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Conscience (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

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

"The Bhagavad-gītā is also known as the Gītopaniṣad. It is the essence of the Vedic knowledge and one of the most important Upaniṣads in Vedic literature. There are many commentaries on the Bhagavad-gītā, and the necessity for another should be explained in the following basis. An American lady asked me to recommend an English edition of the Bhagavad-gītā which she could read. I was unable to do so in good conscience. Of course there are many translations, but of those I have seen, not only in America but those also in India, none can be said to be authoritative, because in almost every one of them the author has expressed his personal opinion through the commentaries without touching the spirit of the Bhagavad-gītā as it is.

Lecture on BG 1.30 -- London, July 23, 1973:

There was a brāhmaṇa. He said like this: "My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa, I am now servant. I have served so much." Kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā durnideśāḥ. "I have served them so nicely that I had to execute something which is abominable." If you become servant of somebody, if he says that "You have to do it," your conscience does not allow you to do it. Still, you have to do it. Still, you have to do it. A man is stealing for family. He does not like to steal. Still, he is in need of money; he has to steal. Kāmādīnāṁ kati na katidhā pālitā durnideśāḥ. This is study, study the psychological condition.

Lecture on BG 3.11-19 -- Los Angeles, December 27, 1968:

Nature's law. That is... A tiger is made by nature's law in that way; therefore he can do that. You cannot do it. Your nature is different. You have got discrimination, you have got conscience, you are claiming civilized, human being. So you should utilize these things. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, perfect consciousness. So human life is meant for raising oneself to the perfection of consciousness, and that is Kṛṣṇa conscious. We cannot remain in tiger consciousness. That is not humanity.

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

There is a story how habit is the second nature. There was a thief, and he went to pilgrimage with some other friends. So at night, when other friends were sleeping... Because his habit was to steal at night, he, so he got up at night and he was taking one body's baggage and tried to pickpocket or take something. But he was thinking, "Oh, I have come to this holy place of pilgrimage. Still, shall I do that, committing theft, my habit? No, no. I shall not do it." So he was taking the bag of one person and was keeping in another place. So in the whole night the poor fellow did like that. But due to his conscience that, "I have come to this holy place. At least, during my stay here I shall not do this stealing business."

Lecture on BG 4.17 -- Bombay, April 6, 1974:

Even a thief who is going to act something criminally, without the sanction of the Supersoul, who is sitting within everyone's heart, he cannot do that. That you have got experience. Suppose you are doing, going to do something which is not very good. The conscience is beating, "No, no, you should not do this. You should not do this." But because without the sanction of the Supreme, I cannot do anything, so if we persist to do something, then the sanction is given, "At your risk." That is going on.

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

The supreme soul or the Supersoul, who is also sitting with me within the heart, He is upadraṣṭā anumantā. He's simply seeing. And anumantā means without His sanction we cannot do anything. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ (BG 15.15). Everyone has got experience. When we want to do something wrong, there is conscience: "Don't do it." "No, no, let me do." There is struggle. So this is the struggle between the soul and the Supersoul.

Lecture on BG 7.7 -- Bombay, February 22, 1974:

Try to satisfy the senses of Kṛṣṇa, because there is no more greater authority than Kṛṣṇa. We are satisfying the senses of greater authority. That's all. Or my senses. Because my senses are also greater authority—kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mātsarya. These are very strongly dictating me, "Do this." I don't want to do this. My conscience is willing (beating?). But my kāma, my lust, is forcing me.

Lecture on BG 13.4 -- Bombay, September 27, 1973:

You cannot avoid the vigilence of Kṛṣṇa. You cannot do anything concealed. Everything is known to Kṛṣṇa. Therefore He is called upadraṣṭā. And He knows that he'll suffer. Therefore sometimes conscience beats. We sometimes inquire from our conscience. Conscience says, "No, don't do this." But still we do it. Still we do... That is our avidyā. Because we do not know, in ignorance, in spite of the Supreme Soul, Supersoul is forbidding, "Don't do this," still, we shall do it. That is called anumantā.

Lecture on BG 15.15 -- August 5, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Jayatīrtha: Śrīla Prabhupāda, you mentioned the principle of intuition, that this is coming from Kṛṣṇa. There's another principle called conscience which means the feeling that something is right and something is wrong.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is from Kṛṣṇa. Everything. Mattaḥ, "From Me everything is coming."

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 2.1.3 -- Paris, June 12, 1974:

French devotee: Because in reality we are conscious of Kṛṣṇa without know.

Prabhupāda: What is...?

French devotee: And in your presence, and..., we take conscience.

Prabhupāda: Therefore, it is to be understood that Kṛṣṇa was within you. I have simply tried to awaken that consciousness. That's all.

Lecture on SB 2.1.4 -- Delhi, November 7, 1973:

Kṛṣṇa is sarvātmā. He is situated in everyone's heart as friend. He is the real friend. He is giving me advice. He is within, conscience, which we..., or good instruction, counsel. He says that "Don't be materially attached." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam: (BG 18.66) "Come to Me. Just become surrendered to Me. I will give you protection. I will give you intelligence."

Lecture on SB 2.3.1 -- Los Angeles, May 19, 1972:

Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja was asked by Dharmarāja, "What is the most wonderful thing within this world?" He answered this, ahany ahani bhūtāni gacchantīha yamālayam, "Everyone, every moment, is going to the Yamarāja's place, the superintendent of death, where a man's life is scrutinizingly studied, what he has done, and..." I say man, not animal. Animal, they have no such thing wrong or right, because it is animal. But a human being must have this conscience, right or wrong. Pravṛtti, nivṛtti.

Lecture on SB 6.1.28-29 -- Philadelphia, July 13, 1975:

Sometimes you will find the dying man is crying, ākulendriyaḥ, tearful eyes. He cannot express. He is not practiced. But he was given the chance. Kṛṣṇa gave him the conscience when the child was born to keep his name Nārāyaṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa's mercy, that "This rascal was My devotee, and now he is so fallen. All right, he is attracted to his children." So He gave the conscience, "Now keep your son's name Nārāyaṇa." Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ. Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone's heart.

Lecture on SB 6.2.1-5 -- Calcutta, January 6, 1971:

So intelligent persons... That we find, the statements of a brāhmaṇa, that he says, "My dear Lord, I was so long servant of my senses and I followed their dictation even though it was very, very abominable." Sometimes our conscience bids, "Don't do this," but due to our lust and greediness we do something which is abominable. Kṛṣṇa is there within our heart.

Lecture on SB 7.6.8 -- Vrndavana, December 10, 1975:

Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means we have got attachment, but we have got attachment for false things, temporary things. And if we divert our attachment, that is bhakti. Bhakti does not mean that you give up your living conscience. Attachment is the function of the living being. The living being is attached to his family, wife, children, because he is living being. So living being cannot give up attachment. But if we continue our attachment for this false and temporary materialistic way of life, then we'll never be free from this bondage of material condition.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 11, 1973:

Just like sometimes we commit so many criminal activities to satisfy our senses, because we want money. So pālitā durnideśāḥ. My conscience says, "You don't do it." But, because I want to enjoy my senses, I must do it. I must do it. A thief knows that "If I steal, I, then I'll be punished." He has heard from śāstra, or he has known the state laws, that, if one commits theft, he's punished.

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

There is a very practical example. Just like if you get all of a sudden a certain amount of money, say, one hundred rupees note lying on the street, if you get... Or lying here. So if you take it, your conscience will beat, because that does not belong to you. You have picked up. You'll always think, "Oh, I am taking somebody's money. Whose money it was? I'm doing some sinful." In this way, your mind will disturb. So that is the taking.

General Lectures

Lecture at Harvard University -- Boston, December 24, 1969:

In your country you have got enough nice grains, nice fruits, enough supply of milk, butter. So there is no question of accepting any other food. You can accept foodstuff within this group and become healthy and good brain, good conscience. You can engage yourself in God consciousness. That is possible. So therefore "Discrimination is the best part of valor." We should discriminate what kind of food we should eat. We cannot eat anything and everything.

Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972:

Tene brahma hṛdā. Hṛdā. Because God, Kṛṣṇa, is sitting in everyone's heart—your heart, my heart, everyone. And He can give you instruction. His name is therefore Caitya-guru. Caitya-guru means who gives conscience and knowledge from within. In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo: (BG 15.15) "In everyone's heart I am sitting." Hṛdi, "within the heart"; sanniviṣṭo, "I am sitting there." Sarvasya. Not only you and me, even animals insects, birds, beasts, Brahma, everyone. Sarvasya. All living entities.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on David Hume:

Śyāmasundara: He says that morality consists of values which the individual formulates for himself, as a matter of personal opinion. In other words, I can do whatever my conscience dictates.

Prabhupāda: So another man can also say "what my conscience dictates." So there is a difference.

Śyāmasundara: But in society, moral values are based upon the opinion of the whole society. In other words, my moral values are relative to public opinion.

Prabhupāda: When the majority opinion is something, you have to accept it. That is democracy.

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Śyāmasundara: He says that acting in accordance with a conscience is the right type of activity.

Prabhupāda: The conscience, the so-called conscience is created. You go on killing, your conscience will be killing conscience, "It is all right." The thief becomes accustomed to steal, the conscience will say, "Yes, I must steal. It is my right." So you can create your conscience in that way. By association, by misguiding, they also create their conscience.

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Prabhupāda: Just like the Christian religion says, "Thou shalt not kill," but they are killing, creating a conscience, "Yes, killing is all right." In the religion it is forbidden, "Thou shalt not kill," but they are creating another conscience, "It is right." The conscience is created by association. By good association, conscience is the good conscience and by bad association, a bad conscience is created. So there is no such standard as conscience. Conscience means discriminating power.

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Śyāmasundara: He says that there is an absolute conscience, which means pure rationality. Whatever is purely rational is conscience.

Prabhupāda: Pure rationality is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is purest. Unless one comes to that standard, the so-called conscience, so-called philosophy is of no value.

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Prabhupāda: Well, that also accepted in the Vedic philosophy, jīvo jīvasya jīvanam. One life is, one living being is food for another living being. But that does not mean that you shall kill your son and eat, and it will be supported by the society. That is discrimination, that is conscience. You can say that "I must eat some, another living entity. That is by nature's law. So I produce my children and I kill them and I eat them so that the population problem will be solved." You can say that. Will you be accepted? So therefore there must be discrimination.

Philosophy Discussion on Hegel:

Prabhupāda: Well, that also accepted in the Vedic philosophy, jīvo jīvasya jīvanam. One life is, one living being is food for another living being. But that does not mean that you shall kill your son and eat, and it will be supported by the society. That is discrimination, that is conscience. You can say that "I must eat some, another living entity. That is by nature's law. So I produce my children and I kill them and I eat them so that the population problem will be solved." You can say that. Will you be accepted? So therefore there must be discrimination. That you have to eat another living being, that is nature's law, but if you eat fruit, you don't kill the tree. You take the fruit.

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Śyāmasundara: He says that there are two moral sanctions for our conduct: one is the internal sanction, or our own inner conscience...

Prabhupāda: These are all nonsense-inner conscience. These are all nonsense. He's a nonsense philosopher. What do you mean, inner conscience?

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Prabhupāda: Sense of duty is different from conscience. The duty, that should be taught by higher personalities: "This is your duty." Just like our principles. The spiritual master orders we must chant so many times, you must give up all these bad habits, sinful habits. This is duty. By conscience what you will understand of duty, a child?

Śyāmasundara: He's not so much talking about what is the duty, but that these two things are what motivate our moral behavior. They are what check and safeguard our moral behavior: one is conscience, or my own sense of duty, whatever that may be.

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Śyāmasundara: Actually, he accepts authority in both cases of moral, of moral sanctions. One, he says, that the authority should determine what is duty, and also so that my conscience will keep me following the duty.

Prabhupāda: That duty means to take orders from authority. That is real duty. Otherwise, I cannot create my duty.

Śyāmasundara: If I accept the authority as my duty...

Prabhupāda: The orders of the authority.

Śyāmasundara: The orders of the authority as my duty, then my conscience keeps me following that order. My conscience.

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Śyāmasundara: Then my conscience tells me if I am doing it right or wrong, my inner conscience, it tells me...

Prabhupāda: Yes. That anyone can understand. Even a dog can understand. You see, if the dog is trying to enter the room, I say "Hut!" he can also, he has got conscience, "Oh, the master does not want me to enter." That conscience is there in cats and dogs. That is not very high consciousness. Real consciousness is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That discrimination is there.

Śyāmasundara: So my inner conscience tells me...

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Śyāmasundara: Ring master? Trainer. Trainer. Animal trainer.

Prabhupāda: Trainer, yes. So the raw tiger is kept in the cage and the trainer comes for several days, he simply whips. Then for several days whips and gives some food, and then he comes with the whip and food. So he does not whip, he gives some food. In this way tiger becomes tamed by him. So he plays before the trainer only. He has got that whip. Because he is animal, he has got that impression, "He will kill me." Therefore he plays. As soon as this man goes away, he will immediately attack, anyone comes. Just like dog, he fears the (master); for others he jumps over. So it is a question of training. So he has got the conscience. My point is that he has got the conscience, "Oh, here is my trainer. He will kill me." He has got this conscience. This is good. "If I attack, oh, he will kill me. But here is an ordinary man, I can kill him." So he has difference of conscience. Even the tiger, even the cats, and the dogs. This discrimination, power of discrimination, is there in the animals also. But that is not consciousness. Real consciousness is to accept Kṛṣṇa. That is real consciousness.

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Śyāmasundara: He says... Now here is maybe one degree of difference. He says that ethical life, or knowledge of the Absolute, comes to our conscience or our reason, and the ethical life is to act in accordance or obedience to our conscience or our reason.

Prabhupāda: Conscience..., not ordinary conscience—Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Conscience is pure, but when it is diluted, contaminated, so somebody has got his conscience, consciousness, a different type. Just like Pakistani, Hindustani, they have got Hindustani consciousness or Pakistani consciousness, Muhammadan consciousness.

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Śyāmasundara: Conscience. Not conscious but conscience.

Prabhupāda: Conscience, everyone is conscience. Every living entity has got conscience.

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Revatīnandana: Conscience means if I'm..., a sense of whether what I am doing is right or wrong. That is conscience. That's different from consciousness.

Prabhupāda: What is consciousness? Conscience means living force.

Revatīnandana: So not consciousness.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Revatīnandana: Conscience.

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Prabhupāda: Conscious. Discrimination of good and bad.

Devotees: Yes.

Prabhupāda: That conscience is due to practice. Just like a butcher, he has no conscience that killing is bad. That he is practiced to do that, he does not say that... His conscience is not touched by killing. So this conscience is by practice created in a different atmosphere, so it does not act. Unless one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his conscience has no value. It is contaminated conscience. So as you are accustomed, so you have made a particular type of conscience. A thief, a thief, when he goes to steal, his conscience says, "This is all right. This is my livelihood. Why shall I stop it?" So what is value of this conscience?

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Śyāmasundara: His idea is that because he comes from a Christian background, where there is no...

Prabhupāda: Under some background he is speaking of conscience. But I say there are different consciences according to different backgrounds. So unless one comes to Kṛṣṇa background, his conscience has no value.

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Śyāmasundara: Yes. He says that the speculative faculty is intelligence, that we can understand...

Prabhupāda: Then he is also speculating. Just like the butcher killing, he is also speculating, "What is the wrong there? Why people are protesting?" That is also speculating. But because his background is different, his conscience does not help him.

Philosophy Discussion on Jacques Maritain:

Prabhupāda: Unless one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his conscience has no value.

Śyāmasundara: But what about a person, say like this person, who had no access to God's laws, but he was simply speculating with his intelligence to try to find out what is right and what is wrong? Can he ever understand?

Prabhupāda: He'll understand when he comes in contact with a devotee; otherwise he is also in ignorance.

Devotee: By following the regulative principles, we develop a Kṛṣṇa conscious conscience.

Philosophy Discussion on Edmund Husserl:

Prabhupāda: Transcendental observer, that is sometimes known as conscience—something dictating. I reject or may accept. Something dictating from within. That is transcendental.

Śyāmasundara: He says that there are the phenomenological and the transcendental. The phenomenological ego, which uses conscience with...

Prabhupāda: Phenomenological ego means "I." "I am this individual soul." And transcendental ego is Paramātmā, Bhagavān.

Śyāmasundara: Yes. That's his distinction. The "I" feeling is, that would be the conscience which is made up of the data, day to day, that I observe, which is my world, the stream of consciousness, that "I think I am." So I may be allowed to...

Philosophy Discussion on Johann Gottlieb Fichte:

Śyāmasundara: Because everything is seeking to realize itself, that that means there is a moral order to...

Prabhupāda: Certainly.

Śyāmasundara: So that each individual must act according to his duty and his conscience in this world.

Prabhupāda: No. Conscience, an entity is Kṛṣṇa conscience, it is useless.

Śyāmasundara: Conscience.

Philosophy Discussion on Johann Gottlieb Fichte:

Prabhupāda: Conscience, yes. A thief, he also prepares his conscience. When he goes to steal he says, "I must, because I have to maintain my family. I do not know any other business, I must." This is his conscience. The other conscious is, "No, no, no I cannot steal. It is sin." So where is the conscience? Conscience is not standard. You make your, manufacture your own conscience. Therefore you have to take advice from Kṛṣṇa conscience. That is real conscience. Whether it is (indistinct) with Kṛṣṇa conscience, that is (indistinct). Otherwise he created own conscience.

Śyāmasundara: It is that the supreme principle of world order is freedom.

Philosophy Discussion on Johann Gottlieb Fichte:

Hayagrīva: Well they both emphasize intuition or conscience. The interior...

Prabhupāda: The conscience is prepared. If you go on drinking, then your conscience will say it is good, and if you go on chanting, your conscience will say this is good. The conscience is prepared according to association. There is no standard conscience.

Hayagrīva: No standard conscience or intuition.

Philosophy Discussion on Johann Gottlieb Fichte:

Hayagrīva: They seem to think there is a standard within everyone.

Prabhupāda: So what is that standard? We say the order of Kṛṣṇa is standard. That's all. What Kṛṣṇa says, that is standard, that we have got some standard. Unless there is standard, you say conscience, high sense, morality... What is that? Define it. Just like we have got definition of God. I think nobody has got any definition of God. What is the standard that a person should be called God? I don't think... it is only in Vedic literature.

Philosophy Discussion on Blaise Pascal:

Prabhupāda: Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam, buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi (BG 10.10). He gives. God is giving intelligence to everyone, but the nondevotee, he is not surrendered; he will not accept. The same example, when the thief goes to steal, God gives him that "Don't do this. You will suffer," and he knows that, that God says, He is speaking that "Don't do this," but still he does. So he suffers. But if he can purify and acts according to the instruction of God, then he is perfect. That is the difference between demon and devotee. Devotee strictly follows the order of God; he is happy. And demon, he also knows what is God's desire; he disobeys, he acts according to his whim, he suffers. So God is giving instruction. There is no doubt about it. Externally He is giving instructions through His agent, spiritual master, through books; and internally as consciousness, conscience. He is giving, always, but the rascal will not accept. Then he must suffer. What can be done?

Page Title:Conscience (Lectures)
Compiler:Archana, Serene
Created:10 of Dec, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=43, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:43