Lecture of r Brahma-sahit, Verse 32

by S.D.A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

New York, July 26, 1971
Prabhupda:
agni yasya sakalendriya-vtti-manti
payanti pnti kalayanti cira jaganti
nanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam di-purua tam aha bhajmi

[Bs. 5.32]

(aside:) Why not sit comfortably?

Please. There is ample space in the
front.
You
can
move.
SoGovinda, agni yasya sakalendriya-vttimanti. Agni, agni means the limbs of the body. Just like hands,
legs, ear, nose, they're different parts of our body. The distinction
between this material body and spiritual body is that just like this hand
is made for particular purposeyou can pick up something, you can
touch something, but you cannot taste something. If you want to taste
something, then the hand will bring that food to your mouth and will
touch your tongue. Then you can know that it is bitter or sweet. But
simply by touching the hand it is not possible to understand what is the
nature of that particular... Therefore God's body is described here
that agni yasyasakalendriya-vtti-manti. Each and every part of the
body has got the capacity for other parts of the body. Just like if you
want to eat, we have to taste it through the tongue, through the mouth,
but Ka, or God, if He simply sees only, He can eat, simply by seeing.
This
is
spiritual
body.Agni yasya sakalendriya-vttimanti, payanti pnti kalayanti cira jaganti [Bs. 5.32]. In another
sense, this whole cosmic manifestation is also the body of God;
therefore you cannot hide anything from God's vision. In
the Brahma..., the
same Brahma-sahit, it
is
said
that yaccakurea savit sakala-grahm. Savit. Savit means the sun, the
sun-god, or the sun planet, is the eye, one eye of God. And the other eye
is the moon. So He can see all things, what is happening within this
universein daytime with His eye called the sun, and at night with
moon.
And
in
the
Bhagavad-gt it
is
confirmed. Ka says, prabhsmi ai-sryayo.
Prabhsmi ai-

sryayo: "I am the sunshine and the moonshine." So people who deny
existence of God, they say that "Can you show me God?" You are seeing
God. Why you are denying? God says that "I am the sunshine. I am the
moonshine." And who has not seen the sunshine and moonshine?
Everyone has seen. As soon as there is morning, there is sunshine. So if
sunshine is God, then you have seen God. Why do you deny? You
cannot deny. Ka says, raso 'ham apsu kaunteya: [Bg. 7.8] "I am the
taste of the water." So who has not tasted water? We are drinking,
daily, gallons of water. We are thirsty, and the good taste which quench
our thirst, that is Ka.
So you have to see God, or Ka, in this way. Then you'll advance,
make advance. This is Kaconsciousness. We have to see in
everything, Ka. As soon as we see living entity... Never mind
whether he's a human being or animal or insect or bird or plant or
aquatic; they're all living entities. In the sea, there are nine hundred
thousand species of living entities. Jalaj nava-laki.These are the
statements in the Vedic scriptures. Exactly stated: jalaj navalaki. It does not say ten hundred thousand; it says nine hundred
thousand. Exact calculation. Now bring any biologist to calculate how
many species are there in the water. They cannot say. But here, in
thePadma Pura, Vedic literature, you get exact information how
many species of living entities are there within the water. Everyone
knows that there are living entities, full of living entities. We are
catching fish, but small fishes. We have not seen. Even if we have seen
the biggest fish, that is, whale... Sometimes they are as big as one big
ship. But there are other fishes, we get information, they are
called timigila. The big fish, the whale fish, and timigila means there
is another big fish which swallows this timigila, this whale just like
anything. These informations are there. And in Calcutta Museum, in
our childhoodit may be still existingwe saw one skeleton of a fish
that is bigger than this room, a skeleton. It is hanging on the ceiling. So
there are very, very big, big fishes. Jalaj nava-laki. You get
immediately information, without being a biologist, scientist, you can
get information. The Darwin's theory, in most perfection, there is in
the Padma Pura:jva-jatiu. The evolutionary theory is there. But
Darwin is missing the real point: Who is, who is evolving? He's missing
the spirit soul. He cannot explain. That is imperfect.
But in the Vedic scripture you have got perfect knowledge, how a
living entity is developing different types of body. Jalaj navalaki. First of all, nine lakhs' species of living entities within water. In

the water, the living seeds are there. The other day I was showing our
other devotees how from the stone the grass is coming. There is a crack
in the stone, and the grass is coming out. How it is? Nobody has gone
to put some seeds within the cracking of the stone. How the grass is
coming? The grass is coming because the water penetrates within the
crack, and as soon as it gets in touch with the earth, it sprouts. That
means within water there are seeds of living entities. Some of them fall
down from the higher planetary system. That is stated in the Bhagavadgt: kinepuye martya-loka vianti [Bg. 9.21]. As soon as their
period of enjoyment is finished, they are again brought down on this
earthly planet. Just like in your country the immigrationevery
countrythe immigration department, if somebody has come, he has
got a visa for six months or one year, or something like that. As soon as
it is finished, immediately the immigration department notifies:
"Please get out. Please get out." Similarly, in other planets also, there
are higher planetary systems where material comforts are many
thousand times better than in yourUSA. Your United States is
considered to have the best facilities, comfortable materialistic way of
life. That is the calculation outside. So supposing that you have got the
best facilities for material enjoyment. In higher planetary system there
are many thousand times better facilities. You can go there. The living
entities are therefore called sarva-gata. A living entity can go
anywhere he likes, but he requires qualification. Any country, when one
is admitted, he must have visa, he must have passport, he must have
required money to stay in a foreign country. So many rules and
regulations are there. Similarly, in the higher planetary system also,
where you get ten thousand years of duration of life, and their one year
is far, far greater than ours. That is scientific.
So these, this material world is also the vir-rpa, universal form, of
the Lord. Agni yasyasakalendriya-vtti-manti [Bs. 5.32]. I'm just
trying to explain what is the body of the Supreme Lord. Just like in
the Bhagavad-gt, Arjuna was shown the vir-rpa, the universal
form of the Lord. Now why Arjuna wanted to see the universal form
of Ka? The reason is that Arjuna knew it very well... Because in the
Tenth
chapter Arjuna accepts Ka that para brahma paradhma pavitra
parama bhavn: [Bg. 10.12]
"You
are
the
Supreme
Lord, para brahma, andpavitra, the purest." So Ka..., Arjuna knew
that Ka is the Supreme Lord, and still, in the Eleventh Chapter he
requested Ka that "If You'll kindly show me Your universal form."

Try to understand. Arjuna knew it very well that Ka is the Supreme

Lord. Why he wanted to examineKa? Not for himself, but for others.
Because Arjuna knew it very well that in future so many false Gods
would appear: "I am God." So before accepting anyone as God,
imitating Ka, one should inquire from him "Whether you can lift a
hill? Whether you can show the universal form? Whether you can kill
such and such demons? Then I shall accept." That is intelligence. Don't
accept a foolish man, declaring himself as God, and you accept also
God. God is not so cheap. You should know what is God. These
descriptions are there. No more, no man, no living entity is greater
than God. Therefore God is said: "God is great." Great means nobody
can be greater than Him, nobody can be equal to Him. That is
greatness. Six opulences. That is analytical study what is God.
So these things are being taught from authoritative scripture and...,
what is God, what is our relationship with Him, and what is our
function in that relationship. We should know it. Unless we try to know
it, simply we waste our time in frivolous activities, that is not proper
utilization of human form of life. We are simply requesting people that
"You don't waste your valuable time." Our time is so valuable. It has
been calculated by Cakya Paita. Cakya Paita was a great
politician, prime minister, in India, about three thousand years ago,
when Candragupta was the emperor. It was about contemporary to
Alexander the Great in the Greek history. So CakyaPaita was
there. He was a great diplomat. He has calculated the value of our life.
He says... It is very practical. Anyone can calculate.
yua kaa eko 'pi
na labhya svara-koibhi
na cet nirarthaka (nti)
k ca hnis tato 'dhik
He says, yua kaa. Even one moment of your life cannot be
returned even you spend millions of dollars. One of our friends in
India, he was at that time fifty-four years old, but he was dying. So he
was requesting the doctor, "Doctor, kindly give some medicine so that I
may live for another four years. I have got so many things to do." Just
see, the crazy fellow. You see. This is called ignorance. He does not
know that "What to call..., what to say of four years, the doctor cannot
give me four minutes prolongation of life." When the life is ended, it is
ended. Nobody can... Any medicine, any physical, physiological
treatment will not help. That is not possible. You have got a duration of
life, say, fifty years, sixty years, seventy yearsa hundred years,

utmost. You cannot increase it by paying money. What to speak of four

years; you cannot increase four seconds. So just try to understand how
much our life is valuable. A second of our life we cannot purchase by
paying millions of dollars. And if that second is wasted without any
utilization, then how much money we are losing. This is the calculation.
So our, this Ka consciousness movement is only to remind people
that "Please do not waste your time, valuable time, life. Utilize it. This
is the opportunity to make a solution of all the problems of life." There
is means, there are ways, how to do it. That we are describing.
Yesterday we discussed tapas, by austerity; brahmacaryea, by
celibacy; amena, by controlling the mind;damena, by controlling the
senses; tygena, by giving in charity your money. That is
called tyga.Suppose you have got millions of dollars. Don't keep it. So
long it is within your jurisdiction, spend it for Ka. Yes. That is the
proper utilization. Because actually the money is not yours, because
you cannot carry this money with your death. As soon as you quit this
body, or death, so your money and everything, what you collected with
this body, with the finishing of this body, everything is finished. But
you go. You are spirit soul. You transmigrate to another body. So your
money which you earned previously, in your previous body, that you do
not know where it is kept, or how it is being spent up. During your
lifetime, you may make very nice deed, how the money should be spent
by your sons or by your heirs, but now, suppose you left in your last life
ten thousand millions of dollars somewhere, but you have nothing, no
claim for that money. Therefore so long it is in your hand, spend
it. Tygena, tygena. Spend for good purpose, not for... This money, if
you spend for bad purposes, then you become entangled. If you spend
for good purposes, then you get good return. That's a fact.
These things are very nicely, clearly stated in the Bhagavadgt. This dhana, charitytheBhagavad-gt says there are three kinds
of charities. One charity is in the mode of goodness, one charity is in
the mode of passion, and one charity is in the mode of ignorance. So
mode of goodness charity means you should know where charity is to
be given. Dtavyam: here charity is to be given. So where charity is
given? First-class charity, in goodness? That is stated in theBhagavadgt. Ka says, yad karoi yad ansi yat tapasyasi dadsi yat, tat kuru
va mad-arpaam: [Bg. 9.27] "Whatever you are eating, whatever you
are undergoing, austerity, whatever you are doing, whatever you are
giving in charity, give it to Me." Ka's not in want of money, because
He's
the
original
proprietor
of

everything, vsyam ida sarvam [o mantra 1]. But still He's asking
from you money. Just like Ka went to beg something
from Bali Mahrja in the shape of a Vmana, a dwarf brhmaa. So
He is the sarva-loka-mahevaram [Bg. 5.29]. He's the proprietor of all
the planets. And still He's saying that dadsi yat kuruva madarpaam:"Whatever you are giving in charity, please give it to Me."
Why? It is for your interest, because the sooner you return Ka's
money to Ka, you are better situated. In, in, of course, it will not be
very palatable to hear, but actually we are all thieves. We have stolen
God's property. That is material life. Anyone who has got anything
without sense of God, it is to be understood that he has stolen the
property. If you very cool-headed think over this matter, that you are...
If we do not understand God, if we do not understand whose property
we are using, and if you come to the real knowledge:
without Ka consciousness, whatever we possess, that is stolen
property, stolen property... Stena eva sa ucyate [Bg. 3.12]. It is clearly
said in the Bhagavad-gt. If one does not expend his money
for yaja, then he is to be understood... Just like there is many, many
instances... Just like you have earned so much money. If you hide
income tax, then you are criminal. You can say, "I have earned money.
Why shall I pay income tax, government?" No. You must pay. And
there is a limit, that if you have earned so much money, practically the
whole money will be taken as income tax, super tax. So as everything
you earn, it is the property of the government, similarly, why not
everything, whatever you got, it is Ka's or God's? Is it very difficult
to understand? Actually it is so. Suppose you have constructed a very
nice building. So the building requires so many stone, wood, earth.
Wherefrom you have got it? You have not produced the wood. It is
God's property. You have not produced the metal; you have taken it
from the mine. That is God's property. The earth, also, the bricks also,
which you have made you have simply given your labor. That labor is
also God's property, because you work with your hand, but it is not
your hand; it is God's hand. If it is your hand, then when it is paralyzed,
you cannot use it. When the power of using your energy of the hand is
withdrawn by God, you cannot work.
So these are the things to be studied in Ka consciousness. Don't
be frivolous. Don't waste your time. This is the greatest opportunity,
human form of life. We have to understand all these things. They are
mentioned in the authoritative books, Vedic knowledge. Just we are
reading,rmad-Bhgavatam, before you. So ukadeva Gosvm's

recommending that pryacittavimaranam. Real atonement is to be

thoughtful, sober, think over... That is called meditation. You think
over whether your body, or if you are something else, transcendental to
body, what is God. So if you want to know all this knowledge, then you
have
to
practice
austerity, tapasya. And
the
beginning
of tapasya is brahmacarya. I've
explained
yesterday: brahmacarya, celibacy, or restricted sex life. Not
unrestricted. That's not good. Then you forget yourself. This material
attraction is sex life. Not only human societyin animal society, in bird
society, everywhere. You have seen the sparrows, the pigeons, they're
having sex life three hundred times daily, you see, although they are
very vegetarian. Yes. And the lion is not vegetarian, but it has got sex
life only once in a year. So it is not the question of vegetarian or
nonvegetarian. It is the question of understanding higher standard of
knowledge. When one comes to the standard of high elevated
knowledge, naturally he becomes vegetarian. Because pait samadarina [Bg. 5.18]. Paitameans one who is very highly
learned, paita. Sama-darina. Sama-darina means he does not
distinguish between a man, learned man...
vidy-vinaya-sampanne
brhmae gavi hastini
uni caiva va-pke ca
pait sama-darina
[Bg. 5.18]
A paita is sama-dar. He sees equally, who? A very learned
scholar, brhmaa; and a elephant; and a dog; and a cow. How
he's sama-dar? How his vision is equal to all of them? Because he
does not see the body; he sees the soul. Brahma-bhta. He sees
the Brahman, spark, that "Here is a dog, but it is also a living entity. By
his past karma, he has become a dog. And here is a learned scholar.
He's also living spark. But he has got this nice opportunity for his
past karma." So he does not see the body. He sees the spirit soul, spark.
So when one comes to that position, he does not make any distinction
between this living entity to that living entity.
So our proposition: If you inquire, "Then why you restrict, "No
meat-eating'?" The answer is that actually we do not make any
distinction between the meat-eaters and the vegetable eaters, because
the cow or the goat or the lamb has got life, and the grass, it has also
got life. But we follow the Vedic instruction. What is that?
Now, vsyam ida sarva yat kicit jagaty jagat,tena tyaktena b

hujth: [o mantra 1] everything is the property of the Supreme

Lord,
and
you
can
enjoy
whatever
is
allotted
to
you. M gdha kasya svid dhanam. You cannot touch others' body,
others' property. You cannot touch. That is Vedic life. So in all
scriptures it is stated that man should live on fruits and vegetables.
Their teeth are made in that way. They can eat very easily and digest.
Although jvo jvasya jvanam: one has to live by eating another living
entity. Jvojvasya... That is nature's law. So the vegetarian also eating
another living entity. And the meat-eater, they're also eating another...
But there is discretion. Discretion means that these things are made for
human being. Just like fruits, flowers, vegetables, rice, grains, milk
the animals do not come to claim that "I shall eat this." No. It is meant
for man. Just like milk. Milk is an animal product. It is the blood of the
cow changed only. But the milk is not drunk by the cow. She is
delivering the milk, but she's not taking, because it is not allotted for it.
By nature's way. So you have to take. Milk is made for man, so you take
the milk. Let her live and supply you milk continually. Why should you
kill?
Follow
nature's
law.
Then
you'll
be
happy. Tena tyaktenabhujth [o mantra 1]. Whatever is allotted to
you, take. You live comfortably. So our, in temple, in this temple, we
take
fruits,
flowers,
milk
because
they're
allotted,
and Ka says:patra pupa phala toya yo
me bhakty prayacchati [Bg. 9.26]. Ka does not say that "You give
Me meat." Ka says, "You give Me fruits, flowers, vegetables, milk."
So we prepare nice preparations out of these things, we offer it
to Ka, and we take it. If Ka would have said that "Give Me eggs
and meat," then we would have given and eaten it. But because we
are Kaconscious, we do not take anything which is not accepted
by Ka.
So in this way, this is called ama dama. We have to learn this art of
elevation. Tapasya. That
is
called
austerity,
regulative
principle; brahmacaryea, by celibacy, or by restricted sex
life; amena,by controlling the mind; damena, by controlling the
senses; tygena, by giving charity. The charity... Charitable disposition
of mind is there in everyone's heart, but one does not know how to
make the best use of charity. Best use of... Not only charitywhatever
you spend, you must spend for Ka. That is the best way of spending.
You are not loser. Just like you are spending for Ka, earning
for Ka. Suppose we are offering nice dishes to Ka. Ka is so
kind. He keeps it as it is: you eat. It is for you. But simply by offering

to Ka you become Ka's devotee. That's all. For nothing. You don't
spend anything, not a farthing even. Everything is Ka's, but if you
offer it to Ka, you elevate. That's all.
Thank you very much. (end)