Bombay, April 12, 1974: Knowledge should be taken from the perfect person. Because if you take knowledge from a person who is defective, your knowledge has no value. You must take knowledge from the perfect.
So anyone in this material world, he is defective. Every one of us, we know that we are defective. What is that? We are very much proud of seeing. So what is the value of our seeing? We see under certain condition. That’s all. If there is immediately darkness, what is the value of our eyes? We cannot see. So under certain conditions, because we see, therefore we are not perfect. But if you can see in any condition, that is perfection, not depending on these defective eyes or senses. That is not knowledge. Defective.
Four defects. I have several times explained. One defect is that we commit mistake, everyone. And we become illusioned, accepting something for something. Just like mostly, even educated persons, they accept this body, “I am this body.” Just like animals. The cats and dogs, they also think that “I am this body.” I have several times told you that I talked with Professor Kotofsky in Moscow. He said, “After finishing this body, Swamiji, everything is finished.” He said like that. And he is a big professor. And according to our Vedic culture, yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke sa eva go-kharah [SB 10.84.13]. If one is going on under this impression that “I am this body,” he is go-khara, ass and cow, means animal. Therefore they do not know how we are accepting different bodies under karma, by associating with especial…
Associating means even unknowingly. Just like infection. In medical science there is the word “infection.” You may not know, but if you have infected typhoid disease, it will fructify at one moment. So similarly, even if we do not know, if we associate with the material modes of nature, it will be effective. Sad-asad-janma-yonisu. Therefore we must have full knowledge how to save oneself from the association, from the infection of this material disease. That is called jnanavasthita-cetasah. Just like a man who knows hygienic rules and regulation, he does not infect disease. But a man in ignorance, he infects disease and suffers. It is not God’s creation. Your creation. If you do not know how to live, then you will infect the infection of the different modes of material nature, and you will have to suffer or enjoy.
Therefore common sense instruction given by Canakya Pandita, a great politician, tyaja durjana-samsargam. This is his first instruction, that “Don’t associate with bad character.” We are also doing that, that “Don’t associate with the four principles of sinful life illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication, and gambling. To tyaja durjana-samsargam bhaja sadhu-samagamam: “You associate with sadhus.”
Who are sadhus? That is also described in the Bhagavad-gita. Sadhur eva sa mantavyah samyag vyavasito hi sah [Bg. 9.30]. Who? Api cet su-duracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak, sadhur eva sa mantavyah [Bg. 9.30]. That is sadhu. Sadhu means who is fully engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord. He is sadhu. So in this way we have to acquire knowledge. Jnanavasthita-cetasah. Full knowledge. Then we can avoid the association of the three modes of material nature.
Gata-sangasya muktasya. Then we become liberated even in this life, if you are actually situated in knowledge. And how to…. How one can understand that “This man is mukta. He is not associating with any material modes of nature?” How? Yajnayacaratah karma. For yajna, yajnaya. Yajna karma-samudbhavah. Just like I was explaining. You have to perform yajna yajnaya, only for yajna. Yajnarthe. Another place Krsna…. yajnarthe karma anyatra karma- bandhanah. If you do not act for yajna, then you be entangled in the karma-bandhanah.
This is the science. One has to be situated in full knowledge, and full knowledge is…. The beginning of knowledge is that one must understand that “I am not this body.” This is knowledge. And if one is working like cats and dogs, thinking himself “I am this body,” he has no knowledge. Just like animals. They are not expected to be in knowledge. A man is expected to be in knowledge and he must know that “I am not this body.” Dehino ’smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara, tatha dehantara-praptih [Bg. 2.13]. So one has to know that “I am not this body, but circumstantially and according to my association with the modes of nature, I am transferring, transmigrating from this body to another body.”
Full Lecture: http://causelessmercy.com/t/t/740412BG.BOM.htm
Speak Your Mind