721229 - Lecture BG 13.01-2 - Bombay

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

721229BG-BOMBAY - December 29, 1972 - 49:26 Minutes

Pradyumna: Translation: "Arjuna said: O my dear Kṛṣṇa, I wish to know about prakṛti, nature; puruṣa, or the enjoyer; and the field and the knower of the field; and of knowledge and the end of knowledge. The Blessed Lord then said: This body, O son of Kuntī, is called the field, and one who knows this body . . . who knows this body is called the knower of the field." (BG 13.1-2)

Prabhupāda: Hm. Kṣetra-kṣetra-jñam. Just like we are living in this apartment and we know that I am not this apartment, but I am living in this apartment. The people say that because the Supersoul or the soul is living within this body, therefore the body is soul.

This is not very good argument. That is being cleared by Kṛṣṇa Himself. Idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate (BG 13.2). Kṣetra. Kṣetra means land or a place. So idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate. And, the next line?

Pradyumna: Etad yo vetti tam . . .

Prabhupāda: Etad yo vetti, and one who knows it, he's kṣetra-jñaḥ. Jñaḥ means in knowledge.

So we should know this that, "I am not this body; it is my body." If we analyze the body, I say: "It is my hand," "It is my leg," "It is my head." Nobody says: "I head" or "I hand." "I" is different from this body. I am living in this apartment, but I am not this apartment. But the modern civilization is going on on the basic idea that, "I am this body." "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brāhmin," "I am kṣatriya," "I am man," "I am woman." This is condemned. This is condemned.

This is . . . this is the concession of the animals. The animals, they do not know that the dog, the body-dog and the soul who has obtained the body of a dog . . . the soul is different from the body. This is the Vedic information, asaṅgo 'yaṁ puruṣaḥ. (break) The living entity, soul, is not this material body. Asaṅga. He has no, I mean to say, association. He's put into that condition, but he's different from the body.

(Sarasvatī crying)

(aside) What is that? She has gone out and cannot come.

So this should be clearly understood. This is knowledge that, "I am not this body." What is the next, second line?

Pradyumna: Kṣetram ity abhidhīyate.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Next?

Pradyumna: Etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ . . .

Prabhupāda: Etad yo vetti. So if you study, if you meditate on our body so, "I am this body. I am this finger." No. The answer will come: "No, I am not this body. I am . . . it is my body. It is my finger. It is my head." This is simple thing. And here it is confirmed by the supreme authority, Kṛṣṇa. And we can experiment it, that how it is that I am identifying myself with this body?

Therefore śāstra says: yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke. This body is a, a product of the three dhātus, according to Āyur-vedic system: kapha-pitta-vāyu. So anyone who is accepting this body made of three elements, kapha-pitta-vāyu, he is no better than go-kharaḥ. Sa eva go-kharaḥ. An animal.

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-kharaḥ. Go means cow, and kharaḥ means ass. So people are identifying with this body, but śāstra says such persons are no better than the cows and the asses. Now just try to understand what is this civilization. Just try to understand. It is this . . . it is a combination of cows and asses. Because everyone is identifying, "I am this body." "I am American," "I am Russian," "I am China." "Let us fight." "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim." This is going on.

The simple knowledge is lacking. The simple knowledge that, "I am not this body. I am . . ." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. The Vedic language. So 'ham. So 'ham means I am the same spirit soul as the Supersoul, as Kṛṣṇa. I am qualitatively one. As Kṛṣṇa is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, similarly I am also sac-cid-ānanda, part and parcel. The difference is that I am very minute.

As we have several times explained, the minute particle of gold is also gold. That is not different. Minute, a drop of the sea water is also the same, qualitatively, the same chemicals. Similarly, we, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, we are not subjected to the material condition. But we have put ourself in this material condition. That is called māyā. We wanted to enjoy separately, diffe . . . separated from Kṛṣṇa, and therefore we are put into a condition which is illusion.

That I have already explained several times. At night, we forget all this body. Although in daytime I identify myself that, "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brāhmin," at night, when I sleep, I forget whether I am American, Indian or brāhmin and kṣatriya. This is our daily experience. I am in different atmosphere.

I am dreaming something. But again at daytime I forget what I dreamt at night. So sometimes we go very unknown place, very nice place, nice building, nice atmosphere. Huh? And at . . . as soon as the dream is over, then again I am on my bed. You see? And when I dream, I forget I'm not in my bed, but I'm in the surrounding of palaces, of gardens. So this is our daily experience.

So because we wanted to imitate Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vañcha kare (Prema-vivarta), the Kṛṣṇa has given us a place which is illusion, which is not fact. Temporary. Illusion. Just like we sometimes see water in the desert. That is illusion. Practically there is no illusion, uh, there is no water. But we see, "Oh, here is water, vast water." The animal, they run after the water. Similarly, we are also running after this illusion, "There is happiness. There is happiness." Therefore there is no happiness.

At the fag end of life, we are disappointed, we are frustrated. Brdhya kala aula saba sukha pāgala. When we cannot again . . . no more we can enjoy with our senses, then we become very much depressed. Old men, you'll find old men, those who are not spiritually inclined, they're very morose. Morose because they cannot use anymore the senses. They sometime take medicine. But how it can be done? So brdhya kala aula.

So we are under this illusion. This is called māyā. We should understand that we are not this body. We are not this body. Our bodily enjoyment, sense gratification, that is illusion. In another place in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find it is said, sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tat atīndriyaṁ grāhyam. (aside) Find out that verse.

Sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad atīndriyaṁ grāhyam. We are trying to enjoy life with these material senses, but that is illusion, that is temporary. Temporary and illusion. Real enjoyment is with our spiritual senses.

(aside) What is it . . .? Have you got?

Pradyumna:

sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad

buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam

vetti yatra na caivāyaṁ

sthitaś calati tattvataḥ

(BG 6.21)

Prabhupāda: What is the translation?

Pradyumna: There's a few verses together. "The stage of perfection is called trance, or samādhi, when one mind . . . when one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this, he thinks there is no greater gain."

Prabhupāda: So every information is there. If we want actually happiness, then we have to purify the material consciousness. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We have come to the point of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be achieved by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa consciousness . . . athāpi te deva padāmbhuja-dvayam-prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi (SB 10.14.29). Kṛṣṇa cannot be understood by any other method than the Kṛṣṇa method. Kṛṣṇa is absolute. Therefore if one wants to understand Kṛṣṇa, he must take the Kṛṣṇa method. Kṛṣṇa method.

Because Kṛṣṇa is absolute, there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and the method of attaining Kṛṣṇa. They are the same. Method . . . the bhakti method means Kṛṣṇa method. Bhakta-bhagavān. And the method to approach Bhagavān is called bhakti. The whole thing is based on one root: bhaj. Bhaj-dhātu. Bhaj-dhātu. That means offering loving service to the Lord. And Kṛṣṇa says, bhaktyā mām abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk.

These words are there: sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ (BG 9.30), api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. Bhajate, this very . . . bhajate. Catur-vidhā bhajante mām. This word, bhaja is very important thing. From bhaja, the word bhakti comes. Bhaja dhātu ukti. So bhakti means bhajana. Bhajate mām ananya-bhāk. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya-manasaḥ (BG 9.13). Again: bhajanti.

Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ. This bhajana is for mahātmās, not for the durātmās, or kṣudrātmā. Mahātmā. One whose ātmā has been expanded, mahātmā. Not crippled. Those who are thinking in terms of society, nationality, country, religion or so many things, they are not mahātmās; they are kṣudrātmās: small, cripple-minded. Those, those who are thinking in broader way.

Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He says, pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma. He's not thinking in terms of . . . pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma (CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126): as many towns and villages are there all over the world. He's not thinking in terms of "my village," "my country," "my society." Everyone is thinking like that. But those who are mahātmā actually, they are thinking in a broader way. Pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma. Kṛṣṇa is thinking in terms of all living entities. Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ yāḥ (BG 14.4): "All living entities, in all species of life, in all forms of life," ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā, "I am their father."

So this is called mahātmā. Kṛṣṇa is thinking in terms of all living entities. People are saying that Kṛṣṇa, Indian, Hindu God. Why Hindu God? The dictionary, it is said, in English dictionary, that Kṛṣṇa is one Hindu God. Is not? In the dictionary. Why Hindu God? He says that, "I am the father of all living entities." Why He should be the father of the Hindus, Indians? He's father of everyone. He says. But they write in the dictionary, "Kṛṣṇa is Hindu God." Misinterpretation. Kṛṣṇa does not say. He . . . and Kṛṣṇa Himself, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu, says, pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma: "As many villages and towns are there," sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma that, "My name will be celebrated in every village, every town."

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a crippled movement. It is very broad movement, claiming all living entities to come to Kṛṣṇa, back to home, back to Godhead. Therefore we should not be bodily conscious. Kṛṣṇa here says, the body is not "I am this body." Idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram. It is a field of activities. Kṣetram. Field of activities. Just like one who is bodily conscious, he undergoes many severe exercises, so body becomes very stout and strong and he's happy. He's happy. Because he thinks, "I am this body."

Similarly, you can make your body spiritually stronger. As you make your body materially strong, similarly you can make your body . . . because this is kṣetra. Kṣetra means the field, or the land. You, in the land by tilling the land, by cultivating the land, you can produce nice grain also, and inferior grain also, as you work. Because the land is in your possession, you can cultivate as you like. Similarly, this body is land, and I am the tiller. I am the kṛṣaka, or agriculturist. So by using the land, I can become spiritually advanced or I can become materially advanced. It is up to me.

Spiritually advanced means gradually you forget that, "I am this material body." "I am Kṛṣṇa's. I am Brahman." That is spiritually advanced. And material advance means "I am this body." "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am brāhmin," "I am kṣatriya," "I am man," "woman." This is materially advanced. Both ways. This human form of life . . . because it is not animal life. Always remember that I'm not animal; I'm now human being. So I can utilize . . .

These things will be explained in this chapter, how I can utilize this body. Both ways I can utilize. If I simply limit myself with the bodily necessities of life, just like the animals, eating, sleeping, sex intercourse, and defense—these are common to the human body and the cats' and dogs' body. But because I am human being, I can utilize my body in a different way. The cats and dogs cannot do. That is the difference between a human being and an animal. If you don't utilize my body as human being, then I am no better than cats and dogs.

Actually I am cats and dogs. If we simply limit myself how to eat very nicely, how to sleep very nicely, how to have sex intercourse very nicely and how to defend myself very nicely, then you are no better than animal. But this is the business of the animals. The ani . . . animal cannot be invited to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is not possible. Even if he's invited, he cannot sit down, he cannot hear.

Therefore those who are very much advanced in animal propensities, they cannot take part in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Those are . . . those who are, to say frankly, no better than animals, they cannot take any interest in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That is not possible. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says who can take. He says . . . we take from Kṛṣṇa all the words; you don't believe me. Kṛṣṇa says that:

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ

janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām

te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā

bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ

(BG 7.28)

So animal life means sinful life. Animal life. Even this human form of life is also sinful unless we come to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness platform. We come to the . . . animal life means sinful life. If I act as sinful, like hogs and dogs . . . just like if I don't discriminate of eating. Just like the hogs, they have no discrimination. They accept even stool: "Come on. I shall eat." You get the body of hogs or dogs. And if you utilize this body according to the śāstra to purify it . . .

Because human body is meant for purification. Yasmāt śuddhyet sattvam. That is the given, instruction given by Ṛṣabhadeva. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yasmāt śuddhyet sattvaṁ yena . . . śuddhyet sattvaṁ yasmād brahma-saukhyam anantam. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhati viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). He advised, instructed His sons, "My dear sons, don't use this body like the hogs and dogs, whole day and night searching after stool, eating, for eating. Don't use this."

And after eating, as soon as there is the sex is strong, then sex life. That is hogs' life. We have seen. These are the examples, nature's. They are very stout and strong, fatty, eating stool. And as soon as fatty, immediately sex life, without any discrimination mother, sister, or anyone. That is hogs. You see from nature's example, dogs and hogs. The dog has no, I mean to say, courtesy or shame. At, in the street, they're having sex life.

So human civilization is coming to that. Already it has come. In Western countries . . . at least, in our country it has not come still. And Western, it is common affair. Young man, young woman is embracing, kissing, and everything. And sometimes sexually also engaged on the sea beach, in the garden. We have seen it. So practically you are coming to the hogs' and dogs' life. This is our advancement of civilization. Why? On account of this bodily concept of life: "I am this body. I am this body."

Therefore this should be first of all understood. As Kṛṣṇa says, idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity . . . (BG 13.2). It has been awarded to you for utilizing it for different purposes, as you like. You can utilize it like cats and dogs and hogs, and you can utilize it as devatā, as demigod. That is up to you. We have got little independence. We can utilize or misuse this independence. But the śāstra says that this body is not to be utilized as cats and dogs and hogs. Śāstra says.

Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ (BG 16.23): anyone who does not care for the instruction given in the śāstras . . . śāstra. Just like anyone who doesn't care for the law of the state, what kind of man he is? He's a loafer, a outlaw. He's not a respectable citizen. Similarly, anyone who does not follow the śāstric in . . . śāstras are meant for human being, not for the cats and dogs and hogs, as law is meant for the human being, not for the cats and dogs. Therefore we have to follow the śāstric injunction.

As Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā or Vyāsadeva says in the Purāṇas, in the Vedānta-sūtra, they are meant for . . . as Caitanya Mahāprabhu says:

anādi bahirmukha jīva kṛṣṇa bhuli' gelā

ataeva kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa karila

(CC Madhya 20.117)

What for these Vedas and Purāṇas are meant? Because we have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. We have forgotten Kṛṣṇa. Therefore to revive our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, so many Vedic literatures are there. So many.

So this life is meant for utilizing this body . . . tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1). Sattva. Sattva, our sattva, or existence, is not now pure. It is . . . because it is not pure, therefore we have to migrate, transmigrate from one body to another according to our desire, according to our karma. Nature is giving you.

Bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā (BG 18.61). We have been given a vehicle. Now we have got this nice vehicle, this human body, vehicle, moving. But if we don't utilize it as human being, then it . . . we shall get another vehicle like dogs and hogs. Sometimes no movement, stand up for seven thousand years as a tree. Not as a tree; as tree. Yes. So this is going on.

So the first essential knowledge, to know that "I am not this body." We are working so hard . . . body means the senses. The senses. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhur indriyebhyaḥ paraṁ manaḥ, manasas tu parā buddhiḥ (BG 3.42). So we have to transcend this bodily concept of life. Bodily concept of life means sense gratification. That's all.

The, the bodily . . . I am, because I'm thinking I am this body, therefore I must satisfy my eyes by seeing something beautiful. I must satisfy my tongue by eating so many things which are even forbidden in the śāstras. But my tongue wants it, I must take it. So bodily concept of life means satisfying these gross material senses. That is bodily concept of life. But gradually, by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, by training ourself how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then our business will be how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa.

Now we are satisfying our senses. That is bodily concept of material existence. And when we train ourself how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, oh, then that is our perfection of life. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The process is there. Either you satisfy your senses or you satisfy the proprietor of the senses. Kṛṣṇa is called Hṛṣīkeśa. Hṛṣīka. Hṛṣīka means the senses. And Kṛṣṇa is called Hṛṣīkeśa. Senayor ubhayor madhye rathaṁ sthāpaya me 'cyuta (BG 1.21). Hṛṣīkeśa. Tvayā hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣṭitena. So Hṛṣīkeśa.

So bhakti means hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170). Now hṛṣīka, indriya. Now, at the present moment, we are satisfying the senses for the sense only. We have no other higher objective. Sense wants to eat something palatable, although it is not good for me, either from health point of view, or spiritual point of view . . . just like meating eat (sic) or drinking intoxication.

This is not good, either for health or for my spiritual advancement. But because my tongue wants it, I have become my servant of my tongue. I want should be satisfied. This is the material condition. Because I, I don't want to serve Kṛṣṇa, I want to serve my tongue. Tā'ra madhye jihwā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati tā'ke jetā kaṭhina saṁsāre.

We have got different senses. Out of all the senses, this tongue is very strong. Tongue is very strong. Therefore śāstra says, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ (CC Madhya 17.136). By these blunt senses, we cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. We cannot understand what is Kṛṣṇa, what is Kṛṣṇa's name, what is Kṛṣṇa's fame, what is Kṛṣṇa's form, what is Kṛṣṇa's quality. We cannot understand. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says:

manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu

kaścid yatati siddhaye

yatatām api siddhānāṁ

kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ

(BG 7.3)

To understand Kṛṣṇa is not so easy. So śāstra says that it can be made easy. It can be made easy. How? Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ (Brs. 1.2.234). If you simply engage your tongue in the service of the Lord. This one method. Simply engage your tongue in the service of the Lord, God will be revealed.

(aside) Come on.

God will reveal Himself. You cannot see God. You cannot see Kṛṣṇa. But when He reveals Himself . . . just like at night you cannot see the sun. But when the sun reveals himself, it is not by your effort. In due course of time, sun will arise in the morning. You can see the sun, you can see yourself, you can see the whole world.

So try to reveal Kṛṣṇa. Don't try to see Kṛṣṇa. Because with your eyes, with your senses, these material blunt senses, we cannot see. It is not . . . ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi . . . (break) Ah, we're chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, but we are not making progress because we have not come to the stage how to hear Kṛṣṇa's name. But practice it. Practice it, that we shall come.

So this practice is recommended, śastra, that by the our these blunt senses it is very difficult to understand Kṛṣṇa. Ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ. Indriyaiḥ. This is our . . . our property is the indriyaiḥ. Then how? Now, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau. Jihvādau, beginning from tongue.

This is a science. You try to understand. Everything begins by seeing or by touching, by tasting, like that. But here also the tasting. So sevonmukhe hi jihvādau: if you engage your tongue in the service of the Lord, the Lord will reveal Himself. Therefore we restrict our student, restrict our student to control the tongue: don't eat flesh, meat or fish—don't drink. This is controlling the tongue.

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said, tā'ra madhye jihvā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati: tongue is very fastidious, very greedy and very difficult to control it. Actually it is very difficult to control. I have no hunger, but still my tongue dictates, "Oh, yes! It is very nice. Why don't you take? Yes." You see? Three plates finished, and then next day, "Ah! Ah!" It is the dictation of the tongue. Therefore the tongue is most formidable enemy.

tā'ra madhye jihvā ati, lobhamoy sudurmati,

tā'ke jetā kaṭhina saṁsāre

kṛṣṇa baḍo doyāmay, karibāre jihvā jay

(Gītāvalī, Prasāda-sevāya)

Kṛṣṇa is very kind. Just to control, just to help us to control over the tongue, kṛṣṇa baḍo doyāmay, karibāre jihvā jay, sva-prasād-anna dila bhāi.

So this process, if we simply decide that "I shall not eat anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa prasāda . . ."

(aside) Come on.

". . . and I shall not talk anything which is not the subject matter of Kṛṣṇa," then control tongue, as Ambarīṣa Mahārāja did: vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane (SB 9.4.18). If I talk, I shall talk about Kṛṣṇa only, that's, that's all; no more talking. Your tongue is . . . (indistinct) . . . if you simply decide like this that, "I shall not talk anything which is not in the matter of Kṛṣṇa, and I shall not eat anything which is not offered to Kṛṣṇa," then you become controller of all senses, you become the first-class yogī. yoga indriya-saṁyamaḥ. yoga means to control the senses, and if you try to control the tongue by these two processes, you become the greatest yogī, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau.

But if I allow myself that, "I am this body. Body means I am senses. Let me enjoy my senses," then I am lost. I, the spirit soul who is in this slumbering state, illusion, sometimes in daydream, sometimes in night dream, I am there. Because I am there, therefore I am seeing daydream and night dream.

Unless I am there, who is seeing this daydream and night dream? So I am there, but I am in the dreamland—sometimes seeing this dream, sometimes that. So in order to get me out of this dreamland, to come to this real life, you have to take Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness the simple method is try to control your tongue. Then everything is all right.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break)

Indian man (1): . . . just as you said that there is a difference between human being and the animals, and animals cannot become conscious, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In Bhagavad-gītā when this Gajendra, I mean to say, elephant got cover in the sea by that crocodile . . . crocodile was made to . . . (indistinct) . . . attack that elephant. Elephant remembered the God, the Lord, and He came to save him. How is that . . . (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: There is a history. Formerly they were human being . . .

Indian man (1): Now what is the correctness?

Prabhupāda: Because formerly this elephant and the crocodiles were two brothers. They were human being. So sometimes, just like Bharata Mahārāja, he became a deer, but he remembered himself. Generally people forget. Death means forgetting the past life. Past life.

But in special cases, just this elephant, or the Bharata Mahārāja became a deer and he remembered his past life. Therefore he could remember God, "Please save me." That is special case. Generally . . . why animal? Even human being. Do you remember your past life? That is special case. We are no more reliable. We do not know past life, even if ten years ago, what we were doing at this time. Forgotten. Everything is forgotten, even in this life.

So forgetfulness is our nature, but in special cases, somebody remembers. That is special cases. Generally . . . why animal? Even human being, they forget. At night we are forgetting. We experiment. At night I am dreaming, I am forgetting that I am Mr. Such-and-such and so on. I forget everything. Why do you call the next life? In this life, daily, at night I am forgetting, and at daytime also I am forgetting. So forgetfulness is my nature. That is expressed. But in special cases we remember.

Just like Bharata Mahārāja, Bharata Mahārāja under whose name this land, this planet is called Bhārata-varṣa; that king. He was very elevated king. So he left his home at young age to undergo austerities for liberation, but it so happened that one day a pregnant deer was drinking water in the river, and she heard the roaring of a lion and she gave birth to a small calf and fell down. So naturally the human being, he became a little compassionate, picked up that small calf and tried to raise him. So he became growing, and the Bharata Mahārāja became a little affected.

So one day the deer did not come back in the evening, so he was little anxious, so he went to find out the deer, and consciously or unconsciously he fell down from the top of the hill and died. But because he was thinking of the deer at that time, in next time he became a deer. Yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran lokam tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6).

But because he was spiritually very much advanced, he could remember that he was Bharata Mahārāja: "Now I have taken the form of a deer"; therefore he was keeping himself always among the sages and saintly person. He was eating the flowers and the all the leaves and flowers thrown by the sages. Whatever they were giving, eating. In this way, next life he took birth in the family of a brāhmin. At that time, because he was remembering, he became completely stopped: no more talking, no more preaching.

So this is the process going on. This is the process . . . this is a great science. But foolish people, they do not know this science, how transmigration of the soul is taking place, how one great man is becoming a small animal. These things are unknown. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for enlightening people this science, the science of the soul, ātma-tattvam.

Gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām. Śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ (SB 2.1.2). Just like you have come here to hear, so hearing is the only process to understand, hearing and chanting. But those who are foolish, they have got many other hearing.

Now in many places meeting is going on, lecture is going on, how to conquer material nature and how to become stronger than Russia or . . . so many lectures are going on all over the world, and hundreds and thousands of people are hearing. Hearing. You take information. Even in Bombay you'll find that there are so many conference, committee meetings are going on, and they are engaged in hearing. Eh? Some like the newspapers are giving dictation, the news editor is giving the stereotype, he is taking hearing. So hearing is going on. Hearing is going on.

Therefore śastra says, śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ: there are thousands types of subject matter for hearing there are. Thousand types, sahasraśaḥ, not one type. So . . . but who are they? Now, apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ. One who is not interested about his self, they are hearing so many subject matter, apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām, compact in household life, gṛha-medhinām.

This is going on. And this hearing process has to be transferred, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23). This . . . (indistinct) . . . but you have to change the hearing process. Instead of hearing so many rubbish things and spoil your life, just try to hear about Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-kathā, the words of Kṛṣṇa, the instruction of Kṛṣṇa. Then your life will be successful. (break) (indistinct) . . . hearing is going on. You cannot stop hearing, but we are hearing the rubbish . . . (break) (end)