New York City - Bg. 4.13

The following is a lecture of the Bhagavad-gita Chapter 4, Verse 13, Given by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada in New York in 1973

[07:49]

“catur-varnyan maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah tasya kartaram api mam viddhy akartaram avyayam”

[08:04]

This is a verse from Bhagavad-gita. Most of you know this book, Bhagavad-gita.

[08:16]

It is a very famous book of knowledge and we are presenting Bhagavad-gita as it is.

[08:27]

This Krishna consciousness movement means to present Bhagavad-gita as it is, without any adulteration.

[08:40]

So, Krishna says four classes of men. “catur-varyan”

[08:54]

‘Catur’ means four and ‘varnyam’ means division of society.

[09:06]

Just like ‘varnyam’ means color. As there are division of color, red, blue, and yellow,

[09:18]

similarly human being, human society should be divided according to the quality.

[09:34]

The quality is also called color.

[09:38]

“catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah”

[09:45]

So, there are three qualities in this material world. Three qualities.

[09:58]

Or three colors. Red, blue, and yellow. You mix it. Then you become 81 colors.

[10:14]

Three colors. Three upon three, multiplied it becomes nine. Nine upon nine multiplied, it becomes 81.

[10:29]

So, there are 8,400,000 different forms of living entities. Due to this mixture of different qualities.

[10:51]

Nature is manufacturing different types of body according to the association

[11:02]

of the living entity to the particular type of quality.

[11:08]

Living entities are part and parcel of God.

[11:16]

Suppose God is the big fire and living entities are just like sparks.

[11:25]

The sparks, they are also fire. The sparks also, if one spark falls on your body, on your garment, it burns.

[11:40]

But it is not as powerful as the big fire.

[11:45]

Similarly, God is all-powerful, God is great.

[11:53]

We are part and parcel of God, therefore our greatness is very, very small. Infinitesimal.

[12:04]

God is great. Therefore He has created so many universes.

[12:17]

We cannot account for even one universe.

[12:24]

This one universe which we see, the sky, the dome, within that sky, outer space,

[12:37]

there are millions and trillions of stars, planets, they’re floating.

[12:45]

Floating in the air, everyone knows.

[12:49]

We can float one Sputnik in the sky and we take so much credit,

[12:58]

that we have become very, very great scientist. We don’t care for God.

[13:04]

This is foolishness. Foolish person will say like that.

[13:12]

But one who is intelligent, he knows that God is floating millions and trillions

[13:21]

of planets in the sky, and what have we done in the comparison?

[13:26]

This is intelligence.

[13:29]

So we have become very much proud of our scientific knowledge,

[13:39]

and therefore, at the present moment, we defy the existence of God.

[13:46]

Sometimes we say that “I have become God now.”

[13:50]

These are foolish statements. You are nothing in comparison to the intelligence…

[13:59]

He’s also intelligent. Because we are part and parcel of God,

[14:05]

that we can study what is God if we simply study ourselves.

[14:11]

Just like if you study a drop of sea water,

[14:18]

if you analyze chemically, you’ll find so many chemicals in that drop.

[14:24]

So you can understand what is the composition of the sea.

[14:30]

The same composition, but in greater quantity.

[14:36]

That is the difference between God and ourself.

[14:42]

We are small gods, we can say, small gods. Teeny, sample gods.

[14:51]

Therefore, we are so much proud.

[14:56]

But we should not be proud because we should know that all our qualities are taken from God.

[15:08]

Because we are part and parcel.

[15:12]

So originally all these qualities are there in God.

[15:16]

And therefore Vedanta-sutra says what is God, what is the Absolute Truth?

[15:24]

“Athatho brahma-jijnasa”

[15:28]

When [we] inquire about God, about the Absolute Truth, the answer is immediately given:

[15:36]

“janmady asya yatah.”

[15:39]

The Absolute Truth is that from whom everything comes, everything emanates.

[15:48]

So everything is coming from God. He’s the original source of all supplies.

[15:57]

Now what is our position? There are innumerable living entities.

[16:06]

“Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam”

[16:11]

That is Vedic information. God is also a living entity, like us, but He’s the chief living entity.

[16:20]

And we are also living entity.

[16:24]

Just like one father. Father may have got twenty children. Twenty sons.

[16:28]

Formerly, they used to have one hundred sons.

[16:34]

Now the fathers have no such power.

[16:38]

But in the, up to five thousand years ago, King Dhritarastra gave birth to one hundred sons.

[16:51]

Now we are… We say, we are saying that we are overpopulated.

[16:57]

But that is not the fact. At the present moment, where is the question of overpopulation?

[17:07]

Now, how many of us giving birth hundreds of children? No. Nobody.

[17:14]

But formerly, a father could give birth to one hundred children.

[17:21]

So there is no question of overpopulation.

[17:25]

And even there is overpopulation, we get information…, information from the Vedas:

[17:33]

“eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman.”

[17:38]

That one chief living entity, God, He can maintain innumerable living entities.

[17:47]

There is no question of overpopulation. This is a false theory.

[17:53]

If God can create, He can maintain also.

[17:58]

And actually, this is the fact. I am traveling all over the world.

[18:08]

There are so much vacant places upon the surface of the globe

[18:15]

that ten times more than the present population can be easily maintained.

[18:23]

But we, we, we do not know how to use it.

[18:29]

In Africa, in Australia, in your America, enough land still lying.

[18:37]

But because we have encroached upon the land of Krishna, the difficulty’s there.

[18:48]

China is overpopulated, India is overpopulated.

[18:53]

But if we take to Krishna consciousness these difficulties will be over within a second.

[19:01]

Krishna consciousness means to take everything Krishna’s.

[19:07]

I am also Krishna’s. That is Krishna consciousness.

[19:11]

Actually, that is fact. Everything…Krishna means God.

[19:16]

Everything belong to God. I also belong to God. “Isavasyam idam sarvam”

[19:25]

Everything belongs to God. That’s a fact. But we do not accept the fact.

[19:33]

We take something illusory. Therefore it is called ‘maya.’ Just like the Americans.

[19:44]

They are claiming this land is for the American group.

[19:50]

Similarly, other nations, they’re…but the land actually belongs to God.

[19:57]

The land, the sky, the water, and the products in the land, in the sky, in the water,

[20:04]

everything belongs to God. And we are children of God.

[20:10]

We have got the right to live at the expense of the father.

[20:16]

Just like we live, small children. They live at the cost of father.

[20:23]

Similarly, we also live by the arrangement of God.

[20:31]

Why should we claim that this is our property?

[20:35]

This is the idea of spiritual communism.

[20:39]

In Bhagavata these things are stated, how to feel spiritual communism.

[20:47]

In the spiritual communism…

[20:51]

The present communists, they are thinking of the human being only.

[20:57]

And the animals are being sent to the slaughterhouse.

[21:03]

Although the human being and the animal is born in the same land…

[21:09]

Actually they are also nationals. National means one who’s born in that particular land.

[21:16]

So why not these animals, nationals?

[21:20]

But because they have no Krishna consciousness, they cannot think so broadly.

[21:27]

They think nationalism means it is limited to the human being. Not to the animals, not to the trees.

[21:38]

But when you become Krishna conscious, you understand that the trees, the plants, the reptiles,

[21:47]

the aquatics, the human beings, the beasts, everyone, each and everyone, part and parcel of God.

[21:58]

According to their karma, they have got different bodies, the color, as I explained.

[22:07]

According to “karanam guna-sango ‘sya sad-asad-janma-yonisu”

[22:14]

These things are described in the Bhagavad-gita.

[22:18]

One has got a different type of body according to his karma. “Karmana daiva netrena jantor deha upapattaye.”

[22:30]

By karma we create next body. So this is a great science.

[22:36]

People do not know how things are taking place, how there are so many species of life,

[22:45]

how one is so-called happy, one so-called distressed. Why one is rich, one is poor.

[22:53]

Why there are so many planets.

[22:56]

Why some of them are demigods and some of them are human beings, some of them are animals.

[23:01]

It is a great science but there is no cultivation of this knowledge in the modern universities or educational institutions.

[23:15]

Perhaps we are the only group of men, we are trying to propagate this science of Krishna consciousness.

[23:26]

But it is a perfect science to understand the position.

[23:33]

Now Krishna says: “catur varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah.”

[23:41]

Now the…When we are animals, we had to pass through animal bodies.

[23:47]

By evolution, we have come to this human form of body.

[23:52]

Now it is an opportunity to get out of this cycle of birth and death.

[24:02]

This is our real problem. But people, because they have no education, poor fund of knowledge.

[24:10]

There is no educational institution how transmigration of the soul takes place.

[24:18]

They do not know. Big, big M.A., Ph.D.'s.

[24:21]

But they do not know what is the actual position of the living entity.

[24:26]

But that is the real problem. They do not know the real problem. The real problem is…

[24:36]

It is stated in the Bhagavad-Gita: “janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi,” birth, death, old age and disease.

[24:45]

This is real problem. Nobody wants to take birth. At least nobody wants to die.

[24:56]

Birth and death. Wherever there is birth, there must be death.

[25:00]

Anything which is born must die. So, “janma-mrtyu.” And old age.

[25:11]

So long you live, you have to change your position. So one position is this old age.

[25:20]

Just like we have become old, there are so many complaints. “Jara.”

[25:27]

And “vyadhi.” And when we become diseased. Everyone should become diseased.

[25:32]

Everyone should become old. Everyone must die. This is the problem.

[25:38]

“Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi duhkla-dosanudarsanam.”

[25:43]

We are trying to mitigate all our miserable conditions of life. That is struggle for existence.

[25:53]

We are scientists. We are discovering many counteracting processes to get out of distressed condition.

[26:02]

But the difficult position, “janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi,” we are avoiding.

[26:09]

Because we cannot do anything. We cannot even…

[26:16]

The so-called science, they cannot solve this problem,

[26:22]

although sometimes they falsely become proud that by science we shall become immortal and so on.

[26:29]

These things were tried before also by atheistic class of men like Ravana, Hiranyakasipu.

[26:37]

But it is not possible to become successful, to stop birth death, old age and disease.

[26:45]

That is not possible. If there is any possible process, that is Krishna consciousness.

[26:52]

That is Krishna consciousness.

[26:55]

If you become Krishna conscious, then you can get a body.

[27:05]

Not get… You have already got the body, spiritual body.

[27:10]

And upon that spiritual body, this material body has developed.

[27:16]

Just like dress. Your coat is cut according to your body.

[27:22]

Similarly, this material body is cut according to our spiritual body.

[27:29]

We have got our spiritual body. This material body is covering. “Vasami jirnani,” just like dress.

[27:41]

You shirt and coat is the covering of your real body.

[27:44]

Similarly, this body, gross body and subtle body, made of material elements…

[27:54]

The gross body is made of earth, water, air, and fire.

[28:00]

And the subtle body’s made of mind, intelligence, and ego. This is the shirt and coat.

[28:06]

Within this shirt and coat, there is the soul.

[28:10]

So the soul is now encased in this material body.

[28:16]

And our business in the human form of body. In animal form of body, we cannot do this.

[28:24]

But the human form of body we can understand that, “I am not this body.”

[28:31]

The body, this material body, is an outer encasement, because I have got this body,

[28:42]

I am subjected to birth, death, old age and disease.

[28:45]

Now, in the human form of body, I understand it. So if I take the process,

[28:55]

how to get out of this cycle of birth and death, then our human life is successful.

[29:03]

This is Krishna consciousness movement. How, we are helping people how to get out of this material body,

[29:14]

and revive your own spiritual body, and in that spiritual body, you go back home, back to Godhead.

[29:24]

This is the process. “Tyaktva dehamjpunar janma naiti.”

[29:29]

But people are so attracted to this material body that they are prepared to become cats and dogs next life,

[29:42]

but they are not prepared to go back to home, back to Godhead.

[29:44]

This is the problem. So why this problem?

[29:51]

Because the human society is in chaos. A chaotic condition.

[29:58]

There must be division of four classes.

[30:04]

One class must be brahmana, intelligent class of men.

[30:09]

And one should be ksatriya, one class, the administrators.

[30:15]

Because human society, they require good consulting brain, good administrators,

[30:22]

good producers, and good workers. That is the division of brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra.

[30:31]

Therefore Krishna says: “catur varnyam maya srstam.”

[30:38]

In order to keep smooth facilities for human life, there must be four divisions.

[30:48]

If you say that, “We don’t require brahmana.”

[30:53]

If you don’t require brahmana, then you’ll suffer. Just like you have got this body.

[31:01]

And if you think, “This part of the body is very expensive, always eating. Cut it off.”

[31:08]

Then you’ll be dead. Similarly, just to keep your body in good condition, in living condition,

[31:21]

you must have your head, you must have your arms, you must have your belly, you must have your legs.

[31:28]

You cannot say that, “I can avoid this part of the body.” No.

[31:33]

Similarly, “catur varnyam maya srstam,” the four divisions of the society must be there.

[31:42]

Otherwise it will be chaotic or dead body.

[31:45]

So at the present moment, the difficulty is there is no brahmana, there is no ksartiya.

[31:54]

There are only the vaisyas and sudras, belly, vaisya means belly, and sudra means the leg.

[32:07]

So if out of the four divisions, one is wanting……………

[32:15]

……………God. That is brahmana. And keeping in view God, they teaches others to become God conscious.

[32:28]

Without becoming God conscious, the human society is simply animal society.

[32:34]

Because animals cannot be God conscious, however you may go on preaching amongst the animals,

[32:42]

cats and dogs. It is not possible. Because they have no brain to understand what is God.

[32:50]

So in the human society, if there is no brahmana who can teach about God,

[32:58]

who can elevate persons to God consciousness, then it is also animal society.

[33:05]

Simply eating, sleeping, and sex life and defense, these are the business of the animals also.

[33:17]

The animals also know how to eat, how to sleep, how to enjoy sex life, how to defend.

[33:24]

They know in their own way.

[33:26]

So simply to do these business does not mean human being.

[33:33]

Then human, the mission of human being will not be fulfilled.

[33:37]

There must be the four classes of men, as Krishna recommends: “catur varnyam maya srstam.”

[33:46]

There must be a brahminical class of men, a ksatriya class of men, a vaisya class…

[33:55]

There are already. But they’re not very scientifically settled, as it is propounded in the Bhagavad-gita.

[34:04]

“Catur varnyam maya srstam.” These are, “guna-karma-vibhagasah.” ‘Guna’ means according to quality.

[34:13]

So in India, these four classes of men are there, but they are in the name.

[34:22]

Actually it is also in the chaotic condition.

[34:26]

Because nobody is following the prescription as given by Bhagavad-gita,

[34:32]

“guna karma-vibagasah.”

[34:35]

In India, although a person born in a brahmana family, but his guna, qualities, are less than sudra,

[34:44]

but still he’s being accepted as a brahmana. That is the difficulty.

[34:51]

Therefore, India’s condition is so chaotic.

[34:53]

But this is a scientific process. You Western people, you should try to understand that.

[35:02]

And our boys and girls who have joined, they are trying to understand, and execute the principles.

[35:09]

So if you take up this Krishna consciousness movement, which is meant for the brahmanas,

[35:18]

if you become brahmana by quality, then your, the Western nations will be…

[35:26]

especially in America, they’ll be first class nation.

[35:29]

They’ll be first-class nation. You have got intelligence. You have got resources.

[35:35]

You are also inquisitive. You catch up good things.

[35:41]

So you have got good qualities. You take up this Krishna consciousness movement seriously,

[36:05]

and you’ll become the first-class nation of the world.

[35:52]

That is my request. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.