So God is more anxious to take us back to home, back to Godhead. Why? Sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Ānanda, ānanda means blissfulness. Ānanda, pleasure. You cannot enjoy pleasure alone. It must be many. There must be many. When a man takes the risk of becoming family man He's alone, there's no botheration, but he takes the responsibility of maintaining a wife, children and working very hard for maintaining them. Why this botheration? No, this is not botheration. There is pleasure. This is not botheration. Botheration means when I cannot maintain my wife, I cannot maintain children, then it is bother. Otherwise everyone wants that I live in a nice family home with my children, wife and good income, "I shall be very happy". For this reason one takes the risk marrying. There is pleasure there. Therefore God is never alone. He wants to enjoy pleasure with His sons, family members. We belong to God's family member, but because we are out from God's kingdom All these living entities that we are seeing within this material world, we cannot imagine how many living entities are there. How many universes are there. There are millions and trillions of universes, and each and every universe, there are millions and trillions of planets, and each planet there are millions and trillions of living entities. So all of them combined together is only a portion of God's children. The other children, they're living in the Kingdom of God. Their number is far, far greater than us. So this is the position.
Maintain (Lectures, SB)
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Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Therefore, distinction between animal and human being, that he must have some dharma. Dharma. And on religious principles, artha, economic development. Actually, if people become religious, then the economic development... Economic... You require some money to maintain yourself. So they will never be dishonest. Dishonest. In India still there are merchants, they would not take profit more than twenty-five percent, highest. There is no question of black market. "Now, I purchased this for one dollar. Oh, I am getting demand. I must charge five hundred times." No. That is irreligious. There are... Everything there is prescribed, that you cannot take more than this profit. So there was no black market, because people were religious.
Therefore if civilization is based on religious life, it doesn't matter what religion he belongs to, he is elevated. Any religion. And therefore I ask the Christians that Lord Christ says that "Thou shall not kill," why you are killing? They give some vague explanation. But actually a real Christian is as good as a real Hindu, as a real Muslim—if he follows. No religion is bad. We don't say. But the first-class religion is that... That is explained here: sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Every religion teaches how to love God more or less. Why more or less? That is the only aim. How to learn how to love God. But they are rejecting God, what to speak of love. Rejecting. "What is God, this nonsense? I am God. God is dead. Finished."
We have discussed this verse. So our only request is that don't take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement as some sentimental religious propaganda. No, no. It is not religious. It is scientific. It is to save the human society from gliding down to the abominable condition. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). Bhāgavata says, adanta-gobhiḥ. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). Adānta. The verse is: matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā. Matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho 'bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām. Those who are gṛha-vrata, means simply materialistic or simply this life, this body, "I am this body, and the offsprings of this body, they are my kinsmen. I have to maintain them," or expanding: "They are my kinsmen, they are my family men, they are my nation," this is called gṛhamedhi. So such gṛhamedhi, matir na kṛṣṇe, they cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā.
So the fact is that we do not require to, I mean to say, endeavor for finding out food. The food is already there. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. We should sit down tightly, depending on Kṛṣṇa... That we have already explained, that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is going on. We have got heavy expenditure, but Kṛṣṇa is supplying. This is a fact. None of our boys and girls, they go to office or to factory or they earn. The... In Los Angeles, our neighborhood men, they're very envious. They say, "How you maintain such huge establishment and you do not work?" They cannot dream that without working one can eat. Yes. So here the fact, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā nārtho yaś ceha karmabhiḥ. It is not that you have to work very hard. The... Everywhere in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that is the instruction. In one place, in the Fifth Chapter of Fifth Canto, while Ṛṣabhadeva was instructing His boys, He also said, nāham, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This human form of body is not meant for working hard like the dogs and the hogs for simply for sense gratification; it is meant for tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet (SB 5.5.1). The human life is meant for tapasya, self-realization, tattva-jijñāsā. That is the basic principle of Vedic civilization.
So this is called saṁsāra, this is called material existence. One life after another, one life after another, one life after another. This is called karma-granthi-nibandhanam. So if we want to unknot this tight fitting of our heart... Now, again it is said that as soon as the male-female is united, then further tightening begins. What is that? Ataḥ kṣetra. Ataḥ kṣetra, gṛha, āpta, vitta. In this way, first of all, we are united, husband and wife. Then we want a nice apartment or house, gṛha. Then, to maintain the house, we require a field, field of activity. Generally, formerly, they were agricultural. So you must have income. Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-suta. Then children, then āpta, friends. Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittaiḥ then again, money. In this way, our attachment increasing. Janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). In this way, our illusory position, moha, increases, one after another, one after another. This is called karma-granthi-nibandhanam. Karma-granthi-nibandhanam.
There are two kinds of bhāgavata: book bhāgavata and devotee bhāgavata. So in the Śiva Purāṇa, there was a question by Pārvatī to Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva and Pārvatī, husband and wife. Pārvatī means the material nature. Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā (Bs. 5.44). Durgā-devī. Durgā-devī is in charge of this material world. It is called durgā, durgā, just like fort. And the superintendent of this fort is Durgā. You cannot go out of this fort; you are imprisoned. So such Durgā-devī, who is so powerful energy—she can create, annihilate, maintain, sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana—she is always sitting by the side of her husband, Lord Śiva, and questioning about spiritual enquiries. Just see. Such powerful deity is also ignorant about spiritual life. So the husband, Lord Śiva, is Vaiṣṇava, and she's always asking, and sitting down underneath a bael tree. She can create so many universes, but for her, no building; only underneath a tree.
Abhadrāṇi, all dirty things, they are accumulating. So by hearing about Kṛṣṇa... Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā. Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18). You have to hear... Not that Bhāgavata-saptāha. I don't find this Bhāgavata-saptāha in anywhere in the Bhagavad, Bhāgavata. But they have invented some means for professional reading. Nei. In the Bhāgavata it is said..., not said, saptāha bhāgavata-sevayā. Why it is said, nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā? You have to hear Bhāgavatam daily, regularly. That is the injunction of Bhāgavatam. You have to hear from, not from the professional men, professional reciters. Bhāgavata-saptāha, and then, after one saptāha, you do your all nonsense things and he takes some money for livelihood, for maintaining his wife and children. And so many umbrellas, so many suits, so many utensils, and sell in the market, get some money, and maintain them. This kind of bhāgavata-sevā will not help. Nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevā. Caitanya Mahāprabhu's order is bhāgavata pada giyā bhāgavata-sthāne(?). If you want to realize what is Bhāgavata, then you must go and learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a person whose life is Bhāgavatam, not the professional Bhāgavata reciters.
So voluntarily you have to try to give up these bad habits, and at the same time, to maintain yourself on the platform, you have to chant sixteen rounds: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. This is the process. Tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye (SB 1.2.19). Then the result will be this: ceta etair anāviddham. Because they are, māyā is attacking you with these... Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Guṇamayī. Guṇa means these qualities, the three modes of nature. The material nature is guṇamayī. Guṇamayī means involved or full of these three modes of material nature, guṇamayī. Maya means... Just like golden. It is smeared with gold or it is gold, you can..., you can say golden. Golden means it is made of gold or it is covered with gold glittering. Similarly, this māyā, this material nature, is made of these three modes of nature, sattva, rajas, tamas. Therefore it is called guṇamayī.
Now the original person is Kṛṣṇa. Now, to maintain this creation, He expands Himself into three: hari, viriñci, hara. Hari means Viṣṇu, viriñci means Brahmā, and hara means Lord Śiva. Hari-viriñci-hareti saṁjñāḥ. But, just like the Māyāvādī philosopher says that "Then, if Kṛṣṇa has become Hari, Viriñci and Hara, three, so I can worship anyone." No. That is hinted here: śreyāṁsi tatra khalu sattva-tanor nṛṇāṁ syuḥ. But if you want your ultimate goal, then you take shelter of Viṣṇu—sattva-tanoḥ—not Śiva, not Brahmā. Here, clearly says. If you want... Because your conditioned life is due to your disobedience to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So unless you surrender unto Him, you again become obedient, there is no question of your goodness or your good or fortune. That is not possible. That is explained here. Śreyāṁsi, if you want... Śreyāṁsi means if you want really ultimate benefit of your life, then sattva-tanoḥ. Sattva-tanoḥ means Viṣṇu. You have to take shelter of the form of the Lord who is representing sattva-guṇa, goodness. Not the rajo-guṇa not the tamo-guṇa. If you take to rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, then tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye (SB 1.2.19), then you will be influenced by two qualities, namely greediness and lust. That's all. You'll never come to your senses. You'll be carried away by these two modes of material nature. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore said, māyār bośe, jāccho bhese' Khāccho hābuḍubu bhāi. "My dear brother, you are being carried away by the waves of this material nature, two modes of material nature, and you are being harassed. Sometimes you are drowned, sometimes you are up."
Kṣatriya means one who protects from injury kṣata, kṣatriya, trāyate, one who protects people from being injured. Therefore the kṣatriya class, they were royal families, and the brāhmaṇas, they were meant for giving spiritual education. Brahma jānāti iti brāhmaṇa. And the vaiśyas, they were meant for trading, agriculture and cow protection. As the kṣatriyas were interested, entrusted for protecting the citizens, similarly the vaiśyas were entrusted for protecting the cows. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.44). So now vaiśyas, they have got big, big factories, they can maintain big, big factories, but they cannot maintain a cow. That is the position. Similarly, Kṣatriyas, they have taken different occupational duties. Brāhmaṇas also, they have left their occupation. Only everyone has come to the platform of śūdras. Therefore it is very difficult to convince them about spiritual life. Mostly people are śūdras. Śūdras, less intelligent. They cannot understand. Mūḍha. Less intelligent means mūḍha. The symbol of less intelligence is ass, mūḍha. The ass... Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has described the karmīs as mūḍha because they work very hard. Although the necessity of life is very little, still they work very hard, day and night. The ass is the symbol because the ass eats only a morsel of grass, but for the washerman, he works so hard.
God is neither father nor... He is father. Actually He is father, because He is the origin of everything. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Kṛṣṇa also says, ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4). Pitā means father. So actually, God's position is father. He is father of everything. Not... All living entities, all material energy. As... If you discover something, it is called "the father of this scientific discovery." So He has discovered everything, material and spiritual both. Therefore He is original father of everyone. Not only of the living entities, but also stones, woods, earth, water, fire, everything. He has created. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva..., prakṛtir me aṣṭadhā, bhinnā prakṛtir me aṣṭadhā (BG 7.4). In the Bhagavad-gītā. So He has created everything. He is actually the father. But out of love, the devotees, they accept the father as son, to give more service. Father is obliged to give service to the son. He has given birth; therefore he has obligation to maintain the son, to give service.
So man has become like that. If his belly is filled up with some rubbish thing and if he is free to have sex life, then he thinks, "My life is perfect now." And more perfect life, dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. In this age, if one man can maintain his wife and children, he will be considered a great man "Oh, he is so able, that he is maintaining his wife and children." Maintaining wife and children, even cats and dogs can do. But in this age, if a man can maintain his wife and children, he will be considered as very expert. Because most people will have no wife, no children. This is the age. So more you become sinful, the more you become irresponsible, the more you become Godless—these things are awaiting.
Pradyumna: "The Personality of Godhead, Śrī Rāma, assumed the form of a human being and appeared on the earth for the purpose of doing some pleasing work for the demigods, or the administrative personalities to maintain the order of the universe. Sometimes great demons and atheists like Rāvaṇa and Hiraṇyakaśipu and many others become very famous due to advancing material civilization by the help of material science and other activities with a spirit of challenging the established order of the Lord. For example, the attempt to fly to other planets by material means is a challenge to the established order. The conditions of each and every plane are different, and different classes of human beings are accommodated there for particular purposes mentioned in the codes of the Lord. But puffed up by tiny success in material advancement, sometimes the godless materialist challenges the existence of God. Rāvaṇa was one of them, and he wanted to deport ordinary men to the planets of Indra, or heaven, by material means, without consideration of the necessary qualifications. He wanted a staircase..."
Prabhupāda: Just now they are planning that everyone will go to the moon planet without any qualification. That is their plan. It is Rāvaṇa's plan. Rāvaṇa said that "Why you are undergoing so much severe austerities to go to heaven? I shall make a staircase, and you go directly, without having performed any austerities." So to go to the moon planet, according to the Vedic description, it requires a qualification. The moon planet, that is one of the heavenly planets, and if anyone can go there, he gets ten thousands of years span of life. And the standard of living is very higher than this planet. These are the description in the Vedic literature. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, it is said, yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25). If you want to be promoted to a heavenly planets, then you just perform the duties to please the particular demigod, you'll be... So these materialist scientists, they are thinking that they can go anywhere by the force of their so-called scientific advancement. But it has not proved successful till now. But still, they will say, "Yes, in future we shall go." All right, in future. "Trust no future, however pleasant." That's all.
So these three qualities are there within this material world. And one has to transcend these three qualities. And that can be done... Anyone can do that. Kṛṣṇa does not say that only the person who is in goodness, who has the brahminical platform, he can be engaged. Actually, he can be engaged, not in the passion. But if you be engaged in devotional service, then immediately you transcend all the qualities. You become more than brāhmaṇa-Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava means he is transcendental to the brahminical qualities also. But if you do not maintain even brahminical qualities, then where you are a Vaiṣṇava?
So to become a Vaiṣṇava is not so easy thing, because it is transcendental to the brahminical quality. But it is very easy. Lord Caitanya has made it easy, provided you stick to the principles. If you simply chant regularly Hare Kṛṣṇa... This is the special facility for the people in this age. You can remain steady in transcendental position. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (CC Antya 20.12). As soon as you remain in the offenseless chanting platform, immediately you become transcendental to these material qualities. Very simple. You don't require to study Vedānta. The Vedānta is there.
This is very important thing, jijñāsitam. This is the beginning of life actually. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Inquisitiveness. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta (SB 11.3.21). One should search after a guru, jijñāsu, one who is inquisitive. That is actually life. Just like animals, they are not inquisitive. They are simply concerned with the four principles of bodily necessities. Eating... Udaram, dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. In this age, Kali-yuga, if one can eat sumptuously, he thinks that "All my interest is now fulfilled. I have eaten very nicely today." That's all. (chuckles) And dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. And if he can maintain a wife and three children, oh, he is Dakṣa Mahārāja. Dakṣa Mahārāja. This is the age of Kali. You see? If one can simply eat and if he's well-to-do, he can maintain...
And when I was in New York, one old lady, she used to come to my class. Not in Second Avenue. When I first started in 72nd Street. So she had a son. So I asked, "Why don't you get your son married?" "Oh, if he can maintain a wife, I have no objection." Just to maintain a wife is a great job in this age. Dākṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. And still we are very much proud that we are advancing. Even a bird maintains a wife, even a beast maintains wife. And human being hesitates to maintain a wife? You see? And they are advanced in civilization? Hm? It is a very horrible age.
So we don't accept this material nature as final. We have Kṛṣṇa on the background, that He is, only, the master. So therefore we are monists. Simply we know Kṛṣṇa and everything emanating from Kṛṣṇa. That is described everywhere. In the Brahma-saṁhitā the same truth is... Sṛṣṭi-sthiti, sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā (Bs. 5.44). This material energy is called Durgā, but she is so powerful... Sṛṣṭi-sthiti.... She can create wonderful things. She can maintain wonderful things. She can dissolve wonderful things, so powerful, but she is acting under the direction... Chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā. Chāyeva. Just like shadow moves by the movement of the reality, similarly, this material nature is working under the direction of the Supreme.
There is a verse of Cāṇakya Paṇḍita, na hi harate jyotsnaṁ candraś caṇḍāla-veśmani. Caṇḍāla. Caṇḍāla means the low caste, lower than the śūdras. The meat-eaters. Meat-eaters, in India they are called caṇḍāla. So especially pig, pig-eater. Still you'll find in villages, the sweeper class, they capture one pig. They maintain the pigs. They sell as well as they eat. So the living pig they burn into fire. Still, publicly. And it cries like anything, but they are allowed. Publicly they do that. So caṇḍāla-veśmani. That is very polluted, sinful place, but that does not mean that the moonlight is refused there. Moonlight is not refused. Because it is the house of a caṇḍāla, therefore moon does not consider that he should be refused, or sunlight is refused there. No. Sunlight is equally distributed. Na hi harate jyotsnaṁ candraś caṇḍāla-veśmani. Candra means the moon. Similarly, all devotees, or Kṛṣṇa, He's not reluctant. Either devotee, Kṛṣṇa's devotee, or Kṛṣṇa is reluctant to bestow the mercy to anyone. Tulya... That is called tulya-darśanāḥ. The mercy is open for everyone.
There is a verse. Naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā (SB 1.2.18). Here the same thing is described, that saṅkīrtyamānaṁ munibhir mahātmabhiḥ. Saṅkīrtyamānam. We have to hear the saṅkīrtana not from professional men. That will not be... If you hear saṅkīrtana from the professional men... Professional men: who makes saṅkīrtana as the means of livelihood. Just like people do some business or work to get some money to maintain the life, similarly, if somebody takes the saṅkīrtana as the means of livelihood, that will not help you. You can go on hearing saṅkīrtana from such professional men for millions of years; still, you will remain where you are, not rajas-tamopahā. You cannot get out of the bondage of... Therefore you have to hear from the saṅkīrtyamānaṁ munibhir mahātmabhiḥ. Mahātmā. Mahātmā means mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ (BG 9.13). Mahātmā means those who have finished this material business. Simply they're interested with Kṛṣṇa and... Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura or followers, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's followers. If you hear... Just like Nārada Muni. In his previous birth he heard from these mahātmās, great devotees, only for four months. It is stated here.
So charity, that is kṣatriya's business, and perform yajñas, give in charity, to rule, not to go away from fighting, challenge, very strong, stout—these are kṣatriya qualification. And the vaiśya qualification—agriculture. Kṛṣi. Kṛṣi-gorakṣya, and cow protection. Kṛṣi-gorakṣya-vāṇijyam. And if there is excess, then vāṇijya, trade. Otherwise there is no question of trade. And vaiśya... And śūdra, paricaryātmakam (BG 18.44)—to work for some payment. That is this blacksmith, goldsmith, weaver. You take some work from him and pay him something, maintain him. That is śūdra. So in the śāstra it is said, kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. In the Kali-yuga almost everyone is a śūdra. You'll find they're interested in accepting some service. Even one is born of a brāhmaṇa family, he is looking after some good job. That is śūdra mentality. That is not brāhmaṇa's business. Brāhmaṇa will not accept anyone's service, neither the kṣatriyas, neither the vaiśyas. Only śūdras.
So not only the churches in the Western countries, here also. As soon as you will lose the spirit of service, this temple will become a big go-down, that's all. No more temple. So we have to maintain that service spirit. Therefore we are so much particular—"Why fresh flower is not there?" If you think, "Here is a stone statue. What is the meaning of fresh flower or old flower? We have to give some flower. That's all." But no feeling, that "Here is Kṛṣṇa. We must give fresh flower." Just like I'm a living man, if you give me a fresh flower, and if you bring some garbage, and if you give me, shall I be pleased? Do you think? So this feeling is losing even in the beginning, that "We shall satisfy this statue with some rubbish, garbage flowers. He's not going to protest." Yes, He'll not protest. But your life will be finished. The protest will come like that. As soon as you lost the feeling, bhāva, budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ (BG 10.8). Who can worship Kṛṣṇa? When there is bhāva. Sthāyi-bhāva. This has been discussed in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, what is bhāva. But if you have no bhāva, then you are on the material, kaniṣṭha-adhikārī. Simply show. A show cannot go on many days. Show will be finished very soon.
Then they approach, "Sir, why not initiate me?" "No, we put some regulative principles. If you accept..." This is bhajana-kriyā. Then automatically, anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt. All nonsense habits, which are not required, anartha... Just like smoking: anartha, unnecessary. Does it mean that if one does not smoke he'll die? But you'll see in the whole world, millions and trillions of dollars' cigarette is selling. Anartha. Unnecessary. Does it mean that if I do not eat meat I shall die? I have seen in the Western countries—I observe everything—they eat meat very little. But because everyone is eating little meat, big, big slaughterhouses are being maintained. They can give up. A little piece of meat very easily he can give up. He can take this panir. But the rascal will not do that, because he's a rascal. He'll eat meat, and for this eating meat you have to maintain thousands and thousands of, what is called, organized slaughterhouse. And you have to kill. Killing means he's being implicated in sinful activities. Anartha, unnecessary. So we restrict this. Sex life is all right, required. Be a gentleman, get yourself married, live husband and wife peacefully. Have two and three children. Now they're making forcefully that you cannot have more than two children-sterilize. This is rascaldom.
Govinda is not ordinary thing. That Govinda... Which Govinda? Now, this material energy, Durgā, who is working so wonderfully... Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktiḥ. She has... This material energy has got so much power that it can create, it can destroy, it can maintain, so much power. But don't think that this material energy is working independently. And then how is...? How she is working? Chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā (Bs. 5.44). Just she is working just like shadow. The... Then what is the reality? Govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi **. So we are worshiping that person who is the original director of this material... Because we are captivated by the three guṇas of material energy, we think this material energy, material world, is everything, because we are foolish. Nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam. Tribhir guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ. They have been captivated by the three material... They cannot understand that behind this, there is Kṛṣṇa.
But this killing business can be done without the presence of Kṛṣṇa. Because there are so many natural forces, war, pestilence, famine. Anything. Just set on working. Millions of people can be killed. So Kṛṣṇa does not require to come here to kill these rascals. They can be killed simply by Kṛṣṇa's direction, nature's law. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā (Bs. 5.44). The nature has got so much power that it can create, it can maintain, it can annihilate, dissolute, everything. Nature is so powerful.
So this is called faith. This is called faith. Unless you have got faith, you cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa. Ādau śraddhā. Śraddhā: "Yes, Kṛṣṇa can make anything possible." That faith we must maintain. That is the basic... That has been explained by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, what is faith. "Faith means complete conviction." Śraddhā-śabde viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya (Cc. Madhya 22.62). That is faith. Viśvāsa. If I say something and if you believe cent percent, that is called faith. That is called faith. Not that "It may be," or... No. So śraddhā-śabde viśvāsa. Viśvāsa means faith. How? What kind of faith? Sudṛḍha niścaya, firm faith, without any doubt. Niścaya. And what is that faith? Kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya. If one is surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, then his all duty is done, finished. He has nothing to do. Na tasya kāryaṁ karaṇaṁ ca vidyate. As Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do—He has got so much potency that things are done very automatically—similarly, if you faith, have faith in Kṛṣṇa-kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma—then everything will be done automatically. Kṛṣṇa will do for him. What is the difficulty there?
But you have no sufficient warm cloth, so you are affected? That you must arrange. You must take care of your health. Yuktāhāra-vihārasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yuktāhāra. You should take food just to maintain your health nicely. Similarly, other necessities of body must be taken care of. If you become diseased, then how you can execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Just like Brahmānanda could not go today. So we must be careful. We should not eat more or less. Better eat less than eat more. You'll not die by eating less. But you may die eating more. People die for overeating, not for undereating. This should be the principle. Here... Medical science always forbids not to eat more than you require. Voracious eating is the cause of diabetes, and undernourishment is the cause of tuberculosis. This is the medical science. So we should not take under, neither more. In children case, they can commit the mistake of taking more, but adults, they cannot commit. This mistake, taking more. Children, they can digest. All day they are playing.
This is bhakti. Bhakti means to be free from the attachment of this material world and to become attached to Kṛṣṇa. Because you have to attach to something. You cannot become unattached. That is not possible. So, in order to become attached to Kṛṣṇa or to enter into the devotional service of the Lord, one has to become detached from this material affection. That is wanted. Ordinarily, they go to Kṛṣṇa for maintaining the attachment with this material world. Just like, "O God, give us our daily bread." That means I have got attachment of this material world, and to live in this material world, I must have supplies of material things so that I can maintain my status quo. This is called material attachment. People go to God for securing the material position. That is, one sense, it is good; but that is not wanted. To become free from material attachment, that is required. Not that I worship God to increase my opulence in the material world. That is not wanted.
So this is beginning of material attachment. Then by attachment, when one male finds out another woman, or one finds out another man, they unite. So this attachment becomes fixed up again. Already there is attachment, and as soon as they are united, that attachment becomes more firm. Tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ. I have already got attachment, but when I am again united actually, that attachment increases. Now, after the attachment increases to some degree, then next degree is find out nice apartment to live together. That is another increase of attachment. Then we have got an apartment. Find out some means of earning money. Formerly, they were earning..., there were no factories. Everyone has to earn his livelihood by agriculture, kṣetra. Ato gṛha-kṣetra. First of all, apartment must be maintained by working, by earning something, gṛha-kṣetra. Then when we, everything is settled up, now we must have a son, children. Yes. Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta. Then we shall, we must have some friends, who will come and eulogize me: "Oh, you have such nice apartment, nice wife." Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittaiḥ (SB 5.5.8). Then to maintain all this, we must have money. Money, money, money, money, sweeter than honey. In this way, our attachment increases, attachment increases.
No, the word is apavarga. Apavarga... Anapavarga. Yes, that's all right. Pavarga and apavarga. So anapavarga means again pavarga. Anapavarga. Pavarga and anapavarga. Pavarga means the path of tribulation, pavarga. Those who are Sanskrit scholars, they know the alphabets: ka, kha, ga, gha, ṅa, ca, cha, ja, jha, ña, ṭa, ṭha, ḍa, ḍha, ṇa, ta, tha, da, dha, na, pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. So this is the fifth line, pa, pha, ba, bha, ma. So pa means pariśrama, labor. This world, you have to work very hard to maintain yourself. In the Bhagavad-gītā, it is said, śarīra-yātrāpi ca te na prasiddhyed akarmaṇaḥ. Kṛṣṇa never advised Arjuna that "You sit down. I am your friend. I shall do everything. You sit down and smoke gāñjā." Kṛṣṇa never said that. Kṛṣṇa was doing everything; still he was to fight. He was inducing, "You must fight." Neither Arjuna said, "Kṛṣṇa, You are so, my friend, great friend. Better You do it. I sit down. Let me smoke gāñjā." No. Arjuna also did not say. This is not Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that "God, You please do everything for me and let me smoke gāñjā." This is not God consciousness. God consciousness means you must work, work for God. That is God consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So Ganges, Mother Ganges, left Bhīṣma's father. And Bhīṣma was raised by his father. He became grown-up. Again this father became captivated with Satyavatī. Satyavatī. Satyavatī, before her marriage... Satyavatī is the daughter of a fisherman. The fishermen... In your country there is no such distinction. But in our country there are classification. A fishermen, there is a class. So their girls and women, very well-figured, very enchanting figure. So Satyavatī was the daughter of a fisherman, and Bhīṣma's father become enchanted. So he went to the fisherman. He was king. So "Give me your daughter. I shall marry." "Oh, you are already married. You have got son. Why shall I give my daughter to you?" "No, I am king. I shall maintain her." "No, no, No. I don't want to give." In India still, if a man wants to marry, and if he has got children by his former wife, people will hesitate to give him daughter, because there are stepsons. So nobody wants that "My daughter will be troubled by the stepson,—daughter. No." Still they are practiced. To marry for the second time becomes a problem. But nowadays these things are gone.
Pradyumna: Nama om... (recites praṇāma mantras) The first part of this verse, the first half of this verse, naino rājñaḥ prajā-bhartur dharma-yuddhe vadho dviṣām iti, this is a statement or an injunction of śāstra, that for the killing, or the vadha, dviṣām, of the enemies, dharma-yuddhe, in religious fight, rājñaḥ prajā-bhartur, of a king who is maintaining his citizens He has to maintain his citizens. So if there is some danger, then he has to eliminate the enemy.
Prabhupāda: What is religious fight? Religious fight means you have got right to kill your aggressor. If somebody takes your property, if somebody sets fire in your house, if somebody kidnaps your wife, or somebody is trying to kill you, they are called aggressor. So aggressor should be killed immediately. It is not that somebody has become an aggressor, and if I say, "Now I have become a Vaiṣṇava, I'll not be violent. I shall tolerate. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has taught us to be tolerant like the tree or the grass. So I shall become tolerant. Let him do." Just like Gandhi used to say. Somebody questioned him that "If somebody comes and violates the chastity of your daughter in your presence, what will you do?" He said, "I shall remain nonviolent." But that is not śāstric injunction. This is foolishness.
All right. So bhava-bhāvana. Kṛṣṇa... This world is created by Kṛṣṇa, and He wants to see it is properly maintained. And who will maintain? His own representative. Not the demons. Therefore king is supposed to be a representative of Kṛṣṇa. He will maintain this world properly. A Vaiṣṇava, he knows how to utilize everything for Kṛṣṇa. The aim of this creation is giving these conditioned souls another chance for liberation. That is the purpose. When the whole world is annihilated, then all the living entities again enter into the body of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Then, when there is again creation, then the living entities again come out, according to their past position. We do not accept this rascal theory, Darwin's, that from lower-grade life they... There is a promotion like that, but in the creation everything is there. All the 8,400,000 species, they are all there. Although the gradations are there. So according to the past karma, karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1), everyone comes out again, gets a different type of body, and begins his work. Again another chance. "Yes. You come to the point of human understanding. Try to understand your relationship with Kṛṣṇa and get yourself liberated. Go home, back to home, back to..." If you lose this opportunity—this creation is made for that purpose—then again you remain. Again, when everything is annihilated, you remain in dormant stage, millions of years. Again you become created.
Ah, bhavanti bhūtāni. Annād. Anna means food grains. Either animal or man, they must eat sufficiently. Either you eat grass or you eat rice or wheat or oats, or..., something must be... So they are are called anna. In Sanskrit language it is called anna. Anna means foodgrains. So annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). Every living entity lives. Nowadays there are scarcity of foodgrains. Even the human being cannot eat sufficiently. But formerly the kings, they used to maintain elephants. They were supplied very nice cāpāṭis. Do you know that? Still there are kings, they have elephants. Therefore elephant can be maintained by very rich man. If suppose, if somebody comes, he says, "Take this elephant, I give you free," will you take? Will you accept? You know that elephant will devour you, your all your means or income and all family income, because you cannot maintain elephant. (laughs)
"On the part of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, it was quite in order to maintain his uncle in a befitting manner, but acceptance of such magnanimous hospitality by Dhṛtarāṣṭra was not at all desirable. He accepted it because he thought that there was no other alternative. Vidura particularly came to enlighten Dhṛtarāṣṭra and to give him a lift to the higher status of spiritual cognition. It is the duty of the enlightened souls to deliver the fallen ones, and Vidura came to that reason. But talks of spiritual enlightenment are so refreshing that while instructing Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Vidura attracted the attention of all the members of the family, and all of them took pleasure in hearing him patiently. This is the way of spiritual realization. The message should be heard attentively, and if spoken by realized soul, it will act on the dormant heart of the conditioned soul. And by continuously hearing, one can attain the perfect stage of self-realization."
But the Vedic culture is different from this. Woman is not given independence. And generally one man marries more than one wife. That is Vedic culture. Just like see Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa has 16,108. That is allowed. Kṛṣṇa was Personality of Godhead. He could maintain... Why sixteen? Sixteen millions wife. That is not difficult for Him. But even ordinary man, kṣatriyas especially, they used to marry more than one wife. Still. Not only wife, but one wife, one princess is married, and along with her, hundred, two hundred maidservants, they will go with the king. Just like when Vasudeva was married to Devakī, some hundreds of maidservant was given with. So women... The conclusion is that women are weak. They should be given protection. They should not be ill-treated. Just like a father gives protection to the children. It does not mean it is ill-treatment. There is no question of. But protection. Otherwise, abaleva, they can be victimized by any man, powerful, because man is powerful.
So the emperor should be representative of God. He should be qualified, fully qualified. That was the Vedic system. Monarchy, but fully qualified. Therefore he could maintain the kingdom. The citizens were fully qualified, so qualified that they did not suffer even from disease, excessive heat, excessive coldness, no. Very peaceful. Supply was properly... Sarva-kāma-dughā mahī. Everything was being supplied. Whatever you want, that is supplied through the earth, throughout the earth. Even if you take meat, that is also coming from the earth. The grass is there, the animal is eating, the cow or the goat. Then you are able to eat the animal. So sarva-kāma-dughā mahī. But a human being is not meant for eating animals. Although the nature is that one animal eats another animal, that is the nature, but you have got discrimination. God has given you... When you are in the jungle, you are a tiger, you can eat animals. But when you are civilized, when you can produce nice foodstuff, so many nice grains, fruits, and milk, why should you eat meat? That means you are misusing your advanced intelligence improperly.
So five thousand years ago the king was so perfect, and there was one king who was ruling all over the... In the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, from all parts of the world, the subordinate kings they joined to cooperate with either of the parties, Pāṇḍavas and the Kurus. So bhūmer abhyaṣiñcat. Abhiṣeka. Abhyaṣiñcat. Just like we install Deity. We bathe the Deity with so many waters. Similarly, during installation of the king, the same ceremony takes place. Before the prince or the emperor sits on the throne, the same ceremony, abhiṣeka ceremony, is performed. Therefore it is said, abhyaṣiñcat, Gajāhvaye. Gajāhvaye means Hastināpura. Hasti means elephant. So because it is Hastināpura, therefore the name... And gaja means also elephant. It is named after elephant. There were many elephants. Just like Gokula. Kṛṣṇa's planet is known as Gokula. There are many cows, surabhī cows. Go means cow. Similarly, this capital of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, Hastināpura, may be taken that there were many elephants. Formerly the kings used to maintain. Otherwise who will maintain elephants? Suppose I bring one elephant, I present to you, will you accept? You will be finished. (laughs) You can keep one dog, "Gow! Gow! Gow!" but if I say, I present you one elephant, "Please keep it," "No, sir. No, sir, it is not possible." So who will maintain?
In India, there is a place near Patna where up to ten years before, it was a market, yearly market, for selling cows, horses, elephants, camels, like that. Now there is no customer. At the present moment, that fair of selling big, big horses and... Nobody can purchase horse. They have got this tin car. That also not everyone. So people have become poor. Nobody can maintain now horses or elephants or number of cows. No. That is not possible. So they are condemned now. Formerly they were maintaining. Instead of keeping a big car, they used to keep two, three elephants, number of horses, number of cows. This is domestic animals. They are domestic animals. They used to be maintained. But nowadays they cannot. But during Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira's time or before that, the city was so full of elephants that it is named after elephant, Hastināpura: "Many elephants." Still in India, in big procession, marriage ceremony, they bring some elephants. But that is in procession, elephants, horses, are demonstrated. And especially royal family. But those things have now gone. Now, instead of Hastināpura, it is now "Motorcarpura." (laughter) Just see.
At the time of retirement, there is no more responsibility. Here is it said, patīnām anapekṣatām. They are retiring from home without any consideration, "What will happen to our wife Draupadī?" No. "Now everyone should take care of himself. We are also going alone." This is retirement. Anapekṣatām, without waiting for anyone, alone, simply depending on Kṛṣṇa. This is called renounced order of life. So this is the process of retirement, not that to make arrangement in the family that "I am now retiring. You send me some money, and I shall maintain myself." No. No dependence. Simply dependent on Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is said, ekānta-matir āpa. Ekānta. Actually, Kṛṣṇa saves us. Why we should depend on others? Kṛṣṇa saves. Kṛṣṇa says that "Anyone who is completely dependent upon Me," yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22), "I personally bring whatever his necessity is." That is the promise of Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā. So renounced order means no more dependence on father, mother, husband, daughter. No. Completely dependent on Kṛṣṇa. Ekānta. That is perfection. One who is fully convinced that "Kṛṣṇa is with me..." Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61)—"I will not have to search out Kṛṣṇa anywhere. He is within me, within my heart." There are so many instances.
Similarly, meat-eating also... First of all, the first-class men, second-class men and third-class men, means the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya and vaiśya, they were not interested in meat-eating. Only the fourth-class men and fifth-class men, they were allowed or they were eating meat. Nobody is allowed. But the first-class, second-class men, they have got sense. They voluntarily give up. But the third-class fourth-class, fifth-class men, they do not. Up to fourth-class, they also abide. From the fifth-class men—they are called pañcama—they are very irregular. They don't care for any rules and regulation or any śāstra, scripture. They do whatever they like, fifth class. So what is legal meat-eating? Legal meat-eating is that you sacrifice one animal before the goddess, deity Kālī, Goddess Kālī, and there are so many rules and regulation. Under regulative principle one was allowed to eat meat. Not that maintain big, big slaughterhouse and purchase from the butcher shop and eat meat. This is illegal.
Now, sometimes, in..., the Christians, they say the Lord Jesus Christ sometimes ate fish. Is not that? But... Might have done so. One thing is Christ is powerful. Under certain circumstances, even if he had eaten some fish, that is not fault for him. Tejīyasāṁ na doṣāya (SB 10.33.29). In the śāstra (it) says, those who are very powerful, if they sometimes do something which is prohibited for common man, that is special case. But even if you accept that Christ ate fish, "Therefore we shall eat meat and maintain big, big slaughterhouse, although in the Bible it is clearly said 'Thou shalt not kill,' " this is not Christianity. This is against, violating the rules and regulation of Christianity. Factually, one should not kill. But under some pressure or under certain condition, if it is needed, that is another thing. But generally, one should not kill.
There was a very good example of our Kṛṣṇa conscious men in Melbourne. That was published. There was a fire in one building, and they were, I mean to say, stranded. They were crying. So our girls went there and saved them. Nobody came. Therefore it is said, yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). If one is God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious, then other material good qualities will automatically develop. These girls in our Melbourne temple, they were not asked by me or their president, "You go and save them," but out of their good will they went and saved them, and some of the girls jumped from three story and they captured in this, what is called, canopy. So it was published and very much appreciated by the public. So the idea is that one cannot be merciful unless he is a devotee. The so-called mercifulness showed by the philanthropists, humanitarians, that is all false. They are humanitarian, but they maintain slaughterhouse. What is this humanitarian? It does not appeal to you that animals are being killed? So the real fact is that without becoming a devotee of Kṛṣṇa or God, nobody can be qualified with good attributes. It is not possible. Therefore śāstra says that "Make people devotee." Then automatically, all the good qualities will come in. Next.
But God is the whole family. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti. He's supplying food to the elephants. We are, we are so much advanced in civilization that because we cannot take care of a child, therefore we are killing child even within the womb of mother, abortion. We are so unfit. But God, you see, He's feeding millions of elephants in the Africa. Not only elephants, there are so many. Out of 8,400,000 species of life, there are 8,000,000 species of life nonhuman being, the majority—the birds, beasts, reptiles, trees, so many other living entities. But they have no business. They have no occupation, profession, to maintain themselves. So who is maintaining them? Who is there? Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. Even if within your room, there is a little hole, sometimes you'll find thousands of ants coming out. Have you got this experience? And who is feeding them? Who is supplying them food? They are living within that hole, millions, and hundreds and thousands of ants, but they're also eating, they're also sleeping, they have got their wife, they have got their children. But who is supplying food? So in this way, if you analyze that everything is being maintained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is real understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how Kṛṣṇa is great, or God is great. So that is a real civilization of life, to understand, to appreciate, to appreciate the greatness of God. That is real civilization.
So that is our main business, how to get out of this material body of skins and bones. That is real business. But these rascals, they do not know what is real business. They want to maintain the skin and bone by another skin and bone. That is their program. So it is foolish civilization. They do not what is civilization, what is the aim of life, what we should do. Nothing, no program. Simply just like animals, and kill animals and eat and be merry. And to digest meat, you drink also. One after another. As soon as there is drinking, then there is illicit sex. And so many things complicated. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā warns, yajñārthe karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). You must work. You should not be idle. But yajñārthe, for Kṛṣṇa. Then you'll not be implicated. Otherwise, you'll be implicated. By the grace of māyā, you'll be so implicated that you have got this human form of life, and after giving up this body, you'll have to accept, according to your karma, one of the 8,400,000 species of life; maybe it may be a tree, it may be a cat, it may be a dog, or it may be something lower grade.
That is brahminical qualification. All these qualifications are mentioned. It is not possible to acquire all the qualities by one man. That is not possible. Just like we divide some... If there is something to be done, we divide the task, "Mr. You, you do this. And you, you do this. You do this." Similarly, all these qualities must be divided amongst the whole population. Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā we have got the direction from the Supreme Lord, cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). One man cannot be... Suppose a businessman. A businessman, he cannot become strictly truthful. That is not possible. A politician, he cannot become actually truthful. Then the whole business will be spoiled. Everyone... Suppose you go to a store. The storekeeper says, "Oh, you are my dear friend. I will not take any profit from you. I will give you at cost price. You take." So you believe, But actually, how it is possible to give at cost price? How he'll maintain the business establishment? I know that he's speaking untruth, still, I accept, "Oh, he is very truthful." So there are so many things.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī said that gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām. "One who does not know anything about this family life or sex life"—family life, they have taken it as sex life, that's all—"so they have many things to hear." Śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ (SB 2.1.2). Actually, you see. People are reading so many newspapers. In big country, big cities, there are big, big volumes of newspaper, magazines. They are very much eager to learn or to hear about the current news. So hearing means śrotavyādi. There are volumes of volumes literature, magazines, newspaper. They are hearing. But when you say, "Please come here. We are reciting Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Please hear," they will not come. They will not come. This minus. When you speak of God, then they are not ready to hear. But if you speak of dog, that "Here is a dog's medicine. You can maintain a dog like this, and a dog can become fatty like this," oh, it is very scientific matter. You see? So they are called gṛhamedhīs. So they have got many subject matter to hear, but they are not agreeable to hear only one thing—about God.
My point is that śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ, apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). Householder is not bad. That is not condemned. Real thing condemned: apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). That is condemned. Because they do not know what is the aim of life. That is missing. All these people... Ask anybody, that "What is the aim of your life?" Nobody... Nobody will be able to say. Any householder, any businessman, ask. They will simply say that "It is my duty to earn money. It is my duty to maintain my children, to give them education, to give them good opportunity for prospective life. And if I have got little more money, then I can give in charity to the poor man, daridra-nārāyaṇa. And..." These are their program. But nobody knows the necessity of, I mean to say, liberating the soul which is conditioned by this material covering. Nobody knows. That you will find. Nobody knows. Big, big professors, big, big... They simply say that "Yes ..." If you ask, "Why you are constructing some big, big scheme?" "Oh, for the future generations. That's all." They will reply. Nobody will reply, nobody knows about the necessity of the soul. That is the important point. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). Nobody knows. Nobody has any vision of the ātma-tattva. Simply they are talking superfluously. This is the defect.
Anyway, even though we are able to maintain a very nice group of family members, then I may be puffed up that "I am maintaining such a nice family," but that is also not very good situation. Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu. I am thinking, "Now I have got good home, good wife, nice children, nice bank balance. So I am safe now." No, sir, you are not safe. Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv ātma-sainyeṣu (SB 2.1.4). This world is struggle for existence. You should not think that because you have got nice wife, children, and nice nationality, or everything nice... Still, you are not safe. This is to be understood. Yes. Just like Napoleon in your country, he had many soldiers. He was fighting. He was conquering all over. And because he had very, very good military strength, he was thinking he was safe. But he was also defeated, and he had to die also, leaving all the opulences he created. So nobody's safe. You must always remember that. So here it is said, dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api (SB 2.1.4). Although I know that this national strength, or this material strength, the bank balance strength and good wife and everything is there, but they'll not be able to save me. This is the intelligence. They'll not be able to save me because when death will come, nobody will be helpful to me. I'll have to go. I cannot say, "Now I have got my children, I have got so much duty, I have got this to do, this to do, this to do." No. Now your time is over. Your so-called arrangement for material happiness is now over. Now you must get out. Is it not?
But civilized or uncivilized, as soon as there is sex life, then the attraction for material world immediately increase hundred times. When one remains single, the attraction is not so strong, but when they unite, the attraction becomes very strong, because to maintain a wife, you require room, apartment, gṛha, which is called gṛha. So therefore they are called gṛhastha, "one who lives in a gṛha, in a house." Everyone lives in a house. We are also living in a house, this temple. But gṛhastha means to living with wife in the house. Na gṛhaṁ gṛham ity āhur gṛhiṇī gṛham ucyate. Simply gṛhastha does not mean to live in a room or in a house, but to live with a wife. Gṛhiṇī. So then we require apartment or room or house, according to our position. Then we require some land for producing food. Now they don't require land for producing. They require something else—some slavery or some work in the factory. But formerly, everyone used to have a, possess a piece of land for producing food. Kṣetra. Gṛha-kṣetra. Then, when there is marriage, there will be children, suta. Then there will be friends also, relatives, suta āpta. Gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta. Then vitta, the central point money. So as soon as they are united, immediately these things will be required. Gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vitta. In this way the attachment for this material world increases.
So these things are coming gradually. But still pramatta, people are mad after that. The same thing. What is that? Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu (SB 2.1.4). They are mad. "We have to maintain the society, friendship, family, country, community." And there is fighting. There is rivalryism. Because when there will be shortage of food, shortage of everything, then there will be naturally fighting like cats and dogs, killing. People are indulging in killing even his own son, abortion. Because people are degrading, they are killing live thing. So that will be reacted. In the womb the man, the person, will be killed. Reaction. Why so many abortions are taking place nowadays? Because the child which has come into the womb of the mother, he is sinful. He has done previous life so many killings. Now he has to be killed so many times. He has to be killed so many times. As many times he has killed other poor animals. This is the law of nature. Just like in the state laws, if you kill somebody, the state law will kill him. Life for life. Similarly, God's law, how even if you kill one ant even, you will be responsible for this, and it will have to be punished. They do not know this. They do not know this.
So apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2), those who are not very intelligent to see about the truth of ātmā, they are entangled. How it is entangle...? Now, deha-apatya. This body and the offspring, children, born out of this body through the wife, dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu ātma-sainyeṣu. Everyone is thinking that "I have got my good wife. I have got very nice children. I have got my nice society, nation," and so on, so many. Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣu. And he's thinking that "They are my soldiers." Here is this fight, struggle for existence. Everyone is struggling to exist, and everyone is thinking, "They are my soldiers. These, my wife, children, society, friendship, nation, they'll give me protection." But nobody can give protection. Therefore he's explained here as pramattaḥ, pāgala. Nobody can give you protection. Not only will he not be able to give protection, but they will be also finished. Dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api, teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanam (SB 2.1.4). At any moment, you can be finished. Paśyann api na pa... He's seeing that "My father died. My father's father died. The uncle died. So they'll also die. I'll also die." So how, all we are dead bodies, how we can help one another? But because he's mad, he does not see. He's trying to maintain the status quo. That will not give him protection.
So because it is very difficult to maintain sannyāsa in this age, therefore the sannyāsa order is completely prohibited. Real sannyāsī means... Here is the description of life. What is that? Cīrāṇi kiṁ na pathi santi. They have to pick up some torn cloth lying on the street and cover it. That's all. Then this diśanti bhikṣāṁ naivāṅghripāḥ, aṅghripāḥ, aṅghri means legs, and pa means drinking. The trees drink water through the root. That is their leg. Therefore they're..., another name is aṅghripa. And aṅghri means leg. So different species of life there is different process of eating. We are eating through mouth; the trees are eating through the legs. This is God's creation. Not that the mouth is only eating. No. There are other senses, active senses, hands and legs, tongue. These are active senses. Genital, rectum, these are active senses. So aṅghripa means tree. The sannyāsī should depend completely on God. That is sannyāsa. Not that I shall go to a rich man and beg something and take money and utilize it. No. That is not required. Completely independent. Because that kind of sannyāsa is not possible at the present age, therefore, generally, sannyāsa should not be accepted. They cannot follow the prohibit.
So here Śukadeva Gosvāmī advises, this is very important work, kim ajito na avati upasannān. Ajita the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, He's maintaining everyone: yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22). And He'll not maintain a person who has fully surrendered to Him? No. How it can be. Suppose a gentleman is maintaining so many other children. And he does not maintain his own children? Surely he does. Therefore our principle should be we should not think about our personal maintenance. We should dedicate our life for Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa will take care. That should be the principle. Don't be harassed, thinking always "How I shall be maintained?" That is not the problem. Maintenance is no problem. Real problem is "How we shall be fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa?" That is wanted. Upasannān. (break) (end)
Prabhupāda: Do you think that you are not taxed? Why should you not be taxed for the proper gain? You are being taxed for so many nonsense things. Why not be taxed for the proper thing? That is intelligence.
Guest (2): What is the importance of health in life, and how does Guruji advise people to maintain health, and how does it connect to your mission?
Prabhupāda: What is health? First of all you have to understand that however healthy you may be, you must die. What problem you have solved? Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9), Kṛṣṇa says. It is not my manufacture. However you may try to remain very healthy, nature's law is that you must die. How you can help yourself? After all, you have to meet death. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi. So long you have got this material body, there is no question of health. You must suffer. You may be very great scientist in oblivion, but the nature's law must act.
You see. But still, he is working hard. And the example is ass. The ass takes a morsel of grass. It is worth nothing. The ass can get anywhere the morsel of grass. But still, he thinks that the washerman is feeding me. So he remains there. And in Mexico you found some asses, carrying loads. So they are carrying loads, very heavy loads, tons, for that morsel of grass, which he can get anywhere. But he thinks, "Oh, I will die. If my master does not give me a morsel of grass, I will die. So let me remain here and carry all the big loads." You see. Similarly, the karmīs, they remain at home. They think that "My wife, my children, my family—without them, I shall die. So I have to work to maintain them like an ass." That's all. The karmīs, they are working, accumulating bank balance, more, more, more, more, more, more. But forgetting the real mission of life. Therefore ass. Ass means fool. Whenever one man is called, "You are ass," that means he's a fool.
He has nothing to do with material or spiritual. Another example can be given. Just like government. Government has got many departments, the criminal department and the educational department. (The) educational department is giving knowledge to the citizens, and the criminal department is punishing, chastising the citizens. Now, to us, we find difference, that "In this department government is so liberal, is giving education. People are becoming learned, enjoying. And this department ... So government is discriminating. This department is favorable, and this department is not favorable." But to the government, it is not like that. To the government, both the departments are equal. Rather, sometimes, the government has to spend more to the criminal department than to the educational department. Because they have to maintain both these departments. To run on the street politically, they have to maintain both these. Similarly, because the individual soul has got little independence, is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, so Kṛṣṇa has full independence.
And who can maintain sixteen thousand wives? One cannot maintain even one wife. This is called urukrama. Great activities. Not that Kṛṣṇa remained one, and He had sixteen thousand wives. No. He also expanded Himself into sixteen thousand forms so that no wife may be displeased. His wife... If I am one, and if I have got many wives, so everyone will be displeased. He provided sixteen thousand palaces, and in each palace, there were many thousands of servants and maidservants, and each wife was blessed with ten sons. This is called urukrama, great activities. Lord Rāmacandra, He killed Rāvaṇa. Rāvaṇa was so powerful that all the demigods in higher planetary systems, they were all afraid of him. He became so powerful. And Rāvaṇa's brother, he reigned in Mexico, Brazil. Brazil. And there was subway from Ceylon to Brazil. We get information from Rāmāyaṇa. Such powerful demons. Who can make now subway from one country into another country? They can make subway from one city to another, utmost.
Only attention engaged in the service of the Lord, especially in dressing and decorating the temple, accompanied by musical kīrtana and spiritual instructions from scriptures, can save the common man from the hellish cinema attractions and rubbish sex-songs broadcast everywhere by radios. If one is unable to maintain a temple at home, he should go to another's temple where all the above performances are regularly executed. Visiting the temple of a devotee and looking at the profusely decorated forms of the Lord well dressed in a well-decorated, sanctified temple naturally infuse the mundane mind with spiritual inspiration. People should visit holy places like Vṛndāvana where such temples and worship of the Deity are specifically maintained.
Always thinking of "Oh, he's my lover," "She is my lover," like that. That attraction. So then, after they're united... Just like one married couple. As soon as they're married or united, ataḥ gṛha. Gṛha. Gṛha means apartment, home. They must live very nicely. Then kṣetra. Kṣetra means field. Formerly there was no industry. The earning, means of livelihood, was agriculture. Everyone must have some land to produce grains, fruits. That's all. Milk. First of all, apartment; then, to maintain the expenditure, now we have invented industry or trade and so many things. Pickpocketing, killing. So many things. Formerly the means of livelihood was very simple. Take some land and work little, produce your grains, and the cows are there. You take milk. So milk, vegetables, grains, your economic question is solved. So first of all, gṛha, home, then kṣetra. Kṣetra means "field." I must produce my food. Ato gṛha-kṣetra, then child. Because married life without any issue, that is not very happy.
Pradyumna: "To become liberated means to become free from dehātma-buddhi, the illusory attachment for personal bodily coverings and everything connected with the body, namely wife, children, and all other entanglements. One selects a wife for bodily comforts, and the result is children. For wife and children one requires a dwelling place, and as such a residential house is also necessary. Animals like horses, elephants, cows, and dogs are all household animals, and a householder has to keep them as household paraphernalia. In modern civilization the horses and elephants have been replaced by cars and conveyances with considerable horsepower. To maintain all the household affairs, one has to increase the bank balance and be careful about the treasury house, and in order to display the opulence of material assets, one has to keep good relations with friends and relatives, as well as become very careful about maintaining the status quo. This is called material civilization of material attachment.
Devotion for Lord Kṛṣṇa means negation of all material attachments as detailed above. By the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was awarded all material amenities and an undisputed kingdom in which to enjoy the undisturbed position of king, but by the grace of the Lord he was able to give up all connections with material attachment. That is the position of a pure devotee. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, due to his natural affection for Lord Kṛṣṇa as a devotee of the Lord, was always executing his royal duties on behalf of the Lord, and as a responsible king of the world he was always careful to see that the influence of Kali would not enter his kingdom. A devotee of the Lord never thinks of his household paraphernalia as his own, but surrenders everything for the service of the Lord. Thereby living entities under a devotee's care get the opportunity for God realization by the management of a devotee-master. Attachment for household paraphernalia and for Lord Kṛṣṇa go poorly together.
One attachment is the path of darkness, and the other attachment is the path of light. Where there is light, there is no darkness, and where there is darkness, there is no light. But an expert devotee can turn everything to the path of light by an attitude of service to the Lord, and the best example here is the Pāṇḍavas. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira and householders like him can turn everything to light by dovetailing so-called material assets in the service of the Lord, but one who is not trained or is unable to turn everything to the service of the Lord (nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe) must give up all material connections before he can be fit to hear and chant the glories of the Lord. Or in other words, one who has seriously heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for even one day, like Mahārāja Parīkṣit, from a fit personality like Śukadeva Gosvāmī, may be able to lose all affinity for material things. There is no utility simply in imitating Mahārāja Parīkṣit and hearing Bhāgavatam from professional men, even for seven hundred years.
To take Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as a means of maintaining family expenditure is the grossest type of nāmāparādha offense at the feet of the Lord (sarva-śubha-kriyā-sāmyam api pramādaḥ)."
Prabhupāda: So Parīkṣit Mahārāja could give up the attachment within a few days. Not abruptly, but he was prepared. His training was there. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe. That is our philosophy, Rūpa Gosvāmī's definition.
Similarly, our real business is this human form of life, how to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is our real business. And to execute that real business, we take help of this car. That's all. Maintain it nicely. Cleanse it, give gasoline and Mobil oil, and tire tube. That is required because you have to move. So don't, we don't say that "It is mithyā, it is false." That is Māyāvādī's ver... Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. "This material world is false." We don't say false. We don't say false, because we have to take work from it. Why shall I say false? When I take some work from the typewriter or some other machine, why shall I say it is false? It is real. So our philosophy is, we don't neglect this material world as false. That is pseudo, pseudo renunciation. You cannot give up. Why should you call it false? Sometimes ... Just like some materialists, they criticize that "You are using material things. Why do you say false?" So that criticism is applicable to the Māyāvādī philosophy, who says jagan mithyā, "This whole material world is false." Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. We don't say false. We say, "It is temporary. It is temporary, and I have to take some benefit out of it."
So real purpose is sense gratification. "If I take to religious principles, then I'll get more money without any hard work, and if I get more money, then I'll be able to satisfy my senses." This is called dharmārtha-kāma. And there is another stage, which is called mokṣa, liberation. So people are not interested for liberation. They want to become religious for material benefits. But that is not the real purpose of life. Material benefit, you cannot get more than what you are destined to have; that is already fixed up. According to your body... You get the body. We get different types of body, and according to the body, our material sufferings and enjoyment are fixed up, already. You cannot have more or less. Otherwise... you'll see, one man is working so hard, day and night, and he could hardly maintain himself or his family. And another man, he's going to the market, sits down for one hour, and earns 100,000 dollars, immediately. You can see. Simply by touching the phone, he simply asks, "What is the rate of this? What is the rate of that?" and he makes one transaction, and immediately he gets one thousand dollars. And this man is working hard, day and night, he could not get even two sufficient meals.
Śyāmasundara: Dan? I don't think he is legally married.
Prabhupāda: Friend. She has got, he has got a child?
Śyāmasundara: One or two small children.
Prabhupāda: So he has to maintain all of them. On this contract that Yoko is there.
Śyāmasundara: Yes. Dan was her old friend. Dan was her friend. That's why he became manager.
Prabhupāda: So all this business on the basis of sex. That's all. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). For very insignificant happiness they are encumbered in so many ways. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tucchaṁ kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham.
Śyāmasundara: And every time she tried to have a child, because they lead such a decadent life, she has miscarriage every time.
Prabhupāda: That means she has got syphilitic poison. Girls who cannot bear child means there is syphilitic poison. Either the man has got syphilitic poison or the woman has got syphilitic poison. And for these men, syphilis is not very uncommon.
There must be symptoms of God, sarva-śaktimān, with all potency, aiśvaryasya, all riches, aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya, with all strength. If He has all strength, is it very difficult for Him to raise a hill on the finger if He has got all strength? That is the definition of God, all-powerful. So why should I deny that "Ah, this is all story"? It is not story. It is fact. If He is all-powerful, what is the difficulty for Him to lift a mountain? If He is all-strong, then where is the difficulty to maintain sixteen thousand wives? Why sixteen thousand? If He maintains sixteen millions of wives, still, it is insufficient. Because if we say "All potency, all-powerful, all-good," then to maintain sixteen thousand wives with sixteen thousand palaces and all the palaces made of first-class marble and gold and jewels, and the furnitures are made of ivory... These are description. That is God. Why we shall accept a nonsense God simply having a big beard or some...? You see? No. We don't accept. We accept real God.
So we are training, especially, our students to become qualified brāhmaṇas. We cannot take up all other department. Similarly, others may take up the line of training... Military men... Others may take... There are training classes. Maybe mercantile firm, you can get your lessons. So there was organized method to train these mercantile men, administrator and brāhmaṇa. So Vidura, although he was born of śūdra mother... His mother was śūdra, maidservant. Formerly, when a prince was married, along with the princess, a few dozens of maidservants would go with the king. So to become king, always it is to be understood he has to maintain more than one wife. That is king. Even in Muhammadan kingdom, Nawab was Ridali Shah (?). After the Mogul period... In Lucknow, if you go... So he had 164 wives, begam(?) And all of them had children. And when Britishers occupied, the Britishers had to give them pension according to the share. So amongst the Muhammadans also, polygamy was allowed. And Hindus, especially the higher class, brāhmaṇas and kṣatriya, polygamy is allowed. Now they have made laws. But that is quite natural. If every woman has to be married, then polygamy must be there. Otherwise how every woman is going to get a husband? Because male population is always shorter than the female population.
That is coming gradually. The more people are becoming godless, the more there will be scarcity of food. Because nature is the servant of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, mama māyā. The nature is the maidservant. Nature is mother, Goddess Durgā, material nature. But she is not independent. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated, sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā (Bs. 5.44). Durgā, Mother Durgā is so powerful that she can make, create... Sṛṣṭi-sthiti. She can maintain. Maintenance also in her power. So because she is the maidservant of Kṛṣṇa... Chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā. Durgā bibharti, maintains. But it works like chāya. Icchānurūpam api yasya ca ceṣṭate sā govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi. She is not independent. She works under the direction of Govinda. And Govinda says also in the Bhagavad-gītā, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram: (BG 9.10) "Under My order." So prakṛti will be unkind. As we have seen, the Mother Durgā is chastising the asura on the chest; the trident, triśūla, is piercing. Why? Because he's asura. Asura means nondevotee. The asura. Sura and asura. There are two kinds of men: daiva āsura eva ca. Dvau bhūta-sargau loke 'smin daiva āsura eva ca (BG 16.6). There are two kinds of men in the world. One is called daiva, devatā, demigods, and the other is called āsura. You have heard about the devatā and asura, there is always fight. Daivāsura. So who is asura, who is deva? Viṣṇu-bhaktaḥ smṛto daivaḥ. Those who are devotees of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, they are devatā. Āsuras tad-viparyayaḥ. And those who are not devotee of Viṣṇu, but other demigods, even if he's devotee of Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva, he's to be considered as asura.
"You are just like the sun. Sun, when the morning the sun is arisen, then all darkness immediately gone. Similarly, You have arisen..." God, Kṛṣṇa, or His incarnation, when They come, the darkness of this material world, illusion, is dissipated. Just like Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, came, the darkness, illusion, Arjuna's illusion, was counteracted. He was also thinking ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). "Why shall I fight with my relatives, the other side?" So this was darkness, aham mameti (SB 5.5.8). Because either you maintain or..., or you love this illusory position, that is sammoham. This very word is used here: atha me deva sammoham apākraṣṭuṁ tvam arhasi. Sammoha. Samyag-rūpeṇa moham. Sammoha. The, the material life, ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8), we have created some situation, "my" and "mine," all this is false, illusion. "Although it is false, we are so much attached to it. So You require to dissipate that." Apākraṣṭum. This misconception.
Simply as Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), so a devotee, a pure devotee, is simply attached to Kṛṣṇa. They are not dis... A devotee is not disrespectful to other demigods. That is a mistake, that "These Kṛṣṇa devotees, they do not care for other demigods." No. A Kṛṣṇa devotee cares for the other demigods very rightly because he knows what is the position of the other demigods in comparison to Kṛṣṇa. Just like Durgā, Goddess Durgā. In the Brahma-saṁhitā the Goddess Durgā is worshiped. In which way? Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā (Bs. 5.44). Mother Durgā is the external energy, or potency, of Kṛṣṇa, and she is so powerful that sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana, she can create, she can maintain, and she can annihilate, or bring devastation. She is so powerful. Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā (Bs. 5.44). And mother Durgā is so powerful alone. Chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā: "But she is acting not independently, but like the shadow," chāyeva. Chāyeva yasya bibharti bhuvanāni: by the indication of Kṛṣṇa. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā also: mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10).
They want some opulence, material opulence, but he doesn't want Kṛṣṇa, the proprietor of all opulences. And that is our misfortune. The proprietor of all opulences, He said, "Just surrender to Me. I'll take care of you." "No, no. It is not possible. I shall have to take care of my business. That will maintain me. I will have to take care of my this and that, my country, and so many family, friends, and..." Kṛṣṇa says, "No, no. You simply surrender. I'll do everything for you." And He assures Arjuna in the Sixth Chap..., yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ: "You just do..., try to achieve that thing which achieving you will be no more aspiring for achieving anything more." That is Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa. Just like Arjuna, he did it very conscientiously. Kṛṣṇa said that "This war, your fight, is family. I am connected with both the families. So I cannot take part in this war." But they insisted that "At least You take some part as You like." Then He said that "I divide Myself into two. So one side, all My soldiers, eighteen akṣauhiṇī soldiers, and one side, I am alone. Now you select. Which one you want?" So Duryodhana's thought that "What shall I do with Kṛṣṇa? He's one man. Let me take His soldiers." So he took all the soldiers. And Arjuna said, "No, Kṛṣṇa, I want You." Then Kṛṣṇa said, "No, I'll not fight." "No, You simply remain in my side." "All right, I shall become your chariot driver, that's all."
But that is not fact. Nature is working under the direction. This is theism. One who knows. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that these natural, I mean to say, ingredients, prakṛti, jaḍa-prakṛti, or material nature, five elements, kṣitiḥ, āpam, tejas, marut, vyoma, this marut, vāyu, and tejas, this sunshine, kṣitiḥ, āpam, tejas, and water, the seas and oceans, the land, vast land, kṣitiḥ, āpam, tejas, marut, vyoma, then sky—they are different manifestation of Kṛṣṇa's external energy. They are not independent. There are many śāstras. Therefore one has to consult the śāstras. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is also said, "The material nature is very powerful." Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā: (Bs. 5.44) "The material nature is so powerful that it can create, sṛṣṭi, sthiti, it can maintain, and it can destroy also." Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana: "It is so powerful, it can do that."
Just like Kṛṣṇa said when he was present, He said, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat: (BG 7.7) "Nobody's superior than Me." He proved it. So long Kṛṣṇa was on the planet, he proved it, that no one superior. Even from ordinary life as gṛhastha... Kṛṣṇa was gṛhastha, householder. Now he married 16,108 wives. So who has got this potency to marry sixteen thousand? One wife... It is very difficult to maintain one wife. One lady in America, she had a grown-up son. So I asked her, "Why don't you get your son married?" "I have no objection if he can maintain wife here. I have no objection." Then I understood that it is very difficult to maintain wife here. And actually it is difficult to... So even from material point of view, Kṛṣṇa, as far as we can calculate, we cannot conceive even at the present moment to maintain more than one wife or two wife. But He was maintaining sixteen thousand wives, 16,108.
So to take this ānanda, to enjoy this ānanda, He has expanded Himself in so many forms. The svāṁśa, or the incarnation, and the vibhinnāṁśa, we are, jīvas. So to become really ānandamaya, Kṛṣṇa has—ekaṁ bahu syām—He has become many. So don't try to close up this business, "One." That is not very good intelligence. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they want to become one. "One" means you agree to the Supreme. That is oneness. Just like we are conducting this international society. We have got many workers, many disciples, but we are one. "One" means they are carrying their spiritual master's order. Therefore they are one. "One" means one is agreement, not that they have become amalgamated, no more individuality. Individuality is there always, but they are one, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa's devotees. The devotees are simply trying to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is trying to maintain His devotees. This is oneness, not that we lose our individuality.
So we have to revive this old consti... That is the whole subject matter of the Sāṅkhya philosophy, Kapiladeva, how we are becoming degraded from the original state of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So our only business is how to revive again. That revival is possible only by this process, bhaja vāsudevam. Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). Sudurlabhaḥ mahātmā, not ordinary mahātmā. Mahātmā, mahān ātmā yasya iti mahātmā. Not cripple ātmā: "This is my community. This is my nation. This is my family. I have to maintain it. I have to make them..." This is not mahātmā. Mahātmā means one who is broader, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sarva-yoniṣu. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme father of all living entities, and they are suffering. Tato vimukha-cetasa māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). Prahlāda Mahārāja says that "I am simply anxious, perplexed only for these persons who are bereft of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So I am thinking of them." This man is mahātmā. He is thinking of all living entities who are bereft of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and making plan how to again take them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So at the time of death, if you can maintain this bhāva, Kṛṣṇa conscious bhāva... The bhāva is the perfection. Bhāva is attained after much practice of devotional service. Ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo 'tha bhajana-kriyā tato 'nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ, athāsaktis tato bhāvaḥ (Cc. Madhya 23.14-15). Āsakti, when there is āsakti, attraction, attraction... Now, recently I have received one letter. One boy, he was engaged in worshiping the Deity in our Hyderabad center, and he was transferred to Madras. So he became madlike. He has come back. He could not stay there without serving. He has written me letter. So that is bhāva. He cannot stay without worshiping the Deity. That stage comes. You have to simply adopt it. Tato bhāvaḥ. Tato 'nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt. Anartha. Anartha means we are accustomed to this material condition of life, so many anarthas. Just like there are so many people, they are going to the cinema in the evening.
Just like there are so many people, they are going to the cinema in the evening. But those who have attained bhāva, his anartha nivṛtti is already done. He is not attracted any more by the cinema. He is attracted, bhāva, in the worship of the Deity. That is called bhāva. That bhāva means prema. Only thinking of Kṛṣṇa, serving Kṛṣṇa, simply busy in Kṛṣṇa's service—that is the perfection of life. And if we can maintain that bhāva, that situation, mentality, then yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6), and at the time of death, if that bhāva is maintained, that is saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ. That is the highest perfection of life. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are trying to... We are not trying to give others. We are trying ourself also, how to get that bhāva. That is the perfection of life.
So take this opportunity, human life. Don't miss. You may be very proud of your intelligence, but this intelligence is not very good intelligence if you are devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you are a mūḍha. If, by your intelligence, you learn how to surrender to Kṛṣṇa and worship Him with bhāva, that is real intelligence. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). And if you try to become intelligent, some tricks, material trick, to get some money or cheat others, that is not very good intelligence. These cats and dogs that... They have also such intelligence. How to steal food from the room, the cat knows very well. So that is not intelligence. That intelligence can be found, even birds, beasts, everywhere. Real intelligence is how to regain your Kṛṣṇa consciousness and be promoted to the stage of bhāva, and at the time of death maintain that bhāva, and then your life is successful. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9).
What is that sound? Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This daytime, or nighttime, we work so hard, but what is the aim. Aim is to satisfy senses. Ask these people all over the world, especially in the western country. They are making so many plans. Yesterday, when we were coming by the plane, the whole two hours one man was working, making some calculation. So everybody is busy, very, very busy, but if you ask him, "Why you are working so hard? What is the aim?" The aim, he has nothing to say except sense gratification, that's all. He has no more aim. He may think that "I have got a big family, I have to maintain them," or "I have got so much responsibility." But what is that? That is simply sense gratification. Even we manufacture so many "isms", philanthropism, humanitarianism, nationalism, socialism, so many. But what are these "isms"? That is also sense gratification. I satisfy my senses. I want to see that the senses of my brothers, senses of my sisters, senses of my friends, or senses of my society people, or my nation, countrymen, they are satisfied. The business is sense gratification. Just like in our country we got Mahātmā Gandhi. So he started, he is supposed to be father of the nation. There are many leaders in different countries. But if we, I mean to, take account of their business, it is sense gratification, that's all. Extended sense gratification. These are just like Marx, what is his name, full name?
Of course, according to circumstances, there is variation. That concession is always there. But the main principle is there. Just like we are getting our boys and girls married. So according to Vedic rites, marriage is a very big program. But we are finishing, according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, simply by acceptance. Svīkāra eva ca udvāhe. In this age it is recommended that if a girl accepts somebody as husband or if a man accepts somebody as wife, that is final. That's all. They may not change it. There is no need of making a very gorgeous ceremony of marriage. There is no need of making... That is, of course, social function. Actually, thing is that one boy should accept one girl as his permanent friend in life. And one girl should accept one boy as her permanent friend in her life. The girl should be agreed to serve the boy for her comforts, and the boy should agree to accept the girl to maintain her throughout life. That's all. Finished. Simply we must have that good will. Then this process of opening the path of liberation will be very, I mean to say, favorable. You can open your path of liberation even without marriage, remaining brahmacārī, but for girls brahmacārī system is not recommended. Therefore girls are advised to get a husband. Or the parents take the responsibility, according to Vedic rites and according... Still, in India, the father, not the, I mean to say, modernized, educated Indians. In villages they are not very much educated. Oh, they must get their girl, I mean to say, daughter, married before fifteen years. Otherwise, it will be a social scandal. The father is responsible for that.
God's first business is go-brāhmaṇa hitāya ca, brahmanya devāya. Kṛṣṇa is very, very eager to maintain the brahminical culture in the human society, brahma jānāti, understanding of Brahman and go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca, go, cows, cow protection. Where is that civilization? Where is that brahminical culture? Where is that go-rakṣa? Very precarious condition. Therefore we should accept the standard of civilization. This is recommended here, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram ahur vimukteḥ (SB 5.5.2). If you want to become disentangled or free from this entanglement, conditioned soul one after another... We are forced. Our (indistinct) was saying about the change of body. The change of body is forced. You are young man. You cannot say, "I'll not accept old man's body." "No, sir. You'll have to accept." Forced. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). You cannot say "I will not accept this." Kṛṣṇa says, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). As you are forced to accept this body, old-age body—nobody wants to become old—similarly another body, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. These things are there. We are being forced by the laws of nature. Where is our independence? They're declaring resolution: "Now we are independent. Ah. Finished."
So the father and mother's duty is to unite them so that they may not be spoiled, they may not be like cats and dogs. At least there will be some regulative principles they will follow. But the bondage is, as soon as they are united, the economic development, ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair (SB 5.5.8), then searching after: "Now we must have an apartment, so to..." Either you construct a house or rent a house, anyway money is required, so you will be enthused to earn money. "I have got wife, I have to keep nicely, I have to eat nicely, I have to give her dress, and so on, so on." So first of all, get one apartment or house, ataḥ gṛha. Then how to maintain the house. Formerly there was no other business except that agriculture. Agriculture, that is the economic, annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). We have to eat, so grow food grains. So where shall I grow my food grains? Not on the roof, but I must have some land, ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra, land is wanted, ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra.
Some of them are eating voraciously, no, but generally I see... But if they give up that little one piece of meat, say, one ounce or two ounce, immediately we can save ourself from so much sinful activities, so many slaughterhouses running on all over the world. If we simply control the tongue, what is that? You are eating a piece of meat. But they cannot. They cannot. Jihvā-vegam. The tongue is dictating, "No, meat is very nice. Take it." A little. It is not much. He's not living on meat. There are loafs, there are vegetables. Actually he's living on that. Nobody takes two or three loaf, of the same weight meat. Meat, little quantity. But they take loaf, butter, rice, other things. Without vegetables, without food grains, you cannot live. It is simply for the tongue. Tā'ra madhye jihvā ati lobhamoy sudurmati. Simply for this tongue, little only. He cannot live simply on meat unless he's an animal exactly. He has to take vegetable, food grains, butter. These are milk products. Otherwise he has no chance to live. But for the tongue's sake he's taking little piece of meat, and for that reason, we have to maintain thousands and thousands of slaughterhouse. This is our position.
What is the duty of the soldier? Kill as many as possible the enemies. But the same soldier, if he comes back home and kills some of his men or countrymen and he is arrested and in the court, he is ordered to be hanged, and if he pleads that "I am a soldier. In the battlefield I have killed so many persons, and now I have killed one man. Why you are ordering me to be hanged?" What will be the answer of the court? The answer that "You cannot kill on principle. But you can kill on the superior order. You cannot kill by your whims." In the battlefield the commander-in-chief orders, "Yes, you kill and get gold medal." But if you think the, "I have killed so many persons in the battlefield. Here is my enemy. I kill him." No. That you cannot do. That you cannot do. This is the principle. When there is duty, that is another thing. But not whimsically. We cannot kill. Therefore Lord Jesus Christ ordered, "Thou shall not kill." This is the order. "Thou shall not kill." But we are violating the order. We are killing so many animals. So this is not good. On the plea that "Lord Christ sometimes took some fish somewhere; therefore we will have to maintain a big slaughterhouse," this is not very good logic.
You have manufactured cars. I have practical experience. When Dayānanda wanted to take me to a doctor from Los Angeles, it is thirty miles off. Thirty miles off. So I had to take trouble to go thirty miles and come thirty miles before I could consult the doctor. You see? And if you have created cars, then you must have meet your friends and necessities thirty miles off, forty miles off. You can go from New York to Boston in one hour, but go to the airport you will take three hours. (laughter) Therefore it is called māyā-sukhāya. (laughter) Māyā means false, illusory. We are trying to create some very comfortable situation, but creating another uncomfortable situation. This is called māyā-su... This is the way of... If you do not be satisfied by the natural comforts offered by God, or nature, if you want to create artificial comfort, then you have to create another discomfort for counteracting. They do not know that. They are thinking that "We are creating very comfortable situation." Fifty miles going to the office. For earning livelihood, fifty miles, from one place to another. I saw in Hawaii. When Gaurasundara was working to maintain our temple, he was working. Unfortunately, he had to go fifty miles off from the temple to work for it. So I was very sorry to see how this boy is going fifty miles. How Kṛṣṇa will say? But Kṛṣṇa has given us chance. Now they haven't got to work.
What is that further improvement? We can go to the better planets. There are many better planets. You can go there, heavenly planets. There you can live for ten thousands of years. Ten thousands of years, and that is also not our year. The higher planetary system, their one day—our six months. In that way you can live there for ten thousands of years. And the standard of living condition is thousand times better. Therefore it is called heavenly. So if you like, you can go there. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthaḥ (BG 14.18). Yānti deva-vrataḥ devān. Everything is explained. Or if you can go, if you like you can go to the Pitṛloka. If you want to remain here as human being, you can also remain here, but you have to work for it to keep your position, status. Just like if you become rich man, high standard of life, you have to maintain it. Not that it will continue automatically. No, that is not possible, sir. This material world is not like that: you get one position and it will continue. No. A little discrepancy, immediately deteriorate your position. So you have to maintain it.
So if you want to maintain yourself within this Bhurloka... There are above this Bhūrloka, Bhuvarloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, Maharloka. There are so many planetary system. And down also, Tala, Atala, Vitala, Pātāla, Talātala, like that. If you want to go down, you can go down. If you want to go up, you can go. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva... Everything is there; you can do that. Ordinary, anyone can understand that in the human society if you want to become high-court judge, you can become. And if you want to become a criminal in the prisonhouse, you can become. Everything is open. Not that government says that you become a criminal and he prefers somebody, "You become a high-court..." No. Everything is in your hand. If you like, you can become so. Similarly, if you like, you can go back to home, back to Godhead. That is perfection of life. And if you don't like, then remain here.
Parasparārtham means mutual help. The brāhmaṇas should give advice to the kṣatriyas, to the government, and the government, according to the nice good advice, should maintain the state. In this way there will be peaceful condition of the society. Therefore there is the institution of varṇāśrama. Cātur-varṇyaṁ māyā... Kṛṣṇa says, "I have made this varṇāśrama for the benefit of the whole human society, although I don't belong to any varṇa, āśrama." Kṛṣṇa has nothing to do, but to maintain the human society very peaceful, advancing in spiritual knowledge, this varṇāśrama is required. Therefore sometimes I become very eager to start a varṇāśrama college. We have nothing to do with varṇāśrama, we Kṛṣṇa..., But we want to see that the whole human society is peaceful. That is our mission. Sarve sukhino bhavantu. This is the desire of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and those who are servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they should also desire how to do good to the whole human society. A Vaiṣṇava is not only interested for his own benefit. His own benefit is already done as soon as he has taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. He has nothing else desire over. Everything is finished, protected by Kṛṣṇa. Kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaś... (BG 9.31). But they work in the human society on behalf of Kṛṣṇa so that they may be happy, peaceful, and make progress in spiritual life. That is Vaiṣṇava's duty.
The Vedic civilization, the brāhmaṇas, they used to live in the forest, and the king would offer them some cows. So they will draw some milk. And in the forest there are fruits, so they will eat fruits and milk. And if the disciples go to the village, beg some food grain, then sometimes they cook some food grains. Otherwise the brāhmaṇas used to live in the forest, drink milk and take fruit. That is sufficient. There was no need of jumping here and there. Anywhere you keep cows. And what cows to maintain? No expenditure. The fruits? The skin thrown away, and the cow will eat. And in exchange it will give you nice foodstuff, milk. Or it will eat in the grazing ground, some grass. So there is no expenditure of keeping cows, but you get the best food in the world. The proof is that the child born simply can live on milk. That is the proof. So anyone can live only on milk. If you have got the opportunity to drink one pound milk maximum, not very much—half-pound is sufficient; suppose one pound—then you don't require any other foodstuff. Only this cow's milk will help you. It is so nice. And it gives very nice brain, not pig's brain. So it is so important thing. Other..., why Kṛṣṇa says go-rakṣya? He did not say that "pig-rakṣya." No. "Dog-rakṣya." No. Now they are interested in dog-rakṣya instead of cow-rakṣya. This is the civilization. They'll spend millions of dollars for dog, not for cow.
Slaughterhouse, even the sixth-class, seventh-class men... They did not know how to produce food, how to live. That means the aborigines in the jungle. They were hunting one animal, then eating, not that civilized nation, organized slaughterhouse. Oh, how horrible it is. If you want to eat an animal, then you go to the jungle, kill one animal, and eat. The government is not going to maintain a slaughterhouse for you. You see? This is the civilization. So our eatables should be food grains—kṛṣi-go-rakṣya—and milk. Kṛṣi means by agriculture process you can produce fruits, flower, vegetables, then rice, wheat, and pulses, and you have got milk. Then where is your want, scarcity? This is civilization. Meat-eating is meant for the sixth-class, seventh-class men who does not know, who remain naked, and they can neither produce food neither cloth in the jungle. It is for them. They also were not very much expert to maintain a slaughterhouse. When you need, you can kill one lower animal, not cow. The cow is not available in the jungle. You can have some deer or some boar. So these unimportant animals were killed by them. That is the sixth class, not the first class, second class, third class, fourth class. No. And the fourth-class man who could not utilize his brain as first class, second class, third class, then he becomes fourth class—his business: to help, worker, these higher three classes.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī, therefore, he remained within the womb of his mother for sixteen years. And as soon as he got out from the mother's womb, immediately he left home. You will read in Bhāgavatam. So father was going after. After all, father, that "This boy, going out. My dear son, come back. Where you are going? Where you are going?" He didn't care. He didn't care. He went away. There are persons like that. They don't want to be attached to this material affection. Māyāra vaibhava. These are expansion of the illusory energy. That is sense. That is first-class understanding. Actually, there is no need of this material world. Just like somebody says that "If all the prisoners become free, how the prisonhouse will go on?" And is it a very good proposal? The prisonhouse, as soon as it is stopped, as soon as it is closed, that is good for the society. Why there should be prisonhouse at all? But they want to maintain the prisonhouse and very anxious, "If people all are set free, then who will fill up this prisonhouse?" They question that, that "If all people go to back to home, back to Godhead, then how this world will go on?" (laughter) That is their anxiety. But we say the sooner you close this business and all of you go back to home, back to Godhead, then everything is very nice.
So they unite, a man..., a boy finds out a girl, a girl finds out a boy. They unite, and there is sex, and as soon as there is sex then there is bondage. Immediately. Puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitha. As soon as they unite, then the relation becomes very tight, very strong. Then, as soon as one is married, or unmarried—generally speaking married—then he wants apartment. Ato gṛha. Gṛha means apartment. So long he remains brahmacārī there is no need of apartment. He can dine right out on the street. (laughter) But as soon as they're joined together, immediately apartment, gṛha. Then how to maintain the apartment? Then he must have land. Because formerly there was no industry. Everyone must produce his own food by tilling the field. So to produce food he must have some land. So land was available, still available. One can produce. But they have left that process of livelihood. They are taking to industry.
Wonderful!" Because in the Kali-yuga this is wonderful. Everything is mentioned in śāstra. Dakṣyaṁ kuṭumba-bharaṇam. If one can maintain one wife and some children, ah, he's most expert. (laughs) Forget Kṛṣṇa. Here is expert. (laughter) Daksa means expert. "Oh, he's expert. How he's maintaining." When I first came, I met one elderly lady. She had a son. So, as Indian I asked, "Oh, why don't you get your son married?" She replied, "Oh, I have no objection. If he can maintain a wife I have no objection." That means to maintain a wife is a very big job in your country. I've seen it. (laughter) Of course, when we talk we must talk freely. (laughter) That is a fact. (laughter) But formerly, in our father's age, they used to come to foreign countries and they thought it, it is a great laugh to possess one white wife. Yes, they are thinking like that. So all the students who used to come to England for higher studies, naturally he'd carry one white elephant. (laughter) They used to say—it is not my coined words—they used to say, "Oh, to maintain European wife, it is like maintaining white elephant." So anyway, you have got so many white elephants. (laughter)
So the Ajāmila, young man, on account of association with a prostitute, he lost his good character and began to maintain the prostitute by stealing, by cheating, one after another. So by mistake or on account of the age, he became captivated by the prostitute. So Kṛṣṇa was watching. Therefore He gave him this chance that on account of his affection towards the child, he will at least repeat "Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa." "Nārāyaṇa come. Nārāyaṇa take your food. Nārāyaṇa sit down." So bhāva-grāhi-janārdanaḥ. Kṛṣṇa is so kind. He takes the purpose or the essence. Because the holy name has its effect. So although this Ajāmila, by his foolishness, he was attached to the material body of the son, but because he was chanting "Nārāyaṇa," Kṛṣṇa was taking that essence, that's all, that "Some way or other, he is chanting." The importance of chanting is so nice. So do not give up chanting. Then Kṛṣṇa will protect you. This is the example. "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa," you practice. Naturally, when you are in danger, you will say, "Hare Kṛṣṇa." This much do. If you are practiced to do something, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then you are safe.
So your problem is to stop this repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. Come to your spiritual life. That is your business. That is the instruction of the śāstra. The machine maintaining, everyone knows it. The dog knows how to maintain the machine. He eats according to the necessity of his doggish body. So we also know, human body. So that is natural. That is... The supplies are already there. You cannot manufacture supplies. That is the Vedic instruction: eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). There are many millions and trillions of living entities, and there is another living entity: that is God. So this another, one, singular number. There is no second, duplicate, of this one. But we ordinary living entities, we have got many millions of duplicates. Therefore two things are used: nitya, nityānām. Nityānām means plural number. Many, many, innumerable. You cannot count. Asaṅkhyā. The jīva is. Asaṅkhyā means nobody can count. And above this asaṅkhyā innumerable living entities, there is one prime living entity. God is also a living entity.
Well, the rats will be fed. Either you give or not, it will steal. So that is not the problem. But if you give them food, they will... Of course, that is Western philosophy, that because the animals are increasing, they should be killed. We Indians also, we have taken that view—because we cannot give protection to the cows, they must be sent to the slaughterhouse. That is the modern view. But that is not injunction of the Vedas. The Vedas says that everyone has right to live, every living entity. That is going on not only in consideration of the animals—even in human beings. Just like the Americans, they were all Europeans, and they entered this American land, killed so many Red Indians. So these kind of things are going on, but that does not mean that is the law. You killed so many Red Indians for your benefit, but you have to suffer for that. So that... This is going on in the human society, but that does not mean it is dharma. No. Dharma means you have to abide by the regulation given by the Vedas. You have to adjust things. Sometimes in Africa the man-eaters, they kill their grandfather, make a feast. The Russians also, they maintain such theory, that old men, they should be neglected. I have heard. I do not know. They become burden. But that is not Vedic injunction.
So Nārāyaṇa, or Kṛṣṇa, He's controlling everything. And this material world is made of three modes of material nature: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). The Bhagavad-gītā also says the same thing. Prakṛteḥ, this material nature, is working under three modes of material nature—sattva-guṇa, tamo-guṇa, rajo-guṇa. In the rajo-guṇa, the material world is created. In sattva-guṇa, the material world is maintained. And in tamo-guṇa, this material world is dissolved, or annihilated. This is the way, going on. So sattva-guṇa, maintenance, in charge is Viṣṇu Himself. Without Viṣṇu, nobody can maintain. Just like one contractor, he can manufacture a very big skyscraper building, but to maintain it, it requires another management, how to manage and maintain. And dissolution, anyone can break this big skyscraper. These three things are going on. So the maintenance in charge is Nārāyaṇa, His expansion, Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu, Viṣṇu is supplying all the needs of our... We are so many living entities, innumerable, but Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu, He is supplying all our needs. Just like father, he supplies the needs of the family, children. Similarly, Viṣṇu is maintaining. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. So many different varieties of living entities and they have got different demands, different necessities, everything is supplied by Viṣṇu. Eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān. That is God.
The Lord, in order to maintain this material world, how He has expanded, it is described in the śāstra. Eko 'py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi. Jagad-aṇḍa means this universe. Aṇḍa: it is egglike. Aṇḍa means egglike, jagat-aṇḍa, the universe. So that universe is not one. We are seeing only one universe with our, these naked eyes, but when we see through the eyes of śāstra, authority... Śāstra-cakṣuṣāt. This is Vedic knowledge, that "Don't be simply after your, these defective eyes." What is the value of these eyes? There are so many things. Just like this morning we were discussing: you take photograph from the sea. What you will see? But there are many millions of fishes within the sea. What you will take, photograph? They say that "We have taken photograph on the moon planet. There is no life."
So why not select this, that "I have to work for the next life. Why not devote this life for Kṛṣṇa? I shall go back to home, back to Kṛṣṇa"? This is intelligence. I am suffering so many lives, accepting this fish life or the tree life, the plant life, the moth life, the insect life, the serpent life, the bird's life. And not only bird's life—there are so many varieties of birds, beginning from the eagle. There is a big eagle bird. We have no information. They are very big bird. They are flying in the sky, and their rest is from one planet to another. Just like here you find the birds, they are flying from one tree to another. Similarly, there are so big birds... They are called garuḍa. So garuḍa, these birds, they start their flying from one planet and sits in another planet. Just try to understand what is their flying. Not only that, they also lay eggs while flying, and the eggs, while falling down, it becomes another bird. And these birds can pick up elephants for eating. So this is God's creation. So if you want to become such a big bird, you can become. (laughter) Yes. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante (BG 4.11). God is so kind. Whatever you desire, you will get. Therefore it is depending upon our discretion, that "What kind of desire I shall maintain?" That desire is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then you will be happy. Otherwise, you prepare your next life and you suffer or enjoy and again next life, again next life... That is not very good. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). Nobody wants that, that "I accept some position: again it is lost. Again I accept another position, again it is lost."
So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to propagate this knowledge that you understand Kṛṣṇa, that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His activities which are recorded in the śāstra. When Kṛṣṇa was present on this earthly planet, He showed according to our understanding. Just like one man cannot maintain one wife: He married sixteen thousand wife. And He maintained them how? Sixteen thousand palaces. And will the women will be satisfied simply having very good palaces? No, she must have husband. So Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself into sixteen thousand husband. This is Kṛṣṇa. But because I cannot do it, we say, "Oh, this is all allegory, fiction. It is not fact." That is our defect. If God comes, explains, then we do not believe Him. Then how we will be convinced about God? God is omnipotent, and when He shows His omnipotency and it is recorded in the śāstra, we don't believe. So therefore, why we do not believe? Now, yeṣāṁ anta-gataṁ pāpam. Yeṣām... Kṛṣṇa says everything.
So this man, being attracted with the śūdrāṇī, naturally there was children. So he began to maintain them. This is natural affection. Even cats and dogs, they maintain their children. The birds also, they maintain their kiddies. So although children were born of śūdrāṇī, natural, there was affection. So he required money. But he became sinful; he could not earn money honestly. A sinful man cannot earn money honestly. Just like a thief: because he has adopted the means of earning money by sinful activities, he cannot take to honest work. He can work, but he is accustomed to steal. He knows that "This work is not good." If he is arrested, he will be punished. He has seen that one thief arrested and punished, and he has heard also that if one steals, he will be punished. And he has heard also from the śāstra, either law book or Vedic literature, that "Stealing is not good. It is punishable." But still, he does it. That means a sinful man cannot restrain himself from sinful activity. He has to do it. Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo asya sad-asad-janma-yoniṣu (BG 13.22). Unless you give up the particular situation with the modes of nature, it is not possible for him to restrain himself from committing sinful activities.
Our, this temple worship, Deity worship, we are following the principles of Deity worship because our ācāryas established temple, but main principle is chanting. Therefore, whatever we are doing, we offering prasādam to the Lord, we are having maṅgalārati, the main principle is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. This temple worship, it can be avoided, but we cannot avoid chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. As such, we have introduced in several centers that "Begin with Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, keeping the picture of Guru-Gaurāṅga." If it is not possible to worship the Deity according to the rules and regulation, there is no need of establishing temple. But if there are devotees who can actually keep the temple worship method in right order, then... Otherwise, simple, by chanting, everything is complete. But when there is temple worship, there is automatic purification because we have to rise early in the morning, we have to take bath. This kind of purification help..., is helped by temple worship. But when there is grossest type of people who cannot take to this, simply chanting will do. Hari nāmānukīrtanam. Kalau tad, kali, kalau. Kalau, means this age, that cleanliness is very difficult to maintain. Therefore kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt. This is recommended.
In this way, as the other day I was speaking, not here, in San Francisco, that in this age especially, a man will think himself very successful if he simply can maintain one wife and a few children. That's all. He will think himself very successful. And actually, it is a problem for present day people to maintain even an wife, which is... An animal, an animal is also maintaining a wife. There is no difficulty for him. A dog has a wife and children, so he has no economic problem. A bird has wife and children, but he has no economic problem. But man has gone so down that he is thinking to keep wife and children is an economic problem, to avoid it. To avoid it use contraceptive method, no children, simply indulge in sex life. So man has become so down and down, especially in this age. But it is not a problem. Bhāgavata says that this is not a problem. You are thinking of maintaining your wife and children. Oh, that is already arranged. As this is arranged for the animals, for the birds, for the beasts, to have a wife and enjoy sex life and beget some children, then why not for you? You are advanced human being.
That is the misunderstanding of this present civilization. We are trying to improve the dog civilization. What is that dog civilization? A dog sleeps. So we are trying to improve the accommodation of sleeping. Dog eats. Oh, we are trying to improve the condition of our eating. The dog eats some meat, but we are not meat-eaters, but we want to imitate dog, so therefore we have to arrange so many things. We have to maintain a big slaughterhouse. So dog has no problem, but we have got problems. Because we are misusing our advanced consciousness simply in the same way as the dog. Eating, sleeping, mating or defending. The dog has also defending power. As soon as another dog comes, "Bow, bow, bow." So similarly, we have got defending power, immigration department, visa department, this department, defensive department. What is this? This is all defense. So eating, sleeping, defense, or sex life is required, but you have got another prerogative. Consciousness. That is to be changed into, that is to be improved into Kṛṣṇa consciousness or God consciousness. That is your duty. So unless we are trained up to change our consciousness which we have had in many other animal life Because this is evolutionary process. Jalajā nava-lakṣāni. From 900,000 species of life of aquatics, then trees and plants, then reptiles, worms, then birds, then beasts, then uncivilized men, then we have come to this form of civilized men who are, there is intelligence for production, there is nice brain for so many things. So how it should be utilized? Prahlāda Mahārāja says it should be utilized for understanding God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise, it is simply a misuse of life. Thank you very much.
People are searching out whether there is God, God is dead or alive. But we are giving, "Here is God. Here is His name, here is His address, here is His activities." Everything we are giving distinctly. Not blindly, but there is philosophy, there is reason, there is logic, and these are all stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, sixty volumes. So Prahlāda Mahārāja says that everyone from the very childhood, that means when education begins, this bhāgavata-dharma. Otherwise, we are missing the point. We are missing the opportunity of this human form of life. We are simply living like cats and dogs and dying like cats and dogs. And if we maintain that mentality like cats and dogs, then next life... Because we are given the opportunity by nature to utilize our consciousness, to utilize our intelligence, to understand God. But if we do not utilize, if we live like cats and dogs, then next life we have to accept, by nature's law, the body of cats and dog. This is bhāgavata-dharma. This is an opportunity. Here is the opportunity to make your choice whether again you are going to be cats and dogs or whether you are going to be elevated to the highest position, back to home, back to Godhead.
Anyway, the vānaprastha, when the gentleman is completely educated for renouncing this world, then he sends back the wife to grown-up boys and he takes sannyāsa. This is sannyāsa dress. This is preparing, not... Preparing is finished. Sannyāsa means he should distribute spiritual knowledge from door to door. That is his business. He has no family attraction, he has nothing to think for his maintenance, because the society is advised to take care of brahmacārī, vānaprastha, and sannyāsa. Just see. This is spiritual communism. One section of people, the householders, they have to maintain the three other divisions. We have divided the society into four divisions: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, and sannyāsa. Only the gṛhasthas are allowed to make money, to earn money. But the brahmacārī and the vānaprastha and sannyāsī is to live at the cost the gṛhasthas. Brahmacaris shall go from door to door and beg alms and bring it for the spiritual master. The spiritual master is a sannyāsī. So whatever the brahmacārīs bring, they cook and they eat and they cultivate spiritual Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the system. That means it is the duty of the gṛhasthas, or the householder, to maintain the other three section of the people.
Now, that does not mean that Prahlāda Mahārāja is recommending to neglect the, this family life or society and... No. He was family man. Prahlāda Mahārāja was a great king. He was ruling over. So it is not the question of neglect. But we must know that if we become more and more entangled in these affairs, then our real business will be lost. Our real business is how to get out of this entanglement, not to be more and more, I mean to say, implicated in this entanglement. That should be the point of view: to make the best use of a bad bargain. That should be the philosophy of life. We are put into this material existential condition, and we have to get out. But at the same time, so far, so long this material body is there, we have to maintain it also. Just like... The example is very nice. We can cite that you have to go to some place, and you have got a car. You have to take care of the car so far it can carry you to your destination, not that you simply take care of your car and you forget your destination and your own body. This is not your business. Similarly, we have to carry on our business.
The body is made according to his destination of happiness and distress by superior authority. I cannot say that I will have such-and-such body my next life. But in one sense, if I am intelligent, I can prepare my next body. I can prepare my body to live in certain planets, in certain societies. Even you can go to the higher planets. And if I like, I can prepare my body to go to the abode of Kṛṣṇa, Goloka Vṛndāvana. That is the function. Human body is meant for that intelligence, that what kind of body I shall have in my next life? Just like a student educates himself with an ambition that "When I am grown up I shall have this standard of life. I shall become a high-court judge, I shall become a military man, I shall become a very good businessman." As there are different ambitions, similarly, for your next life also you can maintain different ambitions. That is in your hands. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, yānti deva-vratā devān (BG 9.25), if you are ambitious to elevate yourself... Just like people are trying to go to the moon planet, that is an ambition. But they are trying to fulfill the ambition wrongly. That is not the way, that we manufacture some machine and by force we enter into the moon planet. That is not possible. You have to undergo certain rules and regulations so that after quitting this body you are allowed to get a particular type of body suitable for a particular type of planet.
So we must be very cautious. Just like here also. The brahmādaya, big, big demigods, they could not pacify, appease the Lord. He was angry. Evaṁ surādayaḥ sarve brahma-rudra-puraḥ sarāḥ. Big, big personalities, rudra, na upaitum. Na upaitum aśakan manyu. They could not pacify Hmm, and saṁrambhaṁ sudurāsadam. Sudurāsadam, very, very difficult. Once we are condemned by Kṛṣṇa, it is very, very difficult to rise up again. Mūḍhā janmani janmani (BG 16.20). Life after life we shall be condemned. That is our punishment. So don't do anything which will make Kṛṣṇa unhappy. Simply engage yourself in the service of the Lord. Very simple thing. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Simply always think of Him. Do not think anyone, anything else. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). Just try to maintain your service for Kṛṣṇa. There is twenty-four hours' engagement, and try to follow it. Do not neglect it. That will make your life successful.
If one can understand nitya-siddha bhāgavata, then he immediately becomes eligible to go back to home, to back to godhead. This is the privilege of associating with mahā-bhāgavata. So our system is, (child crying—aside:) try and maintain (?). Evaṁ paramparā, to associate with the mahā-bhāgavata by words or by physical exposition (?). So mahā-bhāgavata arbhakaḥ. One may argue, arbhakaḥ means foolish child, who has no knowledge, he is called arbhakaḥ. How we can say mahā-bhāgavata? Arbhakaḥ, he has no knowledge. No. It is possible. Ahaituky apratihatā. Bhakti does not depend on age, or on advanced knowledge, or richness, or so many other things. Janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrī (SB 1.8.26). To take birth in high family, aristocracy, and to become rich, to become beautiful, to become very learned scholar. These things are material assets, but spiritual life does not depend on these things. One can become spiritually very advanced even though he is poor, he is born in a low, low-grade family.
Immediately we cannot be first-class devotee. We cannot imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura. That is not possible. But minimum. Saṅkhyā-pūrvaka-nāma-gāna-natibhiḥ. We have to practice. Certain numerical strength we must maintain. And we have made it, therefore... Some of our so-called devotees, they criticize me that I have limited only sixteen rounds. No, why sixteen rounds? You can make three hundred rounds, but minimum, minimum sixteen rounds, because we are not accustomed to devote much time. We must be busy always. But to sit down in one place and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra continuously, that is not possible for any conditioned soul—unless he is liberated. So don't try to imitate. My Guru Mahārāja has strictly forbidden, "Don't try to imitate big personalities like Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Rūpa Gosvāmī." He used to say, rūpa gosvāmī ke mogha vāñchā (?). Rūpa Gosvāmī, because he used to put on a loin cloth... Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tucchavat bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthā... So it is no use imitating Rūpa Gosvāmī, to imitate the dress, and then, as soon as there is opportunity, smoke bidi. (laughter)
Viṣṇu, Mahā-Viṣṇu, His description is given, yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ. Mahā-Viṣṇu is so big, He is lying in the Causal Ocean, that many innumerable quantity of universes are coming out by His exhaling and in..., exhaling. And from the pores of His body, innumerable universes are coming. And the Brahma lives only during the exhaling and inhaling time, that's all. Yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagad-aṇḍa-nāthāḥ, viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kāla-viśeṣo (Bs. 5.48). This Mahā-Viṣṇu is portion of the portion of Kṛṣṇa's expansion. Just like Kṛṣṇa says... This Mahā-Viṣṇu and Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. When Kṛṣṇa... When Arjuna was asking Kṛṣṇa about His vibhūti, about His power. So He summarized, athavā bahunaitena kim jñātena tavārjuna, "How much I shall explain about My power and energy?" Vistabhya aham ekamsena sthito jagat (BG 10.42). Aham, "I enter in one of My plenary portion, that is Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, I maintain the whole material cosmic manifestation." Ekāṁśena sthito jagat.
Then Kṛṣṇa understood that "Their position is very precarious. Although they are released, they cannot go anywhere." Then Kṛṣṇa... He's so kind, bhakta-vatsala. He inquired, "What you want?" That... They said that "You accept me, otherwise we have no other means to stay." Kṛṣṇa immediately: "Yes, come on." This is Kṛṣṇa. And not that His sixteen thousand wives was concentrated in one camp. He immediately constructed sixteen thousand palaces. Because He has accepted as wife, he (she) must be maintained as His wife, as His queen, not that "Because they have no other means, they have come to My shelter. I can keep them any way." No. Most respectfully as queen, as Kṛṣṇa's queen. And again He thought that "The sixteen thousand wives... So if I remain alone, one figure, then My wives cannot meet Me. Everyone has to wait for sixteen thousand days to see the husband. No." He expanded Himself into sixteen thousand Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa. The rascals, they accuse Kṛṣṇa as woman-hunter. It is not like you. You cannot maintain even one wife, but He maintained sixteen thousand wives in sixteen thousand palaces and in sixteen thousand expansion of form. Everyone was pleased. This is Kṛṣṇa. We have to understand what is Kṛṣṇa. Don't try to imitate Kṛṣṇa. First of all try to understand Kṛṣṇa.
Māyā is very strong. You have seen the picture of Māyā, Durgādevī, and the Mahiṣāsura is fighting, very strong, just like Hiraṇyakaśipu. There are many asuras. So Mahiṣa... Sometimes Kṛṣṇa Himself comes to kill the asura, or sometimes His agent, Māyā, Durgādevī, kills. You have seen the picture of Goddess Kālī. She is killing simply the asuras, chopping one after another, one after another, one after... Sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā (Bs. 5.44). She can create, she can maintain, and she can make pralaya, devastator. That is her business. But so powerful, still, she is under the control of the Supreme Lord. Therefore here it is said, saṁsāra-cakram aja ko 'titaret tvad-anyaḥ. "A strong māyā. I cannot get out of her clutches." So Prahlāda Mahārāja knows it. Ko 'titaret: "Who can surpass? Who can get rid of this clutches of māyā?" Tvad-anyaḥ. That is the fact. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that "You surrender to Me, and you'll be free from māyā." Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ sara..., ahaṁ tvām: (BG 18.66) "I'll give you protection." Mām eva ye prapadyante. The same thing, whole instruction, is there. Simply if we want to be happy... Happiness you cannot have in this way, by concocting plans. That is not possible.
We are making our plan that "I shall be happy in this way. I have got this body, so let me make this body very strong, go in the beach and run on the beach to make the body very strong." There are so many other methods to keep the body very strong. Deha, apatya. Maintain the children very nicely. Dehāpatya-kalatra, wife. Decorate the wife very nicely. "In this way I shall be happy. Let me keep my body fit, let my children grow very nicely, wife be decorated with ornaments, with sari, and I will see and will be happy." No. You cannot remain. Even if you arrange like that, you cannot remain. Kṛṣṇa says, "One day I shall come as death, and not only I shall take you out of the scene, but I shall take away all your possessions." Mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham (BG 10.34).
So therefore we have to purify our senses. Unless we purify our senses, we'll be disturbed by the demands of the senses—one side, the tongue; one side, the ear; one side, the eyes; one side, the nose; one side, the hand; one side, the leg. The example is given very nicely, that sapatnya iva geha-patiṁ lunanti. Just like a man has got many wives. Here especially the kṣatriyas, they marry many wives. There is purpose also. The kṣatriyas are allowed in this way. Why? Because kṣatriyas are... Generally they are king. They have got money to maintain many wives. They can do it. And they eat also very first-class vitaminous food also, so they have energy. Even our Kṛṣṇa, He also married as a kṣatriya so many wives. So, not like Kṛṣṇa or any other, but everyone wants to keep more than one wife. Everyone wants. That is his heart's desire. And if one is able actually, he keeps. But what is his position? That is described here, that bahvyaḥ sapatnya iva geha-patiṁ lunanti. Now suppose you have got one dozen wives. So when you come home the every wife is waiting: "My husband will come from work. I shall snatch him in my room by force. Last night he did not come. Now, this night, I shall forcefully bring in my room." So this man enters, and every wife is prepared to take the opportunity, so all of them come.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Translation: "My dear Lord, You are transcendentally situated on the other side of the river of death. We are suffering on this side of the river of death on account of the resultant action of our own activities and have thus fallen in this river. We are suffering the pangs of repeated birth, death and awful arrangements. Not only me, but on behalf of all others in suffering conditions, kindly see upon them and out of Your causeless mercy and compassion deliver us and thus maintain us."
Prabhupāda:
- evaṁ sva-karma-patitaṁ bhava-vaitaraṇyām
- anyonya-janma-maraṇāśana-bhīta-bhītam
- paśyaṁ janaṁ sva-para-vigraha-vaira-maitraṁ
- hanteti pāracara pīpṛhi mūḍham adya
- (SB 7.9.41)
So this is our material condition of life. Prahlāda Mahārāja is describing one after another. So sometimes foolish person accuse God that "Why He has put us into this miserable condition, different status of life? Somebody is rich, somebody is poor, somebody is diseased, somebody is healthy, and so many varieties." Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has said, keśava tuyā jagata vicitra. Vicitra means varieties. "So if God is kind, why He has made so many varieties?" This is not the common question you meet? You are preaching. They inquire like this: "Why God is not kind to everyone? Why He has made this distinction?"
So Kṛṣṇa is bhava-sambhava-lopa-hetoḥ. Everything which is going on—creation, maintenance, and also annihilation—the original cause is Kṛṣṇa. When there is need of creation, the cause is Kṛṣṇa. When there is need of maintenance, the cause is Kṛṣṇa. Everything, the cause is Kṛṣṇa. And there is annihilation—the cause is Kṛṣṇa. So sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya, although it is being done... Sṛṣṭi means creation; sthiti means maintenance; pralaya means destruction. These things are going on in the material world. Everything is created. Just like your body, my body, it is created at a certain date. There is history. And it will maintain, say, utmost, for fifty, sixty or hundred years. It will never be eternal. Because it is created, it cannot be eternal. Anything created cannot be eternal. So this sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana is actually being done by Kṛṣṇa, whatever way. But because we cannot see Kṛṣṇa in the background, we see only the wonderful activities of the nature. Nature is working not independently—by the direction of Kṛṣṇa. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). Whatever is going on by the wonderful activities of nature... People are amazed by seeing the wonderful activities of nature. But behind these activities there is the direction of the Supreme Personality. Therefore Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva is addressed here, bhava-sambhava-lopa-hetoḥ.
| Page Title: | Maintain (Lectures, SB) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Mayapur |
| Created: | 08 of Mar, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=116, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 116 |