Now, if one consults the accounts ledger of India's serfdom and freedom, and views the contents from a spiritual perspective, the conclusion will be as follows: The four yugas, or ages, namely Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali, add up to 4,320,000 years. Kali-yuga, which lasts 432,000 years, began from the time of Mahārāja Parīkṣit's rule, some five thousand years ago. For approximately one thousand of these five thousand years—i.e., since the invasion of Mohammad Ghori in A.D. 1050—India has been experiencing foreign rule. In other words, when we calculate according to scripture, India has exercised absolute sovereignty over the entire planet Earth for a period of 3,772,000 years, till Mahārāja Parīkṣit's rule. Hence the meagre thousand years of foreign subjugation are not such a lamentable thing. Neither in the past nor at present has India's political serfdom or freedom been the prime concern of India's greatest thinkers and philosophers, who well knew the actual value of such things. The kings of India up to Mahārāja Parīkṣit were able to rule the entire world, and not for a mere couple of centuries but for hundreds of thousands of years. The reason for their rule was not a political one.
Actual value
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 4
The purport is that sometimes when a friend or relative dies, especially among lower class men, the dead body is decorated. Dressed and ornamented, the body is taken in procession. That sort of decoration of the dead body has no actual value because the life force is already gone. Similarly, any aristocracy, any social prestige or any advancement of material civilization without Kṛṣṇa consciousness is as good as the decoration of a dead body. The name of the wife of Dakṣa was Prasūti, and she was the daughter of Svāyambhuva Manu. Her sister, Devahūti, was married to Kardama Muni, and Kapiladeva, the Personality of Godhead, became her son. Prasūti, then, was the aunt of Lord Viṣṇu. She was asking the favor of Lord Viṣṇu in an affectionate mode; since she was His aunt, she sought some special favor. Also significant in this verse is that the Lord is praised with the goddess of fortune. Wherever Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped, naturally there is the favor of the goddess of fortune. Lord Viṣṇu is addressed as amṛta, transcendental. The demigods, including Brahmā and Lord Śiva, were produced after the creation, but Lord Viṣṇu existed before the creation. He is addressed, therefore, as amṛta. Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped with His internal energy by the Vaiṣṇavas. Prasūti, the wife of Dakṣa, implored the Lord to turn the priests into Vaiṣṇavas instead of simply fruitive workers performing sacrifices for some material benefits.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Since they do not believe in the existence of God, they have manufactured the idea that God is impersonal and that to have some conception of God one may imagine any form. Thus they respect the many forms of the demigods as different representations or manifestations of the Lord. They are called bahv-īśvara-vādīs, or followers of thousands and thousands of gods. They consider the chanting of the names of the demigods an auspicious activity. Great so-called svāmīs have written books saying that one may chant any name—Durgā, Kālī, Śiva, Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, and so on—because any name is all right for invoking an auspicious atmosphere in society. Thus they are called pāṣaṇḍīs—unbelievers or faithless demons.
Such pāṣaṇḍīs do not know the actual value of the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Foolishly proud of their material birth as brāhmaṇas and their consequently higher position in the social order, they think of the other classes—namely the kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras—as lower classes. According to them, no one but the brāhmaṇas can chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, for if others chanted the holy name, its potency would be reduced. They are unaware of the potency of Lord Kṛṣṇa's name.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Some way or other, these Rūpa and Sanātana contacted Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and they retired from their service and joined. And after all, they became the most important leaders of this movement, Rūpa and Sanātana. Now, this Rūpa and Sanātana, when they retired from their service, they brought home gold coins. At that time there was no currency notes. Actual value gold coins were in... Now, that gold coins was about two and a half ounce weight. Just like imagine what is the value now, whatever it may be. That means the estimation is some millions of rupees they brought home after their retirement. And they divided the money in this way: 50% for God... Whatever they accumulated, they set aside 50% for God or God's service. God means God's service. God is not want of your money. (chuckles) He is quite competent to earn money. He doesn't require anything. But if we give, it is our interest. It is our interest. So he set aside 50% of his accumulated money for God, 25% for the relatives, family members, and 25% he kept in some village banker or the original bankers, for emergency.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
So Nanda Mahārāja, because he possessed some land... He was well-to-do, rich man. Because... (aside:) Where is water? He possessed cows and grains. Formerly, a man... Still now, also... Actually that is rich, riches. Gavayā dhanavān, one who has got many cows, he is to be considered as rich man. Dhānyena dhanavān. One who has got large quantity of food grains, he is dhanavān. Nowadays one who has got a bunch of paper, he is considered... And the paper is nothing. As soon as the government is failure, then the thousand-dollar note and hundred-dollar notes, it will have no value.
So actual, actual value, to keep cows, to have food grains or gold, jewelries, these are the signs of richness. But Kali-yuga is so cruel that if you have got gold, if you have got jewels, then government will take away. Dasyu-dharmabhiḥ. Formerly there were ordinary plunderers, thieves. Now, according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the government will be composed of organized thieves. That is meant: dasyu-dharmabhiḥ, rājabhiḥ. Government officer means organized thieves in every country. That will be the situation. So you cannot keep now. You have to be satisfied with these papers. That's all.
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: ...artha-sambandhaḥ svapna-draṣṭur ivāñjasā. Actually there is no bewilderment (indistinct) spirit. I am eternal spirit soul, eternal servant. Just like the (indistinct) but it is somehow or other (indistinct) for a time it is covered by the clouds it appears moving. (break) Actually it is not moving. (indistinct) we see that the moon is moving. So we are spirit soul eternally. Just like I am lying down on my bed, bit I am dreaming I have gone to Pacific Ocean and being drowned and so many things, you have come to save me, and so many troublesome things. But actually there is no Pacific Ocean, nothing of the sort. It is simply my dream. So this temporary covering of the body is just like a dream. As soon as you come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, everything is finished.
Devotee: In the dream, they are also suffering. So in the same way it is actually happening in a subtle form in your dreams. It is actually happening.
Prabhupāda: Yes, and it has no actual value, but when it is happening and I am under dream, I am thinking it is all actual. Actually it has no value. Therefore it is called māyā. Māyā means which has no real existence, but it appears.
Śyāmasundara: Last night you said that what is the meaning of the word "nothing." That māyā means "nothing"?
Prabhupāda: You can say like that. Nothing is appearing like something. But we don't say nothing. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they say nothing. We say temporary, just like cloud, you cannot say it is nothing.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: That will be good for the people. Because large scale transaction is there, therefore the capitalists hoarding. Capitalists hoarding. Goods are there, everything is there. You pay black price, you get it. Then, when somebody's hoarding, he is not giving to the market. So if the large scale industry and trade becomes stopped, that is good for people.
Jagajjīvana: Does that mean the same amount of gold is here?
Prabhupāda: No, larger scale... Suppose if you want to store, say, thousand kilos or a thousand bags of rice, so you have to pay me gold. But you have no such gold. Therefore large scale industry will be stopped. Just see.
Karandhara: Then the price of rice would go very low.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Then you get actual price and actual value. Goods are there, any part of the world you..., there is enough commodity. But these rascals, they are hoarding, and they are not giving in right time. So people are suffering.
Karandhara: Yes. There's a... They buy now. They buy the goods before they are even grown, from the commodity market.
Prabhupāda: Yes, because they can pay in this paper, the bank will advance. So as soon as you... You have to introduce this metal coins, value. The whole cheating scheme will fail.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: As soon as you fail to keep your promise, then you're fallen. You have to rectify yourself. Immediately you're fallen. Yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ, na sa siddhim (BG 16.23). That means you'll never get perfection. You'll fall down. You can cheat others that "I am in dress of a devotee, so I am..." What is your character? What is your actual value? That has to be judged. That is call bona fide teacher. All right, chant. (brief japa chanting) Any questions?
Devotee (1): Yes, one more.
Guest: Is the exterior clothing important?
Prabhupāda: Ah?
Guest: Is the exterior identification important?
Prabhupāda: Yes, important. Just like officially the policeman must dress, but a policeman sometimes in ordinary cloth also, that's his duty. But that is special case. But external, external dress is also required. By... In the dress of a police if he is a thief, that is very dangerous. That is very dangerous. Just like this dress of sannyāsī, saffron cloth, one will respect that "Here is a sannyāsī." But if he is a thief in a dress of a sannyāsī, that is dangerous. That is dangerous.
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: The so-called scientists, they are thinking, by chemical evolution the body has come in existence. These things are discussed in Bhagavad-gītā. By accident, if it is a combination of chemicals, that means the bodily existence was not before. It has come in by accident, combination. "So why, Arjuna, you are lamenting for the body which was not in existence? And it will not exist after. Then why you are so much anxious for the middle portion?" Good reasoning. The body was not in existence. That is the general... And as soon as you finish, there is no more existence. So via media, between the manifestation and nonmanifestation, in the middle there is some manifesta... Why you are so much absorbed in that part? Therefore the Europeans, Americans, they bring in the charges, "brainwash." "A brainwash movement. It has no actual value. Simply an artificial way of pushing the idea in the brain. And they have to give up. These children are spoiled. They have given up meat-eating and illicit sex. Their life is spoiled, and so on, so on." So their theory is not without background. There is a background philosophy. And for Western countries, this is a completely new idea. Therefore they are charging, "brainwash."
| Page Title: | Actual value |
| Compiler: | Matea |
| Created: | 23 of Aug, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=1, CC=1, OB=1, Lec=3, Con=3, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 9 |