Simple living, high thinking
In the following abbreviated Srila Prabhupada’s lecture we will find, for those interested, how to solve the actual and real problems of life.
Lectures, Srimad Bhagavatam, January 17, 1974, Hawaii.
These are the problems. But the rascal civilization, they do not know what is the real problem. They're dealing with petrol problem. Just see. Petrol problem, you have created another problem. Already there is problem. [birth, death disease and old age] You have created, by so-called civilization, petrol problem. Before these motorcars, the people were living very happily. They were transporting. But there was no such civilization that for your earning livelihood you have to go hundred miles away
from your home to work there. Therefore you require vehicle. Then you require petrol. Then you require so many nice roads. So many things will be. But formerly, it was village. They will take it, "This is primitive." But remaining primitive, you were more happy than becoming so-called civilized, creating so many problems. You have already problems, but people are so rascal, so blind, they do not see to the real problem. They artificially create problem and try to solve it. Instead of touching the real problem, that is set aside.
The Bhagavad-gita says that problem; one should be very vigilant to the problem. And what is that problem? He says, Krishna says, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam. They do not know what is the real problem. Real problem is repetition of birth, death, old age and disease. This is real problem. Whole Vedic civilization is meant for stopping these problems, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi....
... This question I asked... Professor Kotovsky. I asked him that, "Where is the difference of philosophy between your Communist philosophy and our Krishna consciousness philosophy? You have to accept one chief man, that Lenin or Stalin, and we have also selected one chief man, or God, Krishna. So you are following the dictates of Lenin or Stalin or Molotov or this or that. We are following the philosophy or the instruction of Krishna. So on principle, where is the difference? There is no difference." So the professor could not answer that. You cannot conduct your daily affairs without being dictated by somebody else. That is to be accepted.
So that is the law of nature. So nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. Then why don't you accept the supreme authority? This subordinate authority... We have to accept somebody as our leader. It is not possible that we can live without leadership. That is not possible. Is there any party, is there any school, or is there any institution that they're conducting without any chief leader or director? Can you show me any instance throughout the whole world? Is there any instance? No...The principle is there, that you have to accept one chief. But intelligent is that which, what kind of leadership we shall accept. That is knowledge. We have to accept the servitorship or underhand, to become underhand of some person. So the intelligence is that "Whom we have to accept?" That, there lies intelligence: "What kind of leader we shall accept?"
So our principle is that Krishna should be accepted as the leader because Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya. Krishna is the supreme leader. Eko bahu..., nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam eko yo bahunam vidadhati. Leader means he must... Just like father. Father is the leader of the family. And why father is the leader? Because he earns, he maintains the children, wife, servant, and establishment; therefore naturally, he's accepted the leader of the family. Similarly, you accept the President as the leader of your country because in dangerous time he gives
direction, in peace time he gives direction. He's always busy how to make you happy, how to make without any cares, anxiety. This is duty of the President. Otherwise, why you select one President? Any man can live without any President, but no, it is required.
So similarly, the Veda says, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. There are two sets of living entities. .. Both of them are nitya. Nitya means eternal. And cetana means living entity. So nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. This is the description of God, that God is also a living entity like you and me. He's also living entity. Just like you see Krishna. What is the difference between Krishna? He has got two hands; you have got two hands. He has got one head; you have got one head. You have got... He has got two legs; you have got two legs. You can also keep some cows and play with them; Krishna also. But the difference is there. What is that difference? Eko yo bahunam vidadhati kaman. That one Krishna, although He's similar in so many ways with you, similarity, but one difference is there - He is maintaining every one of us, and we are being maintained. He's the leader. If Krishna does not supply you foodstuff, you cannot have any foodstuff. If Krishna does not supply you petrol, then you cannot drive your car. So eko bahunam yo vidadhati. Whatever necessities of life we have got - we require so many things -- that is supplied by eka, that one living entity. That is the difference. We cannot maintain even a small family, our capacity is so limited. At the present moment especially, in this age, a man does not like to marry because he's unable to maintain even a family, wife and children. He cannot maintain them, even a family consisting of four or five living entities.
So in the Vedic civilization there was no such problem as petrol problem and food problem or... No. The problem was whether the civilization was going nicely, whether the human civilization is making progress toward the ultimate goal of life, not to bother with the temporary problems. Temporary problems has been described in the Bhagavad-gita,
matra-sparsas tu kaunteya
sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah
agamapayino 'nityas
tams titiksasva bharata
Anything except this problem... There are problems always. This is a world of problems. So... Just like this summer season, that is also problem. The winter season, that is also problem. So many people come here in Hawaii because they cannot tolerate too much severe cold in the mainland. They come here. Again, when you come here, when it is too much hot, warm, then we require fan, we require refrigerator, we require so many. So problem is there. So Krishna is saying, "My dear Arjuna, problems there will be." This is material world. You cannot avoid problems. But you should tackle with the main problem, not the insignificant or temporary problem. That is the instruction of Bhagavad-gita.
The main problem is janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi. That is main problem. So our cultivation of knowledge, advancement of civilization, should be on the basis of solving the main problems, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi, not the temporary problem. For the temporary problems, it is advised that the temporary problems, they come and go. Just like nowadays there is the petrol problem. Petrol is there, but because the Arabians are restricting supply, it has become a problem. So there are, as soon as there will be some peace agreement between the Arabians and others, this problem will be solved. Take for example. Best example is given in the Bhagavad-gita, sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah. You can solve your petrol problem, but you can never solve the problem of winter and summer. That will come and go. So it is not that winter will remain for good, or the summer will remain for good. Agamapayino 'nityah. They will come and go away. So don't be bothered about them. If you feel botheration, just try to suffer or tolerate. That is not your real problem. Real problem is how to stop the birth, death, old age and disease, and that is Vedic civilization, and that is depending on the brahmanical culture.
So the king's duty is to see that everyone is following the brahmanical culture. The brahmana is executing his occupational duties nicely, the kshatriyas are doing nicely in their occupational duties; similarly, vaishyas, shudras. That is the duty of the government, that everything is going on nicely. Otherwise, it will be a great concern and people will be always filled up with anxieties. There will be so many troubles and problems. We cannot solve them. And it is very difficult to solve in this age of Kali. Therefore sastra has given us injunction that -
harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
Because we are so weak in this age and there are so many problems, it is very, very difficult to make a solution. Therefore sastra says that "You simply take to the chanting of the holy name of God."
harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
In this age there is no other way. That you'll feel when you take to chanting without any offense, very simple thing, which has... You haven't got to spend any money for this chanting, neither we are charging. We are simply distributing this knowledge, that "Chant Hare Krishna mantra; all problems will be solved."
Thank you very much.
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Conclusions from above abbreviated lecture:
Prabhupada has clearly detailed the present civilization as one of futility in solving the problems which they themselves create. Formerly people were MORE happy he tells us, by simple living, without motor cars, freeways, pollution and petrol problems of shortage and the ensuing oil wars. But who will really believe this?
One believes it if he or she has eliminated as much as possible the unlimited and unnecessary machines that daily surround us. I think most people in general have not directly experienced how simple living in a village atmosphere IS BETTER than the way we are now living. Since most don’t learn by hearing, we have to learn by seeing something and directly experiencing it. Therefore people should, if possible, actually go to India and directly see how happy village people are. Anyone can see the happiness radiate from these people’s faces which don’t have the wrinkle lines of constant anxiety and sad eyes due to modern city living in the western world. The village women don’t need creams to hide the anxieties. Anyone can see this. Human life is not meant for creating anxiety but in relieving it. Modern life does just the opposite. It creates misery due to its own demoniac nature of exploitation of the stolen resources of nature for one’s personal sense gratification. In the attempt to become happy by material contrivances such as all the vast myriad of machines, we daily surround ourselves with- cell phones,(which always need to be updated) ,computers (more updating again) TV, unlimited internet garbage, cars, with more onboard computers than computers, kitchen appliances, electric toothbrushes, electric shavers, electric hair dryers, in other words everything electric, or done by a machine. Can anybody even live these days without some kind of machine? In the hospitals they even plug you into a "life support machine".
So Prabhupada says.."By remaining "primitive", you were more happy than becoming
so-called civilized, creating so many problems". I remember one devotee friend of mine who told me once when he was with Prabhupada in a small village in south India, where there was no household running water, no electricity, no phones and probably no cars either..He told the devotees--who were kind of in shock by what they saw--he said of this place--"This, is first class!"
By the amount of disbelief on the devotees faces who were not at all accustomed to this austere type of lifestyle one can only imagine how any of us today can even begin to believe in these words by our Acharya? Our philosophy is supposed to be -- simple living and high thinking - and yet how many don’t live simplistic lifestyles? How many of us have to do that 100 mile a day drive to work? Spending hours daily in gridlock? How many of us have to go to some mundane workplace and serve some mundane mudha as our "President"?
How can we actually solve the REAL problems of our lives while we create more unnecessary problems for ourselves? If we are not living a simple living high thinking lifestyle at present, then does that mean we are in fact part of the problem which Prabhupada is here describing? If so much of our daytime hours is spent in paying for the machines which we in fact don’t really need, then how can our human form of life be said to be properly being spent? Or are we just pretending to be "devotees" who are in reality just attached to complicated living with a little high thinking on the side?
At the end of this beautiful lecture Srila Prabhupada states the only redeeming feature of this iron age of machines -- Harer Nama Harer Nama -- in this age the only thing which will save all of us, whatever our living situation, is to constantly chant the Holy Names of Krishna and Rama. That is something we all can do.
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