For the time being (Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"for the time being"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.31 -- London, July 24, 1973:

Catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtina. Sukṛtina means pious. Kṛtī means very expert in acting worldly activities. So one who are engaged in pious activities, they are called sukṛtī. There are two kinds of activities: impious activities, sinful activities; and pious activities. So one who goes to pray in the church or in the temple, "O God, give us our daily bread," or "God, give me some money," or "God, give me relief from this distress," they are also pious. They are not impious. The impious people, they will never surrender to God, Kṛṣṇa. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ, prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). These class of men, sinful men, rascal, lowest of the mankind, whose knowledge has been taken away by māyā, and demon—these classes of men will never surrender to God. Therefore they are duṣkṛtina, impious. So Kṛṣṇa is pious, but still he wants the family benefit. This is his defect. Er, Arjuna. Family prosperity. He wants to be happy with society, friendship and love. Therefore he says that na kāṅkṣe vijayam... This is called vairāgya. Śmaśāna-vairāgya. It is called śmaśāna-vairāgya. Śmaśāna-vairāgya means that in India, the Hindus, they burn the dead body. So relatives take the dead body for burning to the burning ghāṭa, and when the body is burned, everyone present there, for the time being, they become little renounced: "Oh, this is the body. We are working for this body. Now it is finished. It is burnt into ashes. So what is the benefit?" This kind of vairāgya, renouncement, is there. But as soon as he comes from the burning ghāṭa, he again begins his activities. In the śmaśāna, in the burning ghāṭa, he becomes renounced. And as soon as comes home, again he is vigorous, vigorous, how to earn, how to get money, how to get money, how to get money. So this kind of vairāgya is called śmaśāna-vairāgya, temporary. He cannot become vairāgī.