Lenin

Expressions researched:
"Lenin"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

I asked, "You have surrendered to Lenin, and we have surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Where is the difference?" Everyone has to surrender.

Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Bombay, March 27, 1974:

So dharma means, as Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is dharma. This is dharma. And our dharma, our characteristic is also there.

Because every one of us, we have surrendered to somebody. Analyze everyone. He has somebody superior where he has surrendered. It may be his family, his wife, or his government, his community, his society, his political party. Anywhere you go, the characteristic is to surrender. That you cannot avoid. That was the talk with Professor Kotovsky in Moscow. I asked him, "Now, you have got your Communist philosophy. We have got our Kṛṣṇa philosophy. Where is the difference in philosophy? You have surrendered to Lenin, and we have surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Where is the difference?" Everyone has to surrender. It doesn't matter where he is surrendering. If the surrendering is correct, then the things are correct. If the surrendering is not correct, then things are not correct. This is the philosophy. So we are surrendering.

You have to accept one leader, head, and we also accept one head. Then where is the difference between communism and other ism?" So he was stopped. He appreciated very much. "The difference is that you have accepted Lenin as your head and we have accepted Kṛṣṇa as our head."

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Hyderabad, April 27, 1974:

Everyone can be god. But we are using the word "Godhead." Just like there are some clerks and there is head clerk, similarly, we are all gods. The Māyāvādī philosophy, they say, "Everyone is God." That's all right. But you are not the head God. Head, there... If there is god, there are so many gods, there must be one head God. That is our natural experience. Anywhere you go, there are so many people, but there is some leader, head. I had some talks with one Russian professor, Professor Kotovsky in Moscow. So we had very long talks. At last I asked him, "Mr. Kotovsky..." I forget to..., "comrade." (laughter). But I said, "mister." (laughs) "So where is the difference between your philosophy and my philosophy, or our philosophy? You have to accept one leader, head, and we also accept one head. Then where is the difference between communism and other ism?" So he was stopped. He appreciated very much. "The difference is that you have accepted Lenin as your head and we have accepted Kṛṣṇa as our head."

So there is no difference of the philosophy. You have to accept. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). That is the Vedic instruction.

"You have selected your leader and you have sold yourself to the orders of Lenin. And we have also bowed down to Kṛṣṇa and we have sold ourselves to Kṛṣṇa. So on principle, where is the difference?"

Lecture on BG 13.3 -- Paris, August 11, 1973:

So in this way we have to acquire knowledge. Not like blind men. But unfortunately we prefer to become a servant of a blind leader instead of Kṛṣṇa. This is our disease. We shall serve. I asked this question to Professor Kotovsky, that "Your communist philosophy and our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, where is the difference? You have selected your leader and you have sold yourself to the orders of Lenin. And we have also bowed down to Kṛṣṇa and we have sold ourselves to Kṛṣṇa. So on principle, where is the difference?" There is no difference. You have to select one leader. We have also selected one. Now if the leader is perfect, then my life is perfect. If the leader is wrong, then your life is wrong. So he could not answer this.

The principle is there. You have to select one leader and you have to act by his order. That is, that is our nature. Because Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). Every living entity is eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. When he forgets Kṛṣṇa he becomes servant of māyā. That is our position. We have to serve. Therefore self-realization means to understand oneself that "I am dependent on Kṛṣṇa. I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, let me engage myself to the service of the Lord." That is perfection of knowledge.