Ply

Expressions researched:
"plies" |"ply" |"plying"

SB Canto 2

SB 2.8.21, Purport:

Samplavaḥ, in the sense of "perfect means," is employed to denote the discharging of devotional service, and pratisamplavaḥ means just the opposite, or that which destroys the progress of devotional service. One who is firmly situated in the devotional service of the Lord can very easily execute the function of conditional life. Living the conditional life is just like plying a boat in the middle of the ocean. One is completely at the mercy of the ocean, and at every moment there is every chance of being drowned in the ocean by slight agitation. If the atmosphere is all right, the boat can ply very easily, undoubtedly, but if there is some storm, fog, wind or cloud, there is every possibility of being drowned in the ocean. No one can control the whims of the ocean, however one may be materially well equipped. One who has crossed the oceans by ship may have sufficient experience of such dependence upon the mercy of the ocean. But one can ply over the ocean of material existence by the grace of the Lord very easily, without any fear of storm or fog. It all depends on the will of the Lord; no one can help if there is some unfortunate danger in the state of conditional life. The devotees of the Lord, however, cross the ocean of material existence without anxiety because a pure devotee is always protected by the Lord (BG 9.13). The Lord gives special attention to His devotees in their activities within material, conditional life (BG 9.29). Therefore everyone should take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and be a pure devotee of the Lord by all means.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.15.45, Purport:

This human form of body is a most valuable boat, and the spiritual master is the captain, guru-karṇadhāram, to guide the boat in plying across the ocean of nescience. The instruction of Kṛṣṇa is a favorable breeze. One must use all these facilities to cross over the ocean of nescience. Since the spiritual master is the captain, one must serve the spiritual master very sincerely so that by his mercy one will be able to get the mercy of the Supreme Lord.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 3, Purport:

The Vedic scriptures and the ācāryas, or saintly teachers, are compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities of the human body are compared to favorable breezes that help the boat ply smoothly to its desired destination. If, with all these facilities, a human being does not fully utilize his life for self-realization, he must be considered ātma-hā, a killer of the soul. Śrī Īśopaniṣad warns in clear terms that the killer of the soul is destined to enter into the darkest region of ignorance to suffer perpetually.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 4.8 -- Montreal, June 14, 1968:

So the constructor, construction of the machine may be very complicated, wonderful, very nice, everything is all right, but a living entity required to pull on the button. Without pulling on the button, however nice arrangement may be in the machine, it cannot work. That is our experience. We cannot deny it. The wonderful machine, working... Now, business machine, there are so many wonderful machine. They are working also. Sometimes calculating brain is required; electrical brain is there. Everything is all right. But unless a man puts on the button, plies the button, it cannot work. That thing is important.

Lecture on BG 10.4 -- New York, January 3, 1967:

And you have got this nice ship. And guru-karṇa-dhāram. And if you have got a nice spiritual master who is captain, good captain, who can help you to ply your ship on the same. So nṛ-deham ādyam su-labhaṁ su-durlabham. And atmosphere is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, created by the Supreme Lord by delivering you the message of Bhagavad-gītā. So you have got very good atmosphere.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.5.15 -- New Vrindaban, June 19, 1969:

So it was settled that the bridegroom's party will start in the evening before the marriage day and reach there in the morning and rest whole day, and in the evening the marriage will take place.

So they got up in a boat, and the boat was started and the, all the members of the bridegroom's party, the, they fell asleep. It was on the river. The breeze was very pleasing. And next morning when they arose, they saw they were standing on the same place. Then they were surprised, "How is that?" The boatman was asked, "How is that, we are in the same place? We have not proceeded even a few yards. How is that?" The boatman said that "We were plying the whole night. We do not know how it happened." Then one boatman found out that the anchor was not taken out. The anchor was fixed up, and the whole night they were plying meant the boat was round about the anchor only, moving, and it was... It did not go a step forward.

Similarly, if our anchor, that we want this material happiness, for which we can worship God, we may go to the temple, go to the church, offer our respect... Ārto arthārthī. That is accepted as good. But one has to go far above that position. That means if one, being distressed, approaches Kṛṣṇa, that "My Lord, I am in distress. Please help me," the qualification is good in this sense, that he, somehow or other, he has approached God. But his motive is not pure.

Lecture on SB 3.25.20 -- Bombay, November 20, 1974:

The modern civilization is simply teaching people how to enjoy life by sense gratification. Especially in the Western countries, so many things. Even for shaving there is machine. Means they do not want to ply the razor even. Formerly, safety razor, formerly, there was Halogram(?) razor. Now simply you take the machine. Not to move the hand even. You see? This is advancement of civilization.

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

Actually the brāhmaṇas had so much power in those days that simply by mantra, they would ignite fire. The fire was not ignited by matches—by mantra. And the animal... Just like in medical science, in physiology sometimes experiment is made by plying the knife on some animal, similarly, how the yajña was being performed, that was tested by animal sacrifice.

General Lectures

Lecture -- Tokyo, May 1, 1972:

In America and other materialistic countries we see—here also, in Japan—they are laying down one kind of road for plying their motorcars. After some years it becomes a problem—another flyway, another flyway. So this is going on. This is called struggle for existence.

Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972:

You can create one sputnik or jet plane, and you take so much credit, "Oh, I am flying in the sky." But why don't you give the credit to God, who is plying, flying millions of sputniks in the sky? Not small; with so many mountains, seas, houses, trees, plants, and so many things. You can see so many things.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- May 11, 1975, Perth:

Devotee (1): So if we as devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are transcendental to these modes, does that mean that we can...

Prabhupāda: You are not transcendental. You are trying to be transcendental. You should always remember that "We are trying to be transcendental." When you are actually on transcendental state, you will not be affected by any modes of material nature. Therefore you should be very cautious and careful. Just like on the sea, you are in the boat. You are transcendental. But the boat may submerge into the water any moment unless you are very carefully plying it. At any moment. You are not in the water, you are safe on the boat, but if you do not carefully ply your boat, then you can fall down at any moment. The comparison is given, nṛ-deham ādyam sulabhaṁ sudurlabhaṁ. Sulabhaṁ.

Morning Walk -- May 11, 1975, Perth:

And you have got a nice boat and you are plying. Now cross over. Very big ocean in the material world. Just see the sky, how big it is. So we have to cross this material sky, penetrate the covering, then go to the spiritual sky. Then you are safe. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ 'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20). That place, even after destruction of this whole material world, that is safe. So we have to go there, plying the boat.

Garden Conversation with Professors -- June 24, 1975, Los Angeles:

For meat-eating a cow should not be killed. This is not very good civilization. If you are..., you must eat meat, then you can kill other animals. They, those who are the kṣatriyas, they were sometimes going to the forest, killing the deer. They are allowed. Because they have to learn how to kill. So by killing animals, they used to practice. Just like doctors, medical practitioners, they first of all ply their knife on the dead body and find out where are the nerves, where are the..., not a living man.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- April 20, 1976, Melbourne:

Carol Jarvis: That's the same as a dog coming to its master.

Prabhupāda: Yes. But to have a real master and to have a false master.... Just like a physician. He is asking that "Come here. Lie down." He is knife.... He knows that he'll make surgical.... He agrees. But if somebody, rogue, says that "I shall cut your throat," he'll not agree. That is intelligence. A physician is also with the knife, and the rogue is also with the knife. When the physician says, "You lie down. I shall have some surgical operation," he agrees to ply on his body the knife. But he'll never agree if he knows that "He is a rogue. He'll simply cut my throat." That is the difference. But superficially you see, "Both of them are with knife," but one for real happiness, one for false thing.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Arrival of BBT Manager -- January 9, 1977, Bombay:

Hog is also enjoying that sex without any discrimination whether it is mother or sister or daughter. That is going on. Sex must be there. It doesn't matter who is. This is the world's position, hog civilization. Why a person is condemned as hog, especially in India? He's our "sewer kavaca." Why? The hog has no discrimination of sex. No animal has got, especially this hog. You'll find a study, that one side, drinking the milk, and next, plies over him. Cannot reach. Still, hog wants.... Small kiddies for sex. That sex desire is so strong from the very beginning of.... And no sense that "It is my mother."

Evening Darsana -- February 26, 1977, Mayapura:

Guest (2): Then we should not be afraid of this body also.

Prabhupāda: But people are interested with the dress only. That is foolishness. That is foolishness. Suppose you are driving one car. You are driving one car, and the car is also important, but you are not the car. But if you think that you are car, then you are a foolish. You have to take care of the car so far because it is plying, it is giving you service. You must keep in order very cleanse. That's very nice. But if you simply absorb in the service of the car, you don't take care of yourself.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Mandali Bhadra -- Los Angeles 3 February, 1970:

It does not mean that a Krishna Conscious person has to leave a legacy as far as possible, but at the end it depends on a particular person's fortune to accept it or reject it. The point is very delicate. The example is given in the Upanisad just like manipulating a sharpened razor; if one is careful in plying the razor on the cheek there is clean shaving, but a little inattention makes the same cheek a bloody affair. So we have to remain very much careful in Krishna Consciousness and the method is also very simple—to chant regularly the beads and follow the rules and regulations.

1971 Correspondence

Letter to Gargamuni -- Allahabad 18 January, 1971:

I think you will have no difficulty in introducing Krsna consciousness as a cultural movement. Further hints I can give later on. Now you will have to ply your good intelligence for serving Krsna very diligently and soberly in foreign land.