"Material Happiness Is Not All" 73/09/24 Bombay, Bhagavad-gita 13.1-2

Prabhupada: "Nature, the Enjoyer, and Consciousness." This is the thirteenth chapter of Bhagavad-gita. The Lord is describing what is this material nature, who is the enjoyer of this material nature and what is the consciousness. We are preaching about Krsna consciousness. Now, in this chapter Krsna Himself is describing what is Krsna consciousness. Arjuna uvaca. Arjuna inquired,

prakrtim purusam caiva
ksetram ksetrajnam eva ca
etad veditum icchami
jnanam jneyam ca kesava

Krsna is addressed here as Kesava, "the killer of the Kesi asura." You know, in Vrndavana there is Kesi-ghata. That Kesi-ghata is famous because Krsna killed one asura of the name Kesi. He appeared in Vrndavana as a ferocious horse and Krsna killed him. Since then, his name is Kesava. Krsna has got many names according to His activities. He killed the demon Madhu, therefore his name is Madhusudana. He killed the demon Kamsa, therefore his name is Kamsahani. There are many names. Some of the names are in relationship with His devotees, and some of the names are there in relationship with the demons.

There are two kinds of men: the devotees and the demons. Daiva asura eva ca.

dvau bhuta-sargau loke
daiva asura eva ca
visnu-bhakto bhaved daiva
asuras tad viparyayah

Throughout the universe there are two classes of men. One is called devata and the other is called asura. Devata means visnu-bhakto bhaved daivah. Those who are devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as Visnu... Visnu has got... Sahasra visnu names there are. Original is Visnu. So those who are devotees of the Lord, they are called Vaisnava or devata, and those who are not devotees of Visnu may be devotees of other demigods, but they are called the demons or the asuras. There are many instances in the sastra. There were Hiranyakasipu, who was a devotee of Lord Brahma. Of course, the asuras are never devotees. Sometimes they worship the demigods for getting some material profit. Kanksantah karmanam siddhim yajanta iha devatah. That is said in the Bhagavad-gita. Kanksantah karmanam siddhim.

Here everyone is engaged in fruitive activities, karma. Karma in this life and karma in the next life also. So performing great sacrifices, giving in charity, pious activities, they are also karma. They are meant for giving opportunity in the next life, a position in the heavenly planet or similar other higher planetary system where the standard of living is very, very comfortable, thousands and thousands times better than the standard of life in this planet. But that is also karma. Kanksantah karmanam siddhim yajanta iha devatah.

So people, they want to enjoy life within this material world, but actually there is no enjoyment in the material world. Because, Krsna says, there is birth, there is death, there is old age, and there is disease. So where is your happiness? After all, you have to die. Suppose I make very good arrangement, very nice house, very nice bank balance, very nice wife, children, everything, but death can come at any moment. Then where is your perfection? If after so much hard labor everything is ready for enjoyment, but I am called by Yamaraja... Mrtyuh sarva-haras caham. Death takes away everything. Therefore you cannot say the arrangement you made for happy life is perfect. That is not perfect. But foolish people, they do not know what is perfection. They simply want superficial, temporary happiness, never mind what will happen next life or few years after.

Just like children, they want to play without caring for future life. But it is the duty of the guardians to engage them in education so that in future they may be happy. Similarly, all the great sages, saintly persons, just like Vyasadeva, Narada, Devala, Asita, many, many great saintly persons, sages... Even Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes to give us instruction so that we can become eternally happy.

Unfortunately, in this age, which is called Kali-yuga, the people are so low-grade that they do not like to hear all these instructions of great sages, saintly persons or even of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the defect of this age. Therefore in the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said mandah. Mandah means slow, at the same time, very bad.

prayenalpayusah sabhya
kalav asmin yuge janah
mandah sumanda-matayo
manda-bhagya hy upadrutah
[SB 1.1.10]

In this age people are short-living. Their duration of life is very, very short, so much so that at the end of this age the duration of life will come down to twenty years to thirty years. A man of twenty-five years will be considered as very old man. These are stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. And there will be scarcity of food. On account of this scarcity of food, people will not grow very healthy.

It is already happening. Rice is selling seven rupees kilo, nine rupees kilo. How a poor man will eat? So the more the Kali-yuga will advance... Now we are getting ten rupees or twelve rupees or nine rupees kilo rice, but rice will not be available at all. That is also stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Because people are becoming Godless, naturally the material nature will put them into suffering. That is the laws of nature. Daivi hy esa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya [Bg. 7.14].

Just like if you become criminal, the police department is there. The police department will give you pains, chastisement. Similarly, the more we become Godless, the more we become careless to fulfill the mission of human life, the more nature will give us trouble. There will be no rain. Anavrsti, anavrsti and durbhiksa, scarcity of foodstuff, and taxation by the government. These are the symptoms of Kali-yuga mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. And people will become so much harassed by these three things that they will voluntarily give up their hearth and home and go to the forest.

Therefore those who are actually intelligent, they should not neglect this movement, Krsna consciousness movement. It is the greatest welfare movement for the whole human society to make people God conscious, Krsna conscious, without which there will be so many troubles. It is already there. So everyone is trying to enjoy the prakrti, the material nature. Therefore the question is prakrtim purusam caiva ksetram ksetrajnam eva ca. This is material nature and anyone who is trying to enjoy this material nature, he is called purusa. Purusa means enjoyer and prakrti means enjoyed. Just like in ordinary life we see a man is supposed to be enjoyer and the woman is supposed to be enjoyed, similarly, prakrti is feminine gender and purusa is masculine gender. Anyone who is trying to enjoy, he is purusa. It doesn't matter, outwardly he's dressed as man or women; if he has got the desire to enjoy, that is called purusa. And his object that is enjoyed, that is called prakrti.

So Arjuna is asking this question, prakrtim purusam caiva: "Kindly give me instruction about this prakrti and purusa." Ksetram. Ksetram means the field of activity, and ksetrajnam. Ksetrajnam means one who knows, "This is my field." Just like the cultivator, he cultivates the land. From government there is demarcation of the land. The cultivator knows, "This is my portion of land." Similarly, every one of us, we are cultivating and we are given a field. This is the body. The spirit soul is the owner of the body or the occupier of the body. Actually, he's not the owner. That will be explained by Krsna. Idam sariram kaunteya ksetram ity abhidhiyate [Bg. 13.2]. "This body, my dear Arjuna, is called ksetra." Ksetra means the field of activities.

I am a human being. Because I have got this body, I am acting in a different way than the cats and dogs, because he has got a different type of body. His field of activities is different; my field of activity is different. So according to the body we are acting. Idam sariram ksetram. And there are eight million four hundred thousand types of bodies. Jalaja nava laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati krmayo rudra-sankhyakah. Not one type of body. Nine hundred thousand forms of body in the water, jalaja nava-laksani.

The botanists or the expert scientists, they cannot say how many forms of lives are there in the water. Sthavara laksa-vimsati. The botanists there are, but they do not know how many forms of vegetable, trees, and plants are there. But in the sastra it is said, sthavara laksa-vimsati: "Two million types of bodies, trees, plants, grass, two millions." Everything is specifically mentioned. In this way, there are insects also, krmayo rudra-sankhyakah. There are birds, paksinam dasa-laksanam, one million types of birds.

Then human being, manusyah catur-laksani, only four hundred thousand forms of human life, of which the civilized form of life, especially those who are born in India... To take birth in India, Bharata-varsa, is a great fortune. Unfortunately, we are neglecting this facility given by nature. Because in India there were so many saintly persons, so many great sages... Even Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He descended on this country, India, Bharata-varsa. There were kings like Maharaja Bharata. There were kings like Maharaja Iksvaku. There was king like Maharaja Yudhisthira, Pariksit, so many. Unfortunately, we are neglecting our own culture. We are now imitating how to become technologist. This is the position of India. Nobody is interested to take this culture of Krsna consciousness seriously.

But in the Western countries, where they have tasted very well the fruits of material advancement of life... Therefore the young men there, they are not very much interested to live like their fathers and forefathers. They are taking very much interest in Krsna consciousness. So in India they have come that "Material happiness is not all." That is required. To make the best use of a bad bargain.

But our ultimate goal of life is spiritual realization. The Bhagavad-gita is there. So many other sastras are there, but Bhagavad-gita is the beginning of spiritual life, ABCD. So even if we do not learn the ABCD of spiritual life, how our life will be successful in the mission?

So our only aim is to spread this Krsna consciousness, spiritual life, all over the world. We have got more than a hundred temples all over the world, but we wanted one also in Bombay. Therefore we took this land. It was not meant for making any business. Even if we had this land after paying so much money, we are not going to make any profit out of it. The money will be blocked[?]. But if we want to have it, it is for the reason that the people of Bombay may take interest in Krsna consciousness movement so that their life may become successful.

So I'll remain here for a few days. I'll come here in the evening. If you like, you can come also and hear from Bhagavad-gita and shall be very happy. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 13.1-2 -- Bombay, September 24, 1973