Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.2

Devotees: oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya.

Prabhupāda: Second verse. [leads devotees in chanting]

pravṛtti-lakṣaṅaś caiva traiguṅya-viṣayo mune yo 'sāv alīna-prakṛter guṅa-sargaḥ punaḥ punaḥ [SB 6.1.2]

[01:23]

So Parīkṣit Mahārāja is trying to understand pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Pravrtti means here in this material world, anyone who has come, beginning from Lord Brahmā down to the small ant, they have come on account of pravṛtti, means for enjoying sense. This is material world. So long one will be engaged in sense enjoyment in different varieties, he will have to remain within this material world. Kṛṣṅa is so kind. We wanted to enjoy this material world; therefore He has given us full chance: "Yes, you enjoy." Kṛṣṅa does not want that you should enjoy this material world. That is not He... Sometimes the foolish men, they say that "Kṛṣṅa has given us this facility for sense enjoyment. Why we shall not take it up?" Sometimes the so-called ṛṣis and yogīs, they also say, "Yes, when you have got the senses, it is meant for enjoyment. Why it should be stopped?" Yes. Because... Really it has to be stopped. If you want real life of eternal enjoyment, then you have to stop. If you don't stop, then you remain here.

Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate [Bg 8.19]. You have to take birth according to your desire, either as Brahmā or as ant, as a cat, as a dog, as demigod, and according to your capacity, Kṛṣṅa will give you: "All right." Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham [Bg 4.11].

[All of them—as they surrender unto Me—I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.]

If you want from Kṛṣṅa sense enjoyment, He will give you all facilities. But Kṛṣṅa does not want. Kṛṣṅa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ vraja [Bg 18.66]. That is His mission, that "You will never be happy in this process of pravṛtti-mārga."

kṛṣṅa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kāre pāsate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhāre [Prema-vivarta]

[When an individual soul forgets his eternal relationship with God and tries to lord it over the material nature or resources, that condition, that forgetful condition, is called māyā, or illusion.]

Māyā means the condition in which I enjoy material sense gratification. That is called māyā. Māyā jāpaṭiyā dhāre. Jāpaṭiyā dhāre means catches, catches: "All right, come on." There are two things: light and darkness. If you remain in light, there is no darkness, and if you prefer to remain in darkness, there is no light. Two things are there. So māyā is darkness, and Kṛṣṅa is light. That is our motto in the Back to Godhead. "Godhead is light and darkness is nescience. Where there is God, there is no darkness." This is our position.

So pravṛtti lakṣaṅaś caiva traiguṅya viṣayo mune. This is pravṛtti. There are different pravṛttis. Sometimes some animal wants to eat something, another animal wants to eat another thing, but that is pravṛtti. Just like the hog: he is satisfied with stool. That is also eatable. And an enlightened human being, he is satisfied with nice halavā. So this is pravṛtti, according to... Therefore it is said, pravṛtti lakṣaṅaś caiva traiguṅya viṣayo veda. Traiguṅya, according to modes of nature. One who is in the modes of goodness, his foodstuff is different from the person in the modes of ignorance. Therefore we find so many varieties of foodstuff, varieties of taste. This is all within this material world. It is not that... Sometimes this morning we were talking about vegetarian and nonvegetarian. Our mission is not to make a nonvegetarian a vegetarian. No. Our mission is that "Either you are vegetarian or nonvegetarian, it doesn't matter. You become Kṛṣṅa conscious." That is our mission. To become vegetarian is not very good qualification. It is better than the nonvegetarian, but that is not the ultimate solution. The ultimate solution is when you become a lover of God. That is ultimate solution.

So we are not preaching this vegetarianism. Just like there are Jains or many other religious system, Buddhism, they are after making people vegetarian. But the law of nature is that one living entity is the food for another living entity. That is the law of nature. You will find even in the lower animals, they are eating one another. That is the law of nature. Ahastāni sahastānām apadāni catuṣ-padām [SB 1.13.47].

[Those who are devoid of hands are prey for those who have hands; those devoid of legs are prey for the four-legged. The weak are the subsistence of the strong, and the general rule holds that one living being is food for another.]

This is the law of nature. Ahastāni, one who has no hands, he is the food... They are all animals. The animal which has no hands—just like goats and others: they have only legs—so they are food for the animals with hands. Ahastāni sahastānām. That is the law of nature. Apadāni catuṣ-padām. The animals which has no leg—that means which cannot move... The plants, the grass, the trees, they cannot move. They have got leg, but they cannot move. Their legs are made for eating. As your mouth is made for eating, the trees... Therefore they are called pāda-pa. They drink water by the leg. This is God's creation. You cannot think that how it is possible to drink water by the leg, but it is God's creation. You see. You pour water on the leg of the tree, it becomes very luxuriant, healthy. So different. And so far God is concerned, He can eat with legs; He can see with hands; He can eat with eyes. That is God. That is God. Añgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti [Bs 5.32]. Añgāni, that is transcendental. He is not under any rule. He is not under any rule. If you say, "Why Kṛṣṅa is eating by the eyes?" yes, that is Kṛṣṅa. That is Kṛṣṅa. If you offer something, Kṛṣṅa, simply by seeing, He is eating. That is Kṛṣṅa. And again if you say, "If He is eating, why the plate is full?" that is Kṛṣṅa. Pūrṅasya pūrṅam ādāya pūrṅam evāvaśiṣyate [Īśo Invocation].

[The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.]

Kṛṣṅa is not a hungry man like me, that "If you give Me something, I will eat everything, finished." No. Kṛṣṅa can take the whole plate; still it will remain the whole plate, for giving prasādam.

So try to understand Kṛṣṅa in this way. And if you actually understand Kṛṣṅa, you are liberated immediately. Janma karma ca divyaṁ me yo jānāti tattvataḥ [Bg 4.9].

[One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.]

How Kṛṣṅa eats, how Kṛṣṅa thinks, how Kṛṣṅa works, if you understand all these things, then immediately you become liberated. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti. You immediately become. The only thing is we are rotting in this material world because we do not know Kṛṣṅa. That is the... You'll not be admitted in the spiritual kingdom unless you know Kṛṣṅa, what He is. And as soon as you understand Kṛṣṅa, you are fit—"Come on." Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya. And as soon as you go, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama [Bg 15.6].

[That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. One who reaches it never returns to this material world.]

Everything is explained. And therefore Kṛṣṅa comes. We have got pravṛtti to enjoy this material world. Kṛṣṅa comes personally, that "This will not help you." He comes personally: "You give up this habit. You simply surrender to Me. I will take you back to home, back to Godhead." This is... Pravṛttir eṣāṁ bhūtānāṁ nivṛttes tu mahā-phalam. We are inclined to enjoy this material world, but if we stop this material enjoyment, we are fit for spiritual enjoyment. That is the philosophy.

Therefore Kṛṣṅa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that aśraddhadhānāḥ puruṣā.

aśraddhadhānāḥ puruṣā dharmasyāsya parantapa aprāpya māṁ nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani [Bg 9.3]

[Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.]

Aśraddhadhānāḥ. What Kṛṣṅa is speaking in the Bhagavad-gītā, if we take it, "Let Kṛṣṅa speak. I am not going to accept anything..." Aśraddhadhānāḥ: there is no faith in the words of Kṛṣṅa. Aśraddhadhānāḥ puruṣa dharmasyāsya: "The religious system which I am speaking." What is that? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṅaṁ [Bg 18.66], this religion. So if one is neglectful, does not like this proposal, then what is the result? Aprāpya mām: "He'll never get Me." Aprāpya mām nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. Then he will have to continue this process, mṛtyu-saṁsāra vartmani. He'll take birth, again die, again take birth, again die. That will continue. Mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani.

So,

pravṛtti-lakṣaṅaś caiva traiguṅya-viṣayo mune yo 'sāv alīna-prakṛter guṅa-sargaḥ punaḥ punaḥ

So we have to give up this habit that "I am master, I can enjoy. I can do. I am independent." You have to give up this habit. Then you will be eligible for going back to home, back to Godhead.

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda. [end]