681020 - Conversation - Seattle

Conversations by Date, 1968

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

681020R1-SEATTLE - October 20, 1968 - 13:12 Minutes

Prabhupāda: . . . the whole atmosphere, you should come and disturb. You are making . . . you cannot understand? And the whole attention is diverted to you. So harā, harā is the form of the word . . . Hare is the form of the word harā when address . . . when she is addressed. And Kṛṣṇa, when He's addressed, the form does not change. This is grammatical rule. So Hare Kṛṣṇa means, "Oh, the energy of Kṛṣṇa, or energy of the Lord," and Kṛṣṇa, "the Lord." So Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa means I am praying not only to the Lord, but to the energy also.

This is natural. Just like a man and woman. In whole world there is combination of male and female, either . . . any society—human society, or bird society or dog society or animal society—why this male and female? Why? Female is the energy, energy of the male. Why a man takes, marries a woman and takes responsibility . . .?

Of course, in your country they marry as a matter of joke, immediately divorce after week or after seven days. But marriage means to take full responsibility of a woman. That is real marriage, Vedic marriage. We, when I get married our boys and girls, the boy takes this vow that, "I take responsibility of your maintenance throughout your whole life," and the girl promises that, "I desire to serve you throughout my whole life."

So the woman, the female, is the energy. When a man comes at home, he sees that everything is nicely decorated, my wife is well dressed and foodstuff is nicely prepared, he becomes encouraged. He can work more nicely. Therefore woman is the energy. The woman gives the energy and he can work. Wherefrom this idea came? The idea came because it is originally here, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1).

Everything is coming from the Supreme; otherwise where do you get this idea—sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3.14.1), without being in the origin? Bījo 'haṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 7.10), Kṛṣṇa says that, "I am the root of everything."

So if this energy, male and female combination, is a necessity, so where from this necessity came into existence unless it is there in the origin?

Therefore it is to be understood that the Absolute has energy. He has got different energies. By His energies He is acting, and that is confirmed in the Vedic sūtra, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8).

The Supreme Absolute Truth has multi-energies. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate, multi-energies. And svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca, and by His energies He's working in such a nice way that it appears that it is being automatically done. Just like this tape recorder is working. How it is working? The electric energy is there.

By the electric energy the machine is so nicely working that when it is replayed exactly I am speaking. So energy is working. I am speaking, my speaking energy is acting, electric energy is helping. This machine energy is accepting and a nice thing is coming. Similarly, the whole cosmic manifestation is the manifestation of the energies.

The rascals, they do not understand. And when it is stated that everything is Brahman, that is to be understood that everything is working under the energy of the Supreme Brahman. That is real meaning. But this is simultaneously one and different. When this tape recorder will play, it will play exactly I am speaking to you. There will be no difference of voice.

If somebody hears from other room, he'll understand that Swāmījī's speaking, but still, that speaking is different from me. Because my energy is working there. Similarly, there are two kinds of energies. Just like when I am speaking, this is my real energy, and when this tape recorder will speak, that is also my energy, but that is separated energy.

Similarly, this material manifestation is separated energy, and there is direct energy. The direct . . . this material energy, separated energy, is the reflection of the direct energy. Just like when this tape recorder will be replayed it is the reflection of my original speech. Similarly, this material manifestation is a reflection of the original energy, internal energy. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that perverted reflection. As . . . as . . . ūrdhva-mūlam adhah-śākham (BG 15.1), perverted, a tree.

This cosmic manifestation is compared just like a tree with root upwards. That means perverted. Have you seen a tree upwards, root?

Jāhnavā: I've heard an analogy to that before.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So this material world is perverted reflection of the original energy. So this Hare means we are directly approaching the original energy of the Supreme Lord. "Please accept me, under You. Now I am under reflection. I am trying to get substance from the reflection." Suppose a tree is reflected by the bank of a river, the exact. So if somebody dives into the river and tries to take fruit from that tree, it will not be possible because that is reflection. One has to go to the real tree.

So we are hankering after life, we are hankering after pleasure, but we are seeking pleasure in the reflection, māyā. Therefore we are frustrated, confused. Therefore this prayer is to the original energy. Without energy, without energy the Lord is not without energy. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, Sītā-Rāma. So God is always with energy. Without energy, he is incomplete. Sun without sunshine is incomplete. Is it possible? Can one think of sun without sunshine?

Similarly, the Māyāvāda theory that the Absolute is without energy, there is no energy, absolute is . . . they have misunderstood. The energy is not different from the energetic. Just like sunshine is not different from the sun, neither the sunshine has got any existence without the sun, nor the sun can exist without sunshine, they are so intimately related, similarly, the Lord and the energies are so intimately related, they cannot be separated, but they are not one. This is the whole philosophy.

So we are praying to the original energy, Hare Kṛṣṇa. Because energy and the energetic, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, They are not separate, but it is pleasure. When They are separated, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, that is energetic, that is giving impetus. Just like the man and the woman, they come from the same source, but one body is energetic to the other. Man is energy to the woman. Woman is the energy to the man.

Why the creation is not one kind of? Why there is fair sex? They're coming from the same womb of the mother. Why not one, boy only? Why girl? Why nature has provided like that? Let simply boys come. No. It is required. But the whole thing is perverted reflection. Here the man, woman, the energy . . . it is simply . . . but by this, one can understand the reality.

Just like the shadow, the five fingers. One person who is not misled, he can understand that the original palm has five fingers, although he cannot see it, from the shadow. Similarly, from this energy, work of the energy in this material perverted reflection, one can understand that there is a reality. In the reality, in the abode of Kṛṣṇa, the same things are there, the same trees are there, the same things are there, but they are original, personal energy.

And here, they are simply imitation or perverted reflection. Not imitation. The exact word is perverted reflection. The same example: just like a tree on the bank of a river is reflected, obverted, the root upwards and the branches downwards. So this world is like that, and that is described in the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. So one has to learn all these things. Everything is there. (end)