Therefore in this world the human being is not meant for quarreling like the cats and dogs. They must be intelligent enough to realize the importance of the human life and refuse to act like ordinary animal. He should... A human being should realize the aim of human life. This direction is given in all the Vedic literature, and the essence is given in the Bhagavad-gītā. Vedic literature are meant for the human being and not for the cats and dogs. The cats and dogs can kill their eatable animals, and for that there is no question of sin on their part. But if a man kills an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste, he must be responsible for breaking the laws of nature. And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly explained that there are three kinds of activities according to the different modes of nature: the activities of goodness, the activities of passion, the activities of ignorance. Similarly, there are three kinds of eatables also: eatables in goodness, eatables on passion, eatables on ignorance. They're all clearly described, and if we properly utilize the instructions of the Bhagavad-gītā, then our whole life will become purified and ultimately we shall (be) able to reach the destination. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6).
Cats and dogs (Lectures, BG)
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Kālena, by time, whatever you are destined you will get. Don't bother about so-called economic development. So far food is concerned, Kṛṣṇa is supplying. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. Even cats and dogs and ants. Why not you? There is no need of bothering Kṛṣṇa, "God give us our daily bread." He will give you. Don't bother. Try to become very faithful servant of God. "Oh, God has given me so many things. So let me give my energy to serve Kṛṣṇa." This is required. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "I have taken so much, life after life, from Kṛṣṇa. Now this life let me dedicate to Kṛṣṇa." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "This life I will not let it go uselessly like cats and dogs. Let me utilize it for Kṛṣṇa consciousness." This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So at the present moment, because these purificatory processes are not accepted, even in India... Accepted, they're unable. Everything has topsy-turvied. Therefore the śāstra says that: "Accept everyone as śūdra." Kalau śūdraḥ sambhava. There is no more brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya or vaiśya. All śūdras. We have to accept. Because no Vedic culture, no Garbhādhāna saṁskāra. They are born like cats and dogs. So where is this division? There cannot be. Therefore, accept them as śūdra. Varṇa-saṅkara is less than śūdra. So at least, śūdra they should be. So there is no Vaidic dīkṣā. For śūdra, there is no dīkṣā, there is no initiation. Initiation is meant for the persons who are born in brāhmaṇa family, kṣatriya family, or vaiśya family. The śūdra has no initiation. So in India there are professional gurus. They initiate śūdras, but do not eat foodstuff touched by the disciple.
How he can become? Sarvātmā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyam. One who has fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord, śaraṇyam. Śaraṇyam means here is the real place where one can surrender fully. Others, if I surrender to a cats and dogs, what he will help me? Therefore they are not śaraṇyam. But, by mistake, if they take shelter of such cats and dogs, what benefit they will get? Therefore śaraṇyam, the worthwhile surrender is to the lotus feet of Mukunda. Therefore it is said, sarvātmā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartum (SB 11.5.41). We have got so many duties, but in this age, we have lost everything. Therefore, our only duty is to surrender unto the lotus feet of Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa. That will save us. Kṛṣṇa says—it is not story—Kṛṣṇa says ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66). "I know that you have violated your family tradition, your past regulations, everything you have done for which you are to be punished, sinful activities, but I give you assurance, if you surrender unto Me, then ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi. I shall give you deliverance from all the reactions of sinful activities." Therefore at the present moment, because we have lost all culture, we have done so many sinful activities, if we want to be saved, it is, the only remedy is to surrender to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and thus become saved.
So this is Vaiṣṇavism. One who wants to satisfy Viṣṇu, he is called Vaiṣṇava. That is Vaiṣṇavism. Viṣṇu means the Supreme Lord. So everything is arranged to satisfy the Lord Viṣṇu. So where from it begins? The cats and dogs, they can be trained up for satisfying Viṣṇu? No, there is no possibility. They are dogs, animals. They are simply busy with four principles of life: eating, sleeping, sex-life and defending. That's all. They cannot be trained up that "You become very obedient to Lord Viṣṇu. Become a devotee." Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). "You become the devotee of Kṛṣṇa." No, that is not possible. Therefore it is said that manuṣyāṇāṁ. Manuṣyāṇāṁ. It is the duty of the manusya, not of the dog. Manuṣyāṇāṁ. Utsanna-kula-dharmānāṁ manuṣyāṇāṁ janārdana (BG 1.43).
So if we are actually human beings, manuṣyāṇāṁ... (break) Kula-dharma, this family tradition, is not meant for the cats and dogs. If you live like cats... (break) ...there is no question of family tradition. But if you live, want to live like human being, manuṣyāṇāṁ, then this system must be... (break) ...puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān (CC Madhya 8.58). Catur-vārṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Then society must be divided into four classes... As we have got four divisions in (break) ...brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra must be there. (break) And each one should serve according to his guṇa-karma, quality and capacity to work. Then the whole society is organized... (break) ...will be perfect, there will be peace... (break) ...no war, nothing of the sort, and gradually making progress back to home, back to Godhead. Otherwise it will be chaos... (break) ...become at the present moment.
So here Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is speaking, and that is the final authority. He says to Arjuna as follows. He says, aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase: (BG 2.11) "My dear Arjuna, you are talking like very learned scholar, but you are lamenting on a subject matter which you should not do." Gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ. Gatāsūn means this body. When it is dead or when it is alive, bodily conception of life is foolishness. So no learned man takes serious consideration of the body. Therefore in the Vedic literature it is said that "One who is in the bodily concept of life, he is nothing more than an animal." Therefore at the present moment, without knowledge of the self, the whole world is going on under the bodily concept of life. The bodily concept of life is there amongst the animals. The cats and dogs, they are very proud of becoming a big cat or big dog. Similarly, if a man also becomes similarly proud that "I am big American," "big German," "big," what is the difference? But that is actually going on, and therefore they are fighting like cats and dogs.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "One should not therefore remain in material perplexities but should approach such a teacher. This is the purport of this verse. Who is the man in material perplexities? It is he who does not understand the problems of life. In the Garga Upaniṣad this is described as follows. He is a miserly man who does not solve the problems of life as a human and who thus quits this world like the cats and dogs without understanding the science of self-realization. He is called a miserly man. This human form of life is the most valuable asset for the living entity who can utilize it for solving the problems of life. Therefore one who does not utilize this opportunity is a miser."
Prabhupāda: As a miser does not properly use his asset. Suppose you have got one million dollars, you keep it only, you do not use it properly or you spoil it. Then you are called miser. But if you utilize it properly and gain out of it, then you are intelligent. Similarly, Garga Upaniṣad says, he makes distinction, two classes. One class of men he says kṛpaṇa. Kṛpaṇa means miser. And another class of men he says brāhmaṇa, brāhmaṇas. So he classifies, etad viditvāsmāt ya praiti sa brāhmaṇaḥ. This self-realization process... We shall die. It is sure. Every one of us, we'll die. But we should not die like cats and dogs. That is the difference. We may die. We must die. Nobody can escape death, but before death we must know what is self and self-realization. They are brāhmaṇas. Those who are trying to understand what he is, what is his relation with God and how he should live, they are called brāhmaṇas. And those who are living like cats and dogs, simply eating, sleeping, mating and dying, so they are dying like cats and dogs. So death is inevitable. That is also advised by Prahlāda Mahārāja in his instruction to his class fellows. Kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha (SB 7.6.1). "My dear friends, from this beginning of life... We are now five years old.
So why shall I wait for that time? Now I am fit. Let my mind be absorbed with Your thought and let me die." That is the technique. That our mind should be always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa thought. So if by Kṛṣṇa's grace, at the time of that last moment of quitting this body, when every function of the body will be disordered we can remember Kṛṣṇa, then our life is successful. So we have to practice this. This, everything, whatever we are doing, it is practicing for the last moment. There is a Bengali proverb, bhajana kara sādhana kara matte janle haya.(?) How you are advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that will be tested at the time of your death. The examination will be at that time. So if that technique becomes perfect, then our life is perfect. At once you are transferred to the Kṛṣṇaloka. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). "My dear Kaunteya, My dear Arjuna, that person, after quitting this body, he never comes back again to this nonsense material world, but he comes to Me." That is perfection. People have no knowledge who is transferred, where it is transferred, what is God, what is... No, nothing of the sort. Simply eat, drink, be merry and enjoy, and die like cats and dogs. That's all.
So therefore we should take guide from guru, from the teacher, from the spiritual master how to make progress, because this... That will be explained later on, that the goal of our life, at least in this human form of life, in the Aryan civilization, the goal of life is to understand our constitutional position, "What I am. What I am." If we do not understand "What I am," then I am equal to the cats and dogs. The dogs, cats, they do not know. They think that they are the body. That will be explained. So in such condition of life, when we are puzzled... Actually we are puzzled every moment. Therefore it is necessary one should approach to a proper guru. Now Arjuna is approaching Kṛṣṇa, the first-class guru. First-class guru. Guru means the Supreme Lord. He is guru of everyone, parama-guru. So anyone who represents Kṛṣṇa, he is also guru. That will be explained in the Fourth Chapter. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). So Kṛṣṇa is showing example, where we should offer our surrender and accept guru. Here is Kṛṣṇa.
This is the business. So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to educate people to give up this bodily concept of life. This is the sum and substance of this movement. And unless we come to understanding that "I am not this body; I am a spirit soul. My aim of life is missing," then we remain cats and dogs.
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
- (SB 10.84.13)
Anyone who is leading his life on the bodily concept of life, he is no better than the dogs and hogs. So in order to stop this civilization of dogs and hogs, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is essential. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to take instruction from Kṛṣṇa. This is the first instruction. Aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase (BG 2.11). So gradually He will give instruction.
That is spirit soul. Sat means eternal, and cit means knowledge, and ānanda means bliss. So if we study ourself, this body is not eternal. Sat means eternal. So if you study this body... In the Bhagavad-gītā you will find, antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ (BG 2.18). This body is antavat; it will perish. Therefore it is not sat. Sat means eternal, and the body is not eternal. Therefore it is very difficult to understand what is sat because we have no education, no experience. Everything is annihilated, destroyed, anything material. So actually we have no experience what is sat. So... But Vedic instruction is sad gama asato mā: "Don't remain in asat, noneternal. Come to the platform of eternity." Sad gama asato mā. So that is our mission of life. The human form of life is distinct from the cats and dogs because if you instruct to the cats and dogs what is sat and what is asat, it is impossible for them to understand. It is not possible. Therefore Vedic instruction is asato mā: "Don't remain cats and dogs in the human form only. You come to the platform of eternity." Asato mā sad gama. So we must try what is eternal. So far in the present condition, as this material condition, we do not know what is actually eternal because our body is not eternal. Therefore the first instruction is that "You are lamenting on the body which is not eternal, but you are eternal. Your business is to understand the eternal." That is called sat.
So there is no question of Arjuna's considering whether he would fight or not. It is sanctioned by Kṛṣṇa; so fight must be there. Just like when we were walking, the question was raised that "Why war takes place?" That is not a very difficult subject to understand because everyone of us has got a fighting spirit. Even children fight, cats and dogs fight, birds fight, ants fight. We have seen it. So why not human beings? The fighting spirit is there. That is one of the symptoms of living condition. Fighting. So when that fighting should take place? Of course, at the present moment, by the ambitious politicians, they fight. But fighting, according to Vedic civilization, fighting means dharma-yuddha. On religious principles. Not by whims of political ideas, ism. Just like now fighting is going on on two political groups, the communist and the capitalist. They are trying to avoid only fight, but the fighting is going on. As soon as America is in some field, immediately Russia is also there. In the last fighting between India and Pakistan, as soon as President Nixon sent their Seventh Fleet on the India Ocean, Bay of Bengal, almost in front of India... This was illegal. But very puffed-up, America. So sent the Seventh Fleet, maybe to show sympathy to the Pakistan. But immediately our Russian friend also appeared there. And therefore, America had to come back. Otherwise, I think, America would have attacked on behalf of Pakistan.
So other boys, what do they know about Kṛṣṇa conscious...? Prahlāda Mahārāja is liberated from the very birth. So they said: "What is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" They could not understand. So he was convincing them: durlabhaṁ manuṣyaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam. This human body is durlabhaṁ. Labdhvā sudurlabhaṁ idam bahu sambhavānte (SB 11.9.29). This human form of body is a great concession given by the material nature. People are so miscreant and foolish. They do not understand what is the value of this human form of life. They engage this body for sense gratification like cats and dogs. The śāstra therefore says: "No, this human form of body is not meant for spoiling like the hogs and dogs." Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke. Everyone has got a body, material body. But nṛ-loke, in the human society, this body is not to be spoiled. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke kaṣṭān kāmān arhati viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This human form of life, simply working uselessly hard, day and night, for sense gratification. This is the business of the hog and dog. They are doing also the same thing, whole day and night, working hard simply for sense gratification. So therefore in the human society there must be a system of division. That is called varṇāśrama-dharma. That is Vedic civilization.
So there is another verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta: "One should search after a spiritual master who is inquisitive about transcendental subject matter." So unless one is at least conversant with the preliminary knowledge of transcendental matters... That transcendental matter here you can see. Arjuna is perplexed, and now he wants a definite answer. This is the inquiry about transcendental subject matter. So every human being has to inquire. The inquiry must be there. What is that inquiry? That inquiry is that, preliminary, that every human being is suffering. A ignorant man... Just like a cat and dog or an animal. They are suffering, but they do not understand. Suffering they do not understand. Just like we have seen... Of course, here animals are slaughtered in slaughterhouse. In, according to Hindu system, of course, cow killing is not allowed. But there are meat-eaters. So according to Hindu system, if anyone wants to eat meat, he should take a goat. According to Hindu system, only goats and lambs can be killed for meat-eating, no other animals, no other animals. Cow is not... forbidden. Just like, in, in, the Hindus, they do not eat cow's flesh. And the Muslims, they do not eat, I mean to say, hogs. Hog's flesh they do not eat. They have got some sentiment. But meat-eating is also there in the Hindu society, but that is only by goat's meat or lamb's meat, generally goat. Generally goat.
The Vedānta philosophy describes Brahman. The first aphorism in the Vedānta philosophy is called athāto brahma jijñāsā. The Vedānta philosophy says that this human form of life is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth. One must be... Human being must be interested to know the Absolute Truth. That is perfection of human life. Because in the cats' and dogs' life... Unfortunately, at the present moment, people do not know what is the distinction between cats and dogs and a human being. That is another defect of the modern education. The distinction between cats and dogs... They are also living beings. Of course, in some quarter they say that the cats and dogs and lower animals, they have no soul. No. That is not the fact. Everyone has got soul, but the cats and dogs and animals, they are not advanced in consciousness. As soon as there is soul, there must be consciousness. These things are described in the Bhagavad-gītā, and you can perceive also. I am existing in this body; you are existing in your body—how it is known? By the consciousness. If I pinch your body, you feel pain. You pinch my body; I feel pain. Similarly, cats and dogs, they also feel pain or pleasure. So that is the proof of existence of the soul even in cats and dogs and human beings. The only difference is in the human form of life the consciousness is developed. So developed consciousness means to understand the Absolute Truth.
So everything has clear conception in the philosophy of Vedic literature, especially they're summarized in the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. So our only request is that you become God conscious. That is the opportunity. This human form of life is the only opportunity to understand what is God, what I am, what is my relationship with God. The animals—we cannot invite cats and dogs in this meeting. That is not possible. We have invited human being. Because they can understand. So the human being has got the prerogative, prerogative to understand. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma. Therefore it is called durlabha, very rarely we have got this human form of life. If we do not try to understand in this form of life "What is God, what I am, what is our relationship," then we are committing suicide. Because after this life, as soon as I give up this body, I'll have to accept another body. And we do not know what kind of body I am going to accept. That is not in my hands. You cannot order that "Next life make me a king." That is not possible. If you are actually eligible to become a king, nature will offer you a body in the king's house. You cannot do that. Therefore, we have to work to get the next, better body.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that "You are lamenting for the body. Oh, it is very astonishing. And you are talking like a very learned man." Everyone you will find talking, very learned man. He knows something, but ask him, "What you are?" "I am Indian." "I am American. I am Mr. Such and such. I am father of such and such." This is bodily... However great he may be, he is identified with the body. And according to śāstra, so long we shall identify with this body, we are not better than the cats and dogs because they also identify with the body. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase (BG 2.11). "Why? I am wrong?" Yes. Because gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca. The body, whether with the soul or without the soul, it is material. So so long even the soul is there, we should not be very much interested with the bodily comforts. We should be interested how to make progress in spiritual consciousness. And general people, they are simply engaged to get bodily comforts. The whole world is going on. The material civilization means bodily comfort. They are increasing their activities how to... They take it as civilization that to increase the bodily comforts of life. That is their idea.
So we should acquire knowledge from the authority. Kṛṣṇa is the authority. He says that "All of us—you, me, and all the others who have come to join this fighting—it is not that they did not exist in the past. They existed. We existed, all, in the past, we are existing now, and after so-called death, or after quitting this body, we shall still exist." Now, the question will be "How I shall exist, either as American, Indian, or something else?" So that is very intelligent question. First of all, we have to understand that I, you, every one of us existed in the past, so how I existed in the past and how I shall exist in future? So past is past; that is gone. Now I am existing as a human being. It is my duty to understand how I shall exist in future. That is intelligence. If we do not prepare for the next life, then we are animals. Just like the human society. There is education. The father gives education to the child, thinking about his future. The cats and dogs, they do not give any education, neither they know what is the meaning of education. That is the difference between human being and animal. So if we are not educated in the matter of understanding what is our future, then we are no better than the animals. Yes. That education we can have in this human form of life. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Hṛdayānanda: (translates questions from Spanish) He wants to know if within marriage it is possible to achieve perfection.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Human being is meant for marriage, not the cats and dogs. If you can remain without marriage, without sex life, that is very good, but if you cannot, then marry and be gentleman and remain peaceful.
Hṛdayānanda: (translates) If one can achieve Kṛṣṇa consciousness outside the temple?
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. You have to follow the rules and regulation, that's all.
Hṛdayānanda: He said, "If there is a spiritual world, what is it like, and what are the activities of Kṛṣṇa there?"
Prabhupāda: The same activities. Simply there is no sinful activity, that's all.
Hṛdayānanda: When one breaks the principles, can Kṛṣṇa forgive him?
Prabhupāda: Yes, Kṛṣṇa can forgive you once, twice, not regularly. (laughter)
So it is the duty of every father, every state, every guru, every friend, every relative how to engage the boy in spiritual life. Kaumāra ācaret prājñaḥ. Śāstra says, pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt: "One should not become father, one should not become mother," na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. The father and mother's duty is to the children that "This child has come to me in my womb," mother, "this is the last. He will have no more to come back to the womb of mother. I will teach him in such a way that he will be liberated." That is the duty of the father and mother. If one's father and mother is not able to coach and teach his children like that, how to get out of this entanglement of birth and death, he should not become father and mother. That is real contraceptive method, that "I should not produce cats and dogs. I should produce a child who will never come back again to another mother. He will be liberated. He will go back to home, back to Godhead." That is the duty of the father and mother. Not that produce cats and dogs. And therefore, the world is in trouble. They are fighting like cats and dogs, because cats and dogs have been produced and they have not been trained up. No brahmacārī system, no gṛhastha system, no vānaprastha system. Therefore, the Vedic conception of civilization is the perfect for human society. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). You will find everything in the Bhagavad-gītā.
So the material energy is external energy, and we are trying to become happy by adjusting this external energy. That is illusion. Suppose in this life you earn lots of money, make a big balance, and have a very nice skyscraper building and good ladies and friends and position. That's nice, but when you leave this body, you do not know what you are going to become. Suppose, theoretically, you become next life a cat in the same skyscraper building, then what is your value? And there is possibility, because your next body will be awarded by nature according to your work, according to your mind, intelligence. So you may have a very good bank balance and skyscraper building and dozens of motorcar, but you have created your mind just like cats and dog, then you are getting the body of a cat and dog. The most concession will be allowed—because you have got attachment for the skyscraper building—you will be allowed to live there as a cat, that's all. This is the law of nature. So if we are wasting our time in the business of cats and dogs and hogs, just try to understand how much loss you are suffering. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving you information: don't be a loser, become a gainer.
Therefore śāstra says, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). Anyone who is identifying himself with this body, which is made of tri-dhātu... Tri-dhātu means kapha-pitta-vāyu. According to Āyur Veda system, this body is a combination of kapha-pitta-vāyu, mucus, bile, and air. So śāstra says, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke. If anyone identifies himself with this bag of kapha-pitta-vāyu, a bunch of bones and flesh and blood and stool, sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu, and his own kinsmen, his wife and children, sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ, and worship, worshipable is the land, bhauma, yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile, one who goes to the place of pilgrimage and takes the water as all in all, yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij janeṣu abhijñeṣu, but does not go to the actual learned saintly persons, sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13), such person is no better than cow and ass. This is the injunction of the śāstra, that our identification with the body is animal life. The animal, a dog, it knows that he is body. A cat knows that he is body. A tiger knows that he is body. A human being, also, if he knows like that, that he is body, then why, how he's advanced? He's no better than the cats and dogs. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ (SB 10.84.13). The whole world is going on on this misimpression, misidentification with the body.
Therefore I say repeatedly... I am saying again that you Western people, Western boys, Western girls, or Western people, you are given very good chance by nature. Therefore, once upon a time the whole European people were dominating all over the world because they're very intelligent. So they have got good intelligence, good resources, good, nice body, beautiful body. Everything is very good. But don't spoil it; utilize it for understanding further good. Don't spoil it simply behaving like cats and dogs. That is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means that you are misled and simply bodily conscious of life. Therefore fight. Germany's fighting Englishman. Englishman is fighting in France. France is fighting. Why this fighting? If you know that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul. Why I am falsely identifying myself with the land?" "I am, I am, I am a German because I am born in this land of Germany." That is also false. No land is Germany or France or England. Land is land. You have falsely named it: "This is Germany." What is the Germany? Say, two hundred years or three hundred years, there was no Germany. Just like America. There was no America. The land was there, but the name was not there. So you have, some Europeans, they have colonized. They accept: "It is America. It is..." So this is all designation.
So in this way, if we try to understand, dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). Dhīra, those who are intelligent and sober, they are called dhīra, not disturbed mind, not rascals. Rascals cannot understand. Therefore the very word is used, dhīra. What is the meaning, dhīra? Dhīra, "the sober," those who have got brain substance, not cow dung. You see? They can understand. Therefore one has to become intelligent, dhīra. For spiritual understanding we have to create the favorable circumstances. Favorable circumstances... Just like to create healthy body, you have to remain in such a way that you'll not fall sick; similarly, dhīra means if you try to remain just like cats and dogs, then you remain as a cats and dog, but if you want to remain as a human being, then you must remain as perfect human being. Therefore no illicit sex. The cats and dogs, they can have illicit sex, and if the human being also have the same process, then where is the difference between cats and dogs? Therefore you have to be cautious not to become cats and dogs, but to remain as human being. Then you'll be dhīra, sober, not agitated. Therefore this very word is used. It is not understood by the cats and dogs. If I say to the cats and dog that, "You are not this body. You are simply possessing this body," it is useless because he has got a certain body that he cannot understand even instructing him for one thousand years, because he has got a different body, cats' and dogs' body. But in the human form of body there is possibility. That is the difference between cats' and dogs' body and human body.
So to become dhīra means not to use this, I mean to say, very important, very useful body, human body, to pass as cats and dogs. That is very dangerous. It is a great loss. Prahlāda Mahārāja instructed this. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma. We have to (be) very, mean, intelligent to understand that "I have got this body. Must be after many, many births." That is the evolutionary theory. I can understand that this tree... That is also a living being, but it is standing there for thousands of years. Thousands of years, they are standing. So many Napoleons, so many Kaisers, so many Hitlers came and gone, but the tree is standing. That is a punishment. But that is also a living being. It is also growing. As your body is growing or changing, that body's also growing and changing, unless you pour water on the root of the tree, no eating, then it will die. Similarly, if you don't eat, you'll die. You'll die. There is no difference. It is the simply different methods of living. That's all. The cats and dogs living in a certain method. The human being is living in a certain method. The trees are living in a certain method. The fish in the waters, they are living in the certain method. But the eating, sleeping, mating, defending is there. Is there. So according to the different bodies, they're living differently.
So all living entities, as Kṛṣṇa said, that "They existed," so existed in a different body. Now existing in a different body. This is called evolution or transmigration. This is... The evolution... Evolution theory is there. Not theory, fact. In the Padma Purāṇa... It is not Darwin's invention. There is... Asatiṁ caturaṁ caiva jīva-jātiṣu. As clearly stated, the evolution theory is, evolution fact is there are 8,400,000 different species of life, and the living entity passing, transmigrating, from one, another, one, another. Therefore, when one comes to this human form of body, Prahlāda Mahārāja says, durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma: "It is very rarely... This human form of body is very..." Why it is so rare? Now arthadam adhruvam. We shall die also. We shall give up this body like the cats and dogs. But I can get a sublime knowledge in this body. The cats and dogs cannot get. Therefore we should utilize this. So to understand this importance of this body is explained here, that "I am not this body. I am a spirit soul. I have been given a type of body by the material nature under the order of Kṛṣṇa and God." Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). This, these things are going on by the nature's law. The law is so perfect. Just like I have given several times that if you infect some disease, the nature's law is so perfect that you must suffer from that disease, unless you take precaution. Everyone knows that any infections disease... That is... You see in the SB.. (end)
We are conditioned in every step by the laws of material nature. Still, foolishly, we are thinking we are free. This is foolishness. We are so much controlled by the material nature, exactly like a small child is pulled by the ear by his mother. "Come here." He comes here. "Go there," and goes. Just like a dog. A dog may feel very freedom, jumping. But as soon as the master says "Come here," he comes and immediately chained. This is our position. So that is our position, that we are completely under the clutches of material nature, and according to the modes of material nature, we are acting and changing our body in different species of life. So our real business in this human form of life is to get, try to accept the process by which we can get free from this conditioned life. The process is that we have to give up all our false consciousness. We are, under false consciousness, I am thinking, "I am Indian," you are thinking you are German, and the dog is thinking "I am dog," and cat is thinking "I am cat." So this bodily consciousness, bodily concept of life, will keep us conditioned within the material nature. Therefore our first business is how to get free from all these designations. Just like I am putting on this saffron cloth, but I am not saffron cloth. Or you are putting a red cloth or black coat, you are not that cloth. Within the coat, you are the person. Similarly, within the dress, I am the person.
Now, this soul, where it will go? Then the whole calculation is taken, what is his asset and liabilities of the life, daiva-netreṇa, by superior judgment. Just like a man in an office, in a business concern, when increment is given or promotion is given, the whole assets and liabilities are taken, anywhere. Anywhere, a man is promoted or degraded when all the liabilities and assets are taken and judged, "Yes, this man has done nice, so give him promotion." And if he has not done nice, "Degrade him." Or "Don't give him promotion." Similarly, we are getting different types of body according to our karma. Karmaṇā... Otherwise why all living entities are not of the same merit, same feature of the body, same position, same edu...? Why there are difference? This is common sense. Varieties of body, varieties of position, is due... Just like the same example: The poor man has got only rickshaw, and the rich man has got a Rolls Royce car because he has paid more. Similarly, if your work is nice, then you are promoted, promoted to higher standard of life, just like in the heaven—ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ—or in the Brahma-loka. But your, if your work is sinful and abominable, then you are degraded to cats and dogs. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). Those who are advanced in the... Because here everything is quality, everything. You go to purchase anything in the market; you will see the quality—first quality, second quality, third quality. Similarly, all living entities, all souls, they have got qualitative body. Qualitative body. So the first quality body you can get in the higher planetary system. The second quality of body means you have to remain in the middle planetary system. And the third quality body, you go down. Or... "Go down" means you become animals, trees, insects, birds, beasts, like that. This is going on.
A practical example is that in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we have got one hundred centers, and each temple, not less than twenty-five, up to 250 devotees live. So we have no fixed up means of income, and we are spending in all the branches eighty thousand dollars per month. But by grace of Kṛṣṇa we have no scarcity; everything is supplied. People are surprised sometimes that "These people do not work, do not take any profession, simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. How they live?" So that is no question. If cats and dogs can live at the mercy of God, the devotees can live very comfortably by the mercy of God. There is no such question, but if somebody thinks that "I have taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but I am suffering for so many things," for them or for all of us the instruction is mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ: (BG 2.14) "These pains and pleasure is just like winter and summer." In the winter the water is painful, and in the summer the water is pleasing. So what is the position of the water? It is pleasing or painful? It is neither painful, neither pleasing, but in certain season, by touching the skin it appears to be painful or pleasant. Such pains and pleasure is explained herein: "They are coming and going. They are not permanent." Āgama apāyinaḥ anityāḥ means "They are coming and going; therefore they are not permanent." Kṛṣṇa therefore advises, tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata: "Just tolerate." But you do not forget your real business, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't care for these material pains and pleasure. Of course, we shall try our best if there is pains and pleasure to counteract it, but even it is not done, don't be misled by these so-called pains and pleasure.
So the natural commentary of Vedānta-sūtra is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā na, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. This is our life. Jīvasya, of every living being. Every living being means especially human beings. Because cats and dogs, they cannot inquire about Brahman, or the Absolute Truth. Therefore the conclusion is that the human form of life, one should not be engaged simply in the animal propensities of life. That is simply waste of time. He must inquire of the Absolute Truth. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. And he must try to understand. Tad viddhi, tattva-darśibhiḥ. From the tattva-darśī. Jñāninaḥ, tattva-darśinaḥ, these are the words. So in the human form of life therefore, in every society, the system is that the children are sent to school, colleges, to understand things. Similarly, for spiritual understanding, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Abhigacchet means one must. There is no alternative. One cannot say "I'll..., I may not go." No, if you do not go, then you are cheated. That is our Vaiṣṇava system. Ādau gurvāśrayam. The first thing is to take shelter of the bona fide spiritual master. Ādau gurvāśrayaṁ sad-dharma-pṛcchā. Not that I'll, as it has become a system: "I'll make a guru. Now my business is finished.
So unless we have got our aim, target of life, then what is the value of life? This is amṛtatvāya. Is there any institution, is there educational institution or university or college where this teaching is given, that how you can become immortal? Is there any institution in the world? Throughout the whole world? No. They are simply teaching that you live like animal and die like animal. That's all. You live like cats and dog and you die like cats and dogs and again become cats and dogs. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ.
- matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
- mitho 'bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
- adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
- punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
- (SB 7.5.30)
- naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ
- spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ
- mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-'bhiṣekaṁ
- niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat
This is Prahlāda Mahārāja's instruction, that the... He was instructing his father, materialist, first-class materialist. So, when he inquired that "What is your purpose that you have become Kṛṣṇa conscious? How you have become Kṛṣṇa conscious?" So he answered. He did not ask him, addressed him, as "My father." He addressed him, asura-varya, the first-class demon. He never addressed him, "My dear father." "My dear first-class demon."
So here it is said that na asataḥ vidyate bhāvaḥ. Asataḥ means that which does not exist forever. Just like our this body. It will not exist forever. Everyone knows it. Everyone knows that this body will be finished. And to finish the body... Suppose if somebody comes immediately with some weapon and if he says, "I shall finish your body," so immediately we shall be facing some danger. But it is known to us that this body will be finished. That means the danger is ahead. I may meet the danger... Today or tomorrow or hundred years after, the danger is awaiting. So what we are going to stop the danger? That is intelligence. A cat and dog, an animal, cannot protect them from the danger of death. But a human being, they also try to... Animals they also try to save themself from danger, but they cannot do very nicely, but a human being tries and can stop. So every intelligent person should know that "The danger is there. I do not want that danger. Then how to stop it?" That is intelligence. So if we do not try to stop the danger, then we are not better than the animal.
So it is very difficult with these rascals. Very, very difficult. Therefore my Guru Mahārāja's Guru Mahārāja, Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, they were not preaching. They were disgusted that "I have no power to reform these rascals. Better don't bother. Let them go to hell. At least... Let them." But still, my Guru Mahārāja preached. He was so kind. And he asked us also to do the same thing. But it is very, very difficult job. People are so rascal, so condemned, so sinful. It is very, very difficult to raise them. Very difficult. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). So only those who are very fortunate, they will understand that "I am eternal," avināśi, "I am imperishable. I am put into this condition of perishable condition due to this my material body." So how to get out of it? They have no ambition. Just like dogs and cats. Simply sense gratification. Kṛṣṇa is so kind, how, very clearly explains. You try to understand what is the soul.
So to live irresponsibly like cats and dogs is very risky life. Because so long we shall be engaged in the matter of sense gratification—material life means sense gratification—we shall increase our prolongation of repetition of birth and death. So this irresponsible life of eating, sleeping, sex life and defense like cats and dogs will not help us. Therefore... Because this kind of activities will oblige me to accept another body, and as soon as we accept another material body we become subjected to the stringent laws of material nature. And the material miserable conditions are summarized into four items: birth, death, old age and disease. So those who are not in knowledge of the spirit soul, they are very irresponsibly prolonging his life in material activities. Material science could not find out the spirit soul within the body because the magnitude, the dimension of the spirit soul, is very, very small.
So na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. Kadācit means at anytime, past, present, and future, kadācit. In the past, it is already explained, in the past we existed, maybe in a different body. At present, we are existing, and in the future also, we shall exist, continue to exist, maybe in a different body. Maybe, not. Actually. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13), because after giving us this body, we have to accept another body. So this is going on. And ignorance, without knowledge of self, we are being kept in ignorance. The so-called educational system, all over the world, there is no such education. They are kept in darkness and ignorance and still so much money is being spent, especially in the Western countries. They have got money, big, big high schools, but what is the production? All fools and rascals. That's all. Because they do not know. They have no idea what is self. And without this knowledge... Knowledge means self-realization, that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." That is knowledge. And knowledge how to eat, how to sleep, how to defend, how to enjoy sex life, and volumes of books on this subject matter, these are not knowledge. They are known even by the cats and dogs. The cats and dogs never read Freud's philosophy, but they know how to enjoy sex life.
So this dog's philosophy will not help you, that "I have got this body, and how to enjoy the bodily sex life." This is dog philosophy. A dog knows all these things. Your philosophy should be how to refrain from sex life. That is knowledge. Tapo divyam (SB 5.5.1). Tapasya. This human life is meant for tapasya, to refrain from sense gratification. That is knowledge. Not that how to enjoy sex life or sense gratification. This is known to cats and dogs without any education, without any philosophy. The philosophy, pravṛttiḥ eṣaṁ bhūtānāṁ nivṛtes tu mahā-phalam.(?) Pravṛtti, every living entity has got this pravṛtti, means propensity. What is that? Sense enjoyment. Loke vyavāya 'miṣa mada-sevā nityas tu jantuḥ.(?) Jantuḥ means living being. Nitya, always, he has got the propensity, vyavāya āmiṣa mada-sevā. Vyavāya. Vyavāya means sex life and āmiṣa means meat-eating. Vyavāya āmiṣa, mada-sevā, and intoxication. These are natural instincts of all living entities, even amongst the ants these propensities are there. Those who have studied... The ants are very much fond of being intoxicated. Therefore, they find out sweet, sugar. Sweet is intoxication. Perhaps you know, all. The liquor is made from sugar. Sugar is fermented with acid, sulphuric acid, and then it is distilled. That is liquor. Therefore too much sweet eating is prohibited.
So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is only to request you... It is your country's literature. Try to understand Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa. You'll be liberated. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). Simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa, you get liberation. Punar janma naiti. The whole activities, human society's activities, should be targeted how to get rid of this repetition of birth and death. That is real civilization. Not that "Let me live like a cat and dog and die like a cat and dog, and never mind what is happening next." This is a civilization of ignorance. This is not a civilization of knowledge. They are... Here is knowledge, that "I am trying to protect my body, this dress. I am every day soaping my garment, but I am not taking any food. How shall I... How long shall I live with this nice dress?" So one should understand this verse very seriously. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya navāni gṛhṇāti naro 'parāṇi (BG 2.22). It has been especially mentioned: nara. Nara means human being. The cats and dogs, they are changing their body, the same process, but they cannot understand. But here especially mentioned: nara. Human beings should understand this scientific knowledge that "Your, this body is just like a dress. It is changing." And we are changing... Just like according to price, we have a dress. If you go to a garment store, you can have nice dress if you pay more. And if you get less, you get a third-class dress. Similarly, there are eight million species or forms of life. Somebody is in the cat's body. Somebody's dog's body. Somebody's in human being's body.
So the, a bag of bones and flesh and blood, if one is thinking that "I am this, I am this body," then he is go-khara, cow or ass. So anyone who is on the bodily concept of life, he is animal, go-khara. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). So how you can receive knowledge from a person who is animal? You cannot get any knowledge from the cows or the asses. So anyone who is under the bodily concept of life, he's no better than animal. So actually, if we say frankly, everyone is in the bodily concept of life. Therefore the modern civilization is animal civilization. It is not human civilization. Human civilization will begin when one will understand that "I am not this body. I am spirit soul." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. That is the beginning of human civilization. And so long one is under the bodily concept of life, it is the civilization of cats and dogs. That's all.
So according to Vedic injunction, he immediately becomes indebted to so many items. What is that? He becomes indebted immediately to the different demigods, sun, moon, Indra, Candra, so many. Because we are receiving light from the sun, from the moon, so we are indebted. People do not care for it because they have no knowledge. Therefore in the Vedas, the sacrifice is recommended, to perform respective duties to become discharged from the indebtedness. So you are indebted to the demigods, indebted to the sages. Just like Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva, he has given us so many Vedic literatures. So we are taking advantage. So deva, ṛṣi, bhūta, ordinary living entities, even cats and dogs. But we, instead of being indebted, we do something else. Just like we are drinking milk. So we are indebted to the cows. So instead of repaying the indebtedness, we are killing them. So in this way we are complicated in so many ways. Devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṟṇām (SB 11.5.41). Pitṟṇām means in the family in which you are born. You are indebted because you are inheriting property, you are inheriting the mother's affection, father's affection. So you are indebted. People should consider. That is civilization. So... But anyone who has taken shelter of Mukunda—Mukunda is Kṛṣṇa—he has no more any indebtedness. He becomes free. All indebtedness, charge is taken by Kṛṣṇa, and He will square up the account. There is no doubt about it. He says that, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi (BG 18.66). Yes. All right. So any question? Yes?
Just as don't you see all these people of the world, they are mad? What they are doing? They whole day the cars going on this side, that side. What is the aim of life? They're mad. Simply wasting petroleum, that's all. What they're doing? Huh? Suppose a cat and dog goes this side and that side, yow, yow, yow, and he goes some motorcars. What is the difference? There is no difference because the aim of the life is the same. Therefore they are mad. That is explained. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma yad indriya-prītaya āpṛṇoti (SB 5.5.4). Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ, pramattaḥ means mad. Prakṛṣṭa rūpeṇa mata, sufficiently mad. And why? Kurute vikarma. They're acting which they should not act. They're acting in a way in which they should not have done. So what is the aim of their acting? Indriya-prītaya, simply for sense gratification. That's all.
There is a verse in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, tṛtīya-śaktir iṣyate (CC Madhya 6.154). There the situation, material situation, is so stringent, that without working, you cannot live. You'll die. There is an example in the Hitopadeśa. Na hi suptasya siṁhasya praviśanti mukhe mṛgāḥ. Suptasya siṁhasya. Siṁha means lion. If the lion thinks that "I am so powerful animal, king of the forest. Why shall I work?" Therefore, it is said that if he does not work, then he'll have to starve. Even though he's a lion. Because he may be lion, but if he sleeps, that "I am king. Let me sleep and my food will come automatically in my mouth," that is not possible. This is the example. Very good example. Na hi suptasya siṁhasya praviśanti mukhe mṛgāḥ. A lion is sleeping. If he does not work, he'll also starve. He'll also starve. And what to speak of cats and dogs. So this is not possible. Therefore, there is sva-dharma. Sva-dharma means, you are in brahminical quality, your work is this. You are in martial spirit—one who is intelligent, for him, studying Vedas, understanding the philosophy, preaching for the good of the society, train them, guide them, this is brāhmaṇa's business. Brāhmaṇa is not going to work in the factory. That is not brāhmaṇa's business. But in modern civilization, everyone should go to factory. Never mind whether you are brāhmaṇa or śūdra or a... This is the mistake. Therefore, if I am not fit for a certain thing and if I am engaged in that business, that will be failure. That will be failure.
The other day I cited the example of Jābāli Upaniṣad. He could not say even his father's name. But because he was so sincere that he declared before Gautama Muni that "Either my mother or myself, I do not know who is my father," Gautama Muni ac..., "Oh, you are brāhmaṇa. You are truthful. You are truthful." So these are the qualifications, saṁskāra, cultural birth. Cultural birth makes the twice-born. Saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ. Janmanā jāyate. By birth everyone is śūdra. And when he is reformed, when he is culturally rebirth, taken rebirth, then he is dvija, twice-born. And after being dvija, veda-paṭhād bhaved vipraḥ. Veda-paṭhāt means this knowledge, scriptural knowledge, Vedic wisdom. By studying this Vedic wisdom he becomes a vipra. And after studying, when he knows, "Oh, I am spiritual. I am not this matter," and he knows the constitution of himself, constitution of the Supreme Lord, then he is brāhmaṇa. Therefore the whole mission of human society should be how to prepare brāhmaṇa. Then peace and prosperity will be there. If you keep them just like cats and dogs in the platform of śūdra, how can you expect? Do you mean to say there is any peace in the dog society? No. That is not possible. Peace can be had only, really—human society.
So if we become sincerely to be servant of God, just like Arjuna became, and if we want to serve His purpose and mission, as soon as... The Lord is within you. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). He is simply waiting, when you are turning your face towards Him. You are now turned your face towards māyā, the illusion. As soon as you turn your face towards Him, oh, He will help you in every respect, every respect. He is so kind. He is so merciful. Just like father. However rebellious son he may be, as soon as comes to his father, "Father, forgive me. I shall now obey you," that father at once... He was always ready to forgive him. Father is so kind to the son that he wants that "If my son comes back, I shall forgive all his misgiving, if he comes back just like a good boy." That is a natural instinct. You see? Similarly, whatever we have done, never mind. If we take the step that "From now we have got the opportunity of human life. Now this life... I have enjoyed material life in various lives, as cats and dogs and in so many lives, the āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca, the same pleasure, eating, sleeping, and sexual intercourse and to take protection... So this is not the business of human life. The human life is just to understand my relationship with the Supreme and engage myself in that engagement." You see? That should be the mission of life. And as soon as we do it, all facilities are open and the little progress you make, you will find that you have no more attachment for material life and material enjoyment.
The Vedic śāstras are there, the representatives of Kṛṣṇa are there. They are teaching, "My dear conditioned souls, please adopt this means and end your repetition of birth and death. Come to the kingdom of God." This is a chance.
But if somebody takes it, "Now I have got my body, let me enjoy my senses to the fullest extent," then he is doomed. Then he loses the chance. Therefore this human form of body should not be wasted simply by sense gratification like cats and dogs.
Those who do not know what is the complication of this material nature, this spiritual life or material life, they are rascals. Simply they are enjoying the senses which have been given by laws of nature. They are thinking "The best things we have got, let us enjoy it to the fullest extent." No, it is not good. You must take the advantage to get out of this field of material activities and enter into the kingdom of God. This is a chance of creation.
Now, pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt means cooking. The cooking is the most important business of our life. Cooking... Nobody... A human being... We are not cats and dogs, and every human being has to cook things for eating. Now, this eating process... The Lord says that one who takes the eatables after the sacrifice, then he becomes free from all kinds of sinful reactions. And one who cooks for himself, for enjoyment, then he eats all kinds of sins, all kinds of sins. Yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santaḥ. Santa. Santa means saints and sages. They do not take anything without offering yajña. At least, whenever you take something, if you offer the same thing to the Lord—"My Lord, it is by Your grace I have got this eatable. You kindly accept it and I shall take the remnants"—this is yajña. This is also yajña.
Nānuvartayatīha yaḥ: "One who does not follow this circle of activity," aghāyuḥ, "he is simply spoiling his life. He is is simply "aghāyuḥ." Aghāyuḥ means "His duration of life, his duration of very valuable human form of life, he is simply wasting." Why? Indriyārāmaḥ: "Simply for sense gratification like the cats and dogs and hogs." Aghāyur indriyārāmo moghaṁ pārtha sa jīvati: "His life is now doomed. His life is now doomed." So this is the injunction of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Evaṁ pravartitaṁ cakraṁ nānuvartayatīha yaḥ: "Anyone who does not follow this circle of activities, then it is to be understood that he is spoiling his valuable human life, and his life is doomed." Hare Kṛṣṇa. Now if there is any question you can ask. (end)
Here the so-called tiger, so-called big men... Just like in America the president is a big man. But now he is put into such a condition that he is full of anxiety. At any moment he may be kicked out. This is the position. You cannot be happy either as President Nixon or tiger or cats and dogs or human being or Lord Brahmā. That is not possible. That is not possible. You must be full of anxieties because this is unnatural life.
Because Ṛṣabhadeva says, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye, tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). That is the aim. Śuddhyet sattvam. Sattva, our existence, is now polluted, infected. Therefore we have to accept birth, death, old age and disease. The cats and dogs, they cannot get this opportunity how to purify the existence, how to become free from these four principles of material unhappiness. They cannot understand; they cannot study Vedic literatures; they cannot take instruction of Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So if we do not take advantage of our Vedic knowledge which is found in India, then we are spoiling our life.
Yes. What is Vedic wisdom? Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). Knowledge. Veda means knowledge. What is perfect knowledge? Perfect knowledge is that "My constitutional position is to serve." Bring any man in this world. Who can say that "I am not servant"? Is there any man or woman within this world, within this universe, who is not a servant? Can anyone of you say that you are not servant? Is there anyone? Everyone is servant. Somebody is servant of the society, somebody is servant of the country, somebody is servant of his wife or family, or some cats and dogs, ultimately. One must be a servant.
The human, Vedānta-sūtra, this philosophy is meant for the human being, not for cats and dogs. They cannot understand. Therefore it is said, atha, now. It is the opportunity of our inquiring about the Absolute Truth, this human form of life. What is that Absolute Truth? Everyone is under the concept of this body, but that is not Absolute Truth. It is relative truth, but if you inquire about the Absolute Truth, then it is possible, because you are human being, you can understand what is that Absolute Truth. It is possible. Because this body is so advanced, our consciousness is so advanced, that there is possibility. But if we misuse this possibility, if we don't inquire about the Absolute Truth, simply we fight with one another for eating, sleeping, sex-life and defending, then we are no better than animals. The animals eat, sleep, have their sex life, and they defend, in their own way. So if we improve the method of eating, sleeping and sexual intercourse, and defending, then we don't go beyond the animal propensities. We have got higher intelligence, higher consciousness, not to improve the method of eating, sleeping, mating and defending, but to understand the Absolute Truth. Therefore, without understanding the Absolute Truth, we are simply spoiling our opportunity of this human life.
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is attempting to educate people how to utilize this human form of life properly. It will not stay, it will also die, just like cats die, the dogs die. We also die, but there is difference of this death. We can die knowing the Absolute Truth. The cats and dogs die without knowing. That is the difference. In the Garga Upaniṣad it is said, etad viditva ga prayatisa brāhmaṇa etad aviditva ga prayatisa kṛpaṇa (?). Etad, this absolute knowledge, without knowing the Absolute Truth, if somebody dies—everyone will die, you cannot check. You may be very much advanced in scientific knowledge, but you cannot stop death. That is not possible. Neither you can stop old age, neither you can stop birth. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that you may be very much advanced, you have mitigated all your sufferings, all the problems of life, but these problems of life, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi, birth, death, old age and disease, that you cannot avoid. That is not possible. So, if, but everyone has got the tendency to avoid birth, death, old age, and disease. Why? Because the spirit soul, M am, in reality. I am not subjected to birth, death, old age, and disease. Because I have accepted this material body, therefore apparently I am subject to birth, death and old age. Otherwise, I am eternal.
So, the Garga Upaniṣad says that anyone who dies after becoming a brāhmaṇa, his life is successful. And anyone who dies without becoming a brāhmaṇa, he dies like a cat and dog. That is the difference. So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is that don't die like cats and dog, die like a brāhmaṇa. That is our request. Don't think it is any sectarian religion. It is a science. It is a culture. You are trying to educate people how to become brāhmaṇa. Just like these European, American boys, they are not born of a brāhmaṇa family. According to Vedic understanding, they are born in the family of mleccha or yavana, or caṇḍāla, like that. There are different terms. But Bhāgavata says, never mind what he is, or Bhagavad-gītā says never mind what he is. In the Bhagavad-gītā you will find the statement by Kṛṣṇa, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (BG 9.32), anyone, it doesn't matter what he is, even he's born in sinful family, it doesn't matter if he takes shelter of Me. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya te 'pi yānti parāṁ gatiḥ, they all are promoted to the supreme planet, back to home, back to Godhead. Kiṁ punar brāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā (BG 9.33), then if they can be promoted, what to speak of persons who are really born in the brāhmaṇa family. So it is a great opportunity to make your life successful. Don't spoil your life like cats and dog, just become a brāhmaṇa. We don't expect that everyone will become brāhmaṇa, but if a little percentage of persons becomes brāhmaṇa, the whole problems of the world will be solved.
But here it is said, bhagavān uvāca. That means He's the richest, He's the strongest, He's the most beautiful, the wisest, and the most renounced order of life. Kṛṣṇa. When He was present in this material world, on this globe, He proved by His actions. So far His richness is concerned,... At this age, in this age, at the present moment, if a person can provide his family nicely, nice apartment or nice house, good dress, good food, he's considered to be very successful man. Because in this age... It is said in the śāstra, dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. Kuṭumba. Kuṭumba means family. If one can provide his family very comfortably, he is considered as very expert. But the family maintenance is done by the cats and dogs also. They also maintain their family, their wife, children, very nicely, according to their standard. But this age is so fallen that if one, even one is not married, the preliminary necessities of life, eating, sleeping, sex life and protection from fear... These are the preliminary necessities. So the age is so fallen that people have no eating substance even. We know, everyone, how things are going on. People are hungry, no eating substance. And what to say of sleeping? Or what to speak of...? Nobody's married timely, either boys or girls. And nobody's secure. Nobody knows what will happen next moment. This is called Kali-yuga.
The life is meant for understanding what is my relationship with God. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is the vision of life: what is Brahman, what is God, what I am, what is my relationship with God. And so far eating, sleeping concerned, that is done by the cats and dogs. But the modern civilization, they are busy. Because they are busy for eating, sleeping and mating, they, by the laws of nature, that is also being minimized. I have already explained. Because the nature wants to help us because we are now forgotten souls. We have forgotten God. The animals have also forgotten God. They are thinking they are this body, bodily concept of life. They have no knowledge. But when you come to the, by evolutionary process, come to the human form of life, then it is your duty to inquire about the Supreme Brahman. That is Vedānta-sūtra. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. "Now you have to ask about Brahman." Not the matter. So that Brahman is Vedic knowledge. From the material standard, gradually we have to go upwards and come to the point of understanding Kṛṣṇa. That is Vedic knowledge. That is Vedic knowledge. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). To pursue Vedic knowledge means to understand Kṛṣṇa. But if you do not understand Kṛṣṇa and if you speak as, like so many nonsense things, and if you pose yourself as paṇḍita, that is śrama eva hi kevalam. That is stated. Śrama eva hi. Simply wasting time and laboring for nothing.
This is Bhagavad-gītā. Nobody wants to know this. They manufacture their own commentaries. In that way you'll never understand. You'll understand as Kṛṣṇa says, sa eva ayaṁ purātanaḥ. The same thing. What is that same thing? That "I am God. I am Kṛṣṇa. You are My part and parcel." This is an eternal relationship. It cannot be broken, but you have forgotten. You have forgotten your relationship with Kṛṣṇa. You have made your relationship with your family, so-called family, so-called country, so-called society, and so on, so on, so on, so on. This is all temporary. Suppose I am Indian today. You are American tomo..., today. But is there guarantee after your death you'll become American or I'll become Indian? Or I'll take my birth in the same family? No. According to my karma, I may become cats and dogs. You may become demigods. You may become something else. But dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Dehāntara-prāptiḥ (means) you'll have to accept another body. And there are 8,400,000 species of forms of bodies. Any of them you'll have to accept. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). You are wasted your time as the family member or as the national or this or that, but there is no guarantee that next life will be same countryman or same family. No, there is no such guarantee. Dehāntara-prāptiḥ. You'll have to accept one body, and that body means... Any, out of these four... According to my karma... Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapatti (SB 3.31.1).
So Kṛṣṇa can be seen always, provided you want to see God. But we don't want to see God. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, you can see sadaiva. In the Brahma-saṁhitā, it is said, santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti. Santaḥ, if you are santa... Santa means saintly person. If you become saintly person... But if you remain rogues, thieves, cats and dogs, then how you can see God? You have to become a santa.
- premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
- santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
- yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
- govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
- (Bs. 5.38)
So you have to become santa. If you remain always addicted to sinful activities, how you can see God? That is not possible. You have to give up these rascal, sinful activities. What are the sinful activities? Illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. That's all. You have to give up these. Yeṣām anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām, te dvandva-moha-nirmuktāḥ. If you become leader, so-called leader, rascal leader, and you are addicted to illicit sex and intoxication and meat-eating, you must be si... If you are sinful, how you can lead persons? Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). Blind man is leading other blind men. Therefore there is no solution. Why the world is in chaos? Because the leaders are all sinful. These are the sinful definitions. Striya-sūnā-pāna-dyūta yatra pāpaś catur-vidhāḥ (SB 1.17.38).
"Oh, I am servant of my wife. I am servant of my family. I am servant of my country. I am servant of my society." And if there is nothing, then "I am servant of my cat and servant of my dog and servant of my..." So many things. If anybody... I see in, in, in your country, there are so many gentlemen, they are very fond of becoming servant of cats and dogs. They have no children, but they voluntarily become servant of cats and dogs. Because that attitude is there, you cannot avoid it. If you have nothing to serve, your wife, your children, then you have to catch some cat and dog and give service. That is your nature. You cannot avoid it. So that is your religion, to serve.
Now, our whole thing is to serve the Supreme. Then that's... Now, our designated service... We are now in designated service. That means we, because due to these material bodies, we have manufactured so many service. Service, we cannot... Just like the water cannot be more than a liquid thing, similarly, we cannot be more than a servant, but because we have got so many designation, our service is being rendered in designation. That is the difference. Now, when we become free from the designation and we come to our senses and render service to the Lord, that is our position of freedom, real position. Real position.
But when you can control them, that is humanity. Therefore laws are made for the human being, not for the animals. I have several times explained. When there is law on the street, "Keep to the left," it is meant for the human being, not for the cats and dogs and cows. Say, if the cat, dog, goes to the left or right against the police direction, he's not punished. Because he's animal. Or a child. If he trespasses. But if an adult person transgresses the law, he'll be punished. So the human life has got responsibility.
What is that responsibility? Tapasya. Here it is said, jñāna-tapasā pūtāḥ, purified. Jñāna, knowledge, and tapasya. Then he's purified. Not that "You can do whatever you like. It has nothing to do with the religion." There are so many rascals" program. "You can eat anything. You can do anything, and still you become a Vedantist." This kind of rascal Vedantists are going on. But here it is said by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, jñāna-tapasā. Jñāna-tapasā pūtā mad-bhāvam. Without knowledge, without tapasya, you cannot make any spiritual progress. Not by simple words. That is not possible. Because in the previous verse it has been said that janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). So how one can come to Kṛṣṇa? Mām eti. That is being described. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ (BG 4.10). Mām upāśritāḥ, to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. To become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.
So on the whole this great knowledge is missing at the present moment in the human society. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is specifically meant for educating people about the spirit soul. It is not a sectarian religion. It is a science. Don't take it as a type of religion. It is a course of education which is understandable by the human society, not by the cats and dogs. If I call a dog, "Please come here, read this book," how he will understand spiritual nature? It is not possible for him. But if I call a human being and I ask him, and if he agrees to understand what is spiritual nature, it is possible. That is the difference between dog and a man. A dog cannot understand what is spiritual nature, but a man can understand. Therefore the conclusion is if in this human form of life we do not take advantage of understanding what is our spiritual nature, then we are no better than the dog. It is an opportunity given by the nature or by God to understand this human form of life. We should not miss this opportunity. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. God is personally giving you the information, what is the material nature, what is the spiritual nature, how you can transfer yourself to the spiritual nature, and then you come to your original, constitutional position.
He can eat the whole world, but you cannot do that. You must follow his instruction, "Thou shall not kill." You must have discrimination. You are human beings; you are not cats and dogs. You must have discrimination, what to eat, what to not eat. Because we have to eat some other living entity, it does not mean that I shall eat my sons and daughters. "Discrimination is the best part of valor." So far we are concerned, we are eating certainly vegetable, but not directly. We eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam. Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati: (BG 9.26) "Anyone who offers Me with love and affection vegetables, grains, milk, I eat." So if there is any sin for eating vegetables, that is Kṛṣṇa's sin, not our sin. We take the prasādam. We are teaching people to eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam. We are not teaching people to become vegetarian or nonvegetarian. That is not our business. After all, we have to eat, so if we eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam... That is stated, yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ: "If you accept prasādam which is offered to God, then you are free from all sinful resultant action."
So it is our duty therefore... That is the duty of human life, to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. And that is stated here. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhā man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ, bahavaḥ (BG 4.10). It is not that one or two. Many. Jñāna-tapasā. Jñāna. That is required, knowledge and tapasya. That is human life. If, if we remain just like cats and dogs, eat, sleep and have sex life, beget children and die someday, this is cats' and dogs' life. This is not human life. Human life is different. Man-mayā mām upāśritāḥ. Jñāna-tapasā pūtā. To become purified by knowledge and tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). That is the statement of Ṛṣabhadeva. Everywhere. We have to purify our existence, and get out of this repetition of birth and death. That is success of life.
So therefore the system in the, according to varṇāśrama-dharma, that not only by birth, before birth, when the father and mother is going to be combined to beget a child, there are cultural saṁskāras or reformatory measures. How much carefully these things are. They wanted first-class son, not sons like cats and dogs, first-class son. So there is some saṁskāra. There is some purificatory measures, which is called garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. Garbhādhāna means pregnancy, the cultural ceremony before making the mother pregnant. And it is enjoined, you will find in the Bhāgavata, that any family, the brāhmaṇas, the kṣatriyas and vaiśyas, if they give up this garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, birth-giving ceremony, then that family turns immediately to the classification of the śūdras.
So nowadays, at the present moment, this cultural program... I am speaking of India and everywhere. There is no such cultural program. That cultural program, that program to beget nice children, the whole program is, we must know, the whole Vedic system is to give the human life the greatest chance of self-realization and get free from these material miseries. That is the whole program. It is not... The Vedic culture does not mean that we shall be like cats and dogs, simply eating, sleeping, mating and defending. No. The human society is a systematic program to give everyone the chance of getting free from this material miseries.
This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. How, we are helping people how to get out of this material body, and revive your own spiritual body and, in that spiritual body, you go back to home, back to Godhead. This is the process. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). But people are so attracted to this material body that they are prepared to become cats and dogs next life, but they are not prepared to go back to home, back to Godhead. This is the problem.
So why this problem? Because the human society is in chaos. A chaotic condition. There must be division of four classes. One class must be brāhmaṇa, intelligent class of men. And one should be kṣatriya, one class, the administrators. Because human society, they require good consulting brain, good administrators, good producers and good worker. That is the division of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says: catur varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13). In order to keep smooth facilities for human life, there must be four divisions. If you say that don't, "We don't require brāhmaṇa,"... If you don't require brāhmaṇa, then you'll suffer.
So brāhmaṇa means one who knows God. That is brāhmaṇa. And keeping in view God, they teaches others to become God conscious. Without becoming God conscious, the human society's simply animal society. Because animals cannot be God conscious, however you may go on preaching amongst the animal, cats and dogs. It is not possible. Because they have no brain to understand what is God. So in the human society, if there is no brāhmaṇa who can teach about God, who can elevate persons to God consciousness, then it is also animal society. Simply eating, sleeping, and sex life and defense, these are the business of the animals also. The animals also know how to eat, how to sleep, how to enjoy sex life, how to defend. They know in their own way.
So we are part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa, so we also must be feeling enjoy. Why we are so much distressed—adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika? This question should arise. If this question does not arise, then we are as good as cats and dogs. That's all. The cats and dogs never inquire. Cat will never inquire that "Why I am starving? Why I am dying? Why everybody chases me? I have to go out." The dog also. So if in the human form of life we remain blind without seeing the problems of life and still we say we are very much joyful, enjoying life, where is your enjoyment? There is no enjoyment.
But we have no intelligence. We think that "We are like cats and dogs. The cats and dogs, they also eat; we also eat. They sleep; we also sleep. And they have sex; we have also sex. And they defend, we also defend. Their business finished." No. Your business is not finished. Because you are human being, you have got advanced intelligence than the cats and dog. You should know analytically what are the miserable condition of life and try to solve. That is intelligence. That is intelligence. And if we remain satisfied like cats and dogs—"So I have got something to eat, I have got some nice place to sleep and I have also got some other sex for enjoying sex life, and I defend with so many weapons, latest nuclear weapon"—no, śāstra says, "These things are manufactured... These things are maintained by the cats and dogs." Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām. This is common formula between the animals and the man.
But you have got another problem: how to solve this material position. That is required by you. If you do not try to understand what is your problem and if you do not try to solve them, then you are no better than the cats and dogs. This is the shastric injunction. So how to organize the human society so that we may not be called the cats' and dog society? That we must know. If we keep our society only for the purpose of better eating, better sleeping, better sex life and better defense, then we don't improve. That is the business of cats and dogs, even ants. They also know how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex and how to defend.
So our business does not finish there. Our business is more business, that "If I am eternal as God is eternal, then why I am subjected to birth and death?" This is real question. This is called brahma-jijñāsā. The Vedānta-sūtra, the Vedānta philosophy, begins from this inquiry, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "This human life is meant for inquiring for the Absolute Truth, what is the ultimate truth of life." Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). So when we forget completely our real problems of life, that is animalism.
So that animalism... When the human society, the animalism is prominent, simply living like animals, that is called dharmasya glāniḥ, "deficiency in the matter of dharma." Therefore, in human society there is some sort of religious system. It does not matter what is that religion. May be Hinduism or Christianism or Mohammedanism or Buddhism. In the civilized human society there is some conception of religious principle. Without religious principle, we are cats and dogs because in the cat society, dog society there is no such thing as church, mosque, or temple or synagogue. They live naked and bark. That's all. So if we simply live and try to become naked like the cats and dogs and bark, then where is the difference? Where is the difference? No difference. So we must take to religious system. That is humanity.
You cannot manufacture religion. And what is actual religion? If you follow, then you are religious. The actual religion is the God's order. That is... everyone follows some principle of religion to understand God. And in our Vedic system the only purpose of life is to understand God. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. In the human form of life we have no other business. No other. Other business, that, cats and dogs are also doing, and we are also doing. That is automatic. It is not that other animals, they are starving. They are also eating and we are also eating. But the facility is, the other animals lower than the human being, they haven't got to do any business or any profession or go from one country to another to earn livelihood. That is their advantage.
Now, Kṛṣṇa says tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ, we have to change to another body, but we do not know what is that body. We are not prepared. Just like here I am, Johannesburg. So I know, from here I'll have to go to Nairobi. That I know. And we are making arrangement. But if as human being one does not know what is going to happen next life, then what kind of human being is? Where is the difference between cats and dogs? The dog does not know, neither he can be instructed, neither he is able to take the instruction. But why the human being should remain like dog? This is the problem. So we must consult Bhagavad-gītā very regularly, try to understand the problems of life, and the first problem is that you have to change your body.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: If you have any questions, please just come forward and ask.
Prabhupāda: Water.
Guest (1): Could you ask Prabhupāda to explain... Prabhupāda, could you explain why... I didn't quite understand why it was necessary that we have religion. You said that so that we can be different to cats and dogs.
Prabhupāda: Why it is necessary that you should know the laws of the state?
Devotee (1): To know?
Prabhupāda: Know the laws of the state. You are living in some state, under some government. So why it is necessary that you should know the government's laws?
Devotee (1): So you can live best under them.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: So we can live best under them.
Prabhupāda: So you must have religion to have proper life.
Prabhupāda: What is that incarnation theory? You are going to get another body. That is reincarnation. Now, what kind of body you are going to get, that will depend on your work. There are 8,400,000 different types and forms of body. So you are at liberty to work. Therefore the direction is there in the Bhagavad-gītā, "You work like this. Then you get the body like this." So this is risky life. Without knowing the law of God, without knowing how nature is working, how the living entity is getting different types of body, without this knowledge, if we simply keep ourself on the business of eating, sleeping, sex and defense like cats and dogs, this is very, very risky life.
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to save the human society from this risky life and to understand what is God, how he can go back to home, how he can get eternal life. This is our business.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: Are there any other questions?
Prabhupāda: That's all right. Chant. (end)
So Kṛṣṇa says that our real problem of life is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). That is the problem. Repetition of birth. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). We take one body according to karma. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye (SB 3.31.1). We get a body according to karma, daiva-netreṇa. That is not in your hand. Suppose if you are living like cats and dogs, the nature's way is that you get next life the dog's body, cat's body, or hog's body. And if you are working just like a god, godly, with good qualification, godly qualification, then you become next life demigod. You get your situation in the higher planetary system. These are all explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Therefore cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). So this education should be introduced. Guṇa. First of all, everyone should be educated to accept the sattva-guṇa, sāttvika, goodness. Everyone should be trained up, the first-class good man. Satyaṁ śamaḥ damaḥ titikṣā ārjava, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). Everyone should be taught.... (break) ...if he remains like an animal, eating, sleeping and mating and dying like cats and dogs, that is not right. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that what type of karma should one execute? Karmaṇo hy api boddhavyam. One should learn, not foolishly do anything and anything.
You have got tendency for sex life—make it regulated by marriage ceremony. This is Vedic civilization, not that like cats and dogs you meet together and have sex life. No. That is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā. Dharmāviruddhaḥ kāmaḥ, which is not against religious principles, that kind of sex life, Kṛṣṇa says, "I am that sex life." So nothing is denied. Nothing is denied, but everything should be regulated. That is human form of life. And that regulative principle begins from the varṇāśrama-dharma, four kinds of varṇas and four kinds of āśramas. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. These are varṇas. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam (BG 4.13). This is.... This program is chalked out by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You cannot neglect it. Then the karmas will topsy-turvy.
So this is Vedic civilization. Don't be carried away. Take lesson from Bhagavad-gītā and make your life successful. 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.
So nirāśīḥ, now, to go to our original position, that is called tapasya. Tapasya means to revive our original normal life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is called tapasya. This tapasya is not possible by the cats and dogs or animals. Tapasya is meant for the human being. Therefore the human life is called durlabha-janma. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy arthadam adhruvam.
Prahlāda Mahārāja said,
- kaumāra ācaret prājño
- dharmān bhāgavatān iha
- durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma
- tad apy adhruvam arthadam
- (SB 7.6.1)
He advised his class friends, "My dear friends, from childhood we shall learn the science of Bhāgavata-dharma. Bhāgavata-dharma means to reestablish our lost relationship with Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And this can be solved in this human form.
But according to Vedic civilization, varṇāśrama-dharma. Vedic civilization means four varṇas and four āśramas. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. We have begin. We have began our lecture on the basis, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). So this is civilization. Unless one comes to this standard of civilization, varṇāśrama-dharma, that is animal civilization. So we prefer animal civilization. Therefore we are living like animal also, fighting like cats and dogs and suffering like cats and dogs also. This is the position. Nirāśīr yata-cittātmā. Control. I shall accept as much as I require, not more than that, not less than that. Controlling the citta, intelligence, and ātmā, mind or self, self-control.
So people should be satisfied in any condition of life given by Kṛṣṇa, and he should endeavor for developing his Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is the real aim of life. Not to make competition to get more comfortable life than your neighbor or father or brother or like that. That is not our business. That is the business of the cats and dogs. Kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). Then (?) What is that? Tapo divyam. This human life is for tapasya. This is tapasya. "All right, Kṛṣṇa has given me this position. That's all right. I will be satisfied." This is called tapasya. Why should I make competition? Simply by doing competition I am not going to be successful. That is the instruction of all śāstra.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva (CC Madhya 19.151). We are rotating, wandering, in different species of life, different planets, different forms. In this way we are transmigrating from one position to another position. This is going on. So.... But that is not a very nice business. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). You accept some type of body or some type of place. Suppose one has become American. So how long he will remain American? Say, for fifty years or utmost hundred years. Then again, next chapter. One does not know what is the next life. That will be decided, kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). There is no guarantee that the next life again you become American or Indian or brāhmaṇa. You may become a cat and dog, because that is not in your hands. That is in the hand of material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). That will be awarded to you by superior judgement, that "This man has done like this; he should get a body like this." That is not in your hand. That is not in your science.
Four defects. I have several times explained. One defect is that we commit mistake, everyone. And we become illusioned, accepting something for something. Just like mostly, even educated persons, they accept this body, "I am this body." Just like animals. The cats and dogs, they also think that "I am this body." I have several times told you that I talked with Professor Kotofsky in Moscow. He said, "After finishing this body, Swamiji, everything is finished." He said like that. And he is a big professor. And according to our Vedic culture, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). If one is going on under this impression that "I am this body," he is go-khara, ass and cow, means animal. Therefore they do not know how we are accepting different bodies under karma, by associating with especial...
This is the science. One has to be situated in full knowledge, and full knowledge is.... The beginning of knowledge is that one must understand that "I am not this body." This is knowledge. And if one is working like cats and dogs, thinking himself "I am this body," he has no knowledge. Just like animals. They are not expected to be in knowledge. A man is expected to be in knowledge and he must know that "I am not this body." Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). So one has to know that "I am not this body, but circumstantially and according to my association with the modes of nature, I am transferring, transmigrating from this body to another body."
So Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's name, or anything in this world, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma, that is Kṛṣṇa, because it is energy of Kṛṣṇa. And you cannot separate the energy from the energetic. I have already explained that you cannot separate fire or heat or smoke from the fire, because the three things are emanating from the fire. Therefore in the Vedānta-sūtra it is said, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). The first code is athāto brahma jijñāsā, "Now, this human life, is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth." In cats' and dogs' life we cannot. By evolution process, when you come to human form of life, there is chance of understanding Kṛṣṇa. Therefore when we get this human form of life, if you do not understand Kṛṣṇa, then you are committing suicide, ātma-han, cutting one's throat himself. So we should not be ātma-han. Labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte mānuṣyam arthadam. This human form of life is purposeful. Don't waste. That is the injunction of the śāstra.
Āśrama, this very word, indicates that it is spiritual. And perhaps most of you know that āśrama means... Āśrama, this very word, means that this place... Just like temple or church. There are so many buildings on this Second Avenue. And when you see a church or a temple, you at once understand that "This building is meant for spiritual understanding." Similarly, when we call āśrama, āśrama means that that, I mean to say, function is meant for spiritual realization. So all the four classes of social order—the brahmacārī, the gṛhastha, and the vānaprastha and the sannyāsa—they are called āśrama. Āśrama means they are meant for spiritual emancipation. The student is also given instruction so that before entering family life, he gets complete instruction of spiritual life so that when he enters into family life, he is not just like a cat and dog, so-called sense gratification. They are meant for... Although they live with wife and children, they are meant for spiritual emancipation. This is called āśrama, gṛhastha-āśrama.
But if we put here a hundred bags of flour and if we ask people that "Come and take," then somebody will take ten bags, somebody will take fifteen bags, somebody will take, will not take any bags because, if he's weak, he cannot take. So the distribution will not be equal. That is our advancement of civilization. The knowledge which the pigeons, the cats and dogs have got, we are lacking in that knowledge, that the whole thing belongs to the Supreme Lord and we can accept them, whatever we need, not more than that. That is knowledge. That is knowledge. There will be no difficulty. The whole world is made by the Lord's arrangement that you have no scarcity. Everything is sufficient. Everything is sufficient. There will be no scarcity, provided you know the distribution. The distribution is... There is fallacy, distribution: one is taking is more and the other is starving. Therefore, the starving population, they are making protest, "Why we shall starve?" But that is also defective.
Just like children, they are born after the conjugation of the father and mother, similarly, the father is God; the material world is the mother. We have got this body just like the child gets his body from the mother's womb. The father is the seed-giver. Similarly, as spiritual souls, we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, but we are put into this material world because we wanted to enjoy this material world. Therefore we are put into this material world. And we have got this body, this material body. So in whatever form we may be, either as human being, or as a cat and dog or more than human being, demigod... So whatever forms there are, many thousands... Eighty, eighty lakhs. Eighty-four lakhs, species. Oh. Eight hundred millions of species of life, there are. But all of them claimed by Kṛṣṇa that, "I am their father. I am their father," ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ, "because I am the seed-giving father."
Therefore the other day I cited the verse from Yāmunācārya. Bhavantam evaṁ ciraṁ nirantaraṁ praśāntaṁ niḥśeṣa gato rathan(?)... Just like the child. The child in the lap of the mother is confident that "My comfort, my food, my dress, everything is there. My mother is there." So natural. Not only human being, even cats and dogs where the mother is there, she is there. It knows that "My protection is there," confident. As soon as one grows, keeps away from the mother, from the father, the so-called independence. Actually we are dependent on Kṛṣṇa. He is supplier. He is giving us food, everything. So we must have confidence. That's all. That is training. That is Kṛṣṇa conscious. Our only business should be simply to serve Kṛṣṇa. Then everything is there.
Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Adhokṣaje. God's another name is Adhokṣaja. Adhokṣaja means that conquers all materialistic attempt to see God. Adhokṣaja. Akṣaja means experimental knowledge. You cannot understand God by experimental knowledge, no. You have to learn in a different way. That means by submissive auraloral (aural) reception and rendering transcendental loving service. Then you can understand God. So any religious principle which teaches and helps you to develop your love of Godhead. Without any cause. "I love God because He supplies me very nice things for my sense gratification." That is not love. Ahaituki. Without any... God is great. God is my father. It is my duty to love Him. That's all. No exchange. "Oh, God gives me daily bread, therefore I love God." No. Daily bread God gives even to the animals, cats, and dogs. God is father of everyone. He supplies food to everyone. So that is not love. Love is without reason. Even God does not supply me daily bread, I'll love God. That is love. That is love.
This is universal vision. Not that God is sitting in your heart and not in the cat's heart or dog's heart or cow's heart. He's sitting everyone's heart. It is said sarva-bhūtānām. Sarva-bhūta means all living entities. He's sitting in human heart, He's sitting in the ant's heart. He is sitting in the dog's heart, he is sitting everyone's heart. But the cats and dogs, they cannot realize. That is the difference. But a human being, if he tries, if he follows the yoga system sāṅkhya-yoga system, bhakti-yoga system, then he is able to find out. That is the prerogative of this human form of life. And if we miss this opportunity, if we don't find out, if we don't identify our existence with the Lord, then we are missing this opportunity. This, after the evolutionary process, coming through 8,400,000 species of life, when we get this human form of life, if we miss this opportunity, then how much loss we suffer you do not know. So we should be conscious about that. We should not miss this opportunity. You have got very nice body, human form of body, intelligence, and civilized life. We are not like animals. We can think peacefully, we have no so hard struggle for life as the animals. So we should utilize. That is the instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā. Don't lose this opportunity. Utilize it properly.
So we should try to love God. Not demand anything. Demand is already supplied. Even the cats and dogs are getting their necessities. They don't go to the church or ask anything from God, but they are getting. So why a devotee shall not get? If a cat or dog can get his necessities of life without demanding from God, why shall I demand from God, that "Give me this, give me that." No. We shall simply try to love Him. That will fulfill everything. That is called highest platform of yoga.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that: asat-saṅga-tyāga ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra (CC Madhya 22.87). Those who are interested in spiritual life, or to become a devotee, the first business is to give up the association of bad elements. Asat-saṅga-tyāga vaiṣṇava-ācāra. In one line. Then next question is then who is asat? Asat eka strī-saṅgī kṛṣṇa-abhakta āra. There... He has described who is asat. Strī-saṅgī. Strī-saṅgī means those who are unnecessary addicted to women. Unnecessary. One should be married. One must have children. That is not illicit association. But otherwise... Kṛṣṇa also says: dharmāviruddhaḥ kāmo 'smi. Kāma, lust, sex life, which is not against religious principles, that I am. That kind of lust I am. So dharma... So according to religious system, people should not be cats and dogs or hogs in the matter of sex life. They must have married wife, married husband. And only for nice children, they should unite. These are the descriptions given by the... Viṁśati prakāra dharma-śāstra manu-saṁhitā. Not otherwise.
So there are many descriptions in many śāstras that one should avoid asādhu and try to associate with sādhu. Then his life will be successful. Because human life is meant for spiritual advancement of life, not for advancement of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That is cats and dogs life. Human life means advancement in spiritual life. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). We have to purify our existence. That people do not know, what is impure existence and pure existence. They do not know. There is no education, there is no science. The... Because we do not, do not understand that we are living entities, we are part and parcel of God. God is eternal, so I am also eternal. God is always fresh. I am also fresh. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yaṁ purāṇaḥ. Although Kṛṣṇa is the oldest person. Kṛṣṇa is ādi-puruṣa. He must be the oldest. But He... Nava-yauvanaṁ ca. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣaṁ nava-yauvanam (Bs. 5.33). This is Kṛṣṇa's feature. He is the ādi-puruṣa, the oldest.
Kṛṣṇa says: "I am the origin of all the demigods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara." The Brahma-saṁhitā supports it that ādyaṁ purāṇa-puruṣam. Lord Brahmā says the Lord is ādyam He's the origin. Kṛṣṇa also says: ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). The Vedānta says: janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Janmādy asya yataḥ, the Supreme Lord. So He's the oldest and, we, being part and parcel, we are also the oldest. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). We are also nitya, and Kṛṣṇa is also nitya. We are also living entity with knowledge. Kṛṣṇa is also living entity with knowledge. Simply He's our leader. He's the Supreme. That's all. So we do not know how our existence has been polluted. That we do not know. We are just like cats and dogs. We are taking birth and dying without any knowledge. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). But this is not our position. Our position is as good as Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is all powerful. We are minute. He is vibhu, we are aṇu. That is the difference. Otherwise, qualitatively, we are all one. So why you are under this obligation of taking birth and dying again. This is our impure existence. This is our impure existence.
So in pursuance of the order of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, following His footsteps, we are trying to introduce this saṅkīrtana movement, Hare Kṛṣṇa, and it is coming out very successful. Everywhere. I am especially preaching in the foreign countries. All over Europe, America, Japan, Canada, Australia, I am traveling. Malaysia. And anywhere I have introduced this saṅkīrtana movement—we have got different centers, about sixty centers—they have been received with great pleasure. Just like you saw these boys and girls. I have not imported them from India, but they have taken this movement very seriously, and they will take it, because it appeals to the soul directly. We have got different status of our life. Bodily concept of life, mental concept of life, intellectual concept of life and spiritual concept of life. So actually we are concerned with the spiritual concept of life, athāto brahma jijñāsā. If you are allured by the bodily concept of life, then we are no better than these dogs and..., cats and dogs. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). If we accept that "I am this body," then we are no better than the cats and dogs, because their concept of life is like that.
So hearing is so important thing. Śravaṇam. Śravaṇam means hearing. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu was talking with Rāmānanda Rāya, the process of self-realization. You will have it. For those who have got Teachings of Lord Caitanya, he'll read it. When Rāmānanda Rāya and Lord Caitanya (were) speaking, so Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Rāmānanda Rāya, "What is the best process for self-realization?" Because life is meant for self-realization. This human life is meant for self-realization. Ātma-tattvam. Otherwise it is animal life. The animals, they are cats and dogs; they are not interested in self-realization. But human life is meant for self-realization. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu questioned Rāmānanda Rāya that "What is the best process of self-realization?" He recommended, first of all, the varṇāśrama-dharma. Ca...
- varṇāśramācāravatā
- puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān
- viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā
- nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam
- (CC Madhya 8.58)
The real business is viṣṇur ārādhanam. Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is within the atom, who is within your heart, and who is also in His Goloka Vṛndāvana, that all-pervading... So varṇāśrama-dharma means how to realize that Supreme, all-pervading Godhead. That is varṇāśrama-dharma. Varṇa means four social divisions: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra; and āśrama means four spiritual divisions: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha... So accepting these four spiritual and four material principles of life, that is humanity. One who is not within this category, varṇāśrama-dharma, he's not accepted as a human being or a civilized human being.
So life's aim is self-realization—Viṣṇu—not the skyscrapers. These are piling stones and woods. This is not very intelligent work. The woods and pile, stones and earth is there already—big, big mountain, hills. You do the business of a porter, carry it out, and high, I mean to say, heap, heap it in one place, it becomes a skyscraper building. And if you simply are proud of these heaps of stones and woods and iron, that is not civilization. That is not civilization. Civilization is that the living entity who is using these resources, what, to know what is the actual business. This piling of stones and wood is done also by the birds. They also pick up, according to their strength, some twigs, and they make a nest. That intelligence is there. The rat also, he makes subway. (laughter) You see, So this is not very intelligent work, to imitate the rats, the birds, the cats, the dogs. That is not civilization. Civilization means self-realization, "What I am? Why I am forced to die? I do not like to die." To know this, that is civilization. When all these inquiries will come into one's mind... "Well, I do not wish to die. Why death is there, forced? I am forced to die. I do not wish to be diseased. Why disease comes to me upon me?" When this "why" question will come, "Why?" that is humanity. And if he remains dull, "All right, let me die," then he's cat and dog. That's all. If there is no "Why?" then he's cat and dog.
So human civilization does not mean this piling of woods and stones. No. That is not human civilization. Human civilization means brahma-jijñāsā, inquiry. These are the inquiry. "Why? Why I am forced to do this?" These things are taught regularly in the varṇāśrama system. One is made brahmacārī, celibacy, spiritual. One is made a very decently, family life, gṛhastha. One is made retired life, sannyāsī. Very systematical. So if we don't follow the varṇāśrama-dharma, then we are not even human beings. They are cats and dogs. So therefore Rāmānanda Rāya proposed this varṇāśrama... Varṇāśramācāravatā. He quoted from Viṣṇu Purāṇa. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "Oh, this is rejected." He immediately rejected. Now, so scientific institution of varṇāśrama-dharma system, coming from very early age, Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "This is external. Say something better." So in this way, Rāmānanda Rāya was putting some better proposal than varṇāśrama-dharma. Then varṇāśrama-tyāga. Tyāga means renouncing, renounced order. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu's speaking, "No, no. It is ... It is not very important. Go more."
Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān. Children, kaumāra... Kaumāra means from fifth year to the fifteenth year. These ten years, the boys and girls, especially boys, they should be instructed about religion. Now our government is secular. There is no question of teaching the children about religion, dharmān. Because dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. If you don't teach your children from the beginning of life about religion, then you are creating so many animals. Dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. Not only here, everywhere, the whole world, they are, their universities are producing some animals. That's all. Therefore there is so much chaos and confusion all over the world. Varṇa-saṅkara. So if you want to be happy, really, if you want to make your life successful, human life, then you have to take this principle of mayy āsakta manāḥ. You have to increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa. This is the meaning of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is not a sectarian religion. It is the fact. Unless the human society takes to this principle of increasing their attachment... We have got... At last, we increase our attachment for dogs and cats.
So this human form of life is meant for that purpose. Lower than the human form of life, cats and dogs, they cannot understand what is spiritual pleasure. That is not possible. But in the human form of life you can understand what is spirit and what is matter and what is spiritual pleasure and what is material pleasure. This distinction we can make. That much consciousness is developed in the human form of life. But if we misuse this developed consciousness for material pleasures, then we are missing the opportunity. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that you have got this human form of body. Don't miss the opportunity. That you can, if you properly utilize, if you train yourself, you can be transferred to the platform of eternal, spiritual bliss. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
So first education should be given to the students that he is not this body, he is spirit soul. And because he is spirit soul, he has got a different business than to maintain this body. Maintenance of the body, that is being done by the cats and dogs also. They also take care of the body very nicely. They fight, struggle for existence to... They fight to keep the body fit. The tiger also, he fights. He secures his eatables by fighting. Similarly, this struggle for existence to get things for eating, sleeping, mating and defending, that is current in the animal society also. So śāstra says, therefore, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). Śāstra says, ayaṁ deha, this body, human body... Nāyaṁ deho nṛloke, deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke. Nṛloke means in the human society. The animals... Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). Viḍ-bhujām means an stool-eater animal, stool-eater animal, hogs. You know. Although it is not very easily found in the cities, in our Indian villages, there are so many stool-eater hogs loitering in the street, in the village. The only business is "Where to find out stool?" This is the business. Whole day and night they are working, to find out stool. So if human being is educated to find out his eatables... Of course, the hog's eatables are the stool. They like it very much, very palatable thing. Similarly, we also, for some palatable things, we also work day and night. But śāstra says, na ayaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate. Why this human society should be trained up to work so hard simply for eating, sleeping, mating and defending? This is not good.
So actually, this is the problem of living entities. That knowledge can be acquired in the human form of life and it can be solved, not that simply we get the knowledge, but it can be solved. So therefore, real business of human life, to understand oneself, that is called self-realization, brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20), and find out the remedy and act accordingly. That is the mission of human life. Not like to dance like cats and dogs with a nice dress. That is not human life. This is the subject matter of Bhagavad-gītā, our whole Vedic instruction. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). This is God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or self-realization. Self-realization means either you see yourself or see the Supreme Lord, either way. But without seeing the Supreme Lord, you cannot see yourself. Just like without seeing the sun in the darkness... Just like it is now night. There is no sun. So I cannot see also. In darkness I cannot see also myself. But when there is sun in the morning, I can see the sun and I can see myself also. This is the theory. So if we want to understand ourselves rightly, that "I am spirit soul," ahaṁ brahmāsmi, then we must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Unless we have got spiritual understanding, we'll have to present ourself with this bodily designation. This is designation: "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am Bengali," "I am Sindhi," "I am Punjabi," "I am American" These are all bodily conception of life. And so long we are in the bodily concepts of our life, we are no better than the animals, cats and dogs. That is the statement of Vedic literature.
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
- (SB 10.84.13)
Go means cow, and kharaḥ means asses. So yasya ātma-buddhiḥ: "A person who thinks himself ātma-buddhiḥ, as 'I am this body...' " Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke. This body is made of tri-dhātu, three dhātus: kapha, pitta, vāyu. "So this kapha, pitta, vāyu, this body, I am not this body." This is self-realization. "I am different from this bag of flesh and bone." When we realize completely, that is the first point of self-realization.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching throughout the whole world about the knowledge of the Absolute. There is no question of religion or dogmatism. It is a question of cultural advancement in knowledge. Every human being has got right to understand the absolute knowledge. That is the only business of human being. There is no other business. Unfortunately, for want of training, we are wasting our advanced intelligence for the same business as the cats and dogs are engaged. That is the difficulty. Cats and dogs, they cannot understand what is absolute knowledge. They are busy where to find out food, where to find out shelter, where to find out facility for sexual intercourse, and where to find out shelter to avoid danger, defense, in other words, defense.
Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. At the present moment the human society is busy where to find out food, where to find out shelter, how to have nice sexual intercourse, and how to defense from other nation or other enemy. This has become the business. This is always the business of the materialistic way of life. But this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a different life. It is not materialistic way of life. It is the life of spiritual realization. It is little difficult because people are accustomed to think everything in materialistic way. Just like peace. Peace cannot be possible in the animal or materialistic way of life. It is not possible. You cannot expect peace in the cats' and dogs' society. That is not possible. Peace is possible when human being is advanced in God consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So that one religion is given in the Bhagavad-gītā: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). To surrender to God the great and to abide by His instruction, that is called religion. It may be that the Hindus may be following the same principle in a different way or the Christian may be following the same principle in different way. That is called deśa-kāla-pātra. According to time, atmosphere, and the performer, there may be little difference. But real purpose of dharma is to surrender to God and try to love Him. That is religion. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Because we are part and parcel of God... We have now forgotten. We have to revive our God consciousness. Then we go back to home, back to Godhead. This is our business.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for this purpose, that everyone should be raised to the platform of God consciousness. Then his human form of life is successful. Otherwise it is the life of cats and dogs.
So Kṛṣṇa is personally instructing Bhagavad-gītā to understand Him, so we should take advantage of this, otherwise we are missing this opportunity of this human form of life. Kṛṣṇa is not teaching Bhagavad-gītā to some cats and dogs. He is teaching to the most influential person, imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ. So Bhagavad-gītā is meant for the rājarṣi, very rich, opulent, at the same time saintly person. Formerly all the kings were rājarṣi. Rāja and ṛṣi combined together. So the Bhagavad-gītā is not meant for the loafer class. It is to be understood by the heads of the society: yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas tat tad evetaro janaḥ (BG 3.21). So those who are claiming to be the leaders of the society, they must learn Bhagavad-gītā, how to become practical and actual leader, and then the society will be benefited. And if we follow the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā and Kṛṣṇa, then all problems will be solved. It is not a sectarian religious sentiment or fanaticism. It is not that. It is a science—social science, political science, cultural science. Everything is there.
So to understand Bhagavān, Para-brahman, that is the mission of human life. The cats and dogs cannot understand Bhagavān. That is not possible. A human being can understand. This Bhagavad-gītā is for the human being, not for the cats and dogs. So Kṛṣṇa says that "If you want to know Me..." It is not easy to understand Bhagavān, or God. God is not the exact word of Bhagavān; therefore we use the word "Godhead." "Back to Godhead." Bhagavān means the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Being. God means the ruler, the controller. But when we come to the supreme controller, He is Bhagavān. You are controller, I am controller. I am controller of my disciples within the Kṛṣṇa conscious society, but I cannot control the whole world. I have got some... You are controller in your home, of your wife, children, servants. But you are also controlled. You are not absolute controller. Therefore Bhagavān means the absolute controller.
Therefore, because in this material world people are inclined to stand on the animal platform of life, that is dharmasya glāniḥ. So Kṛṣṇa..., yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7). This is dharmasya glāniḥ. Means when human society forgets God or Kṛṣṇa or Bhagavān and simply lives like ordinary animal, cats and dogs, for eating, sleeping, sex life and defense, such society is animal society. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca etat paśubhir narāṇām. This business—eating, sleeping, sex life and defense—this is common to the animal and to the human being. A cat, a dog also eat, and we are also eating. They are eating in their standard and we are eating in our standard. Sometimes we are eating less than their standard. So eating, the satisfaction of eating, anything you eat the pleasure is the same. A hog is eating stool. He's enjoying the pleasure of eating. And a human being eating very nice palatable food, he's also enjoying the same pleasure. There is no difference. Similarly sleeping also, similarly sex life. A dog is enjoying sex life on the street, and the king is enjoying sex life in the palace. But the pleasure is the same. Similarly defense. If you attack one animal, he knows how to defend himself. He has got also nails and jaws.
Just like we offer Kṛṣṇa our obeisances: namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca: "Kṛṣṇa, You are worshipable by the brahminical culture, brahmaṇya-devāya," not by others, "because You are go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca, You are well-wisher of the cows and the brāhmaṇas." Why Kṛṣṇa is not said tiger? Why this prayer is devoid of tiger? Hitāya ca, Kṛṣṇa is always, I mean to say, thinking how to protect the cows and the brāhmaṇas. When Kṛṣṇa appeared on this planet He became a cowherd boy to give protection to the cows. He was tending cows by His personal example. You will read in the Kṛṣṇa book how He was taking care of the cows. Therefore go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. The first prayer is that "You are protector of the cows and the brāhmaṇas." Jagad-dhitāya. "You are well-wisher of the whole universe, but Your special interest is to give protection to the cows and the brāhmaṇas." Why that special interest? Because if the human society does not give protection to the cows and does not cultivate the brahminical culture, then it is cats and dogs society. Therefore it is given. And as soon as the whole society becomes full of cats and dogs, how can you expect peace and prosperity? The dog's business is "Gow gow gow gow! Why you have come here? Why you have entered in our neighborhood? Please get out. Please get out." Not "Please." "Get out." (laughter)
Rāmacandra was going to be enthroned and the stepmother said the same to Daśaratha Mahārāja, that... They were stepmothers, Mahārāja Daśaratha's three wives. So one wife wanted that her son should be king. So immediately she proposed that "Instead of Rāmacandra, my son should be king." Mahārāja Daśaratha said, "How it can be? It is already arranged. He is the eldest son." "No, you promised sometime that you will keep your promise and satisfy me. So this is my demand." "So what do you want?" "That Rāmacandra should be banished immediately and my son should be enthroned." He agreed. He called Rāmacandra, "This is the demand of Your stepmother. Kindly go to the forest for fourteen years, and Your stepbrother will be king." Rāmacandra agreed immediately. "Yes, that's all right, father." This is brahminical culture. Is there any single instance in the history that a king which is going to be enthroned next morning and by the order of his father immediately he goes away to the forest? Therefore there is no harm that we make materially very much advanced, but not like cats and dogs. Take brahminical culture. Then it will be perfect, the whole society. Go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya govindāya... That brahminical culture can be established only by understanding Kṛṣṇa. Without understanding Kṛṣṇa, whatever we do, we shall remain simply animals. That's all.
So the... Therefore... People do not understand this. Kṛṣṇa Himself says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3). Sahasreṣu means out of millions of men, they are interested how to make life perfect. Nobody's interested, especially in this age. In this age, prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ. The first disqualification is that in this age people do not live for a long time. First disqualification. Formerly, they were healthy and they could live about hundred years. As we have seen, our grandfather, grandfather, they used to live. My grandfather died at the age of ninety-six years. Similarly, there are many instances. People used to live for long time. But the first qualification of this age that they, they are dying fifty, sixty, forty-five. The India's average age is thirty-five. In other countries, a little more. So practically, nobody's living a very long time. Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ and manda. They do not know that they have a mission of life. Siddhi. Siddhi-lābha. They do not know. Like cats and dogs, dying. Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge, mandāḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. And if one is interested for spiritual life, they are also captured by so many pseudo spiritual things. Pseudo. Manda. Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ, mandāḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. They have got a different views. They do not like to take knowledge from the Vedic, perfect knowledge from the Vedic literature or from Bhagavad-gītā. They manufacture their own way of life, this mandaḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. And manda-bhāgyāḥ. And unfortunate, mostly they are unfortunate. And hy upadrutāḥ. And distributed by so many things. Sometimes earthquake, sometimes famine, sometimes scarcity of water, sometimes war, or sometimes fight. So many things, problems, simply problems. This is the position of this age.
So here it is said that manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). There are millions and millions, human beings. Out of them, one is very much anxious how to get perfection of life. Because everyone is carried by the animal propensities. What are the animal propensities? Eating, sleeping, sex life and defense. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca, sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām. These are the common formulas both to the animals and the human being. What is that? Eating, sleeping, mating, sex life and defending. Defense. Everyone is doing that according to his own capacity. Cats and dogs, they also eat, they also sleep, they also have sex life, and they also try to defend when there is danger, when there is enemy. So these things are common formulas both for the animal and human being. But what is the especial prerogative for the human being? That is siddhi, how to make life perfect. Therefore here it is said, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Siddhaye means "for perfection." What is the perfection of life? Perfection of life is no more birth, no more death, no more disease, no more old age. That is perfection. That the people do not know, that there is possibility of attaining stage when there is no more birth, no more death, no more old age.
So jñānaṁ te ahaṁ sa-vijñānam. Sa-vijñānam means with practical application. As there is theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge in scientific advancement, so simply theoretical knowledge will not help me. Theoretically I may know that I am not this body, but practically it must be known. If not, if I am not this body, then I am soul. Then I am working here in this world only for my body. What I am doing about my soul? That is knowledge. Suppose I have got this coat and pant and hat. If he simply tries, dry clean the coat and do not put any food in the stomach, how long this civilization will go on? Starving. So the whole world is in disturbed condition because there is no spiritual food, only material cleansing the shirt and coat. That is going on. Like cats and dogs, they are interested with the body.
So sa-vijñānam... Actually we must know what we are and what is my real business. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. You should carefully note it that when I understand that I am not this material body, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, I am spirit soul, I am Brahman... Kṛṣṇa is Para-brahman, and we are Kṛṣṇa's part and parcel. We are also Brahman. Not that by knowledge I become Brahman. I am already Brahman. By ignorance I am thinking not Brahman. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am spirit soul; I am spirit." That is my actual position. And when you understand your actual position and act accordingly, that is called mukti. Muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. When you understand that we are not this body... We are working whole day and night like cats and dogs, the hogs. The hog is also working day and night. Hog, what is his business? "Where is stool?" That's all. "Where is stool? Where is stool?" And as soon as he gets stool, he eats it, become fatty because stool contains all the vitamins. That is the essence of all good food that you take, and the essence is rejected. But it is scientifically true. Perhaps doctor will admit. Stool contains all hydrophosphates. Is it not? Then who is going to eat stool? Hydrophosphates is very good for brain, but now eat. Therefore these hogs very easily become fat. You see? So does it mean that we shall work very hard where to find out where is stool and then become fat and somebody will eat me? This is not civilization. Civilization is that you must know what is your real position and act accordingly, and then you become liberated. Sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. That is perfection of your life. Don't be misled by the bodily concept of life. That is condemned. The whole Vedic civilization is based on this point.
Anyone who is acting on the bodily concept of life, sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13), they are no better than the cats and dogs. That is going on all over the world. "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am African," "I am this"—bodily, all bodily. "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am black," "I am white," "I am fat," "I am thin." That's all.
So that jñānam, theoretical, and vijñānam, sa-vijñānaṁ vakṣyāmi, Kṛṣṇa will teach, "Take this jñānam." The most perfect personality. So this is our business. But do we...? We don't care for Kṛṣṇa. We do not know Kṛṣṇa and what to speak of taking knowledge from Him. The knowledge is there, but we are so fool that we do not take knowledge from Bhagavad-gītā. We manufacture our own knowledge. This is called māyā. Māyā is so strong that she'll not allow to take real knowledge from the real person, but we shall read volumes of books who are defective with their four kinds of imperfectness, namely they commit mistake, they are illusioned, they are cheater and their senses are imperfect.
"After many, many births of cats and dogs and trees and this and that," so many, eight million, "when one comes to this knowledge," vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19), "Kṛṣṇa is everything," sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ, "he is guru."
So guru means... Vedic injunction is you must go to a guru. Now, it may be difficult, who is guru. That is also Kṛṣṇa showing a..., "I am guru." Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: (BG 7.7) "There is no more any better person than Me." And He has proved it. He has proved it. Kṛṣṇa, so long He was on this platform, on this earthly planet, He proved that He was the greatest personality, greatest persons... Read history and you will see. He proved Himself from His childhood. When He was three months... He is neither old nor... But He was playing just like human child on the lap of Mother Yaśodā. The Pūtanā came to kill Him. So that child... You will read all this from Bhāgavatam, how He killed that big Pūtanā, when He was seven years old how He lifted Govardhana Hill. So although He was playing just like ordinary human child, human boy or hu..., but sometimes He was showing His almightiness. That is Kṛṣṇa. That is God.
So everywhere in the Vedic literature this life, this materialistic way of life is condemned, is condemned. So Ṛṣabhadeva says that "This life is meant for tapasya." Tapaḥ. Tapaḥ divyaṁ putrakā: "My dear sons, you are so... If you think that this human form of life is meant for, oh, sex happiness and working day and night so hard, oh, this life is not meant for that purpose. That is visible in the cats' and dogs' and hogs' life. They are also laboring the whole day and satisfied by sex life. So your life is not meant for that." Then what it is meant for? He says, tapaḥ: "It is meant for tapasya, austerity, penance." "Oh, you are... We are taking so much pains also." Don't you think these materialists, they are earning, they are making so improvement without any labor, without any tapasya? No. They are also laboring. They are undergoing, I mean, severe austerity. That's nice. But here it is said, tapaḥ divyam: "You have undergo austerities and penance for God realization." Divyam. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā (SB 5.5.1). Why? Why not this material world? Why God realization?
It is very nicely stated that tapo divyaṁ yena sattva śuddhyet: (SB 5.5.1) "If you accept this tapasya, or austerity, for God realization, then your existential position will be purified." At the present moment, due to my material conditional life, because I have got this material body, therefore my pleasure... I am hankering after pleasure, but whatever pleasure I am acquiring, that is not permanent, or flickering, or simply illusion. But that hankering after pleasure is your constitutional position. Because you are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, who is ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12), who is by nature blissful, and you are part and parcel of that blissful Supreme Personality of Godhead, therefore your nature is also blissful. That is a fact. But you are seeking pleasure or blissfulness in a place where it is not possible. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattva (SB 5.5.1). And by purification of your existential position, the result will be yasmād brahma-saukhyam. Brahman means the greatest. Greatest. Bṛhatvād bṛhannatvād iti... Brahman means the greatest and who comes in contact with Brahman, he also becomes greatest. That is called Brahman. So if you accept austerity in this life and don't behave like cats and dogs and hogs simply for sex pleasure, then the result will be that your existence will be purified, by which you'll realize eternal happiness, anantam, which has no end, no beginning, no end. Actually it is so.
So in the human society there must be some program how to cultivate such knowledge which can give me relief from this repeated birth and death. That is perfect human society. Otherwise those who are being carried away by the waves of material nature like cats and dogs, that is not proper human society. Human society means which society is making advance in spiritual knowledge, the Aryans. The Aryans means those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge. They are called Aryans. Ārya. Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3). There are 400,000 species of human beings, different types of human beings. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ (SB 2.4.18). There are so many varieties, they are considered lowest, low-grade. They cannot realize what is the aim of life. Kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ. Kirāta, the black race. Sometimes it is interpreted: the Africans or the south part of our country. Kirāta. Huns. These Huns are supposed to be inhabitants of the northern region of Russia. Some of them migrated into Germany. Kirāta, hūṇa, āndhra, pulinda, pulkaśa. There are so many different names.
So one who tries to understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, tattvataḥ, he is very very fortunate; therefore he's called manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3). The fortune does not come to everyone and anyone. Out of millions of persons. Therefore, who have taken Kṛṣṇa, who have understood Kṛṣṇa in tattvataḥ, as far as his knowledge is concerned, he is very, very fortunate. Ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva (CC Madhya 19.151). Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that we are wandering throughout the universe in many species of life, and when we come to this human form of life, if we are fortunate, or if we are fortunate to meet another fortunate devotee, then we can understand what is Kṛṣṇa. That is the saying, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Simply for a time endeavoring like cats and dogs, that will not help us. We have to approach such a person... That is stated in the beginning of Seventh Chapter, mad-āśrayaḥ. What is that first version?
To know ourself, what we are, that is siddhi, not to be busy with the bodily comforts of life which are being executed by the cats and dogs and hogs. The hog is whole time engaged how to maintain his body, how to have nice sexual intercourse, and how to eat anything he likes. You will find the hog life, practically. In our country, in India, in the villages the village hogs they are loitering whole day and night, "Where is stool? Where is stool?" So if human life is meant for that purpose, from early in the morning till one goes to sleep, simply find out where is money, "Where is money? Where is money? Where is money?" then where is the difference between this pig life and the human life? If human life is meant for that purpose, "Where is money? Where is money?"... Of course, for the human being the money is very sweet; similarly, to the hog the stool is very sweet. So it is the question of sweetness, not the matter. Taste. So he finds good taste in stool, and we find good taste in money.
But there is next life. This body is now old enough. It will be finished. Everyone knows. "As sure as death." Then after finishing the body, what will be your next body? Who will answer this? Where is the scientist? Where is the philosopher? Where is the learned man? Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Therefore he is blind. He does not know what is his future. But there is future. You cannot say no. The example is here. And besides that, Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Kṛṣṇa, the most superior authority, He says, and it is accepted by all the ācāryas and all persons who have attained perfection. So we should learn it, that "What is my next life?" And if I prepare for the next life, that is called siddhi. That is called siddhi. If we don't prepare for the next life, if we remain just like cats and dogs... The cats and dogs, they do not know what is next life because they are animal. And if I do not know what is next life, then what is the difference between the cats and dogs? Where is the difference between? Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13), śāstra says. "One who does not know what is the next life, he is no better than go-kharaḥ." Go means cows, and kharaḥ means ass. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ, sa eva go-kharaḥ. These men are no better than these cats and dogs and animals.
So to understand Kṛṣṇa is not very easy thing. Kṛṣṇa says that manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu, "Out of many millions of millions' person, one tries to become perfect." Who is going to become perfect, especially in this age? Everyone is working like cats and dogs. That's all. Whole day working for eating, sleeping, sex and defense, that's all. They are not manuṣyas. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhiḥ narāṇām. Eating... I eat; dog eat. So what is the difference between eating between the dog and me? He is eating according to his taste, I am eating also. The eating business is there in the dog also. Don't think that because you are eating on table, chair, plates, nice preparation... It is eating. People are taking that "Because I am eating on table, chair and nice dish and nice preparation, therefore I am civilized." The śāstra says that it may be different types of taking the eatables, but it is eating. That is even in dog. It does not make any difference. You are not civilized. Similarly sleeping. The dog can sleep on the street without caring for anything. We cannot sleep without nice apartment. So eating, sleeping, mating... Similarly, sex intercourse. Dog has no shame.
So this business, four business—eating, sleeping, mating and defending—these are common. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ sāmānyam etat. This is common. Then what is the special advantage of human life? The special advantage is athāto brahma jijñāsā. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. You should be inquisitive to know the value of life, the Absolute Truth. That is... The dog cannot do it. That is the distinction between dog and human being. The human being... In the human form of life there should be inquiry about Brahman, Para-brahman. That is human life. So after inquiring what is Brahman, Para-brahman, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), the original source of everything, when you attain brahma-jñāna, brahma-bhūtaḥ, that is your perfection, not that to compete with the dog in eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That is not civilization. That is not perfection of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). These foolish men, animalistic, dogs and cats, two-legged animals, they do not know what is the aim of life.
So this is the Kali-yuga position. So five thousand years ago, when Kṛṣṇa spoke about Bhagavad-gītā, at that time the position was manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu (BG 7.3). So sahasra. Now, on account of Kali-yuga, manuṣyāṇām "millions," because it has increased. The Kali-yuga has increased. Not sahasreṣu, and the percentage has increased millions and millions. Therefore nobody is interested in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We are trying to give the highest perfection of life, but they are not interested. They want to remain like cats and dogs and suffer the consequence. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ, ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā (BG 3.27). This is going on.
So as the land became visible, then jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Sthāvarāḥ means the living entities which cannot move. That means trees and plants, vegetables. So from aquatics to vegetable life, then worm, reptiles, then birds, and then beast, then human being, then civilized men. There is chance of becoming perfect. So nature brings you up to the point of human form of life. Now you make your choice. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. And if you misuse like cats and dogs, then again go. Again go to the aquatics or cats and dogs according to your karma. That they do not know. Therefore they are called mūḍhas. They are very much advanced in knowledge and science and money-making, but what they are going to take the body next life, they do not know. Mūḍho nābhijānāti. This is their advancement. Therefore they refuse to believe that there is next life. That is one solace: "Oh, there is no next..." Bhasmī-bhūtasya dehasya kutaḥ punar āgamano bhavet: "Oh, this body will be burned into ashes, and who is coming back again?" They don't believe. Because if they believe the śāstra, then it will be horrible affair for them. But therefore they do not believe. But you believe or not believe, things are going to happen. That's all. That is laws of nature. If you don't believe that you are going to die, it doesn't matter. You have to die. If you don't believe, that "I am not going to become an old man," no, you believe or not believe, you must become old man. This is nature's law. So you believe or not believe in the next life, you have to accept it. Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). So your believe or not believe doesn't matter. Nature's work will go on.
Out of many millions and millions of persons, actually they are serious to understand, "What is the aim of life? What is God? What is my relation..." Nobody is interested. Just like... Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). Everyone is interested with this bodily conception of life like cats and dogs. This is the position. Not only now, always, this is the material condition. But somebody, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu, out of millions, one tries to understand, to make his life perfect.
Species. He may become a dog, and he may become a demigod also, according to his karma. Mad-yājino 'pi yānti mām. Api. Yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ bhūtejyā yānti bhūtāni (BG 9.25). So according to his karma, he gets the next body. There is no guarantee that he'll get human body. Therefore it is very risky civilization at the modern time. They do not know what is the goal of life. Simply like cats and dogs, they are eating, sleeping, having sex life and dying. That's all. They do not know. Very risky life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). This is the statement of the śāstra, "These rascals, they do not know that what is the goal of life, to understand Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa." Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). In the external energy of Kṛṣṇa, this bhūmir āpo... Bhinnā prakṛtir me aṣṭadhā. Bhinnā. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Bahir artha means this external, separated energy, material en... They are trying to become happy by adjustment of this bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4). They are implicated with this bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ, external. Bahir-artha-māninaḥ. So they are andha, blind. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ. And they are leading other blind men. That's all.
Kāma-rāga-vivarjitam, dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo 'smi bharatarṣabha. "And lust, lust which is not against religious principles, that is also I am." What is that lust? Lust means, generally means, sex, sex life. Sex life which is not against religious principles, that is Kṛṣṇa. How it is religious principle, sex life? Yes. Sex life is religious principle in this way, that when you want a good child, in that sense, if you undertake sex life, that is sanctioned. That is religion. And without that, everything sex life is nonreligion. If you can produce a good child, you can have thousand times sexual intercourse, but if you produce cats and dogs, don't take. That is irreligious. So here it is stated that dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu. Therefore, for sex life, dharma is marriage. In the human society there is marriage. In the animal society there is no marriage. They indulge in sex life any way, because they are animals. But in human society, either Hindu society or Muslim society or Christian society or any society, any civilized society, there is the marriage. So the marriage, sex life by marriage, is religious, and sex life without marriage, that is irreligious. So here Kṛṣṇa says that "Sex life," dharmāviruddhaḥ, "which is not against religious principle, that is I am."
Śāstra means which is giving you regulative life. In regulative life sex life is... (break) That is śāstra. That is regulative principle. And even with your wife you cannot have sex life unless it meant for progeny, for producing children, Kṛṣṇa conscious children, not cats and dogs. That is dharmāviruddhaḥ. That is not against religious principles. That is very nice. Just like to produce brahmacārīs. Brahmacārī, wherefrom the brahmacārī comes? It comes from the gṛhastha life. Unless one marries, how he can beget children who become brahmacārī? So if you produce brahmacārī, then you can produce hundreds of brahmacārī. That is allowed. But don't produce cats and dogs. That is dharmāviruddhaḥ. Kṛṣṇa says, "I am there." Everything is there. Kṛṣṇa is everything. Even in sexual intercourse there is Kṛṣṇa. But how? Dharmāviruddhaḥ, not against the laws of śāstra. In the śāstra it is said that you'll have sex life after the menstrual period, sex life you have. But when your wife becomes pregnant, no more sex life. No more sex life. This is the injunction of the śāstra. You cannot have sex life for producing illegitimate son.
So if we do not follow the principles, then we are animals. That's all. That is the difference between the animal and man. If you do not follow the regulative principles enjoined in the śāstras... Yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ, kāma-kārataḥ, na sukhaṁ sāvāpnoti (BG 16.23). Because we do not follow the shastric injunction, therefore we are thinking that "Population is increasing; let us use contraceptive method." The so-called contraceptive method is there because we are having sex life against religion. Against religion. But if you have sex life in, mean, pursuance of the religious principles, you don't require. Because to become father and mother is not restricted, but to become father and mother of cats and dogs is restricted. To become father and mother is not restricted. That is nature. You become father of hundreds children. But don't produce cats and dogs. Then there will be... Then dharmāviruddhaḥ... And there will be unwanted population, problem, fight, no peace, no tranquillity. Everything, all, it will be hell.
So there is regulation of sex life. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, dharma-aviruddha, sex life is sanctioned under certain conditions. That is humanity, not like... Even the cats' and dogs' life there is some limitation. They have got a period of sex life. Similarly, for gṛhastha, there is a period for sex life. After menstrual period, five days after menstrual period, one may have sex life for begetting children. And if the woman or wife is pregnant, then there is no more sex life till the child is born and six months old. These are the regulations. And besides that, when there is sex life, there is a ceremony. It is not a secret thing. They could call, especially for the brāhmaṇas, they would call friends. Just like Hindu marriage takes place not by agreement but amongst the, in the presence of agni and friends and relatives and brāhmaṇas. That is sufficient witness. Similarly, when a brāhmaṇa goes to have sex intercourse for begetting child, there is a big ceremony. All the relatives, all the learned brāhmaṇas are present, and with their permission he goes for sex life. Sanctity. Therefore the child is born very nice. Because in such family ordinary living entity cannot come. Śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo 'bhijāyate (BG 6.41). In the family of a pure brāhmaṇa, śucīnām, or in the family of rich man, yoga-bhraṣṭo 'bhijāyate, the persons who have not executed the yoga system completely or somehow or other fallen down, they are given the chance of taking birth in nice brāhmaṇa family or rich man's family. So they also take care how to beget children. That is garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. This is called dharma-aviruddha-kāma. This kāma is sanctioned. Otherwise you'll beget demons, just like Kaśyapa Muni, untimely sex.
So similarly, there are actions, different actions. Some of them are duṣkārya and some of them are sukārya. Sukārya means when you act such action under the guidance of Kṛṣṇa. That is nice. And when you act under your whims, then that is miscreant. So miscreant and they act like human beings, mūḍha and narādhama. Narādhama means... Nara means human beings, and adhama means the lowest. Just like we accept some caṇḍāla as narādhama. Or... There are many low-grade people, but actually, a caṇḍāla is not a low-grade man. The man who does not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is supposed to be narādhama because he has got the chance. An animal hasn't got the chance to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. I cannot call animal, cats and dogs, in this meeting. That is impossible, because they have no chance. But we can call, we can hold a meeting amongst the human beings for discussing Kṛṣṇa because they have got the special power to understand. This special power to understand Kṛṣṇa, if it is misused for other purposes, he is narādhama. He got the chance of human being, but he has become degraded on account of his unwillingness to take Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
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. So if we do not take advantage of this knowledge, simply like cats and dogs we eat, sleep, and have sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, and die without taking advantage of the higher consciousness, developed consciousness, which have been given to us by the grace of Lord through the material energy... We have got intelligence, but if we misuse this intelligence, do not take advantage, then are we not the lowest of the mankind?
Now, how we shall meet death? Like cats and dogs? Then what is the use of this human form of life? The cats and dogs, they have got body. They have also will meet death. And I have got body; I will also meet death. So am I meant for meeting death like cats and dogs? Then what kind of human being I am? No. The śāstra says that labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte. After many, many evolution of different kinds of body... You understand the evolutionary theory. It is not exactly like Darwin's theory, but this evolutionary process is there. That is admitted in Vedic literature. From lower grade of animal life to the higher grade of animal life. So this human form of life is to be understood. We have got this human form of life after many, many lower grades of life. Labdhvā su-durlabham. And it's very rare. You count, those who are biologists, you count how many kinds of living entities are there. There are 8,400,000 species of life. Out of that, the human being are very small quantity. Out of 8,400,000, the human species of life are 400,000; compared with other animals, a very small quantity. Out of that, there are uncivilized men, many. They are almost animals.
The perfect human civilization is that you have to sit very calmly, quietly, and philosophically think, "How to solve the problem? Where I shall get the knowledge?" This is human form. The whole Vedic instruction is like that. "Now you utilize this form of life to make a solution. Don't die like cats and dogs." No. And one who tries... The Veda says, etad viditvā yaḥ prayāti sa brāhmaṇaḥ: "One who dies after attempting to make a solution to the problems, he is brāhmaṇa." And one who dies like cats and dogs, he is called kṛpaṇa. Kṛpaṇa means a very less intelligent man.
So we should not die like cats and dogs. We should die like brāhmaṇa. Even in one life a solution is not made, then you get next life opportunity. Just like all these boys who have come to us, it is to be understood that they tried in their last life for making a solution of this problem, but it was not finished. There is another opportunity. These things are stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. So now, this life, you should be determined. Those who are coming to the touch of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and initiated to execute, they should be very determined that "In this life we shall make a solution. No more. No more coming again." That should be our determination. (break) ...and go back to home, back to Godhead, where we get eternal, blissful life of knowledge. This is the sum and substance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
One person does not surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they worship different kinds of gods. Why? Now, kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ: "They have lost their sense out of lust, material lust." That's all. Because our life, this material life, is simply based on lust. We want to enjoy this world. We love this material world because I want to satisfy my senses. So this lust is the perverted reflection of my love of God. In my original constitution, I am made to love God, but because I have forgotten God, therefore I love matter. Love is there. Love is there. Either you love this matter or you love God, but you cannot get out of this loving propensity. Just like sometimes we see: one who hasn't got children, he loves a cat, loves a dog. You see? Why? Because he wants to love something. But in the absence of reality, he puts his faith and love into cats and dogs. So love is there, but that love is now represented in the form of lust. And this lust, when we are baffled in the lust, we become angry. We get wrath. And when we are in wrath, then next stage is illusion. And when we are illusioned, we are doomed. This process is going on.
Just try to understand that this place is full of miseries. There... In the modes of ignorance we cannot understand. Just like the cats and dogs and hogs, they cannot understand that what miserable condition of life they are pulling on, similarly, human... A human being is called rational animal. They are animal, but at the same time, they have got the rationality. But that rationality is being used in the purpose of animal propensities. That rationality is not being used how to get liberated from this miserable condition. That is a misuse of rationality. So here is the solution. Kṛṣṇa says that "If anyone remains in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, twenty-four hours, without any deviation, the result is that he comes to Me. And if he once comes to Me," mām upetya punar janma duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, nāpnuvanti (BG 8.15), "he does not get again rebirth of this miserable life." Why? Now, mahātmānaḥ saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ: "They are great souls, and they have achieved the highest goal of life."
So everyone should try to go there. God Himself comes to call you, He sends His son to call you, and the literatures are there, the scriptures are there. We should take advantage of this. This is meant for human body, human life, not for the cats and dogs. So we should take advantage of it. Human life is meant for that achievement. When we finish all this trouble... This trouble of repeating birth and death, the cycle of birth and death, this should be stopped. This is the information of Bhagavad-gītā. This is the perfection. Any system, either yoga system or jñāna system or bhakti system—anything, if you... Whatever you like, you can accept, but the ultimate goal is this paramāṁ gatim. If this is not achieved, then all yoga exercise and all philosophical speculation—all nonsense, simply waste of time, simply a waste of time. Ārādhito yadi haris tapasā tataḥ kim. If you can achieve this stage, that there is no other necessity of philosophizing or yogic practice or anything, if you receive that, if you reach that perfection. And if you do not reach that perfection, then it is all useless.
So it is the duty of the state, duty of the parents, duty of the guardians, duty of the husband, duty of the father—everyone's duty is how to elevate a living creature who has got this fortunate human form of life to understand this paramāṁ gatim, highest perfection of life. That should be the mode of thing. Simply have some eating and sleeping and mating and some defense and quarreling like cats and dogs—this is not civilization. The human civilization is this, that he should properly utilize this human form of life and take advantage of this knowledge and prepare himself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that always, twenty-four hours, cent percent, he will be absorbed in Kṛṣṇa and at the time of death at once transferred there. This should be the process of life. Therefore we have taken this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Join us. Cooperate with us. You'll... Yourself will be benefited, and the world will be benefited, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Just like the same example, a thief. When he is free, if he thinks, ponders, that "Why I was put into this miserable condition of six month prison life? It was so botheration," then he becomes actually human being. So similarly, the human being has got advanced power of deliberation. If he thinks that "Why I am put into this miserable condition?" Everyone has to admit that he is in miserable condition. He is trying to become happy, but there is no happiness. So how that happiness can be achieved? That chance is in the human being. But if we receive, by the mercy of the material nature, a human being and we do not utilize it properly, if we misuse this benediction as cats and dogs or other animals, then we have to accept again the animal form, and when the term is finished... It takes long, long duration of time because there is evolutionary process. So again you'll come to this human form of life, when the term is finished. Exactly the same example: A thief, when he has finished his term of imprisonment, he's again a free man. But again he commits criminality; again he goes to the jail. So there is cycle of birth and death. If we utilize our human form of life properly, then we stop the cycle of birth and death. And if we do not use this human form of life properly, again we go to that cycle of birth and death.
Just like in our society you will find people from all parts of the world. There are Americans and Indians and Africans, Canadians, Japanese. But we don't feel like that, "I am Japanese," "I am Indian" "I am American." We all feel servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa conscious. Na śocati na kāṅkṣati. This is United Nation, not that, going to the United Nation and barking like the dog, "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am this and that." What is the benefit? Therefore they are barking for the last twenty, thirty years. What benefit has come? You cannot make the dogs... You bring some dogs from America and from Australia and from India and put them together and ask them, "Please live very peacefully." (laughter) If you keep them as dogs they will simply bark. There will be no more peace. Just try to understand practically. You have to make them a human being. If you keep them dogs and cats, there cannot be any peace.
This body is given for inquiring about Brahman: athāto brahma jijñāsā. Atha, now we have got this human form of body. Now inquire about Brahman. Why you are going to the share market: "What is the price of this share?" But we are wasting in that way. (Sanskrit) Not inquiring about Brahman. (Sanskrit) The dogs and cats, they are all, "Where is some food? Where is some stool?" They are inquiring. Not that inquiry. Just like the hog is inquiring whole day, "Where is stool? Where is stool?" Not, not that inquiry. The human body is meant for inquiring about Brahman: athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is Vedānta-sūtra. But they're not interested in inquiring about Brahman. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). Viḍ-bhujām, hogs, viḍ-bhujām. Viḍ-bhujām means stool-eater. They are working very hard, but this human body is not meant for that purpose. Kaṣṭān kāmān. Kāmān means the necessities to fulfill, to satisfy the senses, āhāra, nidra, bhaya, mithuna—where to eat, where to sleep, where to have sexual intercourse, where..., how to defend. These are kāmān. These are bodily necessities. But for fulfilling simply the bodily necessities if we work so hard, then where is the difference between us and the hogs? They're doing same thing. Therefore śāstra says, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke. They are all, all the bodies, they have got, cats and dogs and hogs, they have also got body. Trees, they have got their body. But nṛloke: in the human society when you have got a body, it is not meant for working hard like hogs and dogs. This is human civilization. This is human civilization. Then what is it meant for? Tapo, tapasya. That is Vedic civilization. That is Vedic civilization.
So therefore Kṛṣṇa said that "One who does not take care of My instruction," aśraddadhānāḥ, "no faith..." Aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣāḥ (BG 9.3). Puruṣa means any man, any human being, living being, but a human being because otherwise who will hear Kṛṣṇa? The cats and dogs will not hear. That is not possible. They have no capacity. But you are all human being. Either you are Australian or Indian or American or..., you can hear Bhagavad-gītā. There is no doubt about it. It is a question of explaining in your language. So we are trying to do that. The Bhagavad-gītā, the message of Bhagavad-gītā, is not sectarian. Don't take it like that. It is science how to make the whole human society peaceful and happy. It doesn't matter whether you are Australian, American, Indian, or African. And practically we see—we have got branches all over the world. Those who have taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are happy. So take it very seriously. Don't neglect it, that "It is a sectarian religion of the Hindus or..." No. Kṛṣṇa is not for the Hindus.
To understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, little difficult because Kṛṣṇa says, "Out of many millions of person, one is interested to make his life perfect." Nobody is interested. Everyone is interested to live like animal, eat, drink, be merry and enjoy sex, and die like cats and dogs. That's all. This, so far, they know. But they do not know that we can make our life perfect here—no more death, no more birth, no more old age, no more disease. Who is interested? They think that this is story. No, it is fact. If you want to make your life so perfect, not to go through this process of birth, death, old age and disease, you can do that. There is process. But if we neglect, that is our business. But the śāstra, the knowledge, the Vedas, the big, big ācāryas, Kṛṣṇa, His incarnation, His devotees—they are simply trying to give you this knowledge that you can make your life perfect—no more death, no more birth, no more old age, no more disease. That you can make. That is possible.
This is proof. So actually if we want jñāna and knowledge... because human life is meant for jñāna and knowledge. Human life is not meant for living like animals, cats and dogs. Cats and dogs cannot be elevated to the platform of jñāna and vairāgya. That is not possible. A human being can be elevated by education, by culture, to the platform of jñāna and vairāgya. That is the ultimate goal. Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings therefore,
hari hari bifale, janama goṅāinu,
manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā
- jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu
This is jñāna, regretting "My dear Lord, I got this very opportune moment to possess this human form of life, manuṣya-janama pāiyā, but my duty was to worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa." That is the highest perfection of worshiping. Ramya kecid upāsanā vraja-vadhu-vargabhir ya kalpita. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommended, "The upāsanā, the worship which was invented by the gopīs to worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, ramya kecid upāsanā, there is no more perfect upāsanā." So this rādhā-kṛṣṇa-upāsanā is the perfection of upāsanā. Even it is better than viṣṇu-upāsanā. In the material way of life viṣṇu-upāsanā has been recommended as the highest. Ārādhanānāṁ paraṁ devi viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param. It is the statement of Lord Śiva to Pārvatī, that "Of all ārādhana, viṣṇu-ārādhanam is the best."
So therefore two things are there witness. He gives you full independence. Whatever you like, you do, but He gives instruction at the same time that "These things will not satisfy you, My dear boy." Sarva-dharmān... "You give up all this nonsense. Come to Me. I shall give you all protection." But we don't want to take protection. What God will go? Poor God, what can He...? He can do everything, but He doesn't interfere with your affair. If you want to forget, He will give you so many facilities by the illusory energy that you'll forget, forget, forget. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram. Now you have got this beautiful body of human, civilized human being. Or you can get the body of more and more developed body, just like Brahmā, just like the sun, moon, and so many there are. And if you forget, you go down to the cats and dogs and ants and germs and so many things, become a worm of the stool. He will give you all facilities. This is called karma-cakra, cycle of work. As you desire, so God gives you facility. Therefore our desire should be revived: "What kind of desire we should at all make?" Therefore this Bhagavad-gītā is there; the scriptures are there. You have forgotten. We have forgotten all these things. Therefore the books and the scriptures are there. That is also another mercy of God.
If God is giving you bread daily, so you have no duty to return. God will give you bread, either you want it or not want it. He is giving bread to the cats and dogs and ants and so many animals. So why not to you, human beings? Oh, that He will give. Don't bother about that. Don't bother about that. Your bread will come, wherever you may be. Either you may remain in America or in Europe or in India, wherever. Your bread is already there.
Therefore tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovidaḥ. You should rise up to the occasion, how to serve God. And this is the greatest necessity of the present day civilization. People are suffering due to Godlessness, and, if you want to serve the people, your society, your country, the whole human society, then try yourself, best, try your best, you just rise up to the occasion of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious and just spread this philosophy to the world. There will be happiness, there will be peace and everyone will be, blessing (?).
Thank you very much. If there are any question... (end)
Prahlāda Mahārāja, a five years' old boy, he was instructed by Nārada Muni. He became a very great devotee. And he was instructing his class fellows when he was a five years' old boy. Because it doesn't matter whether he's a five years' old boy or five hundred years' old tree or a five millions years' stone. There is no utilization. If you become a five years' old boy and if you understand this knowledge your life is perfect. These things are all very nicely discussed. They say, "Oh..." Taravaḥ kiṁ na jīvanti (SB 2.3.18) . "Oh, you are very much proud of your long duration of life? Because you see that cats and dogs die within ten years or twenty years and you live seventy years or eighty years, therefore you are very much proud?" Oh. The answer is taravaḥ kiṁ na jīvanti: "Don't you see the tree? It lives five hundred years, thousand years." "Oh, a tree lives, but it cannot breathe." Oh. Bhastrā kiṁ na śvasanti: "Don't you see the bellow, a bag of skin? 'Bhass, bhass, bhass'—it is breathing. So do you think your breathing is very expertness?" "Well, they breathe, but they cannot enjoy sex life." "Oh. What is that? The dogs and hogs, they do not enjoy sex life? Do they not eat?"
In this way there is analysis. There is analysis, regular analysis: "What for you are so much proud?" The proudness should be proved when you are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the perfection of life. Otherwise, you are cats and dogs. Don't take it that I am criticizing you. Just I am analyzing the fact. So this should be utilized. This is called intelligence. This is called jñāna. This is called free from bewilderment. These are the process. Even if we study Bhagavad-gītā nicely, analytically, systematically, in any way, with our intelligence... We have got intelligence; we have got reason. Then we become perfect man. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Take advantage of it. Don't spoil your life. That is our request. The society is for that purpose. We are not bluffing anybody that "Make exercise and go home," no. Here is something substantial. You try to understand it. Thank you very much. (end)
Both ways, I can utilize. If I simply limit myself with the bodily necessities of life... Just like the animals. Eating, sleeping, sex intercourse, and defending. These are common to the human body and the cats and dogs body. But because I am human being, I can utilize my body in a different way. The cats and dogs cannot do. That is the difference between a human being and an animal. If you don't utilize my body as human beings then I am no better than cats and dogs. Actually I am cats and dogs. If we simply limit myself, how to eat very nicely, how to sleep very nicely, how to have sex intercourse very nicely and how to defend myself very nicely, then you are no better than animal. But this is the business of the animals.
So human civilization is coming to that. Already it has come. In Western countries, at least, in our country, it has not come still. And Western, it is common affair. Young man, young woman is embracing, kissing, and everything. And sometimes sexually also engaged on the sea beach. In the garden. We have seen it. So practically you are coming to the hogs and dogs life. This is our advancement of civilization. Why? On account of this bodily concept of life. "I am this body. I am this body." Therefore this should be first of all understood. As Kṛṣṇa says: idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity... (BG 13.2). It has been awarded to you for utilizing it for different purposes as you like. You can utilize it like cats and dogs and hogs and you can utilize it as devatā, as demigod. That is up to you. We have got little independence. We can utilize or misuse this independence. But the śāstra says that this body is not to be utilized as cats and dogs and hogs. Śāstra says.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says: yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ (BG 16.23). Anyone who does not care for the instruction given in the śāstras... Śāstra. Just like anyone who doesn't care for the law of the state, what kind of man he is? He's a loafer, a outlaw. He's not a respectable citizen. Similarly anyone who does not follow the shastric in... Śāstras are meant for human being, not for the cats and dogs and hogs. As law is meant for the human being, not for the cats and dogs. Therefore we have to follow the shastric injunction.
As Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, or Vyāsadeva says in the Purāṇas, in the Vedānta-sūtra, they are meant for... As Caitanya Mahāprabhu says: anādi bahirmukha jīva kṛṣṇa bhuli' gelā, ataeva kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa karila (CC Madhya 20.117). What for these Vedas and Purāṇas are meant? Because we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. We have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. Therefore to revive our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so many Vedic literatures are there. So many.
Yesterday evening we were talking with that cardinal. So when I said that: "If you eat meat like animals, like the tigers or the fox, then Kṛṣṇa will give you the facility to become, next life a tiger and fox and cat and dog, like that." These are stated. It is not my manufacturing word. These you'll find. You are human being. You must act like a human being. For human being, this Bhagavad-gītā is there. Kṛṣṇa is instructing to a human being, Arjuna. Not a cat, not a dog. So knowledge means it is meant for the human beings. Not for the cats and dogs. Laws means it is meant for the human being. Laws means: "You should do this, you should not do this." This is law, as state law, or any law. Nature's law. Everywhere. So human being, for human being, Kṛṣṇa is advising: patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Because every human being must be a devotee of Kṛṣṇa. That is his first business. So for a devotee, Kṛṣṇa says: patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. This is the order.
I am a human being. Because I have got this body, I am acting in a different way than the cats and dogs, because he has got a different type of body. His field of activities is different; my field of activity is different. So according to the body we are acting. Idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram. And there are eight million four hundred thousand types of bodies. Jalajā nava lakṣāṇi sthavarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakaḥ. Not one type of body. Nine hundred thousand forms of body in the water, jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi.
But people have become so irresponsible that they do not know what kind of body he's going to get next life. He's blind. Therefore this knowledge is required, how I'm getting this body, how I can get better body or lower body. This is knowledge, not that how to eat, how to sleep, and how to have sex life. This is not knowledge there in the animals. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca. Where to find out one's food, where to sleep, how to have sex life, how to defend, these animals also, they know how to do it. So if we devote our time only for these four principles of bodily wants, then we are not better than the cats and dogs.
In the Western countries, Europe and America, they have made sufficient arrangement for living materially very happy, but that has not been possible. They are also disappointed, confused. So materially you cannot be happy. You must know. You must have full knowledge what you are, what is this body, how you'll be happy. Then your life is successful. If you live like cats and dogs and try to adjust things like cats and dogs, that is a waste of life, waste of time.
Therefore kindly try to understand Bhagavad-gītā. There is full of knowledge. The knowledge is given by the most perfect, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no deficiency. In the knowledge received from imperfect person there are four deficiencies: illusion, mistake, cheating and imperfectness. So from so many deficiencies... You cannot get full knowledge, perfect knowledge from an imperfect person. You have to receive knowledge from the perfect. Then your life will be successful.
The modern civilization is suffering from this defect, that they are not inquisitive about the Brahman. They are simply... Just like cats and dogs, they are interested with this body and the bodily necessities of life. They do not know beyond that. That is the defect. The other day in Caracas some psychiatrists came. Their question was that "The problems of the world are increasing, so what is your prescription to solve these problems?" So the problem is very easy to be solved. I gave the example that this body is there. And there is something which is moving the body, living force. So that living force is the driver of the body, and the body is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā as a machine. It is... Actually it is a machine.
That is not knowledge. Anyone... Just like dog and cat. Dogs and cats, they have no idea that the dog is not this body. It is a soul also. It has taken a dog's body. Cat is also a soul, but by his karma, by his destiny, by his past work, he has to accept this body. A tree, that is also a soul, but by his past karma or action, he has taken this body of the tree. So we should understand from the authority, as Kṛṣṇa says, that idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram: "It is a field. It is a concession or..." Field is exactly the term. "Field of work," as we say generally, in the field of activities." So it is field. And I have given a chance to occupy this field and act accordingly. Try to understand. I have got a different type of field, and I have to work on it and reap the result out of it and suffer pains and pleasure. That is already settled up. As soon as I have got a particular type of body, my pains and pleasures are already settled up, already settled up. You cannot make any improvement or degradation.
So simply if I waste our time just like the animals... The animals' life is simply busy for four things: eating, sleeping, mating, and defense. That's all. They do not know anything more than that. So human life, if we simply... Of course, so long we have got this body, we have to be seeking after eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. But not that we shall waste our time simply for these four things. There is a fifth platform which is brahma-jijñāsā, inquiry about the Supreme. And there are information, perfect knowledge. If you want to consult, you want to take it, then your life will be perfect.
Otherwise if we simply waste our time for the animal propensities of life, then again we glide down to the animal life. That is a great loss. After many, many births, we have got this human form of life. If we simply waste like cats and dogs, then again we become cats and dogs or tree or anything. There are so many species of life. That will be great mistake, great loss. Havoc it will be.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, yat taj jñānam. Kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor yat taj-jñānaṁ mataṁ mama. Kṛṣṇa is giving, that one should know what he is and one should know what is his body, then he is in knowledge. The matter cannot understand this. The dogs, cats, cannot understand this. But a human being can understand this. Bhagavad-gītā is meant for the human being, not for the cats and dogs. Therefore, the human society should take care of this knowledge. Then his life will be successful.
So it is very simple thing, that kṣetra... As I have given the example, that I am sitting on this floor. The floor is different identity from me. No sane man will say that "I am this floor." Or "I am this room." Nobody will say. It is my room, my floor. Similarly this body, we say "my." My finger, my head, my leg. Nobody says that "I leg, I finger, I head." No. This is knowledge. Don't identify yourself with this body. This is knowledge.
This is beginning of spiritual life. The cats and dogs, they cannot understand. The cat cannot understand that he's not body. The dog cannot understand that he is not body. It is the human being who can understand. So if in the human life one does not try to understand this simple knowledge, then he remains like cats or dogs. He's no better than cats and dogs.
There are two things: kṣetra and kṣetrajñam. If one knows this secret of knowledge, that means he is in perfect knowledge. Taj-jñānam. That is jñānam. Not that a big professor says that after the finishing of this body, everything is finished. He's a rascal. He's identifying... Everyone is identifying, just like cats and dogs, with this body. The body is kṣetra. Body is not the person. A child in ignorance may say that this fine, nice motor car is running automatically. But it is not running automatically. There is a driver. He does not know it. Similarly, the whole universal activities is going on. Don't think it is going on automatically. No, that is foolish knowledge, that nature is working automatically. No. There is kṣetrajñam, Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata. Everywhere Kṛṣṇa is working.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa is explaining about knowledge. People are being educated all over the world for advancement of knowledge. Knowledge is meant for the human being, not for the cats and dogs. Therefore, for human being, there are so many universities, schools, colleges, institutions, laws.
There are so many things (indistinct) to advance knowledge is to understand "Who am I?" If I do not know who am I, then what is the meaning of my advancement of knowledge? Generally, despite so many universities all over the world, people are going on in the concept of this body, "I am this body." "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim." So everyone is identifying himself with this material body. Then where is the advancement of knowledge?
The trees, these banyan trees, they are making their arrangement how to stand fixed up very strong. Nobody can move. The same struggle for existence is going on. As we are struggling to make our position secure, similarly, the trees are also making their position secure. The cats and dogs, they are also making attempt to make their position secure. This is called struggle for existence. So from this tree, just try to remember that there are nine hundred thousand species of aquatics.
We get information from śāstra. There is a fish which is called timiṅgila which swallows big, big whales just like big fish swallows a small fish. This is struggle for existence. Jīvo jīvasya jīvanam. Phalgūni mahatāṁ tatra jīvo jīvasya jīvanam.
Take our human society. Some of them are very good men, very truthful, very honest, very learned, and knows what is God. You find such men also. And you will find also very much passionate. And you will find also men like cats and dogs, no knowledge, blind. So there are three types of men. Why? Because there are three qualities or modes of material nature: goodness, passion and ignorance. Now, you mix up these three qualities with another three varieties of qualities. Just like the painter, they mix up different colors. The original color is blue, yellow and red. Now, you mix up these colors. You can... Hundreds and thousands of colors you can make. It requires expert handling. Similarly, originally these three qualities, goodness, passion and ignorance. Now, three into three equal to nine, and nine into nine equal to eighty-one. So we get immediately account for eighty-one varieties, and each variety is thousand and millions. Therefore eight million four hundred thousand, that is calculated.
So when we get by evolutionary process, come to this human form of life by God's grace, nature's mercy, we can understand what is what. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is explaining to Arjuna, a human being, not to a cat and dog. Therefore He says, tat kṣetram, "That body," how it has become varieties, what is the ingredients. The ingredients are the same. This material body, the ingredients are the four primary gross elements, means earth, water, air, fire and ether or sky, the mind, intelligence and ego. This is the composition of this body. And beyond this composition, I am there, soul. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhuḥ.
Even if you think, "All right, there are so many miserable conditions. Never mind. Let me adjust and live here permanently," oh, no, that will also not be allowed. Temporary. You may decorate your Paris city. Napoleon tried and other tried. But you cannot live here, sir. You have to go out. But these rascals, they do not understand. They are decorating, decorating. "Tax. Give more tax. Give more tax. Let us decorate." But how you'll... How long you shall live in this decorated city? Even if you live, if you are so much lover, great nationalist of the country, suppose next life you get the... Because when one has very much attraction for a certain land, then he again takes birth in that land, so if you take your birth not as human being or as a cat and dog or a cow, then you'll be sent to the slaughterhouse. Then what is the use of your becoming nationalist? Your men, for whom you have worked so hard, next life, if you take your birth as a cow, the same men will send you to the slaughterhouse. But these rascals, they do not know what is the mystery.
Who is interested? They are dying like cats and dogs. They have accepted, "Oh, death is..." That's all. But there is a solution of death, but they are not interested. They are prepared to die like cats and dogs. That's all. The human life is meant for making solution of birth, death, old age and disease, but they will not take it. "Oh, that's all right. Let us die." "You are going to accept a next life as a tree." "Never mind." They say like that. "I'll forget." "No, you'll have to stand up seven thousand years in one place." "That's all right." They have become so dull. This is called Kali-yuga. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ (SB 1.1.10). Very slow, very bad. Manda means very bad. Sumanda-matayo, and if one has got some path or some sect, that is also adulterated, nuisance. Manda-matayoḥ. Manda-bhāgyaḥ, unfortunate. Even people have no idea what he's going to eat tomorrow. Actually, these things are coming. Manda-bhāgya, most unfortunate. Upadrutāḥ, always disturbed by so many natural disturbances, health disturbances, political disturbances. This is the position.
Unfortunately, we are not taking advantage of these prerogatives of human life. We are simply engaged like cats and dogs for utilizing our life: eating, sleeping, sex life and defense. Āhāra-nidrā-bhayaṁ maithunaṁ ca samānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām. These demands of the body, eating, sleeping, sex life and defense, that is there in the animal life. Then where is the difference between the animal life and human life? Unless you become inquisitive to know, athāto brahma jijñāsā.
So Sūta Gosvāmī said that everyone has got his particular duty, varṇa and āśrama. Atha pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhāḥ varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya. Everyone has got duty, but saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam (SB 1.2.13). Nobody is concerned whether I am doing something, I am engaged in certain occupation, whether I am getting perfection. Because human life is meant for attaining perfection. And what is that perfection? That also we do not know. The perfection is to get out of this repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. That is perfection. Nobody is serious. They are dying like cats and dogs, never mind. Nobody thinks that my perfection of life the cats and dogs are dying, I'll also die. Why shall I die like cats and dogs? I must know why death is there. I do not want death, why death is, that is humanity. Who wants to die? Nobody wants to die. And actually in modern science they are trying to combat all the material obstacles, but here is the main obstacle. That nobody wants to die but there is death.
So where is the scientific solution of death? Who can say, where is the scientist who can say that no more there will be death, no more there will be disease, no more there will be old age. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. That is stated here. This is knowledge. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. One should...
Everyone is trying his best to mitigate distressed condition of life. Duḥkha-nivṛtti. Everyone is trying. I am in miserable condition. If I get so much money my miserable condition will be mitigated. So everyone is after money. But that mitigation is temporary. Suppose if you get some money, you get a nice apartment, nice bank balance. Does it mean you have ended your main problems of life, janma-mṛtyu, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā? Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). So they have become so foolish, so degraded, that they do not know what is the meaning of life, what is the problem of life, how to make solution of the problem. Nobody is interested. Simply cats and dogs, that's all. As the cat and dog is working very hard simply for eating, sleeping, and mating, that's all.
Just like nowadays people are being taught drink wine, eat meat, and do whatever you like. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). So they will go down, animal life. So they have no knowledge. And the leaders, andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). The leaders are blind and they are leading other blind men. So it is a very dangerous civilization. In spite of being born in India, in spite of having the privilege of studying Bhagavad-gītā, they are not taking advantage of it, and they are being misled like cats and dogs. Very regrettable condition.
So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the only challenge to this devilish life of the human society. So I request everyone to study this philosophy very carefully and take advantage of it. Thank you very much. (end)
Human life means religion. Dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. The cats and dogs, they have no religion. But if the human being has no religion, then he is no better than the cat and dog. Therefore all over the world, either he's a European or American or Indian or Canadian or Russian, everyone has got some religion. It doesn't matter whether it is Hinduism, Muslimism or Christianism. Because human society without religious conception—religious conception means to understand God—he's animal. Dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. So gradually, the whole world is becoming animal because they are rejecting religion. They are rejecting religion. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge. Because these rascals, they give up religion and become animals and fight between themselves and make the whole world a confusion and chaos, therefore it is required that Kṛṣṇa comes. Dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya. This is His duty. He has no duty, but it is His mercy that He comes. Dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya.
And what is that dharma? In the Bhāgavata it is explained, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). You cannot manufacture a religious sect. That is rascaldom. Just like if you think, "I shall manufacture law at my home," is it possible? Who will care for your law? If the law is enacted by the state, that is accepted. The government says, "Keep to the left." You have to accept it. You cannot say, "No, why not to the right?" Then you'll be criminal. Similarly, laws means given by the government, and dharma means which is the codes given by God. That is dharma. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). That is religion. And Kṛṣṇa says, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge: "I come to reestablish. When people become cats and dogs without any religion, then I come down to establish religion." Because we are Kṛṣṇa's sons, we are all sons of Kṛṣṇa, He is very much anxious to see us happy. Just like father wants to see his sons, bewildered sons, to see that he is happy. Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām (BG 4.8). That is also the same thing. To deliver the righteous person and to kill the demons, the same thing, because Kṛṣṇa is absolute. His maintaining the devotee and killing the demon, both of them are same thing.
So Kṛṣṇa said that dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge. Then what is that dharma? He did not come here to reestablish Hinduism or Muslimism or Christianism. No. He came to give you real dharma. What is that? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). That is dharma, to surrender unto Kṛṣṇa: "Kṛṣṇa, I am eternally Your servant. I forgot You. Now I come to my senses. I surrender unto You." This is dharma. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). This sense, real sense, comes when after struggling, struggling for many, many births, one becomes wise. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān. Jñānavān means wise. Not fools and rascals. Jñānavān māṁ prapadyate: "He surrenders unto Me." So anyone who is surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, taking to Kṛṣṇa or devotional service fully, he is the most intelligent man. He's not cats and dogs or rascals. Because Kṛṣṇa says, jñānavān. This is real knowledge. That will be explained.
Kṛṣṇa says, jñeyaṁ yat tat pravakṣyāmi "I shall speak to you what is the object of knowledge, ultimate objective of knowledge." Yaj jñātvā 'mṛtam aśnute. If one can understand Kṛṣṇa he gets eternal life. That is our aim of life. Not to remain within this material world, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19), take birth once and again die. This is done by the cats and dogs. Any animal, they do not know anything. They take birth and again die. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). You have to accept. So if in ignorance I take birth and again die, what is this life? Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). That is no knowledge. Spoiling. This human form of life is the boon where you can make a solution simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa. Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). This is knowledge, how to become immortal, how to understand Kṛṣṇa, how to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the mission of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)
And another class—mūḍha, rascal, without any knowledge. He cannot also surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ narādhamāḥ. And the lowest of the mankind. Why lowest of the mankind? Because this human body, this man's body, not the dog's body, cat's body, but the man's body, that is meant for understanding Kṛṣṇa. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is not meant for spoiling like cats and dogs, jumping from here and there. So therefore he's not taking the opportunity of understanding Kṛṣṇa. Therefore narādhama. Adhama. Adhama means the lowest. First-class man utilizes life for proper benefit. But one who cannot... They are called kṛpaṇa also. Miser.
Just like if you have got millions of dollars, you don't use it, you keep it only in the bank or in the treasury to see, "Oh, I have got millions of dollars." But utilize it. That is intelligence. Utilize, make it millions to ten times millions by doing a business or something like that. That is intelligence. Similarly, this body, this human form of body, athāto brahma jijñāsā... To understand Brahman. That Brahman is being explained to understand, how Brahman. Sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat. Brahman means the greatest. So greatest means not limited. We are limited. Our hands and legs are limited, but Kṛṣṇa's hands and legs are not limited. Sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādam.
He is special friend of the devotee. Suhṛt satām. Satām means those who are devotees Asatām means nondevotee. So He is suhṛt satām. So He is sitting within your heart. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. So hearing about Kṛṣṇa is so beneficial because as soon as you begin hearing about Kṛṣṇa with little devotion and faith, Kṛṣṇa immediately understands that "This living entity is now serious." Because He is within your heart. So śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. "Now this man, this living entity..." Especially man. Cats and dogs cannot hear; that is not possible. They can also hear, but special facility for the human being. So a man can hear. So when Kṛṣṇa sees that you are hearing, śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ... That hearing itself is puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. If you simply hear, you'll acquire some pious result. Puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. And if you chant, you get more pious result. Puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. The result will be hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi. All abhadrāṇi, all mischievous things will be washed away. Hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti. Vidhunoti. Kṛṣṇa helps you to wash it away because He's your friend. He's everyone's friend, but a special friend to the devotees. Suhṛt-satām.
Everything we can know. This human form of body is specially meant for that purpose. You can understand what you are, what is this material nature, what is God and how we are related, how things are going on. Everything is there, but we are so foolish that we do not take care. We live like cats and dogs, eat something and sleep and have sexual intercourse and then we are afraid always and then die. This is cats' and dogs' life. Real life is to know, athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is real life, human life. One must be inquisitive to understand the Absolute Truth, brahma-jijñāsā, not inquiring in the market, "What is the rate of share? What is the rate of rice? No, not for this inquiry. Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. To inquire about the Absolute Truth, uttamam, beyond this material nature. Udgata tamam. This material nature is called tama. Tamaso mā jyotir gama. These are the Vedic injunctions.
This life is meant for not to live extravagantly without any responsibility like cats and dogs. We should be very responsible. Austerity. Little austerity. In the Kali-yuga you cannot undergo severe austerity, but even if you follow little austerity, little something must be done. Little austerity. Just like you do not commit any sinful life. What is that? No illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling. This much austerity. If you simply accept these four principles.
Similarly, so long we are in ignorance, that is our sleeping stage. Therefore the Vedic mantra is uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata. "Now you have got this human form of life. Do not sleep like animals, cats and dogs. Get up!" That is Vedic injunction. Tamaso mā jyotir gama: "Don't remain in this darkness. Just come forward to the jyoti." Jyoti means... That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā.
- na tad bhāsayate sūryo
- na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
- yad gatvā na nivartante
- tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
- (BG 15.6)
Everything is there. Here you require the sunlight, the moonlight, the electricity, but there is another nature, paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). There there is no need of sun, there is no need of moon, because each and every planet is illuminating. Yad gatvā na nivartante. And if you go there, then you do not come back again in this material world, which is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ (BG 8.15).
So our aim should be how to go back to home, back to Godhead. But we do not know. We are simply acting like cats and dogs, that's all. Jumping like dog, cat, and eating, sleeping, and having sex intercourse and trying to defend my position. These things are done by the animals. These things are done by animals. Then what is your benefit you get, this human form of life? Śāstra says,
- nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke
- kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye
- tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ
- śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam
- (SB 5.5.1)
"This human form of life is not meant for working very hard like cats and dogs. It is meant for tapasya. Tapasya, simple life, and realize yourself. And then you stop the miserable condition of your life. Tapo divyaṁ yena śuddhyet sattvam.
So therefore, parābhavas tāvat, yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. So long we do not inquire about the ātma-tattva, whatever you are doing, it is all foolishness and defeat. It is actually defeat. We got opportunity, this human form of life, to get out of this control of material nature, get completely freedom. If we don't try for that, simply if we try like cats and dogs, how to improve the method of eating, sleeping, sex life and defending, we are spoiling our life. This is the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)
Unless he is liberated, how he can stop his next birth? Here it is clearly said, na bhūyaḥ abhijāyate. Abhijāyate means to take birth again, to accept another material body. That... Unless you become liberated, mukta, you have to accept a material body. Mukti means to stop accepting this material body. That is called mukti. To remain in a spiritual body. But they do not know even what is spiritual body, what is material body. Simply like cats and dogs, they are engaged in sense gratification, eating, sleeping, mating. And this Bhagavad-gītā is the ABCD, preliminary knowledge of spiritual understanding. People are unaware of... And misleaders, they give misinformation, mal-interpretation.
Then puruṣa-prakṛti. Prakṛti is this material nature. Puruṣa, the living entity. The inferior puruṣa and the superior puruṣa. Anumantā upadraṣṭā, the Supersoul, He is overlooking the activities of the jīva soul, and according to his karma, He is giving a different type of body, kṣetra. Again he is working. Again he is creating another situation. This vast knowledge is unknown to the modern educational department. But here it is in the Bhagavad-gītā. They can take advantage of it. But the fools and rascals will not take advantage. They will remain like animals in the ignorance, like cats and dogs. That is their business. So anyway, how to enlighten these cats and dogs? That is described here by Kṛṣṇa. Anye. Anye tu evam ajānantaḥ. General people, cats and dogs... I am not speaking cats and dogs. The śāstra says. The śāstra says,
- yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
- sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
- yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
- janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
- (SB 10.84.13)
Go means cow, and kharaḥ means ass. Anyone who is in this bodily concept of life, "I am this," "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am śūdra," "I am fat," "I am thin," "I am white," "I am black," "I am male," "I am female," so many bodily concept of life—the śāstra says all of them are no better than the cows and the asses. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). Yasyātma-buddhiḥ. This body is a bag made of tri-dhātus, kapha, pitta, vāyu. Or a bag of flesh and blood and bones. I am not this. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. I am spirit soul. That is knowledge. But people have no such knowledge. Therefore they are called, according to śāstra, go-kharaḥ. Go means cows, animal, and kharaḥ means ass. Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape.
If you instruct a dog, "My dear dog, please surrender to Kṛṣṇa," will he do that? So similarly, human being who does not surrender, he is no better than the dog. What is the difference between dog and this human being, go-kharas? The cats, the dogs, they cannot do it. And if you human beings, they cannot do also, then what is the difference? Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunaṁ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām. Simply eating, sleeping, sex life and defending. These are common things of the cats and dogs and the human beings. The human being is specially benefited when he surrenders to Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise he is cat and dog.
So Caitanya Mahāprabhu knew that these cats and dogs, they are so degraded, they cannot understand what is the meaning of surrendering to Kṛṣṇa. They cannot understand. Therefore He said, eho bāhya, āge kaha āra: "This is external. Please speak more, something effective." So when Rāmānanda Rāya said, jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta... This is a statement given by Brahmā. Jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva san-mukharitāṁ vārtām, bhavadīya-vārtām, sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir ye prāyaśo 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyām.
Te 'pi ca atitaranti. They also can go back to home, back to Godhead by learn... (break) It is school. We are teaching others. Unfortunately, they do not take chance of learning this great science. They are so unfortunate. We are canvassing, we are going door to door, we are publishing books, we are flattering them, "Please come here. Take prasādam. Hear something from Bhagavad..." "No." They have no time. They have no time. They are working like cats and dogs. They will agree to go to, transfer this body, from this body to another abominable body, but they'll not try to stop this repetition of birth and death. māyā is so strong.
So Kṛṣṇa is so kind that actually He's supplying my order. I want to eat like tiger. Kṛṣṇa is ordering material nature, "Well, he wants a tiger's body. Give him a tiger's body." I want to eat like hogs and dogs. Kṛṣṇa orders material..., "Give him a body like a hog. He can eat very peacefully all kinds of stools." That's all. This is going on. This is going on. And if I want a body to serve Kṛṣṇa, he'll give us. Ye yathā mām... This is the meaning of ye yathā māṁ prapadyant (BG 4.11)e. "As you desire, I give you. If you want a body to serve Me, you'll get a Vaiṣṇava body, and you will be able to serve Kṛṣṇa." And if you want to serve cats and dogs, then you get a cats and dogs body.
Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). Guṇa means... According to the guṇa, you make your desire, That is contamination. And as there is contamination, as there is similar disease, similarly, as we desire similar body, we can get by the order of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa gives order because we want it. Kṛṣṇa does not force you to enter into the dog's body or hog's body or demigod's body or human being's body, but as we create situation by desire, Kṛṣṇa gives us the facility to possess such body, and we work on, and we reap another result. This is called material existence. Thank you very much. (end)
That is the special advantage of human life. The dogs and the cat, they cannot be cured. They cannot be given the knowledge. Because you are human being, you are together here to get this knowledge. The cats and dogs, they cannot come. They cannot take this knowledge. So we have got the advantage of getting this knowledge in this life, and again, if we go back to the cats' and dogs' knowledge, then what is the benefit of getting this body? So this civilization, this dog civilization, is so spread all over the world that it is very, very difficult to cure it. We are making little attempt, but the ignorance is so deep, the disease is so acute, it is very, very difficult. But actually the disease is there.
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.
Because people are not devotees of God, therefore despite all education, all advancement of scientific knowledge, still they are dealing like cats and dogs. They are not peaceful. The peace cannot be attained without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca. Simply by practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness there can be peace, there can be prosperity, there can be happiness. Otherwise we shall be entangled. It is clearly mentioned here by Kṛṣṇa, daivī sampad vimokṣāya. And daivī sampat means, the example is Arjuna. He immediately takes up, Arjuna: mā śucaḥ. "You are, you are already developed with daivī, daivī sampat." Mā śucaḥ: "You haven't got to worry."
And that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, that our different types of bodies, desires, activities, are due to our being infected by the particular quality of material nature. Perfected quality. There are three qualities: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. If you want to be infected by the tamo-guṇa quality, then you are suffering the infectious disease of tamo-guṇa. Tamo-guṇa means nidrā, alasya, ignorance, and sleeping more, laziness, and alasya, alasya, laziness, nidrā, means sleeping, and ignorance. Just like cats and dogs. They do not know what is the aim of life, what they are doing. This is tamo-guṇa. And rajo-guṇa means activities for sense enjoyment. So rajo-guṇa, just like the karmīs, they are working hard day and night. What is the purpose? Sex, that's all. "Why you are working so hard, sir?" "I will enjoy sex at night. (laughter) This is my ambition." "Oh, very good ambition. This ambition the dogs also have got. So why you are working so hard?" "No, that is my ambition. That's all. I am less than dog. Dog gets opportunity of sex life in the street without any working hard, but I will have to work hard to enjoy the same thing. So I am less than dog." One should admit that, that "I am less than dog."
No, there is some meaning. This restriction mean to bring him to the position of the daivī sampat, sattva-saṁśuddhiḥ. The purpose is to bring him to the platform of daivī sampat. If he becomes like cats and dogs, then he cannot attain this daivī sampat. If there is rules and regulation, restriction following, then gradually he will come to the platform of daivī sampat. And what is the purpose of daivī sampat? Daivī sampad vimokṣāya: (BG 16.5) "If you develop your daivī sampat, then you become fit for vimokṣāya, for liberation." What is that liberation? Liberation means janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9), liberation from these four things: no more birth, no more death, no more disease, no more old age.
So people are unaware, and they are not interested what is vimokṣāya, what is nibandhāya. Exactly like cats and dogs, they are after these four principles of material body. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying little bit. Success or no success does not matter. As we are servant of Kṛṣṇa, it is our duty to present the real thing. Now you accept, not accept. That is not my business. I can request you that you accept this principle and be liberated from these sufferings of material life. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. But we have become careless. "Never mind I shall again take my birth, again die, I shall become dog." In this Hawaii sometime I was speaking in the university. So when I was speaking like that, one student said, "What is the wrong there if I become dog?" Yes, he flatly said. "I shall forget everything." So this is the university education, that one is not afraid of becoming a dog. He thinks that "This is also very good." So where is the humanity? Where is the human civilization? People are gone so down-trodden, so fallen. Therefore it is very, very difficult to raise them. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, and the śāstras say, that people in this age are so fallen. It is very difficult to raise them by properly giving education. They will not take education. They will not be able. Therefore He has recommended, harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam, kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva... (CC Adi 17.21). So we are trying our best. So only request is, those who do not comply with our rules and regulation at least, they may chant Hare Kṛṣṇa wherever they may remain. That is my request. Thank you very much. (end)
We don't want to stop the tendency of material enjoyment. No nivṛtti. The human life is meant for nivṛtti. The cats' and dogs' life is for pravṛtti. The sex desire, they cannot stop it. It is not possible. If you teach some dogs that "You forget the sex life," it is impossible. That is not possible. So they cannot stop this desire of sex life. But if a human being can be induced... Therefore there is brahmacarya system, there is Vedic education, there is Bhagavad-gītā, so many other things. If people take advantage of these books they can stop this pravṛtti, this intense desire for enjoying this material world. But the asuras, they do not know that what we should accept and what we should not accept. Pravṛtti means to accept something, and nivṛtti means to deny something. So they do not know. This is the first symptom of the asuras. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca na viduḥ. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ, āsurāḥ janāḥ (BG 16.7), those who are demons, asuras, they do not know it.
The original cause from where everything is coming into being, by whose management everything is maintained, and after annihilation everything will enter into Him—that is the original person. So human form of life is meant for understanding the original cause of all causes. That is human form of life. Inquisitiveness. And others, less than human being, just like lower animals, cats and dogs, not to speak of the trees and plants... They are standing in one place, and other living beings, even the insects, birds, beasts, they haven't got sufficient intelligence. (aside:) No, this water, drinking. Sufficient intelligence to understand "What I am? Why I am suffering?" Everyone is suffering. That's a fact. The whole struggle for existence is going on.
Just like just now two big directors of this Dai Nippon Company came to see me. We have got business with them. So they are meeting so many problems for printing work. They are maintaining about 200,000 people to carry on their business, huge establishment, huge responsibility. But there are problems also. So this material world is full of problem. One who understands, he is called sura, or civilized man. And one who does not understand, he is called asura. Asura, not sura. Aryan, non-Aryan. So amongst the suras, those who can understand the problems of life, there is a system which is called religion. And what is the purpose of religion? Religion is to understand what is God. That is religion. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19).
They simply know how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex, and how to defend. For this purpose they are giving education. That is... Does it require any education, how to eat? Everyone, even a child, he knows. You give him something eatable. Immediately takes and he knows it is to be put here, not there, not there. Natural. You don't require any education for these things, primary, I mean to say, wants of the body, eating, sleeping, sex. It doesn't require any high education, how to enjoy sex life. Everyone knows. Even the cats and dogs, they know. Similarly eating, everyone knows. Sleeping, it doesn't require that "You have to sleep in this way." Whenever you feel tired, there is sleep. But the asura-jana, they do not know what is the purpose of education. That they do not know.
Just like in the first code in the Brahma-sūtra is athāto brahma jijñāsā. Brahma-jijñāsā, to inquire about the Absolute... The jijñāsā means inquiry. In the cats' and dogs' life the inquiry is "Where is food? Where is shelter? Where is sex?" and "Where is defense?" only these four inquiries. The cats and dogs, they are busy, "Where is food? Find out some food." The pig is finding out: "Where is stool? Where is stool?" Here I do not know whether you have got experience. In our country, in the villages, there are so many pigs loitering. They are simply finding out where is stool. In the village the children, they pass stool here and there, and the men, they go to the field and pass, evacuate. So all these pigs are always loitering there. So they're seeking. The inquiry is for stool. They may take it as food, but after all, it is stool. So according to the body, the different foods are there. That is also described. Sāttvika-āhāra, rājasika-āhāra, tāmasika-āhāra. Everything is there in the Bhagavad-gītā.
So in the animal life they are, after seeking where is food. Then, as soon as the body is strong, then "Where is sex? Find out the opposite sex." You'll find in the hogs' life very prominent, all these things. For sex they have no discrimination whether it is mother or sister or anyone. You'll find that. These are... We have to take lessons from nature's study. The hog is sometimes trying to drink the milk from the breast of the mother and sometimes trying to have sex. You'll find it. This is hog life. This is dog life: no sex discrimination, no food discrimination, no shelter discrimination, no defense discrimination. But all these things—"Discrimination, the best part of valor"—that is in human civilization. Therefore the Vedānta-sūtra said, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now... In your previous lives as cats and dogs and hogs, you simply were busy for inquiring 'Where is stool?' 'Where is food?' 'Where is sex?' 'Where is this?' 'Where is that?' Now, because you have got human body, better consciousness, advanced consciousness, discrimination, now you inquire about Brahman."
Therefore śāstra says that pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt, na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum. A man should not desire to become a father and the woman should not desire to become a mother unless both of them have taken the vow that "I shall beget a child and stop his cycle of birth and death." This is the duty of the parents, not that "I shall beget children like cats and dogs." There should be some meaning of the life. Samupeta-mṛtyum. Because we have got the circumstances, unclean body, because we have got unclean body, therefore there is birth and death. Just like as soon as you are infected, there is fever, similarly, the birth and death is a kind of disease. It is also listed with disease. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). They are on the same category: birth, death, old age and disease. They are on the same category. But we take care of two things, namely old age... We try to remain young by cosmetic, but that is not possible. Similarly, we want to live forever. The lady doctor was (saying), "Yes, we can extend little more." Then what...? After all, you have to die. Extend little more or little less, you cannot avoid death.
Now, to come to the real knowledge, real platform of knowledge, the cultivation is required. So cultivation is required. Suppose somebody has said, the same example, that there is fire in the wood. So if you simply remain satisfied with the wood—"There is fire"—that is called tamo-guṇa, not developed. Again, when there is smoke, that is another platform. But when one appreciates the flames of (the fire), that is sattva-guṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says here, tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā. If one is cultivating his life like hogs and cats and dogs—the behavior is also like that and remaining in that position—so his faith and one who is advanced, who is worshiping Deity, and having three times bath, and chanting mantras, Hare Kṛṣṇa, they are not equal. That is not possible because one is situated in the sattva-guṇa and the other is situated in tamo-guṇa, although the tamo-guṇas, the persons who are in the darkness of knowledge, they have got their faith. It is not that they have no faith. They have got faith. But that faith is in the lowest status of life. That faith will not help him for spiritual realization. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said, tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā. Svabhāva-jā means natural. Because his body is not yet purified, therefore he remains in the status of tamo-guṇa or ignorance. Tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā.
Now, when the spirit soul falls down? Just like Jaya-Vijaya. Jaya and Vijaya became asuras. They fell down from Vaikuṇṭha. But they became asuras under the circumstances. That is mentioned we were reading Bhāgavata the Kaśyapa Ṛṣi, his wife... Diti? What is the name of? Anyway, she was very lusty during the sandhyā, just at the point of evening, the day's passing. So she wanted sex with her husband. He said, "No, this is not the time. This is not the time." But she was so lusty she obliged the husband to have sex life with her, and the result was two asuras were born. We have to take so much care. You see? According to the time, according to circumstances... Therefore the Vedic principle has got garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. To beget a child, it requires also reformation-time, mentality, situation. So... Not like cats and dogs. So, creating the background very nicely, sattva-guṇa, they will beget a child. That child will come, some great man, some great devotee. So everything has got the material relationship, how to do it. That is śāstra. So you do it, but follow the shastric injunction. So the shastric injunction, so far is concerned, as it is said here, that is sāttvikī, rājasī, tāmasī.
Just like some trees, they're useless. Neither produce any nice fruit nor flower. That is third-class, in ignorance. In animals also. Just like cows, they are first-class animal, in the modes of goodness, supplying so valuable nutritious food, milk. But the cats and dogs, they are third-class animals. This is the calculation of the three modes of material nature. Either human being or animals or trees, birds, everywhere Kṛṣṇa says, or in the higher planetary system, everywhere, these three modes of material nature is working. Therefore, in the human society, because there are three modes of material nature, the classification should be made scientifically according to these three modes of material nature. And that is explained by Bhagavān, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in the Bhagavad-gītā, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭam: (BG 4.13) four classes of men. Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. Brāhmaṇa means the most intelligent class of men who can understand even up to the knowledge of Brahman, brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇa. And the second class are the kṣatriyas or the administrative class of men, and the third-class are the mercantile class of men, industrialists, traders, agriculturalists. Everything will be explained. And the fourth-class men means workers. They have no intelligence, but they find out some good master and get some money. That's all. So there are four classes.
That is saṁsiddhi. The saṁsiddhi means, perfection of life means, that this life we shall act in such a way that next life, after giving up this body... We have to give up this body, but we should not give up this body like cats and dogs. That is human civilization. The cats and dogs, they also give up their body. And if we also give up our body like cats and dog that is not success of life. That is failure of life. Prahlāda Mahārāja has said that durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam. Durlabham. This human form of life is durlabham. Durlabha... Duḥ means difficult, and labha means gained. After many, many millions of years of evolution process we get this human form of life. That is the nature's. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). We are being carried by the laws of nature. So this human form of life is very durlabha, very rarely gotten. Durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma.
Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is the mission of Bhagavad-gītā. The best chance. And Kṛṣṇa comes here to give you the idea what is the function of the Kṛṣṇaloka. That He displays in Vṛndāvana here. Rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī. That is His business, simple life, village life. They're all young boys and girls, the gopīs and the cowherds boy. They're enjoying, dancing. Lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). And Kṛṣṇa, just like we have got some hobbies, we keep some cats and dogs, Kṛṣṇa has got also hobby. What is that? Surabhīr abhipālayantam (Bs. 5.29). He's always engaged in taking care of the surabhī cows. Gopāla. That is His business. So He's so simple, life.
So after the reign of Mahārāja Bharata, Emperor Bharata, this planet is called Bhārata-varṣa. But because we have lost our culture now, we are now a small piece of land. Just like Pakistan went. We could not maintain our culture. Formerly, the kings were maintaining the culture and controlling the whole world. So it is warning that those who have not undergone austerities, as Ṛṣabhadeva says, that this human form of body... Everyone has got a material body. The cats and dogs and hogs and trees and everyone has got. But ayaṁ dehaḥ nṛloke, especially in the human society, it is not meant for gratifying the senses, working very hard, whole day and night, like the hogs. The very example is given: hogs. Viḍ-bhujām. Viḍ-bhujām means hogs, the stool-eater. The stool-eater, you'll find the stool-eater, the whole day and night searching after stool: "Where is stool? Where is stool?" At night also, you'll find engaged. Day also, engaged. These are the examples by nature. What for? What is the business? Now, eating stool. And then, as soon as he gets some strength, then sex. Never mind, mother, sister, or anything. This is hog civilization. "Eat whatever you like, no discrimination even up to stool, and then have sexual intercourse. That's all."
| Page Title: | Cats and dogs (Lectures, BG) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Mayapur |
| Created: | 21 of Feb, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=207, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 207 |