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Two hours (Lectures)

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.58-59 -- New York, April 27, 1966:

That is not possible. By force, it is not possible. So any other system of spiritual realization, either by the process of philosophical speculation or by this process of artificial, I mean to say, gymnastic of this body, you see, or meditation, forceful meditation... Whole day I am working in a material atmosphere. Suppose for two hours I meditate. Of course, it will make some progress. Anything, spiritual action, that will not go in vain. That is a fact. But that progress is very slow, very slow. Our determination should be... I am very glad to say that our this boy, Mr. Paul, he says sometimes, "Swamiji, I want to increase my spiritual life immediately." (laughs) Take patience, patience. It will be done, of course. When you have got such desire, God will help you. He is within you. He is simply trying to see how much sincere you are. Then He will give you all opportunities to increase your spiritual life. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam (BG 10.10), dadāmi buddhi-yogam.

Lecture on BG 2.62-72 -- Los Angeles, December 19, 1968:

What is that? In essence, the breaking and building, breaking and building. Just like the child. You see? So unless one has got better engagement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, surely they will be engaged in this breaking and building, breaking and building. Childish engagement. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 9.59). And so far our students of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are trying to get two hours more than twenty-four hours. They have got so much, so many engagements.

So unless one is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he must be in the māyā's engagement, same thing. People may eulogize such engagement, "Oh, he's so moneyed man. He has dismantled such nice building and again constructed another nice building." So, this is very nice in material estimation, but in spiritual estimation they are simply wasting time. (sings) Hari hari biphale janama goṅāinu, that song. (sings) Manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu.

Lecture on BG 3.16-17 -- New York, May 25, 1966:

There is no expenditure and there is no loss. Suppose you are sitting on the bus, on the car, for two hours. For two hours, if you go on chanting, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa," then tremendous result. So why don't you try it? There is no expenditure; there is no loss, neither loss of time, neither loss of money, neither loss of energy. There is no loss. Simply and melodiously, in a singing way, if you go on, "Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare," you are... You will be directly associating with the Supreme Lord. You will be directly associating.

Now, suppose, theoretically accepting that if I am directly associating with Supreme Lord, then what else I want more? In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ.

Lecture on BG 4.6-8 -- New York, July 20, 1966:

So this is spiritual exchange of love. But that will be experienced when we are actually liberated from these designation, designated life. But we can begin, even in this designated life, we can begin just like an apprentice, this devotional service...

And the beginning is to devote some time. You have got twenty-four hours time. You can find out, you can pick up at least one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours. As much as you can, you devote yourself to this service of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, and then gradually you'll be free, free from the designation, and you'll realize yourself what you are and what is your position, and how you are making progress.

Lecture on BG 4.9-11 -- New York, July 25, 1966:

Exactly in the same way: just like you put the iron rod in the fire and make it warmer, warmer, warmer, warmer, and so long it does not get red hot, so it becomes fire. This is practical. In the same way you have to put yourself in such a way that you are always in, constantly in, the higher nature, not that for one hour, two hour we make this association, we try to be in higher nature and after leaving this place we again turn to the lower nature. No. We should always, whatever we hear from here, from this place, we should try to understand clearly without any doubt.

Just like Lord Kṛṣṇa says here, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9), that anyone who understands Kṛṣṇa's appearance, disappearance and activities, all these transcendental things, he goes back to the kingdom of Godhead after leaving this body. Now this fact should be clearly understood. So I am trying to make you understand it clearly, how it can be possible.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- San Francisco, March 17, 1968:

Samādhi means to be absorbed in some particular type of thought. That is called samādhi. So if you are fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, that is samādhi. Twenty-four hours samādhi. Not that a periodical samādhi. The ordinary yogis, they... Of course, samādhi is not, I mean to say, ordinary term. Suppose if he can remain in samādhi, say, for a little period, say, one hour, two hours, but Kṛṣṇa conscious person is in samādhi twenty-four hours, cent percent, because he is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa. That is being explained. Mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. If one performs yoga, taking shelter of Kṛṣṇa and always thinks of Kṛṣṇa, then he is in samādhi.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- New York, November 22, 1966:

"Their duration of life is very short." And prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ mandāḥ. Manda means very slow. Sleeping, out of twenty-four hours, sleeping twelve hours, and out of twelve hours, they're busy in earning money ten hours. Then two hours left. What he can do for spiritual understanding. There's no time. So mandāḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. And if somebody has got some intention to make spiritual progress, then there are so many pseudo-spiritual, I mean to say, societies. They're entrapped by some of them. So manda-matayaḥ, sumanda-matayaḥ, manda-bhāgyāḥ: "And most of them are unfortunate, unfortunate." Most of them. If you count the population, take a statistic, they are so unfortunate that the primary principles of life—eating, sleeping, defending and mating—they haven't got sufficient arrangement. Oh. These are only primary principles. They are available even in animal life. But in this age even these primary principles... No one has got shelter, no one has arrangement for eating nicely, no one has got the mating or wife, and everyone is afraid of "When there will be war declared, and I'll have to go to the warfield?" This is the position.

Lecture on BG 9.3 -- Melbourne, April 21, 1976:

Even if you reach to the Brahmaloka... You can get long duration of life. There is no doubt. But again, punar āvartinaḥ, you have to die and you have to go to another body and another planet. But I am eternal. We are eternal. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). By destruction of this body, maybe after two hours or four minutes... There are many, many living entities, they live for some minutes, some second, some years. The human in this material world, in this planetary system, we live, say, utmost, hundred years. But in other planetary system they live for millions of years. It is a ques... This world is relative. According to your position the relative condition is there. My past and present and future is not the same past, present, future of an ant. The ant's past, future, may be three hours or four hours. Our past, present, means hundred hours, and Brahmā's past, present, millions of years. Everything is relative, according to the position.

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

There must be something. But if somebody says, "Now I'll chant sitting down. Who is going to see me? I'll doze and people will know I am chanting." You see? This kind of cheating will not do.

All those who are interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness... Therefore we have given time, sixteen rounds. But you are not Haridāsa Ṭhākura that you'll be able to chant whole day and night. If without working, if you chant, that is, the highest state. That you cannot do. Then you sleep. That's all. So know that. The minimum quantity, sixteen rounds chant, and that will take not more than two hours. And other twenty-two hours, you be always busy in Kṛṣṇa's activities. That is required.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.1.5-6 -- London, August 23, 1971:

Formerly this Vedic literature was not in written pages. As soon as one will hear from... Just like Sūta Gosvāmī. There is no question of taking notes. As soon as they will hear, they'll immediately get it in the memory, and they will never forget. So memory was so sharp. At the present moment, our memory is so low-graded we cannot remember even what I have done two hours past.

So this is Kali-yuga. We are in so many degraded positions; still, falsely we are proud that we are advancing. No that. It is false prestige. Actually, we are very, very much degraded. So the only means of our being elevated to the highest position is this means: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Lecture on SB 1.1.9 -- Auckland, February 20, 1973:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu they went to Vṛndāvana. But what for, going to Vṛndāvana and sleeping and eating? No, no, not for that purpose. They, rather at home they had time to sleep more, but when they went to Vṛndāvana they were sleeping only one half-hour to two hours only. At the present moment when a man becomes old, he requires more rest. But according to Vedic civilization, no more rest, more work, more work. But these gosvāmīs, they were deputed by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu... At that time this Vṛndāvana, which you have seen, now it is nice city, but during the time of Caitanya Mahāprabhu it was a big field only, that's all, nothing was there. Everything, all Kṛṣṇa's līlā were vanished. Not vanished, it was not visible. Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw one small hole, little water, and He indicated, "This is Rādhā-kuṇḍa." Then Rādhā-kuṇḍa was discovered. So these Gosvāmīs were working very hard. And special business was there, nana-śāstra-vicaraṇaika-nipunau.

Lecture on SB 1.3.10 -- Los Angeles, September 16, 1972:

So unless the child grew four years old, he could not see his father. Is it not the position of this? It is a story or an instruction, because the man, the gentleman, was going office early in the morning... There are still. They start at six o'clock from home to catch the first train. We have seen in Calcutta. First train is seven o'clock, and they come in Calcutta after two hours, nine o'clock. Then attends office, and again he catches another train, five o'clock. He goes, late at night. In Bombay also, big, big cities. This is the position.

So we are advancing in science, but at the same time, the so-called science, at the same time we are creating many disadvantages. Many disadvantages. From practical experience I say that when I came to your country... In India it is very difficult to get a telephone. You have to wait in the waiting list at least for two years or you have to bribe the authorities, say, five thousand, two thousand, like that. So when I got this facility of telephone... Because as soon as I deposited forty dollars... Forty dollars?

Lecture on SB 1.3.25 -- Los Angeles, September 30, 1972:

That is the way of Kali-yuga. The symptom of Kali-yuga is disagreement, fight, quarrel. Kali means this quarreling, fighting, unnecessarily fighting. Just like recently in India we have seen. Formerly there was Hindu-Muslim riot, sporadic riot in some village. Say, some fifty men this side, some fifty men that side, they fought, say, for two hours, and it is finished. Again they are friendly. Now, since India has become independent, the Muslims have become Pakistan and the other part... They are not all Hindus. Suppose Hindus, they have become Hindustan. They organizedly fight. Now recently, last year, they fought and spent millions of dollars unnecessarily. This is going on. This is called Kali-yuga. Unnecessarily they will disagree, unnecessarily they will fight and spoil energy, spoil money. This is called Kali-yuga. The brain is so crazy that they do not consider that "Why you are fighting? Why you are spending money?"

Lecture on SB 1.5.35 -- Vrndavana, August 16, 1974:

Utmost six hours to eight hours, sufficient for any healthy man. Even the doctor says, if anyone sleeps more than eight hours, he is diseased. He must be weak. Healthy man sleeps at a stretch six hours. That is sufficient. That's all. And those who are tapasvīs, they should reduce sleeping also. Just like the Gosvāmīs did. Only one and a half hour or utmost two hours. That also sometimes not. Actually, we should reduce this. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **. This is gosvāmī. Gosvāmīs does not mean go-dāsa. Go means senses and dāsa means servant. If we keep the title gosvāmī and become servant of the senses, it is cheating. You must be gosvāmī, means you must be master of the senses. Self-control. So what the Gosvāmīs did? Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau cātyanta-dīnau ca yau. Very humble and... Nidrā means sleeping, āhāra means eating, and vihāra means sense enjoyment, vijitau, they conquered over.

Lecture on SB 1.7.2-4 -- Durban, October 14, 1975:

One bead equals sixteen times, so the whole bead chain there is hundred and eight. So one round means about seventeen hundred. In this way, our disciples are advised to chant at least sixteen rounds. This is our daily duty. It takes about two hours, and after that we are engaging so many other businesses. Somebody is typing or printing books, somebody is going to sell books, somebody is collecting subscription, somebody is cooking for the temple Deity, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. So in this way, our inmates or our members are always engaged. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31), this is recommendation of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Somehow or other, be engaged twenty-four hours in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Then your life will be successful.

Lecture on SB 1.8.35 -- Mayapura, October 15, 1974:

So this process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be very vigorously propagated all over the world. Simply by seeing the Deity, simply by joining Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra chanting, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam... Here it is said, yat-kīrtanam. The kīrtana word is first used. Simply by kīrtanam. Yat-kīrtanaṁ yat-smaraṇam. If you perform kīrtana, then you'll be able to think of Kṛṣṇa, that "I have danced two hours, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. What is the meaning?" That is smaraṇa, again smaraṇa, "Kṛṣṇa." He may think that "Foolishly, I have chanted for two hours, 'Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa.' " That means again smaraṇam, Kṛṣṇa caught up. Then yad-īkṣaṇam. So just like people are purchasing our Kṛṣṇa book. Because Kṛṣṇa movement is going on, so they are purchasing out of curiosity: "What is this Kṛṣṇa? Let us see." Yad-īkṣaṇam. "Let us see the book." And immediately he will see the picture, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Yad-īkṣaṇam. And if they open the book, they'll see more. Yad-īkṣaṇam. Then there is vandanam. There are so many prayers, glorifying Kṛṣṇa.

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

Who will hear us? Nobody will hear." So at that time he explained dependence and independence—temporary, it has no meaning. Actually, at that time I could not realize the independence. We were waiting for independence. What independence we have got? Independence means you go for one kilo of rice and stand there for two hours. (laughter) This is our independence. Everything is controlled. You cannot get. And the price... Before independence the price of rice was two annas or five rupees, six rupees per mound, two annas per kilo. Now it is more than two rupees. Everything. Practically we have increased our dependence. Not independence. In the name of independence, we have increased our dependence. So actually there is no independence. But we manufacture so-called independence. Nobody is independent. I thought, "We are so much dependent on the state rules and regulation. America is independent."

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

So when we went to communist country, Moscow, I think everyone was in want, and they could not get even foodstuff to their own choice. Whatever government rules and all these thing will supply, they will have to accept. And actually there was no good foodstuff, for us. We were staying in that National Hotel, and Śyāmasundara had to spend at least two hours for getting things. That also not very nice thing. Rice could not be obtained. One Madrasi gentleman, he supplied us some rice, nice; otherwise only milk and butter is available, and meat, that's all. No fruit, no vegetables, no nice rice, and these things are not available. This is Kali-yuga. Things will be..., supply will be reduced. Actually the supply is made by Kṛṣṇa.

Lecture on SB 1.16.26-30 -- Hawaii, January 23, 1974:

Simply chanting by Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, not always, twenty-four hours, although Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31), always chant. That is the principle. But we cannot do that because we are so much overwhelmed by the influence of Kali. So at least sixteen rounds. Don't miss this. Don't miss this. What is the difficulty, sixteen rounds? At most it will take two hours. You have got twenty-four hours. You want to sleep; all right, sleep, ten hours sleep. That is not recommended. Don't sleep more than six hours. But they want to sleep. They want to sleep twenty-four hours. That is their desire in Kali-yuga. But, no. Then you'll be wasting time. Minimize eating, sleeping, mating and defending. When it is nil, that is perfection.

Lecture on SB 1.16.26-30 -- Hawaii, January 23, 1974:

And he's advanced devotee. Eh? Is not that? So what is...? What kind of devotee he is? Devotee must rise early in the morning, by four o'clock. By five o'clock, he must finish his bathing and other things. Then he takes to chanting and so many... Twenty-four hours' business must be there. So sleeping is not good. The Gosvāmīs used to sleep only two hours. I also write at night book, and I also sleep, not more then three hours. But I take sometimes little, sleep more. Not like... I don't imitate the Gosvāmīs. That try to avoid. And avoid sleeping means if we eat less, then we'll avoid. Eating, sleeping. After eating, there is sleeping. So if we eat more, then more sleeping. If we eat less, then less sleeping. Eating, sleeping, mating. And mating should be avoided. That is a great stricture. Sex life should be minimized as far as possible. Therefore we have got this restriction, "No illicit sex." Sex life, we don't say... That you cannot do, nobody can do. Therefore sex life means married life, a little concession. A license, "All right, you take this license." But not illicit sex.

Lecture on SB 1.16.35 -- Hawaii, January 28, 1974:

This word is used in the Bhāgavata: dṛḍha-vratāḥ, strong determination: "Yes, in this life I shall go back to home, back to Godhead." This is determination. And what is the difficulty? No difficulty. Chants Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. You are taking the beads, sixteen rounds. You can be finished, utmost two hours or three hours. So you have got twenty-four hours. If you want to sleep, of course, twenty-tlree lours, that is another thing. You have to minimize your sleeping. If you cannot finish sixteen rounds, then you must not sleep on that day, you must not eat. Why don't you forget to eat, forget? Why do you forget chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? This is negligence, aparādha, offense. Rather, you should forget your sleeping and eating, and must finish sixteen rounds. This is called determination. This is called determined. So you are welcome to take initiation, but if you are neglectful, if you want to make it a farce, that is your business. I cannot give you any protection.

Lecture on SB 2.1.2 -- Vrndavana, March 17, 1974:

We should consider that... We should save time always to be absorbed in Kṛṣṇa business. The period we sleep, that is wasted. That is wasted. So we shall try to save time. Kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31). Hari is another name of Kṛṣṇa. Sadā, twenty-four hours. Actually, the Gosvāmīs used to do. They are our examples. They were sleeping not more that two hours or utmost, three hours. So nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau **. They conquered over. This is gosvāmī. They conquered over these things. What is that? Nidrāhāra, nidrā, āhāra, vihāra. Vihāra means sense enjoyment, and āhāra means eating or collecting. Generally, eating. And nidrā. Nidrāhāra-vihārakādi-vijitau. Conquered. That is Vaiṣṇava. Not that out of twenty-four hours, thirty-six hours sleeping. (laughter) And at the same time, passing on as gosvāmī. What is this go...? Go-dāsa. They are go-dāsa. Go means senses, and dāsa means servant.

So our policy should be, instead of becoming servant of the senses, we have to become servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is gosvāmī.

Lecture on SB 2.9.4-8 -- Tokyo, April 23, 1972:

Why these books are written? Only for selling? Taking statistics, "How many books you have sold?" You learn, read. Always read, twenty-four hours. As soon as you get time, read. I do that. I do that. Reading, writing, or chanting. But when there is no other way, you sleep little. Not to enjoy sleep, but because it is not possible to continue, all right, sleep one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, five hours. Not more than that. Not that I am sleeping, enjoying life, up to eight o'clock, twelve o'clock.

In Western countries they sleep twelve o'clock. As soon as there was kīrtana, half-naked he used to come in New York. He used to complain, Mr. Chudy, "Oh, it is..." "Mr. Chudy, sir, I cannot do anything. You request them." That was being done in our 26 Avenue. Always police complaint, police used to come. But we did not stop. So things should be learned. We have got so many books, everything is there. Now here is tapasya. Akhila-loka-tāpanam. Akhila-loka.

Lecture on SB 2.9.4-8 -- Tokyo, April 23, 1972:

So one thousand miles, two hours. So 25,000 miles it will take fifty hours. But by other arrangement, it was circum(am)bulated one hour, twenty-five minutes. So, similarly, by other arrangement it can be done in one minute, in one second. It is a question of arranging. It is, therefore, all relative. Everything is relative. You cannot walk... The ant cannot walk. Therefore it should be like this, it should be like that, according to my convenience. No, relative. You have got greater power, greater speed than... My speed, your speed, may (be) different. Therefore what is one hundred years for me, it may be one second for you. It is relative, all relative truth. In your calculation it is one hundred years. In my calculation it is one second. Therefore Brahmā's duration of life is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ (BG 8.17). Brahmaṇe, Here also divyam. Sahasrābdam. Now divyaṁ sahasrābdam. Brahmā's one day, one twelve hours, daytime, we cannot calculate. Our, according to our calculation it is... Sahasra-yuga. Sahasra-yuga. Yuga. Yugas means these Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali. That means forty three hundred thousands of years.

Lecture on SB 3.25.10 -- Bombay, November 10, 1974:

There must be fight." This illusion is going on. But we do not belong to any one of them. It is temporary. Just like in a railway compartment, if there is some crowd, somebody fights, "Why... Why... Why you have pushed me? Why you have taken my seat?" And there is very big fight. And somebody tolerates that "I shall sit here for two hours or for three hours. Why shall I fight?" This is one mentality. And another mentality is that he knows that for the two hours or three hours or some other hours he'll remain in that compartment, but there is fight, because ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). But two hours' seat, he's thinking, "It is my permanent seat. Why you should intrude upon my seat?"

Lecture on SB 5.5.1 -- Vrndavana, October 23, 1976:

It is not painful. It is very pleasing. But we avoid it. We think it is painful. "Ah! Who is going to read books? We are meant for selling books, not for reading books." This is not good. We should read also. That is tapasya. Saddhaya. That is tapasya. Don't think that simply our books are meant for selling. No. It is meant for reading also. If we read regularly, at least two hours, three hours, that is tapasya. Tapo divyam (SB 5.5.1). To understand spiritual position, my spiritual position, Kṛṣṇa's spiritual... (aside:) Stop that. (child making noise) So that is tapasya. These are the tapasyas. To rise early in the morning, that is also tapasya. Not that every day we have to ring bell—dung, dung, dung, dung—"Get up! Get up!" "No, I am sleeping." No, you have to accept. These are the tapasyas. We cannot avoid. If we actually want to avoid this body, working like cats and dogs, like animals, then we have to undergo tapasya, a very simple tapasya.

Lecture on SB 5.5.1-2 -- Bombay, March 25, 1977:

Guest (2): As we heard in the beginning, one of the principal statements that a man goes on the motor train, stands there for two hours, reaches his place of business, and work there from nine o'clock in the morning to five o'clock in the evening, returns back, has his food and sex and all that. I found many a people who have worked very hard, raised children very nicely, have sex, but lead a good life. I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

Prabhupāda: Yes, if there is no wrong, it is all right. But this sort of life is not very palatable.

Guest (2): Because I find even the dogs...

Prabhupāda: If you like that life, it is very good. That is up to you. But I don't think this is a very nice way of life, to work so hard simply for bread.

Lecture on SB 5.5.1-8 -- Stockholm, September 6, 1973:

What is that sound? Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This daytime, or nighttime, we work so hard, but what is the aim. Aim is to satisfy senses. Ask these people all over the world, especially in the western country. They are making so many plans. Yesterday, when we were coming by the plane, the whole two hours one man was working, making some calculation. So everybody is busy, very, very busy, but if you ask him, "Why you are working so hard? What is the aim?" The aim, he has nothing to say except sense gratification, that's all. He has no more aim. He may think that "I have got a big family, I have to maintain them," or "I have got so much responsibility." But what is that? That is simply sense gratification. Even we manufacture so many "isms", philanthropism, humanitarianism, nationalism, socialism, so many. But what are these "isms"? That is also sense gratification. I satisfy my senses. I want to see that the senses of my brothers, senses of my sisters, senses of my friends, or senses of my society people, or my nation, countrymen, they are satisfied.

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Honolulu, June 8, 1975:

Because the sleeping means waste of time. We are supposed to be engaged twenty-four hours in the service of the Lord, but as it is not possible, we have to sleep, take little rest, so that should be the minimum. Because the whole period sleeping means waste. So all these Gosvāmīs, they used to sleep not more than two hours. That was also not possible in some day. They were so busy in writing books and other...

So this should be minimized, and we should be engaged twenty-four hours. If we remain engaged in that way... We have got so many engagement. We are daily singing—I do not know whether you understand the meaning—śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā-śṛṅgāra-tan-mandira mārjanādau, yuktasya bhaktāṁś ca niyuñjato 'pi vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam **. We have got śrī-vigraha. The śrī-vigraha-sevā—all rising early in the morning, arrange for maṅgala āratrik, then dressing, then offering food, then āratrik, so many hours. The whole day can be used in that way. Then reading books, class, taking care of the temple.

Lecture on SB 6.1.41 -- Los Angeles, June 7, 1976:

So nirbandha-kṛṣṇa-sambhandhe yukta-vairāgyam ucyate. Working is not stopped. Our Gosvāmīs, Rūpa Gosvāmī, they retired from their ministerial service, they went to Vṛndāvana, but the work increased. When they were ministers they were sleeping thirteen hours, but when they went to Vṛndāvana, they had not time to sleep even for two hours. That is Vṛndāvana life. That is Vṛndāvana life. They had no time. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ sadā tucchavat bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau. These are the description about the Gosvāmīs that, by the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they retired from ministerial job. Tyaktvā tūrṇam aśeṣa-maṇḍala-pati-śreṇīṁ. Maṇḍala-pati means very, very big men in society. Minister, his business was with big, big man. Who can see the minister? The zamindar, the big businessmen. So he gave up that association. Then what he became? Bhūtvā dīna-gaṇeśakau karuṇayā kaupīna-kanthāśritau. He took up a small loincloth.

Lecture on SB 6.2.12-14 -- Allahabad, January 17, 1971, at Kumbha-mela:

That means if you expect more than your capacity, then it may be possible that at the time of examination you get the right number and pass your examination.

So the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said, sadā, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, not that two hours or one hours, but one should practice. And that is the recommendation as it was followed by Haridāsa Ṭhākura. But because we cannot do that, therefore we have to engage always in the service of Kṛṣṇa. That will make me remembering Kṛṣṇa. Real fact is how to remember Kṛṣṇa. So this remembering of Kṛṣṇa by Ajāmila was not accidental. He chanted. He served Nārāyaṇa in his previous life when he was young man, but by bad association he fell down. But the effect was there at the time of his death, so much effective that the Viṣṇudūta recommends that "Because he has chanted at the time of his death the holy name of Lord, he is now free from all sinful reaction."

Lecture on SB 6.3.18 -- Gorakhpur, February 11, 1971:

For a devotee, to reduce this is the process, this āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithunam. Eating, sleeping, mating and defending, they should be reduced, and come to the point, no sleeping, no eating. That is not possible. But spirit soul, when one... Just like Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. He came to that point, no sleeping, no eating. All the Gosvāmīs, they were not sleeping more than two hours. So why about Gosvāmīs? Even big karmīs, like Subash Bose, Gandhi, they were also not sleeping. I heard that Napoleon Bonaparte, he was not sleeping. He was sleeping... When he was passing from one warfield to another, on his horse he slept. That's all. He never went to the bedroom for sleeping. Gandhi used to do that. He would sleep when he was passing from one station, one... In the motorcar he would sleep. Then again he will begin work.

Lecture on SB 6.3.18 -- Gorakhpur, February 11, 1971:

So one should be engaged in serious business; then sleeping will be less. If there is no..., if we become lazy, if we have no sufficient engagement, then sleeping will come. And if no sufficient engagement, but sufficient eating, then the next result is sleeping. So we have to adjust things. We should not sleep more than seven hours. Six hours at night and one hour, that is sufficient. From medical point of view, they say six hours sleeping is sufficient, six hours. So suppose if we sleep seven to eight hours, one hour more, then out of twenty-four hours we sleep eight hours. Then sixteen hours. And chanting, two hours. Ten hours. And for taking bath and dressing, another two hours. Then eight hours and four hours, twelve hours.

Lecture on SB 6.3.18 -- Gorakhpur, February 11, 1971:

Devotee (1): Then eating.

Prabhupāda: No. I have taken that: two hours for taking bath and eating, and eight hours for sleeping—ten hours. And two hours for chanting—twelve hours. And still we have got twelve hours for Kṛṣṇa's service. Is there any mistake? Just calculate. Why there should be, "Oh, I work so hard. I have no... Therefore I am sleeping more," to find out an excuse. "I was dysentery." Why you dysentery? Why there should be dysentery unless you eat more? This way, personally we have to adjust things, not that by dictation or by rules and regulations. Personal affairs cannot be adjusted by rules and regulation. It can be adjusted by oneself. And then everything will be all right.

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968:

Janārdana: And what happens if you don't make it?

Guest: I don't know. That's what I'm wondering.

Prabhupāda: Now... I can understand. Now suppose a boy in this classroom is given some task. The teacher says, "You are allowed two hours to finish this task." Now if the boy is intelligent he can finish it in few minutes. Or if he is not intelligent he cannot finish even in two hours. Similarly, that allowance is very nice, the 72,000 of years. But if you get the opportunity in 72 days to come out why should you not take that opportunity? Why should you put yourself into that 72,000 years? If there is a means to get out of this entanglement in 72 days why should you lose this opportunity?

Lecture on SB 7.6.3 -- Montreal, June 16, 1968:

Guest (2): Normal sleep for a man would be about eight hours. So is it possible to train the body through the use of yoga to decrease the sleep period down to about three hours or two hours?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes. Yes. Rūpa Gosvāmī, he used to sleep only for one and a half hours.

Guest (2): How long could the body hold up, how many years could the body...

Prabhupāda: Well, there is no guarantee of holding up your body even if you have no sleep or have sleep. The material condition is so cruel that body can be finished at any moment. So that is no consideration. The consideration is how to advance in the spiritual consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And if you make, I mean to say, considerable advance, then the eating and sleeping and sex demand or defense, these things will be negligible. Negligible. These things are depending on our practice. Because actually, I don't depend on sleeping or eating or mating or defending. It is simply due to my bodily consciousness these things are required. But when one is actually spiritually advanced, he has no such appreciation. Just like Lord Jesus Christ, he was crucified, but he never protested because he had no bodily consciousness at all. So when one is spiritually advanced, there is no bodily consciousness.

Lecture on SB 7.6.3-4 -- San Francisco, March 8, 1967:

Prabhupāda: Twice a day, for thirty minutes.

Guest (1): Anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour.

Prabhupāda: All right, two hour. (laughter) That's all right?

Guest (1): Pardon me?

Prabhupāda: For two hours daily, one hour morning, one afternoon.

Guest (1): All right.

Prabhupāda: So if one is engaged in meditation for two hours and if other is engaged for twenty-four hours, whose meditation is perfect?

Guest (1): Uh, I don't know.

Lecture on SB 7.6.3-4 -- San Francisco, March 8, 1967:

Prabhupāda: You don't know?

Guest (1): The Maharishi hasn't...

Prabhupāda: No, don't take the Maharishi. I mean to say, if somebody is engaged in meditation for two hours and other is engaged for twenty-four hours, then whose meditation value will be greater?

Guest (1): Then there are two types of meditation, there's a two-hour meditation...

Prabhupāda: First of all you answer this.

Guest (1): Pardon me? I missed it.

Prabhupāda: I am just telling that a person is engaged in meditation for two hours, and another person is engaged in meditation for twenty-four hours. Whose meditation is valuable?

Lecture on SB 7.9.8 -- Hawaii, March 21, 1969:

This story you know. In our Los Angeles temple they have made very nice puppet show, and people are appreciating very much. Even they are selling ticket at the rate of one dollar fifty cent, still, people are coming. Last Sunday I was present, and they invited, distributed pamphlets, and more than a hundred people came, and they participated with the kīrtana very nicely, they heard the lecture, and the function was for two hours. Still, they kept very busy themselves in eating prasādam, in seeing the puppet show and the cinema of Ratha-yātrā. So many things. It was very successful. And they collected about more than $150.

So things have to be organized. People are actually hankering after this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement because it is the natural function of the living entity. It is not artificial. The very, I mean to, vivid example are yourselves. Your contact with me is, utmost, for the last two years, but still, you are taking very serious interest in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Why? Because it is the fundamental necessity. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Every living entity is by nature joyful, spiritually, and because he is materially covered, his joyfulness is hampered.

Lecture on SB 7.9.46 -- Vrndavana, April 1, 1976:

So he is expecting so many ears and so many tongues to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. And so far we are concerned, conditioned soul, even sixteen round becomes very, very difficult job for us because we are practiced to talk nonsense. We cannot find out little time, say for two hours, for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, but we can find twenty-four hours for talking nonsense. Therefore one who cannot chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, he should stop his talking. That is called mauna. Don't talk any more. Better remain silent. This is recommendation by Prahlāda Mahārāja. And vrata also compulsory. It is meant for persons who are desiring to be liberated.

Here it is said, āpavarga. Āpavarga. Āpa. Ā-pavarga. Ā means just the opposite, ā, "not." And pavarga, pavarga I have several times explained to you. Pa means pariśrama, laboring, working very hard. This material world, everyone is working very hard-man, animal, bird, beasts, everyone. It is meant for that, just opposite of the spiritual world.

Lecture on SB 7.9.55 -- Vrndavana, April 10, 1976:

Prahlāda Mahārāja, śoce tato vimukha-cetasa māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: (SB 7.9.43) "My Lord, I am thinking that these rascals, simply for flimsy happiness, temporary happiness, they are making so gorgeous arrangement." Big, big road, big, big building, big, big car, congested. If you want to go one mile it will take two hours. Māyā-sukhāya. We have seen in your country. You'll go two miles in a car in three hours. So what is the use of this car? In London I have seen. I was going. It was about two miles, and it was so congested that it took two hours. Paris is always congested. So in India also they are becoming like that. So this is māyā-sukhāya. They are thinking that "Getting a car, we shall be very, very happy," but there is no place to drive car. (laughter) Therefore it is called māyā-sukhāya. And for manufacturing this car there are three thousand parts. So many factories are going on for that. Who was telling me that within a few minutes a car is prepared in the Ford's factory?

Lecture on SB 7.12.3 -- Bombay, April 14, 1976:

From that aphorism you can expand. The Vedānta is the summary of all the Vedic literatures, anta, the supplement of the Vedic literatures. And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the explanation of Vedānta-sūtra. Bhāṣyāyāṁ brahma-sutrāṇām. In every chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam you'll find brahma-sūtra-bhāṣya: "This is real commentary on the Brahma-sūtra." So one should read daily at least one, two hours. That is human life. They are going to the libraries for reading newspaper and nonsense literature, but they will not come to hear Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the essence of Vedic literature. Nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ idam (SB 1.1.3). It is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, nigama. Nigama means Vedas. Agama, nigama. So nigama-kalpa-taru. Vedas just like desire tree. Whatever knowledge you want to get, there is perfectly there, without any mistake, without any illusion, without any cheating. All other literatures, man-made literatures, you will find these things: cheating, imperfectness, mistake, and illusion.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 4, 1973:

That is your nature: you forget. So you do not remember even the incidences of this life. How you can remember the incidents of your past life? Because you are forgetful. You are so imperfect that you forget after two hours everything. That is your nature. That does not mean that you had, you did not do anything. And, besides that, the... You remember or not remember. Suppose your guardian remembers, "My dear child, when you were a small baby, you did it." But you remember no... Similarly Kṛṣṇa is there. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61). Anumantā upadraṣṭā. He knows everything. You may forget. But Kṛṣṇa knows. "You wanted this thing. All right. Take it. You worked for this. Now I give you the opportunity. You take this. You wanted to eat everything and anything, without any discrimination. All right. Now you become a hog." That is Kṛṣṇa's favor. "And if you wanted Me..."

The Nectar of Devotion -- Bombay, January 6, 1973:

Here we cannot imagine that how there cannot be any scarcity of food because here everything is scarcity, controlled. So similarly, I have seen Russia. Russia is advertising, "So much comfortable," but the poorest country, in my opinion. They stand in line as here, controlled everything. If you have to purchase your necessities, you have to waste two hours at least. Where is Śyāmasundara? Śyāmasundara has gone, huh? So Śyāmasundara was going to purchase our things. So rice practically not available, nice quality. Dahl also not. The butter is available, milk is available, and meat, as much as you like. And no fruits, no vegetables. It was very difficult for the vegetarians. And still, that is everything. He had to spend two hours for bringing milk and butter and little rice. So everything is controlled. What I was speaking?

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.11 -- Mayapur, April 4, 1975:

Why we are put into this process of taking birth and death?" Kṛṣṇa also says, "This is the real misery of life—janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam (BG 13.9)." They are trying, the so-called scientists, trying to increase... If the scientists sees that a man was to die immediately—now he has lived one hour more—he thinks that his science is successful. That is their foolishness. If you live one or two hour more or one year or two year more... In Allahabad we had a friend. He was very rich man. So he was on the dying stage. So many big, big doctors were attending, and he was begging to the doctors, "Doctor, can you not give me at least four years' time? I could finish what I have already attempted." So here we know the death is certain. Still, we make some scheme, big or small, according to idea. But we do not know that at any moment, death will come. "As sure as death." And this death is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś ca aham. That is Kṛṣṇa's mercy.

Sri Brahma-samhita Lectures

Lecture on Brahma-samhita, Lecture -- Bombay, January 3, 1973:

So these boys, they have been trained up. This ārotik, this arcana, this distribution of literature, reading Kṛṣṇa books, hearing about Kṛṣṇa—that means they are not allowed to think anything else except Kṛṣṇa. That is perfection. They are... The prāṇāyāma process, you can do it for one hours, two hours or, say, one day, two days, but this, this prāṇāyāma process, who are always engaged in Kṛṣṇa's service, that is natural. You cannot think. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor (SB 9.4.18). If you simply engage your mind on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, that is perpetual prāṇāyāma. Not for one hour, two hour, or a minute.

Festival Lectures

Nrsimha-caturdasi Lord Nrsimhadeva's Appearance Day -- Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.22-34 -- Los Angeles, May 27, 1972:

So why you cannot give up this little percentage? If you think that meat is very palatable, why don't you live on meat? Russia is also trying like that. That has become the fashion. In Moscow, it was very difficult to find out nice grains. With great difficulty Śyāmasundara used to spend two hours daily to secure these things.

So this is the problem. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ duraṣśayā ye bahir-artha māninaḥ (SB 7.5.31). They are trying to be happy by the arrangement of these material activities. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām. They do not know that the material nature is so strong that you cannot get out of it unless you are prepared to suffer more and more. If you take to natural life and live peacefully and take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is your real life. And if you simply increase botheration and problems, then you'll have to suffer. That is the position of modern civilization.

Janmastami Lord Sri Krsna's Appearance Day -- Montreal, August 16, 1968:

Irrespective of becoming Vaiṣṇava or not, this ceremony is observed in India every home. Just like in your Western countries the Christmas is observed in every home, similarly Janmāṣṭamī is observed in every home. Today is a great ceremonial day. So our program is, at twelve o'clock night the Lord will take birth and we shall receive Him. And just now it is ten o'clock. For two hours our program will continue in kīrtana. Kīrtana means sometimes chanting with music, and sometimes speaking. Both of them are kīrtana. Kīrtayati iti kīrtanam. Whenever we glorify the Lord, that is called kīrtana. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam reading is also kīrtana. Abhavad vaiyāsakī kīrtane. Vaiyāsakī, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, he achieved the highest perfection, liberation, simply by reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrī-viṣṇu-śravane parīkṣit. Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he simply heard. There are nine processes of devotional service. Śravanaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam. Chanting, hearing. First hearing, then chanting. Without hearing, nobody can chant. Śravanaṁ kīrtanam.

His Divine Grace Srila Sac-cid-ananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Appearance Day, Lecture -- London, September 3, 1971:

Immediately. Say at seven o'clock in the evening he goes to bed, and he wakes up at twelve o'clock. So suppose he goes to bed at seven o'clock in the evening and wakes up at twelve o'clock at night; it is sufficient sleep, five hours. One should not sleep more than five to six hours. Minimize as far as possible. The Gosvāmīs used to sleep not more than one and a half hour, or two hours. Sleeping is not very important thing. Even big politicians, they used to sleep for two hours. So especially in spiritual line, they should minimize as far as possible eating, sleeping, mating, defending. Minimize. Gradually it comes to nil. Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, he was eating only a little piece of butter every alternate days, not daily. So this Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, regularly he was coming from his office, and after taking his supper immediately he goes to bed, and wake up at twelve o'clock, and he used to write books. He wrote, he left behind him about one hundred books. And he excavated the birthplace of Lord Caitanya, organized how to develop that birth site, Māyāpur.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Evening -- Gorakhpur, February 15, 1971:

The proprietor is somebody else, so what is the value of your renouncement? You are sitting in this room. While going away, if you say, "I renounce this room," what is the meaning of this renouncement? When this room belonged to you? You have come here for some time and sitting here for one or two hours. That does not mean you possess it. Similarly, we come here empty-handed; we leave here, say, fifty years or hundred years. When I become proprietor? This is another māyā, renouncement. As enjoyment is another māyā, similarly, renouncement. So we have to give up this renouncement or enjoyment. We have to take the real position, that "Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, or God. We have simply to serve Kṛṣṇa." That is bhakti-yoga. That will give you actual peace. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme enjoyer. You simply supply ingredients of His enjoyment; then you'll be happy. Because He is enjoyer. And bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29).

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada's Appearance Day, Lecture -- Mayapur, February 8, 1977:

So if the child is born at ten o'clock and I am asking at eleven o'clock, the one hour life of the child lost. Eleven o'clock means child has already died one hour out of his one hundred years.

So for Vaiṣṇava it is not like that. It is not like that. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). This is material calculation: one hour lost, two hours lost, body's life is transient..., it is losing one moment, one hour. But spiritual life is different. Nityaḥ śāśvato yam, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre. So, as Kṛṣṇa comes, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham (BG 4.7). Kṛṣṇa is eternal, but still, He appears. The same example. Just like the sun is in the sky but we see in the morning it appears; in the evening it retires. That is defectness of our eyes. Actually the sun is always there. So similarly Vaiṣṇava, as Kṛṣṇa comes, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir. Similarly, a Vaiṣṇava means the confidential servant of Kṛṣṇa, he also comes for some purpose by the order of the master. So their life and Kṛṣṇa's life, it is same.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Address -- London, July 7, 1973:

That science has not yet discovered, how to go in the speed of mind. The yogis know. The perfect yogis, they can travel on the speed of mind. That is also material science. So even on the speed of mind, or on the speed of the velocity of the air, if you try to go to approach God, find out where is God... And the time? Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara. Not one day, two day, or one hour, two hour, but many millions of years, koṭi-śata-vatsara. Koṭi-śata-vatsara, with the speed of mind or air velocity, if you go to find out God, still, avicintya-tattva, inconceivable, inconceivable.

So Kṛṣṇa is not so easy to approach by the nondevotees. Vedeṣu durlabha. Or even by studying Vedas, durlabha. Durlabha means not approachable, not approachable. Vedeṣu durlabha adurlabha ātma-bhaktau. But to His devotees He's very easy. He's very easy. Just like the gopīs. Gopīs, they are village girls, not educated, not brāhmaṇa, not Vedantist. But Kṛṣṇa is within their palms, within their hands.

Arrival -- Chicago, July 3, 1975:

Brahmānanda: There's a..., that's advertising that this Braniff Airlines flies there to Dallas every hour on the hour.

Prabhupāda: Oh. Oh, Dallas is nearer?

Śrī Govinda: Two hours.

Brahmānanda: Two hours.

Prabhupāda: Two hours. (break) Oh.

Brahmānanda: What was it?

Śrī Govinda: Ninety-two.

Brahmānanda: Really? (break)

General Lectures

Lecture -- New York, April 16, 1969:

So everything is relative. Just like the sputnik. The sputnik surrounded, circumambulated the earth in one hour, twenty-five minutes, three times. That means by the sputnik speed, the three days... To circumambulate the earth three times means three day and night. That means according to our calculation, seventy-two hours. That seventy-two hours was finished in one hour and twenty-five minutes. How? Because the thing is relative. If you accelerate your speed, the whole thing becomes relative. So what is seventy-two hours on this planet, just above this planet, say about a few thousand miles up it becomes one hour twenty-five minutes. Similarly, when we speak of that in other planet the life is ten thousand years, that ten thousand years is in our calculation on this planet. But on their calculation, the same hundred years. Similarly, in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll learn, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ (BG 8.17). Kṛṣṇa is instructing Arjuna that our one thousand yugas...

Lecture -- Bombay, November 2, 1970:

That is the subject matter to understand spiritual life. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi... Kṛṣṇa confirms this in Bhagavad-gītā, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo: (BG 15.15) "I am entered in everyone's body." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: "Through Me, one remembers and one forgets." Because our capacity is very limited. We forget very soon. Even we do not know two hours before, what we were doing. That is our nature. Therefore Kṛṣṇa helps us from within. Even though we forget, Kṛṣṇa does not forget. That is also there in the Bhagavad-gītā. When Arjuna asked Him, "Kṛṣṇa, You say that You gave instruction on Bhagavad-gītā long, long ago, some forty thousands of millions of years ago to sun-god. How can I believe it, because we are contemporary?" so Kṛṣṇa answered, "Yes, at that time, you were also present, but you have forgotten. I have not forgotten." That is the distinction between ordinary living being and the Supreme Being.

Pandal Lecture -- Delhi, November 12, 1971:

Vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane. Let us talk about Bhagavad-gītā, let us talk about Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or any book which is describing the transcendental name, fame, glory, quality, pastime of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Simply we have to change the process of our life, but unfortunately we are not interested. We shall waste our time in the morning, two hours, by discussing on politics and reading newspaper, what has happened. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). What is the news in the newspaper? The same thing. Somebody has murdered something, there is some car accident, one body has done this. The same thing repeatedly we are hearing. There is no other news. But we want to hear the same thing daily, the same newspaper items. Therefore, in the śāstra it is said, punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30). Just like you chew something. Generally we chew that sugarcane. Now I have chewed it, I have taken out all the juice, and then I have thrown it away. If somebody comes, "Oh, let me taste it, what is there?" And another man comes. Is that very good intelligence?

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer:

Prabhupāda: That is bhakti. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). Now the desires are according to the upādhi, according to the body. A man gets the body of American, he thinks, "America is my home. American nation, they are my brother. American upliftment is my business," so on, so on. And as soon as it is changed, you are Chinese man, again he thinks, "I am Chinese." Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). He has to change. He has got the material body of a dog, he is barking, "I am dog. This is my business, to bark." So this is all desires. So these desires are temporary. By one desire I get one body, then I desire another body, another body, it is going. So therefore in one sense it is dream, that factually he cannot fulfill the desires, like dream. Yes. There are so many different circumstances. They are all temporary. So this, at night you dream, it is say for one hour or two hour. We..., nobody sees one kind of dream for two hours. Say even two hours, then finished, then another dream. So this change of body is also like a big dream. At night we dream, we forget everything about daily activities, and again when the dream is finished, again we come to this body and we do some things. So in that sense all material activities, subtle or gross, they are manifestation of different desires. Therefore the Māyāvādī philosophers, they say brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā. The dreamer is fact, but the dream is false.

Philosophy Discussion on Arthur Schopenhauer:

Prabhupāda: Sleep should be avoided, but that is not possible. Therefore it should be adjusted to the minimum. Just like Gosvāmīs, they are sleeping not less, not more than two hours. Even we hear about some karmī, just like Napoleon, he was also not sleeping. He was taking rest on the back of the horse. I do not know whether it is so.

Hayagrīva: Yes.

Prabhupāda: But I know about Gandhi. He was sleeping when he is parking his car, because he was so busy.

Hayagrīva: (laughing) He gives some examples of men, of philosophers who slept a great deal. Maybe because they speculated so hard they had to sleep more.

Prabhupāda: No. Sleeping too much is bad in all circumstances. So, stop the machine. Stop this machine. Tomorrow is good. (break)

Page Title:Two hours (Lectures)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:10 of Nov, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=58, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:58