Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanisource | Go to Vanimedia


Vaniquotes - the compiled essence of Vedic knowledge


If we think in sober mind and cool head, we can understand that although we are following leadership, may be whatever he may be, still, we are not happy

Expressions researched:
"if we think in sober mind and cool head, we can understand that although we are following leadership, may be whatever he may be, still, we are not happy"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Why we select one leader? The leader should be such a leader that they shall, he shall make happy and prosperous persons who follow him. That is the question of leadership. But actually, if we think in sober mind and cool head, we can understand that although we are following leadership, may be whatever he may be, still, we are not happy.
Lecture on BG 4.11 -- New York, July 27, 1966:

Eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān: "That one is maintaining all these many." We, the living entities, we are many. So our position is always subordinate. That is our natural constitutional position. Now, the Supreme Lord's position is the leadership, and our position is subordinate. Then what is our duty? Our duty is to follow the leader. And actually we are doing so. We have got... Instead of... We have forgotten that the supreme leader is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but still, for our daily activities we create a leader. We accept some leader and follow his principles. Just like you have elected your leader as President Johnson, the president of your state. He is supposed to be the leader of your nation, and he is asking you to go to the Vietnam and sacrifice your life. So you are following. So this is the natural position. Even if we do not accept God, if we do not accept the leadership of God, we have to select another leader. We cannot get rid of this principle, that we can live without leader. That is our constitutional position.

So the difficulty is that... Our difficulty is that instead of following the supreme leader, we are creating by mental concoction some leader according to our material conception of life, and we are following. That is our position. So Lord Kṛṣṇa said,

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

People are actually following the same principle, but the difficulty is that in our this position of lower nature we are following in the manner which will not make us happy and satisfied. Because we are not following the supreme leader, the difficulty... By constitutional position we are to follow a leader, but because we are misled, because we are deluded to follow a leader which is not perfect, therefore our position is always unhappy in spite of following the leadership of a concocted nature.

Therefore the best thing will be to get rid of this concocted position and follow the supreme leader. That is the highest perfection. Just try to understand that I cannot avoid following someone's leadership. That is not possible. Can anyone say that "we can avoid this"? No. We cannot avoid. Even if we don't accept the leadership of God, we have to accept some other leader. That is our position. We cannot avoid it.

So there is a very nice verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. A brāhmaṇa, he was a family man, just like worldly man, as we are. Now, brāhmaṇas are generally expected to be highly learned, and he was very learned man in Vedic literature. And when he came to his consciousness by reading all this Vedic literature, that "Although I am following the leadership, why I am not happy? Why I am not happy?"... This question should arise in the sane human mind. One should think that "I am following the leadership of somebody, according to my position and according to my circumstances. But still, I am not happy. Why?"

Why we select one leader? The leader should be such a leader that they shall, he shall make happy and prosperous persons who follow him. That is the question of leadership. But actually, if we think in sober mind and cool head, we can understand that although we are following leadership, may be whatever he may be, still, we are not happy. Now, the brāhmaṇa concluded that "This following leadership is the following leadership of my lust." I select one leader according to my lust.

Just like in political parties there are many leaders, but I like some particular type of political pursuit. Someone likes Democratic political pursuit; someone likes Congress political pursuit; someone likes Communist political pursuit. So we have got different desires. So practically, if we study very minutely, then we are not following the leadership but we are following our particular lust. I have got a particular lust within me, and when I find somebody corroborating with that particular lust, oh, I accept him, that leader. That is my position. Therefore I do not follow anyone's leadership, but I follow my own leadership. That is the lust. I want to do, I like to do something, and if somebody says, "Oh, yes, it is very nice," "Oh, you are my leader. If you confirm my lust, then you are my leader." That is the material leadership.

But the Supreme Lord is not like such... He is not such a leader. He is not going to follow your lust. In the Bhagavad-gītā you will find that the Supreme Lord says in the Eighteenth Chapter,

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
(BG 18.66)

He says, "My dear Arjuna, I have spoken to you all about Bhagavad-gītā. I do not know whether you have understood the whole thing or not, but because you are My friend and I love you and you love Me, I say you the most confidential thing to you. And what is that? You give up everything and just follow Me. You just give up all your concocted things in the mind and just become Kṛṣṇa conscious."

Page Title:If we think in sober mind and cool head, we can understand that although we are following leadership, may be whatever he may be, still, we are not happy
Compiler:MadhuGopaldas, Visnu Murti
Created:07 of Jan, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1