View source for Suppose one man is stealing for his personal benefit, and the same stealing, if he steals for his family, is he not a thief? Either he steals for his family or for himself, stealing is stealing

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[[Category:Questions Posed by Srila Prabhupada]]
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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="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="0" parent="Lectures" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures"><h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonBG419BombayApril81974_0" class="quote" parent="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" book="Lec" index="180" link="Lecture on BG 4.19 -- Bombay, April 8, 1974" link_text="Lecture on BG 4.19 -- Bombay, April 8, 1974">
<div class="heading">Suppose one man is stealing for his personal benefit, and the same stealing, if he steals for his family, is he not a thief? Either he steals for his family or for himself, stealing is stealing. But nowadays it is going on that if you steal for greater selfish interest, it is not stealing.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 4.19 -- Bombay, April 8, 1974|Lecture on BG 4.19 -- Bombay, April 8, 1974]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">There is one Mr. Marshall, economist. Marshall's economics we read in our economic class. He said that "Family affection is the impetus for economic development." He said that. That is fact. Therefore, according to Vedic system, a boy is married with a girl, and the husband and wife, as soon as... This is psychological. As soon as they become husband and wife... Because the boy is searching after woman, and the girl is also searching after man. So they must be given. This is psychology. There is no question of so-called love. The, the former system of marriage, the father and mother selects one boy and one girl, and by force they are married. But the economic position becomes very nice. Family affection.</p>
<p>That is also stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 5.5.8|SB 5.5.8]]). These are very psychological. A married man becomes responsible. Because there is affection, family affection. And one who is not married, he's irresponsible. Because there is no family affection. That is the basic defect of the present society. There is no family affection. They are all irresponsible.</p>
<p>So this psychology's there, lusty desire. That is the basic principle of material life. So when one becomes free from this lusty desire, kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ, that is spiritual life. That is spiritual life. Very simple thing. The material life means the basic principle is lusty desire. Everyone is working so hard because the basic principle is lusty desire. "I shall enjoy like this. My wife shall enjoy. My children shall enjoy. My grandchildren shall enjoy. My countrymen will enjoy. My society will enjoy." This is the basic principle of whole modern civilization—expanding the selfish interest. Selfish interest means "my sense gratification." And expand more, "My family's sense gratification." Expand it more: "My society's, my nation's..." This way.</p>
<p>But this is material life. When one becomes this kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ, that is spiritual life. That is spiritual life. Therefore it is described here: yasya sarve samārambhāḥ. The samā... Any attempt.</p>
<p>Now, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, there is attempt. We are also after land. We are also after building. We are also after money. We are also after business organization, either a sky... What is that? Our? Spiritual Sky. Or this book department, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Apparently, it is business. We also want money. We also land. We want also building. We want also men. Then where is the difference between the ordinary person and Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement? This is the difference: kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ. Everyone has sacrificed his life for Kṛṣṇa. Personal? There is no personal interest. These boys, these girls, are working day and night, hard, in my direction, but I don't pay them. Neither they expect any payment. Otherwise this movement would not have proceeded so quickly. There is no question of payment. Kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ. Everyone is engaged for satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa.</p>
<p>So that is explained here: yasya sarve... Factually we are using everything. We have got everything. We have got cars. We have got microphone. We have got typewriter. We have got dictaphone. What we have not? Just like ordinary men. We have got everything. We have got office. We have got lawyer. We have got engineer. What is not? Everything is there. But the point is kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ. There is no lusty desire that "I shall become happy, my wife shall become happy," or "My children shall become happy, my nation shall become happy, my community shall become happy." Extend. This extension has no meaning. This is all kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ.</p>
<p>Suppose a person is working very hard for his nation and trying to drive away others, non-national. But that is not kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ, That is kāma-saṅkalpa-sahitāḥ. So therefore that is material. Superficially, it may be very philanthropic, sacrificing. Now, suppose one man is stealing for his personal benefit, and the same stealing, if he steals for his family, is he not a thief? Either he steals for his family or for himself, stealing is stealing. But nowadays it is going on that if you steal for greater selfish interest, it is not stealing. No.</p>
<p>That greater, the greatest selfish interest is Kṛṣṇa. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum ([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.31|SB 7.5.31]]). So you make it greater. That's all right. But where is the point where the greatness will be limited or there will end? That is Kṛṣṇa.</p>
:bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
:jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
:vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
:sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
:([[Vanisource:BG 7.19 (1972)|BG 7.19]])
<p>So if we come to that point, to understand that we are self-interested, personally or extended personally, family-wise, community-wise, society-wise, nation-wise, they are still polluted with the material desires. But when the same extension comes to the Supreme, Kṛṣṇa, that is kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ. Otherwise it is kāma-saṅkalpa-sahitāḥ, with kāma-saṅkalpa.</p>
<p>Therefore bhakti means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11). Rūpa Gosvāmī says, anyābhilāṣa-śūnyam. Because these are all anya abhilāṣa. Except to serve Kṛṣṇa, any desire is desire. That is material desire. And sometimes they want to negate this desire. Desireless. One of my students just spoken that.... Somebody said that "To become desireless is the highest perfection." So he replied that "Desireless, that is also desire." You are thinking that "I shall become desireless." So this is also a desire.</p>
<p>So how you become desireless? Very nice argument he gave. Our Caitya-guru gave it. I was very much pleased. It is not possible to become desireless. This is foolishness, to give up desire. You cannot give (up) desire. That is not... If you give up desire, then you are a dead man. A stone has no desire. Do you like to become a stone-like? No. Desire cannot be less. That is not possible. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.167|CC Madhya 19.167]]). Abhilāṣitā-śūnyam, anya. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam: "Except Kṛṣṇa, any other desires should be given up." That is anyābhilāṣa. Abhilāṣitā-śūnyam, the ācārya, Rūpa Gosvāmī, does not say. That is not possible. I must have desires because I am living entity. I am not a stone. I am not a wood. So this is a false philosophy, to become desireless. That is not possible. To become desireless—other desires. Other means except Kṛṣṇa.</p>
<p>Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.167|CC Madhya 19.167]]). Uncovered, coverless, without any covering of jñāna and karma. Jñāna and karma. Because here it is said, jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇam. One is engaged in the material activities when he's not enlightened by knowledge. Therefore they are called mūḍhas. The karmīs who are working for sense gratification day and night, they have been called as mūḍhas. Mūḍhas means asses. The ass works very hard, the washerman's cloth loaded on the back of the ass to the greatest extent so that he cannot move. But what does he get in exchange? A morsel of grass. That's all. He knows it, that in exchange of... "None of the cloth belongs to me; still, I am carrying so much burden, and in exchange I'll get a few pieces of grass," which is available anywhere. But he's thinking that "This washerman will supply me grass." This is ass, ass-mentality. Therefore they are called mūḍha.</p>
<p> All the karmīs. In Bombay there are so many karmīs, working very, very hard. If you want to see him, "No, sir, no, I have no time." What you are doing? "Working." What are you eating? "Four cāpāṭis. That's all." Why four cāpāṭis you are working so hard? "No, for my next generation. Or for my son, for my grandson, for my this, for my that, and..." This is called mūḍha. Therefore it is said, jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇam. When one understands by knowledge that "I am uselessly working this. I am uselessly working. What is the benefit of this work?" But he has no knowledge. He does not know that everything, what he is building in this life, after death, everything will be taken away. Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham ([[Vanisource:BG 10.34 (1972)|BG 10.34]]). Kṛṣṇa will take away. All your skyscraper building, bank balance, nice family, car and everything—all lost.</p>
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