Negate

Expressions researched:
"negate" |"negated" |"negates" |"negating" |"negativated" |"negativating"

SB Canto 1

SB 1.1.17, Purport:

By such activities He attracts the conditioned souls of the material world. Some of these conditioned souls are engaged in the false enjoyment of material senses and others in simply negating their real life in the spiritual world. These less intelligent persons are known as karmīs, or fruitive workers, and jñānīs, or dry mental speculators. But above these two classes of men is the transcendentalist known as sātvata, or the devotee, who is busy neither with rampant material activity nor with material speculation. He is engaged in the positive service of the Lord, and thereby he derives the highest spiritual benefit unknown to the karmīs and jñānīs.

As the supreme controller of both the material and spiritual worlds, the Lord has different incarnations of unlimited categories. Incarnations like Brahmā, Rudra, Manu, Pṛthu and Vyāsa are His material qualitative incarnations, but His incarnations like Rāma, Narasiṁha, Varāha and Vāmana are His transcendental incarnations. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of all incarnations, and He is therefore the cause of all causes.

SB 1.8.42, Purport:

This is not possible. A living being, whoever he may be, must have this feeling of affection for others because this is a symptom of life. The symptoms of life, such as desire, anger, hankerings, feelings of attraction, etc., cannot be annihilated. Only the objective has to be changed. Desire cannot be negated, but in devotional service the desire is changed only for the service of the Lord in place of desire for sense gratification. The so-called affection for family, society, country, etc., consists of different phases of sense gratification. When this desire is changed for the satisfaction of the Lord, it is called devotional service.

In the Bhagavad-gītā we can see that it was just to satisfy his own personal desires that Arjuna refused to fight with his brothers and relations. But when he heard the message of the Lord, Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, he changed his decision and served the Lord.

SB 1.9.16, Purport:

The bewilderment of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira over his past sinful acts and the resultant sufferings, etc., is completely negated by the great authority Bhīṣma (one of the twelve authorized persons). Bhīṣma wanted to impress upon Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira that since time immemorial no one, including such demigods as Śiva and Brahmā, could ascertain the real plan of the Lord. So what can we understand about it? It is useless also to inquire about it. Even the exhaustive philosophical inquiries of sages cannot ascertain the plan of the Lord. The best policy is simply to abide by the orders of the Lord without argument. The sufferings of the Pāṇḍavas were never due to their past deeds. The Lord had to execute the plan of establishing the kingdom of virtue, and therefore His own devotees suffered temporarily in order to establish the conquest of virtue. Bhīṣmadeva was certainly satisfied by seeing the triumph of virtue, and he was glad to see King Yudhiṣṭhira on the throne, although he himself fought against him.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.1.7, Purport:

Vedic knowledge is divided into two parts: pravṛtti-mārga and nivṛtti-mārga. Nivṛtti-mārga is the path of negating sense enjoyment, and pravṛtti-mārga is the path by which the living entities are given a chance to enjoy and at the same time are directed in such a way that they can go back home, back to Godhead. Because ruling over this universe is a great responsibility, Brahmā must force many Manus in different ages to take charge of universal affairs. Under each Manu there are different kings who also execute the purpose of Lord Brahmā. It is understood from previous explanations that the father of Dhruva Mahārāja, King Uttānapāda, ruled over the universe because his elder brother, Priyavrata, practiced austerity from the very beginning of his life. Thus up to the point of the Pracetās, the kings of the universe were all descendants of Uttānapāda Mahārāja.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.4.32, Purport:

Actually there are two sides to this argument. Some say that the Absolute has no form (nirākāra), and others say that the Absolute has a form (sākāra). Therefore the word form is the common factor, although some accept it (asti or astika) whereas others try to negate it (nāsti or nāstika). Since the devotee considers the word "form" (ākāra) the common factor for both, he offers his respectful obeisances to the form, although others may go on arguing about whether the Absolute has a form or not.

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 11.21.43, Translation:

I am the ritualistic sacrifice enjoined by the Vedas, and I am the worshipable Deity. It is I who am presented as various philosophical hypotheses, and it is I alone who am then refuted by philosophical analysis. The transcendental sound vibration thus establishes Me as the essential meaning of all Vedic knowledge. The Vedas, elaborately analyzing all material duality as nothing but My illusory potency, ultimately completely negate this duality and achieve their own satisfaction.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.67, Purport:

This statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.28) definitely negates the concept that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is an avatāra of Viṣṇu or Nārāyaṇa. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, the supreme cause of all causes. This verse clearly indicates that incarnations of the Personality of Godhead such as Śrī Rāma, Nṛsiṁha and Varāha all undoubtedly belong to the Viṣṇu group, but all of Them are either plenary portions or portions of plenary portions of the original Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

CC Adi 3.34, Purport:

The great authorities in the disciplic succession had not offered to explain why Lord Caitanya refused to take the name Bhāratī after He took sannyāsa from a Bhāratī, until Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja volunteered the explanation that because a sannyāsī in the Śaṅkara-sampradāya thinks that he has become the Supreme, Lord Caitanya, wanting to avoid such a misconception, kept the name Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, placing Himself as an eternal servitor. A brahmacārī is supposed to serve the spiritual master; therefore He did not negate that relationship of servitude to His spiritual master. Accepting such a position is favorable for the relationship between the disciple and the spiritual master.

The authentic biographies also mention that Lord Caitanya accepted the daṇḍa (rod) and begging pot, symbolic of the sannyāsa order, at the time He took sannyāsa.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

In the Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (Pūrva 5.86–100), there is a lucid explanation of the inconceivable potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Negating Śaṅkarācārya's statements, the Mahā-varāha Purāṇa declares:

sarve nityāḥ śāśvatāś ca dehās tasya parātmanaḥ

hānopādāna-rahitā naiva prakṛti-jāḥ kvacit

"All the varied expansions of the Personality of Godhead are transcendental and eternal, and all of them repeatedly descend to all the different universes of the material creation. Their bodies, composed of eternity, bliss and knowledge, are everlasting; there is no chance of their decaying, for they are not creations of the material world. Their forms are concentrated spiritual existence, always complete with all spiritual qualities and devoid of material contamination."

CC Adi 6.14-15, Purport:

Therefore, the main purpose of understanding the Vedas, performing Vedic sacrifices and speculating on the Vedānta-sūtra is to understand Kṛṣṇa. Accepting the impersonalist view of voidness or the nonexistence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead negates all study of the Vedas. Impersonal speculation aims at disproving the conclusion of the Vedas. Therefore any impersonal speculative presentation should be understood to be against the principles of the Vedas, or standard scriptures. Since the speculation of the impersonalists does not follow the principles of the Vedas, their conclusion must be considered to be against the Vedic principles. Anything not supported by the Vedic principles must be considered imaginary and lacking in standard proof. Therefore no impersonalist explanation of any Vedic literature can be accepted.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 8.66, Purport:

A living entity who wants to be completely pure must be above this material conception. The negation of material existence does not necessarily mean spiritual existence. After material existence is negated, spiritual existence—namely sac-cid-ānanda—still may not be manifested. Until one comes to the stage of actually understanding one's eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, he cannot enter into spiritual life. Spiritual life means becoming detached from material life and engaging in the loving service of the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore asked Rāmānanda Rāya to explain something transcendental to devotional service mixed with speculative knowledge. A pure devotee is completely surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord, and only by his love does he conquer Kṛṣṇa, who cannot be conquered by anyone. Kṛṣṇa always stands victorious over everything.

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 1, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa is just like the sun, and māyā is just like darkness. If the sun is present, there is no question of darkness. Similarly, if Kṛṣṇa is present in the mind, there is no possibility of the mind's being agitated by māyā's influence. The yogic process of negating all material thoughts will not help. To try to create a vacuum in the mind is artificial. The vacuum will not remain. However, if one always thinks of Kṛṣṇa and how to serve Kṛṣṇa best, one's mind will naturally be controlled.

Similarly, anger can be controlled. We cannot stop anger altogether, but if we simply become angry with those who blaspheme the Lord or the devotees of the Lord, we control our anger in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu became angry with the miscreant brothers Jagāi and Mādhāi, who blasphemed and struck Nityānanda Prabhu. In His Śikṣāṣṭaka Lord Caitanya wrote, tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā:

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 2:

Impersonalists undergo severe austerities and penances to merge themselves into the Brahman effulgence, or impersonal Brahman existence. But their minds are not free from material contamination; they have simply tried to negate the material ways of thinking. That does not mean that they have become liberated. Thus they fall down.

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that the impersonalist has to undergo great tribulation in realizing his ultimate goal. At the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is also stated that without devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot achieve liberation from the bondage of fruitive activities. The statement of Lord Kṛṣṇa is there in the Bhagavad-gītā, and in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the statement of the great sage Nārada is there, and here also the demigods confirm it. "Persons who have not taken to devotional service are understood to have come short of the ultimate purpose of knowledge and are not favored by Your grace." The impersonalists simply think that they are liberated, but actually they have no feeling for the Personality of Godhead.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.5:

Long ago, the seven great sages and the Manus all used their God-given desires in the Lord's service, and anyone today who emulates the example of these illustrious ancestors will never see desire as mundane or as an impediment to spiritual progress. If Ramana Mahārṣi advises us to negate desire, then we must conclude that he misunderstands the Vedic statement sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Those who have realized that all desires and feelings are Brahman by nature, and who thus engage them in the Supreme Lord's service, should be considered perfected souls. They are totally free from nescience. The desires of these self-realized, elevated, blissful devotees become purified to such an extent that not an iota of ignorance can influence their consciousness, for the Lord Himself destroys the nescience in their hearts.

Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)

Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 5, Purport:

This eternal, transcendental service of the Lord is misdirected under material conditions and takes the shape of (1) the aforementioned religiosity, (2) economic development, (3) sense gratification, and (4) salvation, or the attempt to negate all material variegatedness out of frustration.

Genuine religion, however, does not culminate in either economic development, sense gratification, or salvation. The perfection of religion is to attain complete satisfaction of the spirit soul, and this is accomplished by rendering devotional service to the Lord, who is beyond the perception of the material senses. When the living being directs his eternal service attitude toward the eternal Supreme Being, such service can never be hampered by any sort of material hindrance. Such transcendental service is above even salvation, and therefore it certainly does not aim at any kind of material reward in the shape of name, fame, or gain.

Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 6, Purport:

The Lord is pure spirit, and only when the living being is in his pure spiritual state can he have all sorts of relationships with Him. Philosophers with a poor fund of knowledge cannot conceive of these positive spiritual relationships between the Lord and the all-spiritual living beings, and thus they simply think in terms of negating material relationships. In this way such philosophers naturally adopt the concept of impersonalism.

By contrast, a pure devotee like King Kulaśekhara has complete knowledge of both matter and spirit. He does not say that everything material is false, yet he has nothing to do with anything material, from heaven down to hell. He fully understands the statement in the Bhagavad-gītā that from the lowest planets up to Brahmaloka, the highest planet in the universe, there is no spiritual bliss, which the living beings hanker for.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.21-22 -- London, July 18, 1973:

Kindly give me this wine immediately. Kindly give me this tea immediately. Kindly give me this cigarette immediately. Kindly give me this meat." Why? Control. Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ (BG 9.26). So we have to take prasādam, eat Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Then naturally the other things will be negativated. This is the position. Suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29).

So if all human beings become vegetarian, not vegetarian, but eater of the Kṛṣṇa's prasādam, all these liquor house and slaughterhouse and brothels will be closed. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We want to close these nonsense places of sinful life: brothels, illegitimate sense gratification, sex relationship, prostitution. If we are embarrassed with this sinful life, there is no possibility of becoming again acyuta. We remain cyuta, fallen. We remain fallen.

Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968:

He says that there was no such time when we are not individual, and there will be no such time in the future when we shall not remain individual. And so far present is concerned, we are all individual. You know. So where is the possibility of losing individuality? Become imperson? No. There is no possibility. This voidism, impersonalism, they are artificial ways of negating the perplexing variegatedness of this material existence. That is the negative side only. That is not a positive side. A positive side is that, as Kṛṣṇa says, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). "After giving up this material tabernacle, one comes to Me." Just like after leaving this room, you have to enter another room. You cannot say that "After leaving this room, I shall live in the sky." Similarly, after leaving this body, if you go to Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual kingdom, your individuality will be there, but you'll have that spiritual body.

Lecture on BG 2.31 -- London, September 1, 1973:

A devotee's position is transcendental. He has no, no more sva-dharma in the bodily concept of life. Because he's neither brāhmaṇa, neither kṣatriya, nor vaiśya nor śūdra. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, "I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a śūdra, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a brahmacārī, I am not a sannyāsī." In this way He negativated all the eight items because sva-dharma means varṇāśrama dharma. Varṇa and āśrama. Four castes: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. And four spiritual order: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu denied, that "I am not this, I am not this, I am not that, I am not that." Then what you are? Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). Gopī-bhartuḥ means this maintainer of the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:

There are three kinds of transcendentalists. What are they? The impersonalist and the localized yogi and the devotees. There are three kinds of transcendentalists. What are the impersonalists? Impersonalists means this jñānī, those who are trying to understand what is Brahman and try to negativating this material world, neti neti: "This is not Brahman. Brahman is separate from this matter." They are called jñānīs. And there are yogis. Yogi means those who are trying to focus all attention to the Supersoul which is within our heart. That is called yoga system. And yogi, jñānī, and bhakta, devotees. Those who are focusing all their concentration on the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa. So these three are classes of... They are all transcendentalists.

Lecture on BG 4.19 -- Bombay, April 8, 1974:

Therefore bhakti means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11). Rūpa Gosvāmī says, anyābhilāṣa-śūnyam. Because these are all anya abhilāṣa. Except to serve Kṛṣṇa, any desire is desire. That is material desire. And sometimes they want to negate this desire. Desireless. One of my students just spoken that.... Somebody said that "To become desireless is the highest perfection." So he replied that "Desireless, that is also desire." You are thinking that "I shall become desireless." So this is also a desire.

So how you become desireless? Very nice argument he gave. Our Caitya-guru gave it. I was very much pleased. It is not possible to become desireless. This is foolishness, to give up desire. You cannot give (up) desire. That is not... If you give up desire, then you are a dead man. A stone has no desire. Do you like to become a stone-like? No. Desire cannot be less. That is not possible.

Lecture on BG 4.37-40 -- New York, August 21, 1966:

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes?

Disciple: In other words, you don't want to negate the senses?

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Disciple: In other words, there's no negation of the senses?

Prabhupāda: No negation?

Disciple: Of the senses.

Prabhupāda: Senses. Yes. Here... Senses... We have got our transcendental senses. Now it is covered. Just like in our diseased condition, the same hand, the same nose, same ear, are there, but we feel something extraordinary. "Oh, my, there is headache. Oh, my hand is burning, burning. Oh!" But when the disease is cured, then you don't feel that sensation. So senses we have got. That is our spiritual senses. So we have to revive our spiritual senses. We are not senseless. As spirit soul, we have got our original senses, but that senses are now covered by this material contamination.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Diego, July 1, 1972:

Devotee: It's a process of negation for some yoga systems...

Prabhupāda: Negation how?

Devotee: Of feeling. Thinking, feeling, and willing.

Prabhupāda: No, no. Negation... Something positive you negate. So what is that positive, and what is that negation? Nobody can...

Devotee: Desires, negating the desires, natural desires? They want to...

Prabhupāda: That means these are manufacturing. Actually, there is no fixed-up knowledge. Just like somebody was asking (about) transcendental meditation. What is that transcendental meditation? Can anyone explain?

Devotee: I went to one of their meetings, and it was just..., they talk about something concentrating, feeling, something going down, like, something coming up. But it's just...

Lecture on BG 12.13-14 -- Bombay, May 12, 1974:

"I am Hindu," "I am Muslim." No. Nirahaṅkāra means "I am Kṛṣṇa's servant." That is nirahaṅkāra.

Ahaṅkāra. Ahaṅkāra means my identification, what I am. That is called ahaṅkāra. Now my identity is with this material world. "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am this," "I am that." That should be negativated. We must come to the right conclusion that "I belong to Kṛṣṇa, I am the son of Kṛṣṇa, I do not belong to anyone." This is called nirahaṅkāra. Sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ. This material happiness and distress. Because I am not this material body, if I am actually convinced, so the pains and pleasure of this material world is due to this body.

Just like because I have got this material body, I am feeling some heat. Therefore fan is required. Similarly, by this body in the winter season I shall stop the fan. So under different season my body feels differently pains and pleasure.

Lecture on BG 13.24 -- Bombay, October 23, 1973:

When there is such a statement in the Vedas that "The Supreme Spirit is nirākāra, or without form," that does not mean He has no form. He has His form, but that is spiritual form, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). When it is negativated, that means the negative idea is of this inferior energy. So these things we should know. And if you know, then the result will be sarvathā vartamāno 'pi, wherever you stay, Sarvathā vartamāno 'pi, you are mukta. As it is stated by Rūpa Gosvāmī, īhā yasya harer dāsye... (aside:) Stop that talking.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.16.6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1974:

So actual civilization means to deny material conveniences. That is actual civilization. That is perfection of civilization. Otherwise the cats and dogs, they are also after food, after sleeping, after sexual intercourse, after defense. Then what is the difference? The difference is the animals after it and the human beings should be not after it. Negation. That is perfection of life. So how we can negate? The Māyāvādī philosophers, they want to negate. Or the Buddhist philosopher. "Make it zero. Make it zero." Śūnyavādi. Śūnyavādi. Nirviśeṣavādi. Nirviśeṣavādi and śūnyavādi, almost the same. So they are after negation. But that is not possible. Artificially, if you negate, "I shall not eat," you cannot continue it for very many days. That is not possible. That is not possible. Similarly, eating, sleeping, mating—everything—artificially you cannot do. But you can do it as perfectly, as much possible, simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore it is said here that kim anyair asad-ālāpaiḥ. If we stop hear Kṛṣṇa talking, then that is negation.

Lecture on SB 2.9.14 -- Melbourne, April 13, 1972:

I mean to say, Upaniṣad, and after all, Vedānta-sūtra, all these books which are so highly recognized all over the world. Still, that was condemned, "But you have written all these nonsense books." Jugupsitam. "Because you are authority, they will stick to it." "Oh, here is."

Because in Upaniṣad the negating, that negation, negation of the material form... Therefore it is described in an impersonal form. These nonsense are sticking to that impersonal form. Impersonal—there is no form. Really, Veda says, apāni-pāda javano grahitā: "The Supreme Absolute Truth has no legs, has no hands, but He accepts whatever you offer." Now, how He accepts? He has no hand; then how He accepts? But they have no brain. They have no brain. When it is said that "He has no hand," it is said that "He has no hand like you." When he says that "He has no leg," it means that "He has no leg like you."

Lecture on SB 6.1.15 -- London, August 3, 1971:

So this is called pravṛtti-mārga. And nivṛtti-mārga means a little more advanced, when one understands that there is no actual happiness in this way, then he says, "This is all false." Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "The world is false. Now let me search out Brahman." Athāto brahma jijñāsā. But... That sort of brahma-jijñāsa is called nivṛtti-mārga, negativating this path of enjoyment. But śāstra says that simply by understanding that "This is false, and I'll have to become away from these false engagements," so without knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, such elevators, they become impersonalists and voidists, to make negative this material enjoyment.

Lecture on SB 6.1.16 -- Denver, June 29, 1975:

To become a staunch devotee of Kṛṣṇa, perfect devotee of Kṛṣṇa, means one has become freed from all reaction of sinful life. Yeṣām anta-gataṁ pāpam. No more committing any sinful activities. And whatever sinful activities he had done in his previous life, that is also negated. That is also made negation. There is no more reaction. Yeṣām tu anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām. So people are engaged either in sinful activities or in pious activities. So those who have not only finished the resultant action of their past sinful activities but at the present moment, they are simply engaged in pious activities, such person, yeṣāṁ tu anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām, te, such person, dvandva-moha-nirmuktā, without any hesitation, without any doubt, bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ. That is the So anyone who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service with firm conviction and devotion, it is to be understood that he is now free from all reaction of sinful activities. A Vaiṣṇava never commits any sinful activities, and whatever he had done in the past, that is also finished. This is said by Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 6.1.25 -- Chicago, July 9, 1975:

Without varieties, there is no enjoyment. Variety is the mother of enjoyment. So the Māyāvādī philosophers, nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi... There are philosophers. They are trying to negate these varieties. They are disgusted with the varieties. Everyone is disgusted. The same child, when he grows up, he becomes disobedient to the father and breaks. He goes away. The father is broken-hearted, "Oh, I loved this child and he became so unfaithful? He has done so much harm and he has gone away?" Broken-hearted. Broken-heart... That you will have to experience in the material world.

So the śūnyavādī and the nirviśeṣavādī, they want to make these varieties of enjoyment zero.

Lecture on SB 7.9.36 -- Mayapur, March 14, 1976:

"They have no sense how to improve the position of the country." They do not like because they are in different bhāva. But we are trying to change that bhāva. The bhāva must be there. The whole Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to purify the bhāva. Bhāva. That is stated here. Pariśuddha-bhāva. We are not negativating everything. We are simply changing from material bhāva to spiritual bhāva. That's all. Here is a big building, but there are many other hundreds and thousands of big building in this district or in this country. But here the bhāva is changed. The bhāva is changed. In your country there are many big, big skyscraper buildings. In comparison to those buildings, this is nothing. But still, you have come, spending thousands of dollars here, to change the bhāva. That is the... That is required. Otherwise you American boys and girls, you have no business to come here to see this big building. No. To change the bhāva, that requires. That is very important thing.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.149-171 -- San Francisco, March 18, 1967:

They have no information of the spiritual energy. They are called Māyāvādī. So chiefly the impersonalists and the void philosophers, they are called Māyāvādī, because they have no other information. They want to simply negate, nullify, but they have no positive information, so they are called Māyāvādī. So the Śaṅkarites... Śaṅkarites, of course, they give positive information. Brahma satya jagan mithyā. They say that this world is false and Brahman is reality. But because we want reality in variety, therefore impersonal philosophy, although we take it as a matter of sectarian philosophy, it does not appeal to the heart because by nature we want enjoyment. And whenever there is question of enjoyment, there must be variety. Variety is the mother of enjoyment. So philosophically or theoretically, we may accept voidness, negation, out of frustration.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell:

Prabhupāda: Self... Most people may be foolish. Therefore we don't take social or in that way. Our Vedic civilization is from the higher authorities. Just like law we take from Manu, Manu-saṁhitā.

Devotee: Most people wanted to drop the bomb. And he was against it. So therefore his own philosophy is negated by himself.

Śyāmasundara: And his idea is that you have to educate...

Prabhupāda: And what is the ultimate goal of that education? So ultimate goal of education is to come to Kṛṣṇa. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). That is education. (indistinct), she is educated. Why? So ultimate knowledge is that, to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate. Surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ (BG 7.19).

Philosophy Discussion on Bertrand Russell:

Śyāmasundara: He says that there is no such thing as fact. There are not facts.

Prabhupāda: That is another nonsense. (laughter) He does not know what is facts.

Devotee: He just before said that it is facts what we see from our senses, so again he's negating his own philosophy.

Śyāmasundara: But he's using... He wants to use another word for facts. Instead of facts he...

Prabhupāda: What is the fact?

Śyāmasundara: ...he calls it propositions, or symbol, such as "Snow is white." Instead of calling it a fact, he would say, "It is proposition." (laughter)

Prabhupāda: What is the fact? He must say "This is fact."

Philosophy Discussion on Thomas Henry Huxley:

Hayagrīva: Well, that sort of negates the rest of this.

Prabhupāda: So survival is explained?

Hayagrīva: The rest of this doesn't survive (laughing).

Prabhupāda: (laughs) Now what do you think, individually?

Hayagrīva: Oh, I..., he said Huxley looks on civilization as something of an attempt to give order to nature. "Civilization might be defined as a complex ethical understanding between men enabling as many men as possible to survive."

Prabhupāda: No, that is not possible. Nature is so strong that either you become Huxley or Einstein or somebody else, you must die. That is nature's law. You cannot dictate nature. The nature will go on dictating to you; then you must die. That is the... There is no question of survival under the regulation of the material nature. There is no... When you go above the dictation of the material nature, then you survive. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate (BG 14.26).

1968 Conversations and Morning Walks

Interview -- March 9, 1968, San Francisco:

Prabhupāda: That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So when we are freed from this illusory consciousness and if we are situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we get attachment. Because we are attached to all these things, attached to this body, attached to this society, attached to the country, so many things in relationship with the body. Now, after negativating my identity with this false identification, when I come to the right point, then I understand that I am Kṛṣṇa's. I am Kṛṣṇa's. Then your attachment for Kṛṣṇa increases because you transfer the attachment. Just like a child. A child is attached to play. But when he grows up, his attachment is transferred to study. That does not mean he gives up the attachment for playing, that attachment is lost. No. Attachment must be there, but that is transferred or purified. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means purified consciousness, real consciousness. And the next stage, after being freed from misgivings—attachment for the real identity, ruci.

1971 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- August 14, 1971, London:

Sister Mary: So it isn't a negation of pleasure, but it's a higher pleasure.

Guest (2): Can I ask...

Prabhupāda: This is very important point, that we are not negating pleasure, but we are trying to bring them to the highest pleasure.

Revatīnandana: She made this observation, that this is not to stop our enjoying, but this is higher enjoyment.

Guest (2): When you come into this movement, you come in from on the outside, in the material world and so on. Do you, as some monks do in monasteries, do you give all your wealth, all your possessions, everything, as it were, to the movement?

Prabhupāda: Not necessarily. Why?

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 26, 1973, Los Angeles:

Brahmānanda: Doesn't negate it.

Prabhupāda: No. Fact is fact. Whether you believe or not believe. It doesn't matter. Hiraṇyakaśipu thought that: "I shall not die on the land, on the water, on the sky." But death was there. Asuric, this is asuric thinking. (pause)

Svarūpa Dāmodara: It's called captivation by the illusory energy.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Svarūpa Dāmodara: The illusory...

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes, ignorance. (pause) What is time?

Brahmānanda: Six-thirty-five. (pause)

Devotee: (inaudible)

Prabhupāda: Hmmm?

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:

Prabhupāda: Yes, it is beyond. That beyond is realized, as I explained to you, in different angle of vision. Some, impersonal, without any variety, and some, localized Paramātmā, and some, the Supreme Being. As you are sitting, I am sitting, we are talking, so the Absolute Truth is a person, Supreme Person, Supreme Being, and we approach Him, talk with Him, sit with Him, play with Him. That is Kṛṣṇa realization. First of all, negation of the material varieties, then impersonal realization, then localized realization, then personal realization. Just like a diseased man. First of all cure, then healthy activities. A diseased man has got activities. He also eats, he also sleeps, he also evacuates, but all troublesome. Therefore, being disgusted, he wanted to make everything zero. But if he hears that again sleeping, again eating, again evacuating is healthy life, he thinks it is something like his diseased condition. But healthy life is different from diseased life. So some philosophers, they are trying to negate this diseased condition only, without any realization of healthy life. So I think Buddha philosophy is called nirvāṇa, negation of this diseased condition of life, pains and pleasure. Am I right or wrong?

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Yogi Bhajan -- June 7, 1975, Honolulu:

Yogi Bhajan: No, granted. What we are trying to do is we are giving out a call to all learned, the unlearned... But basic fact is: there is a desire somewhere in the ether that everybody wants to feel each other. And they have not done anything good by negating each other or talking negatively. They have not gained anything. They have realized it now. Otherwise...

Prabhupāda: Now, what will be the basic principle of unity? That is the point.

Yogi Bhajan: The point of basic unity is respect for each other.

Prabhupāda: But that is going on. Suppose you have come here. I welcome you. If I go to your place, you welcome me. That respect is going on.

Yogi Bhajan: Yeah, that's right. That is between two individuals.

Morning Walk -- December 17, 1975, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: Yes, yes. That is always mentioned after each of them.

Prabhupāda: Yes, Gitopanisad. So Gītā is the substance and summary of all Upaniṣads, and Upaniṣads means Vedas. That is the Vedic knowledge.

Harikesa: But if you negate "I," there's no question of seeing.

Prabhupāda: Hm?

Harikesa: If you negate the "I..."

Prabhupāda: The same principle, that "You are seeing. Now kill yourself: you don't see." That's all. The same philosophy. You are seeing and feeling disturbance—better kill yourself; you'll not see, then all problems solved. This is their advise. Kill yourself. So who will agree to that?

Conversation on Roof -- December 26, 1975, Sanand:

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Harikeśa: ...I have to find out...

Prabhupāda: Then the aim is to enjoy life.

Harikeśa: Yes. So I have to find out the means to enjoy, and to negate the pain and to make the pleasure more.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That's very nice proposal, but whether, at the present moment, or in the history, whether a man is enjoying life or suffering?

Harikeśa: Well, men, men have actually never really enjoyed because they never understood enough about themselves. They were never able to overcome their difficulties due to ignorance.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 26, 1976, Melbourne:

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Guru-kṛpā: Na śocati na kāṅkṣati.

Prabhupāda: That is material, śocati, kāṅkṣati. But in spiritual world the same śocati, kāṅkṣati, is there, but for Kṛṣṇa. First of all you have to negate the material śocati, kāṅkṣati. Then spiritual, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām. Beginning is brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati, samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu (BG 18.54). Then spiritual anxiety begins. When this is neutralized, then actual life begins. That is bhakti. Otherwise what is the mean...? Mad-bhaktim. In bhakti there is anxiety. That is spiritual anxiety.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Otherwise, what is the meaning of bhakti? It comes after.

'Life Comes From Life' Slideshow Discussions -- July 3, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: Therefore not physical. This is definition by negation. In the logic, there is a process of definition by negation. The Māyāvādīs, they define this Brahman, neti, neti, neti, neti, negation. "It is not this, it is not this." What is, that they cannot tell. They simply negate. That is a partial definition. Yes, go on.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: And the third point, lacks—in matter column—lacks specific inherent complex form, and life column has a specific complex form and activity by nature. Now here we are talking about complex form. Normally the matter itself is very simple by nature, but life tends, when the living entity is in a living body, the matter itself is also very complex when it is associated with life. But matter per se is a very simple, simple structure.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: How can you say, though, that the soul has a complex form?

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

Prabhupāda: No, no, impersonal there is. Impersonal means negation of this material thing. Neti neti, "Not this." Impersonal means not this material person. That is impersonal. Kṛṣṇa is person, but in order to convince people that He's person but not a material person, the material things have to be negated. That is Upaniṣad. Just to evade the material conception of the Absolute. But ultimately He's person. Brahmaṇo 'ham pratiṣṭhā. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣu (Bs. 5.40). These things are there. So in order to substantiate the Supreme Person as completely spiritual, the material conception of personality is rejected. That is impersonal. Nirguṇa means He has no material qualities. Bhakta-vatsala, Kṛṣṇa is bhakta-vatsala. That is not material quality, that is spiritual quality. So negation of material understanding is impersonal. But when one is fully in awareness of Kṛṣṇa, His spiritual identity, then again He's person.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation, 'Rascal Editors,' and Morning Talk -- June 22, 1977, Vrndavana:

Prabhupāda: No. No. Because after all, you have to die. Kṣīṇe puṇye punar martya-lokaṁ viśanti. Again you have to come down.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: We have to tell them that "We cannot completely negate the scientific advancement. We cannot simply say that what you are all doing is nonsense." At the same time, we can bring out that "Yes, you are doing, making an attempt to find a solution or comfortable situation. It's not possible," that "There must be something beyond. It's not enough."

Prabhupāda: And that is yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. That is the first citing. There are two kinds of occupational duty. The one is inferior, going down, and other is superior, go back to home.

1968 Correspondence

Letter to Hayagriva -- Montreal 14 June, 1968:

The difficulty is that the people in this country, they want to continue their practice of sense gratification, and at the same time they want to become transcendentally advanced. This is quite contradictory. One can advance in transcendental life by process of negativating the general practice of materialistic life. The exact adjustment is in Vaisnava philosophy, which is called Yukta Vairagya, means that we should simply accept the bare necessities of our material part of life, and try to save time for spiritual advancement. This should be the motto of New Vrindaban, if you at all develop it to the perfectional stage. And I am always at your service to help you by practical suggestion and assistance also.

On the other hand I was thinking that if I get permanent visa in Montreal, I shall make Montreal my headquarters and at that time I may require your help in so many ways. As we passed correspondence previously, that we should live together either in India or in this part of the world for publication of so many Vaisnava literatures. But if you want to develop New Vrindaban, I can spare you for that purpose, and it may be that we can live there together.

Letter to Sivananda -- Los Angeles 11 November, 1968:

That is also recommended by the Goswamis in their instructions. It is better to remain alone than to mix with materialistic persons. But this is not applicable when we have the opportunity to get the association of pure devotees. Our program is negative and positive simultaneously. We want to negate the materialistic side and make positive the spiritual side, it is not one sided. If you have no positive standing, negating only will not make you successful. Therefore it is better to remain positively within the society of pure devotees. That is also recommended by the Goswamis. That one should be occupied in activities in the modes of goodness and associate with spiritualistic persons, that will make one's advancement very quick.