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Very hard (Books)

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Preface and Introduction

BG Introduction:

Modern man has struggled very hard to reach the moon, but he has not tried very hard to elevate himself spiritually. If one has fifty years of life ahead of him, he should engage that brief time in cultivating this practice of remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This practice is the devotional process:

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
(SB 7.5.23)

These nine processes, of which the easiest is śravaṇam, hearing the Bhagavad-gītā from the realized person, will turn one to the thought of the Supreme Being. This will lead to remembering the Supreme Lord and will enable one, upon leaving the body, to attain a spiritual body which is just fit for association with the Supreme Lord.

BG Chapters 1 - 6

BG 2.22, Purport:

Although they are friends, one is still the master and the other is the servant. Forgetfulness of this relationship by the atomic soul is the cause of one's changing his position from one tree to another, or from one body to another. The jīva soul is struggling very hard on the tree of the material body, but as soon as he agrees to accept the other bird as the supreme spiritual master—as Arjuna agreed to do by voluntary surrender unto Kṛṣṇa for instruction—the subordinate bird immediately becomes free from all lamentations.

BG 2.45, Purport:

Arjuna, as a student and friend of Lord Kṛṣṇa, is advised to raise himself to the transcendental position of Vedānta philosophy where, in the beginning, there is brahma-jijñāsā, or questions on the supreme transcendence. All the living entities who are in the material world are struggling very hard for existence. For them the Lord, after creation of the material world, gave the Vedic wisdom advising how to live and get rid of the material entanglement. When the activities for sense gratification, namely the karma-kāṇḍa chapter, are finished, then the chance for spiritual realization is offered in the form of the Upaniṣads, which are part of different Vedas, as the Bhagavad-gītā is a part of the fifth Veda, namely the Mahābhārata. The Upaniṣads mark the beginning of transcendental life.

BG 4.17, Translation:

The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is.

BG 5.22, Purport:

"My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters (hogs). Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and as a result you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss."

Therefore, those who are true yogīs or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 12.6-7, Purport:

A child is completely cared for by his parents, and thus his position is secure. Similarly, a devotee does not need to endeavor to transfer himself by yoga practice to other planets. Rather, the Supreme Lord, by His great mercy, comes at once, riding on His bird carrier Garuḍa, and at once delivers the devotee from material existence. Although a man who has fallen in the ocean may struggle very hard and may be very expert in swimming, he cannot save himself. But if someone comes and picks him up from the water, then he is easily rescued. Similarly, the Lord picks up the devotee from this material existence. One simply has to practice the easy process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and fully engage himself in devotional service. Any intelligent man should always prefer the process of devotional service to all other paths. In the Nārāyaṇīya this is confirmed as follows:

BG Chapters 13 - 18

BG 15.7, Translation:

The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.

BG 15.7, Purport:

In either case, he is qualitatively eternal, as the Supreme Lord is. In his liberated state he is freed from this material condition, and he is under the engagement of transcendental service unto the Lord; in his conditioned life he is dominated by the material modes of nature, and he forgets the transcendental loving service of the Lord. As a result, he has to struggle very hard to maintain his existence in the material world.

The living entities, not only human beings and the cats and dogs, but even the greater controllers of the material world—Brahmā, Lord Śiva and even Viṣṇu—are all parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. They are all eternal, not temporary manifestations. The word karṣati ("struggling" or "grappling hard") is very significant.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

SB 1.5.32, Purport:

The entire material existence is full of miseries. Foolish people have manufactured, out of their tiny brains, many remedial measures for removing the threefold miseries pertaining to the body and mind, pertaining to the natural disturbances and in relation with other living beings. The whole world is struggling very hard to exist out of these miseries, but men do not know that without the sanction of the Lord no plan or no remedial measure can actually bring about the desired peace and tranquillity. The remedial measure to cure a patient by medical treatment is useless if it is not sanctioned by the Lord, the attempt to cross a river or the ocean by a suitable boat will fail if it is not sanctioned by the Lord, and parents' attempt to protect their children cannot succeed if it is not sanctioned by the Lord.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.20.27, Purport:

The word mukta refers to the living entities who never come within this material world. The baddhas are those living entities who are almost eternally living within this material world. The baddhas are struggling very hard within this material world to become free from the threefold miseries of material nature and to enjoy life, whereas the muktas are already liberated. They never come into this material world. Lord Viṣṇu is the master of this material world, and there is no question of His being controlled by material nature. Consequently, Lord Viṣṇu is addressed here as pūruṣottama, the best of all living entities—namely viṣṇu-tattvas and jīva-tattvas. It is a great offense, therefore, to compare Lord Viṣṇu and the jīva-tattva or consider them on an equal level.

SB 4.20.30, Purport:

The Lord sometimes offers benedictions to the neophyte devotees who have not yet understood that material facilities will not make them happy. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta the Lord therefore says that a sincere devotee who is not very intelligent may ask some material benefit from the Lord, but the Lord, being omniscient, does not generally give material rewards but, on the contrary, takes away whatever material facilities are being enjoyed by His devotee, so that ultimately the devotee will completely surrender unto Him. In other words, the offering of benedictions in the form of material profit is never auspicious for the devotee. The statements of the Vedas which offer elevation to heavenly planets in exchange for great sacrifices are simply bewildering. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (2.42) the Lord says: yām imāṁ puṣpitāṁ vācaṁ pravadanty avipaścitaḥ. The less intelligent class of men (avipaścitaḥ), attracted by the flowery language of the Vedas, engage in fruitive activities to become materially benefited. Thus they continue life after life, in different bodily forms, to search very, very hard.

SB 4.23.11, Purport:

The idea here is that the jñānīs, by culture of brahma-vidyā, spiritual knowledge, struggle very hard to get out of the clutches of material nature, but a devotee, by dint of his advancement in devotional service, automatically becomes detached from his material body. When the devotee's spiritual body begins to manifest, he actually enters into his activities in transcendental life.

SB 4.23.28, Purport:

"They are simply meant for men of small intelligence." The word viṣaya denotes sense gratification. The karmīs flatly state that they want sense gratification. The yogīs also want sense gratification, but they want it to a higher degree. It is their desire to show some miraculous results through the practice of yoga. Thus they strive very hard to achieve success in becoming smaller than the smallest or greater than the greatest, or in creating a planet like earth or, as scientists, by inventing so many wonderful machines. Similarly, the jñānīs are also engaged in sense gratification, for they are simply interested in becoming one with the Supreme. Thus the aim of all these activities is sense gratification to a higher or a lower degree. The bhaktas, however, are not interested in sense gratificatory practices; they are simply satisfied to get an opportunity to serve the Lord.

SB 4.24.28, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."

By endeavoring to dominate material nature, the living entity simply struggles hard for existence. Indeed, he struggles so hard to enjoy himself that he cannot even enjoy the material resources. Thus he is sometimes called prakṛti, or jīva, for he is situated in the marginal potency. When the living entity is covered with the three modes of material nature, he is called jīva-saṁjñita. There are two kinds of living entities: one is called kṣara, and the other is akṣara. Kṣara refers to those who have fallen down and become conditioned, and akṣara refers to those who are not conditioned. The vast majority of living entities live in the spiritual world and are called akṣara. They are in the position of Brahman, pure spiritual existence.

SB 4.26.5, Translation:

At that time King Purañjana was very much influenced by demoniac propensities. Because of this, his heart became very hard and merciless, and with sharp arrows he killed many innocent animals in the forest, taking no consideration.

SB 4.26.8, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." Every living entity is part and parcel of God. There is no reason for the living entity's being put into the miserable threefold condition of material existence but that he voluntarily accepts material existence on the false pretext of becoming an enjoyer. To save him from this horrible condition, the Lord has given all the Vedic literatures in His incarnation of Vyāsadeva. It is therefore said:

SB 4.26.11, Purport:

A materialistic person works throughout the whole week very, very hard. He is always asking, "Where is money? Where is money?" Then, at the end of the week, he wants to retire from these activities and go to some secluded place to rest. King Purañjana returned to his home because he was very much fatigued from hunting animals in the forest. In this way his conscience came to stop him from committing further sinful activities and make him return home. In Bhagavad-gītā materialistic persons are described as duṣkṛtinaḥ, which indicates those who are always engaged in sinful activities. When a person comes to his senses and understands how he is engaging in sinful activities, he returns to his conscience, which is herein figuratively described as the palace. Generally a materialistic person is infected by the material modes of passion and ignorance.

SB 4.27.4, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."

All living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. Unfortunately, in this present civilization both men and women are allowed to be attracted to one another from the very beginning of life, and because of this they are completely unable to come to the platform of self-realization. They do not know that without self-realization they suffer the greatest loss in the human form of life. Thinking of a woman always within one's heart is tantamount to lying down with a woman on a valuable bedstead. The heart is the bedstead, and it is the most valuable bedstead.

SB 4.27.9, Purport:

"Fruitive activities and mental speculation are simply cups of poison. Whoever drinks of them, thinking them to be nectar, must struggle very hard life after life, in different types of bodies. Such a person eats all kinds of nonsense and becomes condemned by his activities of so-called sense enjoyment."

Thus the field of action and reactions, by which one's descendants are increased, begins with sex life. Purañjana increased his whole family by begetting sons who in their turn begot grandsons. Thus the living entity, being inclined toward sexual gratification, becomes involved in many hundreds and thousands of actions and reactions. In this way he remains within the material world simply for the purpose of sense gratification and transmigrates from one body to another.

SB 4.28.20, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."

The living entity is, after all, part and parcel of the Supreme Spirit, Kṛṣṇa. In other words, Kṛṣṇa's constitutional position and the living entity's constitutional position are the same qualitatively. The only difference is that the living entity is eternally an atomic particle of the Supreme Spirit. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ (BG 15.7). In this material world of conditional life, the fragmental portion of the Supreme Lord, the individual soul, is struggling due to his contaminated mind and consciousness.

SB 4.29.18-20, Purport:

The living entity struggles very hard due to the influence of fruitive activity and mental speculation and simply gets a different type of body life after life. He eats all kinds of nonsense and is condemned by his activities of sense enjoyment, If one really wants to progress in life, he must give up the ways of karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa, fruitive activities and mental speculation. Being fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can become free from the entanglement of birth and death and the vain struggle for existence. In these verses the words mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ pradhāvati are very significant because the living entity is influenced by a thirst for sense enjoyment. He is like a deer that goes to the desert to search out water.

SB 4.29.55, Purport:

"Fruitive activities and mental speculation are simply cups of poison. Whoever drinks of them, thinking them to be nectar, must struggle very hard, life after life, in different types of bodies. Such a person eats all kinds of nonsense and becomes condemned by his activities of so-called sense enjoyment."

People are generally enamored of the fruitive results of worldly activity and mental speculation. They generally desire to be promoted to heavenly planets, merge into the existence of Brahman, or keep themselves in the midst of family life, enchanted by the pleasures of the tongue and genitals. The great sage Nārada clearly instructs King Barhiṣmān not to remain his entire life in the gṛhastha-āśrama. Being in the gṛhastha-āśrama means being under the control of one's wife.

SB 4.29.74, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."

Here it is also explained that the living entity comes in contact with the sixteen material elements and is influenced by the three modes of material nature. The living entity and this combination of elements combine to form what is called jīva-bhūta, the conditioned soul that struggles hard within material nature. The total material existence is first agitated by the three modes of material nature, and these become the living conditions of the living entity. Thus the subtle and gross bodies develop, and the ingredients are earth, water, fire, air, sky, and so on.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.14.1, Purport:

One has to rise early in the morning and travel in that car at breakneck speed. There is always the danger of an accident, and one has to take great care. In his automobile, the living entity is full of anxieties, and his struggle is not at all auspicious. Apart from human beings, other species like cats and dogs are also struggling very hard day and night for existence. Thus the struggle for existence continues, and the conditioned soul changes from one position to another. For a while, he is a child, but he has to become a boy. From a boy, he has to change into a youth, and from youth to manhood and old age. Finally, when the body is no longer workable, he has to accept a new body in a different species. Giving up the body is called death, and accepting another body is called birth. The human form is an opportunity to take shelter of the bona fide spiritual master and, through him, the Supreme Lord. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has been started to give an opportunity to all the members of human society, who are misled by foolish leaders.

SB 5.17.24, Purport:

This is the secret of transmigration of the soul from one body to another. The living entity thus becomes entangled in fruitive activities in this material world. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7), manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati: the living entity is struggling very hard against the six senses, which include the mind.

In all the activities of creation and annihilation, the living entity is entangled in fruitive activities, which are executed by the illusory energy, māyā. He is exactly like a computer handled by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The so-called scientists say that nature acts independently, but they cannot explain what nature is. Nature is nothing but a machine operated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When one understands the operator, his problems of life are solved. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19):

SB 5.18.12, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." All living entities are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore when they revive their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they possess all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa in a small quantity. When one engages himself in the nine processes of devotional service (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam/ arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam (SB 7.5.23)), one's heart becomes purified, and he immediately understands his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. He then revives his original quality of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

SB 5.26.6, Purport:

"The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is." One should understand the nature of karma, vikarma and akarma, and one must act accordingly. This is the law of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The conditioned souls, who have come to this material world for sense gratification, are allowed to enjoy their senses under certain regulative principles. If they violate these regulations, they are judged and punished by Yamarāja. He brings them to the hellish planets and properly chastises them to bring them back to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By the influence of māyā, however, the conditioned souls remain infatuated with the mode of ignorance. Thus in spite of repeated punishment by Yamarāja, they do not come to their senses, but continue to live within the material condition, committing sinful activities again and again.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.1.50, Purport:

"O Kṛṣṇa, beloved son of Nanda Mahārāja, I am Your eternal servant, but somehow or other I have fallen into this ocean of nescience, and although I am struggling very hard, there is no way I can save myself. If You kindly pick me up and fix me as one of the particles of dust at Your lotus feet, that will save me."

In a similar way, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sang:

anādi karama-phale, paḍi' bhavārṇava-jale,
taribāre nā dekhi upāya

"My dear Lord, I cannot remember when I somehow or other fell into this ocean of nescience, and now I can find no way to rescue myself." We should remember that everyone is responsible for his own life. If an individual becomes a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he is then delivered from the ocean of nescience.

SB 6.4.44, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." The living entity's struggle for existence within the material world is due to his rebellious nature. Unless a living entity surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, he must continue this life of struggle.

The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a fad. It is a bona fide movement intended to promote the welfare of all conditioned souls by trying to elevate everyone to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If one does not come to this platform, he must continue in material existence perpetually, sometimes in the upper planets and sometimes in the lower planets.

SB 6.11.22, Purport:

Because both of them were devotees, the Lord awarded them the respective benedictions they wanted. Vṛtrāsura never wanted material possessions, for he knew very well the nature of such possessions. To accumulate material possessions, one must labor very hard, and when he gets them he creates many enemies because this material world is always full of rivalry. If one becomes rich, his friends or relatives are envious. For ekānta-bhaktas, unalloyed devotees, Kṛṣṇa therefore never provides material possessions. A devotee sometimes needs some material possessions for preaching, but the possessions of a preacher are not like those of a karmī. A karmī's possessions are achieved as a result of karma, but those of a devotee are arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead just to facilitate his devotional activities.

SB 6.15.25, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." The living entity is actually part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is unaffected by material conditions, but because the mind (manaḥ) is affected, the senses are affected, and the living entity struggles for existence within this material world.

SB 6.16.51, Purport:

"The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is." One must learn of these directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who, as Anantadeva, is instructing King Citraketu because of the advanced stage of devotional service he achieved by following the instructions of Nārada and Aṅgirā.

Herein it is said, ahaṁ vai sarva-bhūtāni: the Lord is everything (sarva-bhūtāni), including the living entities and the material or physical elements. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5):

SB Canto 7

SB 7.1.27, Purport:

When Kṛṣṇa is away from Vṛndāvana tending the cows in the forest, the gopīs, in the mādhurya-rasa, are always absorbed in thoughts of how Kṛṣṇa walks in the forest. The soles of His feet are so soft that the gopīs would not dare keep His lotus feet on their soft breasts. Indeed, they consider their breasts a very hard place for the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, yet those lotus feet wander in the forest, which is full of thorny plants. The gopīs are absorbed in such thoughts at home, although Kṛṣṇa is away from them. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa plays with His young friends, mother Yaśodā is very much disturbed by thoughts that Kṛṣṇa, because of always playing and not taking His food properly, must be getting weak. These are examples of the exalted ecstasy felt in Kṛṣṇa's service as manifested in Vṛndāvana. This service is indirectly praised by Nārada Muni in this verse.

SB 7.9.43, Purport:

There is a plan for material nature, personally known as Durgā, to punish the demons. Although the asuras, the godless demons, struggle for existence, they are directly attacked by the goddess Durgā, who is well equipped with ten hands with different types of weapons to punish them. She is carried by her lion carrier, or the modes of passion and ignorance. Everyone struggles very hard to fight through the modes of passion and ignorance and conquer material nature, but at the end everyone is vanquished by nature's laws.

SB 7.13.25, Purport:

Material life is called pavarga because here we are subject to five different states of suffering, represented by the letters pa, pha, ba, bha and ma. Pa means pariśrama, very hard labor. Pha means phena, or foam from the mouth. For example, sometimes we see a horse foaming at the mouth with heavy labor. Ba means byarthatā, disappointment. In spite of so much hard labor, at the end we find disappointment. Bha means bhaya, or fear. In material life, one is always in the blazing fire of fear, since no one knows what will happen next. Finally, ma means mṛtyu, or death. When one attempts to nullify these five different statuses of life—pa, pha, ba, bha and ma—one achieves apavarga, or liberation from the punishment of material existence.

SB 7.14.10, Translation:

Even if one is a householder rather than a brahmacārī, a sannyāsī or a vānaprastha, one should not endeavor very hard for religiosity, economic development or satisfaction of the senses. Even in householder life, one should be satisfied to maintain body and soul together with whatever is available with minimum endeavor, according to place and time, by the grace of the Lord. One should not engage oneself in ugra-karma.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.1.15, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." The living entities are actually minute forms who are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is full in everything, and the small particles of the Lord are also originally qualified like Him, but because of their minute existence, they are infected by material attraction and thus entangled. We must therefore follow the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and then, like Kṛṣṇa, who is never entangled by His material activities of creation, maintenance and annihilation, we will have nothing for which to lament (nāvasīdanti ye 'nu tam).

SB Canto 9

SB 9.24.58, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." All the living entities are part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are as good as the Lord qualitatively, but quantitatively there is a great difference between them, for the Lord is unlimited whereas the living entities are limited. Thus the Lord possesses unlimited potency for pleasure, and the living entities have a limited pleasure potency. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12). Both the Lord and the living entity, being qualitatively spirit soul, have the tendency for peaceful enjoyment, but when the part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead unfortunately wants to enjoy independently, without Kṛṣṇa, he is put into the material world, where he begins his life as Brahmā and is gradually degraded to the status of an ant or a worm in stool. This is called manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.6.10, Translation:

On that very spot, the fiercely dangerous Rākṣasī took Kṛṣṇa on her lap and pushed her breast into His mouth. The nipple of her breast was smeared with a dangerous, immediately effective poison, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, becoming very angry at her, took hold of her breast, squeezed it very hard with both hands, and sucked out both the poison and her life.

SB 10.8.49, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Because of conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." The living entities are struggling to become happy, but unless they take to the bhakti cult, their happiness is not possible. Kṛṣṇa clearly says:

aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā
dharmasyāsya parantapa
aprāpya māṁ nivartante
mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani

"Those who are not faithful on the path of devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of foes, but return to birth and death in this material world." (BG 9.3)

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 6.14-15, Purport:

“If one tries to nullify the conclusions of the Vedas by accepting an unauthorized scripture or so-called scripture, it will be very hard for him to come to the right conclusion about the Absolute Truth. The system for adjusting two contradictory scriptures is to refer to the Vedas, for references from the Vedas are accepted as final judgments. When we refer to a particular scripture, it must be authorized, and for this authority it must strictly follow the Vedic injunctions. If someone presents an alternative doctrine he himself has manufactured, that doctrine will prove itself useless, for any doctrine that tries to prove that Vedic evidence is meaningless immediately proves itself meaningless. The followers of the Vedas unanimously accept the authority of Manu and Parāśara in the disciplic succession.

CC Adi 7.118, Purport:

The living entity is not a product of the material energy; he is spiritual energy, but in contact with matter he forgets his identity. Thus the living entity identifies himself with matter and enthusiastically engages in material activities in the guises of a technologist, scientist, philosopher, etc. He does not know that he is not at all a material product but is spiritual. His real identity thus being lost, he struggles very hard in the material world, and the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is trying to revive his original consciousness. His activities in manufacturing big skyscrapers are evidence of intelligence, but this kind of intelligence is not at all advanced. He should know that his only real concern is how to get free from material contact, for by absorbing his mind in material activities he takes material bodies again and again, and although he falsely claims to be very intelligent, in material consciousness he is not at all intelligent.

CC Adi 12.37, Purport:

Since everyone is a part or son of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord cannot be partial and regard someone as a friend and someone as an enemy. Thus when Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu punished Kamalākānta Viśvāsa by no longer allowing him to come into His presence, although the punishment was actually very hard on him, Śrī Advaita Prabhu, understanding the inner meaning of such punishment, was happy because He appreciated that the Lord had actually favored Kamalākānta Viśvāsa. Therefore He was not at all unhappy. Devotees should always be happy with all the dealings of their master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A devotee may be put into difficulty or opulence, but he should accept both as gifts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and jubilantly engage in the service of the Lord in all circumstances.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 6.172, Purport:

"(The Lord creates and destroys the cosmic manifestation) as a spider creates a web and draws it back within itself." All of these Vedic statements indicate the transformation of the Lord's energy, not of the Lord Himself. Transformation of the Lord's energy is called pariṇāma-vāda. However, being very anxious to protect Śrīla Vyāsadeva from criticism, Śaṅkarācārya became a pseudo gentleman and put forward his theory of illusion (vivarta-vāda). Śaṅkarācārya concocted this meaning of pariṇāma-vāda, and by word jugglery he endeavored very hard to establish pariṇāma-vāda as vivarta-vāda.

CC Madhya 8.46, Translation:

"Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya knew this would happen, and thus to rectify My heart, which is very hard, he asked Me to meet you."

CC Madhya 10.16, Translation:

"Still, I endeavored very hard to keep Him here, but because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and completely independent, I was not successful."

CC Madhya 10.67, Purport:

Even though a person is rejected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the devotees of the Lord do not reject him; therefore the Lord's devotees are more merciful than the Lord Himself. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura thus sings, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra peyeche kebā: one cannot be relieved from the material clutches without engaging in the service of pure devotees. The Lord Himself may sometimes be very hard, but the devotees are always kind. Thus Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa received the mercy of the four devotees mentioned above.

CC Madhya 11.151, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."

Thus every living being is struggling hard in this material nature. Actually the living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, and when he surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he attains release from the ocean of birth and death. The Lord, being very kind to fallen souls, is always anxious to get the living entity out of the ocean of nescience. If the living entity understands his position and surrenders to the Lord, his life becomes successful.

CC Madhya 20.273, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."

In the present verse of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the word prakṛti-sparśana refers to the Lord's glancing over material nature and placing the living entities in contact with dull matter. The glancing is performed by Mahā-Viṣṇu: sa aikṣata lokān nu sṛjā iti. (Aitareya Upaniṣad 1.1.1) In the conditioned stage we impregnate according to the bodily conception—that is, by sexual intercourse—but the Supreme Lord does not need sexual intercourse to impregnate. The impregnation is performed simply by His glance. This is also explained in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.32):

CC Madhya 23.77, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."

The qualities of Kṛṣṇa are present in the living entity in minute, atomic quantities. A small portion of gold is certainly gold, but it cannot be equal to a gold mine. Similarly, the living entities have all the characteristics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in minute quantity, but the living entity is never equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. God is therefore described as the Supreme Being, and the living entity is described as a jīva. God is described as the Supreme Being, the chief of all living beings, because He is supplying the necessities of all others—eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. The Māyāvādīs maintain that everyone is God, but even if this philosophy is accepted, no one can maintain that everyone is equal to the Supreme Godhead in every respect.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 5.119, Purport:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."

There is a distinction between the body and the soul of the materially existing living being, but because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Jagannātha do not possess material bodies, there is no distinction between Their bodies and souls. On the spiritual platform, body and soul are identical; there is no distinction between them. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.11.38):

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 9:

The end of her sari was tightly wrapped while she churned, and on account of her intense love for her son, milk automatically dripped from her breasts, which moved as she labored very hard, churning with two hands. The bangles and bracelets on her hands tinkled as they touched each other, and her earrings and breasts shook. There were drops of perspiration on her face, and the flower garland which was on her head scattered here and there. Before this picturesque sight, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as a child. He felt hungry, and to increase His mother's love, He wanted her to stop churning. He indicated that her first business was to let Him suck her breast, and then she could churn butter later.

Krsna Book 87:

Thus their transcendental qualities of joyfulness, bliss and wisdom have been covered by the clouds of the three material qualities. This cosmic manifestation, made of the three material qualities, is just like a prison house for the conditioned souls. The conditioned souls are struggling very hard to escape from material bondage, and according to their different conditions of life they have been given different types of engagement. But since all engagements are based on knowledge supplied by You, the conditioned souls can execute pious activities only when You mercifully inspire them to do so. Therefore, without taking shelter at Your lotus feet one cannot surpass the influence of the material energy. Actually, we, as personified Vedic knowledge, are always engaged in Your service by helping the conditioned souls understand You.’ ”

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

Even the intelligent are bewildered in determining what is action and what is inaction. Now I shall explain to you what action is, knowing which you shall be liberated from all misfortune. The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is.

The confidential truth about what constitutes good action is almost impenetrable. Some hold that good action consists of executing one's social responsibilities. This is what common men generally understand by good action. But a few verses after the ones quoted above, Lord Kṛṣṇa uses the phrase brahma-karma to describe good action, and the word brahma points to Brahman. Therefore some say work done on the platform of Brahman is good action. Others say that good action includes works beneficial for the self, the society, the nation, and humanity at large. When a person acts with such lofty intentions, he is surely known as a good man. Indeed, his actions are certainly noble compared with those of persons with warped mentalities. This kind of action is not buddhi-yoga, however, because such philanthropic works can at best replace one set of people's mundane desires with a new set, but they can never completely root out these unwanted desires from within the heart. Philanthropic activities cannot prepare us for unalloyed devotional service, which is uncontaminated by empirical knowledge and fruitive action.

Page Title:Very hard (Books)
Compiler:Visnu Murti, RupaManjari
Created:19 of Mar, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=8, SB=32, CC=11, OB=3, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:54