Lord it over

Expressions researched:
"lord it over" |"lord over" |"lording it over"

Notes from the compiler: Vedabase query: "lording it over"or"lord over"or"lord it over" not "material nature"

BG Chapters 1 - 6

BG 4.14, Purport:

As there are constitutional laws in the material world stating that the king can do no wrong, or that the king is not subject to the state laws, similarly the Lord, although He is the creator of this material world, is not affected by the activities of the material world. He creates and remains aloof from the creation, whereas the living entities are entangled in the fruitive results of material activities because of their propensity for lording it over material resources. The proprietor of an establishment is not responsible for the right and wrong activities of the workers, but the workers are themselves responsible. The living entities are engaged in their respective activities of sense gratification, and these activities are not ordained by the Lord. For advancement of sense gratification, the living entities are engaged in the work of this world, and they aspire to heavenly happiness after death.

BG 5.29, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to work in full knowledge of one's relationship with the Supreme Absolute, and the perfection of this consciousness is full knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure soul is the eternal servant of God as His fragmental part and parcel. He comes into contact with māyā (illusion) due to the desire to lord it over māyā, and that is the cause of his many sufferings. As long as he is in contact with matter, he has to execute work in terms of material necessities. Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction of matter, for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in the material world. The more one is advanced, the more he is freed from the clutches of matter. The Lord is not partial toward anyone. Everything depends on one's practical performance of duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which helps one control the senses in every respect and conquer the influence of desire and anger.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 11.55, Purport:

Anyone who wants to approach the supreme of all the Personalities of Godhead, on the Kṛṣṇaloka planet in the spiritual sky, and be intimately connected with the Supreme Personality, Kṛṣṇa, must take this formula, as stated by the Supreme Himself. Therefore, this verse is considered to be the essence of Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is a book directed to the conditioned souls, who are engaged in the material world with the purpose of lording it over nature and who do not know of the real, spiritual life. The Bhagavad-gītā is meant to show how one can understand his spiritual existence and his eternal relationship with the supreme spiritual personality and to teach one how to go back home, back to Godhead. Now here is the verse which clearly explains the process by which one can attain success in his spiritual activity: devotional service.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.1.21, Purport:

And in the Dvāpara-yuga, when the duration of life was one thousand years, self-realization was attained by worship of the Lord. But in the Kali-yuga, the maximum duration of life being one hundred years only and that combined with various difficulties, the recommended process of self-realization is that of hearing and chanting of the holy name, fame, and pastimes of the Lord. The sages of Naimiṣāraṇya began this process in a place meant specifically for the devotees of the Lord. They prepared themselves to hear the pastimes of the Lord over a period of one thousand years. By the example of these sages one should learn that regular hearing and recitation of the Bhāgavatam is the only way for self-realization. Other attempts are simply a waste of time, for they do not give any tangible results. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu preached this system of Bhāgavata-dharma, and He recommended that all those who were born in India should take the responsibility of broadcasting the messages of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, primarily the message of Bhagavad-gītā. And when one is well established in the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, he can take up the study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for further enlightenment in self-realization.

SB 1.5.15, Purport:

Śrīla Vyāsadeva's compilation of different Vedic literatures on the basis of regulated performances of fruitive activities as depicted in the Mahābhārata and other literature is condemned herewith by Śrīla Nārada. The human beings, by long material association, life after life, have a natural inclination, by practice, to endeavor to lord it over material energy. They have no sense of the responsibility of human life. This human form of life is a chance to get out of the clutches of illusory matter. The Vedas are meant for going back to Godhead, going back home. To revolve in the cycle of transmigration in a series of lives numbering 8,400,000 is an imprisoned life for the condemned conditioned souls. The human form of life is a chance to get out of this imprisoned life, and as such the only occupation of the human being is to reestablish his lost relationship with God. Under the circumstances, one should never be encouraged in making a plan for sense enjoyment in the name of religious functions.

SB 1.5.19, Purport:

An orphan is really poor because he has no one to take care of him, but a beloved son of a rich man, although he appears to be on the same level as the orphan, is always under the vigilance of his capable father. A devotee of the Lord, due to wrong association, sometimes imitates the fruitive workers. The fruitive workers want to lord it over the material world. Similarly, a neophyte devotee foolishly thinks of accumulating some material power in exchange for devotional service. Such foolish devotees are sometimes put into difficulty by the Lord Himself. As a special favor, He may remove all material paraphernalia. By such action, the bewildered devotee is forsaken by all friends and relatives, and so he comes to his senses again by the mercy of the Lord and is set right to execute his devotional service.

SB 1.8.44, Purport:

Anything that is enchanting in the world is said to be a representation of the Lord. The conditioned souls, who are engaged in trying to lord it over the material world, are also enchanted by His mystic powers, but His devotees are enchanted in a different way by the glories of the Lord, and His merciful blessings are upon them. His energy is displayed in different ways, as electrical energy works in manifold capacities. Śrīmatī Kuntīdevī has prayed to the Lord just to enunciate a fragment of His glories. All His devotees worship Him in that way, by chosen words, and therefore the Lord is known as Uttamaśloka. No amount of chosen words is sufficient to enumerate the Lord's glory, and yet He is satisfied by such prayers as the father is satisfied even by the broken linguistic attempts of the growing child. The word māyā is used both in the sense of delusion and mercy. Herein the word māyā is used in the sense of the Lord's mercy upon Kuntīdevī.

SB 1.10.11-12, Purport:

By such association one is gradually promoted to his transcendental consciousness. Thus he can know that his eternal position is to render service unto the Lord and not to the perverted senses in the capacity of lust, anger, desire to lord it over, etc. Material society, friendship and love are all different phases of lust. Home, country, family, society, wealth and all sorts of corollaries are all causes of bondage in the material world, where the threefold miseries of life are concomitant factors. By associating with pure devotees and by hearing them submissively, attachment for material enjoyment becomes slackened, and attraction for hearing about the transcendental activities of the Lord becomes prominent. Once they are, they will go on progressively without stoppage, like fire in gunpowder. It is said that Hari, the Personality of Godhead, is so transcendentally attractive that even those who are self-satisfied by self-realization and are factually liberated from all material bondage also become devotees of the Lord. Under the circumstances it is easily understood what must have been the position of the Pāṇḍavas, who were constant companions of the Lord.

SB 1.10.22, Purport:

Under the influence of prakṛti, automatically they are created again and again, and this is done by Me through the agency of My external energy."

Actually the spiritual spark living entities have no material names or forms. But in order to fulfill their desire to lord it over the material energy of material forms and names, they are given a chance for such false enjoyment, and at the same time they are given a chance to understand the real position through the revealed scriptures. The foolish and forgetful living being is always busy with false forms and false names. Modern nationalism is the culmination of such false names and false forms. Men are mad after false name and form. The form of body obtained under certain conditions is taken up as factual, and the name also taken bewilders the conditioned soul into misusing the energy in the name of so many "isms."

SB 1.11.39, Purport:

That is the relation between the Lord and His transcendental devotees, who act as His associates in the spiritual sky, where there are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets. When the Lord descends, He does so along with His entourage to display a complete picture of the transcendental world, where pure love and devotion for the Lord prevail without any mundane tinge of lording it over the creation of the Lord. Such devotees of the Lord are all liberated souls, perfect representations of the marginal or internal potency in complete negation of the influence of the external potency. The wives of Lord Kṛṣṇa were made to forget the immeasurable glories of the Lord by the internal potency so that there might not be any flaw of exchange, and they took it for granted that the Lord was a henpecked husband, always following them in lonely places. In other words, even the personal associates of the Lord do not know Him perfectly well, so what do the thesis writers or mental speculators know about the transcendental glories of the Lord?

SB 1.13.50, Purport:

The Lord descends from His abode (Kṛṣṇaloka), the topmost planet in the spiritual sky, in order to help the demigod administrators of this material world when they are greatly vexed by the asuras, who are envious not only of the Lord but also of His devotees. As referred to above, the conditioned living beings contact material association by their own choice, dictated by a strong desire to lord it over the resources of the material world and become imitation lords of all they survey. Everyone is trying to become an imitation God; there is keen competition amongst such imitation gods, and such competitors are generally known as asuras. When there are too many asuras in the world, then it becomes a hell for those who are devotees of the Lord. Due to the growth of the asuras, the mass of people who are generally devoted to the Lord by nature and the pure devotees of the Lord, including the demigods in higher planets, pray to the Lord for relief, and the Lord either descends personally from His abode or deputes some of His devotees to remodel the fallen condition of human society, or even animal society. Such disruptions take place not only in human society but also among animals, birds or other living beings, including the demigods in the higher planets.

SB 1.13.55, Purport:

The living being, by his desiring to lord it over the material world and declining to cooperate with the Supreme Lord, contacts the sum total of the material world, namely the mahat-tattva, and from the mahat-tattva his false identity with the material world, intelligence, mind and senses is developed. This covers his pure spiritual identity. By the yogic process, when his pure identity is realized in self-realization, one has to revert to the original position by amalgamating the five gross elements and the subtle elements, mind and intelligence, into the mahat-tattva again. Thus getting freed from the clutches of the mahat-tattva, he has to merge in the existence of the Supersoul. In other words, he has to realize that qualitatively he is nondifferent from the Supersoul, and thus he transcends the material sky by his pure identical intelligence and thus becomes engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. This is the highest perfectional development of spiritual identity, which was attained by Dhṛtarāṣṭra by the grace of Vidura and the Lord.

SB 1.14.4, Purport:

A conditioned living being is endowed with four principles of malpractice, namely errors, insanity, inability and cheating. These are signs of imperfection, and out of the four the propensity to cheat others is most prominent. And this cheating practice is there in the conditioned souls because the conditioned souls are primarily in the material world imbued with an unnatural desire to lord it over the material world. A living being in his pure state is not conditioned by the laws because in his pure state he is conscious that a living being is eternally subservient to the Supreme Being, and thus it is always good for him to remain subservient, instead of falsely trying to lord it over the property of the Supreme Lord. In the conditioned state the living being is not satisfied even if he actually becomes the lord of all that he surveys, which he never becomes, and therefore he becomes the victim of all kinds of cheating, even with his nearest and most intimate relations. In such an unsatisfactory state of affairs, there is no harmony, even between father and sons or between husband and wife.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.2.18, Purport:

A pure devotee of the Lord no longer wastes valuable time in discriminating the Brahman from non-Brahman because he knows perfectly well that the Lord Parabrahman, by His Brahman energy, is interwoven in everything, and thus everything is looked upon by a devotee as the property of the Lord. The devotee tries to engage everything in His service and does not create perplexities by falsely lording it over the creation of the Lord. He is so faithful that he engages himself, as well as everything else, in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. In everything, the devotee sees the Lord, and he sees everything in the Lord. The specific disturbance created by a durātmā, or crooked soul, is due to his maintaining that the transcendental form of the Lord is something material.

SB 2.2.22, Purport:

The yogī can, however, easily fulfill his desire by going there with the present materialistic mind and senses. The prime inclination of the materialistic mind is to lord it over the material world, and all the siddhis mentioned above are features of domination over the world. The devotees of the Lord are not ambitious to dominate a false and temporary phenomenon. On the contrary, a devotee wants to be dominated by the supreme predominator, the Lord. A desire to serve the Lord, the supreme predominator, is spiritual or transcendental, and one has to attain this purification of the mind and the senses to get admission into the spiritual kingdom. With the materialistic mind one can reach the best planet in the universe, but no one can enter into the kingdom of God. Senses are called spiritually purified when they are not involved in sense gratification. Senses require engagements, and when the senses are engaged totally in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, they have no chance to become contaminated by material infections.

SB 2.2.37, Purport:

The sufferings of human society are due to a polluted aim of life, namely lording it over the material resources. The more human society engages in the exploitation of undeveloped material resources for sense gratification, the more it will be entrapped by the illusory, material energy of the Lord, and thus the distress of the world will be intensified instead of diminished. The human necessities of life are fully supplied by the Lord in the shape of food grains, milk, fruit, wood, stone, sugar, silk, jewels, cotton, salt, water, vegetables, etc., in sufficient quantity to feed and care for the human race of the world as well as the living beings on each and every planet within the universe. The supply source is complete, and only a little energy by the human being is required to get his necessities into the proper channel. There is no need of machines and tools or huge steel plants for artificially creating comforts of life. Life is never made comfortable by artificial needs, but by plain living and high thinking.

SB 2.2.37, Purport:

The highest perfectional thinking for human society is suggested here by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, namely, sufficiently hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. For men in this age of Kali, when they have lost the perfect vision of life, this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the torchlight by which to see the real path. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhupāda has commented on the kathāmṛtam mentioned in this verse and has indicated Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to be the nectarean message of the Personality of Godhead. By sufficient hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the polluted aim of life, namely lording it over matter, will subside, and the people in general in all parts of the world will be able to live a peaceful life of knowledge and bliss.

For a pure devotee of the Lord, any topics in relation with His name, fame, quality, entourage, etc., are all pleasing, and because such topics have been approved by great devotees like Nārada, Hanumān, Nanda Mahārāja and other inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, certainly such messages are transcendental and pleasing to the heart and soul.

SB 2.3.24, Purport:

The whole process of spiritual culture is aimed at changing the heart of the living being in the matter of his eternal relation with the Supreme Lord as subordinate servant, which is his eternal constitutional position. So with the progress of devotional service, the reaction of change in the heart is exhibited by gradual detachment from the sense of material enjoyment by a false sense of lording it over the world and an increase in the attitude of rendering loving service to the Lord. Vidhi-bhakti, or regulated devotional service by the limbs of the body (namely the eyes, the ears, the nose, the hands and the legs, as already explained hereinbefore), is now stressed herein in relation to the mind, which is the impetus for all activities of the limbs of the body. It is expected by all means that by discharging regulated devotional service one must manifest the change of heart. If there is no such change, the heart must be considered steel-framed, for it is not melted even when there is chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

SB 2.5.25, Purport:

The five elements, namely sky, air, fire, water and earth, are all but different qualities of the darkness of false ego. This means that the false ego in the sum total form of mahat-tattva is generated from the marginal potency of the Lord, and due to this false ego of lording it over the material creation, ingredients are generated for the false enjoyment of the living being. The living being is practically the dominating factor over the material elements as the enjoyer, though the background is the Supreme Lord. Factually, save and except the Lord, no one can be called the enjoyer, but the living entity falsely desires to become the enjoyer. This is the origin of false ego. When the bewildered living being desires this, the shadow elements are generated by the will of the Lord, and the living entities are allowed to run after them as after a phantasmagoria.

SB 2.6.21, Purport:

In the field of nescience, activities are directed toward lording it over the creation. In the material world, therefore, everyone is engaged in acquiring material opulence to lord it over the material world. Therefore there is always clash and frustration, which are the symptoms of nescience. But in the field of knowledge, there is devotional service to the Lord (bhakti). Therefore there is no chance of being contaminated by the influence of nescience or forgetfulness (avidyā) in the liberated stage of devotional activities. The Lord is thus the proprietor of the fields both of nescience and of cognition, and it remains the choice of the living entity to exist in either of the above regions.

SB 2.7.6, Purport:

Woman, or the fair sex, is the enchanting principle for the living entities, and the male form, especially in the human being, is meant for self-realization. The whole world is moving under the spell of womanly attraction, and as soon as a man becomes united with a woman, he at once becomes a victim of material bondage under a tight knot. The desires for lording it over the material world, under the intoxication of a false sense of lordship, specifically begin just after the man's unification with a woman. The desires for acquiring a house, possessing land, having children and becoming prominent in society, the affection for community and the place of birth, and the hankering for wealth, which are all like phantasmagoria or illusory dreams, encumber a human being, and he is thus impeded in his progress toward self-realization, the real aim of life.

SB 2.7.50, Purport:

Since we generally have the experience of the temporary, material world and conditioned souls trying to lord it over the material worlds, Brahmājī explained to Nāradadeva that this temporary world is the work of the external potency of the Lord and that the conditioned souls struggling here for existence are the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead. There is no cause for all these phenomenal activities but Him, Hari, the Supreme Lord, who is the primeval cause of all causes. This does not mean, however, that the Lord Himself is distributed impersonally. He is aloof from all these interactions of the external and marginal potencies. In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) it is confirmed that by His potencies alone He is present everywhere and anywhere. Everything that is manifested rests on His potency only, but He, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always aloof from everything. The potency and the potent are simultaneously one and different from one another.

SB 2.7.50, Purport:

The potency and the potent are simultaneously one and different from one another.

One should not deprecate the Supreme Lord for the creation of this miserable world, just as one should not blame the king for creating a prisonhouse in the government. The prisonhouse is a necessary institution of the governmental establishment for those who are disobedient to the laws of the government. Similarly, this material world, full of miseries, is a temporary creation of the Lord for those who have forgotten Him and are trying to lord it over the false manifestation. He, however, is always anxious to get the fallen souls back home, back to Godhead, and for this He has given so many chances to the conditioned souls via the authoritative scriptures, His representatives, and personal incarnations also. Since He has no direct attachment to this material world, He is not to be blamed for its creation.

SB 2.9.1, Purport:

The child cries to have the moon from the mother, and the mother gives the child a mirror to satisfy the crying and disturbing child with the reflection of the moon. Similarly, the crying child of the Lord is given over to the reflection, the material world, to lord it over as karmī and to give this up in frustration to become one with the Lord. Both these stages are dreaming illusions only. There is no necessity of tracing out the history of when the living entity desired this. But the fact is that as soon as he desired it, he was put under the control of ātma-māyā by the direction of the Lord. Therefore the living entity in his material condition is dreaming falsely that this is "mine" and this is "I." The dream is that the conditioned soul thinks of his material body as "I" or falsely thinks that he is the Lord and that everything in connection with that material body is "mine." Thus only in dream does the misconception of "I" and "mine" persist life after life.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.1.42, Purport:

Although he was the brother of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Vidura was completely different. By the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he was not foolish like his brother, and thus his brother's association could not influence him. Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his materialistic sons wanted to falsely lord it over the world by dint of their own strength. The Lord encouraged them in this, and thus they became more and more bewildered. But Vidura wanted to achieve sincere devotional service of the Lord and therefore became a soul absolutely surrendered to the Absolute Personality of Godhead. He could realize this in the progress of his pilgrim's journey, and thus he was freed from all doubts. He was not at all sorry to be bereft of his hearth and home because he now had experience that dependence on the mercy of the Lord is a greater freedom than so-called freedom at home. A person should not be in the renounced order of life unless he is firmly convinced of being protected by the Lord.

SB 3.5.51, Purport:

The demigods are amongst the conditioned souls who have developed this pure consciousness of service to the Lord but who at the same time continue to desire to lord it over the material energy. Such mixed consciousness puts a conditioned soul in the position of managing the affairs of this creation. The demigods are entrusted leaders of the conditioned souls. As some of the old prisoners in government jails are entrusted with some responsible work of prison management, so the demigods are improved conditioned souls acting as representatives of the Lord in the material creation. Such demigods are devotees of the Lord in the material world, and when completely free from all material desire to lord it over the material energy they become pure devotees and have no desire but to serve the Lord. Therefore any living entity who desires a position in the material world may desire so in the service of the Lord and may seek power and intelligence from the Lord, as exemplified by the demigods in this particular verse. One cannot do anything unless he is enlightened and empowered by the Lord. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca.

SB 3.6.11, Purport:

The demigods are separated parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, as are all other living entities. The only difference between the demigods and the ordinary living entities is that when the living entities are rich in pious acts of devotional service to the Lord, and when their desire to lord it over material energy has vanished, they are promoted to the posts of demigods, who are entrusted by the Lord with executing the management of the universal affairs.

SB 3.6.33, Purport:

It is clearly said here that the principle of service was generated from the legs of the Lord for the sake of perfecting the religious process, but this transcendental service is different from the idea of service in the material world. In the material world, no one wants to be a servant; everyone wants to become the master because false mastership is the basic disease of the conditioned soul. The conditioned soul in the material world wants to lord it over others. Illusioned by the external energy of the Lord, he is forced to become a servant of the material world. That is the real position of the conditioned soul. The last snare of the illusory, external energy is the conception of becoming one with the Lord, and due to this conception the illusioned soul remains in the bondage of material energy, falsely thinking himself a liberated soul and "as good as Nārāyaṇa."

SB 3.15.45, Purport:

As a witness He is the bestower of all benedictions, and He endows each individual with the result of his actions. The Supersoul gives the individual soul all facilities to achieve whatever he desires to enjoy in this material world. Suffering is a reaction to the living entity's propensity to try to lord it over the material world. But the Lord instructs His friend, the individual soul, who is also His son, to give up all other engagements and simply surrender unto Him for perpetual bliss and an eternal life full of knowledge. This is the last instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, the most authorized and widely read book on all varieties of yoga. Thus the last word of Bhagavad-gītā is the last word in the perfection of yoga.

SB 3.21.20, Purport:

Elsewhere in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that for those who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this material world is useless; because this material world is full of danger at every step, it is not meant for the devotees but for living entities who want to lord it over the material energy at their own risk. Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He allows the sense-enjoying living entities a separate world created by Him to enjoy as they like, yet at the same time He appears in His personal form. The Lord unwillingly creates this material world, but He descends in His personal form or sends one of His reliable sons or a servant or a reliable author like Vyāsadeva to give instruction. He Himself also instructs in His speeches of Bhagavad-gītā. This propaganda work goes on side by side with the creation to convince the misguided living entities who are rotting in this material world to come back to Him and surrender unto Him.

SB 3.26.5, Purport:

It is stated in the previous verse that the material energy was accepted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order that He might exhibit pastimes for the living entities who wanted to enjoy and lord it over the material energy. This world was created through the material energy of the Lord for the so-called enjoyment of such living entities. Why this material world was created for the sufferings of the conditioned souls is a very intricate question. There is a hint in the previous verse in the word līlayā, which means "for the pastimes of the Lord." The Lord wants to rectify the enjoying temperament of the conditioned souls. It is stated in Bhagavad-gītā that no one is the enjoyer but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This material energy is created, therefore, for anyone who pretends to enjoy.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.9.17, Translation:

My Lord, O Supreme Lord, You are the supreme personified form of all benediction. Therefore, for one who abides in Your devotional service with no other desire, worshiping Your lotus feet is better than becoming king and lording it over a kingdom. That is the benediction of worshiping Your lotus feet. To ignorant devotees like me, You are the causelessly merciful maintainer, just like a cow, who takes care of the newly born calf by supplying milk and giving it protection from attack.

SB 4.9.29, Purport:

When Dhruva Mahārāja factually saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there was no question of a revengeful attitude towards his stepmother nor any aspiration to lord it over the material world, but the Supreme Personality is so kind that He knew that Dhruva Mahārāja wanted these. Speaking before Dhruva Mahārāja, He used the word vedāham because when Dhruva Mahārāja demanded material benefits, the Lord was present within his heart and so knew everything. The Lord always knows everything a man is thinking. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā also: vedāhaṁ samatītāni (BG 7.26).

The Lord fulfilled all Dhruva Mahārāja's desires. His revengeful attitude towards his stepmother and stepbrother was satisfied, his desire for a more exalted position than that of his great-grandfather was also fulfilled, and at the same time, his eternal position in Dhruvaloka was fixed.

SB 4.11.22, Purport:

The living entity is not a dead stone; he has different varieties of desire, or kāma. The Vedas say, kāmo'karṣīt. The living entities are originally parts of the Lord, like sparks of a fire, but they have dropped to this material world, attracted by a desire to lord it over nature. That is a fact. Every living entity is trying to lord it over the material resources to the best of his ability.

This kāma, or desire, cannot be annihilated. There are some philosophers who say that if one gives up his desires, he again becomes liberated. But it is not at all possible to give up desire, for desire is a symptom of the living entity. If there were no desire, then the living entity would be a dead stone. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, therefore, advises that one turn his desire towards serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then desire becomes purified. And when one's desires are purified, one becomes liberated from all material contamination. The conclusion is that the different philosophers' theories to explain the varieties of life and their pleasure and pain are all imperfect.

SB 4.12.6, Purport:

This material energy is one of the Lord's potencies, as much as heat and light are potencies of fire. The material energy is not different from the Supreme Godhead, but at the same time He has nothing to do with the material energy. The living entity, who is of the marginal energy, is entrapped by the material energy on the basis of his desire to lord it over the material world. The Lord is aloof from this, but when the same living entity engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord, then he becomes attached to this service. This situation is called yuktam. For devotees the Lord is present even in the material energy. This is the inconceivable potency of the Lord. Material energy acts in the three modes of material qualities, which produce the action and reaction of material existence. Those who are not devotees become involved in such activities, whereas devotees, who are dovetailed with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are freed from such action and reaction of the material energy. The Lord is therefore described herewith as bhava-cchidam, one who can give deliverance from the entanglement of material existence.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.25.6, Purport:

Anantadeva's main mission is to dissolve this material creation, but He checks His anger and intolerance. This material world is created to give the conditioned souls another chance to go back home, back to Godhead, but most of them do not take advantage of this facility. After the creation, they again exercise their old propensity for lording it over the material world. These activities of the conditioned souls anger Anantadeva, and He desires to destroy the entire material world. Yet, because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is kind toward us and checks His anger and intolerance. Only at certain times does He express His anger and destroy the material world.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.5.20, Purport:

Bhagavad-gītā (16.7) says, pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ: demons, who are less than human beings but are not called animals, do not know the meaning of pravṛtti and nivṛtti, work to be done and work not to be done. In the material world, every living entity has a desire to lord it over the material world as much as possible. This is called pravṛtti-mārga. All the śāstras, however, advise nivṛtti-mārga, or release from the materialistic way of life. Apart from the śāstras of the Vedic civilization, which is the oldest of the world, other śāstras agree on this point. For example, in the Buddhist śāstras Lord Buddha advises that one achieve nirvāṇa by giving up the materialistic way of life. In the Bible, which is also śāstra, one will find the same advice: one should cease materialistic life and return to the kingdom of God. In any śāstra one may examine, especially the Vedic śāstra, the same advice is given: one should give up his materialistic life and return to his original, spiritual life.

SB 6.9.40, Purport:

Pure devotees are akāma, whereas devotees in the upper planetary systems, such as the demigods, are called sakāma because they still want to enjoy material opulence. Because of their pious activities, the sakāma devotees are promoted to the higher planetary systems, but at heart they still desire to lord it over the material resources. The sakāma devotees are sometimes disturbed by the demons and Rākṣasas, but the Lord is so kind that He always saves them by appearing as an incarnation. The Lord's incarnations are so powerful that Lord Vāmanadeva covered the entire universe with two steps and therefore had no place for His third step. The Lord is called Trivikrama because He showed His strength by delivering the entire universe with merely three steps.

The difference between sakāma and akāma devotees is that when sakāma devotees, like the demigods, fall into difficulty, they approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead for relief, whereas akāma devotees, even in the greatest danger, never disturb the Lord for material benefits. Even if an akāma devotee is suffering, he thinks this is due to his past impious activities and agrees to suffer the consequences.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.37, Purport:

Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who emanates the material and spiritual worlds, is the Supreme Spirit. As an individual spirit soul is almost identical to his gross and subtle bodies, so the Supreme Lord is almost identical to the material and spiritual worlds. The material world, full of conditioned souls trying to lord it over matter, is a manifestation of the external energy of the Supreme Lord, and the spiritual world, full of perfect servitors of the Lord, is a manifestation of His internal energy. Since all living entities are minute sparks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is the Supreme Soul in both the material and spiritual worlds. The Vaiṣṇavas following Lord Caitanya stress the doctrine of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, which states that the Supreme Lord, being the cause and effect of everything, is inconceivably, simultaneously one with His manifestations of energy and different from them.

CC Adi 5.66, Purport:

Yellow represents the quality of goodness, red represents passion, and blue represents ignorance. Therefore the colorful material creation is but an interaction of these three qualities, represented in eighty-one varieties of mixtures (3 x 3 equaling 9, 9 x 9 thus equaling 81). Deluded by material energy, the conditioned soul, enamored by these eighty-one varieties of manifestations, wants to lord it over material energy, just as a moth wants to enjoy a fire. This illusion is the net result of the conditioned soul's forgetfulness of his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When conditioned, the soul is impelled by the material energy to engage in sense gratification, whereas one enlightened by the spiritual energy engages himself in the service of the Supreme Lord in his eternal relationship.

Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of the spiritual world, and He is the covered cause of the material manifestation. He is also the original cause of the marginal potency, the living entities.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 23:

Such bodies are never material; they are completely spiritual and full of knowledge. They are reservoirs of all transcendental qualities. In the Viṣṇu-yāmala-tantra there is a statement that because the Personality of Godhead and His expanded bodies are always full of knowledge, bliss and eternity, they are always free from the eighteen kinds of material contaminations—illusion, fatigue, errors, roughness, material lust, restlessness, pride, envy, violence, disgrace, exhaustion, untruth, anger, hankering, dependence, desire to lord over the universe, seeing duality and cheating.

Regarding all of the above-mentioned statements, it is understood that the Mahā-Viṣṇu is the source of all incarnations in the material world. But because of His greater, extraordinary opulence, we can understand that the son of Nanda Mahārāja is the source of the Mahā-Viṣṇu also. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā, wherein it is stated, "Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Govinda, whose partial representation is the Mahā-Viṣṇu."

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 25:

He therefore concluded, "This demigod who thinks himself supreme has shown his great power, but I shall answer him according to My position, and I shall teach him that he is not autonomous in managing universal affairs. I am the Supreme Lord over all, and I shall thus take away his false prestige, which has risen from his power. The demigods are My devotees, and therefore it is not possible for them to forget My supremacy, but somehow or other he has become puffed up with material power and thus is now maddened. I shall act in such a way as to relieve him of this false prestige. I shall give protection to My pure devotees in Vṛndāvana, who are at present completely dependent on My mercy and whom I have taken completely under My protection. I must save them by My mystic power."

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.2:

The apparent close connection between the material energy and the spiritual energy is in fact illusory. The jīvas, being a product of the spiritual energy, try to exploit the material energy, but ultimately such attempts fail, because it is impossible for one energy to always exploit and lord it over another energy. The jīvas can, however, eternally serve the Supreme Energetic, Lord Kṛṣṇa. When the jīva exploits the material energy in his endeavor to serve the Lord, that activity is transcendental—the performance of sacrifice. Any other kind of activity amounts to nothing but materialistic, fruitive work.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.2:

Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, the founder and propagator of Māyāvāda philosophy, proved that the material world was an illusion—mithyā—and so he diligently pursued the path of austerity and renunciation, and he stressed it in his teachings. He did not waste valuable time trying to lord it over this illusory material world. But if he were to see the present condition of the philosophy he propounded, perhaps he would be ashamed. We have no doubt that Dr. Radhakrishnan was influenced by him; this is evident from his writings. Yet in his "Introductory Essay," page 25, he writes, "The emphasis of the Gītā is on the Supreme as the personal God who creates the perceptible world by His Nature (prakṛti). He resides within the heart of every being; He is the enjoyer and Lord of sacrifices. He stirs our heart to devotion and grants our prayers. He is the source and retainer of values. He enters into personal relations with us in worship and prayer."

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

"In his original spiritual identity, the spirit soul is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." This position gives the soul immense bliss. It is wrong to equate the position of an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa with that of a slave of māyā, the illusory potency of Kṛṣṇa. In other words, the feelings of power and pleasure gained by lording it over matter are insignificant compared to the ecstacy one feels in the Lord's service. Even the eight kinds of mystic perfections are puny compared with the bliss of being an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. And surrender is the only means to attain this state; no artificial method can be applied. The awakening of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is the perfection of the living entity, is obtained only by surrendering to the Lord, the propensity for which is eternally inherent in the jīva. Hence Lord Caitanya says in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta:

Message of Godhead

Message of Godhead 2:

Ordinarily, these mundaners cannot easily understand their eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Instead, they themselves have posed as Kṛṣṇa, under the false inducement of the illusory energy. This false position of supreme enjoyer gives them much trouble as they search for lordship over the powers of nature, but still these mundaners cannot give up the spirit of lording it over. And when they pretend to give up the enjoying spirit, under the pressure of disappointment and frustration, they usually take shelter of pseudo renunciation, with an even greater spirit of enjoyment. The mundane workers, who are always desirous of enjoying the fruits of their mundane activities, suffer greatly under the pressing disadvantages of such activities, just like poor oxen tightly tethered to the grinding mill. But under a false pretense of "enjoyer" dictated by the illusory energy, they think themselves to be really enjoying. Therefore, the learned karma-yogīs tactfully engage such foolish mundaners in the respective works for which they have special attachments—but in relation with Kṛṣṇa—without disturbing them in their general activities. For this purpose only, the learned and liberated souls who are eternal servitors of Kṛṣṇa sometimes remain in the midst of ordinary activities, just to attract the foolish mundaners to the process of karma-yoga.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.15 -- Mexico, February 15, 1975:

Therefore the psychology is that every living being does not want to die. So, but actually we are not subject to death or birth. That will be discussed. We have somehow or other, by chance or by coincidence, we have acquired this material body. Actually it is not by chance, but we wanted to lord it over the material world, therefore we have got this material body.

So everyone in this material world, either human being or animals, or birds and beast, is trying to be the lord of the universe. Therefore, if we actually want relief from this constant change of transmigration, then we must prepare for that. We have already discussed that we can get our next life as we prepare for it. If I like, I can go to the higher planetary system; if I like, I can go to the lower planetary system; if I like, you can go to the beastly life or godly life. As I desire, I'll get. The Lord is situated in my heart and in your heart, and He is working... He's staying. He hasn't got to work.

Lecture on BG 2.15 -- Mexico, February 15, 1975:

Hṛdayānanda: (translating) He says that if we are originally in the spiritual world and full of knowledge, how can we try to lord it over, or, in other words, how can we try to do something which actually cannot be done? And if we are originally full of pleasure, then why would we accept an inferior position?

Prabhupāda: That I have already explained, that although you have got the God's qualities, but you are very small. Just like a big fire and the sparks of the fire, similarly, God is big fire, and we are like sparks of the fire. When the sparks come down from the fire, it becomes extinguished. So because we are very small, very... I have already given you the dimension. As soon as we become out of the big fire, in touch with God, then we become extinguished. So somehow or other, if you are, again go to the fire, you have your original, brightened, I mean, illuminating quality, the spark. So at the present moment, somehow or other, being fallen in this material condition, we have lost our godly qualities.

Lecture on BG 5.26-29 -- Los Angeles, February 12, 1969:

. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to work in full knowledge of one's relationship with the Supreme Absolute and the perfection of this consciousness is full knowledge of Kṛṣṇa or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure soul is the eternal servant of God as His fragmental part and parcel. He comes into contact with māyā, illusion, due to the desire to lord it over māyā and that is the cause of his many sufferings. As long as he is in contact with matter he has to execute work in terms of material necessities. Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction of matter for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in the material world. The more one is advanced the more he is free from the clutches of matter. There is no partiality of the Lord toward anyone. Everything depends on one's own practical performance of duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Paris, August 12, 1973:

Then why they are not with You? Why they are here in this material world? Now manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). They have preferred to enjoy this material world, to lord it over the material world. Therefore, mind and senses, manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi , with these senses and mind, karṣati. manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni. Karṣati (BG 15.7), karṣati means struggling. Struggle for existence. This is our position. We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Now we have given up by misuse of our independence. We wanted to imitate Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer, so when we become envious of Kṛṣṇa, tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krurān (BG 16.19), the demons are envious. They want to become Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, you will find so many demons. They will say, "Why Kṛṣṇa is alone God? I am God, you are God, all of us, we are God." So they are demons. So demons cannot be allowed in the spiritual world.

Lecture on BG 13.5 -- Paris, August 13, 1973:

Because here it is the business... Kṛṣṇa's business is... These rascals, these conditioned souls, they want to lord it over this material world, and Kṛṣṇa has to supply them. That is Kṛṣṇa's business in this world, simply botheration. Just like so many children, and the father is put into difficulty. One children wants: "Father, give me this." Another child says, "My father, give me this." "Give me that." "Give me that." And father, being affectionate, he has to satisfy all the children. So Kṛṣṇa's position is like that.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes, being bothered by these rascals, that "You want from Me so many things, but you are not happy. Please, therefore, give up this business." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam śaraṇaṁ (BG 18.66). "Just become... Follow Me. You'll be happy." Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes. Real solution is that, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore the Vedānta-sūtra says, athāto brahma jijñāsā:

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 2.3.9 -- Los Angeles, May 26, 1972:

He has got material desire. He wanted to become the supreme head of one universe. Just like we try to become supreme head of a family, then of a society, then of a nation, of a community. Then I desire to be head, also... Go on, go on, increasing. To lord it over. So, so long there will be desire to lord it over, then we have to accept a body. It doesn't matter what kind of body. It may be Brahmā's body, it may be cat's body, it may be man's body, it may be bird's body, it may be beast's body. That will depend on my desire. But if I have got any desire, material desire to fulfill, then I must be prepared for accept next body, another.

So if one wants to finish this business, accepting... And accepting a material body means to become subjected to the laws of material nature. You get a material body, and if you want that "I shall not die," it is impossible. It is not good.

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

Who is peaceful? Only kṛṣṇa-bhakta, devotee of Kṛṣṇa. He is peaceful. Others? No. They cannot be peaceful. Why? Now, there is demand. The karmī is wanting to lord it over this material world. The jñānī is wanting to become one with God. The yogi is wanting some wonderful power. So there is wanting. It may be of different category, but there is demand. But akāmaḥ, he has no demand. That's all. He doesn't want anything from Kṛṣṇa. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching is: na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). "I don't want. I don't want money, I don't want followers, I don't want nice wife." These things are wanted by the materialists. A devotee simply wants "Give me the chance of serving You."

Lecture on SB 2.3.20-21 -- Los Angeles, June 17, 1972:

"These things are good. These things are bad," bhadra abhadra... Bhadra means good. Abhadra means bad. These are all the same. It is simply mental concoction. Here, the so-called morality, ethics—all nonsense. Because you, you are trying to lord it over on the property of somebody else. So where is your morality? So these sentiments—morality, immorality, good, bad—they are simply manufactured. Actually, unless one surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, there is no question of this ethics and morality. We are now discussing in our philosophical class, Huxley's morality. These are all crazy man's proposals. Actually, there is no morality.

So that we can understand things as they are if we receive the message of Urukrama, Kṛṣṇa. If you give aural reception to the activities of Kṛṣṇa ... Therefore, you should not waste a moment even with nonsense talkings. You have got so many books. Either chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, or read books, discuss amongst yourself. Don't waste your time by so-called drama and play. It is simply waste of time. Don't waste your time in that way. If you have got inclination to enjoy some drama, then you should take hint how that drama should be written or played. Don't manufacture.

Lecture on SB 2.3.24 -- Los Angeles, June 22, 1972:

The whole process of spiritual culture is aimed at changing the heart of the living being in the matter of his eternal relation with the Supreme Lord as subordinate servant, which is his eternal constitutional position. So with the progress of devotional service, the reaction of change in the heart is exhibited by gradual detachment from the sense of material enjoyment by a false sense of lording it over the world and an increase in the attitude of rendering loving service to the Lord. Vidhi-bhakti, or regulated devotional service by the limbs of the body (namely the eyes, the ears, the nose, the hands and the legs, as already explained hereinbefore), is now stressed herein in relation to the mind, which is the impetus for all activities of the limbs of the body. It is expected by all means that by discharging regulated devotional service one must manifest the change of heart. If there is no such change, the heart must be considered steel-framed, for it is not melted even when there is chanting of the holy name of the Lord.

Lecture on SB 2.9.1 -- Tokyo, April 20, 1972:

The child cries to have the moon from the mother and the mother gives the child a mirror to satisfy the crying and disturbing child with the shadow of the moon. Similarly the crying child of the Lord is given over to the shadow of the material world to lord it over as a karmī and to give this up in frustration to become one with the Lord. Both these stages are dreaming illusions only. There is no necessity of tracing out the history when the living entity desired this, but the fact is that as soon as he desired such, he was put under the control of ātma-māyā by the direction of the Lord. Therefore the living entity in his material condition is dreaming falsely that this is 'mine' and this is 'I.' The dream is that the conditioned soul thinks of his material body as 'I' or falsely thinks that he is the lord and that everything in connection with the material body is 'mine.' Thus in dream only the misconception of 'I and mine' persist life after life.

Lecture on SB 7.7.25-28 -- San Francisco, March 13, 1967:

Seed is there. What is that seed? Bīja-nirharaṇaṁ yogaḥ. You are trying to practice yoga, but you do not know how to crush the seed of material life. That is... This is bīja-nirharaṇaṁ yogaḥ, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The more you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, that seed, that material... What is that material seed? The material seed that "I want to lord it over everything, all resources." This is struggle. Everyone is trying. What is economic development or, what is called, the exact technical word? In a country... Undeveloped. Undeveloped country, and to develop. So what is this development? Development means to lord it over these material resources. That is the seed. That is the seed. Everyone is thinking that "I am the monarch of all I survey. Whatever I am seeing, I shall be the monarch. I shall be a Rockefeller. I shall be a Ford. I shall be this. I shall be that." But what is this "I shall be"? For few years I shall be like this, and then, according to my karma, according to my work, I'll leave this body here. I take another body, the "I shall be" finished.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 6.151-154 -- Gorakhpur, February 14, 1971:

The members of the prison house are all disobedient citizens of the government. Similarly, in this material world, this material energy is also Kṛṣṇa's energy, but here, it is the place for the disobedient part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare. Persons who are, I mean to say, very much energetic to forget Kṛṣṇa and try to lord it over this material energy, they are called conditioned soul, or imprisoned. We are all imprisoned within this Durgā. And the superintendent of this durgā, or the fort, is called Durgā. Durgā-śakti. Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni vibharti durgā (Bs. 5.44). This material world... But those who have no information how this Durgā is there, how this Durgā is there, they think that by worshiping, by pleasing goddess Durgā, they'll be happy. No. Pleasing means you have to abide by the laws of the durgā, material world. Otherwise, Durgā will take his (her) trident and pierce on the chest of the asura. Durgā is controlling. The asura is also a living entity within this durgā. So those who are asuras...

Sri Isopanisad Lectures

Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 1 -- Los Angeles, April 30, 1970:

These make up the parā prakṛti, or the inferior energy of the Lord. But the living entities, they are the superior energy of the Lord. They are aparā prakṛti; henceforth, due to their illusion, their misconception, they are trying to lord it over the parā prakṛti, uh, uh, aparā prakṛti, the inferior energy of the Lord. And they have become entangled. They have become covered by the gross elements. So when one is realizing who the source of the energies, of all these energies are..., who are the proprietor, who are the controller of the energy, then by the Lord's mercy, the Lord being the controller of all these energies, that entity can become free from the covering, from the influence of the material energy, and can resume his natural constitutional position as superior energy and function on that platform in realization of both energies and his relationship with the supreme energy of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. One should not..., one should only accept that which is set aside for him that which is needed.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Lecture -- Mexico, February 11, 1975, (With Spanish Translator):

The living force by nature is jubilant. The supreme living force is God, Kṛṣṇa, and we are part and parcel of the living force. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, two kinds of energies: one material energy, one spiritual energy. The material energy is earth, water, air, fire, sky, mind, intelligence, etc., and the spiritual energy is the living force which is trying to lord it over the material energy. So,

apareyam itas tu (anyāṁ)

viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām

jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho

yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat

(BG 7.5)

Kṛṣṇa says that "This material energy is inferior, and the superior energy is the living being." So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to help the living being to come out of the encagement of material energy. And how to become free, that information is in the Vedic literature.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Seattle, September 27, 1968:

As soon as our original consciousness becomes polluted with the consciousness of material enjoyment, that "I want to lord it over the resources of matter..." As soon as we turn our consciousness in this way, then our troubles begin. Immediately māyā. This very consciousness, that "I can enjoy this material world to my best capacity..." Everyone is trying to do that. Every one of us, beginning from the ant up to the highest living creature, Brahmā, everyone is trying to become one of the lords. Just like recently in your country there were so many canvassing for becoming the president. Why? The same idea. Everyone is after becoming some kind of lord. This is māyā. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is completely opposite. We are just trying to become the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa. Just opposite. Instead of becoming the lord, we want to be the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa. Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80).

Lecture -- Seattle, September 27, 1968:

At least, according to Vedic system of..., they will offer you a preparation which is called yogurt. That is milk preparation. That yogurt with little medicine will cure. Now your disease was caused by milk, and it is cured by milk also. Why? It is directed by the physician. Similarly everything. In the higher sense there is no existence of matter; it is only illusion. Just like this morning I was giving the instance of the sun and the fog. The fog was there; the sun could not be seen. The foolish person will say that "There is no sun. It is simply fog." But intelligent person will say that "Sun is there, but the fog has covered our eyes. We cannot see the sun." Similarly, actually, everything being energy of Kṛṣṇa, there is nothing material. Simply our, this mentality that we want to lord it over, that is false, illusion. That is covering our relationship with Kṛṣṇa. So that you will gradually understand.

Lecture -- Bombay, March 19, 1972:

As soon as we think of becoming the Lord and lording it over the Lord's creation, that is called māyā. And Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is just an attempt to revive the original consciousness that "I am not the lord, but I am the servant of the Lord." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So our program is to speak on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the evening and to speak in English, and in the morning we speak on Bhagavad-gītā in Hindi. So we are very much grateful to you that you are kindly trying to cooperate with this movement and hear about Kṛṣṇa. Your cooperation means you please hear about Kṛṣṇa. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, rādhā-kṛṣṇa bolo saṅge calo ei-mātra duhkhā cāi. We are simply begging you that you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and please come along with us. This much begging we are submitting.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: That means that his tendency is to lord it over, and that he is being bribed. He wants some profit, "All right, I give you some bonus. This Russian communist idea is very good provided the citizens do not want any profit but that is not possible. Everyone wants profit. So how by law, by force, you can take it? It is not possible. The same proposition: that in the winter season the bugs cannot get blood, cannot come out due to the serious cold so they become dried up. Their skin practically dries, dries completely. There is no blood. That is (indistinct). But as soon as the bug gets opportunity, in the summer season, he can come out, immediately he bites somebody and sucks all the blood.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- August 17, 1971, London:

Prabhupāda: No, no, behavior... Because he is in the material world, he wants to lord it over. But a pure devotee has no such desire.

Haṁsadūta: But at the same time, he appeared as Ṭhākura Haridāsa in this world. So Brahmā, he appears as Ṭhākura Haridāsa with Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Prabhupāda: But Brahmā, it does not mean Brahmā cannot be pure devotee.

Revatīnandana: Does he become a pure devotee? Otherwise how he can see Kṛṣṇa and reveal Brahma-saṁhitā? Also he's the head of our disciplic succession. That's why I said, "No. He's a pure devotee." How can he be the head of our disciplic succession if he's not a pure devotee?

1972 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:

Jayatīrtha: They just like to lord it over.

Prabhupāda: Yes. I cannot say... Suppose if I become president, and if I want to say that stop this slaughterhouse, immediately I will be removed. So I cannot do anything, even if I become president, so why shall I accept this post? No sane man, no gentleman will go to the post because he knows he will not be able to do anything for the welfare of the public.

Jayatīrtha: They're so corrupt.

Prabhupāda: So corrupt. (indistinct) Even one wants to do... just like President Kennedy, he wanted to do something good—he was shot down. Gandhi wanted to do something—he was shot down. So the politics is so corrupted that as soon as you are prepared to do something actually, you will be killed.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 29, 1975, Honolulu:

Bali-mardana: Because they want to lord it over the accident.

Prabhupāda: Then all these houses have come in an accident? Everything is created by man. How you can say accident? This is their foolishness. Nothing happens accidentally. If there is accident, then how we are walking this? There is a huge water. By accident, immediately it can drown us. If accident is so prominent, then one should be conscious that by accident the whole Hawaii Island can be... It can be done. Why it is not being happened if it is accident? Then why you are building so many buildings? You should know, by accident the whole water can... If accident is there, why you are confident that "No, it will not do." Then where is accident?

Bali-mardana: They are thinking that they can control that accident.

Morning Walk -- December 12, 1975, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: Yes. If you want lord it over, "Alright you become Brahma." He gives so much facility.

Harikeśa: And then this Brahmā creates so many different desires, and then he goes through all the different bodies.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Akṣayānanda: Everyone becomes Brahmā first?

Prabhupāda: Hm? Yes. Or if you want to be a cat you can become.

Harikeśa: How can they say this isn't science? This is so incredible.

Prabhupāda: Desire is there. Desire is there. Just like in your country, the nudism going on. The desire is, "Ah, I shall remain free, naked." So Kṛṣṇa is giving you facility, "Alright, you stand here for thousands of years as tree, naked, nobody will criticize. You want to remain naked on the public street and you want to enjoy in that way, alright you become tree."

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation and Reading from Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto 1 and 12 -- June 25, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: This is verily condemned and is quite unreasonable. Because they are guided under your instructions, they will accept such activities in the name of religion and will hardly care for prohibitions." Purport. "Śrīla Vyāsadeva's compilation of various Vedic literatures on the basis of regulated performances of fruitive activities as depicted in the Mahābhārata and other literature is condemned herewith by Śrīla Nārada. The human beings, by long material association life after life, have a natural inclination by practice to endeavor to lord it over material energy. They have no sense of the responsibility of human life. This human form of life is a chance to get out of the clutches of illusory matter. The Vedas are meant for going back to Godhead, going back home. To revolve in the cycle of transmigration in a series of lives numbering 8,400,000 is an imprisoned life for the condemned conditioned souls. The human form of life is a chance to get out of this imprisoned life, and as such the only occupation of the human being is to reestablish his lost relationship with God.

Conversation with Prof. Saligram and Dr. Sukla -- July 5, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Devotee (4): There's a kind of pain also, like when your false ego, when somebody tells you to do something or yells at you or gives you instruction. We all have this propensity to try and lord it over. When that's being denied, we feel a sense of pain, we feel like something, you know, dejected in our service. The tendency is to want to be angry...

Prabhupāda: Therefore you have to be trained up under proper spiritual master. You cannot work whimsically. Then it will not help.

Devotee (4): Should we always endeavor in spite of pain to push ourselves in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Umapati -- Los Angeles 30 March, 1970:

There are innumerable living entities both in the spiritual world and in the material world. The spiritual world is far, far greater than the material world. As such, the number of living entities living in the spiritual world is many more times greater than the number of living entities living within the material world. The living entities, when they try to lord it over the God's property, forgetting their constitutional position to remain as eternal servant of God, they are given the material world to act according to their desires.

In such endless varieties of desires the living entities are seen in varieties of bodies beginning from Brahma, down to the most insignificant insect. In this way, when someone is fortunate, he, by the grace of Spiritual Master and Krsna, revives his Krsna Consciousness. And if he makes progress under the direction of the Spiritual Master, then he revives his original Krsna Consciousness in full and thus he regains his position in the eternal Kingdom of God.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Jagaddhatri, Pasupati, Sailogata, Pamela -- Dallas 30 July, 1975:

Aggression for the cause of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is pure. If you become completely absorbed in such aggression to spread Sankirtana Movement, there will be no question of wanting to lord it over in the temple. Preaching purifies us of these material tendencies for sense gratification. It is simply a matter of time that you will see this. Do not worry. Krishna will help you.