Therefore we should accept knowledge from such person who is beyond these four defects of conditional life. What is that? Illusion, mistake, cheating, and imperfectness. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is that proof. As I told you, that 2,500 years ago, or 5,000 years ago Vyāsadeva wrote about Lord Buddha's appearance. Still, there is appearance of Kalki from this time, henceforward, after 400,000's of years Kalki will appear. And his name, his father's name, the place where he will appear, that is mentioned in the Bhāgavata. That means tri-kāla-jña. Mahā-muni, he is liberated. He is incarnation of God. He knows past, present, future, and everything. That knowledge is perfect. One who knows past, present, and future perfectly, we should take knowledge from him. That is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that we don't accept any knowledge from a person who is defective in so many ways. And what is the value of such knowledge? He is defective. "Physician heal thyself." A physician suffering from fever, and if I go there, "Sir, I am also feverish. Treat," what is the use of such treatment? His brain is already puzzled. What he can treat? The doctors also, when he become sick, he does not treat himself. He calls another doctor friend to treat him. That is the fashion.
Physician, heal thyself
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So Nārada Muni knows what is the status of Vyāsadeva. He knows that he has got clear vision. Amogha-dṛk. Śrīdhara Svāmī says, amogha. Amogha means... Mogha means sinful, and amogha means without any sin. Amogha. So long one lives sinful life, he cannot have clear vision. Diseased condition. How? "Physician, heal thyself." He cannot have clear vision. Therefore amogha-dṛk means he is liberated person. He can see. Amogha-dṛk. Dṛk means vision. Amogha-dṛk. And Śuci-śravāḥ. Śuci-śravāḥ. Śuci-śravāḥ means whose śravāḥ, means aural reception... śuci. Śuci means pure. Who has received knowledge by aural reception in pure heart, or from the pure source. Śuci-śravāḥ. Śuci means pure. Śravāḥ. Śravāḥ means hearing. Śuci... These are the qualification of the person who can actually do benefit to the human society. Not that everyone can do. That is the mistake of the... Everyone is giving some idea and some theory that "This way there will be peace, there will be nice thing in the world." But he does not know that he has to receive from the pure source by aural reception. One has to hear from the pure source what is actually benefit to the human society. These are the qualifications. Śuci-śravāḥ. Then next word is satya-rataḥ. Satya means truth, and rataḥ means engaged. "One who is engaged in the matter of the Absolute Truth," not relative truth. Absolute, satya-rataḥ. And dhṛta-vrataḥ. Dhṛta-vrataḥ. Vrata. Vrata means vow, and dhṛta means who has taken vow that "I shall do this." These are the qualifications.
So on account of this dirty position of material contamination, we cannot accept Kṛṣṇa as the real friend. Therefore we cannot get śānti. So if we want really śānti, then we must accept the formula, suhṛdaṁ sarva-dehināṁ jñātvā mām, not this political leader, that political leader, no. They do not know what is the actually path of śānti. They cannot. They do not have śānti in themselves. How they can...? "Physician heal thyself." The physician himself is a diseased person, māyā-mohita, so how they can help us? So this is not possible. We have to accept Kṛṣṇa as suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā: (BG 5.29) He is the proprietor of everything. Sarva-loka-maheśvaram. Maheśvaram. Īśvara, maheśvaram. Parameśvaram. Maheśvaram or parameśvaram. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs. 5.1). In this way, if we can understand that "Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor, Kṛṣṇa is the enjoyer, Kṛṣṇa is my supreme friend," then śāntatvam, we can get śānti. Otherwise this material envelopment will always create disturbances and... Bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syāt. Then we will be always in fearful condition, in anxiety. But if we accept this formula, then no more we are in this, I mean to say, hodgepodge of this material existence. We will live clearly, svacchatvam. That is called svacchatvam avikāritvam.
General idea is very good, but the one who is going to bestow divine service, he must know what is divine service and how to become divine. Lord Caitanya says, āpani ācari prabhu jīvera śikhāya. One has to first of all exhibit himself that he is divine, then he can, I mean to say, serve others divinely. "Physician heal thyself." If a physician is diseased, a patient does not like to go to him. "Well, he is himself diseased." So divine love is very good, but one should understand what is divine love. One should not misunderstand what is divine love. Just like in the material world, lust is accepted as love. A boy is loving a girl, a girl is loving... But it is lust. That is not love. But is going on in the name of love. The boy wants to enjoy the girl, the girl wants to enjoy the boy, and that is going on in love. Love is not like that. Love means, "I enjoy or not enjoy, I love you." That is love. Just like Cowper said, "England, with all thy faults, I love you." That is love. There is no return. Just like Rādhārāṇī's love to Kṛṣṇa. She does not require any return. You see? Kṛṣṇa left Vṛndāvana, Rādhārāṇī, and their whole life remained simply crying for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa never returned. But still, they loved Kṛṣṇa. That is love.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
So this injunction is received, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, that "First of all make your life perfect. Don't try to preach without becoming yourself perfect." The nonsense thing is going on in this world that so-called preachers, they have not perfected their life, but they have become preachers. They have not already perfected their life, and they have become preacher. Therefore they are bringing so many nonsense things and misleading persons, Vedāntists and Vedānta Society, yogis, this or that. But they are not themselves perfect. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that "Before becoming preacher, before endeavoring yourself to do good to others, you just perfect yourself." "Physician, heal thyself." Physician, you are yourself diseased. How you can become a physician? People will, at once, will be detracted, "Oh, this doctor, this medical man, he's suffering from fever, and he's treating my fever." So there will be no, I mean to say, effect. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, or His spiritual master says, that kṛṣṇa-nāma upadeśi' tāra' sarva-jana: "First of all You have perfected Yourself by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. You have come to the perfectional stage. Now You have got the symptoms of emotion. Now You can preach Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare." Yes.
Philosophy Discussions
Śyāmasundara: These psychologists like Jung, all have different processes for finding out a person's unconscious mind. For instance, interpreting his dreams, or by sometimes they put a picture, they say, "How do you look at this picture? What do you see in this picture?"
Prabhupāda: But he does not know what is the standard status of the mind. He doesn't know. Even the psychiatrist, he is also not in sane mind. "Physician heal thyself." Because he's identifying himself with this body, so he is also insane. So that treatment will not perfect. How a diseased man can become a physician? Therefore the English word is, "Physician heal thyself."
Conversations and Morning Walks
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Rāmeśvara: ...say that Western civilization is very good for the world.
Prabhupāda: Yes, but they cannot teach their own children. They are becoming hippies. That is the effect of their education.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: You have to judge by the fruits.
Prabhupāda: Yes. You cannot teach your own people, and you are going to teach others. "Physician heal thyself." Hare Kṛṣṇa. (Greets someone.) You have failed to teach your own children, they are disappointed, and you are going to teach others. This is another cheating. It is not the question of... That is another fault—"our," "your." There is no question of "our," "your." Any culture, actually if it is culture, it is meant for the whole human society. Why do you say, "our," "your." We never say, "The Kṛṣṇa consciousness is meant for Indians," or "for the Europeans." It is meant for everyone. That is our proposition. You have made this "our," "your," and bring another controversy. That is not the fact. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is meant both for the Indians and the Westerners. That is the fact. When Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13), "You have to change your body," Kṛṣṇa never meant that it is meant for the Indians. It is meant for everyone. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. Dehāntara-prāptiḥ is not meant that Indians only change and they become vanished, European. Dehāntara-prāptiḥ is everyone. So try to understand this philosophy.
Prabhupāda: If your policy is social reformation...
Director: Social reform is not our policy.
Prabhupāda: Then, social welfare.
Director: Just to look after those who are in trouble.
Prabhupāda: Well, everyone is in trouble. At the present moment even the ministers are in trouble.
Director: Yes, but that is not what our function is. Everybody's in trouble. (laughter)
Prabhupāda: Physician, heal thyself. You see? They are also drunkards, they are also woman-hunters, meat-eaters, and gambling, that's all. They require to be rectified.
Director: But you can't help that. You have to go and change society, then society tells us to act differently.
Prabhupāda: No, no. Unless you change the society, how you can make social welfare? If you keep them as it is, then where is the question of welfare?
Director: Give it a different interpretation to the word.
Prabhupāda: Inter... how the? I don't...
Director: Does he understand me?
Prabhupāda: Basically, basically one must be first-class ideal man. That is wanted.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Darby: This man, Sun Yung Moon, claims to be the Messiaḥ, the Jesus Christ revived.
Prabhupāda: So it is the duty of the Christians. But they are also... What can I say? They are passing resolution according to the time, changing the instruction of Bible. How they can be fixed-up? Our standard is Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. We accept guru as representative of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If he speaks what Kṛṣṇa has spoken, then he is guru. Similar in Christianity, if they actually take care that whether one is speaking according to the Ten Commandments, if he is living according to the rules and regulations of the Ten Commandments, then he is guru. Why people accept them? Because they are ignorant, they do not know who is real and who is fake. But the standard is there. Take for example in the Bible, it is said "Thou shalt not kill." But everyone is killing. Killing is the business of the Christians. They are maintaining big, big slaughterhouse. We are maintaining cows here, and there are others, they are maintaining cows for slaughtering. Why? In these Commandments it is clearly said that "Thou shalt not kill." How they will detect? If they are violating themselves the laws, how they will punish the lawbreaker? "Physician, heal thyself." The physician himself is diseased, and he's going to treat other patients.
| Page Title: | Physician, heal thyself |
| Compiler: | Alakananda |
| Created: | 12 of May, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=6, Con=3, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 9 |