Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanisource | Go to Vanimedia


Vaniquotes - the compiled essence of Vedic knowledge


After liberation (Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"After attaining this liberated" |"After one is liberated" |"After our liberation" |"after attaining liberation" |"after becoming liberated" |"after being liberated" |"after his liberation" |"after liberation" |"after many such liberated" |"after material liberation" |"after one becomes liberated" |"after taking liberation" |"after that liberation" |"after the five liberated" |"after the liberation"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.4-5 -- London, July 10, 1973:

So we have to use our intelligence. That is described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī: prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ, mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgaḥ. Mumukṣu, especially the Māyāvādīs, who are after liberation, to merge into the existence of the Supreme, mumukṣu, mokṣa, they, Māyāvāda, they say, "Everything is māyā." Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "This world is false; only Brahman is reality." But we say that why the jagat, the world should be false if it is coming from the reality? We do not agree with them. We do not accept that this world is false. No. We can say, "It is temporary manifestation." But it is not false. Why it is false? We are living in this house. If somebody, some rascal, says, "It is false," why false? We are utilizing this house. We are utilizing this microphone. We are utilizing the dictaphone. Why it is false?

Lecture on BG 1.4-5 -- London, July 10, 1973:

No. If anyone is killed by Kṛṣṇa, he immediately gets liberation: the liberation for which great great saintly persons, sages, they undergo severe austerities for life after life, simply by being killed, he gets that. So by becoming Kṛṣṇa's enemy, one gets this benefit. Just think over if you become Kṛṣṇa's friend, what is the benefit. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Māyāvādīs they are after liberation. So this liberation is granted even to the enemies of Kṛṣṇa. They are also enemies. The Māyāvādīs, they are also enemies. Kṛṣṇe aparādhī. They are offender to Kṛṣṇa because they do not accept the form of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they are offender. So everything studied in relationship with Kṛṣṇa, that is perfect knowledge, and that is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. So it is not that like sahajiyās that we are interested in Kṛṣṇa's rāsa dance, not with this fighting in the Battlefields of Kurukṣetra. This is sahajiyā-bhāva. This is not wanted. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)

Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968:

Devotee: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Individual Person, and Arjuna, the Lord's eternal associate, and all the kings assembled there are individual eternal persons. It is not that they did not exist as individuals in the past, and it is not that they will not remain as eternal persons. Their individuality existed in the past and their individuality will continue in the future without interruption. Therefore there is no cause for lamentation for any one of the individual living entities. The Māyāvādī or impersonal theory that after liberation the individual soul, separate on account of māyā or illusion, will merge into the impersonal Brahman without individual existence..."

Prabhupāda: Now, the Māyāvādī says that this individuality is māyā. So their conception is that spirit, the whole spirit is a lump. Their theory is ghaṭākāśa poṭākāśa. Ghaṭākāśa poṭākāśa means... Just like sky. The sky is an expansion, impersonal expansion. So in a pot, in a waterpot, in a pitcher that is closed... Now, within the pitcher, there is also sky, a small sky. Now as soon as the pitcher is broken, the outside, the bigger sky, and the small sky within the pitcher mixes. That is Māyāvāda theory. But this analogy cannot be applied. Analogy means points of similarity. That is the law of analogy. The sky cannot be compared... The small sky within the pitcher cannot be compared with the living entity. It is material, matter.

Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968:

Devotee: "Nor is the theory that we only think of individuality in the conditioned state supported herein. Kṛṣṇa clearly says that in the future also the individuality of the Lord and others as it is..."

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa never says that after liberation these individual souls will mix up with the Supreme Soul. Kṛṣṇa never says in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Devotee: "Kṛṣṇa clearly says that in the future also the individuality of the Lord and others, as it is confirmed in the Upaniṣads, will continue eternally. This statement of Kṛṣṇa is authoritative."

Prabhupāda: Yes, Upaniṣad says nityo nityānām. Now, nitya means eternal, and the Supreme Lord is the supreme eternal, and we individual souls, we are also many eternals. So He is the leader eternal. Eko bahūnām... How He is leader? Eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That one, singular number eternal, person, He is supplying all the needs of other eternals. These things are clearly said in the Vedas. And actually we are experiencing. Just like in Christian theology, the individual goes to the church and prays God, "Give us our daily bread." Why he's asking God? Of course, this atheist class of men are now teaching them, "Where is bread? You are going to church. You come to us; we shall supply you bread."

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 7, 1966:

So there were a great assembly of all worldly kings. Now, Kṛṣṇa says that "Either Myself, either yourself, or these persons who have assembled here, they are individual. They were individuals in the past, they are now individuals, and they will continue to be individual even after annihilation of this body." Now, how you'll adjust? There are two theories, that after liberation all these souls, they become one. Just like all drops of water, if you put into the sea, they become one entity. There is no distinction. And the Lord Kṛṣṇa says that "No, they keep their individuality. They do not mix." Now we are supposed... We are all laymen. We are ignorant, what is actually position, what is the actual position. But we have got our discretion also. Just like every one of you has some knowledge in the history. Now, in the history in the past... Suppose you are now thirty years old or thirty-five years old, and suppose two hundred years before, the history which you read, you find that all people were individuals. And at the present you are experiencing that all individual, they are.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 9, 1966:

He knows that it is useless to search water in the desert. Similarly, if Śrī Kṛṣṇa is in full knowledge, He cannot say that in future also we shall all remain individuals. He says that in the future also we shall continue to be individuals. Now, He cannot give us misdirection. Suppose we, in the future we shall not remain. After liberation, we shall not become, remain, individuals. Then that sort of misguidance cannot be given by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Just like a sane man cannot direct you that "Just go there. There is water in the desert." A man with perfect knowledge cannot give you that direction. A animal may go there. That is a different thing. Similarly, when Śrī Kṛṣṇa says that "In future also, we, all these, yourself, Myself, and all these, they will keep their individuality," so that is not a misdirection. You want to say anything?

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 9, 1966:

Now, now I have already explained that because Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because He has got clear vision, and because He has full knowledge, He cannot give us misdirection. And what is given, that is perfect. So we have to believe that in future, even after liberation... Now, one thing we must also explain—the liberation, the conception of liberation. So there are different, five kinds of liberation. One of them, liberation, is to become one with the Lord, one with the Supreme. That is called sāyujya-mukti, to merge into the existence of, of the Supreme. That is also another. That is one of the five liberations. That is not the only liberation. That means we all individual beings, we are individual constitutionally. God is the father or creator or whatever, or the source of all life, or source of our existence. Whatever you like, you can say. So we have, we have been created in that way. Eko bahu syāma. God has become many.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 9, 1966:

Now, this liberation is divided into five. There are five kinds of liberation. One of the liberation is to merge into the existence. We, we, we... Our birth was from the Supreme Absolute. Now, after liberation, we merge into the existence of the Supreme. That is called sāyujya-mukti. Now, besides this sāyujya-mukti, there are other five muktis which, we, the Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, or the devotees, the Lord's devotees, they accept. They, they, practically, those who are pure devotees, they do not want any kind of mukti. They do not, even they are offered. They are simply after the service of the Lord. They are prepared to suffer any kind of suffering. They are not affected by all those sufferings. What they want? Pure devotees? They want that "I must serve the Supreme Lord." That is their mission. So anyway, these bhaktas, or the devotees of the Lord, for them there are other four kinds of mukti. And what is that?

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 9, 1966:

And the father and the boys and wife and..., they remain together. So there is sāmīpya-mukti. Sāmīpya-mukti means to remain always as associate of the Lord. That is sāmīpya-mukti.

So these five kinds of muktis are there, and the, the purport is that even after liberation, we, the living entities, they keep their individuality. Just like as associate of the Lord, as the resident of the Lord's planet or to have the bodily features of the Lord, in so many ways. And one can merge into the existence of the Lord. That is also accepted. So simply merging into the existence of God, that is not the only liberation. That is one of the liberation. But the, the devotees of the Lord, they do not accept such kind of... They do not want to merge. They want to enjoy the company. That is the difference between... Both of them become liberated. Merging into the existence of God, that is also liberation.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- London, August 18, 1973:

There is no "you" and "me." Everything one. So, then Kṛṣṇa is defective. If Kṛṣṇa says, "You, Me, all others," so it is not one. It is not homogeneous. We are all individuals. "You are individual, I am individual, and all the kings and soldiers, they are all individuals." So the Māyāvādī theory that after liberation everyone becomes one, one lump sum... What is called? Homogeneous spirit. No. Then Kṛṣṇa is false. The Māyāvādī theory accepted, that we become one lump sum, then Kṛṣṇa's theory... Not theory, Kṛṣṇa's actual knowledge. Then it becomes false. And if Kṛṣṇa speaks false, something defective, then where is the use of reading Bhagavad-gītā? Why should we read Bhagavad-gītā which is spoken by a person who is defective? No. That's not... What Kṛṣṇa is speaking, that is fact. Otherwise, why Bhagavad-gītā is given so importance? So, so Māyāvādī philosophers, they try to interpret in a different way, " 'I' means this, 'you' means that," some... (end)

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Hyderabad, December 12, 1976:

We shall remain individual." Na bhaviṣyāmaḥ na. Two negatives makes one positive. That means "In the future also we shall exist as individual." Na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve, "all of us." "All" means Kṛṣṇa says, "I, you, and all the other peoples, kings, and soldiers, we shall remain as individual." Then where is oneness? This Māyāvādī theory that after liberation we shall all become one with God, that is not mentioned here. This is bogus theory. Real, that we remain individual. So long we are not in a position to act means so long... Just like ghost. Ghost is also individual. But because the ghost does not get this material body they are invisible. They create disturbance for want of this body. Those who have got experience of ghost in some house, the ghost is there, he is individual soul, but because he hasn't got this material covering, that is a punishment. For the most sinful person, that is a punishment, that he does not get this body, although he wants this body, because for enjoyment we want this body.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- New York, March 11, 1966:

Now, here some philosophical question may be raised. There are two classes of philosophers, that after liberation, after getting out of this body, the soul amalgamates with the Supreme Soul. That question we have already discussed. Still, there is no harm in discussing it again because any, I mean to say, substantial knowledge, if it is discussed one after another, twice, thrice, it is better. Now, Kṛṣṇa points out that every soul is individual soul, every soul. And that is our experience, that every one of us, we have got some individual consciousness, not that my consciousness is just equal to your consciousness. I do not know what is going in your soul. We are all individual souls. But according to Māyāvādī philosophers, they say, "Just like the sky, the ether"—ether is everywhere, within your body and within mine, within everyone's—that "the ether has taken a form due to this particular body, but when the body is vanquished, the ether, I mean to say, amalgamates with the greater ether." This is called ghaṭākāśa-poṭākāśa. Ghaṭākāśa-poṭākāśa means this ākāśa is here.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Hyderabad, November 18, 1972:

So this is called illusion. I am not master. I am servant. But I am trying to become master artificially. That is struggle for existence. And mukti means, liberation means, when you give up this wrong idea that "I am master," and try to become the servant of the Supreme. That is called liberation. Liberation does not mean that after liberation we'll have a big, gigantic form or so many hands, so many legs. Liberation means to become liberated from the wrong consciousness. That is liberation. The wrong consciousness is that "I am master." So we have to change this consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. One has to understand thoroughly that he's not master. He's servant. He's completely dependent on the supreme will. If we do not surrender unto the supreme will, then we have to surrender unto the will of māyā. We have to remain a servant. If we don't..., reject service, or servitude of the Supreme Lord, then we have to become the servant of the senses. That is māyā. Actually, that is going on.

Lecture on BG 2.13-17 -- Los Angeles, November 29, 1968:

This is... So far the constitution of the spirit is concerned, it is eternal. That is accepted by all philosophers, personalists and impersonalists. The only difference is that the impersonalist says that after liberation, after getting freed from this bodily contamination, the spirit soul mixes with the Supreme Soul, all-pervading, without any individual existence. Just like the same example, that the small sky within the pitcher. When the pitcher is broken, the small sky within the pitcher mixes with the big sky. The Vaiṣṇava philosopher says that the small sky is individual. It mixes with the big sky, but it keeps its individuality. The example is given in this connection: just like a green bird entering a green tree. So when the bird enters the tree, nobody can find out where is the bird because the leaves of the tree are green and the bird is also green. Nobody can trace out.

Lecture on BG 2.17 -- London, August 23, 1973:

Now Kṛṣṇa has said previously that we, I, you and all others, we existed in the past. So we existed in the past. That means we are all individuals. In the past also, we were individuals, and at the present, we are individuals, and we shall continue to be individuals in the future. There is no such thing as the Māyāvādī philosophers or rascals, they say that after liberation they all intermingle, becomes a homogeneous lump. No. Even after liberation, we remain individual, particles. It is not that we mix up, homogeneous mixing up. Even in matter, what to speak of spirit. It will be explained that spirit cannot be cut into pieces. That means we are all spirit soul. It is not we are lumped together at one time, now we have been cut into pieces, and therefore we are individual—this Māyāvādī philosophy. It is not that. We are individuals, sanātana, eternally. That will be explained. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhutaḥ jīva-loke sanātanaḥ (BG 15.7). Eternally, we are individuals.

Lecture on BG 4.7-9 -- New York, July 22, 1966:

No. It is not the same. We, we are shuddered, "Oh, after liberation, we have to become a servant. Oh." We shudder because we have no idea that what sort of servant is in the transcendental world. In the transcendental world, there is no distinction between the servant and the master. Here is distinction between the servant and the master, but in the transcendental world, in the absolute world, everything is one. Therefore there is no distinction between servant and master.

For example, we are speaking on the Bhagavad-gītā. Just see the position of Kṛṣṇa. He has taken the position of servant, chariot driver of Arjuna. Arjuna is practically, in his constitutional position, he is the servant of Kṛṣṇa, but in behavior we see, sometimes the Lord becomes the servant of the servant (CC Madhya 13.80).

Lecture on BG 4.11-18 -- Los Angeles, January 8, 1969:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "Such impersonalists do not agree to accept the eternal, blissful Personality of Godhead and consequently they cannot relish the bliss of transcendental personal service to the Lord, having extinguished their individuality. Some of them who are not situated even in the impersonal existence return to this material field to exhibit their dormant desires for activities. They are not admitted into the spiritual planets but they again are given a chance to act on the material planets. For those who are fruitive workers the Lord awards the desired results of their prescribed duties as the yajñeśvara; and those who are yogis seeking mystic powers are awarded such powers. In other words, everyone is dependent for success upon His mercy alone and all kinds of spiritual processes are but different degrees of success on the same path. Unless, therefore, one comes to the highest perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all attempts remain imperfect, as is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: 'Whether one is without desire (the condition of the devotees) or is desirous of all fruitive results, or is after liberation, one should with all efforts try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead for complete perfection culminating in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.' "

Prabhupāda: Yes. This verse refers to the statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam wherein it is stated that

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruṣaṁ param
(SB 2.3.10)

The idea is that there are three class of men. One class of men they are simply desiring material comforts, desiring. They want nice house, nice wife, nice comfortable life, everything nice for the comfort of this body. They are called sarva-kāma. Sarva-kāma means their desire has no end.

Lecture on BG 4.13-14 -- New York, August 1, 1966:

Then, transcending the material nature, then he becomes zero? No. That is the real nature. Now, the philosophy which preaches that "After our liberation, after nirvāṇa of this material existence, there is zero," oh, that is very dangerous theory because we are not attracted by zero. That is our nature, living entity. Now, suppose I am suffering from some disease and there are so many ailments, and if some doctor comes: "Oh, let me finish your ailments by killing you," oh, will you agree? You'll say, "No, no, better let me suffer from the disease. I don't want to be killed." Is it not? Will you agree? Suppose you have got too much suffering, miseries of life, and I suggest, "All right, let me cut your throat and kill you, and everything will be finished." "Oh, no, no, no, I'm not agreeable to that." That is the sane man's statement.

Lecture on BG 4.15 -- Bombay, April 4, 1974:

This is required. Yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). That is recommended here, evaṁ jñātvā kṛtaṁ karma pūrvair api mumukṣubhiḥ. This kind of business can be done by whom? Mumukṣubhiḥ, not ordinary men. Those who are aspiring after liberation. Those who are thinking of stopping this nonsense business of repetition of birth and death, for them. They are not ordinary men. Mumukṣubhiḥ.

When Viśvāmitra Muni approached Mahārāja Daśaratha for help, taking Rāmacandra and Lakṣmaṇa for killing that rākṣasī... Viśvāmitra Muni could kill that rākṣasī, but because he was brāhmaṇa, it was not his business to kill. He begged help from Mahārāja Daśaratha to lend Lord Rāmacandra and Lakṣmaṇa, to take Him there. This is the systematic way. The brāhmaṇas should be engaged in knowledge and distributing knowledge. That means their business is not fighting.

Lecture on BG 7.16 -- Bombay, April 7, 1971:

Even they are not pure devotees... Purity of devotion, it takes time. But still, in the śāstra it is recommended that even if you have some material desires... Akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ (SB 2.3.10). Akāma and sarva-kāma. Sarva-kāma, those who are ārtas, always in distressed condition, or mokṣa-kāma... Mokṣa-kāma means those who are desiring after liberation. They are also demanding something. Those who are mokṣa-kāmī, they are also demanding something. The siddhi-kāmīs, they are also demanding something. But the pure devotee does not demand anything.

Lecture on BG 7.18 -- New York, October 12, 1966:

There are different kinds of men under different mixture of the modes of nature, and generally, they are not after liberation from this material stage. They want to gain something out of spiritual power. Just like somebody goes to a swami: "O Swamiji, can you give me a medicine? I am suffering from this disease." He thinks, "A doctor is very expensive. Let us go to a swami who can play miracles, and my disease will be cured." Yes. Sometimes we go and... Of course, in your country such swamis are not very easily found, but in India, there are so many so-called swamis. They go to innocent people and they preach that "If you can give me one ounce of gold, I can make it one hundred ounce of gold." Oh, people think those... Everyone seeks, "How many ounce of gold I have got in my home?" So all bring. "I have got some, ten ounce.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- New York, November 22, 1966:

And out of many thousands of people who are liberated, they can understand what is Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa understanding is not very easy job. But Kṛṣṇa is so kind because He knows that in this age, in this age of Kali, it will be very difficult for persons to become liberated under the process—first to become civilized, then to become religious, then to perform this charity, sacrifices, then come to the platform of knowledge, then, after coming to the platform of knowledge, you come to the platform of liberation, and after being liberated, you can know what is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Paris, August 12, 1973:

Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo: "They are all my parts and parcels." Mamaivāṁśo. Just like father and the son. A father has got many sons. Similarly, we are all sons of God. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7), sanātanaḥ. Sanātanaḥ means eternally. It is not that we are now part and parcel and after liberation we'll become one, or equal, the Māyāvādī theory. No. That is not. Therefore this very word is used, sanātana, eternally. Eternally, we are part and parcel.

Then why they are not with You? Why they are here in this material world? Now manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). They have preferred to enjoy this material world, to lord it over the material world. Therefore, mind and senses, manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi , with these senses and mind, karṣati. manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni. Karṣati (BG 15.7), karṣati means struggling. Struggle for existence. This is our position. We are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Now we have given up by misuse of our independence. We wanted to imitate Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 16.8 -- Hawaii, February 4, 1975:

How you can say that thread is false and cotton is fact? That is not possible. If the cotton is fact, then the thread, effect of cotton, that is also fact. Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī says that prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ. Anything which has got connection with Hari, Kṛṣṇa, prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi..., mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgaḥ. Mumukṣu, those who are aspiring after liberation, mumuk... Mokṣa. The Māyāvādīs, they are aspiring after mukti. Mukti. A devotee does not care for mukti. Mukti's not very important thing for them because, actually, one who is pure devotee, he's already mukta, liberated. He doesn't care for mukti.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.3 -- Caracas, February 24, 1975:

So because Vyāsadeva knew that "Later on this Vedānta-sūtra will be misinterpreted by so many rascals," therefore he left the comment on the Vedānta-sūtra in the form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore if we hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Śukadeva Gosvāmī and his disciplic succession, then we shall enjoy life even after liberation. Rasam ālayam. Ālayam. Ālayam means liberation, means this material life completely finished, spiritual life. In the spiritual life also, you will enjoy Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But for whom it is meant? That is said here, muhur aho rasikā bhuvi bhāvukāḥ. Those who are very thoughtful and rasika, humorous, transcendentally humorous, they can understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and enjoy it. That's all right. Now any question? (break)

Lecture on SB 1.1.3 -- Caracas, February 24, 1975:

That is pure bhakti. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167), means the karmīs, they want promotion in the heavenly planets, and the jñānīs, they want to become one with the Supreme or liberation, so it should be uncovered by the result of jñāna and karma and fully devoid of any other desire. That is bhakti. So those who are bhaktas and desiring after liberation, they are not pure bhakta. Because why a devotee shall aspire after liberation? As soon as (he is) a bhakta, he is already liberated.

Lecture on SB 1.1.3 -- Caracas, February 24, 1975:

So for a bhakta, the liberation is already there. Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura has said, muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjali sevate asmān: "We are devotees, so mukti, liberation, is standing on my door with folded hands, 'What can I do for you?' " So why a pure bhakta should desire after liberation? For a pure bhakta, the liberation is standing on the door as maidservant. So a devotee is not aspiring for liberation. (break)

Lecture on SB 1.2.3 -- London, August 24, 1971:

Because in the Māyāvāda philosophy everyone thinks that he is God, Nārāyaṇa. "I have become Nārāyaṇa." Brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20). "Now I have become Nārāyaṇa." No. You cannot become Nārāyaṇa. You can become Nārāyaṇa's dāsa, servant. That is your healthy state.

So if after liberation... Liberation means sufficient knowledge to understand that one is not this body. That is called liberation. So after liberation there is activity. That they do not know. They think after liberation there is no other activity. Some of them say that when the waterpot is full, there is no more sound. It is solid. But our philosophy is that when one is liberated, his actual life begins. What is that actual life? The actual life is to be engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. That is actual life.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- New Vrindaban, September 5, 1972:

At the present moment we are jīva-bhūtaḥ. We are thinking that I am this body, but when you come to the platform that I am Brahman, I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, or God, then my duty changes. That is called bhakti. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). When, after being brahma-bhūtaḥ, after being liberated from material concept of life, that is called brahma-bhūtaḥ, ahaṁ brahmāsmi.

So sometimes people say that bhakti, devotional service is for less intelligent class of men. No. It is the one who has become highly intelligent, he can take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyante (BG 7.19), after many, many births of cultivation of knowledge... Everyone is cultivating knowledge but when his ultimate goal of knowledge is achieved, that is to understand Kṛṣṇa, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ (BG 7.19), one who understands. That is the ultimate goal of knowledge.

Lecture on SB 1.2.7 -- Vrndavana, October 18, 1972:

So in the calculation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, such dharmas, system of dharma, which is meant for sense gratification, personal interest, that is called kaitava-dharma, cheating. Cheating... Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavaḥ atra.

In this connection, Śrīdhara Svāmī has commented, artha mokṣavāṁś ca nirastham(?). Those who are aspiring after liberation, that is also rejected. Why? There are so many great saintly persons, jñānīs, philosophers; they're trying to get liberation. And it is cheating? Yes. It is cheating. Vyāsadeva says, kaitava, cheating. And a great commentator like Śrīdhara Svāmī, he also gives his confirmation that up to mokṣa-vāñchā, that is cheating. Why cheating? That is explained by Kavirāja Gosvāmī in his Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Lecture on SB 1.2.7 -- Vrndavana, October 18, 1972:

That is the test of bhakti.

Therefore that pure bhakti-yoga can be attained only by executing devotional service to Vāsudeva. Otherwise it is not possible. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ, janayaty āśu vairāgyam (SB 1.2.7). Without vairāgya, there is no question of liberation. Of course, a devotee's not hankering after liberation. Why he should hanker after? As soon as he's a pure devotee of Vāsudeva, he's already liberated. Already liberated.

Lecture on SB 1.2.19 -- Los Angeles, August 22, 1972:

This is, this is the activity of the soul. You stop the activity of the body, of the mind; then you must be engaged in the activity of the soul. Actually, the soul is active, not this body and mind. As soon as the soul is out of this body, there is no activity. So the real source of activity is coming from the soul. So how it is that after one becomes liberated, he becomes inactive? That is the theory of the Māyāvādīs. Real activity begins there. Here we are active. We have got so many impediments offered by the mind and the body; and when we actually come to the platform of soul, that is liberated position. The activity should be very nice and very polished, very advanced. Then?

Lecture on SB 1.2.26 -- Vrndavana, November 6, 1972:

We have got this information in Bhāratavarṣa. No other country. Their liberation means so-called political liberation and making humbug all these things. Fighting with one an... That is not liberation. Liberation means to get out of the cycle of repetition of birth and death. That is called liberation. But they have no idea whose liberation, what is liberation, after liberation, where to go. All this knowledge, practically blocked. So it is very difficult to understand the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam like this verse: mumukṣavo ghora-rūpān hitvā bhūta-patīn atha. They do not understand. People are so misguided, ill-educated, that they do not understand it. Otherwise, the land of Bhāratavarṣa is meant for liberation. In other land they take birth. They have no information of liberation. Here, in this land, Bhāratavarṣa, there is the idea of liberation, mukti. Mukti. So we should be interested in that liberation. Mumukṣava. Mumukṣa icchavaḥ, "those who are desiring."

Lecture on SB 1.5.32 -- Vrndavana, August 13, 1974:

Now, in the last verse Nārada Muni says, yena gacchanti tat-padam: "by which one can go back to home, back to Godhead, tat-padam." Padam means abode or position. Position. That is, after liberation, one can get the spiritual position.

Sāyujya, sārūpya, sālokya, sārṣṭi, sāmīpya. There are different types of position, although they are all spiritual. The one is the sāyujya-mukti, or to become one with the Supreme, merge into the Supreme. This is one position. Another position: sārūpya, the same feature of the body. Just like Nārāyaṇa, four-handed. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets, the inhabitants, the citizens, they have got four hands. When Ajāmila was delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas, they appeared exactly looking like Viṣṇu. That is described. That is called sārūpya. Sārūpya, sārṣṭi (CC Madhya 6.266), same opulence. Or sāmīpya, always near, associate. There are five kinds of... Gacchanti tat-padam.

Lecture on SB 2.1.1 -- Vrndavana, March 16, 1974:

After being liberated, brahma-bhūtaḥ, then bhakti begins. People misunderstand that by bhakti one gets mukti. No. One who is engaged in bhakti, he is always... He has already got mukti. Muktir mukulitāñjali sevate 'smān. Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura says that if one has attained to the platform of bhakti, then mukti is hankering after his feet: "What can I do for you?" Muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjali sevate 'smān dharmārtha-kāma-gatayaḥ samaya-pratīkṣāḥ.

So bhakti is above mukti. Therefore a pure devotee does not aspire for mukti. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye, mama janmani janmani. He says, janmani janmani. Janmani, when He says janmani, it is not mukti.

Lecture on SB 2.1.7 -- Paris, June 15, 1974:

So na śocati na kāṅkṣati, samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Then he's equal to everyone. He understands that everyone is a spirit soul. Some way or other, he's entangled in this material body. So because I am now...Mad-bhakti... Prasannātmā na śocati, samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate par... Then he's fit for transcendental service to the Lord.

After being liberated from these traiguṇya, three material, one has to be situated in nistraiguṇya. Here it is stated, nairguṇya. Nairguṇya, nistraiguṇya. The same meaning. Nairguṇya-sthā ramante, enjoys life. As soon as you come to the platform of nairguṇya, without being infected by the three material qualities, then ramante, everything is pleasure. Ramante yogino 'nante. Therefore those who are yogis, who are bhaktas, bhakti-yogīs, they also enjoy life. It is not that we restrict that "Don't enjoy senses." This is not enjoyment. This is bondage. This is bondage. Suppose I am enjoying either illicit or legal sex life. I am become under bondage. Even it is legal sex life, I get children, so many things, I have got duty to the children.

Lecture on SB 3.25.18 -- Bombay, November 18, 1974:

That is very, very difficult task. Even the muktas cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Siddhi means mukti, liberation. Kaścid yatati. Who is trying for liberation? Nobody's trying. But still, there are somebodies who are trying for liberation. So Kṛṣṇa says, yatatām api siddhānām (BG 7.3). After being liberated, those who are trying to understand Kṛṣṇa, some of them can understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, tattvataḥ. Therefore you have to understand Kṛṣṇa tattvataḥ, what is Kṛṣṇa.

So if you can understand Kṛṣṇa... Janma karma me divyam (BG 4.9). Kṛṣṇa says that "If you can understand Me, how I come here, how I come, I play the part of a human being and teach the whole world, Bhagavad-gītā, what is My mission, why I come, everything, where is My residence, what is My father's name..." People are searching after God, but God is canvassing, "Please understand Me. Here I am."

Lecture on SB 3.26.25 -- Bombay, January 2, 1975:

Kṛṣṇa's another name is Mukunda. Gato mukundam, śaraṇam, parihṛtya kartam, gataḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ mukundam. Mukunda... Muk means mukti, liberation, ānanda. After liberation, you become... Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). That original ānanda, your feature of jubilation... Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt. We are, by nature, ānandamaya. Not only Kṛṣṇa, God, but we, being part and parcel... The ānanda is not self-centered. Kṛṣṇa, when He takes ānanda, hlādinī-śakti, when He dances with the gopīs, when He plays with the cowherd boys, when He plays as a child of Yaśodāmāyi, and in every way Kṛṣṇa is ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt. So to take this ānanda, to enjoy this ānanda, He has expanded Himself in so many forms. The svāṁśa, or the incarnation, and the vibhinnāṁśa, we are, jīvas.

Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Hyderabad, April 13, 1975:

Yes. If he develops love for Kṛṣṇa. That I have explained the other day, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). If you develop love for Kṛṣṇa, premā, premā pum-artho mahān, that is the recommendation by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu that dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90) is not the aim of life. Premā pum-artho mahān. After liberation...

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu (bhūteṣu)
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
(BG 18.54)

When one is engaged in devotional service, loving devotional service, then he can increase his love for Kṛṣṇa. The love for Kṛṣṇa is there. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said, kṛṣṇa...

Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Hyderabad, April 13, 1975:

Akāma means bhakta. Praśāntā. He doesn't want anything. They are called akāma. Sarvakāma means karmī. He wants everything. Bring these dānaṁ dehi, rūpaṁ dehi, yaso (?) dehi, dehi, dehi, dehi. That is karmī. Akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma (SB 2.3.10), mokṣa-kāma means those who are desiring after liberation. So whatever you may be, never mind. There are three classes of men, akāma, sarva-kāma, mokṣa-kāma, so whatever you may be, Kṛṣṇa is competent. He says, therefore, that tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta paramaṁ puruṣa. The only method that Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya... (BG 18.66). If you, even if you want to be karmī, even you want the karmī's desire, that you want everything, to enjoy, that will also be fulfilled if you become devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta paramaṁ puruṣa. You haven't got to work separately for fulfilling your desire of karma or jñāna or yoga. Everything will be there. Kṛṣṇa is so powerful. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11).

Lecture on SB 5.5.18 -- Vrndavana, November 6, 1976:

Therefore because it is not the question of mixing up, amalgamation, separate identity, but it is light, that is all right. But not that they have lost their individuality. Sanātana. Kṛṣṇa says, "They are individual parts sanātana, eternally." Not that now they are separated, and after liberation they will mix up. No. This is wrong conception. Therefore mixing up means... Just like we are here, mixed together. We have got individuality, but for a certain purpose we are sitting together very peacefully, and the real purpose is to learn how to serve Kṛṣṇa. So when we agree to serve Kṛṣṇa, then that is mixing up of the devotees. Tāṅdera caraṇa-sevi-bhakta-sane vāsa, that is mixing up. When you assemble together with the same purpose... That's why we can understand nation. What is that nation? Everyone is individual, but the purpose is how to improve the condition of the politics, or the combination of men. Similarly when you agree...

Lecture on SB 5.6.1 -- Vrndavana, November 23, 1976:

So he thinks, "Now this beggar is blessing me. I may be... It may be I become a king. 'All right, you take some rupees.' " So this is not... They do not know atmā-tattvam. They think that "This beggar's blessing will make me happy." No. One should know atmā-tattvam and act accordingly.

That atmā-tattva begins after being liberated.
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate param
(BG 18.54)

That is atmā-tattvam. One should know simply understanding ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am not this body; I am a spirit soul." That is also knowledge, at least, than the karmīs. Karmīs, they have been described by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura as mūḍhas, asses. They do not know what is the aim of life, simply working. Śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ (SB 2.3.19). So in śāstra, the human being who has no knowledge of atmā-tattva, such person is compared with four kinds of animals. Śva, śva means dog. Viḍ-varāha, viḍ-varāha means the pig.

Lecture on SB 6.1.50 -- Detroit, June 16, 1976:

We are accustomed to this material entanglement. This practice is there. Then gradually we shall be freed from this entanglement. Sarvopādhi vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). That is purification, when we become free from this designation. Then hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate. And when you are freed from this... Therefore bhakti actually begins after liberation. Bhakti is not... Nivṛtta-tarṣair-upagīyamānā. Nivṛtta means one who has ceased tṛṣṇa. Tṛṣṇa means aspiration. We have got so many aspirations. So this transcendental life or chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is means for the liberated person. Nivṛtta-tarṣair-upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhāc-chrotra-mano 'bhirāmāt (SB 10.1.4). This chanting is the medicine for our conditioned stage.

Lecture on SB 6.3.12-15 -- Gorakhpur, February 9, 1971:

Tan māyā-mohitād na jānanty ity uktam, avaśed tata tasya ityāhayam iti. Gobhir indriyair cittena na vicakṣata na paśyanti.(?) So gobhiḥ, by sensual gymnastic or mental speculation, the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be understood. There are many mental speculator, just like Aurobindo Ghosh. So he speculated. He understood that there are activities even after liberation, but he could not understand Kṛṣṇa, so hard it is. Others, the so-called sannyāsīs, just like Ramatirtha or Vivekananda, they could not approach even, in the modern age. And the Aurobindo, he approached up to the Brahman liberation, but he could not approach to the understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is... Arjuna says also in the Bhagavad-gītā, "It is very difficult to understand Your personality." Everyone becomes... The other day in the Melā, Māgha-melā, one Gangeshvarananda, retired high-court judge, he said that "This is the first time, Swamijī, that we are hearing from you on solid basis about the Personality."

Lecture on SB 6.3.16-17 -- Gorakhpur, February 10, 1971:

They existed as they are existing now, and at the present moment they are existing as individuals, and in the past, they also existed as individuals, and the future, they will continue to exist as individuals. So there is no question of losing the individuality. That's a theory only. No living entity loses his individuality even after liberation. They try to keep mixed up with others. Just like the sunshine is a combination of molecular parts, something shining. Is it not? Similarly, brahma-jyotir is combination of the individual parts and parcels of God. But without individual activity they cannot stay in the brahma-jyotir for long. Because everyone wants some individual activity. Just like we are sitting together now. After some hour, every one of us will feel what is our individual... Everyone will be engaged in his individual activity. Therefore, according to Bhagavat-siddhānta, āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanti (SB 10.2.32). The individual soul who simply tries to merge into the effulgence, Brahman effulgence...

Lecture on SB 6.3.16-17 -- Gorakhpur, February 10, 1971:

They do not understand that this is the perpetual engagement of a devotee. Nitya-yuktā upāsate. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that devotees, they are eternally engaged in devotional service. Eternally means after liberation, not that after liberation the whole thing is changed. No. The process is so transcendental that the devotees, they are serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even when he is conditioned... A devotee is not conditioned. Even accepting he is conditioned, but his engagement in the liberation stage does not change. The same condition goes on, the same worshiping, his chanting.

Lecture on SB 7.9.19 -- Hamburg, September 7, 1969, (with German Translator):

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is above these four principles of materialistic way of thinking. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to inquire the value of life and the destination of life. We advocate that human form of life is meant neither for religious ritualistic performances or economic development or for sense gratification or for so-called searching after liberation. Śrīmad-Bhāgavata says that jīvasya tattva-jijñāsaḥ. We have to accept economic development so far as we keep our body and soul together, fit for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We do not recommend that unnecessarily you should give trouble to the body. We do not recommend any man to go to the forest for spiritual realization. We simply recommend that you try to understand what is your constitutional position. If you actually think or meditate very cool-headed what is your actual position, first of all you shall realize that you are not this body. If you meditate in a solitary place... Meditation means to keep yourself alone and in a solitary place. So in the beginning, if you meditate as to "What I am?

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, December 27, 1972:

Mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām. After being liberated from all these designations, one begins his devotional service, devotional life. And Kṛṣṇa says, "If one wants to know Me, then he must accept." Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). Tattvataḥ. If one wants to know Kṛṣṇa, God, as He is, then he has to accept the process of devotional service. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti. Evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhakti-yogena (SB 1.2.20). There is another verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ. By practicing the bhagavad-bhakti-yoga, bhagavad-bhakti-yoga prasanna manaso, one has to become first of all joyful by identifying himself with the spirit. Brahmā bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54). Then when he becomes joyful, he understands that "I am not this material body, I am spirit soul. I am not American, I am not Indian, I'm not brāhmaṇa, I am not this, this, this, so many things... No, I am spirit soul. I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa." This is called brahma-bhūtaḥ. Evaṁ prasanna-manaso.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 2, 1973:

After being liberated from this material contamination, that ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am not this matter; I am Brahman..." That is called brahma-bhūtaḥ stage. In the brahma-bhūtaḥ stage, one is joyful, prasannātmā. That is the symptoms of brahma-bhūtaḥ. Prasannātmā (BG 18.54). Na śocati na kāṅkṣati. Because he has nothing to do with material world, therefore sometimes it is said, "It is mithyā," because I have nothing to do. It may be very important thing, but unless you realize Kṛṣṇa, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54), by devotional service, even by lifting yourself to that stage, transcendental stage of Brahman realization, there is chance of falling down. That is the verdict of, I mean to, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ anādṛtaḥ-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ (SB 10.2.32). Because they could not search out the shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, they have to come down again to this material existence, which they left as mithyā. But their..., because there is no shelter on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, this brahma-bhūtaḥ stage also not secure. One has to fall down. We have seen many big, big sannyāsīs, very learned scholars, sannyāsīs, they take part in politics, sociology.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 10, 1972:

Īhā yasya harer dāsye. Simply we have to engage ourself in the devotional service of the Lord, then māyām etāṁ taranti te (BG 7.14). One who has surpassed the boundaries of māyā, he's liberated. He's liberated. He's already liberated. Why he should aspire after liberation? He's already liberated. Go on.

Pradyumna: "Any kind of happiness derived from religiousness, economic development, liberation or sense gratification cannot even dare to enter into the heart of a pure devotee. It is stated that as the personal attendants and maidservants of a queen follow the queen with all respect and obeisances, similarly, the joys of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation follow the devotional service of the Lord. In other words, a pure devotee does not lack any kind of happiness derived from any source. He does not want anything but service to Kṛṣṇa, but even if he should have another desire, the Lord fulfills this without the devotee's asking."

The Nectar of Devotion -- Calcutta, January 29, 1973:

Phalgu vairāgya. Mumukṣubhiḥ, those who are after liberation, nirbheda brahmānusandhana, their giving up this world, becoming sannyāsī, Māyāvādī sannyāsī, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā... Rūpa Gosvāmī says, phalgu vairāgya. Why phalgu? Phalgu means insignificant, and phalgu means there is a river, Phalgu, in the Gayā. Those who have gone to Gayā... There is a river. The Gayā city is situated on the river Phalgu. This river is got Phalgu because on the bed you'll find only sand. But if you push your hand within the sand, you'll find water. Similarly phalgu vairāgya means the so-called sannyāsīs, they have taken the dress of renounced order, but within the heart they have got all desires to fulfill. Within the heart. If you push your hand within his heart, you'll find he has got all desires for material enjoyment. That is called phalgu vairāgya.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Calcutta, January 30, 1973:

Bhavānanda: "This evidence from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives assurance to the pure devotee of being elevated to association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī remarks in this connection that one who is actually attracted by the beauty of the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa or His service and whose heart, by such attraction, is always full with transcendental bliss will naturally never aspire after the liberation which is so valuable to the impersonalists."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Liberation, a devotee never... Why liberation? Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, he says... Liberation means kaivalya. Kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. What is this liberation? It is as good as the hell. Kaivalyaṁ narakāyate. Tri-daṣa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate (Caitanya-candrāmṛta 5). The persons, they are hankering after being elevated to the heavenly planet. So for a devotee, this is will o' the wisp, phantasmagoria, it has no value. Kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tri-daśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpayate indriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate. And the yogis... Karmīs, jñānīs, yogis. Karmīs are after heavenly planet; jñānīs are after kaivalya, liberation; yogis are after controlling the senses. So senses are very dangerous. Everyone knows. Our senses are very strong. Therefore the yoga system is recommended for them who are very much in bodily concept of life. Therefore they are advised to exercise the body to come to the point of spiritual platform. But those who are above bodily concept of life, those senses have been purified.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Calcutta, January 31, 1973:

Mādhavānanda: (reading:) "Chapter Four. Devotional Service Surpasses All Liberation. How much a devotee is seriously attached to the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood from the statement of Mahārāja Pṛthu (Ādi-rāja), which is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Fourth Canto, Twentieth Chapter, 21st verse. He prays to the Supreme Personality of Godhead thusly: 'My dear Lord, if, after taking liberation, I have no chance of hearing the glories of Your Lordship, glories chanted by pure devotees from the core of their hearts in praise of Your lotus feet, and if I have no chance for this honey of transcendental bliss, then I shall never ask for liberation of this so-called spiritual emancipation. I shall simply always pray unto Your Lordship that You may give me millions of tongues and millions of ears so that I can constantly chant and hear of Your transcendental glories.' "

Prabhupāda: Surpasses all kind of liberation. There are five kinds of liberation: sāyujya, sārūpya, sālokya, sāmīpya. But a pure devotee does not want any of such liberations. Dhiyamānāṁ na ghṛnanti (?). Even liberation is offered. Kṛṣṇa offers liberation very easily. But Kṛṣṇa's personal touch is so sublime that Kṛṣṇa is carrying order of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is sending letter, handed over to Kṛṣṇa, and He's carrying to Duryodhana. So Nārada was very much surprised that this stage of dependent on devotee is very, very difficult to achieve. To achieve liberation is not very difficult, but when Kṛṣṇa becomes dependent on the order of a devotee, that is very difficult to achieve.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Calcutta, January 31, 1973:

The impersonalists take it, this chanting, as means to attain liberation. They do not know that the chanting is the, real chanting begins after liberation. Not that by chanting one reaches liberation. No. That's not a fact. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ (BG 9.14). Satatam. Satatam means after liberation also. This chanting will continue after liberation also. Not that after liberation chanting will finish. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, satatam. Satatam means after liberation also. Before liberation and after liberation. Therefore it is nitya. Nitya means it does not stop, never stops. Satataṁ kīrtayananto māṁ yatantaś ca, tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca. Dṛḍha-vratāḥ. So the, when you actually go to Goloka Vṛndāvana, the same chanting will go on before Kṛṣṇa. Chanting will never stop. Go on.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Calcutta, January 31, 1973:

"In the Ninth Canto of the Bhāgavatam, Fourth Chapter, 49th verse, the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha replies to Durvāsā Muni thusly: 'My pure devotees are always satisfied being engaged in devotional service, and therefore they do not aspire even after the five liberated stages, which are (1) to be one with Me, (2) to achieve residence on My planet, (3) to have My opulences, (4) to possess bodily features similar to Mine, and (5) to gain personal association with Me. So, when they are not interested even in these liberated positions, you can know how little they care for material opulences or material liberation.'

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.105 -- New York, July 11, 1976:

Kaivalyam narakāyate. Then? Heavenly planets? Tridaśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate. Tridaśa-pūr means the heaven, where so many millions of demigods live. They consider, Vaiṣṇava consider as ākāśa-puṣpa, will o' the wisp, phantasmagoria. It has no value. Ākāśa-puṣpāyate. That means karmī, jñānīs. Jñānīs, they are after liberation, merging into the existence, Brahman existence, kaivalya. The Vaiṣṇava thinks, "Oh, this achievement is as good as one who goes to the hell." Then? Heavenly planet? Karmīs? They might have pious activities. They want to go to the heavenly planet. So Vaiṣṇava says that "What is this heavenly planet? It is phantasmagoria. It has no..." Actually it is so. Then yogi? The yogi's main business is to control the senses. That is real yoga. Yoga indriya-saṁyamaḥ. Controlling the senses so that mind can be in a peaceful condition... Without controlling your senses, mind cannot be. Then you can apply this mind for meditation. If the mind is agitated, what is this nonsense meditation? First of all control the mind; then think of meditation.

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.108-109 -- New York, July 15, 1976:

So bhakti is not very ordinary thing. It begins after one is liberated. The Māyāvādī says that "By bhakti one can become one with God." No. That is not bhakti. That is Māyāvāda. That is mistake. Bhakti means to understand that "I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." This conviction is possible when one is brahma-bhūtaḥ. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati. Brahma-bhūta means "I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa," as it is said, sūryāṁśa-kiraṇa, yaiche agni-jvālā-caya, svābhāvika kṛṣṇera... Oh... When one understands this, that "I am... My position is eternal servant," that is brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20). Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). Then undoubtedly he becomes immediately jubilant, that "Now I have got my real master to serve.

Festival Lectures

His Divine Grace Srila Sac-cid-ananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Appearance Day, Lecture -- London, September 3, 1971:

So after being liberated from the material concept of life by the blessings of Kṛṣṇa and guru, one comes to the platform of first-class knowledge, where he engages himself directly in the service of the Lord. That is first-class knowledge. First-class knowledge means beyond liberation. Second-class knowledge is trying for liberation. Third-class knowledge means in bondage, like animal. The animals, they are bound up by the particular type of body and has no, I mean to say, possibility of becoming liberated. That is animal life. But human life is better than animal life because he, if he likes, he can make himself liberated from this bondage of material body. That is the facility. He can understand himself what he is. He can understand what is God. He can understand the relationship between God and himself. He can understand what is this material world. Because there are thousands of books of knowledge.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Address -- Los Angeles, February 9, 1975:

After that, after being brahma-bhūtaḥ-samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām—then bhakti life begins. After being liberated, after being self-realized, then bhakti begins. And as soon as bhakti begins, then you understand Kṛṣṇa. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa by any other process—by jñāna, by yoga, by tapasya, by karma, by sacrifice, by charity. You cannot understand. Simply, Kṛṣṇa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti. If you want to know Kṛṣṇa as He is, then you have to take to this process, very simple process. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: (BG 18.65) "Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your respectful obeisances unto Me." Four things. That is here. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Initiation Lectures

Initiations -- Los Angeles, January 10, 1969:

If you want śānti, peacefulness, then you have to become completely Kṛṣṇa conscious-kṛṣṇa-bhakta niṣkāma—because he has no more demand. And bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī sakali aśānta. And those who are karmīs, trying to elevate material position, they are all disturbed. And mukti, those who are hankering after liberation, he is also disturbed. And siddhi, those who are yogis hankering after some material perfection, mystic perfection, he is also disturbed. He is simply thinking, "How I shall be so light that I can fly in the sky." Yes. What you are? There are... So many flies are flying in the sky. (laughter) What you gain by that? But the nonsense will see, "Oh, I am now, from the ground I am now three feet high." Three feet high? A small bird is a hundred feet high. What is there? These are all nonsense. Don't be after all this nonsense. Bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī. Bhukti means these ordinary worker, whole day working like ass, taking a morsel of food or no food even, but working hard.

Lecture at Initiation Fire Sacrifice -- Los Angeles, July 16, 1969:

So we have to offend..., we have to defend ourself from the offenses. There are ten kinds of offenses. You'll get the list. So we shall try to avoid. Then our chanting will be purified. And when the chanting is purified, then immediately you are liberated. And after liberation? Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā: (BG 18.54) your life of devotional service actually begins. Then you relish reciprocation of love with Kṛṣṇa.

So everything can be attained simply by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Everything. The means is the end and the means is the whole. It is not that we accept something and give it up and again come to another stage. No. If you have got conviction, if you have got faith, if you are strenuous, immediately you are in the platform. Apavitraḥ pavitro vā sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā. So any stage of life, yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣam, anyone who remembers Puṇḍarīkākṣam, Kṛṣṇa... (aside:)

General Lectures

Lecture on Teachings of Lord Caitanya -- Seattle, September 25, 1968:

"I am spirit soul. I am merged into the spirit soul," that is their goal. But here, the Sanātana Gosvāmī, he belongs to the Vaiṣṇava philosophy. He says, "Now what is my duty?" That means after liberation it is not that everything is void or activity is stopped. No. Actually activity begins after liberation. At the present moment our activities are not liberated activities. At the present moment all our activities are conditional, but actually I am not... Because I am spirit soul, therefore I'm not under material condition. But somehow or other, I am now put into material conditions. This is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). When one is actually liberated, brahma-bhūtaḥ, that is called brahma-bhūtaḥ. When one is not liberated he's called jīva-bhūtaḥ. Just like we are, ordinary living entities, we are under designations, and in the concept of this body, we are thinking everything.

Lecture on Teachings of Lord Caitanya -- Seattle, September 25, 1968:

When one is not liberated he's called jīva-bhūtaḥ. Just like we are, ordinary living entities, we are under designations, and in the concept of this body, we are thinking everything. But actually I am not this body. I am not matter. I am a spirit soul. When this understanding comes, that is the point of liberation. And after that liberation, actual duty begins. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā also.

Class in Los Angeles -- Los Angeles, November 15, 1968:

Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a stage after liberation. Brahma-bhūtaḥ. Brahma-bhūtaḥ means "I am now free from all material anxieties." That is called brahma-bhūtaḥ stage. Just like a person suffering prison life for years together, and if he is given freedom, "Now you are free," how much delight he'll feel. "Oh, now I am free." You see? So that is the stage of brahma-bhūtaḥ. Prasannātmā, joyful, immediately. And what is the nature of joyfulness? Na śocati. Even in the great loss, there is no lamentation. And big profit, there is no jubilation, or there is no hankering. That is called brahma-bhūtaḥ stage. Equipoised.

Lecture -- London, September 26, 1969:

So everyone stops to different stages of Brahman realization, but the ultimate goal, as we get from Vedic literature, is mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). When one is perfect in Brahman realization, he's engaged in devotional service, bhakti. After being liberated from material concept of life, when one is actually in the Brahman state of transcendental life, he can begin this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Mad-bhaktiṁ labhate... Why? Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Because without going to that stage, you cannot understand God. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti. It is not said that by meditation, by philosophical speculation, one can understand God. No. Bhaktyā. So they cannot understand anything, these meditators and speculators. No, they can, partially. But bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ (BG 18.55). "As I am, Absolute Truth, that can be understood through this devotional service."

Lecture at Auckland University -- Auckland, April 17, 1972:

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is preaching the important portion of the body, about the soul. To understand what is the soul, to understand what is the need of the soul, why he is entrapped within this material body, how the soul can be liberated, and after liberation, what is the function of the soul—these things are our subject matter. And these things are very nicely explained as preliminary study in the Bhagavad-gītā, and for higher study, for graduate study, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So our only request is that you are all students—you do not neglect this subject matter, this science to understand what is the soul. It is a fact. No scientific professor at the present moment can explain what is that thing missing, when the thing is missing, this body is called dead. What is the distinction of this dead body and the living body?

Lecture -- Tokyo, May 1, 1972:

That mukti... The Vaiṣṇava philosophers, they want that mukti. They want to keep... Nitya-yukta upāsate. Nitya-yukta. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, nitya-yukta upāsata. The upāsana, the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead—man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65)—this is not stopped after liberation. The same business goes on. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Vaiṣṇava, even if he is offered mukti... Dīyamānaṁ na gṛhṇanti. Even if he's offered that "You take mukti," they do not accept it.

Page Title:After liberation (Lectures)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:05 of May, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=67, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:67