View source for If somebody comes, he says, "Take this elephant, I give you free," will you take? Will you accept? You know that elephant will devour you, your all your means or income and all family income, because you cannot maintain elephant

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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="LectureonSB1104LondonNovember251973_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="273" link="Lecture on SB 1.10.4 -- London, November 25, 1973" link_text="Lecture on SB 1.10.4 -- London, November 25, 1973">
<div class="heading">Formerly the kings, they used to maintain elephants. They were supplied very nice cāpāṭis. Do you know that? Still there are kings, they have elephants. Therefore elephant can be maintained by very rich man. If suppose, if somebody comes, he says, "Take this elephant, I give you free," will you take? Will you accept? You know that elephant will devour you, your all your means or income and all family income, because you cannot maintain elephant. (laughs).
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 1.10.4 -- London, November 25, 1973|Lecture on SB 1.10.4 -- London, November 25, 1973]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">Prabhupāda: That's it. Everything is cycle. If you execute your prescribed duties as a brāhmaṇa, as a kṣatriya, as a vaiśya, or as a śūdra, as a brahmacārī, as a gṛhastha, as a vānaprastha, or as a sannyāsī... Divisions are there. Division must be there. Just like government. For executing nicely the governmental business, there are so many departments. Not that one department, only king, queen. Then government... Why the government is spending so much money, maintaining so many building? Simply queen's palace, that Buckingham, that is sufficient? No. There must be departments. So these are departments, this brāhmaṇa, this kṣatriya, the vaiśyas, the śūdras. Just like in your body there are departments. This department, brain, head. Therefore it is called head, head office, head office. Why do you refer to the head office? It has come from this head. Why Godhead? The Supreme Godhead, the Supreme. Therefore we say, "Godhead. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: ([[Vanisource:BG 7.7 (1972)|BG 7.7]]) "There is no more superior person than Me." So the divisions required. The divisions required.</p>
<p>So for these divisions, brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra... Without the divisions... So what is... Read the verse again.</p>
<p>Pradyumna: Annād bhavanti</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Annād bhavanti, huh?</p>
<p>Pradyumna: ...bhūtāni.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Ah, bhavanti bhūtāni. Annād. Anna means food grains. Either animal or man, they must eat sufficiently. Either you eat grass or you eat rice or wheat or oats, or..., something must be... So they are are called anna. In Sanskrit language it is called anna. Anna means foodgrains. So annād bhavanti bhūtāni ([[Vanisource:BG 3.14 (1972)|BG 3.14]]). Every living entity lives. Nowadays there are scarcity of foodgrains. Even the human being cannot eat sufficiently. But formerly the kings, they used to maintain elephants. They were supplied very nice cāpāṭis. Do you know that? Still there are kings, they have elephants. Therefore elephant can be maintained by very rich man. If suppose, if somebody comes, he says, "Take this elephant, I give you free," will you take? Will you accept? You know that elephant will devour you, your all your means or income and all family income, because you cannot maintain elephant. (laughs)</p>
<p>Therefore in India sometimes, when, a hundred years ago, some students would come in England, especially London, and make a European, English wife... In old days they are doing that. So people would say that "This man is maintaining one white elephant." Because a European wife means very much expenditure. So one Mr. P. R. Das, he was high-court judge. So he was taking bribe on account of maintaining white elephant. He married one European wife. The expenditure very high. In those days for Indian it was a fashion to get a European wife. So this man married one European wife, and his expenditures was very, very heavy. So high-court judge, he was getting only four thousand rupees, and his expenditure was ten thousand rupees, and therefore he was taking bribe. He admitted. So when he was detected by the chief justice, he was dismissed from the post. But this is the position. You should not expend more than your income.</p>
<p>So kāmam, yes, what is that? Annād, annād bhavanti bhūtāni. Bhūtāni means embodied, those who have taken, accepted, the living entities. They live by eating anna, either animal or human being. You require anna. Produce foodgrains. Foodgrains or grass or anything, as the animals eat and man eat, you must produce. And that production is there on the ground, not you factory. Not in the Birmingham factories. There are many factories in Birmingham? You cannot produce foodgrains there. Therefore it is said, annād bhavanti bhūtāni.</p>
<p>Then, next?</p>
<p>Pradyumna: Parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: And parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. Parjanya means if there is waterfall, rainfall, then you can produce anna. Parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. One after another. You require foodgrains, and for producing foodgrains, you require sufficient rainfall. Parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. Then?</p>
<p>Pradyumna: Yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 3.14 (1972)|BG 3.14]]). And the the rain supply be regular if you perform sacrifice. Therefore, what is that next?</p>
<p>Pradyumna: Yajñād bhavati parjanyo yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 3.14 (1972)|BG 3.14]]).</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Ah, yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ. Yajña, karma. Karma means, according to the varṇāśrama, brāhmaṇa should work according to his own position. They will chant Vedic mantra. That is also one karma, activity. They must understand what is Vedas; they must explain. That is brāhmaṇa's business. And kṣatriya's business, karma... This is called kṣātraṁ karma svabhāva-jam. Brahma-karma svabhāva-jam. Vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam. Śūdra-karma svabhāva-jam. By nature, one has got a particular type of work. So yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ, what is that?</p>
<p>Pradyumna: Yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Ah, karma-samudbhavaḥ. If everyone is doing his duty nicely as a brāhmaṇa, as a kṣatriya, as a vaiśya or as a śūdra, then no..., there is no question of that you are do... Everyone has to do his work according to his capacity. Just like in ordinary life also, we do not see that everyone is able to do everything. No. There are certain class of men. If you want some help for repairing your electric wiring, you must call for an electrician, not a carpenter. But when you want to repair a door, you require a carpenter. That is Vedic division. Therefore there was caste system. Everyone... I have seen in India still. In you country also you'll find. The potters, during Diwali system, they make small dolls. So I have seen the potter's house. The children, five or ten years old, they are also making small dolls, small dolls. Because by tradition, by family, the father is making doll, the mother is making doll, and the children also learning. Similarly, the weaver, you will find. You supply the... Still there are this system. You supply. Gandhi wanted to introduce this system. You produce your thread and give to the weaver, and waver will give you cloth. Why you are looking after this Manchester cloth? By this movement... (end)</p>
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