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Pet (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.30 -- London, July 23, 1973:

So we remain servant of māyā on account of my sense gratification. That's all. I remain servant of my wife because I want to satisfy my senses. I want to remain servant of my husband because I want sense gratification. Here is the disease. Everyone. Even the servant of the servant or servant of the dog (CC Madhya 13.80). Because I like it, a pet dog. So actually, instead of becoming master, we become servant. This is the fact. And servant of whom? Kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā pālitā durnideśāḥ. Servant of lust, servants of greediness. Kāma, krodha, moha, mātsarya. Servant of all these senses. Therefore one who is intelligent... There was a brāhmaṇa. He said like this: "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, I am now servant. I have served so much." Kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā durnideśāḥ. "I have served them so nicely that I had to execute something which is abominable." If you become servant of somebody, if he says that "You have to do it," your conscience does not allow you to do it. Still, you have to do it. Still, you have to do it. A man is stealing for family. He does not like to steal. Still, he is in need of money; he has to steal. Kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā pālitā durnideśāḥ. This is study, study the psychological condition.

Lecture on BG 2.40 - London, September 13, 1973:

So he was doing that. In this way his life was spoiled. And he begot ten children in that prostitute's womb. So the last child... Naturally the last son, the youngest son because very father's pet. So he was taking care of the son. And his name was Nārāyaṇa. That is the system of Vedic..., children are given..., Nārāyaṇa dāsa. Just like we give name, spiritual name. So when he was old enough, he was going to die out of disease. His so-called prostitute wife neglected. She went away. So the Yamadūtas, the servants of the Yamarāja, they came to take him, because he was the greatest sinner, sinful number one. So he has to go to Yamarāja for punishment. So they came and he was very much afraid. He was seeing, one can see vicious, I mean to say, forms of the Yamarāja. So he was crying. So because he was pet to that youngest child Nārāyaṇa, he thought, "My son, this Nārāyaṇa can save me." He chanted, "Nārāyaṇa!" Oh, this "Nārāyaṇa" immediately gave him consciousness, that "What this Nārāyaṇa can help me? If Nārāyaṇa whom in my younger days I worshiped, He can save me." Immediately. Immediately Nārāyaṇa-sena came here, "Yes."

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Nairobi, October 27, 1975:

That is wanted. Attraction is there. Nobody can say that "I have no attraction for anything." That is false. Everyone has got attraction. If you have nothing to be attracted, then you keep a cat and a dog to be attracted. That is the nature. Especially in the Western countries we see. He has no family, but he keeps one pet dog or pet cat because he wants to be attracted by somebody. This is nature. So here Kṛṣṇa says that "You have got already attraction, but in false things which will not exist. You turn that attraction unto Me. Then you'll get pleasure." You are attracted to something for getting some pleasure. So that pleasure is interrupted because we have posed our attraction in some false things. You have to change that attraction to the real thing, Kṛṣṇa. Then you'll be happy. Mayy āsakta. Mayy āsakta. Mayi: "Unto Me," Kṛṣṇa says personally. If you... Attraction means you have to engage your mind. Mayy āsakta-manāḥ. Attraction does not come in the air. The mind, mind fully engaged in something, is called attraction.

Lecture on BG 8.5 -- New York, October 26, 1966:

Bharata Mahārāja means the king by whose name India is called Bhāratavarṣa. Not only India—this whole planet was known as Bhāratavarṣa. Gradually, it is declined. Just like recently we have partitioned, Pakistan. Similarly, the whole planet was known as Bhāratavarṣa. So anyway, that Bharata Mahārāja, at the time of his death, he had a pet deer. He thought of the deer and he became next life a deer. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa says that "It is not that because you think of Me you get a body like Me, but it is the general rule. If you think... At the time of your death, whatever you think, you carry the idea with your mind and you get the immediately a similar body." That means you are put into the womb of a mother to get a similar body. So instead of thinking of Kṛṣṇa always, if we think of our dog, as Bharata Mahārāja was thinking of the deer, oh, there is risk of getting a dog's body.

Lecture on BG 8.5 -- New York, October 26, 1966:

Prabhupāda: He goes to Kṛṣṇa.

Indian man: So that we can perform bad actions during our life and only at...

Prabhupāda: Yes, if you are so fortunate... Just like Ajāmila. Throughout the whole life he committed all sinful acts. But when he was at the point of death... He had a pet child whose name was Nārāyaṇa. So he was calling, "My dear boy Nārāyaṇa." So when he was calling Nārāyaṇa, he thought of Nārāyaṇa. So immediately he achieved Nārāyaṇa.

Indian man: But don't you think it is a contradiction that if a man is a bad throughout his life and only at the time of death he thinks of Kṛṣṇa and gets...?

Prabhupāda: No. That history of Ajāmila is different. In his childhood he was a son of a brāhmaṇa. He was faithfully discharging the duties of a brāhmaṇa. But accidentally, when he was young... He was married also. Accidentally, when he was young he was passing on the road and some śūdra girl and boy were embracing and kissing, and he became attracted. And he became attracted by the prostitute. And he left home, wife, and everything, and then he became a great dacoit and smuggler, and everything he did. But... And he had so many children. Youngest was Nārāyaṇa. So at the time of death..., because generally, people become attached to the youngest son, so he was calling "Nārāyaṇa." But he remembered, "Oh, that Nārāyaṇa."

Lecture on BG 9.26-27 -- New York, December 16, 1966:

Just like a rich father. He does not like any help from the son, but if the son, after he is grown up, he is earning, and if he offers something to the father, oh, he becomes very happy. This is natural. So our connection with the supreme father is like that. He is not in want. He does not require anything from me. But it is for my interest. If I offer something, then I become a very pet son of my father. This is called bhakti. This is devotional service or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And why should we not offer? Then we are ingratitude. Suppose the father is supplying everything, and if I do not offer anything to my father is it very good business? No. So here the ultimate, even the poorest of the poorest, he can offer these four things.

Otherwise if you have got means, oh, you should prepare very nice foodstuff for the Lord. At Vṛndāvana in India there are temples still. They are spending thousands and thousands of rupees for palatable foodstuff, offering to the Deity. And those foodstuff are distributed to the, I mean to say, devotees. Not only devotees, even nondevotees come and take because by eating, one shall be devotee.

Lecture on BG 9.29-32 -- New York, December 20, 1966:

So Arjuna offered, "Whatever work You like, You can take." So He said, "All right. I shall drive your chariot." So Kṛṣṇa's promise was that He will not fight. But at a time when Arjuna was perplexed by fighting with Bhīṣma... Bhīṣma was the greatest fighter, although he was very old man. Duryodhana incited him that "Because the other side are your very pet grandsons, you are not fighting fully." That was the complaint of Duryodhana. So in order to encourage him, Bhīṣma said to Duryodhana, "All right, tomorrow I shall finish all these five brothers. Tomorrow I shall finish. And I have got now special arrows for killing these five chivalrous brothers."

So Duryodhana was very intelligent. He told, "All right, please keep these five arrows with me for the night. I shall deliver you tomorrow in the morning." "All right, you take it." And Kṛṣṇa understood. Kṛṣṇa is, everything knows, past, present and future. Kṛṣṇa knew it that "Bhīṣma has now promised. He will kill." So He asked Arjuna—this is also politics—that "You go to Duryodhana.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.7 -- Vrndavana, October 18, 1972:

So... But if one, therefore, engages himself, vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yoga... Vāsudeve bhagavati. Then you have to follow the devotees of Vāsudeva. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Guru, who requires a guru? Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. One who is inquisitive to learn about the transcendental science, he requires a guru. It is not a fashion that we keep a guru. Just like sometimes we keep a dog. Yes. A pet, pet dog, pet cat. So that is for my sense gratification. Guru, I keep a guru, a poor man guru, and guru wants some money from me. Then guru, śiṣya says, "My dear guru, if I do not eat meat and fish, my health will fail." "All right, I order you. Under my order you can do that." This kind of compromise is not there. That is not guru. The guru thinks that "If I say 'Don't eat meat,' then this disciple will go away, and there is no chance of getting money from him." That kind of compromise is not required. And nobody requires to have a guru if he has got such attitude.

Lecture on SB 1.3.17 -- Los Angeles, September 22, 1972:

That is the purpose of becoming householder. Gṛhastha-āśrama. Not that I become attracted by wife and I become absorbed in simply sex relation and forget my real duty, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is dangerous. So generally, if one's wife becomes very beautiful, he forgets his real duty, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he simply becomes a pet servant of the wife. That is the... Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī says, anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ. One should not be attracted for sex life. Yathārham upayuñjataḥ. But does it mean that husband will not have sex. No. Yathārham. As it is required. As it required means sex life with wife should be performed only for begetting a Kṛṣṇa conscious child. Nothing more. No more attraction. That life is better. That life means not only better. That is the ideal life. Wife and husband, combination, both should make progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on SB 1.7.24 -- Vrndavana, September 21, 1976:

So all the fifty daughters, they became attracted. They began to fight: "Oh, he is for me. He is not for you." So anyway, he accepted all the fifty daughters. In this way he became very elevated householder. But at some time he began to think, "What is my, this enjoyment? Simply by seeing the sex affairs of the fish... I was a yogi, I was a tapasvī, I've lost everything. Now I am a householder and pet husband of these women." So he came to his senses. Again he went to the forest for tapasya.

So this material life, however opulent it may be, it is māyā-mohita-cetasaḥ. It has no value. It has no value. Why? Because in this life I may be very favorably situated by arrangement by improving my material condition. But after death—dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13)—you do not know, we do not know what kind of body we are going to get. It may not be as comfortable. So karmīs, they, those who are little advanced than the ordinary foolish persons... There are... First of all, ordinary foolish person means animals. They are just like animals.

Lecture on SB 1.8.19 -- Mayapura, September 29, 1974:

Therefore Kṛṣṇa, I am surrendering unto You." Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7). "Now we are not talking as friends. I accept You as guru." When one accepts somebody as guru, he cannot argue. That is the condition. Praṇipātena, sampūrṇa, fully surrendered. Otherwise there is no meaning of making a guru. It is not like that, a pet dog, that "Everyone makes guru, and let me guru, let me have a guru." But that is not the... Guru means first of all the condition is praṇipāta, fully surrendered. Not that "If I like, then I shall carry your order. And if I don't like, then I shall not do it." That is not acceptance of guru. Praṇipāta. First of all, we must agree. So because friends and friends talking... A friend may agree with his friend. He may not agree with... That is friendly talk. But Arjuna became śiṣyas te 'ham: "I am now Your śiṣya, disciple. Now there is no question of disagreeing with You. Whatever You'll say, I will accept." So at last Kṛṣṇa said, "Surrender unto Me." And Arjuna did it. That is the whole purpose of Bhagavad-gītā. He changed his decision. He changed. He did not want to fight.

Lecture on SB 2.2.5 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1968:

This service-rendering process is going on everywhere. Nobody is absolute that he does not render service to anyone. That is not possible. I have repeatedly explained that if somebody has no master to serve, he voluntarily accepts a cat or dog as his master to serve. The nice name is pet dog, but it is serving. The mother serves the child. So one who has no child, he takes the cat as her child and serves.

So the service mood is going on everywhere. But the highest perfection of service is when we learn to serve the Supreme Absolute Lord. That is called bhakti. And that bhakti execution of service to the Lord is ahaitukī. Just like we have got some little examples. This mother is serving the child not with any expectation. She loves to serve the child. She wants to see the child is in comfort, the child does not feel any discomfiture. That is her pleasure. There is no reason why she is loving.

Lecture on SB 5.5.5 -- Vrndavana, October 27, 1976:

That inquisitive must Guru means To accept guru means the disciple should be very very eager to know. Sad-dharma pṛcchāt. Ādau gurvāśrayam. Why you accept a guru? "It is a fashion." Fashion. Nowadays they accept a guru fashion. "Everyone has guru. Everyone has a dog. Well, let me keep a dog." Like that. A pet dog. So similarly, to keep a pet guru, that is not One should be very inquisitive: sad-dharma pṛcchāt. And everywhere the same thing. Paripraśna. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). But don't make inquiries cheap: "Here is my guru, and he's meant for answering all my questions. Let me go on questioning, questioning, questioning." No. Sevayā. You must serve. You must be ready to serve him. Then you have got right to make question. Otherwise not. Two things. First of all, you must find out a person where you can fully surrender, praṇipātena. And then you can inquire, and the inquiry should be compensated by seva. Yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasāda. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234). The more you are inclined to render seva, the more the truth becomes revealed.

Lecture on SB 5.5.9 -- Vrndavana, October 31, 1976:

In Western countries they accumulate millions of dollars and at the last moment he gives to his dog. (laughter) There are many instances, you know better than me. He has no, nobody even, because they do not marry, no children, no friend, so the dog is the best friend in Western country. Every gentleman must have this best friend, pet dog. So ultimately, because there is nobody to give, he gives it to the dog. Makes a will that my dog will get it and they'll give him jewelry, ornaments and so on, so on, so on. We have got practical experience, the big palace which we have purchased in Detroit, the man did not marry, so ultimately he bequeathed the whole estate to the dog. (laughter) And there is a tomb of the dog. (laughter)

So, one has to do it. If he does not do it for God, then he will have to do it ultimately to the dog. So better, so long you have got money, spend it for God. San-nimitte varaṁ tyāgo vināśe niyate sati(?). This is the instruction of Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, that whatever money you have got, it will be spent. You cannot keep it.

Lecture on SB 5.5.15 -- Vrndavana, November 3, 1976:

That is required. Kṛṣṇa will be pleased.

So don't waste your time making material plan, big, big plan. "Big, big monkey, big, big belly, Ceylon jumping, melancholy." One European gentleman, he translated this Bengali proverb. Baro baro badare, baro baro pet, lanka dingake mata kare het.(?) There are many monkeys. The one monkey, he jumped over the Indian Ocean, went to the other side. So there were other monkeys also. They were asked, "Can you do it?" And mata kare het:(?) "He simply bowed down." So this plan is meant for how to, by chanting "Jaya Rāma," I'll jump over the other part of the material world. That is required. Not to work hard to improve your material condition. That will never be possible. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (SB 1.5.18). You cannot get happiness within this material world. Bhramatām upary adhaḥ. Upary adhaḥ means, upari, in the higher planetary system, and down, lower planetary system.

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Honolulu, June 8, 1975:

That is not... But that will not be. That is not a fact. Suppose one is very pet son of his father, and he commits murder, and he thinks "If there is any punishment my father will suffer." Will it be done? Will it be done? When he is arrested, if he says, "No, you can release me. You can arrest my father because I am very pet son of my father," so will the government will do that, that you have committed murder and your father will be arrested? No. This is quite unreasonable. You have committed murder, you must be hanged. Nor your father nor your son nor your brother. This is the law. So that is the law. If you commit sinful life, then you must suffer, not anyone else. But we are thinking like that: "That let me go on doing all nonsense and somebody for me will suffer." No, that is not the law.

So here Parīkṣit Mahārāja does not raise such foolish question that "Who is suffering for..." He is suffering. One who has committed sinful life, he must suffer.

Lecture on SB 6.1.7 -- Honolulu, June 15, 1975, Sunday Feast Lecture:

If you keep yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and act accordingly, then you will be saved. Otherwise there is no saving. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). You will have to accept another body. And what is that body? That is not stated. That will be decided at the end of your life, at the time of your death, at the condition of your mind and intelligence at that time. If, at that time, you are thinking of your pet dog, "What will happen to my pet dog? How he will live? Let me leave some of my property in his name," (laughter) then you can leave the dog with some property, but you are going to be dog. This is laws of nature. You may love your dog very nicely and leave some property, but where you are going, sir? That is under the nature's law. You cannot say that "I given so much property to the dog. Why shall I accept the...?" No. Because your mind is absorbed in the thought of dog, therefore you must take the dog's body. This is nature's law. Therefore we have to train up our mind. Instead of dog, you must train up your mind to think of God. Then you will be saved. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām (BG 4.9).

Lecture on SB 6.1.22 -- Honolulu, May 22, 1976:

"Oh, I am coming from such a respectable person, I am so much learned, and my guru is asking me to 'Brush my shoe'? No, I am not doing it." No, then you are not disciple. Nīcavat. That is the training. So praṇipāta, if you find out somebody where you can fully surrender, then accept guru. Don't make guru a fashion, just like you keep a dog, fashion, pet dog. People, they generally do that, that "Everyone has a guru. Let me collect. Let me pick up some guru who will be dancing dog." That kind of guru will not help you. You must be convinced that "Here is a guru where I can surrender." So then you can make praśna, or question. Then the question will be answered. Otherwise it is waste of time. That is not the Vedic system, simply waste of time. And if there is really talk between one philosopher to another philosopher... Just like Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was a great scholar, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu...? Who can speak about scholarship? So Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was defeated by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was elderly person.

Lecture on SB 6.1.39 -- Los Angeles, June 5, 1976:

Because it is between your brothers, both of you are My relatives, I will not fight." So Arjuna accepted, "Yes, You don't fight. So You, any way You like, You can help me." So He said, "All right, I shall become your chariot, I shall drive your chariot." So "That's all right; whatever You like." This was the agreement. So Duryodhana complained to Bhīṣmadeva that "Arjuna is your pet grandchild. You are not fighting wholeheartedly." So he began to criticize him. He was also grandchild. So when Bhīṣmadeva saw that "Duryodhana is thinking that I am inclined to Arjuna, I am not fighting properly," so he said: "All right, tomorrow I shall finish Arjuna. Tomorrow I shall fight in such a way, either Arjuna has to die, or his friend who has promised not to fight, He has to fight. Otherwise there is no escape of Arjuna." So Duryodhana became very satisfied. And Bhīṣma was a great hero. He was not ordinary hero. He fought in such a way that Arjuna's chariot became broken and he became fainted and so on, so on. Then Kṛṣṇa saw that "My friend is going to die."

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- San Francisco, March 3, 1967:

Certainly. Unless he is anxious to learn, what is the use of going to spiritual master? There is no need. That I already said. Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. One must be very inquisitive. But inquisitive about what? For the supreme benefit. He should be inquisitive to learn the supreme. Then he has the necessity of searching out or approaching a spiritual master. If there is no such demand, then there is no necessity of going to a spiritual master or accepting a spiritual master. A spiritual master should not be accepted as a matter of phobia(?). Just like you keep some pet dog or cat, similarly if you want to keep one spiritual master, there is no profit. You see? You must be qualified to in..., inquisitive to understand the spiritual science, and the spiritual master should be also qualified to answer your inquisitiveness. Then the relationship is nice, not one-sided.

Lecture on SB 7.7.29-31 -- San Francisco, March 15, 1967, (incomplete lecture):

This is called sevayā. And praṇipātena, sevayā. Praṇipātena..., paripraśnena and sevayā. Paripraśna means when you cannot understand, you must place, "Sir, I cannot understand this portion." This is the process.

So this is called śuśrūṣayā. Prahlāda Mahārāja says, guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā. And with devotion, with love and faith, not officially, "Because I have kept a pet spiritual master, so officially I have to..." No. With faith and devotion. And sarva-labdhārpaṇena ca. The brahmacārī system means he should live with the spiritual master and collect fund. Of course, in India still, the system is there that in the four kinds of social orders, the brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa... There are four divisions in the social order. First the righteous, pious students-students with purified life and a spiritual education. That is called brahmacārī. Then gṛhastha, family life, living with wife and children. Then vānaprastha, retired life. Then sannyāsa, renounced life. So these gṛhasthas are meant for maintaining three other āśramas.

Lecture on SB 7.9.42 -- Mayapur, March 22, 1976:

It was possible, everything was possible, but Rāmacandra, Lord Rāmacandra, wanted, "Let it be simplified. So let them bring the stone and it will float. Then we shall go." So without stone He could go, but He wanted some service of the monkeys. There were many monkeys. Baro baro badare, baro baro peṭ, laṅka diṅgake, mata kare het. There were many other monkeys, but not exactly capable like the Hanumān. Therefore they were also given some chance that "You bring some stone. You cannot jump over the sea like Hanumān, so you bring stone, and I will ask the stones to float."

So Kṛṣṇa can do anything. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti. He can do anything. We cannot do without His favor. So Prahlāda Mahārāja requests that "If You kindly become merciful upon us, it is not a great task for You, because You can do whatever You like. Because You are the cause of creation, maintenance and destruction, so it is not difficult for You."

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 24, 1972:

So this increase of our loving propensity will not be satisfied unless it reaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We love. The loving propensity is there. Even we have no family... Sometimes we keep pets, cats and dogs, to love. So we are, by nature we used to love somebody else. So that somebody else is Kṛṣṇa. Actually, we want to love Kṛṣṇa, but without information of Kṛṣṇa, without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, our loving propensity is limited. Within certain circle. Therefore we are not satisfied. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti. That love affair, loving propensity, is eternally existing, to love Kṛṣṇa. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja, when he met the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he became fully satisfied. Svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce (CC Madhya 22.42).

In the material world field, we love somebody for getting something in return. That is not love, pure love. Pure love is different.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 13, 1972:

A man requires a spiritual master when he's inquisitive to know about the transcendental subject matter. A spiritual, a spiritual master... To accept a spiritual master is not a fashion. Just like we keep a dog, pet, similarly, if we keep a spiritual master, pet spiritual master, to get sanction of all my sinful activities, that is not accepting spiritual master. Spiritual master means tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). You should accept a spiritual master where you think that you can surrender yourself fully, and offer his, your service. That is spiritual master. Sādhu-mārga-anugamanam. Sad-dharma-pṛcchāt. So spiritual master is required for a person who is interested in the transcendental subject matter. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Tad-vijñāna, that vijñāna, the science of spiritual life. One who is interested in the science of spiritual life, not that to keep a spiritual master as a fashion. No. One must be serious. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21).

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.98-99 -- Washington, D.C., July 4, 1976:

They cannot inquire about the spiritual identity, and if we keep ourself in darkness without understanding our spiritual identity, then we are no better than the dogs and cats. Therefore he said, nīca jāti: "I have no information about the soul." Nīca jāti. Just like dogs. It is a class. So nīca. Of course, in your country dog is very pet. Now we are learning also, India, how to keep a dog and become aristocratic. (laughter) So now there is big, big dog show in New Delhi. But actually in India, although dog was not neglected, in a neighborhood, if there is a dog, people will give him food but not allow to enter into the house. He'll be not allowed. A dog is also trained up. They'll come to a door and sit down and move his tail: "Give me some food." And people will give. But he's not allowed to enter, the dog or caṇḍālas are not allowed.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.100 -- Washington, D.C., July 5, 1976:

These are the Vedic evidences. So actually nobody can be master; everyone is servant. Either we are servant of God or we are servant of dog. That's all. Nobody can be master. If anyone has no master, then he keeps a pet dog to become his servant. That is nature, we can see. One is servant of his wife, one is servant of his pet or government service or this service. Nobody can claim that "I am the master." That is not possible. That is also temporary. So actually this is the position of all living entities. Everyone is servant. But in the material sense, he is servant of māyā, servant of senses. Servant of māyā means servant of senses. And spiritual life means instead of becoming servant of māyā or servant of senses, we become the servant of Kṛṣṇa or God. That is the position. Servant we shall remain. We have to change the position. And if we become servant of God, then we become happy, and if we remain servant of dog or māyā, then we remain unhappy.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 22.21-28 -- New York, January 11, 1967:

Just like we become..., sometimes we take a pet dog with shackles on the neck, similarly we are under the spell..., we are pet dogs of the illusory energy, with shackles. You see? So why? Now, 'kṛṣṇa-nitya-dāsa'-jīva tāhā bhuli' gela: "That the living entity is eternally servitor of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, that he has forgotten." That he has forgotten. Therefore... (break) ...galāya bāndhila. Just like the dog is shackled on the..., we are in that way shackled.

tāte kṛṣṇa bhaje, kare gurura sevana
māyā-jāla chuṭe, pāya kṛṣṇera caraṇa

Therefore, if one agrees to serve Kṛṣṇa under the direction of spiritual master, follows the instruction of spiritual master, and engages himself in the service of the Supreme Lord, māyā-jāla chuṭe, pāya kṛṣṇera caraṇa, then he can get out of this network of illusory energy and pāya kṛṣṇera caraṇa, and he can get the shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Festival Lectures

Sri Rama-Navami, Lord Ramacandra's Appearance Day -- Hawaii, March 27, 1969:

"Your mother wants that You should be king, and I also wish that in My absence You should be king." Bharata, He was so faithful brother, He replied, "No. You are king. So long You are living, nobody can be king. So I cannot be king." Then He requested, "At least You administer." Because after the departure of Lord Rāmacandra, Mahārāja Daśaratha died out of the shock because Rāmacandra was very pet son, eldest son. He was going to be king, and by his order He was sent to the forest. The father could not tolerate the shock. He died.

So Rāmacandra's life, God's activities, pastimes, if we hear, that means we are associating with Rāmacandra. There is no difference between His form, His name, His pastimes, and Himself. He's absolute. Therefore either you chant the holy name of Rāma or you see the statue of Rāma or you talk of His pastimes, transcendental pastimes, everything, that means you are associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we take advantage of these days when the incarnation of God appears or disappears, and we try to associate with Him.

Janmastami Lord Sri Krsna's Appearance Day -- Montreal, August 16, 1968:

I am very bound up. We're strictly bound up by the stringent laws of nature. In every status of life I have to serve somebody or something or my own body. In every status of life I have to serve my wife or I have to serve my children, I have to serve my pet, I have to serve my work, my boss, my associates. If I'm very wealthy, very elevated, or very beautiful physically, I am born in an aristocratic family, I always have to serve somebody. If nothing else, one has to serve one's own stomach. I have to eat. I have to get food. I have to serve my stomach. So I am not free at all. I have to do these things. There's no way I can stop. If I don't eat, I will die.

So our natural position as a living entity is that we have to serve something. Every living entity has to serve. That's our natural position. If something is wrong with my hand and I want to be cured, I don't grab onto some foodstuffs or some medicine, some herbs, and squeeze it with the hand and think that this hand is going to be cured.

Initiation Lectures

Initiations -- Sydney, April 2, 1972:

We take pleasure in serving so many nonsense things. Sometimes we take pleasure in serving a dog, but the same service attitude, when transferred to Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful. Our... Everyone is giving service. Somebody is giving service to a country, to his society, to his wife, the children. And if he has nothing to serve, then he keeps a pet dog and gives it service. So service we must give. That is our constitutional position. But that service is meant for rendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So long we remain forgetful where our service should be given, that is called material life. When we come to that consciousness, that "I have to serve Kṛṣṇa," that is spiritual life. That is difference between material life and spiritual life. We are serving. There is no doubt. We cannot be master. Any one of you who are present in this meeting, none of you can say that "I am the master." Every one of you, servant to somebody. That is our position. But that service is being rendered to mistaken places; therefore we are not happy, neither the person whom we are serving, they are happy. This is the position.

General Lectures

Lecture on Teachings of Lord Caitanya -- Seattle, September 25, 1968:

Yes, this is very important point, that a spiritual master should not be accepted as a matter of fashion. Somebody thinks that "Everyone gets a spiritual master, so I may also have some spiritual master." Or "I may keep some spiritual master as my pet." Just like somebody keeps some pet dog or pet cat. So they want also, "Somebody must be my spiritual master, and whatever I order him, he'll carry." So such kind of fashionable spiritual master is useless. A spiritual master, it is defined in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Who requires a spiritual master? That is stated: tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta (SB 11.3.21). Tasmād. Tasmād means "therefore." "Therefore one should approach a spiritual master." What is that "therefore"? Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. If one is actually inquisitive to understand about the spiritual existence, then he requires a spiritual master. A spiritual master does not mean that he'll teach you how to keep your body fit, how you can reduce your fat, how you can remain a young man, so many nonsense. This is not the duty of the spiritual master.

Speech at Olympia Theater -- Paris, June 26, 1971, (with translator):

Actually our position is that we are rendering service to somebody else. Every one of us who are sitting in this meeting must admit that he is giving service to somebody else. Somebody is rendering service to his family, somebody is rendering service to his country or to his society, or if one has nobody to serve, sometimes he keeps a pet like cats and dog and renders service unto it. All these factors prove that we want and we are constitutionally so made that we have to render service to somebody else. But in spite of our rendering service to the best capacity, we are not satisfied nor the persons to whom we are rendering service, they are satisfied. Therefore in spite of our rendering service to one another, every one of us are frustrated. The reason is that the service which we are rendering, that is not properly placed. The method is... Just like a tree. If you want to render service to a tree, you must water to the root. If you pour water on the leaves, branches and twigs, that is not properly served. If you pour water on the root, that is the way of serving the tree. Similarly, in your body, if you supply food to the stomach, the energy will be distributed. You need not give food separately to the different parts of your body.

Lecture -- Laguna Beach, September 30, 1972:

Para-brahman is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ. Īśvara means controller. So every one of us is controller to some extent. Somebody is controlling his family, controlling his office, business, controlling his disciples. At last, he is controlling a dog. If he hasn't got to control anything, he keeps a dog to control, a pet dog, a pet cat. So everyone wants to be controller. That's a fact. But the supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa. Here the so-called controller is controlled by somebody else. I may control my disciples, but I am controlled by somebody else, by my spiritual master. So nobody can say that "I am the absolute controller." No. Here you will find the so-called controller, certainly controller to some extent, but he is controlled also. But when you find somebody that He is controller only, not controlled by anyone, that is Kṛṣṇa. To understand Kṛṣṇa is not very difficult. Try to understand that everyone is controlling, every one of us, but at the same time being controlled by somebody else. But we find a gentleman whose name is Kṛṣṇa. He is controlling everyone, but He is not controlled by anyone. That is God.

Address to Rotary Club -- Chandigarh, October 17, 1976:

The first thing is Kṛṣṇa instructs in the Bhagavad-gītā, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. If you want to know the substance, then the first thing is that you must be submissive, praṇipāta. Prakṛṣṭa-rūpeṇa nipāta. You fall down. Therefore the system is: the disciple falls flat before the spiritual master. That is the etiquette, praṇipātena. And if you think that you know better than Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa's representative, the guru, there is no necessity of accepting guru. Do not keep a guru as a pet dog. No. You must be submissive. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). This is wanted. That Kṛṣṇa... That is the example given by Arjuna. Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7). This prapannam is required.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Prabhupāda: The puppy is, you will sometimes find, they try to take shelter of some boy, of some man. Natural tendency. "Give me shelter. Keep me as your pet." They are happy. That means by nature they are wanting some shelter. A child is also wanting some shelter. So that is our constitutional position. So in the human form of life, when consciousness is developed, that tendency to have a leader, to take shelter, that is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is giving direction that "You want shelter, you want guidance, so you take My guidance," sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ (BG 18.66), "then you will be perfect." That is the ultimate instruction of Bhagavad-gītā.

Hayagrīva: In 1938 Jung was invited by the British government to take part in celebrations connected with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the University of Calcutta. He writes, "By that time I had read a great deal."

Philosophy Discussion on Plato:

Prabhupāda: I am not the master," that is the position actually. Ask anybody in this world whether he is master or serving, the conclusion will be that he is serving. His natural position is to serve. So if one hasn't got a family to serve, he keeps a dozen of dog to serve. That is going on, and especially in the Western countries we see that at the old age, when he has no children, so he keeps a dog or two or three pets to serve. So the serving position is already there, and when the servant wants to become master, that is māyā. Because this word māyā means actually he is serving and he is thinking that he is master. That is māyā. Māyā means what is not fact. So by meditation, when he actually becomes a realized soul, he will understand that "Oh, I am servant. So why I am serving māyā? Let me serve Kṛṣṇa." That is perfection. So if his guide, spiritual master, engages him from the very beginning to serve God, then he becomes quickly perfect, because he is servant and he has to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is his perfection. He is falsely thinking that he is master. That is māyā.

Page Title:Pet (Lectures)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari, Mayapur
Created:25 of Aug, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=36, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:36