London, July 24, 1973

Pradyumna (leads chanting, etc.):

na ca çreyo 'nupaçyämi

hatvä svajanam ähave

na käìkñe vijayaà kåñëa

na ca räjyaà sukhäni ca

[Bg. 1.31]

Translation: "I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle, nor can I, my dear Kåñëa, desire any subsequent victory, kingdom, or happiness."

Prabhupäda: So there are two things, çreyas and preyas. Here Arjuna is speaking of çreyas. Çreyas means ultimate good, and preyas means immediately palatable. That is called preyas. So everyone should be interested for çreyas, not for preyas. Just like a child, he likes to play all day and night. Naturally. Playful child. So that is called preyas. He likes immediate pleasure. But his father says, "My dear child, just go to school or read book." So father is asking for çreyas, ultimate good. If he is not educated at the, at childhood, then how he will prosper in his future life? So considering the future prospect, ultimate good, that is called çreyas. And preyas means immediate. Just like we eat something which I may not digest, or it may have some bad effect later on. But people are interested—the immediate benefit, without calculation of future benefit.

So Arjuna is considering with reference to his future, that "If I kill my kinsmen, what benefit there will be? I want victory, I want kingdom, to become happy, but if my all kinsmen are killed, then what is the value of my victory? With whom I shall enjoy?" He is thinking like that. Society... The same thing: society, friendship and love. Everyone wants to enjoy life with society, friends. Nobody wants to enjoy life alone. That is not possible. This is not natural. So wherefrom we got this idea, that I cannot enjoy alone? Just like generally a person is alone, but he gets a wife with a hope for enjoying family life, children, wife, friends. Gåha-kñetra, ataù gåha-kñetra-sutäpta-vittaiù. Gåha means apartment, and kñetra means land. Gåha-kñetra-suta. Suta means children. Ataù gåha-kñetra-suta äpta. Äpta means friends, society. Ataù gåha-kñetra-sutäpta-vittaiù. Äpta means friends, society, and to support all these things—gåha, kñetra, suta, äpta—there is required money, vitta. Vitta means money. Ataù gåha-kñetra-sutäpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaà mameti [SB 5.5.8]. This is material life. Gåha, kñetra. "I must have Gåha." Gåha means with wife. Na gåhaà gåham ity ähur gåhiëé gåham ucyate. Gåha. Gåha means house.

So we are also living in house, very nice house. But still, we are not gåhastha. A Gåha, to live in a house, does not mean a gåhastha. Na gåhaà gåham ity ähuù. Gåhastha means gåha. Gåhe tiñöhati iti gåhastha. Every Sanskrit word has got elaborate meaning. Gåhastha means one who stays in gåha, in house. He is called gåhastha. So we can be called gåhastha also. We are living in house. No. Çästra says, na gåhaà gåham ity ähuù: "Simply a house is not gåha." There must be the housewife. That means wife. Gåhiëé gåham ucyate. In Hindi this word is used, garbhali means if there is no wife, that is not gåha. And another Cäëakya Paëòita says, putra-hénaà gåhaà çünyam. "You have got wife, but if you have no children, that gåha is also void." So gåhastha means to live with wife and children, and cultivating spiritual life. That is called gåhastha. It doesn't matter, you live with your wife and children, or you live with brahmacäré, sannyäsé. Anything. It doesn't matter. Therefore there are so many divisions of life. Whichever status of life is suitable for you, you can accept. Brahmacäré, gåhastha, vänaprastha, sannyäsa äçrama. Äçrama, when the word is added, äçrama, that means it has got reference with cultivation of spiritual life. So gåhastha-äçrama. One can live at home with wife and children, but the business should be Kåñëa consciousness. We don't accept the Mäyävädé sannyäsé because there is no Kåñëa consciousness. Simply by becoming sannyäsé... Brahma satyaà jagan mithyä: "This world is false. Brahman is truth. So I give up this world." That kind of sannyäsé we do not accept. Either you become gåhastha or sannyäsé or brahmacäré, there must be Kåñëa. Then it will be called äçrama. Gåhastha-äçrama, sannyäsa-äçrama, brahmacäré-äçrama. Therefore this word is added, äçrama.

So Arjuna is in gåhastha-äçrama. He wants to serve Kåñëa. He's Kåñëa's friend. He is a devotee. Kåñëa has already recommended. In the Fourth Chapter He will declare, bhakto 'si priyo 'si me [Bg. 4.3]. "You are My dear friend. You are My devotee." So he is qualified, gåhastha-äçramé. He is devotee of Kåñëa, but he is also family man. He has his wife, children. So here the problem is what is çreyas? What is ultimate good? That is mistaken here. Therefore Bhagavad-gétä is required. He is thinking that "Kåñëa is not so important. My family is important. My family." Although he is devotee. Therefore kaniñöha-adhikäré, in the lower stage of devotee, in the lower stage of devotion, one may be interested in Kåñëa consciousness, but his real interest is how to improve this material life. Just like: "O God, give us our daily bread." So he has gone to God not to serve God, but to take bread. Ärtaù arthärthé. That is also good. But he... Because he has gone to God to ask for bread, he is better than the rascals who do not care for God. He has gone to God. That is recommended in the Bhagavad-gétä. Ärto jijïäsur arthärthé jïäné ca bharatarñabha. Catur-vidhä bhajante mäà janäù sukåtino 'rjuna [Bg. 7.16]. "Arjuna, four kinds of people, they become devotee." Who are they? Ärta. Ärta means distressed. Arthärthé, one who is poor, wants some money; jijïäsu, inquisitive; and jïäné, and a man of knowledge. So ärtaù arthärthé, this is meant, this is referred to the gåhastha. The gåhasthas, they become sometimes distressed. The gåhastha-äçrama means unless there is Kåñëa or full consciousness of Kåñëa, it is simply miserable, simply miserable. Duùkhälayam açäçvatam [Bg. 8.15]. Simply working hard day and night, then there is, child is sick, then wife is not satisfied, the servant is not satisfied... So many things, problem. But if there is Kåñëa in the center, the all problems will be solved. But people do not know this. They think that "I shall be happy with wife, children, servants, house, and this and that." No. That is not possible. Therefore one should be in gåhastha-äçrama. Not only in family life. Family, the dogs have got family life. He has got wife, children. The cats and the hogs, a big family. Because a hog begets, at a time, one dozen children. What you beget? You are afraid of begetting one child even. This contraceptive method. But they are not afraid. They beget one dozen children at a time, twice in a year. So to live with family, wife, children... Then the hog accepts family life. No. That is not family life. You live with wife, children, peacefully, if you like, but bring in Kåñëa in the center. That is gåhastha-äçrama.

So Arjuna is talking of the ultimate good. But he is talking ultimate good with the point of view from material conception. He does not know... He knows, but he is playing the part of a person who does not know that ultimate çreyas, ultimate good, is Kåñëa. Ultimate good is not that "We live with family—that is good." No. When you live with family because you cannot renounce, so that is allowed. But you live with family with Kåñëa. So Kåñëa is there, but he is thinking in terms of material role, that "If my kinsmen are dead, I kill them, then where is my good? It is no good. What shall I do with the victory and happiness? Where is happiness? I cannot live without them." This is the conception. Ataù gåha... Ataù gåha-kñetra-sutäpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam [SB 5.5.8]. This is illusion. Everyone is trying to become happy with society, friendship and love, children, wife, friends, money and house and land. This is the conception of material.... So Arjuna is thinking in material concept of life. He is not thinking that "My ultimate good is to satisfy Kåñëa." This is the Bhagavad-gétä's purport. That is Kåñëa consciousness. One has to change to satisfy Kåñëa, not to satisfy himself or the family or the society or the nation, no. Whether Kåñëa is satisfied, that is the criterion. That is ultimate good. Kasmin tuñöe jagat tuñöam. If Kåñëa is satisfied, then other things will be automatically satisfied. But they do not know. They are thinking that "I can bring Kåñëa in the midst of my family provided Kåñëa helps me to enjoy this material life." They are thinking like that. That is ärta. But that is also good. Just like Dhruva Mahäräja, he was ärta. Ärta, means he wanted something material, benefit. His stepmother insulted him, that "You cannot sit down on the lap of your father because you were not born in my womb." He was kñatriya; he took it insult. So his father had two wives. So he was born the eldest queen. The father was not very much attached to the eldest queen. The father was attached to the junior queen. And the junior queen was very proud that "The king is in my hand." So she insulted. The father was not happy. The... Although Dhruva Mahäräja was born of the eldest queen... And it is sometimes liking. So that does not mean he did not like his son. So he wanted to sit down on the lap of his father and the stepmother insulted. So he took it very seriously. And he wanted to have the kingdom. This is arthärthé. He wanted something. And his mother advised that "You take shelter of Kåñëa. He can fulfill your desire." So therefore ärtaù arthärthé. He was distressed; at the same time, he wanted a kingdom by the grace of Kåñëa. That was his purpose. So because he went to worship Kåñëa for some material benefit, he is to be taken as pious.

Catur-vidhä bhajante mäà sukåtina. Sukåtina means pious. Kåté means very expert in acting worldly activities. So one who are engaged in pious activities, they are called sukåté. There are two kinds of activities: impious activities, sinful activities; and pious activities. So one who goes to pray in the church or in the temple, "O God, give us our daily bread," or "God, give me some money," or "God, give me relief from this distress," they are also pious. They are not impious. The impious people, they will never surrender to God, Kåñëa. Na mäà duñkåtino müòhäù, prapadyante narädhamäù [Bg. 7.15]. These class of men, sinful men, rascal, lowest of the mankind, whose knowledge has been taken away by mäyä, and demon—these classes of men will never surrender to God. Therefore they are duñkåtina, impious. So Kåñëa is pious, but still he wants the family benefit. This is his defect. Er, Arjuna. Family prosperity. He wants to be happy with society, friendship and love. Therefore he says that na käìkñe vijayam... This is called vairägya. Çmaçäna-vairägya. It is called çmaçäna-vairägya. Çmaçäna-vairägya means that in India, the Hindus, they burn the dead body. So relatives take the dead body for burning to the burning ghäöa, and when the body is burned, everyone present there, for the time being, they become little renounced: "Oh, this is the body. We are working for this body. Now it is finished. It is burnt into ashes. So what is the benefit?" This kind of vairägya, renouncement, is there. But as soon as he comes from the burning ghäöa, he again begins his activities. In the çmaçäna, in the burning ghäöa, he becomes renounced. And as soon as comes home, again he is vigorous, vigorous, how to earn, how to get money, how to get money, how to get money. So this kind of vairägya is called çmaçäna-vairägya, temporary. He cannot become vairägé. And he said, na käìkñe vijayam: [Bg. 1.31] "I don't want victory. I don't want this." This is temporary sentiment. Temporary sentiment. These people, they attach to family life. They may say like that, that "I don't want this happiness, don't want this very nice position, victory. I don't want." But he wants everything. He wants everything. Because he does not know what is the çreyas. Çreyas is Kåñëa. Actually, when one gets Kåñëa, or Kåñëa consciousness, then he can say that "I don't want this." They will not say that. Why they will say, "Don't want this"? Here what we have got? Suppose I have got a kingdom. So that is my kingdom? No. That is Kåñëa's kingdom. Because Kåñëa says bhoktäraà yajïa-tapasäà sarva-loka-maheçvaram [Bg. 5.29]. He is the proprietor. I may be His representative. Kåñëa wants that everyone should be Kåñëa conscious.

So the king's duty is, as representative of Kåñëa, to make every citizen Kåñëa conscious. Then he is doing nice duty. And because the monarchs did not do so, therefore now monarchy is abolished everywhere. So again the monarchs, where there is monarchy, little, at least show of monarchy, just like here in England there is, actually if the monarch becomes Kåñëa conscious, actually becomes representative of Kåñëa, then the whole face of the kingdom will change. That is required. Our Kåñëa consciousness movement is for that purpose. We don't very much like this so-called democracy. What is the value of this democracy? All fools and rascals. They vote another fool and rascal, and he becomes prime minister, or this or that. Just like... In so many cases. That is not good for the people. We are not for this so-called democracy because they are not trained. If the king is trained... That was the system of monarchy. Just like Yudhiñöhira Mahäräja or Arjuna or anyone. All the kings. Räjarñi. They were called räjarñi.

imaà vivasvate yogaà

proktavän aham avyayam

vivasvän manave präha

manur ikñväkave 'bravét

[Bg. 4.1]

Evaà paramparä-präptam imaà räjarñayo viduù [Bg. 4.2]. Räjarñayaù. Räja, king means, he is not only king. He is a great åñi, saintly person, just like Mahäräja Yudhiñöhira or Arjuna. They're saintly persons. They are not ordinary, this drunkard king, that "I have got so much money. Let me drink and let there be dancing of the prostitute." Not like that. They were åñi. Although they were king, they were åñis. That kind of king wanted, räjarñi. Then people will be happy. In Bengali there is a proverb, räjara päpe räja nañöa gåhiëé doñe gåhastha bhrañöa (?). In gåhastha life, in household life, if the wife is not good, then nobody will be happy in that home, gåhastha life, household life. Similarly, in a kingdom, if the king is impious, then everything, everyone will suffer. This is the problem.

So Kåñëa, Arjuna is thinking of the çreyas and preyas. Actual çreyas means to achieve Kåñëa consciousness. That is wanting in Arjuna. He is showing that feature of life, that he wants better the society, friendship and love. He does not want to kill them. Then everything will be finished. But actually the fact is that even after killing the so-called kinsmen, if he can satisfy Kåñëa, that is his çreyas. That is his çreyas. That he does not know. And because he does not know, therefore this Bhagavad-gétä is there. He is playing the part that he does not know that Kåñëa is the ultimate goal of life, not this so-called society, friendship and love. He is playing that part, that he does not know. He is thinking that "Kåñëa is not important." Kåñëa has already asked him to fight, but he is considering that "Kåñëa, You are asking me to fight, and I have to kill my own kinsmen. Then where is my victory?" So therefore he said... Here in the previous verse, he has said, paçyämi viparétäni keçava: [Bg. 1.30] "You are asking me to fight, for my victory, for my happiness, but I see it will be just the opposite." Paçyämi viparétäni. This is his problem. And to solve this problem, Arjuna became the disciple of Kåñëa, and Kåñëa advised him this Bhagavad-gétä, and that is the prelude. Unless Arjuna plays like that, ordinary man...

Anyone, everyone wants to be happy with this Gåha-kñetra-sutäpta-vittaiù [SB 5.5.8], household life, and having some land. In those days there was no industry. Therefore industry is not meant. Land. If you get land, then you can produce your food. But actually that is our life. Here in this village we find so much land lying vacant, but they are not producing their food. They make their food the cows, poor cows, to kill them and eat them. This is not Gåha-kñetra. You become gåhastha, but you produce your food from the land, Gåha-kñetra. And when you produce food, then beget children, Gåha-kñetra-suta-äpta-vitta. In India in village, there is, still the system is amongst the poor men, the cultivators, that if the cultivator cannot provide to keep a cow, he will not marry. Jaru and garu. Jaru means wife, and garu means cow. So one should keep a wife if he is able to keep a cow also. Jaru and garu. Because if you keep a wife, immediately there will be children. But if you cannot give them cows' milk, the children will be rickety, not very healthy. They must drink sufficient milk. So cow is therefore considered mother. Because one mother has given birth to the child, the another mother is supplying milk. So everyone should be obliged to mother cow, because she is supplying milk. So according to our çästra there are seven mothers. Ädau mätä, real mother, from whose body I have taken my birth. Ädau mätä, she is mother. Guru-patné, the wife of teacher. She is also mother. Ädau mätä guru-patné, brähmaëé. The wife of a brähmaëa, she is also mother. Ädau mätä guru-patné brähmaëé räja-patnikä, the queen is mother. So how many? Ädau mätä guru-patné brähmaëé räja-patnikä, then dhenu. Dhenu means cow. She is also mother. And dhätré. Dhätré means nurse. Dhenu dhätré tathä påthvé, also the earth. Earth is also mother. The people are taking care of mother land, where he is born. That is good. But by the by they should take care of mother cow also. But they are not taking care of mother. Therefore they are sinful. They must suffer. They must have, there must be war, pestilence, famine. As soon as people become sinful, immediately nature's punishment will come automatically. You cannot avoid it.

Therefore Kåñëa consciousness movement means solution of all problems. Teaching people not to become sinful. Because a sinful man cannot become Kåñëa conscious. To become Kåñëa conscious means that he has to give up his sinful activities. No illicit sex life, no meat-eating, no intoxication, no gambling. These are the four pillars of sinful life. So people are not ready to give up this. But we do not make any compromise, that you go on with your sinful life, at the same time I sanction that you have become Kåñëa conscious. No, that we cannot do. There is no compromise on this point. You must give up all this sinful life. Because there is no chance of becoming Kåñëa conscious. Why you shall make a show? There is no benefit by making a show. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna is trying to make a show of Kåñëa consciousness. He has good attachment for other things. And the whole Bhagavad-gétä is taught to Arjuna to give up that attachment.

So ultimately it is said that, Saïjaya said, yatra yogeçvaraù kåñëaù [Bg. 18.78]. Yatra yogeçvaraù kåñëo yatra pärtho dhanur-dharaù/ tatra çrér vijayo bhütir, bhuva, dhruvä nétir matir mama. This is the conclusion of Bhagavad-gétä. Saïjaya uväca. And at last Saïjaya said to his master, Dhåtaräñöra, "My dear master, you are expecting victory between the fight, fight between your sons and..., but don't expect it. It is," matir mama, "in my opinion, yatra kåñëaù yogeçvara, the party where Kåñëa the Yogeçvara...," Yogeçvara. Yoga, yoga there are powerful mystic power. Yoga means mystic power. Not this yoga, this playing some gymnastics. That is not yoga. Yoga means when one becomes perfect in yoga, he gets many siddhis. They are called añöa-siddhi, eight kinds of siddhi. Aëimä, laghimä, präpti-siddhi, like that, so many. Éçitva, vaçitva. So a yogi, aëimä, he can become the smaller than the smallest. We are already smaller than the smallest, because our real dimension, spiritual dimension, is one ten-thousandth part of the tip of the hair. This is our dimension. This is only outward covering, this body. Keçägra-çata-bhägasya çatadhä kalpitasya ca [Cc. Madhya 19.140]. So a yogi can give up this body and come to his original, spiritual body, and it is so small that you cannot keep yogi in prison. Anywhere. Because there is some hole, he'll get out. This is yogi. This is mystic power. What do they know about mystic power? Simply press the nose, that's all. This kind of yoga..., of course these are preliminary processes, dhyäna, dhäraëä, präëäyäma. This präëäyäma requires to get the breathing from the opposite side... We have got experience. The two holes of the nostrils, one is blocked, one is open. So präëäyäma means to try to open the blocked side. That is called. So there are so many. But ultimate yoga means to get this power. That is yoga. So all these powers, they are simply fragmental. The yogis, they can attain. Although they can become, they are already smaller than the smallest. So Kåñëa is the supreme master of all mystic power. Therefore He is called Yogeçvara. He is called Yogeçvara. So if Kåñëa is on your side, then you do not require to practice yoga. If you are a devotee of Kåñëa, because how much power you shall get. You may gain some power by this mystic process, but you cannot be equal with Kåñëa's power. Just like aëimä, laghimä. To make everything very light, or become very light, the yogi can fly in the air without an aeroplane. He can go even in the sun planet, moon planet, without any sputnik. Simply [break]

...his wife. But he was a yogi and she was devoted, so became lean and thin, because she could not eat very nicely. A yogi cannot supply nice food. Simply starvation, starvation. (laugh) That is yogi. So he thought that this poor girl came to me, his father is king. She is not accustomed to so much trouble, so she asked her, "What you want?" "No, because I have come to you, I want some children, and a little comfortable life." "All right." So he made an aeroplane by yogic power, a big town. Not this 747. The 747 is the biggest plane, but not like this. A big town with lake, with palatial building, maid-servants, servants, and that big plane went all round the universe. He showed all the planets to his wife. This is yogic power. This is yogic power. So where is that yogi? So here, Yogeçvara. All these mystic powers can be attained by ordinary man if he wants, there is process. But Kåñëa is the master of all yogic power, Yogeçvara. So who can get victory? Kåñëa can do anything. Just like we sing every day. Jaya rädhä-mädhava kuïja-bihäré gopé-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhäré. Giri-vara. People may take it that Kåñëa is fond of some gopés, but they do not take care of the Kåñëa's other business. As soon as the gopés are in danger, he can lift the Govardhana Hill, Giri-vara-dhäré. That is Kåñëa. The rascals they do not know they think that Kåñëa is after the gopés, therefore He is immoral. But the rascal has no eyes to see that Kåñëa may be immoral in his eye, but here is Yogeçvara. At the same time, Yogeçvara.

So without becoming a disciple in bhakti-yoga, nobody can study Kåñëa. It is not possible. Bhaktyä mäm abhijänäti yävän yaç cäsmi tattvataù [Bg. 18.55]. So the whole thing, Bhagavad-gétä is there, how to understand Kåñëa. As soon as you understand Kåñëa, tyaktvä dehaà punar janma naiti mäm eti kaunteya [Bg. 4.9]. There is no more again birth in this material world. You go back to home, back to Godhead.

Thank you very much. (end)

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