Krishna Consciousness in Modern Life

0:00[chuckles]

0:00Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Invocation and mantra recitation

0:14Chant. Oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ. Loudly. ISO 0.2ईशोपनिषद्ॐ पूर्णं अदः पूर्णं इदंपूर्णात् पूर्णं उदच्यतेपूर्णस्य पूर्णं आदायपूर्णं एव अवशिष्यतेoṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁpūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyatepūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāyapūrṇam evāvaśiṣyateThe Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.[Īśo Invocation] ISO 1ईशावास्यं इदं सर्वंयत् किञ्च जगत्यां जगत्तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथामा गृधः कस्य स्वित् धनम् || 1 ||īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁyat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagattena tyaktena bhuñjīthāmā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanamEverything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.

1:13ISO 2कुर्वन्न् एव इह कर्माणिजिजीविषेत् शतं समाःएवं त्वयि न अन्यथा इतो अस्तिन कर्म लिप्यते नरे || 2 ||kurvann eveha karmāṇijijīviṣec chataṁ samāḥevaṁ tvayi nānyatheto 'stina karma lipyate nareOne may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no alternative to this way for man.ISO 3असुर्या नाम ते लोकाअन्धेन तमसा आवृताःताम् ते प्रेत्य अभिगच्छन्तिये के च आत्म हनो जनाः || 3 ||asuryā nāma te lokāandhena tamasāvṛtāḥtāṁs te pretyābhigacchantiye ke cātma-hano janāḥThe killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter into the planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness and ignorance.

1:34ISO 4अनेजत् एकं मनसो जवीयोन एनत् देवा आप्नुवन् पूर्वम् अर्षत्तत् धावतो अन्यन् अत्येति तिष्ठत्तस्मिन् अपो मातरिश्वा दधाति || 4 ||anejad ekaṁ manaso javīyonainad devā āpnuvan pūrvam arṣattad dhāvato 'nyān atyeti tiṣṭhattasminn apo mātariśvā dadhātiAlthough fixed in His abode, the Personality of Godhead is swifter than the mind and can overcome all others running. The powerful demigods cannot approach Him. Although in one place, He controls those who supply the air and rain. He surpasses all in excellence.ISO 5तत् एजति तत् न एजतितत् दूरे तत् व अन्तिकेतत् अन्तर अस्य सर्वस्यतत् उ सर्वस्य अस्य बाह्यतः || 5 ||tad ejati tan naijatitad dūre tad v antiketad antar asya sarvasyatad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥThe Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything.

1:57ISO 6यः तु सर्वाणि भूतानिआत्मनि एव अनुपश्यतिसर्व भूतेषु च आत्मनंततो न विजुगुप्सते || 6 ||yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtānyātmany evānupaśyatisarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁtato na vijugupsateHe who sees systematically everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.ISO 7यस्मिन् सर्वाणि भूतानिआत्म एव अभूत् विजानतःतत्र को मोहः कः शोकःएकत्वं अनुपष्यतः || 7 ||yasmin sarvāṇi bhūtānyātmaivābhūd vijānataḥtatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śokaekatvam anupaśyataḥOne who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?

2:23ISO 8स पर्यगात् शुक्रम् अकायम् अव्रणम्अस्नाविरं शुद्दं अपाप विद्धंकविः मानिसी परिभूः स्वयंभूःयथा तथ्यतो अर्थान् व्यदधात् शाश्वतीभ्यः समाभ्यः || 8 ||sa paryagāc chukram akāyam avraṇamasnāviram śuddham apāpa-viddhamkavir manīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūryāthātathyato 'rthān vyadadhāc chāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥSuch a person must factually know the greatest of all, the Personality of Godhead, who is unembodied, omniscient, beyond reproach, without veins, pure and uncontaminated, the self-sufficient philosopher who has been fulfilling everyone's desire since time immemorial.

2:33ISO 9अन्धं तमः प्रविशन्तिये अविद्याम् उपासतेततो भूय इव ते तमोय उ विद्यायां रताः || 9 ||andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśantiye 'vidyām upāsatetato bhūya iva te tamoya u vidyāyām ratāḥThose who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.

2:41Next verse, verse number..., mantra 10.

Knowledge versus material nescience

5:47ISO 10अन्यत् एव आहुः विद्ययाअन्यत् आहुः अविद्ययाइति शुश्रुम धीराणांये नः तत् विचचक्षिरे || 10 ||anyad evāhur vidyayā-nyad āhur avidyayāiti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁye nas tad vicacakṣireThe wise have explained that one result is derived from the culture of knowledge and that a different result is obtained from the culture of nescience.

6:02Just try. Again. Again. So yesterday we have explained to some extent what is the culture of nescience and what is the culture of knowledge. Culture of knowledge means spiritual knowledge. That is real knowledge.

6:31And advancement of knowledge for comforts or to protect this material body, that is the culture of nescience. Because however you may try to protect this body, its natural course will take place. What is that?

Body identity and individual karma

7:02Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi [ BG 13.9You cannot relieve this body from repeated birth and death and, while manifested, disease and old age.

7:27So people are very much busy for culturing knowledge of this body, although they are seeing every moment that this body is decaying. The death of the body was registered when it was born. That's a fact.

7:59So you cannot stop the natural course of this body. You must meet the process of the body, namely, birth, death, old age and disease. So Bhāgavata says, therefore, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke SB 10.84.13.

8:25This body is made of three primary elements: mucus, bile and air. That is the Vedic version and Āyurvedic treatment. This body is a bag of mucus, bile and air.

9:00In old age the air circulation becomes disturbed; therefore old man becomes rheumatic, so many bodily ailments.

9:17So Bhāgavata says, "One who has accepted this combination of bile, mucus and air as self, he is an ass." Yes. Actually, this is the fact. If we accept this combination of bile, mucus and air as myself...

9:44So intelligent person, a very great philosopher, very great scientist, does it mean that he's a combination of bile, mucus and air? No. This is the mistake. He's different from this bile or mucus or air. He's soul.

10:11And according to his karma, he's exhibiting, manifesting his talents. So they do not understand this karma, the law of karma. Why we find so many different personalities?

10:30If it is a combination of bile, mucus and air, why they are not similar? So they do not cultivate this knowledge. Why there are dissimilarities?

10:50One man is born millionaire; another man is born, he cannot even have full meals twice a day, although he's struggling very hard. Why this discrimination? Why one is put into such favorable condition, why the other is not?

11:15So there is law of karma, the individuality. So this is knowledge. Therefore the Īśopaniṣad says that anyad evāhur vidyayā anyad āhur avidyayā [Īśo mantra 10].

11:36Those who are in ignorance, they are cultivating a different type of advancement of knowledge, and those who are actually in knowledge, they are cultivating in a different way.

Spiritual activities and Vedic lessons

11:55Ordinary people, they do not like our activities, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are surprised. Gargamuni was telling me yesterday evening that people ask, "Where do you get so much money?

12:12You are purchasing so many cars and big church property, and maintaining fifty, sixty men daily and enjoying. What is this?" [laughter] So they are surprised.

12:31And we are surprised why these rascals are working so hard simply for filling the belly [laughter]. So Bhagavad-gītā says, yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgrati saṁyamī Bg. 2.69.

12:52We are seeing that these people are sleeping, and they are seeing we are wasting our time. This is opposite view. Why? Because their line of action is different, our line of action are different.

13:11Now, it is to be decided by an intelligent man whose actions are actually right. These things are very nicely discussed in Vedic literature. There is another...

13:31Just like this is Īśopaniṣad. Similarly, there is another Upaniṣad, Garga Upaniṣad. So that is the talk between husband and wife, very learned. The husband is teaching the wife.

13:50Etad viditvā yaḥ prayāti sa eva brāhmaṇa gargi. Etad aviditvā yaḥ prayāti sa eva kṛpanā [Gargopaniṣad]. This real culture of knowledge, one who... Everyone takes birth and everyone will die.

14:14There is no difference of opinion about it. We shall die and they shall die. They can say that "You are thinking of birth, death, old age and disease.

14:30So do you mean to say that because you are cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness knowledge, you will be free from these four principles of nature's onslaught?" No. That is not the fact.

14:47The fact is, the Garga Upaniṣad says, etad viditvā yaḥ prayāti. One who quits this body after knowing what he is, sa eva brāhmaṇa, he is brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇa... We are offering you the sacred thread.

Characteristics of brahmanas and kripanas

15:11Why? Just you try to understand what is the mystery of life. That is brāhmaṇa. Vijānataḥ. We have read in this verse, vijānataḥ. One who quits this body after knowing things as they are, he is brāhmaṇa.

15:38And etad aviditvā yaḥ prayāti... And one who quits this body without knowing the mystery of life, he's a kṛpaṇā. Kṛpaṇā means miser.

15:52Just like if you get one million dollars and you could not utilize it, simply you see that "Oh, I have got this bank balance"—you are happy simply by seeing it—then you are kṛpaṇā. You do not know how to utilize.

16:14And one who has got one million dollars and utilizing it and making millions and millions of dollars, he is intelligent. Similarly, this body is invaluable.

16:29One who is utilizing it for culture of spiritual knowledge, he is brāhmaṇa. That is the difference between brāhmaṇa and kṛpaṇā. And one who is utilizing this body like cats and dogs for sense gratification, he is miser.

16:47He does not know how to utilize one million dollars.

Responsibility of parents and teachers

16:55Everyone does not know. But it is the duty of the father, duty of the state, duty of the teachers to educate from the very beginning.

17:11Bhāgavata says that one should not become a father, one should not become a mother, one should not become a teacher, one should not become a king unless they are able to elevate their dependents to this spiritual knowledge, which can save him from repeated birth and death.

17:36Thank you.

17:37Devotees: Jaya. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

26:18Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. [kīrtana] [Prabhupāda plays gong] [prema-dhvani] [end]