March 4 1974 Dallas
Viṣṇujana: Prabhupāda? But they argue that if God wanted us to wear clothes He would have made us with clothes. But He made us without clothes, so…
Prabhupāda: The thing is that here material world means that whatever you want, you have to work for it. That is material world. Things are there, but you have to work for it. In the spiritual world there is no need of working. You get all necessities. That is the difference.
Viṣṇujana: Yeah, we could say, “If God wanted you to have food, then He would have made you with food too.” (laughter)
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Viṣṇujana: They say, “If God wanted us to have clothes, that He would have made us with clothes.” So if He wanted you to have food, then He would have made you with food. Why do you have to go out and get your food? Similarly, you have to go out and get your clothes.
Prabhupāda: No, this is called… What is the definition in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa?
viṣṇu-śaktiḥ parā proktā kṣetrajñākhyā tathā parā avidyā-karma-samjñānya
tṛtīya śaktir iṣyate [Cc. Madhya 6.154]
The three divisions of God’s energies. One energy is His spiritual energy; another energy—these living entities, they are also spiritual; another energy—material energy, where there is ignorance and work. That is material energy. In the material energy everyone is ignorant and they have to work. Karma. Karma means working. Avidyā-karma-samjñānya tṛtīya. So here you have to work. Without working, you cannot get your… The things are ready, but you will have to work. So they have increased the working capability. That is civilization. Just like in the prisonhouse you have to work. Eh? So they think this working is civilization. This is avidya. So therefore they have created more work. From early morning, five o’clock, till ten o’clock, simply working. They do not know that “This working is our punishment.” But because ignorant, they think that “Working is life.” This is called ignorance. He does not know, “This working is my punishment. How to get out of this work?” No. To increase the work more, complicate, that is civilization. This is called avidyā. Avidyā-karma-samjñānya.
Our tendency is not to work but get things. Therefore he has asked that question. Because he has to get cloth by working, therefore he asking, “Why God has not created?” That means tendency is not to work. That is spiritual tendency. Everything, necessities, automatically available. That is our… Therefore as soon as one man becomes rich, he does not work. He gets his thing by working others. The tendency is there, to retire from work. They go to a solitary place. They retire. They do not go out. Weekly, at least, they want to stop worker, working. So why this tendency? He does not want to die. He does not want to work. This is spiritual. Why man should work like… Therefore real civilization is that minimize work. Minimize work, save time, and go back to your spiritual life. That is civilization. And this is not civilization, to get the necessities of life, sense gratification, and work like hog and dog. That is condemned. Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭan kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye [SB 5.5.1]. This human life is not meant for working so hard for sense gratification which are done by the dogs and hogs. Human life is meant: tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed [SB 5.5.1]. Human life is for tapasya. Why tapasya? Yena sattvaṁ śuddhyed: their existence will be purified. Then you will get unlimited pleasure. Yato brahma-saukhyam anantam. We are seeking after unlimited pleasure. So that is not possible in this material life. And we are thinking, “By working very hard, like hogs and dogs, we will get happiness.” This is… The dogs and hogs, they work day and night for searching out where is stool, and as soon as he gets stool, he becomes very strong and stout. Then sex. Never mind, the mother, sister, daughter. This is hog life. Therefore this particular animal has been… Kaṣṭan kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye [SB 5.5.1]. Viḍ-bhujāṁ means this hog, stool-eater. So this human life is not meant for imitating the stool-eater hogs. This is in the Bhāgavata. But they have imitated this, “We shall work. Work like hard work, hoglike, and there is no discrimination of food. All sorts of nonsense we shall eat, and in this way we shall get strong and have sex life. Never mind whether he is mother, sister, or daughter. It doesn’t matter.” This is the modern civilization. And that is warned in the Bhāgavata, “No, this is not life.” But this has become actually the life, modern civilized life. Therefore it is called avidya, not education, contra-education. [break] …says, make life very comfortable. Just produce little food grains, and there are fruits. Even if you don’t produce food grain, you can live on fruits and milk. No. The milk source? Cut down their throat, cows, and eat the meat. There is no need of food grain or fruit. This is civilization. And thus becoming duṣkṛtina, all the brain is being utilized for sinful life. Duṣkṛtina means intelligence applied for sinful life. Kṛti, kṛti means meritorious. But their merit has been applied for acting sinfully. Therefore they are called duṣkṛtina. [break] “…
Devotee: Is it all right to… You mentioned that to work hard is like… Because we’re in the material world we have to work, this is the condemnation…
Prabhupāda: No, no. You have to work, but minimize work.
Devotee: I was wondering if it was all right to work hard for Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Yes. To minimize this material work means the energy should be employed for Kṛṣṇa. Minimize work this, means this side, material side. And save time and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That’s all. That is the principle. And if you are busy from the early morning to go to the working place and up to ten o’clock, then where you get for chanting, time? So therefore you save time from material activities and engage it for advancing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is life.
Some Conclusions—I think the thing that caught my attention the most was this statement by Srila Prabhupada-
..”Our tendency is not to work but get things. Therefore he has asked that question. Because he has to get cloth by working, therefore he asking, “Why God has not created?” That means tendency is not to work. That is spiritual tendency. Everything, necessities, automatically available. That is our… Therefore as soon as one man becomes rich, he does not work. He gets his thing by working others. The tendency is there, to retire from work. They go to a solitary place. They retire. They do not go out. Weekly, at least, they want to stop worker, working. So why this tendency? He does not want to die. He does not want to work. This is spiritual.
Prabhupada has the unique ability to put things in a perspective that normally we dont think ourselves. Who would say that the tendency to not work-is spiritual? Or the tendency not to want to die is also spiritual? Most would say if you dont want to work you are lazy!!
So the next question could be- how do we accomplish this (no working tendency) while here in the material world?
He also explains that in the spiritual energy, the actual spiritual world we also dont have to work but we get what we need automatically by the power of that internal energy of God.
These are most excellent points as nobody really wants to work but they dont have a clue what that means. If people had a bona fide spiritual master he would explain all these points to him-and Srila Prabhupada has in so many of his books.
The simple answer is that to understand spiritual life by- simple living and high thinking.
The more we are implicated by striving and working practically all day and night for some temporary gains means we will never understand this tendency NOT to work. If we understand this principle it will mean we stop this insane pursuit for money and simply live off what God-Krsna provides to us in the form of food, fruits, water, vegetables, etc. Only thing is, we have to do that minimal work to get it. But that type of very simple work is not attractive to most because they do not understand what they really need as opposed to what they want.
One time Prabhupada said all we really “need is 4 chapatis a day and 6 feet of ground to lay down on to sleep. Try telling that out to gross materialists. And yet most of our devotees still have not understood this very simple concept yet. Otherwise why are most of them still living in the cities? What is left there, especially now, to attract them?
So to wrap this up, my wife and myself here have transformed out city born lives by moving out of them and are now living in the countryside, growing our own food and fruits and grains. This is one step in the right direction of simple living high thinking.
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
———————–
June 22 1969 New Vrndavana
So our main business is how to improve Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We should not divert our attention in any other material condition of improvement. That is actually not improvement. It is simply illusion, that “I am making improvement.” What improvement? Suppose you are earning now, say, five hundred dollars per month. If you earn, say, five million dollars, so then what? Will you eat more than four cāpāṭis? (laughter) You’ll eat the same four cāpāṭis. And you’ll occupy the same six feet bed. You may acquire the whole property of West Virginia, (laughter) but you’ll have to lie down on six feet. (laughter) That’s all. And you’ll have to eat four cāpāṭis. So this is māyā. This is māyā, “I am improving.” What you are improving? You’ll not be taller. You’ll not be great eater, nothing of the sort. Whatever you have already, you’ll have so the same thing. You see?
April 25 1977 Bombay
My, this farming program, theoretically there is no comparison. But practically people are accustomed in different way. To bring them to the program it will take some time. Otherwise my program is assured happiness, happiness assurance, if they get… Have your own food grown. Keep cows. Have your own crops. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: That goes for all over the world.
Prabhupāda: Don’t go to the city. That is my determination. The hellish city. In city nobody has got the opportunity for living in such comfortable place. It is all Kṛṣṇa’s mercy that we have got. Otherwise if you go to the Bombay city, even here, these pigeon holes, three small rooms… It is not expected that everyone will be able to live in such palatial building. That is not possible. Even they have no bathroom in Bombay. In the room, in the corner, there is a tap, and you have to go to the public well, latrine. This is the system. So whole family will take advantage of the corner tap and then have to go to public latrine. There is no bathroom.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: No sewer system?
Prabhupāda: No, sewer system. [break] …each toilet for fifty men. They are in line in the same building. One after another you get chance. You have got dysentery, then it is… Then you…
july 11 1973 london
Prabhupāda: Crossing by ferry, one hour. Then waiting for bus, another hour. Then going to the office. Then after office, they’re coming back. Again going. Whole day, they’re dependent on everything. That is the condition in New York. It is to be supposed: the most advanced city. The same thing is everywhere. People are becoming dependent, śūdra, just like dogs. A dog, unless he gets a nice master, he’s not happy. So at the present moment, all the population, just like the cats and dogs, they’re dependent. They are not intelligent. Intelligence means he must be independent. That is intelligence. And people are struggling for independence. That is their motive. Everyone is struggling hard for independence. Because that is the culmination of intelligence. So our problem is that we do not know what we are. Neither we know how to get out of the miserable condition of life. Therefore we have no intelligence. We are like cats and dogs. This is the conclusion. What do you think? Am I right or wrong?
