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Conditional life (Lectures, BG)

Expressions researched:
"conditional life" |"conditioned life" |"conditioned lives"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Introduction to Gitopanisad (Earliest Recording of Srila Prabhupada in the Bhaktivedanta Archives):

The Lord, the Supreme Lord, He is called īśvara. Īśvara means controller, and jīva, the living entities are... Jīvas, the living entities, they are not īśvara, or the controller. They are controlled. Artificially, if I say that "I am not controlled, I am free," this is not the sign of a sane man. A living being is controlled in every respect. At least, in his conditioned life he is controlled. So in this Bhagavad-gita the subject matter comprehends about the īśvara, the supreme controller, and about the controlled living entities and prakṛti, the nature, the material nature. And next, the time, or duration of existence of the whole universe, or this manifestation of the material nature, and the duration of time, or the eternal time, and karma. Karma means activity. Everything, the whole universe, whole cosmic manifestation is full of different activities. The living beings especially, they are all engaged in different activities.

Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is -- Los Angeles, November 23, 1968 :

Rādhārāṇī is daivī-māyā. Just like we are, in our material conditional life, we are under the material energy. Similarly, in our liberated state we have to become under the spiritual energy. That spiritual energy is Rādhārāṇī. We are acting at the present moment under material energy, because our body is made of material energy. So when you are liberated you will develop your body of spiritual energy. That spiritual energy is Rādhārāṇī. So you have to become under some..., under the control of some energy. You are also energy; you are marginal energy. Marginal energy means you may be under the control of the spiritual energy or you may be under the control of material energy—your marginal position. But when you are under the control of the material energy, that is your precarious condition, struggle for existence. And when you are under spiritual energy, that is your life of freedom. Rādhārāṇī is spiritual energy, and Durgā, or Kālī, is material energy. So those who are materialist, they worship Drgā, Kālī, the material, different forms of material energy. And, so in both the cases... There is a word in Sanskrit, it is called śakta, śakta. Śakta, the word comes from śakti. Śakti means energy.

Lecture on BG 2.1-5 -- Germany, June 16, 1974:

So it is not very difficult task for God. (devotees offer obeisances) God is said to be situated everywhere. So within our vision, if He is situated in sixteen thousand homes, what is the difficulty for Him?

So here it is said, śrī-bhagavān uvāca. The most powerful authority is speaking. Therefore, whatever He says, it is to be taken as truth. In our this conditional life, just like we are living under material condition, we have got four defects: we commit mistake, we are illusioned, and we want to cheat also, and our senses are imperfect. So knowledge received from a person who is infected with four kinds of deficiencies is not perfect. So when you receive knowledge from a person who is transcendental to all these four kinds of defects, that is perfect knowledge. Modern scientists, they theorize that "It may be like this. It may be like that," but that is not perfect knowledge.

Lecture on BG 2.1-10 and Talk -- Los Angeles, November 25, 1968:

So this somebody, because he is strictly working under the instruction of the expert, he's also expert. He may not be cent percent expert, but his work is expert. Is that clear? Because he is working under the expert. Do you follow? So if you follow pure devotee, then you are also pure devotee. It may not be one is cent percent pure. Because we are trying to raise ourself from the conditional life. But if we strictly follow the pure devotee, then we are also pure devotee. So far we do, that is pure. So pure devotee does not mean one has to become immediately cent percent pure. But if he sticks to the principle that "We'll follow a pure devotee," then his actions are... He is as good as a pure devotee. It is not I am explaining in my own way. It is the explanation of Bhāgavata. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). We have to follow the footprints of pure devotees. It is said that tarkaḥ apratiṣṭhaḥ. If you want to become pure by your arguments and logic, that is not possible.

Lecture on BG 2.7-11 -- New York, March 2, 1966:

Anything which I own, that should be utilized for my purpose. Your things should be utilized for your purpose. So if God is the proprietor of our senses, then these senses must be used for God's purpose. That is the constitutional position. That is the constitutional position. Now, when these senses are used for other than God's purpose, that is bondage, conditioned life. When the senses are purified and it is used for God's purpose, that is natural life. That is natural life. So whole trouble is that although our senses and everything, whatever we have got... There is Īśopaniṣad, a part of Vedas. It is stated there that īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam: (ISO 1) "Everything, whatever you see, that belongs to God." That belongs to God. Now, it is our misunderstanding that we are claiming... All the people of the world, they are claiming as proprietor. Now, just like this American land. American land, now you are claiming as the proprietor. But is it a fact?

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

Gopīs, they are not conditioned souls. They are liberated spirits. So first of all you have to come out from this conditioned life. Then the question of serving gopī will come. Don't be at the present moment, very eager to serve gopī. Just try to get out of your conditional life. Then time will come when you'll be able to serve gopī. In this conditional stage we cannot serve anything. Kṛṣṇa is performing it (everything?). But Kṛṣṇa gives us opportunities to accept service in this arcā-mārga. Just like we keep the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, offer prasāda under regulation, under principle. So we have to make advance in this way, this chanting, hearing, and worshiping in the temple, ārati, offering prasāda. In this way, as we make advance, then automatically Kṛṣṇa will reveal to you and you'll understand your position, how you have to... Gopīs means who are always, constantly engaged in the service of the Lord. So that eternal relationship will be revealed. So we have to wait for that.

Lecture on BG 2.9 -- Auckland, February 21, 1973:

So Kṛṣṇa is replying that "You are afraid of fighting with your kinsmen, but you are mistaken. You are mistaken." Every one of us is mistaken because there are four defects in our conditional life. This is our conditional life. So long we are within this body, material body, that is our conditional life. We live under certain conditions. But actually, we are spirit soul, we are part and parcel of God. As soon as we are free from this conditional life, that is our real, actual life. That is called liberated life. The human form of life is meant for getting this liberation. So long one does not get this human form of life by the evolutionary process... There is evolution, from aquatic to birds and beast and then... Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi. First aquatic life, then plant life, tree life, then insect life, then bird's life, then beast life, then human life, then civilized human life. So this is the process of evolution.

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

So Prahlāda Mahārāja says that, tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehinām. Dehinām means "of those who have accepted this material body, for them." And what is their condition? Now, dehināṁ sadā samudvigna-dhiyām. Dehinām, one who has accepted this material body, his conditional life is always full of anxiety. Not that, that we are always in want. Even in your duty. Just like our Captain sāheb is here. I have seen in the ship he has got very serious duty in the ocean. He's always consulting the chart and the latitude, longitude, which side the ship is going. That is anxiety because so many lives, so many property, is under his control. Any, a slight mistake, would play havoc. We do not know. I was asking the Captain sāheb, "Where you are going?" But I do not know. I see simply vast of water. But he has got responsibility. He knows the thing. So any responsible officer... Any responsible... Your President Johnson, he's also full of anxiety. I am also full of anxiety. You are also full of anxiety.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Public Lecture With German Translation Throughout -- Hamburg, September 10, 1969:

Similarly, the covering of the shirt, or mind, intelligence and ego, this is one covering. And upon this there is a gross covering: earth, water, air, fire, like that. In this way we have got two covers. So our business is, because we are eternal, we should not remain in these temporary coverings. That temporary cov... So long we are bound up or encaged in these coverings, that is called conditioned life. So we are trying to become free from this conditioned life. Just like people are trying to go to the moon planet. The desire is there. But because the life is conditioned, he cannot go. Just like I am a foreigner. I have come to your country. I am conditioned by immigration law. There are so many conditions. One of the conditions is that I cannot live here forever unless it is sanctioned by the government.

So we are conditioned now. In this form of life, covered by the material elements, we are conditioned by the material nature.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Public Lecture With German Translation Throughout -- Hamburg, September 10, 1969:

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. So at the present moment we are on the dress consciousness.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Public Lecture With German Translation Throughout -- Hamburg, September 10, 1969:

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. So at the present moment we are on the dress consciousness. "I am German dress," "I am Englishman dress," "I am Indian dress." "I am male dress," "I am female dress." So this is called conditioned life. So in this conditioned life we are accepting one type of body, and we are dying. Dying means giving up and being transmigrated, transferred to another body by the laws of material nature. It is not under my control. You cannot say that "After giving up this German body, I shall accept again another German body." That is not in your hands, sir. It is under the laws of nature. You cannot propose. You cannot force material nature. After this body I can get any other body. That is stated here. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Another form of body. That form of body may be any one of the 8,400,000 forms of body.

Lecture on BG 2.26 -- Los Angeles, December 6, 1968:

Considering himself that "I am material product." I am coming to this point. Those who are thinking that "I am a material product," they're completely in darkness of māyā. Yayā, manute anarthaṁ tat-kṛtaṁ ca abhipadyate. And identifying himself with this body, they are acting in bodily consciousness and increasing their problems of life and conditional life in material existence. Horrible condition. Therefore Vyāsadeva says, anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje (SB 1.7.6). Anartha, this anartha, this misconception of life, if you want to discard this misconception of life, that "I am this body," and you act according to that consciousness and suffer... This is your disease.

Lecture on BG Lecture Excerpts 2.44-45, 2.58 -- New York, March 25, 1966:

Therefore, in our diseased condition of this bodily conception of life, if we increase our so-called enjoyment, enjoyment of the body, oh, then we shall be more and more entangled in this conditional life of material existence. If you really want freedom from this material existence and miseries of material existence, then we must minimize the bodily enjoyment. We must minimize. Just like a diseased man is given some liquid food. He is forbidden... He is forbidden to take any food because any food will aggravate his disease, but still, because he has to exist, he is given some glucose water, some barley water, some fruit juice, little. Just... It is also psychological. The patient may think also that "I am eating something. I am eating, not I am starving. I am eating." That is also psychological effect. At the same time, this light food, fruit juice or glucose water, that is easily digested, so there is no harm.

Lecture on BG 2.62-72 -- Los Angeles, December 19, 1968:

This is the greatest gift to the human society. But the foolish persons they do not understand it. What can I do? Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī (BG 7.14). The māyā is very strong. If we say that "Here is a small booklet, Easy Journey to Other Planets," they'll not take it. They will make plan of how to go in other planet by sputniks, which is impossible. You cannot go anywhere. That is our conditioned life. Conditioned means you must stay here. You must stay here. Who is allowing to go other planet? For coming to, to take the permanent visa of your country, I had to fight so much, and you are going to moon planet? There is no visa? They will allow you only to enter? It is so easy thing? But they foolishly think that simply "I am the monarch of all I survey." That's all. This planet is the monarch, and all other planets they're all subservient. They will satisfy our senses. This is foolishness. All right. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)

Lecture on BG 3.31-43 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1969:

Yes, these trees... We should know that the trees, they are also living entities, but they have been put in such awkward position that they are standing up in a position for thousands of years. They cannot move even. If somebody is cutting, it cannot protest. They have been put into such conditional life. If somebody is coming to do some harm, they cannot go away. So the most abominable condition of life is the trees. Go on.

Lecture on BG 3.31-43 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1969:

He doesn't want to satisfy his senses. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. His aim of life is how Kṛṣṇa will be pleased. That's all. And lust means "how my senses will be satisfied." That is the difference. The process of satisfying is going on. In our conditioned life we are trying to satisfy our senses, and in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness life we are satisfying to please Kṛṣṇa. That is the difference. So my work is not stopped, but the goal of life is changed. That is liberation.

We don't say that you kill your desire. No. You purify your desire to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Now your desire is to satisfy your senses. That's all. This has to be purified, that you shall desire, but you shall desire to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Then your perfection is there.

Lecture on BG 4.1 and Review -- New York, July 13, 1966:

The shopkeeper thinks that "I am giving him nonsense things and making profit," and the customer is thinking, "Oh, I am getting it very cheap." So this is going on, even in ordinary dealing. So this is called cheating process. Now, even in animal you'll find that they are searching after some food, and it is thinking, "Oh, I'm cheating my master and taking this food." That means in the conditional life this cheating propensity is there.

And the fourth imperfection is that our senses are blunt. We acquire knowledge by our senses. Just like we acquire knowledge by seeing. Everyone will say, "Can you show me God?" But the answer is "Can you see God?" How you can see God? You have no eyes to see God. Even I show you God, you cannot see. Our senses are so imperfect. Just like take for example the eyes. The eyes, it is seeing under certain condition. As soon as you put off this light, you cannot see. So what is the use of having this eyes? So therefore, we have got our imperfect senses.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Bombay, March 21, 1974:

Therefore bhagavān uvāca. You take lessons from Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, perfect, all-perfect. What he will do by hearing this rascal or that rascal? Try to hear from the Supreme Personality without any fault, without any deviation. There are four kinds of defects in conditional life: to commit mistake, to be illusioned... Bhrama, pramāda, vipra-lipsā. To cheat, propensity for cheating. And imperfection of senses. So we are all infected with these four deficiencies of life, material condition of life. Therefore mukta means one who is liberated from these defects. Those who are infected with these defects, they cannot give you perfect knowledge. That is not possible. Imperfectness of senses—how he can gather perfect knowledge? They can simply say, "Perhaps," "It may be," "Most probably." That's all. Theories. Nobody can say, "It is like this." Just like in the Vedas it is said how many different varieties of lives are there.

Lecture on BG 4.3 -- Bombay, March 23, 1974:

Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). To study Vedas means to understand what is my relation, what is Kṛṣṇa, what I am, and what is my relationship, and how to act in that relationship, and what is the aim of life.

The aim of life is to go back to home, back to Godhead. That is the aim of life. We are fallen in this material conditional life. We are suffering. But we do not know. We are so fool. Just like animals. We do not know what is the aim of life. Aim of life, that is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā: janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9). When we can understand that "This process of repetition of birth, death, old age and disease, this is not wanted by me..." Nobody wants to die, but death is forced upon him. He does not think that "This is my problem. I do not want to die, but death is as sure as anything." So this is the problem. Nobody is careful how to solve this problem. They are simply engaged in the, I mean to say, temporary problems.

Lecture on BG 4.6-8 -- New York, July 20, 1966:

Just like Lord Jesus Christ, he also told that "I am the son of God." He's happy. So everyone, you can become similarly happy as soon as you are reinstated in your position. The whole Bhagavad-gītā is meant for convincing me, I mean to say, conditioned souls. We are conditioned. Just like, just like under awkward circumstances we are always, always conditioned life. We are not free. Some condition is there, either state condition or nature's condition or condition left by other living entity or condition laid down by my own body. So we are always in condition.

Lecture on BG 4.6-8 -- New York, July 20, 1966:

Therefore however wonderful may be the sputnik machine, unless there is touch of the living force, it cannot go on. That is the distinction between superior nature and the inferior nature. You can understand.

Now, we are now in contact with inferior nature. That is our conditional life. We are also su... Actually, as spirit soul, we belong to the superior nature. Just like God is superior nature. Prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya. The Lord says that "I come down, I incarnate Myself in My superior nature." Svām adhiṣṭhāya. But what is our position? Although we belong to the superior nature, we have come to this material world not in superior nature, but we are in contact with the inferior nature. Therefore death takes place. Our birth and death is due to this body. The body is subject to be annihilation at a certain period, and that we accept as death.

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

So the father and the parents do not lament, "Oh, where my, that son gone, that small baby gone?"

Similarly, that change of body... So our body is like that. We are changing. In the material condition. In the material condition we are simply changing our body. That is our disease. This conditional life of changing the bodies, one after another, one after... Not only human body. We may have to change to animal's body, or to another demigod's body. There are different species of life. I have several times spoken before you, that there are 8,400,000's of species of life. So our body's being changed in this circle of these 8,400,000's of different species of life. This is called our material bondage.

Lecture on BG 4.9 -- Montreal, June 19, 1968:

And in another place it is stated, the same thing, mām upetya tu kaunteya, "One who comes to Me," mām upetya tu kaunteya duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15), nāpnuvanti. "One who comes back to Me, goes back to home, goes back to Godhead, he never comes back again to this miserable conditional life of materialistic status."

Mām upetya tu kaunteya duḥkhālayam... And this material existence is duḥkhālayam, it is a place of misery. This is māyā. We are living in this condition, conditional life of material existence, which is full of miseries, but by the spell of māyā, illusion, we are thinking, we are planning that we are happy. This is called māyā. Māyā means... I have several times explained what is meant by māyā. Māyā means "what is not." I am thinking I am making progress, I am thinking that I am happy, I am thinking I am civilized, I am advanced. But the māyā means this thinking, in the positive way, is no. No, you are not advanced. You are not civilized.

Lecture on BG 4.10 -- Bombay, March 30, 1974:

I do not why they are not taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They'll take to so many other bogus things, but they will not take Kṛṣṇa.

Anyway, if one is serious, then he has to follow this principle. Vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhāḥ (BG 2.56). Bhaya-krodhāḥ. Bhaya means fearfulness. That is one of the qualifications of conditioned life. Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. Four things. So long we are in conditioned stage, this material body, these things are demands. To eat and to sleep and to become fearful, defend, defend and, āhāra-nidrā, and maithuna, sexual intercourse. These are the four demands of this material body.

And everyone is busy. How to eat... You'll find in Bombay city so many restaurants. Every step a restaurant. Eating. That is going on. Every city, all over the world. Everywhere. Eating. And then sleeping. Nice apartment. And then defense measure. And then very happily have sexual intercourse. These are the demands.

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

So Bhāgavata says that either you are a person desiring unlimitedly or you have become free from all desires, or you are desiring liberation from this material conditional life, you please try to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Your desires, whatever desires you may have, that will be fulfilled. That will be fulfilled. So this is referred. Akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā (SB 2.3.10). So whatever desires you may have, if you become Kṛṣṇa conscious then you, that desire will be fulfilled. Go on.

Lecture on BG 4.14 -- Bombay, April 3, 1974:

Last night we discussed, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). There are two condition of life. Actually, conditioned life and non-conditioned life, liberated life and conditioned life, that is real nomenclature, "liberated life and conditioned life." Conditioned life means this material world. We are conditioned by the laws of material nature.

Just like we are trying to go to the moon planet, but we are conditioned; we cannot go. There are so many impediments. This is the nearest planet. Still, because we are conditioned, we cannot go. No free access. Otherwise, a living entity name is sarva-ga. Sarva-ga(taḥ) sthāṇur acalo 'yam. Sarva-ga means a living entity can go anywhere. As we see, there are so many planets. Why we cannot go? There are means also. We are flying in the air, but we cannot go. This is called conditioned life.

There are so many instances. Just like even on this planet if you want to go to other countries, say, America, you have to fulfill so many conditions. Passport, visa, then P-form and so many other forms. Not easily. This is called conditioned life. We have no freedom to move.

Lecture on BG 4.14 -- Bombay, April 3, 1974:

That is brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, or brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa, and gradually develop your spiritual constitutional position and be transferred to the transcendental position... Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). That is the process.

But if you live in the conditioned life like animals, then you continue the life of animals—eating, sleeping, mating and defending, and struggle for existence. Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). Then you struggle within this material world forever. Sometimes you become the king Indra, and sometimes you become that germ indra. This is karma-phala. This is karma-phala. But we are so ignorant of this law of karma, we are thinking "Now this position of American or Indian or this or that, for fifty years or sixty years, utmost, that is one, everything, all in all. There is no more life." Yes.

Lecture on BG 4.22 -- Bombay, April 11, 1974:

That is lacking in the present civilization. Not only at the present moment, because Kṛṣṇa was speaking five thousand years ago. And before that, He spoke Bhagavad-gītā millions and trillions of years ago to the sun-god. This is the way of material civilization or material conditioned life, competition.

The real competition began by being jealous to Kṛṣṇa. Real competition began. Kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā kare (Prema-vivarta). Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme enjoyer. Kṛṣṇa says, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). So our fall down this I have explained the other day is there when we wanted to compete with Kṛṣṇa or become Kṛṣṇa. The jealous, icchā.... Icchā-dveṣa-samutthena sarge yānti parantapa (BG 7.27). Sarge. Sarge means this creation, this material creation. We have come to this material creation. We do not belong to this material creation, but we have come here.

Lecture on BG 4.23 -- Bombay, April 12, 1974:

"Don't associate with the modes of material nature. That is your business." Not that "You associate with the higher modes of nature."

Even very good man, goodness, brāhmaṇa, that is also conditioned life. To become brāhmaṇa, satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjava, jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42), very perfect way of life, but that is also risky. Not that.... Everything is risky because at any moment we can be associated with another quality. And kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya (BG 13.22). It is very difficult position, mixture.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa advises that "You become freed from association of any of the modes of material nature, any one of them." Gata-saṅgasya. Muktasya.

Lecture on BG 4.34 -- New York, August 14, 1966:

Now, this verse we are discussing in our last meeting. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, has concluded that all kinds of sacrifices that we can expected, we are expected to do, the best sacrifice is to acquire knowledge, acquire knowledge. Because whole, our this material conditioned life is due to ignorance. Therefore the purpose of sacrifice, penance, yoga, and philosophical discussion, everything—the ultimate aim is to acquire knowledge.

And even in that knowledge field also... Of course, transcendental knowledge, as we have discussed already, they are viewed in different, three different angles of vision: the knowledge of Brahmavāda, or impersonal, impersonal Absolute Truth, and the knowledge of Paramātmā, the localized Supersoul, and the knowledge of Bhagavān, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are different stages of development of knowledge.

Lecture on BG 4.34-38 -- New York, August 17, 1966:

Now, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa says that "Just like if you have got a very good ship, you can very easily cross the Atlantic Ocean without any difficulty, similarly, we are in the midst of the ocean of ignorance." Our, this life, this conditioned life in the material world is just like the ocean of ignorance, ocean of ignorance. So Lord Caitanya, therefore, He prayed to Śrī Kṛṣṇa like this, ayi nanda-tanuja patitaṁ kiṅkaraṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau: "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, I am just fallen in the ocean of ignorance." So we are in the ocean of ignorance. Now, in the ocean, if you get a very good boat or very good ship, as you can cross over, similarly, if we have the ship or the boat of perfect knowledge, then there is no fear. We can cross the ocean very easily. We can cross this ocean very easily.

Lecture on BG 4.34-39 -- Los Angeles, January 12, 1969:

Yes. This material world, conditioned life, because... The other day was explained. Our sinful life means ignorance, due to ignorance. Just like if I touch this flame, it will burn. Somebody may say, "Oh, you are burned. You are sinful." This is common sense. "You are burned. You are sinful. Therefore you are burned." That is, one sense, it is right. "I am sinful" means I do not know that if I touch this flame, I will be burned. This ignorance is my sin. Sinful life means the life of ignorance. Therefore, in this thirty-fourth verse, "Just try to learn the truth. Don't remain ignorant. Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master." Why should you remain in ignorance if there is way and means? That is my foolishness. Therefore I am suffering.

Lecture on BG 5.26-29 -- Los Angeles, February 12, 1969:

To remain as molecular part of the Brahman rays or spiritual rays, that is impersonal. And to have a spiritual form just like Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu, that is another spiritual perfection. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy.

And nirvāṇa, nirvāṇa, the Buddha philosophy is just above the material conditional life but on the margin of spiritual existence. That is... Nirvāṇa means void of material existence. Nirvāṇa, this impersonal conception is also nirvāṇa. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that this impersonal philosophy is another phase of the void philosophy. Veda... Covered void philosophy. Impersonalism is covered void philosophy. They are all the same. Śaṅkara's philosophy of impersonalism and Lord Buddha's philosophy void is almost the same. Real life, real spiritual life is this Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Vaiṣṇava philosophy, to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. Just like we are sitting here face to face. We are talking, you are hearing. You can have this perfection.

Lecture on BG 6.6-12 -- Los Angeles, February 15, 1969:

Prabhupāda: Because they are mad after materialistic way of thinking, so they cannot be hated. Anyone. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is so nice that there is no question of hating. Everyone is welcome. Please come here. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Take Kṛṣṇa prasāda and hear some nice philosophy from Bhagavad-gītā and try to rectify your material conditional life. This is the program—Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Lord Caitanya introduced this movement. Yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). "Whoever you meet, wherever you meet, simply try to teach him this Kṛṣṇa consciousness." Kṛṣṇa-kathā. Words from Lord Kṛṣṇa. You'll be happy and they will be happy. Go on.

Devotee: "A transcendentalist should always try to concentrate his mind on the supreme self. He should live alone in a secluded place and should always carefully control his mind. He should be free from desires and possessiveness."

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1968:

So it is not very safe. So similarly, any method we manufacture, we discover, to conquer over the laws of material nature, it is backed by another set of dangerous things. That is the law of nature. That is not the way to get out of this material pangs of life.

The real way is to stop these four functions of my conditional life. The four functions of conditional life means birth, death, old age, and disease. Actually, I am a spirit soul. That is explained in the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, that the spirit soul is never born or is never dead. He continues his life even after the destruction of this particular type of body. This body is only a flash, for some years only. But it will be finished. It is being finished by degrees. Just like I'm an old man of seventy-three years old. Suppose if I live eighty years or a hundred years, these seventy-three years I have already died. That is finished. Now a few years I may remain.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1968:

You see? So they want to be cheated. And some cheaters come, "Yes, you take this mantra, give me thirty-five dollars, and within six months you'll become God, you'll have four hands." (laughter)

So we want to be cheated. That is, cheating process is one of the items of conditional life. There are four defects of conditional life. One defect is that we commit mistake, and another defect is that we accept something which is not that. Just like commit mistake, that is not to be very difficult to understand. Every one of us know how we commit mistake, blunder. Even great men, they also commit blunder, you see. Just like there are so many instances amongst the politicians, a little mistake or a blunder, great blunder... So mistake, "To err is human," mistake is there. Similarly, accepting something as fact which is not fact. How it is? Just like everyone in the conditioned life, they think that "This body is my self." But I'm not this. I'm not this body. So this is called illusion, pramāda.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1968:

So this is called illusion, pramāda. The best example is to accept a rope as a snake. Suppose in the darkness there is a rope like this, and you are..., "Oh, here is a snake." This is the best example of illusion. Accepting something which is not that.

So this defect is there in conditioned life. And to make error and mistake, that defect is there. And the third defect is that we want to cheat and we want to be cheated. We are also very expert. We are always thinking how I shall cheat somebody. And naturally, he's also thinking to cheat me. So the whole conditional life is the association of cheaters and cheated, that's all. So this is another defect. And the fourth defect is that our senses are imperfect. Therefore all knowledge that we receive, that is imperfect knowledge. A man may speculate, but he may speculate with his mind. That's all. But his mind is imperfect. However he may speculate, he'll produce something nonsense, that's all. Because his mind is imperfect.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Los Angeles, December 2, 1968:

However he may speculate, he'll produce something nonsense, that's all. Because his mind is imperfect. It doesn't matter that if you add thousands of zeros, it makes one. No. It is still zero. So this speculation process, to understand the Supreme, is nothing but zero. Therefore with all these defects of our conditional life, it is not possible to come to the real life. Therefore we have to take it from personalities like Kṛṣṇa and His bona fide representative. That is real knowledge. Then you'll get perfection.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Upsala University Stockholm, September 8, 1973:

And that is the end. That is beginning, and that is end. It is not that beginning is something... Spiritual means it is nothing beginning, nothing end. The beginning and the end, the same thing. If you increase your attachment for Kṛṣṇa... Because, at the present moment, in our material conditional life, we have no attachment for Kṛṣṇa. We have got attachment for non-Kṛṣṇa. So you have to transfer that attachment to Kṛṣṇa. Attachment is there; simply you have to transfer the object of attachment. So here it is said: mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. This is yoga. This is meditation. If you are fond of meditation, then you meditate upon Kṛṣṇa, on the form of Kṛṣṇa, playing flute, bluish color, having a peacock on His head. The description is there. Barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Fiji, May 24, 1975:

We are not manufacturing anything. That is not our business. Because we know we are imperfect. Even if we manufacture something, that is imperfect. We have got four faults in our conditional life: we commit mistake, we become illusioned, we cheat others, and our senses are imperfect. So how we can get perfect knowledge from a person who is, I mean to say, possessing all these faults? Therefore we must get knowledge from the Supreme Person, who is not affected with these faults, mukta-puruṣa. That is perfect knowledge.

So our request is that you take knowledge from Bhagavad-gītā and act accordingly. It doesn't matter what you are. Bhagavān is for everyone. God is God. Just like gold is gold. If gold is handled by Hindu, it does not become Hindu gold. Or the gold is handled by Christian, it does not become Christian gold. Gold is gold.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Durban, October 9, 1975:

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is teaching people how to become first-class yogi. Sa me yuktatamo mataḥ. Yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. This is real yogi. To practice yoga... Yoga means connection. Yoga... In India, yoga means "addition," and viyoga means "subtraction," viyoga. So we are now viyoga, without any contact with the Supreme Lord, Personality of Godhead, material conditioned life; therefore we have to make connection with Him. That is called yoga. Yoga system means to connect ourself again with God, or Kṛṣṇa. So this practice of yoga, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, so this process is very easily accomplished by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare twenty-four hours. It can be practiced. There is no expenditure, there is no loss, but the gain is very great. We are teaching that. We are known as Hare Kṛṣṇa people all over the world. It is inexpensive, without any loss.

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- Ahmedabad, December 14, 1972:

There, that is the expansion of His spiritual bliss. Rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmāt. That is the existence of Kṛṣṇa's hlādinī-śakti. So first of all we have to understand Kṛṣṇa; then, in course of understanding Kṛṣṇa, we shall understand His samvit-śakti, hlādinī-śakti. So these things are not subject matter for studying in our conditioned life. It is for the liberated soul. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu, you'll find in the teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He only once discussed about the love affairs of Kṛṣṇa with gopīs, or Rādhārāṇī, gopīs, with Rāmānanda Rāya. And never He discussed with anyone else. Because He was very elevated, Rāmānanda Rāya. And otherwise, He never discussed. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, you won't find Kṛṣṇa is teaching anything about His relationship with gopīs. Just like... Try to understand. This is not the subject matter for a person who is conditioned; neither it is a subject matter to be discussed and speculated by the conditioned soul. Try to understand this.

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- Paris, June 13, 1974:

So far our eyes are concerned, we can see so long when the conditions are fulfilled. Just like we are speaking. As soon as the light will be off, we cannot see one another. So what is the value of these eyes? You simply see under certain conditions. You simply smell under certain conditions. You can hear under certain condition. So therefore your materialistic life is conditional life.

So with imperfect senses, we cannot understand what is God. The only sense is very, I mean to, usable, just is this ear. Just like man is sleeping, and some enemy has come to attack him or to kill him. So still he's nicely sleeping. But if some friend cries, "Mr. such and such, wake up, wake up! Here is enemy. He'll kill you, kill you!" He can rise up. So when all other senses are useless, the ear can work. Therefore, to understand God, we have to use this ear. And we have to receive the sound vibration and it will act.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Montreal, June 3, 1968:

Divyam. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā (SB 5.5.1). Why? Why not this material world? Why God realization?

The... 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).

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Bombay, March 29, 1971:

By understanding Kṛṣṇa as it is stated in the Fourth Chapter—janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ—simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa, one becomes so much elevated that after quitting this body, material body, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9), he never accepts again this material body. As I have already explained to you that our miserable conditioned life is this—that we have to accept every fifty years or sixty or utmost hundred years, we have to accept another body. We may make very good arrangement in this life, nice bungalow, good bank balance, nice family relationships, everything. But the thing is that we shall not be allowed to stay. Aśāśvatam. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). Therefore all our attempts to become very happy within this material world is futile. The intelligent man should know this, that "I want permanent settlement in my life, but that is not being done." Only intelligent man can understand because intelligent means to understand that we are all eternal.

Lecture on BG 7.4 -- Bombay, February 19, 1974:

Now, from this old man's body, now the body cannot be used. Vāsāṁsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya (BG 2.22). Just like old garments we give up and take another garment, similarly, so long we are in the material world, we accept another material body. This is called transmigration of soul, death and birth. But when you are liberated from this conditioned life—you are fit for going to the spiritual world in your spiritual body—that is perfection of life. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9). That is wanted. That is wanted. You give up this body. Don't accept any more any material body, either Indra's body, Brahmā's body, or the body of the worm of the stool. You can have any body, according to your mentality. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6). Your body, are you making now. So at the time of death, the condition of your mind will transfer you with mind, intelligence, subtle body.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Melbourne, April 20, 1976:

So we have to take knowledge from the perfect person. So what is the difference between this material world and the spiritual world? In the material world we are conditioned, and in the spiritual world we are liberated. This is the difference. In material... What is conditioned life? Conditioned life means subjected to the rules and regulation of the material nature. That is conditioned life. Just like we have got this body. This is also a condition of the material nature. We have got different types of bodies, why? Because we are conditioned. According to our karma we have got different types of body, 8,400,000's of bodies. So liberated life means not to go under the condition of this material nature. That is liberated life. In the conditioned life there are four defects. Out of many other conditions, so far our knowledge is concerned, that is defective. Why? Because we commit mistakes.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Melbourne, April 20, 1976:

Every one of us, we commit mistake, we are illusioned, our senses are imperfect, and we have a tendency to cheat. This is four defects of conditioned life. But the liberated life they have no such conditions.

And another condition is you have to live under threefold miseries, that miserable conditions pertaining to the body and mind... Even if you are opulent externally, if you are sick, if your mind is not in proper condition, you suffer. That is called adhyātmika. And there are other miseries offered by other living entities. Just like some friend all of a sudden becomes your enemy and he tries to inflict some injuries upon you. You are full of anxieties. This is called adhibhautika. Even there is no enmity, there are so many living entities, just like bugs, mosquitos, other animals. They are always prepared to give us trouble. This is called adhibhautika. Adhyātmika, adhibhautika, and adhidaivika, which is beyond your... Every miserable condition is beyond your control, but especially adhidaivika, famine, pestilence, overflood, no rain, scarcity. This is called adhidaivika. So this is called conditioned life.

Lecture on BG 9.4 -- Calcutta, March 9, 1972:

"Everything," mat-sthānī, "they are My part and parcel." Therefore the part and parcel duty is to serve the whole. Just like this finger, part and parcel of this body, its duty is to serve the whole body. When it is..., there is some defect, then it cannot serve. Then anyone, any living entity who is not engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, he is in abnormal condition of his life. That is not.... That is called conditional life. And as soon as he gives up this conditional life, he takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and begins serving Kṛṣṇa, that is mukti. That is mukti. Svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ hitvānyathā-rūpaṁ (SB 2.10.6), mukti. This is the definition of mukti. Muktir hitvānyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. Mukti means you give up your abnormal condition of life and you be situated in your own constitutional life. That is mukti.

Lecture on BG 9.15 -- New York, December 1, 1966:

God's another name is Ajita. Ajita means nobody can conquer Him. Because everyone is lower than God, who will conquer Him? Therefore His name is Ajita. Ajita means unconquerable. What to speak of God, you cannot conquer even the energy of God. You are under the material energy of God. At your present conditioned life, you are under the energy of God, this material energy. You cannot conquer even the energy, so how you can conquer God? Not possible. So therefore another name of God is Ajita. Just like Kṛṣṇa is another name of God. Of course, according to Vedic literature, Kṛṣṇa is the principal name. God has many names. According to His work, according to different persons' understanding, He has got innumerable, numberless names. But the, in the Vedic literature it is said that Kṛṣṇa is the principal name. Because Kṛṣṇa means the highest pleasure.

Lecture on BG 10.1 -- New York, December 30, 1966:

Then how it is possible? The possibility is sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. The, if you engage your senses in the service of the Lord, then He'll reveal to your senses. The same thing. We have to acquire knowledge of God through these senses. But, in our conditional life, the senses are all impure. Therefore these senses cannot understand God simply by speculating. It is not possible. Therefore Lord says, na me viduḥ sura-gaṇāḥ (BG 10.2). Now we have got developed senses. Suppose a child. A child, his understanding and his father's understanding, there is difference because his senses are not so developed. Father's senses are developed. Similarly, as we are here in this earthly planet, there are many, many other superior planets. Their senses are far, far improved. But still they cannot understand God. Still they cannot understand.

Lecture on BG 10.4 -- New York, January 3, 1967:

Sarva-ga. Sarva means all, and ga means one can go. You can go anywhere.

Just like you have the facility of traveling over the surface of the world or in the outer space on the earth. But you cannot go beyond the orbit. This is called conditioned life. In conditioned life we are limited in our traveling. But in spiritual life you can travel anywhere. The best example is Nārada Muni. He can travel anywhere he likes. Even in this universe we have got a planet which is called Siddhaloka, a planet of the perfect. Not perfect completely, but they are called siddha. Siddha means almost perfect. The inhabitants of that planet, they can travel without any aid of a sputnik or aeroplane from one planet to another. We get this information from Śrīmad-Bhāgavata. So in spiritual life we have got complete freedom to move, to act, to enjoy. So that spiritual knowledge should be cultivated. That is the best utilization of this human form of life.

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

The difference between the two is that the individual living entity knows only about his kṣetra, body, but the other living entity, the supreme living entity, He knows all the bodies, everywhere, anywhere, throughout the whole creation. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo (BG 15.15). This is the difference.

So material nature is actually the field of activities in our conditioned life. We have—manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). In the fifteenth chapter you'll find it, that, who are these living entities, we? Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo: "They are all my parts and parcels." Mamaivāṁśo. Just like father and the son. A father has got many sons. Similarly, we are all sons of God. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7), sanātanaḥ. Sanātanaḥ means eternally. It is not that we are now part and parcel and after liberation we'll become one, or equal, the Māyāvādī theory. No. That is not. Therefore this very word is used, sanātana, eternally. Eternally, we are part and parcel.

Lecture on BG 16.2-7 -- Bombay, April 8, 1971:

Mukti means to be situated in his original position. That is mukti. Just like a man is diseased, and if you say that "Now he is relieved from the diseased condition," that is mukti. Now he's healthy condition. That is mukti. Mukti means change of the condition. That is mukti. Not that something extraordinary happens. The change of condition. The baddha condition, this... The material conditional life means that we are embarrassed with so many plans and concoctions for sense gratification. That is not mukti. That is the stage of nonliberated position. And mukti means to be situated in his original position. That is mukti. Muktir hitvā anyathā rūpam. Hitvā anyathā rūpam. What that anyathā rūpam? Anyathā means otherwise. Everyone one of us acting otherwise. Somebody is acting that "I am Pakistani." "I am East Pakistani." "I am West Pakistani. Let us fight." Anyathā rūpam. A few days before they were all Pakistanis. When there was fighting between India and Pakistan, they were all united.

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

The sky is covering the whole material universe, and there are different layers. It is not so... You cannot go even to the nearest planet. Durgā, very difficult. You cannot... You are conditioned soul. You cannot go. You are thinking, "I have got now, discovered this." It is not discovered. The aeroplane was long, long ago. So you cannot go. That is our conditional life. They are trying to go to the moon planet, unsuccessful. They cannot go. Therefore we are conditioned. I am conditioned to live on this planet. I cannot go to other planet without permission. It is common sense. Just like India. One cannot come to America without proper visa. So how you can go to the other planet without proper visa. So they do not think. That is, therefore, asuras, demons. They are simply thinking that they are perfect, they can do everything. That is not possible. That is not possible.

Page Title:Conditional life (Lectures, BG)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:28 of Apr, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=55, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:55