Nectar of Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad Bhagavatam lectures Volume 6, Part 3

Srila Prabhupada's Lotus feet

Lectures, February 10, 1975, Los Angeles 
              
…the Western countries all these philosophers... The Darwin's theory...He cannot give any reasonable cause. Some theory: "It may be, perhaps, for millions of years there was no..." Speculate. And he admits that "Whatever I am presenting, it is all my speculation." We have seen his letter, some, from 150 years ago. He wrote a letter to a friend. He admitted that "Whatever I am presenting, that is speculation." But science is not speculation. Science cannot be speculation. That is not science. "Two plus two equal to four"--this is science. And if you speculate--"Two plus two equal to five" or "Two plus two equal to three"--that is not science.

Lectures, April 20, 1972, Tokyo 
              
Prabhupada: No, this same verse. Practice it. In this way you practice one mantra daily. Each mantra will purify you hundred yards daily. Go forward. These mantras are very powerful, given by Vyasadeva Gosvami, vibrated. And spoken by... Suka-mukhad drava-samyutamrtam. That is explained in the beginning. Just like a ripened fruit in the tree is

already very sweet, and if it is touched by the beak of the parrot, it becomes sweeter. These are natural course. If the parrot touches the fruit, he cuts little by his beak. Then it becomes still sweeter. Suka-mukhad drava-samyutam. Similarly, Srimad-Bhagavatam is already sublime, transcendental. And when it is spoken through the mouth of Sukadeva Gosvami, it becomes still sweet, just like the fruit. The parrot is also called suka. It is called suka-paksi, suka bird. So this comparison is given. …And if we chant that... Just like you are chanting so many songs, similarly, if we chant one or two verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam, that will make you very quickly advanced for spiritual realization. We are therefore taking so much trouble to get  this transliteration, the meaning, so that the reader may take advanced step, full advantage of the mantra. It is not that to show some scholarship, that "I know so much Sanskrit." No. It is just offered with humility to learn the mantra because one who will chant the mantra... They are all transcendental vibration. Just Hare Krishna mantra... This is maha-mantra, but they are also mantras, all the verses from Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, spoken by Krishna. Vyasadeva is incarnation of Krishna. They're also mantras, infallible instructions. So try to get it by heart, chanting. Either you chant by seeing the book or get it by heart, it is all the same. But try to chant one, two slokas daily. Chant.             

Lectures, April 20, 1972, Tokyo

So you have to study like that.  So many slokas, I am taking so much labor. If you do not read it carefully... It is not for that I am making business, for selling only, and not for my students. You must all read like this, practice. Why so much trouble is being taken, word to word meaning and then transliteration? If you chant this mantra, that vibration will cleanse the atmosphere. And wherever you go, in any part of the world, if you can chant this mantra, oh, you'll be received like God. It is so nice. And in India he'll actually receive like Gods if you chant this mantra. They will so offer their respects, so many. Veda-mantra.  
 

Lectures, April 20, 1972, Tokyo
              
Karandhara: "Now the next question will automatically be made as to why the Lord influences the living entity to such consciousness and forgetfulness. The answer is that the Lord clearly wishes that every living entity be engaged in his pure consciousness as the part and parcel of the Lord, and thus be engaged in loving service of the Lord as he is constitutionally made. But because the living entity is partially independent also, he may not be willing to serve the Lord, but may try to become independent as the Lord is. The whole nondevotee class of living entities are all desirous of becoming equally as powerful as the Lord, although they are not fit to become so. The living entities are..."
 

.. So the yogic siddhis... So Krishna gives him some power of yogic siddhi and he thinks that "I have become God," and some flatterers, they also think, "Oh, you are God." The same dream. And as soon as death comes, everything finished, your Godhood and everything finished. Now becomes doghood, come to the stage of doghood. Again, another dream: "I am dog." First of all "I am God," then next stage, "I am dog." This is going on. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Thakura said, keno mayar bose jaccho bhese': "Why you are being washed away by the waves of maya? Just fix up. Stand up." Jiv Krishna-das ei viswas korle to ar duhkho nai. You simply remain fixed up on this standpoint, that, "I am eternal servant of Krishna." Then there is no more dream. And if you allow yourself to be washed away, Krishna gives you facility, "All right, come on. Be washed away." Then?
 

.. Therefore the first sinful will of the living entity is to become the Lord, and the consequent will of the Lord is that the living entity forgets his actual life and thus dreams of the land of utopia where he may become one like the Lord. The child cries to have the moon from the mother and the mother gives the child a mirror to satisfy the crying and disturbing child with the shadow of the moon. Similarly the crying child of the Lord is given over to the shadow of the material world to lord it over as a karmi and to give this up in frustration to become one with the Lord. Both these stages are dreaming illusions only. There is no necessity of tracing out the history when the living entity desired this, but the fact is that as soon as he desired such, he was put under the control of atma-maya by the direction of the Lord. Therefore the living entity in his material condition is dreaming falsely that this is 'mine' and this is 'I.' The dream is that the conditioned soul thinks of his material body as 'I' or falsely thinks that he is the lord and that everything in connection with the material body is 'mine.'
 

Prabhupada: So as soon as you understand that "This is not... I am not in contact with tiger. It is all a dream," then you are delivered. Similarly, as soon as you understand, "All this material condition of life we are simply dreaming; I am actually servant of Krishna," then you are liberated. That is Krishna conscious. If you keep in Krishna consciousness, that "I am eternal servant of Krishna," then you are liberated. Sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaa kalpate, Krishna says. Immediately brahma-bhutah. Brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati. He has no more lamentation, no more hankering. Samah sarvesu bhutesu. He can see everyone on equal vision. Because he knows, "Here is also another living entity." He is not a Chinaman. He is a part and parcel of God. He is not a Christian. He is not a Hindu. He is simply thinking like that. So give him Krishna consciousness. That is real benefit, to bring him to the original position. Yes?
 

.. Trivikrama: This feeling that we have, that we are fallen, that we are very fallen...
 

Prabhupada: That is also illusion. You are fallen means you have got some certain desires except service of Krishna. Therefore the conclusion is that if you keep yourself tightly in Krishna's service, there is no question of falling down or there is no question of maya. You see?

Devotee: Even at that state, still the body is affected by the modes of nature. We are experiencing desires.

Prabhupada: You are not experiencing. Your body is experiencing. You are feeling cold due to this body. You are not feeling cold.
 

Devotee: But I think I am feeling cold.

Prabhupada: You are thinking. That is illusion.

Devotee: So rise above that.

Prabhupada: Yes. But not artificially, but this is the fact. You have to gradually rise to that platform. The fact is this. Just like when you are feverish, actually you are healthy, but it has come. So in the feverish condition you are thinking, "I am now feverish." But this feverish condition will not stay. You will come to the …these are coming and going. So if there is some feeling of pain and pleasure, simply just tolerate it, but don't be absorbed in that thought. That's all. Therefore titiksava. The first symptoms of a saintly person is titiksava, tolerant. So go on reading, go on understanding. Everything will be clear.