700428 - Lecture ISO 01 - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1970

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

700428IP.LA - April 28, 1970

(NO AUDIO)

Gargamuni: (leads chanting of mantra 1, transliteration, etc.)

īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ

yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat

tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā

mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam

(ISO 1)

"Translation: Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one must not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong."

Prabhupāda: Now, here is a statement that everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. What you are, inanimate or animate?

Devotees: Animate.

Prabhupāda: Animate. Do you think you are controlled or not controlled?

Devotees: Controlled.

Prabhupāda: Is there any person here who is not controlled?

Devotees: No.

Prabhupāda: Or anywhere within this universe who is not controlled? Can anyone say that "I am not controlled"? Nobody can say. So if you are controlled, then why you are going to declare yourself that "I am uncontrolled. I am independent. I am God"? Why this nonsense? If you are controlled . . . is God . . . does it mean that He is controlled? They are claiming that "I am God." Is there any meaning? If I am controlled, then how I can become God? This is commonsense affair. Therefore this Māyāvādī philosophy that "Everyone is God. I am God; you are God . . ." Just like the other . . . who was speaking, that Meher Baba's . . . yes. That he was speaking, "I am God. You are God."

So God is never controlled. If somebody is controlled, immediately he is not God. This is simple definition, that God is not controlled. If somebody claims that he is God, then first of all question, "Whether you are controlled or not controlled?" Common sense. Nobody can say that he's not controlled. I have seen a rascal, he has got a Society and he is preaching this, that "I am God." But one day I saw him, he had some toothache, and he was doing, "ohhh." (laughter) So I questioned him that "You claim that you are God, and now you are simply under the control of toothache. So what kind of God you are?" (laughter) You see?

So these Societies, those who are claiming that "I am God. You are God. Everyone God"—God has become so cheap that everyone is God—you immediately should know he's a rascal number one. Immediately. As soon as he says, "I am God," you must know that "Here is a rascal number one."

So nobody is uncontrolled. Now, so many big, big planets, huge planets . . . this earth planet is only . . . it's a minute, small planet, and still, you'll see, on this planet there are so big oceans like Atlantic and Pacific, and so big mountains, and what to speak of your skyscraper buildings. With all this load it is floating in the air just like a swab of cotton. Who is controlling? Can you float even a small piece of grain in the space? You can say "law of gravity" and so many other things, but you cannot utilize it. Or you can put it in . . . your machine, airplane, is running on the space—but so long the machine is working. As soon as your petrol is finished, immediately it will fall down. Immediately.

But these big, big planets . . . this is only one of the small. The sun planet is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet. So that is also . . . we can see the sun is floating in one corner of this big space. So how you can say that it is not controlled; it is floating out of its own self? No. The answer is there in the Bhagavad-gītā, that "I enter into this material planets, and then I keep it floating." Gām āviśya aham, dhārayāmy aham ojasā (BG 15.13). Dhārayāmy aham ojasā. Something mak . . . just like you float this airplane; so somebody has entered within it, that driver or pilot. So actually, he is keeping this airplane floating, not the machine. This is simple truth.

So if you take this analogy, then this planet is floating, there must be somebody entering here. Somebody must have entered. So Kṛṣṇa says, "I have entered." So what is the difficulty to understand how it is keeping floating? The analogy is there. Everyone can understand that this big airplane is floating in the sky because the pilot has entered within it. Similarly, if this planet is floating, then somebody, either you or somebody, God, has entered it. And that answer is there in the Bhagavad-gītā, that "I enter into these planets, and therefore I keep them floating." That is our answer. And the scientists, they say the law of gravitation . . . how far it is true . . .

But we have to take knowledge from Kṛṣṇa. Our process is that. We don't accept any other process of knowledge. Our knowledge is to receive the knowledge from the authority, and that is fact. That is first-class knowledge. If you get one authority who can speak on the subject matter, and if you take that knowledge, that is perfect.

There are three kinds of processes to receive knowledge. The first: we believe direct sense perception, pratyakṣa. Just like somebody says, "Can you show me God?" That means they are pratyakṣavādi. They want to see everything direct, experience everything directly. This class of men says that "Can you show me God?" But this is not first-class knowledge. Suppose you ask me, "Can you show me God?" I say, "Yes, I can show you God." "Show me." "I'll show you. So this is God." Will you believe it? Suppose you are asking me, "Can you show me God?" I say, "Yes, I can show you." "What is that God?" "Here is God," I say. So will you accept it that this microphone is God? What is the answer? Huh? Why no?

Viṣṇujana: Doesn't have the qualifications.

Prabhupāda: No. If you ask me, "Can you show me God," I show anything, whatever I like, "Yes, here it is, God . . ." Or why God? Suppose you go to a store. So you ask something, "Can you give me gold?" He'll give you a scrap of iron: "Yes, here it is gold. Take it." So what you will say? What will be the answer? Huh?

If you ask . . . you go to a storekeeper. You do not know where to purchase gold, but you are in need of some gold, and you go to a storekeeper and ask him, "Have you got gold in stock?" So he'll immediately understand that here is a rascal number one, because he has come to purchase gold in a store, ordinary store. If one has to purchase gold, he must go where gold is sold. But he has come to ordinary store to purchase; therefore he's a first-class rascal. So therefore he'll try to cheat him: "Here is a gold." He gives a piece of iron.

Then what he will say? He will accept that iron as gold? Huh? Why no? He does not know what is gold, and he has gone to a store to purchase it, and he gives him one piece of iron, "Here is gold," so he'll purchase it; he'll be cheated. Similarly, those rascals who say that "Can you show me God?" so they must know what is God; otherwise he'll be cheated. That is being done.

So if you want to purchase gold, at least you must have some preliminary knowledge what is gold. Characteristics. Just like in the chemical laboratory, they test. Suppose in the pharmacy or . . . this is the government law, that whatever you accept some chemicals or some drug, you must test it, and the testing characteristics are stated there. Just like soda bicarb: the color is like this, the constitution is like this, the reaction is like this, the taste is like this. So a chemist in the laboratory corroborate the characteristic, then accept it, "Yes, it is soda bicarb."

Similarly, if you want to know God, or if you want to see God, then first thing is that you must know what is the characteristics of God. Otherwise, if you go to another rascal and you ask him, "Can you show me God?" and he shows you something nonsense, you accept it God, is that very nice thing? This is going on. "I want to see God." What qualification you have got to see God? He does not consider his qualification that "Whether I can see God?"

So we do not teach such cheap things. That is our program. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not to present something nonsense and present something cheap. If you want to see God just face to face, not fiction, then you must follow the rules and regulation, you must chant, you must purify yourself. Then gradually, svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). You must wait. The time will come. When you are purified, you'll see God. Not that immediately, in your present position.

But God is so kind, Kṛṣṇa is so kind, even in your present position He is present, arcā-vigraha. He's open to be seen by everyone, whether he knows and whether he does not know what is God. This arcā-vigraha is not idol; it is not imagination. They are . . . the knowledge is received from the superior ācāryas. Brahma-saṁhitā: veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣam (Bs. 5.30). The description is there.

So God realization, if you follow that . . . immediately, by your blunt senses, either God, His form, His name, His quality, His paraphernalia cannot be perceived. The present senses are blunt. Therefore in the present situation or the civilization they have become godless, because naturally they have no power to understand God, neither they are guided by some persons who can make them understand what is God. Therefore people are becoming godless, atheist. But if you read all these Vedic literatures under superior guidance, if you follow the rules and regulation, then svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. God will be revealed unto you.

You cannot see God or understand God by your own endeavor. You have to surrender to the process by which God can be known. Then He will be revealed. Otherwise not. He is supreme controller. You are being controlled. So how you can control God? "Oh, God, please come here. I will see You." No, no. God is not so cheap thing that by your order God will come and become seen by you. No. That is not possible. You must always know that "He's the supreme controller and I am also controlled. So if I can please God by my service, then He'll reveal to me." That is the process of knowing God.

Thank you very much. (end)