Prabhupada:

maha-bhutany ahaṅkaro
buddhir avyaktam eva ca
indriyaṇi dasaikaṁ ca
pañca cendriya-gocaraḥ;

iccha dveṣaḥ; sukhaṁ duḥ;khaṁ
saṅghaṭas cetana dhrtiḥ;
etat kṣetraṁ samasena
sa-vikaram udahrtam

Krṣṇa is discussing kṣetra, kṣetrajñaḥ;, jñana, and jñeyam. So kṣetra... Idaṁ sariraṁ kṣetram ity abhidhiyate. This body is the kṣetra. Ksetra means the field of activities. Just like a cultivator, he has got a certain portion of land and according to the land, he is seeding, sowing the seeds of grains, and as he's working, he's getting the profit by agricultural product, similarly, this body is a field, is field, and we are sowing the seed, karma, sowing the seed and getting the result. Karmaṇa daiva-netreṇa [SB 3.31.1].

Why we have got different types of bodies? Why we haven't got, everyone, the same type of body? Somebody is fat, somebody is very thin, somebody white, somebody black, somebody very beautiful, somebody very ugly. There are so many varieties of bodies. Why? Saṅghaṭa. This is combination, color combination. There are three guṇas. Prakrteḥ; kriyamaṇani guṇaiḥ; karmaṇi sarvasaḥ; [Bg. 3.27]. As you are associating with the guṇas, you are getting different types of body.

That is, Krṣṇa is explaining here, that maha-bhutany ahaṅkara. The ahaṅkara is very important thing. False ahaṅkara and real ahaṅkara. Ahaṅkara means law of identity. "I am Indian," this is ahaṅkara. "I am American," this is ahaṅkara. "I am rich man," this is also ahaṅkara. "I am poor man." There are so many ahaṅkaras, law of identification. So this ahaṅkara is the basis of getting a type of body, And... This is the subtle basis, ahaṅkara. Mano buddhir ahaṅkara. There are eight material elements: bhumir apo 'nalo vayuḥ; khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca [Bg. 7.4]. That is stated in the seventh chapter. This earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence, and ahaṅkara. This is creating my different types of body.

Krṣṇa therefore says, maha-bhutany ahaṅkaro buddhir avyaktam eva ca. Avyaktam means the total material substance. Just like when you construct a house there are heaps of materials, some stone, some cement, some woods, some iron, and you combine together... Tejo-vari-mrd-vinimayam. This whole world is exchange of three things: teja, fire, vari, means water, and mrt, means earth. So what is this Bombay city? The Bombay city is a heap of tejo-vari-mrd-vinimayaḥ;. And... Here is one expert engineer, he knows how to mix these three things, tejo-vari-mrd-vinimayam, exchange. If there was no stock of tejo-vari-mrd-vinimayam, you could not build such a nice city. But who is supplying the ingredients? Can you create earth? No. Can you create water? No. You cannot create. You are simply working. You are simply working hard mixing them. That's all. Tejo vari-mrd-vinimayam. You cannot create. That is not possible. The creator is God. The creator is God. That is stated in the seventh chapter, prakrtir me aṣṭadha. Me, Krṣṇa says, "It is mine."

So this is called illusion. We are using Krṣṇa's property, but we are claiming "our." That is called illusion. Therefore sastra says, Veda says, isavasyam idaṁ sarvam: [Iso mantra 1] "Everything belongs to God." You cannot create this big mass of water, sea, or ocean. That is not possible. Who has created? Somebody has created. That is stated in the sastra. There is perspiration. This water is perspiration of Maha-Viṣṇu. We can understand because we are minute particle of Maha-Viṣṇu. Mamaivaṁso jiva-bhutaḥ; [Bg. 15.7]. So sometimes we perspire and create some water, say, half an ounce water. But if somebody has unlimited power to perspire and create water, where is the difficulty to understand? There is no difficulty. If you take it for acceptance that this vast mass of water has come from the perspiration of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So there is nothing to deny this fact. Acintya-sakti. Acintya-sakti means inconceivable power. We have got inconceivable power. Because we are minute particle of God, we have also minute inconceivable power. We do not know how the hairs are growing, but the energy is there within me. Similarly, so many things come out from the inconceivable power of Krṣṇa. Therefore Krṣṇa claims,

bhumir apo 'nalo vayuḥ;
khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
ahaṅkara itiyaṁ me
bhinna prakrtir aṣṭadha
[Bg. 7.4]

"They are My separated energy." So this whole earth is creation of these five elements, gross elements. So it is Krṣṇa's property. How we can claim, "This is our property?" That is illusion. We are claiming, "This portion is American," "This portion is Indian," "This portion is Pakistani," but we do not know that no portion belongs to us; everything belongs to Krṣṇa.

For practical purpose, even if we accept that the whole world belongs to Krṣṇa, God, and we are sons of God, we have got right to use the property of father, so you can use. But the difficulty is that we are claiming that "This portion is mine, this portion is mine." But if we don't claim like that, everything belongs to God, that is practical communism. If we accept the whole world as the property of God, make God-centered communism... The Russians, they are making the state-center communism. But if you make God center... That is Isopaniṣad, isavasyam idaṁ sarvam: [Iso mantra 1] "Everything belongs to God." And everyone has, that is stated in the sastra, that everything belongs to God, everything is property of God, and we can utilize. We can use that. Yavad artha-prayojanam. As much as we require, we can take.

Just like the birds and beasts. They are living on nature's condition. The bird will go to a tree and eat some fruit, but not more than he requires; neither he will take the fruit at his home to stock for next day or for making black market. No. We have created all this nonsense situation by claiming God's property as ours. This is the mistake. But the rascal leaders, they do not know what mistake they have committed in the beginning.

Stena eva sa ucyate [Bg. 3.12]. Everything belongs to God. Therefore everything should be employed in the service of God. This is our Krṣṇa consciousness philosophy. We do not take anything which has no connection with Krṣṇa. We take everything... Just like we are using this microphone. We do not think it is material. Because it is being used for Krṣṇa's purpose, therefore it is spiritual. That is the difference between material and spiritual. When you accept it as your own or for your own sense gratification, that is material. And if you accept everything as Krṣṇa's and you simply take Krṣṇa's prasadam, then it is spiritual.

We are not Mayavadi philosophers that we say, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithya. No. Why jagat should be mithya? If Krṣṇa is truth, God is truth, the jagat is also truth because it is the energy of Krṣṇa. Krṣṇa says, bhumir apo 'nalo vayuḥ; [Bg. 7.4]. Therefore our Gosvamis prescribed,

prapañcikataya buddhya
hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ;
mumukṣubhiḥ; parityago
phalgu vairagyaṁ kathyate

Prapañcikataya buddhya. (sharp cracking sound; aside:) What is this sound? Prapañcika-buddhya, by accepting something as material, hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ;, but it has connection with Hari, so if we give it up, then it is phalgu-vairagya. Just like this, for land we are fighting. Because we are thinking that "Krṣṇa has come here, Krṣṇa is seated here. It cannot be vacated." We are not thinking that it is a material thing. This is an example.

Just like Arjuna. Arjuna fought because he thought that this war, this Kurukṣetra battle is for the satisfaction of Krṣṇa. Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava [Bg. 18.73]. In the beginning, Arjuna denied to fight. He thought, "Why shall I fight with my kinsmen? Let them enjoy." But when he understood that "It is Krṣṇa's desire," nimitta-matraṁ bhava savyasacin: "It is already planned." Krṣṇa said, "My dear Arjuna, you are thinking that you'll save your relatives, but you are wrong. It is already planned. Those who have come here, they must be killed. That is already My plan. You simply become an instrument." Nimitta-matraṁ bhava savyasacin. So when Arjuna understood that "It is the Krṣṇa's plan. Then I am servant of Krṣṇa; I must satisfy Krṣṇa." Arjuna therefore asked, Krṣṇa therefore asked Arjuna, "Now, after hearing My instruction in the Bhagavad-gita, what you are going to do?" Arjuna replied, naṣṭo mohaḥ; smrtir labdha. "My Lord Krṣṇa, my illusion is now over." Smrtir labdha, "I have got my remembrance. Everything belongs to You. For Your satisfaction everything must be done." Kariṣye vacanaṁ tava [Bg. 18.73]. "Yes, I'll fight."

This is Krṣṇa consciousness. So long you think it is for your satisfaction, that is material. And as soon as you think, as soon as you understand that everything belongs to Krṣṇa and everything should be used for the service of Krṣṇa, that is spiritual. That is the distinction between material and spiritual. There is nothing like that spiritually something wonderful. But everything... Isavasyam idaṁ sarvam [Iso mantra 1]. If everything belongs to Krṣṇa, where is material? There is nothing material. Everything is spiritual, but we do not know how to use it. Therefore it is material. When you forget Krṣṇa, when you forget the proprietorship of Krṣṇa upon everything, that is material. Hari-sambandhena. Krṣṇa-sambandhe. Nirbandhaḥ; krṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairagyam ucyate. This is the injunction of the Gosvamis, that we have to accept everything as Krṣṇa. That is the fact.

And we are using everything without utilizing for Krṣṇa's purpose; therefore it is material. And in the Bhagavad-gita it is said, stena eva sa ucyate: [Bg. 3.12] "He is thief. He is thief." Yañarthat karmano 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ; [Bg. 3.9]. As one man is criminal because he does not satisfy the state... What is the position of a criminal person? Because he disobeys the laws of the state, he is criminal. That is the distinction between a good citizen and a criminal citizen. One who does not obey the laws of the state, he is criminal. So everyone who does not obey the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is criminal. Stena eva sa ucyate. This is the verdict of the sastra. Forgetfulness of Krṣṇa, or God, is materialism, and not to use things for Krṣṇa's satisfaction is criminality.

So people do not understand these things. Krṣṇa therefore explaining that "This body..." Maha-bhutany ahaṅkaro buddhir avyaktaṁ eva ca indriyaṇi dasaikaṁ ca. Indriyaṇi, these ten senses, five senses for acquiring knowledge and five senses for acting, ten, and the mind, ten and one, eleven... Indriyaṇi dasaikaṁ ca pañca cendriya-gocaraḥ;. Indriya-gocaraḥ;, the object of sense gratification, tan-matra. Just like rupa-rasa-gandha-sabda-sparsa. Beauty. Rupa-rasa, taste. Rupa-rasa-gandha, smell; sabda, sound; sparsa, touch. These are the objects of enjoyment. Our eyes are there. We are hankering after seeing very beautiful things. Rupa-rasa. The tongue is there. We are always trying to taste very nice eatables. Gandha. Nose is there. We want to smell very flavorable flowers and other things. In this way we have got indriyas, senses, and this body made of gross elements, and the ahaṅkara and buddhi, buddhi. Mano buddhir ahaṅkaraḥ;. These are the subtle body. In this way this kṣetra, this body, is combination of all these things. Combination of all these things. Now it is very...

maha-bhutany ahaṅkaro
buddhir avyaktam eva ca
indriyaṇi dasaikaṁ ca
pañca cendriya-gocaraḥ;

Iccha-dveṣa... This is the iccha-dveṣa, action of the mind, willing, feeling. Iccha-dveṣa. Sometimes we like something, sometimes we do not like. This is called iccha-dveṣa. Iccha dveṣa-samutthena sarge yanti parantapa [Bg. 7.27]. We take birth within this material world according to iccha and dveṣa. These two things are there. Something we like, something we do not like.

iccha-dveṣaḥ; sukhaṁ duḥ;khaṁ
saṅghaṭas cetana dhrtiḥ;
etat kṣetraṁ samasena
sa-vikaram udahrtam

This is the combination of all these things. That has made this body. So the composition is very subtle.

Good chemists, they can understand how by combining different elements they can produce something. So these chemical products of this body is described by Krṣṇa very nicely, gross chemical and subtle chemical. But I am different from this. That is knowledge. I am different from this combination. But that we do not know. That is ignorance. I am thinking that "I am this combination," and I am thinking, "Wherefrom this combination has come into being, that is my place." That is described in the sastras, yasyatma-buddhiḥ; kuṇape tri-dhatuke sva-dhiḥ; kalatradiṣu bhauma ijya-dhiḥ; [SB 10.84.13]. The chemicals comes from the earth. So everything in my body, they have come from these material elements and I'm identifying, "This place is mine because this body is born out of these elements." That is going on as nationalism. Bhauma iḍya-dhiḥ;. Bhauma iḍya-dhiḥ;. They'll not prefer worshiping Krṣṇa. They'll prefer worshiping that land from which this body has emanated. Bhauma idya-dhiḥ;.

So sastra says, "Anyone who identifies this body as self," yasyatma-buddhiḥ; kuṇape tri-dhatuke... This body is made of three dhatus, kapha, pitta, vayu, according to Ayurveda system. Kapha, mucus, and bile. Kapha pitta vayu. Yasyatma-buddhiḥ; kuṇape tri-dhatuke sva-dhiḥ; kalatradiṣu [SB 10.84.13]. And kinsmen, my own persons, sva-dhiḥ; kalatradiṣu, wife and production from the wife, children. Or dynasty, family, community. Sva-dhiḥ; kalatradiṣu. Yasyatma-buddhiḥ; kuṇape tri-dhatuke sva-dhiḥ; kalatradiṣu bhauma ijya-dhiḥ; [SB 10.84.13]. And that land, "This is my birthplace. This is worshipable." Yat-tirtha-buddhiḥ; salile na karhicij. And they go to the places, holy places of pilgrimage, tirtha-buddhiḥ; salile.

Just like somebody goes to Haridwar, Vrndavana. They finish their tirtha, going, taking so much trouble. Just like in Calcutta there is Ganges, but people will go to Haridwar for taking bath in the Ganges there. Why it is prescribed? Not for the Ganges. The Ganges is there already in Calcutta. But if you go to a holy place, you'll find saintly person. That is required. But if you simply go to the holy places and take bath in the water and finish your business... No. That is not recommended. Tirtha, going to tirtha means to find out a learned saintly person and take knowledge from him. That is tirtha.

Therefore it is said, yat-tirtha-buddhiḥ; salile na karhicij janeṣv abhijñeṣu. Those who are expert in giving knowledge, we should associate. Sataṁ prasaṅgan mama virya-samvido bhavanti hrt-karṇa-rasayanaḥ; kathaḥ; [SB 3.25.25]. If we associate with saintly persons and hear from them Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic literatures, then hrt-karṇa-rasayanaḥ; kathaḥ;, it becomes appealing to the heart, hrt, and pleasing to the ear. Hrt-karṇa-rasayanaḥ; kathaḥ; taj-joṣaṇad. And if you bring them into practical purposes, apply in your life, then sraddha bhaktir ratir anukramiṣyati. Then gradually you'll become faithful to the Supreme. Sraddha bhaktir. You'll develop your natural instincts of devotional service. Sraddha bhaktir ratir, attachment. Anukramiṣyati, one after another. This is the process.

Unfortunately, we are not taking advantage of these prerogatives of human life. We are simply engaged like cats and dogs for utilizing our life: eating, sleeping, sex life and defense. Ahara-nidra-bhayaṁ maithunaṁ ca samanyam etat pasubhir naraṇam. These demands of the body, eating, sleeping, sex life and defense, that is there in the animal life. Then where is the difference between the animal life and human life? Unless you become inquisitive to know, athato brahma jijñasa.

Therefore Vedanta-sutra says that this life is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth, tattva-jijñasa. Jivasya tattva-jijñasa. In the Bhagavata also says. Athato brahma jijñasa. So this Krṣṇa consciousness movement is awakening the dormant inquiry of the human society to inquire "What I am? What is God? What is my relationship with God? Why I have come here in this material world? What is the reason? Why I am suffering? I don't want to die, but why death is forced upon me?" These are the questions to be solved in human life. Not the economic development. There is no question of economic development. Everyone is taken care by the mercy of God. Just like we are human beings. We are only four hundred thousand species, forms. But out of eight million four hundred thousand species, the eight millions forms of life, birds, beasts, they are taking [taken] care. There is no economic development program. They are eating very nicely. In Africa there are millions of elephants. They are eating very nicely. There is no question of scarcity of food. So why don't you think like that? Tasyaiva hetoḥ; prayeteta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhaḥ; [1.5.18].

Therefore human life is simply meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth, not for engaging oneself for this so-called economic development. That is already there by God's arrangement. Actually, I am wandering all over the world. There are immense space in this planet also. In Africa, in Australia, ten times of the population can be accommodated, and they can produce their food. But the isavasya... We have forgotten that everything belongs to God. We are thinking "It is my land. You cannot come here. It is my land. You cannot come here." This mismanagement of the human society is the cause of all troubles, all problems. Therefore the human society must have Krṣṇa consciousness to solve all the problems of life. Thank you very much. (end)

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