Minimum necessities of life
Expressions researched:
"minimum necessities of life"
|"minimum necessities in life"
|"You live with the minimum necessities"
|"minimum necessities by the temple itself"
|"minimum necessities of the body"
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 2
SB Canto 8
- nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma
- yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti
- na sādhu manye yata ātmano 'yam
- asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ
"When a person considers sense gratification the aim of life, he certainly becomes mad after materialistic living and engages in all kinds of sinful activity. He does not know that due to his past misdeeds he has already received a body which, although temporary, is the cause of his misery. Actually the living entity should not have taken on a material body, but he has been awarded the material body for sense gratification. Therefore I think it not befitting an intelligent man to involve himself again in the activities of sense gratification, by which he perpetually gets material bodies one after another." (SB 5.5.4)
Thus according to Ṛṣabhadeva the human beings in this material world are just like madmen engaged in activities which they should not perform but which they do perform only for sense gratification. Such activities are not good because in this way one creates another body for his next life, as punishment for his nefarious activities. And as soon as he gets another material body, he is put into repeated suffering in material existence. Therefore the Vedic culture or brahminical culture teaches one how to be satisfied with possessing the minimum necessities in life.Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Conversations and Morning Walks
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Bhagavān: But my question is, if the community produces... Some class of men produce vegetables and grains, some class produce cows, some class produce clothes, some class produce necessities for building. How are these things distributed equally?
Prabhupāda: Because we are community, we shall distribute whatever necessity for everyone.
Bhagavān: They will come and say, "I need this much cloth, I need this much milk."
Prabhupāda: No, this much cloth... But if you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then you will be satisfied with the minimum necessities of life. That is natural. You won't demand.
Yogeśvara: So actually such a program can only be successful proportionately with the rise of Kṛṣṇa consciousness of the people.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the main basic principle. Without being Kṛṣṇa conscious, if you arrange like this, that will never be successful.
Yogeśvara: They won't be satisfied.
Prabhupāda: No.
Bhagavān: The kṣatriyas make sure that people are correct, acting correctly, that no one is taking more than what they need?
Prabhupāda: Naturally he will do. If you make him Kṛṣṇa conscious, if he attends the Kṛṣṇa conscious program, naturally he will do. Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi. That is the progress of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He will be satisfied in any condition of life. That is progress of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He doesn't require anything artificially. His main necessity is how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. So if his attention is diverted in that way, these things will be not important.1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: That the whole world is dark, misty. So you can invent so many means. Just like they have got, what is called, crackers? In the mist? Sometimes that is blown so that warn people that "Don't come here. There is danger."
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Flares.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So you can invent so many means of curing the danger. But as soon as the sun is there, immediately all mist is over. Similarly, we have invented so many medicines and counteractions for so many things. But if one becomes a devotee, all these troubles immediately.... That is the only one medicine. He has no more any inclination. Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce: [Cc. Madhya 22.42] "No more I want." And that is wanted. [break] ...asmi varaṁ na yāce. One should be fully satisfied: "No more I want this material disease. That's all. Enough of it." That mentality required: "I don't want anything material facility." Sannyāsa means that, that "I shall live with the minimum necessities of life and simply devote..." That is sannyāsa. "I shall become a sannyāsī and enjoy all material facilities"—that is not sannyāsa.Correspondence
1975 Correspondence
Page Title: | Minimum necessities of life |
Compiler: | Matea, Visnu Murti, Labangalatika |
Created: | 17 of Jul, 2008 |
Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=3, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=4, Con=2, Let=1 |
No. of Quotes: | 10 |