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Unborn (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG Introduction -- New York, February 19-20, 1966:

Now, Arjuna says, after hearing Bhagavad-gītā from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he accepts Kṛṣṇa as paraṁ brahma, the Supreme Brahman. Brahman. Every living being is Brahman, but the supreme living being or the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Brahman or supreme living being. And paraṁ dhāma. Paraṁ dhāma means He is the supreme rest of everything. And pavitram. Pavitram means He is pure from material contamination. And He's addressed as puruṣam. Puruṣam means the supreme enjoyer; śāśvatam, śāśvata means from very beginning, He's the first person; divyam, transcendental; devam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ajam, never born; vibhum, the greatest.

Lecture on BG Introduction -- New York, February 19-20, 1966:

So far living entities are concerned, we find it from the authority of the śāstras that living entities have also no birth or death. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly stated that the living entity is never born, nor does it ever die. He's eternal, indestructible, and continues to live after the destruction of his temporary material body. With reference to the above concept of sanātana-dharma we may try to understand the concept of religion from the Sanskrit root meaning of the word dharma. It means that which is constantly with the particular object. As we have already mentioned, when we speak of fire it is concluded at the same time that there is heat and light along with the fire. Without heat and without light, there is no meaning of the word fire. Similarly, we must find out the essential part of a living being which is always companion with him.

Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is -- Los Angeles, November 23, 1968 :

Devotee: "Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as pure, free from all material contamination, as the supreme enjoyer, as the foremost person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, never born, the greatest. Now one may say that..., one may say that since Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna were friends, Arjuna was only saying these things to his friend. But Arjuna mentions that Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead not only by himself but by Nārada, Vyāsa and numerous other great persons."

Prabhupāda: Authorities. He accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead not because Kṛṣṇa happened to be his intimate friend but on the authorities of others. And on the statement of Kṛṣṇa, and by understanding Him fully. He, he did not accept Him blindly. So this is the process of understanding Bhagavad-gītā.

Lecture on BG 1.31 -- London, July 24, 1973:

That is ārta. But that is also good. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja, he was ārta. Ārta, means he wanted something material, benefit. His stepmother insulted him, that "You cannot sit down on the lap of your father because you were not born in my womb." He was kṣatriya; he took it insult. So his father had two wives. So he was born the eldest queen. The father was not very much attached to the eldest queen. The father was attached to the junior queen. And the junior queen was very proud that "The king is in my hand." So she insulted. The father was not happy. The... Although Dhruva Mahārāja was born of the eldest queen... And it is sometimes liking. So that does not mean he did not like his son. So he wanted to sit down on the lap of his father and the stepmother insulted. So he took it very seriously. And he wanted to have the kingdom. This is arthārthī. He wanted something.

Lecture on BG 1.40 -- London, July 28, 1973:

So sex life is not bad, provided it is executed according to the religious principles. So Garbhādhāna saṁskāra... Just, what is the idea? The idea is the child born must be first class. He'll be able to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. He'll be able to understand the śāstras, the Vedas. He must have the good brain. These were the ideas. But if they are not born in that way, like cats and dog, that is called varṇa-saṅkara. Varṇa-saṅkara. You cannot specify whether he's a brāhmaṇa or a kṣatriya and vaiśya and śūdra. That is called varṇa-saṅkara. So varṇa-saṅkara population is not good. Varṇa-saṅkara. No caste. No designation, no definition to which class this man belongs.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Hyderabad, November 17, 1972:

Prabhupāda: That is... that is... that is described. We are describing na jāyate na mriyate. Soul is never born, soul never dies. Soul is eternal. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Even after the destruction of this body, the soul is not destroyed. These, these are the education.

Indian: There is a test of knowing the thing. You are just describing the qualities of the soul. If you can say mango, mango is very sweet, color is like this. But it requires to taste the mango. So I want to realize the soul. What is the shortest way?

Prabhupāda: There is mango. But you have no eyes to see it. That is the difference. Soul is there. Just like we have begun our instruction: dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13). There is dehī. There is the soul within this body. Kṛṣṇa says. So we have to accept Kṛṣṇa's authority. You cannot see the soul. That does not mean there is no soul. Your, what is the value of your eyes? You cannot see so many things.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Pittsburgh, September 8, 1972:

Therefore, He is teaching Arjuna, "My dear Arjuna, the spirit soul within this body is eternal." That's a fact. Just like I can understand, I was in the past, I am in present, so I must be in the future. These are three phases of time, past, present, and future. In another place, we read in this Bhagavad-gītā, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. The living entity is never born; neither it dies. Na jāyate means he never takes birth. Na jāyate na mriyate, it never dies. Nityaṁ śāśvato 'yam, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). It is eternal, śāśvata, existing forever. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). By annihilation of this body, the soul does not die. Because... This is also confirmed in the Upaniṣads, Vedas: nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. The God is also eternal, and we are also eternal. We are part and parcels of God. Just like gold and fragments of gold; both of them are gold. Although I am fragment, a particle of gold or the spirit, still, I am spirit.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Public Lecture With German Translation Throughout -- Hamburg, September 10, 1969:

So Kṛṣṇa further says in this connection, antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ (BG 2.18). This body... Deha means body. Antavat, it is by this material body, that is eternal. So that consciousness, or the rays of the soul, is described here. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. "This consciousness of the soul is never born, neither it is ever dead." Nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ. The soul and the consciousness has no past, present, or future. It is eternal. Aja. Aja means who does not take birth. Ajo nitya, eternal; śāśvata, ever-existing; ayaṁ purāṇa, the oldest. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). When the body is annihilated, the soul and consciousness is not annihilated. Just like when we sleep, our consciousness works in a different body, subtle body: mind, intelligence and ego. That we have got experience every night. We sleep on our bed, but my consciousness goes to other country or other place, and work in a different way. Again, when at the end of the dream we come back to this body, gross body.

Lecture on BG 2.19 -- London, August 25, 1973:

"For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."

So, in different ways, Kṛṣṇa is trying to convince us how the soul is immortal. Different ways. Ya enaṁ vetti hantāram (BG 2.19). When there is fight, so if one is killed or... So Kṛṣṇa says that if one thinks that "This man has killed this man," so, or "This man can kill this man," this kind of knowledge is not perfect. Nobody kills nobody. Then the butchers, they may say that "Then why do you complain that we are killing?"

Lecture on BG 2.20-25 -- Seattle, October 14, 1968:

Viṣṇujana: "For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not... (BG 2.20)"

Prabhupāda: These are the statements of Kṛṣṇa. Now the constitution of the soul... So far materialists are concerned, they cannot even find out where is the soul. Therefore there are so many theories. Actually, they cannot find out where the soul is situated because material senses cannot approach. The measurement of the soul is stated in the Vedic literature as one ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair. So there is no possibility of understanding what is soul by material scientists. The only process is to take it from higher authorities like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa here gives definition of the soul.

Lecture on BG 2.20-25 -- Seattle, October 14, 1968:

Viṣṇujana: 20: "For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain (BG 2.20)."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Because eternal, therefore how it can be slain? So soul is never slain. The body is slain. Then?

Viṣṇujana: 21: "O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, unborn, eternal and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill (BG 2.21)?" Purport: "Everything has its utility, and a man who is situated in complete knowledge knows how and where to apply a thing for its proper utility.

Lecture on BG 2.21-22 -- London, August 26, 1973:

Pradyumna: "O Pārtha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, unborn, eternal and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill?"

"As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, similarly, the soul accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."

Prabhupāda:

vedāvināśinaṁ nityaṁ
ya enam ajam avyayam
kathaṁ sa puruṣaḥ pārtha
kaṁ ghātayati hanti kam
(BG 2.21)
vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny
anyāni saṁyāti navāni dehī
(BG 2.22)

So this is another way of convincing that... Very simple thing. Anyone can understand. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya. As our garments, coats and shirts, when they are old, rotten, no more usable, so we throw it away and get a new garment, shirt, coat. Similarly, the soul is changing garment from childhood, from babyhood. Just like a baby has got a shoe, but when he gets the child's body the shoe does not fit.

Lecture on BG 2.21-22 -- London, August 26, 1973:

Therefore, that is my position. Kṛṣṇa has created me, not creation, but along with Kṛṣṇa we are all there. But we are eternal servants. Just like along with this body, the finger is also born. The finger is not differently born. When I was born, my fingers were born. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa was there, Kṛṣṇa was never born. Then we are also never born. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Very simple philosophy. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. If Kṛṣṇa is born, then I am born. If Kṛṣṇa is not born, then I'm, I am not born. Kṛṣṇa is aja, so we are also aja. Ajam avyayam Kṛṣṇa is imperishable, immutable. We are also immutable, because we are part and parcel of God. So why the part and parcels are there? Why my hand is there? Because I require it. I require the assistance of my hand, I require the assistance of my finger. It is necessary.

Lecture on BG 2.51-55 -- New York, April 12, 1966:

Only the one word has been used here, janma. Janma means birth. Birth means other things. Birth means death. Birth means old age. Birth means disease. Whenever there is birth, the other things are corollaries. They'll follow. Your birth means... A son is born. Oh, you are very glad, "I have got a son." But if you study philosophically, no, birth is not. He is not born. Death is born. Because the growing of the child means he is dying. It is dying. The dying process. The very day, the very moment the child is born, the dying process begins. So we do not know that it is not birth. It is death. This is called māyā. This is called illusion, that death is born and we are jolly that there is birth of a child. This is called māyā. So everything, from the beginning of our birth, we are illusioned, illusioned. And that illusion is so strong that it is very, very difficult to get out of it. Whole thing is illusion. The birth is illusion. This body is an illusion.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Delhi, November 10, 1971:

And anyone who dies without becoming a brāhmaṇa, he dies like a cat and dog. That is the difference. So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is that don't die like cats and dog, die like a brāhmaṇa. That is our request. Don't think it is any sectarian religion. It is a science. It is a culture. You are trying to educate people how to become brāhmaṇa. Just like these European, American boys, they are not born of a brāhmaṇa family. According to Vedic understanding, they are born in the family of mleccha or yavana, or caṇḍāla, like that. There are different terms. But Bhāgavata says, never mind what he is, or Bhagavad-gītā says never mind what he is. In the Bhagavad-gītā you will find the statement by Kṛṣṇa, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (BG 9.32), anyone, it doesn't matter what he is, even he's born in sinful family, it doesn't matter if he takes shelter of Me. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatiḥ, they all are promoted to the supreme planet, back to home, back to Godhead.

Lecture on BG 4.1-6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1969:

Madhudviṣa: "Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form."

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Madhudviṣa: Purport: "The Lord has spoken about the peculiarity of this verse. Although He may appear like an ordinary person, He remembers everything of His many, many past births, whereas a common man cannot remember what he has done even a few hours before. If somebody is asked what he did exactly at the same time one day earlier, it would be very difficult for him to answer immediately. He would have to dredge his memory to recall what he was doing. And yet men often dare to claim to be God or Kṛṣṇa. One should not be misled by such meaningless claims. Then again, the Lord explains His prakṛti or His form. Prakṛti means nature as well as svarūpa, or one's own form. The Lord says that He appears in His own body. He does not change His body as the common living entity does from one to another. The conditioned soul may have one kind of body in the present birth, but he has a different one in the next birth. In the material world the living entity transmigrates in this way. The Lord, however, does not do so.

Lecture on BG 4.1-6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1969:

We have never seen a picture of Kṛṣṇa in old age because He never grows old like us, although He is the oldest person in the whole creation, past, present, and future. Neither His body nor His intelligence ever deteriorates or changes. Therefore it is clear herein that in spite of His being in the material world, He is the same unborn, eternal form of bliss and knowledge, changeless in His transcendental body and intelligence. Factually His appearance and disappearance are like the sun rising, moving before us and then disappearing from our eyesight. When the sun is out of sight, we think that the sun is dead. And when the sun is before our eyes, we think that the sun is on the horizon. Actually the sun is always there. But owing to our defective, insufficient eyesight we must calculate the appearance and disappearance of the sun in the sky.

Lecture on BG 4.1-6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1969:

And because His appearance and disappearance are completely different from that of any ordinary common living entity, it is evident that He is eternal in blissful knowledge by His internal potency, and He is not contaminated by material nature. The Vedas confirm that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unborn, and yet He still appears to be taking His birth in multi-manifestations. The Vedic supplementary literature also confirms that even though the Lord appears to be taking His birth, He is still without change of body. In the Bhāgavatam He appears before His mother as Nārāyaṇa with four hands and the decorations of the six kinds of full opulences. His appearance in His original eternal form is His causeless mercy, according to the Viśvakośa dictionary. The Lord is conscious of all His previous appearances and disappearances, but a common living entity forgets everything about his past body as soon as he gets another.

Lecture on BG 4.3 -- Bombay, March 23, 1974:

So take to this Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. It is very easy. Even a child can take part. You see. Those children, they are not born of brāhmaṇa family or this family or that family. Never mind. Because they are taking part in chanting and dancing, they are becoming purified. Every step of their dancing being noted, being noted. Ajñāta-sukṛti. Catur-vidhā bhajante mām. So it is a chance. We are opening these centers to give chance how to become purified, how to understand Kṛṣṇa. Then life is successful.

Lecture on BG 4.3-6 -- New York, July 18, 1966:

Just like Kṛṣṇa's birth, Kṛṣṇa's appearance and disappearance, is just like the sun, is just like the sun. Now, sun, in the morning, you'll see that it, it appears as if it is born from the eastern horizon. It is not born. The sun is always in the sky. It is the position of the earth in which we understand that sun is now rising from the eastern horizon. He's neither rising, nor he's dipping into the sea. He is, the sun is as it is, in his position, but due to the position, changing position of this earth, we see that the sun is rising and sun is setting. Similarly, the Kṛṣṇa, when He comes as incarnation, He comes just like this, in the same way.

Lecture on BG 4.3-6 -- New York, July 18, 1966:

There is no question of interpretation. We have to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is. If we cannot understand, that is a defect in me, not in the Bhagavad-gītā. So we have to find out the defect in me. So Lord Kṛṣṇa says, ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san: "Although I am the Lord, I am the Supreme Lord of everything and although I am unborn, aja, and avyayātmā, I have no change, still, prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya." Prakṛtiṁ svām.

Now, you should know there are two kinds of prakṛti. Prakṛti means nature. You'll find it in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā that the Lord says that He has got two... Why Lord says? In the Vedic scripture also we'll find, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate: (Cc. Madhya 13.65, purport) "There are different kinds of nature of the Supreme." Svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca. So out of many kinds of nature of the Supreme Lord, they have divided the whole thing into three divisions.

Lecture on BG 4.6 -- Bombay, March 26, 1974:

Pradyumna: (leads chanting)

ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā
bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san
prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya
sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā
(BG 4.6)

Translation: "Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original, transcendental form."

Prabhupāda: So Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, explaining the method of His appearance and disappearance. People do not know it. Just like the sun. Because we do not see at night, formerly some people used to think "The sun is now dead, or gone." But later on, by scientific method, they have come to know the sun is always in the sky. Due to our different position, we do not see the sun at night.

Lecture on BG 4.6 -- Bombay, March 26, 1974:

We never see a picture of Kṛṣṇa in old age because He never grows old like us, although He is the oldest person in the whole creation, past, present and future. Neither His body nor His intelligence ever deteriorates or changes. Therefore it is clear that in spite of His being in this material world, He is the same unborn eternal form of bliss and knowledge, changeless in His transcendental body and intelligence. Factually, His appearance and disappearance are like the sun's rising, moving before us and then disappearing from our eyesight. When the sun is out of sight, we think that the sun has set, and when the sun is before our eyes, we think that the sun is on the horizon."

Lecture on BG 4.6 -- Bombay, March 26, 1974:

And because His appearance and disappearance are completely different from that of any ordinary common living entity, it is evident that He is eternal blissful knowledge by His internal potency, and He is never contaminated by material nature. The Vedas also confirm that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is unborn. Yet, He still appears to take His birth in multi-manifestations. The Vedic supplementary literatures also confirm that even though the Lord appears to be taking His birth, He is still without change of body. In the Bhāgavatam, He appears before His mother as Nārāyaṇa with four hands and the decoration of the six kinds of full opulences. His appearance in His original eternal form is His causeless mercy, according to the Viśvakośa dictionary. The Lord is conscious of all of His previous appearances and disappearances, but a common living entity forgets everything about his past body as soon as he gets another body.

Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Montreal, June 13, 1968:

In last night we have discussed that how the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He descends, what is the reason of His descending on this material platform. That we have partially discussed last night, that although He is the supreme authority of all energies, although He is unborn, although He is the Lord of all planets or all creation, material creation and spiritual creation, He comes.

Lecture on BG 4.7-10 -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969:

"My dear father, your this son is useless. Let me kill him." The father will sanction? No, never. Similarly, the animal may be less intelligent. They cannot make protest. They are also nationals. What do you mean by national? One who is born in America is national. Are the animals are not born in America? Are they not American nationals? But because they cannot make protest, they cannot make meeting, you are killing them. You see? Is that humanity? And you expect peace? That is not possible. Violation of God, laws of God. One has to suffer, today or tomorrow. Today or tomorrow.

Just like if you contaminate some disease germ, it may not be manifest immediately, but it will act someday. Similarly, if we contaminate sinful activities, it may not be immediately manifest, but you must wait for the reaction. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to understand these things. It is not a bogus propaganda that "You meditate fifteen minutes, and you become God," nonsense. This is not such a movement.

Lecture on BG 4.10 Festival at Maison de Faubourg -- Geneva, May 31, 1974:

That is called sanātana, eternal. We living entities, we belong to that spiritual nature. Therefore, about us, it is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit: "The spiritual spirit soul is never born, neither dies at any time." Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). It is farther described that "This spiritual spark, which you are, I am, it is..." Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre: (BG 2.20) "When the body is destroyed, the spiritual spark, that does not destroy. That remains eternal."

So it is a great science to understand what is that spiritual nature and what is that material nature, and we have published about eighty books of four hundred pages each for understanding what is this material nature and what is the spiritual nature.

Lecture on BG 5.17-25 -- Los Angeles, February 8, 1969:

You are compassionate with living entities. Are they not living entities? This is the frailty of imperfect knowledge. They are giving protection, the state is giving protection, to the national, but the cows are not national. They should be killed. But the definition of national is that one who is born in that land is called national. The cows are not born in this land? Why for them killing, and only for the human being protection? This is imperfect, imperfect knowledge.

So whatever a man is doing, you will find some imperfectness. But this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that it has no imperfectness. It is all-perfect. It is for all living entities, not that I shall simply give protection for my brother, my sister, or my father, but even to the lowest animal we shall give protection. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, "Only a person who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities."

Lecture on BG 6.2-5 -- Los Angeles, February 14, 1969:

The history of this Dhruva Mahārāja I have told you many times, that he was a child, five years boy, old. He was insulted by his stepmother. He was sitting on the lap of his father, or he was trying. And his stepmother said,"Oh you cannot sit on the lap of your father because you are not born in my womb." So because he was kṣatriya boy, although five years old, he took it a great insult. So he went to his own mother. "Mother, stepmother has insulted me like this." He was crying. Mother said, "What can I do, my dear boy? Your father loves your stepmother more. What can I do?" "No, I want my father's kingdom. Tell me how can I get it." Mother said, "My dear boy, if Kṛṣṇa, God, blesses you, you can get." "Where is God?" She said, "Oh, we have heard God is in the forest. Great sages go there and find out." So he went to the forest and underwent severe penances and he saw God. But when he saw God, Nārāyaṇa, he was no more anxious for the kingdom of his father. No more anxious.

Lecture on BG 6.6-12 -- Los Angeles, February 15, 1969:

Prabhupāda: This is transcendental science. It requires different senses to understand. And that sense you have to create, you have to purify by rendering service. Otherwise, even great scholars, like so many doctors and Ph.D.s, they mistake what is Kṛṣṇa. They cannot understand. It is not possible. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes as He is. Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā. Although He is unborn, He comes to make us know how God is, you see? Go on.

Devotee: "One must be fortunate enough to associate with a person who is in pure consciousness. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has realized knowledge by the grace of Kṛṣṇa."

Prabhupāda: Yes, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. Not by academic qualification. We have to acquire the grace of Kṛṣṇa. Then we can see Kṛṣṇa. Then we can talk with Kṛṣṇa, then we can do everything. He is a person. He is the Supreme Person. That is the Vedic injunction. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13).

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, March 17, 1968:

So Kṛṣṇa says, mayy āsakta-manāḥ: "Those who have developed attachment for Me..." Kṛṣṇa attachment can be developed. Just like before my coming here, there was no movement like this, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but you are developing. You had no... Kṛṣṇa was not born in your country. You do not accept Kṛṣṇa as your religious God. But Kṛṣṇa is so attractive that although you are foreigners... You are not foreigners. To Kṛṣṇa you are not a foreigner. He claims everybody as His son. We make Him foreigner. He claims everybody as His son. We make Him foreigner. This is our foolishness. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya: (BG 14.4) "My dear Arjuna, there are many different forms in different species of life, undoubtedly, but I am their father." Just see how Kṛṣṇa is universal. He is claiming not only the human society, but even animal society, even the bird society, beast society, aquatic society, botany society, everyone. Everyone He says that "I am the father." So how Kṛṣṇa can be foreign to you? No.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1968:

The four functions of conditional life means birth, death, old age, and disease. Actually, I am a spirit soul. That is explained in the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, that the spirit soul is never born or is never dead. He continues his life even after the destruction of this particular type of body. This body is only a flash, for some years only. But it will be finished. It is being finished by degrees. Just like I'm an old man of seventy-three years old. Suppose if I live eighty years or a hundred years, these seventy-three years I have already died. That is finished. Now a few years I may remain. So we are dying from the date of our birth. That is a fact. So Bhagavad-gītā gives you the solution of these four problems. And Kṛṣṇa here is suggesting, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Auckland, April 15, 1972:

This center is open for this purpose, that people may take advantage how to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just like you go to a school and you learn how to read and write, and then you pass M.A. examination, similarly, if you think that you have forgotten, you have no knowledge, please come, take the process. And just like these people, they were not born in India. They are not Hindus. They are not Vaiṣṇavas. Their forefathers never heard what is Kṛṣṇa, neither they heard. How they are taking? It is the process. That process we are giving to everyone without any discrimination. We have got students from all communities: Hindus, Muslim, Christian, Parsis, and Africans. The process is so perfect. If you take the process, you will also understand. So for this teaching this process, we are opening center here. You all Indians, your chance is first. So why don't you cooperate and learn? It is open to everyone. It is not a secret thing. So I invite you on Tuesday. (aside:) At what time we are going to...?

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Ahmedabad, December 13, 1972:

Generally, a qualified brāhmaṇa becomes guru. That is natural. Brāhmaṇa is the head of the society. So he is... And without becoming brāhmaṇa, nobody can become guru. That is also fact. Because brāhmaṇa means brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ, one who knows Brahman, Brahman. So guru must be a brāhmaṇa, mean a qualified brāhmaṇa, not born-brāhmaṇa, so-called brāhmaṇa. Qualified brāhmaṇa. So still, brāhmaṇa's qualification, ṣaṭ-karma, paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna pratigraha. So śāstra says that ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṇo vipraḥ. If one vipra is quite expert in executing the six kinds of business, and mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ, and very well known in the Vedic mantras and hymns and everything complete, but if he is avaiṣṇava, if he is not Vaiṣṇava, he does not know viṣṇu-tattva, or kṛṣṇa-tattva, then he cannot become spiritual master. Avaiṣṇavo gurur na syād vaiṣṇavaḥ śva-paco guruḥ. But if a Vaiṣṇava, one who knows viṣṇu-tattva, kṛṣṇa-tattva, even if he's born in the family of śva-paca, the dog-eaters, caṇḍāla, he can be accepted as guru.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Durban, October 9, 1975:

That we do not know. We are callous. We do not know what is the position of my real self. That we do not know. This is called ignorance. That instruction is given in the Bhagavad-gītā in the beginning. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This living spirit... Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This, I mean to say, spirit soul is never born. Then what is this birth? The birth is of this body. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāram (BG 2.13). This change of body We are changing body. But I am the eternal. I know that I had a body of a child. The body is gone. The childhood body is no more existing. But I know that I had a body. This is the proof that I am eternal; the body is changing. This is the way. I was a young man; now I am old man. But I know, "I was young man. My body was like this. I was doing that." But now that is not possible because that body has gone. So similarly, the conclusion is that when this body will be vanquished, I shall accept another body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13).

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- London, August 4, 1971:

"After finishing this body, I am not finished." That is perfection. Not that those who are in this concept of life, that with the finishing of this body everything is finished. That is nonsense. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Kṛṣṇa teaches. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin..., nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). "This ātmā is never born and he never dies." Na jāyate mriyate vā. Nitya, eternal; śāśvata, ever-existing, śāśvata. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. "Don't think that because the body is finished, therefore he is finished. No." In another place Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). As we are changing body from babyhood to childhood, childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youth-hood, youth-hood to grown-up and old age—this is our practical experience, I have several times explained—similarly, this old body, when I give it up, I shall accept another body. What is that body? That will be given to you by the laws of nature according to your mentality.

Lecture on BG 7.9-10 -- Bombay, February 24, 1974:

Brahmā is considered as the forefather or grandfather, pitāmaha. But Kṛṣṇa is addressed in the Bhagavad-gītā: prapitāmaha, even the father of Brahmā. Prapitāmaha. You'll find in the Eleventh Chapter, prapitāmaha (BG 11.39). He's father of... Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye (SB 1.1.1). You know, those who are conversant with the śāstras, that Brahmā's another name is Svayambhū. He's not born of any material father and mother. He's born on the lotus flower sprouted from the navel of Mahā-Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore his name is Svayambhū. Svayambhū is one of the authorities because he was first educated about the Vedic knowledge by Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu. Tene brahma hṛdā. Brahma means Vedic knowledge. Tene means imparted. Ādi-kavaye, the ādi-kavi, the original person. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. Even big, big personalities, they become bewildered to understand Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says... We have already discussed.

Lecture on BG 7.15-18 -- New York, October 9, 1966:

There was a little boy, five years old, in royal family, Mahārāja Dhruva. He was insulted by his stepmother. The little boy was sitting on the lap of his father, and the stepmother dragged the boy: "Oh, you cannot sit down, sit on the father's, on the lap of your father, because you are not born of me." Oh, the boy became very much, I mean to say, aggrieved at the... Because he was the son of a kṣatriya—they are in modes of passion—so he took it a great insult, and he went to his own mother. The king had two queens. The, I mean to, the senior queen had this boy, and the junior queen had no son. So junior queen was very much envious of this boy. And so he... She dragged the boy from the lap of his father, but the boy felt insulted. He went to his mother and cried, "Mother, my," I mean to say, "junior mother has insulted me in this way. I was sitting."

Lecture on BG 9.5 -- Melbourne, April 24, 1976:

hadn't come to the West until now, why it hasn't come earlier?

Prabhupāda: Because you were not born. After your birth we have come here to take you back to home, back to Godhead. Now you take the opportunity; come with us. We were waiting for your birth.

Gurukṛpā: Questions?

Guest (2) (man): How can one strengthen the spiritual will to act plain and live the spiritual life?

Prabhupāda: Spiritual life we are leading here. You can see. We are worshiping the Deity. We are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. We haven't got to go to the factory early in the morning. This is spiritual life. Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, eat sumptuously Kṛṣṇa prasādam, and worship the Deity, that is spiritual life.

Lecture on BG 9.23-24 -- New York, December 10, 1966:

"My dear Arjuna, anyone who simply knows how I take My birth and how I am working," janma karma me divyam, "transcendentally, that person becomes immediately liberated." How is that? Now, tyaktvā deham: "After quitting this body, he never comes again to this material world." Then where does he go? Mām eti: "In My kingdom." So simply by knowing how Kṛṣṇa, He is unborn, how He's taking birth, and the Supreme, how He's working like us—these two things, if you know, simply, about Kṛṣṇa... How do we know? Therefore the Vedic injunction is tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). If you want to know Kṛṣṇa, then you must approach a person who knows Kṛṣṇa. Don't try to know Kṛṣṇa by your own imagination. People are trying to know Kṛṣṇa by his faulty imagination. In that way Kṛṣṇa cannot be known. So if you want to know Kṛṣṇa, then you have to know Kṛṣṇa as Arjuna knows. Because Arjuna understood Kṛṣṇa, what He is. Otherwise, he would not have changed his decision. His decision was not to fight, but he changed his decision.

Lecture on BG 9.34 -- New York, December 26, 1966, 'Who is Crazy?':

With the change of time, with the change of influence, they are all designations.

Fifty years before when some of you, of course, not all of you are fifty years old. Say, forty years before, or thirty-five years before, when you were, or twenty-five years before, when you were not born, can you say what was your designation? Were you American or Indian or Chinese or Russian, can you say? Say, after getting out of this body, do you think that you'll continue as American or Indian or Chinese or Russian? Suppose you are now in America, in the land of America. So next life you may be in China. Who can say? Because we are changing our bodies, you cannot say that we are not changing our bodies. Can you say that you are not changing your body? Yes, we are changing. When I was born, from the mother's womb, my body was so little. Now how I have changed my...? Where is that body? Where is that body when I was a child?

Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:

Now, here is nice formula presented by Kṛṣṇa Himself, that one should understand the position of Kṛṣṇa. What is the position of Kṛṣṇa? Ajam, unborn. And anādi, without any cause. Everyone, we have got experience that we are born and we have our cause. The father is the cause of our birth. This is the distinction between myself and Kṛṣṇa. Now, if somebody poses himself that he is God, he has to prove himself that he is unborn and he is not caused. We are... This is very simple thing. Our practical experience is that I am born and I am caused because the father and mother is the cause. So Kṛṣṇa is not caused, neither He is born. So one has to understand this. Understanding of God, or Kṛṣṇa, is that one should be firmly convinced that God is never born, nor He is caused by anything. He is the cause of all causes. But He is not caused by anything.

Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:

Atrājam ity anena pradhāna-pradhānāt cid-vargāt saṁsāra-vivargāc ca veda, veda.(?) Now, here this ajam, that God is unborn, this indicates that He is different from this material world because in the material world we have no experience that anyone is unborn. Everyone is born. Not only everyone, everything is born. This your New York City is born. You will find some date in the history that the New York City was started four hundred years or five hundred years. So we have got, we are very much fond of history. That means finding out the date of birth of everything. So this is the nature. So "He is unborn" means that spiritual nature is not like this material nature. At once we can understand. Spiritual nature is born and... Material nature is born, and spiritual nature is not born. This is the distinction.

Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:

That means finding out the date of birth of everything. So this is the nature. So "He is unborn" means that spiritual nature is not like this material nature. At once we can understand. Spiritual nature is born and... Material nature is born, and spiritual nature is not born. This is the distinction. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is not material, He is spiritual. Because He says unborn, therefore He is not material. Immediately you have to understand.

Those foolish commentators do not understand this, that if Kṛṣṇa is unborn, then how He can become like one of us if He is unborn? Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā you will find, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). Because Kṛṣṇa is before you just like an ordinary person, or not ordinary, extraordinary... But here in this world, even extraordinary person, he is also born. He is born. The President Johnson is born. So you are also born. Everyone. Even Brahmā is born. But He is not born.

Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:

Now, anādi, this word, should be very nicely analyzed. Anādi means without any cause. Now, Kṛṣṇa may be spiritual, but there are other spiritual bodies also. There are many spiritual bodies, and we are also having spiritual body, but it is now covered. But our spiritual body is also due to Kṛṣṇa. Because everything is born, everything is born. So my spiritual body is also born. It is not born exactly, but because we have no idea about the spiritual existence, therefore the cause and effect we have to take it for granted.

Just like in the fire there is always the sparks of fire. The sparks of fire are not born. It appears... When it is manifested, it appears just like born from the fire. But actually it is not born; it is there. It is there. You have seen fireplace, "phut!" and you see thousands of sparks at once, and again comes down. Similarly, we are not born. We are also not born. But there is difference because the sparks come out of the original fire. So we are all sparks, spiritual sparks. We come out from Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:

You have seen fireplace, "phut!" and you see thousands of sparks at once, and again comes down. Similarly, we are not born. We are also not born. But there is difference because the sparks come out of the original fire. So we are all sparks, spiritual sparks. We come out from Kṛṣṇa. So even though we are not born, but the cause is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is different from us. Is not that logic right?

So we cannot be Kṛṣṇa. Fools claim that "I am Kṛṣṇa." How you can be Kṛṣṇa? There is difference. This is the difference. Also not different. Therefore Lord Caitanya's philosophy, acintya-bhedābheda, simultaneously one and different. The same example: take it that the sparks of the fire, they are fire. They are not anything. But they are not the original fire, the sparks. They are fire. So therefore, so far the fiery qualities concerned, we are all one with God, but because we are generated from God, therefore we are different.

Lecture on BG 13.5 -- Bombay, September 28, 1973:

He'll never go away from fighting. If a kṣatriya is challenged, "I want to fight with you." "Yes, come on." That is kṣatriya. Similarly, brāhmaṇa. These are qualifications. So if such qualification is acquired by somebody else, even though he's not born in that family, Nārada Muni says, tat tenaiva vinirdiśet (SB 7.11.35). If a brāhmaṇa has not acquired the brahminical qualifications but a kṣatriya qualification or a vaiśya qualification or a śūdra qualification, then, according to the quality, guṇa, and work, he should be ascertained. Similarly, others also. Yad anyatrāpi dṛśyeta. This is śāstric injunction.

And Kṛṣṇa therefore refers to brahma-sūtra padaiś caiva hetumadbhir viniścitaiḥ (BG 13.5). So we have to accept the Vedānta-sūtra, knowledge, through Vedānta-sūtra. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says knowledge means veda-jñāna. Vedānta-sūtra jñāna, that is knowledge. Because it is very reasonably stated, reasonably. Hetumadbhir viniścitaiḥ.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.1 -- Caracas, February 21, 1975:

And if some rascal comes and says, "I am God," then you ask him, "Whether you have got father?" As soon as he says that "Yes, I have got father," then he is dog. So in your country so many imitation gods come. I know this. But you ask them, to test him, "Whether you have got father?" If he says, "Yes, I have got father," then you say, "You are dog." Therefore God's another name is unborn. Unborn means He is not begotten by any father. That is stated in the Vedic language, that advaitam acyutam... govindam ādi-puruṣam. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1), anādir ādiḥ. Anādi means He has no source of emanation. But He is ādi. He is the original source of everything. Therefore it is said, anādir ādiḥ. Anādi means He is without any source. But everyone is on account of His presence. Now, it is simple understanding. There is no difficulty to understand God.

Lecture on SB 1.2.2 -- Rome, May 26, 1974:

This Satyakāma was the son of a prostitute. He was not a brāhmaṇa's son. So he wanted to become brāhmaṇa. So he went to Gautama Muni, "Sir, please initiate me. I want to become a brāhmaṇa." Śūdras were not initiated. In the formerly... Śūdras are common. Therefore Gautama Muni inquired that "What you are? Because I do not initiate who is not born of a brāhmaṇa father." So he said, "I do not know." "So go to your mother. Ask whose son you are." The mother said, "I do not know." So he came and he said that "Sir, my mother does not know whose son I am." So Gautama Muni accepted him as disciple because he was truthful. He saw that he has got the brahminical qualification, truthful. Everyone is not willing that to admit that he is the son of a prostitute. No. But he admitted, "Yes, my mother does not know by whom I was begotten." So this is qualification.

Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- Montreal, August 2, 1968:

There are many examples. Just like Dhruva Mahārāja. He went to worship God with a motive. His father did not accept him on the lap. His stepmother insulted him, that "You cannot sit on the lap of your father because you were not born in my womb." (noises) (aside:) Stop that. So he went to worship God in the forest with a motive. He was a kṣatriya. He was determined that "I must have my father's property." And everyone thinks like that, some motive. But his mother advised that "Your determination... Your, this promise can only be fulfilled if Kṛṣṇa helps you. Otherwise, it is impossible." So he went to worship Kṛṣṇa. But actually, when he met Kṛṣṇa face to face, he said, svāmin kṛtārtho 'smi varaṁ na yāce: (CC Madhya 22.42) "My dear Lord, simply by seeing You I have become satisfied. I don't want anything more from You."

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

All scientists, all philosophers, they are the same concept, that "I am this body. Beyond this body there is nothing." All big, big professors, scientists, that "After this body is finished, everything is finished." But actually, that is not a fact. From Bhagavad-gītā you understand that na jāyate na mriyate. The spirit soul is never born, never dies. It is the body, material body, that takes birth and dies. But spirit soul remains. Dehāntara-prāptiḥ. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). He transmigrates to another body, just like we are transmigrating from one body to another. There are so many children here. Now they are doing so many things foolish, but we enjoy because we know that this body is foolish body. Nobody grudges if a child does something which not to be done. Just like most children, they are chewing their thumb, but if you do that, that cannot be allowed. Because your body is different, and his body is different.

Lecture on SB 1.5.1-8 -- New Vrindaban, May 23, 1969:

"Still I don't find satisfaction." Tan-mūlam avyaktam. "And what is the cause? That is also I do not know." Tan-mūlam avyaktam agādha-bodhaṁ pṛcchāmahe tvātma-bhavātma-bhūtam. Bhavātmā. Ātma-bhūtaṁ bhava. "You are the son of Brahmā." Brahmā is called ātma-bhūtam. Brahmā is not born of ordinary father and mother. Brahmā is born of the Supreme Lord, Supreme ātmā, Nārāyaṇa, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore he is called Svayambhū. Brahmā's another name is Svayambhū. Sa vai bhavān veda samasta-guhyam upāsito yat puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ. Now here Nārada's qualification is that "Because you are a great devotee of the original Personality of Godhead, puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ." Śāśvataṁ puruṣam ādyam. Just like Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa, śāśvataṁ puruṣam ādyam. Just like we are singing now, govindam ādi-puruṣam. So purāṇa-puruṣam. Purāṇa-puruṣam, the oldest puruṣa, oldest being. The oldest being is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.5.23 -- Vrndavana, August 4, 1974:

So this is the previous life history of Nārada Muni. Nārada Muni is explaining about his previous life to Vyāsadeva. What was the previous life? The son of a maidservant. Maidservant means śūdrāṇī, not born of a brāhmaṇa family. Low class, maidservant. So from this position, Nārada Muni became the greatest muni. He is describing his own life.

This is most important point, that even... First of all, he was a boy, three-, four-or five-years-old boy, no knowledge. And second point is that he was not born in a very high-grade family, aristocratic family, rich family. No. Maidservant's son. He did not give any information of his father also. Dāsyāḥ. Dāsyāḥ means there is no certainty who is father. Dāsī. Dāsī-putra. The... Formerly, big, big men, especially kṣatriyas... Just like when Vasudeva was married with Devakī, so with Devakī many hundreds maidservants were given, with Vasudeva. That is the system, especially among the kṣatriyas. When a kṣatriya king is married, then along with the queen, many girlfriends of the queen, they are also taken away.

Lecture on SB 1.5.23 -- Vrndavana, August 4, 1974:

Therefore, the royal order, they would accept all these girls as associates. And sometimes they would be pregnant, and there will be son. They were called dāsī-putra. They were not neglected. They were equally taken care of. But they were not heir to the throne. Only the married wife's son... Just like Vidura. Vidura's birth was like that. Vidura was not born of the queen, but maidservant. And Dhṛtarāṣṭra, he took him as his brother. There was no discrimination, because one is born of the maidservant... No. Equal treatment. Only the restriction was that he would not inherit the throne. That was the system.

So here... Of course, it appears that Nārada Muni was not of that kind of dāsī-putra. Ordinary dāsī-putra. Because the such dāsī, or the maidservant, they do not come out for common service. They remain within the palace. So the point is that Nārada Muni in his previous life was not very recognized family, neither brāhmaṇa nor nothing of the sort. Still, he became next life the Nārada Muni. And what is the cause?

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Hyderabad, August 18, 1976:

Still, if one understands... That is also Caitanya Mahāprabhu's order. Āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa (CC Madhya 7.128). He says everyone of you become a guru. How can I become guru? I am not very learned scholar, I have no education. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says no. Even though you are not very much educated or not born of a very high family, you simply, yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). That's all. You become a guru. Kṛṣṇa-upadeśa. Don't adulterate it, but as Kṛṣṇa says, you say. You become guru. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's... So I have tried that. I have tried to follow the Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instruction, and I am presenting Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. There is no magic, there is no jugglery and people are taking. If you do that everyone will be happy, the world will be happy and India's glory will be spread all over the world.

Lecture on SB 1.7.49-50 -- Vrndavana, October 7, 1976:

Why you shall restrict? God is not under your restriction. That is God. If He becomes under your rules and regulation, then He's not God. That is inconceivable. How ajo 'pi, although unborn, how He takes birth. Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi. Bhūtānām īśvaraḥ. He's the Supreme Controller, but He likes to be controlled by Mother Yaśodā. Bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san. He controls everyone, but why He accepts one lady, innocent lady, not very educated, not Vedantist, a village lady, interested in churning curd and butter. Not Vedantist. And He has become just like a very affectionate son of this village lady. "Mother, let me suck your breast."

Lecture on SB 1.8.25 -- Vrndavana, October 5, 1974:

We understand from Bhagavad-gītā, na jāyate na mriyate, that "This living entity is never born, never dies." This information we get, very simple information. We are taking information from whom? Kṛṣṇa, jagad-guru, the supreme guru, the original guru. Guru means Kṛṣṇa's representative. A guru cannot be manufactured. Guru means... Kṛṣṇa is jagad-guru, and one who speaks on behalf of Kṛṣṇa or one who speaks as Kṛṣṇa says, he is guru. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā: (CC Madhya 7.128) "You just become guru on My order." You cannot become guru automatically without following the order of jagad-guru. The government servant... Who is government servant? Who is strictly following the government order, that is government servant. Anyone can say, "I am government servant."

Lecture on SB 1.8.25 -- Vrndavana, October 5, 1974:

And so long we'll have any such material desire, then Kṛṣṇa is so kind—He will give you chance to take birth again.

Therefore the aim should be... Real happiness is apunar bhava-darśanam. Apunar bhava. This is going on. The jagad-guru is teaching, na jāyate mriyate vā. It requires little intelligence, that "Kṛṣṇa, the jagad-guru, is teaching that living entity is never born and never dies. So why I am taking birth and I am dying?" This much intelligence they haven't got... Because they do not take the instruction of the jagad-guru... He is describing, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. Kadācit, at any time. Not that in the past he was dying. Kṛṣṇa says again in the Second Chapter that "All these soldiers and kings who have assembled there, so also you and Me, we existed in the past, we are existing now, and we shall continue to exist in the future." Therefore kadācit. Kadācit means "at any time." "Any time" means past, present and future. Time has got three factors. So at any time. Kadācit means at any time the living entity is never born, never dies.

Lecture on SB 1.8.30 -- Los Angeles, April 22, 1973:

Devotee:

janma karma ca viśvātmann
ajasyākartur ātmanaḥ
tiryaṅ-nṟṣiṣu yādaḥsu
tad atyanta-viḍambanam
(SB 1.8.30)

"Of course it is bewildering, O Soul of the Universe, that You work, though You are inactive, and that You take birth, though You are the vital force and the unborn. You Yourself descend amongst animals, men, sages, and aquatics. Verily this is bewildering."

Prabhupāda: So Kṛṣṇa is addressed here as Viśvātman, the vital force of the universe. Just like in my body, in your body, that there is a vital force. The vital force is the ātmā, the living being, living entity or soul. So because the vital force, the soul is there, the whole body is working.

Lecture on SB 1.8.30 -- Los Angeles, April 22, 1973:

So similarly there is the supreme vital force. Supreme vital force is Kṛṣṇa or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore where is the question of His taking birth, appearance and disappearance? In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said: janma karma ca me divyam (BG 4.9). Divyam means it is spiritual. Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā. Aja means unborn. Avyayātmā, without any destruction. So Kṛṣṇa is existing as in the beginning of this stotra, Kuntīdevī addressed Kṛṣṇa that: "You are within, You are without, still invisible." Kṛṣṇa is within, without. That we have explained. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ (BG 15.15). Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone's heart. Therefore He is within everything. Aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham (Bs. 5.35). He, He is within the atom even. And without also.

Lecture on SB 1.8.30 -- Mayapura, October 10, 1974:

Nitāi: "Of course, it is bewildering, O soul of the universe, that You work, though You are inactive, that You take birth, though You are the vital force and the unborn. You Yourself descend amongst the animals, men, sages and aquatics. Verily, this is bewildering."

Prabhupāda:

janma karma ca viśvātmann
ajasyākartur ātmanaḥ
tiryaṅ-nṟṣiṣu yādaḥsu
tat atyanta-viḍambanam
(SB 1.8.30)

This viḍambanam word, the English translation is almost similar—"bewildering." Viḍambanam, "bewildering."

Lecture on SB 1.8.32 -- Los Angeles, April 24, 1973:

Devotee:

kecid āhur ajaṁ jātaṁ
puṇya-ślokasya kīrtaye
yadoḥ priyasyānvavāye
malayasyeva candanam
(SB 1.8.32)

"Some say that the Unborn is born for the glorification of pious kings, and others say that He is born to please King Yadu, one of Your dearest devotees. You appear in his family as sandalwood appears in the Malaya hills."

Prabhupāda: So there are two Malayas. One Malaya hill and one, this Malaya... Malaysia, now it is known as. Formerly, in this part of the world, Malaysia, they were growing sandalwood in great, large scale. Because 5,000 years ago, there was good demand for sandalwood. Every person should use the sandal pulp. Because in India, it is tropical country. So this is a good cosmetic. Still, those who can afford during very warm day of summer season, if you apply pulp of sandalwood on your body, you feel no warm. It is cool. Yes.

Lecture on SB 1.8.32 -- Los Angeles, April 24, 1973:

Otherwise, if we come back again, the difficulties, the difficult days are ahead. We have to suffer more and more.

So Kṛṣṇa is described here as Aja. Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Ajo 'pi. "I am unborn." Yes. Kṛṣṇa is unborn. We are also unborn. But difference is that we have been entangled with this material body. Therefore we cannot keep our position as unborn. We have to take birth, transmigrate from one body to another, and there is no guarantee what kind of body you are going to get next. But you have to accept.

Just like we are accepting in this life one body after another. The child is giving up his childhood body, accepting the boyhood body, The boy is giving up his boyhood body, accepting youthhood body. Similarly, this body of old age, when giving up, natural conclusion is that I will have to accept another body. Again childhood body.

Lecture on SB 1.8.32 -- Los Angeles, April 24, 1973:

So I may not be complete, but because I am part and parcel, so I have, I have got all the qualities of God in part and parcel. It is not that... So God does not die. He's aja. So I also will not die. This is my position. And that is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā that: na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. When He's describing about the soul, Kṛṣṇa says that the soul is never born, na jāyate, na mriyate. And if one is not born, how he can die? There is no question of death. Death is for a thing which has got a birth. If one has no birth, there is no question of death. Na jāyate na mriyate vā. So we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. As Kṛṣṇa is Aja, we are also aja. That we do not know. This is ignorance. This is ignorance.

Lecture on SB 1.8.32 -- Los Angeles, April 24, 1973:

Similarly to go back to home, back to Godhead means you get the same type of body, as Kṛṣṇa has got. You become aja. Ajo nityaḥ śāśvato 'yam. This is a disease, that we are changing our body. So Kṛṣṇa is Aja.

So Kuntī says: kaścid, kecid āhur ajaṁ jātam (SB 1.8.32). Ajam, the eternal, the unborn, is now has taken His birth. Then of course we can say that Kṛṣṇa is taking birth. Yes Kṛṣṇa takes birth but His birth is not like ours. That we should know. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). Kṛṣṇa is taking birth as the son of Devakī or Mother Yaśodā, but He's not taking birth exactly like us. That is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. When Kṛṣṇa appeared, He did not come out or did not come out from the womb of Devakī. He first of all appeared. You have seen the picture. And then He became a small child on the lap.

Lecture on SB 1.8.32 -- Los Angeles, April 24, 1973:

Prakṛti, nature is working under the order of Kṛṣṇa, and we are working under the order of nature. That is the difference. See... Kṛṣṇa is the master of nature, and we are servant of nature. That is the difference. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate. Therefore Kuntīdevī says: kecid āhur. Somebody says like that. Somebody says like that, that the unborn has taken birth. How the unborn can take birth? It appears like that but it is not taking birth. It appears just like He has taken birth like us. No.

Therefore the, it is said, distinctly: kecid āhur. "Some foolish persons say like that." And Kṛṣṇa has also said in the Bhagavad-gītā: avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ. "Those who are rascals. they think that I am also just like ordinary human being." Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). "Because I have appeared just like a human being, so some of the rascals, they think that I am also one of the human beings." No.

Lecture on SB 1.8.32 -- Los Angeles, April 24, 1973:

Similarly if Kṛṣṇa is within the heart of everyone, Devakī also, so if He comes out before Devakī in the same four-handed form, is it very difficult for Kṛṣṇa? So people do not know. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that: "You have to understand: janma karma me divyam (BG 4.9), transcendental birth. My activities, My birth." Therefore Kuntīdevī knows that Kṛṣṇa is unborn. Kṛṣṇa does not take birth, but it appears like that to some fools. Therefore they say that Kṛṣṇa has taken birth. But why Kṛṣṇa takes birth? The next question will be. That is replied: puṇya-ślokasya kīrtaye (SB 1.8.32), puṇya-ślokasya. Those who are very pious, very advanced in spiritual understanding, to glorify them. Kṛṣṇa comes to become the son of Devakī to glorify Devakī. Kṛṣṇa becomes the son of Yaśodā to glorify His devotee, Yaśodā.

Lecture on SB 1.8.32 -- Mayapura, October 12, 1974:

Nitāi: "Some say that the Unborn is born for the glorification of pious kings, and others say that He is born to please King Yadu, one of Your dearest devotees. You appear in his family as sandalwood appears in the Malaya Hills."

Prabhupāda:

kecid āhur ajaṁ jātaṁ
puṇya-ślokasya kīrtaye
yadoḥ priyasyānvavāye
malayasyeva candanam
(SB 1.8.32)

So Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do. He is the Supreme. Why He shall have some thing to do? Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇam... This is the definition in the Vedas: "God has nothing to do. He is self-sufficient. Neither He has got any aspiration." Just like we are thinking of purchasing this land, that land. Why Kṛṣṇa will think like that? Because every land is belonging to Him. So He has nothing to purchase. Everything is there. So why He comes? That is the same way, as Kṛṣṇa says personally. He comes for paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). He wants to give protection to the devotees, to glorify the devotees.

Lecture on SB 1.8.33 -- Los Angeles, April 25, 1972:

Devotee:

apare vasudevasya
devakyāṁ yācito 'bhyagāt
ajas tvam asya kṣemāya
vadhāya ca sura-dviṣām
(SB 1.8.33)

"Others say that since both Vasudeva and Devakī prayed for You, You have taken Your birth as their son. Undoubtedly You are unborn, yet You take Your birth for their welfare and to kill those who are envious of the demigods."

Prabhupāda: So there are two purposes of incarnation. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.

yadā yadā hi dharmasya
glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya
tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham
(BG 4.7)

The Lord says that whenever there is irregularities, dharmasya, of religion, irregularities... Glāniḥ. Glāniḥ means irregularities. Just like you are executing some service. There may be irregularities. Then it becomes polluted. So yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati... Dharmasya glānir bhavati means development of irreligiosity. That means if your wealth is diminished, then your poverty is increased, balanced. If you increase this side, the other side will go up and if you increase that side, the other side... But you have to keep balance. That is required.

Lecture on SB 1.8.33 -- Mayapura, October 13, 1974:

Nitāi: "Others say that since both Vasudeva and Devakī prayed for You, You have taken Your birth as their son. Undoubtedly You are unborn, yet You take Your birth for their welfare and to kill those who are envious of the demigods."

Prabhupāda:

apare vasudevasya
devakyāṁ yācito 'bhyagāt
ajas tvam asya kṣemāya
vadhāya ca sura-dviṣām
(SB 1.8.33)

There are... Actually Kṛṣṇa is unborn, aja, but Aja is taking birth. That is already explained. This is the bewilderment, viḍambanam. It is already explained. So this viḍambanam, speculation or bewilderment, how many types of speculation are there, that is being described by Kuntīdevī. Somebody says that Kṛṣṇa is Yādava. Yādava. Yādavāya mādhavāya keśavāya namaḥ. Yādava means born in the Yadu dynasty. And somebody says Kṛṣṇa is Vāsudeva, son of Vasudeva, Devakī. And Kṛṣṇa... And some of them, they say, nanda-kumārāya, now, son of Nanda Mahārāja. So Kṛṣṇa has many speculations, but actually He is aja. Ajas tvam asya kṣemāya.

Lecture on SB 1.8.33 -- Mayapura, October 13, 1974:

Those who are mūḍhas, they cannot understand, but those who are intelligent, they know that Kṛṣṇa is perfectly playing as a human being. As a human being takes birth in the womb of his father and mother by the father and mother, similarly, Kṛṣṇa also appeared, accepting Vasudeva as His father, Devakī as mother. But actually Kṛṣṇa is not born. That is being repeatedly explained by Kuntīdevī, that apare, apare vasudevasya devakyām: "They say like that." What is that? Devakī-nandana... There is a verse, that "It is a saying only. Nobody can become Kṛṣṇa's father or mother, but they get the reputation as father and mother. That is a concession to the devotee." Therefore, Kuntīdevī says, apare: "Others say like that." Somebody says like this; somebody says like that; somebody says like this. This is going on. But actually, Kṛṣṇa remains aja always. Because if we do not understand that Kṛṣṇa, what is Kṛṣṇa, then we'll misunderstand Him, that "He is also born. He is also born, so how He can become?"

Lecture on SB 1.8.34 -- Los Angeles, April 26, 1973:

And the demons and the demigods, they are always there, existing. But when the demonic power becomes increased, then the world becomes overburdened. Sīdantyā bhūri-bhāreṇa jāto hy ātma-bhuvārthitaḥ (SB 1.8.34), ātma-bhū. Ātmabhū is Brahmā's name. He's directly born of the Supreme Soul, Viṣṇu. He's not born as usually we do from the womb of mother. So Brahmā was born from the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore his another name is Ātmabhū. Svayambhū, Svayambhū. These are different names of Brahmā. Svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ (SB 6.3.20). These are the... Brahmā is one, one of the authorities. He's also mentioned in the list of authorities, dvādaśa-mahājana. Twelve authorities.

Lecture on SB 1.8.35 -- Los Angeles, April 27, 1973 :

"You become" means you vanish also. As soon as there is question of you become, you vanish also. Anything which is born must die. This is the law of nature. The so-called scientists are trying that they will stop death by their scientific research work, but they do not know that anything born must die. Janma-mṛtyu. This is relative. And anything which is not born, that will not die. The matter is born. Anything material, that is born. But spirit is not born. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin. The soul is never born, and therefore never dies.

Now, bhave 'smin. Bhava, this bhava means this material world, cosmic manifestation. Bhave 'smin kliśyamānānām. Anyone who is within this material world must work. This is material world. Just like in the prison house, it is not possible that he will sit down and he will be honored just like son-in-law. No. In the, in our country son-in-law is very much worshiped.

Lecture on SB 1.8.40 -- Los Angeles, May 2, 1973:

The living entity does not take birth, neither he dies. Anything which does not take birth does not die also. Death is for such thing which is created. Which is not created, it has no death. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. Kadācit, at any time. Kṛṣṇa says kadācit. It is not that now it is not taking birth; formerly it took birth. No. Na kadācit. "Oh, I see this is, this is child is now born." No, it is not born. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇaḥ: that living entity is eternal; śāśvataḥ, always existing; purāṇaḥ, very, very old. Very, very old. Then? Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Don't think that when this body will be destroyed that living entity will be destroyed. No, it will continue.

Lecture on SB 1.10.3 -- Mayapura, June 18, 1973:

So if you don't find these symptoms, then how one can become brāhmaṇa? That is not possible.

Therefore in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we are trying to develop the symptoms of brāhmaṇa. Not by birth; to educate them, how to become śamo damas titikṣā ārjavam. So therefore you all, you should know that... You are not born in the brāhmaṇa family. It may not be very hard word, but actually it is mleccha-yavanas. Mleccha-yavanas means the cow flesh eaters, meat-eaters. They are called mleccha-yavanas. Especially mleccha means cow-eaters. So you are coming from the mleccha-yavanas' family, but you are being accepted as brāhmaṇa. Why? For the symptoms. You are being trained up to acquire the symptoms, śamo damas titikṣā. If you think that "Now I have got the sacred thread, I have become victorious," no.

Lecture on SB 1.10.11-12 -- Mayapura, June 25, 1973:

"Simply try to understand My janma. I take birth." Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā. He's aja. Every one of us aja. Na jāyate na mriyate. We don't take birth, don't die, because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa must be aja.

So Kṛṣṇa takes birth. That is Janmāṣṭamī. So if anyone tries to understand why the Aja, the Unborn, takes birth, janma karma... And God, Kṛṣṇa, who has nothing to do... That is the Vedic information. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. Why He has to do? Actually He hasn't got to do anything. He has to enjoy only. Just like we see the Deity Kṛṣṇa is not working in the factory as a factory manager. He's enjoying the company of Rādhārāṇī. We have to work. If we enjoy with our so-called Rādhārāṇī, then we'll starve to death. We have to work. But God is not like that. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. Na tat-samaś cābhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate. These are the informations from Vedas, Upaniṣads, that He has nothing to do. Yes. That is real God.

Lecture on SB 1.10.11-12 -- Mayapura, June 25, 1973:

These are the informations from Vedas, Upaniṣads, that He has nothing to do. Yes. That is real God. If God has to work, God has to do something, then what kind of God He is? Here, the so-called imitation Gods, even a rich man, he does not do anything. And why God will work? Therefore God comes... He's aja, unborn. He comes, janma, karma, He works also. Just like Kṛṣṇa. He worked ordinary cowherd's boy. He worked as ordinary politician. He worked as ordinary philosopher, left the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā and so many other instructions, sublime instructions.

So one has to understand that why the unborn takes birth. One who hasn't got to do anything, why He comes as a human being and works? Janma karma me divyam.

Lecture on SB 1.13.10 -- Geneva, June 1, 1974:

So his son, Dhṛtarāṣṭra's son, Duryodhana, he understood it that "This, my uncle, is always instigating my father not to take part in the matter of the vanquishing of the Pāṇḍavas." So he used very harsh word, because Vidura, although he was the son of king, but he was not born of the queen. He was born of a maidservant. Formerly, the queens had many maidservants, and they also sometimes begot children by the king. So they were called dāsī-putra. By legal significance, they were not inheritor. So Vidura was born like that. He was not born of the queen, but of the maidservant. But his elder brother Dhṛtarāṣṭra liked him very much. He got him raised—he was younger—very nicely. He got him married and gave him sufficient property. He was very kind upon him. And therefore Vidura was also very much obliged to his eldest brother, and he was always giving him good advice, and a great devotee.

Lecture on SB 1.15.34 -- Los Angeles, December 12, 1973:

Pradyumna: Translation: "The Supreme Unborn, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, caused the members of the Yadu dynasty to relinquish their bodies, and thus He relieved the burden of the world. This action was like picking out a thorn with a thorn, though both are the same to the controller." (SB 1.15.34)

Prabhupāda: So Kṛṣṇa's two business is going on in this material world. One is paritrāṇāya sādhūnām (BG 4.8), and the other is vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām. One business is to give protection to the law-abiding devotees. Devotee means who accepts the Supreme Lord as the supreme controller and accepts himself as subordinate. This is devotee. Devotee is not very... Actually, we are subordinate to the laws of nature, and the nature is being manipulated by the Lord. Therefore, ultimately we are subordinate to the Supreme Lord. God is great; everyone knows it.

Lecture on SB 1.15.36 -- Los Angeles, December 14, 1973:

This is going on. Therefore we are called marginal. If we like, we can transfer ourself to the spiritual world and remain eternally, because we are of the spiritual nature. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā: na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This is the description of the soul. The soul is never born, na jāyate. Na mriyate, neither he dies. Na jāyate na mriyate vā. Kadācit, at any time. Not that sometimes we wish to live or sometimes we wish to die. No. Everlastingly, eternally, we never take our birth, never we die. Then what is this death? This death is of the material body, not of the soul. Therefore it is said, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20), more distinctly, that "We don't think that the soul is dead after the annihilation of this body."

Lecture on SB 2.3.20 -- Los Angeles, June 16, 1972:

Therefore the so-called scholars, when Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65)—Kṛṣṇa says, "Just become My devotee, offer your obeisances unto Me, always think of Me," man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ—the scholar, the so-called scholar, says, "This is not to Kṛṣṇa the person. It is to the unborn which is within Him." The rascal does not know that Kṛṣṇa has no within-without. Kṛṣṇa is absolute. Otherwise there is no meaning of absolute. When there is duality, how it can be absolute? That sense they haven't got. Still, they are passing as big scholars. Kṛṣṇa is no such thing as within and without. We living entities, ordinary living entities ... I am soul. I am within this body.

Lecture on SB 3.1.10 -- Dallas, May 21, 1973:

Otherwise how every woman is going to get a husband? Because male population is always shorter than the female population.

So Vidura was born of a maidservant. The father was the king. The father was the same, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, er, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and the father, Vidura, the same, and the mother different. So Vidura, because he was not born of the queen, he had no share in the throne. But Dhṛtarāṣṭra loved him very much. Although stepmother's son, he would like him very much because he was very intelligent. So on every occasion he would consult him, and his consultation was so valuable that later on it became vaidurikam, "consultation as expert as given by Vidura." So he was invited. Diplomacy, politics were going on, how to cheat the Pāṇḍavas. That was his politics, Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Dhṛtarāṣṭra was born blind, although he was eldest son of his father, but he was born blind. So he could not occupy the throne. His next brother, younger brother, Pāṇḍu, the father of the Pāṇḍavas, he occupied. He became king.

Lecture on SB 3.25.13 -- Bombay, November 13, 1974:

"You learn from Me and teach your people within this village, within this country." Āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa (CC Madhya 7.128). Ei deśa means "this country, or this place where you are living." Then? Āmāra ājñāya guru hañā. You become guru. So one may think that "I am illiterate. I have no education. I am not born in very high family. How I can become guru?" So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that "It is not very difficult." Yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). Bas. You become guru. You simply speak whatever Kṛṣṇa speaks. Then you become guru.

So anyone who does not speak what Kṛṣṇa has spoken, he's not guru. He's a rascal. He cannot be guru. He is guru who speaks only what Kṛṣṇa has spoken. This is the shastric injunction.

Lecture on SB 3.25.21 -- Bombay, November 21, 1974:

Just like here-nationalism. What is this nationalism? Nationalism means to take care of the human beings and send the cows and goats to the slaughterhouse. This is going on, "nationalism." What do you mean by national? Nation... The definition is any living being born in that land, he is a national. So the cow is not born? The tree is not born in this land? But because they are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, they cannot be kind to all the dehīs. Sarva-dehinām. Dehī means anyone who has got this body. So somebody has got body human being, somebody has got the cow's body, somebody has a dog's body, somebody has tree's body. So the Vaiṣṇava is so kind that suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. He is kind not only to the human being: to the cats, dogs, to the trees, to the plants, to the insects. A Vaiṣṇava will hesitate to kill even one mosquito. Sarva-dehinām. Not that "I shall take care of my brother. I am good, and my brother is good." No. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. These are the Vaiṣṇava qualifications.

Lecture on SB 3.25.31 -- Bombay, December 1, 1974:

This is called āmnāya. "You follow the mahājana." And who are mahājana? They are also described in the śāstras: svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ (SB 6.3.20). Svayambhū means Lord Brahmā. Lord Brahmā is... Another name is Svayambhū. He was found in the lotus flower emanating from the navel of Viṣṇu. So practically, he was not born of father and mother; therefore he is called Svayambhū. Svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ. Nārada Muni is authority. And Śambhu, Lord Śiva. Therefore there is Rudra-sampradāya, āmnāya, because he is authority. Svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ kumāraḥ (SB 6.3.20), this Kumāra. And Kumāra means catuḥsana, Sanat-kumāra, catuḥsana. They are also authorities. And Kapiladeva, here, Devahūti-putra Kapiladeva, He is also authority. In this way, Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Kapiladeva, Manu, and Bhīṣmadeva, Janaka, Janaka Mahārāja, Bhīṣmadeva, and Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Prahlāda Mahārāja—in this way there are twelve authorities, and all of them are following the Sāṅkhya philosophy or bhakti-yoga, all of them.

Lecture on SB 3.25.32 -- Bombay, December 2, 1974:

No. That is cheater. That is not teacher. Guru means who is following the superior order. The superior order is Kṛṣṇa or His representative. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa. He is ordering, āmāra ājñāya, "By My order," guru hañā, "you become guru." "Sir, it is very difficult to become guru. I have no education. I have no culture. I am not born in a very high family. I am very low." A devotee always thinks like that. He never thinks that "I have become very great man." Just like Caitanya-caritāmṛta, author of, he says, purīṣera kīṭa haite muñi se laghiṣṭha (CC Adi 5.205). Purīṣa, purīṣa means stool, and there are worms in the stool. So Caitanya-caritāmṛta author is saying that "I am lower than the worms in the stool." That is Vaiṣṇava conception. Tṛṇād api sunīcena. He is very humble. He never says, "Oh, I am the Supreme. I have become God." A most rascal, foolish. So that is not... Therefore we have to follow. If we actually want to become guru, there is necessity of many thousands of gurus to teach this cheated public. But how to become guru?

Lecture on SB 3.26.1 -- Bombay, December 13, 1974:

That is past now. He's dead and gone. Now I am Kṛṣṇa." There are many rascals they say like that. But these rascals are accepted by other rascals. God is never dead. God... How He can get...? Even the ordinary living being, he's not dead. Na jāyate na mriyate. Even we, living entities, never die or never born. How the Supreme Lord can be dead or born? That is not the fact.

So therefore if we discuss Bhagavān, there are so many things to be understood about Bhagavān.

Lecture on SB 3.26.27 -- Bombay, January 4, 1975:

"Lower than them, still more sinful," śudhyanti, "they can be purified," prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ, "if he becomes a Vaiṣṇava."

So vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ is nārakī-buddhiḥ. One should not consider a Vaiṣṇava, whether he is born of low family, he is not born of brāhmaṇa family. This kinds of consideration is nārakī-buddhi. So there are many instances. Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī says that avaiṣṇava-mukhodgīrṇaṁ pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam, śravaṇaṁ na kartavyam. If a avaiṣṇava, if a Māyāvādī, he speaks about Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā, one should not hear it. He should avoid it because it will create some misimpression. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has forbidden strongly, māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa: (CC Madhya 6.169) "If one hears from a Māyāvādī about Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then that person is doomed." So this is, therefore, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12).

Lecture on SB 3.28.1 -- Honolulu, June 1, 1975:

We are reading. We must read. Then our position as brāhmaṇa will be fulfilled. Because brāhmaṇas are teacher. Anyone who can teach, he is brāhmaṇa. So unless you read thoroughly what you are going to speak to the world, how you can become a brāhmaṇa and paṇḍita? You should carefully note this.

Anyway, Rāmānanda Rāya, he was very learned although he was not born in a brāhmaṇa family. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was taking lessons from him. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, kibā vipra, kibā śūdra, nyāsī kene naya yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei 'guru' haya (CC Madhya 8.128). Yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā: "Anyone who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa, he becomes a guru." So every one of you can become guru provided you understand the science of Kṛṣṇa. The science of Kṛṣṇa... (aside:) Who is spreading leg like that? He can sit back side. This is not the way. Science of Kṛṣṇa, first of all one must know what is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 3.28.1 -- Honolulu, June 1, 1975:

So here also Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei 'guru' haya: (CC Madhya 8.128) "Anyone who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa, he can become guru." That is our mission. That is not my mission; that is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. So it doesn't matter you Europeans, Americans although not born in brāhmaṇa family. It doesn't matter. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's approval. If you try to understand the science of Kṛṣṇa, then, and if you behave properly, you can teach about Kṛṣṇa all over your country, all over the world. That is my mission. And that is approved by Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Try to understand the science of Kṛṣṇa. Then you will be able to preach nicely and people will be benefited.

Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Hyderabad, April 12, 1975:

Kṛṣṇa is eternal, and Kṛṣṇa's words are eternal, and you are also eternal. This is our position. Kṛṣṇa is eternal and we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we are eternal. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20), Kṛṣṇa says. Na jāyate na mriyate va kadācit, you are never born, never die. Kṛṣṇa also nityo nityānām. We are all nityas, eternal, but He's the supreme nitya, nityo nityānām. We are plural nitya; He is singular nitya. So what is the difference between this plural and singular? The singular maintains all these plural, eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. He is the maintainer and we are maintained.

So everything is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā, and that is the essence of all Vedic literature. Our propaganda is that you read Bhagavad-gītā, try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is, without any foolish commentary. As soon as you comment, that is foolishness. Don't do it. Read as it is.

Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Johannesburg, October 22, 1975:

"Now, one week before," that means the child has already died one week. From his duration of life, make one week minus. So we are dying every moment. Mṛtyu, death, is sure. "As sure as death." So... But we are not meant for death, neither we are meant for birth. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Na jāyate na mriyate vā: "The spirit soul is never born, neither he dies." Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). The spirit soul, nitya, eternal, śāśvata, inexhaustible... Na hanyate, clearly says, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). So this death is artificial. Therefore we do not like to die. We do not like to be unhappy. We do not like to be without any knowledge. This is our nature. But because this nature is hampered on material condition, therefore the business of the human being is to cure this disease—birth, death, old age and disease. This is the mission of life, not to waste time, not to waste our life, duration of life, just simply jumping like dog and hog. That is not human life. Tapo divyam (SB 5.5.1).

Lecture on SB 5.5.17 -- Vrndavana, November 5, 1976:

Otherwise how Kṛṣṇa recommends, ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatim? To become high-court judge, does it mean it is ordinary qualification? If you say that "That man has become high-court judge and the other man who has seen him before, that he is not born 'No, no. How you can become high-court judge? No, he is born of a very low-class family. No.' " "No, no, he has become a high-court..." "No, no. I don't believe." "No, I have seen it." This is possible. It is not that because one is born in low-class family he cannot become high-court judge or he cannot become a Vaiṣṇava. Oh. He can be.

So Sanātana Gosvāmī recommends, tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena dvijatvaṁ jāyate nṛṇām. Tathā dīkṣā-vidhānena.

Lecture on SB 6.1.3 -- Melbourne, May 22, 1975:

That is intelligence.

So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, as I have repeatedly said, it is that culture. Athāto brahma jijñāsā: "What is the ultimate aim of life, ultimate goal of life?" Because I am eternal. I am simply changing body. Na jāyate na mriyate va kadācit. Kadācit means at any time the ātmā, the soul, is never born, na jāyate, the living soul. Na jāyate. Na jāyate means never born. "But I see. My child is born." No, that you see, the body of the child, not the child as soul. That is knowledge. That is called brahma-jñāna, that "This body... I am not this body; I am spirit soul." Then the inquiry will be "Then wherefrom the spirit soul has come?" That should be the inquiry. "And why, if I am eternal, then why I am put to this condition of repetition of birth and death?" These are inquiries. This is called brahma-jijñāsā. Brahma-jijñāsā means inquiry about the spirit soul.

Lecture on SB 6.1.40 -- Surat, December 22, 1970:

The father-mother... Ordinarily, a living entity take birth by the combination of father and mother. But Brahmā is called Svayambhū because he is not created by father and mother. Then again, you can argue that Brahmā was created by Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, so He is his father. But the argument can be defied that although He is the father, but he was not born of a mother. That is all-powerful Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu. You have seen the picture that Nārāyaṇa is lying down on the water of Garbhodaka, udaka, and Lakṣmī is massaging His lotus feet, and Brahmā in a lotus flower is born. So generally, when a father begets a son, he takes the advantage of his wife, the help of his wife. But here Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, although His wife is present, He did not take the assistance of the wife. A lotus sprouted from His navel, and there was Brahmā. That is all-powerful. Generally we understand that whenever there is birth, the man and woman must combine. But that is for ordinary entities or in this material world.

Lecture on SB 6.1.48 -- Dallas, July 30, 1975:

And Aja, Aja is Brahmā. Aja means who does not take birth. So Brahmā also did not take birth like ordinary human being. He sprouted like the lotus flower from the abdomen of Mahā Viṣṇu..., Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore he is called Aja or Svāyambhu, Svāyambhu: "personally born, not through the womb of the mother." Brahmā was not born through the womb of mother; therefore he is called bhagavān ajaḥ.

So the mind of Yamarāja, he can see. In the previous verse it is said, vartamanaḥ anyayoḥ kālaḥ guṇābhijñāpako yathā. Within this material world we are passing through many evolutionary process and getting different types of body according to the guṇa, quality, modes of nature, we are associating. So Yamaraja can see. When a living being, criminal, sinful living being is brought before him, he can understand through his mind.

Lecture on SB 6.3.18-19 -- Gorakhpur, February 12, 1971:

If we are puzzled about the principles of religion, then we must follow the mahājanas. Mahājana. These mahājanas are described here. Who is mahājana? Svayambhū. Svayambhū means Brahmā. Svayambhū. He is called Svayambhū. Svayambhū means "one who is born by himself." Of course, he is not born by himself, but he is not ordinarily born. Just like a child is born by the sex intercourse of the father and the mother, Brahmā is not born like that. There was no sex intercourse to beget Brahmā. Therefore he is called Svayambhū. Svayambhū. Automatically he has come out. He has come out from the father without the help of the mother. Therefore he is called Svayambhū. You know that there was a lotus flower from the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and within that lotus flower, Brahmā appeared. Therefore he is called Svayambhū. Svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ (SB 6.3.20). Svayambhū and next, Nārada. Nārada is mahājana.

Lecture on SB 7.6.3 -- Toronto, June 19, 1976:

That is the difference between daityas... So Prahlāda Mahārāja, circumstantially, because he was to deliver the daityas, so he took his birth, by the will of the Supreme Lord, he took birth in a daitya family. Sometimes devotees come in a particular type of family to deliver the community or the society. So here the class friends were all daityas, born of daitya family. They are not born of very enlightened family. So therefore he's addressing, daityā. Sukham aindriyakaṁ daityā deha... (aside:) Sit properly.

So this sukham, indriya-jam (indistinct), sense gratification. Here it is said deha yogena dehinam. Dehī, this is not understood. The dehī and deha. Dehī yogena dehinām. Dehī means the person who possesses this deha. That is not understood. That is the beginning of spiritual education in the Bhagavad-gītā. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe (BG 2.13).

Lecture on SB 7.6.7 -- Vrndavana, December 9, 1975:

This is Pañcarātrika. Our... In this age, Pañcarātriki-vidhi, not Vaidic. Vaidic is very very strict. Unless one is born by a brāhmaṇa father, he is not given the advantage of becoming a brāhmaṇa. That is Vaidic vidhi. But Pañcarātriki-vidhi means although he is not born of a brāhmaṇa family, if he has got a little tendency to become a brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa means brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇaḥ. One who is inquisitive to understand Brahman—brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11)—he should be given chance. Just like there is a little fire. Fan it. Fanning, fanning, fanning, and it becomes a big fire. So our process is that. Anyone, we pick up anyone, kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā, what to speak of the śūdra. Striyaḥ śūdrās tathā vaiśyaḥ. In the ordinary way the stri, woman, śūdra, the fourth-grade man, and vaiśya, they are taken together, not very intelligent. But Pāñcarātriki-vidhi offers facility even persons who are lower than these striya, śūdra, vaiśya.

Lecture on SB 7.9.12 -- Mayapur, February 19, 1976:

So Prahlāda Mahārāja, he's already purified. His head was touched by Nṛsiṁha-deva. He's completely pure. Therefore, although he was only a child, five years old, he is speaking the, I mean to say, gist conclusion of the śāstra. Anuvarṇitena. He understood that "I am not born in a brāhmaṇa family. I am born nīca, low-grade family, asura family. My father was a asura. So I am born of him. So I have no prestigious position. Still, Kṛṣṇa is satisfied simply by devotional service." That has been already explained. "So let me offer my prayers to the Lord sincerely." Yathā manīṣam: "As far as I have got my intelligence... I am not supposed to be very intelligent because I am lowborn. I am not born in a brāhmaṇa family, neither I am old enough, educated. Still, I have to offer my prayers. So let me try to offer my prayers by following the authorities, anuvarṇitena, without any," what is called, "doubt." Tasmād ahaṁ vigata-viklava: "without any doubt."

Lecture on SB 7.9.26 -- Mayapur, March 4, 1976:

Otherwise I am not fit for this. So, and I... You are so merciful that this mercy You did not offer to Lord Brahmā even." Brahmā is supposed to be the supreme creature within this material world, Brahmā. He's the first created creature, and he's called Svayambhū. He's not born of any material father and mother but directly came through the lotus stem which is growing from the navel of Viṣṇu. So he's not ordinary person. He's not ordinary person. He's not... Therefore he's known as Svayambhū. We are not svayambhū. We are begotten by father and grown up by mother. We are not self-sufficient. But Brahmā is called Svayambhū because he is not born of any material father and mother. So "He did not get this mercy. Although Brahmā's position is so exalted, still, my Lord, he did not get this opportunity."

Lecture on SB 7.9.34 -- Mayapur, March 12, 1976:

So from the beginning of the creation the same illusion is continued. Brahma, when he was born, created, he was created not by ordinary father and mother, but he was created on a lotus flower stem which grew from the navel of Maha Viṣṇu, er, yes, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore Brahmā's another name is Aja. He's not born like ordinary human being. Svayambhū. He's also known as Svayambhū. Everyone is born by father and mother, but he was born... Of course, father was there, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, but he did not come through the womb of mother. This is omnipotency. Lord Viṣṇu is lying on the Śeṣa bed, and Lakṣmīji is engaged in the service of massaging the lotus feet of Viṣṇu, but Viṣṇu did not take the help of Lakṣmīji to beget Brahmā. He personally begot from the navel. Therefore we should understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead can perform anything he likes from any part of His body. That we chant always, aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 7.107-109 -- San Francisco, February 15, 1967:

So He's not so easy to understand. "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is born in Mathurā. His father is Vasudeva. Oh, He..." No. He's unborn. He's unborn, but I am seeing that He's born. Just like sun is unborn. I am seeing that at five o'clock sun is born in the eastern side of New York City. This is my foolishness. Sun is never born. He's always there. It is my imperfectness that I am seeing that sun is born this hour. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is never born. Kṛṣṇa is just like sun. So as they are, if we want to understand... Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet: "Things which are beyond your conception," avāṅ manasā gocaraḥ, "beyond your expression, beyond your knowledge, don't apply your so-called argument and reason." That is Vedānta study. If, if you do not understand, put question to your spiritual master, try to understand, but as a matter of fact, you should know, "What is stated here, that is all right. It is due to my imperfectness of knowledge I cannot just now understand it. Let me ask my spiritual master and let me understand it properly." But a thing as it is, that is all right.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.106 -- New York, July 12, 1976:

Everyone we know that this body is not permanent. And sat? That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. You have to learn it. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). The body is asat, it will be destroyed, but the soul, which will never be destroyed... Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate... Na hanyate hanyamāne śarī... (BG 2.20). Na jāyate mriyate vā kadācit. That soul is never born, never dies, kadācit, at any time. Not that sometimes it dies and sometimes... No. Any time, kadācit.

So this sad-dharma means the occupational duty of the soul. That is sad-dharma. And except that duty, whatever we are doing, that is asad-dharma; it will not stay. Now I have got this body, Indian body or Christian body or American body. But this, everything, this conception of Christianity or Indian nationality or American nationality—everything will be finished with this body. Everything will be finished. Therefore all our engagements in this connection, they are all asad-dharma. It is very difficult. We are all engaged in occupational duties, all asad-dharma.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.255-281 -- New York, December 17, 1966:

"So all Viṣṇu expansions, they are in the spiritual world, and they all of them reside there. But when they come into this material world, it is called incarnation." Actually, avatāra... This Sanskrit name is avatāra. Avatāra means who comes down from the spiritual world. Avatāri. Avatāri means descends. Descends. They are not born of this material energy. They descend from the spiritual world.

sei māyā avalokite śrī-saṅkarṣaṇa
puruṣa-rūpe avatīrṇa ha-ilā prathama

Now, puruṣa-rūpe, the first incarnation for this material creation, the Mahā-Viṣṇu, sa aikṣata. Simply by His glance, this material world begins its activity.

Festival Lectures

Gundica Marjanam Cleansing of the Gundica Temple, Lecture (the day before Ratha-yatra) -- San Francisco, July 4, 1970:

In this way the Vedic system is the perfect process for creating civilized human being. So that is another chapter. Our present meeting is concerned with the Ratha-yātrā.

So Kṛṣṇa, He is born of a kṣatriya father. He is not born, but He appeared as the son. God is never born. Unborn. Therefore the Māyāvādī philosophers, they mistake to know Kṛṣṇa. They think that Kṛṣṇa is born, then how He can be God? But actually, Kṛṣṇa was not born from the womb of His mother. He appeared in four hands before His mother, and the mother was afraid that "My brother Kaṁsa, was awaiting to kill God, and now God is here in four hands. Immediately he'll kill." The mother forgets that "My son, if He's God, how He can be killed?"

Sri Vyasa-puja -- Hamburg, September 5, 1969:

That is possible. A devotee is so great that he can pray the Supreme Lord as his son. Of course, it is a very subtle science for understanding of spiritual knowledge. So today Nanda-mahotsava is celebrated because the father of Kṛṣṇa... Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said. Although God is unborn and He is the Supreme, still, by love, He accepts one of His devotees as His father and appears as his son. So today is very nice day, that Kṛṣṇa has appeared. The Supreme Lord has appeared as the son of Nanda Mahārāja. So there is some arrangement of prasādam on account of Nanda Mahārāja. So you can distribute and enjoy.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Talk -- Aligarh, October 9, 1976:

Prabhupāda: The education is na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). But who knows that I do not die after the destruction of the body? Then why I am put into this position that I have to change this body, I have to die? This question does not arise. Therefore they're abodha. The instruction is na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. There is no inquiry that "If I'm not born, why I am born in this body?" This is question. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. "If I am not subjected to death, then why I am dying?" This question does not arise at all. Therefore everyone is abodha-jāto. Nobody is subodha. Everyone is abodha. The problem is there, but he does not inquire.

Indian lady: Mahārāja, don't you think it's high time that our Indian philosophy or Indian religion, some classes should be started in schools like they used to have? Missionaries used to have scripture classes in school. There should be in all the schools, I mean, classes on our own religion instead of learning somebody else's.

Initiation Lectures

Brahmana Initiation Lecture -- New Vrindaban, May 25, 1969:

Real strength is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. So of course, people may not think you otherwise, that you are not brāhmaṇa, you are not purified. Therefore this ceremony is there, the thread ceremony here, that "Yes, we are properly... According to scriptural rules and regulations, we have become brāhmaṇa. There is no question of... Because I am not born in a brāhmaṇa family, it does not mean I am not brāhmaṇa. I am recognized by authorized ācārya in the line of disciplic succession of Nārada." Nārada has given this definition in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam while instructing Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira about the four..., eight divisions, varṇa and āśrama. He said, yasya hi yal lakṣaṇaṁ syād varṇābhivyañjakam. Varṇa. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13). Four classes, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra—this is creation of God. It is not artificial. It is natural. God's creation is natural. So cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: "According to quality and work." So your quality is Vaiṣṇava, and working as Vaiṣṇava. Then you are more than a brāhmaṇa. But you should keep.

Initiation Lecture -- Hamburg, August 27, 1969:

Without knowing Me, they consider, 'Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary human being.' " Avajānanti mūḍha. This very particular word has been used, mūḍha. Mūḍha means rascals. So in spite of this warning, there are so many rascals passing as big scholars. They say like this. When there is order of Kṛṣṇa that "You surrender unto Me," the rascals comment, "It is not to Kṛṣṇa but the unborn spirit which is within Kṛṣṇa." He does not know that Kṛṣṇa is not different from His body, Kṛṣṇa is not different from His name, Kṛṣṇa is not different from His fame. Anything pertaining to Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa. They are monists, they are philosophizing that oneness, but as soon as they come to Kṛṣṇa, immediately they divide: "Kṛṣṇa is different from His body," or "Kṛṣṇa's body is different from Kṛṣṇa."

Sannyasa Initiation -- Mayapur, March 16, 1976:

He said that "I have already explained the different symptoms of different varṇas-'Brāhmaṇa will be like that. Kṣatriya will be like that. Vaiśyas will be like that. Śūdras will be like that.' So," he says, "if these symptoms are found," anyatra... Suppose one is not born in the brāhmaṇa family, he might have taken birth in a lower family, but he has acquired... If he has acquired the qualities of a brāhmaṇa, he should be accepted as brāhmaṇa. This is the process. Or if one is born in a brāhmaṇa family but he has not attained the qualities, neither he is working as a brāhmaṇa, then he should be accepted—either kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. So this is the system. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu also wanted to introduce this system.

Initiation Lecture -- Toronto, June 17, 1976:

At the present moment it is not purified. Because it is not purified, therefore we are repeatedly dying. But there is no knowledge how to stop death. They think death is natural. It is not natural. It is unnatural. They do not know it. But in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll get the information, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin: "The soul is never born, never dies." Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. "I see he's died, he is dead." No, he's not dying, his body is being annihi...Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). By seeing the body is destroyed don't think he's destroyed. He'll get another body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). So this is our position. We have accepted one body, and we live in that body for some days, and then again we give up this body, tathā dehāntara-prāptir. So this is disease. So in order to get out of this disease there is necessity of tapasya, how to stop this disease.

Wedding Ceremonies

Initiation of Sri-Caitanya dasa and Wedding of Pradyumna and Arundhati -- Columbus, May 14, 1969:

Just like if a boy born of a brāhmaṇa family, he has got the qualities of a śūdra, he should be indicated as śūdra. And if a boy born of a śūdra family but he has got the brāhmaṇa's qualities, then he should be accepted as brāhmaṇa.

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is accepting persons who are developing the qualities of brāhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas. It is not that because they were not born in India and not born in Hindu family... It is not... There is no such consideration. Anyone. Ye kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that,

kibā śūdra kibā vipra nyāsī kene naya
yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya
(CC Madhya 8.128)

It doesn't matter whether a man is a śūdra or a brāhmaṇa or a sannyāsī or a householder. It doesn't matter.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Seattle, October 9, 1968:

So there are... But we have to take from the authority. Just like the Bhagavad-gītā says that na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin: "The soul is never born and never dies." Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre: (BG 2.20) "Even after the annihilation of this body there is no destruction of the soul." And soul is migrating in different species of life. So we have to take Kṛṣṇa the authority, Veda-Vyāsa the authority. There are many such authorities. So there is next life. There is no doubt. The practical proof there is... And Kṛṣṇa has given many proof. I have spoken in this meeting many times. There is next life. So we should be responsible. This human form of life should not be wasted simply for sense gratification. That sense gratification facility is in every... Even in the cats and dogs, there is that facility.

Lecture 'Nobody Wants to Die' -- Boston, May 7, 1968:

Prabhupāda: No. You are not born at that time. How can you know that he is your father? You have to take, accept, your mother's version. That's all. That is your authority. Your mother says, "This gentleman is your father." You have to accept it. There is no other way to understand.

Young woman: ...convenient to accept it.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So you accept the authority. Then you know Kṛṣṇa, who is God, who is Kṛṣṇa.

Young woman: Then who is the authority?

Lecture at Krsna Niketan -- Gorakhpur, February 16, 1971:

Therefore it is stated here, harer adbhuta-karmaṇaḥ, janma-karma-guṇānāṁ ca tad-arthe akhila-ceṣṭitam ity adi asmin eva purāṇe tatra tatra pathyate. Janma-karma-guṇānāṁ ca. Hearing about Kṛṣṇa, about Kṛṣṇa's appearance, His so-called janma... Janma means birth. So Kṛṣṇa is unborn. He is nityo nityānām. He's... Just like we have no janma, we have no appearance. It is simply change of dress. It is not death. As it is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā that vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22)—if I change my dress, that is not my death. This is easily understood. Similarly, transmigration of the soul from one body to another, that is not death. But because we have no eyes to see the soul, how it is changing from one body... Just like we cannot see how the baby is coming to another body, childhood, boyhood. We cannot see. We see that the body is changing. No. He's changing from one body to another. That is the version of the Bhagavad-gītā. But we say that body's growing.

Lecture -- Gorakhpur, February 18, 1971:

Just like Dr. Radhakrishnan says, when he is explaining this verse, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65), "It is not to Kṛṣṇa." He directly says. He's advising not to surrender to Kṛṣṇa. "It is the unborn which is within Kṛṣṇa." He does not know, there is no "within," "without" Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is absolute. He has no knowledge. Still, he's trying to comment on Bhagavad-gītā. This is going on.

So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to awaken the dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness which is lying within everyone's heart. It is not artificial. It is not that I have spoken to these boys and girls in America and all over the world (and) with my speeches they have been enticed and they are Kṛṣṇa conscious. No. Nobody has such power that simply by artificial, by speaking, one can convert. That is not possible.

Lecture on Teachings of Lord Caitanya -- Bombay, March 17, 1971:

"Where is Śyāmasundara? Where is Śyāmasundara?" Śyāmasundara came and, "Here I am." So, first of all he was (indistinct), "My dear boy, You give me all these ornaments I will give you nice thing." He said, "No, I cannot give you, my mother will be angry, no." (laughter) In this way then he decided that I shall take forcibly. In this way simply by the association of Śyāmasundara he became a devotee. That is the fact. Dhruva Mahārāja also went to worship Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa, to get the kingdom of his father. He was insulted by his stepmother that, "You cannot sit down on the throne, or on the lap of your father, because you are not born from my womb." So he took it very seriously. He went to his mother, "My stepmother insulted me like this." So, his mother said, "My dear boy, yes, it is a fact because you are not born from my..." What it is called co-wifes?

Pandal Lecture -- Bombay, March 31, 1971:

In this way Bhagavad-gītā is being misinterpreted. In the Ninth Chapter, when Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65), one great commentator, very erudite scholar, he says, "It is not to Kṛṣṇa; it is to the unborn principle which is within Kṛṣṇa." But he does not know what is Kṛṣṇa, and he has the audacity to comment on the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa is not different from within and without. Kṛṣṇa, being Absolute, there is no such difference. As we have got difference, I, the spirit soul, is different from my body, but Kṛṣṇa is not like that. There is no such difference that Kṛṣṇa's soul and Kṛṣṇa's body. Kṛṣṇa is complete whole, pūrṇa. There is no such difference. The person who does not know what is Kṛṣṇa, if he tries to comment upon the transcendental knowledge imparted by Kṛṣṇa, that is simply impudent. So in this way, if we try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then we become liberated, we become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, we become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious.

Lecture -- London, July 12, 1972:

Why we should accept religious life? To get out of these material clutches. People do not take it very seriously, but those who are intelligent, they take it seriously. In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find that living soul, the living entity or the soul... Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit, nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). The living entity, the soul, is never born; it never dies. It is the oldest. Nityaḥ śāśvataṁ purāṇa. Purāṇa means very old; nitya, eternal; na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre, does not die after the destruction of this body. The death and birth is of the body, not of the soul. Therefore when we are actually intelligent, cultured, advanced, then we should be inquisitive that "If I am eternal, then why I am subject to these tribulations of birth, death, old age, and disease?" That is intelligence. It is not intelligence that "The cats and dogs are eating on the footpath; I am eating (in) a very nice plate, nice hotel or nice table."

Pandal Speech and Question Session -- Delhi, November 10, 1973:

If you take birth, then you will have to die. Anyone who takes birth, he must have to die. And so long, between birth and death, there is old age and disease. Actually, these are the problems. So far we are concerned, living entities, every one of us, that is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit: "The living entity is never born, never dies." Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇo na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre: (BG 2.20) "The living entity is eternal, ever-existing and very old, and," na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre, "it does not die after the annihilation of this body." But the modern civilization, they are thinking that "This body we have got somehow or other, a lump of matter, and so long we have got this body, let us enjoy life, sense gratification." This is atheistic theory.

Public Speech -- Bad Homburg, Germany, June 22, 1974:

So that consciousness of the rays of the soul is described here: na jāyate mriyate vā kadācit. This consciousness, or the soul, is never born, neither it is ever dead. Nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ. The soul and the consciousness has no past, present or future. It is eternal. Ajo. Ajaḥ means who does not take birth. Ajo nitya, eternal. Śāśvataḥ, ever-existing. Ayaṁ purāṇa, the oldest. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). When the body is annihilated, the soul and consciousness is not annihilated. Just like when we sleep our consciousness works in a different body, subtle body: mind, intelligence and ego. That we have got experience every night. We sleep on our bed, but my consciousness goes to other country or other place and work in a different way. Again when at the end of the dream, we come back to this body, gross body.

City Hall Lecture -- Durban, October 7, 1975:

So I don't know, Swamijī, what is the position, knowing that we are living in this part of the world, or this planet, what could be the other part of the planet which is called the universes. I was just reading today the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. I don't expect that I will be able to bring about this bit of the Gītā that I read in a question form, because Lord... In the Gītā itself it says that Arjuna presaged(?) to Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Tenth Chapter, verse thirteen and fourteen, where He mentions that He is supreme, He is the ultimate, He is abode, place of residence of His, He is purified, eternal, primal God and so on, transcendental, original, and unborn. Now, Swamijī, I would like to know, being unborn, then how come that Lord Kṛṣṇa was born as a human being or brought Himself to that position to form Himself as the Supreme Being? I would like this answer to be given. Thank you.

City Hall Lecture -- Durban, October 7, 1975:

If you have read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you can see that Kṛṣṇa was not born. Kṛṣṇa appeared before Devakī and Vasudeva as four-handed Nārāyaṇa. Then the father, mother requested Nārāyaṇa that "You have appeared as Nārāyaṇa. Immediately Kaṁsa will kill You. Please, You become like human child." So He again immediately became a human child. So the conception of birth from the womb of the mother was not actually the fact about Kṛṣṇa. You read Bhāgavatam. You will find this description. So even though if He comes as a child, still He is unborn because Kṛṣṇa, or God, is in everyone's heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). So from the heart, if He comes before you, so is it very difficult task for Him? It is not at all difficult.

City Hall Lecture -- Durban, October 7, 1975:

So from the heart, if He comes before you, so is it very difficult task for Him? It is not at all difficult. (break) What to speak of Kṛṣṇa, we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa; we do not take birth. You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā, na jāyate na mriyate vā. When the description of soul is given there, it is said that the soul is never born. If the soul is never born, how the Supersoul is born? That you have to understand. Even the soul... We are ordinary soul. We are not..., also not born. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit: "At any time." Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). So we have to study this. We have to learn this. Superficially understanding will not help us. You have to become a serious student. That is wanted. And so far Kṛṣṇa is speaking, He is speaking for all living entities. It is not that He is speaking for India or for the Hindus or for this planet or that planet. He is speaking for everyone. Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4).

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

Pradyumna: "Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Nārada, Asita, Devala, and Vyāsa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me."

Prabhupāda: So the student of Bhagavad-gītā, as Arjuna says, śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam. After hearing Bhagavad-gītā in detail, he accepted Kṛṣṇa as paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣaṁ śāśvatam ādyam (BG 10.12). So one may say that "This is a friendly talk. So Arjuna accepted Kṛṣṇa as it is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So as a friend he accepted." Because Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2).

General Lecture -- (location & date unknown):

Guest: When Kṛṣṇa was born, who was born before Kṛṣṇa?

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is never born.

Guest: Kṛṣṇa was not born?

Prabhupāda: No.

Guest: Oh, that satisfies me very much. I was taught that...(indistinct)

Prabhupāda: It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, ajo 'pi. Ajo 'pi: "I am never..." You are also not born, every one of us. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, spirit soul, so nobody is born. Na jāyate na mriyate vā: "Nobody takes birth; nobody dies." Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit: "At any time." These things are there. And Kṛṣṇa, about Himself, He says, ajo 'pi: "Although I am unborn." Ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro 'pi san: "Although I am unborn." So Kṛṣṇa is never born. Just like in the morning there is sunrise. If you say the sun is born, that is mistake. Sun is seen. He is not born.

General Lecture -- (location & date unknown):

Guest (2) (Indian man): If Kṛṣṇa was not born, then what is the significance of that word, that sambhavāmi, dharma-samstha...

Prabhupāda: Sambhavāmi. That is not birth. Sambhavāmi means appearance. Appearance. Appearance.

Guest (2): But is it like sunrise?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Gone outward... Just like when He appears you can see Him.

Guest (2): What about that Janmāṣṭamī? We observe all those things. What is the significance?

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Prabhupāda: You do not know what is morally right! Therefore you have to take instruction from Kṛṣṇa, or His representative. You do not know.

Śyāmasundara: A priori we are not born with knowledge of what is right?

Prabhupāda: No. A priori, in this sense, that imperceptively I have got obedience to Kṛṣṇa, or God—everyone. That is manifested even in uncivilized men. Whenever they see a thunderbolt, they offer prayer. Just like these Africans, they are coming here, offering obeisances. That is inborn. Although we say they are not civilized, but that thing is there, that we are sādhus, or here is God. So that is there. But it is not very much manifest.

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Śyāmasundara: No but for instance, just an example, there is someone who has always been free in the spiritual world and he comes into the material world...

Prabhupāda: Yes. He comes for a mission, just like Kṛṣṇa comes. He is not born. He is not born like a materialist. Similarly Kṛṣṇa's devotee also comes, he is also not born. They come with a mission.

Śyāmasundara: I mean if someone is in the spiritual world, he falls down into the material world...

Prabhupāda: Falls down is different.

Śyāmasundara: ...yes, and then he becomes again released...

Prabhupāda: Again he is free.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Śyāmasundara: Yes. That's twenty-eight years from now. They say that they will be able to deep-freeze embryos, that means unborn babies, as insurance against nuclear holocaust and for interplanetary colonization. In other words, they can send these unborn babies in frozen form to other planets and have an arrangement for them to be born and grow in the spaceship and then go out.

Prabhupāda: Don't waste your time with these rascals.

Śyāmasundara: They'll have an artificial and mechanical baby factory, effective control of most human defects. Single-celled life will be created from chemicals off the shelf. They can make intelligent animals to do menial work. And then in seventy-eight years they say that they will be able to regenerate...

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Prabhupāda: If somebody thinks that "In future, fifty years after, I shall become old man," this is knowledge. And if somebody thinks that "No, no, I shall never become old," that is ignorance. Although it is future—a man of knowledge knows that this will be future. So I shall continue to live in future, and I was a child in the past, and I am a middle aged man at this time, so in these three, past, present and future, I am existing. Where is the difficulty? If this simple truth one cannot understand, that what kind of human being he is? I remain in the past as child, the body is finished. Now I am a middle-aged man or young man, the body is different. And in future I shall become old man, that body will be different. So I, as a child, I, as a young man, as an old man, I am the same, all the bodies changing. This is the fact. Who can deny it? So where is the difficulty to understand it? And in the Bhagavad-gītā, it is said, Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, "Both you, Me, and all these soldiers, they existed in the past, and they are present existing, and in future they will continue to exist. This is immortality. He says when, I mean very openly, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20), na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin. This living soul, he is never born.

Philosophy Discussion on Sigmund Freud:

Prabhupāda: That little child, how he can give up the idea of father? And how Mr. Freud can give up the idea? Was he not born by a father?

Hayagrīva: He feels that...

Prabhupāda: He dropped from the sky? Huh? Did, did he?

Hayagrīva: He feels that this is childish.

Prabhupāda: That childish, what is that childish? He had no father?

Hayagrīva: He had a father, but he believed in ultimate emancipation.

Prabhupāda: No, no, ultimate we shall go later on. First of all, he has to think whether he had his father or not. Or his father's father was not there, and go on searching out. So without father, how can one exist or one can come into being? So that if he cannot understand this simple philosophy, what kind of philosopher he is? He had his father. His father had his father. So this is fact. Even though he might not have seen his dead grandfather, but he was there. That is a fact.

Philosophy Discussion on Samuel Alexander:

Hari-śauri:

arjuna uvāca
paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma
pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān
puruṣaṁ śāśvatam divyam
ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum
(BG 10.12)
āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve
devarṣir nāradas tathā
asito devalo vyāsaḥ
svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me

"Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal Divine Person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading beauty. All the great sages, such as Nārada, Asita, Devala, and Vyāsa, proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Finished. "All authorities accept, I realize, and You personally say." Then what evidence more? Hm? What is the possible evidence? No evidence, finished. "I personally experience, You personally say, and the authorities accept You. Finished." Things should be simplified. This is...

Page Title:Unborn (Lectures)
Compiler:Mayapur, RupaManjari
Created:06 of Oct, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=134, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:134