No Hard Labor-Only Light

No Hard Labor-Only Light

Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.52
Detroit, August 5, 1975

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Nitai: "The foolish embodied living entity, inadept at controlling his senses and mind, although he does not desire to, he is forced to act by the different influences of the modes of material nature. He is just like the silkworm, who by the thread created from his own saliva creates a cocoon and becomes encaged in it without any possibility of getting out. The living entity has similarly engaged himself in a network of his own different fruitive activities and cannot find a way to get out of it. In that condition, he is always bewildered and repeatedly dies."

Prabhupada:

dehy ajno 'jita-sad-vargo
necchan karmani karyate
kosakara ivatmanam
karmanacchadya muhyati
 [SB 6.1.52]

This is the position of all of us living entities. Because we cannot control the mind and the senses, especially karmendriya, the eyes, the ear, the tongue, the touch, the udara upastha... Pani, pada, payu, udara, upastha, these five karmendriya Pani means hand, payu means rectum, and pada means leg. Udara means belly, and upastha means genital. And these are karmendriya, and mind So mind dictates, "Oh, let me see this beautiful thing" -- immediately eyes act. "Let me hear this sweet song" -- immediately ear is engaged. So of all, the jihva, the tongue, is very strong. Therefore Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung, ta'ra madhye jihwa ati, lobhamoy sudurmati. Amongst all the senses, the tongue, taste, it is very strong. In your country especially, for the tongue so many advertisement: this wine, that wine, varieties of cigarettes, restaurants, roasted beef, so many things, just attracting the tongue, "Please come here. Please come here and be entangled." This advertisement. So one has to control the tongue. Ta'ra madhye jihwa ati, lobhamoy sudurmati. This is very secret science that you have to clear out your path of liberation by controlling the tongue. Then other things will be controlled, the straight line: tongue, then belly, then genital. Therefore in our society we have restricted the tongue: "Don't eat meat. Don't take intoxication." And then, the straight line: "No free use of the genital, illicit sex." These things are required if you want to be free from this material entanglement. This is called tapasya.

Human life is meant for tapasya, not to live like cats and dogs and hogs. That is not human life. Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye [SB 5.5.1]. This body, all bodies, are there in the darkness. Therefore it is said, dehy ajnah. The lower animals, they are ajnah. They cannot control. But human body is meant for controlling. Na ayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke. Nrloke means "in the human society." Na ayam deha. Everyone has got body. Cats and dogs, they have got body. The trees also have body. The worms have body. All living entity, anyone who has come into this material world, under different body or different dress, they are suffering in this material world. Therefore the sastra is meant for the human being so that he can understand his awkward position. So everywhere this is advised, ayam deha: "You had many other bodies in your past lives' evolution. Now, this body," ayam deha, nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke, "one who has got this human form of body," nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam [SB 5.5.1], "don't engage yourself for simply for eating, sleeping, in very hard labor." Just like at the present moment huge, big, big industries, karma It is called ugra-karma. Ugra-karma means ferocious activities. Anyone who has gone into the factories, it is ferocious activities, unnecessarily economic development. So this is kastan, so much laboring. Even the animals, they do not undergo so much laboring. And a human being is engaged in so much laboring? Kastan kaman. And what for, laboring, working? Now, kaman, to sense gratify, that's all. This is the highest state. Whole day and night, night shift, day shift, and -- who was telling? Upendra -- that our next door neighbor, he wanted to sleep up to ten o'clock. So when they were, I mean to say, sweeping the floor he became disturbed because last night he had drunk and sense gratification, now, little disturbance, he cannot sleep. You are creating in this way entanglement, ajnah, dehy ajnah, on account of his ignorance. And this education system is keeping him more and more in ignorance. Mudha.
So this principle they do not know, that this human life, actually the desire is like that, that "Let me earn some money. Then I shall go in a village or in a secluded place I shall live very peacefully." And those who have got money, at the weekend they go out for peaceful living. So that is the tendency, not to work hard, but live peacefully. That can be done. Everyone can do that, provided he lives in the village, he lives in the village and produces his own food, little labor, vegetable, food grains. Anyone can produce. This is human civilization. Therefore... Not that all, everyone has to do. The third class... First-class men, they should cultivate knowledge to guide the human society, brahmana. Sama dama titiksa... [Bg. 18.42]. They should learn, ideal men. Under their advice... Brahmana is considered to be the guru of other sections: ksatriya, vaisya, sudra. So anyone can live very peacefully without any hard labor. What is this civilization? For getting foodstuff one has to go hundred miles away from home, daily passengers. And some of them are going in the foreign countries also. Recently there was news that in Africa, Uganda, that, the President Amin, he asked some very respectable English gentleman to carry his palanquin just to insult them. But the Englishmen, now they are in a precarious condition. The British Empire is now finished. Now they had to carry this man. And under protest they could not go away because they have got business. So why one should go so far distance? Everyone can produce his foodstuff at home. Nature's arrangement is so nice. If not, little trade. So it is not meant for so much hard labor. Sastra says, "This kind of laboring hard simply for satisfaction of senses is the business of the hog and pig. It is not the business of the human being." Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye [SB 5.5.1].

So human society, they should rectify their mode of civilization by taking this Krsna consciousness movement. Then they will be happy. Otherwise, if they keep themself in ignorance, ajnah, dehy ajnah, then ajita-sad-varga: he will never be able to control the senses. The yoga system, hatha-yoga system, is meant for this class of rascals, ajita. Yoga indriya-samyamah. Real meaning of yoga means controlling the senses. So because everyone is ajita-sad-varga-ajita means not conquered -- so those who are too much addicted in the bodily concept of life, for them this hatha-yoga is prescribed. The purpose is to control the senses, not that to reduce fat or something else. No. Real purpose is yoga indriya-samyamah because unless we control the senses, we remain in ignorance, blind, and go on. Ajita-sad-vargo necchan. Necchan. Na icchan. If we do not try, then even though I do not want to do something, even I... On the cigarette package there is, that "It is not good for health." So I do not like that my health should be ruined, but necchan, I am compelled to smoke. This is our position. It is written, warning there. Government has written. What is the written there?

Satsvarupa: "The surgeon general has determined that smoking may be hazardous to your health."

Prabhupada: "May be." Not assured. (laughter) Therefore they take it, "may not be." But we don't say "may be." We say "No intoxication," because it is actually harmful to the health and in every respect. We see so many places in airplane, "No smoking. No smoking." But the rascal will not stop that... Nobody can smoke, but allowed, "Now you can smoke." They say also. First of all write, "No smoking," then, as soon as the plane is running, they say, "Now you can smoke." So this is going on. This is education. This is education. And blind, simply blind rascals. I always say that, the strong word, rascal, because blind, ajnah, anicchan. They hear that smoking is not good, "determined," but as soon as the cigarette packet is there, "Give me a cigarette." Necchan. This is called tapasya, that you have to beat your mind with shoes at least twice. My Guru Maharaja used to say that "When you get up, your first business is to beat the mind with shoes. And when you go to bed, you have to beat the mind with broomstick." (laughter) Then you will be able to control the mind.

So all catastrophes are happening on account of this rascal mind. Mind is not rascal; I am rascal. I am using my mind in a different way. So this can be stopped. You can control the mind if you place your mind always at the lotus feet of Krsna. Then it is possible. Sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayor vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane. Ambarisa Maharaja, he practiced it. He was very responsible emperor of the world. He had many responsible duties, but he was a great devotee. How? This is the process, sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh [SB 9.4.18], always thinking of Krsna. Sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh. When the mind is controlled, if you fix up your mind on the lotus feet of Krsna, then this maya cannot touch your mind.

 

yahan krsna, nahi tahan

mayara adhikara. Maya andhakara.
krsna surya-sama; maya andhakara,
yahan krsna, tahan nahi mayara adhikara
 [Cc. Madhya 22.31]

Krsna surya-sama. Krsna is just like sun. If you want that "In the sunshine or in the sun globe I shall inject darkness," it is not possible. It will be a failure. Sun is so bright that even a big darkness cannot enter. At night it is big darkness, but sun is so strong that as soon as there is glimpse of the sun, immediately whole darkness gone. You haven't got to drive the darkness by separate endeavor. Simply await for the sun rising. Immediately finish. So maya is darkness. So if you bring Krsna within your heart, all maya will be finished. No more maya. This is the process. That is called Krsna consciousness. Maya can act only when there is no Krsna. So therefore Gosvami, sad-gosvami, Rupa Gosvami, advises, yena tena prakarena manah krsne nivesayet sarve vidhi-nisedha syur etayor eva kinkarah. Somehow or other, you fix up your mind on Krsna.

So when I started this movement, somehow or other, I tried to fix up the mind of these boys in Krsna. In the beginning I never said that "You have to do this. You have to do that." But somehow or other, they are very nice boys, so they fixed up their mind in Hare Krsna chanting. Krsna and chanting Hare Krsna -- the same thing. Therefore we... Our process is to chant, kirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31], chant Hare Krsna always. Then the mind becomes... Chant and hear. Yena tena prakarena. Then everything will be complete. It is so... As we are fallen at the present moment in this age, the remedy is also very effective. Kirtanad eva krsnasya param vrajet [SB 12.3.51]. Kirtanad eva krsnasya nitya-muktah param vrajet. This is the special advantage of this Kali-yuga, because people are so fallen that it is very difficult to raise them to the standard of spiritual understanding by the prescribed method. Prescribed method means tapasa brahmacaryena samena damena niyamena tyagena [SB 6.1.13]. It is very difficult. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has given us His blessings, kirtaniyah sada harih [Cc. Adi 17.31].

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
 [Cc. Adi 17.21]

That's a fact. So if we want to come to the light... Because our qualification is, not only in this age, any living being who has accepted this material body, he is ajnah; he is a rascal. He is a rascal, in ignorance, and he cannot control the senses. This is his qualification. Dehy ajno ajita-sad-vargo. And on account of this ignorance and being unable to control the senses, then he unwillingly, he is being forced by nature to act sinful activities, unwillingly. Necchan. Necchan means unwilling. He doesn't like it. Just like even a thief: he is practiced to steal, so he knows that "I will be arrested again." He has had experience. He knows that "I will be again arrested, and I will go again to the jail, and will suffer there." But he is still forced to commit stealing again. A man suffering from venereal disease, he goes to the doctor, injection, so much painful. Still, he acts the same way. Necchan. Practice. "Habit is the..." What is called? "Second nature." So practice.

So necchan karmani karyate. And as soon as you act, immediately the reaction is there. That you cannot avoid. If you have touched fire, it must burn. The action is touching fire, and the result is burning. So necchan. We do not know. We are ignorance. We are committing so many abominable things, and we are becoming entangled like that silkworm. He is making a bag without knowledge, and gradually he becomes entangled within this and dies. That is our position. Bhutva bhutva praliyate [Bg. 8.19]. We entangle ourself in a different activities and create another result, and according to the result... Because it is infection... Karanam guna-sangah asya sad-asad-janma-yonisu. We are getting different types of body. Why? The cause, karanam, guna-sango 'sya [Bg. 13.22]. In ignorance... Just like we are infecting different types of disease -- we have to suffer -- similarly, we, under ignorance we are infecting the modes of material nature and different types of bodies. Today I am Indian or American, and tomorrow I may be a cat, a dog. That these people, they do not know. Ajnah. These rascals, they do not know. At least one should know that "I am going to die." That's a fact, inevitable. You may be very intelligent, but Krsna says, "You don't like Me. All right, I shall come to you as death. Then you will understand. And at that time I shall take away whatever you have accumulated." Mrtyu aham. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that "I come as death and take away everything, whatever you have earned or collected in this life." Mrtyuh sarva-haras caham [Bg. 10.34]. Sarva-hara: "I will take. I will take all: your bank balance, your skyscraper building, your nice family. Your everything will be finished. I will take it away." Mrtyuh sarva-haras ca aham. So after death I may be very proud of my intelligence and power and talking, completely under the laws of material nature. Then nature... Karmana daiva-netrena [SB 3.31.1], by superior supervision, as you have acted, jantur deha upapatti, then you will have to accept one body.

So in this way, life after life, we are changing the body. In this planet, in other planet, in this variety, in that variety, we are wandering. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says,

ei rupe brahmanda brahmite kono bhagyavan jiva
guru krsna krpa paya bhakti-lata-bija

In this way we are wandering, life after life. But somehow or other, if he becomes fortunate, fortunate Unless one becomes fortunate, one cannot take to Krsna consciousness. It is not possible. So we are trying to make this fallen soul fortunate. Be fortunate and take to Krsna consciousness.

ei rupe brahmanda brahmite kono bhagyavan jiva
guru krsna krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija
  [Cc. Madhya 19.151]

By Krsna's mercy, by guru's mercy, both... Don't try to take mercy of one. Guru krsna krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija. By guru's mercy one gets Krsna. And krsna sei tomara, krsna dite paro. To approach a guru means just to beg from him Krsna. Krsna sei tomara. Because Krsna is devotee's Krsna. Krsna is the master, but who can control Krsna? His devotee. Krsna is the supreme controller, but He is controlled by devotee. That is, Krsna is bhakti-vatsala. Just like a big father, a high-court judge and There is a story that the Prime Minister Gladstone, somebody came to see him. And the Mr. Gladstone informed that "Wait. I am busy." So he was waiting for hours, then he became inquisitive: "What this gentleman is doing?" So he wanted to see within that He had become a horse, and taking his child on the backside. That business he was doing. You see? The prime minister, he is controlling the British Empire, but he is controlled by a child out of affection. This is called affection.

So similarly, Krsna is the supreme controller.

isvarah paramah krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva-karana-karanam
 [Bs. 5.1]

He's the supreme controller, but He is controlled by His devotee, Srimati Radharani. He is controlled. So it is not to be easily understood what is the pastimes between... But Krsna is willingly agreed to be controlled by His devotee. That is Krsna's nature. Just like mother Yasoda. Mother Yasoda is controlling Krsna, binding Him: "You are very naughty? I will bind you." Mother Yasoda has a stick, and Krsna is crying. Krsna is crying. These things you study. It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Kunti's prayer, how she is appreciating that "My dear Krsna, You are the Supreme. But when under the stick of mother Yasoda you are crying, that scene I want to see." So Krsna is so bhakta-vatsala that He is the supreme controller. But a devotee like mother Yasoda, a devotee like Radharani, devotees like gopis, devotees like the cowherds boy, they can control Krsna. That is Vrndavana life.

So this Krsna consciousness movement is trying to take you there. The foolish persons, they are being deviated. They do not know what is the value of this Krsna consciousness movement. They are trying to give the human society the topmost benefit, position. They don't want to become one with God, but they are giving the right to control God. This is Krsna consciousness movement. What is the use of becoming one with God? Nobody can become. But Krsna is willing to be controlled by the devotee. This is Krsna consciousness movement. So from this position, ajno ajita-sad-varga, forced to work by the spell of material energy, from this rotten condition of life, we are trying to raise him to the platform where he can control Krsna.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya! (end)

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.52 -- Detroit, August 5, 1975

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