## Every Man Should Own Some Land Geneva, June 6, 1974 Bhagavad-gītā Lecture: 13.35 **As the body is our field for cultivating Kṛṣṇa conscious ness, so the land is our field for cultivating food...Vedic civilization means every man should produce his own food** **Nitāi:** "One who knowingly sees this difference between the body and the owner of the body and can understand the process of liberation from this bondage also attains to the supreme goal." > [kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor evam antaraṁ jñāna-cakṣuṣā bhūta-prakṛti-mokṣaṁ ca ye vidur yānti te param —Bg. [[bg/13/35|13.35]]] **Prabhupāda:** In the beginning of this chapter, Arjuna inquired, > prakṛtiṁ puruṣaṁ caiva kṣetraṁ kṣetra-jñam eva ca etad veditum icchāmi jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ ca keśava [*Bg *[[bg/13/1 bg 13.2 bg 13.1-2|13.1]]: "Arjuna said: O my dear Kṛṣṇa, I wish to know about prakṛti {nature}, puruṣa {the enjoyer}, and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the object of knowledge...] Yesterday evening, those gentlemen who came from Protestant Church? **Yogeśvara:** Yes. **Prabhupāda:** So they're talking about what is knowledge. Yes. This is very good question, what is knowledge. So Arjuna wanted to know this knowledge from Kṛṣṇa.** Knowledge means to understand this body and the soul.** *Kṣetra-kṣetra-jña*. *Kṣetra* means this body, and kṣetra-jña means the owner of the body. Just like if you study your body... "What is this?" Just like we ask any child. Sometimes we play with the child. We ask, "What is this?" He'll say, "My hand," or "My head." So even the child can say that the hand is different from him. We also say, "This is my hand," "This is my leg," "This is my head." We never say, "I head," or "I hand." No. "My hand." It is very simple thing. So Kṛṣṇa, being asked by Arjuna, He's giving the knowledge that this body is called *kṣetra*. ***Kṣetra* means field of activities. Just like in agricultural land. You get a piece of land, and you produce your own food grain, or as you like. The government gives you a piece of land, and you have to pay a little tax, and you can grow your food grains as you like. **Similarly, as we wanted, Kṛṣṇa has given us this body. Now we can work with this body as we like. If you want, you can utilize this body for higher elevation, or you can utilize this body for your nonsense purpose and go to hell. That is your choice. Just like somebody is using this body, undergoing austerities, penance, according to the spiritual, regulative life, and one man is using this body only for sense gratification, drinking and sex. So it is my choice, to utilize this body as I like, and I also reap the result. The same example: **You are given a field, a piece of land. You can grow twice, thrice in a year very nice foodstuff, sometimes pulses, sometimes paddy, sometimes the mustard seed. Any land... In India, we have seen that a cultivator produces three, four kind of food grains in a year. **That is the system...That is the system that in India every man is producing his food grains independently. Now it is stopped. Formerly, all these men, they used to produce their food grain. **So they used to work for three months in a year, and they could stock the whole year's eatable food grains.** Life was very simple. After all, you require to eat. So this Vedic civilization was that keep some land and keep some cows. Then your whole economic question is solved. Now, in this country, Geneva, I heard there is... I am tasting the milk, first-class milk. I think the world's best milk. Unless one has got his own cows, one cannot get such nice milk. But I hear also that because there is excess production of milk, they have decided to kill twenty-thousand cows. **Devotee:** Last year, they decided to do it, but apparently they didn't do it. They wanted to do it. **Prabhupāda:** Just see how much foolish proposal it is. So for want of God consciousness, this mischievous intelligence can be found. The whole economic question can be solved. If you have got excess, then you can trade, you can send to some place where there is scarcity. **But every man should produce his own food. That is Vedic culture.** You get a piece of land and produce your family's foodstuff. But they are... What they are doing? In Australia, in Africa, they have got enough land, but the government... Maybe they have no sufficient men to utilize the land, but they won't allow any outsider to go there who can produce. I have seen in Africa. **Very, very large tract of land was lying vacant, nobody is producing any food. They are producing coffee.** That is not the local men. The Britishers who have gone there, They are producing coffee, tea, and keeping some cows for slaughtering. This is going on. In Australia, also, I have seen. ...I don't find many churches here in Geneva. They don't like to go to church here? Guru-gaurāṅga**:** They say they do. **Prabhupāda:** ...But don't find many churches here, so this is not very good sign. **People should eat sumptuously, not overeating. Overeating is bad. **Not undereating. *Yuktāhāra-vihārasya yogo bhavati siddhaye*. *Yuktāhāra*, as much as you require, you must eat. *Yajñārthe*... *Annād bhavanti bhūtāni* [Bg [[bg/3/14|3.14]]]. **Either human being or an animal, they must get sufficient food, and that means *anna*, food grains.** So I have studied it very thoroughly. **If people produce food grain in all the lands available all over the world, they can feed ten times population than it is at present.** Kṛṣṇa has made such arrangement. **In the **[Īśopaniṣad, Invocation]**, it is said, *pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate*. In the creation of Kṛṣṇa, there cannot be any scarcity. Everything is sufficiently there.** *Pūrṇam*, it is complete, perfectly made, either this planet, that planet. Everywhere, the living entities are there, and Kṛṣṇa has made provision for every one of them. There is no question of scarcity. But people are not obeying the orders of Kṛṣṇa or the authorities, that "You produce..." *Annād bhavanti bhūtāni*. Even in Bible, it is said, "Thou shalt not kill." They are not producing food grains, and they are killing the animals and eating. How they will be happy? It is not possible. Most sinful activities.** You produce your food. The bull will help you. And the cows will supply you milk. They are considered to be father and mother. Just like father earns money for feeding the children, similarly, the bulls help producing, plowing, producing food grains, and the cow gives milk, mother. **And what is this civilization, killing father and mother? This is not good civilization. It will not stay. There will be catastrophe, waiting. Many times it has happened, and it will happen because transgressing the law of nature, or laws of God, is most sinful. That is sinful. Just like you become criminal by transgressing the law of state, similarly, when you transgress the law of God, then you are sinful.** So this example is given: *idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram*. That means to own a certain piece of land is the basic civilization. Everyone must have a portion of land to produce his food. **There will be no economic problem. And we have seen even in our childhood that poor men, the laborer class, servant, they came from village in the town. We were residents of town, Calcutta, The servants class, they would come... Everywhere, not in Calcutta, everywhere. The villagers would come, and the small salary. Even in our young days, we were paying salaries to the servants, twelve *rupees*, fourteen *rupees*, without any food. And still they would save at least ten to twelve *rupees* out of that. And this money, the servant would send to his wife at home, and as soon as there is two hundred *rupees*, he'll purchase a piece of land. **And in this way, when he has got sufficient land for producing food for the whole family, then he would no more come to city for working. **We have seen it. **That means as soon as one has a land sufficient to produce, he is safe. His food problem—that is the real problem—is solved.** So people are not being trained up to... In America, I have seen. Now the farmers, the father is working on the farm, and the sons, they do not come. They live in the city. **This is the tendency all over the world. They are not producing food grains. Therefore there is scarcity. **There is scarcity of... Especially in a country like India where the population is very big and there is no land available, there must be scarcity of food. Especially the Britishers, they have divided India: Pakistan and Hindustan. So all the food grains are there on the Pakistan side, and in the Hindustan side all the industries are there. So they are fighting. They have no industrial facilities, and they have no agricultural facilities. All policies. They would fight all along. The Britishers wanted that "You have taken your independ ence. All right, you'll suffer all the time, fighting between your..." This was a policy. So it is going on nicely. **So anyway, the whole world situation is degrading, that people are not producing their own food. This is the problem, real problem.** *Kṣetra-kṣetra-jña.* This example is given. As **every man must possess a piece of land**... Therefore this... Because it is very common thing, this example has been given.* Kṣetra-kṣetra-jña*. So as we till our land and gets foodstuff according to my labor, according to my intelligence... Food grains I can produce once twice, thrice, if I work hard. Generally, they work two times: three months, three months. And those who are very lazy, they work three months. But even working for three months, they can acquire foodstuffs for the whole year. That I have seen. So similarly, as we get some land and work for ourself, similarly, this body is also like that land. And I am... This "I," the soul, I can reap good result or bad result as I work with this body. This is very similar. This is knowledge. Kṛṣṇa says, *idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram* [*Bg* [[bg/13/1 bg 13.2 bg 13.1-2|13.2]]]. Kṛṣṇa does not say that "Arjuna, you are this body." That is the beginning of *Bhagavad-gītā*. *Dehino 'smin yathā dehe* [Bg [[bg/2/13|2.13]]]. [Within this body, the owner of the body is there. This is the beginning of knowledge. So this knowledge is lacking. Nobody knows that "I am within this body." Everyone is thinking, "I am this body." I am American, I am Indian, I am Czechoslovakian, or I am Swiss, and... Everyone is thinking. That means they have no knowledge. All fools and rascals. So the all fools and rascals civilization, how we can be happy? There must be intelligence. They have no intelligence. They are thinking of philanthropic work, but still thinking that "I am this body." So what that philanthropic work will do? We... With ignorance, with no knowledge, whatever you do, it is foolish. As there are... Sometimes they divide, four classes of men: lazy intelligent, active intelligent, and lazy fool and active fool. The active fool is fourth-class because whatever he'll do, it is foolish. So result will not be very good. Active fool. So lazy fool is better than the active fool. Just like the monkey. It is active fool. In your country, in the Western country, you don't see many monkeys. But in India, there are many monkeys. As soon as a monkey will come, he will create some mischief. He's very busy, jumping here, there, here, here, there, but always creating mischief. **So modern civilization... And the Darwin's theory is that they have come from monkey. (laughter) So they are also doing like that, jumping like monkey, this way, that way, this way, that way, but always creating mischief.** So this is very good example, that *idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram*. He has given, God has given you a piece of land, this body. Now you work. You make your future with this body. *Karmaṇā*... Because the body is produced according to my *karma*. Otherwise, why there are so many varieties of body? We are all human beings. Everyone, we are, we possess two hands, two legs. Still, the bodies are different.** We don't find anybody's body is exactly equal to the other. No. Because we have got different mentality.** Every one of us, we are individual soul; we have got different mentality, different propensities, different ideas. So in this way we have got different bodies. This is the science. Science, they are searching out so many things, but they do... Why they cannot explain that why there are varieties of body. Why not exactly equal human being exactly of the same feature, same...? Just like we do some... In mold, the, all the dolls come out of the same body. It is not like that.** For each and every living entity, Kṛṣṇa has to prepare a different type of body. **Therefore we have got different types of body according to *karma*. **So this is knowledge, that "I have got this body as field."** As one gets the land for cultivating his food grains, according to his labor, according to his choice,** similarly, we have got this field of activity. Now we can make our future good or bad according to our choice.*** Idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram iti abhidhīyate* [*Bg* [[bg/13/1 bg 13.2 bg 13.1-2|13.2]]]. **This is called *kṣetra*, working land. Just like father gives some capital to the son: "You do some business." Now, you lose the money or increase it hundred times; that depends on you.** Similarly, Kṛṣṇa has given us. We wanted to enjoy this material world, and Kṛṣṇa has given us. The first beginning body is Brahmā, very exalted body. But on account of our abominable activities, from Brahmā, we come down to become the worm of stool. This is called *karma*, *kṣetra*. There are eight million four hundred thousand species of life, and according to our work, we get some body, some type of body. And if we work in the modes of goodness, then we get still better body in higher planetary system, long duration of life, better standard of living condition, more and more, thousand times, thousand times. Whatever comforts and facilities we have got here on this planet, if we work in the modes of goodness, then we get more and more facilities... Those who are trying to promote themselves in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, Kṛṣṇa says *mad-yājinaḥ*, "Those who are worshiping Me, they come to Me." So now it is your choice. This body is given to you. Now you make your choice whether you want to have, in this material world, better facilities, better duration of life, or if you want to degrade yourself to the animal life, or if you want to go to Kṛṣṇaloka, everything, whatever you want, you can get. And this is the chance, this human form of body. You make your choice. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says,* idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram iti abhidhīyate* [*Bg* [[bg/13/1 bg 13.2 bg 13.1-2|13.2]]]. **It is just like the land of cultivation. Now you cultivate.** > idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya kṣetram ity abhidhīyate etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ kṣetra-jñaḥ iti tad-vidaḥ [Bg [[bg/13/1 bg 13.2 bg 13.1-2|13.2]]] And... Just like the land and the proprietor of land. The proprietor of the land knows that "This is my land." It is not "I land." That is ignorance. So people are taking this, that "I am this body." That is ignorance. If they know, if one knows that "I am not this body; I am proprietor of this body, I'll have to work with this body for my future," then that is knowledge. *Etad yo vetti kṣetra-jña*, knower, one who knows. That is the beginning of knowledge. Then Kṛṣṇa says, > kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata kṣetra-kṣetra-jñayor jñānaṁ yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama * *[*Bg *[[bg/13/3|13.3]]] Kṛṣṇa is giving His opinion, the Supreme Authority, that "If you want to know, if you want to be in knowledge, this is knowledge." What is that? "That this body, you are not this body; **you are the owner of the body**. And you should know also that the there is another person. As you are a person, you are owner of this body, there is another person." Who is that? "That is I am." Kṛṣṇa says. *Kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi*: "I am also owner of this body."** Actually Kṛṣṇa is the owner of the body.** Just like in a, in an apartment, there is the occupier and the landlord...Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is the real owner of this body** **because** Kṛṣṇa has given me this body just to occupy it and work. **So far. Not that I am the actual proprietor of this body. Harnessing Natural Inclination, Vṛndāvana, April 20, 1975: Conversation with Governor