View source for You cannot expect all men to understand what is religion and what is not religion, general mass of people. So what is the position of a person or any being who does not know to make distinction what is dharma and adharma?

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{{terms|"You cannot expect all men to understand what is religion and what is not religion, general mass of people. So what is the position of a person or any being who does not know to make distinction what is dharma and adharma"}}
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{{compiler|Krsnadas}}
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[[Category:Questions Posed by Srila Prabhupada]]
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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="LectureonSB6256VrndavanaSeptember91975_0" class="quote" parent="Srimad-Bhagavatam_Lectures" book="Lec" index="706" link="Lecture on SB 6.2.5-6 -- Vrndavana, September 9, 1975" link_text="Lecture on SB 6.2.5-6 -- Vrndavana, September 9, 1975">
<div class="heading">You cannot expect all men to understand what is religion and what is not religion, general mass of people. So what is the position of a person or any being who does not know to make distinction what is dharma and adharma? So they have been described. He is described as yathā paśuḥ. Paśuḥ. Paśuḥ means animal. An animal cannot make distinction what is right or what is wrong. That is not possible.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Lecture on SB 6.2.5-6 -- Vrndavana, September 9, 1975|Lecture on SB 6.2.5-6 -- Vrndavana, September 9, 1975]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text">
:yasyāṅke śira ādhāya
:lokaḥ svapiti nirvṛtaḥ
:svayaṁ dharmam adharmaṁ vā
:na hi veda yathā paśuḥ
:sa kathaṁ nyarpitātmānaṁ
:kṛta-maitram acetanaṁ
:visrambhaṇīyo bhūtānāṁ
:saghṛṇo dogdhum arhati
:SB 6.2.5-6)
<p>Just like a child is sleeping on the lap of his mother, feeling secure, completely secure, that "I am on the lap of my mother..." Naturally a child, when it is on the lap of it's mother, he is quite comfortable, silent, feeling very secure. So in that position if the mother kills the child... It is like that, that prajā and the king... The prajās... Prajā means the citizens, subjects. They should be feeling so much secure that "We are under good government. There is no disturbance." Just like during the government of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, they were so secure that even they had no very much anxieties. "Our king is there." The world is full of anxieties, miseries, and difficulties. So the good government means when the subjects, citizens, feel secure from all such things.</p>
<p>So here, yasyāṅke śira ādhāya. Suppose I am sleeping very comfortably, feeling secure by keeping my head on your lap, yasyāṅke śira ādhāya lokaḥ svapiti, and dreaming very happily. Svaya dharmam adharmaṁ vā na he veda yathā paśuḥ. You cannot expect all men to understand what is religion and what is not religion, general mass of people. So what is the position of a person or any being who does not know to make distinction what is dharma and adharma? So they have been described. He is described as yathā paśuḥ. Paśuḥ. Paśuḥ means animal. An animal cannot make distinction what is right or what is wrong. That is not possible. Therefore it is said, dharmeṇa hīnā paśubhiḥ samānāḥ: "One who is ignorant of dharma-adharma, he is no better than paśu." Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhiḥ narāṇām. Āhāra, eating. I eat, the dog eats, the cat eats. I sleep, the dog sleeps, and the cat sleeps. I have sex desire, I satisfy it. The cats and dogs also satisfy it. And I am also afraid of my enemy; the cats and dogs are also afraid of enemy. Then where is the difference between cats and dogs? The difference is that I can be trained up to become religious; the cats and dogs cannot be trained. That is the difference. Dharmeṇa hīnā paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. So if I don't take education and enlightenment how to become religious, I do not know how to distinguish between right and wrong, then yathā paśu—then I am as good as animal.</p>
<p>That is the position at the present moment, that people are not educated to distinguish or to become pious. They are not educated. They are being... Now, at the present moment, education means you learn technology and learn how to earn money, and then, after earning money, you spend it for sense gratification: eating meat, eating wine, going to the brothel, prostitute. This is modern civilization. So therefore it is the civilization of paśu, animal civilization, polished animal. It is not civilization. It is the duty of the guardian, father, guru, government or elderly relative. Everyone should be compassionate with the dependent. The father should be compassionate to the children, that "My children, they have come to me. They are now innocent. If I do not train them nicely..." What kind of training? Na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. That is the duty of the father, of the guru, how to save the dependent from the clutches of death. This is the duty. The government also. Because death is sure. As soon as we get this material body, the death is sure.</p>
<p>So we are eternal spiritual spark. Kṛṣṇa says that the living entity is eternal. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre ([[Vanisource:BG 2.20 (1972)|BG 2.20]]). This is the information we get from the authority, that "The living entity is eternal," nitya, śāśvata, "and ever-existing, and does not die on the death or annihilation of the body." Then what is the duty of the father? What is the duty of the government? Duty of the guru? Now how to save him from this repetition of birth and death. And that is the duty. Otherwise to give some food... That also, people cannot give now. Rather, killing their children in the womb. This is Kali-yuga. Whereas it is the duty of the parents how to save the child or the son from the clutches of death, they are now killing. This is advanced civilization. This is going on all over the world. They are going to the medical man and taking help and killing the child within the womb. This is Kali-yuga.</p>
<p>So here it is, the same thing said, that yasyāṅke śira ādhāya lokaḥ svapiti nirvṛtaḥ. The child is sleeping in the womb of the mother, and the mother is killing. Then where to take shelter? Similarly, this example is that "This Ajāmila, he might have committed some sins without knowledge. Now he is no more sinful because he has chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa, and he is not to be punished." That is the purpose of the Viṣṇudūta. "So why you are dragging him, trying to take him to Yamarāja to punish him? You do not know that he is innocent. We have to..." The real purpose is that everyone... We commit sinful activities on account of ignorance. Therefore the best humanitarian work is to give knowledge to the humanity, not that one is suffering for want of food and... If I give some food, that is good work, but that is not sufficient. I may give food; that's all right. You give. We also give prasādam free. But that does not mean simply by giving prasādam, we are silent. We give knowledge also. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Food, automatically you have to give. That is... There is no prohibition. But at the same time: knowledge. Without knowledge-giving, if he remains ignorant... Just like the same example. If you have got some children, if you don't give them education, simply feed them, that is not your proper duty. You must give knowledge.</p>
<p>Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore giving them knowledge. The first knowledge is that we are trying to convince everyone, following the footprints of Lord Kṛṣṇa, as He wanted to convince in the very beginning, that dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā ([[Vanisource:BG 2.13 (1972)|BG 2.13]]). This is the first knowledge. One should know that he is not this body. He is spirit soul, different from this body. He is living within this body. This is called knowledge. And at the same time, he should be supplied the necessities of the body. Yāvād artha-prayojanaṁ. Nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. Anāsaktasya viṣayān yathārham upayuñjataḥ Viṣayā. Viṣayā means we need something for our sense gratification. That is allowed. We don't say that "You don't eat." No, you eat, but you eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam. Don't eat anything else. Then gradually your senses will be conquered. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234). If you want to realize God, first of all you should engage your tongue in the service of the Lord. It is very astonishing that "Engaging the tongue I become perfect?" Yes. The beginning is the tongue because tongue is the greatest enemy. People are going to hell on account of being unable to control the tongue. Therefore one has to control the tongue. And controlling tongue means you engage the tongue in the service of the Lord. How? Tongue means you can speak with your tongue and you can eat with your tongue. So engage the tongue chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is service. And tongue wants to taste. Give him kṛṣṇa-prasādam, very nice. So as soon as you engage your tongue in these two business, then naturally you become purified and your senses become also purified. Then you come to the real platform.</p>
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