Distinct from... (Lectures)

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Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.1-11 -- Johannesburg, October 17, 1975:

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: What is the meaning of sac-cid-ānanda?

Prabhupāda: That is spirit soul. Sat means eternal, and cit means knowledge, and ānanda means bliss. So if we study ourself, this body is not eternal. Sat means eternal. So if you study this body... In the Bhagavad-gītā you will find, antavanta ime dehā nityasyoktāḥ śarīriṇaḥ (BG 2.18). This body is antavat; it will perish. Therefore it is not sat. Sat means eternal, and the body is not eternal. Therefore it is very difficult to understand what is sat because we have no education, no experience. Everything is annihilated, destroyed, anything material. So actually we have no experience what is sat. So... But Vedic instruction is sad gama asato mā: "Don't remain in asat, noneternal. Come to the platform of eternity." Sad gama asato mā. So that is our mission of life. The human form of life is distinct from the cats and dogs because if you instruct to the cats and dogs what is sat and what is asat, it is impossible for them to understand. It is not possible. Therefore Vedic instruction is asato mā: "Don't remain cats and dogs in the human form only. You come to the platform of eternity." Asato mā sad gama. So we must try what is eternal. So far in the present condition, as this material condition, we do not know what is actually eternal because our body is not eternal.

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

This is poor fund of knowledge that "God and I, we one. Now, because we are illusioned, we are thinking that God is different from me, but when the illusion is over, then I and God become one." This is Māyāvādī theory, monism. But actually this is not clear knowledge. God is..., God is always distinct from me. He's the Supreme. It is not that we are equal to God. We are equal to God in quality, not in quantity. Therefore those who are thinking that they are equal to God in every respect, they are illusioned. Māyā, māyayā apahṛta-jñānāḥ. They have been called, they have been designated by Kṛṣṇa as māyayā apahṛta-jñānāḥ. Although they appear to be very learned scholars, but the essence of the knowledge is taken away by māyā. Therefore they say that God and ordinary human being is the same. Māyayā apahṛta... Asura. This is called āsura-bhāva.

Lecture on BG 2.46-47 -- New York, March 28, 1966:

So we are discussing for the last few days on the constitutional position of ourself, myself, yourself—the soul, pure soul. Now, we have discussed that this pure soul is distinct from this material body. And we can understand this constitution of the soul by the presence of consciousness. The Lord says, Kṛṣṇa says, that avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. You can understand what you are. You are present all over your body. You are present all over your body. Wherever you can try by pinching your body, you will feel some pain, this, this part of this body or this part of this body. And this pain feeling will be stopped as soon as the consciousness is taken away from this body. Dead body, where there is no consciousness, the dead body does not feel even he is chopped up by some chopper, because the consciousness is gone.

Lecture on BG 2.46-47 -- New York, March 28, 1966:

The āhāra... Āhāra means eating, nidrā means sleeping, and bhaya, bhaya means fearing, and maithuna, maithuna means sexual intercourse. So these four things, four principles of life, there is in the animal kingdom and in the human kingdom. But the human kingdom, the human body is distinct from the animal body in the respect, in this respect, that in human society there is religion. Religion. Generally we understand as religion. Religion means a culture of the spirit soul. It may be in different way understood in different countries, but the whole idea is to understand the spirit soul. So dharmeṇa hīnaḥ paśubhiḥ samānaḥ. If the human society is not very eager to understand the real position of the soul or consciousness, then he is no better than the animals. That is the version of the Vedic, and actually it is so.

Lecture on BG 2.51-55 -- New York, April 12, 1966:

We have already noted, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda... Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ means His body is full—full of bliss, full of knowledge, and it is eternal. That is completely distinct from this body. So when there is description of the Lord that He is formless, He is formless means He is not of this form. He has got a sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1), a different element. Therefore He's called pavitra. And paramaṁ bhavān: "You are the Supreme Original." Puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum. So "You are Puruṣa." Puruṣa means enjoyer. "In the Vedic literature, about Yourself...," āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve, "all the great sages accept You, the Supreme Lord." Āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve devarṣir nāradaḥ. Devarṣir nārada. I have already spoken to you about Nārada. He has also accepted Him.

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

His life is sinful, simply meant for sense gratification. Aghāyur indriyārāmo moghaṁ pārtha sa jīvati. His life is useless, without any purpose. And actually it has become like that.

Our life has become without any purpose. We do not understand why this human life we have got, why it is distinct from the dogs' life or the hogs' life or the animal life. We do not understand that. We have to understand that this human life is not meant for the animal propensities of life like cats and dog; it is meant for some other divine purpose. We have to get rid of this material encagement and attain our spiritual life and be happy forever. Yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6). One has to return back to the kingdom of God. That is the mission of human life.

Lecture on BG 3.21-25 -- New York, May 30, 1966:

So I wanted to place, and that is a fact from Vedic literature, that human life is meant for realization of God consciousness or reestablishing his relationship, lost relationship, with God. This is the claim of every human being. Human being... I have several times explained to you. The human being is distinct from animal life in this way, that animal, they do not know what is the aim of life. The human life is meant for realizing, self-realization. If any civilization, that is checking people's progress in the matter of self-realization, that is the most virulent type of violence because people are being checked from the natural advancement of life. This human life is the point when one has to end all the miseries of material existence. That is the aim of human life. If people are not educated to that light, if people are misled in other ways, that is the greatest violence committed to the population.

Lecture on BG 4.3-6 -- New York, July 18, 1966:

And when we revive our original spiritual body, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha... (Bs. 5.1). Sat, cit, ānanda. That is the formation of Kṛṣṇa, and that is our formation also. Sat means eternal. Cit means full knowledge. Eternal, full knowledge and ānanda. Ānanda. Ānanda means bliss. Now, we can make distinction from the spiritual body and the material body is this, that as the description of the spiritual body is given, sat-cit-ānanda, eternal, full of knowledge and blissful, so just the opposite number is this material body. It is neither sat, nor cit, nor ānanda. It is not sat. Sat means eternal.

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

You will find in the Tenth Chapter. Although He appears...

Just like your President Nixon. He's also American gentleman. If she (he) appears here, he will appear just like one of you. But he is not one of you. He is distinct. Similarly, if the president is distinct, if the minister is distinct, then how much God is distinct from you. Try to understand.

You are claiming that "I am God." This is all nonsense. We are part and parcel. Part and parcel. Just like a small part of the Pacific Ocean, a small drop. You taste it; it is salty. So you can understand the whole Pacific Ocean is salty. Immediately you understand what is Pacific Ocean.

Lecture on BG 7.5 -- Nairobi, November 1, 1975:

So the modern scientists, they cannot understand this. It is clearly stated, distinction between the inferior energy and the superior energy. Both of them are energies, and Kṛṣṇa is the energetic. It is, everything, coming from Kṛṣṇa, energy, just like heat and light come from the fire. The fire is distinct from the heat and light.

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner

jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā

parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis

tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

Just like fire is there. We can see. If you study whatever God has created, if you simply study, you become a philosopher. Just like the sun is situated in one place. Every day we can see. It is agni, fiery substance. So heat and light is distributed, and through the heat of the..., heat and light of the sun, all other planets are created and the vegetation and all products are being, coming out. Without sunlight you cannot do anything. Heat and light, it is essential.

Lecture on BG 10.4-5 -- New York, January 4, 1967:

Just like a dog is after a lady dog, similarly, if we are like that, just like hog is after a female hog, so this is not civilization. We must be sober. We must be sober. We must be distinct from animal life. That is called utilization of human form of life. Labdhvā su-durlabham idam. It is stated in the Vedic literature that labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte: "This body is achieved after many, many, many, many births, after millions and trillions of years." Because... You don't think that all of a sudden, by accident, we have got this body. There are other bodies, cats, dogs and so many bodies. Why in this civilized form of? There must have been some process. So this is said in the Vedic literature, labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte, mānuṣyam artha-dam: "This human form of life is achieved after many, many millions of other forms of birth."

Lecture on BG 16.6 -- Hawaii, February 2, 1975:

That is His Paramātmā feature. And the last and ultimate feature is Kṛṣṇa's personal body. Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1).

Vigrahaḥ means form. That form is not like ours. That is sat, cit, ānanda. The body has also three features. Sat means eternal. So therefore, His body is distinct from our body. Our, this body is not eternal within the history. When this body is created by the father and mother, there is a date, beginning. And when this body is finished, annihilated, there is another date. So anything within the dates, that is history. But Kṛṣṇa is not like that. Anādi. You cannot estimate when Kṛṣṇa's body began. Anādi. Ādi, again ādi. He is the beginning of everyone. Anādi. He Himself is anādi; nobody can find out what is the date of His appearance. He is beyond history. So but He is the beginning of everyone. Just like my father is the beginning of my body.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.3 -- London, August 20, 1971:

The subject matter is so presented through the lips of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī that any sincere listener that hears submissively can at once relish transcendental tastes which are distinct from the perverted tastes of the material world. The ripened fruit is not dropped all of a sudden from the highest planet of Kṛṣṇaloka. Rather, it has come down carefully through the chain of disciplic succession without change or disturbance. Foolish people who are not in the transcendental disciplic succession commit great blunders by trying to understand the highest transcendental rasa known as the rāsa dance without following in the footsteps of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who presents this fruit very carefully by stages of transcendental realization.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Hyderabad, April 18, 1974:

Go means cows, and khara means ass. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke: "Anyone who accepts this bag of bones and flesh as self, he is animal." So in the animal concept of life, "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," because these are all bodily concept of life... Even if I say, "I am Hindu, I am distinct from Christian or Muhammadan," that means bodily concept of life. Even if I think, "I am brāhmaṇa," that is also bodily concept of life.

So in the bodily concept of life there is a system of religion. That religion is different from your religion and my religion, because you possess a body. Suppose Hindu... I possess a body of Christian or Muslim; therefore I think, "You are different from me; I am different from you." But in the higher stage, when one is raised on the platform of spiritual understanding, there is no such a thing.

Lecture on SB 1.4.25 -- Montreal, June 20, 1968:

There are eight divisions of human society: four divisions social structure, and four divisions for spiritual enlightenment. So unless the eight divisions are properly managed, that is not human society. Human society is distinct from animal society by culture. What is that culture? Vedic culture, knowledge. Vedic means knowledge. One must be equipped with full knowledge. "So this Vedic culture," Vyāsadeva says, "or the Vedic principles, are not very easily understood by women class, by worker class, and dvija-bandhu." Dvija-bandhu means the boys who have taken birth in the family who are supposed to be very cultured, but their habit is different. They are called dvija-bandhu. In every country, that deterioration of social structure has already begun. They are called varṇa-saṅkara. Varṇa-saṅkara factually means that those who are illiterate. So for them it is very difficult to understand the Vedic principles.

Lecture on SB 1.8.22 -- Los Angeles, April 14, 1973:

Lord's feet, there are flags, lotus flowers, chariot. These are the symbolic representations. God is person, but His personality is distinct from our personality. So these specific marks are there on His lotus feet. And paṅkaja-nābhāya, another meaning, paṅkaja-nābhāya means originally a lotus stem came out from the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and Brahmā was born in that lotus flower, the origin of creation. So Kṛṣṇa's all parts of the body, as reference to the paṅkaja. Paṅkaja means lotus flower. Paṅka means mud, and ja means generate. Paṅkaja, the lotus flower, is so important. Still, it is generated from mud. So Kṛṣṇa likes paṅkaja very much, lotus flower. So if we see lotus flower, we can immediately remember Kṛṣṇa. If... Just like if you love your child, if you see any garment, a small ship, shoes or any play things, immediately you remember your child: "Oh, this is my child's shoes. This is my child's playing things. This is my garment." So it is the custom of love.

Lecture on SB 2.1.2 -- Vrndavana, March 17, 1974:

They are being criminally charged, police inquiries, and still, they are gosvāmīs. So this is not good. Gosvāmī should be very ideal. We have given title "Gosvāmī." So you must be very ideal. Ideal is there—six Gosvāmīs.

So we should be distinct from the so-called gosvāmīs. Those who will remain in Vṛndāvana, esp... Everywhere. Everywhere is Vṛndāvana. Wherever there is Kṛṣṇa's temple, Kṛṣṇa's saṅkīrtana, that is Vṛndāvana. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that "My mind is always Vṛndāvana." Because He's always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is there—He's Kṛṣṇa Himself—just to teach us. So similarly, anywhere you live, if you are actually follower of the instruction of Kṛṣṇa, as Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65), then that is Vṛndāvana. Wherever you live. Do not think that "Because in Melbourne we have got a temple, the Melbourne Deities are here, so that is not Vṛndāvana."

Lecture on SB 2.1.2-5 -- Montreal, October 23, 1968:

Devotee (3): But in the great literature, lust is not defined as love. It's more defined as something that has to do with spiritual affinity or communication or... In other words, there is a place for romantic love as distinct from lust because lust is rather elementary.

Prabhupāda: Romantic love is in the spiritual world, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. That is the origin of romantic love. And here we are trying to imitate, although we are on the platform of lust. It is imitation, shadow, perverted reflection. So actually, Kṛṣṇa consciousness means we are trying to reach that platform of real love, exchange of love. The example... One example can be given: just like in diseased conditioned, actually there is no enjoyment, but still, the doctor gives some diet: "You eat this."

Lecture on SB 2.9.1 -- Tokyo, April 20, 1972:

Karandhara: "The spirit soul is distinct from the material conception of his life."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Distinct. Always distinct. Next?

Karandhara: "But he is absorbed in such a material conception because of being influenced by the external energy of the Lord, called ātma-māyā. This is already explained in the First Canto in connection with Vyāsadeva's realization of the Supreme Lord and His external energy. The external energy is controlled by the Lord and the living entities are controlled by the external energy."

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa says, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: (BG 7.14) "As soon as one surrenders unto Me, he has no more illusion." Māyām etaṁ taranti. Immediately. So people are conditioned, encaged. So many big, big words The Māyāvādīs, they are undergoing austerities or penances just to become liberated. Yogis, they are also trying to become one. So many endeavors are going on. But the simple process is, as soon as you surrender, that you are not fallen, "It was illusion. I was dreaming. I am Kṛṣṇa's," finished. All gone. "I am Kṛṣṇa's. I am Kṛṣṇa's eternal servant. These are all nonsense"—he immediately becomes liberated.

Lecture on SB 2.9.11 -- Tokyo, April 27, 1972:

Pradyumna: Purport: "The inhabitants in Vaikuṇṭhaloka are all personalities with spiritual bodily features not to be found in the material world. We can find the descriptions in the revealed scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Impersonal descriptions of transcendence in the scriptures indicate that the bodily features in Vaikuṇṭha are never to be seen in any part of the universe. As there are different bodily features in different places of a particular planet, or as there are different bodily features between bodies in different planets, similarly the bodily features of the inhabitants in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas are completely different from those in the material universe. For example, the four hands are distinct from two hands in this world."

Prabhupāda: So in other planets also there are different types of body. Some of the bodies are prominent in earth, earthly body. Just like we have got here earthly body. Similarly, fiery body, watery body, gaseous body, there are different types of body. What the scientists know about? Maybe in Candraloka they are going, but they cannot see the body. They say that there is no life. Suppose there is gaseous body, so they do not see it. But every planet has got different types of body. And Vaikuṇṭha planets also their bodily features are described herein. Then?

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Nellore, January 5, 1976:

Manu-saṁhitā and other dharma-śāstras, one will certainly enter into the hellish planets after death and undergo terrible sufferings as I have previously described." So just like in our ordinary life if we commit some sinful activity and if we plead in the court, "My dear judge, I did not know the law," so this kind of pleading will not help him. Ignorance is no excuse. Therefore human life is distinct from animal life. If we live in human life without caring for the supreme laws, then we are destined to suffer.

Therefore in the human society there is a system of religion and scripture. It is the duty of the human being to understand the laws of the nature, the injunction in the śāstras and live very honestly according to their direction.

Lecture on SB 6.1.14 -- Bombay, November 10, 1970:

Arjuna was taking the position of ordinary man. Because our form, we have got this form in our previous form, body, we are existing because we are eternal, but we don't remember. We don't remember what I was in my previous life. So this form is distinct. Kṛṣṇa's form is distinct from this form. He hasn't got a form like this useless form. Therefore He is formless. Not that He hasn't got form. His form is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1). His form is eternal, sat; cit, full of knowledge; and blissful. Our this form is not blissful. Why you are covering the body? Because it is painful. Unless what is the use of covering? Similarly during summer season we have to take out all this...

Lecture on SB 6.1.23 -- Chicago, July 7, 1975:

Adāhyo 'yam. Adāhyo 'yam. This is the nature of the soul, adāhya. Aśoṣyo 'yam, aśoṣyo 'yam. The, that is the distinction between the soul and the matter. Matter, any matter you take, earth, earthly matter, even the hardest matter, namely the iron, it can be melted, it can be burned. But the soul is distinct from this matter. Therefore it is described, adāhyo 'yam. Any material thing can be dried up by the air. But soul, aśoṣyo 'yam: "It is not dried up." Any material thing can be moistened. So the soul cannot be. In this way every particular there is. So in the fire the soul cannot be adāhyo 'yam, it cannot be burned. And we get information, as there are worms in everything, earth, water, fire... In the fire there are worms. They are called agni-po(?). Where is the scientist? But we get this information from the śāstra. Agni-po(?), worms within the fire.

Lecture on SB 7.9.7 -- Mayapur, February 27, 1977:

Always we should remember that we cannot imitate. "Now, Prahlāda Mahārāja has immediately ekāgra-manasā, and I shall become also." No. That is not possible. May be possible, but that is not the way.

Just like in our country, perhaps you know, there was a poet, Rabindranath Tagore. He got many distinction from the Oxford University. He got... He never went to school but he got the title "doctor," "Doctor Rabindranath Tagore." And if you think that "I shall also get doctorate without going to school," that is foolishness. That is special. Similarly, don't try to imitate. Follow the general course, sādhana-siddhi. The regulative principles you must follow as instructed in the śāstra. Therefore there are so many śāstras. And guru is guide. We must always... Even if you are nitya-siddha or kṛpa-siddha, you should not neglect the general regulative principle. That is very dangerous. Don't try to do that.

Lecture on SB 7.9.32 -- Mayapur, March 10, 1976:

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: "O my Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, after annihilation, the creative energy is kept in Yourself, but the energy being put within Yourself, it appears that You are sleeping with half-closed eyes. Actually, there is no sleeping like an ordinary human being. You are always in the transcendental stage, beyond the creation of the material world, and You always feel in transcendental bliss. In this way, You, Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, remain in Your transcendental status, but although it appears that Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is sleeping, it is not that; (it is) sleeping distinct from sleeping in ignorance."

Prabhupāda:

nyasyedam ātmani jagad vilayāmbu-madhye

śeṣetmanā nija-sukhānubhavo nirīhaḥ

yogena mīlita-dṛg-ātma-nipīta-nidras

turye sthito na tu tamo na guṇāṁś ca yuṅkṣe

(SB 7.9.32)

This is the position, transcendentally. How we use this word transcendental, that is explained here, what is transcendental. Turya. Turya, the fourth dimension. Here, in this material world, there are three dimensions: length, breadth and height. And spiritual world, beyond that, not within the measurement of length, breadth and height, that is called turya. (aside:) Child...

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Speech -- Stockholm, September 5, 1973:

We can simply feel like that at the present moment, but there is a spiritual world, spiritual life. And what is that spiritual life? Complete freedom. Complete freedom. Eternity, blissful and full of knowledge. That is spiritual life. Completely distinct from this bodily concept of life. Spiritual life means eternity, blissful life of knowledge. And this material life means nonpermanent, ignorance and full of miseries. This body means it will not stay and it is always full of miserable condition. And there is no blissfulness. Always in the material (life) we have got some kind of unhappiness. But on account of our long association with this material life we have become so dull-headed that it is very difficult to understand what is spiritual life, what are spiritual activities, what is spiritual world, what is God, what is our relationship with Him.

Arrival Address -- Mauritius, October 1, 1975:

Just like in your country I see there is enough land. If you people produce your food grain, within three months you can get all the necessities of life for the whole year. And the balance time you can save, nine months. And these nine months you can utilize for advancing in spiritual life, because your life or my life, this human form of life, it is distinct from the cats' and dogs' life. The cats and dogs, they cannot understand what is the basic principle of life. But a human being can understand. If he takes little care, he can understand that his problem of life is due to misunderstanding, accepting this body as self. This is the problem.

So we shall advise according to Bhagavad-gītā that "Make your life very simple, plain living, but the thinking should be very high." Plain living and high thinking. So thinking is that "I am the soul. I am not this body. I am eternal. I am changing only body. And due to change of body I am suffering."

Arrival Address -- Mauritius, October 1, 1975:

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: You explained that the active force is the spirit soul, and this is what is causing the body to move about, to eat, develop. If this is the active force, then at what stage are the activities of the soul realized as distinct from the activities of the body?

Prabhupāda: Oh, that is not very difficult. When the soul is gone, there is no activity of the body. Where is the difficulty to understand? So long the soul is there within the body, body is acting. As soon as the soul is out, it is not acting. It is very easy to understand. Is there any difficulty to understand? Why the body was moving one moment before, acting very nicely, but as soon as the soul is gone, it is dead body? That's all. Finished. It is lump of matter. What is the difficulty?

Initiation Lectures

Sannyasa Initiation -- Los Angeles, February 20, 1970:

This tridaṇḍa sannyāsa is accepted therefore as standard. Lord Caitanya accepts Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the supreme authority. Under these circumstances, persons who accept Lord Caitanya as ekaṇḍi sannyāsī are mistaken. So following the footsteps of Lord Caitanya still the tridaṇḍi sannyāsīs are in existence. Keeping the sacred thread and śikhā intact, distinct from the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, Māyāvādī ekaṇḍi sannyāsīs, who give up the sacred thread and śikhā. They have no inclination to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Being very much disgusted by the materialistic way of life, they do not understand the purpose of the sannyāsa order. But those who are strictly followers of the Vaiṣṇava principles, they do not accept the Māyāvādī way of sannyāsa. In the sect of Lord Caitanya, the most venerable learned scholar known as Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī accepted this tridaṇḍi sannyāsa order and he offered this facility to his disciple known as Śrī Madhva-upādhyāya.

Initiations and Lecture Sannyasa Initiation of Sudama dasa -- Tokyo, April 30, 1972:

This tridaṇḍa sannyāsa is accepted, therefore, as standard. Lord Caitanya accepts Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as the supreme authority. Under the circumstances, persons who accept Lord Caitanya as ekadaṇḍī sannyāsī are mistaken. So following the footsteps of Lord Caitanya, still the tridaṇḍī sannyāsīs are in existence, keeping the sacred thread and śikhā intact, distinct from the Māyāvādī ekadaṇḍī sannyāsīs, who give up the sacred thread and śikhā. They have no inclination to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Being very much disgusted by the materialistic way of life, they do not understand the purpose of the sannyāsa order. But those who are strictly followers of the Vaiṣṇava principles, they do not accept the Māyāvādī way of sannyāsa. In the sect of Lord Caitanya, the most venerable learned scholar known as Gadādhara Pandit Gosvāmī accepted this tridaṇḍī sannyāsa order, and he offered this facility to his disciple known as Śrī Mādhava Upadhyaya.

General Lectures

Brandeis University Lecture -- Boston, April 29, 1969:

"My dear Lord, Kṛṣṇa, You are the most purest." Purest. Most pure. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma: "You are the Supreme Lord. You are pure." So idea is that if you want to have spiritual life, you have also become, to become pure. Without being pure... That pureness... This evolution means gradual process of purifying process. You are not... You are distinct from cats and dogs means your body is purified than the body of the cats and dogs. So purification required. The first principle of purification are these four regulative principles. So they have taken to this very easily. Some of them, students, they were, six months ago they were not my students, but by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa they have seriously taken to these principles of austerities. That is not... That is stated by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12).

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on William James:

Śyāmasundara: Yes. So the belief itself is the proof.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Devānanda: Śrīla Prabhupāda, one thing about James as distinct from many other philosophers is that he felt the personal experience of God.

Prabhupāda: Everyone has got personal experience of God.

Devānanda: But he recognized it as such.

Prabhupāda: Somebody He reveals; sometimes he does not believe—He hides. Everyone has got. Everyone. A human being, every human being has got.

Devānanda: That's true. The only experience...

Philosophy Discussion on Benedict Spinoza:

Hayagrīva: Spinoza's God is clearly not a personal God. Spinoza is an impersonalist, and his love for God is more intellectual or philosophical than theistic or religious. Being an impersonalist, Spinoza believed in the identity of the individual soul with God. This is not to say that he believed that the individual soul is infinite, but that it is not distinct from God. He writes, "Thus that love of the soul is a part of the infinite love with which God loves Himself." He sees the soul's intellectual love of God and God's love for the individual soul, which is within man, to be one and the same love.

Prabhupāda: Love is five kinds of love: śānta, dāsya, sākhya, vatsalya, mādhurya. The beginning of love is awe and adoration: "Oh, God is so great. God is everything." When he understands God's potency, unlimitedness, the soul adores Him. That adoration is also love. When that adoration is further advanced, then he serves God as master and servant. When the service is more intimate, then friend to friend—as one friend renders service to other friend, the other friend renders to other friend, like that, reciprocal. Then further expanded, the love is turned into paternal love, and further expanded it is expanding into conjugal love. So there are different stages of love.

Philosophy Discussion on Samuel Alexander:

Hayagrīva: He says, "For theism, God is an individual being distinct from the finite being which make up the world. For panth..."

Prabhupāda: Hm? Finite? He is not finite.

Hayagrīva: No, He is distinct, He is different. He is an individual...

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.

Hayagrīva: ...but He is different from the finite beings...

Prabhupāda: So that is the Vedic injunction, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). He is also eternal, He is also living being; we are also eternal, we are also living being. But He is the chief. How He is chief? Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That single number eternal living being, He is maintaining all these plural number living beings. Therefore you will find either in this material world or in the spiritual world there is so much arrangement. The sky is there, the air is there, the fire is there, the water is there, the land is there. He has made, even in this conditioned state, God has given us so much things, made for our maintenance.