Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Blog, page 111

Manufacturing truth

I cannot fashion truth. Truth is true. Fire is hot. That is true. If I imagine that fire is cold, is that philosophy? Who does not know what is truth, they imagine or manufacture truth. Just like Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, yata mata tata patha, “You can manufacture your truth.” That is going on. The hippies, they are manufacturing their truth. So truth cannot be manufactured. Truth is truth. That is called absolute truth. Not relative truth, absolute truth. You can manufacture relative truth, but absolute truth is one, just like Bhagavata says. Who is meditated upon? Who is worshiped? The Absolute Truth. So they have no knowledge of the absolute. All they know is the relative truth.

Srila Prabhupada, Conversation regarding philosopher Kierkegaard.

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False happiness

This is a false happiness, that “If I get money, I’ll be happy.” That is false. So many men, they have got money. We see practically. The whole European civilization, American civilization, is based on this fundamental idea that “Let us have money and we shall be happy.” And nobody is happy. Nobody is happy, a single man. Very big, big buildings, very nice car, very nice road, but there is no question of happiness. Always restlessness.

Srila Prabhupada, Room Conversation with Vrindavan De — July 6, 1977, Vrndavana

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Modern education produces fools

Panditah — one who is actually learned, one who has got real spiritual knowledge — he does not make any distinction between a learned brahmana and a dog or a candala because he knows that the dog is also living entity, the candala is also a living entity and the learned brahmana is also a living entity, the elephant is also living entity. But they are in different dresses therefore: panditah sama-darsinah. That if people become panditah — learned, then this quarrel between Pakistani and Hindustani and this, this svami, that svami will stop, but they are not learned and the school, colleges are not giving them real learning. They are already fools, eh? Abodha jata, the Sanskrit word is abodha: “born fools, rascals,” and they are being made more fools and rascals. Formerly the education system was that the fools and rascals were enlightened to understand his self, self-realization, that is education. At the present moment the so-called education means they are already fools and they are being made more fools.

“Oh you are born in America, you should think like this, you are American country, you are Westerner.” He is already fool, he has accepted, identified with this body and he is being educated more and more concentrating on that bodily concept of life. This is called avidya, this is not vidya. So all this schools, colleges, they are simply distributing avidya, not vidya.

There is not a single institution at the present moment, all over the world, where real education is going on.

From SP’s discussion regarding philosopher Edmund Husserl.

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Krsna consciousness in a nutshell

God is one, He is a person, and He’s Krsna. And we are following what Krsna says.

Srila Prabhupada, Conversation – October 13, 1977, Vrndavana

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Don’t give up your occupational duty

The right understanding of Bhagavad-gita is Arjuna’s understanding. In other words, Arjuna came to the conclusion that he must perform his occupational duty, not as a material obligation, for reasons of wife, family, friends, reputation, professional integrity, like that — no. Rather he must conduct the functions of his station of life only as a devotional service performed for Krsna. That means that devotional service is what is important, not my occupational duty. But it does not mean that because occupation duty is not the real consideration, that I should give it up and do something else, thinking that devotional service may be carried on under whatever circumstances which I may whimsically decide. Krsna recommended Arjuna to remain as he was, not to disrupt the order of society and go against his own nature just for convenience sake. Our occupational duty is not arbitrary, that means once we have taken up some field of action, if we are advanced in our understanding, then we shall not change it for another. Rather our devotion is the important factor, so what does it matter what I am doing so long my work and energy are completely devoted to Krsna?

From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Madhukara, 4 January, 1973

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Radha-Krsna pastimes can only be understood by elevated devotees

In His spiritual form, Krsna enjoys His spiritual energy, and that is the sum and substance of the Radha-Krsna pastimes. These pastimes can only be understood by elevated devotees. One should not try to understand the Radha-Krsna potencies and pastimes from the mundane platform.

Generally people misunderstand these as being material.

From Teachings of Lord Caitanya by Srila Prabhupada, Ch. 31

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No need of liberation

We do not want liberation. We want to serve the purpose of the Gosvamis, in association with pure devotees. To stop birth and death is not our purpose.

Srila Prabhupada, Room Conversation – October 14, 1977, Vrndavana

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Our misfortune

We are suffering every moment, and still, we are thinking we are very happy. Therefore it is our misfortune, that human life is meant for understanding, “What is the position of my life? Why I am suffering?” So for that understanding Krsna has given us so many Vedic literature: four Vedas and the Puranas and the Upanisad and Vedanta-sutra, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Ramayana, Mahabharata. We have got enough source of knowledge, treasure house of knowledge, but we are reluctant. We are busy with the newspaper. We have got time to waste our time to read the newspaper, bunch of newspaper, but we have no time to read Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam or Vedanta-sutra, the books of actual knowledge. This is our misfortune.

Srila Prabhupada, Talk on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.41 – December 9, 1974, Bombay

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Attachment to sadhus

The attachment we have got for material enjoyment, similar attachment should be for the sadhu, that’s all. Suppose I want to drink. As I become mad without getting any drinking, similarly, when you become mad without sadhu-sanga, then you are liberated. You have to simply divert the attachment. Not to speak of drinking, even those who are smoker, if he cannot smoke for one hour, his throat becomes dried up, “Give me bidi. Give me bidi.” So as you have got attachment for the bidi, similar attachment for sadhu will be our liberation.

Srila Prabhupada, Talk on Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.24 – November 24, 1974, Bombay

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A Mayavadi’s ideas

Tamala Krsna: Dr. Kapoor was there this morning. I was not there during the part where he spoke, but apparently he spoke some Mayavadi philosophy, this Dr. O.B.L. Kapoor.

Gurukrpa: He said that everything is made of molecules, and molecules are invisible; therefore actually everything is invisible. Therefore everything is like a dream; everything is unreal. [laughter]

Bhagavan: He was preaching the philosophy that this material world is false. He was getting up there and saying that actually this table does not exist. [laughs] Nothing actually exists. He said the table is made of molecules, and the molecules are invisible. Therefore the table is also invisible.

Tamala Krsna: This is the result of all of his years of study in order to write his book. He’s become a Mayavadi. Or at least his… Madhava dasa, our Madhava dasa, he got up and completely defeated him.

Gurukrpa: If everything is invisible, then he should also become invisible.

Tamala Krsna: Acyutananda Maharaja said, “Then someone should have got up and said, ‘Then why are you speaking if it is all a dream? Why are you even talking? Then your talking is also a dream, so why not sit down?'”

Bhavananda: He said, “If everything is invisible, then how about me taking this invisible chair and smashing it over your invisible head?”

Tamala Krsna: [laughing] Doctor Kapoor is really something.

Prabhupada: He has become Mayavadi.

Tamala Krsna: Yes, Srila Prabhupada. [laughter] Does that sound possible? It sounds possible, doesn’t it? Yes.

Gurukrpa: He said before he met His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta that he was a Mayavadi. Now he’s still a Mayavadi.

Tamala Krsna: Well, he gave up his… He became part of this Nitai-Gaura-Radhe-Syama group. And how genuine could he be to do that? Anyway, no one took him very seriously.

Room Conversation – October 14, 1977, Vrndavana

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