"Nothing Is Material" 73/09/29 Bombay, Bhagavad-gita 13.6-7

Prabhupada:

maha-bhutany ahankaro
buddhir avyaktam eva ca
indriyani dasaikam ca
panca cendriya-gocarah

iccha dvesah sukham duhkham
sanghatas cetana dhrtih
etat ksetram samasena
sa-vikaram udahrtam

Krsna is discussing ksetra, ksetrajnah, jnana, and jneyam. So ksetra... Idam sariram ksetram ity abhidhiyate. This body is the ksetra. Ksetra means the field of activities. Just like a cultivator, he has got a certain portion of land and according to the land, he is seeding, sowing the seeds of grains, and as he's working, he's getting the profit by agricultural product, similarly, this body is a field, is field, and we are sowing the seed, karma, sowing the seed and getting the result. Karmana daiva-netrena.

Why we have got different types of bodies? Why we haven't got, everyone, the same type of body? Somebody is fat, somebody is very thin, somebody white, somebody black, somebody very beautiful, somebody very ugly. There are so many varieties of bodies. Why? Sanghata. This is combination, color combination. There are three gunas. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]. As you are associating with the gunas, you are getting different types of body.

That is, Krsna is explaining here, that maha-bhutany ahankara. The ahankara is very important thing. False ahankara and real ahankara. Ahankara means law of identity. "I am Indian," this is ahankara. "I am American," this is ahankara. "I am rich man," this is also ahankara. "I am poor man." There are so many ahankaras, law of identification. So this ahankara is the basis of getting a type of body, And... This is the subtle basis, ahankara. Mano buddhir ahankara. There are eight material elements: bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca. That is stated in the seventh chapter. This earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence, and ahankara. This is creating my different types of body.

Krsna therefore says, maha-bhutany ahankaro buddhir avyaktam eva ca. Avyaktam means the total material substance. Just like when you construct a house there are heaps of materials, some stone, some cement, some woods, some iron, and you combine together... Tejo-vari-mrd-vinimayam. This whole world is exchange of three things: teja, fire, vari, means water, and mrt, means earth. So what is this Bombay city? The Bombay city is a heap of tejo-vari-mrd-vinimayah. And... Here is one expert engineer, he knows how to mix these three things, tejo-vari-mrd-vinimayam, exchange. If there was no stock of tej o-vari-mrd-vinimayam, you could not build such a nice city. But who is supplying the ingredients? Can you create earth? No. Can you create water? No. You cannot create. You are simply working. You are simply working hard mixing them. That's all. Tejo vari-mrd-vinimayam. You cannot create. That is not possible. The creator is God. The creator is God. That is stated in the seventh chapter, prakrtir me astadha. Me, Krsna says, "It is mine."

So this is called illusion. We are using Krsna's property, but we are claiming "our." That is called illusion. Therefore sastra says, Veda says, isavasyam idam sarvam: "Everything belongs to God." You cannot create this big mass of water, sea, or ocean. That is not possible. Who has created? Somebody has created. That is stated in the sastra. There is perspiration. This water is perspiration of Maha-Visnu. We can understand because we are minute particle of Maha-Visnu. Mamaivamso jiva-bhutah [Bg. 15.7]. So sometimes we perspire and create some water, say, half an ounce water. But if somebody has unlimited power to perspire and create water, where is the difficulty to understand? There is no difficulty. If you take it for acceptance that this vast mass of water has come from the perspiration of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So there is nothing to deny this fact. Acintya-sakti. Acintya-sakti means inconceivable power. We have got inconceivable power. Because we are minute particle of God, we have also minute inconceivable power. We do not know how the hairs are growing, but the energy is there within me. Similarly, so many things come out from the inconceivable power of Krsna. Therefore Krsna claims,

bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha

"They are My separated energy." So this whole earth is creation of these five elements, gross elements. So it is Krsna's property. How we can claim, "This is our property?" That is illusion. We are claiming, "This portion is American," "This portion is Indian," "This portion is Pakistani," but we do not know that no portion belongs to us; everything belongs to Krsna.

For practical purpose, even if we accept that the whole world belongs to Krsna, God, and we are sons of God, we have got right to use the property of father, so you can use. But the difficulty is that we are claiming that "This portion is mine, this portion is mine." But if we don't claim like that, everything belongs to God, that is practical communism. If we accept the whole world as the property of God, make God-centered communism... The Russians, they are making the state-center communism. But if you make God center... That is Isopanisad, isavasyam idam sarvam: "Everything belongs to God." And everyone has, that is stated in the sastra, that everything belongs to God, everything is property of God, and we can utilize. We can use that. Yavad artha-prayojanam. As much as we require, we can take.

Just like the birds and beasts. They are living on nature's condition. The bird will go to a tree and eat some fruit, but not more than he requires; neither he will take the fruit at his home to stock for next day or for making black market. No. We have created all this nonsense situation by claiming God's property as ours. This is the mistake. But the rascal leaders, they do not know what mistake they have committed in the beginning.

Stena eva sa ucyate. Everything belongs to God. Therefore everything should be employed in the service of God. This is our Krsna consciousness philosophy. We do not take anything which has no connection with Krsna. We take everything... Just like we are using this microphone. We do not think it is material. Because it is being used for Krsna's purpose, therefore it is spiritual. That is the difference between material and spiritual. When you accept it as your own or for your own sense gratification, that is material. And if you accept everything as Krsna's and you simply take Krsna's prasadam, then it is spiritual.
We are not Mayavadi philosophers that we say, brahma satyam jagan mithya. No. Why jagat should be mithya? If Krsna is truth, God is truth, the jagat is also truth because it is the energy of Krsna. Krsna says, bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh. Therefore our Gosvamis prescribed,

prapancikataya buddhya
hari-sambandhi-vastunah
mumuksubhih parityago
phalgu vairagyam kathyate

Prapancikataya buddhya. (sharp cracking sound; aside:) What is this sound? Prapancika-buddhya, by accepting something as material, hari-sambandhi-vastunah, but it has connection with Hari, so if we give it up, then it is phalgu-vairagya. Just like this, for land we are fighting. Because we are thinking that "Krsna has come here, Krsna is seated here. It cannot be vacated." We are not thinking that it is a material thing. This is an example.

Just like Arjuna. Arjuna fought because he thought that this war, this Kuruksetra battle is for the satisfaction of Krsna. Karisye vacanam tava [Bg. 18.73]. In the beginning, Arjuna denied to fight. He thought, "Why shall I fight with my kinsmen? Let them enjoy." But when he understood that "It is Krsna's desire," nimitta-matram bhava savyasacin: "It is already planned." Krsna said, "My dear Arjuna, you are thinking that you'll save your relatives, but you are wrong. It is already planned. Those who have come here, they must be killed. That is already my plan. You simply become an instrument." Nimitta-matram bhava savyasacin. So when Arjuna understood that "It is the Krsna's plan. Then I am servant of Krsna; I must satisfy Krsna." Arjuna therefore asked, Krsna therefore asked Arjuna, "Now, after hearing my instruction in the Bhagavad-gita, what you are going to do?" Arjuna replied, nasto mohah smrtir labdha. "My Lord Krsna, my illusion is now over." Smrtir labdha, "I have got my remembrance. Everything belongs to You. For Your satisfaction everything must be done." Karisye vacanam tava [Bg. 18.73]. "Yes, I'll fight."

This is Krsna consciousness. So long you think it is for your satisfaction, that is material. And as soon as you think, as soon as you understand that everything belongs to Krsna and everything should be used for the service of Krsna, that is spiritual. That is the distinction between material and spiritual. There is nothing like that spiritually something wonderful. But everything... Isavasyam idam sarvam. If everything belongs to Krsna, where is material? There is nothing material. Everything is spiritual, but we do not know how to use it. Therefore it is material. When you forget Krsna, when you forget the proprietorship of Krsna upon everything, that is material. Hari-sambandhena. Krsna-sambandhe. Nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam ucyate. This is the injunction of the Gosvamis, that we have to accept everything as Krsna. That is the fact.

And we are using everything without utilizing for Krsna's purpose; therefore it is material. And in the Bhagavad-gita it is said, stena eva sa ucyate: "He is thief. He is thief." Yanarthat karmano 'nyatra loko 'yam karma-bandhanah [Bg. 3.9]. As one man is criminal because he does not satisfy the state... What is the position of a criminal person? Because he disobeys the laws of the state, he is criminal. That is the distinction between a good citizen and a criminal citizen. One who does not obey the laws of the state, he is criminal. So everyone who does not obey the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is criminal. Stena eva sa ucyate. This is the verdict of the sastra. Forgetfulness of Krsna, or God, is materialism, and not to use things for Krsna's satisfaction is criminality.

So people do not understand these things. Krsna therefore explaining that "This body..." Maha-bhutany ahankaro buddhir avyaktam eva ca indriyani dasaikam ca. Indriyani, these ten senses, five senses for acquiring knowledge and five senses for acting, ten, and the mind, ten and one, eleven... Indriyani dasaikam ca panca cendriya-gocarah. Indriya-gocarah, the object of sense gratification, tan-matra. Just like rupa-rasa-gandha-sabda-sparsa. Beauty. Rupa-rasa, taste. Rupa-rasa-gandha, smell; sabda, sound; sparsa, touch. These are the objects of enjoyment. Our eyes are there. We are hankering after seeing very beautiful things. Rupa-rasa. The tongue is there. We are always trying to taste very nice eatables. Gandha. Nose is there. We want to smell very flavorable flowers and other things. In this way we have got indriyas, senses, and this body made of gross elements, and the ahankara and buddhi, buddhi. Mano buddhir ahankarah. These are the subtle body. In this way this ksetra, this body, is combination of all these things. Combination of all these things. Now it is very...

maha-bhutany ahankaro
buddhir avyaktam eva ca
indriyani dasaikam ca
panca cendriya-gocarah

Iccha-dvesa... This is the iccha-dvesa, action of the mind, willing, feeling. Iccha-dvesa. Sometimes we like something, sometimes we do not like. This is called iccha-dvesa. Iccha dvesa-samutthena sarge yanti parantapa. We take birth within this material world according to iccha and dvesa. These two things are there. Something we like, something we do not like.

iccha-dvesah sukham duhkham
sanghatas cetana dhrtih
etat ksetram samasena
sa-vikaram udahrtam

This is the combination of all these things. That has made this body. So the composition is very subtle.

Good chemists, they can understand how by combining different elements they can produce something. So these chemical products of this body is described by Krsna very nicely, gross chemical and subtle chemical. But I am different from this. That is knowledge. I am different from this combination. But that we do not know. That is ignorance. I am thinking that "I am this combination," and I am thinking, "Wherefrom this combination has come into being, that is my place." That is described in the sastras, yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma idya-dhih [SB 10.84.13]. The chemicals comes from the earth. So everything in my body, they have come from these material elements and I'm identifying, "This place is mine because this body is born out of these elements." That is going on as nationalism. Bhauma idya-dhih. Bhauma idya-dhih. They'll not prefer worshiping Krsna. They'll prefer worshiping that land from which this body has emanated. Bhauma idya-dhih.

So sastra says, "Anyone who identifies this body as self," yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke... This body is made of three dhatus, kapha, pitta, vayu, according to Ayurveda system. Kapha, mucus, and bile. Kapha pitta vayu. Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke sva-dhih kalatradisu [SB 10.84.13]. And kinsmen, my own persons, sva-dhih kalatradisu, wife and production from the wife, children. Or dynasty, family, community. Sva-dhih kalatradisu. Yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma idya-dhih [SB 10.84.13]. And that land, "This is my birthplace. This is worshipable." Yat-tirtha-buddhih salile na karhicij. And they go to the places, holy places of pilgrimage, tirtha-buddhih salile.

Just like somebody goes to Haridwar, Vrndavana. They finish their tirtha, going, taking so much trouble. Just like in Calcutta there is Ganges, but people will go to Haridwar for taking bath in the Ganges there. Why it is prescribed? Not for the Ganges. The Ganges is there already in Calcutta. But if you go to a holy place, you'll find saintly person. That is required. But if you simply go to the holy places and take bath in the water and finish your business... No. That is not recommended. Tirtha, going to tirtha means to find out a learned saintly person and take knowledge from him. That is tirtha.

Therefore it is said, yat-tirtha-buddhih salile na karhicij janesv abhijnesu. Those who are expert in giving knowledge, we should associate. Satam prasangan mama virya-samvido bhavanti hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah. If we associate with saintly persons and hear from them Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literatures, then hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah, it becomes appealing to the heart, hrt, and pleasing to the ear. Hrt-karna-rasayanah kathah taj-josanad. And if you bring them into practical purposes, apply in your life, then sraddha bhaktir ratir anukramisyati. Then gradually you'll become faithful to the Supreme. Sraddha bhaktir. You'll develop your natural instincts of devotional service. Sraddha bhaktir ratir, attachment. Anukramisyati, one after another. This is the process.

Unfortunately, we are not taking advantage of these prerogatives of human life. We are simply engaged like cats and dogs for utilizing our life: eating, sleeping, sex life and defense. Ahara-nidra-bhayam maithunam ca samanyam etat pasubhir naranam. These demands of the body, eating, sleeping, sex life and defense, that is there in the animal life. Then where is the difference between the animal life and human life? Unless you become inquisitive to know, athato brahma jijnasa.

Therefore Vedanta-sutra says that this life is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth, tattva-jijnasa. Jivasya tattva-jijnasa. In the Bhagavata also says. Athato brahma jijnasa. So this Krsna consciousness movement is awakening the dormant inquiry of the human society to inquire "What I am? What is God? What is my relationship with God? Why I have come here in this material world? What is the reason? Why I am suffering? I don't want to die, but why death is forced upon me?" These are the questions to be solved in human life. Not the economic development. There is no question of economic development. Everyone is taken care by the mercy of God. Just like we are human beings. We are only four hundred thousand species, forms. But out of eight million four hundred thousand species, the eight millions forms of life, birds, beasts, they are taking [taken] care. There is no economic development program. They are eating very nicely. In Africa there are millions of elephants. They are eating very nicely. There is no question of scarcity of food. So why don't you think like that? Tasyaiva hetoh prayeteta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhah.

Therefore human life is simply meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth, not for engaging oneself for this so-called economic development. That is already there by God's arrangement. Actually, I am wandering all over the world. There are immense space in this planet also. In Africa, in Australia, ten times of the population can be accommodated, and they can produce their food. But the isavasya... We have forgotten that everything belongs to God. We are thinking "It is my land. You cannot come here. It is my land. You cannot come here." This mismanagement of the human society is the cause of all troubles, all problems. Therefore the human society must have Krsna consciousness to solve all the problems of life. Thank you very much. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 13.6-7 -- Bombay, September 29, 1973