So the atheist class, demon class, they want to forget Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa gives him such intelligence that he can speak of atheism so many volumes. But he is getting that intelligence from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa gives everyone the chance that "Whatever you want to do, you can do. I will give you intelligence. So if you want to become atheist, then I will give you intelligence how to become first-class atheist, like Hiraṇyakaśipu, Rāvaṇa, Kaṁsa. And if you want to become devotee, then I will give you intelligence also in that way." Buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi taṁ yena mām upayānti te. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10). Anyone who is engaged in His service with love and affection, teṣām, not all, not all... Because not all, not everyone wants to serve Him. Everyone wants to become God, imitator. Imitation. Therefore they say, "Why Kṛṣṇa shall be alone God? I am God." You are God. That's all right. But you are not the Supreme God. Why you forget that? You may be a God at home of your wife, but when you go to your office, you are not god; your master is god. He directs you to do something; you have to do it.
Atheist (BG Lectures)
Expressions researched:
"atheist"
|"atheist's"
|"atheistic"
|"atheistical"
|"atheistically"
|"atheists"
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
I will give you intelligence. So if you want to become atheist, then I will give you intelligence how to become first-class atheist, like Hiraṇyakaśipu, Rāvaṇa, Kaṁsa. And if you want to become devotee, then I will give you intelligence also in that way." Buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi taṁ yena mām upayānti te. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10). Anyone who is engaged in His service with love and affection, teṣām, not all, not all... Because not all, not everyone wants to serve Him. Everyone wants to become God, imitator. Imitation. Therefore they say, "Why Kṛṣṇa shall be alone God? I am God." You are God. That's all right. But you are not the Supreme God. Why you forget that? You may be a God at home of your wife, but when you go to your office, you are not god; your master is god. He directs you to do something; you have to do it.
Now this literature is written by uncivilized men. Just see. So highly intellectual writings, they were uncivilized. Now they have become civilized. That is Darwin's theory. We are now making progress. So Arjuna said that patanti pitaro hy eṣāṁ lupta-piṇḍodaka-kriyāḥ (BG 1.41). Piṇḍodaka. In Calcutta, there was a big scientist. His name was Sarpisirat. He was speaking in a, he was atheist number one, he was speaking that: "This piṇḍodaka, by offering piṇḍa, prasāda and water, it will go to my forefather. So just give me to eat downstairs whether I can eat upstairs?" This reasoning. But he does not know that how much there are different types of eating. They do not know there is eating in the subtle body also. The ghosts also, they eat. But the method is different. So even a big scientist speak like that, then how the ordinary people...? Yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhaḥ, lokas tad anuvartate (BG 3.21). If the so-called advanced in education they speak so irresponsibly, naturally, others will follow. Therefore, at the present moment, the whole generation is covered with ignorance and darkness. No clear knowledge.
There are so many statements, "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." So anyone who is actually serious about understanding about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no difficulty. But because we are obstinate, because we are sinful, because we are lowest of the mankind, because our knowledge has been taken away by māyā, and because we are atheists, we do not accept Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality. Otherwise, there is no reason. Kṛṣṇa therefore describes: na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Unless one is duṣkṛtina, always miscreants, full of sinful life, he cannot deny Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is preaching all over the world that "You are all advanced in civilization, and advanced in scientific knowledge, and advanced in everything, but you are missing one thing—God, Kṛṣṇa. So here is God. Here is Kṛṣṇa. You try to understand Kṛṣṇa and be Kṛṣṇa conscious and make your life successful." That is our propaganda. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
They think that as soon as... (break) Big, big professors, in Europe, they say like that, "After death, everything is finished." Cārvaka Muni's theory. This kind of theory was accepted long, long ago. In the Vedic culture. Not accepted, was heard. Never it was accepted. Cārvaka theory. Cārvaka theory was atheist. He was not... (break) So his philosophy was atheistic philosophy. He used to say that bhaṣmi bhūtasya dehasya kuto punar āgamaḥ, means bodily concept of life, talking of this body, deha, that it is burned into ashes. So he used to say, "When the body is burned into ashes, then where is the chance of coming back?" That means he had no information of the soul. (break)
...accepted by the Vedic civilization. The anārya... (break) The Āryan theory is that what is next life, what is next life, progressive. That is ārya. Civilized man. They may think like that. But you are belonging to the Āryan family, Pāṇḍava family. Akīrti-karam. You are celebrated as Kṛṣṇa's friend. (break) So people will say that "Kṛṣṇa's friend, he's not fighting."
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." So this Vedic thought is there also. The Vedas say, eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That supreme one eternal, He's supplying, He's maintaining all other individual eternals. And Bible also enjoins that "You go, ask for your bread to God." So unless God is maintainer and supplier, why this injunction is there? Therefore He is the leader; He is the maintainer. And the Vedas clearly says this is the position. He is the Supreme. And by knowing this one can become in peace. That is the Vedic injunction.
That means no more denial. Finish all stress. So as soon as one thing is three times stressed, that means final. So Śaṅkarācārya says, bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate. Mūḍha, mūḍha I've several times explained. Mūḍha means rascal, ass. You are depending on your grammatical understanding, dukṛn karaṇe. Dukṛn, these are grammatical affix and prefix, pratya, prakaraṇa. So you are depending on this verbal root, that verbal root, and creating, interpreting your meaning in a different way. All this is nonsense. This dukṛn karaṇe, your grammatical jugglery of words, will not save you at the time of death. You rascal, you just worship Govinda, Govinda, Govinda. That is the instruction of Śaṅkarācārya also. Because he was a devotee, he was a great devotee. But he pretended to be an atheist because he was to deal with the atheists. Unless he presents himself as an atheist, the atheist followers will not hear him. Therefore he presented Māyāvāda philosophy for the time being. The Māyāvāda philosophy cannot be accepted eternally. The eternal philosophy is Bhagavad-gītā. That is the verdict.
That is the sign of liberated soul. Because to become attracted by Kṛṣṇa, that is our normal condition. So he was liberated; therefore normally he became attracted with Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. That is his normal life. One who is not attracted by Kṛṣṇa's pastimes, he will be attracted by President Johnson's pastimes. (laughter) One has to be attracted. One has to be attracted by the dog's pastimes. Don't you see a person how he is serving the dog? The dog stands, passes urine, he also stands. You see? He's a human being, and he is waiting for the dog passing urine. How much he is attending the pastimes of the dog? So if you (are) not attracted by the pastimes of God, then you'll have to be attracted by the pastimes of the dog. There is no other alternative. Either māyā or Kṛṣṇa. The atheist, agnostic, they deny Kṛṣṇa's pastimes; therefore they remain attracted by the pastimes of this material world. Yes?
"Anyone who calculates Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, equal with such demigods, not, what to speak of ordinary human beings, even big, big demigods like Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā, he immediately becomes a pāṣaṇḍī, atheist." So if... The Māyāvādī philosophy, they put forward this argument that "Because we are now in māyā, we are thinking that we are different from God." But Kṛṣṇa is making thus such differentiation that... He's making, He's saying, "You and I and all these." So does it mean that Kṛṣṇa is also covered by māyā or illusion? Because He is very clearly differentiating between Him and the living entities, all individuals. So if the Māyāvādī philosopher is right that this differentiation is due to our illusion, then we have to accept Kṛṣṇa is also in illusion. Because He's making differentiation. So if Kṛṣṇa is in illusion, then what is the use of taking His version? Because our proposition is that we have to take knowledge from the perfect person.
This is a very important verse. The modern scientists, philosophers, they say that after finishing this body, we no more exist, finished, everything finished. This is not new. In olden times also there were atheists like Cārvāka Muni, he also said like that: bhasmī-bhūtasya dehasya kutaḥ punar āgamano bhavet. Now why you are worrying about next life? As soon as this body is burned into ashes, everything is finished. According to Vedic funeral ritualistic ceremony, the body is burned. There are three ends of the body, either to become stool, or to become ashes, or to become earth. Those who are burying the body, just like the Christian, Mohammedans do, the body becomes earth. Everything, from the earth it has come up: "Dust thou were, dust thou beist." This beautiful body, nice body, will become earth. And those who are burning, so their body becomes ashes. And those who throw the body to be eaten by jackals and crows, they become stool.
We are taking so much care of this body, but the ultimate end of this body is either stool, earth or ashes. So foolish persons who are in the bodily concept of life, they are thinking: "After all, this body will be finished. So so long the body is there, senses are there, let us enjoy. Why so much restrictions, no illicit sex, no gambling? No. These are all nonsense. Let us enjoy life." This is atheistic life. Foolish life. They do not know, so the body is not all.
This is the first lesson to understand, what is spiritual life, what is spiritual knowledge. But all rascals, they do not know. Therefore Kṛṣṇa first of all slapped Arjuna: aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase (BG 2.11). "You do not know what is the fact, and talking like a very learned man. Just try to understand what is truth." Na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsam. First thing is that nāsam, we have no nāsam. We never die, that will be explained later on more clearly, we do not die. Nāsam. At any time. It is not that sometimes we die and sometimes... No. Any time, jātu. At any time. So: "Sir, You are Supreme Personality of Godhead, You may not die.
One who is unaware of the fact that "I am going to take another life," he is thinking, "This is a combination of this matter—earth, water, air, fire. So when it will be broken, then everything will be finished. So so long I have got this opportunity, let me enjoy to the fullest extent." This is called material mentality, atheist, atheist, who does not know that we are eternal soul, we are changing body only. The atheists think that after finishing...
Here in the Western country, big, big professor, they are also under the same impression, that when the body is finished, everything is finished. No. That is not. Therefore that is the beginning of instruction. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). You are changing different bodies. By finishing the body, you are not finished. You are not finished. We can understand with little thinking that in this body I am..., even in this life. At night I get another body. I dream. I dream there is tiger. I go to the forest, and there is a tiger, and it is coming to kill me. Then I am crying, and actually I am crying.
Suppose in this life you are very big leader, prime minister, and everything. That's all right, but according to your mentality, you are creating next life. So in this life you remain a prime minister, and in next life you become a dog. Then where is the benefit? There is not... Therefore these atheist fools, they want to deny next life. That is very horrible for them. That is very horrible to them. If they accept next life... They know their life is very sinful. Then what life they are going to get by the laws of nature? When they think of it, they shudder. "Better deny it. Better deny it." Just like a rabbit. Enemy is in his front, and he is going to die, but the thinks, "Let me close my eyes. I am out of danger." This is atheistic view, that they are trying to forget that there is... Therefore they deny, "There is no life." Why not? Kṛṣṇa says that "You had a childhood body. You had a baby... Now you have... Where is that body? You have left that. You are in different body. Similarly, this body you'll change. You will get another body." And who says? Kṛṣṇa says. The most superior authority, he says.
Sūkṣma, very fine. Jīvaḥ sūkṣma-svarūpo 'yaṁ saṅkhyātītaḥ kalpate. This jīva, not one, two, three, four—you cannot calculate. Asaṅkhya. So these are evidences in the Vedic literature. So we have to accept it. Kṛṣṇa confirms it and actually also you cannot measure. But we get evidence, the presence of the soul, presence of the soul. Still, how we can say there is no soul? No. This is foolishness. The whole world is going on under this foolishness. Not only now, before also. Like Cārvāka Muni, he was atheist, he did not believe. Lord Buddha also said like that, but He cheated. He knew everything because He is incarnation of God. But He had to cheat the people in that way because they are not intelligent enough. Why not intelligent? Because they were killers of animals, they lost their intelligence. Keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. Those who are animal killers, their brain is dull as stone. They cannot understand any thing. Therefore meat-eating should be stopped. In order to revive the finer tissues of the brain to understand subtle things, one must give up meat-eating. Vinā paśughnāt (SB 10.1.4). It is the statement of the King... What is it?
Their mode of prayer... As Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). This is prayer. We haven't got to ask anything. Kṛṣṇa, God, has made ample arrangement for our maintenance. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam eva avaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). But it is restricted by nature when we are sinful. We become atheists. We become demons. Then the supply is restricted. Then we cry for: "Oh, there is no rain. There is no this, no..." That is nature's restriction. But from God's arrangement, there is sufficient food for everyone. Eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. He supplying everyone.
So so long we'll have a pinch of material desire to execute our plan, then we have to accept a material body, and that is called janma. Otherwise, the living entity has no birth and death. Now, this janma, and mṛtyu... The living entities, they are compared with the sparks, and the Supreme Lord as the big fire. So the big fire, that is the comparison. And the small sparks, both of them are fire. But sometimes the sparks fall down from the big fire. That is our falldown.
So brain may be a, a combination of nice matter, but it cannot work without the spirit soul. We should clearly understand this. And if we accept this body as the everything... Just like the other day, I told you, I met one big professor, Russian professor, in Moscow. He said, "Swamiji, after this body is finished, everything's finished." This is the atheistic theory. This is not new. In India there are many atheists, followers of Cārvāka. According to Cārvāka Muni, his theory is: bhasmi bhūtasya dehasya punaḥ kutaḥ punar āgamano bhavet ṛṇaṁ kṛtvā ghṛtaṁ pibet yāvad jīvet sukhaṁ jīvet. Ṛṇaṁ kṛtvā pibet. "Just live joyfully, merrily..." "No, I have no money." "All right. Take, beg, borrow and steal. Some way or other, get money." That is going on. "Get money some way or other and live." That is Cārvāka theory. Hedonism. "Get money..." So this is going, this civilization is going on. "Somehow or other, get money." Because without money, you cannot get woman, you cannot get nice palatable food, nice dress, nice apartment, nice car. "So bring money, somehow or other." Everyone is coming forward as very philanthropist leader.
And he has to go through the cycle of this birth and death. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Take birth once, and becomes, defy God: "I don't care for God." And when Yamarāja comes, "All right. Whatever you like, you do." Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham (BG 10.34). These atheist class of men, who defy the authority of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they'll meet Kṛṣṇa. When? At the time of death, when Kṛṣṇa will take him, take everything, his body, his society, his country, his family, his bank balance, his house. Everything will be taken away. Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham. Mṛtyuḥ. Kṛṣṇa is appearing to the atheist class of men as sarva-haraḥ. Sarva-haraḥ means "Taking everything." I am very much proud. "Oh, I have got so much bank balance. I am the leader of this country. I am the father of so many children. I have got so beautiful wife and so..." So many things I am thinking, puffed-up. "I don't care for God. I am God." All right. At the time of death, are you God? Are you God at the time of death? God means controller.
That's all. Because we have got teeny experience that "How in the fire a living entity can live?" To answer this problem, Kṛṣṇa says that nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ. (aside:) Why you are sitting there? You come here. Nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ. The spirit soul cannot be burned. If it would have been burned, then according to our Hindu system, we burn the body, then the soul is burned. Actually, the atheists think like that, that when the body's burned, everything is finished. Big, big professor, they think like that. But here, Kṛṣṇa says, nainaṁ dahati pāvakaḥ: "It is not burned." Otherwise, how it exists? Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Everything is very clearly stated. The soul does not burn; neither it can be cut into pieces. Then: na cainaṁ kledayanty āpaḥ. Neither it is moistened. It cannot be wet in touch with water. Now in the material world we find that anything, however hard it is... Just like stone or iron, it can be cut into pieces. There is separated machine or instrument. It can be cut... Anything can be cut into pieces. And anything can be melted also.
So this civilization, modern civilization, having no information of the soul, it is simply a pack of animals only, that's all. Therefore they do not care what is the resultant action of their activities, they do not care for pious, piety and vicious activities. They take everything... That is asuric civilization. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca na vidur āsura-janāḥ (BG 16.7). Āsura-jana means these rascals or asuras, atheists, fools, rascals, they do not know pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Pravṛtti means in which subject matter we should take interest, that is called pravṛtti. And nivṛtti means in which subject matter we shall not take interest, or we shall try to give it up. The āsura-jana, they do not know. Just like we have got pravṛtti inclination, loke vyavāya āmiṣa mada-sevā nityasya jantuḥ. Every living entity has got materially... There are two natures, spiritual and material. Materially, the inclination of sex enjoyment and eating meat—āmiṣa, āmiṣa means eating meat, flesh and fish, like that. That is called āmiṣa. Nonvegetarian means nirāmiṣa. So āmiṣa and mada and vyavāya. Vyavāya means sex. Loke vyavāya āmiṣa mada-sevā. Sex indulgence and eating meat, flesh, eggs, and drinking wine. Mada. Mada means liquor. Nityasya jantuḥ. Jantu. When one is in the material world he is called jantu. Jantu means animal.
And according to his theory, there was no existence of human being ten thousand years ago. But we followers of Vedic (child making noises)... You have to stop. ...version, we don't believe to all this nonsense; neither there is any basic principle. Now take for example the atheistic theory, call it by any name, that combination of matter makes a living symptom possible.
So scientific, I mean to say, proposition is based on observation and experiment. So this is simply observation, that those who are atheistic person... Just like medical science. There are many doctors. They are observing when a man dies, observing, feeling the pulse, taking pulse beating, offering oxygen gas, trying to save him. All of a sudden the man dies, and he is sure to die, but they cannot simply observe the symptoms. They cannot observe what is that thing which is gone now. They cannot say that. Neither it is possible for them to say. But their theory that combination of matter makes symptoms of life possible, they should prove it by experiment.
So this theory was current in those days also; otherwise why Kṛṣṇa is making reference to this theory? So all kinds of theories are existent since the beginning of this creation. But sometimes some theory is very prominent, sometimes some theory is not prominent. That's all. So this atheistic theory, that combination of matter... Just like you combine some chemicals and you get some product, similarly the modern scientist says that carbon dioxide, soda bicarb—they name so many chemicals—is the combination of this body. That is chemical analysis of this body. But can you produce? You have got all the chemicals. Can you produce even the body of an ant by combination of carbon dioxide, soda bicarb and so many chemicals? Just produce, not human being, just produce even a small ant which is moving. Combine. That you cannot. So such theories, at least we cannot accept. But Kṛṣṇa is giving argument to Arjuna, "If you think that this is an accidental combination of several chemicals, then where there is cause of lamentation?"
This is karma-vāda. In the previous verse, Kṛṣṇa tried to explain bauddha-vāda, nāstika-vāda, atheism. Atheist means one who does not believe in the soul and God. These are correlative terms. If you understand what is soul, then you can understand what is God. If you understand what is God, then you can understand what is soul. But those who are agnostic, atheist, they neither believe in God nor in the soul. So combination of matter... Here Kṛṣṇa says in a different way, that combination of matter is taking place and again it is being dismantled. That is going on. Either there is soul or not soul, just like Darwin's theory, evolution of material body. So that is going on. One body is created and the same body again annihilated, another body created, another body, the same body annihilated, and it is going on. So where is the cause of lamenting? You cannot stop. You cannot stop this process. Jātasya hi dhruvo mṛtyur dhruvaṁ janma mṛtasya ca tasmād aparihārye 'rthe. Duty. The same thing is going on. Duty is very important thing. Kṛṣṇa is stressing on it. One cannot stop his duty. Then he becomes sinful.
Pradyumna: (purport) "Yet even if, for argument's sake, we accept the atheistic theory, there is still no cause for lamentation. Apart from the separate existence of the soul, the material elements remain unmanifested before creation. From this subtle state of unmanifestation comes manifestation. Just as from ether, air is generated; from air, fire is generated; from fire, water is generated; and from water, earth becomes manifested. From the earth, many varieties of manifestations..."
Prabhupāda: This is the process of creation. From ether, then sky, then air, then fire, then water, then earth. This is the process of creation. Yes.
Pradyumna: "Take for example a big skyscraper manifested from the earth. When it is dismantled, the manifestation becomes again unmanifested and remains as atoms in the ultimate stage. The law of conservation of energy remains, but in course of time things are manifested and unmanifested. That is the difference. Then what cause is there for lamentation either in the stage of manifestation or unmanifestation? Somehow or other, even in the unmanifested stage, things are not lost.
Kṛṣṇa directly, yes. Through the process. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. So the śāstra advises, instructs us, that those who are intelligent, intelligent. The word is used there, sumedhasa. Sumedhasa means those who have got nice brain substance. So Kṛṣṇa, you can approach Kṛṣṇa. There are so many ways you can approach Kṛṣṇa. And in other words it is said, mama vartmānuvartante pārtha manuṣyāḥ sarvaśaḥ. Kṛṣṇa, our relationship is with Kṛṣṇa, and that relationship cannot be cut off. That is there. Even those who are disobedient to Kṛṣṇa, those who are atheists, godless or Kṛṣṇa-less, they are also obeying Kṛṣṇa's order. They are also.
Just like an outlaw who does not care to abide by the laws, he is also abiding the laws of the state in a different way. He is being forced. So those who are not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he's being forced by māyā to act. So that is there already, direct connection is there in this way or that way.
So Lord comes down. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnām (BG 4.8). His special purpose of coming down as incarnation is to save the sādhus because sādhus are always persecuted by the demons, the demonic class, the atheist class. They are always prepared to persecute the sādhus. The Lord comes—paritrāṇāya sādhūnām—just to protect the sādhus or the saintly persons, and vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām, and to vanquish the miscreants. That is the mission. When Lord Kṛṣṇa comes or any incarnation of Lord comes actually, not so-called advertised incarnation... I mean to say that you will find. All the incarnation in the Vedic literature, they are named there, not that anyone can manufacture himself as incarnation. Every incarnation is mentioned in the Vedic scripture, when and how, what kind of work he will do, and what place, which place, and everything in detail is there so that there is chart of the incarnation. Nobody can become an incarnation beyond that chart. There is chart. Just like there will be an incarnation of Kalki, I have several times spoken before you, which will take place about four millions of years later on.
Still, His name is mentioned in the Bhāgavata, and the place is also mentioned. His father's name is also mentioned. This is called incarnation.
So Lord comes as incarnation for these two purposes: to protect the saintly persons and to annihilate the atheistic demons, and to establish the real purpose of religion. Now, the point was that is the real purpose of religion? That real purpose of religion, now, Kṛṣṇa said that "I descend for establishing the purpose of religion." Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya (BG 4.7). Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). Duṣkṛtām.
These two things, and the third thing is dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya, and for the purpose of establishing the principle of religion. Now, in the last word He says that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), that "You give up all kinds of religion that you have manufactured. You simply surrender unto Me." So religious principle means to surrender unto God and nothing more.
Prabhupāda: Yes. In your Bible also it is said that "Man is made after God," not that God is made after man. The atheist class, they say that "You have created a God according to your own feature," but no scripture says like that. God has eternal two hands, two legs. So man... God is so kind that man is also made according to His form. That is a special facility given to man, not that somebody imagines God, "Because man has two hands, therefore God has two hands." No. That is not a fact. Here it is explained nicely. Go on.
Madhudviṣa: "He appears exactly in His eternal body, uncontaminated by this material world. Although He appears in the same transcendental body, it still appears that He has taken His birth like an ordinary living entity, although in fact He is the lord of the universe. Despite the fact that Lord Kṛṣṇa has grown up from childhood to boyhood and from boyhood to youth, astonishingly enough, He never ages beyond youth-hood.
How it is still going on? There are many literatures written by great, great poets within two thousand, two hundred years, three hundred years, or, say, thousands of years. But they are being forgotten. But therefore the character of the Vedic knowledge, they are not material things. They're all spiritual. Why we are giving so much importance to the words of Kṛṣṇa? Because this language is absolute. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's words, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's language, or Kṛṣṇa's words, they are the same. Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's forms... We are worshiping Kṛṣṇa's form. That is also Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, are we wasting our time by decorating a doll, a statue, and we are struggling so hard to establish a temple of Kṛṣṇa? No.
This science is unknown to the atheist class of men. The atheist class of men, they do not know the absolute nature of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, His name, His form, His quality, His pastimes, His instruction—anything of Kṛṣṇa—that is Kṛṣṇa. That is not different from Kṛṣṇa. Abhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ (CC Madhya 17.133). The shastric injunction is:
Because at least some people remember that there is God. But generally, in this age, they are forgetful. That is dharmasya glāniḥ. And by forgetting God the people cannot be happy. That is also another cause. People are thinking that "God is dead. We have no obligation to God. There is no God." This sort of thinking will never make the people happy. And actually, it is happening. They have become atheistic. The modern civilization is Godless, but people are not happy. Therefore God or His representative comes when people forget his relationship with God.
So real religion is to understand what is our relationship with God. And then the relationship is, as it is found in the Bhagavad-gītā and confirmed by great ācāryas like Lord Caitanya.
Lord Caitanya immediately enunciates the constitutional position of the living entity. Sanātana Gosvāmī inquired from Him that, "Who am I? Why I am always in miserable condition, three kinds of miserable condition?" So in answer to this question, "Who am I?" or "Who are all these living entities?" Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately answered that jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). The real identity of the living entity is that he is eternally servant of God.
People are now being educated in this way that there is no more life. You have got this life and you enjoy the senses as far as possible.
That is nastik theory. This nastik or atheism... There were many saints in India also. One of them is Carvaka. He's very famous atheist. His philosophy is hedonism. Ṛṇaṁ kṛtvā ghṛtaṁ pibet yāvaj jīvet sukhaṁ jīvet. His theory is, because in India the luxury is to eat something which is cooked in ghee: luci, purī, halavā. So Carvaka Muni says that you take loan from your friends if you have no money and eat as much as possible ghee. Ṛṇaṁ kṛtvā ghṛtaṁ pibet yāvaj jīvet sukhaṁ jīvet. And so long you live, you live by gratifying your senses. Here sukham means sense gratification.
But according to Vedic civilization, sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad atīndriyam grāhyam (BG 6.21). What is the actual happiness? That is beyond your senses. Not sense gratification. But because we are materially absorbed, we think indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur (BG 3.42). Indriya. the senses, always all.
So vīta-rāga. So one has to give up this attachment and detachment also. Vīta-rāga-bhaya and krodha.
Krodha means there are other persons who are neither impersonalists nor personalists. They are what are called more or less atheists. Atheist means they don't believe in any transcendental nature. Even they do not believe in the existence of the soul. They simply concern themselves with this material body. Just like Buddha philosophy. Buddha philosophy does not accept the existence of the soul. Buddha philosophy says that this material body is a combination of matter. Now, as soon as the matter is dissolved, then the feelings of happiness and distress is gone. But according to Bhagavad-gītā, the existence of soul is accepted in the Vedic literature.
Just like after Lord Buddha, Śaṅkarācārya, Śaṅkarācārya came. He gave hint about the spiritual nature of the soul, and he said, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: "This matter is false and temporary, but spirit is eternal." And other ācāryas, just like Rāmānujācārya and Madhvācārya, they came after Śaṅkarācārya, and they established that in the spiritual world there is also life like this, but that is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge.
Now, although we are two classes, impersonalist and personalist, we take Veda as the medium of knowledge. We may give different interpretations. That is another thing. But either party of Śaṅkarācārya or the party of Vaiṣṇava and ācāryas, they take the Vedānta-sūtra, the Vedānta philosophy, as the medium.
But Lord Buddha, although we accept him as the incarnation of God and he was born in India and he propagated his philosophy from India, but because he denied to accept the Vedic principle, therefore he is known as atheist, because he, Buddha, did not accept the Vedic principles. He denied. And there was reason why he did not. That is a secret thing. That secret—because his whole philosophy was to stop animal killing, animal killing. Now, in the Vedic scripture, you will find, animal sacrifice is recommended. So he wanted to preach, "Stop animal killing." Now, if there is evidence from the Vedas that animal can be killed under certain circumstances, then his whole preaching becomes topsy-turvied.
That is another thing. But either party of Śaṅkarācārya or the party of Vaiṣṇava and ācāryas, they take the Vedānta-sūtra, the Vedānta philosophy, as the medium.
But Lord Buddha, although we accept him as the incarnation of God and he was born in India and he propagated his philosophy from India, but because he denied to accept the Vedic principle, therefore he is known as atheist, because he, Buddha, did not accept the Vedic principles. He denied. And there was reason why he did not. That is a secret thing. That secret—because his whole philosophy was to stop animal killing, animal killing. Now, in the Vedic scripture, you will find, animal sacrifice is recommended. So he wanted to preach, "Stop animal killing." Now, if there is evidence from the Vedas that animal can be killed under certain circumstances, then his whole preaching becomes topsy-turvied. So he was obliged to deny the authority of the Vedas. And because he did not accept the authority of the Vedas, the Vedantists and the followers of Vedas, they called the Buddhist philosophy as atheism. This is the explanation.
So one is accepted as atheist who does not believe in the tenets of the Vedas. That is the sum and substance of atheism. It may be a sound philosophy or whatever it may be, but atheism, one who does not believe in the authority of the Vedas, they are called atheist.
Otherwise, you'll be attacked by, attracted by this material world. So therefore, artificial śūnyavāda philosophy, it may be, for the time being, necessity, śūnyavāda...
Just like Lord Buddha preached his philosophy, śūnyavāda philosophy, nirvāṇa philosophy, because it was needed at that time. It is not permanent philosophy. Any philosophy except Kṛṣṇa philosophy... Nothing is permanent. They are temporary. They have got temporary use. The real use is Kṛṣṇa philosophy. Real use, Kṛṣṇa philosophy. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam... (BG 18.66).
So when there was... People may question that "Lord Buddha is accepted as an incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa." Keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. "Then why he preached atheistic philosophy?" He preached, "There is no God." Śūnyavāda. But there was necessity at that time. Why?
Anyway, Vedic injunction is there. So when Lord Buddha started this nonviolence, ahiṁsā paramo dharmaḥ, the Vedic scholars approached him that "How you can prescribe this ahiṁsā? There is already sanction in the Vedas, paśavo vadhāya sṛṣṭāḥ... How you can stop it?" So Lord Buddha said, "I don't care for your Vedas." Therefore he is considered as atheist. Anyone who doesn't care for Vedas, they are technically called as atheist. Veda nā māniyā bauddha haila nāstika. Nāstika means atheist.
Anyway... Then Śaṅkarācārya came. Śaṅkarācārya wanted... Because by the propagation of Lord Buddha, whole India became Buddhist. And Śaṅkarācārya wanted to establish Vedas again. So they were temporary necessities, for certain reason. Because people were addicted so much in violence, in killing the animals, therefore Buddha philosophy was needed. Again, this Buddha philosophy was driven out. The Śaṅkara, impersonal philosophy was established. But again, the ācāryas, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya and other Vaiṣṇava ācāryas.. . At last, Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They established that brahma satyam means brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). Both, three, Absolute Truth.
Everyone is working very hard. Any business he is doing, he is praying, "O My Lord, give me the opportunity that I may get success in my business." So Kṛṣṇa is giving. That is also very nice.
If a person, desiring some material profit, remembering Kṛṣṇa, that is also welcome. Welcome because he is not atheist. Atheist class men, even for material success, they do not pray to God. But theist class, one who has got background pious activities, he is called theist. An impious, sinful activities, or sinful man, cannot remember even God. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Yeṣām anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām. So to remember even God, even go to God in temple or mosque or church and pray to God, "Give me this benefit,"... Just like Christian way of worshiping is "O God, give us our daily bread." Hindus also go to temple and pray to God that "Give me some profit. I am very poor man." So Kṛṣṇa says that is also welcome. Catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtino 'rjuna, ārto jijñā..., ārto.
There are so many, recommended. So that is condemned in the Bhagavad-gītā that tad bhavaty alpa, antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām (BG 7.23).
But people are... They do not care. Of course, those who are worshiping demigods, apart from them, there are many atheists. They don't care for anything. They want simply sense enjoyment. But it is said that you can get some immediate profit by worshiping different demigods. That is all right. But that is not your permanent benefit. Because karmaṇā, you are creating... Karmaṇāṁ siddhim. You are getting some profit by your karma, fruitive karma, but you are creating another life, another life. To enjoy the fruitive result of this karma you'll have to wait for next life. So next life means another material body. So another material body means another term of suffering, another chapter of suffering. That they do not understand.
Because we cannot do anything. We cannot even... The so-called science, they cannot solve this problem. Although sometimes they falsely become proud that (indistinct) By science we shall be come immortal and so on. (indistinct) These things were tried before also by atheistic class of men like Rāvaṇa, Hiraṇyakaśipu. But it is not possible to become successful, to stop birth, death, old age and disease. That is not possible. If there is any possible process, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
If you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then you can get a body. Not get... You have already got the body, spiritual body. And upon that spiritual body, this material body has developed. Just like dress. Your coat is cut according to your body. Similarly, this materially body is cut according our spiritual body. So we have got our spiritual body. This material body is covering. Vāsāṁsi jirṇāni.
Just like dress. Your shirt and coat is the covering of your real body. Similarly, this body, gross body and subtle body, made of material elements... The gross body is made of earth, water, air, fire. And the subtle body's made of mind, intelligence and ego. This is the shirt and coat.
And āstikyam means full faith in the Vedic literature. That is called āstikya. Āstikya generally is called theism. So if one has full faith and full knowledge in Vedas, he becomes theist. If he has no sufficient knowledge in the Vedas, he becomes atheist. So just like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, veda nā māniyā bauddha haila nāstika. The Buddhists, they did not accept the authority of the Vedas. Therefore they are called nāstika, or atheist. That is the definition, that if you do not accept the authority of the Vedas, then you become atheist. So this is the brahminical.... One of the brahminical qualification is how to live under the Vedic civilization. That is brāhmaṇa.
Similarly, kṣatriya. Tejaḥ, śauryam, very powerful, and kṣatriya will never go away from the battlefield. Kṣatriya's business is, in the battlefield, either to become victorious or lay down life. That is kṣatriya. He is not coming back from the battlefield without being victorious, no. That is kṣatriya's business.
I have talked with many big, big professors. They are under the impression, atheism, voidism, that after death there is nothing; everything is void, finished. Atheism. Bhasmi-bhūtasya dehasya punar āgamanaṁ kutaḥ: "The body is burned into ashes. Who is coming again?" This is atheism. Because the atheists, they cannot see that how the soul is transmigrated by the subtle body from one body to another. They have no... gross, gross materialists. So we should not follow the gross materialists, but we should follow the perfect leader, Kṛṣṇa, who says, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). This we must follow. That is human civilization.
Therefore he prescribes that brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Either you become brāhmaṇa or follow the instruction of the brāhmaṇas, then your life is perfect. Both things are there. If you like to be brāhmaṇa, that you can become also. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya (BG 9.32). This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
There are so many planets. Or in the animal kingdom. So we are creating our next body, karmaṇā, by our work. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, karmaṇo hy api boddhavyam.
You must know, because you have to accept next body. You can talk foolishly, "No, there is no body." Bhasmī-bhūtasya... That is the atheistic theory, that after the body is burned into ashes, everything is finished. Big, big professors, big, big learned scholars, so-called scholars, they say like that, "Oh, there is no life. Everything is finished after this body is finished." But that is not a fact. If we have to accept the authority of Bhagavad-gītā... We have to accept it. If we don't accept, that is our foolishness.
Bhagavān says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara (BG 2.13). Dehāntara-prāptiḥ is there. As we are getting dehāntara. We have got experience every day. Just like in daytime we have got this body. At night, when we dream, we have got a different body.
That is the propaganda of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Don't become cats and dogs and advertise yourself as paṇḍita. These are the definition of paṇḍita. Either take you from Cāṇakya Paṇḍita's materialistic point of view, moral lessons, or spiritual lessons from Bhagavad-gītā, the definition of paṇḍita is different from the so-called paṇḍitas, having... That is... They are called māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. Although they have got degrees of the universities, but actually, knowledge is taken away by māyā.
- na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
- prapadyante narādhamāḥ
- māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
- āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
- (BG 7.15)
If one becomes atheist, then his knowledge has no value. Because real knowledge is... As Kṛṣṇa says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). This is real knowledge.
So somehow or other, try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Then you actually become paṇḍita, learned, and your life is successful.
And those foodstuff is distributed amongst the poor class men.
Now, at the present moment, after the, we have got sva-rāja, or independence, the government has interfered with this sort of service. They say that "This is waste of money. Why you are offering?" They are becoming atheist. But this is not waste of money. At the cost of the rich men, the prasādam was being distributed to the poor class of men at a nominal cost. You see? Now, poor men, they go to hotel. But if they take prasādam in a temple, oh, the far better quality foodstuff is supplied to him only at nominal cost. In a hotel, what will be charged, one dollar, he can have it in the temple for ten cents. So this is still more sane.
In our childhood, when I was a boy of eight or ten years, sometimes I used to accompany my father. My father was a great devotee. He would take prasādam from the temple. So I have got experience that we paid for two dishes, four annas. Four annas means, according to modern exchange, it is five cents only, five cents according to your exchange value. For five cents we were, very nice prasādam we can get.
(cited verse)
- tyaktvā karma-phalāsaṅgaṁ
- nitya-tṛpto nirāśrayaḥ
- karmaṇy abhipravṛtto 'pi
- naiva kiñcit karoti saḥ
First of all I shall translate this into Hindu. Then I shall speak in English. (Hindi) So tyaktvā karma-phalāsaṅgam. This is very difficult task. Everyone is expected some result for his personal benefit. "How much I have gained by this business?" That is our disease. Everyone. Idam adya mayā labdham imaṁ prāpsye punar dhanam. All the people of the world, they are struggling hard for existence, simply calculating that "This much I have achieved today, and this much I'll achieve tomorrow. In this way my bank balance will be increased more and more." That is very much explained in the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, āsuri pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā vidur āsura-janāḥ (BG 16.7). Āsura-janāḥ. (aside:) Just find out the page, Sixteenth Chapter. Āsura-janāḥ. (Hindi) Oh, I will continue in English. Asuric means non-devotees. Atheist. Asuric. What is the page?
So in the Sixteenth Chapter it has been explained that what is the difference between atheist and theist, or persons with God consciousness and persons without God consciousness. So it is said,
- dvau bhūta-sargau loke 'smin
- daiva āsura eva ca
- daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta
- āsuraṁ pārtha me śṛṇu
- (BG 16.6)
Kṛṣṇa is explaining that there are two classes of men, loke, in every place or every planet. Some planets are full of asuras. They are called asura-loka. And another place it is said that "Who are the asuras and who are the devas?" Viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved daiva āsuras tad-viparyayaḥ. Even a...
There are many demigods. The demigods worshiper are also demons. Only viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved daivaḥ. Viṣṇu-bhakta, those who are devotee of the Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead, daiva. Viṣṇu... Oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ. This is Ṛg Veda mantra. Sūrayaḥ and asūrayaḥ. Those who are sūraya, deva, demigods, they are simply worshiping, tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And āsuras tad-viparyayaḥ. And asura means just opposite number. Opposite number means those who are not interested in Viṣṇu worship. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). They do not know that ultimate goal of life—to approach Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
So asuras, they are engaged for fruitive result.
And we have got different types of demands. So... But that is recommended in the śāstra, in the Vedas, because gradually, one has to be taken to the transcendental position. To worship a type of demigod for certain type of benefit, at least it indicates that you can get the benefit from higher authorities. Indirectly the higher authority is accepted. Or otherwise we become atheist. To save the general people from atheism, there is recommendation for worship of different types of demigods.
Generally, they are recommended—five: the sun-god, the Gaṇeśa, the Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva and Durgā, and... The sun-god I have already said. Five, pañcopāsanam. Five: the sun-god, the Gaṇeśa, and the Durgā-devī, then Lord Śiva, and then Viṣṇu. This is also gradual evolutionary. People in the most lowest stage of humanity, they are struck with wonder by the power. As soon as there is some electricity, they feel some power. So when there are power worshipers... The modern scientists, they are power worshiper. They have gone up to the sun-god. Not god, the sun globe. The power is received from the sunshine. So this is one stage, power.
One minus equal to one, not zero. The material way of thinking is "One minus one equal to zero," but spiritual way is not like that. Spiritual way is "One minus one equal to one. One plus one equal to one." Oneness. This is the conception.
So Kṛṣṇa is everything. The atheist will say, "Oh, they have installed some wooden forms and they are worshiping as gods." Atheistic. And one who knows the Kṛṣṇa science, he'll understand that "Kṛṣṇa is everything; therefore He can appear in everything." If electricity current is everywhere, so wherever you touch current you'll feel, "Here is current." Similarly, the Kṛṣṇa current in impersonal form is everywhere. It is the technician who knows how to use that current. That's all. So... Just like we get telephone connection. We simply inform the person, deposit our money. They come immediately. They find out where the connection can be done and he does his work. We do not know. He knows the technique, how to join telephone wire. Within a few seconds he joins and he, oh, "kling, kling," you are ready.
Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja. Prahlāda Mahārāja had to undergo so much tribulation from the hands of his father because he became a sādhu, kṛṣṇa-bhakta. The only fault was that he was a kṛṣṇa-bhakta. Even the father, the atheistic father, became enemy. He wanted to kill him. You know Prahlāda-caritra. If there is opportunity, we shall speak. It is horrible. Five-years-old boy, because he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa, the father became enemy. Titikṣava. Therefore a sādhu has to become very tolerant.
Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Haridāsa Ṭhākura became a sādhu, a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. He came from Muhammadan community. In those days, the Muhammadan Kazi, magistrate, called him, that "You are Muhammadan and why you are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, the Hindu's God's name?" So he very mildly replied: "My dear sir, there are many Hindus, they have also become Muhammadans. So suppose I have become a Hindu. So what is the fault?" Oh, he become very angry, and he was ordered to be caned in seven markets. You see. So there are so many dangers. Although the time has..., is not so much polluted. People are liberated, liberal. Just like I am preaching in the Western countries.
What we are spreading as Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is only Bhagavad-gītā. It is not that we have manufactured anything. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness is existing since the creation, but at least for the last five thousand years, when Kṛṣṇa was present on this planet, He personally instructed Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and the instruction is left behind Him, this is Bhagavad-gītā. Unfortunately, this Bhagavad-gītā has been misused in so many ways by the so-called scholars and swamis. The impersonalist class, or atheist class of men, they have interpreted Bhagavad-gītā in their own way. When I was in America in 1966, one American lady asked me to recommend an English edition of Bhagavad-gītā so that she could read it. But honestly I could not recommend any one of them, on account of their whimsical explanation. That gave me impetus to write Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. And this present edition, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, is now published by Macmillan Company, the biggest publisher in the world. And we are doing very nice. We published this Bhagavad-gītā As It Is in 1968, in small edition. It was selling like anything.
That does not mean there is no sun. The sunshine is always existing. It is shadowed by this earthly planet. Similarly when... Our relationship with God or Kṛṣṇa is always existing, but when there is some intervention, māyā, then we think, "There is no God" or "I am God," like that.
So this misconception of life, that "I am God," "There is no God..." Atheists and voidists, they say like that. The voidists, they say śūnyavādi. They say, "There is no God." And the impersonalists, they say that there is God, but there is no head, there is no leg, there is no hand, there is no mouth, there is no, no, no... Ultimately, what is their God? If God has no head, no leg, no body, no mouth, then what is that God? That is also another way of explaining God as zero. The voidists, they directly say, "There is no God. We don't believe in God." That is understandable. But this impersonal explanation of God, that is not understandable. What is this? "God has no leg, neither God has no head, God has no hand, God has no mouth." Then what is that God? They cannot say.
They fight simply. During the martial (?) ceremony in Calcutta... So what is benefit? You should judge by the result, not by sophisticated ideas. There is no necessity. Therefore our ācārya Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says that you haven't got to take shelter of any other demigods. Why? If Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, if He is all powerful, then even if you want something from Kṛṣṇa, do you think that Kṛṣṇa is unable to deliver to you? Why should you go to demigods? That is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām (BG 7.23). The benefit derived from the demigods, that is temporary. But rascals who have got less substance of brain, they are after that. It is clearly said. Antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām. Alpa-medhasām means one who has got brain substance very little, they are attracted by all these things. They are meant for third-class, fourth-class men. Because they will not worship God, "All right you worship these demigods. At least, you try to worship something instead of becoming atheist." That is the process.
Then next item is cheating. Cheating means with imperfect knowledge one takes the place of a teacher. And the last deficiency is that our senses are imperfect. It is not independent. Still, we are very much proud of our senses. For example, atheist class of men, they say that "Can you show me God?" He does not think whether he has got any power to see. So far our eyes are concerned, we can see so long when the conditions are fulfilled. Just like we are speaking. As soon as the light will be off, we cannot see one another. So what is the value of these eyes? You simply see under certain conditions. You simply smell under certain conditions. You can hear under certain condition. So therefore your materialistic life is conditional life.
So with imperfect senses, we cannot understand what is God. The only sense is very, I mean to, usable, just is this ear. Just like man is sleeping, and some enemy has come to attack him or to kill him. So still he's nicely sleeping. But if some friend cries, "Mr. such and such, wake up, wake up! Here is enemy. He'll kill you, kill you!" He can rise up. So when all other senses are useless, the ear can work. Therefore, to understand God, we have to use this ear.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says māyayāpahṛta-jñānā. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ. Kṛṣṇa is speaking so many ways about Himself. Without understanding Kṛṣṇa in His own way, we are trying to understand Kṛṣṇa in different way. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says māyayāpahṛta-jñānā, āsuri bhāvam. The atheistic class of men, they interpret in a different way, because theirknowledge has been taken by māyā. And why it is so? Because they are sinful. duṣkṛtinaḥ, mūḍhāḥ, narādhamāḥ. These things are there. You will find in Bhagavad-gītā. It is not our manufactured word. Therefore, our proposal is, try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is! Do not misinterpret, do not be misled by the misinterpreters. Then your life will be successful. You will understand what is Kṛṣṇa, and you will become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya.
So, the, in the Western world, they are taking more and more seriously about this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
This Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Soul.
So from the Supreme Soul all these material elements have come. Just like your body. Wherefrom it has come? It has come from the soul. In the śāstra it is said, karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha-upapatti (SB 3.31.1). Jantu. Jantu means living entity, jan word(?), jantu. So jantur deha-upapatti. There... The atheist theory that combination of matter makes a situation when living symptoms come out, combination of matter, that is the present chemical theory, chemical evolution. There are so many theories based on Darwin's theory, chemical evolution. Recently, when I was in Los Angeles, one German scientist came there. He has written one book, Chemical Evolution, and he has got Nobel Prize. Now he's touring for lecturing on his theory. So in the California university there is our student, Dr. Svarūpa Dāmodara. He's my disciple. He's doctor in chemistry. So, when this German chemist was lecturing, theorizing that life has come from chemicals, so he put the question that "Suppose if I give you these chemicals, whether you can prepare a life?" He answered in the meeting, "That I cannot say." That means he's not certain; still, he's theorizing, that from chemical, life has come. No, from chemical, life has not come; from life, chemical has come. This is real theory.
This question may be raised also. "They are not fools. They are very highly learned. They have undergone tapasya, sannyāsī. Why do they not take shelter of Kṛṣṇa?" Kṛṣṇa is answering to that question, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15). Yes, they are advanced in knowledge undoubtedly, but because they are āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ... Āsuraṁ bhāvam means atheistic principle: "There is no God. I am God." This is called atheistic or āsura. Just like Rāvaṇa. He was very much materially advanced. He was very good scholar in Vedic literature. He was son of a brāhmaṇa also, very powerful. But he did not believe in Rāma, God. That was his only fault. Therefore he is described as asura, rākṣasa. Similarly, Kaṁsa, Hiraṇyakaśipu. So anyone, however materially he may be advanced in education or knowledge, may be Ph.D. or D.H.C. or something like that, if he does not believe in God, he is to be supposed that māyā has taken away his real knowledge. In spite of his education, he is fool number one. Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ.
Why such things take place, that a learned man becomes foolish without understanding Kṛṣṇa? Because āsuraṁ bhāvam, because he has accepted the atheistic principle, "There is no Kṛṣṇa. There is no God." Only for this reason, in spite of educational qualification, he cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. And because he cannot understand Kṛṣṇa, therefore he cannot take to devotional service. These are the descriptions. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). But there are certain jñānīs who are actually sincere to know the Absolute Truth. Such persons, even they may be misled in one life or two lives, three lives, but at the end they come to the conclusion that Kṛṣṇa is everything. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān (BG 7.19). Here it is said that māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ. So long there is influence of māyā, he is lost of real knowledge. But in spite of that, if he makes progress in understanding the Absolute Truth, then, after many births, not in one birth—bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19)—when he comes to the actual point of knowledge, that Kṛṣṇa is everything, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti, prapadyante (BG 7.19), he surrenders. That means to surrender unto Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal of all knowledge, all activities, all tapasya, all yoga. If one does not reach that point, then he is simply wasting his time and energy.
These people do not go to God. These qualified peoples—duṣkṛtina, means impious; mūḍha, fool number one; and narādhama, and lowest of the human kind; and māyayāpahṛta-jñāna, and bewildered of his knowledge; and āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritaḥ, and atheistic mentality. These people. One who has developed...
Now, the simple thing is to surrender unto the father. Anyone can do it. There is no difficulty, there is no insult, and it is all prospective. Everything is good. But still, people do not do it. Why? These are the qualifications. What are the qualifications? That he is impious, he is fool number one, he is lowest of the mankind, his knowledge has been plundered by illusion, and he is atheistic. Anyone who is qualified all by these qualifications, he cannot surrender to his father. He is still to be punished by the agent of father, the material nature. He is still to be slapped and caned very good and kicked. He has to suffer. Just like the father chastises the unruly boy, so the father, Kṛṣṇa or God, has employed this material nature, nurse. She is nursing also. She is giving us very nice foodstuff, at the same time giving good slap. Both things are going on.
And duṣkṛtina, instead of so many things for foodstuff, he is still doing impious acts for his eating, which is not sanctioned. So these things are going on.
So these kinds of people who are fool number one, impious, lowest of the mankind, and whose knowledge has been exploited by this illusory energy and who is atheistic, these people, they do not go to God. Now why mūḍha? Mūḍha means fool number one. Just like I explained that he is being kicked in every step; still, he is thinking that "Oh, I am very intelligent." This is a sign of fool number one. And narādhama, why narādhama, lowest of the mankind? Oh, because this human form of life is meant for recognizing our relationship with Kṛṣṇa, or God. This is an opportunity. In the life of cat or dog, oh, they cannot come here to understand what is spoken in the Bhagavad-gītā. Even they come, they cannot understand. First of all they will not come. But human being, it is made for human being. So if human being does not take advantage of this knowledge, any knowledge that will help him to rewake his forgotten relationship with the supreme father... That is called knowledge. So here is the book, the Supreme Personality of Godhead personally speaking.
What advancement? Killing is there and you are facilitating, you are making more killing at one drop. This is not knowledge. This is called māyayāpahṛta-jñāna, "the knowledge taken by the illusory energy."
Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. And atheistic, atheistic, challenging against the supreme authority, challenging the father. Now, without father, I could not see the light of this world. Then what is the use of challenging my father, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), who is the supreme father, from whom everything has born? So how, what is this challenge? The āsuraṁ bhāvam. There are two classes of men. In the Vedic scripture we find there are two classes of men. Dvau bhūta-sargau loke 'smin daiva āsura eva ca (BG 16.6). Daiva. Viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved daiva āsuras tad-viparyayaḥ. There are two kinds of men. One is called the gods, demigods, and the other is called the demons. And who is demon and who is god? Viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved daivaḥ. One who is devotee of the Supreme Lord, he is called demigod. He also becomes god. And one who defies the authority of the Supreme Lord, he is called demon. So the demon and the gods are always there. Some are... But number of gods are very small, but there are. So here, āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritaḥ, one who has acquired that demoniac quality, challenging the authority of the Supreme Lord, they are asura, asura. Asura means demons.
Then the distressed and the person in want and the inquisitive and jñānī. Jñānī means who has understood his spiritual constitutional position. He is called jñānī, man in knowledge. He also inquires, he also becomes, he also goes to God. Maybe personal, impersonal conception, but he is trying to take shelter of the ultimate truth, Absolute Truth.
So these four classes of men, they are called sukṛtina, they are called pious because they are after God. And those four classes of men, they are impious, they are fools, they are lowest of the mankind, and their knowledge is plundered, and they are demons—they cannot take shelter. So these two classes of distinction are always there. Not only now, from time immemorial, so long the history of this creation is there, material world, there have been so many atheists and so many... But in the ancient days their number were very small. Now they have increased. So these two classes of men are always there. So it is better that we should, even we have been in a different way... This Kṛṣṇa consciousness is open for everyone, and we can take advantage of it, and that is... Will you read that prospectus? Where is that prospectus? Yes. (break) It is not Supreme Truth. It becomes a category.
Last day we have been discussing four classes of men who come to God and four classes of men who do not come to God. The four classes of men who do not come to God, they are impious, foolish, lowest of the mankind, and their knowledge is taken away by the illusory energy and they are atheists.
- na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
- prapadyante narādhamāḥ
- māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
- āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
- (BG 7.15)
We have discussed this point in detail. The next, that four classes of men, ārto arthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha... Ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣa... (BG 7.16). Four classes of men who are pious but at the same time distressed, poverty-stricken, and inquirous, and inquisitive of transcendental knowledge, and jñānī, and philosopher, jijñāsu, inquisitive and philosopher—these four classes of men, they come to God.
Now, so far the four classes of men who do not come to God... That means the impious, the foolish, the lowest of the mankind, whose knowledge has been taken away by the illusory energy, and the atheists. Apart from these classes of men, the four classes of men who come to God, just like ārta, distressed, inquisitive, arthārthī... Arthārthī means poverty-stricken. And jñānī means philosopher.
So I do not require to pray from God to get me out of this distress. He knows everything. Why shall I pray?" He leaves everything to God. He does not pray. He prays..., he prays to glorify the God, "How great You are," not for his personal interest—"O God, give me my bread. Give me my dress. Give me my shelter." That is also good. He is better than the person, that mūḍha, the foolish, the atheist and the lowest of the mankind. He's far better. Even he is going and asking in the church, "O God, give me my daily bread." But at the same time, he is less intelligent because he does not know that "God is with me, and He knows everything about me."
Therefore one who is pure devotee, he does not pray to God for any personal interest. Even if he is distressed, he says, "O Lord, it is Your kindness. You have put me in distress just to rectify me. I would have been put into more and more, thousand times in distress, but You are giving me little. That's all. That is Your great mercy." That is his vision. He does not... He's not disturbed.
So one should be in knowledge. Devotional service, it is a science. And why others are welcome? Those who are distressed, has come to God, and those who are in poverty-stricken, has come to God, why they are also welcome? They are welcome in the sense that because they have come to God, in course of time, they will also become as good as the man in knowledge—if they continue. But generally it happens: one who goes to the church for some profit, if the profit is not there, he'll say, "It is nonsense." He gives up all connection with church. I have got information from one of my Godbrothers. He is German. He told me that during wartime many Germans, they went to war, and their wives, sister, all woman class, they went to church and prayed for the return of their husband, brother or son. But they did not return, and all of them became atheists: "Oh, there is no God. There is no God." Sometimes it happens like that, that "We want God as my order-supplier. If He does not supply the order, then He becomes no God. There is no God." That is the defect of this kind of prayer.
That is the process. Faith we must have. Without faith, we cannot make progress, but not blind faith, but to accept something which is recognized.
So here Bhagavad-gītā is recognized. Bhagavad-gītā is recognized, so far India is concerned, cent percent. Either they may be theist or atheist, that doesn't matter. Bhagavad-gītā is accepted by all classes of men in India. And so far outside India is concerned, all scholars, all religionists, all philosophers, they have accepted this Bhagavad-gītā as authority. So there is no doubt about Bhagavad-gītā's being authority. Even Professor Einstein, he was reading regularly this Bhagavad-gītā, such a great scientist. So there are many evidences. So you believe this, that there is a spiritual atmosphere and that is the kingdom of God. And here it is stated that yaṁ prāpya na nivartante, if you somehow or other, you can reach that spiritual atmosphere, then the result is na nivartante, you'll have no more to take this material body, na nivartante. Tad dhāma paramaṁ mama. So you'll become quietly and happily situated in your eternal life. Don't you think?
The more one become materialistic scientist, he, he defies God: "That is not. We, we believe in science, believe in science." But what is your science perfection? That is a different subject matter. But the difficulty is, at the present moment especially, the more one becomes advanced in this material knowledge, he becomes atheist. He becomes disbeliever. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said, jaḍa-vidyā yata māyāra vaibhava, tomāra bhajane bādhā. It is simply hindrances. anitya saṁsāre moha janamiyā jīva ke karaye gadha. Every word has got meaning. Jīva ke karaye gadha. This gāḍha, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has said... It is not Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura wordings; it is the Vedic scripture. Kṛṣṇa also said, na māṁ prapadyante mūḍhāḥ duṣkṛtino narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Mūḍhāḥ, mūḍhāḥ means gāḍha, "who has no knowledge." So anyone who does not surrender to Kṛṣṇa, what he is? He is in the four classes: na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Either he's a narādhama or he's an ass, mūḍhāḥ, or he's full of sinful activities, or if you say that he's so learned scholar, then māyaya apahṛta-jñānā, his knowledge has been taken out by māyā. Otherwise, how he cannot surrender to Kṛṣṇa? How he cannot surrender to Kṛṣṇa? Because he is not surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, he must be classified in either of these categories—mūḍhāḥ, duṣkṛtino, narādhama, māyaya apahṛta-jñānā (BG 7.15). Therefore we have to take shelter of this rāja-vidyā. not the jaḍa-vidyā. Jaḍa-vidyā will not help. Rāja-vidyā, rāja-guhyam. Very confidential, very con... Just like Kṛṣṇa describing in the last, Eighteenth Chapter, guhyatamam: "My dear Kṛṣṇa (Arjuna), I have given you all kinds of knowledge, but I am giving the most confidential knowledge now."
Because generally we take it for granted "form" means a form like me. Kṛṣṇa says that patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati, tad aham aśnāmi (BG 9.26). Now, we offer eatables to the Lord. Kṛṣṇa says tad aham aśnāmi, "I eat." But the atheists cannot see. They cannot see that how Kṛṣṇa is eating. They say that "You offered something to Kṛṣṇa, but He has not eaten. It is lying there; you are eating." But no, Kṛṣṇa has eaten. They do not know how they eat, how Kṛṣṇa eats. That is their fault. Poor fund of knowledge. One has to learn how Kṛṣṇa can eat. Kṛṣṇa can eat simply by seeing. Simply, Kṛṣṇa's all parts, all the indriyas, different parts of the body, limbs, they're as good as Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa can eat, just like we eat through our mouth, but Kṛṣṇa can eat with His eyes. That is absolute. We have, because we are not absolute, we have got distinction between my, our eyes and our hands, our mouth. There are distinction which is called sagata viveḥ. We have got difference of body between yourself and myself, and in the body also there are differences. My eyes are different from my hands, my hands are different from my legs. But Kṛṣṇa, being Absolute, He has no such distinction.
It is very simple. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). But people will not accept this simple thing which will give him complete perfection. But māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuri bhāvam āśritāḥ, because they have taken the atheistic view, āsuri bhāvam āśritāḥ, therefore māyā has taken his knowledge. They..., everything is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Mayaiva vihitān hi tān. If we worship other demigod, they cannot independently offer you any benediction. Kṛṣṇa said, mayaiva vihitān hi tān. They have to take sanction from the Supreme Personality of Godhead before giving you the benediction. But still such benediction is temporary, antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām (BG 7.23). They are temporary.
So such temporary benediction is meant for the alpa-medhasām, one whose brain substance is very small, or the brain substance, instead of brain substance, it's cow dung. They attempt, they accept in this way; otherwise every śāstra says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). One..., all the Vedic literatures, they aim at understanding Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (BG 18.66) "Give up all these things. Simply surrender unto Me." It is so easy.
Similarly, although Kṛṣṇa is not there, but everything is there in Kṛṣṇa, and everywhere you can find Kṛṣṇa also at the same time, because everything is Kṛṣṇa's energy.
Just like here we are worshiping Deity made of stone. Everyone knows that the Deity is made of stone. That atheist class will say, "How is this? These foolish people are worshiping a stone statue." But no, that is not same stone statue. Stone is also Kṛṣṇa, because bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4). So one who knows the art, by worshiping stone also, he can worship Kṛṣṇa. By worshiping stone also. It is Kṛṣṇa's mercy. Because at the present moment, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). By your blunt senses, you can not understand what is Kṛṣṇa, what is Kṛṣṇa's name, what is Kṛṣṇa's form, what is Kṛṣṇa's activity. Therefore Kṛṣṇa, by His causeless mercy, has come before us in the form of stone so that we can see Him. Because we cannot see beyond stone. We cannot see beyond wood. And wood and stone is also not beyond Kṛṣṇa. That is also Kṛṣṇa.
So he explained the whole thing before all the gentlemen who came, that "This is the fact. Now, he promised. Now, for the sake of his son and wife, he cannot fulfill his promise. This was a promise before the Lord." In the meantime, the old man's eldest son... He was atheist. He voluntarily says, "Well, if your God comes and gives witness, then I shall offer my sister to you." But he was confident that God will come. He said, "Yes. I shall ask God. I shall ask Kṛṣṇa to come and give witness." So... Now, before all gentlemen this was done. Then the young man said, "All right, let us now come to agreement that I shall call Kṛṣṇa from Vṛndāvana to give witness in this matter, and when He comes, you'll have to." All the other gentlemen, they also persisted. So there was some agreement. So this boy went again to Vṛndāvana to his Gopāla, and he prayed that "Sir, You have to go with me." He was so staunch devotee, just like talking with friend. He did not think that He's a statue; it is image. He knew God. That was his conviction. So God said, "How do you think that a statue can go with you? I am a statue. I cannot go." Then this boy replied, "Well, if a statue can speak, He can go also." (laughter) Then Kṛṣṇa said, "All right, I shall go with you."
The motor car has got the wheels, the machine, everything, but it has no sense. So unless there is a sensible driver there, it cannot move. Very plain truth. Anyone can understand. But we are so foolishly educated that we do not accept this fact. We say that: "Matter is the cause of life. We do not accept this theory that life is the cause of matter." Because they are atheistic persons. As soon as they accept that life is the cause of matter, they have to accept God. Immediately. Immediately they have to accept God.
So these atheistic persons, in order to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in order to avoid Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person, they push forward this theory that life is caused by matter. But that is not the fact. There are many instances. We can give many instances that life produces matter. Life... I can give you one small example. Just take, for example, one lemon tree. Lemon tree, it is also a living entity. Because there are eight million four hundred thousand species of living entities. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Sthāvarāḥ means these trees, plants, creepers.
As soon as the speaking power is withdrawn by the supreme authority, you are as good as stone, this body. What is the meaning of this body? So who has given you the speaking power that you are denying that "I don't believe in God"? Therefore an atheist or an unbeliever, he must be a first-class foolish man. There is no other reason that one can deny the existence of God. It is very simple reasoning, that who has given you the power to talk and who, if he withdraws the power from you, then what is your value? How can you boastly say that "I don't believe in God"? This very power of speaking is the proof that there is the greatest authority who gives you everything.
Therefore the Kṛṣṇa conscious person, he knows that "Everything, whatever I have got, it is not my, under my control. The controller is different. I am feeling... I am simply using it. I am talking. This is my hand. I am working, but if the power of working is immediately withdrawn—it is paralyzed—have you got any power to revive this working power of this hand? No. You have not. One hand will work; another hand will stop. Who stops?" These things are to be thought.
Moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo mogha... (BG 9.12). vice..., rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritāḥ. Rākṣasī. Rākṣasī means those who are atheists, they are called rākṣasas. Rākṣasa and asura. Asura, they are always against God. They are called asuras. And rākṣasa means they don't believe in God. So rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva prakṛtim. Why they...? That mohinīṁ prakṛtim. They are bewildered by this illusory material energy. They are... They think, "This is all, and this life..." They do not know God. "There is no life. Let us enjoy as far as possible. Squeeze out the extract of this matter." Squeezing, squeezing, they don't... They are frustrated, frustrated, moghāśā, baffled in every respect. Squeezing to take essence of this material pleasure, they are baffled. They are baffled. Don't you see this practically? "So much money, so much I have earned." They go to enjoy, fifty thousand dollars, hundred thousand dollars, squeezing—they do not find any pleasure.
Work in such a way that the proprietor will be inclined, "Well, this man is working very nicely. Who is this man?" So that is our business.
That is the teaching of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, not that we go to God and beg our daily bread. That is also good because... That is good in the sense that the atheists, they do not even agree to accept the authority of God. Better than them, anyone who is going to the temple or the church and asking for bread or something, material benefit, that is good. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ sukṛtino 'rjuna: "Those who are pious, whose background is piety, such persons, divided into four classes..." Ārto jijñāsur arthārthī jñānī, four classes. Ārtaḥ means distressed, and arthārthī means in need of money. Ārto arthārthī. Or some material benefit. And jñānī, one who is searching after knowledge. And jijñāsuḥ, inquisitive.
These four classes of men, if their background is life of piety, they go to God to pray, "My Lord, my Lord, give me some money. I am very poor. I am very distressed.
Therefore a man who has got this human form of body does not inquire about God, he is narādhama, the lowest of the mankind. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ. And rascal, ass. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15).
"Oh, some of them, some of the atheists, they are very learned scholars." But the answer is māyayā-apahṛta-jñānāḥ: "They are superficially very learned, but actually their real knowledge is taken away by māyā." Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Just like Rāvaṇa, he was very learned scholar in Vedas. He was son of a brāhmaṇa. And materially he was very, very opulent. But because he did not care for Rāma, he is addressed as rākṣasa. This is the... He was also a great devotee of Lord Śiva. But still, in the śāstra he is described as rākṣasa. So māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. So this is the position.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa directly says how you can become devotee or dear to Kṛṣṇa. Or, in other words, how you will be seen by Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is seeing your activities, but especially, to take care of you... Kṛṣṇa takes care. As soon as you become a devotee, immediately He takes care of you.
Therefore for the time being he rejected the Vedic authority, because people will take advantage that "In the Vedas there is recommendation for sacrificing animals." So just to stop, to take this advantage, he said that "I do not accept the authority of Vedas." Therefore he was accepted as atheist. Veda nā māniyā bauddha haya ta' nāstika. That's a big story.
Anyway, we have to accept knowledge from the perfect person. This is the sum and substance. Unless we take knowledge form the perfect person, our knowledge is defective. Therefore Arjuna is asking, "What is this prakṛti, material nature? What is puruṣa?" Puruṣa means who is trying to exploit (break) ...he is also prakṛti. Prakṛti. Just try to understand, woman, strī. But if one strī wants to enjoy another strī. So how it is possible? That is not possible. There must be puruṣa. So puruṣa, these living entities, although they have dressed like puruṣa, they are not puruṣa. They are prakṛti. Jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho (BG 7.5). They are superior prakṛti, but not puruṣa. But they are trying to be puruṣa. This is called illusion. If a woman dresses like a man and wants to act like man, that is artificial. That is not possible. Similarly, a living entity is not puruṣa; he is prakṛti. But because he wanted to enjoy this material world, nature has given him a dress like a puruṣa, and he is falsely trying to enjoy another prakṛti.
Therefore we find that educated persons, so-called educated... They are not educated because in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, the so-called educated persons are bereft of real knowledge, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15). Apahṛta-jñānāḥ. Why? Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Because they have taken the position of becoming an atheist, no faith in God. They are asura. So any asura, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ... He may be MA, PhD, from academic career, but his real knowledge is taken away. Therefore he is atheist. Actual knowledge is to know God. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is explaining what is knowledge, jñeyam. Because as soon as you become actually wise, then you become liberated. But if you are not liberated, that means your knowledge is imperfect. Your knowledge is imperfect.
So Kṛṣṇa says jñeyam. Jñeyam means mat-paraṁ brahma. In a previous verse it has been explained, anādi mat-paraṁ brahma. Brahmā means bṛhatya bṛhanatyād iti brahma.(?) Nothing is great than Brahman. That is being explained, how Brahman, what is the meaning of Brahman. Brahman means sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat: "Brahman has got His hands and legs everywhere." Just like I have got my hands and legs, this is limited. I have got my hands.
Therefore He is Paraṁ Brahman. This is knowledge. You have to understand... Don't think Kṛṣṇa is limited because he appeared before us, He has appeared here in the form of a stone. He's not stone. Stone is His energy. (break) He can appear before... (break)
Then don't think that here "These people are worshiping a stone," as the atheist will speak. Arcye śilā-dhīr guruṣu vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ nārakī... (break) ...in the śāstra that "Don't think the worshipable Deity is made of stone, made of metal." Because in the wood there is Kṛṣṇa and because Kṛṣṇa is omnipotent He can accept. (break)
...apāṇi-pādo javana-gṛhītaḥ. So in this way try to understand... (break) ...anyathā ajñānam. Then you are in ignorance, ajñāna. (break) ...Kṛṣṇa, then you are liberated. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa personally explaining tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. Antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ (BG 2.18). This body is perishable, but the śarīriṇaḥ, one who possesses this body, he is nitya, śāśvata. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This knowledge is missing. That is the defect of modern civilization. Atheistic civilization. Eat, drink, be merry and enjoy. This is not very good position.
Today I may be in good position, I may be millionaire, I may be prime minister, but when death will come it will take everything from you, and it will oblige you to go to a species form of life which you cannot you deny. Puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān (BG 13.22). If (indistinct) have infected some disease, you must suffer from it. There is no excuse. Even a child, if he touches the fire, the fire will not excuse. "Because it is a child, he does not know, therefore I shall not burn his finger." No. No excuse. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). You cannot escape the stringent laws of nature. That is not possible.
So therefore Kṛṣṇa is stressing that, daivī sampad vimokṣāya. These daivī sampad characteristics should be encouraged to make one liberated, vimokṣāya. Just like these boys and girls have become liberated from all bad habits. Daivī sampad vimokṣāya. Daivī sampad vimokṣāya nibandhāyāsurī matā. And if you develop demonic qualities, then you become more and more entangled in this material existence. It is very risky. We are thinking that "Let me enjoy this life to my best capacity," as the atheist class of people think, but they do not know how much risk they are taking. If I develop my characteristics like cats and dogs, then my next life is becoming bound up in the body of cats and dogs. But they do not know the science. How the transmigration of the soul is evolving in 8,400,000 species of life, the modern science they do not know. They do not know, but there is, there is law.
And the so-called sannyāsī, because they are atheist, they say that asatyam: "This material world is māyā. It has no truth. What you are seeing, it is illusion." Asatyam. But we do not say like that. We say as we learn from Bhagavad-gītā, we say that Kṛṣṇa says, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4). Kṛṣṇa says, "They are My prakṛti, My energy." Bhūmir āpaḥ analaḥ. So because it is Kṛṣṇa's prakṛti...
Just like I am a person. I can create something very good, and I can create something not very good. But I can create something not very good... Just like another practical example. I cook something and some of the preparation, people say, "Oh, it is very good," and some of the preparation, they say, "It is not so good, but it is nice." But you cannot say any of the things as mithyā. That you cannot say. You are practically eating, and somebody has prepared it, so how you can say it is mithyā, it is false? No. That is not our version. You can say... That is also according to taste. You like some sour things; another likes some sweet things.
So janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), the atheist class, the so-called scientists, asuras, they say it is a chemical combination, by accident. We don't say like that. We say the janmādy asya, the original source of everything, is a person. Janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ (SB 1.1.1). Just like this microphone, if I say accidentally all the material things, electronics parts, mixed together and became a micro... No, we don't say that. We say, "This is manufactured by somebody who is very expert in dealing with these parts." That is our knowledge. Janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś cārtheṣu abhijñaḥ. The person who has mixed together these different parts is very expert, abhijñaḥ. That is right conclusion. And if you, as a rascal, if you say that "All of a sudden the material parts—there are many parts—they became assembled; just like one lusty man becomes accidentally lusty desire and the woman also becomes, they unite," it is not like that. It is not accident. There is brain. So every creation has got a brain behind it.
The modern scientists, philosophers, Western people, they don't accept that God is the creator of everything. And their theory of creation is the chemical composition. One gentleman has written one book, "Chemical Evolution." They think that chemical combination is the cause of life. So the asuras' theory of creation is aparaspara-sambhūtaṁ kim anyat kāma-haitukam. It is a chance theory, but we don't accept. We are preaching against them, writing books against them. We are challenging this atheistic theory of creation. So this asuric... The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is against the asuras. Every time, always, Kṛṣṇa also comes down to kill the asuras. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). (break) Asuras cannot flourish by their atheistic theory. Unless one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he has to be put into the different types of asuric yoni to suffer in this material world. And if we continue this Godless civilization, Kṛṣṇa says here,
- tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān
- saṁsāreṣu narādhamān
- kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān
- āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu
- (BG 16.19)
He keeps them always put into this asuric yoni, everlastingly forgetting the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and suffer in this material world. So so long we remain in the asuric tendency, then we cannot understand Kṛṣṇa.
This is the atheistic theory, asatyam. They say that this material world is false. Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. Jagat, jagat means this cosmic manifestation which is gacchati, going. In the material world, everything is going. Just like in your city you see the cars, motor cars. They are going here and there, gacchati, very busy. Every man is going here and there. Similarly, the whole planetary system also, beginning from its birth up to the annihilation it is going, moving, orbit. It is going. Everything is going, moving. Even the sun, it has got its orbit. Yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ rājā samasta..., aśeṣa-tejāḥ, yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakraḥ. The... Just like the earth has its orbit—it is rotating—similarly, every planet is rotating. The sun is also rotating. And so far I calculate, it is sixteen thousand miles per minute or second. I calculated once. The sun is rotating sixteen thousand miles either per minute or per second. I forget now.
There are so many opposing elements. Then you are guru. Otherwise you cannot become a guru. Guru is not so teeny thing or trifle thing that everyone becomes Guru Mahārāja, no. That is not guru. Sa mahātmā... Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19).
So their theory, this atheistic theory, is aparaspara-sambhūtam. It has taken by mechanical arrangement. Kim anyat kāma-haitukam. Kāma. Just like kāma—a man, a woman becomes lusty, and there is sex, and there is production. So they say like that. The production is like that. There is no other plan. But there is a big plan. That they do not know. The plan is: yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7). That is plan. But these rascal, this atheist class, they say, kim anyat kāma-haitukam: "Only lusty desires, that is the only reason. That is the only cause." The atheist class think like that, that "This birth is taking place due to our lusty desires, but we do not want to take responsibility. Then kill him. What is that?" Therefore they are making this abortion, killing of the child, as legal. The kāma... "We had some lusty desires, and we got it, but we don't want it. Kill it." That's all. This is going on. This is atheism. But it is not that.
When the pilot comes he pushes the button. Then it becomes.
So these foolish, these atheistic persons, mūḍhas, they cannot see. There must be a spiritual touch. In spite of all electronic arrangement, unless there is a spiritual... The pilot is spiritual being. Unless he touches his finger, it is not moving. So how this gigantic material manifestation can work independently? They have no sense. Therefore they say, jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8). Anīśvaram: "There is no pilot. It is moving automatically." This is asuric conclusion. How it can move? Where is your experience that simply combination of material thing can move the machine? Where is your experience? How do you say like that? It is very common sense. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said these rascals, these demons, they say, jagad āhur anīśvaram: (BG 16.8) "There is no controller." He's thinking. The scientist thinking. He's practically doing in the laboratory, that he is a spiritual soul. He is mixing the chemicals, hydrogen, oxygen, acid and alkaline. He's mixing, and there is reaction. Then something is coming out. He's doing that. Still, he says, "There is no God." What is this foolishness? Why do they say like that? Therefore they are asuras.
Those who are duṣkṛtina... Duṣkṛtina means very intelligent, but the intelligence is being misused in mischief-mongering. They are called duṣkṛtina. Kṛti. Kṛti means very nice brain, but duṣkṛti—the brain is used for creating misgivings. They will explain like that. But we should be very much careful not to become their victim. So although the atheists say there is no God, jagad āhur anīśvaram (BG 16.8), but we are convinced that God is the origin-janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1)—of both matter and spirit. So aparaspara-sambhūtam, they simply explain that it is the result of combination only.
Just like acid and alkaline combine together. Just like soap. Soap is combination of acid and alkaline. The caustic soda is alkaline, and the fat is acid. So you mix this acid and alkaline—there is another product. This is chemical science. So the acid and alkaline, they also come from the, I mean to say, life. Or if it does not come from the life, the product is made by another life. Acid and alkaline does not mix together. Unless the chemist or the soap-maker brings them together and mixes, the soap does not come. So how you can say that the chemical combination is the source of life? No, that is not possible. This is right conclusion.
This is right conclusion.
But these rascals, they conclude like that. Aparaspara-sambhūtam: "By combination of two or more material things produces another third or fourth thing." Aparaspara-sambhūtam, kim anyat kāma-haitukam. They give example. This is the atheist Sāṅkhya philosophy, atheistic Sāṅkhya philosophy, combination, permutation. But the example is given, kim anyat kāma-haitukam. Kāma. Just like a man and woman becomes lusty and their combination brings forth a child, a third matter. They think like that. They are thinking everything is matter. No. There is good brain within the combination. That is explained in the Vedic literature. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye (SB 3.31.1). This body is not coming accidentally by the sex intercourse. That is not the fact. The fact is karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa. Otherwise, why the same kind of body is not coming by material combination and permutation? Why there are different types of body? Why there is rich body? Why there is poor body? Why there is cat body? Why is dog body?
So, on the basis of this vision, that "there is no God, there is no background of this material creation, this material creation is false..." There are so many other conclusions of the demonic people. Demon and atheist, the same thing. So Kṛṣṇa says, on this blind vision, etāṁ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya. Accepting these are the basic principles of this material creation. Etāṁ dṛṣṭim avaṣṭabhya naṣṭa ātmānaḥ. Lost their spiritual consciousness. Naṣṭa means lost. Ātmānaḥ means the soul, the Supersoul. So ātmā, Paramātmā. The Supersoul is Paramātmā, and we are soul. So they have no knowledge. The defect of the modern civilization...
The demons and the rākṣasas, they're existing always. As I have told you, two classes of men are always there. But in this age the number of atheist class, or demons, are very much increased. Otherwise, material world means for the demons, atheistic class. Just like the prisonhouse. The prisonhouse means it is meant for the criminals. One may be a first-class prisoner, one may be a third-class prisoner, but it is prisonhouse. Similarly, anyone who is in this material world—never mind whether he is Lord Brahmā or the insignificant ant—they are more or less all criminals. Criminal means disobeying. Disobeying the Lord or His order, they are materially criminal.
Therefore our program is to eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam, the foodstuff, remnants of foodstuff, left by Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is very kind. If you offer something to Kṛṣṇa, He eats the offering. It is not that He's not eating. He is eating but at the same time keeping it for you as it was offered. He's not like us. If you give me something to eat, I'll finish the whole plate. Kṛṣṇa is not like that. (laughter) Kṛṣṇa... The atheist will say that He has not eaten. No, He has eaten. And that is Kṛṣṇa.
That is stated in the Vedas, pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate (Īśo Invocation). Kṛṣṇa, expanding Himself into millions, still, He remains a Kṛṣṇa, the same Kṛṣṇa. It is not that material thing. If you take a material thing, anything, if you divide it into millions portion, then original form is finished. There is no more. You take a piece of paper and cut it into pieces and throw it all over. Then the original paper is lost. There is no more. That is material. But Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa, He is expanded. Eko bahu syāt. The Lord said, "I shall become many." Many... Still, He is there. Is not because He has become many, therefore His original person is finished.
Those who know Sanskrit... So this is the sign of mahātmā. Bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ: "Without any deviation, without any other occupation, they are always engaged in devotional service." This is mahātmā. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. There are many, so many bogus mahātmās, the swamis, yogis, and incarnation and so many rascals, all rākṣasas, atheist. Such kind are not mahātmās. Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. That mahātmā, who is actually mahātmā, means bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ, engaged fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is ma... Sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. Sudurlabhaḥ means very, very rare to find out. The rascals posing themselves as mahātmā, that is another thing. That is not authorized.
You have to accept anything from the authorized source. So according to Vedic civilization, all knowledge is received from the Vedas, perfect authorized source. Śruti-pramāṇa, evidence from the śruti, from the Vedas, that is perfect. Therefore, according to Vedic civilization, if you want to establish something you have to quote the section or the injunction from the Vedas, Then it is perfect.
| Page Title: | Atheist (BG Lectures) |
| Compiler: | SunitaS, RupaManjari, Labangalatika |
| Created: | 25 of Jul, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=90, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 90 |