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Darkness (Lectures, BG)

Expressions researched:
"darkness"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: darkness not ignorance

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

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

In the conditioned state, in this material condition of life, our position is that I..., we have forgotten our relationship with God. But therefore you are trying to establish so many relationships with this material world. I am trying to find some relationship with particular type of society, particular type of community, particular type of nation, particular type of family or individuals. So many ways, I am searching where is my relationship, because I have lost my relationship with God. Therefore I have to reestablish, I have to revive my old relationship with Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness process is to... Just like in darkness you are finding your things, your watch, you cannot find it out. Sometimes you are touching this, sometimes touching this, sometimes touching this, but the real thing you are not touching. So you are bewildered, you are harassed. And now you, if you touch Kṛṣṇa consciousness, these harassments will be stopped. It is so nice thing. We are giving you your lost relationship, which you are searching out life after life. And you are confused. Take this! You will be happy. You will find your relationship, eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 1.13-14 -- London, July 14, 1973:

Kṛṣṇa is nārāyaṇaḥ paro 'vyaktāt, transcendental, paraḥ avyaktāt. That is puruṣottama-yoga in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa has said, "Anyone who has understood Me, ajam avyayam, ajam—I never take birth in this material world, neither I am deteriorated by material contact—he knows me perfectly." That is called puruṣottama. Puruṣa uttama. Uttama. Uttama means "not of this material world." Ut. Ut means above, and tama means this darkness. So ut-tama means "above this darkness." So uttama puruṣa. Puruṣa uttama. Puruṣa. Puruṣa means enjoyer. Prakṛti means enjoyed. So actually, we are not puruṣa; we are prakṛti. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām, jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat (BG 7.5). Apareyam, these material elements, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ, earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence, bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā, these are separated energies, material energies of Kṛṣṇa. They are also prakṛti. As this material world is prakṛti, similarly, there is another prakṛti, Kṛṣṇa gives information. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām. But that is parā-prakṛti. So we are not puruṣa; we are prakṛtis.

Lecture on BG 1.20 -- London, July 17, 1973:

So again the word hṛṣīkeśa is used here. In the beginning also, hṛṣīkeśaḥ pāñcajanyam. Kṛṣṇa is again designated as Hṛṣīkeśa. As we have explained several times, bhakti means hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). Bhakti, the whole devotional service program, means hṛṣīkena hṛṣīkeśa-sevanam. So Arjuna was meant for serving Kṛṣṇa, because he is bhakta. Kṛṣṇa has already addressed him, bhakto 'si, priyo 'si, rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam: (BG 4.3) "My dear Arjuna, I am speaking to you the mystery of Bhagavad-gītā." It is a mystery. Mystery means very complicated; no ordinary man can understand. Therefore it is called mystery, rahasyam. But not ordinary rahasyam, uttamam. Uttamam means transcendental, not covered with darkness of material science. But it is brilliant, daivam, divyam. Rahasyam.

Lecture on BG 1.24-25 -- London, July 20, 1973:

The more you become purified, the more you get direct instruction from Hṛṣīkeśa. This is the point. So how you can become purified? Purified means no more influenced by the modes of material nature. That is explained: guḍākeśa. Guḍāka īśa. Guḍāka means darkness, and īśa. When you become master of this material world, or material senses. This material world means material senses. That's all. So if you become master of the material senses, then you become guḍākeśa. Therefore Arjuna is described here as guḍākeśa. Arjuna... Don't take Arjuna that he was mistaken. No, he cannot be. How he can be? He is constantly with Kṛṣṇa. How he can be misdirected? No. That is not possible. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama māyā andhakāra (CC Madhya 22.31). So guḍāka means darkness, māyā. So kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama māyā andhakāra. The darkness and light is there always, side by side. We have got experience. Here is sunlight, here is darkness. So these two things are there. So kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama māyā andhakāra, yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra. Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa, there is no jurisdiction of darkness or māyā.

Lecture on BG 1.24-25 -- London, July 20, 1973:

You can become immediately out of the scope of māyā if you always remain surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Māyā will not touch you. Just like if you remain always in the sunshine, there is no question of night. Nowadays it is very easy. If you simply drive your plane on the western side, you'll never get night. You just round about. Yes. Just like it is materially possible. You drive your plane simply on the western side. Start your plane in the morning and go to the western side and don't stop it. You go on for three, four, as many days as you like. You'll never get night. This is practical. Similarly, if you keep always with Kṛṣṇa, you are guḍākeśa, you will never get darkness. Or māyā will not touch you. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So try to become Guḍākeśa.

Lecture on BG 1.24-25 -- London, July 20, 1973:

So because Kṛṣṇa wanted to exercise His fighting spirit, He sent His devotee. He became enemy and He fought. So you have to understand Kṛṣṇa in that way, as Hṛṣīkeśa. He knows that unless Arjuna becomes affected family-wise, how Bhagavad-gītā will be there? Therefore although Guḍākeśa, Arjuna, is above darkness, still, by the will of Kṛṣṇa, Hṛṣīkeśa, he played just like ordinary man, affected with his family affection. Therefore Kṛṣṇa in the next verse says... Uvāca. Kṛṣṇa said, "My dear Pārtha, now you wanted to see with whom you have to fight. Now, here is Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and many other kings. All the descendants of Kuru dynasty, your Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons. Now you see very nicely and be prepared to fight with them." So this is the explanation of Hṛṣīkeśa and Guḍākeśa.

Lecture on BG 1.41-42 -- London, July 29, 1973:

If the so-called advanced in education they speak so irresponsibly, naturally, others will follow. Therefore, at the present moment, the whole generation is covered with ignorance and darkness. No clear knowledge. And without clear knowledge, whatever we do... Just like in darkness, whatever we act, that is simply embezzlement. That's all. It is not very correctly understood. Therefore we have no correct knowledge, no correct activities, and, and the result is narakayaiva.

Lecture on BG 1.45-46 -- London, August 1, 1973:

Ordinary man does not know what is Kṛṣṇa and what is Kṛṣṇa's desire, and he manufactures his own philosophy and thoughts. That is ordinary man. But Arjuna, he is always friend of Kṛṣṇa, constant friend. His name is Gudakesa, above all darkness. Certainly he must be. One who is Kṛṣṇa's friend directly, how there can be ignorance? There cannot be. Then why Arjuna is playing that part? He knows Kṛṣṇa's desire; still, he says that yadi mām apratikāram aśastram śastra-pāṇayaḥ. And no... Tan me kṣemataraṁ bhavet. He is playing like that. Because without Arjuna's playing like that, how this Bhagavad-gītā will come? This is just like playing on the stage. One very rich man, he is, in a drama, he is playing the part of a very poor man. But actually, he is not poor man. But in the stage he is playing the part of a poor man.

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

Prabhupāda: No. Why? Why? If there are innumerable suns, why they are not present at night? Why you are suffering from want of one sun?

Man (2): Because we are much further away from the others than our particular one.

Prabhupāda: No. At least, we are not able to bring them into service. We are depending only on one sun in this universe. You may say there are innumerable suns, but why the astronomers or the scientists could not take advantage of another sun at night? Why it is darkness?

Man (2): Because we're much closer to this one than the others. We're much closer to this one.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is... What is that?

Madhudviṣa: He says that the earth is much more closer to this sun than it is to other suns.

Prabhupāda: Anyway, we do not take. But we, according to our Vedic information, this is only one universe, which is within our vision, this sky, the dome. That is one universe. The other universes are outside this universe. That is the Vedic information.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- Hyderabad, November 17, 1972:

Every one of us is covered by the darkness of ajñāna. What is that ajñāna? "I am this body." "I am Indian." "I am American." "I am Andhra," "I am Bengali." "I am this, I am that." So there is fighting, due to ajñāna. So first of all we have to drive away this ajñāna. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is teaching Arjuna that "You are not this body. You are spirit soul." This is the first spiritual instruction by the authority to anyone, that "You are not this body." So by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra... It is the medicine recommended in the śāstra, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). That dust of ignorance is moved. He can understand that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. My duty is to serve Kṛṣṇa." In this way, he becomes enlightened gradually.

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

This is middle planetary system. This earthly planet, it is called Bhūrloka. Then, above this, there is Bhuvarloka. Then, above that, Svargaloka. That is heavenly planets. The heavenly planets begins from the moon planet. Jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ. And those who are in the modes of darkness, they go down, down, down. The animal life is also amongst the down, I mean to say, modes of life. So this human form of life is a chance to make our choice where we shall go next, in the higher or in the lower, or we shall remain here. So how to go to the higher planetary system, that is also mentioned. Yānti deva-vratā devān.

Lecture on BG 2.16 -- London, August 22, 1973:

So these things cannot be understood so long we are in the darkness. Darkness means sinful life. The more we are engaged in sinful life, we cannot understand what is sat-saṅga and what is asat-saṅga. So we should be purified. The whole human life is meant for purification. Yasmāt śuddhyet sattvam. Sattvam. Sattvam means existence. Śuddhyet. Śuddhyet means becomes purified. Just like a diseased man, contaminated by some disease. The medical treatment means he has to be purified from the contamination. Similarly, we are impure in this material existence, by contamination of the three modes of material nature: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa—goodness, passion and ignorance. So even if we are contaminated by the quality of goodness of this material world, that is also contaminated.

Lecture on BG 2.16 -- Mexico City, February 16, 1975:

So if you want to stop the danger of death, then you have to understand what is that Absolute Truth. Just like I have given already the example of sunshine. If you come to the sunshine, there is no darkness. But if you keep yourself within closed door, do not like to see the sunshine, that is your own choice. So everyone should try to come to the light. That is Vedic injunction, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, means "Do not remain in darkness, come to the light." Light means knowledge, and darkness means ignorance. So every one of us now in the ignorance that we do not know "What I am." Everyone is in darkness in the concept of body. Ask anyone what you are. He will say, "I am this body. I am Mr. Such and such." "I am Indian." "I am American." This is all bodily description. And we have already discussed. This body is temporary, but I, the spirit soul, I am permanent.

Lecture on BG 2.18 -- Hyderabad, November 23, 1972:

External energy cannot come in front of God, Kṛṣṇa. This is māyā. Just like darkness cannot come in front of the sun.

kṛṣṇa-sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra
yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra

This material world is dark. It is called tamaḥ. Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya. The Vedic instruction is "Don't remain in this material world. Come to the spiritual world." Spiritual world. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-kotiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam, tad brahma niṣkalam anantam aśeṣa-bhūtam (Bs. 5.40). So come to the Brahman platform, brahmajyoti. Don't remain within this darkness.

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

So more or less, the modern civilization is in darkness. That is the treatment of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Lokasyājānata. All the people of the world, they are rascals and fools. That is the statement in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto. Vyāsadeva wrote the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the introductory portion is stated like this, you have seen, that by his devotional meditation he saw Kṛṣṇa and His material energy also. Bhakti-yogena manasi (samyak) praṇihite 'male, apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam (SB 1.7.4). By bhakti-yoga meditation he saw two things. Manasi praṇihite amale. By bhakti-yoga only. The yoga process is to clear the mind. The whole process of yoga indriya-saṁyama, controlling the senses and clearing, that is actually yoga system.

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

So Vyāsadeva, he was liberated soul. So in clean heart, clean mind, he experienced, he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and māyā, tad-apāśrayam, and māyā standing behind Him. Māyā is darkness. Māyā cannot stand before Kṛṣṇa. Just like darkness cannot stand in front of the light. Now here is light. There is no darkness. In the backside you'll find some darkness. Is it not? Not in the front. So māyā cannot stand before Kṛṣṇa. Māyā stands behind Kṛṣṇa. So if you put always Kṛṣṇa or if you are always Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then māyā cannot touch you. Kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama māyā haya andhakāra, yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra. So Vyāsadeva, in clear consciousness, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he saw Kṛṣṇa and this māyā. And what is this māyā? That is said, yayā sammohito jīva. That māyā which has enchanted all these conditioned souls. Yayā sammohito jīva ātmānam anarthaṁ manute (SB 1.7.5). 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.

Lecture on BG 2.26 -- Hyderabad, November 30, 1972:

You cannot say, "These people are suffering and that people are enjoying." The man who is enjoying, he'll also suffer next moment. This is going on, suffering and enjoying. Unless we come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no way of coming out of this duality of this world. This is duality. Everything you'll find in dual. Unless there is happiness, you cannot understand what is distress. And unless there is distress, you cannot understand happiness. You cannot understand light unless there is darkness. So this is the world of darkness and light, so-called light. You have to transcend. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). So we have to make arrangement. That facility is there to every human being, how he can get out of this world of duality and come to the transcendental platform which is called avyabhicāriṇī-bhakti-yoga.

Lecture on BG 2.27-38 -- Los Angeles, December 11, 1968:

So Bhāgavata says, naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghrim (SB 7.5.32). If anyone understands urukramāṅghrim, or the Supreme Lord, for him to understand the existence of soul is not very difficult. Just like one who has seen the sun globe, for him to understand what is sunshine is not very difficult. But one who is perpetually in the darkness, neither has seen the sunshine nor has seen the sun globe, for him, what is light, what is sun, it is very difficult to understand.

Lecture on BG 2.36-37 -- London, September 4, 1973:

Defeat. Because it is the world of duality. There must be something dual, black-white, darkness-light, sukha, happiness-distress, father-son. There must be. This is called relative world. One thing, if you understand one thing, you must know the other thing, opposite. Otherwise, it has no meaning. In the absolute world, there is no such thing, opposite elements. So here, Kṛṣṇa is suggesting about the absolute duty, lābhālābhau. When there is loss or gain, you are the same. Generally, when there is gain, we are very jubilant. And when there is loss, we become morose. But here, Kṛṣṇa is teaching that "You remain in one position, either it is loss or gain. Either it is victory or defeat. Either it is happiness or distress." This is brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20). Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54).

Lecture on BG 2.40-45 -- Los Angeles, December 13, 1968:

There is Vedic instruction also. Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya. Don't remain within this darkness. This material world is darkness. Therefore there is need of sunlight, need of moonlight. Just like just now, night. What is this night? Night means this is the real appearance of this material world. It is dark. And when the sunlight will be visible, we shall think that it is daytime. But actually it is dark. But there is another nature. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyaḥ (BG 8.20). Another spiritual nature where there is always illumination. Jyoti. Jyoti means illumination.

Lecture on BG 2.40-45 -- Los Angeles, December 13, 1968:

This world is of duality. Duality means you cannot understand one thing without understanding the other. Just like light. You have no conception of light without the conception of darkness. This is called duality. Good—unless you have experienced bad, you cannot understand good. Father—unless there is a son, there is no meaning of father. Husband—unless there is wife, there is no meaning of husband. This is called duality. This world is duality. So we have to rise above this dual world and enter into the absolute world. Then there will be happiness. That's all right.

Lecture on BG 2.40-45 -- Los Angeles, December 13, 1968:

Just like this light, it is now enlightened. There is illumination. And as soon as the switch is off, immediately darkness. And switch is on, immediately light. So it is not very difficult to understand what is enlightenment. Enlightened means ahaṁ brahmāsmi. I do not belong to this material world. I belong to the Supreme Spirit. That conviction makes you enlightened. So anyone who has got this conviction, he's enlightened. This is not very difficult.

Lecture on BG 3.16-17 -- New York, May 25, 1966:

Here you don't require that you have to take your bath before chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. No. Oh, because you are in the bathroom, therefore you cannot chant Hare Kṛṣṇa? No. You can chant even there. So such a thing. Because if actually Kṛṣṇa, that very name, is Kṛṣṇa, then how I can remain impure? The potency is there. It makes me at once pure. Just like as soon as there is light, there is no question of darkness. Darkness and light cannot stand together. Either it must be darkness or must be light. So as soon as there is light... So Kṛṣṇa is light. Kṛṣṇa name is light. Therefore there cannot be any impurities. Impurity is due to my, this material body. But I am, at that moment, I am in the spiritual platform. So this impurities cannot touch me.

Lecture on BG 3.18-30 -- Los Angeles, December 30, 1968:

So the goal, ultimate goal, it is described, "The Supreme is the Personality of Godhead for the devotee, and liberation for the impersonalist." The impersonalists, they simply want to be free from this material atmosphere and go to the spiritual atmosphere. Just like one who is in the darkness of a room, his aspiration is how to see light. That's all. The impersonalist means simply to see light, knowledge. And personalist means to direct, to be in direct touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is like that. Apply your intelligence, apply your mind, apply your senses only for Kṛṣṇa, and there is no more lust. You are free. There is no sitting place. Just like this glass. There is water. So how you can put in ink? Because there is no sitting place. Similarly, if you place Kṛṣṇa in your mind, so lust will automatically go away. Just like if you place light in this room, the darkness automatically will go away. There is no place for darkness. Kṛṣṇa is light. The sun is light. As soon as there is sun rising, the whole darkness of night automatically disappears. So try to place Kṛṣṇa in your mind, in your sensual activities, in your intelligence. Then there will be no more lust. It will be finished.

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

Everyone is under this illusion, nobody excepted. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). When you ask me, "Swamiji, what you are?", oh, I'll say, "I am Indian." What sort of Indian I am? Because my this body is Indian, made in India or got in India. But I am not this body. I am not this body. So this, this is illusion. So second imperfection. First imperfection, that we must commit mistake. The second imperfection is accepting something which is not real. This is called illusion. The example of illusion is given generally: Just like in darkness, if you find some curling rope, you are afraid, "Oh, here is a snake!" Actually, that is not a snake. That means accepting the curling rope as a snake. This is the example of illusion.

Lecture on BG 4.1 -- Montreal, August 24, 1968:

Just like the eyelid is just attached to the eye, but I cannot see. This is imperfect. Neither we can see very close, neither we can see very long distance point, neither we can see in darkness. There are so many conditions. If those conditions are fulfilled, then our senses can act. Therefore it is to be understood that our senses are imperfect. Therefore Bhāgavata says ataḥ, therefore, śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nāmādi... Nāma means His name, His holy name, ādi, that is the beginning. To understand Kṛṣṇa is to begin chanting His name, nāma. Nāmādi. Ādi means in the beginning.

Lecture on BG 4.7 -- Bombay, March 27, 1974:

Then ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is spiritual understanding. When one understands that "I am not this body, I am spirit soul," and when he begins... Devotional service begins there. That will be explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). Because we are in darkness, we are not prasannātmā. We are always morose. Although we are serving the country, the community, the family, or anything, but we are not happy because that is not our religion. When the same service will be converted to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then we'll be satisfied.

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

So this is this world. This material world is dark, is always dark. Therefore here we require the sun and the moon and the electric light. Otherwise, it is dark. As soon as the electricity will fail, then whole city will be in darkness. So the nature of this... And the Vedic mantra also says that "Don't remain in this darkness." Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya: "Just try to transfer yourself in that illuminated world." Jyotir gamaya. Jyoti means illumination. So this world, this material world, is full of darkness. Darkness, one meaning of darkness is ignorance. And another darkness, you know, without, absence of light. So this nature of this material world is darkness. So if we understand the Kṛṣṇa science, and the activities of Kṛṣṇa, how He comes, how He works, what is the mission of His activity.

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

Just like Kṛṣṇa is speaking the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, but He was never taught of Bhagavad-gītā. I am speaking to you Bhagavad-gītā, just learning from my spiritual master. So I have to learn it, but when Kṛṣṇa spoke, He hadn't, had not to learn it. He had no business to learn it. Because svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca. His knowledge is natural. So these things are to be understand. Then one who understands the science of Kṛṣṇa in truth, then the benefit is, the result is that he, he no more comes back to this world of darkness. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). Neither he has to undergo the repeated birth and death. We are just now undergoing the term of repeated birth and death under different species of life. So that thing will be stopped.

Lecture on BG 4.7-10 -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969:

In the practical life also. President Nixon is the head of your state. You can also become. But you must have the capacity. Simply by thinking that "I am President Nixon, Nixon, Nixon...," that will not do. Tat tvam asi means that, "You have got the same quality as God. Now you have to realize and you have to act. Don't misuse your life simply in animal propensity and go to dog." No. Therefore Vedic... Tamasi mā jyotir-gama: "Don't remain in the darkness. Come out to the light." Tamasi mā jyotir-gama: "Don't remain in birth and death cycle. Come to the eternal life." So everything is there. You can have eternal life, blissful life, life of knowledge.

Lecture on BG 4.8 -- Bombay, March 28, 1974:

The example is that the sun is equally distributing sunshine. Anyone can take advantage of it. But if somebody does not take advantage of it, if he closes his door and windows, if he wants to remain in darkness, then what sun can do? Similarly, Kṛṣṇa appears for everyone. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). "You take shelter unto Me." But we shall not do that. Instead of Kṛṣṇa, we shall find out so many imitation Kṛṣṇa and take shelter of them. This is our fault. This is not Kṛṣṇa's partiality. Kṛṣṇa is open to everyone, but we shall go to some rascal, who will falsely declare himself, "I am incarnation of God, incarnation of Kṛṣṇa," and I'll go there. And how some magic. He does not want to see the magic of Kṛṣṇa. He wants to see some false magic of an imitation Kṛṣṇa. That is the fault.

Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:

Generally the example is cited that in the darkness when you see a curling rope, you misunderstand it that it is a snake. But actually it is not the snake. Now, this conception of a snake comes wherefrom? Unless there is a real snake, how you can see that it is a snake? That rope is false. That's all right. That rope is not snake, but there is real snake. Otherwise, how you get the conception of the snake? Just try to follow it. Without having the real snake, you cannot get this conception of snake.

Lecture on BG 4.13 -- Johannesburg, October 19, 1975:

So what kind of change of body you are going to have? You must learn it. Otherwise you are in darkness. What is the value of life if you do not know? Suppose next life I am going to become a dog. So what is the value of my becoming this life a prime minister? But they do not know. The science is unknown. Science is known, but people are so fool that they do not take care of it. This is the position. So don't waste your time in that way. Try to understand what is the problem of life, how we can come again to the original spiritual life. That is the ultimate solution because we are spirit.

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

Indians are meant for para-upakāra, because outside India they are in darkness. But unfortunately, Indians are now imitating the western kind of life. It is very regrettable. You have to make your life successful by reading Bhagavad-gītā and preach the truth all over the world. Then world will be happy and you will be happy. This is required. Yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). That is recommended here, evaṁ jñātvā kṛtaṁ karma pūrvair api mumukṣubhiḥ. This kind of business can be done by whom? Mumukṣubhiḥ, not ordinary men. Those who are aspiring after liberation. Those who are thinking of stopping this nonsense business of repetition of birth and death, for them. They are not ordinary men. Mumukṣubhiḥ.

Lecture on BG 4.19 -- New York, August 5, 1966:

And one who is, who has surrendered unto Kṛṣṇa, one who has taken Kṛṣṇa consciousness, māyā has nothing to do. Māyā cannot touch. Just like when... If you come in front of the sunlight, there is no question of darkness. There is no question of darkness if you place yourself in light, sunlight, not this artificial light. This artificial light may be extinguished at any time, but sunlight is not like that. So Kṛṣṇa is just like sunlight. As soon as you come in front of sun, oh, there is no darkness. So there is no ignorance. So there is no māyā. Māyā means illusion.

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

As soon as we forget Kṛṣṇa, immediately there is māyā. Just like the sunshine and in the shade, they are existing side by side. If you don't remain in the sunshine, then you come to the shade, darkness. And if you don't remain in the darkness, you come to the sunshine. Similarly, if we don't accept Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we have to accept māyā consciousness. And if we don't accept māyā consciousness, then we have to accept Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Side by side. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness means not to remain in the dark consciousness. Tamasi mā jyotir gama. That is the Vedic instruction, "Don't remain in the darkness." And what is that darkness? The darkness is bodily concept of life.

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

So anyone in this material world, he is defective. Every one of us, we know that we are defective. What is that? We are very much proud of seeing. So what is the value of our seeing? We see under certain condition. That's all. If there is immediately darkness, what is the value of our eyes? We cannot see. So under certain conditions, because we see, therefore we are not perfect. But if you can see in any condition, that is perfection, not depending on these defective eyes or senses. That is not knowledge. Defective.

Lecture on BG 4.24 -- Bombay, April 13, 1974:

Just like you are in the sunshine. That is also light. It is not darkness. Similarly, those who have realized impersonal Brahman, that is also light. Those who have realized localized Paramātmā, īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 18.61), the yogis... The yogis realize Paramātmā. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). Yogis' business is in meditation to see Kṛṣṇa within the heart. And the jñānīs, they realize impersonal feature, brahmajyoti. But the bhaktas, they directly come to the original source of Brahman and Paramātmā—Bhagavān. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Īśvara has expanded in everyone's heart.

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

Kṛṣṇa's another name is suhṛt satām. Satām. Satām means those who are trying for having eternal life. Because in this material world we don't get anything eternal. All, everything, temporary. Therefore it is called asat. Asato mā sad gama. The Vedic injunction is "Don't try to remain in this temporary world." Sad gama: "Just try to go to the eternal world." Tamaso mā jyotir gama: "Don't try to remain in this darkness. You go to the kingdom of light." These are Vedic injunctions. So Kṛṣṇa, He is within our heart. Hṛdy antaḥ-sthaḥ. Therefore, as soon as we become a little inclined towards Kṛṣṇa, then from within our heart He gives us favorable instruction so that we can gradually make progress, gradually.

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

Śreya uttamam. Uttamam means the udgata-tamam. That is transcendental. Tama means darkness. Anything of this material world, that is in darkness because this material world is dark. You know that the whole world, whole universe, is dark. Therefore there is requisition of the sunlight, moonlight, electricity. It is dark. So uttamam means which is beyond this darkness, beyond this darkness. That means transcendental subject, spiritual subject. In the spiritual world there is no darkness. So if anyone is desirous of inquiring about the spiritual world, then he requires to find out a spiritual master. Otherwise there is no necessity. For a man who wants to remain in this darkness, for material benefit... Suppose I want some spiritual master or I want to study Bhagavad-gītā or Vedānta-sūtra so that I may make some material improvement.

Lecture on BG 5.3-7 -- New York, August 26, 1966:

Kṛṣṇa says, sāṅkhya-yoga... Sāṅkhya and yoga. And yoga means direct connection with the Lord, direct connection with the Lord. Just like in the darkness. In dark, in the darkness, you cannot see anything. Suppose your room is closed and dark. You cannot see anything. But when you come to the light, you come to the sunlight, then you can see yourself and everything very nicely. So yoga, this word yoga, means to come in direct touch with the absolute light or Absolute Truth. That is called yoga. So by analytical, analytical study of this material world, that is not sufficient. Unless you come in direct touch with the Supreme Absolute Truth, this knowledge has no value.

Lecture on BG 5.3-7 -- New York, August 26, 1966:

So direct process is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa is just like the sun.

kṛṣṇa—sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra
yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra

The idea is just like the sun. In the sun there is no darkness. You cannot conceive any darkness in the sun. Similarly Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is just like the sun. If you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, if you come in touch with Kṛṣṇa, then there is no possibility of ignorance. There is no possibility of ignorance. You'll learn everything.

Lecture on BG 5.14-22 -- New York, August 28, 1966:

When we are not so much advanced in the material science we think extensively for other also to be in that category of knowledge. So jñānena tu ajñānaṁ yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ. Any person who has advanced in the spiritual knowledge, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then his, that covering of material knowledge is dissipated. How? Now, teṣām ādityavaj jñānam. Just like sun rising, the darkness of the night at once dissipated, similarly, when we advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, spiritual knowledge, then our material conception of life is at once dissipated.

Lecture on BG 6.2-5 -- Los Angeles, February 14, 1969:

As soon as Kṛṣṇa is seated on the mind, just like as soon as there is sunshine, the sun is on the sky, there is no scope of darkness. There is no possibility. Darkness will never become before the sun. Similarly Kṛṣṇa is just like sun. You keep Kṛṣṇa on the mind. The māyā, darkness will never be able to come. That is the first-class yoga system. That is the perfection of yoga system. One whose mind is so strong that mind will not allow any nonsense to come in, then where is your falldown? The mind is strong, the driver is strong. He cannot take you anywhere unless you desire.

Lecture on BG 6.2-5 -- Los Angeles, February 14, 1969:

The more we engage our mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the more you keep yourself in the sunlight, there is no chance of getting into darkness. That is the process. If you like, you are at liberty. You can keep yourself within the room in darkness, and you can come in the broad daylight. That depends on your choice. But when you come in the broad sunlight, there is no chance of darkness. Darkness can be eradicated by light, but light cannot be covered by darkness. Suppose you are in a dark room. You bring one lamp. The darkness over. But you take something dark and go to the sunlight, it will fade away. So kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama māyā haya andhakāra. Kṛṣṇa is just like sunlight. And māyā is just like darkness. So what darkness will do in sunlight? You keep yourself in sunlight. Darkness will fail to act upon you. This is the whole philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on BG 6.2-5 -- Los Angeles, February 14, 1969:

Keep always yourself engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness activities. Māyā will not be able to touch you. Because there is no possibility of darkness becoming influential in light. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That when Vyāsadeva, under the instruction of his spiritual master, Nārada, by bhakti-yoga: bhakti-yogena praṇihite samyak, praṇihite 'male. Bhakti-yogena manasi (SB 1.7.4). The same, mind, manasi means mind. When enlightened by bhakti-yoga, bhakti-light, bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite amale. When the mind becomes completely freed from all contamination. That can be done by bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite 'male apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇam. He saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam. And he saw this māyā just on the background. Apāśrayam. Light and darkness, along with, just like here is light. There is darkness also here, little darkness. So darkness remains under the shelter of light. But light does not remain under the shelter of darkness. So Vyāsadeva saw Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, and this māyā, darkness, apāśrayam, just under His shelter.

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

Just like apāni-pādo javana-gṛhīta. It is said that God has no hands or legs. But He can accept anything you offer. God has no eyes, and ears, but He can see everything and He can hear everything. So these are contradiction. That means whenever we speak of seeing, we think somebody must have eyes like this. That is our material conception. God has eyes, He can see even in the darkness. You cannot see in the darkness. So He has got a different eye. God can hear. If God is in His kingdom which is millions and millions of miles away, but if you are talking something, whispering, conspiracy, He can hear. Because He is sitting within you. So you cannot avoid God's seeing and God's hearing or God's touching.

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

Just like if you want to see just now the sun, it is now darkness. If you say, "Oh I have got a very strong torchlight. Come on, I shall show you the sunlight, sun." You cannot show. But when the sun rises out of its own will in the morning, you can see. Similarly you cannot see God by your endeavor because your senses are all nonsense. You have to purify your senses and you have to wait for the time when God will be pleased to reveal Himself before you. That is the process. You cannot challenge. "Oh my dear God, my dear Kṛṣṇa, please come. I shall see you." No, God is not your order supplier, your servant. So when He'll be pleased, you'll see.

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

Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18). The other day as I explained, if you keep your mind always seated by Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is just like light, sun. So there is no question of darkness occupying the mind. There will be no possibility. Just like in the sunlight, there is possibility of darkness. Similarly, if you keep Kṛṣṇa on your mind always, this māyā or illusion cannot reach there. She will be unable to reach there. That is the process. He should be free from desire and possessiveness. The whole material disease is that I want to possess and desire. And whatever is lost, I lament for it, and whatever there is, whatever we haven't got, we desire for it.

Lecture on BG 6.13-15 -- Los Angeles, February 16, 1969:

One process is to understand by the ascending process. And another process is the descending process. Just like in darkness, if you try to understand what is sun by ascending process, by flying your very powerful airplane or sputniks, just go round over the sky, you cannot see. But the descending process, when the sun rises, you understand immediately. Ascending process—my endeavor, what is called inductive process. Inductive process. Just like my father says that man is mortal. I accept it. Now if you want to study whether man is mortal, you study, you see many thousands of men, whether he is immortal or mortal. That will take so much time. But if you take the knowledge from the superior authority, that man is mortal, your knowledge is complete.

Lecture on BG 6.25-29 -- Los Angeles, February 18, 1969:

The self, the mind should be fixed in self. We are self and Kṛṣṇa is also self. So, just like if you fix up your eyes on the sun, then you can see the sun and yourself also. Sometimes in dense darkness we cannot see ourself also. That you have experienced. So I cannot see my body in dense darkness. Although body is with me, I am the body or I am whatever I am, I cannot see myself. That you have got experience. So if you are in the sunshine, sunlight, then you see the sun as well as yourself. Is it not? Therefore to see the self means first of all see the Supreme Self. The Supreme Self is Kṛṣṇa. In the Vedas it is said, Kaṭhopaniṣad, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). The Supreme Self is the chief eternal of all eternals. He is the chief living being of all living beings. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to fix up in self.

Lecture on BG 6.30-34 -- Los Angeles, February 19, 1969:

Simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kalau, in this age of Kali. Kalau nāsty eva, nāsty eva. Nāsty eva: there is no other alternative, no other alternative, no other alternative. If you adopt this system, this bhakti-yoga system, very simple, simply chanting. You'll find immediately result. Pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyam. Any other yoga system, if you practice, you are in the darkness. You do not know how far you are making progress. But this system, you will understand, "Yes, I'm making such and such progress." This is the only yoga system, bhakti-yoga system, that one can practice for quick result and self-realization and liberation even in this life. He hasn't got to wait for another life. It is so nice, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

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

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. 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.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Auckland, April 15, 1972:

Everything cannot be understood absolutely. If I say... It is a, rather in ordinary language, relative world. Here everything is relative. Just like if I say "father," "father" has no meaning if there is no son. Duality. If I say "good," so unless I have got idea of bad, I cannot understand good. If I say "light," unless I have got conception of darkness, I cannot understand light. So here everything is duality, relative knowledge, relative world, but in the absolute world everything is one, spirit.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Ahmedabad, December 13, 1972:

One who eradicates the ajñāna, andhakāra, darkness. In the darkness, if somebody brings lamp, ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā... The jñāna-rūpa, torchlight, he's guru. So maybe of different degrees, but anyone who opens the spiritual eyes, he's guru. So... But in the śāstra it is said, gurur api kāryākāryakam ajānataḥ. If I accept some guru, but if later on it appears that he did not know what is to be done, what is to be not to be done, then Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says that such guru: parityāgo vidhīyate. Such guru should be rejected.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Hyderabad, April 27, 1974:

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.

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

Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter Seven, "Knowledge of the Absolute." There are two things, absolute and the relative. This is relative world. Here we cannot understand one thing without the other. As soon as we speak that "Here is son," there must be father. As soon as we say "Here is husband," there must be wife. As soon as we say "Here is servant," there must be master. As soon as we say "Here is light," there must be darkness. This is called relative world. One has to be understood by other relative terms. But there is another world, which is called absolute world. There the master and the servant, the same. There is no distinction. Although one is master and other is servant, but the position is the same.

Lecture on BG 7.1-3 -- London, August 4, 1971:

As soon as you forget Kṛṣṇa, the māyā is there. Just like there is sunshine and darkness, side by side. If you want to keep yourself in the sunshine, there is no darkness. But if you voluntarily come to the darkness, what the sun will do? Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). "You surrender to Kṛṣṇa." But why don't you do it? That is māyā. It is up to you. Therefore you create māyā. Kṛṣṇa does not create. A man is hanged. Does it mean that the high-court judge who orders that "This man should be hanged," the high-court judge is enemy of that man he's hanging? No. He has created his situation that he should be hanged. God is very kind to everyone, but we have created situation so that we suffer.

Lecture on BG 7.2 -- San Francisco, September 11, 1968:

So you cannot see; you require the help of glass. But if the disease of your eye is cured, oh, you can see without glass. But that does not mean that you can see for hundred miles. But at least you can see perfectly. You don't require the help of glass. Similarly, so long your senses are impure, you are completely in ignorance, you do not know what you are, what is this world, what is God—simply in darkness. Just like dull stone. Ignorance means dull stone. So if your senses are purified, at least you can know who is God, what you are, what is this world, what is your relationship. These things will be revealed. Not that you can become the supreme controller. No. That is not possible. Purifying the senses means at least you can know your self, you know the controller, know the controlling system. These things will be revealed.

Lecture on BG 7.2 -- San Francisco, September 11, 1968:

Just like so long the sun is there, there is no darkness, but as soon as the sun is away from your sight, at once the darkness comes. Because the whole atmosphere is darkness. It is by artificial means or by arrangement of God we are keeping it light. This room, if at once the electric fails, oh, it will be dark, because its nature is darkness. Its nature is darkness. Therefore Vedas say, "Don't keep yourself in this darkness. Just get out of this. Come to the light." Tamasi ma jyotir gama. Just come to the light. That is spiritual kingdom. So Kṛṣṇa comes to give you information of that spiritual kingdom, that "Life is like this." Just like Kṛṣṇa displayed at Vṛndāvana. Everyone is happy, enjoying. So He displays the spiritual life to attract you. So our business should be to be attracted by Him and prepare ourself to go back to Godhead, go back to home.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- London, March 11, 1975:

I spoke with Professor Kotovsky in Moscow. He also said that "Swamiji, after finishing this body, everything is finished." This is the position of human society at the present moment, that they do not know how to make life perfect. To make life perfect means how to make my next life very perfect or happy or better life. Otherwise, if I remain in darkness—Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13)—then I shall be, I may become any of these so many types of body. I may become a tree, I may become a dog, I may become a cat or maybe a demigod. There are so many, different. But I must be sure what kind of life I must have. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. We are not imagining. Our movement, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, based on Bhagavad-gītā.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- London, March 11, 1975:

When one comes to this sense, that "Shall I work like the cats, dogs, and hogs, or I have got any other business?" that is human life. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu. All of them working like hogs and dogs. They do not know there is something other. This is the position. And the modern civilization means keep him in the darkness, that "Let him work hard like hogs and dogs, and don't give him any knowledge." Neither they know, the so-called leaders, what is the perfection. They think, "This is life: work like hog and dog, and then die like hog and dog, finish all business." This is not human life. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). They do not know what is perfection of life. Therefore we sometimes... We do not say. Kṛṣṇa says.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Nairobi, October 29, 1975:

So Vedic injunction is tamasi mā jyotir gama. "Don't remain in darkness." This is darkness. Darkness means "I am this body, and the, to fulfill the necessities of the body is the highest perfection of my life." Everyone is trying for that, competition. Everyone is trying to have a skyscraper building and three Rolls Royce cars and so on, so on. They think that this is perfection of life, durāśayā, durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31), this material energy's production. But you do not think that "How many years I shall enjoy this skyscraper building? And what is my main business? My main business is how to become perfect." There are many animals within the skyscraper building. There are human being, there are dogs, there are cats, there are worms, rats, so many things. So to live in the skyscraper building, that facility is there even to the worms, cats, rats, everyone. That... Then what is the difference between these animals and me? The difference is how to become perfect, siddhi, svarūpa-siddhi. "What I am? Am I this body?" This should be the question. Athāto brahma jijñāsā.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Nairobi, October 29, 1975:

You are executing your occupational duties very nicely honestly. That is all right. But after executing your duties very honestly and nicely, if you do not awaken your dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then śrama eva hi kevalam. You are simply wasting your time. Useless. When you understand Kṛṣṇa, then it is the highest perfection. Saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ. So nobody is interested. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu: (BG 7.3) "Out of many millions of persons, one may be interested." Otherwise all are in darkness.

Lecture on BG 7.4 -- Nairobi, October 31, 1975:

So our Vedic conception of life, creation, is not like the Darwin, that his first creation... I do not know what is, but they think that they'll get knowledge from monkey. But we do not take knowledge from monkey. (laughter) Therefore we do not keep ourself in darkness. If you take knowledge from monkey, then you remain always like monkey. You cannot be advanced. But here it is... Bhāgavata says, tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye: We got knowledge directly from Kṛṣṇa, the most perfect. Therefore Brahmā is generated from Viṣṇu. So the first living creature, the perfect person within this material world who got instruction there, that is the beginning of creation. Beginning of creation is not crude or ignorance. Beginning of creation is first-class knowledge. That is the Vedic conception.

Lecture on BG 7.8-14 -- New York, October 2, 1966:

So raso 'ham apsu kaunteya. We can remember Kṛṣṇa, or God, when we drink water because nobody can avoid drinking water. So the God consciousness is there. How can you forget? Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ (BG 7.8). When there is some illumination, when there is some illumination... (aside:) You want to come here? I ask this... All right. When there is some illumination, that illumination is also Kṛṣṇa. The original effulgence is brahmajyoti. That is in the spiritual sky. This material sky is covered; therefore the nature of this material sky is darkness. Now, at night we are experiencing the real nature of this material world—it is darkness. Artificially, it is being illuminated by the sun, by the moon, by the electricity. Otherwise, it is darkness. So this illumination is God. We have to understand—this illumination.

Lecture on BG 7.8-14 -- New York, October 2, 1966:

Now, one may question, "Then if You are particularly—You are Personality of Godhead, Supreme God—You are speaking that You are sound, You are this light, You are this praṇava, You are bīja, You are also kāma, so many things. So do You mean to say that You are simply in goodness? And what about the other things?" Because there are three qualities of the material world: the modes of goodness and the modes of passion and the modes of darkness. Now, so far Kṛṣṇa has described Himself, that any good thing... Just like sex life in marriage is a good. "That's all right. You are. What about other things?" Then Kṛṣṇa replies. He automatically says that ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasās tāmasāś ca ye.

Lecture on BG 7.9-10 -- Bombay, February 24, 1974:

Everything is there. Social, political, economical, all solutions are there in the Bhagavad-gītā. But unfortunately, it is our property, it is, it was spoken in India, and it was desired that all Indians should learn it and spread the knowledge all over the world—the rascals are doing nothing. Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered, bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra (CC Adi 9.41). It is for the perfect human being. Janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra. The other parts of the world, they're in darkness. So there is great necessity of spreading the knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā all over the world. The customers are also ready. So if you want glory of India, if you want to glorify your life, just study Bhagavad-gītā as it is and spread it all over the world. You'll be honored.

Lecture on BG 8.20-22 -- New York, November 18, 1966:

The whole Vedic literatures instructs us like that. Tamasi mā jyotir gama: "Don't remain in this darkness." This material world is darkness. We are artificially making it illuminated with electric light and fire and so many things, but the nature is dark. But that nature, that spiritual nature, is not dark. That is full of light. Just like the sun planet, there is no possibility of darkness, similarly, every planet there, they are self-illuminated, so there is no darkness. This description we'll get from Bhagavad-gītā:

na tad bhāsayate sūryo
na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ
yad gatvā na nivartante
tad dhāma paramaṁ mama
(BG 15.6)

Lord Kṛṣṇa says, "Oh, that spiritual sky, there is no need of sun; there is no need of moon; there is no need of electricity." Na tad bhāsayate sūryaḥ. Sūrya means sun. Na śaśāṅkaḥ: "Neither moon." Na pāvakaḥ. Pāvakaḥ means fire, electricity. These things are not required there. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama: (BG 15.6) "That is My abode. Anyone who goes there, he doesn't come back again." We get eternal life.

Lecture on BG 8.28-9.2 -- New York, November 21, 1966:

Here Kṛṣṇa says that rāja-vidyā, rāja-vidyā: "The knowledge which I am just trying to impart, this is rāja-vidyā, the king of all knowledge." Rāja-vidyā. Rāja means "king," and vidyā means "knowledge." There are... Just like in our ordinary course of life we find somebody king, somebody subject, similarly, He's comparing this knowledge as the topmost, the king of all knowledge. Rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyam. Rāja-guhyam means "very confidential." And pavitram. Pavitram means "very pure," idam, "this knowledge." And uttamam. Uttamam means "which is transcendental." Ut means "trans-," and tama means "darkness." So uttama means "the knowledge which is beyond this material darkness." This material world is called darkness, and when the knowledge surpasses this material world, material knowledge, that is really called uttama. Udgata-tamaṁ yasmāt: "from which the darkness has been separated." Light, the knowledge of light.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Calcutta, March 7, 1972:

When one come to the platform of vāsudeva-sattva, then he can understand vāsudeva sattva. Vāsudeva is God. Just like from vāsudeva, vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, God. Similarly when you come to the stage of vāsudeva sattva, vāsudeva sattva, then we can realize Vāsudeva. Therefore pavitram. Pavitram idam uttamam. Uttamam. Ut means transcendental, above. Utgatam. Just like utpana. So uttama means ut, above, tama. Tama means this material world. This material world is known as tama. Tamasi mā jyotir gamaḥ, the Vedas say. "Don't remain in darkness. Come to the spiritual platform." Tamasi mā jyotir gamaḥ.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- Calcutta, March 7, 1972:

The vaikuṇṭha-loka, goloka vṛndāvana, is made of houses, there are. Nirviśeṣavādī, śūnyavādī, they cannot understand that in the spiritual world there are also houses, there are also gardens, there are also rivers, there are also cows. They cannot understand, because they are in the tamaḥ, in this darkness of material world. They are disgusted with this material world. They want to make it zero, nirvāṇa. They want to make it zero. No. Why zero? The Bhāgavata said, nirasta-kuhakam. Nirasta-ku... Satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi, janmādy asya. Actually, this material world is born out of the reflection of the spiritual world.

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

Prabhupāda: Pavitram idam uttamam. Uttamam. Ut mean udgata, transcendental, and tama means this material world, darkness. In the material world the nature is darkness. Just like at night it is darkness. This is the nature of this material world. But it is... There is illumination on account of the sun. So God has created the sun to give us light. Sometimes we have heard that on account of absence of the sunshine they commit suicide. In Switzerland, no, where?

Devotee: Scandinavia.

Prabhupāda: Scandinavia, they say. So the darkness is very, very disgusting. But this material world is dark. To give us little relief, Kṛṣṇa, God, has given us the sun. The day before yesterday, I think... Yesterday, in the morning, we saw, while coming on the path, how the sun was coming through the sea nicely. Within a second the whole light came. So this is God's arrangement.

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

So if we can go back to home, back to Godhead, there is no darkness. It is all illuminating. It is stated in the śāstra that there is no need of sun, there is no need of moon, there is no... Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ (BG 15.6). In the spiritual world there is no need of sun; there is no need of moon; there is no need of electricity or fire. That is the description. Here in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find. Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ. We cannot imagine how without sun, without moon, without electricity, without fire, one can live. Yes, but there is a world like that. You do not require sunshine. You do not require. They are all illuminated. So that is uttamam. Udgata tama yasmāt, the Sanskrit word, "from which the darkness is completely eradicated." There is another Bengali verse,

kṛṣṇa-sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra
yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra

The meaning is that just like... "Kṛṣṇa is just like sun, and māyā, illusion, is just like darkness. So as the sun being present, there is no access of darkness, similarly, if you keep Kṛṣṇa always within your heart, there is no more darkness of this material world." Kṛṣṇa-sūrya-sama māyā andhakāra, yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa tāhāṅ (CC Madhya 22.31). The example is given. If you keep yourself always, Kṛṣṇa within your heart...

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

Kṛṣṇa is within your heart. It is not that you have to create a Kṛṣṇa or God or you have to call. He is there. But due to darkness we cannot see Him. But by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), by cleanings the core of our heart, you will be able to see Kṛṣṇa within yourself. Yena mām upayānti te. The instruction is how he can come back, go back to home, back to Godhead—mokṣyase aśubhāt—being free from all inauspicity. That stage can be attained. How? Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10). If you engage yourself always in His service. Satata-yuktānām. Satata means always, always engaged in His service.

Lecture on BG 9.11-14 -- New York, November 27, 1966:

Just like if you want to see the sun, can you see the sun just at this time, all over darkness? Have you got any machine or any apparatus or any searchlight, you can show me sun? No. It is not possible. So if you cannot see at night with your own endeavor even a material thing like sun, do you think that by your own endeavor you will see God? How it is possible? As the sun reveals in the morning at five o'clock or six o'clock, similarly, when the sun Kṛṣṇa will reveal before you, then you will understand. You cannot find out Kṛṣṇa or understand Kṛṣṇa by your own endeavor. Now, that process is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66).

Lecture on BG 9.22-23 -- New York, December 8, 1966:

One should come out of the darkness and take full advantage of the sunshine. So sun is open for everyone. Similarly, God is open for everyone. One who comes out of this darkness of ignorance, he takes more advantage of Kṛṣṇa's favor. So therefore it is His capacity. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). So He gives instruction to everyone. This Bhagavad-gītā is meant for everyone. It is not for, not only for Arjuna. Arjuna was His eternal devotee. He had all knowledge. But Arjuna placed himself as one of us just to receive this instruction from the Supreme Lord. So this instruction is open to everyone.

Lecture on BG 9.22-23 -- New York, December 8, 1966:

When you come to the open sunshine, we can see, oh, everyone is eligible to take advantage of the sunshine. And so long we are in the darkness, we say, "Oh, this is my room; this is your room." So for such persons who are completely in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for them there is no scarcity. This is very encouraging. No Kṛṣṇa conscious person will think that "I will be in scarcity. I will be in want." No. Be rest assured. You will never be in want. You will never be in want. If you keep your full faith in Kṛṣṇa, you will always happily live and will be given a chance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma... Here it is guaranteed.

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

Just like the sunshine is open to everyone. Sunshine is not for any particular nation or particular country or particular person or community. It is open for everyone. But, if somebody wants to remain in darkness, closing his doors, do not come out, then what poor sunshine can do for him? Similarly, this Bhagavad-gītā, the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, is open to everyone, everyone.

Lecture on BG 10.3 -- New York, January 2, 1967:

Four kinds of people who are in the righteous path, whose life is regulated, who is not upstart, who follows the rules and regulation of scriptures, and higher authority, or higher principles, such person, not all... That is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā: na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Those who are simply addicted to, I mean to say, sinful activities, they cannot inquire. They will be in the darkness, gone, gone under some intoxication, gone. But those who are actually righteous and pious, they will have this inquiry, and they will come to God.

Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Miami, February 25, 1975:

In ignorance if we fight, there is no solution. In darkness if we fight, we may wound, I may wound you, you may wound me, but there will be no solution. So the whole world is in darkness. Therefore there is struggle. One is capitalist, one is communist, one is this, one is that, and there is struggle because everyone is in ignorance, māyā andhakāra, in darkness of ignorance. And Kṛṣṇa is light. Ignorance fighting will not make any solution of the problem. We must come to the light and take knowledge from the most enlightened, Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 5, 1973:

Therefore Vedic literature says tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Abhigacchet." This word is used when the sense is "You must." This is vidhi-lin form of verb, gacchet, abhigacchet. You must. There is no excuse. You cannot learn. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). If you want to know uttamam subject matter... Ut, ut means udgatam, transcending. Tamaḥ means this material world. This material world is tama, darkness. But if you are interested in the matter which is transcendental to this material world, that means spiritual world, then tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta, you must surrender to a guru.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 5, 1973:

So if you want to become philosopher, then philosophically you try to understand what is brahma-tattva, what is Paramātmā-tattva, what is Bhagavān-tattva. Etaj jñānam, this is jñāna. Not these degrees, MA, Phd. These are all decoration of the dead body. If you do not understand what is the value of life, you do not understand what is tattva, what is Brahman, what is Paramātmā, what is God, if you do not become cleansed, if you do not become a devotee, as they are stated, if you have no ācārya, you have no guru, then you are in darkness. Kṛṣṇa concludes here. Etaj jñānam, "All these items described, this is jñānam." Iti proktam. It is accepted, prokta. Ajñānam yad ato 'nyathā: "And just any other thing besides these things, they are ajñānam."

Lecture on BG 13.16 -- Bombay, October 10, 1973:

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. You have to enter, you have to understand the world of light. This world is the world of darkness. It is simply... We require, therefore, sunlight, moonlight, electric light. Otherwise it is dark. It is called tamaḥ. But there is another world which is full of light. It is so full of light that you do not require the sunlight, moonlight or electric light there.

Lecture on BG 13.16 -- Bombay, October 10, 1973:

If you simply speculate He'll remain dūre. Dūrastham antike ca. But if you surrender as Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja... (BG 18.66). Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Simply by this process... He confirms it, that "Anyone who has taken this process..." Janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. So simply by this process... Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). These are things in the Bhagavad-gītā, plainly said. Unfortunately we do not read it, or even if we read it, we misinterpret it, or somebody mislead me. So-called scholars and so-called rascals mislead us, and we remain in the darkness. So try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is, and your life will be successful.

Lecture on BG 13.18 -- Bombay, October 12, 1973:

In childhood everyone has played with a mirror. Just put a mirror in front of the sunshine, and the reflection is there, and you can pass on the reflection in the darkest place and it will be illuminated. Have you got experience? Yes. Similarly, neither the mirror has got reflection, neither the dark place can be illuminated by the mirror. But when the sunshine is there on the mirror, the mirror acts as illuminating agent, and it dissipates the darkness of a corner. So sunshine is the source of all light.

Lecture on BG 13.18 -- Bombay, October 12, 1973:

That is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā: yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). Yasya prabhā, the bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa, being illuminated... In that illumination, which is called brahmajyoti, there are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets. The Vaikuṇṭha are self-illuminated. Therefore in the spiritual world there is no darkness. Tamasaḥ param. Therefore is said here that taj jyotis tamasaḥ param ucyate: "That spiritual world is beyond this material world." This material world is called tamaḥ. Tamaḥ means darkness. Just like this night, it is darkness. Why it is darkness? By nature it is dark. Simply by the sunshine, moonshine, electricity, we keep it brightened for some time. Otherwise, by nature it is darkness.

Lecture on BG 13.18 -- Bombay, October 12, 1973:

Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ (BG 15.6). There is no need of sunshine. There is no need of moonshine as here in this darkness, material world. There is arrangement by God to illuminate the darkness of this world. There is sun; there is moon; there is electricity; there is fire. But in the spiritual world, which is tamasaḥ param, which is beyond this darkness of this material world, there is jyoti. Therefore here it is said, jyotiṣām api taj jyotiḥ, param. There are different kinds of illumination, sunshine, moonshine, electricity, fire. But that jyoti which is directly emanating from Kṛṣṇa's body, that is the real jyoti.

Lecture on BG 13.18 -- Bombay, October 12, 1973:

If there is no sunshine his so called eyes are useless. Still, with that useless eyes he wants to see God. Just see. "Can you show me God? I am not seeing God, Therefore God cannot be seen. Therefore I don't believe in God." But he does not think that what power he has got to see. It is only dependant on sunshine. Not only this planet, all the planets, unless there is sunshine... Because it is darkness. This material world is simply darkness. Tamaso mā jyotir gama. The Vedic instruction is that "Don't keep yourself in this darkness of material world. Come out to the spiritual world." Jyotir gama. So people do not think of their imperfectness of the senses, how the senses working, dependent on the laws of material nature. Still, one is very proud of his senses, especially of the eyes.

Lecture on BG 13.18 -- Bombay, October 12, 1973:

So jyotiṣām api jyotis tamasaḥ param. So this jyoti, this illumination, is beyond this material world. And because there is illumination, that illumination is reflected in the material world. You will find the reflection, bluish reflection, in the sky. It means that brahmajyoti is bluish because it is coming out from the blue body of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is bluish. We see the sky bluish, and in darkness we see, although it is darkness, there is some brightness in the sky. Always the sky is... The sky is everywhere, but the covering is seven times covered by different types of material elements, and that brahmajyoti is penetrating through the covers, and little reflection we can see in the sky.

Lecture on BG 13.19 -- Bombay, October 13, 1973:

But you cannot say "Because I am in touch with the sunshine, therefore I am in touch with the sun." You are simultaneously, you are in touch with the sun at the same time not touching sun. Just like at the present moment at night we are not in touch with the sun because it is darkness. So when... We are not in touch with God when we forget Him. And as soon as we understand that everything is the energy of the Supreme Lord, then we immediately become in touch. That can be done, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38).

Lecture on BG 13.19 -- Bombay, October 13, 1973:

If you have no knowledge, simply you are trying to enjoy the senses, as in this material world, everyone is busy how to enjoy senses, then you remain here. Madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ. And if you are in darkness, neither you have knowledge, neither you have the capacity to enjoy this world, simply lazy and sleepy. That is the darkness. Then you become animal, trees, and other lower classes of species of life. These three things are going on.

Lecture on BG 13.20 -- Bombay, October 14, 1973:

At night we sleep. We forget that "what is my duty, what is my business, what I have to do." Everything we forget. 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."

Lecture on BG 13.22 -- Bombay, October 20, 1973:

Nowadays, because people are becoming more and more in the modes of darkness, they are eating so many abominable things. And prakṛti also, I mean to say, minimizing the supply of sāttvika food. Just like nowadays it has become scarcity of grains, of milk, of sugar. It is practical experience. Because people are becoming more and more in the modes of ignorance, therefore the foodstuffs... These foodstuffs are in the modes of goodness. Just like Kṛṣṇa wants, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Kṛṣṇa does not say, "Give me meat and drinking wine." Kṛṣṇa can eat everything. He is omnipotent.

Lecture on BG 1322 -- Hyderabad, August 17, 1976:

Unfortunately there is no discussion, there is no education, there is no institute for this important factors of life and people are kept in darkness. This is Kali-yuga. They do not care to know neither there is arrangement in the educational institution to know this fact although the fact is there it is explained by Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa personally explaining tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. Antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ (BG 2.18). This body is perishable, but the śarīriṇaḥ, one who possesses this body, he is nitya, śāśvata. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This knowledge is missing. That is the defect of modern civilization. Atheistic civilization.

Lecture on BG 1322 -- Hyderabad, August 17, 1976:

There is no use of interpretation. Interpretation is required when you cannot understand one statement. In the law court if one statement is ambiguous then two parties argue on it. "I think it is this," "I think..." But when it is clear there is no question of interpretation. Unfortunately the Bhagavad-gītā is being interpreted by unauthorized persons unnecessarily, and people are kept into darkness. We are trying to protest against this process.

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- South Africa, October 18, 1975:

So Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. So in the śāstra it is described just like my front portion and my back portion. So the back portion is also my bodily part, and the front portion is also my bodily part. So asuric propensities and irreligious things, they are just like Kṛṣṇa's back portion, darkness, that this darkness, material energy, is called mama māyā. The material energy is keeping everyone in darkness. But Kṛṣṇa says, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā (BG 7.14). So this... The darkness is another side of the light. Because there is light there is darkness. Darkness there is no independently. You can understand darkness because there is light. So light and darkness, they are simultaneously there, and everything is janmādy asya yataḥ; (SB 1.1.1) everything's source is Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- South Africa, October 18, 1975:

The darkness cannot act on Kṛṣṇa. It acts on you. That is the difference. Just like we have discussed this verse, apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam. The sunlight... You just stand before the sun, facing the sun. Immediately there is darkness behind me. So darkness is there. But when you keep sun in your front there is no darkness. So darkness is also another creation of the light. But we are put into the darkness, the sun is not put into the darkness. The darkness behind me is captivating for me, not to the sun. So those who are devotees, those who are facing the sun, Kṛṣṇa, for them there is no darkness. But those who are asuras, they are put into the darkness. So darkness is temporary, and it is dependent on light. Therefore it is creation of Kṛṣṇa. That is the conclusion.

Lecture on BG 17.1-3 -- Honolulu, July 4, 1974:

So smoke is, although indication of the fire, but it is not fire. So similarly, so-called meditation, so-called spiritualism, concocted idea, there is some touch of spiritual life, but that is not spiritual life. One should understand. That is not spiritual life. It is called ābhāsa. Ābhāsa means just like day, sunlight, full sunlight. But early in the morning, you cannot see the sun, but there is light. There is no darkness.

Lecture on BG 17.1-3 -- Honolulu, July 4, 1974:

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.

Lecture on BG 18.67 -- Ahmedabad, December 10, 1972:

This is the injunction of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that "First of all, make your life perfect. Just try to understand what is Kṛṣṇa and what is Bhagavad-gītā and make your life practical in understanding Bhagavān and the bhakti." Janma sārthaka kari'. "Then go and preach all over the world." Paropakāra. Because the whole world is in darkness. They are too much materially congested. Their brain... Big, big professors, they say, "After death, there is no life." And they are going as teachers and professors. So especially in the western world, they are so much engrossed. So our request is, those who are actually intelligent: "Take to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement seriously, especially Indians, and try to preach all over the world." They are also hankering after it.

Page Title:Darkness (Lectures, BG)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, Serene, Mayapur
Created:22 of Aug, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=102, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:102