Know the source

Expressions researched:
"knows the source" |"know the source" |"knowing the source"

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 7.2, Purport: Complete knowledge includes knowledge of the phenomenal world, the spirit behind it, and the source of both of them. This is transcendental knowledge. The Lord wants to explain the above-mentioned system of knowledge because Arjuna is Kṛṣṇa's confidential devotee and friend. In the beginning of the Fourth Chapter this explanation was given by the Lord, and it is again ,vv, confirmed here: complete knowledge can be achieved only by the devotee of the Lord in disciplic succession directly from the Lord. Therefore one should be intelligent enough to know the source of all knowledge, who is the cause of all causes and the only object for meditation in all types of yoga practice. When the cause of all causes becomes known, then everything knowable becomes known, and nothing remains unknown. The Vedas (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3) say, kasminn u bhagavo vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 7.4 -- Nairobi, October 31, 1975: Just like I am speaking, it is being recorded, recorded. But in my absence, if the record is played, it will exactly vibrate the same sound. So that is my energy or anyone's energy, but bhinnā, separated from me. You have to understand like that. So everything is energy of God, Kṛṣṇa, but this material world means we are missing Kṛṣṇa. Wherefrom this energy has come? That point we are missing. Bhinnā. One who knows... Just like the same example. In the record the play is going on, but one who does not know who has recorded this speech, he cannot find out. But one who knows voice, he can understand, "It is coming from Prabhupāda, or the Swamiji." Similarly, the energy is there, but because we have forgotten the source of the energy or we do not know the source of the energy, therefore we take material things as final. This is our ignorance.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 7.6.1-2 -- Stockholm, September 6, 1973: Materialism means that you are dealing with earth, water, fire, air, or the ether, or mind, intelligence, so far. These are the subject matters of studying materialism. But God says: "They are My separated energies." These matters, you have not produced this earth, water, air, fire. That's a fact. That is produced by the energy of God. So while dealing with material things, if you remember that this material thing is produced by God then you are perfect. And if you theorize that it has dropped from the sky, then you are materialistic. That is the difference between materialist and spiritualist. A spiritualist knows that wherefrom this earth has come, wherefrom the water has come, wherefrom this fire has come. Then he is spiritualist, God conscious. And one does not know, he's ignorant. Actually, that is the fact. But one who is ignorant of the fact, he's materialist. And one who knows the source of this material elements, he is spiritualist. That is the difference. Therefore the conclusion is one who does not know God, he is materialist and one knows God, he is spiritualist.

Lecture on SB 7.9.37 -- Mayapur, March 15, 1976: We are fallen down from the spiritual kingdom to this material world on account of desiring to fulfill our material senses. But Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He has given us the Vedic literatures. Anādi bahir mukha jīva kṛṣṇa bhuli gela. This is the statement in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Ataeva kṛṣṇa veda purāṇa karilā. Because we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa anadi... Anadi means before the beginning of this creation. The beginning of this creation is called ādi, beginning, but our forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa is anādi. Anādi. Anādi bahir mukha. We are working in this life, in this material world, struggling for existence to get happiness. That is the aim of life. But because we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa, we do not know the source of happiness. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). The ānandamaya-vigraha, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. Still, we are searching after ānanda, blissfulness. This is our struggle for existence. Manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati [Bg. 15.7]. We are in this prakṛti, in this material nature, prakṛti-sthāni, and, being dictated by the mind, making plans to become happy, but that is not possible. Manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni. This is... Due to our forgetfulness, we are struggling for existence to get happiness, but because we do not know what is the source of happiness, it is called struggle for existence. This is going on.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.358-359 -- New York, December 29, 1966: Bhakti-yoga. Karma-yoga is almost the same bhakti-yoga. And bhakti-yoga is direct. Bhakti-yoga is... That, bhaktas, they are not addicted to karma, but they are simply addicted to the service of the Lord. That service of the Lord and ordinary work sometimes appears one and the same. Just like we are also typewriting. They, your mother was asking the other day, "Oh, you have got dictaphone?" "Yes." "Oh, why do you say that materialism bad?" "And we are spiritualizing this. You have produced these material things. We eve spiritualizing." So sometimes ordinary karma and bhakti appears to be the same. But they are not the same. They are not the same. Because everything, the source of emanation; we have nothing to hate from materialism because materialism is the energy of God. Why shall we hate? We have nothing to hate. We don't hate materialism. The materialism... They do not understand what is materialism. Materialism means to forget the source of all this. That is materialism. One who knows the source of everything is God, for him, there is no materialism. Because he utilizes everything for that source. So for a advanced devotee, there is nothing materialism. There is nothing material. Everything is spiritualism.

General Lectures

Lecture at Art Gallery -- Auckland, April 16, 1972:

Guest (1): Is it possible for us to know the source of Kṛṣṇa?

Prabhupāda: Source of Kṛṣṇa? Well, Kṛṣṇa is the origin. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam [Bs. 5.1]. We are trying to understand the source of Kṛṣṇa because we have no other experience. We have got only experience that everything has got a source. You go on searching out. Just like you are caused by your father. Your father is caused by his father. His father is cause of... In this way go on researching, researching, then you come to Brahmā, the original person in this universe. Then Brahmā is also caused by Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. The Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is caused by Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. The Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is caused by Saṅkarṣaṇa. Saṅkarṣaṇa is caused by Nārāyaṇa. Nārāyaṇa caused by Baladeva. Baladeva is caused by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is the origin, cause, of everyone. He has no cause. He has no source. He is the original source of everything. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ: [Bg. 10.8] "I am the source of everything." And Brahma-saṁhitā, sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam: [Bs. 5.1] "The cause of all causes." So Supreme Lord is the cause of all causes, but He is not caused by anyone. That is His supremacy. He is not caused by everyone. He is svarāṭ. He is described in the Vedic, svarāṭ, "self-evident." That is God.

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Gurudasa, Yamuna -- Los Angeles 21 January, 1969: I am so glad to understand that as soon as your finances are almost depleted, Krishna sees to everything. This is the process of Krishna Consciousness. If we are sincere, Krishna will supply us with all necessities of life. When we serve some mundane master, he gives us sufficient salary, so when we serve the Supreme Master, how it is possible that He will keep us fasting? Actually due to our lack of Krishna Consciousness sometimes we become disturbed with shortage of funds. But we should be confident that our necessities will certainly be fulfilled by the Supreme Lord. The same incident sometimes happens in New York temple. When there is a shortage of funds, sometimes they find money accidentally without knowing the source.