Arrival Address
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Paris, June 8, 1974, (new98)

Prabhupada: So I am very happy to see that Radha-Parisisvara is being worshiped nicely. Thank you very much.

So our Krsna consciousness philosophy is very simple, but the dull- headed person cannot understand. That is the difficulty. In the Bhagavad-gita, it is said that the…

na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah mayayapahrta-jnana asuram bhavam asritah [Bg. 7.15]

There are many classes of men, they have been classified as the duskrtina, mudha, naradhama, mayayapahrta-jnana, and all of them are based on the atheistic theory “There is no God, I am God.” Asuri bhavam, asura. Asura means they defy God, “I am God. Who is God?” Just like Hiranyakasipu and his son, Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada Maharaja is devotee of Lord Krsna, and Hiranyakasipu would not accept. “Who is God? I am God.” This is atheistic attitude. So the atheist are divided into four classes. Number one is duskrtina. Duskrtina means they have got merit. Krti means meritorious. The modern men, they have got merit. Especially the Western people, they have got nice merit. Just like while passing through the city, we saw very nice buildings. So to construct such buildings, it requires merit, undoubtedly. But what for this building? Duskrtina, only for committing sinful life. Therefore it is called du, duskalya. Meat- eating, illicit sex, intoxication, and gambling. Meritorious, they are undoubtedly for constructing this building, but what is the purpose? The purpose is sinful activities. These things are going on. Therefore, they are called duskrtina. And mudha. Mudha means they cannot understand what is God. It is very simple thing. Anyone can…, a child can understand. Take for example your body, my body. What is the important thing in the body? The soul. Without the soul, you may be very big man, even Napoleon Bonaparte, but as soon as the soul is gone, it is useless. The whole world is useless. Anyone can understand. Where is now Napoleon Bonaparte who struggled so much for glorifying France. But where is that gentleman? Finished. As soon as the soul is gone… You may keep one statue, dead statue, that is another thing. But you do not know where the soul has gone and what he is doing now.

So anyone can understand that this body may be very, very important, scientist, politicians, and so on, so on. But as soon as the soul is gone from this body, it is useless, not worth even a farthing. Anyone can understand. Similarly, as the soul is the important thing in this body, my body, your body, or anyone’s body, similarly in this huge gigantic body of universe, there must be one soul. Otherwise how it is going on? How it is working so nicely? The big sun is rising exactly in time, the moon is rising exactly in time, the seasons are changing one after another. So many millions and millions of living entities, they are being maintained. Everyone is getting their food, even the elephant who eats at a time hundred kilogram, he also eats. An ant also eats. The birds also eat, the beast also eats—there is no problem. Only the civilized man, so-called civilized man, he creates problem because duskrtina. He has got merit, but it is being used for sinful activities. Therefore there is problem. Otherwise there is no… If the birds have no problem, the beasts have no problem, the ant has no problem, why the civilized man has got problem? Because they are duskrtina and mudha. Rascal and always engaged in sinful activities, duskrtino mudhah. Simple thing.

If the soul is important in this body, why there shall not be bigger soul, the Supersoul, in this gigantic body? What is this universal body and this body? The same thing. It is only small, and that is very big. The same material construction. Bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh. This earth, water, air. Just like you have got your bones, the huge earth mountain, that is also another bone of this gigantic body. As you have got your hairs on the body, the millions and millions of trees and plants, they are also the hairs on the gigantic body. So as you have got holes in your body here, there, and the navel, similarly these oceans and seas, they are also different holes. So they are described—it is not my imagination—they are described in the Bhagavad-gi…, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Second Canto, to conceive the gigantic body. As you have got your skull, the round skull, the whole, I mean to say, hemisphere is also skull of this gigantic body. It is similar. As you have got a body and you, the soul, is the important thing, active principle within this body, similarly this gigantic body, the active principle is there, that is we call from the sastra Garbhodakasayi Visnu, the same comparison. But because they are mudha, rascal, they cannot understand. No brain. We have no brain, we are all not very intelligent. But we can understand if there is the active principle soul within this body, there must be a Supersoul within this huge structure of body. And that is called God. Mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam. Those who are bewildered, naradhamah. Naradhamah, the lowest of the mankind. These things cannot be understood by the cats and dogs. Their body is constituted in such a way that they cannot think of there is an active principle within the body and there is active principle in this huge gigantic body. The cats and dogs cannot understand, but a human being can understand. And that active principle is Krsna. Krsna means all-attractive. As the active principle within this body is all-attractive, this beautiful body of French boys and girls, why? The active principle is there; therefore they are attractive. Many people come to see your city. Why? The active principle is there.

So Krsna means the active principle of everything. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita,

aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate iti matva bhajante mam budha bhava-samanvitah [Bg. 10.8]

The active principle is everything. From His energy, material energy, this huge gigantic material man…, cosmic manifestation is there, from His energy. And we are also His energy. Bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca. The five material elements are also Krsna’s energy, and we living entities, we are also. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakrtim para, jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat. Everything is explained there. But the mudhas, these duskrtinas, the naradhamas, they cannot understand. Naradhama means lowest of the mankind. Why? Because cats and dogs cannot understand this philosophy. But a human being can understand. He has got the brain. Nature has given the fertile brain, but they are misusing it, duskrtina, only for sense gratification. The brain was given to understand God, but the rascal is using for illicit sex, meat- eating, drinking, and gambling. This is the position of the whole human society.

So this Krsna consciousness movement is to give the greatest benefit to the human society to clear their brain, the rascal brain. We call, declare, they are all rascals. Let any scientist, philosopher come here, I shall prove that he is nothing but a rascal. I shall prove that. I challenge them. What they are doing? Nonsense. So you do not become rascals. By the grace of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, you are trying to understand this Krsna consciousness philosophy, and there is no difficulty, everything is there in our Bhagavad-gita. You simply try to understand, and make your life successful. That is our request. Don’t be rascals, mudhas, naradhamas, mayayapahrta-jnana. This education has no value, because the real knowledge, there is nothing. Real knowledge is to understand God. There is no education throughout the whole world, there is no university. So they are simply producing rascals. So my only request is that don’t become rascals. You just worship here Radha-Krsna. Radha-krsna-pranaya-vikrtih, just try to understand Krsna and then your life will be successful.

In what way?

janma karma (ca) me divyam yo janati tattvatah tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti… [Bg. 4.9]

If you simply try to understand Krsna, the result will be that after giving up this body, you will not accept any more material body. You will remain in your spiritual body and go back to home, back to Godhead. That is your eternal life, blissful, full of knowledge. That is wanted. Otherwise, now you have got this very beautiful body, French girl, French boy, if you don’t take to Krsna consciousness, if you lose the opportunity, then you may get, because you have got very good friend, dogs. So yam yam vapi smaran bhavam [Bg. 8.6], so at the time of dying, you will think of dog and you will get a body of dog. This is a fact. Because you are under the grip of material nature. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27] As you infect some disease, you must suffer from that disease. Similarly, the infection of ignorance, tamo-guna, will give you a tamo-guna body. Jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha adho gacchanti tamasah. Go down. Nature gives you the opportunity: get a nice human form of body, nice brain, try to understand what is God. But if you misuse it, then again go to become cats and dogs and hogs. This is nature’s law. Don’t risk your life. Always think of Krsna. Sada tad-bhava-bhavitah [Bg. 8.6]. These things are explained.

So what is the difficulty to become Krsna conscious? You have got nice Deity, Krsna is present to take your service. Be pure, eat nice prasadam, chant Hare Krsna and dance, and go to back to home, back to Godhead. Where is the difficulty? Simple thing. Don’t be misled by the rascals and fools. Just try to understand Krsna, try to hear Krsna, His instruction is there, and be happy. Thank you very much. (end)