Anxiety Unlimitted 75/02/07 Hawaii, Bhagavad-gita 16.11

Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada



Nitai: "They believe that to gratify the senses unto the end of life is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus there is no end to their anxiety. Being bound by hundreds and thousands of desires, by lust and anger, they secure money by illegal means for sense gratification."

Prabhupada:

cintam aparimeyam ca
pralayantam upasritah
kamopabhoga-parama
etavad iti niscitah

asa-pasa-satair baddhah
kama-krodha-parayanah
ihante kama-bhogartham
anyayenartha-sancayan

So sometimes people say, the modern age... Modern age and past time or future, past, present and future, the real principles of life, they are the same. It does not change. Millions of years ago, the past and present and future as they were, at the present moment also, the same past present and future are there. So there is no question of modern age or past age, the nature's law is the same. Millions of years ago the sun was rising early in the morning, and it is rising early in the morning at present moment. There is no change. Millions of years ago all living entities were interested in eating, sleeping, mating and defending; the same thing is going on. There is no change.

So Krsna spoke all these words five thousand years ago. Apart from taking account of millions of years, because nature's law is the same, so even in those days, five thousand years ago, you'll find the demonic people as they are now. These words about the demons... There were demons like Ravana and Hiranyakasipu, Kamsa. So many demons there were, historical demons. But their process of life was the same as the modern demons. There is no change. Therefore sastra means it is for all the time, not that sastra was meant in the past for something else, and now something else. That is not the fact. That is, means, sastra, that it does not change. The time, place and atmosphere, according to that, everything is the same.

Now, formerly... It is said, anyayenartha-sancayan, to secure money by black market, anyayena. Nyaya means legal and anyaya means illegal. So anyayenartha-sancayan, the practice was there also at that time. It may be small scale, but the same thing is going on at the present moment which is known as black market. Black market means anyayenartha-sancayan, getting money by unfair means. That is called anyayena artha-sancayan. Anyaya means illegal; nyaya means legal. So these demons who are very much eager to accumulate money by black market, they are cintam aparimeyam, immeasurable anxiety. Anything you do in the material world, there will be cinta, anxiety.

Just like in our, this Krsna consciousness movement, the movement, all the activities, they are not material. They're all spiritual. But still, because it is being enacted in the material world, we have also so much anxiety because we are in the material world, although that anxiety also bhakti. That is nothing else. That is not material. When we are anxious how to protect a property, how to push on this movement, how people will take it, what line of action we shall take, this is also anxiety, but that anxiety is for Krsna. Therefore it is bhakti. Anxiety...

Even in Vrndavana there is anxiety. Radharani is in anxiety that "Krsna is not here. How Krsna will come?" The gopis are also in anxiety. Gopis are so in anxiety that about them it is said that when Krsna used to go to the forest for tending the cows, so gopis were thinking at home that "Krsna's feet is so soft that we hesitate to take his feet on our breast, but He is now walking in the forest, and there were so many stones and pricks, and they are giving pain to the Krsna's lotus feet." And thinking like this, they fainted. This is gopi. Krsna is out of the village, and they are at home, and they are thinking of Krsna, and they fainted. This is also anxiety, so much anxiety they fainted, but that is for Krsna.

Therefore gopis are exalted. Ramya kecid upasana vraja-vadhu-varga virya kalpita. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu He recommends, "There is no better type of worshiping Krsna than it was planned by the gopis." So there is also anxiety. So anxiety is spiritual anxiety and material anxiety. Spiritual anxiety means you are advancing in spiritual life, and material anxiety means you are going downhill. So cintam aparimeyam ca.

But we are speaking of the demons, materialistic persons. Demon means materialistic person, who are simply busy for these temporary bodily comforts. They do not know anything else. The body is material. Therefore all these activities for comforts of the body... That is demon, more or less. So cinta... the demons, they are anxiety. Everyone has anxiety, but their anxiety, aparimeyam. Just like ordinary man he has got some anxiety: "How to maintain my family? How to get some money to maintain family?" like that. But the demons, they are unmeasurable, unlimited. You'll find big, big businessmen. They have got very, very long project, "How to do this? How to do this? How to increase this factory? How to make it world-renowned?" and so on, so on, so on. There is no limit of anxiety. Cintam aparimeyam ca. Unlimited means they have no idea of future life, they do not believe, mostly, at the present moment. Formerly they used to believe, even these asuras.

Kamsa was a great asura, but still, he was thinking of future life. When he was informed that his sister's son, eighth son, will kill him, so he was trying to kill his sister. "Because sister is the source of the nephew coming, so better finish the sister." So still he was thinking, "What people will say? I shall kill my sister." So they were also thinking of future. But at the present moment the asuras are so advanced that they don't think of future life also. Don't think. Therefore pralayantam. Pralayantam means annihilation. Sada tad-bhava-bhavitah [Bg. 8.6]. The result is at the same time... Because at the time of death, yam yam bhavam smaran loke tyajaty ante kalevaram. Pralayantam means at the time of death, when we give up this body. Upasritah. Then we get a similar body next life. That is, I mean to say, arranged by the nature's law. Nature has nothing to do. It will automatically follow.

Just like you infect some disease, nature's law is that you must suffer from that disease. Nobody has got to do anything. The law is so... Nature's law is like that. If you take more food than you can digest... (aside:) (child crying) Where is that child? Then immediately there will be dysentery. This is nature's law. If you take more than you can digest, then immediately there will be indigestion, means you cannot assimilate so much food. That is nature's law. If you touch fire, either you touch or your innocent child touch, the fire will burn it. Fire will not consider that "Here is a child. Let me excuse." No, it will burn. This is nature's law. Similarly, the thoughts which you are maintaining during your lifetime, if that thought becomes prominent -- naturally it becomes -- at the time of death, then you are going to get a similar body. If you are thinking like a demon, then you get the demon's body next life. And if you are thinking like a devotee, then you get your next life back to home, back to Godhead. This is nature's law.

Therefore, if you practice instead of thinking like the demons, how to gratify senses... That is the demonic thought. They are concerned with this body. If you think of Krsna, how to serve Him, that is your perfection of life. Because you'll think at the time of death of Krsna. Ante narayana-smrtih. That is the perfection of life. Ante, at the time of death, if you remember Krsna, then your life is successful. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti kaunteya [Bg. 4.9]. So we have to do like that, not like the asuras or demons. Thinking must be there, but if you think of this body -- how to keep it very comfortably, how to enjoy senses, how to have more money, how to have more men or women, how to see naked dance, how to do, how to this, how to this -- then you are demon. And at the time of death, naturally we shall think of. Then I get again demonic life or animal life or tree life.

There are so many different forms of life. That is in our presence. Before us there are so many examples. If you get a life of a tree, naked... Tree is naked. He's not ashamed to remain naked. And for ten thousand years you stand up. Wherefrom this life comes? It requires thought. Why the world is not full of one kind of forms of life? Why there are different types of life? Because different desires and nature's law. Nature's law, there is no excuse, the same thing, that if a child even touches fire, nature is not very merciful. It will burn. Similarly, at the time of death we have to think very rightly. That is required. That is human life. You have to train yourself in such a way that at the time of death you think of Krsna.

Therefore Krsna advises, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65], mam evaisyasi asamsayam. Asamsayam, without any doubt. If you want to go back to home, back to Godhead, which is known as Krsnaloka, Vaikunthaloka... Vaikunthaloka means... Kuntha means this anxiety, and vaikuntha... Vigata-kuntha. Vigata means without. There is no more any anxiety. That is Vaikunthaloka, spiritual world. Material world is kuntha. Kuntha means anxiety, full of anxiety, and Vaikuntha means there is no anxiety. Everything is freedom. Sac-cid-ananda. Vaikuntha life means sac-cid-ananda. Krsna's body is sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah [Bs. 5.1]. Not only Krsna's body, anyone who lives in the spiritual world, his body is spiritual body, and spiritual body means sac, cit, ananda. Sat means eternal. Spiritual body never annihilates. The material body annihilates. Every one of us, we have got now material body. It will annihilate. But in the spiritual world, when you have got spiritual body, it does not annihilate. Eternal. Eternal life. And cit means knowledge. So in this material body we have no knowledge. Even if we have got..., now imperfect knowledge, limited knowledge. But in the spiritual life you have got full knowledge. That is spiritual life. And ananda.

Here is no ananda. In this material world... Ananda means pleasure, bliss, but here it is not possible. First of all, you have to die. You may manufacture some so-called ananda, but you'll die. Now, suppose we are dancing here, and if we understand that immediately death will take place, then we shall not be able to enjoy the dancing. Immediately the anxiety will come. So here, ananda, there is no ananda. Why there is ananda? This body is subjected to so many miserable condition of life. We become hungry, we become thirsty, there is death, there is fearfulness, there is enemy -- so many things. If you study analytically that this body is simply meant for suffering, so where is ananda? There is no ananda; there is no complete knowledge; there is no eternity. Therefore it is called material. Just the opposite is spiritual life, just opposite. There is no death. Eternity. So civilization means that, the process by which we can transfer ourself from this nonpermanent life to permanent life, life of ignorance to life of knowledge, life of suffering to life of enjoyment. That is spiritual life.

So everyone, every human being, should be intelligent that "This is my position, so what is the use of living like a demon? Here is Krsna. He says that ‘You just become My devotee. You just think of Me.' " Man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah. "Always think of Me," man-manah, and mad-bhaktah, "My devotee," mad-yaji, "worship Me," mam namaskuru, "offer obeisances unto Me. If you follow this principle, then," mam evaisyasi, "you come to Me." So why not sacrifice one life for Krsna consciousness? So far the bodily enjoyment, especially sex enjoyment, we had in dog's life, cat's life, in beast life. So if by restricting this kind of sex life, little organized, if I can get back to home, back to Godhead and solve all the problems of life, is it not the decision of the intelligent man?

Why should I give me away to the animal life? Visayah khalu sarvatah syat. Visaya means the four necessities of material life. That is called visaya. Visaya, four nece... What are the four necessities? That so long we have got this material body, we have to eat. We cannot starve. That is not possible. So similarly, we have to take rest, sleeping, and similarly, we have to enjoy or give satisfaction to our senses, and similarly, we have to defend. This is called visaya. So sastra says that this..., visayah khalu sarvatah syat: "In any form of life you'll get full facilities for the bodily necessities of life, full facilities." Just see the birds and bees. They have no anxiety for maintaining the body or fulfilling the necessities of life. Early in the morning they are not anxious. They dawn and they chirp and they fly to somewhere, in any tree, and the fruit is there. A little fruit, that is sufficient. And that is eating. And sleeping? Any tree, they'll sit down on the top and sleep. So eating, sleeping... And mating? The other sex is born along with the bird. At least two eggs are there, one male, one female. So he has no anxiety for sex, he has no anxiety for eating, he has no anxiety for sleeping, and defense everyone knows. All birds, beast, knows how to defend himself. The bird's on the ground, eating something, as soon as it sees some danger, immediately go up. That is his defense.

So sastra says, therefore, that "These four necessities of life, you'll get, any form of life. Any insignificant form or very important form, it doesn't matter. You'll get all... This is arranged." You have no anxiety for that. Krsna has given you. Just like even if you are put into the jail life, prison life, for these things government has arranged already. In the jail life there is eating, sleeping, arrangement. So for these things we should not be very much anxious. That is human life. Simply he has to see intelligently, things, how things are going on.

There are 8,400,000 forms of life. Out of that, the human forms in different status, 400,000. And eight millions, they are lower animals -- birds, beast, aquatics, insects, serpents, so many. They're eight millions. The number of... You can see the number of human being. The other beings... Just like even a small ant. From your room thousands of small ants will come out. But in that room, as a human being, you cannot live more than two, three. That is the nature's way. You'll find so many sparrows, so many other birds, beast, even elephants. So they are getting their food, they are getting their sleeping accommodation, they have facility for sex life and they know how to defend.

So human life is also meant for like that, simply for eating, sleeping, mating and defending? But the modern civilization has gone down so low that they are very much anxious. Therefore it is said, cintam aparimeyam ca -- "How to arrange for eating? How to arrange for sleeping? Not only for me, but for my son, for my grandson, for my great-grandson..." Cintam aparimeyam. Then why you are so much in anxiety? Who is your son? Who is your grandson or great-grandson? We... By chance, we have come together, and after death, like football, it will be shooted to somewhere we do not know. Who can say, "My father is there" or "My grandfather is there"? It is the example given: just like some straw. They mix together in the waves, and again by the waves they are thrown here and there, no more assembling. So the material life is that. Material life... By chance, we have come in a family or in a nation or in a community, but this will be... After some years, it will be broken, and everybody will be thrown in the laws of nature -- we do not know where -- according to his karma. Now I am father, he is son, but after death my son may become demigod; I may become a dog. Then where is my relationship? Everything is broken. And here I may keep the photo of my father, and father may be rotting somewhere as a dog.

You cannot avoid these laws of material nature. This is called maya. Actually we are busy with something which is not permanent, a temporary arrangement by the laws of nature. Therefore those who are too much full of anxiety for all these things, they are called demons. Cintam aparimeyam ca. Your cintam will not act. You may think for the safety or satisfaction, but that does not mean we should neglect our duty. But as far as possible, we should be detached. It is not that because all these are temporary arrangement, we should be unfaithful to our family members, to our children, to our wife. As duty, we should take care, but we should not be simply absorbed in such thoughts. Our other business is how to become fit for going back to home, back to Godhead. That is our real business. This is temporary business because we have got some bodily relation, so as duty...

Therefore Rupa Gosvami, the example, when he wanted to retire from family life, he gave 50% to Krsna. He was very rich man. After retirement he brought one full load of boat, golden coins. Just imagine the value. What is the price of gold coin now? I think there is no gold coin at the present moment. It is all finished. Now it is paper coins. (chuckles) This is going on. But even five hundred years ago or four hundred years ago there were gol... Not four hundred years ago, in our childhood, we have seen gold mohor, guinea. They were used in practical use. And silver coins, gold coins, we saw. But now it is, everything, paper. So we are so advanced that there is no more gold and silver.

So anyway, cintam aparimeyam ca, that should be transferred to krsna-cinta. Satatam kirtayanto mam yatantas ca drdha-vratah [Bg. 9.14]. If you always be busy in glorifying or chanting the holy name of the Lord, then your cinta, anxiety, is transferred. By same cinta... Cinta will go on; you cannot stop it. Mind you cannot stop thinking even for a moment. Either you shall think of this material life or you shall think of Krsna. So the Krsna consciousness means instead of thinking of this material life, you think of Krsna. Thinking is not to be stopped. That is not possible. You cannot stop thinking even for a moment. Simply you have to practice. Instead of thinking these material things, you think of Krsna. That is wanted.

That Krsna advises, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam. Man-manah... If you think of Krsna always, then naturally you become devotee of Krsna. Man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah. And mad-yaji, and if you actually become devotee of Krsna, then you shall worship Krsna. And if you actually worship Krsna, then you must offer obeisances to Krsna. Therefore Krsna advises four things, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. Then what will be the result? Mam evaisyasi. Simply by practicing these four things... It does not require any MA, PhD, degree. Simply you have to agree, "Yes, I shall think of Krsna, chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna." You have to agree. That's all. That is required. Then, gradually, you become bhakta. Gradually you worship, and gradually you offer obeisances, surrender.

That one, that is wanted by Krsna, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]. So it does not require any high education, high birth, or great riches, or to become very beautiful. Nothing required. Beautiful or not beautiful, everyone can become Krsna conscious. There is no impediment. Educated or not educated, it doesn't matter. Rich or poor, it doesn't matter. Ahaituky apratihata. The devotional service, bhakti-yoga, is without any cause and without impediment. Ahaituky apratihata. And if we attain that stage, then yayatma suprasidati: then atma, the soul, will be fully satisfied. So it does not require much education, much wealth. From any status of life one can practice this, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru [Bg. 18.65], these four things only.

So we who are propaganding, making propaganda for this Krsna consciousness movement... It is not very difficult. And it is not meant for any particular class of men or community or country. It is meant for all living entities, if he can. And where is the difficulty? So it may be difficult in other forms of life, but in the human form of life it is not at all difficult. So we should fully utilize this human form of life in Krsna consciousness, and the process is always thinking of Krsna. Instead of thinking women and money, if we... That is much more difficult also. The maya is so strong that as soon as I am sitting in a solitary place, then I'll think of money and women. Therefore we should live always in assembly and chant Hare Krsna and save ourself from the danger of material falldown. Thank you very much. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 16.11-12 -- Hawaii, February 7, 1975