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I was surprised to hear from one of my principal disciples, Brahmananda - I was walking in the Central Park - that the groups of the hippies, they have begun to worship hogs

Expressions researched:
"I was surprised to hear from one of my principal disciples, Brahmānanda—I was walking in the Central Park—that the groups of the hippies, they have begun to worship hogs"

Lectures

General Lectures

I was surprised to hear from one of my principal disciples, Brahmānanda—I was walking in the Central Park—that the groups of the hippies, they have begun to worship hogs.

We have suffered during our birth. We have forgotten. As a child, as a baby, we remained within the abdomen of our mother, tightly placed in a airtight bag for ten months, and I could not move even, and there are insects biting me. I could not protest. But we have forgotten. After coming out, we had . . . our sufferings are there. Mother is taking so much care, undoubtedly; still, the child is crying. Why it cries? It has got some suffering, but he cannot express. There are some bugs biting or some pains within somewhere. The child is crying, crying. The mother does not know how to pacify it. So in this way our suffering has begun from the womb of our mother.

And then I do not wish to go to school. I am forced to go to school. I do not wish to study. The teachers give me tasks. If you just study, analyze your life, it is full of suffering. Full of suffering. But we have no inquiry. We have no inquiry. This is not education. Therefore Brahma-sūtra says, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now you should inquire why you are suffering. Is there any remedy for suffering?" Then, if there is remedy, then you must take it. You must take advantage of the remedy. But we are callous. We do not care for it. This is not good.

Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva says to His sons, "My dear sons, now you have got this opportunity. Out of 8,400,000's of lives, take . . ." Forget Ṛṣabhadeva's sons. I will speak to the American boys and girls. Now you have got very nice body, very beautiful body, very nice country. You have no poverty. So many ways, you have an advantage than other nations. So if you apply this instruction of Ṛṣabhadeva to His sons . . . Ṛṣabhadeva spoke to His sons does not mean only it was meant for His sons. It is meant for the whole human race.

So he says that, "My dear boys, this body, this nice body, beautiful body, this own flesh body, is not meant for sense gratification like the cats and dogs and hogs." He says that kaṣṭān kāmān na arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye: "By hard labor, by hard work, culminating into sense gratification, simply for that satisfaction if we spoil our life, oh, it is not very good." Take that instruction to your life also, that you are very nicely placed, but according to Ṛṣabhadeva's instruction, you should not spoil this beautiful life simply for sense gratification.

Why? Ṛṣabhadeva answered, "That sense gratification process is there, viḍ-bhujām." Viḍ-bhujām means the stool-eaters. What animal is the stool-eater? The hogs. This kind of sense gratification, working day and night hard, is available even in hog's life. Therefore, you have got so nice, beautiful body. You should not imitate the hogs. You see?

I was surprised to hear from one of my principal disciples, Brahmānanda—I was walking in the Central Park—that the groups of the hippies, they have begun to worship hogs.

(aside) You can explain that. You can explain that, why they are doing.

This is not very hopeful. You see? After having this nice body, nice country, nice civilization, nice education, the result is hog worshiping.

(aside) Will you explain today? Still silent?

Brahmānanda: Yes. We have experience not only in New York City but many places around the country—I'm sure you're familiar—of worshiping hogs. Many places where we go chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, the Lord's name, we've experience of groups of young people chanting "hog, hog, hog."

This is going on in New York City. And also they actually have parades where they parade with hogs and pigs. And they bow down before the pigs, and they worship the pigs. And they want the hogs to become . . . they want to run the hog for president, and they want the hogs to lead them.

And it's even gone to such lengths that at one be-in—this was in Seattle—there was a massive demonstration with hogs. There, boys and girls undressed themselves and got in the mud, and they just played with the hogs. Dirty, just living like the hogs and pigs, which they worship.

Young man: You don't think there's some irony in that?

Prabhupāda: So anyway, this hog worship was anticipated long, long ago. Otherwise, how they could be described in the Bhāgavatam, which was compiled at least five thousand years ago? Anyway, the idea is that beautiful life, beautiful education, beautiful situation should be utilized for beautiful end, not degrade to the platform of hog worship. That is not very palatable thing, at least.

So Ṛṣabhadeva says: "My dear boys, the sense gratification process after hard work day and night is available in the hog's life. That is not a very important thing. This human form of life is meant for different purpose." And that purpose he explains that, tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattva śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam (SB 5.5.1). "This human form of life is meant for austerity and penance."

You will find in the history of Vedic literature, there were many, many exalted emperors and kings, they also gave to the . . . led to the practice of austerity and penance. Dhruva Mahārāja, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja—they were all kings. They were called rājarṣi. Rājarṣi means although they were king, most opulent, still, they were great sages.

Page Title:I was surprised to hear from one of my principal disciples, Brahmananda - I was walking in the Central Park - that the groups of the hippies, they have begun to worship hogs
Compiler:SharmisthaK
Created:2022-09-13, 07:35:03
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1