Tannery expert

Expressions researched:
"tannery expert"

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 6.1.56-57 -- Bombay, August 14, 1975:

There are two words still current in the Hindu society: śuci and muci. Muci means cobbler, dealing with skin. "I am this skin," "I am white skin," "I am black skin," "I am American skin," "I am Indian skin"—this understanding means muci. And muci is skin expert. "This is cow skin. This is goat skin. It is lamb skin." This is... He is called muci, skin expert. Modern technology has given the title "tannery expert." So this "tannery expert," if you become tannery expert, then you are muci. So there is a Bengali proverb, muci haya śuci haya, yadi kṛṣṇa bhaje. Every one of us, we are all tannery expert and we have created so many "isms" on the basis of becoming a tannery expert. Therefore they are called muci. So muci haya śuci haya. And śuci means brāhmaṇa, pure. He has no such sense of becoming a tannery expert. He is brāhmaṇa, brahma-vit. One who knows Brahman, he is called brāhmaṇa. He is śuci. He is not more tannery expert. So therefore, it is said, if from the muci platform if you want to become śuci, really brāhmaṇa, purified, then you have to take to Kṛṣṇa conscious. Muci haya śuci haya, yadi kṛṣṇa bhaje. If one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, then from the platform of becoming a muci, one becomes śuci. Therefore we have no caste distinction because our process is to elevate the muci to the platform of śuci, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Actually that is the fact. We are unnecessarily becoming tannery expert. That is not the aim of life. The aim of life is to become śuci, to become brāhmaṇa, or the person who is aware of Brahman. Brahma jānātī iti brāhmaṇaḥ. This is the philosophy. But nobody is interested to become a brāhmaṇa. Everyone is interested to remain a muci and tannery expert. That is not the aim of life. So this is training. Muci haya śuci haya. One can be trained up to become a śuci from the platform of muci. And even though one is born of a śuci family, if by practice he is not Kṛṣṇa conscious, then he automatically becomes a muci. Śuci haya muci haya, yadi kṛṣṇa tyāje. If one gives up Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even though he is born in a brāhmaṇa family or even though he has practiced brāhmanism, still, on account of his not accepting Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is accepted as muci. Śuci haya muci haya, yadi kṛṣṇa tyāje. And muci haya śuci haya, yadi kṛṣṇa bhaje: if one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, then he is śuci.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel:

Prabhupāda: If a brāhmaṇa's son has become a cobbler, he should be called a cobbler, or a cobbler's son has become a brāhmaṇa, he should be called a brāhmaṇa. Not by the birth. But it became a qualification of birth because formerly it was easy, because he is dealing with his father and father is brāhmaṇa, so automatically, fifty percent he becomes brāhmaṇa, and fifty percent by training, then he becomes complete brāhmaṇa—by association, by family. So it is not that a cobbler cannot become brāhmaṇa if he also acquires the qualification of a brāhmaṇa. Nārada said, tat tenaiva vinirdiśet (SB 7.11.35). If he has already acquired the qualification of brāhmaṇa then he should be called a brāhmaṇa. Not that a brāhmaṇa's sons becomes qualified as a cobbler, tannery expert, and he remains brāhmaṇa. That is not. He has no knowledge. That means if you have studied all the Vedic literature, he could not say like that. The injunction is tadīya lakṣaṇaṁ dṛśyeta. The qualification, if you find elsewhere, then he should be designated by the qualification. A doctor's son, instead of taking up the life of medical life, if he becomes engineer, so he should be called engineer, not doctor. Tat tenaiva vinirdiśet (SB 7.11.35), it is clearly said. So the, Kṛṣṇa's plan, that "I have created four divisions according to quality and work," cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma (BG 4.13), that is final. One must have the qualification and he must work. If... He must have the brahminical qualification and he must act as a brāhmaṇa. Simply theoretical will not do. Just like we are giving sacred thread to a person who is born in low family, but we are training him also to act as a brāhmaṇa. Not that you take the sacred thread and go be..., work as cobbler. No. You must be engaged in Deity worship, brāhmaṇa's work, business, then you are a brāhmaṇa. Otherwise you are not a brāhmaṇa.

1973 Correspondence

Letter to Hariprasada Badruka -- Calcutta 5 March, 1973:

But the thing is, without Indian devotees rural preaching cannot be effective. They are mostly illiterate, how they will understand? We must avoid the risk of a separatist movement, unity is our purpose; just like in London where the Indians are starting their own Hindu Radha-Krsna Temple. We want to avoid skin disease and the Indian people are like the tannery expert. Such a cobbler is expert at skin disease. They will see our Sankirtana Party and think it is a white dance. Anyway, how to gather Indian devotees, that program is wanting.

Letter to Niranjana -- Brooklyn 21 May, 1973:

The position is that the whole world is full of sudras. The sudra's business is to somehow or other catch up some nice service under some good master and get a nice wife and home. That is their success in life. This is the position of India especially. The whole of India is now under technological instruction which means to become sudras. Just like a carpenter can manufacture so much nice furniture by his technological education, but in our Vedic society, the carpenter is considered a sudra. Similarly a tannery expert was called a cobbler. So these things are now lost. Everyone is prepared to become a cobbler, a carpenter, a chemist, a physicist, an electrician and so many other things, but they do not know that after such education one has to depend on other's mercy. So-called highly qualified technologists cannot earn their livelihood without getting a suitable job. It is just like a dog, however stout and strong it may be, it cannot be happy without having gotten a wealthy master. Without being protected by a wealthy master it is nothing but a street dog and he is never happy. So all the students at the present moment are getting educated how to become first class sudras. How they can be interested in Krsna Consciousness, which is the business of high class brahmanas and Vaisnavas? Still it is our duty to preach, and our sincere endeavor for preaching work will be appreciated by the Lord. That much we want. Our mission is to see that Lord Caitanya is satisfied, never mind if we could not turn many of them to this cult. Here is a quotation from Caitanya Mahaprabhu's instruction, "Yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna'—upadesa/amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa (CC Madhya 7.128)." Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 7:128. So our mission is, by the order of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we shall try to teach people about the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, etc., without being depressed whether people are accepting them or not. This is our credit. We shall be judged by the quality of our work and not by the material return.