731223 - Lecture SB 01.15.45 - Los Angeles

Lectures by Date, 1973

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

731223SB-LOS ANGELES - December 23, 1973 - 41:42 Minutes

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

sarve tam anunirjagmur

bhrātaraḥ kṛta-niścayāḥ

kalinādharma-mitreṇa

dṛṣṭvā spṛṣṭāḥ prajā bhuvi

(SB 1.15.45)

Prabhupāda: Now, word meaning.

Pradyumna: sarve—all his younger brothers; tam—him; anunirjagmuḥ—left home by following the elder; bhrātaraḥ—brothers; kṛta-niścayāḥ—decidedly; kalinā—by the age of Kali; adharma—principle of irreligion; mitreṇa—by the friend; dṛṣṭvā—observing; spṛṣṭāḥ—having overtaken; prajāḥ—all citizens; bhuvi—on the earth.

Translation: "The younger brothers of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira observed that the age of Kali had already arrived throughout the world and that the citizens of the kingdom were already affected by irreligious practice. Therefore they decided to follow in the footsteps of their elder brother."

Prabhupāda: Hmm. This kalinā . . . we are reading kalinādharmeṇa. Kalinā adharmena. These two are mixed together becomes one, a sandhi. Kalinādharmeṇa. So kali. Kali means quarrel, unnecessarily quarrel. Kali . . . Kalinā, "By the age of Kali." This is the age of Kali. There are four ages—Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali—degrading, gradual degrading. This nature's way is to degrade.

That is the nature's way, time factor. Just like you construct a very nice house today, good looking, fresh, but by ages it will become old. Your body, my body, in youthhood it is very beautiful, and in due course of time it will be ugly like me. So this is the work of the time. Similarly, nature's way, there are four ages: Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga, Dvāpara-yuga, Kali-yuga. Seasonal changes.

So in the Satya-yuga, the religious principles are followed strictly, cent percent. That is called Satya-yuga. And Tretā-yuga, twenty-five percent reduced. That means seventy-five percent religious principle and twenty-five percent irreligious principle. And the Dvāpara-yuga, fifty-fifty: fifty percent religious and fifty percent irreligious. And the Kali-yuga, seventy-five percent irreligious and twenty-five percent religious, gradually reducing to nil—no more religious. Then finished. Then there will be devastation. Again Satya-yuga will begin. This is the way of change of Satya-yuga—Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali.

The duration of Satya-yuga is about eighteen hundred thousand of years. Eighteen hundred thousands of years. Hundred thousand. Eighteen hundred. Similarly, Dvāpara-yuga . . . tretā-yuga, about twelve hundred thousands of years. Similarly, Dvāpara-yuga, eight hundred thousands of years. And Kali-yuga, four hundred thousands of years. This is beginning of Kali-yuga. Out of four hundred thousands of years, we have passed only five thousand years. Not only four hundred thousand—four hundred and thirty-two thousands of years. There is regular calculation in the Vedic śāstra. So out of that, we have passed five thousand years. That Kali-yuga has begun just after the Battle of Kurukṣetra. So we have passed only five thousand years of this Kali-yuga. There are still balance, four hundred twenty-seven hundred thousands of years. Still balance.

So the Kali's friends . . . just like a man is known by his company. So Kali-yuga is the age of irreligion. Therefore, quarrel and fighting. Quarrel and fighting, communal fighting. Unnecessarily they will form a community, a group, all rascals, another group, another group of rascals, and they will fight unnecessarily. Just like this nationalism. This is simply a group of rascals. That's all. Why rascal? Because irreligious, therefore rascal. So "Big, big men, big, big scientist, big, big . . . still, they are rascal?' Yes. They are . . . still, they are rascal. "Why?" Because irreligious. They do not know what is God. Therefore they are rascal.

This is the only test, "Whether you know God?" "No, sir." "Then you are rascal." That's all. No more test. One test. One test is sufficient: "Whether you know God?" Because this human life is meant for knowing God. This temple is meant for human being, not for the cats and dogs. So if you do not know God, then you are a rascal. You are exactly like the cats and dogs. That's all. This is the verdict. Now you can fight, "Why you are calling me cats and dogs?" But this is the . . . we are talking, following Kṛṣṇa, the great authority. But what Kṛṣṇa says, that is right. If you scrutinize by your logic, argument, philosophy, science, you will find that Kṛṣṇa is perfectly right. Therefore we accept Kṛṣṇa.

Unless Kṛṣṇa is perfectly right, why should we accept Kṛṣṇa? If He is ordinary rascal, then why, what is the use of reading His book, Bhagavad-gītā? No. All the ācāryas, all the saintly scholars, they have accepted. Therefore we have accepted. Because He is beyond all, I mean to say, faults. What is the difference between ordinary man and a liberated man? Liberated mane, (means,) not under the conditions of material nature. He is called liberated. Liberated means who is not conditioned by the laws of nature. He is called liberated. So Kṛṣṇa is the liberated Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore He has no defects. And those who are . . . just like we are . . . we are not liberated. Therefore we have got four defects. The four defects are that we commit mistake. Anyone, big, big man, he must commit mistake, because he is not liberated. He is under the laws of material nature. Who is here in this meeting who can say that, "I have never committed any mistake"? Is there anybody? However learned scholar you may be, commit mistake is inherent.

Similarly, to become illusioned. Illusioned means to accept something which you are not or which is not fact. That is called illusion. Just like sometimes we see that the sun is on the western side, but reflection is on the glass, and the glass is reflecting some light. So we are thinking that sun has come to the other side. We have got this experience. Sun is this side, reflecting the sun shining, and on the glass or on mirror, and the same reflection is this side. So we are thinking that, "Sun is this side. The sunlight is coming . . ." That is called illusion. This is example of illusion—which is not fact, but it is appearing. False thing appearing as truth, that is called māyā. This is the explanation of māyā. Māyā . . . mā means "not"; yā means "this." Māyā, what you are experiencing, that is not. That is called māyā. So a conditioned soul . . . a child will think that . . . although the fact is sun is this side, by seeing the reflection a child may say: "The sun is this side." So that is called illusion.

So we are all illusioned, because we accept this body as self, "What you are?" "Oh, I am American." "Why American?" "Because this is American body." But I am not this body. So . . . but we accept. It is going on. This illusion is going on. Mistake is going on. And in spite of becoming illusioned and mistaken, I am posing myself as great scholar, philosopher, scientist. Therefore cheater. But I do not know the things, because I am already illusioned and I commit mistake. And still, I am proving that, "I am theologician," "I am scientist," "I am philosopher." Then change again. I say today something and tomorrow something else, because I am mistaken, illusioned. I must go on speaking like that nonsense, today something, tomorrow something. And this is going on advancement. What is this advancement? If you do not know something as real, you say something today, and tomorrow you say something, the same mistake, again, day after tomorrow, you say something, where is your knowledge? There is no knowledge, but still, he is posing to be man of knowledge. He is getting Nobel Prize. This is called cheating. And people are, those who are cheated, they are accepting this cheating knowledge. Therefore the whole human society is full of cheaters and cheated. Full of.

So bhrama, pramāda, vipralipsā and karaṇāpāṭava. Then if you . . . somebody says that, "Why you are speaking that these men are cheaters and cheated and illusioned and in māyā?" Now, because the senses are imperfect. Because you are gathering knowledge by the senses. There are five senses acquire knowledge, and the five senses act according to that knowledge. And these sense objects . . .

There are sense objects. Just like you have got eyes, you have to see something objective, rūpa, form. The knowledge acquired by the eyes is to understand the form. Similarly, the knowledge acquired by the ears is to acquire knowledge from the sound. Because physical means the sound, light, form. These things are physical things. So we have got senses to acquire knowledge. So five knowledge-acquiring senses, five working senses, and five sense objects, and I am there. This is called sixteen elements. And then a five material elements—earth, water, fire, air—and five subtle elements, er, three—eight. So in this way the whole world, this universe, cosmic manifestation, is a composition of these eight elements, er, twenty-four elements. And beyond these twenty-four elements, I am the soul, and beyond myself, there is the Supersoul. This is knowledge. This is knowledge.

So without this knowledge, nobody is perfect, and without being perfect, if we hear from somebody who is not perfect, it is simply waste of time. And that is the symptoms of Kali-yuga. Therefore it is said, kalinā adharma-mitreṇa. Adharma-mitreṇa. And the adharma-mitra, this is the composition of ignorance. Now, the friends . . . which friend helps me to keep me in this perpetual ignorance? These are illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling, these four friends. You associate with these four friends, you will be very easily advancing under the influence of Kali-yuga. This is the fact. Kalinādharmeṇa. So formerly the kings, the government men . . . king means the supreme executive head of government. They could understand that, "These things are now coming." Dṛṣṭvā, "seeing practically." Because as soon as people are addicted to these four principles—illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling—where everyone can see, that means Kali-yuga. Dṛṣṭvā.

So how they saw? They saw the practical. They know how to see. Just like in the chemical laboratory they see the characteristic of a certain thing analyzed, and they say, "Yes, it is perfect," "It is not perfect. Because these things are wanting, so it is not pure. It is adulterated." Chemical examina . . . and if these characteristics are there . . . in every chemical book, every chemical has got some characteristic. Just like potassium cyanide. The chemical examiners have not experienced what is the taste. Because as soon as you taste, you finish, (laughter) potassium cyanide. You know this. So therefore in the chemical there is no mention, "The taste of the potassium cyanide." Nobody has still tasted. So there is a Hindi word in India, delhi ka lāḍḍu jo khaya abhi pachtaya, jo na khaya wo bhi pachtaya . . . there is a delhi ka lāḍḍu. You make lāḍḍu. So delhi ka lāḍḍu—it is a very slang language. Delhi ka lāḍḍu jo khaya abhi pachtaya. Delhi ka lāḍḍu is so made that one who has tasted it, he laments, and who has not tasted, he laments. Both of them. So this potassium cyanide is like that, a chemical. The chemists, because they do not know what is the taste, so they say that "We do not know. It is . . . analysis is imperfect." And those who have tasted, they cannot say. They are finished. (laughter) So this is the position.

So this delhi ka lāḍḍu is referred to Delhi prostitute. Delhi ka lāḍḍu. So we do not wish to discuss these things, but so many things. Not only prostitute, even sex life, it is like that. Anyone who has tasted, he also laments, and who has not tasted, he also laments. This is the position. This is the position. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Maithunādi. Maithunādi means sexual intercourse. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tucchaṁ kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham. It is a pleasure just like itching sensation. It is all described. Yan maithunādi . . . a gṛhamedhi . . . gṛhamedhi means a so-called householder. There are two words: gṛhamedhi and gṛhastha. Gṛhastha means . . . that is called āśrama, gṛhastha-āśrama, to live with wife and children, but the business is how to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is gṛhastha-āśrama, as we recommend. And where there is no such attempt how to develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, simply living like cats and dogs . . . they have also sex life. They also produce children. They also eat. They also work. Such kind of life, household life, working day and night simply for sense pleasure, and at night they have got sense pleasure . . .

That is also described in the Bhāgavata: divā cārthehayā rājan (SB 2.1.3). At night either sleep or enjoy sex life, and in daytime, simply work hard, "Where to get money?" And as you get money, spend it for maintaining your family. Nidrayā hriyate naktam. Nidrā means sleeping. Hriyate, that night is passed. Nidrayā hriyate naktaṁ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ (SB 2.1.3). Or one who has got facility to enjoy sex, so night is passed. One who has no . . . everyone has practically, but . . . two things: sleep or sex. And then, at daytime, cārthehayā. Artha. Artha means money. Īhayā means trying for to get it. Divā cārthehayā rājan. All right, they are getting money. Then? Then kuṭumba-bharaṇena vā, spending for kuṭumba, for the dependents. That's all. So finished. Where is the time for Kṛṣṇa consciousness? That is called gṛhamedhi. But gṛhastha means they will see whether every moment is utilized for Kṛṣṇa. That is gṛhastha.

So human civilization means gṛhastha, not gṛhamedhi. If you become gṛhamedhi, then you are cats and dogs. And if you become gṛhastha, then you are nice. Then you are advancing towards self-realization. That is required. Because the cats and dogs, they cannot become gṛhastha. That is not possible. If you say . . . if you have got a dog, you get another female dog, "My dear dog, you get your wife, live peacefully, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa," "No, sir, it is not possible, because I am dog. Because I am dog, therefore I cannot be satisfied. I must find out another illicit sex and create trouble," then phat! He . . . (indistinct) . . . then fight. That is Kali-yuga. Unnecessarily create, by illicit sex life, enemy, and then become killed and finish your life. That is called gṛhamedhi. Gṛhamedhi. You require wife. That's all right. Take wife. There is no scarcity of wife. Live peacefully. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. "No, I have got my wife; I want another. I want another, I want another," like dogs. Yes. So the dog civilization cannot help us. This will not help us. Human life is meant for something else. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujām (SB 5.5.1). Everything is discussed in Bhāgavata. Therefore we request the whole human society to read these valuable books. Valuable. Oh, they are missing the opportunity. Let them read these books. Then life will be successful.

So this human life is not meant for like dogs and cats and hogs. That is said in the Bhāgavatam. You will find in the Fifth Canto, Fifth Chapter, Ṛṣabhadeva. Every word is so valuable. Just like here in these verses, sarve tam anunirjagmur bhrātaraḥ. How ideal brothers they were, "My elder brother is going, retiring, going to the Himalayan side," all the brothers followed. When the elder brother was king, they acted. They did not fight that, "We are five brothers. Why you shall become king? I shall become king." No, there was no fight. All of them . . . the elder brother, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, was enthroned, and the other brothers, they acted as commanders of the soldiers. One brother is going one side of the earth to fight, to subdue the rascals. There was fight to subdue the rascals, not for ambition. Because he was emperor, so anyone who is doing wrong irreligiously, go there and fight. That was fight. That is called dharma-yuddha. Just like you can maintain police force, military force. What for? Whenever there is outlaws, go and punish them. That should be the system. That should be the . . . military force is required, violence is required. When there is irreligious, then must be. They must be made religious.

And because such government was there . . . that we have discussed. During Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira's time, everything was peaceful, adayovyadha. Even people did not suffer from excessive heat, excessive cold. This is also another punishment. Just like disease is punishment, similarly, excessive heat and excessive cold is also punishment. That is not very good. But Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja's time was such, they did not feel. People did not feel. It is nature's punishment. Just like I was proposing to go to, what is that place?

Devotees: Africa?

Prabhupāda: No, no.

Devotee: . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Florida. Florida,

Devotees: Miami.

Prabhupāda: Miami. So Karandhara said now there also the temperature has reduced. It has come to 50 or something like that, 40. The temperature is high there.

So nature can change at any time. At any time. You are not controller of nature. You are under the control of nature. That we forget. This is our illusion. We are under the control of material nature fully, cent percent, and still, we are declaring independence. What kind of independence you have got? Any kind of independence can be finished by one kick of nature. And still, you declare independent. You cannot be independent. When you go above the control of the material nature, then you can say independent. But they do not know that. And nature is controlled by God. That also they do not know.

Nature . . . daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). Just like police force. Police force is under the control of the government, and you are under the control of police force. Everyone knows it. So how you can get out of the police force? When you are not a criminal, that's all. And who punishes you? The government, who is above the police force. Similarly, nature is like police force, this material nature. As soon as you become irreligious, making friendship with Kali and his friends, then you will be punished. Nature will . . . there will be severe cold, there will be this blast, that blast, and no production, and famine, pestilence, so many things. Nature can disturb you, natural. That is called adhidaivika: which is beyond your control. Adhidaivika. If the Pacific Ocean within a second overflows your Los Angeles town, what you can do? What your scientists can do? "Nothing, sir." But it can be done, at any moment. What is the difficulty? One big wave. Skyscraper building, all skyscrapers will be finished. So that is called nature's disturbance.

So there are other disturbances also. This is called natural disturbance. Then other disturbance is . . . your body is the source of so many disturbances, you don't feel nature's disturbances, then your body friend, which you have taken so friendly, that "My body is everything. Exercise, keep this body very perfect to eat, eat meat and drink . . ." But this body will give you trouble. The mind will give trouble. This is called adhyātmika. Everything is analyzed. Adhyātmika and adhibhautika. You do not create any enemy, but your neighbor will be enemy, unnecessarily. Your friend will be enemy. Your brother will be enemy. Your son will be enemy. There are so many instance. This is called adhibhautika. Just like your, somebody's dog. Unnecessarily . . . you have seen. You are passing the road, and the dog is so faithful, he become your enemy. "Gow! Gow! Gow! Why you are passing here? Why you are passing?" You see? The mosquito will be enemy. The bugs will be enemy. The insects will be enemy. You go on killing, go on killing with spray.

So, so many enemies, so many trouble is being created. Who has created? The nature. You haven't go to create, but nature will create to give you disturbances. This is your position. And you are thinking, "We are very happy. We are very happy in this material life." Just . . . how mūḍha, nonsense rascals. So in the beginning I said: "All these rascals." So are they not rascals? They are harassed in so many ways; still, they are thinking, "We are making advance and we are happy." Just see. So are the whole situation is not full of rascals? They do not know. They are accepting unhappiness as happiness. This is called māyā. This is called māyā. Māyā-mohita-jīva. And you cannot get out of this illusion and mistakes unless you surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī

mama māyā duratyayā

mām eva ye prapadyante

māyām etāṁ taranti te

(BG 7.14)

This is the medicine. This is the only counteraction.

You cannot . . . suppose you are being harassed by the police. You are put into the prison house. And so many ways you are being harassed by the criminal department. How you can get out? You simply file a petition, "Sir, I am now experienced. I will never commit this criminal act. Kindly excuse me and get me released." That is the only way. Similarly, you can be very proud, that, "I don't care for God. There is no God. I am God. You are God." You can go on talking nonsense like that, but the māyā will give you so much trouble. But if you are sane man, then you will admit that, "This was a wrong thing. Please excuse me." And then it will be possible. But that is not possible. Especially in this age, in Kali-yuga, the age is very strong and deteriorated, that in spite of our daily class, daily instruction, the Kali is so strong that capturing, "Please come under my control and be killed. Please come under my control, be killed." "Yes, I will go." This is going on.

So Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja and his brothers, they saw, "Now the Kali yuga has begun," dṛṣṭvā and spṛṣṭāḥ prajāḥ, "all the citizens and all the land. Now . . . we have done our duty. Now let us retire. The next king, Mahārāja . . ." He's their grandchild, Mahārāja Parīkṣit. "He will do his duty." So it is the duty of the king to see, to give protection from this onslaught of nature, to make the life successful. That is the duty of the king. That is the duty of the father. That is the duty of the spiritual master. That is the duty of friends and relatives. Then one should cooperate, one should give protection. Just like these children are there. If the father, mother and the teacher, they do not give these children protection, then what is their future hope?

So unnecessarily, so-called education will not help. Let them become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is the duty of the government. Just like we are now speaking on the slogan "In God We Trust." Is that that slogan, "In God We Trust"? So this is a slogan, but it is the duty of the government, that "We are using this slogan, but actually what we are doing about people's education that they may know what is God and then trust?" But everyone is godless. And still, as a matter of fashion, we are writing, "In God We Trust." This is another cheating. Nobody trust in God, and they write, "In God We Trust." And unless I write . . . of course I do not wish to say very harsh word, that unless I cheat in that way, how a man will accept one piece of paper as one thousand dollars? (laughter) You see? It is a grand cheating that, "I am giving one thousand dollar to you." But if I value, it is not even one farthing. This is called māyā. It is not, but I accept. I accept. If people become enlightened, "No, we are not going to accept this piece of paper as one thousand dollar. We must have gold," so many things will be solved immediately. So many things. But because we agree to be cheated, the cheaters are cheating and things are going on wrong. This is called Kali-yuga.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jay . . . (cut) (end)