Self-independent, or self-dependent

Expressions researched:
"self-dependent" |"self-independent"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

That, you may question, "Then if He is so powerful, wise and cognizant, He must have learned it from similar..." No. We say that if he learns knowledge from somebody else, then he is not God. Svarāṭ. Automatically. He's self-independent.

Lecture on BG 6.13-15 -- Los Angeles, February 16, 1969:

Just like I am cognizant, you are also cognizant. But I do not know myself, how many hairs are there in my body. I'm claiming this is my head. But If ask anybody, "Do you know how many hairs you have got in your body?" That kind of knowledge is not knowledge. But the Supreme, Bhāgavata says that He knows everything directly and indirectly. I know I am eating, but I do not know how my eating process is helping my circulation of blood, how it is being transformed, how it is working, how it going through the veins. I do not know anything. But God must be He who knows everything, every corner of His creation what is going on He must know. Therefore the Bhāgavata explains, that Supreme Truth, from whom everything is emanated, He must be supremely cognizant. Abhijñaḥ. Abhijñaḥ means cognizant.

That, you may question, "Then if He is so powerful, wise and cognizant, He must have learned it from similar..." No. We say that if he learns knowledge from somebody else, then he is not God. Svarāṭ. Automatically. He's self-independent. This is jñāna-yoga. The study what is the nature by just analyze what should be the nature of the supreme from whom everything is emanating. That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

This world is relative depending one thing upon another. Nobody is self-independent. This is going on.

Lecture on SB 1.2.22 -- Los Angeles, August 25, 1972:

Now this morning we were talking with our scientist friend whether the ultimate source of everything... First of all, the conclusion is that everything is, are, relatively situated here. Just like some gentleman, he is son of another gentleman, relative. Then his father is also son of another gentleman. So our... this world is relative depending one thing upon another. Nobody is self-independent. This is going on. Then... So find out the original source of everything, that original source, whether it is sentient or insentient? The conclusion is original source must be sentient. Because in this, our experience, experimental knowledge, we see something matter and something living. I am seeing here is a small ant and here is a big stone. The big stone is insentient. It cannot move. For millions of years you wait, whether the stone will move—you cannot see. No, it will not move. Because it is insentient. Whereas a small ant, it is going. You just check its marching. It will struggle. It will struggle this way, this way, this way. And ultimately you have to give way. This is sentient. Therefore sentient is superior.

So these are the anarthas. Anartha. Unnecessary. People will not die without coffee and tea. But they have made the whole world self-dependent on coffee and tea, mercantile policy. There is anartha.

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Vrndavana, September 5, 1976:

We have seen in many places by performing yajña, the saṅkīrtana-yajña, where it was very dry, rain has fallen. This is practical. So things are very easy. But instead of producing food grains, we are producing Goodyear tires. So how we can eat? Now when there is scarcity of foodstuff you cannot eat the Goodyear tires. But people's attention has been diverted in the industrial activities. They are given allurement, "Come here. I shall give you twenty rupees per day. You give up your agricultural activities. You come in the factory. Produce tire tube, iron stool," and so on so on. So we are violating the orders of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says that produce foodgrain. But we are producing unnecessary things. And therefore you are suffering. Kṛṣṇa is giving very good advice: annād bhavanti bhūtāni. You produce sufficient foodgrain, all over, not only here. Another anartha is this nationalism. Nationalism: "This is America," "This is India," "This is Africa," "This is Australia." Why? Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Simple thing. Everything belongs to God. Īśāvāsya. There will be no scarcity. I have studied very thoroughly that there are sufficient land still without any cultivation. In Africa I have seen sufficient land. But they are utilizing it for producing coffee and tea. No food grains. So these are the anarthas. Anartha. Unnecessary. People will not die without coffee and tea. But they have made the whole world self-dependent on coffee and tea, mercantile policy. There is anartha.