0 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,404 Fest NY 1976-07-18 Ratha-yatra--The Culture of Liberty 1 00:00:00,405 --> 00:00:03,364 ANNOUNCER: Next is an address 2 00:00:03,365 --> 00:00:09,374 given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, 3 00:00:09,375 --> 00:00:20,534 recorded on July 18th, 1976, at the New York Ratha-yatra. 4 00:00:20,535 --> 00:00:26,094 PRABHUPĀDA: …five thousand years ago at Kurukṣetra. 5 00:00:26,095 --> 00:00:32,924 In India there is still that place, Kurukṣetra, 6 00:00:32,925 --> 00:00:49,324 and religious men go there especially on the occasion of solar eclipse. 7 00:00:49,325 --> 00:00:53,314 So recently there was solar eclipse. 8 00:00:53,315 --> 00:01:06,774 Still, many millions of Indian population gathered there. 9 00:01:06,775 --> 00:01:15,134 Those who have gone to India might have seen this holy place, Kurukṣetra. 10 00:01:15,135 --> 00:01:28,044 There is a railway station also of the name Kurukṣetra, and it is a vast field. 11 00:01:28,045 --> 00:01:37,014 The Battle of Kurukṣetra took place also during Lord Kṛṣṇa’s time, 12 00:01:37,015 --> 00:01:48,544 and the Bhagavad-gītā is the product in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. 13 00:01:48,545 --> 00:01:55,915 So this ceremony…, Kṛṣṇa, 14 00:01:55,916 --> 00:02:03,125 with His elder brother Balarāma and His younger sister Subhadrā, 15 00:02:03,126 --> 00:02:14,185 visited in this chariot at Kurukṣetra, and we are observing this festival. 16 00:02:14,186 --> 00:02:20,385 Formerly one king of the name Indradyumna, 17 00:02:20,386 --> 00:02:30,045 he started the temple of Jagannātha in Orissa at Purī. 18 00:02:30,046 --> 00:02:38,005 Perhaps some of you who have gone there, they know there is a very, 19 00:02:38,006 --> 00:02:42,955 very old temple, according to modern calculation, 20 00:02:42,956 --> 00:02:47,475 not less than two thousand years old. 21 00:02:47,476 --> 00:02:51,365 There is the Jagannātha Deity. 22 00:02:51,366 --> 00:03:00,755 The King was very much anxious to establish a temple of Kṛṣṇa, 23 00:03:00,756 --> 00:03:04,585 Balarāma and Subhadrā, 24 00:03:04,586 --> 00:03:14,975 but there was a contract between the sculptor and the King 25 00:03:14,976 --> 00:03:20,815 that the sculptor would go on working in closed door 26 00:03:20,816 --> 00:03:24,265 and the King should not disturb him. 27 00:03:24,266 --> 00:03:31,925 But when many days passed the King felt, “What this worker is doing?” 28 00:03:31,926 --> 00:03:36,965 So he forcefully opened the door, 29 00:03:36,966 --> 00:03:43,785 and he saw that the sculptor could not finish the Deity. 30 00:03:43,786 --> 00:03:53,515 So this form of Jagannātha, Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and Subhadrā, was unfinished. 31 00:03:53,516 --> 00:03:57,895 They were going under construction, carving, 32 00:03:57,896 --> 00:04:00,755 but the King forcibly opened the door. 33 00:04:00,756 --> 00:04:07,155 Therefore the King said, “I shall worship this unfinished Deity. 34 00:04:07,156 --> 00:04:08,575 Never mind.” 35 00:04:08,576 --> 00:04:11,745 So this Jagannātha you see in this form 36 00:04:11,746 --> 00:04:17,555 because King Indradyumna wanted to worship Him in that form. 37 00:04:17,556 --> 00:04:23,025 So this is devotee’s willing. 38 00:04:23,026 --> 00:04:31,875 Kṛṣṇa accepts everyone’s devotional service 39 00:04:31,876 --> 00:04:36,385 if it is offered with love and affection. 40 00:04:36,386 --> 00:04:38,655 He says in the Bhagavad-gītā, 41 00:04:38,656 --> 00:04:45,575 Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati [Bg. 9.26]. 42 00:04:45,576 --> 00:04:55,525 Kṛṣṇa said “Anyone who offers Me a little flower, a little water, 43 00:04:55,526 --> 00:05:04,485 a little fruit, with love and affection, I eat them, I accept them.” 44 00:05:04,486 --> 00:05:12,035 So if something offered by you to Kṛṣṇa is accepted by Him, 45 00:05:12,036 --> 00:05:18,295 then you should know that your life is successful. 46 00:05:18,296 --> 00:05:27,575 So there is no question of offering God so many things very gorgeously prepared, 47 00:05:27,576 --> 00:05:36,575 but you can offer a little flower, a little fruit and little water with love and affection. 48 00:05:36,576 --> 00:05:42,275 That means even the poorest man in the world 49 00:05:42,276 --> 00:05:46,685 can worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 50 00:05:46,686 --> 00:05:50,165 There is no hindrance. 51 00:05:50,166 --> 00:05:53,426 ahaituky apratihatā [SB 1.2.6] 52 00:05:53,427 --> 00:06:02,096 Devotional service cannot be checked by any material condition. 53 00:06:02,097 --> 00:06:11,086 If anyone wants to worship God, he can do in any condition of life. 54 00:06:11,087 --> 00:06:13,536 There is no restriction. 55 00:06:13,537 --> 00:06:19,836 There is no restriction of cast and creed or country or nation. 56 00:06:19,837 --> 00:06:24,916 Anyone can worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead 57 00:06:24,917 --> 00:06:27,956 according to his means, 58 00:06:27,957 --> 00:06:29,336 and our, 59 00:06:29,337 --> 00:06:36,146 this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a propagation to teach people 60 00:06:36,147 --> 00:06:40,096 how to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 61 00:06:40,097 --> 00:06:48,266 This is our mission, because without relationship with God, 62 00:06:48,267 --> 00:06:57,036 without reviving our eternal affinity with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, 63 00:06:57,037 --> 00:07:00,146 we cannot be happy. 64 00:07:00,147 --> 00:07:05,736 The Vedic injunction is Sarve sukhino bhavantu [?]. 65 00:07:05,737 --> 00:07:09,216 “Everyone become happy.” 66 00:07:09,217 --> 00:07:16,456 And we are actually struggling for existence to become happy, 67 00:07:16,457 --> 00:07:21,726 but we do not know how to become happy. 68 00:07:21,727 --> 00:07:30,016 So this science was taught five hundred… five thousand years ago by God Himself. 69 00:07:30,017 --> 00:07:33,836 He advented in India. 70 00:07:33,837 --> 00:07:40,536 That does not mean He advented for India’s benefit. 71 00:07:40,537 --> 00:07:50,896 He claims… Actually that is God’s claim, that He is the father of all living entities. 72 00:07:50,897 --> 00:07:59,766 Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yaḥ tāsāṁ brahma 73 00:07:59,767 --> 00:08:02,896 mahad yonir aham bīja-pradaḥ pitā [Bg. 14.4]. 74 00:08:02,897 --> 00:08:09,146 God is father, supreme father of everyone. 75 00:08:09,147 --> 00:08:15,286 If we simply study this verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, 76 00:08:15,287 --> 00:08:21,946 that the mother nature is the mother of all living entities 77 00:08:21,947 --> 00:08:28,816 and God is the supreme father of everyone. 78 00:08:28,817 --> 00:08:33,866 We can study these two lines very carefully. 79 00:08:33,867 --> 00:08:39,786 On the earth we can see so many living entities are coming out, 80 00:08:39,787 --> 00:08:48,186 beginning from the grass, then so many insects, reptiles, big trees, 81 00:08:48,187 --> 00:08:54,307 then animals, birds, beasts, then human beings. 82 00:08:54,308 --> 00:09:03,937 They are all coming from the earth, and they are living at the expense of earth. 83 00:09:03,938 --> 00:09:08,207 The earth is supplying food to everyone. 84 00:09:08,208 --> 00:09:18,417 As the mother gives life or maintains the child by the milk of her breast, similarly, 85 00:09:18,418 --> 00:09:31,957 the earth mother is maintaining all different types of living entities. 86 00:09:31,958 --> 00:09:40,147 There are 8,400,000 different forms of life, and the earth, 87 00:09:40,148 --> 00:09:44,497 mother earth is supplying food. 88 00:09:44,498 --> 00:09:50,017 There are thousands of elephants in the African jungle, 89 00:09:50,018 --> 00:09:52,967 they are also being supplied with food. 90 00:09:52,968 --> 00:09:59,837 And within your room, in a hole, there are thousands of ants. 91 00:09:59,838 --> 00:10:02,357 They are also being supplied food 92 00:10:02,358 --> 00:10:07,177 by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 93 00:10:07,178 --> 00:10:15,547 So the philosophy is that we should not be disturbed 94 00:10:15,548 --> 00:10:20,417 by the so-called theory of over-population. 95 00:10:20,418 --> 00:10:26,467 If God can feed elephants, why he cannot feed you? 96 00:10:26,468 --> 00:10:30,217 You do not eat like the elephant. 97 00:10:30,218 --> 00:10:37,437 So this theory, that there is shortage of food or overpopulation: 98 00:10:37,438 --> 00:10:40,217 We do not accept it. 99 00:10:40,218 --> 00:10:51,937 God is so powerful that He can feed everyone without any difficulty. 100 00:10:51,938 --> 00:10:54,827 Simply we are mismanaging. 101 00:10:54,828 --> 00:10:58,857 Otherwise there is no difficulty. 102 00:10:58,858 --> 00:11:03,957 So under the circumstances we propose 103 00:11:03,958 --> 00:11:10,097 that every one of you become God conscious. 104 00:11:10,098 --> 00:11:18,147 The paragraph which I was mentioning, that we see the mother, 105 00:11:18,148 --> 00:11:24,897 mother earth, and we see the children in different forms. 106 00:11:24,898 --> 00:11:28,457 Then we must accept that there is father. 107 00:11:28,458 --> 00:11:37,387 Because without father there is no possibility of mother begetting children. 108 00:11:37,388 --> 00:11:44,657 If you simply understand this philosophy of father, mother and children, 109 00:11:44,658 --> 00:11:51,937 then you can very easily understand that there is God, the supreme father. 110 00:11:51,938 --> 00:11:54,247 There is no difficulty. 111 00:11:54,248 --> 00:12:00,197 But if you do not become reasonable as human being, 112 00:12:00,198 --> 00:12:04,837 if you remain as animal like cats and dogs… 113 00:12:04,838 --> 00:12:10,877 The dogs cannot understand that there is the supreme father, God, 114 00:12:10,878 --> 00:12:13,587 but a human being can understand. 115 00:12:13,588 --> 00:12:15,747 He has got intelligence. 116 00:12:15,748 --> 00:12:18,637 So with this advanced intelligence, 117 00:12:18,638 --> 00:12:23,457 if we do not understand about the existence of God, 118 00:12:23,458 --> 00:12:30,677 our relationship with Him and what is our duty in that relationship, then our, 119 00:12:30,678 --> 00:12:34,448 this human form of life will be spoiled. 120 00:12:34,449 --> 00:12:37,678 Our, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement 121 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:47,478 is checking the human society from spoiling the human form of life. 122 00:12:47,479 --> 00:12:51,348 This human form of life, 123 00:12:51,349 --> 00:12:58,388 by the evolutionary process we have got after millions and millions of years, 124 00:12:58,389 --> 00:13:04,518 and if we spoil this life eating, sleeping, 125 00:13:04,519 --> 00:13:10,628 mating and defending like the cats and dog without any sense of God, 126 00:13:10,629 --> 00:13:13,178 then our life is spoiled. 127 00:13:13,179 --> 00:13:18,478 So please do not take this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement 128 00:13:18,479 --> 00:13:21,288 as any sectarian movement. 129 00:13:21,289 --> 00:13:25,168 It is the science of God. 130 00:13:25,169 --> 00:13:29,838 Try to understand the science of God. 131 00:13:29,839 --> 00:13:32,898 We have got so many… 132 00:13:32,899 --> 00:13:36,828 [aside] What is that? 133 00:13:36,829 --> 00:13:37,938 RĀDHĀ−VALLABHA: Crazy boy. 134 00:13:37,939 --> 00:13:41,378 [aside] All right. 135 00:13:41,379 --> 00:13:45,048 Either you accept it directly 136 00:13:45,049 --> 00:13:50,618 or you try to understand through philosophy and science. 137 00:13:50,619 --> 00:14:00,418 We have got so many books. 138 00:14:00,419 --> 00:14:05,658 So kindly take advantage of this movement 139 00:14:05,659 --> 00:14:11,968 and impartially try to understand what is the purpose of this movement, 140 00:14:11,969 --> 00:14:15,328 why we are distributing so many literatures. 141 00:14:15,329 --> 00:14:21,508 Soberly and with calm head, try to understand this movement and be happy. 142 00:14:21,509 --> 00:14:22,958 That is our only mission. 143 00:14:22,959 --> 00:14:23,888 Thank you very much. 144 00:14:23,889 --> 00:14:29,880 DEVOTEES: Jaya! 145 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:29,880 [end] 146 00:14:29,881 --> 00:14:29,882 Subtitles by 80.1.251.112, Causelessmercy.com