Well-being (Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"well-being" |"wellbeing"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 7.11-12 -- Bombay, February 25, 1974:

Therefore na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapad... (BG 7.15). That śloka will be explained later on. Those who are leading sinful lives, simply sinful life, duṣkṛtinaḥ... Kṛti means very meritorious. But duṣkṛti, they're the opposite. It is not sukṛti. Su means "for well-being," and duṣkṛti means "for creating disturbances." There are many brains nowadays. They know how to use the brain. But duṣkṛtinaḥ. Therefore a godless society, there is so much restlessness in the society. Because the duṣkṛtinaḥ are working. Now, in their place, sukṛtinaḥ must be brought. Catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtino 'rjuna. Then there will be peace and prosperity.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.9 -- Auckland, February 20, 1973:

Devotee: "...they are especially spiritual well-wishers. Spiritual well-being is automatically followed by material well-being."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Spiritual well-being, that is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That if the society becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious or spiritually advanced, the so-called material advancement will automatically be there. There is no scarcity. For example, take for practical example, we have got about 100 centers. So we are simply engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness business. So, so far our material necessities are concerned we are not badly situated. We are living in a nice house, we are eating nice foodstuff, we have got nice dress and the devotees look very nice, bright faces. What is the wrong there? What is the wrong there? But they are not busy for earning money or going to the office or going to the factory or so many other sources of revenue(?). They are depending on Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa is supplying them. Kṛṣṇa says, "yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ (BG 9.22).

Lecture on SB 1.1.9 -- Auckland, February 20, 1973:

Devotee: (reading purport) "The ācāryas therefore give directions in spiritual well-being for people in general."

Prabhupāda: That is ācārya. Ācārya does not write any book of sex psychology, Freud's philosophy. That is not ācārya, that is rascal. Ācārya gives direction how one can make advance in spiritual consciousness, that is ācārya. Then?

Devotee: "Foreseeing the incompetencies of the people in this age of Kali, or the iron age of quarrel, the sages requested that Suta Gosvāmī give a summary of all revealed scriptures because the people of this age are condemned in every respect."

Prabhupāda: But the directions should be taken from scriptures. But there are many scriptures. So ācārya means, just like Gosvāmīs, they would read all the scriptures and take the essence of it and give it to his disciples that, "You act like this." Because he knows what to give, how to manipulate, so that his ekāntataḥ śreyas will be achieved. Ultimate goal. Therefore the ācārya knows how to adjust things, at the same time keep pace with the spiritual interest(?). That is ācārya. It is not that the same thing to be applied everywhere. He is eager to engage actually the people in the real benefit of life, but the means may be different. Just like my Guru Mahārāja. He is the first time that he allowed the sannyāsīs to drive in a motorcar. A sannyāsī never drives in a motorcar, you see? But not for sense gratification.

Lecture on SB 1.7.36-37 -- Vrndavana, September 29, 1976:

Pradyumna: "A person who knows the principles of religion does not kill an enemy who is careless, intoxicated, insane, asleep, afraid, or devoid of his chariot. Nor does he kill a boy, a woman, a foolish creature or a surrendered soul. A cruel and wretched person who maintains his existence at the cost of others' lives deserve to be killed for his own well-being; otherwise he will go down by his own actions."

Prabhupāda:

mattaṁ pramattam unmattaṁ

suptaṁ bālaṁ striyaṁ jaḍam

prapannaṁ virathaṁ bhītaṁ

na ripuṁ hanti dharma-vit

(SB 1.7.36)

sva-prāṇān yaḥ para-prāṇaiḥ

prapuṣṇāty aghṛṇaḥ khalaḥ

tad-vadhas tasya hi śreyo

yad-doṣād yāty adhaḥ pumān

(SB 1.7.37)

So kṣatriya's fight, it is not ordinary fight like cats and dogs. The cats and dogs also fight and the kṣatriyas in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are not the same. Sometimes in the foreign countries, they do not know. They simply know fight means cats' and dogs' fight. No. Therefore they question that why Kṛṣṇa induced Arjuna to fight? Certainly they do not know there is fight on the principle of religion. That is real fight. Otherwise fight whimsically, that is animals' fight, cats' and dogs' fight.

Festival Lectures

Ratha-yatra -- San Francisco, July 5, 1970:

So Jagannātha means the proprietor or the master of all these movements, He is Jagannātha. And Balabhadra, Balarāma, bala means strength and rāma means enjoyment. So Balarāma means who gives you spiritual strength for enjoying eternal blissful life, He is Balarāma. And Subhadrā, su means auspicious and bhadra means well-being. Subhadrā, Jagannātha and Balarāma combined together are present before you to reclaim you all from your miserable condition of life. That is the purport of this Ratha-yātrā Festival. (break) If anyone sees on the cart Jagannātha, Subhadrā, and Baladeva, then he does not take birth again in this material world. Ratheja vamanaṁ dṛṣṭa

So I shall not take much of your time, you are tired. But some of the important things I may inform you, that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a religious type; it is a great culture. It is a great culture for spiritual emancipation.

General Lectures

Rotary Club Lecture -- Ahmedabad, December 5, 1972:

Because he has to satisfy everyone. Not only one, but so many members of the family, he has to keep them satisfied; otherwise, they may not be very much happy. So the nature of living entity is to satisfy others. Paraspara. And that business of satisfying others, serving for others' well-being, that must be sanātana, eternal. Our characteristic, service, is eternal, and that should be eternally engagement. Here, in this material existence, I am serving, but my service is not eternal, because I am changing the body or I changing my profession. Sometimes I am serving this party, sometimes I am serving that party.

So the conclusion should be that sanātana-dharma means that the living entity is eternal, he must seek out his eternal service. That is called sanātana-dharma. Sanātana-dharma does not mean that having a great big tuft, and tilaka, or dressing in a certain manner, or... Then everything are changing. That is not sanātana-dharma.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: That's all right, but the... Unless the scientist and the industrialist get sufficient profit for himself, he will be reluctant to work for the state.

Śyāmasundara: Their goal is the production of material goods for the enhancement of human well-being.

Prabhupāda: The human well-being means if you don't agree to me, I cut your throat, that's all. This is (indistinct). I am thinking in my way: human well being. Just like Stalin, he was thinking in his own way, human well-being, but anyone who disagrees with him, cut his throat. This is (indistinct). Lenin also (indistinct) like that.

Śyāmasundara: Well-being is relative.

Prabhupāda: Just like he killed all the royal family. So this killing, they will say it is well-being of the (indistinct). So this is not well-being for the royal family. But they theorized, it is well-being.

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: Just like he killed all the royal family. So this killing, they will say it is well-being of the (indistinct). So this is not well-being for the royal family. But they theorized, it is well-being.

Śyāmasundara: So they say the well-being for the most people. If something has to be sacrificed for that then it is all right.

Prabhupāda: So that everyone thinks. Everyone says, but these are also incorrect propositions. So far Russia is concerned, we have seen practically, these things are not being applied. Like, at least we have seen, that in Moscow, all big, big buildings, they are not recent buildings, they are old, damaged buildings, and (indistinct). So that means their economic condition is not so sound. The old buildings are not very nicely renovated. So what is that building we we are going inside, getting out from the National Hotel? There was a big building, some historical building?

Śyāmasundara: Kremlin?

Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:

Prabhupāda: (indistinct) not very huge. That is not very extraordinary.

Śyāmasundara: Not compared to New York City.

Prabhupāda: No, not...

Śyāmasundara: Their idea is that well-being is measured by how many telephones there are, how many refigerators, how many...

Prabhupāda: That they haven't got. There is no sufficient motor car. He knows when we asked Professor Kotovsky for call taxi. He said, "Oh this is Moscow, it is very,difficult." Do you remember that?

Śyāmasundara: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Do you remember? He gave us direction: "If you kindly go in this way, in this way..."

Philosophy Discussion on Mao Tse Tung:

Prabhupāda: No, even there is no communistic law, still you are controlled, apart from the communistic law. You are controlled by the nature's law. How you can avoid it?

Śyāmasundara: Well, being only a combination of matter, I must be born and I must die, everyone.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But you want to be independent. You want to be uncontrolled. That is not possible. Why it is not possible? And if you are controlled, who is controlling you? What is the background of that control? So these answers they cannot give. They avoid.

Śyāmasundara: They are not interested because they say that...