You have to be controlled. If you are gentleman, then you be controlled under the instruction of the śāstras. And if you are defying, then there is trident of Durgādevī. You have seen Durgādevī, the picture, trident, threefold miseries. You cannot, I mean to say, violate any rules and regulations; as of the state, similarly of the supreme state Kṛṣṇa. It is not possible. Just take for example there are some health rules. If we eat more, then you will be controlled by some disease. You'll have indigestion and the doctor will advise you not to eat three days. So there is control—by nature. Nature means God's law. Automatically working. Foolish people do not see God's law, but there is God's law. The sun is rising just exactly in the time, the moon is rising exactly in the time. The first year, first January, has come exactly in time.
Nature means
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 2
After the incarnation of the first puruṣa (Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu), the mahat-tattva, or the principles of material creation, take place, and then time is manifested, and in course of time the three qualities appear. Nature means the three qualitative appearances. They transform into activities.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
If you become in everything Kṛṣṇa conscious, then your life is successful. That we are teaching. It is a very scientific movement. Actually, that is the position. You cannot create a flower so nicely fragrant, so beautifully made. It is not in your power. But it must have been done by somebody. You cannot say, "By nature." What is this nature? They say, foolish persons say, "It is nature." But you explain what is nature. Nature means God's nature, God's energy. That is nature. God's energy is so fine and so subtle that we cannot see it, how it is working, but it is working. The energy of God is working there.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So your question about the creation, maintenance and annihilation... It is being done by the Supreme Lord. The material world is... Our body is also like that. It is created at a certain date, it exists for a certain time, and it is annihilated. This is being done by God. This is the law, nature. Nature means an instrument in the hands of God. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). This is the information. Don't think that material nature is working automatically. No. This is not possible. Behind this material nature, the big machine, there is the operator, God. That you should understand. (break) This is meditation. If you become sober and think of everything, that is meditation. Meditation means the subject matter must be very sober and you think over and find out the solution. That is meditation. (end)
So about that description of that hellish planet has been described in the previous chapter. Now, you should always remember that this Bhāgavatam is being spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī to King Parīkṣit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was to die within seven days, and he immediately left his kingdom and family and went to the bank of the Ganges, sat down there tightly without taking even a drop of water, simply with great seriousness he heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And he got salvation, within seven days. There are nine different process of executing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Several times I have described that nine processes. The first process is hearing. The second process is chanting. The third process is remembering, or meditating. The fourth process is serving the Lord. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam (SB 7.5.23). Pāda-sevanam means to serve the lotus feet of the Lord. Then arcanam. Arcanam means temple worship. Just like in this temple you see there is Deity, Kṛṣṇa's Arca-mūrti or Deity, or idol, whatever you call, and we are offering flowers and fruits and cooked foodstuff, whatever we can get by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. And we offer it, "Kṛṣṇa, You have kindly sent this foodstuff." This is acknowledgement. You cannot manufacture this nice fruit. It is not in your power. You may be very much expert in conducting a big factory for manufacturing these motorcars, but it is not possible for you to manufacture these nice grapes or oranges or banana or rice. No. That is not in your power. Therefore a sane man should admit that "This is sent by God." This is common sense. What is beyond your power... If you say it is product of nature... What do you mean by nature? Nature means an energy which is acting under the direction of God. That is nature. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Prakṛti means nature. Don't take that the nature is producing without the active cooperation of the Supreme Lord, puruṣa. Just like when a woman has got a child, produced a child, you must know that she had connection with a man, the puruṣa. So it is common sense.
Initiation Lectures
Prabhupāda: So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement... They are trying to go to the nature. Just like there is a propaganda, nature means to become animal. They live like animals, naked. They have sex life on the street. They say it is freedom. But the rascals do not know there is no freedom at all. Where is freedom? So long you are under the grip of material nature, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9), where is freedom? By nature does not mean that you have got freedom. There is no freedom. We are all conditioned. Simply falsely we are thinking of freedom. It requires little brain. Where is freedom? Nobody wants to die, and where is the freedom not to die? Who has got the freedom? Nobody wants to become old, and where is the freedom? Everyone becomes old. But I have got the desire. Even old man, old woman tries to remain young by cosmetic help, to be good looking, and where is the freedom? By nature he is becoming bad looking. So there is no freedom. It is false idea, freedom. Nobody wants to die; death is sure. (aside:) He's sleeping. Nobody wants to become old; he's becoming old. Nobody wants to take birth... Of course, that is very higher stage. Jñānī, they want mukti; that is also not possible. Otherwise why Kṛṣṇa says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19)? To stop death, to stop birth, is not possible unless one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unless one (sic) does not come to the position of loving Kṛṣṇa, there's no question of freedom. That is the nature's law. We have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. Instead of loving Kṛṣṇa, we have habituated, we have developed a consciousness to love dog. Just like in your country they say, "Dog is the best friend." So instead of loving God, they have learned to love dog. But nature ways is that you have to forget loving dog, you have to come to the position to love God. That is nature's way. Therefore there is no freedom. There is no freedom. Just like a citizen becomes criminal. The criminal department, the prison, just to correct him: "Unless you become a good citizen, you'll have to be punished in this prison house." Similarly, our real position is to love God, to love Kṛṣṇa. Unless we are on that platform of loving God, the nature will give us trouble. There is no freedom. We should try to understand it. There's no question of freedom.
General Lectures
Material world means it is being manipulated by the material energy of Kṛṣṇa, prakṛti, nature. Nature means whose nature? As soon as we speak of nature, it must be inquired, "Whose nature?" God's nature. Nature is not acting independently. That is another foolishness. In the Bhagavad-gītā, it is clearly said that nature, this material nature is not independent. Just like a foolish man, when he sees that machine is working automatically, machine is not working automatically. There is a driver. A foolish man cannot see behind the machine a driver. That is our defect in vision. A machine, there is electronics working very wonderfully. But behind that electronic work, there is a great scientist who is pushing the button. It is very simple to understand. Machine is matter. It cannot work out of its own accord. It is working under some spiritual direction. Just like this machine, the tape recorder, is working, but it is working under the direction of a living entity, a human being. The machine is all complete, but unless it is manipulated by a spirit soul, it cannot work. Similarly, take it for granted that the whole cosmic manifestation is a great machine, nature. But behind this material nature, there is God, Kṛṣṇa.
However you may be great in the estimation of others, you will find somebody is greater than you, and somebody is lower than you, and somebody is equal to you. But so far the greatest Absolute Personality of Godhead is concerned, na tasya samaḥ adhikaś ca dṛśyate. By experimental study, by research work by great saintly persons, sages, they have concluded, na tasya samaḥ adhikaś ca dṛśyate: "Nobody is found samaḥ," means "equal to Him, or adhikaḥ." Adhikaḥ means greater. That is the experience. And still, He has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ kāraṇaṁ ca vidyate. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport). "His energies are multi, multifarious, various kinds of energy." And the energies are working so nicely as if, svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca, natural gift, knowledge, art, svā bala-kriyā, and strength. Svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā. Just like you are artist. You are painting one picture, one flower, very nice flower. You have to take your brush, the color and the plate, so many things, and you are taxing your brain, how to make it beautiful. But you see one rose flower in the garden. Not only one rose flower, many millions of rose flowers, they are coming out very artistically painted. But when we ask, the answer is that "It is nature." But if we go deep into the matter, what is this nature? Nature means a working instrument, that's all, an energy. That is nature. There is energy or śakti, energy, power. There is power. Without power, how the rose flower is coming to beautiful shape from the bud? There is power. That power is Kṛṣṇa's power. But that is so subtle and working so nicely that overnight we see that a beautiful flower has come out. But there is working, there is brain. But they are working so swiftly and subtly, we cannot see how it is being worked. Just like when you paint one picture, I can see, everyone can see that you are working. But this painting or this working of the actual rose flower, that is also being worked out by several energies. Don't think that is has coming out automatically. No. Nothing comes out automatically. It is coming out of the energy of the Supreme Lord, but the energies are so subtle, nice and artistic that all of a sudden you see a nice flower.
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: But natural selection, that means that is not his selection. Natural selection.
Śyāmasundara: Natural selection.
Prabhupāda: So nature is more powerful than him. So he has not studied nature.
Śyāmasundara: He studies how the bodies change in nature.
Prabhupāda: No. He has not studied. He has studied in a particular place only. But nature means, when you speak of nature, suppose you have studied within this planet, but in nature means there is millions of universes, but he has not studied them.
Śyāmasundara: So you say the doctrine of natural selection is not...
Prabhupāda: Natural selection is there, but how the natural selection is working, he does not know that.
Śyāmasundara: He says that there is an aspect of chance in nature.
Prabhupāda: Nature means always changing.
Śyāmasundara: Chance.
Prabhupāda: What?
Śyāmasundara: Chance. Accident. That there is an aspect of accident.
Prabhupāda: No, no, no. We don't accept that. If there would have been accident, so many planets are rotating in, and so forth... There is no collision. There is no accident. But in your motorcar there is so many accidents, and people are dying.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Svarūpa Dāmodara: But they say about nature.
Prabhupāda: Nature, that's all right. You are observing the plants are being produced by nature. But who has produced the nature? This is intelligence.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They don't think about this.
Prabhupāda: That is foolishness. Wherefrom the nature comes? As soon as we speak nature, then next question should be: "Whose nature?" Is it not? Just like I say: "It is my nature." You say: "It is my nature." Therefore as soon as you talk of nature, the next inquiry should be: "Whose nature?"
Karandhara: They don't want to think of that because they want to use it themselves.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Karandhara: They don't want to think...
Prabhupāda: Nature means energy. What is the definition of nature?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Somethings which are already existing.
Prabhupāda: Yes, they're already existing. That's all right. But what is the nature's activities? It is some power. Is it not? So power means energy. As soon as you say energy, there must be some source of energy. Just like you say: electric energy. So there is source, the electric powerhouse. How can you deny it? Electricity's not coming automatically. You have to install powerhouse, machine, generating machine. Then the electricity will come. And the resident engineer. Who is the engineer? What is the machine? And then electricity, there is question of electricity.
Guest: Is modern science materialism, Prabhupāda? Is it materialism?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Guest: All, all materialism?
Prabhupāda: Just dealing with earth, water, air, fire, sky. That's all.
Guest: And in this time, modern science, you know, physics, chemistry, mathematics; is this all materialism?
Prabhupāda: All materialism.
Guest: All materialism.
Prabhupāda: They do not know what is spiritual.
Guest: And inside these people doing this work, is it Kṛṣṇa? Or what is it makes them do the work?
Prabhupāda: No. The soul is a living being. So nature is supplying material and he's molding in different forms. Just like earth is not man's creation. Earth is God's creation, or it is product of God's energy. But we are using this earth and molding in different forms, different pots, different dolls. So ingredients are supplied by God. Nature means God's energy. We simply handle them. We cannot produce anything, we transform only. Just like this iron, we cannot produce iron. It is gotten from the mine, iron bar. Now we have transformed into different forms. Because we have got creative energy like God, not very great, in very minute quantity. So as God has created by His intelligence, the whole universe—we are creating this table, this pillow, this harmonium—that's all.
Prabhupāda: Under whose order it is being done?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They'll say, "By nature."
Prabhupāda: What you mean, "By nature"? That is another rascaldom. Why this wood is not moving by nature unless somebody comes and moves?
Prajāpati: They will say, "That is just the way things are."
Prabhupāda: But it stops. Your body is moving. But when it stops, you cannot make just the way it is going on.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They also say, "That is also by nature."
Prabhupāda: What is that nature? Nature means an instrument. Instrument, there must be one player. Nature is instrument. Just like this is an instrument. It is not recording by itself. When you push the button, then it works. You cannot say that "It is working by nature."
Karandhara: They might say that by "nature" they mean it happens naturally. What's happening naturally, they mean it doesn't require anyone...
Prabhupāda: No, what things are happening naturally? Your father begets you, therefore you talk. Naturally you have not come. If your father would not begotten you through your mother, how did you come? Naturally your mother does not become pregnant. What things happening naturally?
Karandhara: No. By the father impregnating the mother, that is natural, naturally.
Prabhupāda: Why naturally? If father does not pregna... There are so many now "bachelor-daddies." Nothing can be took natural. Nature is an instrument.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Satsvarūpa: The scientists can give evidence that so much control has been gained. Now we can fly all over the world...
Prabhupāda: Then so much control, that is another thing. But not control. "So much control" means no control. (japa) (break) ...admitted that we are controlled by nature. That you cannot refuse. That is foolishness. Now, next, how nature is working? That is also replied in the Bhagavad-gītā, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram: (BG 9.10) "The material nature is working..." Just like we are also taking the advantage of material nature, kṣity-ap-tejaḥ. Here is earth, but we can take this earth and make into brick and make a skyscraper building. So it is not that the earth itself is going to become a skyscraper building. I am living entity; I am utilizing. So nature means these five elements, eight elements. So that has been manipulated by another living entity. Just like the aeroplane is a combination of some matter, but it is being worked out by the manufacturer, by the pilot. Therefore that driver of the aeroplane or the manufacturer of the..., he's superior. So superior to the material nature is Kṛṣṇa. This is the conclusion. (break) ...our position is that we are being controlled by the material nature, and, and nature, material nature, is controlled by Kṛṣṇa. So the sense is that one who is at all sensible, that "After all, the controller is Kṛṣṇa. So why not directly under control of Kṛṣṇa?" This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Why through the material nature? I have to be controlled. I am being controlled by the material nature; and material nature is being controlled by Kṛṣṇa. So why not being directly controlled? This is good sense.
| Page Title: | Nature means |
| Compiler: | Rishab |
| Created: | 21 of Nov, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=9, Con=4, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 14 |