Berkeley and the Nature of Reality

Objective reality and divine energy

0:01Berkeley, a very brief section on Berkeley. Berkeley seems to be arguing against objective reality.

0:16In other words, three men standing in a field looking at a tree could all have a different impression or idea of the tree, or at least according to his argument.

0:30The problem is: although there are three impressions of the tree, each differing from one another, there is no tree as such. How does the tree as such exist?

0:43In the mind of God, is it possible for a conditioned living entity to perceive the suchness or essence of anything? Everything is God, expansion of God's energy. How a tree or anything can be without reference to God?

1:14We see that the earthen pot is on the ground, on the what is called ground, the what? Earth. Earth pot is made of the earth, of earth. So it is staying on earth. So the earthen pot is not different from the earth.

1:49So everything is expansion of God's energy. How we can avoid God with reference to anything that we see?

God as the original source

2:04There cannot be anything independent of God. The example is that that earthen pot, as soon as we see, we remember the potter who has made it and the wheel of the potter.

2:29So God is the original creator, He is the ingredient, and He is the category also, and He is the original. That is the conception, basic conception of God. He's everything.

Nondual Brahman and divine service

2:53And that is a non-dual conception. And if you make anything separate from God, then how you can say sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma, everything is Brahman?

3:10Then if you say everything is God, at the same time, you separate something from God. So that is what is contradiction. Our conception is: yes, actually, everything has reference to God.

3:36So everything is God's property, it should be utilized for God's service. That is our Krishna consciousness.

The localized aspect of Paramatma

3:48In his last dialogue, Berkeley writes, "The apprehension of a distant deity naturally disposes men to be negligent of their moral actions, which they would be more cautious of in case they thought him..." Yes.

4:10That is a fact. We said the Vedic has said the God is everywhere. He is not distant. In the Kuntī's prayer, it is said God is distant and nearest of. So nearest by God's Paramātmā feature, he is living in everyone's heart.

4:37Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe — he is within our heart. How it can be distant? But at the same time he is in his personal feature, he is in Goloka Vṛndāvana, which is beyond, far, far beyond this material existence.

4:59That is God's all-pervasive quality. Although he is far, far away, still he is near, nearest.

5:13The crude example is that the heater, the original source of heat and light is far, far away, ninety-three million miles according to the modern scientist's calculation, the sun. But still the light is in my room.

5:36So God is both far away and also within my heart. So one who is expert to see God, he sees both ways.

5:51Goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto — although he is living in his own abode eternally and enjoying with his associates, he is still present everywhere. That is God.

Material nature and moral laws

6:13Well, in what way is God concerned with the moral or immoral actions of men?

6:23Is God indifferent to them or has he simply set the laws of nature in motion and allowed men to follow their own course and reap the fruit of their own karma?

6:39Nature's course is that because we have disobeyed God, therefore we are thrown into this material world under the supervision of material nature to correct him.

7:00So so long he is in the material world, there is distinction between moral and immoral.

7:11Although both of them are material, it has actually no meaning, moral or immoral, but in the material world that conception is that: moral and immoral.

7:28But when one is in the spiritual world, there is no such thing as immoral. Everything is moral. They say gopis, they were others' wives. But they were coming to Krishna day or night. That is immoral.

7:53But because they are coming to Krishna, it is not immoral. Thus in the spiritual world, there is no such thing as moral and immoral. Everything is moral. In the material world, there must be moral and immoral.

8:10Otherwise, uh, this material transaction cannot go properly. So much for morality.