720701 - Lecture Hare Krishna Festival - San Diego

Lectures by Date, 1972

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 Listen to a 'Nectar Drop' created from this lecture

720701AD-SAN DIEGO - July 01, 1972 - 50:33 Minutes

(at Balboa Park Bowl)

(kirtana)

Prabhupāda: Where is my kartal? (sings Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava) Is it working? (prema-dhvani) Thank you very much.

Devotees: All glories to Śrī Guru and Gauranga. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (devotees offer obeisances)

Prabhupāda: Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you very much for your coming here and participating in this great movement known as Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. This Hare Kṛṣṇa movement was started five hundred years ago by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in a, a place which is now known as Nadia. It is a district in West Bengal, about sixty miles north of Calcutta.

Lord Caitanya appeared there about 485 years ago, and He took sannyāsa. Sannyāsa means renounced order of life. According to Vedic civilization, at the end of one's life, one has to take sannyāsa, renounced order of life, no family connection. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, at very early age . . . He was only twenty-four years old, and He had at His home very nice, young wife and very affectionate mother, but still . . .

Guest (1): . . . I don't believe that that's the truth there. I don't believe that is the truth. Get out of here!

Guest (2): Talk louder!

Prabhupāda: What does he say? (chuckles)

Guest (1): I'm talking about sex . . .

Devotee: Says he's talking about death.

Girl: Why don't you get up here and say it?

Viśvareta: Prabhupāda, he says he wants to have sex more than once a month.

Prabhupāda: Hmm?

Viśvareta: The man says he wants to have sex life more than once a month.

Prabhupāda: No . . . he's creating disturbance. (pause)

So as this man is talking about sex, so this world's . . . material world, is enchanted by sex. That is material world. Striya . . . puṁsāṁ striya mithuni-bhāvam etad (SB 5.5.8). This whole material world is existing on sex attraction. Not only in the human society, in animal society also, this sex impulse is there. Birds, beasts, animal, human being, even demigods, they are attracted in this material world by sex impulse.

The śāstra, or the Vedic literature, there is mention about this, that we are in this material world only for the sex impulse. First of all, we think of sex. A man also thinks. A woman also thinks. And when they are united, that attraction becomes more and more complete. Then, in a gentlemanly way, when there is sex unity, then there is need of a nice apartment or house. Then there is need of land. Formerly, for living condition, everyone possessed some land to grow foodstuff.

Ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittaiḥ (SB 5.5.8). So after sex unity, there is need of house, land, gṛha, kṣetra, then children, ataḥ gṛha-kṣetra-suta, āpta, then friends, then vitta, then money. In this way, we increase our attachment for this material world. Janasya moho 'yam. Moha means illusion. In this way, he becomes illusioned. Ahaṁ mameti: "I" and "mine."

Here, the real problem is we want to get out of this material conditional life. We are spirit soul. We are not matter. But in order to enjoy this material world we have come here. Every one of us who is existing within this material world has a desire to lord it over the material nature. It is said when a living entity, a part and parcel of God, he desires independently to enjoy or to lord it over the material nature, he comes down from the spiritual world to this material world. That is the cause of his falldown.

kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare

pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare

(Prema-vivarta)

Māyā means the illusory energy, where we want to enjoy, but it is not actual enjoyment; it is illusion. So the sex life in this material world is the center of this attraction.

So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is how to get the living out . . . living entity out of this material entanglement. Because real happiness is not sensual happiness. Real happiness is above the senses. It is supramental sense, or spiritual sense.

With the gross senses what we enjoy, that is temporary. It is not permanent. Permanent enjoyment is transcendental sense enjoyment. There is in the Vedic literature a verse:

ramante yoginaḥ anante

satyānanda cid-ātmani

iti rāma-padenāsau

paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate

(CC Madhya 9.29)

Yoginaḥ, those who are yogīs . . . yogīs means those who are trying to reawaken Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He's called yogī.

Our present consciousness is material consciousness. The material consciousness, the sex urge is very strong. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). It is said in the śāstra that the gṛhamedhi, those who are attracted by this material world, their center of enjoyment is sex.

Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tucchaṁ kaṇḍūyanena karayor iva duḥkha-duḥkham. This sex urge is a, a sort of itching sensation, kaṇḍūyanenam. Tṛpyanti neha kṛpaṇā bahu-duḥkha-bhājaḥ. By satisfying this itching sensation, he becomes entrapped in so many ways. So many ways. That's a fact.

Apart from those who are enjoying illicit sex, even those who are enjoying sex in regulated principles, they are also entrapped. Take, for example, one regular householder. In your country it is different social situation, but in our country, in India, a family life is a great responsibility.

The father and mother has to take full responsibility for education of the children, grow up nicely, and the father, mother is under obligation to get the boys and the girls married. Unless the children are married, the father's or the mother's responsibility continues. That is our social system, at least in India, those who are following Vedic principles of life, especially for getting married the daughter. It is called kanyā dāya.

Pitṛ-ṛṇa putra-ṛṇa matṛ-ṛṇa. We have got so many debts to clear. This is responsibility. Devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṟṇām (SB 11.5.41). We are indebted to the demigods. Just like sun is one of the demigods. We are getting, enjoying the sunshine. We are indebted to him. This is responsibility. Suppose if you take electricity, light, you are responsible for paying the bill. Similarly, you are taking so much advantage of the sunlight; you are also obliged to pay the debts, repay the debts.

Deva ṛṣi. Ṛṣi means those who have given us the Vedic literature. Just like Nārada Muni, Vyāsadeva, they have given us . . . Vyāsadeva given us immense literature. Immense literature. He has written Mahābhārata. He has written the eighteen purāṇas. One of the purāṇas is the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. And he has written the Upaniṣads.

Then he has compiled the Vedānta-sūtra. And each and every book, there are innumerable verses. In Mahābhārata there are 100,000's of verses. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 18,000 verses. And if you study one verse, it will take at least one week to understand. So grave thoughts. So therefore we are reading all these Vedic literatures; certainly we are indebted to them.

So we are indebted to the demigods. Just like the sun god, the moon god, the Indra. Indra is supplying us water. Of course, in your country, there is no such conception. But the Vedic knowledge gives us full information how water is being supplied, how light is being supplied, how air is being supplied by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Don't take it irresponsibly.

Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has arranged so many things. Just like in your city there is department of water supply, there is department of light supply, there is depart . . . different departments; similarly, in the kingdom of God there are departments. But because we are foolish, we do not know how the departments are being conducted, so we are not paying any bills. The bills are paid, according to the Vedic injunction, by performing sacrifices.

So in this way, our point is sex life, that the . . . a gṛhastha, a householder, he has got debts towards his parents, towards his father, towards his mother, towards his wife, towards his children. The society should be human society, not the cats' and dogs' society. That is Vedic conception. So in the Vedic conception of life the sex life is there, but you become indebted. You must repay the debts. If you simply beget children like cats and dogs and go away, then you become responsible for the sinful activities. You must take responsible.

So this man was suggesting he wants sex life at least once in a month. Yes, that is allowed. That is allowed in the Vedic civilization. When the wife is in menstrual period, after five days after menstrual period, the wife and husband can have sex life for begetting rightful children.

And before begetting a child, one must go . . . if he is in the higher orders of society, one must accept the garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. Garbhādhāna-saṁskāra means that child born out of the sex life of the father and mother must come out a very nice child, not like the cat and dog. That is called garbhādhāna-saṁskāra.

Those who are in the higher position of the society, they are obliged to observe ten kinds of purificatory processes, out of which, the first purificatory process is garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. So the parents, when they take to sex life for begetting nice children, there is garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, and if one does not observe this garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, he immediately falls down to the group of śūdra from brahminical position. These are the injunction in the Vedic literature. Sex life is not denied, but one must take responsibility for sex life; otherwise, he becomes entangled in so many sinful activities.

Because here in the material world, everyone is a criminal. Just like in the prison house, when a criminal is there, in every state there is law. He cannot violate the laws of the prison house. Similarly, here also, in this material world, who have come here to enjoy . . . there is no enjoyment, there is simply suffering. But we take sufferings as enjoyment. That is called illusion. Anyway, the Vedic principle has allowed everything. Because here we have come to enjoy so-called sense gratification. That is illusion. So there is regulated principle.

You can have sex life once in a month. That is prescribed. Because the woman has once in a month menstrual period. So sex life is meant for simply begetting nice children, not for sense gratification. Therefore, because the woman is . . . gets the menstrual period once in a month, therefore the man can have sex life just after the menstrual period over, after five days, he can sex life, have sex life with his wife under garbhādhāna-saṁskāra, responsibility. Otherwise he becomes implicated in sinful activities. That is Vedic injunction.

So sex life is not denied. Just like in our Society, the boys and girls, they come to our Society, and as far as possible, we get them married. We don't allow to live, the boys and girls and friends, like friends. No. That is a great sinful activity. So nothing is denied. The problem of life is eating, sleeping, mating and defending. So everything is there, but in a regulated form. In regulated form so that the world may not become hell. If it is irregulated form, then the whole world will be hell.

It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, narakāya, varṇa-saṅkaraḥ (BG 1.40). When we produce unwanted children, the whole world becomes just like hell. It is going to happen like that at the present moment. The sex life is not denied. The point is discussed because it was raised. Sex life is not denied, but in a regulated form so that you can get nice population, you can live very happily. Not that you produce unwanted children and they turn out rogues, thieves and drunkards, like that. That is not allowed. You must produce nice children. For that purpose, sex life is allowed.

And especially in this age, at the present moment, if you can produce children to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, that will be a great service to the Lord. Because we want now Kṛṣṇa conscious population. Otherwise this world is going to hell. That's a fact. We are dwindling, liquidation.

There were great empires like Roman Empire, Greece Empire, Carthagian Empire and, later on, Mughal empires, British Empire. So many empires there were. There was Hitler. There was Mussolini. There was Napoleon. So these powerful emperors or men came and gone. Their name is only there, and nothing is remaining.

So I came to your country. Your country is very nice country, America. I heard it from India. So I decided to come here because I heard that your country's very nice. And when I came here, I saw actually your country is very nice. Your cities, your buildings, your men also . . .

Because mostly my students, they are Americans, and they help me very kindly to push on this movement. So I have studied the American life, very nice. They have good heart. So only thing is wanted—Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For want of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness, despite your all opulences, you are becoming confused and frustrated. I hear that out of three, one man is a patient of a psychiatrist. Why? Why you are unhappy?

Why you should be unhappy? You have got everything—enough food, enough land, enough money, enough intelligence. Why you should be unhappy? The cause you should try to find out. The cause is that without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without God consciousness, nobody can be happy. That is the cause.

So my request is that this movement is started from America, from New York. In 1966 I registered this movement, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and since then, we are spreading. In your country, we have got about fifty branches, all over the country, America. And we have got other branches also, about fifty, in Europe, in Canada, in Australia, in New Zealand, in Japan.

In India also. India, of course, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is known since a very, very long time. At least, everyone in India knows what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he may not be seriously engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but even a street man, a street boy, knows what is Kṛṣṇa. In your country, this . . . this movement is started since 1966, but in '67 I was sick. I went back to India and again came back in 1968, and since that time, we are pushing on this movement little . . . very highly, and it is being effected. It is being effected. People are understanding.

So my request is that you have got all material resources. Don't waste your time. Life is very valuable, especially this human form of life. Labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte (SB 11.9.29). This human form of life is achieved after many, many births of evolutionary process. We had to undergo nine hundred thousand species of life in water.

Jalajā nava-lakṣāṇi sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati. Two millions of species of life through plants and trees. Sthāvarā lakṣa-viṁśati kṛmayo rudra-saṅkhyakāḥ: eleven hundred thousand species of life of insects and reptiles. Pakśiṇāṁ daśa-lakṣaṇam: and one million species of life amongst the birds. Then triṁśal-lakṣāṇi paśavaḥ: and then three million species of life amongst the beasts.

In this way, there are four hundred thousand species of human form of life, out of which, the civilized form of life, when our consciousness is developed, that is the opportunity to understand what is God, what I am, what is my relationship with God, what is this material world, how I shall treat. That is needed. In the Vedānta-sūtra it is said, athāto brahma jijñāsā. This human . . . this civilized form of human life is meant for inquiring about Brahman, the Supreme, the Absolute Truth.

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving knowledge about the Absolute Truth, Paraṁ Brahman. The Sanskrit word is Paraṁ Brahman. And Kṛṣṇa is Paraṁ Brahman. If you have read Bhagavad-gītā on the Tenth Chapter, when Arjuna summarizes his understanding after hearing Bhagavad-gītā, he says, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān (BG 10.12): "Kṛṣṇa, I understand that You are the Supreme Personality, Absolute Truth." Paraṁ brahma. Paraṁ dhāma: "You are the reservoir of everything." Pavitram: "You are the Supreme Pure." Pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān. Puruṣaṁ śāśvatam ādyam: "You are the Supreme Person."

Kṛṣṇa, or the Absolute Truth, is not imperson. He's the Supreme Person. He's Supreme Person. He is the Absolute Truth. And we are presenting Kṛṣṇa before you, and you take it. Most of the Western country, they are Christian. So the Christian believe in Lord Jesus Christ as son of God.

But we are presenting the father, God Himself. So there is no contradiction. If there is son, there must be a father also. Without father, there cannot be son. So if you believe in the son, then you must believe in the father also. The father is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā:

sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya

sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ yaḥ

ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā

(BG 14.4)

He is the seed-giving father for all living entities. So Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. Don't think that Kṛṣṇa, as it is stated in your English dictionary, "Kṛṣṇa is a Hindu God." He's not Hindu, He's not Muslim or He's not Christian. He's God. God is neither Hindu nor Muslim nor Christian. It is bodily designations, "I am Hindu, you are Christian."

This is body . . . just like dress. You have got some black coat, another has got some white coat. That does not mean we are different because we are in different coat or shirt. As human being, we are all sons of God. We are one. That is the conception.

So at the present moment, we have divided the world on account of this shirt and coat. That is not. That is not good. Actually, the whole world or the whole universe belongs to God. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā:

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ

sarva-loka-maheśvaram

suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ

jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

(BG 5.29)

We have divided God's land: "This is America. This is India. This is Germany. This is England." But after all, this is our given name. This planet especially . . . not only this planet; all other planets, Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-loka-maheśvaram: He's the proprietor.

Formerly, five thousand years ago, this planet was being governed by Kṛṣṇa's representative, Mahārāja Parīkṣit. That is actually life. Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of all planets, and one should be Kṛṣṇa's representative to rule over the planet. That is Vedic system. There cannot be any king or emperor who is not representative of God.

It is the duty of the representative of God to take charge of a planet and educate the person, the citizens, into God consciousness. That is Vedic way of life. Not that the chief executive or the government simply levies taxes from the citizens and let them go to hell. This is not good government. The government must be responsible for the uplift of the citizen to the spiritual life. That is real government.

So that was being done five thousand years ago by Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, those who have read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is this . . . Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam begins from the question of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. Mahārāja Parīkṣit, at the last stage of his life, when he was to live for seven days only, he decided to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and become liberated from this material life. And it so happened.

The idea is the Mahārāja Parīkṣit was so pious that, that when he was touring in his kingdom all over the world, he found one man, one black man was trying to kill one cow. Immediately, Mahārāja Parīkṣit took his sword and wanted to kill the man. He was Kali. So "Who are you, that you are killing cow in my kingdom?"

So formerly, when the whole world was under the one king of the Pāṇḍavas, just like Parīkṣit Mahārāja, there was equal protection for the animals and the man. Not that man should be given protection by law, and not the animals. The animals, they're also national. What is the meaning of "national"? One who is born in that land. Suppose you are American. You are born in this land of America, therefore you are American national.

Why not the cats and the dogs and the cows? They are also national. So this is injustice, that to give protection to the humankind and to send the animals to the slaughterhouse. This, this inequality, discrimination between man and animal, is due to lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When one becomes actually Kṛṣṇa conscious, he does not make such distinction that a man should be given protection and the animal should be killed.

So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a . . . a spiritual movement. It is reformatory movement, inclusive all sides of life. Don't think that we are simply chanting and dancing. Our philosophy includes all different activities of humankind, either it may be religious or political or social or cultural—anything—industrial. Everything. So my request is that this movement was started in your country, and these American boys and girls, they have taken it seriously. So kindly cooperate with this movement, and you'll be happy. That is my request.

Thank you very much. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (devotees offer obeisances)

Prabhupāda: Kīrtana. Anyone else? Anyone? (kīrtan starts) (end)