710725 - Lecture BS 32 - New York

Lectures by Date, 1971

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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710725BS-NEW YORK - July 25, 1971 - 39:51 Minutes

Prabhupāda:

aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti

paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti

ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

(Bs. 5.32)

(aside) Why not sit comfortably? Please. There is ample space in the front. You can move.

So Govinda, aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti. Aṅgāni, aṅgāni means the limbs of the body. Just like hands, legs, ear, nose, they're different parts of our body. The distinction between this material body and spiritual body is that just like this hand is made for particular purpose—you can pick up something, you can touch something, but you cannot taste something. If you want to taste something, then the hand will bring that food to your mouth and will touch your tongue. Then you can know that it is bitter or sweet. But simply by touching the hand it is not possible to understand what is the nature of that particular . . .

Therefore God's body is described here that aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti. Each and every part of the body has got the capacity for other parts of the body. Just like if you want to eat, we have to taste it through the tongue, through the mouth but Kṛṣṇa, or God, if He simply sees only, He can eat, simply by seeing. This is spiritual body. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti, paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti.

In another sense, this whole cosmic manifestation is also the body of God; therefore you cannot hide anything from God's vision. In the Brahma . . . the same Brahma-saṁhitā, it is said that yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇām (Bs. 5.52). Savitā. Savitā means the sun, the sun-god, or the sun planet, is the eye, one eye of God. And the other eye is the moon. So He can see all things, what is happening within this universe—in daytime with His eye called the sun, and at night with moon. And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is confirmed. Kṛṣṇa says, prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ (BG 7.8). Prabhāsmi śaśi-sūryayoḥ: "I am the sunshine and the moonshine."

So people who deny existence of God, they say that, "Can you show me God?" You are seeing God. Why you are denying? God says that, "I am the sunshine. I am the moonshine." And who has not seen the sunshine and moonshine? Everyone has seen. As soon as there is morning, there is sunshine. So if sunshine is God, then you have seen God. Why do you deny? You cannot deny. Kṛṣṇa says, raso 'ham apsu kaunteya (BG 7.8): "I am the taste of the water." So who has not tasted water? We are drinking, daily, gallons of water. We are thirsty, and the good taste which quench our thirst, that is Kṛṣṇa.

So you have to see God, or Kṛṣṇa, in this way. Then you'll advance, make advance. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have to see in everything Kṛṣṇa. As soon as we see living entity . . . never mind whether he's a human being or animal or insect or bird or plant or aquatic; they're all living entities. In the sea, there are nine hundred thousand species of living entities. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi (Padma Purāṇa).

These are the statements in the Vedic scriptures. Exactly stated: jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi. It does not say ten hundred thousand, it says nine hundred thousand. Exact calculation. Now bring any biologist to calculate how many species are there in the water. They cannot say. But here, in the Padma Purāṇa, Vedic literature, you get exact information how many species of living entities are there within the water.

Everyone knows that there are living entities, full of living entities. We are catching fish, but small fishes. We have not seen. Even if we have seen the biggest fish, that is, whale . . . sometimes they are as big as one big ship. But there are other fishes, we get information, they are called timiṅgala. The big fish, the whale fish, and timiṅgala means there is another big fish which swallows this timiṅgala, this whale, just like anything. These informations are there. And in Calcutta Museum, in our childhood—it may be still existing—we saw one skeleton of a Sea that is bigger than this room, a skeleton. It is hanging on the ceiling.

So there are very, very big, big fishes. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi. You get immediately information—without being a biologist, scientist, you can get information. The Darwin's theory, in most perfection, there is in the Padma Purāṇa: jīva-jatiṣu. The evolutionary theory is there. But Darwin is missing the real point: Who is . . . who is evolving? He's missing the spirit soul. He cannot explain. That is imperfect.

But in the Vedic scripture you have got perfect knowledge how a living entity is developing different types of body. Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi. First of all, nine lakhs' species of living entities within water. In the water, the living seeds are there. The other day I was showing our other devotees how from the stone the grass is coming. There is a crack in the stone, and the grass is coming out. How it is? Nobody has gone to put some seeds within the cracking of the stone. Then the grass is coming? The grass is coming because the water penetrates within the crack, and as soon as it gets in touch with the earth, it sprouts.

That means within water there are seeds of living entities. Some of them fall down from the higher planetary system. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: kṣine puṇye punah martya-lokaṁ viśanti (BG 9.21). As soon as their period of enjoyment is finished, they are again brought down on this earthly planet. Just like in your country the immigration—every country—the immigration department, if somebody has come, he has got a visa for six months or one year, or something like that.

As soon as it is finished, immediately the immigration department notifies, "Please get out. Please get out." Similarly, in other planets also, there are higher planetary systems where material comforts are many thousand times better than in your USA. Your United States is considered to have the best facilities, comfortable materialistic way of life. That is the calculation outside.

So supposing that you have got the best facilities for material enjoyment. In higher planetary system there are many thousand times' better facilities. You can go there. The living entities are therefore called sarva-gataḥ. A living entity can go anywhere he likes, but he requires qualification. Any country, when one is admitted, he must have visa, he must have passport, he must have required money to stay in a foreign country. So many rules and regulations are there. Similarly, in the higher planetary system also, where you get ten thousand years of duration of life, and their one year is far, far greater than ours. That is scientific.

So these . . . this material world is also the virāṭ-rūpa, universal form, of the Lord. Aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛtti-manti (Bs. 5.32). I'm just trying to explain what is the body of the Supreme Lord. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā, Arjuna was shown the virāṭ-rūpa, the universal form of the Lord. Now why Arjuna wanted to see the universal form of Kṛṣṇa? The reason is that Arjuna knew it very well . . .

Because in the Tenth Chapter Arjuna accepts Kṛṣṇa that paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12): "You are the Supreme Lord, paraṁ brahma, and pavitra, the purest." So Kṛṣṇa . . . Arjuna knew that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, and still, in the Eleventh Chapter he requested Kṛṣṇa that, "If You'll kindly show me Your universal form."

Try to understand. Arjuna knew it very well that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. Why he wanted to examine Kṛṣṇa? Not for himself, but for others. Because Arjuna knew it very well that in future so many false Gods would appear, "I am God." So before accepting anyone as God, imitating Kṛṣṇa, one should inquire from him, "Whether you can lift a hill? Whether you can show the universal form? Whether you can kill such-and-such demons? Then I shall accept." That is intelligence. Don't accept a foolish man declaring himself as God, and you accept also God. God is not so cheap.

You should know what is God. These descriptions are there. No more . . . no man, no living entity is greater than God. Therefore God is said: "God is great." Great means nobody can be greater than Him, nobody can be equal to Him. That is greatness. Six opulences. That is analytical study what is God.

So these things are being taught from authoritative scripture and . . . what is God, what is our relationship with Him, and what is our function in that relationship. We should know it. Unless we try to know it—simply we waste our time in frivolous activities—that is not proper utilization of human form of life. We are simply requesting people that "You don't waste your valuable time."

Our time is so valuable. It has been calculated by Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was a great politician, prime minister, in India, about three thousand years ago, when Chandragupta was the emperor. It was about contemporary to Alexander the Great in the Greek history. So Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was there. He was a great diplomat. He has calculated the value of our life. He says . . . it is very practical. Anyone can calculate.

āyuṣaḥ kṣaṇa eko 'pi

na labhya svarṇa-koṭibhiḥ

na cet nirarthakaṁ (nītiḥ)

kā ca hānis tato 'dhikā

(Cāṇakya Paṇḍita)

He says, āyuṣaḥ kṣaṇa. Even one moment of your life cannot be returned even if you spend millions of dollars.

One of our friends in India, he was at that time fifty-four years old, but he was dying. So he was requesting the doctor, "Doctor, kindly give some medicine so that I may live for another four years. I have got so many things to do." Just see, the crazy fellow. You see? This is called ignorance. He does not know that what to call . . . what to say of four years, the doctor cannot give me four minutes prolongation of life. When the life is ended, it is ended. Nobody can . . . any medicine, any physical, physiological treatment will not help. That is not possible.

You have got a duration of life, say, fifty years, sixty years, seventy years—a hundred years, utmost. You cannot increase it by paying money. What to speak of four years; you cannot increase four seconds. So just try to understand how much our life is valuable. A second of our life we cannot purchase by paying millions of dollars. And if that second is wasted without any utilization, then how much money we are losing. This is the calculation.

So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is only to remind people that "Please do not waste your time, valuable time, life. Utilize it. This is the opportunity to make a solution of all the problems of life." There is means, there are ways, how to do it. That we are describing. Yesterday we discussed tapasā, by austerity; brahmacaryeṇa, by celibacy; śamena, by controlling the mind; damena, by controlling the senses; tyāgena, by giving in charity your money. That is called tyāga.

Suppose you have got millions of dollars. Don't keep it. So long it is within your jurisdiction, spend it for Kṛṣṇa. Yes. That is the proper utilization. Because actually the money is not yours, because you cannot carry this money with your death. As soon as you quit this body, or death, so your money and everything, what you collected with this body, with the finishing of this body, everything is finished. But you go. You are spirit soul. You transmigrate to another body.

So your money which you earned previously, in your previous body, that you do not know where it is kept, or how it is being spent up. During your lifetime, you may make very nice deed, how the money should be spent by your sons or by your heirs, but now, suppose you left in your last life ten thousand millions of dollars somewhere, but you have nothing, no claim for that money. Therefore so long it is in your hand, spend it. Tyāgena, tyāgena. Spend for good purpose, not for . . . this money, if you spend for bad purposes, then you become entangled. If you spend for good purposes, then you get good return. That's a fact.

These things are very nicely, clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. This dāna, charity—the Bhagavad-gītā says there are three kinds of charities. One charity is in the mode of goodness, one charity is in the mode of passion, and one charity is in the mode of ignorance. So mode of goodness charity means you should know where charity is to be given.

Dātavyam: here charity is to be given. So where charity is given? First-class charity, in goodness? That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Kṛṣṇa says, yad karoṣi yad aśnāsi yat tapasyasi dadāsi yat, tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam (BG 9.27): "Whatever you are eating, whatever you are undergoing, austerity, whatever you are doing, whatever you are giving in charity, give it to Me."

Kṛṣṇa's not in want of money, because He's the original proprietor of everything, īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam (ISO 1). But still He's asking from you money. Just like Kṛṣṇa went to beg something from Bali Mahārāja in the shape of a Vāmana, a dwarf brāhmin. So He is the sarva-loka-maheśvaram (BG 5.29). He's the proprietor of all the planets. And still He's saying that dadāsi yat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam: "Whatever you are giving in charity, please give it to Me." Why? It is for your interest, because the sooner you return Kṛṣṇa's money to Kṛṣṇa, you are better situated.

In, in . . . of course, it will not be very palatable to hear, but actually we are all thieves. We have stolen God's property. That is material life. Anyone who has got anything without sense of God, it is to be understood that he has stolen the property. If you very cool-headed think over this matter, that you are . . . if we do not understand God, if we do not understand whose property we are using, and if you come to the real knowledge: without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, whatever we possess, that is stolen property, stolen property . . . stena eva saḥ ucyate (BG 3.12). It is clearly said in the Bhagavad-gītā. If one does not expend his money for yajña, then he is to be understood . . .

Just like there is many, many instances . . . just like you have earned so much money. If you hide income tax, then you are criminal. You can say: "I have earned money. Why shall I pay income tax, government?" No. You must pay. And there is a limit, that if you have earned so much money, practically the whole money will be taken as income tax, super tax. So as everything you earn, it is the property of the government, similarly, why not everything, whatever you got, it is Kṛṣṇa's, or God's? Is it very difficult to understand?

Actually it is so. Suppose you have constructed a very nice building. So the building requires so many stone, wood, earth. Wherefrom you have got it? You have not produced the wood. It is God's property. You have not produced the metal, you have taken it from the mine. That is God's property. The earth, also, the bricks also, which you have made, you have simply given your labor. That labor is also God's property, because you work with your hand, but it is not your hand—it is God's hand. If it is your hand, then when it is paralyzed, you cannot use it. When the power of using your energy of the hand is withdrawn by God, you cannot work.

So these are the things to be studied in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't be frivolous. Don't waste your time. This is the greatest opportunity, human form of life. We have to understand all these things. They are mentioned in the authoritative books, Vedic knowledge. Just we are reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam before you. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī's recommending that prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam. Real atonement is to be thoughtful, sober, think over . . . that is called meditation. You think over whether your body, or if you are something else, transcendental to body, what is God.

So if you want to know all this knowledge, then you have to practice austerity, tapasya. And the beginning of tapasya is brahmacarya. I've explained yesterday: brahmacarya, celibacy, or restricted sex life. Not unrestricted. That's not good. Then you forget yourself. This material attraction is sex life. Not only human society—in animal society, in bird society, everywhere. You have seen the sparrows, the pigeons, they're having sex life three hundred times daily, you see, although they are very vegetarian. Yes. And the lion is not vegetarian, but it has got sex life only once in a year.

So it is not the question of vegetarian or nonvegetarian. It is the question of understanding higher standard of knowledge. When one comes to the standard of high elevated knowledge, naturally he becomes vegetarian. Because paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). Paṇḍita means one who is very highly learned, paṇḍita. Sama-darśinaḥ. Sama-darśinaḥ means he does not distinguish between a man, learned man . . .

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne

brāhmaṇe gavi hastini

śuni caiva śva-pāke ca

paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

(BG 5.18)

A paṇḍita is sama-darśī. He sees equally, who? A very learned scholar, brāhmin; and a elephant; and a dog; and a cow.

How he's sama-darśī? How his vision is equal to all of them? Because he does not see the body; he sees the soul. Brahma-bhūtaḥ. He sees the Brahman, spark, that "Here is a dog, but it is also a living entity. By his past karma, he has become a dog. And here is a learned scholar. He's also living spark, but he has got this nice opportunity for his past karma." So he does not see the body; He sees the spirit soul, spark. So when one comes to that position, he does not make any distinction between this living entity to that living entity.

So our proposition - if you inquire, "Then why you restrict, 'No meat-eating'?" the answer is that actually we do not make any distinction between the meat-eaters and the vegetable eaters, because the cow or the goat or the lamb has got life, and the grass, it has also got life. But we follow the Vedic instruction. What is that? That īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁ yat kiñcit jagatyāṁ jagat, tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā (ISO 1): everything is the property of the Supreme Lord, and you can enjoy whatever is allotted to you. Mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam. You cannot touch others' body, others' property. You cannot touch. That is Vedic life.

So in all scriptures it is stated that man should live on fruits and vegetables. Their teeth are made in that way. They can eat very easily and digest. Although jīvo jīvasya jīvanam (SB 1.13.47): one has to live by eating another living entity. Jīvo jīvasya . . . that is nature's law. So the vegetarian also eating another living entity. And the meat-eater, they're also eating another . . . but there is discretion. Discretion means that these things are made for human being. Just like fruits, flowers, vegetables, rice, grains, milk—the animals do not come to claim that, "I shall eat this." No. It is meant for man.

Just like milk. Milk is an animal product. It is the blood of the cow changed only. But the milk is not drunk by the cow. She is delivering the milk, but she's not taking, because it is not allotted for it. By nature's way. So you have to take. Milk is made for man, so you take the milk. Let her live and supply you milk continually. Why should you kill? Follow nature's law. Then you'll be happy. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā (ISO 1). Whatever is allotted to you, take. You live comfortably.

So our, in temple, in this temple, we take fruits, flowers, milk, because they're allotted, and Kṛṣṇa says, patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Kṛṣṇa does not say that, "You give Me meat." Kṛṣṇa says: "You give Me fruits, flowers, vegetables, milk." So we prepare nice preparations out of these things, we offer it to Kṛṣṇa, and we take it. If Kṛṣṇa would have said that "Give Me eggs and meat," then we would have given and eaten it. But because we are Kṛṣṇa conscious, we do not take anything which is not accepted by Kṛṣṇa.

So in this way, this is called śama dama. We have to learn this art of elevation. Tapasya. That is called austerity, regulative principle; brahmacaryeṇa, by celibacy, or by restricted sex life; śamena, by controlling the mind; damena, by controlling the senses; tyāgena, by giving charity. The charity . . . charitable disposition of mind is there in everyone's heart, but one does not know how to make the best use of charity. Best use of . . . not only charity—whatever you spend, you must spend for Kṛṣṇa. That is the best way of spending. You are not loser.

Just like you are spending for Kṛṣṇa, earning for Kṛṣṇa. Suppose we are offering nice dishes to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is so kind: He keeps it as it is; you eat. It is for you. But simply by offering to Kṛṣṇa you become Kṛṣṇa's devotee. That's all. For nothing! You don't spend anything, not a farthing even. Everything is Kṛṣṇa's, but if you offer it to Kṛṣṇa, you elevate. That's all.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! (end)