The intelligent man is speaking, "My dear Lord, I have served my senses, lust, anger, greediness, so much so. Still, they are not kind upon me. They are still dictating, still dictating, 'Do this, do this, do this.' Therefore," samprataṁ labdha buddhi (?), " now I have got intelligence by Your grace." Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpayā (CC Madhya 19.151). "By the grace of my spiritual master, by the grace of yourself, I have got this intelligence. Now I have come to You, to serve. Kindly engage me." This is surrender. "I have served my senses, lust, greediness, and other things so faithfully. They are not satisfied. They still want me to serve. They are not going to give me pension. They want still, 'Oh what you have done? You have to do so many things.' So now I am disgusted." This is called vairāgya. Vairāgya. Jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā (SB 1.2.12). This is required. In human life, this is, this intelligence required, vairāgya, not to serve this material world, but to serve Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they simply stop these material activities. Just like Buddha philosophy, nirvāṇa. He simply advises to stop this. But after stopping, what is, sir? "No, zero. Zero." That cannot be. That is not possible. This is their mistake. But the people to whom Buddha philosophy was preached, they are not so intelligent that there can be better service after giving up this service. Therefore Lord Buddha said, "You stop this service. You become happy because ultimately everything is zero." Śūnyavādī. Nirviśeṣavādī.
Nirvana and Buddha's philosophy (Lectures)
Expressions researched:
"Buddha"
|"Buddhist"
|"nirvana"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
There are three kinds of distresses: adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika. Adhyātmika means distresses pertaining to this body and the mind. And adhidaivika means distresses offered by material nature. Nature. All of a sudden there is earthquake. All of a sudden there is famine, there is scarcity of food, there is over rain, no rain, extreme heat, extreme winter, extreme cold. We have to go under these distresses, threefold. At least one, two, must be there. Still, we do not realize that "This place is full of distress because I have got this material body."
Therefore a sane man's duty is how to stop the process of accepting this material body. This is intelligence. He should realize that "I am always in distresses, and I am not this body, but I am put into this body. Therefore right conclusion is that I am not this body. If, somehow or other, I can live without this body, then my distresses are over. This is common sense. That is possible. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes. Therefore God comes, to give you the information that "You are not this body. You are the soul, spirit soul. And because you are within this body, you are suffering so many distresses." Therefore Kṛṣṇa advises that "These distresses are due to this body." Try to understand. Why you are feeling pains and pleasure? It is due to the body.
Therefore Buddha philosophy is also same thing, that you finish this body, nirvāṇa, nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa means... Their philosophy is that your feeling of pains and pleasure, it is due to this body. They also accept. Now what is this body? This body is combination of matter. Combination of earth, water, air, fire, ether, mind, intelligence, ego—eight material elements, five gross and three subtle. This body is made of that. So the Buddha philosophy is that you dismantle this body, nirvāṇa. Just like this house is made of stone, brick and wood and so many. So you break it, and there is no more stone and no more brick. This is distributed to the earth. Throw it on the earth. Then there is no house. Similarly, if you become zero, no body, then you are free from pains and pleasure. This is their philosophy, nirvāṇa philosophy, śūnyavādi: "Make it zero." But that is not possible. That is not possible. You cannot... Because you are spirit soul... That will be explained. You are eternal. You cannot be zero. That will be explained, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20), that we are giving up this body, but immediately I have to accept another body, immediately. Then where is your question of dismantling? By nature's way you will get another body. Because you want to enjoy, you have come here in this material world. There is no question of asking. Everyone knows that "I am in this material world. I must enjoy to the fullest extent." One who is unaware of the fact that "I am going to take another life," he is thinking, "This is a combination of this matter—earth, water, air, fire. So when it will be broken, then everything will be finished. So so long I have got this opportunity, let me enjoy to the fullest extent." This is called material mentality, atheist, atheist, who does not know that we are eternal soul, we are changing body only.
The modern scientific view is that there is no soul. Life is generated from matter. By combination of material elements at a... Just like chemical combination. You mix acid and soda, alkaline and acid. There will be some reaction, effervescence, movement. Similarly, the Buddhist philosophy mostly, they do not believe in the existence of the soul. The Buddhist philosopher thinks that the combination of matter makes a living symptom. Their ultimate goal is nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa means stop this combination. Due to this combination, we feel pains and pleasure. Therefore, if we disintegrate the combination, there will be no more pains and pleasure. Materialistic. Their solution, pains and pleasure, any philosophy or any religious system, ultimately aims at ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛtti. Duḥkha means pain, and nivṛtti, nivṛtti means stop. Why people go to the church? Because they feel some pain, they go to church or temple to appeal, "If there is somebody as God..." They think like that. "Let me appeal to the Supreme Person so that my distress may be mitigated." So aim is ātyantika-duḥkha-nivṛtti. We are also cultivating this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Our aim is also the same. Duḥkha-nivṛtti. Kṛṣṇa says janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). We keep always in view that in this material existence there are four kinds of miserable condition, primarily. To stop this. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). Everyone's aim is duḥkha-nivṛtti. It may be presented in a different way. So the Buddha philosophy is also duḥkha-nivṛtti, stop pains.
So Lord Kṛṣṇa says that bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānām (BG 2.44). Those who are too much attached with bodily pleasure, bodily enjoyment, and tayāpahṛta-cetasām. Apahṛta-cetasām means those who are illusioned. Because bodily pleasure is not my pleasure. My pleasure is different because I am not this body. Just like a man in a feverish condition or in feverish delirium, speaking something. That is not his normal speaking. That is due to the delirious condition. So to bring him to the normal condition, the physician treats him to get out of that delirious condition. So similarly, our position is: because we have got..., some way or other, we have been entangled with this material body; therefore our conception of happiness is just like a man in the delirious condition.
So we have to cure. Some philosopher says that this delirious condition should be cured, and there should be no activity. They are afraid of any activity. Because our, these material activities have become source of distress for us, therefore there are certain philosophers, they say that we should stop all sorts of activities. Their highest culmination of perfection according to their idea is that stopping all sorts of activities. Just like Buddha philosophy, nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa means stopping, stopping all activities. Buddha philosophy is... According to Lord Buddha, his theory is that due to the combination of material elements, this body has come into existence. Now, some way or other, if these material elements are separated or dismantled, then the cause of distress is removed. That is his... Just like you have got a big house and the tenants or the government or tax collector, they give us too much trouble. So if you think that better to dismantle this house so that to get rid of these all troubles...
So this theory, that separating the material elements by which this material body is formed, if they are broken or they are sent back to their original position, then we are free from all distresses, material... But we, at least those who are following this Bhagavad-gītā, this philosophy does not say that the material body is all in all. Beyond this material body, there is spirit, and the symptom of that spirit is understood by consciousness. Consciousness. That is the philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā.
So whole scheme of Bhagavad-gītā is like that, that we have to stand on the spiritual consciousness of life. And what is that spiritual consciousness of life? Now, some philosophers... Just like Śaṅkarācārya. There are many philosophers in the world. I, we may cite some of the authorities. Just like Lord Buddha. Then Śaṅkarācārya. Then Rāmānujācārya. Lord Caitanya. They're all big stalwart authorities, authorities. They have given different views. Lord Buddha's views is that you can be happy only when you are free from this consciousness. Lord Buddha says that consciousness is a production of this combination of matter. So therefore if, if you dismantle this material body, then there will be no consciousness and thus there will be no feeling of distress or happiness. That is called nirvāṇa, stopping, stopping the feelings of... It is just like a patient suffering from some disease, and the doctor gives him some pill so that he dies and there is no more feeling. Oh. Then he sees it is all right. If by stopping feeling like that, that a... "Doctor, my son is having hundred and seven degree temperature." "All right. I stop it. Give him some injection, poisonous." The child dies. Now there is no fever. Now the father says, "My child does not move." "Oh, whether this fever is stopped or not?" "Yes, there is no fever also." "That's all right. My business finished." That sort of foolish doctor will not do. (laughs) We should not stop consciousness. No. That is the... That is the, I mean to say, secret of philosophy. If my consciousness is stopped altogether, then what do I gain? That means my death. My whole existence finished. No.
There were many great ācāryas, I mean to say, reformers, came. Lord Buddha also appeared in India. Then, after Lord Buddha, Śaṅkarācārya came. Then, after Śaṅkarācārya, Śrī Rāmānujācārya came. Then, after Śrī Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, and then, lately, Śrī Caitanya, Lord Caitanya. He came. But you will find a link, a link, although superficially we may see that Lord Buddha is speaking something which is contradictory to Lord Śaṅkarācārya's teaching, or Rāmānujācārya is speaking something which is contradiction to Śaṅkara. No. There is no contradiction. It is the question of studying how they are paving way for ultimate spiritual realization. That requires a very, I mean to say, substantial knowledge, how they are paving the way, just step by step.
Just like Lord Buddha's teaching. Lord Buddha's teachings is... That is also detachment from matter, nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa. But he does not speak anything about the spirit soul. Because the position in which he was speaking, that position, for the human, humanity, was not suitable for understanding what is the constitution of spirit, therefore he did not say anything about spirit. He simply preached nonviolence. So far our body is concerned, he stressed on the point that we should be nonviolent. We should not be killing animals anymore. That was his preaching. Similarly, Śaṅkara... A little more than Buddha. He said, "No, no. Matter is not all. The spirit is real thing. Matter is false." Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Now, he did not say about the activities of spiritual life. He simply gave hint that there, that matter is false. Matter is generated by spirit. Spirit is the real, principle thing. Just like Buddha did not say anything about spirit. He simply wanted that detachment of, from matter. But detachment from matter... Then where is my stand? Where is my stand? If I leave this room, I must have another room to stay. So that is the position of Buddha. He did not say about the spirit. But Śaṅkara, Śaṅkara said, "No, matter is our false position. Spirit is real position." But he did not say anything, what are the activities of the spiritual life. Then Śrī Rāmānujācārya came. He described the actual position of spiritual life. These are gradual development. Your, I mean to say, Lord Jesus, also, Lord Jesus Christ, he also gave hints of spiritual life, kingdom of God. So when we speak of kingdom of God, a kingdom, vacant, cannot be. Kingdom means there must be activities. Otherwise, what is the meaning of kingdom? So, of course, he did not give any detailed account of the kingdom of God, but he gave hint.
Then Śaṅkarācārya came and he preached this almost Buddhism. The Buddha, Lord Buddha preached that there is no God, there is no soul. This body is combination of matter and if we dissolve this material combination then there is no more perception of misery or happiness. That is nirvāṇa. That is his philosophy. But later on, Lord, I mean to say, Ācārya Śaṅkara, he appeared and he preached that brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. This bodily combination is temporary, or mithyā. He said flatly that it is false. False means... Of course, Vaiṣṇava philosophy, they say temporary. Temporary or false you can take on the same category. But Śaṅkarācārya said that brahma satyam. That spirit soul, Brahman, that is reality, and this external feature of the Brahman, or the body, that is false.
Kṛṣṇa is open to everyone, and you can approach Kṛṣṇa in any capacity—as Brahman, Paramātmā, or Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But it is up to you to relish which one is relishable for you. That is up to you. But Kṛṣṇa is prepared to accept you in any way you like. So Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, they are the same one truth, but it is difference of realization.
Just like you see one big mountain from a distant place. You'll see just like something, hazy cloud. If you go still further, you'll find something greenish. But if you go actually to the mountain, you'll find so many varieties. So many varieties. There are houses, there are trees, there are men, there are animals. Similarly, to the spiritual world. First of all, this material world becomes...
Just like Lord Buddha, he did not say anything further than making this material world as void, śūnyavāda. That is a fact. If you are...
In the previous verse it has been stated, vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ (BG 2.56). If you are attached to these material varieties, then you cannot enter into the spiritual varieties, or in the spiritual world. Kṛṣṇa is so kind. If you have got a pinch of desire to enjoy this material world, then you'll have to remain here as, either as Lord Brahmā or as a small ant, according to your karma. But when you completely become free from material attachment, then the spiritual world is... So when the Buddha philosophy says śūnyavāda, nirvāṇa, nirvāṇa, it means the same thing, vīta-rāga, you have to become detached. You have to make this material enjoyment zero.
The bhakti also says, bhakti formula, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam: (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11) "You have to make your heart cleansed of all material desire." Then spiritual life will begin.
- yeṣāṁ (tv) anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
- janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
- te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
- bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
- (BG 7.28)
This is the process. So artificially, the Buddha philosophy or Śaṅkara philosophy, they, artificially if you want to make it nirvāṇa, zero, that is not possible. Avyaktāsakta-cetasām... Te..., kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām (BG 12.5). Avyakta means zero, impersonal. If you become attached to simply making zero, or impersonal, that is not possible. Because we are accustomed. We are... As living beings, we want varieties. Variety is the mother of enjoyment. We cannot remain in the zero position.
You have got experience. Just like when you fly on the plane, after some hours, four, five hours, you become disgusted. You want to come down. Everyone has got this experience. Because the sky is zero, we cannot remain there more than four or five hours or six hours. We must come down. In the sea also. We have got all these experience. If you remain on the ocean for three, four days... Because it runs on. When I first went to America, I went by ship. So thirty-five days. So after four, five days, it was disgusting. As soon as we saw one island, then we became relieved. (Laughter) You see? So the śūnyavāda philosophy will not give you happiness.
So unless you get shelter on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, you'll be attracted by these material activities. But when you are attracted by the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then vīta-rāga-bhaya-śoka... Then, as we... Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ (BG 4.10). Mām upāśritāḥ. When you take shelter at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then you become vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ (BG 2.56). Otherwise, you'll be attacked by, attracted by this material world. So therefore, artificial śūnyavāda philosophy, it may be, for the time being, necessity, śūnyavāda...
Just like Lord Buddha preached his philosophy, śūnyavāda philosophy, nirvāṇa philosophy, because it was needed at that time. It is not permanent philosophy. Any philosophy except Kṛṣṇa philosophy... Nothing is permanent. They are temporary. They have got temporary use. The real use is Kṛṣṇa philosophy. Real use, Kṛṣṇa philosophy. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam... (BG 18.66).
So when there was... People may question that "Lord Buddha is accepted as an incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa." Keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. "Then why he preached atheistic philosophy?" He preached, "There is no God." Śūnyavāda. But there was necessity at that time. Why? That is explained by Jayadeva Gosvāmī:
- nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātaṁ
- sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam
- keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare
At that time, people were killing animals like anything in the name of yajña. In the Vedas there are prescriptions that in the yajña a paśu can be, an animal can be slaughtered. In some yajña, not all. Tāmasika-yajña.
So if I remain as molecule in the brahmajyoti, that is also possible. The impersonalist wants that. Or if I enter into some spiritual planet and associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead that is also another spiritual existence. Although both of them are spiritual existence, this spiritual existence is impersonal. To remain as molecular part of the Brahman rays or spiritual rays, that is impersonal. And to have a spiritual form just like Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu, that is another spiritual perfection. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy.
And nirvāṇa, nirvāṇa, the Buddha philosophy is just above the material conditional life but on the margin of spiritual existence. That is... Nirvāṇa means void of material existence. Nirvāṇa, this impersonal conception is also nirvāṇa. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that this impersonal philosophy is another phase of the void philosophy. Veda... Covered void philosophy. Impersonalism is covered void philosophy. They are all the same. Śaṅkara's philosophy of impersonalism and Lord Buddha's philosophy void is almost the same. Real life, real spiritual life is this Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Vaiṣṇava philosophy, to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. Just like we are sitting here face to face. We are talking, you are hearing. You can have this perfection. That is personal conception of spiritual perfection.
The Buddhist theory is that living symptoms are produced by combination of matter. But from Bhagavad-gītā and other Vedic literature we understand that matter is produced from spirit soul. Matter, not from the matter the living symptoms are produced. According to Lord Buddha's philosophy, that this body is combination of matter... So when we dismantle the matter, nirvāṇa, then there is no more feelings of pains and pleasures. That is called śūnyavādi. But we are neither śūnyavādī or nirviśeṣa-vādī. We are saviśeṣa-vādīs. Saviśeṣa-vādi means that the spirit soul has got its form, and this body has got form. Just like dress takes its form because the man has got a form. This body is considered as dress. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). We are changing our dresses as much as we change our old dress to new ones. Old order changes, yielding place to new. So this body, because we, in our spiritual body we have got form, hands and legs, therefore we develop a material body which has got hands, legs, etc. That we can understand very easily. Just like your coat and shirt cannot have hands and legs without you having your hands and legs; similarly, this material body which is considered as dress means it has developed on the personal body of the spiritual form. This is called saviśeṣa-vāda.
Big, big professors, big, big learned scholars, they say that after finishing the body... Our men in Delhi, New Delhi, they are making some life members amongst the parliamentary M.P.s. So one M.P. said that "We don't believe in this. The last perfection is to become zero, to become zero." Because they cannot think, those who are materialist, they cannot think that there is another, spiritual world. They, they cannot think. Therefore this zero theory, śūnyavāda, was propounded by Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha propounded śūnyavāda, because the people are so rascal, they could not understand. There was no necessity. There was no necessity. He simply said nirvāṇa: "Stop this nonsense material life." But after material life, what is there, that He did not reveal, because these fools and rascal will not understand. Therefore He did not say. Śūnyavāda: make it śūnya. Just like foolish person suffering from some disease, he wants to kill himself, sometimes commit suicide, because he does not know that after suicide, the policy, there is no stoppage; he will have to become a ghost because you have disobeyed. God has given you certain type of body. You have to stay in that body for certain period. That is obedience to God. If you untimely kill this body, then it is sinful. Just like you are put into prison house for a certain number of months or years. Before that period, if you flee away, then you are again punished. Is it not? Because you did not fulfill the terms of your prison life, then again you become criminal. Similarly, those who kills another body, or those who kill another body, or those who make suicide, they become again criminal. Again criminal. This is the law of nature, but they do not know. Therefore one who does not know the laws of nature, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). The prakṛtiḥ, the laws of nature, is going on under the direction of Kṛṣṇa. One who does not know, aśraddadhānaḥ, one who has no faith, puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa aprāpya mām: the result is he does not go back to home, back to Godhead. Then what is? Nivartante: he wanders, he travels within this material world, mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. Because you cannot avoid mṛtyu. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9), this is the law of this material nature. Mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. But if you want to avoid this mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani, then you must be Kṛṣṇa conscious, you must surrender to Kṛṣṇa.
"No desire" does not mean no desire for serving Kṛṣṇa. That is real desire. Other desires are artificial. That is material. But the desire to... That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When all our desires are for serving Kṛṣṇa... Desires you cannot give up. That is not possible. Desires will remain there, but at the present moment, in the conditional stage, the desires are being misused. That is the defect. Therefore the definition of bhakti means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). Śūnya means zero. That is called nirvāṇa. The Buddha philosophy advocates nirvāṇa, no more desire. That is their philosophy. "By desire, you are becoming implicated, so make all your desires extinct. Then there will be no more feelings of pains and pleasure. Desirelessness."
But that is not possible. Desire must be there. Because I am living there, living being, I must have desires. That is the symptom. A stone has no desire, but a living being, however small, insignificant ant, it has got desire. The insignificant ant gets information that in the other corner of the room, which is one hundred miles for the ant... Because the world is relative, relative world, so this length of the room, from this corner to the other corner, for an ant it is hundred miles, yes, because the world is relative according to the size, atomic size, the distance. Now we have got speedy aeroplane. The distance has reduced. Distance from Honolulu to India, if you go by land it will be ten thousand miles, but... It is ten thousand miles, but the speedy aeroplane has reduced. So relatively... Everything is relative. This is called relative world. Dar... What is...? Professor Einstein, he has proved the law of relativity. So the ant, he has to go, to pick up one grain of sugar, by going hundred miles in his capacity, but it will go. That is desire.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So the bhuktīs, they are bhukti-kāmīs. That is kāma. And when they are unable to satisfy the senses by this material enjoyment, they are mukti-kāmīs. That is also kāma. Void. The Buddha philosophy. Mukti, vacant. Mukti, of course, not void. The same thing, in a different name, "Merge into the effulgence of Brahman, and stop my individuality." That is also voidness, zero. I make myself zero. This is another explanation of nirvāṇa, voidism. "Finish everything. You are suffering from fever. All right, I cut your throat. So your fever is gone? You also gone, finished." This is called śūnyavādi, "Make everything zero. Why you are suffering from fever? The best means is to cut your throat and become happy."
Others, the impersonalist, voidists, they have no conception of God. Voidists—"Ultimately everything is zero," and the impersonalists, "God has no form." Both are the same thing, in a different language. The voidists, they say, "Ultimately there is nothing but zero," and the impersonalists statement that "Maybe something, but it is not person, it is imperson."
Therefore in the Padma Purāṇa this Buddhist theory, voidism, and the Śaṅkara's theory, impersonalism, they are taken as one and the same. Pracchannaṁ bauddham ucyate. Pracchannaṁ bauddham. The Buddhists, they decline to accept the authority of Vedas, and the Māyāvādīs, the impersonalists, they want to accept the authority of Vedas, but under the garb of Buddhism. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given His remark, veda nā māniyā bauddha haya ta' nāstika. According to Vedic line of thought, anyone who does not accept the authority of Vedas, he is called atheist. Just like the Muhammadans, they also call "kafir." One who does not accept the authority of Koran, they call "kafir." And the Christians also, they call "heathens." So there are different terms. So according to our Vedic line of thought, anyone who does not accept the Vedic way of life, he is called atheist. Therefore Buddhist, according to Vedantists, Buddhist are called atheist. Actually Buddha philosophy does not accept God, neither soul. They simply philosophize on the material elements, and they want to finish the material exis..., dismantle the material elements. Nirvāṇa. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu has remarked that the Buddhists are honest. They frankly say that "We don't accept your Vedas." But the Shankarites, they are cheaters, because they are accepting Vedas, but on the basis of Buddha philosophy. That is cheating.
So upon these infliction of so many condition, so many miserable condition, still, we do not want to leave this place. Just see how much attachment we have got. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). This place has been described that it is a place for suffering. It is not the place for enjoying. But still, we are not inclined to leave it. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). You cannot make even compromise: "All right, it is a place of suffering, but we have got our radio and television. We shall live here." No. You may have your radio, television, and if you make compromise, nature will not allow you. After some years you kick out: "Please get out of this apartment." "No, I have got my television and this and..." "That's all right. You get out." Aśāśvatam. You cannot make even compromise, that "All right, it is miserable place. I will live here." But you will not be allowed to live here. But these foolish rascals, they do not understand. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19).
Therefore Lord Buddha appeared. These rascals... Sammohāya sura-dviṣām (SB 1.3.24). Sura-dviṣām means rascals, atheists. "There is no God." In Buddha religion they don't believe in God. "Yes. There is no soul. There is no God." That is Buddhist theory. Śūnyavādi. "Everything void. Make void." Buddha philosophy is that "These bodily pains and pleasure are due to the combination of matter." This body, this gross body, or the subtle body, is made of physical matters: earth, water, air, fire, and ether, and mind, intelligence, ego. These are gross and subtle matters. So Buddha philosophy is that "Due to the combination of this matter, we are feeling pains and pleasure. So everyone is trying to eradicate all kinds of pains. That is the struggle for existence. So these pains will be automatically mitigated if you break this combination." That is Buddha... Nirvāṇa. That is called nirvāṇa. Break. Just like this house is combination of several material thing. Now, when it is broken... You have seen, so many houses have been dismantled. There is no more house. And as soon as there is no more house, there is no question of living or feeling pains or pleasure. That is Buddha philosophy.
Bhakti, bhakti is described in so many places. Just like Rūpa Gosvāmī defines bhakti:
- anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
- jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
- ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
- (Brs. 1.1.11)
That is first-class bhakti. And bhakti means there is activity. Ānukūlyena: favorably. Kṛṣṇānuśīlanam: to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Anuśīlanam means culture. The culture means there is activity. Bhakti does not mean zero. That is another thing. Zero, nirvāṇa, means make these material activities zero. That hint is given by Śaṅkarācārya. Lord Buddha said that everything is zero, and Śaṅkarācārya gave further improvement that "It is not zero. Brahman is fact. Brahma satyam. Not zero. Jagan mithyā. This world is mithyā, zero. Not Brahman." Because those who understood this zero philosophy, they're rascals, atheists. They cannot understand more. Therefore further improvement was given by Śaṅkara because he was preaching. The whole world became Buddhist, and he wanted to establish Vedic principles. So they have already made zero. So how Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya can say, "No, it is not zero. It is fact." They'll not understand. He said in a different way, that "Zero is this material world." Brahma satyam. But brahma is fact. This is zero.
Antarhitasya smaratī visṛṣṭā karmāṇi nirvāṇa-vilambitāni. Nirvāṇa-karma. This is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Try to understand seriously. We are here in this life, human form of life. We should not be lazy. Laziness is not required. Karmāṇi. We should be active. What for? Now, nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa means finishing this material life. That is called nirvāṇa. The Buddha philosophy, they take it nirvāṇa. Their philosophy is nirvāṇa, means to stop the feelings of pains and pleasure. So their philosophy is that the pains and pleasure... Not only their philosophy. We also know. Bhagavad-gītā also says. Mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ (BG 2.14). The, the worldly pains and pleasure—what is due to? It is due to this material body. Mātrā-sparśāḥ. Mātrā means the skin. Because we have got this skin, in winter, the water is there, we feel pain, pinching. And because it is summer, the same water-pleasing. So the condition of the skin, according to the season, is changing. Therefore we are feeling pains and pleasure. Otherwise there is no pain, pleasure. Just try to understand. Because we are covered by the skin, therefore we are feeling pains and pleasure. If you become uncovered, free from the skinly covering, then there is no pains and pleasure. So that is our main business, how to get out of this material body of skins and bones. That is real business.
Therefore what is that paramahaṁsa stage? That is nairguṇya-sthā ramante sma guṇānukathane hareḥ. His only business is to glorify Kṛṣṇa. He does not do that... Not that "I have become paramahaṁsa. Let me eat and sleep." No. The symptom is that he cannot waste a moment without glorifying Kṛṣṇa. That is paramahaṁsa. At that time, you can know, that when you cannot remain even for a single moment without describing Kṛṣṇa, then you can know that you are on the paramahaṁsa stage. No attachment anything material; simply attachment for Kṛṣṇa. Then you can give up the regulative principles. Not before that. Don't imitate. Unless you come to that stage, positive stage... It is not that simply negative. Negative means you must stand on a positive platform. Therefore those who are Śūnyavādī, simply negative... The other day, some Zen Buddhist came. He said that "to become desireless." These nonsense people, they do not know it is impossible to become desireless. They are thinking... Therefore they are disturbed always. It is not possible to become desireless. You... That is negative post, nirvāṇa. That is Buddha philosophy, nirvāṇa. "Stop these material nonsense activities." But unless he has got positive activities, how he can give up this nonsense? Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 9.59). You must give good engagement. Otherwise, he'll go on committing all nonsense.
So the Māyāvādī philosophers, they have no information of the spiritual world. Therefore they are thinking that spirit means something void of all these varieties. They cannot conceive that in the variety there can be enjoyment. Here they have got very bad experience of varieties. Therefore they want to make... Buddha theory is like that, varieties, varieties—the earth, water, air, fire. So if this body is made of all these varieties, so you make it nirvāṇa; you kill it or dismantle it to the varieties. Just like when anything in this material world, when it is annihilated, it goes. This, our body... Just like when we leave this body, the matter remains there, lump of matter. Gradually it becomes decomposed, and some water comes out. The water goes to the water, the earthly part goes to the earth, the fiery part goes to the fiery. In this way, this combination of matter becomes dismantled. That is called nirvāṇa, finished. That is Buddha theory, that "By chance, a combination of material elements has formed these bodies, and by chance, a living force has come out, manifested, and on account of the living consciousness, we are feeling pains and pleasure. So in order to stop the so-called pains and pleasure, you dismantle this machine. Then there is no more... You become zero. Then there is no more pains and pleasure." This is Buddha's theory. The same principle, that you have got some pain on your head, so the theory is that break your head. Sometime I suggested to our Sarasvatī, that "You break your head and there will be no pain." So this theory is like that. Instead of mending... This is the lack of knowledge. Mūḍha. Mūḍha. The pains and pleasure... One man in the prison life, he is simply suffering so many pains and pleasure. There is no pleasure, simply pain. So he is trying to commit suicide.
Bhakti means spiritual activities. There is activity... It is not... The Māyāvādī philosophers, they think that "Stop material activities." Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. "Why you are engaged..." The Buddhist philosophy also, they say nirvāṇa, "Stop this material life." The Buddhist philosophers, they do not give more information. "We are suffering on account of this material combination." That is their philosophy. Because this body is nothing but combination of earth, water, fire, air, mind, intelligence and ego, so if you separate it, let the earth go to the earth, let water go to the water, let fire go to the fire, then you become zero. If you dismantle just like we dismantle some house, so there are so many things coming out. So let the doors be taken, somebody windows, somebody the bricks, somebody and..., rubbish somebody. Then there is no house, zero. This is called nirvāṇa theory. No more existence. We are suffering pains and pleasure... Pains. There is no pleasure. Pleasure means accepting another type of pain. I am suffering... Just like there is boil on your body. This is suffering. And to cure it, another suffering, surgical operation. So it is going on like that. Actually, there is no pleasure. There is only pain. So the Buddhist theory is to dismantle this construction, and then there is no more sense of pains and...
Everyone wants some prestigious position, lābha pūjā pratiṣṭhā, some material profit, lābha, and prestigious position so that people will give him salaam, minister, president, and to become very famous, historically very famous. These are material hankerings. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, "No." Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). We don't want. This is animittā bhakti. Nimittā, for some certain reason, if you become a bhakta, then you are not a śuddha-bhakta. You are a viddha(?)-bhakta, a polluted bhakta. Pure bhakti is anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11), zero. Material hankerings, anything material, hankering, should be void. The void philosophy, nirvāṇa, that indicates that you should completely finish these material desires. That is Lord Buddha's philosophy, nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa means material desires, to make it void, no more. Lord Buddha said up to that. Because the people who were following him, they were not so expert, advanced; therefore he did not say what is after giving up every desires. Because desireless it cannot be. Desires... People say that "You become desireless. Give up your all desires." That give up all desires means you give up your material desires, because you cannot be desireless. Then you are dead body. But we are eternal living entity. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). We are getting different types of body on account of different desires. So I become desireless of this habit; then I desire another habit. So that is going on.
So desireless is not possible. Desirelessness means you have to purify your desire. Don't desire anything except the service of Kṛṣṇa. That is desirelessness, animittā. Animittā bhaktiḥ siddher garīyasī. If you come to that position... As Caitanya Mahāprabhu, teaching us, na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye, mama janmani janmanīśvare... (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). He says, janmani janmani, "birth after birth." That means He does not require even salvation, because salvation means apunar bhava-janma, no more janma, no more birth. No more birth—there are two kinds of more more birth. For the Māyāvādīs, or impersonalists, they want to stop birth, to merge into the existence of the Supreme, brahma-nirvāṇa. Brahma-nirvāṇa... The Buddha philosophy teaches nirvāṇa, devoid of all material desires, that much. He does not give any more. Śaṅkarācārya gives further, more, that brahma-nirvāṇa, that "You become desireless of this material world, but you enter, merge into Brahman." That is called brahma-nirvāṇa. And the Vaiṣṇava philosopher says that "You make null and void all your material desires, enter into Brahman and be engaged in the service of the Lord." This is called bhakti. So brahma-nirvāṇa is also siddhi, but more than that siddhi is to be engaged in the service, Brahman service.
So try to come to the platform of sattva-guṇa. Not sattva-guṇa-brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20), transcendental, spiritual platform. Come to this brahma-bhūta; then your life will be successful. And if you want to live this colorful life—sometimes Brahmā, sometimes dog, sometimes cat, sometimes human being, sometimes king, sometimes worm of the stool—in this way, if you like this colorful life... The colorful life is going by the modes of material nature. As we are contaminating different colorful life, we are having this body. So in order to... The Buddha philosophy gives little hint only, nirvāṇa: "You just finish this colorful life." But it does not give further enlightenment. Simply it gives the hint that "You finish, nirvāṇa." Nirvāṇa means "Finish this colorful life. Become zero." He said zero, śūnyavādi. But actually, we cannot be zero. Because we are eternal, how we can be zero? We have to enter another colorful life. That is spiritual life. That is spiritual life. Simply if you make zero, that is not... That is little better, that you understand that this colorful life of material existence is not good. But what is your positive engagement? Unless you are positively engaged in another superior colorful life, you cannot give up this base colorful life.
Prakṛter guṇa-sāmyasya nirviśeṣasya. Guṇa-sāmya. When the three modes of material nature is not agitated, it is in the neutral stage, guṇa-sāmya. The guṇa-sāmya... The Buddha philosophy is... The highest goal is guṇa-sāmya, where there is no manifestation by the agitation of the guṇas. That is their ultimate goal, guṇa-sāmya, nirvāṇa. On account of agitation of the three guṇas, these manifestations are there, and that is called viśeṣa. Viśeṣa means varieties. And nirviśeṣa or nirvāṇa-practically the same thing: "Finish these varieties and again become nirviśeṣa, no variety, neutral stage." That is the highest perfection of Buddha philosophy, nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi. There are two kinds of atheistic philosophers. One is nirviśeṣa, and the other is śūnyavādi. So my students, therefore, they address, nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe. So whole world is nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi. Some of them are advocates of zero. There are many big, big philosophers writing on zero. They believe in zero, but they write volumes of books. Why you are wasting time writing volumes of books on zero? After all, if you are going to be zero, remain zero. So zero means disgust. Even Mahatma Gandhi, we have also heard in the paper, in the morning, the day when he was killed, the morning, he was disgusted with so many different opposing elements, letters, and news. So he said that "I don't want to live anymore. It is too much disgusting to me." And the same evening he was killed.
So if you can control the senses by the yogic, mystic yogic process, this mechanical endeavor, how to control the mind, then you can again be placed in the original spiritual status. That is the yoga system. The yoga system is recommended to persons whose mind is very restless. Everyone's mind is restless—not a particular man mind is restless. Everyone's. But it is very difficult, also, to bring the mind into peaceful status. So long the desires are there, it is not possible to bring the mind in complete peace and tranquillity. It is not possible because the saṅkalpa-vikalpa... Vartate-kāma-sambhavaḥ. So long there is desire, so it is not possible to bring the mind under control. Therefore Caitanya-caritāmṛta says, Kavirāja Gosvāmī, that even the pious actors, those who are acting very piously... Those who are acting impiously, sinfully, there is no question of peace of the mind. That is not possible. Even those who are acting very piously, that is also not possible. You cannot control even the mind in that way. Then those who are desiring to stop these material activities completely, pious or impious, they also cannot control the mind. And then the yogis... The first group, who are interested in pious activities, they are karmīs. And those who are neither interested in pious activities or impious activities—they want to stop all kinds of activities... Just like the Buddha philosophy says, nirvāṇa: "Stop the activities of the mind or desires." On that status also, it is not possible to control the mind, meditation. And... These mukti-kāmī. And then siddhi-kāmī, the yogis, they also cannot control the mind, what to speak of ordinary man who are neither interested in pious activities or in mukti or yogic perfection?
Inquire, the inquiry is aihiṣṭhaṁ yat tam punar-janme-jayāya: "My dear Viśvāmitra Muni, brāhmaṇa, I know that you are all trying to get release from repetition of birth and death." Why he has gone to the forest? He has gone to the forest for executing austerity, so that next life may be not material but spiritual life. This is the aim of life. The whole human effort, civilization, should be conducted with the aim how to stop this repetition of birth and death. This is science. Aihiṣṭhaṁ yat tam punar-janma-jayāya. He inquired—he was a brāhmaṇa, great sage—that "You have taken so much trouble that you are living in the forest, you are undergoing meditation and other regulative principles—why?" Punar-janma-jayāya: "To stop next birth." Punar-janma-jayāya, the Buddhist philosophy, punar-janma-jayāya means they take it that no more birth, but finish this business in the different way. They do not believe that there is next life, but dismantle this material condition of life. That is their nirvāṇa theory. Because Buddha philosophy was taught not amongst very intelligent person, atheist class of men. So that is punar... They are also trying for punar-janma-jayāya. The Christians, the Lord Christ, he also said that "Come to kingdom of God," not repetition of birth here again and again. That is the principle of all religious system. Punar-janma-jayāya. So it is not for the Hindus, Muslim, or Christian. Every human being should try his best, how to avoid to get another material body. This is the basic principle of civilization.
Pure devotees means who has no material desire. That is pure devotee. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). Śūnya means zero, one who has made all material desires zero. That is the way. In the Buddha philosophy it is called nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa means make zero, śūnyavādi. But we cannot remain in the śūnya. That is not possible. Śūnyavādī-nirvāṇa means to give up material desires. It is not possible to give up desires. That is not possible. To give up desires means I am dead body, a stone. If I have got life, if I am not a stone, there must be desires. Where is the living entity who has no desires? That is not possible. If we kill somebody to make him desireless, that "If you are killed, then there will be no more desire," no, the desire will continue in the subtle body. Even one is finished, this material body... Sometimes they commit suicide out of frustration, that "This desire is not fulfilled. Let me commit suicide." No. That is ignorance. Desires continue in the subtle body, mind, intelligence, and ego. And to fulfill the desire, Kṛṣṇa will give you another body. If we make a desire, it must be fulfilled and Kṛṣṇa will give you facilities. Bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā (BG 18.61). Desire is so strong. So how to make it zero? That is not possible. To make it zero means no more material desire. That is to make zero material desires. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170).
So the śūnyavādī and the nirviśeṣavādī, they want to make these varieties of enjoyment zero. That is called nirvāṇa philosophy, Buddha philosophy, that "These varieties of enjoyment is followed by painful condition, so you should make this variety zero." Just like sometimes one commits suicide. When these varieties become intolerable, social condition unbearable, then he commits suicide. So this śūnyavādī, māyāvādī, means it is spiritual suicide, because they have no information of the spiritual varieties. Anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ. They do not know that these varieties of enjoyment can be executed with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that will endure eternally, and we shall enjoy eternally. That they cannot understand. That is the difference between Vaiṣṇava and others. They, being disgusted... Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, Śaṅkara's philosophy, impersonalist, that "Take to Brahman. The so-called varieties of enjoyment in this material world is mithyā, false. So take to Brahman, merge into the Brahman, and remain there perpetually. Don't seek after these varieties of enjoyment."
So to engage the mind means, as it is said here, that pañcabhiḥ, the mind means controlling all the senses. So if you control the mind, then all the other senses will be controlled. So therefore it is advised that you engage your mind in Kṛṣṇa. Vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane. And vāk, vāṇī, pāyu, the voice, voice, arms, legs, anus and genitals. So voice should be engaged in vibrating Kṛṣṇa activities. You read Bhagavad-gītā, read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and talk about Kṛṣṇa. Then voice is engaged. Vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane. Always engage your voice in chanting or speaking about Kṛṣṇa. The mind is engaged automatically. Then arms, the hands, engaged in cleansing the temple. Śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-śṛṅgāra-tan-mandira mārjanādau **. This is the advice. This is business of guru, to engage. How the arms can be engaged? You can engage your arms for decorating the Deity, for sewing the clothing, dress, garland. In this way you can engage your arms. Voice in speaking about Kṛṣṇa, eyes to see Kṛṣṇa, how nicely decorated, come to the temple. For coming to the temple your legs will be used. And after coming to the temple, your hands will be used, your eyes will be used, your ear will be used, your tongue will be used. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, take prasāda. In this way, if we engage all our senses in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we are victorious. Otherwise, it is not possible. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane (SB 9.4.18). We have got our senses. Senses cannot be stopped working, that is not possible. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they stay that stop, nirvāṇa. Buddha philosophy: stop sense activity. That is not possible. That is impossible. Then how we can control the senses? You can control the senses by engaging all of them in Kṛṣṇa's service. Then it is controlled. Otherwise not.
Paśughnāt, animal killer. Paśughnāt has two meanings. One who is killing himself, he's also paśughnāt. And one who is killing animals, he is also paśughnāt. Therefore meat-eating is prohibited, that if you remain a killer of animals, then you cannot be purified. That is essential. No meat-eating. So in this way... You cannot stop the activities of the senses. That is not possible. Because I am living being. If the sense activities are stopped, then where is my life? I'm finished. So that cannot be. This is impossible. The Buddha philosophy is stop, nirvāṇa: "Stop the activities of the senses." That is not possible. Stop means you stop material activities. A boy is, when he's child, he is simply doing all nonsense and creating some disturbance. The same boy, when he's engaged in reading and writing, going to school, he's a good boy, Similarly, you cannot stop the activities of your senses, but when you engage your senses in the activities of Kṛṣṇa, that is perfection of life.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Śaṅkarācārya took a special measure to convert the Buddhists to come to Vedic process because at that time everyone became atheist, following the Buddha philosophy, void. Therefore he had to preach that "Yes. It is void, but that is truth. That void is truth, and this material manifestation, nirvāṇa, that is false. Therefore Lord Buddha taught you that 'Finish this, these material activities, and your miseries will be solved.' " Śaṅkarācārya said, "Yes, this is all right, but there is Brahman." But he did not describe the Brahman, whether He has, He is person or He has got pastimes, He has got many planets and there are many devotees, because those fools were not able to understand. Therefore he took for the time being. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, while criticizing, I mean to say, Śaṅkarācārya, He is always taking care that "It was not the fault of Ācārya Śaṅkara, because he's Lord Śiva, and he cannot make any mistake, but he was ordered to do so for the time being. Actually, Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His body is spiritual. He is person. The difference is that He's sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). And so far the living entities are concerned, they are His energies." Energies.
So far Buddha is concerned, he's also considered śaktyāveśa avatāra. He preached this nirvāṇa philosophy. Although he did not speak about God, because it is considered that he was himself God, but the people amongst whom he preached, they were mostly atheistic people; therefore he did not preach about God. But he did not deny also. He simply wanted to make extinction of this present worldly activities. That was, yes... Nirvāṇa. And he represented the sacrifice of renouncement. He..., you may remember that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, out of His six opulences, one opulence is renouncement. So Lord Buddha's life is renouncement. He was prince. He, he was in a very young time. He renounced the world and underwent severe penances. These are the symptoms by which we can understand that he's also śaktyāveśa avatāra. And the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find, yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṁ mama tejo-'ṁśa-sambhavam. Anyone, not only Lord Buddha or others, but anyone, Lord, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated, anyone who has got some extraordinary power, uncommon power, he's to be considered vibhu. Śaktyāveśa avatāra, there are two kinds, one directly empowered for particular mission, comes from the transcendental spiritual sky, and others, those who are in this material world, but they have got some specific power, uncommon power, not found in ordinary man. They are called vibhūti. This vibhūti (is) explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṁ mama tejo-'ṁśa sambhavam. That is out of the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
In this material world, we conditioned, we are residents. But in the spiritual world the residents are all liberated souls. Jagal-lakṣmī rakhi' rahe yāhāṅ māyā dāsī.
- 'devī-dhāma' nāma tāra, jīva yāra vāsī
- jagal-lakṣmī rakhi' rahe yāhāṅ māyā dāsī
Ei tina dhāmera haya kṛṣṇa adhīśvara. Ei tina dhāma. Tina dhāma, what is that three systems? This Devī-dhāma, the Maheśa-dhāma and Hari-dhāma. Hari-dhāma, the spiritual world, and Maheśa-dhāma, in between... This Maheśa-dhāma is the destination of nirvāṇa. The nirvāṇa philosophy, the Buddha philosophy, that is between this Devī-dhāma and Hari-dhāma, Maheśa-dhāma, in between. They are liberated also, but not in the spiritual world, in the marginal place, which is called nirvāṇa. Their material existence is finished, but their spiritual development is not there. So finishing material existence is not all. Just like one man is suffering from fever, and the fever subsides. That is not health. Fever subsides. That's all right. Fever has subsided. But healthy life is when he will work as a healthy man. Simply saying, "No, no more fever," no more fever, lying down on the bed, is the nirvāṇa stage. No more fever. There is no fever, but he is not competent to get up from the bed and work. So that is called nirvāṇa. The fever is finished. That is called nirvāṇa. So when material existence is finished, that is nirvāṇa. But you have to go further. You have to develop further. Then your real, constitutional life as spirit soul will be manifested. So that is bhakti-mārga. That activity is healthy life after nirvāṇa. So those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they have already passed this material existence and nirvāṇa stage. They are in healthy activities, provided he is actually engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So ei tina dhāmera haya kṛṣṇa adhīśvara.
There is no practically difference between Buddha philosophy and Śaṅkara's philosophy. Buddha philosophy says that the matter is everything. Beyond matter there is nothing, everything void, and the combination of matter is the source of our miseries. So you make a dismantlement of the matter, nirvāṇa—there will be no more miseries. And Śaṅkara's philosophy says that brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. It is little, little farther advanced, admitting the spirit, but he says that spirit is impersonal. "There is no God. It is impersonal." So practically the same thing: ultimately, it is void or there is no God.
But Vedānta philosophy does not say that. Vedānta philosophy, from the very beginning it asserts that athāto brahma jijñāsā, "Now it is the time for discussing on the Absolute Truth." And what is that Absolute Truth? Janmādy asya yataḥ: (SB 1.1.1) "Absolute Truth is the summum bonum substance from which everything emanates."
Festival Lectures
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to clear that covered sense or this colored consciousness or adulterated consciousness. Then everything will be there. You cannot kill consciousness. That is not possible. The Buddha philosophy is to stop consciousness, nirvāṇa. According to Buddha's philosophy, this consciousness is production by combination of this matter. This body is combination of matter: earth, water, fire, air, either, and, according to Bhagavad-gītā, further, mind, intelligence, ego. This is combination. They are very finely analyzed by the sāṅkhya philosophy system, by Vedic system, into twenty-four elements. And according to some, twenty-five, and according to some, twenty-six. According to our Vaiṣṇava philosophy, twenty-six. According to Māyāvāda philosophy, this is twenty-five. And according to impersonal philosophy or void philosophy, it is twenty-four. So originally, it is eight. So in this way... Buddha philosophy means that this whole existence of our body or our self is the combination of matter. That is the way of thinking of modern scientists also, that this body is a combination of matter. Under Darwin's theory also, like that, "organic matter, inorganic matter." They are studying evolution of this matter, organic matter. But actually that is not the fact. The fact is that use, individual soul, that is the real fact. And that individual soul is the seed, and upon that seed, this body has developed. According to our Vedic understanding, the body develops on the seed. This is very practical. Why we have got different bodies, different types of bodies? Because the condition of the seed is different. The seed is the spirit soul, and by material contact it is covered by finer body, intelligence, mind, and ego. And according to the quality of that ego, we develop different kinds of this material gross body. Therefore somebody has developed the body in the modes of goodness, because material nature is divided into three qualities: goodness, passion, and ignorance. Somebody has developed body in the modes of passion. Somebody has developed body in the modes of ignorance. But the root is the spirit soul. And the finer cover is desire, ego, intelligence, mind. And the gross cover is this body.
So Buddha philosophy simply takes account of this gross body. They do not take account of the mind, because as soon as they go to the platform of mind, then immediately the question will be "Whose mind? Whose intelligence?" Then you have to come to the spirit soul. But the people for whom this Buddha philosophy was preached, they were not very intelligent class of men. Therefore Lord Buddha did not give them the information of the subtle body or the soul.
So there are different kinds of philosophies in the world, but Lord Caitanya's philosophy is the superphilosophy. Superphilosophy means... Why superphilosophy? Just like Lord Buddha's philosophy is... There is no acknowledgement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or any God. His philosophy is this, the body, this present condition, is a combination of matter. So you dismantle the matter by meditation. You disperse the matter. Let the earth go to the earth. Let the water go to the water. Let the fire go to the fire. Let the ether go to the ether, the air... Because this is combination of earth, water, fire, so disperse it. When go to the total water, total earth, total air, then... Just like you prepare a doll. You take little earth. You take little water. You dry it in the air. Then you, I mean to say, burn it in the fire, and it becomes a doll. You see? That means you take all the help of all these ingredients, and it appears. Similarly, this body has appeared in that way, by combination. So you, if the doll is broken, then, in due course of time, it mixes again. "Dust thou art, dust thou beist." Again mixes with the water, earth, air. There is no... So as soon as it is dismantled and dispersed, there is no more consciousness, or the feeling of happiness or distress. Because we are all concerned with the feelings of consciousness, of happiness and distress. Everyone is embarrassed. Everyone is trying that "I shall become happy in this way." So that means he is feeling distress. So according to Lord Buddha's philosophy, these feelings of happiness, distress, is due to this combination of matter. So you dismantle this matter, material, there will be no more distress, and nirvāṇa-finish. Nirvāṇa means finish.
And the next incarnation is Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha, He decried the Vedic principles. Therefore He is calculated as atheist. Anyone who does not agree with the Vedic principles, he is considered as atheist. Just like one who does not believe in the Bible, they are called heathens, similarly, those who do not accept the Vedic principles, they are called atheists. So Lord Buddha although incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, He said that "I do not believe in Vedas." What was the reason? The reason was to save the poor animals. At that time people were sacrificing the poor animals under the plea of Vedic sacrifice. So demonic persons, they want to do something under the protection of authority. Just like a big lawyer takes the protection of the lawbook and he makes the law unlawful. Similarly, the demons are so intelligent that they take advantage of scriptural injunction and do all nonsense. So these things were going on. In the name of Vedic sacrifice, they were killing animals like anything. So Lord became very much compassionate these poor animals, and He appeared as Lord Buddha, and His philosophy was nonviolence. His philosophy was atheist because He said that "There is no God. This combination of matter is a manifestation, and you dismantle the material elements, there will be void and there will be no sense of pleasure and pain. That is the nirvāṇa, ultimate goal of life." That was His philosophy. But actually His mission was to stop animal killing, to stop the men from so much sinful activities. So Lord Buddha is also prayed herewith. So people will be surprised that Lord Buddha is designated as atheist and still the Vaiṣṇavas, they are offering their respectful prayers to Lord Viṣṇu (Buddha). Why? Because the Vaiṣṇava knows how the God is acting for His different purposes. Others, they do not know.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
In material world there is also varieties, but that is false. This morning we were discussing this point, mirage. In the mirage there is a show of false water, and the animal runs after it. But there is no water, and finally he becomes more thirsty, and it is desert; he falls down and dies. So the material world means we are running after false family. But don't think that there is no real family life. There is real family. That is Kṛṣṇa's real family, eternal family, blissful family. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to train up people to be detached from this false family and to enter into the real family. That is the point. Not that if I give up this false family I will become zero. No. There is no such disappointment. The other philosophers, they simply... Just like Buddha philosophy. Their philosophy is "Finish this," nirvāṇa. But if people are not interested to finish all this, they want it, then what is the positive gain? So generally people are attached to these Buddhist and Māyāvādī philosophies; therefore they feel hopelessness. On account of future hopelessness, they become more attached to this false family. But our philosophy is not like that. Our philosophy is that you become detached to this false family and enter into the real family.
General Lectures
Girl: "In other words, as we see by this plea, liberation is not the final word in perfection."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Here is one point. He says that "You have liberated me. Now let me know what is my duty." This is very important point. The Māyāvādī philosopher, they think that liberation is the ultimate goal. Just like in Buddha philosophy, the nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa means annihilation of material existence. Nirvāṇa. They think that as soon as there is annihilation of this material existence, that is the final goal. The Māyāvādī philosopher or the impersonalist, they think that not only to get freedom from this material existence, but to remain in spiritual status, jñānam, simply in the knowledge that "I am spirit soul. I am merged into the spirit soul," that is their goal. But here, the Sanātana Gosvāmī, he belongs to the Vaiṣṇava philosophy. He says, "Now what is my duty?" That means after liberation it is not that everything is void or activity is stopped. No. Actually activity begins after liberation. At the present moment our activities are not liberated activities. At the present moment all our activities are conditional, but actually I am not... Because I am spirit soul, therefore I'm not under material condition. But somehow or other, I am now put into material conditions. This is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). When one is actually liberated, brahma-bhūtaḥ, that is called brahma-bhūtaḥ. When one is not liberated he's called jīva-bhūtaḥ. Just like we are, ordinary living entities, we are under designations, and in the concept of this body, we are thinking everything. But actually I am not this body. I am not matter. I am a spirit soul. When this understanding comes, that is the point of liberation. And after that liberation, actual duty begins.
Anyone who speaks exactly what Lord Caitanya said, exactly what Kṛṣṇa said, then he is spiritual master. Just like a teacher who says that "I have passed M.A." Now what is the proof? That means if he speaks exactly like persons who have passed M.A. examination, then he is M.A. A medical practitioner who is approved by other medical practitioners in the medical college, he is medical practitioner. Similarly, if you want to test who is spiritual master, you have to see the standard spiritual master, Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya and similar. Even Lord Jesus Christ, there are..., Lord Buddha, they are also spiritual masters, but they spoke in different circumstances. That is different thing. But if you want to know who is a spiritual master, then you have to test him whether he is speaking exactly like the bona fide spiritual master. Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has explained about this, who is spiritual master. What is that? He says, sādhu śāstra guru vākya tinete kariyā aikya. If you want to advance yourself in spiritual science, then you have to test these three things. What is that? Sādhu, saintly person. Sādhu, śāstra, scriptures, and spiritual master. Now suppose you want to know who is a spiritual master. Then you have to test whether he's speaking just like other saintly persons and whether he's following scriptures. Sādhu śāstra. So you have to test a spiritual master by corroborating whether he is speaking according to the scriptural injunction, whether he's speaking to other saintly persons. So in the world, anywhere you go, the standard spiritual master... Take it, Lord Jesus Christ or Buddha or Śaṅkara or Rāmānujācārya or Caitanya—nobody will say that you make adjustment here and live peacefully. Everyone will say that you have to extinguish this material existence. Lord Buddha says nirvāṇa, and Śaṅkara says brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, and Kṛṣṇa says sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). Lord Jesus Christ says that "You have to go the kingdom of God. Just come with me." So nobody says that "Let us make United Nation organization and stick up to thousands of flags, and let there be peace and prosperity, and let the war go on in any part of the world." That is not spiritual master. Spiritual master means that he is interested with the other world beyond this material world. That is spiritual master.
If you reject God, then you will have to select somebody else you will have to worship as God. Take for example Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha's philosophy that there is no question of God, but we are suffering due to this material encagement and combination of matter, this body is combination of matter, and when the matter is dismantled, which is called nirvāṇa, then there is no question of feeling pains and pleasure. That is Buddha philosophy. But there is no question of God there. But fortunately or unfortunately, they are worshiping Lord Buddha. Try to understand that personality cannot be imagined at any circumstance. Somebody has to be found out. So the Vedas gives us the information that you accept the leadership of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then everything, all questions, all problems will be solved.
So in the Vedic literature the definition of God is also there, who is God. Now everyone is claiming, "I am God," but they do not know what is God. They are falsely claiming. But if you find out Parasara-sūtra, there is definition of God. What is that? Aiśvaryasya samagrasya. God is the owner of all wealth, vīryasya, all strength, yaśasaḥ, all fame, all intelligence, all beauty, and all renunciation. These six items in full strength, cent percent possession, that makes the God. So our position is always subordinate according to Vedic literature or any literature. If you reject God, then you will have to select somebody else you will have to worship as God. Take for example Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha's philosophy that there is no question of God, but we are suffering due to this material encagement and combination of matter, this body is combination of matter, and when the matter is dismantled, which is called nirvāṇa, then there is no question of feeling pains and pleasure. That is Buddha philosophy. But there is no question of God there. But fortunately or unfortunately, they are worshiping Lord Buddha. Try to understand that personality cannot be imagined at any circumstance. Somebody has to be found out. So the Vedas gives us the information that you accept the leadership of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then everything, all questions, all problems will be solved.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice that it is activities of liberated stage. Everyone is trying to get liberation from these material pangs, every philosophy. Buddha philosophy, they are also trying-nirvāṇa. Nirvāṇa means extinguish this. So they want to make void. All these material varieties, they want to make it zero. That is Buddha philosophy. Māyāvāda philosophy is more or less like that. It is a second edition of Buddha philosophy. Zero, but that zero is without life. Māyāvāda philosophy says, "Yes, that zero, but with life." That is the mistake. If there is life, then there must be varieties. Life without variety is not possible. Dead body without variety, not life without variety. So these are the defects of all other philosophies. They're not defects, but the class of people amongst whom the philosophy was taught, they could not understand more than that. That's all. Just like a patient too much disturbed, he wants some medicine from the physician: "Please stop my disturbance. Kill me. Kill me." Sometimes they say like that: "Give me some poison, kill me. I cannot tolerate." A physician says, "Yes, there is no need of killing. I shall give you good, healthy life." He's so much impatient, "No. I cannot tolerate. Please kill me." So this Buddha philosophy, Māyāvāda philosophy is like that. Kill him "Kill me, please. Make me zero, void." So much frustration. So much disturbance that they want to make it zero. But our philosophy is life, real life.
Bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ praśānta-niḥśeṣa. I'm just trying to explain the word praśānta, pacifism, how one can be pacified, fully satisfied. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja, a boy. He wanted the kingdom of his father and he underwent severe penances to see God, Nārāyaṇa, so that he may ask His benediction to be, I mean to say, seated on the throne of his father. That was his desire. He went to forest to undertake severe penances to see Nārāyaṇa so that he can ask from Him the benediction that he should have..., seated on the throne of his father. Because by the intrigue of his stepmother, he was rejected by his father. He wanted... That material desire we, every one of us in conditioned state, we want. Sometimes we compete. We become very much obstinate, that "I must have this," and we work very hard. Just like in Europe, that Hitler, he wanted supremacy over Europe, and he fought very valiantly. But at the end he became vanquished. Similarly, in the material world we have got so many desires and we want to fulfill it—and for which we work very hard. But at the end it becomes frustrated. That is the nature of the material world. You cannot have anything here permanent, however hard you work... You may achieve that. Not only in this material world. Even you achieve the liberation, perfectional stage, as the impersonal philosophers want. They want nirvāṇa. Just like Buddhists, they want nirvāṇa, extinction of this material conditional life. That is called nirvāṇa. And the Māyāvādī philosophers, impersonalists, they want not only extinction of these material pangs but they want to be situated in spiritual consciousness only. But our Vaiṣṇava philosophy is that you cannot keep yourself in spiritual consciousness unless you are fully engaged in spiritual activities. That is the perfect philosophy.
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: He says that through self-mortification that we can destroy the willing process altogether.
Prabhupāda: That is impossible. That is rascaldom. It is not possible. Nobody can destroy the willing process.
Śyāmasundara: I'll just read what he says. He says, "Eventually the ascetic will exist only as a pure knowing being, the undimmed mirror of the world. Nothing can trouble him more. Nothing can move him, for he has cut all the thousand cords of will which hold us bound to the world, and as desire, fear, envy, anger, drag us hither and thither in constant pain, to such a man life is an illusion to which he must be indifferent." So his idea is that you cut all the cords of will which bind us to this material world.
Prabhupāda: Then what remains?
Śyāmasundara: Nothing.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Śyāmasundara: Nothing.
Prabhupāda: That means he is the philosopher is of śūnyavādī.
Śyāmasundara: Yes.
Prabhupāda: Śūnyavādī, nirviśeṣa śūnyavādī. So we are killing this kind of philosophy, śūnyavādī. But you cannot become śūnya. It is not possible.
Śyāmasundara: He has a similar idea to the Buddhists. He says that we repudiate desire in passing to nirvāṇa, or nothingness.
Prabhupāda: And that is not possible. This is, this is simply a lack of knowledge. Just like the same philosophy, if there is danger before me I cannot protect me from the danger, I simply close my eyes, "Ahh. There is no danger." It is like that. The danger remains there. He thinks by closing the eyes, he thinks, "Now I am out of danger". That is his foolishness.
Hayagrīva: Well as, as to the nature of the world, Schopenhauer is vague, but he sees material life as basically irrational and whimsical.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that's a fact. Therefore you are changing body. Material mind is not fixed up; rejecting and accepting. This is going on. That Māyāvāda philosophers say as well. The Buddhists also say this material pains and pleasure is account to the material combination. It does not say material combination of this body. Soul is different, but he did not say because during his time they could not understand it. So he did not say that the..., there is soul, but he simply said that this body is combination of material thing; that is the cause of pains and pleasure. So dismantle it. Let earthly part of the body go to earth, watery part of the body, let it... Nirvāṇa, that is. Then I become zero, śūnyavādī. Because he does not get any information of the soul, he takes account of the body. Analyze the body and it is composition of earth, water, air, fire, like that. So when it is dismantled, then where is pains and pleasure? That is his philosophy, śūnyavāda, make it zero.
| Page Title: | Nirvana and Buddha's philosophy (Lectures) |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika, Mayapur |
| Created: | 28 of Aug, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=48, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 48 |