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Dwindle (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Introduction to Gitopanisad (Earliest Recording of Srila Prabhupada in the Bhaktivedanta Archives):

That information is given in the Bhagavad-gītā, that beyond this material sky, there is another spiritual sky; that is called sanātana sky. In this sky, this covered sky, we find everything temporary. It is manifested, it stays for some time, gives us some by-product, and then it becomes dwindling, and then vanishes. That is the law of this material world.

Lecture on BG 2.24 -- Hyderabad, November 28, 1972:

This is the nature of this material world. Something is generated at a certain date and it stays for some time, it grows, it gives some by-products, then again dwindles, and then it vanishes. Just like this body. This body is given by the father and mother at a certain date. Then it stays, say, for some time. It grows. Then it gives some by-products. From this body, there will be so many children. Or from the trees, there will be so many fruits and seeds. Then dwindling. Then becomes older. And vanish. This is the nature.

Lecture on BG 3.6-10 -- Los Angeles, December 23, 1968:

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. So it has a time of creation, its development, its by-products, its activities, then dwindling, then it will also vanish. It will also vanish.

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

Anything material that has got a birth, a stay for some time, a byproduct, a growth, a dwindling, and then vanish. That is the nature, anything. Just like this body. It was born from the mother's womb at a certain time, and it is staying for some time. It is staying for some time, and the body has got some byproducts, like children. We have got some children, the byproducts. Then it is dwindling. Just like I am getting older. Anyone, everyone, we are getting older. And at the last, it will vanish. Similarly, the whole material world, it has a time of its appearance, it grows, it makes so many varieties of byproducts, it dwindles and again vanishes.

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

So this is the nature. Everything is born and it develops, it stays, and it gives byproduct, then it dwindles and then vanishes. These are the stages, different six stages. So after vanquishing, after annihilation, where does it stay? It stay in God. Then again takes birth. The whole material cosmic manifestation, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). The creation is coming into existence. It stays for some time, it develops, gives some byproduct, then dwindles, then vanishes. And after vanishing it stays in the same principle, the absolute truth. That is being explained.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Hyderabad, April 27, 1974:

This material nature is not permanent. It is bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Everything here, in the material world, everything comes into existence, takes birth, janma, then stays for sometimes, grows the body, then produces some by-products, then dwindles, and then finished. This is the material nature. Just like your body, my body, it has taken birth at a certain date, it is growing, and it is producing some children, by-products. Then, as we are growing old, then one day the body will be finished. This is the material nature.

Lecture on BG 7.2 -- San Francisco, September 11, 1968:

Just like here the nature is working in that way. You build a very nice house. Gradually, the nature's course is it will become old and you'll fall down. This is the way of nature here. You cannot keep anything fresh always. So, so long Kṛṣṇa or God is present, or His representative is present, the affairs of the world go very nicely. But as soon as they disappear again the same system begins, dwindling. Begins... By the power... Just like so long the sun is there, there is no darkness, but as soon as the sun is away from your sight, at once the darkness comes. Because the whole atmosphere is darkness. It is by artificial means or by arrangement of God we are keeping it light.

Lecture on BG 7.5 -- Bombay, February 20, 1974:

The sun is also having a duration of life, and it will rotate, then it will be finished. Everything in the material world, it has got a date of birth, it lives for some time, it grows or changes the body, and produces some by-products, then dwindles, and then vanishes. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kind of changes of anything material. That is called jagat. Gacchati.

Lecture on BG 8.20-22 -- New York, November 18, 1966:

Because we are very minute, small, so a few hundred miles, if it is covered, this sky, we see that everything is covered. Similarly, this material sky is within the covering, with the covering of mahat-tattva, matter. And as this cloud, when it is clear, the original sky you can see, similarly, this covering of material matter, when it begins... Just like cloud has beginning and end, similarly, this material nature has beginning and end. Just like your body. It has got its beginning and end—simply for some time. We get our birth of this body, we stay for some time, it grows, it gives some by-products, then it dwindles, then vanishes—these six transformations. So similarly, anything material, manifestation that you are seeing, observing, that is under these six kinds of transformation. So at the end it will be vanquished.

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

This material world is manifested, but the spiritual world is not manifested before us. But, although not manifested, that part of this creation is eternal. Akṣara. Akṣara means "which has no annihilation." In the material world everything is born, it stays for some time, it develops, it gives some by-products, then it dwindles and then vanishes. These six forms of changes of the material form—ṣaḍ-vikāra. This is called in Sanskrit word ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kinds of changes. But the spiritual world, avyakta, which is not manifested at the present moment before us, that is akṣara. Akṣara means it is eternal. It does not annihilate.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Calcutta, March 8, 1972:

In Vṛndāvana there are so many temples, they have become, made a business by showing temple, collecting money. This is not good. There must be... Temple means people should come, people should learn the science of God. That is temple. Not that to make a business of temple. Therefore everything is, not only in India, all over the world, the churches also, they're dwindled. Now, Europe and America, so many churches are for sale. We have purchased so many churches because people have no more interest. There is no education. Temple means spiritual educational shelter.

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

So breathing means exhaling, inhaling. So when the breathing, air is coming out, innumerable universes are coming into form, and when He is inhaling, then all of them becomes annihilated. This is material world. Material world means it comes into existence at a certain date, it remains for some time, it gives so many by-products, and it expands, and then dwindles, then finish. This is material, everything. Your body is like that, my body is like that. The whole universe is like that.

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

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

Lecture on BG 13.35 -- Geneva, June 6, 1974:

Even some priestly class. They invited me, received me, received me very well. So one of the priests, he inquired that "Why our Christian religion is dwindling? What we have done?" And actually, that's a fact. I have seen, in London at least, the churches are for sale. Nobody's going to the church. Some of the churches have been taken for making go-down, storehouse or some factory. Many hundreds of thousands... In London there are many churches. Churches are there in New York also, other places. Formerly, people were religious. It doesn't matter whether one constructed temple or church. It doesn't matter. There was prayer to the Supreme. But now people are forgetting.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.1 -- London, August 7, 1971:

First of all birth, then sustenance, then death. This is three summary. But actually there are six. Six in the birth, then living for some time, then growth, then producing something out of the body, then dwindling, then finished. Every body. Every body takes birth, then remains for some time, grows also or changes different body, and then from the body some other bodies are also coming out. In this way one becomes old. That means dwindling. And one day will come he'll be finished. Ṣaḍ-vikāra. These are called six kinds of transformations. Any material thing you can take: six kinds of transformation. But Kṛṣṇa has not such transformation. Therefore He is not of this body. His body is mentioned in the śāstra, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1).

Lecture on SB 1.2.11 -- Vrndavana, October 22, 1972:

You have got experience that there are hundreds of Bhagavad-gītā editions in the Western countries, but because we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is, our sale is better than all others. There is a report from the trade manager of Macmillan. He says, "While other editions are dwindling, going down, this edition is coming up." They published our, this present enlarged edition of Bhagavad-gītā, fifty thousand in the month of August. They are going to print again, second edition, August, September, October. So the reason is that if we present things as they are, it will be accepted.

Lecture on SB 1.3.1 -- Vrndavana, November 14, 1972:

Everything material, there are six changes. First of all, birth; then staying for some time; then growing; then producing some by-products; and then dwindling; and then finish. Exactly like our body. Just like this body is born at a certain date, then it grows, it stays, it produces some by-product. From this body, many children come out-by-product. Then it becomes old, declining. And then one day, finished. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six changes. Six changes.

Lecture on SB 1.3.10 -- Los Angeles, September 16, 1972:

So sāṅkhyam. Sāṅkhyam means... Sam means complete, khyam means description. "Complete description of creation." Kāla-viplutam, there is complete description how the cosmic manifestation is created, but people forget it, kāla-viplutam. So this knowledge is existing since the time of creation. Everything materially created has got six stages. The first stage is creation, and the second stage is growth. The third stage is maintenance, the fourth stage is production, the fifth stage is dwindling, and the sixth stage, vanishing. This is anything material.

Lecture on SB 1.3.10 -- Los Angeles, September 16, 1972:

That is also stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That when I first read in India the statement lāvaṇyaṁ keśa-dhāraṇam, that "In this age, dwindling age, people will think of himself, one will think he has become very beautiful by keeping long hairs." That is also mentioned. So when I came to your kind country, I saw these young people are keeping long hairs. So it was immediately corroborated.

Lecture on SB 1.4.25 -- Montreal, June 20, 1968:

We are thinking that we are making progress, but actually we are reducing. This is called māyā. We are making progress on the wrong side. That means reducing. Everyone, you know that people are not so much merciful at the present moment. If a man is attacked by some rogue, nobody is going to help him. If a man's apartment is, there is a burglar, thief, nobody is going to help him. Or if a man is very poor, nobody is going to help him. It is dwindling. It is decreasing. Similarly, duration of life.

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

We have got past, present and future because we change this body. Now we have got this body... It has got a date. In such and such date I was born by my father and mother. Now this body will stay for some time. It will grow. It will produce some by-product. Then it will become old. Then dwindle. Then vanish, finish. No more this body. You accept another body. this body's finished. The history of this body, past, present, and future, finished.

Lecture on SB 1.8.35 -- Mayapura, October 15, 1974:

Bhave asmin. Asmin means "this," and bhave, "the material world." Bhava means to grow, means... Grow means which has taken birth. That requires grow. In the material world, there are six kinds of changes: first of all birth, then grow, then stay for some time, then producing some by-product, then diminishing, dwindling, and then vanish. These are the six kinds of changes. Just like this body. It has taken birth at a certain date, and it has grown, that the child is growing. And growing, it will stay, not immediately vanish. It will stay. And while staying, it will create some by-product. From this body, so many sons and daughters will come, by-product. Even tree, they produce also, everyone. Then it becomes old, no more strength, and when it is very old, finish.

Lecture on SB 1.15.47-48 -- Los Angeles, December 25, 1973:

Everyone knows that it is born at a certain date, it will continue for certain years, it will produce some by-products, it will change into different forms, and then it will become old and then dwindle and one day finish. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kinds of changes. It is not progress. If one is progressing in his age, it is not progress. It means he is going to death.

Lecture on SB 3.26.10 -- Bombay, December 22, 1974:

We have got this experience of this material world. This is not eternal. This is... Just we have got experience of this body. This body is created at a certain stage, and it will stay for some time, and it will transform into many other forms from this body, and then it will dwindle, and then it will vanish. Similarly, the whole material creation is like that. It is created by the interaction of the three modes of material nature. First of all it is a lump of matter, mahat-tattva. It is called mahat-tattva. That mahat-tattva is above this universe, above the sky. Above the sky there are seven layers. Each layer is ten times more than the other layer. In this way, that is called mahat-tattva. Total material elements, they are stocked there. And then these varieties take place. And above that mahat-tattva, there is spiritual world, paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ (BG 8.20), another material nature. That is called Brahmaloka or Vaikuṇṭhaloka. There are also spiritual planets.

Lecture on SB 3.26.43 -- Bombay, January 18, 1975:

Sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt. Asad-grahāt. Asad means this material world. It will not stay. Just like this material body. It will not stay—everyone knows; it has a beginning, birth—it stays for some time, it transforms some other bodies as children, then it becomes old, dwindling, and then finished. These are six different transformation of the material world. But it is temporary, asat. But there is another life, where there is no transformation: eternal. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). That is spiritual world.

Lecture on SB 4.14.14 -- November 16, 1971, Delhi:

Either the man will fall down or the status will fall down. As it has become in India. Practically they have lost all spiritual interest, although India is the country for spiritual advancement of life. So either individually, collectively, socially, or politically, if we forget God, Kṛṣṇa, then it is sure to deteriorate. But foolish people, they do not know this. They think that "Our good days will go on like this," as the Britishers thought. I give the example of the Britishers because I have seen in my life how opulent were these Britishers, and I have seen now in London how they are dwindling. Everywhere.

Lecture on SB 6.1.13-14 -- Honolulu, May 14, 1976:

I have got this human form of life for understanding Kṛṣṇa, for understanding God, my position, what I am. I am not this body. I am spirit soul. I have been put into this body, and because I have been put into this body—the body is material—it must finished. It must be finished." Anything, it has got six changes. Anything material, it has got birth, it has got growth, it has got aftereffect, then dwindles, and then finished, everything, anything you take, the material. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kinds of changes. So I am eternal. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). I do not die after this body is finished, and again I will have to... Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). So this is knowledge. One has to always think of this. That is called tapasya.

Lecture on SB 6.1.37 -- San Francisco, July 19, 1975:

So here, in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, there are... In all other religious system, they say that "Our this leader is son of God." Somebody says, "He is... Our leader is a servant of God." So now, because you did not know who is the master, who is the father, therefore gradually it has dwindled. Now we must know. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is awarding, "Here is the father of the son of God—Kṛṣṇa. Here is the master of the servant." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So there is no quarrel with other religious system.

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968:

You have one body, you remain for some time, then it is destroyed, you get immediately another body, again enter into the womb of mother, again form your body from little, a pulse-like body to this body and grow to your higher status in your younger age. Then again become dwindled, become old man, and again vanish. So bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Everything material will have to change like this. And there are 8,400,000's of different kinds of bodies, and you have to evolve in the cycle of such body. So if you want to get out of this circulation, continually, then here is the formula: tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). Simply try to understand what is God or Viṣṇu, then you get that opportunity.

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Madras, January 2, 1976:

This material world, it will not exist forever. It is bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It is manifested at a certain date. Just like your body and my body, it is manifested on a certain date. It will stay for some time. It will grow. It will give some by-product. Then we become old, dwindling, and then finished. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra. of anything which is material. But there is another nature where there is no ṣaḍ-vikāra. That is eternal. So that is called sanātana-dharma.

Lecture on SB 7.6.5 -- Vrndavana, December 7, 1975:

It is a crude example. We spirit soul, we are eternal exactly like the tree. Tree is not eternal, but in comparison to the fruit, it is eternal. A tree lives for hundred thousand, five hundred, years and the same business go on. The mango, it is coming in fu..., just like flower, then green, then grows, then dwindles. So we are eternal, and our different bodies are just like seasonal fruits. On account of our different karma, we get different body. So this body is undergoing the six kind of changes. But the soul, he is not going any change. He is the same.

Lecture on SB 7.6.10 -- Vrndavana, December 12, 1975:

Because the fruit is grown, stays for some time, then dwindles, then vanishes, that does not mean the tree is finished. This is a crude example. So this change of body is there on account of presence of the Supersoul. He is noting down. He doesn't require to note down, but He notes that "This living entity wants this kind of facility." So each and every body means a kind of facility for fulfilling our desires. So that desire is fulfilled by Kṛṣṇa. He is within our heart. He is giving, has given full independence. "Desire Whatever you desire, I will give you." Ye yathā mām prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11).

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.16 -- Mayapur, April 9, 1975:

So that is just opposite. This form is temporary. Everyone knows this form will be finished. Antavanta ime dehā (BG 2.18), Kṛṣṇa says. This body is antavat. Antavat means it will be finished. It grew at a certain date, and it will increase, it will stay, then it will dwindle, then it will produce some by-products and then vanish. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kinds of changes of the material body. Of the spiritual body there is no such change. That is the difference between spiritual body and material body. Therefore it is called sat. Sat means eternal; there is no change.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 6.154-155 -- Gorakhpur, February 19, 1971 (Krsna Niketan):

So the progress of the material world... Progress, no... Progress means... In the material objects progress means... Just like a flower: it is in the bud, then it fructifies. That is progress. Again dwindles and vanishes. Ṣaḍ-vikāra. Just like your body, my body—progress means from babyhood, childhood, boyhood, youthhood. That is, up to that, youthhood, progress. Then as soon as youthhood passed, old age comes in, then dwindling, then finish. That means janma-sthiti-pralaya. It comes into existence, then it remains for some time, and again pralaya, vanishes, vanquish. This is the way of material existence. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). It takes place... Therefore in the Vedānta-sūtra, Brahman means the original source of appearance, maintenance, and disappearance.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 6.254 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1968:

Whenever there is birth, you must know there is death also. There is not a single instance you have got experience where birth is possible and death is not possible. This material world is going on in that way: birth, then existence, then development, then by-product, then dwindling, then vanishing. Six changes, everything. Either take your this body or a fruit or a flower, anything material you take, these six changes are there. First of all birth, then growth, then existence, then by-products, then dwindling, and then vanishing. So Vedānta-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). The original source of birth, the source of maintenance, the source of growth, the source of development, and the source of dwindling, and after all, vanishing, or the conservation of the vanishing elements, everything is the supreme Brahman.

Sri Isopanisad Lectures

Sri Isopanisad Invocation Lecture -- Los Angeles, April 28, 1970:

Everything in this material world, it has got a fixed time. And within that fixed time there are six kinds of changes. First birth, then growth, then to stay, then to produce by-product, then dwindling, then vanish. This is the law of material nature. This flower takes birth, just like a bud, then grows, then stays for two, three days, then it produces a seed, by-product, then dries up gradually, then finish.

Festival Lectures

Ratha-yatra -- London, July 13, 1972:

There is another sky, which is eternal. This sky is temporary. Just like your body, my body, or anything in this material world, they are temporary. They have got a date of birth, and they grow, they stay, they produce some by-products, then dwindle, and then vanishes. That is material nature. But there is another nature, which is called spiritual nature. Even when everything is annihilated, that nature stands. So that spiritual nature, or spiritual sky, is described in the Vedic literature, in the Upaniṣads, that there is no need of sunshine, there is no need of moonshine, there is no need of electricity. That is another sky. So our only business is to transfer ourself from this sky to that sky, that illuminating sky. That is the Vedic injunction.

His Divine Grace Srila Sac-cid-ananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Appearance Day, Lecture -- London, September 3, 1971:

You make a nice house, but after one hundred years, two hundred years, or nowadays, even after fifty years, it becomes dilapidated. That is the nature's law, kāla. Time will destroy everything. Now, British empire, such a big, vast empire, now it is finished. The kāla, the time, will make everything finished. That is material. Anything material, it has birth, it has growth, it has got some opulence, then dwindling, then finished. That is the way of material... So we are interested in spiritual subject matter. Therefore the process is ādau gurv-āśrayam. One has to accept a bona fide spiritual master. That is our process. Without accepting a bona fide spiritual master, we cannot make any progress. It is impossible. So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura happens to be ācāryas, one of the ācāryas. And he has left behind him many books. Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta, Jaiva Dharma. These are very important books.

General Lectures

Lecture Excerpt -- Los Angeles, January 13, 1969:

If one becomes fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, the simple factor, then he is saved from this material existence, or accepting repeated birth and death. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Here, everything in the material world, everything is born, it remains for some time, it grows then dwindles then vanishes. So this is not very desirable. But unfortunately, the modern civilization, they do not know. They are very much proud of advancement of knowledge, but they do not know that the cause of suffering is this body. They do not know. And they do not know how to make a solution of this material existence. Therefore parābhava. Bhāgavata says all their so-called, nonsense advancement of civilization is defeat.

Lecture at International Student Society -- Boston, May 3, 1969:

In the material stage of our life, we have got birth, growth, sustenance, by-product, then dwindling, then this body vanishes, again accepting another body. This is called cycle of birth and death. But in this human form of life one can understand what he is, what is this world, who is controlling, what is God, what is his relationship with God, what is this time factor, what are his activities. These things are to be learned, not that simply like animals, cats and dogs and hogs, whole day working for getting food. You see? And satisfied only by some sense gratification, business finished. No. That is animal life.

Lecture -- Bombay, November 2, 1970:

This material world is not eternal. The characteristics of this material world is that it appears at a certain date, it continues to stay for a certain period, it develops, then it dwindles and then vanishes. Just like our body, your body, my body: It has got a date of appearance. It is going or changing from one state to another. It will stay for some time. From this body, some by-products will come out, sons and daughters. And then, it will become old, dwindling, diminishing, and then it will vanish. One day it will come, no more this body. Similarly, this material world is also like that. It is a gigantic body only. Whole cosmic manifestation has a date of its creation. It is expanding and it is giving so many by-products. Then time will come which is called devastation. There will be no more rain, and everything will dry up. All living entities will die. Then there will be devastating rainfall; everything will be absorbed in water, and then vanish. We have got this information from Vedic literature.

Pandal Lecture at Cross Maidan -- Bombay, March 26, 1971:

Within this material world, everything is nonpermanent, temporary. Anything you take, it has got its creation, it stays for some time, it produces some by-products, then it grows, and then it dwindles, and then it vanishes. Anything you take. Just like our body. It is produced at a certain time by combination of the semina of father and mother, and then it grows, it stays for some time and it produces some by-products, then becomes older and older, and then vanishes. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kinds of changes of material world.

Hare Krishna Festival Address -- San Diego, July 1, 1972, At Balboa Park Bowl:

You must produce nice children. For that purpose, sex life is allowed. And especially in this age, at the present moment, if you can produce children to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, that will be a great service to the Lord. Because we want now Kṛṣṇa conscious population. Otherwise this world is going to hell. That's a fact. We are dwindling, liquidation. There were great empires like Roman empire, Greece empire, Carthaginian empire and, later on, Moghul empires, British empire. So many empires there were. There was Hitler. There was Mussolini. There was Napoleon. So these powerful emperors or men came and gone. Their name is only there, and nothing is remaining.

Speech -- New Vrindaban, August 31, 1972:

Just like the body undergoes six kinds of changes. It is born, the body is born, not the living entity. It is born at a certain date, it remains for some time, it grows, it gives some by-products, then the body dwindles and at last it vanishes. The six kind of changes. Not only these six kind of changes, but also there are many tribulations. They are called threefold miseries: pertaining to the body, pertaining to the mind, miseries offered by other living entities, miseries happening by natural disturbances. And after all, the whole thing is summarized into four principles, namely birth, death, old age and disease. These are our conditional life.

Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, January 14, 1973:

This material world is not eternal. The characteristics of this material world is that it appears at a certain date, it continues to stay for a certain period, it develops, then it dwindles and then vanishes. Just like our body, your body, my body. It has got a date of appearance. It is growing or changing from one shape to another. It will stay for some time. From this body, some by-products will come out, sons and daughters, and then it will become old, dwindling, diminishing, and then it will vanish. One day it will come—no more this body. Similarly, this material world is also like that. It is a gigantic body only. Whole cosmic manifestation has a date of its creation. It is expanding and it is giving so many by-products. Then time will come which is called devastation—there will be no more rain and everything will dry up. All living entities will die.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Prabhupāda: Just like my material body, it has grown. There was no existence, but combination of father and mother, the body is made and it grows, and again it is vanquished. That is the nature of matter. It takes birth at a certain moment, it grows, then it makes by-products, then it dwindles, then vanquishes. This is the nature of matter, any matter, anything you take. This material world is also like that. All these trees, they have grown up, and when they are grown up, you take the wood, you make houses, you make boxes, you make bedsteads, and so many things. But it is a fact that the trees have grown up from the seed. And wherefrom the seed comes?

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Prabhupāda: That's, what is called, that is the nature. First, first of all something is created, then it develops, it stays for some time, then it becomes old, dwindling, and then finished. This is called six changes of sarvika (?), of anything material. But a spirit soul is not material. He is not subjected to all these changes. This is our practical experience. The body is changing but spirit soul is the same. He remembers that "I had this body, a child's body. I have this young boy's body." He remembers; therefore he is eternal. The change is taking place of the body, so therefore the soul has nothing to do with the bodily changes. He has got his perpetual duty, perpetual activity—that is devotional service. So he has to be trained up in that perpetual duty, then he will stop this process of bodily changes, he will remain in his eternal body, spiritual body. That is going back to home, back to Godhead.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Prabhupāda: One may be surprised that how this universe has come from the breathing of Viṣṇu, but actually it is so. If we accept that the universe is increasing, length and breadth, then the universe may come like particles and then begin to develop. That is the process we see in our child birth. In the womb it becomes just like a small pea, then it develops, develops as either elephant or man, the body develops. So everything material, it is created, it is very small, that a seed, very small, but it develops a big tree, banyan tree. That is the way of nature. So that's a fact that the universe is increasing. Not perpetually; to a certain extent. Then stop, again it becomes dwindled, and then it is finished.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Prabhupāda: That expansion goes to a certain extent. Then the expansion stops, then it becomes dwindling and then finished.

Hayagrīva: Well then Bergson is actually incorrect in saying that the universe is evolving toward some grand harmony.

Prabhupāda: That is his imagination. What does he mean by this harmony? Just like I am increasing, your body is increasing, your child's body is increasing. So everybody's body is increasing, so where is the, what does he mean by harmony? It is increasing and it will dwindle and it will finish. That is material nature. If you say this process of increasing and dwindling is going on, that is harmony, then there is no harm, but the, individually everything is going under this process of increasing and decreasing and at the end finished.

Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell:

Śyāmasundara: He says that this type of conclusion that "All men are mortal," there is room, there is possibility of error in those kind of conclusions because different people arrive at different...

Prabhupāda: No. This knowledge is perfect because our proof is Vedas. In the Vedas it is stated that bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). In the Vedas it is stated that anything material, by its birth, its growth, its staying, its by-product, its dwindling, and then vanish. This is the nature of everything material. That we get from the Vedas, that everything which is born is sure to die. So birth, death, old age, by-products, dwindling, this is material nature's way. But we get the perfect knowledge from Vedas; therefore our knowledge is perfect. So we can accept perfect knowledge without any examination.

Page Title:Dwindle (Lectures)
Compiler:Haya, Serene
Created:15 of Dec, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=50, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:50