761214 - Lecture BG 16.07 - Hyderabad

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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761214BG-HYDERABAD - December 14, 1976 - 15:55 Minutes

Prabhupāda: So we were discussing yesterday about the demons, or nondevotees. Demons means nondevotee. That I have explained. Devatā means demigods, and demons. So demons, they do not know which way they have to live their life. That they do not know.

pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca

janā na vidur āsurāḥ

na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāro

na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate

(BG 16.7)

These are the first qualification of the demons, that they do not know which way one has to make progress. That they do not know. This is the defect of the modern civilization. They have universities, educational institution and advancement of knowledge, so on, so on. But ask them what is the aim of life, why education is being imparted, what is the purpose. These are . . . they do not know. Do they know?

Haṁsadūta: No.

Prabhupāda: They simply know how to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex and how to defend. For this purpose they are giving education. That is . . . does it require any education, how to eat? Everyone, even a child, he knows. You give him something eatable, immediately takes and he knows it is to be put here, not here, not there. Natural. You don't require any education for these things, primary, I mean to say, wants of the body—eating, sleeping, sex. It doesn't require any high education, how to enjoy sex life. Everyone knows. Even the cats and dogs, they know. Similarly eating, everyone knows. Sleeping, it doesn't require that "You have to sleep in this way." Whenever you feel tired, there is sleep. But the asura-jana, they do not know what is the purpose of education. That they do not know.

This is . . . this is beginning of asuras life, pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Pravṛtti means the, what is called, incentive which makes . . . There is a grain of sugar, and the ant knows there is a grain of sugar. He is running after it. That is pravṛtti. And nivṛtti means I have passed my life in this way, but it is not actually my progress of life. I should stop this way of life. I should go to the spiritual realization. That is nivṛtti-mārga. There are two ways: pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Pravṛtti means we are going to the dark, darkest region. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram (SB 7.5.30). Because we cannot control our senses, adānta . . . adānta means uncontrolled, and go, go means senses. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram. Just like we see varieties of life, so there is life also in the hell, tamisra. So either you go to the hellish condition of life or you go to the path of liberation, both ways are open to you. So if you go to the hellish condition of life, that is called pravṛtti-mārga, and if you go towards the path of liberation, that is nivṛtti-mārga.

Our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is training of nivṛtti-mārga, the basic principles, so many no's. "No" means nivṛtti. No illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication. So this is the no, "no" path. So that they do not know. When we say so many no's, they think it is brainwash. Not brainwash. It is actual. If you want to develop your spiritual life, then you have to stop so many nuisance. That is nivṛtti-mārga. The asuras, they do not know. Because they do not know, when nivṛtti-mārga, "no," the path of "no" is recommended, they become angry. They become angry.

upadeṣo hi mūrkhāṇāṁ

prakopāya na śāntaye

payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānāṁ

kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam

(Nīti Śāstra)

Those who are rascals, fools, if you speak something valuable for his life he'll not hear you; he will become angry. The example is given, payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānāṁ kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam. Just like if a snake, if you ask the snake that "I shall give you daily a cup of milk. Do not commit this harmful life, biting unnecessarily others. You come here, take a cup of milk and live peacefully," that he will not be able. He . . . by drinking, by drinking that cup of milk, his poison will increase, and as soon as the poison is increased—it is also another itching sensation—he wants to bite. He'll bite. So the result will be payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānāṁ kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam. The more they starve, that is good for them, because the poison will not increase. The nature's law is there.

And as soon as one sees a snake, immediately everyone becomes alert to kill the snake. And by nature's law . . . it is said, "Even a great saintly person, he does not lament when a snake is killed." Modeta sādhur api sarpa . . . vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā (SB 7.9.14). Prahlāda Mahārāja said. When his father was killed and Nṛsiṁha-deva was still angry, so he pacified Lord Nṛsiṁha, "Sir, now You can give up Your anger because nobody is unhappy on account of my father being killed." Means, "I am also not unhappy. I am also happy, because my father was just like a snake and a scorpion. So even a great saintly person is happy when a scorpion or a snake is killed." They are not happy if somebody is killed. Even an ant is killed, a saintly person is unhappy. But a saintly person, when he sees that a snake is killed, he is happy. He is happy.

So we should not follow the life of a snake, pravṛtti-mārga. Human life is meant for nivṛtti-mārga. We have got so many bad habits. To give up these bad habits, that is human life. If we cannot do that, then we are not making any spiritual progress of life. Spiritual progress . . . so long you will have a little desire for committing sinful life for your sense gratification, you will have to accept a next body. And as soon as you accept a material body, then you will suffer. Yena.

It is said that nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma (SB 5.5.4). These rascals, they are mad. They are committing sinful life simply for sense gratification. There is no need of committing sinful life, but for sense gratification they are doing that. So Ṛṣabhadeva says, "It is not good, because for sense gratification you have got already this body, and you know, experiencing, that you are suffering threefold miseries, and again you are committing something which will oblige you to accept another body. This is not good. This is not good." We should do in such a way that we may not accept again this material body. That will save us from all suffering.

Material body means it is given to you for your suffering. But that they do not know. They think, "I am enjoying." Eating, sleeping, mating—in any body you will have these facilities. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt (SB 11.9.29). Even you become a dog or you become a hog or you become a man or you become a demigod, these four facilities you will get everywhere: eating facility, sleeping facility, sex facilities and defense facility. You will get. Viṣayaḥ khalu sarvataḥ syāt. And the human form of life, these facilities should be minimized, denied. Not only minimized—no meat-eating, no illicit sex. That is nivṛtti-mārga. But the asuras, they do not know. Pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttim. That this life is meant for nivṛtti-mārga, they do not know. When you say, "Don't do this," they think otherwise.

Payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujaṅgānāṁ kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam. Na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāraḥ. And why they become addicted to sense gratification? Because they are not clean, śaucam. Śauca is the qualification of brāhmaṇa. We are getting sacred thread, but we are neglecting how to become . . . how to remain śaucam, śuci. Śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe yoga-bhraṣṭo 'bhijāyate (BG 6.41). Śuci means first-class brāhmaṇa. So we are accepting sacred thread to become first-class brāhmaṇa, śuci, but we do not know, after eating, we have to wash our hand. We are taking the handkerchief and finished. So this kind of brāhmaṇa, what they will do? That is not even a civilized man. So you should be very, very careful how to follow the rules and regulation. That is nivṛtti-mārga. If we still remain in pravṛtti-mārga, then we will not be able to make any advance in spiritual life. And if we do not make advance in spiritual life, then again and again, śarīra.

Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). Everyone is suffering on account of this body, and this human body is meant for ending this suffering. That should be the aim of life. But those who are asuras, they do not know how to end this life of suffering and accept the life of ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12), simply ānanda in Vaikuṇṭha, in Goloka Vṛndāvana. Kṛṣṇa, to live with Him as His associate, you have no information. We are demons, and therefore we take pleasure in so-called material activities, and that means we are doomed. We should stop this nonsense and take to the principles of nivṛtti-mārga. Then our life will be success.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. (end)