Who Is a True Christian
Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.17
Denver, June 30, 1975
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Take a testDenver, June 30, 1975
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Prabhupada: "In this material world,
following the path of the pure devotees who are well behaved and completely
endowed with first-class qualifications due to their having fully taken to the
service of Narayana as their life and soul is certainly the most auspicious,
without any fear, and authorized by the sastra."
Prabhupada:
sadhricino hy ayam loke
panthah ksemo 'kuto-bhayah
susilah sadhavo yatra
narayana-parayanah
[SB 6.1.17]
So the sastra says that the association of devotees... Narayana-parayanah means devotees. Narayana-parayana, one who has taken Narayana as the ultimate goal of life. Narayana, Krsna, Visnu -- They are of the same tattva, visnu-tattva. So people do not know this, that to approach the platform of worshiping Narayana or Visnu or Krsna, that is the most exalted and assured platform. Just like we get insurance, so this is assured. Assured by whom? Assured by Krsna. Krsna is assuring, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami [Bg. 18.66]. Kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati [Bg. 9.31]. Api cet suduracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak, sadhur eva sa man... [Bg. 9.30]. So many assurances there. Narayana-parayana. Krsna says personally that "I shall protect you." People suffer on account of sinful reaction, ignorance. Out of ignorance, they commit sinful action, and sinful action reacts. Just like a child, ignorant, he touches blazing fire, and it burns the hand, and he suffers. You cannot say that "Child is innocent, and the fire has burned." No. This is nature's law. Ignorance. So sinful activities are done out of ignorance. Therefore one should be in knowledge. Ignorance of law is no excuse. If you go to the court and if you plead, "Sir, I did not know that I have to suffer, I have to go to imprisonment for six months because I have stolen. This was unknown to me..." No. Known or unknown, you must go to the jail.
Therefore the greatest contribution to the human society is knowledge. To keep them in ignorance, in darkness, that is not human society, that is cats' and dogs'... Because they are in ignorance, nobody can give them knowledge, neither they can take. Therefore in the human society there is institution for giving knowledge. That is the greatest contribution. And that knowledge, the supreme knowledge, is there in the Vedas. Vedais ca sarvaih. And all the Vedas ascertain that one should know what is God. That is wanted. (aside:) Don't make that sound. Vedais ca sarvaih. People do not know it. This whole material world, they do not know what is the actual knowledge. They are busy in temporary things for sense gratification, but they are not aware what is actual the goal of knowledge. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum: [SB 7.5.31] the goal of knowledge is to know Visnu, God. That is goal of knowledge. Athato brahma jijnasa. Jivasya tattva-jijnasa. This life, the human form of life, is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth. That is life. And without trying to understand the Absolute Truth, if we simply are busy how to eat little comfortably, how to sleep little comfortably, or how to have sex little conveniently, these are animal activities. These are animal activities. Human activity means to know what is God. That is human activity. Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah [SB 7.5.31]. Without knowing this, they are struggling for existence. They want to be happy by adjusting the external energy, bahir-artha-maninah. And people, leaders, andha yathandhair upaniyamanah. Ask big big scientists, philosopher, "What is the goal of life?" They do not know. They simply theorize, that's all. The real goal of life is to understand God.
So that can be done, as it is said here, that you make association... What is the number of the verse?
Nitai: Seventeen.
Prabhupada: Sadhricino hy ayam loke panthah ksemo 'kuto-bhayah. Our life is to attain the transcendental platform of knowledge. That is our goal of life. Then how it can be done? Susilah sadhavo yatra narayana-parayanah. You associate with that cultural institution where there are susilah, very well behaved. Now, find out any institution throughout the whole world who are susila. You will find here in Krsna consciousness movement: no meat-eating, no illicit sex, no gambling, no intoxication. You won't find anywhere. This is called susila, well behaved. Susila means... sila means behavior, or custom. Here you will find they are taking bath three times, they are changing cloth, everything neat and clean, personally their character, their behavior, susila. Susilah sadhavah. Sadhavah means saintly. What are the saintly characteristics? That is also mentioned:
titiksavah karunikah
suhrdah sarva-dehinam
ajata-satravah santah
sadhavah sadhu-bhusanah
[SB 3.25.21]
These are the characteristics of sadhu, not a sadhu having a dress like a sannyasi and accompanied by three dozen women. No. Sadhavah, their business is to preach. Krsna says,
api cet suduracaro
bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyah
samyag vyavasito hi sah
[Bg. 9.30]
He is sadhu who are engaged in Krsna consciousness movement. Api cet suduracarah. Such person, even if you find some fault... Because everyone cannot become immediately perfect. Due to bad habits, sometimes they fall victim. But still, if he is Krsna conscious strictly, he does not deviate, he does not forget Krsna, then he is to be accepted as sadhu. Krsna says. That, only for that qualification. Bhajate mam ananya-bhak. That is the qualification of Krsna consciousness movement.
So sadhu, they have to preach. They have to preach. Therefore the first qualification is titiksavah, tolerant. So many people will criticize, so many people attack, so many opposing elements, and he has to fight with them. Therefore titiksavah, toleration. Just like you see, Lord Jesus Christ is so tolerant that he was crucified; still, he did not curse anybody. This is sadhu: titiksavah, tolerant. The very great example of tolerance, Christ, Jesus Christ. So similarly, Haridasa Thakura. There are many saintly persons, sadhu, who were very tolerant. So first qualification of sadhu is titiksavah. Titiksavah and karunikah: at the same time, kind. These two examples we find in the character of Lord Jesus Christ. He was being crucified, and still he was praying to God, "My Lord, they do not know what they are doing." Did he not?
Brahmananda: Yes.
Prabhupada: Yes. Just see. And he was persecuted, and still, he was kind. He was kind. Still, he was praying to God that "These rascals are doing. They cannot kill me, but they are thinking that I will be killed. So they are committing offense." So this is toleration, and karunikah. Similarly, there are many examples. Titiksavah karunikah, and suhrdah sarva-dehinam: [SB 3.25.21] friend of all living entities. Lord Christ said, "Thou shall not kill." He never said that... Now they are interpreting in a different way: "The animal has no soul, and you can kill animals and keep slaughterhouse." So who is a Christian? I do not know who is a Christian. They profess to be Christian. It is very difficult to find out a true Christian who is strictly following the words of Lord Jesus Christ. So he is a good example of sadhu. We therefore adore and offer our obeisances to Lord Christ. Sadhu, example. Titiksavah karunikah suhrdah sarva-dehinam [SB 3.25.21]. This is suhrdah, not that "My brother will be saved, my family will be saved, and all others should be killed." That is not sadhu's qualification. Sadhu's qualification is he is kind to everyone. It is not that if a human being is killed, the killer is also killed. Why? Even a human being is killer of an animal, he should be killed. That is called suhrdah sarva-dehinam: friend to everyone. Not that "Only the human being should be given protection, he is national, and others animals and trees should not be given protection." No. That is imperfect knowledge. National means one who has taken birth in that land. So do the animals do not take their birth in the land? They are also national, but it is your discriminating law that you are giving protection to the human being and not to the animals. This is sinful activities. Therefore we say that "No meat-eating." If we give up this meat-eating, then so many lifes of the poor animals will be saved.
So that is sadhu, no meat-eating. Here you will find. In Krsna consciousness movement you will find, nobody is meat-eating. Nobody is prepared to kill even an ant, what to speak of big animal. They put argument that "You are vegetarian, and you are also killing vegetable life." Of course, we are killing. But we are not killing vegetables. First of all, vegetables are not killed. If I fruit from the tree, the tree is not killed. Or if I take the grains from the plant, before the grains are ripe the plant dies. So actually there is no question of killing. Although the law is, nature's law is that "One living entity is the food for another living entity." Jivo jivasya jivanam. But a human being should be discriminative. If I can live by eating fruits and grains and milk, why shall I kill animal? This is human consciousness. Milk, if you get milk, you can prepare hundreds of nice preparations, all full of vitamins and nourishing. In our New Vrindaban we are maintaining cows and having so many nice preparations, rabri and lagdu and this peda and baraphi and sandesa and rasagulla and yogurt -- varieties enough. The other farmers they come, they are surprised, that "Such nice preparation can be made from milk?" Yes, you do not know. You do not know how to utilize the animal. Ignorance. The milk is also produced out of the blood.
So it is intelligence. You are drinking the blood in a different way, produced by nature with more vitamin values and more taste and more gentleman. Why should you kill one cow and try to drink the blood? The blood is there already, but in a different form, without any violence. And we have seen it. It is practical experience that if the cows are assured they would not be killed, they will give you double milk. That we have experience. And it is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that sisicuh... We have not got here the verse. The purport is that during Maharaja Yudhisthira's time, the cows were so happy and jubilant that from their milk bag always drop milk, so that the pasturing ground became muddy with milk.
So this science is unknown to the rascal civilization, how to utilize things for the best purpose. So in the Bhagavad-gita you will find, krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam vaisya-karma svabhava-jam [Bg. 18.44]. Vaisyas... First-class men, brahmana; second-class men, the ksatriya; third-class men, the vaisyas; and fourth-class men, all others, the worker class, sudras. So the first-class men, the brahmana, they should give instruction, nice instruction, so that the whole human society will profit. By seeing the character of the brahmana, the behavior of the brahmana... Samo damah satyam saucam titiksa ksantir eva ca, jnanam vijnanam. A brahmana is not, never recommended, a brahmana will make some trade or become a engineer. No. Samo damas titiksa, these are the qualification, characteristics, of brahmana. And sastra says yasya yal laksanam proktam pumso varnabhivyanjakam, tat tenaiva vinirdiset [SB 7.11.35]. When there is characteristics of a brahmana, then you should accept him as a brahmana. Not whimsically. Similarly, ksatriya, he must be very strong and chivalrous and never be go, I mean, fly away from battle. They should come forward when there is some battle, riot. They should give protection. They are ksatriyas. And vaisya means... Now, the brahmanas, they are not going to produce food or other things. They are simply for knowledge, giving the best knowledge to the human society. There is a need of brahmana. Everyone sudra, simply working hard and because they are accusing, "Oh, you people are escaping..." What is escaping? We are giving the best knowledge to the human society.
So it is specially mentioned, krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam [Bg. 18.44]. The vaisyas, food production means produce food grains, agricultural. By agriculture, you can. So much land is vacant all over the world. They are producing coffee. I have seen in Africa. Vast land is engaged in producing coffee. No food grain. So this is the defect of the civilization. They do not know how to live. Will man die without drinking coffee? No. That is not the fact. But man will die if they have no real food, anna, food grains. If you think that "I eat meat. I don't require food grains," but the cows, the animal eat food grains. So without food grain, how we can live? Therefore Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, annad bhavanti bhutani [Bg. 3.14]. You produce food grains. Why you are producing so much unnecessary things -- television and tools, and stool also, so many thing. Why? They are not necessary. Live in the village, produce your own food, your own cloth, and drink milk sufficiently -- all economic questions solved. Then you become susila, well behaved. And if you go on killing animals and drinking wine and gambling, when you will be susila? You are always bad character.
Here it is said susila, "well behaved," "good character." Susilah sadhavah. Sadhavah, character like ideal. You have got ideal, Lord Jesus Christ. Susilah sadhavah narayana... Why? Narayana-parayanah: because they are devotee of Narayana. If you become simply narayana-parayana, devotee of Narayana or Krsna, all good qualities will come to you automatically. All good qualities. Yasyasti bhaktir bhagavaty akincana sarvair gunais tatra samasate surah [SB 5.18.12]. Take practical example. These boys, these girls, how they have become so nice? They are known as "bright-faced." Why? Because narayana-parayanah: they have taken seriously Krsna as the object of worship. So actually if you want happiness within this world, peace, and prosperity, just become Krsna conscious. All problems will be solved and you will be happy.
Thank you very much. (end)
© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International.
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