Contemporary (Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"Contemporaries" |"Contemporary"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

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

Woman: Jñānī, you say, means liberation from reading literature.

Prabhupāda: Yes, but there are other individuals who... There are other individuals who may not agree with that kind of salvation or liberation. They want to keep their individuality and enjoy the Supreme Personality of Godhead's company. Just like Arjuna. In the Fourth Chapter you will, you will see that Arjuna... When Śrī Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna that "This system of yoga was first explained to the sun-god, sun-god," now Arjuna inquired, "How is that? You are... You are my contemporary. How You say that You advised or instructed this yoga system to sun? That means crores and crores, I mean, millions and billions of years before. How is that?" This is, mean, a very sane question. Now, in that question the Lord answered, "My dear Arjuna, yourself and Myself, we took birth many times, but you have forgotten. I, I, I have not forgotten."

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Hyderabad, November 17, 1972:

So the Māyāvādī theory that impersonal, how it stands? Neither God is impersonal, nor the living entities are impersonal. Every one of us—person. The difference between the Supreme Person and our personality is that He is all-powerful; we are limited. Our power is limited. Everything, ours, limited. Aṇu, vibhu. He is great; we are small. He is infinite; we are infinitesimal, very small. Otherwise, in all other qualities, we are one. There is no difference. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). In eternity, in blissfulness, and in knowledge. Everything is there. But Kṛṣṇa's knowledge and our knowledge, different. Just like Kṛṣṇa said, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). "I spoke this yoga system, Bhagavad-gītā, long, long ago to the sun-god." Vivasvān manave prāha. "And the sun-god explained it to his son, Manu; and Manu again, in his turn, he explained to his son, Ikṣvāku. In this way, this knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā is coming by the disciplic succession." So Kṛṣṇa says, "I spoke." So it is millions and millions, at least, four hundred thousand millions of times, millions of years ago, according to the calculation of Manu. So Kṛṣṇa said million; and millions of years ago this Bhagavad-gītā, He remembers. But Arjuna inquired from Him that "How can I believe that You spoke this Bhagavad-gītā millions of millions years ago to sun-god, because we are contemporary?"

Lecture on BG 4.1-6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1969:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Now, here Arjuna... Kṛṣṇa said that "Long, long ago I spoke this science, transcendental knowledge, to the sun-god." Now, generally, if I say that "The other day I was speaking this Bhagavad-gītā in the sun planet," oh, you will immediately understand that "Swamiji is an insane man." You see? "You were speaking to the sun-god." Yes. That is natural. Now, Kṛṣṇa says that "I spoke to sun-god." So others will say, "Oh, this Kṛṣṇa is also another insane person." That is natural. So in order to clear this idea, Arjuna is asking, "How it is that You spoke this science to sun-god? Because I know that You took Your birth just about, say, seventy or eighty years ago." When Kṛṣṇa was speaking this Bhagavad-gītā, He was not less than ninety years old. He remained on this earth for 125 years. So Arjuna was His contemporary friend and cousin-brother.

Lecture on BG 4.3-6 -- New York, July 18, 1966:

Suppose if I say that "I narrated, I gave a speech in the sun planet and forty millions of years before," you'll laugh: "Oh, Swamiji's speaking some nonsense, that forty millions of years before he spoke this Bhagavad-gītā in the sun planet." But He... That is not the case with Kṛṣṇa because He's the Personality of Godhead. My case is different. If I say, you can disbelieve it. But when Kṛṣṇa says, you cannot disbelieve it.

So even if you believe it, or do not believe it, that position is being cleared by Arjuna. Because Arjuna knew it perfectly well that it is quite possible by Kṛṣṇa to speak such and such thing forty millions of years before because He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But for others, who will hear this Bhagavad-gītā in future, for them, he's making the point clear and asking Kṛṣṇa, aparaṁ bhavato janma paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ: "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are born just... You are contemporary of me. Say, eighty years or ninety years before You were born along with me. Your age and my age, practically the same. How it is possible that forty millions of years before you spoke to sun-god?"

Lecture on BG 4.4 -- Bombay, March 24, 1974:

The present president is called Vivasvān. Of course, their duration of life is very, very great, greater than ours. But still they are also human being. They are also living being, having a different type of body. They can live in that sun planet although it is fiery. That I have already explained. (children talking) The children must not talk.

So Arjuna knew it perfectly well. "But as there are foolish men like me..." They cannot understand that Kṛṣṇa spoke this Bhagavad-gītā millions of years ago to the sun-god. We immediately say, "Oh, these are all story." But it is not story. It is fact. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, to clarify the matter, Arjuna, to clarify matter to the fools like us, he's asking this question that "My dear Kṛṣṇa, we are contemporary. As I am born some years ago, You are also born some years ago. We are cousin-brothers. So how can I believe that You spoke this science, or the yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā, to the sun-god?

Lecture on BG 4.4 -- Bombay, March 24, 1974:

So people do not believe that Kṛṣṇa is a historical person, at the same time, He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They think that He is a very learned man or a great politician, or a beautiful man. Like that. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam, paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ (BG 9.11). They do not understand the background of Kṛṣṇa.

So this thing is being clarified by the question of Arjuna, aparaṁ bhavato janma. "You are born along with me. You are my contemporary." And paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ. "And the sun-god, or the president of the sun, Mr. Vivasvān, he's long long ago. How can I believe that you talked with him?" This is the question. Aparaṁ bhavato janma paraṁ janma vivasvataḥ, katham etad vijānīyām. "How I shall believe it?" Yes. This is possible, to inquire like that. Tvam ādau proktavān iti. "You first of all spoke this." This is the difference between God and the living entity. The.... God does not forget. We forget.

Lecture on BG 4.9 -- Montreal, June 19, 1968:

And how one can become free? This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I am neither Indian, I am neither American, I am neither white, I am neither black, I am neither Christian, I am neither Hindu, Muhammadan. Caitanya Mahāprabhu described Himself like that. He said, "I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaiśya, I am not a śūdra, I am not a brahmacārī, I am not a householder, I am not a vānaprastha, or I am not a renounced order sannyāsī." Then what You are? Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). "I am the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa." This should be my real identification. This is very good identification. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness we address our contemporaries as "prabhu." Prabhu means master. And the real idea is that "You are my master, I am your servant." Just the opposite number. Here, in the material world, everyone wants to place himself as the master. "I am your master, you are my servant." That is the mentality of material existence.

Lecture on BG 4.13-14 -- New York, August 1, 1966:

Just like you'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā that Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, they are in relationship of friendship. Now, when Kṛṣṇa, when Kṛṣṇa says that "I told this yoga, Bhagavad-gītā yoga to the sun-god, say, some millions of years before," and Arjuna, just to represent our interest, he said, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa, You are my contemporary. How is that You spoke Bhagavad-gītā forty millions of years before to sun-god?" So Kṛṣṇa answered that bahūni me janmāni tava cārjuna: "Both you and Myself, we were born many times, but you have forgotten. I remember." That is the distinction.

Now, here we see that the friendship of Kṛṣṇa is going on not in this birth, but perpetually that friendship is there. But in the material world, the friendship, it will exist for few years and then break. Therefore it is reflection. It is not real. If you make your friendship with Kṛṣṇa, that will never break. If you make your master Kṛṣṇa, you'll never be cheated. If you love Kṛṣṇa as your son, He'll never die. Similarly, if you love Kṛṣṇa as your lover or husband, He will be the best husband, the best lover. There will be no divorce. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- London, March 9, 1975:

But Kṛṣṇa knows, He says in the Bha..., vedāhaṁ samatītāni: (BG 7.26) "I know everything past, present, and future." When Arjuna enquired... Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, he is also playing just like Kṛṣṇa's friend. So he enquired for dissipation of the ignorance that "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are saying that You spoke this philosophy, Bhagavad-gītā, formerly to the sun-god." Without asking Him, "How did You go? How did You return?" he simply asked that "Kṛṣṇa, I know that You are my contemporary. We are of the same age. And how can I believe that millions and trillions of years ago You spoke to sun-god?" So the answer was that "My dear Arjuna, at that time because you are My friend, you were also there, but you have forgotten. I have not forgotten." Therefore He is full of knowledge. We cannot say what we did in our childhood. We have forgotten. This is one of our qualification, forgetfulness. But Kṛṣṇa says that "You have forgotten. Because you are living being, your nature is to forget. But because I am the Supreme Lord, I have not forgotten." Therefore His knowledge is perfect.

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

Similarly, those who are in direct contact with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they have no disregard for these demigods, but they know the ultimate supreme power is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They have got that knowledge. So their surrender is there in the Supreme Lord, not here. But they are not going to show any disrespect. A real devotee, he does not show any disrespect even to the ant, and what to speak of the demigods, because he is in knowledge that "Every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. They're playing different parts only. So in relationship with the Supreme Lord they're all my respectables." Therefore a devotee is taught to address all his contemporaries as "Prabhu, my dear sir, my dear lord." That is the position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are not heartless. They are very submissive.

Lecture on BG Lecture -- Ahmedabad, December 8, 1972:

He has got full knowledge. Vedāhaṁ samatītāni... (BG 7.26). He says that "I know past, present, future—everything." This past, present and future, knowledge, how Kṛṣṇa knew, that was also proved. When Kṛṣṇa said that "I spoke this philosophy to Vivasvān..." Vivasvān means to the sun-god, in the beginning, before Manu. That means about forty thousand millions of years ago, according to Manu-saṁhitā. Then Arjuna inquired, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, we are contemporaries. We are born some years ago. How is that—You instructed the sun-god, Vivasvān, this philosophy?" This inquiry was made by Arjuna. Why? How Kṛṣṇa knows the past so long, long years ago? So Kṛṣṇa replied that "Yes, at that time, you were also present, but you have forgotten. I have not forgotten." That is the difference between ordinary human being and God. That is the difference. God does not forget past, present, future. God knows future. God knows past. And present, what to speak of?

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.2 -- London, August 18, 1971:

And Caitanya Mahāprabhu begins from there. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). When Sanātana Gosvāmī inquired from him, "What I am?" so He replied that "You are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." This is the beginning of bhāgavata-dharma. Unless we understand that we are eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa, there is no beginning of spiritual life. It is still material life. That conviction must be there. Go on.

Pradyumna: "They are well-wishers to everyone, and they strive to establish a competitionless society with God in the center. The contemporary socialist conception of a competitionless society is artificial because in the socialist state there is competition for the post of dictator. From the point of view of the Vedas, or from the point of view of common human activity, sense gratification is the basis of material life. There are three paths mentioned in the Vedas. One involves fruitive activities to gain promotion to better planets, another involves worshiping different demigods for promotion to the planets of the demigods, and another involves realizing the Absolute Truth in His impersonal feature and becoming one with Him. The impersonal aspect of the Absolute Truth is not the highest. Above the impersonal feature is the Paramātmā feature, and above this, there is the personal feature of the Absolute Truth, or Bhagavān. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives information about the Absolute Truth in His personal feature. It is higher than impersonalist literatures and higher than the jñāna-kāṇḍa division of the Vedas. It is even higher than the karma-kāṇḍa division, and even higher than the upāsanā-kāṇḍa division, because it recommends the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In the karma-kāṇḍa, there is competition to reach heavenly planets for better sense gratification, and there is similar competition in the jñāna-kāṇḍa and the upāsanā-kāṇḍa. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is superior to all of these because it aims at the Supreme Truth, which is the substance or the root of all categories. From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam one can come to know the substance as well as the categories. The substance of the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, and all emanations, are relative forms of energy."

Prabhupāda: It is said, vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam. There is vastu. Vastu means summum bonum, original, and the vāstava. Just like Kṛṣṇa and His different energies. The different energies are called vāstava, "in relationship with vastu," and Kṛṣṇa is vastu. So here it is said that vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu. Vāstava, you can understand Kṛṣṇa in all His features. And if you understand, then śivadam, it is auspicious.

Lecture on SB 1.3.27 -- Los Angeles, October 2, 1972:

So if we take the Vedic statement, Vedic literature statement, as fact, then our knowledge is perfect. You don't require to research. There is no need. It is perfect knowledge and very easy. Kṛṣṇa says that imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1). So Kṛṣṇa said this. Arjuna was playing just like ordinary man, although he is not ordinary man. Just to give us lessons, he was asking question just like ordinary man. So when Kṛṣṇa said that "I spoke this Bhagavad-gītā science of God, or philosophy, to Vivasvān, the sun-god," He clarified the matter. He said... Arjuna said, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are my contemporary, of the same age. So how can I believe that You spoke Bhagavad-gītā some 400 millions of years ago to sun-god? How can I believe You?" So Kṛṣṇa answered, "Yes, you were also present, but you have forgotten. I remember." That is the difference between God and human, living entity. God knows everything, past, present, future. We do not know. We are teeny. We cannot be equal with God at any stage of life. Even Arjuna, who is constant companion of Kṛṣṇa, he is also forgetting that... Kṛṣṇa replied, "Both you and Me had many, many births. We appeared. But you have forgotten; I remember. That is the difference."

Lecture on SB 1.8.23 -- Mayapura, October 3, 1974:

Therefore it is said that anvayād itarataś ca abhijñaḥ. How does He know? Now, svarāṭ. Because to know means we require some master, some teacher... But because He is the Supreme Being, He does not require any teacher. Svarāṭ. Svarāṭ means independent. Vedāhaṁ samatītāni (BG 7.26). He knows everything automatically. That is the difference between God and ourself. Just like Kṛṣṇa said that "I spoke this philosophy to the sun-god," and Arjuna became doubtful: "What Kṛṣṇa is saying? He is my contemporary. I do not know how He knows." So he questioned that "Kṛṣṇa, how can I believe You, that you spoke this, this philosophy to the sun-god millions and millions of...?" So Kṛṣṇa explained, "Yes, at that time, you were also there because you are My constant friend. But the difference is you have forgotten; I have not forgotten. That is the difference." Svarāṭ. Abhijñaḥ. We are not fully abhijñaḥ. We do not know.

Lecture on SB 1.8.28 -- Los Angeles, April 20, 1973:

Just like Kṛṣṇa spoke to Arjuna that: "In the past, I spoke to the Sun-god about this philosophy, Bhagavad-gītā." So Arjuna could not believe it. Arjuna knew everything, but for our, our education, he put this question that: "Kṛṣṇa, we are contemporary, we are born practically in the same period. How can I believe that You spoke this philosophy to the Sun-god?" And the reply was that: "My dear Arjuna, you were also present there, but you have forgotten. I have not forgotten. That is the difference." Past, present, future, for persons who forget. But who does not forget, who remains eternally, there is no past, present, future.

Lecture on SB 1.8.43 -- Mayapura, October 23, 1974:

Therefore Kṛṣṇa's name is Kṛṣṇa-sakha here. Here it is said that śrī-kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa-sakha: "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are..." Kuntīdevī did not say that "You are my nephew." No. That is not spiritual relationship. But Kṛṣṇa-sakha, Arjuna, is related with Kṛṣṇa eternally. Eternally as friend. How eternally? What is the proof? There is in the Bhagavad-gītā. When Arjuna inquired... When Kṛṣṇa said that "This system of yoga I explained to the sun-god millions of years ago," imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1), at that time, to clear the idea, Arjuna, for our sake, he inquired, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, we are contemporaries. You are born the other day along with me. How can I believe that millions of years ago You spoke this philosophy to the sun-god? So what is the answer?" The answer is, "My dear Arjuna, both you and Me, we take so many incarnations, but you forget. But I do not forget. I do not forget."

Lecture on SB 2.3.10 -- Los Angeles, May 28, 1972:

Prabhupāda: So this is our conclusion. There are three classes of men, human beings. Not with hands and legs. Actually human being, those who know what is the purpose of life. The purpose of life, the first basic principle of our life, is that we have come here, in this material world, for becoming master, lording it over the material nature. Although we cannot do it, that is our desire. They are called sarva-kāmaḥ. There is no limit of desires. Anyone, you find out ordinarily, in this world, you ask him, "What is your ultimate desire?" There is no limit. Therefore he's called sarva-kāmaḥ. Pralayāntam upāśritam. Till the time of death, there is desire. A dying man, he is also desiring. I have seen it practically. One gentleman in Allahabad, he was contemporary, of our age. He was dying at the age of fifty-four years, and he was crying, and he was requesting the doctor... He was very rich man. "My dear doctor, can you not give me at least four years life so I could finish my program?" The nonsense, what is your program? You see? I have seen it.

Lecture on SB 2.8.7 -- Los Angeles, February 10, 1975:

You are one individual; I am one individual. We are talking or hearing. Similarly, God is also individual. Just like Kṛṣṇa said,

imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ

proktavān aham avyayam

vivasvān manave prāha

manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt

(BG 4.1)

So He's individual person. He instructed the sun-god millions and millions of years ago. So Arjuna inquired, "How it is possible that millions of years ago...? Because You are my contemporary. You are of the same age." So Kṛṣṇa said that "Millions of millions of years ago, when I spoke this philosophy to the sun-god, you were also present because you are My intimate friend. Whenever I descend, you are also there. But the difference is that you have forgotten; I remember that I said like this."

Lecture on SB 6.1.13-14 -- New York, July 27, 1971:

So you are all initiated to become brāhmaṇa. You have become brāhmaṇa. Don't become false brāhmaṇa. Real brāhmaṇa. It is not by birth; it is by education, by practice, by knowledge. So we are offering the sacred thread to the Americans and Europeans in the Western countries, and some of our Indian contemporaries, they are not very happy with my action. They are under contemplation that a brāhmaṇa can be, I mean to say, seen by birthright. No. No. Brāhmaṇa is by qualification. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. That is the verdict of Kṛṣṇa. We are concerned with Kṛṣṇa, not any other else. Kṛṣṇa says, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: (BG 4.13) "By division of quality and, guṇa, and work, one must have the symptoms, the quality of a brāhmaṇa, and work as a brāhmaṇa." Not that... Quality will be tested by work. Suppose if you are engineer. You have got the quality of... But if you sit down at home, what is your value? You must be engaged in some engineer work.

Lecture on SB 6.1.22 -- Indore, December 13, 1970:

When Arjuna was asked to Kṛṣṇa that "How can I accept that You taught this philosophy to sun-god? Because You are my contemporary. We are born practically on the same date." So He replied, "Yes. Both you and Me, we took many, many births. But you have forgotten. I know everything." And that is God. That is God. Abhijñaḥ. God must be cognizant of everything. And I do not know everything, and still, I claim I am God and people accept. How rascal. The Bhāgavata explains that the Absolute Truth is cognizant of everything, abhijñaḥ. "So how His knowledge is so perfect?"—the next question, because we become cognizant by taking knowledge or accepting knowledge from spiritual master. But how he has become so cognizant? The answer is svarāṭ, fully independent. He hasn't got to learn... (break) But He is God without taking knowledge from anybody. That is real God. Svarāṭ. In this way Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has explained the Vedānta-sūtras, that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the right explanation of Vedānta-sūtra.

Lecture on SB 7.9.53 -- Vrndavana, April 8, 1976:

And when Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādiḥ, "I am the father of Brahmā," so ordinary man, how he'll understand? He'll not understand. He cannot understand. Kṛṣṇa says, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam: (BG 4.1) "Some forty millions of years ago I spoke this philosophy to the sun-god." So ordinary man, how he'll understand? They'll say "Mythology." It is not mythology; it is fact. This was cleared by Kṛṣṇa, er, Arjuna, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You said that You have spoken, You had spoken so many years ago to the sun-god. How can I believe it? You are my contemporary, of my age. How can I believe it?" Kṛṣṇa said that "Yes, you cannot believe it, but you and..., both you and Me, because you are My eternal friend, so you were also present that time when I spoke to sun-god. But you have forgotten, I have not forgotten." That is the difference. The difference is man and God, so God knows everything eternally and we forget. This is our nature.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.66-96 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

The Tapana Miśra invited him, that "Please accept your bhikṣā at my place." It is the system when a sannyāsī, or renounced order of life, is in the village or in the vicinity of a... So it is the Hindu system that somebody will invite. So Tapana Miśra invited him to take, accept prasādam at his place, and Lord Caitanya said that "First of all you get him to a barber and have him cleansed of, of his beard and hairs which has grown for so many days. Let him become a gentleman." The Lord said that "Let him become a gentleman."

candraśekharere prabhu kahe bolāñā

'ei veṣa dūra kara, yāha iṅhāre lañā'

"Just get him to a barber and clean, clean-shaven." According to the Caitanya Mahāprabhu's sampradāya, they keep themselves clean-shaven. And only single instance is there, Advaita Prabhu. He had his beard. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu never asked Him to cleanse. Because one reason is that Advaita Prabhu was just contemporary to His father, so He did not like to dictate. But otherwise, all His disciples, they were clean-shaved.

Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures

Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Verse 32 -- New York, July 26, 1971:

So these things are being taught from authoritative scripture and..., what is God, what is our relationship with Him, and what is our function in that relationship. We should know it. Unless we try to know it, simply we waste our time in frivolous activities, that is not proper utilization of human form of life. We are simply requesting people that "You don't waste your valuable time." Our time is so valuable. It has been calculated by Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was a great politician, prime minister, in India, about three thousand years ago, when Candragupta was the emperor. It was about contemporary to Alexander the Great in the Greek history. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was there. He was a great diplomat. He has calculated the value of our life. He says... It is very practical. Anyone can calculate.

Festival Lectures

Janmastami Lord Sri Krsna's Appearance Day -- Montreal, August 16, 1968:

That birthplace, Lord Kṛṣṇa's birthplace, is now maintained very nicely. One who goes to India, they see. So anyway, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared on this planet five thousand years ago. Now Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma me divyam (BG 4.9). Divyam means "not ordinary." It should not be understood just like we take our birth. Kṛṣṇa does not take his birth like us. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. When Arjuna inquired from Kṛṣṇa, "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are speaking that formerly You spoke this yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god. That means it is millions and trillions years ago You spoke. How can I believe it?" Because Kṛṣṇa was contemporary to Arjuna, so he was thinking that "Kṛṣṇa is my friend, is my cousin brother. How it is possible that He spoke this Bhagavad-gītā yoga to sun-god?" So what was the reply? The reply was this, that "You also appear many, many times; I also appear many, many times. The difference is that I can remember. You cannot remember."

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Lecture -- Los Angeles, February 7, 1969:

Prabhupāda: Yes. So zamindar, landholder. So he belonged to a very big landholder... His father, his father and uncle, two brothers. So he was the only son. So naturally, he was to inherit the whole property, and at that time it was twelve hundred thousands dollars' income. Just see how much he was rich man. When he used to see Caitanya Mahāprabhu or Nityānanda in his youth-hood, when he was eighteen years', twenty years' age—he was almost of the contemporary of Lord Caitanya—he used to distribute gold to the brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, gold, so much gold. What is the price of so much gold? He used to distribute. He was rich man, so he was doing like rich man. So that is the history of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. That is the history of Sanātana Gosvāmī. None of them were belonging to the Vaiṣṇava sect or nothing. Caitanya Mahāprabhu turned them. This Sanātana Gosvāmī and Rūpa Gosvāmī were rejected from the brāhmaṇa community because at that time the brāhmaṇa society was so strict, if somebody takes service of a Musselman or anyone, oh, he is immediately exterminated: "Oh, you cannot be accepted as pure..." Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, according to Vedic system, the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, and vaiśya, they'll not accept any service, even it is worth $200,000.

General Lectures

Lecture on Maha-mantra -- New York, September 8, 1966:

You know our present president in India, Dr. Radhakrishnan. He is a renowned scholar of the world, Dr. Radhakrishnan. When he came to your country, your president, late Mr. Kennedy, oh, he welcomed him as his own teacher, because when Mr. Kennedy was a student in the Oxford University, Dr. Radhakrishnan was a visiting professor. In the open meeting Mr. Kennedy admitted that "Now Dr. Radhakrishnan has come as the president, but he is always my teacher. He is still my teacher." It was very kind of him that he received him as a teacher, not as contemporary. So even that Dr. Radhakrishnan, he is also studying this Bhagavad-gītā very, I mean to say, profoundly. You know your Professor Einstein. Oh, he was a profound, I mean to say, student of this Bhagavad-gītā. Hitler was a great student of Bhagavad-gītā. So many, in all the countries. There are so many Muhammadans in India, oh, they are devout student of Bhagavad-gītā. I know one Dr. Inrai(?) of Allahabad University. Oh, he is so devoted to Lord Kṛṣṇa that on the birthday of Lord Kṛṣṇa he must write one nice article and publish in the paper.

Lecture Excerpt -- New York, April 12, 1969:

That has been searched in Vedic literature by Lord Brahma, and he said, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1): "We have searched out all types of gods, all types of gods, but the Supreme God is Kṛṣṇa." "Everyone is God," that's nice. But there is bigger God and little God also. So if you go on searching after bigger God, bigger God, bigger God, when you come to Kṛṣṇa you'll find nobody bigger than Him. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Mattaḥ parataraṁ nasti. In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find, Kṛṣṇa said that "Nobody is greater than Me." And actually when Kṛṣṇa was present on this earth, there was no contemporary who was greater than Kṛṣṇa. Neither even at the present moment, there is anyone who can claim that "I am greater than Kṛṣṇa." In opulence... Greatness in six kinds of opulences: in richness, in reputation, in strength, in beauty, in wisdom, and in renunciation. If you analyze, you'll find nobody is greater than Kṛṣṇa even in material richness. Everyone wants to become rich, to have a nice family, nice wife, good bank balance, a nice house. But Kṛṣṇa married 16,108 wives.

Lecture Excerpt -- New York, April 12, 1969:

But don't accept a false God. That will be great blunder. Don't do that. Try to understand actually what is God. And the man who is claiming, "I am God," whether he has got such qualification. That can be tested by only three, six things. Try—whether he's richest than all the people of his contemporary life. Is he the richest than all? Or is he the strongest man than all? Or is he the most reputed person than all? Or is he most beautiful? Or most wise? You have to test like that. Don't accept cheaply if some rascal comes, "I am God," and "Yes." Don't do it. You test like this. Test in six symptoms: wealth, strength, reputation, wisdom, beauty, and renunciation. If he excels... (break) ...in all these qualification all other contemporary persons, then he's God. Very simple description. If he is God, then who can be richer than him? And who can be stronger than him? These six things, six opulences.

Lecture at Engagement -- Columbus, may 19, 1969:

Human civilization is meant for understanding one's self, what I am, and act according to that. So Bhāgavata says, if we do not come to that point of understanding my self, then whatever I am doing or acting, this is simply defeat, or simply waste of time. At the same time, there is warning that we should not waste even a single moment of our life. Please try to understand these Vedic instructions, how nice they are. There is a great politician of the name Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. He was prime minister of Emperor Candragupta, a contemporary to the reign of Alexander the Great, in Greece. So, he was Prime Minister of that Emperor Candragupta, and he has many moral instructions and social instructions. In one of his verses, he says that āyuṣaḥ kṣaṇa eko 'pi na labhyaḥ svarṇa-koṭibhiḥ. Āyuṣaḥ, "of your duration of life." Suppose you are twenty years old. Today is 19th May, and there was 4 p.m. Now, this time, 4 p.m., 19th May, 1969, gone. You can never get it back even if you are prepared to pay millions of dollars. Just try to understand. Similarly, even a moment of your life is wasted for nothing, simply in the matter of sense gratification-eating, sleeping, mating and defending—then you do not know the value of your life.

Lecture -- Bombay, November 2, 1970:

Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: "Through Me, one remembers and one forgets." Because our capacity is very limited. We forget very soon. Even we do not know two hours before, what we were doing. That is our nature. Therefore Kṛṣṇa helps us from within. Even though we forget, Kṛṣṇa does not forget. That is also there in the Bhagavad-gītā. When Arjuna asked Him, "Kṛṣṇa, You say that You gave instruction on Bhagavad-gītā long, long ago, some forty thousands of millions of years ago to sun-god. How can I believe it, because we are contemporary?" so Kṛṣṇa answered, "Yes, at that time, you were also present, but you have forgotten. I have not forgotten." That is the distinction between ordinary living being and the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being is also nitya. The Supreme Being is also conscious, as we are eternal, nitya, and conscious. That is the statement of the Vedas: nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13).

Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, January 14, 1973:

Because our capacity is very limited. We forget very soon. Even we do not know two hours before what we were doing. So that is our nature. Therefore Kṛṣṇa helps us from within. Even though we forget, Kṛṣṇa does not forget. That is also there in the Bhagavad-gītā. When Arjuna asked Him, "Kṛṣṇa, You say that You gave instruction on Bhagavad-gītā long, long ago, some forty thousands of millions of years ago, to sun-god. How can I believe it, because we are contemporary?" So Kṛṣṇa answered, "Yes, at that time you were also present, but you have forgotten. I have not forgotten." That is the distinction between ordinary living being and the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being is also nitya. The Supreme Being is also conscious. As we are eternal, nitya, and conscious... That is the statement of the Vedas. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). He is the supreme conscious. He is the supreme living being. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is person. Kṛṣṇa is not imperson.

Evening Address to Pandas and Scholars -- Jagannatha Puri, January 26, 1977:

Indian man (1): Prabhupāda, who has been kind enough to grace this occasion wherein we have assembled this evening to pay our respectful homage to Jagannātha dāsa Gosvāmī, who was a contemporary of Lord Caitanya.

Prabhupāda: (Bengali) I thank you very much...

Hari-śauri: The microphone's not working.

Prabhupāda: ...for kindly receiving me. So in our humble way we are trying to...

Indian man (1): Is the mike on?

Prabhupāda: ...introduce the Jagannātha Swami's culture. Jagannātha svāmī nayana-pathagāmī bhavatu me. You'll be very much pleased that in the year 1967 I introduced Ratha-yātrā in San Francisco. And it is going on continually for the last six or seven years, and the government, they have fixed up a holiday for Ratha-yātrā. We have got 25th July as government fixed-up day, holiday, for Ratha-yātrā. And people take part in the Ratha-yātrā, not all my devotees, even outsiders. Ten to twelve thousand people attend, and we distribute prasādam to all of them. They feel very much obliged. And the newspaper writes that "People in general never felt such ecstasy as they are feeling in the Ratha-yātrā festival." And the police said that the crowd... In the Western country, as soon as there is some big crowd, there is some disturbance. So police were surprised that "This crowd is not window-breaking crowd." And next we introduced Ratha-yātrā in London, in the London, Trafalgar Square. That is the most famous square within the city. And there is a big column. It is called Nelson Column. So our ratha was so high that the Guardian paper, they criticized that "This Ratha-yātrā is rival to Nelson Column."

General Lecture -- (location & date unknown):

Guest: And I heard you also saying that Caitanya was disciple of Madhvan-dāsa-pura.(?)

Prabhupāda: Yes, Madhva. Madhvācārya sampradāya, yes.

Guest: He was disciple of. Now, was he born after Kṛṣṇa or...

Prabhupāda: No, he was born before... Who? Madhvācārya, you mean to say? He was born long, long before Lord Caitanya, after Kṛṣṇa. Yes. Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa appeared on this planet five thousand years ago. Madhvācārya appeared about one thousand years.

Guest: One thousand years before. That means he appeared after Vyāsa, Śrī Vyāsa.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Vyāsa was contemporary to Kṛṣṇa. Vyāsa.

Guest: And Caitanya was disciple of Madhvan-dāsa-pura.

Prabhupāda: Madhva... Not Madhvācārya directly. By his disciplic succession.

Guest: Yes. But Madhva was not a incarnation of Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: No, no, no, no. A ācārya does not require to become incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. Not always all the ācāryas are incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. No. They are devotees. They are devotees.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Prabhupāda: No. Suppose just like Jesus Christ instructed his disciples, "Thou shall not kill." Say two thousand years ago in the Western countries, the men were killers, that's all. But we'll see Bhagavad-gītā, five thousand years ago, Kṛṣṇa is arguing that "If our women become widows then they'll be polluted. There will be varṇa-saṅkara, unwanted children, the society will go to hell." How much elevated society. Five thousand years ago. It is a question of place. It is a question of place. If Darwin says... Here in the Bible it is said that "Thou shall not kill," so that means two thousand years ago they were simply killers. That does not mean five thousand years there were no highly elevated personalities. That is his lack of studying. He is too much localized. He has no broadened knowledge, neither he has studied all the books, contemporary books; therefore he has poor fund of knowledge. He's very poor in his knowledge. Just like, still, there are many Americans... You Americans are completely different from others. You cannot say that all the Americans are drunkards and irresponsible; therefore, they are also. Side by side some moral is still there.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Śyāmasundara: This says, "After the first complement of the atomic species had been formed during the first hour of expansion, nothing of particular interest happened for the next thirty million years." This is the... They have it all...

Prabhupāda: Where is the evidence that he is speaking the truth?

Śyāmasundara: The making of atoms.

Karandhara: They say that something came out of nothing, that originally there was nothing, at a point in history there was nothing, and at a point in history something began.

Śyāmasundara: Well, it says that there was a "frozen equilibrium and a spontaneous break-up of primordial nuclear fluid. The original state of matter is assumed to be a hot nuclear gas, ylen, y-l-e-n."

Prabhupāda: So first thing is that whatever he is speaking, what is the evidence for his word is to be accepted by us?

Karandhara: For most people it is just his word. Whatever his contemporary scientists conclude, he offers some insignificant evidence.

Philosophy Discussion on Ludwig Wittgenstein:

Śyāmasundara: This morning we are discussing a philosopher called Ludwig Wittgenstein, a contemporary German philosopher. One of his major so-called contributions is what is called a verification principle, which reads, "To understand a proposition means to know what is the case if it is true." That means anyone who wishes to understand a proposition must first know the conditions under which that proposition is true, that is, what information is required by way of evidence of its truth.

Prabhupāda: So the modern world's proposition is that "I am this body." So that is untruth. What does he say about this?

Śyāmasundara: Well, if I claim that I am this body, that means I have to know all of the conditions which make it true that I am this body. Then if all these conditions are true...

Prabhupāda: First of all we must discuss what I am. Then we have to see whether I am this body or not. And what do you mean by "I am"? You are individual, I am individual. How I exact my individuality, and how you exact your individuality? What is the symptom? What is the meaning of "I am"? First of all you have to understand, what do you mean by "I am"? "I am" means my activities, "I am." That is "I am."

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Śyāmasundara: Today's philosopher is called Jacques Maritain, and he's a French..., contemporary French philosopher, very influential, and he's a religionist. He believes in a personal God.

Prabhupāda: Still living?

Śyāmasundara: Yes. His main philosophy is that existence and essence are both there; that existence is not possible without essence. He defines existence to be..., er, essence to be potential and existence to be the actual. So that a thing, and everything that we can perceive, has both existence and, in other words, potentiality and actuality. For instance, this cup has the potentiality to be something else, to be a piece of metal, but in its actual form it is like this. But it has potentiality to become something else. So he says these two things—the essence and the existence-exist simultaneously.

Prabhupāda: So we agree to this point. Just like soul, at the present moment you have got a certain type of body, human body, but the soul has potentiality to have a spiritual body or a dog's body. Both potentialities are there. So the essential is the soul, and the reality... It is not reality; temporary form in the material body. But the potentiality as the soul has its own spiritual body. When it is uncontaminated by the material contamination, he remains only reality without any so-called actuality or temporary form.

Philosophy Discussion on Jean-Paul Sartre:

Śyāmasundara: Today's philosopher is called Jean-Paul Sartre. He is a contemporary French philosopher, and he is the father of this existentialism philosophy, which deals with the fundamental problem of dualism—that is, subject and object. He calls the object, the things of this world, he calls them "beings" because they exist, and he calls the subject, or the consciousness, individual consciousness, "nothingness," "no-thingness." This is a thing, but the individual entity is no thing, because it is constantly changing.

Prabhupāda: Why it is not thing?

Śyāmasundara: Because the structure is not determinant. It is always changing. On both sides there is nothing.

Prabhupāda: Changing is the mind, not the person. Changing positions is of the mind. So he is identifying the person with the mind; therefore he is not a perfect philosopher.

Philosophy Discussion on Jean-Paul Sartre:

Hayagrīva: And this is a very short section on Jean-Paul Sartre. The...

Prabhupāda: Who is he?

Hayagrīva: The... He is a contemporary French philosopher.

Prabhupāda: Hm.

Hayagrīva: Probably the most famous of the French philosophers. Perhaps the most well known philosopher in this century. He calls himself an existentialist. He calls himself an atheistic existentialist in that he believes existence precedes essence. That the essence of man... According to creation by design, God has the essence of man in His mind, and He creates man just as a paper cutter creates some kind of a figure. Sartre doesn't believe this. He says, "Atheistic existentialism, which I represent, is more coherent. It states that if God does not exist, there is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence, a being who exists before he can be defined by any concept, and that this being is man, or human reality." So that for Sartre a human reality is all in all.

Prabhupāda: So wherefrom the human reality comes? There are no realities also, so why he is stressing on human realities?

Hayagrīva: There again, he would emphasize accident—he uses the word—that man is thrown into the world, or cast into the world.

Philosophy Discussion on Johann Gottlieb Fichte:

Śyāmasundara: We're discussing this German philosopher, Fichte. Last... We had discussed the whole philosophy then we lost the last half of the tape so I'll just start where we left off. Just to review slightly...

Prabhupāda: Then why don't you, whatever you have got, you get it transcribed and send it to Hayagrīva Prabhu.

Śyāmasundara: Well, I'm pretty much going to have to edit this because...

Prabhupāda: Then we'll edit. All right.

Śyāmasundara: Fichte's idea is that the world is a rational unified system which is directed toward a purpose and that the self-consciousness...

Prabhupāda: It is opposite to that philosophy. He said there is no purpose.

Śyāmasundara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: He said there is a purpose.

Śyāmasundara: This man is coming about 1800, 1820. Sartre's contemporary. In those times...

Philosophy Discussion on B. F. Skinner and Henry David Thoreau:

Hayagrīva: This is B. F. Skinner. He's an American, contemporary American, and he's a behaviorist. He believes that technology can control people. Just as we can adjust the course of a spaceship, the environment can shape the individual, and therefore it is up to us to control the environment.

Prabhupāda: That is Vedic system, to control the whole mass of people in classification. The intelligent class, the administrative class, the productive class, and the worker class, and less than them, and in their respective position, if they cooperate for the common cause, that becomes a perfect society. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya... Therefore this system is called varṇāśrama, four varṇas and four āśrama, social order and spiritual order. The ultimate end is spiritual, but if the social order is not organized, then spiritual order is also disorganized. So there must be division of labor and activities.

Purports to Songs

Purport to Sri Krsna Caitanya Prabhu -- Los Angeles, January 11, 1969:

Actually, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura was in the disciplic succession after Śrīnivāsa Ācārya. Or almost he was contemporary. And his personal friend was Rāmacandra, Rāmacandra Cakravartī. So he is praying that "I always desire the company of Rāmacandra." Devotee's company. The whole process is that we should always be praying mercy of the superior ācāryas. And we should keep company with pure devotee. Then it will be easier for us to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to receive the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the sum and substance of this song sung by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. (end)

Purport to Parama Koruna -- Los Angeles, January 16, 1969:

Prabhupāda: Parama koruṇa, pahū dui jana, nitāi gauracandra. This is a song sung by Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya, almost contemporary. He wrote one book, Caitanya-maṅgala, depicting the activities of Lord Caitanya. That is a very famous book, Caitanya-maṅgala. And he has composed many songs. Practically all Vaiṣṇavas, they are transcendentally poetic. That is one of the 26 qualifications of the Vaiṣṇava. So he says that "These two Lords," nitāi gauracandra, "Lord Nityānanda and Lord Gaurāṅga, or Lord Caitanya, They are very merciful incarnations." Saba avatāra-sāra śiromaṇi. "They are essence of all incarnations." The incarnation is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that whenever there is discrepancies in the prosecution of religiosities and there is prominence of impious activities, at that time the Lord incarnates, or He descends on this material world, for protecting the pious and annihilating the impious.