761212 - Lecture BG 02.12 - Hyderabad

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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761212BG-HYDERABAD - December 12, 1976 - 20:20 Minutes

Prabhupāda:

na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ

na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ

na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ

sarve vayam ataḥ param

(BG 2.12)

Kṛṣṇa says that na tu eva ahaṁ na tvaṁ na ime janādhipāḥ: "Either I or you or all these people who have assembled here in this battlefield, janādhipāḥ, kings . . ." In the battlefield, janādhipāḥ, they are not ordinary men. Now in the battlefield the poor mercenaries, they go to give their life, whereas the janādhipāḥ, the leaders of the people, they sit down very comfortably. They do not go to the battlefield. They simply give order in writing, and the poor mercenaries, paid soldiers, they are paid for giving their life. Money is so sweet that one is prepared to give his life for money. Such men are sent to the war field. And the janādhipāḥ, they are after also money, but they carefully avoid the battlefield. Minister of Defense, perhaps he has never seen a battlefield, Minister of Defense. Formerly it was not like that. When there was fight, because they are kṣatriyas . . . kṣatriyas, they will never go back from fighting. Yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam (BG 18.43). That is the symptom of kṣatriya. When there is fight, they will come forward first. Śauryaṁ tejo . . . vīryaṁ yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam īśvara-bhāvaś ca dānaṁ ca (BG 18.43). Kṣatriyas means they are very powerful, strong, and when there is fight, a kṣatriya, if he is challenged by somebody that "I want to fight with you," he cannot deny. "Yes. What kind of fight you want—bows, arrows, or club, or sword?" Any way they will fight. And fight means until one is dead, the fight will go on. That is fight.

When Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna and Bhīma went to Jarāsandha . . . Jarāsandha was very powerful king. So before Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira's becoming the emperor, it was the system that all the other kings within this world, they must submit, either submit or fight. So Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna and Bhīma went to Jarāsandha. He was very charitable to the brāhmaṇas, and these three persons went there, dressing themselves as poor brāhmaṇas. So in the assembly they begged from Jarāsandha, "Sir, we have come to beg from you for fight." Kṛṣṇa, to save the other soldiers, He advised that "Let us fight with Jarāsandha alone. Why he should unnecessarily bring so many soldiers and we have to also? Why these poor soldiers will give life? Better go, let us individually fight." So Jarāsandha could understand that "They are kṣatriyas. They have come in the dress of a brāhmaṇa to beg," because kṣatriya cannot beg. So he accepted, "Yes." Then he selected Bhīma to fight with him. He rejected Arjuna, and Kṛṣṇa also, that "You are not fit for fighting with me." So there was fighting for twenty-eight days. Fighting was going on from morning to evening. And at night they were friends. Bhīma, Arjuna, and Kṛṣṇa was the guest, and he received them as guests. They were eating together, talking together. In the morning again fighting. This is kṣatriya. It is sport, sporting, but that sporting was meant for . . . until one dies, the fighting will go on.

So yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam (BG 18.43). This is the qualification of kṣatriya. So here it is said, Kṛṣṇa . . . Kṛṣṇa is chariot driver of Arjuna. So He says janādhipāḥ. There were many kings. Different parts of the world, they joined. Janādhipāḥ, the leaders, when there is fight the leaders must come forward. And as soon as the leaders are killed, then it is victory—not by killing the soldiers or common men by atomic bomb. No. That was not fighting. So Kṛṣṇa says, na tu eva aham. Kṛṣṇa is individual person. God is person also. Vetti. The one who does not know what is God, they think impersonally, but God is person. Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He appeared upon this earth as person, as the son of Vasudeva. He acted as person. The original God is person, not imperson. Imperson is a feature. Just like the sunshine, this is an imperson, but the sunshine is coming from the sun globe. That is local place, and within the sun globe there is sun-god. He's person. He's not imperson. Similarly, the impersonal feature, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11), Absolute Truth . . . the imperson is a feature of God, aṅga-jyoti. Yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (BS 5.40). It is the bodily rays, impersonal Brahman. But God is person. Here He said that na tu eva aham. Aham means "I am person." Jātu, "At any time," nāsam, "we are not annihilated." Na tu, na tvam: "You are also not annihilated." Because Arjuna is jīva, and Kṛṣṇa is God, so both of them are existing, part and parcel. Just like this sunshine. What is the sunshine? It is very small atomic particles of shining material. This is sunshine, combined together. Similarly, we are also a small particle of the rays, bodily rays of God. We are living entities, very minute particle. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ jīva-loke sanātanaḥ (BG 15.7). So we are also individual, and God is also individual person. And, all the kings, all the soldiers assembled, they are also individuals.

So this individuality is never lost. Kṛṣṇa says that "At present we are individuals, and in the past we are individuals." Then one may say, "In the future we may become one, amalgamated," as the Māyāvādī philosopher says that as soon as we become liberated, we become one with the Absolute. No, that is not fact. Here it is said, na ca eva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ: "It is not that in future we shall not remain individual. We shall remain individual." Na bhaviṣyāmaḥ na (BG 2.12). Two negatives makes one positive. That means "In the future also we shall exist as individual." Na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ, sarve, "all of us." "All" means, Kṛṣṇa says, "I, you and all the other peoples, kings and soldiers, we shall remain as individual." Then where is oneness? This Māyāvādī theory that after liberation we shall all become one with God, that is not mentioned here. This is bogus theory. Real: that we remain individual. So long we are not in a position to act, means so long . . . just like ghost. Ghost is also individual. But because the ghost does not get this material body, they are invisible. They create disturbance for want of this body. Those who have got experience of ghost in some house, the ghost is there, he is individual soul, but because he hasn't got this material covering, that is a punishment. For the most sinful person, that is a punishment, that he does not get this body although he wants this body, because for enjoyment we want this body. Body is the combination of senses, instrument. If I want to touch you I require hand, and through hand I'll feel the pleasure of touching you. So the ghost wants to touch, but he hasn't got the instrument. That is ghost. But there are ghost. It is not fictitious. It is a fact. Ghost means without this material body.

So, so long we are materially contaminated, we require this material body for enjoying senses. And the spiritual world, we get our spiritual body developed. So there is no question of becoming ghost or . . . individual, there is. The person is always existing. That is the purport of this verse. Na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayam ataḥ param (BG 2.12). Ataḥ param, "after this," means after this body is ended the individuality continues; simply we change our body. This is the version, and it is explained in the next verse, dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). We are individual always, but we are changing this body from one type of body to another body according to our karma. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa jantur deha-upapatti (SB 3.31.1). By superior examination we get a body, karmaṇā. So at the time of death it is decided what kind of body you are going to have next. That is decided by superior authority. You cannot dictate that "Give me this body" or "I don't want this body. I want a body . . ." No. That is not in your hand. You can do; you are given freedom. In the human form of life you are given freedom to act, although there is direction that "You act like this." But if you don't like, you can act. Yathecchasi tathā kuru (BG 18.63). You can act, but you become implicated with your karma because you have to act according to the modes of nature.

The modes of nature are three: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. So if you act in sattva-guṇa, then you will be promoted to the higher planetary system. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ (BG 14.18). If you act in the rajo-guṇa, then madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ (BG 14.18). And if you act in tamo-guṇa, then jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ (BG 14.18). Jaghanya. Tāmasā means very abominable activities. The other day I was speaking: I saw one gentleman, Indian gentleman, he was eating the intestines of hog in the aeroplane. That is very palatable, they say. Tamo-guṇa, most tamo-guṇa. Hog, the stool-eater, and its intestine, that is cooked and he's eating. How much tamo-guṇa. Jaghanya. Jaghanya guṇa-vṛtti, very abominable. So next life he is going to be a hog. This is going on. We are in this material nature. Puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān (BG 13.22). We are in this material world according to our association with different modes of nature. We are making one type of mentality, and at the time of death, that mental position is responsible for carrying me in a different type of body. In this way we are changing body one after another.

So we are spirit soul. This is the chance of rectifying or purifying our existence. If we like, we can purify our existence in this human form of life. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means to purify the existence, and after death, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). If you become perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, means you understand Kṛṣṇa. Janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti. Simply by understanding and acting accordingly, you can purify your existence, and next life means after giving up this body. This body we have to give up. But those who are not purifying their existence, they will accept another material body. And those who have purified the existence, they will go back home, back to Godhead.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. (end)