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<div class="section" id="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is"><h2>Bhagavad-gita As It Is</h2></div>


== Bhagavad-gita As It Is ==
<div class="sub_section" id="BG_Chapters_1_-_6" text="BG Chapters 1 - 6"><h3>BG Chapters 1 - 6</h3></div>


=== BG Chapters 1 - 6 ===
<div class="quote" book="BG" link="BG 2.17" link_text="BG 2.17, Purport">
<div class="heading">Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration.</div>


<span class="q_heading">'''Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration.'''</span>
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:BG 2.17 (1972)|BG 2.17, Purport]]:''' This very small spiritual spark is the basic principle of the material body, and the influence of such a spiritual spark is spread all over the body as the influence of the active principle of some medicine spreads throughout the body. This current of the spirit soul is felt all over the body as consciousness, and that is the proof of the presence of the soul. Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration. Therefore, consciousness is not due to any amount of material combination, but to the spirit soul.</div>
</div>


<span class="BG-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:BG 2.17|BG 2.17, Purport]]:''' This very small spiritual spark is the basic principle of the material body, and the influence of such a spiritual spark is spread all over the body as the influence of the active principle of some medicine spreads throughout the body. This current of the spirit soul is felt all over the body as consciousness, and that is the proof of the presence of the soul. Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration. Therefore, consciousness is not due to any amount of material combination, but to the spirit soul.</span>
<div class="sub_section" id="BG_Chapters_7_-_12" text="BG Chapters 7 - 12"><h3>BG Chapters 7 - 12</h3></div>


=== BG Chapters 7 - 12 ===
<div class="quote" book="BG" link="BG 10.22" link_text="BG 10.22, Translation and Purport">
<div class="heading">Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter.</div>


<span class="q_heading">'''Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter.'''</span>
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:BG 10.22 (1972)|BG 10.22, Translation and Purport]]: Of the Vedas I am the Sāma Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness].'''


<span class="BG-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:BG 10.22|BG 10.22, Translation and Purport]]: Of the Vedas I am the Sāma Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness].'''
The difference between matter and spirit is that matter has no consciousness like the living entity; therefore this consciousness is supreme and eternal. Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter.</div>
</div>


The difference between matter and spirit is that matter has no consciousness like the living entity; therefore this consciousness is supreme and eternal. Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter.</span>
<div class="section" id="Srimad-Bhagavatam" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam"><h2>Srimad-Bhagavatam</h2></div>


== Srimad-Bhagavatam ==
<div class="sub_section" id="SB_Canto_3" text="SB Canto 3"><h3>SB Canto 3</h3></div>


=== SB Canto 3 ===
<div class="quote" book="SB" link="SB 3.6.36" link_text="SB 3.6.36, Purport">
<div class="heading">Consciousness cannot be silent, even for a moment.</div>


<span class="q_heading">'''Consciousness cannot be silent, even for a moment.'''</span>
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:SB 3.6.36|SB 3.6.36, Purport]]:''' The purification of the conditioned soul necessitates purification of his consciousness. By the presence of consciousness, the presence of the transcendental soul is verified, and as soon as consciousness leaves the body, the material body is not active. Consciousness is perceived, therefore, by activities. The theory put forward by empiric philosophers that consciousness can remain in an inactive state is the proof of their poor fund of knowledge. One should not become unchaste by stopping the activities of pure consciousness. If the activities of pure consciousness are stopped, certainly the conscious living force will be otherwise engaged because unless engaged the consciousness has no standing. Consciousness cannot be silent, even for a moment. When the body does not act, the consciousness acts in the form of dreams. Unconsciousness is artificial; by induced extraneous help it remains for a limited period, but when the intoxication of the drug is finished or when one is awake, the consciousness again acts earnestly.</div>
</div>


<span class="SB-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:SB 3.6.36|SB 3.6.36, Purport]]:''' The purification of the conditioned soul necessitates purification of his consciousness. By the presence of consciousness, the presence of the transcendental soul is verified, and as soon as consciousness leaves the body, the material body is not active. Consciousness is perceived, therefore, by activities. The theory put forward by empiric philosophers that consciousness can remain in an inactive state is the proof of their poor fund of knowledge. One should not become unchaste by stopping the activities of pure consciousness. If the activities of pure consciousness are stopped, certainly the conscious living force will be otherwise engaged because unless engaged the consciousness has no standing. Consciousness cannot be silent, even for a moment. When the body does not act, the consciousness acts in the form of dreams. Unconsciousness is artificial; by induced extraneous help it remains for a limited period, but when the intoxication of the drug is finished or when one is awake, the consciousness again acts earnestly.</span>
<div class="sub_section" id="SB_Canto_5" text="SB Canto 5"><h3>SB Canto 5</h3></div>


=== SB Canto 5 ===
<div class="quote" book="SB" link="SB 5.1.3" link_text="SB 5.1.3, Translation and Purport">
<div class="heading">Those who have come under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord cannot possibly become attached to family members.</div>


<span class="q_heading">'''Those who have come under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord cannot possibly become attached to family members.'''</span>
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:SB 5.1.3|SB 5.1.3, Translation and Purport]]: Elevated mahātmās who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are fully satiated by the shade of those lotus feet. Their consciousness cannot possibly become attached to family members.'''


<span class="SB-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:SB 5.1.3|SB 5.1.3, Translation and Purport]]: Elevated mahātmās who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are fully satiated by the shade of those lotus feet. Their consciousness cannot possibly become attached to family members.'''
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, nitāi pada-kamala, koṭī-candra suśītala, ye chāyāya jagat juḍāya. He describes the shade of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda as being so nice and cooling that all materialists, who are always in the blazing fire of material activities, may come under the shade of His lotus feet and be fully relieved and satiated. The distinction between family life and spiritual life can be experienced by any person who has undergone the tribulations of living with a family. One who comes under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord never becomes attracted by the activities of family life. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59), paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate: one gives up lower engagements when he experiences a higher taste. Thus one becomes detached from family life as soon as he comes under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.</div>
</div>


Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, nitāi pada-kamala, koṭī-candra suśītala, ye chāyāya jagat juḍāya. He describes the shade of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda as being so nice and cooling that all materialists, who are always in the blazing fire of material activities, may come under the shade of His lotus feet and be fully relieved and satiated. The distinction between family life and spiritual life can be experienced by any person who has undergone the tribulations of living with a family. One who comes under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord never becomes attracted by the activities of family life. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59), paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate: one gives up lower engagements when he experiences a higher taste. Thus one becomes detached from family life as soon as he comes under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.</span>
<div class="sub_section" id="SB_Canto_6" text="SB Canto 6"><h3>SB Canto 6</h3></div>


=== SB Canto 6 ===
<div class="quote" book="SB" link="SB 6.12.11" link_text="SB 6.12.11, Translation and Purport">
<div class="heading">The three puruṣas, the material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.</div>


<span class="q_heading">'''The three puruṣas, the material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.'''</span>
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:SB 6.12.11|SB 6.12.11, Translation and Purport]]: The three puruṣas—Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu—the material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.'''


<span class="SB-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:SB 6.12.11|SB 6.12.11, Translation and Purport]]: The three puruṣas—Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu—the material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.'''
As confirmed in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat: whatever manifestations we experience are nothing but various energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These energies cannot create anything independently. This is also confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10): mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram. "This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving living beings." Only under the direction of the Lord, the Supreme Person, can prakṛti, which is manifested in twenty-four elements, create different situations for the living entity.</div>
</div>


As confirmed in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat: whatever manifestations we experience are nothing but various energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These energies cannot create anything independently. This is also confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10): mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram. "This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving living beings." Only under the direction of the Lord, the Supreme Person, can prakṛti, which is manifested in twenty-four elements, create different situations for the living entity.</span>
<div class="section" id="Lectures" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2></div>


== Lectures ==
<div class="sub_section" id="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures"><h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3></div>


=== Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures ===
<div class="quote" book="Lec" link="Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966" link_text="Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966">
<div class="heading">There will be activities because your consciousness cannot be inactive.</div>


<span class="q_heading">'''There will be activities because your consciousness cannot be inactive.'''</span>
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966|Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966]]:''' Sthita-prajña mea... Sthita-prajña means one who is steadily situated in the platform of consciousness. Prajña means consciousness, and sthita means steadily fixed up. So this is the only..., that you have haven't got to create mental concoction to become happy. You have simply to dovetail yourself with the supreme will. There will be activities. There will be activities because your consciousness cannot be inactive. But there will be activities. That activity will be standard and without any mistake, without any flaw, because it is dictated by the Supreme. Just like a fa..., a child is given instruction to write "A." So he does not write, does not know how to write. He's doing this way, that way. The teacher says, "My dear boy, kindly do this, this way, this way, 'A.' " So, if he does it, he's nice. It is nice. Similarly, we have to engage our consciousness...</div>
</div>


<span class="LEC-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966|Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966]]:''' Sthita-prajña mea... Sthita-prajña means one who is steadily situated in the platform of consciousness. Prajña means consciousness, and sthita means steadily fixed up. So this is the only..., that you have haven't got to create mental concoction to become happy. You have simply to dovetail yourself with the supreme will. There will be activities. There will be activities because your consciousness cannot be inactive. But there will be activities. That activity will be standard and without any mistake, without any flaw, because it is dictated by the Supreme. Just like a fa..., a child is given instruction to write "A." So he does not write, does not know how to write. He's doing this way, that way. The teacher says, "My dear boy, kindly do this, this way, this way, 'A.' " So, if he does it, he's nice. It is nice. Similarly, we have to engage our consciousness...</span>
<div class="sub_section" id="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" text="Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures"><h3>Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures</h3></div>


=== Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures ===
<div class="quote" book="Lec" link="Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967" link_text="Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967">
<div class="heading">Your consciousness cannot approach my perception. Therefore I am limited consciousness.</div>


<span class="q_heading">'''Your consciousness cannot approach my perception. Therefore I am limited consciousness.'''</span>
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967|Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967]]:''' Your consciousness, my consciousness, they are limited. You cannot perceive or understand what I am thinking; I cannot perceive or understand what you are thinking. If you are feeling, I mean to say, uncomfortable, I do not understand it. And if I am feeling happy, you do not understand it. In this way, if you make analytical study, you'll know that every one of us is individual and we have got individual consciousness, limited consciousness, not extensive. The Māyāvādī philosophers who mistake that "I am unlimited consciousness," no. If you deliberate, if you think wisely, then you are not unlimited consciousness. Your consciousness cannot approach my perception. Therefore I am limited consciousness. But because I have got consciousness, you have got consciousness, we are living soul, therefore the Supreme Soul, He has got His consciousness, and that is unlimited consciousness.</div>
</div>


<span class="LEC-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967|Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967]]:''' Your consciousness, my consciousness, they are limited. You cannot perceive or understand what I am thinking; I cannot perceive or understand what you are thinking. If you are feeling, I mean to say, uncomfortable, I do not understand it. And if I am feeling happy, you do not understand it. In this way, if you make analytical study, you'll know that every one of us is individual and we have got individual consciousness, limited consciousness, not extensive. The Māyāvādī philosophers who mistake that "I am unlimited consciousness," no. If you deliberate, if you think wisely, then you are not unlimited consciousness. Your consciousness cannot approach my perception. Therefore I am limited consciousness. But because I have got consciousness, you have got consciousness, we are living soul, therefore the Supreme Soul, He has got His consciousness, and that is unlimited consciousness.</span>
<div class="sub_section" id="Philosophy_Discussions" text="Philosophy Discussions"><h3>Philosophy Discussions</h3></div>


=== Philosophy Discussions ===
<div class="quote" book="Lec" link="Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson" link_text="Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson">
 
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson|Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson]]:'''
<span class="LEC-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson|Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson]]:'''


Hayagrīva: From this, Bergson concludes that we are evolving, that we learn from an accumulation of experience, that we cannot, in a sense, repeat the same mistake twice. He writes, "From this survival of the past, it follows that consciousness cannot go through the same state twice. Circumstances may still be the same, but they will act no longer on the same person since they find him in a new moment of his history. Our personality, which is being built up each instant with its accumulated experience, changes without ceasing. Thus our personality shoots, grows and ripens without ceasing."
Hayagrīva: From this, Bergson concludes that we are evolving, that we learn from an accumulation of experience, that we cannot, in a sense, repeat the same mistake twice. He writes, "From this survival of the past, it follows that consciousness cannot go through the same state twice. Circumstances may still be the same, but they will act no longer on the same person since they find him in a new moment of his history. Our personality, which is being built up each instant with its accumulated experience, changes without ceasing. Thus our personality shoots, grows and ripens without ceasing."


Prabhupāda: No. There is no cessation because the soul is eternal, so his consciousness is also eternal. But it is changing according to the circumstances, association, time, place, and the party changes. Therefore good association required. Sādhu-saṅga [Cc. Madhya 22.83]. It is called sādhu-saṅga, association with the devotees. By good association the consciousness can be changed from material to spiritual. That is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, how to change the consciousness from matter to Kṛṣṇa.</span>
Prabhupāda: No. There is no cessation because the soul is eternal, so his consciousness is also eternal. But it is changing according to the circumstances, association, time, place, and the party changes. Therefore good association required. Sādhu-saṅga [Cc. Madhya 22.83]. It is called sādhu-saṅga, association with the devotees. By good association the consciousness can be changed from material to spiritual. That is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, how to change the consciousness from matter to Kṛṣṇa.</div>
</div>


== Conversations and Morning Walks ==
<div class="section" id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2></div>


=== 1973 Conversations and Morning Walks ===
<div class="sub_section" id="1973_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1973 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1973 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3></div>


<span class="q_heading">'''God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure.'''</span>
<div class="quote" book="Con" link="Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London" link_text="Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London">
<div class="heading">God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure.</div>


<span class="CON-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London|Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London]]:'''
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London|Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London]]:'''


Prabhupāda: John, Mr. John. That we follow strictly the Vedic injunctions, and unless we become God conscious, there cannot be any reformation in this world.
Prabhupāda: John, Mr. John. That we follow strictly the Vedic injunctions, and unless we become God conscious, there cannot be any reformation in this world.
Line 95: Line 113:
Popworth: I agree with that.
Popworth: I agree with that.


Prabhupāda: That's all. And that God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [Bg. 10.12]. God is the supreme pure. You cannot approach God, you cannot understand God, in impure condition. And without God consciousness, there cannot be any purification. You try to understand this simple fact, that without God consciousness, you may prescribe so many things—they will be all failure, all failure. And God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure. This is the problem. Now you can think over it.</span>
Prabhupāda: That's all. And that God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [Bg. 10.12]. God is the supreme pure. You cannot approach God, you cannot understand God, in impure condition. And without God consciousness, there cannot be any purification. You try to understand this simple fact, that without God consciousness, you may prescribe so many things—they will be all failure, all failure. And God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure. This is the problem. Now you can think over it.</div>
</div>


=== 1975 Conversations and Morning Walks ===
<div class="sub_section" id="1975_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1975 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1975 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3></div>


<span class="q_heading">'''God consciousness cannot be achieved by any third-class man. One must be the topmost first-class man.'''</span>
<div class="quote" book="Con" link="Room Conversation with Dr. Copeland, Professor of Modern Indian History -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne" link_text="Room Conversation with Dr. Copeland, Professor of Modern Indian History -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne">
<div class="heading">God consciousness cannot be achieved by any third-class man. One must be the topmost first-class man.</div>


<span class="CON-statistics">'''[[Vanisource:Room Conversation with Dr. Copeland, Professor of Modern Indian History -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne|Room Conversation with Dr. Copeland, Professor of Modern Indian History -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne]]:'''
<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:Room Conversation with Dr. Copeland, Professor of Modern Indian History -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne|Room Conversation with Dr. Copeland, Professor of Modern Indian History -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne]]:'''


Dr. Copeland: Uh, that wasn't in my question, That's... (laughs). Yes, I think it's very nice, I couldn't do it. I wouldn't shave my hair, and I wouldn't dress like that.
Dr. Copeland: Uh, that wasn't in my question, That's... (laughs). Yes, I think it's very nice, I couldn't do it. I wouldn't shave my hair, and I wouldn't dress like that.
Line 113: Line 133:
Dr. Copeland: But you ask a great deal of people. So why do you think they're willing to give?
Dr. Copeland: But you ask a great deal of people. So why do you think they're willing to give?


Prabhupāda: No, I ask only four things: no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling. That's all. But these four things are very, very, difficult for the Western people. That I know. Just see. God consciousness cannot be achieved by any third-class man. One must be the topmost first-class man. Then he can become God conscious.</span>
Prabhupāda: No, I ask only four things: no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling. That's all. But these four things are very, very, difficult for the Western people. That I know. Just see. God consciousness cannot be achieved by any third-class man. One must be the topmost first-class man. Then he can become God conscious.</div>
</div>
</div>

Latest revision as of 05:00, 5 August 2022

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 1 - 6

Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration.
BG 2.17, Purport: This very small spiritual spark is the basic principle of the material body, and the influence of such a spiritual spark is spread all over the body as the influence of the active principle of some medicine spreads throughout the body. This current of the spirit soul is felt all over the body as consciousness, and that is the proof of the presence of the soul. Any layman can understand that the material body minus consciousness is a dead body, and this consciousness cannot be revived in the body by any means of material administration. Therefore, consciousness is not due to any amount of material combination, but to the spirit soul.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter.
BG 10.22, Translation and Purport: Of the Vedas I am the Sāma Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness]. The difference between matter and spirit is that matter has no consciousness like the living entity; therefore this consciousness is supreme and eternal. Consciousness cannot be produced by a combination of matter.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 3

Consciousness cannot be silent, even for a moment.
SB 3.6.36, Purport: The purification of the conditioned soul necessitates purification of his consciousness. By the presence of consciousness, the presence of the transcendental soul is verified, and as soon as consciousness leaves the body, the material body is not active. Consciousness is perceived, therefore, by activities. The theory put forward by empiric philosophers that consciousness can remain in an inactive state is the proof of their poor fund of knowledge. One should not become unchaste by stopping the activities of pure consciousness. If the activities of pure consciousness are stopped, certainly the conscious living force will be otherwise engaged because unless engaged the consciousness has no standing. Consciousness cannot be silent, even for a moment. When the body does not act, the consciousness acts in the form of dreams. Unconsciousness is artificial; by induced extraneous help it remains for a limited period, but when the intoxication of the drug is finished or when one is awake, the consciousness again acts earnestly.

SB Canto 5

Those who have come under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord cannot possibly become attached to family members.
SB 5.1.3, Translation and Purport: Elevated mahātmās who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are fully satiated by the shade of those lotus feet. Their consciousness cannot possibly become attached to family members. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, nitāi pada-kamala, koṭī-candra suśītala, ye chāyāya jagat juḍāya. He describes the shade of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda as being so nice and cooling that all materialists, who are always in the blazing fire of material activities, may come under the shade of His lotus feet and be fully relieved and satiated. The distinction between family life and spiritual life can be experienced by any person who has undergone the tribulations of living with a family. One who comes under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord never becomes attracted by the activities of family life. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.59), paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate: one gives up lower engagements when he experiences a higher taste. Thus one becomes detached from family life as soon as he comes under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.

SB Canto 6

The three puruṣas, the material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 6.12.11, Translation and Purport: The three puruṣas—Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu—the material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As confirmed in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat: whatever manifestations we experience are nothing but various energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These energies cannot create anything independently. This is also confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10): mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram. "This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving living beings." Only under the direction of the Lord, the Supreme Person, can prakṛti, which is manifested in twenty-four elements, create different situations for the living entity.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

There will be activities because your consciousness cannot be inactive.
Lecture on BG 2.55-56 -- New York, April 19, 1966: Sthita-prajña mea... Sthita-prajña means one who is steadily situated in the platform of consciousness. Prajña means consciousness, and sthita means steadily fixed up. So this is the only..., that you have haven't got to create mental concoction to become happy. You have simply to dovetail yourself with the supreme will. There will be activities. There will be activities because your consciousness cannot be inactive. But there will be activities. That activity will be standard and without any mistake, without any flaw, because it is dictated by the Supreme. Just like a fa..., a child is given instruction to write "A." So he does not write, does not know how to write. He's doing this way, that way. The teacher says, "My dear boy, kindly do this, this way, this way, 'A.' " So, if he does it, he's nice. It is nice. Similarly, we have to engage our consciousness...

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Your consciousness cannot approach my perception. Therefore I am limited consciousness.
Lecture on SB 7.7.22-26 -- San Francisco, March 10, 1967: Your consciousness, my consciousness, they are limited. You cannot perceive or understand what I am thinking; I cannot perceive or understand what you are thinking. If you are feeling, I mean to say, uncomfortable, I do not understand it. And if I am feeling happy, you do not understand it. In this way, if you make analytical study, you'll know that every one of us is individual and we have got individual consciousness, limited consciousness, not extensive. The Māyāvādī philosophers who mistake that "I am unlimited consciousness," no. If you deliberate, if you think wisely, then you are not unlimited consciousness. Your consciousness cannot approach my perception. Therefore I am limited consciousness. But because I have got consciousness, you have got consciousness, we are living soul, therefore the Supreme Soul, He has got His consciousness, and that is unlimited consciousness.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Hayagrīva: From this, Bergson concludes that we are evolving, that we learn from an accumulation of experience, that we cannot, in a sense, repeat the same mistake twice. He writes, "From this survival of the past, it follows that consciousness cannot go through the same state twice. Circumstances may still be the same, but they will act no longer on the same person since they find him in a new moment of his history. Our personality, which is being built up each instant with its accumulated experience, changes without ceasing. Thus our personality shoots, grows and ripens without ceasing."

Prabhupāda: No. There is no cessation because the soul is eternal, so his consciousness is also eternal. But it is changing according to the circumstances, association, time, place, and the party changes. Therefore good association required. Sādhu-saṅga [Cc. Madhya 22.83]. It is called sādhu-saṅga, association with the devotees. By good association the consciousness can be changed from material to spiritual. That is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, how to change the consciousness from matter to Kṛṣṇa.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure.
Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: John, Mr. John. That we follow strictly the Vedic injunctions, and unless we become God conscious, there cannot be any reformation in this world.

Popworth: I agree with that.

Prabhupāda: That's all. And that God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān [Bg. 10.12]. God is the supreme pure. You cannot approach God, you cannot understand God, in impure condition. And without God consciousness, there cannot be any purification. You try to understand this simple fact, that without God consciousness, you may prescribe so many things—they will be all failure, all failure. And God consciousness cannot be achieved without being pure. This is the problem. Now you can think over it.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

God consciousness cannot be achieved by any third-class man. One must be the topmost first-class man.
Room Conversation with Dr. Copeland, Professor of Modern Indian History -- May 20, 1975, Melbourne:

Dr. Copeland: Uh, that wasn't in my question, That's... (laughs). Yes, I think it's very nice, I couldn't do it. I wouldn't shave my hair, and I wouldn't dress like that.

Prabhupāda: You cannot sacrifice so much. They have sacrificed.

Dr. Copeland: Aḥ, I sacrifice up here.

Prabhupāda: They have got a spirit of sacrifice.

Dr. Copeland: But you ask a great deal of people. So why do you think they're willing to give?

Prabhupāda: No, I ask only four things: no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling. That's all. But these four things are very, very, difficult for the Western people. That I know. Just see. God consciousness cannot be achieved by any third-class man. One must be the topmost first-class man. Then he can become God conscious.