761228 - Lecture SB 05.06.10 - Bombay

Lectures by Date, 1976

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

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761228SB-BOMBAY - December 28, 1976 - 15:33 Minutes

Prabhupāda: Hmm. So, read it?

Hari-śauri: He doesn't have a book.

Prabhupāda: "People who are lowest among men and bewildered by the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord will give up the original varṇāśrama-dharma and its rules and regulations." (SB 5.6.10)

The varṇāśrama-dharma, that is beginning of human civilization. So in this age they have already given up. There is no varṇāśrama. In India it is simply in name. Actually, there is no varṇāśrama. The . . . most of the people, they are śūdras. But without varṇāśrama, there cannot be any human civilization, because the aim of human life is to understand God. That is the aim of human life. Unfortunately, they have given up this idea, the aim of life is to understand God. You inquire all over the world, 99.9% will deny God or they have no clear idea of God. Even the so-called religionists, they have also no clear idea. Maybe some power; no clear idea.

Neither they are interested to know. But so far we are concerned, we have got full description of the Lord and His pastimes, His activities. Everything is recorded in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literatures. And God says in the Bhagavad-gītā personally that "I was existing in the past, and I shall continue to exist in the future." Similarly, the living entities, they also existed in the past and they will continue to exist in the future individually. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā in the Second Chapter. It is not that we shall be finished in future or there was no existence in the past. No. We are, both of us, we are eternal. God, Kṛṣṇa, and we, living entities, we are eternal. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). Our destruction of this material body does not mean we, as spirit soul, we are destroyed. No.

To understand this truth, the varṇāśrama system required. Without this varṇāśrama system nobody can understand that we are individual person, we existed in the past, and we shall exist in the future, and we are existing at present. Anyone can understand. There was no change in the past, neither there will be change in the future. Simply we change the dress: tathā dehāntara-praptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). This is our self-realization. This is called ātma-tattva-jñāna. But people in the present day, they are not interested. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam (SB 2.1.2). Yāvan na jijñāsata krūraḥ ātma-tattvam. Parābhavas tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na jijñāsata ātma-tattvam (SB 5.5.5). Our activities, they are all defeat. The difference . . . just like you are constructing this huge, gorgeous building and another person also constructing another huge skyscraper building. So what is the difference? The difference is here we are doing on the ātma-tattva, and they are doing for being defeated in the material world. That is the difference. You'll find the same activities, dealing with stones and bricks and workers, engineers. But one is based on ātma-tattva and the other is based on without any ātma-tattva. That is the difference.

Sometimes bhakti is observed as similar to the activities of the karmīs. But there is difference. One is bhakti, one is going back to home, back to Godhead; and the other is going forward to the hellish condition of life by the same activities. This is the technique. How it is possible? It is possible. By practical example, it is said in the śāstras . . . just like if you take more quantity of milk preparation, you get diarrhea. But the same milk preparation, yogurt, is there—it will stop diarrhea. Both of them are milk preparation. One has created the disease diarrhea, and another is stopping diarrhea. So why? Cikīrṣitaṁ. One is by medical process and the other is without any medical process. The medical process is to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Here the building is being constructed to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. To satisfy Kṛṣṇa. And in other places the building is constructed to satisfy senses. This is the difference, material and spiritual.

Material means to satisfy one's senses. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ kurute vikarma yad indriya-prītayā āpṛṇoti (SB 5.5.4). Karma means they are working very hard like dogs and hogs, but the purpose is indriya-prīti. Nūnaṁ pramattaḥ: they are mad. They should not . . . and why mad? Because the karma means you are creating another body. And as soon as there is another body, dehāntara-prāptir, so long you have got this material body, you'll suffer. That is the law of nature. Yā . . . karmānu bandhaḥ. Yāvan prīti mayi deve . . . tavat karmānu bandhanaḥ. The karmānu-bandha will continue. Therefore in the śāstra it is recommended, yajñārthe karma anyatra karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9) Don't act anything except for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. If you do anything for your sense gratification, that means you are being bound up by the laws of karma. Laws of karma, it is very strict according to the modes of activities. Puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte karma-jān guṇān (BG 13.22). So we should be very much careful not to be afflicted by the karma. Karmānu bandha. This is very delicate task. Simply . . .

(break) . . . but they do not know what is the importance of the varṇāśrama-dharma. They have broken it. They don't like. They want to say classless society. Classless society cannot be. Even in Russia, the Communist country, they wanted to break down the classless society, but they cannot manage. They have now created a manager class and the worker class. Why manager class? Make it classless. But that is not possible. Therefore in the society there must be managers and the workers. Without this you cannot work, you cannot make, keep any systematic . . . so the managers . . . the varṇāśrama-dharma: the managers, the brāhmaṇas and the kṣatriyas; and the workers, the vaiśyas and the śūdras. And less than that, less than the śūdras, the caṇḍālas, they have to be fully controlled, kirata-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā (SB 2.4.18), because they do not know the regulative principles of life. They are called caṇḍālas. So they are described in the śāstra. So the kṣatriyas, they used to keep these caṇḍālas under full control. Otherwise the society would be lost.

Unfortunately, there is no kṣatriya, there is no brāhmaṇa, there is no control of the caṇḍālas, and the whole world is in chaotic condition. So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is an attempt. Because the caṇḍālas are majority and we are very minority. But still, little portion of good thing is still good, and large amount of bad thing, that is bad. That is not good.

So here it is stated that people who are lowest amongst men and bewildered by the illusory energy . . . this is bewilderment. What is that bewilderment? They are trying to be happy by material adjustment. Just this morning we were discussing of the air crash. It is very good to fly in the air, but at any moment the whole plane may be crashed and the all of them finished. So this kind of material adjustment will not help us. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). This is illusory only, māyā sukha. Prahlāda Mahārāja regrets, tato vimukha-cetasā māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān (SB 7.9.43). Any moment everything will be crushed. This is called māyā-sukha. And still they are wasting time that for māyā-sukhāya, illusion. They'll not be happy. Any moment everything can be crushed, and they are busy.

Therefore this modern civilization is most dangerous civilization, soul-killing civilization. The human being got the chance of understanding God, but they are being refused by the authorities to understand God. Rather, if somebody wants to understand, he is checked, he is harassed by the name of brainwashing and mind control. This is Kali-yuga.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupada. (end)