View source for What is the value of your independence? Can you avoid death? Suppose you are independent. What is the meaning of this independence? When death will come, will catch you by your neck and throw you away, your independence

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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="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="1" parent="Lectures" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures"><h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3>
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<div id="LectureonSB1166LosAngelesJanuary31974_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="323" link="Lecture on SB 1.16.6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1974" link_text="Lecture on SB 1.16.6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1974">
<div class="heading">What is the value of your independence? Can you avoid death? Suppose you are independent. What is the meaning of this independence? When death will come, will catch you by your neck and throw you away, your independence, nonsense independence... What is the value of this independence? Be independent from the clutches of māyā. No more death—that is independence. That is independence. No more birth—oh, that is independence. No more death. Otherwise what is the meaning of independence? You are not independent. You are under the clutches of māyā.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 1.16.6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1974|Lecture on SB 1.16.6 -- Los Angeles, January 3, 1974]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Everything is there. We know that this body is asat, antavanta. Antavanta means "which has got an end." Antavanta ime dehāḥ. This body has got an end at a certain date. Everyone knows. But the, the other is... Nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ. But within the body, which is the living force of this body, which is moving this body, that is nitya. Two things are there: my body and the force within the body. Everyone knows as soon as the force is withdrawn or gone away that this body has no more movement, it has no value. That everyone knows. But they will explain in different way. But according to our Vedic knowledge, that which is moving this body, that is eternal. That is not finished. "After the end of this body, the body is burnt into ashes or into, buried into the earth, and still?" Yes. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ([[Vanisource:BG 2.20 (1972)|BG 2.20]]).</p>
<p>In this way, every step, Svayaṁ Bhagavān is personally..., Kṛṣṇa is instructing us, and we are so fool, we cannot understand. We cannot understand. Big, big politicians, they read Bhagavad-gītā, in our country. But by their action it is seen they did not understand even a word of Bhagavad-gītā. Even a word of Bhagavad-gītā. Big, big politician. They became very big, big mahātmās or great men, but they tried for this body, which is to be finished. Antavanta ime dehāḥ. Nobody tried for that thing which will never be finished, that is eternal. You find from their life, they never instructed about the soul. They dealt with politics very nicely, to give bluff that "Within one year I shall give you liberation and this and that," about the... What is the value of this liberation? Because they did not know the thing which is not perishable, they are after this body, which is, liberated or not liberated, will perish. They are busy. They are busy with the activities of this body, which is surely perishable.</p>
<p>What is the value of your independence? Can you avoid death? Suppose you are independent. What is the meaning of this independence? When death will come, will catch you by your neck and throw you away, your independence, nonsense independence... What is the value of this independence? Be independent from the clutches of māyā. No more death—that is independence. That is independence. No more birth—oh, that is independence. No more death. Otherwise what is the meaning of independence? You are not independent. You are under the clutches of māyā. You are struggling. You are struggling to get out of the clutches of māyā or the material nature, external energy of God. You are trying to make nice medicine to get out of the attack of disease. But you can manufacture a better medicine, but you cannot get out of disease. That is not possible. This is struggle. Now we have manufactured such a nice medicine that cancer or any other disease will not attack us. That is very nice. But find out some medicine that death will not attack you. "Oh, that is not possible." Then where is the meaning of your advancement?</p>
<p>So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that medicine by which you can conquer over death. Therefore this is the best medicine. Bhavauṣadhi. It is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, bhavauṣadhi. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānāt... (aside:) You can stand on the wall, not in the middle. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhāt ([[Vanisource:SB 10.1.4|SB 10.1.4]]). This word bhavauṣadhi means the panacea for all material diseases. Bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt. Parīkṣit Mahārāja says that this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, it is chanted by whom? Nivṛtta-tarṣaiḥ, one who has finished his hankering after material pleasure. Nivṛtti. Nivṛtti means finished, no more. There are two ways: pravṛtti and nivṛtti. I want to smoke—that is called pravṛtti. And when I give up, that is called nivṛtti. Pravṛtti and nivṛtti.</p>
<p>So there are two things: pravṛtti and nivṛtti. But asuras, demons, they do not know "In which way I shall guide my pravṛtti and which way I shall guide my nivṛtti." This is the paśu. "In which way I will..." Pravṛtti and nivṛtti, these two things are there, but the difference between a demon and demigod is that a demon does not know how to direct these two propensities, pravṛtti and nivṛtti. And a demigod knows how to guide these two things, pravṛtti and nivṛtti. These two...One who does not know... Pravṛttir eṣā bhūtānāṁ nivṛttis tu mahā-phalā. Śāstra says that these things... Just like, loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityā hi jantor na hi tatra codanā. This eating, sleeping, mating and defending, every animal, every small animal, knows it very well, how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex intercourse and how to defend. These four things, everyone knows by nature. So this is called pravṛtti. Pravṛtti. But it has to be made nivṛtti, stop. They do not know what is the perfection. The perfection is... The pravṛtti, propensity is eating, sleeping, mating, defending. And when you make it just the opposite—no more eating, no more sleeping, no more mating, no more defending—oh, that is perfection of life. Who knows this? Ask any scientist, philosopher, of this world, that "Can you show me any way, no more eating, no more sleeping, no more mating and no more defending?" That is spiritual life. Therefore we have to reduce it. It is not possible, but there is possibility. Just like Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, he made it in his life, during Caitanya Mahāprabhu's... Even after departure of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, about four hundred years ago. He was a very rich man's son. Very good wife, very good state. He left everything, and ultimately, he made these things, even eating, nil. He was eating every third day a small quantity of butter, nominal, little. Otherwise he gave up eating. So it is possible. It is not that "How one can give up eating and live at the same time?" That is possible. By the life of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī we see.</p>
<p>So actual civilization means to deny material conveniences. That is actual civilization. That is perfection of civilization. Otherwise the cats and dogs, they are also after food, after sleeping, after sexual intercourse, after defense. Then what is the difference? The difference is the animals after it and the human beings should be not after it. Negation. That is perfection of life. So how we can negate? The Māyāvādī philosophers, they want to negate. Or the Buddhist philosopher. "Make it zero. Make it zero." Śūnyavādi. Śūnyavādi. Nirviśeṣavādi. Nirviśeṣavādi and śūnyavādi, almost the same. So they are after negation. But that is not possible. Artificially, if you negate, "I shall not eat," you cannot continue it for very many days. That is not possible. That is not possible. Similarly, eating, sleeping, mating—everything—artificially you cannot do. But you can do it as perfectly, as much possible, simply by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore it is said here that kim anyair asad-ālāpaiḥ. If we stop hear Kṛṣṇa talking, then that is negation. If we stop artificially these mundane talks, that will be artificial. You cannot sit down. If I say that the so-called meditation... So meditation is artificially stopping mundane activities. That is meditation. But how long you will do that? He is becoming suffocated, "When I shall talk? When I shall talk? I am meditating, meditating, meditating." But how will it stop? That is not possible. Just like these Māyāvādī philosophers, they say, "Become desireless, no more desire." That is not possible. I am a living entity. How can I be desireless? It is not possible.</p>
<p>So this negative process will not help us, śūnyavādi. Śūnyavādi. Nirviśeṣavādi. It will not be helpful. Therefore in the śāstra it is said that āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 10.2.32|SB 10.2.32]]). The same example I have given several times, that these rascals, they are going to the moon planet and sun planet, but they do not get any shelter, and they come down again. Their advancement means go to some extent and again come back again, earthly planet. When the Russian aeronauts was flying, he was seeing, "Where is my Moscow? Where is my Moscow?" The anchor is there. The attraction is there in the national, in the country, in the city, in the home, in the wife, in the cats, in the dogs. And he is trying to go up. So that is not possible. Just like a vulture. He goes three miles up or more than that, but his aim of life is to find out a dead body. That's all. He is finding. He has gone so up. You can see that advancement of going up, but the business is to see where is a dead body so that he can eat.</p>
<p>So this kind of artificial going up and making things negation will not help us. That is not possible. Therefore they are failure. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ ([[Vanisource:SB 10.2.32|SB 10.2.32]]). These Māyāvādī philosophers, they may go very high by knowledge, by speculation, but they will again fall down. Why? Anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ: "Because they could not get the shelter of Your lotus feet, therefore they will fall down." That is not secure. Because a man cannot remain without any activity, without any desire. That is not possible. A man, animal, any, even insect, he must be doing something. I have got practical experience. One of my sons in child..., when I was young man, he was very naughty. So sometimes we used to put him on the rack. He could not get down. So he was feeling so uncomfortable because his activities stopped on the rack. So you cannot stop activity. That is not possible. You must give better activity. Then you will stop. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate ([[Vanisource:BG 9.59 (1972)|BG 9.59]]).</p>
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