Harikeśa:
- acchedyo 'yam adāhyo 'yam
- akledyo 'śoṣya eva ca
- nityaḥ sarva-gataḥ sthāṇur
- acalo'yam sanātanaḥ
- (BG 2.24)
"This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, all-pervading, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same."
Prabhupāda: So if he is all-pervading and if he is unburnable, then how it is possible that in the fire he does not exist? (break) It cannot be burned, and it is everywhere. Sarva-ga. And we find also when we go on the sea beach, within the sand there is life. Now it is up to you to accept the authority of Bhagavad-gītā or authority of the Americans. That is your... We follow the authorities of Bhagavad-gītā. Adāhyo 'yam: "It cannot be burned." And from reason also, there is... In the water there are living entities; in the air there are living entities; in the earth there are living entities. So the material elements are five: earth, water, fire, air and sky. So if everywhere there is living entities, fire is also one of the material elements. Why not in the fire? What is the reason? And Bhagavad-gītā says, adāhyo 'yam: "It is never burned." So why do you think like that, that in the fire there is no living entity? Therefore they have been described as blind. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). They are blind, and they are leading other blind men. But they do not know what is the laws of nature, how things are going.
Devotee (1): There's another question. Yes? (break)
Guest (4): ...about all the words that you said about Kṛṣṇa and God. If someone is a cruel man, he never expects in God, and all that we say for the man that you are saying falls from right here and get out on it.(?) In original life all was difficult for him.
Prabhupāda: I cannot follow him. You are following?
Guest (4): What about his soul? Did God welcome it to the paradise, or soul are always in the air and makes people think that he is a devil's man too?
Devotee: (trying to explain) If a man does not understand God in this lifetime, is he still accepted by God? What he is hearing does not come...
Prabhupāda: God is everywhere, and God is with you also. God knows you, and He is trying to guide you. But you do not know Him.
Guest (4): You just said that the soul takes rebirth when he dies. Therefore what's the soul? Got rebirth, soul, so that he will make always difficult thing in life and would not fix in God? Or what God do with the souls?
Prabhupāda: Soul is there, and God is there. When you take rebirth, God is also there. He is trying to guide you. You are desiring the... Just like "I want to enjoy like this," and God is giving you facility: "All right, you enjoy like this." Just like driver. You are asking driver, "Please take me to this place," so driver is taking you to that place. Similarly, it is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61): "My dear Arjuna, the God is situated in everyone's heart, core of the heart," bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni, "and He is causing the traveling of the living entity," yantrārūḍhāni māyayā, "on a machine which is given by this material nature." So this body is just like a machine, motorcar, and Kṛṣṇa is the driver, charioteer. And as you are desiring, He is driving your car in the same way or He is supplying different types of car. In this way you are... Life after life, you are trying to satisfy your senses. Kṛṣṇa is giving you the facility, God is giving you the facility, but He is asking you that "Give up this business, nonsense." Sarvam-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. He is simply finding out the opportunity how to say that, this ultimate truth of life. So our business is, instead of traveling in different cars and fulfill our whimsical desire, better surrender to God and abide by His order and be happy.
Guest (4): One more. If Kṛṣṇa knows when he dies that he will...
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa knows everything. There is no question.
Guest (4): Does He know that He will rebirth and then come to earth and to preach us and make all that...?
Prabhupāda: He is preaching always. He is preaching always, "Do this like this." Just like Bhagavad-gītā is open to everyone. That is His preaching. But we are not accepting. That is our fault. Otherwise He is preaching always.
Guest (5): But if man be part and parcel of God, how do you explain the evil deeds of man?
Prabhupāda: Because he likes to do that.
Guest (5): That means God also likes to do evil?
Prabhupāda: No. God gives simply facility. That's all.
Guest (4): Therefore he must have the same power as God.
Prabhupāda: Not same power, but it has got a little independence.
Guest (1): It will exists on us.
Prabhupāda: Yes, independence. By misusing the independence, he can... Just like a child, a small child, and his father. The father gives the little child little independence. But the child is not as powerful as the father. But still, the father, out of affection, he gives little independence to the child. Even to the dog, a master gives a little independence to the dog. That is affection.
Indian man (3): But if you say this affection... The child is doing something wrong, say, for example, he has taken a knife to do, and..., that he kills somebody...
Prabhupāda: Father says, "Don't do it. But if you do it, do it at your risk."
Indian man (3): But if Kṛṣṇa is guiding us, you see, therefore he is...
Prabhupāda: But you don't accept Kṛṣṇa's guidance. That is the difficulty. Just like you are taking the guidance of Americans. (laughter) You are elderly man, educated man; you prefer to take guidance from the Americans, not from Kṛṣṇa. So what can be done? That is Kṛṣṇa's ill luck and your misfortune. What can be done? All right. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)