View source for The round thing which we see in the sky, that is the covering. Just like a coconut shell. A coconut shell, within and without. Within the coconut shell it is darkness, and without it is light. Similarly, this universe is just like the coconut

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{{terms|"The round thing which we see in the sky, that is the covering. Just like a coconut shell. A coconut shell, within and without. Within the coconut shell it is darkness, and without it is light. Similarly, this universe is just like the coconut"}}
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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="LectureonSB123LondonAugust241971_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="21" link="Lecture on SB 1.2.3 -- London, August 24, 1971" link_text="Lecture on SB 1.2.3 -- London, August 24, 1971">
<div class="heading">The round thing which we see in the sky, that is the covering. Just like a coconut shell. A coconut shell, within and without. Within the coconut shell it is darkness, and without it is light. Similarly, this universe is just like the coconut. We are within. As in within coconut there is water, half water, similarly, within this universe there is half water. On that water, Lord Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is lying. And from His navel, a lotus stem is sprouted.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 1.2.3 -- London, August 24, 1971|Lecture on SB 1.2.3 -- London, August 24, 1971]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">So energy is not different from the energetic. Śakti-śaktimatayor abhedam. There is no difference. Just like the sun and the sunshine, or heat of the sun. Heat of the sun and the sunshine, or heat of the sun. Heat of the sun and the sunshine, they appear to be different from the sun, but actually it is not, because they are simultaneous. Wherever there is sun, there is heat and light. Or wherever there is heat and light, there is sun. In the morning, when you see that it is now clear, there is no more darkness, immediately you understand that there is sunrise. So this svānubhāva, when there is no darkness in your heart... Svānubhāva. What is Kṛṣṇa, when you understand fully within your heart, at that time your actual liberation is attained.</p>
<p>So what Śukadeva Gosvāmī did, that after assimilating the whole Vedic literature, he distributed it. That is another instinct. If you really have learned the essence of Vedic knowledge, automatically you'll be inclined to preach it. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam. Śravaṇam means to hear, to receive the knowledge. And next, kīrtanam, means to distribute, to describe the knowledge. Yaḥ svānubhāvam akhila-śruti-sāram ekam adhyātma-dīpam ([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.3|SB 1.2.3]]). Dīpam means lamp. So this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is just like the lamp in the darkness to see Kṛṣṇa, or God. Adhyātma-dīpam. And for whom is it meant? Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not meant for the street boys, or who are accustomed to read so many nonsense literature. They want to waste their time. They have no engagement. They purchase some book, fictitious book, and read it. Not only they, even elderly men, they read it. But this book is different from those books. It is meant for persons, those who are desiring to get out of this world of ignorance. Tamo 'ndham.</p>
<p>Gṛha andha-kūpam. Andha. Andha means blind or darkness. So our materialistic way of life is described as gṛha andha-kūpam. The family life is just like a dark well. We are already in the darkness, and another darkness is to fall in the dark well. If one falls down in the dark well, it is very difficult to get out because he may cry very loudly and people may not hear. These dark well are sometimes there in the paddy field. I have seen one dark well. In your country when I was guest in John Lennon's house in 1969 we saw in the garden there was a dark well. Dark well means a very deep ditch, well, but it is covered with grass. You cannot know that there is a deep well, but while walking, you may fall down within it. And it is already covered with grass, and it is very deep. If you fall down and you try to get out of it, because it is lonely place, nobody is there, nobody may hear you, and you may simply die without any help.</p>
<p>So this materialistic way of life, without any knowledge of the outside world, or without any knowledge... Outside world means just like we are within this universe. It is covered. The round thing which we see in the sky, that is the covering. Just like a coconut shell. A coconut shell, within and without. Within the coconut shell it is darkness, and without it is light. Similarly, this universe is just like the coconut. We are within. As in within coconut there is water, half water, similarly, within this universe there is half water. On that water, Lord Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is lying. And from His navel, a lotus stem is sprouted. Just imagine within the coconut there is water, and somebody's lying, and there is some stem out of the navel. Exactly this universe is like that. But outside the universe there is light. Here, within the universe, because it is covered, light is required. Sunlight is required. Moonlight is required. Electricity is required. But in the spiritual world there is no necessity of light. They're self effulgent. Therefore tamo 'ndham. Those who are actually serious about going out of this darkness and come to the light, tamasi mā jyotir gama: "Don't remain in this darkness. Come to the light."</p>
<p>So anyone who is very serious... Atititīrṣatāṁ tamo 'ndham. Those who are actually serious to go out of this darkness to light, for them this is the lamp. Just like in darkness, if you are helped with a lamp, "Please come this way. Come this way," so you can come out of the darkness. Similarly, atititīrṣatām, one who wants to get liberation from this darkness, for them this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is given by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Saṁsāriṇām... Karuṇayā. This is the business of the saintly persons. They are very much compassionate to these materialistic men, saṁsāriṇām. Saṁsārī means they are perpetually rotating, wandering, within this darkness in different forms of life. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says,</p>
:ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
:guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
:([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.151|CC Madhya 19.151]])
<p>We are wandering. The modern education system has no knowledge. They simply know that "This life is everything. Waste this life by sense gratification, because after death everything is void. Now I have got this body. Body means the senses. So enjoy my senses." This is the materialistic way of life. They have no knowledge that there is life after death. We should prepare ourself, what kind of body we shall have next life. Instead of, they are being washed off. Not washed off, carried away by the waves of material nature.</p>
<p>Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore sings,</p>
:(miche) māyār bośe jāccho bhese' Khāccho hābuḍubu bhāi
:(jīv) kṛṣṇa-dās e biśwās korle to' ār duḥkho nāi
<p>Everyone is suffering, māyār bośe. Under the influence of māyā, the illusory energy, they are being carried away by the waves. Waves mean the three modes of material nature. And suffering. Sometimes being drowned, sometimes up, sometimes relief, sometimes distress. This is going on. So the only way to get out of this anxiety or to stop the perpetual being carried away is to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa also says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: ([[Vanisource:BG 18.66|BG 18.66]]) "You are suffering; you simply surrender unto Me."</p>
<p>So what Kṛṣṇa says, the Bhāgavata also says the same thing. Bhāgavata begins, paraṁ satyaṁ dhīmahi: "The Supreme, I offer my respect to the Supreme." Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya: "I offer my respectful obeisances to Lord Vāsudeva." Vāsudeva means Kṛṣṇa. So saṁsāriṇāṁ karuṇayāha purāṇa-guhyam. Purāṇa. Purāṇa means, sometimes the Māyāvādīs, they say these Purāṇas are stories. No. They are not stories. It comes from the Purāṇa. Purāṇa means filling up, supplementary, to complete it. Purāṇas, they are not out of the Vedic literatures. Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata, Purāṇa, they are all belonging to the Vedic literature. Especially Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is called Mahā-Purāṇa. Therefore Mahā-Purāṇa... Why Mahā-Purāṇa? Purāṇa-guhyam. Very confidential Purāṇa.</p>
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