Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanisource | Go to Vanimedia


Vaniquotes - the compiled essence of Vedic knowledge


Impression (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG Introduction -- New York, February 19-20, 1966:

Now when we are such materially contaminated, that is called our conditioned stage. Conditioned stage. And the false ego, the false consciousness... The false consciousness is exhibited under the impression that "I am one of the product of this material nature." That is called false ego. The whole material activities, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke, one who is absorbed in the thought of bodily conception. Now, the whole Bhagavad-gītā was explained by the Lord because Arjuna represented himself with bodily conception. So one has to get free from the bodily conception of life. That is the preliminary activity for a transcendentalist who wants to get free, who wants to be liberated. And he has to learn first of all that he is not this material body. So this consciousness, or material consciousness, when we are freed from this material consciousness, that is called mukti.

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

In the gross material concept of life we are under the impression that "I am this body." Therefore we are concerned with the senses. If our senses are gratified, we think we are now satisfied. So this is the gross type of existence, I mean to say, existence of ignorance. Illusion. Māyā. When one is under the thought that "I am this," this is illusion. Illusion means you accept something, something is presented as reality, and you accept it. Just like the example is given water in the desert. Mirage. There is no water, but a, an animal is hankering, is running after water in the desert. That is practical, that due to sunshine there is a reflection, it appears in the desert. Sometimes you might have seen—not here, in India we have seen several times—that exactly there is a vast water, and it is reflecting, the reflection. That is called mirage. There is not a drop of water, but the animal, when he is thirsty he..., it thinks that "There is water." He jumps into the desert and the water is going ahead, going ahead, and he is running after it and then dying. So this illusion, that "I am this body." So we are after this sense gratification. Body means the senses. So that is mirage, illusion. Just like the animal is running after water in the desert.

Lecture on BG 1.23 -- London, July 19, 1973:

So karmīs are like that. He will eat two capātis or four capātis, but he is working day and night. If you want to see him, he will say, "Oh, I have no time." He does not think at any time that "I am interested to eat four capātis, which can be very easily available. So why I am working so hard?" But that sense does not come. He is working, working, working, "More money, more money, more money, more money, more money." The Bhāgavata says, "No, no. This is not your business." The four capātis is already destined to you; you will get, any circumstances. You don't waste your time simply under some false impression of economic development. Don't waste your time. You cannot get more, you cannot get less. That is already there. So you utilize your time for understanding Kṛṣṇa. That is your business. People will not accept it. "Oh, this is a waste of time. Attending the class of Bhagavad-gītā, this is waste of time. By this time I could have earned hundreds of dollars." That is their business. That is called durbuddhi, durbuddhi, not very intelligent. All mūḍha, asses.

Lecture on BG 1.43 -- London, July 30, 1973:

Even Brahma is the controller of the whole universe. Just like in our government there is system. One department... Several departments is being managed by another director. Several directors is being managed by another secretary. As... The same system. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme proprietor, sarva-loka-maheśvara (BG 5.29), and He has got many secretaries, assistants. They are called Brahmā. So Brahmā means the manager of one brahmāṇḍa, universe. And there are millions of Brahmās, millions, trillions. They are numberless. Ananta-koṭi. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭiḥ (Bs. 5.40). Koṭi. Koṭi means unlimited. Jagad-aṇḍa. Jagad-aṇḍa means universe. Brahmāṇḍa or jagad-aṇḍa. Aṇḍa. Aṇḍa means it is egg-shaped, round, egg-shaped. Therefore it is called aṇḍa, brahmāṇḍa. Bhū-gola. Gola means round. I have heard that before the science, the people were under the impression that this world is square. Is it not?

Lecture on BG 2.1 -- Ahmedabad, December 6, 1972:

This is the material world. There are 8,400,000 types or forms of this material body, and we are wandering, sarva-gata, in different planets, in different forms. This is material world. And in the material world, whatever form we may have, we have got attachment for this body. Not only attachment, we are under the impression that "I am this body." Everyone. That is material conception of life.

So that thing happened to Arjuna. In the battlefield, he identified himself as the body. He thought himself that he belongs to the Kuru family, and his family relatives, his, other side, his brother, nephews, or his grandfather... So he refused to fight. "My dear Kṛṣṇa..." After placing the chariot between the two parties, senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṁ sthāpaya me acyuta (BG 1.21). And then he become very much disturbed that "I have to kill the other side, my brother and my nephews, my grandfather. No, no. Kṛṣṇa, I cannot. No. This is not possible. I shall not fight." This is the stage of Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa became very much dissatisfied. Of course, Arjuna played the part of a conditioned soul. A conditioned soul is under the impression that he's the body. That is animal life. In the śāstra it is said, "Anyone who is identifying himself with this material body, he is animal." Go-kharaḥ. Sa eva go-kharaḥ. Go means cows, and khara means ass.

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

We commit mistake, everyone. We commit mistakes and we are sometimes illusioned. Illusioned. That we can make experiment, that every one of us at the present moment is illusioned. How it is? That I have..., am not this body, but I am accepting this body as "I am." The whole world is—I may say whole world, but at least the majority portion—everyone is under the impression that "I am this body." But I am not this body. I am soul. That will be instructed in the Bhaga... I am not this body. I am soul. I am spirit soul. There are so many evidences. If I am this body, then when the soul is not there, the living entity is not there, the body is simply a lump of matter. That is the difference between a dead body and living body. Living body means that the soul is there. Therefore the body is moving. And as soon as the soul is not there, the body is nothing but a lump of matter. I think somebody as my father. I call, "Father," Father immediately replies, "Yes, my son." But when the soul of the father is not there, then the father, this body of the father, whom I am seeing as father, although he is there, still, he cannot reply. This is the distinction.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- New York, March 4, 1966:

Just like my children, my wife, my relatives, my father, my mother, my brother, my nation, my society—everything is due to this bodily relation. And there are thousands of women loitering in the street of New York, and suppose I have got some ma..., bodily connection with you, I call you my wife. And because I have got bodily relation with you, all the children produced by you, they are my children. You see? So whole thing is... The basic principle is wrong, that "I am this body." Now, from the expansion of the body, the whole thing, the whole thing is false. Because I am not this body, so my expansion of body is also not I am. But whole world is going on on this false impression. The whole world is going on.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

So the whole world is under this impression of taking the body as the self. Another example we can give you. Just like some of your relatives. Suppose my father has died. Now I am crying, "Oh, my father is gone. My father is gone." But if somebody says, "Why do you say your father is gone? He is lying here. Why you are crying?" "No, no, no, that is his body. That is his body. My father is gone." Therefore in our present calculation I am seeing your body, you are seeing my body, nobody is seeing the actual person. After death, he comes to sense: "Oh, it is not my father; it is my father's body." You see? So we become intelligent after death. And while we are living, we are in ignorance. This is the modern civilization. While living... Just like people have insurance policy to get some money. So that money is received after death, not during life. Sometimes during life also. So my point is that so long we are living, we are in ignorance. We do not know "What is my father, what is my brother, what I am." But everyone is under the impression, "This body is my father, this body is my child, this body is my wife." This is called ignorance.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

So therefore I am a spirit soul. I am part and parcel of God. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is the Vedic education. Try to understand that you do not belong to this material world. You belong to the spiritual world. You are part and parcel of God. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). In the Bhagavad-gītā, God says that "All living entities are My part and parcels." Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati (BG 15.7). He's undergoing a great struggle for life under the impression, under the bodily impression that he is this body, but this kind of impression or understanding is animal civilization. Because the animals are also eating, sleeping, having sex intercourse, and defending in their own way. So if we also, human being, if we are engaged with all these business, namely eating, sleeping, sex intercourse, and defending, then we are not better than the animals. The special prerogative of the human being is to understand "What I am? I am this body or something else?" Actually, I am not this body. I have given you so many examples.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

So our present situation is that the whole civilization is going on under the wrong impression that everyone is the body. That is not a fact. Therefore, this Kṛṣṇa kīrtana, this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, it has got a special effect. It is... Don't think this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is ordinary sound vibration. It is spiritual vibration. It is called mahā-mantra. Mahā-mantra. Just like... I do not know in your country whether there's snake chanters. In India still, there are many snake chanters, enchanters, I am sorry. So they chant some mantra, and a man, snake-bitten, can be revived to his consciousness. Anyone Indian present here, they know. Still. Especially I have seen in Punjab, there are many snake enchanters who know the how to chant the mantras. So if it is physically possible that a dead man... Of course, when a man is bitten by a snake he's not dead. He becomes unconscious. He's not dead.

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

That's a fact. Now suppose such big ocean. Are you proprietor? We are claiming that I am proprietor of this land or this sea. But actually, before my birth, the sea was there, the land was there, and after my death, the sea will be there, the land will be there. When I become proprietor? Just like in this hall. Before we entered this hall, the hall was existing, and when we leave this hall, the hall will exist. Then when we become proprietor? If we falsely claim that sitting here for one hour or half an hour, we have become proprietor, that is false impression. So one has to understand that we are neither proprietor nor enjoyer. Bhoktāraṁ yajña... God is the enjoyer. And God is the proprietor. Sarva-loka-maheśvaram. And suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29), He's the best friend of everyone. He's not friend only of the human society. He's friend of the animal society. Because every living entity is God's son. How we can be otherwise treating man in some way and animal in other way? No. God is actually perfect friend of all living entities. If we simply understand these three things, then we become peaceful, immediately.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Hyderabad, November 19, 1972:

We began this verse yesterday. This is the criterion of understanding spiritual life. People generally do not understand that there is another element beyond this body. Generally, people, they are under the impression that "I am this body. I am Indian." Why I am Indian? Because this body's born in India. Therefore, I'm Indian. "I am American." Why? "Because body is born in America; therefore I am American." Similarly, this dehātma-buddhiḥ, bodily concept of life, is going on all over the world. This is ignorance, ajñāna. This is called ajñāna. Jñāna and ajñāna. Jñāna means one who knows that he is not this body. He's spirit soul. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. (aside:) (about microphone) It is... Little strong make it, yes. So when one is freed from the bodily concept of life, he called jñānī.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Hyderabad, November 19, 1972:

So these things were discussed, but that was not the main case. The main case was whether Arjuna was to fight and to kill the other party. He was thinking very seriously. So Kṛṣṇa in the beginning said that: "You are lamenting on the point that your brothers, your grandfather, they will die." That is the general impression of the people, that "I die, you die." But Bhagavad-gītā says, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Nobody dies, even after the destruction of this body. This is the beginning of that instruction. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. We are eternal. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yam, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Now where is the knowledge? We are traveling all over the world. We have never seen any university or any department of knowledge where this technique is instructed, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. There is no such instruction. So just try to understand, in the name of education, how people are placed in ignorance. They are thinking that hanyamāne śarīre, hanyate. After killing the body, the body's finished, the man is finished.

Lecture on BG 2.13-17 -- Los Angeles, November 29, 1968:

It is my ignorance that I see that it is no more separate, it has mixed with the sky. Just like in the daytime we don't find any star in the sky. Due to the dazzling sunshine, we cannot see any stars. At night, we can see millions of stars, there are. Similarly, that is the impersonalism and personalism. One whose knowledge is not perfect, they think imperson, everything homogeneous. And one whose knowledge is perfect... Vedas also confirm it... Just like in the Īśopaniṣad, there is a verse in which it is stated that "Please withdraw Your effulgence so that I can see Your real face." Just like the sun globe. You cannot see it perfectly due to the dazzling sunshine. But the sun globe is there, and in the glow there are living entities, and there is a principal head man, god. They are not man because their body is made of fire. So similarly, the first, impersonal impression, Brahman, then further advanced, Supersoul, and when further advanced, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). First realization, Brahman, impersonal; the second realization is Paramātmā, Supersoul; and the last realization is the personal form of God, Kṛṣṇa. Go on.

Lecture on BG 2.14 -- Germany, June 21, 1974:

Here in the Western country, big, big professor, they are also under the same impression, that when the body is finished, everything is finished. No. That is not. Therefore that is the beginning of instruction. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). You are changing different bodies. By finishing the body, you are not finished. You are not finished. We can understand with little thinking that in this body I am..., even in this life. At night I get another body. I dream. I dream there is tiger. I go to the forest, and there is a tiger, and it is coming to kill me. Then I am crying, and actually I am crying. Or, in other way, I have gone to some beloved, man and woman. We are embracing, but the bodily action is going on.

Lecture on BG 2.18 -- London, August 24, 1973:

So we have to see through the authorized books the description which is beyond our perception. Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet. Tarkeṇa, by argument, which is beyond your sense perception. So many things. Even we see daily so many planets, stars in the sky, but we have no information. They are going directly to see the moon planet, but hopelessly coming back. It is very doubtful to say so. And they have got dogmatic impression: "Except this planet, in other planets, so many, there is no life." These are not perfect understanding. From śāstra-yoni, if you want to see through the śāstra... Just like moon planet. We have got information from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that there, the people, they live for ten thousands of years. And what is that measurement of year? Our six months equal to their one day. Now such ten thousands of years, just imagine. It is called daiva-varṣa. Daiva-varṣa means year according to the demigods' calculation. Just like Brahmā's day, that is demigods' calculation. Sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ (BG 8.17). We have got information from Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says that they calculate the years of the demigods. Everyone's year is calculated. This is called... This is accepted by the modern science, relative truth or the law of relativity. A small ant, he has got also hundred years' age, but the ant's hundred years and our hundred years different. This is called relative. According to your size of body, everything in relationship. Our hundred years and Brahmā's hundred years, that is different. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said calculate like this: sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ (BG 8.17).

Lecture on BG 2.19 -- London, August 25, 1973:

Simply by, guided by mental speculation, manaḥ, and assisted by the senses, they are struggling so hard. And if they come back to Me they can live so nicely, as My friend, as My lover, as My father, as My mother, Vṛndāvana. So claim again, call them." That... Therefore, Kṛṣṇa comes. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya (BG 4.7). Because the whole world is running on under the false impression of sense enjoyment, therefore He comes and advises, sarva-dharmān parityajya: (BG 18.66) "You rascal, give up all this engagement. Don't be proud that you are scientifically advanced. You are all rascals. Give up this nonsense. Come to Me. I'll give you protection." This is Kṛṣṇa. How merciful He is. And the same business should be done by Kṛṣṇa's servant. Not to become a great yogi, magic player. No, that is not required. Simply speak what Kṛṣṇa says. Then you become spiritual master. Don't speak anything nonsense. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also said, yāre dekha tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa (CC Madhya 7.128). Simply you preach the instruction of Kṛṣṇa, whomever you meet. Then you become spiritual master. That's all. Very simple thing.

Lecture on BG 2.24 -- Hyderabad, November 28, 1972:

Now, under the influence of nature, I am thinking, "I am the servant of my wife," "I am servant of the society," "I am servant of my nation," "I am servant of my cat," "I am servant of my dog." And we are doing that, actually. Everyone is working under this impression. Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). This is illusion. You have to come to the platform of sanātana. What is that eternal? "I am eternally servant of Kṛṣṇa." That is sanātana-dharma. I am not servant of this or that or that. No. I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that every living entity is, in his original position of Kṛṣṇa consciousness... At the present moment we have got different consciousness. That is māyā. This is mental concoction. I am thinking that "I'll be happy in this way." That is a mental concoction. You cannot be happy unless you surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 2.30 -- London, August 31, 1973:

The more you see Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, twenty-four hours engagement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness means you'll be practiced to see Kṛṣṇa always. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. You cannot forget Kṛṣṇa even for a moment. And that is the instruction. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). These four things. When there is Deity in the temple, you see and you get the impression. When out of the temple also you can see within you heart, if you have developed love for Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, officially, you come to the temple and as soon as... "Botheration, let me forget it." That is another thing. But the whole process is meant for developing love for Kṛṣṇa. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Bhaktir adhokṣaje. That is first-class religious system. This is first-class religious system. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the first-class, topmost religious system. Why? It is educating people to think of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, always. Loving.

Lecture on BG 2.49-51 -- New York, April 5, 1966:

Similarly, God consciousness, we shall have to mold our life in that way that in the midst of our very grave duties, serious duties, we shall always remember the Supreme, the Supreme, in every step. That discrimination, that much love, we have to develop. And therefore we require guide, how to develop. How to develop that, we require guide. We haven't got to change anything. Let us, let us remain our, in our position, but at the same time, simultaneously, side by side, let us have spiritual culture. Just like we are holding this class. This is also spiritual culture, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam (SB 7.5.23). With your multifarious duties you come here thrice in a week and try to understand. This is also spiritual culture. This will not go in vain. This will give you impression. Even you stop coming here, that impression will never go. I tell you the that impression will never go. It is such a thing. But if we take it up very seriously and go on molding our life in that way, then it becomes quickly successful.

Lecture on BG 3.1-5 -- Los Angeles, December 20, 1968:

Yes. This is very important point. Sometimes it is thought that spiritual life means to retire from active life. That is general impression. People think that for cultivation of spiritual knowledge or self-realization they should go to some Himalayan caves or some secluded place. That is also recommended. But that sort of recommendation is meant for persons who are unable to engage themselves in activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Lord Kṛṣṇa is teaching Arjuna how one can remain in his position. Never mind whatever he is, still he can become perfectly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the whole substance of the teachings of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

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

That means the senses and the mind and intelligence. "In three strategic positions, the formidable enemy..." That means ignorance that I am trying to lord it over the material nature, this ignorance. This is ignorance because I cannot lord it over the material nature. It is impossible. I am not so powerful that I can become the master of the material nature.

The whole world's activity is going on under this impression that "We shall be able to conquer over the material nature." This modern scientific advancement of knowledge is aiming in that way. But it is not possible. Because we are not actually the master of the material nature. That is an ignorance. That is an ignorance. We are trying to enjoy the material resources to our best, but that is not possible. That is called illusion.

Lecture on BG 4.6-8 -- New York, July 20, 1966:

So this is the beginning. We are originally, our function is to render service, and where the service is to be rendered? To the Supreme. That is our natural position. Now, under designation, we are rendering the same service to so many things. That function is already there. Because... Just like the water. Water is liquid always, either black water, or green water or yellow water, or white water, it is always liquid. Because the water has become black, it does not mean the liquidity is lost. Similarly, because we are now in contact with material designation, so our services atti..., service attitude is not lost. That is there. But it is being rendered in a different way. So we have to clear out the pure water out of all designations, and...

Just like Arjuna. Arjuna, he was under the impression of this material existence. Therefore he refused to render service to the Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa wanted that he should fight. He refused, "No, I am not going to fight." But when he understood his position by, by the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā, he agreed, "Yes, I shall fight."

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

Of course, there are devotees who are trying to become servant. They are trying. The devotional service means, Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to train people how to become servant of God. That is all.

Because everyone is under the impression that I am God, I am master, I am proprietor. This illusion. To dissipate this illusion and to put him into the right position, that "you are not master, you are not enjoyer, you are simply eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." If you remain in that position, then you are happy. If you artificially try to become Kṛṣṇa, that is your unhappiness. Artificial thing will never give us any pleasure. Prakṛti and puruṣa. Kṛṣṇa is the puruṣa. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān, puruṣaṁ divyaṁ śāśvatam (BG 10.12). He is puruṣa, we are prakṛti. Aparā-prakṛti, parā-prakṛti.

Lecture on BG 4.9 -- Bombay, March 29, 1974:

Meditation means as you see the form of Kṛṣṇa, and whenever you go, the impression of the form will be within your eyes, and if you think of Kṛṣṇa, your life is succesful. Therefore the Deity of Kṛṣṇa should be seen. That is the benefit of the eyes. The ears should be engaged hearing about Kṛṣṇa. The tongue should be engaged for eating Kṛṣṇa's remnants of foddstuff, prasādam. The nose should be engaged for smelling the flower which is offered to Kṛṣṇa, or the tulasī. In this way, when you engage all your senses, the legs should be utilized for coming to this temple to see Kṛṣṇa. Not to going to the cinema rascal. Then your life will be successful. You'll understand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is very kind. He says teṣāṁ satata-yuktānām (BG 10.10), if you engage all your senses for understanding Kṛṣṇa with devotion and faith, prīti-purvakam, with love, the love is the basic principle of understanding Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on BG 4.11 -- Vrndavana, August 3, 1974:

Just like if you merge into the ocean... They give this example, generally. So they think that by merging, by dipping into the ocean, they become also ocean. That is not possible. You become controlled by the ocean. Suppose you dip, you dive into the ocean. Does it mean that you become ocean? You become controlled by the ocean. They are under the impression that "I am now a small drop. So if I merge into the ocean, the Brahman, then I'll become Brahman." Is that a very reasonable proposal? You are a drop of water. Scientifically, what is said? Suppose a drop of water is mixed in with the sea water, does it mean the drop becomes sea? What is your scientific explanation?

Lecture on BG 4.11 -- Vrndavana, August 3, 1974:

The example is given: just like a green bird enters into the green tree. It does not mean that the bird is mixed. No. The bird is keeping its independence as an individual. But it appears to others, those who do not see properly, that it has merged into the tree. It has actually not merged. And because it does not merge, therefore they fall down. They again come out. That is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that ye 'nye 'ravindākṣa vimukta-māninaḥ... Vimukta-māninaḥ. They are thinking, "Now I have become one with the Supreme." But actually, that is a false impression. Māninaḥ. Māninaḥ means actually it is not fact, but he's thinking like that. Vimukta-māninaḥ.

Lecture on BG 4.14 -- Bombay, April 3, 1974:

I have talked with many big, big professors. They are under the impression, atheism, voidism, that after death there is nothing; everything is void, finished. Atheism. Bhasmi-bhūtasya dehasya punar āgamanaṁ kutaḥ: "The body is burned into ashes. Who is coming again?" This is atheism. Because the atheists, they cannot see that how the soul is transmigrated by the subtle body from one body to another. They have no... gross, gross materialists. So we should not follow the gross materialists, but we should follow the perfect leader, Kṛṣṇa, who says, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). This we must follow. That is human civilization.

Lecture on BG 4.19 -- Bombay, April 8, 1974:

They are under the impression that we'll make the people escaping. But that is not the fact. We are actually distributing knowledge. Jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṇam. When one becomes actually on the platform of knowledge, then he does not work like an ass. But people want that people should work like ass. That is the difficulty. That is... There is a clash between our movement and others. They want to make all people to work hard like an ass, and we say that they... There is a difference of philosophy. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). We are preaching the, nāyaṁ deha nṛloke, in the human society, this is not meant for working so hard, like an ass, like a hog, simply for sense gratification. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke.

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

Four defects. I have several times explained. One defect is that we commit mistake, everyone. And we become illusioned, accepting something for something. Just like mostly, even educated persons, they accept this body, "I am this body." Just like animals. The cats and dogs, they also think that "I am this body." I have several times told you that I talked with Professor Kotofsky in Moscow. He said, "After finishing this body, Swamiji, everything is finished." He said like that. And he is a big professor. And according to our Vedic culture, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). If one is going on under this impression that "I am this body," he is go-khara, ass and cow, means animal. Therefore they do not know how we are accepting different bodies under karma, by associating with especial...

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

The mind, I am spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. As soon as the mind is contaminated, I rebel, because I have got little independence. "Why shall I serve Kṛṣṇa or God? I am God." It is simply a dictation from the mind. And the whole situation turns. He's under false impression, illusion, and the whole life is spoiled. And who has failed to do so, if we fail to conquer the mind, we are trying to conquer so many things, empire, but if we fail to conquer our mind, then even you conquer an empire, that is a failure. His very mind will be the greatest enemy. Go on.

Lecture on BG 6.21-27 -- New York, September 9, 1966:

So one who has taken shelter there, for him this great ocean of nescience is just like the water containing on the impression of calf leg. Of course, you have no experience. In India I have got experience because these calves and cows, they go on the pasturing ground, and in rainy season their hoofs makes holes, and in that hole there are some water. So that water... This great ocean is compared like that water. So nobody has any difficulty to cross over it. So bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padam: "And for them, those who have taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for them is waiting paraṁ padam, the supreme abode." Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām: (SB 10.14.58) "This place, wherein every step there is danger, this place is unfit for them." Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām. It is very nice. So yasmin sthito na duḥkhena guruṇāpi vicālyate (Bg. 6.20-23). If we are actually situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, under the shelter of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, then guruṇāpi duḥkhena, very heaviest type of danger may be before me—I shall not be disturbed. Or anyone who has taken the shelter like that, he will never be disturbed. He will never be disturbed.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Nairobi, October 27, 1975:

Śyāmasundara. You have come to this temple. Here is Śyāmasundara's form. You see always. Come as many times as you like. See the ārati. Hear the kīrtana. See the Deity nicely dressed. In this way the impression of God will be within your mind. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena. And when you have got this impression, if you always meditate upon Kṛṣṇa as Kṛṣṇa advises, man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, man-manāḥ, "Always think of Me," that is the perfect yoga system.

Lecture on BG 7.1-2 -- Bombay, March 28, 1971:

It is simply awakened. Not that artificially we are imposing some impression to the minds of our students that they are hankering after "Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa..." No. It is a process to remove all the dirty things from the heart. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). And as soon as the heart is cleansed of all dirty things, material contamination, then we can see what is our relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa recommends that "Somehow or other, you try to be attached to Me." And the Gosvāmīs also, Rūpa Gosvāmī recommends, yena tena prakāreṇa manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet: "Somehow or other, try to apply your mind in Kṛṣṇa." It is not very difficult. Here is Kṛṣṇa's form, arcā-mūrti. If you constantly see Kṛṣṇa's form, śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpam Acintya-guṇa-svarūpam. Kṛṣṇa is acintya-guṇa-svarūpam; therefore He is nirguṇa. Generally, guṇa means these material qualities: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. But when we speak of nirguṇa, that means we transcend the guṇas of this material world. Guṇamayī mama māyā.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Montreal, June 3, 1968:

Vatsa-padam means a, just a... You have no such experience. In India, in village, during rainy season the cows and the calf pass on the roads, and there is impression, and there is some water. That is called vatsa-padam, water in the pot or in the hole impressed by the hoof of the cow and calves. That water, anyone, such hundreds of water spot one can cross very easily. Similarly, if anyone takes shelter of the boat, the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, for him this great ocean of nescience becomes just like vatsa-padam. That means very easily one can cross. And this place... Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām (SB 10.14.58). "This material world, where in every step there is danger, this place is not for them." For whom? "One who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa."

But unfortunately we take this ocean of nescience as very pleasant place. This is the spell of māyā. Where there is danger in every step, but we are thinking we are very happy, we are advancing in material civilization, and, as far as we can imagine, that we are very prosperous and everything. This is called māyā.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Bombay, March 29, 1971:

According to smārta-vidhi, unless one changes his body, he cannot be purified. That impression is going on in India, that unless one is born in Hindu family or born in brāhmaṇa family, kṣatriya, he cannot be accepted as brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, like that. But according to Vedic literature, that is not sanctioned. It is... To become a son of brāhmaṇa and to have the privilege of becoming a brāhmaṇa, certainly there is. Just like a boy born in a medical man's family, so he has got a chance, better chance, to become a medical man. Similarly, a boy born in a brāhmaṇa family, he has got better chance to become a brāhmaṇa. Or a boy born in kṣatriya family or vaiśya family, he has got better chance. But that does not mean simply by taking birth in a brāhmaṇa family or kṣatriya family, one becomes kṣatriya or brāhmaṇa. No. He has to acquire the qualities. That is stated in Bhagavad-gītā. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). And the qualification of brāhmaṇa is also stated there: satyaṁ śamaḥ damaḥ śaucaṁ titikṣā ārjavam āstikyam, jñānaṁ vijñānaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam. These are the characteristics of brāhmaṇa. Similarly, there are characteristics of kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Vrndavana, October 31, 1973:

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). First of all, to get out of the entanglement, this bodily conception of life. The bodily conception of life is meant for the animals. Even if he is human being, but if he is under the bodily concept of life... "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya," "I am fat," "I am thin," "I am white," "I am black," "I am..." If that is the identification, then he is not even human being. Ātma-tattva. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ. Abodha-jāta. Everyone is born that "I am this body," but if he continues to remain under the impression that "I am this body," then whatever he is doing under the bodily concept of life, he is parābhava. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ. Everything is defeat, because he is doing under the bodily concept of life. So this so-called nationalism, socialism, communism and this ism, that ism—they have manufactured—they are all defeat, defeating. They are being defeated because next life he does not know what he is going to become.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- Bombay, February 18, 1974:

So there are different kinds of men. So out of many such millions and trillions different kinds of men in the human form of life, some may attempt to achieve success of life. What is that success of life? Success of life—to understand his spiritual identity. At the present moment, being conditioned by the material nature, every man is working under the impression that "I am this body." "I am Indian because I got this body from India." "I'm American; I got this body from America." All bodily concept of life. Or "I'm Hindu because I'm born of a Hindu family," "I'm Christian because I'm born of a Christian family." These are all bodily identifications. When one goes above the bodily identifications, that is called siddhi. This is the explanation of siddhi. In the bodily platform, nobody can attain perfection. He's animal. Those who are in the bodily concept of life, those who are thinking that "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am African," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am Buddhist," they're all animals. They're not human beings.

Lecture on BG 9.4 -- Calcutta, March 9, 1972:

Sun globe is localized, but sunshine is very big. It is distributed all over the universe. But that does not mean that sunshine is more important than the sun globe. The sun globe is important, and the still more important is the sun-god. Within the sun globe there is sun-god, Vivasvān. He is a person. And there is also other living entities, their, all their bodies are made of fire. Here in the material science, they sterilize. They, they are under the impression that when there is too strong temperature, the microbes die, or when there is too cold, the microbes die. There are two kinds of sterilization: either by increasing the heat or decreasing the heat, below zero. But Bhagavad-gītā, from Bhagavad-gītā we understand, adāhyo 'yam: soul is never killed in fire, neither it is killed by extreme coldness. Nityaḥ śāśvato 'yam. Spirit cannot be counteracted by any material reaction.

Lecture on BG 9.20-22 -- New York, December 6, 1966:

That seriousness, one who has taken that serious attitude, they can actually perform this Kṛṣṇa consciousness very nicely. But those who are still under the impression that "Material advancement will make me happy," they are still under the spell of illusion. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). This planet, that planet, that planet, that planet, that planet. But in no planet nowhere you can have perfect peace of life. That is impossible. Therefore those who are intelligent, those who are by God's grace, Kṛṣṇa's grace, or by good association one who can understand that "This sort of life is not desirable. I must perform dṛḍha-vrata, with great determination and vow, in this life so that yad gatvā na nivartante (BG 15.6), I may be transferred into the Kṛṣṇaloka planet where going I shall not have to return back..." Now, the materialist says, "All right, you do not know whether you are going or not. You are giving up this material enjoyment. You are simply living on cāpāṭis. Oh, we have got so many palatable dishes, and you are not enjoying this. You are fool." So to these poor devotees who are taking cāpāṭis, the Lord says a very nice thing.

Lecture on BG 12.13-14 -- Bombay, May 12, 1974:

This is the process. Dṛḍha-niścaya. Mayy arpita-mano-buddhiḥ: Mind and intelligence is always focussed towards the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, mayy arpita, to the form of Kṛṣṇa. That is real meditation. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ. You come to the temple, take the impression of this Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and always think of Him. That is the highest, topmost yoga system.

Therefore the Deity worship is very important. If you are engaged in Deity worship, you always get impression of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī. And if you think of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī always within your heart, then you become the topmost yogi. Mayy arpita-mano-buddhiḥ. Yo mad-bhaktaḥ. "In this way, one who executes devotional service," sa me priyaḥ, "he is very dear to Me." So if you want to be dear, if you want to be seen by Kṛṣṇa, if you want to be seen by God, follow this instruction and your life will be successful. Thank you very much. (end)

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

Is it very difficult to be engaged in the service of the Lord? Not at all. Not at all. Why? Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto-mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). You are seeing Kṛṣṇa here, and you can think of this Kṛṣṇa always. There is no tax and there is no loss. Suppose if you come to the temple and you get the impression of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa so nice and if you keep within you heart... But that can be kept when you love. Just like if you love somebody, you always keep within your heart the form of your lover. Similarly, if you develop love of Kṛṣṇa, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Bs. 5.38). If you have actually developed love of Kṛṣṇa then you'll be able to keep Kṛṣṇa always within your heart. That Kṛṣṇa wants. Man-manā: "Always think of Me." Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65).

So to become devotee is not at all difficult. Without doing anything, if you simply follow this instruction of Kṛṣṇa, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto... Simply you think of Kṛṣṇa. Here is Kṛṣṇa. If you come in the temple, you get impression of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not nirakara. Here is Kṛṣṇa's akāra, dvi-bhūja-muralī-dhara. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritāḥ (BG 9.11).

Lecture on BG 16.7 -- Tokyo, January 27, 1975:

Suppose you are not thinking very well. Today my mind is very disturbed. That is called adhyātmika. I have got some pain in my body. That is also adhyātmika. Some friend or some animal has done some mischief to me. That is also suffering, adhibhautika. And adhidaivika. The earthquake. Nobody wants earthquake, but there is earthquake. This is adhidaivika. There is famine. There is pestilence. There is so many thing. So even if we are assured that we are not going to die, still, there are other sufferings. And, of course, there is no question of not dying. Everyone will have to die. Even you accept this place of suffering and if you are assured that you will live here permanently, still, you become happy, "All right, I will not die." But that is also not possible. Therefore aśāśvatam. Even if you make your arrangement very nicely that you will not suffer, but you will not be allowed to stay. Now just like in Tokyo city we are making very big, big buildings, everywhere, all over the world, to live very comfortably. But that comfortable life is also not assured because you will have to die. You will have to die. Therefore it is called aśāśvatam, not permanent. Even if you are under the impression that "I am very happy," that happiness also will not be allowed you for eternal time, it will be finished.

Lecture on BG 16.10 -- Hawaii, February 6, 1975:

They are simply busy with these bodily necessities of life. There is no education of the real living force. That education you will get—this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Therefore it is unique. It is the education to get people of the human society liberated from the animalistic ignorance. Because those who are under the impression of this bodily concept of life, sa eva go-kharaḥ: (SB 10.84.13) they are no better than the asses and the cows.

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
(SB 10.84.13)

Go-kharaḥ. Go-kharaḥ means... Go means cows, and kharaḥ means ass. The person is exactly the animal, cows or asses. Who? Now, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke: "One who has accepted this body as self." Ātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape. This is a bag, the bag of tri-dhātus. According to Ayurvedic medical science this body is working under three elements, kapha, pitta, vāyu. Therefore it is called tri-dhātu. So the whole world is going on on this concept of life. They have no spiritual. Even big, big professors, big, big, they also say that "This body is everything. After the body is finished, then everything is finished." But that is not the fact.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

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

So actually, as I was discussing in the press conference, this is knowledge. So long one is under the impression that he is this body, "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am South Indian," "I am North Indian," or "I am black," "I am white"—so many bodily concept of life—he is animal. That is the statement of the śāstra, and actually it is so. In the śāstra it is said,

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
(SB 10.84.13)

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

Lecture on SB 1.2.7 -- Delhi, November 13, 1973:

So anyone can take advantage. We are preaching this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that "You take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, your life will be perfect." And what is the perfection of life? Jñāna and vairāgya. Because everyone is working under the wrong impression that "I am this body," therefore he is ajñāna. He does not know that "I am not this body." As soon as he comes to the understanding that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul," then jñāna, immediately he will inquire, "Then what is the activities of the spirit soul? So far I have worked for the interest of my this body, but I have done nothing with the interest of my spirit, as I am. I am spirit soul." That is bhakti-yoga. The activities of the spirit soul, the activities of Brahman, is bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga is not material activities. Bhakti-yoga is spiritual, pure spiritual activities.

Lecture on SB 1.3.25 -- Los Angeles, September 30, 1972:

Vyāsadeva is incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. That we have described, eleventh or some avatāra. So the Kalki will appear. The śāstra is giving indication that after such and such year. And another point is this dasyu-prāyeṣu rājasu. The..., more and more the government will be just like thieves and rogues. We are already experiencing. Now a new law has been passed in India that nobody can keep property more than five to seven lakhs of rupees. So people's incentive to earn money is now being cut down. Formerly it was freedom that you can earn your money as much as you like. Now if you think that "I will earn money, hundreds and thousands of money," but what is the use? The government will take away. That means you will be lazy. The economic development will be checked. Because one who works so hard for economic development because he is under the inspiration that "The more I earn, I will be able to enjoy more." But when this impression is given that "More we earn, it will be taken by government, and I will not be able to enjoy it," naturally he will not work.

Lecture on SB 1.5.1-4 -- New Vrindaban, May 22, 1969:

But he was not satisfied even after his presentation of the Vedānta-sūtra. He summarized all the Vedic knowledge in sūtra—Sūtra means codes—so people may take advantage. Just like there are business codes, Bentley's codes, Henry's codes. So one or two words will give impression of volumes of knowledge. Businessmen, they need it to save the expenditure on wiring, on telegraphing. Just like CIF. "Accept your offering. CIF." CIF means "cost including freight." That means goods will be delivered at your door. So similarly, there are many codes in business matter. In military arts there are so many codes. So Vedānta-sūtra means codes of all Vedic knowledge. Sūtra. Sūtra means codes.

Lecture on SB 1.5.1-4 -- New Vrindaban, May 22, 1969:

So this philosophy is there always, and now it is very prominent that everyone wants to become God. So many swamis, they come to your country and they, "Oh, you are God, I am God, this God, that God." So this is going on. And in the lower stage they are grossly under the impression that "I am this body," "I am this mind," or "I am this intelligence." And later on, "I am God," and so many things. So this Bhāgavata, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, explains that Supreme from where everything is emanating. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). From the very beginning. Janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ. Very nicely. You have read our explanation, English explanation in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. What is that Supreme? That Supreme, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), that Supreme is abhijñaḥ. He knows everything. But the so-called cheap Gods, do they know everything? He does not know even what is going to happen in next moment. Just like I heard there was a "God," Meher Baba. He had came. And he did not know that he is going to meet with some motor accident, and still he claimed that he's God. You see?

Lecture on SB 1.5.36 -- Vrndavana, August 17, 1974:

Last night... (break) I described about the ten offenses... (break) Naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu (SB 1.2.18). Completely to become offenseless chanter of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra means, like Caitanya Mahāprabhu became mad in ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. Completely, if we can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra without any offense, then there is premodaya. That is the result. And almost offenselessly, not completely, then you become mukta, liberated. Mukta. That is stated in another place of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, naṣṭa-prāyeṣu. Naṣṭa-prāyeṣu means almost finished. Not completely finished. It is very difficult to finish the dirty things which have accumulated within our heart birth after birth. It is being accumulated. So many things, so many impression. All of a sudden you remember, which has no connection with your present activities, but all of a sudden you remember something which was in context with, say, many, many years ago. That means the dirty things are stocked within our heart. Just like in the water, in a pond sometimes you will find all of a sudden one bubble comes from within. Phat! That means the dirty things are within, stocked. (break) ...all of a sudden it comes. (break)

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Vrndavana, April 18, 1975:

So, under the influence of māyā, we are identifying with the different guṇas or qualities of this material world. So sattva-guṇa, yes, sattva-guṇa is the brahminical qualification. So one is thinking that "I am brāhmaṇa." One is thinking, who is under the control of rajo-guṇa, "I am kṣatriya." Or in other words, this is, this identification, is all over the world. Now you may not think, "I am brāhmaṇa," but you may think, "I am American." Or I may think, "I am Indian." There is some sort of identification. And therefore the whole world is full of anarthas, unnecessary, unnecessary thing. I am not brāhmaṇa; I am not Indian; you are not American; you are not kṣatriya; or... This is all false identification. So this is the work of māyā, that all the living entities they are under certain impression that "I am this. I am this." And this "I am this. I am that," they cannot make any solution.

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Vrndavana, April 18, 1975:

One cannot go beyond these three guṇas, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, or mixed. Three into three equal to nine, and again mix, nine into nine equals eighty-one. Therefore there are 8,400,000 species of living entities under the impression that "I am this; I am plant; I am fish; I am mosquito; I am man; I am demigod; I am tiger; I am Indian; I am American." In this way there are 8,400,000's of different types of identification. Therefore we find so many forms of life. Ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakaṁ manute. Yayā... This is all the work of māyā, to keep us under certain impression. And we work under certain impression and create another situation, and we get, "tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13)." Now, this life, if I create a situation like a dog, then I will get the body of a dog. That's all. Or if I create a situation like the demigod, then I can go to the heavenly planets. But if I create a situation that "I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa," then you go to Kṛṣṇa. This is wanted. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Vrndavana, April 18, 1975:

Because we have created so many problems under the impression of different guṇas... "I am this. I am that." To become sannyāsī, that is also another problem. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that "I am not a brāhmaṇa. I am not a sannyāsī. I am not a brahmacārī I am not a gṛhastha. I am not a kṣatriya." All "not, not." "I am not this, I am not this. My only identification is that I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ (CC Madhya 13.80). This is required. So how this position you can attain, that is described in the next verse, anartha upaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje. This is the remedy. Anartha, these are all anarthas. So long I will think, "I am this; I am that," "I am this; I am that," or even if you think that "I am big gosvāmī" or big brāhmaṇa, that is also anartha. That is also anartha.

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Vrndavana, April 18, 1975:

Actually gosvāmī means who has control over the senses. Svāmī means the control over the senses. That is required. We have to control over the senses and identify ourself that "I do not belong to anything of this material infection, but I am eternally servant of Kṛṣṇa." Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya... (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). This is called svarūpa-upalabdhi. This is called self-realization. This is called mukti. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the definition of mukti has been given that muktir hitvā anyathā rūpam. Anyathā rūpam. I am identifying now myself as this and that. "I am American; I am Indian; I am brāhmaṇa; I am gosvāmī; I am this, that..." No. This is all anarthas, unwanted. So therefore hitvā anyathā rūpam. We are living under the impression of something else. Hitvā means when we give up this wrong impression. And sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ, when you are situated in your original position, that is called mukti. Mukti does not mean anything else. This is the definition of mukti.

Lecture on SB 1.7.51-52 -- Vrndavana, October 8, 1976:

But even if you do not read śāstra, if you always remember Kṛṣṇa, impression of Kṛṣṇa. The temple is made for layman. Even woman, child, if he sees daily Kṛṣṇa here, then he gets impression. He can think of Kṛṣṇa. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto (BG 18.65). Therefore the temple is there. Everyone should come every day, every morning, or as many times as possible and take the impression of Kṛṣṇa and keep it within your core of heart and think of Kṛṣṇa. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī mām... And offer little You don't require to study Vedānta philosophy or this or that. Because what is the purpose of Vedānta? The purpose of Vedānta is vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). You have to understand Kṛṣṇa. So if you simply think of Kṛṣṇa, then you are greatest Vedantist. Greatest Vedantist. Vedaiś ca sarvair. Vedānta-vid vedānta-kṛt ca aham. He is the compiler of Vedas. So whatever instruction Kṛṣṇa has given in the Bhagavad-gītā, that is all Vedānta. This simple instruction, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto, this is Vedānta. Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya (BG 7.8). This is Vedanta. So to become Vedantist means to understand Kṛṣṇa, follow Kṛṣṇa's instruction, and be successful in your life. Thank you very much. (end)

Lecture on SB 1.8.36 -- Mayapura, October 16, 1974:

So who can see unless he is advanced spiritually? First of all, everyone is under the impression there is no God. And another way of denying God: "Yes, there is God, but He has no form. He has no head, He has no tail, He has no leg, He has no... He has no, no, no..." It is another way of denying God, definition by negation. I... One says directly, "There is no God," and another man says, "Yes, there is God, but He has no leg. He has no hand. He has no mouth. He has no this. He has no that." Then where is God? It is another way of denying God. This Māyāvādī philosophy... (aside:) What is that? Crows? No.

Lecture on SB 1.8.39 -- Los Angeles, May 1, 1973:

Devotee:

neyaṁ śobhiṣyate tatra
yathedānīṁ gadādhara
tvat-padair aṅkitā bhāti
sva-lakṣaṇa-vilakṣitaiḥ
(SB 1.8.39)

"O Gadādhara (Kṛṣṇa), our kingdom is now being marked by the impressions of Your feet, and therefore it appears beautiful. But when You leave, it will no longer be so."

Prabhupāda: So in the Cāṇakya śloka there is a very nice verse:

śarvarī-bhūṣaṇaṁ candro
nārīṇāṁ bhūṣaṇaṁ patiḥ
pṛthivī-bhūṣaṇaṁ rājā
vidyā sarvasya bhūṣaṇam

Everything looks beautiful when one is related with something in very intimate relation. Just like at night the sky becomes beautiful when there is moon. Everyone can understand. The sky becomes... The sky is there. Vast sky, at night. But on the full-moon night, when the moon is there and the stars are there brilliantly, it looks very nice. Similarly, the state looks very nice if there is good government, good king, good president. Then everyone is happy, everything going on nicely. Similarly, nārīṇāṁ bhūṣaṇaṁ patiḥ. A girl looks very beautiful... Girls are naturally beautiful.

Lecture on SB 1.8.39 -- Los Angeles, May 1, 1973:

Similarly, the state looks very nice if there is good government, good king, good president. Then everyone is happy, everything going on nicely. Similarly, nārīṇāṁ bhūṣaṇaṁ patiḥ. A girl looks very beautiful... Girls are naturally beautiful. But she looks very beautiful when she has got a husband. Nārīṇāṁ bhūṣaṇaṁ patiḥ. And vidyā sarvasya bhūṣaṇam. But if a person, however ugly he may be, if he's a learned scholar, that is his beauty. Similarly there are kokilānāṁ svaro rūpaṁ strīṇāṁ rūpaṁ pati-vratam. These are there. Similarly everything will look very beautiful when Kṛṣṇa is there, when Kṛṣṇa is there. So Kuntīdevī is thinking that "When Kṛṣṇa will be absent, our, this kingdom will not be beautiful. So long Kṛṣṇa is with us, we Pāṇḍavas, our kingdom, Hastināpura, everything beautiful." It is said, tvat-padair aṅkitā bhāti. "Kṛṣṇa, You are now in our kingdom. You are walking. So by the impression of Your footprints, everything is beautiful. There is sufficient supply of food, fruits, water. Everything looks beautiful. But when You leave us, then it will not look beautiful." That is being described. Neyaṁ śobhiṣyate. Śobhiṣyate. "It will not look beautiful."

Lecture on SB 1.8.39 -- Mayapura, October 19, 1974:

Pradyumna: "O Gadādhara, Kṛṣṇa, our kingdom is now being marked by the impressions of Your feet, and therefore it appears beautiful. But when You leave, it will no longer be so."

Prabhupāda: Those who have got books, there should be one correction. It is written "how." It should be "now," n-o-w, not "how."

neyaṁ śobhiṣyate tatra
yathedānīṁ gadādhara
tvat-padair aṅkitā bhāti
sva-lakṣaṇa-vilakṣitaiḥ
(SB 1.8.39)

So Kuntī... Kṛṣṇa was in Hastināpura, the capital of the Kurus. So wherever He was walking, that impression of His lotus feet was there, and on account of this, everywhere-full of opulence. Full of opulence. So Kṛṣṇa was leaving Hastināpura. Therefore Kuntīdevī was regretting that "If You go away, then it will be not so beautiful as it is now on account of Your presence."

Lecture on SB 1.8.39 -- Mayapura, October 19, 1974:

So Kuntī is requesting Kṛṣṇa that "Don't go. Please don't go." It is, of course, Kṛṣṇa's duty. He was going to Dvārakā. But Kṛṣṇa, Kuntīdevī was desiring like that, that "If You go away, then the beautiful Hastināpura will..." Na śobhiṣyate. Na ayaṁ śobhiṣyate tatra yathā idānīm: "As it is now beautiful, it will not be so beautiful." Yathā idānīṁ gadādhara. Kṛṣṇa's another name is Gadādhara. Tvat-padair aṅkitā bhāti. Why it is beautiful? "Because You are walking, and the impression..." Kṛṣṇa has got special impression under the feet, in the sole, and that is being impressed. Simply by impression. Because Kṛṣṇa is absolute, by Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet impression by vibration of His name, by glorifying Him—everything is Kṛṣṇa. Everything is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is absolute. Either Kṛṣṇa's impression of the lotus feet, or chanting of His name, or His personal presence, or glorifying Him—it is the same; there is no difference.

Lecture on SB 1.8.42 -- Mayapura, October 22, 1974:

Is it very difficult task? No, it is not at all. Kṛṣṇa gives the formula how He'll be satisfied. He says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). These four things: "Always think of Me..." Everyone can think of Kṛṣṇa. He is thinking of so many nonsense things. Why not Kṛṣṇa? Here is Kṛṣṇa. If you simply think of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā-Mādhava, then where... Is very difficult thing? Therefore temple is there so that you see Kṛṣṇa always or at some interval, during ārātrika, during maṅgala-ārātrika, during bhoga. So the impression is always within your heart, and you think of. Where is the difficulty? Where is the difficulty? No difficulty. So Kṛṣṇa says, man-manāḥ. And if you have no time to come to the temple, all right, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. You hear the name of Kṛṣṇa. That is not different from Kṛṣṇa. The... After all, impression, either you hear or see, the experience is there. So you can think of Kṛṣṇa very easily. It doesn't require any university qualification. Anyone, any rascal, can do it. It is so easy. It doesn't require high education to think of Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.9.49 -- Mayapura, June 15, 1973:

So the Pāṇḍavas proved their bodily strength, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra was under the impression that because actually the kingdom belonged to him, but on account of his becoming blind, he could not inherit on the throne. Defective in the body. A king should be all complete. So not a blind man can be king. That is not possible. So after the death of his younger brother Pāṇḍu, he thought, actually the kingdom belonged to him. Now, after the death of his brother, his sons should inherit. That was the political conspiracy of the battle of Kurukṣetra. Now everything finished, decided by the battle. Dhṛtarāṣṭra accepted, "Yes, my dear nephews, you can become king now. We have tried our strength, and you have come out victorious. Therefore I also confirm that you become king." It is said, pitrā cānumataḥ. Not that against the will of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira accepted the throne. No. He took permission: "My dear uncle, now you decide whether we shall become king or you shall remain king." So he said, "No, you become king. Now your right is confirmed."

Lecture on SB 1.15.29 -- Los Angeles, December 7, 1973:

So this chance should be given. Let them chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, either willfully, or jokingly, or any way, let him chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is the movement. Let him chant once, let his tongue utter this transcendental vibration, Hare Kṛṣṇa, his life will be successful. It is such nice movement. You haven't got to do anything. Simply you come here and see Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, you will be benefited. It is very easy. Su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam (BG 9.2). And once you get the impression of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa for meditation, and if you increase, then life, you are success. Life is successful. Because as soon as you become little inclined to see Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa within your heart, that means you have developed His love. Just like if you love somebody, you want to close your eyes and see his face, his..., your child, or your lover. Similarly, as soon as you practice this, how to see, meditate upon Kṛṣṇa, that means you develop.

Lecture on SB 1.15.40 -- Los Angeles, December 18, 1973:

So after eating, whatever He gives you, you also eat this. That is required. So one is trying to renounce this world by practice. Because unless you become fully conscious that anything you are possessing, that does not belong to you, that belongs to Kṛṣṇa, so long you will be allowed to enjoy it under the false impression, egotism, that "It is mine." Because you have come here to possess something as your property, so Kṛṣṇa will give you. Just like father gives children... They are fighting. So father gives some toy, "Now it is yours. So that's all right, play. Don't fight." So similarly... The toy does not belong to the child. It is purchased by the father. It belongs to the father. But the father give you, "No, it is yours. Don't fight with the other child," so they are satisfied. Similarly, we have been given by the supreme father, "Now this is your America. This is your India." But nothing belongs to the American or to the Indian. It belongs to the father, supreme father. So unless they come to the consciousness, that "The father has given me to enjoy that this is mine, but actually it belongs to father..." This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on SB 1.15.49 -- Los Angeles, December 26, 1973:

So why we should waste our time thinking so many nonsense things? Why not think of Kṛṣṇa, how beautiful He is, standing here with Rādhārāṇī? If we come here and take this impression, and simply think of Him, our life is perfect. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. What is the difficulty and what is the loss? If you gain such big profit simply by thinking of Kṛṣṇa, why should you lose this opportunity, this human form of life? A cat cannot be educated. A dog cannot be educated. If I teach a dog, "My dear dog, please think of Kṛṣṇa," he is animal; it is not possible. But a human being, although at the present moment he is like a dog, but he can be trained to become a human being and think of Kṛṣṇa. That is possible. So we should take the opportunity. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante (BG 7.19). This life is gotten after many, many births. We do not know. We have forgotten. This is the opportunity. And here is the proof, śāstra, that kṛṣṇāveśena tac-cittaḥ.

Lecture on SB 1.16.21 -- Hawaii, January 17, 1974:

The Jews also, they sacrifice animal in the synagogue. I have read one book, Lord Jesus Christ, when he was a young boy he was very much shocked when he saw that animal-killing is going on in the synagogue. Therefore he differentiated from the Jews and he started his own religion, Christian religion. Is it not a fact? Am I right? Why... He was also a Jew. Why he deviated? Why he deviated from the Jews? Because when he saw in his young age that animals are being killed in the synagogue, he differed, "No, no, this is horrible. This should be stopped." Therefore, his first commandment is "Thou shall not kill." Am I wrong or right? Eh? That was his first impression, that people should stop killing. So who is Christian? Everyone is violating this first commandment, what to speak of other commandments. Everyone. So it is very difficult to find a real Christian.

Lecture on SB 1.16.21 -- Los Angeles, July 11, 1974:

This is Vedic culture. Not that "I exploit you, you exploit me, I cut your throat, you cut my throat." This is not human society. And this has begun already. Because you cut throat of the animals—you are very expert, cutting throat—now you will cut throat each other. This is the... So a sober man, thinking all this downfall of the human civilization, he becomes very unhappy. He becomes, very unhappy. Oh. This human civilization, human being, human form of life, was given by God or the nature for cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness, spiritual. That is not possible in the lower form of life, animals, the cats and dogs. And this is an opportunity given by nature's law. Now we get this body. Now you understand your position, what you are, to understand that you are not this body. So long in the lower grade of life you were under the impression that you are a body, the cats and dogs. They do not know that the body and soul is different. But it is the human form of life to understand that "I am not this body."

Lecture on SB 1.16.25 -- Hawaii, January 21, 1974:

So one minute before, the body was so important, and now, after one minute, the passing of the soul, it is useless. Throw it away. Is it very difficult to understand? That is realization. If you don't realize... Just like a man, sleeping, but he is not sleeping. He's awakened. But a man is calling, "Mr. such-and-such, wake up, wake up." But he's as if sleeping. So people who do not want to realize, there is no realization. Otherwise, it is very simple, very simple. One minute, one can understand, there was something. And then you come to the guru, and guru teaches śāstra. From śāstra, immediately you can confirm. If you are puzzled that what is that thing that is missing so that this living body is now dead body... This is the general impression. Now, just to get it confirmed, you come to guru. Guru will say, "Yes, it is a fact. The soul was there, and now it has gone." So how guru says? Not guru is manufacturing. Guru says on the strength of śāstra. Therefore sādhu-guru-śāstra, three things must be there. Guru must be speaking on the strength of Vedic knowledge, not manufacturing. He's a rascal.

Lecture on SB 2.1.1-6 Excerpts -- Los Angeles, July 2, 1970:

"My dear king..." Śukadeva Gosvāmī is speaking to King Parīkṣit that "There are many subject matters for the persons who are materialistic." What sort of... Why they are engaged in so many topics? Ātma-tattvam apaśyatām. They do not see what is self-realization. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). Apaśyatām... Generally, we do not know, we cannot see what is ātmā in these material eyes. Therefore the material scientists, they say that there is no soul, because they cannot see. With their instruments or with their knowledge it is not possible. Apaśyatām. They do not see it. Therefore we cannot believe our eyes. These eyes are not fit to see anything. It is under certain condition it gives us some impression. Otherwise... Therefore my Guru Mahārāja used to say that saintly persons should be seen not through the eyes, but through the ears. There are different processes of seeing. Don't believe that eyes are sufficient to see everything. No.

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

So at night they waste their life in this way. Nidrayā hriyate naktaṁ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ (SB 2.1.3). In this way their life is being wasted. And at daytime? Now, divā cārthehayā rājan. At the daytime, simply "Where is money? Where is money?" Artha. Artha means... Because to maintain this body we require money. Divā cārthehayā rājan. All right, if one gets money, then next? Kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā. Then shopping. As soon as you get money then shopping, the wife's bill. Yes. So in this way, day and night, they are simply under the impression of this bodily conception of life. Why they are doing that?

dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv
ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api
teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanaṁ
paśyann api na paśyati
(SB 2.1.4)

They are attached because they are attached to this body, therefore attached to the children. Dehāpatya. Apatya means children. And kalatra. Kalatra means wife. Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu ātma-sainyeṣu. This very word sainya... Sainya means soldier. Here in the material world, every one of us is struggling very hard. That is a fact. Everyone knows.

Lecture on SB 2.1.6 -- Paris, June 14, 1974:

You get the complete perfection. But at the time of death, if you think of your dog, then you go to become a dog. Finished. All your sāṅkhya-yoga and philosophy and yoga practice—all go to hell. You become a dog. That is wanted. So unless you practice... If... That is the point, that one has to remember Nārāyaṇa at the time of death. Then why not directly practice? This is practice. The Deity is there, the form of Nārāyaṇa, or Kṛṣṇa, is there. If you always be engaged in Lord Kṛṣṇa's service, you have got the impression of Kṛṣṇa always within your heart. And if you continue it some way or other, then your life is successful. Otherwise big, big talks, nose pressing and keeping the head down, and... You can do that, waste your time in that way. But whether it is guaranteed that at the time of your death you shall remember Kṛṣṇa or Nārāyaṇa? That is wanted. Ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ (SB 2.1.6). The Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, the authority says.

Lecture on SB 2.3.20-21 -- Los Angeles, June 17, 1972:

Bank of America belongs to you? This is craziness. You cannot enjoy the Bank of America. If you go and try to enjoy, then you'll be criminal. And if you say, "I renounce it," then you are a madman. This is your position. But people are going on under two impressions. Somebody, the karmīs, they are thinking, "I am enjoyer. I am the lord of all I survey. This America is mine. You cannot enter." So this is the karmī's position. Falsely, they are claiming proprietorship, which does not belong to them. Thieves, rather; they are thieves, rogues. There is a story that a, a group of thieves, they plundered some booty, some property, somewhere, and then, out of the town, they were dividing. So one of the thieves was speaking, "Please divide the property morally." Now, the property's stolen property, and they are speaking of "morally." Devil recites scripture. Similarly, you Americans, you have come from Europe, you have stolen this property. Now you are speaking of morality.

Lecture on SB 2.3.22 -- Los Angeles, June 19, 1972:

So altogether, it is a city of fifty thousand population, but there are five thousand temples, Kṛṣṇa. All Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. So this is a chance, that "Come to Vṛndāvana, and wherever you go, you see Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. That will make your life successful." By seeing, seeing, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, seeing, seeing, you'll get an impression. And if you continue... The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, you'll find if, when you go there, that in the morning and evening, all of them, they are going different temples and seeing the Deity Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. So there is no need of education, there is no need of philosophy, there is no need of science. Simply if you visit temples of Viṣṇu, then your life is successful. This is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness process. Simply if you move to the temple and see with your eyes; very simple process. Our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness program is so simple, at the same time sublime, that you become liberated at the end. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). If you simply think of Kṛṣṇa in that way.

Lecture on SB 2.3.24 -- Los Angeles, June 22, 1972:

That is called jñāna-vairāgya. Jñāna. Jñāna means to know thoroughly that "I am not this body." This is jñāna. And as soon as you know that you are not this body, naturally you become disinterested with anything which has got bodily relation. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. Bhava. Bhava means repetition of birth and death. "You become," bhava means. So "you become" means you die also. Because this is the world. To become does not mean that you stay forever. That is not possible. "You become" means you die also. So... But under wrong impression, as soon as I become, I think that this world is very nice. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings that "My dear Lord, when I was in the womb of my mother, at that time I saw You once, became visible." Those who are spiritually advanced, they can see God within the womb of the mother. When a child remains packed up and the consciousness is gained, he feels very uncomfortable. So at that time, one who is pious, spiritually advanced, he prays to God, "Please rescue me from this bondage. I am too much suffering. And this time I, after taking my birth, I shall simply be engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness," promises. But Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, janama hoilo poṛi' māyā-jāle.

Lecture on SB 2.3.24 -- Los Angeles, June 22, 1972:

I am one day old means I have died one day. I am seventy-six years old means I have already died seventy-six years. Suppose I live, say, eighty years, ninety years. So I have already died seventy-six years. So death is sure. They say "We are advancing." What is that advancement? Death is sure. You cannot control birth. Birth, death, old age. You cannot stop old age. And disease. You can manufacture nice medicine, but you cannot stop disease. So we have become steel-hearted, steel-framed heart. We do not consider all these things. These are practical. And still, we are under the impression that we are advancing in material civilization. So we are advancing in the art of cutting stone and wood. That's all. This is our advancement. Just like in your country, within two months they can build one wood house. Means expert in cutting wood. This is advancement. Wood-cutter, stone-cutter. But we are not meant for cutting wood and stone. We are meant for understanding our spiritual identity.

Lecture on SB 2.9.10 -- Tokyo, April 26, 1972:

So this is the description, beginning, just to get an idea of the spiritual world. Unless we go there... Just like we have come to Japan. We are getting direct experience. But before coming here, from books and literature and maps—it is an example—we can get some information, what is Japan. Similarly, the spiritual world, what is that spiritual world, in other places, in Upaniṣad also describes. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, this description, na tad bhāsayate sūryo na candro na pāvakaḥ (BG 15.6). There is no need of sunlight, moonlight, what to speak of the stars, neither na pāvakaḥ, neither electricity. Na tad bhāsayate sūryo na candro na pāvakaḥ. Here in this material world we cannot see things without sunlight, moonlight or electricity. We are proud of our eyes, but as soon as there is no light... Now there is sunlight; we can see very nicely. The spiritual world is not like that. There is no need of sunlight, moonlight or electricity. The first impression is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. Similarly here also, pravartate yatra rajas tamas tayoḥ sattvaṁ ca miśraṁ na ca kāla-vikramaḥ, na..., na pravartate. What is the meaning?

Lecture on SB 3.25.31 -- Bombay, December 1, 1974:

So Kṛṣṇa was so friendly and very loving friend, not ordinary friend. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said, "My dear Arjuna, don't be disappointed because you cannot execute this aṣṭāṅga-yoga. The first-class yogi is he who always thinks of Me." Yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā (BG 6.47). One who has taken Kṛṣṇa within his heart and always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, satataṁ smartavyaḥ viṣṇuḥ, this is the system. This is meditation. If one is thinking of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours, that is the first-class meditation. You are seeing Kṛṣṇa here, standing with Rādhārāṇī. And if you see always, then you naturally you get impression of Kṛṣṇa within the heart. And if you serve Kṛṣṇa... Those who are engaged in service, just like they are offering this foodstuff, Kṛṣṇa. They have prepared this foodstuff very nicely, thinking that "Kṛṣṇa will eat. Let us do it very cleanly and attentively." And whatever they can offer, first-class thing... That is meditation, because they are thinking of Kṛṣṇa, "This foodstuff will be taken by Kṛṣṇa. This dress will be used by Kṛṣṇa. These flowers will be offered to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa." Real meditation is this. And that is the first-class yoga. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is advising in the Seventh Chapter that "If you cannot think of Me, then you can think of Me in your ordinary dealings." Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya: (BG 7.8) "I am the taste of the water."

Lecture on SB 3.26.43 -- Bombay, January 18, 1975:

So we request everyone to come to the temple because he will have the impression what is Kṛṣṇa, how He looks. Here is Kṛṣṇa. It is not imagination. Don't think it is imagination, we have imagined some form. Just like the Māyāvādīs say, "It is imagination." No. It is fact. Because this Kṛṣṇa, this form of Kṛṣṇa, the our forefathers or ācāryas they have seen when Kṛṣṇa was present on this planet. And there are many, many old temples. The same feature of Kṛṣṇa, two hands, playing on the flute, and anywhere you will see Kṛṣṇa He has got this flute. Because that is His most beloved, favorite instrument. That is stated in the śāstra, not imagination. Veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ barhāvataṁsam asita... (Bs. 5.30). In the Vedic language it is said that Kṛṣṇa, He has got a flute in His hand.

Lecture on SB 3.26.43 -- Bombay, January 18, 1975:

So if you simply come here, take the impression of Kṛṣṇa and think of Kṛṣṇa while drinking water, you become a devotee. Is it very difficult job? Very easy. Anyone can do. Anyone can do. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Then, if you develop... This is śānta rasa. Then, when you develop your śānta-rasa, then there is dāsya-rasa. Dāsya-rasa means that you want to serve Him. That is further development. "Here is God. No, why not...?" Therefore, according to the Vedic principle, whoever comes to the temple, he brings something to offer to Kṛṣṇa. Not that He requires huge amount of money. No. You must offer something. What is that? Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. Kṛṣṇa is not in want, but if you give something to Kṛṣṇa, that is for your benefit. If Kṛṣṇa accepts something from you, then your life becomes successful. So... "But I have no money. What can I offer to Kṛṣṇa?" Oh, that is not the fact. We have got money for going to cinema, and you have no money to bring one flower for Kṛṣṇa. This is denial. This is denial. Kṛṣṇa does not say that "You bring one thousand dollars." No. He says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati.

Lecture on SB 3.28.19 -- Nairobi, October 29, 1975:

This is meditation. These haṭha-yogis, they meditate in their impersonal feature, but our meditation, Vaiṣṇava, devotees' meditation is very easy. For the haṭha-yogis, they have to select place, āsana. Dhyāna, dhāraṅā, āsana... Āsana is also one of the activities. But here, in Vaiṣṇava philosophy, you are seeing the Deity always, at least daily, so you have got some impression that "Our temple Deity is like this." That impression, either you are sitting in one place without any activities, sthitaṁ vrajantam... While walking on the street also, you can think of this Deity. There is no difficulty, either you are sitting or you are walking or you are standing, any way. Because the mind is there in Kṛṣṇa, in Kṛṣṇa's form. Therefore Deity worship is so essential for the neophyte. He can have always the opportunity to think of the Supreme Lord by the impression of the Deity within the mind. Śayānam. Even in lying down, even talking.

Lecture on SB 3.28.19 -- Nairobi, October 29, 1975:

The meditation which was possible in the kṛte, in the Satya-yuga... Satya-yuga continued for twelve lakhs of years; then Treta-yuga, eight lakhs of years... No, Satya-yuga, eighteen lakhs; then Treta-yuga, twelve lakhs; then Dvāpara-yuga, eight lakhs; and Kali-yuga, four lakhs. Altogether forty-three. So bhakti-yoga includes everything. So this process, this arcanā process. If we... Everyone alternately they should learn how to worship. That will give the impression of the Lord within the heart, and then, either you are walking or you are sitting or you are lying or you are eating or you are talking, you'll always think of Kṛṣṇa. This is the process. It will be automatically done. Sthitaṁ vrajantam āsīnaṁ śayānaṁ vā guhāśayam. Generally the yogis, they try to find out the Viṣṇu mūrti within the core of the heart, but this is as good. When you are walking on the street, then, if you are thinking, there will be no hindrance to your activities, but you can think of Kṛṣṇa. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Just like Mahārāja Ambarish. He was emperor. He had many responsibilities, but he practiced how to think of Kṛṣṇa always.

Lecture on SB 3.28.19 -- Nairobi, October 29, 1975:

The Māyāvādīs, they have invented. In Calcutta, in Bengal, they have invented Kali-kīrtana, Kali-kīrtana. The Ramakrishna Mission, they have invented Kali-kīrtana. "Why Hari-kīrtana? Kali-kīrtana." They have got a party. As we say... Because they are rival, if we say, "Hare Kṛṣṇa," they will say "Kali, Kali, Kali," like that. This is going on. Kīrtana does not mean any other demigod. Kīrtana means of Viṣṇu. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ, clearly state. But these bogus, so-called swamis and yogis, they cheat people, bluff people by their own concoction. That is the difficulty. Even if you speak the right truth, they are unable to receive it because they have been deceived by so many rascals. So kīrtana means... Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad..., satataṁ kīrtayanto mām (BG 9.14), Kṛṣṇa. He doesn't say that "Any kīrtana will do." No. He doesn't say. Satataṁ kīrtayanto mām yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ (BG 9.14).

So everything is there. Stick to Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and see the Deity always and have impression of the Deity. In whichever position you are, you'll be meditating and your life will be successful.

Thank you very much. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. (end)

Lecture on SB 5.5.1 -- Bombay, December 25, 1976:

When you come to this platform of transcendence, brahma-bhūtaḥ... Because we are going on under the wrong impression that "I am this body." This is the most fallen condition of the present human society. They are taking this body... Of course, this bodily conception of life there was even five thousand years ago, when the Battle of Kurukṣetra took place. Arjuna was very much disturbed on the platform of this bodily conception of life, because he thought that he belonged to a particular family, and in that battle he was to fight with his family members. So he declined to fight. But Kṛṣṇa, to raise him from that platform, He chastised him, that aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase: "My dear Arjuna, you are lamenting for a subject matter and at the same time you are talking just like a very learned man.

Lecture on SB 5.5.1-2 -- Paris, August 12, 1973:

Prabhupāda: Ah, this is all lying propaganda. I don't believe it. I am also there. I am born in Calcutta.

Guest: I am not saying anything to contradict you, just explain to me...

Prabhupāda: No, there is no contradiction. I am speaking that God is feeding even the animals, even the elephants, even the serpents, and why God will not feed the human kind. This is a wrong impression. Everyone has food fixed by God. Even if he is not serving God, God is supplying all the necessities, to the animals why not to the human being? This is wrong impression. (break) Yes? (break)

Jyotirmayī (translating for Guest): ...that at the beginning one, the word, and this word was God and this word was with God. So what is this word?

Prabhupāda: God, God and God's word. They're identical. God's, God and God's form, God's quality. God's, I mean to say, entourage, everything is God. That is called absolute. As, when I speak, my speaking is different from me, so that is not the case with God. God's words, the vibration of God, that is also God.

Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Boston, April 28, 1969:

Therefore all our sufferings are due to this body. And this human body is the junction, the crossing point, whether I want to cure myself completely from this disease of birth, death, old age and disease or I want to continue. That we must make a decision. If we think, "Oh, it is very nice. Let us have this body. Never mind. Sometimes we suffer from disease, suffer from old age, or birth, death. Never mind." But that is the general impression of the general public: "Oh, we don't care what is going to happen." That is irresponsible life. But if a human being is responsible, if he actually wants healthy life—healthy life means without birth, death, old age and disease... That is healthy life. Our conception of healthy life is not to become too much fatty, or robust body. Robust body or fatty body or any body, this body, everything will finish. Our proposition is that how to conquer death, birth, old age and disease. That is our proposition. So if one is serious to conquer over these four principles of life and desiring eternal nonstoppage happiness and pleasure—the same thing, pleasure means there is... The same... Just like the pleasure in a hotel dancing, that is also pleasure. And here also, Hare Kṛṣṇa dancing, there is also pleasure. But the standard of pleasure is different. Standard of pleasure is different.

Lecture on SB 5.5.5 -- London, September 3, 1971:

What you are seeing, his father or his son, that is lying there, but he does not know who is his father, who is his son. This is called defeat. Abodha-jātaḥ. He remains the same fool and rascal as he was born. A born rascal. Otherwise why children are sent to school? To become intelligent, to become men of knowledge, wise men. But where is the wisdom? Your technology is not there. The whole world is working under this wrong impression, that "I am this body." Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). That is the defeat. It is practical. And they are simply meeting crisis after crisis, because they're rascals and fools. This is a civilization of rascal and fools. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ. Why rascal and fools? Yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. There is no inquiry, "What I am? Why I am becoming befooled? I am trying so much. Why the problems are still there, or the problems are increasing?" These questions are not there. Simply blindly, like asses and cows, working and going to the slaughterhouse, cannot protest, cannot protect. Animal civilization.

Lecture on SB 5.5.5 -- Stockholm, September 10, 1973:

So Ṛṣabhadeva says that "So long one's mind is absorbed in the conception that 'I shall work...' " As people are doing here, industry, trade, or so many things... The real purpose is to gratify senses. So in this way, if people are engaged, then he is parābhava, he is being defeated. Without understanding Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without being Kṛṣṇa conscious, if simply one wastes his time for these fruitive activities, then he is defeated. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ.

evaṁ manaḥ karma-vaśaṁ prayuṅkte
avidyayātmany upadhīyamāne
prītir na yāvan mayi vāsudeve
na mucyate deha-yogena tāvat

So everyone is under this impression, wrong conception of life. But he can be saved if he somehow or other becomes a devotee of Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa. Prītir na yāvan mayi vāsudeve. Vāsudeve bhagavati.

Lecture on SB 5.5.6 -- Vrndavana, October 28, 1976:

So this is a chance that even if you are failure in this life, somehow or other, you get chance next life again human form of life, either in a very nice pure brāhmaṇa family or Vaiṣṇava family. Vaiṣṇava family is better than brāhmaṇa family. (break) ...ringing the karatālas, chanting, dancing, offering obeisances to the Lord, temple atmosphere. Don't think it is ordinary opportunity. It is very great opportunity. From the very beginning of life they are getting impression, bhakti-yoga. Vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yoga. These are not going in vain. Even a child is playing karatāla, imitation. Not imitation. He's given the chance. He was previously Vaiṣṇava. Somehow or other, he could not make his life perfect. Therefore he is given again chance. So naturally he has got tendency to play the karatāla, to offer flower here, to offer obeisances. They take pleasure. It is due to previous life, yogas. But it was not perfectly done, so somehow or other they are getting chance from the very beginning of life. It does not mean that if somebody did not get the chance from the very beginning of life he cannot. He can be also.

Lecture on SB 6.1.1-4 -- Melbourne, May 20, 1975:

Arjuna was chastised. What is that? Aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase: (BG 2.11) "My dear Arjuna, you are talking just like a very learned man, but you are lamenting on the subject matter on which no learned man laments. That means you are a fool." It is indirectly said. "No learned man laments on this subject." What was the subject? He was considering that "If I kill the other side, my brother or my nephew or my teacher, they will die." So that is the general impression in the whole world. Then He teaches, "No. On account of death of the body, the soul does not die. The soul simply changes another body. That's all." This is the first instruction. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). For that reason you cannot kill. It is not that Kṛṣṇa was encouraging killing. No. Duty. When there is fight, there is killing. You cannot avoid it. Just like the soldier. What is the duty of the soldier? Kill as many as possible the enemies.

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Sydney, February 17, 1973:

Although he sees there are so many thousands and thousands of grasses all over, still he'll serve that washerman. Therefore it is called ass. (devotees laugh) You see? Ass. (more laughter) No intelligence, simply working for others, and eating a morsel of... I've seen in New York, very big publisher, he's very busy, but he's eating a few slice of bread and cup of tea and nothing more, that's all. You see? There are so many big, big men, they cannot eat much but they work more than us, all day and night. Therefore they are called asses. Karmīs, they are called asses. Not for his personal benefit, but he does not know for whose benefit he is working so hard, but still he is working, without benefit. Therefore sa eva go-kharaḥ. Those who are under the impression, the bodily concept of life, sa eva... Yasyātmā buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādīṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ (SB 10.84.13). So when the asses will come to this standard, "Why I am working so hard?" then he's human being; otherwise he's no better than the cows and the asses.

Lecture on SB 6.1.7 -- San Francisco, March 1, 1967:

Therefore simply by argument and logical conclusion, you cannot approach to the Absolute Truth or real truth. Tarko apratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnāḥ. And if you consult yourself scriptures... Just like Bhagavad-gītā, if you read yourself, you get one kind of impression, and if you hear explanation from an authorized person, you get another impression. The book is the same, but by hearing from the authorities, you get a better impression, better understanding. There are so many examples like this. Tarko 'pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnāḥ. Now there are many scriptures in the world. The Hindus have got the Vedas; the Christians have got the Bible; the Muslims, they have got Koran. Now, if you read all these scriptures, you will find something contradictory. Just like animal killing. Animal killing, more or less, there are in every scripture, restricted or nonrestricted. There is none nonrestricted. Restricted. Even in the Koran, the animal killing is restricted. Animal is to be killed in the, in certain Bakri Eid ceremony and in the Masjid. Similarly, animal killing amongst the Hindus, they are to be done in the temple of Goddess Kālī. But no slaughterhouse is recommended.

Lecture on SB 6.1.15 -- New York, August 1, 1971:

Now, if anyone present here can challenge this statement? Is there anyone? No, you cannot challenge. This is the fact. Simply we are under false impression that "I am this; I am that." Lastly "I am God. I am God." What kind of God you are? If you get immediately little toothache, you go to physician-god, the dentist-god. This is called māyā. This is called māyā. There is a verse that

piśācī pāile yena mati-cchanna haya
māyā-grasta jīvera haya se bhāva udaya

Piśācī means ghost. When one man is ghostly haunted, he speaks so many nonsense. Similarly, when one is entangled by the illusory energy, māyā, he also speaks all nonsense. At last he speaks that "I am God." That is the last snare of māyā. So they are not, they cannot be liberated, because they are under the false impression still. Anyone who is under the false impression, or anyone who is attracted by false knowledge, he's under the clutches of māyā. When there is right knowledge, right conception of life, then one is liberated. That is called brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20). And Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā: brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā (BG 18.54). As soon as you get right knowledge, you become jolly.

Lecture on SB 6.1.30 -- Honolulu, May 29, 1976:

To understand Kṛṣṇa is very difficult job. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3). Out of many millions of persons, one is endeavoring to make his life perfect. But they do not know what is perfection of life. So yatatām api siddhānām. Siddhi means to understand that "I'm not this body. I don't belong to this material world." That is siddhi. Siddhi. Everyone is under the impression that "I'm this body." "I'm Indian," "I'm American," "I'm Hindu," "I'm Muslim," "I'm Christian"—bodily upādhi, designation. He does not become free from the designation. The other day we were talking on Mr. Huxley(?) I think. He was talking of philosophy, but He was thinking, "I'm Englishman. I do this like that." So this bodily concept of life is there although he's philosopher. What kind of philosopher? Philosopher begins when there is no more bodily conception. What is that? Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). So this kind of philosophy has no meaning, because how a dog can become philosopher? That is not possible. A human being can become philosopher. So long I'm on the bodily concept of life, I'm in the line of cats and dogs. So how we can become philosopher? There is no question of. But they're philosophizing, means bluffing, and similar men, he's thinking, "I believe." You believe or not believe, the law will go on.

Lecture on SB 6.1.50 -- Detroit, June 16, 1976:

Therefore our business is... "Artificially, I shall not see anything." Now how it is possible? You'll see in the mind. Suppose you close your eyes, but there are so many impressions, they will come within the mind. Even if you close your eyes. The so-called meditation means he has closed his eyes but he's thinking of his beloved or his business or something like, something like that. So is not possible. First of all, you have to fix up your mind in Kṛṣṇa. Always think of Kṛṣṇa. That is advised by Kṛṣṇa. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. These four principles guarantees, Kṛṣṇa says. Mām evaiṣyasi asaṁśayaḥ (BG 18.68). If you simply execute these four things, then Kṛṣṇa guarantees, asaṁśaya, without any doubt you are coming back to me, back to home, back to Godhead. It is so nice. So mind engaged in Kṛṣṇa. Always think of Kṛṣṇa. We are seeing Kṛṣṇa here so nicely dressed, decorated, and immediately there is impression with the mind and you can think the whole day.

Lecture on SB 6.1.55 -- London, August 13, 1975:

Kṛṣṇa is actually bhoktā. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām (BG 5.29). So we are imitating Kṛṣṇa. This is our position. Everyone is trying to become Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādīs, although they have undergone penances, austerities—very strictly they follow the principles of spiritual life—but because they are under māyā, at the end they are thinking that "I am God, Purusa," the same disease, puruṣa. Purusa means bhoktā. That "I am Kṛṣṇa..." Bhoktāraṁ yajña... And even after advancing so much by austerities, penances, following regulative principle, the māyā is so strong that still, he is under this impression that "I am puruṣa." Not only ordinary puruṣa, but the Supreme Puruṣa, as Kṛṣṇa is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān, puruṣam śāśvata: (BG 10.12) "You are puruṣa." So māyā is so strong that after being kicked so many lives, life after life, still he is thinking, "I am puruṣa. I am enjoyer." This is the disease.

Lecture on SB 6.1.68 -- Vrndavana, September 4, 1975:

So if we take the risk of being punished, then we can violate the laws of nature or laws of God. The laws of God is very simple thing. It is not very difficult. God personally says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: (BG 18.65) "Just always think of Me." So it is not at all difficult. Kṛṣṇa is here. You see the Deity of Kṛṣṇa. Have impression in your heart how Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma is standing, how Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa is standing, how Gaura-Nitai is standing. So you can think always. Man-manā. Or you can think of Him by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Where is the difficulty? Man-manā. You become devotee, come here in the temple, offer your respect. So to become Kṛṣṇa conscious is not at all difficult. But people will not take to it; therefore they must suffer. This is the law.

Lecture on SB 6.2.24-25 -- Gorakhpur, February 13, 1971:

So many people are going." And Caitanya..., "Don't be foolish. Where is Kṛṣṇa?" So next morning some people came to see Him, Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked them, "How you have seen Kṛṣṇa?" Then some intelligent person, "No, no. It was all wrong impression. It was not Kṛṣṇa. Some fisherman was fishing at night and there was light. The light was dancing like that, and these people took that Kṛṣṇa is dancing." So actually Kṛṣṇa was present during that time because Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa. But He never said that "I am Kṛṣṇa." He never said. When people addressed Him that "You are Kṛṣṇa..." Sanātana Gosvāmī some..., tactfully addressed Him, "Kṛṣṇa." One who directly addressed Him, "Kṛṣṇa"—immediately He used to close His ears like this: "Viṣṇu, Viṣṇu, Viṣṇu. Why you are speaking like that? Why you are addressing an ordinary man as Kṛṣṇa?" This is the teaching. And if you say, "Oh, Swamijī Mahārāja, you are Kṛṣṇa," and if I accept that "Oh, yes, I am Kṛṣṇa," then I am greater fool. You are a fool, I am also fool. Is it not? How one can accept that he is Kṛṣṇa, he is greater than Kṛṣṇa? Then he's a greater fool. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ: (SB 7.5.31) "One blind man is leading many other blind men." And that is the position.

Lecture on SB 6.2.24-25 -- Gorakhpur, February 13, 1971:

Prabhupāda: So as far as possible, let us follow the footsteps of mahājana-mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186)—and depend on Kṛṣṇa and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Everything will be all right. The simple method. Try to follow Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teachings. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and be sincere, and, as far as possible, worship the Deity. Everything is all right. (break) ...camp, the servant's camp was overcrowded, and people would come to our camp.

Guest: The university's there. Intellectuals are...

Prabhupāda: Yes. So many judges and high-court retired justice, they also came. And one retired judge, Gaṅgeśvarānanda, he admitted that "Swamijī, for the first time it is my experience that you are explaining Personality of Godhead so nicely." He was also under the impression God is impersonal. Gaṅgeśvarānanda, yes. (break) Dr. Rao is not here. Who will speak in Hindi? (Hindi or Bengali) (end)

Lecture on SB 6.3.18-19 -- Gorakhpur, February 12, 1971:

So these people became mahājanas because as soon as they saw that "My father or my spiritual master is against the Supreme Personality of Godhead, such person immediately should be given up." Jīva Gosvāmī says... In Indian, according to Indian custom, there is a family spiritual master, family priest, family spiritual master. So Jīva Gosvāmī says that for advancement of spiritual life, one should give up the family spiritual master if he is not competent and accept actually a bona fide spiritual master. Because people are under impression that... Impression... It is a fact that one cannot give up the connection of the spiritual master. That is a great sin. But Jīva Gosvāmī says that if your family spiritual master does not help you in your matter of making progress in spiritual life, then you should give up his connection and accept a bona fide spiritual master. That is their direction. Gurur apy avaliptasya kāryākāryam ajānataḥ, parityāgo vidhīyate: "If a spiritual master is not competent to help the disciple to make progress nicely, or if he goes against..."

Lecture on SB 7.9.11 -- Montreal, August 17, 1968:

No. Actually mind carries you to the next body. So mind goes with you. The material mind, material ego, material intelligence become nil when you are completely liberated. But at that time your spiritual mind acts. It is not very difficult to understand. Somebody is acting under the impression... Just like one of our students, he was acting under the impression that he is Frenchman and doing something subversive, and now he is thinking that "I am Kṛṣṇa's." (chuckles) He has stopped all those nonsense. (break) When he was thinking that he's a Frenchman, that mind was there. And now he's thinking that "I am Kṛṣṇa's," the mind is there. So where is the chance of losing the mind? You want to question anything? (break) This boy?

Lecture on SB 7.9.34 -- Mayapur, March 12, 1976:

Kṛṣṇa says, "He's first-class yogi." Who? "Who is always trying to see Kṛṣṇa within the heart." So it is very difficult task? In our bhakti-yoga we can teach this art of seeing Kṛṣṇa within the core of the heart in one minute. It is so simple. You are seeing Kṛṣṇa here. You must have impression and try to keep that impression within your heart always. Then you become first-class yogi. Why so much gymnastic and pressing the nose? No. Take directly. If you are engaged twenty-four hours in the service of the Deity, you cannot see except the Deity. This bhakti-yoga practice is so simple. Therefore kaniṣṭha adhikārī, those who are neophyte, they must take to Deity worship. By Deity worship he is elevated to the position of seeing the Lord within the heart. This is very important thing. You can see—He is there—but you have no knowledge, or even if you have knowledge, you are not competent to see Him.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 9, 1972:

That is also explained: āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32). By severe austerities, penances, they follow very strictly the rules and regulation of renouncement. That is called kṛccha sādhana, difficult procedure for self-realization. But despite all these endeavors, because their intelligence is not purified, they fall down. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padam (SB 10.2.32). They realize, actually, the impersonal Brahman, nirbheda-brahmānusandhana. Āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ patanty adhaḥ. Again they fall down from that platform. Why? Anādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ. Because they could not adore the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. On account of their impersonal impression, they could not appreciate the transcendental, sac-cid-ananda vigraha (Bs. 5.1) of Kṛṣṇa, and could not surrender there. Kṛṣṇa therefore says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). After many, many births of such struggle, when actually one becomes wise, jñānavān, he surrenders unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. That is the perfection of knowledge.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 9, 1972:

As soon as the payment will be stopped, there will be no more service. Therefore it is a perverted reflection of that service attitude in the Vaikuṇṭha planet. And similarly we have seen there is..., there was high-court cases between mother and the sons, and they spent lots of money. Still they could not come into conclusion. The motherly affection, the paternal affection, just simply a shadow. It appears to be true because the truth is elsewhere. Just like in the desert it appears there is a great, vast mass of water, but actually there is no water. But that does not mean there is no water. The impression of water is there because there is actually water somewhere. Similarly, we are trying to taste the five rasas in this material world. Because actually these rasas are there in the spiritual world. This is only reflection. Ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākha. And because in the spiritual world it is a fact, we are taking these false things as fact, these temporary things as fact. Actually it is not fact. Go on.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 11, 1972:

Prabhupāda: Hmm. Go on.

Pradyumna: " 'The Happiness of Becoming One with the Supreme.' Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that if brahmānanda, or the happiness of becoming one with the Supreme, is multiplied by one trillionfold, still, it cannot be compared with an atomic fraction of the happiness derived from the ocean of devotional service. In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya... Prahlāda Mahārāja, while satisfying Lord Nṛsiṁha by his prayers, says, 'My dear Lord of the universe, I am feeling transcendental pleasure in Your presence and have become merged in the ocean of happiness. I now consider the happiness of brahmānanda to be no more than the water in the impression left by a cow's hoof in the earth, compared to this ocean of bliss.' Similarly, it is confirmed in the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā, Śrīdhara Swami's commentary on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: 'My dear Lord, some of the fortunate persons who are swimming in the ocean of Your nectar of devotion, and who are relishing the nectar of the narration of Your pastimes, certainly know ecstasies which immediately minimize the value of the happiness derived from religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation. Such a transcendental devotee regards any kind of happiness other than devotional service as no better than straw in the street.' "

Prabhupāda: Go on.

Pradyumna: " 'Attracting Kṛṣṇa.' Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has stated that devotional service at..."

Prabhupāda: Any, any question arises, you can ask.

The Nectar of Devotion -- Calcutta, January 25, 1973:

These are the statements of the śāstras. Laws of material nature means karma. You act in a certain way and you get the result, good or bad; that is called karma. Sat-karma or asat-karma. Actually everything is asat-karma. Antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām (BG 7.23). So even taking, accepting that good work is nice, but it is also bondage. Suppose you give in charity. So the laws of nature is that if you give one by charity, you get four. So now to accept that four, you have to take birth again. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, karma-kāṇḍa jñāna-kāṇḍa sakali viṣera bandha. Karma-kāṇḍa means if you act very piously, next life you get good birth, good opulence, money, janma iśvarya-śruta, good education, beautiful body. These are the resultant actions of sat-karma. And asat-karma means you become poor, ugly, without any education, no riches, always hungry. These are the results of asat-karma. So this is called karma-kāṇḍa. And jñāna-kāṇḍa means to try to merge into the existence of the Lord, which, even if we do, but because you are under the impression of impersonalism, you again fall down. So both by the action of karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa one is not secure. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, sakali viṣera bandha. Poison, either in a golden pot or in iron pot, it is the..., the effect is the same. So bhakti is neither for karma-kāṇḍa nor for jñāna-kāṇḍa. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167). That is real bhakti.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.100-108 -- Bombay, November 9, 1975:

He is foolishly thinking that he is master. But he is always... Twenty-four hours, he is being kicked by the laws of nature. But the foolish man cannot understand. Therefore they have been called mūḍha. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). They... He does not come to the sense that "Where I am master? I am servant of the dictation of māyā, the rules and regulation of material nature. Where is my mastership?" This intelligence does not come. He is thinking still he is master, he can control the nature, he can control everything, he is God, he is this, he is that. That is the misconception. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in the very beginning of His instruction He is saying to Sanātana Gosvāmī that "You inquired from him what is your position," ke āmi, " 'What I am?' You are servant of Kṛṣṇa." This is the first impression.

Festival Lectures

Janmastami Lord Sri Krsna's Appearance Day -- Bhagavad-gita 7.5 Lecture -- Vrndavana, August 11, 1974:

So Kṛṣṇa is adventing today. There is stotra by the demigods. We should read, how Kṛṣṇa protects the demigods or the devotees. We should seek protection of Kṛṣṇa. This world is so dangerous. It is said, padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadām. Every step there is danger. But if we take shelter, samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ, if we take shelter of the lotus feet of Murāri, under whose lotus feet the whole mahat-tattva, cosmic manifestation, is resting, then this big ocean of birth and death, we can cross very easily. Vatsa-padam. Vatsa-padam means the impression by the hoof of a calf and the water contained in it. The whole ocean becomes like a spot, a small spot, created by the impression of the hoof. That is called vatsa-padam.

Sri Vyasa-puja -- London, August 22, 1973:

"Just become My devotee, always think of Me, offer Me obeisances, and worship Me." So here is Kṛṣṇa. If you simply think "Here is Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deity," you may be fool number, rascal number one. That doesn't matter. But you are getting impression of this Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, think of Him: "Oh, how nicely Kṛṣṇa is decorated." This much. No erudite scholarship. Simply... Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto. Here is Deity. Worship Him nicely as it is regulated principle. Even you are not worshiping, simply think of Kṛṣṇa, "Here is Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa." Impression. What is the difficulty? As soon as you see Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, you get some impression. Think of that impression. Where is the difficulty? Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto. "Worship me." If you have got opportunity, worship. If you are initiated, worship here. Or you install Deity at home, as our Kṣīrodakaśāyī Prabhu is doing. Everyone can do it. Where is the difficulty? Now ask him how he is happy. The whole family is happy. Not only he. But his wife, his children, everyone is happy. Practical.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Disappearance Day, Lecture -- Hyderabad, December 10, 1976:

So anyway, from 1922 to 1933 practically I was not initiated, but I got the impression of preaching Caitanya Mahāprabhu's cult. That I was thinking. And that was the initiation by my Guru Mahārāja. Then officially I was initiated in 1933 because in 1923 I left Calcutta. I started my business at Allahabad. So I was always thinking of my Guru Mahārāja, that "I met a very nice sādhu." Although I was doing business, I never forgot him. Then, in 1928, these Gauḍīya Maṭha people came to Allahabad during Kumbhamelā. As the Kumbhamelā is going to be held this year, a similar big Kumbhamelā was held in 1928. In those days they came to open their branch in Allahabad, and somebody recommended that "You go to..." At that time I was running on my big pharmacy and I was very well known man in Allahabad as the proprietor of the pharmacy.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Evening -- Gorakhpur, February 15, 1971:

In the very first sight, he told me. At that time, I argued with him that "We are dependent nation, and who is going to hear about our message?" So he defeated my argument. (aside:) There is no necessity of closing. Yes. He defeated my argument. He was learned scholar. What I was? I was still boy. So I agreed (chuckles) that I was defeated. So after finishing our visit with Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, I got some impression that "Here is a person who has taken Lord Caitanya's message very seriously. Now it will be preached." My friend asked my opinion, that "What is your opinion?" So I gave this opinion, that "Here is a person who has taken Lord Caitanya's movement very seriously, and now it will be preached."

So that was in 1922. Then, in 1923, I left Calcutta on business account, and I started my business at Allahabad. But I was always thinking of my Guru Mahārāja, although I was that time not initiated. But the impression was there. I was thinking, "I met a very nice saintly person."

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Evening -- Gorakhpur, February 15, 1971:

So my Guru Mahārāja's desire and Caitanya Mahāprabhu's prediction is now being fulfilled. At least, it has begun to be fulfilled. So it is a genuine movement, authorized movement, and India's original culture. So our appeal to the Indian people, that "You should take seriously about this movement and try to cooperate with us." That will be glorification for Indian culture. At the present moment, India is known as very poor, poverty-stricken country. People are under impression that "They are beggars. They have got nothing to give. They simply come here to beg." Actually, our ministers go there and, for some begging purpose: "Give us rice, give us wheat, give us money, give us soldiers." That is their business. But this movement, for the first time, India is giving something to them. It is not a begging propaganda; it is giving propaganda.

Initiation Lectures

Initiation Lecture and Bhagavan dasa's Marriage Ceremony -- New Vrindaban, June 4, 1969:

"The highest perfection is that one who comes to Me, reaches the abode of Kṛṣṇa, then he hasn't got to accept this miserable body." We do not understand that this body is miserable. Actually, any body. Either you get a princely body or a dog's body, because you have accepted a material body, therefore you have to suffer. You have to suffer. There is no excuse. Because you have got American beautiful body... Sometimes I meet some American gentlemen. They are under impression that India is a starving country. Accepting that India is starving country, but does it mean that America is a very happy country? No. That is their mistake. They simply think that "Because we have got enough money, therefore we are in happiness." No. If there is happiness, why the young boys and girls become hippies? No. Happiness is different.

Initiations -- New York, July 23, 1971:

Prabhupāda: Hṛṣīkeśa. Hṛṣīkeśa means the same thing, master of the senses. Hṛṣīka means senses, and hṛṣīka-īśa..., īśa means ruler or master. So actually hṛṣīkeśa means Kṛṣṇa. He is the master of the senses. And bhakti means hṛṣīka..., hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). Our hṛṣīkeśa means if we be under the control of Hṛṣīkeśa, then these senses now being used for other purposes, upādhi, designations... Just like one is very busy in his national work. Means he is giving service to a designation, falsely thinking that "I am this body," "This body is American," "This body is Indian," "This body is this." So under this false impression he is giving service. This is one stage. And when we are freed from this, all these false impressions, and give service to Kṛṣṇa, that is our perfect stage. So Hṛṣīkeśa means Hṛṣīkeśa dāsa, to become the servant of the Hṛṣīkeśa. Kṛṣṇa is Hṛṣīkeśa, so your name is Hṛṣīkeśa dāsa. Come on. Hare Kṛṣṇa. All right.

Devotee: All glories to you, Śrīla Prabhupāda. (end)

Initiation Lecture -- London, August 22, 1971:

So my students, all... Not only here in England, in London, in all places, if you go, if you travel, if you go to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, and many other places—I've got twenty branches—in Japan, and Honolulu, so they are strictly following, and they are making wonderful stride. Now here, I came here for the first time. Before me I sent my six students, married students. They were only with me utmost for one year. I sent them, "You go to London and try." And they tried their best. So they have created some impression amongst the Londoners, which... One of my Godbrother came forty years ago. He could not do. He was a sannyāsī. But how these boys and girls have done? Because they are so sincere. Yes. The sincerity... In spiritual life, sincerity is the first qualification. Ārjavam. Ārjavaṁ saralaksa (?). Ārjavam. Satyaṁ śaucam ārjavam. These are the brahminical qualifications. One should be very sincere. Duplicity may be very good qualification for this material world, but duplicity in spiritual life is no qualification. So these boys, although they are very young—they're not even thirty; within twenty-five, twenty-six years, all the boys and girls—but they have made some impressions. Many Indians, they have openly admitted, "Swamijī, you have made wonderful. These boys and girls are very nice." So that is my pride, that these boys and girls following my instruction, and... I am not giving you, them any money or any bribe. No. (laughter) They are simply sincerely following my instruction. I am a mendicant. I have no money, I'm a beggar. But Kṛṣṇa is helping them. So you follow these principles. Then surely, success will be there.

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

So sannyāsa, sannyāsa, the derivative meaning is sat-nyās. Sat means the Supreme Truth. Oṁ tat sat. Here in this material world everything is relative truth. Nothing is Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Absolute Truth is a person like us, but He is the Supreme Person. That is the Vedic information. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). Nitya means eternal. We living entities, we are all eternal. That is very nicely explained in Bhagavad-gītā. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Those who under the impression that after finishing annihilation of this body, everything is finished, they are not in perfect knowledge. The living entity continues to exist either in this body or in another body. Just like very simple example, we can understand. All of us sitting here, we had a small baby body. I existed, you existed, in that baby body, but that body is not now existing, but I am existing. I know that "I existed in a baby body, I existed in a boyhood body, I existed in a youthhood body. Now I am existing in this old age body. Similarly, when this body is finished, I shall again exist in another body." This is the right conclusion. Therefore na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). After the destruction of this body, ātmā, or the spirit soul, is not destroyed or annihilated. He continues.

Sannyasa Initiation -- Mayapur, March 16, 1976:

Just like in America they produce huge amount of grains. Sometimes they throw it in the sea on account of overproduction. Why overproduction should be given on the sea? It should be utilized. There are so many people starving. But this political situation is there that everyone is thinking "This is my country. This is my home. This is my land." This is called māyā. Ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). Janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti. Everyone is under this impression, "I am this body, and anything belonging to this body, that is mine." or "my nation." This conception should be given up. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). Everything belongs to the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, the same thing is confirmed.

Initiation Lecture -- Hyderabad, August 22, 1976:

Kṛṣṇa is so kind that this simple activity doesn't require..., nobody requires a very high standard education to understand Kṛṣṇa or to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Very simple thing. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Here is Kṛṣṇa Deity. You see every day and think of Him. It is very easy. As soon as you become practiced to see the Deity, the impression is within your mind. So you can think of Kṛṣṇa. Man-manā. And because you come to the temple and always see Kṛṣṇa and His daily program, then you become a bhakta. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto. Mad-yājī, you worship Kṛṣṇa. Whatever you have got, little patram, puṣpam, phalam, toyam (BG 9.26), just try to offer. And at last just offer respectful obeisances. Then you become perfect. You become eligible to go back home, back to Godhead. Very simple thing. It is not at all difficult, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Anyone. There is no distinction. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ (BG 9.32). Never mind one is born in low-grade family, but still he can take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya, striyo śūdrās tathā te 'pi yānti parām. Everything is open.

Initiation Lecture -- Hyderabad, August 22, 1976:

So not only the devotees who are being initiated today, I request all of you, please come here daily. See the Deity. Even if you cannot offer anything. I think everyone can offer, I think, a flower can be offered, a little fruit can be offered. Even if you do not offer, just come here, see the Deity and take the impression within your mind and offer obeisances. Just see. And chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Everyone, there is no restriction. So that is our request. We have opened this branch in your city. It is a very prominent place. You can come and take the advantage.

General Lectures

Lecture on Maha-mantra -- New York, September 8, 1966:

That is God's creation. In spite of many, each and every thing, you will find there is some difference. You can sit down at a place in New York and go on counting and seeing all people passing before you—you won't find one man is exactly like the other man. Not only that, in court, you know, every one of you know, that they take impression of the left hand thumb impression. Now, this thumb impression... You go on taking millions and millions of thumb impression, and you won't find one thumb impression is exactly like the other. And because there is difference of thumb impression, therefore the identity is taken in that way, that "This particular man's thumb impression, even if he denies his signature, the thumb impression will corroborate that his signature is this." So that is God's creation.

Lecture Engagement -- Montreal, June 15, 1968:

So the benefit will be that gradually you shall understand what you are. The whole civilization, modern civilization, is going on under a wrong impression that "I am this body." In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that "One who goes on with the concept of the body, he is no better than an ass or cow." Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke... (SB 10.84.13). It is a very long verse. But actually we are not this body. So if we chant this mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa, then I can understand what I am. And as soon as I understand that I am not this body, then my activities become different, because at the present moment I am acting on the concept of my life as this body. Because this body is born of a particular place in a particular country, therefore I am saying that "I am American," or "Indian," or "China" or "German," due to this body. And because I have got relationship with some woman with this body, therefore I accept the woman as my wife.

Engagement Lecture -- Buffalo, April 23, 1969:

More or less, he commits mistake. Just like in our country there was Mahatma Gandhi. He was supposed to be a very great personality, mahātmā, but he also committed mistake because when he was killed, five minutes before his coming to the meeting, he was warned by his confidential associates not to go to that meeting, but he persisted, and as soon as he entered the meeting hall he was killed. So I am giving an instance that even a great personality like Mahatma Gandhi, he also committed mistake. So in the conditioned state of our life, committing mistake is very natural. Just like we say, "To err is human." Any human being is susceptible to commit mistake. Another imperfectness is that every man is illusioned. Illusioned means to accept something which is not, phantasmagoria. Just like every one of us in this meeting, we are under the impression that "I am this body." But actually I am not this body. This is called illusion, māyā.

Lecture -- Paris, June 26, 1971:

So when the body is complete, then the consciousness coming. So long the body is not complete, the consciousness is almost dead. It is called suṣupti, or sound sleeping. Then gradually, when the consciousness comes, the child within the womb feels uncomfortable and wants to come out. Therefore at the stage of seventh month of pregnancy sometimes the child moves. That is the process of growing. And after coming out of the womb the body grows. But if the child comes out dead, the body does not grow. Therefore it is to be understood that due to the presence of the spirit soul the body grows, means changes from one form to another. It is concluded by learned scholars that this change of body is taking place every moment, but the soul is there from the beginning of the life. And when this body is no longer persistable, the soul changes to another body. That is called transmigration of the soul. That is a fact. But the modern civilization does not deal with this subject matter. They are under wrong impression that the body is self. I have talked with many scholars, and they are also under the same impression that with the end of the body, everything is finished. But actual fact is different. We can remember our childhood body. We can remember our boyhood body. Although those bodies are not present, I, the spirit soul, the occupier of the body or the proprietor of the body, I am present.

Town Hall Lecture -- Auckland, April 14, 1972:

One lawyer who quotes from the lawbook various bona fide quotations, the judgment is given in his favor because that is authorized. Similarly, a Vedic statement is accepted in Indian spiritual society. There are hundreds and thousands of men who are still dedicated. Practically the whole population of India, they are dedicated to spiritual life. Perhaps you may not know, but anyone who has taken birth in India, he has got a natural inheritance of spiritual life. Unfortunately, at the present moment the leaders are under wrong impression that in India, being too much spiritually inclined, its material advancement has been checked. But material advancement does not become hampered by spiritual knowledge. That is a wrong impression. Rather, if you become spiritually advanced, your material necessities will be very nicely adjusted. That is the injunction, Bhagavad-gītā, yuktāhāra-vihārasya yogo bhavati siddhi-da. Yoga... Spiritual life means yoga. So yogic life can be very nicely successful if you adjust your material necessities of life.

Lecture at Upsala University Faculty -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:

I'm not this body. I am spiritual spark, part and parcel of God. That is my position. But anyone identifying himself, he thinks that he's this body... Especially the animals. The animals have no knowledge that he's different from the body. Therefore a human being, if he's under the impression that he is this body, he's no better than the animal. Therefore in the human form of life, one can understand his real identity, he can understand what is God, he can understand what is his relationship with God and act accordingly. If he does so, then his human life is perfect. Otherwise, he remains like animal, and he gets no benefit by this nature's gift, human form of life. By evolutionary process, we come to the human form of life. By evolutionary process, we come to the human form of life, passing through 8,400,000, about 8,300,000 species of life. Then we come to this form of life, civilized human being. So this should not be misused in the business of cats and dogs. This should be used for better purposes. This better purpose is to understand oneself, what he is actually, whether he is this body, whether he is this mind, or whether he's different from body and mind, a spiritual spark. That is real knowledge.

Speech -- Vrndavana, April 20, 1975:

Kṛṣṇa says that we don't take this body as yourself. Asmin dehe. Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanam... (BG 2.13). This transformation of the body, that is natural. But within the body, the part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa is there. That you have to understand, that is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā. We have to understand what is there within the body. That is the beginning of spiritual education. Unfortunately, the whole world is going on under the impression that "I am this body." "I am Indian," "I am European..." That is condemned in the śāstra.

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣu abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
(SB 10.84.13)

Go, go means cow, and kharaḥ means ass. So yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke. This bag of three dhātus-kapha, pitta, vāyu—if one takes it that "I am this body," "I am Indian," "I am American," so śāstra says, "He is not even human being." Sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is very, very important from this angle of vision, that everyone is thinking this body as he is. Nobody understands that he is within this body. Just like we are within this dress. I am not this dress. This is the primary education of spiritual life. Unfortunately, it is very much lacking. And now you can see practically that these European and American boys, they are all young men, but they have forgotten the bodily relationship. We have got in our institution Africans, Canadians, Australians, Europeans, Indians, but they do not consider with reference to this bodily concept of life. They live as eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. That is the instruction given by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109).

Tenth Anniversary Address -- Washington, D.C., July 6, 1976:

So we'll find in every Vedic literature, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father. When Arjuna understood Bhagavad-gītā, in the Tenth Chapter you will find, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān puruṣaṁ śāśvatam ādyam (BG 10.12). And he also confirmed that "I am accepting You like this, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma (BG 10.12). So people may be in doubt because I am Your friend. So they may say, 'Out of friendship, regard or affection, out of sentiment, he is speaking like that, that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme person, paraṁ brahma.' " But Arjuna immediately rectifies this impression, that "Not only myself, but great authorities like Vyāsadeva, Nārada, Asita, they are also affirming." Vyāsadeva is authority. Veda-vyāsa, he is the giver of Vedic knowledge. So he is accepting. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam he is writing, ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam (SB 1.3.28). He has given description of the incarnation of God, then he concludes that "All these incarnations, they are part and parcel or plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the name which I have mentioned as Kṛṣṇa, that Godhead, kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam, He is the Supreme Original Personality of Godhead." That is Vyāsadeva's... So we have to accept. And Arjuna also says, svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me, "You are also personally speaking that mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7), 'There is no more superior authority than Me.' " So this is confirmed.

Lecture -- Bombay, March 26, 1977:

Ladies and Gentlemen, the very learned erudite scholarly speaking by our Dr. Svarūpa Dāmodara Singh must have created some impression in your mind, I am sure. So our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, it is full of scientific knowledge. Jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānaṁ pravakṣyāmy anasuyave (BG 7.2). Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna that "I am speaking to you knowledge, jñānam, sa-vijñānam, with scientific understanding." So "Why you are speaking to Me?" Jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānaṁ pravakṣyamy anasuyave: "Because you are not envious. That is your qualification. You are very submissive student. Therefore I'll give you." So the dictation is coming from Kṛṣṇa, as Dr. Svarūpa Dāmodara says. That's a fact. Kṛṣṇa says, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: (BG 15.15) "I am situated in everyone's heart."

Departure Talks

Departure Address -- Los Angeles, July 15, 1974:

So it is not very difficult thing. Very easy. But we do not want it. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, the matter is very simple. Kṛṣṇa says four things, that "Always think of Me..." Now, here is Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī, Kṛṣṇa, standing before you. Don't think that this is idol. No. Kṛṣṇa is present before you in that form to show you favor that you can handle with Kṛṣṇa. You can dress Him. You can give Him for eating. You can... To give you facilities. But Kṛṣṇa is here, and Rādhārāṇī is here. So He says, personally, that man-manā bhava mad-bhakto: "Always think of Me." So you are seeing Kṛṣṇa, and the impression is within your mind. As soon as you will close your eyes, you will see Kṛṣṇa within your heart. Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī is here, and if you see constantly, naturally the impression will be within your heart. So either you are in temple or outside the temple, you'll be able to see Kṛṣṇa always—if you practice. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu (Bs. 5.38). Those who are saintly persons, on account of love for Kṛṣṇa, they see always Kṛṣṇa within his heart. So this practice is not very difficult. It doesn't require M.A., Ph.D. education, or to become very rich or opulent. Nothing is required. Simply try to think of Kṛṣṇa. That's all.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Śyāmasundara: Today we are discussing Immanuel Kant. Basically, his philosophy seeks to trace the relationship between a priori ideas, or those ideas of the mind which are independent of sense experience, and the a posteriori ideas, or sense impressions. He wants to unify these two positions. So he wrote The Critique of Pure Reason, in which he asks the fundamental question, "How are a priori synthetic judgments possible?" In other words, how can we decide anything, judge anything? Where does this facility come from? What is the source of knowledge?

Prabhupāda: Intelligence. The source of knowledge is intelligence. Intelligence acts through mind, and then some conclusion comes. Man is mortal, so here is a man, intelligence; he must be mortal. This a priori idea means "I know man is mortal; therefore here is a man, he must be mortal." A priori means before. And what is the other?

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Śyāmasundara: A posteriori means after; sense impressions. So he developed this process for attaining knowledge in three steps. The first step he calls he transcendental aesthetic, and this is the basic stage which synthesizes sense experience through concepts of time and space. In other words, the mind acts upon sensory perceptions and applies time and space relations to them. So he says that this knowing of time and space is a priori; it's an internal creation of the mind. Before we sense anything, we have an idea of time and space. So as soon as we sense something, we can apply time and space ideas.

Prabhupāda: He said something transcendental?

Śyāmasundara: He calls it the transcendental aesthetic.

Prabhupāda: Transcendental means it is not in my experience, but I get the experience from higher authority, paramparā.

Philosophy Discussion on Immanuel Kant:

Śyāmasundara: He says that thoughts without content are empty, meaning that the mind must have senses in order to fill its thoughts with content; and perceptions without exceptions are blind. In other words, sense impressions without thought are blind.

Prabhupāda: That thought comes from transcendental knowledge. Thought comes from higher authorities. That is called parokṣa. Then with your senses, when you try to understand, that is called aparokṣa. Then adhokṣaja. As I told you, there are five stages of acquiring knowledge: direct perception, pratyakṣa; parokṣa, receiving knowledge from higher authorities; then apply your senses, come to some conclusion, that is aparokṣa; then transcendental knowledge, adhokṣaja; then aprakṛta, spiritual knowledge.

Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Prabhupāda: Complex or simple, it doesn't matter. There were trees.

Svarūpa Dāmodara: Actually, the coal doesn't say whether the tree was complex or not.

Śyāmasundara: No, but they find impressions from leaves and the carboniferous age, they find that the remains of trees, plants, twigs, all very simple forms like our (indistinct). Today they're more...

Prabhupāda: Our evidence is intelligence, not with tools and (indistinct). Our evidence is intelligence. We find, we get Vedic information by disciplic succession-highly intelligent. So that is our evidence. Not the tools.

Śyāmasundara: The Scripture. The evidence which is written and spoken in...

Prabhupāda: Yes. And that is coming by śruti, by hearing. Just like Vyāsadeva heard from Nārada, Nārada heard from Brahmā, millions and millions of years ago. If you take, according to our calculation, Brahmā's age, Brahmā's one day we cannot calculate. It is now some, so many millions of years past, and still it is not even Brahmā's one day. So many millions of years. Because in Brahmā's one day seventy-two..., fourteen, fourteen Manus come and go. And each Manu's age is seventy-two millennium. One millennium means 4,300,000's of years. So such seventy-two millennium makes complete one Manu's life, and there are fourteen Manus in Brahmā's one day. So millions and trillions and billions of years, that is not very astonishing to us, because it is not even one day of Brahmā. That Brahmā was born, and intelligent philosophy is still existing from the date of Brahmā's birth. Brahmā was first educated by God. That is our calculation.

Philosophy Discussion on Henri Bergson:

Hayagrīva: So instead of a machine for the making of gods, it's more like a hospital for the curing of souls.

Prabhupāda: Yes, yes, it is hospital. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means curing the disease. That is described in Nārada-bhakti-sūtra, sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170), nirmalam. Nirmalam means purified. So when he becomes free from all this designation... The designation begins with this body, and the body accidentally born in Europe, he thinks, "I am a European." Born in America, "I am an American." Born in a Christian family, "I am Christian." He is born in Hindu family, "I am that." That is all misconception. His real position is that "I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, eternal servant." Then he is free from all. That is, that is beginning of..., that is brahma-bhūtaḥ, beginning of spiritual life. So nothing, not that a man can be made to God. He is not God; he is part and parcel of God. He has to simply understand his position. That is mukti. He is working under different impression, that "I am this body." Just like the other day with, concerning the philosopher Huxley. He is a philosopher but he is proud of becoming Englishman. Did you not say?

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

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

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

Philosophy Discussion on Sigmund Freud:

Devotee: He has put their attention more on sex.

Prabhupāda: That's all. What actual benefit is derived from him?

Śyāmasundara: He has made the impression that all of our troubles are due to frustrated sex life in our childhood, and that by analyzing these activities of childhood we can rectify our situation.

Prabhupāda: That is (indistinct).

Devotee: That is why young boys and girls have increased sex life.

Prabhupāda: They are becoming hippies. What benefit is there? He has degraded the whole nation.

Philosophy Discussion on Sigmund Freud:

Devotee: Is doing it from the beginning necessarily always going to work? For instance in Nairobi, (indistinct) he came with his wife and two children, and his son was so frightened, he never liked to leave the house at night because he thought when he left the house at night, when he returned the house wouldn't be there, and you were saying that that was recalled from his previous life, that he was bringing that... (break) ...simple desires?

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is continued from the previous birth. As soon as the seed is there, we are getting so many impressions, there are seeds, so many impressions. So therefore Lord Caitanya said that we are getting so many seeds, every moment, so one who is fortunate, he gets the seed of bhakti by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and guru. Guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151). The bīja is there, that seed, and if he nourishes that seed by watering, (indistinct), then it grows, he becomes a devotee. Everything is seed. Either bhakti or sinful life or anything—it grows (indistinct). So brahmacārī means from the very beginning sowing the seed of goodness, and if one becomes a devotee, then automatically other things are lost.

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Prabhupāda: Or sometimes subconscious state manifests which has no connection with my present consciousness.

Revatīnandana: Can we say that those subconscious states which sometimes reveal themselves are like stored in impressions in the mind?

Prabhupāda: That is stored impression.

Revatīnandana: (indistinct) potentially manifest...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Revatīnandana: They are potentially manifest, but they don't have to. But they...

Prabhupāda: It is just like photograph. If you take so many snap, but not all of them immediately moves.

Revatīnandana: So they would posit that there's a mental functioning going on, a thinking functioning going on that we're not conscious of. I think we don't agree with that. Is that correct? We say that there's one mind, sometimes mental impressions come that are stored...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Philosophy Discussion on Carl Gustav Jung:

Prabhupāda: Unconsciousness, of course there is, that is not (indistinct) the same thing. That is not manifest. Unconsciousness, but it will manifest.

Śyāmasundara: He says that there are two kinds of subconscious state. The first one is the personal unconscious, or those personal items which are highly individual from one's previous childhood, from his infantile history, certain things occurred, they were repressed, and so on. These are stored in our own unconscious state and they are aroused into consciousness in dreams and through psychoanalysis. But he also posits another type of unconscious, or subconscious, state called the collective unconscious. He says that evolution has predetermined the human brain to react in terms of basic principles derived from the experience of many generations. In other words, that my ancestors had left impressions in my brain from the time of my birth, how to react according to their experiences. Is this true, that there is a collective experience which is passed on?

Prabhupāda: Yes. That experience we say paramparā. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam (BG 4.2). That is cultivated.

Philosophy Discussion on The Evolutionists Thomas Huxley, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Alexander:

Śyāmasundara: His idea is that even these mental images in dreams are real, that they have an objective reality.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Objective reality. When I dream of a woman or a tiger, there is objective reality. In dream it may be. There may be no existence of woman or tiger, but there is real existence of tiger, my dreaming. The impression of a tiger in my mind, the impression of a woman in my mind is created as hallucination, and that reacts on my physical life.

Śyāmasundara: He says that even these mental objects have a real existence in my consciousness. As long as I'm thinking there's a tiger about to pounce on me...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Śyāmasundara: ...there is a tiger. There is a real object in my consciousness.

Prabhupāda: And because it is real object, it is reacting on my physical life.

Philosophy Discussion on Plato:

Hayagrīva: Well, one last point is that neither Socrates, Plato or Aristotle ever mentions service to God; rather, they always speak of contemplation of God's reality or the Supreme Splendor. It's always contemplation, meditation. Is this typical of the jñānī? Or... There's no mention of service.

Prabhupāda: No, this is the process of knowing God. They are partially helpful to know God as He is, but when he actually comes to know God, he sees that "He is the great and I am the small." So the business of the small is to serve the great. That is nature's way. We practically see in our daily life, because you are small you are going to serve a big factory. Otherwise you have no other way. So everyone is serving, but when he realizes that "I am serving. I am not the master," that is the position actually. Ask anybody in this world whether he is master or serving, the conclusion will be that he is serving. His natural position is to serve. So if one hasn't got a family to serve, he keeps a dozen of dog to serve. That is going on, and especially in the Western countries we see that at the old age, when he has no children, so he keeps a dog or two or three pets to serve. So the serving position is already there, and when the servant wants to become master, that is māyā. Because this word māyā means actually he is serving and he is thinking that he is master. That is māyā. Māyā means what is not fact. So by meditation, when he actually becomes a realized soul, he will understand that "Oh, I am servant. So why I am serving māyā? Let me serve Kṛṣṇa." That is perfection. So if his guide, spiritual master, engages him from the very beginning to serve God, then he becomes quickly perfect, because he is servant and he has to serve Kṛṣṇa. That is his perfection. He is falsely thinking that he is master. That is māyā. Here also they are simply serving. Just like President Nixon. He thought himself, "I am the master of America." But actually he is not. The master is the public. As soon as the public wanted "You come down immediately," he had to do that. So if the president of big state, he is under the false impression that although he is serving he is thinking master, then what to speak of others? Everyone is serving, but he is thinking master. So perfect knowledge is there that when he comes to the platform that "God is the supreme master, He is great, and we are servant." That is perfection of life.

Philosophy Discussion on Rene Descartes:

Hayagrīva: Concerning the soul, Descartes concludes that...

Prabhupāda: Now in this connection, regarding the soul, if he has received the knowledge of soul from God, therefore at that time there is no chance of he is thinking. If, as soon as he thinks in his own way, then there may be mistakes, because he is imperfect, finite. But when Kṛṣṇa says directly that "Within this body the soul is there," so if we accept God's instruction, then immediately we understand that the soul is different from this body. Exactly just like if somebody inquires, "Where is Prabhupāda?" If somebody says that "He is in this room," it does not mean this room is Prabhupāda; Prabhupāda is within this room. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa says that this, the owner of the body, the soul, is within this body. So immediately the false impression that "I am this body," the fool's conclusion, immediately it is eradicated. The light is there, but he will not accept. He wants to continue to live as a fool and speculate and waste time and con..., give conclusion in so many ways, so many rascal jugglery, "The living force is like this, like that, like that." But Kṛṣṇa gives instruction immediately that the living force, soul, is within this body; he is not this body. And He gives complete instruction on this at... He says, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre: (BG 2.20) "This soul is never killed even the body is killed." This is knowledge. In spite of this knowledge, if somebody sticks to his foolish theories, then he remains animal.

Philosophy Discussion on George Berkeley:

Hayagrīva: Berkeley. Berkeley—very brief section on Berkeley. Berkeley seems to be arguing against objective reality. In other words, three men standing in a field looking at a tree could all have a different impression or idea of the tree, or at least according to his argument. The problem is, although there are three impressions of the tree, each differing from one another, there is no tree as such. Now, how does the tree as such exist? In the mind of God? Is it possible for a conditioned living entity to perceive the suchness or essence of anything?

Prabhupāda: Everything means God, expansion of God's energy. So how tree or anything can be without reference to God? We see that the earthen pot is on the ground, on the, what is called, ground?

Hayagrīva: The what?

Prabhupāda: Earthen pot, pot, pots made of earth.

Hayagrīva: Earthen pots, pot that's made of earth.

Prabhupāda: So it is staying on earth, so the earthen pot is not different from the earth. So everything is expansion of God's energy. How we can avoid God with reference to anything that we see? There cannot be anything independent of God. The example is there: the earthen pot, as soon as you see, we remember the potter, that "Who has made?" and the wheel of the potter. So a... God is the original creator, He is the ingredient, and He is the category also, and He is the original substance. That is the conception, Vedic conception of God. He is everything. That is nondual conception. And if you make anything separate from God, then how you can say sarvaṁ khalu idaṁ brahma, "Everything is Brahman"? Then if you say everything is God, at the same time you separate something from God, so that is, what is called, contradiction. Our conception is, "Yes, actually everything has reference to the God, so everything is God's property. It should be utilized for God's service." That is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.

Philosophy Discussion on Thomas Henry Huxley:

Hayagrīva: Huxley says, "This salvation of liberation from karma was to be attained through knowledge and by action based on that knowledge." The supernatural, in our sense of the term, is entirely excluded.

Prabhupāda: Yes. We are acting under certain designation, that just like Mr. Huxley said a few minutes before, that "We are Englishmen." So this is designation. So, so long you will work under designation, there is no freedom. Because under false impression that "I am Englishman," "I am Frenchman," "Let me work in this way," that means you are entangling himself, yourself into some other way, so that today you are Englishman, next day you may be Frenchman or dog's man, that you are entangling yourself. But when you give up this designation, that "I am no man, no other's man, but I am Kṛṣṇa's man," then you will save yourself. Otherwise... Therefore to become Kṛṣṇa consciousness, conscious, is actual platform of freedom from karma.

Philosophy Discussion on Thomas Henry Huxley:

Hayagrīva: So he does appear at least a little closer than Darwin, because Darwin didn't recognize any of this transmigration at all.

Prabhupāda: Darwin, he is all through. Everyone is more or less. Unless one has got the right knowledge... Why Darwin? Everyone is under false impression. Therefore our proposition is that you take right knowledge from the right person, Kṛṣṇa, then you are perfect. And if you go on speculating—you speculate in one way, I speculate in another way—it does not mean that we are intelligent person.

Hayagrīva: The, Huxley, it was Huxley who coined the word "agnostic," as the opposite of gnostic, of church history. The word gnostic is "one who follows in the gnostic tradition of church history."

Prabhupāda: According to Vedic, nāstika word is there, nāstika.

Purports to Songs

Purport to Jaya Radha-Madhava -- New York, July 20, 1971:
So this is the-sit down-original nature of Kṛṣṇa, original nature of Kṛṣṇa. He is Rādhā-Mādhava. He is the lover of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And kuñja-vihārī, always enjoying the company of the gopīs within the bushes of Vrdavana forest. Rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī. So He's not only lover of Rādhārāṇī, but braja-jana-vallabha. The whole residents of Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa. They do not know anything else. They do not know whether Kṛṣṇa is God, or not; neither they are very much harassed, that "I shall love Kṛṣṇa if He is God." "He may be God or He may be whatever He is. It doesn't matter, but we love God, Kṛṣṇa." That's all. That is called unnalloyed love. "If Kṛṣṇa is God, then I shall love Him"—this is conditional love. This is not pure love. Kṛṣṇa may be God or whatever He may be, but by His wonderful acts, the Vrajavāsī, they are thinking, "Oh Kṛṣṇa, He is very wonderful child, maybe some demigod. Maybe some demigod." Because people are generally under impression that the demigods are all-powerful. They're powerful within this material world. But they do not know that Kṛṣṇa is above all of them. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). The highest demigod, Brahmā, is giving his opinion, "The supreme controller is Kṛṣṇa."
Page Title:Impression (Lectures)
Compiler:Mayapur
Created:03 of Oct, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=145, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:145