The Lord is so kind upon the living entities because the living entities are claimed to be all sons of the Supreme Lord. The Lord declares sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4). Every living, every type of living entity... There are different types of living entities according to their different karma, but the Lord claims that He is the father of all living entities, and therefore the Lord descends to reclaim all these forgotten conditioned souls back to the sanātana-dhāma, the sanātana sky, so that the sanātana living entity may again reinstall in his sanātana position in eternal association of the Lord. He comes Himself by different incarnations, He sends His confidential servitor as sons or associates or ācāryas to reclaim the conditioned souls.
Conditioned souls (Lectures, BG)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
The learned sages therefore made so many Vedic literatures, the Purāṇas. The Purāṇas are not stories. They are historical records. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta there is a verse which reads as follows. anādi-bahirmukha jīva kṛṣṇa bhuli' gela ataeva kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa kailā (CC Madhya 20.117). That these forgetful living entities, conditioned souls, they have forgotten the relationship with the Supreme Lord, and they are engrossed in thinking of the material activities. And just to transfer their thinking power to the spiritual capacity, the Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, he has made so many Vedic literatures. Vedic literatures means first he divided the Vedas into four.
Before this, Kṛṣṇa was addressed as Hṛṣīkeśa. Hṛṣīkeśa we have explained. Now Kṛṣṇa is addressed here Acyuta. Cyuta means fallen, and acyuta means not fallen. Just like we are fallen. We are fallen conditioned souls. In this material world we have come with an enjoying spirit. Therefore we are fallen. If one keeps his position rightly, he does not fall. Otherwise he is degraded. That is fallen condition. So all the living entities within this material world, beginning from Brahmā down to the small insignificant ant, they are all fallen, fallen conditioned souls. Why they are fallen?
This is called forgetfulness. As soon as I think that "I am enjoyer, I am proprietor," this is my fallen stage. Kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vañcha kare. Then jāpaṭiyā dhare, māyā, immediately māyā captures.
Therefore a conditioned soul, fallen conditioned soul, is struggling for existence. He is trying to be enjoyer, he is trying to be proprietor. That is his artificial way of life. Just like if a woman wants to become a man, that is her artificial position.
And then he become very much disturbed that "I have to kill the other side, my brother and my nephews, my grandfather. No, no. Kṛṣṇa, I cannot. No. This is not possible. I shall not fight." This is the stage of Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa became very much dissatisfied. Of course, Arjuna played the part of a conditioned soul. A conditioned soul is under the impression that he's the body. That is animal life. In the śāstra it is said, "Anyone who is identifying himself with this material body, he is animal." Go-kharaḥ. Sa eva go-kharaḥ. Go means cows, and khara means ass.
He says that "Whatever You are saying, I accept it. You are saying that You are the Supreme, I accept it. I don't say that You have got a separate thing within. That is Supreme, You are not Supreme, as person." This is impersonalist. They do not know that Kṛṣṇa has no such... A conditioned soul... Just like we are, I am different from my soul. "I am" means my body, or I am soul, different from the body. So Kṛṣṇa has no such differentiation. He does not know that. Because he's not following Kṛṣṇa, the perfect spiritual master. He's following some rascal spiritual master. Therefore he has this mistake.
I shall speak some verses from Bhagavad-gītā, Second Chapter, in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa instructed. The beginning of instruction is the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. So Arjuna, representing ourself, conditioned soul, covered with the material body and thinking in bodily conception of life... He was to fight with his brothers, nephews, grandfather, Bhīṣmadeva, also teacher the military science, Droṇācārya. In this way the business was not very palatable. Although he was forced to fight by the opposite party who were very near, thick and thin people, and he had to kill them, so it was not very satisfactory to him.
Yes. If the Māyāvādī philosopher says that this statement of Kṛṣṇa is in māyā, that "He says that 'Everyone was individual in the past.' No, in the past everyone was one, lump sum, homogeneous. By māyā, we have become individual." If the Māyāvādī says like that, then Kṛṣṇa becomes one of the conditioned souls. He does not... He loses His authority. Because conditioned soul cannot give you the truth. I am conditioned soul. I cannot say something which is absolute. So Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the Absolute.
So if the Māyāvādī theory is accepted, then Kṛṣṇa's theory has to be rejected. If Kṛṣṇa is rejected, then there is no need of reading Kṛṣṇa's book, Bhagavad-gītā. It is useless, waste of time. If He's a conditioned soul like us... Because we cannot take any instruction from a conditioned soul. So the spiritual master, even if you take that he is conditioned soul, but he does not speak anything from his own side. He speaks from Kṛṣṇa's side.
The Vedic principle is that unless one is not liberated from the material conditions, he cannot give us any perfect knowledge. The conditioned soul, however he may be academically advanced, educated, he cannot give us any perfect knowledge. Only one who is above the condition of these material laws, he can give us the perfect knowledge. Similarly Śaṅkarācārya, he's also impersonalist, but he accepts Kṛṣṇa the supreme authority. Sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṇa. "Kṛṣṇa is that Supreme Personality of Godhead." The modern Māyāvādī philosophers, they do not disclose this statement of Śaṅkarācārya.
He has confirmed His individuality in many ways, and impersonal Brahman has been declared as subordinate to Him. Kṛṣṇa has maintained spiritual individuality all along, and if He is accepted as an ordinary conditioned soul in individual consciousness, then His Bhagavad-gītā has no value as authoritative scripture. A common man with all the defects of human frailty is unable to teach that which is worth hearing. Bhagavad-gītā is above such literature. No mundane book compares with the Bhagavad-gītā.
Gopīs, they are not conditioned souls. They are liberated spirits. So first of all you have to come out from this conditioned life. Then the question of serving gopī will come. Don't be at the present moment, very eager to serve gopī. Just try to get out of your conditional life. Then time will come when you'll be able to serve gopī. In this conditional stage we cannot serve anything. Kṛṣṇa is performing it (everything?). But Kṛṣṇa gives us opportunities to accept service in this arcā-mārga.
I give you... Cheat. No, that is also in the definition of a conditioned soul. These four principles are there. It is not my manufactured thing. The, these are information from authoritative scripture, that a conditioned soul has four imperfectness. One imperfectness is that he's sure to commit mistake. He's illusioned, and he has got a tendency to cheat, and, above all, his senses are imperfect.
Then it will be very nice. And that is the fact. The word used, bhagavān uvāca, means this instruction is neither mistaken nor illusion nor cheating nor imperfect. Whatever we teach, we speak, we conditioned soul... As I said, that we are very much proud of our eyes, but we cannot see without sunrise... We cannot see without electricity. But that is our defect. We are possessing everything defective, still we are proud: "We are perfect." That is cheating. We are not perfect. But Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān, is not like that. If we think Kṛṣṇa is also like us, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīm... (BG 9.11).
That is nothing. So similarly in calculating in which way we have to find out our salvation is to follow such liberated souls.
So last day we had been discussing that difference between the conditioned soul and liberated soul is that a conditioned soul is imperfect in four ways. A conditioned soul is sure to commit mistake, a conditioned soul is in illusion, a conditioned soul has the tendency for cheating others, and a conditioned soul has got his senses imperfect, imperfect senses. Therefore knowledge should be taken from a liberated soul.
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.
Force, I may force one day, two days, but if one does not practice it, then simply force is useless. So similarly, Kṛṣṇa does not force anyone to leave this material world. We all conditioned souls, material world, we are under the influence of the material energy. Kṛṣṇa comes here to deliver us from these clutches of material energy, that "You are suffering so much..."
Suppose a son has become mad, or nowadays hippy. The father is very sorry that "My son is not living like a gentleman. He is living like a," what is called, "wretch." So father is not happy. Similarly, we conditioned souls in this material world, we are suffering so much, living like wretches and rascals. So Kṛṣṇa is not happy. Therefore He comes personally to teach us, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7).
So when Kṛṣṇa comes, He comes in His original form. But unfortunately, we understand Kṛṣṇa as one of us. He is one of us because He is father, we are sons.
So you'll find always two classes of men. So one is attracted; one is not attracted. In the spiritual world the number of liberated person—many, many times greater than these conditioned soul. Just like the prison house and outside the prison house. The population outside the prison house, their number is very great, but within the prison house there are small number, criminals. So there are innumerable living entities. Out of them, some of them become attracted to this material enjoyment; others not.
Hṛdayānanda: (break) (translating) ...come a time when all these conditioned souls will become liberated?
Prabhupāda: Immediately, if he accepts the principle. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "You give up all your engagements. Simply surrender to Me." If one agrees to this principle, he becomes immediately liberated. And He says also, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ: "I shall give you protection from all reaction of sinful activities. Don't bother. Don't worry."
So don't neglect. Take this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa heart and soul, and anywhere... Niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. There is no rules and regulations, that "You have to chant at this time or that time, in this position or that position." No. Because it is especially meant for these fallen conditioned souls, there is no hard-and-fast rule. Nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ. The name, the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, is as powerful as Kṛṣṇa. There is no difference with Kṛṣṇa and His name. Kṛṣṇa is Absolute. Therefore there is no distinction between Kṛṣṇa's name, Kṛṣṇa's form, Kṛṣṇa's quality, Kṛṣṇa's entourage, Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, from Kṛṣṇa.
When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was requested by one devotee of Lord Caitanya that "My dear Lord, You have come. Kindly You take away all these conditioned souls. And if You think that they are horribly sinful, they cannot be delivered, then You transfer all the sins upon me. I shall suffer. You better take them away." This is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Vaiṣṇava philosophy means that para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. Actually, a Vaiṣṇava is unhappy by seeing others unhappy. Personally, he has no unhappiness. Because he's in contact with Kṛṣṇa, how he can be unhappy?
Personally, he has no unhappiness. But he becomes unhappy by seeing the conditioned souls unhappy. Para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. Therefore, the Vāsudeva Ghoṣa, he requested Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu that "You deliver all these unhappy conditioned souls. And if You think they are sinful, they cannot be delivered, then transfer all the sins of these people to me. I shall suffer, and You take them away." So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very much pleased by his proposition and He smiled. He said that "This brahmāṇḍa, this universe, is only just like a mustard grain in the bag of mustard seeds."
You have to satisfy. Senses, with senses you have to satisfy. Either you satisfy yourself... But you do not know. The conditioned soul does not know that satisfying the Kṛṣṇa's senses, his senses will be automatically satisfied. The same example. Just like pouring water to the root... Or these fingers, part and parcel of my body, giving foodstuff here to the stomach, automatically the fingers will be satisfied. This secret we are missing. We are thinking we shall be happy by trying to satisfy our senses. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means don't try to satisfy your senses.
Therefore the real seeing is through Vedic knowledge. That is seeing. Śāstra-cakṣus. Real knowledge, real seeing power, should be through the śāstras. And śāstra means infallible, not theory. Not theory. Just like a conditioned soul writes some book on some thesis. What is the value of it? It has no value. Because the man who is putting forward the thesis, he is blind. He's imperfect. So how you can get perfect knowledge from him?
Kṛṣṇa is sanātana, and His dealing with His devotees, that is also sanātana. And these are possible not here, but in the sanātana-dhāma. We cannot have sanātana dealings with Kṛṣṇa within this material world. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes to canvass the conditioned souls that "For eternal happiness, for eternal dealings, you come to Me in My eternal place." Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). Why not in this material world? No. The material world, the nature is it is not permanent. It is temporary. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Janmādy asya (SB 1.1.1). Janmādi. Everything here in this material world has a date of birth, and anything which has a date of birth must be a date of death also. That is the nature of this material world.
So Vyāsadeva, in clear consciousness, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he saw Kṛṣṇa and this māyā. And what is this māyā? That is said, yayā sammohito jīva. That māyā which has enchanted all these conditioned souls. Yayā sammohito jīva ātmānam anarthaṁ manute (SB 1.7.5). Considering himself that "I am material product." I am coming to this point. Those who are thinking that "I am a material product," they're completely in darkness of māyā. Yayā, manute anarthaṁ tat-kṛtaṁ ca abhipadyate.
Now, just like in your Christian religion. Lord Jesus Christ, he claimed himself that he is coming from God as son of God to reclaim to back to Godhead, back to home. That is the mission. Every, every reformer or every great religious leader or God Himself, He comes on this earth to reclaim these conditioned soul to back to Godhead, back to the kingdom of Godhead. That is the whole idea of incarnation. Now, at the present moment... Not at the present moment. Practically always, the people, by material contact they forget their relation, their relationship with the Supreme Lord, their constitutional position.
This is the result of talks between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa. Arjuna is putting in such a way, and Kṛṣṇa is answering. That means it is meant for all conditioned souls. Unless Arjuna would have asked all these questions, how we could have received such transcendental message? Therefore it was necessary that Arjuna would play the part of an ordinary conditioned soul. Actually he was not. He's simply playing the part in order to eschew transcendental message. Because Kṛṣṇa has spoken, everyone will take it as authorized. So Kṛṣṇa is now speaking. Go on.
Sudāmā: Purport: "The material creation by the lord of creatures, Viṣṇu, is a sort of chance offered to the conditioned souls to come back to home, back to Godhead."
Prabhupāda: Yes. This material creation, you'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā that... Just like our body. This body is created at a certain period by the father and mother, and it remains for some time, it grows, it gives some by-product, then it dwindles, then vanishes. Just you can study from... Similarly the whole cosmic manifestation, this is a huge body.
The Vedic śāstras are there, the representatives of Kṛṣṇa are there. They are teaching, "My dear conditioned souls, please adopt this means and end your repetition of birth and death. Come to the kingdom of God." This is a chance.
But if somebody takes it, "Now I have got my body, let me enjoy my senses to the fullest extent," then he is doomed. Then he loses the chance. Therefore this human form of body should not be wasted simply by sense gratification like cats and dogs.
The Vedic literature is created for guidance of the conditioned souls. Every living being who is in this material world is conditioned by the laws of material nature. And it is a chance, this creation, and especially this human body, is a chance to get rid of this material entanglement. And the chance is open by acting for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu. Saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā. Prajāḥ. Prajāḥ means the living entities, after being created, they were advised that "You perform yajña, or sacrifice, for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu. That will..." Anena, "By this," prasaviṣyadhvam, "you increase your enlightenment." Prasaviṣyadhvam.
The Vedic literature is created for guidance of the conditioned souls. Every living being who is in this material world is conditioned by the laws of material nature. And it is a chance. This creation, and especially this human body, is a chance to get rid of this material entanglement, and the chance is open by acting for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu. Saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā. Prajāḥ. Prajāḥ means the living entities. After being created, they were advised that "You perform yajña, or sacrifice for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu." That will... Anena, "by this," prasaviṣyadhvam, "you increase your enlightenment." Prasaviṣyadhvam.
So after impregnating the conditioned souls into the womb of the material nature, He gave His direction in the Vedic wisdom as to how such conditioned souls can return home, back to Godhead. We should always remember that the conditioned souls in material nature are all eager for material enjoyment, and the Vedic directions are so made that one can satisfy one's perverted desires, then return to Godhead, having finished his so-called enjoyment. It is a chance for the conditioned souls to attain liberation. Therefore the conditioned souls must try to follow the process of yajña by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tuccha-vat. Tuccha means insignificant. Such high post and position, they left everything. Left everything. Why? Bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau. And for doing good to the poor conditioned souls they came to Vṛndāvana and became just like niggardly, poor beggars. Their appearance... Their appearance became... The description is that living underneath a tree, one night underneath one tree, and next night another tree, and taking, I mean to say, dried, rejected breads given by the neighbors. In this way they were living.
There are many books available in the market, full of good instruction, knowledge, but why we are giving so much stress on the Bhagavad-gītā? Because it is spoken by a personality who is above all imperfections. What are these imperfections? The imperfections are that a conditioned soul just like we are, we are sure to commit mistake. There is nobody in the world, in this conditional state, who can boldly say that "I have never committed any mistake in my life." Is there anybody? No. We have committed so many mistakes.
Our country, Mahatma Gandhi, he was supposed to be a very great, I mean to say, perfect leader of the country. He also committed mistakes, so many. And what to speak of us. What to speak of us. So a conditioned soul is sure to commit mistake. That is one imperfection.
So what is the use of having this eyes? So therefore, we have got our imperfect senses.
We have got cheating propensity, we are prone to commit mistake, and we accept illusory things. These four principles of imperfect is in the conditioned soul. But who is liberated soul or who is God, they are not under these conditions. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is considered to be the highest perfectional personality, and Arjuna selected Him as the spiritual master. Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam: (BG 2.7) "My dear Kṛṣṇa, we are talking on the platform of friendship."
Madhudviṣa: "He is advaita, which means there is no distinction between His body and Himself. Everything is spirit, whereas the conditioned soul is different from His material body. And because the Lord is identical in His body and self, His position is always different from the ordinary living entities, even when He descends to the material platform. The demons cannot adjust themselves to this transcendental nature of the Lord, as the Lord explains in the following verse."
Prabhupāda: Therefore, if we try to understand God by our limited knowledge, it will be a failure. We have to understand God from God.
One should not be misled by such meaningless claims. Then again, the Lord explains His prakṛti or His form. Prakṛti means nature as well as svarūpa, or one's own form. The Lord says that He appears in His own body. He does not change His body as the common living entity does from one to another. The conditioned soul may have one kind of body in the present birth, but he has a different one in the next birth. In the material world the living entity transmigrates in this way. The Lord, however, does not do so. Whenever He appears, He does so in the same original body by His internal potency. In other words, Kṛṣṇa appears in this material world in His original eternal form with two hands and holding a flute."
"What you are nonsense doing this material world?" Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "You come to Me. I give you all protection." "Oh, I don't believe You, Sir. I have got more important business here. I don't believe You." This is our position. This is our position, forgetfulness. A conditioned soul is forgetful, forgetful. Prakṣepātmikā, vikṣepātmikā. There are... Two forces of nature is acting upon us by which we decide something that "We now, this life, I shall make spiritual advancement. Now it is decided."
Ātma-māyā, ātma-māyā. Ātma-māyā means He comes down as He is. He does not change His body. But we are conditioned soul. We change our body. That is the difference. And because we change our body, we forget everything. That is the difference. Tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi. Kṛṣṇa says that "I remember whatever has been done in My previous incarnations, and millions and millions of years before, I can remember them. I know past, future, present. Not only past, future, present of My activities, but past, future, present of everyone's activities." You'll find. Vedāhaṁ sama, sarvam etam.
That is spiritual. It requires little brain to understand. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja... Śukadeva Gosvāmī explained that these things should not be considered by the conditioned souls. They should not even dream of this. It is a different thing. And if you think that Kṛṣṇa has a fault because He danced with others' wives, so he explained that tejīyasāṁ na doṣāya. Tejīyasām... The... A thing which is very, very powerful, he is not contaminated. That is the conclusion.
Pradyumna: "And then again the Lord explains His prakṛti, or His form. Prakṛti means nature as well as svarūpa, or one's own form. The Lord says that He appears in His own body. He does not change His body as the common living entity changes from one body to another. The conditioned soul may have one kind of body in the present birth, but he has a different body in the next birth."
Prabhupāda: Here, our body, now we have got human body. So next, next life it may be a demigod's body, or it may be cat's body, dog's body. The body changes. Kṛṣṇa does not... Avyayātmā. That is the difference. Go on.
Now, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is describing how He incarnates Himself for the benefit of conditioned souls in the material world. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, He descends. The Sanskrit word is avatāra. Avatāra. Avatāra, avatāra. Avatāra means who comes from higher plane down to this material world. He's called avatāra. So sometimes Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa comes Himself and sometimes He sends His representative also, for deliverance of the conditioned souls.
This material existence, you are suffering. Why you should suffer? You are My sons." Just like Lord Jesus Christ, he also told that "I am the son of God." He's happy. So everyone, you can become similarly happy as soon as you are reinstated in your position. The whole Bhagavad-gītā is meant for convincing me, I mean to say, conditioned souls. We are conditioned. Just like, just like under awkward circumstances we are always, always conditioned life. We are not free. Some condition is there, either state condition or nature's condition or condition left by other living entity or condition laid down by my own body. So we are always in condition.
So the material energy is working in a different way, that does not mean that material energy is not liked by Kṛṣṇa. It has got the same importance as the spiritual energy. But the material energy is engaged in a thankless task for punishing the conditioned soul. Just like the police department. So for Kṛṣṇa, there is no difference between material energy and spiritual energy. For Kṛṣṇa it is all the same because He has got one energy. Just like electricity. Somewhere it is working for cooling purpose and somewhere it is working for heating purpose.
In spite of His creating the four divisions of human society, Lord Kṛṣṇa does not belong to any of these divisions, because He is not one of the conditioned souls, a section of whom form human society. Human society is the same as animal society but to elevate men from the animal status the above mentioned divisions are created by the Lord for the systematic development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The tendency of a particular man towards work is determined by the modes of material nature which he has acquired. Such symptoms of life according to different modes of material nature are described in the Eighteenth Chapter of this book.
Because I want to make some profit out of the business, and if there is sufficient profit, I shall be gainer, I shall be rich man, I shall be able to enjoy life and so on, so on, so many things, I have got background. So I have my desires whenever I do something. We conditioned souls, whenever we do something, there is some desire behind it. And what is that desire? For enjoyment. That's all.
Nitya-mukta, the living entities who are living, who are residing in the spiritual world, their number is greater than the conditioned soul. Just like some of our friends or citizens, they are in the jail. Their number is not as many as there, we are free. Similarly, the number of free living entities in the spiritual world is greater than the number of the conditioned souls. A few only, we are conditioned.
Everything is there. People do not know it.
Therefore the karma should be systematized, and it should be regulated by brahminical culture, by kṣatriya culture, by vaiśya culture, by śūdra culture. But Kṛṣṇa says that "Don't think... Because I have prescribed this for the systematic life of all the conditioned soul, it does not mean I am also one of them." Kṛṣṇa is not one of them. And some foolish rascals they say that "Kṛṣṇa is also bound up by the laws of karma."
So here we should know in this chapter, Kṛṣṇa said that cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Na māṁ karmāṇi limpanti na me karma-phale spṛhā (BG 4.14). Why Kṛṣṇa has to work? Kṛṣṇa hasn't got to work because He is self-sufficient. If we want something, we conditioned soul, we have to work very hard for it. But Kṛṣṇa He can, by simply will, He can create the whole universe. So why should He work? Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca. This is the Vedic information. The Supreme Absolute Truth, God, has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate.
How activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can lead one ultimately to the spiritual goal is described here. There are various activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. All of them will be described in the following verses. But for the present just the principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is described. The conditioned soul entangled in material contamination is sure to act in the material atmosphere and yet he has to get out of such an environment. The process by which the conditioned soul can get out of the material atmosphere is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For example, a person who is suffering from a disorder of the bowels..."
Devotee: Oh. "For example, a patient who is suffering from a disorder of the bowels due to overindulgence in milk products is cured by another milk product, curd. Similarly, the materially absorbed conditioned soul can be cured by Kṛṣṇa consciousness as is prescribed here in the Bhagavad-gītā."
Prabhupāda: Yes. It is a very good example. Sometimes... In India of course, out of our greediness we take too much milk products—khīr and sweet rice and burfi, pranal(?), so many. So if you take too much milk then there is possibility of dysentery, disorder of the bowel. Ghee.
Yes, Padma Purāṇa. There are eighteen Purāṇas. There are, men are conducted in three qualities: modes of goodness, modes of passion and modes of ignorance. To reclaim all these conditioned souls in different varieties of life, there are presentation of the Purāṇas. The six Purāṇas are meant for the person who are in the modes of goodness. And six Purāṇas are meant for the persons who are in the modes of passion. And six Purāṇas who are in the modes of ignorance, those Purāṇas are meant for them. This Padma Purāṇa is meant for the persons who are in the modes of goodness.
Yes. This is the sign of advancement. Because here in this material world, the calculation of friend and enemy, everything, is in relationship with this body, or sense gratification. But realization of God or the Absolute Truth, there is no such material consideration. Another point is that here, all conditioned souls, they are under illusion. Suppose a doctor, a doctor goes to a patient. He is under convulsion, he's talking nonsense. That does not mean he will refuse to treat him. He's treats him as friend. Although the patient calls him by ill names, bad names, still he gives him medicine. Just like Lord Jesus Christ said that "You hate the sin, not the sinner." Not the sinner.
Vaiṣṇava is he, devotee is he who is very compassionate to these conditioned souls. Kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca. Kṛpā means mercy, and sindhu means ocean. A devotee is ocean of mercy. He wants to distribute the mercy.
Just like Lord Jesus Christ, he was God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious but he was not satisfied in himself. If he would have continued his God consciousness alone, he would not have met crucification.
The bodily platform or sensual platform, then mental platform, then spiritual platform. That spiritual platform is called Brahman platform. So to become liberated means to stand on the Brahman platform. Conditioned soul, we are at the present moment we are on the platform of this bodily concept of life or sensual platform. Those who are a little above, they are on the mental platform, speculating, philosophers. And above this platform there is Brahman platform. So you'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā Twelfth Chapter or Fourteenth Chapter I think, that one who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he's already on the Brahman platform. That means liberated. Go on.
Devotee: "Consequently whenever a person tries to escape the clutches of the illusory energy, she tries to defeat the practitioner by various allurements. A conditioned soul is already allured by the modes of material energy and there is every chance of being allured again while performing such transcendental practice. This is called yogāc calita-mānasaḥ."
Prabhupāda: Calita-mānasaḥ. Calita-mānasaḥ means diverting the mind from the practice of yoga. Yogāc calita-mānasaḥ. Yogāt means from the practice of yoga and calita means diversion. Mānasaḥ means mind. Yogāc calita-mānasaḥ. So there is every chance.
That sincerity. Because we are weak, and the material energy is very strong, so to adopt spiritual life is more or less declare war against the material energy. The material, the illusory energy, she is trying to curb this conditioned soul as far as possible. Now, when the conditioned soul tries to get out of her clutches by spiritual advancement of knowledge, oh, she becomes more stringent. Yes. She wants to test, "How much this person is sincere?" So there will be so many allurement offered by the material energy.
There are four things: loke vyavāyam... Vyavāya—sex life, and meat-eating. Āmiṣa. Āmiṣa means eating meat, fish, eggs. So, vyavāya means sex. Sex and meat-eating, non-vegetarian diet. Mada-sevā, intoxication. Mithyā sa jantuḥ. Every conditioned soul has natural inclination. Pravṛtti. But one has to control that. That is human life. If you put yourself in the waves of natural inclination, that is not human life. You have to restrict. The whole human life is meant for learning restriction. That is human life.
These are practical difficulties, and therefore we are called conditioned souls. Our activities are conditioned, not free. But you can attain a life of freedom, life of unlimited energy, unlimited happiness, unlimited bliss. There is possibility. This is not story or fiction. We see so many planets within this universe. We have got so many flying vehicles, but we cannot approach even to the nearest. We are so much limited. But if we worship Govinda, then it is possible. You can go anywhere. We have written these statements in our small booklet, Easy Journey to Other Planets.
The father is playing a king, and the son is playing another king. Both are inimical. But actually they are playing as such. Similarly, Arjuna is eternal friend of Kṛṣṇa. He cannot be in delusion. How he can be delusioned if Kṛṣṇa is his constant friend? But he was supposed to be in delusion so that he played the part of a conditioned soul and Kṛṣṇa explained the whole thing. He played that ordinary person; therefore all his questions were just like ordinary man. Unless... Because the teachings of Gītā was lost.
So Kṛṣṇa wanted to deliver again the yoga system of Gītā. So somebody must ask. Just like you are asking, I'm answering. Similarly Arjuna, although he was not to be supposed in illusion, he placed himself as representative of this conditioned soul and he inquired so many things, the answers were given by Lord.
"The Supreme Personality..." Bhagavān means He does not cheat you. Others, they will give you instruction and cheat you, because anyone who is not liberated, he has got four defects of his life: he commits mistake, he is illusioned, he cheats and his senses are imperfect. This is called conditioned soul, everyone. Even big, big men, big, big leaders, they commit so many mistakes. And so far illusion is concerned, everyone is illusioned because I am not this body, but everyone is thinking, "I am this body." This is called illusion.
What I am? All my senses are imperfect. I commit mistake, I am illusioned, and when I say, "I think," what is the use of my thinking? This is cheating. This is cheating.
So any conditioned soul... There are two kinds of living entities: the liberated and the conditioned soul. So we should not receive any knowledge from conditioned person. We must receive knowledge from the liberated. So Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān, the Personality of Godhead—who can be more liberated than Himself?
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.
This is not the subject matter for a person who is conditioned; neither it is a subject matter to be discussed and speculated by the conditioned soul. Try to understand this. (break)
This is practice. Abhyāsa-yoga-yuktena cetasā, cetasā nānya-gāminā (BG 8.8). When we go to the pūjā room, we take our flowers and candana, offer to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. So gradually, our mind will be concentrated. Just like... Not nowadays. Formerly, young, very young girls were married. Even an... My eldest sister was married at the age of nine years.
First of all let him become siddha. Siddha means perfect. Everyone is imperfect. Everyone commits mistake. This is imperfection. Everyone commits mistake, everyone becomes illusioned, everyone's sense perception are all imperfect, and everyone is a cheater. These are the deficiency of the conditioned soul. One does not know what is Kṛṣṇa, and he wants to become Kṛṣṇa: "I am God. I am Kṛṣṇa."
"Whenever there is discrepancy in the matter of understanding the science of God, at that time I incarnate Myself." Because the whole system is like that, that it is an opportunity to the conditioned soul to recoup themselves to come back to God. This whole material creation is there, manifestation is there, to give the conditioned soul an opportunity to recoup himself and to understand what is his relationship with God and come back to God. So anyone who is very much inquisitive and, at the same time, eager to understand his relationship with God, he is called a jñānī, a man in knowledge, and he is very dear to Kṛṣṇa.
In the human society, anywhere, everywhere, there is a system, civilized method of system, of sex life, which is called married life. This married life is just like a license for sex life. In the śāstra it is said, loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityā hi jantor na hi tatra codanā. Those who are conditioned souls, this eating, sleeping, mating, these are the necessities of the body. In the spiritual world, these three things, four things, are conspicuous by absence. There is no necessity of eating there, no sleeping, no mating, no defense. That is spiritual life.
That will not help us in spiritual life. So this strī-saṅga, or association with woman, that is a demand of the body. Loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā. Āmiṣa means nonvegetarian foods. Eating flesh, fish, eggs, these are called āmiṣa. And madya means wine, liquor. So all the conditioned souls, they have got a natural inclination for sex life, intoxication, and eating fish, eat... They have got a natural inclination. Even ants, they have got all these inclinations. Expert psychologists and medical men, they have studied that even the ant, it has got also the same propensities. Loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā. So when there is legalized, or marriage under religious principle, it is to be understood a sort of concession.
In the Purāṇas... There are tāmasika-purāṇas where it is recommended that if you want to eat flesh, then you can get a goat and sacrifice before Goddess Kālī and you can eat that. The purpose is that if a conditioned soul has got the natural tendencies, then why they are mentioned in the śāstras? The idea is... Just like Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha, his mission was to stop animal killing. Ahiṁsā paramo dharmaḥ. Lord Buddha appeared, being compassionate with the poor animals.
Now, here the same thing is being presented by the same Supreme Personality of Godhead by His unalloyed mercy to the conditioned souls. We are all conditioned souls. We are under the threefold miseries of this material world, and the Supreme Lord is giving us the opportunity to get out of it by this surrendering process. So if we take up the surrendering process immediately, then God realization is a business for one second.
This material sky is meant for the conditioned soul. Just like the prison house. What is this prison house? The prison house is a certain area of the state, walled, all sides walled and protected, so that the prisoners may not come out. That is called prison. But it is within the state, within the city, under insignificant portion. Similarly, this material manifestation is only a very insignificant portion of the spiritual sky, and it is covered so that we may not go to the spiritual sky. That is not possible. We cannot go. We cannot travel even in the outer space of this material sky. So we have got very limited potency. But this is the situation.
The prakṛti... Prakṛti is not independent. Prakṛti means nature. It is dependent on the Supreme Lord. When He desires or when the time is, He gives us chance. This prakṛti, this material cosmic manifestation, is meant for the conditioned souls. We are all conditioned souls. So this manifestation is given, a chance, so that we can return back to the eternal prakṛti or eternal nature. Otherwise this prakṛti, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19), as you have studied in the Eighth Chapter, it is created, it is maintained and it is annihilated. Kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni kalpādau visṛjāmy aham.
Illusion means to accept something for something. Just like we accept this body. We identify with this body, every one of us. If we ask you what you are, "Oh, I am American." What is your American? This body is American. But it is not... You are not this body. So this is illusion. So conditioned soul is to commit mistake, to be illusioned, and the senses are imperfect. We are very much proud of seeing, but as soon as the light is put off, we cannot see. So our seeing is conditional. And similarly, all senses are conditional. So therefore imperfect. And there is another thing which is very nice. We have got a cheating propensity.
Of course, our nature is to become envious, even to enemy or friend. Even a friend, I mean to say, develops his material condition, economic development, then we become envious. That is one of the nature of the conditioned souls. Even my son becomes something greater than me, I become envious. So this is nature. So, but God has no such, I mean to say, crude qualities. He is not envious of anyone. Samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ (BG 9.29).
Then asammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu. Martyeṣu means... Martya means those who are eligible for dying. Who are? These conditioned souls, beginning from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant, they are all martya. Martya means there is a time when they will die. So martyeṣu. Amongst the dying mortals he becomes the most intelligent. Asammūḍhaḥ sa martyeṣu. Why? Sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate. He is free from all kinds of reactions of sinful action.
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.
He give me facility and he'll save also the man who is praying: "Sir, please save me from this cutting." Kṛṣṇa... Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). So this is going on.
The purpose of creation is to give the conditioned soul, the rebellious soul, who, being prakṛti, whose nature being constitutional nature is that he should be enjoyed by Kṛṣṇa, but he has taken the wrong direction, that "I'll not be enjoyed by Kṛṣṇa. I shall become Kṛṣṇa." This is... All these people, all these living entities who are in this material world, their determination is that: "Why I shall serve Kṛṣṇa? I shall become Kṛṣṇa."
It is not chanted by the conditioned soul. It is not possible. Therefore not everyone can chant. You'll... You have seen it, experienced, that your chanting, dancing, is very in ecstasy, emotion. Others are standing without opening their mouth. They cannot chant. That is a very difficult job for them because it is the property of the liberated person, not for the conditioned soul.
Just if you are eager to get a certain type of body or certain type of standard of living, Kṛṣṇa will give you. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11).
Because here it is the business... Kṛṣṇa's business is... These rascals, these conditioned souls, they want to lord it over this material world, and Kṛṣṇa has to supply them. That is Kṛṣṇa's business in this world, simply botheration. Just like so many children, and the father is put into difficulty. One children wants: "Father, give me this."
The world is not māyā, but the intention of the living entities to enjoy this material world, to satisfy his senses, that is māyā. He is becoming entangled. Just to try to enjoy this material world... That the so-called scientists and philanthropists and politicians, they are trying to enjoy this material world to their best capacity, and they are inventing devices how to enjoy it... This is māyā. That is answered in the Bhagavad-gītā: daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). They are allured by this māyā, "Try to enjoy me," and these conditioned souls are after that, how to enjoy.
These are the qualification, daiva-sampada. Abhayam. One should be fearless. Who can become fearless? One of the qualification of conditioned soul is fearfulness. Only a person who is advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he can become fearless. And sattva-saṁśuddhi. Sattva-saṁśuddhi. Our, this sattva, existentional position is impure, diseased. Therefore we die, again take birth. Asunti(?). So sattva-saṁśuddhi. One should try to purify his existence. For that purpose there is necessity of tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1).
When we are in this material world it is very, very difficult to get out of it. The sky is covering the whole material universe, and there are different layers. It is not so... You cannot go even to the nearest planet. Durgā, very difficult. You cannot... You are conditioned soul. You cannot go. You are thinking, "I have got now, discovered this." It is not discovered. The aeroplane was long, long ago. So you cannot go. That is our conditional life. They are trying to go to the moon planet, unsuccessful. They cannot go. Therefore we are conditioned. I am conditioned to live on this planet. I cannot go to other planet without permission. It is common sense. Just like India.
| Page Title: | Conditioned souls (Lectures, BG) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 04 of Dec, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=86, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 86 |