Sociology (Books)

Expressions researched:
"sociological" |"sociologically" |"sociologist" |"sociologists" |"sociology" |"sociopolitical"

BG Chapters 1 - 6

BG 2.11, Purport:

As explained in later chapters, it will be clear that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. And because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 9.2, Purport:

Generally, people are not educated in this confidential knowledge; they are educated in external knowledge. As far as ordinary education is concerned, people are involved with so many departments: politics, sociology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, etc. There are so many departments of knowledge all over the world and many huge universities, but there is, unfortunately, no university or educational institution where the science of the spirit soul is instructed. Yet the soul is the most important part of the body; without the presence of the soul, the body has no value. Still people are placing great stress on the bodily necessities of life, not caring for the vital soul.

BG 10.4-5, Purport:

Ahiṁsā, nonviolence, means that one should not do anything which will put others into misery or confusion. Material activities that are promised by so many politicians, sociologists, philanthropists, etc., do not produce very good results because the politicians and philanthropists have no transcendental vision; they do not know what is actually beneficial for human society. Ahiṁsā means that people should be trained in such a way that the full utilization of the human body can be achieved. The human body is meant for spiritual realization, so any movement or any commissions which do not further that end commit violence on the human body. That which furthers the fu

SB Preface and Introduction

SB Introduction:

Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was a self-realized soul, although outwardly he belonged to a caste lower than the brāhmaṇa in social status. He was not in the renounced order of life, and besides that he was a high government servant in the state. Still, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted him as a liberated soul on the strength of the high order of his realization of transcendental knowledge. Similarly, the Lord accepted Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, a veteran devotee of the Lord coming from a Mohammedan family. And there are many other great devotees of the Lord who came from different communities, sects and castes. The Lord's only criterion was the standard of devotional service of the particular person. He was not concerned with the outward dress of a man; He was concerned only with the inner soul and its activities. Therefore all the missionary activities of the Lord are to be understood to be on the spiritual plane, and as such the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, or the cult of Bhāgavata-dharma, has nothing to do with mundane affairs, sociology, politics, economic development or any such sphere

SB Canto 1

SB 1.16.5, Purport:

Anyway, although hearing about a śūdraka who was a cheat and insulter of a cow was not very interesting to the great ṛṣis, they nevertheless wanted to hear about it to see if the event had any connection with Lord Kṛṣṇa. They were simply interested in the topics of Lord Kṛṣṇa, for anything that is dovetailed with the narration of Kṛṣṇa is worth hearing. There are many topics in the Bhāgavatam about sociology, politics, economics, cultural affairs, etc., but all of them are in relation with Kṛṣṇa, and therefore all of them are worth hearing. Kṛṣṇa is the purifying ingredient in all matters, regardless of what they are. In the mundane world, everything is impure due to its being a produc

SB 1.16.6, Purport:

Lord Kṛṣṇa and His devotees are both on the transcendental plane; therefore the topics of Lord Kṛṣṇa and of His pure devotees are equally good. The Battle of Kurukṣetra is full of politics and diplomacy, but because the topics are related with Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Bhagavad-gītā is therefore adored all over the world. There is no need to eradicate politics, economics, sociology, etc., which are mundane to the mundaners. To a pure devotee, who is actually related with the Lord, such mundane things are transcendental if dovetailed with the Lord or with His pure devotees. We have heard and talked about the activities of the Pāṇḍavas, and we now are dealing with the topics of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, but because all these topics are related to the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, they are all transcendental, and pure devotees have great interest in hearing them. We have already discussed this matter in connection with the prayers of Bhīṣmadeva.

SB 1.19.9-10, Purport:

Parāśara: He is the grandson of Vasiṣṭha Muni and father of Vyāsadeva. He is the son of Maharṣi Śakti, and his mother's name was Adṛśyatī. He was in the womb of his mother when she was only twelve years old. And from within the womb of his mother he learned the Vedas. His father was killed by a demon, Kalmāṣapāda, and to avenge this he wanted to annihilate the whole world. He was restrained, however, by his grandfather Vasiṣṭha. He then performed a Rākṣasa-killing yajña, but Maharṣi Pulastya restrained him. He begot Vyāsadeva, being attracted by Satyavatī, who was to become the wife of Mahārāja Śāntanu. By the blessings of Parāśara, Satyavatī became fragrant for miles. He was present also during the time of Bhīṣma's death. He was spiritual master of Mahārāja Janaka and a great devotee of Lord Śiva. He is the author of many Vedic scriptures and sociological directions.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.9.2, Purport:

The different positions of the living entities in the material world under multifarious manifestations of bodies are due to the misconception of "mine" and "I." The karmī thinks of this world as "mine," and the jñānī thinks "I am" everything. The whole material conception of politics, sociology, philanthropy, altruism, etc., conceived by the conditioned souls is on the basis of this misconceived "I" and "mine," which are products of a strong desire to enjoy material life. Identification with the body and the place where the body is obtained under different conceptions of socialism, nationalism, family affection, and so on and so forth is all due to forgetfulness of the real nature of the living entity, and the whole misconception of the bewildered living entity can be removed by the association of Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit, as all this is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.5.11, Purport:

The conscious being, the imperishable self, is eternally existent and cannot be killed under any circumstances, even after the dissolution of the body. Anyone who misunderstands this perishable body to be the self and who works for it in the name of sociology, politics, philanthropy, altruism, nationalism or internationalism, under the false plea of the bodily conception of life, is certainly a fool and does not know the implications of reality and unreality.

SB 3.15.31, Purport:

According to the Vedic system, a sannyāsī, a person in the renounced order of life, is dressed in saffron-colored garments. This saffron dress is practically a passport for the mendicant and sannyāsī to go anywhere. The sannyāsī's duty is to enlighten people in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Those in the renounced order of life have no other business but preaching the glories and supremacy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Vedic sociological conception is that a sannyāsī should not be restricted; he is allowed to go anywhere and everywhere he wants, and he is not refused any gift he might demand from a householder.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.25.40, Purport:

According to the Vedic system, when one is born in this material world he has many obligations. He has obligations to the demigods—the demigods of the sun and moon, King Indra, Varuṇa, etc.—because they are supplying the necessities of life. We receive heat, light, water and all other natural amenities through the mercy of the demigods. We are also indebted to our forefathers, who have given us these bodies, paternal property, intelligence, society, friendship and love. Similarly, we are indebted to the general public for politics and sociology, and we are also indebted to lower animals such as horses, cows, asses, dogs and cats. In this way, as soon as one is born in this material world as a human being, he has so many obligations and is bound to repay all these obligations. If he does not repay them, he is further entangled in the process of birth and death. The gṛhamedhī, however, who is overly addicted to material things, does not know that if he simply takes shelter at the lotus feet of Mukunda, he is immediately freed from all obligations to others.

SB 4.31.9, Purport:

Activity is successful if it results in serving the Lord. Philosophical speculation or mental speculation is successful when engaged in understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The senses are worth possessing when engaged in the service of the Lord. Actually, devotional service means engaging the senses in the service of the Lord. At the present moment our senses are not purified; therefore our senses are engaged in the service of society, friendship, love, politics, sociology and so on. However, when the senses are engaged in the service of the Lord, one attains bhakti, or devotional service.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.12.13, Translation:

Who are the pure devotees mentioned here? In an assembly of pure devotees, there is no question of discussing material subjects like politics and sociology. In an assembly of pure devotees, there is discussion only of the qualities, forms and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is praised and worshiped with full attention. In the association of pure devotees, by constantly hearing such topics respectfully, even a person who wants to merge into the existence of the Absolute Truth abandons this idea and gradually becomes attached to the service of Vāsudeva.

SB 5.12.13, Purport:

This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was started to engage people twenty-four hours daily in the service of the Lord and in His glorification. The students in this institution engage in the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness from five in the morning to ten at night. They actually have no opportunity to waste their time unnecessarily by discussing politics, sociology and current events. These will go their own way. A devotee is concerned only with serving Kṛṣṇa positively and seriously.

SB 5.14.27, Purport:

The conditioned soul has to accept all these conditions simply to enjoy sense gratification in this world. Although people declare themselves great scientists, economists, philosophers, politicians and sociologists. they are actually nothing but rascals. Therefore they have been described as mūḍhas and narādhamas in Bhagavad-gītā (7.15):

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ

prapadyante narādhamāḥ

māyayāpahṛta-jñānā

āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ

"Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind. whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me."

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.2, Purport:

Our tongues always engage in vibrating useless sounds that do not help us realize transcendental peace. The tongue is compared to a desert because a desert needs a constant supply of refreshing water to make it fertile and fruitful. Water is the substance most needed in the desert. The transient pleasure derived from mundane topics of art, culture, politics, sociology, dry philosophy, poetry and so on is compared to a mere drop of water because although such topics have a qualitative feature of transcendental pleasure, they are saturated with the modes of material nature. Therefore neither collectively nor individually can they satisfy the vast requirements of the desertlike tongue.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 12:

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the desire tree of Vedic wisdom. Veda itself means "the aggregate of knowledge." And whatever knowledge is required for human society is perfectly presented in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. There are different branches of knowledge in the Vedic writings, including sociology, politics, medicine and military art. All these and other branches of knowledge are perfectly described in the Vedas. So, as far as spiritual knowledge is concerned, that is also perfectly described there, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is considered to be the ripened fruit of this desire-fulfilling tree of the Vedas.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.4:

A liberated person can become a pure devotee of God, but he cannot become God or merge into God and lose his identity. There are innumerable instances in which a liberated soul, failing to become God, also refused to become God's devotee. The only option then open to him is aptly described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32):

ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas

tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ

āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ

patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ

"O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet."

Attracted by material nature's external glare, such "liberated" souls have to come down to this earth and become wrapped up in some sociopolitical or altruistic work.