Supreme whole

Expressions researched:
"Supreme Soul, Whole" |"Supreme is the whole" |"Supreme, the whole" |"supreme spirit whole" |"supreme spiritual whole" |"supreme whole"

BG Preface and Introduction

BG Introduction:

There is nothing extraneous, nor is there anything needed. This manifestation has its own time fixed by the energy of the supreme whole, and when its time is complete, these temporary manifestations will be annihilated by the complete arrangement of the complete. There is complete facility for the small complete units, namely the living entities, to realize the complete, and all sorts of incompleteness are experienced due to incomplete knowledge of the complete. So Bhagavad-gītā contains the complete knowledge of Vedic wisdom.

All Vedic knowledge is infallible, and Hindus accept Vedic knowledge to be complete and infallible. For example, cow dung is the stool of an animal, and according to smṛti, or Vedic injunction, if one touches the stool of an animal he has to take a bath to purify himself. But in the Vedic scriptures cow dung is considered to be a purifying agent.

BG Chapters 1 - 6

BG 5.5, Purport:

The real purpose of philosophical research is to find the ultimate goal of life. Since the ultimate goal of life is self-realization, there is no difference between the conclusions reached by the two processes. By Sāṅkhya philosophical research one comes to the conclusion that a living entity is not a part and parcel of the material world but of the supreme spirit whole. Consequently, the spirit soul has nothing to do with the material world; his actions must be in some relation with the Supreme. When he acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is actually in his constitutional position. In the first process, Sāṅkhya, one has to become detached from matter, and in the devotional yoga process one has to attach himself to the work of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Factually, both processes are the same, although superficially one process appears to involve detachment and the other process appears to involve attachment. Detachment from matter and attachment to Kṛṣṇa are one and the same. One who can see this sees things as they are.

BG 6.1, Purport:

The parts of the body work for the satisfaction of the whole body. The limbs of the body do not act for self-satisfaction but for the satisfaction of the complete whole. Similarly, the living entity who acts for satisfaction of the supreme whole and not for personal satisfaction is the perfect sannyāsī, the perfect yogi.

The sannyāsīs sometimes artificially think that they have become liberated from all material duties, and therefore they cease to perform agnihotra yajñas (fire sacrifices), but actually they are self-interested because their goal is to become one with the impersonal Brahman. Such a desire is greater than any material desire, but it is not without self-interest. Similarly, the mystic yogī who practices the yoga system with half-open eyes, ceasing all material activities, desires some satisfaction for his personal self. But a person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness works for the satisfaction of the whole, without self-interest.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 12.1, Purport:

In the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Lord explained that a living entity is not the material body; he is a spiritual spark. And the Absolute Truth is the spiritual whole. In the Seventh Chapter He spoke of the living entity as being part and parcel of the supreme whole and recommended that he transfer his attention fully to the whole. Then again in the Eighth Chapter it was said that anyone who thinks of Kṛṣṇa at the time of quitting his body is at once transferred to the spiritual sky, to the abode of Kṛṣṇa. And at the end of the Sixth Chapter the Lord clearly said that of all yogīs, one who always thinks of Kṛṣṇa within himself is considered the most perfect. So in practically every chapter the conclusion has been that one should be attached to the personal form of Kṛṣṇa, for that is the highest spiritual realization.

SB Preface and Introduction

SB Introduction:

"The impersonal description of the Absolute Truth in the Vedas is given to nullify the mundane conception of the absolute whole. Personal features of the Lord are completely different from all kinds of mundane features. The living entities are all individual persons, and they are all parts and parcels of the supreme whole. If the parts and parcels are individual persons, the source of their emanation must not be impersonal. He is the Supreme Person amongst all the relative persons.

"The Vedas inform us that from Him (Brahman) everything emanates, and on Him everything rests. And after annihilation, everything merges in Him only. Therefore, He is the ultimate dative, causative and accommodating cause of all causes. And these causes cannot be attributed to an impersonal object.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.1.3, Purport:

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are narrated, and the narration is systematically depicted by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Thus the subject matter is appealing to all classes of persons, including those who seek liberation to relish the mellow of becoming one with the supreme whole.

In Sanskrit the parrot is also known as śuka. When a ripened fruit is cut by the red beaks of such birds, its sweet flavor is enhanced. The Vedic fruit which is mature and ripe in knowledge is spoken through the lips of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is compared to the parrot not for his ability to recite the Bhāgavatam exactly as he heard it from his learned father, but for his ability to present the work in a manner that would appeal to all classes of men.

SB 1.7.11, Purport:

After his birth, the child was still more educated in the subject of the Bhāgavatam by recitation of the actual poems.

The idea is that generally the liberated souls are attached to the feature of impersonal Brahman with a monistic view of becoming one with the supreme whole. But by the association of pure devotees like Vyāsadeva, even the liberated soul becomes attracted to the transcendental qualities of the Lord. By the mercy of Śrī Nārada, Śrīla Vyāsadeva was able to narrate the great epic of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and by the mercy of Vyāsadeva, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī was able to grasp the import. The transcendental qualities of the Lord are so attractive that Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī became detached from being completely absorbed in impersonal Brahman and positively took up the personal activity of the Lord.

SB 1.9.44, Purport:

Any part of the machine removed from the whole is no longer important. Similarly, any part and parcel of the Absolute detached from the service of the Lord is useless. The living beings who are in the material world are all disintegrated parts and parcels of the supreme whole, and they are no longer as important as the original parts and parcels. There are, however, more integrated living beings who are eternally liberated. The material energy of the Lord, called Durgā-śakti, or the superintendent of the prison house, takes charge of the disintegrated parts and parcels, and thus they undergo a conditioned life under the laws of material nature. When the living being becomes conscious of this fact, he tries to go back home, back to Godhead, and thus the spiritual urge of the living being begins. This spiritual urge is called brahma-jijñāsā, or inquiry about Brahman. Principally this brahma-jijñāsā is successful by knowledge, renunciation and devotional service to the Lord.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.2.19, Purport:

The well-situated self, or Brahman-realized soul, perfectly understands that the Supreme Brahman, or the Personality of Godhead, is the all-powerful Vāsudeva and that he (the self-realized living being) is a part and parcel of the supreme whole. As such, his constitutional position is to cooperate with Him in all respects in the transcendental relation of the served and the servitor. Such a self-realized soul ceases to exhibit his useless activities of attempting to lord it over material nature. Being scientifically well informed, he fully engages himself in faithful devotion to the Lord.

The expert yogī who has thoroughly practiced the control of the life air by the prescribed method of the yoga system is advised to quit the body as follows.

SB 2.3.10, Translation:

A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.

SB 2.3.10, Purport:

Akāmaḥ is one who has no material desire. A living being, naturally being the part and parcel of the supreme whole puruṣaṁ pūrṇam, has as his natural function to serve the Supreme Being, just as the parts and parcels of the body, or the limbs of the body, are naturally meant to serve the complete body. Desireless means, therefore, not to be inert like the stone, but to be conscious of one's actual position and thus desire satisfaction only from the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this desirelessness as bhajanīya-parama-puruṣa-sukha-mātra-sva-sukhatvam in his Sandarbha. This means that one should feel happy only by experiencing the happiness of the Supreme Lord. This intuition of the living being is sometimes manifested even during the conditioned stage of a living being in the material world, and such intuition is expressed in the manner of altruism, philanthropy, socialism, communism, etc., by the undeveloped minds of less intelligent persons.

SB 2.3.23, Purport:

In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that the Lord is never to be found by becoming a great scholar of the Vedic literatures, but He is very easily approachable through His pure devotee. In Vṛndāvana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the pleasure potency of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy of Rādhārāṇī is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Lord at once accepts the devotee's admittance into His association. The conclusion is, therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by one's doing so (by the good will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will be revived.

SB 2.8.16, Purport:

That is the significance of the whole scientific system of four castes and four social orders. The value of such scientific divisions of human society can be ascertained only in terms of the proportionate development of devotional service to the Lord. Any person employed in government service, including the president, is a part and parcel of the entire government. Everyone is a government servant, but no one is the government himself. That is the position of all living entities in the government of the Supreme Lord. No one can artificially claim the supreme position of the Lord, but everyone is meant to serve the purpose of the supreme whole.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.15.33, Purport:

The parts of the body are never equal to the whole. This is never possible. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the living entities, who are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are eternally parts and parcels. According to the Māyāvādī philosophers, the living entity in illusion considers himself part and parcel although he is actually one and the same as the supreme whole. This theory is not valid. The oneness of the whole and the part is in their quality. The qualitative oneness of the small and large portions of the sky does not imply that the small sky becomes the big sky.

There is no cause for the politics of divide and rule in the Vaikuṇṭha planets; there is no fear, because of the united interests of the Lord and the residents. Māyā means disharmony between the living entities and the Supreme Lord, and Vaikuṇṭha means harmony between them.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.18.21, Purport:

"A person who has broader intelligence, whether he is full of all material desire, is free from material desire, or has a desire for liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." (SB 2.3.10)

Even if one wants something material, he should pray to no one but the Lord to fulfill his desire. If one approaches a demigod for the fulfillment of his desires, he is to be considered naṣṭa-buddhi, bereft of all good sense. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20):

SB Canto 6

SB 6.16.38, Purport:

"Whether full of all material desires, free from material desires or desiring liberation, a person who has broader intelligence must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." (SB 2.3.10) This is the duty of a perfect human being. One who has the shape of a human being but whose actions are nothing but those of an animal is called nara-paśu or dvipada-paśu, a two-legged animal. A human being who is not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is condemned herewith as a nara-paśu.

SB 6.18.74, Purport:

"A person who has broader intelligence, whether he is full of material desires, free from material desires, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." (SB 2.3.10) One should engage in full devotional service. Then, even though he has no desires, whatever desires he previously had can all be fulfilled simply by his worship of the Lord. The actual devotee does not desire even liberation (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11)). The Lord, however, fulfills the desire of the devotee by awarding him opulence that will never be destroyed. A karmī's opulence is destroyed, but the opulence of a devotee is never destroyed. A devotee becomes more and more opulent as he increases his devotional service to the Lord.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.3.24, Purport:

"A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of material desires, free from material desires, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." Even if a person has material desires, instead of worshiping the demigods he should pray to the Supreme Lord so that his connection with the Supreme Lord will be established and he will be saved from becoming a demon or a nondevotee. In this regard, Śrīla Madhvācārya gives the following quotation from the Brahma-tarka:

SB 7.13.24, Purport:

"A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." (SB 2.3.10)

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ

jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam

ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-

śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

(CC Madhya 19.167)

"One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service."

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.10, Purport:

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained the word bhagavān in his Bhagavat-sandarbha. The Personality of Godhead, being full of all conceivable and inconceivable potencies, is the absolute Supreme Whole. Impersonal Brahman is a partial manifestation of the Absolute Truth realized in the absence of such complete potencies. The first syllable of the word bhagavān is bha, which means "sustainer" and "protector." The next letter, ga, means "leader," "pusher" and "creator." Va means "dwelling" (all living beings dwell in the Supreme Lord, and the Supreme Lord dwells within the heart of every living being). Combining all these concepts, the word bhagavān carries the import of inconceivable potency in knowledge, energy, strength, opulence, power and influence, devoid of all varieties of inferiority. Without such inconceivable potencies, one cannot fully sustain or protect.

CC Adi 2.53, Purport:

Virāṭ (the phenomenal manifestation of the Supreme Whole), hiraṇyagarbha (the numinous soul of everything), and kāraṇa (the cause, or causal nature) are all but designations of the puruṣas, who are responsible for material creation. The transcendental position surpasses these designations and is therefore called turiyā, the position of the fourth dimension. This is a quotation from Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary on the Eleventh Canto, Fifteenth Chapter, verse 16, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

CC Adi 2.96, Purport:

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states in his Bhagavat-sandarbha (16) that by His potencies, which act in natural sequences beyond the scope of the speculative human mind, the Supreme Transcendence, the summum bonum, eternally and simultaneously exists in four transcendental features: His personality, His impersonal effulgence, particles of His potency (the living beings), and the principal cause of all causes. The Supreme Whole is compared to the sun, which also exists in four features, namely the personality of the sun-god, the glare of his glowing sphere, the sun rays inside the sun planet, and the sun's reflections in many other objects. The ambition to corroborate the existence of the transcendental Absolute Truth by limited conjectural endeavors cannot be fulfilled, because He is beyond the scope of our limited speculative minds. In an honest search for truth, we must admit that His powers are inconceivable to our tiny brains.

CC Adi 5.66, Purport:

This relationship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities is eternal. One should never mistakenly think that the spiritual whole can be divided into small parts by the small material energy. The Bhagavad-gītā does not support this Māyāvāda theory. Rather, it clearly states that the living entities are eternally small fragments of the supreme spiritual whole. As a part can never be equal with the whole, so a living entity, as a minute fragment of the spiritual whole, cannot be equal at any time to the Supreme Whole, the absolute Personality of Godhead. Although the Supreme Lord and the living entities are quantitatively related as the whole and the parts, the parts are nevertheless qualitatively one with the whole. Thus the living entities, although always qualitatively one with the Supreme Lord, are in a relative position. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the controller of everything, and the living entities are always controlled, either by the spiritual energy or by the material energy.

CC Adi 6.99, Purport:

Therefore the fraction, or part, is included within the whole. The Lord is the whole, and the devotee is the part or fractional part. That is the relationship between the Lord and the devotee. There are also gradations of devotees, who are calculated as greater or lesser. When a devotee is great he is called prabhu, and when he is lesser he is called bhakta, or a devotee. The supreme whole is Kṛṣṇa, and Baladeva and all Viṣṇu incarnations are His fractions. Lord Kṛṣṇa is therefore conscious of His superior position, and all Viṣṇu incarnations are conscious of Their positions as devotees.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 19.143, Translation:

“"O Lord, although the living entities who have accepted material bodies are spiritual and unlimited in number, if they were all-pervading there would be no question of their being under Your control. If they are accepted, however, as particles of the eternally existing spiritual entity—as part of You, who are the supreme spirit whole—we must conclude that they are always under Your control. If the living entities are simply satisfied with being identical with You as spiritual particles, then they will be happy being controllers of so many things. The conclusion that the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are one and the same is a faulty conclusion. It is not a fact."

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.4) it is clearly said that one who engages in spiritual life to understand things as they are but who lacks all intention of engaging in Kṛṣṇa consciousness simply achieves trouble for his undertaking. There is no substance to his life. Every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, and therefore it is the duty of every living entity to serve that supreme whole. Without such service, the living entity falls into material contamination.

Lord Caitanya concluded His teachings to Sanātana Gosvāmī by pointing out that the six kinds of ātmārāmas, or transcendentalists, engage in some kind of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. In other words, at some time or another all the transcendentalists ultimately come to understand the necessity of rendering devotional service to Kṛṣṇa and become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. Even if one is very learned or extravagant, he can still engage in the devotional service of the Lord.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 23:

This definitely proves that religious rituals are generally performed for the sake of economic development, which is needed for sense gratification. And when one is baffled in his attempt to attain sense gratification, he takes to the cause of salvation in order to become one with the supreme whole. All these activities arise with the same aim in view—sense gratification.

In the Vedas, the four primary subjects mentioned above are prescribed in a regulative way so that there will not be undue competition for sense gratification. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is transcendental to all these sense-gratifying activities of the material world. It is a purely transcendental literature, understandable by the devotees of the Lord, who are above the competition for sense gratification. In the material world there is keen competition between animals, between men, between communities and even between nations in an attempt to gratify the senses.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 18:

This state of self-realization is technically known as monism. The monist thinks himself one with the Supreme Lord. Thus, because he does not differentiate between himself and the Supreme Lord, it is his view that by worshiping himself he is worshiping the supreme whole.

Sometimes it is found that a neophyte is taking part in chanting and dancing very enthusiastically, but within himself he is under the impression that he has become one with the supreme whole. This conception of monism is completely different from pure, transcendental devotional service. If, however, it is seen that a person has developed a high standard of devotion without having undergone even the regulative principles, it is to be understood that his status of devotional service was achieved in a former life. For some reason or another it had been temporarily stopped, most probably by an offense committed at the lotus feet of a devotee.

Nectar of Devotion 49:

Lord Vāmanadeva is actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He appeared to have been "born" as one of the brothers of Indra. Although Vāmanadeva is sometimes taken as a less important demigod, He is actually the maintainer of Indra, the King of the demigods. Thus, although sometimes Vāmanadeva is considered to be a subordinate demigod, His actual position is that of the supreme whole, the source of the entire demigod system. In the same way, a rasa which is actually prominent may sometimes appear to be manifested in a subordinate way, although its actual position is as the main or prominent loving feeling of a devotee.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 63:

Ultimately, there is no possibility of distinction between You and any other thing on an equal level with You or subordinate to You. You are simultaneously the cause of this cosmic manifestation and its ingredients as well. You are the Supreme Whole, one without a second. In the phenomenal manifestation there are three stages: the stage of consciousness, the stage of semiconsciousness in dreaming, and the stage of unconsciousness. But Your Lordship is transcendental to all these different material stages of existence. You exist, therefore, in a fourth dimension, and Your appearance and disappearance do not depend on anything beyond Yourself. You are the supreme cause of everything, but of You there is no cause. You Yourself cause Your own appearance and disappearance. Despite Your transcendental position, my Lord, in order to show Your six opulences and advertise Your transcendental qualities, You have appeared in Your different incarnations—fish, tortoise, boar, Nṛsiṁha, Keśava and others—by Your personal manifestation; and You have appeared as different living entities by Your separated manifestations.

Krsna Book 87:

Therefore the argument that the individual living entities are not parts and parcels of the Supreme cannot stand. For example, the different parts of the body cannot be taken as equal to the whole; rather, the whole body is the controller of the different limbs. Similarly, the parts and parcels of the supreme whole are always dependent and are always controlled by the source of the parts and parcels. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā that the living entities are parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa: mamaivāṁśaḥ. No sane man, therefore, will accept the theory that the Supersoul and the individual soul are of the same category. They are equal in quality, but quantitatively the Supersoul is always the Supreme, and the individual soul is always subordinate to the Supersoul. That is the conclusion of the Vedas.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 1.4:

They are now flying their flag of independence, but this is also a dispensation of māyā. 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.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.5:

A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.

Whatever desire a person may have, to fulfill it he must serve Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with intense and unfaltering devotion. (This point was discussed earlier by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura.) If this injunction is followed, then even those who have an aversion to Lord Kṛṣṇa will eventually decide to surrender to Him.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 7, Purport:

In this mantra the words ekatvam anupaśyataḥ indicate that one should see the unity of all living entities from the viewpoint of the revealed scriptures. The individual sparks of the supreme whole (the Lord) possess almost eighty percent of the known qualities of the whole, but they are not quantitatively equal to the Supreme Lord. These qualities are present in minute quantity, for the living entity is but a minute part and parcel of the Supreme Whole. To use another example, the quantity of salt present in a drop is never comparable to the quantity of salt present in the complete ocean, but the salt present in the drop is qualitatively equal in chemical composition to all the salt present in the ocean. If the individual living being were equal to the Supreme Lord both qualitatively and quantitatively, there would be no question of his being under the influence of the material energy.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.18 -- Hyderabad, November 23, 1972:

Just like part and parcel of my body, hands and legs, they are serving the whole body, similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme whole and we are His parts and parcels; therefore our duty is to serve Him. This is our constitutional position. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya-kṛṣṇa-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). We cannot become Kṛṣṇa. We are eternally Kṛṣṇa's servitors, part and parcel. This is real conclusion, qualitatively one. Just like this finger, you can call it body, but it is part and parcel of the body. Similarly, the part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, you may call "God," but he's not the Supreme God. Supreme God is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). So anāśinaḥ aprameyasya. Anāśinaḥ, it cannot be destroyed. Although it is very minute, aprameyasya, you cannot measure. You have no such measuring method, that you can measure the soul's breadth and..., length and breadth. In geometry, they finish it: "(A) Point has no length and breadth," but that is not the fact. A point has also length and breadth, but we cannot measure it.

Lecture on BG 2.55-58 -- New York, April 15, 1966:

That particle of gold is also gold, but that particle of gold and the lump gold, quantitatively, there is difference. Just like fire and the spark of the fire. The spark of the fire is also fire, but the capacity, burning capacity of the spark, is very small in comparison to the whole fire. These are the position.

Now, we should always understand that we are meant for serving the supreme whole. That is our position. So this, this position, maintaining, and mental speculation, that "I am the Lord," by argument, by jugglery of words, the Lord says, Kṛṣṇa says, you should give up all these things. Mano-gatān. Mano-gatān. There is another instruction in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ (SB 5.18.12). Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ: "If one is situated in pure devotional service of the Lord, then, whatever he may be, all the good qualities of the Lord will develop in him, will develop, all the good qualities." And harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ:

Lecture on BG 3.18-30 -- Los Angeles, December 30, 1968:

In your country also, the draftboard is calling, "Come on. You have to go to the fight." But you cannot say "No," because you are component part of the state. If you deny, then you are not a good citizen. You'll be arrested, you'll be harassed by the government. Similarly, we are component parts of the whole, supreme whole.

This is self-realization. It is very simple thing. Self-realization does not mean anything very extraordinary. Hitvā anyathā-rūpaṁ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6). Mukti, this is called... Mukti means liberation or self-realization. What is that? Hitvā anyathā-rūpam. Giving up a different identity. In the conditioned state we are identifying "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am human being," "I am this," "I am that," "I am white," "I am black." These are all designations. Actually, this is not self-realization. Self-realization is that "I am neither American nor Indian nor black nor white, nor anything. I am a spirit soul, part and parcel of the whole, Kṛṣṇa."

Lecture on BG 4.6 -- Bombay, March 26, 1974:

Then we deteriorate in old age, and this body is finished. This is called ṣaḍ-vikāra, six kinds of changes of material body. But Kṛṣṇa hasn't got such changes. Kṛṣṇa's body is avyaya. His mind is avyaya. That means, as we have got difference between our soul and the body, Kṛṣṇa hasn't got that. Avyayātmā. His mind, His body, and His ātmā, His soul, the same thing. Or, or the.... He is Supreme Soul, Whole. There is no difference between His body, His mind and soul. This is to be understood. Avyayātmā.

Those who cannot understand, they make difference between His ātmā, Kṛṣṇa's ātmā, and Kṛṣṇa's body. They think... The Māyāvādī philosophers, they say that "Kṛṣṇa, He is God... Or godly." They have got the imagination. "But His body is made of matter." No. That is not. If His body had been made of matter, then how He could remember millions of years ago what He did? We cannot remember even what we did yesterday night or just this morning. We forget. The body's changing.

Lecture on BG 4.7-10 -- Los Angeles, January 6, 1969:

Our disease is that I am identifying with this matter, "I am this material body," which is foreign to me. This is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā instruction, that "You are not this body."Tat tvam asi: "You are spirit soul." So we also have to accept. We are accepting that "I am not this body; I am spirit soul." But my constitutional position is part and parcel of the supreme whole. So just like the gold mine and a small particle of gold. That small particle of gold is also gold. But that does not mean it has the same value as the gold mine. Tat tvam asi. Just like a drop of sea water. Chemical composition is the same. Salty taste is the same.

Similarly, if you can understand yourself, then you can understand even God. If you study yourself, that "Although I am very small..." What to speak of myself? Even a small ant, it has got individuality. A ant is going on. You stop it. It will struggle.

Lecture on BG 4.17 -- Bombay, April 6, 1974:

Similarly, head also. The head is head so long it is attached to the body. If the head is cut off from the body, then what is the meaning of this head? It has no meaning.

Similarly, either you become brāhmaṇa or you become kṣatriya or you become vaiśya or śūdra, if you are not attached to the service of the supreme whole, then you are useless brāhmaṇa, useless kṣatriya, useless vaiśya. This is the purpose. Therefore Kṛṣṇa has begun that cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13). Therefore one has to understand what is the meaning of these different types of activities. Karmaṇo hy api boddhavyaṁ boddhavyaṁ ca vikarmaṇaḥ. Vikarmaṇaḥ means if you cannot work which will satisfy Kṛṣṇa, that is vikarma. That is vikarma, forbidden. Because the real purpose of working is to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. He is the center. He is the center of all activities. Sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya saṁsiddhiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.46)

Lecture on BG 6.1 -- Los Angeles, February 13, 1969:

The criterion of perfection is to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and not with a view to enjoy the fruits of work. To act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the duty of every living entity because we are constitutionally parts and parcels of the Supreme. The parts of the body work for the satisfaction of the whole body. The limbs of the body do not act for self-satisfaction but for the satisfaction of the complete whole. Similarly the living entity, acting for the satisfaction of the supreme whole and not for personal satisfaction is the perfect sannyāsī, the perfect yogi.

"The sannyāsīs sometimes artificially think that they have become liberated from all material duties and therefore they cease to perform agni-hotra yajñas, fire sacrifices."

Lecture on BG 7.5 -- Nairobi, November 1, 1975:

If you think, "I am as good as God," that is your foolishness. You are as good as God by quality, but quantity, you are not as great as God. This is self-realization. Therefore śāstra says that "If the minute quantity of a spiritual spark would have been equal to the supreme whole, then how he has come under His control?" This is reasoning. We are under control. In the material atmosphere we are fully under control. But when we are spiritually free, still we are under control, because God remains the great and we remain the small.

Lecture on BG 7.7 -- Vrndavana, August 13, 1974:

So your illumination, consciousness, is spread all over the body. Therefore so long I am in this body, I feel pains and pleasure because the consciousness is spread. In the same way... As Kṛṣṇa says, He's the Supreme Soul. I am individual, very, very minute, small particle, and Kṛṣṇa is the supreme whole. So as I am controlling over this body, so where is the difficulty? Kṛṣṇa is controlling over the whole universe. Where is the difficulty? There is no difficulty. But we'll not understand. That is the difficulty. Here it is clearly said, mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva. There is no difficulty. In another place also, Kṛṣṇa says, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam. Mayā, the original is person, mayā, aham. Mayā. So "by Me." Sarvam idaṁ tatam. How? That is already explained. By the two energies, the spiritual energy and the material energy. Parā and aparā-prakṛti. That is expanded all over the universe, creation. So where is the difficulty? Mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam.

Lecture on BG 16.9 -- Hawaii, February 5, 1975:

One minus thousand times one is still one. That is absolute. Absolute Truth means the truth never diminishes or becomes relative or conditioned. That is Absolute Truth.

So in the absolute platform, in the spiritual world, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme whole spirit. Therefore He may expand Himself... Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam (Bs. 5.33). Ananta-rūpam, various kinds of forms... Everything is Kṛṣṇa's forms. Your form is also Kṛṣṇa's form, my form is also Kṛṣṇa's form. Therefore foolish rascals, they think, "Now I have become God." He has got the affinity that he is also God expansion. Therefore sometimes he thinks that "I am God." This is... We are also expansion of God, vibhinnāṁśa. There are two kinds of expansions: svāṁśa, vibhinnāṁśa. When Kṛṣṇa expands in fullness, that is called svāṁśa, viṣṇu-tattva.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.3 -- London, August 20, 1971:

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are narrated, and the narration is systematically depicted by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Thus the subject matter is appealing to all classes of persons, including those who seek liberation and those who seek to become one with the Supreme Whole. In Sanskrit the parrot is also known as śuka. When a ripened fruit is cut by the red beaks of such birds, its sweet flavor is enhanced. The Vedic fruit which is mature and ripe in knowledge is spoken through the lips of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who is compared to the parrot not for his ability to recite the Bhāgavatam exactly as he heard it from his learned father, but for his ability to present the work in a manner that would appeal to all classes of men. The subject matter is so presented through the lips of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī that any sincere listener that hears submissively can at once relish transcendental tastes which are distinct from the perverted tastes of the material world.

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

This finger is part and parcel of my body, so as the body desires, the finger is working. I desire the finger may work here like this; immediately works.

So there is no difficulty to understand what is our duty. Our duty is to serve the supreme whole. But we have manufactured so many duties. This service is there. Everyone is engaged in some sort of service, but the program of service, they are different. Somebody is thinking that "I must render service to my nation." Another is thinking that "I must render service to my society." Another is thinking, "I must render service to my family." So either you take family-wise or bodily-wise or society-wise or community-wise or national-wise or humanity-wise, they are all imperfect unless it is extended up to the Supreme, Kṛṣṇa. Then it is perfect. Any service you do... Service you have to render, either to your personal body or to your family or to your society or to your community, or to the human nation, or to the whole humanity.

Lecture on SB 2.3.10 -- Los Angeles, May 28, 1972:

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya (etc., leads chanting of verse and reads synonyms)

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā

mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ

tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena

yajeta puruṣaṁ param

(SB 2.3.10)

Translation: "A person who has broader intelligence, who may be full of all material desire or may be without any material desire, and who also desires liberation, by all means must worship the Supreme Whole Personality of Godhead."

Prabhupāda: So this is our conclusion. There are three classes of men, human beings. Not with hands and legs. Actually human being, those who know what is the purpose of life. The purpose of life, the first basic principle of our life, is that we have come here, in this material world, for becoming master, lording it over the material nature. Although we cannot do it, that is our desire. They are called sarva-kāmaḥ. There is no limit of desires. Anyone, you find out ordinarily, in this world, you ask him, "What is your ultimate desire?" There is no limit. Therefore he's called sarva-kāmaḥ. Pralayāntam upāśritam. Till the time of death, there is desire.

Lecture on SB 2.3.11-12 -- Los Angeles, May 29, 1972:

Akāmaḥ is one who has no material desire. A living being, naturally being the part and parcel of the supreme whole puruṣaṁ pūrṇam, has as his natural function to serve the Supreme Being, just as the parts and parcels of the body, or the limbs of the body, are naturally meant to serve the complete body. Desireless means, therefore, not to be inert like the stone, but to be conscious of one's actual position and thus desire satisfaction only from the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this desirelessness as bhajanīya parama-puruṣa-sukha-mātra-sva-sukhatvam in his Sandarbha. This means that one should feel happy only by experiencing the happiness of the Supreme Lord. This intuition of the living being is sometimes manifested even during the conditioned stage of a living being in the material world, and such intuition is expressed in the manner of altruism, philanthropy, socialism, communism, etc., by the undeveloped minds of less intelligent persons.

Lecture on SB 2.3.23 -- Los Angeles, June 20, 1972:

In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that the Lord is never to be found by becoming a great scholar of the Vedic literatures, but He is very easily approachable through His pure devotee. In Vṛndāvana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the pleasure potency of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy of Rādhārāṇī is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Lord at once accepts the devotee's admittance into His association. The conclusion is, therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by one's doing so (by the good will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will be revived."

Lecture on SB 7.9.10 -- Montreal, July 10, 1968:

You can day and night, twenty-four hours, go on. This is called mauna. And vijñāna. Vijñāna means perfect knowledge. What is that perfect knowledge? Perfect knowledge means to know Kṛṣṇa. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3). The Vedic injunction is: "If you can understand the Supreme, then you understand the whole thing, because Supreme is the whole, absolute." Just like if you can understand one, two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine, zero, then you can understand the whole mathematics, because what is mathematics? One, two, three, four, three, four, one, two, just like that. That's all. The same nine figures, that's all. Similarly, the Vedas says, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati. If you simply try to understand the Supreme Absolute Truth, that is the purpose of Vedas. And it is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā also, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam (BG 15.15). What is the use of studying Vedas? What is the use of studying this Bhāgavata or...? To understand Kṛṣṇa. That's all.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 14, 1972:

So by comparative position, the head is more important than the leg, but they are equally important in terms of the whole body. Because the head cannot walk. For walking, you require the cooperation of the legs. So, as to maintain this body we require the cooperation of the head, arms, waist and legs, similarly, for serving Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme, the whole, it doesn't matter whether one is a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya or vaiśya or śūdra; everyone can be engaged. Sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya (BG 18.46). One has to worship the Supreme by his own work. The leg has to work in his own way, the head has to work in its own way. But the aim should be to survive, to maintain this body. That is the process. If the aim is one—Kṛṣṇa—then it doesn't matter whether one is brāhmaṇa or one is śūdra. Equally they are serving and they are sharing the equal profit out of it. Go on.

Festival Lectures

Lecture-Day after Sri Gaura-Purnima -- Hawaii, March 5, 1969:

Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body. It has got a particular duty: to serve the whole body. When it is unable to do it, it is painful, the physician or the surgeon says that "This finger should be amputated. Otherwise it will create disturbance to the whole body." Similarly, we are all part and parcel of the supreme whole, but not surrendering unto Him, misusing our independence, we are giving pain to the Supreme. Therefore He comes, that "You surrender. Don't give Me pain. You just abide by My order. That will give Me pleasure. You will be happy." That state of consciousness, to abide by the order of Kṛṣṇa, is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That's all.

General Lectures

Speech to Indian Audience -- Montreal, July 28, 1968:

Now, we, being part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, our function is just to serve the Supreme. This example of body I have said many times in this class, that as the part and parcel of your body, namely the hands, the legs, the eyes, the ears, they are meant for serving the whole body, similarly we, being part and parcel of the Supreme Whole, we are also meant for serving the Supreme Whole. So God is not dead; we are also not dead. We shall be dead when we cease to function as part and parcel of the Supreme Whole. That is our death.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 2, 1968:

God is great and we are part and parcel; therefore my duty is to serve and surrender unto God. That's all. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, without discussing all the constitutional position, philosophy, knowledge, and so many other things, yoga system, He immediately begins that the constitutional position of the living entity is to serve the supreme whole. That is... That is the beginning of Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching. That means where the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā ended, Caitanya Mahāprabhu begins from that position. (aside:) Yes. Go on.

Lecture -- Seattle, October 2, 1968:

Just like a small particle of gold is gold. It is not iron. Similarly, we are spirit soul; therefore we are one. But because I am minute... Just like the same example. The marginal portion being very small, it is being sometimes covered by the water. But the large portion of the land, that is without any water. Similarly, māyā can cover the minute particles of the spirit soul, but māyā cannot cover the supreme whole. Just like the same example, the sky, the sunshine. The sunshine, portion of the sunshine, is covered by cloud. But if you go by airplane, jet plane, above the cloud, you'll find the sunshine is without any cloud. The cloud cannot cover the whole sun. Similarly, māyā cannot cover the supreme whole. Māyā can cover the small particles of Brahman. The theory, the Māyāvāda theory that "I am now covered by māyā. As soon as I am uncovered I become one with the whole..." We are one with the whole in the same way. Just like the sunshine and the sun globe, there is no difference in quality.

Speech at Olympia Theater -- Paris, June 26, 1971, (with translator):

If you pour water on the leaves, branches and twigs, that is not properly served. If you pour water on the root, that is the way of serving the tree. Similarly, in your body, if you supply food to the stomach, the energy will be distributed. You need not give food separately to the different parts of your body. From this example we can understand that the supreme whole, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, if He is served, then all other parts and parcels and... Just like the limbs of the body are served automatically by supplying food to the stomach, similarly, by serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead everyone is served. Therefore all welfare activities, all service to the society, family, nature... (break)

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

Discussion with Guests -- December 23, 1969, Boston:

Prabhupāda: No. In relationship with God... What is matter? Matter is another manifestation of God's energy. Just like if you love yourself, your body, then naturally you love your finger, the part of the body. Therefore God is the supreme whole. If you love God, then you can understand that I have to love everybody.

Guest (3) (Indian man): What is God?

Prabhupāda: What is God? God... Can you define God?

Guest (3): No.

Guest (2): I think the trouble is... God is this...

Guest (3): Is God supposed to be energy or is God supposed to be...

Prabhupāda: Energy is God's energy. Just like sun and sunshine. Sunshine is the energy of sun. Just try to understand. The energy, sunshine, and the sun is not different. But still if you are satisfied with the energy sunshine, it is not sun. Try to understand this philosophy.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Film Producer about Krsna Lila -- January 22, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

Prabhupāda: Ordinary question... Kṛṣṇa has advised in the Bhagavad-gītā, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit, na hanyate hanyamāne śarī... (BG 2.20). This is for living entity, soul. And living entity is the part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. So the part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, na jāyate na mriyate. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). And "Kṛṣṇa, the supreme whole, He was killed." Just see the question, fun. Means he has no common sense even—"Kṛṣṇa was killed." "The part and parcel cannot be killed, but the whole can be killed." Just see his intelligence. If I say, "Not a single portion of this room can be destroyed," but "The whole house was destroyed," what is this nonsense? Part and parcel... Na jāyate na mriyate kadācit. Kadācit, this word, is used, "at any time." And "The whole is killed."

Guest (1): Who can kill?

Prabhupāda: No, he asked this question.

1977 Correspondence

Letter to Srila Prabhupada -- Unknown Place 13 March, 1977:

There may be so many panditas, big big scholars, but Krsna says that the real pandita is the 'sama darsi,' that one who sees the equality of all living entities as part and parcels of the one Supreme Whole (mamaivamso jiva loke jiva bhuta sanatana (BG 15.7)). If anyone can be called 'pandita' it is you because you have practically demonstrated this equalness to all by engaging all persons from all parts of the world in service to Krsna, something which no one else, despite big words and much expellation of air, has been able to do.