720520 - Lecture SB 02.03.01-2 - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

720520SB-LOS ANGELES - May 20, 1972 - 43:53 Minutes

Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (leads chanting of verse) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat)

śrī-śuka uvāca

evam etan nigaditaṁ

pṛṣṭavān yad bhavān mama

nṛṇāṁ yan mriyamāṇānāṁ

manuṣyeṣu manīṣiṇām

(SB 2.3.1)

brahma-varcasa-kāmas tu

yajeta brahmaṇaḥ patim

indram indriya-kāmas tu

prajā-kāmaḥ prajāpatīn

(SB 2.3.2)

Prabhupāda: Once more.

Pradyumna:

brahma-varcasa-kāmas tu

yajeta brahmaṇaḥ patim

indram indriya-kāmas tu

prajā-kāmaḥ prajāpatīn

(SB 2.3.2)

(devotees chant)

Prabhupāda: Next. (more devotees chant, with Prabhupāda correcting pronunciation) Amongst the woman? Let them chant amongst the . . . (lady devotee chants) Next. (lady devotee chants) Anyone else?

Devotee: Śacīdevī . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Hmm. Where is Śacīdevī? (chants) Anyone else? Hmm? (devotees chant) Anyone else? (lady devotee chants) Hmm. Now, word meaning.

Pradyumna: Brahma—the Absolute; varcasa—effulgence; kāmaḥ tu—but one who desires in that way; yajeta—do worship; brahmaṇaḥ—of the Vedas; patim—master; indram—the King of heaven; indriya-kāmaḥ tu—but one who desires strong sense organs; prajā-kāmaḥ—one who desires many offspring; prajāpatīn—the Prajāpatis. (break)

Prabhupāda: So, I think last verse we did not read the purport. Hmm. Read the purport of the last verse.

evam etan nigaditaṁ

pṛṣṭavān yad bhavān mama

nṛṇāṁ yan mriyamāṇānāṁ

manuṣyeṣu manīṣiṇām

(SB 2.3.1)

Read the purport.

Pradyumna: Purport: "In human society, all over the world, there are millions and billions of men and women, and almost all of them are less intelligent, because they have very little knowledge of the spirit soul."

Prabhupāda: This is our challenge, that the . . . there are millions and trillions of men and women all over the world, but they're not at all intelligent. This is our challenge. So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement may be taken by others as crazy, or we challenge that "You are all crazy men." (laughter) Therefore we have got a little book, "Who is Crazy?" Because they're thinking that "These shaven-headed boys and girls are crazy," but actually they are crazy, because they have no intelligence. Why? They do not know what is spirit soul. This is the animal consciousness. Dogs, cats, they think that the body, they are the body.

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke

sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ

yat tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij

janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ

(SB 10.84.13)

Go-khara. Go means cow, and khara means asses—a person who is bodily conscious, "I am this body." So 99.9% of the whole population of the world, they're like this: "I am this body," "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am African," "I am this . . ." And they're fighting just like cats and dogs, they fight, "I am cat, you are dog," "You are dog, I am cat." That's all.

So this challenge that, "You are all rascals," it is a very strong word, but actually that is the fact. That is the fact. It is a revolutionary movement. We are challenging everyone that "You are all set of asses and cows and animals, because you have no knowledge beyond this body." Therefore it is said . . . in this purport I have especially mentioned, because they have little knowledge of spirit soul, all of them are not intelligent. I have spoken with big, big professors. In Moscow that gentleman, Professor Kotovsky, he said: "Swāmījī, after death there is nothing. Everything is finished." You see? And he's one of the big professor in the country.

So this is the defect of modern civilization, that the whole society is being governed by cats and dogs, actually. So how there can be any peace and prosperity? It is not possible. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ. Blind man leading other blind men. If one has eyes to see, he can lead hundreds and thousands of men, "Please come along with me. I shall cross the road." But if the man leading, he is himself blind, how he can lead others? Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ.

So Bhāgavata, there is no comparison. There cannot be. It is transcendental science. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ (SB 7.5.31). Īśa-tantryām, these blind leaders, they are bound up by the laws of material nature, and they are giving advice. What advice they can give?

Then? Go on.

Pradyumna: "Almost all of them have a wrong conception of life, for they identify themselves with the gross and subtle material bodies, which they are not in fact."

Prabhupāda: This is their, I mean to say, less intelligence. Everyone thinks that "I am this body." Or little further off, one thinks, "No, I am not this body; I am mind." There are two bodies—one gross body made of these physical elements: earth, water, air, fire, sky—and another . . . just like shirt and coat. You have got your coat, and within the coat there is shirt, and within the shirt, you are. This is gross example. Similarly, we have got this gross body, and when the gross body is finished, then I keep myself in this mental body. That is called ghostly body.

The ghostly body means one who is living in the subtle body. Ghost is a fact; it is not fictitious. So the subtle body carries me to another gross body. That is called transmigration of the soul. I must have some vehicle. The subtle body . . . gross body is finished. That is gone. Now, the subtle body is there; therefore my mentality will create another gross body. If I am dog mentality, then I'll create another body, dog's body. And if I am God mentality, then I'll create another body like God. This is the process.

So everyone has got full liberty how . . . what kind of body he's going to get next. So if you keep yourself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that consciousness, subtle body, then you are sure to get next life, if not in Vaikuṇṭha, at least you get a high standard life. That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo sañjāyate (BG 6.41). Yoga-bhraṣṭaḥ. Bhraṣṭaḥ means fallen. Fallen. Suppose we are executing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and some of our students are going away.

So that is called bhraṣṭa, fallen. They could not continue. So one who could not continue by his ill luck, he is also not loser, because he is . . . that slight Kṛṣṇa consciousness will help him to get another human form of body. That is guaranteed. Ordinary men, they do not know what kind of body they are going to get. They're in darkness. But it will be decided at the time of his death according to the mentality.

God is so kind, whatever you want, He is giving you. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham (BG 4.11). "Whatever you want, you take." He has given you full liberty. Because we have come to this material world to enjoy. Enjoy means sense gratification. And sense gratification standard is according to the body. A king's body, his sense gratification, and a hog's body, his sense gratification, they are different, because the bodies are different. A king cannot take anything which is not very nicely prepared, and a hog is satisfied with stool. Why? A different body. Deha-yogena dehinām (SB 7.6.3). There are . . .

The whole thing is sense gratification. Here, anyone who has come . . . indriyārtha artha-vādinaḥ. Their only aim is sense gratification, that's all, anyone, beginning from Brahmā down to the ant. Material life means a desire for sense gratification. They're fallen because they wanted to gratify their senses. They cannot remain in Vaikuṇṭha world. In the Vaikuṇṭha world, only the one, the Supreme Lord, His senses should be satisfied, not anyone's else. That is called bhakti.

The process is sense gratification, but if you want your sense gratification, that is material. And if you want to satisfy Kṛṣṇa's sense gratification, then you are spiritual. So anyone who wants to gratify his senses, personal, he is pushed here, in this material world. Now, according to different karma, you create your field. Just like ordinarily, everyone is working in Los Angeles hard, day and night, but somebody's poor man, somebody's rich man. Why?

According to karma. One is intelligent enough, he can do things very nicely, he's getting more money. So field is open for everyone. It is not the government is giving a special facility for somebody, and he's becoming rich, and another man is forbidden to use the government facilities, therefore he's becoming poor. No. It is not that. Government is giving facilities everyone equally. You become educated, you become high-court judge. And if you become criminal, then go to jail.

So similarly, God, He's equal to everyone. Samo 'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu (BG 9.29). There is no discrimination. How He can be God? God has not made all these different types of bodies. You have made; we have made. I want to become a dog, God has given me facilities, "Take this dog's body." Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni . . . (BG 3.27). He immediately orders material nature, "Give him a dog's body." That's all. If I want to have a tiger's body, nature will give me, "Take, tiger's body." So it depends on my work, sva-karmabhiḥ. But either I'll have a tiger's body or dog's body or a Brahmā's body or ant's body, all of us are fallen, patita. Patita. Patita means fallen. Because this is not the proper life. You'll have to change. Sometimes you are Brahmā, sometimes you are hog. Up and down. Up and down.

Therefore one who is intelligent, he has no more . . . āra nā koriho mane āśā (Prema-bhakti-candrikā). Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, "No more desire. Simply surrender to Kṛṣṇa." If you go on desiring . . . you can desire. You are full at liberty. But desire means you have to accept different types of body. It is . . . you cannot make any permanent settlement. That is not possible. And that is also your fault. Because . . . suppose you are posted now in a high post, Mr. Nixon, but you cannot keep the standard; you'll commit some sins. Next life you'll have to become something else. This is going on. Kabhu svarge kabhu naya.

Therefore the karmīs, they are all nonintelligent. Their intelligence is not so . . . the only intelligent person is he who has completely surrendered to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and engaged in His service. He's the only intelligent. And all are rascals. That's all. This is our conclusion. Anyone, let come; we shall prove it. Let anyone come, either the karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs—anyone—we shall prove that "You are rascal number one." This is our challenge. If he's a sane man, he'll understand that he's a rascal. Otherwise he will fight, unnecessarily. Therefore we do not say directly such harsh word, that "You are rascal." But we should know at least that they are all rascals. At least we should know. They have no intelligence. Because they are entangled.

Just see this list. Here is, brahma-varcasa-kāmas tu (SB 2.3.2). Brahmā-varcasa means those who are desiring to become one with the effulgence, to merge into the effulgence of the Lord. Varcasa. Varcasa means the effulgence of Kṛṣṇa. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). Just like the sun and the sunshine. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Brahman, and His effulgence is called brahma-jyotir. So these jñānīs, they are desiring to merge into the Brahman effulgence.

Therefore it is called brahma-varcasa-kāmas tu. And kāma means desire. Therefore they are still desiring. They are fed up with these ordinary desires. Ordinarily they are desiring, "I shall become rich man," "I shall become minister," "I shall become this," "I shall become that." And they are also desiring to merge into the effulgence of Kṛṣṇa. That is also desire, kāma.

The word is explicitly said, kāma. Kāma means desire. That is also sense gratification. To become one with God, it is also sense gratification. When he fails to become the greatest personality, he then desires, "Now let me become one with God." "One with God" means he thinks that he will be equally expert as the supreme enjoyer. Because God is supreme enjoyer, bhoktā. So he could not enjoy life separately; now he wants to mix with the body of God. Therefore . . . that enjoyment is there. The propensity for enjoying is there. He failed to enjoy keeping himself separate, so he wants to mix with God. Just like the politicians.

Whenever there is some political movement, they take some part. Their idea is that, "If I become somehow or other a little prominent, important, I'll have a minister's post." That's all. It is a fact. They do not care for country's welfare. No. There is no such question. Their only ambition is, "Let me mix with this political party. It's growing." Just like in our country, there are so many parties. Recently, Indira Gandhi's party became powerful. So all other men, giving resignation from other party, they took into the party of Indira Gandhi.

So it is like that, merging into the existence of the power. So the frustrated karmīs, frustrated karmīs, when they do not find any happiness even by becoming the greatest or the topmost person, he wants to become one with God. Therefore it is said, brahma-varcasa-kāmas tu. Brahmā-varcasa means effulgence. But it is kāma. That is not akāma. But a devotee is akāma. There is no kāma. He has no personal desire. His desire is only to remain eternal servant of God. That's all. That is his position. That is not desire; that is his actual position.

Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). Kāmaye, this kāma. "I have no more desire for riches." Karmīs, they want money. Na dhanaṁ na janam, or they want many men to follow, followers. They create party by political agitation. So na dhanaṁ na janam. And another desire is to have very nice, beautiful wife. These are the material desires: to have enough money, enough followers, nice wife. "Bās. My life is now fulfilled." But Kṛṣṇa . . . Caitanya Mahāprabhu denies all these nonsense. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye: "I don't want all these things."

So just try to understand the position of Kṛṣṇa conscious person. They have nothing to do with all this nonsense. Then what is our position? Void? Because, "No, no. Not this, not this, not this," then it come to zero? No. Mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi (CC Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). The positive, bhakti. Not zero. We make all this nonsense zero, but we come to the positive fact. The fact is, "I am eternal servant of God." So that is fact. I have forgotten now, therefore I am desiring so many things. So come to the fact. Come to the fact.

Actually, they are in fact. Just like, what is called, outlaws. Outlaws, they say: "You don't care for government," but what is the loss of the government by such declaration? That outlaw is put into the prison house, and he's captivated and give all sorts of trouble. That . . . the outlaw's gain is to put himself into trouble. That's all. The government does not lose anything by the so-called declaration of the outlaws, that "I don't care for the government." That is the idea.

Similarly, those who are declaring, "What is God? We don't care for God. I am God. I am everything," so they are creating their own hell. That's all. God has nothing to lose, nothing to gain. "You go to hell, according to your . . ." But because we are part and parcel of God, Kṛṣṇa, He's not very happy that these rascals are going to hell.

Therefore He comes: "My dear boys, why you are going to hell in this way? Please surrender and come home." (laughter) But these rascals will not hear. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11). "Eh! Why shall I surrender to Kṛṣṇa? He's an ordinary man. I am also as good as Kṛṣṇa." That's all. Therefore they're less intelligent. They have no intelligence.

Then? Go on.

Pradyumna: "They may be situated in different high and low positions in the estimation of human society, but one should know definitely that unless one inquires about his own self beyond the body and the mind, all his activities in human life are total failures."

Prabhupāda: That's all. If he does not care to know what he is, what is his position . . . but he cannot know it, because he has already accepted, "I am this body. The body will be finished. Either it will be burned or buried in the ground, or some animal will eat me. That's all. So with that, everything will be finished." So therefore, with this understanding, whatever he is doing, it is simply failure. Because the basic principle of understanding is wrong. He does not know that "I am creating my next field of work." That he does not know.

So Bhagavad-gītā informs us, idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya (BG 13.2). What is called? The field. This body is called field. What is that śloka? Can you remember? Idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate. Kṣetra. Kṣetra means field. Field. Just like you work, you play on the field. So the . . . you are not the field. You are not the field. Because you are walking on the field or you are playing on the field, it does not mean you are field. But these nonsense, these rascals, they take it, "I'm playing on this field; therefore I am field." No.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says particularly, idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate. Kṣetra. It is field. Just like "a field of activities," we say. So every individual soul is given a chance of field of activities. So this is a field. Now you can act. This field, this body, human body, is very nice field. Here, by acting, you can understand your real position.

Other field, the dog's field . . . he has got a body, but that body is not very good to understand himself. So, idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate (BG 13.2). So one who does not know that "This body is my field of activities. I am not this body" . . . therefore, without knowing the real fact that he is not body, he is simply working; that means it is failure. Parābhavaḥ.

The Sanskrit word is called parābhavaḥ.

parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto

yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam

(SB 5.5.5)

Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jātaḥ. Every one of us is born abodha. A means not, and bodha means knowledge. "Without any knowledge." That's a fact. If you are born with knowledge, then there was no need of sending the children to school. There was no need; he is born. No. Everyone is born rascal. That is to be understood. And therefore he has to be trained. So if the training is simply how to eat more, how to sleep more, how to have sex life more and how to defend more, that is animal training.

But if the training is how to know God, how to know your relationship with God, that is real training. That chance is in the human form of body. So if a human being does not take this chance, this facility, then his all activities are failure. Simply for nothing he's wasting time. Failure.

Then?

Pradyumna: "Therefore, out of thousands and thousands of men, one may inquire about his spirit self and thus consult the revealed scriptures like Vedānta-sūtras, Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam."

Prabhupāda: Yes. The information is there. Simply, the inquiry should be there. The Vedānta-sūtra therefore, the first aphorism, athāto brahma jijñāsā. Jijñāsā means inquiry. "Now it is the opportunity for inquiring about the self." "Now" means this human form of body. A dog cannot. So therefore Vedānta-sūtra begins, athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is the opportunity. But unfortunately, people are not given the opportunity, facility. School, college, they are simply giving, "More become mechanics," how to deal with instruments, iron instruments. Big, big institution for technological understanding.

And where is this technology: Why a dead man is dead man? Why don't you give some mechanical power so that he can come out again? Where is that technology? You know the technology . . . when a motorcar is stopped, you know the technology how to start it again. But you do not know this technology: when this motorcar, this body motorcar, will stop, you have no technology to start it again. Then where is the perfection of your technological institute? You are missing the real point. Therefore abodha-jātaḥ, everything is failure, all technology failure. Failure, simply failure. What is the use of? You do not know real technology. Therefore it is failure.

But the informations are there. If we are intelligent enough, then we can take that "What is this? Why a dead man cannot be revived into life again? Then what is the fact?" But nobody wants to die, he wants to continue. Why he becomes old? Old means warning and, of the . . . just like the, what is that, yellow light: "Now please prepare for the red light." So this is coming. You stop this, technology. Where is your technology? But the information is there, Bhagavad-gītā. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13).

Then as you have changed so many bodies, from your mother's womb up to the point of death, so you are going to change another body. Therefore any sane man will be, "Oh, then what is that body? What kind of body I am going to get?" And that is intelligent. That is intelligence. And if he does not know, he dies like cats and dogs, then he spoils his whole life, human form of life. This is going on.

Have some kīrtana. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: Jaya. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (cut) (end)