GARGAMUNI: (reading:) “It is
also wrong to consider that
simply by becoming a vegetarian
one can save himself from
transgressing the laws of nature.
Vegetables also have life. One life
is meant to feed another living
being, and that is the law of
nature. One should not be proud
of being a strict vegetarian. The
point is to recognize the Supreme
Lord. The animals have no
developed consciousness to
recognize the Lord, but a human
being…”
PRABHUPĀDA: That is the main
point. Just like there are the
Buddhists, they are also
vegetarian. According to Buddhist
principle… Nowadays everything
has deteriorated, but Lord
Buddha’s propaganda was to
make the rascals at least to stop
animal-killing. Ahiṁsā paramo
dharma. Lord Buddha’s
appearance is described in the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and many
Vedic literatures. Sura-dviṣām.
He came to cheat the demons.
The demons… He made such a
policy that the demons were
cheated. How he has cheated?
The demons, they are against
God. They don’t believe in God.
So Lord Buddha propagated,
“Yes, there is no God. But what I
say, you follow.” “Yes, sir.” But
he is God. This is cheating. Yes.
They do not believe in God, but
they believe in Buddha, and
Buddha is God. Keśava-dhṛta-
buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare.
So that is the difference between
a demon and a devotee. They do
not believe in God, but they
believe in Buddha, and Buddha is
God. Keśava-dhṛta-buddha-śarīra
jaya jagadīśa hare. So that is the
difference between a demon and
a devotee. A devotee sees that
how Kṛṣṇa, Keśava, is cheating
these rascals. The devotee can
understand. But the demons,
they think, “Oh, we have got a
nice leader. He does not believe
in God.” (laughter) You see?
Sammohāya sura-dviṣām [SB
1.3.24] The exact Sanskrit word
is stated in the Śrīmad-
Bhāgavatam. You have seen,
those who have read:
sammohāya, for bewildering
sura-dviṣām. Sura-dviṣām means
persons who are envious of the
Vaiṣṇavas. The atheist class,
demons, they are always envious
of the devotees. That is the law
of nature. You see this father.
Father became an enemy of a
five-years-old son. What was his
fault? He was a devotee. That’s
all. Innocent boy. Simply he was,
I mean to say, attracted with
chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. The
father himself, he became a
staunch enemy: “Kill this boy.”
So if a father can become enemy,
what to speak of others. So you
should always expect that as
soon as you become a devotee,
the whole world becomes your
enemy. That’s all. But you have
to deal with them, because you
are appointed servants of God.
Your mission is to enlighten
them. So you cannot be. Just like
Lord Nityānanda, He was injured,
but still He delivered Jagāi-
Mādhāi. That should be your
principle. Sometimes we have to
cheat, sometimes we have to be
injured—so many things. The
only device is how people can
become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is
our mission. Some way or other
these rascals should be
converted to Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, either this way or
that way.
So Lord Buddha, he cheated the
demons. Why he cheated?
Sadaya-hṛdaya darśita-paśu-
ghātam. He was very
compassionate. God is always
sympathetic to all living entities
because everyone is His son. So
these rascals were killing
unrestrictedly, simply animal-
killing… And if you say, “Oh, why
you are animal-killing?” they will
immediately say, “Oh, it is in the
Vedas: paśavo vadhāya sṛṣṭa.”
The animal killing is there in the
Vedas, but what the purpose?
That is to test the Vedic mantra.
An animal will be put into the
fire, and by Vedic mantra he’ll be
rejuvenated. That is sacrifice,
animal sacrifice. Not that for
eating purpose. Therefore in this
age of Kali, Caitanya Mahāprabhu
has forbidden any kind of yajña
because there is no, I mean to
say, expert brāhmaṇa who can
chant the mantras and make
experiment of the Vedic mantras
that “Here is coming out.” That
is… Before performing yajña,
how the mantra is potent, that
was tested by sacrificing animal
and again giving new life. Then it
is to be understood that the
priests who were chanting that
mantra, that is right. That was a
test. Not for animal-killing. But
these rascals, for eating animals
they cited, “Here, there is animal-
killing.” Just like in Calcutta… You
have been in Calcutta? And there
is a street, College Street. Now it
is differently named. I think it is
named Vidhan Raya (?). Just
like… Anyway, so there are some
slaughterhouses. So
slaughterhouses means the
Hindus, they do not purchase
meat from Muslims’ shop. That is
impure. (laughter) The same
thing: stool this side and that
side. They are eating meat, and
Hindu shop is pure, Muslim shop
is impure. These are mental
concoction. Religion is going on
like that. Therefore… Therefore
fighting: “I am Hindu,” “I am
Muslim,” “I am Christian.”
Nobody knows religion. You see?
They have given up religion,
these rascals. There is no
religion. The real religion is this,
Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which
teaches how to love God. That’s
all. That is religion. Any religion,
it doesn’t matter whether Hindu
religion, Muslim religion, Christian
religion, if you are developing
love of God, then you are perfect
in your religion. That is the test.
sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharma yato
bhaktir adhokṣaje ahaituky
apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati
This is Bhāgavata religion. That is
first-class religion. What is that?
Yataḥ, by executing the religious
principles, if you develop your
love for the Supreme, who is
beyond expression of your words
and beyond the activities of your
mind… Adhokṣaja. This very
word is used, adhokṣaja: where
your material senses cannot
approach. And what kind of that
love? Ahaitukī, without any
cause. “O Lord, I love You, God,
because You supply me so many
nice things. You are order-
supplier.” No. Not that sort of
love. Without any exchange. That
is taught by Caitanya
Mahāprabhu, that “Whatever You
do…” Āśliṣya vā pada-ratāṁ
pinaṣṭu mām. “Either You
trample me under Your feet or
You embrace me… What You
like. You make me brokenhearted
by not seeing You—that doesn’t
matter. Still You are my
worshipable Lord.” That is love.
“From God’s side, He may do
whatever He likes. I don’t want
anything in exchange.” That is
love. That sort of love Kṛṣṇa
wants.
ANNOUNCER: Next is a class on
the Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra
number 1, given by His Divine
Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupāda, recorded in May of
1970 in Los Angeles.
GARGAMUNI: “In the Bhagavad-
gītā the Lord directly states that
He accepts the vegetable
foodstuffs from the hands of a
pure devotee. Therefore a
human being should not only
become a strict vegetarian, but
he should also become a devotee
of the Lord and offer to the Lord
all his food and only then partake
of the prasādam, or mercy of
God. Such a devotee can
properly discharge the duty of
human life. Those who do not do
so are eating only sins and thus
will be subjected to the different
types of distress which are the
result of the various sins.”
PRABHUPĀDA: Yes. This is stated
in the Bhagavad-gītā, Fourth
Chapter: yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo
mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ. Our,
this conditioned life is so situated
that in every step we are
committing some sins. In every
step, without knowing,
ignorance, because we, we are
born ignorant. Therefore
Bhāgavata says, parābhavas
tāvad abhodha-jātaḥ. Abodha-
jātaḥ. Abodha-jāta means every
living entity is born fools.
Therefore there are so many
educational institutions. If the
man born… May be in very high
family or in high nation, but he is
a fool. Otherwise, what is the
necessity of so many educational
institution? It is a fact. So that
foolishness, when it is come to
light… That is stated in the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Parābhavas
tāvad abodha-jāto yāvan na
jijñāsata ātma-tattvam. This
foolishness will continue so long
as he does not come to the
platform of understanding self-
realization. Otherwise, all these
universities and institution for
imparting knowledge, they are
continuation of that same
ignorance and foolishness. Unless
one comes to the point of
understanding, “What I am, what
is God, what is this world, what is
my relationship…?” Unless these
questions come into one’s heart,
and there is no proper answer,
he continues to be foolish like
animal, and he is subjected to
different species of life,
transmigration from one body to
another. This is ignorance.
So this is a very risky civilization.
I may feel very comfortable that
“I am a spiritual master,” or you
may think very comfortable, “I
am born of a very rich nation,
American,” but this status of my
life is temporary. I will have to
change. I’ll have to change. So if
I do not change for the better,
then my life is very risky.
Suppose a healthy man, if he is
in the society of contamination, is
it not his life is very risky? He
may be contaminated and
infected by disease any moment.
So this ignorance should be
dissipated. Here it is said that
such a devotee can properly
discharge his duty of human life.
Those who do not do so are
eating only sins. Bhuñjate te tv
aghaṁ pāpaṁ ye pacanty ātma-
kāraṇāt. Anyone who is cooking
for himself… The difference of
cooking here in this temple and
in ordinary house is that in
ordinary house they’re cooking
sins. The cooking, it appears that
the same, “These people are also
cooking,” but this cooking and
that cooking is different. Here
there is no sin, because it is
being cooked for Kṛṣṇa.
Yajñārthe. Yajñārthe karmaṇo
’nyatra. Beyond this field of
activities, Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
everything with the laws of
nature. Generally, you are being
implicated in sinful activities,
generally. And those who are
little more cautious, they avoid
sinful activities, they are pious
activities. But even there is pious
activities, he is implicated. This I
have explained several times,
that if a man is pious, he has to
take his birth in rich family,
janmaiśvarya-śruta, in very
aristocratic family, rich family. He
may become next life very
learned scholar, very beautiful.
These are the results of pious
activities. But pious or impious,
you have to enter into the womb
of some mother. That tribulation
is very severe. That we have
forgotten. That we have
forgotten. Either you take birth in
a very rich family, aristocratic
family, or you take birth in the
animal womb, so the pangs of
birth, death, disease and old age
will continue.
So Kṛṣṇa consciousness
movement means to make a
solution of these four things:
birth, death, old age, and
disease. So if we act sinfully and
if we eat sinfully, then this life of
birth, death, old age, will
continue. Otherwise, you can
make a solution, and as it is
stated in the Bhagavad-gītā,
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti
mām eti kaunteya [Bg. 4.9].
“After leaving this body,” tyaktvā
dehaṁ punar janma naiti, “he
does not take birth again in this
material world.” Then where
does he go? He’s finished? Just
like voidist? No. Mām eti: “He
comes to Me.” Mām eti. “He
comes to Me.” And what is the
benefit of going there, to You?
mām upetya kaunteya
duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
nāpnuvanti mahātmānaḥ
saṁsiddhiṁ paramāṁ gatāḥ [Bg.
8.15]
“To come back to Me, that is the
highest perfection of life. He does
not come to this miserable
world.” So we should be careful
not to eat anything which is not
offered to Kṛṣṇa, prasādam. That
should be determination. We
cannot purchase things from the
market and eat. No. That is not
possible. We cannot eat. We can
simply eat such things which are
offered to the Deity, Kṛṣṇa. That
is yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ. Even if we
have committed some sin, by
eating this prasādam we
counteract it. Mucyante sarva-
kilbiṣaiḥ. Yajña-śiṣṭa. Aśiṣṭa
means the remnants of foodstuff
after offering yajña. If one eats,
then mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ.
Because our life is sinful, so we
become, I mean to say, freed
from the sinful activities. How it
is? That is also stated in the
Bhagavad-gītā. Ahaṁ tvāṁ
sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi:
“If you surrender unto Me, then
I’ll give you protection from all
sinful reactions.” So if you make
it a vow that “I shall not eat
anything which is not offered to
Kṛṣṇa,” that means it is a
surrender. You surrender to
Kṛṣṇa, that “My dear Lord, I shall
not eat anything which is not
offered to You.” That’s vow. That
vow is surrender. And because
there is surrender, you are
protected from the sinful
reaction.
All right.