In this material world there are many envious people. There is the tax-exacting government, which is compared to an owl, and there are invisible crickets that create unbearable sounds. The conditioned soul is certainly greatly harassed by the agents of material nature, but his intelligence is lost due to undesirable association. In an attempt to gain relief from the disturbances of material existence, he falls victim to so-called yogīs, sādhus and incarnations who can display some magic but who do not understand devotional service. Sometimes the conditioned soul is bereft of all money, and consequently he becomes unkind to his family members. In this material world there is not a pinch of actual happiness, for which the conditioned soul is longing life after life. The government officials are like carnivorous Rākṣasas who exact heavy taxes for the maintenance of the government. The hard-working conditioned soul is very saddened due to these heavy taxes.
Owl
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
I then passed alone through many forests of rushes, bamboo, reeds, sharp grass, weeds and caves, which were very difficult to go through alone. I visited deep, dark and dangerously fearful forests, which were the play yards of snakes, owls and jackals
Just see! This pigeon is like a messenger of death. The shrieks of the owls and their rival crows make my heart tremble. It appears that they want to make a void of the whole universe.
SB Canto 3
The heron, vulture, crane, hawk, bhāsa, bhallūka, peacock, swan, sārasa, cakravāka, crow, owl and others are the birds.
In the interior of the villages she-jackals yelled portentously, vomiting strong fire from their mouths, and jackals and owls also joined them with their cries.
SB Canto 5
Wandering in the forest of the material world, the conditioned soul sometimes hears an invisible cricket making harsh sounds, and his ears become very much aggrieved. Sometimes his heart is pained by the sounds of owls, which are just like the harsh words of his enemies. Sometimes he takes shelter of a tree that has no fruits or flowers. He approaches such a tree due to his strong appetite, and thus he suffers. He would like to acquire water, but he is simply illusioned by a mirage, and he runs after it.
Sometimes the conditioned soul is very aggrieved by the chastisement of his enemies and government servants, who use harsh words against him directly or indirectly. At that time his heart and ears become very saddened. Such chastisement may be compared to the sounds of owls and crickets.
The jackals and tigers in the forest are our family members, and the herbs and creepers are our material desires. The mountain cave is our happy home, and the mosquitoes and serpents are our enemies. The rats, beasts and vultures are different types of thieves who take away our possessions, and the gandharva-pura is the phantasmagoria of the body and home. The will-o'-the-wisp is our attraction for gold and its color, and material residence and wealth are the ingredients for our material enjoyment. The whirlwind is our attraction for our wife, and the dust storm is our blinding passion experienced during sex. The demigods control the different directions, and the cricket is the harsh words spoken by our enemy during our absence. The owl is the person who directly insults us, and the impious trees are impious men. The waterless river represents atheists who give us trouble in this world and the next. The meat-eating demons are the government officials, and the pricking thorns are the impediments of material life. The little taste experienced in sex is our desire to enjoy another's wife, and the flies are the guardians of women, like the husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law and so forth. The creeper itself is women in general. The lion is the wheel of time, and the herons, crows and vultures are so-called demigods, pseudo svāmīs, yogīs and incarnations. All of these are too insignificant to give one relief. The swans are the perfect brāhmaṇas, and the monkeys are the extravagant śūdras engaged in eating, sleeping, mating and defending. The trees of the monkeys are our households, and the elephant is ultimate death. Thus all the constituents of material existence are described in this chapter.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
But faithless unbelievers do not see what is clearly evident, just as owls do not see the rays of the sun.
All the followers of the Vedic way of life have accepted these famous personalities, whose authentic scriptures conform to the Vedic literature. Nevertheless, the demoniac do not believe their statements, and they purposely oppose the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees. Today it is fashionable for common men to write whimsical words as so-called incarnations of God and be accepted as authentic by other common men. This demoniac mentality is condemned in the Seventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, wherein it is said that those who are miscreants and the lowest of mankind, who are fools and asses, cannot accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of their demoniac nature. They are compared to ulūkas, or owls, who cannot open their eyes in the sunlight. Because they cannot bear the sunlight, they hide themselves from it and never see it. They cannot believe that there is such illumination.
CC Madhya-lila
Such an ācārya, or spiritual master, should be considered nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa—that is, he should be considered the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa's potency. Such a personality is kṛṣṇāliṅgita-vigraha—that is, he is always embraced by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Such a person is above the considerations of the varṇāśrama institution. He is the guru, or spiritual master, for the entire world, a devotee on the topmost platform, the mahā-bhāgavata stage, and a paramahaṁsa-ṭhākura, a spiritual form only fit to be addressed as paramahaṁsa or ṭhākura.”
Nonetheless, there are many people who are just like owls and never open their eyes to see the sunshine. These owlish personalities, who are inferior even to the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, cannot see the brilliance of Kṛṣṇa's favor upon the mahā-bhāgavata devotee. They are prepared to criticize the person engaged in distributing the holy name all over the world and following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who wanted Kṛṣṇa consciousness preached in every town and city.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
A person who can always put his enemy into calamities is called powerful.
When Kṛṣṇa was present on this planet, just as the powerful sun drives all darkness to take shelter in caves, He drove away all of His enemies, who fled like owls to take shelter beyond His sight.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
The Lord's statements in the Gītā concerning the impersonal Brahman are unequivocal, yet Dr. Radhakrishnan seems unsatisfied with them. He grudgingly translates Text 27 of the Fourteenth Chapter, "For I am the abode of Brahman, the Immortal and the Imperishable, of eternal law and of absolute bliss." Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the basis of the impersonal, formless Brahman, He is certainly far superior it. The mosquito net is inside the house, not the other way around; the ink-pot is on the table, not vice versa. Even a small boy can grasp this. Then why does Dr. Radhakrishnan hesitate to accept this truth? There are countless proofs in the scripture of Lord Kṛṣṇa's supreme absolute personality, but Dr. Radhakrishnan is like an owl in the daylight of truths. He tries to cover the sun of truth by creating a dark cloud of word jugglery. Thus instead of truth and knowledge, confusion is paraded before the world. We strongly condemn this sort of activity. Whether directly or indirectly, Dr. Radhakrishnan has tried to circumvent the truth—that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the basis of Brahman—and in the process he has been defeated. If Dr. Radhakrishnan really accepts Lord Kṛṣṇa as the absolute God, then what inspired him to see another being within Kṛṣṇa and to write, "It is not the personal Kṛṣṇa to whom we have to give ourselves up..."?
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
His name is sundara, very beautiful. Although śyāma, blackish, still He's so attractive. Kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobham (Bs. 5.30). Kandarpa-koṭi, He's so beautiful that He can surpass in His beauty the Cupids, millions and millions of Cupids. His name is Madana-mohana. Madana-mohana, Madana is Cupid. Cupid enchants everyone, but he is enchanted by Kṛṣṇa. Therefore His name is Madana-mohana.
So bhagavat-toṣaṇam, we must know first of all who is God, who is Bhagavān. So śāstra says, authority says, and history says. What more proof you want? Huh? What more proof? Is there anyone to challenge Kṛṣṇa? Everything is there. Still, why you are searching after God? This is foolishness. This is foolishness. Owls', owls' philosophy. Owls' philosophy... The owl will not open the eyes to see the sun. Just open your eyes, you see, here is sun. "No, there is no sun." This is owls' philosophy. Close the eyes, meditate. And the God is here, "No, I'll not open my eyes."
So we do not follow this philosophy, owls' philosophy. We follow real philosophy. What is that real philosophy? Śruti-pramāṇam, evidence from the Vedas, history, aitihya-pramāṇa, history. And anumāna-pramāṇa. There are many, pratyakṣa, anumāna, aitihya... So out of that, there are so many evidential processes, but according to followers of the Vedic principle, their process is śruti-pramāṇam. Śruti-pramāṇam means if it is mentioned in the Vedas, Upaniṣad, then it is pramāṇam. Śruti-pramāṇam. So Vedas, there are four Vedas and 108 Upaniṣads, and then eighteen Purāṇas, then this Mahābhārata. So all these are Vedic literatures. Śrīmad Madhvācārya describes them, these are Vedic literatures. Not only the four Vedas—Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg, Atharva—but expansion of Vedas. Purāṇas, they are also Vedas. So in the Purāṇa, in the history, in the Vedas, by the authorities.
Not artificial īśvara. Sākṣād īśvaraḥ.
So where is the difficulty to understand God, īśvara, or the puruṣa? There is no difficulty. Kṛṣṇa personally says that mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). Aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8). So many things. Mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). Everything is explained sākṣāt, directly. Where is the difficulty to find out God? They are searching after God, making research, all nonsense speculation. This is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that "Why you are searching?" You say, "Can you show me God?" Why don't you see, "Here is God"? Why, just like the owl you have closed your eyes, not to see the sun? Sun is there. See. Open your eyes and see it. The whole world is going on that "There is no God" or "God is dead" or "Can you show me God?" And "I am God by meditation," "This way," "That way." This is going on. Whole world, especially at the present moment, it is a great disastrous condition, godless civilization. They won't accept the real God, and they'll create some artificial God and become God, "Everyone is God," like that. No.
Therefore if you want to be benefited, then you must take the shelter of mahājana, great personalities. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). If you are perplexed that "Who is mahājana? How can I find him?" that is also explained in the śāstra. Mahājana, dvādaśa-mahājana:
"Maybe," "Perhaps," "This, that." And the God is explaining Himself, "I am this, like this," that they will not take. Just see. God is canvassing that "Here I am. I have come." Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). "I have appeared before you just to give you relief." Paritrāṇāya sādhūnām. "You are trying to understand Me, so here I am. I am present. Why you are thinking God is formless? Here I am, Kṛṣṇa, form. You see, I have got My flute in the hand. I am very much fond of the cows. I love the cows and the sage and Brahmā, everyone equally, because they are all My sons in different bodies." Kṛṣṇa is playing. Kṛṣṇa is speaking. Still, these rascals will not understand Kṛṣṇa. So what is Kṛṣṇa's fault? It is our fault. Andha. Just like the owl. Owl will never open the eyes to see that there is sunlight. You know this, owl? So they will not open. However you may say, "Mr. Owl, please open your eyes and see the sun," "No, there is no sun. I don't see." (laughter) This owl civilization. So you have to fight with these owls. You must be very strong, especially the sannyāsīs. We have to fight with the owls. We have to open their eyes by force from this, with machine. (laughter) So this is going on. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a fight against all the owls.
Be prepared for maṅgala-ārati," it is very difficult job. Just see how much we are fallen. We cannot sacrifice, say, fifteen minutes or half an hour's sleep. We consider, "Sleeping is very good enjoyment." I have seen in the Western countries, they want to sleep so much. That is enjoyment. Up to twelve o'clock in daytime. There are many Indians also, they sleep up to twelve o'clock, and then they prepare for going to the office, big man. He goes to the office at four o'clock when the office is going to be closed. That is their enjoyment. "I have slept so much. That is my life's success. I have eaten so much. That is my enjoyment. I have enjoyed sex life so much. That is enjoyment." He does not know... The rascal does not know that he is becoming implicated for the next birth. If you are too much sleeping, then you become owl. You know? The whole day they can sleep, the owl. If you want to be naked, all right, you become a tree. Stand five thousand years naked. If you want sex, all right, become a hog or a monkey. Nature is prepared to give you facilities.
So purification means to stop this low-grade life. And low-grade life is there. Otherwise wherefrom they are coming? These cats and dogs and other lower animals, wherefrom they are coming? Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha upapatti (SB 3.31.1). We are creating the facility for the next body, karmana. Therefore it has to be purified. That is called tapaḥ. Tapo divyaṁ-putrakā yena śuddhyet (SB 5.5.1). This is the... "My dear boys..." Ṛṣabhādeva instructed His children, hundred sons, "My dear boys, just prepare yourself for tapasya." That is the whole Vedic civilization, tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ. Tapasya for realizing God. This is the only business of the human life, not any other business. Any other business will not help you. Otherwise everyone would have been very rich man. Everyone is trying, whole day and night working. Does it mean that everyone is becoming Birla and like that? No. That is not possible. You can get only what is destined to you, not more than that. You cannot get more than that. Therefore śāstra says, tasyaiva hetoḥ prayeteta kovido.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
So we have already discussed how kṛṣṇa-līlā, or the pastimes, different manifestation of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes during one hundred and twenty-five years, beginning from His birth up to the disappearance, as many pastimes there are, they are being manifested in some of the universe, out of the innumerable universes. So God is never dead. Kṛṣṇa is never dead, as some of the modern philosophers, they are putting forward the philosophy of "God is dead." God is dead for those who are following the owl philosophy. Owl has never seen sun, or it does not like to see the sun. Therefore the owl says, "There is no sun." Similarly, the atheistic philosophy is... There are so many logic. Just like the owl philosophy, the frog philosophy, the camel philosophy and the dog philosophy, the hog philosophy—there are so many philosophies. So only the persons who are, who have got two hands and two legs, but they are counted amongst the animals. And therefore they cannot think of the eternal, blissful existence of the Supreme Lord at all times.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is... Means...
Karandhara: No, they say, "If God is absolute, then he has to be obvious to everyone." Just like the sun comes up. The sun is obvious to everyone whether they believe in it or not.
Prabhupāda: Yes, but who is in the room, closing the room, how he can see?
Prajāpati: If they're asleep.
Prabhupāda: If somebody's sleeping just like owl, he cannot see the sun. The sun is a fact, but the owl cannot see.
Karandhara: The owl can see if it looks at it.
Prabhupāda: Yes, but... Therefore if you look, then you'll see.
Karandhara: Well, they think they are looking.
Prabhupāda: No, they are not looking, not in the process.
Yaśomatīnandana: And God is also obvious to them in different manifestations.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Yaśomatīnandana: Birth, death, old age, disease, then trees, sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, these are also different manifestations of God.
Karandhara: No, there's no need to accept that's a God.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: The... Here is one class, they're trying to become very strong to tolerate suffering, and other philosophies, they're making everything zero. There is no question of not suffering, but making zero. No suffering, nor neither suffering. Suffering or not..., both of them abolished, dismissed. This philosopher is... "This suffering cannot be dismissed. Therefore you be strong to tolerate it." Other philosophers they say, "There is suffering, so make it zero." But both of them have no information that there is real life where there is no suffering. Still there is life. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There is life, but no suffering.
Bali Mardana: They're like owls.
Prabhupāda: Yes. (pause)
Bali Mardana: There's a river. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...duḥkha-nivṛtti. Ultimately, stop of all sufferings. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Simply ānanda. Dancing with Kṛṣṇa, rāsa dance. Supposing if there is such life—dancing and eating and chanting, no suffering. So would anybody deny that? Is there any such fool?
Bali Mardana: Yeah, they're all denying.
Prabhupāda: Ah?
Bali Mardana: They deny. Just like the Puritans...
Prabhupāda: No, no. Deny... You deny or accept, that is the... Suppose there is such life where you can simply dance, eat and live eternally, happy life. Would you not like to accept it?
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Low-class woman. So she was living in a cottage, hut, cottage. So out of love he also preferred that "I shall live with her, and I shall drive a car." So that is independence. He preferred. So that discrimination preference is there always. You can prefer a low-grade life out of your discretion. Nobody can check you. And by cultivation of knowledge, you can become a big man. The two tendencies are there. There is no stereotyped idea. Otherwise, he has no independence. Who was speaking of that owl? There is an animal, owl. He doesn't like to remain in the sunlight. So that is also an animal. He is also eating, sleeping, mating, but he doesn't like the sunlight. What can you do? So God has given him all facility to remain as an owl, in darkness. That is God's kindness.
Atreya Ṛṣi: So we can fall as far as we want.
Prabhupāda: Fall or rise also. Why do you say fall? You can rise to the highest platform from the fallen condition. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That you are in a fallen condition, come to the highest platform and talk with God, play with God, dance with God. That is our opportunity. Now it is up to you to take it or not to take it. That is up to you. But our propaganda is this, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). You simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Then janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ tyaktvā deham (BG 4.9)—this is our propaganda. We are trying to induce people to understand Kṛṣṇa. Then his life is successful. But if you don't try to understand, that is your business. But we are offering that here is a movement, you try to understand Kṛṣṇa. What is the wrong there? But if you don't like, who can force you? We are going country to country, door to door, town to town. What is our business? We are simply requesting that "You try to understand Kṛṣṇa." And Kṛṣṇa says, "As soon as you understand Me, you come to Me." Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9). Now it is up to you. If you take theoretically, that "If by understanding Kṛṣṇa I can go to the eternal, blissful spiritual life," why not try it? And if you inquire that, "All right, it is very good proposal. By going back to Kṛṣṇa, everything is solved. Yes, I'll go. So what is the method?" Then if I say, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa," where is the difficulty? Why you are so much determined not to do anything to go back to home, back to Godhead? That is your misfortune. If it is so easy, and it is the means of solving all the problems, why not try it? "All right, let me try in this life." Why don't you do it? It is not a very difficult task.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam. One can protect himself from bhaya, cause of fearfulness. They are given food?
Bhāgavata: Yes, they give the animals food.
Prabhupāda: What does he say?
Bhāgavata: He said we have to... Now the ticket office is open. (laughs) This is an owl. You want to see the lake?
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) The lion... What is called? Lance? Lance? They are afraid. If you have got lance, they will not attack you.
Bhāgavata: In Africa there is one tribe. They are very powerful. They are called the Masai. And with one spear they know how to kill the lion, with one throw only.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.
Bhāgavata: They are very expert.
Prabhupāda: Yes. And they also know. If you have got lance in hand they will not attack.
Bhāgavata: It is a custom that if they want to marry, first they must kill one lion with a spear. Then they can..., considered man for marriage, qualified.
Prabhupāda: Just see. (laughs) Kṣatriya spirit. Kṣatriya spirit. Just qualify yourself. Then you marry.
Bhāgavata: (laughing) Gargamuni Mahārāja says we should introduce this in ISKCON.
| Page Title: | Owl |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 19 of Nov, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=8, CC=3, OB=2, Lec=5, Con=4, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 22 |