# December 3 ## Spoken on December 3 *Lectures from this day: 9 recordings* --- **[1966: Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.121–124](spoken/1966/661203cc.ny.md)** > Therefore Lord Caitanya says that "The subject matter of the *Vedas* we must understand." And what is that subject matter? That we must know our relationship with God, or with each other, or with this nature, or this world; then what is our action, regulated action; then the *prayojana,* the ultimate goal of life is reached. *'Kṛṣṇa'-prāpya sambandha, 'bhakti'-prāptyera sādhana.* The ultimate end is to reach Kṛṣṇa, or to get Kṛṣṇa. Ultimate end. And that is confirmed in the *Bhagavad-gītā: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam*. The ultimate purpose of the *Vedas* is to reach Kṛṣṇa. That's all. So this is the ultimate goal of life, and *Vedas* describes this, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu is describing also. We shall come to this point gradually. > First things is that I am so much illusioned that I... Just like the animals. They are suffering so much, but they have no knowledge that they are suffering. But human being, who are above them, they can understand that what sort of suffering there is. Animal, he's, he's being taken to the slaughterhouse, but it does not know, due to ignorance. So this is called *āvaraṇātmikā,* covering influence of the material nature. And there is another influence. Suppose one is trying to come out of the covering. *Prakṣepātmikā.* It throws: "Oh, why you are trying for this? You are very happy. Why do you think..., why you are so much pessimistic of this life? Just work hard and enjoy life. That's all." --- **[1971: Room Conversation](spoken/1971/711203r1.del)** > So we have to be trained not as master—as servant. That is perfect. *Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ*: servant of the servant of the servant of the servant. Material world: master of the master of the master of the master. And ultimately, "I am God." [devotees laugh] This is another material thing. When he says that *brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā,* that is another *māyā.* > So we should not try to become master; we should become servant and teach others how an ideal servant can serve. That is Vaiṣṇava. If I want to become master, then that is material. Everyone is material, wanting to become master. There is dissension, enviousness. But the Vaikuṇṭha party is quite different. Here, if you advance more than me, I become envious: "Oh." But in Vaikuṇṭha party there is competition: if you advance, then I should say, "Oh, how nice he is. He is able to serve Kṛṣṇa so nicely. I could not do so, so I must follow him." This is Vaikuṇṭha. In the material world it is, "Oh, he has advanced so much. Oh, let me cut him." This is material. --- **[1973: Morning Walk](spoken/1973/731203mw.la)** > You are trying to save yourself from the suffering. This is life, struggle for existence. *Manaḥ ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛti-sthāni karṣati*. Simply struggle. So if you increase your life for struggling again, then what is the profit? This is... The rascals, they do not understand. Even if you increase, what profit you will get? Your life is all suffering. So the foolish persons, they cannot understand. The real problem is how to stop your suffering. Reduce or increase, it doesn't matter. But that you cannot do. You'll have to die. This is your suffering. Nobody wants to die. You'll have to become old man. Suppose a old man, suffering from so many diseases, and he increases his life. What is the profit there? > And it is very exact mathematically calculated. Because the nature is working in three modes, so you mix up these three modes, it becomes three into three equal to nine, and again you multiply nine into nine, equal eighty-one. Again eighty-one into eighty-one. So many varieties come. Therefore generally it is taken, 84,000,000 varieties..., er, 8,400,000. That is already there. Just like government creates a prison house. Although the city is not constructed, but they construct a prison house. Why? The government knows that "There are so many rascals. They will be criminals; they must come here." So it is not government mistakes. Your mistake. You become criminal and come here. It is your mistake. Why should you be criminal? That is your mistake. --- **[1973: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.15.24](spoken/1973/731203sb.la)** > Now... Therefore we should always try to understand the will of God. That is our duty. That will of God we can understand in the human form of life. That is an opportunity. Will of God is expressed very clearly: *sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja*. That is said already. Nobody can say, "What is the will of God? I do not know." No, you know. He says, God says, Kṛṣṇa says, *sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja:* "You give up all other business. You just become surrendered to Me." "And then how shall I pull on? *Ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi:* "I shall give you protection. I will give you protection, and I shall release you from the effects of all sinful activity." > The injunction is, "Thou shall not kill," but he will kill and kill and kill and kill, and still, he wants to be satisfied. Just see. The Bible says, "Thou shall not kill," and they are simply engaged in killing business, and still they want to be happy. Just see the fun. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, "Yes, you be killed by occasional world war. You must be killed. You have created this situation. You must be killed. You may be American or Englishman or German or this or that. You may be very proud of your nationality. But you must be killed." This is the position. *Īśvarasya viceṣṭitam.* "You have killed so many animals. Now wholesale killing, one bomb, one atom bomb. Be killed." --- **[1974: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.33–34](spoken/1974/741203sb.bom)** > So *jarayaty āśu yā kośam. Kośam* means covering. We have got..., the spirit soul has got two kinds of covering. As Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā, dehino 'smin yathā dehe*. *Dehinaḥ,* the proprietor or the occupier... Proprietor is not actually. The occupier. I have several times explained that this body, gross and subtle, both the bodies... Just like shirt and coat covering of the body, similarly, there are two kinds of covering of the body: subtle body and gross body. The gross body is made of earth, water, fire, air, sky, and the subtle body is made of mind, intelligence and ego. There are eight kinds of material elements. Five are gross—we can see—and three are very subtle—we cannot see. And the soul is still more subtle. > Therefore those who have got complete knowledge, they never expect like that: "I shall become one with the Supreme." *Na eka, ekātmatām. Na ekātmatāṁ me spṛhayanti.* They even hate to desire it. They simply want to remain... That is the constitutional position. Here we are also part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, although we are now covered by this material body. That can be dissolved. This material, it can be easily dissolved by *bhakti-yoga.* Therefore it is said that *jarayaty āśu yā kośaṁ nigīrṇam analo yathā.* Just like if you have got good digestive power, you eat anything, it will be digested. You will not find any difficulty. Similarly, if you have got strong *bhakti-yoga,* then you are not any more in material body. You are free. You are in spiritual body. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the *Bhagavad-gītā* that *māṁ ca yaḥ avyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate*. --- **[1975: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.2](spoken/1975/751203sb.vrn)** > He is the supreme father, and as the father and the sons are related eternally, you cannot be separated. There may be misunderstanding between the father and the son, but the son is always the son, and the father is always the father. That cannot be separated. So our present material condition of life means that we are forgotten of our relationship with God. This is our position. Therefore people are... Some of them are agnostic. Some of them are atheist. Some of them are this, that, so many. They want to forget God. They have already forgotten, and on account of their forgetfulness they are conditioned by nature. The father wants the sons may come back, and the sons have forgotten the father. Therefore the father comes as incarnation. *Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham*. Why Kṛṣṇa comes? Not only He comes, He sends His so many incarnation. Some of them are *svāṁśa.* [pleanary portions] Some of them are *vibhinnāṁśa.* [separated parts and parcels] Everyone is coming here to canvass, to get back the sons back to home, back to Godhead. In different countries, in different atmosphere the business is going on to reestablish the lost or forgotten relationship with God. This is going on. > So here Prahlāda Mahārāja recommended in the first verse, *kaumāram ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha : "From the very beginning of childhood one should be trained up to act according to the *bhāgavata-dharma.*" That is real life. But instead of *bhāgavata-dharma,* they have created so many false *dharmas.* So many. So that is our mistake. Real *dharma* is *bhāgavata-dharma,* relationship with God. You may call it *bhāgavata-dharma* or the occupational duty in relationship with God. That is compulsory. You cannot say that "I do not need it." No. That is compulsory. If you are not in *bhāgavata-dharma,* then you are misled. That is described, *dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo atra*. --- **[1976: Evening Darśana](spoken/1976/761203ed.hyd)** > From the earth you can get all the necessities of life. Actually you are getting food grains, minerals, trees, fruits, flowers, everything from the earth. *Sarva-dughā, sarva-kāma-dughā mahī.* This *mahī,* when it is soaked with proper rains, it becomes fertile. Therefore we have to depend on the rainfall. There is one verse in *Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kāmaṁ vavarṣa parjanyaḥ*. *Parjanya* means rainfall. Rainfall means it is supplying all the necessities of life. And this rainfall will be easy when there is *yajña.* And nobody is performing *yajña;* therefore nowadays rainfall is scarcity. In Europe recently I have seen, there is no rainfall, whole Europe. It is on the verge of drying everything. So this punishment will come in this Kali-yuga. There will be no rainfall, and there will be not sufficient food supply, and the government will simply levy taxes on different pleas, and people will be so much embarrassed that they will give up their hearth and home and flee away to the forest. It is stated. So therefore you must perform *yajña.* And that is very easy in this age. *Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ* . You cannot perform the former *yajñasa* by sacrifice tons of ghee and grains because you have no sufficient food grains even. But still, if you chant this *saṅkīrtana,* that is *yajña.* Therefore you must take to *saṅkīrtana-yajña. Yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ.* It is very easy. > So without any jugglery of words we present to the people that "Here is Bhagavān," *kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam.* So giving some words, sacrificing some words. Not that every one of us is very highly educated or very rich. Still, if we carry the words of Kṛṣṇa... As Kṛṣṇa says, *mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya*, so we have to carry these words, that "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Kṛṣṇa." Where is the difficulty? It is authorized. Kṛṣṇa says, and we simply carry the words. So where is difficulty? So simply by carrying these words that "Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He wants that you surrender unto Him." --- ## Letters on December 3 *Letters from this day: 22* --- **[1967: Letter to Pandit Hitsaran Sharma](letters/1967/671203_pandit_hitsaran_sharma)** > I hope by this time you have duly received my letter of the 11th instant from Calcutta. I have sent you manuscripts for Srimad Bhagawatam two volumes. --- **[1968: Letter to Mahapurusa](letters/1968/681203_mahapurusa)** > I know that you are a sincere Vaisnava, and every one of your god-brothers praises you nice Vaisnava qualities. --- **[1971: Letter to Damodara](letters/1971/711203_damodara)** > Enclosed please find one copy of Gayatri mantra and one sacred thread duly chanted on for your wife, Mrganetri dasi. --- **[1971: Letter to Devotees](letters/1971/711203_devotees)** > Radha and Krishna have been so much merciful upon me to have given me so many nice spiritual sons and daughters as yourselves. --- **[1971: Letter to Jayapataka](letters/1971/711203_jayapataka)** > I am sending Biharilal Prabhu to Calcutta for the purpose of collecting four first-class koles, ten karatalas and a few thousand magazines for taking with him for our Madras program. --- **[1971: Letter to Karandhara](letters/1971/711203_karandhara)** > I am very glad to accept them as my initiated students, and I have given their spiritual names as Ganga Narayana das and Jaga Mohini dasi respectively. --- **[1972: Letter to Ekayani](letters/1972/721203_ekayani)** > They should not simply, husband and wife, live in the room together in the temple, otherwise there is no restriction. --- **[1972: Letter to Gopala Krsna](letters/1972/721203_gopala_krsna)** > If you are coming to Bombay side in February, I do not yet know what is my programme for that month, perhaps I may go to Australia, I do not know, let us see what Krishna desires. --- **[1972: Letter to Karandhara](letters/1972/721203_karandhara)** > Still we have not finished the business with Nair, and the case has become very complicated without any settlement. --- **[1972: Letter to Vamanadeva](letters/1972/721203_vamanadeva)** > Now, hold the fire yajna ceremony and give Gayatri mantra to Socillia Dasa. Let him hear with earphones into his right ear the tape of me reciting Gayatri mantra and teach him to count on the finger divisions. --- **[1973: Letter to Jagadisa](letters/1973/731203_jagadisa)** > Thank you for the report of the progress of Temples in your Canadian Zone. Now that we have opened some Centers, they must be maintained and our work go on. --- **[1973: Letter to Karnamrta](letters/1973/731203_karnamrta)** > Your humble attitude is very much appreciated by me. Always chant Hare Krsna and as far as possible help me push on this movement by preaching this philosophy and distributing our books. --- **[1973: Letter to Sri Govinda](letters/1973/731203_sri_govinda)** > Enclosed find the names of the devotees you have recommended for initiation which I hereby accept as my duly initiated disciples: --- **[1973: Letter to Tejiyas](letters/1973/731203_tejiyas)** > Guru das has written that the work has stopped in Vrndaban for want of finances. I am arranging to collect and send money from here for the Vrindaban project and I also want you to concentrate on collecting there. --- **[1974: Letter to Agent Central Bank Of India](letters/1974/741203_agent_central_bank_of_india)** > As requested by you I am herewith enclosing herewith the Deposit Receipt as referred to above duly endorsed by me for crediting the interest monthly to my S/A/c 821. --- **[1974: Letter to Madhavananda](letters/1974/741203_madhavananda)** > Of course I was here in India, so I could not attend your Diwali-Govardhana Puja function, but I understand it was very nice. --- **[1974: Letter to Prabhavisnu](letters/1974/741203_prabhavisnu)** > Upon your recommendation I am accepting the following devotees as my initiated disciples and their names are as follows: 1. I am also accepting the following as twice born brahmanas upon your recommendation: Brsabha dasa; Jaya Laksmana das; Jnana das; and Jalastitha devi das. --- **[1974: Letter to Radhavallabha](letters/1974/741203_radhavallabha)** > index idea of separate volumes, Prabhupada does not like this idea. He said that we are selling the books mostly to casual customers, so what will be the fate of the index for them? --- **[1974: Letter to Ramesvara](letters/1974/741203_ramesvara)** > Regarding the New York temple's books, they should be charged the regular temple price for all literature. When purchasing their house, if they require money, then the BBT will give. --- **[1974: Letter to Sri Mody](letters/1974/741203_sri_mody)** > I did not know anything about this incident. I am very sorry for it however, and I am inquiring into the matter further. --- **[1975: Letter to G.L. Nanda](letters/1975/751203_g.l._nanda)** > Sriman Gulzari Lal Nanda 5, Tuglak Road, New Delhi 110011 Krishna Balarama Temple, Rama Reti, Vrindaban (U.P.) My Dear Sriman Nandaji, Please accept my greetings. Let us immediately construct a nice gorgeous temple on the spot which you have earmarked for constructing the Radha Krishna Temple. If you allow me to construct the temple on this spot, I can take up the work immediately without a moment's delay. --- **[1975: Letter to Ramesvara Prabhu](letters/1975/751203_ramesvara_prabhu)** > I was never a beggar for money, but I was writing books and selling. My Guru Maharaja very much liked my writing and he used to show others in my absence "Just see how nicely he has written, how he has appreciated." He encouraged me, and my Godbrothers, they also like my writing. ---