So we are all Brahman; simply we have to understand it. It is not that we are abrahman; by some practice we become Brahman. No. Just like gold is gold, but if it is covered with some dirt, the dirt can be removed and the gold is gold

Expressions researched:
"So we are all Brahman; simply we have to understand it. It is not that we are abrahman, by some practice we become Brahman. No. Just like gold is gold, but if it is covered with some dirt, the dirt can be removed and the gold is gold"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

So we are all Brahman; simply we have to understand it. It is not that we are abrahman; by some practice we become Brahman. No. Just like gold is gold, but if it is covered with some dirt, the dirt can be removed and the gold is gold; similarly, we are Brahman, spirit soul.

741101 - Lecture SB 03.25.01 - Bombay

So kapilas tattva-saṅkhyātā bhagavān. Kapila is Bhagavān. Nowadays Bhagavān is so cheap. They misuse of the word. But here you will find that Bhagavān is not an ordinary man. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ (BG 9.11). Because Bhagavān, Kṛṣṇa, appeared as human being, so the mūḍhas, rascals and fools, they think of Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being. Mūḍha. Mohitaṁ nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam, tribhir guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ mohitam (BG 7.13). So still there are devotees who can understand. Just like Arjuna understood that, "Kṛṣṇa, although He's my friend, playing the part of my friend, but He is Supreme Personality of Godhead." Therefore, when Kṛṣṇa instructed Arjuna for our benefit . . . Arjuna is in perfect knowledge, but aiming at Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa is giving instruction to all human society, and he admitted . . . after knowing Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna said, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12): "My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are the Paraṁbrahman." Paraṁbrahman. Every one of us, Brahman. Brahman means spirit soul. We are not this body. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi . . . this is realization, self-realization. That is Vedic culture. One must understand what he is. We should not keep ourself in ignorance like cats and dogs, thinking that, "I am this body," "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," or so many designation. That is bodily designation. So when one comes to the spiritual understanding, that is called Brahman realization, ahaṁ brahmāsmi.

So we are all Brahman; simply we have to understand it. It is not that we are abrahman, by some practice we become Brahman. No. Just like gold is gold, but if it is covered with some dirt, the dirt can be removed and the gold is gold; similarly, we are Brahman, spirit soul. Somehow or other we have come in contact with these material elements, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4), and we have got this body, covered, and I am thinking, "I am this body." This is ignorance. This is ignorance. So unless one is enlightened by the spiritual knowledge, he remains only just like cats and dogs. And to understand spiritual identification, that is called dharma. Dharma means that. And the ultimate goal of dharma is spoken by Kṛṣṇa, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). We have created so many dharmas: Hindu dharma, Mussulman dharma, Christian dharma. These are manufactured. Of course, there is indication how to execute dharma, but real dharma: when you come to the conclusion, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ.