Lecture in Hindi – January 18, 1971, Allahabad

Prabhupada: [sings mahgalacarana prayers]

Hare Krsna. So Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, jiva-padya. The living entity has got a variety of forms. The same living entity, but by accepting different kinds of bodies, jiva has different names. By division, finally it comes to human species, which is less in number. You know that you may be alone in your house but there are plenty of other living entities [living] in it, the number is more than you; there are many ants, there are many flies, there are many mosquitoes, bugs, a lizard. Many living entities are there in your house. They got rights; they are also living entities, belonging to the Supreme Lord. So our spiritual communism is very beautiful. In Bhagavatam, Naradaji informs about duty of a householder to Yudhisthira Maharaja. He says that if there reside a mouse, bug, lizard or even a snake, they should also get food. They should not remain hungry. This is called Krsna Consciousness. This poor lizard that lives in our room should not starve. It should also be fed. It is not that you kill it. Everyone is part and parcel of God. Just like you think that a poor should be given food, a man in distress should be made happy, just like your welfare activities. Then these living entities are also part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. They should also be fed, and should not remain hungry. If they get food, they will not disturb you. Only because they do not get food do they disturb you. I can give you the evidence, the direct evidence for this. My father's elder brother had a cloth shop. At the time of closing the shop in the night he used to keep few grains of rice, this much, a seer [Indian unit of weight 1 seer = 500 gms] rice… Rice was very cheap in those days; Rice was sold in 3, 2 per mann [Indian unit of weight]. He used to keep a seer rice in a bowl at the middle of the shop. All the mice were eating rice and they did not rip the clothes. This is the direct evidence. Every living entity has a right, isavasyam idam sarvam . It is said in Bhagavatam: "Everyone, every living entity, has got a right in the property of the world". Just like in the property of a father, a son, all his sons have got the rights. Similarly everything belongs to God, it does not belong to you, nor does it belong to me. This land, it is not your property. We say forcefully-"this is my land". Nevertheless it belongs to God. How many people have died, many Muslims also ruled here, Britishers also ruled, but the land remains at its place; it belonged to neither Britishers nor you nor anyone else. It belongs to the Supreme Lord. This is Krsna Consciousness. When a person understands that "all properties of the world are owned by the Supreme Lord, not by me, I am satisfied with whatever is endowed to me by God, and I will not encroach upon the wealth of others".

Isa, Īsopanisad. This is called Krsna Consciousness. Everything belongs to God. "I will be satisfied with whatever is given to me by God, and for time I have I will try to understand my relationship with God". The topics pertaining to others, "how to snatch it away from others, from him". This is called matsaryartha [get livelihood by jealousy]. And one who is not jealous and envious, "why is he progressing? I will take it away, I will take that property." It is this jealousy that is material life. And for one who is not jealous, and knows that everything belongs to God and considers that "let others enjoy whatever God has given them and be satisfied with whatever I have received", this is called para'ham. He is not distressed in the happiness of others. "Whatever God has given to others is all right, whatever is given to me...". This is the duty of mankind. The same thing is there in scriptures. For example, Īsopanisad is the scripture: isavasyam idam sarvam-"Everything belongs to God."

So it is a property of God and every living entity is His son. Therefore every living entity shares a right in the property of the Supreme Lord for protection, eating. Yet, what are we? "We are civilized human beings, we say serve daridra-narayana, and send chaga-narayana [goat] to a slaughter house, and cut and eat it". That's all. This should not be. It is not Krsna Consciousness. Krsna Consciousness is sarva-bhūtesu" [Bg. 3.18], suhrt, "suhrdam sarva-bhūtanam" [Bg. 5.29]. He is a friend of everyone, wants to see everyone to be happy. He is the civilized human being. This is spiritual communism. Everyone should get food. Everybody: sarve sukhino bhavantu. This is Vedic. "Everyone be happy". So that kind of civilization is Vedic civilization. We are trying to preach on the same subject, that everyone be happy, and, by being happy, acquire knowledge about the Supreme Lord. This is the purpose of human life. This is the only goal in human life, that our relation with God, which we have forgotten, not broken..., it cannot be broken. Just like an insane son leaves his father, his house and loiters on streets. He has got relationship with his father, but he has become mad. Nevertheless a relation that he is a son and he has got his father cannot be broken. It is just due to his being mad that he has forgotten that so and so is his father. He forgets that. Similarly, our father, Supreme father, is God. And by becoming mad, we forgot Him. And the father is not ordinary. He is all powerful. His kingdom is also vast. He is all rich, He has all strength. But by leaving Him and thereby becoming mad we want to be independent with keeping Him aside. Therefore we are unhappy. We have fallen into a trap of maya.

This is our position. Therefore we should awaken our relation with God. This is the duty in human life.

This is a Vedic injunction, that now do not remain asleep, awaken now. After wandering through 84 lakhs different species, in a body of a dog, body of a pig, body of a [lion], one acquires this human body. Yesterday I told about this. Does not know how in human form of life [...], no college or school, university teach this, nor do they know this. However this natural.., while wandering labdhva su-durlabham idam bahu-sambhavante [SB. 11.9.29], the scripture says: bahu-sambhavante, after passing through many births, one achieves this human form of life. Therefore it is not worth to waste it as an animal. Consider that we have been defeated.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that there are very few who are civilized, who are Vedic, believe in Vedas, Aryans. Why? Then He says: those who believe in Vedas, veda-nistha-madhye ardheka veda 'mukhe' mane [Cc. Madhya 19.146] [Buddha]. Just like we are Hindus, Indians, we say Vedic, belivers of Vedas, but not following the Vedas. Such people are mentioned in Bhagavad-gita as:

They do not know what the Vedas are. They simply utter, saying we believe in Vedas. Under such circumstances, the Supreme Lord in His Buddha incarnation delivered them. Because it is mentioned in the Vedas, a procedure for a specific animal sacrifice is mentioned while performing a yajna. It does not mean that animals are to be killed in a slaughter house and then eaten. This is not the case. Animal sacrifice in a yajna is to test a Vedic mantra. The animal was again brought back to life. If an animal was sacrificed in a yajna, then it was rejuvenated. The gomedha yajna is also there in scripture. It means that if an old, invalid cow-go, was sacrificed in a yajna, it was rejuvenated and taken out with a new life. The power of veda-mantra was demonstrated. It is not that the animals are to be killed and then eaten. No. It is not like that. In animal.., the procedure for animal sacrifice in a yajna is not that animals are to be killed and then eaten. The animal was rejuvenated with a new life, and it was given a better life. This was to test the power of veda-mantra. That is a different thing. It is not the case of sacrificing an ordinary animal. However, once upon a time the so-called believers of Vedas were killing and eating the animals in the name of Vedas. Just like nowadays there are many, there are many in Calcutta. Every single slaughter house has got a mūrti of Kali-ji, and they sell Kali-ji's prasada. It is a slaughter house but named as Kali-ji's prasada. This should not be.., but this had happened a long ago. This time Lord Buddha appeared: sadaya-hrdaya-darsita-pasu-ghatam [Dasavatara-stotra, 9]. By seeing animal killing, there arose compassion in the heart of the Supreme Lord, and therefore, through Buddha incarnation, He preached ahimsa paramo dharmaḥ" [Satvata-tantra 9.40].

Despite His being an incarnation of God, we call Buddhadeva an atheist. Why is [He] called atheist? Because He did not accept the Vedas. Had He accepted the Vedas, the foolish people would say that "though animal killing is prohibited by you but it is mentioned in the Vedas." Therefore Buddhadeva said that "I do not believe your Vedas"-nindasi yajna-vidher ahaha sruti-jatam [Dasavatara-stotra, 9]. Sruti means veda. It is said: "O Lord Buddhadeva, You are the incarnation of Krsna: 'kesava dhrta-buddha-sarira jaya jagad-isa hare'". This is a Vaisnava song. Jayadeva. So the Vaisnava knows. Someone calls Buddha an atheist. Because one may be an atheist by thoughts. We call a person atheist who denies Vedas. He is called an atheist: veda na maniya bauddha haila nastika [Cc. Madhya 6.168]. The preaching of Buddha religion began in India. Gaya province. And a description on Buddhadeva is also found in Bhagavatam [1.3.24]: kikatesu bhavisyati.

So He is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord and also does not believe in Vedas. How is this? Because He had to resort to this policy, because the so-called believers of Vedas, whom Caitanya Mahaprabhu says-veda 'mukhe' mane; "simply they accept Vedas on lip symptoms". In reality they do not know the Vedas. There are many such people, and those who really know Vedas are also very few. This is Caitanya Mahaprabhu's analysis: veda-nistha-madhye ardheka veda 'mukhe' mane [Cc. Madhya 19.146].

The so-called believers of Vedas say that we are Vedic, believers of the Vedas. In reality they do not know Vedas, and what the opinion of the Vedas is. Only through lip service they say "we are Vedic". He says further: veda-nisiddha papa kare, dharma nahi gane. Ah.. veda-nisiddha papa kare [Cc. Madhya 19.146]. If you believe in Vedas then follow according to what the Vedas ask you to do. Vedas do not say that you kill animals in a house and then open a shop. The animal sacrifice is mentioned, so do animal sacrifice in a yajna. Just like in a tantrik [an occult] ritual, what is that? In tamasika purana, it says eat meat by worshiping demigoddess, by worshiping Kali. If you believe in Vedas and believe in Puranas, then do according to the ritual mentioned in them. No. He has opened a shop, slaughter house, kept one statue of Kali-ji, and thus [say that] the Kali-ji pūja is done. Oh! Kali-pūja [...] It has got a procedure. It is done only once in a month on the day of Amavasya, and that too in the dead of night. It is complicated. Therefore he simply believes in Vedas through lip service, and he has gladly pleased to gratify. Such people are many. Caitanya Mahaprabhu mentions about these people: veda-nisiddha papa kare [Cc. Madhya 19.146]. They commit all sorts of sinful activities prohibited in the Vedas, and dharma nahi gane "they do not know what the actual yajna is.. dharma is." These things are not known. Also for those who really believe in Vedas, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says: dharmacari-madhye bahuta 'karma-nistha' [Cc. Madhya 19.147]. Among the followers of Vedas, most are the fruitive workers. There are three divisions of Vedas: karma-kanḍa, jnana-kanḍa, and upasana-kanḍa.

For going to higher planets through performance of yajna, a type of procedure is mentioned in the scriptures, in Vedas. Most of the sincere believers of Vedas are karma-nistha [fruitive workers]. Caitanya Mahaprabhu further says: koti-karma-nistha-madhye eka 'jnani' srestha. Similarly, among millions of fruitive workers, a jnani [wise] is better. Because the jnani knows that a fruitive activity involves bondage. The jnani understands this. As stated in Bhagavad-gita [3.9]: yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra.. karma-bandhanaḥ. You work only for the sake of yajna. And otherwise if you work for out of your own will, then that work will cause bondage. This is known to a jnani. The Bhagavad-gita is for a jnani: yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra.. karma-bandhanaḥ.

Therefore a jnani is better than a karmi. Among millions of fruitive workers one jnani is the best. And among jnanis, Caitanya Mahaprabhu says: koti-jnani-madhye haya eka-jana 'mukta' [Cc. Madhya 19.148]. Out of many millions of such wise men, very few become liberated. It is not that "I have simply understood that I am Brahman and I became Narayana". No. Why does the Supreme Lord say?:

It does not work out just by becoming jnani. Just by having knowledge of Brahman one does not become liberated. Liberation can be attained when it involves bhakti. You should perform devotional service with knowledge, then you will attain liberation. No one can become liberated without bhakti: harim vina na srtim taranti [Bhavartha-dipika 10.87.27]. By not having mercy of the Lord, this chain of repeated birth and death..., to get a particular body at one time, and another body at another time. This is a chain of birth and death. Link from one body to..., just like a spool of a movie. A scene after a scene, then after another scene. It shows only one scene. But the spool has thousands of scenes, and when it is shown all [one after another] then one understands.

Similarly our lives have many types... By wandering life after life one attains knowledge, and by becoming a jnani after changing many lives-bahūnam janmanam ante jnanavan. A real jnani surrenders to the Supreme Lord.

Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that: koti-mukta-madhye 'durlabha' eka krsna-bhakta [Cc. Madhya 19.148]. After liberation..., it is not that one attains liberation by performing devotional service. No. Among those, among those millions who are liberated, who have attained the knowledge of Brahman [Absolute], one may be a devotee of Krsna. So to become Krsna devotee is not an easy and simple thing. That is why the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita :

Such a mahatma [a great personality], after discussing on jnana life after life, surrenders to Lord Krsna. Such a person, who is in full-knowledge, is mahatma. Such mahatmas are very rare. This is in scripture, bhakti is not like..., just like a common man thinks that one attains mukti [liberation] via bhakti. No. Bhakti begins after mukti. Mukti means [...], mukti means-svarūpena avasthitiḥ [SB. 2.10.6]. One who is situated in its original form is liberated. And the one who is not situated in his original form is not liberated. He is still conditioned. How to situate oneself in his original form is described in Bhagavad-gita by Lord Himself:

The ultimate benefit of having jnana is to surrender to the Supreme Lord, and through this he becomes a devotee. And it is said:

These are the injunctions. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says the same thing: koti-mukta-madhye 'durlabha' eka krsna-bhakta [Cc. Madhya 19.148]. Many have been liberated, who have attained brahma-jnana. Among millions of people one who has full-knowledge that aham brahmasmi, "I am not material thing but a spirit, Brahman" is called a liberated person. And among the millions of such liberated people, very few know Krsna-'durlabha' krsna-bhakta, a very rare devotee of Krsna. For pure devotees of Krsna, anyabhilasita-sūnyam is the standard criterion of pure devotees.

This is the identity of a first class devotee. He has no other desires. His only desire is to serve Lord, and he has no other desires: anyabhilasita-sūnyam. He is not interested in jnana, karma etc. Those who are attached to fruitive activities desire to do good work, a perfect work, go to heavenly planets and enjoy. This is called karma. And jnana means when a fruitive worker gets disturbed while engaged in fruitive activities he wants to become one with God-"merging into the existence of the Absolute Truth". That is.., he [cultivates] jnana. So bhakti is above karma [performing fruitive activities], jnana [monistic philosophy], and other desires. What are the desires? Desires-"we all in the world desire sense gratification, how we will increase the sense gratification more and more". This is material desire. One who is devoid of these desires and is beyond jnana and karma has only anukūlyena krsnanu-silanam. Favorable bhava. The favorable bhava is that "how to satisfy Lord Krsna". To do so, serving in this manner anukūlyena..., is the first-class devotion. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says one may rarely find one such person among millions of the liberated people. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says:

Peaceful and not peaceful. Everyone wants peace. So the peace, as you were told yesterday.., the peace formula is given by the Lord in Bhagavad-gita:

The Lord is the only enjoyer, the Lord is the only proprietor, and the Lord is the only well-wisher of everyone. And he who knows this and also knows that the Lord is everything can attain peace. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says here that: krsna-bhakta-niskama. Devotee of Krsna has no material desires, because anyabhilasita-sūnyam. He has no material desires.

He is also not interested to have something resulting from jnana and karma. In line with what Caitanya Mahaprabhu says in His Siksastakam [4]:

This is a prayer of a Vaisnava, pure devotee. Like Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches: na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va. What do the karmis want in the world? They desire more wealth and want to become leader-janam, want many people to follow them. They want to become a big leader, [...], and want money, and want beautiful women. These are the objects of sense gratification: labha, pūja, pratistha [Cc. Madhya 19.159] [profit, adoration and distinction]. But a real pure devotee says "I do not want all these things". And what else does He say? Mama janmani jamani. Janmani janmani means he does not even want liberation. Because if liberated then where is the question of janma [birth]. So janmani janmani, "wherever is borned", bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi. Only unalloyed devotion to the Lord remains. This is a prayer of a devotee. Therefore he is called niskama, krsna-bhakta-niskama. As long as material desires persist there is no peace, ataeva 'santa', he has become desireless. One who has become a pure devotee is peaceful. And bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kami, bhukti means "one who wants to enjoy in material world", and mukti..., jnanis want to be one with the Lord. Bhukti and siddhi..., yogi; yogi wants many types of siddhis [mystic perfections]. All these are without peace. No peace, they cannot have peace. Because, the reason is, just like you are sitting here, and if you have any work at home then being in flickering state you will leave, because you do not have peace. Anybody who wants anything other than God cannot attain peace. Only a person who is always engaged in devotional service without any desires can attain peace. He is the highest yogi, and only he is peaceful, and others have no peace.

Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. [End]