View source for They have been plundered of their real knowledge by the stringent laws of material nature

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[[Category:plunder]]

[[Category:Real Knowledge]]

[[Category:Stringent Laws of Material Nature]]
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<div class="section" id="Lectures" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2></div>

<div class="sub_section" id="Bhagavad-gita_As_It_Is_Lectures" text="Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures"><h3>Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures</h3></div>

<div class="quote" book="Lec" link="Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966" link_text="Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966">
<div class="heading">Lord says that "there are persons who are miscreants, foolish—and the lowest of the human kind—and they have been plundered of their real knowledge by the stringent laws of material nature. Such people do not come unto Me."</div>

<div class="text">'''[[Vanisource:Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966|Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966]]:''' We are deluded, illusioned. We are accepting this place as permanent settlement. We are making plans, so many plans, to make a permanent settlement, but the Lord says it is not only full of misery, aśāśvatam, you cannot remain here permanently. However make your plan to live here permanently, you cannot live here. You have to give up. You can spoil your energy for making this material world very comfortable or you may live for some years very comfortably, but cruel death will come and snatch from comfortable position and put you into another position which is beyond your control. You cannot say that "I have made my position very secure. I am very comfortable with great endeavor by advancement of economic development, by advancement of material science. Let me remain here. I am very happy." The time will say, "No, that will not be allowed. You must leave immediately, immediately, without delay."

You know your President Kennedy. He was going in a procession, and the time came, and he had to leave everything at once, at once, without any hesitation. You cannot hesitate. So we are in the grip of the material nature. However we may declare ourself that we are independent, we are not independent. We are dependent, completely dependent. We may foolishly mislead ourself by the sense of independence. No. You are not independent. You are completely under the control of the material nature. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā [Bg. 7.14]. The material nature is so strong that it is very difficult to get out of the entanglement.

But there is a way. That is also said in the Bhagavad-gītā, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: "Anyone who surrenders unto Me..." The whole process, the whole process of material activities, material nature, is going on under this principle, that we are required to go back to the eternal world, to get our eternal life and eternal blissful knowledge. These things are awaiting us. But if we do not try, do not endeavor for attaining that sublime position and spoil our reserve energy in making an adjustment of this temporary material world, that is our foolishness.

You will find in the Seventh Chapter in Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says,

:na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
:prapadyante narādhamāḥ
:māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
:āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
:[Bg. 7.15]

Lord says that "there are persons who are duṣkṛtina, duṣkṛtina, or miscreants, mūḍha, foolish; duṣkṛtina, mūḍha, and narādhama—and the lowest of the human kind—and māyayāpahṛta-jñānā—and they have been plundered of their real knowledge by the stringent laws of material nature. Such people do not come unto Me."

So these things are... If we study Bhagavad-gītā, we have to take it, Bhagavad-gītā, as it is. We cannot give our own interpretation just to suit our purpose. This thing already been explained in this Fourth Chapter, that it is understood by the paramparā system, by the disciplic succession. So we have to take up this knowledge from the disciplic succession. And this Bhagavad-gītā was spoken some millions of years before to the sun-god. That is also stated. And the sun-god instructed this Bhagavad-gītā again to Manu, Manu to Ikṣvāku. And in this way this is coming by disciplic succession. But during the time of Kurukṣetra war that great philosophy of yoga system of Bhagavad-gītā was lost, and therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa again said to Arjuna. Therefore if we want to understand Bhagavad-gītā, then we have to understand as Arjuna understood it. That is the process.

So here the Lord says that janma karma me divyam: [Bg. 4.9] "My appearance and disappearance..." Mark this word, "appearance and disappearance." "Birth and death" is not applicable to Lord. "Birth and death" is applicable to this material body. The material body has its birth, and the material body has its death, dissolution. But the spiritual body is eternal. It has neither death nor birth. Therefore the spiritual body—the exact language to be used, "appearance and disappearance."

I have several times spoken in this meeting. Just like the sun. The sun disappears and appears. For the sun there is no question of birth and death because sun is eternal. So anything eternal... So when the Lord comes it is just like the sun appear and sun disappears. It does not mean because we do not see Kṛṣṇa just now in our presence... Of course, in transcendental sense, when we acquire that transcendental sense, we see Kṛṣṇa through this Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavad-gītā is not different from Kṛṣṇa. That is the, I mean to say, sense of absolute knowledge. In the absolute world there is no difference between the person and the words.

Just like this tape recorder. It is being recorded. My words or my songs are being recorded. But they are different from me. This is dual, the world of duality. But the absolute world, there is no such difference. Just like we are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare. This name Kṛṣṇa and the personality Kṛṣṇa is the same. Is the same. Hare Kṛṣṇa means when I hear the sound, the transcendental sound vibration Kṛṣṇa, that means Kṛṣṇa is on my tongue, on my ear. Therefore, if we chant this vibration of transcendental sound with devotion and with attention, that is the highest type of meditation and yoga. And very easy. The process is that you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and exactly the same sound you hear. So your mind is concentrated on this Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is not different. This sound Kṛṣṇa is not different from person Kṛṣṇa. Therefore when we chant...

:Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
:Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

[My dear Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord, kindly engage me in Your service. I am now embarrassed with this material service. Please engage me in Your service.]
...it is as good as Kṛṣṇa.

Therefore it is stated here that "My appearance, disappearance and activity and glories, they are divyam." Divyam means transcendental. They do not belong to this world of duality. This world is of duality. But transcendental means that it is above, above this dualism. It is the absolute world. So anyone who understands this fact, that Kṛṣṇa is not different from this sound Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is not different from this Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa is not different from anything which is connected with Kṛṣṇa... These things are to be understood.</div>
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