Nonexistent

Expressions researched:
"non-existent" |"nonexistence" |"nonexistent" |"nonexistentional" |"nonexisting"

BG Preface and Introduction

Our very existence is in the atmosphere of nonexistence. Actually we are not meant to be threatened by nonexistence.

BG Introduction:

The purpose of Bhagavad-gītā is to deliver mankind from the nescience of material existence. Every man is in difficulty in so many ways, as Arjuna also was in difficulty in having to fight the Battle of Kurukṣetra. Arjuna surrendered unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and consequently this Bhagavad-gītā was spoken. Not only Arjuna, but every one of us is full of anxieties because of this material existence. Our very existence is in the atmosphere of nonexistence. Actually we are not meant to be threatened by nonexistence. Our existence is eternal. But somehow or other we are put into asat. Asat refers to that which does not exist.

BG Chapters 1 - 6

The words existent and nonexistent refer only to spirit and matter. That is the version of all seers of truth.

BG 2.16, Translation and Purport:

Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent (the material body) there is no endurance and of the eternal (the soul) there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.

There is no endurance of the changing body. That the body is changing every moment by the actions and reactions of the different cells is admitted by modern medical science; and thus growth and old age are taking place in the body. But the spirit soul exists permanently, remaining the same despite all changes of the body and the mind. That is the difference between matter and spirit. By nature, the body is ever changing, and the soul is eternal. This conclusion is established by all classes of seers of the truth, both impersonalist and personalist. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (2.12.38) it is stated that Viṣṇu and His abodes all have self-illuminated spiritual existence (jyotīṁṣi viṣṇur bhuvanāni viṣṇuḥ). The words existent and nonexistent refer only to spirit and matter. That is the version of all seers of truth.

The Vedic wisdom encourages self-realization on the basis of the nonexistence of the material body.

BG 2.28, Purport:

Somehow or other, even in the unmanifested stage, things are not lost. Both at the beginning and at the end, all elements remain unmanifested, and only in the middle are they manifested, and this does not make any real material difference. And if we accept the Vedic conclusion as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that these material bodies are perishable in due course of time (antavanta ime dehāḥ) but that the soul is eternal (nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ), then we must remember always that the body is like a dress; therefore why lament the changing of a dress? The material body has no factual existence in relation to the eternal soul. It is something like a dream. In a dream we may think of flying in the sky, or sitting on a chariot as a king, but when we wake up we can see that we are neither in the sky nor seated on the chariot. The Vedic wisdom encourages self-realization on the basis of the nonexistence of the material body. Therefore, in either case, whether one believes in the existence of the soul or one does not believe in the existence of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation for loss of the body.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

In Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years.

BG 8.17, Purport:

The duration of the material universe is limited. It is manifested in cycles of kalpas. A kalpa is a day of Brahmā, and one day of Brahmā consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages: Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali. The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years. In the Tretā-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years. In the Dvāpara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts 864,000 years. And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatāra, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga. Then the process is set rolling again. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahmā, and the same number comprise one night.

SB Canto 2

Mental speculations, by adding some dozens of "if's" and "maybe's," cannot aid the advancement of knowledge—on the contrary, such mental speculations will only end in despair by dismissing the case abruptly and declaring the nonexistence of God.

SB 2.7.43-45, Purport:

By the limited instruments of knowledge (either the senses or the material instruments like microscopes and telescopes) one cannot even fully know the Lord's material potencies, which are manifested before our eyes. For example there are many millions and billions of planets far, far beyond the scientist's calculation. But these are only the manifestations of the Lord's material energy. What can the scientist hope to know of the spiritual potency of the Lord by such material efforts? Mental speculations, by adding some dozens of "if's" and "maybe's," cannot aid the advancement of knowledge—on the contrary, such mental speculations will only end in despair by dismissing the case abruptly and declaring the nonexistence of God. The sane person, therefore, ceases to speculate on subjects beyond the jurisdiction of his tiny brain, and as a matter of course he tries to learn to surrender unto the Supreme Lord, who alone can lead one to the platform of real knowledge. In the Upaniṣads it is clearly said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead can never be known simply by working very hard and taxing the good brain, nor can He be known simply by mental speculation and jugglery of words.

SB 2.10.12, Translation:

One should definitely know that all material ingredients, activities, time and modes, and the living entities who are meant to enjoy them all, exist by His mercy only, and as soon as He does not care for them, everything becomes nonexistent.

SB Canto 3

According to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya preached the Māyāvāda philosophy for a particular purpose. Such a philosophy was necessary to defeat the Buddhist philosophy of the nonexistence of the spirit soul, but it was never meant for perpetual acceptance.

SB 3.4.20, Purport:

As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (16.20) such envious speculators are without knowledge and are surely condemned life after life. They unnecessarily take shelter of Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, but he was not so drastic as to commit an offense at the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. According to Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya preached the Māyāvāda philosophy for a particular purpose. Such a philosophy was necessary to defeat the Buddhist philosophy of the nonexistence of the spirit soul, but it was never meant for perpetual acceptance. It was an emergency. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa was accepted by Śaṅkarācārya as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in his commentation on Bhagavad-gītā. Since he was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he did not dare write any commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam because that would have been a direct offense at the lotus feet of the Lord. But later speculators, in the name of Māyāvāda philosophy, unnecessarily make their commentary on the catuḥ-ślokī Bhāgavatam (SB 2.9.33/34/35/36) without any bona fide intent.

Material nature is ever existing in its subtle form as the energy of the Lord, but it sometimes manifests this nonexistent or temporarily existent nature, the cosmos.

SB 3.26.9, Purport:

Two words used in this verse are sat and asat. The cosmic manifestation is asat—it does not exist—but the material energy of the Supreme Lord is sat, or ever existing. Material nature is ever existing in its subtle form as the energy of the Lord, but it sometimes manifests this nonexistent or temporarily existent nature, the cosmos. An analogy may be made with the father and mother: the mother and the father exist, but sometimes the mother begets children. Similarly, this cosmic manifestation, which comes from the unmanifest material nature of the Supreme Lord, sometimes appears and again disappears. But the material nature is ever existing, and the Lord is the supreme cause for both the subtle and gross manifestations of this material world.

Family, society and friendship are flickering, and so they are called asat. It is said that as long as we are attached to this asat, temporary, nonexisting society and family, we are always full of anxieties.

SB 3.30.7, Purport:

It is said that it is easier to maintain a great empire than to maintain a small family, especially in these days, when the influence of Kali-yuga is so strong that everyone is harassed and full of anxieties because of accepting the false presentation of māyā's family. The family we maintain is created by māyā; it is the perverted reflection of the family in Kṛṣṇaloka. In Kṛṣṇaloka there are also family, friends, society, father and mother; everything is there, but they are eternal. Here, as we change bodies, our family relationships also change. Sometimes we are in a family of human beings, sometimes in a family of demigods, sometimes a family of cats, or sometimes a family of dogs. Family, society and friendship are flickering, and so they are called asat. It is said that as long as we are attached to this asat, temporary, nonexisting society and family, we are always full of anxieties. The materialists do not know that the family, society and friendship here in this material world are only shadows, and thus they become attached. Naturally their hearts are always burning, but in spite of all inconvenience, they still work to maintain such false families because they have no information of the real family association with Kṛṣṇa.

SB Canto 6

An unintelligent person thinks that the opulence of the Supreme Lord is nonexistent after the annihilation, but that is not a fact. The opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains as it is in the spiritual world; only in the material world is everything dissolved.

SB 6.4.47, Purport:

After the annihilation of everything, the Supreme Lord, because of His sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), remains in His original form, but since the other living entities have material bodies, the matter merges into matter, and the subtle form of the spirit soul remains within the body of the Lord. The Lord does not sleep, but the ordinary living entities remain asleep until the next creation. An unintelligent person thinks that the opulence of the Supreme Lord is nonexistent after the annihilation, but that is not a fact. The opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains as it is in the spiritual world; only in the material world is everything dissolved. Brahma-līna, merging into the Supreme Brahman, is not actual līna, or annihilation, for the subtle form remaining in the Brahman effulgence will return to the material world after the material creation and again assume a material form.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-powerful, He is not subject to the conditioned soul's arguments regarding His existence or nonexistence. He is pleased to protect His devotees by killing their enemies.

SB 6.9.36, Purport:

We should not be astonished to find contradictions in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually there are no contradictions. That is the meaning of His being supreme. Because He is all-powerful, He is not subject to the conditioned soul's arguments regarding His existence or nonexistence. He is pleased to protect His devotees by killing their enemies. He enjoys both the killing and the protecting.

SB 6.15.21-23, Translation:

My dear King, now you are actually experiencing the misery of a person who has sons and daughters. O King, owner of the state of Śūrasena, one's wife, his house, the opulence of his kingdom, and his various other opulences and objects of sense perception are all the same in that they are temporary. One's kingdom, military power, treasury, servants, ministers, friends and relatives are all causes of fear, illusion, lamentation and distress. They are like a gandharva-nagara, a nonexistent palace that one imagines to exist in the forest. Because they are impermanent, they are no better than illusions, dreams and mental concoctions.

SB Canto 7

The Vedic wisdom encourages self-realization on the basis of the nonexistence of the material body.

SB 7.2.37, Purport:

If we accept the Vedic conclusion as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (antavanta ime dehāḥ) that these material bodies are perishable in due course of time (nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ) but that the soul is eternal, then we must remember always that the body is like a dress; therefore why lament the changing of a dress? The material body has no factual existence in relation to the eternal soul. It is something like a dream. In a dream we may think of flying in the sky or sitting on a chariot as a king, but when we wake up we can see that we are neither in the sky nor seated on the chariot. The Vedic wisdom encourages self-realization on the basis of the nonexistence of the material body. Therefore, in either case, whether one believes in the existence of the soul or one does not believe in the existence of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation for loss of the body.

SB 7.6.20-23, Translation:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller, who is infallible and indefatigable, is present in different forms of life, from the inert living beings (sthāvara), such as the plants, to Brahmā, the foremost created living being. He is also present in the varieties of material creations and in the material elements, the total material energy and the modes of material nature (sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa), as well as the unmanifested material nature and the false ego. Although He is one, He is present everywhere, and He is also the transcendental Supersoul, the cause of all causes, who is present as the observer in the cores of the hearts of all living entities. He is indicated as that which is pervaded and as the all-pervading Supersoul, but actually He cannot be indicated. He is changeless and undivided. He is simply perceived as the supreme sac-cid-ānanda (eternity, knowledge and bliss). Being covered by the curtain of the external energy, to the atheist He appears nonexistent.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

As confirmed in the Vedas, harir hi nirguṇaḥ sākṣāt: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always free from all material qualities. It is also said that the qualities of passion and ignorance are nonexistent in the person of the Supreme Lord.

SB 10.3.20, Purport:

Vasudeva prayed to the Lord, "You are called śuklam. Śuklam, or 'whiteness,' is the symbolic representation of the Absolute Truth because it is unaffected by the material qualities. Lord Brahmā is called rakta, or red, because Brahmā represents the qualities of passion for creation. Darkness is entrusted to Lord Śiva because he annihilates the cosmos. The creation, annihilation and maintenance of this cosmic manifestation are conducted by Your potencies, yet You are always unaffected by those qualities." As confirmed in the Vedas, harir hi nirguṇaḥ sākṣāt: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always free from all material qualities. It is also said that the qualities of passion and ignorance are nonexistent in the person of the Supreme Lord.

CC Adi-lila

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.

CC Adi 6.14-15, Purport:

A Vedic injunction states, sarve vedā yat padam āmananti (Kaṭha Up. 1.2.15): all Vedic knowledge is searching after the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, another Vedic injunction states, nārāyaṇa-parā vedāḥ: the Vedas are meant for understanding Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Lord. Similarly, the Bhagavad-gītā also confirms, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: (BG 15.15) by all the Vedas, Kṛṣṇa is to be known. 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

In the lower categories—including aquatics, trees, plants, insects, birds and so forth—spiritual consciousness is almost nonexistent.

CC Madhya 6.156, Purport:

The material energy acts on the living entity in different degrees, according to how he acquires the association of the three modes of material nature. There are 8,400,000 species of life, some inferior, some superior and some mediocre. The gradations of the bodies are calculated according to the covering of material energy. In the lower categories—including aquatics, trees, plants, insects, birds and so forth—spiritual consciousness is almost nonexistent. In the mediocre category—the human form of life—spiritual consciousness is comparatively awakened. In the superior life forms, spiritual consciousness is fully awakened. Then the living entity understands his real position and tries to escape the influence of material energy by developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

By "unmanifested" we mean that they are not present before our eyes. It is not that Lord Kṛṣṇa's pastimes are nonexistent.

CC Madhya 15.237, Purport:

This verse was spoken by Uddhava to Lord Kṛṣṇa. This was during the time when the Uddhava-gītā was spoken. At that time there was some disturbance in Dvārakā, and Lord Kṛṣṇa decided to leave the material world and enter the spiritual world. Uddhava could understand the situation, and he talked with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The verse quoted above is an excerpt from their conversation. Śrī Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in this material world are called prakaṭa-līlā (manifested pastimes), and His pastimes in the spiritual world are called aprakaṭa-līlā (unmanifested pastimes). By "unmanifested" we mean that they are not present before our eyes. It is not that Lord Kṛṣṇa's pastimes are nonexistent. They are going on exactly as the sun is shining perpetually, but when the sun is present before our eyes, we call it daytime (manifest), and when it is not present, we call it night (unmanifest).

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

As confirmed in the Vedas, harir hi nirguṇaḥ sākṣāt: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always free from all material qualities." It is also said that the qualities of passion and ignorance are nonexistent in the person of the Supreme Lord.

Krsna Book 3:

“You are called śuklam. Śuklam, or "whiteness," is the symbolic representation of the Absolute Truth because it is unaffected by the material qualities. Lord Brahmā is called rakta, or red, because Brahmā represents the quality of passion for creation. Darkness is entrusted to Lord Śiva because he annihilates the cosmos. The creation, annihilation and maintenance of this cosmic manifestation are conducted by Your potencies, yet You are always unaffected by those qualities. As confirmed in the Vedas, harir hi nirguṇaḥ sākṣāt: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always free from all material qualities." It is also said that the qualities of passion and ignorance are nonexistent in the person of the Supreme Lord. My Lord, You are the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead, the supreme great, maintaining the order of this cosmic manifestation. Yet in spite of Your being the supreme controller, You have so kindly appeared in my home. The purpose of Your appearance is to kill the followers of the demoniac rulers of the world, who are in the dress of royal princes but are actually demons. I am sure that You will kill all of them and their followers and soldiers.

In the case of the residents of Vṛndāvana, such obstructions as attachment to hearth and home are nonexistent. Because their attachment has been directed unto You and their homes have been converted into temples by Your constant presence there, and because they have forgotten everything for Your sake, there is no impediment.

Krsna Book 14:

These residents of Vṛndāvana have given You everything—their bodies, their minds, their love, their homes, their possessions. Everything is being utilized for Your purpose. So how will You be able to repay Your debt to them? You have already given Yourself to Pūtanā! I surmise that You shall ever remain a debtor to the residents of Vṛndāvana, being unable to repay their loving service. My Lord, I can understand that the superexcellent quality of the service rendered by the residents of Vṛndāvana is due to their spontaneously engaging all natural instincts in Your loving service. It is said that attachment for material objects and home is due to illusion, which makes a living entity conditioned in the material world. But this is only the case for persons who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious. In the case of the residents of Vṛndāvana, such obstructions as attachment to hearth and home are nonexistent. Because their attachment has been directed unto You and their homes have been converted into temples by Your constant presence there, and because they have forgotten everything for Your sake, there is no impediment. For a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, there is no such thing as impediments due to attachment for hearth and home. Nor is there illusion.

The Māyāvādī philosophers conclude that because the material nature has no existence in the beginning and is nonexistent after dissolution, it is false.

Krsna Book 87:

All these Vedic injunctions indicate that the cosmic manifestation is due to the Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead and that when it is dissolved it merges into Him. The same principle is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: "The cosmic manifestation comes into existence and again dissolves, and after dissolution it merges into the existence of the Supreme Lord." This statement definitely confirms that the particular energy known as bahir-aṅgā-māyā, or the external energy, although of flickering nature, is the energy of the Supreme Lord, and as such it cannot be false. It simply appears false. The Māyāvādī philosophers conclude that because the material nature has no existence in the beginning and is nonexistent after dissolution, it is false. But by the example of the earthen pots and dishes the Vedic version is presented: although the existence of the particular by-products of the Absolute Truth is temporary, the energy of the Supreme Lord is permanent. The earthen pot or water jug may be broken or transformed into another shape, such as that of a dish or bowl, but the ingredient, or the material basis, namely the earth, continues to be the same.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa refutes the atheist Kapila's Sāṅkhya philosophy and its contention that the unmanifested soul is nonexistent.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.2:

Lord Kapila, the son of Devahūti, is a different person altogether from the agnostic Kapila. Lord Kapila is accepted as an empowered incarnation of the Supreme Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa refutes the atheist Kapila's Sāṅkhya philosophy and its contention that the unmanifested soul is nonexistent. In the Gītā (7.4) Lord Kṛṣṇa also establishes that the material ingredients are all under His control and supervision:

bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ

khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca

ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me

bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated material energies.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Our existence is in the environment or atmosphere of nonexistence. But actually, we are not nonexistent. Our existence is eternal, but some way or other we are put into this asat. Asat means which does not exist.

Introduction to Gitopanisad (Earliest Recording of Srila Prabhupada in the Bhaktivedanta Archives):

So in this Bhagavad-gītā... We may survey what is this Bhagavad-gītā. This Bhagavad-gītā is meant for delivering persons, persons from the nescience of this material existence. Every man is in difficulty in so many ways, as Arjuna also was in difficulty in the matter of fighting the battle of Kurukṣetra. And as such he surrendered unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and therefore this Bhagavad-gītā was spoken. Similarly, not only Arjuna but every one of us is always full of anxieties due to our, this material existence. Asad-grahāt. It is... Our existence is in the environment or atmosphere of nonexistence. But actually, we are not nonexistent. Our existence is eternal, but some way or other we are put into this asat. Asat means which does not exist. Now out of so many human being who are actually inquiring about his position as to what he is, why he is put into this awkward position of suffering... Unless one is awakened to this position, that "Why I am suffering? I do not want all these sufferings. I have tried to make a solution of all these sufferings, but I have failed," unless one is in that position, he is not to be considered a perfect human being.

Sky, this material sky, this also does not exist, but so far our experience is concerned, we can understand the distinction between sat and asat. Permanent and temporary. We cannot say "nonexistent" exactly.

Lecture on BG 2.16 -- London, August 22, 1973:

There are two things, sat and asat. Sat means which exists, and asat means which does not exist, temporary. It appears and again disappears. That is asat. The example is just like the sky and the cloud. Cloud appears, exists for some time, again disappears. But the sky remains always. This is the distinction between sat and asat, try to understand. Sky, this material sky, this also does not exist, but so far our experience is concerned, we can understand the distinction between sat and asat. Permanent and temporary. We cannot say "nonexistent" exactly. Existing. When the cloud comes, it has got some activities, there is rainfall and, on account of rainfall, on the ground there is some new vegetation, new flowers, everything looks very green. In the rainy season we get some products. So we cannot say it is false, but we can say it is temporary. Similarly, material world, matter, is not false. But it is nonpermanent. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). You'll find it in the Bhagavad-gītā. The Māyāvādī philosopher says brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. The spirit is truth, and jagat, this material world, is untruth, mithyā, false.

The soul is permanent. He, it has no change; it will never be nonexistent. Kṛṣṇa is explaining.

Lecture on BG 2.16 -- London, August 22, 1973:

This life, this material life is temporary. We may live for ten years or ten hours. There are living entities, they live for ten minutes and there are living entities who are living for ten millions or ten billions of years. Just like in the Brahmaloka, they live billions of years. So all these duration of life, different types of duration of life, are there within this material world, but still, it is not permanent. Even if you live for ten billions of years or you live for ten minutes or ten seconds, it is nonpermanent. That is being explained here. Nāsato vidyate bhāvaḥ. Asataḥ, or this material body, it has no endurance, it will not endure, it will not be permanently existing. Nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ: And the soul is permanent. He, it has no change; it will never be nonexistent. Kṛṣṇa is explaining. When Kṛṣṇa says, "My dear Arjuna, you, Me, and all these kings and soldiers assembled here, it is not that we did not exist in the past," so what is that? That means we are not this body. This body was not existing in the past in my past life, or duration of life. But as I am soul, I am existing now, I did exist in the past, and I will exist in the future. That is sat. Therefore, spirit has no such change.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

In the Vedic knowledge we get information, asato mā sad gama: "Don't remain in the nonexistentional platform."

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.106 -- New York, July 12, 1976:

In the Vedic knowledge we get information, asato mā sad gama: "Don't remain in the nonexistentional platform." Sad-gama: "Go to the platform of eternal life." That we can understand, what is sat and what is asat. Sat, cit, ānanda. Sac-cid-ānanda. We describe Kṛṣṇa, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). So that is sat. Sat means eternal. And so according to reference with sat and asat, there are two kinds of dharma. I... Several places in my books I have described, dharma means occupational duty, occupational duty. So if we are on the platform of asad-dharma, just like on the conception of this body... This is asad-dharma. Everyone knows the body will not exist; therefore it is asat. So any dharma or any occupational duty with reference to this nonpermanent body, that is asad-dharma. Asad-dharma. Whatever our occupational duties are now going on in this big city of New York... What is their occupational duty? The duty... Everyone is going to the office early in the morning. They have got... Everyone has got duty, but that duty—asad-dharma. Body will not exist; therefore anything done on account of the body, that is asad-dharma. That is not real dharma.