Ignorance is No Excuse in Life

Introduction to spiritual culture and laws

0:22CC Antya 20.12চেতোদর্পণমার্জনং ভবমহাদাবাগ্নিনির্বাপণং শ্রেয়ঃকৈরবচন্দ্রিকাবিতরণং বিদ্যাবধূজীবনম্ ।আনন্দাম্বুধিবর্ধনং প্রতিপদং পূর্ণামৃতাস্বাদনং সর্বাত্মস্নপনং পরং বিজয়তে শ্রীকৃষ্ণসঙ্কীর্তনম্ ॥ ১২ ॥ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁśreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇaṁ vidyā-vadhū-jīvanamānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ prati-padaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁsarvātma-snapanaṁ paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam“ ‘Let there be all victory for the chanting of the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which can cleanse the mirror of the heart and stop the miseries of the blazing fire of material existence. That chanting is the waxing moon that spreads the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities. It is the life and soul of all education. The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa expands the blissful ocean of transcendental life. It gives a cooling effect to everyone and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.’

0:42Prabhupāda: I am very glad to hear our beloved Acyutānanda Svāmī speaking about material elements, very nicely and analytically. They're always trying, in the śāstras.

0:56Actually this movement is taken as one of the so-called religious movements. But it is not that, it is a cultural movement to bring in the foolish persons to the real platform of life.

Divine direction and material nature

1:25This movement is helping people to make a solution of all the problems of life. Because we create problems by misunderstanding, just like a foolish person does not know what is the law.

1:56He steals something and when he is brought into the court, arrested if he says that, "I did not know there is a law that a thief is punished, I did not know." Or stealing is against law, criminal.

2:17So ignorance is no excuse, similarly out of ignorance we are committing so many sinful life's and we are becoming liable to be punished, that is the law of nature.

2:38You cannot avoid it, if you touch the fire it will burn, if a child touches the fire there is no mercy because the fire will not consider that, "here is a child he does not know he has touched the fire." No, no the fire will act, just like here there was little incident of fire.

3:10We became all alarmed because fire will prove its worth unless we take precautions. This is the law, that is explained; BG 7.14दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ।मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥१४॥daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayīmama māyā duratyayāmām eva ye prapadyantemāyām etāṁ taranti teThis divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.

3:30The law's of nature are very, very stringent. We have got experience just like if you are to eat some quantity of food, if we eat more, then we will have to starve for three days because you have broken the law.

3:53If you require a certain quantity of salt in the food if the salt is more, or the salt is less, then the foodstuff is useless.

4:04In this way if we study the law's of nature, then we can understand that we cannot break, just like you cannot break the law's of the state. Similarly the law's of nature means law's of God.

4:28That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā; BG 9.10मयाध्यक्षेण प्रकृतिः सूयते सचराचरम् ।हेतुनानेन कौन्तेय जगद्विपरिवर्तते ॥१०॥mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥsūyate sa-carācaramhetunānena kaunteyajagad viparivartateThis material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.Don't think that the material nature they are acting are reacting automatically, no.

4:50Here it is said, mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram, behind the law's of nature there is God.

5:01Under His direction everything is moving, as Svāmī Acyutānanda said that, "it is not going on blindly." The sun rising and the sun setting—they are, I mean to say, acting exactly in time, why?

5:21yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakrogovindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi[Bs. 5.52]

5:30This is the experience of Brahmā, the first living creature within this universe, yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁrājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥyasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-[break] ..

5:40The Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa. BG 7.15न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः ।माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिताः ॥१५॥na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥprapadyante narādhamāḥmāyayāpahṛta-jñānāāsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥThose miscreants who are grossly foolish, who are lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me.

Shortcomings of modern education and society

6:03When we recall that all people have become sinful and rascal, it is not our manufactured word's. It is the statement of the supreme authority Kṛṣṇa.

6:14He says, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante, anyone who is not in God consciousness, then he must be classified amongst the duṣkṛtinaḥ.

6:32Duṣkṛtinaḥ means—very expert in mischievous activities, that is called duṣkṛtinaḥ. Kṛtī means—meritorious and duskṛtīmeans—the wrong way.

6:51At the present moment there is virtual[?] advancement of education, we don't speak of our own country but I have travelled all over the world Asia[?] and other European countries.

7:08Especially in America, there are so many nice universities, nice arrangement but unfortunately they are producing hippies.

7:20That is the net result, duṣkṛtinaḥ because they are all sinful, and mūḍhās.* Mūḍhāḥ*means foolish or rascal behind this material activity there is something that something is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, explicitly stated.

7:50But they do not know, the ultimate background of this material world is—they do not know. Therefore they are mūḍhās rascals, and narādhamāḥ, narādhamāḥ means the lowest of the mankind. Why?

8:14This human form of life is meant for understanding God, that is the only business. Human life is not meant for working hard like cats and dogs and hogs. That is not human life, that is not human civilisation.

8:36SB 5.5.1ऋषभ उवाचनायं देहो देहभाजां नृलोकेकष्टान् कामानर्हते विड्भुजां ये ।तपो दिव्यं पुत्रका येन सत्त्वंशुद्ध्येद्यस्माद्ब्रह्मसौख्यं त्वनन्तम् ॥१॥ṛṣabha uvācanāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛlokekaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ yetapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁśuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantamLord Ṛṣabhadeva told His sons: My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one’s heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever.

8:40Viḍ-bhujāṁ, viḍ-bhujām means the stool eater hogs. They are working very hard day and night simply for eating stool and sexual intercourse, that's all.

8:47Human life is not meant for that, therefore a human being who does not take advantage of this valuable life to search out God, or to understand God he is no better than asses and dogs.

9:12Therefore they have been called mūḍhāḥ,* narādhamāḥ* lowest of the mankind, he does not take the opportunity of this valuable life and wastes the time just like cats and dogs and hogs.

9:21Therefore they have been called* narādhamāḥ.* Why? They are educated. They have university, Ph.D.'s, B.Sc.'s and so many titles holder but still they are narādhamāḥ? Yes. Why?

9:35Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā, māyā has taken his actual knowledge.

9:42Superficially he may be, MA, Ph.D., B.Sc, or something like that but he does not know what he is, what is God, what is his relationship with God, he does not know. Ask anybody, do you know what you are?

9:58I have talked to very big big professors in Europe, especially in Moscow.

10:04One Professor Kotovsky he said, "Swamiji after destruction of this body everything is finished." This is the drivel of idiot, big big leaders big big educationists they do not believe in the next life, they do not believe.

10:23But this is the first instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā; BG 2.13देहिनोऽस्मिन्यथा देहे कौमारं यौवनं जरा ।तथा देहान्तरप्राप्तिर्धीरस्तत्र न मुह्यति ॥१३॥dehino 'smin yathā dehekaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarātathā dehāntara-prāptirdhīras tatra na muhyatiAs the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.

Soul transmigration and scientific consciousness

10:36There are so many big big scholars of Bhagavad-gītā but ask them, "what you have understood about the dehāntara-prāptir, transmigration of the soul from one body to another.

10:50Can you explain?" He does not know but he is a big scholar of Bhagavad-gītā, that is going on.

11:01So the time is very bad especially in this age, so our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not a sectarian or sentimental fanaticism religious movement, it is a scientific movement.

11:16People should take advantage of it, this science is not discovered by us it is already there in the Vedic literature.* Vijñānam, yad vijñānam-samanvitam* SB 2.9.31, it is* vijñānam, jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam* BG 7.2

11:40pravakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ [Bg 9.1] In the ninth chapter of Bhagavad-gītā you will find this verse, jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam, aśeṣataḥ. I shall describe.

11:50Even the vijñānam, if you should try to understand this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, they should not waste their valuable human form of life like cats and dogs, that is our request. That is our request.

Natural abundance and artificial human boundaries

12:05People are being so foolish and sinful but the difficulty is that without being free from sinful life we cannot understand God. That is another point.

12:24Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narā. Duṣkṛtinaḥ this very word is very significant, people are engaged in sinful life therefore they cannot understand what is God.

12:36And the four principles of sinful life is described in the śāstra; striya-sūnā-pāna-dyūta yatra pāpāś catur-vidhā SB 1.17.38

12:48Four kinds of sinful life, illicit sex life is actually very sinful and unnecessary killing of animals, or meat-eating. Why human beings should eat meat? Kṛṣṇa says;

13:06BG 9.26पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ॥२६॥patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁyo me bhaktyā prayacchatitad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtamaśnāmi prayatātmanaḥIf one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.

13:16There are so many foodstuffs all over the world we see there is no scarcity of food grains.

13:24There is no scarcity of fruits, vegetables, milk, butter, everything is there, not only that they are complaining scarcity of foodstuff.

13:36I don't see there is any scarcity of foodstuff and there cannot be any scarcity of foodstuff, we are mismanaging. I have studied especially in Africa and Australia, there are so much unused land still lying vacant.

13:54If they put it to. If they utilise for producing food we could provide the whole world of nations 10 times. So there is no. Because creation of God is perfect;

14:09pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇam adaḥpūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyatepūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāyapūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate[Iso Invocation]

14:18So there is no scarcity in the kingdom of God, only because we are senseless duṣkṛtina mūḍhā, we do not manage nicely otherwise there is no scarcity.

14:31In God's arrangement everything is there but we have created this "isms". Nationalism, this is my land, this is your land, this is his land. Nobody's land!

14:47Everything belongs to God, the land is not created by you, the water is not created by you, the fire is not created by you. Why you are claiming it is yours? That is mistake.

15:00So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is the practical understanding of the whole situation and solving the most important problem of life, death.

Overcoming death in the age of Kali

15:16Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā;

15:21BG 13.9अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम् ।आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः ॥८॥इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहंकार एव च ।जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनम् ॥९॥असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु ।नित्यं च समचित्तत्वमिष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु ॥१०॥मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी ।विविक्तदेशसेवित्वमरतिर्जनसंसदि ॥११॥अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम् ।एतज्ज्ञानमिति प्रोक्तमज्ञानं यदतोऽन्यथा ॥१२॥(8)amānitvam adambhitvamahiṁsā kṣāntir ārjavamācāryopāsanaṁ śaucaṁsthairyam ātma-vinigrahaḥ(9)indriyārtheṣu vairāgyamanahaṅkāra eva cajanma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam(10)asaktir anabhiṣvaṅgaḥputra-dāra-gṛhādiṣunityaṁ ca sama-cittatvamiṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu(11)mayi cānanya-yogenabhaktir avyabhicāriṇīvivikta-deśa-sevitvamaratir jana-saṁsadi(12)adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁtattva-jñānārtha-darśanametaj jñānam iti proktamajñānaṁ yad ato 'nyathāHumility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth – all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.

15:23You are finding out so many problems in your life within the duration of life, say 50 or 60 years at the utmost 100 years.

15:34But your eternal problem is this, Kṛṣṇa says, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. You are eternal, you living soul, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin BG 2.20

15:53These informations are there, you haven't got to take birth, you do not require to die, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre, you live forever.

16:03But this is the real problem and there is no scientist, no education, no university, why this problem is not solved? If I am not dying after. After the annihilation of this body, what solution is there?

16:18They do not know, therefore they are mūḍhās. They are very much proud of their education and making solution but this is the real problem* janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam.*

16:34So actually they may be very much proud but according to our Vedic literature, this is a society at the present moment especially in this Kali-yuga.

17:09They have been described*, mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ prāyeṇa kalāv asmin yuge alpāyuṣaḥyuge janāḥ*. SB 1.1.10प्रायेणाल्पायुष: सभ्य कलावस्मिन् युगे जना: ।मन्दा: सुमन्दमतयो मन्दभाग्या ह्युपद्रुता: ॥ १० ॥prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhyakalāv asmin yuge janāḥmandāḥ sumanda-matayomanda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥO learned one, in this iron Age of Kali men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.

17:09In this age of Kali, the Kali-yuga age has begun 5,000 years ago and the whole duration of Kali-yuga is 432,000 of years. Out of which we have passed only 5,000 years, still there is 427,000 of years remaining.

17:27So in this age the symptoms of the people have been described and we are experiencing, so we are. Our duration of life is reducing in spite of so-called scientific improvement.

17:43Even in this Kali-yuga every man is due to live for a 100 years but who is living 100 years? But this problem they cannot solve, the world's people are in illusion. Now there is.

18:01We hear from Nārāyaṇa that one brāhmaṇa his son died and he immediately went to Lord Rāmacandra, that in the presence of, a son has died. What is the wrong in Your government? Please explain?

18:21This is responsible government. This is real responsible government, there are so many things we have to discuss in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. It is all practical, scientific, not a religious sentiment.

18:33Therefore we can request you, to understand this movement and take advantage of it, that is our only request. We have got to say many things from the śāstras. Thank you very much.

18:43Devotees: Hare Krishna. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. Jaya Prabhupāda. [end]