View source for God's consciousness is absolute; mine is not

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{{terms|"God's consciousness is absolute; mine is not"}}
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[[Category:God]]
[[Category:Consciousness]]
[[Category:Absolute]]
[[Category:Mine]]
[[Category:Is Not]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Responding to Comments]]
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="General_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="11" parent="Lectures" text="General Lectures"><h3>General Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureNobodyWantstoDieBostonMay71968_0" class="quote" parent="General_Lectures" book="Lec" index="64" link="Lecture 'Nobody Wants to Die' -- Boston, May 7, 1968" link_text="Lecture 'Nobody Wants to Die' -- Boston, May 7, 1968">
<div class="heading">Yes. Therefore you are not God. God consciousness is described in the Bhagavad-gītā: idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetra. The Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, says that "This body is the field of our activities." Otherwise, it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi: "I am also conscious. I am also knower." As you are knower, so God is also knower.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture 'Nobody Wants to Die' -- Boston, May 7, 1968|Lecture 'Nobody Wants to Die' -- Boston, May 7, 1968]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Devotee: God's consciousness is absolute; mine is not.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore you are not God. God consciousness is described in the Bhagavad-gītā: idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetra. The Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, says that "This body is the field of our activities." Otherwise, it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi: "I am also conscious. I am also knower." As you are knower, so God is also knower. But the difference of His knowledge—that He's omnipotent, omnipresent; you are not omnipotent, omnipresent. That is the difference. You have got some potency, and you are also present in some limited circle, but He is present everywhere. You are not present in another planet, but God is present everywhere. That is His omnipresence, omnipotent. So He's also conscious, kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi: "Also know that I am also knower, but My knowledge expands everywhere, but your knowledge expands only within this body." That is the difference.</p>
<p>So similarly, in any capacity you analyze, so far the definition of God—wealth... Now, He's the proprietor of all wealth. Now, nobody can claim... Even the, I mean, the biggest rich man of your country, the Rockefeller or the Ford company or..., nobody can claim that he's the only richest man. No. There are many others. So nobody can claim that "I am the richest." No. Nobody can claim that "I am the most famous." No. Nobody can claim that "I am the most beautiful." Nobody can claim that "I am the absolute knower." In this way, you apply the definition in yourself, you'll find that you partly and partially represent all the qualities of God. That you can claim, that you are partial God, or part and parcel of... That is the exact word, part and... Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūta ([[Vanisource:BG 15.7|BG 15.7]]). These living entities, jīva-bhūta... There are two definitions of the living entities. One definition is jīva-bhūta, and another definition is Brahmā bhūta ([[Vanisource:SB 4.30.20|SB 4.30.20]]). What is the jīva-bhūta? So long the living entity has got the misconception of his existence, that "I am this body," he's called jīva-bhūta. And when he is completely in knowledge that "I am not this body," that is called brahma-bhūtaḥ. The same "I," one is false identification, and another is real identification. The real identification begins—brahma-bhūtaḥ, to know that "I am not this matter; I am spirit soul." That is the beginning. Even in that beginning understanding, that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul," there is Brahman realization, but that Brahman realization has to be increased. That means not only realize yourself that you are Brahman or spirit soul, but you have to engage yourself as Brahman and spirit, to work as Brahman. Then the perfection is complete. And how to work that? So long as you are inactive, your Brahman realization is not perfect. I have several times given this example, that if a diseased man is cured, the temperature is no more coming. That is the stage of cure. But that is not perfect stage of cure. When you actually work without any fever, without any disease, that is your perfect stage. Similarly, simply by understanding theoretically that you are not this body, you are soul, that is not perfect realization. Perfect realization is to work in Brahman stage.</p>
<p>Now, how is that working? That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:</p>
:śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
:smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
:arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
:sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
:([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.23|SB 7.5.23]])
<p>That means the same thing. Just like here, in this jīva-bhūta stage, false identification stage, we are also anxious to hear something. We are reading daily in the morning some newspaper, "This, this thing has happened there. This thing has happened here. Here is something available." But as soon you become brahma-bhūta ([[Vanisource:SB 4.30.20|SB 4.30.20]]), you lose all interest in such nonsense things. You'll be interested to hear about Kṛṣṇa, not about the newspaper. This is called liberation. No more attraction for material engagement. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. Viṣṇu means the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So your hearing, your chanting, your remembering, your acting—everything will be in connection with Viṣṇu. That is real Brahman realization stage, active stage.</p>
:śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
:smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
:arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
:sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
:([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.23|SB 7.5.23]])
<p>Take, take the example of Arjuna. What is that? He was in the battlefield. The problem was to fight or not to fight. But so long he was not in the brahma-bhūta stage, identifying his body, that "I am this body," he was thinking the bodily relationship: "Oh, he's my father. He's my brother. He's my uncle. He's my grandfather." He was hesitant. But the same fighting remained after hearing Bhagavad-gītā. And what is the change? The change is that bodily identification gone, spiritual identification taken, that he, as part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, it is his duty to serve Kṛṣṇa: "Kṛṣṇa wants this fight. I must fight. That's all." Similarly, brahma-bhūta stage means when you fight for Kṛṣṇa. The fighting here, in this world, nobody can remain without fighting, struggle for existence. Everyone has to fight. Daily you are fighting to exist. Utilize this fighting for Kṛṣṇa, then your life is successful. Yuddhyasva mām anusmara ([[Vanisource:BG 8.7|BG 8.7]]). It is not that, oh, fighting is stopped. Fighting you have to do so long you are in this material world. Kṛṣṇa consciousness does not mean to become lazy. You have to act practically for Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So everything will remain the same. But when it is done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that means you are making progress, spiritual realization. And, doing that, if you are so fortunate that always thinking of Kṛṣṇa and dying for Kṛṣṇa, then your life is successful. You at once transferred to Kṛṣṇaloka. This is the process, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.</p>
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