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When one is living, a big man, nobody can go before him or touch him - there are so many guards. But the same man, when he's dead, if he's lying on the floor, if somebody kicks on his face, nobody cares, finished

Expressions researched:
"When one is living, a big man, nobody can go before him or touch him—there are so many guards. But the same man, when he's dead, if he's lying on the floor, if somebody kicks on his face, nobody cares, finished"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

When somebody dies, big man, big scientist, big politician, big philosopher, when he's dead, the big name, "Here is Mr. Nixon, here is Mr, Sir Isaac Newton, or...," this is name. Nāma-rūpābhyām. Nāma means name and rūpa means form. So, so long we are living, our name, our fame, our form, our activities, are glorious, very good. And as soon as the life is gone, nobody cares. It is a lump of matter. That's all. Now at the... When one is living, a big man, nobody can go before him or touch him—there are so many guards. But the same man, when he's dead, if he's lying on the floor, if somebody kicks on his face, nobody cares, finished.
Lecture on SB 1.8.38 -- Los Angeles, April 30, 1973:

Devotee:

ke vayaṁ nāma-rūpābhyāṁ
yadubhiḥ saha pāṇḍavāḥ
bhavato 'darśanaṁ yarhi
hṛṣīkāṇām iveśituḥ
(SB 1.8.38)

"As the name and fame of a particular body is finished with the disappearance of the living spirit, similarly, if You do not look upon us, all our fame and activities, along with the Pāṇḍavas and Yadus, will end at once."

Prabhupāda: So this is the case not only with the Pāṇḍavas but every one of us. When somebody dies, big man, big scientist, big politician, big philosopher, when he's dead, the big name, "Here is Mr. Nixon, here is Mr, Sir Isaac Newton, or...," this is name. Nāma-rūpābhyām. Nāma means name and rūpa means form. So, so long we are living, our name, our fame, our form, our activities, are glorious, very good. And as soon as the life is gone, nobody cares. It is a lump of matter. That's all. Now at the... When one is living, a big man, nobody can go before him or touch him—there are so many guards. But the same man, when he's dead, if he's lying on the floor, if somebody kicks on his face, nobody cares, finished.

So we should understand this. That after the disappearance of the body, soul, this so-called big name, big fame, important body, has no value. And what is that soul? That soul is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we are energy of Kṛṣṇa. So when the energy is withdrawn or Kṛṣṇa is not there, the energy... Kṛṣṇa's energy and Kṛṣṇa is no difference. Śakti-śaktimator abhedaḥ. Just like the sun. The sun is the śaktimān, energetic, and the sunshine is the energy. So, so long the sunshine is there, the sun is there. There is no difficulty. When the sun is not there, the sun's energy's also not there. Similarly Kṛṣṇa, so long Kṛṣṇa is within us, within this body... Kṛṣṇa's energy... There are... Two things are always. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they do not accept the energy. Simply they accept the energetic impersonal. No. We must accept the energy and the energetic, both. Śakti-pariṇāma. Śakti, śakti means energy. By the energy everything is going on. The energetic is aloof. Just like the sun, we can very easily understand. The example is just before us. The sun is there, the sunshine is there, and within the sun-globe there is the sun-god. But we, so-called scientists, we are studying the sun from ninety-three millions of miles away, and we are taking very pride that we are studying the sun. If you have studied sun, why don't you go there? Go there, and enter into the sun planet. This is a material thing. And what to speak of the spiritual thing?

So the sunshine is working because the sun globe is there, the sun-god is there. Similarly, the material energy is working. This cosmic manifestation made of earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego, these are the eight ingredients of this material manifestation. So these eight material elements, they are energies, separated energies. Bhinnā me prakṛtir aṣṭadhā. And, because the energetic is there behind this energy... Just like electric power. We are using electric power, but behind this electric power there is the powerhouse and there is the engineer who is producing the power. The rascals, they do not understand this. They simply see the power. But behind the power there is the power-maker, the source of power. They do not understand it. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes and says that "I am the power-maker. I am behind this power." Kṛṣṇa personally comes, because we have no eyes to see Kṛṣṇa, neither we can understand Kṛṣṇa. He therefore comes. What kind...? God, we are simply contemplating God. What is the form of God? God must be very old man. Because He has created millions and millions of years ago, therefore He must be very old man. This is our contemplation. We are going on. Therefore God comes before you: "Here, see what is God." He's so kind. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (BG 4.7).

So God comes here in His person. He leaves behind Him His instruction, just like Bhagavad-gītā. He leaves behind Him His devotees who can explain. But still we are so stubborn, we shall not accept God. This is the foolishness, mūḍha. They have been called mūḍhāḥ, rascals, fools. God is there; God's energy is there. If you cannot see God, you see God's energy. Just like if you cannot see the electric powerhouse and the engineer who is within the powerhouse generating the power, but you should understand you are using electricity in so many ways. You are using in kitchen, you are using floor cleansing, using your, I mean to say, cleansing and so many things you are using. Your tape recorder, everything. In your country, especially, everything electric, every... So one should inquire—that is intelligence—that wherefrom this electricity's coming?

So if you make research, that is intelligent research. Then you'll find, "Here is the electric powerhouse." Similarly, if you further study, that who is running on this powerhouse, you'll find a human being. He's not impersonal; he's person. The electricity is impersonal. Even the powerhouse is also imperson. But the man behind the everything, that is a person. Therefore God is person. Logical conclusion. How He can be imperson? Imperson has no brain. The... Just like so many machines now we have invented, very wonderful machines. But the machine is not the brain. The operator is the brain. Why do they not understand? Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram: (BG 9.10) "You are seeing the energy or the wonderful action and reaction of this material cosmic manifestation. But don't think that they are working independently. No. I am behind there." So what is the difficulty to understand? Or from example you can understand how things can go on nicely without a nice brain behind these things? It is conclusion. Mayādhyakṣeṇa. And Kṛṣṇa says further, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam avyakta-mūrtinā (BG 9.4). Avyakta, avyakta is also mūrti, a form. Just like the sky. The sky is avyakta, not manifest, but it has also a form, a round form, the universe. Without form there is nothing. Everything has form. The so-called impersonal, that is also form. Just like you go to the ocean, you will find a form, a big circle. That is also form. How you can say there is no form?

So this formless, nirviśeṣa... You offer your prayers: nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi. This is all foolishness. "Zero, impersonal" is all foolishness. Behind this impersonal feature and so-called zero, there is the supreme form. That is Kṛṣṇa. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means controller. That nature is not controlling. The real controller is Kṛṣṇa. Icchānurūpam api yasya ca ceṣṭate sā. Brahma-saṁhitā says prakṛti. Prakṛti is..., the Deity is Durgā. So it is said that she is working under the direction of Govinda. How she's working? Just like shadow. You have got your hand, and the shadow is the down. Your hand moves, the shadow moves. Similarly the motion is set. This is scientific truth. Behind all this manifestation, the..., there is a motion. And who set up that motion? The last, yesterday I was giving this example, just like shunting of big, big wagons in the railway line. One engine gives the motion, pushes one wagon, and it pushes other one, kat-kat-kat-kat, like that. You might have seen it.

So motion-giver is Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise you can give very big, big name or very big, big form and dress, they are all useless. Useless. That is being explained by Kuntī, that "We are very big. People says we are Pāṇḍavas. Similarly we have become famous. How? Because You are our friend." Kṛṣṇa is the friend of the Pāṇḍavas. Kṛṣṇa is the friend of Arjuna specifically. Therefore Arjuna is so great warrior. He has got gigantic vigor. So Kṛṣṇa, Kuntī is... Kuntī knows that "What is the value of my sons, Pāṇḍava. They are saying, 'Oh, Pāṇḍavas are so big warriors and heroes.' " Similarly yadubhiḥ. Yadubhiḥ. Kṛṣṇa took birth in the Yadu dynasty. That is already explained. So Kṛṣṇa has made famous the Yadu dynasty because He took His birth in that family. Therefore two words are used here, yadubhiḥ saha pāṇḍavāḥ. The Pāṇḍavas are famous and the Yadu dynasty is also famous. Ke vayam. "What we are? What is our value?" Ke vayaṁ nāma-rūpābhyām: (SB 1.8.38) "Simply a so-called name and so-called form. Otherwise without You, it is all useless. It has no value." Ke vayam.

Page Title:When one is living, a big man, nobody can go before him or touch him - there are so many guards. But the same man, when he's dead, if he's lying on the floor, if somebody kicks on his face, nobody cares, finished
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:30 of Sep, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1