Plain truth

Expressions researched:
"Truth is always simple, plain" |"plain truth"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 4.10 -- Vrndavana, August 2, 1974:

Just like this body. This body is made of material nature, and we are within this body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). So long we have got this body, material body, we must be unhappy. First of all, we must try to understand why we are unhappy. We are unhappy because we are in this material body. And the... What is that unhappiness? It is ending in four principles, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). To take birth and again to die, and so long we live we must suffer from some disease, and we must become old. Plain truth.

Lecture on BG 9.3 -- Toronto, June 20, 1976:

So this is called mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. If we want to save this botheration, then hear what Kṛṣṇa says. Then your life will be successful. If you don't accept Kṛṣṇa's works, which are very plainly explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, then you have to remain in this mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. It is very plain truth. There is no doubt about it, that... You may be very proud of your strong body, your social condition or political condition, but after death it is not under your control. It is under the control of the material nature. So don't be falsely proud, bewildered. Ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate (BG 3.27). Don't be foolish person by false egotism that "I am free, I can do whatever I like." Then you'll suffer and remain in the path of repetition of birth and death. And there are 8,400,000 species of life. We have to go through this process, we fall down. So this human form of life is obtained, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19), after many many births, evolutional process we have got it. Now it is the time to understand our position. What is that position? The position is that we are eternal part and parcel of God.

Lecture on BG 9.10 -- Calcutta, June 29, 1973:

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says: mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). It is Kṛṣṇa who has entered this material world and He is supervising all the actions and reactions of this material world. Therefore it is moving. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ. Prakṛti has no power. These rascals, foolish persons, they are thinking that the prakṛti is working automatically. No, that is not possible. Prakṛti is jaḍa. Jaḍa-prakṛti. Jaḍa-prakṛti. Without any sense. The motor car has got the wheels, the machine, everything, but it has no sense. So unless there is a sensible driver there, it cannot move. Very plain truth. Anyone can understand. But we are so foolishly educated that we do not accept this fact. We say that: "Matter is the cause of life. We do not accept this theory that life is the cause of matter." Because they are atheistic persons. As soon as they accept that life is the cause of matter, they have to accept God. Immediately. Immediately they have to accept God.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.10 -- Vrndavana, October 21, 1972:

So Kṛṣṇa gives. My Guru Mahārāja always used to speak that "Why should you go and flatter? You should speak plain truth, without any flattering. Money will come." That was his conviction. And... So it is experienced. We have got very, very heavy expenditure. But all this money collected, they are not meant for indriya-prīti, not for sense gratification. That is the significance. If we want money for sense gratification, then, according to our destiny, we shall get. Not more than that. Nobody can get more.

Lecture on SB 1.5.9-11 -- New Vrindaban, June 6, 1969:

So, ātmānaṁ sarvato rakṣet means..., real meaning is you should give protection to the ātmā, means trying to save this soul, your soul, or yourself, from this transmigration of the body. And the plain truth, very simply truth, is given in Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). Simply by understanding what is Kṛṣṇa... That is also not very difficult to understand if you follow the scriptural injunctions. What is Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). He is not ordinary man. His body is sac-cid-ānanda, full of bliss, eternal, and full of knowledge. So is it very difficult to understand? He has given proof that Kṛṣṇa is always enjoying bliss. And Kṛṣṇa's instruction, knowledge, there is no comparison. Bhagavad-gītā and so many other instructions. And He is eternal. Just like the sun-sun is eternal, day and night. It is our adjustment of this planet. So Kṛṣṇa is there. Just like the sun is there always in the sky, but we think, "This is night, this is day." That is adjustment of this planet. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is always there. When He is visible we say that Kṛṣṇa is living, and when He's not visible we say, "Kṛṣṇa is dead."

Lecture on SB 3.26.44 -- Bombay, January 19, 1975:

So father is not particularly inclined to a particular son. No. But a son, if he is very obedient, then father discloses the most confidential things to that son. This is natural. This is not partiality. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo 'sti na priyaḥ: (BG 9.29) "I am equal to..." Otherwise, how He can be God? If He is partial to somebody... Foolish people think, "Why God has made me poor? Why God has made so many poor men?" God has not made. They have made themselves poor. God has not made. He does not make any distinguish. He says the plain truth, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). He is saying to everyone. So if we do not do—we have got little independence—then we are in this miserable condition of life.

Lecture on SB 7.9.10 -- Montreal, July 9, 1968:

If a person is a brāhmaṇa, then his natural qualification will be like this. What is that? Satyam: he is truthful. In any circumstances he will be truthful. Even to an enemy he will disclose the secret, "This is the fact." That is truthfulness, not that I am very truthful, but when my interest is jeopardized, I tell lie. That is not truthfulness. Truthfulness means at any circumstances one will speak the plain truth. That is truthfulness. Satya sama. Satya śaucam. Śaucam, cleanliness. There are two kinds of cleanliness: external and internal. External cleanliness by taking bath with soap and other cleansing material... Of course, in India, the brāhmaṇas, they take... They cleanse themselves externally at least three times a day: in the morning, early in the morning; at noon before taking lunch; and in the evening before going to the temple. Tri-sandhyā. There are so many rules and regulations for becoming cleansed. This is external cleanliness. And there is internal cleanliness. The internal cleanliness is this chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ (CC Antya 20.12), cleansing the heart.

General Lectures

Lecture -- San Francisco, April 2, 1968:

So our problems of life, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, is to solve these four things: no more birth... Because we are... Always remember that we are all eternal. Just like in this body, beginning from my mother's womb up to this old age, I am the same eternal soul, but my body is changing. So after changing this body also, I shall remain the same. Simply I shall have another body. This plain truth, there is no difficulty to understand. Now if I am eternal... If I am eternal means no death, no birth, no disease, no old age. That is eternal. So if I am eternal, whether it is possible to get an eternal body? Or eternal happiness? That is the problem of human society. If you can solve that problem, then you be proud of your civilization. Otherwise there is no difference between cats' and dogs' civilization and your civilization. Because you are simply trying to solve the problems of eating, sleeping, defending and mating. But these problems are already solved by nature's law.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Two Buddhist Monks -- July 12, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: So dehāntara-prāptiḥ they do not understand. And it is very easy, that "I am, dehāntaram, I am changing my body. I was a baby, I was a child, I was a boy, I was a young man. So I have changed so many bodies. But I remember, I was a child. I remember. I was a boy. I remember. Therefore I am existing. My body has changed." Simple truth. Similarly, when this body will be changed, I will exist. Where is the difficulty to understand? But this plain thing they cannot understand. And they are passing as educated, philosopher, scientist. This plain truth, they cannot understand. The brain is so dull. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). "As I have changed so many bodies..." I exist. I remember, I had this body. So I may forget. Suppose in my babyhood, what was the feature of my body, I do not know. But there was. My mother knows. He can, she can explain, "My dear child, you were like this, you were like this." So forgetfulness is also not that I did not exist. I may not remember my last birth. That does not mean I did not exist. So forgetfulness is my nature. I cannot remember even what I was doing exactly this time yesterday. If somebody asks me. I can generally speak, that "I was sitting." But actually, what I was doing, I'll have to remember. So the forgetfulness is our nature. Because I have forgotten... Death means forgetting. Just like in dream. At night, when we get another body and dream and hover, we go somewhere and talk with somebody, we forget about this body. And again, when I come to this body, I awaken, I forget the dreaming body. So I..., every day I am forgetting. At night I am forgetting this body, and daytime I am forgetting my night body. So forgetfulness is not the basic principle of knowledge. The things as they are we have to study. That body we change, but we are, as living entities, we are existing.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Bernard Manischewitz -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia:

Prabhupāda: Yes, every intelligent man will understand this very simple thing, that so long as the body..., the soul is within the body, the body is changing. And as soon as this body... Just like you are old man, I am old man, the body is no more possible to be changed; somehow or other then I'll have to accept another body. That is called transmigration. The modern so-called scientists, philosophers, they do not understand this plain truth, and they are passing on as big scientists, big philosopher, misleading public.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 30, 1976, Honolulu:

Prabhupāda: Just like the natural birds, if you keep one bag of rice here, he'll come, but they will take three, four grains, and they'll go away. And if you ask a man, "Here is some stack of rice." "Ah, I'll take." Immediately finished. One man will take it the whole stack, everything. "Oh, I've got it free. Let me take it." But the birds, they're under natural law. They know, "Ah, I have finished. I have got my belly filled up. I don't require any more." So God has given everything sufficiently. If every man takes whatever he wants absolutely, then there is no difficulty. That is your complication. But why there should be fight? Father's property of every son. He take as much as he requires. Accept father, his property, and take as much as you require. Don't take more. That is real communism. So where is that communism? Who has it? The material nature, the mother, and God is the father. And we are all children. That's all. Plain truth. (break) ...accept this philosophy?

Interview with Kathy Kerr Reporter from The Star -- June 17, 1976, Toronto:

Prabhupāda: Material. When you were on the lap of your mother the body was so small. Now you are a young girl and you are.... So where is that small body? That means you have changed bodies. But your mother knows that you are the same, "My child." Because you have grown up or you have changed your body, your mother will not cry "Where is my child?" She knows that "My child is there, but she has changed body." Why these people do not understand this plain truth? Suppose you have come in this dress; next moment you come in another dress. But if I know you I'll not mistake because you have changed your dress. Similarly, we are changing our dress from baby to child, child to boy, boy to young man, young man to middle-aged man, constantly changing, every moment. Medical science also says. The blood corpuscles are changed every moment. So we are changing our body every moment. But still we cannot understand that on account of change of body, the living force within the body does not change. Is there any difficulty to understand?

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

Letter to Gita Mandir Trust -- Calcutta 1 September, 1949:

In this sacred philosophical discourse the Supreme Godhead declares Himself as the begetting father, who impregnates the seeds of living entities in the womb of mother nature who in turn gives birth to all varieties of living entities or species. So the plain truth is that the Supreme Godhead the Father, the nature material is the mother and all living entities are so many children of almighty father Godhead, and the mother nature. The whole arrangement is just a family unit, and we should wonder as to why there is so much anomaly in this great universal family unit.

Letter to Sir -- Calcutta May 1949:

In this sacred philosophical discourse the Supreme Godhead declares Himself as the begetting Father who impregnates the seeds of living entities in the womb of Mother Nature who in turn gives birth all varieties of living species. So the plain truth is that the Supreme Godhead is the Father, the Nature is the Supreme Mother and all living entities so many children of Almighty Father Godhead and the Mother Nature. The whole arrangement is therefore a family unit and one should wonder as to why there is so much anomaly in this universal family affair.

Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru -- Allahabad 20 January, 1952:

In the old days life was not so much conditional and encumbered. The simple problems were then the problems of bread, clothing and shelter which were solved by the simplest process. By agriculture they used to solve the bread, clothing and shelter problems and industrialization was unknown to them. Thus they had no idea of living in big palatial buildings at the cost of sacrificing the boon of humanity. They were satisfied to live in the cottages and yet they were perfectly intelligent. Even the famous Canakya Pandit who was the Prime Minister of India during the reign of Candragupta, used to live in a cottage and draw no salary from the State. Such simple habits did not deteriorate his high intelligence and dignity and as such he had compiled many useful literatures which are still read by millions for social and political guidance. Thus the simplicity of Brahmanical culture was an ideal to the subordinate others of the society and in the Deductive way the subordinate orders, namely the the Ksatriyas, the Vaisyas and the Sudras would follow the instruction of the cultured Brahmin. Such ways of approaching the Truth is always simple, plain and perhaps the most perfect.