The barriers around an agricultural field sometimes break due to heavy torrents of rain. Similarly, the unauthorized atheistic propaganda in the Age of Kali breaks the boundary of the Vedic injunctions. Thus people gradually degenerate to godlessness. In the rainy season, the clouds, tossed by the wind, deliver water which is welcomed like nectar. When the Vedic followers, the brāhmaṇas, inspire rich men like kings and members of the wealthy mercantile community to give charity in the performance of great sacrifices, the distribution of such wealth is also nectarean. The four sections of human society, namely the brāhmaṇas, the kṣatriyas, the vaiśyas and the śūdras, are meant to live peacefully in a cooperative mood; this is possible when they are guided by expert Vedic brāhmaṇas who perform sacrifices and distribute wealth equally.
Toss
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
The living entity, as will be explained in the Seventh Chapter, is one of the energies or natures of the Supreme Lord but is distinct from matter, which is another nature—called inferior—of the Lord. Somehow the superior nature, the living entity, has been in contact with material nature since time immemorial. The temporary body or material dwelling place which he obtains is the cause of varieties of activities and their resultant reactions. Living in such a conditional atmosphere, one suffers the results of the activities of the body by identifying himself (in ignorance) with the body. It is ignorance acquired from time immemorial that is the cause of bodily suffering and distress. As soon as the living entity becomes aloof from the activities of the body, he becomes free from the reactions as well. As long as he is in the city of body, he appears to be the master of it, but actually he is neither its proprietor nor controller of its actions and reactions. He is simply in the midst of the material ocean, struggling for existence. The waves of the ocean are tossing him, and he has no control over them. His best solution is to get out of the water by transcendental Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That alone will save him from all turmoil.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
SB Canto 2
The history of human society definitely proves it, yet the foolish people still suggest that in the future they will be able to live perpetually, with the help of material science. This poor fund of knowledge exhibited by human society is certainly misleading, and it is all due to ignoring the constitution of the living soul. This material world exists only as a dream, due to our attachment to it. Otherwise, the living soul is always different from the material nature. The great ocean of material nature is tossing with the waves of time, and the so-called living conditions are something like foaming bubbles, which appear before us as bodily self, wife, children, society, countrymen, etc. Due to a lack of knowledge of self, we become victimized by the force of ignorance and thus spoil the valuable energy of human life in a vain search after permanent living conditions, which are impossible in this material world.
Our friends, relatives and so-called wives and children are not only fallible, but also bewildered by the outward glamor of material existence. As such, they cannot save us. Still we think that we are safe within the orbit of family, society or country.
SB Canto 3
Who asked him to come here, this son of a kept mistress? He is so crooked that he spies in the interest of the enemy against those on whose support he has grown up. Toss him out of the palace immediately and leave him with only his breath.
Moving about in the ocean for many, many years, the mighty Hiraṇyākṣa smote the gigantic wind-tossed waves again and again with his iron mace and reached Vibhāvarī, the capital of Varuṇa.
Thus endowed with the development of consciousness from the seventh month after his conception, the child is tossed downward by the airs that press the embryo during the weeks preceding delivery. Like the worms born of the same filthy abdominal cavity, he cannot remain in one place.
SB Canto 4
Actually every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the living entities are overly engrossed in the material body. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, appears and gives instructions in the form of Bhagavad-gītā and Vedic literatures. The Supreme Lord gives these instructions because He is the eternal friend of the living entities. His instructions are important because by them the living entity can obtain liberation from bodily engagement. As water passes down a river, many straws and grasses are carried from the shore. These straws and grasses come together in the river's current, but when the waves toss this way and that, they are separated and carried somewhere else. Similarly, the innumerable living entities within this material world are being carried by the waves of material nature. Sometimes the waves bring them together, and they form friendships and relate to one another on a bodily basis of family, community or nationality. Eventually they are thrown out of association by the waves of material nature. This process has been going on since the creation of material nature. In this regard, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings:
SB Canto 5
Intolerant of the offenses committed, the infuriated goddess Kālī flashed her eyes and displayed her fierce, curved teeth. Her reddish eyes glowed, and she displayed her fearsome features. She assumed a frightening body, as if she were prepared to destroy the entire creation. Leaping violently from the altar, she immediately decapitated all the rogues and thieves with the very sword with which they had intended to kill Jaḍa Bharata. She then began to drink the hot blood that flowed from the necks of the beheaded rogues and thieves, as if this blood were liquor. Indeed, she drank this intoxicant with her associates, who were witches and female demons. Becoming intoxicated with this blood, they all began to sing very loudly and dance as though prepared to annihilate the entire universe. At the same time, they began to play with the heads of the rogues and thieves, tossing them about as if they were balls.
SB Canto 6
"My dear brothers, you are being carried away by the waves of material energy and are suffering in many miserable conditions. Sometimes you are drowning in the waves of material nature, and sometimes you are tossed like a swimmer struggling in the ocean." As confirmed by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, this tendency to be battered by the waves of māyā can be changed to one's original, natural tendency, which is spiritual, when the living entity comes to understand that he is eternally kṛṣṇa-dāsa, a servant of God, Kṛṣṇa.
- (jīva) kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa,
- karle ta' āra duḥkha nāi
If instead of serving māyā under different names, one turns his service attitude toward the Supreme Lord, he is then safe, and there is no more difficulty. If one returns to his original, natural tendency in the human form of life by understanding the perfect knowledge given by Kṛṣṇa Himself in the Vedic literature, one's life is successful.
One may be submerged in the waves of the river of māyā, but one may also get free from the waves by coming to the banks of knowledge and austerity. Near these banks, however, the waves are very strong. If one does not understand how he is being tossed by the waves, but simply engages in temporary fruitive activities, what benefit will he derive?
In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.44) there is this statement:
- sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā
- chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā
The māyā-śakti, Durgā, is in charge of sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya, creation and dissolution, and she acts under the direction of the Supreme Lord (mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10)). When one falls in the river of nescience, he is always tossed here and there by the waves, but the same māyā can also save him when be surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, or becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is knowledge and austerity. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person takes knowledge from the Vedic literature, and at the same time he must practice austerities.
SB Canto 7
As long as a living entity wants to fulfill various types of material desire, he must continuously change from one body to accept another. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that as a small piece of grass falls in a river and is tossed about with different types of wood and tree branches, the living entity floats in the ocean of material existence and is dashed and tossed amidst material conditions. This is called the struggle for existence. One kind of fruitive activity causes the living being to take one form of body, and because of actions performed in that body, another body is created. One must therefore stop these material activities, and the chance to do so is given in the human form of life. Specifically, our energy to act should be engaged in the service of the Lord, for then materialistic activities will automatically stop. One must fulfill one's desires by surrendering unto the Supreme Lord, for He knows how to fulfill them. Even though one may have material desires, one should therefore engage in the devotional service of the Lord. That will purify one's struggle for existence.
The mind is always agitated by acceptance and rejection, which are compared to mental waves that are constantly tossing. The living entity is floating in the waves of material existence because of his forgetfulness. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore sung in his Gītāvalī: miche māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese', khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi. "My dear mind, under the influence of māyā you are being carried away by the waves of rejection and acceptance. Simply take shelter of Kṛṣṇa." Jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa, ei viśvāsa, karle ta' āra duḥkha nāi: if we simply regard the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa as our ultimate shelter, we shall be saved from all these waves of māyā, which are variously exhibited as mental and sensual activities and the agitation of rejection and acceptance. Kṛṣṇa instructs in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66):
SB Canto 8
Then, as the boat is tossed about by the powerful winds, attach the vessel to My horn by means of the great serpent Vāsuki, for I shall be present by your side.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
When he fell, O tiger among the Kurus, Raivataka Mountain shook, along with its cliffs and trees, like a wind-tossed boat at sea.
Then the four great oceans appeared on all sides, swallowing up the surface of the earth with their wind-tossed waves. In these oceans were terrible sea monsters, fearful whirlpools and ominous rumblings.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
"O people! Why are you being captivated by the waves of the ocean of nescience? If you would immediately accept Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as your eternal master, there would be no chance of being carried away by the waves of illusion. Then all your sufferings would stop." Kṛṣṇa conducts the material world under the three modes of material nature, and consequently there are three platforms of life—higher, middle and lower. On whatever platform one may be situated, one is tossed by the waves of material nature. Someone may be rich, someone may be middle class, and someone may be a poor beggar—it doesn’t matter. As long as one is under the spell of the three modes of material nature, he must continue to experience these divisions.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore advised the beggars to chant "Haribol!" while taking prasādam. Chanting means accepting one's self as the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is the only solution, regardless of social position. Everyone is suffering under the spell of māyā; therefore the best course is to learn how to get out of the clutches of māyā. How to do so is stated by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.26):
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
What will you gain by this action? If you have come to challenge My authority, then I am prepared to fight you.” In this way, Kṛṣṇa challenged the demon, and the demon became very angry by the words of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa stood before the bull, resting His hand on the shoulder of a friend. The bull proceeded toward Kṛṣṇa in anger. Digging the earth with his hooves, Ariṣṭāsura lifted his tail, and it appeared that clouds were hovering about the tail. His eyes were reddish and moving in anger. Pointing his horns at Kṛṣṇa, he charged Him just like the thunderbolt of Indra. But Kṛṣṇa immediately caught his horns and tossed him away, just as a gigantic elephant repels a small inimical elephant. Although the demon was perspiring and appeared very tired, he took courage and got up. Again he charged Kṛṣṇa with great force and anger. While rushing toward Kṛṣṇa, he breathed very heavily. Kṛṣṇa again caught his horns and immediately threw him to the ground, breaking his horns. Kṛṣṇa then began to kick his body, just as one squeezes a wet cloth on the ground. Being thus kicked by Kṛṣṇa, Ariṣṭāsura rolled over and began to move his legs violently. Bleeding from the mouth and passing stool and urine, his eyes starting from their sockets, he passed to the kingdom of death.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Factually, they cannot gain anything from it. The Occident has never delved into the three stages in the development of the eternal relationship between the infinitesimal soul and the infinite Supreme Whole. These stages are, first, the initial contact with the Supreme Lord and the re-awakening of one's relationship with him; second, the execution of the means to achieve one's eternal relationship with Him; and finally, the blossoming of that relationship into one of love and total dependence of the soul upon the Lord.
Although Western people have brilliantly developed in mundane matters, they are tossed about in a sea of despair and listlessness. Similarly, the Indians, although trying to feel grateful for their mundane development, are experiencing the same listlessness and dissatisfaction. Strangely enough, now the Western thinkers are looking toward India to find peace and calm. We can safely harbor the firm conviction that soon the message of peace will reach their ears.
In search of truth we become deviated and, taking shelter of the boat of the material body and mind, travel aimlessly in the ocean of material existence, with no land in sight. Mercilessly tossed about, we brood, "In the dispensation of providence, man cannot have any rest." If only we knew that our ultimate destination is Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead! Then we could end our suffering. To dispel our ignorance about this fact, Lord Krṣṇā has informed us that we must perform all activities as a sacrifice for Lord Viṣṇu's satisfaction. The Ṛg Veda confirms this: "Lord Viṣṇu is the Supreme shelter of everything. All the demigods are constantly meditating on Him." Thus we see that the demigods also consider Lord Viṣṇu's lotus feet their supreme destination, and they become liberated simply by performing all activities for His pleasure. One who wants release from the vicious karmic cycle must have Lord Viṣṇu's lotus feet as his final objective. Otherwise, he will have to become demoniac.
Message of Godhead
Without knowing the goal of our self-realization, we are aimlessly voyaging on the ocean of material existence, life after life. And tossed as we are by the waves of action and reaction, we cannot ascertain the volume of our distresses in undertaking such an ominous journey. Here we must know that the goal of our voyage is to reach the Absolute Truth, Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Godhead. Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this goal of life by saying that everything must be performed for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, or Yajña. In the Ṛg Veda the same truth is described: Viṣṇu is the Supreme Deity, and thus all the subordinate gods, the suris, look to Viṣṇu and His lotus feet. The author of the Vedas is the Personality of Godhead Himself. Consequently, His Bhagavad-gītā is the finest summary of all the teachings in the Vedas (the books of knowledge), and there is no doubt about it. The instruction is, therefore, that we must do everything for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu and Viṣṇu only, if we want to be free of the bondage to the wheel of our work.
Lectures
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
I have already thought about the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I have inserted the activities of Kṛṣṇa in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra—His teachings, Bhagavad-gītā—in the Mahābhārata." So Nārada Muni says, "Yes, that you have done. I admit. But that will not help much." Just like Bhagavad-gītā is being read practically all over the world, but they cannot understand. Why? The reason is, here it is stated, that na karhicit kvāpi ca duḥsthitā matir labheta vātāhata-naur ivāspadam: "The little idea of God is there, certainly, in every literature, every scripture, but those who are too much disturbed, they cannot accept it." Vāta. Just like if your ship is on the ocean and it is being tossed by heavy wind, you cannot sit very nicely. I have got experience when I was coming to your country. So it is moving like that. "Similarly, those who are too much disturbed by these material affairs... Mahābhārata is the history. So there are politics, sociology, intricacy, so many nonsense things, in which you have given Bhagavad-gītā, little portion. That's all right. But that will not help very much."
"Kṛṣṇa, the Vāsudeva, is the original source of everything." Janmādy asya yataḥ. That is the Vedānta philosophy.
So under instruction of Nārada he... So Nārada says that "If you do not, I mean to say, cent percent simply be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it will be faulty. I admit that you have mentioned something about Kṛṣṇa's activities in other literatures like Mahābhārata and other Purāṇas, but that will not do." Yate kadācit kvāpi viṣaya kono sthānam:(?) "That will not be very steady understanding of Kṛṣṇa." Vātāhata-agunvitaḥ naur iva:(?) "Just like you cannot be steady on the ocean when there is tossing wind," I mean to say, "there is hurricane, you must be always tilting, similarly, unless we are firmly convinced about Supreme Lord, we must be tilting. So that, you must prepare some literature by which one shall be firmly steady, steadily convinced about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, God consciousness." Vātāhata-agunvita, yad uktam gitasuḥ.(?) And here also, Śrīdhara Svāmī... Gītā is so authoritative that he, he is giving quotation from Bhagavad-gītā,
- vyavasāyātmikā buddhir
- ekeha kuru-nandana
- bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca
- buddhayo 'vyavasāyinām
- (BG 2.41)
Bhagavad-gītā also, Kṛṣṇa says, vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ... Those who are convinced for making a sure progress of life, he's called niścayātmikā buddhiḥ. That is determination. Dṛḍha-vrata, dṛḍha-vrata.
"If you do not exceptionally, exclusively describe simply the pastimes of the uncommon activities of the Lord, the other way, as you have given as a sidelight, as you have described Bhagavad-gītā, the activities of Kṛṣṇa as a sideline, not..." Actually, the whole Mahābhārata is full of activities of Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa is only a scene in the Mahābhārata. He's speaking in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. So Nārada Muni says, "That sort of description will not be very much congenial, because the people are not steady. Their anxiety... Their mind is disturbed in so many ways exactly like a boat moving in the tossing of the waves of the sea. So this sort of understanding of God will not give them much benefit. You describe completely on the pastimes, on the activities of the Supreme Lord. That will give people release from these material clutches."
So the next verse says... Vyāsadeva may say that "Sir, I have already compiled so many books, eighteen purāṇas, Mahābhārata, even Vedānta-sūtra. So are they not sufficient literature to revive Kṛṣṇa consciousness?"
These are the products of jñāna. But if we remain compact within the boundary of such knowledge and do not make further progress, then that is also bondage. That is also bondage. Therefore one must come to the sense where these waves of material nature cannot act. That is real knowledge. Therefore it is said, jñānaṁ yadā pratinivṛtta-guṇormi. Urmi means waves. Cakram, in the whirlpool of the waves of the ocean of nescience... Just like they are taking pleasure in swimming with the waves.
It is voluntarily taking shelter of the ocean, and they like being tossed by the waves. And sometimes they are drowned also. That is our position. We have come to enjoy this ocean of material nescience, and there is tossing, and we are thinking we are enjoying. So when one comes to the knowledge that "This is not my platform of enjoyment. Let me go to the land," then he's safe. Then he's safe. Otherwise, he may think that he's enjoying, but he's actually being tossed by the waves of this ocean. And this is knowledge. Jñānaṁ yadā pratinivṛtta. Ātma-prasāda uta yatra guṇeṣv asaṅgaḥ. Ātma-prasāda. I am eternal part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. I may be very minute part, but because I am now attached to the complete machine, now I am safe. This example I have given so many times. A big machine and a small screw, part of it. When it is detached from the machine, it has no value. But when it is again attached to the machine, even it is very insignificant, small, it has got value.
I have given many times this example that a car running at a speed of 60 miles, and a cycle is running at the rate of 10 miles, but as soon as the cyclist catches the car, the cyclist also runs in the 60 miles. So similarly, instead of trying to satisfy our senses independently, if we join with Kṛṣṇa in His rāsa dance, as cowherd boys, gopīs, we join with Kṛṣṇa, then you get the same pleasure as Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't try to enjoy independently. Just like here, in this temple. Every one of us trying to enjoy life in connection with Kṛṣṇa. As soon as we are disconnected with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this kind of foodstuff or this kind of living, simple living, will not satisfy you. You'll be tossed by the waves of material nature.
As others are being... They are also eating; we are also eating. But in our eating, we have got full satisfaction. And they have no satisfaction. They are eating sometimes here, sometimes there, this restaurant, that restaurant, this place... So many advertisements. So as soon as we dovetail our activities with Kṛṣṇa, or Kṛṣṇa's activities, that is perfection. Jñānaṁ yadā apratihatā ahaituky apratihatā. That is real activity. Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). The activities which... yato bhaktir adhokṣaje, which is meant for rendering service to the Lord, apratihatā, without being checked. Here (it) is said yadā... Apratihatā. Or apratihatā. Both ways, you can take. That is kaivalyam. Kaivalya means oneness. When I forget myself... The same example: the screw is no longer a screw; it is the whole machine. It is the whole machine. So similarly, kaivalya means oneness. There is no other anything. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma, everything Brahman.
Therefore all other mistakes What are those? Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kunape tri-dhātuke..., svā-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu: family. "My wife. This is my wife. This is my children. This is my father. This is my mother. We are in a family." Svā-dhīḥ: "They are my kith and kin. Others, they are all my enemies." So this crippled thought Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kunape tri-dhātuke svā-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu (SB 10.84.13). Because they have no knowledge that "Nobody is my father. Nobody is my mother. I am nobody's son. We are simply assembled together under certain condition, just like some straws gathered together by the waves of the river, and again, by the same river, it is tossed here and there and then the straw remains one." So we can study our history of life, that someone was born in India; someone was born in America; someone was born in Africa, Canada. So we have come together. There was no idea that we shall have to give up our family relationship and come into this society of Kṛṣṇa conscious. So similarly, we mix together, intermingle, by chance. Not by chance—by the arrangement of the Supreme, by providence. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1). So we play the part of the son, the father, the wife, the children, but it is exactly the same—a straw gathering by the waves of the river. So just like sometimes in a foreign country we make some relationship, brother, father, but that is not actually the fact. The real father is Kṛṣṇa. Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayoyaḥ (BG 14.4).
So this kind of life, without any responsibility and carried away by the waves of time, is the tenth-class life. This is tenth-class life, ignorance. So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he sings one song, miche māyār bośe, jāccho bhese', Khāccho hābuḍubu bhāi: "By the waves of māyā you are being carried away, and hābuḍubu, sometimes being drowned within the, under the water, and sometimes rising, floating on the water." This is our life, material life. We are being carried away by the waves of nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). And sometimes... Just like in the waves of water you will find many straws and vegetables and leaves, they gather together. You will find. And again, by another toss, they are separated. One straw goes this way, another straw, leaf, goes this way, no combination. Similarly, we are, gathering together: society, friendship, love, community, society, and so on, so on, nationality, family, sons, daughters, wife. The same thing: the waves of water gathering together the straws, leaves, and other, and another wave, finished. All society, friendship, love, children, wife, everything, national—finished. This is going on. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19).
Conversations and Morning Walks
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Lord Brockway: I would not want death through suffering. I should love to go to sleep and die. When I have an operation, I would like to die under the anaesthetic. It would be quite beautiful. And I say that, though I have no picture in my mind at all of what would happen after death or if anything happens. I love the description which was given by my friend Bertrand Russell, that life is like being born in a spring on the hillside, and the stream becoming a river... (break)
Prabhupāda: ...so many tossings. That is the problem of life. It is not that it begins and goes. Going to the end, oh, we have to face so many tossings. That is the problem of life.
Lord Brockway: Yes, and I acknowledge I don't know. And I am personally satisfied with trying to do what I can while I'm living in this life for the betterment of mankind. And I believe that's the best preparation for any future life, if there is a future life.
Prabhupāda: Well, there is future life, undoubtedly. It is not the question... Just like you say, you remember your childhood days. You were playing with Indian children in Berampur.
Lord Brockway: Yes.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes, that I was regularly, when I was in Vṛndāvana. In childhood I was going with my father to take bathing in the Ganges, Calcutta. That I was going regularly.
Devotee (4): It requires a lot of strength to bathe in the sea. You're being tossed very much.
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...so many seeds are there? And as many seeds, as many trees are there. And each fruit, thousands of fruits there, and millions of seeds are there, and millions of trees are there. Where is that scientist, put into that small packet millions of trees like that? Millions of big trees are within this packet. Where is that scientist? Put in a packet, you take, and millions of trees you grow? And without any expenditure, they are present there. If you like, you can take. What the scientists will answer? "Yes, in future we shall do." In future you will do. That's all right. But why don't you give credit who has done already? You are taking credit by post-dated check, and one is actually paying cash, he has no credit. You are giving a false check, post-dated, and you want to take credit. And one who is paying cash immediately, he has no credit. Just see how foolish they are.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Rāmeśvara: There was a big parade in Los Angeles called the Rose Bowl, one million people. So we made ten thousand bags of peanuts and raisins and called it "Govinda's Nuts 'n' Raisins." We were tossing it to the crowd, and they were going, "Hare Kṛṣṇa! Here! Kṛṣṇa!" They were begging for it.
Prabhupāda: Just see.
Rāmeśvara: We could have passed out prasāda for one million people if we had had enough money.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Earn money like that.
Rāmeśvara: It costs a lot of money.
Prabhupāda: Either produce food in the farm or earn money and purchase, but give prasādam.
Rāmeśvara: We saw it, that they know it was Kṛṣṇa prasāda, and they were standing up in the crowds, "Kṛṣṇa! Here!" and begging for it.
Prabhupāda: (laughs) So they have at least chanted "Kṛṣṇa." That is our profit.
Our friends, relatives and so-called wives and children are not only fallible, but also bewildered by the outward glamor of material existence. As such, they cannot save us. Still we think that we are safe within the orbit of family, society or country.
Correspondence
1968 Correspondence
I am in receipt of your letter dated February 8, 1968, and have noted the contents carefully. I am very glad to learn that you are holding Kirtana on the University campus, do it nicely. Do not bother your head about that rascal Maharishi Mahesa. His activities are like the waves tossing foam on the ocean. It will stay for some time and then vanquish. For the time the ocean appears to be all devouring, but in proper time it is calm and quiet. Krishna Consciousness isn't like that. It is a great science. It requires great spiritual asset to adopt the principles. You have desired to meet with Maharishi Mahesa for argument, and as Lord Caitanya argued with Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was talking on the basic principle of Vedanta. So there was a via media interpretation. This man does not follow any Sastra or any authority. He is authority by himself, and has manufactured his own meditation process. Therefore, he is not standard. We cannot waste our time with a non-standard loafer class man. Therefore do not agitate your mind in this way. We are following the footprints of Lord Caitanya. We are not going to become God, as Maharishi says every one of us is God. You should be firmly convinced in your own philosophy, Bhagavad-gita, otherwise you may be misled. Why don't you try to convince the followers of Maharishi that they are following a rascal, a cheat. Because he does not follow a standard process. So try to understand the followers of Maharishi, how far they have advanced in spiritual consciousness, and get it corroborated from the teaching of Bhagavad-gita as you learned. Lord Caitanya talked with Sarvabhauma on the basis of Vedanta Sutra.
| Page Title: | Toss |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 23 of Sep, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=14, CC=1, OB=5, Lec=7, Con=4, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 33 |