19940513 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.14.1-6

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.14 1-6

Type Of Talk:

Morning Class

Book:

Srimad Bhagavatam (SB)

Date:

Friday, May 13, 1994

Collection:

Enlightenment 7

Audio player:

19940513_Srimad_Bhagavatam.4.14.1-6_Muscat The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami, on May 13th, 1994 in ..... The class begins with a reading from Srimad Bhagavatam, 4th Canto, 14th Chapter, verse 1 to 6. [Editors note: Lecture is actually on 4th Canto, 18th Chapter, verse 6] purā sṛṣṭā hy oṣadhayo  brahmaṇā yā viśāmpate bhujyamānā mayā dṛṣṭā  asadbhir adhṛta-vrataiḥ JPS: Pura Devotees: Pura JPS: in the past Devotees: in the past JPS: sṛṣṭāḥ Devotees: sṛṣṭāḥ JPS: created Devotees: created JPS: hi Devotees: hi JPS: certainly Devotees: certainly JPS: oṣadhayaḥ Devotees: oṣadhayaḥ JPS: herbs and food grains; Devotees: herbs and food grains; JPS: brahmaṇā Devotees: brahmaṇā JPS: by Lord Brahmā Devotees: by Lord Brahmā JPS: yāḥ Devotees: yāḥ JPS: all those which Devotees: all those which JPS: viśām-pate Devotees: viśām-pate JPS: O King Devotees: O King JPS: bhujyamānāḥ Devotees: bhujyamānāḥ JPS: being enjoyed Devotees: being enjoyed JPS: mayā Devotees: mayā JPS: by me Devotees: by me JPS: dṛṣṭāḥ Devotees: dṛṣṭāḥ JPS: seen Devotees: seen JPS: asadbhiḥ Devotees: asadbhiḥ JPS: by nondevotees Devotees: by nondevotees JPS: adhṛta-vrataiḥ Devotees: adhṛta-vrataiḥ JPS: devoid of all spiritual activities. Devotees: devoid of all spiritual activities. Translation by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:

Devotees: Jay Srila Prabhupada

JPS: O My dear King, the seeds, roots, herbs and grains, which were created by Lord Brahmā in the past, are now being used by non-devotees, who are devoid of all spiritual understanding.

Purport: Lord Brahmā created this material world for the use of the living entities, but it was created according to a plan that all living entities who might come into it to dominate it for sense gratification would be given directions by Lord Brahmā in the Vedas in order that they might ultimately leave it and return home, back to Godhead. All necessities grown on earth — namely fruits and flowers, trees, grains, animals and animal by-products — were created for use in sacrifice for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. However, the planet earth in the shape of a cow herein submits that all these utilities are being used by non-devotees, who have no plans for spiritual understanding. Although there are immense potencies within the earth for the production of grains, fruits and flowers, this production is checked by the earth itself when it is misused by non-devotees, who have no spiritual goals. Everything belongs to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and everything can be used for His satisfaction. Things should not be used for the sense gratification of the living entities. This is the whole plan of material nature according to the directions of this material nature. Gurumaharaj speaks in Spanish: In this verse the words asadbhiḥ and adhṛta-vrataiḥ are important. The word asadbhiḥ refers to the nondevotees. The nondevotees have been described in Bhagavad-gītā as duṣkṛtinaḥ (miscreants), mūḍhāḥ (asses or rascals), narādhamāḥ (lowest of mankind) and māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (those who have lost their knowledge to the power of the illusory energy). All these persons are asat, nondevotees. Nondevotees are also called gṛha-vrata, whereas the devotee is called dhṛta-vrata. The whole Vedic plan is that the misguided conditioned souls who have come to lord it over material nature should be trained to become dhṛta-vrata. This means that they should take a vow to satisfy their senses or enjoy material life only by satisfying the senses of the Supreme Lord. Activities intended to satisfy the senses of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, are called kṛṣṇārthe ’khila-ceṣṭāḥ. This indicates that one can attempt all kinds of work, but one should do so to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. This is described in Bhagavad-gītā as yajñārthāt karma. The word yajña indicates Lord Viṣṇu. We should work only for His satisfaction. In modern times (Kali-yuga), however, people have forgotten Viṣṇu altogether, and they conduct their activities for sense gratification. Such people will gradually become poverty-stricken, for they cannot use things which are enjoyed or to be enjoyed by the Supreme Lord for their own sense gratification. If they continue like this, there will ultimately be a state of poverty, and no grains, fruits or flowers will be produced. Indeed, it is stated in the Twelfth Canto of Bhāgavatam that at the end of Kali-yuga people will be so polluted that there will no longer be any grains, wheat, sugarcane or milk. Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta Swami translation and purport to Text 6, Chapter 18, Canto 4 of the Srimad Bhagavatam, in the matter of Prithu Maharaj .....06.38......the planet earth. Jaya Jaya Shri Krishna Caitanya Gaura Chandra Jaya Jaya Paramananda Jaya Nityananda Jaya Jaya Advaita Chandra Krimamoy Jaya Jaya Gada Dhara Pandita Mahasoy Jaya Jaya Srivas Adi Jata Bhakta Gan Prahlad Hoiya bandhu hoiya sabara charana 07.28-34 This purport ah... contains many many important principles that people need to know. Today we want a better world. Everyone is concerned about the world, pollution, the destruction of ecology, this is because the earth has been expoited, the grains and the foods and the herbs and the seeds are taken out and they simply utilized for sense gratification. So therefore there is a wholesale exploitation, therefore now there are very many natural imbalances, up to the point where we simply came also in the newspaper where they are finding, because the big cities are dumping the pollutions into the ocean, because of various other factors that the platin....the plants which are floating in the water, they are emitting special kinds of molecule which are to warn other platin that there is pollution coming. In those molecules are somehow going back to the human beings. In those molecules are creating a disease which is like AIDS. It ah...automatically takes away the ability of the body to resist disease, and they are finding that in the lakes and the ocean that this kind of molecules are now increasing and they are... there may be a cure for AIDS but this one there have no cure, they don’t have any way to stop it because it is on the molecular level. So if we take from the earth, if we exploit the earth, if we just use the earth as if it’s our own property, then we can see that so many natural reactions are coming from nature. What reactions will come in the future, no one can save. So the people are considering that we have to do something. But nobody likes to cut their profit margin, because everybody thinks it is my property, why should I not exploit it to the maximum. The rich countries they are now telling the other countries, the poor countries who have not ruined their environment yet that they shouldn’t ruin their environment, then you get countries like brazil and India, they are saying, “You have already exploited and ruined your country and you become rich, now you want us to remain poor but we cannot exploit our natural resources. So then you should give us some of your wealth. Pay us to protect our forests and our natural resourses. So like this there is a big tug of war, basically what happened Reo-di-genero for the ah... world environment meeting, and this was the demand of Brazil and other country, that you don’t us to cut our rain forests, you give us some money, how will we survive. So this....so many discussions are going on, what’s really missing though, what’s the real secret to what would make everything work is that this whole world is not the property of the countries or the people who own the Land. The whole world is the property of God, the property of the supreme Lord and we have basically only renting or leasing, the right to use this property. Just like you are renting a house, you cannot do anything and everything you want in the house as if you are the owner. Say this is the rented house and you cannot just tearing the walls down and doing things...wreck the house. You have to take permission from the owner. So this world is owned by Krishna whether you call Him Krishna, Allah or God, whatever it’s owned by the supreme Lord and he has given certain rules and laws by which one should utilize it. If you don’t use it according to those laws, then all hell breaks loose, and all kinds of natural response comes, because mother nature, mother earth, everyone they are all responding, that I am being exploited not according to the rules that have been laid down by the creator. They are supposed to be using this natural opulence’s of food, grains, of flowers, fruits, of herbs, seeds to offer as a sacrifice to Lord Vishnu. Everything should be offered to the Lord as a prasa...as a bhoga, then we should take the Prasad, things should be used in a proper way. Eating food, remembering the origin of all food is coming from God. In the factory we can produce a lot of things but so far we have not been able to produce food. You have to produce the food by growing. Of course now they are trying to show that we can produce food also in outer space, so maybe in the future when we ruin the earth, maybe we can have big, floating green-houses in outer space growing the food for the human beings, imported from organic satellite numbers 725 13.05-07. This is ah... not such a very attractive future, that we ruin the whole earth so that we can grow things in outer space, we should also grow things here and we should preserve the eartg, and that will happen if naturally people understand that this is the property of Krishna, this is the Supreme Lord’s property, therefore we should use it for the right purpose. So therefore Srila Prbhupada, he didn’t consider that the United Nations would be a success so long as everyone thought that the world is simply the property of the different nations. And there have to be a higher principle, the earth actually belongs to Krishna. The whole earth belongs to the Supreme Lord, and therefore nations and everyone should manage the earth, territories within certain divine parameters. Now we came to this earth for a certain time to utilize our valuable human birth. In the proper way we can go back to Godhead, we can go back to the supreme Lord and not have to come again. Unfortunately most people they don’t know that, they don’t know that there is a higher purpose to life and therefore they are simply ah... misusing their time and exploiting the opulence’s of nature for their own sense gratification. This kind of tends to say that you have a guest come to you house. He may be your wellwisher, some distant cousin, they come and stay in the house and they...they are very cooperative, doing different services and stay for some time, they clean up after themselves, they are very considerate in everything and nobody think, Oh this is very nice relative, not a big problem. Well if you get somebody, he comes as a guest, then are just incharge of the house, eat all the food, and leave a mess, they don’t care for anything, they argue with you, just like even though you are the house owner it’s like they make your life as a hell, do whatever they want, dirtying up everything, ruining the furniture, ruining... at a certain point naturally there is going to be some kind of misunderstanding or some kind of argument or some type of reaction. This is basically what’s happening. We are invited to come here by our supreme father to the earth with a specific plan, that with a regulated way we can enjoy the opulence’s of the earth, we should do in such a way that Krishna is provided, and if we do that, than gradually we can purify ourself from this tendency of Lording it over the material nature, we can get back to Krishna. But instead we are coming here and we are just ignoring the existence and proprietorship of the Supreme Lord. We are doing whatever we feel like, exploiting everything left and right, and the result is that the whole world is becoming made a mess, so that now you cannot get clean water to drink, you can’t get clean air to breathe, we can’t get soil in some places which will grow fruits, they will ruin the soil with acid rain and so on, so the earth, the air, the water, what else we have, what if we ruin the earth, water and air, what we have to live with? This is what is going on. And so there may be many superficial reasons but the root cause is a godless civilization. The animals follow their instincts, so they don’t create a big imbalance in nature, but a human being doesn’t follow instincts, they follow their desires, so if the desires are in harmony with Krishna the whole world is also in harmony and everything works properly. When the desires are in disharmony with the desires of the Supreme Lord then that creates a imbalance of society. Artificially we may have many meetings, world environment meeting, this that but the people will not act ah... will not cooperate with all the plans which are being made very aggressively, unless they come to the consciousness of understanding that there is a law of karma, we have to act in a certain way, we are responsible for what we do, and ultimately everything is under the control of the supreme Lord, and if we act according to His plan than there is no bad plan, and if we don’t then everything we do will create our own destruction, and our own suffering. Therefore although people tend in the modern world, even modern Indians they think that religion will really ruin India, or they think that religion is something which is not needed in the world but rather India and other ancient cultures are still surviving, after so many years only because of religion, otherwise without religion it’s very doubtful that even such ah... civilizations would have survived. Human being without religion is lower than animal because the animal has instinct, an animal would naturally won’t ah...hoarde or misuse, they take what they need, but a human being is excessive consumer. Just like in the world today there are some companies, I think ah... something like 5% of the population is consuming 60% of the worlds energy. Some people are consuming so much more than others. So there is no principle on how to regulate that, or that consumption is not done is such a way that it’s favourable to that world, to the environment, naturally there is going to be repercussion. So the whole world should ...stand out again, it’s not a national right to rule the world for everyone else. The way that consciousness can’t be brought home to everyone, because till today most of the people in the world believe in God. They somehow get this idea across that the world belongs not to us but to God, to the Supreme Lord, therefore we have to use the world with that consciousness, which nobody is thinking about, even the most religious people, they don’t think, they may go to church, even they go into their board of directors room in the big oil companies.

They are not thinking that this earth doesn’t belongs to the Supreme Lord, and we have to use it like that, they are just thinking what is the legal restrictions, how can I make more profit, all this others factors. Human ethics is now being considered after many, many decades of exploitation, but is a new thing but as soon as...even they as just thinking what should be morally correct. They are not thinking what is the higher spiritual ethic, what is the godly ethic, that everything is the property of God and that is a very essential thing, if you want to have a better world. Otherwise there is no way of regulating people unless you have a higher principle to guide by, everyone will make it relative. Now if you take God as a principle then naturally you things become fixed in the absolute. Anyway so much for the world situation, what about our own individual situation, there is unlimited we do about the world, we can be conscious about it and gradually we will have an impact, we should also in our own case, we should be very careful. Yajnarthat karmano nyatra, loko yam karma bandhana, we should work for the pleasure of Vishnu as a sacrifice. Any other work that’s not done for the pleasure of the Lord is simply the cause of bondage. Nobody wants to suffer, but everywhere people are suffering. When people suffer they can go to... if they are religious people they go to God, they pray. If they are materialistic people then they go to the bottle and they drink or do something else to forget about the trouble. People who are religious they come to the Lord and they pray for help. Actually nobody wants to suffer but suffering is there. Rather than wait till suffering comes and then go to the Lord, if we go ahead of time and just simply do our work as a service to the Lord, then we can avoid the maximum number of amount of suffering. Of course in this material world nobody can ah... completely avoid suffering because this is dukhalayam asaswatam, this is a place of suffering. This is chapter 8 and it is filled with suffering and we cannot avoid, but we can’t diminish it. And devotees, whatever small suffering come, they are able to survive that in the best consciousness. It is not a impediment for the spritual perfection. So what the de...devotees are doing is called drta vrata, drta vrata means fixed in a sacrifice. They are drta vrta. And what the non-devotees are called a-drtavrta. Drta Vrta means spiritual activities just like rising in the morning, chanting Hare Krisha, offering our food to Krishna, so you will say, “Oh! How can you do all this things? Too much. Human being is not meant for too much religion. Little bit is alright. Once a week you go in the temple, things like that. This is what people give big-big lectures when you do devotional service, on how you shouldn’t do too much religion. Shouldn’t be a vegetarian, shouldn’t be this, shouldn’t be that, so many speculations have come out, but they somehow made a-drta vrta, a life void of spiritual activity has become a standard. And yet somebody wants to be drta-vrta, he wants to follow some rules and regulations for spiritual development they all get on the case, “what’s wrong with you, you become a fanatic or something, do you think you are a sadhu or something, they make fun, they jive, they make obstructions, this is why asat-vir, that they are actually disturbing elements for someone’s spiritual progress. They have become so bewildered by Kali, that the illicit activity has become the standard, and anyone wants to do the proper, authorised activity of the scripture, they have become the subject of ridicule. So this is a very great obstacle, and it simple shows how degraded the society has become. The more one is educated, the more they are civilized, they have become more uncivilized by vedic standards. Srila Prabhupada, he could see that the whole world was following the western people and the western people basically they... they didn’t know about this higher spiritual value, he was very...he didn’t mince the words. He told the American people, “You people are white aboriginies.” 24.55-58 Why the aboriginies, what we are doing? “You are putting all the colour on your face, women are painting up, everyone is...so what’s the difference between you and any other aborigines... you are eating the...you are hiring someone to do the starving for you and someone is going and hunting. It’s not a higher civilization, not that, I am having jets and cars and big buildings. You go in a hotel and then have illicit sex. Higher civilization means higher purpose to life, which it means that it should be meant for the satisfaction of the supreme Lord. It should be meant for the spiritual development, for self realization, and for seeing that the whole world is actually a better place. All this activities are simply meant for the destruction of the individual and the world, simply unrestricted sense gratification destroying everything. Then he would tell...praise them, but you are the leaders of the world, you should lead the world... he would mix it up...it would be all negative, so that... otherwise no one can take it. Sometimes in a laughingly... we can joke with them, not so heavily. Hare Krishna. So he went, why did you back to the West, he said people are following, he said that if I am going to spell this Krishna consciousnesss ......who are following ....establish Krishna consciousness in the West and you have effect in the rest of the world. Even the Indians are following the West, they are wearing Western clothes, they are adopting western habits, even one of the Prime Minister of India, he said “ by habit I am a Westerner, only in name I am Indian or Hindu.” Why India culture is great it’s because the whole civilization, the whole Vedas, the whole bhagavat is ah... based upon this feature that we should be working for our spiritual development, we should be considering everything in relation to the whole picture, the human activities should be meant for sacrifice, for higher purpose, without this kind of principle how can we have a better world. A better world means we have to sacrifice for it. Father and mother they sacrifice so much to create our family, to see that children get brought up properly, they work, if you want something in this world we should sacrifice. So if you do the same activity with a higher sacrifice that this is for the pleasure of Krishna. Not only just to bring up children so they get education, but give them a spiritual education, give them a spiritual environment, give them a hope that there will be a better world to grow up in and, but after that sojourn in this world they can go back to Godhead, where there is eternal life, a perfect world to live in. When we take the food that we eat and we offer to Krisha, those fruits, flowers and vegetables and plants, are purified and blessed. So we eat that remnants of that sacrifice, Bhagavat Gita says that we do not get karma, rather we are freed from karma, not those people who simply cook and eat without offering, even vegetarians, if they are just cooking and eating, they are eating sin, they are also eating sin, sin is everywhere, there is karma’s in killing plants, less karma than animal killing but plant killing is also having some karma. But when we eat Krishna Prasad you are giving blessings to the plant and you are giving blessings to yourself, that’s why it is Prasad, it is mercy. So Lord Brahma has given us a plan how we can live in such a way that we don’t get entangled by the laws of karma, we can get freed from this material world, why shouldn’t we follow his plan, this is very essential that we take his plan. Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He is ah... His advice or suggestion -study the Srimad Bhagavatam, this is how we can know what is the real human life, we should engage ourselves in worshipping Krishna and in chanting the holy name, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishn Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Rma Rama Hare Hare. This chanting is the sacrifice recommended for this age, everyone can sing Hare Krishna and sing the names of God, this is not difficult to do. So simply by singing and repeating the names of the Lord, this will have a tremendous impact, on improving the world we are leaving. It has an impact on improving our own lives, and improving our own consciousness, .with so many people being testified to. So it’s upto us to choose whether we want to follow the format of a-drta vrta and asat vir, even though we want to be a drta-vrta and sadbhir, someone who is following a spiritual, who is a devotee, a good person or someone who is neglecting spiritual values, and simply becoming entangled in the material laws of karma, and deteriorates him. So most people in the present Kali-yuga environment due to ignorance they are choosing the wrong way. So devotees have to give them atleast, let them have the chance. We can’t force people to go the way we think is better, but we can try to convince them and if they are intelligent, if they are honest, if they can understand this principles, they may appreciate that this is a better way of living one’s life. It’s very important that people come to their senses. That means that normally people will not understand this things unless a devotee explains it to them, that’s why Prabhupada wanted every person to chant Hare Krishna, study the Bhagavatam and the Srimad Bhagavat Gita, that’s how others, give the books to others, explain the teachings to others. We consider that the world was in fire because people were burning in the suffering due to the lack of knowledge of this basic principle’s of life. It’s not some old fashioned thing that we should do our activities as a sacrifice. This are eternal principles. This are principles by which that whole human civilization is created, if we don’t follow this principles gradually we lose our status as humans and we become two legged animals. We become so much filled with anxiety and suffering. It’s very important that this Krishna consciousness ah...be given to everyone who is accessible, and this principles are universal, everyone could appreciate. They are not secretarian principles, but they are principles that are meant for uplifting the entire world. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishn Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Rma Rama Hare Hare. Any question? Devotee: Gurumaharaj, though we realize and feel that we are here temporarily and death is certain but what happens in our day to day activity and other things , we get so engrossed. I am sometimes so frustrated that we have no...we can’t concentrate properly on ......activity , like maybe chanting and other things. There may be some constraints like prasadam, so difficult frustrated and you can’t do neglect, properly observing, specially office work and other thing like family affairs will be based everyday such things, they maynot be fully ........, and our surrounding is not ......like your office even if you risk your time, it’s very difficult to constantly, I get frustrated when JPS: That’s why a devotee is described here as drta vrta. Drta vrta also means like a very 33.32 you spiritual activities but literally drta vrta means very rigorous vow, biggest standard of activity, living by a principle, we have people saying you know that they will die for the principle, it is a question of principle. Actually people... very few people now know what is the principles. Their principles are some imagined things, principle of false ego, principle of ....so we are getting the instruction from Lord Brahma that there are certain principles which are most important for the ....., so if we are convinced about this principles then we just apply it, this is question of survival. Just like a doctor, he knows the principle of cleanliness, and they have to deal with the blood samples, this that, there is a AIDS, HIV positive virus, blood there, they follow the principles they won’t get infected, if they don’t follow they will die, they will get infected. If you want to survive there is no choice, you have to follow these principles. It’s not just like that easy34.47 a choice. It’s just that reality will be told that if you follow this way then you will survive, you will cross over this difficulties, and if you succumb to the pressures by reacting to the various circumstances that come, and you get controlled by the circumstances you are put in, that means you are under the three modes, isn’t it? That’s what the nature, that’s what the three modes mean. Sometimes we are under very good situation, sometimes it is passionate, sometimes ignorant, so we are just living according to the environment that the modes are putting on in. What devotional service means is to become transcendental to the three modes. That means sometimes we are put into the situation, in a good situation but the devotee, they go on chanting Hare Krishna, they go on doing their duties, drta vrta, even though the situation is very peaceful, so why chant? It’s a nice situation, why should I chant ? I can enjoy, relax on a beach. You know devotees will go on chanting, those who be there will also chant Hare Krishna, There may be a very heavy tension, heavy situation, that time 35.50-54, who can chant under this circumstance, they just reacting, they are angry, they are arguing, they just get into the whole... reacting, they get under the control of the mode, but the devotee they are drta vrta, they are remaining fixed in their next spiritual vision, even though at difficult times they keep a level head. After a while this way the devotees, they rise up. Because remaining in a material sphere of activities, techniquelly they come up because people appreciate that they are more level headed, more control of the circumstance, ultimately the more we are in control of the environment that we are in, or atleast in control of ourselves no matter what the environment is, that puts us in a stronger position, even materially. People appreciate, or they sometimes they get angry, this person is very strong, sometimes people get envious, they want to remove that person, whether get him out otherwise... but then there is other oppurtunities. I have people, disciples, they face difficulties, they change their jobs and the better oppurtunities come around, people who are not so envious, so we can... we can see that...when we put in tamasic, rajasik and satwik situations and combinations of the three. When we are fixed in our devotional principles we can overcome all this situations. Never know what the situations, our life is the same. So that actually brings some kind of a peace, regularity, a sense of self ah...satisfaction, it may seem for the moment easier to go out with environment, whatever the mode is at that time, but in the long run that will put us under the control of the material nature and that will eventually lead us to so much suffering. So the devotee doesn’t get tricked by the illusion, no matter what they stick to their principles of chanting and devotional activities, and sober minded people they appreciate that this person has got some principle. This person is following some higher principle. So some people can appreciate. Some people never appreciate until they get put in difficulties, then they think why 38.00-02 So this are just tests. This are like little examinations we are put through, and ah...we are to become expert how to cross over those tests. Sometimes the situation is a little bad bargain, just like someone householder has to maintain wife and family, he has to work, some occupation. Working in a occupation means you have to listen to the boss or listen to the certain people, work collegues and so on. You have to make a relationship with them so that you can work in a proper way, which means that we have to hear some nonsense and we have to gratify some people that you know are not worthy of being gratifyed. So that’s one of the defects of being a employee. So that’s given in Vedas....that’s why being an employee is considered to being a sudhra, then we have to do all this, maybe some is born in a brahmana, ksatriya or any other family, but if you working, it’s a sudra job, anyway you have to follow the rules given by the company. If you are self-employed, then you make your own rules, so that means a little more freedom is there, because the Vaisnava is considered more freedom of choice, and if you are in the government, you make a lot of rules, that’s why in India they break rules, there is so many, they make it 39.25, people have more freedom. Previously one was really a brahmana, they had the most freedom. Of course nowadays, in those days the government would also not interfere with the activities of brahmanas, but now only partially that’s correct. Like you have to be registered society, say... so then you don’t have to pay income tax, you are non- profit, you can do your...you can spend your money for the charitable works and you don’t pay any taxes or anything. So they give you some amount of freedom, but you have to turn in your accounts and income tax and you have to do so many ..40.00...which wasn’t there before. Even in America, for churches they don’t have to give any accounts, no church has to keep any account. They are beyond government. They can select government... and states and churches are different. State has nothing to do with the church, whatever the church does....only they see if it is a bonafide religion, apart from that the church can do what they want. If it’s religious then they don’t care. So that way you can say, a brahmana even in modern world, they enjoy certain amount of freedom for religious activities, which are all activities like schools, colleges ...... For every job, every activities has certain problems, so Prabhupada said that sometimes you have to make the best use of the bad bargain, you are working in a particular job or particular circumstances, you just see under these circumstances how can make the best use. I may not be able to do everything 100% the way I want, so that we do the best I can do under the circumstances. That’s why I sais, normally we recommend everyone should chant all their rounds on the beads. Sometimes you may be in some circumstances, they are not be able to chant all the rounds on the beads in a place like...like the gulf. If they have to chant on their counter to make up the sixteen rounds or make up the daily number of rounds, that under certain circumstances it maybe permissible. Or you can use hand counting.. Lord Chaitanya used to count on his finger, 41.30 job, so it wasn’t that he always used japa, he sometimes uses fingers, so that is a method of counting. So now we have machines to help us count, but hearing and chanting is the same. Use japa this is better. So like this sometimes we have to see, we have to sometimes adjust some detailed rule to maintain the higher principle of chanting and eating prasadam. So sometimes we cannot eat Prasad, then we at least eat vegetarian food and we say Shri Visnu, Shri Visnu, Sri Visnu. So there is no karma there. In this way..42.04-06 people can eat, they can cook for themselves or the things you can prepare. Chandrasekhar, he figured out some solution, isn’t it...so sometimes it maynot be that ideal circumstance but we have to make the best use of it. I know, I have... husband, wife, we want the whole family to practice Krishna consciousness together, to create a Krishna conscious home environment is the best thing. Sometimes we find, I met one disciple 60 years old, wife was headmistress of some school, he was a businessman or something. He said, “my wife she won’t follow, she said she will go on eating her fish and meat. So what can I do? So I said I will cook for myself, I want to achieve spiritual...he is 60 years old man, he has wife and he has to cook for himself. His wife refused to coo...be a vegetarian, but he said that I have to worry about my own spiritual development. If she doesn’t care, I can’t force her, she said, “whole life you are living like this, now you are telling me all this things” because now I realized...I didn’t realise before, she doesn’t want to hear now, modern lady...Indian lady. So you get this circumstances what can you do? So it makes the best environment, he can...the best solution you can...so if we can make a ideal circumstance in the beginning then it’s better. The longer you let it go, then the more difficult to correct later, but what happens is Krishna is seeing all this things, that’s why drta-vrta, He is seeing that His devotee is taking so much trouble for Me. He is doing this because he wants to serve Me. Krishna, He is very grateful. Therefore Krishna doesn’t forget His devotee. But he is doing...why he is taking all this trouble. Just like we saw that children did ah... Kolavecha Sridhar, they had to take so much trouble, but why Lord Caitanya was so pleased with him, he gave him love of Godhead, because he was taking all the trouble simply to please Krishn and the guru. Krishna gets purchased when He sees how the devotee is voluntarily doing something for Him. He becomes so grateful. So we shouldn’t think that I have to take all this trouble, nobody cares, Krishna really ah...notice everything we are doing, He knows that if we are having to suffer some inconvenience to carry out His instructions, and He would definitely not forget, He will pay you hundred...ten times, hundred times over, maybe under certain circumstances even thousand times over, whatever difficulty you are facing now later you will be much happier because of that. And once the devotee gets habituated to this type of spiritual lifestyle, people say, “How can you be vegetarian?” “If anything how can I even eat meat, such a smelly rotten thing causing so much suffering to some innocent animal. So it is a question also of habit and culture. But in the beginning if you press to much people will get... who don’t have that habit, they become frightened and they run off. So gradually as they develop better habits, better association, then they can also change their whole taste and get a higher taste. So recently in Bombay, there is... I heard about 25-30 doctors who were all initiated and practicing Krishna consciousness, a group of them have made their own clinic. There will be 12-15 doctors, went together and made their own clinic. So from outside it’s like any other you know medical clinic, gynae, and nose, throat, ear, this that everything is there. You go and see all the specialist, pathology but everyone in the, all the doctors they are all devotees, I mean they take Prasad, they take all, someone will cook.....Krishna Prasad lunch they get, that way the living environment, the working environment is ideal and the whole office nurses, doctor, everyone initiated devotees or practicing devotees. So in the future like that we can have Krishna conscious factories, Krishna conscious .46.15.., everything. Devotee: Where in Mumbai? JPS: You want to go there... That ah...Chopaty there, Radhanath Swami, he told me about that, maybe that Krishna Kumar Krishna Kumar: Yes I have seen that. JPS: maybe he knows. I may overcome by having real ego, surrendering their ego to .Krisha, if we serve the devotee of Krishna then naturally we become humbled. With the false pride we are forgetting that whatever abilities we have is through Krishna, we cannot do anything without Krishna, giving us that potency, He is the strength of the strong, intelligence, so to speak...everything we are doing that ability we have, ultimately it is coming through Krishna. If He wants to He can take it away in a second. World Heavy weight...previous heavy weight boxing champion, Mike Tyson, said nobody can beat me, I can defeat everyone, but he got defeated by his own senses, now he is in jail because his senses defeated him, he couldn’t control. So he may be very powerful in one sense, but if you don’t have sense control we get embarrassed. So the false ego is our own enemy. We should know whatever strength we have is coming from Krishna, then we should work to control our mind, control the senses in a productive way, otherwise you will get trapped up, elephants get trapped because of their senses. They may be strong but the hunters, they tie one female elephant and before another female elephant they will dig one pit. When the male elephant will come to female the pit will be covered with grass and bamboo, they won’t see it, they step on it and bhoom they fall in. So he is captured by his... otherwise very hard how to capture the elephant. But because of the pit he is helpless, he cannot get out. They gradually train him. Hare Krishna

Sadananda Krishnaprem Das 09-10-2015, Mayapur.