Kant and Transcendental Knowledge

Epistemology and the source of knowledge

0:00Today we're discussing Kant, Immanuel Kant.

0:06Basically his philosophy seeks to trace the relationship between a priori ideas, or those ideas of the mind which are independent of sense experience, and the a posteriori ideas, uh, sense impressions.

0:24He wanted to unify these two positions. So he wrote The Critique of Pure Reason, in which he asked the fundamental question: how are a priori synthetic judgments possible?

0:39In other words, how can we decide anything, judge anything? Where, where does this facility come from? What is the source of knowledge? Source of knowledge is intelligence.

0:59Intelligence acts through mind and then some conclusion comes. Very modern. So here is a very intelligence... Immersive model. This approach. Apparently it's not your means.

1:30I know man is mortal and therefore being man is to be mortal. What is that? A priori? A priori, before. Yes, before. A posteriori. After. Yeah. Sense, uh, sense impression. Yeah.

1:58So he develops, uh, his, this process for attaining knowledge in three steps. And the first step he calls the transcendental aesthetic.

2:09And this is the basic stage which synthesizes sense experience through concepts of time and space. In other words, the mind acts upon sensory perceptions and applies the time and space relations to them.

2:28So he says that this knowing of time and space is a priori. It's an internal creation of the mind. Before we sense anything, we have an idea of time and space.

2:42So as soon as we sense something, we can apply time and space ideas. He said something transcendental. He called it the transcendental aesthetic.

2:55The transcendental means which is not in my experience but I get the experience. All-pervading Paramātmā. I think his, his definition of transcendental is slightly different.

3:14Transcendental means beyond your senses' meaning. That is the real meaning. You can see the dictionary. Transcendent.

3:25That will transcend. Transcendental: of an a priori character that is not based on experience, intuitively accepted, innate in the mind, super-rational, supernatural.

3:55Consisting of or dealing in or inspired by abstractions. So his definition of the way he is using transcendental is simply he's trying to understand knowledge through abstraction, by abstracting.

4:13Transcendental knowledge means knowledge received, uh, source which is beyond the reach of my material senses.

Transcendental knowledge through devotional service

4:32That's like we are reading Bhagavad-gītā. So we have no knowledge of the spiritual world. But Kṛṣṇa says that there is another nature, spiritual nature, beyond this material nature.

4:55So we understand through the source, uh, our transcendental knowledge, then we cannot experience. As explained, ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi, God, His name, His quality, His pastime, nothing can be understood by these material senses.

5:30But if you engage yourself in service, they become revealed. Then you become confirmed. Yes. There is Vaikuṇṭha. There is Vṛndāvana. Where Kṛṣṇa's pastime is going on. And I am preparing myself.

5:48These things become revealed gradually. Not at once you can understand. The common man cannot understand what they say. "Going back to home, back to home" — what nonsense they're saying. They cannot understand.

6:07Because it is transcendental. Beyond the reach of these blunt senses. No. But it means sevonmukhe. If you are in the service of the Lord, guru, Kṛṣṇa and spiritual master, then these things become uh, revealed.

6:35Now one who has got the knowledge by the belief, nobody can, uh, mislead. Uh, that's why we believe in the transcendental world, cintāmaṇi, Goloka Vṛndāvana.

6:53If somebody pays us millions of dollars an hour, we forget all this thing? It cannot be. And this arrow, the iron is subtle. So if you give him hundreds and thousands of dollars that he believed in this, now he loves me.

7:21This is transcendental knowledge. So transcendental knowledge is not speculation. It is receiving from higher authority and gradually by your service attitude things become clear to you.

7:39That is not... Before we were discussing Descartes and Hume, and, uh, Descartes expressed that all knowledge comes through innate ideas. And Hume said just the opposite: no, all knowledge comes from sense experience.

8:00So Kant is trying to unify the two ideas. Here, sense experience. Sense experience means to define sense experience. That is sevā. That's like I am seeing here Krishna. But an atheist sees it is stone.

8:27So he's also seeing with his eyes. I'm also seeing with the eyes. But my eyes are different from his eyes. Premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena.

8:40When the eyes are anointed with love of God, anointment of love of God, then he can see. Just like if one's eyes are diseased, if he apply some eye ointment or lotion, then he sees.

9:01So the same senses, the same eye, unless he is treated and purified, he cannot understand. Or he cannot see, or he cannot...

9:16He says that thoughts without content are empty, meaning that the mind must have senses in order to fill its thoughts with content. And perceptions without conceptions are blind.

9:30In other words, sense impressions without thought are blind. The thought comes, but that is not blind. The thought comes of high authorities. That is called parokṣa.

9:46Then with your senses when you try to understand, that is called then adhokṣaja, as I told you, the five stages of acquiring knowledge. Direct perception, pratyakṣa, parokṣa, receiving knowledge from higher authorities.

10:10Then apply your senses, come to some conclusion. There is a pratyakṣa-parokṣa. Then transcendental knowledge, aparokṣa and then adhokṣaja.

10:26In other words, the thought content comes from higher authorities and you apply your senses and, uh, the two combine to come to some conclusion. To come to some conclusion. Conclusion.

10:41That is the source of knowledge which is beyond my, uh, senses. Huh. But I use my senses to, yes, come to some conclusions.

10:57Already say that there is a spiritual world. Now, how you come to come to this conclusion: "Yes, there is a spiritual world"? How? Unless you apply your senses.

11:14The sense application is like this: that combination of spirit and matter, that's a fact. So I cannot see the spirit at the present moment. But there is spirit. So, I'm a combination of spirit and matter.

11:40So, if there is material world, why there is no spiritual world? This is conclusion by applying your senses and reason that there are two things, material and spiritual.

11:57So if there is possibly some material world, for you there's no supposedly that those features.

12:09And if I see a dead body I can understand that there's no life in that body, so there must be some source of that—that is, that is preliminary knowledge. That is preliminary knowledge that something is missing.

12:27Something is missing. Now there are arguments, so many things. But something that we understand our authority, that this something is it... or Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that— you can spread your leg in that way.

12:59Uh, he says that: avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. That consciousness is spread all over my body. And he says that is avināśi, eternal. Viddhi tatam is a spiritual. So, uh, then, then yet how it is eternal?

13:30Now, each other and... I am existing, I exist, I existed in a childhood body, boy's body, so my consciousness is continuing. My consciousness is going on with my existence. I am existing.

13:54Despite different changes of body, I am existing. They have a consciousness existing. This kind of... you have to apply your senses. But the basic principle of the knowledge is this.

14:18Just like in mathematics, teachers say two into two equal to four. And three into two, and two plus two plus two equals four. So you take four things, make two, two, two, two, and you find four.

14:45Similarly, by applying your senses, reason—God has given you reasons to answer that. You can come to become this. Yes. Is there any such thing as, uh, innate knowledge?

15:01Uh, innate knowledge means that knowledge which we are cultivating, that is already there. For instance, if you were unable to receive knowledge from higher authority, could you still somehow have this knowledge inside?

15:23No. Yes, inside, that is, we say, caitya-guru. Krishna. Krishna is really, you say. Hmm.

15:34So one could understand about Krishna perhaps without... if he was unable to receive from outside, he could understand? Krishna is helping outside and inside. Inside He is Paramātmā, outside He is spiritual master.

15:52So Krishna is trying to help the conditioned soul both ways, outside and inside. That, for spiritual matter, is representative of Krishna. He, Krishna, comes outside as the one, and inside His personality.

Limitations of reason and mental speculation

16:18So according to Kant, uh, the first, the first or basic stage is that one perceives, uh, objects and gives them concepts of time and space. Then the second step is called a transcendental analytic.

16:35In other words, human, human understanding changes these perceptions into conceptions or ideas which possess analytical unity. In other words, the mind applies categories to whatever it perceives.

16:51And there are four categories that he describes: uh, quantity, quality, uh, relationship, and modality. Modality. Modality means that modality...

17:05Uh, whether it's possible or impossible, or whether it's existent or non-existent, or whether it's... That's all that. So this, this is, this is the process of material reasoning.

17:22Uh, that when we see something, we can, uh, understand it by applying our reason that it is such and such height, such and such weight. It looks like it has measured with the mind.

17:35These are called the categorical imperatives. Next, what is that? The next step, or third step, is called the transcendental dialectic.

17:53In this stage, beyond reasoning, the mind seeks to understand everything, but its sense information is inadequate. So it tries to go beyond sense experience. Oh.

18:14The mind, the mind is, is aware that there is an ultimate reality or a thing in itself, a noumenon, which produces each phenomenon. But the mind is not equipped to sense this ultimate reality.

18:33So these, uh, the mind must remain forever content to be agnostic. He should go to high authority. Why he should remain agnostic? There is possibility.

18:54Mind cannot go beyond this, but it—the same thing as we say: upon, upon the head, on the roof, there is some sound, sound. Now we speculate, but we cannot, uh, ascertain what is the sound.

19:18But if somebody is actually there, he says, "This is, this sound is due to this." So why I shall remain satisfied with that agnostic position?

19:34That I, I could not ascertain what is the sound, therefore I shall remain satisfied? No. I shall see, is there anybody on the roof? If somebody says, "Yes, I... yes." Will you guys say, "What is the sound?"

19:59I tell you, satisfied. The police. All of... actually he didn't... Veda, Indian sannyāsī. Oh, it is... it is beyond your senses. You must have a spiritual one. He'll give in. And that is how our system: accepting guru.

20:23Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta, Samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. One who is inquisitive to understand this transcendental subject, he must approach the guru. What is guru?

20:38Śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. Śrotriyam means he has heard, or well-versed in the Vedic literature, śruti. And what is the result of that? How I can understand that he is well-versed? Brahma-niṣṭham. Brahma-niṣṭham.

21:00He has forgotten everything material. He simply can have spiritual—everything is there.

21:13He said that, although Kant here is imperfect, but actually he's just exploring this possibility that because we can't know it by our senses, therefore we must be... Nobody can attack in that way.

21:34And śāstra says that panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo. Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo. He is thinking, he is a man living for fifty or sixty years, and eighty years.

21:52But somebody is there, just like modern and these boutique scientists, they say that one can go for three thousand of years in the speed of light here, he can approach the topmost planet.

22:12And so we have to say, even one goes thirty thousand years, and still you won't find where is Krishna, where is Krishna's abode. Not only on the light speed, but he says on the speed of mind, manas.

22:36Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamyo vāyor athāpi manaso muni-puṅgavānām. Still the subject matter which is beyond my senses will remain the same, beyond my senses. This material attempt will not help.

22:58Never. There is another word that... Athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi. Jānāti tattvam. A devotee who has got a little grace from Your lotus feet, bhagavān, he can understand You.

23:35Others may speculate for millions of years. Still, it is not possible. And it's like Krishna said that manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu. Out of many millions of people, one is interested to make his life successful.

23:58And out of millions of successful—successful means one who understands that "I am not this body."

24:07If you ask, you'll take a census that in this Nairobi city, you'll find 99 or more than that, 99.9% people do not know what they are. Everyone knows that "I am this body."

24:25So perfection of life means one who understands that "I'm not impersonally something like that or void." Out of them, those who have understood perfectly that "I am not this body," one can understand Krishna.

24:50Out of many thousands of people who have attained actually, but the process is not so easy actually. But these devotees are actually realizing Krishna. Why? By the grace of Krishna.

25:13Because you are engaged in His service, that is the meaning. That is the process. That way, it is kind of speculation. He said that although this ultimate reality appears unknowable, still the mind seeks to discover it.

25:37He cannot be satisfied. He's seeking to stop. Yes. So he says that the real world or the ultimate reality becomes a reconstruction of the mind by speculationists.

25:50That they take the contents of this world and reproduce it into what they believe to be the real world. By speculation, the real world for them is negation of this world. That is void.

26:10I'm experiencing everything here material. So his material thinking, another material thinking induces him to conclude that it must be a void. It must be opposite. This is material; the spiritual means not this form.

26:42So that is also material thinking. Yes. Just the opposite number. He's still proceeding in his method. He comes to some good conclusions. But he's trying to understand what makes men's minds work.

27:00And he said that the real world thus becomes an ideal construction in the mind of man. Yes, ideal construct, that here we are frustrated because everything is temporary. Therefore ideal is eternal.

27:21That much you can understand. Temporary. That is my tendency: nobody wants to die, but I am hopeless because this body is not eternal. The ideal life is eternal body.

27:48He says, but the mind makes a mistake to apply these categories of reason to achieve transcendental knowledge. Yes. It because it becomes... uh, it realizes the futility, yes, of this one who goes in mental speculation.

28:07Uh, you must fail. Therefore, our process is not mental speculation. To receive knowledge from the perfect. So he says that man attempts to create ideas about the universe which transcend the bounds of experience.

28:26And this is the third stage; he calls the third stage or the transcendental dialectic. He says these ideas which transcend the, uh, bounds of experience are the realm of pure reason.

28:41He calls it pure reason or transcendental reason. And these are not fictions. He says, but these spring from the very nature of reason itself. These transcendental ideas. Yeah, that's all we really expect.

28:59We are seeking eternity. I find myself, my soul, as a... as a soul, I am eternal. So I must seek an eternal world. And this is... this is not my place. I am eternal.

29:23The same example: this place, he's not finding comfortable life. So he... when the fish is thrown in the water, then it is comfortable. Similarly, I am spirit, so I'm not feeling comfortable with this material body.

29:46Therefore, the right conclusion is how to go to the spiritual world or attain a spiritual body. That information we are getting from Bhagavad-gītā.

30:01That one who understands Krishna or develops his love for Krishna, how to see Krishna. And then he gets a spiritual body to see Krishna.

30:15Because if, when he is very much anxious, if these thoughts will continue and at the time of his death, at the time of ending this body, if he's filled up with Krishna concept, he's immediate return.

30:32That we are assured in Bhagavad-gītā by Krishna. So now our business should be... Krishna is kīrtana. Krishna said, "I spoke to Sūrya 40 million years ago." Arjuna said, "How is that?" He said that that is the nature.

30:55"I do not forget. You forget." So Kṛṣṇa's body is eternal. Forgetfulness is due to change of your body. As I do not remember what happened in my last life, that means I have changed my body.

31:16And Kṛṣṇa remembers, therefore He does not change His body. Is it not? I forget. Why I forget? Because I change my body. But Kṛṣṇa does not, and that means He does not change His body. His is an eternal one.

31:35And śāstra also confirms: sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. So if you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, then you can get a similar body like Kṛṣṇa. If you can get a material body, why not a spiritual body?

31:57It requires simply a process how to get a spiritual body. So these things they do not... He, he's getting a hint. Yeah, by high intellectual speculation one may get some hint. Yeah. But not, I mean, perfect knowledge.

32:26He says, for instance, that this pure reason or this transcendental reason is there to guide man to an understanding of a wider knowledge, to guide his understanding to wider knowledge.

32:42And that the aim of this pure reason is to find a totality of synthesis. In other words, to understand everything. By knowing the ultimate reality, one will understand everything.

32:55So simply by understanding that he is spirit, gradually he understands that there is a spiritual world. This spiritual world is full of varieties.

33:10Everything is there, exactly like this, but that is eternal and this is temporal. He says that this pure reason has a regulative value.

33:26That is, by attempting to grasp the totality of conditions and by connecting particular phenomena with the whole of experience.

33:39In other words, for example, the ideal of a supreme being is a regulative principle of reason because it tells us to view everything in the world in connection as if it proceeded from the necessary cause or the supreme being.

34:00So this, the supreme being, is the cause of all causes. Yes.

34:04So he says to suppose, or to use my pure reason to come to the conclusion that there is a supreme being, is a regulated function, because it makes everything regular by, by, um, coming to the conclusion that, by coming to the conclusion that there is a supreme being, the rest of everything, all phenomena, become regulated in relationship with this supreme being.

34:33This is the natural impulse that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram, etc. The whole material nature is working. And everything is going on. It's not in a contrary way as before.

34:50On this account, everything in this cosmic manifestation is going on regularly, the sun in the sky, like that. That behind this phenomenon there is a director, a person, and he's the supreme person.

35:08So he says this is a natural impulse, that it springs—it's the nature of reason itself to find regularity, a total regularity for everything.

35:19So that it must suppose that there is a supreme being in order to find that total synthesis. So if you are preaching, you can use this Kant's statement, how he is confirming this statement of Bhagavad-gītā.

35:38Directly said that he has, as a philosopher, he has found out that this is the fact. So this may help in your teaching work.

Causality and the supreme cause of causes

35:50He said that phenomena are so endless that it is impossible to arrive at ultimate reality by the reason alone. Because there are certain—what he calls transcendental illusions. Therefore, you have to take Kṛṣṇa's advice.

36:10I am saying, I'm puzzled with these varieties of phenomenon changes.

36:16And you cannot understand how these things are being done, but as soon as you come to Kṛṣṇa, He says that "I am behind this," then your conclusion is perfect.

36:30He says that when you examine material phenomena by your reason, you come to certain contradictions, and he calls them, uh, antinomies. And he lists four antinomies. And antinomy means both sides are true.

36:50It is called viruddha-dharma. Viruddha-dharma. Yes and no. Yes. But both sides, and logically both yes and no. Yes. He can adjust. Yes and no. Is it logically... these are not fallacious. Both sides are true.

37:14For instance, his first antinomy is: the world has a beginning — this is the thesis. The world has a beginning in time and is enclosed within limits of space.

37:28Then the antithesis is: the world has no beginning in time and no limits in space, but is infinite with regard to both time and space. So he says reasonably both conclusions are true. How to adjust? How to adjust?

37:45The adjustment is there in the Bhagavad-gītā. They say this material phenomenal world is coming into existence and again annihilated. Again coming.

37:59So this material nature, coming in manifestation, again vanquished; this process, coming in existence, again vanquished. This is also true. Just like day and night. It is coming and going. This is true. But night is not day.

38:22Day is not night. And the second antinomy is this: first, the first antinomy described the quantity of the world; the second antinomy deals with the quality of the world.

38:42The thesis is: every composite substance in the world is made up of simple parts, and nothing whatever exists but the simple or that which is composed.

38:55And the antithesis is: no composite thing in the world is made up of simple parts, nor does anything simple exist anywhere in the world. How do you say that? On one hand, everything is simple, made up of simple parts.

39:12On the other hand, nothing is simple, everything is complex. Yeah. Simply we say, simple, the whole world is made of material energy — this is simple; now, the component parts of material energy. Then so many things.

39:34Mahat-tattva, then pradhāna, and then you know, puruṣa, then twenty-four elements, the five elements, gross elements, eight subtle elements, then the senses, the objects of senses — in this way there are so many analytical complexes.

39:59Yeah. Huh.

40:03So his third, the third antinomy is the causal relation of the world. He says, first of all, thesis: causality in conformity with laws of nature is not the only causality from which all the phenomena of the world can be derived.

40:23To explain these phenomena, it is necessary to suppose that there is also a free causality.

40:30And the antithesis is: there is no freedom, but all that comes to be in the world takes place entirely in accordance with laws of nature.

40:39So on one hand he's saying that sometimes we observe an, uh, uh, an exception to the laws of cause of nature, uh, of causality, that something happens which is completely uncaused or unexplainable.

40:55So that there must be no such thing as a—a strict law of cause and effect. No. Very strictly. He cannot explain. He do not know. But there must be some God. Yes. Therefore, ultimate cause is Krishna, God. Hm.

41:28Sometimes when there is some—something aberration. There is no such thing as accident. We do not accept anything as accident. There cannot be any accident. I see. Yeah.

41:47So if you saw something miraculous, uh, it—it could be explained that Krishna. Yes, miracle—it means we cannot conceive how it is being done.

42:01The same example as I said, that if you want to paint one rose flower, you require so many things, and that also not real rose flower, but imitation. It may be perfect, but you have to take so much trouble

42:17in collecting the paint, the colours, and your energy, then duration of work, and some days may come out of it. But the same energy is—is working. That is, see, automatically a rose flower is coming.

42:40The same an example again: just like this aeroplane, there are thousands of complicated electronic machinery in there. But you see that the pilot is simply pushing a button. That's all.

43:03But, uh, layman is saying that simply by pushing a button, a miraculous thing is happening. But no, with the pushing of the button there are so many complicated machinery.

43:16They work one after another, one after another, after another.

43:20So similarly, God's energy is so subtle that simply by its willing, the process takes place, but it takes place so swiftly and quickly, we see it is a miracle. So there is no such thing as a miracle.

43:40The process is there, but it acts so quickly and nicely, we see it as a miracle. For instance, just like a a man is very innocent, illiterate. So I give you a chit. Just give it to Bhavananda.

44:08And Bhavananda gives you 10,000 rupees. Say he said, "Oh, what?" "What is this? What does it mean?" like this. He writes some something, some lines. And immediately ten thousand is... So to him, it is a miracle. You see?

44:34But Bhavananda says, "This is my signature and I run." This man doesn't know. He thinks it is a miracle. A piece of paper brings immediately ten thousand. So miracle to the idiots, fools. Yes. So they can exist simultaneously.

45:02On one hand, there are very strict laws of nature which no one can counteract. But on the other hand, we see something like Krishna lifting the Govardhana Hill. Yeah, that is also laghima-siddhi. That is not a miracle.

45:19Because in the yoga-siddhi you can make anything lighter than this cotton. So Krishna is Yogeśvara. So He, by His yogic power, He made the whole hill as a cotton swab. That is yoga.

45:43But for a layman, for a human being, he has to practice this yoga for millions of years, then he comes to practice. Krishna is Yogeśvara; by His will, everything. Isn't it a miracle?

46:01It is turning the whole thing, just like Krishna is floating so many big, big planets in the air. But to the modern scientist, they can say all nonsense. But it is a miracle. It is a miracle to them.

46:19But to Krishna it is not. Krishna has got such a saṅkalpa, or He has got some power, yoga-śakti, He can do this. What is this yogic power? What does that mean? That is called laghima-siddhi. Aṇimā-siddhi, laghima-siddhi.

46:39Aṇimā — smallest. The yogis, you pack up and in a room... I've seen it. One Mr. Chakravarti. He was... I told you. Yeah. He was packed in a bag, sealed, then put in a box. The box was locked, it was sealed. And he came out.

47:12Yes, it's simple. There must be some hole. You can have a pack-up. There is little... if there is a little hole, and his very soul is so little, and then he materializes another body outside.

47:39And other powers, other yogic powers? Oh yeah, eight kinds are: aṇimā, prāpti... Prāpti. Now you are sitting here. Now you have lost... you have left something in London, you simply call it. No delivery.

48:03Simply stretch your hand in there. Prāpti. They can go by the beams of the sun and this sun-glow. Prāpti. Aṇimā, laghima. Then mahimā: you can become bigger than bigger. How is that? How is that? That you have to learn.

48:38Practice yoga. Learn. Just like Hanumān. Jumped over the sea. So it is a question of becoming bigger. Just like you can jump over this space as if you have got a bigger body, then you can jump bigger.

49:00That is called mahimā-siddhi. So if you increase your body proportionately, then you can cross the sea from your tree. Your legs become bigger or your jumping becomes more bigger. This is the process. This is called mahimā.

49:26He carried the hill, that medicine. He could not find what... I mean... So these are yoga-siddhis. What are some of the... what are the others? Aṇimā, laghimā, prāpti, mahimā, prākāmya, īśitva, vaśitva.

49:54You can... you can control anyone by it. Whatever he'll say, you carry. Any big man, he puts an influence. Yes, vaśitva. Just like this... some mahā-siddhi. Maharishi... Maharishi. He has got little yoga. So he controls.

50:21Right, he will come, he will become God, all this nonsense, but he's controlling. Whatever he will ask, he will pay. That's vaśitva control. Actually he is controlling his mind, that whatever he'll ask, he'll do.

50:37As we... as bhogas say. By highness, yeah. By ignorance. Yeah. I think we have discussed an electron disorder. Yes. So this is the... this is possible even by ordinary yogis.

51:00And what to speak of Krishna, who is known as Yogeśvara, the master of all mystic power. So one who does not know these things, they say these are all stories. There's no story. There's no miracle. They are all possible.

51:22So there is no such thing as miracle. It is a process of doing. One must know how to do it. There is no miracle. We don't say anything miracle. But for appreciating we can say. You see? Yeah.

51:44Krishna is described as Yogeśvara, master of all mystic yoga processes. Yatra yogeśvaraḥ hariḥ. Remember what Gītā is saying? So our... our yoga part is... no, don't sit and digest.

52:12Our yoga process is to take shelter of Krishna. He left. He left. And he gave it. It's like our movement. If you stay doing it, I am getting the credit. Yes.

52:41Why, why, why you should be bothered about acquiring all this mystic power? Just depend on Krishna. He's Yogeśvara. He'll do everything. And you get it. And Krishna wants that.

52:55Just like he advised Arjuna: "This is already planned. You don't think that if you do not fight, they will go back." No. That is a problem. But simply take the credit, that's all.

53:14So, its fourth antinomy relates to the modality of the world and is whether or not the world requires an absolute being.

53:24First of all, as a thesis: there exists an absolutely necessary being which belongs to the world either as a part or as the cause of it.

53:34And the antithesis is: there nowhere exists an absolutely necessary being, either in the world or outside of the world as its cause. So, by the reason alone, one can either say there is a God or there is not a God.

53:54There is a God, that is reason. And how one can have what? When there is no God. What is that reason? Well, strictly according to these categories of quality, quantity, relation and modality,

54:11it's impossible, or it's possible also to conclude that there's nothing beyond material nature. How? If one uses only the senses. Huh? If one uses only the senses. But why you give your senses?

54:32Well, one could say that they're a combination, only a combination of matter. Then right away, matter comes from where? Well, according to material reasoning, one could say that there's no necessary source of matter.

54:57It's not necessary to conclude that there is a cause of matter. But as we see, the matter is growing. It's like a tree; it is a matter of matter, it is growing. But it may have been eternally existing.

55:12How eternally existing? The tree is not eternally existing. This glass pot is never... somebody has made it. But the matter itself could have been it. Similarly, matter also we see, just like the tree is growing.

55:32Tree... the wood, wood is also matter. Mm. Stone is also growing. So, how it is growing? Well, there, strictly materially speaking, I could say, well, there, there must be some material reasons.

55:58It's like my body, material body. It is grown. There is no existence but combination of father and mother; the body is made and it grows, and again it is vanquishing. That is the nature of matter.

56:17It takes place, or it takes birth at a certain moment; it grows, then it makes byproduct, then it dwindles, and then vanishes. This is the nature of matter. Every matter, anything at all.

56:37This material world is also like that. All these trees, they have grown up. And when they have grown up, you take the wood, you make houses, you make boxes, you make bedsteads and so many things.

56:56But it is a fact that the trees have grown up. Wherefrom it has grown up? From the seed. Then wherefrom the seed comes? From that father tree. Krishna says: «bījaṁ māṁ sarva-bhūtānām». There Krishna is the cause of everything.

57:21But his point is that these contradictions—saying there is a God, there is no God—these arise, these contradictions only arise because the reason attempts to apply its categories to the transcendent or the absolute, whereas these categories are only applicable to empirical experience.

57:43In other words, by reason alone, I cannot... it is by reason only I see everything is growing. Therefore the whole cosmic manifestation must have grown from the source. This is reason. This is transcendental reason?

58:00No, common reason. Common reason. Yes. Every matter is going from a certain source. So therefore this material world must have grown from a certain source.

58:22How could some people look at the seed or the tree and come to a different conclusion? Some visitors. Probably so. Yeah.

58:36Therefore the perfect reason is that this point, when we also get from books and from authoritative books by dignitaries... Is it the right thing? But how do they do that wrong? Yeah.

58:54How is that, if someone else could apply their reason, their material reason, and come to a different conclusion? Why did they reason? How you can prove? He must prove by his experience. Does his experience prove it?

59:12That things are... that the man who is talking of this nonsense, can he prove that he is born without his father? No. How is that? How is his existence there? How his material body is his existence?

59:29It is caused by his father. Then how he can deny? Because his very existence is depending on some cause.

59:41According to one point of view — this is Hume's point of view — is that the cause and effect are not necessarily related. That they... they're habitually... every scientist will say that the father begets the child.

59:59Why it is not related? For instance, this humanity. It is simply lunacy, lunatism, they're not believing in this. Oh, where is

1:00:11the... why is the... without father and something, some child has taken birth? Where is the certain instance? He himself is talking certain nonsense. He is born by his father because he has his father.

1:00:27Similarly, his father is also the effect of his father. Therefore there is Supreme Power. Alright, and this casting... well, he can say it. And that is the defect of the speculator. The contradiction.

1:00:52This is what, this is just what he's saying. Whenever you try to speculate about, about the Absolute, you run into contradictions.

Transcendence and the necessity of revelation

1:01:00Yeah. So contradiction means imperfect knowledge. He said, "Perfect knowledge means one who sticks to his principle." That is perfect. One who does not stick to his, um, uh, original proposal, his knowledge is imperfect.

1:01:22He says that, that, uh, by trying to apply their reason to the transcendental, that they naturally will run into trouble. That there will, there will be contradictions in their thought. Why is that?

1:01:36It is by trying to apply those categories, uh, empirical categories that he, to the transcendental, that naturally there will be these contradictions.

1:01:47They will not be able to discover the real nature of things because there's some, always some contradiction by the reason, by using the reason. Without fixed conclusion, uh, there is contradiction.

1:02:17So our fixed-up conclusion is that Kṛṣṇa is the cause of all causes. How one after another the categories have developed, that is in particularity.

1:02:34But it is summarized that Kṛṣṇa desired, or He, He put His glance over the material nature, and the material nature became impregnated, and then He delivers so many things.

1:02:55Matter and spirit have combined together; the whole cosmic manifestation comes into being. To go back to this idea of cause and effect.

1:03:09Kant says that just as time and space are a priori concepts or mental creations—in other words, before we have any sense experience, we still have an idea of time and space.

1:03:22Just as this is so, so also cause and effect is an a priori category of human understanding. In other words, so that the existence is that time and space. Time and space and cause and effect.

1:03:36I take my birth at a certain date. So time was existing before my birth. And before my birth. And after I die, time will continue to exist. Similarly, space.

1:03:54But, um, uh, temporarily I take some time, and that is my duration of my life. Or I occupy some space. This is temporary. But time and space are eternal. And time is eternally there because space is also born in time.

1:04:27How is that? That we can get from Bhagavad-gītā. Because the space, the material space, is a product. It is born of the subtle, manas and intelligence.

1:05:01So just this Hume had said that cause and effect are habitual assumptions, that we normally assume that a certain effect follows a certain cause. But it's not necessarily that the cause makes the effect.

1:05:18No, I don't agree with that. Without cause there cannot be any effect. Let you prove that this is there in existence without any cause. Then he can say like that.

1:05:36Well, Hume's example is: if we find a footprint on the beach, yes. Normally we can assume that a human being... That is normally, that is a fact. Why normally? That is factually. Still, it remains a probability.

1:05:55Why probability? It's possible something else left the footprint. How is it possible? It's left. Well, someone could have had a... and there could have been a cast made of another foot,

1:06:07and someone could have made it; other possibilities could exist. That is nonsensical. Somebody can make a footprint to mislead you, and that is also the cause. He's saying that is also cause. Someone's there.

1:06:34This is just what Kant is saying. He says, "No, still we are born with an idea of cause and effect." No. Which is a priori.

1:06:44Cause and effect is obviously intuitively... as we, when we see something, we understand what is cause and what is the effect. We cannot understand what is the cause, but there must be cause. There must be cause.

1:07:00Without cause, nothing can happen. There must be cause. That is imperfect, nothing. Something may happen without... No. For example, that idea of the bird flying on the fruit. The bird flying on the limb, the fruit.

1:07:26Either the bird... Yeah. Two foolish men. Yeah. But either the bird caused the fruit to fall or it fell. But the cause is there. But the cause is still there. I accept this cause or that cause. That is a different thing. Yes.

1:07:41But cause must be there. Yes. This example is given that they are fighting unnecessarily to find out the cause. The cause is there. God is still there. Just like some, uh, some police person and, um, inquire.

1:08:06So while the living entity became fallen, what is the use of this question? Simply take it, it is fallen. There is a cause. There is a cause. Now you may not find out the cause, but you think that it is this man.

1:08:28There is some cause. So instead of finding out the cause, you begin treating the disease. Get it cured. But cause must be there. Otherwise he is infected, why out of nothing? God must do this.

1:08:51So he says that the laws of physics are not inherent in nature but their modes of thought. No, this is not... there is a law.

1:09:05All physical things which are going on, there is a law, such as the fact that when the temperature is below zero, the water will become solid. Yeah. But there's the physical law. Yeah.

1:09:23That that that happens when the... when it's below zero. But our understanding of that phenomenon, uh, of that law of physics, is only because of our thought. Our thought process. Our thought process facts, analyzes it.

1:09:44But you cannot think... No. But independently. So how is it present? What is that? Without cause, um, yeah. So he admits that. But he says that, yeah, here is a medical man. That's disease. We may not find out, but he knows.

1:10:18It must have been caused. Oh, I know he must have caused. Yes, that's it. Yeah.

1:10:28Well, what he's saying only is that, so the water may freeze, physical nature goes through changes, but it only becomes a law in our minds when we begin to think about it. Why? Why in your mind? That is the law.

1:10:45When the temperature is reduced to a certain point, the water becomes frozen and becomes solid. That is law. How we can say without law? But the concept of law is a mode of thought.

1:11:01Well, that is in an imperfect human society. But nature's law, God's law is not like that. Nature's law is like fire burns. It burns everywhere. It is fact, but visual.

1:11:21It is not that in certain cases it burns, in certain cases it doesn't. It burns. If the child touches the fire, it will burn. No concern. Oh yeah, it is. That's like a law.

1:11:42If child steals and adult steals, we excuse them as a child. Let him. But nature's law is not like that. The fire, whether adult touch it... All you can touch is fire. That matters. Yeah.

1:12:02When we conceive of fire burns, that we are shaping an interpretation of the phenomenon. We've experienced it, so we shape an interpretation and that becomes a law in our minds. What is that law in the mind?

1:12:22You may think or may not think. The law is that. Simple expectative. Oh, yeah. And it is called jugglery of words.

1:12:42He says because the mind to some, to some foolish man, he... But it is simply deadly of the world. That's all. He says because the mind imposes a priori these laws upon nature as both necessary and universal.

1:13:06That proves that the mind is creative and that it's not a blank slate altogether. Mind is given there for facts. Creativity is creating and rejecting. That is my business. How we call it.

1:13:25So it says that these categories, to apply these categories... Yeah. To apply those four categories of reason onto objects in order to understand them. So this creates certain knowledge.

1:13:51And so that further judgment beyond these categories would be guesswork or unprovable dogma. But he says that still the mind is not satisfied with these partial explanations.

1:14:04Even though knowledge that that transcends these categories is guesswork. Still the mind desires to know something. That inquisitiveness is called philosophy. Because this is caused by this, what is the cause of this?

1:14:34What is the cause of this? Unless it comes to the final cause, this research goes on. That is the nature of an advanced mind. They are communists. Those who are very thoughtful.

1:14:54So that is the nature of a greater mind, Mahātmā, to find out the ultimate cause. That is human nature. Therefore Vedānta: athāto brahma jijñāsā. Vedānta-sūtra says the jijñāsā. Inquiry. What is athāto? What is athāto?

1:15:20What is Brahman? What is Brahman? This is not Brahman, this is not Brahman, what is Brahman? And the next answer is that Brahman means janmādy asya yataḥ, the Supreme Source from whom everything emerges.

1:15:37So although he goes to the Supreme Source, he says he's not satisfied. Those who are going by mental speculation, they come to that impersonal feature, impersonal feature. Then it will make further advancement.

1:16:04It's like, "O Surya, please wind up your this glaring impersonal feature so that we can see you rightly."

1:16:22So this glaring impersonal Brahman, and if you go penetrate again through this impersonal Brahman, when you come to Krishna, then that is your satisfaction.

1:16:36And that is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: bahūnāṁ janmanām ante. After searching in this way, speculating, searching, searching, searching, bahūnāṁ janmanām, many, many births.

1:16:52And when he comes to the conclusion that Krishna is the cause of all causes, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti, sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. That mahātmā is there. So tomorrow we'll discuss his ideas of God, huh? Try to understand Kant.

1:17:21Kant is really well, but we can understand in a few minutes. By the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Possible. See if he says anything. Possible, yes.

1:17:41Yesterday we were discussing Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, wherein he tried simply through exercising his reason to understand the totality of things.

1:17:58Today we said we'll discuss the conclusions of that particular attempt at pure reason.

1:18:08He said in man, after futility, the futility of applying this categorical analysis to transcendental knowledge, then he attempts to create ideas about the universe which transcend his experience.

1:18:25He finds his efforts fail when he tries to understand more than material nature, so he tries to create ideals about that which transcends his experience.

1:18:38So he fails in the material knowledge and then he attempts for transcendental knowledge. Yes. What is it? He fails—no, he fails to understand transcendental knowledge by applying the techniques of material knowledge.

1:18:58Well, that means we make the... Kant says you cannot go to the intellectual knowledge. Yeah. So how we can form ideas of transcendence?

1:19:10Well, in this particular attempt, Kant is trying to form those ideas purely through the reason. Pure reason. You say that material sense cannot reach transcendence. Then what is the meaning of reasoning?

1:19:30If your senses are imperfect, so if you put some reason by the senses, then that is also imperfect. He says that reason acts a priori, or separate from the senses, independent of the senses.

1:19:45That reason can understand that there is God, there is soul, etc., without the senses, without use of the senses. Very positive. In fact, he recognized three such ideals of pure reason.

1:20:02One is the soul, two is the ultimate world or reality, and three is God. He says that these three ideals are a priori to the reason. They're born with us. We know these things. That is also true. We also...

1:20:22Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Our tendency to offer service to the Lord, is natural. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that he is eternal servant. Therefore, that tendency should be natural.

1:20:45But it is so, or rather, covered by material ignorance.

1:20:55He says whereas the sense perception cannot provide any information about the soul and about God, pure reason can penetrate into the unknowable and provide us with conceptions in order to grasp the whole of reality.

1:21:13This is not very clear. That sense perception cannot reach soul. Yeah. Well. Then again, it isn't. But he says it isn't beyond the senses. Yeah. Hmm.

1:21:31So that we can grasp conceptions of God and soul and reality through the use of pure reasoning. Hmm. How do we reason these exercises?

1:21:45Well, he comes to the conclusion that these ideals of perfect knowledge are set up, but they are unprovable and unknowable.

1:21:59We can never know it any more than that, that there is God, soul, there is reality, but we cannot know anything more than that. We don't have any more information than that.

1:22:12Anything cannot be known more than that by his personality. But they can be known through a process which he calls guru-paramparā. He says they cannot be known through pure reason alone.

1:22:34Later he admits they can be known in other ways. But it's purely through the exercise of reason. Yes. We cannot know that there is anything about God or anything about soul, even though we may know they exist.

1:22:46So when God speaks, then it is possible. That is our process. We hear from God what, how, why, what he is, how he is. Therefore our knowledge is perfect. According to Kant, one cannot reach him by reason and senses.

1:23:13avāṅ-manasa-gocara, that's a fact that is admitted in me that avāṅ-manasa-gocaraḥ. avāṅ means words. manasa means mind. By words, neither by the mind, one can reach. So, but it is a fact that he is convinced there is God.

1:23:44So if God speaks, God descends by his causeless mercy and speaks, then he can understand about God.

1:23:57He comes to that point in a way by saying that he has limited all that we can know to mere phenomena, and he has therefore found it necessary to deny knowledge of God, freedom, and immortality in order to find a place for faith.

1:24:14In other words, he says that through the reason and the senses we cannot know anything about God, soul, or immortality or freedom, so the rest has to be done by faith. No. Faith. That is a compromise.

1:24:39You see, that is not fact. But this is good that he admits that we cannot approach the final God by our senses or reason. But then to have faith, that is also not perfect. that is also not perfect.

1:25:04Therefore, the Western philosophers, they have created a different faith, and religion means faith. Somebody may believe in some faith, others may believe in other faith. But that is not factual.

1:25:23The factual is this: that if we are actually convinced that there is God, God is omnipotent, so by His omnipotence He descends. As it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata.

1:25:44Whenever there is discrepancies in the process of religious principles, abhyutthānam adharmasya, when people become irreligious, at that time I descend. He descends for two reasons.

1:26:06Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ, for the relief of the devotees. Devotees are always anxious to see God. But somehow or other they are unable to see. Of course they are seeing God, but at the same time, face to face.

1:26:32So in order to give them relief, God descends to be seen face to face. And other reason is that vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām, miscreants, to kill them.

1:26:56Just like Hiraṇyakaśipu, Kaṁsa, Rāvaṇa, they are the symbolic representation of miscreants. You see? So to kill them. Two things. So one may say then God is partial.

1:27:17No, God is not partial; God is kind to everyone, both to the devotees and to the demons. The demons being killed by God, they get salvation.

1:27:32Whereas the devotees, by seeing God, they can understand what is actually the position of God.

1:27:44So God displays Himself factually as He does in the spiritual world, and then now His nature is to play with the cowherd boys, to dance with the gopīs; these things are actually displayed, and devotees become encouraged that after finishing these material bodies, we are going to Kṛṣṇa or God to join these pastimes of the Lord.

1:28:21This is called paritrāṇāya sādhūnām. Sādhu, they heard from the śāstras that Kṛṣṇa practically demonstrated. So they become doubly confirmed, doubly assured what they are going to have next life.

1:28:44So these things — transcendental world, God, His activities — we hear; by hearing also we realize, because God is absolute. Therefore, to see Him and to hear about Him, there is no difference.

1:29:07There cannot be any difference. By seeing eye to eye or to hear about Him, the same thing. You are feeling sleepy. Yes. So after he investigated the... He had no nice sleep last night? Well, the night before I didn't sleep.

1:29:37His investigation of reason, pure reason. What the limits are of reason. Then he began his critique of practical reasons.

1:29:46That this is to be understood: that however expert you may be a logician, this is not possible by your reasons, by your knowledge, to approach the Supreme Absolute. That is not possible.

1:30:06This process — that when God descends Himself and He speaks about Himself, He demonstrates about His pastimes, then He responds. So the Bhāgavatam is the record of this God's descents.

1:30:31The whole Bhāgavata philosophy about God, theology about God, and practical demonstration of God. Therefore, anyone who takes to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or the process of understanding God through Bhagavad-gītā...

1:30:55That's why it is called Bhāgavatam. Bhagavad. And it is simply about God. Bhagavad-gītā means God speaks Himself about Himself, about His activities. And Bhāgavatam is a record of God's activities.

1:31:14Pastimes. And when He appeared on this earth, Bhāgavatam, nine cantos... From the first to nine cantos are devoted for understanding the transcendental nature of God.

1:31:35And the Tenth Canto is practical demonstration of God's activities before the eyes of the world, before the eyes of the people of the world.

1:31:49But those who are miscreants, they think that Kṛṣṇa or God is like any man, but a superhuman being. But that is actually the position of God. By His consciousness, He demonstrates Himself to be convinced.

1:32:20So instead of philosophizing, if people take to these two books, Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and if he practices the process, then we'll understand God.

1:32:38Um, after Kant finished this analysis of the reason, then he began his critique of practical reason, of reason applied to practical living, to try to find out what the limits of that study.

1:32:59So he discovered that—well, this is his idea—that moral laws are necessary and universal objects of the human will which must be accepted as valid for everyone. What is that?

Universal morality and the categorical imperative

1:33:14He called this his categorical imperative. That means that there are certain moral commandments which are universal and which must be applied to everyone and which everyone must obey without exception.

1:33:32Now he says that we know these moral laws a priori, by intuition.

1:33:42So, and that the individual facts in a situation have no bearing, and there's no consideration of what I want or what I desire, but what I must do, what I ought to do.

1:33:55No, no, there is no morality that is according to the development of this particular society. There are so many immoral things going on in a particular type of society.

1:34:17Which are very, very immoral, but they do not care for it. They do it. There's no universal morality. Material. Morality is to obey God, that's all. This is universal morality.

1:34:39But are any of God's laws things that means that's—that is included. If you obey God, then all the laws are also included. That is the universal morality.

1:34:56Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru—just to become My devotee. All things follow. Yes. Otherwise, there are so many immoral things that are going on. They are accepted as morality. How we can find out?

1:35:32Well, he said that there—I do not wish to say that, uh, in the Quran it is said that, uh, that from this day it should stop intercourse with money. He says that there, he does say in the Quran.

1:35:59I haven't, but you have told us this previously. I have seen one part of the Quran at times. Such a society, that this is all not killed. So so many moral things are going on, they're accepted and not sinful.

1:36:24He recognizes this and he says that, but there are certain, uh, imperatives that we are born with, that we know are, why, by practicing, well, to say the standard, the standard, uh, the standard categorical imperative of morality is this: that is, obedience to God.

1:36:50He says that, uh, that the standard for the categorical imperative is that one should act only, only, uh, in such a way that his action, he would want his action to be followed by everyone.

1:37:12In other words, sort of "do unto others as you would want them to do unto you." That's his, uh... This is a compromise. This is not morality.

1:37:26That you should act only in such a way that your action, you would want everyone in the world to act in the same way. You would want it to be a universal law.

1:37:36Mm-hmm, so you can allow me to do in my own way and I allow you to do any of it. He uses the example of, uh, breaking a promise.

1:37:48He says that if the, if the opportunity is there to break a promise, I should never break the promise because I would never want anyone else to break that. That is going on. Man-made laws. But that is not morality.

1:38:07That standard of morality is one in one, in one country, another just the opposite in another country.

1:38:16But isn't, isn't the, uh, the, uh, breaking of a promise a universal moral command, that one should never break his promise, whether it's here or in other countries?

1:38:29Well, that's why for practical purposes, the breaking promise... Yes, he, he understands this, but his idea, he wants to get to the basis of morality by saying that there is... there is a good quality.

1:38:44That is brāhmaṇa quality. Not to break a promise, to be truthful. Yes. This is an example. That is goodness. Yes. That is goodness. Yes.

1:38:56This is an example of how one should look at his actions: that he should judge his own actions according to what he would want everyone else to do, and that these must be, if possible, that everyone will be able to do.

1:39:14Just like to become truthful. It may be universal truth, but you do not expect that everyone will be truthful. That is not for... Yes, that it is not universal. It is meant for a certain type of man. Mm-hmm.

1:39:30Someone says that it is universal. But he said that the fact that I ought to do this implies that I can do it, and everyone can do it. That is nice. That is nice. I ought to do it, or I cannot do it.

1:39:49So that is therefore a scientific method of classification of people, that is varṇāśrama. That is, certain people cannot do it, although he knows he ought to do it; that is a śūdra.

1:40:09And a man who does it practically, he is a brāhmaṇa. So that's a very much true classification. This class of men, they know that this is good and they do it.

1:40:22And the other class, either they do not know or, even if they do know, they cannot do it. So therefore there must be a distinction between these two classes of men.

1:40:32Therefore this classification, as Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, cātur-varṇyaṁ system, "The four classes are... it is designed by Me." But we cannot find all men on the same level.

1:40:50Therefore there must be a class of men who are called, who are to be called brāhmaṇa, a class of men what we call kṣatriya, a class of men who are called to be vaiśyas, and a class of men śūdra. That is natural division.

1:41:05Because in this world you cannot find all men on the equal level, on the same platform. That is not possible. He says that these moral imperatives or these moral commands must be obeyed without exception.

1:41:23That's nice, but it is not possible. Individual circumstances should not be there, and then the basic principles of civilization should be that those who are unable to do it, they should be trained up.

1:41:43And that is our Krishna consciousness movement. We are elevating persons from the lowest level to the highest level.

1:41:56So but these four classes of men exist, but by education, by training, the lowest class of man can be elevated to the highest class. That is our movement, Krishna consciousness. But

1:42:13um, is it true that if there are certain laws, moral commandments, that I should follow them regardless of individual exceptions — there are no exceptions — regardless of individual circumstances? That is brāhmaṇa.

1:42:29The brāhmaṇa shall be truthful in all circumstances. Every circumstance. Yes. Even before his enemy, he'll disclose everything, what is truth. That is brāhmaṇa qualification. While a kṣatriya, he'll deploy.

1:42:46Although he is truthful, but he'll not be truthful before his enemy. Um, 'cause his function is different. He said it doesn't pay less. Oh, you have hearing? I'm hearing a little bit. Alright.

1:43:07He says that duty is one's individual obligation to obey the categorical imperative by choosing the morally right action.

1:43:18In other words, duty is... duty means it is my duty to choose a morally right action free from emotion.

1:43:26Because that was a duty... I should... I do say duty, uh, that, uh, duty should be, uh, what is called prescribed by some hierarchies. And, uh, in that sense, this system is very scientific.

1:43:49Brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. This is very scientific. These are the duties. But every duty defined, it may appear different.

1:44:07But because it is command of the Supreme, by discharging the duties on different platforms, he is serving the Supreme. If Krishna says, "All right, I see you are brāhmaṇa, your duties are like this.

1:44:27I see you are kṣatriya, your duties are like this. I see you are vaiśya, then your duties are..." Like Krishna says, "I am divided." So Krishna gives duty that "your duty is this, your duty is this, your duty is this."

1:44:44And if he faithfully serves the duty, that means he is serving Krishna. The duties may be different. But because he is serving Krishna, he is going to perfection. I see.

1:45:00Just like in our institution, I'm the headman, you paint, you type, you preach, you do this, this. So the duties may be different, but by discharging duty, you are serving me. Therefore, you are perfect.

1:45:21Similarly, duties are given by the Supreme because I see that you are a śūdra. You cannot discharge the duties of a brāhmaṇa. That is not possible. So you do a duty like this.

1:45:41So, superficially it may seem that a śūdra's duty is inferior than the brāhmaṇa's duty. But if the śūdra is performing his duty in accordance to the order of the Supreme, then he is also serving.

1:46:00The service is the main part. And the same example of a body, that the duty of the eye is to see, it is different from the duty of the leg walking.

1:46:15But walking and seeing, both of them are being utilized for the whole body. They are—all of them are useful. So there are—there cannot be any fixed abrupt. Neither everyone is able to follow the same principles.

1:46:36Therefore, this varṇāśrama-dharma is very scientific. Yes. Very scientific. So, ideally it is the moral obligation of everyone to obey the moral command. But practical—not moral government. The Supreme Court.

1:46:57What is moral for you is not necessarily moral for others. One man's food and another man's poison. So therefore Krishna says this. Go and tell lies. That is dharma. Krishna says, "Arjuna, what is this nonsense?" Kill them.

1:47:24That is moral. So moral means to obey Krishna's order, God's order. That is morality. You cannot create morality. You are imperfect. Your senses are imperfect. Reason that we do not know what is actually moral.

1:47:43Therefore we should implicitly, blindly follow the orders of Krishna or His representative. So the real categorical imperative is to obey the Supreme. That's it. Very moral.

1:47:59And I think all him—he says that we must follow our duty not mechanically but out of respect for it. Yes.

1:48:13I'll say, suppose if I say that you do this with the—uh, the victim says that you go and say this and good Yudhiṣṭhira. So unless he has got implicit faith... Yudhiṣṭhira was lacking that implicit faith.

1:48:35Therefore he said, "How can I say with lie?" But Arjuna is better than this. He—he thought that "Although I am thinking it is very moral not to kill my relatives, if Krishna likes it, I must be." That's right.

1:49:02He says that ethics or morality should be institutionalized regardless of the individual circumstances. It comes to the circumstance. Therefore the morality says we are coming to the circumstance. Hm.

1:49:19He says—he says the opposite: regardless of individual circumstances, everyone should follow the moral imperative. Mm. But we say the circumstances determine how one follows.

1:49:34And everyone then—then—then suppose the state law is to kill. So why the killing is there? In wars. Huh? In wars. Really, any circumstances. It is not that killing is stopped, although the state is meant for a private killing.

1:50:00But if still killing us—it's not... a house killing is going on, and why killing is going on, and so many other verses, killing is going on.

1:50:09He's—he's thinking of it in more of a—as a personal—uh, a personal way of determining how to act. Like, "I should not act counter to—uh, this moral imperative." No, no. Suppose there is a mad snake.

1:50:28And if then there is to kill that, killing is necessary. Then he will say, "No, I shall not kill this snake." Let it bite all and let them all die. These are simply mental speculators, and he has no perfect knowledge.

1:50:52Well, he has the idea that, uh, we know what is morally right. You do not know what is morally right. But the thing is that you do not know what is morally.

1:51:05Therefore, you have to take an instruction from Krishna, how it is pointed out. You do not know. So, a priori, we are not born with knowledge of what is right?

1:51:18No, a priori in this sense, that, uh, implicitly, I have got obedience to Krishna or God. Everyone. That is manifested even in, uh, the uncivilized man. Otherwise, they see the thunderbolt and they offer.

1:51:42They say these Africans coming here, offering obeisances. But that is inborn. Although he says they're not civilized, but that thing is there, that you are a sadhu, or he is God. So that is there.

1:52:00Uh, but it is not very much manifest. Ah, so we don't really know, but we have some idea. Ah, yes, that is there. Everywhere. I see. He says it is not the act itself which is good or bad, but the will behind the act. Yes.

1:52:24That will, uh, is sometimes, uh, not manifest. And therefore, one has to take the help of superior persons to develop that willingness. He says when we see an activity, it's not the act that's good or bad.

1:52:50The will is there. But it has to be developed by the teacher. So he develops his willingness to study more and more, and he becomes a scholar. But the will is there already.

1:53:07But he says when you see an action, it cannot be judged as good or bad, the act itself, but the will behind the act may be good or bad. That's what we have to, uh, judge: good or bad by the will behind the act.

1:53:24That is not very, uh, important subject unless there is willing. Uh, so that, and guru, that will also has to be trained. The conditioned soul, any man in this material world, is in ignorance. It is called darkness.

1:53:47This material world is called darkness. Uh, everyone, more or less, they are in darkness. Uh, the Vedas therefore say: "Don't remain in darkness, go to the light." And the spiritual world is light. That's like day and night.

1:54:10Side by side there is day and night, or sunlight and darkness. So the Vedas say: don't remain in darkness, go to the light. So this darkness, willingness in darkness, is imperfect.

1:54:28So this willingness has to be dragged to the light, and that requires superior help. What he's saying by that is just like if you see a soldier killing,

1:54:45you can't say the action is good or bad of his killing, but the will behind it—if his will is to serve the state, then the will is good, so the killing is good.

1:54:58But if you see the man killing someone on the street for his money, then you can say that the will is bad, so the killing is bad. So the action itself of killing is neither good nor bad.

1:55:11But the will behind the killing is what determines if an action is good or bad. Yes. But that will has to be trained. Otherwise we'll manufacture that "I am doing this in a good sense." Yes. That's what he does.

1:55:35He manufactured the idea. That is nonsense. That's why you require guidance. Mm-hmm. So there's no inborn idea of what is always—even inborn ideas you must get confirmed by your superior. Ah, yes.

1:55:57He says that man, because he respects the moral law and practices it, is a personality having infinite dignity. He believes in the dignity of man based upon his adherence to moral principles.

1:56:16If a man follows moral principles, then he has dignity, which is different than it is. That is already explained: varṇāśrama-dharma. Because the brāhmaṇas, they follow the good laws, therefore dignity.

1:56:32Brāhmaṇa is supposed to be the first-class man in the society. And therefore that honor. He says everything else has an exchange value or a price, but man alone possesses self-direction or dignity, and this is priceless.

1:56:55So we should never stoop to sell ourselves. If we sell ourselves like a commodity, then we lose our dignity. That dignity is his inherent quality of obedience to the Supreme. That we should not sacrifice.

1:57:16Modern civilization is that he knows that he is not independent, he's subordinate to God's will. Still, artificially, to defy God, he is manufacturing so many philosophies. Hypocrisy.

1:57:38He sees that men sell themselves like commodities. In order to get something, they get to sell to get some popularity, get some money, uh, to get some adoration.

1:57:54But he said that the way man should really act is to follow the moral code, and then he has dignity because he has self-direction. He is determined. Follow the moral principle, so he has dignity.

1:58:12The moral codes are there; if anyone follows actually, he has dignity. He says that man belongs to what he calls the kingdom of ends. Because he looks to the ideal or the perfect, and the kingdom of ends...

1:58:30He sees everything in relation to the perfect end, and he guides his life accordingly. So the means, the means and the end are both perfect, ideal. Now, what is that end that he does not describe?

1:58:47He called the end the, uh, the moral law, the moral imperative. Yeah, that moral law is: what is moral in one circumstance is immoral in other circumstances. And that means, again, imperfectness of idea.

1:59:06He, he calls that, I guess, the Golden Rule, that one should act. He does not give any concrete example. He gives an example of breaking a promise. Breaking his promise sometimes is more than play.

1:59:27Krishna broke His promise Himself. Krishna broke His promise. He promised that "In this fight, in this war, I shall not take weapons."

1:59:41But when Arjuna was jeopardized by the fighting of Bhīṣma, immediately He took some weapon. And that was because Bhīṣma promised that either Krishna has to break His promise...

2:00:03"Tomorrow I shall fight in this way, unless Krishna takes a special step." That means He has to break His promise. Krishna breaks His promise to protect His devotees. That was his idea. Yeah.

2:00:28So when He broke His promise, He gave up the idea? Yes. Yeah, that was my purpose. But You have to break Your promise to protect Your devotees. He says that a man should never become a mere object of utility.

2:00:48In other words, he should never, he should not let the means, uh, he should not lower his, his standard just because it's practical at the time. More or less, he's a big moralist. But, uh, that is not the highest state.

Spiritual platform beyond material moral principles

2:01:07One has to transcend this moral trance. That is perfect. Because this moral value is within this material world. Moral value. Moral and morality are this material. Just like there are three qualities.

2:01:29Moral qualities and morality is on the platform of the modes of goodness. So from higher standards, here the morality... now suppose the morality could make one a brāhmaṇa, perfect brāhmaṇa.

2:01:51But he is in the material world. Even though he has got some uh, moral principles, still he is existing in the material world. But uh, according to transcendental spiritual vision, the whole material world is condemned.

2:02:20It is like that if one is a first-class prisoner in prison, a first-class prisoner. Just like if a politician is given in prison, he's given first- class treatment, he's given special bungalow service and many facilities.

2:02:43And that means that he's not even... as soon as one comes to the prison, he's a prisoner. He may be a great politician or an ordinary pickpocket.

2:02:59Pickpocket is given third-class prison life, and a politician, Gandhi or Nehru or some other big politician, when they are imprisoned they're given special treatment.

2:03:15But uh, on account of his being in the prison walls, within the prison walls, he is condemned.

2:03:24Similarly, anyone who is in this material world, either with the brahminical qualification or śūdra qualification, he is a conditioned soul.

2:03:39Of course, so far as conditioned life is concerned, there is value of morality and immorality.

2:03:53But uh, the morality uh, may help to uh, transcend, to come to the transcendental platform; but to come to the transcendental platform uh, is not dependent on morality. It is independent of morality.

2:04:20Just like uh, under the order of Krishna, uh, fighting by Arjuna, killing his kinsmen, that is their immorality. His method... it's like you say the morality may help him to transcend.

2:04:44He's beginning to perceive behind his moral... No, from this instance we find that Arjuna was trying to become moral, not killing his own men. But that did not help.

2:04:59Rather, by directly abiding by the orders of Krishna, he transcended morality. So morality does not always help. Yes.

2:05:16And in this particular case of Kant, he begins to perceive that behind morality there is something higher. He says that even though a man is sinful, there is high. That highness is within this material law.

2:05:39That is, there are two stages, two platforms: transcendental platform and physical platform. So that highness is physical, just like Mahā-prabandhi. He was known as a very high-class man.

2:06:03But he was a materialist, that's all. By his past activity, he may be elevated materially. I see.

2:06:21It's like if you act piously, giving charity, then next birth, you get very nice birth, opulent birth; you are born in a rich family, you get enough money. But that is not the solution of your conditional life.

2:06:45To take birth in this family does not mean he hasn't got to undergo the process of birth, the pains of birth, the pains of death.

2:07:00But the real problem is that I want to stop these pains of birth, death, old age, and disease. Without love of Krishna, nobody can escape these material conditions of life.

2:07:28So Kant is beginning to realize that by observing that if a man does sin, nevertheless, the fact that the moral law is present somewhere in his personality, that he's able to understand it if he is rightly trained, that this in itself must be regarded as holy.

2:07:48This propensity to understand the moral principles is a holy, inborn holy trait that everyone has.

2:07:58And he says that this self-determination is the indispensable condition of all morality, that in order to be moral, they must be self-determined. That what we have already discussed, that one should be self-determined,

2:08:17but sometimes it is not possible to become self-deter- mined. So first of all he does not know what is the aim of life. Suppose one becomes moral, one becomes immoral. So what is the difference?

2:08:43I say that it is very easy for me to earn my livelihood by becoming immoral. Vātsalya, become Mahārāja. Then Sri Sri be connect. If he is connected, why he is connect?

2:09:09It's because, uh, he's not, he's not, uh, realizing the real nature of man, which is to be dignified and morals. But then, then we must say: what is the real nature of man? He comes to that.

2:09:26He concludes, he finds out what is the nature of man through his, uh, his investigation of morals. He later comes to that point of understanding what is the purpose of man. What does he say?

2:09:39The part of the ultimate goal of life. Uh, the, the ultimate goal of life is to attain its own, uh, perfection and to, uh, tell you that this guy, what he perfection. Perfection is happiness combined with virtue. Huh?

2:10:00Happiness combined with virtue. Happiness combined with virtue. Yeah, happiness. Uh, everyone thinks, even a drunk, uh, he's feeling happiness. Is that happiness? The, and, uh, hog by eating stool, he's feeling happiness.

2:10:24Is that happiness? But it's not combined with virtue. Uh, why not virtue? If you, if we get happiness, that is what means he has no standard knowledge. Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇāḥ.

2:10:49If the man is not a devotee of Krishna, he has no good qualities. Maybe you get killed up by scientists. Well, he's in by his mental speculation, he's coming again and again on this material platform.

2:11:17He has no idea what is happiness, what is the goal of life, what is the aim of life. He has no such idea. Big. Vague. So that would impact the knowledge. He says that, uh, without freedom, morality would not exist.

2:11:38Unless you have freedom of will. What do you mean by freedom? Freedom of choice. And that choice again, it would come to be material, for "I've got my choice to drink." Then, and that is my freedom. Why should you check me?

2:11:57Just like we say, "Don't take intoxicants." They appeal. But it is denying the ordinary freedom somewhere, just like Rāma said. But we have the freedom to either take intoxicants or not take. This is freedom.

2:12:16But why, if you check somebody that "don't intoxicate," then you are checking his freedom? Yes. Then where is the question of morality? That's very important. Hm. That's what he's saying.

2:12:33He says that the individual's will is its own uncaused cause. In other words, uncaused cause—it is not admitted. Individual choice is due to his association. You see?

2:12:58If he associates with bad men, then he thinks that drinking is good. And if he associates with devotees, then he thinks drinking is bad. There is cause, not uncaused. There is cause. Association. Yes. There is cause. Huh?

2:13:21So we cannot say uncaused. It is caused. It is due to association. But if I will to do something good, what is the cause of this choice?

2:13:36Cause of... just like our devotees, they have come, they have heard about ourselves or preaching, and then he chooses to come here, join us. So his hearing and chanting is the cause of joining us.

2:13:56You cannot say it is uncaused. Nobody has joined us without hearing. Either he hears on the street or he can hear in our classroom. Nobody has joined us. So by his joining, he has developed good qualities.

2:14:17So everything has cause. You cannot say uncaused. He's saying that this power of will or this freedom to choose is itself a causeless freedom. It has no cause. No, it has cause. What is that cause? This is everything here.

2:14:50Not that anyone joins our society without any cause. I mean, he has heard in the paper, he has heard in the street, or he has actually heard in our class.

2:15:06But he's talking about the ability to choose, not exactly the choice itself, but the ability or the power to choose is uncaused. In other words, everyone has... Yeah, that is also caused.

2:15:22Because we say that a living entity is part and parcel of God. So God is completely independent. Therefore, this choice of independence is there. So He causes the choice, the freedom of choice.

2:15:45This kind... Kant is beginning to sense this. Kant is beginning to sense this in his critique.

2:15:54And then, I think maybe tomorrow we can discuss his conclusions or to summarize what we've discussed so far with Kant and his attempt at pure reason. He found out that through the speculative process one can understand that there is God, but he cannot know anything more than that.

2:16:17So then he attempts the process of practical reason, reason as applied to daily living, and he finds that in the moral law or the moral intuition of the human, that this reflects more about God than we can know through the pure reason.

2:16:42In fact, he says that the moral consciousness reflects the reality of three necessary things in themselves which are beyond the senses, and those are freedom of the will, the immortality of the soul, and the existence of God.

2:17:01He says that through the moral behavior of men, because man is a moral animal, that we can perceive that there must be God, that there must be existence? What is that? Well, he doesn't say that.

2:17:18Let's say that because man is moral, he has moral instincts. A priori, he is born with the knowledge of what is moral.

2:17:32That because of this there must be God, that the soul must be immortal and there must be freedom of the will. Everyone is born with a priori knowledge of what is moral. Sometimes it is covered up.

2:17:53But everyone is born with knowledge of what is proper. What does he mean by moral? By moral, he means that one knows that he should do only what he would will that others also do. I don't think everyone is born like that.

2:18:26Uncivilized men, they do not know anything of moral principles. This is not very clear.

2:18:42But as we discussed yesterday, that everyone, uh, at least human beings, has the sense of offering obedience, offering respect to something superior, that is inward. If that thing is taken as moral, that is another thing.

2:19:15But the subordination to some superior principle, that is there.

2:19:26He says that practical reason—through practical reason, that is, application of the moral law to our daily lives—we have to make a necessary assumption that these three things exist, uh, based upon this a priori category: the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, and the freedom of the will.

2:19:53Then he said that there must be freedom of the will in order to make moral choices. Freedom of the will must exist in order to make moral decisions. Freedom of the will is always there. To accept or not to accept.

2:20:24Then if he has got the choice to accept or not to accept, then what is the general principle of morality? That one should only do what he would will everyone should do. Suppose a man is killing. Another man is not killing.

2:20:58So each one is moral? Well, if the man was killing, he would have to will that the other man could also have the freedom to kill him. So which one is the one thing that... "This is my foe, I must kill."

2:21:21So then the one who was not killing would make the moral choice, because he would not desire that someone would kill him. But if someone was killing, how could he desire that someone could also kill him? Yes.

2:21:41According to this standard, not killing is morality. Because it means I would will that no one should kill me also. But this says the low class of men, they haven't such sense.

2:22:01So how it can be assumed that morality is inherent? Right. Presumably, if it was pointed out to them, then they would understand it. Presumably, if it was made clear to them, they would be able to do that.

2:22:20Yes, Lord Buddha propagated this: that if you feel pain being hurt by another, oh, you should not hurt anyone—non-violence. So that is preaching required. But how you can say that it is innate?

2:22:46But he said that everyone, if they are given the right knowledge, they will understand that is moral. Yes, of course. That is education. Everyone is given that. But uh, as he says, that this morality is inherent.

2:23:11Inherent means that it, uh, depends on further education uh, to bring... yeah. That is nice. The quality is there, but it is now covered. It is now covered. So one has to be on track.

2:23:35That's why the very injunction is that one must have to approach a guru. In order to become perfect, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet. One must. Otherwise, he remains ignorant.

2:23:54Just like this morning, uh, we were discussing about Aurobindo. Because he did not approach a guru, in spite of his endeavour for so many years, he couldn't understand the Supreme Principle, Kṛṣṇa.

2:24:18So, inherently all good qualities are there because a living entity is part and parcel of God. So he has got all the good qualities. Now, due to his material association, it is now closed, choked up.

2:24:43Therefore, uh, one has to approach a guru who will help him to uncover him from this anartha. This is called anartha. Anartha—just like no, nobody, uh, is is a smoker, a drunkard, from the very beginning of his life.

2:25:13But due to bad association, he becomes a drunkard, he becomes a smoker, he becomes meat-eaters. Huh? When a child is born, the absolute necessity is a little milk. It doesn't require meat or smoking or drinking.

2:25:38That is not his life. But his father and mother thinks unless he eats meat, powdered meat, uh, he'll die. So his breakfast... he didn't know. Uh-huh.

2:25:57To die by association one becomes drunkard, smoker, meat-eater, illicit sex hunter. Similarly, by good association, this can be given up, because these, these, these are not inherent, these are not inherent.

2:26:19It is artificial, learned. That's what they are called: anartha. In Sanskrit, anartha.

2:26:28So anartha, if one is associated with sādhu, then he teaches him how to become spiritual and display art processes, to chant Hare Krishna mantra. This is called bhajana-kriyā. So originally he, he had no anarthas.

2:27:03Originally. But due to bad association, he is accustomed to so many anarthas. Anarthas means, uh, unwanted. They are not required, but he has learned it.

2:27:26So by sādhu-saṅga, by association with saintly persons, devotees, and by practicing the bhajana-kriyā, devotional service, these anarthas can be—I would say this. Then he comes to his original position.

2:27:54Inherently he has got actually morality, God consciousness, everything good. But it is now covered. So it's like if you keep one iron open, it gets some rust.

2:28:14Some of the second iron, you keep it in the open atmosphere, it gets dust. But if it falls in the dust, again it gets the shining quality and it can cut. Therefore, so far any person in this material world is contaminated.

2:28:45He is contaminated. So this contamination can be, um, what is called, uh, removed by association of sādhu. Sādhu, śāstra, guru.

2:29:07And Vedas say, "asaṅgo 'yaṁ puruṣaḥ," this living entity actually does not mix with this material atmosphere. That would—the exact word is cover, uh, cover. It cannot accept material qualities, but it has become covered.

2:29:35The covering can be uncovered.

Practical application of Krishna consciousness

2:29:41Kant makes a second observation that the moral law could not possibly be fulfilled within the limits of one lifetime, therefore the soul must be immortal.

2:29:55His very words are: "Immortality therefore results from the practically necessary condition of a duration adequate to the complete fulfillment of the moral law." That is evolution. Darwin is full of theory.

2:30:18He has no idea of the existence of the soul, but he did some evolutionary process. Here Kant's proposition is important. Therefore, by association, he is improving.

2:30:42And if he could not, say, a person improve in this life, then he can do so next life. That also we admit. It's like a devotee or a yogi could not execute the yogic process.

2:31:00Some person in this life, Śāstra says, is given another chance—a birth in a very rich family or a pure brāhmaṇa devotee's family. So he gets the chance again. If he utilizes it, then he makes further improvement.

2:31:23So in that sense, devotional service is very important and other things we may forget, but devotional service, because it is spiritual, even if I forget the thing, it does not lose its importance. It remains.

2:31:56That's what Śāstra says, that if one joins Kṛṣṇa consciousness by sentiment and he cannot finish it, being immature, still he is not a loser.

2:32:17The association for a few days or few months, whatever he got, that will never be lost. It will remain. And those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, doing their, discharging their duties with this life's requirements,

2:32:39they're working very in routine way— uh-huh— going to the church, going to the office, and but no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So Śāstra says, what does he gain?

2:32:54Because whatever he earns in this life, it will be finished, unlike the devotee. And he'll have to begin again. But for a devotee, even though he falls down, whatever he has earned in devotional service is never lost.

2:33:14He is not a loser. The other, otherwise, despite his routine work, he is not given... kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya. Abhadram abhūd amuṣya. Abhajatām, those are not devotees.

2:33:36If they stick to their principle or occupational duties, still he doesn't get anything.

2:33:46But tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ, one, somehow he gives up his occupational duty and takes to Krishna consciousness, and even if he falls down, not being mature, he is not losing.

2:34:11Because whatever he has done, that is his permanent asset. And next life will begin from that point. He has finished twenty-five percent, fifty percent, then he'll begin on fifty-one percent.

2:34:27But otherwise, whatever he has done, with every change of his body, everything is gone. His third conclusion is that since only God can ensure the human achievement of the supreme good,

2:34:50existence of God is a necessary postulate of practical reason. In other words, he can see that since men are improving their lives, life after life, they approach ultimate good.

2:35:05God must exist in order to ensure that they will reach that ultimate good. But what he has done in this life, he begins from the next point. If he has finished fifty percent, he begins from fifty-one percent.

2:35:21God, there is God who gives him the chance. Yeah. I may forget, but God does not forget. God as Paramātmā is with me, and He knows that this person has done up to this, so he must go from the next part.

2:35:46He says that the summum bonum is virtue combined with happiness? Virtue or morality combined with happiness? That this is the goal of man's life. So that happiness means spiritual happiness. That is not material happiness.

2:36:11Because material happiness is temporary. And if he be spiritual, then he must have spiritual happiness. I think his idea of happiness is moral happiness, the knowledge that I am doing what is right, therefore I'm happy.

2:36:33Yes. That is Krishna consciousness, that if he knows that "I am an eternal servant of Krishna, I am serving Krishna." That is his evidence.

2:36:45Even if he's taking some pains in executing something, but if he knows that "I am doing for Krishna" and the right direction, it must be approved by the representative of Krishna, that "Yes, we are doing right."

2:37:03Then even if there are some painful duties, but it is still happy because it is desired by Krishna. He said that morality should equal happiness, but on this earth happiness is not necessarily equated with goodness.

2:37:23Therefore, there must be a God who will see that the virtuous man will find his happiness in a future life. In other words, someone who acts in a moral way may not get happiness on this earthly life.

2:37:37So God must exist to ensure that in a future life they will obtain... So, I think in the eighteenth chapter, eighteenth verse, he showed it is a prayer at the time of death: "My Lord, now You judge whatever I have done.

2:37:58If You like, You can accept me, or if You feel like, You can reject me." So we should be very sincere to serve God. And then God will give us the result and etc.

2:38:20He said that without such eventual justice, morality would lose all of its significance. Yes. Unless there were some reward, then one would lose all the meaning of morality.

2:38:41In morality there is result, and in immorality there is result. But unless there is a supreme judge, then what is the value of morality in mind? There must be something, yes. Yeah.

2:38:59But even in this earthly life, a man should be motivated towards moral conduct, not by expectation of happiness, but by a sense of duty or reverence for the moral law.

2:39:13In other words, one should not be moral just to get some happy reward, but out of a sense of duty or respect for the moral code. Yes. That is bhakti-yoga, apratihatā. Ahaitukī means without any cause.

2:39:35Not that I am loving Krishna for getting some benefit, but it is my duty. That sense is pure morality. Because I am part and parcel of Krishna, I must give service to Krishna without any motive.

2:40:03He says that the goal of personal ethics is twofold. One, it is my duty to attain my own perfection and two, it is my duty to seek others' happiness. Yes. That is Krishna consciousness.

2:40:19A Krishna conscious man is not only happy that "I am now in contact with Krishna, so my business is finished."

2:40:30He should see that as I am part and parcel of Krishna, other living entities are also part and parcel of Krishna. So due to misguidance, they are not serving Krishna and therefore they are not achieving happiness.

2:40:55So it is my duty to enlighten; that is a preacher. That is a preacher: to be merciful to the ignorant and bāla-rāmanandi, goṣṭhy-ānandī.

2:41:16Those who are satisfied only by his personal benefits, they are not so highly elevated. Those who are trying to enlighten others are elevated.

2:41:37So this pure practical reason or choice of conduct by the free will has primacy over pure speculative reason or making theories about reality in matters of knowledge and proof.

2:41:52He said that speculative reason is subordinate to practical reason. Yes. Simply "there is God" — and this understanding is not sufficient, one must practically become in God. That is our Krishna consciousness movement.

2:42:22He says that all interest is ultimately practical and deep; even that of speculative reason is conditional, and it is only in the practical employment of reason that it is complete. Yes.

2:42:44So you must practically demonstrate that you are a devotee.

2:42:52My Guru Mahārāja therefore condemned the sahajiyās who are making a show of becoming a devotee throughout the whole day and night within the closed door, chanting Hare Krishna, and if he is not free of the anarthas, such persons are seen also smoking bidi, have some illicit, because they are not mature, simply imitating.

2:43:33Therefore, for neophytes, they should practically work for Krishna. Otherwise he'll be so-called.

2:43:47He says that this speculative reason is inferior or subordinate to practical reason, because only by putting into practice a theory is it proved. If one theorizes something, it cannot be proved until it is practiced. Yeah.

2:44:05So that, uh, this practical reason confirms or negates what speculative reason theorizes.

2:44:13You cannot simply say that you are a servant of Krishna, a servant of Krishna, but practically show that you are a servant of Krishna.

2:44:26Pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma — simply if you parrot-like, uh, say like this, Caitanya Mahāprabhu's uh, teaching will be spread all over the world. But do it practically.

2:44:43But without doing anything practically, simply parrot-like saying, what is the value?

2:44:51He says that this, uh, practical reason is a primary element in a man's life, and through this practical reason he can realize immortality, the soul, existence of God, and freedom of will.

2:45:04So he is valuing self-realization as superior to mere philosophizing. This is his conclusion. Movement is practical demonstration.

2:45:21We believe in the fact that we are eternal servants of Krishna and we practically engage ourselves. Krishna wants that he, he should be known, that he is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

2:45:43So we should practically go to every home and say — whether he may take it or not take it, that is not my business.

2:45:55My business is to say, informing that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you are an eternal servant. So just engage yourself in Krishna's service. This is practical.

2:46:09You also engage yourself because you are telling persons like that; that means you are practicing. As a servant of Krishna, I'm informing you that you are also a servant of Krishna, you engage yourself.

2:46:31Just like in our temple, everyone is engaged for Krishna: offering maṅgala-ārati and cleansing the temple, and cooking for Krishna, Krishna's nice prasāda offering, and writing articles for Krishna, talking about Krishna.

2:46:55Everything is for Krishna. This is practice. Simply every Sunday going to God and "give us our daily bread." God is giving daily bread to everyone, even to the beasts and birds. Why not the human being?

2:47:24So that is not, uh, bhakti. Of course, that is acknowledging the existence of God; so far, it is good. But there must be some practical work.

2:47:38That practical work is in our bhajan now twenty-four hours, and it is very practical, very practical, very practical. We are not simply theorizing effectively.

2:48:02So, uh, we can discuss very briefly his social and political philosophy. He believed that it was possible to have eternal peace in the state, in politics.

2:48:17Well, that is, uh, as we have written so many times, said: peace can be attained only when, uh, one understands that "I am not proprietor." Krishna is proprietor. Bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasām. And Krishna is my real friend.

2:48:43So each one depends on Krishna, that "I am not proprietor, everything belongs to Krishna, I am willing to use it." That's much. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam.

2:49:02So if we simply take Krishna as our friend and Krishna as proprietor, that peace can be.

2:49:15His idea is that many saintly persons in remote places, they're sitting alone or what stay, simply depending on Krishna, that "I may be anywhere. Krishna is there, Krishna is my friend. He gives me protection." Huh?

2:49:46His idea is that there should be a world state where everyone is a citizen of the world state. A Godless state is gone. It's gone. Why not a God-centered state? How ideal is that?

2:50:05And we can attain it if we can make the majority of people Krishna conscious. Majority voters, Krishna conscious, then they vote for a Krishna conscious man, and they will not exploit. They

2:50:29immediately stop slaughterhouses. Why? He is also Krishna's son. Why is he slaughtered? It means to be satisfied by the prasāda, Krishna-prasāda.

2:50:46The same principle which you are following individually, that can be introduced on a larger scale. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Special. Especially to the leaders. Especially to the leaders. Yeah, the leaders in the Kantian testament.

2:51:05Yeah, he says that the leader's statement should follow moral principles according to the categorical imperative. Moral obligations. And that there should be no difference between moral and political principles.

2:51:22But he rejects Plato's idea that the philosophers should be kings. He says that the philosophers should be advisors or counselors rather than kings. That is the Vedic system. And then their quality remains.

2:51:49They should remain free. They should simply give advice. So that's all for Kant.