the Supreme Person, He's not impersonal. He's person. Therefore it is said, śrī-bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān means who is full with six kinds of opulence, aiśvarya: the richest, the most famous, the most learned, the most beautiful, the most strong, and the most renouncer. He's Bhagavān.

Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968:

he Māyāvādī theory is that the ultimate spirit is impersonal. Then how Kṛṣṇa can say that "Never there was a time when I, you, and all these persons never existed"? That means, "I existed as individual, you existed as individual, and all these persons who are before us, they existed as individuals. Never there was a time." Now, what is your answer, Dīnadayāla? Kṛṣṇa says never we were mixed up. We are all individuals. And He says, "Never we shall remain... Never there will be time when we shall not exist." That means in the past we existed as individuals, in the present there is no doubt we are existing as individual, and in the future also, we shall continue to remain as individuals. Then when the impersonal conception comes at all? In the past, present, future, there are three times. Huh? In all the times we are individuals. Then when God becomes impersonal or I become impersonal or you become impersonal? Where is the chance? Kṛṣṇa clearly says, "There was never time when I, you, and all these individual kings or soldiers... It was not that we did not exist in the past." So in the past we existed as individual, and in the present there is no doubt. We are existing as individual. You are my disciple, I am your spiritual master, but you have got your individuality, I have got my individuality. If you don't agree with me, you can leave me. That is your individuality. So if you don't like Kṛṣṇa, you cannot become in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is your individuality. So this individuality continues. Similarly Kṛṣṇa, if He does not like you, He may refuse you Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Not that because you are following all the rules and regulations, Kṛṣṇa is obliged to accept you. No. If He thinks that "He's nonsense; I cannot accept him," He'll reject you.

Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968:

Now, the Māyāvādī says that this individuality is māyā. So their conception is that spirit, the whole spirit is a lump. Their theory is ghaṭākāśa poṭākāśa. Ghaṭākāśa poṭākāśa means... Just like sky. The sky is an expansion, impersonal expansion. So in a pot, in a waterpot, in a pitcher that is closed... Now, within the pitcher, there is also sky, a small sky. Now as soon as the pitcher is broken, the outside, the bigger sky, and the small sky within the pitcher mixes. That is Māyāvāda theory. But this analogy cannot be applied. Analogy means points of similarity. That is the law of analogy. The sky cannot be compared... The small sky within the pitcher cannot be compared with the living entity. It is material, matter. Sky is matter, and individual living entity is spirit. So how you can say? Just like a small ant, it is spirit soul. It has got its individuality. But a big dead stone, hill or mountain, it has no individuality. So matter has no individuality. Spirit has individuality. So if the points of similarity differ, then there is no analogy. That is the law of analogy. So you cannot analogize with matter and spirit. Therefore this analogy is fallacious. Ghaṭākāśa poṭākāśa. Then another evidence is in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says that mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūta (BG 15.7). "This individual souls, they are My part and parcel." Jīva-loke sanātanaḥ. And they are eternal. That means eternally they are part and parcel.

Lecture on BG 2.9 -- Auckland, February 21, 1973:

Man (8): I have some sympathy for you, sir, but I think that tonight you have been postulating the old concept that most of our established religions have thrown out, that is that the reward for the miseries of this life lie in the transmigration of one's soul. But...

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is actual misery.

Man (1): But, but but... In the West, our theologies have taught us that we no longer believe in heaven, we no longer believe in hell, we no longer believe in a soul. So I think that if you want to generate some sympathy, you had better change your tack. (laughter)

Prabhupāda: No, I... If you do not believe, that does not mean the things become null and void. That is not a fact. Suppose a thief does not believe in the prison house. That does not mean the prisonhouse will be closed. A thief may think like that. That is another thing. But the prisonhouse will continue, and as soon as you commit theft, you will be put there. That's all.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- New York, March 4, 1966:

So here they say that gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca. There are two, two sort of bodies in which we are now entered. Now, suppose this gross body appears to be now dead and gone, stopped, but one must know that subtle body has carried him to another body. So subtle body is not lost life. The life is there. So here Kṛṣṇa says that either of the gross body or of... Subtle body has to be also left. When you get liberation, when you get liberation, that subtle body, that egoistic life, has also to be left. Now, at any condition, the body has to be left. So why one should cry for this body? Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that "A learned man does not lament over this body." The whole question, that a soul is different from this body, the whole question is solved in one verse. You see? Gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ (BG 2.11). "One who is actually learned, he does not, he has no concern of this body. He's concerned with the activities of the soul. So you are speaking of so many things that 'If these, my friends, die, the, I mean to say, their wives will become widow.' These are all... According to the bodily relation, you are speaking. And you are posing yourself just like a very learned man, but you are a fool number one because your whole conception is on the body. Your whole conception of argument with Me was on the body, but you are, you are posing himself just as if you are very learned man." So anyone who has got conception, the identification of this body, he's not a learned man. He's a fool. He may be, in the calculation of academic education, he may be B.A., M.A., Ph.D., DAC, or something like, doctors and..., but if he has got his identification with this body, he's not a learned man according to Bhagavad-gītā. Not only according, according to whole Vedic literature. This is the first instruction. This is the... If we want to make progress towards spiritual advancement of knowledge, this preliminary knowledge we must have, that "I am not this body. I am not this body." This is the preliminary standing of spiritual knowledge. This is not advancement. This is simply A-B-C-D, ABCD of spiritual life. In the Bhāgavata there is a very nice verse in this connection in which it is stated, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma-ijya-dhīḥ (SB 10.84.13). Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke. Kuṇape means this bag, this bag made of three elements.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- New York, March 4, 1966:

So the, unless one understands himself, he also cannot understand God also. In his, in his misunderstanding position... Now, what Dr. Mishra is teaching is very nice because he is teaching that "Just first of all you know 'What I am, what I...' " That's very good. But that "what I am" can be known from the Bhagavad-gītā also, that "I am not this body. I am not this body." That knowledge, at least theoretically, one must accept, that "I am not this body." Now Kṛṣṇa is describing that what is the position. I am not this body. That's all right. Now, actually, what we are? What we are? I'm not body. That's all right. Then what we are? Now, the next, next version is Kṛṣṇa... We must always know that Kṛṣṇa... Here it is said, bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān uvāca. Bhagavān uvāca means that He has got so extensive knowledge that there cannot be any mistake. He's authority. He's authority. So whatever He says is right. Is right. That is the conception of bhagavān. Here it is not said, Kṛṣṇaḥ uvāca. Because somebody may doubt Kṛṣṇa, that "Kṛṣṇa was a historical personality. Why you should be so much concerned with Kṛṣṇa?" as is general view. But here it is said, bhagavān uvāca. And I have given you the definition of Bhagavān, that He is all knowledge. So whatever He will speak, Bhagavān, there cannot be any mistake. For ordinary persons, there are four, I mean to say, difficulties, four imperfectness. Just like we are ordinary man. We have got four imperfectness. What is that imperfectness? That we must commit mistake. We must commit mistake. Our constitutional position at the present moment is such that we are sure to commit mistake. Even greatest politician like Gandhi, he committed mistake, and so many great men, they committed mistake. "To err is human," therefore, it is called, that any, any man, however he may be great in the estimation of this world, he is sure to commit mistake. And another imperfection is that he is illusioned.

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

So everything has clear conception in the philosophy of Vedic literature, especially they're summarized in the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. So our only request is that you become God conscious. That is the opportunity. This human form of life is the only opportunity to understand what is God, what I am, what is my relationship with God. The animals—we cannot invite cats and dogs in this meeting. That is not possible. We have invited human being. Because they can understand. So the human being has got the prerogative, prerogative to understand. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma. Therefore it is called durlabha, very rarely we have got this human form of life. If we do not try to understand in this form of life "What is God, what I am, what is our relationship," then we are committing suicide. Because after this life, as soon as I give up this body, I'll have to accept another body. And we do not know what kind of body I am going to accept. That is not in my hands. You cannot order that "Next life make me a king." That is not possible. If you are actually eligible to become a king, nature will offer you a body in the king's house. You cannot do that. Therefore, we have to work to get the next, better body.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 7, 1966:

So these are simple reasoning. It is not very hard to understand. But at the same time, there are things which are beyond our experience, beyond our reasoning, beyond our, I mean to say, conception. Those things are called acintya. Acintya means inconceivable. Inconceivable.

Now, how to understand that which is beyond our conception? The scriptures says like this, acintyaḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet: "Anything which is beyond our conception, beyond our reasoning power, beyond our approach of the material senses, such things we should not try to have conception simply by arguments." So in the Vedic injunction it is said that tarkaḥ apratiṣṭha: "By... What should be the... What should be our real understanding, that we cannot establish simply by argument." Tarkaḥ apratiṣṭhaḥ smṛtayo vibhinnāḥ: (CC Madhya 17.186) "If we consult different scriptures, then we'll find that one scripture is speaking something, another scripture is speaking something else." Just like cow-killing. Take, take it for example. The Hindus, they say that cow-killing is irreligious. The Muhammadans say, "No, cow-killing is religious." There is some adjustment, but... Now, in the scripture I see that the cow-killing, in some scriptures it is said that cow-killing is irreligious, and another scripture says that cow-killing is religious. So which of them I shall accept? This is ni... This is all right, or that is all right? So therefore it is said that smṛtayo vibhinnāḥ. If you consult different scriptures, you'll find different contradictory statements. Your scripture may be different from my scripture.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 7, 1966:

So similarly, a thing which is very clear to everyone, so there is no necessity of interpretation. Here the, the statement of Bhagavad-gītā as by, spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa, is very clear, that "Myself, yourself and all these people who have assembled here, they are all individual persons. And they were individual persons in the past, and at the present moment, we see that they are individual persons, and they will continue. They will continue." I may not know what they will become in the future, but because He is God, because He is the Supreme Personality, His statement should be accepted. That makes my knowledge perfect. Just like I give you one very simple example. Now, if a little boy asks his mother that "Who is my father?" The mother says that "Here is your father." Now, if the child says, "I don't believe it, that he is my father," is it possible to convince him in any other way than the statement of the mother? Is it possible? No. That is the final. That is the final. And if he says, "I don't believe it," that is his foolishness. Similarly, a thing which is beyond our conception, beyond our limit of knowledge, that should be taken from the authority.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 9, 1966:

Now, now I have already explained that because Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because He has got clear vision, and because He has full knowledge, He cannot give us misdirection. And what is given, that is perfect. So we have to believe that in future, even after liberation... Now, one thing we must also explain—the liberation, the conception of liberation. So there are different, five kinds of liberation. One of them, liberation, is to become one with the Lord, one with the Supreme. That is called sāyujya-mukti, to merge into the existence of, of the Supreme. That is also another. That is one of the five liberations. That is not the only liberation. That means we all individual beings, we are individual constitutionally. God is the father or creator or whatever, or the source of all life, or source of our existence. Whatever you like, you can say. So we have, we have been created in that way. Eko bahu syāma. God has become many. This is also version of the Vedas that many, all these many, we are also god. Just like the fire diffuses its sparks. The sparks coming out of the fire, it is the..., they are also part and parcel of the fire. Similarly we, we are all parts and parcels of the Supreme. Now, He wanted to become many. He wanted to become many, so He has become many, and we are that many. So we are not different from God. We are not different from God, but because He wanted to become many, so we have become many. Now, thing is, when God wanted to become many, there must be some purpose behind this. Otherwise, why did He like to become many? He was one, one without second. That's all right.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Mexico, February 12, 1975:

So Bhagavad-gītā begins with this point, that one should know that he is not this material body. That knowledge is lacking at the present moment throughout the whole world. Yes. Everyone is identifying with this body like the animals. Therefore Kṛṣṇa chastised Arjuna that "You have got animalistic concept of life and still speaking like a very learned scholar. No learned scholar laments on account of this body." It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). Dhīra... Dhīra means one who is sober by education. He is not disturbed. Just like when a man dies, his relatives lament, cry, "My father is gone. My father is gone. My father is no more," or "My son is no more." Anyway, they lament like that. But if he is little sober, he can understand, he can study, that "I am lamenting, 'My father is gone,' 'my son is gone,' but he's not gone. He's lying on the bed or on the floor. Then why I am speaking 'gone'?" If some friend asks him, "Why you are lamenting, 'my father is gone,' 'my son is gone'? He's lying here," but still he will say, "No, he's not. He may be lying there, but he's gone." That is puzzle. He's lying there and gone? What is this contradiction? That is the point to understand about the soul. The relative is lamenting, crying, "My father is gone." That means he never saw his father; he saw the body only. But at the time of death of his father he understands that this father is not this body; that is soul.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Mombassa, September 13, 1971:

So the finer materials, the mind, intelligence, and egotism, and still finer is the soul. Try to understand. There is soul, but because we have got no vision to see, we think... The so-called scientists, philosophers, they are under conclusion that there is no soul, this is only body, that's all. This is the disease of this present material world. They are... They have no knowledge practically what is the basic principle of this life, and still they are passing on as scientists, philosophers, religionists, yogis, swamis, but they have no knowledge—clear conception of the soul—they have no knowledge.

So that clear conception of soul you can have from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. He is speaking to Arjuna, and that is recorded by Vyāsadeva and which is presented before us as the Bhagavad-gītā. So we are presenting the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā, as it is, without any malinterpretation, because we cannot interpret Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by God, so what He has spoken, there cannot be any mistake, there cannot be any illusion, there cannot be any cheating, and there cannot be any imperfectness of the senses. Others, those who are called conditioned soul... Just like we have got our eyes, but the eyes, we are very much proud of our eyes. We say, "Can you show me God?" But the thing is that whether you can see God, whether you have got the requisite eyes to see God. Just like in your presence, there are so many planets. Leaving aside all other planets, the sun and the moon. Every one of us can see in day and night, but still they haven't got sufficient knowledge about the sun and the moon. Why? Because their senses are imperfect. But still they are trying to explain about the sun and moon, that is cheating.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Pittsburgh, September 8, 1972:

This is the injunction, Vedic. If you want to know things which is beyond your conception, beyond your sense perception, then you must approach a bona fide spiritual master. What is the symptom of bona fide spiritual master? Everyone wants to become spiritual master. So that is also stated. Śābde pare ca niṣṇātam. One who has taken complete bath in the ocean of the Vedic literature, śābde pare ca niṣṇātam. Just like if you take bath, you become refreshed. If you take nice bath, you feel refreshed. Śābde pare ca niṣṇātam. Without refreshness, one cannot understand this sublime subject matter. And the guru, or the spiritual master, should be refreshed by taking bath in the ocean of Vedic knowledge. And what is the result? Śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam. By, after such cleanliness, he has taken shelter of the Supreme Absolute Truth, without any material desires. He has no more any material desires; he's simply interested in Kṛṣṇa, or the Absolute Truth. These are the symptoms of guru, or spiritual master.

Lecture on BG 2.15 -- Hyderabad, November 21, 1972:

So the Prahlāda Mahārāja advising that "You give up all this nonsense conceptions" Vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta (SB 7.5.5). Just vanaṁ gataḥ, means just become free from this conception, gṛham andha-kūpam conception of life. Take the broader life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you'll be happy. Hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta (SB 7.5.5). Harim āśrayeta. The real business is harim āśrayeta. Vanaṁ gataḥ. Vanaṁ gataḥ means go to the forest. Formerly, after gṛhastha life, vānaprastha life, sannyāsa life, they used to live in the forest. But going to the forest is not the main purpose of life. Because in the forest there are many animals. Does it mean they are advanced in spiritual life? That is called markaṭa-vairāgya. Markaṭa-vairāgya means "monkey renunciation." Monkey is naked. Nāga-bābā. Naked. And eats fruit, monkey, and lives underneath a tree or on the tree. But he has got at least three dozen wives. So this markaṭa-vairāgya, this kind of renunciation, has no value. Real renunciation. Real renunciation means you have to give up the andha-kūpa life and take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, harim āśrayeta. If you take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, then you can give up this, all this "ism" life. Otherwise, it is not possible; you'll be entrapped by this "ism" life. So hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta (SB 7.5.5). Not to give up... If you give up something, you must take up something. Otherwise, it will be disturbed. Take up.

Lecture on BG 2.16 -- London, August 22, 1973:

So even if we are contaminated by the quality of goodness of this material world, that is also contaminated. That is also cause of our entanglement. Goodness... A brāhmaṇa, if he thinks that "Now I have brahminical qualifications, I am now educated, I am very cleansed, I am very controlled"—these things are brāhmaṇa qualification—"I know what is what," jñānaṁ vijñānam, but he does not try for becoming immortal, then that kind of thinking is also bondage, that "I am this, I am that." Even though he is very learned, sattva śamo damas titikṣā śuci, all these good qualities are there. But if he does not try to be, go further ahead, how to become immortal, so this type of fine entanglement is also entanglement. And those who are passionate, they are thinking, "I am so rich, I am so powerful, I have got so many nice business, bank balance, I have got my big family, nice wife." These are passion conception of life. So they are certainly bound up. And those who are ignorant, means one does not know what is the value of life, lying down anywhere, lazy, sleeping, unclean, do not know the value of life, they are in ignorance. They are very firmly bound up.

Lecture on BG 2.16 -- Mexico City, February 16, 1975:

So if you want to stop the danger of death, then you have to understand what is that Absolute Truth. Just like I have given already the example of sunshine. If you come to the sunshine, there is no darkness. But if you keep yourself within closed door, do not like to see the sunshine, that is your own choice. So everyone should try to come to the light. That is Vedic injunction, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, means "Do not remain in darkness, come to the light." Light means knowledge, and darkness means ignorance. So every one of us now in the ignorance that we do not know "What I am." Everyone is in darkness in the concept of body. Ask anyone what you are. He will say, "I am this body. I am Mr. Such and such." "I am Indian." "I am American." This is all bodily description. And we have already discussed. This body is temporary, but I, the spirit soul, I am permanent. I have already experienced that I had my childhood body, I had my babyhood body, I had my boyhood body, youthhood body, I know it, but the bodies are no more existing, but I am existing. So therefore I am permanent, and the body is nonpermanent. Therefore it is said, nāsato vidyate bhāvaḥ: "Permanency is not there in the body." Nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ: "And there is no annihilation of the permanent or the eternal."

Lecture on BG 2.17 -- Hyderabad, November 22, 1972:

So at the present moment especially... This ignorance is there always, in the material world, that one is identifying this material body with the real self. The self, the soul is different. It is not this material body. But our modern education, everything, advancement of knowledge, philosophy, everything on the basis of, on this wrong conception of life. So to give an, a glimpse of idea what is that soul, how it acts, here Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa informs us:

avināśi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
vināśam avyayasyāsya
na kaścit kartum arhati

So the soul, the presence of soul is perceived by the consciousness. That consciousness... Just like the presence of sun, even I was blind, I could understand the sun is there because the sunlight and heat, I am experiencing. Without seeing the sun... When, as soon as I come to the sunshine, I feel light and heat; therefore immediately I can understand there is sun. It is not very difficult. Similarly just like we try to... When a man is dying, we try to feel whether the man is breathing, or he's feeling touch sensation. These are the tests. So the touch sensation is there so long the soul is there. Now I am living body.

Lecture on BG 2.20-25 -- Seattle, October 14, 1968:

Prabhupāda: Śvetāśvatara.

Viṣṇujana: "...confirm this concept of two kinds of souls by comparing them to two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds, the individual atomic soul, is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird is simply watching his friend. Of these two birds, although they are the same in quality, one is captivated by the fruits of the material tree, while the other is simply witnessing his activity. Kṛṣṇa is the witnessing bird and Arjuna is the eating bird. Although they are friends, one is still the master and the other is the servant."

Prabhupāda: That is the eternal relationship. These are confirmed in Vedic literature just like Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad. The system is whatever is mentioned in the Vedas, that is authoritatively accepted. That is the Vedic understanding. If there is some evidence in the Vedas... Just like in law court, if there is some section in the lawbook, then the lawyers, the judge, accept it. "Yes, it is like this." Similarly knowledge. Vedas means knowledge. So perfect knowledge is there. Therefore if the evidence is there in the statement of Vedas, that is the proof. Śabda-pramāṇa. There are three kinds of evidences. Pratyakṣa, direct sense perception, and śabda-pramāṇa, evidence from the Vedic statement, and anumāna, aitihya, historical or hypothesis. So out of all evidences, the evidence which is called, derived from Vedic statement, that is accepted as most authoritative. Therefore Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, they are Vedas. There is statement that two birds are sitting on the same tree. The tree is compared, the body is compared with the tree. And two birds, namely the Supersoul, Kṛṣṇa, and the living entity, individual soul, they are sitting together. And one is eating the fruit of the tree and the other is simply witnessing. This is our position.

Lecture on BG 2.26-27 -- London, August 29, 1973:

They have created their own theory. So without being standardized by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or God consciousness, you cannot find the standard platform of morality, honesty. These things you cannot find. This is not possible. Therefore, the verdict of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ. Just like if you do not follow a standard law, how you can fix up "This is morality" or "This is honesty or dishonesty." There must be standard law. And who can give you the law unless he is the greatest authority? So law changes according to different countries, climate, situation. So man-made law cannot give you standard morality, honesty or... It is not possible. Because one will think "This is morality," another will think, "No, this is not morality." Same thing. Keep to the left, keep to the right. Somebody says "Keep to the left is right," somebody says "Keep to the left, it is wrong." Manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). Because those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, they are hovering on the mental plane. They cannot, there cannot be any fixed up morality, honesty, dishonesty. No. And rascals will also say yato mata tato patha. Means, whatever you think is all right, that is all right. According to you, your conception this is right, and according to my conception, both of them are right. How both of them can be right?

So this contradiction, opposing elements, will continue unless there is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So this is not a fact that the karma-vādīs simply by discharging your duties nicely... This is... On principle, it is all right. But we must know what is actual morality. There are so many examples. Just like when there is war, to kill the enemies, that is morality.

Lecture on BG 2.40-45 -- Los Angeles, December 13, 1968:

Devotee: "The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to all of them. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety."

Prabhupāda: Yes. As soon as we are... This world is of duality. Duality means you cannot understand one thing without understanding the other. Just like light. You have no conception of light without the conception of darkness. This is called duality. Good—unless you have experienced bad, you cannot understand good. Father—unless there is a son, there is no meaning of father. Husband—unless there is wife, there is no meaning of husband. This is called duality. This world is duality. So we have to rise above this dual world and enter into the absolute world. Then there will be happiness. That's all right. Thank you. So any questions?

Guest: Uh, I heard it said that you have perfect enlightenment. If this is true, I'd like to know what does that mean?

Prabhupāda: That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966:

We have already discussed. I am not this body, and I am pure consciousness. Some way or other, I am encaged with this bodily dress, but I am not this body. I am pure consciousness. Now, if we actually want happiness or independence, then we have to remain in our pure consciousness position. Suppose if I do not belong to certain association or certain company, then I have to keep aloof from that company. So Lord Kṛṣṇa says that bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānām (BG 2.44). Those who are too much attached with bodily pleasure, bodily enjoyment, and tayāpahṛta-cetasām. Apahṛta-cetasām means those who are illusioned. Because bodily pleasure is not my pleasure. My pleasure is different because I am not this body. Just like a man in a feverish condition or in feverish delirium, speaking something. That is not his normal speaking. That is due to the delirious condition. So to bring him to the normal condition, the physician treats him to get out of that delirious condition. So similarly, our position is: because we have got..., some way or other, we have been entangled with this material body; therefore our conception of happiness is just like a man in the delirious condition.

Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966:

Supreme Being, His constitution is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). The Supreme Being is the embodiment of eternity, bliss and knowledge. Eternity, bliss and knowledge. That is the constitution of the supreme entity. He is eternal, He is blissful, and always full of pleasure. Always full of pleasure. Kṛṣṇa, this word, Kṛṣṇa... Now, we have chanted, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare. This Kṛṣṇa is... Do not take it that we are presenting some sectarian conception of God or like that. This Kṛṣṇa, this is a Sanskrit word. You have to understand, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means... Kṛṣ means the greatest, and ṇa means pleasure. He is the symbol of greatest pleasure, greatest pleasure. So we are also part and parcel of that greatest pleasure. Just like the ocean and a drop of water of the ocean, if you chemically analyze, you will find the same ingredients.

Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966:

Now, as soon as we are convinced that "I am not this body. I am consciousness. I am pure soul. So I have to get free from this entanglement," then I will have to make arrangement for that. Simply theoretically knowing will not do. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānām: (BG 2.44) "Those who are too much attached with these bodily pleasures, and by that conception, one who is illusioned, that person cannot fix up in his identification with the soul." So that is the critical point. That is the critical point, that if we indulge in our bodily pleasure, that pleasure is flickering. That pleasure is flickering. We cannot enjoy. Bodily pleasure we cannot enjoy. That is an intoxication, something like intoxication. That is not pleasure, actual pleasure. Actual pleasure is of the soul, not of this body. So we have to guide our life, we have to mold our life in such a way that we must not be diverted by the so-called bodily pleasures. And if we are diverted by the bodily pleasure, then we cannot be fixed up in our identification with the soul. This is clear.

Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966:

Veda means the book of knowledge. Now, the book of knowledge... According to the climate, according to the population, according to the country, there are different books of knowledge. Just like in India the book of knowledge is accepted as the Vedas, Vedas, Vedic knowledge. In your European, American countries the book of knowledge accepted as the Old Testament, New Testament. Similarly, the book of knowledge amongst the Muhammadans, they have accepted as the Koran. Actually, they are book of knowledge, undoubtedly. There is no doubt about it. But what are these book of knowledge, religious scripture? Religious scripture means they are meant for training you to that conception of life that you are pure soul, nothing more. They restrict your bodily activities under certain conditions, under certain conditions. That is called morality. Just like your Bible has got ten commandments. Ten commandments. What is that commandments? To regulate your life. Because without regulation you cannot... Because we have to control the body to reach to the highest perfection. So if we don't follow any regulative principles, how we can make our life perfect? So that regulative principle may be a little, little different from my country to your country or my Veda to your Bible, but that does not matter. That is made according to the time, condition and the mentality of the population. But there is the regulative control. Regulative control. A human society is not considered civilized unless, unless and until the members of the society are put into some regulative control. The whole state, your American state or any state, the citizens are controlled by regulative principle. Without regulative principle, you cannot make the progressive march of the state or the people or the citizens.

Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966:

So yogi, the jñānī and the yogi and the bhakta. Bhakta means devotees, devotees, spiritual realization. The objective of spiritual goal is realized in three different phases: Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. Brahman is impersonal conception of the Supreme. So these jñānīs, those who are proceeding through philosophical speculation and metaphysical analysis, they attain up to the impersonal Brahman. Those who are meditating by yogic process, they attain to the Paramātmā feature, or Supersoul. And those who are devotees, they attain the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

So according to Bhāgavata, Supreme Personality of Godhead is the ultimate goal. Paramātmā feature is partial representation. How it is? Just like the sun. Sun is the chief planet, and his reflection is in every water reservoir. If you put here thousands and millions of waterpots, in each pot you'll find the reflection of the sun. So Paramātmā, Supersoul, is the reflection or partial representation of the sun. So this is Paramātmā experience. And Brahman experience is just like the sunshine. Sunshine. Sunshine is all-pervading. Everywhere sunshine is there, but still, sunshine is not important. Important is the sun globe. Similarly, Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, when one realizes His effulgent bodily rays, that is Brahman conception.

Lecture on BG 2.46-47 -- New York, March 28, 1966:

As the king was entrusted to protect the life of the citizens, similarly, the vaiśya class, or the mercantile class, they were entrusted to protect the life of cow. Why particularly cow is protected? Because milk is very essential food for the human society, therefore cow protection is the duty of the human society. That is the conception of Vedic literature.

Now, the Lord says that karmaṇy adhikāras te: "Now, according to your quality and according to your position, you have to work. You cannot stop working. But you should not enjoy the fruit." That is... In other way this is a conception of spiritual communism. Spiritual communism. Now, just like in Communist country the center is the state. Nobody is private proprietor, but everyone is a member of the state, and whatever he earns, it goes to the state. That is... So far I know, this is the communistic idea. Now, here, if I am not entitled to take the result of my labor or my activity, then whom it is going to? Who shall enjoy it? So that is the conception of spiritual life. That means your earnings, your earnings, should be distributed to the central point. It should be through the central point. The central point is God. Instead of making central point to any limited things, if you make the central point God and if you work on His behalf and if you think that it should be enjoyed by the Supreme Lord, then your spiritual life is fixed up. Then your spiritual life is fixed up. Because your... You are not discouraged to produce, but the production or the entire result of your work, the fruitive result, should go to somebody. And who is that somebody? If you are... If you are not going to enjoy, then who is going to enjoy? That means this should be enjoyed by everyone through the central point of God. Just like the state realizes taxes from you. That taxes is distributed. Taxes... Tax is distributed throughout the state. So as you deposit tax to the state and it is distributed throughout the whole state, similarly, if your fruitive result is offered to the Supreme Lord, then your fruitive result is distributed to everyone. The central point. That is the spiritual state.

Lecture on BG 2.46-47 -- New York, March 28, 1966:

So we should be satisfied with those things which are meant for humanity. We should not simply... For the pleasure of the tongue we should not eat anything. That is called atyāhāra. So atyāhāra and then prayāsa. Prayāsa means to labor very hard to achieve a thing. Life should be conducted in such a way that our necessities of life may come not with great effort, easily, easily. We should not encumber ourself, our life, living policy, in an encumbered way. Then our spiritual progress will be hampered. The modern society has practically encumbered the whole human activities, and therefore they have no time for spiritual culture. You see? But the conception of Vedic civilization was that people used to be satisfied on agricultural produce and for three months working during rainy season. So they get some agriculture produce and they used to eat the whole year. So nine months they were free to advance in spiritual culture and only three months they used to work for accumulating their foodstuff. You see? So atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpa (NOI 2). Prajalpa means talking nonsense. We assemble and go on talking for nothing, neither for this life, neither for that life. We should not talk... Suppose if we are gaining something materially, we may go on talking.

Lecture on BG 2.46-62 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1968:

Oh, we are twenty-four hours engaged in the service of the Lord. Yogis—samādhi, always in samādhi, absorbed in the thought of the Supreme. We are always absorbed in the thought of Kṛṣṇa. So take any religion, any process, any well. This river, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, will overflood everyone. There cannot be any comparison. What is there? How much water is there in the well? In the river, unlimited. Thousands of wells can be merged into the river. This example is given. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. If you know Kṛṣṇa, you know everything. You know science, you know mathematics, you know philosophy, you know geography, everything. There is no dirth of knowledge. Don't think that a Kṛṣṇa conscious person actually, he can be a foolish man. No. That is given guarantee in the Bhagavad-gītā,

teṣām evānukampārtham
aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ
nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho
jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā
(BG 10.11)

A devotee who is always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for him there is nothing unknown. He knows everything. Just like we can give information of the whole creation. Not only of this material world, of the spiritual world. Clear conception. Where is where, what is what, everything. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The more you make progress, then you fully, I mean to say, conversant with all departmental knowledge. Everything is completed.

Lecture on BG 2.46-62 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1968:

So oṁkāra vibration is all over the universe, that's all right; but wherefrom it is coming? That you have to search out. When you search out you'll find Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate. Not the vibration. Is that clear? Yes. The same example. The sunshine, all over the universe it is spread. Does it make it is greater than the sun? The sun is the source of the sunshine. So similarly, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham, "I am the source of Brahman, the effulgence." That's a fact. Brahman is not greater than Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is greater than Brahman. Mattaḥ parataro nāsti. You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā, "There is no more greater truth than Me." These people, they cannot understand; less intelligent. The same example. Because they see that the sunshine is spreading all over the universe, therefore it is more important, greater than the sun planet. But actually it is not. The simple truth. And if you go into the sun planet you will find Vivasvān the sun-god is there. The sun planet is so dazzling due to his presence. Similarly, with all impersonal conception, when you reach Kṛṣṇa, then you reach to the goal. There are so many crude examples. Just like your country. There are so many departmental government businesses going on. This department, that department, all over the country. The whole thing is concentrate in the President. How can I deny it? The everything is going on on the finger's end of the President. This is a crude example. Similarly, ultimately, unless there is the Supreme Person on the background... That, Hayagrīva has brought one book, Evidence of God. So the many scientists they have written in that book, and they have agreed that if God is there, He must be person. He must be person. Is not that, Hayagrīva?

Lecture on BG 2.48-49 -- New York, April 1, 1966:

We have already explained to you that this is just like dress. Dress. Dress is a foreign thing to my body. Similarly, this gross and subtle body—gross body of this material five elements and the subtle body of mind, ego, intelligence—they are my foreign things. So I am now encaged in foreign things. My whole life mission is to get out of these foreign things. I want to be situated in my real spiritual body. That can be done if you practice. If you practice during this life to..., always to be spiritually situated, then your next life, after leaving... Even within this body, when you get clear conception that "I am not this body," and you are clearly working from the spiritual platform, as Lord Kṛṣṇa prescribes here that yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi, "Be situated in yoga and act in your daily duties," then similarly, if we practice this to work in such a way that we have to work from the spiritual platform, then your next life will be free from this material bondage and you get your freedom life.

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

Lecture on BG 2.48-49 -- New York, April 1, 1966:

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

Lecture on BG 2.48-49 -- New York, April 1, 1966:

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

Lecture on BG 2.51-55 -- New York, April 12, 1966:

This is the question of Arjuna, that "When I shall be self-realized by doing work without any fruitive result, so what will be the position of my self-realization?" That, in that, in answer to that question, that "When you shall be callous to all religious rituals and scriptural injunction and simply you shall be engaged in the, in the dovetailing business of with the superconsciousness, then you are in transcendental position of all religious rituals and all conception of religious ceremonies and everything." That's it. But in the beginning you require all these things. Therefore Bhāgavata says that that sort of religion which elevates you to that consciousness, that is the supreme type of religion.

śruti-vipratipannā te
yadā sthāsyati niścalā
samādhāv acalā buddhis
tadā yogam avāpsyasi
(BG 9.53)

This is the position of yoga. Yoga, samādhi. Samādhi means to be always in the, situated in the superconsciousness, situated in the business of dovetailing with the superconsciousness. That is called samādhi. Bhagavad-gītā. Śruti-vipratipannā te yadā sthāsyati niścalā. You are not deviated even by hearing so many other things. If you are not deviated, then that position is called samādhi, and that position is the highest position of your life.

Lecture on BG 2.55-58 -- New York, April 15, 1966:

So vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ (BG 2.56). Because the function of the body... So far we have body, our body's concerned, there are four things, demands of the body... Āhāra, āhāra, nidrā, bhaya, maithuna. Āhāra means eating, and nidrā means sleeping, and bhaya means fearing, and maithuna means mating. So these are the demands of the body. So one who is free from the conception of body, his demands, his āhāra, his nidrā, or his eating, his sleeping, his fear, and his sex desire, will automatically decrease. That is the situation. That is the situation of, of pure consciousness. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir ucyate (BG 2.56). Sthita dhīr munir ucyate. Even he is not affected by the greatest allurement. Greatest allurement.

Lecture on BG 2.58-59 -- New York, April 27, 1966:

The whole material atmosphere is going on, but we... There is a program. There is a plan. The plan is that, as soon as the living entity is promoted by gradual evolution, promoted to the platform of human life, he has to understand his spiritual position. That is the whole program. The nature is going on on this plan of the Supreme Lord. The plan of the Supreme Lord. All the living entities here, in this, whatever we see... Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ yāḥ (BG 14.4). The Lord says, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, "Whatever forms of life, living entities, you are seeing before you, all of them are born of Me. They are My part and parcel. I am..." Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā. "I am the father. I am the father." So Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or God, He is the father of every living being. He does not like to see that His sons undergo unnecessary miseries. He does not like to see. Why? If we are sons of God, and what is the position of God? All powerful, all opulence, all wealth, all beauty, all knowledge, everything in full. That is the conception of God. Now, if we are sons of God, then we are very rich man's son. Then why should he suffer? We should not have suffered. But some way or other, by material contact, we are suffering. We are suffering. Now, this suffering, we have become so much accustomed to sufferings that we have taken it granted that these sufferings are nonmaterial. "Let us enjoy this material life. This suffering..." They don't care for suffering. You see? They want this material enjoyment, which is the cause of his bondage. It is cause of bondage.

Lecture on BG 3.8-13 -- New York, May 20, 1966:

Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ mandāḥ. And they are very lazy and slow. Slow and lazy means that they do not know that this life is meant for spiritual realization. So they are very lazy—"All right, spiritual realization we shall see later on. Let us enjoy life. That's all." So this is a great disqualification of the human being, that they are not wake up for spiritual realization, lazy, mandāḥ. And manda-bhāgyāḥ. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayaḥ.

And if somebody is at all interested for some spiritual enlightenment, then, unfortunately, mandāḥ sumanda-matayaḥ, they adopt some spiritual method which is not recognized. Spiritual realization with relationship with God is no spiritual realization. The whole spiritual realization means one must understand his relationship with the Supreme Lord. But generally in this age they want to avoid the conception of God, and at the same time, they want to be spiritually advanced. Therefore they are called sumanda-matayaḥ, a, I mean to say, a very degraded form of spiritual realization, without conception of God. Sumanda-matayaḥ, mandāḥ, lazy, and if they are at all interested in some spiritual realization process, they try to avoid the conception of God.

Lecture on BG 3.16-17 -- New York, May 25, 1966:

Sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. Bhauma ijya-dhīḥ means this earth from which this earthly body has grown up. That means the country, this country. We are fond of our country because from this American earth my body has developed, or from Indian earth, or this earth of this planet, apart from American or Indian conception of life. So we are human beings of this planet. So we are identifying with this planetary situation. So all these things, they have been very carefully analyzed. And the conclusion has been that yasyātma... "One who thinks like that, he is no better than ass and cow." Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). Sa eva go-kharaḥ. Go-kharaḥ. Go means cow, and khara means ass. So actually, if we analyze the present civilization, oh, it is a civilization of go-khara. Go-khara, because we are identifying this body: "I am this body. And because this body has got connection with a particular woman, therefore she is my wife. And because by that combination we have got another production, some children, they are my children.

Lecture on BG 3.18-30 -- Los Angeles, December 30, 1968:

Then what is that Supreme? The conception of Supreme... For the impersonalist, the impersonal Brahman effulgence is the Supreme. Just like light. When you come to the sunshine, that is light, but the devotees, they are not satisfied with the sunshine. They want to penetrate into the sun planet and see the sun-god. That is devotee's position. And one who cannot do so, he is satisfied with the sunshine. Everything is light. Sunshine is light, sun globe is light, and if you enter in the sun globe, there is also light.

So these are all spiritual position, impersonalist or personalist. But the impersonalist goal is partial because they are satisfied simply by seeing the light. And the devotees, they are not satisfied simply by seeing the light. They want to enter within the light to see wherefrom the light is coming. That is the difference between impersonalist and personalist. They are farther advanced.

Lecture on BG 3.27 -- Madras, January 1, 1976:

The personal form and impersonal form, there are two conception. But Kṛṣṇa explains this that mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā (BG 9.4). Avyaktam, impersonal. That is another form of Kṛṣṇa. He says, mayā: "By Me." "I am all-pervading." Mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam. That is sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Because He is expanded everywhere, that is impersonal. And... But as māyā, He says, "by Me." Then He's person. So the whole creation is Kṛṣṇa's expansion of energy.

Just like the sunshine. Sunshine is also the same quality, heat and light, as the sun globe or the sun god. But the sunshine is impersonal, and the sun globe is localized. And within the sun globe there is sun god. So that is the main source of everything. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Brahmaṇaḥ ahaṁ pratiṣṭhā. The brahma-jyotir is also staying in Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the source of brahma-jyotir. So impersonal or personal, whatever you take, that is Brahman. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11).

But the beginning, origin, is Kṛṣṇa. That Kṛṣṇa explains, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). Either you take impersonal Brahman or localized Paramātmā, whatever you take, that is emanation from Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1).

Lecture on BG 3.27 -- Madras, January 1, 1976:

We have seen in India so many big, big sannyāsīs. They give up this world—brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā—but after some days they come down to the jagat and engage themselves in political... (break)

Why? They could not stay in the Brahman stage. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. By concentrating on the impersonal form they think that they have become liberated but actually that is not. Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. So impersonal conception is not purified intelligence. Ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ. You may think that "I have become liberated," but it is not. Why? Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ (SB 10.2.32). After so much trouble and austerity, penances, you may acquire the position in the impersonal Brahman, but there is chance of falling down from there. Patanty adhaḥ.

Why? Anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ: "Because they could not find out how to worship Your lotus feet." So unless you come to the personal form of the Absolute Truth, there is difficulty and there is chance of falling down.

Lecture on BG 3.31-43 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1969:

The Caitanya-caritāmṛta says, therefore, "The master is only Kṛṣṇa." Ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa āra saba bhṛtya: (CC Adi 5.142) "Only Kṛṣṇa, or God, is master, and everyone is servant." Yāre yaiche nācāya se taiche kare nṛtya: "Each servant is dancing according to the order of the Supreme." That's all. Nobody is master. So this false conception of becoming master is called māyā, illusion. Nobody is master. Therefore one who disagrees to become servant of God, he is befooled. It is said, "But those who, out of envy..." He is constitutionally servant, but he is envious: "Why shall I become God's servant? I shall become God." You see? Everyone is claiming, "Oh, everyone is God. Why? What is the use of becoming servant of God? I am God." This is enviousness. So if one refuses to serve God and become envious, "disregard these teachings and do not practice them regularly are to be considered bereft of all knowledge." Because he is servant, but he is thinking, "I am master. I am not serving anyone." This is māyā, bereft of all knowledge. Go on.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Delhi, November 10, 1971:

So, you can imagine great, the great, this universe, the sky, millions and millions of miles spreading. The scientists say that to go the topmost planet of this universe, it will take forty thousands of years in the light year speed. But you can see there are so many planets. Just like you are trying to go to the moon planet, similarly there are other planets, but you cannot go. It is so big, beyond your reach. This is one universe, but there are innumerable universes. As you see that within this planet there are innu..., within this universe there numberless planets, you cannot count even. So similarly, there are innumerable universes, and all these universes together is within God. So the conception of God cannot be attained by our mental speculation. It is not possible. If you speculate what is God, you cannot understand. Therefore, the Vedic language says that,

athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ (bhagavān-mahimno)
na cānya eko 'pi ciraṁ vicinvan
(SB 10.14.29)

It is said, "My dear Lord, one who is Your devotee," athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi, "one who is Your devotee, one who has got Your mercy by worshiping Your lotus feet, he can understand. Others, they may go on speculating for many millions of years, still it is not possible to know God." And in the Bhagavad-gītā also Kṛṣṇa said that "Because you are My devotee, therefore I am revealing unto you My nature."

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Delhi, November 10, 1971:

The process is bhakti, devotion. As it is advised in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Now the present civilization, mistake of the present civilization is that they are accepting this body (to be) everything. After this body is finished—big, big philosophers, big, big professors, I have talked with... I was talking with one professor, Mr. Kotovsky, in Moscow. He is in charge of a big department. He said, "Swamijī, after finishing this body, everything is finished. There is nothing more." Just see, and he is a great professor. He has no knowledge that after finishing this body, there is another body. We are going to accept another body, not that after death, everything is finished. This conception is going on very strong, but this is a great mistake. That is being explained here by Kṛṣṇa. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā tathā dehāntara-prāptir (BG 2.13). This is the first state to understand God. What is the nature of God. This is the first state. That I am spirit soul, part and parcel of God. If I study myself as sample of God, a little sample of God, then you can understand God. Just like you take a drop of Pacific Ocean water, and you chemically analyze the constituents of that drop of water, then you can understand what is the constituent ingredients in the Pacific Ocean. You can understand. The difference is, as I have already explained, God and we, individual souls, are of the same quality. The quality is not different.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Delhi, November 10, 1971:

So this is the understanding of God. So God is great. How great? Nobody is equal to Him, nobody is above Him. Everyone is down. This is the conception of God. So God is eternal, I am also eternal. God is within this universe, therefore the universe is working, and because I am within this universe, this body is working. It is very easy to understand. If you simply study...

Just like we individual souls, we want to enjoy our senses. Similarly, God has also senses, He also wants to enjoy. Just like here, we see a young boy, a young girl is united. Similarly, you have seen our pictures, Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, They are also united. There is also love, but that love is real. Here, the same thing, a reflection, is shadow. It is not real. The real love is there. There is no separation of that love. Here in this material world, because it is shadow, it is false, therefore there is separation. Love without separation is in God. Relationship between friend and friend, here it is breakable. As soon as there is some dissatisfaction, the friends separate. But if you make friendship with God, that is never separated. If you love Kṛṣṇa, that is never separated. If you accept Kṛṣṇa as your Son, that Son will never die. So these are the conception of God.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Delhi, November 10, 1971:

The human, Vedānta-sūtra, this philosophy is meant for the human being, not for cats and dogs. They cannot understand. Therefore it is said, atha, now. It is the opportunity of our inquiring about the Absolute Truth, this human form of life. What is that Absolute Truth? Everyone is under the concept of this body, but that is not Absolute Truth. It is relative truth, but if you inquire about the Absolute Truth, then it is possible, because you are human being, you can understand what is that Absolute Truth. It is possible. Because this body is so advanced, our consciousness is so advanced, that there is possibility. But if we misuse this possibility, if we don't inquire about the Absolute Truth, simply we fight with one another for eating, sleeping, sex-life and defending, then we are no better than animals. The animals eat, sleep, have their sex life, and they defend, in their own way. So if we improve the method of eating, sleeping and sexual intercourse, and defending, then we don't go beyond the animal propensities. We have got higher intelligence, higher consciousness, not to improve the method of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, but to understand the Absolute Truth. Therefore, without understanding the Absolute Truth, we are simply spoiling our opportunity of this human life.

Lecture on BG 4.3 -- Bombay, March 23, 1974:

If you accept God's religion, then that is religion. And what is God's religion? (aside:) If you stand, you come stand here. Other people are seeing. God's religion is... You'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is God's religion. "You give up all these nonsense religions. You become a devotee, a surrendered soul unto Me." That is religion.

One who does not know what is God, one who does not know how to surrender to Him, he's not religious. Any religion without the conception of God, without knowledge of God, without knowing the surrendering process, that is called, described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as "cheating religion." Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavaḥ atra. The so-called religious system, which is cheating only, that kind of religion is completely thrown away, kicked out. Because religion means to develop your dormant love for God, or to execute the laws of God. That is... The laws of God is, (as) Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). And how to achieve that? That also Kṛṣṇa says: man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Four principles only. "Always think of Me." Hare Kṛṣṇa. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then you're remembering Kṛṣṇa. Man-manāḥ. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa... This is the religion; at least, of this age.

Lecture on BG 4.3 -- Bombay, March 23, 1974:

We should be very serious about the problems of life, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). That is spiritual advancement. Unless you come to the serious point, unless you have become very intelligent, that "I do not want to die. Why death is there...?" This is intelligence. You may solve your temporary problems, but you cannot, by your so-called materialistic activities, solve the problem of death. Nobody wants to die. Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś ca aham. Death will come. But the people have become so much unintelligent, they do not take up seriously the real problems. Just like animals. The animal is being taken to the slaughterhouse. And one animal enters to the slaughterhouse store, livestock store, and all the animals enter. He does not know that "This, I have to stay here for being killed." He does not know. This is animal. Similarly, if you do not take these problems seriously, you are no better than animal. However you may be advanced for these bodily comforts, you are animal. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). Kuṇape tri-dhātuke, this bag of three elements, kapha-pitta-vāyu. If I think that "I am this body, and the comfort of this body is my happiness"—sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). You are not better than animal. This is animal conception of life. You must know that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul. Circumstantially, I have been put into this body, and again I'll be put into another body. So what is the solution of this problem?" That is Bhagavad-gītā. That is Bhagavad-gītā. If you understand fully what is Bhagavad-gītā, what is the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, then these questions, the answers are there. You'll find.

Lecture on BG 4.5 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968:

So we cannot imagine, you see, that how long year. Such hundred years they live. That is their twelve hours. Similarly, twelve hours night. Similarly, thirty days, one month. Similarly, twelve months equal to one year. Such hundred years they live. So we cannot imagine even, even in the material world, how long a living entity can live even in this material world. So these are acintya. Acintya means beyond our conception.

And what to speak of the spiritual world? We cannot calculate even anything of the material world perfectly.

Lecture on BG 4.6-8 -- New York, July 20, 1966:

Just like... There are many examples in natural objects. Just like water. Water is liquid. It is not a faith. It is a fact. Water is liquid. You cannot say that water is liquid. If he changes his faith, then he can, it can become solid. No. Liquidity of water cannot be changed. Whenever there is conception, water, if I am blind, so... Suppose somebody gives me, "Take here a glass of water," I know it is liquid. So as the liquidity of water cannot be changed. Now, as soon as you speak of fire, so we understand fire is hot. Now, if you, if you... Can you change that fire becomes cold and still it is fire? No. As... So long it is fire, it is hot. So long it is water, it is liquid. Similarly, everything you analyze. Take for example chili. Chili, red pepper. Oh, it is very hot. Now, when you take chili from the market you see how much, what is the degree of its hotness. If it is very hot, oh, it is very good chili. If you find a chili sweet like sugar, oh, you'll reject it. "Oh, this is not good." Because that is the religion of the chili, to become very hot. Similarly, sugar. If you take sugar, if it is very hot, "It is nonsense. I want sweet."

Lecture on BG 4.6-8 -- New York, July 20, 1966:

So in everything, if you analyze, you'll find some particular quality. That is his religion. That is his religion. So we are living entities. Forget yourself. Forget yourself that you are Christian, "I am Hindu," or Muslim, or Mussalman, or Buddhist. Forget yourself! "I am living entity." When we come to this point, that is called liberation. That is called liberation. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). When we become free from all these designations, that is called liberation. Liberation means nothing more, the conception of getting free from these designations which we have acquired from the association of material nature.

That is called designation. Because I have got a particular body, therefore I have got so many designations. I call myself a man, or animal, or I have got some name, given by my parents. Or because I am born in some particular country I designate myself to belong to that country, and because I accept some particular faith, so I designate myself to that faith. In so many ways we are now designated. This designation should be given up. When designations are given up, then we are free, pure soul. In that pure soul the religion is to serve the Supreme.

Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Montreal, June 13, 1968:

Now let us consider what is our occupational duty. I purposely do not translate this word dharma as religion. Religion is imperfect conception of the word dharma. In the dictionary we find religion means a particular type of faith. But dharma does not mean that. Dharma means natural occupation. That is called dharma. I have several times explained this word dharma in this class. Just like heat of the fire. Without heat, a fire has no meaning. Wherever there is fire, there is heat and light. Therefore heat and light is the dharma or religion of fire. That means fire cannot change its dharma. As this dharma, as we generally understand by the word faith, that we can change. Today I am Hindu. I can become tomorrow a Christian. You are Christian today. You can become, I mean to say, Hindu or Muslim tomorrow. So this faith can be changed, but this dharma, as I explain, that natural sequence, natural occupation or natural intimately connection...

Just like the fire, heat and light. This cannot be changed. Either the fire is in America or the fire is in India or a fire is in Russia, the heat and light is there. That is actually the dharma.

Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Montreal, June 13, 1968:

So anyway, here the point is that in any religion there is a conception of worshiping God or symbol of God. Even in Jain philosophy they also worship Mahāvīra. In Buddha philosophy they worship Lord Buddha. In India there is Jainism. That is almost like Buddhism. They have got also exactly the same process of worship. Temples they have got. Big, nice, costly temples they have got. And they come to see, visit the temple, offer their worshipful offerings, flowers, fruits, everything. Same thing.

Similarly, in the temple of Guru-dvāras, Sikhs... (break) ...like the Hindus. And they also offer flower, fruits, and sweetmeat, but they read their Granthasahib. As we are reading Bhagavad-gītā they read Granthasahib enunciated by Guru Nanak. So this temple worship or accepting some authority, either you accept Kṛṣṇa or you accept Lord Jesus Christ or Jehovah or Lord Buddha or Guru Nanak, that is a different, I mean to say, kinds of faith, but this acceptance of authority is there in everywhere. Now who is the highest authority, that we have to see by understanding Vedic literature, by our arguments, by our sense, by our understanding. But this acceptance of authority is there.

Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Bombay, March 27, 1974:

This is bhakti definition. When one becomes freed from all designation. "I am American." This is designation. "I am Indian." This is designation. "I am brāhmaṇa." This is designation. "I am kṣatriya." This is designation. So one has to become free from all designation. This designation is bodily. I am not this body. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. I am spirit soul. Therefore when one understands that "I am not this body, I am spirit soul, I am part and parcel of the Supreme," that is self-realization.

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
(BG 18.54)

This is Brahman realization, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, that "I am not this body." So long one is under the conception of this body he is no better than the animals. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). Go means cows and kharaḥ means ass.

Lecture on BG 4.7-9 -- New York, July 22, 1966:

What is that? Now, suppose we have contaminated so many things in our material life. There are, in the material calculation, there are so many things which are the list. One list is for morality, and another list is for immorality. I do not wish to discuss this list because in, for a person which is immorality, for another person, it is not immorality; it is morality. Just like according to our conception, Hindu conception, drinking of wine is immoral, whereas in your country drinking of wine is not immoral. It is common thing. Of course, so according to time, class, place, the conception of morality and immorality are different. But there is a, a sense of immorality and morality in everywhere. That is a fact.

Lecture on BG 4.7-10 -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969:

Similarly, religion can be performed by a person who has full conception of God. Without God, religion is a farce. That is not religion. Religion means you must have obligation to God, you must have clear conception of God. That is called... That is... And that relationship is based on love. Just like father and child. What is the relationship between the child? There are hundreds of thousands of children in the street. Why you are interested with your own children? Because there is love. Similarly, religion means love of God. And irreligion means forgetfulness of God. That's all.

Religion does not mean to follow some ritualistic process. That helps us to approach. But they are not, I mean to say, primal necessities. That ritualistic process may be different. Hindus may be following a different kind of ritualistic process. The Christian may be following a different kinds of ritualistic process. That does not matter.

Lecture on BG 4.8 -- Montreal, June 14, 1968:

So duṣkṛtina means that, those who do not believe in the authorities. So many things are there which is beyond our conception, beyond our understanding. Our senses, our I mean to say, instrument of acquiring knowledge, are so imperfect, that it is not possible simply by handling our, the present senses to understand the right knowledge. It is not possible.

So Śrīmad-Bhāgavata says, tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (SB 1.5.18). Factually, an intelligent person is he who is trying to achieve that highest perfectional stage of life which cannot be achieved simply by touring different planets. Upary adhaḥ. Now we are trying to go to the moon planet and other planets. It is not new thing. It is very old attempt. Since there are human beings we have got so many instances. But in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna (BG 8.16). Even if you can go to the highest planet, which is called Brahmaloka, still, the problems of life cannot be solved. The four problems of life—birth, death, old age and disease—cannot be solved. Therefore our attempt should be that we do not care for these problems. We have taken it, accepted that "All right, we shall take birth. We shall die. We shall become old. We shall become diseased. Doesn't matter. Still we are progressing." Just see. What is the progress? If you cannot solve these problems, then what kind of progress you are making? But we are satisfied, "Yes, we are making progress." So this is called māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15). They are not making any progress, even an inch, and still, they are proud of their progressive knowledge.

Lecture on BG 4.8 -- Montreal, June 14, 1968:

At the present moment people are denying the existence of God, or they are thinking that God is dead. That means imperfection of knowledge. They have to still make progress to the perfectional point. And that test is to understand, "Here is God, and He is the fountainhead of everything." That perfection of knowledge you will have simply by reading... Any scripture you can read. The same conception is there. But in the Bhagavad-gītā it is more clearly explained so that you can understand with all reason, arguments, and scrutiny too. It is not dogmatic. That is the beauty of Bhagavad-gītā.

Just like in some dictionary the word is explained in one word. In some dictionary it is explained that "The history of this world is like this. This word can be explained like this, like that, like that," some pages like that. Similarly, so far dictionary, the small pocket dictionary is also dictionary, and that Webster's International big dictionary, that is also dictionary. The difference is that international dictionary, you get details of one word. Similarly, any scripture is perfectly giving direction towards understanding what is God. But actually how God is great, how He is working, how His laws are working, all these things you can find in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. (end)

Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:

Rāga, attachment. In the lowest stage of our life, when we do not know what I am, I consider this body myself. This deluded conception of life, that "I am this body," this is deluded conception. And when we have got too much attachment for this deluded conception of life, that is called rāga. Rāga. Mostly people, generally, they are acting in this material world with this conception of life, that "I am this material body." So they are working whole day and night for making a comfortable life of this material body. So they are called in the stage of rāga, attachment. Attachment.

And the next stage is bhaya. Bhaya. And what is that bhaya? Fear. Now, that... (aside:) Please don't talk. Bhaya means that... There are persons, transcendentalists, who are culturing transcendental knowledge, but they are very much afraid of conceiving that there is another world which is spiritual world, and that is also similar like this world, and the Personality of Godhead is there, and we have to go there, and we have to live as His servitor. So we carry the ideas of this world to that world. Therefore we are afraid. There are many transcendentalists who like the impersonal conception of the Supreme Truth. As soon as personal conception of the Supreme Truth is presented there, they are afraid of: "Oh, it is something material. It is not real." This is called bhaya. But actually it is not that.

Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:

Just like the example is given... I have several times..., that the impersonalists, they describe this world as false, as false. But simply describing this world as false is not sufficient. What is the reality we must know. The... Generally the example is cited that in the darkness when you see a curling rope, you misunderstand it that it is a snake. But actually it is not the snake. Now, this conception of a snake comes wherefrom? Unless there is a real snake, how you can see that it is a snake? That rope is false. That's all right. That rope is not snake, but there is real snake. Otherwise, how you get the conception of the snake? Just try to follow it. Without having the real snake, you cannot get this conception of snake.

Similarly, we say that this world is false, or shadow. The shadow, without being the reality, how there can be possibility of shadow? If there is no reality of my hand, how the shadow of the hand can be there? So this world is temporary shadow. That is accepted. But there is the real world which has no destruction. This world is destructive. It will be dissolved. Just like our body is temporary, but it will be dissolved. Anything material that has got a birth, a stay for some time, a byproduct, a growth, a dwindling, and then vanish.

Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:

They are not materialists. Materialists, they are concerned with this matter only. They are very much attached to lord it over this material nature and enjoy life. That's all. That is the short description of the materialist. But the transcendentalists, they are above these attached people. They are detached, but they have got three conception of transcendental idea. That is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti
bhagavān iti śabdyate
(SB 1.2.11)

Tattva, tattva, the Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth is nondual. And that Absolute Truth is experienced in three ways. What are they? Now, Brahman, the all-pervading, impersonal feature, Brahman. And brahmeti paramātmeti. Paramātmeti means the Supersoul. Brahmeti paramātmeti and bhagavān iti. Bhagavān iti means the Personality of Godhead. Now these three conception of life have been analyzed in various places, and I will give you a short description.

Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:

Similarly, the impersonal feature of Lord which is known as Brahman, that is not very much important. You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā, brahmaṇaḥ ahaṁ pratiṣṭhā: "I am the source of the effulgence of Brahman." So this is one feature. But that is transcendental. When one thinks of Brahman conception of the Absolute Truth, that is also transcendental. When one thinks of the localized aspect of the Supreme Truth, that is also transcendental. And when one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is also transcendental. So here it is stated,

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
(BG 4.11)

Anywhere, any, I mean to say, person who is interested in the transcendental feature of the Absolute Truth, they must be either these impersonalists or the localized or must be devotee of the Lord. So these three features are there, presented of Kṛṣṇa conception, and how they are conceived and what are the different results, we shall try to explain in the next meeting. Now you can put your questions.

Lecture on BG 4.11 -- Bombay, March 31, 1974:

You may go very high. Just like nowadays, the attempt is being made. They are going to the moon planet or Venus planet. We do not know whether they are going or not, but we hear from the advertisement. So because they do not get any shelter, they come back. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Because they do not get any shelter, the shelter of lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, from this impersonal conception of philosophy, they again come to this material world.

Therefore you'll find there are so many big, big swamis. First of all they give up this world. Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. "This world is mithyā. Let us take to Brahman. Let us become Brahman." But after keeping in, some days in so-called Brahman, they again come back to open hospital, school. Because there they could not get anything. Therefore something must be done, profession. So open hospital and raise fund. That's all.

So unless you get shelter on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, you'll be attracted by these material activities. But when you are attracted by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then vīta-rāga-bhaya-śoka... Then, as we... Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ (BG 4.10). Mām upāśritāḥ. When you take shelter at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then you become vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ (BG 2.56). Otherwise, you'll be attacked by, attracted by this material world. So therefore, artificial śūnyavāda philosophy, it may be, for the time being, necessity, śūnyavāda...

Lecture on BG 4.11 -- Vrndavana, August 3, 1974:

Everything is Kṛṣṇa. You can surrender to so many manifestations of Kṛṣṇa. Because nothing... Anything you experience, that is Kṛṣṇa's energy. That is not different from Kṛṣṇa. That is the conception of oneness. Kṛṣṇa is expanding Himself by His plenary portion. We are also Kṛṣṇa. We living entities, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, we are also Kṛṣṇa. There is nothing but Kṛṣṇa. Now it is up to you. If you want to surrender yourself to the Kṛṣṇa's energy, you can do. If you want to surrender to the Kṛṣṇa's expansion, that also you can do. If you want to surrender to the Brahman effulgence, that is also Kṛṣṇa. If you want to surrender (to the) Paramātmā feature, that is also Kṛṣṇa. And if you want to surrender to Kṛṣṇa directly, that is also Kṛṣṇa.

Now, the Māyāvādī says that whatever you do, you reach to the Supreme. But you reach to the Supreme... That is all right. But Supreme is variety.

Lecture on BG 4.11-18 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1969:

God realization, there are three aspects: brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). The Absolute Truth is realized in three aspects—Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. Brahman, the impersonal conception of the absolute truth, that is called Brahman. And Paramātmā is localized aspect of the Absolute Truth. And Bhagavān is the ultimate realization, Personality of Godhead.

The same example as I have given several times in these classes, that the light, sunlight, is realized first of all as sunshine. Then if you can go further the sun planet, up to the sun planet, that is localized aspect. And if you enter into the sun planet then you'll find the sun-god is there. He is person.

The same example is in the case of absolute truth. The impersonal realization is not ultimate realization. Ultimate realization is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is supported in Brahma-saṁhitā. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). By expansion of Lord's personal effulgence, the Brahman realization is there.

Lecture on BG 4.11-18 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1969:

So the persons who are trying to understand the absolute truth by exercising their imperfect knowledge, they reach up to the impersonal conception. And persons who are still further advanced, just like yogis. They are trying to meditate upon the localized aspect of the absolute truth, the Paramātmā, the Supersoul, they're little further advanced. But persons who have realized the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are supposed to be the ultimate realizer. So God is realized by all of them but not on the same level.

The example, another example. Just like from a very distant place you see one hill. You will find just like it is a cloud. If you go further near you will see it is something green. And if you reach the mountain then you will see there are so many trees, so many animals, houses and living beings. The same example can be given here. One who is observing the absolute truth from a very distant place, their conception is impersonal. One who is further advanced, their conception is localized. God is situated in everyone's heart. That is localized.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that "My way is followed by everyone." The impersonalists, they are also aiming to the same goal and the yogis or the localized realizer they are also aiming the same goal. But the devotees, they have reached the same goal. That is the difference. The impersonalists or the yogis, they could not reach the final goal. But the devotees, they have reached the final goal. Therefore you will find in the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). After many, many births of transcendental realization one surrenders unto Me accepting vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19), Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is everything. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. That sort of mahātmā, great soul, is very rare.

Lecture on BG 4.11-18 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1969:

Prabhupāda: This is Kṛṣṇa's picture. Yes.

Guest: I practice transcendental meditation myself and some of the concepts (indistinct) as far as levels of consciousness (indistinct) use the word cosmic consciousness and God consciousness and I was wondering how Kṛṣṇa consciousness would relate to this cosmic consciousness.

Prabhupāda: What do you understand by "cosmic consciousness?"

Guest: Transcendental consciousness simultaneous...

Prabhupāda: Just explain, just try to explain what do you mean by "cosmic consciousness."

Guest: Being in a transcendental state simultaneously with the waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states, the relative states (indistinct) and having the transcendental state also. Being...

Prabhupāda: What is the distinction between transcendental stage and this stage?

Guest: The transcendental pure being, pure existence, pure consciousness, pure awareness and the other states are (indistinct).

Prabhupāda: And what is impure?

Guest: Not impure. They...

Prabhupāda: Then how you distinguish pure?

Lecture on BG 4.11-18 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1969:

Prabhupāda: What is that object? Give me tangible example.

Guest: In relative existence it would be that which exists and...

Prabhupāda: What is that relative? Relative means there must be something absolute. When you speak of relative... Just like you are son, relative. Immediately the conception of father must be there otherwise how it is relative? So as soon as you say relative, what is the absolute?

Guest: The absolute is... I can't say

Prabhupāda: Then you have no conception of the absolute. You cannot explain.

Guest: It's...

Prabhupāda: You are simply... Your meditation means you are simply in the relative.

Guest: It's not...

Prabhupāda: You are giving definition in the... Just like you do not know what it is. You say simply "It is not this," that's all. But you do not know what it is. That is not concrete definition. If I say, "This is not watch. This is not book. This is not light. This is not microphone." I can go on thousands of years saying, "This is not, this is not, this is not," but that does not mean it is this. And if you know it immediately say, "It is glass, spectacle." That means you do not know it. Simply negation, "This is not, this is not, this is not," is not the realization of the Absolute. You must give concrete idea of the Absolute. That is transcendental meditation.

Lecture on BG 4.13 -- Johannesburg, October 19, 1975:

So our business does not finish there. Our business is more business, that "If I am eternal as God is eternal, then why I am subjected to birth and death?" This is real question. This is called brahma-jijñāsā. The Vedānta-sūtra, the Vedānta philosophy, begins from this inquiry, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "This human life is meant for inquiring for the Absolute Truth, what is the ultimate truth of life." Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So when we forget completely our real problems of life, that is animalism.

So that animalism... When the human society, the animalism is prominent, simply living like animals, that is called dharmasya glāniḥ, "deficiency in the matter of dharma." Therefore, in human society there is some sort of religious system. It does not matter what is that religion. May be Hinduism or Christianism or Mohammedanism or Buddhism. In the civilized human society there is some conception of religious principle. Without religious principle, we are cats and dogs because in the cat society, dog society there is no such thing as church, mosque, or temple or synagogue. They live naked and bark. That's all. So if we simply live and try to become naked like the cats and dogs and bark, then where is the difference? Where is the difference? No difference. So we must take to religious system. That is humanity.

Lecture on BG 4.14 -- Vrndavana, August 6, 1974:

So in the material condition, that is not applicable perfectly, but so far spiritual condition is concerned, God must be given full freedom. Otherwise there is no meaning of God. If God is also under the, under your laws... Sometimes: "Why God has done like this?" They inquire like that. This question sometimes put. "Why God has put us into this condition?" These are foolish questions. But the real conception of God is that He is free to do anything, whatever He likes. You cannot say, "Why God can... Will... God will do this, will do not that." No. That is not the conception of God.

So here Kṛṣṇa says that na me karma-phale spṛhā. He is ātmārāma. Ātmārāma. Ātmārāma means He is fully satisfied in Himself. And He can create so many things. He is creator. So there is no question of desiring something. He can do anything, whatever He likes. But... That will be explained.

He sets example. Just like in the previous verse. We have already discussed.

Lecture on BG 4.14 -- Vrndavana, August 6, 1974:

Although He has set up the principle of varṇāśrama-dharma, but He's not within the varṇāśrama-dharma. Just like Kṛṣṇa takes the incarnation of becoming a pig, but that does not mean He is a pig. Ordinary conception of pig we have got. Or He takes the incarnation of a fish, but that does not mean He's ordinary fish.

So similarly, He comes here as a human being, as son of Nanda Mahārāja, or husband of Rukmiṇī, or son of Vasudeva, but actually, He is nobody's son. He is everybody's father. He is the origin. Nobody can be cause of His creation. This idea should be understood. And if anyone understands that Kṛṣṇa, or God, is not under any rules and regulation and laws of this material world, then he understands Kṛṣṇa perfectly.

Just like Kṛṣṇa performed the rāsa dance. At the midnight many young girls came by hearing His flute, and He danced with them. This is, from Vedic standard, it is not very moral. Because at dead of night, with others' wives or sisters or daughters, to dance... Kṛṣṇa was young. That is not very good example from Vedic principles. But He did it. So, so... And that is the highest understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG 4.19 -- New York, August 5, 1966:

So that consciousness has to be invoked, not only individually, but also community-wise, society-wise, nation-wise, all over the world. Then there will be peace. If you want real peace.

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
(BG 5.29)

We are just trying to be philanthropic, altruistic. And we are trying to become friend of my countrymen, of my society, of my family, but that is a wrong conception. Real friend is Kṛṣṇa. I can work on His behalf. How I can work? You try. If you actually want to do something good to your family, then you try to make all the members of your family Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then your life will be successful. If you want to make them otherwise, without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you will be serving, not serving, you will be rendering them disservice. Because any knowledge will not help your wife or children. Any knowledge, any amount of knowledge, will not help his real problem. What is his real problem we do not know. The real problem is... That we do not know. The real problem is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9).

Lecture on BG 4.19-22 -- New York, August 8, 1966:

Just like I am an Indian sannyāsī. I have come to your country, at your country. Oh, there are many rules and regulations in India which is different from your rules and regulations. But if I follow, if I stick to rules and regulations of Indian conception, then it is impossible to remain here. So I have to propagate this mission, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so I am not so much attached to the rules and regulations, but I am attached to the preaching work. So therefore niyamāgraha. Atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ (NOI 2). This four, this niyamāgraha, is also against Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And niyamāgraha. And when you are in a quite convenient position, if you do not observe the rules and regulations, that is also against Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ.

And laulyam. Laulyam means greediness. That is against Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Laulyam, and jana-saṅgaś ca. Jana-saṅga means to associate with persons who are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We should avoid. We should avoid association of persons who are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If we make more association with persons who are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it will go against me.

Lecture on BG 4.20 -- Bombay, April 9, 1974:

So Vaiṣṇavas also say, yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ. Brahmā, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, they are demigods of this material world. So if one puts Nārāyaṇa even with the label of Brahmā and Rudra, Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā... They are very exalted, big demigods. Lord Śiva is almost like Nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa is ninety-five percent complete God, and Lord Śiva is eighty-five percent and Kṛṣṇa is cent percent. There is analysis. So yas tu nārāyaṇaṁ devaṁ brahma-rudrādi-daivataiḥ, samatvenaiva vīkṣeta. Samatvena, equal "Well, whatever is Nārāyaṇa, that is also Lord Śiva, that is also Lord Brahmā, that is also goddess Kālī." This is Māyāvāda. Because the Māyāvāda philosophy is that "The Absolute Truth is impersonal. That is the final understanding. So because we cannot think of impersonal, meditate upon that, let us imagine some form." Sādhakānāṁ hitvārthāya brahmaṇo rūpa-kalpanaḥ.(?) The Māyāvādī philosophers, they say that kalpana, "You just imagine any form." Therefore they especially recommend the five forms, the five form: the Sūrya, sun-god, Gaṇeśa and Durgā, Viṣṇu and Lord Śiva.

There is also Viṣṇu. But this Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇava conception of Viṣṇu is different. This Viṣṇu is imagination, and Vaiṣṇava conception of Viṣṇu is reality. Kṛṣṇa is reality. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). Those are mūḍhas, the same mūḍhas, because He has come in the form of a human being, they say, "This is māyā. This Kṛṣṇa has come.... The impersonal Brahman has assumed a body, accepting this body given by māyā." This is the Māyāvāda philosophy. But actually Kṛṣṇa does not come. Because Kṛṣṇa says, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā (BG 7.14). Māyā is controlled by Him. How He can accept subordinance of māyā? No.

Lecture on BG 4.20-24 -- New York, August 9, 1966:

Now, today's subject matter is varieties of sacrifices, how we can perform different kinds of sacrifices. And what is the sacrifice? Sacrifice means yajñārthe karma. Just at the present moment our conception is that I am the proprietor of everything. Actually, I am not the proprietor. The Īśopaniṣad says that īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam: (ISO 1) "The Supreme Lord, Personality of Godhead, or Kṛṣṇa, He is the proprietor." But deluded by the illusory energy of the material existence, we are thinking that "I am the proprietor." Therefore in the scriptures, in Vedic scriptures, sacrifice is recommended. Sacrifice means you give voluntarily. You give voluntarily. Because we have been so much attached to this material proprietorship, that... And without that attachment, there is no possibility of our becoming free from this material entanglement. But that attachment is very difficult to give up. Therefore sacrifice has been recommended, that "You sacrifice."

Lecture on BG 4.20-24 -- New York, August 9, 1966:

Sacrifice for whom? For the Brahman. And Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Brahman. Therefore sacrifice for Kṛṣṇa is brahmārpaṇam, means, sacrificing for the Brahman, Supreme Brahman. Because Kṛṣṇa is described in the Tenth Chapter as the Parambrahman, the Supreme Brahman. Brahman means, we are also all Brahman. Because we are all fragmental parts and parcels of the Supreme Being, Kṛṣṇa, therefore we are also Brahman. Just like particles of gold is also gold, similarly, we are fragmental portions of Kṛṣṇa. Do not understand that as material fragments... We are not material fragment. But just because we have no other conception at the present moment except material understanding, therefore I am just trying... This is translated into English as "fragment," but not like that material fragment.

Just like we have got a paper in our hand. If I tear into pieces, they become fragments. Then the original paper, the shape of the paper—no longer existing. It is not like that. The Upaniṣad says that

pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
(Īśo Invocation)

The spiritual conception is that, that any number of fragments of the whole can be taken from the whole spirit, but still, the spirit whole is as it is. That is the description in the Vedic literature. We have got material idea: "One minus one equal to zero." But in the spiritual realm, one minus one equal to one. So these fragments, the fragments of the Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, we are. So with that consciousness, we have to sacrifice.

Lecture on BG 4.20-24 -- New York, August 9, 1966:

In the higher conception of life, just it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that everything is visualized as Brahman. Brahman means spiritual. So in the higher conception of life, one who has attained in the higher stage of spiritual realization, for him, there is nothing material. There is nothing material. The distinction of matter and spirit is this. Now, from the Bhagavad-gītā we understand that two energies are working. One energy is called inferior energy, and the other energy is called superior energy. Now, take for example the inferior energy. The energy emanating from the source, is there any possibility of dividing the energy and the energetic? No. That is not possible just like you cannot divide heat from the fire or the illumination from this light. This is not possible. If there is no illumination, then the light has no meaning. If there is no heat, then fire has no meaning. Similarly, if the energy is separated from the energetic, the energetic has no meaning.

So Kṛṣṇa says that there are two kinds of nature: superior nature, or higher nature, and inferior nature.

Lecture on BG 4.24-34 -- New York, August 12, 1966:

So anyway, either the Brahmavādī or Paramātmavādī or the bhakta, they are all tattva-vit. They are all transcendentalists. There is no difference. But as there are three classes in every sphere, so there are three classes in the transcendental field also. So here Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord recommends that jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ (BG 4.34). You have to find out a person who is tattva-darśī, who has realized the Absolute Truth, either in Brahman conception or in Paramātmā conception or in Personality of Godhead conception because we have got different tastes. So the Paramātmā or the Supreme Absolute Truth is also manifested in three phases: Brahman, Paramātmā, Bhagavān. So anyway, either you select the impersonal Brahman conception of the Absolute Truth, either you select the localized supreme soul, Supersoul conception of the Absolute Truth, or you accept the highest, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). The Lord says that "This is the last phase of Absolute Truth, what I am, Kṛṣṇa."

Lecture on BG 4.24-34 -- New York, August 12, 1966:

Just like I have given this example already—you did not hear attentively—that the sunshine, the sun disc, and within the sun. The subject matter is same, but still, the subject matter of studying sunshine and subject matter of studying the sun disc and subject matter of studying what is within the sun, there are differences, although the whole subject matter is the sun. The Absolute Truth is also, in the same way, manifested in three phases: Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. So either of these three, we have to find out; then gradually we make further promotion.

Those who are in the Brahman conception... Just like Śukadeva Gosvāmī. He was in the Brahman conception, but by his further development, he became a devotee. He became a devotee. There are many instances. The Sanaka-Sanātana sages, they were in Brahman conception. So to... As it is stated in totee(?). There are many instances. The Sanaka-Sanātana sages, they were in Brahman conception. So to... As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate... (BG 7.19). This mām means the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So anyone who comes to that Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is in the highest perfection of knowledge.

Lecture on BG 4.24-34 -- New York, August 12, 1966:

So the spiritual knowledge becomes revealed. It is not subjected to any material acquisition. It is not subjected to any material acquisition of knowledge. It becomes revealed. How? Yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau. One who has a staunch faith in the Supreme Lord and staunch faith in the personality of his spiritual master, bona fide, then he gets all the things revealed in himself. Spiritual things are not just like material things.

So according to Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-guhyatamam, the Lord says that "The most confidential part of knowledge I am speaking to you, my dear Arjuna, because you are My very dear friend, that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66)." So one who has the conception of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and has surrendered unto Him, he is considered to be highest, topmost spiritualist.

Lecture on BG 4.34-38 -- New York, August 17, 1966:

Now, in these days of Communism, the idea of Communism... Now, in the Kṛṣṇa science, there is very nice conception of spiritual communism, in the Kṛṣṇa science. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata you'll find that there was a discussion between Nārada and Yudhiṣṭhira, and Nārada was explaining that in this manifested material world, either in the higher planets or in this planet or in the outer space, whatever wonderful things and resources, material resources are there, they are all manufactured by the Supreme Lord. Just try to understand. Everything in this world, whatever there is, that is not done by any human being. That is done by God. Nobody can deny it. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Therefore all living entities, beginning from the ant to Brahmā, the highest human being or the highest demigod, all of them, they have got the right to use them. They have got the right to use them.

Lecture on BG 4.39-42 -- Los Angeles, January 14, 1969:

Similarly, the impersonalists, they think that "I am Brahman, but I am not this matter." That is a fact. I am spirit. I am not this matter. But that understanding is not sufficient. What is my position as spirit? Then, when we come to the supreme spirit, the all-spirit, that is perfection of knowledge. So impersonal conception is simply a negation of these material varieties. But above that, there is spiritual variety. And that is real knowledge. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Negation... Just like there is no fever. In diseased condition one is trying to get out of the feverish condition. So by medicinal treatment one gets out of fever. But that is not healthy condition. That is not final. There is negation of fever. That's admitted. That's all right. But that is convulsion (convalescent) stage. You may relapse again. When you actually come to the healthy state, that is your life. So negation of fever is not as good as your healthy life. So negation of this materialistic idea, impersonalism, is not complete knowledge. Because I am spirit soul, I am active even in this material diseased condition. How much active I must be in my healthy condition. That is real knowledge. Healthy condition does not mean that I am dead. This is no treatment.

Lecture on BG 5.3-7 -- New York, August 26, 1966:

So sāṅkhya-yogau pṛthag bālāḥ pravadanti na paṇḍitāḥ. So any, any type of spiritual realization, they are different forms. "You are, you are Hindu? Oh, I am, I am Christian." "Oh, you are Christian? I am Muhammadan." So these conceptions, that "I am different from you," that is not for the learned. The learned one is hankering after the Supreme Truth. Never mind. Either you go through Bible, or go through Bhagavad-gītā, or go through this Koran, that doesn't matter. What is the aim of your life? If your aim of life is to understand the Absolute Truth, then there is no difference. But if your aim is something else, then you find some difference from Bhagavad-gītā to Bible, Bible to Koran, Koran to something else. So Kṛṣṇa says that sāṅkhya-yoga. Either you take sāṅkhya-yoga or sāṅkhya or this karma-yoga, anything, there is no difference. Because the, everything is trying to give you the ultimate Absolute Truth.

Lecture on BG 5.7-13 -- New York, August 27, 1966:

So sannyāsas tu mahā-bāho. If artificially I detach myself, renounce this world, then Kṛṣṇa says duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ. If there is no engagement, good engagement, better engagement, then it is a cause of misery. It is a cause of misery. It is very difficult. Suppose a family man, he renounces the family connection, but if he has no better connection and better attachment, then he will feel, "Oh, I was better in my family life. I have done mistake." Kṛṣṇa says, sannyāsas tu mahā-bāho duḥkham āptum ayogataḥ. Ayogataḥ means if we have no link with the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then simply detachment will be cause of misery. Duḥkham āptum. It will be a cause of misery. Yoga-yukto munir brahma. But one who is in dovetail, one who is dovetailed with the Supreme, yoga-yukto munir brahma na cireṇādhigacchati. Brahma. Yoga-yuktaḥ. If I am dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then acireṇa. Acireṇa means very soon I shall realize myself as Brahman. I am Brahman. It is simply question of realization. By misconception, by illusion, I am thinking that I am matter, but actually I am Brahman. The whole process is to realize that "I am Brahman, I am not this matter." This conception, Brahman conception, or realization, self-realization, is possible, yoga-yuktaḥ, if I am always dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG 5.7-13 -- New York, August 27, 1966:

If we consider... When I am taking my food, if I think, "Oh, this nice foodstuff is sent by Kṛṣṇa. He has kindly sent me this foodstuff." So I think of Kṛṣṇa. So that taking of foodstuff in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is yoga-yukta. That is called yoga-yukta. That is yoga. Always thinking in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is called yoga-yukta. Yoga-yukto muni. Muni. Muni means one who is thoughtful, he's called muni. So one who is always thoughtful of Kṛṣṇa, such person, yoga-yukta, yoga-yukto munir brahma na cireṇādhigacchati. He, very soon, he becomes situated in his Brahman conception of life. And as soon as you are situated in Brahman conception of life, then immediately your effect will be brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). You'll be joyful. Your material moroseness will go at once. At once. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati. You'll be free from all anxiety. You'll be free from all... And there will be no demand for your sense satisfaction. You'll feel yourself full. "Oh, I am full. I have nothing to demand." Such stage will come.

Lecture on BG 5.14-22 -- New York, August 28, 1966:

Now, what are the signs? Now Kṛṣṇa describes the symptoms of this stage. Simply superficially, if we think that "I am already in the Brahman stage of life," no, there should be symptoms. Now here Kṛṣṇa says to the symptoms of Brahman. Simply if I say that "I have now hundred millions of dollars in my bank," that will not do. There must be some symptom that actually I have got. I am doing something which requires money. I am spending like that. Then one can trust, "Oh, yes, this man has got some money." Similarly, simply by understanding that "I am in brahman sthiti," oh, no... "I am brahmāsmi." Then I am doing all the nonsense, ordinary work. No, that is not. Here Kṛṣṇa gives the symptom how one is situated in the Brahman situation. Na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya. When one is situated in Brahman conception of life or Kṛṣṇa consciousness life, suppose all of a sudden he gets some hundred millions of dollars. Suppose he is a poor man, but all of a sudden... There was a case in... There are many case. In India there was a case in Calcutta. One... What is called? The caretaker of the horse? What is this called? What is his name?

Lecture on BG 5.26-29 -- Los Angeles, February 12, 1969:

So if I remain as molecule in the brahma-jyotir, that is also possible. The impersonalist wants that. Or if I enter into some spiritual planet and associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead that is also another spiritual existence. Although both of them are spiritual existence, this spiritual existence is impersonal. To remain as molecular part of the Brahman rays or spiritual rays, that is impersonal. And to have a spiritual form just like Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu, that is another spiritual perfection. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy.

And nirvāṇa, nirvāṇa, the Buddha philosophy is just above the material conditional life but on the margin of spiritual existence. That is... Nirvāṇa means void of material existence. Nirvāṇa, this impersonal conception is also nirvāṇa. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that this impersonal philosophy is another phase of the void philosophy. Veda... Covered void philosophy. Impersonalism is covered void philosophy. They are all the same. Śaṅkara's philosophy of impersonalism and Lord Buddha's philosophy void is almost the same. Real life, real spiritual life is this Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Vaiṣṇava philosophy, to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. Just like we are sitting here face to face. We are talking, you are hearing. You can have this perfection. That is personal conception of spiritual perfection.

Lecture on BG 6.1-4 -- New York, September 2, 1966:

So that stage is called real sannyāsa. Kāryam. Kāryam means "It is my duty." I am not forced, but voluntarily, out of love, transcendental love. Just like mother serves this child out of love. There is no question of salary or remuneration. The mother loves this child. Similarly, you can love the Supreme Lord in many ways. You can love the Supreme Lord as master, you can love the Supreme Lord as friend, you can love the Supreme Lord as child, you can love the Supreme Lord as your husband. Any way. There are five different rasas or humors, in which we are eternally related with the Supreme Lord. And when we are actually in the liberated stage of all knowledge, we can understand that "Our relationship with the Lord is in this way." That is called svarūpa-siddhi. That is real self-realization. That is real self-realization. Everyone has an eternal relationship with the Lord, either in the conception of master and servant, or in the conception of friend and friend, or in the conception of parents and the child, or in the conception of husband and wife, or in the conception of paramour and lover, and the beloved. So these relationships are there eternally.

Now, the whole process of spiritual realization is to come to this stage, transcendental stage. This relationship with the Supreme Lord is pervertedly reflected in this material world. And therefore we have got this relationship here, master and servant. But because it is perverted, therefore that relationship is not master and servant. That relationship is with the money and the benefit. There is no love.

Lecture on BG 6.1-4 -- New York, September 2, 1966:

Now, here is very important point. Yaṁ sannyāsam iti prāhuḥ. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa instructs Arjuna that "Whatever is known as sannyāsa, renounced order of life, that is also yoga." Yoga system and sannyāsa, there is no difference because everything on the yoga system... This Bhagavad-gītā is also known as yoga system. You'll find here three kinds of yoga: karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. So just like you have got a staircase to rise up to the fifth or sixth or tenth floor, or more than that, the whole staircase or the lift service is called yoga. Now, somebody may be in the fifth floor, somebody may be in the tenth floor, somebody may be on the fiftieth floor, but the same lift service is going. You take the lift service as the yoga, connection between the highest story to the down. Anyone who has elevated himself to a certain platform... Someone is called karma-yogī, someone is called jñāna-yogī, someone is called dhyāna-yogī, someone is called bhakti-yogī. So there are different kinds of yoga in this conception. Otherwise, this lift service, yoga service, is the same. It is, the difference is between the elevation point.

Lecture on BG 6.6-12 -- Los Angeles, February 15, 1969:

It is all impersonal or void." That is frustration. But actually, God has got form. Why not? The Vedānta-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ: (SB 1.1.1) the Supreme Absolute Truth is that from whom or from which everything emanates. Now we have got forms. so we have also must have been, not only we, there are different kinds of forms of the living entities. Wherefrom they come? Wherefrom this form is originated? This is very common sense question. If God is not a person, then how His sons become persons? If your father is not a person, how you can become a person? This is very common question. If my father has not a form, wherefrom I get this form?But people imagine, because when they are frustrated, when they see that this form is troublesome, therefore God must be formless. That is an opposite conception of this form. But Brahma-saṁhitā says no. God has form, but He is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Sat, cit, ānanda. Sat means eternal. Sat means eternal, cit means knowledge and ānanda means pleasure. So God has form, but He has got a form which is full of pleasure, full of knowledge, and eternal. Now compare your body. Your body is neither eternal nor full of pleasure nor full of knowledge. Therefore God has form, but He has got a different form. But as soon as we speak of form, we think the form must be like this. Therefore the opposite, no form. That's no knowledge.

Lecture on BG 6.6-12 -- Los Angeles, February 15, 1969:

Bhāgavata does not mention that this Hindu religion is first-class or Christian religion is first-class or Mohammedan religion is first-class or any other religion. We have created so much, so many religions. But Bhāgavata says that religious principle is first-class. Which one? Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). That religion which helps you to advance your devotional service and love of God. That's all. That is the definition of first-class religion. We do not analyze that this religion is first-class, that religion is last-class. Of course, according to, as I have told you, that there are three qualities in the material world. So according to the quality, the religious conception is also created. But the purpose of religion is to understand God. And to learn how to love God. That is the purpose. Any religious system. If it teaches you how to love God, then it is first-class. Otherwise it is useless. You may prosecute your religious principles very rigidly and very nicely, but your love of God is nil. Your love of matter is simply enhancing, that is no religion. According to Bhāgavata verdict: sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Apratihatā. Ahaituky apratihatā. That religious system has no cause. And without any impediment. If you can reach such system of religious principle, then we'll find that you are happy in all respect. Otherwise there is no possibility.

Lecture on BG 6.11-21 -- New York, September 7, 1966:

It is all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa is also pleasure. Rāma is also pleasure. Because we are all hunting after pleasure. But we do not know where to find out the pleasure. The pleasure is in spiritual life. That is real pleasure. We haven't got to sacrifice pleasure, but we have to enjoy it properly. Just like diseased man, he cannot enjoy life. His enjoyment of life is a false enjoyment. When he's cured, when he's in healthy life, then his enjoyment is bona fide. Similarly, so long we are in the material conception of life, we do not expect that we are enjoying. We are simply entangling. That means diseased man, if he enjoys, if he takes nice food. He cannot eat, but if he likes and takes stealthily, without the information of the medical physician, then he prolongs his diseases. That's all. He is killing himself, the process. Similarly, the more we increase our material enjoyment we are more making ourself entangled in this material world, without being freed from these material clutches.

That is the whole system of yoga, jñāna, bhakti, anywhere. Anywhere. One may find, "This system is nice; that system is very difficult.' That is a different thing, but any system you adopt, the whole thing is that you have to purify your existence from the conception of material enjoyment to the conception of Kṛṣṇa consciousness enjoyment. That will make you happy. Thank you very much. (kīrtana) (end)

Lecture on BG 6.40-42 -- New York, September 16, 1966:

So the linking, either you link with impersonal formless, the Supreme Brahman, that is also linking. And if you by meditation you link up with the Supersoul within yourself that is also transcendental activity. Or you directly worship as a devotee, Kṛṣṇa. Anything you adopt, that is spiritual life. But to become Kṛṣṇa conscious or a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, that is the ultimate goal. That we have in the Bhagavad-gītā:

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ
(BG 7.19)

After two stages. Impersonal conception of the Supreme or localized realization of the Supreme. They have again to come to this consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, after many, many births. So therefore it is better if they're intelligent enough, when you get the information that ultimately you have to come to this point, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19). Vāsudeva means Kṛṣṇa. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. That sort of great soul is very rare. So why not become a rare great soul immediately and just become in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and make your life successful? Thank you very much. Any questions? Yes?

Lecture on BG 6.40-42 -- New York, September 16, 1966:

Similarly, a spiritually perfect person and his photograph is the same. Because it is in the absolute stage. In the absolute stage there is no difference. In the material stage there is difference. Is that clear? In the absolute stage there is no difference. Just like we are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. The Kṛṣṇa is the name of the Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So this name and Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent. Do you realize it? There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa who is in His supreme abode and the name Kṛṣṇa which you are chanting. That is the same. There is no difference. This is absolute conception. Whereas if I am thirsty and if I call the name of water, "Water, water, water," I require the substance water actually. Simply by calling "water" will not do. That is the difference between matter and spirit.

And actually, if we are not getting some spiritual enlightenment by chanting Kṛṣṇa then do you think that we are simply wasting our time? No. We're not wasting our time. We're actually getting spiritual ecstasy because there is no difference. But you take similarly, the name of water or something else, what you want, that will not be fulfilled. This is the absolute and relative conception. In the absolute stage there is no difference, name, quality, form, pastime, entourage, everything the same. If you chant Kṛṣṇa's name it is as good as Kṛṣṇa. If you see Kṛṣṇa's form it is as good as Kṛṣṇa. If you think of Kṛṣṇa's activities it is as good as Kṛṣṇa. This realization is spiritual realization. Therefore a first-class devotee who is advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he sees everything Kṛṣṇa. Nothing different from Kṛṣṇa. Any other questions?

Lecture on BG 6.46-47 -- Los Angeles, February 21, 1969:

But there are different orders of social society: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa. The whole process is to restrict. But gṛhastha, householder means giving a little license who cannot completely restrict sex life. That's all. Gṛhastha does not mean unrestricted sex life. If you have known this married life like that, that's a wrong conception. You have to control if you want to get out of this diseased condition of life. You cannot get out of disease and unrestrictedly go on enjoying your senses. No. That is not possible. Yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti na sādhu manye yata ātmano 'yam asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ (SB 5.5.4). Those who are indulging unrestrictedly in sense enjoyment civilization, that is not good. Because that will lead him to accept next again this material body. Maybe human body or animal body or any body. But he has to accept this body. And as soon as you accept this body then you'll have to undergo the threefold miseries of the body. Birth, death, old age, diseases. These are the symptoms of threefold miseries.

So people, one has to understand scientifically these things but they are neglecting. So therefore continuing suffering. They do not care for suffering also. Just like the animals, they are suffering, but they do not care for it. they forget. So practically this sense gratification civilization means animal civilization. A little polished, that's all.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, March 17, 1968:

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is very nicely explained in the Thirteenth Chapter, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam: "I am expanded all over." Sarvam. Sarva means all over. Avyakta-mūrtinā. "That is My impersonal feature." Kṛṣṇa is everywhere in His impersonal, but still He is person. The Māyāvāda philosophy thinks that "If Kṛṣṇa has become everything, then where is the necessity of Kṛṣṇa again, person?" This is rascaldom, because he is thinking in material way. He has no spiritual knowledge. Material way. Suppose if you take a piece of paper and you may make it in particles and throw it all over; the original paper has no existence. This is material. But we get information from the Vedas that pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). The Absolute Truth is so perfect that if you take the whole perfect, still, the perfect remains. One minus equal to one, not zero. The material way of thinking is "One minus one equal to zero," but spiritual way is not like that. Spiritual way is "One minus one equal to one. One plus one equal to one." Oneness. This is the conception.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, March 26, 1968:

So here it is clearly said, mayy...mad-āśrayaḥ. Mad-āśrayaḥ means he..., one who wants Kṛṣṇa. You may want Kṛṣṇa as your lover. You may want Kṛṣṇa as your son. You may want Kṛṣṇa as your friend. You may want Kṛṣṇa as your master. You may want Kṛṣṇa as the supreme sublime. These five different kinds of direct relationship with Kṛṣṇa is called devotion, bhakti. Without any material profit. Now the concept of accepting God as son is superior than the concept of accepting God as father. There is distinction. The relationship between father and son is that the son wants to take something from the father. But the father's relationship with the son is that father always wants to give something to the son. Therefore the relationship with God or Kṛṣṇa as father is better than relationship with Kṛṣṇa...

Just like if I accept God as my father, then I am the son. Then my business will be to ask only for my necessities from the father. That is my business. But if I become father of Kṛṣṇa, then from the beginning of His childhood, my business will be to serve Kṛṣṇa. The father, the parents, they serve the child from the beginning of his birth. Therefore this concept of Nanda-Yaśodā or Devakī and Vasudeva is very sublime. They... Kṛṣṇa... Yaśodā, mother, she is thinking that "If I do not feed Kṛṣṇa sumptuously, He will die." She is thinking that Kṛṣṇa... She forgets that Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, is subsisting the three world, everywhere.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, September 10, 1968:

I don't speak of the animals. Animals, they have no sense of God. I am speaking of the human being. There are different, different grades of human civilization—the highest type of civilization and the lowest aboriginal—but every one of them has got a sense of God. That is there. This is the special prerogative of human being. Not that only the civilized men. Perhaps you know all, when you came here from European countries in America, the Red Indians. They are considered as aboriginals; still, they have some religion, they have some conception of God.

So God is great. That is admitted by the human civilization. Now what is that greatness? Generally when we speak of greatness...(coughs) (aside:) Water. We think of the greatness of the sky. That is the simple example how thing can be great: "As great as the sky." But in the sky you have no perception. As there is development of these material elements from finer, I mean to say, existential form, to grosser form, and the grosser form becomes tangible for our understanding, similarly, in every religion or in every society, the greatness of God is admitted. But how that greatness becomes tangible, that you can find in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Suppose you have got conception of a sky, but you cannot have a definite idea of the greatness of sky because your experience and knowledge is gathered by sense perception. In the sky there is no sense perception. Just like we are sitting in this room. Within this room there is sky, but we cannot understand the sky. But if we try to understand this table we can at once understand, because in the table, if I touch, I feel the hardness; the perception is there. My knowledge can receive that this is a hard table. But if I speak about sky, I cannot get any direct perception. Therefore simply understanding of greatness of God is not all. That, that is the beginning of attachment, "God is great." But you have to develop your attachment to the fullest extent. And that is love of God.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Auckland, April 15, 1972:

Truth which is advaya-jñāna. Advaya-jñāna means without any duality. Just like here in this material world it is called dual world, duality. Everything cannot be understood absolutely. If I say... It is a, rather in ordinary language, relative world. Here everything is relative. Just like if I say "father," "father" has no meaning if there is no son. Duality. If I say "good," so unless I have got idea of bad, I cannot understand good. If I say "light," unless I have got conception of darkness, I cannot understand light.

So here everything is duality, relative knowledge, relative world, but in the absolute world everything is one, spirit. Here... because here we have got experience two energies, spiritual energy and material energy, working. The material energies are the physical elements, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ: (BG 7.4) earth, water, fire, air, sky, and, in subtle form, mind, intelligence, ego. They are all material. Mind is also material, intelligence is also material, but they are subtle forms. And spiritual existence is the living entity, as we are. These things are very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām. The material, physical elements, they are inferior quality of, inferior quality, energy, of Kṛṣṇa. But the superior quality of energy we are, living entities. Jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat (BG 7.5).

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Sydney, February 16, 1973:

So this Bhagavad-gītā should be read by every individual person to know the science of God. It is a great science. God is not a fiction or an imagination, as people take it. Not always, but in human society, everywhere in civilized human society there is some conception of religion, and the purpose of executing religious faith means to understand God. There is no other purpose of any religion. If in any religion the understanding of God is lacking, that is not first-class religion. So we are preaching not any particular type of religion. Religion is described in the English dictionary as "a kind of faith." Actually, religion does not mean. The Sanskrit word dharma, that dharma means characteristic. It is not a kind of faith—characteristic, or occupational duty. Generally it means characteristic. The characteristic is that every living being, whether it is animal or human being or tree or plants or insect... (loud noise from speaker system) (aside:) What is it? Every living being has a particular characteristic that is visible in all kinds of forms of living being. That is service. Everyone is rendering service. Here we have so many ladies and gentlemen present, but every one of us is rendering some service to the superior. That is our position.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Sydney, February 16, 1973:

The water substance is different from the name "water." But God being absolute, His name, His form, His quality, His entourage, they are all the same, as good as God. So if you associate with any one of them, either God personally or with His name or with His form or with His quality or with His paraphernalia, immediately you become in contact with God. This is the science. This is not fiction; this is science. Because if you accept God as absolute, there cannot be difference between God and His name and His form. So this is science. You'll realize as you make progress. You'll realize. Just like these boys, they're chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, they are realizing; otherwise I've not bribed them. They're mad after Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. It is not due to my bribing them. They're actually realizing that they are in touch with Kṛṣṇa. So anyone can do that. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, therefore, that there are many thousands of names of God. Although we say that the only perfect name is Kṛṣṇa, but if you think, "No, we have got another name," that's all right. But it must be the name of God. It must be full with the conception of God. If you have got, you can chant that name also. There is no hindrance. Nāmnām akāri. Because every name being identical with God, every name of God is as powerful as God. As powerful, because identical. Identical; therefore every name has got the same power and potency as the Supreme Person, God, has got. Nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija sarva śaktis. Nija sarva śaktis: all potencies are there. Tatrārpitā. There is, it is already endowed with all the potencies.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Fiji, May 24, 1975:

Then what will be the result? Asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu (BG 7.1). Asaṁśayam. We have got vague idea of God. We do not know actually what is God. There is saṁśaya, doubts. Somebody is impersonalist. Somebody is localized. Somebody is personalist. But actually, if we ask every man, "What is your conception of God?" I think hardly anyone will be able to explain what is the meaning of God. They have no clear idea. Is it not a fact? Can any one of you give me a clear idea what do you mean by God? No. Therefore if you want clear idea of God without any doubt, asaṁśayam, and samagram... Samagram means full, not partially. The spiritual understanding is partial in this way, brahmeti paramātmā iti bhagavān iti śabdyate. The Absolute Truth is realized in three features, Brahman, beginning from Brahman, then Paramātmā, Supersoul. I think in Christian world they call holy ghost. Anyway, Paramātmā, the Supersoul. And ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. That is the statement of the śāstra. Kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). If you want to know, here is Bhagavān.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Durban, October 9, 1975:

Indian man (5): Swamiji, there is a school of thought amongst Hindus that condemns idol worship and the concept of avatāra. Would you kindly elaborate on these concepts?

Prabhupāda: Idol worship, that is not idol. Just like if you worship your leader in some picture or some statue, that is not idol worship. That is actually fact. You show your respect to your leader. Similarly, when we worship the Deity of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, it is not idol worship. It is worshiping Kṛṣṇa. The difference is, as we have already discussed, Kṛṣṇa is Absolute. In the ordinary case the picture of your father and the father is different because it is material body. But Kṛṣṇa, being absolute, His form, Deity form, and He, there is no difference. It is Kṛṣṇa's mercy that He comes before you in the Deity form made of so-called wood or stone because we cannot see at the present moment except wood and stone. We cannot see. Just like I was explaining we cannot see even our father, the spirit soul. And how we can see the supreme spirit? So when we worship Deity, it is not idol worship. It is worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa, and the Deity is not different from the person. This is the idea. We have to understand. It is a science. Just like the holy name of the Lord. It is as good as the Lord Himself. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto 'bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ (CC Madhya 17.133). When we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, this means Kṛṣṇa is dancing on my tongue. Otherwise why these people are chanting twenty-four hours, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa"? If you ask them to chant some other name, "Mr. John, Mr. John, Mr. John," it will be not possible. He will be tired: "No more." But you go on chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours. You'll never feel tired. That is the proof that the holy name of God and God is nondifferent.

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- London, August 4, 1971:

Perfection of human consciousness is there when one understands that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is perfection. But if you study scrutinizingly so many men, every one is bodily conscious. In Moscow I was speaking with a great professor, Kotovsky. He's in charge of Indology department of the government. He said... Although I defeated him in argument, he said that "After finishing this body, everything is finished." Just see. No. The spiritual knowledge begins when one is perfectly aware that "After finishing this body, I am not finished." That is perfection. Not that those who are in this concept of life, that with the finishing of this body everything is finished. That is nonsense. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Kṛṣṇa teaches. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin..., nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). "This ātmā is never born and he never dies." Na jāyate mriyate vā. Nitya, eternal; śāśvata, ever-existing, śāśvata. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. "Don't think that because the body is finished, therefore he is finished. No." In another place Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). As we are changing body from babyhood to childhood, childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youth-hood, youth-hood to grown-up and old age—this is our practical experience, I have several times explained—similarly, this old body, when I give it up, I shall accept another body. What is that body? That will be given to you by the laws of nature according to your mentality. As you create your mentality, yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke (BG 8.6), absorb your thought and mind at the time of death, then you are given a particular type of body, either in the womb of a human being or a cat or a dog or a demigod or a tree or so many.

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- Ahmedabad, December 14, 1972:

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, asaṁśayam. The theoretical knowledge, experimental knowledge, always remains in doubt. All the scientists, they are not confident. Now there is a theory, "theory of uncertainty," among the scientists. Whatever knowledge they are making, they are making progress, everything is uncertain. Yes. It must be uncertain, because the basic principle is wrong. Therefore it must be uncertain. A conditioned soul, as we are, under the condition of the material nature, three modes of material nature, how our knowledge can be perfect? It is not possible. The first defect is, because we are conditioned, we commit mistakes, so many. And we become illusioned. Just like every knowledge is being based on the illusion that "I am this body, material body," which I am not. But the whole world is going on under this conception, that "I am this body." "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brāhmaṇa," like that. So the basic principle is illusion. And there are so many mistakes we commit. And the senses are imperfect. And although my senses are imperfect, I, still, I theorize, "It may be...," "It is like this," "It is like that." These are all imperfect things. Therefore whatever knowledge we may make progress, it is saṁśayam, it remains doubt, uncertainty.

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- Stockholm, September 10, 1973:

Prabhupāda: (laughs) You are getting more people. That is also another illusion. I shall give you one example, that in a village there is a marketplace. So thousands of men gather there, and one village woman, old lady, she began to cry that "Where shall I accommodate so many people?" So his (her) son came, "Mother, you don't worry. In the evening I shall show you." So in the evening, the mother came. There was nobody. So you are thinking just like village lady, "Where we shall accommodate so many men?" They come and go. This conception of increasing, that is your misconception. There is no question of increasing and decreasing.

Swedish woman (5): No, but it's not. We can see it everyday. We are getting more and more.

Prabhupāda: No. That seeing is imperfect. Because you have no perfect vision, therefore you are seeing like that. Just like even from your room you will find from a hole many thousands of ants will come out. Are you worried for that? Have you seen it, experienced?

Swedish woman (5): No.

Prabhupāda: No. We have got experience. (laughter) But if you become worried, "Oh, so many ants have come here. Where shall I accommodate?" It is like that. There is ample arrangement for accommodating them. You should not worry. You better mind your business, how to become God conscious and go back to home, back to Godhead.

Lecture on BG 7.2 -- Nairobi, October 28, 1975:

Real mukti is described in the Bhāgavata. Mukti means muktir hitvānyathā rūpam. Muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. When one is cured of his madness and he is situated in healthy state, that is called mukti. So here in this material world everyone is mad. Somebody is thinking, "I am king." Somebody is thinking, "I am minister." Somebody is thinking, "I am president," "I am this," "I am Nārāyaṇa," so on, so on, so on, all madmen, all madmen, because it will be finished. His so-called conception of becoming this and that will be finished within few years. But he is eternal. He is thinking the temporary situation of becoming an American, Indian, or minister, or president, or this or that, how long it will stay? It will stay, say, ten or fifteen or fifty or hundred years. That's all. But he is not for hundred years. He—nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). But the rascal does not know. He is thinking, "By chance, I have become minister or president or this or that. For some years this is my position." Dehātma-buddhiḥ. So that is the difference between mukti, mukta and bandha, bondage and liberation.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Montreal, June 3, 1968:

So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means that we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is and in a practical way. Just like we are recommending the members of the society to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ: (BG 9.14) "Those who are mahātmās, great souls, they are always engaged in glorifying Me." Satatam. Satatam means always. And who is a mahātmā? Oh. We have got conception that Mahatma Gandhi, a great politician, he is called mahātmā. But in the Bhagavad-gītā the definition of mahātmā is different. In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find, mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ: (BG 9.13) "One who is mahātmā, he is not under the control of this material nature. He is under the protection of the spiritual nature." Daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ. And what is the difference between a person under the spell of this material nature and one person under the protection of spiritual nature? That is also stated there, that mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanti mām ananya-manaso (BG 9.13). The test whether a man is under the protection or under the punishment of this material nature or he is under the protection of spiritual nature is tested in this line. What is that? That mahātmā, who is under the protection of spiritual nature, his business is to render transcendental loving service to Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Bombay, February 18, 1974:

Simply superficially to know Kṛṣṇa... Just like in the English dictionary it is said, "Kṛṣṇa..." Kṛṣṇa is mentioned in the dictionary: "a Hindu god." So what does he know about Kṛṣṇa? "Hindu god." There are Hindu gods, many. According to our Hindu conception, there are thirty-three crores of demigods, chief of which is Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lord Viṣṇu, Sūrya and Gaṇapati. Chiefly they worship. In the Hindu world, they worship... Somebody worship Viṣṇu, somebody worship Śiva, somebody worship Brahmā, somebody worship the sun. Just like the Parsis, they worship the sun. I think I am right. So they also can be concluded as Hindus, and actually, they came from Persia. When there was Muhammadan disturbance, they fled from their country and came to India. That is the history. So these five gods are especially recommended and worshiped. So Kṛṣṇa is considered in the Viṣṇu category; therefore in the English dictionary it is said as "one of the gods." They're under the conception, foreigners, that "Hindus, they have got many gods." But actually, that is not fact. There are... Many gods means... Just like "god-ly," because they are servants of Kṛṣṇa. Just like in royal palace, even the servants are dressed with royal garments. Similarly, the chief servants of Kṛṣṇa, like Indra, Candra... Sūrya is also servant. Candra, that is also servant. Indra is also servant.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Nairobi, October 29, 1975:

This is the position always of everyone who is in this material world, and especially in this age, Kali-yuga. Kali-yuga, they are all first-class fools. That is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10), prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ. The Kali-yuga is very difficult yuga. In ignorance they fight, quarrel, only fight, quarrel. Kali means fight. Therefore it is called Kali-yuga. So in this age especially, the inhabitants, they are manda. Manda means all bad. Nobody is good. And sumanda, matayaḥ. Everyone has got his conception of perfection—all bogus. Sumanda-matayaḥ. Why this is? Manda-bhāgyāḥ: because they are unfortunate. Everyone does not know what he shall eat next morning or in the evening. Everyone is in need. Scarcity all over the world. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyāḥ. And still, they are disturbed, so many. Especially with the increase of Kali-yuga, people will be disturbed by two things especially. What is that? Scarcity of food and taxation. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Durbhikṣa-kara-pīḍitāḥ (SB 12.2.9). Kara means taxation. The people will be embarrassed for want of food, at the same time, every year, increase of taxation. That is stated in the Bhāgavata. Durbhikṣa-kara-pīḍitāḥ. So much disturbed that they will give up their hearth and home and go away in the forest. Durbhikṣa-kara-pīḍitāḥ. Ācchinna-dāra-draviṇā yāsyanti giri-kānanam. Dāra-draviṇā, money, wife, children, everything—they will be disgusted: "Now it is impossible to maintain. Let me go away." Yāsyanti giri-kānanam.

Lecture on BG 7.5 -- Nairobi, November 1, 1975:

Therefore in the spiritual world there is no disagreement. That God is great and we are small, there is no disagreement. That is spiritual world. And the material world means "God is great, we are small"—there is disagreement. That is material world. Try to understand the distinction between material world and spiritual world. The living entity is very minute particle of God, but in the spiritual world everyone is aware of his position. The living entities, they know "What is my position? I am a small particle of God." Therefore there is no disagreement. Everything is going on nicely. Here in this material world he is actually the small particle of God, but there is disagreement. He is falsely thinking that "I am as good as God." This is material life. And liberation means... When we are free from this wrong conception of life, that is liberation.

Lecture on BG 7.11-16 -- New York, October 7, 1966:

So now these two class and another class, jijñāsu. Jijñāsu means inquisitive. Just like an intelligent boy is very much inquisitive to understand. He asks always his parents, "Oh, mommy, what is this? What is this? What is this?" So mother explains. Similarly, one who is intelligent... These boys, these children who inquire, they are very intelligent boys. They will come out very intelligent in future. These are the signs of intelligence, the inquiring boy. So similarly, there are persons who are very inquisitive. They are studying. Just like the scientists, they are making research. Similarly, when one makes research what is God, what is God... Now, scientifically, with great intellect, one tries to understand what is God, oh, he is also good. He is also good. He is making proper research. Yes. Then the distressed and the person in want and the inquisitive and jñānī. Jñānī means who has understood his spiritual constitutional position. He is called jñānī, man in knowledge. He also inquires, he also becomes, he also goes to God. Maybe personal, impersonal conception, but he is trying to take shelter of the ultimate truth, Absolute Truth.

Lecture on BG 7.15-18 -- New York, October 9, 1966:

So these are foolishness. They are not jñānī. One who has got real conception of God, they have no quarrel with each other. All the history of religious fight, Hindu-Muslim or Christian-non-Christian, they are all ignorant. They are all ignorant. One who is in the knowledge, he knows that God is one. God cannot be Hindu. God cannot be Muslim. God cannot be Christian. God is God. He has no material qualification. It is our conception that "God is such and such. God is such and such." That is imagination. That is called iconographer. So they are not jñānī. They are not man in knowledge. Man in knowledge is different. He knows that God is transcendental. Just like even Śaṅkarācārya, the impersonalist, he said, nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ avyaktāt. And in the morning also we have discussed the point that one who knows God transcendental, above this material qualities, he knows.

Lecture on BG 7.18 -- New York, October 12, 1966:

So they are three angles of vision. Just like from a distant place, if you see one mountain, you'll see just like something cloudy. If you advance more, the same mountain you'll see something green. And if you enter into that mountain, you'll find so many variegatedness, so many trees, so many animals. So objective is the same. But under different angles of vision, from distance, different people have got different conception of the Absolute Truth. Another example: just like the sun—the sunshine and sun disc and the sun planet. One who is in the sunshine, or one who is studying the sunshine, or one who is studying the sun disc and one who is entering within the sun planet... Just like we are trying to enter into the moon planet, similarly, you can enter into the sun planet provided you have got the qualification. So in the sunshine, or in the sun disc or in the sun planet, they are in the sun, but there are degrees. One who is in the sunshine, he cannot claim that "I am in the sun planet." He cannot claim that. So one who is in the sun planet, he is better situated than one who is in the sunshine. So sunshine is compared with the Brahman effulgence, brahma-jyotir. And sun disc is compared to the Supersoul. And the sun planet, within, that is compared with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Lecture on BG 7.18 -- New York, October 12, 1966:

So the impersonalists, brahmavādīs, they realize about that brahma-jyotir. And the yogis, they realize the Supersoul, Supersoul. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati: (BG 18.61) "Īśvara, the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portions, He is situated in everyone's heart." We are sitting together. Several times we have described this, that two birds are sitting in the same tree. The two birds means one, the Supersoul, and other, the individual living entity. So by yogic process, by concentrating our mind, focusing our mind to the Supersoul, one can experience that partial, plenary expansion of the Lord, Supersoul. Just like in the... The same example can be given, that the sun, at noontime, if you inquire thousands and thousands of people scattered over thousands and thousands of miles away, everyone will say that "The sun is on my head." Similarly, the Supreme Lord is also represented by the Supersoul conception in everyone's heart. Not only in everyone's heart, but even in every atom He is represented. So that realization is the second stage. And the third stage is to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 7.28-8.6 -- New York, October 23, 1966:

By Kṛṣṇa consciousness we can transcend this material consciousness of different interests. We have no other interest except realization of our self. But because, due to our ignorance, we have created our different interests and we are committing sins and breaking the laws of nature; and therefore we are gradually, by and by, becoming more and more entangled in this material nature. So the Lord says that "One who has surpassed this material nature and ignorance," te, "they can become free from this conception of duality," bhajante mām, "and becomes a perfect devotee of Myself." That means, in other words, one who becomes perfectly Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he becomes liberated from this conception of duality or illusion of duality. He becomes a perfect man—jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya.

Now, one can question why this perfection is required. What is the necessity of perfection? Because there are still... There are... People are mostly under the spell of the modes of nature of ignorance. Therefore they do not know the value of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They can inquire that "What is the use of becoming Kṛṣṇa consciousness, Kṛṣṇa conscious, and become free from this conception of duality? What is the use?" So Lord Kṛṣṇa replies that question.

Lecture on BG 7.28-8.6 -- New York, October 23, 1966:

So as we have several times explained that we are all Brahman, but we are part and parcel of the Brahman. Now here it is said that paramaṁ brahma, the Supreme Brahman. The Supreme Brahman means one who does not come into this material contamination. He is called Supreme Brahman. The impersonalist school, they do not distinguish between these two Brahmans. They say, "Brahman is one. This individual Brahman, this conception of individual Brahman, is māyā, illusion." That is their doctrine. But according to Vaiṣṇava doctrine, they do not accept this. Their question is, "If Brahman is Supreme, then how He comes in contact with the māyā?" A Supreme cannot be under the subordinate, subordination of anything else. If something is under subordination, he cannot be Supreme. He cannot be Supreme. That is their argument.

Lecture on BG 8.5 -- New York, October 26, 1966:

So we cannot restrict God, that "He cannot be like this. He cannot come here. He cannot take any shape." No. He is not under my restriction. Then how God is great? If I put God under my restricted knowledge or limited knowledge, then God becomes under my understanding. But the Vedic language says, avan mānasa-gocaraḥ. He's beyond the expression of words. He is beyond the conception of mind. He is greatest of the great, and the smallest of the small. How He's the smallest of the... We are also, because we are spirit spark. Now, do we know what is our measurement? That we can find in the śāstra. I have several times mentioned that one ten-thousandth part of the tip of your hair is the measurement of the soul. Now you have no instrument. You cannot measure even the tip of your hair, and what to speak of ten-thousandth part of it. Impossible. Therefore because you cannot find out by dissecting this body where is that spirit spark... There is, but your present eyes cannot find it out. Therefore you say nirākāra, or no form. But actually, it has form.

Lecture on BG 8.14-15 -- New York, November 16, 1966:

It is said that "Persons who are interested of becoming liberated," ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ, "simply by the concept of impersonal merging into the spiritual existence," so ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa, "they consider themselves that they are liberated." That is also point of liberation, but the Bhāgavata says that "Although they consider themself as liberated, the aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ..." Aviśuddha means their knowledge is not very pure, not yet pure. Aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ. The result is āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ: (SB 10.2.32) "They can rise up to the Supreme Absolute platform by their penances and austerities, meditation." That is right. They can reach to that platform. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa means "raising themselves, elevating themselves by severe penances to that platform," āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32), the Supreme Absolute platform. But patanty adhaḥ: "They again fall down in this material world." Why? Anādṛta: "Because they have not taken seriously about Your personal feature." Anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ: "Without worshiping Your lotus feet, the result is that they come down again in this material world."

Lecture on BG 8.21-22 -- New York, November 19, 1966:

How can I attain that state? Bhaktyā. Not by speculating, but bhakti. You have to submit. You have to render transcendental loving service. That is the way. Bhaktyā tv ananyayā. Tv ananyayā means without any adulteration. Adulter... What is that adulteration? "Now I love God for some material benefit." That is adulteration. "I love God to become one with Him." That is adulteration. This adulteration in devotional service will not help you. Unadulterated. Tv ananyayā. Ananyayā. Yasyāntaḥsthāni bhūtāni yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. And that Supreme Personality, although He's just like a person, like you and me, still, He's so widespread that everything is within Him and everything in Him, He's outside and inside. That is the conception of God. God is everywhere, but still, He has got His kingdom, abode. He has got His association, everything. Just like the sun. The sunshine is all over the universe, but it has got his own planet, his own residence, localized, everything.

So that is the conception of God. And that God, or Kṛṣṇa, is in that spiritual atmosphere. If we approach, then our life will be successful, our aims will be fulfilled, and we'll be happy, and we'll be prosperous eternally, not for temporary, but eternally.

Lecture on BG 8.28-9.2 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

Now we begin the Ninth Chapter. We have finished the Eighth Chapter. We are beginning the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā. Śrī bhagavān uvāca. The Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is speaking. Śrī Bhagavān. I have several times described what this word bhagavān means. Bhaga means "opulence," and vān means "who possesses." So bhagavān. There is... Everything has definition. So in the Vedic scripture we'll find the definition of God. We have got some conception of God, but in the Vedic literature you'll find definite description, what do we mean by "God." That what do we mean by "God" is described in one word: Śrī bhagavān. Bhagavān. Bhaga means opulence, and vān means "one who possesses."

So what are the opulences? The opulences are that riches, wealth, and strength and influence and beauty, education, knowledge, and renunciation. These are opulences. Therefore Vedic literature says,

aiśvaryasya samagrasya
vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ
jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva
ṣaṇṇāṁ bhaga itīṅganā
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47)

Bhaga. These are opulences. Aiśvarya means opulence and... Aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya. Vīryasya means strength. And yaśasaḥ. Yaśasaḥ means fame. And aiśvaryasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ. Śriyaḥ means beauty. And jñāna. Jñāna means knowledge. And renunciation, vairāgya. Renunciation. These six opulences, when you find presented in a personality in full, He is God. He is God. That is the description of God. You have many rich men here in your New York City, but nobody can claim that he is the richest of all, he has got all the riches of the world. Nobody can claim. But if you find somebody who claims that "All the riches of the world or the universe belongs to me," He's God. He is God, just like Kṛṣṇa claimed.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- New York, November 22, 1966:

Actually, this is the position of our present situation. We are very much proud of our advancement of education. But if you inquire from various persons that "What you are?" hardly some will answer what he is. Everyone is under the conception of this body. But we are not actually this body. This question we have discussed various times, many times. So this after passing this examination that "I am not this body," then one who, one comes into the real knowledge. That is real knowledge, "What I am." That is the beginning. So the knowledge about which Lord Kṛṣṇa is now imparting, giving instruction to Arjuna, He says, "This is rāja-vidyā." Rāja-vidyā means to know oneself what he is and act accordingly. That is called rāja-vidyā. If I do not know what I am, what is my position, then if I am in mistaken about my situation, then all activities, what I am doing, they are all mistaken. They are all illusion. Therefore this position, rāja-vidyā, means one should know himself, what he is, and act accordingly. Simply by knowing that "I am not this material body," that is not sufficient.

Lecture on BG 9.4 -- Melbourne, April 22, 1976:

Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4). In every forms of life, as many living entities are there... I have explained, there are different forms of life. Even within the water there are 900,000 forms of life. This is Vedic knowledge. You can take directly knowledge. You can understand. You do not require to dive into the water and make study, aquatic research work. You take the knowledge from the Vedic literature. You immediately understand that there are 900,000 species of life. This is different forms. The living entity, soul, is everywhere. But according to his karma... Just like nowadays people are very fond of diving within the water and swim. This has become a fashion. So next life they are going to become fish. Yes. Because yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). If you at the time of death, if you think of that, how to swim very nicely within the water, that means next life nature will give you a fish life. You get it. That is God's mercy. Why you artificially try to become a fish? You become actually fish. That is nature's gift. So you'll get. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran. This is stated in the Bhagavad... Because whatever we practice in our life, so that concept of life, that imagination, continues.

Lecture on BG 9.4 -- Melbourne, April 22, 1976:

The example is given just like the sunshine. What is the sunshine? The sunshine is illumination and the heat also, heat and light, sunshine. Now if you go to the sun planet, then what is there? Heat and light. And if you enter into the sun planet and see the person, the supreme personality within the sun... There is a supreme person. We do not know, but we understand from Bhagavad-gītā that Kṛṣṇa says, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). He talked with the sun-god, so there is sun-god. There is god, or the president, you may say, president of the planet. And if the president is there, the government is there. There are living entities. In everywhere there are living entities. Don't think that you are simply here in this planet, and there is no living entity. It is wrong conception, foolish conception. So the president of the sun planet, He is the original person from where this sunshine and heat is coming. He is the person. And the population there, they are made so that their bodily effulgence is the heat and light, and that is being manifested in the sun globe.

Lecture on BG 9.4 -- Melbourne, April 23, 1976:

Prabhupāda: This is an expansion of the energy known as mind. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca. These are subtle matter. So different division. God's creation is wonderful that even if you take the atom, there are so many things. That is... Scientists are... So what to speak of mind, thinking, feeling, willing, and there are so many divisions. So what is your question about the psychiatrist? It is a material thing and very subtle, and there are so many divisions. So what is your question about it?

Guest (1): I just wanted your views on your concept of...

Prabhupāda: Yes, everything is resting on God. This is also resting on God.

Guest (1): Is it necessary to have a therapeutic system?

Prabhupāda: No, everything First of all we have to understand that everything is expansion of God's energy. So if you understand God, then the energies are automatically understood. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. This is the Vedic injunction. If you try to understand God, then His energies also will be understood by you. If you know the root, if you water on the root of the tree, then the tree, whole tree, becomes luxuriantly flourished. So our proposition is: you take the root, Kṛṣṇa, and you will understand everything properly from the root. If you want to understand the tree, whole tree, you try to understand it from the root, not from the top. So disease, any disease, if you understand the root cause of the disease you can give proper medicine and he's cured.

Lecture on BG 9.5 -- Melbourne, April 24, 1976:

So last verse we have discussed. Kṛṣṇa said... When we speak, "Kṛṣṇa," you should understand "Kṛṣṇa" means God, the Supreme Being. "Kṛṣṇa," the etymological meaning is "the all-attractive." Without being all-attractive there is no meaning of God. It is not that God is attractive only to certain class of men. No. God is attractive for all classes of men, unless he is animal. Animal does not know what is God and what is the attraction of God. He does not know. But human being, in the human society, at least in the civilized human society there is a certain idea of God. Either you follow Christianity or Vedic principle of Mohammedan religion or even Buddha religion, there is conception of God. There is an attempt to understand God. That is human society. Therefore, according to the capability or country and the people, the conception of God may be a little different from one another. But the attraction for God is there. There is no doubt about it. So God appears in three fundamental features: brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate.

Lecture on BG 9.5 -- Melbourne, April 24, 1976:

So the conclusion is, the Māyāvādī philosophy, impersonalists, they say that if God has expanded in everything there is no particular personal existence of God. That is Māyāvāda philosophy. But that is not the fact. Fact is that although God is personal, He is person. Just like you are person, I am person, He is person, but He is the Supreme Person. And everything is expanded by His energy. In another place, in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, it is explained very nicely that parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat.

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner
jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis
tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

It is very clear conception, that the agni or the fire is situated in one place, but it has expanded by his...Eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner jyotsnā vistāriṇī. Jyotsnā means illumination. Illumination has expanded. That is... We can understand. If there is dark place and if there is a fire place in that dark, immediately there is illumination. That is expanded. Similarly, God is situated in His own place. That is called Goloka Vṛndāvana. Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūtaḥ (Bs. 5.37). That is God. Although He is situated in His own abode, which is called Goloka Vṛndāvana, He has expanded throughout the creation by His energy. This is explained. Eka-deśa-sthitasyāgneḥ. Agni. Agni means fire. Fire may be situated in one place but the illumination has expanded.

Lecture on BG 9.15-18 -- New York, December 2, 1966:

So those who are impersonalists, they prefer these three processes. And those who are personalists, they prefer directly to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. So they're all transcendentalists. They're on the line. But here in the Bhagavad-gītā, those who are directly worshiping the Supreme Lord, they have been described as mahātmā. And those who are worshiping in other processes, they have been described, anye. Anye means others. So they have not been given so much importance, although they have been accepted. They have been... Because they have come to the line. Because... Suppose you are accepting the universal form of God. That is a fact also. Because the universe, the manifestation of the universe, is also manifestation of the energy of God. And the energy of God and God is not different. So therefore one who takes the manifestation of the energy as God, he's not mistaken. That is also true. Because there is nothing beyond God. If you think, "I am God," yes, you are also God. Because there is nothing beyond God. Ahaṅgrahopāsanam. If you think everything is God, that is also true. Because in the higher conception, there is nothing beyond God. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Sarvam, everything.

Lecture on BG 9.15-18 -- New York, December 2, 1966:

So these have come to this point. And sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. Why does He says, sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ? Because the path is not very easy. Spiritual path and to attain complete perfection is not very easy, especially in this age. In this age we are not living for long time. We are not very intelligent. We may think that we are very intelligent, but we are not intelligent, because we do not know "What I am." Ask anybody, "What you are?" He has the conception of this body. Therefore he's not intelligent. As soon as one will say, "Yes, I am this, such and such gentleman, a son of such and such gentleman. My country is such and such," these are all false. So nobody knows it. Therefore one who does not know it.

Sanātana Gosvāmī... We were teaching in the morning. He said that grāmya-vyavahāre kahe paṇḍita: "Even the layman, the laymen, they call me a very learned man. I accept it. But actually, I am not learned man." Why? "Because I do not know what I am. If I do not know what I am, then what is the use of other knowledge?" So actually, the intelligent person who knows his real position, his constitutional position, and his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, then he takes directly this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And that is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā and all scriptures. All scripture. But if you want to go round-about way, you can go, but you have come to this ultimate point. That is the conclusion. Then there are divisions of Vedic knowledge: fruitive activities, worship and knowledge.

Lecture on BG 9.15-18 -- New York, December 2, 1966:

Now He says, pitāham asya jagataḥ: "I am the father of this material world." How He becomes father? What is the definition of father? The father is who gives the seed. He is father. And again He says, mātā: "I am mother also." What is the definition of mother? Mother receives the seed from the father, and the child is born. Similarly, this material energy is the mother, this... We have got this body from mother. So this matter, material covering is the mother. And I am, I am spiritual spark, the seed. I am the part of Supreme. So the material energy is also the energy of the father, and as I am a spiritual spark, I am also a part of the Supreme. So He is my father and mother. Therefore somebody worships the Supreme Lord as mother, goddess Kālī, or... That is materialism. Because in the present conception of our life this body given by the mother is matter. Therefore worship mother means worship the matter. That's all. There are so many worshipers of mother. You worship your country. That is the same, material worship. This is called śakty-upāsanā. Śakti. Śakti means you are worshiping the energy of the Lord, not the Lord directly. You are worshiping the energy. All this nationalism or so many isms we have discovered, they are... Even the scientists. Scientists also, they worshiping the mother. He's finding out the complexities of the matter. So he's also worshiping mother. So materialism. This is called materialistic. One who is worshiping the mother, material energy, he's called śakta.

Lecture on BG 9.18-19 -- New York, December 4, 1966:

The Lord is gati. Gati means the destination. We do not know what is our destination. Due to our ignorance, due to our becoming overwhelmed by the illusory energy, we do not know what is our destination of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). People do not know what is their destination of life. The destination of life is to reestablish his lost relationship with the Supreme Lord. That is his destination. Unfortunately, people do not know what is the destination. They are simply thinking, destination of life, to have the greatest amounts of sense gratification. This is illusion. Because we are materially absorbed and materially concept of life means these senses—we have no other information—so we are trying to squeeze out all kinds of pleasure from sense. This is called illusion. They have no other information. They are earning, working very hard, and the ultimate goal is sense gratification. This is illusion.

Lecture on BG 9.22-23 -- New York, December 8, 1966:

I do not know what next life is mine. I do not know where is the..., who is coming as my son, who is coming, who is going out of the scene as my son. These laws we do not know. But we are chewing the chewed. Evaṁ gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante. Under the spell of this illusory energy, we are captivated by this temporary sense gratification and we have forgotten our real life. So those who are in the sense of his real constitutional, of their real constitutional position, as Bhagavad-gītā started from the very beginning... This very conception, that "I am this body," beginning from, from beginning of the Bhagavad-gītā this is discredited, that "You are not this body." So you have to mold your life in your identification of spiritual existence. So so far the materialist is concerned, they are chewing the chewed. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). The example, which I gave you the last day, that as sugar cane, one has extracted all the juice by chewing, and it is again thrown into the, on the earth and somebody is chewing, so there is no juice. So we are simply repeating the same thing. We do not question whether this process of life can at all give us happiness. But we are trying and trying, trying the same thing.

Lecture on BG 9.22-23 -- New York, December 8, 1966:

So here Kṛṣṇa says... But because that is recommended in the Vedic literature. Why? The Vedic literature... That I explained the other day, that worship of different gods, that is also along with Viṣṇu worship. Ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param. Viṣṇu is the central point. Without Viṣṇu worship, with(out) Kṛṣṇa worship, no other worship is successful. So here, those who worship other gods in this conception, that because God is everything, therefore the, any demigod, because the demigod... People, those who are less intelligent, they worship demigod to take immediate effect. Just like a man who is diseased, he is recommended to worship the sun. Sun. Now, that is effective. I may worship... Because when sun is worshiped you have to go to the sunshine and offer something, water and some pradīpa. There are some paraphernalia. So if a diseased man goes to the sunshine, he is actually... He is cured. Sunshine has got... Scientifically also, it has got ultraviolet rays. So one keeps... If he does not take any medicine, if he simply sits down in sunshine, he will be cured. Nature's way. So either you take this way or that way... But one thing is that those who are worshiping sun for cure of disease, for them Bhagavad-gītā says, antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām (BG 7.23). Antavat tu phalaṁ teṣām.

Lecture on BG 9.23-24 -- New York, December 10, 1966:

So worship of the Supreme Lord and worship of other demigods, that is being discussed in this verse by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Actually, there is no need of worshiping any demigod beside the Supreme. But in the lower stage... Just like the other day we have discussed. Because we cannot immediately give up our concept of material existence and material happiness and material distress—we take into consideration very seriously, without any spiritual life, or without any idea of spiritual existence—therefore sometimes recommended in the Vedic literature that "For this purpose you can worship this demigod." Just the, just like the other day I gave you the example that those who are diseased, they are recommended to worship the sun-god.

Lecture on BG 9.24-26 -- New York, December 12, 1966:

Now, the argument that "In whatever form you worship the Supreme..." This is the Māyāvādī theory, that "God is impersonal. Now, because we cannot worship or meditate on something impersonal, therefore let us imagine something about Him and meditate upon that." Just like the impersonalist yogis. They put before them a lump of something and concentrate upon them. So here that theory is refuted by Kṛṣṇa. That impersonal conception of the Supreme and our imagination of God, that is not the way of approaching God. He says clearly herewith that yānti deva-vratā devān: "Those who are worshiping the demigods..."

Lecture on BG 9.34 -- New York, December 26, 1966, 'Who is Crazy?':

Now just see. Take any common man. Not yourself, not myself. Any common man. If you ask him that, "What you are?", he'll say... His conception is that I am this body. Everyone will say. He'll give you some description that, "I am Christian." "I am Hindu." "I am Mr. Such and Such." "I am Mrs. Such and Such." Everything, whatever he or she will say, that is all due to this body. All due to this body. Everyone. When you say, "You are American," that means this is the body. Because by accident, by something, by some reason, you were born in this land of America. That is also another artificial name. The land is neither America nor India. The land is land. But we give some designation, "This is America." We make some boundary. This is United States of America. This is Canada. This is Europe, and this is Asia. This is India. So this is our name, but actually was there any history that the land is American, or the land...? Say, four hundred years before, or five hundred years before, was this land was known as America? You have named it, America. Say, some thousands of years before was this, this, the continent which is known as, I mean, Europe, can you trace out history, that it was known as Europe? They are all designations.

Lecture on BG 9.34 -- August 3, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

That is wrong conception, but actually, because I am living within this body, I want to give protection. This is the fact. Just like one protects his country because he lives there. Protects his house, protects his property because he has utilization. Similarly, because we have got utility for this body, we give protection. But when the living entity is no longer there within this body, there is no question of protection. It is thrown away. Even his father, mother or relatives, they take the body and throw away. In a different way, the body is thrown away. It has no more importance. So, then ultimately it comes that you love yourself. And you love yourself, but the self is the part and parcel of the Supreme Self. Therefore you love yourself because you love the Supreme Self. So therefore, ātmānaṁ mat-parāyaṇaḥ. Actually, everyone has got the loving propensity because he loves Kṛṣṇa. That is natural. So Kṛṣṇa says that simply by following this process, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī. Mām evaiṣyasi, you are trying to find out the supreme loveable object. So mām evaiṣyasi, come and let us live, loving one another. This is the goal of life.

Lecture on BG 10.2-3 -- New York, January 1, 1967:

So He's also... According to this version, He's also origin of Paramātmā, the Supersoul. And He is also the origin of nirviśeṣa or impersonal brahma-jyotir. Because it is said, aham ādir hi devānāṁ maharṣīṇāṁ ca sarvaśaḥ (BG 10.2). Sarvaśaḥ means, "Anything that you have any conception of, of all them, I am the supreme source."

Therefore, as it is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Absolute Truth is realized in three phases, vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam (SB 1.2.11). Advayam means nonduality, one. The one supreme truth, Absolute Truth, is realized in three phases, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate: realization of the impersonal Brahman, or the glowing effulgence, just like sunshine, then the localized Supersoul, then Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:

So how many times after repeated birth and death I shall go on claiming, "This is my country; this is my home," and again leave it and go another place: "This is my country; this is my home." Is it not nonsense?

If I am eternal, I am simply changing my dress, and I do not know how many times I have changed my dress during this life, and if I claim a particular dress, "Oh, this is my dress," is it not nonsense? You are changing dress always. You are changing your country, you are changing your form, and still you are claiming, "This is mine." And you are too much engrossed in this conception of life.

So one has to be disillusioned, means out of illusion. So whatever we are doing in this material conception of life, that is illusion. Therefore we cannot understand God. One who is not under the spell of illusion he can understand, asammūḍha. He can understand God. So first of all we have to understand whether we are not illusioned. Asammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu. Martyeṣu, in the, among, in the human society or in the society... Not only... Martyeṣu means all living entities who are conditioned, or, rather, conditioned souls. Asammūḍhaḥ. Sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate. He becomes at once freed from all... So if we want to become freed from all encumbrances of this material world, then we have to understand God. There is no question of neglecting. It is the prime duty.

Lecture on BG 10.8 -- New York, January 7, 1967:

So ādau śraddhā, how to increase. That is given direction by Rūpa Gosvāmī. This faith, ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 22.83). If you have little faith don't try to demolish it. Try to increase it. Just like if there is little spark of fire, if you fan it, it increases. Increases. And you have several times... In this temple, when there is yajña performance we ignite fire. So we take a little small piece of wood and ignite it. Then gradually it becomes blazing fire. Similarly, this faith is just like little fire, and you have to fan it very nicely.

How? Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅga (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15). If you have got this faith, then don't give up this connection. Please try to come here and try to understand us. Why you should try to understand us? Because we are speaking here about God, nothing else. No business, no politics, no nonsense. Therefore you should come here. Sādhu-saṅga. This is called association with sādhu. Who is a sādhu? If somebody says "A man with red dress or a great beard or something..." There are so many conceptions of sādhu. But sādhu is described in the Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord Himself, who is sādhu. He said api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk, sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30). Sādhu is one who is unflinchingly engaged in loving service of the Lord. He is a sādhu. That is the test, who is a sādhu.

Lecture on BG 12.13-14 -- Bombay, May 12, 1974:

That is the real vision. A paṇḍita means he sees. There is... For a advanced spiritualist, advanced Kṛṣṇa consciousness person, there is no such distinctive, "Here is American; here is Indian; here is brāhmaṇa; here is śūdra; here is Hindu; here is Muslim." No. He has no such vision. He has the vision that within this body, the spirit soul is there. That is part and parcel of God, or Kṛṣṇa. He is suffering on account of different dresses, different conception of... Therefore he should be released from this misconception of life. That is called paṇḍita.

The whole world is going on under this misconception of life, that "I am this body." And under this misconception he is thinking that "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am śūdra," "I am black" and "white," "fat" and "thin," all these things. This is called ignorance. Therefore śāstra says, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13): "Anyone who has got this conception that I am this body, this bag of bones and blood and flesh," sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13), "he is no more than the cows and the asses." That means animal. So whole world at the present moment is going on under this animalistic concept of life, animal civilization. Everyone is busy to take care of the body, but nobody knows how to take care of the proprietor of the body. That he does not know.

Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Bombay, September 25, 1973:

Just like our conception of eating, that we can eat through the mouth. Whatever eatables are offered to us, we pick them and put into the mouth. We know this is the process of eating. But Kṛṣṇa, because He is acintya-guṇa-svarūpam, His eating process is different from ours. That is also stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti. He has the limbs of the body, different limbs of the body, they can work also for other limbs of the body. Just like with our eyes we can see. If I close our eyes, we do not see. But Kṛṣṇa, even He closes His eyes, He can see everything with His hand. Now, this is inconceivable. Acintya-guṇa-svarūpam. Therefore it is called acintya. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti. So the foodstuff is offered there to Kṛṣṇa. He is eating by seeing. He can eat through His eyes. Just like we can eat through our mouth, not with our eyes, but Kṛṣṇa can eat through His eyes simply by seeing. Then you may argue that "The foodstuff is offered. If He has eaten, why it is lying as it is, as it was offered in the beginning?" That is answered in the Upaniṣad. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). Pūrṇasya. Kṛṣṇa can take the whole plate, but still the whole plate remains. It is not finished. That is spirituality. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate.

Lecture on BG 13.1-3 -- Durban, October 13, 1975:

These are the Vedic statement. And our process of knowledge, Veda... Veda means knowledge. Vetti veda vido jñāne. Supreme knowledge, perfect knowledge, that is Veda. So Kṛṣṇa is the supreme person. He is the speaker of Vedas. The subject matter of Vedas is to know Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). If you are a student of Vedas, then you must have clear conception of God. That is real knowledge, no vague idea, but clear conception. That is knowledge, Vedic knowledge, ultimate... Therefore the Vedānta philosophy. Veda means knowledge, and anta means the ultimate. Everything has got ultimate. So Vedānta means the ultimate knowledge of Vedas. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. You will find in the fifteenth chapter. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-vid vedānta-kṛd ca aham.

Lecture on BG 13.1-3 -- Durban, October 13, 1975:

So this is clear conception of kṣetra and kṣetra-jña. The body is called kṣetra, and the knower of the body... If we simply study our body, if we simply take this question, little seriously, "Whether I am this body or I am different from my body?" You study each and every part of your body. You study your finger. You will know or I will know "It is my finger." I do not say it is, "I finger." It is "my finger." Therefore I am different from my body. Just like I say, "This is my shoe." So I am not the shoe. So similarly, you study every part of your body. You know that it is your body. You are not this body.

This is study. This is meditation. First of all study your body, whether you are body or you are different body. That is actually.

Lecture on BG 13.2 -- Melbourne, April 4, 1972:

Don't think that the animals or living entities other than the human being, they have no soul. No. That's a wrong conception. They have got souls. How you can say there is no soul. The same symptoms of life there.

Just like the symptoms of life means it takes birth at a certain date, then it grows, it stays, it gives some byproducts, then dwindles, then vanishes. Take any. Either you take tree or you take a human body, or you take an animal body or if you take an insect body, or take the demigod's body—any body you take, there is a certain date of birth, everyone, certain date of birth. And then there is a certain duration of life. Somebody lives for ten years. Somebody lives for one year. Somebody lives for six hours, five hours. There are many germs. They live for five hours, six hours, or even less than that. And there are living entities like Brahmā, whose life is millions and millions of years.

Lecture on BG 13.3 -- Paris, August 11, 1973:

Similarly, as I am very small, smaller than the atom, and I am living within this body and my body is working so nicely. My brain is working so nicely. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is also, according to our conception, Kṛṣṇa is person, individual, but He has got a very gigantic body. This is the material world, material expression. That is expressed in the next verse: kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi. I am also kṣetrajñam. As you are knower of your body, the bodily pains and pleasure you know, I know. I do not know your bodily pains and pleasures. Neither you know my bodily pains and pleasure. But Kṛṣṇa says that kṣetrajña, kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi: "I am also kṣetrajñam," means "I also know the field."

So how He knows? Sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata. Sarva-kṣetreṣu. He is within every body. He knows what is the ant is doing. He knows what Brahmā is doing. He knows what you are doing. He knows what I am doing. Vedāhaṁ samatītāni (BG 7.26). Kṛṣṇa says in another place, "I know everything." Just like, it is very easy to understand. Just like, you know everything—not everything—at least eighty percent you know what is going on in your body. You do not know everything.

Lecture on BG 13.3 -- Hyderabad, April 19, 1974:

There are so many things (indistinct) to advance knowledge is to understand "Who am I?" If I do not know who am I, then what is the meaning of my advancement of knowledge? Generally, despite so many universities all over the world, people are going on in the concept of this body, "I am this body." "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim." So everyone is identifying himself with this material body. Then where is the advancement of knowledge?

Here Kṛṣṇa says, kṣetra-kṣetra-jñayor jñānaṁ yad jñānam, taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama. The kṣetra, this body, and the owner of the body... I am not this body, I am the owner of this body. This is jñānam. That is being explained in this chapter of Bhagavad-gītā by Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Hyderabad, April 20, 1974:

Then we are illusioned. Illusioned means we accept something for something. Just like we are accepting this body as myself. This is illusion. The whole world is illusioned. Everyone is thinking in terms of the body. And according to Vedic knowledge, anyone who is under the concept of this body as self, he is no better than the cow and the asses. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13).

So these are our defects: bhrama, pramāda, vipralipsa, karaṇa-pāṭava. Karaṇa. Karaṇa means senses, the instrument through which we gather knowledge. They are imperfect. So with so many imperfectness, how we can give right knowledge? That is not possible. So any knowledge received from these defective persons is imperfect. Therefore we should receive knowledge from the Supreme.

Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Miami, February 27, 1975:

That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). You have to understand that "I am not this body. I am neither Indian, nor American, nor Russian. I am part and parcel of God. Therefore my business is to serve God." This is called bhakti. When you are self-realized... That is definition of bhakti. Sarva upādhi-vinirmuktam. You have to get yourself cleansed from all these designations, that "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am American," "I am this," "I am cat," "I am dog." These are all designations because I am pure soul, ahaṁ brahmāsmi. And these conceptions are designation. So you have to be educated how to become free from the designation. That is sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170), that when we become free from the designation...

It does not mean because I become free from the designation, therefore I become zero. No, I remain because I am spirit soul, eternal. I may become sometimes American, sometimes Indian, sometimes cat, sometime dog, but that is change of designation or body. But as spirit soul, I am eternal. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). These things are all clearly stated.

Lecture on BG 13.6-7 -- Montreal, October 25, 1968:

I am identifying myself as belonging to this material world. This is misunderstanding. Actually, I don't belong to this material world. The whole concept of my material life is based on this misunderstanding that "I am matter. I am this body." So Lord Caitanya says that even if you do not follow the regulation of acquiring this knowledge, simply if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, then your first installment of profit will be vanishing this misunderstanding that "I am this body." Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), clearing the dust of the mirror of the mind. Darpaṇa means mirror. Just like on the mirror if there is dust, you cannot see your face very nicely. If you wipe the mirror very nicely... So this Hare Kṛṣṇa chanting is the process of wiping out the dust accumulated on the mirror of my mind. Mind, cetaḥ. Cetaḥ is consciousness. Mind is not exactly cetaḥ—consciousness.

Lecture on BG 13.6-7 -- Montreal, October 25, 1968:

So Vedic aphorism says that ahaṁ brahmāsmi. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. So ahaṁ brahmāsmi sometimes mistakenly is understood that "I am the Supreme God." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi means "I am Brahman." Brahman means spirit. "I am spirit soul." This conception, this identification, is right. This is the right identification. As soon as I think that "I am elephant" or "I am ant," that is not my identification. That is my misidentification. My real identification is that "I am neither ant nor elephant, but I am spirit soul." But sometimes by identifying myself with the spirit soul, sometimes I falsely claim that "I am the supreme soul." Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that tṛṇād api sunīcena, "You are soul, you are spirit soul, but you are smaller than the smallest straw in the street." So actually, there is no miscalculation. The conclusion is there. So adambhitvam dharmikatva-khyāti-phalaka-dharmācaraṇa. Khyāti. We should not be very much anxious about being famous. Not, "Oh, there is a great man who knows everything about spirit and who is perfect." No. We should be very sincere to understand things as they are. We should not falsely claim which I am not.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, September 30, 1973:

Any understanding without philosophy, that is sentiment. And philosophy without religious conception is mental speculation. These two things are going on, not combined. All over the world there are many so-called religious systems, but there is no philosophy. Therefore the so-called religious system does not appeal to the modern educated persons. They are giving up religion, either Christian, Muslim, Hindu. Simply formalities, rituals, they do not like. They want to know everything on the basis of philosophy. That is Bhagavad-gītā.

Bhagavad-gītā is based on philosophy, this system, Kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Bhagavad-gītā means Kṛṣṇa-bhakti, devotion to Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā, the teaching is man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). This is Bhagavad-gītā. "Always think of Me." Kṛṣṇa conscious, pure and simple. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Everywhere Kṛṣṇa stressed on His personality. Aham ādir hi devānām: (BG 10.2) "I am the origin of all the devatās." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7).

Lecture on BG 13.13 -- Bombay, October 6, 1973:

Human life means religion. Dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. The cats and dogs, they have no religion. But if the human being has no religion, then he is no better than the cat and dog. Therefore all over the world, either he's a European or American or Indian or Canadian or Russian, everyone has got some religion. It doesn't matter whether it is Hinduism, Muslimism or Christianism. Because human society without religious conception—religious conception means to understand God—he's animal. Dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. So gradually, the whole world is becoming animal because they are rejecting religion. They are rejecting religion. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge. Because these rascals, they give up religion and become animals and fight between themselves and make the whole world a confusion and chaos, therefore it is required that Kṛṣṇa comes. Dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya. This is His duty. He has no duty, but it is His mercy that He comes. Dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya.

Lecture on BG 13.14 -- Bombay, October 7, 1973:

Another meaning of this verse is that if He has got, sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādam, He has got His legs and hands, eyes, head, then how He becomes impersonal, void? Where is this conception comes from Bhagavad-gītā? The rascals say that "God is impersonal, no form." How it is possible, if He has got hands and legs, head and ears, how He has become formless? Tell me. Who is there? How He becomes formless? He is not formless. But the difference is His form is different from our form. Our hands and legs are limited, but He has got His hands and legs... That is not limited, that is unlimited. That is difference. When we say, when there is such thing as formless, formless means He hasn't got a form like us which is limited.

Lecture on BG 13.16 -- Bombay, October 10, 1973:

Now here Kṛṣṇa says, bahir antaś ca bhūtānām. The Absolute Truth is there, bahir antaś ca, not that it is in a different position or different angle of vision. You are already in the Absolute Truth, even materially conception. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca (BG 7.4). These are the material elements, five gross elements and three subtle elements. So even taken materially, so what is this material? We have already explained. The materials are different energies of the Supreme Lord. Bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā. Kṛṣṇa says, "These eight kinds of material nature, subtle and gross, they are My energy, inferior energy." Itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām.

So, the mind is within, the intelligence is within, the soul is within, and outside your body... So this body made of five elements, they are also Kṛṣṇa's energy, and within, the mind, intelligence and the soul, that is also Kṛṣṇa's energy. Two kinds of energies: supreme, er, inferior and superior. Therefore He is outside and inside both. Bahir antaś ca bhūtānām. Every living entity, Kṛṣṇa is existing outside and inside. Therefore we have to purify both outside and inside. That is our human life. Human life means to become purified. Because we are not purified, therefore we have to accept birth, death, old age and disease. This is the problem.

Lecture on BG 13.20 -- Bombay, October 14, 1973:

Material nature, prakṛti, is enjoyable. Prakṛti means enjoyable. And puruṣa. Puruṣa means enjoyer. Just like in our present condition we accept the female as the fair sex, enjoyable. And we, male, we think we are enjoyer. By nature the females, they are by nature apt to dress attractively, and the puruṣa is attracted. So this prakṛti and puruṣa. Actually none of us are puruṣa. This conception of puruṣa, enjoyer, that is there in so-called woman and so-called man. The man also wants to enjoy. Not only man, every living entity, cats, dogs, trees, aquatics, everyone, because this material world means all the living entities, beginning from Lord Brahmā, down to the smallest ant, they are seeking after enjoyment. Puruṣa. That is puruṣa spirit. One who is seeking for enjoyment is called puruṣa. But actual puruṣa is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 13.22-24 -- Melbourne, June 25, 1974:

So Kṛṣṇa is bhoktā and we are bhogya. It is not our position that we become Kṛṣṇa and become bhoktā, no. That is wrong conception. You cannot become the enjoyer. You are enjoyed. But when you want to imitate Kṛṣṇa and want to become enjoyer, then you are sent in this material world. This is material world. Why we are in this material world? We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. We should remain with Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual world. But why we are put into this material world? That is explained. Puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān (BG 13.22). Because constitutionally a living entity is not enjoyer but enjoyed.

But sometimes... Everyone here, they want to imitate Kṛṣṇa. Everyone is trying how to become a very big man, how to construct a very big, high skyscraper building, how to possess three dozen motorcar and how to possess so many servants, how to possess so many followers. Everyone is trying like that. This is the material world. Everyone is busy.

Lecture on BG 16.5 -- Hawaii, January 31, 1975:

So when we come to this platform of knowledge, that daivī sampad vimokṣāya (BG 16.5), then you become liberated immediately. Liberation means who comes to the platform of real knowledge. That is called liberation. That is the definition given in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, what is liberation, mukti. It is said, muktir hitvā anyathā rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). Hitvā means giving up. Mukti means hitvā, giving up, hitvā anyathā rūpam, something otherwise. I am spirit soul. I am thinking, "I am American." I am thinking, "I am Indian." This is anyathā rūpam. That is not the real conception of life. Real conception of life is ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am the spirit soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa." That is realization. That is called self-realization.

Self-realization does not mean something humbug. Self-realization means to understand his real constitutional position, what I am. Just like Sanātana Gosvāmī approached Śrīla Gaurasundara, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He asked, ke āmi: "Who I am?" Ke āmi... Ke āmi, kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya: "What is my constitutional position? Why I am suffering the three-fold miseries of this material existence?" This is the enquiry. Everyone is suffering. Somebody is in ignorance. Although he is suffering, he is thinking that he is very well. This is called māyā. Māyā means you are accepting something which is not. This is called māyā. Mā yā: "What you are accepting, that is false." This is called māyā. So we are accepting, "I am this body," "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Christian," "I am Hindu," "I am black," "I am white," "I am thin," "I am fat." So this is māyā. So when we give up this māyā conception of life, that is mukti. You may remain in the same body, but if you are not under māyā, bodily concept of life, that is called mukti, liberation.

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- Hawaii, February 2, 1975:

That form is not like ours. That is sat, cit, ānanda. The body has also three features. Sat means eternal. So therefore, His body is distinct from our body. Our, this body is not eternal within the history. When this body is created by the father and mother, there is a date, beginning. And when this body is finished, annihilated, there is another date. So anything within the dates, that is history. But Kṛṣṇa is not like that. Anādi. You cannot estimate when Kṛṣṇa's body began. Anādi. Ādi, again ādi. He is the beginning of everyone. Anādi. He Himself is anādi; nobody can find out what is the date of His appearance. He is beyond history. So but He is the beginning of everyone. Just like my father is the beginning of my body. Father is the cause of the beginning of my body or your body, everyone. So therefore He has no beginning, that He has no father, but He is the supreme father. That is the conception, Christian conception: God is the supreme father. That is fact because He is the beginning of everyone. Janmādy asya yataḥ: (SB 1.1.1) "Whatever has come into being, that is from Kṛṣṇa." That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). The devatās... This brahmāṇḍa is the creation of Brahmā. He is called one of the demigods. So Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām, "I am the beginning of the devatās, demigods." So if you study Kṛṣṇa in this way, then you become daiva, divine.

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- South Africa, October 18, 1975:

Prabhupāda: If you practice as they are described in the śāstra, then gradually you become released from the asura stage and come to the deva stage. Then you understand everything rightly. And if you keep yourself as asuras, then you will never be happy.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: The statement here is that the material world is founded on lust. This is the asuric conception. So everything...

Prabhupāda: The Sāṅkhya philosophy is also like that.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes. So this lust... The godly qualities, they come from Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Everything comes from Kṛṣṇa.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Even the demoniac qualities?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8). When Kṛṣṇa says, "I am the origin of everything," so the demonic quality is also coming from Kṛṣṇa. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (BG 4.11). If you want to become a demon, Kṛṣṇa will supply the quality. You become first-class demon. Without Kṛṣṇa's help you cannot become even demon. It is said, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ: (BG 15.15) "I am situated in everyone's heart." Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ. (aside:) What did you get by, while I speaking, taking photograph? I repeatedly ask you. You are obstinate.

Lecture on BG 16.8 -- Hyderabad, December 16, 1976:

So nowadays it is going on very strong, "nation." We do not have any such conception in the śāstra, national idea. The division is deva and asura. It doesn't matter where you are born. Even in India... Suppose you are born in a brāhmaṇa family. It does not mean that you cannot become an asura. And even if in Europe and America if you are born or in the mleccha and yavana family, it does not mean that you cannot become a brāhmaṇa. No. Kṛṣṇa says openly, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (BG 9.32). Pāpa-yoni, low-born. Pāpa-yoni. There are... They are mentioned in the śāstras, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ (SB 2.4.18). They are considered as caṇḍāla, less than the śūdras. Kirāta means Africans, the black. In our country also there are santals, very black. They live in the forest. Every country aborigines. They are called kirāta. So Huns... There are Huns on the northern side of Germany. Āndhra, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ. Many. But Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that they can be purified, śudhyanti prabhaviṣṇave, if they become Vaiṣṇava. Prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ. If one becomes Vaiṣṇava, then he is transcendental to this material designation.

Lecture on BG 16.9 -- Hawaii, February 5, 1975:

So in the absolute platform, in the spiritual world, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme whole spirit. Therefore He may expand Himself... Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Ananta-rūpam, various kinds of forms... Everything is Kṛṣṇa's forms. Your form is also Kṛṣṇa's form, my form is also Kṛṣṇa's form. Therefore foolish rascals, they think, "Now I have become God." He has got the affinity that he is also God expansion. Therefore sometimes he thinks that "I am God." This is... We are also expansion of God, vibhinnāṁśa. There are two kinds of expansions: svāṁśa, vibhinnāṁśa. When Kṛṣṇa expands in fullness, that is called svāṁśa, viṣṇu-tattva. Just like Kṛṣṇa has expanded Himself as Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha, so many, millions. There is no limit. That is called svāṁśa. And Kṛṣṇa expands as His energy, this material energy, this material world, the spiritual world, spiritual energy, and we are also energy, marginal energy. Taṭastha. Taṭastha means, marginal means... You can have a conception of marginal in the sea beach. The same place, walking, is sometimes covered with water, and sometimes it is land. This is called marginal, between the water and the land. So we living entities, we are marginal. Sometimes we are under the protection of the spiritual energy, and sometimes we are under the protection of the material energy. We are under protection; we are not independent.

Lecture on BG 16.9 -- Hawaii, February 5, 1975:

Therefore, accepted, God is accepted as the original father. The Christian, they go to the original father: "O Father, O God, give us our daily bread." So we also accept. That is the godly conception. That is the beginning of religious conception. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). What is dharma, religion? It is the codes given by God. That is dharma. Just like the state, the government, gives law: "You have to do like this. Keep to the right." You have to keep your car to the right. This is law. You cannot say, "Why not to the left?" You cannot say. Then you are criminal. Similarly, there are codes and description in the śāstra what God wants. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā God said that bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām: (BG 5.29) "I am the enjoyer of all sacrifices, all tapasya." You are engaged in some research work, tapasya, for what purpose? Now, finding out some deadly bone. A very big scholar, very big research student... So that is called asura. He has got some scientific knowledge, but he's busy to find out a nuclear weapon, how to kill other enemies. This is the research work. No. That is demonic. The same knowledge can be utilized for finding out God. That is mahātmā. This is the difference.

Lecture on BG 16.10 -- Hawaii, February 6, 1975:

Go-kharaḥ. Go-kharaḥ means... Go means cows, and kharaḥ means ass. The person is exactly the animal, cows or asses. Who? Now, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke: "One who has accepted this body as self." Ātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape. This is a bag, the bag of tri-dhātus. According to Ayurvedic medical science this body is working under three elements, kapha, pitta, vāyu. Therefore it is called tri-dhātu. So the whole world is going on on this concept of life. They have no spiritual. Even big, big professors, big, big, they also say that "This body is everything. After the body is finished, then everything is finished." But that is not the fact. That is the first spiritual education to understand, that "I am not this body." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am spirit soul." And Kṛṣṇa begins this preliminary education in the Bhagavad-gītā-

dehino 'smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati
(BG 2.13)

So this alpa-buddha, less intelligent class, demons, they do not understand this. Why? Kāmam āśritya duṣpūram. Unnecessarily dambha. Just like the same example, dog. The dog is very proud, barking, "Yow! Yow! Yow!" He does not know that "I am chained." (laughs) He's such a foolish that as soon as the master, "Come on." (laughter)

Lecture on BG 16.13-15 -- Hawaii, February 8, 1975:

So why shall I think of him as my enemy? Kṛṣṇa has desired him to act as my enemy just to correct me, just to make me more advanced in spiritual life. So why shall I take any action upon him as enemy?" Of course, this stage is meant for very highly elevated devotee. That is not meant for ordinary devotee. But the fact is this: "How one can become my enemy? If I am Kṛṣṇa's servant, how one can become my enemy? If one is acting as my enemy, it is Kṛṣṇa's desire. I have got some defect, and he is correcting me." Therefore it is called samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). That is the topmost devotee's conception.

But when we are preaching, we have to come to the second stage. There are three stages of devotional life. The first stage, or the lower stage, the middle stage, and the top stage. So this kind of conception, that "Nobody is my enemy," that is on the topmost stage. That is not to be imitated. When you are preaching, you have to come to the middle stage. Even if you are on the top stage, you have to come on the middle stage because you have to discriminate: "Here is a devotee; here is a demon." On the top stage there is no such thing as demon and devotee. The top stage, the devotee sees: "Everyone is engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service. Simply I am not engaged." This is topmost devotee's vision, that "I am lacking Kṛṣṇa's devotion."

Lecture on BG 17.1-3 -- Honolulu, July 4, 1974:

Therefore it is said... Now, tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā: "This śraddhā, this faith," Kṛṣṇa says, "there are three kinds." Tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā. Tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā. Dehinām. Always remember, dehinām means the possessor, the owner of this body. Therefore the owner is different from the body. Those who are under the conception that there is no owner, and the body is everything, they are less than tamo-guṇa. Actually animals. They have been described as being animal. Those who are thinking like the dog that "I am this body..." The dog is also thinking, "I am this body," and a man is also thinking, "I am this body." Then where is the difference between the dog and the man? When man comes to the understanding that "I am not this body; I am soul," then knowledge begins. Before that, he is ignorant like animal. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13).

Page Title:Conception (Lectures, BG)
Compiler:Mayapur
Created:21 of Sep, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=175, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:175