661121 - Lecture BG 09.07-10 - New York

Lectures by Date, 1966

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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661121BG.NY - November 21, 1966

Prabhupāda:

. . . kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni

kalpādau visṛjāmy aham

(BG 9.7)

Now, this verse we have been discussing last meeting, that this whole cosmic manifestation, it is not permanent. It is created, and it is again annihilated, and the whole energy is wound up into the body of the Supreme Lord. It comes out, and again it is winded.

Now, jagad avyakta-mūrtinā . . . sarva-bhūtāni kaunteya prakṛtiṁ yānti māmikām (BG 9.7). The prakṛti . . . prakṛti is not independent. Prakṛti means nature. It is dependent on the Supreme Lord. When He desires, or when the time is, He gives us chance. This prakṛti, this material cosmic manifestation, is meant for the conditioned souls. We are all conditioned souls. So this manifestation is given, a chance, so that we can return back to the eternal prakṛti, or eternal nature.

Otherwise this prakṛti, bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19): as you have studied in the Eighth Chapter, it is created, it is maintained and it is annihilated. Kalpa-kṣaye punas tāni kalpādau visṛjāmy aham. So each creation is called a kalpa, and it, after kalpa, after similar years . . . one kalpa, that is not possible for us to calculate, how many years, but some idea is given in this Bhagavad-gītā that suppose the kalpa exists for so many years, and as we have got calculation of the day of the year, just like 365 days in a year, so the duration of one day is given in the Bhagavad-gītā as forty-three hundred thousands of years into one thousand. That is the calculation of one day of the whole cosmic creation.

Now, we are concerned how to get out of this temporary life. We are hankering after eternal life, how to get out of this temporary life. That should be our problem. There is no use calculating for how many years one kalpa, one duration of this cosmic manifestation, is maintained. But our concern is that whether we can get out of these clutches of material nature and get into our spiritual nature and have our eternal blissful life. That is our problem.

That we can make solution. If we culture the Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously, then even after annihilation of this body, we can get into the spiritual nature and . . . spiritual nature, and we are also spirit; therefore there is no difference; there is no question of birth and death. That is the problem.

prakṛtiṁ svām avaṣṭabhya

visṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ

bhūta-grāmam imaṁ kṛtsnam

avaśaṁ prakṛter vaśāt

(BG 9.8)

Prakṛter vaśāt. We are completely under the grip of the stringent laws of material nature, and we are repeatedly put into that stringent laws of material nature so that we may come into our consciousness that "Why we are suffering this repeated birth and death?" But we have become so much dull and so much accustomed to this habit . . . because it is continuing since a very, very long time, time immemorial, so we have become accustomed. We have become accustomed. So we don't take it very seriously that why we are dying and why we are getting again body and why we are suffering these miseries.

So this is called ignorance. This is called ignorance. So we are not very serious. Especially in this age we are not very serious. We think that this is the process of life. No. This is not the process of life. You have got your life. If you like, you can have your life eternal, without any birth and death, just to get rid . . . just getting out of this material nature.

So God creates and annihilates. So God says, Kṛṣṇa says:

na ca māṁ tāni karmāṇi

nibadhnanti dhanañjaya

udāsīnavad āsīnam

asaktaṁ teṣu karmasu

(BG 9.9)

Now, one may think that, "Such a huge manifestation of the material world, it is once created and again annihilated. Then God must be very much concerned about this creation and annihilation." But the Lord says: "No." Na ca māṁ tāni karmāṇi nibadhnanti dhanañjaya: "My dear Arjuna, all this world is going on automatically. There is no concern about it."

Just like a big man, big rich man in your city. Oh, he is dismantling so many big, big houses and again constructing skyscraper. Oh, his agents are doing. He has got money, spending. He is sitting nicely. He has no concern. Similarly, parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate. The material nature and so many other agents, they are, I mean to say, performing this creation automatically. Parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate svābhāvikī jñāna-bala-kriyā ca (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.8).

In the Vedic literature we understand that these things are so nicely being done as if there are so many plans, so many engineers and so many scientist, they are working. No. The nature is so made by the superior brain of the Supreme Lord that it is going on automatically. Don't you see a flower, how it is beautifully decorated with paintings? A leaf, just symmetrically . . . you don't find any, I mean, change. So this is going on. This is going on automatically.

This is God's power. This is God's power. If you have got to paint one picture, one flower, oh, you have to take so much attention, and still, it may not be symmetrical. There may be some mistake. But in nature's way you see how many flowers, fruits and so many things are coming out automatically. Foolish people, they think it is being done automatically. No. Behind this thing there is the brain of Kṛṣṇa, behind everything. And because we do not see how it is being done due to our lack of knowledge, or less intelligence, we think it is being automatically done. No.

That is explained. That is explained in the next verse. Kṛṣṇa says:

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ

sūyate sa-carācaram

hetunānena kaunteya

jagad viparivartate

(BG 9.10)

"Whatever changes and wonderful things, happenings, you are observing in this material nature, that is under My superintendence. Under My superintendence." There is brain, not without brain. As you cannot see anything in this material world within your experience, so everything has got . . . behind everything there is a good brain. Anything. You cannot prove anything that, "This thing has automatically being done without a brain behind it." Can you give us any solitary example that any wonderful thing has happened without a brain behind it? You cannot say. You cannot give even a single example within your experience.

Now how we can say that this material nature, such wonderful things, manifestation . . . thousands and millions of planets, they are floating in weightlessness in the air. There is no brain behind it? You throw one mechanical Sputnik, and there are thousands of scientist working in the laboratory, electronics. They are pushing on the button, and everything is recorded. It is a plaything only. That Sputnik is a plaything. If for such a plaything so many scientist, so many brain, are working, do you think such wonderful things are happening without any brain? This is called foolishness. Foolish people will say that they are taking (place) automatically. No. They are not taking place automatically.

Here we find in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says, mayādhyakṣeṇa: "Under My superintendence." So we have to accept it. Unless you prove that anything, any material happenings, can take place without a spiritual brain behind it, then you can say: "Oh, there is no God. There is no God. There is no brain." But you cannot prove anything wonderful without a brain behind it. How can you say that these wonderful happenings in the material nature is going on without any brain behind it? Because we cannot conceive how much big brain that is, therefore we set aside, dismiss, "Oh, there is no brain." Because our brain is tiny, we cannot think of. The same philosophy, frog philosophy, frog's calculation of Atlantic Ocean.

Avan mānasa-gocaraḥ. In the Vedic literature it is said that we cannot describe it by our words. We cannot think of it with our mind. Inconceivable. Inconceivable. Because it is inconceivable, therefore we say it is void. No, this is not void. The ultimate cause cannot be void. How it can be void? Do you think from void something comes out? Do you think your body has come from something void? No. Behind this body is your father, your mother. How can you say that everything has come out of void. This is all, I mean to say, less intelligence.

Whoever says like that, they are called asuras, or less intelligent. Less intelligent persons, they become asuras because they cannot calculate. They cannot think of. Their brain does not provide provision to think of all these things. A dull brain. But if you take the advice of great ācāryas, just like Rāmānujācārya, Śaṅkarācārya and Lord Jesus Christ, everything, every man will say: "Oh, there is God. There is God."

So we have to take instruction from them if we want to know the science of God. And here Lord Kṛṣṇa, He personally is saying. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ (Bs 5.1).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, He has come before you. This Bhagavad-gītā is also His representation. Now, we are speaking of Bhagavad-gītā after five thousand years of Kṛṣṇa's disappearance, but because God is absolute, therefore these words left by God is also God. Whatever we are hearing just now, you should consider that we are hearing directly from Kṛṣṇa. Whatever I am speaking, I am not speaking something manufactured by me—I am speaking the simple words that is left by the merciful Lord in this Bhagavad-gītā. I am speaking to that.

He says mayādhyakṣeṇa. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram. Adhyakṣa means superintendence. "Under My superintendence." Prakṛti means this material nature. Sūyate, sūyate means producing. What she is producing? She is producing carācara. Cara acara. Cara means which is moving, just like we are moving. We have got life. And acara, there are many things acara, that does not move. So two things are there, cara and acara, moving and not moving. And above this, there is God, who is controlling both this cara and acara.

There are five things: God; the living entities; this prakṛti, the nature; the time; and combined together, there is work. So the work is not permanent; it is temporary. But this prakṛti is eternal; nature is eternal, God is eternal, you are eternal, and time is eternal. Out of four things—God, living entities, nature, time and the work—these four material manifestation, whatever you are seeing, they are composed of three . . . these five things: God, living entity, nature, time and work. Out of that, four things—God, we living entities, time and nature—they are permanent. This nature is nonpermanent, but there is another part of this nature that is permanent. And I am permanent, you are permanent, God is permanent, and there is a permanent nature also.

So our whole problems will be solved if we can transfer into that permanent nature. Now we are struggling hard, because we are put into this nonpermanent nature. But there is a permanent nature. That information we get from Bhagavad-gītā. Paras tasmāt tu bhāvaḥ anyaḥ avyaktaḥ avyaktāt sanātanaḥ (BG 8.20).

Sanātanaḥ means eternal. So eternal . . . you are eternal, I am eternal, God is eternal, and there is a place which is eternal. Why not transfer yourself? Then that is called eternal life. And the modes and the process which help you to transfer yourself into that eternal place, that is called sanātana-dharma. When you speak of sanātana-dharma, don't think that sanātana-dharma is meant for the Hindus. Sanātana means eternal, and dharma means occupation. So we have to take to that eternal occupation so that you can be transferred into that eternal kingdom.

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the beginning of that eternal occupation. If you take to this, if you practice this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, eternal occupation, then, as we have already explained in the previous chapters, that at the time of your death when you leave this body, as soon as you think of these three eternals—Kṛṣṇa eternal; I am eternal; I want to be engaged in the eternal—you are at once transferred. It is very easy thing. You don't require any Sputnik, artificially, for years together, 25,000 miles you go up. What is 25,000 . . . panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyaḥ (Bs 5.34).

If you try for millions and billions of years with the force of air and mind, with your Sputnik, to reach . . . (break) (end)