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Lect SF 1968-04-02 Skyscraper Civilization vs. Soul --etc
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ANNOUNCER: The following is a
lecture given by His Divine Grace
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A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
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recorded in San Francisco in March of 1968.
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PRABHUPĀDA: In the Bhagavad-gītā
it is said that one who is intelligent,
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he will see four things before him.
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You may be very great scientist.
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You may be very much advanced in material science.
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You may be able to construct very high building, skyscrapers,
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and many millions of motorcars,
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but you have to think whether you
have solved the real problem of life.
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The real problem of life is birth,
death, disease, and old age.
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Not that to live in a high skyscraper our problems of life is solved.
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No.
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The problem of life is how to stop
these four things: birth, death, old age,
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and disease.
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But we have neglected the real problems of life.
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And we are misusing our intelligence
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for constructing big buildings and constructing
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or increasing the so-called bodily necessities of life.
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The bodily necessities of life are four only.
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What is that?
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Eating, sleeping, mating, and defending.
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To maintain this body you require to eat something.
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Everyone is eating.
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You are eating, the cats are eating, the
dogs are eating, the birds are eating.
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They have no economic problem.
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Eating is there already.
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Have you seen ever that a bird is dying for want of eating, eatables?
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No.
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So these things are already arranged.
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That is no problem.
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In every form of life your eatables are there by nature’s supply.
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Similarly sleeping.
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The bird is sleeping, the dog is sleeping,
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the cat is sleeping, and you are also sleeping.
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But you have got a very nice apartment.
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Does it mean that you have solved the problem of sleeping?
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No.
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Then defending.
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The birds, the dogs, the cats, the animals,
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everyone knows how to defend in their own way.
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You go every day in the, what is called, Stowe Lake path.
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And as soon as you go,
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the swans immediately jump to the
water because that is their defending.
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As soon as they go to the water, they
know that “These human beings,
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they cannot come to the water. We are now secure.”
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So that defending process is there even
in the swans, in the birds, in everything.
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You don’t think that because we have manufactured atomic bombs,
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therefore we have become very good.
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What is this atomic bomb?
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Killing. Killing is going on.
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Have you manufactured anything
by which you can save from death?
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So our problems of life, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā,
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is to solve these four things: no more birth…
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Because we are… Always remember that we are all eternal.
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Just like in this body, beginning from
my mother’s womb up to this old age,
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I am the same eternal soul, but my body is changing.
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So after changing this body also, I shall remain the same.
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Simply I shall have another body.
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This plain truth, there is no difficulty to understand.
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Now if I am eternal… If I am eternal means
no death, no birth, no disease, no old age.
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That is eternal.
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So if I am eternal, whether it is possible to get an eternal body?
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Or eternal happiness?
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That is the problem of human society.
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If you can solve that problem, then you be proud of your civilization.
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Otherwise there is no difference
between cats’ and dogs’ civilization
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and your civilization.
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Because you are simply trying to solve
the problems of eating, sleeping,
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defending and mating.
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But these problems are already solved by nature’s law.
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So our developed intelligence should be utilized
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for solving these problems by Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
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We are presenting this movement before you, your country,
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because you are intelligent, you are materially advanced.
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You are greater than all other countries.
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Therefore I present this movement, scientific movement before you.
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You just try to understand it.
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Lord Caitanya’s movement… This is Lord Caitanya’s movement.
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And the author of Caitanya- caritāmṛta… That is in Sanskrit.
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We have translated it into English, Teachings of Lord Caitanya.
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If you like, you can purchase that book.
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So in that book it is stated that
caitanyera dayāra kathā karaha vicāra.
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Ladies and gentlemen, you just…,
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scrutinizingly you try to understand the mercy of Lord Caitanya,
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this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement,
how it is solving the problems of our life.”
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Vicāra karile citte pābe camatkāra.
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If you scrutinizingly test it and try to understand this movement,
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then you’ll feel yourself that it is wonderful.
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And actually it is wonderful.
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So… And the process is also very simple.
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You do not require to be highly educated
or philosopher or talented or rich or poor,
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or black and white.
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Doesn’t matter what you are.
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It is universal.
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Any human being with little intelligence, he can understand.
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And even he does not understand,
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this process is so nice that if you continue this process
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for a few weeks you’ll be able to understand.
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This chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare
Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
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Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma,
Hare Hare is transcendental vibration.
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Sound.
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Sound is the origin of all creation.
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So this transcendental sound, if you vibrate,
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you will understand very quickly this
philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
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And there is no loss on your part.
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Suppose you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa; you do not lose anything.
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But if there is any gain, why don’t you try it?
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We simply request you with folded
hands that you kindly chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
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We are simply requesting you.
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We’re not asking you to pay us something
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or to suffer something or be
educated or be engineer or be lawyer,
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then come to us.
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Never mind what you are.
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Stay in your position.
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Simply try to chant these sixteen words,
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa,
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Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare
Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
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You can try for one week.
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And there is no hard and fast rules.
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You can chant anywhere and everywhere.
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While walking you can chant, while driving you can chant.
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Nobody is going to tax, that “You are chanting.
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Give me this tax.”
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It is very easy.
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So kīrtanīyaḥ sadā… [Cc. Adi 17.31].
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Ceto-darpaṇa- mārjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12].
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If you chant, the result will be that your mind will be cleansed.
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The whole misunderstanding is that “I am not this body.
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I am spirit soul.
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But I am identifying myself with this body—
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‘I am Indian,’ ‘I am American,’
‘I am Christian,’ ‘I am Hindu.’”
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These are all your designations.
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You are spirit soul.
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Just try to understand that you are spirit soul,
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and try to understand on the platform of spiritual understanding.
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All problems will be solved.
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And so long you are standing on this
designated platform—“ I am American,”
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“I am Indian,” “I am this,” “I am that”—
there is no solution of problems.
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Take it for granted.
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There is no solution of problem.
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You stand on this platform of spiritual understanding;
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there will be solution of all problems.
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This is authentic, and those who have followed, they have got result.
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And take it from me that there is no cheating, there is no bluff.
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Simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare
Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
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Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma,
Hare Hare, and see the result practically.
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With my request, you can chant for one week and see the result.
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We are always prepared to serve you.
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We have got our temple here.
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Not only here, we have got our temple in Los Angeles,
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we have got our temple in New York, in Santa Fe, Montreal, Boston,
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and recently we’re trying to open one temple in Buffalo.
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And two of my students, they have gone to Florida.
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They are also trying to open.
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So it is very nice movement, and it is very easy to chant.
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Now before me… I am Indian, you are all Americans.
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This Hare Kṛṣṇa, this vibration may be foreign to you,
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but there is no difficulty to chant.
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The words may be in Sanskrit, but it is not difficult to chant.
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And if you simply chant, you get the result.
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Because it is transcendental vibration.
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Just like when television or radio vibration is there, either in India,
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America, or everywhere the vibration is equally beneficial.
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Similarly, this transcendental vibration is coming down
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from the transcendental world.
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It is not material sound.
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It is not hackneyed.
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If you chant, if you practice, you’ll realize it.
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So our request is that without any charges, without any fee,
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without any bluff, we say that you please chant
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Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
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Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
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Thank you very much.
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