SPD13-02 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.14.43, April 7, 1973, New York
SPD13-02
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.14.43,
April 7, 1973, New York
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.14.43,
April 7, 1973, New York
[05:11] [Pradyumna:] Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.
[05:34] [leads chanting of verse] Api svit parya-bhuhkthas tvam sambhojyan vrddha-balakan, jugupsitam karma... [SB. 1.14.43] [break]
[05:53] [leads chanting of synonyms] ... sambhojyan-deserving to dine together; vrddha-the old men; balakan-boys; jugupsitam-abominable; karma-action; kincit-something; krtavan-you must have done; na -not; yat-that which; aksamam-unpardonable.
[06:29] Translation: "Have you not taken care of old men and boys who deserve to dine with you?
[06:35] Have you left them and taken your meals alone?
[06:38] Have you committed some unpardonable mistake which is considered to be abominable?"
[06:54] [Prabhupada:] So, "Have you not taken care of old men and boys who deserve to dine with you?"
[07:04] So this is Vedic culture.
[07:09] When there is foodstuff to be distributed, the first preference is given to the children.
[07:22] We remember, even now we are seventy-eight, when we were children, say four, five years old, we remember.
[07:34] Some of you have seen that Mallik's Thakurbari. Anyone? Yes, you have seen.
[07:45] So the first feasting is for children.
[07:53] Sometimes I was little obstinate. I would not sit down: "No, I will take with the elder men."
[08:02] But that was the system. First of all children should be sumptuously fed.
[08:09] Then the brahmanas, and children and old men. In the family, the children and old men.
[08:21] Just see Maharaja Yudhisthira, how much he was anxious to take care of Dhrtarastra.
[08:30] Although he played the part of an enemy throughout, still, it is the duty of the family member
[08:43] to take care of the old men.
[08:47] When Dhrtarastra left home after being abused by his younger brother Vidura:
[08:58] "My dear brother you are still attached to family life. You have no shame.
[09:05] You are taking food from whom you considered your enemies.
[09:14] You wanted to kill them from the very beginning. You set fire in their homes,
[09:18] you banished them in the forest, you intrigued against their life.
[09:26] And now, everything is finished. All your sons, grandsons and son-in-laws, and brothers…,
[09:42] father, uncle," I mean to say, Bhisma was his uncle.
[09:49] So, all of the family in the Battlefield of Kuruksetra,
[09:53] everyone was killed except these five brothers: Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva.
[10:00] All male members were killed. So only the remaining descendant was Maharaja Pariksit.
[10:15] He was within the womb of his mother. His father died. Arjuna's son, Abhimanyu,
[10:26] he was sixteen years old. Fortunately, his wife was pregnant;
[10:34] otherwise the Kuru dynasty was finished.
[10:39] So he rebuked, that "Still you are sitting here just for a morsel of food like dog.
[10:49] You have no shame, my dear brother." So he took it very seriously:
[10:53] "Yes, yes, my dear brother, you are saying all right. So what do you want me to do?"
[11:00] "Leave. Immediately come out. Immediately come out and let us go to the forest."
[11:08] So he agreed. He went there. So Maharaja Yudhisthira, he used to come first of all in the morning.
[11:16] After taking bath, after worshiping, the first duty was to go and see the old man:
[11:26] "My dear uncle, you are all comfortable? Everything is all right?"
[11:30] And talk for some time just to please him. This is the duty of family member-
[11:38] take care of the children, take care of old men, take care of even a lizard in the house,
[11:50] a serpent in the house. This is the injunction you will find in the Srimad-Bhagavatam,
[11:56] grhastha, how much responsible he is. There it is said, even there is a serpent...
[12:03] Nobody wants to take care of serpent. Everyone wants to kill, and nobody is sorry to kill a serpent.
[12:23] He said that "My father was just like a serpent, vrscika, scorpion."
[12:32] So killing of a serpent or scorpion, nobody is unhappy.
[12:40] "So my Lord, You don't be angry. Now everything is finished. My father is finished."
[12:46] So that was. But still, in the sastra says that even in your house there is a serpent,
[12:56] see that he's not fasting without food.
[13:01] This is spiritual communism. They are now after communism, but they do not know what is communism.
[13:15] Everyone should be taken care of. That is communism, real communism.
[13:22] Nobody should starve. Nobody should have any want in the state. That is communism.
[13:31] So when we went to Communist country, Moscow, I think everyone was in want.
[13:41] They could not get even foodstuff to their own choice.
[13:48] Whatever government rubbish thing they will supply, they will have to accept.
[13:55] And actually there was no good foodstuffs for us.
[14:01] We were staying in that National Hotel, and Syamasundara had to spend
[14:07] at least two hours for getting things. That also not very nice things.
[14:16] Rice could not be obtained. One Madrasi gentleman, he supplied us some rice, nice atta;
[14:25] otherwise only milk and butter is available, and meat, that's all.
[14:34] No fruit, no vegetable, no nice rice. These things are not available.
[14:45] This is Kali-yuga. Things will be..., supply will be reduced.
[14:53] Actually the supply is made by Krsna.
[15:07] That is the difference between God and ourself.
[15:12] We are also person. God is also person.
[15:17] Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. He's also living entity, we are also living entity.
[15:25] So what is the difference between God and ourselves?
[15:29] The eka, that one living entity, nitya, singular number.
[15:36] So, bahūnam vidadhati kaman.
[15:40] He supplies the necessities of life to all these plural number, bahūnam.
[15:46] Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam.
[15:50] Those who know Sanskrit, this nitya means singular number, person.
[15:55] And the nityanam, that is plural number. Both of them are persons,
[16:01] both of them are living entities,
[16:04] but why that singular number is considered to be supreme?
[16:11] Because He supplies foodstuff to all the plurals.
[16:18] So actually Krsna has everything ready for supplying to all the living entities.
[16:29] Nobody is meant for starving. No. That is not.
[16:35] Just like in the prison house, although the prisoners, they're condemned,
[16:44] still, government takes care of their food, of their hospitalization.
[16:51] Not that they should starve. No. Similarly, although in this material world we are all condemned...
[17:01] We are prisoners. We are prisoners. We cannot move; we cannot go from one planet to another.
[17:11] They're trying so much. Now they have failed. They do not talk now.
[17:17] It is not possible, because we are prisoners, conditioned.
[17:22] You have to remain on this planet. One has to remain in that planet, and one has to…
[17:27] There is no question that out of your own will and freedom, because you have no freedom.
[17:34] But Narada Muni has freedom. Narada Muni is going from one planet to another.
[17:42] He is coming from the spiritual sky to the material sky, because he's perfect bhakta.
[17:52] So that is the ideal living entity.
[17:56] As Krsna has got full freedom, similarly, when we become perfect
[18:04] Krsna conscious, we also become free. This is our position.
[18:09] But not in the conditioned state that we can move. Cannot. Baddha.
[18:22] But in the conditioned state also, if we follow the Vedic principles, we can be happy.
[18:34] Happy. And this human form of life, especially, it is meant for that purpose,
[18:44] that you live happily, save time for developing Krsna consciousness,
[18:51] so that next life you are no more in this material world;
[18:56] you are transferred to the spiritual world.
[19:00] This is the purpose of human life. But these rascals, they do not know.
[19:07] They think that we are advanced in civilization because the cats and dogs, they
[19:14] lie on the floor and sleep, we have got 104-story building and we lie down there.
[19:23] This is their advancement.
[19:26] But they do not understand that the sleeping, the enjoyment
[19:31] by sleeping, is the same to the dog and to the man who is lying on the 104th story.
[19:43] Similarly, sex life to the dog and to the man or to the demigod, the pleasure is the same.
[19:53] There is no difference.
[19:56] If you drink milk on a golden pot or an iron pot, the taste is the same.
[20:07] You cannot change the taste of the milk or anything putting into the golden pot.
[20:15] But these foolish persons, they are thinking that "Our material pleasure will be very much
[20:23] enjoyable when it is put into the golden pot, instead of iron pot." Mūḍha.
[20:32] They are called mūḍha.
[20:35] They do not know the... Our real business is how to get out of this material body.
[20:48] This is real knowledge. One should keep in his front that "My real distress of life
[20:57] are these four things, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-
[21:02] to take birth, to die, to become old and to become diseased.
[21:10] This is my problem." But they do not know this.
[21:15] They are now busy with the petroleum problem. Yes.
[21:21] They have created this petroleum problem with horseless tin carriage.
[21:30] They are thinking, "Better than horse. Now I have got this tin carriage." As soon as it is old, it has no value;
[21:38] you throw it to the street. Especially in your country, nobody takes care of it.
[21:47] But one must have this carriage, and it must run on petrol, and take labor,
[21:53] so hard labor, go through to the desert, drill it, and then take out the oil,
[21:59] then bring it in tanks, and... It is called ugra-karma.
[22:06] That is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that these rascals, demons, they have created ugra-karma
[22:25] And bringing destruction nearer, nearer.
[22:30] Now there is war going on. And that may be big war, that means destruction,
[22:37] simply for creating a little comfort.
[22:43] Formerly also they were moving. Transport was there.
[22:46] But they do not like to remain in the former ways, because they have no other engagement.
[22:53] Better engagement they do not know.
[22:59] Here is a better engagement: to come before Radha-Krsna and glorify the Lord
[23:09] and to understand our relationship. This is our real business.
[23:15] But nobody is interested in the real business; they are interested in superfluous engagement:
[23:24] whole day work in the office, then come here, go to the club, go to the football club,
[23:31] tennis club. In this way they have invented simply how to waste valuable life of this human form.
[23:39] They have invented.
[23:41] They have no sense that how this life should be utilized for stopping these prime problems,
[23:52] janma-mrtyu-jara. They do not know.
[23:57] So this Srimad-Bhagavatam is giving to the whole world real life, real, what is meant by life.
[24:09] So this..., these are the etiquette: to take care, especially, of brahmana, old men, children, woman and cows.
[24:23] This is civilization. These living entities should be taken care of.
[24:32] Now these rascals, they are killing cows, they are making women prostitutes,
[24:38] and killing the children even in the womb.
[24:42] And there is no question of brahmana respect, and neither there is brahmana culture.
[24:45] Then how you can be happy?
[24:50] If there is no brahminical culture in the societies, then that society is less than animal society.
[25:00] Therefore we offer our prayers,
[25:03] namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca, jagad-dhitaya krsnaya govindaya namo namaḥ [Visnu Purana 1.19.65].
[25:12] First deference is given, go-brahmana-hitaya ca,
[25:16] jagad-dhitaya. If you actually want to do some welfare activity for the benefit of the whole world,
[25:27] then these two things must be taken care of: go-brahmana-hitaya ca,
[25:32] cows and brahmanas.
[25:35] They should be given first protection. Then jagad-dhitaya, then there will be actual welfare
[25:44] of the whole world. They do not know.
[25:48] Krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam-go-raksya, vanijyam-vaisya-karma svabhava-jam.
[25:55] This is the duty of the mercantile class of men:
[25:59] to improve agriculture, to give protection to the cows, krsi-go-raksya. And vanijyam.
[26:08] And if you have got excess food, you can trade, vanijyam. This is the business.
[26:17] The brahmana is meant for doing the brain work.
[26:22] They give advice. Just as we Krsna consciousness movement,
[26:27] we, we are not meant for the ksatriya's business or vaisya's business,
[26:36] the devotees. But if required, they can take.
[26:41] Their real business is, brahmana's business, is to know the Vedas: Brahman, the Supreme
[26:49] Brahman, the Absolute Truth. He must know, and he must distribute the knowledge.
[26:57] This is brahmana's business.
[27:08] This is brahmana's business. So we have taken this business,
[27:15] that preach that there is God. We have got intimate relationship with God,
[27:24] so you have got to act accordingly; then you will be happy.
[27:28] This is our Krsna consciousness movement.
[27:31] These rascals, they have forgotten, or they do not care to know God,
[27:37] and that is the cause of their suffering.
[27:43] Yesterday, that place, reporter asked, what was the question?
[27:51] [Devotee:] "Will Krsna help solve the oil problem?"
[27:54] [Prabhupada:] Yes. So what I answered?
[27:57] [Devotee:] "Yes. Why not?"
[28:01] [Prabhupada:] You do not remember?
[28:02] [Devotee:] Yes. You said, "The solution is already there: Krsna consciousness."
[28:06] [Prabhupada:] Yes. Actually, that is a fact. But they'll not take to it.
[28:12] They'll not take to it. Now, what is the problem? It is not at all difficult.
[28:20] There is petrol, and it is used, it is meant for our use.
[28:27] But difficulty is that the Arabians, they are thinking, "It is mine."
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