The business of such ferocious animals is to eat a man's flesh. The living entity allows himself to be attacked by jackals and foxes (wife and children), and thus his real spiritual life is finished. In the forest of material life, everyone is envious like mosquitoes, and rats and mice are always creating disturbances. Everyone in this material world is placed in many awkward positions and surrounded by envious people and disturbing animals. The result is that the living entity in the material world is always plundered and bitten by many living entities. Nonetheless, despite these disturbances, he does not want to give up his family life, and he continues his fruitive activities in an attempt to become happy in the future. He thus becomes more and more entangled in the results of karma, and thus he is forced to act impiously. His witnesses are the sun during the day and the moon during the night. The demigods also witness, but the conditioned soul thinks that his attempts at sense gratification are not being witnessed by anyone. Sometimes, when he is detected, he temporarily renounces everything, but due to his great attachment for the body, his renunciation is given up before he can attain perfection.
Envious persons
Expressions researched:
"Men who are envious"
|"People are envious"
|"envious and crooked person"
|"envious and cunning people"
|"envious man"
|"envious men"
|"envious or jealous person"
|"envious people"
|"envious person"
|"envious persons"
|"man is envious of another man"
|"materialistic person, he is envious"
|"people are becoming envious"
|"people are simply envious"
|"people became almost envious"
|"people became envious"
|"people become envious"
|"people who are envious"
|"people, they were envious"
|"person is envious"
|"person who has envious"
|"person who is envious"
|"persons abhyasuyati, envious"
|"persons become envious"
|"persons may be envious"
|"persons were envious"
|"persons who are envious"
|"persons, dvisatah, envious"
|"persons, who are envious"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 13 - 18
A person is too much attached to a certain kind of work or to the result because he has too much attachment for materialism or hearth and home, wife and children. Such a person has no desire for higher elevation in life. He is simply concerned with making this world as materially comfortable as possible. He is generally very greedy, and he thinks that anything attained by him is permanent and never to be lost. Such a person is envious of others and prepared to do anything wrong for sense gratification. Therefore such a person is unclean, and he does not care whether his earning is pure or impure. He is very happy if his work is successful and very much distressed when his work is not successful. Such is the worker in the mode of passion.
It is, however, sometimes found that even demoniac persons who are envious of Kṛṣṇa, worshiping Kṛṣṇa in a different way, take to the profession of explaining Bhagavad-gītā in a different way to make business, but anyone who desires actually to understand Kṛṣṇa must avoid such commentaries on Bhagavad-gītā. Actually the purpose of Bhagavad-gītā is not understandable to those who are sensuous. Even if one is not sensuous but is strictly following the disciplines enjoined in the Vedic scripture, if he is not a devotee he also cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. And even when one poses himself as a devotee of Kṛṣṇa but is not engaged in Kṛṣṇa conscious activities, he also cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. There are many persons who envy Kṛṣṇa because He has explained in Bhagavad-gītā that He is the Supreme and that nothing is above Him or equal to Him. There are many persons who are envious of Kṛṣṇa. Such persons should not be told of Bhagavad-gītā, for they cannot understand. There is no possibility of faithless persons' understanding Bhagavad-gītā and Kṛṣṇa. Without understanding Kṛṣṇa from the authority of a pure devotee, one should not try to comment upon Bhagavad-gītā.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
O son of Surabhi, you need lament no longer now. There is no need to fear this low-class śūdra. And, O mother cow, as long as I am living as the ruler and subduer of all envious men, there is no cause for you to cry. Everything will be good for you.
SB Canto 3
Devotional service executed by a person who is envious, proud, violent and angry, and who is a separatist, is considered to be in the mode of darkness.
SB Canto 4
This is fitting; when Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava is insulted, one should be angry. Lord Caitanya, who always preached nonviolence, meekness and humility, also became angry when Nityānanda was offended by Jagāi and Mādhāi, and He wanted to kill them. When Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava is blasphemed or dishonored, one should be very angry. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura said, krodha bhakta-dveṣi jane. We have anger, and that anger can be a great quality when directed against a person who is envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotee. One should not be tolerant when a person is offensive towards Viṣṇu or a Vaiṣṇava. The anger of Satī towards her father was not objectionable, for although he was her father, he was trying to insult the greatest Vaiṣṇava. Thus Satī's anger against her father was quite applaudable.
Persons who are materialistic and always engaged in fruitive activities for material profit cannot endure seeing the flourishing life of others. Except for a few persons in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the entire world is full of such envious persons, who are perpetually full of anxieties because they are attached to the material body and are without self-realization. Since their hearts are always filled with anxiety, it is understood that they have already been killed by providence. Thus Lord Śiva, as a self-realized Vaiṣṇava, was advised not to kill Dakṣa. A Vaiṣṇava is described as para-duḥkha-duḥkhī because although he is never distressed in any condition of life, he is distressed to see others in a distressed condition. Vaiṣṇavas, therefore, should not try to kill by any action of the body or mind, but should try to revive the Kṛṣṇa consciousness of others out of compassion for them. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has been started to deliver the envious persons of the world from the clutches of māyā, and even though devotees are sometimes put into trouble, they push on the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in all tolerance. Lord Caitanya advises:
There are three stages of devotional life. In the lowest stage, a devotee is simply concerned with the Deity in the temple, and he worships the Lord with great devotion, according to rules and regulations. In the second stage the devotee is cognizant of his relationship with the Lord, his relationship with fellow devotees, his relationship with persons who are innocent and his relationship with persons who are envious. Sometimes devotees are ill-treated by envious persons. It is advised that an advanced devotee should be tolerant; he should show complete mercy to persons who are ignorant or innocent. A preacher-devotee is meant to show mercy to innocent persons, whom he can elevate to devotional service. Everyone, by constitutional position, is an eternal servant of God. Therefore, a devotee's business is to awaken everyone's Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is his mercy. As for a devotee's treatment of other devotees who are his equals, he should maintain friendship with them. His general view should be to see every living entity as part of the Supreme Lord.
The vivid example is Arjuna. He was a kṣatriya, his duty was to fight, and by executing his prescribed duty he satisfied the Supreme Lord and therefore became perfect. Everyone should follow this principle. The atheists, who do not, are condemned in Bhagavad-gītā (16.19) by the following statement: tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṁsāreṣu narādhamān. In this verse it is clearly said that persons who are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are the lowest of mankind and are very mischievous. Under the regulative principles of the Supreme, such mischievous persons are thrown into the darkest region of material existence and are born of asuras, or atheists. Birth after birth, such asuras go still further down, finally to animal forms like those of tigers or similar ferocious beasts. Thus for millions of years they have to remain in darkness without knowledge of Kṛṣṇa.
It is mentioned here that any house which does not receive a Vaiṣṇava in the manner already explained in the previous verse is to be considered the residential quarters of venomous serpents. It is said that around the sandalwood tree, which is a very valuable tree, there is a venomous serpent. Sandalwood is very cold, and venomous serpents, because of their poisonous teeth, are always very warm, and they take shelter of the sandalwood trees to become cooler. Similarly, there are many rich men who keep watchdogs or doormen and put up signs that say, "Do not enter," "Trespassers not allowed," "Beware of the dog," etc. Sometimes in Western countries a trespasser is shot, and there is no crime in such shooting. This is the position of demoniac householders, and such houses are considered to be the residential quarters of venomous snakes. The members of such families are no better than snakes because snakes are very much envious, and when that envy is directed to the saintly persons, their position becomes more dangerous. It is said by Cāṇakya Paṇḍita that there are two envious living entities—the snake and the envious man. The envious man is more dangerous than a snake because a snake can be subdued by charming mantras or by some herbs, but an envious person cannot be pacified by any means.
When one is engaged in devotional service, he is often surrounded by envious people, and often many enemies come to try to defeat him or stop him. This is not new in this present age, for even in the days of yore Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, was harassed by his demoniac father, Hiraṇyakaśipu. The atheists are always prepared to harass a devotee; therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu suggested that one be very tolerant of these people. Nonetheless, one has to continue chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and preaching the chanting of this mantra because such preaching and chanting constitute the perfection of life. One should chant and preach about the urgency of making this life perfect in all respects. One should thus engage in the devotional service of the Lord and follow in the footsteps of previous ācāryas, beginning with Lord Brahmā and others.
As is the nature of this material world, the King of heaven, Indra, is very anxious if a great sage undergoes severe austerities. The whole material world is filled with such envy that everyone becomes afraid of his neighbors. Every businessman is afraid of his associates because this material world is the field of activities for all kinds of envious people who have come here to compete with the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus Indra was very much afraid of the severe austerities performed by the great sage Kaṇḍu, and he sent Pramlocā to break his vows and austerities. A similar incident took place in the case of Viśvāmitra. From other incidents in the śāstras, it appears that Indra has always been envious. When King Pṛthu was celebrating various sacrifices, outdoing Indra, Indra became very envious, and he disturbed King Pṛthu's sacrifice. This has already been discussed in previous chapters. King Indra became successful in breaking the vow of the great sage Kaṇḍu, who became attracted by the beauty of the heavenly society girl Pramlocā and begot a female child. This child is described herein as lotus-eyed and very beautiful. Being thus successful in her mission, Pramlocā returned to the heavenly planets, leaving the newborn child to the care of the trees. Fortunately, the trees accepted the child and agreed to raise her.
SB Canto 5
My dear boys, you are all born of My heart, which is the seat of all spiritual qualities. Therefore you should not be like materialistic and envious men. You should accept your eldest brother, Bharata, who is exalted in devotional service. If you engage yourselves in Bharata's service, your service to him will include My service, and you will rule the citizens automatically.
When an envious person commits an offense before a great personality, he is always punished in the way mentioned above.
In this forest there are dense bowers composed of thickets of bushes, grass and creepers. In these bowers the conditioned soul is always disturbed by cruelly biting mosquitoes (envious people). Sometimes he sees an imaginary palace in the forest, and sometimes he is bewildered by seeing a fleeting fiend or ghost, which appears like a meteor in the sky.
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that the Bhāgavata philosophy is meant for people who are completely free from envy (paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2)). The material world is full of envious people. Even within one's inner circle there is much backbiting, and this is compared to the sound vibration of a cricket in the forest. One cannot see the cricket, but one hears its sounds and thus becomes aggrieved. When one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one always hears unpalatable words from relatives. This is the nature of the world; one cannot avoid mental distress due to the backbiting of envious people. Being very much aggrieved, sometimes one goes to a sinful person for help, but he has no means to help because he has no intelligence. Thus the living entity is disappointed. This is like running after a mirage in the desert in an effort to find water. Such activities do not produce any tangible results. Due to being directed by the illusory energy, a conditioned soul suffers in so many ways.
This is an example of the struggle for existence, the attempt to counteract the onslaught of material nature. This creates enmity in society, and consequently society is filled with envious people. One person is envious of another, and this is the way of the material world. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement aims at creating an atmosphere of non-envy. Of course it is not possible for everyone to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, but the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can create an exemplary society wherein there is no envy.
The demigods also witness, but the conditioned soul thinks that his attempts at sense gratification are not being witnessed by anyone. Sometimes, when he is detected, he temporarily renounces everything, but due to his great attachment for the body, his renunciation is given up before he can attain perfection.
In this material world there are many envious people. There is the tax-exacting government, which is compared to an owl, and there are invisible crickets that create unbearable sounds. The conditioned soul is certainly greatly harassed by the agents of material nature, but his intelligence is lost due to undesirable association. In an attempt to gain relief from the disturbances of material existence, he falls victim to so-called yogīs, sādhus and incarnations who can display some magic but who do not understand devotional service. Sometimes the conditioned soul is bereft of all money, and consequently he becomes unkind to his family members. In this material world there is not a pinch of actual happiness, for which the conditioned soul is longing life after life.
May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other's welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and bhāgavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsarāṇām). Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays in this verse, khalaḥ prasīdatām: "May all the envious persons be pacified." The material world is full of envious persons, but if one frees himself of envy, he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others' welfare. Anyone who takes up Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engages himself completely in the service of the Lord cleanses his mind of all envy (manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje). Therefore we should pray to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva to sit in our hearts. We should pray, bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁhaḥ: "Let Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva sit in the core of my heart, killing all my bad propensities. Let my mind become clean so that I may peacefully worship the Lord and bring peace to the entire world."
The first desire expressed in his prayer is svasty astu viśvasya: "Let there be good fortune throughout the entire universe." Prahlāda Mahārāja thus requested the Lord to be merciful to everyone, including his father, a most envious person. According to Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, there are two kinds of envious living entities: one is a snake, and the other is the man like Hiraṇyakaśipu, who is by nature envious of everyone, even of his father or son. Hiraṇyakaśipu was envious of his little son Prahlāda, but Prahlāda Mahārāja asked a benediction for the benefit of his father. Hiraṇyakaśipu was very envious of devotees, but Prahlāda wished that his father and other demons like him would give up their envious nature by the grace of the Lord and stop harassing the devotees (khalaḥ prasīdatām). The difficulty is that the khala (envious living entity) is rarely pacified. One kind of khala, the snake, can be pacified simply by mantras or by the action of a particular herb (mantrauṣadhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalakena nivāryate). An envious person, however, cannot be pacified by any means. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.
If the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Kṛṣṇa everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays, śivaṁ mitho dhiyā. In material activities, everyone is envious of others, but in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no one is envious of anyone else; everyone thinks of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that everyone's mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa (bhajatād adhokṣaje). As indicated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ (SB 9.4.18)) and as advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā (18.65), man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, one should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then one's mind will certainly be cleansed (ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12)). Materialists always think of sense gratification, but Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that the Lord's mercy will change their minds and they will stop thinking of sense gratification. If they think of Kṛṣṇa always, everything will be all right.
Envious persons cannot appreciate how wonderfully the Lord creates, maintains and annihilates the universe, but devotees of the Lord can understand this perfectly well. Devotees can see how the Lord is acting behind the wonderful workings of the material nature. In Bhagavad-gītā (9.10) the Lord says:
"This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again." All the wonderful transformations of nature are happening under the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Envious persons cannot see this, but a devotee, even though very humble and even if uneducated, knows that behind all the activities of nature is the supreme hand of the Supreme Being.
In this life, an envious person commits violent acts against many living entities. Therefore after his death, when he is taken to hell by Yamarāja, those living entities who were hurt by him appear as animals called rurus to inflict very severe pain upon him. Learned scholars call this hell Raurava. Not generally seen in this world, the ruru is more envious than a snake.
SB Canto 6
The order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu, who are worshiped even by the demigods, possess wonderful bodily features exactly like those of Viṣṇu and are very rarely seen. The Viṣṇudūtas protect the devotees of the Lord from the hands of enemies, from envious persons and even from my jurisdiction, as well as from natural disturbances.
To live within this material world, one must face many dangers, as described herein. For example, undesirable food poses a danger to health, and therefore one must give up such food. The Dhanvantari incarnation can protect us in this regard. Since Lord Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of all living entities, if He likes He can save us from adhibhautika disturbances, disturbances from other living entities. Lord Balarāma is the Śeṣa incarnation, and therefore He can save us from angry serpents or envious persons, who are always ready to attack.
As explained in the previous verse, the living entity has the same qualities as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but he has them in minute quantities because he is a small particle (sūkṣma) whereas the Supreme Lord is all-pervading and great. For the Supreme Lord there are no friends, enemies or relatives, for He is completely free from all the disqualifications of ignorance that characterize the conditioned souls. On the other hand, He is extremely kind and favorable to His devotees, and He is not at all satisfied with persons who are envious of His devotees. As the Lord Himself confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29):
One may argue that the sacrifice of animals is recommended in the Vedas. This recommendation, however, is a restriction. Without Vedic restrictions on the purchase of meat, people will purchase meat from the market, which will be overflooded with meat shops, and slaughterhouses will increase. To restrict this, sometimes the Vedas say that one may eat meat after sacrificing an insignificant animal like a goat before the goddess Kālī. In any case, a system of religion in which animal sacrifices are recommended is inauspicious for those who perform the sacrifices and for the animals. Envious persons who perform ostentatious animal sacrifices are condemned in Bhagavad-gītā (16.17) as follows:
- ātma-sambhāvitāḥ stabdhā
- dhana-māna-madānvitāḥ
- yajante nāma-yajñais te
- dambhenāvidhi-pūrvakam
"Self-complacent and always impudent, deluded by wealth and false prestige, they sometimes perform sacrifices in name only without following any rules or regulations."
"Self-complacent and always impudent, deluded by wealth and false prestige, they sometimes perform sacrifices in name only without following any rules or regulations." Sometimes animal sacrifices are performed very gorgeously with grand arrangements for worshiping the goddess Kālī, but such festivals, although performed in the name of yajña, are not actually yajña, for yajña means to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore it is recommended that in this age specifically, yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ: (SB 11.5.32) those who have good intelligence satisfy the yajña-puruṣa, Viṣṇu, by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Envious persons, however, are condemned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as follows:
SB Canto 7
That is the secret. Thus when a person exhibits wonderful devotional activities, a thoughtful man understands that Kṛṣṇa has been more favorable to this devotee.
This is not difficult to understand, but envious persons do not accept that Kṛṣṇa has bestowed His favor upon a particular devotee in accordance with his advanced position. Such foolish persons become envious and try to minimize an advanced devotee's activities. That is not Vaiṣṇavism. A Vaiṣṇava should appreciate the service rendered to the Lord by other Vaiṣṇavas. Therefore a Vaiṣṇava is described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as nirmatsara. Vaiṣṇavas are never envious of other Vaiṣṇavas or of anyone else, and therefore they are called nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām.
SB Canto 8
It is said, sarpaḥ krūraḥ khalaḥ krūraḥ sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ: "The snake is very crooked and envious, and so also is a person like a demon." Mantrauṣadhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalaḥ kena nivāryate: "One can bring a snake under control with mantras, herbs and drugs, but an envious and crooked person cannot be brought under control by any means." Considering this logic, the Supreme Personality of Godhead thought it unwise to distribute nectar to the demons.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
Therefore, since envious, impious activities cause a body in which one suffers in the next life, why should one act impiously? Considering one's welfare, one should not envy anyone, for an envious person must always fear harm from his enemies, either in this life or in the next.
Asuras, therefore, are always interested in killing the brāhmaṇas and cows. Especially in this age, Kali-yuga, cows are being killed all over the world, and as soon as there is a movement to establish brahminical civilization, people in general rebel. Thus they regard the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement as a form of "brainwashing." How can such envious persons be happy in their godless civilization? The Supreme Personality of Godhead punishes them by keeping them in darkness, birth after birth, and pushing them lower and lower into wretched conditions of hellish life. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has started a brahminical civilization, but especially when it is introduced in the Western countries, the asuras try to impede it in many ways. Nonetheless, we must push forward this movement tolerantly for the benefit of human society.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Kṛṣṇa is providing for millions and trillions of living entities by supplying all their necessities, and even if all the innumerable living entities wanted to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, there would be no scarcity of love of Godhead, nor would there be insufficiency in providing for their maintenance. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was started single-handedly, and no one provided for our livelihood, but at present we are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars all over the world, and the movement is increasing more and more. Thus there is no question of scarcity. Although jealous persons may be envious, if we stick to our principles and follow in the footsteps of the Pañca-tattva, this movement will go on unchecked by imitation svāmīs, sannyāsīs, religionists, philosophers or scientists, for it is transcendental to all material considerations. Therefore those who propagate the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should not be afraid of such rascals and fools.
For example, the title "Prabhupāda" is offered to a spiritual master, especially to a distinguished spiritual master such as Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Prabhupāda, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhupāda or Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda. When our disciples similarly wanted to address their spiritual master as Prabhupāda, some foolish people became envious. Not considering the propaganda work of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, simply because these disciples addressed their spiritual master as Prabhupāda they became so envious that they formed a faction along with other such envious persons just to minimize the value of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. To chastise such fools, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī very frankly says, keha karibāre nāre jyeṣṭha-laghu-krama. Anyone who is a bona fide preacher of the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu must be respectful to the real devotees of Lord Caitanya; one should not be envious, considering one preacher to be very great and another to be very lowly. This is a material distinction and has no place on the platform of spiritual activities.
At that time the place on the eastern side of the Ganges now known as Antardvīpa was known as Navadvīpa. At that time the place on the eastern side of the Ganges now known as Antardvīpa was known as Navadvīpa. At Śrī Māyāpur that place is still known as Dvīpera Māṭha. There is another place of the name Kuliyā near Kāṅcaḍāpāḍā, but it is not the same Kuliyā mentioned here. It cannot be accepted as aparādha-bhañjanera pāḍa, or the place where the offense was excused, for that occurred in the above-mentioned Kuliyā on the western side of the Ganges. For business reasons many envious persons oppose excavation of the real place, and sometimes they advertise unauthorized places as the authorized one.
CC Madhya-lila
An actual Vaiṣṇava is very pleased to accept another Vaiṣṇava who is bestowing the Lord's mercy. A mundane person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava should not be respected but rejected. This is enjoined in the śāstra (upekṣā). The word upekṣā means neglect. One should neglect an envious person. A preacher's duty is to love the Supreme Personality of Godhead, make friendships with Vaiṣṇavas, show mercy to the innocent and reject or neglect those who are envious or jealous. There are many jealous people in the dress of Vaiṣṇavas in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and they should be completely neglected. There is no need to serve a jealous person who is in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava. When Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava sevā nistāra peyeche kebā, he is indicating an actual Vaiṣṇava, not an envious or jealous person in the dress of a Vaiṣṇava.
A pure Vaiṣṇava is very happy to see a person elevated in devotional service. Unfortunately, there are many so-called Vaiṣṇavas who become envious to see someone actually recognized by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. It is a fact that no one can preach Caitanya Mahāprabhu's message without receiving the special mercy of the Lord. This is known to every Vaiṣṇava. Yet there are some envious people who cannot tolerate the expansion of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world. They find fault with the preacher who has spread this movement and do not praise him for the excellent service he has rendered in fulfilling Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission.
A person born in a brāhmaṇa family cannot perform Vedic sacrifices until he is properly purified and has attained his sacred thread. However, according to the present verse of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam), it is understood that even a lowborn person can immediately perform sacrifices if he sincerely chants and hears the holy name of the Lord. Sometimes envious people ask how Europeans and Americans in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can become brāhmaṇas and perform sacrifices. They do not know that the Europeans and Americans have already been purified by chanting the holy name of the Lord—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. This is the proof. Śvādo ’pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate. One may be born in a family of dog-eaters, but he can perform sacrifices simply by chanting the mahā-mantra.
After being initiated, the devotees in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement change their names. Whenever a person in the Western world becomes interested in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, he is initiated by this process. In India we are falsely accused of converting mlecchas and yavanas to the Hindu religion. In India there are many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs known as jagad-guru, although they have hardly visited the whole world. Some are not even sufficiently educated, yet they make accusations against our movement and accuse us of destroying the principles of the Hindu religion by accepting Muslims and yavanas as Vaiṣṇavas. Such people are simply envious. We are not spoiling the Hindu system of religion but are simply following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by traveling all over the world and accepting those who are interested in understanding Kṛṣṇa as Kṛṣṇadāsa or Rāmadāsa. By the process of a bona fide initiation, their names are changed.
Therefore a devotee offers the best comforts and facilities to his spiritual master. Outsiders who have no knowledge of Nārāyaṇa are envious of both Nārāyaṇa and His devotee. Consequently when they see that Nārāyaṇa's devotee is opulently situated, they become even more envious. But when the devotee of Nārāyaṇa asks such foolish people to come live with him in the same comfortable situation, they do not agree because they cannot give up illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. Therefore the materialist refuses the company of a nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa, although he is envious of the devotee's material situation. In Western countries when ordinary men—storekeepers and workers—see our devotees living and eating sumptuously and yet not working, they become very eager to know where they get the money. Such people become envious and ask, "How is it possible to live so comfortably without working? How is it you have so many cars, bright faces and nice clothes?" Not knowing that Kṛṣṇa looks after His devotees, such people become surprised, and some become envious.
The cult of bhāgavata-dharma can be spread in all circumstances, among all people and in all countries. Many envious people accuse the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement of spoiling the rigidity of so-called Hinduism. That is not actually the fact. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirms that devotional service to the Lord—the cult of bhāgavata-dharma, which is now being spread as the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement—can be spread in every country, to every person, in any condition of life, and in all circumstances. Bhāgavata-dharma does not restrict pure devotees to the Hindu community. A pure devotee is above a brāhmaṇa; therefore it is not incompatible to offer the sacred thread to devotees in Europe, America, Australia, Japan, Canada, and so on. Sometimes these pure devotees, who have been accepted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, are not allowed to enter certain temples in India. Also, some high-caste brāhmaṇas and gosvāmīs refuse to take prasādam in the temples of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Actually this is against the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Sometimes these pure devotees, who have been accepted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, are not allowed to enter certain temples in India. Also, some high-caste brāhmaṇas and gosvāmīs refuse to take prasādam in the temples of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Actually this is against the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Devotees can come from any country, and they can belong to any creed or race. On the strength of this verse, those who are actually devotees and followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu must accept devotees from all parts of the world as pure Vaiṣṇavas. They should be accepted not artificially but factually. One should see how they are advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and how they are conducting Deity worship, saṅkīrtana and Ratha-yātrā. Considering all these points, the envious persons must henceforward refrain from their malicious atrocities.
CC Antya-lila
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Puruṣottama, the greatest of all persons, has a pure mind. He is so gentle that even if His servant is implicated in a great offense, He does not take it very seriously. Indeed, if His servant renders some small service, the Lord accepts it as being very great. Even if an envious person blasphemes the Lord, the Lord never manifests anger against him. Such are His great qualities."
The Lord used the stone for three years, and then in the heart of Raghunātha dāsa the Lord awakened devotional service to the stone. The Lord then gave the stone to Raghunātha dāsa, accepting him as one of His most confidential servants. However, some envious people conclude that because Raghunātha dāsa had not taken birth in the family of a brāhmaṇa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not give him the right to worship the Deity directly but instead gave him a stone from Govardhana. This kind of thought is nārakī, or hellish. As stated in the Padma Purāṇa, arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matir vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ . . . yasya vā nārakī saḥ. If one thinks that the worshipable śālagrāma-śilā is a mere stone, that the spiritual master is an ordinary human being or that a pure Vaiṣṇava preaching the bhakti cult all over the world is a member of a particular caste or material division of society, he is considered a nārakī, a candidate for hellish life. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed that the govardhana-śilā, the stone taken from Govardhana, is nondifferent from the body of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He indirectly advised such foolish persons that one should not be envious of a Vaiṣṇava who belongs to a different caste or sect.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
When all such symptoms are included in ecstatic love, they are called sañcārī, or continuously existing ecstatic symptoms. All of these symptoms are transcendental, and they are exhibited in different ways, acting and interacting under different conditions. They are like the reciprocation of love between the lover and beloved.
When a person is envious or defamed, there may be a change in the color of the body. This may be classified as vibhāva, or subecstasy. Sometimes illusion, collapse and strong anxiety are also considered to be vibhāva. When there are many such symptoms, they can simply be grouped together under ecstatic love.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that fright, sleep, fatigue, laziness and the madness of intoxication are sometimes grouped under continuous symptoms of ecstatic love, and they are due to a strong attraction.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Śukadeva Gosvāmī then reminded Parīkṣit Mahārāja about the salvation of Śiśupāla. Śiśupāla was always envious of Kṛṣṇa, and because of his envy Kṛṣṇa killed him. But since Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śiśupāla gained salvation simply by seeing Him. If an envious person can get salvation simply by concentrating his mind on Kṛṣṇa, then what to speak of the gopīs, who are so dear to Kṛṣṇa and always think of Him in love? There must be some difference between the enemies and the friends. If Kṛṣṇa's enemies could get freed from material contamination and become one with the Supreme, then certainly His dear friends like the gopīs can achieve such freedom and much more.
A snake is considered to be the most cruel and envious living entity, but those who are human beings and are envious of others are considered to be even more vicious than snakes. The snake can be charmed or controlled by mantras and herbs, but a person who is envious cannot be controlled by anyone.
"My dear Lord," Vidyādhara continued, "now, since I think I have become freed from all kinds of sinful activities, I am asking Your permission to return to my abode, the heavenly planets." This request indicates that persons who are attached to fruitive activities, desiring promotion to the comforts of higher planetary systems, cannot achieve their ultimate goal of life without the sanction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that the less intelligent want to achieve material benefits and therefore worship different kinds of demigods, but they actually get the benedictions from the demigods through the permission of Lord Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa. Demigods have no power to bestow material profit. Even if one is attached to material benedictions, he should worship Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and ask Him. Kṛṣṇa is completely able to give even material benedictions.
To become purified, one is enjoined to worship the fire, the sun, the moon, the earth, the water, the air, the sky and the mind. By worshiping all the elements and their predominating deities, one can gradually become free from the influence of envy, but all the sins of an envious person can be nullified immediately simply by serving a great soul. My dear revered sages and respectable kings, you can take it from Me that a person who accepts this material body made of three elements—mucus, bile and air—as his own self, who considers his family and relatives his own, who accepts material things as worshipable, or who visits holy places of pilgrimage just to take a bath there but never associates with great personalities, sages and mahātmās—such a person, even though in the form of a human being, is nothing but an animal like an ass.”
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Then, knowing that the unfortunate human beings of this age would misunderstand even His own words, Lord Kṛṣṇa again appeared—this time in the form of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, a pure devotee of the Lord—to teach the world the essence of the Bhagavad-gītā through His personal example.
Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that He is the source of everything, but envious and cunning people try to refute this fact. Thus He appeared as Lord Caitanya and taught that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the source of everything. There is no difference between the instructions of Lord Kṛṣṇa and those of Lord Caitanya. The object of worship is the same. Still, the unfortunate people of this age refuse to accept these teachings. Trying to give them Kṛṣṇa consciousness is, as the well-known expression goes, like "casting pearls before a herd of swine." The human beings afflicted by Kali-yuga are like a herd of swine. The Lord has shown them boundless mercy by widely teaching the science of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, which is rarely attained even by Lord Brahmā.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
There is no politics. There is no jealousy. There is no enviousness. That is spiritual world. And material world means politics, jealousy, diplomacy, enviousness, so many things. This is material world. So even in the heavenly planets, these things are there, politics. Even in animal kingdom, these politics are there. This is the nature. Matsaratā. Matsaratā means enviousness. One man is envious of another man. It doesn't matter, even they are brothers or family members. Here the family members, Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Pāṇḍu, two brothers, their sons, they were family members, but the enviousness...
So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not for the persons who are envious. Envious. It is a movement to train people how to become not envious. It is very first-class scientific movement, yes. Not to become envious. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the beginning introduces, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo atra (SB 1.1.2). In this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, dharma, religious principles, cheating type of religious principle is completely eradicated, thrown away, projjhita. They are kicked out, projjhita.
Or "the Pakistan is our enemies." The so-called national slogan. Here also, everywhere. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). Here in Europe also the two wars was arranged by the German people, they were envious of the English people. So these wars are not right wars, righteous wars. No. They are play of the diplomats, politicians—they engage. When they cannot manage things very nicely, they engage people into war. That's all. Divert the attention. But war is not meant for that. War is meant for that, when people are not properly being trained up by the king of the state, the other king can attack him.
So ideal state means the king must be very responsible. There are many instances. Just like Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, he was a pious king. In Bengali there is a proverb—rājar doṣe rāja naṣṭo doṣe gṛhastha bhraṣṭa.(?) If the king is not pious, then the whole kingdom is spoiled. Similarly if the housewife is not good, the whole family is spoiled.
The rascals, they misunderstand. By killing, by his whims, he gives the evidence of... Another rascal, although he is learned professor, he says that because this man has killed on the basis of Bhagavad-gītā, therefore Kṛṣṇa is immoral. Just see. This is going on. Without understanding Bhagavad-gītā, even a so-called learned scholar also talking of Kṛṣṇa as immoral. He has encouraged killing. Just see. Such envious persons. And he is teaching Bhagavad-gītā. This is going on.
So this is not the fact. The fact is that there must be in the society, four classes of men. Because sometimes violence is required. Just like why government is maintaining the police force, the military force? It is required for keeping law and order. So violence is bad. That's all right. But sometimes it is required. Just like poison. Poison is bad, but sometimes it is required for administering medicine. Even poison is administered. When one's heart is... According to Āyur-vedic system, when the man's heart is almost to fail, at that time, poison is given. So the heart becomes again agitated. In the medical science also.
This is sixteen. By one stretch you can chant sixteen. Now you can make your arrangement if you want to increase. So that Ṭhākura Haridāsa, he used to chant three hundred thousand times daily, three hundred thousand times daily. Ātma-ratir eva. Bas. He had no other business. He had no other business.
People become envious. One brāhmaṇa zamindar in the village, oh, he became very envious: "Oh, this man is Mohammedan and he is getting so much respect? Oh, I am a brāhmaṇa, I am a zamindar and nobody cares for me? Oh, he should be given some lesson." So he called a beautiful prostitute. "I shall give you such and such sum of rupees if you can, I mean to say, make a fall down of this man, this young man." He was young man. Ṭhākura Haridāsa was at that time about twenty-five years old, young man. So that prostitute, there was agreement. "Oh, it is easy thing for me. Sir, you give me such and such money. I shall get him. All right."
Similarly, envious, you begin from President Johnson and go to anyone, they are all envious of God consciousness. You see? Otherwise in Los Angeles city, there are millions and trillions of people, and only a dozen people are coming here. You see? Why? They are envious. "What is this nonsense God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" You see?
So we have to disturb them. That is our duty. We have to disturb these envious persons, "Hare Kṛṣṇa!" (laughter) That is our duty, to disturb them. And that is the greatest service. Just like a man is sleeping. And somebody is coming to kill him, and other friend, "Mr. such and such, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" So he may say, "Why you are disturbing me?" But that is the greatest service, he'll be saved. Māyā is coming to kill him, to send him to the darkest region of hell, and you are saving him, "Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be saved."
Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). These people, they do not know how much they are under the trap of māyā illusion. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā. They are thinking that they are very happy, they are making progress, but they do not know actually the position. This is called illusion. Any other questions? Yes?
We must understand what is God, what is Kṛṣṇa. Perfect understanding. And tad-adhīna, and His devotees. Īśvare tad-adhīneṣu bāliśa. Bāliśa means innocent persons. They are un... I mean to... They do not know actually what is God. And dviṣat. Dviṣat means envious. The four classes of men: God, His devotee, innocent person, and envious person, demons. So the person who is promoted to the second stage, he'll deal with these four classes of divisions differently. Īśvara-prema. One should try to learn how to love Kṛṣṇa. Yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). That is first class. And tad, īśvare tad-adhīneṣu bāliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca, prema, prema, love for Kṛṣṇa, and maitrī, and to make friendship with the devotees. Prema-maitrī. And kṛpā: those who are innocent, one should be merciful. The devotee should be merciful, just to awaken their Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And dviṣatsu ca upekṣāḥ: and those who are envious, they should be rejected. These four classes... To try to love Kṛṣṇa, to make friendship with devotees, and to give some service to the innocent public who does not know what is God, and those who are envious, asuras, they should be rejected. The madhyama-adhikārī should not touch the demons. Because maybe, he may turn again, be demon. Therefore one should be very careful to associate with the demons.
Without any fault... The snake is going, and the other animal is going. Go, but the characteristic of snake is unnecessarily bites. This is the characteristic.
Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says, sarpaḥ krūraḥ khalaḥ krūraḥ sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ, that "Two kinds of krūraḥ, envious animals, are there. One is the snake, and the other is envious man." So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said that "Both of them envious, but the envious man is more dangerous than the envious snake." Why? "Now, because the snake can be brought into submission..." (tapping noise) (Aside:) What is that? "...by herbs and mantra." There are snake charmer. They chant mantras, and they apply some herb, and the snake come under subjugation. But khalaḥ kena nivāryate: "But the snake-like man, he cannot be subdued at any cost."
So there are characteristics. By the characteristics we can understand who is a godly man and who is a demonic man. So they are stated. And the next verse is that daivī sampad vimokṣāya. If one has these divine characteristics, then he is eligible for going to the spiritual world. Vimokṣāya. Daivī sampad vimokṣāya nibandhāya āsurī matā (BG 16.5).
So we were discussing this verse yesterday. So there are persons abhyasūyati, envious of Kṛṣṇa. Envious. Who is envious of Kṛṣṇa? Demons. Just like Kaṁsa. Always making plan, how to kill Kṛṣṇa. As soon as he heard that his eighth son of his sister Devakī would kill him, as soon as he heard this prophecy, he become a determined enemy of Kṛṣṇa. He was always thinking in a different way. Prātikūlyena. Ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyaṁ vivarjanam. This devotional service means to accept favorable and reject unfavorable. This is called śaraṇāgati. Surrender means to accept favorable things, how I can make progress towards Kṛṣṇa, and prātikūlya, pratikūla means rejecting unfavorable things which are not very congenial for my progress to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Rakṣayiṣyaty iti viśvāsa-pālanam. And to have firm faith that "Kṛṣṇa will give me protection. Kṛṣṇa will give me protection."
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
They wanted to fight with him. My son came and complained to me that "This is the position." Just see. Children even, envious. You see. That means this is the nature of this world. If you prosper, then your brothers and your neighbors, your friends, will be envious.
So this bhāgavata-dharma is not for such envious persons. Therefore it is stated here, paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām (SB 1.1.2). Not for the envious persons. The envious persons—that means materialists—they will not be able to understand what is spoken in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte kiṁ vā parair īśvaraḥ sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate. So our process is, because we are envious by nature, therefore we have to cleanse our heart. Therefore we have to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra very rigidly, regularly. Then our, this enviousness, the dirty things will be over, and we shall be able to understand what is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam... Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the graduate study. Those who are interested in God, for them, this is graduate study.
They, they have kept some cattles, these cows. They are automatically maintained. There is grass. And when they are fatty, take them and send to the slaughterhouse and eat. But the land is lying vacant. The land is lying vacant.
So therefore people are not following the rules and regulations given by God or by nature's own way. They have invented their own way of living condition. Therefore they are suffering. Now we see in Calcutta or any other... Now it is a problem. Everywhere the problem will be food shortage and fuel shortage, power shortage. This is the prediction of many, many great scientists. Because people are committing so many sinful life, they must starve. That is the punishment. That is the punishment. These sinful rascals must be punished. Tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān kṣipāmy ajasram andha-yoniṣu (BG 16.19). These godless persons, dviṣataḥ, envious of God: "Why there should be God? Why Kṛṣṇa shall be God?", envious...
So the principle is the same. It is the distinction of deśa-kāla-pātra, things are... Just like the statement in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they are meant for highly developed conscious persons. They are not for ordinary persons. Paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vāstavaṁ vastu vedyam atra śrīmad-bhāgavatam, paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2). People are envious, envious: "Oh, he's Christian," "He's Muhammadan," "He is this," "He is that." No. A paramo nirmatsara, paramahaṁsa, he does not see, "He is Muhammadan," "He is Christian," "He is Jew." Paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). He will see everyone equal, the part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa. Mamaivāṁśa. He says this... Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ: (BG 15.7) "All living entities are My part and parcel." Why he shall take the skin? Because the skin is made by Muhammadan or the skin is made by Christian or skin is made by Hindu... He's not the skin-observer. He is observed the within. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). Within this body the spirit soul is there.
That is his fault. The father could not. Therefore they are called sura-dviṣām, always envious of the devotees. Demon means always envious of the devotees. This material world is so nuisance place that...
Just you have got a very nice example. Just like Jesus Christ, Lord Christ. So what was his fault? But the sura-dviṣām, the envious persons killed him. And if we find, if we analyze, what is the fault of Jesus Christ, there is no fault. The only fault he was preaching about God. And still he'd find so many enemies. He was cruelly crucified. So you'll always find this, sura-dviṣām. So Kṛṣṇa comes to kill these sura-dviṣām. Therefore vadhāya ca sura-dviṣām. These envious persons are killed.
But this killing business can be done without the presence of Kṛṣṇa. Because there are so many natural forces, war, pestilence, famine. Anything. Just set on working. Millions of people can be killed. So Kṛṣṇa does not require to come here to kill these rascals. They can be killed simply by Kṛṣṇa's direction, nature's law. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā (Bs. 5.44).
They are called bāliśa, just like child. Child is called bāliśa. Ignorant men, bāliśeṣu, dviṣatsu ca, and other class. He'll see four things: īśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; he'll see the devotees of Kṛṣṇa; he'll see some ignorant person; and he'll see some envious person. That you will have to meet. If you become preacher, then you'll create so many enemies also. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja. His father became enemy, not outside. Outside he might have many enemies, but the five-years-old boy, because he was taking opportunity in the school and as soon as the teachers are out, in the tiffin hour, he would immediately stand up on the bench and preach... You have seen the picture. He was preaching amongst his small class friends. That preaching work is there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, how he was intelligently preaching.
Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa seriously. The examples are there. Therefore Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and some envious person engaged some very beautiful prostitute to drag him. But she failed. Chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is so strong. At mid of night beautiful prostitute, young, she went to entice him. But Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, "That's all right. Your proposal is very nice. Please sit down. Let me finish my rounds." (laughter) So she sat down, and morning, there was morning. So Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, "My dear girl, I am very sorry. I could not finish. So this night we shall finish." In this way, after three nights, the prostitute fell down on his feets, "Sir, I came with this purpose. I was induced by such and such person. So I am offender. Please excuse me and give me your favor." So Haridāsa said, "Yes, I knew that. But because you came to me, I wanted to do something good for you. And therefore I stayed here for three nights just to convert you. Now you are so lucky. So whatever you have got, you distribute it to the brāhmaṇas, and you take one cloth and sit down here before the Tulasī tree and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." Hmm?
And adhibhautika, pains given by other living entities. Even if you sit down silently, without any, mean, cares, still, the mosquito will come and bite you. Or the bugs will come and bite you at night. And there are other, dogs and cats and envious persons, serpents. So many enemies. Even if you want to remain peaceful, the other living entities will not allow you to remain peaceful. This is material existence. You have got this body. From the body you'll have to suffer. At least, you have to suffer śītoṣṇa. When it is scorching heat, you'll have to suffer. Why you are running on this fan? Because you are feeling heat, extraordinary. Therefore you invented this fan. Or mosquito curtain. Just struggle. This is called adhibhautika.
Then adhidaivika. If there is no rain, there will be no food production, and the rice will go eight rupees per kilo. And you have to suffer. Durbhikṣa. Even people are not willing to give you bhikṣā. "Because the rice is so costly, how can I give?"
So icchā-dveṣa samutthena. When we think... That is not very difficult to understand. Everyone is thinking, "Why shall I worship God? These are all bogus things, they are going to the temple. No." That propensity is there, dveṣa. Tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān yoniṣu (BG 16.19), Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā. Tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān. These persons who are envious of God and krūrān... Krūra means, krūra also, envious, very, very atheistic. Duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ (BG 7.15). This is āsuri-bhāva. When we become envious, atheist, godless, without any God consciousness, that is called atheism. That is dveṣa.
You will find... All the demons—we have got description in the śāstra—their only business is to become envious of God, that's all. This is the business. Just like Kaṁsa. Kaṁsa, as soon as he heard one omen that this eighth son of his sister, Devakī, would kill him, immediately he became furious: "Oh, let me finish my sister so that there will be no eighth or first or second son. Finish the origin of..." So anyway, Vasudeva saved her.
Pradyumna: "My dear boys, you are all born of My heart, which is the seat of all spiritual qualities. Therefore you should not be like materialistic and envious men. You should accept your eldest brother, Bharata, who is exalted in devotional service. If you engage yourselves in Bharata's service, your service to him will include My service, and you will rule the citizens automatically."
Prabhupāda:
- tasmād bhavanto hṛdayena jātāḥ
- sarve mahīyāṁsam amuṁ sanābham
- akliṣṭa-buddhyā bharatam bhajadhvaṁ
- śuśrūṣaṇaṁ tad bharaṇaṁ prajānām
- (SB 5.5.20)
So Ṛṣabhadeva was retiring from the duty of royal position, and before that, He selected, out of His one hundred sons, Bharata as the king, next king. Bharata Mahārāja also very exalted. There is a long history of Bharata Mahārāja. Under his name this land or this earthly planet is called Bhāratavarṣa, on account of Bharata Mahārāja. This planet, the whole planet, was formerly known as Bhāratavarṣa. Before that, it was known as Ilāvṛta-varṣa. After the reign of Bharata Mahārāja it was named Bhāratavarṣa.
'This is sophistry. It is demanding too much. Mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. Why? Why shall I accept You as the Supreme?" This enviousness begins. This is the beginning of envy.
So we become envious, each other. I am envious of you, you are envious of me. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not meant for the envious persons. It is meant for very liberal, paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ.
- vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
- brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
- śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
- paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
- (BG 5.18)
One who has become sama-darśinaḥ, he is perfectly learned. And that is very difficult. It is meant for them. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo atra paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2). It is not meant for such bhangi (?), one who thinks that "My Hinduism is better than your Muhammadanism," or he thinks, "My Muhammadanism is better than your Hinduism." The matsaratam, it is in religious platform... There is matsara. That matsaratā dharma, that kind of religious system... Just like there are everywhere the same thing. In Ireland the fighting is going on between the Protestants and the Catholics. Is it not?
Amalam means there is no material contamination, pure description. Therefore Vyāsadeva, from the very beginning he says that dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇām: (SB 1.1.2) "This book is not meant for the person who is envious." Envious... You begin enviousness from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). The envious person will say, "Oh, this is too much. Why shall I surrender to Kṛṣṇa? I am also Kṛṣṇa. I am also God. This is too much." This is rascaldom. The actual fact is that we are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, we have forgotten it, and therefore we have become servant of māyā. We are suffering, and Kṛṣṇa, out of His kindness, He comes to prove that the living entities are eternal servant and He is the eternal master. Still, because they are contaminated, contaminated by the yogamāyā, contaminated by māyā, mahāmāyā... Mahāmāyā. Yā devī sarva-bhūteṣu nidrā-rūpeṇa saṁśritā(?). Mahāmāyā.
They can be utilized also for Kṛṣṇa's service. Kāmī, lusty. One should be so much lusty to serve Kṛṣṇa. Just like we become lusty to have our desired object, similarly, we should be lusty to work for Kṛṣṇa as a madman: "I must do it." That is the utilization of lustiness. Kāma, krodha. Krodha bhakta-dveṣi-jane. One should be very much angry upon a person who is envious of the devotees. Yes. A pure devotee, satāṁ nindā, a pure devotee who is trying to spread the holy name of God, if somebody becomes envious upon him, that person is a great offender. So another devotee should be very much angry upon such person. Krodha bhakta-dveṣi-jane. Bhakta-dveṣi means one who is envious of a pure devotee. And who is a pure devotee? Who is trying to spread the holy name of the Lord all over the world. Satāṁ nindā. This is offense. So a devotee can utilize all these elements—lustiness, anger, kāma, krodha, greediness, and moha. Illusion also can be utilized. Just like illusion... Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me: "I see everything vacant, being separated from Govinda."
Here is a quality in the material world. Anyone who is here, he will be envious of his... Para utkarṣa asahanam. They cannot tolerate that his friend or his brother is very much, I mean to say, advancing either material or spiritual. They cannot tolerate. This is the society. Therefore my Guru Mahārāja used to say that "This is not the place for a gentleman to live," because surrounded by envious persons, especially to the devotees. Especially when a man becomes devoted to the Lord, he creates... He does not create, but the atmosphere is such—many enemies.
Just like Prahlāda Maharaja. He was a five-years'-old boy only, child. His father became enemy because the only disqualification Prahlāda Mahārāja had, that he was a great devotee. His father became enemy, what to speak of others? Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, taror api sahiṣṇunā. You will have many enemies, many envious persons, when you become pure devotee, but you should tolerate. Taror api sahiṣṇunā. Be tolerant just like a tree and be humble just like a grass. Tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā.
You will have many enemies, many envious persons, when you become pure devotee, but you should tolerate. Taror api sahiṣṇunā. Be tolerant just like a tree and be humble just like a grass. Tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā. Don't be afraid of our enemies because Kṛṣṇa will protect you, but in order to stop more misunderstanding, better become tolerant, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that... Envious persons, automatically... Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu's time, Śrīvāsa. Śrīvāsa was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and his neighborers became enemies. They wanted to insult him in so many ways. These are described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So that is natural. But we should always remember that "Let there be enemies. Let there be envious persons. I will be protected by Kṛṣṇa and His associates." And even I am not so accustomed, so I should learn to tolerate.
Nānu anyeṣāṁ vadhena sādhu kiṁ modeta tatra ha vṛścikādeḥ. Not all. A... Persons, living creatures like the scorpion and serpents. Not all. Everything has got exception. So a sādhu, a saintly person, a righteous person, a religious person, will never be happy by other's killing. But killing of persons like scorpion and serpent... And the Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that a person who has envious nature, he's more dangerous than the serpent. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita has enunciated that sarpaḥ krūraḥ khalaḥ krūraḥ. There are two envious creatures: one is the snake, and another, a man envious, unnecessarily envious of others. So sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ. That man, envious, he's dangerous, more dangerous than the snake. Why more dangerous? Mantrauśādhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalaḥ kena nivāryate. You can subdue a snake by herbs and by chanting particular type of mantra. There are many snake charmers in India, by mantra they can charm the snakes. But a person who is envious, you cannot pacify him in any way. Therefore sarpaḥ krūrataraḥ khalaḥ. Just like Jesus Christ was crucified by some envious persons. Even the Roman judge denied that "This man should not be... There is no such fault." But because they were envious, they were persistent, "Yes, he should be crucified." So this is the nature of envious person. Therefore killing of envious persons like Hiraṇyakaśipu... Unnecessarily... He was a child.
Therefore killing of envious persons like Hiraṇyakaśipu... Unnecessarily... He was a child. Prahlāda Mahārāja was a child, innocent child. And his son, and youngest son. And his only fault was that he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. And this person was after him, giving him all kinds of trouble. Just see the nature of the envious person. He doesn't care even his son, a child, a devotee. "Oh, this boy must be tortured. This boy must be tortured because he is Kṛṣṇa conscious." "This man must be crucified because he is preaching God consciousness." This is the nature of envious persons. More dangerous. Therefore their killing is the pleasure for the saintly persons. Modeta sādhur api vṛścika sarpa-hatyā. So Prahlāda Mahārāja was glad that his father was killed. So tatrāha (reads commentary) vṛścikādeḥ parapadraka kariṇā anyathaiva jātinā kutra vadhena tasyaiva tad bhadraṁ jātam (?). It is good for it because he is stopped creating nuisance. Creating. If he's stopped, then it is a great benefit for him because his nature is to become envious and torture others. Therefore to kill such person is a great welfare act for him. Tad bhadraṁ yatram eti and sādhur api modeta. And sādhu, saintly persons are also glad. (reads commentary) Tarhi bahūnāṁ sukhāvahaṁ tam amuṁ krodhaṁ na tyajāmi ceti prāha lokāś ca nirmitteḥ prakta-śānti-pratinirjanti saṁhāra pratīkṣante (?).
If I do something faulty, you can punish me, bite. But without any fault, if you bite me... So therefore Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says, sarpaḥ krūraḥ-khalaḥ krūraḥ sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ. Such person is called khala, envious, jealous.
So there are two living creatures. One is snake, and one is jealous or envious person. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said, sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ: "This man, envious man, is more dangerous than the snake. Than the snake." Why? He's a human being. Yes, because he's human being and he has got developed consciousness and he has practiced to use the developed consciousness for becoming jealous, He's more dangerous than the snake. So therefore he concludes, mantrauśādhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalaḥ kena nivāryate. The snake, although by nature he is so..., still, he can be controlled by mantra and some herbs. In India they still do that. But this khalaḥ, the person jealous, he cannot be pacified any means. Therefore he's more dangerous than the snake.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
So we should take care of everyone. That is the verdict of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, verdict of Kṛṣṇa. Now we are doing that in our Māyāpur. All the Muhammadans and Hindus, they are taking prasādam together. This has been a unique thing. People are very much appreciating. But some of them, some envious persons are there. They are taking it otherwise. Why? In Jagannātha Purī, still the regulation is that anyone can come and take together jagannātha-prasādam. It doesn't matter whether he's a baṅghi, camara or brāhmaṇa. They take actually. Prasāda. Prasāda is transcendental, nirguṇa. So prasāda should be taken together. If you have got really sense of prasāda... If we think it is dahl, capati, then it is another thing. Otherwise, if you have got the sense of prasāda, then there should be no distinction. It should, it can be... "Prasādam, I am taking prasādam, which is nirguṇa." So these are the conclusions. So unless we come to the conclusion of Vaiṣṇava cult, it is very difficult. The Vaiṣṇava cult conclusion should be taken. Otherwise we cannot preach. Without becoming Vaiṣṇava, one cannot become guru. Without becoming guru, how one can preach? These are the formulas. And anxiety-less, when one takes to the shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he must be anxiety-less.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
The devotee can understand. But the demons, they think, "Oh, we have got a nice leader. He does not believe in God." (laughter) You see? Sammohāya sura-dviṣām (SB 1.3.24). The exact Sanskrit word is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. You have seen, those who have read: sammohāya, for bewildering sura-dviṣām. Sura-dviṣām means persons who are envious of the Vaiṣṇavas. The atheist class, demons, they are always envious of the devotees. That is the law of nature. You see this father. Father became an enemy of a five-years-old son. What was his fault? He was a devotee. That's all. Innocent boy. Simply he was, I mean to say, attracted with chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. The father himself, he became a staunch enemy: "Kill this boy." So if a father can become enemy, what to speak of others. So you should always expect that as soon as you become a devotee, the whole world becomes your enemy. That's all. But you have to deal with them, because you are appointed servants of God. Your mission is to enlighten them. So you cannot be. Just like Lord Nityānanda, He was injured, but still He delivered Jagāi-Mādhāi.
Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures
"This servant is trying to occupy my seat"? Similarly, any living entity who is trying to become God, he's not very much liked by God. He cannot become God, but this very endeavor, to become God, to become a competitor of God, is not very much liked. That person is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā as dviṣataḥ, envious. Tān aham dviṣataḥ krūrān kṣipāmy ajasram andhā yoniṣu (BG 16.19). Such persons, envious persons, are put into the hellish condition of life. They are envious of God's position. They want to occupy high position in this material world, and when they are frustrated, they think "Now I shall occupy the position of God." But that will be also frustrated. Nobody can become God. God is God, and living entity's living entity. He's supreme, He's infinite; we are infinitesimal. Our position is to serve God. That is our perfect position. That will make us happy. Not otherwise. Not by imitating how to become God. That is impossible. How you can become God? Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ (Bs. 5.48).
Arrival Addresses and Talks
Be Kṛṣṇa conscious. How nice it is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. We are living in... Not heaven. Heaven is nothing for us. We are living in Vaikuṇṭha in this temple. Anyone can practically see how they came from hellish life; now they are living in Vaikuṇṭha. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so nice and so simple. Why people are so foolish they do not take it? What is their complaint? We are living so nicely that sometimes people are envious, that "These people have no business, no occupation, and they are living in nice house, eating nice Kṛṣṇa prasādam, and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and dancing!" They're envious. But when we say, "Why don't you come here?" they will deny: "No, sir. I cannot go." (laughter) Why you are envious? You come and participate and live like us, happily. "No." That he will not. (laughter) And this is the māyā. You see? Māyā will say, "Oh, why you are going there? (laughter) You just come here in the Bowery Street, and as soon as you get some money, you purchase one bottle and lie down." That is life.
This is material life. Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not for the people who are envious. Dharmaḥ projjhita kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu (SB 1.1.2). Why enviousness? You are human being, I am human being. Why we should be envious of one another. This is artificial. There is no need of. But we are put into certain condition that we have to become envious by nature or someone.
So this materialistic way of life is full of enviousness, rivalry, competition, then birth, death, old age, disease, threefold miseries-ādhyātmic ādhibhautic, miseries from the mind, from the body, from other living entities, natural disturbance. And we are trying to be happy here. This is called foolishness. It is not possible. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). The creator of this world says that this place is for suffering, duḥkhālayam. And aśāśvatam. That is also temporary. You may think, "Never mind. I am American. We have got big, big buildings and big, big roads and cars. Never mind it is duḥkhālayam, I shall remain here." No, sir, you cannot remain." Aśāśvatam: you have to leave this place. Even if you make compromise that "Never mind. I am happy now to my estimation," the answer is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (BG 8.15). You cannot make permanent settlement. That is not possible. Then what?
General Lectures
I could have spoken in Hindi, but with the permission of Śrīpāda Nṛsiṁha-vallabha Gosvāmī, because most of my students here present, they could not understand the Hindi speaking, so it is my duty to inform them the substance of his speech in English so that you can appreciate how much he has eulogized our movement. You haven't got to be disappointed because some of the envious person, they are not accepting you as Vaiṣṇava. Śrīpāda Nṛsiṁha-vallabha Gosvāmī, quoting from many authorized scriptures, he has proved that in the matter of engaging oneself in the devotional service, there is no check, there is no impediment. That is confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: ahaituky apratihatā. That he has very nicely explained, quoting many authoritative statement from scriptures. And another thing... It is a fact that nobody can check Kṛṣṇa-bhakti. It is transcendental; it is not material. Unless one acts on the platform of spiritual activities, one cannot understand why bhakti is apratihatā. Pratihatā means checked by impediments. So that is for material things. Just like a living being, a soul, he is checked by this material body. Otherwise a living being can go anywhere, sarva-gaḥ.
So I am very much pleased. I will not take much time. The ārātik time is now. You do not be disappointed by the activities of some envious person. Bhāgavata-dharma is meant for the nonenvious person. Paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2). Nirmatsara. Anyone who is contaminated by envy, he cannot become Vaiṣṇava. He may be a envious animal, but Vaiṣṇava is paramahaṁsa, paramo nirmatsarāṇām. He is not envious. Para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. Vaiṣṇava, para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "My Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, I have no problems." Naivodvije para duratyayā-vaitaraṇyāḥ tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ (SB 7.9.43). "Personally, I have no problem. But I am sorry, very sorry because..." Tato vimukha-cetasa: "Those who are bereft of Your devotional service, for them I am sorry." So Vaiṣṇava is sorry for others' difficulties. Otherwise Vaiṣṇava has no difficulty. He is aprākṛta.
Departure Talks
This is the process, to remain paramahaṁsa. Dharma-projjhita-kaitava atra nirmatsarāṇām. Dharma-projjhita-kaitava atra paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2). This Bhāgavata-dharma, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is meant for paramo nirmatsarāṇām. Matsara, matsarata. Matsara means envy. I am envious of you. You are envious of me. This is material world. Just like so many envious persons are there in this quarter, simply lodging complaint against us. We have got good experience of this. So the Bhāgavata-dharma is meant for paramo nirmatsarāṇām. Matsarata means one who cannot endure or can tolerate others' advancement. That is called matsarata. That is the nature of everyone. Everyone is trying to advance more. The neighbor is envious: "Oh, this man is going ahead. I could not." This is... Even if he is brother, even if he is son, this is the nature of the... So therefore this Bhāgavata-dharma is not meant for such persons, who are envious. It is meant for the paramo nirmatsarāṇām, who has given up this envy or envious attitude ultimately. Now, how it is possible?
Philosophy Discussions
Prabhupāda: So he preached the religion of nonviolence, and because the people became atheist, so Lord Buddha, just to take them under his control, he also collaborated and said, "Yes, there is no God, but you hear me." But he is incarnation of God, so it is a kind of transcendental cheating that in the beginning he said there is no God, but he is God himself, and people accepted his words or instruction. That is Buddhism. So this very word is used, sammohāya sura-dviṣām (SB 1.3.24). Sura-dviṣām, atheist class of men, are always against theist class of men. Therefore their name is that atheist means who are envious of devotees. So in order to cheat these persons who are envious of God or devotee, Lord Buddha appeared and established a system of religion on the platform of nonviolence—no more animal killing. Because those who are animal killers, they cannot understand God (indistinct). That is not possible. They may have some vague idea. So Lord Buddha wanted to stop these sinful activities, and he established the system of nonviolence.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: They are very dangerous. So if vṛścika and sarpa is killed, nobody's unhappy. (break) ...in Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, sarpaḥ krūraḥ khalaḥ krūraḥ, sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ. A jealous, envious man, he's also crooked, and the snake, it is also crooked. But the man practiced to jealousy is more dangerous than the snake. Why? "He's human being. He's still more dangerous?" "Yes." "Why?" Mantrauṣadhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ. You can bring under control the snake by mantra and drugs. Khalaḥ kena nivāryate. And the jealous man cannot be subdued. Therefore he's more dangerous than the snake.
Guest (2): Than the snake. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...here is a very nice, educated man. He's very nice. But we say, "No. Because he has no Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he's as dangerous as if he is ordinary man." We don't give any credit. (break)
Prabhupāda: Oh yes, you do it. Do it. That is intelligence. Here is the only systematic way to understand God. You simply try to understand the first verse of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Then everything is explained there. Now you can... I have explained that, what is meant by God. God means the source of everything. Where is that theologician who can deny it? The first proposition is "God is that which is the source of everything." Now the next question will be, "What is that source, animate or inanimate?" Just like the scientists, they are claiming matter. This should be discussed. Then you come to the conclusion, "He must be animate." Then next question is "Wherefrom the animation came?" Then the conclusion should be that "He is self-sufficient. There is no need of cause." Then "Why people cannot understand?" That answer is that "Even great, great personality like Brahmā, Indra, they also bewildered." In this way, everything is there in that verse, systematical. Yatra tri-sargo 'mṛṣā. Now this material world is also creation of God, but it is shadow; it is not reality. The reality is where there is no illusion, and that is spiritual kingdom. That is the place of God. Everything is there in that verse in the beginning. And then next verse is, the so-called religions, they are kicked out from this Bhāgavatam. The religion is God is great and everyone should worship Him. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsara...(SB 1.1.2). And it is meant for the first-class non-envious person.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes, better field, those who are innocent. That is the duty of the preacher, four things: īśvare tad-adhīneṣu baliśeṣu dviṣatsu ca. The preacher should see four things. First of all īśvara, the Supreme Person, God. So that vision must be there. He knows what is īśvara or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then tad-adhīneṣu, those who have taken shelter of that īśvara. That means devotees. Tad-adhīneṣu. And then baliśeṣu. Baliśeṣu means those who are innocent, have no sufficient knowledge, innocent. And dviṣatsu. And there is always a class of men who are envious of God, dviṣat. Dviṣat means envious. So preacher has to see these four classes of men or three classes. One, īśvara, and the other three classes. So he has to behave like that. To behave with īśvara-prema, how to love. That is his business. How to increase love for the Supreme. Prema. Maitrī, how to make friendship with the devotee. And to the innocent-kṛpā, how to become merciful. And to the envious-upekṣa, negligence, not to talk with them. Four behavior. Īśvare tad-a... This is madhyama adhikārī. And the position of the preacher is madhyama adhihkārī. Therefore they have to point out, "Here is a jealous man, envious man." But people do not want it. They say, "Why you are pointing out? Why you are pointing out?" But this is business of the preacher. Otherwise how he will preach?
Prabhupāda: Yes. The whole world is envious, whole world. I am envious of you, you are envious of me. That Bhāgavata is not meant for such envious persons. Paramo nirmatsarāṇām (SB 1.1.2), those who are no more envious. How they will have a devotee envious? He loves Kṛṣṇa and in relationship with Kṛṣṇa loves everyone. In that position, in that state, one will not try to suppress another. Otherwise, it is material life. To live at the cost of others, to suppress one, to take other's money and become rich. There is story in the Aesop's Fable that—you perhaps know it—that a dog took the flesh in his mouth and was crossing a river, and the shadow was in the water. So he thought there is another dog with the flesh, so he wanted to..., he lost this, and that was a shadow. So he has got a flesh in his mouth, but he is an animal, it was deluded that "Another dog is carrying, so I shall take." So even in the cats and dogs, this tendency is there. Even the cats and dogs, they are also. So how can you stop it? That will be not stopped. They do not know. Therefore, these theories, they are simply theories; they are not practical. They do not know what is the nature, how nature is working.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā it is said, idaṁ te na atapaskāya. Those who have no life of penance and austerities, don't talk with them. It will be a waste of time. You know that there is verse in the Bhagavad-gītā? In Eighteenth Chapter. Idaṁ te na atapaskāya, māṁ ca yaḥ abhyasūyati: "Persons who are envious of Me and those who have not undergone austerity and penances, don't talk with them." But we take the risk. We go even to these rascals. Because for Kṛṣṇa's sake, "Never mind, it will take some time. Let me try this rascal." Therefore the easiest process is that every rascal will agree to take nice food and dance. So induce them to come to us, dance, and take nice food. Let them come on this ground. And by hearing Hare Kṛṣṇa, gradually they will be all right. This is the policy. So far argument, logic, philosophy is concerned, they are beyond... Because they are animal. They cannot understand.
Devotee (2): You have it's just like when someone has jaundice and he sees everything as yellow and you cannot convince him if something is white.
Prabhupāda: But they are so sinful that they are unable to carry out. Upadeśo hi mūrkhāṇāṁ prakopāya na śāntaye. If there is a serpent, if you advise him, "Please do not kill; be gentleman," will be become? Snake. Snake will kill, unnecessarily bite and kill. Sarpaḥ krūraḥ khalaḥ krūraḥ sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ: "There are two envious living entities. One is the serpent and other is the envious man. So the envious man is more dangerous than the serpent." Why? Now, the serpent can be charmed by drugs and by mantra, but this man cannot be charmed. So this advice will not act. They are so dangerous than the serpent.
Australian devotee 3: How, then, can we advise them, Śrīla Prabhupāda, if they are like serpents? How can we...?
Prabhupāda: So Bhagavad-gītā, last instruction is sarva dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. (BG 18.66) "You give up all kinds of occupation and just surrender unto Me." If one can take it very seriously, understand, then he can enter into the study of Bhāgavatam. The Bhāgavatam begins from the point where Kṛṣṇa left Bhagavad-gītā. So he advised that "You surrender to Me," and Bhāgavata begins, satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi (SB 1.1.1), "I am worshiping the Supreme Truth." And next verse is dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra (SB 1.1.2), "All cheating type of religious system is rejected." So this is rather revolting. Kṛṣṇa says sarva dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66), "Give up all kinds of religious system, just surrender to Me." And from that point Bhāgavata begins, "All cheating type of religious system is rejected." It is meant for the paramahaṁsa. Paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ. Those who are envious, for them is not Bhāgavata. So any materialistic person, he is envious. It is not meant for the materialistic person. Those who are spiritually advanced, one who has understood that "I am not this body, I am spirit soul, my direct connection is with God, therefore my only business is to serve God." One who has come to this conclusion, he is called paramahaṁsa. Haṁsa means swan. A swan, it has got a quality that if you give the swan to drink milk mixed with water, she will drink the milk and reject the water. She has got the capacity. So paramahaṁsa means one who has taken the essence of the existence, Absolute Truth, he is called paramahaṁsa.
Indian man (1): Cheat everybody, I mean, get all the members and live on that. (break)
Indian man (2): Where does it have it's place in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
Prabhupāda: Oṁkāra is… Oṁkāra is sound representation of Kṛṣṇa. One who is unable to chant Kṛṣṇa, for them oṁkāra. Because there are many envious persons—they won’t chant Kṛṣṇa—therefore Kṛṣṇa has given them oṁkāra.
Indian man (2): And the swastika?
Prabhupāda: Praṇavaḥ. Praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā, raso ’ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi sūryayoḥ, praṇavaḥ sarva-vedeṣu. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Indian man (2): Swastika.
Prabhupāda: Swastika is also there, Vedic mark. Especially for the impersonalists. But we take direct, beautiful Kṛṣṇa, and worship Him. (break)
1976 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: That is material world, envious. That is a disease, to become envious. The spiritual world means no enviousness. That is spiritual world. And material world, there is only envious. I'm envious of you, you are envious of me. It is a society of enviousness. Dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsarāṇām, Paramo nirmatsara (SB 1.1.2). One who is not at all envious, for him, Bhāgavata-dharma. (break) ...dharma is for the envious person.
Nava-yauvana: Dharma is for the envious?
Prabhupāda: Yes, so-called dharmas. Just like we have created so many dharma, Hindu dharma, Muslim dharma, Christian dharma. They are so-called. They are not dharmas. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Dharma means what is given to you by the Supreme Lord, that is dharma. Otherwise, if you manufacture some ritualistic ceremonies, some formulas, some dogmas, that is cheating. That is not religion. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmaḥ. That is first-class religion. What is that? Yato bhaktir adhokṣaje. Wherefrom you learn how to love God. If you learn, "I believe this," "I believe that," "This is our ritualistic ceremony," these are all cheating. As people are cheating one another in different ways, this is another cheating. That's all. They will say, "We believe in this way," "We believe in that way."
Prabhupāda: I'm writing one letter to the governor that I work hard, I print my books and they are selling, and if I bring the money to construct temple, why people are envious? What is the wrong there? Rather, I should be encouraged that I am bringing so much money in India, foreign exchange, by my hard labor. So why they are envious? Why... I have sent this to the governor.
Jayapatākā: To the governor?
Prabhupāda: Governor, Mr. Chandra Reddy. "Why, wherefrom they are getting money, where, why?" That is my very, very hard labor, that's all. Is it wrong if a man works hard and gets money in foreign country and bring in India?
Prabhupāda: So at four o'clock you are coming there? No. At Mr. Raja's house?
Commissioner: ...minister.
Prabhupāda: They are holding some meeting? Today we have got very good article in the Sunday Chronicle. Everyone is reporting about us very nice, and still there are some envious persons, they are creating doubts about us.
Commissioner: They cannot create any doubts, Swamiji, as long as you are establishing the equality of man in the eyes of God, only one God. That is being done, I think.
Prabhupāda: Yes, we have no discrimination.
Commissioner: Ācchā. No discrimination. And that is the... I don't think anybody called...
Prabhupāda: Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu.
Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Brāhmaṇas means they are teachers. Paṭhana-pāṭhana-yajana-yājana-dāna-pratigrahaḥ. So every temple should be educational center, and the brāhmaṇas should be engaged. They should be properly educated and they should teach others also. In this way, temple means education in spiritual life. And actually spiritual life is life. This material life, the bodily conception of life, is dead life. Aprāṇasyeva dehasya maṇḍanaṁ loka-rañjanam. This nice shirt you have changed because there is life. When there is no life, who is going to change dress? The body is there, but why you are not interested in changing the dress? Better interest... The sooner the body is thrown away or burned, better. So similarly... (break) There is a proverb that a vulture goes very high, but his ambition is where is a dead body. As soon as he finds a dead body, (growling sound) immediately. And we see, "Oh, how high he has gone." So what is the going up so high if your aim is to find out a dead body? And actually, these aeronautics, they went to very high, suppose they went to moon. But after going there they find, "Where is Moscow? Where is this?" The same vulture business. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the only hope to give relief to the human society. So everyone should cooperate with this movement. Unfortunately, there are so many envious persons, they are writing against us, talking against us. They should be envious. Because they want to exploit, keeping the people in ignorance.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: No, let him. That you have to practice, how to use kāma, krodha. That is described by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. Kṛṣṇa-sevā kāmārpaṇe. Kāma means you have a strong desire to do something. That is kāma. So convert it, this kāma desire, for Kṛṣṇa's activities. Kṛṣṇa-sevā kāmārpaṇe. Krodha bhakta-dveṣi-jane. And persons who are envious of the devotees, you become angry upon them. You have got this quality, kāma, krodha, lobha, but you can utilize it. Just like Hanumān. He became very angry, and he set fire in the Lanka. Unless one is very angry, he cannot do that. But that krodha was applied to the demon. Krodha bhakta-dveṣi-jane. So we can utilize kāma, krodha, moha, bewilderment. When we cannot find out a bhakta, then we should be bewildered. Śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvam. So therefore bhakti process means that everything has to be purified. Krodha, Hanumān's krodha to set fire Laṅkā, it is purified krodha. But they cannot understand the krodha, how it is purified. But krodha can be purified. When it is bhakta-dveṣi-jane... Those who are envious of God and His devotees, upon them you should be always angry. "No, I have become a bhakta. I cannot become..." Caitanya Mahāprabhu showed by His example. He said, tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā. But when Nityānanda Prabhu was injured, He became so angry, He immediately said, "Bring my cakra. I shall kill the Jagāi-Mādhāi."
Prabhupāda: No, at that time it was selling 150. And now it is more than four hundred. Our land is, only one crore, apart from these buildings. Therefore everyone is envious.
Dr. Patel: Most envious men are... That fellow was himself burned by pouring kerosene on. He was a most envious fellow. He even once told me, "Why do you go there?"
Prabhupāda: Ācchā?
Dr. Patel: I used to treat his family. I was doctor. And I stopped treating him because he has not, he was so envious. He has got half a dozen girls in his family. I mean, where you will get...
Prabhupāda: In Kali-yuga there is no marriage. Svīkāra eva codvāhe. Agreement.
Trivikrama: By agreement.
Dr. Patel: That is in Western countries.
Prabhupāda: That is the cause, that they're criticizing. They're envious.
Gargamuni: Oh, yes.
Prabhupāda: That's all. The envious man can say anything.
Gargamuni: That I notice when they say that. I can notice their envy.
Prabhupāda: But still Kṛṣṇa is being worshiped. Here is Jagannātha, Kṛṣṇa. Millions of people have come to worship. You are rascal. You may criticize. It doesn't affect Kṛṣṇa's respectful position.
Gargamuni: Caitanya Mahāprabhu, although Kṛṣṇa's life may have been controversial, still, He was very strict sannyāsī.
Prabhupāda: He never criticized Kṛṣṇa. Rather, He was enjoying Kṛṣṇa's love with gopīs.
Prabhupāda: Ācchā?
Gurukṛpā: "He's stealing from you." That is a great problem. We lose so many sales because of envious people stopping.
Satsvarūpa: They say we're pretending to be a religion just to collect money, but our real aim is just to cheat, false propaganda. (horn beeps)
Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Child: Prabhupāda ki jaya!
Prabhupāda: Jaya! Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Children: Prabhupāda ki jaya! Prabhupāda ki jaya! (end)
Prabhupāda: Ācchā?
Arundhati: So...
Jayapatākā: It's a very...
Prabhupāda: Yes. Just to give them protection. So when we avoid envious persons, that is the injunction of the śāstras. This man wrote to the chief minister or prime minister complaining about them?
Jayapatākā: About his electric connection.
Prabhupāda: Who?
Jayapatākā: That Mahesh Pandit. You're talking about the man of Mahesh Pandit?
Prabhupāda: No, no. This Dāmodara Mahārāja.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Jayapatākā: ...go around that.
Prabhupāda: That's all.
Jayapatākā: Envious people just trying to upset. The Western devotees that come, they are amazed that all of the devotees that are here, all the families are living separate from their wives. No temple has achieved that yet.
Prabhupāda: Everything can be done by practice.
Jayapatākā: The hari-nāma is purifying them because they are chanting so many hours. Now, when we give class, they also ask questions.
Prabhupāda: Life is coming.
Jayapatākā: Yes. Taking time. (laughs)
Prabhupāda: Very nice? Yes. Now see. (laughter) He is one of the person who helped you. When I went to Africa I asked Brahmānanda, "Are you going to support me?" He said, "Yes, I'll do." Then I signed. Otherwise I hesitated, that "These people are denying property..."
Svarūpa Dāmodara: The people are envious of Bombay, especially this man, Sada. He's head of the Trombay that I talked. He was the... Everybody knew about our temple.
Prabhupāda: That is a good advertisement.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: It's not even complete yet, but already everybody knows about it, so popular.
Prabhupāda: And there is a big history behind this. (laughs) They wanted to throw away Rādhā-Rāsa-vihārījī. And I prayed always, "If you are thrown away, then it is..., my life is thrown away. You must stay here. It is a great insult." So He has not moved an inch.
Prabhupāda: They have nothing. Still, they have got... That is called in Bengali, bisnai kulavane cakra(?). There is no poison, but the hood is: "Arrhh." (laughs) That is their... Even this bite, there is no poison. But they are showing kulavana cakra(?). Still, it is bhayaṅkara. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says, maṇinā bhūṣitaḥ sarpaḥ kim asau na bhayaṅkaraḥ: "A snake..." Sometimes snake has got some jewel on the hood. So he can go in the darkness by the light of the hood. If somebody thinks, "Oh, here is a snake with jewel. Let me embrace him," no, no, no, it is very ferocious. Even it is jewel there, it is ferocious. Similarly, these people are envious. Although they have become so-called Vaiṣṇava, they are ferocious. They have not acquired the qualification of Vaiṣṇava. Simply vesopidin(?), by dress. So what is there? They could not do for the last fifty-sixty years. Still... They wanted to exchange. I stopped it, the Mohini Babu. Mohini... Bali hatti zamindar(?). So if we do not get that place, we can get other place?
Prabhupāda: So...
Bhavānanda: Kīrtana? (break)
Girirāja: This morning you gave the hint that there might be envious persons coming to take away our properties, so in the GBC meeting we discussed this point, that... A committee of us six was made to resolve this. So basically what we did is we made a model trust deed which can be used for all of the Indian properties. There may be three trustees for each property. And the basic point of the trust deed is that the property rests with these trustees and that they have no right to sell or mortgage or dispose of the property in any way. That is the basic point. And then we have proposed three trustees for each of the properties. So...
Prabhupāda: But there will be finally the trustees. And there may be one advisory board to... Pick up some friends and make an advisory board. They are not final. Final is trustee. Anything to be done should be considered first of all by the advisory board, and then if it should be sanctioned by the trustees, then it can be done. So some friends, we can make an advisory...
Correspondence
1967 Correspondence
He publicly promised this in the temple while meeting was going on Janmastami day organized by me. Unfortunately a demonstration was made by one woman who made a great show by crying that Panchu has cheated her by Rs 800/-. This show of the woman and subsequent adverse letters by other envious persons marred the whole project. Since then I could understand that no improvement in the Radha Damodara Temple can be made under such condition. The cheating of Panchu by 800/ rupees was subsequently confirmed before me by one woman disciple of Gauracandra Gosain. I remained silent and this the first time I am disclosing the fact before you.
1969 Correspondence
I shall send you later on the reprint pictures published in the local newspapers, and you will be glad to learn that about 10,000 people participated in this function. The procession was taken along about an 8 mile distance, and the people followed all through, simply chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra. This was a unique scene in this part of the world. Some of the Christian-minded people became almost envious, and I have received some anonymous letters. Maybe as our movement increases in volume the orthodox section of Christianity may be envious of our successful march. I think you should collect some information from the Bible that Sankirtana, chanting of the Holy Names of God, is recommended there also. There is a book called Aquarian Gospel in which it is stated that Lord Jesus Christ lived in the temple of Jagannatha. Without being His devotee, how could he live there and how the authorities could allow a nondevotee to live there? From that book it appears that Lord Jesus Christ lived in intimate relations with the priest order.
1970 Correspondence
That is the nature of third class men. My Guru Maharaja once told this story; one friend informed another that one man has become the High-Court Judge. "Oh no," he replied, "No. That cannot be right." "Yes, he is now a Judge," said the first friend. "I have seen him sitting on the bench." The second man replied, "Maybe. But I don't think he is getting any salary." Such envious men will find out some fault anywhere. There is no fault, actually, but they will manufacture some fault. That is their business. So many persons were envious of my Guru Maharaja, but He was preaching and did not care for them.
1972 Correspondence
You are American boys and girls, you have got the best brains, now cooperate to place this Krishna Consciousness movement at the front of all others, that is my request.
You are having difficulty with police-force, that is to be expected. This material world is so full of danger, even from our so-called "protectors." But we have got the best Protector, Krishna, so do not worry about anything police or other envious persons. In one stroke Krishna can finish them all. But you may get some relief in this connection if you can approach very carefully some leading members of the city government, or big, big men of the town, and convince them by your words and behavior that our devotees are not in any way unworthy persons, that in fact they have left their lives of criminals to try to turn others away from being criminals, and that if simply we get a little facility we can render immense service to the cause of law and order. Like that, if you are sincere and cool-headed, they will appreciate after some time—and if only one of such big, big leaders understands the real fact, that is sufficient to stop all further cases of police attacks.
1975 Correspondence
Thank you for your letter dated December 2, 1975.
You always have my blessings, the father always wishes that the son may be more successful than himself. This is the spiritual conception. If one is doing well, then the materialistic persons become envious and try to check his progress. This was actually so with Prahlada Maharaja, he was only 5 years old, he was preaching Krishna consciousness to his school friends, and the father Hiranyakasipu became so envious that he attempted to kill his 5 year old son in so many ways. Krishna consciousness is just the opposite, if someone is doing well then the attitude of the devotee is to give him all facility to go on and improve more and more.
Yes we are running on the mercy of the spiritual master, to understand this point is to get mercy more and more. Yasya prasadat bhagavata prasada.
1976 Correspondence
They have made all plans to avoid God, and our plan is that they accept God. The struggle will become acute, because formerly they thought we were simply hippies, but now they see our books, that we are here to stay. The professors are writing books, like Hare Krishna and Counter Culture, beginning to realize that Hare Krishna is here to stay. So, now the people are becoming envious that in such a short time we are so well known. Do not be discouraged by these fools and rascals, and simply push on sincerely and Krishna will save you.
Actually if we can take up the government, our movement will be very easily spread and beneficial to the people. We can make happy, peaceful men, God conscious—this is our aim. The main thing is to distribute books more and more. That remark by the man in Houston is to your credit, that this movement is becoming an epidemic. Actually, everywhere envious people are against this movement, especially communists, because this movement is a threat to them. The main thing is to distribute books—the communist idea is spread practically all over the world on account of distributing huge amounts of literature, but they have no substance. Introduce Rathayatra very nicely and distribute books. Yes, you are welcome to join me. I wanted that besides my permanent secretary that one of the GBC's may accompany me regularly.
| Page Title: | Envious persons |
| Compiler: | Mihir, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 07 of Sep, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=32, CC=12, OB=5, Lec=34, Con=21, Let=7 |
| No. of Quotes: | 113 |