710405BG.BOM
Bhagavad-gita 7.11-13

Bombay, April 5, 1971
Prabhupada: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for your participating in this Krsna consciousness movement. So yesterday we were discussing this verse,
Dharma-aviruddha. Dharma-aviruddha, the meaning of dharma-aviruddha, "illegal, illicit," "against the laws of God." Dharma means the laws of God, and anything against the laws of God, that is called dharmaviruddho... Dharma-viruddha and dharma-aviruddha. Yes. Viruddha means against, and aviruddha means not against, in favor.
So the bodily necessities of life... We eat, we require to eat, eating, and we require to sleep also, eating, sleeping. And sex life, that is also required for keeping the body fit. In Kali-yuga these four things, bare necessities of life, eating, sleeping, mating, and defending... Ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam ca. These are bare necessities of the body. That will be also in disorder in this age. People will have no sufficient food, no place to sleep, no mate to have sense enjoyment, and it will be defenseless. Just like we are seeing at the present moment innocent people of East Pakistan are being killed. Simply for political reasons, some innocent people, lakhs of innocent people, are being killed. These are the symptoms of Kali-yuga. The bare necessities of life will not be available. There is no protection. In Calcutta there is no surety. When you go out on the street, there is no surety whether you will come back home at the present moment. Perhaps you all know. So there is no proper defense even, which is not refused to the animals. Why? Because everything is going ondharmaviruddha. They are going against the law, nature's law. We say "Nature's law" or "God's law." Therefore so much mismanagement.
So here Krsna specifically mentions dharma-aviruddha-kama, sex impulse not against the law of God. What is that sex impulse against the law of God? The law of God is that sex life is required for progeny, for begetting children, not for sense enjoyment. Anyone who enjoys sex life for enjoyment, he is a sudra or less than sudra. That is the description in Vedic literature. When Narada Muni instructed Yudhisthira Maharaja about householder's life, the householder's life, when they beget child, there is a ceremony which is called garbhadhana-samskara. Not that "I am today very sexually agitated. I must have sex." No. Just like that Kardama Muni. Kardama Muni's wife, Devahuti. Not Devahuti. Aditi or Diti? Hiranyakasipu's mother?
Indian man: Kasyapa Muni.
Prabhupada: Kasyapa Muni and Diti. The wife was very sexually agitated, and she requested the husband to have sexual intercourse. The husband said, "No. This is not the proper time." I am describing the story shortly. But the wife was too much agitated. So she obliged the husband to have sex life with her, and after sex life the Kasyapa Muni said that "Your sons will be demons." Kasyapa Muni, yes. So as a result of untimely sex life, two demons were born.
So there is regulation of sex life. Therefore Krsna says, dharma-aviruddha, sex life is sanctioned under certain conditions. That is humanity, not like... Even the cats' and dogs' life there is some limitation. They have got a period of sex life. Similarly, for grhastha, there is a period for sex life. After menstrual period, five days after menstrual period, one may have sex life for begetting children. And if the woman or wife is pregnant, then there is no more sex life till the child is born and six months old. These are the regulations. And besides that, when there is sex life, there is a ceremony. It is not a secret thing. They could call, especially for the brahmanas, they would call friends. Just like Hindu marriage takes place not by agreement but amongst the, in the presence of agni and friends and relatives and brahmanas. That is sufficient witness. Similarly, when a brahmana goes to have sex intercourse for begetting child, there is a big ceremony. All the relatives, all the learned brahmanas are present, and with their permission he goes for sex life. Sanctity. Therefore the child is born very nice. Because in such family ordinary living entity cannot come. Sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrasto 'bhijayate [Bg. 6.41]. In the family of a pure brahmana, sucinam, or in the family of rich man, yoga-bhrasto 'bhijayate, the persons who have not executed the yoga system completely or somehow or other fallen down, they are given the chance of taking birth in nice brahmana family or rich man's family. So they also take care how to beget children. That is garbhadhana-samskara. This is called dharma-aviruddha-kama. This kama is sanctioned. Otherwise you'll beget demons, just like Kasyapa Muni, untimely sex.
So therefore Krsna says, "When there is sexual intercourse according to the scriptural injunction, that is I am." Krsna says, "I am that sexual intercourse." In such kind of sexual intercourse there is no sin. That is another yajna. Just like we eat krsna-prasadam by offering yajna. Yajna-sistasinah santo mucyante sarva-kilbisaih. If we take krsna-prasadam, then we become freed from all kinds of sinful reaction. Because the material world is so made that willingly or unwillingly... If you are not willing, unwillingly you have to commit so many sinful actions. Just like to kill an animal is sinful action, but you don't want to kill. Still, when you are passing on the street, you are killing so many ants. While drinking water, besides the..., all around the water jug there are so many animals. When you crush, I mean to say, spices, we kill so many animals. So we are responsible for that. Because in the Bhagavad-gita you know, bhunjate te tv agham papa ye pacanty atma-karanat [Bg. 3.13]. If you simply cook for your sense gratification, then you have to take responsibility of all the killing business. But if you offer to Krsna and take the prasadam, you become free from the contamination. Similarly, we require to eat, we require to sleep, we require to mate, and we require to defend. If these things are done on account of Krsna or as enjoined in the sastra... Sastra means, as I have already told you, the orders of Krsna or orders of God. Sadhu-sastra-guru. They are the same thing. There is no difference. A sadhu follows the orders of the scriptures. A guru follows the order of the scriptures. And sastra is description of the Supreme Lord. Just like we are reading Bhagavad-gita. These are the injunction of Krsna. Therefore it is sastra. Or anyone who writes in terms of the sastra, that is right direction. If we speak Bhagavad-gita as Krsna desires, then it is nice. And if we describe Bhagavad-gita to fulfill our ulterior motives for some purpose, then it is useless. So similarly, Krsna said, dharmaviruddho bhutesu kamo 'smi bharatarsabha. Those who are not following the principles, how to beget child, or not observing the garbhadhana-samskaraaccording to sastra, immediately the family becomes converted into sudra. No more brahmana, no more ksatriya, if he does not follow. This is very easy to understand. If you do something illegally, against the law, immediately you become a criminal. Similarly, dharmaviruddha. The garbhadhana-samskara has to be observed. Otherwise we become sudra, no more brahmana, no more ksatriya.
So it is very difficult to say at the present moment whether garbhadhana-samskara is observed. At least, in garbhadhana-samskara we understand that "This child is born of a real brahmana," but without garbhadhana-samskara, who knows how the child is born? Nobody knows except the mother. Therefore the sastra says, "In this age, Kali-yuga, because this garbhadhana-samskara is not observed regularly," kalau sudrah sambhavah, "everyone in the Kali-yuga is a sudra because the garbhadhana-samskara is not observed." Of course, those who are observing... But it is very hard to say who is observing. But if it is not observed, then any child born, either in the brahmana family or ksatriya family or vaisya family, because the garbhadhana-samskara is not observed, it is to be understood that that child is sudra. Even if the garbhadhana-samskara is observed, still, by birth, it is accepted that every child is a sudra. Janmana jayate sudrah samskarad bhaved dvijah. And if the regulative purificatory processes are adopted, then he becomes dvija. Dvija means twice-born. First-born by the father and mother, and his second birth is by the spiritual master and Vedic knowledge. Veda-mata. Vedic knowledge and the spiritual master gives another birth. Upanayana-samskara. Upanayana. Upanayana, means coming nearer to the understanding of Vedic knowledge, upanayana, or coming nearer to the spiritual master. Then he begins studying of Vedas. Veda-pathad bhaved viprah. When he has studied nicely Vedas, then he becomes a vipra. And when he understands the Supreme Lord or the Parabrahman, then he is brahmana. This is the process.
So at the present moment this movement, Krsna consciousness movement, is meant for creating nice brahmanas with qualification. Satyam samo damas titiksa arjavam jnanam vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.42]. So Krsna says that "Regular principle, sex life, is all right. That is I am." That is Krsna. If we can beget children to develop them with Krsna consciousness and thus become liberated from the clutches of repeated birth and death, that is the duty of the father and mother rightly followed. Otherwise we become entangled.
ye caiva sattvika bhava
rajasas tamasas ca ye
matta eveti tan viddhi
na tv aham tesu te mayi
Because everything emanates from Krsna or Parabrahman, the Absolute Truth... Even tamo-guna, rajo-guna, all these gunas, they are also emanation from Krsna. Ye caiva sattvika bhavah.
Sattvika bhavah means the consciousness of goodness, material goodness, sattvika bhavah. There are many persons who are very moral and following the rules and regulation of the sastra or an ideal brahmana. That is sattvika-bhava. Ye caiva sattvika bhava rajasah. Rajasah means the ksatriya spirit consciousness, and tamasas ca ye matta eveti. They are all emanations from Krsna. Because everything is emanation. Krsna, or Absolute Truth, means the original source of all emanations. Janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]. Athato brahma jijnasa. What is Brahman? Brahman means the original source of all emanations, wherefrom everything is coming. So all these varieties, they are coming from Brahman. So Brahman cannot be impersonal. If Brahman is impersonal, how the varieties are coming from Him? That is not possible. Every... He is the source of everything. There is sattvika-bhava, there is rajasika-bhava, there is tamasika-bhava in Krsna. Therefore, when we see Krsna's pastimes, lila, just like Krsna killing a demon, that is rajasika-bhava. There are many instances. If you read Krsna's life from Krsna book, you will find exactly it is similar to human activities. Therefore Krsna says, matta eveti tan viddhi: "But I am not affected by those qualities." That is Krsna's special prerogative. When we are under the spell of sattva-guna, rajo-guna, or tamo-guna, we become affected. But Krsna, when you find that rajo-guna is exhibited in His pastimes, but He is not under the influence of that rajo-guna. Even sometimes Krsna is found under the influence of tamo-guna, but He is not there.
That is explained here.
tribhir gunamayair bhavair
ebhih sarvam idam jagat
mohitam nabhijanati
mam ebhyah param avyayam
[Bg. 7.13]
The whole world is captivated by these three qualities of material nature. The difference is that Krsna comes also within this material world, and the ordinary living entities, they also come within this material world. As Krsna says in the Fourth Chapter, "Arjuna, both you and Me had many, many births, but you have forgotten. I have not forgotten." This forgetfulness is under the influence of tamo-guna. So although Krsna takes birth, many, many times He appears, janma karma me divyam [Bg. 4.9], but such appearance and disappearance are divyam, transcendental. They are not ordinary. And if we accept Krsna's birth or Krsna's appearance and disappearance like us, then we are mistaken. Then mohitam.
tribhir gunamayair bhavair
ebhih sarvam idam jagat
mohitam nabhijanati
mam ebhyah param avyayam
[Bg. 7.13]
Mohitam. Because we are influenced by the three qualities, therefore we are illusioned. We think, "Krsna and myself, on the same level." But Krsna here says, "No. I am not there. Although these energies are coming through Me or being emanated from Me, still, I am not influenced by them." That is Krsna's position.
We should not, therefore, accept Krsna as ordinary man. If you take that, then Krsna says that mudha. Avajananti mam mudhah [Bg. 9.11]. Then you become foolish person.
These are the three influences of maya: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, tamo-guna. Everyone is entangled with the influence of the sattva-guna, tamo-guna, rajo-guna. But Krsna says that "If anyone surrenders unto Me, or if anyone becomes a Krsna conscious person, a devotee, he can surmount this unsurmountable influence of the three gunas." That is the state That is the position of the devotees. They are not under the control of maya. They are controlled directly of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore they have no fear. The Krsna says, "Anyone who surrenders unto Me, I take charge of him." He says, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami [Bg. 18.66]. Even if his past life was sinful, still, because Krsna takes charge of such devotee, immediately he becomes freed from all contamination. And the guidance is there by Krsna. Therefore He says... Here it is stated clearly. Krsna says that "Everyone is entangled by the three modes of material nature, but anyone who has surrendered unto Me, he is free from this influence."
Now, the next question is, if... Everyone is trying to become freed from the contamination of material nature, mukti. That is called mukti. Great sages, great saintly persons, simply to get out of the clutches of this material nature, they undertake severe penances and austerity. Then, if it is so simple that simply by surrendering unto the lotus feet of Krsna one becomes immediately liberated from the clutches of maya, why, then, people do not take to this process? This question may be raised. They do not believe. They say, "Oh, this is too much. Simply by..." They say, "Sophistry." Simply by surrendering unto Krsna one becomes a liberated soul. They do not believe. And who does not believe? That is also stated by Krsna Himself. He says, na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah [Bg. 7.15]. Krsna says... Once, in a previous verse, He said, mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te: [Bg. 7.14] "Anyone who surrenders unto Me, immediately he becomes free from the clutches of maya." The next paragraph He says, "Unfortunately, those who are miscreants, they do not do it." Na mam duskrtino mudhah.
So duskrtina. Those who are always engaged in sinful activities, they are called duskrtina. And mudhah, they have been described by learned scholars as the karmis, mudhah. Mudha, the exact meaning of mudha is an ass. So the karmis, the fruitive workers, they work very hard for sense gratification. But a similar mudha is an ass. A similar mudha means the ass is generally engaged in service by the washerman. The washerman loads the ass with tons of cloth, and whole day he works for the washerman, carrying tons of cloth. But at the end of the day he is offered a morsel of grass, and he is satisfied. And by eating that grass, when he is sexually impulse, he goes to the she-ass, and the she-ass kicks on his face. And still, he runs after the she-ass. The karmis, they are also like that. Therefore they have been called as mudhas. They are working whole day very hard, but they are eating sometimes two capatis. That's all. Earning one crore of rupees per day, but eating two capatis only. Therefore they are mudhas. He has no sense that "Only for two capatis I am working so hard. And for sex life I have to bear so much expenses at the order of my wife." These are facts. We should not be sorry. Because Krsna says. When we, I mean to say, deliberately discuss on sastras, there is no question of compromising. We must face the bare facts.
So those who are simply satisfied in this way, the whole day... diva carthehaya rajan kutumba-bharanena va. Nidraya hriyate naktam vyavayena ca va vayah [SB 2.1.3]. At night, simply by sleeping or by sex life, and during daytime simply for money or kutumba-bharana, or maintaining the familythis is the karmis' life, and they are described in the Bhagavad-gita, that such persons are mudha. They cannot understand how they can be liberated. They re simply working for nothing. There is Narottama dasa Thakura sings very nice song, hari hari biphale janama gonainu: "My dear Lord, Hari, I have simply spoiled my life." Hari hari biphale, janama gonainu. Manusya-janama paiya, radha-krsna na bhajiya: "I got very nice body, just fit for worshiping Radha and Krsna." Manusya-janama paiya, radha-krsna..., janiya suniya bisa khainu: "Knowingly I have drunk poison." Janiya suniya bisa khainu. This is the life of mudha. One should be conscious that "I have got this opportunity of human life. I must be, in this life, simply Krsna conscious. I shall simply think of Krsna." Satatam cintayanto mam [Bg. 9.14]. Always cintaya. Satatam cintayanto mam, kirtayanto mam. Always. Tesam... That verse in the Sixth Chapter,
yoginam api sarvesam
mad-gatenantar-atmana
sraddhavan bhajate yo mam
sa me yuktatamo matah
[Bg. 6.47]
So this is the business of human life, always think of Krsna. But the mudhas, as it is stated here, duskrtina, miscreants... The krti, this word krti means meritorious. There is exact counterwordyou'll find in the next stanzasukrtina. And here it is called duskrtina. So krti means merit. Nowadays people are supposed to be... Not nowadays. All the days there are certain classes of men who are called meritorious, intelligent. So krtina. But there are duskrtina and sukrtina. Those who are using their merit for Krsna consciousness, they are sukrtina. And those who are using their merit for nothing, uselessly, for sense gratification, they are called duskrtina. Both of them are using merit. It is not that a sinful man, a rogue, a thief, a dacoit, has no merit. He has got good merit, but he's utilizing for different purpose. Therefore they are called duskrtina. Merit should have been... Just like we have got human merit, better than the animal merit.
So this merit is being misused to improve the process of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. If you improve this process of this eating, sleeping, that does not make you very advanced in civilization. The animal is also eating. Whatever, according to the nature, they are destined to eat, they are eating. Similarly, we are also eating, but we are not eating according to the, I mean to say, indication of nature. Take, for example, our teeth and animal teeth. There is difference. Our teeth... This is scientific. Our teeth is meant for eating vegetables and fruits. It is so made. If you eat continually vegetables and fruits, you'll not be attacked with pyorrhea. But if you eat meatyour teeth is not meant for eating meatyou'll very soon be attacked with pyorrhea because breaking the laws of nature. This is one example. Similarly, in our eating, sleeping, mating and defending we are using so many wrong things. Just like formerly there was also fight. That fight was being conducted with arrows and bows. So if you want to kill your enemy, you'll kill your enemy, not others. Other innocent people will not be killed. But nowadays, for defending, we are using atom bomb. So many thousands of innocent men are being killed. So therefore to manufacture or to invent such weapons, lethal weapons, is requiring very good merit, but duskrtina, for committing sinful activities. Even war, there is dharma. That can be also dharmaviruddha. Just like Arjuna fought. He fought dharmaviruddha, under the guidance of Krsna. That is not ordinary fighting. That fighting is Krsna, because he was fighting under the guidance of Krsna. Personally he refused to fight, but when he understood that Krsna wanted that fighting, under His guidance he fought. That fighting is Krsna.
So similarly, there are actions, different actions. Some of them are duskarya and some of them are sukarya. Sukarya means when you act such action under the guidance of Krsna. That is nice. And when you act under your whims, then that is miscreant. So miscreant and they act like human beings, mudha and naradhama. Naradhama means... Nara means human beings, and adhama means the lowest. Just like we accept some candala as naradhama. Or... There are many low-grade people, but actually, a candala is not a low-grade man. The man who does not take to Krsna consciousness, he is supposed to be naradhama because he has got the chance. An animal hasn't got the chance to become Krsna conscious. I cannot call animal, cats and dogs, in this meeting. That is impossible, because they have no chance. But we can call, we can hold a meeting amongst the human beings for discussing Krsna because they have got the special power to understand. This special power to understand Krsna, if it is misused for other purposes, he is naradhama. He got the chance of human being, but he has become degraded on account of his unwillingness to take Krsna consciousness.
So such persons, duskrtina, always engaged in mischievous activities, always engaged to work hard like an ass and does not take the advantage of human being, they are called duskrtina, mudha, naradhama. Then one may say, "All right, these people are lowest of the mankind or like an ass or miscreant, but there are many, many educated persons, highly elevated in discussing philosophy. Why they do not take to Krsna consciousness? Why they say that "God is nirakara. There is no God. I am God. You are God"? Why do they say? Why do they not take to Krsna consciousness? This question may be raised also. "They are not fools. They are very highly learned. They have undergone tapasya, sannyasi. Why do they not take shelter of Krsna?" Krsna is answering to that question, mayayapahrta-jnanah [Bg. 7.15]. Yes, they are advanced in knowledge undoubtedly, but because they are asuram bhavam asritah... Asuram bhavam means atheistic principle: "There is no God. I am God." This is called atheistic or asura. Just like Ravana. He was very much materially advanced. He was very good scholar in Vedic literature. He was son of a brahmana also, very powerful. But he did not believe in Rama, God. That was his only fault. Therefore he is described as asura, raksasa. Similarly, Kamsa, Hiranyakasipu. So anyone, however materially he may be advanced in education or knowledge, may be Ph.D. or D.H.C. or something like that, if he does not believe in God, he is to be supposed that maya has taken away his real knowledge. In spite of his education, he is fool number one. Mayayapahrta-jnanah.
Why such things take place, that a learned man becomes foolish without understanding Krsna? Because asuram bhavam, because he has accepted the atheistic principle, "There is no Krsna. There is no God." Only for this reason, in spite of educational qualification, he cannot understand Krsna. And because he cannot understand Krsna, therefore he cannot take to devotional service. These are the descriptions. Na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah [Bg. 7.15]. But there are certain jnanis who are actually sincere to know the Absolute Truth. Such persons, even they may be misled in one life or two lives, three lives, but at the end they come to the conclusion that Krsna is everything. Vasudevah sarvam iti. Bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan [Bg. 7.19]. Here it is said that mayayapahrta-jnanah. So long there is influence of maya, he is lost of real knowledge. But in spite of that, if he makes progress in understanding the Absolute Truth, then, after many births, not in one birthbahunam janmanam ante [Bg. 7.19]when he comes to the actual point of knowledge, that Krsna is everything, vasudevah sarvam iti, prapadyante [Bg. 7.19], he surrenders. That means to surrender unto Krsna is the ultimate goal of all knowledge, all activities, all tapasya, all yoga. If one does not reach that point, then he is simply wasting his time and energy.
Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)

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