Enlightened Self-interest

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s First Talks in America (New York, July 26,1966)

"I cannot be satisfied by serving something that is not me; I can be satisfied only by serving me. But that 'me' I do not know...."

by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṅa is the process of ceto-darpaṅa-mārjanam—to cleanse the material dust from the mirror of our mind. The whole process is to dust out the dirty things which we have accumulated by our material association, and thereby to revive our spiritual consciousness, or Kṛṣṅa consciousness. From Bhagavad-gītā we are studying about the process of life by which we can revive our Kṛṣṅa consciousness. There is no need of external help for reviving Kṛṣṅa consciousness. You have Kṛṣṅa consciousness dormant in your self. In fact, it is the quality of the self. So, we simply need to invoke it by this process of chanting.

Nitya-siddha kṛṣṅa-prema 'sādhya' kabhu naya: this Kṛṣṅa consciousness is an eternal fact. It is not that by this ISKCON organization we are imposing something extra upon you. No. Kṛṣṅa consciousness is within you. It is within every living entity—every living entity, never mind whether he's a human being or an animal. Once, when Lord Caitanya was passing through a jungle, He was singing Hare Kṛṣṅa, Hare Kṛṣṅa, Kṛṣṅa Kṛṣṅa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, and the tigers, the elephants, the stags, and other forest animals joined in. They joined in. This chanting is such an attractive thing. Of course, this attraction depends on pure-hearted chanting. As we become advanced in this chanting method, our heart becomes freed from all the dirty things of material contact. Then even the animals can be captivated by this chanting—what to speak of human beings.

So, in Bhagavad-gītā [4.19] Kṛṣṅa advises us how to invoke this Kṛṣṅa consciousness in our practical life. He says,

yasya sarve samārambhāḥ kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṅaṁ tam āhuḥ paṅḍitaṁ budhāḥ

"One whose every act is devoid of desire for sense gratification is said to be in full knowledge. He is said by sages to be a worker whose fruitive action is burned up by the fire of perfect knowledge."

Yasya sarve samārambhāḥ. You are not forbidden to execute your duties. We are not for stopping the general process of material activities. That is not our mission. The whole thing is that we have to do everything in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. It is very easy to understand. We all have some vocation in our life. But what is our consciousness Our consciousness is ... "I am engaged in this business because I have to maintain my family," or "I have to maintain myself," or "I have to satisfy the government," or "I have to satisfy somebody else." This is our consciousness. And nobody is free from such consciousness. So, we simply need to change the consciousness only. Now we are doing everything with the idea that "I want to satisfy myself," or "I want to satisfy somebody else." This consciousness has to be changed into Kṛṣṅa consciousness, so that I think, "I want to satisfy Kṛṣṅa." That's all.

Therefore, Lord Kṛṣṅa says, yasya sarve samārambhāḥ: "Whatever activities you may be doing, continue to do them, but kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ—don't be carried away by kāma." Kāma means desire for our own satisfaction. The Sanskrit word kāma is used to mean "lust" or "desire for sense satisfaction." So, Lord Kṛṣṅa recommends, "Don't act for the satisfaction of your senses, for the satisfaction of your lust, or for the satisfaction of your desires." That is the whole thing. The whole teaching of Bhagavad-gītā is based on this principle. Arjuna wanted to satisfy his senses by not fighting with the opposite party, who were composed of his relatives-brothers and brothers-in-law and fathers-in-law and so many other relatives. Arjuna did not want to fight, and therefore he needed Kṛṣṅa's instruction of Bhagavad-gītā.

Now, materially it appears very nice that Arjuna wanted to satisfy his relatives by giving up his claim to the kingdom. "Oh, he's a very good man," we might think. But Kṛṣṅa did not approve it. Why? Because the basic principle was that Arjuna decided to satisfy his own senses. Externally, it appears very nice. But anything which is done for the satisfaction of one's own senses—that is kāma, lust, desire. Here in this verse of Bhagavad-gītā it is prescribed that you can do anything. There is no harm. Whatever business, vocation, or occupation you are engaged in, that does not have to be changed. Simply your consciousness has to be changed. That's all.

Now, how can that consciousness be changed? Jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṅam. Transferring our present self-interested consciousness to Kṛṣṅa consciousness requires knowledge. And what is that knowledge? That knowledge is knowing, "I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa. I'm not different from Kṛṣṅa. I am the superior energy of Kṛṣṅa." This is knowledge. Real knowledge does not mean to understand how this tape recorder is manufactured. This kind of technical knowledge is not real knowledge. Of course, to execute our occupation we must have some technical knowledge, but that knowledge is temporary knowledge. Real knowledge comes when one understands, when one is convinced, that he is part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa, or God. (When we say "Kṛṣṅa," you should understand that we mean the Supreme Lord, the Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṅa is a technical word which is meant to indicate "the Absolute Truth," "the Supreme Personality of Godhead," "the whole," "the whole pleasure," "the whole attraction." These are the meanings of Kṛṣṅa.)

So, we are all part and parcel of the supreme pleasure—Kṛṣṅa. And because I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa, my pleasure, my happiness, is dependent on serving Kṛṣṅa. It is just like my hand and my body. Now, my hand can take pleasure when it is attached to my body. My hand can take pleasure when it serves my body. It does not take pleasure by serving your body. My senses are satisfied when they are used for my purpose, not for your purpose. This is the whole philosophy: I cannot be satisfied by serving something that is not me; I can be satisfied only by serving me. But that "me" I do not know. That "me" is Kṛṣṅa. That is Kṛṣṅa—because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa. Always remember: we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa. Mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ. In the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, you'll find that Kṛṣṅa says, "All these living entities—they are My eternal parts and parcels. Now, by material contact, they are detached from Me." [Bg 15.7]

So, the whole purpose of Kṛṣṅa consciousness is to attach ourselves again to Kṛṣṅa. Now we are detached, so we have to attach ourselves again. That is Kṛṣṅa consciousness. And that Kṛṣṅa consciousness is within you, because you are originally, eternally, part and parcel of the Supreme. Artificially, we are trying to forget this; we are trying to live independently. But that is not possible. We are not independent. If we try to live independently of Kṛṣṅa, that means we voluntarily become dependent on the influence of material nature. That's all.

For example, if I think that I am independent of government regulations, then I become dependent on the police force. My dependence is either in this way or that way. So, this is our mistake:

everyone is trying to become independent. And this is called māyā, or illusion. Nobody can be independent—individually, community-wise, society-wise, or nation-wise. Even universe-wise, nobody can be independent. We are all dependent. And when you come to know, "I am dependent; I am not independent," this is called knowledge.

In another place in Bhagavad-gītā [5.29], you'll find that Kṛṣṅa says,

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

"Knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, the sages attain peace from the pangs of material miseries." People are planning for peace in the world, but they do not know the peace formula. The United Nations has been trying for the last twenty years or more for peace, but there is no actual peace in the world, The Vietnam War is going on because they do not know the peace formula in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Kṛṣṅa says, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram: "I am the proprietor of everything. Whatever you are doing, I am the ultimate beneficiary. I take the result." For example, a laborer may work in a factory, but who is the proprietor? The ultimate proprietor is the owner of the factory. Now we are thinking, "I am working, so I am the proprietor of this thing." That is a misconception. When we understand that whatever we are doing, the ultimate proprietor is Kṛṣṅa, that is Kṛṣṅa consciousness. That is the fire of perfect knowledge.

Or, take the example of many people working in an office. Hundreds of people may be working there, but everyone is conscious that whatever profit they are making belongs to the proprietor. Then there is peace. But as soon as the cashier thinks, "Oh, I have so much money; I am the proprietor," then the trouble begins. Similarly, if we think, "I am a very rich man. I have such a big bank balance, and I can use it for my sense gratification," that is kāma, lust. But if I understand that whatever I have, it belongs to Kṛṣṅa, then I am a liberated person, You'll have the same money under your custody. It doesn't matter. But as soon as you think, "I am the proprietor of this wealth," you are under the influence of māyā. And as soon as you think, "Kṛṣṅa is the proprietor of all these things," you are free. So, kāma-saṅkalpa-varjitāḥ/ jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṅam tam āhuḥ paṅḍitaṁ budhāḥ: one who knows that Kṛṣṅa is the proprietor of everything, who is situated in that consciousness, is paṅḍitaṁ—he is learned, he's actually a man of knowledge. This is the whole process.

Now, this consciousness has to be invoked not only individually, but also community-wide, society-wide, nationwide, all over the world. Then there will be peace. If you want real peace, you have to follow Kṛṣṅa's instructions in Bhagavad-gītā [see previous reference for English translation]:

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

Now we are trying to become the friend of our countrymen, of our society, of our family. But that is a wrong conception. The real friend is Kṛṣṅa, and you should work on His behalf.

How? If you actually want to do something good for your family, then try to make all the members of your family Kṛṣṅa conscious. Then your life will be successful. If you want to help them otherwise, without Kṛṣṅa consciousness, then you will not be serving them; you will be rendering them a disservice. Why? Because no amount of material knowledge will help your wife or children. No amount of material knowledge will solve their real problem. What is their real problem? That is what we do not know. The real problem is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi—birth, death, old age, and disease. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [5.5.18] says, pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt/ na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum: "One should not become a father, nor should one become a mother, unless one is able to save one's children from the grip of material nature." How? By Kṛṣṅa consciousness. If you are a responsible father, and if you are completely in knowledge of Kṛṣṅa consciousness, then your duty will be to think, "For these innocent creatures who are now playing in my home as my children, as my boys, this life should be the last installment of their transmigration from one body to another. I shall train these boys in such a way that after this life, they'll no more have to go into the cycle of birth and death." This is Kṛṣṅa consciousness.

And this means you have to make yourself expert. Then you can help your children, also. Then you can help your nation, also. Then you can help your society, also. If you yourself are ignorant, then andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās/ te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ [Bhāg. 7.5.31]: if a person is tightly bound up, hands and feet, how can he free others? Suppose we are sitting here—some twenty-five gentlemen and ladies—and all our hands are tightly bound up by some ropes. Now, although I may want to make you free, if my hands are also tightly bound up, how is it possible? It is not possible. My hands must be free. Then I can untie your bindings. So, unless one is a free man, he cannot free others. And what is that freedom? One who is Kṛṣṅa conscious—he is a free man. Nobody else is a free man.

In the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā [7.14], Kṛṣṅa says,

daivī hy eṣā guṅa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." Everyone is under the spell of the material influence, māyā. Nobody's free. But māyā has nothing lo do with one who has surrendered unto Kṛṣṅa, with one who has taken to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Māyā cannot touch him. Māyā is like darkness, but there is no question of darkness if you place yourself in the sunlight. (Not this artificial light; this artificial light may be extinguished at any time. But sunlight is not like that.) So Kṛṣṅa is just like sunlight. As soon as you come in front of the sun, there is no darkness. And as soon as you become Kṛṣṅa conscious, there is no ignorance, there is no māyā, no illusion.

So, jñānāgni-dagdha-karmāṅam tam āhuḥ paṅḍitaṁ budhāḥ. We have 10 become budha, or learned. And you'll find in the Tenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā [10.8] what Lord Kṛṣṅa says are the symptoms of a man who is budha:

ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate iti matvā bhajante māṁ budhā bhāva-samanvitāḥ

"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise, who know this perfectly, engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts."

Budhāḥ: this very word is used again, So, one who is learned, one who actually has some sense, who is not nonsensical—he's called budha. And what are his symptoms? The symptoms of a man who is budha are that he knows that Kṛṣṅa is the fountainhead of all emanations, of everything we see (ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ). Take, for example, this material world. The most prominent thing here is the attraction between man and woman. Now, one may inquire, "Wherefrom has this attraction between male and female come?" Not only in the human society, but also in the animal society, the bird society—in any society, every living being has this attraction for the opposite sex. This is a fact. And where does this attraction come from? It comes from Kṛṣṅa. So, somebody who does not actually understand Kṛṣṅa may criticize, "Kṛṣṅa had so many girlfriends." But unless the tendency is in Kṛṣṅa, where do we get this idea of having girlfriends? You can have nothing here in this material world unless it is also in Kṛṣṅa (janmādy asya yataḥ). But here sex is perverted; it is polluted. In Kṛṣṅa's world it is in pure consciousness, purely spiritual. That is the difference.

So, these things have to be studied very scientifically from books like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And when one is perfectly learned, then his symptom is that he becomes a pure devotee of Kṛṣṅa. Ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: "I am the source, the fountainhead," Kṛṣṅa says. "I am the source and fountainhead of everything. One who understands this scientifically takes to Kṛṣṅa consciousness." How? Budhāḥ bhāva-samanvitāḥ—with full knowledge. He becomes a pure devotee of Kṛṣṅa.

Kṛṣṅa similarly describes a mahātmā in Bhagavad-gītā (mahātmā means "great soul"):

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

"O Arjuna, son of Pṛthā, the great souls are those who are not deluded by My illusory, material energy. They are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service, because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible." [Bg 9.14]

Who is a mahātmā? Who is a great soul? A great soul is he who is under the influence of the superior nature. There are two kinds of nature: the superior nature and the inferior nature. Now we are under the influence of the inferior, material nature. But by practicing Kṛṣṅa consciousness we shall be transferred to the superior nature. Just try to understand by an example: one person is in prison, another person is outside the prison. The government's influence is present in both places—outside the prison and inside the prison. Outside the prison, the government's rules and regulations are considered superior. Inside, they are considered inferior. But in either case, the government's influence is there. Similarly, wherever you are—either in the material world or in the spiritual world—you are under Kṛṣṅa's influence. Your position is marginal. You can remain under the influence of Kṛṣṅa's inferior nature, or you can transfer yourself into the influence of His superior nature. Because Kṛṣṅa is fully independent, and because you are part and parcel of Kṛṣṅa, you have the quality of independence. You can make your choice; whether to be under the influence of His inferior nature, or to come under the influence of His superior nature. But because we do not know what that superior nature is, we have no other alternative than to remain in this inferior nature. This is the whole problem.

Many philosophies inform us that there is no other nature but this material nature, which we are now experiencing and which is so troublesome. "Make an end of it and become void," they say. But you cannot be void, because you are an eternal living entity. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre: the end of your body does not mean that you are finished. No. You are continuing. Vāsārṁsi jīrṅāni: that I change my dress does not mean that I am finished. So, I am eternal. And if I want to finish my suffering, if I want to get out of the influence of material nature, then I have to seek my place in the superior, spiritual nature. But if we do not know of the superior nature, then we say, "All right, however bad it may be, let me remain here and rot." So, Bhagavad-gītā [15.6] gives you information of the superior nature:

na tad bhāsayate sūryo na śaśāṅko na pāvakaḥ yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama

"My abode is not illumined by the sun or moon, or by electricity. One who reaches it never returns to this material world."

So, we have to become Kṛṣṅa conscious by scrutinizingly studying this authoritative book, Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, without creating a fashionable interpretation. We have to hear it as it is. What Kṛṣṅa says, He says for all time. It does not change. Take the verse which we are just now discussing. He says that it does not matter what occupation you are in; you simply have to change your consciousness. You are now guided by the consciousness of self-interest, of sense gratification, Not exactly self-interest, because we do not know what our self-interest is. Rather, sense interest—not self-interest, but sense interest. Whatever we are doing we are doing to satisfy our senses. This consciousness has to change. We have to satisfy Kṛṣṅa. If this Kṛṣṅa consciousness is invoked, then our life will be successful. Thank you very much.