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Not meant for... (Lectures, SB cantos 1 - 2)

Expressions researched:
"never meant for" |"not meant for"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.1 -- Caracas, February 20, 1975:

They say that "So far these necessities of life are concerned, they are ready, supplied." In any life, either in human life or in birds and beasts, lower animal, trees, plants, that is ready. Therefore we should not waste our time for these things, but we should be ready to enquire about the Absolute Truth. So human intelligence is there to enquire about the Absolute Truth. So they have got better developed consciousness or intelligence than the lower animals. So that higher intelligence should be utilized for enquiring about the Absolute Truth. So that is... Vedānta-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), athāto brahma jijñāsā. This life, human life, is not meant for wasting time for adjusting how to get better food, better shelter, better sex and better defense. So the human intelligence is that when one thinks that "If these necessities of body are ready even for the animals and beasts and birds, then why not it is ready for me?" It is ready for the human being also. That is a fact. We see when human being are uncivilized, the ready food is there. They live in the jungle. There is fruit ready for eating. Everything is ready there. They do not know how to produce food, the uncivilized man. They eat some animal. They eat some fruit. This is already ready. So uncivilized man, who cannot produce food, even for him, there is food ready. Similarly, the civilized human being, for him also the food can be improved. Just like he can produce from the field, agriculture, so many food grains, varieties of food grains he can produce. So these things are already there. There is no need of extra time for developing how to eat nicely, how to sleep nicely. One should be satisfied like the animals. They are satisfied with their position. They are not agitated. Similarly, we should be satisfied whatever is available automatically by the gift of nature or by God.

Lecture on SB 1.2.3 -- London, August 24, 1971:

So this svānubhāva, when there is no darkness in your heart... Svānubhāva. What is Kṛṣṇa, when you understand fully within your heart, at that time your actual liberation is attained.

So what Śukadeva Gosvāmī did, that after assimilating the whole Vedic literature, he distributed it. That is another instinct. If you really have learned the essence of Vedic knowledge, automatically you'll be inclined to preach it. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam. Śravaṇam means to hear, to receive the knowledge. And next, kīrtanam, means to distribute, to describe the knowledge. Yaḥ svānubhāvam akhila-śruti-sāram ekam adhyātma-dīpam (SB 1.2.3). Dīpam means lamp. So this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is just like the lamp in the darkness to see Kṛṣṇa, or God. Adhyātma-dīpam. And for whom is it meant? Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is not meant for the street boys, or who are accustomed to read so many nonsense literature. They want to waste their time. They have no engagement. They purchase some book, fictitious book, and read it. Not only they, even elderly men, they read it. But this book is different from those books. It is meant for persons, those who are desiring to get out of this world of ignorance. Tamo 'ndham.

Gṛha andha-kūpam. Andha. Andha means blind or darkness. So our materialistic way of life is described as gṛha andha-kūpam. The family life is just like a dark well. We are already in the darkness, and another darkness is to fall in the dark well. If one falls down in the dark well, it is very difficult to get out because he may cry very loudly and people may not hear. These dark well are sometimes there in the paddy field. I have seen one dark well. In your country when I was guest in John Lennon's house in 1969 we saw in the garden there was a dark well. Dark well means a very deep ditch, well, but it is covered with grass. You cannot know that there is a deep well, but while walking, you may fall down within it. And it is already covered with grass, and it is very deep. If you fall down and you try to get out of it, because it is lonely place, nobody is there, nobody may hear you, and you may simply die without any help.

Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- Montreal, August 2, 1968:

"Oh, I served God so many years, and still I could not see Him. Oh, give up this job. Let me go to māyā." That is not devotion. That is motive. I wanted to serve God with a motive. As soon as the motive is not fulfilled...

One German friend, my Godbrother, he said, in the last war, in the First World War, every, all manpower went to the active field. So the sister, generally women, left. Women means sister, mother, or wife. So they went to church: "My husband may come back. My brother may come back," or "My son may come back." But nobody came back, so they become atheist. Because they went to the church with some motive and the motive was not fulfilled, they became atheist. Therefore this type of devotion is not pure devotion. Motive... God is not meant for supplying your orders because He takes service. He does not serve anybody. So if we want to bring God for our service, we may be disappointed because God does not agree to serve anybody. He is the master, supreme master. How you can expect that God will come to serve you? But God supplies everyone's necessity, but if you want more than your necessity, that is a different thing. That may not be supplied by God.

Therefore we should not approach God with a motive. We should simply approach God to love Him, that's all, without any return. That is pure devotion. That is described here:

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Delhi, November 11, 1973:

Idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram ity abhidhīyate. The body... I am not this body, but I know it is my body. Therefore I am kṣetra-jña and the body is kṣetra. And Kṛṣṇa says that kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata (BG 13.3). That sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata, in every body, that manifestation of God, or Kṛṣṇa, is called Paramātmā, or Supersoul. So the Supersoul and the soul, both of them are sitting on this body. It is compared with a tree. Just like on the tree two birds sitting, friendly birds. One is eating the fruit and another is simply witnessing. Upadraṣṭā-anumantā.

So this is the science. So human life is meant for understanding this science. This is the ultimate science. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Human life is not meant for wasting like cats and dogs, simply eating, sleeping, mating. That is not human life. At the present moment they are simply engaged in these four principles of bodily demands of life—how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sense gratification and how to defend. Unfortunately, we have become less than the animals because the animals, they have no problem. Even the birds... Out of all living entities, 8,400,000 of forms, the human forms are only 400,000. The majority of the living entities, they are in different forms.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Delhi, November 11, 1973:

Yes. This is called ajñāta-sukṛti. Those who are coming here, taking part in this ārātrika ceremony, dancing or offering some respect, everything goes to your credit. Everything will go to your credit. In this way... Just like if you make bank balance, one rupee, one rupee, one rupee, sometimes you will see, "It is now 100,000 rupees." Similarly, we are giving chance all over the world, opening this Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa temple, giving them chance to chant the glories of the Lord. That means it is going to their credit. If they take it immediately, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66), that is very nice. But if he cannot, this chance will never go in vain. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje, ahaitukī (SB 1.2.6). And anyone can join. There is no question. Kṛṣṇa is not meant for the Hindus or Indians. This is a mistake. Now, the Westerners, the Europeans, Americans, they understand. They do not say that "Why should we accept Kṛṣṇa? He is Indian. He was Hindu." No. Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. Just like the sun. The same sun, it rises, first of all rises in India, then gradually goes to Europe. Does it mean the European sun and the Indian sun, they are different? No, the one sun. Similarly, God is one for everyone. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya. Sarva-yoniṣu means 8,400,000 species of forms. Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4). There are as many forms. Tāsāṁ mahad yonir brahma ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā. He says aham, "I am. I am the seed-giving father." Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7). "Every living entity, they are My part and parcel, as the sons, daughters, they are part and parcel of the father." Therefore in some religion God is addressed as the supreme father. Actually, He is supreme father.

Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- Mauritius, October 5, 1975:

Prabhupāda: It is not spoken to India. It is spoken to everyone. "India," why do you bring India? God is not made for India.

Indian man (3): But I have nothing in India, but I know India, so...

Prabhupāda: Then why you say India.

Indian man (3): I have seen India. I know India.

Prabhupāda: No, why you bring India at all? God is not meant for India.

Indian man (3): But Hinduism...

Prabhupāda: No, God is not meant for Hindu.

Indian man (3): No, I am not talking about... I was talking about... (laughter) ...that this śloka, I mean, probably...

Prabhupāda: That God said, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir... (BG 4.7). He doesn't say, yadā yadā hindu dharmasya glānir. (laughter) So why do you speak nonsense? He never says. Why do you speak like that?

Indian man (3): It has written. I mean it was read like that.

Prabhupāda: No, no. That is your creation. That is your creation, mental speculation. He never said yadā yadā hi hindu dharmasya glānir bhavati. He never said. Why do you speak all these things?

Indian man (3): Anyway, it has created a state of fatalism.

Indian man (2): Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati (BG 4.7).

Lecture on SB 1.2.7 -- Hyderabad, April 21, 1974:

That is their business. Whole day and night, they are working just to fulfill the necessities of his body, because there is no jñānam.

But in the human form of life, that is not the business. Therefore the Vedānta-sūtra says, athāto brahma jijñāsā: "This life, human form of life, which is achieved after evolution of 8,400,000's of forms of life..." It is called labdhvā sudurlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte (SB 11.9.29). Idaṁ śarīram. This human form of body is achieved, bahu-sambhavānte, after achieving many, many other lower forms of life. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. So many different forms of life we had to pass through to come to the standard of human life. Therefore this life is not meant for spoiling like cats and dogs. This is jñānam. The spoiling the life like cats and dogs means āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna... eating, sleeping, defending and sexual intercourse. These are the bodily demands. Sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām. These are common formulas for the cats and dogs and the human being. But what is the meaning of human being? The human being is eligible to understand what is the value of life, what is the problem of life, how to make the solution. That is human life. Not that simply passing our days like cats and dogs working very hard.

Lecture on SB 1.2.7 -- Hyderabad, April 21, 1974:

Kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye. In the śāstras this is warned again and again. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This human form of life is not meant for satisfying the senses, kāmān kaṣṭān, with great difficulty. Now, eating is necessary, but a hog, he eats the most abominable thing, stool, but whole day and night he is searching out, "Where is stool? Where is stool? Where is stool?" So similarly, if human civilization is so made that simply for eating one has to work so hard day and night, so it is as good as the hog's life; it is not human life. Human life should be peaceful. They should get their foodstuff very easily, eat very nicely, save time for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is human life, not like hogs and dogs, simply searching after... But if we create such civilization like cats and dogs and hogs, then Kṛṣṇa will give us the chance to work day and night simply for eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That is the position now. We wanted it.

In Bombay we have got now six buildings full of tenants. So they are little disturbed because now we have taken possession of the land. They are thinking that "Swamiji will drive me, drive us some way or other." I told them that "I have got no children with me; neither my former family is coming to live. If I, suppose, vacate these houses, then I will fill up with my devotees. So why don't you become devotee? I don't charge anything from you." But that they are not agreeable. This is the position. Even if we offer that "You come with us, live with us peacefully, take little prasādam and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa," they will not agree. We have got hundred branches all over the world. At least, there are ten thousand men. Just as we do not work, we simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and get some prasādam... So there is no scarcity. There is no scarcity. Yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22).

Lecture on SB 1.2.8 -- Bombay, December 26, 1972:

Just like the hotel. In a hotel they are cooking for the customer palatable dishes. So that is the difference. But Rūpa Gosvāmī says that "Dovetail with Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That is yukta vairāgya. Because in this human life we require to develop jñāna and vairāgya. So if we dovetail our activities for Kṛṣṇa's service, that is yukta vairāgya. So here also it is said that nārthasya dharmaikāntasya kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ. We should not earn money for sense gratification.

Then kāmasya na indriya-prītiḥ lābhaḥ jīveta yāvatā. You must have sense gratification, eating, sleeping, mating—but as far as you can maintain your body very nicely. Not that voluntarily you shall starve. No. Just like these boys, these girls, are we..., we are not starving, but our eating kṛṣṇa-prasādam means just to live nicely for executing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are not meant for going to the cinema or for other sense gratification purposes, but because we have got this body, there is no question that we shall stop eating. We eat prasādam, kṛṣṇa-prasādam, and that is very palatable. Kṛṣṇa-prasādam..., Kṛṣṇa should be offered all first class preparation because Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. But if we haven't money to supply Him nice thing, the Kṛṣṇa will be satisfied, as Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ pusaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati. Kṛṣṇa wants that you offer Him something with devotional love, that's all. Kṛṣṇa is not hungry. Kṛṣṇa is ātmārāma. He is self-sufficient. He does not require. He is producing food for us. That's a fact. We get so many fruits and flower. We don't manufacture it in the factory; neither it is possible. It is Kṛṣṇa's manufacture. It is Kṛṣṇa. Raso 'ham apsu kaunteya prabhāsmi śaśi-sūrayoḥ (BG 7.8). By His action of different energies these things are produced. Why? These things are produced for whom? For Kṛṣṇa? No. For us. Eko bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān, He is maintaining us. So is it not our duty to offer Him first, "Sir, You have supplied so many nice things.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Vrndavana, October 20, 1972:

Actually who is religious, his money is not meant for sense gratification. Formerly anyone who had money, he used to spend for Kṛṣṇa. Just like you see here in Vṛndāvana big, big temples. They were constructed by very, very rich men. They knew that "Now I have got extra money. I can spend it for Kṛṣṇa." Just like Mahārāja Mansingh. He approached Rūpa Gosvāmī. Rūpa Gosvāmī was sitting here. Or sometimes somewhere. Rūpa Gosvāmī was famous, saintly person in Vṛndāvana. So Mahārāja Mansingh approached: "Sir, what can I do for you? I have got some money. I want to spend some money for you." So Rūpa Gosvāmī, what he'll do with the money? He was, he left his minister, ministerial post to come to Vṛndāvana not for earning money. So he advised him, "All right, if you have got money, you spend it for constructing a nice temple for Govindajī." So he constructed so nice temple, seven stories. It is impossible now to construct such a temple, such nice work. But he spent, he utilized his money in that way.

So everyone can serve Kṛṣṇa. Prāṇair arthair dhiyā vācā śreya-ācaraṇaṁ sadā. Either with your life, either with your money, either with your intelligence, either with your, with your words. You can serve Kṛṣṇa. Any way. Kṛṣṇa service is not checked. Ahaituky apratihatā. It cannot be checked. In any condition of life you can serve Kṛṣṇa. The first thing is that if you can dedicate your life, that is very good. Just like you have done. You have dedicated your life for spreading this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That is first class, prāṇaiḥ.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Vrndavana, October 20, 1972:

Not for sense gratification. Don't use your money for sense gratification. In the Bhagavad-gītā also it is said, yajñārthe karma. You are working hard not for..., do not work for hard, hard work, for sense gratification. In the, another place, in the instruction of Ṛṣabhadeva, it is said that nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This body, this human body, is not meant for working hard like the hogs for sense gratification. But people have made it a civilization. They are working very hard, day and night, simply for sense gratification. This is compared like the hogs. You have seen so many hogs in Vṛndāvana, loitering. The whole day, they are working to find out where is stool. That is their business. So it may not be very pleasing, but these hogs, they are also living in Vṛndāvana, but why they are hogs? Because they came to Vṛndāvana and behaved like hogs. So Kṛṣṇa has given them the opportunity: "All right you live in Vṛndāvana as a hog." We should not come Vṛndāvana to behave like hogs. What is the behavior of the hog? Sex indulgence without any discrimination. That is hogs. Hog has no discrimination whether it is mother, sister, or this or that. Any sex will do. This is hog life.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Hyderabad, April 23, 1974:

So execution of dharma, religion—never mind, Hindu religion or Christian religion or—the purpose is not for any material gain. Na upakalpate. Dharmasya hy āpavargyasya na arthāya upakalpate. Then what about our sense gratification? We must have. We have got this body. We must have some facility. So that is also described here, na arthasya dharma ekāntasya. Arthasya, one who is actually a student of dharma, ekāntasya. Na arthasya dharma ekāntasya kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ. Not for sense gratification. You require some money. So by your profession, either as a brāhmaṇa or as kṣatriya or as a vaiśya or as a śūdra... A brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, that is for spiritual advancement. And for material—this brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. So you require some money. Because without money, without source of income, how you can live? But that is not meant for sense gratification. Therefore it is said, na arthasya dharmaikāntasya kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ.

Just like everyone is earning money simply for sense gratification. And there are so many advertisement for sense gratification. If you go to the city, you will find all the shops, cinema, hotel and wine shop and this shop or that shop. What are these, big, big, nice sāri, displayed, demonstrated? Everything is for sense gratification. So this is not meant for... You require money. People are hankering after money. "How I shall get money to purchase this nice sāri for my wife or for my beloved, for my...?" Then "How I shall purchase wine? How I shall purchase this car, this?" Everything is that. Everything is meant for kāma, for sense gratification. Naturally, one should be inclined to earn money, more money, more money, and more sense gratification. That means he is becoming implicated. That he does not know. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma (SB 5.5.4). Pramattaḥ. Because they have become mad after sense gratification, they are doing everything which should not be done, vikarma. Karma vikarma akarma. So people are generally doing vikarma. Vikarma means forbidden, sinful activities. They are called vikarma. Karma is not sinful. Karma means according to the direction of the Vedas. That is called karma-kāṇḍa. But vikarma means against the principle of dharma. That is called vikarma.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- Detroit, August 3, 1975, University Lecture:

Just like when you go to the court, the court will decide whether you will be punished or you will be rewarded. You cannot dictate to the court that "Sir, give me this judgment." No. That is not possible.

Similarly, here it is indicated that religion... What religion? Religion should be to disentangle you from this material miserable condition-dharmasya hy āpavargyasya na arthāyopakalpate. Not that you go to church or temple and ask for some material benefit. No. That is not the... Na arthasya dharmaikāntasya. Arthasya. We are earning money by some occupation. That's all. Then what is the purpose of this money? Now, if you are dharmic, dharmaikāntasya, if you are actually religious, then your money is not meant for sense gratification. Na arthasya. Dharmaikāntasya. Kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ. Not for your sense gratification. You should know that this money, excess money you have got, it is God's money, because in the Bhagavad-gītā we learn, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ (BG 5.29). He is bhokta. He is bhokta. Bhokta means enjoyer. Just like we were just coming here. This Ford company and this company and so many, there are. So the factory is going on. The bhokta is the managing director or the proprietor, not the worker. Worker can get their salary, that's all. So bhokta, real enjoyer, is the proprietor. Therefore nowadays the Communist party, they say, "We are working. Why this man should enjoy?" They struggle. So this struggle, either the worker becomes proprietor or the capitalist become proprietor, it is the same thing. Real proprietor is Kṛṣṇa. Bhoktāham. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ. That we do not know. This kind of change will not help, the capitalist thinking that "I am bhokta," or the laborer thinking, "I am bhokta." Nobody is bhokta. Bhokta is Kṛṣṇa. If we try to understand... We can understand because bhokta means the proprietor. So God is the proprietor, everything. You are manufacturing one big nice car, but who has manufactured this metal? Who has manufactured this wood with which you have manufactured a nice car? That is manufactured by a God. You have not manufactured. You are changing the shape from iron to iron seat, iron seat to another form. That's all... You can do that. You cannot manufacture.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9-10 -- Delhi, November 14, 1973:

You have to work. And very severe work so that foam will come within your mouth. Pha. Then pa, pha, ba. Ba means vyarthatā, baffledness. And bha means bhaya, always fearful, "What will happen next? What will happen next?" And in this way, ma-mṛtyu, maraṇa. This is called material life. There is no more gain, simply pa pha ba bha ma. That's all. This is material life. And apavarga means just the opposite, to nullify this pavarga business.

So here it is said, dharmasya hi āpavargyasya. Religion means to how to get out of these pavargas. That is dharma. Bhāgavata says, dharmasya hy āpavargyasya na arthaḥ arthāya upakalpate. Generally, people go to church, to temple, for some material benefit. Therefore śāstra says, "No, no. Dharma is not meant for that purpose." People have become materialistic more and more because, just like in our country, "If you want economic development, then why you should go to temple?" The communist theory is also like that, that "If you want material happiness, why you are going to church and accepting, 'O God, give us our daily bread'? The bread, you manufacture. You just work for it." In one side, it is good. But this is also fact, that without God's mercy, you cannot get even bread. Although bread you can manufacture, but the ingredients of the bread, the wheat, that is not in your hand. You cannot manufacture in the factory. That is in the hand of prakṛti, nature, and prakṛti is working under the control of the Supreme Lord. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10).

Lecture on SB 1.2.9-10 -- Delhi, November 14, 1973:

That is there. But that is not the purpose. Real purpose is how to get out of the entanglement of pavarga. Dharmasya hy āpavargyasya na arthāya upakalpate. Then you can say, "We require some money." Yes. You require none. That's all right. Economic development, there is need. So therefore it is said, na arthasya dharma ekāntasya kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ, that you require money. Because you have got this body, you have got to gratify your senses. That is right. But not for sense gratification, only for sense gratification. No. Dharmasya na arthasya, arthasya. The money which you get, that is not meant for sense gratification. Dharmaikāntasya. Actually who is religious, who is interested in religion, for him, this economic development, getting money, is not meant for sense gratification. Nārthasya dharmaikāntasya kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ.

But we have got demands of our body. What to do? Kāmo lābhāya. The kāma is there, demands of the senses. So therefore it is said, kāmasya nendriya-prītiḥ. You can get the supply of the necessities of your senses as much as you require. That is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: yuktāhāra-vihārasya yogo bhavati siddhiḥ. Yuktāhāra. You should eat what is actually needed by you. Don't eat more. A human being, there is... Certainly we are eating. But we are eating... A Kṛṣṇa conscious person eats kṛṣṇa-prasādam. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Our business is to eat... We don't say that you are vegetarian and nonvegetarian. Vegetarian or nonvegetarian, it does not make very much difference. Ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpāḥ (BG 3.13). If you eat only for yourself, for sense gratification, it doesn't matter whether you are vegetarian or nonvegetarian. You are simply eating sinful results of your life. Ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt, yajñārthe karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9).

Lecture on SB 1.2.9-10 -- Delhi, November 14, 1973:

So our business is, so far we are concerned, Kṛṣṇa conscious people, we are not advocates of vegetarian and nonvegetarian. Of course, vegetarianism is very good, even for health's sake. But we do not take vegetables even if it is not offered to Kṛṣṇa. That is our principle. If Kṛṣṇa said that "You give Me nonvegetarian diet," then we can eat also. But Kṛṣṇa does not say. Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). So we are preparing so many nice foodstuffs with this patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam. We can prepare many, many hundreds of preparation of this patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam, and we can offer Kṛṣṇa and then take prasādam. That is all right. The human life is not meant for sense gratification. Sense gratification—my food is Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Why shall I go to restaurant? And this is tapasya. Eating is not stopped, but don't eat anything which is not kṛṣṇa-prasādam. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If you, for satisfaction of your tongue, you get money and satisfy your tongue, that is forbidden. It is said that kāmasya na indriya-prītiḥ. You have demand. You have to, demand of the body. You have to eat something. You have to sleep somewhere. You must have some sense gratification. You must protect yourself from attack of others. That is all right. But don't do all these things for sense gratification. This is the injunction of the śāstra.

Lecture on SB 1.2.10 -- Vrndavana, October 21, 1972:

So we were discussing dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90). So we have already discussed that religiosity does not mean to gain material gain. We have already discussed, just people go to the church: "God, give us our daily bread." Or, even in temple, they go to ask something, material gain. But actually religiosity's not meant for that purpose. Religiosity is meant for dharmasya āpavargyasya. To enter into life of religiosity means to get out of the threefold miserable condition of life, apavarga.

So then dharma—artha, money also we want. Arthasya dharmaikāntasya na kāmo lābhāya hi smṛtaḥ. We want money. That's all right. But not for satisfaction of our lusty desires. Money has got its use. Just like in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we get money also. But we are spending for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Our need is very great. People will be surprised what we are expending per month. We have got more than one hundred branches all over the world, and each branch, there is expenditure... In Los Angeles, we spend twenty thousand dollars per month. In New York, we spend ten thousand per..., dollars per month. Or more than that. Similarly, on the average, we spend not less than ten thousand dollars per each branch. But we have got calculation. We, we are spending seventy thousand dollar, dollars per month. So Indian exchange means seven lakhs of rupees. So we need money. And we are getting money also. In Europe, in America, the process of getting money is not the, like here, that I go to any gentleman, "Give us some donation." That is not possible. You cannot enter even one's house without introduction. Then you are trespasser. If you enter anyone's house without permission, he can kill you.

Lecture on SB 1.2.10 -- Vrndavana, October 21, 1972:

If you enter anyone's house without permission, he can kill you. This is the law. And every door, there is signboard: "Beware of the dogs." So it is not possible to go and beg, "Sir, give us something." But fortunately, we have published books, about twenty books, four hundred pages each. And we are going on publishing. By Kṛṣṇa's grace, we are selling books, daily, twenty five thousand rupees. Therefore we are able to spend seven lakhs of rupees per month.

So Kṛṣṇa gives. My Guru Mahārāja always used to speak that "Why should you go and flatter? You should speak plain truth, without any flattering. Money will come." That was his conviction. And... So it is experienced. We have got very, very heavy expenditure. But all this money collected, they are not meant for indriya-prīti, not for sense gratification. That is the significance. If we want money for sense gratification, then, according to our destiny, we shall get. Not more than that. Nobody can get more. Therefore Bhāgavata says,

tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido
na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ
tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ
kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā
(SB 1.5.18)

So far our sense gratification is concerned, we cannot get money more than what we are destined to get. Otherwise why there are so many people born with silver spoon in their mouth and somebody's born poor? And he's not getting even two times food, working very hard, day and night. So there is a destiny. Destiny we cannot improve. That is already settled up. But you can improve your Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That chance is there.

Lecture on SB 1.2.10 -- Vrndavana, October 21, 1972:

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.

In the Vedic, in Mahābhārata, we don't find there is any industrial development or trade development. No. Nothing like that. Why Mahābhārata? Even two hundred years ago, before the British advent, there was no industry all over the India. And they were happy. So it is not that simply by increasing your fruitive activities, karmabhiḥ, you can become happy. No, that is not possible. If you simply restrict yourself for life, inquiring about the Absolute Truth, then you'll be happy. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. That is, that is the only business of the human form of life and not working hard like asses and cows. Sa eva go-karaḥ. These examples are there in the... I was giving the example while coming. Who was there? That this ass... Ass, one ass was going. So the ass, he can eat grass anywhere. There are so many grasses. But he's thinking that "Unless I work very hard, the washerman will not give me grass." You see? This is ass intelligence. Everything is there. Why ass? There are elephants. In Africa there are millions of elephants. They're eating at the, at one time, at least eighty-two pounds, but they are supplied food.

Lecture on SB 1.2.10 -- Bombay, December 28, 1972:

That is cin-māyā. Cini means home(?); mithuna means dual, couple, the spiritual couple. Similarly here also, the same spiritual our duties are there, but because it is covered by this material body, it is perverted. So, just like when you are diseased, we cannot enjoy life; that is forbidden. If one is suffering from tuberculosis, and if he wants to enjoy sex life, that means he is bringing death. Similarly, in this material condition of life if we want to aggravate our sense gratification process, then we invite very from..., very quickly death. Death means, spiritual death, to become more and more entangled in material things.

Therefore Bhāgavata says, Sūta Goswami says, that this life, human life, or the purpose of the Vedic civilization, they are not meant for kāmasya nendriya-prītir (SB 1.2.10). Kāma, that should be utilized for better purpose, not for sense gratification. The real business is jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. Life should be engaged simply for tattva-jijñāsā, to understand the Absolute Truth. The whole Vedic literature, Vedic knowledge is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). The purpose of studying Veda means to understand Kṛṣṇa. And vedānta-vit. Because people are very much proud, especially Māyāvādī philosophers, they're very much proud of becoming vedāntī. So the Vaiṣṇava philosophers... (aside:) Stop that. ...Everyone is vedāntī. Śrī Rāmānujācārya, he is also vedāntī. Madhvācārya, he is also vedāntī. Nimbārka, he is also vedāntī. Without understanding Vedānta, where is the question of spiritual advancement? So Vedānta does not mean it is the monopoly of a certain class of philosopher. No. Actually Vedānta, this vedānta-bhāṣya understanding of Vedānta, it is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāṣya brahma-sutrani. And this bhāṣya, this commentary, is given by the author Himself.

Lecture on SB 1.2.10 -- Delhi, November 16, 1973:

I do not know, at least. The physician may know, the medical man may know, but I am claiming I am this body," but I do not know how it is working. Therefore we are all abodha-jāta. Abodha-jāta.

Therefore our business is to inquire about the truth. This is explained in this verse, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. This human life should be engaged for inquiring about the truth, anything, either of this body or of this material nature or about God, our interrelationship—so many things that have to be known. Therefore in this verse it is said that jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. It is not our only business that simply to eat, sleep and have sex life and defend. That is not our only business. That may be the business of the cats and dogs. But human life is not meant for that purpose. The civilization should be so molded that people will have the chance to think soberly about the truth of life. That is the point. That is called tattva-jijñāsā. For this purpose the Vedic civilization is perfect. Vedic civilization is for everyone, but nowadays it is said that it is for the Indians or for the Hindus or... But actually, it is meant for everyone. Just like here it is said, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. It is everyone's duty to inquire about the Absolute Truth. Where is the question of Hindu, Muslim or this or that? Truth is truth. Two plus two equal to four; it is accepted by the Hindus, Muslims, Christians and everyone. Science is science. So therefore we should be interested about inquiring. This is the confirmation in every scripture, in the Bhāgavata also. This is also Bhāgavata.

Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Los Angeles, August 15, 1972:

If you simply go on doing pious activities... Because without being pious, you cannot approach Kṛṣṇa. So if you go on doing simply pious, janma-koṭi-sukṛtaiḥ... Sukṛti means pious activities, simply pious. Still, this eagerness is not awakened.

So this eagerness is very important thing. But it can be awakened by the association of devotees. Therefore we are giving chance to everyone to invoke that eagerness. Then you will see God eye to eye. It is not difficult. Tac chraddadhānā munayaḥ. Those who have developed that eagerness, faith, that "I must see Kṛṣṇa in this life..." This life is meant for seeing Kṛṣṇa. It is not meant for becoming dogs and hogs. Unfortunately, the whole civilization is going on, they are being trained to become dogs and hogs. It is the only institution that is teaching people how to see Kṛṣṇa. This is the only institution, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is so important. Tac chraddadhānā munayo jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā (SB 1.2.12). By eagerness, automatically you will be enriched with knowledge and detachment. Knowledge does not mean, "Now we have discovered this atomic bomb." That is not knowledge. What knowledge this is? People are dying. You have discovered something which will accelerate death. But we are giving some knowledge to stop death. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is knowledge. Jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā. And as soon as you get this knowledge, automatically you become detached to all this nonsense material happiness.

Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Vrndavana, October 23, 1972:

So first of all it has been described what is the purpose of life. This human form of life, it is not meant for being spoiled like the dogs and hogs. The dogs and hogs, they're busy to find out food: "Where is food? Where is stool?" And they are spoiling their whole day and night. Their life has been made by nature in such a way that they have no other business than to find out where is some food, where is some food, where is... And laboring, they're laboring very hard.

So human life is not meant for that purpose. It is a chance given by the nature's way. Aśītiṁ caturaś caiva lakṣāṁs tāñ jīva-jātiṣu. Eight million, four hundred thousands forms of life we are passing through. Nature has given a chance, this human form of body, especially civilized form of body... (aside:) Hmm? Don't do that. What is the purpose? Just like try to understand, a government servant, a big minister or M.P.'s, they're given all facilities of living condition, good bungalow, nice salary, servant. What is the purpose? The purpose is that with cool brain, satisfied mind, they'll do, be able to render valuable service to the administration. That is the purpose. Similarly, human being has been given so much facilities. The grains, the fruits, the flowers, the milk, intelligence to construct nice house, nice road, nice cities. The cats and dogs, they cannot do it. Why? You live peacefully and try to understand the value of life. Not that we get more facilities for bodily comfort and we engaged ourself in sense gratification. No.

Lecture on SB 1.2.12 -- Vrndavana, October 23, 1972:

The cats and dogs, they cannot do it. Why? You live peacefully and try to understand the value of life. Not that we get more facilities for bodily comfort and we engaged ourself in sense gratification. No.

Just like in the Western world, they have been endowed with so much facilities of comfortable life, but because they do not know how to utilize the comfortable situation of life, there is so much chaos and confusion. The so rich nations, young boys and girls, they are turning to be hippies. Because they do not find... It is hackneyed. The same wine, same women, and same motorcar and same road, it has become disgusting. That is the nature's way. Because human life is not meant for that purpose. Human life is meant for, as it is said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā nārtho yaś ceha karmabhiḥ. You are working so hard... You are so working hard... Why? Is it meant for simply sense gratification and satisfying the bodily needs? That is being done by the hogs and dogs. The... We see the hogs and dogs, they are always busy. So this human form of life is not meant for that purpose. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. Earn money, but... Be comfortable, but utilize time—tattva-jijñāsā, athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is your aim of life.

Lecture on SB 1.2.16 -- Vrndavana, October 27, 1972:

Tamo-guṇa is the lowest, rajo-guṇa is the via media, and one who is the sattva-guṇa, he can understand. Therefore the whole Vedic civilization is meant for making people brāhmaṇa. Not to keep him in ignorance, not to keep him in the position of a śūdra. The whole Vedic scheme is that from the lowest grade of li..., existence, one can be elevated to the highest grade. Śudhyanti. Śudhyanti, purification. That is purification. In ordinary life also, there are purificatory methods, daśa-vidha-saṁskāra. That purificatory method begins before the birth, which is called garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. Not that a man, a high-caste brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya or even vaiśya... Especially brāhmaṇa and kṣatriya. Especially brāhmaṇa. He's not meant for giving birth to a child like cats and dogs. He has to observe the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. In the śāstra it is said in a brāhmaṇa family, if the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra is not observed, he immediately falls down to the śūdra class.

Kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. Because this garbhādhāna-saṁskāra is not observed, therefore it is to be taken, accepted, everyone is a śūdra. But the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to again elevate the śūdra to the standard of brāhmaṇa. This is the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Because without brāhmaṇa... Just like without head, what is the value of your body? Brāhmaṇa means the head.

Lecture on SB 1.3.1 -- Vrndavana, November 14, 1972:

So Kṛṣṇa is sanātana, that world is sanātana, we are sanātana. Therefore we should meet together. And the process which helps us to go back to home, back to Godhead, and stay in that sanātana place with the sanātana Lord, that is called sanātana-dharma. Sanātana-dharma does not mean that a particular class of men having a particular type of dress or hair. No. Sanātana-dharma is meant for all living entities. They are rotting in this material world, repetition of birth and death. That is asanātana.

So every human being should be educated to accept this sanātana-dharma, how one can go back to home, back to Godhead. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. So sanātana-dharma is not meant for a particular class of men. It is meant for all living entities. Unfortunately, the Hindu dharma, or sanātana-dharma, they have identified. And..., as if others have no right to enter into the sanātana-dharma. No. That's not a fact. The fact is every living entity is sanātana. And the process by which a living entity is transferred to the sanātana dhāma, sanātana place, that is called sanātana-dharma. It is... Sanātana-dharma is misunderstood. Just like in India there are classes of men who call: "We are sanātanists." Everyone should be sanātanist. Sanātana-dharma is not meant for a particular class of men or country or society. Sanātana-dharma means it is meant for the living entities.

Lecture on SB 1.3.9 -- Los Angeles, September 15, 1972:

Just like Dhruva Mahārāja, a five-year-old boy. He also executed very severe types of penances. For the first six months, he was eating only the dry foliage that had fallen on the ground, then water..., no. Altogether he underwent penances for six months, so the first month, second, third, like that. So first he used to eat the leaves of the tree, then dried leaves, then simply water, then simply air, then no eating at all. Within six months he was successful to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, face to face.

So penance required. This human life is not meant for enjoying senses like the dogs and hogs. That is not life. We have got advanced sense, consciousness, we can understand what is good, what is bad. At least that talent we have got, even though we are misguided. So we should take guidance from a perfect source of knowledge, and utilize it for making our life perfect. That is wanted; not that because "I want sense gratification, so let me have complete freedom for sense gratification. That is the idea now, life." No, that is not ideal. As I have several times explained to you that law is meant for human beings. What is law? Law means restrictions. You cannot have sense gratification unrestricted; that is law. Otherwise, what is the meaning of law? Just like when we are driving car, the law is red light, we have to stop. That is law. Because if you unrestrictedly drive your car, there will be accident. Either you will die or somebody will die.

Lecture on SB 1.3.13 -- Los Angeles, September 18, 1972:

Because a woman can become naked only before husband. That is Vedic. So Kṛṣṇa somehow or other made them naked so that... He declared that "You wanted Me as husband. So much, that's all." So people misunderstand Kṛṣṇa. Unless understood through authoritative sources, Kṛṣṇa is misunderstood. But He is the dhīra. He is not adhīra. He is not like ordinary man. Dhīra.

So here it is said that urukramaḥ. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is described here as urukrama. Urukrama means one who acts very wonderful things which is not possible for ordinary human being. So He wanted to show the real path of life. Mahārāja Ṛṣabhadeva, He was king, emperor of the world. So His instruction are there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. (tapping sound) He instructed... (aside:) What is this sound? He instructed His sons, "My dear boys, this human form of life is not meant for sense enjoyment, which is available in the life of dogs and hogs." It was His instruction. He instructed that human society should be dhīra, self-controlled. That is ideal human society. That is Vedic civilization.

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

So there are two kinds of knowledge, avidyā and vidyā. Real vidyā means brahma-vidyā. This brahma-jijñāsā, athāto brahma..., that is vidyā. That is real knowledge. And avidyā, karma-saṁjña. Another vidyā is how to learn technology, avidyā. Avidyā. That is avidyā. Avidyā-karma-saṁjñānyā tṛtīyā śaktir iṣyate. So now, at the present moment, the education is being given to the people how to work hard, karma-saṁjña. That is not now. That is the system everywhere, because everyone wants to enjoy senses as far as possible, so he has to work very hard. But in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you will find the instruction is by Ṛṣabhadeva, that this life is not meant for that simply hard labor for sense gratification. If you work hard, you try to work hard for attaining Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then your life will be successful. You have to work hard. If you want to enjoy senses, they are not very easily available. It is said that udyogināṁ praharṣaṁ praheti lakṣyam.(?) Unless you become industrious, laborious, you cannot enjoy even this material world.

So one has to work because his business is to become servant. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). So if he does not become servant of Kṛṣṇa, then he will have to become servant of māyā. Just like same thing we are doing in this New Vrindaban or anywhere. The same thing. We are also cooking, we are also cleansing. So this is for Kṛṣṇa. So even if we get tired by cleansing for Kṛṣṇa, but that is an asset. Yes. And if we work the same thing for sense gratification, that is simply spoiling time. This is the technology of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that we can achieve the highest perfection of life by doing the same thing. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate.

Lecture on SB 1.5.14 -- New Vrindaban, June 18, 1969:

So there was nice discussion, and the compromise was that "No more Your saṅkīrtana movement will be checked by my men."

So the point is that although in the Vedic scripture there is recommendation that animal sacrifice allowed, but that is not meant for killing. That is giving a new life. So when this animal sacrifice was going on simply for eating, simply for eating... Just like in a particular mission they say that "We are devotees of goddess Kālī." Their real mission is to eat meat. Therefore they have become devotees of goddess Kālī. But actually, these sacrifices were not meant, as explained by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for killing the animals. That was to test the power, the strength, of the Vedic mantras. So Lord Buddha's movement was therefore started... When people began to eat meat like anything on the plea of Vedic sacrifice, so Lord Buddha, at that time—Lord Buddha means he's also incarnation of Kṛṣṇa—he appeared to stop this animal killing. That is the prayer of Lord Buddha we sing:

nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātaṁ
sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-ghātam
keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare

The buddha-śarīra... Just like we offer prayer to Nṛsiṁha-deva,

tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-śṛṅgaṁ
dalita-hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu-bhṛṅgam
keśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare

Similarly, there is prayer for Lord Buddha also. The, that prayer is: nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātam, "Although in the Vedic literature there is recommendation for animal sacrifice, you are forbidding, 'No, this should not be done.' " Therefore Buddhism is not Vedic religion, because he was against this Vedic sacrifice. Sadaya-hṛdaya darśi... His main business was to stop this animal killing, but people wanted to give evidence from the Vedas. Therefore he said, "I don't care for your Vedas." Veda nā māniyā bauddha haila nāstika. Therefore Śaṅkarācārya came, and he drove away the Buddhists from the land of India. That's a long history.

Lecture on SB 1.7.6 -- Hyderabad, August 18, 1976:

Para-upakāra. The bhārata-bhūmi is meant for doing good to others. Bhārata-bhūmi is not meant for exploiting others. This is not bhāratīya mission. Para-upakāra. So every Indian...That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. Because every Indian is born Kṛṣṇa conscious, naturally he has got instinct. Don't destroy it. Don't destroy it. That is our request. You have got already. We have seen practically, whenever we hold some festival in Calcutta, Bombay and other big cities, thousands of people, twenty thousand, fifteen thousand, thirty thousand people come. They are hankering. So if we simply introduce this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, you'll very soon see that the face of India is different. Anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣāt. We have captured so many anartha. Anartha means meaningless life. Anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje lokasyājānataḥ (SB 1.7.6). The foolish people, they do not know it. Therefore vidvāṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām. The sātvata-saṁhitā is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So let us combinedly preach the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā.

Lecture on SB 1.7.7 -- Vrndavana, April 24, 1975:

We have seen in Calcutta, somebody with sacred thread, he was pulling ṭhelā and perspiring. And somebody known to him, he said, Panditji, palale(?), means "I offer my respect to you," and the ṭhelā-wālā says, jitalau(?). This is the position. A brāhmaṇa is pulling ṭhelā; it is working like an ass. Pulling ṭhelā is not the business of human being, but although he thinks himself to be a brāhmaṇa, he is engaged in pulling ṭhelā. This is Kali's position, manda. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyāḥ (SB 1.1.10), unfortunate, unfortunate.

Therefore Ṛṣabhadeva has forbidden, that "This life, human form of life, is not meant for working so hard like hogs and dogs." Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This is the advice. But we are advancing in civilization—to get our food, we have to work so hard. This is condemnation of life. Human life should be very peaceful, and without any hard work we shall get our food and save time for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is human life, not that for senses gratification we work so hard like an ass. This is called anartha. Anartha means unwanted things. We can see practically. The birds and beasts, they are living very easy and comfortable life without any problem. They rise early in the morning regularly. You have seen. As soon as there is little light, immediately they will rise up and they will talk amongst themselves and go, one tree to another, and he will eat one or two fruits, little fruits, ample fruit. They have no scarcity of food. And live very pleasantly. For eating, sleeping, sex life, they have no problem. These are primary necessities of life. Why there should be problem for these things? But in the human society there is problem. That is called the effect of Kali-yuga. Effect of Kali-yuga means the so-called advancement of material civilization means to become godless, immoral, and they must suffer. That is going on.

Lecture on SB 1.7.27 -- Vrndavana, September 24, 1976:

Therefore when the human society becomes without any religious understanding, dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ, immediately they're animals. They're not human beings. In civilized world...

Now, at the present moment, especially the famous movement, Communist movement, they are after completely driving out religious system. This is the misfortune of this age. So they are not in fault in one sense, because the guardians of the religious system, they are fallen. Just like immediately our Śubhavilāsa Prabhu was asking me that "We have seen so many temples. Why they are so neglected?" Is it not your question? And why they should not neglect it? The, mostly, the temples, they have become the means of livelihood. That is the defect. Temple is not meant for means of livelihood. Then it will deteriorate. How long you can falsely worship Deity and make show of ārati? You cannot go on very long time. That is not possible. You'll be disgusted. Unless there is feeling, bhāva, that "Here is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa has very kindly come here to receive, to take, accept my humble service. He's so great that He cannot be approached by a person like me." Aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān.

Suppose for the impersonalist, virāḍ-rūpa, the sky is the head of the Personality of Godhead. They think like that. And the big, big mountains are the bones, and big, big oceans are the holes of the body, and the trees, they are... In one sense, it is all right. But if you take the virāḍ-rūpa, how you can capture? It is impossible. He has virāḍ-rūpa. He has shown virāḍ-rūpa to Kṛṣṇa (Arjuna), but you cannot capture that virāḍ-rūpa. You are tiny. Therefore He is so kind that He has appeared before you in this temple so that you can touch Him actually, you can serve Him, you can dress Him, you can offer Him eatables. It is... Therefore, if we think like that... Not think. It is a fact. Because God is not only very big. Mahato mahīyān aṇor aṇīyān. He can become smaller than the smallest. That is God. Brahman does not means simply big so that you cannot capture. That is omnipotency. Whatever He likes, He can become. He can put all the universes within His mouth.

Lecture on SB 1.8.23 -- Mayapura, October 3, 1974:

So Kṛṣṇa comes—paritrāṇāya sādhūnām (BG 4.8). That is His mission. So how He saved the honest devotees, that is being described by Kuntī. This is studying of Kṛṣṇa, about His transcendental activities. You have to know how He takes birth and how He acts. If you study these two things of Kṛṣṇa's appearance, then you become liberated, these two things only, that why does He come, how does He come, how He acts, what is His position. His position is prakṛteḥ param. He is not a living being like us. We are not prakṛteḥ... Although we are prakṛteḥ param, but at the present moment we are under the clutches of prakṛti. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). We... just like a person in the prison. He is also a citizen. He's not meant for living in the prison; he is actually meant for living outside the prison. But some way or other, he has come in contact with the criminal department and is put into the prison. Similarly, usually, the citizens and the king or president, they are not inhabitants of the prison house. Similarly, we, along with Kṛṣṇa, as Kṛṣṇa is prakṛteḥ param, similarly, we are also prakṛteḥ param, but we have got the aptitude to fall down in the prakṛti.

Lecture on SB 1.8.25 -- Vrndavana, October 5, 1974:

What is that principle? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is principle. "You give up all these nonsense activities. Simply surrender." So one who has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa fully, no other business, he is guru. This is the definition of guru. There is no difficult to understand who is guru. One who follows strictly the principles laid down by jagad-guru, he is guru. So the jagad-guru says... Because we have to learn everything, especially spiritual subject matter, from guru. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). This is the injunction of the Vedas. If you want to understand Brahman... Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This life, human life, is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth: athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is not meant for any other purpose. This life, any life... There is no question of inquiring about "Where shall I eat? Where shall I sleep? Where shall I have sex? How shall I be saved from fear?" There is no such question. This is already arranged. These things are already arranged even for the birds and beasts. They are also living. They are also eating. They are also sleeping. They are also having sex life. They also defend them from danger. So by nature the arrangement is already there. So only thing is, difference, that in other life... There are 8,400,000... So eighty-million, 8,000,000 lives, they do not know except these things. And out of the four millions, eight million, four..., 400,000 human species, so mostly they are like animals. So unless one comes to the Vedic civilization, he's not human being. He's not human being.

Lecture on SB 1.8.41 -- Mayapura, October 21, 1974:

My Guru Mahārāja used to say, "Commit civil suicide." Mean... If you commit suicide it is criminal. It is also suicide, no more connection with family. This is also suicide, but it is civil. There is no criminal action against... But it is also voluntarily committing suicide—no more connection with anyone.

Ata saba hari āra varṇāśrama-dharma, niṣkiñcana haya laya kṛṣṇaika śaraṇa.(?) This is the... Varṇāśrama-dharma, that is material. Varṇāśrama is planned for material life in a systematic way so that, in due course of time, one may give up the family relationship and take sannyāsa and completely devote for Kṛṣṇa's service. This is the plan of varṇāśrama-dharma. Varṇāśrama-dharma is not meant for planning something, and you remain in the family. No. The Varṇāśrama... Varṇa means brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. Cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Guṇa, not everyone is qualified in the same way. Therefore you... The ācārya will pick up that "They are meant for becoming brāhmaṇas. They are meant for kṣatriyas." Or for coming from kṣatriya family, or the brāhmaṇa family... So first of all, these varṇas, then āśrama. The brāhmaṇa, one who is qualified as a brāhmaṇa, he has to observe the four āśramas, a brāhmaṇa: the brahmacārī-āśrama, the gṛhastha-āśrama, the vānaprastha-āśrama and sannyāsa-āśrama. The kṣatriya, they'll have to observe three āśramas: brahmacārī, gṛhastha and vānaprastha. And the vaiśyas, two āśramas: brahmacārī and gṛhastha. And śūdra, only one āśrama, only gṛhastha. A śūdra is never offered sannyāsa. A... Only the brāhmaṇa is offered.

Lecture on SB 1.8.52 -- Los Angeles, May 14, 1973:

Just like I have got now cold affection (infection). This is not my natural state, but I have been affected by chilly cold or something like that. Therefore I am suffering. So it is my duty to cure it, to take some medicine, to go to the physician. That is called sattva-saṁśuddhi, purifying your existence. By nature, by constitutional position, every living entity is as pure as God. But God does not become impure. We become impure. Therefore we are suffering. That is the... So this impurity can be rectified in this life, this human form of life. Therefore human form of life is meant for purification. Therefore so many scriptures are there, so many teachers are there, so many rules and regulations are there. They are not meant for the animals, because they cannot be purified. They must have to come to this position by evolution of human being. Then there is chance of purification.

Therefore in this human life, if we do not purify our existence, then we go on with this impure existence. Impure existence means transmigration of the soul from one body to another, and become subjected to birth, death, old age and disease. This is impurification. So they do not know that "Death is not my obligation. Because I am impure, therefore I am dying. Birth is not my obligation. Because I am impure, therefore I am taking birth." Janma-mṛtyu... Four things: janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). Janma, birth, is due to my impure consciousness. Therefore if we purify our consciousness by advancing, by developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then we become pure. This is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12), Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, cleansing the heart. And all these purificatory methods, they are based on cleansing the heart. If I think myself that "I am something of this material product..." The scientists, they say that "I am these material things." They do not understand what is spiritual identity. And I do, I act, according to that material conception, that is impurity of my consciousness. First thing is to understand that "I am not this material body."

Lecture on SB 1.9.48 -- Mayapura, June 14, 1973:

Anyway, my mission was that I shall go to America, and if some of the American boys and girls, younger section, would accept it, then I'll bring them here to show these rascals that how great this culture is. So portion of the population, they are realizing now.

Now here is a word: Gāndhārīṁ ca tapasvinīm. Gāndhārī, the wife of Dhṛtarāṣṭra... He (She) is qualified herewith as tapasvinīm. Tapasvinīm. She was a householder, wife, having children. Not only children; she had one hundred sons. But still she is addressed here as tapasvinī. Tapasvinī means one who undergoes austerity. Because this human life is meant for practicing austerity. Human life is not meant for extravagancy. Tapasya. Tapo divyaṁ yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). This is the principle of human civilization. Śuddhyet sattvam, existence. Our existence... We are eternal. Every living entity is eternal, but we are subjected to birth and death. Why? Because we are not pure. Just like when you are impure, some disease infects. If you are pure, follow the hygienic principle, you'll not be infected. Similarly, this existence, material existence, we, every one of us, part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa originally, the same purity qualitatively...

Lecture on SB 1.10.7 -- Mayapura, June 22, 1973:

So there are so many things in the Mahābhārata, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. You can learn social, political, economical, philosophical, religious, anything. Veda, veda means knowledge. So these are Vedic literatures. Pañcama-veda. Mahābhārata is pañcama-veda. And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the essence of Vedic knowledge. Nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalam idam (SB 1.1.3). Nigama. Nigama means Vedic literature. And it is kalpa-taru. Kalpa-taru means desire tree. Whatever knowledge you want, you will get it. Veda means knowledge. Vetti veda vida jñāna(?). So Veda means jñāna, knowledge. Any type of knowledge you want, there is in the Vedic literature. So it is meant, Veda, jñāne, knowledge is meant for the human society. It is not meant for the animals. Animals cannot study Veda. And what is the purpose of Veda? The purpose of Veda is to understand Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). This is Veda. If you try to understand, or if you understand very little... You cannot understand Kṛṣṇa fully. Kṛṣṇa Himself cannot understand Himself. So it is not possible. But whatever Kṛṣṇa is speaking about Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā, if one hundredth part, one percent you can understand, then your life is successful. Vedic knowledge. That is Vedic knowledge. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15).

Lecture on SB 1.13.10 -- Geneva, June 1, 1974:

Therefore, the bhāgavatas, they travel all over the world to purify the ordinary human being because they are dīna-cetasa. Dīna-cetasa. Dīna means poor. They are thinking... Materialistic persons, they think, "It is my duty to live comfortably, to give all facilities to the family or to the society or to the nation, earn your livelihood and spend for sense gratification." This is their philosophy. They do not know anything more than that. Especially in the Western countries, they are very expert how to adjust materially for sense gratification. Just like we had been immediately to the park, very nice park. They know how to live comfortably in the material world, but there is no spiritual information. Missing point. That is the defect of the Western civilization. They have got some vague idea of God, practically no idea. But human life is not meant for that purpose, simply living very comfortably in material life. The other necessity is that they should know Bhagavān, become bhāgavata. That is another necessity.

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, it is the desire of Kṛṣṇa that these people who have no information practically about Bhagavān, so they should learn something from this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. And therefore we have published so many nice books. It is the desire of Kṛṣṇa they should read these books and try to understand the Kṛṣṇa philosophy, the science of Kṛṣṇa, the science of God. Then their life will be perfect. Otherwise, this one-sided civilization, material comforts, that will not help them. Because however you may create your city, home, very nice, clean, materially comfortable, you will not be allowed to stay. That defect, they do not understand. And after you leave this body, there is no certainty what kind of body you are going to have. There is certainty according to the material laws. There is certainty, but they do not know it. That body will be manufactured according to the association of the material modes of nature.

Lecture on SB 1.14.43 -- New York, April 7, 1973 :

First deference is given, go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca, jagad-dhitāya. If you actually want to do some welfare activity for the benefit of the whole world, then these two things must be taken care of, go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca, cows and brāhmaṇas. They should be given first protection. Then jagad-dhitāya, then there will be actual welfare of the whole world. They do not know. Kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ, go-rakṣya, vāṇijyam, vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam. This is the duty of the mercantile class of men: to improve agriculture, to give protection to the cows, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya. And vāṇijyam. And if you have got excess food, you can trade, vāṇijyam. This is the business. The brāhmaṇa is meant for doing the brain work. He will give advice. Just like we, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we, we are not meant for the ksatriya's business or vaisya's business, the devotees, but if required they can take. Real business is, brāhmaṇa's business is to know the Vedas, the Brahman, the Supreme Brahman, the Absolute Truth. He, he must know, and he must distribute the knowledge. This is brāhmaṇa. Kīrtayanto. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ. This is brāhmaṇa's business.

Lecture on SB 1.15.24 -- Los Angeles, December 3, 1973:

In the Bhagavad-gītā you know... (aside:) It is disturbing, the child. In the Bhagavad-gītā that... What I was speaking? Enjoying and suffering. Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says that "This place..." The supreme authority says, "This place, this material world, is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam: (BG 8.15) it is the place for suffering." That is a fact. One person is trying to accept suffering as enjoying, and another person is trying to end actually suffering. This is the difference between sane and insane person. I'll give you a practical example, that in the prison, government prison house, there are some prisoners who are called first-class prisoners. They are given special favor by the government. So... And there are third-class prisoners also. But both of them are prisoners. And prison is not meant for comfortable life. It is meant for suffering. The Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore sings, anādi karama-phale paṛi' bhavārṇava-jale taribāre nā dekhi upāya. One who is sane person, he knows that "I may be first-class prisoner, that does not mean I am not prisoner. I am prisoner." The suffering of the prison house, that I have no independence to do anything, that is prison life.

We are, everyone is thinking that we are independent, but that is not the fact.

Lecture on SB 1.15.25-26 -- Los Angeles, December 4, 1973:

Their śāstra says that don't become father, don't become mother if you cannot save your sons from death. This is the responsibility. This is father's, mother's, responsibility. Na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum, pitā na sa syāj jananī na sa syāt. One should not become, try to become father, one should not try to become mother if the parents cannot save the child from imminent death. That is the responsibility. And who is that father? Who is that mother? This is Vedic civilization. My Guru Mahārāja used to say that "I am a sannyāsī. I am not married, neither I am meant for marrying. But if I can produce Kṛṣṇa conscious children, I can marry hundred times." That is the responsibility. Don't produce cats and dogs; produce Kṛṣṇa devotees. Then you'll marry. Otherwise don't marry. This is Vedic injunction. Marriage is not meant for sense gratification. Marriage is meant for producing nice children, Kṛṣṇa devotees.

So that is our aim. Our aim is not to produce cats and dogs. There are so many cats and dogs, the world is not happy. Now there is need of producing nice children, sober, gentle, devotee of Kṛṣṇa, good brain, good character. These things are required. So they were not unwanted children, these Yadus. This is a make-show (indistinct) other. They came, they are all demigods, they descended just to fulfill Kṛṣṇa's mission. Kṛṣṇa's mission, Kṛṣṇa came down so all the confidential servants of Kṛṣṇa, they also appeared to help Him in different... So when Kṛṣṇa wanted to go, He wanted to go with the descendants also, who came to help Him. So this is a make-show that the Yadus fought amongst themselves. The real purpose is, Kṛṣṇa wanted to take them away. Otherwise, superficially, when one becomes unnecessarily powerful, disturbs the world situation, he's a burden. He's a burden. That kind of burden is vanquished by Kṛṣṇa's desire, will. There must be some catastrophe like war, pestilence, famine, and everything will be finished.

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

That can be done by vāsudeva-anudhyānam, constantly thinking of Kṛṣṇa.

So you haven't got to pay any price. You are not losing anything. But you are becoming a great, perfect man. Why do you, don't you accept this process, Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Why you are after something, false thing? Just see how unfortunate people are in this Kali-yuga. They will not accept the real thing without any payment, without any loss. Everything is gain. They will accept something nonsense and go to hell. Just see. This is Kali-yuga. The Kali-yuga is so powerful that it will not allow you to accept the real thing. You will be after non-real thing and waste your time and valuable life. This life is meant for Kṛṣṇa realization. It is not meant for anything, any other business. Therefore Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura sings, hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu: "My dear Lord, I have simply wasted my time." Why? Manuṣya-janama pāiyā rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā. "I got this valuable human form of life but I did not worship Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. This is my fault." Jāniyā śuniyā viṣa khāinu, "It is just like knowingly, I have taken poison."

Lecture on SB 1.15.38 -- Los Angeles, December 16, 1973:

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. Therefore you must suffer. You are using your intelligence... Your intelligence was given to understand what is God, what is your relationship with God, why you are rotting in this material world under shadow illusion of so-called happiness. These things are to be known in human form of body. Not like working very hard like cats and dogs and asses and eat little food and do all sinful activities. This is not human intelligence.

Lecture on SB 1.15.45 -- Los Angeles, December 23, 1973:

That is called gṛhamedhi. You require wife. That's all right. Take wife. There is no scarcity of wife. Live peacefully. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. "No, I have got my wife; I want another. I want another." Like dogs. Yes. So the dog civilization cannot help us. This will not help us. Human life is meant for something else. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujām (SB 5.5.1). Everything is discussed in Bhāgavata. Therefore we request the whole human society to read these valuable books, valuable. Oh, they are missing the opportunity. Let them read these books. Then life will be successful.

So this human life is not meant for like dogs and cats and hogs. That is said in the Bhāgavatam. You will find in the Fifth Canto, Fifth Chapter, Ṛṣabhadeva. Every word is so valuable. Just like here in these verses, sarve tam anunirjagmur bhrātaraḥ. How ideal brothers they were. "My elder brother is going, retiring, going to the Himalayan side," all the brothers followed. When the elder brother was king, they acted. They did not fight, that "We are five brothers. Why you shall become king? I shall become king." No, there was a fight. One of them, the elder brother, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, was enthroned, and the other brothers, they acted as commanders of the soldiers. One brother is going one side of the earth to fight, to subdue the rascals. There was fight to subdue the rascals, not for ambition. Because he was emperor, so anyone who is doing wrong irreligiously, go there and fight. That was fight. That is called dharma-yuddha. Just like you can maintain police force, military force. What for? Whenever there is outlaws, go and punish them. That should be the system.

Lecture on SB 1.16.4 -- Los Angeles, January 1, 1974:

You cannot touch. That was the law. And if one was caught, a thief, his hands will be cut off. In Kashmir state this was the rule. As soon as a thief is arrested and if he's proved that he has stolen, the only punishment is cut his throat, aḥ, cut his hands. Bas. Exemplary punishment so that nobody will dare to steal. So this is second class, administrators. And the third class are to produce money—businessmen, mercantile. Money is also required. So without money nothing can be done, so that is not... But that is the occupation of..., the third class take. And the fourth class, śūdra. They cannot take any post as intelligent class or administrator class or money-producing class. They are simply servant, help others, śūdra. The śūdra was not meant for taking the political part.

Therefore it is said here nṛpa-liṅga-dharaṁ śūdram. Nṛpa-liṅga-dharam. Liṅga means, real meaning is gender. Just the masculine gender, feminine gender. And the other meaning is sign. Just like there are signs, certain signs, we can understand here is a male, here is a female. By the signs. So liṅgam means "signs," "symptom." So nṛpa-liṅga-dharam. Śūdra, actually he was a śūdra, but he dressed like a king. Just like if a woman dresses like a man, that is artificial. Or a man dresses like woman, that is also artificial. So everyone has his original dress and position. There, because a śūdra took the dress of a king, therefore it is called nṛpa-liṅga-dharam. Artificially, he was dressed like a king. That is the position of Kali-yuga. Now the government men, they are elected by votes. People do not consider whether he's a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya or vaiśya or śūdra. As he likes... People are śūdras. Kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. In the Kali-yuga everyone is a śūdra. Therefore naturally he will elect one śūdra. The śūdra is not fit for government management. As such we find so many difficulties in the government because the head or the head man, they are all śūdras. They have dressed like administrator, but they are śūdras. This is the symptom of Kali-yuga. There is no brāhmaṇa, there is no kṣatriya, there is no vaiśyas. Maybe a few vaiśyas, and all śūdras. A brāhmaṇa means the good quality, first-class quality. That is very, very rare to be found.

Lecture on SB 1.16.19 -- Hawaii, January 15, 1974:

And there is another place, or spiritual world, which is also called sanātana. In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find, paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). So this sanātana term is very important. The living entity is sanātana and God is sanātana and the spiritual world is sanātana, and the process by which your lost relationship with God established and you go back to home back to Godhead, that is called sanātana-dharma. Sanātana-dharma. That is our eternal relationship with God. And there is a place. So the system which makes these two sanātana, God and the living entity, meet again and they go back to enjoy life in the spiritual world, that system is called sanātana-dharma. Therefore sanātana-dharma is not meant for any particular class or particular country or particular nation or community. No. It is meant for the whole human being, especially human being; otherwise, all living entities.

Living entities, they are in this material world in different forms. That is accepted by Kṛṣṇa, sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayo yāḥ (BG 14.4). There are as many forms of life amongst the living entities. Tāsāṁ mahad yonir brahma ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā. The mahad yoniḥ, mahat, this material world, material elements, or the sum total of material elements... Mother Durgā, she is the mother. And God is the father. Just like father and mother gives birth to a child, similarly, we spirit soul, the part and parcel of the supreme father, and the material elements, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ (BG 7.4), they're the recipient. Tasmin garbhaṁ dadāmy aham. Just like father gives the seed in the womb of the mother, then the child gets a body and it grows and come out, similarly this body is given by mother, material, material energy, but the father is the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (BG 14.4). This is the factual position. We are not this material body.

Lecture on SB 1.16.20 -- Hawaii, January 16, 1974:

Prabhupāda: This is first-class life, satyaṁ śamo damas titikṣā ārjavaṁ jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). And the lowest class of life... Practically, nowadays all lowest class of life, the life of a caṇḍāla, dog-eaters. So this is the description in the śāstra. Go on.

Pradyumna: "All the above terms mentioned in the Vedic literatures are never meant for any particular community or birth..."

Prabhupāda: It is not that because one has taken birth in the lowest class family—suppose caṇḍāla, dog-eaters—it does not mean that he'll have to remain in that position. Just like uneducated persons. It is not that he'll have to remain in that uneducated standard, but he can become educated. He can become educated. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that there is no check on any particular person, community, to become God conscious. Became God Himself says, Kṛṣṇa says, māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya ye 'pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ. Pāpa-yoni, to take birth in lower class of human society, is called pāpa-yoni. But Kṛṣṇa says, "Never mind, pāpa-yoni.

Lecture on SB 1.16.20 -- Los Angeles, July 10, 1974:

Nitāi: "Since dharma, or the principles of religion, will be lost in the proportion of three out of four, the symbolic bull was standing on one leg only. When three-fourths of the population of the whole world become irreligious, the situation is converted into hell for the animals. In the age of Kali godless civilizations will create so many so-called religious societies in which the Personality of Godhead will be directly or indirectly defied. And thus faithless societies of man will make the world uninhabitable for the saner section of people. There are gradations of human beings in terms of the proportionate faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The first-class faithful men are the Vaiṣṇavas and the brāhmaṇas, then the kṣatriyas, then the vaiśyas, then the śūdras, then the mlecchas, the yavanas and at last the caṇḍālas. The gradation of human instincts begins from the mlecchas, and the caṇḍāla state of life is the last word in the human degradation. All the above terms mentioned in the Vedic literatures are never meant for any particular community or birth. They are different qualifications of human beings in general. There is no question of birthright or community. One can acquire the respective qualifications by one's own efforts, and thus the son of a Vaiṣṇava can become a mleccha or the son of a caṇḍāla can become more than a brāhmaṇa, all in terms of their association and intimate relation with the Supreme Lord."

Prabhupāda: Yes. So if we qualify ourself as Vaiṣṇava and devotee, then all other good qualities will automatically manifest in the body. That is the purpose of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that you accept this movement... For example... There are many examples. This is also one practical example. In your state the government has spent millions and millions of dollars to stop the intoxication habit, but it was failure. But as soon as the same person comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness camp, he immediately gives up. This is practical. And there cannot be any comparison of the qualities of our students with any religious institution or any school, college. You cannot have. Because they are devotee. As soon as you become devotee, all good qualities... Therefore if the government takes this movement seriously, they make everyone a devotee, then everything will be solved. There will be no need of criminal court or jail or... Everything will be finished. Or, what is called, liquor house and slaughterhouse and manufacturing cigarette and advertising them two sides of the road. Although (chuckles) it is written there it is dangerous, still it is highly advertised and people smoke. These contradiction things are going on on account of godlessness.

Lecture on SB 1.16.23 -- Hawaii, January 19, 1974:

Not martial. There is another word. Martial law is also one of the emergency law. So anyway, the nature's arrangement is like that. Just like children, they're allowed to play, but under certain condition. So we all, we are all children of God, Kṛṣṇa. So we have come hear to enjoy, to lord it over the material nature. That is the tendency. So Kṛṣṇa has given us the facility. Just like in the beach, there are many young men who are playing in the sea with surf, but still, the government has watch over it. Government's duty is that they may not be drowned.

So here it is risky. We have come here to enjoy. Actually, we are not meant for enjoying. We are meant for serving. Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, jīvera svarūpa haya-nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa: (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109) "Our real identity is to serve, to remain under the protection..." We are always under the protection, this way or that way, but we are thinking falsely that we are free. We are not free. Kṛṣṇa is taking care of us. He has allowed us, "All right, you have come here. Try to satisfy yourself, but there are certain rules and regulations." If you break those rules and regulations, for your interest Kṛṣṇa takes measures.

Lecture on SB 2.1.1 -- Delhi, November 4, 1973:

Although it is the śrotavyādiṣu yaḥ paraḥ, it is the supreme subject matter to hear. This is the position. This is the position of the material world. They have lost interest even to hear about the transcendental life, what is this life, what is next life, how we can improve, how, where we are going. Nothing. Simply like cats and dogs they are working hard. Therefore śāstra says, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). Viḍ-bhujām. Viḍ-bhujāṁ ye. Viḍ-bhujām. Viḍ-bhujām means the hogs, the pigs who are eating stool. They are also working very hard for finding out the stool, "Where there is stool? Where there is stool? Where there is stool?"

So Ṛṣabhadeva warned, "My dear sons, this life, this human form of life, is not meant for working so hard simply for eating, sleeping, mating and defending." Then what it is meant for? Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet (SB 5.5.1). "My dear boys, just try to become austere. Just tapasya." Tapasya means voluntarily accepting some difficulties. Not difficulties. Just like in our Society we say, "No illicit sex life, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling." But in the Western countries, these things are daily affair. But they have given up. But they have not..., have died. All these boys and girls who have taken up Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they have given up. No illicit sex life, no meat-eating, no intoxication. They do not drink even tea, coffee. They do not smoke even cigarette. This is tapasya, little tapasya. (break)

Lecture on SB 2.1.1 -- Paris, June 9, 1974:

Not these rascals, one who does not know what is self, what I am. He's an animal, one who does not know what he is. If I do not inquire, "What I am? I am this body? Or I am something extra than this body?" if this inquiry is not there, he's not human being. He's animal. Animal cannot inquire. Cats and dog cannot inquire, "What I am?" He's suffering. Everyone is suffering who has got this material body. That is the condition. If you have got material body, you must suffer. It is not the question of European, American or white, black. There is no such question. If you are animal or man, as soon as you have got this material body, you must suffer. This is condition. This is material condition. Therefore our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not meant for, I mean to say, mitigating the so-called sufferings of the body. When there is body, there must be suffering. So we should not be very much disturbed by the sufferings of the body. Because you'll have to suffer. Even though you make very nice arrangement. Just like in comparison to Europe and America. In European cities we see so many nice arrangements, living condition, big, big house, big, big road, nice cars. In comparison to India, if some Indian comes from Indian village, he'll see, "It is heaven, so nice house, so nice building, so nice motorcars." But do you think you are not suffering? He may think, the rascal may think that "Here is heaven." But those who are residing in this heaven, they know what kind of heaven it is. (laughter)

So suffering must be there. Suffering must be there as soon as you get this material body. "Why suffering? We are enjoying."

Lecture on SB 2.1.1-5 -- Boston, December 22, 1969:

So Śukadeva Gosvāmī said that "My dear king," śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ: (SB 2.1.2) "for ordinary men there are many, many subject matters for hearing." Just like you see the newspaper, there are many varieties of news, but they are meant for whom? For ordinary men. They are not meant for us. We don't care for what is happening in the newspaper. At least our boys and girls, they do not care for these things, although everyone is anxious to read early in the morning the newspaper. You see? This very fact is stated here: śrotavyādīni. What is this newspaper? Newspaper, the Sanskrit word is śrotavyādīni. Śrotavya means "the things which is to be heard." So what is this newspaper? Unless there is some news, what you will hear? So this word, very word, śrotavyādīni. Pradyumna, you understand śrotavyādīni? No? Śrotavyādīni means subject of news. So he said, "There are many subject of news, or newspaper." Śrotavyādīni rājendra (SB 2.1.2). He is addressing the king, rājendra. He was the emperor. Therefore, "the king of the kings," rājendra. "My dear rājendra, emperor, there are many varieties of subject matter for hearing." For whom? Nṛṇām: "for the human society." Nṛṇām means human beings. Śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ (SB 2.1.2). But what class of human being? Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam: "Those who are fools and rascals without any self-realization knowledge. For them." Apaśyatām. Apaśyatām means blind, cannot see. They have got their eyes, but they have no introspection, what is the value of life. Therefore he says, apaśyatām. Simply they have eyes like the peacock feather. (laughter) They have no introspection. Eyes means introspection. Therefore Vedic culture says, eyes... Śāstra-cakṣus: "You should see through śāstra. Don't try to see by these eyes." These are, what is the value of this eye? They are conditioned in so many ways. You don't believe the eyes. See through the śāstra, through the spiritual master, through the śāstra.

Lecture on SB 2.1.1-5 -- Boston, December 22, 1969:

"At that time, all these, my soldiers, my bank balance, my good wife, my good children, my good countrymen—no. Nobody can give me any protection." Just like when you have to fly in the sky, you have to protect yourself. No other can... Take it for the birds or for the airplanes. If you are being crushed in the airplane, no other airplane can protect you. You'll have to come down from the sky. (laughter) Similarly, when death will come, none of you will be able to give me protection. Either my good state or good family or good bank balance or good this, that. No. That's all, finished. You see?

So Śukadeva Gosvāmī giving right instructions to Parīkṣit Mahārāja. Then what should be the subject matter? This so-called rascaldom news, they are not meant for hearing. Therefore he concludes,

tasmād bhārata sarvātmā
bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
smartavyaś cecchatābhayam
(SB 2.1.5)

Icchatā abhayam. Abhayam. Bhaya means fear, and abhayam means fearlessness. If one is actually expecting that he should be protected, abhayam, there should be no more anything of fearfulness. Then Śukadeva Gosvāmī is instructing that tasmāt... Because these things, if you simply divert your attention to the varieties of newspaper or any other information of this world which is full of this gṛhamedhī, whose business is to sleep at night and work hard at daytime, that will not give you protection. Then? What I have to do? "You have to hear about Bhagavān, Hari, Īśvara." Tasmād bhārata sarvātmā.

Lecture on SB 2.1.3 -- Delhi, November 6, 1973:

During daytime, "Where is money? Where is money? Where is money? Where is money? Where is money? Go here, go there, go there, go... All right, take money. Then how to utilize it?" Now, kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā. 'Then go to the shop. Purchase this thing for my wife, for my children, for this, for that." So money earned and spent, and night, sleeping and mating. Then where is your time for cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness? This is the position. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām (SB 2.1.2). Those who are blind, who do not know what is the value of this life, this human form of life, they are busy in these things. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2).

But actually, this life is meant for understanding ātma-tattvam. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This life is not meant for like cats and dogs-eating, sleeping, mating and defending. This is all cats' and dogs' business. Therefore those who are engaged only in these business:

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

Go-khara. Go-khara means... Go means cow, and khara means ass. Those who are acting on this bodily concept of life, they are no better than cows and asses. Therefore one who is inquisitive about ātma-tattva, one who is inquisitive about Kṛṣṇa and such praśna, such inquiries as Parīkṣit Mahārāja did before Śukadeva Gosvāmī... He welcomed it immediately. Varīyān eṣa te praśnaḥ: (SB 2.1.1) "Oh, you have questioned very nicely about Kṛṣṇa." Loka-hitaṁ nṛpa: "Oh it is not only good for you; it is good for all the people of the world."

Lecture on SB 2.1.3 -- Paris, June 12, 1974:

That, that is my advancement of material civilization." You see. Hog means he has no discrimination of food. That is hog. You have seen, a hog can eat up to the stool. So anyone who has no human brain, has no discrimination of food, anything he can eat, he's a hog. "Anything, anyone, never mind, mother, sister or anyone, let us have sex life"—that is hog's life. You'll find the hog's life is practical like that, to eat anything and have sex life with anyone. That is hog's life. Is it not? What is the hog? You have seen hog? They have no discrimination of sex and no discrimination of food. That is hog's life.

So therefore śāstra says that "This human life is not meant for becoming a hog." Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). You are working so hard, day and night, very busy, going this side, that side, this side, that side, and getting money, and leading a life like hog. What is this civilization? This is not civilization. Then what is civilization? That is also said, tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). This is Ṛṣabhadeva's instruction to His sons. "My dear boys, this life, this human form of life, is not meant for wasting like hogs and dogs, but tapasya, just have little restraint. Don't become hogs and dogs." What is that restraint? Just like we are prescribing, no illicit sex. No illicit sex. Sex is not stopped. Sex is there. But no illicit sex. Illicit sex—unnecessary sex life. Sex life is meant for human beings. There is regulation. Sex life is meant for producing nice children, that's all, not for sense enjoyment. Therefore one is trained as brahmacārī from the very beginning.

Lecture on SB 2.1.7 -- Paris, June 15, 1974:

Because knowledge has to be given to everyone, but according to his capacity. If one is in tamo-guṇa, you cannot say..., you cannot raise him immediately to the sattva-guṇa. Tamo-guṇa is meat-eating, drinking. These are tamo-guṇa, in the darkness. So the Vedas has given chance to them, "All right, you want to eat meat? All right, you eat meat. But offering to the goddess Kālī." Means restriction. It is not required, but the rascal will not hear immediately. Therefore give him some concession, "All right, you can eat meat by offering sacrifice..., not the cow, but one lower animal which is useless, like goats." Generally, goat and the chicken. They do that.

But it is not meant for the sattva-guṇa. Sattva-guṇa's prescription is different. Rajo-guṇa's prescription is different. On the whole, we are always mixed up with the sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. That is our material position. Therefore sometimes we come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness when we are in sattva-guṇa. Again sometimes fall down. The tamo-guṇa attacks, rajo-guṇa attacks. So we have to become above these guṇas. Traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna. Arjuna advised, Kṛṣṇa advised him that "You become above these three guṇas." So how it can be done? It can be done simply by hearing about Kṛṣṇa. This is nairguṇya-sthā ramante sma guṇānukathane hareḥ. If you simply engage yourself only hearing about Kṛṣṇa, then you are nistraiguṇya. This is the process, simple, no other business.

Lecture on SB 2.3.1-4 -- Los Angeles, May 24, 1972:

So this is kindness, mercy of Kṛṣṇa, that He has given you facility if you want to fulfill your desire. But all of them are kāma. In each and every line, the word is used, kāma. We have marked it. Here, just like annādya-kāmas tv aditim. Annādya. Anna means grains. There are different types of grains. That is all wanted. Annādya-kāmas tu. Kāma. But you won't find here a meat-eater. No, that is not at all... That is aboriginal. That is not for a human being. Anna. You can desire anna, grains. You can desire to become king. You can desire to have nice wife. These are natural. But there is not a single sentence here you will find they are desiring to eat meat, egg, flesh. No. That is beyond human jurisdiction. They are not meant for human being. So these are the different departments if you want to take facility of quickly getting some benefit... Yajanta iha devatāḥ. Kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ yajanta iha devatāḥ. For particular type of fulfillment of your desire, you can worship the particular type of demigods.

This is recommended in the śāstra for the less intelligent class of men. Still, it may be questioned that "Why Vedas have—if the ultimate goal is to reach the Supreme Personality of Godhead—why the Vedas have prescribed different demigod worship?" Yes, that is replied in the Bhagavad-gītā, tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām. Those who are less intelligent, for them, not for the first-class intelligent. Those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious, they are first-class intelligent. They don't want anything beyond Kṛṣṇa. That's all. They don't want to know anything except Kṛṣṇa. The advantage is that if you can know Kṛṣṇa, then you know everything. And if you get Kṛṣṇa, you get everything. Therefore this conclusion cannot be perceived by less intelligent class of men. Exactly like that. If one is intelligent, he goes to the river from the village, and he takes there bath. River water is never contaminated because constantly the wave is flowing. Suppose you contaminate a certain portion, but it does not stand, it flows down immediately.

Lecture on SB 2.3.14-15 -- Los Angeles, May 31, 1972:

For example, the epics or the histories of Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, which are specifically recommended for the less intelligent classes (women, śūdras and unworthy sons of the higher castes), are also accepted as Vedic literature because they are compiled in connection with the activities of the Lord. Mahābhārata is accepted as the fifth division of the Vedas after its first four divisions, namely Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg and Atharva. The less intelligent do not accept Mahābhārata as part of the Vedas, but great sages and authorities accept it as the fifth division of the Vedas. Bhagavad-gītā is also part of the Mahābhārata, and it is full of the Lord's instruction for the less intelligent class of men. Some less intelligent men say that Bhagavad-gītā is not meant for householders, but such foolish men forget that Bhagavad-gītā was explained to Arjuna, a gṛhastha (family man), and spoken by the Lord in His role as a gṛhastha. So Bhagavad-gītā, although containing the high philosophy of the Vedic wisdom, is for the beginners in the transcendental science, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is for graduates and postgraduates in the transcendental science. Therefore literatures like Mahābhārata, the, purāṇas and similar other literatures which are full of the pastimes of the Lord, are all transcendental literatures, and they should be discussed with full confidence in the society of great devotees.

Lecture on SB 2.3.18-19 -- Bombay, March 23, 1977, At Cross Maidan Pandal:

Prabhupāda: ...Bhavānanda Swami, to recite two or three verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is the theme of our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Read it. The verse begins with taravaḥ kiṁ na jīvanti. Read that verse.

Bhavānanda:

taravaḥ kiṁ na jīvanti
bhastrāḥ kiṁ na śvasanty uta
na khādanti na mehanti
kiṁ grāme paśavo 'pare
(SB 2.3.18)

"Do the trees not live? Do the bellows of the blacksmith not breathe? All around us, do the beasts not eat and discharge semen?" Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda. The materialistic man of the modern age will argue that life, or part of it, is never meant for discussion of theosophical or theological arguments. Life is meant for the maximum duration of existence for eating, drinking, sexual intercourse, making merry and enjoying life. The modern man wants to live forever by the advancement of material science, and there are many foolish theories for prolonging life to the maximum duration. But the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam affirms that life is not meant for so-called economic development or advancement of materialistic science for the hedonistic philosophy of eating, mating, drinking and merrymaking. Life is solely meant for tapasya, for purifying existence so that one may enter into eternal life just after the end of the human form of life.

Lecture on SB 2.3.18-19 -- Bombay, March 23, 1977, At Cross Maidan Pandal:

Persons who have no discrimination in the matter of foodstuff and who eat all sorts of rubbish are compared to hogs. Hogs are very much attached to eating stools. So stool is a kind of foodstuff for a particular type of animal. And even stones are eatables for a particular type of animal or bird. But the human being is not meant for eating everything and anything; he is meant to eat grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, sugar, etc. Animal food is not meant for the human being. For chewing solid food, the human being has a particular type of teeth meant for cutting fruits and vegetables. The human being is endowed with two canine teeth as a concession for persons who will eat animal food at any cost. It is known to everyone that one man's food is another man's poison. Human beings are expected to accept the remnants of food offered to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the Lord accepts foodstuff from the categories of leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. (BG 9.26). As prescribed by Vedic scriptures, no animal food is offered to the Lord. Therefore, a human being is meant to eat a particular type of food. He should not imitate the animals to derive so-called vitamin values. Therefore, a person who has no discrimination in regard to eating is compared to a hog.

Lecture on SB 2.3.19 -- Los Angeles, June 14, 1972:

Darwin's theory, developing the body. So the education is going on in that way. This is our position. You should take advantage of the scientific knowledge given by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-bhāgavatam amalaṁ purāṇam. Amalaṁ purāṇam. Spotless education, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore, in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra (SB 1.1.2). Atra śrīmad-bhāgavata. "In this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, cheating type of religious system is kicked out." Kicked out. In religion where there is no discrimination of foodstuff, what is that religion? What is that religion? This is fanaticism. That is not religion. Religion is to understand God. And one cannot understand God, the purest of all pure, unless one is pure. Next, hogs.

Pradyumna: "And even stones are eatables for a particular type of animal or bird. But the human being is not meant for eating everything and anything, save grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, sugar, etc. Animal food is not meant for the human being. For chewing solid food the human being has a particular type of teeth meant for cutting fruits and vegetables. The human being is endowed with two canine teeth as a concession..."

Prabhupāda: Our teeth is just like... You take fruit, you can easily cut. But if you take meat, bite... That is not natural. Unnaturally. But you take fruit, immediately you cut. and... So that is discrimination, that "We have to take some food, but what kind of food we shall take?" So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that you take only kṛṣṇa-prasādam, that's all. You save yourself. Even if I cannot discriminate, Kṛṣṇa's prasādam I take, it is transcendental. I don't require any discrimination. Don't require. Kṛṣṇa-prasādam. And Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). We offer Kṛṣṇa foodstuffs, what He wants. Kṛṣṇa is God. He can take anything. He can eat the whole world. And eating the whole world means all animals, all men, all everything, vegetables, not vegetables.

Lecture on SB 2.3.20 -- Bombay, March 24, 1977, At Cross Maidan Pandal:

Go-khara. Go means cow, and khara means ass. Anyone who's identifying with this body as self, he's go-khara, animal. So this animal civilization is not meant for India's culture. India's culture is different. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti (BG 4.9). This is India's culture. Why should we identify ourself as animal—"I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am this"? It is wrong type of civilization, go-khara civilization.

So our little attempt is... We are not manufacturing anything. We are not manufacturer of religious system, neither it is possible to manufacture. Just like you cannot manufacture law. Law is given by the state. Similarly, dharma means dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Dharma means the law given by God. That is dharma. You cannot manufacture. Who cares for your manufactured system? Just like nobody cares for if you make some law, that "I have made some law," and go to the court, "Sir, I have made this law. Please accept." "He's lunatic. Drive him away." That is not possible. This is dharma, as Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is dharma. Don't manufacture dharma. (break) Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7). What is that glāni? Discrepancy. So glāni is disobedience to the order of God. That is glāni. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata. So the whole world is denying, śūnyavādi, nirviśeṣa-vādi, nirākāra-vādi: "No God. God is dead." So what kind of religious system they'll manufacture? They are simply misled. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ (SB 7.5.31). Very tightly regulated by the laws of nature, and still, we are independently manufacturing religion. This is not possible. Give us this... Sarva-dharmān parityajya (BG 18.66).

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

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

There are many birds, the wood-cutter birds. So that is not very expert manifestation of our intelligence. So this cleansing of heart will be possible by hari-nāma-dheyaiḥ, this chanting of hari-nāma,

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
(CC Adi 17.21)

Anything, any spiritual process, is meant for cleansing the heart. Either you take karma-yoga or jñāna-yoga or dhyāna-yoga or bhakti-yoga, the ultimate goal is that cleansing the heart. At the present moment I am under misconception, dirty things accumulated on my heart, that "I am this body," and therefore I do not try to realize that I am soul, and under bodily concept of life... As the animals they are also in bodily concept of life, they are busy eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Similarly, human civilization has become like animals. They are interested only in eating, sleeping, mating, and defense. That's all. But that is not our position. It is a chance to get out of the entanglement of birth, death, old age, and disease.

Page Title:Not meant for... (Lectures, SB cantos 1 - 2)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:20 of Nov, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=65, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:65