13/10/08

CHEWING THE
CHEWED
PART 1
ST
KKS LECTURE- 1 Jan 1998, Radhadesh, Belgium
B.G 18.21
That knowledge by which a different type of living entity is seen to be
dwelling in different bodies is knowledge in the mode of passion

Purport
Invocation
In the Nectar of Devotion it explains who is an eligible candidate for
devotional service although such a person initially may not yet be free
from the desire to enjoy fruititive activities nor that he may be willing to
renounce so much of the material energy but still he is aware of this one
thing that he is not this body.
So that is the great difference between material life and spiritual life and
we are all aware of that because somehow or other by the mercy of the
spiritual master, the torch light of knowledge is what we receive,
understanding of we are not the body. That is the first and foremost
principle. But somehow or other it seems like this previous concept
which is described in this verse is sometimes just again influencing us as
if we are influenced by the shadow of the past. The shadow of the past is
just casting it’s influence on us right in the middle of our sunny present
day spiritual life. We have taken up the position of becoming saintly
persons but still because of the shadow of the past we can not be
successful something is spoiling the fun. It’s not entirely all bright and
blissful because there is still the influence of previous activities, this is
called of course..Karma. And there is ….sanskrit … karma and …
sanskrit…. karma. So ..sanskrit.. karma is manifest karma which we are
going through right now and the ..other type..of karma …sanskrit.. is
known as that which is there in stock, which is there in the seed form and
that which is just about to fructify but has not yet come. So these things
may come, these things may happen.

Like one devotee asked Srila Prabhupada “ I am trying so much to make

spiritual advancement and I am trying to really do what I can in this
regard…but memories come of previous, of my previous life and all the
things I used to do, memories come.. what am I supposed to do? It upsets
everything.”
So Prabhupada said, “Yeah these memories come, so why do they come?
They come to remind you what kind of a rascal you were and that you
should not become such a rascal again.”
Not that when the memories come of sinful life that you think ..ohhh.
ohhh….. should I may be try it again? Ohhhh it’s still part of me, ohhh
have I really grown out of this? Am I still a bit of that? You know,and
you go back to it.
Yesss you may be still a little bit of that, that is why the memory has
come to warn you that, watch out don’t think you are over it now. You
still have little bits of the disease, so go on very strictly following the
cause of purification, the treatment, the medical treatment. As Srila
Krsnadas Kaviraja was saying that I have been suffering, I have been
bitten by the germs of material desires and I am suffering from the boils
of envy. Therefore in an ocean of humility I am falling at the feet of the
Supreme physician, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It’s like very nice in
each chapter of the Chaitanya Caritamrita Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja,
Kaviraja is sometimes a title used for the Aryuvedic physian. But
actually Kavi also means poet, kavi is also refering to one who is learned,
Kaviraja got that title because he is learned in scripture. But Kavi also
means poet and Kaviraja means the king of poets so it can mean one who
is very learned but in the case of Krsnadas Kaviraja Goswami we should
not think in his spare time he was a Aryuvedic doctor rather Krsnadas
Kaviraja Goswami got that title because he was the most wonderful poet
The poetry of the Caitanya Cariamrita is amazing, it is really amazing.
So here we are bitten by the germs of material desire, we are infected,
doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter at all. Because the Supreme Physician
never fails!
He never fails he can cure anyone, who is willing to take the treatment.
So this is the principle. But it is not easy to not act on the bodily
platform. Although one may be aware that one is not the body and that
he is an eternal spirit soul and therefore ………..the consequences of that
are that actually this material world is of secondary importance. We may
consider that in the Srimad Bhagavatam there is a discussion in the 11 th
canto which we find between the Hamsa avatar and the various sages of
the universe and in that discussion the point was made by the Hamsa
avatar that actually in this world something that is not connected to
Krishna the Supreme Lord has no value, only those things which are
connected to Krishna have value and anybody who think that anything in
this world without Krishna has value such a person is like someone who
is dreaming that he just woke up. So if you are dreaming that you just
woke up and you walk around thinking that you are awake, but in reality
you are dreaming, just dreaming. So this is exactly the position of one
who thinks there is something valuable in this world other than Krishna.

So that is a great platform, that is a platform of transcendence so this is a

platform of realising we are not the body. And therefore our relationship
with this material world is of no actual importance. The fact that we have
this temporary body, that we are within this temporary material world
means that we can temporarily use it in the service of Krishna. As good
as we can with the limitations of the tools. Because we are only too
much aware of the limitations of our bodily capacity.
A kid for a moment maybe thinking that he is very very strong but that
usually doesn’t last very long and usually ends up with crying. So after
these initial thoughts of one’s great great power, at least one’s physical
strength one can come to the point of realising well physically I am not so
powerful. But then the same syndrome and the same tendency of desiring
to be great returns again, returns again but except this time on the subtle
platform… I am very intelligent …..or even if I am not the most
intelligent, I may not be the most intelligent but I am the most sensitive, I
am very sensitive. I’m not claiming to be the most intelligent but I am
sensitive and therefore I always understand exactly what to do in every
situation, I just know things better, what can I do, it just happens to be
my karma, you know, somebody has got to know better, obviously, it’s
logic, just think of it like that, that when there is a group of people, at
least one has to know things better than others, most of the time it’s me,
practically all the time it’s me… I admit sometimes not, but mostly it is,
what can I do it’s my karma Prabhu”
So in this way the germ of material affection, the germ of material
diseases is just hounding us….CONTD TOMO