Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.44

Nitāi: "O inhabitants of Vaikuṅṭha, you are all sinless, but those within this material world, they are all karmīs acting piously or impiously. Both kinds of activities are possible for them because they are contaminated by the three modes of nature and must act accordingly. One who has accepted a material body cannot remain inactive, and it is inevitable for one acting under the modes of nature to be sinful. Therefore all the living entities within this material world are punishable."

Prabhupāda:

sambhavanti hi bhadrāṅi viparītāni cānaghāḥ kāriṅāṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sti dehavān na hy akarma-kṛt [SB 6.1.44]

So dehavān we have explained several times. Deha means the body, and vān means one who possesses. Asty arthe vatup. This vat-pratyāya is affixed when there is the meaning of possessing. Therefore Bhagavān. Bhāga means opulence, and vān means one who possesses. That is Bhagavān. So same thing, in the same process: dehavān. So dehavān, every one of us, dehavān. The dog is also dehavān; he has got body. I am also dehavān, every one of us.

So anyone who has got this material body, he cannot stop even for a moment working something. Na hy akarma-kṛt. This is the nature. He must do some... Just like child. Child is always restless. Similarly... "Child is the father of man." One who becomes father, the same restlessness, because that is the nature. Na hi dehavān akarma-kṛt. So if you are not engaged in good work, then you must act badly. That is natural. You have to work. Therefore idle brain is devil's workshop. If you are sitting idly, then brain also will work, mind also will work. The bodily function will go. So if you don't engage yourself in good work, then you must be engaged in bad work. And if you are not engaged in good work and if you are engaged in... There are two things, good or bad. So in one of them we must be engaged.

So if we are not instructed or trained up to act in good work, then we must be doing bad work. Bad work means māyā and good work means God. There are two things: God and māyā. If we do not act in godly situation then we must be acting in māyā's clutches. That is explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta in a very simple verse, haiyā māyāra dāsa, kari nāna abhilāṣa: "As soon as I become servant of māyā, then I shall create so many rascaldom in the name of philosophy and science." This is going on. So-called philosophy and science means all rascaldom, bad work. It is very challenging word, but this is the fact. If we do not... Take, for example, there are so many scientists, so many philosophers and so many hippies also, LSD men. Why this has happened? Because there is no good engagement. Some are passing in the name of so-called scientist and so-called philosopher, and some of them are hippies, but all of them are engaged in bad, asat. Asat and sat. Sat means permanent, and asat means temporary.

So we must know what is our constitutional position. That we do not know. We are sat, eternal; therefore we shall act in such a way that will benefit my eternal life. That is sat. Therefore the Vedas instruct, asato mā sad gamaḥ: "Don't be engaged in temporary activities, bodily..." Bodily necessities means temporary. If I am child, my body is of a child's body, then my necessities are different from my father's necessities. So everyone is engaged in bodily necessities. Therefore it is said, dehavān na hy akarma-kṛt. And kāriṅāṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sti. Infection. We have got this practical understanding. If your body infects some disease, then you have to suffer. And if your body remains uninfected, unaffected by any poisonous..., then you remain healthy. Therefore it is said, sambhavanti hi bhadrāṅi viparītāni ca anaghaḥ. Viparītāni. Viparī means just opposite. Sambhavanti bhadrāṅi. One is acting in auspicity, and one is acting viparītāni, just the opposite, inauspicity. In this way we are becoming entangled, life after life. Karinam guṅa-sango 'sti.

In other place it is said, karmaṅā daiva-netreṅa [SB 3.31.1]:

[The Personality of Godhead said: Under the supervision of the Supreme Lord and according to the result of his work, the living entity, the soul, is made to enter into the womb of a woman through the particle of male semen to assume a particular type of body.]

"As we are acting auspicious or inauspicious, by higher supervision, higher consideration, judgment, we are getting different body." Otherwise why there are so many varieties of body? This is the cause. One is getting auspicious body, one is getting inauspicious body, but there is one opportunity that... If you want to change materially your auspicious or inauspicious position, that cannot be done. It is fixed up. It cannot be done otherwise. Suppose a man has got a nice body; a dog has got inferior body. You cannot change the... Bodily, you cannot make a man dog or a dog man. That is not possible. But spiritually you can do. Spiritually, a bad man or bad dog even can be elevated to the highest perfection.

Therefore the conclusion is if you act spiritually, then it is bhadrāṅi, or auspicious. If you act materially, on the bodily concept of life, that is inauspicious. This is the conclusion. And that is being watched by the authorities, as we have already explained, the witnesses. God is the original chastiser or awarder, but there are so many witnesses—that we have already discussed—sūryaḥ agniḥ khaṁ marud devaḥ somaḥ. Everywhere it is thoroughly watched. So we must be very careful, that we have got this human form of body—how to act? The act means first of all you know what is your position. That is the first instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā, that "Your position is that you are not this body. Your position is that you are the proprietor of the body; you are spirit soul." So if people are not educated on this understanding that the soul is different from body, that is... The beginning of education is wrong. Therefore whatever further advancement of so-called education is wrong, because the basic principle is wrong.

So the Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement means they want to educate people, rectifying the basic principle of misconception: "I am body." "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am fat," "I am thin," "I am black," "I am white"—all bodily conception. This has to be removed first of all. So the śāstra says that if one is in the bodily concept of life, then he is no more better than an animal. No better than an animal. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kunape tri-dhātuke [SB 10.84.13],

[One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile and air, who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own, who thinks an earthen image or the land of his birth is worshipable, or who sees a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there, but who never identifies himself with, feels kinship with, worships or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth—such a person is no better than a cow or an ass.]

we have discussed many times. This bodily concept of life should be first of all removed. We must be enlightened. Otherwise, if we act on the bodily concept of life, then—not bhadrāṅi, not auspicious—everything is inauspicious, viparītāni. Sambhavanti hi bhadrāṅi viparītāni ca anaghaḥ, kāriṅām. Kāriṅām means one who is working. Nobody is... Because dead stone, that is sitting idly, but any..., even a small ant, it is also working. That is the difference between matter and the spirit. So we cannot understand this difference, that what is the difference between matter and spirit. Why the big mountain does not move? Because it is dead matter. And a small ant, it moves. Why it is so? That is the difference between matter and spirit. Why you are misunderstanding that "The spirit is also matter; it is coming from chemical"? This miseducation is going on, that spirit is also chemical composition, although I cannot experiment it by mixing chemical, producing...

So under this misconception of life we are simply acting inauspiciously. Why inauspiciously? Because we are working blindly. We do not know what is my next life, or we do not believe in next life. But you believe or not believe; next life is there. As the child has his next life, the boy has his next life, the youth has his next life, similarly, the old man has got his next life. You believe or not believe; you have to accept next life. Vāsāṁsi jīrṅāni yathā vihāya [Bg 2.22]. This is real education. You have to accept the next life. Now, what kind of next life you will get, you have to prepare in this life. That is auspicious. That is bhadrāṅi. And if you don't prepare for the next life, irresponsible... Just like a street boy does not take education because he has no idea of next life. But his father, his mother is anxious that "My son's next life, future life, will be spoiled if he does not take education." They are anxious. Similarly, the father and the mother, the guru, the friend—everyone should be actually well-wisher of his friend, dependent, when he gives spiritual education. Then he is friend. Otherwise they are enemy. Pitā na sa syāj jananī na sa syāt [SB 5.5.18].

[One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a relative, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.]

The śāstric contraception means that "If you cannot educate your sons how to stop repetition of birth, then don't become a father, don't become a mother." This is śāstric... "Don't become a guru. Don't become so on, so on, well-wisher, if you cannot stop."

So how it can be stopped? Unless there is spiritual education, unless one is not spiritually enlightened, you have to undergo the process of birth, death, old age and disease. You may talk very highly and foolishly, but the process of nature, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi [Bg 13.9], that you cannot stop.

[Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and evenmindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth—all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.]

That is... Therefore any education which does not give enlightenment on the subject matter of how to stop death, they are all foolish talking. That's all. This is the conclusion: not bhadrāṅi; abhadrāṅi. Sambhavanti bhadrāṅi viparītāni cānaghaḥ, kāriṅāṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sti. Guṅa-saṅgaḥ. Therefore the Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is trying to give the association of goodness. There are three guṅas. Just like in a brothel they are giving the association of darkness, similarly, this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is opening so many centers to give the facility to the people in general the association of goodness. That is the difference. Saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ. If you associate with persons addicted to so many drugs or brothel men, then you will become like that. And if you associate with the Kṛṣṅa conscious men, then you become Kṛṣṅa conscious; you understand what is your real position, what is the aim of life, how to stop birth, death, old age. This is the profit of Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement. And actually, learned, educated circle, they are appreciating that "Government spends so much money for stopping the drug habit, but they have failed. But this Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement have saved so many hippies and young men from this fallen condition of life." That is the practical way. Anyone who has got intelligence, they will see to it.

Therefore this movement should be encouraged. Especially I request my students that you push on this movement. Your country is very good. Let them become Kṛṣṅa conscious. Then everything will be bhadrāṅi, all auspicious, bhadrāṅi. Otherwise your so-called big, big motorcars will create abhadrāṅi, viparītāni. We don't discourage you to construct big, big cars, but it should be used for the kīrtana party to go to village to village, not to go to the brothels and liquor shop. Then you are ruined. You can use it, all the facilities. The microphone should be used for spreading Kṛṣṅa consciousness, not talking nonsense. This should be this... Everything is good, provided it is used for good purpose. Nirbandhe kṛṣṅa sambandhe yukta vairāgyam ucyate. We are not such foolish person that "This is material, this microphone. We shall not touch it." No, we are not so fool. We are intelligent enough how to use it. That's all. That is Rūpa Gosvāmī's instruction:

prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgaḥ phalgu-vairāgyaḥ kath... [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.256]

[On the other hand, one who rejects everything without knowledge of its relationship to Kṛṣṅa is not as complete in his renunciation.]

Prāpañcika means material, artificial abnegation or renouncement. The Māyāvādīs, they say, "No, no, it is material."

The other day we saw that Sushil Muni. Sushil Muni, they are Jains. According to Jain philosophy, they should..., they do not use any vehicle from going this place to another place. They will go by walking. That is their principle. But we are not following that principle. We are preaching Kṛṣṅa consciousness... Suppose if I have to come to your country, and if I say, "I will go by walking," [laughter] then my life will be finished [laughter] before preaching. We are intelligent. Now we have got this aeroplane. Take advantage of and go in three hours to America, speedy. That is our policy. Therefore sometimes people criticize us that we are accepting all material things, still, we are condemning material civilization. They accuse us. But they do not know that we do not distinguish matter and spirit. Anything which is used for Kṛṣṅa, that is spirit. This house, if you use for making a club, dancing club, that is material. And if this house is used for chanting Hare Kṛṣṅa mantra and dancing, that is spiritual. That is the difference. Because actually everything is emanation from the supreme spirit soul, Kṛṣṅa. Kṛṣṅa says, bhūmir āpo 'nalaḥ vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca [Bg 7.4], apareyam.

[Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—altogether these eight comprise My separated material energies.]

What you say material, that is also expansion of the energy of Kṛṣṅa. So actually it is not material. But when you use it for other purposes than Kṛṣṅa, that is material. You should know this philosophy very nicely.

Therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī said, prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.256].

[On the other hand, one who rejects everything without knowledge of its relationship to Kṛṣṅa is not as complete in his renunciation.]

Īśāvāsyam idam sarvam [Īśo mantra 1].

[Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.]

Everything has got relationship with God. We must know that, that nothing can exist without God. Therefore in other sense, everything is God. So everything is God, then how it is material? It is material when it is not used for God. This is material. And if it is used for God, Kṛṣṅa, then it is... Therefore abhadrāṅi and bhadrāṅi, two things, are to be distinguished. How? This is the process. Try to engage everything in God's service. Then it is bhadrāṅi. And as soon as it is being done for your sense gratification, then it is abhadrāṅi. Try to understand. Two things are there.

sambhavanti bhadrāṅi viparītāni cānaghaḥ kāriṅāṁ guṅa-saṅgo 'sti dehavān na hy akarma-kṛt [SB 6.1.44]

Everyone has to work. Nobody can avoid work. But on account of ignorance, one works in darkness, and on account of light, or enlightenment, one works in light.

So we have to work in light. This is light working, Kṛṣṅa consciousness, bhakti. Bhakti means...

māṁ cavyabhicāriṅi bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate sa guṅān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg 14.26]

[One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.]

There is said guṅa-saṅgaḥ: infected by the modes of material nature. But Kṛṣṅa says anyone, māṁ ca avyabhicāriṅi-bhakti-yogena, avyabhicāriṅi, without any stoppage, twenty-four hours, if one is engaged in devotional service, avyabhicāriṅi bhakti-yogena ya sevate, serving Kṛṣṅa, then he is no more in the guṅa-saṅgaḥ. Here it is said guṅa-saṅgaḥ, infection of the material qualities. So if one is twenty-four hours engaged in Kṛṣṅa's service, he is no more in touch with these three guṅas. Otherwise he will be in touch with the guṅas, different guṅas, and he will be infected, and you have to... Just like if you infect some disease, you have to suffer from that particular disease. This is going on.

So bhadrāṅi, auspicity or auspicious activities, is this, devotional service. Be engaged always, twenty-four hours, in devotional service. There we have got program, early morning, 4:30, up to 9:30 in the evening. This is all auspicious activities. We are giving chance people: "Come here and join this auspicious activity so that you will be saved from this repetition of birth, death and old age."

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]